WEEK 2 MINGLE - ARTEMISIA

[foundationmods]

Things had changed so rapidly in the past few days.

The loss of two of them hung over like a shroud, made even worse by the fact that an innocent person had been executed.

Was this....how the rest of the game was going to go...?🗈

....Even if it was, there wasn't much they could do now. Yuuko herself hasn't shown up in public since the trial, and while some have talked to her, she's been...subdued.

Did the trial hurt her just as much as them?

Regardless, the island is still beautiful, if deadly. Summer continues, beaming down on all of them, the waves of the sea warm and inviting.

But even if things look bleak...

They have something in their hands that will soon lead to the Truth, and the heart of this matter.

And in the air...lies a heavy sense that everything is about to change.

MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

CALENDAR | LOCATIONS | PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS | YUUKO PC POST | BIRDWITCH PC POST

Comments

[oceanicbutterfly]

Be quiet in the library or I'll have to remove you.

[That sure doesn't answer any of those questions, does it?]

[anonnomnomnom]

Eh? I am being quiet, though.

[He lowers his voice obligingly but also this means he has to crowd further into demonic personal space. Not really an issue for him, so they can hang out by the bookshelf now.

Not-Karen gets a little smirk.]

You're a lot different from Yuuko, but also kind of like her, too. So, what do you say? Are you going to answer my questions if I listen?

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Grumble sigh.]

If you have any questions that aren't stupid, don't involve people I've never heard of, and aren't trying to get some kind of advantage in the game, I'll consider answering them.

[anonnomnomnom]

Ahaha, because you're on Yuuko's side and I'm not, right? Don't worry, I'm used to nobody really answering any questions about the Game! But it's definitely nice to see you anyway.

[He seems perfectly cheerful despite her grumbling. Welcome to a different kind of hell, demon friend.]

'Cause people call me a demon all the time, but I'm not, really. So it'll be good to have real demons around. By the way, what kind of demon are you, anyway?

[oceanicbutterfly]

I am Vinea, one of the seventy-two Pillars of Hell.

[And she's stuck talking to this guy.]

[anonnomnomnom]

And I'm Anon! An Infernal of the Protectorate. Or something like that. I'm a whole lot of things, but that's not really important here.

[He just got caught up in her super formal self-introduction, okay. He gives a little wave, as though smoothing over the topic. And gosh, he's a great guy to talk to??]

So what did Yuuko summon you here for, anyway? Or is that classified?

[oceanicbutterfly]

I supervise her other furniture and servants. Other than that, whatever she wants--if she asks me to do something, I'll do it.

[anonnomnomnom]

Ah, so you're really the master of the goats now. We were wondering about that.

[Anon was probably the only one still bothering to really wonder about that.

Look.

He's a curious fellow.]

So there's a difference between Furniture and servants, right? Nobody could seem to figure out the difference before, since Watanuki is a weird case because he's Furniture but also Feathers' Piece. I think that's what Yuuko said, anyway.

Are you going to be playing with us?

[oceanicbutterfly]

It's simple. "Furniture" refers to people like me, who are able to exist in this world because of witches--Yuuko-sama, in this case. "Servant" refers to, well, servants, like an ordinary human might hire.

...I don't know about Watanuki-san. Whatever his connection is to Yuuko-sama, it's something that happened somewhere else.

[anonnomnomnom]

I thought so -- Furniture is like a familiar or a summon that Witches can do, but servants are people who already exist and end up in places like this. I'll accept that for now.

[Because Vinea is definitely a hard nut to crack! He might have more luck looking around elsewhere about the identity crisis. Not that it seems much of a crisis on his end.]

And I think Yuuko said that too. That it's not realy relevant here.

Have you always been with Yuuko, Vinea?

[oceanicbutterfly]

I've been with her for my entire existence in this world, if that's what you mean.

[anonnomnomnom]

Hmm, how old are you, anyway?

[oceanicbutterfly]

That depends on how you look at it.

[anonnomnomnom]

How would you look at it?

[oceanicbutterfly]

I wouldn't, usually.

Speaking in terms of my literal existence here, I haven't had any birthdays yet, so I suppose you'd say I was an infant.

[anonnomnomnom]

Huhhh... A baby demon.

[Does this make him a senpai.]

What about in terms of your existence elsewhere?

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Absolutely not, she thinks. So yes, absolutely.]

That's getting into metaphysics that I don't want to deal with.

[anonnomnomnom]

[This is the most cursed senpai-kouhai relationship of all time.]

Ahaha, it really does seem like it would be way too metaphysical to explain before breakfast.

[So that's fair. He makes a little humming noise and grabs a book from the shelf. It appears to be a volume related to mysteries! Or just a mystery novel.

Somebody's studying! He's a very diligent student.]

Are you going to be staying here?

[He thinks it would be really funny if she ended up staying in Karen's room.]

[oceanicbutterfly]

I'm not sure why I wouldn't. Even if some of you are irritating, it's still where my mistress wants me.

[Rooms are for people who sleep!]

[anonnomnomnom]

Where Yuuko wants you... like a librarian? Ah, but you have all kinds of other duties, too. Is this still just where you like to be the most?

[She hasn't made any move to leave yet, after all.

Also, she's weirdly territorial about it.]

[oceanicbutterfly]

...did you mean was I going to just live in the library? That's ridiculous.

[vinea it was actually a reasonable thing for someone who doesn't know all the details of your demon-y nature to expect??]

[anonnomnomnom]

It's not a bad place to stay! I'm pretty sure a couple of us already sleep here.

[Totally callin' them out here. He stays here a lot but he doesn't actually sleep here, so they still need a token demon on the premises.]

But where are you staying, then? In the rooms?

[In Karen's old room????]