finer food, but no music

[promittere]

[Well that was...unpleasant, to say the least. Two more deaths, but this time there's the matter of whatever's happening to Seteth as well.

Ignis is trying not to think about it, which means he's thinking about it a lot, which means he spends a few moments pacing and trying to figure out what to do. He thinks back to the party - for as much as you could call it that - that Olivert hosted, and, well... He's not sure how much morale can be boosted, but it's worth a shot, isn't it?

The decorations of the opera house are much simpler this time around, but the food is noticeably better, between the actual operational kitchen and the fact Ignis is much more skilled than Olivert. The food is well made and it even looks delicious from where it's set up, and there's a sign outside the opera house that reads:]

A not as grand feast, for all of us to enjoy.
Attendance is not mandatory, but it might be better than staying alone.

Catered by Ignis Scientia.

[At least there are less rose petals this time.]

Comments

[baitless]

[...so, Seteth didn't learn anything of importance. Of course he wouldn't. He remembers the execution, and now... he's waking up in his bed, his shirt and tunic folded neatly on his dresser, because, well...

…

Sigh, he'll just put on the priest robes, since they're looser, and head off to the church first. He said he'd be there, and it's the closest he can get to conducting a proper funeral, even if he doesn't have Lysithea's body. Or know if the Goddess is even listening here. Then again, that was complicated to begin with...

…

And what the hell. Might as well make the prayer plural.]

Oh Goddess, hear my prayer. Please receive these beloved people. When the cold rain washes the bodies, when the bird and wolf announce the dawn... Receive them into your blue blood. Receive them into a twinkling star.

[...yeah, alright. Time to head to the opera house and pick up some actual food and let everyone know he's alive. He's hungry, anyway, so he'll load his plate up with food and sit down somewhere.

...he's kind of sitting on the edge of his seat and his back looks kind of weird through the robe. Kind of like what you'd expect from a hedgehog trying to wear clothes over the spikes, maybe, except instead of all over, it's mostly localized to his spine and shoulder blades. Ah. How... inconvenient...]

[moonfang]

[Zangetsu takes a seat next to him with a plate full of Ignis' delicious food. But he gets right down to business;]

So, what's the damage?

[baitless]

[AT LEAST THIS IS SOME GOOD FOOD... HE NEEDED SOMETHING TASTY AFTER ALL THAT... but eh, he kind of expected questions about whatever weird shit they did to him.]

Well, I've got spines all over my back now. I'm not sure if they do anything other than make it extremely difficult to wear most shirts, but I'd advise you not to touch them.

[moonfang]

Hmmm.

[Zangetsu takes a bite of food, and then nods to himself]

I'll do it next time.

opera house

[pr159]

[ Huh. He wasn't actually expecting to see Seteth around again today. ]

You got back on your feet pretty quickly.

[ Looking at him curiously... He can see that he's sitting kind of weird, but he can't really tell why from this angle. ]

What did they do?

[baitless]

...They gave me some additions. I was hoping they'd be easier to hide, but now I have to figure out how to put my shirts on without having spikes sticking through them.

[He sighs in frustration, then takes a bite of food.]

[pr159]

Maybe just add some carefully placed holes so that they can actually stick through them?

[ It sounds like a pretty flippant response, but honestly, that seems like it might be preferable to having them get caught on fabric every time you move. ]

It seems less bad than it could have been, at least.

[ Since Seteth is still clearly him, just with one of his attachment slots filled. ]

Are they painful at all?

[twoasone]

[ Shin thought he saw the man head to the opera house... May as well make an appearance to see the damage. ]

Spikes? [ His hand reaches out to stroke the man's spine, but stops half way. ] Are these... Bony? Or more like quills? I can't tell.

[baitless]

[...mgrgrgr]

...They seem more brittle than bone. I haven't tried to break them or anything, but... I wouldn't advise touching them. I have no idea if they're venomous or something like that...

[twoasone]

You don't think thick gloves would protect against something like that?

[ He's still not touching them, but. . . ]

Either way, perhaps you can use these to your advantage. After all, you could use them for an improvised weapon if you must.

opera house

[galrarm]

[ ... they really work fast, huh. Shiro approaches Seteth and takes a seat, two cups of tea balanced in his hand. He offers one to Seteth. ]

I'd ask how you're doing, but...

For what it's worth, I'm sorry it came to this.

[baitless]

[...b-be careful with that, my dude, that seems like a way to get hot tea all over yourself...]

Really, don't be. It's more of an inconvenience than anything. I'm more annoyed that I didn't learn anything useful while they were experimenting on me.

[galrarm]

[ The only sick burns he delivers are the ones directed at himself. ]

Good to see you're taking it in stride, at least. [ It's... sincere, but he's also concerned nonetheless, because that's who he is as a person. ] I guess they were pretty eager to get their hands on one of us.

[p_q]

[What's an afterparty.

Somewhere between the church and the opera house, whether Seteth really wants to or not, he'll run into what is evidently one of his favorite people -- Ulquiorra coming the other way, escaping the afterparty and all. He isn't quite soaked through, so he hasn't made a circuit of the city at this point.

For the most part he's been ignoring people in passing, but this profile is an interesting one. His head tilts just before they pass by each other.]

I see you can still hide it to some extent.

I wonder how they expect you to continue to play their game in this fashion.

[baitless]

[ah, this guy... well. No reason to bear too much of a grudge for being insulted, he guesses, even if he never really knows what to do with mildly unpleasant nihilists.]

I wish it was easier to hide, but it could indeed be worse. I suppose that comes if I keep volunteering.

[ugh, what a pain that would be...]

[p_q]

[If he's only a mildly unpleasant nihilist, he's losing his touch.

The true woes of being nerfed. He wouldn't have blinked at being talked back to or brushed off, but since the man(...??) appears to still have his vocal cords and moreover to be in a talking sort of mood, he might indulge his own curiosity. All attempts to interact with their fellow citizens(...????) so far have resulted in failure.

So this is close enough.]

If you keep volunteering -- therefore, you are satisfied with your results this time?

[He's getting something of a judging glance again, though this one is more... just a little disbelieving. What kind of gluttony for punishment is this.]

Take me to church

[soumettre]

[ Yuzuru isn’t quite sure how to honor the dead, but someone will and do it the best they can. For now, he has some nice candles and some matches to light them, one for each who’s passed. It’s like incense, hopefully. ]

How lovely. Even given the tragic circumstances... it’s like a song.

[ He looks pretty worried for Seteth though, that’s plain on his face. Sir, you had a rough day. ]

[baitless]

[...hm. You know...]

It's a bit odd to think of it that way, but... I've always thought it was a nice prayer, as well. Then again, the dead deserve nice sentiments like that.

[soumettre]

[ Many of us would be here for hymns sung like that in that smooth baritone. Er, anyway... ]

My apologies for the oddity... I suppose it doesn’t register the same to me. I think of books or poems where I might read such lines.

...Do you really think your Goddess would take them in?

opera house

[notbymyside]

[Welcome back hedgehog-man.]

How bad was it?

[baitless]

[gotta go fast, i guess.]

It could have been far worse, I suppose, but I didn't learn anything useful from the experience. They simply knocked me out and when I woke up, I was in my room with... additions.

[wishuponazoi]

[Sirius glances over with a somewhat worried expression.]

How are you feeling, after that?

[baitless]

...Hungry, mostly.

[sigh...]

I've felt worse, though I've also felt better...

opera house

[bawcock]

[ He won't interrupt Seteth in the chapel 'cause, well. Sounded like he was going there to be alone. Opera house is fair game though and once he sees Seteth, he walks up to him.

Now that they've had some time away from trial, he's kind of angry with himself they all let Seteth go through with it but. Well, regrets. He's always had more than a few, what's one more. ]

There's no delicate way to ask this, is there? [ He hoped there would be one. He exhales quietly and tightens his crossed arms. ] Did it burn?

[baitless]

...I was asleep for the whole thing.

[Seteth doesn't seem particularly resentful, but just. you know. tired.]

Nothing felt particularly wrong when I woke up, at the very least. I'm mostly just a bit cold and hungry.