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

[promittere]

[Ignis is there, of course, looking just a little exhausted. His hair falls in his face, and he seems to be keeping himself busy, making sure the food is...well. As delicious as he knows it should be. He's fussy, okay?

It's also easier to fuss than to sit and think about how fucked up everything is, but, you know. Details.]

Help yourselves - I made plenty.

[He might have...gone a little overboard.]

[inordertobelieve]

[ Mikami is not going to the party. He is returning straight to the Clergy Housing, looking more distraught than anybody has ever seen him here. Unless someone stops him on the way or knocks on his door later, he'll be spending the whole evening in isolation. ]

[indulgently]

[Okay, it's not his aesthetic but-- that is some fine cooking, and he knows the best when he sees it.]

You've really outdone yourself. The food is marvelous.

[Seriously though--]

Thank you for all that you've done. You've more than earned a bit of rest.

[indulgently]

[For the most part, Olivert is unnaturally quiet, unlike his usual energetic self that powers through. He's not given up, but he's rather deeply lost in thought. You're welcome to pick his brain while he's defenseless.

However, he is not out of it so much entirely that he won't eventually get a taste of the wonderful food their host worked so hard to create.]

...it really is exquisite. It is a shame that we could not be enjoying this incredible food for any other reason.

[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.

[notbymyside]

[Ango is skipping the food this time, and instead he can be found in his room, taking notes again like he did last week. He has an actual notebook now too, so he will copy the four other pieces he has written into it before adding the new ones.

All of the entries are very short still. Suzaku's ends with "I'm sorry".

When he's done writing, he can be found at the clock tower, sitting up on the balcony to watch the street below. He actually has brought some papers with him, and is ripping off tiny pieces of them and watching them flutter down to the square below. If anyone wants to stop and look, they might find bits and pieces of what he's written.]

[pr159]

[ Are you sick of Rideaux today? Too bad, he's here anyway.

If it helps, he's a little less gleefully smug now that the trial and execution are over. He's just going to be sitting by himself with some food and a glass of water. (Which, thankfully, he doesn't need so much this time, now that he's not choking to death on barely edible food. Thank you, Ignis.) ]

[drydrown]

[so do you ever do something knowing that exactly no one is going to be happy with what you're about to do, including and especially yourself, because that is a whole-ass mood here.

...unfortunately for everybody, mikami is also looking like a whole-ass mood and cumore is debating whether he wants to even try seeing if there's another one of those weird parties again when mikami kind of...is all of that, and he pauses for a moment to debate with himself before deciding to just...

look, he'll be knocking on mikami's damn door before too long. not announcing himself or anything, just knocking and letting that speak for itself.]

clock tower for something different

[deadlygoals]

[ He has a homing beacon built in just for Ango it seems. He'll sit down beside him on the clock tower, watching as the pieces fall down like snow. ]

Ango.

[ Resting his cheek into his own hand as he looks at him. Can he see what's on the papers? ]

[baitless]

...what, take the penalty?

[He gives Zangetsu kind of a look, like he's about to argue... but then again, he looks Zangetsu over...]

Hm. Maybe it's not a terrible idea if we alternate, actually. You look like you could handle it yourself.

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?

[moonfang]

Yep. Especially if it seems like we're gonna need it. I ain't exactly a detective, so if I can at least do this...

[look, he's starting to get a little attached, despite himself...

He grins and taps his horns]

Ya got that right. I have many forms, and some of 'em ain't as human as this one. Tails, spikes, claws, fangs... None of that would bother me too much, even if it were permanent. Let a monster handle the monsters.

[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.]

[notbymyside]

[He can if he wants to. It looks like old notes on the city they're in and all of his attempts at learning to control his new powers. He's already re-copied them so they're neater, so these old ones can just get tossed out.]

Dazai-kun.

[Feel free to sit with him, he's trying to pass the time and clear his mind.]

[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.

[galrarm]

[ Fussy, meet fussy. Honestly, Shiro isn't surprised Ignis is handling things this week. ]

Thanks. You worked really hard on all of this--I'm pretty sure we all appreciate it.

[baitless]

…

[fuck it. the hosts put him on blast with his age, and he went ahead and mentioned not being human during the trial. he may as well be forthright, especially with another non-human.]

Actually, that's part of why I volunteered. I used to be able to transform into a more monstrous form myself, though I lost that ability a long time ago. I figured it would be best for those of us who are actually used to it to subject ourselves to this sort of thing than humans.

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]

[...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...

[p_q]

[It's probably going to become some kind of tradition, as much as two weeks can be a tradition and provided he doesn't kick it immediately afterwards, but Ulquiorra hasn't bothered to present himself at the afterparty. He did watch the execution itself intently, perhaps more intently than he did the trial; but the sign put up predictably after simply makes him seek greener and more solitary pastures.

It's not like he'd bother to eat the food anyway, no matter who's cooking it.

So: he can be found -- deadeyeing the afterparty logo before he heads out, prowling about the edges of the city by the fogbank (who needs umbrellas or garbage ponchos in the downpour, not this Hollow; maybe the half-helmet is enough??), or perched up in the clock tower without any particular fanfare.

The latter location peeps might walk into him examining his newly-acquired kitchen knife?? Just FYI. It's a very nice kitchen knife.]

[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]

[ And so two more paintings were hung in the clergy housing.

As much as he still regrets missing the investigation due to lack of sleep, he can't help but stand back and admire his work... Yes, he is good at pictures, but his true calling is much more useful than just paintings. If only he had adequate access to a proper workshop... ]

. . . [ He sighs, and yet he still has a small smirk on his face. He's still lost in his thoughts, so there's a good chance you'll find him staring at the painting he hung on Suzaku's door...

He turns up at the Opera House fashionably late. Yes, the food is delicious, but he seems a bit distant as he nibbles at his share. ]