some moments last forever, and some flare out with love, love, love [afterparty]

[visiblepattern]

[So that all sucked really bad, huh.

Forrest had meant what he said about going to the clinic immediately after all of this, getting medical supplies ready and set up on hand to prepare to receive people - Dandy is the primary candidate for this, whether he likes it or not - but before he goes he grabs Rossiu for the briefest moment before sending him on his way. Sure enough, when the note comes in a few minutes it isn't in Forrest's flowing, delicate hand but rather something blockier and incredibly neat. If you've seen Rossiu's handwriting, you'll recognize it: ]

We're having a memorial gathering in the ice cream parlor in an hour. Feel free to attend if you'd like, or if you would prefer to not be alone.
[...It seems like as good a place as any.

There are some things set up, though not terribly many; the tables are set out and are perhaps a bit closer than they normally would be, but go ahead and make yourself some sundaes, pull up a chair, talk to one another, ruminate over whether Jason and Hagakure would have liked this (or whether Vholran wouldn't have, either way) - it's your night, to do what you want with.]

Comments

[buriedstar]

The first book that caught my eye. [ He turns his head to look back at her, smile broadening into a grin.

The book he's reading is The Complete Hamsters Guide 🐹 ]

[daimakaicho]

[


Huh. ]

Hamsters? You don't strike me as the type who'd be interested in keeping that kind of pet. Did you get one from the vending machine?

[buriedstar]

I'm not one for any kind of pet, really. [ He sets the book down, slipping a piece of paper in so he doesn't lose his place. ]

If I said no, would you judge me, noona?

[daimakaicho]

[ She laughs, moving over to a nearby chair and sitting down. ]

Now, why would I judge you for that? It's certainly not my place to tell you what you can and can't read.

What made it catch your eye, then?

[buriedstar]

I've been judged for so much lately, I had to ask. [ Not said entirely seriously, but there is a note that rings true regardless. ]

I thought hamsters were pretty ugly until recently, but they're actually kind of cute? I was reminded of that recently when I saw this book.

[daimakaicho]

If I ever do judge you for something, Dawon, it'll be because you deserve it.

[ She grins, leaning forward and propping up her chin with a hand as her gaze goes down to the cover of the book. ]

They do have some sort of cuteness to them, don't they? Certainly more so than rats, at least.

[ To be fair the only rats she's familiar with are demon familiars or whatever, but like. Still. ]

[buriedstar]

I don't make it a point to disappoint anyone ♥. [ He follows her gaze to the cover, his smile widening. ]

Rats are unsightly, in all their forms. But luckily enough, cats, snakes, birds and all other kinds of predators exist to handle them. [ Suddenly he taps a finger on the cover of the book. ]

I got one of them out of the gatcha recently, actually.

[daimakaicho]

You got a rat out of the machine? Seems like that thing is partial to giving out animals, isn't it? We're up to, what, three different cats at this point?

[buriedstar]

Oh, not a rat but a cat. And not a live one either, it's a stuffed animal. I was going to throw it away like all the other junk but I thought it might make a passable gift, considering the other options here~.

[daimakaicho]

[ she blinks. ]

Really? Seems like a strange distinction to make that one a plush but leave the other ones alive.

[ who knows what that machine is smoking. ]

It'd certainly work as a gift. I hear cats are very popular to keep as pets, I'm sure the same extends to those of the stuffed animal variety.

[buriedstar]

[ He has some thoughts mostly around the vending machine mocking his stat distribution and giving "D" grade prize but he won't voice them. His luck though, really. ]

Hmm, does that popularity extend to Hild-noona, too?

[daimakaicho]

[ She laughs. ]

Well, if it's coming from you, I suppose it can. I don't mind taking it off your hands.

[buriedstar]

Then come with me. [ He tucks the hamster book under his arm and assuming she'll follow, leads them to Suite 1 and his room that he shares with Misfire. Everything here is very tidy as you might expect, the bedroom looking as picture perfect as they arrived. ]

The lack of an inventory makes this space even smaller than it already is...but I suppose it evens out if there's barely anything worth keeping. [ He opens the closet which houses almost an entirely black wardrobe in spite of the clothing checks they've run over the past weeks, and plucks from the top shelf a perhaps familiar looking plush. ]

A gift from me to you, noona ♥.

[daimakaicho]

[ She follows him to his room with little complaint, leaning against the door frame as he thumbs around for what he's looking for. ]

Well, at least if something useful does come along, you won't have to worry about having somewhere to put it.

[ And then she sees the cat, with that all-too-familiar facial marking and... just starts laughing. She'd call into question how suspicious this all is, that this plush is showing up, but that vending machine does have some kind of a sense of humor, so this tracks, in the end.

She covers her mouth with the back of her hand, making a waving motion with her other one in an attempt to brush it off. ]

Sorry, sorry. That just caught me by surprise. When you said a cat, I didn't expect it was going to be that one. [ she pauses to get the last few giggles out. ] That explains why it's a plush and not a real one, at least.

[buriedstar]

[ He blinks in confusion at first, not expecting the laughter, even if this gift doesn't come close to qualifying as one by his usual standards. ]

You're acquainted?

[daimakaicho]

[ Luckily, he should know her decently enough by now that if it just wasn't good, she'd just tell him as much or leave. ]

His name is Welsper. [ it's German, so it's technically Velsper. ] He's technically a former demon who got reincarnated into the form of a cat. Last I saw, he was living with my daughter and her sisters on Earth.

[ She chuckles, tapping the six-pointed star on her forehead. ]

The forehead marking is a dead giveaway.

[buriedstar]

Oh, so he was sealed. Bringing him here would cause trouble, I'm guessing?

[ He's familiar with seals given he's a mage, even if it's not his specialty. ]

[daimakaicho]

Probably because the fool counts more as a participant than just a cat. The reincarnation was meant to be a punishment for messing with the natural order and seal his conscience, but he managed to curse himself to bypass that and retain a few abilities.

[ .... so, kind of a shitty punishment if it was able to be circumvented like that, but that's not important. She wasn't a character yet by that point. ]

[buriedstar]

I've heard curses are versatile even if they can be unwieldy. [ To say the least. ]

What did he do to earn that punishment? [ He's interested in the details naturally as a mage. And because he's someone who likes to mess up the perceived order in the world when it strikes him. ]

[daimakaicho]

They certainly can be a pain, that's for sure. [ There's a knowing, exasperated sigh at that. ]

The short answer is that he managed to breach into heaven's supercomputer, Yggdrasil [ IG-druh-sill for everyone playing at home ], and essentially infect it with ransomware that very nearly destroyed the flow of time.

It all ended up being stopped in the end, naturally, but breaching it in the first place is a serious offense, given how much of the universe it controls.

[ The universe runs on Windows Vista and duct tape, more at 11. ]

[buriedstar]

[ This all sounds completely believable, but Seo Dawon needs to laugh anyway. ]

The universe being run on a supercomputer makes a lot of sense, but it being vulnerable to ransomware of all things...it sounds like heaven needs better IT support?

[daimakaicho]

Or just better firewalls and encryption so the administrators don't need to scramble like that in the first place.

[ Urd, Skuld, and Peorth all do pretty good work in the moment, but have they considered... not having to do that every five minutes? ]

Nidhogg, the demonic counterpart to Yggdrasil, would never have that kind of problem. I run a very, very tight ship.

[buriedstar]

Oh? Disappointing Hild-noona would be tragic.

[ He might have some images in his mind on how that would go. ]

[daimakaicho]

That's putting it mildly.

[ She's never had to use her scary face that much while she's been here, which ninety percent of the time is more than enough to get her point across. ]

It's a good thing you don't make it a point to disappoint anyone, hm?

[ She smiles, her eyes narrowing slightly. ]

[buriedstar]

Of course not, especially those I like~.