spinatalltale | [WEEK 1, MONDAY AFTERNOON: Laphicet]

[After all that hullabaloo, Laphicet is near the huts, working on what appears to be a map. He looks up at the sound of Magilou's voice.]

Sure, Magilou. What is it?

[she folds her arms and leans a shoulder against one of the hut walls, eyeing his map with her usual disinterest]'

Ooooh, nothing. I just wanted to see what you were up to! You know. . . shoot the breeze, hang out, kill some time. That sort of thing.

I don't know if I should really be "killing" some time. At the same time, I also don't really know what I should be doing in the first place...

[He says with a little bit of a laugh. It seems the whole murder thing isn't getting him too down.]

I thought this might be useful, though. And it reminds me of Van Aifread's crew and their goal to discover all those distant islands. I guess we missed one, though.

[something tells her that this island isn't exactly one that the crew could have stumbled upon back home, but. . . that's a conversation for a later date]

Well, drawing a map is a start. I imagine it's rough for everyone to find something to do during our downtime before Friday.

[whatever a "Friday" is smh]

Yeah. I kinda found myself wondering... how everyone else would be handling this.

[He still smiles, but it's a little more solemn. Perhaps nostalgic?]

Rokurou would probably think of it as a challenge, Eleanor would hate everything about it and go around making sure no one died. Or we might wonder if this was all because of the Reaper's curse. And Velvet... I don't know what she'd do now.

[. . .]

If it was before we took down the Shepherd and Innominat, I'm sure she'd threaten to kill everyone until she could go home. But now?

[laughs and runs her fingers through her bangs]

It's tough to say what she'd do now.

Maybe... she'd be able to relax? That's probably hoping for too much, huh?

Hey! If anyone could relax on a peaceful island where we're all being expected to kill each other, it'd be Velvet. That's for sure.

Actually... I think that would be you, Magilou.

[While he's been generally calm, she's the one drinking mai tais.]

You're not gonna get in too much trouble here, are you?

[LOOK SHE HASN'T HAD A SINGLE MAI TAI YET AND IT'S DISAPPOINTING??]

What, you mean little old me? Of course not! I'll be as well-behaved as a child in church, I promise! ♪

[but then her mood does a complete 180, voice lowering, languid smile turning ever so sharp]

Actually. . . that is something I wanted to talk to you about.

The potential for trouble.

Mm. I wish I could believe no one would kill someone here, but... people are human. Even without my powers, I know there's plenty of malevolence here.

Of course. You don't necessarily need to be a malak or someone of high resonance to tell.

[Magilou is just good at reading people]

Human nature always takes over in a fight for survival. It's just a matter of who will be the first to spill blood.

Are you already making bets on who it'll be? Or did you grow tired of that after betting on Velvet?

Hmmm. . . [she smiles wryly] I may have a wager or two in the works, but it isn't on what you think it's on.

You see, I want to make sure I'm betting on the winning party, here.

In that case, wouldn't you have to bet on yourself? That way you'd be alive to know if you had won. But... there'd be no one to bet against who could give you any Gald.

[This is confusing??]

And that would be a very boring bet.

[he laughs, and links her hands behind her head]

No. That's not the nature of my wager. It's more. . .

Hey, Laphicet. You saw how people reacted to the big news, right? How some of them refused to accept it, and vowed to find another way?

Yeah, I hope... I hope they can hold onto those ideals. Are you betting for them or against them?

[. . .]

[turns away from him, so he can't see her expression]

I don't know. The deck is stacked against them, isn't it? I bet against Velvet because it was stacked against her, too. It's a good thing I didn't have to pay her.

[. . . though it was a nominal bet, a bet made more to spur Velvet on than to tear her down]

But I suppose this time I've been thinking about changing that up. Just to keep things spi~cy! You know?

You don't want anyone to die either, right? Even if you could win a bet, even if you know it'll happen.

[STOP CALLING HER OUT]

People are going to die. I'm no fool, nor am I naive enough to believe otherwise.

[not an answer to his question, not an answer to whether she actually wants people to die or not]

I'd prefer it if I wasn't one of those people.

[. . .]

And I suppose I would prefer that it wasn't you, either.

[Laphicet smiles cause he's right! He knows she's a good witch deep down. Way deep down.]

I'm not going to die any time soon. I promised Velvet I'd live. And... I don't know what would happen to the world without Maotelus.

[LET HER BE A VILLAIN GOD DAMN IT]

[although he can't see it, the smile she adopts is a bit. . . relieved]

Would you kill to stay alive, kiddo?

... If I have to. I don't want it to come to that.

[her smile sharpens. it's a bit sinister now, dark around the edges, and matches the mischief in her eyes]

A fitting answer for Maotelus, the newest Empyrean.

[and she spins around to face him again]

Well, for what it's worth, I don't intend to go along with this little charade we've been forced into. I just don't feel like it.

[props a hand on her hip]

I don't particularly feel like helping everyone else, either. But since I don't really want our world to blow up and turn into smoke, I'll keep an eye on you while we're here.

[that's her excuse for offering him her protection and she's sticking to it]

Edited 2017-08-08 04:06 (UTC)

[He'll take it for now. And in return, he'll give her a warm smile!]

I guess I should be honored to have the protection of the great witch Mazhigigika Miludin do Din Nolurun Dou. But I'll keep an eye on you too! Without stories, we can't learn from the past, after all.

Ah, how poetic! Like music to my ears! Oooh, speaking of stories. . .

[claps her hands together, and suddenly she's holding her journal]

I've already started on the one for this island. I was thinking of calling it. . . Beach Episode. What do you think?

... Any other ideas?

Yow-hooch! Shot through the heart! That was my witty one-liner. . .

Oh, it was a joke? I didn't really get it.

[GROANS]

Nevermind. I'll keep working on it.

By the by, I do have another question for you. Recording the story of this island isn't so easy when half of the game's rules are being kept from me, you know? So. . .

Were you given a role in this game?

Oh... okay then.

[Darn. He was hoping she'd explain the joke.]

No, I wasn't. I don't know anyone who was either, though I imagine most people aren't going to talk about it to just anyone.

[funnily enough? Laphicet is literally the only person she'd believe that answer from right now]

Yeah, probably not. But still! I put out a few feelers to try and smoke that information out, and have gotten absolutely nothing in return.

If I find anything out, I'll be sure to let you know, Magilou!

What a good little information gatherer you are! ☆

At any rate, I'll make sure to return the favor in kind. But only because I'm feeling generous.

[WEEK 1, MONDAY AFTERNOON: Laphicet]

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