Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Alice Margatroid     It's 'Evening' at the Akumakami Castle, but in Makai it's kinda hard to tell the time by the ominous sky. Barring that, the castle is filled with Maid-Koakuma's hustling and bustling around, a few knocking on the bedroom doors calling out inside, "It's time for tea! Lady Shinki and Lady Yumeko prepared a small feast for everyone!" comes the Maid-Koakuma's around the castle. "She even made Devil's Food Cake and it's tea from around the Multiverse too!"

    Alice, however, is in the kitchen, in an outfit similar to Yumeko's along with Hourai and Shanghai. "Well, we have to make it up to them somehow. I know what Marisa likes but not everyone else. Hopefully they like these pork buns. Learned the recipe from a villager. What do you think Mom? Yumeko?" Hourai and Shanghai are duitfly floating over an oven or two, making all of the different teas around. The kitchen a hustle and bustle of dolls, koakuma and the head maid just watching from the door.

    "Very good, Lady Alice. And no threat of burning the kitchen down too, your dolls are amazing. See this, Koakuma, this is how you work properly! Now get going or you'll have a sword to deal with!"
Shinki     The Demon God of Makai is also present, humming cheerfully to herself. She has not bothered with an apron or even a headdress, the clothes of a maid, of which she most certainly is not! However, Shinki has equipped herself with big red heart-decorated oven mitts, which she's currently using to open one of the kitchen ovens. A black cloud of smoke billows out immediately, taking on a ghostly shape and moaning its way up the oven vent.

    This result puts Yumeko on edge, for sure.

    But, humming cheerfully to herself, the Demon God pulls out a blackened lump of ... something, in a cake tin. Turning, she knocks the oven closed with a heel and trots across the kitchen, "Your buns will be great, Alice! And this will knock their socks off-- A Devil's Devil's Food~!"

    It does not in any shape or form look edible in its current state, but Shinki looks so PROUD of it.
Yuna Kagurazaka "Mrmfmhmm?"

An extraordinarily sleepy Yuna sits up, extricating herself from the comfort of sheets and blankets and pillows, and blinks, bleary-eyed, at the door. "Tea .. ?"

She blinks a few more times. "What time is it ..." She glances out the window, finds no useful answer, then leans out of the bed to fish through her jumper's pockets for her radio/cell phone to check the time. Then again, she doesn't quite remember what time she went to bed - all of the danmaku left her head spinning, even WITHOUT taking a lot of direct hits.

She decides she might as well get dressed. And since she wants to at least offer SOMETHING back to Shinki, Alice, and household as thanks for their hospitality, she fishes through her phone's directory, pulling up a specific frequency ...

"Hey, Fayt? I'm not entirely sure of the coordinates, but can you bring a couple of boxes of manjuu from my world to Shinki's castle in Gensokyo's Makai? Elner will guide you through from the Hakurei shrine."

A bit more discussion to sort out which flavors to get, and Yuna heads down to wherever the tea and snacks are being served.
Sanary Rondel      Sanary's a little groggy by the time she wakes up, groaning at the sound of knocks at the door. After powering her eye on, she remains still as she tries to gauge her situation from the bed. She's in a strange bed, her head hurts, her hair and clothes are a mess...

     ... Right. She crashed into a /lot/ of colorful things yesterday, didn't she? Nothing else happened. Besides, Shinki's name was mentioned, so it'd probably be fine. A few minutes later, and the cleric is up! Still a little woozy, but she does make it out of the room without breaking anything!

     Better yet, she even starts heading towards the kitchen, sniffing lightly at the scent of... Moaning smoke ghost? That's definitely not right. She stays out of the kitchen proper, opting instead to just lean against a door and wave. "Uh... Morning, Miss Shinki. Alice. Anything I can help with over here?" She's still a little confused, but that'll probably clear up soon enough.
Konoe Kanno      "......"

     After spending the 'night' dead to Makai after that explosive, but rather fun duel with Alice, Konoe's eyes slowly opened. She found herself in a nice, soft bed in a room that was entirely unfamiliar to her. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and had a look around slowly. "...Where...am I-oh. ...I remember." That's right. The duel in Wonderland. Where Alice used that book of hers to blow them up. And also that spellcard with the dolls...

     Silent for a few seconds, the miko spied a pair of dolls on the night table next to the bed and stopped. ".....?" Blinking a couple times, Konoe stared. Was that...her? And that was definitely Alice...When did these get here? Did Alice come into the room while she was sleeping?

     ...Then again, she did swear she heard movement in her sleep, but she figured it was a dream. ...Someone needs to stay more alert. Or maybe she was just tired.

     Putting that aside...there wasn't anything else there. Just the two dolls. How strange. "...." Silent still, Konoe's gaze remained locked onto the sight of the dolls for a moment longer. "Oh-" And then she realized.

     They were hugging, as well as smiling. This revelation kind of shocked her. Her eyes widened just a little, before a strange feeling she couldn't really describe began welling up in her chest. "........" She looked down, thinking to herself, and then her gaze returned to the dolls.

     And like that, she just stared at the two dolls for who knows how long. Eventually a knock at the door pulled Konoe out of her reverie. "Huh, wha-buh?" Frantically, the cat looked left and right, then towards the door. Tea time, huh?

     "....." Konoe stared at the two dolls again for a few seconds longer before finally getting out of bed and putting on her clothes. It wasn't much longer before she was out into the hallway. She followed the scent in the air till she found her way to the kitchen, stopping next to Sanary. Was this where they needed to be? "Hello, Shinki-sama, Yumeko-san, ...A-Alice-san."

     That last one was kind of awkward, wasn't it?
Reina Kinney     Having tagged along with Yuna, Reina Kinney had also been asleep in one of the rooms as well. She was out like a light, though for whatever reason she's not disclosing. Instead, she's just sleeping soundly in her beige and red pajamas until her communicator beeps a few times to indicate she should be up by now. "Hunh... ohh... OK! OK! Just turn off the buzzer!" Reina babbles as she rolls out of bed, somehow bringing her feet down before she rolls out completely. "Nngh... what do I do now?" Reina adds, expecting a response, until she remembers it's her pre-programmed alarm, though how she set it is beyond her at the moment. She yawns and stretches, before going for her uniform.

    After getting more decent and looking a bit more normal, Reina looks in the mirror at herself and does a double-take, realizing she doesn't look normal because she's not wearing her hair the usual way. Shaking her head, she reaches into her pants pocket to pull out a hair holder (or whatever you call them) as she takes her long red hair and applies the hair holder carefully, styling her hair so it no longer flows down to her waist but arches above and behind her in her usual ponytail. She then sets out to find the others.
Fayt Ravus     Yuna would hear Fayt speak up on the other end. "You... wait I'm going where now?" There's a pause before he says. "Well, it'll be one for the records I guess. I'll be there in a few minuits."

    True to his word. There'd be a knock at the front door to the castle a few minuits later, It's Fayt carrying what appears to be about two or three boxes of manjuu, as ordered. "Um... hello? I've got a delivery for a Yuna Kagurazaka? Can somebody take this?"
Tomoyo Daidouji     Tomoyo slept like a narcoleptic rock. The fact is, she usually goes without as much sleep as she should be getting, between school and work. And these past few days, she had been getting even less than that in preparation for Alice's play.

    It's probably a good thing she had told her bodyguards where she would be. Clearly they trust Alice enough at this point.

    She's learned to wake up quickly, so she's quickly able to ascertain her surroundings. She recognizes the dolls and smiles softly, before picking up that net-themed card and reading it, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks. "It wasn't that impressive, was it?..."

    She climbs out of the bed, and neatly remakes it like a good house guest. Her dress is a little creased from being slept in, but she does what she can to make it presentable again. Then, her ribbon is undone so she can do what she can with her hair. "Why did that trunk have to be so heavy?" she bemoans. The blanket would barely fly with it, she couldn't have brought anything else.

    Eventually, she leaves her room to find the castle's occupants, still looking a little bedraggled. The scent of cooking and... something else. Draws her to the kitchen too! "Good... morning? Everyone. Thank you for having me over~" she says, bowing to Alice, Shinki and Yumeko.
Arthur Lowell     ARTHUR LOWELL is here! He's been hanging out all day and possibly mooching after that fight. It's friendly mooching, though! Just on this side of obnoxious, as always for him. He's been up for a while -- how in the world did he set up a game console in that bedroom in just this small time? -- but he's heading on out! He's looking kinda beat up after that danmaku battle, especially his FINALE, but he's quite eager to get out there, head down, and grab a bit of tea, and some snacks. Arthur can't animate them the way Alice does by any means, but the little Arthur-doll has a gravity enchantment to float around him now. Time to swagger on down to wherever they serve tea in a castle like this!
Alice Margatroid     It seems the koakuma maids have done their job and they immediately go after the rooms to straighten them up, cleaning and working quickly. They stare at the game console Arthur left behind and leave it alone. Best not to mess with that magic, now. "Down the hall, down the stairs and follow the smell." they state, "Enjoy!"

    Back in the kitchen, Alice and Yumeko look at the godly-ungodly creation that is Shinki's Devil's Food Cake. The two exchange glances between each other, shaking their head in sync before sharing a laugh, "It .. it would probably do that." Yumeko comments, "I, I don't think we can serve that Mom... but.. if you want..."

    At the castle's door, it opens ominously and a couple of the koakuma answer it with a bow. "Welcome to Lady Shinki's castle..." when they pick themselves up, they eye Fayt. "Hey! It's the Magician who made my sister small!" The two make a grab for Fayt and, if successful, takes him and the goodies towards the gathering area near the kitchen. "How did you do that?!"

    Alice turns to hear Sanary's voice, shaking her head, "Nope, you go sit in the gathering hall and we'll be out shortly! It's time for us to be the house guests." her voice is quite cheerful, despite everything that happened, then Konoe makes her appearance. "Konoe." comes a stoic-with-a-hint-of-respect voice from Alice, "Take a seat, we'll be out there shortly." Tomoyo gets a much more enthusiastic response, "Tomoyo! You're welcome, least we could do right after kinda beating everyone up..." heh.. "Go have a seat, we're almost done."
Shinki     The scent of tea and various baked snacks comes from the kitchen. And just off the kitchen is the great dining hall of Akumakami Castle where the maid-akuma are carrying out the treats and drinks Yumeko and company are making. There's already quite the lavish spread of assorted things. Lots of traditional Japanese treats like dango and sweet buns, Alice's homemade pork buns, and even more western desserts like cupcakes. Two sharply dressed demons wander about with large serving trays, providing different kinds of tea when asked, smiling all the way.

    The kitchen door bursts open. Welling out around the crimson-clad figure in the center is a cloud of black smoke, which forms into sad, ghost-like shapes. These moan their way up to the ceiling and get swept out a high window by a breeze.

    Of course it's Shinki, holding a platter of her own. Upon it rests a double-stacked cake with chocolate icing, which she holds up with both hands, "Who wants a slice of Shinki's Devilish Devil's Food!? You'll never look at cake the same again once you've eaten cake made by the God of Makai~!"

    Lowering it again, she steps forth and mingles, trailed by two maid-dressed koa girls. These two dutifully slice and serve the cake Shinki holds out for them, while she catches up. "Miss Yuna, welcome to the land of the awake~! You made quite a showing, last night~. Please, have some cake." -- "Sanary~. You made it! What do you think of the reconstructed Demon World? It's nice, isn't it? Would you care for a slice?" -- "Konoe~chan~... Good morning! Are you youkai enough that chocolate is safe, would you like a piece?" -- "Reina, welcome back~! Why don't you have a slice?" -- "Mister Fayt, glad you could make it~. Please put those over there on the table, the Koakuma will help. Would you like some cake?" -- "Tomoyo~. I wanted to thank you for believing in my daughter so strongly, even if you had to fight against her now and then. Please enjoy a slice of my own recipe~." -- "God of Space." A short, respectful greeting and an offered plate with no further words.
Sanary Rondel      Sanary shuffles aside slightly to give Konoe some extra space, giving her a lazy nod . "Konoe, yeah? And Yumeko is..." She pauses to look into the room to make a positive identification, then back at Konoe, Arthur, and Tomoyo with a long stare.

     "... Yeesh. You guys look like shit. Gather 'round, kids." Laughing freely at that, the healer take a deep breath before holding her hands out. Green light starts to flow out from them as she directs healing magic around to the four of them! This time around, it's not functioning so much for wound restoration as it is focusing on energy-boosting and pain relief.

     She'll make sure Alice and Yumeko get their own doses of healy goodness once they're all in the hall, of course. "Heh.. Alright. Thanks, you two!" Lowering her hands and taking a moment to wiggle them out, she smiles cheerfully at Shinki. "Looks like a nice place. Lot more interesting than some other places I've been to." Another laugh later, and she peers at the slice of 'food' curiously. Of course, that's her stomach's cue to start rumbling. "That... Looks really good, actually. Yeah, I'll have some. Thanks~"

     And with that, she'll take a plate and get right to eating that substance! Regret is for the weak of heart.
Yuna Kagurazaka "Ah, Fayt!" Yuna calls out, waving to the 'stuffgetter' as she spots him in the great hall. "Thanks for bringing the manju all this way!"

Yuna greets the others as she runs into them, en route to where Shinki is serving cake. The vengeful spirits of innocent ingredients nearly make the blonde girl turn around and high-tail it out of there before she can make it to the serving line, mind you, but that would be *rude*.

And it would be just as rude to refuse the cake which is being served. "Ah, thank you!" she smiles, bowing politely to Shinki. "I didn't feel like I did all that well, honestly, but I'm glad you approve of my performance nonetheless ..."

So she has cake, and a moment or three later, she has tea as well. Yuna finds a seat at the table, settles in, and ...

Well. She doesn't want to be rude. And Elner would *presumably* warn her if the cake were poisonous enough for the robo-faerie, now returned from guiding Fayt for the manju delivery, to detect. It's not eating through the plate or anything, and when Yuna pokes it delicately with her fork, the silverware similarly fails to begin dissolving. So it's probably safe.

She takes a bite of devilishly-made cake ...
Marisa Kirisame     It's only tradition to have tea after a major incident! It's been that way for... Well, for forever- or for as long as Marisa's been in the business, anyway. 'Tea' is sometimes code for 'booze,' but nobody needs to worry about that.

And nobody, certainly, needs to know about that one time with that Hermit's precious sake-box.

    However, curiously, when Marisa's door is knocked upon, the magician isn't actually home! The little Marisa-doll that had been left there the previous night had gone missing, too, and the strange girl who had accompanied her had vanished along with the witch. Where could she possibly be?

                          **EARLIER THAT MORNING**                          

    All throughout Makai, its industrious, devilish residents start spooling up for a hard day's work. One in particular, let's call her Unfortunate Girl K, wakes up ready and revving to go! All that she needs to do is crawl out of her nice, warm, soft bed and throw herself under a shower-head for a little while. After that, a few more morning rituals, and it'll be time to start on a fresh day!

She gets through steps one through ten when she pulls open one of her drawers--

Only to find it... empty.

Empty now

like her morning

                                  **NOW**                                  

    The doors to the dining room are thrown open! They swing boldly out to either side, revealing a TRIUMPHANT BLACK-WHITE. One who looks like she didn't get much sleep, judging by the bags hanging low under each of her eyes. But that's fine! It was all totally worth it.

    "Mornin', Alice, Shinki, everyone~" Marisa chimes as she strolls in and immediately swerves towards the cakes. "Ooh," she chirps, hovering over THE DOOMCAKE, "Is that chocolate? Chocolate is awesome." Utterly ignorant of her doom, Marisa shovels a slice onto a plate and goes to sink into a seat, setting a hefty cloth sack at the foot of the chair. "So, everyone sleep okay?"
Reina Kinney     Reina accepts a slice of the cake and the tea as well. She's a little cautious about it though, since this whole place has given her the creeps since she first set foot in the world. She takes a seat as well, but doesn't eat right away, instead sipping her tea politely instead. For a moment, she ponders attempting to come up with an excuse as to why she shouldn't eat it, like she's on a strict dietary restriction as part of being in GUARDIANS or something. But then she remembers that it would be rude to take it then refuse it, and it might come off as being sarcastic too.

    "Well, you gotta indulge once in awhile I suppose," Reina says with a shrug after another moment of self debating, then she takes a small bite of the cake. She closes her eyes a little, wondering what kind of taste it will leave in her mouth. "Can't be worse than the rations I had to use during my initial training," She thinks to herself.
Fayt Ravus     Fayt, having not seen the cake come out eariler, and quite frankly having on idea what's going on, blinks as he finds himself being brought inside and offered cake. "Um... sure?" placing hte boxes down on the table where he was told, Fayt would go take a seat, hopefully by Yuna if possible. She calld him here after all.
Konoe Kanno      Konoe glanced at Sanary and blinked. "...Yes?" And then came the healing. How strange, being healed by someone else. She usually healed herself. But it wasn't unwelcome. Once it was done, she smiled a bit. "Thank you, Sanary-san."

     And then Shinki spoke. "Ah...I don't know. I've never tried?" She looked at the cake. ...It looked like charcoal. "....." Fear of Demon Mom outweighed fear of charcoal. "...I'll try." Why the hell not? The worst case scenario is that it tastes terrible and she throws her guts up. No big deal.

     She sighed and nodded at Alice before taking a slice of suspicious looking cake from Shinki. Then she turned away and moved to go have a seat at the table. Upon doing so, a certain WITCH arrived. "...Hello Marisa-san." She eyed the sack and confusion set in. ....What was all of that? Should she ask? Should she?

     Nah.

     Focusing on the cake before her, Konoe sunk a fork in and carefully took a bite.

     "......"
Tomoyo Daidouji     Tomoyo blinks blearily, needing a moment to process Shinki's words. "Oh... of course I believed in her. She's a very good friend," she says in a sleepy tone. Looking to Alice, she offers a delirious smile. "Oh, it's okay..." Clearly, she's still not 100 percent awake.

    Thankfully, Sanary is here to correct that issue! Again, Tomoyo doesn't really react to her words, but the magic quickly invigorates her! Violet eyes go from half-lidded to fully open as the last cobwebs in her brain are wiped away! "Ah! Thank you very much Sanary~" she says with a smile.

    Now that she's properly conscious, she looks around at the assembled. "Goodness, did everyone spend the night here? I'm sorry to impose on you like that," she says to the hosts. Watching as the spread is all put out, she feels a little guilty. "I know this is tradition, but I wanted to be able to bring something..." She looks a little glum. But maybe a slice of that cake will cheer her up! She takes off a little piece with her cake fork and nibbles it.
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna would be quite content to have Fayt sit next to her; his is one of the most familiar faces around the table, after all, although she's been getting to know the others who were caught up in the Makai Expansion situation.

Actually saying anything further at the moment is forestalled by CAKE, though. Shinki might have been right about never seeing cake the same way again; it's certainly delicious enough to lay Yuna's other fears to rest. (Elner's fears, maybe not so much ...)
Alice Margatroid     Alice and Yumeko sigh as the Demon Cake is placed and then distributed. The Maid and the Maid-Dressed exchange a glance and a shrug, taking a slice of the cake. "Don't be afraid, eat up. Yumeko and I did make most of this. Though as Marisa makes her way in, Alice eyes the bag... "All over Makai." she whispered, "Hi Marisa." she responds, then a turn to Tomoyo, "Yes, everyone stayed the night. Though the unconcious ones had no choice... we brought them here while I turned Wonderland "off". I'll turn it "on" again one day... but for now, it needs a rest."

    She turns to everyone else, "While we're here, I want to apologize for the... invasions I guess you would want to put it. I know it sounds like a silly idea for a tourist agency but... well. It was worth a second try at it. We'll try better at finding different ways to do the agencies. But not for a while, after that, I want things to die down for a bit... then maybe Mom and I can try once more."
Arthur Lowell     "YO, S'UP MAKAI GOD." Arthur says, giving a grin and some fingerguns to Shinki. He takes the plate up in a single flourishing gesture that actually involves it spinning around his finger for a moment before it slips down into his hand. At a bit of a distance. What was going ON in that kitchen?! He takes a seat somewhere near Sanary, smiling contentedly at the healing. "AHHHHHHH man, that HITS THE SPOT, THANKS!" He says, brightly! "Kinda BUSTED MYSELF UP with that LAST BIT, last night." He tries to get the cake somewhere in range of the healing. He feels sort of hopeful that, you know, maybe it'll put this back together. THe others seem to be trying it...

    Arthur's mind briefly weighs things. On one hand, he might eat charcoal. On the other hand, if he doesn't eat it, he won't be doing what all the /cool kids/ are doing. And in the end, the latter wins out. He sinks his fork in with subtle caution. "HELL YEAH, TOMO'. I mean, I was kinda... KO'D THERE for a bit, so seemed like the RIGHT THING TO DO. PLus, HEY, it's a CASTLE! CASTLES are BOSS. I'm not turnin' down an invitation like that, SHIT."

    As he experimentally approaches the idea of nibbling, Arthur replies to Alice. "Yo, NO HARD FEELINGS. Like I SAID BEFORE. Just, y'know, maybe less LETHALITY next time? Only thing I could GRUDGE ABOUT. Aside from THAT? Nah, YOU were jus' DOIN' YOU. I'm not gonna get WORKED UP over THAT. I'll be happy to KICK YOU OUT again NEXT TIME! I'm not the kinda dude that stresses out 'bout this stuff."
Shinki     "You fuss too much~," Shinki teases Alice over her shoulder. With the majority of the iced and stacked cake served out now, she holds out a hand and snaps her fingers. A fork is placed in it courtesy of a passing demon servant, which she uses to scoop right off the remaining, unserved cake carried beside her. This is held out to Alice meaningfully, "Try it~!" SHe's quite a bit insistent on it, like a mother trying to get a fussy child to eat broccoli.

    "They played with Alice in Makai's Wonderland last night," Shinki explains to Sanary while waving her fork at Alice, "Of course they're tired~!" Gesturing with her other hand, "Though Marisa looks the worst for wear, oh my~. Have you been up all night stealing ribbons from my devils?"

    Shinki relents wen Alice simply takes a full slice for herself, turning the fork around and eating its contents instead. Nom~. "It's hardly an imposition, Tomoyo~. Akumakami Castle is large, there were plenty of rooms we weren't using." Gesturing with her fork, "The rooms honestly are just for show. Between you and me and everyone else, the koakuma just sleep in a big heap like cats."

    "WE DO NOT--" someone objects from across the room, "--WE HAVE OUR OWN HOUSES..!"

    Eyes closing, the Demon God bobs her head back and forth, "Oh, yes, about that~. Given she had the most success, Louise is the one who I'll assign to ~talk~ about travel offices, in the future."
Reina Kinney     So far, nothing seems to have happened, so Reina continues to enjoy her cake casually, occasionally sipping her tea all the same. She doesn't say much for the time being, since she hasn't really been here long enough to understand as well as the others might. So she's just keeping to herself.
Fayt Ravus     Fayt gives a small nod as he taeks a piece of cake. "Thank you." As he hears alice speak up, he gives a small nod. "I'm not too upset about the invasion, there wasn't too much damage, Still kinda sorry about that little accident, hopefully that wore off without too much trouble." Taking biteo f his cake, Fayt lets out a sigh as he remembers. A bunch of people, himself included, shrunk down for awhile due to a litlte magicla mishap.

    Stupid Chaos.
Yuna Kagurazaka Somewhere in the Multiverse, Xiaomu abruptly sneezes.

Meanwhile, Yuna asks Shinki in between bites of cake, "So you're still looking to open travel agency offices in other worlds?" She pauses for another bite, considering. "You might have more luck with a chain of bakeries or something ... I still don't quite understand why luring unsuspecting mortals into visiting Makai helps you directly other than the economy, and bakeries would probably have an easier time turning a profit. Or you could just bake the cakes here and hire somebody like Fayt to deliver them across the Multiverse ... ?" she suggests.

And has another bite of cake.
Sanary Rondel      In retrospect, it probably would have been a good idea for Sanary to wait until she was seated before taking a bite out of that cake. Alas, she's not functioning at 100% capacity tonight, but at least it doesn't taste half bad. She even manages a grin and nod of acknowledgment at Konoe and Tomoyo before taking a seat and cup of tea for herself.

     "Mmph.. Explains a lot. That bed /was/ pretty comfortable, though. Wouldn't mind renting a room out here for vacations, even." Chuckling lightly at Tomoyo and Arthur, the healer munches on some more of the cake before leaning back in her seat and taking a sip of the tea. "Hey, at least you two probably got to see all of it. I just... I can't remember most of it at all."

     Should she be worried about that? Maybe, but she isn't.

     The apology from Alice draws a light shrug from Sanary, followed by a mischievous grin. "Don't worry about it. No big damage done as far as I know, and..."

     She pauses for a moment, then peers at Alice and Shinki while taking another bite of cake. "Mmrph.. Ah. I'm not in charge of anything, but I could set you two up with some people I know if you're looking to get some land for travel agencies. With official paperwork, even!"
Marisa Kirisame     "Not just ribbons!" Marisa flashes a wicked grin! "Hairpins! Hairclips! Headbands and more! I've got them all, as promised." Though she couldn't actually steal from every single house in just one night. That's something a little bit beyond her humble abilities. "I did promise, after all."

    "The neff time you guys try someffing like thiff," the witch says from around a mouthful of DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE. Mercifully, Marisa swallows before continuing, "Tell people, kay? I don't get why it had to be a big secretive *~THING~* 'cause it looked pretty innoccuous overall, in hindsight. So."

A VOICE GOES UP. Marisa jabs in the unfortunate Koakuma's direction with the prongs of her fork. "Yeah. What she said. I should know!"

(Because she broke into so many last night)

"Anyway, I might hang out for a day or two if that's okay," she says, shrugging, "Might as well do some reading while I'm down here, right?"
Tomoyo Daidouji     Tomoyo looks to Arthur and Alice as they explain. "Well, as long as it wasn't just me~ Thank you Miss Shinki" She pays close attention to Alice's apology. So, it was all for tourism... Tomoyo can appreciate that. "Makai is a wonderful place~ I'm sure if you spread the word in a less... destructive way, people would come to visit."

    She takes another bite of the cake, glancing over at Sanary. "Oh dear... I wish I had been able to bring a camera so you could see it. It was wonderful~" Her eyes light up as she begins to describe it. "Alice had all these special dolls. There was one that looked like Marisa, and another that looked like Sanae. They all had these special bullets too!"

    As she overhears what Marisa did last night, she gasps in exaggerated shock. "Miss Marisa! To snatch away a maiden's accessories..." She takes a napkin and dabs at her eyes with it at the sheer humanity.
Konoe Kanno      "......"

     Look at all of this nonsense going on. Now that it was all over and there were no more ofuda to be thrown at koakuma, Konoe was just quiet. She was really bad at these kinds of situations. Rather than say anything, she just watched everyone. Her gaze slowly sweeping across all present, taking in their conversations with a faint bit of amusement.

     And then she took another bite of her cake.

     Well, she didn't feel like throwing up. And it tasted rather good. Maybe she was youkai enough to deal with chocolate. ...Maybe.

     Hopefully.
Alice Margatroid     "A bakery?" One could almost SEE the gears turning in Alice and Yumeko's head as they say the exact same thing at the exact same time.. and with a fist in palm, together... "That sounds like a WONDERFUL idea!" a pause, "But Yumeko won't be opening the first store... if you don't mind, I'd like to head up talks with your Goddess or God of Shiraokadai." Alice starts, "Either me or Louise." she smiled, with a frown from Yumeko, "It was just ONE TIME Alice..." Alice shakes her head and laughs lightly, "Yes but after that I need to calm things down."

    "Well, I.." Alice starts, holding up her own cake to Shinki, before turning back, "Well, we won't mind if you wanted to rent out a room. Just don't leave it a mess or Yumeko will come after you." a grin comes from the Dollmaker and Yumeko gets this 'I'll hunt you down' look.

    Marisa gets a look, shaking her head, "I'll have to make some more for them now and I guess, as long as you don't steal any more accessories. You know how long it took me and Yumeko to make that many?! she shakes her head and turns to Tomoyo, "I might be able to make those dolls again but, that was... an effort. I don't think I could recreate them as they were for another few months. But... they were very special and all of them had a meaning for me.

    Konoe gets a look and the maid-dressed dollmaker starts walking over, sitting next to the miko-cat. She turns away and snakes a hand behind her and draws her into a tenative hug. "Fake miko... Thanks."
Arthur Lowell     "Mmmph. Wow, what the HELL? MMM." Arthur eagerly bites into the cake. "Lady, I don't know what the FUCK is goin' on with these CAKE AESTHETICS but you make a HELL OF A CAKE." Arthur says, grabbing a bite with palpable eagerness. Thank god for peer pressure!! "HUH, so you got TONS of EMPTY ROOMS just for show TOO? Sounds kinda like MY PLACE, jus' less VERTICAL, and more FUN, and generally LESS AWFUL. And, YEAH, try out the TALKIN' first. DAMN THOUGH, with places like THIS, can't have a HARD TIME getting some TRAVEL up ins."
Fayt Ravus     "Huh?" Fayt looking up from his cake as Yuna mentions his name. Quickly he glances between Yuna and Alice, sounding just a bit worried. "What are you two dragging me into?"
Arthur Lowell     Arthur gestures over at Tomoyo and Sanary. "See, like THIS is what I'm talkin' about. Shit be HELLA FRIENDLY FOR TRAVEL, just gotta kinda... NOT get WORKED UP about FIGHTS, I guess. Man, though, you are NOT the FIGHTS TYPE, kid." That's particularly to Tomoyo. "You got some GUTS gettin' OUT THERE on the FIELD without some PAIN to BRING. Not gonna try to FIGURE if you're runnin' somethin' SMART or somethin' REALLY, REALLY STUPID, 'cause EITHER WAY it's on a WHOLE 'NOTHER LEVEL from what I DO, TOMO." That's a weird kind of respect from him.

    Then, he's aside to Sanary. "MAN, you should'a SEEN IT, yeah! It was AWESOME! God DAMN, I've done my share of some GIGA WING shit, lil' DANMAKU around SBURB, but THAT was BANANAS CRAZY. You gotta GET ALL IN ON THIS SHIT the NEXT TIME you CAN."
Marisa Kirisame     "Relax, relax. I won't need to take any more if you guys don't pull something like that again. That SAID," Something that can only be described as 'absolute evil' creeps into Marisa's grin. Her eyes glint deviously amidst the ENTIRELY ATMOSPHERIC shadow cast by her broad hat. "If I do need to do this again someday, I won't just be taking their ribbons."

WHAT A TERRIBLE GIRL.

    "It's the best punishment," Marisa nods at Tomoyo. "Basically harmless, and yet completely DETESTABLE and incredibly obnoxious. And it's not like I took anything that can't be replaced, right?" A long, loooong sip of tea ensues.

"Oh also," she adds, "Celly wanted some, so I kind of had to."
Arthur Lowell     Arthur grins wide at Alice. "WOW, what with the CUTE MAID GETUP an' shit, this all looks like a REAL DEAL IDEA you got. HEY, you wanna GIVE IT A SHOT, we can ALWAYS use some more COMMERCE around AFTERUS, gotta keep that SYNDICATE goin'. Go ahead and DROP BY, you could GIVE IT A SHOT." He gives her the double-fingerguns again.
Alice Margatroid     "I made her wear it." Yumeko perks up at Arthur. "If Lady Alice is going to help in the kitchen and make things, she's going to be dressed properly for the occasion! Lady Shinki is an exception because she's my boss. I couldn't put her in a maid outfit if I tried." a pause, "But I could spare a few koakuma to open up a bakery in Afterus. Come to think of it, a few didn't show up after that, did they stay there, Arthur?" the head maid of the demon god questions.
Konoe Kanno      Konoe was content to just stay quiet and eat her cake without drawing attention to herself, but she noticed Alice come over, her eyes following the maid/dollmaker till she sat down next to her. "....?" Suspicion set in at first when Alice brought an arm around her, and then even more once she was pulled into a hug.

     "...???"

     Normally, she'd flail and resist close contact as much as possible, but...she thought back to the sight of the two dolls she left in the room she was borrowing. ...They looked so happy. Maybe somewhere deep down, she wanted that too? Maybe. After a long bout of wordlessness, and with cheeks tinged red in embarrassment, Konoe closed her eyes and reciprocated. She brought her arms around Alice's waist as she returned the gesture.

     "Don't thank me. ...I was worried about you. Maybe I didn't...handle things that well, but..." She trailed off, saying nothing else.
Yuna Kagurazaka "I don't think Shiraokadai has a specific patron deity you could talk to," Yuna says uncertainly to Alice. "I'll ask around, though - there should be a main shrine that you can inquire at ... I should probably come with you, though."

Yuna actually stops eating. Partly it's because there's only one bite of cake left on her plate, but she's also taking a step back and looking at what she just said. She knows consciously that she has *met* a couple of people who qualify, by one definition or another, as gods or goddesses. Arthur himself is a God of Space and has powers which back that title up pretty effectively, for just one example who's right here in the same room.

Of course, just because Yuna is on speaking terms with a couple of bona fide deities doesn't mean she prays to them or anything - she has her beliefs, and she's comfortable with them - but the idea that you can 'make conversation' with a god or goddess, outside of the familiar religious context of prayer ...

Well. It bears some further consideration. For now, Yuna just tries to remind herself to make good on her promise to investigate for Alice's benefit (and to go to the shrine, or church, or temple, with her, to make sure nothing goes wrong).

She finishes her cake while she's thinking about it. Surely no god who values the happiness of the people in his/her domain is going to forbid such delicious cakes from being baked and sold there?
Reina Kinney     Meanwhile having finished her cake and tea, Reina looks around, almost like she's expecting something unusual to happen. When that doesn't happen, she simply pretends to be listening to whatever conversation is happening at hand. Maybe there was nothing wrong after all?
Sanary Rondel      "Aw... Shame I missed it. Well, there's always future duels! Danmaku fights, maybe even exhibition matches." As with Alice and Yumeko, the gears are turning in Sanary's head as well! "Could get some flashy costumes on, charge for tickets... That'd probably help with the tourism thing, too, yeah?" The cleric raises an eyebrow at Shinki suggestively, then at Tomoyo and Arthur with a grin. "Eh? Eh?" The topic of deities goes untouched, of course.

     Not suggestive in /that/ way, of course. She's only got business on her mind in that regard! The eyebrow raising directed at Marisa after Tomoyo's comment, though? It's definitely in that way. "Marisa? That's... W-well. That explains some of the stuff you've said to me before, then."

     She's clearly trying to hide a smirk behind her napkin while she dabs at her mouth. It is a little easier with Alice's grin and the look from Yumeko, though, and she does put the napkin back down soon enough. "Er.. Don't worry. I'm good with keeping rooms clean! I mean, unless someone attacks me in there. Then..."

     Thankfully, she doesn't finish that thought, too busy being distracted by more cake crammed into her face and that moment between Alice and Konoe. She even awws quietly at that hug!
Shinki     "When you say 'lure hapless people in', you make it sound so sinister~," Shinki teases towards Yuna, "All we wanted to do was create interest and draw tourism~! It does so much more tan bring in money, though." Eyes closing, she bobs her head from side to side, "Of course people buy souveniers and services, but it also creates a sense of pride, don't you think~? My devils will be more motivated to keep Makai in good shape!"

    The Demon God shrugs lightly, "But I can't just make people do what I want, either way..." One eye opens towards Arthur, "You think so~? But I only make it for special occasions, it'd be silly to sell them as a product, I think." Eyes closing, she folds her arms, "And I don't trust the Koakuma to make it right, either. Yumeko... Maybe~. But my lesser children, not in the least!"

    To Marisa, she opens her eyes again, "Hmm~? But don't you think the secrecy made it more exciting?" That air-headed smile returns and her head resumes its metronome, "We all had a lot of fun, in the end, and that's what matters~."

    "Ah, but fighting is half the fun!"
Tomoyo Daidouji     "A bakery sounds like a wonderful idea~ Especially if it sells this cake," Tomoyo chimes in. She reaches to take one of Alice's pork buns and daintily bites into it. As Alice goes to extend the olive branch to Konoe who accepts it, a smile crosses her face. "You two are such wonderful friends~" she says. She had been really worried about Alice when they first met, having pegged her as some friendless hikikomori.

    She's very happy this is not the case.

    But, Arthur speaks a certain truth to her. "Oh, I've been told that~" she says, unafraid to admit it. "But I was worried about Alice, so I couldn't just stand aside and do nothing. And even though it got resolved, she wanted to show everyone what she had planned. So I went to do the same~" She doesn't have anything to say to that last comment. She would like it to be the former... but maybe it is just the latter.

    "Even if it is foolish of me, I only do things that will let me live with myself. Besides, everyone starts somewhere Arthur~ From what I've heard, you weren't always this bombastic god." But, back to Marisa and her awful doings. "I suppose..." she mutters, still looking less than pleased. "But some of them might have had nothing to do with the invasions. You're punishing the innocent simply through association."

    Her eyes suddenly snap towards Sanary when she mentions 'costumes.' "From what I've seen, everyone from this world is spectacularly dressed~ But if they needed help with outfits, I'd be happy to lend a hand~"
Alice Margatroid     Alice finally turns her face towards the Neko Miko.. "You? Worried about me? Did I suddenly become a bakeneko now?" she checks her head for cat ears and her rear for a tail. "NOpe, not yet at least. But you did good, Konoe. You did good. Finally straying on your own path now to make an identity for yourself. Keep it up. Maybe one day... you'll even have a shrine of your own. Wouldn't you like that?"

    She turns to Arthur, "What Yumeko said. Had to wear this a lot back in my younger days. Cleaning this castle took days. And I wasn't allowed to fly. Come to think of it, I couldn't fly a long time ago. At least, before I met Marisa and the rest."

    Alice lets go of the Neko Miko and turns to Tomoyo, "I wouldn't call it friends, but an amiacable relationship borne through danmaku." a pause, isn't that how Marisa and Alice got together? "But... she's still welcome to sleep on my Guest Bedroom now instead of the couch." upgrade get?

    Alice turns to Shinki and she shakes her head, "We'll have a main branch here and sattelite branches everywhere else, starting with Yuna's and Arthur's world. Assuming I get the permission from the local gods." a pause, a look to Arthur and a bright smile, "I'll talk later about it."

    As costumes are mentioned, she shakes her head, "I'm happy with my normal outfit, I don't think costumes would work well for me but then again, I haven't seen anything that Tomoyo made. I might have to make a trade with her..."
Konoe Kanno      "No, but...Hehe, forget it." She shook her head and let it go, chuckling to herself. "Thank you. I'm trying. Hakurei's spellcards and abilities are stuck in my mind whether I like it or not, but...I can still try and do something different with them." Apparently having been very needing of close contact, she hugged Alice a little tighter. "My own shrine? That's funny. I'd need to find a god to serve first. And those aren't just wandering around..."

     Right about then, Tomoyo comments, and Konoe promptly releases Alice in a rush. "W-We're not friends! We're just...yeah, what she said!" That was directed at Tomoyo, face still red. Someone was bad at interpersonal relationships. Or being honest. Or both.

     At the mention of being able to use the guest bedroom, the cat's ear's twitched rapidly. "Eh? Really? I can use the bed?" ...Someone was simple if that much excited them.

     She was going to shed on it.
Marisa Kirisame     "Careful now," Marisa snickers over at the CUDDLEPILE. "That's how Alices claim their property, you know?" Or was that cats? Well, whatever! Works out one way or another. "Anyway, I'd talk about opening a bakery in Gensokyo, buuuuut we don't exactly have much in the way of local wheat. Or population."

"Might be able to ask Yuuka about the wheat thing though. Hm."

    "Annnnnd I'm not exactly sure how it's 'punishment.' I mean, Alice and Shinki 're the ones who're gonna replace 'em now, right? So it's more of a slap on their wrists." Judging by how she's practically sprawled across the back of her chair like some kind of thieving, many-armed THING, the amount of remorse she feels is prooobably somewhere near zero.

Probably.

Or maybe she has other plans?

    "Well, anyway," she sniffs towards Shinki, "It might've been more 'exciting,' but it's a pain in the ass, too! I was running all over the place trying to figure out what was going on, you know? Jeez."
Shinki     "I'll pass on asking Kazami for anything, if you don't mind~," Shinki states with her eyes closed, "She and Mima, old spirits set in their ways aren't likely to be as forgiving as questionably motivated girls~. I'd rather not tempt fate, you know? But watching you run around was so entertaining~!"

    "You're all so insistent on a bakery, though~... I'll give it thought, then!"

    Raising her hands, Shinki claps them together once, then spreads them apart with just her fingertips touching, "Unrelated to all of that, Tomoyo~. I wanted to congratulate you. An ordinary human girl with no power of her own has found a power inside." Bowing slightly, she adds, "I feel like you can do a great many other things, now~! So please ensure your path is an interesting and fun one." Straightening, she adds, "You may rely on a magic blanket to fly for now, but I know a girl who once had to ride on a youkai turtle, and now can fly through the sky without a care~. Never lose sight of that dream, Tomoyo."
Arthur Lowell     "HEHEHEHEH." Arthur laughs a bit at Yumeko. "REALLY now, huh? Guess we're not through with the OUTFITS quite YET. Somethin' IRONIC here, DOLLMAKER bein' the one gettin' DRESSED UP." He laughs a bit more, but it's a good-natured laugh! He's not making fun of Alice. Well, no, maybe a little, but he's MOSTLY not making fun of Alice. "Sounds like a WEIRD CHILDHOOD. Well, you TURNED OUT ALRIGHT! Oh, HEY, workin' on the BRANCH STUFF? SURE! We'll get it FIGURED OUT."
Arthur Lowell     Sanary gets a contemplative look. "Well HEY, sounds like that'd DRAW UP THEM CROWDS. I'm not the COSTUME kinda guy, but I bring the PARTY when it comes to FLASH, yo. Gotta get that shit DRAMATIC. Know EXACTLY what you mean, would be GREAT!" And then, Tomoyo! "Well SURE, wasn't always a GOD, but I dropped the MAD FLOW since FOREVER, girl! Never been DIFFERENT!" Then he stops chowing on his cake and seems to take a little more of a mature look. "Yeah, you gotta do you. Might put you a little closer to dying, but living like that's better than living any other way. It's a good choice, whether or not it turns out stupid. Stick to it, kiddo."
Tomoyo Daidouji     Tomoyo doesn't say anything more to Alice and Konoe. Just smiles pleasantly, lifts a hand to her mouth and lets out a knowing "O ho ho ho ho~" They can't fool her, she has too much experience dealing with this kind of a relationship.

    To Marisa, she gives a long stare. "Maybe..." In her mind, she's mulling over the cost of replacing all those hair decorations. Could she afford to do it for free, or maybe at a huge discount. But then, Shinki's praise reaches her ears, and brings a warm flush to her cheeks. "Oh, well... I wouldn't have been able to do any of that without the help of Shanghai and Hourai," she says in a humble tone.

    But she can't keep that note of pride from her voice.

    "But thank you Miss Shinki~" she adds, wondering who she meant by that person who rode a youkai turtle. "I'll keep doing my best." Arthur makes her giggle softly. She really can't imagine him talking any other way... which makes his following statement all the more startling. She stares, showing a confused expression. "Yes, of course..." she murmurs. Clearly there is more to him than bravado and LOUD.
Alice Margatroid     Alice turns to Tomoyo at the laugh, shaking her head, "If you read my note I left, Tomoyo. I'll be glad to show you how to use the dolls properly. Hourai and Shanghai told me they worked your hands to the bone to learn how to do that. I'll have a talk with them a bit later on not pushing people like that but Mother's right. Reimu used to ride a turtle before she could fly on her own." a pause, "I think you have a BIT of magic in you... you just don't know it yet."

    She turns to Arthur, shaking her head, "Well, when you're in your mother's house... and your elder sister.. well as close to a sister as I will ever get... is a maid. You kind of don't have a choice. Not that I mind, it's comfortable." she grins, "Weird childhood? I suppose so. When you spent part of your life as human and become a youkai after a while, but of course, you know about that. Human to a God."

    Alice leans over just slightly and ruffles Konoe's ears, "You can use the bed, just don't shed on it. Cat hair is hard to get out. But with the new room, you're going to have to put in some work. The lawn constantly needs attention and the fairies like to play around."

    When Kazami is mentioned, she gives a nod, "I'd rather not talk to her. I even try to avoid flying over her field. She's... scary. And I've faced her in a danmaku fight. I don't want to do that again." Alice shudders and shakes her head, "For now, I think we should finish the rest of these snacks before they get cold..."
Konoe Kanno      Oh boy.

     Work.

     Konoe could feel the laziness weighing down her soul already.

     /Work/.

     Speaking of shedding, she was tired and she had a bed to go continue shedding on in the castle. That in mind, she stood up, pushing her plate forward a tad to denote that she was finished. "I'm still a bit tired, so...I'm going to go and sleep some more." She bowed a bit after that.

     "Thank you for having me and sorry for the trouble." And then she was off.
Alice Margatroid     The party continued through the night and into the next day. Food was had and drink and stories to share.

    The Dollmaker and her Mother set out to do one thing and while beat back, the two had gained some insight about the world around, the Multiverse had many interesting things to see and do.

    The prospect of the bakeries now linger in Makai's mind and Alice is once again smiling brightly.

    The people around the table and the people who couldn't make it, Alice resolved to do something more for them. "With some of the Koakuma left behind, i've given them one last order. Not of chaos but of cheer."

    Only what could be known about that... the news reports will show.

    GOOD END #2 - Peaceful resolutions are great, aren't they? Next time, try Phantasm stage!