[video]

[notvitiligo]

[Jessica sits in the orchard, a sugar skull in hand. She glares at the mirror.]

OK, this? Isn't funny. For a lot of reasons.

This is a new low for whoever is in charge. Consider this an official complaint.

Comments

[cobbledtogether]

...Gal is gone?

[Considering how muted her expressions generally are, it might be hard to tell, but Lambda's face falls a little. She probably doesn't even realize it herself, despite the unfamiliar sharp feeling in her gut that appears for a moment.]

[notvitiligo]

[She sighs.] Yeah.

Sorry.

[cobbledtogether]

[Oh. Her gaze falls a little.]

...No. An apology is not required. [...] The skulls are...in poor taste because of the presence of the names?

[notvitiligo]

[She lets the skull rest in her lap, looking down at the name.]

Yeah. Reminding us of people that aren't here, and...

It's like it's saying they're dead. Which, y'know, they may as well be, but still...

[Sigh.]

I guess it's not the most logical thing ever.

[cobbledtogether]

No. Akiha-sama has already explained to me that skeletons are considered distasteful due to their association with death.

[So whether or not it's logical is irrelevant to her. She's pretty willing to go along with the social mores she has been taught.]

[notvitiligo]

I wouldn't have a problem if it weren't for the name thing.

It's like... it's like saying we'll never see someone again.

I don't... really want to be reminded, you know?

[She swallows the hoarseness out of her voice. Her throat stings.]

[cobbledtogether]

Gal has vanished and returned before.

[It might be meant as comforting, but she says it pretty bluntly, so it's hard to be sure. It's just a fact, though she can't say how likely a repeat performance is.]

[notvitiligo]

[Jessica has no room to complain about bluntness.]

Yeah... But you never know.

It's the thing I hate the most about this place, you know? No way to know anything.

[cobbledtogether]

Yes. The high degree of unpredictability causes difficulty in making accurate predictions.

[notvitiligo]

That's one way of putting it. And the fact that you can't really get anything out of the people in charge. And nothing's testable.

Almost nothing, anyway.