beatojuice | Noctium Inbox

Miss Beato.
Are you, by any chance, in a position to offer a favor?
I appear to be stuck in a closet of some sort.

oh godd oh shit
are you okay
your not still in the closet are you
im so sorry yesterday got really weird and icant remember it well
after a point i stoped cheking mey phone

Am I? Who can say?
Why, perhaps I'm still stuck in that closet even now!

[ she isn't. she's being mean. ]

Miss Beato, you really should check your phone more often...
If I weren't such a resourceful young lady, you would have much to answer for right now!

[ This Beato is... different. She talks nothing like she did before, or like she had in that dream. ]

im so so sortry
i want yu and rika-ssna to be happy so bad yo buoth deserve it so much
and i show up all drunk and sreppresed
i was so happy dor yu and so jeaouls
im just a disginsting lush
i hoep i didnt make it weird
fuck i probably made it wierd
i really am so happt for tou two
please make her happy okay datpko-san

[ She figures its probably just Satoko being Satoko, but she feels obliged to offer what meager help she can in her miserable state. It's the least she could do after showing up at their ceremony drunk, after cursing their love inside her heart and all of the other people that were happy on that night. ]

i can try an gall somebody to get yo out
but it sounds like uor okay
im happy
plees be happy with roka-san okay

[ what in the heavens' name is this. what is happening. who has abducted her good friend and witch, miss beato? even in the dream, staring at each others' naked sins, it had been nothing like this. ]

Please, calm yourself.
I am fine. I will continue to be fine.
You were drunk to a displeasing level, yes, but so was nearly everyone else.
Miss Rena likely remembers nothing about the celebration, and she knows just how little fondness I hold for the stuff.
You aren't disgusting, you certainly aren't as much of a lush as Mr. Chuuya, and you hardly made any of this any stranger than it already is.

And...
If you don't mind, let's not talk about what either of us deserves.
Any of us, Rika included.

[ She really was pitiful right now. She had to get it together, stop losing it like this. Stop with this disgusting self-pity. But it was so hard to hold back when her entire body was screaming at her in the throes of a bender she couldn't even remember. It was disgusting. She really did have her fathers cursed blood, and for a couple minutes, she feels even worse, familiar self loathing rising like bile along with the hangover.

But she'd at least managed to get back on her feet, get some water. It's several minutes before she replies; she took a quick shower and finally got herself changed. She's starting to feel something approaching alive, and her next response is more composed. ]

I'm sorry. If I knew that you didn't care for drinking, I wouldn't have done it.
I don't think very highly of it either. I apologize for my moment of weakness.

You're right of course. It goes against what I said. I'll put it another way, then. I want you and Rika-san to be happy.

[ For a while she accepted that inhumanity gladly. Let herself kill, let herself create a gruesome game of murder. Even carrying guilt and sorrow, she did not hesitate. ]

But I can't help it sometimes. I really hate what I did.

Anyway, I don't really get it. It seems like everybody had a strange time yesterday, and I got into a particularly wild mood.
Are you well?

Oh, for heavens' sake!
I said I was fine, did I not?
We are on good terms, and that is that!

[ even if it. absolutely does not sound like it. ]

I suppose I can accept that, at least.
After all, it's natural to want the best for your friends, yes?

We're friends?

That is to say, I agree completely! Friendship between witches is a mysterious and powerful thing indeed! I would curse any foe for my peer, the great witch Satoko!

[ Well, there's no taking back having said that. ]

Edited 2021-06-21 02:28 (UTC)

Precisely! I'm glad you understand, Miss Beato. Why, there are things I can tell you that I've not even told Rika!
So don't make such vulgar assumptions as us not being friends.
I may have only met you recently, but you are as true a friend as any!

[ Well that was good. She was afraid that she would drive off one of the only people that understood her. Who was, apparently, her friend. She had seperated herself from humanity for so long, even before becoming a witch, that the idea was somewhat startling to her.

But it felt good? ]

What a pleasant thing to be held in the esteem of a great witch.
I, admit that my position was such that finding true confidantes proved a challenge.
Would you like to come to my lodging? We have not spoken between witches since that most peculiar of dreams.

[ She's feeling lonely, okay? ]

[ see that? that's why you're friends, beato. because you pat her ass so very nicely. ]

Of course! I'm still in the process of recovering from the past few days' festivities...
But it's hardly enough to keep me from seeing a dear friend.
Is now alright? Rika's out and about for the day, so I've nothing better to do...

[ She's really a pretty nice person when she isn't trapping people in eternal games or doing murders! And she wants friends so bad. Ones she hasn't created through magic. ]

Yes, that would be splendid indeed.

[ Maybe if she were in better spirits she'd tease about being surprised that two lovers who just had a ceremony like that are apart at all on a tropical vacation. But she didn't really want to poke at her jealousy again, and on reflection, it's obvious that the pair had a lot to still work through.

Satoko probably felt lonely today too. Beato was too emotionally exhausted to muster up much outrage on her friend's behalf, but it seemed like Rika was still Rika.

So she tells Satoko her address, really just a short walk down the beach. When Satoko is at the door, she opens up, looking... somewhat different. Definitely very un-witchlike in an oversized souvenir t-shirt ("Filia? I hardly met 'er!"), sweatpants and flip-flops. To say nothing of having the body from their dream. ]

Thank you for joining me. Um, I don't actually have much to do either. I have snacks and tea, though!

Edited 2021-06-21 05:23 (UTC)

[ well, this wasn't what she expected. there's a clear sort of surprise on satoko's face, but not an unwelcome one; it only takes a moment before she smiles brightly up at the other woman. ]

Miss Sayo! I'd not expected to see you, ah.... [ like this, she nearly says. but that doesn't seem quite right? besides, it's not the woman's appearance that's the issue, it's seeing it outside a dream. so she stutters on her word, and hems and haws for a moment, before finally settling on: ] Well, you know!

[ There's a sort of fussy uncertainty on her face, and her fingers don't stop fidgeting and smoothing over her clothes. She's plainly nervous, still insecure at being seen in this form not as Shannon or Kanon but as herself. She'd thought that she never wanted to reveal it to anybody again, to try as much as possible to act like it did not exist. But for some reason being seen as Sayo by Satoko, not the soft sanitized creature she'd shown George, but this had made her feel something she wasn't sure how to describe. She'd shown herself to Battler once their game had concluded, but that was very different. Wasn't it? ]

Ah, If it bothers you, I'll change back. Cinderella will put her gown back on.

[ What Satoko said had gotten to her. Friends. Sayo looks tired and fragile and certainly under the weather, but alive and animated and warm, all fidgets and nervous laughs. ]

I just, um, wanted you to see that this was... r-real. It's different to see something like that in a dream, I think, so!

[ But seeing such a pleasant smile for this face felt like nostalgia for a thing she never experienced. After she had cried and raged and cursed love and dried to drink herself into oblivion, she clings to that smile all the tighter. ]

Ah, a gesture of, um, friendship suiting the Endless Witch! Or so forth.

Edited 2021-06-21 20:37 (UTC)

Oh, what nonsense! It was just a surprise, that's all. [ satoko doesn't even think twice about her answer, stepping in and quickly removing her shoes. ] This is how you wanted to look today, isn't it? Then you shouldn't have to take it back!

[ as always, things are so simple when satoko says them. a shame that the truth of a situation often isn't so black and white. her shoes finally off, she wanders further in...

...straight into sayo's kitchen, where she sets a bag on the counter and starts unpacking it. ]

It's hardly worth mentioning- [ -she sets two bento boxes, or at least something approaching them, out- ] -but I did make some food earlier in the day. I assume you weren't in a position to cook this morning, yes?

Right, ah, indeed. Merely the whim of the fickle Golden Witch. [ Her voice lowers as she adopts the rude yet haughty speech patterns of the witch yet again, but it's even more stilted and artificial sounding than usual. ] I do whatever I please!

[ Beato removes her sandals, unsure of why she put them on just to greet a guest, eyebrows raised at Satoko's destination. The boxes come out and that shaky facade of confidence cracks again, and she's just a depressed, hungover girl showing the most vulnerable side of herself to a new friend. She doesn't think she's ever had anybody want to take care of like this, or at least not act on it so directly. Before she can do anything tears are already coming to her eyes. God she's pathetic. ]

T-That's, you really didn't have to— I, ah, got something from the food stalls, um-

Hmm? If you're worried about my cooking, I'll have you know I'm more than capable enough! Perhaps I'm not at your level, or Rika's, but I'm certainly not as bad as whatever it is you're expecting!

[ she sounds huffy for all of five seconds. and that's when she turns to sayo and sees- well, everything. her body language, her expression, the tears in her eyes. satoko gapes like a fish out of water for a moment, finally stumbling for words. ]

Ah- Miss Sayo? Are you, um... [ a beat. ] We can stick to the stalls, if you'd prefer?

N-No, you misunderstand, ah—

[ Well, this was just wonderful. She's already so wretched, lovelorn and self-loathing and hungover and disgusting and now her friend thinks she's talking down to her, shunning her. Why did she do this? Why is she so bad at this? No, she can't let everything fall apart around her. She was free now. She wanted to live. She just had a bad couple days, right? It wouldn't just be like this forever, right? She takes a shaky breath.]

I-I think, that was very kind of you. Th, thank you. I just felt that, ah, well, I'm not used to these sort of gestures. It, ah, it actually makes me... quite pleased? I would, er, l-love to have some, truly.

Edited 2021-06-22 07:28 (UTC)

[ the concern on satoko's face is evident, etched into every pore as sayo tries to collect herself. but if satoko understands anything, especially after these past hundred years, it's this: sometimes, the kindest thing one can do is not call attention to these things as they happen.

(even if it's hard for her to understand. even if she would want to be held, right now.) ]

It's... Thank you, but it really isn't so magnanimous a gesture as that. In truth, I made this for Rika, before I knew she wouldn't be around.

[ there's a sadness of her own hidden away in her voice - both for the way her partner seems to have disregarded their vows to one another and for the way she might have misrepresented herself to one of the few friends she can speak to. ]

[ Sayo's heart sinks ever so slightly. Of course it was too much to hope for that anybody would put that much thought in. But it was okay. Her friend had no way of knowing the state she'd be in, and in any case just this was more care than most people she'd known had shown her. Even the fact that Satoko had apologized like that lifted her spirits. As far as she knew the other witch wasn't clairvoyant. So this was indeed a great kindness. She wipes her tears with the back of a hand, offering a shaky smile. She does want to be comforted, wants to be held. But she certainly didn't want cloying pity either, so Satoko's discretion was a relief.]

No, I— truly, thank you for thinking of me. It is your effort, your work, and you have given it to me. And I hate wasting food, and, um, I'd really wanted to try your cooking, so—

[ But as she's speaking, Satoko's words hit her with a delayed impact. The sadness in her voice.

before I knew she wouldn't be around.

Sayo wanted their love the succeed. She truly did. But right now she feels a hot stab of anger toward Rika. For all that Battler had abandoned her for those six bitter years, for all that George had casually ignored her feelings and misgivings, and Jessica tried to fit her into her expectations of a loyal friend and cute boyfriend, none of them had been this callous, had left her alone without a shred of pretense. Just a day after they had pledged their love to each other. ]

She's... not around? What is she doing?

[ Sayo can't hide an angry quaver to her voice. The cruelest witch in the universe indeed. It had almost been amusing, the way she saw Bernkastel toy with Lady Lambdadelta's affections, showing affection from afar to the clingy witch. Now those memories are nauseating as they come to mind. ]

Edited 2021-06-24 04:59 (UTC)

hey, i hope i'm not bothering you, beatrice
but i wanted to see if everything's alright
you haven't been at club for a while, and i understand if you've been too busy, but everyone misses you, including me,

(don't get me wrong, i'm glad you didn't see the outfit rena put me in last week)

[ It takes a few moments for her to respond but she does. He's definitely seen by now that she isn't the rude, taunting witch all the time, and right now her tone is serious, even a bit more on the formal side. ]

I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Keiichi-san.
You are aware that there was... trouble between Satoko and Rika, yes?
I was trying to advise both of them, and inadvertently led to their confrontation. I was also giving what in hindsight, was some truly bad advice, without understanding the situation. I made promises I should not have.
It would feel disingenuous to pretend the debt was cleared with their closest friends.
I apologize deeply, but those are empty words.

[ She doesn't know how much Keiichi knew, so she was leaving it at that. Even admitting that much was hard, but as their friend, he was owed something. ]

Satoko has been having a difficult time, so I've been coming to see her a lot. Doing what I can.

why is my phone buzzing with your name and FISHING next to it
and another saying ive rented fishing rods for a day

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FISHING DEITO - Early July - text then action