#(rui voice) I would never do that… i would never meddle in such a way… (lying)

[apotelesmaa]

None of u understand how funny emunene is… emu going I’m going to follow you forever and ever you’re so amazing nene chan you’re so pretty and talented let’s hang out all the time & nene going I just don’t think she likes me that way 😔 she’s just being friendly. Also objectively nene realizing she has the same level of denseness as tsukasa wrt rui is hysterical. she goes thru all the stages of grief in a week and contemplates telling nenerobo to kill tsukasa so she doesn’t have to think about it ever again.

[lustrumlane]

You're a Second-Rate Idol with a Third-Rate Catalogue | "Aurelius" | Re: Dante, Edith, Uroro, Emerson

They start off their response calmly. At Dante's question, they pause and think, clearly giving it some thought. "I suppose...five minutes, at most? I wasn't keeping track of time, but it wasn't any longer than that."

Next, Edith. "About the mask and cloak...I obtained the latter from the Cottage just before starting my adventure. The waxen mask and robes that hide and all that. I didn't have much interest in having my existence questioned—as Dahlia proved, humans can be so close-minded. You know, I don't think I would have taken it if I had realized there'd be so much cat fur on it." Their nose wrinkles. "Terrible creatures, always meddling in business. But, regardless, I was also the one that discarded of it in the snow, alongside the mask. Showing up here covered in blood might have given you all the wrong idea." Another sheepish smile, a small shrug-

And then Uroro speaks. Their smile remains, but it sours around the edges, darkness falling over their eyes. 

"Oh, aren't you precious."

There's something distinctly-not-Aurelius to their tone, low and slippery like oil on rocks. They stare Uroro down like a coyote caught in the beam of a flashlight, an inhuman glitter just behind their eyes.

"That's a cute trick, the hand thing. I bet it really spooks the hicks back in your own world. It's funny how it makes you feel confident enough to try and claim something that was never yours to begin with." Their smile looks more like a grimace, bared teeth and some breed of threat. "If you'd be so generous as to let me continue, dear Uroro, I'd love to fill in the missing details."

They clear their throat, loudly. "As I said, I borrowed the cloak from the tailor after manifesting in the lane. I could tell there was something in the air—something dangerous—and I was curious to find out what. Can you really blame me? I wanted to avoid questioning by nosey interlopers such as yourself, hence the disguise. Because, really, the last thing I needed was for you to regale me with one of your performances." Out goes their hand, a mockery of Uroro's own pose, as too is the flat effect they force into their voice: "Who dares to enter the realm of occultist slash idol Uroro Zenzen? I'll beat you to a pulp. Don't test me, because I'll really do it. By the power vested in me I will smack the everloving shit out of you. Kyaaaa, or something like that."

At the end of their performance, they give a haughty role of their eyes, straightening back up.

"Is it any wonder I made a point to avoid you? It had nothing to do with fear and everything to do to not being able to tolerate your presence. The cloak ripped while I was evading you, before I stumbled upon Dahlia and Rui. There's your answer, dear occultist-idol."

"Speaking of Dahlia, actually," they say, face brightening as if nothing had happened, "I almost forgot a detail about the crime scene. You see, when I arrived, I noticed some sort of magical noise in the air. A droning of some kind, almost as grating on the ears as a certain failed ginger idol! Point being, there was magic involved before I even made my appearance. Anyways, after that, I made my exit back to the cottage to bury my borrowed things, before heading through the garden to the theatre and returning the book along the way."

Now, they look back at Emerson. "The vials don't match, true, but yours is still missing, and Rui still has an unidentified substance in her blood. Isn't it possible your vial was rebottled into the one that was ultimately tossed into the pit, perhaps before the confrontation between Rui and Dahlia?"