[Shannon had been in the thick of every other afterparty; making tea, helping prepare food, sitting down to listen to the woes of the other survivors and offering a sympathetic ear. Which means her absence during the first minutes of this one makes the "party" feel even more off-kilter than usual.
And the atmosphere only gets worse when Sayo finally stumbles in with a third-empty bottle of bourbon in one hand. It may take some survivors a few moments to recognize her—without all her makeup, especially the foundation that hid the dark circles under her (stained red from crying) eyes, she seems like a different person entirely. Swapping the maid uniform for a loose-fitting tee, faded jeans, and some sneakers from the vending machine is also a new look for her. Plus the sudden, conspicuous lack of huge bahonkadonkers may provoke some double-takes.
Perhaps to rub it in, everyone's IDs all ping at the same time, giving them a notification about a profile update:]
Name: Sayo Yasuda | Champion Liar | The Golden and Endless Witch Age: 19 | Species: Human | Occupation: Author Likes: Mystery novels, pranks, fantasizing about revenge Dislikes: Serving the Ushiromiya family, her expectations being betrayed, gold Traits: Cunning, unstable, creative Trivia: Hypothetically, her bodycount ranges anywhere from zero people to seventeen, but this Sayo's total kills add up to five.
Kyaaahaha! I really hoped somebody with enough cash to splurge for something as ridiculous as this deranged game would at least have better taste in alcohol, but even Kinzo's bottom-shelf absinthe is better than this, pfffft.
[Still laughing (desperately) to herself, Sayo flops onto one of the couches set up, deliberately sprawling in such a way to make her seem as odious as possible and to keep anyone from sitting down next to her.
Which doesn't keep Ryoko from approaching, of course. On a turn of a dime, her expression changes to something more melancholy and genuine as she traces her index finger around the lip of the bottle.]
...of course I did. Same for most of the other cases, too. [Sayo lets out a derisive snort.] Except for the second one. Having to deal with such bizarre alien physiology threw me for a loop. I almost have to thank our third week's culprit; if she hadn't given herself away in such a ridiculous fashion, I wouldn't have considered Nui disguising herself so perfectly as a possibility.
[And then she's suddenly back to uncannily bright, cheery, and perhaps a tad unhinged.]
Buuuuuuuut, I could hardly ruin the surprise for Battler now, could I?! Seeing him contort his poor little brain into so many delightful knots was downright delicious. Plus if I acted too out of character, why, that'd be giving the entire game away! And I couldn't have that, could I?
cw: alcohol, bad coping mechanisms, technically underage drinking, full bore spoilers
And the atmosphere only gets worse when Sayo finally stumbles in with a third-empty bottle of bourbon in one hand. It may take some survivors a few moments to recognize her—without all her makeup, especially the foundation that hid the dark circles under her (stained red from crying) eyes, she seems like a different person entirely. Swapping the maid uniform for a loose-fitting tee, faded jeans, and some sneakers from the vending machine is also a new look for her. Plus the sudden, conspicuous lack of huge bahonkadonkers may provoke some double-takes.
Perhaps to rub it in, everyone's IDs all ping at the same time, giving them a notification about a profile update:]
Age: 19 | Species: Human | Occupation: Author
Likes: Mystery novels, pranks, fantasizing about revenge
Dislikes: Serving the Ushiromiya family, her expectations being betrayed, gold
Traits: Cunning, unstable, creative
Trivia: Hypothetically, her bodycount ranges anywhere from zero people to seventeen, but this Sayo's total kills add up to five.
Kyaaahaha! I really hoped somebody with enough cash to splurge for something as ridiculous as this deranged game would at least have better taste in alcohol, but even Kinzo's bottom-shelf absinthe is better than this, pfffft.
[Still laughing (desperately) to herself, Sayo flops onto one of the couches set up, deliberately sprawling in such a way to make her seem as odious as possible and to keep anyone from sitting down next to her.
Which doesn't keep Ryoko from approaching, of course. On a turn of a dime, her expression changes to something more melancholy and genuine as she traces her index finger around the lip of the bottle.]
...of course I did. Same for most of the other cases, too. [Sayo lets out a derisive snort.] Except for the second one. Having to deal with such bizarre alien physiology threw me for a loop. I almost have to thank our third week's culprit; if she hadn't given herself away in such a ridiculous fashion, I wouldn't have considered Nui disguising herself so perfectly as a possibility.
[And then she's suddenly back to uncannily bright, cheery, and perhaps a tad unhinged.]
Buuuuuuuut, I could hardly ruin the surprise for Battler now, could I?! Seeing him contort his poor little brain into so many delightful knots was downright delicious. Plus if I acted too out of character, why, that'd be giving the entire game away! And I couldn't have that, could I?