souls have been lost and the panic grows

[phototraces]

[That... that was hell, actually. Wendy didn't like that at all. After the trial she... has to head to the kitchen and hopefully not find clay shit everywhere. She needs to do something to keep things under control. To keep things going.

She's not a great cook but she knows the basics. Meat. Bread. Cheese. Something warm for the belly to drink. She's nervous when she works but she's relentless. There's no asking for help from her as she makes a spread for everyone. Then... she's moving all of it not to the eatery but the bonfire.

Making makeshift tables around it and placing trays of food and drink. Even setting up a chair for Alex a good distance away from the fire but close enough that he can be part of things if he wants to.

Wendy, with her careful writing, writes up some notes and hands them out to everyone if she can find them or if not under their door.

Food at the bonfire and the area around it. Attendance not mandatory but it's probably better for all of us if we stick together. Bring more food and drink if you want.

Wendy

...She can't control other people but she can try to suggest.]

Comments

[murchada]

Mm-mhm.

[yeah she'll just put that on the bar, she don't care, take your tokens dude.]

If this keeps up, maybe you could do a special after someone bites it.

[latinumsbetter]

[he starts to tuck those away--but he chokes at that on something that is the closest thing either of them are getting to a laugh right now]

Something tells me that most people wouldn't take kindly to that.

[murchada]

Yeah. They'd probably still buy it, though.

[latinumsbetter]

...probably. Like some kinda tribute or something.

[murchada]

Sure. Then they can feel good about it and everything. Or less awful.

I know I'd give a lot to feel less awful.

[latinumsbetter]

Yeah. Most people would.

[murchada]

Mm. Makes sense, right?

But also, it doesn't... feel right.

[latinumsbetter]

[hm?]

How's that?

[murchada]

I don't think I should get to feel better.

[latinumsbetter]

[.....]

Why's that.

[murchada]

I don't know, because two people are dead, maybe?

[yeah that's all. that's definitely the why.]

[latinumsbetter]

Or maybe you're just living up to your title. [flippantly]

[murchada]

...Yeah. That, too.

[what, like she was gonna disagree?]

I can't really help that part.

[latinumsbetter]

The title or the living up to it?

[murchada]

Both.

I always feel guilty. I probably always will.

[latinumsbetter]

No reprieve from that, huh?

[murchada]

I haven't gotten any yet. It's how I was made, so, I'm pretty much stuck like this.

[latinumsbetter]

[...wait what]

What do you mean, it's how you were made?

[murchada]

...So, um. Before I was the way I am now, I was just a base AI in my section. I don't really remember any of that, but... When the System Grail War started, the way it worked was that an AI from every section was selected and was given a "random" appearance and personality.

It wasn't actually really random, though. [thanks rani-xii] For me, my personality got copied from the real human Cerejeira Elron, but with one specific trait amplified.

[so, you know. lucky her.]

[latinumsbetter]

The guilt. [well frinx]

[murchada]

Yeah. The guilt.

[she gets to just feel that, forever.]

...I still don't even know what she did, to feel this awful. I only even found out about her right before we all got here. Before that, I just figured I was... glitched or broken, or something.

[latinumsbetter]

So you got screwed over by this whole Grail War assignment thing.

[murchada]

Yeah.

Could've been worse, though. The one who set it up wanted to just... keep it going in perpetuity.

[latinumsbetter]

Why?

[murchada]

To keep splitting people up into pieces of themselves, like how I'm just someone's guilt. She figured she could make more and more Alter Egos like that to help save the world.

And whatever that meant for the people being hurt, well, that's a small price, right?