Everyone
A Box With No Escape
The unusual hostess does her best to smile and grin through it all, but it's obvious that it's all an act. The more forced her smile becomes, the more visible the veins in her forehead appear. Still... For whatever reason she keeps it up, even if only a little bit longer. But you can practically hear her patience crumbling beneath the weight of voluntary ignorance.
Originally Posted by
Sylvie Williams
"So, Lili - cute name by the way, I like it - I get the dead part, but what's the rest of the deal here? You judging me? Do we eat the Cool Ranch Doritos to get recycled into samsara and the Nacho Cheese ones to go down the afterlife rabbit hole? Are you single? Is there a different, busier, more important God or something who didn't give you the budget for real chairs?"
Originally Posted by
Murakami Rinna
"But, how is that possible? we're here, breathing, and well, I can't speak for you guys, but I am hungry. If that's not enough of a proof we're alive, I don't know what is."
Originally Posted by
Wallace Ladon
"You'd think for a goddess she could have gotten some better refreshments."
Originally Posted by
Hayasaka Kou
“Hey Pettanko Goddess, got a mirror somewhere? I want to see how cute I am.”
Originally Posted by
Yamashita Kazu
“Are you perhaps the goddess of poverty?”
Each time she hears or sees something that she doesn't like, something in her expression quickly tips her off. Whether it's a slight furrowing of the eyebrows or a twitch of the eye, she's one of those people. Her head lowers ever so slightly and her fingers curl into fists at her side. Yet her guests continue to move around the room- berating her status and hospitality- feeding the ruckus. It doesn't take long before the girl's smile completely fades. Naturally, once someone stops trying to be someone who they aren't, their true colors shine through.
"Mmmm… Maybe I should just erase them all after all... Not like the big wigs would notice if sixteen souls went missing. At worst I'd just have to do a damn report."
Lili's expression eases up as she muses to herself. The once forced smile becomes that of a sadist as she turns her nose up at the crowd. Clearly, her own proposal becoming more and more appealing. Unbeknownst to her, maniacal laughter escapes her lips.
Fortunately for all of you, this idea is halted before it can reach fruition by the appearance of yet another person. In contrast to Lili, this person looks a lot more normal. Professional even. The way she carries herself through even a few simple motions give the impression of a woman mature beyond her years. To top it all off, her pure white hair seems untouched by even the smallest speck of dust and her deep blue eyes challenge the identity of the clearest skies. If Lili is a devil, this girl is clearly an angel.
"Mistress Lilith," The new girl gently rests a hand on Lili's shoulder. Her soft voice cuts through the noise like a finely tuned song, "Please don't do anything that would jeopardize your paycheck."
Lili's smile fades away once again. This time, it's slowly replaced by an expression of creeping panic with a tinge of feigned ignorance. Much like a child caught in the act.
"After all, it would be a shame if someone had to go back to cup noodles for a month."
Incredibly threatening words fired from the purest of smiles...
Lili does not say anything. She can't say anything. All she can do is stand there before that deceptively merciless smile and her lip begins to tremble and her eyes well up with tears.
The demonic hostess audibly sniffles, "But...But Mari... They don't realize how nice I'm being to them!" Pointing to the snack table, Lili explodes into full-blown tears,"They don't realize just how much of my food budget I had to spend getting them this feast!"
And before anyone can even respond, the green-haired devil starts to wail. Doing her best to hide her tears, her friend comforts her by patting her head.
…
In the midst of all this, no one seems to have found the door this new person walked in through.
***
Some time later, Mari has managed to calm things down a bit. She has single-handedly managed to get everyone calm, organized, and seated while simultaneously getting Lili under control. With the demoness now quietly pouting at her podium, Mari stands ready at the opposite side of the projection screen. Giving the room a once-over, she nods to herself , clears her throat, and begins addressing everyone.
"Now that we've managed to get things settled down somewhat, I believe proper introductions are in order."
Mari turns slightly an motions towards the sulking devil.
"First off, this is Mistress Lilith. As I'm sure most of you can tell by her appearance, Mistress Lili is a devil that works here at the Afterlife Company. However, due to various circumstances, she currently isn't acting as a devil. I don't want to burden you all with too much information at once, so I would just like to ask that you all look beyond her appearance and think of her as a benevolent goddess."
Upon hearing these words, Lili's eyes drift to attend to the ground. There isn't the slightest bit of love in them. In fact, something tells you that if she were to say anything now...it would probably be along the lines of "eat shit and die." So much for first impressions.
"As for me, my name is Mari Benevola. I'm Lili- Mistress Lili's long-time friend and aide. Though I suppose you can think of me as something of an assistant."
You're pretty sure she just fumbled her words there.
"Now I'm sure that all of you have your own questions that you would like to ask us. At this time, we would like you to please field any questions or concerns concerning your situation. Once everyone has a better understanding of things, we can then move on to why it is that we've gathered you here today."
Enthusiasm in her eyes, Mari pulls what appears to a sheet of paper out of her pocket. But once she holds it out in front of her for all to see, it becomes apparent that it's actually a sheet of stickers... Gold stars to boot...
"I ask that you please ask your questions one at a time and wait until the first person has been addressed before asking your own~ Oh! And please tell us your names so that we may get to know you better!"
Shooting her hand up, Mari is clearly trying to set an example.
"Now now~ Who wants to go first~?"
Lili can be heard groaning over to the side.