deernet | video, un:charon

[Lysithea appears on the screen in front of a doorway painted mint green, looking grim, but resolute. Her arm is in a sling and she has obvious scars and cuts across her face and neck, but at the very least, she is in one piece. She couldn't say the same for some of her friends.]

I am one day late.

I am pleased to announce...

[And here she makes a gesture with her good hand, and it becomes clear that this is a recording through the eyes of her Omen. The bird flaps back a few feet to reveal a recently renovated building that looks, if not grand, at least, well... intact.]

The grand opening of the Patisserie Lysitherie. Located in the Willful Machine, [address here], five minutes' walk from the closest Lamp Friend.

[Lysithea steps inside and her Omen follows to showcase part of the interior.]

...I'm sure I've prattled on about my business long enough, so I won't bore you with more details. Just know that our trade rates are exceedingly reasonable, and we seek to procure only the finest ingredients from the docks. It is winter, of course, so temper your expectations accordingly. Additionally, all purchases will come with a package of Weeping Wafers, our first in-house concoction. The taste is nutty and earthy with hints of nutmeg and almond. It's delicate - and not excessively sweet.

Most importantly, it is made with raw, diced Weepers.

After the... occurrences of the previous month, I imagine we could all benefit from their magic. If you seek mental stability, come by and we're happy to provide you with free samples. Don't take too many, though - I don't know what the effects are if you overdose.

...Well, that's all. Thank you for your business.

[...It is evident that Lysithea has no idea how to end this. After a moment, she looks around awkwardly and then dips her head as if in a bow before the transmission cuts.]

[action, ota, at the Patisserie]
[Lysithea will be manning the sweets shop during business hours. Her employees are welcome to join her when they're free - she could use some extra help, given her dislocated wrist. Drop by to sample normal baked goods, Weeper products, or simply strike up a conversation.

On slow days, Lysithea can be found eating her Weeping Wafers and fingering what appears to be an old research journal of some sort.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hm. Yeah, that shoulder does pop in and out real easy.

[And he does recall a lot of stringy bits around the wrist, but the thought makes him realize that he's headed down sort of a dark conversational path.]

Well, I'm glad you're recovering well. I actually wanted to talk to you about getting some small cakes to feed people while they look at clothes over at my place. I know that's not the usual tailor experience, but I think small cakes usually improve things.

Erm.

[Lysithea will not comment on the relative ease of dislocations re: comparing parts of the squishy human body.]

Small cakes improve everything. I wholeheartedly agree. ...Though I might be concerned your customers will get crumbs and frosting on your nice clothes.

Congratulations on your store - I saw your announcement earlier last month, though I was a bit preoccupied.

[being kidnapped, etc.]

Yeah. I know it was a bit of a weird time, but...I figured it almost always will be.

[If he waited until there wasn't some awful shit going down around Trench to make his announcement and open his shop, he'd probably be waiting for quite some time. As to the rest - he just grins.]

If they mess up the clothes, I guess they'll just have to buy more~.

Imagine.

Both of us small business owners. We've come a ways from avoiding giant squids falling from the sky, no?

[Lysithea is probably teasing.]

Well, let's talk business, then. I have a contract with another Sleeper-run establishments and a few tentative agreements with Trenchian shops. Generally speaking, people ask for supplies on a weekly basis while their payments range from anything from a portion of their own income to offering free merchandise to myself and my employees.

What do you care to trade?

[Michael chuckles. It's a little easier to laugh about the squid thing with the benefit of distance, and Lysithea not knowing about his Squid Baggage.]

Well, I'm happy to design a few outfits for you to start, but you probably won't be needing new ones of those every week. We can just work out a cash payment.

...I'll take some outfits, actually.

[Lysithea responds after a moment's consideration.]

To tell the truth, to get this venture started, I traded quite a lot of my nice clothes at the beginning.

There's no money, of course, but I'll take any stones or feathers or goods you get as payment.

What is money, if not shiny rocks humans like?

[Michael's seen all sorts of forms of currency go by - it's all the same.]

Sure, that sounds good. Any particular requests, or you want me to come up with some sketches for you? [You can see his general sense of style by looking at him, he likes classy styles and bright colors.]

Purple.

[She gives a shrug. It's her favorite color. Then she gestures at her own dress.]

Like this. Perhaps covering more of the body - that seems important here. I could do with a few more veils, as well.

[She lifts up the accessory that she wears tied up in her hair.]

[Michael looks her up and down, as indicated, nodding. Simple enough, to riff on an existing outfit. He knows how Lysithea is, anyway; he's not gonna get too wild with it.]

Alright. I'll want to get some measurements, but there's no rush on that. Not like I actually have to sew anything together.

[Once he has the planning done, production's super quick!]

Ah.

What... exactly, does your process involve?

[It had been darkblood manipulation, she was fairly sure.]

I certainly have not developed any spontaneous garment-manufacturing powers myself.

Well, when I first started here, everything I tried to make was just coming out in its basic components. Just wood or bolts of cloth or whatever. But I've figured out that I can still make actual things as long as I can hold the image very, very clearly in my mind. All the ins and outs of it.

That's why the measurements and the samples - the more specific I can make my plans, the better it's going to come out.

[Plus, uh, does he actually know how to do tailor things like adjusting hems or whatnot? Maybe, maybe not!]

Of course, I can always fill in the blanks myself. You don't need to give me every detail.

'Basic' components? You say that as if the manifestation of any object from thought weren't already an impressive feat.

[She shakes her head.]

It's not as if the rest of us are going around conjuring anything.

Without meaning offense, I'd want to investigate your clothing first, naturally. The idea of clothes popping into thin air somehow causes discomfort. As if it might just disappear after I put it in.

But if it's all of sufficient enough quality, I'd be very pleased to make that sort of trade.

Oh, I've always been able to do that, back in the Good Place. It's pretty common in the afterlife.

[So - yeah, he and Janet at least have been going around conjuring stuff for a while. The rest of it...well, no one else has asked to get a sample so far, but he guesses that's fair? No skin off his back.]

Alright, if that's what you want to do. Nothing I've made so far has vanished yet - though, obviously we haven't been here all that long.

It would cause some consternation.

[Lysithea responds mildly, envisioning all her clothing suddenly de-manifesting if Michael were say, to be knocked out or killed.]

This isn't new for you, then? I suppose you demons have an unimaginable amount of power to tap in the afterlife.

Can you do it right now? Is it just something that happens at any time?

No, no. Most demons will just get a Bad Janet to do it for them, back in the home office - whoever's in charge will notice if you do it too much yourself. But I've been in charge for a little while now.

[Whether in the Good Place or back in his neighborhood, there wasn't really anyone around with oversight on his actions.]

I can make something now. Here, let me look at you...

[Measurements do seem to help, but Michael's a pretty spatially-minded person; he can do well enough just by looking. It's just the difference between something off-the-rack and something tailored just for you. He takes a step back to look Lysithea up and down, and - just to take the quickest and simplest route - conjures a top like the one she's wearing now, but in a different color.]

Here, check this out.

Oh!

[She exclaims, mildly delighted. Lysithea is, by nature, a practical and rather severe sort of woman - but she does enjoy dressing well, even if her family had fallen on difficult times. There are small excitements to be found in life.

She quickly comes out behind the counter and reaches for the fabric with her good hand.]

...Hm. It feels exactly like muslin. And the stitching --

[She turns it over a few times.]

Marvelous, really.

What do you think about? Of course - you can't possibly envisioning every stitch at once or every thread of fabric. Is it just the thought of a 'well-made garment'? Or you hold the shape in your mind and fill in the gaps somehow?

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