voice;

[entreats]

So, can the witch in charge come out yet?

[ It's a simple statement, and for a moment it does sound like the message might just cut off there. Just that one flat statement, seemingly devoid of any emotion aside from a vague hint of annoyance.

But then there's a sound that's faintly like a step, then a grumble, and then the message continues anyway. Still mostly deadpan, but a little more annoyed this time. ]

Sure, I get it. The whole crime and punishment theming? Very cute. Maybe start using that talent to build an amusement park or something more productive next time, if this sort of thing is your hobby. Either way, it's really not done to let yourself be heard on the way in, and then just act like you're not there.

[ A slight pause-- and then a sigh. ]

Just tell me someone can point me to the witch. I really don't have time to be beating around the bush.

Comments

Video;

[lightthedarkness]

Wait! There are witches here? Really? How do you know there are witches? Do you think they're nice witches at least?

[entreats]

[ There's the tiniest pause as Ange stares at the person - like she's trying to figure out whether this girl is being genuine or just playing with her. Considering the sort of situations Ange finds herself in, she sure wouldn't be surprised by the latter. ]

There's always witches. [ She settles on saying, her voice a little more even and flat than a moment ago when she first sent out the message. ] You've never dealt with one before? Are you a local?

[nullificates]

(he's such a troll. i'm sorry.)

i'm the witch, enjoy my playground, bwahahaha!!!

[entreats]

[ Well, this person obviously is not a witch.

Not that Ange doesn't think for a moment about the potential reverse psychology going on here, but.. you know, she figures maybe that's thinking about it too deeply. It's probably someone being dumb, huh. ]

So what are you the witch of?

[ Which is why this is the best response, clearly. ]

voice

[dialetheism]

[ It's becoming a habit of theirs, checking the network every day, to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the Chosen's messy little community. Much of it is shouting into the void or announcing some club or an activity to stave off boredom. But not today, as it happens. Today is different. Today's offering nearly makes them drop the charm they're holding in shock.

Of everything they'd expected, this wasn't it, not in a thousand years. They'd long since written off the idea that anyone else would arrive. And sure, they've only heard this particular voice once, but it certainly made an impression in that short span of time. Immediately gunning for the witch in charge is just... exactly what that person would do, isn't it? Just like her brother.

Stick to the basics. In contrast to her annoyance, this voice is short and sweet, like a pleasant - if impossible - surprise. ]

.... Ange-chan? Is that you?

[ No video. They want to be sure, first. Just in case. ]

[entreats]

[ It's one thing to deal with all these voices she's never heard before, trying to figure out whether they're locals or people stuck in the same situation as her. And yet-- It's another thing entirely when one of those voices she's never heard before says her name. And like that.

Ange-chan.

Ange can count the amount of people who'd call her that on at most two hands, and most of them are dead, and none of them sound like this. So what--

She feels her breath catch in her throat, but the girl makes absolutely sure to force that surprise out of her voice by the time she replies. The chance that it's someone friendly calling her that is so small, right? She can't show weakness in that case. ]

Who is this?

[ Ange, however, no longer sounds as unfazed as she'd like to be. There's definitely a tense edge to her voice as she speaks. ]

voice.

[kiseijuu]

( Shinichi is.... trying to get his bearings in this place, but every time he kind of sort of starts to, something freshly throws him off all over again. )

I'm sorry, did you say.... witch? Like..... an actual witch?

( By now he's learned that magic is real in other worlds, and he has an alien living inside his body, so. There's a high possibility this person is telling the truth. Even so, it's hard to process.... )

Witches can build amusement parks? I didn't know that...

[entreats]

[ For how normal the concept of witches is for Ange at this point, at least she's not too surprised to hear someone sound surprised at the idea of them.. Especially if it's either a local or someone in the same boat as her, just randomly dumped into wherever the hell this is. Most normal people don't know of their existence, after all.

This guy probably isn't so different. ]

They can do anything. [ It's the kind of statement that probably should be said with at least some marvel, if not childish glee, and yet it's so.. flat.. Like Ange is talking about a particularly uninteresting weather pattern.. ]

You know, like drag people to some weird unknown place and formally assign them a crime like they're the government now.

[text]

[alethiological]

[ And through the white noise of occasional posts usually gone ignored - a familiar voice. Yet, the name does not immediately come to mind. Huh.

They have a brain cell to throw around, at least. ]

No witch in charge. No evidence to indicate there is one. Higher plane authority isn't adversarial.

Just go with it.

[entreats]

[ ... huh.

It's a message that's very different in tone from most others she's received. In fact, it seems almost so much in line with her own - compared to the confusion coming from other people - that it almost seems suspicious just by itself. ]

Isn't that devil's proof? An absence of evidence isn't the same as evidence of an absence.

[ It's not even that she necessarily wants to argue this, mind you.

It's more a test to see who or what she's dealing with here. ]

Voice

[illusionbreaker]

[The voice of a teenage boy pipes in.]

What makes you so certain a Witch is behind this? I mean, I know they are capable of creating some really ridiculous spells with their ointments, but this whole situation seems far beyond anything a Witch can do.

[entreats]

It's always a witch.

[ That's not really an explanation, is it. Not even when Ange's tone sounds so flat, like she's talking about a solid fact. About the colour of the sky, or something like that.

At least a bit more clarification does seem to follow after a moment.. ]

I have a lot of experience with these situations, and it's always a witch.

[ .. even if it's not much. ]

Text

[morsangel]

Ah. To some I could be a witch? If you're looking to be brought back from near death, I would be happy to oblique.

[entreats]

[ .. huh. Ange is replying to everything in order to get more information, sure, but this one stands out to her as particularly interesting. Especially considering bringing people back from the dead is kind of what witches do where she comes from.

A coincidence, or--? ]

Are we talking something magical, or are you just that good of a doctor?

voice

[mehanizovati]

Is 'witch' an insult or literal in this case? I suppose magic would be as good an explanation as any.

[and not beating around the bush is appreciated, actually. a gal who gets shit done.]

[entreats]

Technically both.

[ To be fair, Ange wasn't trying to use it like an insult, but.. on the other hand, it's not like most witches don't fall into the very same category of ultra annoying people where Ange comes from.

So by that stretch? It definitely counts as both, and it's why she can answer this voice easily. It doesn't sound like this is a witch, sure, but it's not like Ange has ever hesitated on insulting them to their face all the same before.. ]

Haven't you wondered before how you ended up here? Or how all these weirdos suddenly ended up here, if you're a local?

[fatalism]

Crime and punishment are necessary parts of life. Generally, everything in life is centered around those concepts.

[entreats]

[ .. did she just stumble into a philosophical conversation?

On the other hand, considering how used Ange got to having those on the regular back home lately, it feels kind of fitting. This doesn't sound like the witch in charge here, but you never know.. ]

Everything? If you think so, then it sounds like you must like this place.

voice;

[individualized]

[Echo nearly drops her charm when she hears this voice emitting from it. Here she didn't think this place had any connections to Trench, and suddenly someone she had regular contact with has appeared. She sounds pretty hesitant as she speaks.]

...Ange-san? You are...in Aldrip as well?

[entreats]

[ What--

For a moment Ange pauses. Because she hears her name being said like that, yet she doesn't recognize the voice. Her brain works overtime just for a few brief moments, desperately trying to figure out if maybe she just forgot this voice, and it is actually someone she knows.

But no matter how hard she tries to think, this person sounds completely unfamiliar. And her knowing her name like that, addressing her like that-- It immediately raises Ange's guard, imagining she might be dealing with the witch or some lackey here. ]

How do you know my name?

[ It's why she's being so direct and blunt here. Nothing too new for Ange, sure, but her emotionless tone now definitely has a hint of something a little more aggressive in it. Something suspicious of whoever is talking to her here. ]

voice

[rebellions]

[ Ragna's voice comes across as, similarly, mildly exasperated with the whole thing, though one could argue he's taking it in stride, almost surprisingly so. ]

If they meant to make things easy for us and show themselves, they would've done so by now.

[ Of course, that's just too much to ask for, huh. At least he's not the only one left in the dark for once. ]

Any particular reason you're assuming a witch is behind all this?

[entreats]

It's always been one of those, in my experience.

[ It ought to be a ridiculous sort of thing to say under regular circumstances - just expecting a witch to be behind anything at all times, like this is a fairytale - but she still says it so calmly, like it's just a fact to her.

Hey, it sounds like this guy is taking all of this the same way, so Ange sees no problem with just casually discussing ridiculous-sounding options. ]

It feels like I was drawn into another world. That's something witches do.

voice

[likethestars]

Why a witch and not some powerful wizard or bored god? Could easily be one of those.

[entreats]

[ Without even really missing a beat-- ]

Have you ever met a bored god before?

[ The question sounds serious, if not just for the relative lack of emotion in the girl's tone, even as she speaks about this. ]

text

[threadhop]

did u mean the other word that starts with a b or
r u really talkin magic wand "witch"

[entreats]

The latter.

Though I don't know if you've dealt with a witch before, but there's really not much of a difference between those two categories when it comes to them.

voice

[breakin_ur_lore]

We...haven't been told who's in charge here. I'm not sure it's...just one witch.

[entreats]

What makes you think that?

[ Sure, there are.. quite a few reasons Ange can think of that might make one think that.

But she wants to hear it from this person. If she has no clue what's going on, then the first priority is definitely making sure she's gathering as much information as she can here. ]