[Open] Help, Oh Please Help

[queenofkur]

🧙 WHO: Ereshkigal and ~~YOU~~!
⚔️️ WHAT: Ereshkigal has decided to tackle on the Betting/Auction (TDM) and MediQueens quests. Of course, things go horribly wrong for her and she needs help. A lot of it. Please help her. Also she got a cool new bag and the seller told her it would be a great way to socialize with people, awkward meetings ahead.
🕒 WHEN: Throughout May.
🗺️ WHERE: Underground Casino and Camelot.
⚠️ WARNINGS: N/A.

All prompts are inside the post in the form of comments

Comments

I/ Safe Bets [TDM Prompt]

[queenofkur]

[ Ereshkigal was eyeing warily the various games in the underground casino. Gambling... She wished she could say it was a very human things, but the gods themselves weren't above such vices. She could imagine Ishtar being right at home in there and collecting plenty of riches for herself- By cheating, of course.

Well, no matter. She just had to win a few games to proceed and go to the auction. A fairly simple task, and unlike her sister she wouldn't cheat to get it done...! ]

---

One Hour Later...

---

Noooooooo...!

[ Sitting at a Blackjack table was Ereshkigal, halfway crying and in absolute despair. The casino worker took a big pile of chips from her, leaving her with one last column. And to think she had started out with an absolute mountain of chips... What had gone wrong? She lamented to herself as the next game was about to start. ]

I haven't won a single game since getting there... I-I can't possible be that bad...!

[ It's really hard to be an honest and hard-working person in a place where cheating is commonplace. Well, there is nothing for it. Halfheartedly, she puts her last chips on the table. Either she somehow recovers from this, either this is the end.

Help her? She desperately needs it. ]

[sos_pilot]

[ Della isn't too great of a gambler herself, but A) her magic can help her cheat, and let's face it, the fate of the world matters a bit more than being fair in a casino, and B) she missed out on a casino-themed adventure back home! Are there any Luck Vampires here to beat?

... No, just a sad (pretty) lady sobbing over her failure. Oof. She'd intended to keep a low profile (well, as low as a duck can get in a human establishment) but she just can't help herself from helping others. And so she walks over, tapping Ereshkigal's shoulder. ]

Aw, I'm sure your luck will turn around! Why don't you give it one more try? Pick your favorite number on the roulette - one that means something to you!

[queenofkur]

[ Thankfully, Ereshkigal isn't all that surprised by Della being a duck. In fact she barely spares her a glance, depressed and discouraged as she is. She's slumping on the table, awaiting the end of her career as a professional casino player. A very short and sad career. ]

My favorite number...?

[ Did she even have one? Would it bring her luck? She gave it some thought. ]

I guess maybe two...

[ Because one plus one equals two and that's romantic. Also she got a twin. Two is really the only number that got any significance to her. So she picked that number... And covered her eyes with her hands. She didn't want to see the likely incoming failure. ]

[sos_pilot]

You heard her, buddy! All of it on number two!

[ With the bet made, she gently begins petting the girl's hair - as a means of comfort... and to hide her fingers wiggling her Kinetic Magic. At the very last second, she'll help pop that ball right into place. ]

I think two is a great number! And if you think positively, you'll be number one! Come on, let's see a smile! Just one smile?

[garyoutensei]

[ Baiken let out a low whistle, shaking her head. ]

Geeze, girly, I had half expected a pay out for you by this point... Don't think I know a lot of people THIS unlucky.

[ That wasn't helpful, Baiken. ]

You want a small tip?

[queenofkur]

[ Oh, that was the friend she'd made on the network last time... Baiken. She'd not like made sure to memorize her name so she wouldn't embarrass herself by misremembering, nope. And yet here she was, embarrassing herself by failing so completely and utterly at such a simple thing.

And there's the confirmation her luck stat is truly out of this world. Sniff. ]

I-If by tip you mean advice on how to win, I would great appreciate it.

[ And if by tip she actually meant money, then she couldn't accept it. She would not waste someone else's money. ]

character canonically incredible at gambling. shame I know literally nothing about blackjack

[excalibeam]

[ On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Artoria is... doing incredibly well. She's always been confident in her skills at games like this, but gambling appears to be almost a specialty to her. Maybe she should consider doing this more often...

Still, inbetween games, she does spot Ereshkigal's... unfortunate misfortune. She can't help but feel bad... ]

It seems that you are in quite the predicament... may I perhaps lend my assistance?

tbh neither do i, aha

[queenofkur]

[ Truth to be told, she was (pleasantly) surprised Saber addressed her still. She'd half expected for Rin to convince every single of her friends to treat her like a pariah. Maybe there was hope they could become friend someday... No, no. It was far more likely Rin didn't even acknowledge her existence whenever possible. No need to think of pointless dreams.

Still, she had hoped their next meeting would be under less shameful circumstances. ]

G-Greetings, Saber...

[ She's trying to not cry, she really is. ]

It would be greatly appreciated, but I fear my luck may be at fault here.

II/ Bidding War [TDM Prompt]

[queenofkur]

[ Through what can be called nothing other than a miracle, Ereshkigal had made it to the next phase. After having selected a dress she had deemed cute yet elegant enough, she took her seat and attended the auction. Having so many people around while wearing new clothes wasn't very comfortable... Well, having people around wasn't comfortable, period.

But even so, something caught her attention. Eyes widened as the Legendary Phoenix Feather was presented. And just as the auction started: ]

Hold-Hold up...!

[ Ereshkigal sprung up, going to the auctioneer before anyone could stop her. How could they dare putting such a thing on sale? After what had happened with the Fisher King and that accursed giant? They were offering people even more means to mess with the dead...! That was... Unacceptable! She felt so angry, she didn't have the time to worry about drawing everyone's attention. Thank goodness or she'd have been red from shame. ]

B-Bringing back the dead is an act against nature itself! [Paying whatsoever no attention to the people's reactions, she went to the stand where the feather was exposed.] Upon my authority as Goddess of the Underworld, I shall confiscate this artifact. [Just as she was about to reach for and grab the feather, she noticed something. No one was more knowledgeable than her when it came to things related to death. And this feather... There was no way it was what they were advertising.] Wait, that's not a real—

[ Before she could finish the sentence, the bouncers grabbed her and took her to a backdoor. The auctioneer very very embarrassingly apologized for the intervention of this “madwoman” even as she was taken away kicking and screaming, albeit her complaints were muffled. Ere long, they managed to take her through the door and peace returned to the auction room...

Someone sitting on the front rows or approaching the door may hear that it was far from over though. Ereshkigal's voice was now audible from behind the door, and by the sound of it she was still endangered. ]

W-What are you doing? Let me go!! [She started to sound a bit more panicked as the bouncers were preparing to throw her in magic jail.] You can't throw me in that, I-I did nothing wrong...!

[ Please help her... Again? ]

[mithrarin]

[Well. That's not good. Dust recognizes the girl from her, ah, performance on the network, and... He's not quite sure how to describe the way she just doesn't seem to quite fit in with society at large, but he understands it on a gut-deep level. Between that empathy and a slight measure of guilt for teasing her earlier, he can't let this go even if the security personnel aren't really doing anything wrong.]

[He nudges through the door she'd been taken through quietly, then pitches his voice to carry to the bouncers intent on their duties.]

Sorry about that. It's my fault for not stopping her sooner. Let me just take her off your hands and I'll have a word with her about it.

[And hopefully Ereshkigal would both look his way, and accurately interpret the flicking fingers of his free hand as a gesture to play along.]

[queenofkur]

[ She recognized him... From that disastrous first post on the network. What was he doing here? And what was he saying? His fault for not stopping her? But she hadn't done anything wrong!! There were so many problems with the dead crossing into the world of the living on that island, she couldn't just allow for such a dangerous artifact to go unchecked.

An,d besides it was a fake one! Not only were they messing with the fundamental law of nature, but they were trying to scam people. ]

What...?!

[ It was so mean... But thankfully, she noticed his hand gestures. Was that supposed to be a sign for her to go along...? Fine, if he really meat to help her, she could do that. So she remained silent as to not say anything incriminating her, and after consulting with their boss the bouncers did give him custody of her. As soon as they weren't within earring range, she immediately spoke to him. ]

T-Thank you, but I didn't do anything wrong!

[scriptwriter]

[The last bidding war that Kotarou had witnessed here had involved rap battling, so he had to wonder if things would escalate to something that entertaining. At the very least, he could check out the items here like an RPG game and see what looked interesting. Though it was a familiar voice that completely disrupted the whole auction... It was that clumsy goddess again!

On one hand, Kotarou knew that it might've saved him much hassle if he just ignored this. Surely, they would simply throw her out of the room and he could find her later. But whenever he heard that they were planning on imprisoning her, he lets out a big sigh. Crap! I really can't ignore this, can't I?! It was time to don his goofy persona with his fake pair of glasses. This is what a secret agent does to save people, right?

Stepping through the doors, Kotarou flashes the bouncers a rather confident smile and walks over to them. The question could be if Ereshkigal would catch onto what he was trying to do here.]

Gentlemen, gentlemen! I do appreciate you taking care of my girl here, but there's no worries! My assistant was just hyped before our little performance that she forgot that there was someone else on stage! [A beat.] I'm sure you two don't know who we are, don't you?

[queenofkur]

[ When he stepped in, the bouncers had been right on the verge of dropping her into the magical prison. Someone had come to rescue her?! Who was that...? Wait, it was that weird and mean human from last time, wasn't it? Why was he wearing those goofy glasses?

Most importantly, had she heard that right? ]

Your girl? [Yes, she was about to get thrown into a magical jail. Yes, she understood what he was trying to do. No, she didn't like it.] ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Hng...!

[ The weird noises that escaped her mouth were somewhere between ashamed, offended and angry. But she did her best to keep all of that quiet until the bouncers were out. Speaking of which-

They didn't say a single word. They had halted what they were doing and were staring at Kotarou. At least he had the opportunity to sell them whatever story he wanted. ]

III/ MediQueens [Assistance Quest]

[queenofkur]

[ You may be wondering how Ereshkigal found herself sitting atop a statue in the middle of a fountain. You may be wondering why there is an army of ants around the fountain, only stopped from going after her by the threat of water. Well, that is what happens when you have a negative luck stat.

That and she was holding a bottle with a bunch of queen ants stored inside... Which didn't stop her from waving desperately at anyone passing by. Not that she needed to do that for anyone to notice something was wrong. ]

H-Hey, I am so sorry to be a bother but... [Gulps.] Um, could you please do something about all those ants...?

[ It's becoming something of an habit, but at least this time she does directly ask for help. ]

[reloves]

[ See.

Minako was looking up just enough to mostly spot Ereshkigal there. And just enough to not notice what exactly was going on around the fountain she is currently sitting on.

By which I mean that the moment she wonders what the other girl means by that question, and the moment Minako's gaze trails down to try and find that out..

She just shrieks. It's a miracle there's no window shattering anywhere nearby. ]

Where are there so many ants?!

[ This is clearly your heroic saviour, Ereshkigal. (Okay, she will jump into action in a moment, probably.. but she can't help but have this initial first reaction! Who could blame someone for it!) ]

[queenofkur]

[ Oh no, oh no. Her savior is even more terrorized than she is. With good reason. She's the Goddess of Death, and she finds this absolutely gross and terrifying. Anyone would be unsettled.

It's hopeless, isn't it? ]

T-They're drawn to the quest target I'm holding...

[ Maybe she should just free the ant queens. Admit that this mission was beyond her. Publicly disgrace herself as a failure who couldn't accomplish a simple mission. Lose all and any respect she may have garnered so far.

No... That? That was more terrifying than being eaten alive by those ants. She couldn't risk such humiliation. It was why she was still holding onto the bottle with the ants... Desperately so. ]

[fujimaru]

--what happened?!

[ It's the first thing that she blurts out, because of course it is. What is this! Ereshkigal!! Why?

Ritsuka, unfortunately, is kind of lazy about checking the quest boards and such, so she's not actually aware of the ant queen thing... but boy does seeing a whole swarm of ants send chills down her spine, worse than any of the various ghosts and worse she's encountered over the years.

But this is one of her people, so of course Ritsuka still approaches, even if it's kind of wincing, tiptoeing. ]

Okay. Okay, uh... I've heard cinnamon can help...? But I don't have any on me right now...

[queenofkur]

[ Waving to anyone she could in her current state of panic, Ereshkigal hadn't recognized just whom she had asked help to immediately. But now that she did... Oh goodness. On the one hand, Ritsuka was probably the best person she could count on to take her out of this situation. She couldn't have hoped for a better savior!

On the other hand, she was the last person Ereshkigal had wanted to catch her under those circumstances. What was she going to think? Getting eaten alive by those ants may have been a kinder fate, all things considered. ]

I-I captured ant queens for a quest and...

[ Sniff. Sob. Why did this keep happening to her? Was this her punishment for having helped Ritsuka and the living world as a whole back in the seventh singularity? If so maybe she shouldn't complain... ]

IV/ Nice Bag...? [Camelot]

[queenofkur]

[ After a hard day of work gathering as many stray spirits as she could in her little cage, Ereshkigal sat on a bench in Camelot to take a breather. The cage sitting on her side was filled with floating little lights— It was crowded, but they'd get individual cages soon. But lo... As she tilted her head to the side, she froze, coming to a grand realization:

Someone was already sitting on that bench. ]

...

[ Okay, okay. She had to keep her cool. It wasn't the most horrifying thing ever. What could she say...? … … … Right! She had her new handbag with her! And the girl who had sold it to her had promised it would solve her social skill issues if she used it as a conversation topic. So Ereshkigal forced a smile and held her bag. ]

I-It's a nice bag, right?

[ Quite likely to be the most awkward and horrible conversation starter ever. At least this time she does not need help. Right...? ]

[asaviorshand]

[It's a slow day at the forge today, which leaves Dimitri with nothing to do since he has no weapons to appraise. Since it's a nice day, he decides to go for a walk in the vicinity of the shop, and takes a moment to rest on a bench. He's not alone for long, though, as a young woman walks over to join him. He tries to smile at her, but she isn't paying attention.

Not right away, at least.]

Huh?

[Dimitri looks over, and the girl looks, well...very nervous. He supposes he ought not be too surprised, as he's a tall man, with black armor, a heavy fur cape, and an eyepatch covering his right eye. It's a pretty intimidating look, he would begrudgingly admit.]

Uh, I, I suppose so? I apologize, I don't have much of an eye for fashion. But if you're happy with it, that's what matters.

[queenofkur]

[ Honestly, his general look wasn't intimidating to her. If anything, it more or less was in line with her own aesthetics. But the fact that he was a living and sentient being capable of things such as looking at her and judging her? Now that was absolutely terrifying.

And his reply didn't help in the least. This wasn't what she'd paid for...! The bag was supposed to be a solution to her lack of social skills, and yet this conversation was promising to be more awkward than any others! It couldn't be that she'd been... Scammed...?

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

No, no. She couldn't admit that. She couldn't accept that. So it meant the only solution was to persist so as to prove the bag wasn't a scam! ]

I-I'm very happy with it, yes. [A pause. What else could she even say...?] It has a surprisingly large capacity for its size. It is very handy to have.

[ She looked as though she was about to explode on the inside. It didn't work, did it? ]

[resistetmords]

It is a very nice bag, yes.

[All smiles here! She hadn't exactly been expecting the sudden company but wouldn't say no! Especially not when it was Eresh!]

Where did you get it? Or is it custom made~?

[Opening up the conversation a bit more never hurts when it's with someone who's obviously not all that used to talking with others.]

[queenofkur]

[ Oh... She hadn't noticed it was Belgium who was sitting there. Now she felt more than a little bit dumb. But at least it had been a conversation starter. ]

A girl sold it to me on AOL...

[ She paused and smiled sheepishly. ]

She said the bag would help me with my social anxiety...

[ Wow. It sounds even worse now that she's said it aloud. She'd really been scammed, huh. ]

[prismatically]

[ The weather's just nice enough that Stella's been spending most of her time this month getting back into shape for performing – which is easier said than done when she's by herself and it's just that bit harder to get motivated. So if it looks like she's just chillin on the bench on her phone with no indication she's done any training today? Don't worry about it.

She pops up from behind her phone at the sound of Ereshkigal's voice though and almost immediately, her face lights up. ]

Oh wow, it's so cute! [ Sounding sincerely enthused, she hops onto her feet so she can get a closer look. ] Where'd you get it?

[queenofkur]

A-a girl sold it to me on AOL!

[ Ereshkigal seemed delighted that speaking of the bag had the intended effect! It really was a miracle, wasn't it? She beamed at Stella. ]

She said it'd help with my— [She paused. Should she really say that much? Well, there was no shame to be had... But she should word it in a way that made it sound like a more serious and deadly problem than just "anxiety."] With my difficulties expressing myself appropriately around living humans.

[ And well... It did! Even though that was probably more coincidental than purposeful. ]