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Velvet is at his favorite gay bar. VELVET is at his favorite gay bar... this will be awkward, thought Artorius, still, Innominat had been pestering him about his favorite places. There was something he had long forgotten about despair, and perhaps this was it.

Of course he is noticed immediately.

"ARTORIUS!" It is not Velvet who notices him first, it is that Malak that looks hauntingly like Laphicet. Velvet doesn't repeat the shout, just... looks between him, and the owner, as if there's a massive secret. 

"Bienfu thinks this is hilarious." A nasally voice says. "Whoda thunk he'd show up here?" The normin says. Artorius reaches for his sword, but then Innominat shouts.

"Velvet I never knew you were gay." In the most raspy whisper possible. Slowly Velvet nods. "Yes." She says quietly. Her eyes dart everywhere. 

 "Well I-" Artorius tries to recover face, but then Melchior walks in with a hat colored like the trans flag. Melchior does not comment on the drawn swords, the hellion, or innominat.

Instead he sits at the bar and says. "Tabitha, please pour me a drink, and teach."  Not a speck of emotion goes over his face as Tabitha obliges. 

"You were thinking of her again, weren't  you?" 

Melchior nods. "Yes, but perfect reason demands that I don't. Tell me again, how can I be reasonable about this, the way you can?" 

Artorius finds himself interested, but then a staff is pointed at his neck by Eleanor, who probably hasn't recognized Melchior, maybe it's the way he's dressed. 

"Are you here to judge her?" Eleanor asks, in the same way Velvet does.

"Nope, He's just showing me his favorite gay bar." Innominat says.

Velvet drops her drink. "Oh." She says before her claw shrinks into its bandages.

Artorius flushes, unable to stop it this time.  And that's before the pirates burst into the room. That sword daemon, Rokorou is walking drunkenly with his arms around an equally drunk Eizen's chest, while a shirtless man in green hair looks at them dejectedly.

Eleanor groans. "Zaveid, Eizen, I thought we agreed that Rokorou has finally met his match in alchohol." 

She wipes her forehead. "You better not try anything, I'm declaring a truce." She looks at Artorius, then Velvet, who groans into the hand that eats. 

"Velvet I  thought  we talked about self harm." Says the Hauntingly Lookalike Malak. 

Velvet stares at her hand. She shakes her head, and Artorius sees something he'd thought he'd never see again. A warm smile directed at her friends.

Artorius sits down on the other end from Velvet and a seat away from Melchior. He hears Eleanor chuckle as Rokorou does something so utterly bizzare that it goes from embarrassingly drunk to funny again. Eizen laughs too. Zaveid just grins.

Teresa and Oscar walk out of the bathroom. Oscar looks vividly uncomfortable and Artorius instantly knows that Teresa has gotten drunk... again.

Nobody even attempts to talk to those two. Whatever dynamic they have, they can sort it out themselves.

"Innominat." Artorius begins, putting that thought away. "People become Daemons because of malevolence." He says. "Malevolence from unfulfilled or impossible desires, thus we should remove them." The room is quiet.

"Humanity has no need for desires." Innominat repeated.

"It does. Just look around you." Velvet says harshly. There's evidence of that smile on her face, but it's gone now.

Artorius feels despair. Melchior places his hand on Artorius's shoulder. "It's a shame we must contain something so natural, but we must. For a reason." He says.

Artorius nods to himself, as if that will make him feel any better, for some reason.

Innominat forces a smile and asks, "So who introduced you to this bar?" The malak god had a smile before but it looks fake now, the malak god just looks longingly at Velvet and her friends.

"My child." "Some peddler." "Magilou." Is the mix of answers they get.

Somewhere a confident trans woman feels like she's done everything she can, and it feels right for a moment, before she steels herself for the future.