local insurance rates are surprisingly reasonable

[cross_and_bow]

Having minions comes in handy surprisingly often. They aren't very effective at tasks, but they're very good at acting miniony, and in some contexts it is exactly what she needs for added diplomatic consequence to have three or four of them following her around, addressing her as "Your Majesty", carrying stuff for her. They wanted detailed feedback; they get it. She learns all their names and supplies reports whenever anything out of the ordinary happens and once every other month. They're even doing pretty neat things with the garden. There is now a dense red-flowered shrub that is sort of the same shape as her. Soph has taken it upon herself to teach them board games and hangs out in the palace playing Parcheesi with available minions plus Tony on a routine basis.

Val's interview with James goes well; Bella starts calling her Ambassador, but only when she feels like getting laughed at. Other ambassadors accumulate. There's always work to do, and when it becomes wearying there's always people to love. Bella doesn't sleep. Sleep is boring.

She has a crown now, which pleases the minions to no end, though she doesn't usually wear it when she's not on Mercury. It's simple, just a ring that comes to a peak over her forehead, made of glossy indigo metal that matches her Jane-necklace. It attracts flames when she auras.

Here she is, not-sleeping with two minions, Soph, and Monopoly. When it's not her turn she is reading up on the cultural practices of the Kknrr demons.

Comments

[she_sells_seashells]

"...And now you have a sister."

[cross_and_bow]

"Yep. Named Soph, dating my Tony, plays checkers with my demonic minions on Mercury, incredibly tacky taste in jewelry."

[pythbox]

"You have demonic minions?"

[cross_and_bow]

"Yeah, I sort of accidentally inherited them after killing their previous goddess when I stalked through her vacated house in full aura. They do my palatial gardening and keep forgetting that I prefer 'your majesty' to 'your flammableness' and occasionally give me consequence on diplomatic excursions. I have asked them several times if they wouldn't rather go live off by themselves, but they are adamant that they have to be somebody's minions and I'm handy."

[pythbox]

"That's sort of depressingly adorable," he says.

[cross_and_bow]

"That's a very good summation of my demonic minions, yes."

[she_sells_seashells]

[Hey, Darcy, me and Juliet are in the world; Jane's down so we're harder to call in another time if you need anything, so, while we're here, do you need anything?]

[sailorheavymetal]

[Hi! Nah, I think I'm good, thanks!]

[she_sells_seashells]

[Okay!]

"Darcy's good; you want to hit the Sunshine-family worlds?"

[cross_and_bow]

"Yeah, I think so. I'm glad you're okay, Iron Man, Pepper, Jarvis," Juliet adds over her shoulder.

[she_sells_seashells]

(Aura!) Door! Shell Bell doesn't have a Jarvis at home; she could ask but she doesn't think to when she can do it herself. She conjures up an ansible, twists off half, as an afterthought makes enough to put other halves in all the other Jarvised worlds and twists them apart too. "There you go, we'll install the others on our rounds," she says.

[poeticterms]

"Thank you," says Jarvis.

[she_sells_seashells]

"No problem," says Shell Bell sunnily, and through she goes, Juliet following. "Bye!"

How about Apollo next? She lets Juliet in first to quarantine the place.

[cross_and_bow]

Which Juliet does. [Hey guys, here to restore connection to Yggdrasil,] she adds, to Jarvis and the local Tony and Sherlock.

[poeticterms]

[Lovely,] says the local Jarvis. [You have an ansible to give to Tony, I assume?]

[cross_and_bow]

[Yep. Do you need anything else as long as we're here or are things running smoothly by you?]

[poeticterms]

[Thank you, we're just fine.]

[she_sells_seashells]

Shell Bell's the one actually holding the ansible-halves; she pops to where Tony is and offers it to him.

[toblameforit]

"Hi, thanks!"

[she_sells_seashells]

"You're welcome!" Random hug. And she rejoins Juliet. And off they go to Helios.

[toblameforit]

Helios also has a local Tony who is happy to accept an ansible-half!

[she_sells_seashells]

Good for him! And that's all the Jarvises; there was going to be one in Peace but there is in fact not.

Rainbow time.