Welp We're Here and That's What Matters

[ahelpingpaw]

[Perhaps it's tradition by now, he doesn't know. Still, he does send a note to everyone some time after the trial. Simple and to the point:]

Because everything on this ship is awful, I think a drink is needed. Come get some at the bar, it'll do you some good as long as you don't drink too much

Filbo (pawprint)

[Indeed, if you come to the bar you'll find there's one of everything. Filbo seems to have asked literally every drink he knows or has at least heard about, and lined them up from the most mellow to the strongest. There's one of each, so it's limited, take yours before it's gone! Or...ask Jimmy Buffett for more, he's right there.

Should he be encouraging drinking? He's not completely certain, but he had to do something! And this is as good as anything -- not festive because this is no time to be festive, but also social enough to encourage coming.

This will do.]

Comments

[ahelpingpaw]

It would be good to try to do something like that at least to keep us all safe...I-I don't think doing it on Thursday night would be for the best because, well, at this point nobody's gonna risk going out partying during such a time, but if it's any other day...

[He really looks like he's giving this some serious thought]

You know, I think you may be right. We do need distractions urgently.

[leaveittomother]

Of course doing it on Thursday night wouldn't work but maybe on Wednesday? I'll be honest, I'm sort of tempted to try to get people together to actually use the spa for what it's meant for.

[She glances at her hands.]

It's been a while since I've been able to sit down and paint my nails. Though, something less specific should work, too.

[ahelpingpaw]

Something in the spa would be good. I-I was there once and it really made me feel relaxed for the first time in ages, maybe we actually can use that for once and just forget about our worries for a few hours!

[He already is planning in his head the details, hah]

...not that I know that much about how everything in there is supposed to work, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out, right? It's not rocket science, it should be easy enough once I take a good look at everything in there.

[leaveittomother]

I could help. Admittedly, I really haven't to many myself. [Look at her, she clearly wasn't living a high lifestyle before hand!] But I did do a few at-home treatments before. It's been a while since I touched myself up; I probably could help out with the others.

[ahelpingpaw]

Perfect! I better leave that part to the expert! Or...to at least somebody who knows about it far more than I do.

[Filbo nods. This definitely sounds like a plan for Wednesday]

Honestly I didn't expect you to suggest something like a party of some sort. I'm surprised.

[leaveittomother]

Haha, well, you caught me. I'll admit I did it selfishly: I think it's safer for everyone if we stick together. I don't know if it'll work but I'm willing to try if it keeps people, including myself, safe. Parties just seemed the most enjoyable reason, for us to be together.

[ahelpingpaw]

I don't think it's selfish to want to be safer. I mean, who wouldn't want that.

[And doing the opposite is borderline reckless, really -- thinks the guy who was asking Plumeria to convince Freyja to stay the night with him and her, which probably wouldn't have ended great given how unstable Freyja was]

[leaveittomother]

That's true. I just thought I could do what I could. My skills aren't really suitable to helping out in other ways.

[Unless like. They needed to eat a body, she guesses? But they don't need to.]

[ahelpingpaw]

That you wanna do whatever you can sometimes means a lot anyway.

[Filbo pretty much empties his glass of hard whisky in one gulp because really, does he look like he can ship anything? After taking a moment to deal with the seriously bad idea to drink something like that when he hasn't used to how it feels like it burns, he shakes his head and asks:]

How are you holding up, by the way? Everything going...well, maybe not great, but at least not totally awful?

[leaveittomother]

Mm; I think I'm doing better than some weeks.

[She was an utter wreck after Alice's trial and Lorna's was awful. This was... a nice reprieve, actually. Not that it was for other people but for Reika this was just what she needed.]

I'm more worried about you, though. You were far closer to her than I was.

[ahelpingpaw]

Ah...thanks for worrying about me. I'm... [Filbo stares at his empty glass for a moment while he evaluates his emotional state] ...I'm really sad. But I'm not falling apart like I thought I would if Freyja died. I actually feel kinda...fine. Somehow.

[Maybe it's because he's glad Freyja really did want everyone to be okay, from the impression he had during the trial. Maybe it's because he had time to say goodbye to her, instead of finding her corpse. Or maybe it's...]

...she and I kept telling each other we have to keep moving on. I said that to her first, some time ago when she talked me about some of the stuff she felt. Then she said it to me not long afterwards, when I was feeling down. We just...kept bouncing that to each other every time we were feeling anxious or depressed or scared...and then she left me a letter that pretty much was encouraging me to keep going.

I guess...if I just fell into despair I'd be betraying everything she and I talked, so I'm refusing to do so, even if I'll miss her so much it hurts.

[He's not feeling good, but he also could be doing much worse, he figures. It's the best he could ask of himself]

[leaveittomother]

Mm, that's good, I think. It's alright to not be falling into despair. That means you're honoring her in your own way. I'm not sure if I agree with what she did but it's clear she tried what she thought was best.

[She smiles softly. Or at least as softly as she can. It's hard to tell with Reika, honestly, but she does seem to be trying.]

Sometimes talking to someone a lot is enough to make a connection. I know I felt that way about some people here.

[ahelpingpaw]

I know, right? It's been...such a strange experience to actually make connections around here. It's painful when this stuff happens, but...better this than being alone, right?

[He really would have been satisfied with '3/4 of these people don't hate me' and would have considered that major improvement in terms of social relationships when compared to his past. That he actually managed to make some real, strong connections surprises him to no end]

I'm glad you have felt like that too. You always seemed a little distant! Like Zero, kinda.

[leaveittomother]

Me? Ha, I suppose. I do care but, well, I'm not exactly... Well, good at expressing it?

[ahelpingpaw]

But you're trying. I mean, you're here and said you were worried for me. Sometimes just...trying is enough, even if you're not good at expressing it.

[Nobody will ask Reika to show oodles of sympathy, really. That she bothered to approach is good enough, he'd say]

[leaveittomother]

Exactly. My Jack reached out a hand when no one else did so I thought I should at least try to do the same.

[ahelpingpaw]

Right! Your Jack... [Reika's Jack, Jack the Ripper, infamous serial killer. When put like that it sounds difficult to imagine, but Reika sounds so genuinely fond of her Jack. Filbo wonders...] I hope it won't sound like a rude question, but did your Jack ever tell you why she did that?

[Maybe it was was a moment of empathy. Or maybe that Jack is like Reika in that she's really distant but then tried to reach out at someone else, for whatever reason. Or maybe she was lonely...there are many reasons]

Cw: child death and mentions of abuse

[leaveittomother]

She didn't but I know. Due to the nature of our contract I often saw her memories in my dreams. [Sometimes she wishes she hadn't but she knew better than that. She pauses looking at him.] It was in her nature. She wanted love that was denied so they tried taking it. That sounds cruel but Jack wasn't human. She was...

[Reika glanced around once.] An evil spirit created formed from the many children of London's poor that died unloved and thrown away. She, they, targeted women in particular to try to gain the love they never had.

[ahelpingpaw]

[Oh grump, how do you even respond to that, Filbo thinks. He just stares at her for a moment, wondering if maybe the whisky he just drank had already gotten up to his head and some words got scrambled. Welcome to the Pandora's Box that's talking to Reika about everything involving her and Jack]

...wow...

[For a moment that was all he could say. It takes him a few seconds more to think of something else]

...that's...

[......]

You...you managed to be in good terms with her--with them. Despite everything. That's gotta be...something extraordinaire.

[Maybe he should have drunk more before hearing that, goodness, hah]

[leaveittomother]

They saved me from dying. It didn't matter to me what they were. I didn't even know that at the start. All she wanted was a mother and if I was the one to be that role for her, why not?

[Maybe that's why she reacted so strongly to both Alice's and Lorna's deaths. She easily could have been in either situation.]

Sometimes love is a difficult emotion.

[ahelpingpaw]

That's true. I guess it really...does come in all forms!

[Even this one. Well, as long as it keeps them happy and preferably without killing anyone.

As if, Filbo]

Sorry if I seem at a loss for words, this really is--it's unlike anything I had heard before. No surprise there, right?

[leaveittomother]

I think I would be worried if you had heard about something like this, honestly.

[She says that earnestly. After all, Fate backstories are tough to handle and no one deserves them.]