WE'RE STILL HERE AND THAT'S WHAT MATTERS FOR GRUMP'S SAKE

[ahelpingpaw]

[Well today was quite the unusual way. Filbo pretty much went into his room and collapsed on his bed and just fainted because hey, everything that happened? It's overwhelming. Bluuuuuuuh.

A few hours later, once he recovered somewhat, Filbo just goes and gets paper. This is a ridiculous situation, but...hey, no matter what, stuff needs to be done]

I know today was a really weird day, but let's try to gather and see what happens. There will be ice cream at the ice cream parlor in half an hour. With everything that happened we really should try to at least not forget we need to stick together for whatever reason.

---Filbo Fiddlepie (pawprint)

[Geez.

Well, he goes and does exactly what he said: this time it isn't booze, it's all kinds of ice cream available for anyone who comes. The tables all have spoons and water because really, this is going to be a whole lot of sugar for everyone. Better this than alcohol, especially since things clearly have gone off the rails one way or another, so may as well gorge yourself with ice cream and try to gather your wits for whatever the next week can bring]

Comments

[ahelpingpaw]

[Of course the host has to be there at the afterparty. There's Filbo, piling ice cream ball upon ice cream ball on the stuff, so he can serve them around]

Ask for anything and you'll get it! Except, uh, the dark froyo, I don't wanna give any of it.

[Still, Filbo looks a little bit rattled. Once he has a moment to rest, he just sits to the counter]

...so, how do you feel about, well, everything? Are you holding up well? It was...something.

[magycks]

[ Magica maintains fixed eye contact with Filbo as she walks over to the frozen yogurt wall, pulls the forbidden froyo lever, and lets it gradually spool into a looming tower of dark malevolence. She absolutely cannot finish this bowl and will not attempt to do so! ]

[ahelpingpaw]

...I-I mean, if you want it that badly...

[...]

...I hope it got cleaned really well after the essential oil thing, you know. But if you get sick I guess--I'll see what I can do?

[Don't die, Magica]

[cethflayn]

[Flayn's priority once they emerge from the elevator? Find Kissa. Sure, she's not hard to find for a cat, probably sleeping in Lalli's room and not too objecting to the girl she met before scooping her up, but catte is likely very surprised to be moved to a new room, with stuffed animals and Emily and Jimmy Bear watching as Flayn just. Sobs into Kissa. Shivering, scared, and so very lonely.

If you need to find her in Room 2 before the "dear fuck what do we do now" party, you may do so.

Flayn does show up, after a time. She sits in a corner with Emily and Jimmy Bear, Kissa loafed on the table, sipping at a glass of water. Her eyes have a sort of far-away look to them, something of tension in her shoulders, and she'll ask if you come by,]

Do you think he will come to hurt us?

[She means the Ghost Man that's in their Captain.]

Afterparty

[ahelpingpaw]

[Here you go, Flayn. A sundae made of all the fanciest stuff he could find, just like you provided him with one last week]

...uh...I wish I could say no? But, well...

[You saw him, he pretty much tried to set Filbo on fire. That's a threat]

But Davy Jones says he should follow the rules of...whatever's going on here? Maybe Davy Jones will be able to keep it subdued for the time being.

[jibunwo]

[Holy shit.]

[Lelouch was also going to take a long while alone in room 11 after...all of that. Catch his breath, give his heart a chance to stop pounding, maybe clean up the room a little while he was at it. Not like anyone else would be using it anymore. After that he'd spend some time in the kitchen, only getting Filbo's note on his way back.]

[He came to the ice cream parlor much calmer and less confrontational--and without his eyepatch, left eye glowing pale red with a bird-shaped sigil clear in his iris.]

[...Calmly, he'll set a banana bread with cream cheese frosting on the counter for anyone that wants something warmer.]

Afterparty

[ahelpingpaw]

[That...that really is some good-looking banana bread. Filbo looks at it for a moment, tempted to get some, and slides some ice cream towards Lelouch, in case he wants it]

...well done today. I know maybe it's hard to feel like there's anything to be glad about given...things kinda went crazy there? But well done anyway.

ice cream parlor

[cethflayn]

I am sorry I swore at you.

[Flayn does indeed sound sorry - but geez, how many times is she going to have to apologize for being awful? She's in a little place in the parlor drinking water, surrounded by Emily and Jimmy Bear and Kissa.]

Banana bread

[guffawsungraciously]

[god. okay. He’s ready to—

oh FUCK YES]

Oh, that looks delicious.

room 11

[magycks]

[ KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK yeah she's just outside, wailing on the door ]

Lelouch! Stop sulking inside and come take your stupid gun.

[scythegun]

[Yeager returns to his room immediately, but he doesn't stay there long. He's out and about patrolling shortly after that to make sure that whatever battle is waging down there doesn't end up coming up here... and he's definitely armed. He has his massive scythe with him, and though he has it slung over his shoulder, he definitely doesn't seem to be at ease. His expression's certainly less-than-pleased, for once.

But eventually it becomes clear that this isn't our battle (today), so Yeager wanders off to room 12 - Risotto's and Sylvando's room. He's initially in there only to do a sweep of the room and grab any more weapons, but... well, there's something on the desk and Yeager ends up standing there quietly for a long moment.]

...I won't let you down.

[He's going to be in there for a bit longer as well, cleaning up and putting things away just as Freyja noted in her journal.

Eventually he joins the afterparty proper; he's still got that massive scythe with him, but it's propped up against the table as he works intently on some notes. He'll notice if you approach, and hold up a hand in greeting.]

Do you have any experience with weapons? Have you received any from the vending machine?

afterparty

[scouserer]

I've got a gun from the vending machine. One that has the power to annihilate any demon.

[Constantine is busy shoveling spoonfuls of rum raisin ice cream into his mouth, which can only end in brain freeze.]

Unfortunately, I think by the time I figure out whether or not it actually works on that bastard, it'll be too late.

afterparty

[sivard]

I do, yeah.

I haven't really gotten anything from the machine, though. Just a strange gun that squirts water.

If I could use my artes, I'd be able to use my pendulum again.

[scouserer]

[Constantine isn't found at the ice cream parlor at first. His mind is racing, and he can't quite settle down just yet. Rather, he can be found on the top deck, smoking almost all his reserved cigarettes. He paces back and forth along the deck, the strong smell of nicotine indicating the presence of a lit cigarette in his hand. Cigarette stubs can be found scattered across the ground, thrown down without much care and promptly trampled upon. As he walks, he mutters to himself under his breath.]

I should've known. I should've known Jack couldn't have done any of this on his own--for God's sake, he even mentioned that he was tipped off, and nobody gives out that kind of information for free--not without some sort of intent behind it. He mentioned a ritual--it's got to be what he's after. It's got to be--

[Constantine runs a trembling hand through his hair, exhaling sharply and letting out a quiet, shaky laugh.]

God, John, how the fuck are you gonna get outta this one?

[Eventually, he makes his way to the living quarters and notices Filbo's note. He decides to go to the ice cream parlor--but with several supplies in tow. Constantine carries with him several stacks of loose paper taken from the craft room. In his hand, he grips a packet of thick, colorful markers. As soon as he enters, he slams them down on the table, glowering at anyone nearby.]

If that bastard is gonna play things this way, you all may as well learn some basic incantations to protect yourselves. S'not gonna kill him anytime soon, but it will safeguard your soul.

[He hopes, at least. For someone normally so adamant about being careful with magic and staying away from it, this is a change of pace.]

parlor

[jibunwo]

[Lelouch blinked both eyes in confusion, one of them with some kind of arcane sigil in it himself.]

...I feel it's very unlikely anything of the sort will work, you realize.

[sivard]

[Well, Filbo might not have supplied booze, but Zaveid shows up with booze anyway, looking pretty shaken, to be frank.

But just the same, he'll be in the ice cream parlor for most of the evening, not eating, but then again everyone probably knows by now that he doesn't technically need to eat. And it's hard to want to eat after... everything that just happened anyway.]

Does anyone know what the hell that was possessing Jack? I've seen an Empyrean using the body of a young boy as his vessel before, but not sure if that was a god or an evil spirit, like with Lorna.

[Later that night, much later, Zaveid can be found on the deck staring out at the water.]

I thought we'd be out of here when Jack kicked it. And here we are. Still trapped, now with something even Jones was apparently afraid of.

parlor

[scouserer]

If you want my thoughts, it doesn't matter what kind of shithead he is--what matters is that he's the thing standing between us and leaving with our souls intact.

[As much as he hates to admit it, he's far out of his depth. Constantine is busy stabbing a scoop of ice cream with a spoon, not really interested in eating.]

He mentioned that we were using his atlas--but as far as I know, I didn't see no stupid book besides the one Filbo looked at. Whatever he is, he's been waiting to break free and finish his stupid little ritual.

[magycks]

[ Magica has run the emotional gamut today, relatively speaking, which really just means that she felt more than two of them. Now, though, she's right back to rage, which is all the more potent for its new source. She does show up eventually, but it's only after a lot of stalking around and hissing furiously to herself. She has three major stop-off points:

Jimmy Buffett's Jimmy Buffet, where she is just straight up flinging plates and glasses at the walls.

The library, where she looks for the mysterious aforementioned atlas, doesn't find anything, starts tearing the shelves apart, then suddenly grabs a Bible and storms out.

And the garden, where she clips various herbs — dill, rosemary, lavender, sage even though it's presumably for cooking and not smudging, you get the drill. She brings them all back to room 5 in one big bouquet, then heads out to the ice cream parlor with the Bible and, weirdly enough, Flayn's friendship bracelet. Once she's there, she stares at both, writes furiously in her notebook, and in general does nothing but stew in the knowledge that she's doing nothing. ]

Honestly, I still want to burn something.

ice cream parlor

[sivard]

I know what you mean. If I only had my artes, I could have taken that thing on.

[Probably not, actually, since wind is weak against fire but when has that stopped Zaveid.]

talking about burning

[cethflayn]

[Sits there with her water and badly-made teddy, and her inherited wards.]

...We could still make an effigy. Nothing is stopping us.

[FLAYN..................]

[guffawsungraciously]

[The adrenaline doesn’t wear off for a good long while after Jasper exits the elevator, and he’s far too jittery to collapse somewhere like he kind of wants to, so he heads up to the top decks to, like, run a few laps around the top of the ship to calm himself down. It doesn’t, really, but at least it puts him in a mood to go take a goddamn shower before noting the note and making a beeline for the ice cream parlor.

Of course he’s gonna get himself some ice cream! You know who he is! He’s going to get a big bowl of strawberry ice cream and try to process his emotions! He’s seen some shit, he can deal with this, it’s fine, he...

...

...mumble, mumble...]

I suppose it is a small comfort that I am not the only one who saw all that this time.

ice cream parlor

[sivard]

...Yeah. I know what you mean.

You know, the last time I encountered an entity using a dead body as a puppet, it was the nameless Empyrean using the body of a girl's little brother for a vessel.

She wasn't able to understand it wasn't her brother. I can't really blame her.

[ltcommandroid]

[Well, first things first, Data's gonna take himself off to the infirmary! You can find him there carefully cutting away his own shirt and peeling it off - it looks like a good deal of the front is sticking to his chest. Once it's removed, you can see that a good-sized area of his skin there has melted. It's blackened and gross-looking, not a very pretty sight on an otherwise apparently anatomically-correct android. Maybe the flashes of metal and blinking lights that you can catch a glimpse of underneath will help take the edge off?

But, at least, it doesn't seem to cause him any pain. He examines the wound, using tools to push some of the skin aside as necessary, then goes to bandage the whole thing up. He could probably use a hand with that one, actually, how easy is it to wrap one's own chest?

By the time that's finished, it's been a bit longer than half an hour, so he'll go put on some new clothes, then scoop up Parker and Spot and bring them over to the ice cream parlor. As per usual, he's mostly just chilling there and feeding them some raw fish he got from the kitchen.]

Ice Cream Parlor

[ahelpingpaw]

[It probably is no surprise that barely two minutes after Data arrived Filbo ran to him]

A-Are you okay? You're--you're still alive, but did you--are you--will you--

[Data's not on fire anymore, of course, it'd be awful if a few hours later Data was still walking around with a torso on fire, but still...Filbo isn't sure if androids are fireproof, but what if they aren't? Then it meant Data could have died, and the thought just makes Filbo rather anxious]

Ice Cream Parlor

[cethflayn]

...Are you alright? Did that fire hurt you badly, Data?

[She knows! She knows he's not a flesh person! But that was green fire!!]