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

[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.]

[magycks]

Ugh, don't remind me. I could transfigure his very soul into an effigy and then set it ablaze like [ snapping her fingers ] that. And now? Useless apotropaics and ice cream. I might as well be buying crystals.

[sivard]

It's a lot of bullshit, if you ask me.

This should have been over when Reika killed Jack.

[magycks]

Should've, but won't be. Jack wasn't the one truly orchestrating the ritual, which means all of this is still on. Reika just gave him a fun little meat suit.

[sivard]

...We don't even know who we're up against right now, do we? He didn't give us a name, though Jones clearly knew he was around.

There's a big difference between some sort of spirit and a god, after all.

[magycks]

And names have power over both.

... I mean, gods less, obviously, but still. I'd ask Jones, but chances are he's going to keep his multifarious mouth shut.

[sivard]

...you're right about that.

There's a reason the leader of the Empyreans [...] er, the "gods" of my world, doesn't have a name. Though I'm fairly certain he was sealed away some time before I showed up here.

[As for Jones keeping quiet...]

You're right that he probably isn't able to say, but maybe it's possible to get him to point us in the right direction to find out what his name is anyway.

[magycks]

Well, I'll leave that to the Davy Jones best friend squad... but you have a point. Heart held in escrow aside, if I had a boss like that, I'd kill him.

[sivard]

I've only spoken to him briefly, so it's not like I'm in much of a position to do anything about it, either.

But I guess our new "Captain" is our primary concern right now.

[magycks]

Oh, he's something, alright, and once we find out what I'm going to banish it to the furthest reaches of Cocytus.

[sivard]

I'm not gonna argue with you about that.

There's only one way to stop this crap from continuing, and that's sealing him away for good.

[magycks]

You have any experience with that?

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..................]

[magycks]

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

I'm listening.

[cethflayn]

We could get pillowcases and fill them with...something. Grass, maybe. And twigs. And maybe herbs. And then we can write a name on it and give it sticks for limbs, and pretend it is...whomever we want to burn.

[Rudimentary, but maybe it'll help them feel better.]

[magycks]

Yes, that's the general idea. It is always more satisfying with a proper face and name, though.

[cethflayn]

We sadly only have so much to go on.

[Their new Ghost Friend is kind of borrowing Jack's body at the moment.]

[magycks]

Constantine was right to try and get a name, actually. I mean, there was never even a shred of a chance he would answer, but it was worth a try.

[cethflayn]

He did mention that we had been apparently following his atlas. Maybe if we find it, his name might be inscribed within, somewhere.

[magycks]

I just combed through the library, and nothing. [ combed through is a disastrous mischaracterization of what she actually did, but whatever!! ] Ugh, why does everyone who'd know what he's talking about have to be dead?

[cethflayn]

Well...we are not the ones who steer this ship. Maybe it is in the Captain's office?

[magycks]

... Perhaps. One of us had better investigate that before his new vessel gets too ripe.

[ Like, possessed or not, that is very much a dead body! The smell is going to become... not good! ]

[cethflayn]

[What does she mean by - oh. Oh, yeah, right. The dead body smell. Yep, that'll be a problem.]

We do, but we will have to be careful about it. He could return at any moment, or...maybe Jack had traps set there?

[Someone mentioned "you don't know if there's traps in there" before, it stuck in her head.]

[magycks]

That sounds like him — an obnoxious inconvenience well beyond the grave. Data can take a stroll-though first, then.