but even if the stars and moon collide [afterparty]

[allatonce]

[Well, that sucked!

After about an hour, invitations written in colorful ink appear under everyone's doors.]

Understandable if you're not up to it, but we're having a memorial and "don't wanna be alone" hang-out in the restaurant again.

[The restaurant has very much been decorated with the most rainbow fabric she could find in the department store. Jonathan got roped in, mainly so she could make sure he was doing okay, but also because she assumed that he knew how to put a tablecloth on a table. He seemed like the type, anyway.

After consulting with Undertaker, most of the food that's been set out is more traditional Chinese funeral food than Victorian—you can get a whole roast duck in the restaurant—but she tried for a mix of things. There is fruit, the aforementioned roast duck, and several vegetarian dishes along with potatoes for some reason and... cookies? Okay then.

Joy's trying, because that was way less terrible for her than it was for basically anyone else.

Happy Pride Wrath, New Rapture!]

Comments

open but also not at the party

[specialyellthing]

[Unfortunately for anyone who may have been looking forward to a big fight—- Zinda Blake does not stick to her word. Instead, she stays in her suite, laying on the sofa in the main area and staring at the ceiling.]

I miss… beer. [And if any of her roomies go to leave, she’ll peek up—-]

Hey! Be safe out there, you hear?

[But for the most part? She just kindof lays around, sulking in her jeans and tye dye and her Blackhawk’s jacket, worn open over the t-shirt. There are no war cry send offs tonight. Just some quiet thinking about what it really means to be The Last Blackhawk.

She thinks about it late into the night.]

[allatonce]

[When Zinda doesn't show up, Joy eventually slips away from the party and knocks on the door to her suite.]

Hey. You good, sis? I can bring you some food, if you want.

[specialyellthing]

[She can’t ignore Joy, and the door pops open a few seconds after she knocks.]

Ah, hey, Sis. Sorry I didn’ show to your party. Feelin kindof partied out.

Jonathan brought me a huge slice of cake already.

[allatonce]

Nah, it's okay. I just wanted to check and make sure you didn't fight that motherfucker and need patching up.

[Not that, like, she disapproves of fighting? But because that's not productive and also she's pretty sure Forrest is out of commission right now and she's only got real basic first aid knowledge.]

[specialyellthing]

Hah! No. I’m probably provin what he said about me right in his mind, but… I’m not in the mood right now.

[If she starts hitting him, she might not stop. And Oracle’s not in her ear to yell at her to stop. They’d probably just beat each other until someone pulled them apart, at this point.]

Appreciate the thought though.

[allatonce]

We gotta stick together, right? Especially now that Penelope's proved why being 18 doesn't make you an adult and we're the only adult women left besides Hild.

[Who has immortal wine aunt vibes so.]

[specialyellthing]

Well, I coulda told you that. Girl tried to turn down ice cream, on account of her figure. [She grins-- then realizes she's grinning, and feels a little morose about the whole thing.]

We do. Gotta stick together. You got a good head on your shoulders, sis. Don't you go thinkin' I haven't noticed.

cw: ableism/misogyny

[allatonce]

Damn. I'd eat ice cream all the time, if it didn't make me sick as hell.

[Sometimes she still does and then lies there full of regrets later. Such is the allure of ice cream.]

Thanks, though. I like knowing I don't come off as, you know. [She makes the universal sign for crazy.] Hysterical or whatever you wanna call it.

[daimakaicho]

[ Later on, Hild will poke into the main living space, crossing into the kitchenette to get a glass of water. She looks over at Zinda, weighing whether she should say anything or not, before settling on the former. ]

You don't have any of that alcohol that's been coming out of the vending machine, have you?

[ Is the Malort nasty? Yes. Is that the point? Absolutely not. It's not beer, but it's something. ]

[specialyellthing]

No. I’m thinking the machine has somethin against me, I haven’t gotten anything yet—— [aka i haven’t done regains the entire game. ooops. Zinda pouts, convinced it’s a personal affront.]

Is it as bad as Big Guy told me it was?

[daimakaicho]

[ She sort of lets out a quiet tsk in disappointment. ]

I haven't had a chance to try it, but all those liquors with wormwood in them certainly leave something to be desired.

[ She sighs, pausing to take a drink. ]

That's a shame, though. It'd come in handy right now.

[fuckingguy]

[ Unfortunately, one stupid little accent is to quiet thinking as oil is to water, and maybe an hour or two after the party invitations are distributed, it pierces whatever calm might happen to exist in this suite. ]

Zinda? [ There is an accompanying rap of knuckles on the door to the outside. ] Hello? Zinda, are you in there?

[ Like, he does sound reasonably tentative when you take into account who it is, but that's just because usually his move would be to actually call out "knock knock knocking!" while knocking on the door. The bar is miles beneath the ocean floor, and Nandor put it there himself! ]

[specialyellthing]

[That stupid accent may have stopped all her thoughts, but at this point? It’s probably a good thing. And it gets her off the couch at least, swinging the door open with a big smile.]

You lookin for me, Big Guy?

[fuckingguy]

Yesss. [ His smile back is small, but it's real, not the practiced "human" smile that (mostly) hides his fangs! Their points poke out from beneath his upper lip as he dithers. ] I was just thinking, you know, about last Friday, and you were not at the restaurant or the garden... uh, the point is I have something for you.

[ His tone on the back of the sentence is a bit singsong, anticipatory. Once the door started to open, he hid both his arms behind his back. Now, he whips one out with a dramatic flourish, revealing a full bottle of: ]

Human alcohol! [ With great solemnity, he adds: ] I was locked into combat with the machine for many minutes, but eventually it relented.

[ Zinda likes it when he says silly shit like that, doesn't she? Admittedly, she laughs at a lot of what Nandor has to say, so it's kind of hard for him to pinpoint a specific source. ]

[specialyellthing]

[She smiles back, ready to explain that she doesn't really normally do funerals-- that once you've seen one, you've seen them all, and last week was kind of an exception because it was a kid, but then he whips out the bottle of alcohol, and she brightens right up.

She erupts in a roar of laughter, clapping him on the shoulder in reward.]

HAWKAH, Big Guy! And ya brought the spoils of battle back to me? I could kiss ya right now, I swear--

[...But instead she reaches for the bottle.]

[fuckingguy]

[ Nandor's smile widens. Even without the hand on his shoulder, or the laughter, the battle cry would have done the job. (Also, he does almost lean forward, because he's fucking stupid and historically this is exactly what happens when someone tells a member of his household they could kiss them, but then it becomes clear she is just speaking figuratively and he plays it off like nothing happened!!) ]

Of course. [ He presses the bottle into her hands, adding: ] I would not have fought so well without your words to inspire me. The prize is yours by rights.

... I do gotta be honest, it still doesn't look great? But it must be better than nothing.

[specialyellthing]

It’ll do the trick, and that’s what’s important. I can send em off with a proper drink now. [She grins at him—- then she follows up on her previous suggestion. She rises up onto her tip-toes, and pecks a quick kiss to his cheek.]

Ya wanna come in?

[hellaethics]

[It's a little under an hour after the party invitations are passed out and Zinda is getting a little knock-knock on her door!]

Heeeeey, Zinda? You home?

[specialyellthing]

[Zinda didn’t expect so many visitors, but she’ll take it—— she opens the door, grinning, and the first thing she does? Is check to see if Jason ever put his shirt back on.]

Hey, Scamp.

[hellaethics]

[For Zinda? Absolutely not but it is tucked into his back pocket for later.

He grins back at her, a slightly melted ice cream soda in his hands just for her.]

I know you're probably feeling really bad about today so I thought I'd make you something sweet. It's not actual beer but it is root beer!

[specialyellthing]

You’re too sweet. [But she’s not going to say no to a root beer float, even if it brings slightly sad memories of Obi to mind. And even if it’s slightly melted.

She takes the drink, then steps back so he can come in if he wants to.]

I can get you a water, or a cup of juice, if ya wanna toast with me.

[hellaethics]

Sure! I'm never gonna say no to juice or toast. [Jason, she means- okay, bud.

He steps into her room, giving it curious look around with his slightly chilly hands shoved into his pockets.]

[specialyellthing]

[She laughs, because thankfully, that one’s easy to mistake as a joke, and not a clear sign that the boy has a head full of moon rocks instead of brains.

But even if she could tell, he’s got his shirt off. She probably wouldn’t complain.

She bustles into the kitchenette and pours him a cup of orange juice, handing it off and raising her root beer float.]

To Fish an’ Queenie.

[sastruga]

[Mafuyu isn't sure she should be approaching Zinda right now, after... everything that trial was. Not that she feels uncomfortable, simply, well.

The Penelope of it all.

She still comes over, though. It doesn't feel right just leaving things be, either.]

...Is there anything I can get you, Blake-san?

[specialyellthing]

Oh, Sparkles! [All things considered, it’s a good thing she stopped by—- Zinda sits up and smiles at Mafuyu, genuinely cheered.]

I’m okay. Jus’ restin a little bit.