I tried to get through to you

[archboxer]

[You know what that was? A fiasco. That was an utter fiasco. Three more people gone on a chance that may not happen! This is horrible. Even if some people dislike her, Rhea... is up to the challenge once more. This time she does it nearly herself: writing out the invitations, ordering the food and telling everyone to meet at the bar. In Ema's honor, of course.

She hands out the invitations herself and if she can't find you, she'll slide yours under your door.]

Comments

[fivestagegod]

[So! That was a shitshow! Again! This is just going to be a recurring theme here, isn't it.

Anyway, he'll stop by Ema's room for...not very long before deciding that he'd rather not be in Ema's room, and maybe it's slightly disrespectful how quickly he ends up in the aquarium after that. The sharks are back, in all their absurdly huge glory; Birkin himself is not standing in front of their tank like a reasonable person, but he's gone up the side again and is just...up here for the time being, watching them from up top. Hello, sharkfriends. Hi.

He'll get down eventually, though, seeing as he's largely disinterested in yeeting either himself or anyone else into the shark tank today; he'll be at the bar eventually, though he seems to be hanging back near one of the exits and isn't seeming too keen on properly joining everyone else who may be here. Kind of par for the course, though, by this point.]

bar

[emberserker]

I have so many questions.

aquarium

[mouflon]

Not looking to join them, I hope.

[ Hey Birkin sup. Rin asks the question while still a fair distance away. ]

bar

[nothingcanstop]

[ Della's pretty done with her drink-mixing experiments, so she's looking around for other people. And, oh hey, someone she was looking for. ]

You showed. Wasn't sure if you would this time.

Aquarium

[lovelikeyou]

[Lion was locked up in Rose's room all day, so she's bringing him here to swat at some fish a little. As a treat. She hadn't intended to really hang out by the shark tank right now, but seeing Birkin there, she'll walk over (to the bottom where normal people stand).]

Oh, they're back.

Aquarium

[ladygeryon]

[Nira did stick her head in here for a bit, so she's leaning against the doorway now, keeping far away from the water.]

All present and accounted for?

[philoxenia]

[ .... yeah, that sucked bad, and she's sort of on autopilot as she makes her way to her room. Not room 2, just yet--her own room, to just sort of be by herself and Daisy. She doesn't cry just yet, but... She's certainly not in a good way.

After that, she heads to the bar. She's here, physically, but she lingers at the back of the room with a cup of tea and Daisy. She doesn't seek anyone out, but like always, she won't say no to conversation. Ema--and Della and Rhea, honestly--wouldn't want her to withdraw, she's sure.

And speaking of.

It's quite a bit later when she goes to Ema's room. She finds the letter, and she almost misses it, but once she sees it? She takes the panda, clutches it tight to her chest, and sobs. ]

bar

[archboxer]

[Guess who finds her at the bar? There's some wine in one hand that she sets down and... some small pieces of meat from the snacks for Daisy. She places them on Daisy's paws to eat before sitting next to Mira.]

Mm.

[It's not even a word, just a soft sound as she reaches for Mira's arm with one hand.]

ema's room

[nothingcanstop]

[ This is a popular place to go, isn't it? It's a little hard, not to hear Mira's sobs. ]

...Mira. Oh, honey. [ Della walks right up to her and, though it's awkward, holds her in a hug. ]

bar

[bogwife]

Mira. [Zerinda's voice is soft as takes a seat beside Mira, Ema's Blue Badger clutched in her arms. She doesn't say anything else, just leans against her and quietly lays her head on her shoulder. Ema asked her to keep an eye on her and right now this is how she can do that.]

Ema's Room

[lovelikeyou]

Oh - oh, Mira...

[Rose recognizes that panda, at least. Do you...want a giant woman hug, or something?]

[blackmass]

[Probably unsurprisingly, Kirei didn't show up at the bar. Instead he was back in the garden, quietly looking after the poisonous plants.]

[What an absolute disaster today had been, and now they were without their investigator.]

[nothingcanstop]

[ It's probably a big surprise, but. Della seeks out Kirei! She's got like... There's something in her arms, something wrapped in that hideous t-shirt.

She clears her throat. ]

This a bad time?

[archboxer]

[It's Late when Rhea shows up in the garden. There seems to a little bit of blood on her sleeve. It's fine. What's also fine is that Rhea looks at the herbs then drifts over to the poisonous plants. She's talking to herself:]

I see, that one, too? Thank you, Mother.

[Does she notice him? Not at all.]

[archboxer]

[Rhea, herself, doesn't drink usually. There is little need for it when you have such a high tolerance yet... there she is at the bar as a proper hostess. At least she's not hiding in her room this time? She seems to have several bottles over the party. Rhea seems as sober as she was before, though.

Next to her is an old scroll--one that she promised a certain thief for putting up with being manhandled.

Later she's taking those wine bottles with her to the women's bathroom to wash them once more before taking them back to her room. It appears there may be more blood rituals.]

[bolderfell]

[Yeah, uh. Therion actually doesn't show up for that. Whoops!]

[emberserker]

[Anna goes right to the bar, no stops this time. She plants herself at a stool and sighs, looking out at the waterpark.]

I don't even know what to say about all that nonsense.

cw: blood. mention of self harm and blood magics

[archboxer]

[Late, Anna gets a visitor. Rhea had already left the bar and come back. One of the dark wine bottles is somewhat full again. Not quite a quarter but... There is a little blood staining her hideous tie die shirt as well.]

I believe we must try again, Anna.

[mouflon]

I have one idea, at least. "Ghosts in the water", huh...

[lovelikeyou]

Do you think she was from one of the previous groups?

[She had a title like them, after all. Angel...sort of does too, but Rose isn't sure "Assistant" quite counts.]

[nothingcanstop]

[ Exhausting. This is all exhausting. You know, Della's already on her way to the bar. She's...actually stepped behind it. She's not great at drink mixing, but. Well. Ema was pretty good at it, wasn't she? So, Della will give it a try. She's either mixing some drinks or sipping her own. ...Responsibly.

(Maybe they should find another place to do these things.)

Later, she... Well. To blow off steam after adventures, you do something. Today, it's going to the arcade. She jumps between DDR and knock-off Mortal Combat, Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man. She stays there for quite some time. ]

arcade

[mouflon]

[ This is, like, the one room in the whole facility Rin has managed to enjoy, ssso... It's probably natural that Rin would also gravitate here. She's back at it again with the light gun machines when she notices Della. ]

Another one of your games of choice?

[ She is, for the record, talking about DDR. ]

[hardnosed]

[ Honestly? In stark contrast to the last two Fridays, Jasper's pretty much okay. Yes, the trial was a disaster, but so was the one before, and the one before that, and okay you get the point they've all been fiascos. Nobody pushed her buttons specifically, the thing she'd suspected might have been the case wasn't, and something interesting happened during the execution. She's not happy about it all, but she has never been happy in her life. This is fine.

She stops by Shelley's room, and reads the message that's been left for the group. And it doesn't get to her, really... but it does make her pause, if only because it's so very much her, chipper and open and incredibly confusing, and it's the last thing she's ever going to say. In a low, gruff, voice, she mutters: ]

Octopussy?

[ Anyway! After that, she does show up at the bar, where she finds the biggest glass she can and just starts pouring whatever looks the most expensive and/or strong into it. Goldschlager? Sure, why not. Everclear? Don't mind if she does. Malort? Actually okay, no Malort, she has standards. She's not seeking out anyone, but she's also not going out of her way to be confrontational or rude. And if conversation starts up, there's really only one thing she's interested in discussing. ]

What do you make of what happened back there?

[archboxer]

[She's not drinking as strong of drinks, though she probably could, mainly because Rhea dislikes strong flavors. She's just sipping her wine and:]

Simply, he is losing control. Though... it seems Nova might have had help that we will not be able to count on.

[bogwife]

[Zerinda gets the invitation under her door. She reads it but she has some things to handle before she can handle direct interaction with people again.

Her first stop is at Therion's room. She knocks on the door but doesn't wait for an answer, leaving behind a plastic bottle filled with amber liquid and a small paper card on a string that says Sorry for picking you up. - Z.

Her next stop is Shelley's room. She only stays a few minutes, long enough to read the note she left and feel a fresh wave of sorrow, before she moves on to Ema's room. She stays in here longer, quietly looking through Ema's things. She picks up the Girls' Night Sign then sets it down, runs her fingers over the Cocktail Codex, picks up the Blue Badger and hugs it to her chest- and then she sees the letter with her name on it.

She picks it up carefully, taking a seat on the edge of with the Blue Badger in her arms and begins to read. She can barely make it through the second paragraph before the tears begin dripping down her face and the words begin to blur. By the time she makes it to the end the sobs are coming loud and unfiltered and she shoves her face into top of the Blue Badger's head. She stays that way for several minutes, crying until her voice is hoarse and she can't catch her breath. Before she leaves she picks up the letters to the Wright Anything Agency and Lana, slipping them into her skirt pockets.

When she finally does make it to the bar she heads straight to get a drink. She sets the Blue Badger on the counter, steps behind it and picks up the nearest bottle of wine to take a long drink straight from the bottle. She's fine, this is fine. Everything is fine.]

[bolderfell]

[Aw, Zaza. At least the mead has Rhea's scroll to keep it company outside Therion's door.]

[lovelikeyou]

[Well, that was an exhausting shitshow. Rose is upset, but not in one of the ways that would make her avoid people, really. So even though she's not exactly Rhea's biggest fan, she goes along to the meeting anyhow. It's not like she's going to start a fight; she can't stomach any more fighting today.

At the bar, she isn't terribly interested in the drinks. She doesn't even grab a seat, choosing instead to sit on the floor leaning back against a curled-up Lion and absentmindedly continuing her latest crochet project. You need something distracting to do with your hands, you know?

Late in the evening, once people start filing out, she goes to sit in the garden instead. It's peaceful here.]

Bar

[ladygeryon]

[Nira's got a non-alcoholic fruit drink, and she moves over to sit next to Rose, leaning against a similarly curled-up Aria.]

I wonder how much faith she really had in everyone being brought back, and how much of that was further self-justification. [She already had the "save the world" vs "spare these few people" balance going on, after all.]

[ladygeryon]

[That sucked. Nira can be found at the bar for a bit, mixing her own nonalcoholic fruit drinks and looking quiet and contemplative. She can also be found elsewhere around, mostly wandering to see where everyone else is heading.

She does drop by Ema's room to pick up her note to Therion, which she drops by his door along with a red cookie jar she's filled with various cookies from the cafeteria, mostly chocolate. She leaves her own note as well:]

Sorry you had to go through both being accused and manhandled like that. Ema left this note for you in her room, so I thought I'd bring it to you. I got you some snacks from the cafeteria as well.

-Nira

[bolderfell]

[Booze AND chocolate? Y'all are supplying him well to never come out of his room again. TY!]