when your thoughts turn sour make them sweet instead

[sentree]

[ That was...positively horrible? Ugh. After a few hours, notes are slipped under each person's door. They read, in a neat handwriting: ]

Banquet in Vanellope's honor in the dining room.

- Reyna, Sally and Thalia

[ You may not know what to expect when they say banquet, but it...really is one, isn't it? Thalia's main dish is cheeseburgers, so there are so many of those, but the table's positively covered in an arrangement of fruit and vegetables and all kinds of bread. Looks like they've gone all out.

What's really the cream of it all, though, are the desserts. Not a lot that's special, but there's a wide collection of cookies and cupcakes, and enough hot chocolate to feed an army. Maybe literally. There is a section that's particularly fancy, and that's the many candy apples, definitely courtesy of Sally. Along with a cute amount of peppermint bark. It seems like the food is unending, too, since there's the delicatible smell of baking cookies and simmering candy from the kitchen. Thalia and Sally are keeping you stocked, don't worry. ]

Comments

[sentree]

...Yeah. [ She rubs at her bandaged knuckles. ] It sure was. Gods... What a scumbag.

[forgottenfounder]

...He wasnt even the worst person I've ever gone up against. But he was still bad.

[It kind of eats him up inside. That and, well, something else.]

[sentree]

Me neither. There's...a lot of rotten people in the world. I just haven't met a mortal that was that bad in...a long while.

[ Probably not since... Hm. ]

[forgottenfounder]

Not even the Petes can get under my skin THAT badly. At least they don't have any family to abuse.

[And they probably wouldn't, considering the whole Peg and Pistol thing.]

[sentree]

...That one I'm familiar with.

[forgottenfounder]

Who, the Petes? Yeah, they're still pretty famous I think.

[sentree]

Oh, no, uh- the...other one. [ Thalia breezes past it. ] I think the only thing I know about your...Disney stuff is still Mickey.

[forgottenfounder]

...Oh.

[Oswald doesn't move as quickly as she does.]

Heh, well, you're missing out I guess. I never really was one to promote my brother's stuff, but he's kind of an icon. There's plenty of good cartoons out there.

[This is weird.]

[sentree]

[ You have to be fast on your feet as a demigod. Otherwise all the monster and...other uncomfortable subjects will get you. ]

...They always seemed too...normal for me. Maybe if we get out of here, I'll look into him. Or any others.

[forgottenfounder]

[he'd been pretty fleetfooted most of his life. Wasteland sure is something.]

Ya don't have to, but... maybe when we get out of here. It would be fun, right?

[hmm] I guess it might be a little too normal to a demigod, right?

[sentree]

That's part of it. All of it nowadays, when I was kid I just didn't want to do anything that'd be what other kids would do. It was like being a rebel.

[ Says the girl who's been wearing ripped jeans held together by paper clips. ]

[forgottenfounder]

[Girl, Oswald has worn the same shorts for eighty years, and he knows that you need some new pants.]

That does sound pretty rebellious. Any reason why?

[sentree]

[ ...Thalia hesitates. Maybe it's this day that's just getting to her. ]

'Cause it'd tick off my mom.

[forgottenfounder]

....Family problems? I can imagine that.

[He really can.]

[sentree]

Ha. Ohhh yeah. Big ones. It comes with the territory.

[forgottenfounder]

I guess gods do need god-sized problems in their lives.

[sentree]

Funny part is, she wasn't even the god half. That's my father. Mom was just a regular glory-seeking narcissist.

[forgottenfounder]

...Family can be really tough sometimes.

[sentree]

Try all the time... You've got issues with your brother, don't you? You...get it, kind of. But you still love him. Things are...better now, right? Mom... Things never got better. They never can. Same with my father.