darling, it's better down where it's wetter, take it from me

[anasty]

Your invitation under the door comes handwritten in varying calligraphic, but complimenting scripts:

Our remembrance takes place at the pool this evening.

Accensa domo proximi, tua quoque periclitatur.

Don’t antagonize the eels.


The ambient light around the aqua centerpiece of the water is golden, thanks to what appears to be small will-o-wisps hovering strategically placed on the outskirts. Don’t try to touch them - they burn. Inside the water, there are indeed a pair of dark blue eels swimming around... but they're at the deepest reaches, at least?

Reigning over it all is a makeshift banner, comprised of several notebook pages taped together. In a careful calligraphy script:


ACTA EST FABULA, PLAUDITE!

There are three tables.

The first is food. There is first and foremost a decadent spread of fresh and dried fruit, as well as raw vegetables by some dip. Some delectable varieties of bread have been provided by Belle and are accompanied by some jam and cheese. For those that don’t want to put anything together, there are also triangles of monte cristo sandwiches from Oswald's suggestions. There is a simple, folded piece of paper acting as placard. The same elegant inking is there, if much more subtle: Consummatum est.

The second is drinks, the division between alcoholic and non-alcoholic made by another folded paper placard: Bibere venenum in auro. The alcoholic section is a variety of cocktails, but particularly a copious amount of wine pilfered from the Tip Top bar. The non-alcoholic side is predictably soda, water, and juice. There are also a few pots of brewed tea from Belle - get them while they're hot!

The final table sports every swimsuit that coat check and the pool room had to offer, along with sunglasses ( for what? Why, style of course ). The placard reads: Fortunae naufragium.

It may be a bit more lavish than Ratigan’s party, but there is one key difference - it’s all self-serve.

Comments

[anasty]

[ Having spent more effort than she'd like to admit, Ursula will be lounging at the edge of the pool, likely with some sort of drink in hand.

Occasionally the eels do rise to meet her trailing tentacles, twirling fondly around them or else watching those that are close. They are quite eerie, with their mismatched gold and white eyes. That they are two parts of a whole wouldn't take a genius to surmise. ]

How are you feeling, dear?

[ She'll ask anyone who approaches her, with a wry little cut to her painted mouth. ]

[theduck]

[Donald's... a little late getting back to the party, after receiving his letter from Thalia. It was obviously supposed to be a hopeful message, but it's hard to have any hope at all after what happened today so it... just kind of made him miserable.

But also that party setup looked Sweet so he obviously has to go back and hang out for at least a bit. And-- well, he really doesn't want to be anywhere near those eels (still creepy, thanks), but he has to ask... so he does approach Ursula, though he doesn't exactly get close to the water.]

Honestly? Impressed.

Did you do all of this? It's... really nice.

[And far more than he expected from her, but still. If anything's going to come close to properly honoring the dead, it's this.]

[anasty]

I had a little help with the food.

[ She smiles, and it surprisingly lacks its usual aggression... For now. ]

Frankly, it's a bit paltry for what I might have managed at my best. But do enjoy yourself, nonetheless.

I promise, the boys are on their best behavior.

[ And the pool is clean, if fully saltwater. ]

[hallotween]

[upon getting her letter from Talia, she runs into her room to read it in private. in her memory, she allows herself to be a child for once, and has a good long cry about the whole thing.

she does come to the party, though, dressing herself up in a red swimsuit and leaning over the edge of the pool, alternating between just watching and trying to tempt the eels with little pieces of sandwich. come be her friends water dogs.]

[anasty]

[ The first few crumbs could easily be chalked up to an accident, and Flotsam and Jetsam had been told to be on their best behavior...

But wide scraps in the water do attract the eels up from the depths. First Flotsam, greedy for the extra food, followed shortly by a jealous Jetsam.

Their sharp teeth are brutal as they snap up the sandwiches, their dark blue bodies graceful as the bend back into the water.

They speak in unison: ]

Hello, child.

[ Flotsam: ]

How kind she is...

[ Jetsam: ]

To think of us.

[ Together: ]

What is her name?

[hallotween]

Oh! [oh shit they tal-- wait no of course they talk, she's more surprised by non-talking animals at this point.] My name's Marnie! What's your names?

[theduck]

Careful. They probably bite.

[...he doesn't have anything to support this claim but the eels are unsettling enough to warrant some caution, he feels. which is why you won't catch him getting within a 4-foot radius of the pool at all and instead he's just offering up a warning from a very safe distance away.]

[hallotween]

[rolls eyes] Only when provoked! That's why that note was there.

[darnsitall]

[Sally is here, physically at least. She's sitting near the entrance, looking more solemn than anyone here has ever seen her. Even on Tuesday she was at least visibly upset. Now she's just... quiet and stone-faced.]

[theduck]

Uh-- hey, Sally...

[Whatever his first impression of her, Sally's shown by now that she clearly means well. And, well, at this point they really can't afford to not all get along with one another. Not considering how many people died this week. He approaches her on his way out, just to check on her.]

Are you-- how are you holding up?

[He was definitely going to ask if she's doing alright but. Obviously not. No one is doing alright anymore (except for maybe Ratigan).]

[darnsitall]

Oh, hi Mr. Duck.

[She tries to give him a smile, but even her stitched up mouth is turned down.] If I can be honest, I'm... really not sure what to think anymore.

[forgottenfounder]

[...Oh.

No matter what Oswald's impression might be of the ghosts or other spooks of Bog Easy, or even the antics she was a part of right here, Oswald can not deny someone attention when they're like this.

He can't find it in his heart to ignore her. So, at a point during the party, he approaches her, quietly, and making sure to be in full view.]

Hey, Sally? ...I was wondering if I could ask you something.

[darnsitall]

Hmm? Of course you can.

[lusito]

[Joshua's... sort of here at the afterparty, but surprise, he actually doesn't touch the alcohol, and he sort of picks at his food before eventually just tossing pieces of it to the eels in the pool. They probably have more of an appetite than he does.

He's rather quiet as he reads the letter that Thalia left for him, until after enough re-reading, he calmly and carefully folds it into a perfect square. He then takes out a black candle he had received from the penny press some days ago and proceeds to light it from where he's sitting in the corner farthest from the pool so that he can try to burn this letter with it...]

1/?

[hellosalem]

[The lights go dark. A cold breeze blows through the air.

There is a cackle, and three figures appear from a nearby door.]

2/?

[hellosalem]

Ugh, sisters, I never want to go near that wretched place again! Floating doors and eyeballs...bah! For being a "Twilight Zone", it offers very little twilight!

[anasty]

[ The eels do take his offerings. If he'd be a little more attentive to the edge, they'd even personally thank him.

But thanks either way, broseph. ]

[tadaishi]

[Normally, it's Thalia that Tadashi seeks out at the post-trial 'parties'. She's been a source of interesting conversation and he'd started considering her a good friend. It's strange not to find her in the kitchen making anything...or anywhere, really. Therefore, he's sort of at the party, mostly sitting at the edge of the pool with a plate of various dried fruits.

He's not wearing a swimsuit, rolling up the legs of his pants instead. And well, his legs aren't in the water, but his feet are. He might remove them if the eels take offense, though. Or mollify said eels with dried apricots, if they're interested.]

Eels are carnivorous, right?

[He's not asking anyone in particular.]

[Later on, in his room, he takes the time to properly read the letter addressed to him, rereading it several times before sticking it on the wall next to the motive photo of his friends. His door's open if anyone wants to bother or chat with him.]

[anasty]

[ The eels don't take offense, per se, but they do swirl about three or four feet beneath him in a perfect circle, somehow never touching one another even if each of them is almost as long as the average man. They've been fed a few scraps already and now they're silently keen for more.

Fortunately for Tadashi, they do know the difference between human legs and other meat. ]

tadashi's murder room

[forgottenfounder]

[There's a short knock at the door, and a pair of ears poking through followed shortly by Oswald's head.]

Hey, are you busy?

[greatwidesomewhere]

[It takes Belle a good while to show up to the party proper, to the effect that she misses all the witch commotion for the second time. She bakes the bread, and makes the tea, and helps Ursula with the preparations, and then she retreats to her room to allow herself a proper cry over Thalia's letter. The spear sits leaned against the corner of her room, both comforting and haunting her. By the time she's finished reading it, the letter is covered in tear spots. Thalia had grown to be important to her in the space of a month, and complicated and strange feelings aside, her company as a friend is going to be greatly missed.

Eventually, she pulls herself together, dresses in her blue dress from home and makes her way up to the pool. She takes a plate and puts a few morsels of bread and cheese on it, mostly to have something to do with her hands, and then goes and sits on the diving board, staring down at the place where Dipper had been found and idly nibbling.

After a while, she'll get up and start walking around the circumference of the pool, checking in on her friends.]

Did you get enough to eat? There's plenty of bread and cheese left, and sandwiches...

[Near the end of the party, she'll go and seek out Kylo. Her brows are drawn together in something like concern, or perhaps consternation, and she places a tentative hand on his shoulder to get his attention.]

May I speak to you?

[darthfanboy]

...Permission granted.

[Is Kylo here by the fucking pool in his armor? Yeah, he is.]

diving board

[forgottenfounder]

...You alright out there?

[Because Oswald is concerned enough to ask, but he's not feeling particularly brave enough to come out over that water himself. Something about the distinctive green coloring makes him... nervous.]

diving board

[geomanctic]

Be careful on that, okay? [Cornelia's just kind of hanging around by the edge of the pool, chewing on her lip anxiously. She can't see anything bad happen to anyone else right now, even if that's just getting a little wet from the pool.]

[anasty]

[ As more people filter back out of the party, thinning the herd, Ursula realizes it's going to be left to her to clean up.

Which is why she approaches Belle before she can escape. ]

Belle, dear! One moment, s'il vous plaît!

[ She calls for the woman to draw her attention while her tentacles work to pull her across the distance between them. She offers a wan little smile. ]

I believe some congratulations are in order. Your contributions to the occasion seem to have been the most popular.