foolishmortals | all that glitters is gold [AFTERPARTY]

[It's been a very long, and very upsetting morning, and honestly, Ford is feeling goddamn drained. All the events of the day have hit him like a ton of bricks. And as much as he wants nothing more than to sleep for about a week...well. There's work to do.

After talking it over with Fiddleford, his first mission is hitting the kitchen and scraping together all the eggs, potatoes, and onions he can find. It takes him a good few hours, but eventually he's got five big casserole dishes full of kugel, steaming hot, fresh out of the oven. He stacks up a big pile of plates, forks, and serving utensils and carries it all into the lounge in trips.

Next is the business of the still. Between the two of them, the two Fords manage to get it into the lounge and set it up on a table where it's easy to access. Ford also pilfers a big glass jug of apple juice for the kids and puts it nearby. All the adults are free to partake of a cup of Fiddleford's sugar shine. They'll be needing it, tonight.

Lastly, are the notes. Ford writes them all out in his neat, block lettering, and slips one under each door—pausing at the doors of the deceased with a sad frown each time.

The lounge is quiet while they wait for everyone to arrive, save for the sounds of banjo music....

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[That was... yeah. That was a thing. That mess at the end of the trial, from everything with Star up until they escaped, had been too much for Elsa to handle. She'd retreated to her room as well, letting her power just vent and cover the entire room. She let the icicles drop down, she let the frost crawl up and down the walls and the ceiling and the furniture. Just... let it all out, so that she won't have any accidents with the others around.

When she finally leaves, she nearly walks right into Maui as he's on his way to Lefou's room. Her friend, the friend she almost saw die, and any words she might have said to him just instantly die in the throat.]

Maui...

[Like Elsa, Maui was equally as silent. More than his own death, he had been terrified that Elsa might have died because of him. In those moments, he'd felt vulnerable, and had confessed more than he thought he might have.

He'd been... afraid. Afraid not for his own death, but for leaving her without some support.]

Uh. You... want to step inside my room for a bit?

[Honestly? She... wasn't even thinking about it at all. Her dying, that is. She wasn't actively seeking death, but at this point, she doesn't care. But she does care when people she cares about are in danger, and she wouldn't be able to handle it if Maui had died...!

And she worried he'd hate her for it, but it... doesn't seem like that...?]

If... if you're okay with it, sure.

Sure thing.

[Maui's room wasn't much to marvel at. Having avoided the slot machine thus far, there wasn't anything in the way of knick-knacks. Still, his bed was torn apart and now missing its top-sheet, and there were scattered bits of corn and other food. None of which seemed to have been eaten by the resident chicken.

Rather, he seemed far more interested at pecking at Elsa's feet as soon as she entered the room.]

Don't mind him. I think he's... confused. Upset, maybe. He liked Wander. More than he liked me, at least.

[Elsa's not one to judge for a bit of a mess. Her room's pretty clean, but at the same time, she hadn't really been taking care of it or herself since the day Anna died, so it's a little cluttered too. And Anna hadn't been the cleanest person ever either, so!

When the chicken pecks at her feet, she doesn't really have the heart to nudge him away. She just crouches down, scratching the pathetic creature on the head.]

He's not the only one feeling a bit lost. It seems like we're all in the same situation right now, aren't we?

[Heihei managed a few half-hearted clucks, but ultimately remained quiet. Once Elsa was done scratching him, he ambled away, picking at stray bits of debris rather than anything substantial or healthy. Every now and again, he clucked at the door.]

I think so. [He lowered his head, resting it on his hands for the time being.] I really screwed up, and I'm sorry.

[She can't really argue. She still hasn't fully comprehended the situation, but... he almost took the chance to kill the Host. He had his hook in his hands. But the important part is that he didn't. And he'd listened to them and ran with them. He was here, alive, so that's really all that matters right now.]

You... you didn't do anything. You weren't the one that brought that man into the mansion. You didn't kill the Host. You didn't... you didn't take that other ghost's offer.

And you tried to stay behind to try and protect us, right? I don't think that's anything to be sorry about.

I did take it, Elsa. [He wasn't in the mood to pretend like he truly was some sort of hero. Maybe he made the right decision in the end, but he had still said yes to get there. He had played along with it for weeks.]

I protected you, but it was because of my own mistake. We wouldn't be here if I didn't say yes in the first place, kid.

But did you kill him? No. It was... what did you call him? Hatbox? He's the one to blame for all of this. For tempting you, for killing the Host...

[She's just... tired of the attempts to pit them against their friends. She absolutely refuses to think badly of Maui after all of this.]

You told me that it's okay to mess up, because you know how it feels. I know how it feels to let guilt and blaming yourself eat away at you. You... you can't do that to yourself, Maui.

[It's already too late for her. Most of herself is just gone because of the guilt and self-loathing she feels. But it's not too late for him yet.]

[Maui opened his mouth, fury clear on his face. It wasn't Elsa that was the source of his anger, however. No, it was the same source as always -- the stupid demi-god who thought he could play hero. Once again, he'd placed his need for glory above that of others.

And it may well have doomed them, just as it had doomed his own world.

Maybe he would have said all of that to her, had she not continued speaking. Her words washed over him, cooling the fire of his anger like the ocean had done to Te Ka. That was another problem with him -- he was a hypocrite. Thankfully, he was at least self-aware enough not to dig himself a deeper pit.]

You don't understand. [Though his words were a challenge, the bulk of the fight was gone from his voice.] This keeps happening. Everything is dying back home because of me. And now we all might too.

But are you going to work to fix it, like you changed your mind to protect us here? That... that has to count for something...

Maybe that counts for something here. But my home is still dying because of me. Just because I did the right thing a few times in this world, doesn't take away any of the other things I did.

all that glitters is gold [AFTERPARTY]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject