Afterparty? Catherding?? .........Afterherding?????

[aboyandhiscar]

[As soon as they're let out of the trial area, Mike makes a beeline for lounge and kitchen. Why, becomes apparent, because soon after, the room furniture in the lounge is arranged in a circle, with a seat for the all the remaining guests.

There's also a pot of coffee and soda cuz it's been a long fucking day. Maybe there are cheezits too, I don't know, a seventeen year old boy put this together. There are pizza rolls probably.

IN ANY CASE, hope you had enough time to flop and mope because Mike's knocking on every door and telling folks to meet in the lounge--if they aren't in their rooms, he'll slip a note under their doors. Once gathered, he skips straight to the point.]

I know it's been...a rough couple days for all of us, but we can't rest just yet. Especially not after that.

Before anything else can happen, we need a plan. How do we get to our friends, and how do we get them back?

And has anyone gotten any more weird notes lately?

Comments

[defyingfrigidity]

[It may be surprising that Elsa still attends the afterparties, with how badly she's been taking everything. But with her powers more or less as dead as she feels, there's no reason to hide away, no reason to protect anyone from the possibility of hurting them... so yeah. Here she is. She'll skip out on the coffee, because as much as she needs something nice and warm, the bitterness was never really her thing.

... Right. SHe should probably speak up now, on the topic of helping their friends.]

Um... we might have help in trying to rescue our friends. The dream I had last week... the person I spoke to said he could help us with that. We just need to find a way out ourselves first.

[aboyandhiscar]

And you trust this guy, yeah?

Getting outta of this dumb mansion is easier said than done, though. That just puts us back to day one.

[defyingfrigidity]

I do. He was... different than the Host. He seemed very upset over what was happening, and he sounded honest when he said he wanted to help us. He was the one that told me that our friends are in the underworld, and that Hades was the man we have to face if we want to save them.

[And he didn't try and talk her right into agreeing to accept his help. He just... comforted her. It was like the good days with her father, when he was much less stern when helping her with her magic.]

I... haven't explored this mansion as much as other people have, so I'm not sure how much help I could be with that.

[aboyandhiscar]

Hey, you've at least got us set on a path, that's help enough. Just leave the escape plans to us. . .somehow.

[terribibble]

[Fiddleford narrowly stops himself from getting two cups of coffee and holding one in each hand. He will drink one and then inevitably go back for more. It's fine. He will drink more than enough for both him and Elsa.]

How? The whole world loops. We'd have to... [He glances at Ford. Ford would know a lot more about punching holes in dimensions, wouldn't he?]

[aboyandhiscar]

We'd have to do what? [speak up HE'S CURIOUS]

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford, a scalding hot mug of black coffee already half-drunk in his hand, looks back at Fiddleford with a worried expression, and then glances at Mike.]

We could, in theory, but...I have none of the required materials. There's nothing in this house to scavenge from, I don't have a welding kit or even so much as a damn monkey wrench.

[Whoops, did he forget to actually explain what they're talking about?]

Besides that, it's incredibly risky. After what happened the last time, after it almost ended in disaster twice...I just don't know.

[chainbroke]

[ It's a lot easier to fall into negative thinking after something like that, and away from Star's positivity, it's... no wonder that Naminé is significantly more subdued. She has a soda, though, and she clutches it like a lifeline. ]

I want to believe him. Did he... give you any clues to help us escape?

[defyingfrigidity]

I do as well.

[It's hard to give out trust, sometimes. Elsa knows from the mess with Hans that you can't always blindly trust kind and honest-looking face, and she knows that even people you thought were your friends could do terrible things, like Tadashi and Demyx....

But this is different. She's not sure if something inside of her wants to cling desperately to something she might be able to spark into hope, or if she's just going along with it because she needs something to focus on so she doesn't waste away. But he sounded so kind, so warm...]

He didn't, no. All he told me was that we had to free ourselves.

[chainbroke]

[ She nods. It's hard, certainly, but at the same time, the desire to hope is so intense that it's almost an ache. Naminé takes a sip of her soda. ]

I wonder if that just means that he really doesn't know, [ she says softly, thoughtfully. ] I'm glad he reached out to you. He didn't have to, and yet, he did.

I think that says a lot.

[kindaruledatit]

[Wendy wasn't feeling up to just doing nothing, and restlessness was a fortunate thing in this place, especially now.

She slid over the back of one of the couches, coming to rest in a slouched position. She barely eyed the food, though that didn't mean others won't catch her nibbled during the conversations.]

Okay, speaking of our friends, I know this is a longshot, but... has anyone found a way to talk to our friends yet? Like, anything at all?

[chainbroke]

I haven't even tried anything.

[ She frowns. ]

I wonder how we'd even start to try... Notes, maybe?

[aboyandhiscar]

--you mean like, leave notes out and see if they respond?

[kindaruledatit]

I think if we're gonna try anything about that, the seance room is the right place to do it. [Yes, she is aware of the dangers.]

Notes, maybe an ouija board? Oh, maybe we can even try spirit channeling.

ITEM ROLL CALL

[aboyandhiscar]

Okay, so whatever we do, we need to take inventory, see what we've got to work with.

In the house alone there's the washer, dryer, fridge, microwave, tv, and a bunch of model guns.

On me, I've got--uh, some weird stones, some...nanobots, I think, keys, my staff, and some weird frog's breath potion. Pretty sure that's useless.

What's everyone else got on them?

[chainbroke]

I have... a bubble gun, a piece of metal that flickers and sometimes turns invisible when I touch it... other than that, I've received mostly clothes and food.

... Oh!

[ She reaches into her pocket and pulls out this thing. ]

If we somehow do make it to the Underworld, this could be useful. It's called the Olympus Stone, and it keeps the Underworld from draining your energy and allows you to use your powers to their fullest.

[kindaruledatit]

That just... came out of the slot machine?

That's pretty lucky for us!

[outsidethecircle]

Nothing much of use. Some plastic toys, some food, an apron... I traded for my barrette, inhaler, and a book but it's really not of any help.

[It's Marnie's. You can't have it.]

[amadeusrockette]

Um. Cherries, mostly. [Wait, no. That wasn't the question.] Oh! I also have some sort of yellow gem, a very large diamond, a clay pot that says "Hunny" on it . . . a plant . . . and my keyboard, like I said.

[terribibble]

Not much that'd be helpful buildin' anythin'. I've got a nanobot too but I still can't figure out how to make it function, and the rest of it's all been books and' food and whatnot.

I could take apart the moonshine still though. Make one last batch and then break it back down for scrap.

[Oh, and, uh...]

And... and WALL-E. His brain.

[kindaruledatit]

I've got a whole lot of food, some random clothes and stuff...

[Her face lights up.]

Oh! And this weird laser gun!

[defyingfrigidity]

I received the two journal pieces I've shown everyone, some clothes... a-a doll of mine... and an odd-looking blue stone.

tagging into this late because I've got some important loot

[toogoodforhim]

You saw a lot of my stuff, but I have... some kind of big crystal, a couple of old-looking notes, and, um.

[He pulls a blood-stained diamond ring out of the pocket of his waistcoat, along with the two small notes.]

[amadeusrockette]

. . . Did that come from the machine? [She points at the ring.] Is it. Do you know if it's Emily's?

also tags into this late because i have Related Loot and also. need ac

[terribibble]

Oh. Oh, I, ah...

[He pulls from his notebook one of the pieces of parchment paper the machine spat out at him. Specifically, this one.]

I think we can assume it's the same ring.

[The most obvious answer is usually right. Right?]