Afterparty I: Once Upon a Hotpot Dreary...

[heroicact]

[It's very likely that many want to be alone after all of that (and it was a lot, all of that altogether), but there's also merit in gathering together and rebuilding connections after everything that was upended in something as contentious as a trial in a tree. They even had to all slide down from the heights afterward, unfortunately for those with a fear of heights.

So what Jack sets about doing is simply passing on a message by word of mouth at the bottom of the absurd tree slide, tapping shoulders and nodding at those moving away as well, there will be food and drink and company later on in the lounge should it be needed. No one needs ballroom memories on top of everything else, yes?

And so anyone who comes out of their room will be hit by the wonderful smells of fresh bread and pastries, fragrant whiffs of hotpot (it's unfortunately left over from the other day, but it's hotpot so surely it's fine), the inescapable spices of curry and who knows what else has been thrown together in the moment. Jack certainly isn't the cook here, but he can heat things up in a pinch.

There are no signs or fanfare or decorations, unlike the other day; this is just a gathering place, for those who wish to shake off the weight of the days and lives on their shoulders.]

Comments

[gemuinemanagement]

[Being alone sounds difficult right now, so Suga joins the group in the lounge, nibbling on some curry. He looks gloomy, but if anyone approaches, he'll hold up a prewritten note.]

Good job today

[scythegun]

[Yeager's only stopping by briefly to grab some food, but he moves to join Suga because why the hell not, Yeager goes where he pleases and does what he wants.]

I don't think I did anything particularly noteworthy. It was everyone else that managed to... work things out today.

[mearry]

[ c-ta will be taking some bread and curry, eating just a bit absentmindedly. even though he wasn’t too shaken by the result, the trial had still been exhausting.

but once anyone approaches him, he will try to give them a small smile. ]

How are you holding up?

[eternaljune]

[Rika wanders nearby with her own curry to speak to C-ta. This is one of her senpai that she feels comfortable with trying to keep close. Having a list of people she doubts would kill her specifically is always good.]

Hm...relieved we got it right, at least. Hopefully Samidare can rest easy.

[heroicact]

[Jack himself isn't partaking in the food at first; it will take a while for anyone to work up an appetite after that, if at all. Instead, he can be found next to the food tables deep in contemplation or slowly leafing through a book and dubiously reading it.

Those who approach may be greeted by a brief, perfunctory smile and gentle tilt of the head at the spread.]

Ah, welcome. I took it upon myself and several others to prepare something simple so that we might not all go to bed on an empty stomach on top of everything else, but don't fret if you can't stomach it at the moment.

[That being said, he does indicate the cooks, because credit where it's due. Tenn and C-ta and mysteriously Nageki seem to have been drafted for this purpose. He might also pat the seat next to himself if anyone seems amenable to it.]

Or perhaps you'd like to keep me company? I'll admit, I'm at a loss as to how this situation may be remedied...

[eternaljune]

Mii...thank you for thinking of us, Jack! I never managed to get breakfast!

[Her smile does become a little less vibrant seeing that Jack seems pretty down. Not that Rika can blame him. She sits down next to him, looking a bit confused.]

I'm not sure if there's much that can be remedied right now, sir...

[mathodical]

What are you reading?

[ the distraction looks like it could be welcome. ]

[mirrite]

[It's quite a while before Marcus emerges from his and Phil's room. Fortunately, Phil is sleeping for the moment, and the scent of something delicious is enough to lure him out if only because they're both going to need something to eat at some point.

When he spots Jack and all of the food, he wanders on over with a smile, albeit one that seems rather thin and strained.]

You really went all out here. Props to you for that, and sorry that I wasn't around to help with it.

[Though he's trying to keep up his usual energy, he just sounds... tired, really.]

[adorabilities]

[ she has removed a bunch of pillows, and is doing make shift target practice outside.



because she has zero respect for this castle. And she's angry-- and the only way she knows how to get angry feelings out?

Punching. feel free to interrupt her. ]

[vogelfrei]

[ McGillis is... here. Seated in a corner with a copy of Grimm's Fairytales in hand. Whether he's really reading or mostly listening to the dimmed conversations happening around him is anyone's guess. He's not looking up either way, not unless he's spoken to. ]

[crimson_flamel]

[Edelgard... secludes herself for a while before eventually showing up to the afterparty and taking a seat beside McGillis.

She's quiet, for a while, staring at the wall. But she speaks up.]

How are you... feeling?

[Stupid question, really. But it's a start.]

[ideismo]

[Alexei will be present, at least, though he might not be immediately so; he's in and out, really, seeming more restless than anything. He doesn't leave the main building - hell, he doesn't stray too far from the lounge - but he'll pace the corridors for a while until he feels that he can actually manage to remain in one place long enough to have a worthwhile conversation.

Is he handling this well? Probably not. Does he seem despondent? Surprisingly, no. Everything is just kind of...aggressively weird for the time being, maybe.]

[mathodical]

[ handwave-y things, some time in between passing out on Jack and zola's confession he's woken up, so he's here! ish.

he's kind of distractedly nibbling on food and... not really paying attention to what he's putting in his mouth, because william is a disaster and his thoughts are elsewhere at the moment.

in fact, it might even take a while for you to be noticed if you approach. ]

[demonicwei]

[ Someone sure is out of it. ]

I see the princess has awaken, but might not be entirely with us as of yet.

[ Hewwo. ]

[purefuries]

[ Junko is sitting around looking out the window, picking at some curry.

A parent isn't automatically exempt from people who could kill a child just because they're a parent. Some parents are terrible people.

That line of thought from the trial keeps running around in her head, and she can't quite figure out why. ]

[mearry]

Ah-- um... Junko-san?

[ he'll just approach her casually. ]

Is everything okay?

[amortristis]

[ Morgan's here, though by and large she mostly keeps to herself. Her expression is generally pretty unreadable as is the norm, but she does seem a little worn from everything that went on.

At some point, she'll probably get up and walk around the grounds outside, seemingly trying to distract herself from whatever she's thinking about. ]

[scythegun]

[Yeager's already outside when Morgan leaves; he's staring up at the sky but otherwise not doing anything in particular. He notices her presence and holds up a hand in greeting, as chipper as always.]

Wanted to get away from the others for a bit?

[shame you couldn't escape him!!!]

[eternaljune]

[Rika finds herself in the kitchen, nibbling on some curry. She should probably be a bit more bummed out about Zola, but...well, it's not like there's anything she can do about it. Besides, a wish that's just someone else dying? What sort of goal is that to fight for?

Even more, what other goals might someone try to end someone else for next?

She looks a little bit zoned out in her thoughts, which from a glance, is hard to tell if it's depression or apathy that she's feeling. She's unsure which one applies more herself.]

[amortristis]

[ Morgan's not really sure why she's coming in the kitchen, to be perfectly honest. There's nothing particularly here for her, but she's admittedly a little anxious after lingering around the lounge to stay in one spot for long.

She sees Rika being In The Zone, and she quietly approaches from the side. ]

Are you all right?

[ Y'know, relatively speaking. ]

[laytorest]

[Yor retreats to her room for a time, but even she wanders out eventually - one can't help an empty stomach, especially with the smell of food permeating the hall.

...On the other hand, she looks pretty out of it as she stares at the available food. It's hard to tell if she's having trouble deciding what to eat, or if she is in fact thinking about the food she's staring at to begin with.]

[mearry]

Yor-san?

[ c-ta will approach her as soon as he sees her, his voice gentle. ]

Looking for something to eat?

Excuse the icon, I am uploading more expressions soon.

[goldencave]

[ At first, Norton wanted nothing more than to keep away from everyone else... But the more time he spent in his room, alone with his thoughts, the more his own thoughts tormented him.

They're serious. They're starting to go after each other's throats. He should have known all that talk about trying to protect each other would fall through. He should've... He's going to die here. All those years of hard work, all that he'd gone through, only for some fairy bastard to drag him away just when he had a chance to change his life... No, that bastard promised... He had to be bullshitting, right?

That offer...

It got to a point where Norton couldn't bear to be alone anymore... So here he is, sitting in front of a lukewarm meal he's barely touched. He doesn't really say much as he casts a glance at anyone who comes near, but the anxious look in his eyes speak volumes. ]

[biyishuangfei]

[ Huaisang took his time arriving at the scene, coming towards the latter half of it. He peered around, looking for certain people to speak to. At some point, he'll catch how awful the other was looking.

They had spoken before and worked in a team, so why not talk to him? Especially since he had the chance to wind down already. ]

Norton? You really look out of it...

[hellochildren]

[Honestly, the parrot is still pretty much alright after everything. Was he still a bit annoyed that Sami was the first to die? Yeah, he was interested in seeing what would happen to her, and instead some fake noble strangled her-on top of a mansion for some reason, like that made sense. If he didn’t know any better, he would think Zola was trying to risk injury for choosing such a stupid-

...that was in the past, though. What was done is done there, and he never had a chance to do anything about it.

He doesn’t know why he goes to the party this time, but he does. He stays at a table, staring into a glass of water as he mumbles to himself.]

So simple, ant I completely overestimatet it. How coult I not realize...

[He’s not so much sad as he is annoyed, really.]

[heroicact]

Professor, I'm glad to see you join us. With you here, I'm certain Nageki will feel more comfortable as well. Do let me know if there's anything you need; I tried to make sure to have a little something for everyone, should they require it.

[And indeed, it looks like there's a decent selection from the bakery, whether sweet or not -- not a large volume, because even the larger Nageki seems to have more of a bird's appetite still, but surely it's the thought that counts.

Jack, for his part, doesn't quite hover, but nor does he join the Professor at his self-appointed place just yet. Just in case some sort of fetching is needed, ostensibly.

But also he has been listening, yes, so:]

... Did Zola's final revelations bother you so much...?

[libirdian]

[ Nageki's been spacing out on and off during the trial once he heard the words asphyxiated, though he did his best to hide it. But once he heard Edelgard's speech near the end, it was like getting water splashed onto him. He couldn't go on like that.

Which is probably partly why he didn't just lock himself into his room. He doesn't seem like he's all there, but he does sit in the corner of the lounge, leaning back and making himself seem smaller. In his wings is a book labeled Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. It takes him a while to turn a page.

He's not sure if he can bring himself to talk much yet, but at the very least he can try not to be a grossly negative shut-in. ]

[amortristis]

[ Ah, there he is. It takes a little while, but Morgan eventually sits down... not close to him, exactly, but close-ish. If he's not really ready to talk, then that's fine. She's more than fine with sitting in relative silence. ]

[oversaw]

[ Though he contemplated Jack's generous offer, Lucifer ends up shying away from the lounge and instead sets himself up in the archives. As another being who doesn't sleep, he'll be here all night.

He can be found wandering from shelf to shelf as he searches for seemingly nothing in particular. Every now and then he'll pull out a book, skim its pages, and return it to its place. He had no particular stake in the trial nor did he contribute. Purposefully so, though he remains indecisive over that choice. ]

[biyishuangfei]

[ At some point, Huaisang came back into here for a book. It was inevitable, despite all of the trouble he had managed to cause with the archives nonsense and misunderstanding.

That sure was an angelic man (literally because he was seraphim and everything)...one he never really spoke to. So he'll peer curiously at him. ]

Are you looking for something?

[crimson_flamel]

[Edelgard avoids the afterparty for a hot minute, but... eventually, hearing her own thoughts grows to be a bit too much, so she shows up.

If she was a wallflower at the party, she's... a wall-fungus in this one. She takes a seat in pure isolation and stares at the floor. To the casual viewer her expression seems blank, maybe even cold.

But her fists are tight enough around the arms of her chair that if she were at her full strength, she would break it in half.

[biyishuangfei]

[ Well, he came into here later, and then he saw her like this. That was about to be as expected, really.

He'll put on a worried expression as he came closer. She was sometimes scarily intense, honestly. But, so had been his brother, and at his heart, he was a good person. He didn't know if she would be the same in the end, but there was time to find out; he wouldn't if he just watched from afar. ]

Edelgard? ...Did you have something to eat?

[foxetious]

[Gin comes to the lounge, more out of the idea of people watching than commiserating in the grief the others feel. He picks a vantage point with a decent view but out of the way enough that not everyone would notice him here immediately. No need to broadcast how this wake isn't phasing him in the slightest.

If someone approaches, he'll turn his smile on them and gesture at the closest surface that makes a decent seat.]

Are ya here to join me?

[biyishuangfei]

[ He'll blink and then seat himself down when the other asked; originally he wasn't going to, but it seemed rude not to when he asked. Besides, it wasn't like he was terrible company, as far as he could tell. ]

...What do you think about what just happened?