even the thorn in your heart, in time it may become a rose

[passional]

[ ...Well that was... certainly a thing that happened. Inigo isn't entirely sure what to feel about this at all; he's used to death to the point it doesn't really affect him much, but the entire thing was messed up and confusing nonetheless.

But in trying times like these, they need something to keep morale up, don't they? So shortly after the group leaves the courtroom, he decides to seek Cilan out and ask him for help.

A few hours later, Inigo slides a note under each occupied door: ]

(Name),
If you don't want to be alone right now or need someone to talk to, come to the music room.
There's food and drinks if you're hungry or thirsty and you're all welcome there.
We must persevere, and we must not forget that hope will never die.
- Inigo and Cilan

[ Since most people probably aren't going to want to be in the dining hall after... that, the music room is the best place for an afterparty. Moving those long tables didn't seem feasible, so he decides to grab some boxes from the storage room and stack them in a way that makes them vaguely resemble a table. There are chairs loosely arranged in the room, and he's set up a simple memorial of sorts by lighting two candles.

The food primarily consists of finger sandwiches and other light foods, plus drinks like tea (not chamomile, mind you) coffee and juice. Nothing overly fancy, but it tastes good. ]

Comments

[hesperos]

[ He's not one for parties or anything... but surprisingly, Yuri does show up!

He'll be having a cup of tea, sitting in a chair, legs crossed and basically just chilling out. Although, his expression is close to pensive than relaxed, so. He mutters: ]

Man, could go for a real bar right about now...

[fortunatedetective]

I'm not sure getting drunk may be the right decision to take in a place like this.

[Being drunk gets you let your guard down, after all]

[glaciates]

Agreed.

[Isaac takes a chair nearby. Honestly even if they did have a bar he probably wouldn't trust it, because he's paranoid as hell and this isn't helping any.]

But hey, maybe...

[those double doors will open up tomorrow nearly leaves his mouth before he realizes just how terrible that is to say. Mallick just died. There isn't anything funny about it. The words die and Isaac shakes his head.]

[losthisflower]

[AZ is just nearby, and he happens to hear quite a bit despite his height, so.]

Alcohol in this situation would likely not help us.

[...But then he gives it some thought.]

Or it is possible that drinking far too much would prevent anyone from attempting to murder another.

[andneversaydie]

...You know... I wonder if we could brew some alcohol up if Juri won't give us any.

[...she tried it once with the family and decided it very much wasn't for her, but... if she learned how to brew stuff, it could be a pretty good moneymaker when she gets home...]

[flagitate]

[ The note couldn't have come at a better time.

Katniss heads straight to her room after-- whatever the hell that was. It's a good thing she doesn't have anything too breakable in her room, but she does have that Kiss Note. Which is stupid, but it's proving to be good for ripping apart. That's what she's doing: ripping apart the stupid book in as small pieces as she can.

Inigo and Cilan, huh. She considers the note before crumpling it up and throwing it as hard as she can at the wall.

... But she eventually leaves her room, twenty minutes later. It's just for the food. She doesn't really want to face anyone, since she said some pretty messed up stuff at that "trial." But she'd just-- been so mad--

Anyway. She loads up a plate of food, finds a quiet corner, and makes herself as small as she can, and starts eating. Maybe a little too fast, a little too much. ]

[hesperos]

[ He'll be coming right over to her side of the place because he'll get hungry and when he notices Katniss, well.

You don't leave friends to sulk by themselves. ]

Hey. Joined the party too, huh?

[notaccurate]

[Yeah no that's not going to work. Luca easily recognizes the signs of someone trying to hide away in a corner.]

Slow down, it's not a race.

[poultryfists]

[It's surprisingly easy to slip into acting casual, and that's what she tries to do as she sits next to Katniss with one of those little sandwiches.]

Hey, take it easy. You're gonna get sick if you eat like that.

[myfedorarocks]

[Flemming doesn't know what to do. He's not sure what to feel, and because of that, for most of the night he stays in his room. The door is unlocked and slightly cracked in case anyone wants to approach him, but no worries if no one does.

Later on in the evening, when the music room isn't so crowded, he'll be in here, looking awkward and drinking tea.

Apparently watching someone get their soul ripped out has made him look worse than normal, because he's a touch paler than he usually is-- the permanent dark circles under his eyes stick out more, and he's twitching a little as he sits down.]

[andneversaydie]

[...twitching is never a good sign even when shit has gotten kind of fucked up, uh...]

William, are you...

...

...well, not okay, but... worse... than you should be, I guess...?

[greenmamabear]

[Fern can't be alone right now. The silence of her room and the yammering of her own thoughts is too much to bear right now.

She's just gonna. Grab a plate and sit somewhere she can see the entire room. Make sure everyone's okay, or at least a close facsimile.

Looking out for other people is so much easier than looking out for herself.]

[glaciates]

How are you holding up?

[Isaac joins her, taking a seat nearby so he can watch the room as well. He's not sure it's really the right question to ask, but Fern's not looking too good and someone's got to ask, right?]

[andneversaydie]

[...Mozu really wasn't sure if she wanted to be alone or not. She... eventually manages to start feeling again when she gets back to her room, and then... she cries into her pillow. A lot.

...and then... and then she just feels like she's all cried out. She lies in bed for another while... and then she gets up, walks to her door, and sees the note.

...

She should've helped, shouldn't she have? She felt kind of useless, just... sort of crying in her room. Right. Well. She... at this point, she didn't want to be alone anymore, so she stood up, headed out of her door, and headed over to the music room. She's... morosely sitting and eating a finger sandwich and drinking some juice, but she's watching the food just in case it starts getting low, because damn, she's going to help out if she can. She's just going to wait for it.]

[flagitate]

... Hey.

[ Katniss gathers herself and grabs a parfait before making her way over to Mozu. She's not going to ask if she's alright, because she's not stupid, no one is alright, especially not Mozu, but she sits down next to her and puts the parfait between them. ]

[fortunatedetective]

[So that's the gist of the murdergame. Now that Naoto saw all the process and what the consequences of not catching the culprit would be, her worst fears about how bad the situation is has been confirmed.

Being in the music room with everyone else makes her a bit antsy, but she's going to be there, although keeping to herself for a while. After some time she approaches the piano and sits down, starting to play. It's a slow melody, melancholic but it's nice to listen to, at least.

She's sure Maizono would have liked Naoto to play something more cheerful, and Mallick...well, Naoto isn't sure about his tastes, but it seemed appropriate to her to play something without much energy.

At least it helps to set the mood of the room]

[andneversaydie]

[...you know.... it's a sad song, but...]

Wow, Naoto. You're really good at this.

[notaccurate]

[Luca doesn't really deal with problems in a feelings jam. He is more of a 'shove it down deep within you and let that little ball of anger grow' kind of person. He also has other ways he deals with stress, but he seriously doubts anyone would be open to that kind of thing right now, so.

There he is, off to the side, drinking some coffee. He would have preferred booze, but you get what you get.]

[hesperos]

Quite a party we're having here, huh?

[ He'll just happen to be sitting nearby, probably, or something. That and he's around people so he'd like not to be left to his own thoughts for too long. ]

[oasisrose]

[Jean's running late. Not much of a surprise. She stepped outside of her door, and... there was Sayaka's. If you go looking for her early on, you'll still find her there, having a staring contest with the door.]

... ... ...

[Of course, whether or not anyone seeks her out, eventually she shows up at the gathering. Not getting food, not talking to anyone, not even smiling.]

[But she made the effort to show up, so that's something... right?]

[hesperos]

[ Eventually, Yuri will ease back into a relaxed state of being... or rather enough to get off his bum and talk to people. ]

Sure you don't want to try out any of the sandwiches? They're not half- bad.

[ He doesn't think it'll work, but it's an excuse to start up conversation with her. ]

[didntgetdadslooks]

[It took Angel a little while to go back to her room, and she didn't really intend to leave it. She has a lot to sort through, but she also knows that everyone else is going to have just as much, and she wants to be around if she can.

And she has her own way she wants to react to everything that's happened, but that can be saved for later. It might not be popular, right now, depending.

But she gets a plate of food and she leans against one of the walls to start eating. It tastes good, doesn't it? She doesn't really feel much like approaching people, but she won't say no to being approached.]

[flagitate]

[ Katniss gravitates toward Angel, because they've both been through shit, and she feels some sort of connection to her. As close a connection as Katniss can feel to anyone, of course.

She leans against the wall next to Angel, her own plate of food replenished. ]

... Hey.

[meanttobe]

[The joke is, Brady's in the music room before the note even slides under his door. Where else would he be right now?

He's not...really up for food. He might nibble on it eventually, but mostly he's glued to an acoustic guitar, playing one of a few things. Not really belting them out, just singing under his breath, and sometimes just playing some without vocals, but it's what he's focused on right now. Honestly, if anyone asks for some Zeppelin, he'll play it, that's just the kind of mood he's in.

Doesn't really seem much for talking, though.

You might, if you're lucky, catch him plucking something else, though. It's just the chorus, and it's hesitant and very stripped down, but he tends towards it before many people have gotten there...and after the area's more full.]

[passional]

[ Even if it's just the chorus, Inigo recognizes it, prompting him to move closer and sit down and listen to him play. ]

...Thank you.

[gorira]

[ Chitoge's there. Her eyes may be a bit red, and she spent quite some time in her room after the whole thing, but she's there.

The sentiment at the end, she can't help but find it cheesy. After everything that happened today, all of her worst fears confirmed, she wants nothing more than to just lay down and shut everything off. But that won't get anyone anywhere, she figures, and, if nothing else, she has to stay a little bit firm. She doesn't say much, but she's not taking notes tonight, instead just opting for coffee in her onesie.

It'll be a long night. ]

[didntgetdadslooks]

[Angel debates approaching her for a little while, but... there is at least one thing she wants to say. But first she'll approach, with what small smile she can get onto her lips (it's barely anything), and very quietly say:]

Hey.

[bluemeanie]

[Yeah, fuck you guys. He's stopping in, grabbing a cup of coffee, and taking it back to his room. If you want to stop him, do it, but he's not approaching anyone.]

[glaciates]

[Isaac doesn't join the party at first. He has a lot of thoughts to sort through and it's all something he needs to be alone to do. Eventually he'll arrive though, looking a little tired but otherwise no worse for the wear. He does look kind of pissed, but most of his expressions are like that.

Unfortunately his wallflowering ways have not changed in the past couple of days, so after he's grabbed some coffee he'll be holding up the walls again. He's watching everyone carefully and otherwise being a recluse, but you can talk to him if you'd like. He won't say no to conversation, even if he's not exactly the best person to talk to.]

[passional]

How're you holding up, Isaac?

[ Aaaand here's one of the afterparty hosts. He's smiling, but the glimmer in his eye is gone. ]

[mylanceisbiggerthanyours]

[A) Before the party, helping and healing

True to her nature, after giving folks some time and after she's a little better off herself, Nephenee decided that she really needed to check on some people. Some people she figured would be fine, but...there was no harm in checking.

Unfortunately, later on in her room, that nature bit her in the rear. Having someone die, going through a murder trial and having to vote for the culprit was a bit of a wringer! She's used to seeing death...but war is a different critter than this. And she wasn't sure how to handle it, really. Between everything that's happened and the people who need help...she's a mess. And needs to beat up something.

Unfortunately, their oh-so-gracious host hadn't given them a training dummy, so some poor pillow is getting smacked around, and she's yelling and it's obvious to anyone out in the walkway.

B) The party

After releasing a lot of tension, Nephenee'd set out to go bake stuff, and had heard about the party from the boys. This turned out to be a great thing for said party, too, since there are a lot of cookies and such. Maybe not the healthiest stuff, but comfort food topped the Needs chart right now, not super healthy stuff.

As for the lancer, she's...kind of curled up in a ball in a corner at times, if she's eating. Other times, though? She's checking on folks, again or for the first time.]

...How ya holdin' up?

checking on some people

[flagitate]

[ Basically: No, she's definitely not okay. Katniss opens the door, and behind her is a Kiss Note that's on its way to being very ripped up and very destroyed. Her eyes aren't puffy, but her voice is thick as she speaks. ]

... Yeah?

[fittedgloves]

[ It takes Kyouko a while before she finally decides to show up. She grabs some tea and takes a seat in one of the chairs. For now, Kyouko's content with watching everyone else, and sitting quietly. It's hard to notice that anything about her is off, but anyone who watches her will notice she hasn't taken a single sip of her tea.

Today has definitely affected her, as much as she doesn't want to admit it. Losing the only person from her world made all of it harder than she expected, and now she's feeling especially... tired? Honestly, she doesn't know how she feels at all. ]

[hesperos]

[ By now Yuri's taking to watching some of the stragglers come on in. He'll probably notice at some point whenever someone's not eating or drinking one of the items here.

So, he'll come on by. ]

Hey, glad to see you at the party.

[cilantro]

[Cilan may have helped put some stuff together for this gathering, but he isn't really in a "partying" mood. He is, however, not playing wallflower and is sitting here in the open with a strong cup of tea and some sandwiches in front of him. Anyone who approaches him will get a small smile of what is meant to be comforting, reassuring before he'll offer a spot towards one of the empty seats near him by inclining his head toward it.

Take one of the sandwiches on the plate, talk with him, or even just sit in silence if you wish, we'll accommodate your needs regardless.]

[passional]

Thank you for helping me out with this, Cilan.

[ Inigo sits down on one of the chairs next to him, holding a cup of tea in his hands and returns that reassuring smile with one of his own. ]

[losthisflower]

[It's almost odd, feeling like he didn't want to be alone now. The trial was over, and AZ took to... wandering, like he always did. But eventually, like many others, he does show up to the music room.

You've heard of wallflowers, now get ready for a fucking pillar holding up the room. For the most part, AZ is mostly off to the side, a cup of tea in his hands. It's hard to say if it's just his usual expression but something seems... amiss.

Probably true as he leaves the party towards the end, wandering over to the foyer. He stays there, eyeing the double doors that had stumped him the whole week.]

...Floette... A flower that shall never die...

[onedrinkwithme]

[He didn't want to stay at the party too long, only enough to make sure others he knew would be alright. Aymeric couldn't help but notice the giant man walk into the foyer, remembering how quiet he was during the trial. Then again, so was he. But who was the person he mentioned?]

...a friend you are missing?