Week Two Afterparty: For the people who are Still Alive

[literalidiotball]

That afternoon could not be more confusing.

Not only was the witch who called herself Yuuko a fake, but it turned out the witch who communicated through bird and notes was none other than one of the pieces. And the suffering... Oh, the suffering...

At least nobody else died for now...🗈

In spite of the lack of death, Wheatley was about as shaken up as everyone else. If he wasn't sure he was going to die here before, he is definitely certain now.

But he wasn't going to try and let it get to him. Even if he kind of wished he could consume things in the real world, he's still clinging to the small victory they had in sparing everyone.

On that note, he had the goats prepare a feast, turning the dining room table into a buffet table. There was turkey, fish, granola bars, fish shaped crackers, a giant bowl of frosted flakes, Macaroni and cheese with chunks of fish, fish shaped granola bars... Look, Wheatley didn't quite understand what humans liked to eat at these things, but at least it looks professional.

There's even a large cake in the center of the table. It's covered in chocolate frosting, strawberries, and has a lovely message written in bold white frosting: "WE SURVIVED".

Comments

[improbablenotimpossible]

[He knows what he did, and how others are going to feel about him, not to mention he's not feeling good either way, so he quietly grabs a bottle of whiskey and heads back to his room]

[respring]

[ She waits an hour or two before she seeks him out, just to give him a little time to process everything. But when she does, she comes knocking on his door with...cupcakes? It's a few simple-looking cupcakes on a plate.

They have wine in them. How thoughtful. ]

Holmes-san...? It's Sakura. Can we talk, for a bit?

[chaoscontrol]

Wait!

Holmes.

[goldenmaniac]

Holmes-san.

[He doesn't try and stop him but:]

Just know, I still trust you, okay?

[literalidiotball]

Hey! Holmes! Wait up!

[It's the robot, trying to be helpful...]

You doing okay? Uh. I mean I saw everything that went down, but still.

[youkaiwatch]

[ I mean, this is exactly what Emi did after the previous trial, except she only took a glass instead of a whole bottle. She'll catch up to him halfway down the hall with a glass of her own in hand. ]

I got a bit of a lecture from Anon when I tried to do this last week.

After everyone else gets the chance to talk to Holmes...

[cryosurgeon]

[Erhard shows up at Holmes's door with a bottle of kirschwasser and two glasses, knocking lightly. He looks like he might be ready to fall over, but he's staying upright through sheer determination.]

Holmes, it's Erhard. I... there's something important I need to tell you.

[anonnomnomnom]

[Sakura and others may be courteous enough to greet or accost Holmes either briefly before he leaves or a little while after he's settled in with his mood and his drinks. Anon does no such thing! Anon contemplates the spread, grabs a heaping plate of it, and then makes a beeline for Holmes' window, because apparently that's just how he does things these days.

That, and it's relatively difficult not to answer the call when someone's staring straight at you while knocking on your window. Anon's almost hidden behind a heap of weird fish-shaped robosnacks, but his hair is recognizable enough.

He seems to be in a good mood??]

Open up! Aren't you tired of hiding already? Jeez.

[fullbodied]

Hey, Ruler, wait.

[she reaches out to grab his arm]

[clearumbrella]

[ Later in the night there's a gentle knock at Sherlock's door. ]

I'm sorry if this is still a bad time, but could we speak? [ A pause, then, he softly continues. ] If tomorrow would be better, it can wait.

[kiddatheart]

Yo, wait up!

[foundfate]

[Watanuki is, surprisingly, eating food as if nothing is wrong. This boy needs some energy.

And after eating enough, he will finally sigh and set his plate aside.]

I suppose some of you have questions for me. Please understand that I can't say everything, as I am still bound by the rules of this game. But if there are things I can't say, I will tell you as much.

[respring]

I have a few questions, myself.

[ taking a seat across from him ]

One...do you know if Nirrti-san is the same goddess from Hindu myth? Or is she a witch who just happens to have the same name?

[literalidiotball]

Uh...

[This feels incredibly awkward now.]

Sorry, I really need to ask. What's with all the birds?

[He's not that wigged out about them now, but that doesn't mean he's entirely over them.]

[anonnomnomnom]

[Anon is just hanging out; he probably ate earlier or is going to eat later or something. Mostly, he's just watching Watanuki for a little while, thoughtful and bemused. He comes over to sit and stare some more not long after he starts eating and it's probably just a little awkward while Watanuki tries to finish up.

Too bad, so sad. He has yet another shiny new toy and he's contemplating its existence.]

Hmm, at least we can finally stop sending notes all the time. Though come to think of it, I should have experimented more with the birds! They were pretty fun.

[Watanuki is very lucky he did not experiment more with the birds.]

So I don't really get it. Why are you playing for Yuuko's face, anyway, what's the point?

[fullbodied]

[she pinches him.]

You could have dropped a hint when I was whining at you in letters, y'know!

[incrediblystressedout]

Is this where we get the whole story about you and Yuuko, or is that gonna be like a separate meeting? I want to hear it, and knowing the details will hopefully prevent all the...that from the trial.

[goldenmaniac]

[Takumi shows up, of course. Wheatley went through all the work. He can be found away from the table, nibbling the fish-shaped granola and pacing. If one got close enough they might be able to tell his music is playing through his goggles loud enough to overhear. Oh, and he's mumbling like he did at the meeting]

...should have seen it. She literally told me how this works- completely missed it. Goddamn it...

[Everyone is too drunk or tired for any talk about the first week, but on Sunday Takumi makes sure to put himself in the sitting room, his goggles taken off and clicking through something on them like an actual phone instead of headgear- clearly putting himself here for anyone that wanted to confront him about the accusations to find him]

Saturday

[literalidiotball]

[Wheatley doesn't want to believe those accusations one bit... And that trial just now? He's more concerned about the boy than ever.

At least the music from his goggles seems nice, and the kid is enjoying the food.]

Ah... Takumi! How are you feeling?

[Hopefully Takumi isn't entirely down... Poor kid.]

[excavated]

[ Syaoran himself is actually going to great lengths to keep his distance away from the others, sitting by his lonesome. He does have food on his plate, but he also doesn't seem to touch any of it, either. ]

[chaoscontrol]

[Shadow is here. He's gotten a few snacks, but he mostly just seems to be... watching. He's still a little stunned by all of it.

But, he seems surprisingly cordial -- after all, he had come to terms with his inevitable demise and had made peace with himself in preparation for dying.

If you want to ask details about his motivations, or what really went down last night, he'll actually answer]

[goldenmaniac]

[Takumi is a bit away, seeming to try and psych himself up to come over]

Portal 2 Spoilers

[literalidiotball]

[On Sunday, Wheatley's set up something different in the Dining Room.

Specifically, he is sitting at the table, waiting in front of a handwritten note. Just so he doesn't have to keep explaining...]

This might be spoilery, but I once took over Aperture Science's mainframe, went mad with power, nearly destroyed the place, and got shot into space.

AMA

[anonnomnomnom]

A mainframe is something like a big computer, right? So you basically grew really big, let it go to your head, and then got banished out to space! That's a pretty cool origin story!

[Anon, no, why are you complimenting him. He's just. Like this.]

How long were you a space ball?

[respring]

[ After the trial, Sakura is in her favorite place...two guesses where, it's the kitchen. She's not even going to comment on the fish banquet laid out because she can respect that Wheatley tried his best, but also dear god, no.

If anyone walks in, she'll shove some food in their direction, probably some non-fish macaroni or very simple pasta. ]

Here. Make sure you eat something filling for dinner, even if you feel sick.

[ Alternatively, you can catch her in the dining room, being a hypocrite and lazily picking at her own dinner. ]

I've been thinking about what Gebura-san said. I don't mind answering any questions you have about my world, or magic, but...

dining room

[sotoshini]

[ This isn't normally where he hangs out, but Natsuno had to grab a few things. Hearing her hesitation, he speaks up. ]

...but?

[keydomhearts]

[ On Saturday, Sora is just snagging some snacks and some of the strawberries from the cake, before leaving. Catch him before he goes?

Otherwise, he won't be seen until Sunday.

He will be in the kitchen either making food, or peeking around for leftovers. ]

sunday

[excavated]

[ PEERS IN TRYING TO BE STEALTHY


(spoilers he's not stealthy)

he is, however, just going jiiiiii at Sora from a corner ]

[aleph_armed]

[Yeah, Gebura's just going to be continuing to grump all weekend. She's not expecting to make any friends, she never did. Still, she's tired of it all. All the lies, all the subtle manipulations, all the secrets, all the inabilities to give a straight answer even when lives were on the line... Her and Anon had fundamentally different life perspectives, but his statement of only being able to depend on oneself was ringing more and more true around here. She was absolutely done pretending she was something she wasn't, and one of those things was approachable: She was a machine that exists for the purpose of destroying threats to people, but every time it seemed more and more like there was nothing but threats to people around here.

Nonetheless, someone still has to do it. Someone has to patrol the mansion. Maybe she couldn't do anything this time, or the previous time, but it had to work eventually.]

[goldenmaniac]

[Takumi sees her patrolling and approuches]

Hey... I haven't seen you around much this weekend...

[clearumbrella]

[ While he does show up to the afterparty and even politely partakes of the buffet table (but only a little, and although he definitely seems to be eating from how his mask moves up and down he never removes his mask), he doesn't stay long. Rather than being exhausted, more than anything he's more than a little confused.

On Sunday, however, he heads out to the beach to clear his head. You can catch him either on the dock watching the waves quiet (and almost too still) or singing on the shore. ]

sunday

[sotoshini]

[ The singing draws Natsuno over from he was no doubt lurking somewhere in the shadows on the beach. ]

You sang this before, didn't you?