It's time for an after party!

[perpend]

[About an hour after the trial and subsequent execution, Cabanela makes a decision.

They need to do something, keep the morale up, however little it may be.

Under each occupied room door people will find the following note written:


In difficult times such as this, it is important to carry on.
Don't give into despair; we must preservere.
If you don't want to be alone this evening, meet me in the dining hall.
-Cabanela

[Upon entering the dinning hall, you will find Cabanela sitting at one of the tables; he has lit two candles that are placed at the center of the table, but there's nothing else to note.

You'll have to supply your own food, since he doesn't have much of an appetite.]

Comments

[forcegalactic]

[Priorities come first, and once the trial is over, Mordecai changes into his school uniform and finishes the laundry he planned to do this morning. He barely knew Kaneki, Reaver's death was necessarily gruesome, but it had to be done for the greater good. What bothers him the most is the knowledge they're stuck here. Only one of them can leave alive. Dwelling on it won't calm him down, but vigorously scrubbing his regular clothes will.

He turns on the incinerator and lays his clothes out in front as his heats up. While it's drying, he returns to his room and finds the note. Talking to someone about what happened is a good idea, but first: food.

You'll find him in the kitchen, chopping and shredding various vegetables as the smell of salmon wafts from the oven.]

[heymcfly]

[ Well, shit. Now that Marty knows what's going on, he finally realizes that there's no point in hiding the fact that he was a time traveler. What was the chance that they would live through this, anyway? And if he died, it wasn't like they could get info out of it. Marty didn't know shit about anything and time travel. Except he did it. And it was weird.

He walked into the kitchen to get a bite to eat, but changed his mind when he saw Mordecai chopping veggies. ] Hey, can I tell you somethin'?

[forcegalactic]

[He wipes his eyes when the onion is finished. Darn this vegetable, the least fun to prepare.]

Sure, what is it? I'm busy cookin' now, but dinner'll be finished in half an hour.

[heymcfly]

[ Marty doesn't know the onions are sitting there. He automatically assumes he walked in on a really bad moment, and now officially feels bad. Like, really bad. Cutting vegetables must be a really, really emotional job. ]

So, uh. You know how I said that I was dreaming weird shit and I was asking what year it was?

[ pause. ]

I went through time before I got here, actually. My friend invented a time machine and I got stuck in the year 1955. [ He looks down for a moment. ] I didn't wanna tell you since Doc said that it's gotta be kept a secret, but...y'know. Figured after today it wouldn't harm anyone telling.

[forcegalactic]

[Those poor carrots and their nutritious feelings. This one had a lover and yet was tragically picked by farmer to be shredded into bite-sized strips. And this onion wanted to be a doctor.

...That'll be an interesting story to write.]

Yeah. [sniff]

Ain't much of a surprise now, but thanks for tellin' the truth. [It helps make Marty more trustworthy.]

[heymcfly]

...Really?

[ Holy shit. Marty was so intent on keeping this secret for Doc, but he already knew? Or was he too obvious? Thank god Doc wasn't around, because he'd probably have Marty's ass no matter what the outcome of this was. Jesus. ].

Y-yeah, you're welcome. I kinda had to keep it a secret for my friend. I mean, that's what I'd guess. When I went to 1955 my mom kinda got the hots for me so I figured it would be best to keep time travel on the lay-low.

[forcegalactic]

Heck, you can't keep a secret worth beans, Marty. It was obvious all over your face, even if it weren't obvious if everyone here's from different times or if I never heard of time travel. [That's a lie, but details.]

Never thought i'd be invented that long ago. In my time, it's hard enough findin' a naturally occurin' wormhole, much less build a machine to make one.

[He rubs his eyes a few more times and returns to the cutting board.]

That musta been awkward for you. And that is why I wouldn't want to go through this time-travellin' business: to much trouble to deal with.

[heymcfly]

[ Well, shit. How in the hell he managed to get his parents to fall back in love again was way beyond him. Marty doesn't know whether to feel lucky or what.

Wormholes? Marty had a feeling that had to do with space. If the Doc was here, that could be explained really easily. If they were finding wormholes or whatever though, time travel couldn't be that far behind. So yeah, coming up with some dumb lie was a bad idea. ]

Yeah, it can get pretty heavy. [ Marty has enough experience with trouble and time travel. ]

I could probably write you a book all 'bout it.

[forcegalactic]

Write a book, sure. Textbook, novel, it's all good.

[There's quite a few writers stuck here, lucky him. And so far, none of them are the insufferable, self-promoting types of authors. Maybe that attitude comes from fame and acclaim.]

I'm a bit of a writer, myself. It's all fiction, sometimes of the science sort, but never long enough for a book. [And the green onions are done.] It's a hobby of mine, didn't have much of a chance this week to work on it, what with my arms hurtin' and the stress of bein' here.

[heymcfly]

[ Oh god! What would people think if they read a book about his mom having a crush on him? They'd probably think Marty was some kind of sicko. ] No no, I didn't mean it. The stuff that happened was...kind of weird. [ Which is putting it pretty damn nicely.

Marty leans up against the table, watching as Mordecai finishes up the last of the onions. So that probably explained why he was crying earlier. ] What's it about?

[forcegalactic]

[It would be a popular trashy novel, that's what? Mordecai won't judge, he's guilty of writing terrible stories.]

Marty, I've seen plenty of "weird" in my time, time travel ain't the weirdest of them all. That position goes to the blob infestation I had in my saloon a few weeks ago, or that time we were all forced to sing thanks to radiation. That was a weird couple o' days.

[He dumps the onions into the pan. All done.] What, my story? Nothin' at the moment. I tried my hand at mystery a few days ago, but that didn't work out well.

[heymcfly]

N-no, I meant- [ Oh jesus. Time travel was a little weird, yeah, but um. More like the events that happened during. To explain or not to explain, that's the question. ] Stuff happened when I went to the past that was, aah...[ How did you even say this? ] Not fun.

Believe me.

[ He crosses his arms over his chest, and he smiles! ] Aw, c'mon, I bet they were great! Did you ever have anyone read 'em?

[forcegalactic]

"Not fun" describes most of the things my saloon's been through, even if it didn't involve my own mother bein' interested in me. That I am certain I can live without, even if it means tradin' that for Technology Bein's hackin' into the saloon AI.

[At least the misadventures on Mars don't leave him deeply uncomfortable.]

Well, my wife does, but I never got to finish my novel. Alien turned my writin' space into a gladiator area and with it, took my papers. [It was sad, but typical for his luck.] I'm thinkin' of pickin' up writin' again, but so far, all I got is writer's block.

[housenurse]

[well, she's got some tea to make! so, she walks into the kitchen, but stops short, smiling.]

Oh, what are you making? It smells really good!

[forcegalactic]

Salmon. [He grates the parsnip against the grater a few more times until nothing is left.] With steamed vegetables. Thought I should make somethin' fillin' after a long day.

[housenurse]

Oh! When you finish, could you make sure Asuka-chan tries some? She's never gotten to eat a fish before, so I told her I'd make her something! [but she couldn't decide what! well as long as she gets her fish.]

[forcegalactic]

Never? Where's she from? [He thought Earth, but isn't fish widespread there?]

I got plenty, don't worry. Help me get the plates first, then we'll serve it together.

[housenurse]

Alright! [goes and gets some plates!]

Earth, but something happened to the oceans there and all the fish died. She says she seen them in aquariums, but there's not enough for anybody to eat them. Isn't that sad? I've never even considered a world without fish! Half my dinner options would be gone! [to be made up with cat.]

[forcegalactic]

That never--[Happened, but he remembers Tabby's words. They're all from different dimensions. Alternate histories. Asuka is from the terrible one.]

Right. One fish reserved for her.

[He brushes the last of the vegetables into a pan, ready to cook.]

...It's been a long time since I've cooked this much at once. Usually it's just for me, sometimes my wife when she's home.

[housenurse]

I cook about this much every day! There's only four of us, but we're big eaters!

... Mordecai-san, I'm sorry if this is rude of me [she says, powering through anyway] but do you and your wife not have any children?

[forcegalactic]

[They certainly must go through a lot of food if she has two growing children. Imagine him, cooking enough for a party every day. Being a housewife sounds more and more like hard work.

Ah, yes. This question again, one that still is commonplace in the future. He watches the vegetables simmer.]

Ain't rude to ask. [She's only being curious, he'd ask any couple he met about family plans.] You're right, we don't. Partly due to how we're happy, it bein' just the two of us, but mostly 'cause our schedules don't leave much time for kids. Harriet always out on business, me at the saloon: ain't no way to bring up a kid.

I'm fine with that. There's enough stress and trouble in our lives, don't need to make any troublemakers of our own.

...How's it like, livin' with them?

[housenurse]

You'd be surprised what kind of upbringing kids can thrive in! [like an illegal clinic...] But, I think deciding not to have children is just as noble as deciding to have them-- it's better than forcing yourself one way or the other and ending up unhappy! Everyone should choose their own path in life!

Living with kids... Well, it depends on all kinds of things, doesn't it? I'm sure rich mothers have a lot different time with their kids than I do! [see: ragyo] We only really have one room in our house, so we've always slept together on the same floor... So, it's cramped, and you have no privacy, but it's warm and loving and you couldn't imagine it any other way. Having kids is like that, I think.

[forcegalactic]

[Oh. He didn't realize just how poor she and her family was. It's difficult to understand how life was like hundreds of years ago, but he knew one-room homes weren't a normal thing even that long ago. This building must be the nicest place Sukuyo has ever seen while it looks like a backwards dump to him.

One bed, the whole family together. Him and Harriet, those are the best times. But adding more people to the picture is difficult. He doesn't know any kids, just adults, and having Sparks and Felton join in is plain awkward, if not cramped. Let's forget that.]

Sounds like...you're pretty happy, despite your situation. Must be nice, though, havin' your family with you at all times. Unlike me, of course. Empty house most of the time, but saloon talk helps. Usually.

[housenurse]

If it's never gonna improve, why not be happy? I don't need money as long as I have my family! [YEAH ABOUT THAT...]

... Your wife must be a very important person!

[forcegalactic]

[And without her family...] Must be hard right now.

[He misses his wife so much right now, more than he would when she's away for just a day.]

She is. A Troubleshooter, to be exact, one of the best ones there is. [He's so proud of her. How incredibly lucky he is to have married someone as cool as her.] She goes around, rightin' software wrongs in space. Anytime there's somethin' glitchy goin' on with tech - and that's often, what with all the computers we used in my time, they send her there to fix it.

...And that's why she's out so much. It's a busy schedule, but we live with it.