isleofavalon | happy holidays { open }

happy holidays { open }

A HOLIDAY PARTY

I. Arrival

There were postings around town, and fliers going out around the end of November. The holiday party starts early evening, December 1, thanks to the help of several hands. They had worked for a couple of days prior to the start to get the large ballroom decorated to everyone's liking. He had rented out a large ballroom, and started decorating the day before, adding finishing touches early on the day of. Everyone was invited - and while there's no real dress code posted, everyone is invited to dress their best for the sake of the party.

When one approaches the building, there's a clear set of rules posted outside written in neat script:

There's only a few easy rules to ensure everyone enjoys their night:

One, no fighting - if you have to - please take it outside.
Two, no weapons on the premises.
Three, all children under the age of sixteen must leave before nine in the evening.

Welcome in. Grab a mask if you want - or don't - and join the party.

II. Welcome In

When walking through the entrance, the first thing that is easy to notice is how it is decorated. It has the colors of the holidays - red, green, blue, white. It’s mostly deeper shades with pops of brighter shades of the color. On the right of the entryway there is a table with a dark blue cloth over it. On top of it is a wide array of masks - different styles, shapes, sizes. Whatever their heart may desire, you can find here. Masks are, of course, optional! But who doesn’t love a great masquerade?

Above it is a sign that says Yours to Keep - so they may keep whatever masks they pick up.

Next to it is a large book with lined paper where people can drop a short message about the winter holiday they celebrate at home - their favorite part, how they celebrate, anything they'd like to share with other people! This will be picked up at the end of the party.

Not much further ahead is a dancefloor to the left - spacious as ever. To the right is catering - set up as an elaborate display of food and tables arranged so people can sit and eat. There’s food from a variety of places, including Golden Silence. They’ll find not only savory foods, but sweet desserts. In the back corner, not far from the food is a bartender, who is happily serving free drinks for anyone of drinking age.

Past the bar is a hallway with a couple of private rooms. These rooms are quiet - with none of the noise of the party being able to reach them. They're perfect for stepping away from the party for just a few moments of peace and quiet. In this rooms, there's decks of cards and a few simple board games. Each room can hold up to four people and can be locked from the inside.

Don't worry - there's signs posted everywhere so they'll will be able to find what they're looking for.

III. With So Much To Do

A. Dance the Night Away

The music at the party is provided by a variety of individuals. Various talents have been invited through the night, even! If no one is set to perform, there's a playlist set to play. The music goes on non-stop and the styles that will be played will vary. Most of the songs will be fairly upbeat through the night. Some of them are slower paced - so pick a partner and dance.

B. Mistletoe

Throughout the venue there's going to be mistletoe set up in a few spots throughout the building. The spots they're hanging are easy to identify. Most doorways have mistletoe hanging from them. There's also a few prime spots where there's some hanging - such as the corner not far from the bar. It's a perfect place to steal a kiss.

B. Charity Raffle

Near the food, there's a sign directing people to participate and purchase tickets for the charity raffle for a few prizes for people. There's donations (or things purchased) from a few businesses around Camelot. All funds raised from the Charity will go towards helping everyone who lost things during the events with Celliwig/Lestari. There's a variety of things: brunch for two, a date package, opportunities to learn a new skill, and other experiences. Several prizes will be raffled off, and people may purchase as many tickets as they want.

IV. Late at Night

After 9 in the evening, the entire feeling of the party changes. The lights get lower and glowsticks become available just off of the dance floor where they weren't earlier in the night. The music remains upbeat, though there's no performers for this part of the evening - only a playlist cycling through a variety of songs. This is a perfect time to grab a partner for a dance, or grab a drink. There's no real end of the night in sight, people are welcome to stay as long they'd like - even into the next morning if they should want.

Just be sure they're out by lunch the next day when clean-up starts.

Some quick ooc notes:

Anyone is free to assume their character participated in helping decorate.

Anyone who is a musician may get a short time slot to perform (15-30 minutes).

Feel free to have your character win anything from the raffle if you want - I'm not particular here!

Please mark anything NSFW as such in subject lines.

Have any questions? Drop one in my question thread!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maybe I should drink faster so I can try more of it.

[ That's a terrible idea and precisely why he's going to do it. Down goes the rest of his drink! ]

Whatever you get next, I'll take one of those.

[ That's a good way to go about it, right? ]

( that's a fantastic idea to Kate. she's all for following in his footsteps, chugging the rest of her beer with practiced ease. )

Tequila it is.

( specifically, one particularly nice, coffee blended tequila. because who doesn't love combining two vices? )

[ Ryouma sniffs his drink, unable to help the slight shudder at the intensity. Well, he did think this was a good idea, so...

He holds his glass out to Kate with a smile. ]

Kampai!

[ Bottoms up.

Just a sip this time, though. He's not quite ready to get absolutely smashed. That will come in due time. ]

Mm...It's strong. That usually how you like your drinks?

Cheers.

( really, Rider's question is answered by the way Kate knocks back the whole drink in one go and gestures for another. )

Best tasting spirit out there.

( somewhere, Manslayer is calling blasphemy against sake. )

[ Ryouma can almost hear him shouting... ]

It's not bad, but I think I'll switch to something else.

[ That's his polite way of saying he's not a fan. At least he finishes off his glass before asking for sake instead. It's a nice, familiar standby like that.

If he tries to keep up with Kate, he might be in trouble... ]

You drink like a fish, huh? [ It's a good-natured bit of teasing. It's not like his best friend isn't the same way. ] No wonder Manslayer likes you.

( that's probably just because he's shouting, more than likely.

his switch of drink is taken with a roll of one shoulder. you're wrong, Rider, but go off. )

'N you don't? ( how do you hang with Manslayer if you don't drink like a fish? ) What's your vice, then?

[ Overworking himself until he collapses. ]

I don't really have one... [ He laughs nervously. ] I can't really keep up with Manslayer when we drink together, but I try.

[ That fact is evident in the way he knocks back his sake and gets another. ]

I guess I ain't real good at bein' bad.

[ ...Hm. Something about the way he speaks might be familiar. ]

( is keeping busy really the worst thing? ~~please never take advice from this woman~~.

well, he's not terrible at it. and honestly, Manslayer is... uh. not someone most people could or should keep up with. let's just say that. )

No? ( that neutral accent slippin' huh? and speaking of slipping... she's just gonna slip that drink down her throat and let the burn sate her a little bit. ) That make you th' guy that fixes shit?

( kinda like Jay tends to be for her. )

Mm, I guess ya could say that. Never really meant t' be that guy, but that's just how it shook out.

[ He decides better of trying to keep up with Kate, taking a little sip as he thinks a little more on how to explain this. ]

I'm th' one who does what's gotta be done, I guess.

( ... oh.

so maybe it's not as simple as drawing parallels between herself and Manslayer and Rider and Jay.

because that last sentence hits all too close to home. she knows that sentiment, lived that sentiment from the second the words I'm afraid... your parents aren't with us any more fully sunk in.

as long as Marc's okay, she'll do whatever dirty work has to be done. earn money in ways she hates. stand up and try to advocate for him when police and social services are scurrying about, worrying about these two newly orphaned kids and a murder that remains unsolved to this day. )

I see... ( well, your drinks during this session are on her, even if she doesn't say as much, Rider. ) Sounds like a lot of responsibility.

Ya could say that, too...

[ A lot of it wasn't even things he necessarily had to do, but things he chose to do because it was the best bet to ensure a better future for Japan. Did he have to become a dappan ronin and leave Tosa without permission? No, but it was the only way to try to move forward with his ideas, even if it meant his death. Did he have to work with Katsu to help build the beginnings of Japan's navy? No, but it was the best shot they had at making sure Japan could defend itself against the threat of foreign ships. Did he need to help broker the Satcho Alliance? No, but if he hadn't, who knows how things would have gone without it?

So much of it he didn't have to do and yet he did it anyway because he couldn't wait for anyone else. If his work meant that fewer people died or were forced into an unfair class system by the circumstances of their birth or that they could meaningfully participate in a fairer system of government? It was worth it...Even all the pain and loss he endured because of it.

All Ryouma cared about was what was best for everyone else. A man too kind-hearted for the circumstances he was born into. ]

I kinda brought a lotta it on myself, but it was worth it.

[ Was it? Was it worth it to see all the death he saw, to lose people he cared for deeply, and to lose his own life before he could see the fruits of his work? Was it worth it now to work as a Counter Guardian to fix all of the problems and see and remember more death each time he's summoned, just so he could ensure the deaths of as few people as possible?

Yes. ]

Edited (adding a word a day later like you do) 2022-01-03 21:33 (UTC)

Aye?

( she... isn't sure where the decisions she made starts, and where the ones she was forced into began, really.

quitting athletics? that was all her. her own fault and weakness. Marc didn't give up science after everything; if anything, he fell more passionately into it. she could have kept going, right?

her power wasn't her choice, but maybe she never would have been in that place if she'd stuck to athletics. if she hadn't fallen in with the friends she did. if she'd told Graeme to fuck off long ago.

the army... well. that wouldn't have happened without the above two problems.

so, at the end, everything she hates could be traced back to all her failures.

but that's another story for another day. )

Like what?

( after all, Rider's story sounds nicer. )

[ He's hesitant to share his past, if only because of who he is. Ryouma Sakamoto, the Hero of the Meiji Restoration, is not exactly an unknown name. He never liked the attention when he was alive and he's not terribly fond of it now, but he can't be mean to Kate and just tell her no.

He ponders the sake in front of him, downs it, and sighs. ]

Where I grew up was extremely divided. Kashi, like me and Manslayer, were treated worse'n animals by the joshi. Ya had t' get outta their way on th' streets, bow to 'em, and if they felt like ya wronged 'em in anyway, they could kill ya for it.

[ Not the greatest environment to come up in. ]

I couldn't stand for it, even as a li'l kid. I knew I wanted it to change, but hell if I knew how. I never really knew what I wanted t' do...Ended up goin' to train at a dojo to become a master swordsman so I could open my own back home.

Didn't happen. Tensions started risin' all over th' country...Threat'a foreign countries invadin', talk'a war. Got politically involved in my own home domain and realized that what I wanted t' do was beyond that...So I left for the capital.

[ Ryouma hasn't looked up from his empty glass. ]

Ya couldn't jus' leave yer domain without permission. That was punishable by death...I did it anyway. Didn't tell no one but my family 'cause it could've been real bad for them. An' after that, things just got more and more difficult.

[ He finally looks up with a sad smile. ]

If I'd jus' stayed back home in Tosa...None'a th' things that came after woulda happened.

[ He probably would've been executed with the rest of the Tosa Loyalist Party. An ignoble end for someone with dreams of changing the world. ]

Never woulda helped form the beginnings of a navy to protect th' country, never woulda forged an impossible alliance between two domains that hated each other...Wouldn't've died like I did, either.

[ Ryouma gives a short, sad laugh. ]

Ah, 'm sorry. Didn't mean t' bring th' mood down with all'a that.

( honestly, he'd be in luck. she never did pay a lot of attention in history class, and Japanese history wasn't exactly on the curriculum even if she did.

but she finds herself engrossed in Rider's tales anyway. maybe because he's a real person, in front of her, telling his truth, or because there's a bittersweet edge to a complicated story. hope and despair and real change. the kind of thing that feels a million miles away back home. perhaps because things aren't as bad there, perhaps because of more reasons than Kate could ever understand or explain.

she rolls her glass between her hands as he speaks, shrugs off his apology. )

I asked.

( she bears responsibility in this detour of conversational topic, so no big deal.

a sip of her drink, a moment of silence, and then; )

Sounds like you managed a lot.

( and she only wishes she knew how. she can distract herself through a thousand easy, meaningless tasks, but nothing that really makes anything better. )

[ He did. He also saw a lot of people he cared about die violently and that fact haunts him even now. He doesn't say as much, though, and instead gets another drink to push those niggling little feeling back down where they belong. ]

Mm...I dunno how. I never really knew what I was doin' most'a th' time. I probably shoulda died before I left Tosa doin' some'a th' things I did.

[ It's a wonder he didn't die any sooner. Why did he live longer than some people he was close to? Things could have gone so much differently...There's no use dwelling on any of this because what's done is done. He died long, long ago; being a Servant meant dealing with the aftermath of his death, something no one should have to deal with. ]

I guess I jus' got lucky, is all...Lucky as ya can be with how everythin' ended.

( it's easy to say that death is just a fact of life. that death has no rhyme or reason and they just have to cope with it.

it's true. but true doesn't make it suck any less. or give anyone any more of a clue to understand why they survived and someone else didn't. why she saw so many people in the military die — why she had to be responsible for many of them.

why her parents had to die instead of someone else. what was the point in that? just to shove Marc, to shove her, into things they would never be doing otherwise?

death is random and it sucks because it leaves the survivors trying to scramble to place some greater purpose to it. or trying to find answers to the hows and whys, if you're her brother. )

No reason t' most shit. ( she almost says anything, but that isn't quite true. people generally have a reason behind what they do — whether it's good like Rider's or simply seeking more power like the people who dictate wars back home. ) Y'do summat on th' right day and it all works. Do it th' day before or after, and y'might fail. 'S all little shit like that.

[ Ryouma just sits quietly for a little while, unsure of what to say. He hasn't laid himself and his insecurities about his life bare like this ever. Those were for him to think and worry about, not anyone else. It's hard to be this vulnerable. It's only after he's gotten one last drink that he speaks up again. ]

...It doesn't stop me from questioning "what if", you know? What if I'd done something differently? What if I'd asked someone to come with me instead of going alone? It doesn't make any difference now, but it doesn't stop me from asking myself that.

[ He smiles sadly. ]

That's very human, isn't it?

Oh aye.

( she laughs, a dry humourless sound which bubbles into a drink quickly polished off. )

Findin' faults to blame yourself with. Woulda been better like this...

( not that she, you know, does that all the time or anything. just because she can recognise it for the stupidity it is doesn't mean she has to stop it or think it applies to herself, right? )

[ Ryouma folds his arms on the bar in front of him, then rests his head atop them. It's a sad sight to see him looking like this, but what else can he do? These thoughts are usually things that haunt him when it's late at night and he's alone, not when he's around anyone else.

He just sits like that for a few minutes in silence. ]

It's not like I can do anythin' 'bout it now...I got killed for doin' what I was doin' and that's th' end of it, ain't it? Shouldn't be anythin' to it, but...Ain't like that for me.

[ Enough of this. He sits up again with a sigh. ]

What 'bout ya, though? What's yer story, if ya don't mind sharin'?

[ It gets the attention off him and allows him to bury those worries and insecurities deep inside him again. That and he's genuinely curious as to what kind of life Kate has lived to get her into the drink this hard. ]

( well... there's not much she can do about that. not beyond sit, resting her chin in a hand as Rider pulls himself through whatever aches and regrets circle his head, nursing her drink and fighting that old world logic of the dead can't rise again.

it doesn't matter how many months pass in Avalon, she can't imagine finding the concept of speaking to the dead (or the gods thereof, holla Thanatos) any more normalised.

and when he does pull himself together... well. she probably should have expected that question. )

Military.

( it answers a lot without really answering anything at all. the question of how she got into the military life doesn't need to be answered, she thinks, certainly not while she's still aware of the party continuing behind them.

military answers the question of how she's so used to drinking, doesn't it? even if that answer isn't true. )

Got tired of fightin' other people's wars. ( that much is true. there was no better interest to be found in the places they were shipped to, nothing more than the greedy glint in the eyes of people who stayed in their mansions, pushing pieces around a chessboard without a thought for the hurricanes they were unleashing. ) Started...

( the words get caught on her tongue, secrecy irrelevant to a place where no one is from her world but trapped in her habits nonetheless. what do you do? should be answered with anything but the truth, said Rosenberg. no need to alarm the locals who aren't even sure what they're seeing. )

— workin' for summat called National Defence.

( it sounds more impressive than it is. there's not much to travelling the country, going to waste sites and seeing if anything needs stopping. )

Edited 2022-01-18 20:37 (UTC)

[ Military. It does explain a lot. Back in his time, each domain was responsible for their own defense; there was no concept of Japan as a unified nation, much less as a unified military. That was at least part of the reason for him and the others he worked with to create a unified naval force to protect the country. ]

Mm...It had an effect on ya, huh?

[ There's no judgement in his words. Kate just seems tired now, like someone who's been through too much, much too young. War and conflict had been the constant background radiation of Ryouma's life and he'd seen what it could do to people, both in the human toll in terms of death and the human toll of those who survived. ]

Was National Defence any better than the military?

( tired is a good word for it. the energy it takes to keep herself from thinking about shit — things before and things since she signed up — has long since stopped being a natural given gift and instead exists purely out of... well. she's not sure. fear? perhaps. like if she stops moving she'll be pulled into the quicksand of nightmares.

drink is a pretty good substitute when she can't keep running around. )

Doubt anyone gets out fine.

( Ainsworth handled it better, true, but even with all his family pride and still existing belief in the necessity of their old job, she's heard him waking up in the middle of the night, panicked and reaching for a weapon. they've sat silently in hotel rooms, drinking coffee in the dark because going back to sleep just means inviting worse things to haunt you.

they never spoke about it. )

... 'S more noble, I guess. ( there's a shrug. you can't debate the morality of stopping mindless, power hungry monsters, can you? ) Better pay.

( that's always important, isn't it? )

[ Ryouma just sits quietly again as he looks over at Kate. There's always more to those who find their comfort in drink than meets the eye; they all have their reasons. His smile is gentle and kind. For the kind of life he lived and the environment he grew up in, it never crushed his gentle spirit and kind heart. ]

Mm...Yer still runnin' away from somethin', ain't ya? [ Like he isn't. ] Ain't my place t' judge...For all ya been through, yer still alive and still goin'. That's more than some people can say.

[ He chuckles as he turns back to his drink. Last one or he'll be too drunk to stumble home in one piece. ]

I think we understand each other a li'l better now...

( that's a feat in and of itself, really. though Ryouma's comment about running from something earns him a quick enough swat on the arm.

there's no need to be correct. )

We don't know each other that well yet.

( things she hasn't spoken to with her brother (there are many, though Kate won't acknowledge that particular fact just yet) aren't barside discussions with relative strangers. )

[ He rubs his arm with a gentle laugh. ]

Alright, alright...I guess I'll leave ya be for now. Gotta go track down Manslayer before he gets himself in any trouble.

[ It's a convenient excuse, but a true one. Ryouma stands up, wobbles for a moment, and bows slightly. ]

I'll see ya 'round. Don't get too drunk now.

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happy holidays { open }

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??? i apparently just. lost this tag entirely.

it's all good!

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