expiationlogs | chestnuts roasting over an open fire...

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chestnuts roasting over an open fire...

Who: YOU!!!
Where: Claude's Apothecary (also known as: his house)
What: Claude and Ethlyn decide to host a Christmas party -- they may not be familiar with Christmas, but when in Rome! There will be drinking, dancing, and much revelry, and it's open underneath the guise of a combo grand opening, meaning that it's free for all and sundry to attend!
Warnings: Probably some underage drinking Claude will make no effort to curb, but that's about it.

Welcome, one and all to the Apothecary's grand opening celebration -- which just so happens to coincide with winter festivities! Despite the fact that neither Claude nor Ethlyn have any familiarity with Christmas whatsoever, they've decided to put together a party anyway, and what a party it is! At the front of the room, Claude and Root have put together an assortment of festive outfits for people to wear: all manner of ridiculous Christmas sweaters from Root, and from Claude, an assortment of reindeer horns and Santa hats if you choose to get as decked out as he is.

Inside, all breakables and valuables have been safely tucked away and have been replaced by all manner of decorations: glittering lights, bristly boughs, a Christmas tree and, of course, an assortment of mistletoe hanging over everyone's heads, ready to ensnare an unlikely couple or two in a requisite smooch. The entire place is, in fact, absolutely covered in festive greenery, courtesy of Kurama -- a little overkill, maybe, but they can't help themselves. Even if you duck past the mistletoe, it may have a way of finding you anyway; Kurama has a mischievous streak, and the ability to grow unlimited amounts of mistletoe to dog your steps.

Every surface seems absolutely covered in anything you might want from a feast, from unctious meats still dripping in their own fats to enormous platters of roasted vegetables and freshly prepared rolls and flatbreads to trays filled with biscuits and pies glittering with sugar. Also available for everyone's consumption - and Claude's not checking IDs as long as the kids aren't being too foolhardy - is a seemingly endless supply of libations, from steaming jugs of mulled wine to mugs filled with buttered rum to an open container of punch ready for the spiking. In the background are a few local musicians that Claude hired to play for them, though the stage is set for any tipsy guests to try their hand at entertaining the crowd.

On a table at the back are wrapped presents that are ready for the taking for anyone who wins at an assortment of games - with anything inside ranging from the Apothecary's own wares of teas and tinctures to pantry items from local vendors to a cute cuddly stuffed animal or two - if you choose to partake. Games of Questions and Commands (essentially Truth or Dare), Flapdragon (a game in which you must drain your glass to see what prize you win at the bottom) to card and board games are available for people to compete at. Everyone loves a good parlor game. Or, for those with a bolder constitution, Snapdragon is available outside, in which people set shallow dishes of brandy and dried fruits out, set it aflame, and ask people to go bobbing for the fruit at deadly risk of losing their lashes and brows. Spectating the whole scene is Claude's wyvern, who guests are welcome to go out and greet anytime they like.

Finally, for those more retiring in nature, and exclusively Claude's closest friends: he will allow some into his private quarters to have a little rest from all the fuss and noise. It's a good place for quiet conversation if you can hack it, or even to nap off the worst of the booze. For anyone else who wants some peace and quiet, you'll have to settle for the employee break room, a modestly undecorated place with a supply of caffeinated beverages and flat surfaces to rest upon.

Feel free to make up your own prompts and just use this as a fun holiday space for gift exchanges and drunken festivities! Happy holidays, Expiation!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i. did it right there out on the deck.

[ If there is one thing that Spock has always known how to dress for, it is for gatherings that command a certain amount of sharpness and attention. Uniforms, suits, ceremonial robes? Certainly. Galas and parties that request a certain amount of flair despite his intentions to linger along the sidelines as much as he might be permitted? Yes.

Tonight is no real exception. While he does not opt for the typical Human colors associated with such festivities, he has moved into a richer sort of blue in minor deference. His makeup has been done with an ever more wicked precision, the wing of his liner blacker and sleeker and surer than it has any right to be (at least, presently - catch him toward the end of the evening and there may be some peculiar and artful smudging and a smattering of golden glitter as though it were almost intentional). And yet? There is decidedly a palpable sense of fatigue about Spock's shoulders.

Which is not to get confused, of course, with a more Human analog. It is the sort of fatigue of one who is taking a moment to show that he may in fact experience fatigue at all if you squint. Or, rather, if you happen to know him any capacity. For a man who was just a few days ago subject to the world's most potent (and tiniest) dose of mystery compound with no further conclusions yet to draw? He's not doing too badly.

Well, all things considered.

Predictably, he doesn't seem particularly keen on moving about. But, either way: he's tucked in an optimal position where he gets most of the heat of the fire without sweating out his occasional (and singularly steadfast) tablemates.

It looks like he's brought along his own assortment of games, too. Just to supplement. If he's embroiled in (standard) chess games with more than one person at the same time? Don't worry about it. If he's somehow drawn in people to a play a hand of cards? Like, say, Poker? Or perhaps something even more... Alien (like Fizzbin)? Doesn't matter. He approaches it just the same. ]

I believe it is your move, [ he'll say after a time, his hands folding neatly on the table before him. His nails are a deep, deep shade of blue. He's a patient guy, but he knows if you're dragging out the play for your own benefit. Better to just ask him to remind you of the rules, unless you're angling to distract him (though, that one is quite unlikely). ]

ii. put her canine teeth in the side of my neck.

[ Perhaps you've decided you've had enough of the mingling.

Or, perhaps, you've decided to join the quiet, smartly dressed man at his table when some (or none?) of his companions are there.

Or, even perhaps, you've caught him idly observing a tall, blue-eyed man across the room as he flits through conversations. Maybe you watch as he lights up like some kind of Roman Candle whenever said man glances back (don't worry about it). Perhaps they're just sort of... Staring across the room and not talking, but seem to be? Whatever. Most of the time, most of you know at least one of the two and that the other arcs like a orbiting body about the other's gravity.

Regardless of how you've caught him, he doesn't seem opposed to company and doesn't really seem to do more than acknowledge you've come around. He might make a passing comment about appropriate steeping times for tea if you've brought one along, but otherwise he's neatly marking down observations and odd mathematical strings in a notebook with whatever hand happens to be free at the time.

There's a very good sketch of one of the aptly named "missile toads" on one page.

But, the longer the night wears on and the more golden his makeup seems to turn, he might offer you an idle: ] Greetings.

[ And, depending upon how far he's gotten in his (very dark) hot chocolate? ] May you experience a safe and prosperous end to the current solar cycle.

[ Uh. Okay? ]

iii. why don't you come over?

[ hit me. you know where to find me if you want something specific. ]

Edited 2024-12-18 04:08 (UTC)

[Levi's played and learned a lot of card games, so the chance to learn a new one seemed like fun. He furrows his brow and his hand]

O-okay, I, um...

...w-what am I supposed to do here again?

[New things are hard, okay.]

[ Unfortunately, Levi has picked the most complicated option. And by "complicated," one should specify that it means he has picked the one with the most nonsensical rules. More fortunately, perhaps, Spock has them memorized. While put to practice in the future, surely such nonsense was devised in some manner or another beforehand. Whether the name or the exact rules were established? Who knows.

Given it is about half-way through the evening, Spock is as sharp as he most often is. He hasn't quite turned to jotting down the directions (yet), but he does arch one, dark brow in query. ]

Do you recall the day's date, sir?

[ This will be relevant in a moment. ]

[Yeah he's getting the feeling he should just have gone with a game he knew. Oh well.]

The date? Yeah its [Insert whatever the IC date is here], why?

[That's a weird question. He's also not sure why it was asked here. Huh.]

[ Likely so. Sometimes an adventure pays dividends. Sometimes? Well, sometimes you have to stumble your way through some unfathomable corridor until you reach the end. Cultural exploration, first and foremost, dictates that you recognize that you know nothing. Thereafter? It's listening in. And if that cultural exchange is built upon deceit and disruption?

Well, at least Levi gets points for trying. ]

As it is a Tuesday, [ Spock starts as though butter would not melt in his mouth, ] the second card needn't be revealed to both players.

[ He taps the second card in his hand, the dark polish of his nails a stark contrast to the red of their backs. Decidedly, his isn't facing outward. Better fix that, first off. ]

[Levi has no problem admitting he knows nothing. In fact he's likely to admit it even when it isn't true.]

Um...s-so...I...
...d-don't turn my card over?

[ Does anyone know anything?

Within reason, yes. Truths and facts are only divided by the surety of their position. What is written as a constant has once and again been redefined by Spock's time, but entropy remains. Humans would indicate it to be humorous. Vulcans would indicate it to be understandable, based upon their own philosophies.

Spock finds it to be, privately and to himself, both. ]

That is what I said, [ he confirms. He tips his head, assessing. ] Upon all other days, the card is exposed. Tuesdays are the exception.

[ If he's confused, don't worry. Everyone (usually) is. ]

U-uh...

[He peers at his hand for a few moments then sighs and lays it down.]

I don't think this game is for me.

[ Spock's had his alien fun, so he'll let him off the hook. He folds the fan of his cards neatly in response, placing them atop the precisely stacked deck. ]

What do you propose?

[ He doesn't look particularly bothered, but then again, his neutral affect is how it most often is. If anything, the query suggests a mild curiosity. ]

[Huh, he's surprised he wasn't dismissed outright. ~~It wasn't Spock, he just expects no one to want him.~~]

Um...I guess poker's easy. Or we could play Durak or something.

[ Welcome to the club. Spock isn't exactly accustomed to anyone not saying something profoundly exclusionist by now. He's still not, even after all this time within Aldrip proper. Most would be keen on making some kind of remark on his ears or coining derisive nicknames for him or so on. He's used to being othered, in other words.

Either way, Spock inclines his head. It's a small movement, more of a dip of the chin, but: ]

A most unusual game, Durak. [ Seems like he's familiar. It should be peculiar, but much about him is.

Either way, he makes neat work of collecting Levi's cards and cutting through the whole of the deck. He knows which cards to remove, which to shuffle and bridge.

Any marked inspection will reveal that for one who takes such careful care of his hands, he's quite deft with them. His movements are sure and practiced. ] I hear it hails from Earth's old Russia.

[ He doesn't look up at Levi, too focused upon setting the game up to specifications. The flash of his eyeshadow moves from hue to hue, his dark eyes moving over the numbers and faces of the cards as he summarily keeps and removes them. ]

I assume you too are familiar then with the game Preferens?

[Levi's never given much thought to other's species. People were just people, after all. And after being here over a year pointy ears were pretty tame.]

I learned it in the Eastern Union. My Earth didn't have Russia.

Yeah, I've played that too. Not as much though.

[ A rather enlightened point-of-view. There are indeed some further variances, but that was neither here nor there. What it was, was. Spock has learned over the course of his stay within Aldrip proper and during his tenure upon the Enterprise that no such experiences are universal. It was a known before, yes, but seeing it repeat did provide further perspective into what might have been. ]

Curious. [ He pauses, his hands poised upon the freshly arranged deck. ] From its name, I would presume it may partially comprise of a similar geographical region, but our cohort has demonstrated any number of variances.

[ But, that's probably not a casual subject for most individuals here. Some seem more keen than others to share their own places of residence, but - he'll lead in, at the very least, to what he could mean. ]

Are there others that you know? [ Well, he is defined most chiefly by his curiosity. The overlap has piqued his interest slightly, but it doesn't distract him from dealing the cards in their new configuration. ]

I don't really know. I only know Russia from books here so I don't know where its supposed to be.

[He's never bothered to look up a map or a atlas or a globe or anything. They probably wouldn't apply to this place.]

Uh, card games? Well, we'd play poker a lot but I think everyone knows that. Bridge, Skat, stuff like that.

[ He supposes that some wouldn't, but the prospect of such knowledge wouldn't typically be so... Unsought by him. If nothing else, it does allow for further understanding of one's surrounds.

But, that's neither here nor there. Instead, he lifts a brow (minutely, as it were) and deals as bid. ]

Not all, [ he says, cards passing through his hands. ] I was once unacquainted.

[ With all of them, that is. Poker, too. ]

I guess we all once were. I learned most of them during down time of, uh.

[He doesn't really want to bring up the front or the trenches...he's not sure how to avoid the topic, though.]

Y-you know, when we had time to kill.

[ He considers Levi's answer with the shallow cock of his head. He may not be entirely familiar with Human cultural and conversational norms, but he knows well enough when a person has no intention of being forthcoming. He has any number of topics he too does not speak of: surviving acts of terrorism, mind control, fundamental wounds inflicted by those you've loved - it's just how it is. He's seen as much and known as much.

So, he opts to make a sound in the affirmative. It's a low sound, a hum more than anything. He deals the cards-as specified-and neatly arranges his own hand. ]

If you would prefer to start, [ he says, fanning the cards just so. It's as much of a indication as Levi's going to get to pick whether or not he'd like to begin first. ]

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solitarysoul - 2025-01-27 03:24 (UTC) - Expand

[Unlike Spock, Visas has just the one outfit, which she cleans when needed, but otherwise she can't recall ever having gotten dressed up for a party. This certainly doesn't mean it hasn't happened--it probably did--but it was in the time before Katarr's destruction.

So she has absolutely no idea what to do here, but Root is here, so. And maybe if she starts doing more ordinary, everyday things, she'll understand why it is people do them, what makes it important.

Why does this man have a stack of... what are those boxes? Games? Table games?]

...What is all this?

[ It is most common for him to wear two outfits aboard the Enterprise outside his typical sleep and meditation wear, but it is not uncommon for those (much like himself) to keep a change of vestments or two within the provided closets for shore leave. Not that, of course, Spock opted to take it often or at all.

However, she appears about as lost as Spock often feels at such events. It is not to say that he does not know what is occurring, but rather- well, it is not particularly important. What is known, however, is that he has something to do and can attend to it. ]

Elucidate, [ he prompts, not unkindly. He has few recreational activities placed before him, but he might provide her further insight as required if she indicates which. Or, rather, if she is referring to something else (drinks, perhaps?) - he can indicate that as well. ]

[Really, all of it, is Visas' first impulse. But that isn't practical as a response, because there is so much on the table.

She points to the stack of board games. Not that Visas doesn't know what games are. Anyone who lived on the Ebon Hawk for a day knew of its pilot's long-running (and persistently losing) battle to beat the maintenance droid at cards. But she points to the chessboard and its many figures.]

This. It is a game of some sort, but it is unfamiliar to me.

[ It isn't, but Spock might be so inclined to elaborate given the general atmosphere and the current way of his company. He has no issue expounding upon a variety of subjects if the one who inquires is sincere in their interest, but most often he encounters those disinclined to ask and/or disinclined to truly learn. ]

Ah. [ It's a small sound of confirmation, but one that may tip its way over to his own focus upon that game in particular. His tone does not betray it per se, but there is something in his posture and that suggests a greater attention. It's in the lean of his shoulder. The softer, demonstrative sweep of his palm over the set. ] Chess.

[ He tips his head, just so, to the open chair across from him. ] If you are interested in learning its origins and its nature of play, I would be willing to elaborate.

[ The implication is that it's sufficiently complex, yes, but the basics are graspable. ]

[Visas hesitates a moment, then sits down. She examines the pieces. Out in front is a row of identical, round-headed figures, eight across. Behind them is more variety--a pair of horses, two circular towers, a pair with their mouths wide open to the sky, and in the center, two figures with crowns.

White on one side, black on the other. At least, in her vision--they might well be red or blue or green. But, one half light and the other dark.]

Are these all meant to represent people?

[ They are nothing, if not tradition in their make and manner. To Spock, these pieces are notably antiquated. While he first learned how to play upon these kinds of boards, it eventually did not hold much challenge for him. Four dimensional chess was preferred within his time due to the inevitable climb in defensive and offensive movements, but that is neither here nor there. For now, she's asked a question. ]

Affirmative, [ he says, voice smooth and still as it often is. ] This variant is meant to emulate the Terran medieval period, with pieces arranged in a fashion to indicate since outmoded hierarchies. However, its origins are considerably more ancient.

[Ah, then the two central pieces in the back are the leaders, judging by their heads... crowns, like Queen Talia wore.]

These in the back are the higher ranking warriors. [She picks up a pawn. Unlike the pieces in back, it is featureless, round of head and of body, indistinguishable from its fellows.] And this piece is the one they consider disposable.

[ Can I help you, Mr. Spock?

Jim is standing across the room in his outfit for the evening, a deep jade-colored, soft velvet suit that accents the undertones of the person he arrived with nicely. Especially as the night goes on, and Spock's hot chocolate cup grows ever deeper. Jim's also wearing makeup this evening, a departure from his usual rolled-out-of-bed chic - he's wearing a shiny gold lid, with green underlining that both matches his ensemble, and makes his eyes pop ~~One guess as to whose doing that was.~~

As the night progresses, Jim's makeup starts to migrate a little, smears of gold diluted on his skin every time he sneaks away outside (for what purpose, well. Jim doesn't kiss and tell). For the moment, the gold is accentuating his cheekbone as Jim tips his head back to empty the last of his glass, eyes sparkling when he goes right back to staring at Spock from across the room.

Ugh, they're being gross in public and they've got thirty feet between them. It's honestly a new record.

Keep staring at me like that and I'm going to get the wrong idea. Jim fidgets with the stem of the glass he was drinking out of, still leaning against the wall, still staring at Spock. The two of them are NOT subtle. I'm a taken man, sir. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

chestnuts roasting over an open fire...

spock >> ota.

i; playing fizzbin or some other alien thing of your choice

HELLO I AM FINALLY FREE FROM HOLIDAYS

FREEDOM!

INDEED,

Re: INDEED,

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warning i have no idea how to play durak but levid probably know it.

no worries!!!

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cw: kids sent to war

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I

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iv | mini-skirt and my go-go boots