simplestgift: (Turn away.)
Archie Kennedy ([personal profile] simplestgift) wrote in [community profile] lucetilogs2012-12-01 11:05 am

Comfort and Joy

Who: Come one, come all! ...So long as you're appropriately dressed.
What: Luceti's second annual Christmas ball, old-world style.
When: December 1st, beginning around five in the afternoon and ending when the last person leaves.
Where: The Battle Dome.
Summary: Earth's eighteenth-century peeps are throwing one hell of a party. Again.
Rating: Well, considering no one is serving water? Probably PG-13 for alcohol consumption and the results thereof (there's coffee and hot chocolate!).

Upon stepping into the program at the Battle Dome, snow crunches beneath your feet. Great flakes of it drift silently from the dark sky above. And ahead...





The chill in the air is penetrated by the promise of warmth and light within the castle. As you approach, the music and festivities from inside reach your ears--tambourines and laughter and the clink of china dishes.

The doors open to a host of candles and a warm, old-world smell and feel. The scent of food and spices hangs in the air—mulled wine, wassail, evergreen boughs, fresh bread and roast meat--and you're only in the entryway.

Inside the dining room, cream brocades, simple but elegant, are draped over the walls. Traditional red rugs have been thrown over the floor. The single long feast table is impeccably dressed with light linen cloths and set with fine china and crystal.

The tables are lit with candles and chandeliers, giving the room a golden glow. On the tables, boughs of evergreen and holly surround the candles, and mistletoe has been hung discreetly here and there. In one corner, by a large and beautifully decorated fir tree (Buffy’s insistence), musicians are set up to play.

Things will begin with a grand dinner late in the afternoon, with a light supper (mostly consisting of cold meats, bread, and other lighter fare) at around nine o’clock. The selection of food on the tables is enormous. Most of it is meat-based and some of it is simply meat. Roast beef with mushrooms, goose in giblet gravy, herbed chicken, baked salmon, and a whole pig are among the choices. There is some hope for vegetarians, though, with spinach mixed with bread crumbs and cheese on small toasts, turnips (or rutabagas if you speak American), onions, carrots, parsnips, mashed potatoes, asparagus in breadcrumbs, and savory onion and wild mushroom pies. There is hot fresh bread and rolls with butter and heaps upon heaps of small mince pies filled with fruit, molasses, and yes, a little minced lamb. Moreover, there are fresh winter fruits like oranges and mikans and many different desserts, such as Christmas pudding, a rum chocolate dessert, and spotted dog with custard. Sit and help yourself.

Among the drinks throughout the evening are wassail, tea, hot chocolate (less sweet and much more intense than most modern characters would be used to, made with cinnamon, vanilla, and a hint of cayenne pepper), coffee, brandy, wine both mulled and plain, port, sherry, and gallons of rum punch. Even though the food is fantastic, the conversation is the point of the game, and who knows who they will wind up sitting beside. At the center of each table is placed a pineapple as a sign of welcome and wishes of prosperity.

In the ballroom, there is dancing light as the music itself, with Archie Kennedy and Elizabeth Swann teaching the steps of each dance before striking up the music and letting everyone go to town with it. They are poised and elegant but relaxed and seeming to glide as they demonstrate the motions with an effortlessness that comes with years of practice. They were both raised on these dances and this sort of social function and seem completely at home here. The dancing begins after dinner with the minuets and continues after a light supper with some informal English country dances. Anyone unused to dancing like this may find that it’s harder than it looks, but when one gets used to it, it feels very graceful, beautiful, and…fun! In fact, it's perfectly acceptable to goof off during these dances, as long as you're charming enough that people aren't irritated with you when you mess everyone up. The activity will only end when there are too few dancers left to continue, and will continue all night if possible. As dancers pass each other or move hand-in-hand, eye contact can be made, quiet words exchanged, subtle (or not) messages passed as they spin through the room, or perhaps the room spins while they remain still.

It might depend on how much they’ve had to drink.

Those who do not wish to dance have other activities to participate in. In one quiet room, card tables are set up with multiple decks of cards stacked up, and there is even a box or two of dominoes and a handful of dice. The tables themselves are round and made of polished rosewood or mahogany. This area is quietly away from the ballroom, probably as a mercy to the tone-deaf Horatio Hornblower who loves cards but can’t abide music. Here, discreet (or indiscreet) gambling is inevitable. There may be no money here, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to wager.

This being a castle, there are other rooms to explore. Up in the towers are bedrooms, nooks and crannies, and a large private library. Sneaking back to the kitchen between meals for a preview or stolen taste of supper to come is not out of the question, either.

Are you lingering in the dining room, drinking and talking loud and laughing with friends, or will you shyly sit and watch the dancing and games and hope to be invited in? Are you sitting quietly alone and listening to the music as your foot taps on its own, or are you unable to sit still and ready to dance all night if they’ll let you? Are you playing cards with a few new acquaintances, or are you hanging on someone’s arm and helping them cheat? Are you content to enjoy the presence of people, or are you exploring the castle with a special someone?

Whatever you do, have fun.
blackteriques: (pic#4106685)

[personal profile] blackteriques 2012-12-05 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Sophie smiles happily as she dances, murmuring Relares counting with Walter as they move in little more than a small square area. Walter's brows knit with concentration as he focuses on his task, aware that there are people around who may be looking on.

For the most part, he doesn't care. How could he, when he didn't care about what they were doing as long as they left them alone? Now, if they were to bother him in some way...

He doesn't notice Norma right away, keeping Sophie balanced on his feet and trying not to grow frustrated with his own stilted movements. The one thing she really wants to do with him, and he's awful at it. Ugh.]
bubblywishes: (GURL U SO FUNNEE)

[personal profile] bubblywishes 2012-12-06 08:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Norma is just...going to continue what she's doing over here, though being a whole lot less subtle as time passes on. She's staring at Walter's clunky movements and finally loses her cool completely, howling like a wounded galf and doubling over while holding her stomach. Oh lord. Oh, sweet, merciful, holy lord...she can't take it. She can't take this anymore. It was too much for her poor, poor soul.]

Ahahahhahahahaa!

[Oh, she is going to get into so much trouble for this in a second or two, so much trouble, but it's well worth it. This is something she will commit to memory for years to come, fate permitting. And best of all, she got it all on camera. ♥]
blackteriques: (Greatly annoyed)

[personal profile] blackteriques 2013-01-16 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
[He tenses up pretty badly at the high-pitched and all-too-familiar shrieking laughter, and it's all he can do to catch Sophie when his stumbling causes her to fall off his feet. So it still looks kinda ridiculous when he turns to look in Norma's direction, seething.]

You. What do you think you're doing?
bubblywishes: (May all your wishes come true.)

[personal profile] bubblywishes 2013-01-17 06:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh darn, it ended. It ended and she got caught. Yet, Norma can't help but laugh harder at how angry he looks, wiping at the corners of her eyes when she's finished. Oh god, she will commit this to memory for the rest of her life if she can. Forever and ever will she remember this day.]

Me? Oh, I'm just enjoying the scenery.

[8D]
blackteriques: (Venomous disdain)

[personal profile] blackteriques 2013-01-17 08:55 am (UTC)(link)
[It's something of a different kind of anger on Walter's face, as he's caught between great annoyance at her presence and embarrassment over ... well, he's not exactly sure what he should be embarrassed about at the moment, he's so greatly annoyed at the moment.

He continues to keep at hand at Sophie's back as the little girl finds her balance, his other hand free to point accusingly at the camera.]


That is not enjoying the scenery! Give it here!
bubblywishes: (C8)

[personal profile] bubblywishes 2013-01-18 10:32 am (UTC)(link)
You mean thiiiis~?

[Norma sings, dangling her journal in her hands so that the pages rustle. She yanks it back quickly, just in case, and sticks out her tongue right at Walter and blows his a very sour, very mature (this is where Sophie gets it from, if you're wondering) raspberry. She's also all but dancing away from his reach, in case he charges at her like a bull. Norma's actually anticipating that, to be honest.]

Nope! [(troll)]
blackteriques: (All of my anger)

[personal profile] blackteriques 2013-01-23 11:49 am (UTC)(link)
[It would take a mature person to ignore the open taunting and mocking singing from Norma. Very deliberately, Walter picks up Sophie and sets her to one side, only giving her a momentary glance before averting his eyes back to Norma.

Sometimes, he is not a very mature person at all.

And so he lunges at Norma, eyes narrowed and teeth gritting together. He's fast, but moving from a standstill doesn't help him in that regard.]


Brat!
bubblywishes: (welp. :|)

1/2

[personal profile] bubblywishes 2013-01-24 12:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[Uh-oh.]
bubblywishes: (IT TOOK THE PLUNGER! THE WHOLE PLUNGER!)

2/2

[personal profile] bubblywishes 2013-01-24 12:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[RETREAT! RETREAT!!

Norma shrieks and nearly jumps out of her dress, making as hasty a get-away as said dress will allow. Oh, good lord this thing's absolute garbage to run in, not to mention the heels that go with it. Maybe she can lose Walter in the crowd or something. She's so dead meet if he does happen to get his hands on her.]


JEEZ! Learn to take a joke, Wally! [Yet she is still chortling. That was pretty funny, man.] Anyone could've recorded how stupid you looked!
blackteriques: (Greatly annoyed)

[personal profile] blackteriques 2013-01-26 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
[It's a good thing that there are other people around, because Norma would be caught quickly otherwise. As it is, Walter tumbles forward as his foot catches on someone's leg, and he's on the floor for a moment before he's once again chasing (or attempting to chase) Norma.]

You're the only one stupid enough to try!
bubblywishes: (A never-ending story.)

[personal profile] bubblywishes 2013-01-27 12:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's probably a bad idea to stop and laugh at him again when he falls, but Norma's not exactly flowing with common sense here. She cackles and dances deeper into the crowd, though she's not exactly immune to smacking into people herself. She's probably already made at least three people spill their drinks onto themselves or someone else, and very nearly ripped some poor chick's skirt right off by stepping on it while she was attempting to dance.

Dang, this is not a good place to be getting into a fight. What she needs is...yes! HA! Victory is in the bag! Swiftly, Norma makes her way back to where this all started.]


I'd like to call it "a risky decision for the benefit of the people"! [C'mon, if she can just it make it back there...!]