lucetilogs | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: OPEN to adults
What: A networking party on the beach
When: Saturday, 9/20
Where: The beach, around sunset
Summary: An open networking party on the beach. Enjoy the food and drinks, mingle as you wish. Details here
Rating: Let's keep it under PG-13

The setup for the party is pretty simple. Several coolers filled with ice for drinks (soda, bottled water, juice, assorted alcohol and mixers) with cups nearby, a food table with some cookies and cake from the bakery, two sandwich platters, some salads, fresh fruit, and a veggie platter. There's a grill going for roast vegetables, hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, and fresh seafood, often run by Ginia but anyone else who wants to watch the grill or grill their own food is welcome to do so. People are also more than welcome to bring their own food and drinks. There's driftwood set up in a small firepit for once the sun goes down.

There are a few folding chairs and blankets spread out for anyone who wants to sit down as well as a card table or two.

Relax, meet new people, enjoy the food, and watch out for ghosts or shifts that might ruin your food.

((ooc: Handwaving the IC announcement of the party. Characters can still drop by even without checking in on the post (though that would be great for stats purposes). Feel free to say your character was there for set up and later take down, it's mostly handwaved unless people want to play things out.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The slow pace is appreciated. Ginia follows along, holding the knife comfortably as she makes cuts and slices, carefully guiding the blade without cutting too deeply or shallowly. Her rose may not be as neat as Zevran's, bit uneven on one side, but it is a recognizable rose in the end. Ginia admires her handiwork before beaming at Zevran and bowing her head at him. Thanks.]

And for extra flavor and color? We brush with brandy or caramel, thusly.

[ He sets his knife aside and taps a small bowl he'd topped off with brandy, dabbing the alcohol into the meat of the apple. ]

You are very skilled! I am most impressed, it took me three tries to get a rose that looked half as even when I was first learning.

[Ginia opts for caramel herself, in more of a sweet mood. Once the apple is sufficiently coated, she sets it aside and wipes her hands off on her apron before picking up her phone again.]

Thank you. I'm a fast learner with nimble fingers. Have to be when you can't talk.

This I know well. There were members of my Cell in Antiva that could not speak due to injury or simply because they were born unable to do so. [ what makes for a better assassin other than the inability to speak? He'd never thought much of it, they'd spoken well enough in their own way. ] All very good with their hands.

[His words come as a light surprise only because in all her life Ginia never met anyone else who couldn't talk. She knew people that didn't like talking and were generally quiet, but never anyone who couldn't for any reason.]

By any chance would you know any sign language?

A fair bit. Most of it seems to line up nicely with the version those from earth use. Jack has been rendered deaf due to dying and I've been assisting him in learning. [ He finesses the knife away- somewhere, who knows? and shakes his hands out before signing. ]

/Would this be easier for you? Quicker?/

[Ginia smiles broadly and gives a small sigh of relief. It's always nice to know others know sign language, and while she knew Jack was deaf due to a shift, because of dying hadn't been confirmed until now. She pockets her phone in her apron and begins signing quickly.]

/It would be, yes. For me at least, feel free to keep talking, I don't mind at all, mute, not deaf. I've been helping J-A-C-K and E-U-G-E-N-E learn sign language too./

I need to brush up as it stands. There are many situations where nonverbal communication might save lives.

[ He signs as he speaks, trying to stick to the language that Jack and Eugene were learning. As not many of the words and phrases cross over to the Antivan standard, it is simple enough. ]

Birth or circumstance? It was more birth than circumstance when it came to those that couldn't speak in the Crows. Usually when an Assassin is captured they are fortunate if all they lose is their tongue.

/Very true. It's one reason I've begun teaching others. Helpful for me, but practical overall./

[And as one of the few languages not automatically translated, it does give a slight bit of security.]

/Birth. Family didn't have the money for corrective surgery so they opted to learn sign language. I was lucky in that regard./ [She pauses, head tilting slightly.]

/You're an assassin?/ [Absolutely no judgment on it at all. Would explain the neat knifework.]

/There are corrective surgeries in your time? The future sounds marvelous./

[ He doubts such things would be offered to elves as the ages roll on, but it is nice to know that they manage to do better. ]

/A former member of the Antivan Crows, the most infamous guild of assassins in all of Antiva. The only one, in fact. Trying to start up an independent assassination guild usually ends in a lot of death. It should make finding new employment interesting./

/Medical technology is amazing./ [Procedures becoming less invasive and more efficient, new technology providing more accurate diagnoses, there were amazing advances made even in Ginia's lifetime.]

/I've always been under the impression assassins generally don't like competition./ [At least in her world. Even hunters could get a little tetchy when it came new hunters moving in to the area, though it was also the old guard versus the new hot shots on the street.] /And former member by choice, I hope./

/Seeing as the retirement package is death? Choice and circumstance. I came across a mark that bested me and spared my life in return for my assistance. It was quite an adventure, playing the hero for once. Or at least the hero's adviser./

/Certainly a welcome alternative and an adventure is always nice. Save the world type of adventure of something more low-key?/

/What other adventure other than saving the world would have them so desperate as to ask the aid of someone that was going to kill them? I did not expect to survive the attack, nor the quest, but here I stand all the same. I learned quite a bit I must say./

/A world saved and a lesson learned. As good an end as anyone could ask for./

[Ginia pauses, her smile being a little more teasing.]

/Though I am a little sad to hear you aren't actually an Italian professor with good taste in theatre./

/For you, Ginia, I could be./

[ He gives a teasing grin all his own before his eyes drift beyond her to Jack and Eugene. ]

/That is what I would have said before as an elf unattached. Now? I must say I am a little disappointed myself. It was a strange position to be in though I will say I enjoyed having such knowledge of human theater. I've taken to reading up on it and asking my boys to act out bits from your Shakespeare. He'd have done well in Antiva./

/Best ones are always taken./

[Light and teasing, though hey, he's handsome.]

/If you would like more to read, I'd be happy to pull some plays from the library. Though traitorous as it may sound, I do love musical theatre./

/It is such a pity, I know. A fine woman such as yourself should have no trouble finding company, I am certain./

[ It's been some tim since he's enjoyed the company of a woman, shifts aside, but he is content with his boys. ]

/If it is no trouble I would appreciate that- and while I do not understand the somewhat formulaic manner in which musical theater is written I could learn to enjoy it. If only to not be so frustrated with S-A-V-I-O, /

[ He gestures to the raven perched on Jack's shoulder. ]

/When he whistles a tune./

[Ginia's smile turns somewhat bittersweet and she sighs softly. Beautiful, yes, she was quite aware of that. Her gift as much as curse.]

/You would be wrong, actually. As it stands, the majority of the village is too young, and those I once enjoyed the company of are now no longer here./

[So it goes. Even at a party for adults Ginia's beginning to realize how much older she is than most people. But moving on, very quickly. Her smile settles back into a peaceful mask.]

/I'll pass some on to J-A-C-K and E-U-G-E-N-E at our next signing lesson. And while there is a formula, that is in part while I enjoy it. Though I am also biased; my brother and mother were both involved in musical theatre. As for your handsome friend... perhaps he has good taste./

/I had wondered at that. There is a sparse group of those past the age of twenty and change. I took that to mean that most simply do not survive that long in their worlds though I have been told this is not the case./

[ Reaching thirty in Thedas, though. That is a feat in and of itself. Perhaps he should feel his age soon. ]

/They will enjoy that for certain, as will I. Things I may not enjoy on their own become more palatable when presented to me through their eyes./

/I don't think it's the case either. The world seems to favor young heroes./

[At least going off the sample of personal stories she's heard. There was also a portion of the population that had been around long enough to age a few years too.]

/Have you known them long?/

/It does make me wonder. In my world everyone knows that in the great tales? The hero dies. Perhaps their tales are not yet told./

[ Or they come from far kinder worlds with sweeter fates than those he has come to know and loathe. ]

/My boys? As long as I have been here, a little over two years. They are...they are good men. There are too few of their like in my home./

/Perhaps not, or maybe their stories end a bit sweeter./

[In her world, stories were a mix of triumphant returns and brave sacrifices. All the same, Ginia also knew there were no such thing as heroes in her world.]

/I don't know them that well, but I like them. Nice men. Too few in my world as well./

/They are pleasant, though quite soft. I fear I have not impressed upon them the importance of learning to protect themselves. They've some skill but- all the practice in the world does not make up for a lifetime of peaceful living./

/Their softness is enviable./

[Ginia's smile is a little wry. Years ago, she might have been no different than them. Just a bartender leading a simple life, not ignorant of the horrors of her world, but still removed.]

/But it only makes protecting them and giving them the means to protect themselves even more important./