( open ) time is tickin' I cannot waste it love

[scarcastically]

CHARACTERS: Erik Stevens + Everyone / Mingle! I’m not the boss of you.
LOCATION: Open Field near ish the Palace
DATE: Sometime in July
CONTENT: Party, drinks, dancing.
WARNINGS: N/A


( i. party hats )

[ this had been the stupidest condition of his goal, but it’s a doable one so erik handles it the way he would handle any kind of mission; single-mindedly. he gets to work and makes a couple of dozen party hats of various colours and size. some might seem too small, others too big, a few that are just right, no he doesn’t accept constructive criticism. ]

Just put the damn thing on, it won’t kill you.

( ii. food and stuff )

[ unfortunately there are constraints. if they were back in usa, setting up the supplies of food and drink would be a cinch. however, he’s working with fantasy asian cuisine, out of which he knows half of. still, his position as a nobleman’s attendant gave him a hefty salary and he put it to good use. there are plenty of caskets of booze, all the kinds he could find and various eateries and snacks. some from the palace, others he cobbled together with the use of their kitchen like basic butter cookies and wafers.

eat, drink, he’s not here to card you kids ]

( iii. dancing )

[ and of course, there’s music. lively music, slow tunes. erik managed to hire a band (like three people on instruments but details). the sun was setting, the breeze was cool and maybe for a brief moment, you want to enjoy yourself. give up your worries for a day. the light hits the flowers, giving the scenery a warm orange glow.

grab a partner and have a little fun. ]

Comments

iii

[winscenario]

[ Jim isn't exactly in the mood for a party, admittedly, but he sees Erik's post and decides to drop by anyway. He'd like to get to know him better, and besides right now things are pretty quiet. He may as well take the opportunity to help himself to some good booze.

Despite that train of thought, he doesn't actually drink much, just enough to feel slightly tipsy by the time the sun sets, and by now he's spent most of the party just chatting a few people and standing around in the sidelines. He's also tragically not wearing one of Erik's hats. Maybe he's outgrown parties, huh. ]

Are you going to dance? [ He asks with a smile as soon as he spots Erik walking towards him (or somewhere in his general direction). ]

lmao

[scarcastically]

[ erik's only ever done parties for the sake of infiltration or a mission. if he was hosting his own party without the need of fulfilling a goal, he'd probably pick different music. but you do with what you have. that's a lesson erik has ingrained in him.

he pushes his glasses up with a smirk. ]

Dunno. This music ain't my style but I guess I could wing it.

[winscenario]

Not my kind of music either, but I've danced to worse. Or weirder, at least.

[ Lots of strange music out there all over the galaxy, and being a Starfleet captain involves a lot of formal galas and events. A diplomatic aspect of his job that isn't exactly his favorite. ]

Didn't picture you as a party hat guy. What's spurred this on?

[scarcastically]

Weird flex, future man.

[ he waves a flippant hand. ]

Pretty sure it's easy to guess, but this was my "goal". Throw a party, make some hats. Fairly painless, really.

ii

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel's happy enough for an excuse to take her mind off of things. And she's often enjoyed a glass of wine at dinner- she's not a child, after all.

How different could a party serving alcohol be? And the food's good, even if Sabriel still struggles a little with the chopsticks. She's happy to make conversation- mostly light, idle chitchat, unless someone brings up something serious first.

Later in the night though- she's definitely swaying a little bit.]

[scarcastically]

[ erik watches her grapple with the chopsticks with an unsure look. ]

You may wanna hold 'em higher up.

[bindsthedead]

Like this?

[It's... better than before, at least.]

You know, the etiquette teacher at my school made us memorize about two dozen different pieces of cutlery, just in case we had to use them at a banquet, but never bothered teaching us how to use these.

[scarcastically]

[ dryly. ]

Shocker.

[ a finishing school in europe only bothering with western cutlery and disdaining the rest? erik would have never seen it coming. ]

The idea is not to have them cross over. Make sure they're steady.

i.

[silverneedles]

[ This is too much.

Wen Qing stares at the brightly colored, polka-dotted thing in her hands. After months of indignities and then ending up somewhere completely foreign, having some demand she wears a— a— she can't even call it a hat—

No.

She snaps the elastic cord meant to secure it, glaring at Erik. ] This can be used to strangle someone. Or create a choking hazard. No.

[scarcastically]

[ uhh. erik squints back at her, not the least bit bothered by her glare. ]

It's a party hat, princess. The worst it can do is give you a papercut.

[silverneedles]

[ Narrows her eyes, still glowering at him. ] I am not a princess.

[ Fidgets with the party hat, then forces herself to stop. ] Is wearing one required for the party?

( ii )

[soups]

❰ it's a good thing she has a lead to follow with regards to the party hats — otherwise jiang yanli would have made quite a fashion faux pas. it doesn't bother her to put one on, a little thrown by the snap of the tight, itchy plastic against her skin. aside from that, she's more than capable of following a trend.

the strange headpiece, sitting basically on the side of her head so her long hair and ornament can remain upright, is quickly forgotten. she's quite delighted to eat food she hasn't prepared herself, and it's happening so often in this world! and it's quite well prepared.

if she had to make one complaint about the food situation, it would be the limited beverages. a nice tea would go well with all of this, but instead it's just some kind of alcohol. it's hard to identify, being that she's only had an alcoholic beverage...never. so there's a first time for everything.

after about 20 minutes of floating around, drinking three cups by now, she can see why wei wuxian fancies this stuff so much. it's nice! it makes your nose feel tingly!

it also means she's trying to eat these guksu with a tad less dignity than she usually would have — including long slurps and a few unintentional mmms escaping her throat. ❱

[scarcastically]

[ . . . this isn't his fault. not even a little. ]

You holdin' up okay?

[soups]

❰ please take responsibility for the party hats.

anyway! this colloquialism is totally lost on her, but startles now that she realizes she's been perceived. you can take the girl out of the mannerly court, but you can't take the mannerly court out of the girl — ​well, a little. when she's tipsy. ❱

I think I'm holding them well. ❰ only replying once she's bowed, chewing fast and swallowing quickly while her face is to the floor. her hands lock around her liquor cup until she breaks form. ❱ Unless you mean the cup? I won't spill any, I assure you.

i.

[bossily]

I know that. I'm looking for one that compliments me perfectly.

[And she's taking the time to pick up each and every one to give it an appreciative look over. It's precious that he's made party hats for the occasion. Even more precious that he's insisting everyone wear them.

She pauses while looking over a red one and glances up at him curiously.]

Is it your birthday or something?

[scarcastically]

[ he blinks. erik hasn't thought about his birthday in years and at times, he forgets he ever had one. ]

Nah, this is just the personal goal stuff. They specified hats.

[bossily]

[There's something close to a flash of jealousy in her eyes. Why couldn't she get a goal to make party hats?? Talk about unfair.

The red hat in her hands does get put on her head, since it'd be a shame to waste his hard work.]

Looks like all you need to worry about is finding the orb now.

ii

[chronosynthesis]

[In the spirit of giving the guests actually here to party the time to enjoy the food and... little paper hats, Syrlya only arrives well after its started. Armed with a pillow case from his own room, because he needs something to smuggle it in.

He has the manners to let Erik (Jaguar) know he's here before he starts making off with the buffet, so after he spots him in the area he walks right towards him with a hand waved for his attention.]

Thank you again for your assistance. [He inclines his head briefly.] And, I suppose, congratulations?

[scarcastically]

It's not really that kind of party, but you're welcome.

Is that what you're using to take the food?

[chronosynthesis]

Hm? [He holds up the pillow case.] Whatever I can put in here safely. I'd like to have a free hand--just in case. The guard didn't care for seeing me offer anything to those people.

i + iii

[hatejakku]

i

[ Finn blinks down at the weird cone-shaped thing in his hands. He gets the overall idea of it, the fact that it's supposed to be a hat and all. And, no, he's heard that Erik made these himself so he's not going to... be critical of his work.

But he turns it over his hands and pokes at the pompom on top. ]

Well, yeah, sure, but-... You first.

ii

[ Finn's managed to relax a little after time went on. Not that he isn't still tense about everything, but it's nice to find a little calm in the mix of it all.

He doesn't strictly plan on dancing (two left feet, this one) but he has shown up to see what all the fuss was about. Besides, he has a low-key obsession with hearing new music. So he's happy enough to linger on the outskirts until he spots a familiar face and trots over. ]

Hey. Enjoying yourself?

[scarcastically]

[ erik has no real shame, so he easily grabs one and places it on his head, shifting his dreads so that it settles nice. ]

See? Easy.

[hatejakku]

[ Welp, Erik looks ridiculous. Which is good, because that's the first time Finn's had a genuine smile in a few days.

Ah, what the hell? He puts one on, too, also feeling ridiculous but it's still kind of fun. ] What are these for, anyway?

ii

[winscenario]

[ Jim's mostly kept to himself throughout the party too, not outright avoiding people but not going out of his way to strike up conversation either. He's greeted a few people, maybe danced a couple times, and now he's nursing a glass of a fairly decent drink when Finn comes over.

He stands a little more upright when their eyes meet, immediately shooting him a smile. ]

Yeah. Just don't know a lot of people. [ And he's not exactly the wild party animal he once was. ] And you? Having fun?

[hatejakku]

Yeah. [ Finn shrugs. ] I haven't been to many parties like this. It's nice.

[ Not much reason to party back home. Not usually, anyway. And this one is a little more elegant than what the Resistance has been known to put on. ]

Good way to get to know people, too.