( 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.

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.

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.

( 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]

[ 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.

[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.

[scarcastically]

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

You holdin' up okay?

[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.

[winscenario]

[ 'Weird flex'? Unfamiliar with that phrase. But moving on. ]

Ah, [ He laughs. Yeah, he'd guessed that much. ] I'd say you've succeeded spectacularly. For mine I have to speak in rhymes for two hours, so that's a little more complicated.

[ Not to mention it'll get annoying really fast. ]

[scarcastically]

What kind?

[ he ticks them off his fingers. his accent slips a little, becoming more polished. ]

Iambic, trochaic, dactylic? Or you can bust out a rap.

[winscenario]

[ Jim laughs, swatting a hand at Erik. ]

Shut up! They didn't exactly specify. Just rhymes. And I wouldn't even know how to rap.

[scarcastically]

[ erik smirks. ]

Then I guess the future is not all that cracked up to be, huh?

[winscenario]

Why, because I don't know how to rap? [ He arches an eyebrow, amused. ] Would you really want to see me try to rap?

[ You wouldn't, Erik, trust him. ]

[scarcastically]

[ he chuckles. ]

I mean, I could definitely use the laugh.

[winscenario]

You say that now, but how long until you couldn't stand listening to me anymore?

[ Pretty sure it'd get old fast, and Jim wouldn't want that. ]

[scarcastically]

You'd be surprised how many rich white dickheads I've heard trying to rap. It's a low bar.

[bindsthedead]

All right.

[And Sabriel finally gets the correct grip! It's a little wobbly, but she's actually able to grab a dumpling and take a bite.]

Miss Prionte would probably be mortified that she didn't know how to use these.

[It was less painful to think of her etiquette mistress than it was to think of a lot of things involving her time at school.]

[scarcastically]

[ he shrugs. ]

I'm guessing you guys don't travel all that much.

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel shrugs in acknowledgment.]

I mean, I traveled all over the Old Kingdom with with father, before he brought me to Wyverley.

[Admittedly, most of what she remembers from that time are the campsites, and the inside of the wagon, and snatches of the other travelers who looked after her.]

But after that- I never went more than a few dozen miles from the school. Some of the other girls talked about their summer trips to the Continent, but I stayed at school during all the holidays.

[scarcastically]

[ hmm. ]

Did you want to?

[winscenario]

Well, I am white, [ Duh. ] But I'm not rich, and I hope I'm not a dickhead.

[ Raising an eyebrow expectantly at Erik, like he's waiting for him to agree on that. ]