hexarchate_rpg | Chapter 3.1: The party begins

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moves: chapter 3

Chapter 3.1: The party begins

EDIT: The base is sited in the year 951, in a very odd timeline that has NO h*archate. Supplies have to be brought in via rift from other timelines. Thread here.

Ashari's new base features variable layout, which has been put to use in creating an extravagant ballroom. Tables to one side boast a variety of foods, drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and the occasional euphoric drugs. Candlevines glow blue and violet, and flower arrangements interspersed with fantastic sculptures of lace-woven wire adorn the tables. The arrangements mean various sarcastic things, if you're familiar with the Andan petal language.

Music plays softly enough not to overwhelm conversation, loudly enough to set a mood complementing the low-key lighting.

Remi is one of the first arrivals from the Cantata, shepherding the mothlings. Because he's a Nirai, he has a slate and is taking notes, although he is happy enough to talk to anyone who approaches him.

The kitchen is currently adjacent to the ballroom. Ashari's voice can be heard, raised in some kind of argument with...a caterer?

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[No one asked her about allergens, so she didn't mention allergens.]

"I'll have the grid print the ingredients." She gives subvocal command to make that happen. The kitchen is getting crowded from her viewpoint, but she knows they've been fending forthemselves; she's the newcomer.

She gets the still-hot potato pancakes nestled on a platter lined with fresh pape, arranging them around a triple-bowl serving dish loaded with sour cream, fruit sauce, and a tart aromatic chutney. "OK, hot stuff coming out," she says.

A little printer on the shelf/desk in one corner starts chattering as it prints out ingredient lists.

Deyna collects the ingredient lists, sliding them into the chest pocket of her bibs. "I'll set things out?" she asks, looking for Dar's approval. She's honestly more concerned about not being let back into the kitchen than that she'd be doing something wrong, but it's not worth distinguishing that in front of someone she doesn't already know well. "Or I can do dishes."

[oh, that sounds so good. I maybe need to eat...]

Now here's a type she understands. [Or so she thinks.]

"Thank you, sweetheart," she says. "Yeah, take out the buns. Good idea about the labels."

[Calling Word of God - what's the deal with dishes? Are the matter compiler thingies efficient enough that most of this stuff is essentially discarded into the machine, to be re-extruded as clean dishes? Or do we actually have dishes to wash? I'd guess the big platters are uncommon enough that they may have come in with the more luxurious ingredients.and not be re-compilable.]

[Just as a general note, you're welcome to invent this stuff! But let's say that the big platters are nice handmade stuff and do need to be washed, while the smaller dishes were created by matter printer and can be discarded back into recycling for materials.]

[excellent, thank you! I was hoping some of them would be hand-washable, haha.]

She continues: "After that, there's the big mixing bowls. But don't you want to go hang out, have some drinks?"

"The less cleanup afterward the better," Deyna says. "My mother used to tell me that cleaning as you go makes the food taste better." Of course, her mother hadn't been quite so articulate or used so few words, but still it's the spirit of the thing. "I'll get a drink later," she adds.

Dar has apparently slotted her into some sort of category -- her reactions to Deyna have changed slightly, even if Deyna can't pinpoint why or how. She's fine with that; she knows she comes from a low-prestige world (and presumably Dar's universe holds similar thoughts about her home), and that's a kind of anger she's intimately familiar with. It can sit in her chest for a while longer, until it either deescalates into trust or explodes in a reckless burst.

Shess has been pretty occupied finishing the two desserts they were making, and is still engaged in observing these new-to-them people to assesses how best to interact with them. But they overhear this exchange as they're putting the last slice of persimmon on a red bean bar and feel concerned. Dayna seems ...uncomfortable, and Shess isn't sure if Dar is improving things, but doesn't know either what they might do helpfully.

Then again, Shess is not entirely at ease otherwise, being a mix of anxious-excited for the party and this new endeavor with the rebellion, and a little worried about why Ashari is acting like that. Plus, they're retroactively concerned about whether they committed a faux pas interacting with Sulen, having failed to do the bowing everyone else had.

All in all, Shess thinks this might be a good time for them to get out of the kitchen for a few minutes, and see for themself what the party is like.

Picking up the sticky mixing bowl and setting it in an appropriate place (...probably dish-cleaning compartment? [To me it makes sense to have that as well for durable kitchenware?] But a matter recycler if others think no), they announce "I , er, think I'll take one of these skewer arrangements out to the party, maybe get a drink?"

"I could use another set of hands," Deyna says, eyeing Shess. "If you don't mind carrying this too --" she hands them a second plate without bothering to check and see if they're able to manage the skewers with just one hand -- "then we should have everything sorted."

She pats the front pocket of her bibs, reflexively checking to make sure all her possessions are accounted for, then picks up two dishes herself. "Thanks," she says to Shess. She hasn't been socializing with... well, with anyone, really, but Shess doesn't seem to be a particularly offensive person. And Deyna needs an ally in this wildly unfamiliar setting, even if it's someone who also doesn't seem to know protocols. "Get me a drink while I put the placards out?" she asks quietly.

[I think Dar was probably more or less on her heels with the potato pancakes. I got crossed up on the threads. But she's not going to be worrying about what exactly Deyan and Shess are doing as long as they don't seem to be dropping the food. This is going to take some getting used to.]

[oh, okay! I've never played-by-post before so threads are a little confusing for me too.]

Sasha has found a collection of small glasses and is filling them with a clear liquor. The aroma is clean, with an edge of minerals and salt. She makes a game of filling each glass to the exact same level as the last. She fills a couple of champagne flutes with sparkling water, too--Seyli's current attitude doesn't look a fuck of a lot like being on duty, but Prophet only knows, maybe they're cross-training as a fox.

She sketches a grid command with her left hand as Shess approaches; the grid obligingly supplies their name. "Kandoir Shess. We're going to toast, in a minute. There is a glass here for you and one for Caro Deyna--unless you would like to take this tray around? The flutes hold water."

Deyna suddenly feels extremely awkward, now that she's out of the relatively safe and rational space of the kitchen. Almost everyone is dressed in stylishly impractical clothing, and her cheeks burn with embarrassment as she looks down at the gown she's layered over her working clothes.

"I'll have a drink, if that's alright," she says, possibly louder than she should. "I could use it." The liquor is sharp in her nose, and she takes another breath to buy herself another moment to remember which name belongs with which face. "Zuhrovet, is it? Zuhrovet Sasha?"

"Just Sasha works, for most purposes." Sasha curls her fingers in a quick grid command, then passes Deyna a small glass. "And you are Caro Deyna. Should we toast a round or two with just us, before things get formal?"

Edited (Editing in case Shess also wants an extra drink ) 2020-01-16 16:21 (UTC)

[part of this is trying to in-universe explain my out-of-game delay]

Shess got a little lost in thought about the many things around at the party, the task of tetrising the dishes and decorations on the table, the logistics of apron removal, etc. So despite hearing Sasha, they don't process what she said and think how to reply for a moment, by which time Deyna has already said something.

They finally answer, slightly embarrassed: "Sorry, lost in my own little world there for a moment. I haven't had this liquor before; is it very strong?" Shess doesn't leave quite enough pause to get an answer before concluding "If there's going to be a lot of toasting, maybe I should use water for some of it." Although they would like a drink, maybe two, the prospect of being personally significantly impaired does not appeal to them for several reasons, one of which is their newness to the rebellion.

[party clothes description(!):]
They also untie the neck of their apron and fold it down at the waist to reveal a double-breasted jacket-top in robin's egg blue. The front is ornamented with a vertical stripe of contrast leaf-patterned fabric at one side and a macrame overlay on the other that serves as the outer closure. With it, they wear cocoa colored trousers, decorated only with a contrast band (bright carrot-y orange) at the slightly cropped hem.

"It is approximately 80% grain ethanol by volume," Sasha says, with a grin for Deyna that means Green saint, I am too sober for this.

A genuine smile breaks over Deyna's face. "That sounds perfect," she says, accepting the glass Sasha offers. "This isn't exactly my usual speed, if you couldn't tell," she adds, forcing a self-deprecating chuckle. "I'm more of a meat and potatoes kind of person, less of the orders. Hors d'oevres."

She pauses. "Shess, if you want to stay sober, you can take the tray around while we drink? Or I can do it, after I have some of this --" she cuts herself off, sniffs the alcohol again "-- what kind of grain is this?" she asks Sasha. "Or I can do it," she repeats, returning her gaze to Shess.

"Yeah, I have no idea what the fuck a potato is. This is long-grain rice from some planet with an elaborate network of cultivated traditional wetlands. At least, that's what the label says. To the rebellion?"

Sasha raises her glass and knocks it back. The liquor is smooth and soft. You could almost think you weren't drinking.

[Apologies for leaving this hanging for several days; returning to college (started Monday) proved to be more socially ~~and unnecessarily physically~~ exhausting than I expected. I mostly caught up reading the play Tuesday but didn't manage to post. Things should settle down soon, though.]

[also I too am new to this form of play by post (my experience, years ago, was mostly single-threaded forum threads), so... I'm saying this post is a wee bit back in time from progression of the thread below (otherwise things won't make sense)...]

...

Shess had printed a cheerfully striped apron to put on over their (only moderately fancy) nice party clothes before coming down to the kitchen. And they had meant to remove it before going out, but when someone hands one an additional plate of food to carry, that's not the time and situation to go removing an apron. (Also, they're not sure how Deyna feels about finery given her apparel, and it might then not be polite to call attention to their clothes.)

"Sure," they say to Deyna, not too loud, balancing the plate and skewer display carefully. "And you're welcome. Is there anything in particular you'd like?" And Shess elaborates, a bit awkwardly, "To drink, I mean. Though I don't know what they have."

"No," Deyna says after a slight pause. "I wouldn't mind something alcoholic, but I don't think I need to get drunk. Just not sober." She sets her plates down. "But if you can't find any booze, don't worry. I don't need it that bad."

With that, she turns her attention to setting out Dar's ingredient lists. "Meat skewers," she mumbles, sorting through the slips, and lets Shess leave at their leisure.

[life happens! I'm glad you took care of yourself and didn't force this.]

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Chapter 3.1: The party begins

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[dishes]

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Shess is about to duck out of the kitchen, for a time

Re: Shess is about to duck out of the kitchen, for a time. Deyna joins them

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at the drinks table with Shess and Deyna

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Food deliveries and drinks (catch-up)

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