Deck the Halls (does not mean punch them)

[touchofrogue]

Who: Rogue, Remy, those invited who decided to attend, and they’re probably not rude enough to turn down any passerbys who happen to come by and wish to attend
Broadcast: Nope
Action: In an out of the way room with a few smallish windows on the Iskaulit
When: December 23rd, 5ish-8ish


It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, or it would have been if they were on an Earth calendar. For their celebration and memory-making, Rogue had selected a middle sized room on the edge with two small windows by which an occasional view of the ice planet below could be seen. There would be very few who would be tempted to steal such a familiar view, however, since Rogue had enlisted Loki’s aid in making Christmas decorations and he provided illusions with alacrity and skill.

Lights are strung about the room, housed in brightly colored glass balls. While at first they simply seem to be glowing ornaments, there is something odd about the flames. A close look will reveal they do not dance formlessly, but rather have the shape of tiny dragons. There are bright, evergreen wreaths with red bows, hung strategically about the place which are actually eternal knots, impossible to solve. In the corner immediately spotted upon entering is an illusion of a gorgeous Christmas tree, with decorations all in gold and sparkling lights at the end of each branch - even the smell of evergreen is mimicked flawlessly. Flanking the tree are two tables, one laden in all kinds of food that Rogue and Remy have cooked up, the other with the label ‘White Elephant presents here.’ Loki has also helped Rogue hook up her music to some sort of an audible projection, and she is initially going to be streaming traditional Christmas Carols done by such greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Norah Jones, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

There are a few comfortable chairs set up along the opposite side of the room as the Christmas tree (just a few, as comfortable chairs are not that easy to find), by an illusion of falling silver leaves that provide a glow of soft light in the area.

The center of the room is free for dancing, or games, or standing about and talking. Remy and Rogue have done their best to make delicious finger foods, appetizers and heartier party fare. There’s delicacies that can be found sourced from the planet, various salted fruits, a small platter of apple slices with a caramel dip, and heartier fare in the way of stews and pastas, the sort of thing that could be put in a cup and eaten standing up. There are desserts as well, spice cookies and peppermint bark and a far too tiny chocolate cake. There is punch - ice strawberry - and Natasha’s gift of vodka, kept carefully separate from the punch, and there’s some leftover wine Loki had magically made more potent for the solstice that Rogue stole in case any of those with suped up metabolisms wanted the pleasure of getting buzzed.

Notably, there is no depiction of mistletoe.

Comments

White Elephant Gift Exchange!

[touchofrogue]

[Toward the end of the night, the White Elephant swap will take place.

If your character brought a white elephant present, please post with a number (and a description of the wrapped present if you like). Then I’ll randomize the numbers to see who got what, and you can let the lucky recipient know what he/she got! Feel free to thread out reactions and thread hop!]

[touchofrogue]

1 [The present is a large box, wrapped with green wrapping paper and tied with a string. When lifted, it is far lighter than its appearance would indicate and when shaken, something slides around inside it.]

[mucked]

2.

[ a small box wrapped in fabric. it's weighty, and well-packed so not a rattle can be heard if any curious hands attempt to shake it. ]

[redactions]

3. This gift is carefully wrapped in simple cloth, and makes no sound when you shake it. Jim doesn't quite believe in just giving something that's purely decorative: it's in the shape of an alarm clock, and that's what it is.

[jamminshield]

4 [This gift is wrapped in wrapping paper that has cartoon reindeer on it, and tied with a neat bow.

It is in the shape of an elephant.]

[geonomy]

5. [There's a medium sized blue bag with white stars all over it and white tissue coming out of the top. Trying to shake it won't yield any results, seeing how it's pretty stuffed with tissue paper.]

[stickupherforehead]

6

[this present kinda looks like an oversized hockey puck. There's no wrapping paper, but it's completely wrapped in ribbon and topped off with an elaborate bow.]

[cajunspice]

7.

[A mid-size spherical present wrapped in plain paper which has had smiley faces drawn all over it.]

[grounds]

8: [The gift is in a crudely assembled bundle of lots and lots of old cloths-- like (unused) dishrags-- all surrounding the item, everything wrapped in a clear cellophane like material, a piece of twine tied at the top to keep it all together.

It's about the size of a basketball.]

peggy carter | brackets also welcome!

[mucked]

Peggy arrived fashionably late and wearing a dress bought with own hard-earned credits. Soft velvet, with a fur stole sourced from the planet below. She pitched her appearance somewhere towards elegantly assembled, but stopped just short of glitzed. After all, she remained a product of a more austere time. Conspicuous glamour still made her itch when it wasn't for professional purposes.

But wartime had also made her keen to celebrate and appreciate what gentle moments were granted to those in dark circumstances. Although she possessed plenty of reasons to frown, she did her best to keep her quiet smile from faltering. It was a season for gentleness and peace, and she would reinforce those sentiments as much as possible as she circulated 'round the party.

DRINKS TABLE: Vodka wasn't her first choice of drink. And neither, frankly, was wine. Peggy could be caught ladling punch into a glass and murmuring, conspiratorially: "If we had some gin, you and I could have spiked it by now." Or else, "don't you think you've quite had enough?" if she spotted someone coming back for one too many cups. She samples a little bit of every food on offer -- especially the spice cookies.

MINGLING: Tonight, she was conversational. Any recognizable face was greeted with warm holiday cheer and an offer to step aside and chat one-to-one over a swell of music. And as for dancing...? Well, she didn't go out of her way to ask just anyone to partner her; however, she was certainly obliging whenever someone else asked her. Especially if the current song boasted a peppy beat.

WILDCARD: Bring your own bash!

[stickupherforehead]

[Pearl...is still in her sleeveless turtleneck and shorts. Somebody doesn't seem to be affected by the wintry atmosphere at all. Or getting into any sort of holiday spirit.

Either way, she's at the drinks table, holding up the bottle of vodka to the light.]

This...isn't water? [it sure looks like water.]

[enshields]

[All things considered? He's expecting nerves. He's waiting for them to hit as he shaves, fixes his hair (at Jim's prompting) and does up the buttons of his decently formal navy suit. It's going to hit him at some point, he knows. It may not be the Stork, it may not be 8 PM, but he'd promised her a dance and the reality of it is just overwhelming enough to seem surreal.

Jim does his tie for him, asks him how he's feeling, only-- the only thing dominating his mind right now is a deep, pervasive calm. It's the calm of a combat jump, the one that precedes a firefight or a known ambush. Far from being a bad thing, it's so much like coming home that he's actually grinning a bit by the time he's done, and his steps are light when he docks with the Iskaulit.

Seeing Peggy is a whole other ballgame. She's standing a little off to one side, head turned in profile, her curled hair draped over her shoulder. Only then do his steps falter, does he sort of skitter to an undignified halt.

(His first thought is, thank God she didn't wear blue. Thank God, thank God--)

And then he's straightening his tie and skirting the edge of the dancefloor to her side. He reaches out gently (half expecting her to disappear) and touches her elbow.]

Agent Carter.

[touchofrogue]

[Hostessing: Rogue can be found frequently by the food table, making sure there was enough to eat and doing her best to encourage everyone to drink. She has also managed to dress for the occasion, along with her ever-present gloves, black tights with vine cut outs, and boots.

Mingling: She'll also be doing her best to talk with the people she invited, after all -- she invited them because she likes them and she wants them to have a good time. Opening lines may be something like, "So, how are ya likin' the planet?" or "Havin' fun?"

Monitoring: Time to make sure that Metallica doesn't actually come up on her playlist... maybe she should have paid more attention to making that playlist in the first place.

WILDCARD: Go for it!

[mucked]

The night had grown balmy with drink and company. Peggy hadn't been here long -- but long enough to feel how unnecessary the fur stole around her shoulders had become. When Rogue had a moment of downtime, Peggy made a point of approaching the young woman. Then, while unwinding the shawl, she greeted her quite warmly.

"Lovely evening, you know. The music, especially. Well done." The stole was abandoned to the back of a rare chair -- a liberty she did not think twice of taking. "Have you had a chance to get off your feet yet?"

wildcard.

[redactions]

[ When the last guest has gone home and there's still a few songs left on her playlist, Jim approaches her. ]

Hey.

Jennifer Keller | Open

[forsometimenow]

[If you prefer brackets, I will match!]

Jennifer wasn't sure what she'd been expecting from the party Remy had invited her to- this part of the galaxy didn't exactly seem to know about Christmas, after all- but it definitely wasn't anything this involved.

Being the wallflower that she was, she wasn't apt to approach people unless they were familiar, despite her telling Beverly and Atroma (and herself, for that matter) that she needed to do better with meeting people. Instead, she examined the decorations with interest, and every now and them someone might catch her swaying to the music a little bit.

If someone was in the mood to chat, she'd talk, of course- about home, about holiday traditions they practiced, anything.

[touchofrogue]

[Oh, hello. Rogue doesn't know you. You must be someone Remy invited, or... someone just dropping by? Hmm. Either way, approaching with a smile.] Hello.

[jamminshield]

Once Steven spotted Jennifer, he rushed over to greet her.

"Jennifer! You're here. I'm so glad! Merry Christmas! Are you having fun?"

james barnes (au) | ota, brackets or prose

[redactions]

[ He shows up early, bundled in clothes strictly a little too much for a supersoldier who doesn't feel the cold, with a few things homemade of his own. The kitchen of the Heron doesn't boast the equipment the Vanquish does (not yet) so he charmed one of the lodge owners and gave him the recipes in return. The people here really like grilled burgers, what can he do about that. ]

[ Jim can otherwise be found near the speakers, humming to Ella Fitzgerald, at the drinks counter eyeing the vodka, or at a nice quiet corner, nursing a glass. ]

[mucked]

[ she finds him early on -- almost as though, upon her arrival, she'd taken stock of the other attendees and made a particular note of him. he is a beacon of familiarity in a sea of people who are mostly strangers. ]

Who tipped her off about the music, I wonder? [ her she straightens the skirt of her dress and invites herself to take a seat next to jim. ] Or perhaps Rogue possesses a sort of natural good taste.

[touchofrogue]

[Aww, look who she didn't have to find and drag here! Although showing up early does mean that it's just Rogue and Remy setting up, and she was still teleporting in the few comfortable chairs that they'd shuttled up here. They couldn't fit that many in the shuttle, which meant various trips, and this was trip two. That was taking a lot more time than she had anticipated, and so Rogue was cheating.

So there is a slight BAMFing sound, the scent of sulfur, and Rogue suddenly appearing in thin air with a slight puff of smoke and a chair in either hand.

Seeing Jim, her jaw drops a little.] Oh, you're here! [Wait, that didn't sound very gracious, just startled. Remy, she'd told about this already, so she hadn't minded cheating and, well, she is startled. But she is also glad that he came, glad she didn't have to hunt him down, though after his response to her invitation she was pretty sure he'd actually make it. She just... with the teleporting...and their last conversation...awkward. Releasing one chair, she tucks a strand of hair back behind her ear with a gloved hand.] Hi!

[stickupherforehead]

[here's Pearl! She is alternatively admiring the illusions and poking at them.]

What are we celebrating again?

[is this the one with the big sweaters and the pots and pans?]

[touchofrogue]

[Rogue was expecting this question from some people, but not necessarily from Pearl.]

Didn't they have Christmas on your Earth?

[jamminshield]

[Steven Universe is in attendance, and he's wearing a dorky Christmas sweater as he zips around and takes in the party. The Christmas spirit is so infectious and energetic!]

[On one hand, you could find him at the food table, where he mostly pigs out on some snacks. And he's so excited to see some french fries among the salty snacks! ...Although, oddly enough, he's not exactly taking the full fries, but rather the crumb-like 'bits' of fries that are scattered about.]

The bits!! I can't believe it. This is the best Christmas ever! [Well, not really. There's no Dad or Garnet or Amethyst or Connie... but he's enjoying this nonetheless.]

[Or you could find him at the dance floor, where he dances along with pretty much any song with some amount of skill.]

[Orrr you can find him by the White Elephant present table, looking over everything with a thoughtful frown.] Wow, I wonder what kinds of elephants everyone else came up with...

Remy LeBeau

[cajunspice]

MINGLING/CLEAN UP: [Wandering around the party Remy was chatting as he went, joking and dancing when asked or a good song comes on, but also making the most of his circuit to pick up glasses or plates left around and bringing them back to the table and clean up area as he walked.]

FOOD/DRINK TABLE: [Half the time at the tables was restocking items as needed, the other is making the most of what they had there. Although, to be fair, Remy was rationing himself, as much as he wanted to grab the bottles of drink for himself. That would hardly be festive now, would it?]

[forsometimenow]

[When Jennifer spotted Remy rushing to clean up on her way out, she stopped to scoop up a glass before he could reach it.]

Here, let me help you.

[geonomy]

[You can bet Clay's got on an Ugly Christmas Sweater when he shows up, or at least one that was close enough, given the planet and its lack of Christmas. Sure, maybe he should've dressed a little more elegantly, but hey, Christmas is supposed to be full of fun for him. So, where can the space boy be found?

Admiring the illusions: Yeah, he does figure out that they're illusions after a while, but damn, they look good. He watches the dragons in particular for a long while, an enthralled smile on his face as he watches it dances and twirls about the ball.

Food table: He's not much of a drinker, sure, but he does love food! At least, the healthier ones, so he mostly goes for the fruits. And those are good fruits, too. Sure, he'll go for the pasta as well, but the fruit is where it's at for him.

Mingling: Whether it's by the Christmas tree (where he's very, very entranced by the falling leaves) or around the room in general, Clay's always up for talking! He's got a glass of punch in his hand that he carries around like it ought to be wine, mostly just to look fancy like everyone else.

Wildcard: Wherever, whenever, we're meant to be together!]