SATINALIA

[incaenstrix]

WHO: Everybody!!
WHAT: SATINALIA!!
WHEN: Backdated to the first day of Firstfall
WHERE: Gallows courtyard
NOTES: Drunkenness and shenanigans. HALLOWEENMAS!!

This Satinalia is, perhaps, less grand than in years past. Blockades are still limiting access to luxury goods, after all, so the fine liquors and dainty foods that have been featured before are nowhere to be found. And Tertia, the temporary Morale Officer, doesn't have the connections or deft touch of organizers past, so things are rougher than they've been before - the musicians are less polished, the ale a little more watered-down, the decorations somewhat haphazard.

But you know what? It's still Satinalia. Nothing can really screw up Satinalia. Especially because there are some rather lovely touches, the best of which might well be the ice skating rink. A section of the Gallows Courtyard has been roped off and frozen over with magic, leaving a (largely) smooth sheet of ice covering it. Skates are available to borrow if you don't have a pair. Of course, some injuries are definitely going to result (if you skate off the edge, you're smacking into stone instead of a soft snowbank, which can be disastrous), but hey, it's fun.

Other perks are the bonfires, with mulled wine and cider being served out of cauldrons around them, where people might sit and reflect while watching the flame. There's also dancing, of course, with the musicians basically being any band that's been recommended by members of Riftwatch - so there are lots of half-competent cousins-of-friends playing here. What they lack in skill they make up for in enthusiasm; this is the first gig for a lot of them, and they're thrilled to be here.

One thing that's missing is the Satinalia fool being named ruler. Tertia wasn't familiar with this tradition and didn't arrange it - so there's a last-minute campaign being held, in which people can either nominate others or self-nominate to be named Riftwatch's greatest fool to be celebrated.

Enjoy yourself. Exchange presents. Get drunk. Have a blast. Don't lose any teeth.

Comments

[cozen]

Oh.

[ His first thought—perhaps unflattering—is that there's treasure in the water. Hidden caves. Sunken ships. He's read all about that. (What he reads has perhaps overstated the prevalence.) And he's not the strongest swimmer, always slightly nervous around currents and great depths, so: tempting.

But not tempting enough. ]

Talk to animals. Did you know Jude can do that? At least a little. We got him to tell Whiskey, our dog—we got him to tell her that we loved her. It was the best. Being able to tell her myself, that would be even better.

I suppose all the birds and rats and things would get annoying. And the fleas. I don't want to know what they are saying.

But, [ decisively, ] it would be worth it.

Money or political influence? And you cannot say you will use one to get the other. That's not the game.

[armd]

I guess I did. (Because he talks to her dog, right? Abby had just assumed it was a canine thing, discussion strictly between those of the same genus. Also, fuck. Her hand is coming up to rest over her heart, cuz that's so wholesome. And,) Fleas aren't animals, so I don't think you'd have to worry about those.

(To answer his question, sighing,) Political influence, I guess. You know the place I came from didn't have currency, right. No coins. We traded for stuff. I've never had money that was actually worth anything until I got here. (So why would she need it now? Etc)

Would you rather always miss the ferry going out to Kirkwall by a minute, or live at the very top of the mage tower.

[cozen]

[ No money is an odd thought. Of course Bastien's familiar with the concept of trading; if nothing else, he grew up dirt poor on a street where people without two coppers to rub together traded odds and ends and skills amongst themselves. But the absence of those two coppers was always so keenly felt—odd.

Interesting, though. He files it away. ]

Do you know what is at the very top of the mage tower?

[ Maybe she does. But he's going to tell her anyway: ]

Fancy rooms. Suites. Whenever we have important guests, they stay there. The extra stairs would absolutely be worth it. Anyway, the stairs, [ with his voice lowering to share this outré secret, which he would not be sharing at all if it were not Satinalia, ] are doing a lot of favors for my, uh.

[ Even Satinalia is not enough to get him to say ass to a 22 year young woman. But his eyebrow gesture makes it pretty clear. ]

Would you rather have to dance everywhere you walked or sing everything you said?

[armd]

(Abby makes a hrmph sound.) Oh. Really?

(Well then, she'd choose the mage tower too; as Bastien implied, it is good for your ass, even if you're a coward and won't say the word out loud.) Fair. (She made that one easy, huh... and he made his so hard. Hrmmm

Pained,) Dance everywhere I walked. (But she's not happy about it. Also this game should be way more chaotic than it is, she's decided (her cup is all spice and all wine.) She has another swig, thinks.)

Would you rather... burp at the start of every conversation with Flint, or neigh like a horse whenever Yseult comes into a room?