faderift | SATINALIA

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Blunder is a sweetie. I'll keep your secret, though.

[ Glimmer winks. ]

How long've you been with the Riftwatch?

Just a few months.

[ It's... certainly been an experience! ]

This place is nothing like where I'm from. So it's weird.

Been... a while for me now.

[ More than a year. It's a weird thought. ]

Almost two years, in spring. It's... really different from home.

[ Unconsciously, she rubs at the green glimmer of light in her hand. ]

Two years. [ Gross. Clarisse doesn't want to think about it in terms of herself. A few months is one thing, but people have been stuck here for years now. It's depressing. And frightening, too. She shakes her head. ]

What's your home like, then?

It's... beautiful.

[ Glimmer smiles, her face shining a little as she recalls home. ]

The water is clear, the mountains are so tall and the trees--you can't imagine how beautiful it all looks with the moons hanging in the sky on a warm summer night.

Cool. [ Moons, plural. Wow. Like Tatooine. Or was that suns? Whatever. ]

Uh, I'm from Earth. We only have one moon. But we have some pretty sweet mountains, too.

Oh, cool! I've been to Earth. Only having one moon is crazy and kinda weird.

[ Glimmer says as if traveling to other worlds is just something you do. ]

But all the stars is really what took my breath away.

[ Hold up, what...? ]

You've been to Earth? How? [ Is there a way to get back that nobody has decided to let her know about? Because if there is, she's gonna be p i s s e d. She looks pissed already, in fact. ]

Uh, yeah. Before I came here. This place called New Amsterdam.

[ There are many versions of Earth, of course, and Glimmer isn't quite sure how to explain it. ]

I got yanked there from home. And then I woke up here after that.

[ That's real fucking weird, but look, Clarisse fell into this world through a hole in the sky, so she can't exactly call bullshit on Glimmer's claim about getting sucked into not one but two alternate universes. Or other planets, whatever. ]

That's... insane. [ She crosses her arms, thinking. ] So which world is better? This one, or Earth? [ Since Glimmer isn't native to either one, she should have a more objective opinion, right? ]

Uhh...

[ Glimmer purses her lips. ]

Well, this one has magic, so I think that gives it to this world. Not having my magic on Earth was the worst.

[ Oof, wrong answer. ]

Well, I have magic on Earth, so I guess it was just you.

There are versions of Earth with magic?!

[ Glimmer sounds outraged by this revelation. ]

Totally not fair! I didn't get to use mine at all!

Of course there are. [ If there's a version with fungus zombies and a version with actual superheroes, one with magic sounds reasonable. ]

But not everyone has it where I'm from. My dad's a god, so I do. [ Bragging. Clarisse is bragging. ]

A god? Like, a god, god?

[ Glimmer stares, trying to comprehend this. Yeah, she has a friend who turns into a goddess basically but this is different. ]

Yeah, like a god god. I'm the daughter of Ares, god of war.

[ War! Violence! Bloodshed! All the cool stuff! ]

Whoa! That must be a lot of pressure.

[ Glimmer smiles, offers a hand for a proper handshake. ]

Queen of Bright Moon back home but... I don't bring it up a lot here because it doesn't really matter much to anyone.

[ She's just not gonna respond to the thing about pressure. For personal reasons. But after a second of hesitation, Clarisse reaches out to return the handshake. ]

Queen, huh. You're kind of young for that, aren't you?

[ Glimmer's expression falters. It's been years now, but sometimes it still feels too heavy and raw to want to bring up. ]

You don't really get a choice about when the crown gets to you.

[ It's soft, but matter-of-fact. ]

My mom died.

SATINALIA

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