Oᴅᴇᴛᴛᴇ Mᴀʟᴇɴᴄᴏɴ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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hotelcaelum2023-12-29 02:25 pm
cardsharked) wrote in hotelcaelum2023-12-29 02:25 pm
Entry tags:
le reveillon
WHO: French people and you
WHERE: The restaurant complex industrial kitchen floor/a random ballroom and entertainment floor
WHEN: Nebulously between Christmas and New Year’s Eve
WHAT:The Who Pudding Cook-Off Le Reveillon dinner
WARNINGS: Alcohol and boozing; maybe there will be an actual physical fight over the food? Mistletoe shenanigans possible. Let me know if I need to add new warnings.
ALLEZ CUISINE
Anyone interested in contributing food to the dinner will have a place to cook in the giant industrial kitchen. Just a few weeks ago, sentient shadows were stabbing unsuspecting guests in the back here, but today it’s lively and bustling. There may even be a handsome, empty-headed blond vampire wandering around to kick off each round of oven preheating with a hearty catchphrase. Before hopping into the fray, consider grabbing an apron or team varsity jacket from the wardrobe hanger. The old staples are there – “Kiss the Cook,” “I Love You a Latke,” “Sugar and Spice” – but there are also some unusual standouts, like jackets with an extra sleeve attached or aprons that have fashioned the lyrics of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” into death threats.
The kitchen has been incredibly well prepared and stocked, and anything necessary to cook a fine holiday meal is available. Of course, some ingredients may have been shuffled around during the procurement. Maybe cooks need to cross team lines to borrow a cup of sugar, apples will be in the onion basket, or paprika will mysteriously pop out of nowhere in a cloud of spice. Working together is the easiest way to make sure the meal goes smoothly. As a reminder, anyone is welcome to throw a dish or two into the mix regardless of their national cuisine of choice. Get cooking!
FRIENDS AT THE TABLE
Here to cook, or a cook who’s finished their rotation in the kitchen? An adjacent ballroom space has been furnished to hold the dining party, with decorations and ambiance supervised by Sumina. As for the food, there's a plethora of options, with Team France(?) alone providing traditional staples like roasted quail, braised oysters, acorn soup, fennel salad, foie gras and pate with crusty bread wedges, creme caramel, and buche de noel. Menu placards at each table list the dishes on offer, but the full menu information can only be unlocked by answering a discussion question over appetizers – “What’s your New Year’s Resolution? Why? How can we help?”
Alcoholic and virgin bubbly drinks are available for all guests. The effervescence of these drinks is contagious! These drinks have a slight, but pleasant, uplifting effect. Drinking one might make attendees chipper and outgoing enough to chat more openly than normal or literally light on their feet, allowing them to float an inch or two off the ground. No one will be forced to experience sensations or feelings they don’t want to; they are purely opt-in, like the joy that comes from smelling a warm homegrown memory.
In addition to any other decorations, Polaroid-style pictures dot the wall. These snapshots contain representations of happy memories of guests throughout the previous year but can only be viewed by people who want to see them, and only memories of people who are willing the share them will appear. Otherwise, they might contain potential futures, hopes, dreamscapes, aspirations, or other talking points for those who are willing to see them.
SMALL BITES
If anyone truly wants to turn this meal into an epic showdown, feel free to start a rousing debate over different dishes or fashion a scorecard out of the menu placards. Golf pencils are mysteriously available for any and all ranking needs.
Though it’s only nebulously New Year’s Eve, guests who stick around until midnight will see the ballroom dim to a warmer, soothing color, lights twinkling down a countdown the last few minutes to the end of the day. As the time ticks over, guests can hold on to indoor-safe sparkle fireworks or take the floor to give a toast to the upcoming year. Insert other preferred New Year's traditions at will.
The mistletoe is still rumored to be out and about, so take care when mingling.
If asked about any of the weird dinner happenings, Odette hasn’t got a clue. She’s just here for the food. Must be more hotel shenanigans, or maybe someone else put their twist on things.
WHERE: The restaurant complex industrial kitchen floor/a random ballroom and entertainment floor
WHEN: Nebulously between Christmas and New Year’s Eve
WHAT:
WARNINGS: Alcohol and boozing; maybe there will be an actual physical fight over the food? Mistletoe shenanigans possible. Let me know if I need to add new warnings.
ALLEZ CUISINE
Anyone interested in contributing food to the dinner will have a place to cook in the giant industrial kitchen. Just a few weeks ago, sentient shadows were stabbing unsuspecting guests in the back here, but today it’s lively and bustling. There may even be a handsome, empty-headed blond vampire wandering around to kick off each round of oven preheating with a hearty catchphrase. Before hopping into the fray, consider grabbing an apron or team varsity jacket from the wardrobe hanger. The old staples are there – “Kiss the Cook,” “I Love You a Latke,” “Sugar and Spice” – but there are also some unusual standouts, like jackets with an extra sleeve attached or aprons that have fashioned the lyrics of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” into death threats.
The kitchen has been incredibly well prepared and stocked, and anything necessary to cook a fine holiday meal is available. Of course, some ingredients may have been shuffled around during the procurement. Maybe cooks need to cross team lines to borrow a cup of sugar, apples will be in the onion basket, or paprika will mysteriously pop out of nowhere in a cloud of spice. Working together is the easiest way to make sure the meal goes smoothly. As a reminder, anyone is welcome to throw a dish or two into the mix regardless of their national cuisine of choice. Get cooking!
FRIENDS AT THE TABLE
Here to cook, or a cook who’s finished their rotation in the kitchen? An adjacent ballroom space has been furnished to hold the dining party, with decorations and ambiance supervised by Sumina. As for the food, there's a plethora of options, with Team France(?) alone providing traditional staples like roasted quail, braised oysters, acorn soup, fennel salad, foie gras and pate with crusty bread wedges, creme caramel, and buche de noel. Menu placards at each table list the dishes on offer, but the full menu information can only be unlocked by answering a discussion question over appetizers – “What’s your New Year’s Resolution? Why? How can we help?”
Alcoholic and virgin bubbly drinks are available for all guests. The effervescence of these drinks is contagious! These drinks have a slight, but pleasant, uplifting effect. Drinking one might make attendees chipper and outgoing enough to chat more openly than normal or literally light on their feet, allowing them to float an inch or two off the ground. No one will be forced to experience sensations or feelings they don’t want to; they are purely opt-in, like the joy that comes from smelling a warm homegrown memory.
In addition to any other decorations, Polaroid-style pictures dot the wall. These snapshots contain representations of happy memories of guests throughout the previous year but can only be viewed by people who want to see them, and only memories of people who are willing the share them will appear. Otherwise, they might contain potential futures, hopes, dreamscapes, aspirations, or other talking points for those who are willing to see them.
SMALL BITES
If anyone truly wants to turn this meal into an epic showdown, feel free to start a rousing debate over different dishes or fashion a scorecard out of the menu placards. Golf pencils are mysteriously available for any and all ranking needs.
Though it’s only nebulously New Year’s Eve, guests who stick around until midnight will see the ballroom dim to a warmer, soothing color, lights twinkling down a countdown the last few minutes to the end of the day. As the time ticks over, guests can hold on to indoor-safe sparkle fireworks or take the floor to give a toast to the upcoming year. Insert other preferred New Year's traditions at will.
The mistletoe is still rumored to be out and about, so take care when mingling.
If asked about any of the weird dinner happenings, Odette hasn’t got a clue. She’s just here for the food. Must be more hotel shenanigans, or maybe someone else put their twist on things.
no subject
[His warm smile is quick to fade away to an expression of concern.]
What are the risks to you? Returning the gift of life to anyone cannot come cheaply, of this I'm quite sure.
no subject
Turns out if there's any sort of trauma or personality incompatibilities, it kiiiind of starts to corrupt my data a little.
[NO BIGGIE THO.]
no subject
Miss Ringo... I understand the desire to do anything to protect our loved ones. I'd be a hypocrite to tell you otherwise. But... You should take better care of yourself. You have a sister and friends that would not wish for you to sacrifice yourself for them.
[Corruption he's familiar with, living in an advanced era. Corruption in a person doesn't sound all that different from Mara. And that's deeply concerning.]
I would love to visit you one day so do take care of yourself.
no subject
We fixed it, we fixed it! And I've only done one Soul Hack since then. [And it was on someone that she thinks he would agree was absolutely necessary.]
... Thanks, though. You're just worrying about me, right? [That sort of thing--it feels nice.] I appreciate that. I'll do my best to stay intact and regular old Ringo for when you come visit.
no subject
[He won't say the dead are better off remaining so... Even if it's true. And in her case it does sound like it was a matter of saving the world. But the attempted resurrection of a companion turned his world upside down and it has remained that way ever since.]
Human lives are fragile things. And their lives are meant to be short ones. They burn brightly because their time is so limited. To extend the flame by other means is... an unkindness, Miss Ringo. I can attest to that in no small number of ways. [He puts a finger under her chin, tilting her head up just so that their eyes do not fall away from one another.] As a human myself, stretched beyond the limits of what a human can and should live through I would insist that your well being over my continued lifespan is the much preferred state of affairs.
And I am certain any who cherish you in a similar manner would agree. Have more care with yourself. To lose oneself to corruption is a terrifying end... I would not wish it even on my greatest enemies.
no subject
Hmm... It's not bad that he cares so much for her well-being--just like Figue, really, and that's a warm thought--but...]
... It was just part of my mission, you know? [Maybe it was reckless; she's always been kind of a reckless sort of person. But... as for whether or not she should've brought Arrow, Milady and Saizo back to life... she's never thought about it.]
They needed to be saved to save the world, so that's what I did.
[... What does he mean though. By his own lifespan? By his own flickering flame?]
... You can talk better than me about whether or not it's an unkindness. [She's not human, and she'll exist eternally (or not, if she goes back to being part of the greater Aion data).] That's not really what I was thinking about, for better or for worse.
no subject
I understand... The fate of the world was at sake. But in the future. For the humans you intend to safe guard and for yourself... I would ask that you refrain from bringing the dead back to life. [He lowers his hand back to his side.] It so rarely goes well.
[There's a flicker of a pained expression. It comes and goes and he replaces everything with a smile.]
Please take care of yourself, Miss Ringo.
no subject
Besides... she's curious.]
... I get that you're worried about me. I understand that, and I don't plan on doing anything risky in the future like this now that the mission's over.
[But...]
I don't get the rest though. Is it really that bad to save humans like that?
no subject
[And he may have left it at that. Because to explain further would be to delve into something he has not really had any intention of speaking of and hasn't for a very long time. But perhaps an explanation would suit her better.
She is, after all, an AI. She is also not from the Luofu. And any whisper of the Quintet and their heroic tales will not be sensationalized and exaggerated. It can be nothing more but a cautionary tale.]
An attempted resurrection of a single lost friend caused me to lose every friend I had, Miss Ringo.
[So many things to dredge up, never spoken aloud before...]
War takes people from us. That is the way of things. And for those of us that were considered the legendary heroes of the Xianzhou... perhaps we did see ourselves a touch... invincible, perhaps. And I did truly think, impossible as it was, that we'd be together forever. But no one is invincible... So when a great force came for the Xianzhou I watched one of my dearest friends slam her ship into the enemy to save us. The crash itself did not do her in as many surmised but something else... And to this day I do not know what. But as she stepped out of her destroyed Starskiff she slowly turned to dust... Gone without a trace or speck of her to be found.
The grief of what transpired gave cause for two of our remaining four to make an attempt to resurrect her. And what they brought back instead... was an abomination that took the lives of hundreds more.
The wake of this transgression cannot be understated... The ritual that they did inflicted my short life friend with immortality instead. Fracturing him beyond recognition. He cannot be killed and rises over and over again... And madness courses through his very person. My master, due to the stress of these events and the loss of our dear friend followed by the abomination that rose in her stead and the betrayal of our friends, finally caused her to succumb to her own mara and she was sealed away. She would eventually break free and slaughter hundreds more soldiers. And as for the other who participated in this ritual... He was found, arrested and was set to be destroyed. A hero now labeled traitor.
Which leaves a singular member of the Quintet left... myself. The duty I have given myself is to clean up the mess my former friends left behind to the best of my ability. And to remember these events...
All lives come to an end. It is the great equalizer that exists. To disrupt it is to risk tragedy. What makes a living person, what brings them life and makes them who they are, it is so vastly complex that to strive to breath life back into it again is playing a part regular people aren't meant to play in this world.
My friends are all dead or scattered to the winds. Shades of people I once knew. The centuries I thought we'd spend together did not even amount to one. Loss is hard and difficult but inevitable... But it is also a part of living. To take it away leads to the creation of monsters.
no subject
... She isn't surprised he's been through a lot.
But she finds herself wishing he didn't have to, even though she knows the world doesn't work that way.
Maybe she was a little too flippant about the whole Soul Hacking thing. Maybe she took it a little too casually, even after doing so starting to mess with her source code. She's never asked Saizo, Milady and Arrow if they wanted to be brought back. They seem happy to be alive, but...
She never asked because it was her mission. What the humans wanted at the time didn't really matter, because this is what she needed to do. ... She's really changed, hasn't she? The way her heart aches for Jing Yuan is evidence enough of that.]
... I'm sorry. That's... you've been through a lot. It's... a tragedy that everything turned out that way.
[... And she gets the reason why he's so touchy about it, that's for sure.]
I'll... remember that. For the future. So... thanks for telling me. [In the future... she'll think harder about her Soul Hacking abilities.]
no subject
There is nothing for you to apologize for, Miss Ringo... Not for anything I've been through that is. It is a sad story... One that has been sensationalized and spoken about as if the five of us were simply fantasy characters in a story. And I miss those four more than I could ever properly express...
Tomorrow will always come but not everyone is promised it. Life, even to the long lived species, is beautiful because it is fleeting. And despite the hardship of war and conflict, of loss and grief... Tomorrow will always be worth living. So we do our best to face it with a smile just in case there isn't another.
And when it is our time... it is our time. To live longer than we are meant to is no kindness to a mortal. [He closes his eyes, contemplating his words for a few silent moments.] I suppose I sound like I am chiding you for my ideals. I do apologize as it is a deeply personal matter. And despite this seeming like a universal concept it could always be different elsewhere. And it was, as you said, to save the world.
I would simply take care, Miss Ringo. [He reaches out, should it be alright, to cup her cheek.] Especially if it is detrimental to your own well being. You are a valuable young lady capable of a great many things. Do not throw parts of yourself away for the sake of others no matter how cherished... I know I would feel no small amount of sorrow if someone were to do that for me.