(Not) a New Year's Eve Party

[espritdecorpse]

Who: ChromaWei disciples and assorted friends
Where: Chez Wei Wuxian and Maiden Nero
When: NYE
What: it’s a “wine” tasting party. Mix, mingle, and threadhop.
Warnings: Alcohol and bad decisions

[ Wei Wuxian, ever since he got here, has been researching the mysteries of fermentation. He’s from a civilized world, to wit: other people made wine and he drank it. But needs must in this strange place, and he—ever the inventor—has performed experiment after experiment.

Then he went for a stroll in the forest and rang a bell and made a wish and… cheated, basically. Although his earlier attempts were all trial and error, the town gifted him with a book entitled Goldilocks and the Three Bears get Hammered, which included instructions for making wine; the town gifted him also with ingredients and materials for making rice wine.

Now it’s time to enjoy (?) the fruits of his labor. Disciples and honored guests will have their choice of various concoctions. All wine jars are labelled only with numbers, and no other hints of their origins or ingredients.

Jar #1 is hard apple cider. It’s young, rough, sweet and pretty much terrible, as it’s one of Wei Wuxian’s early experiments. It’s about 8% alcohol.
Jar #2 is fermented blackberry wine, similar to the apple wine above in quality. It’s about 12% alcohol.
Jars #3, 4, and 5 are rice wine, made with ingredients and know-how provided by the town. It’s of average quality, but please note that it is 25% alcohol by volume. Happy New Year!
Jar #6 is another Wei Wuxian experimentation special, and consists only of moldy rice-flavored water. It won’t get you drunk but it MAY cure all known infections. Extremely vile to the taste and suspicious-looking.

Guests may also enjoy a piece of cake, which was his reward from the caroling quest earlier this month. It’s heavily infused with alcohol as well, which is why it’s stayed fresh.

Whenever you arrive, one (1) Wei Wuxian will be there to greet you, all bright smiles and enthusiasm, cup in hand—one for him and one for you. ]

Come in, come in! Wonderful to see you!

[ The townhouse he shares with Maiden Nero is of the usual Ruga size and configuration, and it’s far from neat but it is festooned with artwork, sculpture, and calligraphy, as well as odds and ends of strange things that might be blood-smeared talismans or other bizarre, half-made magical tools (touch at your own risk). All in all, it’s a bright and cheerful place, with a merry fire going in the hearth. Wei Wuxian might even play his flute for you if the mood strikes him, but don’t let Maiden Nero sing. ]

Comments

[pyrafect]

A: Rice Wine
[ One of her wishes-- for a ramen shop-- had been granted just days earlier, and she's still in the process of preparing everything to properly open it. The ramen shop, as it is, also comes with a nice bar filled with beers and rice wines of one of the Titan-continents that she had walked upon. But none of them are home made, not like this.

So when she tastes one of the rice wines for herself, bringing it to her lips, she blinks at how smoothly it goes down for being homemade. It's almost nostalgic. ] Here, try this one. [ She'll say to whomever is nearby, smiling. It's from jar #4, and she'll pour a generous serving for you. ] It's delicious.

B: Hair Braiding
[ Shush, you, she's feeling content and buzzed enough to do this even if your hair is only one inch long.

She'll be sitting close behind whoever you are, practically leaning against your back as she threads her fingers through your hair softly before beginning. But Architect help you if you move, because then she will be taking one hand and placing it firmly to the side of your head, re-positioning it to be midline. ] Don't move, or I'm going to have to start all over again. [ Or, she'll make it as perfect as she can when she's had wine. ]

C: We Don't Got Music
[ Can her kind even get drunk? You bet your ass they can. How? Who knows, it's magic. Magic drunk. And boy oh boy does everything feel magical in this place. You! You just happen to be nearby her, (and at this point she's likely to have introduce herself to you if she's never met you), so have a Pyra scooting closer to you, linking her arm around yours. She's warm, inhumanly so, and sporting a faint blush from the alcohol upon her cheeks. ]

There should be... music! And dancing. [ Oh, she remembers during the war when there were brief periods of peace, where there was times after the battles to relax and celebrate. Those are the times she cherishes most, those are the memories she keeps close to her heart. And why not make similar memories here? This world-- Chroma-- is luxurious in its peace despite its oddities; and it shouldn't be taken for granted.

She gets an idea: ] --Let's sing together. Or, or-- dance!

D: Fireplace
[ Hey, you! Do you want to be cozy'd up next to the fireplace with her? Well today is your lucky day, because she is nothing if not affectionate. ]

Think there are any worlds out there where the earth revolves around two suns? [ Hic ] I think... I would like to see a sunset like that.

Wildcard:
[ Have a prompt in mind for Pyra? Comment here with whatever your heart desires, PM, or plot with me at drinksteapots!

B...

[noholdsbard]

Oh, but you don’t have to— [ But he knows when he’s been trapped, and at the very least he doesn’t let up on the harp-playing. So you’ll have your way this time, Pyra, if only because braiding his hair is a pretty harmless drunken activity and it can buy him some time to think of another way out of this mess. ]

C

[good_ideas]

[Shiho is still clearly very sober if the way she's fussing around everyone is any indication. She doesn't see the appeal of drinking, especially because she feels like someone should be the responsible one. And who would want a psychometer being uninhibited around them? She thinks no one would want that.

Trying her best to pull her arm from Pyra's grip, she reaches for the jug of water she'd prepared.]

If you want music then get one of these drunkards here to play you some. Dancing while drunk is dangerous.

b!

[organfarm]

Woah --

[ The sudden brush of fingers through his hair is kind of startling, and Jion sloshes a bit of wine on himself as he tries to turn around. But the booze is making him extra compliant, so he ends up sitting still as soon as she directs him to. ]

Um. Okay. [ Slowly sipping at his wine, Jion moves as little as possible. And after a few moments, he absently mumbles, ] ... that feels kind of nice.

yet another taker for hair braiding

[espritdecorpse]

[ When Pyra had arrived, he'd told himself to keep his distance, for the sake of his heart.

...

That plan lasted 0.2 seconds. He's a butterfly in love with a flower; he can't stay away. And now that she's had a little wine, she's even more touchy and affectionate than she usually is. Which is how he's in this particular situation. He can feel the preternatural warmth of her body against his, with her hands gently combing through and touching his hair. He doesn't know whether to laugh or to cry. It's unspeakably pleasant and painful at the same time, and he can't help but twitch a little, mussing her handiwork. ]

I... It's okay. You know, I should probably go check on...

[ He can't even come up with an excuse. There's wine, people are drinking it and getting drunk, and no one has set themselves on fire. ]

[regrede]

i. wine not

[ sierra looks like a little girl, considering her stature and her young face. there’s not much else to this, except for the fact that it certainly appears there’s a child here peering at the jars of wine with an eye that suggests she’s going to claim half of it for herself. ]

ii. google: vampire physiology

[ guess who can’t get drunk!

it’s sierra. barring some truly exceptional circumstances, sierra could drink an entire winery without feeling so much as a flush, but it’s not like she’s going to tell anyone that when she feels like she has a chance at really beefing up her reputation in this town after failing to establish herself as a force of authority in the past couple of months.

so, assuming that she did manage to talk your character into a drinking contest, the point at which they are officially A Few Drinks deep is the point at which sierra smiles politely, taking a long sip to finish off her current cup of rice wine. ]

It’s like juice, isn’t it?

iii. interior decorating

Oh! This would look gorgeous in the baths. Would you help me move it?

[ this is called “stealing,” but considering there’s no currency here in chroma, and there’s such an abundance of artwork to be found in this house, surely no one would miss it if she simply up and moved it to the onsen that has recently appeared.

lifting it herself would look bad, however. c’est la vie. ]

iv. divine retribution (closed to wei wuxian)

Lovely party.

[ when she approaches him, her smile is threatening, and that fork in her hand for the cake looks a whole lot more like a weapon than a utensil. ]

It’s almost enough to make me forget why you’re on my shitlist.

ii

[pyrafect]

[ Bad decisions were made. Like, wow, this girl (?) can hold her liquor. ]

...Alright, alright, I give up. [ Just. Looking at her in awe. ]

How do you manage it?

iv aaaaaa

[espritdecorpse]

[ He has Questions, the first and foremost being: who invited you???? A bit of consideration later, and he assumes the small town Chroma rumor mill would have led anyone here who wanted booze. Which....is what Maiden Sierra wants. Right? Right??? ]

Haha, thank you very much! Glad you're enjoying yourself!

[ He backs away. ]

Can I... can I pour you some wine?

iii

[noholdsbard]

[ That…looks like one of Nero’s art pieces. It’s alarming enough that Sierra’s contemplating stealing at all, but stealing from Nero in particular is a very, very bad idea.

Please don’t piss Nero off. That’s not something people can generally survive from. ]

My lady…as stunning as that piece is, the lady of the house might have some objections.

i

[organfarm]

Uh.

[ He's just pouring himself a glass of apple cider, staring somewhat dubiously at that last jar of mystery substance, when he catches sight of Sierra. And Jion gives her a curious glance, head canted. ]

... is it okay for you to drink?

[scooptimistic]

[ a. once a journalist-- ]

[ Maya, as always, appears to be in good spirits now that she's not dealing with spirits/shades with a penchant for ignoring her, which is why she'll come to join you as you drink cup number Whatever. ]

So-!

[ Brightly. ]

Got a favorite, or a ranking list? I really thought that last one was going to kill me!

[ No, really. For as cheerfully as she's smiling, she also kind of looks like she's about to keel over from how godawful that was?? Please make her sit down. ]


[ b. hold me like the river jordan ]

[ Hey! Does Maya know you? Perhaps.

Or maybe she has no idea who you are, but after very diligently sampling all of the wine and picking a favorite to nurse for the rest of the time, she's somehow still coherent.

No, that's not the problem. So what if she can hold a full-fledged conversation on the nature of foreign literature? She's more interested in being close. Draping on someone, leaning on someone, latching onto someone, nuzzling into someone's back--

Oops. ]

Wow, you're comfy.

[ Maya, no. ]


[ c. wildcard ]

[ Maya's open for anything! Hit me up and I'll definitely roll with it. ]

b

[organfarm]

Oh, uh. Hey Maya.

[ To be fair, he probably is pretty comfy. Nice and warm and bulky, but without any ultra-tough, chiseled muscles that would be uncomfortable to drape over. Also, he's just buzzed enough that he doesn't get properly flustered. Jion's just sitting on the floor sipping at his third cup of rice wine, and absently arranges himself into a more comfortable position when she drapes over him. ]

Having a good time? [ His voice may or may not be a little slurred. ]

b

[pyrafect]

[ Welp, Pyra has no objections here! Because she has quite a bit to drink and everything is just fuzzy and warm right now! It's a perfect night so far. ]

Hehe~ I am? [ She laughs, stumbling over her feet as she feels Maya lean into her back. She thankfully manages to keep her balance, however, and she cranes her neck, turning to look at the stranger who's caught her. ]

That's... that's so nice of you to say! [ Pyra is absolutely giddy to have received the compliment. She's absolutely one of those girls who's had too much to drink and all they can do is be overly affectionate. ] So, so nice... No one has said that to me before! [ ...It's not exactly something one would go around saying in the first place. ]

I bet you're comfy, too.

a

[espritdecorpse]

[ .... ]

Wait... you didn't drink that one, did you?

[ He'd included it as a joke. It smelled and looked absolutely terrible, what person in their right mind would actually consume it? ]

b

[youwillbeunequaled]

[The affectionate nuzzling of his back certainly gets his attention, and he's honestly surprised when he sees who it is. He can't help but breathe out a half-laugh. Just what is going on here...?]

Perhaps it is Farrow-dono's sweater that makes it so.

[The knitted sweater is something that he's been wearing every day since receiving it, and today is no exception. Dark blue and purple with yellow dragonflies around the collar and hem, it is extremely warm and comfortable.

... He is quite certain that this is a tangent but-]

Are you warm enough? It has been very cold out recently.

b: I don't know if this is too late but I finally know how the confession goes so

[good_ideas]

[Shiho feels Maya nuzzling at her back and she sighs, mid-way through pouring another glass of water.]

And you're drunk. Here, you need to sit up. [And also to give her the drink she's been nursing this entire time so she can replace it with a cup of water.]

nsfw warning for some of the prompts

[noholdsbard]

i. Despacito
Somehow, despite the deadly combination of Nero and Wei Wuxian living in the same household, Tristan had answered the former’s summons and duly arrived at the premises anyway. There was…something about a party?

Except parties aren’t his thing, though now he’s kind of stuck here, having found himself wrangled into another one of Wuxian’s crazy schemes again. He decides that he’ll stay anyway—if only for a polite length of time before excusing himself to go mope elsewhere.

For the time being it’s but early in the evening and he has yet to touch alcohol, which is honestly a good thing for everyone. Right now Tristan’s sitting in a corner playing some pretty little tune on his harp to ring in the New Year’s, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings—at least until you catch his eye, whereupon he stops playing and looks up with a nod in greeting.

“I hope the evening is treating you well.”

ii. He’d have the Frenchman’s balls
Well into the evening Tristan’s in a considerably better mood, after having imbibed some of that excellent!! wine!!!!!! Who cares how that happened despite his low alcohol tolerance, though? What’s important now is that he’s playing his harp much more enthusiastically, and singing—in a pretty voice that the alcohol had fortunately failed to dull—some…uncharacteristically cheerful and outright bawdy tunes, such as:

“He was dirty and lousy and full of fleas
His terrible tool hung to his knees
God save the bastard king of England!”

Or,

“I once had a lass with a nice round ass
Tumble all around with me, hey-nonny-hooooooooo!
Leaving little crop circles when she sits in the grass
For tuppence and a wink she’s ready to go!”

iii. Despacito, Part II
It’s late in the evening and he’s starting to feel the less fun effects of the alcohol as he lies slumped upon the flat surface of your choice—be it couch, bed, table, sculpture, yourself. He has no idea how he’d ended up there either way, but neither is he inclined to care at the moment. His harp lies forgotten on the floor somewhere where he can’t reach it, and that makes him even sadder.

“Oh, it is sad—so very very sad…” he moans, despondent over some thing or the other as he takes another swig of rice wine with his other hand. With a smack of his lips, he continues, “Ah, dearest Iseult, your burning kiss was far sweeter to the tongue than this…”

Someone please put him out of his misery.

iv. Wildcard!
[ Hit me up here with whatever. Prose or action is fine! ]

iii

[scooptimistic]

[ Maya is surprisingly put together for how much she's had to drink-- or maybe it's just that her basic personality doesn't actually change. She's sleepier than usual, for sure, and more prone to bursts of affection, but it certainly doesn't translate to rage and literally homicidal urges like her roommate.

... Which is honestly for the best.

For now, it doesn't really manifest itself in any way other than Maya resting her cheek on the side of the couch to stare at the morose figure of Archer. After a moment, she reaches up to catch the wrist holding the wine to try and coax the cup free.

There's something about the words he's mumbling in lamentation, though, that has her cheery demeanor a little more withdrawn. Iseult... and a memory of black sails before death...

Why did that sound familiar? ]

I think maaaaybe you should let your tongue have a break for a bit.

i

[organfarm]

Jion isn't really experienced with parties. Warzones don't make for great party spots, and though alcohol inevitably found its way into the soldiers' hands, he usually ended up yielding his portion to others who enjoyed it more. So without much idea of what to do, he ends up just ... wandering with food. And eventually parks himself near Tristan's spot. The music's nice, after all. That courteous question is answered with a bright grin.

"It's been great, thanks! The music's really good, it really make the mood, you know? So it's really nice of you to play for everyone." He says, like he has any idea what real parties are like. "I hope you get some time to have fun too, though? I'm kinda surprised we have all this stuff, and it's real good, too."

He's halfway through a slice of cake himself, and he has a glass of rice wine in his free hand.

ii

[good_ideas]

[Too bad technology here fails her and she can't record it then put it on the forum to remind people of the dangers of overindulging in wine.]


....Where did you even learn these songs? You better not be thinking of using that filthy mouth to sing Over the Future. [And hopefully he's distracted because she's going to attempt to switch out his alcohol for water.]

ii

[espritdecorpse]

What a great song!

[ Drunk Archer is FUN! He's got his flute out and is playing along, having coaxed the man to sing each song a few times, so he can commit the words to memory also, as well as the tune. ]

Do you know any more?

[ At a later date, when everyone's sober, he's going to play them aaaaallll back for you. ]

iii

[youwillbeunequaled]

It is very late in the evening, and Tonbokiri nodded off at some point from the thrall of that powerful rice ... wine(?). While sitting on the couch, no less, which given his mild dislike for them, shows just how out of it he must have been.

His left side feels very warm, and he hears a familiar voice murmuring about something being very sad... So rather than drifting back into sleep, he cracks open his eyes to look around him.

His left side is covered, not with a blanket as he thought, but with Archer-dono. And the man is still drinking? Cautious to not shift lest he cast Archer off-balance, he turns his head further to whisper,

"Archer-dono. Archer-dono. Is the celebration finished?" It's not completely quiet in the house, but the energy does seem more subdued than before.

[neronian]

i; roman hospitality

[ This is her and Wuxian's not-so-humble abode, and one of the few times they've ever hosted so many guests. Being an emperor as well as Roman, she of course places utmost importance on hospitality to guests.

However, her own definition of "hospitality" may be a bit skewed, as she's already dragged people into hearing her go on and on about her artwork, because surely they would want to know her artistic genius! Her creative process! She shows off some wooden sculptures, some drawings (paint isn't exactly available in large quantities here), and so on (though there are more in her room, which she isn't keen on letting people into at the moment), mostly of...herself. Of course. Though some of them also depict things like roses, lions, and various heroic feats.

Nero babbles away cheerfully, her passion seemingly dulling her to any disinterest her conversation partner may express in the one wooden sculpture she's currently talking about. (Slight NSFW warning for skimpy outfit/fanservice design, because fate.jpg) ]

—And this has wings because, ah, um...what was it again...? Oh, it came to me a dream! Yes! That's it! It is like Venus herself [ aka the goddess of beauty ], and thus perfect for me, wouldn't you say?

[ ...and then looks at said listener, eagerly expecting words of praise or understanding. For though she is philanthropic, she is also narcissistic. ]

ii; a taste of home rome

[ By this point in the evening, Nero has knocked back some of the average quality rice wine (which has a surprising amount of alcohol in it), and has been getting...maybe a little too comfortable and clingy with people. Despite her insistence on trying to carry herself with some amount of dignity, it's not difficult to get her to shed it even while she's sober, so. ]

Would you like me to pour you another cup? [ Don't let her. ] Or perhaps you would like me to share something else with you?

[ Nero is not entirely sober at this point, and as open as ever, which means this is a great time and opportunity to share visions of Rome with others, as she discovered was a thing recently. She loves her people, and you should too!! ]

iii; migraine is a skill

[ Her Servant physiology only does so much to prevent her from the heavier alcohol's effects on her inhibition and motor functions, so at a few points during the evening (against her better judgment, of which there is only little at the moment), she accidentally pours in a bit of, well, jar #6 instead of any other.

And then puckers. And then spits it back out into her cup, coughing a bit before she speaks. ]

Ye gods, what is this...? [ SQUINTS AT THE CUP. ] I daresay it's like the...the poison mother used to slip in...

[ S A V A G E and also extremely worrying. But she's dead, so a slip of the tongue about her mortal life doesn't bother her that much. She's made peace with it. For the most part. ]

wildcard;

[ Anything else goes! Mercifully, Nero has not sung yet, sparing everyone's ears. If you wanna hit me up for any plotting, I'm available at chlorophylls or PM! ]

[pyrafect]

[ Pyra is, for better or worse, one of those affectionate and cuddly drunks. The type who always tends to cling to another when they've had too much, or when rejoining a conversation starts with giving hugs. That's what would be happening here where the samples are available, if Nero hadn't mentioned poison. ]

Wazzat? [ Did she just hear that right. ] Poison...?!

[ Saber DON'T DIE....!! Read: have a Pyra suddenly leaping to cling at you. get down mr president!!! Her goal might have been to try to either a) stop Saber from drinking anymore or b) knock that cup out of her hand, but it's actually just going to be a disaster. ]

Fashionably late to his own party

[espritdecorpse]

[ i: disciple time

He’s got his Chromawei disciples seated in a circle around him on the floor. He has a cup of rice wine in his hand, with which he’s gesturing and sipping from, and seems to be enjoying himself immensely. ]

Now, who can tell me the difference between yao, demons, ghosts, and monsters?

[ ii: fireworks (ota)

Disciple time continued from a (drunken) discussion of supernatural creatures to drawing talismans. Anyone (including all non-disciple party guests) can practice copying out a complicated pattern. If Wei Wuxian likes your handiwork, he’ll give you a brush and a dish of red ink (it isn’t ink) and you can make your own actual, real talisman. If you want to use it, however, he’s going to make you go outside; once you do, the reason is clear. These talismans are spiritual sparklers. Have fun waving them around, kids!

Wei Wuxian has a big stack of them, already made. It’s worth noting however that the designs on his talismans are a bit different. What do they do? Wouldn’t you like to know.

Drunken fireworks, what a good idea!

iii: i love everyone in this bar

He’s the kind of person who likes to be shoulder-to-shoulder with people. Drunk he’s even more touchy-feely. Generally speaking, he has a high tolerance for alcohol, but these few booze-deprived months have lowered that somewhat. Also, this borrowed body doesn’t quite have the constitution of his former one.

Thus he’s sitting on the sofa with his eyes half-lidded, draped over and snuggling his current companion, whilst murmuring: ]

Supreme Lord of Evil, they called me that. Supreme Lord of Evil, the Yiling Patriarch. Can you believe? How embarrassing. Haha!

[ Then he’ll try to bury his nose in your neck and sigh: ]

I’m glad you don’t hate me. Everyone did, back then.

[ iv: hangover

He didn’t make it to the bed last night, merely draping himself halfway across the sofa. His head is pounding and his tongue feels furry. His mouth is dry as a desert. Everything hurts. He hazards an attempt at stretching.

...

Nothing. He can’t move. With difficulty he forces his eyes open. ]

What...the hell?

[ —he croaks. He can’t believe it. He must have passed out drunk, and somebody tied him up in ribbons. They did a really thorough job, too. Ingrates! After sharing his alcohol with them, they do this!

After a while, he chuckles. It’s exactly the same thing he’d do to someone else, given the chance. Probably they painted on his face, too. He clears his throat a few times and then commences wailing: ]

Hellllllp! Maiden Neeeeero! Come here, come untie me! Help meeeee!

[ He can use her real name. It’s only the two of them there now, right? If he doesn’t get an answer right away, he’ll keep on crying at an impressively loud volume. Good morning! ]

I

[pyrafect]

[ She has no idea what the difference is, but she is looking at him like he's a goddamn genius for knowing it himself. Oh, sure, the people in her world have some idea of an afterlife and there is folklore regarding spirits and monsters and such, but none of it is truly real. In fact, the first ghost she had ever met was Vriska!

SO TEACH HER, SHIFU. ]

W--wait. Wait. [ She's looking at him, swaying where she stands but otherwise pleasantly enjoying herself. ] ...there is a difference? Between all of those things? [ She’s gotta sit down for this, and so she does... looking like a college student that’s arrived to lecture after having too much to drink. ]