(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]

[ She’s going to stare at her for a few moments longer, clearly upset. ]

But your own mother? Shouldn’t mothers be— [ She waves her arms, as if she could explain everything by flailing. ] kind?!

[ Pyra doesn’t have a mom. But even she know that— ] Poisoning your child is... psychotic!

[neronian]

[ Even if Pyra didn't have a mother, she knows of the warm love parents should have for their children. Nero clings on tighter, hoping to stop some of Pyra's flailing, but probably failing. ]

You are not wrong, no, far from it. Agrippina was always a schemer. If not her child, then Claudius. The same could be said of the rest of them as well. Bah, but I tire of speaking of conspiracy! What about your own parents, Pyra?

[ Parents, or...creators. Something. Anything. She's not sure, but she'd like to shift the conversation away from her own dreary life. ]

[pyrafect]

[ She-- she wants to ask more about the life and times of Emperor Saber, though! But fiiiine, she'll answer the question. ] I have... only Father. [ Pyra admits, taking a sip of her wine, not catching the slip of even mentioning that much. ]

He never, ever tried to poison me, though. He was... whatwuzhe... ummm-- [ She then smiles, lifting a hand to rap upon her head cutely. ] Oopsie, hehe~, right, right, he lives atop a giant tree... I used to live there, too! Bu'.... bu'now I don't. [ She takes another sip of her wine even though she's slurring her words. ] Though I'd like t'go back to him agai' someday.

[ Haa haaaa.

Ha. ] ...Sooner. Rather than later.

[neronian]

[ That "sooner" gets Nero to lean in, quite closely, and raise an eyebrow. She may be drunk, but she is honorable at her core, and still honor-bound to not mention Pyra's wish out loud, so she does not mention it out loud at this moment. Instead— ]

A giant tree? You don't seem to be the type to eke a living outdoors like Atalante herself would.

[ She used to live in a treehouse? Maybe? ]

[pyrafect]

I dunno who this Atalante person is but... [ Instead of actually answering, Pyra's become entirely distracted by Saber when she leans in. All she can do is say: ] ......Wow. [ Breathless. ] Your eyes are.... really, really-- green.

[ That topic about parents and giant trees? Completely forgotten now. ]

[neronian]

[ PYRA.....oh Pyra, she can't even be mad, because she's tipsy and bubbly and appreciates the compliments so. ]

Why, thank you! They are like emeralds...or tourmaline, if I do say so myself. And yours are just as beautiful, like...rubies.

[ Beautiful rocks... ]

[pyrafect]

[ COME CLOSER NERO and let her bop her forehead against yours!! ] Saber.... Saber with the pretty eyes ♪~

Green is... prettier. It-- it's the color of grass and trees and life.

[neronian]

[ Nero is absolutely happy to bop her forehead against hers shoo, any potential Wuxian voyeuring!!, and does so with a giggle. Prettier? ]

And red is the color of love and passion, of which there would be no life without, if I do say so myself.

[ She is an ~artist~, she knows a thing or two about complementary colors. ]

[pyrafect]

[ ---O-oh, there's a blush when Saber speaks, because....! Because she mentioned love and they are close and gosh this wine is really getting to her head....! ]

Hehe~, Saber, you really do have a way with speaking... words... talking... things-- y'know what mean! [ Another laugh. ] An' love... I bet your people-- they loved you.

[ Oh, to have a legacy remembered and honored like that... It would be nice, she thinks. ]

[neronian]

[ It's not a bad thing to be remembered like that, far from it. But to be remembered in history like Nero herself is? Is a fate she would never wish upon anyone else she cares for. ]

Well, I did love my people.

[ She smiles, exuberance gleaming in her eyes as she recalls the nameless citizens who'd call her name (mostly because of her position) and offer things to her (mostly because of her position). Her love for them hasn't died down in the least, even if they didn't love her back in the end. Her smile droops, her brow furrowed slightly sheepishly, her mouth pressed in a bittersweet smile instead. ]

But I could not say the same for them. It wasn't mutual, you see.

[pyrafect]

[ Wait whhaaaaat. ]

.....I don't-- [ hic ] ....You mean. Your people didn't like you?

[neronian]

They liked me...enough. But to say they loved me would be inaccurate.

[ They loved her generous policies. They loved the amount of work she gave the laborers in instilling her public works and art projects. They loved her abolishing taxes. But they did not love Nero herself. The smile remains on her face. ]

Ahhh, don't...don't misunderstand. I don't resent or blame them at all. My love took a different form from theirs, a selfish one at that, and when one does not express love in a way that can be understood, one does not receive love in return.

[ The words spill easily from her lips, whether it's because of the drink or because of her having already come to terms with it so long ago. ]

[pyrafect]

Selfish.... [ Like. Vanity? Because that's what building glorified sculptures of yourself is. Or so-- that's what Pyra is thinking as to what Saber means. But Saber also doesn't seem unabashed or unapologetic for being vain, so. She's failing to see the real issue here. ]

So... then... what happened? They-- even if they did not love you, they could still see you as a good ruler, couldn't they?

[neronian]

[ In contrast to her usual flamboyance, Nero's words are relatively measured for a drunk woman. Were she sober, she'd surely put up her usual boisterous front, insist with all her heart that she was loved by her people and they thought the world of her! But no. ]

A good ruler? Hm...ineffective, maybe. Inadequate, maybe. I was merely an emperor who wallowed in luxury while my people earnest brought my whims to fruition. An earnest emperor who was incapable of separating business and pleasure.

[pyrafect]

[ .....Ahhh.]

But you seem... to realize your faults, though. That's...--that counts for something, I think.

[neronian]

[ Umu. ]

Indeed. Let it never be said that I am incapable of reflecting.

[ She's a lot of things: exuberant, boisterous, proud, arrogant even, and can be stubborn. But well, she's had more than enough time to think on what went wrong in her mortal life, and now that she's gotten a second chance of sorts, she does not intend to waste it. Or act in a way that isn't like her, either. ]

[pyrafect]

[ A soft smile. ]

Well... I think it's admirable, how much you love yourself. [ She turns to look at one of the sculptures-- okay, maybe she could tone it down a little bit, but still. ] How you loved your people as well. [ She pauses thoughtfully. ] And then... you mentioned, before, that you had someone you truly love in your world. [ Or something like that. ]

Your heart must be as big as a [ --Hic-- ] titan, to have all of that love! [ And here Pyra has had enough wine to raise up a finger and poke Saber just upon the center of her chest, where her heart might be. ] So [ Poke. ] much [ Poke! ] love! [ She laughs, clearly having fun. ]