open | happy (earth) new year, everyone!

[genice]

WHO: Any and all!
WHERE: 2nd residential floor lounge
WHEN: OOCly 12/31; today.
WHAT: Victor's ICly claimed the day as being the 31st, and subsequently celebrating the "New Year" with anyone who comes by! After sending out a post on the network inviting any of the new arrivals via anomalies to attend, people are welcome to come enjoy a probably very random seeming New Years celebration.
WARNINGS: There is food and alcohol here, beware!

The lounges are interesting spaces, and Victor didn't hesitate to roll up his sleeves and rearrange furniture in this section of the middle floor lounge. A cheery wave to anyone wandering through earlier on the 31st (by his calendar, he's quite cheerful in acknowledging how arbitrary that really is) while he goes about arranging things to his satisfaction, before he jets off again to finish preparing his olivie salad.

It's nowhere near fancy, but he's shown up again with a big, borrowed bowl from his work, containing the closest approximation of olivie salad he'd been able to manage working with the supplies he found on board. There's a tablecloth tossed over the table he's appropriated for holding the foodstuffs, along with simple plates, utensils, cups and bubbling wines (three, okay, that's toeing the line of careful financial management). He's even figured out how to get music playing, though it's hard to say if there's any unifying theme to what plays.

Perhaps the most ridiculous part of any of this is how he's constructed a small cone cap for the brown, fuzzy creature that had been delivered to his bunk last week. That it's a shaved ice cone inverted with the words "Happy New Year" written on it amuses him. The unidentified creature simply coos and purrs and wears the cone hat, not moving off the smaller table it's been set on.

"Happy New Year!" he says to just about anyone walking by, tipping his (oh so classy) cup their way with a smile. Welcome to the party. Bring something to contribute to the table? Very welcome to the party!

[ ooc: please tag in with your own top levels and enjoy a relaxed, informal celebration of the new year (per Victor)! ]

Comments

[genice]

( 1 )

( There are ways and ways to strike up a conversation. One of Victor's for the evening appears to be offering over a plate and fork to anyone he sees with empty hands, flashing them a smile and a seemingly unrelated question. )

What's the best thing that's happened to you in the last year?

( 2 )

Kon, the here-to-forth unidentified tribble, needs to be moved when Victor wants to claim the table its been resting on. He picks up the brown, fuzzy creature, turning around and handing it off with a smile to the person nearest.

"Will you hold Kon? I need to move the table and I didn't want him rolling away. Or her. Them?"

He laughs, far too much good cheer as he goes to heft the small table up and walk it over toward the refreshments end of the food table.

( wildcard )

( hit me up with a blank comment asking for a wildcard and i'll spin us something now; or hit me up with your own wildcard! )

1

[juniberries]

[She's here to socialize and get to know fellow crewmembers unceremoniously brought here by anomalies, and she knows a party when she sees one, as haphazardly put together as this one is.

But what she doesn't quite know is the holiday being celebrated, although Altea probably had similar concepts of celebrating a new year. PROBLEM IS.

It's been over 10,000 years of sleep and not even a year of being awake so when she's given a plate by a stranger (much to the joy of the fat yellow mouse sitting on her shoulder), Allura stares at the stranger owlishly before awkwardly smiling at him.]

I'm...not sure?

[genice]

( He meets her awkward smile with the practiced ease of the one he usually wears for public events. That is: one meant to help set others at ease, if smiles really did such things. Victor keeps his body posture relaxed, straightening and adjusting the cuff of his sleeve with thoughtless grace.

Frankly, with recent events, the idea of thinking positive has become more attractive than ever. It didn't exclude being realistic, but cheer was easier to pull on with Yuuri having shown up in the last two days. )

Ah, here I am being rude... Being put on the spot makes it harder to come up with an answer even when you're prepared.

( He flicks his eyes to her shoulder rider, gently quirking his eyebrows up. )

How about introductions? I'm Victor Nikiforov. Happy New Year!

( Sure, he holds out his hand after that, let's shake and all, but the way he grins and winks shows he's poking fun at himself even as he's announcing who he is and why, ostensibly, he's here. )

[juniberries]

Oh, it certainly wasn't rude, I'm just not familiar with what holidays and customs are observed on the Eluvio.

[And yes, being put on the spot does make answering a challenge, but there's also the fact that even if she did have time to think it over it would be difficult to say the best thing to have happened to her in the past year because

Again.

10,000 years of sleep. Intergalactic war. Complete destruction of her planet and race of people. Dead father.........

However, introductions she can certainly do, and while she's still thrown off-guard by this man's mannerisms, she manages a smile that's less awkward, balancing the plate and...strange utensil in one hand, while shaking his offered hand in the other.

She's not going to try to figure out why he winked at her, however.]

Princess Allura of Altea. [Not that she's expecting him to know of Altea but it's habit. She draws her hand back, holding the plate proper in her hands, and the yellow mouse is beginning its descent from her shoulder towards the plate.] Have you really been on this ship for a whole year?

[genice]

( It's okay, Allura. Being an itinerant bachelor for so long and having a flirtatious interface with the world has made winking second nature. He does, however, offer a bow of his head to follow up on the handshake, a literal nod to the rank she's revealing, regardless of the unfamiliarity of Altea. What's alien is alien. (Not less valid.) )

A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Royal Highness. Unless there's another way you'd prefer to be addressed?

( He'll leave that to her to inform him, defaulting to what feels like greater politeness out of no particular desire to offend. There's enough each of them has found themselves bereft of in arriving her as abruptly as they do; he can respect a title, if not much else behind it.

Her question ends up provoking him into a laugh, lifting a hand as he gives a firm shake of his head in negation. )

No, no, not on the Eluvio. I'm not even sure what the Eluvio chooses to celebrate. The Captain sponsored a winter holiday about a week ago. It went up almost overnight, then was taken back down again within a day cycle on-board.

( He chuckles, as if this is amusing. In a way it is. He's never seen snow be so compliant before, but it glosses over the light show and the strange force-field mistletoe, for good reason. )

It's the year end based on my calendar from home. I'm from Earth, originally, or one version of the planet. ( He pauses for a half beat; the truth of people being from more than one Earth is one he still finds mildly distressing on some level. ) I've been keeping track by that, making today the thirty-first of December. Tomorrow is the first of January, starting off a new year. I've personally only been on board for oh...

( He taps on his lips with one gloved finger, doing the brief mental math. )

Twenty days or so?

[juniberries]

[To be fair, she may have spent a bit too long in the presence of a kid like Lance to automatically feel wary whenever someone winks at her now but...luckily Victor seems like a pleasant person.

She idly hands her mouse a small fingerful of food as she continued talking, shaking her head slightly but not dismissively.]

Princess Allura is perfectly fine, or even Allura. Whichever feels most comfortable. Your Royal Highness is a bit...much.

[There's a wry smile. She does appreciate the respect, even the paladins and Coran usually refer to her as 'Princess,' but in situations like these she's not about to throw her title around either.

Especially since the situation here is far different from the mission she has back in her sector of the galaxy.]

I'd say it's a shame that I missed it, but considering the circumstance we were brought here... [aka: I'd rather not be here At All because there are more important matters to attend to.

Her train of thought is interrupted by the mention of Earth, and the fact that he's been here for twenty days.]

If you've only been here twenty days, there's at least hope of returning back where we're all from.

i'm SO SORRY I LOST THIS TAG

[genice]

( Oh, equally fair to presume he's a flirt; he comes across as one, in a light way, pretty much at all initial contact. It's a matter less about interest and more about putting people at ease, relaxing them by being relaxed himself.

The mouse earns another flicker of his attention; still, he focuses on what she's saying, smile turning into something thoughtful and relaxed. )

Allura it is, then. Princess Allura should we ever find ourselves in appropriate company.

( Said with a light laugh, though he means it. There are times where even titles to places that are unfathomable hold a certain value. Presentation and perception count for more than people might want to credit.

It's just not in his particular mindset to worry about it right now. )

I've been here twenty days. Talk to enough of the crew, and you'll find people who've been here twenty years or more, according to them. Not everyone; some people come on board simply because they elect to, but others have arrived like we did, a long time ago.

( He shrugs, an artless, graceful motion, as if asking forgiveness for that blunt reality with a more serious expression slipping across his features. )

I don't advise against hope, but I do advise being practical while holding on to hope.

( 1 ) i know we have another thread but i couldn't resist

[realists]

[ jyn looks up at victor with her fork hovering above her plate. best thing that's happened to her in the last year, huh? ]

...I didn't die in prison.

[ I MEAN on one hand, definitely a plus. on the other hand, jfc jyn erso, find some chill. didn't you pet a dog once this year? no? not dying in prison it is. ]

This cheesecake is a close second.

please bring me all the threads I love them I'M JUST SLOW RN

[genice]

( He pauses for a half-second, recovering from such a startling answer to someone who generally speaking, didn't deal with so many who had to face dying in prison as a real possibility. It's so easy to wonder if he can laugh this off. If it's a jest; in other company, he'd be tempted to swallow that denial. Jyn has been nothing if not straightforward. )

That'd definitely be a highlight. If the cheesecake is that close a second, I'll have to make sure to try a bite before it's all gone.

( He tips his cup toward her, a nod and a cheers... honestly, what else to drink to outside of what one's narrowly escaped? Feels right to him. )

Here's to not dying behind bars. Should I ask what landed you in that position?

every thread is yours

[realists]

Forgery of Imperial documents. [ an absurd sentence for a relatively minor crime but jyn's not finished. ] Possession of unsanctioned weapons, aggravated assault, escape from custody, resisting arrest, you know.

[ the usual. her resulting smile is small, but wry and unashamed. she's never pretended to deal well with authority and she certainly wasn't going to just come quietly as they requested. ]

They were just mad because I beat up half their Storm Troopers before they stunned me.

clenches fist, slowly smiles, /bueno/

[genice]

( He laughs, shaking his head and letting some of his helpless humour show in his face. )

I have about half an idea what any of that means, but I feel like I should be saying congratulations! Am I correct in guessing the war you were involved in had to deal with fighting against the Empire? 'Storm Troopers' sounds so dramatic. Who was in charge of naming them?

( But he lets his expression look a little more serious and considering, a flicker of his eyelashes as he considers what storming can mean in the context of fighting. )

All that resourcefulness may be better suited to life around here than an extensive knowledge of choreography on ice and the ability to pull off a flawless quadruple flip — ( he says with a wink, tipping his head toward her in good natured acknowledgement ) — so don't be surprised if I come asking for pointers in the near future.

[realists]

[ first things first, what the everloving heck is a quadruple flip and why does one do it on ice? things jyn is curious about, but not enough to ask.

there is no second thing. ]

You'd have better luck with Cassian. He's less of a felon. But, yeah, the Empire. Their greatest weapon was called the Death Star so they had a flair for the dramatic in most of their naming schemes.

[ death trooper was as dramatic as accurate, at least, but jyn doesn't mention that since their lives already sound dramatic enough. ]

[genice]

The Death Star. Which... is a weapon that destroys stars?

( planets, Victor, but planets is ironically not what first comes to mind when he's taking this a little too literally.

once February hits, and he's back in competitive condition for honest, she might learn in spite of not asking... but all things in the nebulous future remain but illusions cast on a shifting surface of water and fog. he breathes out a huff of laughter; less of a felon in this context means what, precisely? )

If any of our records mean much in this space, I'd be interested to hear about it.

[realists]

Planets, [ she corrects. ] Destroying a star wouldn't have as much of an impact, stars die all the time.

[ planets hold people, entire civilizations destroyed in a streak of green. ]

ohmy stars i'm sorry i literally lost this tag

[genice]

( He blinks, taken aback and letting some degree of how unfathomable that is show in his expression. the loss of whole planets, and he does not presume the ones that are simply uninhabited. he can suppose that's an impact in and of itself; it is not, however, one that moves people through and beyond terror into complacency.

that's the sense he's getting from her about what kind of group would create a weapon used to decimate planets. )

I suppose calling it a planetary wrecking ball wouldn't have been as dramatic.

( he's still trying to process this. he gives up after a moment, tipping his glass of sparkling wine back so he can drain it dry. )

Okay, I will say I'm officially glad that so far as we know, this Death Star is not a problem here. Right now. For any planets we will find along the way.

1

[bespin]

[ Lando doesn't quite get the insistence on celebration when they're moving from planet to planet, with no set calendar. But if there's free food, far be it for him to deny Victor his celebration.

He accepts the plate of food graciously, mulling over the question. ]

Thank you. Hm, the best thing? Probably rescuing my buddy from carbonite. [ Okay, so destroying the Death Star might have been a more impactful event to the galaxy at large, but saving Han meant more to Lando (and he wasn't sure that blowing up the Death Star hadn't been a fever dream). ]

[genice]

( Victor is thankful for him playing along. He is, n fact, quite happy to see as many people showing up as did, considering he's champion the calendar from a world most of them don't share or have an interest in.

Nostalgia and homesickness can manifest in interesting ways. He blinks, looking curious as he turns Lando's answer over in his head. Carbonite doesn't ring any bells, which doesn't surprise him so much anymore. )

I'll drink to the freedom of a friend. Though I have to ask — what's carbonite?

[bespin]

Carbonite?

[ It's sort of a specific term, so he won't fault Victor for not knowing it. ]

It's a liquid made from carbon gas that gets frozen solid through a carbon-freezing process. It's basically a way to preserve materials for long voyages. Though, in this particular instance, it was a particularly cruel form of transport, almost torture I'd think.

[genice]

( he manages to mask most of how that disturbs him; carbon-freezing? he laughs a little, quieter than his usual sort of amusement. )

I've always thought of cryo-sleep or anything like it as something really belonging to science-fiction novels or television... movies and that sort of thing. It's different to hear people talk about all these things and knowing they're real.

( he shudders; it's not for theatrics this time around, but it's about in line for him to pass it off as if it were. )

Doesn't sound like a pleasant process. What happens to the mind? Do people dream like that? I can't imagine that's standard practice...

( he hopes not. )

[bespin]

It's not. [ A pleasant process, standard practice, or something out of fiction. ] I can't speak to what goes on in the mind of someone frozen. I imagine not much-- everything shuts down. When you come out, there are some lasting physical effects-- disorientation, temporary blindness.

[genice]

But vision does return?

( He finds it both fascinating and horrifying. Turns out people's presents here in the future are pretty far out and bizarre in ways Victor never would have expected. )

What's your friend's name?

[bespin]

In a few hours, yes.

[ Han probably wouldn't like Lando telling everybody his business, but what does it matter? Han's not here. ]

His name is Han. Han Solo.

[genice]

( He lets out a low whistle, shaking his head. )

Only hours, thank goodness. Still has to be unsettling as hell.

( Maybe he should hunt down more champagne to top himself off at this point. What a future it is Lando's from. )

I'll try to keep an ear out if that name ever comes up. And I'll buy him a drink at the bar of his choice for having lived through that.

2 bc i'm a rebel

[canadese]

Ax takes Kon automatically and is momentarily so startled by this that he doesn't even notice that Victor has walked off. When Victor returns, Ax is holding it at arm's length and looking somewhat disturbed.

(By the time he'd finally returned to his assigned quarters after Christmas, his own tribble was nowhere to be found. Unbeknownst to him, the tribble has squirreled away under the bed. He doesn't even know he has it yet. Or what tribbles are, period.)

"What manner of creature is this?" Victor, help.

you and ax both huh

[genice]

Victor could give Ax a few stories about how startling it is to find these creatures, with no apparent appendages, moving over great distances, traveling between rooms, and probably infiltrating the crew quarters that no one else has yet to manage. As it is, he looks somewhat amused when he returns, holding out his hands for Ax to hand off the cooing animal.

"We don't know. None of the crew recognises its species. The only person who thought it looked vaguely familiar had no idea what it was either, just that something like it exists. She said it's a collectible." He smiles, amused at Sombra's fancy. He doesn't know if she's wrong. In fact, to those who collect the strange, he figures she's probably the most right.

He'll carefully avoid looking any more closely at the darker side of the market onboard.

"We named it Konpeito. It purrs." It's nice when aliens all get to bond together, isn't it? Like the three of them: human, andalite, and furballwhatsit.