Bite they little heads off! Nibble on they tiny feet!

[baedalites]

Who: EVERYONE.
What: Catenrat party.
Where: The Apache and surrounding environs.
When: Givdi the 22nd of Toidaren
Notes: The topic threads are just suggestions; if you've got somewhere else that your characters simply must be, make your own thread. When your characters are ready to leave, they'll be given a little wooden cheese, a glass fish, and a voucher for a big basket of snacks.
Warnings: None yet. Please put warnings up on individual threads.

The Apache is much the same as it always is: dimly lit, with the jukebox playing in the background, and the bartender serving whatever's on tap. Above the doorway and wound through a few of the sets of antlers some enterprising soul has placed a garland decorated with little blue and green fish.

Comments

Bar area:

[baedalites]

To combat the cold as well as the pain of social endeavours, drinks can be obtained at happy hour prices. Beers in pitchers, whiskey in heavy crystal glasses, shots of some concentrated liquor that burns on the way down but is not, apparently, called tequila. Also some wintry specials such as eggnog and spiced, stove-top heated red wine. The sound of the jukebox is heard over noisy conversation, and people camp at bar-edge for access.

[thenormalsquint]

Of course if Angela felt like behaving herself tonight (or any other night, really) she would have made a pit stop at the dinner table before the bar, but in her ever partying mind, the bar was closer and what's the point of walking all that way just to turn around and come back? There isn't one to be seen by her and besides, the bar is where all the interesting people seem to be and they are who she's chatting up in between drinks.

For now she's sticking to the eggnog, but Angela's history with eggnog is a long and sordid one. At least there are no photocopiers for her to put her ass on.

[gwynn]

Megan makes a beeline for the bar, of course -- and she's got a lot of money now burning a hole in her pocket, so she quickly finds herself buying drinks for other people as well. Hey, it's Not-Christmas, time to be generous! So in between chatting up the bartender, she accosts nearly everybody who approaches in an overly enthusiastic attempt to make friends.

[truth_is_cold]

He makes it about halfway through the movie before his chest is tightening up and he quietly leaves to find the bar. He settles onto a stool, making a fist around a napkin and orders a full glass of whiskey.

A whole glass. It's what it'll take to even start to get through to his system.

Trance had kissed him a good-bye on the cheek. He wondered if when she made the universe better with what she did to him, if she got her wings. He drums his fingers on the bartop impatiently as he waits for his drink.

[norea]

Never let it be said that Hasibe doesn't have an outfit for pretty much every occasion: this one is low-cut wrap dress in glittering silver, not too short, paired with her usual stockings, this time in opaque black, along with towering black heels...and a sapphire pendant necklace that must have cost someone a pretty penny. (That someone is, of course, not her. She doesn't even remember the last time she paid for her own jewelry.)

This is a dress that wants a drink to accompany it, preferably something high in alcoholic content. Unfortunately, for most, that's a difficult feat. Hasibe's little lean over the bar is very much not to use the angling as persuasion (that's both a touch high school and not necessarily a win, regardless of the dress), but rather to ensure that she catches the bartender's attention. One smile and a moment of prolonged eye contact later, she's ordering her drink.

"Anyone else waiting, while I've got a moment?" She glances over her shoulder, figuring she ought to take advantage of her temporary access.

[hearditbothways]

Shawn is actually having a great time, considering. It's good to see so many people of the city in one place. He collects impressions and tries to gather information as he strolls around, randomly flirting and chatting up people.

There are some who are definitely not human, which throws him for a loop, but so far they haven't tried to kill him so he can deal with that. He can think of this as a costume party for now. Or a convention. A costume convention even! That works.

It will at least keep him from pointing his finger and yelling out obvious mutations.

For now.

Bar area:

[wearethewilds]

Hilmi has noticed, since accepting the job tending bar at Anarchy 99, that he has become rather judgmental of all other bartenders. One may be too slow, or not pleasant enough - and if he can find no fault, he can commiserate with just how jaded the job can make you.

He has only been doing it for two weeks, but it's not hard to see how far this particular rabbit hole goes.

Right now, he's accepting couple of drinks and passing one to someone on his arm - for the life of him, he can't remember her name or if she's even a member of his cohort. Par for the course, though.

Side alley:

[baedalites]

Outside is a good enough place to escape, even though it's sharply colder out here than it was in there. There's melted snow on the concrete ground, along with cigarette butts and discarded beer cans. Good enough to have a quick smoke, be alone with your thoughts, and lurk in the shadows. 

[rhinemaid]

It's cooler and quieter outside than the bar itself, and more private than the courtyard that's still busy; it feels like more or less what Ilde needs after the film ends and she excuses herself quietly from Ivan's side for a while. She doesn't bother putting a coat over her dress, built to suit cold weather and prone to finding her feet slightly damp regardless of what she's wearing or where she is.

A rhinemaiden thing, she explained once to one of her students.

After a few moments in the quiet, she lights a cigarette (pack lifted from Ivan's jacket as she slipped out).

[captaincocksure]

He's tired, anymore, and the three pints of beer in his belly are not helping matters. He is not going to embarrass himself by getting sleepy in the middle of a party. Fresh air ought to help.

He ducks outside, leaning against the wall opposite the Apache's door. He takes a deep breath in, letting his eyes fall closed, savoring how cool the air is. It's more quiet out here, too, but that's all right. A few moments' peace never hurt anyone.

Another deep breath, and he can feel his body starting to settle, coaxed to cool down and be still by the crisp edge to the evening air.

Lounge and tables:

[baedalites]

Baskets of food are passed hand to hand, placed on tables, and here you can find all the heart attacks you could ask for. Onion rings, skinny fries, salted peanuts, wooden platters of oven cooked pizza, and all of these are going fast, so you might want to be aggressive.

Re: Lounge and tables:

[studious_snake]

After he was freed from the tiny room and got settled in, he scanned through the journal entries in his CiD, not enough to get a huge about of information, but enough to find out about the party. Normally he wouldn't have gone, but he saw it was mentioned that it was after this that they'd be getting something to put outside the door, and that otherwise the cats and rats would do as they pleased with the giving and taking away of things.

He was a king cobra in snake form, and as such usually ate other snakes, but when snakes weren't available he could eat other prey as well, and in the current situation, rats would have to do. That meant, of course, he didn't want anything to be at the rats' discretion, so he figured it would be best to show up, get a fish to put out for the cats, and ensure the rats wouldn't be running off with a kidney or something.

Until then, he'd sit in a corner, eating and drinking nothing, waiting for the party to be over.

[toldastory]

Food. Yes, Martha was definitely in need of some food. The sweet-and-deadly liquor that she'd been drinking was rolling about a largely empty stomach, and while the feeling of being tipsy was fun, she didn't want it to move into the realm of illness.

It was sheer dumb luck that had made it so that Martha had found herself in possession of nearly an entire pizza. She'd missed real pizza, and the cheese was still in that delightful molten state. If only it had pepperoni on it then everything would be perfect with the world.

[gifted_hands]

Magical as he may be, Tadhg needs to eat just like anyone else does. The spells he works draw partly on his own physical energy, and given the fact that he turns into a horse and goes for a gallop on a regular basis, let's just say the man has an interesting metabolism.

This might explain why he has staked out a table bearing a hefty array of food. A platter of onion rings and mozzarella sticks (it's some kind of mild, white cheese anyway), a couple of largish funnel cakes, a basket of peanuts, and a couple dozen sweet and savory pasties or empanadas or some variation on the theme of filled turnovers all vie for attention.

Or he could want to attract some company. He certainly looks willing to share all those goodies. Right now he's noshing on a turnover, regarding his fellow celebrants with a smile of caloric good will.

[deadclumsy]

Tonks, in all her usual glory and desire to be the center of attention, is currently sitting in the midst of the fun, trying to regale neighbors with stories from Before the War - amusing anecdotes of trouble she and others brought upon themselves. When that fails to distract her from the fact that her cohort has been invited (and thus her aunts and uncles), she resorts to changing her nose to a pig snout, then a duck's bill: entertaining herself as well as the others around her.

She doesn't want to be home and alone, but neither does she want to have to acknowledge that Aunt Bellatrix or Uncle Lucius might show up at any moment and spoil all her fun.

Courtyard:

[baedalites]

Slightly more sociable than back alleys, this outside option is lit with paper lamps and strung up fairy lights, with wooden figures of cats and rats dangling as shadow-casting decorations. The ground is damp concrete and some outsider furniture scatters around the space, barred off from the rest of the neighbourhood with rustic rough plank fencing. People stand, smoke, chatter in loose mingling in the chilly air.

[leviohhhhsa]

Indoors is crowed and noisy; the courtyard may be smoky and cold, but it's a nice break from the hubbub inside. Hermione is- for once- in a dress, though it's sensible, dark green and somewhat reminiscent of wizarding robes- long-sleeved and mid-calf length, though cinched in at the waist and low-cut enough to ensure that she doesn't look entirely as if she's come straight from a convent. The heels help, too, though they make any attempt at walking somewhat nervewracking. She'd have liked something a little more adventurous, perhaps, but hadn't been able to justify buying something she'd never wear again, not on her budget.

She's perched on one of the chairs (thank you, shoes) with a glass of white wine, her bag in her lap, idly listening in to the conversations around her- not with any particular intent, simply out of a rather nosy habit. It's a little isolating, but it's not something she's new to.

And of course if she doesn't talk to anyone for a while, her instincts kick in and her course of action seems obvious to her- and asocial to everyone else. She pulls a (very large) book from her (not quite so large) bag and sets it on the wooden table in front of her, finding her page. It's not that she intentionally packed a book to bring to the party- she simply brings a book everywhere she goes. It's a lifelong habit.

[gotbottle]

A cat. Maybe she should get a cat, Rachel thinks as she lifts her free hand--the other one is occupied holding a drink--and gives one of the hanging wooden cat-shaped decorations a poke with her index finger. A cat would be nice company. A cat would be someone to come home to.

...Irene, the lady whose diary she's been reading, she had a cat. If Irene had a cat, she should have a cat. It makes sense to her, somehow.

She's in jeans and a black wrap shirt that ties at the waist, with a black wool pea coat over it. She's quiet, weary almost, but she still has a friendly smile for everyone who passes.

It's a Wonderful Life:

[aldabeyoun]

In exchange for some creative warding, the owner of the Apache has agreed to haul over a tv, dvd player, and sofa for Ki, Steve, and whoever else wants to join them in watching 'It's a Wonderful Life'. For those that need to eat something while watching, she's brought a sugar pie (made with Alan's help) and popcorn balls.

[toldastory]

Movies. How Martha Jones had missed movies. Movies were probably the thing that she missed the most being here. Oh, she missed her friends of course, and she missed her family and the Doctor, but movies tended to be her stress relief. Lord knew she had loads of stress at the moment and was missing how she would feel wrapped in a blanket and putting on a favorite DVD.

Never mind that this wasn't how she imagined spending her first married Christmas.

A DVD player and TV meant that Martha made a beeline over to the couch where Ki was and Martha could barely keep the excitement from her voice as she asked. "Is this a public screening?"

[truth_is_cold]

Rhade does show up, because he likes Ki and while he feels no obligations to be generous, he does like how it happens to work out sometimes. So before the showing he goes to find her in the Apache.

"Do you need anything else for your DVD-" he glances awkwardly to the side. It's still a new word. And then crosses his arms. "Your DVD showing?"

[hehaseatenthepancake]

Hellboy has been looking forward to this part of the party ever since it was announced. In the years since he'd left the BPRD to go wandering the world, he'd spent most of his time adrift, stranded, and/or drunk in places without televisions. Watching "It's a Wonderful Life" wasn't quite a yearly tradition at the Bureau, but he first saw it as a kid on the Army base and had made sure to catch it every so often ever since. He was long overdue.

Having made his rounds of the party proper, he gets his big bowl of popcorn from where he'd stashed it and makes his way over. (He's quite willing to share, provided folks don't mind the extra butter and the light salting he'd put in.) In his other hand he has a pitcher of soda and some cups.

"This is a fine service you're doing for the good of the cohort, 'Ki."

[fuckrobertfrost]

Though he has indeed as he said never seen It's a Wonderful Life, John is aware of some of the plot elements, and is actually a bit more reluctant to sit down and watch than he indicated to Kate. On the other hand, he really only likes watching movies if it's with other people, and except for his few years at Xavier's, he's never had the time or opportunity to do so, let alone with someone he's interested in. It provides an easy conversation topic during (unless Kate is one of those people who doesn't like others to talk) and after. He just hopes he doesn't have to talk about his family or anything. Maybe he'll make something up.

Once it's clear the movie's about to start, he glances over at Kate, the probable entire reason for having dressed... 'nicely', as in, comparatively nicely, as in, a shirt with buttons. But he's learned his lesson from the bar. Shaving just makes him look fifteen. So he's just got that look that turns any effort regarding clothing into a Some Dude look.

"You're still interested, right? I think I might need another drink," he deadpans. "Or pie or something, you want any?"

[deservesadaisy]

Ivan makes his way over to Njoki, Ilde at his side, shortly before the film begins. "As promised." It's really not such a sacrifice, though Ilde out and about is still a new-ish development after Sukkardi.

[manipulativni]

Katherine arrives fashionably late, wearing a tiny lace dress with her hair loose around her shoulders. She begins walking, intending to make a lap around the party and seeing who's there before hitting up the bar or the dance floor.

[rhinemaid]

"--Katya," and there's Ilde, coming back inside from the alley-way (she smells like cigarette smoke and perfume), lacking any of the sway on her high, high heels that would suggest she might've been drinking at all this evening. She's neither the most animated nor the most social tonight, but it's been forever since she's seen Katherine and she's missed her, and it's been a shitty week, and suddenly: there are hugs.