milliways_bar | Twelfth Night Party, Pontmercy style!

You -- yes, you, whoever you are -- got an invitation to the party. All of Milliways is welcome!

If you choose to come, you'll find Bar directing you to a big round tent that went up this afternoon on the lawn outside the bar. Marius and Cosette and various friends spent a lot of time this morning ferrying decorations in, and the waitrats spent a lot of time in the afternoon ferrying food in, but the doors won't officially open until close to sunset.

But this isn't a cheap white plastic tent, oh no. It's warm and domed and made of thick fabric, something like a very large yurt. A bit of magic keeps out the drafts, making everything extra cozy.

There's a fire in the middle of the floor, with a low screen encircling it but also magic meaning that this fire puts of warmth but will not actually burn anything, even if you step right into it. The floor is wood -- great for dancing, if you feel like it! There's a piano over against the wall for anyone who wants to make some music.

Everywhere there are garlands of European evergreen branches and herbs, studded with bright dried fruit and sparkling ornaments. (Mistletoe might very well be among them, though the Pontmercies haven't thought to supply that as an intentional party game.) There are candles and lanterns everywhere, and a big chandelier. There are no electric lights at all -- it's all fire -- but a good number of them are magical, so that nothing's going to get set on fire or covered with smoke. The general intended impression is of genteel, welcoming festivity, in a very French and very early 19th century European way.

There are food and drinks galore. Come in and enjoy the party!

[OOC: Party-style post! Subthreads for various categories and activities, etc. Open from now until whenever!

Edit: As of Joly's arrival, Cosette now has a mini-polaroid camera. Fear, Milliways. Feel free to assume that she's popped up to take a candid picture of your character(s) at any point, as long as they're not doing or wearing anything scandalous! She will happily give the resulting picture to your character if they want; it probably won't be a very good picture, in terms of composition or focus, but it will be cheerfully enthusiastic.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Joly blink, honestly taken aback. "Harry-- Harry, I'm dead here too, remember? I know how it is, living here, trying to build a life again. I've seen you do it! Making friends with people who would have been your enemies before, finding ways to serve what there is of a nation here-- Harry, you've offered kindness to the man who killed you, I saw you! -and I know it hasn't been for, for glory or pride or any of that, because you never talk about it, you don't go around bragging. How is any of that not courage?"

It's Harry's turn to look somewhat incredulous. "How? Why, because it is not. I have never heard such deeds as you describe given the name of courage."

"Was it easy, then?" asks Joly. "Did it all come so simply to you, to leave everything behind and start again?"

Seriously, Harry, how hardcore are you?

What?

"No, indeed." What does that have to do with anything?

"Then what else is courage, if it's not in doing what's hard, what's frightening, and doing it well? If someone had told me while I was alive that I would have to be cast out of my country and alone with strangers forever I would have thought it was frightening. I like to think I'd have done it, for our cause--but oh,it's a much worse thought than death." This is probably not party conversation exactly, but Joly's always been cheerful about morbid ideas. "Something that hurts, something frightening, it doesn't take less courage to face it after it's happened, and deal with the consequences. And if the consequences of danger and pain are nothing to you to begin with, than how does anything ever take courage at all?"

"It--" He lets out a huff of frustration. As so often in conversation with these Frenchman, he's both certain that they're wrong and certain he will not be able to conjure up a winning argument against it. "It is not the same."

Joly laughs. "Well,you may explain how it is not, if you want. But you will not change my mind about your courage; and if you're satisfied with nothing else, remember that I have seen you fighting a monster."

"Ay, true enough. --but I will not be one of these men who basks ever in the light of glories long past, whose every word is on such a long-past day..."

Joly shakes his head; that he gets. "No, that sort of--of stagnation, it's terrible, no one would expect you to be happy with that."

Even for Joly, Milliways can be...very quiet. Is that the real point of all this, then?

"It does get slow here, to be sure. It's frustrating, sometimes, to see the Infirmary empty and know there's so many people in my own world it could help, if only I could."

Well, at least one of them understands what's going on here.

"And does it not go near to make thee mad?"

He would laugh it off, he usually laughs it off. But Joly's learned enough to know there are times when that's terribly unfair.

Still he can't keep out a small laugh when he meets Harry's eyes. "Yes. Yes, often." He looks away again, making a study of the cakes. "It's, I mean--well!" He reaches for one of the trays, not looking at Harry at all now. "Yes. But I, I-- it's not what anyone needs. It doesn't help anyone if I'm--" he waves his free hand--pointless, pointlessly irritated for a moment that he's doing this at a party, and-- "It doesn't help anyone, so I-- because--because I'm not going to be busy, uh, crying into my drink when it's time to do something--" Ugh, he can hear himself getting angry and flustered. "So-- so. Yes."

So he's going to shove a baked apple into his mouth, all right. That's productive.

Harry Hotspur: party ruiner. Sorry, Joly.

But Harry is oddly heartened at seeing someone else frustrated. At least he's not mad, at least other people don't go around thinking this place is perfectly lovely and nice.

He reaches for another piece of cake and gives Joly a cuff on the arm. "Art thou much offended to see a cake of kings, or wilt partake?"

Oh good, that was going to be awkward, with the feelings and all, not like standing with a giant mouthful of apple dumpling.

But King Cake is a totally acceptable diversion! Good! As soon as Joly manages to get through his bite of apple pastry--the effort causing him to choke, and then laugh, and thus choke a bit again-- he goes ahead and reaches for a slice, still laughing. "I like King Cake--and I don't think our principles need to extend to pastry, surely."

Twelfth Night Party, Pontmercy style!

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