10th Contraption: Mawwiage

[pineapplesalmon]

Who: John Watson, Johnny Summer, and César Salazar with Rich Goranski, Fio, and Honoria Crabb AND YOU Oh god why are weddings like this
What: The throuple getting married by... the Captain?!
When: December 11th at 7pm
Where: John's
Warnings: I believe in us! But for now, nothing.


SEATING

John's has been transformed, the seating up front rearranged in rows towards the center dias with an aisle down the middle, the piano moved off to one side. The buffet for later can be seen off to the other. Decorations taken from Spirit Halloween appear here and there–flowers taken from cavalera flower crowns, sun and moon candlestick holders from the tarot collection, festively colored tablecloths draped down the walls like curtains or banners. A sign near the entrance says "seat yourself", although the front row on one side is reserved with a ribbon across the backs.

What can't be seen is who is officiating. Or the husbands, but at least that part makes sense. The dais is empty.


THE CEREMONY

As one of the few traditions in this wedding, music announces the start of the ceremony. Rich strolls in first, trying to look professional even if he’s clearly shaking a bit as he holds the small pillow with the rings laid on it. At least he’s dressed quite smartly, Johnny ensuring his red suit is wrinkle free and his cuff links are set in place. Fio, in a winged black dress and flowery headdress, follows after the ring bearer, adorning the path with paper petals as she moves along.

The first husband to be down the aisle is none other than Johnny, in a smart charcoal grey suit with a goldenrod pocketsquare, gold jewelry, and a wreath of orange blossoms on his head; and accompanied by Honoria Crabb in her perfectly tailored black tuxedo, worn with black gloves and a white bow tie. Watson and César take up the rear, arms linked together. César is wearing an equally fancy suitcoat with his tie held in place with a ruby and silver tie pin, and Watson is wearing an officer’s dress uniform, with the sword and without the helmet, and also his good cane. All three husbands-to-be are wearing green carnation boutonnières.


AFTER PARTY

It's time to eat, dance, and party!

The seating has been rearranged for sitting at tables around the "dance" floor. Food from Windjammer has been placed on some tables for a buffet. There’s a selection of fancy cheeses and crackers, sushi, premade sandwiches, and salad with dressings on the side. For dessert, to one side there’s a table with cupcakes, cookies, and chocolates arranged in a heart. On the bar are a couple bowls of punch (including one explicitly labeled as non-alcoholic) made by Johnny ahead of time, because he's been forbidden to bartend his own wedding, much to his deep chagrin.

There’s a space set just off the dancefloor for musicians who wish to perform, the usual John’s piano (bribed into behaving with a whole pan of beef brisket from the buffet) off to one side.

Comments

[hellonspectacles]

“Like I said, good engineering,” Palamedes answers brightly. “The Library is in orbit, so we’re inherently protected, and we have had ten thousand years to perfect the ideal method for shielding the people, technology, and collections from radiation.”

He sips his drink. “We’re very good at preserving things on the Sixth.”

[myagic]

"So you keep saying," she huffs impatiently--like, okay, learning that they have a library in planetary orbit is seriously kind of wild, even fascinating, but the way he keeps bragging at how good they are is getting on her nerves...

"So do you actually know how it's done or are you just going to sing their praises all night?"

[hellonspectacles]

“Well, I didn’t build it,” Palamedes says with a huff. “And I’m no engineer. My expertise resides decidedly elsewhere.” He eyes the younger girl, contemplating the fact that she will take this as evidence that he’s lying, or worse, that he isn’t that smart after all, and sighs. “But I saw the original schematics in the archives once. Get me a napkin and I’ll draw them for you.”

[myagic]

Really, odds are fifty-fifty that she would've grudgingly accepted that explanation or else--yes, deciding it means he's full of it. Regardless, it seems he's avoiding himself that level of judgement, since she looks at him with guarded interest.

"Oh? Well, then--here you go. Let's see it!"

[hellonspectacles]

Oh, good. He still has time to convince Rita that he knows what he’s talking about. Pal unfolds the napkin on the drinks table and takes a pencil out of his pocket. “Okay. This is the station’s inner layer. The floor’s down here are rarely accessed—the lowest ones aren’t even oxygenated anymore, though basic climate controls are maintained for preservation purposes.” He draws a few more boxes around the original shape and labels them with the names of various alloys, ducts, and airlocks. “But this is what protects us from the solar radiation.”

[myagic]

She makes an absent hum as she watches him draw--still guarded, but also more interested, because this is the first schematic (however rough) for an orbital station that she's ever seen. "It's hard to imagine that would be enough," she mutters, but after a moment... "Still...it's annoying to admit, but this level of technology is far beyond anything I've ever seen. We don't leave our planet."

She seems to have reluctantly accepted that Palamedes Sextus does, in fact, know something, at least. So she straightens up and adds, "Speaking of which, why would anyone set up a library there? That goes way beyond middle of nowhere."

[hellonspectacles]

Palamedes doesn't say I told you so, but oh boy does he come close to saying I told you so. Instead, he just smiles, folds up the napkin, and puts it in his pocket.

He shrugs. "The planet itself was too difficult to terraform, but the Library and its inhabitants needed to be close enough to the surface to benefit from its thanergenic halo. An orbital station was a compromise--and, for that matter, hardly the middle of nowhere."

[myagic]

Even if she has her suspicions based on that smile, she'll let it slide since he manages to keep it to himself! Instead, she levels him with a fresh new skeptical look. "'Thanergic halo'? Wasn't 'thanergy' the energy you said came from cell death?" Why yes, he'd better be grateful that she remembers even this much about his freaky magic!! "How would an uninhapitable planet that close to the sun even have any?"

Also, like. She definitely contests that it's still beyond the middle of nowhere. As far as she's concerned, space in general kind of fits that parameter.

[hellonspectacles]

“Oh! Of course you wouldn’t know that. I forget sometimes.” Is this meant to be an insult? It’s exceedingly hard to tell. “Thanergy is a product of cell death, but planets themselves can also be thanergenic or thalergenic. That means, more or less, they produce a certain amount of ambient thanergy or thalergy and sustain an environment where it can be best maintained.”

“As a general rule, planets are naturally thalergenic, but they can be made thanergenic. And necromancers can only be born on thanergenic planets. ‘Thanergenic halo’ merely describes the upper-most point in the planet’s atmosphere where thanergy is still accessible.”

[myagic]

It sure does sound at least a little condescending, as everything Palamedes says (in Rita's opinion!), and although she does listen, her mouth twists into a frown. "I suppose that finally makes some sense, then. So when one planet wasn't enough, you went to space for more."

She waves a hand in a half-shrug, then follows it up with, "What's the difference between thanergy and thalergy, anyway? It doesn't sound like it's equivalent to exothermic and endothermic..."

[hellonspectacles]

Rita’s response might be grudging, but at least it represents progress. “Thanergy is death energy, while thalergy is life energy. Both are significant to necromantic practice, even if thanergy is usually considered more central.”

[myagic]

"Wow, death is central to your creepy dead corpse magic? Who would've ever guessed," she grumbles with no small level of sarcasm.

Progress is only ever going to be slow where this topic's concerned.

[hellonspectacles]

“Frankly, I’m surprised you hadn’t figured that out already,” Palamedes answers brightly.

One step forward, two steps back, as they say.

[myagic]

"Shut up, of course I already knew that!" She huffs and waves an annoyed hand at him. "You should just be grateful I'm letting you talk about it at all!"

As usual, they're getting along swimmingly.

[hellonspectacles]

"Believe me, Rita, I am truly honored." He turns back to the punch bowl and refills his glass. "If I can answer any other questions you have about life in the Empire, do let me know."