open: don't let the wine go to your brains

[untamedantinous]

It shouldn’t be this hard to prepare for a meeting. He’s done it countless times before. However, this time, it somehow is difficult. He’s never really had to set things up at times like this; and he knows as well as anyone else that he is not the best at social niceties. Granted, this meeting is in a much more well-appointed cafe than any he had ever been accustomed to holding space in in Paris. At least they have the benefit of a larger space. Consequently, Enjolras has spent much of the day of the eighth of Menestheus preparing, a little uncertain of how to plan a social gathering that is not immediately centered around planning a revolution. He is trying his best, at least.

Most of the tables and chairs have been pushed a bit more to the center of the room; the couch is arranged off to the opposite side. There are even various pillows scattered about, should anyone choose to sit on the floor. Arranged on a few of the larger tables and the counter there is a modest spread of food: of course, some of Laertes and Galahad’s pastries; but Enjolras has also procured what amounts to a few charcuterie platters: sliced sausages and meats, a selection of (mostly French) cheese, and various sliced loaves of bread and crackers are laid out for perusal, and spreads to go along with them. In an effort to provide multiple options of entertainment, Grantaire has set up a table somewhat near the food, with an assortment of wines and liqueurs. Off to one side, there are a few pots of brewed coffee, cream, sugar, and whatever else anyone might like to add to their beverage of choice. If anyone is drawn to the liquor cabinet, they will find three cups filled with various pieces of paper sitting atop it.

Enjolras himself is lingering on the couch with a glass of wine and some bread. He’s not sure how many people were even informed about this gathering, though he had done his best to advertise. If no one arrives then perhaps he will try again another time; but at least a few in attendance other than himself and Grantaire would certainly be welcome.

Comments

[timebethine]

"King Hamlet was a warlike king," says Laertes, "and more than that, his wars were meant to swell Denmark's territories, and to end rebellions. Dost thou see how such a project pits a king against his people? He must always see them as both subjects and foes, and any act that he did not authorize must thus be answered as an uprising. If thou hast read Machiavelli, thou wilt recognize his type--a man who preferred to be feared rather than to be loved.

"But it does not end there," continues Laertes, and his voice is beginning to shake. "If thy subjects must always be treated as foes in waiting, then it is the duty of those with subtler craft to find out where rebellion lurks ere it can be fanned to a blaze. It is their duty to descry every secret, and thus they must listen at every arras, spy through every peephole, read every missive passed between friends--for in any of those, the spark of rebellion may be burning. Or perhaps not even rebellion! Perhaps only imperfection. Perhaps only thought that there might be a fucking place on Earth where the world might be different, and better--because the thought that things might be better is in fact the seed and fount of rebellion--"

[wickedwit]

"There has to be some reason for it. Or does it fall under Kade's classification of Worlds? Am I expecting Reason from a World with Nonsense gods?" He's genuinely interested in the puzzle, for the moment, then shakes his head. "I could propose a theory for each, but it rather depends on you telling me when you do something like stop an influx of zombies. Zombies are a movie creature -- Crowley told me that -- and you and Crowley stopped them by re-enacting something from a television show. That would suggest the spirits sometimes borrow elements from fictional stories, and follow the logic those stories dictate. It didn't work quite as well with the Freaky Friday situation, but that was least a film." This is a very roundabout way of saying, "If there's a story about princes turning to chickens, I suppose there's a chance. So why didn't you tell me about your heroics during the zombie attack?"

[timebethine]

"The simple answer is that I did not think them heroic," says Laertes, who must have explained this fifty times already. "I found Crowley, who had some understanding of such things from the stories of the Winchester brothers, and I bade him try what they would have done. My part in this was small, and not worth the telling."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Laertes," says Susan, sharply, not worrying one whit about interrupting him. "Stop. Breathe."

[timebethine]

He inhales through his nose. "What I mean to say," he finishes carefully, "is that I am sure King Hamlet thought himself a paragon of leadership."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji knows two of these signs. Later, he will have to ask someone or look up the third one. Still, following Galahad's gesture toward Claudius, who is clearly enjoying himself on a level completely inaccessible to either of them, softens his face with fondness, and he dutifully copies all three, once and then again to be certain he can remember for whenever it becomes relevant.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot was headed to the café anyway, but he is a little surprised to hear the amount of noise that is present -- there are many more people than he expected. It seems to be some kind of event. He pauses, reconsidering whether he means to go in, but a quick glance shows him that many of his friends are here and so he might as well have a drink and see what's going on.

He does his best to enter unobtrusively and goes to find something like wine, or perhaps bourbon. He plans to keep to the fringes. (It's not that he's unused to crowds, and he doesn't find them terribly overwhelming -- it's like any court feast or event. But neither is he interested in holding forth about anything or being the center of attention, so this seems a good compromise.)

[mothwingofriverclan]

"I quite enjoyed them when I was Nina for the day," she meows, wrapping her tail around her legs. "What do you mean, our host spirits were generous with you? Being trapped here is hardly generous treatment."

[timebethine]

"Hast thou met her? Szarka?"

[futaille]

"It could also be that each spirit has selected one of us in particular, and whenever there is a new arrival among us, there is also one among them. But it is certainly more intriguing to imagine that each spirit is responsible for the arrival of a small handful of us. One could learn a lot about them from those individual tastes, if you could only ascertain which of us share an origin spirit. That would be an amazing discovery." He laughs a little. "Of course, there's always the possibility that it is just one or two of them with incredibly eclectic tastes."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Many men do," says Susan. "Few men are." She wants to ask, again, what Laertes might imagine a good leader should be like, but she doesn't want him to work himself into a lather about it.

[timebethine]

"Would Christine de Pizan could build us a City of Ladies here," says Laertes wryly. "Alas, the virtue of Reason is absent."

[futaille]

Grantaire is delighted by engagement with several points at once so he immediately begins his rejoinders, ticking off on his fingers as he completes each point. "Why would you want to avoid something hilarious? Hannibal of Carthage against Rome during the Second Punic War. We can absolutely compare thoughts on animals. I have not had the pleasure to meet any monsters so can make no judgments there. And my assertion may be bold, but it isn't incorrect."

[vineleaves]

"Ah! One of my favorites as well! Euripides was truly gifted! A shame he never got to see it performed." Dionysus realizes all too late that perhaps he should have tried to visit him when he went to Hades. Not much can be done about that now.

After a pause, he adds, "The events in that play were highly exaggerated, please don't hold anything you've read against me."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Oh, clear dress codes are ever so helpful, are they not?"

[timebethine]

"Did you not dress your cousin in women's clothes, and have his mother rip him apart in the belief that she'd slain a lion?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"So helpful. I hate when an invitation says something like semi-formal. Like, what does that mean? Just say formal if you want formal!" She's getting worked up. "I love dressing up, but there's literally infinite options. I need guidelines!"

[wickedwit]

"Oh, I like those opening moves," he says in appreciative tones. Those would be his first steps, after all, and since this is only a hypothetical, he can take a tone of confident conspiracy. "Perhaps in such a scenario, we'd end up as allies. We both value gathering information before deciding how to act. In the tyrant's case ... how would you go about testing their capabilities? Deliberately provoking them? I'll admit that's my own bad habit."

[futaille]

"The recent generosity I referred to was that I switched with Temeraire and therefore got to actually fly, which I had never expected. As for being trapped here..." He shrugs. "If I weren't here, I'd be dead instead, so I prefer this. More generosity, I think."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"The issue, I think, is those who seek leadership as a means to consolidate power, rather than to serve those they lead," says Susan, and then, after considering and discarding at least four different continuations of the topic, all of which involve her making assumptions about his intention, takes several steps backward. "What would your primary objective be, in the functioning of our little society?"

[onthewillowsthere]

His own expression is soft too, though there's a little of that what-if ache inside him again. He's so untried -- but Claudius looks so happy with his glass of wine and his animated conversation, the rather wry set of his mouth and the way Galahad can almost hear the drawl as he speaks. He laughs at something Laertes says, and Galahad's heart clenches like a fist, not in anxiety or jealousy but in love.

He wants to tell Lan Wangji that they're betrothed -- he hasn't told anyone yet, because Claudius himself already told Magnus, and Claudius should certainly be the one to tell Lan Wangji, his best friend -- but Galahad wishes he could, nonetheless. He rubs his thumb along the braid of his watchband, and tries to resolve the ache of both love and uncertainty inside him.

[futaille]

"I haven't been so fortunate yet."

[summerdude]

"Thanks, Hanguang-jun," says Magnus. He scoots a little closer as he takes the cup, and then leans against him.

[timebethine]

"That all should be as happy as they may be, and no more troubled than the natural course of human life dictates," he answers.

[mothwingofriverclan]

"I did like the switching," Mothwing admits. "I, however, certainly wouldn't be dead, so I can't say I feel the same way." In fact, Mothwing wonders what will happens when she dies here. Can she still get to StarClan? Would she be going to StarClan in any case?