♦ ♦ 15th Contract [Video]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Look, City. Look at all these desserts. Cake Pops. Santa Hat Brownies. Snowflake Cupcakes. Sugar Pavlova. Peppermint milkshakes. Pinecone Cheeseballs. Mmm. Diabetes in the making. You can totally tell the chef hates you all and hopes you suffer. ]

[ 'Li' hovers closeby, a little smudge of flour on his cheeks, smiling sweetly like he couldn't be a bigger replica of the Pillsbury Doughboy if he tried. And he is trying. So hard. Not an ounce of cynicism in sight. ]

Just wanted to let everyone know. We have some great desserts at Cafe Satine, if you're in an early Holidays mood. [ He glances away for a moment, creating a pink icing rose in an easy motion. Adds it to a half-decorated cake, before continuing, ] You know, I read somewhere that Christmas originates from an old Roman holiday called Saturnalia. They say it was all about property damage, debauchery and a hideous human sacrifice. Oh. And naked singing from house to house.

[ Pause ]

I have no idea if it's true or not. But it makes you wonder how some things can start out so [ typical to human nature ] wild, and end so [ sugar-coated and distorted ] wholesome.

[ He shrugs it off with a shy laugh. ]

Anyway. Didn't mean to ramble. I hope everyone's doing well this week.

[ A parting nod, and the feed ends. WELL? WHAT'RE YOU WAITING FOR? COME BUY SOMETHING. ]

[ OOC: Hei will be disappearing after tonight for his canon update. He'll return on the 20th or 21st, so be sure to get all the fudd you can from him x3 ]

Comments

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[virginwings]

[she opens her mouth to call dibs on the yummy cake he's half completed, but this question comes up instead:]

What's Christmas? [yep. guess who didn't have time to enjoy it last December.]

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[mortemscintilla]

Um...

[ He pauses, considering. It's not as if 'Li' celebrates Christmas. Or anything else. ]

Well, it depends on who you ask. [ She's asking you, genius. ]

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[virginwings]

Just tell me what you think.

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[mortemscintilla]

We-e-ell. Um. [ How to explain? He's never paid any attention to the religious aspects. Why bother? He's by no means a storyteller, either. ] See, thousands of years ago, a special kid was born. And everyone was so excited about it they traveled for miles with presents. Just to get together and see him. There was feasting and singing Hosannas. Possibly dessert. [ He contemplates this, then nods. Big firm up-&-down. ] Yes. There was definitely dessert.

Anyway. Someone seems to have thought it was a good idea. Because now that's what people do. In the West, but some in the East too. Gather 'round once a year to eat dessert and greedily hoard presents and sing Hosanna.

[ Feeling enlightened yet? ]

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[virginwings]

[Sounds so weird, the greedily hoarding presents part. But sharing desserts can't be so bad so!]

Ah, then I need that cake you're making even more... and I should get something for Kaito too.

[negativegate]

[That all looks really, really good... Dammit Li.]

It's not like it's hard for stuff to be covered up over history...

[mortemscintilla]

[ He sees that twinkle in your eye, Rita~ ]

I agree. It's not. It's always interesting to compare, though. You can tell a lot about a society's priorities and morals [ such as they are ] from their Holiday traditions.

[negativegate]

[I-it's not like she's gonig to be distracted by them, okay?!]

Hmm, I guess that's true... You're into that kind of thing? Priorities and morals of society and all that, I mean.

[mortemscintilla]

[ Of course not. But wouldn't you rather admire them up close, instead of from afar~? ]

Well -- why wouldn't I be? [ The epitome of innocence. ] It's these things that keep society together, after all. [ cough*hypocrite*cough ]

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[maoser]

[Mao limps to the back door of Cafe Santine's kitchen and meows piteously.]

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[mortemscintilla]

[ 'Li' leans by the doorway, on a quick break, staff still bustling in the kitchen behind him. Seeing the cat, he doesn't react except to smile cheerily, ]

Looking for something, kitty?

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[maoser]

[Feed him, Hei, for he is poor, pathetic, and injured.

Also make sure there's no one around to hear because he'd like to talk.]

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[mortemscintilla]

[ Your pleas fall on a heart of stone, kitty. ]

[ Nonetheless. If Mao has anything of interest to share, there's no harm in obliging. Casually, Hei straightens and shuts the door behind him. Drifts to a secluded corner of the back alley, settling on a wooden crate. From his jacket, he withdraws a small packet of cookies. ]

[ He offers one to Mao. That's all you're getting. Now start talking. ]

[defies_reason]

Won't they be stale by Christmas?

[mortemscintilla]

[ Stale? That's a four-letter-word no chef enjoys hearing, sir! ]

I've got other recipes planned for Christmas, actually. And it's the Cafe's policy not to keep goods beyond two days old. [ Interested in buying anything? ]

[defies_reason]

[Can't take a joke, can you, Li? He didn't actually think you were going to hold them for some three weeks.]

Well, then, I'll be sure to be on the lookout.

[mortemscintilla]

[ Ssh, he's incognito. He has to come off as a clueless twit. Not that Hei has much of a sense of humor, either. In his line of work, those who stop to crack jokes are those who get shot by a less stupid opponent. ]

The cafe offers customized desserts too. In case you're interested in something a bit more traditional and close-to-home.

[deadmanbusiness]

From what I've heard. It was originally a pagan holiday of some sort and the Christians wanting more converts basically changed the birth of their god to Christmas and said, "See we have the same traditions as you... except a bit different. Come join us." Though I think Christianity just absorbed a bunch of traditions to get followers.

[mortemscintilla]

I guess they wouldn't be the only ones. Most people are drawn to religion because it's familiar and gives them a sense of belonging. [ A shrug; sheepish. ] It's just a theory, of course. I've never been very religious myself.

[deadmanbusiness]

I don't know if I'm religious... I think I must be by default.

[It's like, he believes in gods like he believes in tables... and he doesn't actually worship his father and uncle... but...]

Or because it gives them a sense of community.

[mortemscintilla]

That must be so confusing. Having a God-parent, I mean. [ A literal God-parent. ] But I guess you're lucky you won't have a religious crisis by middle-age, or something. There's nothing sadder than an eleventh-hour convert.

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[candothat]

[O hai. Li's advertising was super effective--or at least affective enough to encourage Chekov to bop into your place of employment. Surely no one's still surly about that exploding-swanboat thing?]

Li, hello. I would like two of everything that will travel well, please.

What were you saying about debauchery and hideous human sacrifices? No one has told me about those holiday customs.

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[mortemscintilla]

[ He's still a bit huffy. What were you thinking, young man? :< 'Li' glances across the counter with an easy smile, thumbing the flour off his cheek. ]

Oh, hi, Pavel. Almost anything on the menu travels well as long as it's packed right. We have these hinged plastic containers for the Santa-Brownies -- handy things. [ Where do all these products come from? The City has no factories. No farms for dairy products. It's a mystery. ]

Hm? Saturnalia? I just read somewhere that it was the real origin of Christmas. A period of lawlessness and, er.. sexual license. Apparently they also ate human-shaped cookies during the festival. [ Brightly, ] We have gingerbread men on sale, if you're interested, by the way. [ Mood whiplash at its finest. ]

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[candothat]

Then two of everything. [Alternate dimensions are crazy places. Maybe the deities manufacture everything; maybe they bring in resources from outside of the City's barriers.] Including gingerbread men, please. I wouldn't want to miss observing the Saturnalia tradition of eating human-shaped cookies.

[Mood whiplash? What?]

Is it too cold to go stargazing, do you think?

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[mortemscintilla]

Right. [ Gloves on, he busies himself with placing treats in their respective boxes. C'mere, gingerbread men. (Is he dancing them into the bags? He might be. No one said he was the ideal example of maturity. ) ] Make sure you don't observe all of it. I'm told Roman courts were closed and punishment for property damage and such was retracted. But I doubt the City would take it too well. [ So no blowing up more boats, okok? ]

Hm? [ Not predictably, he perks up, ] Honestly? The cold doesn't bother me as much as the snowfall does. I've barely seen a clear sky this past week.