chef_chocobro | The Far Less Creepy and Far From Abandoned Mansion in the Woods; Friday Afternoon/Evening [06/27].

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The Far Less Creepy and Far From Abandoned Mansion in the Woods; Friday Afternoon/Evening [06/27].

When the guests arrived, they would, of course, be instructed to find their way to the garden conservatory; the subtle decorations both inside the mansion and through the exterior gardens would guide most people to there, and, barring that, the steward was naturally on hand to provide and escort. There, they would find a scene that seemed almost a stark contrast to the dark and brooding decor of a necromancer, a place filled with light and life, with plants both decorative and functional, colorful and aromatic and useful, and, of course, no lack of the expected gothic or Victorian touches here and there. Somewhere, some cleverly situated water fixture babbled steadily along with the light, inobtrusive music that set the atmosphere: something elevated just slightly above casual, that slight touch of pretentiousness that was gentle in its demands for propriety and decorum and class. Comfortable chaises and chairs were arranged here and there sociably, a gathering a wrought-iron bistro tables and chairs as well, but the set-up seemed to suggest the kind of floating interactions of butterflies among flowers, drifting from one to the next with an airy regard.

And, of course, the spread of food was exceptional, lighter fair, but plenty of it, things that could be enjoyed while fluttering about with the other guests in one hand, while the other held a glass of fine wine or sparkling water garnished with fresh fruits or even a robust coffee or a floral cup of tea. Small sandwiches and crostini, bruschetta and other variations, but there were also empanadas with a chimichurri sauce, paella with scallops, pomegranate pork kebabs...

Spring rolls, summer rolls, smoked salmon cucumber rolls...

And of course, desserts, which would include alfajores dulce de leche, coffee truffles, fruit crostini, and key lime mini pies.

Needless to say, no one should be wanting for food. Just be careful not to fill up on treats too much if you plan to stay on later; there was still plenty of dancing to be had, once the party moved itself to the awaiting ballroom.

[[ ~~naturally, ocd incoming~~ ocd is up! Come and celebrate with us! ]]

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Watts arrived wearing one of his lighter suits, hat deposited upon entering on some bit of statuary or light fixture or something that was definitely not a hat rack.

"Well, well, well, Detective," Liliana said, pausing a moment to take in the suit before finishing her greeting. "That is a smart suit. The tie brings out the pinstripes perfectly. Lovely to see you again, truly."

"Thank you, Miss Vess," Watts replied. "Which- will you be adopting Mr. Scientia's surname? Or retaining your own?"

If he was a betting man, he'd bet on the latter, to be sure.

Too bad he wasn't a betting man, he would have made money right then.

"Oh, keeping mine, of course," Liliana said. "Although Ignis is welcome to take mine if he'd like. After all," she said with an arrogant toss of her hair, "I've had mine longer."

"Is that the fashion where you're from?" Watts inquired, curious. "Taking on the name of whoever has the more- distinguished household?"

"In Benalia, yes," Liliana said. "Whoever could trace their lineage most directly back to the Seven Clans that--" She stopped herself and laughed. "Look at me, about to give you a history lesson!"

"I don't mind," Watts said. "I find such things interesting."

"If you say so, darling, but don't say I didn't warn you," she said, wagging a chiding finger at him. "Benalia was founded around a thousand years ago by a vicious brute of a man, Torsten von Ursus, after the fall of the Sheoltun Empire. He spent much of his life riding around and bringing all of the scattered people of the area together under his banner, which didn't leave much time for the siring of children - or, at least, the claiming and raising of them. So, when he finally died at seventy-two, he left what historians call the Lost Edict, proclaiming that none of his seven lieutenants would succeed him as sole ruler of Benalia. Instead, Benalia would be ruled via a complex system in which the seven clans of the country each bore a different responsibility. I'll skip the truly ridiculous method of governance, but if you'd ever like proof that your bureaucracy could be worse, come ask me about them," she scoffed.

"Seven hundred years later, Benalia was invaded and decimated, our people scattered, our infrastructure destroyed, our capital city razed. Once the invasion was over - it was a plane-wide invasion, Benalia was just the first to be occupied and massacred - Benalia devolved into a patchwork of competing...hmm, states? States might be the closest word. We were still Benalish, still a single country, but the clans had all withdrawn to their own lands, and everything else had fractured from there. By the time I was born, the Seven Clans were scattered shadows of their former power and glory, holding onto whatever fragments of power that the slivers, dust storms, and various catastrophes had left them. And yet, the power of their names remained, and those who could claim descent, whether through direct or indirect means, were automatically of higher stature than those who could not. So, of course when you married, you took the name of whichever person could claim a closer kinship tie. Which, I assure you, sounds much more egalitarian that it actually is, darling."

Watts was indeed listening raptly to Liliana's explanation, while also simultaneously stuffing a few finger-foods that looked like they'd survive his pockets into said pockets.

"Howso?" he asked.

Ignis would be thrilled they were going to be eaten. Would despair about the pockets, but be thrilled nonetheless.

"It goes, in a small part, back to the utter ridiculousness of how the country was run," she explained, a slight smile on her face. Liliana did adore teaching. "So, in addition to the Seven Clans, Benalia had a complex caste system that changed with the lunar year; the highest caste became the lowest and the process repeated. And the lowest caste of Benalish women were...subservient...to all higher casted men."

A nice way to put it.

"So there were all kinds of inheritance and laws about children and who counted as part of a clan and who did not, who got acknowledged and when, and when even a subset of women are subservient for a year, it still shifts how society sees all women, even the highest who are kept isolated and away from anyone else during their lower casted years."

The way Watts's expression grew more and more unimpressed as Liliana's explanation went on probably gave away how he felt about that system.

"That sounds. Ridiculous."

"I didn't even tell you about how the government worked," Liliana sighed.

"And how," Watts let out a sigh of his own. "Is that?" Because he was curious even as he knew he'd probably dislike the answer.

"So, remember, Torsten named all seven of his lieutenants as his successors, giving each of the seven clans a different division of the government. Army, navy, treasury, and so on." Liliana sighed, heavily. "But because, I assume he didn't want any one clan to grow more powerful than the others, those divisions rotate. Every lunar year, they shift around to the next clan in a seven year looping cycle."

"That's-" Watts sighed again. "So in addition to one's career being assigned to them regardless of whether they have any skill for it or not, they have to contend with that career changing several times throughout their lifetime?" he checked.

"Their career changing every year," Liliana corrected. "So if you're a fine military general, just think! You'll be able to get back to that in seven years."

"That is patently ridiculous," Watts shook his head. "This von Ursus sounds like an imbecile for coming up with such a system."

To say nothing of how everyone just went along with it.

Re: Arrive & Mingle - 06/27.

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Re: Arrive & Mingle - 06/27.

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Re: Arrive & Mingle - 06/27.

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Re: Arrive & Mingle - 06/27.

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Re: Arrive & Mingle - 06/27.

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Re: Arrive & Mingle - 06/27.

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"Detective," Ignis greeted, with a nod and a desperate need to remember to ask Liliana to follow up a little more on her comments about his suit later, although, really, if pinstripes were involved, he was already impressed. "I'm so glad the two of you had the opportunity to join us. How have you been?"

"Mr. Scientia," Watts greeted. "I've been well- we're heading off to Greece in a few days for- a celebration of our own," there was a slight hesitation there, as if he still wasn't quite accustomed to being so open about his romantic life. "But couldn't pass up celebrating your own good news. Congratulations!"

"Hello, Watts."

Look at that. Running into each other twice in recent weeks!

Absolutely wild how that worked!

"Stark!" Watts greeted around a mouthful of summer roll.

"Enjoying the food?" Stark asked. "Ignis is very good at what he does."

"Enjoying it a great deal, yes," Watts said. Honestly, he would have even if it were mediocre fare. "Plenty of vegan options. Thoughtful." Especially since he was fairly certain he and Steven were the only people that adhered to such a diet.

"I'm not sure he would let himself not have food for potential guests. But yes. It is good of him to make sure there are things for you and Steven."

"I've certainly no complaints," Watts agreed. "How are you doing?" he asked. With the food or otherwise, really.

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