GP - dreaming of a black christmas

[lcrpg_npc]

The repurposed railway arches that housed Beagle's bar and restaurant were decked in shades of black: black christmas trees glittering with sparkly and satiny black ornaments, black wreaths with perfectly tied bows, black garlands draping along the walls and bar, ribbons edging the long banquet benches in the restaurant dining room. A gentle snow seemed to fall from the ceiling, a specially designed lighting effect much more pleasant than the cold and wet that would've accompanied real snow. Christmas music played over hidden speakers, setting the mood without interfering with conversation.

The Kraken Black Christmas feast was a different spin on the holiday than you'd find most places, and yet, a christmas feast all the same. All the flavors of the season were there, both in the bar's specialty cocktails and in the feast itself, served banquet-style to those fortunate enough to get tickets - mulled wine, egg nog, roasts and stuffing and puddings, and so much more. Yet the food and drinks all shared the same theme as the decor, shades of black augmented with squid ink, charcoal, or black sesame seeds.

Guests had been encouraged to continue the theme with black festive attire, but it wasn't required, and spots of color could be found here and there along the table or mingling in the bar. There was one thing everyone could agree on, though. No matter how black the theme, the mood was anything but dark.

Comments

[offthebeatenpath]

Em had had her own stuff to work out the past few weeks, and that didn't include a trans-Atlantic move, especially a move to the city where an ex lived. "We would've gotten around to the news eventually," she told him, no blame at all for him not having told her before. "I'm glad we too. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again... since John lives in London."

[cold_blueeyes]

"No, yeah, that makes sense." Bobby rubbed the back of his neck, his grin going a little sheepish as he added, "But, uh...we're back together, so." Not that he was ashamed or guilty or anything. He was absolutely thrilled to be back with John, even though they had a lot of stuff to work on still. He just...had a feeling Em would be less than impressed by the news.

[offthebeatenpath]

Silence for a moment as that news sunk in. Her mind wired to find parallels and patterns, Em thought of Fin returning to Willy, and contrasted the complications of Jag still loving Val but not being able to make things work. "We all see differently when we're in love," she settled on saying. "I... I hope things work out for the best, for both of you."

[cold_blueeyes]

Of course, that hesitation, that beat of silence made Bobby feel like he had to explain or justify or...or something. "I mean, our relationship, it's not perfect, and I'm not gonna pretend it is. We have a lot of stuff we need to work out, but he's willing to work on it, and so am I." He smiled a little and added, "I'm even gonna drag him to some of my therapy sessions, get a professional involved."

[offthebeatenpath]

"I mean it, I really do hope things work out." Em wasn't sure what she hoped that working out looked like, but it wasn't her life.

"And I'm glad you're not just... I don't know, falling back into what you were before while ignoring all the stuff." It would be easier, if they had a Dani, to knock some sense into the both of them, literally and figuratively as needed. "Is your therapist... um, do they know... what you are?"

[cold_blueeyes]

"Yeah, I don't--I can't just go back to how we were before. There was way too much we weren't dealing with, you know?" He smiled ruefully at that admission.

He gave a little nod at her question. "Yeah, the guy I was seeing back in Boston didn't know, and it was just too...it was hard to talk about some of the stuff, because I had to be careful what I said. So when I started looking over here, I made sure to find someone that's...one of us." Because a lot of the crap he needed to deal with was intrinsically tied to being a mutant, and dancing around the topics, choosing his words so carefully, fudging the details...it meant he couldn't really deal with the issues themselves.

[offthebeatenpath]

"I'm not the biggest fan of psych professionals – my cousin's experiences and resentment rubbed off on me – but they can help. But not when you have to lie about your entire life, so... I'm glad he knows, and you've got someone you can talk to about everything." Like being in love with someone who tried to kill him. Not exactly the kind of thing he could talk about with a therapist who didn't know they were mutants.

"Otherwise you end up with the plot of West Side Story, and that would just be confusing," she added, wanting to lighten her mood a little instead of dwelling.