New Year's Eve

[broken_brushes]

If you had been upstairs in the Compound or in the Hub at six in the evening of December 31, you might have thought your eyes were playing tricks on you, or that you'd once again been whisked off to some strange, new place. Within the blink of an eye, the rooms had changed, sparkling instantly with festive decorations, and it was all so

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[poison_lipstick]

Saffron was so happy, it was practically radiating off her in waves.

She'd arrived at the party hand in hand with her boyfriend. She had on the most gorgeous green dress, and her hair was down, loose waves cascading over her shoulders the way she knew Xander liked it best. He'd let her pick out his clothes for the evening, and she'd put him in a black suit, with a white shirt and a tie in a shade of green that matched her own dress.

There was hand-rolled sushi, and shaoxing wine, and as with every New Year's Eve the club was closed so all of its employees could enjoy one of the biggest parties of the year. Saffron wasn't planning on straying very far from Xander's side, but he was off getting her more wine just then, and she looked around for folks she knew to say hi, or new folks she wanted to meet.

[ilovemykilt]

"I'm not sure I want to eat one of those," says Priestly, looking at the sushi that Helen seems so excited about, "but the drinks are good." It's not that he has anything against sushi, he just thinks he'd like to enjoy something that doesn't come out of the ocean at this particular party.

[poison_lipstick]

"Not a fan of sushi?" Saffron asked, favoring Priestly with a bright and fond smile. "Or are there just too many other good things to choose from?"

[ilovemykilt]

"There is limited room in my belly," says Priestly, "and way too many options to fill it with tonight. I'm trying to pace myself, but it's not working out so well. If I was smart, I'd've been stretching my stomach for the few days leading up to this."

[sortofaman]

The Doctor had managed to get out of writing the final section of his thesis, only because it was New Year, after all. He could hardly skip out on that, particularly when the island had deigned to provide all sorts of treats, yet again. Though it was hardly like he was going to stick around and get completely off his face anymore, it was a good excuse to put on a suit.

Sipping a pint, he unknowingly ended up under the mistletoe, pondering the crowd and making strategic plans for snack consumption.

[seeyousoonthen]

Savannah had a can of Diet Coke and was wandering through the crowd, happy as could be. She's had fried chicken with all the trimmings and was full and just happy to be here to enjoy it all.

"Doctor!" she said happily. "How are you? Enjoying your beer and everything?"

[sortofaman]

"Savannah," the Doctor said, grinning at her broadly. Partially it was honest friendliness and partially it was the beer, but that was okay. "Yeah, I'm doing well and it's really really nice beer. How is your..."

He sniffed the air. "Coca-Cola, isn't it?" Guesswork, anyway.

[seeyousoonthen]

"Diet, yeah. I never thought I'd ever taste it again and I've missed it so much. I know, it's an awful vice,"she laughed and there was something really genuine in it. She wasn't joking, she considered her love of Diet Coke to be a real vice.

[turnedoutfine]

From what Alexis had heard, this was supposed to be one of the most awesome parties of the year. After what had happened at the last party she went to, though, she was definitely going to be more conscientious about what she ate and drank.

She'd somehow managed to find a really cute dress that she loved, and even a pair of sheer black hose and really awesome shoes to complete the look. The shoes, though, were a little higher in the heel than she was used to, and Alexis had a feeling she'd be in her stockinged feet before too long.

[iparkedmycar]

"I know I've said it already," says Cooper, beer in hand, "but that dress is fucking spectacular." He grins, leaning in to kiss her cheek. He's pretty sure that getting to take her out of it would be better, but the night is totally still young.

"There's so much fucking food. Jesus."

[turnedoutfine]

"You could stand to say it again," Alexis replied, beaming as she leaned into Cooper's kiss. "And thank you. I know, can you believe all of this stuff? I don't know what to try first." There was a variety of authentic New York cuisine: Lobster Newberg, baked pretzels, Waldorf salad, and even an amazing-looking New York cheesecake. And that was just a fraction of the food available for them to try, much of it stuff Alexis had never seen before.

[iparkedmycar]

"You look fucking spectacular," says Cooper, just a little dutifully before he kisses her again, closer to the corner of his mouth.

"I got waffles. I am totally set."

[off_the_grid]

Quorra had been warned that all kinds of strange and unexplainable things happened all the time in the place she currently found herself living, but she hadn't been at all prepared to find the variety of food and drink before her. (She'd also been warned about the necessity of sunscreen, but that hadn't stopped her from getting slightly burned.)

She wanted to try everything, but even someone as enthusiastic as Quorra couldn't eat everything at once. She started with a pile of packages labeled "chips", because that was a word that at least sounded like something familiar, in a non-food related capacity. She found them crispy and delicious, and was now on a mission to try what seemed like an endless array of different flavors.

How else was she going to decide which kind she liked best?

[doubleomalley]

Unless Dr. Hadley had changed clothes, dyed and cut her hair in the past few minutes, George was pretty sure he was seeing double. Literally. Curiosity tended to get the better of him on most days, so he made his way over, looking through the huge selection of all kinds of chips beside her.

"I think my brain is wrinkling," he said, as he tried to figure out what to go for first. Doritos sounded good, but what about plain Wavy Lays? There was also barbeque, sour cream and onion, salt and vinegar...life was easier when the island made food choices for him.

[off_the_grid]

"Because of too many options?" Quorra asked, sympathetic to such a dilemma. She licked a salt and vinegar chip, made a face at its sourness, and then decided she liked it more than not and ate the whole thing.

[doubleomalley]

"Way too many options," George confirmed. He waved his hand over the table, before grabbing up a bag of plain chips. Better to start off with the original, then work his way up. "And this is chips alone. I can't decide whether I want pizza, a burger or a steak for real food."

As for drinks, George knew exactly where and how many.

[number_unlucky]

New Year's Eve had always been a party for me both here and back at home, even now that I was married and settled and on a damn island with the Whos down in Whoville or whatever. While I wasn't usually the queen of fashion, this year, I'd decided a little black dress wasn't absolutely necessary. I could at least make some sort of variation on the theme.

I didn't need much, really, to make for a good time these days. A gin martini with lemon, some of the magically appearing Cheetos, a dance or two, and a kiss at midnight; all of these were readily available. Anything else was window-dressing.

[does_not_pine]

"You're making me feel under-dressed," Kim says, arch gaze trailing up the gathered detailing of the gown, though she's pretty sure the dress and leggings she'd found are just as far out of her pay grade.

She misses the store about as much as she misses themed parties--so, at least a little, because there's nothing to complain about at this one. Magic food, magic Canadian beer in extremely classy cans. "Remy, right? Is it like this every year?"

[number_unlucky]

"If it make you feel better, it was the best thing that I got out of the box that wasn't lower cut than a Halle Berry awards ceremony dress. You start to learn that you take what you can get at this time of year."

I gave her a grin and saluted her with my martini glass. "Yeah, it's Remy, and this seems to happen every New Year's Eve, this is my third time. You're Kim, aren't you?"

[does_not_pine]

"Never Kimberly," she confirms with a half-smile, tipping her beer close and whistling low into the whispery-echo of aluminum. "Three years is--I'm not sure I even have a good idea of that much time."

Twenty-one, that was about three years ago, and it takes a minute to remember what she was doing at the time. "I think I was dropping out of college three years ago, let's call this year dropping out of life." Lifting her can, she rolls her eyes, because this life is depressingly like her old one. "What do you do for three years, when you're not modeling gowns at parties?"