hh_mirror | Luscious Pumpkin Jam (dated to Halloween night)

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Luscious Pumpkin Jam (dated to Halloween night)

The party was not intended to celebrate Halloween, actually, but to celebrate the existence of pumpkins. It just seemed Halloween would be a good time for that kind of a celebration.

Wizarding culture had a special regard for the pumpkin, making it into tarts and juice and savories, forcing it down the gullets of every magic-user from such a tender age as to form a lifelong habit. The Sorting Hat, being steeped in magic, had also steeped itself in many a vessel of pumpkin juice over the centuries of its storied existence. Pumpkin juice, pumpkin ale, pumpkin hooch. Gooey pumpkin-gut strings, luxurious nutrient-rich slime studded with pale seeds. Oh pumpkins, glorious gourd of wizard's delight!

The Hat had dubbed this party after one of its favorite recipes: the LUSCIOUS PUMPKIN JAM.

The huge doors of the Great Hall were open. While magic kept the chill seasonal drafts from the Great Hall itself, party-goers who wished to enjoy the crisp autumn air could do so from the luxury of a pumpkin carriage. These were quite literally hollowed pumpkins that the Hat's magic had transfigured into full-size carriages, capable of carrying several occupants. Each was lit from within by enchanted candles, and studded with gleaming black jewels, with carved faces in lieu of windows. Several of the enchanted wonders were lined up outside the doors, with their house-elf coachmen ready to whisk students around the school grounds in slightly-gooey, pumpkin-scented comfort.

Indoors, all was warm and merry, and candlelit, and mostly orange. Instead of bobbing for apples, guests could bob for miniature pumpkins, the sort Martha Stewart might have used to decorate a mantelpiece, their tub filled with pumpkin juice in lieu of water. A pumpkin-carving station took prominent position near the doors, with paints and yarn to bedeck uncarved gourds for those students uninterested in pulling out pumpkin pulp. Tables had been moved to accommodate a dance floor, with a karaoke machine placed nearby. Golems inspired by Arcimboldo, wholly composed of autumnal fruits, did duty as waiters and DJs.

From the vantage of the head table, elevated above the main body of the hall, the Hat could take in all at once the entire spectacle. Satisfied, it rapped a self-congratulatory pastiche/homage:

"There ain't no party like a Sorting Hat party 'cause a Sorting Hat party don't STOP!"

The Hat felt most coolio itself, extending a strap to caress languidly the sequined sombrero that lay beside its place at the Great Hall's head table. The sombrero did not respond, of course. It was rather like the hat-equivalent of a RealDoll. Inert though it might be, the sombrero was velvety AND blingy, and that was what mattered.

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Lenneth stepped into the Great Hall expecting... Well, she wasn't sure what she expected. Less orange, definitely. She definitely wasn't used to parties yet, so she watched a couple people bobbing for pumpkins for a little bit. The goddess may not know about parties but she was fairly sure that it was normally apples that people bobbed for. Not that she was complaining, she wasn't sure she'd try it.

Not unless someone challenged her. But who would try something like that? She was a goddess after all. And even then, was she really willing to do something so undignified? ~~Definitely not.~~ Probably not.

After a few minutes more of watching the pumpkin bobbers, she walked around a bit more to watch someone carve a pumpkin. That confused her a bit. In Midgard, no one would waste something like that. A lot of mortals took what they could to ensure that their families ate.

Lezard might not be the most welcome of sights, but he was a familiar sight. He had that much going for him!

To honor the evening's festivities, the mage had for once dressed in something other than that traveling gear he favored. He had actually put on wizarding robes, of the style and cut one might find in any Diagon Alley clothier's shop. Had he gone so far as to get a damned haircut, he might even have looked dashing in these robes. Alas, he was the same old bespectacled Lezard, with long bangs flopping across his high pale brow.

He probably smelled nice, if anyone could notice it under the pumpkin-spiced aroma that suffused the entire Hall.

"They are making frightful lanterns," he said, just at Lenneth's shoulder, "to put evil spirits to flight. Or so I've read. I must say neither paint nor yarn appeared in any written accounts on the subject of Hallows' Eve, and certainly there was no glitter. Nor glitter paints."

Of course he'd find her here. No matter where she went, the mage found her. It was as if were in tune with her presence and just gravitated towards her. By now, she'd resigned herself to having to put up with his presence. ~~She couldn't deny that he did look... somewhat attractive. In that light.~~

"How could lanterns made from a fruit frighten away spirits? I swear, you mortals make up the strangest of activities." Even after everything, yes, she still considered him a mortal. He acted like one often enough.

A party? Jherek Carnelian was not one to miss a party, least of all a party celebrating a significant component of Wizarding culture! Not that he understood why pumpkins were of such import- he supposed it to be a quaint and silly tendency of early 21st century Earth humans, which perhaps held some inexplicable religious connotations given an entire day dedicated to them. Perhaps it had something to with 'sin', and that Garden of Eden story he'd learned from Earth books (read to him by house-elves, as Jherek remained quite illiterate- although he'd learned to recognize a few words based on visual repetition, the idea behind writing remained quite primitive and confusing to him). Whatever the reasoning behind a pumpkin festival, a festival was a festival, and Jherek was determined to make a good show of it.

And so it was that he spent the entire morning and best part of the afternoon preparing his costume for the Luscious Pumpkin Jam. If not for the fact that he'd kept his flesh intact, Jherek might as well have been one of the Arcimboldo golems, swathed as he was in a garment which vaguely resembled an exploding cornucopia, albiet a gourd-centric one. His robes were a resplendent pumpkin-colour, and his cape was a striated orange-and green, studded with numerous small but perfect gourds in their many shapes and hues. A collar of golden gourds wreathed his neck, and golden jack-o-lanterns served as Jherek's pauldrons, lit from within with a warm orange glow. Atop his head sat a precarious tower of a hat, its artfully-arranged pile pumpkins, gourds, and sparkling black-and-orange jewels rising nearly a yard above the curled orange locks of his hair- to finish the look, he'd stained his lips black, as well as his eyes- including the whites. Upon his arrival to the party, the ridiculous hat had already become somewhat crooked, but Jherek was not one to let this bring him down. He adjusted his headwear, smiled brightly at the Great Hall's decorations, and soon found himself near the dance floor, looking for a potential partner.

As might be expected, Lezard bridled at this. He managed to keep his tone creamy-smooth, but a tension in his jaw belied the forced calm, and a tautness crept into that velvet voice, like fabric drawn tight between clenching hands. "Only memory can aid me in understanding the actions of mortals." This, from Mister I AM THE ABSOLUTE ENTITY! I AM GOD!, was a subtle reminder. "You, too, may consult the memories of the mortal lives foisted upon you, my goddess. Recall the sadness of Platina, in circumstances beyond her control." He did not know everything he would like to know about her life as Platina, but he did know the history he'd gleaned during his travels with Arngrim and Mystina leading up to Ragnarok — a time when, as he saw it, the Valkyrie owed her life to Lezard Valeth and his charming homunculi.

"One who is small and powerless may seek to alleviate those feelings by taking actions of just such scale, the smallness to which they are limited. The petty superstitions of the darkened world, enslaved by gods and dead ritual. Yet there is beauty, I think, in their attempts at propitiation. Just as there was beauty in the statuary of Odin's temples, statues depicting your divine glory, even as Odin himself declined and stagnated..." His tension softened, and his voice with it, as he expounded this impromptu theory, and recalled the beauty of ~~his Crystal Lenneth and Metallic Lenneth figurines~~ the awesome statues ~~with boobies~~.

Jem loved Halloween! Glamour, glitter, fashion, and a gaggle of orphans to take trick-or-treating! How she would miss the Starlight girls this autumn, at Hogwarts. She had tried to dress up some house elves, but they refused to accept any clothing.

She had to be content with dressing herself up for the occasion. The holiday practically mandated a pumpkin-colored ensemble. While it's possible the mun is colorblind and this is more of a harvest gold color, IT LOOKS KIND OF ORANGE, OKAY

The short pants and stockings would free her legs for some festive dancing! The party's name alone promised some musical fun, and Jem was totally ready to put the jammin' in Luscious Pumpkin Jam!

She found the karaoke machine almost at once. But the song she wanted to sing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyJsP1_fKSc) was a duet. Catching a glimpse of a spectacularly costumed partygoer - who even looked a little like Riot (http://i.imgur.com/RGeKV.jpg), to Jem's eye! - she beckoned to him, to Jherek Carnelian, making a little pretty please? eyelash-batting face as she did.

Little did she know, the most magical karaoke prompter in the world couldn't have helped her out with this duet. How could Jem have known that Jherek was illiterate?

Jem, who was practically the patron saint of literacy (http://cleopatrasperfume.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/my-jem-interview-%E2%80%9Croxy-rumbles%E2%80%9D-for-literacy/)!

She took a small amount of satisfaction that she'd managed to irritate him, if only a little. Nothing else she did had ever seemed to get him to leave her be but referring to him as mortal... Well, she'd remember that. Although, she couldn't help but huff herself when he mentioned Platina. Damn him for having a good point.

"Platina's memories are few and far between. It's not a life I care to remember." That was kind of a lie, she remembered most of Platina's life. It was true that she didn't care to remember it.

"I can understand why powerless humans would do so then, but these people aren't powerless. Everyone here is capable of magic, so why would they need such things?" Why was she even humoring him with conversation? ... At least he hadn't tried anything particularly reckless, creepy or irritating.

The Master was in no mood to sulk. Really, he wanted to do something spectacular and vicious, but right now a good vigorous song would be a good start. Nothing mopey, not tonight... the ubiquitous pumpkin theme brought a snippet of lyrics to mind, and he dove into an energetic rendition of "The Curse of Millhaven".

Lezard shrugged. "For enjoyment, I suppose, if not for the sake of habit or tradition. I myself see little value in tradition for tradition's sake, but occasionally a thing is worth doing for pleasure alone, absent stark necessity — or, it may be, absent of even the most vestigial and slight utility!"

A wry smile, then, for the pumpkin-carving table, and then the smile turned toward Lenneth to share with her his good humor.

"For so long under the yoke of Odin, the life of a valkyrie would be dictated by duty. But as creator and goddess supreme, have you no time for pleasure? To exercise your aesthetic sense, mayhap?"

Well, probably not, since she'd had to go pursue Lezard backward through time. But Lezard hoped to provoke deeper thought than a mere recitation of fact!

The wicked humor of the song tickled Ari's fancy. She was on edge tonight — fluxed, Ari One's notes would've suggested, and Ari Two knew the condition damn well — and it made her want to act out, just for contrariness' sake, even though there weren't any minders or Security here to scold her. There was no one to shock or send into fits of worry. There was nothing against which to rebel.

She'd inflicted a gaudy orange corsage onto a perfectly innocent cocktail dress, creating a look (http://www.monsoon.co.uk/monsoon-originals/sydney-corsage-dress/invt/92308203/) she deemed suitable for a Hat pumpkin party. Damned if she'd dress like Ari One tonight. She'd do what she pleased.

Pumpkin carving was ... not her speed. Unconcerned about the dignity befitting The Ariane Emory, Ari bounced up to the machine and the man who'd just finished his song. "An inspired choice. Nick Cave, it says? Hm, there's another from him, but —" the magic-powered catalogue twinkled a warning at her — "it's for two voices." She gave the man her most winning smile. "Might I prevail upon you to join me? Or I'll be singing two parts and that'd just be odd."

"I can't fault them that. Tradition is a large part of most societies." She hadn't observed many but she knew, from speaking with her einherjar, about some of them. If only she'd had more time to talk to them then. It seemed that here though, she'd have the chance to learn new traditions and she wasn't against learning.

Lenneth shook her head. Even before chasing after Lezard, business in Asgard had kept her quite busy. She imagined that Odin had neglected several of his own duties, leaving Freya to take care of certain things he should have been. And there was the need to adjust to being All-Mother instead of just a Valkyrie.

"I had no time to myself. There was too much work to be done, even without a pressing need to rest there wasn't always enough time." Time, ha! Yeah, that might've been intentional.

Well, why not amuse himself with a little socialization? The Master flashed her a broad grin and looked at her selection.

"Oh, I think I might be persuaded. I rather approve of the sentiment, after all." Killing faithless lovers? Now there was a concept he could get behind, even if it was a bit morose in places.

He lowered his eyes, as if in respect or in remorse. "You have time now," he remarked quietly.

Well... Lenneth eyes widened slightly and she actually turned to look at him. Of course she realized she had time now but to hear it so plainly from him- she just wasn't prepared for that.

"I suppose I do now, don't I?" For all he'd done, and with how he spoke now, she just couldn't bring herself to be sharp just yet. "I've been practicing with the instruments you left me with some of my time."

She'd never sung for an audience before. Oh, she'd given speeches and press conferences since she was a little kid, but singing? That would've been frivolity, and possibly also an embarrassment to Reseune. What was more, the song was definitely not a socially responsible song.

All in all, she felt ready for another go, and since this fellow was game — and, incidentally, a fantastic singing partner — ((with his mun's oocly given permission, of course)) they tried out another of the Nick Cave catalogue.

When that one was over, she turned to her partner, flushed and giddy. "I think we're on a roll," she suggested gaily. "But we should try a third. Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, as they say."

And three times was enemy action, but maybe at Reseune that saying had a different ending, or maybe it was an azi-bodyguard joke. Whatever the case, Ari seemed to be ascribing a positive meaning. She didn't bother hiding the fact that she totally wanted to sing more, and she also didn't give a damn whether she hogged the karaoke machine, apparently.

If he'd been invisibly spying on her and had seen her playing the musical instruments, now would not be the time to say so. Even Lezard knew that.

"Have you indeed?" He sounded surprised, pleasantly surprised. "It gladdens me that you would not disdain a gift offered in good faith, whatever you may feel toward the giver."

"A 'roll', indeed," he said, taking her hand and kissing the knuckles lightly, with a sly wink. "I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it enemy action." He knew the expression quite well. "But perhaps if you're in the mood for something a touch more adversarial..." He smirked and pointed to another song in the catalog.

Very bad indeed. Lenneth's mood would turn most foul if he had mentioned it. For now though, she nods and reaches into her robe ~~because her mun is a loser neglected to mention what she was wearing~~ and pulls out the panpipe he'd left her. Her favorite so far. ~~The moog synthesizer might still be giving her trouble.~~

"The instruments never did anything harmful before. I wouldn't take anything out on them."

"I remember reading at school, in Flenceburg, a treatise in which the author was arguing that music and poetry are harmful unless subordinated to a higher cause. He'd have restricted all music to Odinic hymns." Lezard snorted. "The idea was that certain kinds of music, frivolous music and ballads of love or vengeance, would turn the mind toward wrongdoing and away from virtue. If that author were to be believed, then all the musical instruments I gave you carry within them the potential for harm." A light laugh. "And yet there is no such danger, and never was. Only the curmudgeonly scribblings of some old man, dignified by the name of philosophy."

"And he never considered that perhaps the music might sooth a weary soul? Music can influence people either way." Lenneth sighed. While some mortals could be so incredibly intelligent and valuable, others spouted off nonsense in a way that may them seem intelligent. She knew a couple gods who enjoyed music and they hadn't turned out worse than they ever had been.

"I suppose music could influence someone. If they were weak-minded enough to let it or already had a tendency for wrongdoing or otherwise."

Jherek had already noticed Jem by the time she beckoned to him- she was after all one of the best-dressed people at Hogwarts in his opinion, and tonight's ensemble was no exception- he especially liked the striped boots, and rather regretted the omission of striped footwear from his own outfit. Having met Jem at her Sorting, and having found her entirely delightful, he couldn't very well resist her look, and wandered over, smiling. "A wonderful ensemble, for the most scintillating of singers! I especially like the boots."

The karaoke machine was a new one for Jherek, and his natural curiosity meant the the subject couldn't be avoided. "Do you know what this device is for?" Although he'd heard a couple people singing, he hadn't associated it with the machine- music could originate from thin air where he was from, so he didn't tend to think too much about its origin. But, he actually knew a surprising amount about music, particularly from the 19th and 20th centuries, having found a cache of 'platters' dating from this era during his Hi-Rise phase. He'd taught himself many of the songs, and ended up with a particular fascination with the 19th century, which soon lead to his Hi-Rise becoming the ranch. In light of his former 20th century fixation, it was quite possible that his illiteracy wouldn't prove too much of a hindrance. . .

After her boisterous round of karaoke with the Master (http://hogwarts-hocus.livejournal.com/2040075.html?thread=115209227#t115209227), Ariane found Lenneth, one of the few faces she recognized who hadn't been through the Hat Shore wringer.

"Hi," she piped, a little breathlessly. "Isn't it a great party?"

After all these songs, Ari's throat finally cried mercy. She needed something to wet it — not alcohol; she'd learned long ago that it did her no favors, and it'd just dehydrate her more. Breathless, she curtsied to her duet partner. "I think I'm done, for the moment," she said, beaming. "You know, that was the most unambiguous fun I've had here in ages. And I don't even know your name."

"It's for singing at parties," explained Jem, in what wasn't quite a stage whisper. "The prompter shows you the words, and you sing along with the music! I do miss my backing band, but karaoke's outrageous!"

He gave her a cheerful grin, the sort that had helped him (along with planet-wide subliminal messages, of course) be elected Prime Minister. "I'm the Master, he said, lightly enough to be gently self-mocking. "And now you have the advantage over me, my dear...?"

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Luscious Pumpkin Jam (dated to Halloween night)

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KARAOKE UP IN HERE!

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