15857/Festive...from a Distance...

Festive...from a Distance...
Date of Scene:	02 December 2023
Location:	Lucifer's Penthouse, Melville
Synopsis:	Lucifer, Sinister and Nick enjoy post tree-lighting talk at the Lux Penthouse.
Cast of Characters:	Lucifer, Phantasm (Drago), Sinister

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Lucifer has posed:
The tree lighting ceremony came and went. It's a thing. In Lucifer's eyes it's a specatcle that really doesn't need to be done. Christmas. He hates it. Well. He loves and hates it. The gift giving part is fine enough...mostly because he can sense the envy, the greed, and the pride that fills the world...well if he's being honest all the prime sins are out in force this time of year.

That being thought...

He hates the other side of the holiday. The visuals of seeing the Western World's version of Jesus born in a manger. The Virgin Mother and Joseph Iscariot. The three wise men. All that frankensense and myrrh...

It makes him sick.

So no thanks. He'll skip the tree lighting. Not like he has to be there anyway...soon as it lights up you can see the fucking things from the skyline.

<<Hey N. It's L. If you're in town and you get sick of the NYC crowd, stop by. ~LM.>> A text sent while he sits on the balcony scowling at the world and the festive cheer trying to fill the air.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
It is not until the described 'fucking thing' lights up and the general skyline around it, giving a faint halo effect from that section of city that a message comes back.

<< Sure. Might take a few. >>

And a few is how much it takes before the bundled up Drago comes to view from between the opening doors of the elevator. In his gloved hands, there is a disposable cup advertising the tree lighting which he sips from. The whisps of steam hinting that the beverage is still hot.

Sinister has posed:
Whereas Lucifer is not much into the season, Sinister is a little different. However, it isn't all tinsel and kitschy glitz -- in fact that cannot be found anywhere. He is currently arranging the fronds of several evergreen trees in a vase by the hearthside. There's holly and ivy and fronds of fir with their blue-grey fringes saying that they were imported or cost a pretty penny. Small decorations, mostly made of wood and/or glass are hung from spots here and there but he's trying to figure out where to put a small robin redbreast into the mix.

"Don't mind him, it's a bit of adversarial nonsense, cultural appropriation and hijacking paganism, mixed with commercialism and crowds."

This from Sin as he moves the ornamental bird here and there, shakes his head and tongue clucks. There are a couple of other branches strung from the ceiling, with little glass icicles hung upon them. But that is it.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer scoffs as he walks back inside, tilting his head as he watches Nathaniel and his trying to place a cardinal somewhere in the sparsely decorated penthouse. "Jesus wasn't even born in Winter. He was born in Spring. I have NO idea how they got things so messed up. Not to mention the star that they supposedly followed to find the baby boy? Not the North Star we know today. Because -that- star went all explodey and then a NEW star was named the Northern Star. But do they teach THAT in the schools? Of course not." He rants for a bit before walking into the kitchen to pull out the mason jar half filled still with the apple cider he made however long ago. Thanksgiving was it? Nearly that? Perhaps before. Halloween?

Who cares. It's fermented apples. It's FINE.

He refrains from audibly quiping that he knows a place Nathaniel can stuff that bird, but keeps it very much to himself. For a few reasons. Attention going to Nick as he pours some of the mason jar apple cider into a pot so he can warm it up on the stove. "Crowd pretty bad out there? I'm surprised your drink is still warm... How've you been, Nick?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick steps out of the elevator, allowing for a little trail of steam to declare where he once was. Hearing the advance warning, Nick gives a half smile. Not surprising at all. And yet he continues to hold that cup with the tree on the side of it.

Eyes glance to the contents as Lucifer makes comment of how hot it is. "It was served very hot." He replies, "As for the trip over, I took a short cut so not much time to cool."

There's a bit of quiet as the sound of the elevator door sliding shut goes uncontested but the silence is not long lasting. "Crowd looked pretty big. But I was backstage for a sizable chunk of it. Bit more breathing room there. "

Sinister has posed:
"As I said, cultural appropriation and hijacking paganism. This is -yule- because I refuse to give that any other credit--" Sinister looks over toward the devil for a moment. "Pick a holiday, no, no, it was christian, look we're assimilating, shoving your festival aside and oh, but it's our faith, too. Now it's all about the shroving, the ashes, the candy and the feast of all saints, babies in a manger and nothing about blood, feasting to stave off starvation and the birth of spring. Classic gaslighting, if you ask me."

He fusses the ROBIN for a moment or two, then plucks up a small dove and goes to find that ornament a suitable spot.

"I hope they paid you well. Any autograph signings or selfie options given?" this with a glance to Nick and over to the hotpot. "The cider is thoroughly mulled now, by the by. Very nice spicing."

Lucifer has posed:
"I'm thinking of melting some caramel into this small batch to see how it tastes..." Lucifer offers this and then takes in a breath. "Yule. Yes. It will be nice to celebrate the -proper- holiday of the season." He ends it with that, pointedly nodding his head and then moving to pull the very expensively sourced caramel from the fridge so bring it up to room temp while the cider comes up to a gentle boil.

"I think I might have gone just to hear you play...but then I would have gotten lulled by the crowd and that would have been a disaster. Still. I do hope you had fun and were compensated appropriately." He smirks.

"Oh. Nathaniel. Shall we regale the tale of the Quantum to our friend?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"A live event performance that's being shown on broadcast TV and being filmed outdoors?" The musician gives a nod. "Oh yes, it was a good sum. The rest of the group should be happy with their share. And one more public appearance to fight off rumors of me no longer being around."

And as an added bonus, he's passed the year mark since the last attack that was specifically targeting him. So Yay! Progress!

He holds up his cup, "As an added bonus, I have some time off til the next performance so free to enjoy some hot cocoa."

The mention of cider is considered. Another tempting drink. "...although I might help myself to that once I'm done with this."

Lucifer's comment about coming to hear him play isn't lost upon Nick and the half smile turns to a full smile. "Based from the general opinion of what the ceremony was centered around. I'll consider that high praise from you. But, you don't need to fight the crowd to hear me play. Although, be warned it was not of my usual repertoire."

Sinister has posed:
"We could do," Sinister replies to Lucifer's words, looking over at the high compliment and finding a small smile for the festivus of the moment. With a contented sigh, he finds the spot for the dove and finally finds spots for a pair of sparrows. That was easier, they just go on a knot, one above the other, as if they were live and not well made maniquins.

There's a nod, then he stalks his way to the kitchen to find steins. They do have a couple of them, for such things as the hot cider, with lids that will keep the heat in. The germans do know a thing or two -- these have tourist images of Ausberg, in Bavaria, with a beautiful lake and majestic forests and hills. They're brought over, put in the sink and hot water is run over them.

"Surrendering to the commercialism. For shame... but we all have to make a buck, so they say." He leans against the kitchen sink, looks at Lucifer and inclines his head with a spread of the open palm toward Nick, as if to say 'you start'.

Lucifer has posed:
"You seem ecclectic enough that I might enjoy most anything you perform. I'm not a fan just because you tossed together a few songs for some erratic saints..." Lucifer says this, grins, feels like Uriel and Raphael may come down and kick him for that one. But none the less.

"Well lets see here... it started with an apparent visit from Uriel and Raphael... they wanted to try and help with whatever is causing the machine to be a bit wonky. It ended up with Uriel supplying Nathaniel with a bit more of his DNA. He's infused that DNA - temporarily as it will last - into his wings and thus his spinal column. But I digress... because I came in when we went to where the machine is stored. And Nathaniel had the machine on and we were working to better infuse the machine when... we opened up the quantum... all the worlds where the machine exists. At the same time... and that's where we discovered the problem..." He explains this much and then glances to Nathaniel.

"Cider..." Yes, he is going to deliberately distract himself with making the caramel apple cider so that Nathaniel will have to continue explaining what - and moreover who - they found within the quantum realms.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"If it's any consolation, any profit from sales of the album that had the song I performed goes to benefit homeless shelters. So... there's still some good from it beyond the care of the ones playing the music.

He looks to the cup in his hand. Lucifer's observation wasn't... too far off. "...Well, it was Hotel Christmas. So I guess that would be considered not the norm. Let's just say it's not the 'YAY! Presents!' style of song."

Nick looks to Sinister looking over to Lucifer and gesturing to him. To the visual he looks over to Lucifer once more. "...Opened up the quantum?" He repeats, giving a curious look. When he gives further information, the lips part slightly as he gives a slow nod. "...So a Nexus of worlds?"

Sinister has posed:
"Essentially, yes, Nick. The various realities where the machine was made by one or another version of me and apparently one where it got made by mister Fantastic -- the reason it's glitching is that the machines are all essentially the same, but there's minute little differences, but because it's quantum, they all resonate together. So they're disharmonic. Worse, they're in a state of flux, which means they're only aligned with this timeline and the Prime reality, on a kind of timer. It's our reality's one that is the locus device, as it's the only one with the living...erm... well... UNliving essence of the keeper of the Time stone, imbedded in its housing, thanks to Undead Strange."

Sin crosses his ankles and folds arms as he leans against the sink. "So, we've got a task ahead, in calibrating them all to be as close to the same as we can muster it, that way it should be less glitchy. One of me... is ahhh... dead. Or rather, non-corporeal. Apparently, there's a version of parallel timeline where my transfusion of Celestial telomeres didn't go according to plan and I ended up in Lucifer's head, because he wouldn't just let things go. He calls himself Seven."

Lucifer has posed:
"It really was surreal to see my body but hearing words that usually come out of Nathaniel's mouth..." Lucifer says this as he chimes back in just for the quip. Stirring the cider until he's satisfied that the caramel is all but melted and melded in with the concoction. The steins are taken and he ladles the cider into each of them before passing them out to Nathaniel, Nick, and himself. "We were able to talk to Seven for a moment. He managed to slip through the quantum and was in the same room as us for a while. But then the flux timer ran out and he phased away before we could finish talking."

He pauses, sniffs the cider, and then sips at it a moment. Contemplates. Nods. And drinks a bit more. "So now I get to go quantum surfing trying to find Seven again and maybe get some more answers. Or figure out just how the fuck we're going to align enough of the machines to not have them go all quirky on us each time we use it."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"... Why Seven?"

Hey, everyone's wondering. Nick's just saying it out loud. "Was he making a math joke?"

Ok most people probably weren't thinking that.

Sinister has posed:
"Thank you love," the stein lid popped, Sin takes a good long drink of the cider, smiles in appreciation and rests the mug upon his forearm, shrugging his shoulders up oh-so-slightly.

"Math joke, insinuated reference and probably a good deal to do with the devil and his Sin. Occasionally, I have found my mind to be ingenius, intellectual, infantile and prone to dad jokes all at the same time. I suspect it might be a foible."

Another sip.

"Unfortunately, unless Seven comes a'walking this way, I cannot assist with that. Dimensional travel would take me quite a bit of effort and some inventing."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer smirks. "It's basically up to me to be able to figure out the hows of it all. But Seven's willing to help. In fact, he was all hello wavey at us when we were first peeking into the quantum. And I can interplanar travel with...well...some effort, but not as much as it would take Nathaniel.." He offers this much before taking another drink from his stein.

"So that's where we are right now...and the clock is ticking...but I do know one thing. If we're really the Prime Realm...then we're on the right path. Because we have to survive or everything... ev-er-ee-thing...goes tits up."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I would imagine that if Seven could approach you before, he could probably do it again if you did whatever it is you did to get to the Nexus. And it sounds like he's got good reason to do just that. Maybe next time arrange for set meeting intervals for planning purposes?"

Nick takes a moment to tilt his head back, downing the remainder of the hot cocoa before moving over to the trash to toss the cup in.

There you go Luci, one bit of monetizing Christmas, now in the trash. Hands now free, he moves over to where he set down the stein he was given.

Sinister has posed:
"I imagine you're right, Nick. I'm still a little disturbed by the fact that in that existence, I apparently am simply a consciousness - but there's also the very distinct hope that I've the same degree of education and knowledge breadth to bring to that scenario. He had my eyes and the ruby diamond in his forehead, it was very jarring and fascinating at the same time." He gives a dramatic little shiver, stills at the last of Lucifer's words sinking in and sips again at the cider.

"Anyway, ahhh... do you have any yuletide plans?"

Lucifer has posed:
"But there was another there with him. Golden eyed and...well I just remember the golden eyes. I could have sworn it was almost like you and I had switched places. Or that perhaps...someone else was there with him." Lucifer recalls this with a shrug and drinks a bit more of his cider, pausing momentarily to refill it and then sips at it again. That last question steering them away from the quantum discussion and so he silences himself to allow Nick to answer it.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods. "Considering you're dealing with a machine that does what-if scenarios, you'll probably encounter a few more variations of you." Nick considers, looking over to Lucifer to the mention of 'Golden eyes.' "Any chance their name was Six?" The musician asks curiously.

Sinister's topic change brings Nick to look over to the doctor. "Oh... Well, the actual Christmas day I figured I'd go volunteer cooking over at New Hope again. Uh, other than that, Wade's planning to have a party at Shaw studios for staff there, will probably drop in for that... He's also got the toy and food drive so probably help with that as well. Pop by and visit some friends I haven't had much chance to hang with recently... And probably get some more practice in."

Nick tilts his head curiously, "And what about you two?"

Sinister has posed:
"Ahh, that's very good of you," Sinister says after selecting his words with some care. He ponders his own response, looking to Lucifer a moment. "I'm curious too," is offered, then a crooked half-smile for the 'six' comment, cider sipped again.

"I think we're doing a little yuletide thing, where goose might be involved. As to holiday spirit, I have..." he sighs "...several free clinics and raffles going on, with a medical forgiveness program. This time of year, I tend to get quite a few favours owed and cashed in."

Lucifer has posed:
"Lux has to make a certain showing I suppose. It'll be decorated...and such..." Lucifer offers. "Might do some sort of charity drive. But everyone does toys and whatnot.. I think I'll try to find something a bit more..." He wiggles his fingers of a free hand in the air. "Whimsical? Uncommon? Je ne sais quoi..." Putting that out there before he downs the rest of his cider. "In fact, with it being the beginning of December, we'll slowly begin to decorate down in the club proper..." But an event or two will be held, because it's Lux, he's the Devil, and that's just how things go.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick smiles to the mention of the free clinics. "Well, you got us beat with the clinics. Those aren't just seasonal things. I'm sure people will appreciate that." hearing Lucifer's comment about trying to find something uncommon, he hurms. "...Well, the are some unique charities out there that might not get as much of a push around the holidays. Maybe something revolving around rescuing animals and training them to help those in need?" He pauses, "Uh. There's a Search Dog Foundation where they rescue dogs and train them to be search dogs to help in the event of natural disasters, and stuff of that nature. Paws With A Cause, is similar but instead trains them to be service animals. There's more of them but those are the first two that come to mind."

Sinister has posed:
"I suppose that means I shall have to participate a little, or find some way to spice things up, dearest," Sinister grins toward Lucifer, flashing eyebrows up a notch.

He looks to Nick then though, inclining his head a little. "Let us know if there's anything in particular that is required at your events, other than just hands, hmm?" His cider is finished up, the stein floated off to the sink.

"And if you're not needing to rush off for a while, I am going to open a yuletide gift package I purchased and cordially invite you to the streaming whodunnit game, which will be infinitely better with snacks, company and some drinks. We are tasked to discover who murdered Captain Underpants."

So spoken in the most serious of tones, it shall be a thing, whether with or without the Dragon. Preferable with.