Summer 11 - Medieval Week Mingle

[norrhamn_residents]

Okay, so maybe Norrhamn isn't as big of a tourist attraction as Gotland. Maybe it's not home to the best preserved medieval city in Scandinavia, complete with ring wall and twelve church ruins. Maybe it can't even compete with the near Mediterranean climate that Visby has during those late summer weeks, but Norrhamn knows one thing — how to do a lot with very little.

Welcome to Medieval Week - Lite Edition

The beach on the eastern side of the Island has been decked out with as many wooden tables and benches as is logistically possible, while still leaving some areas free for games and dancing. There's a wooden stage set up close to the woods, and a couple of racks of lovingly sponsored time-appropriate clothes available for those who want to blend in with the times.

Entertainment: To set the mood, management hired a band of Baltic musicians that will take up the stage for most of the day, playing well into the night. There's also dumb-ass jester performances from time to time, usually while the musicians are taking a break. The biggest event however is the fire show that starts up as soon as night falls right by the edge of the water.

Games: There's not quite enough room for an actual jousting tournament (my heart breaks) but there's a whole heap of stick horses for those eager to make their own. You're also welcome to take part in any number of feats of skill and strength, like rövkrok, armwrestling, or pillow-fighting on a slick wooden log. For those of a more intellectual persuasion, there's also a number of medieval board- card- and dicegames available.

Food and drink: Oh man. Oh man? There's so much food. Like, if some of the early guests thought that first welcome party had food in abundance, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Between the whole spit-roasted wild boar, through the pea soup and pork, the saffron-pancakes with dewberry jam, the roasted root vegetables (no potatoes in sight), the smoked pike-perch, the freshly baked spiced breads, the apple- hazelnut bread pudding, no one will go home hungry*. Wash it down with flagons of mead, spiced wine, beer brewed on honey and hops, or perfectly alcohol-free elderberry or lingonberry lemonades.

*There is of course thirium alternatives for the android population.

For those interested in more info on the actual Medieval Week, here's a link

Comments

[unwieldy]

Haein is going to keep his eyes above the waist, thanks! He's not drunk enough for his gaze to wandering any lower.

But oh, that sounds familiar. It's kind of strange that the first thing he now thinks of when he hears about an organization that saves the world from aliens is people who have the same occupation, rather than pure confusion. "You know Ianto Jones, then?" he asks, remembering yesterday's meet up at the library.

[forever_jack]

Spoilsport!

He inclines his head at Haein's reaction, and then grins. It makes a change for Ianto to have got in first!

"Oh, yes, I know Ianto," he says warmly, blue eyes twinkling merrily. "I know Ianto very, very well."

[unwieldy]

Well, the meaning of the emphasis on that word isn't lost on Haein, and he raises an eyebrow at this share of information. Okay, cool. So now he knows more about two people's sex lives than he would have cared to.

"Spare me the details." He can't be too sure, so just covering the bases before anything more gets said. This is a guy wearing tights, saving the world from aliens, and letting a total stranger know about his intimate business. The last thing he wants to hear is specifics.

[forever_jack]

Unfortunately, knowing more than you want to about other people's sex lives tends to be a common casualty of talking to Jack Harkness. Especially when you react like that - it just makes him want to share even more!

"Oh really?" he croons, eyes dancing even more. "You mean you don't want to know about how he seduced me by capturing me a pterodactyl with a bar of chocolate, back in Cardiff? Or about the hot threesomes with our other partner, Spike, who just happens to be a vampire?"

[unwieldy]

This is all Haein's fault for even starting a conversation with this guy. He is, however, two parts annoyed and one part intrigued. Pterodactyls and vampires? His buzzed mind cannot wrap around these things.

"You sleep with a vampire?" He can't help but blurt that question out. It doesn't sound safe... The vampires that Haein has heard fictional stories of are usually murderous and violent, so this is wild.

[forever_jack]

It is all totally his fault. Well, and Jack's fault for being an insufferable tease.

And since he can see that Haein is intrigued, he's not likely to stop any time soon.

"I really do," he nods, grin wide and mischievous. "He is incredibly hot."

Then he relents a little. "He also has a soul; he's a good man. I don't think he's here today, but you might see him around. Bleached blond, long black leather coat, cheekbones to die for..."

[unwieldy]

Wait, okay, Haein won't lie. He's a fan of hot guys, too. They have something in common here, but there's no way he'd voice that out loud. He's not that drunk that he'd want to start discussing guys who look good with a total stranger. Hell, he wouldn't even do that with a friend.

Not like he has many of those, though.

"You're not going to start drooling, are you?" A fair question with how Jack's going on and on about this guy. Now Haein is going to think every blond, leather coat clad man on this island is a vampire. Then again, how many could fit that description in a a place like this?

[forever_jack]

Jack hasn't noticed any other blond, leather coat clad men around, so Haein probably won't go far wrong with that suspicion. In fact, he's almost tempted to try and point Spike in Haein's direction just to see what happens, because he can tell there is at least a little interest going on here.

The question about drooling, which might have some men flushing with embarrassment and others heating with anger at the insult, just bounces off Jack's thick skin and, instead, makes him tease even more.

"Oh no, not right now," he shrugs, and then gives Haein an absolutely filthy grin. "When I'm down on my knees about to suck his gorgeous cock, though - that might be another matter!"

[unwieldy]

This was an exceptionally unfortunate time for Haein to take a swig of his mead, because he ends up choking on it after hearing Jack's words. First of all, people don't speak like that around him. Secondly, what the hell. His intoxicated mind unhelpfully provides a mental image, and he wishes he could carve his brain out of his skull for that one.

"You're—" Crass? Tasteless? Vulgar? Any of those work for this moment, but Haein's still having trouble processing what just went down. He's no prude, but gods, he'd been completely taken by surprise at that answer.

There's a brief second or two of silence as he composes himself. "I really didn't need to know that," he says dryly.

[forever_jack]

He leans over and helpfully thumps Haein on the back to aid with stemming the choking. (It's not the first time he's caused someone to choke on their beer; he knows how to handle it!) He finishes off his own beer while he waits for Haein to recover, and grins at his comment.

"No, of course not, but isn't it a lovely hot image?" he suggests warmly, and then lifts his empty mug, jerking his head back towards the bar. "I'm out of beer. Want a refill?"

[unwieldy]

Haein normally wouldn't be very appreciative of the contact, but he's too preoccupied right now to do any protesting.

He doesn't answer Jack's question, preferring to let the silence speak for itself that he wants to move on from this conversation piece. Or maybe it can be interpreted as an affirmative. Either way, he's a bit relieved for the change in subject to the question of a refill.

"Sure." He needs to be a lot drunker for this, and he hands his mug over to Jack. After making him choke on his mead, the least the other man can do is get him more.

[forever_jack]

Jack takes the mug good-naturedly and ambles away to get them both refills and then ambles back again, handing Haein a newly topped up mug of mead.

And then, because he can relent on occasion, he finally abandons the previous topic of conversation, and asks instead, "So, Haein. Where's home?"

He's endlessly fascinated by the vast range of places the people here are from, some of them a lot more unfamiliar than others.

[unwieldy]

Thank goodness for small mercies. Haein takes the mug without any thanks, because he's rude like that, and takes a drink before answering Jack's question.

"Seoul, South Korea." It's where he attends university, but it doesn't feel like home with the amount of times he's bounced around from country to country, place to place. "Is there an organization that saves the world from aliens there, too?"

He's feeling a bit more chatty thanks to the drinks.

[forever_jack]

One eyebrow goes up a little at the lack of civilities, but he's quite used to all sorts of different people so he doesn't make a fuss.

"Seoul, eh? No, not that I know of. I mean, Torchwood used to go wherever we needed to to sort things out, but we didn't have any bases in Korea, and I don't think UNIT have either."

He tilts his head a moment, curious. "Early twenty-first century, yeah?" He waves a vague hand. "I mean, going by the hairstyle, and the outfit."

[unwieldy]

Well, either Korea is boned when it comes to alien invasions or aliens just aren't interested in that particular country. It's not really his problem, he supposes, considering he and Jack don't share the same world. Still, it's an interesting thing to note.

At Jack's observation, Haein feels a bit self-conscious. He doesn't do well with people pointing out anything about his appearance, so there's a small frown on his face before he shakes his head.

"Yeah, I guess," he mutters as he looks away. "I don't try to stand out, so this is what everyone looks like where I'm from."

[forever_jack]

Well, certainly in Jack's world, aliens tend to stick to London to make their invasions. It's a thing. So Korea's probably okay, mostly.

He watches Haein's reaction to his observation with interest and amusement. "Cute kid like you - why wouldn't you want to stand out?"