Imagine the fish... You eat your sushi, eh? New Year's Day party at Robin Van Baak!

day two - cassis time

after the food has been tasted and judged excellent, we are to relax ourselves. let's just stand around and drink cassis cocktails for a while, just until everyone arrives. noone can claim to know every person present today good and many have never seen each other in their lives. now we can use the time to learn each other's wits and names. all that comes easier with few promiles above the average.

come on, walter, dance this way with those bottles, we would like to see if their contents is worth the price paid for them.

aye, walter, you may taste your brew first. if you survive, others might find bravery to try it themselves. continuing that course, one might say that heidi is a particularily brave one, for she tastes it along with walter without waiting to see his biological reaction. what may that mean? if he dies this night, she wishes herself death as well? the life has no meaning without him to her?

cheers!

'this is the most excellent red wine! it would never harm anyone but would offer health and joy to every man who drinks it! never again dare you say such an insult, for i was personally involved in choosing it!'

cheers again!

'ugh... cheers!'

is torben feeling well? he looks like he would collapse any moment. maybe it is his fatherhood which dictates the rhythm of his life now, or maybe he is the first to discover the poisoned wine?

let's all drink. cassis, red wine, it is of no consequence. every bottle shall be dry by the morning and the order in which they are emptied matters little.

meanwhile, let's see who else is around.

here is reny, the lady of the zlatkovic, heir to the throne of the morsch. her husband, the warlord, had almost fallen to her sword few hours earlier, for he tried to peek some curry before she declared it finished. she had no understanding, since he missed no opportunity to do exactly that during the whole afternoon.

'now, with my work regarding the curry done, the swine may eat as much as he pleases until he explodes and in that case, he shall not be allowed to die until he had cleaned the tapistry from his own rests'.

'hi hi hi hi hi hi hi!' says laughing jack, also known as alex.
'anyone who eats so much and thus spoils the purity of koelsch must be bereift of his wits! it is so much more funny to let the ale flow undisturbed by the rests of poorly chewn food.'

'ahahahaha, come on, jackie, cut that crap. last time i did as you dictated i ended up unusable for few days after. i shall drink after i have seen my belly filled and not a single second earlier.'

the koelschman, putzie of the alex, is on the right way, it seems.

here is alexa, full of hidden rage, for the warlord had forbidden everyone to use champagne or sekt before the clock hits twelve. even the handsome british servant she brought with her is unable to offer her comfort... yet.

we cannot help you, girl. the will of the warlord may not be questioned.

'to that, i can only say prrrr! the warlord's will is of no interest to me and the reason i resign drinking champagne before midnight is just that i find myself more fond of beer at the moment.

'had the warlord waited for me to open the first beer can, i would have been more open to his authority, but as things fare, all i can say is prrrrr! prrrrr!'

michael, the brewmaster, had spoken. had the warlord overheard him, he may not have lived to pull his tongue back in his mouth.

'oh, my alemaster, come, let me kiss you out of affection to your bravery! i shall do it, i shall really do it, i care not for anja watching the scene!'

aye, this is torben. torben the devil.

here is ulf, ready for whatever he may face. nothing can surprise the party veteran. his expirience on this field is unmatched. and his self-confidence is easy to see, when you look at him.

now, here is how ulf would have looked through sustained glass. much better, eh?

this is ulf again, with glowing edges.

the kid who made these photos believes himself capable of arcane arts? actually, we need some party photos here and no sorcerer's apprentice who casts photoshop filter spells as they appear on the menu bar! spare my nose.

'yes, i smoke cigarettes because they taste better than pipes.'

we all think heidi looks better when the colour of her eyes matches that of her robes, don't we?

be pleased to meet the one who took the biggest pain to look in accordance to our party's theme.

here! they are standing still...

...but not for long. once the camera flashes, they just go, each by her own business.

you want ot know who were the ones who presented themselves as everyone should have? here are the best clothes of the evening. these are the two.

ulf knows the best way to begin a party is to throw himself into a deep talk to a woman. alcohol shall render him unable to lead such conversations later, and he knows that.

'i cannot believe everyone is wearing traditional japanese robes here. i thought that to be a joke... i need some koelsch.'
'honey, i believe you are being photographed... shshshshhihihihihihihi!'

hah! let's all be happy, dressed one way or another.

michael and katja seem to be happy enough. not uncommon for ones who wear the mantle of the brewmaster and the brewmistress.

'ajajaj, the beer can is empty!! now i shall open the next one!'