[closed] a little party never killed nobody

[spellslots]

who: The IPRE + friends
what: A dinner party!
when: Novemeber 18
where: Chez IPRE
warnings: some mild drug use (alcohol + marijuana)

Party time, motherfuckers. After sending out invitations, the IPRE (mostly Taako, because he's the most extra of the group) spends a significant amount of the week preparing for the party, making sure they have all the food, decorations, and wine necessary to put on a good evening. The whole point of this is to be a distraction from a shitty month, and to get everyone together, since they have a range of friends who haven't all met each other. They've been talking about doing something like this for months, so it's nice to finally pull it all together.

Upon arrival (and despite Taako and Lup's involvement) the decorations are minimal. Couches have been transmuted from their regular fabric to rich velvets, there's a little glitz and feathers here and there, but they didn't want to go too hard on the theme. It was just a way to have a little fun with the evening. The bar cart, on the other hand, is definitely in line with Speakeasy, featuring a lot of gin and whiskey based drinks, though anyone with a preference for wine or beer won't be disappointed. The start of the evening is dedicated to introductions and mingling, probably helped by the alcohol, though there's also cheese and antipasto plates set out, just in case anyone was worried about not being fed at something hosted by two chefs. As a way to break the ice, and to get people talking and having fun before the evening really kicks off, the brick wall of the small living room has been set aside as the designated backdrop for a 'photo booth', which mostly consists of a few instant cameras, including one that takes what are essentially magical gifs, so long as the button is held down for 5 seconds. There are a few props that match the theme of the evening - fur stoles, feather headbands, felt hats, long strings of pearls - to make the photos a little more fun. Once everyone is seated in the dining room, it's time for dinner. The food brought out for the main meal is warm and rich without being too heavy, slow cooked meats and roasted vegetables can be mixed with salads and lighter sides to avoid anyone slipping into a food coma before dessert has even begun. Everything is set in the middle of the table, for people to serve themselves, so they can pick and choose what they want to try. Lup has made at least one incredibly spicy dish, so be careful.

While there's no rush to leave the table, eventually plates are cleared away (by magic, so none of the hosts have to stop chatting) and everyone is ushered into the larger of their living rooms, where the small coffee table has been replaced by a seemingly floating table that's large enough to accommodate all the desserts. There are various pies (pecan, pumpkin, cherry), apple & maple cake, chocolate tarts, brownies and trifle. There aren't quite as many options as there were on the dinner table, but it's near a thing, especially when the section of the table devoted to cream, ice cream and sauces is taken into consideration. Dessert is an extended affair, pies will stay warm and ice cream will stay frozen for as long as they remain on the table, so people can return and try more even as the rest of the night presses on. And although the food is, really, the main attraction of any kind of event that Taako is involved with, that doesn't mean there aren't things to do other than eating. Once the dining room table has been cleared, (plastic) champagne glasses are laid out in what might be a familiar formation to anyone who went to college, especially when a ping pong ball is added to the mix. It's beer pong! Except it's actually prosecco pong, because this is a classy joint, not some frat. Or at least, that's the excuse. There are a few other things to do, mostly in the more generic range of party games, including a deck of Cards Against Humanity that Taako discovered a couple weeks ago and had been delighted by. He's definitely going to wrangle people into a game of Never Have I Ever, maybe Truth Or Dare, and anything else he can think of that requires drinking alcohol and saying stupid shit. What better way is there to get to know people? As things wind down, the backdoors open up into the courtyard, where a fire is set up, cushions and blankets placed outside for people to curl up with. The fixings for s'mores are available for anyone who somehow still has room to eat more food, and there's mulled cider just in case the fire isn't enough to keep people warm. It's a nice way to wrap up the evening.

Comments

loki

[dothelokimotion]

[ Unlike Thor, Loki seems to be in his element. Dressed in pinstripes, he twirls his bowler hat before neatly tossing it on top of the coat rack without blinking and immediately grabs himself a drink. As much as he "enjoyed" the Grandmaster's parties, he made it a point not to get too close to the people there. There's no tension in his eyes, no glimmer of madness and violence that always seems to mirror Loki's form. Which isn't to say it isn't there but even people who know him well would have trouble finding it.

He can be found easily winning at prosecco pong (but is he cheating?). There definitely seem to be too many balls in that half-second before it makes contact. As for Cards Against Humanity, Loki has a zingers, though he's constantly wondering why his name pops up in the cards constantly. The price of fame clearly. He might also be lying a bit at Never Have I Ever when he talks about body glitter and one night he spent with the centaurs. Probably.

Loki tends to be not far from Thor, but he wanders away from the fire after a while. It feels like too much. ]

[scholiast]

(Lucretia, who has a feeling she may regret this instantly, leans forward the moment Loki drops the story about the centaurs.)

Explain.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki hides his smile briefly behind his hand before replying smoothly. ]

Which part? I have to leave some of the mystique.

[scholiast]

How you came to meet such creatures. Paint me a word picture.

(She's has enough wine left in her current glass, she can take it.)

[dothelokimotion]

As princes of Asgard, many places within the Nine — [ Eight now, there are eight realms. ] — that were open to us.

[ Loki's palm unfurls; covered in forests and greenery, miniature elves and centaurs wandering around. Strange feathered birds twirls a few inches above his palm. ]

In those days, Thor was called upon to quell any . . . uprisings in these areas. And I was often there to accompany him. Once the deed was done, we were allowed some time for respite.

[scholiast]

(Lucretia disregards her wine glass completely, captivated by this beautiful little display of magic. Parlour? Or illusionary? She wants to reach out and touch it but won't, in case it makes the scene disappear alltogther.

She doesn't look up when she answers.)

And your response to this extra time on a different plane was to... 'spend a night' with the centaurs rather than study them? Learn from them?

(God, he reminds her so much of Taako sometimes.)

[dothelokimotion]

[ There's a twinkle in his eyes. Lucretia really amuses him. ]

What makes you think I did not? I am older than entire civilizations. I certainly do not lack time to spare.

[ Loki can do both. Effortlessly. ]

[scholiast]

You did both.

(She's not even going to be passive aggressive about having made a wrong assumption, because she's much more interested in what he has to say. She's remembered that, to her, Loki is an untapped well of information. Older than entire civilisations... oh, the things he must know.)

What did they have to say? Did you speak their language, or could you understand each other regardless?

[dothelokimotion]

Why stop at one thing?

[ He closes his palm, the illusion dissipating in a flash. ]

Asgardians are imbued with the ability known as the All Tongue. It allows us to communicate with all creatures, save, at times, animals and beasts.

[scholiast]

Huh.

(Oh, no. She's so envious of that. Also curious about whether or not it extends to her, and so, after a beat, she slips smoothly into sylvan just to see.)

Interesting. Do you ever tire of me asking you endless questions?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki merely smiles, leaning back. ]

Should I?

[scholiast]

(Oh, he's good! Lucretia grins suddenly, satisfied.)

Perhaps. You know, I will keep on at you if you never tell me to stop; I like to learn. I love stories.

[dothelokimotion]

As did I.

[ Or perhaps he still does. Loki hasn't lost that quality, but he indulged it in disastrous ways. The method to which he took his mythos and his beginnings twisted him inside out. Only recently has he learned to untangle himself from the weave. ]

It is no hardship on my part.

[spellslots]

[It's late and he's a little tipsy and he's definitely stolen Rin's jacket by this point, but when he notices Loki draw away, Taako gets himself up and wanders over, barely managing to stifle a yawn as he does.]

It's cool if you wanna dip, my dude. No one's gonna hold it against you.

[dothelokimotion]

I know.

[ And it's strange, how easily that slips by now. That constant haze of paranoia and fear has abated. Even now, Loki finds himself breathing easier. ]

Perhaps Thor was not the only one who needed some air.

[spellslots]

You can have as much as you like as long as neither of you are fucking around with lightning storms, it's way too nice a night for that.

[Not that Loki can fuck around with storms, but that's not the point.]

[dothelokimotion]

I don't think that will happen any time soon.

[ One of the last things he had done was a trite play. Loki wonders if he should have spent more time in his mother's gardens. Or in his father's study. In a way, he is more fortunate than Thor, being able to wander the halls of the palace without censure, being able to indulge his long-lost childhood. Which is why Thor is taking the loss harder than Loki. But it was still the only home he has ever known. ]

[spellslots]

[Taako hums noncommittally, a response that isn't a response because he was really just talking idle shit. Instead, he asks:]

What's on ya mind, bubbale?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki considers voicing the many thoughts in his head. Everyone I know is dead and I've never felt better or when my father was raising, did he know what he was doing? Did he see me in her? In the slope of our horns, the green in our clothes? A part of him can't shake the idea that Loki has finally fallen into place with one of his father's plans, to be Thor's shadow. Loki, who knew all the treatise and the way the other Realms worked, even if he left those relationships to disrepair when he had the throne.

There's too much in his head, there always is. But it no longer feels like an inescapable tide. It makes lying easier these days. ]

Not much.

Why the party?

[spellslots]

[He's not sure he buys that, but he's not the type to press it.]

We kept talking about having like, twenty different people to dinner so we decided to just do it in one. And you cannot tell me we don't need something chill.

[dothelokimotion]

I know last month was . . . difficult for you.

[ Difficult for Loki as well. ]

[spellslots]

[It was difficult for a lot of people, but he's tipsy enough that his usual brain to mouth filter re: feelings]

It has been deeply shitty, if one more thing goes wrong I'm becoming a fucking hermit in the forest.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki is deeply skeptical. ]

You'd hate the forest.

[spellslots]

We grew up in forests.

[Not in a like, wanky Tolkien elf way, it's just that when they weren't with a caravan, Taako and Lup would camp out in forests rather than towns. It felt a little safer, further away from people.]

[dothelokimotion]

Growing up in a place doesn't make you keen on going back.

[ As soon as Loki finishes that statement, his expression tightens, white around the edges. ]