[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

jyn erso

[realists]

[ free food.

that is how cassian convinced her into a dress and to a party full of people she doesn't know. free food, taako food. the dress was more the concession that she would stick out otherwise, but she went for the most subdued version of whatever speakeasy is and she's happy to notice that the dark color of her dress blends in with the dark color of the couches and she tells herself she can hide when being cassian's strictly platonic plus one is more of a hassle than a food indulgence.

she's easy to spot at cassian's elbow like a smaller, paler shadow, but they do part because socializing must be traded for food, that was the deal, party for food, so jyn will do her best to act like a lady and socialize, smiles still seeming forced and clearly out of practice with this environment. when in doubt she shoves some food in her mouth to give herself some time to answer so a lot of her responses start with a food muffled: ]

Muh-huh.

[ apologies to whomever she's sitting next to, though she does surprisingly have table manners. thank the force.

she makes the rounds on the games, a little too morbid with cards against humanity and avoiding never have i ever and it should be noted that she and cassian would make decent beer pong team, but truth or dare though... jyn is incapable of backing down from a challenge and she hates talking so. you see where this is going. eventually she drifts out toward the fire, feeling some nostalgia to her time with the partisans as a teenager.

basically she around. ]

[scholiast]

(Lucretia ends up near Jyn, and sympathetic to her silent wallflower-esque act because she likes to do the exact same thing at social gatherings. Jyn sticks out to her as somebody Lucretia does not know (strange, because she thought she was familiar with everybody Taako and Lup knew), but she's unsure if starting a conversation would be viable at all? Perhaps she just wants to be left alone.

Eventually she does say something though, glancing across at Jyn.)

Hi. Sorry– uh, it's a lot quieter outside? If you don't like the crowd. (It's fine to call, like, fifteen people a crowd right.)

[realists]

[ jyn nods, but her eyes cut to cassian across the room and she doesn't seem willing to leave just yet. ]

I'm not sure I'm ready for the chill, [ she hedges, using the weather seems like a reasonable excuse and not at all the unreasonable excuse of not wanting to stray far from her only friend so soon. ]

[scholiast]

(Lucretia, of course, notices this quick redirection of Jyn's focus. Glancing over to see Cassian doesn't give her a lot of clues though, because she doesn't know him either, but she at least understands that his company is the reason for Jyn's sudden reluctance to leave.)

That's fair. Its been getting colder lately. (She looks as her hands for a beat before introducing herself.) I'm Lucretia. I- uh, I don't believe we've met.

[realists]

Jyn. I'm a plus one.

[ so not really a friend? a friend of a friend. whatever she is here, that's the important part. she put in three seconds of effort. ]

Taako invited us.

[scholiast]

Taako invited pretty much everybody here sans Lup, Magnus and I. We're... uh, a set, of sorts.

(Package deal.

She smiles hesitantly, glancing about at the party guests for other people she doesn't recognise.)

Who did you come with?

[realists]

[ jyn points to cassian without looking, which would be a neat party trick if... she wasn't just looking at him. no one ever taught jyn it's bad manners to point but w/e she doesn't care. ]

Cassian. Do you know each other, from before?

[scholiast]

(Yep, that's one of the people Lucretia doesn't recognise. Funny that.)

Huh.

Yes, I know him from home. How long have you been here in the Quarantine, Jyn?

[realists]

Three months or so. [ more like two and a half, but whatever she's rounding up. it's not important anyway. ]

I think Taako was one of the first people Cassian met.

[scholiast]

(No bother to Lucretia, who nods and looks over automatically toward Taako, her expression fond. He's got somebody engaged in animated conversation on the other side of the room.)

I think Taako has been that for a lot of people here, actually. It's just who he is.

[realists]

That was the impression that I got.

[ settles people by not letting them think too hard. it seemed to work on cassian at least, she doesn't think there are very many people he would agree to go to a party for. ]

[scholiast]

(Lucretia nods, looking away from Taako and back to her.)

What is it you do here, Jyn? You have a job?

[realists]

I am part of the Perimeter Guard. We explore outside the wall, make maps.

[ jyn brings back plants to study and "classify" because she is secretly a nerd but not quite the scientist her parents were. she says "we" as if inclusive of all the guard, but she that isn't what she means. ]

[scholiast]

Cool.

(Lucretia means it wholeheartedly; she would love to make maps.) I haven't been outside of the walls, much. What's it like out there?

[realists]

Wild. So much of the old city is overrun with the nature, like the moon is trying to reclaim what was built upon it. Sometimes it seems as if we go out and push back some of the vegetation only to see it grown over twice as much when we return.

[ suddenly so many word. ]

[scholiast]

(Some of those words are even poetic, in a way. Lucretia glances down at her hands, and smiles.)

I need to go and see it... I've become so caught up in my work. Are you trying to clear the vegetation to gain the extra land?

[realists]

We're meant to clear it out. [ does jyn? not usually. look if the planet wants to reclaim what is its own, jyn isn't going to stop it. whoops. ]

It you want... Cassian and I could take you.

[ is that allowed? does jyn care? who knows. ]

[worldsaway]

[When Jyn responds with a mouth full of food, she's basically speaking Thor's language. Thor's mouth is also stuffed with food and he responds in kind.]

Mmm- Mmhmm.

[Okay, he should swallow this mouthful and talk properly. Only after taking a long drink of his cider.]

It's good, isn't it?

[realists]

[ jyn nods, oddly grateful that he doesn't seem put off by her lack of manners. it's not as if jyn's ever had the time or inclination to attend a fancy dinner party in her life. she'd dressed up once, when she was with saw, but that was for infiltration.

she didn't get to eat. ]

It is, [ she finally agrees once she chews the food down. ] Rich. Richer than I've ever had.

[worldsaway]

[Thor might have been raised in royalty, but he's never acted like it. He's always been a little boorish and obnoxious. He never takes small bites, he barely chews and he eats like he's in a race to the finish.

He's actually happy to find someone else who cares as little about manners as he does.]

It's the closest thing I've had to a feast in a long time. [Thor agrees.] It makes sense, Taako doesn't do things by halves.

[realists]

[ #relatable ]

Never been to a feast. [ heck, she's been food insecure for the majority of her life. she's seen them, of course, because she's had holos and been to the casinos, but it's not like she had the credits to order anything.

though she agrees, taking another bite: ] He really doesn't.

[worldsaway]

Things are a little more traditional where I'm from- but that sort of depends on where you come from.

[He wedges in a little conversational curiosity, there. He's met a lot of people at this party, but there's a lot of new faces in Taako's vast social circle.]

[realists]

[ huff, jyn's least favorite question. now she has to decide on a whim which of the many planets she's lived on that she is actually from. ]

's called Lah'mu. There's nothing like this there.

[worldsaway]

This place is a lot different from most of the planets I've visited.

[He takes a thoughtful bite of his food, then continues with his badgering.]

What makes it different for you?

[realists]

Lah'mu was like a cloud -- grey and misty and wet. This place, [ she gestures expansively, as if to encompass all of riverview. ] This place is like Takodana, more green than you can imagine.

This place? [ a less expansive gesture, indicating the party itself. ] We stole into a ball once when I was fourteen. This isn't as fancy, but.

[ but it's fancy af for jyn anyway. and she still grumbled about wearing a dress, even if she still gave in because cassian convinced her she would stick out less if they at least attempted to match the theme. ]