riverviewlogs | [closed] a little party never killed nobody

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Despite all of Thor's weighty emotional baggage, he's managed to have a good time at the party. The allure of Taako's food got him here, kept him here and now he should probably thank the host.

Taako is absolutely high and drunk when Thor finds him cozied up by the fire, but it doesn't stop him from being his usual friendly self.]

You've outdone yourself, Taako. [Thor holds out a hand for a shake. He's a little bit..

....

..hammered himself, just enough for his hand to be nowhere near Taako's. It's kind of just poking his midsection.]

Thor!

[He is delighted to have a chat with Thor, especially when it comes with compliments, and he doesn't even comment on the slightly misplaced hand, just readjusts enough to close both his hands around Thor's. It's more of a brief squeeze than a proper shake, but it's appreciative all the same.]

Are you uh, are you leaving already or are you just getting the polite bullshit over and done with?

[Thor pulls a face as Taako adjusts his hand, because he knows he didn't position it right at all. It doesn't last, he smiles again when his hand his squeezed.]

It can be polite bullshit. [It implies that he was planning on leaving, but Thor moves to perch on the arm of the chair Taako is situated in.]

I think I needed this.

[As soon as Thor sits down, Taako shifts to fold his arms on Thor's thigh, head propped on his hands. It means he can't quite look at Thor, but that's fine, maybe he'll just have a nap here.]

You are not the only one, my man. It's been deeply shitty.

[Thor's hand almost instinctively moves to brush over the top of Taako's head, smoothing his hair down in slow, gentle movements. He can't help but feel a pang of envy. He misses his hair.]

At least we all have each other. That's something. [He doesn't mean for that to sound so cheesy.] When this place is nice, it's very nice.

[Someone he's fond of playing with his hair is pretty great most of the time, but it's even better when he's pleasantly buzzed. Taako hums as he closes his eyes and just focuses on how nice this is.]

That was real fucking cheesy. [Not that he's arguing, but he feels the need to point it out.] But you're kinda right, I got a lot of shit here that I never would've in Fearun.

[Second chances, meeting people, it's a lot.]

Cheese is all I've got going for me. [He's accepted that his lot in life is to be endlessly optimistic until things eventually go his way.]

Mm, it affords a lot of security and luxury. Not many people can boast this kind of peace in their home worlds. [Thor's hand doesn't stop tracing over his hair. It's not particularly intimate to him, it's just the kind of comforting presence that Taako exudes.]

[He's going to fall asleep here and then Thor will be trapped.]

I've never had a house before. I mean - we're renting, but it's still more than I ever thought we'd have.

You're nomads back home, aren't you? [He hasn't heard the full story, but he's heard enough pieces to know that they're all travelers.]

We take it for granted- having somewhere to come back to. I didn't realise that until now.

In Fearun, yeah.

[Not home, as much as he knows maybe it will be eventually, now that Lup is back.]

But like, even before all that shit. We ran away before we were teenagers and haven't really stopped since.

[The academy was the first place they really settled, and then... everything else happened.]

Do you really want to go back?

[He isn't pleading, he's just curious. Before he got his memories, Thor had been on the fence. He's been good at running away from his problems so far, but he's facing problems he can't run from.]

Uh, my man, the entire planar system knows how dope I am, of course I wanna go back. I'm gonna be fucking famous.

[There's more to it than that, mainly Lup, but he doesn't want to get too heavy.]

Yes, but everyone here knows you're dope too. [Thor nudges his face (gently) with his knee.]

Pity we can't guarantee the occasional ten year reunion.

[That isn't quite what he meant, because he's cool here too, sure, but a magic fish didn't broadcast his life to every single conscious being in the planar system here. But he also has a feeling that isn't what Thor meant.]

I mean, we do have a ship that can travel between realities, but I dunno if it'll work with the Hunger destroyed.

[Taako has a little bit of hope that Cisco will figure it out, he's just not going to say that, because it would involve telling Thor about the fact Cisco even has powers to begin with.]

I'll give you Asgard's address when we move into the new place. [Thor says, dryly.]

Loki will miss you. [Now he's just trying to make Taako feel bad.]

He might not even remember me, if we forget everything about this place when we go back.

[What he doesn't say is that he knows you can miss someone you can't remember, but Loki has known him for less than a year, not a lifetime.]

Loki will miss the absence of a friend, then. [It's not going to be easy for him, going back home and facing his mistakes. Thor can't hold his hand through it.]

That is a possibility I hadn't considered.

[Taako bites his tongue on being dismissive, because how can someone who hasn't even known him for a year miss him? But he knows that's his own shit, not Loki's.]

Makes sense, right? You haven't actually gone home and done all that shit with Hela yet, but you're gonna and if you'd remembered here I bet it would've gone different.

[ergo.......]

It does make sense. If I knew all that I knew here, things would have been much, much different.

At least I know that all the change between Loki and I will remain in both worlds. I must admit, I was afraid he would burn the bridge between us beyond repair.

[And Taako is the only person Thor would ever say that to, because he knows he won't turn it against Loki.]

I guess he was like, ready to let go of a lot of shit.

[It just happened in different ways, here and back home.]

But I mean, he loves you, even if he won't say it.

[Should Taako even be saying it? Maybe not, but he's drunk and sleepy and won't be held accountable for his actions.]

[closed] a little party never killed nobody

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