Closed | Tonight We're Gonna Party

[portolan]

Who: Balthier portolan, David helpdesk_hero, Bart kid_flash_found, Otto doctopoda, MCU Peter tinglesense, Strange rehandle, Loki ikols, Billy wordiness, Eddie slidesrightoff, Aleks morozova and any +1s I missed
What: A fancy dinner party at Balthier’s house
When: May 14
Where: Balthier’s House
Entry
Living Room
Kitchen
// generally beautifully restored historic late 1800s building in muted green and gold accents with antique furniture. pls compliment or insult him //
Content Warnings: none yet



[ The antique table has both leaves in it, extending from the dining room into the living room with twelve chairs around it. It's got a stately tablecloth and pale gold napkins. All the places are set with white china trimmed in gold, except one, which is green and gold and clearly for Loki, with a matching cup. There are name cards. There's a seating chart. The far wall of the dining room sports a buffet laden with stunning food in matching dishes, and the kitchen counter serves as a bar with a ridiculous amount of nice wine and alcohol.

The furniture in the living room has been rearranged to accommodate the table. The windows and doors are open to create a breeze and the back porch has additional seating. If people are looking for privacy, they can disappear to the basement, which is just a storage room, bathroom, and laundry unit, or upstairs where there is a loft study, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. One is locked. There are no bathrooms on the ground floor so excuses abound.

There’s also Romantic piano music playing on an honest-to-God gramophone. The whole house is restored original wood, antique furniture, old books, and nice art. Balthier is extremely pleased with his ship-like house and happy to finally show it off. He also asked Strange to enchant it to make it more or less metaproof for the evening.

TLDR:
-There will be a fine meal and plenty of alcohol
-Balthier will be giving Loki poison as condiments at some point (don’t @ him David and Billy) ((definitely @ him))
-There’s music if anyone wants to dance
-There are private places to slip into
-The house has been metaproofed to some extent by Stephen but Balthier will frown upon breaking his stuff
-Chaos pls

Feel free to thread jack! Mark things you don’t want threadjacked ]

Comments

[helpdesk_hero]

"Yeah, he's trotted out things even I don't know," he says with a grin. So much stupid fondness for his love. He felt like he has found a match he could keep after all.

"Are you saying I"m charming?"

[kid_flash_found]

"I know you're charming, I bet even your boyfriend would agree," Bart says, giving him a playful jab to the shoulder. "And you forgot talented, considerate, and quite a few other descriptors."

[helpdesk_hero]

"And now you're sounding like said boyfriend," David points out with a grin.

He was spoiled by that love.

"It's like Damian, but better."

[kid_flash_found]

That also worries Bart a little, because he remembers how bad the crash was when Damian vanished.

"Gods, then you better keep him close. Wouldn't want to drag you out of that hole if he disappeared.

"Besides, he seems good for you."

[helpdesk_hero]

Keep him close. David can't imagine anything else ever happening. But he smiles because he gets that it just means his friend is concerned for him.

"Fate owes me, Bart. And this is my prize. Or else I'll face those goddesses myself and bring them down to a mortal level."

[kid_flash_found]

"They really, really do," Bart agrees, and gives his friend another squeeze. "And if you need help, I'll be right there with you."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I'm quite happy to know I won't need that help. But glad to know it's there."

Oh but those were words he was going to eat soon.

[kid_flash_found]

"I gotta say, it's a good look on you. Even if the domesticity sometimes has a mild neurotic edge when it comes to feeling prepared." He's mostly teasing with the last. David always frets a little about those kinds of things.

"I probably ought to get you and Balthier some window-boxes now that the herbs and some of the early vegetables are coming in. A belated housewarming gift."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I don't live here," David reminds Bart. "I'm a guest like you, even while I host. But yes, you could get him something like that."

[kid_flash_found]

"Well, I meant if you have a place in your apartment, too. I know you prefer fresh when possible, and at least you should be able to do some during the warmer months." Winters in the Pacific Northwest, while not always snowy, were still pretty fierce.

"By the way, you have to tell me if this world has the tree octopi."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Oh god I hope it doesn't, that was so stupid," David laughs. Still he nods to Bart. The guy has done a lot to calm him.

"I will happily take herbs."

[kid_flash_found]

"Oh, come on, land octopuses would be awesome." They can have this argument about nothing of consequence. "It's not like some littoral species don't spend a fair bit of time out of the water."

[helpdesk_hero]

"They also would be evolutionarily unlikely," David countered.

"And a tree seems a poor place to be to stay properly hydrated."

[kid_flash_found]

"Tell that to the hundreds of species of rainforest tree frogs."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Rainforests are more likely than coniferous forests to have plants to catch and store water for them," David offers just as quickly."

[kid_flash_found]

"It's a rainforest here, too. Just a temperate one."

[helpdesk_hero]

David rolls his eyes.

"Yes, and that is based on rainfall quantas, while octopuses require more than mere rain. Frogs are full on amphibious and can handle some degree of drying out when they have means to rehydrate. An octopus has far shorter windows."

[kid_flash_found]

"But it would still be a cool critter," Bart protests. "I mean, the only real drawback to cephalopod anatomy is the part where brain size restricts throat size. They're already intelligent tool-users and problem-solvers."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I will concede coolness factor," David allows. "And that maybe octopuses deserve tree houses with little pools."

[kid_flash_found]

"I'm still working on sprucing up the chicken mansions. I guess I'll leave the ones for octopuses for you."

[helpdesk_hero]

Chicken mansions. He laughs in delight. "I'll come by later this month to help, how does that sound?"

[kid_flash_found]

"It's mostly that I want to make sure they're all comfortable and the roosts don't get too crowded. I've got the lay boxes closed off because they shouldn't get in the habit of sleeping there, but that means that much less space inside," he explains.

"I'm joking, mostly. The night coop is more designed with solid, year-round protection in mind, and the tractors are more lightweight and just shelter for when they don't want to be in the run."

[helpdesk_hero]

"And you've accounted for keeping the birds safe from predators?"

Because he's been researching and has heard online about people losing birds to foxes and coyotes.

[kid_flash_found]

"As best I can. There's nothing that's really going to stop a fox from digging under the tractor runs if they are hungry enough to do so exposed in a field, but since they have to move, I can't dig and turn the mesh under like I have for the main run. But if I leave them there, they won't get the advantage of fresh greens and the stimulation of ranging new areas," Bart said. "But I trust the mobile runs better than letting them really free-range. I just have to move them every few days to give the ground a chance to recover."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I just love visiting, I learn so much about things I don't understand. It's refreshing. Thanks, Bart, for letting me have a place in your life."