aw fuck not this asshole again (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
trollophoroi) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
altimit2023-09-15 04:11 pm
trollophoroi) wrote in altimit2023-09-15 04:11 pm
[closed] meanwhile, at telophoroi tower...
WHO >> The Telophoroi guild and their +1s.
WHAT >> A dinner party that will surely be calm and enjoyable for all involved.
WHEN >> 9/15, evening.
WHERE >> Telophoroi @ home.
Content Warnings >> May make you hungry, more added if needed.
ARRIVAL
WHAT >> A dinner party that will surely be calm and enjoyable for all involved.
WHEN >> 9/15, evening.
WHERE >> Telophoroi @ home.
Content Warnings >> May make you hungry, more added if needed.
ARRIVAL
[ Welcome! Welcome to the Telophoroi Tower, as the guild leader likes to call it, even though only the interior itself will give that impression. It is, after all, instanced like every other guild @ home. The interior is... curious... at best. It's ominous, not even a little bit friendly-looking, all sharp corners and metal floors and walls. Metallic alien-like tubes curl around the walls and the pillars, crisscrossing the high ceilings, and creeping along the edges of walls; it could easily be a dungeon interior, provided it had actual monsters inside.IT'S TIME TO EAT
Greeting the guild members and guests alike is the Guild Grunty with a bowlcut and, just for tonight, a purple butler's outfit instead of its usual cultist robes. It still wiggles its hooves at people as they enter, though, as proclaims, ]
OoOoOo! Welcome... to your doom! [ Wait, that isn't right. It visibly sweats for a second during a pause, then remembers to add, ] And your dinner! Yes, and your dinner, hehehe~
[ It will also offer to take coats if needed, then lead them to the meeting room (now masquerading as a dining room); it's only slightly less intimidating than the rest of the tower and that's only because the lighting is nice, candles have been added, there's some very low classical music playing somewhere in the background, but it is still definitely part of the tower with the table being wicked metal with thinner imprints of those alien-like pipes running wild in the design, and the chairs are massive metal thrones, difficult to move, although green and purple cushions have been added to offer some comfort.
They will also find that there are, in fact, assigned seats.
There are some little Coronation Chicken Pies and Blue Cheese and Pear Appetizers for snacking while they wait as well as Cultist Grunty offering to pour them either champagne or, if they aren't interested in alcohol, some sparkling lemonade.
If asked about where the guild's leader, Fandaniel, is, Cultist Grunty will assure them that he's only putting the finishing touches on tonight's meal and will be with them shortly. ]
[ And after about a half hour of arrival, the lights of the room... flicker, flicker, and then shut off, plunging the party into pitch darkness. Even the candles go out, though only long enough for people to exclaim or react.Bit of a Beastly Dessert, Isn't It?
When they come back on, Fandaniel, dressed up in his own butler skin (although it doubles quite well as merely looking fancily dressed), has made his appearance at the head of the table, where his seat had been left empty right up until now. He's standing, arms spread out wide, a grin on his face, and the starter course set out on little plates before them. ]
Hello! Hello, my dear friends. I am so glad that you could all join me for our little dinner party. I do hope you have been enjoying yourselves thus far. Now! [ And lowers his arms so that he can clap them together upon saying that word. ] Let me introduce you to our meal for the evening.
[ And he'll go over what they'll be having tonight! The menu is as follows:Starter Course: Hot Tofu, a simple dish of tofu and dashi kombu with a little bowl of sauce to pour over it.And every time a course is finished, the lights will, once again, go off and, when they come back on, the course will be swapped out. It's quite a bit of showmanship, but only possible thanks to Cultist Grunty changing up the room's configuration on the fly as well as the timing it had worked out with Fandaniel. Still! It offers a very mysterious bit of ambiance to the meal. ]
1st Course: Chawanmushi with Matsutake Mushroom, a savory egg custard flavored with dashi stock, soy sauce, and mirin, steamed in a cup.
2nd Course: Unadon, grilled eel brushed with sweet and savory unagi sauce and served atop a bed of rice.
3rd Course: Shoyu Ramen, made with a flavorful pork-bone broth with wavy noodles and topped with bamboo shoots, meltingly tender pork belly, and thin-sliced green onion.
4th Course: Tempura Vegetables, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, Kabocha squash, lotus roots, and eggplant deep-fried in a crispy, crunchy tempura batter served alongside a dipping sauce.
[ Then comes the last course, the dessert course. Once again, the lights go off, they come back on, all the dishes are cleared and new plates and utensils sit before them all. There's more on the platters set across the table but each dish has a serving of sweet potato pie, done in the Japanese style, which is a far cry from what more Western types may expect from a pie like that. It's a flaky pastry, nice and sweet, but not overly so.
Cultist Grunty goes about a glass of a dark dessert wine for all. This time, there is no alternative, but seeing as dessert wines are meant to be savored in a small amount, those who want less will certainly get less. The reason why they're insisting everyone has wine will be apparent soon enough when Fandaniel raises his glass to offer a toast to them. ]
And this is where we end the night, I fear! Our last course, our dessert. Fai was kind enough to lend a hand in the kitchen with it. I would also like to thank him and Hien both for making the little treats we had before the dinner began. They were quite good, were they not? Ah, and, of course! [ He'll nod towards Cultist Grunty in his cute little tuxedo. ] Our dear Cultist Grunty has been an infinite source of aid during the past two days in getting this all set up. He handled all those little light tricks and all the dish swaps.
[ And then to the rest of the party. ]
And to the rest of you, for better or worse... [ At this point, probably worse, let's be real here. ] We've been having an interesting time in this game but I am glad you all took the time to humor me and my desire to hold a little dinner party like this. So, to all of you!
[ And that's the cue to drink and... now for the real reason he wanted everyone to drink the wine. See, Fandaniel has laced it with one of the game's potions, only! Only, well, originally the Potion of Fang and Claw, which should have given them nothing more than some cute animal ears and tails, ends up doing something wildly different.
Everyone who drinks the wine will find themselves turned completely into an animal.
Glasses will tumble to the floor, breaking and spilling wine everywhere. Armor and clothing will pop off as items, unequipped, as they no longer fit their bodies. Surprise! Enjoy spending the next 24 hours as a talking animal! ]
no subject
Mn. You're welcome. I didn't want to see you stuck like that on your own. Because I care about you.
[The flinch returns, uneasy at his own words. This isn't the place to talk about that, nor the time. Is he going to have to bite his own lip to keep from saying things he shouldn't this whole night??
Still, he takes Morgan's hand when offered. Though it's somber, he at least meets his eyes, at least keeps his grip.]
cw ed mention
His gaze falls on their joined hands from Barrett's uneasy face. He sees the expressions and the gestures but he doesn't know what they all mean. Bad things? Bad feelings? )
... I don't want to hurt you. And I don't want to be a reason why you lose control.
( The way he says it is very pointed - not a general losing control. It's not like Barrett said Mithrun was or anything, but he can infer that. if there were ever for reason for Barrett to binge, then that incident might have been one.
But he would prefer that Barrett express he hurt him than stay mum, and he did, so. There's always that. )
... We can talk about this later. You look tired.
no subject
It hurt. A lot. But... I don't think it's your fault. And you apologized. I'm not gonna hold it against you, okay?
[Still, his expression pinches with a tired sort of worry. He nods at the statement, not bothering to hide his fatigue - perhaps because he can't. But he does gently reach his free hand up to brush his knuckles to Morgan's jawline.]
... Were they able to help you when they got to you?
no subject
... Yes.
( He has the - shape of the thing he wants to say, but he doesn't know how to whittle it down into words. He has the feeling, the sense - he knows his sources; he knows the quotes he's thinking back to, things Barrett said - but to cut it up and extrapolate into his own words, his own feelings, it's difficult.
He feels his thoughts held up against where Barrett's knuckles brush him, and he parts his lips. )
You're not in the way. You've given enough to me. They helped. ( He thinks Barrett asked just because he's worried. But. This is the best way he can figure to segue into this thing he means to say, springboarding off the things Barrett said to Mithrun's past self. ) ... But you helped, too.
( ... Just, the thing is - though Barrett's enough as he is... )
... I should give you more.
( Well, that's a bit dishonest, isn't it? The proper answer is that he should give Barrett back, period. Because Barrett is the one who was hurt here, who stayed even though it was hurting; Barrett is the one who has been good to him, slow and exhaustive as the process is to break down concepts so basic a child could get them.
Barrett had said he felt bad he couldn't give Mithrun anything, but he already gives him a lot. Mithrun knows - it's he, himself, who never gives anyone a thing in return. )
no subject
[It's hard to wrap his head around what Morgan could mean. He doesn't feel he needs anything specific for doing what he did, and he wonders if something he is doing implies otherwise.]
We dont have to talk about this now. Okay? But...
[That touch travels gently. A very careful motion backways, just so his hand rests in the space behind his ear, fingers carding into his hair.]
You being here and alive is what I wanted, Morgan. I won't ask you to give me anything else that you don't already want.
[And if Morgan doesn't want anything? Maybe Barrett won't get anything. But he won't push. Other people could shove those walls aside and drag Morgan through them. Barrett could only hold his hand through the gap, and hope that a touch returned to him - a sign of effort, of want, that he could support, but couldn't provide.
He wasn't Morgan's caretaker, after all. This wasn't a decision someone else could make for him.]
...Just talk to me? When it feels like you can. I'll try to listen.
no subject
He lifts a hand as Barret finishes speaking, and, after a moment taken to understand where it seems keen to go, he lays it gently over the back of Barrett's hand in his hair. Mirroring, to get closer to what he means to say, bit by bit. )
... Okay. You too. ( A beat. ) Especially when I've done something that hurts.
( Though the statement sounds pointed, its tone is a disguised thanks - thanks for telling me. I'd rather know than not.
Whenever Barrett pulls away, Mithrun will pull away, too, so they can return to the appetizers. )
no subject
I will. I... want to be able to hear when you're mad. But it means I need to tell you, too. We won't understand each other if we can't. Right?
[Communication 101.]
...Can I still take you to get dessert after the game tomorrow?
no subject
He nods, when Barrett says he's got to tell him, too. That's right. They both do. And, for Mithrun, that means recognizing there's been hurt. It'll be a challenge, but he can try.
And, on the matter of dessert: )
... Yes. ( He lifts his hand just slightly to brush a thumb along Barrett's bottom lip. Though slight in appearance, the topic of meeting up has caused him to perk up some. ) I'd like that.
no subject
Okay. I would, too.
I don't know Fresno well. But testing new restaraunts is fun.