[ open mingle log ] birthday boy boltund

[dunchies]

WHO: Laios and friends, old and new
WHAT: A belated birthday dinner, mixed with a housewarming and welcome party
WHEN: Evening of December 1st
WHERE: Laios’s mid-tier house
WARNINGS: Pokémon as food, alcohol mention



a. appetizers

[ Look closely at the quest board lately, and you might find a posting that doesn't quite belong. A flyer, handmade yet carefully crafted, with an important announcement: Please join us for a special dinner! All are welcome!

There's a hastily made correction too, scratching off the November 26th date for December 1st. With the snowstorm and influx of newcomers, changes had to be made. No matter. The party must go on. Just be sure to follow the directions when that new date finally arrives, up the Canopy toward the far corner of the mid-tier housing. You'll eventually find a humbly decorated abode, warmly lit with candles and all manner of foods to try. There's plenty of options to choose from, ranging from soups to skewers, with respect to the various opinions on dietary choices around here.

Then, of course, front and center, are the meals made with special thanks to their contributors. Feel free to taste test them with your fellow party-goers, or perhaps ask your host what exactly might be in this thing. ]

b. entrees

[ Later into the party, you might be interested in starting up a few games to pass the time. There's always those sleepover classics, or maybe one of the board games Laios borrowed from the Archives. Both seem to be all the rage these days. The birthday boy seems plenty excited to join in for either!

For non-game enthusiasts, you're more than welcome to a slice of cheesecake — pumpkin or Pumpkaboo flavor, courtesy of the resident pirate chef Sanji. Now might even be a good time to get Laios to finally open that present you brought, after bringing it all this way. ]

c. desserts

[ It’s a bit later in the evening when Ribombee makes his brief appearance. He doesn’t have much time to stay and chat with the other guests — always a busy bee, he is — but he does manage to pull Laios outside to talk for a time. One could only imagine the birthday wishes being given to one of the guild leader's most special of boys.

Not long after arriving, Ribombee flutters off yet again, leaving behind a gift basket of fancy bottles and cheeses. Laios simply sits at the edge of the platform, staring into the distance, until the bug is finally out of view. All alone now, he lowers his head. Maybe it's time to bring him back in before it gets too cold. ]

Oh! [ Whether he knows you well or not, he puts on a smile for whoever might approach. ] S-sorry, I got a little distracted.

[ If you’re old enough, he might motion toward the basket, offering: ] Want to try some? I don’t really like to drink alone.

[ If you’re younger, or just not inclined toward alcohol, he’ll instead say: ] It’s a nice night, right? I never realized how bright the stars can get.

d. snacks

( ooc: your classic wildcard option. note that along with the meals made for the player quest, you can assume there's more standard options too, with and without meat. all prompts are open to play around with, so feel free to mingle and mix it up too. happy to toss laios at anything! )

Comments

a., for AAAAAA (open to anyone who wants to comfort or troll the mushroom)

[0dchess]

[Kinger has started to come to grips with the fact that eating meat in this world means eating people, and he is aware by now that his mushroom stalks can be plucked harmlessly. There is still some level of unease as he sees a part of his new body stuffed and served on a platter. Especially surrounded by dishes from Pokémon who weren't lucky enough to get away with just a haircut. Anyone who approaches will see this mushroom with a thousand yard stare, assuming they look close enough to realize he isn't part of the buffet!]

[holidaygirl1225]

... Hey, Kinger. [She awkwardly pushes aside her serving of the Morelull caps.] Not hungry...?

[0dchess]

Agh! [Kinger is caught off-guard and shouts a harmless Astonish in Noelle's direction, and tries to play it off.] Oh, no, not really. I think I just eat with my mycelium now.

[Kinger looks down at Noelle's plate.] I'm making it weird, aren't I?

[holidaygirl1225]

[It makes her flinch for a second, at the least.] No, I mean-- it is kind of weird, isn't it? [No offense, Laios.] Like, eating parts of each other. If you were a human, I wouldn't eat your hair or anything, fahaha.

... Do you miss eating? With a mouth, I guess?

[0dchess]

Oh, I can still eat if I want to.

[Kinger assesses the options to see what to demonstrate with and decides the French fries Pomme Frites are the safest bet, hoping he doesn't run into a maimed Potatosaurus or Spudeon and get proven wrong. He grabs one and puts it where a mouth would be, and it somehow disappears as he makes munching sounds.]

You would not believe how long it took me to figure that out in the Circus. A lot of these look like more than hair, though.

[holidaygirl1225]

... oh? Well that's good??? [She honestly doesn't know how to react to this information.

... actually, she does. She pokes his not-mouth with a hoof to see if it will go in, not thinking at all about the rudeness of it in the moment.]

[0dchess]

[Kinger's face feels fully solid, there is no indication of an opening.]

Oh, you must still be confused, I thought people were saying pokey mons when I first got here, but it actually isn't about poking! [Kinger pokes Noelle back anyway, on the shoulder.]

[holidaygirl1225]

Oh cheese, I'm sorry!! I can't believe I just poked you like that! [Where are her manners?

... 'Pokey mons' is pretty funny, though. She pokes him again.] Just uh. Wondering how you ate like that? I guess?

[0dchess]

Like what? [Kinger mumbles through another mouthful(?) of pomme frites.]

[holidaygirl1225]

... Nevermind. [She thinks about eating more of her mushroom caps, but thinks better of it. She goes for some pomme frites instead. Deftly changing the subject, she asks:] Hey, Mr. Kinger, do they have Christmas where you're from? [It occurs to her that the one time they met besides this was... very emotionally charged. Not much time for basic get-to-know-you type stuff.] Or any other winter holidays?

[0dchess]

Oh, yes! Though I haven't celebrated in a while, holidays are hard to do when you don't know what day it is. And you can't really give gifts, or make food, or decorate...

[Kinger trails off, and then starts back off a bit too loudly to change the subject.] How do you normally celebrate the holidays?

[dunchies]

[ His eyes light up at the sight of someone new. A Morelull!

... staring blankly at the stuffed Morelull caps. Maybe he should step in to explain. ]

Uh. Hello! [ Look at how innocently he's wagging his tail. ] Those caps of yours — I mean those caps over there... some other Morelull out in the forest donated those, so don't worry! [ That probably does not help make them look any tastier. ]

... We also have cheesecake?

[0dchess]

Oh I've had mine fall off before! It's just that I can't imagine all of these being donated.

[Kinger looks over the spread. Other than the plant matter, the crab claws are maybe all he can give the benefit of the doubt. He considers the cheesecake briefly, and then realizes-]

On the off-chance I meet whoever got milked for the cheesecake, I'll pass. I don't think I'm ready for that conversation.

[dunchies]

Ah. [ Laios looks over the rest of the spread along with him. Kinger's got him there. ] N-no, that's... that's right.

[ His head hangs low. Maybe having this dinner party was a bad idea right after Akechi's whole debate about who's allowed to eat who. ]

O-oh, hold on. The Miltanks do that themselves. Their forehooves are a bit more hand-like thank you'd expect. [ He's not sure why Kinger wouldn't want to talk to them though, so that gets a bit of a pause. Maybe cows make him nervous. ] ... I help them out a lot with their milk deliveries. They're actually very nice to talk to!

[0dchess]

Milk tanks? [Kinger is still getting used to all of these Pokémon names. Kinger visualizes some sort of cow with cannons. Kinger snaps out of his visualization when he notices Laios's reaction.]

I'm not blaming anyone for ending up as a carnivore, this is just my first time meeting the meat. But when in Rome, do as the... lions? [Kinger examines the two plates of Tropius fruit, trying to determine if they're animal, vegetable, or mineral.

LMAO that fusion.....

[dunchies]

Yeah. Miltanks. [ It's an odd name to say, even he can admit that. ] I guess the good thing about here is that there's options. Even carnivores don't... need meat. [ Saying that feels deeply wrong, on top of the reference to lions, for some reason. He tries to hide the face he's making. ]

But l-lions do like to eat. [ He glances over. ] Um. Those are like bananas? Tropius grow them around their necks semi-annually because they eat that kind of fruit in the wild. They're Grass-types, so, uh. [ Technically not meat, in his opinion. ]

[0dchess]

[Don't need meat? If that's the case, how strong are these Pokémon impulses driving former humans to what is socially cannibalism? He pushes that out of his head and decides to go for the savory Tropius fruit, putting it where his mouth would be it somehow starts to disappear into it.]

I think a vegetarian lion would be malnourished, though. [Kinger mutters through a mouth(?)ful of food.] Even a pet mantis needs live food to stay alive.