[closed] we haven't really explored the sexuality of candlenights

[pocketspa]

Who: The residents of Sorrow's imported housing, building 5-1 aka Tres Horny House (Magnus, Merle, Taako, Lup, Angus, Barry), with special invitee Kravitz
What: It's Candlenights! The city might be dreary but the holidays are still hoppin'.
Where: Tres Horny House (Sorrow's housing, 5-1)
When: Backdated to December 25th
Warnings: Should be pretty clean, aside from crude jokes.

[Despite the decidedly non-wintery conditions outside, the residents of the Tres Horny House refuse to let that cut some Candlenights cheer. Unlike last year's scattered disaster of crystal and a very averted end of the world, this year there's been time to prepare. Even through limited resources, the twins have managed plenty of food for the seven of them. They've been hard-pressed to find a good bush, but one's been transplanted into the middle of their living room, surrounded by gift boxes and decked in small twinkling lights. Magical spheres float around the room in lieu of electricity, small pulsing orbs of gold, red, and green to illuminate the space in warm, soft glow, accentuating the few candles they've managed to find and actually have. Taako's even taken to tucking some sprigs of fake mistletoe around the apartment; notice it or not, he's not here to be the Candlenights police.

It's got the makings of a great holiday. Let's see how they wang this one up.]

[ooc: It's a mingle log! Tag around, give gifts, eat so many magical cookies you get sick, find yourself under the mistletoe, I don't care, make it gay.]

Comments

come at me

[armcollector]

[Around the decorations and the furniture, Magnus has taken to his old habits of surprising his friends when their guard seems to be down. It's not ill-advised training this time, though. This time, it's just a Candlenights surprise.

When he pops out from behind the Candlenights bush or a larger gift box or a piece of furniture, though, he not only provides a shout of his own name, but a small, carefully wrapped gift for the victim.]

MAGNUS!!!

[During the second half, though, Magnus is doing the same in a bear costume. You're welcome.]

FOR THE BEARENING, double twin hell

[pocketspa]

[Taako lets out an embarrassing level of shriek when Magnus just surges out, and it's probably good his fight or flight response is pretty much always 'flight'. He stumbles back and nearly bowls Lup over before he finally gets his feet correct again.]

Jeez, Mags, you're not even gonna get what we were so nice to give you if you goddamn kill me.

GIVE US THE FURRY

[restinglichface]

[Taako may shriek but Lup just bursts out laughing when Magnus gets the drop on them, her hands immediately scrambling to catch her twin before they both go flying down to the floor.]

Holy shit! Wrong holiday, Mags! [Hey, she appreciates his enthusiasm, just doesn't want Taako to elbow her in the face because of it.]

[hellosirs]

[ Angus hasn't had as much experience being on the receiving end of Magnus's jumpscares, so he jumps about a foot in the air with a screech, and nearly loses a mug full of hot chocolate in the process! ]

SIR!!

[armcollector]

[Magnus instantly bursts into laughter. Nothing like pulling a good goof on a frightened eleven year old.]

ANGO!!

[He punctuates it with giggles, wiping a tear from his eye.]

Oh, man. Okay, Ango, that was a test, and you failed it. You just, you severely failed it. Expect the unexpected, Angus!! Keep it together!

[He glances down at the smallish-medium box in his hand, wrapped with brown paper and twine.]

I mean, I don't know if you even deserve a Candlenights gift anymore, it was that bad.

500 yrs late

[knockthemdead]

AAAH!

[With an absolutely abysmal roll, Kravitz fails to see this coming and yells loud enough to likely catch the attention of the rest of the party. He clears his throat, straightens his tie (it doesn't need it) and opens his mouth to give Magnus a proper telling off, then his eyes land on the present.

Oh no.]

Oh, you- you didn't have to, I don't-

[fffffffUUUUUCK]

500 years later

[armcollector]

[Sorry, Magnus doesn't even realize Kravitz has gone through an entire rollercoaster of emotions by now and is practically on the floor laughing his head off.

He's just absolutely losing it, doubled over and trying to remain standing to increasing difficulty.]

get your presents u animals

[restinglichface]

[While Magnus pops out in the strangest places to shower everyone with both scares and gifts, Lup's going for a slightly more subtle approach this year. When all of the cooking and conjuring up is done, she can be found curled up by the Candlenights bush, her festive dress for the occasion twinkling in time with the lights against the greenery. She's bullied Taako into doing her hair up into an elaborate twist, braided through with a red ribbon and she's found the absolute gaudiest earrings possible while she'd been rummaging through Hadriel's shops earlier in the week.

Currently, she's tossing a wrapped gift box up and down in her hands, waiting for the right moment to throw it straight at whoever it belongs to. Think fast!]

[barold]

Ow!

[There's no ducking out of the way of the box Lup just flung in Barry's direction. Because Barry is too busy filling out the gift tags on the boxes he's prepared for his friends and family on this most joyous of days to pay attention, his brow furrowed with concentration as he makes an effort to make his tiny handwriting actually legible.

There's the additional fact that he is also currently seated by the Candlenights bush, literally right next to his loving and beautiful wife who he's reminded looks stunning tonight no less than three times, who just launched a box at his temple.]

Lup! [Bewildered, Barry plucks the present out of his lap with a shaky chuckle.] Y'could just hand it to me.

someone ordered a disaster elf

[pocketspa]

[Frankly, Taako is pretty fuckin' proud of how everything came together. Not just anyone can pull an entire Candlenights out of their ass with the shitty resources in this place, but if anyone was gonna do it, it was gonna be him. He's decked in a fairly simple shirt and pants, but with a very glittery and nicely fit vest twinkling like Lup's dress. His hair is braided back with ribbons and curled into a bun low on his head, with more of the ribbon left long and hanging down his back.

As usual, he doesn't seem to be carrying gifts, but has absolutely taken the opportunity for a good callback with a tray of distinctive pink cookies, that he'll offer to anyone he sees.]

Macarooooon?

[His gift is his presence and you should all know that by now.]

[restinglichface]

[In a true show of newly obtained patience, Lup waits until the rest of the gifts of the evening have been handed out before she rounds on her brother. She carefully bats away any offered macaroons with a swat of her hand, quickly leaning in towards Taako with smile that he'd recognize better than anyone.]

Alright, cut the crap. Hand it over and no one gets hurt!

[barold]

[It's an amazing party. The crew has certainly celebrated Candlenights in all manner of strange worlds and climates with varying levels of resources for a whole century, but Barry honestly can't remember having been this happy to spend the holidays with his family in a very, very long time. Maybe he's just getting old and sentimental, maybe it's the fact that it's been so many years since last time. Maybe it's heat stroke.

Or maybe Taako is just that good. Barry is all too happy settling with that, grinning as he helps himself to a pastel pink cookie off his tray.]

Thanks, bud. These looks great. [And taste great. Barry hums happily around half the cookie in his mouth.] Still have no idea how y'managed t'put this all together. Are y'some kinda wizard, Taako?

he should know by now that he doesn't live with responsible adults / cw for underage drinking?

[hellosirs]

[ It's been so hot out that Angus had almost forgotten about Candlenights (an unforgivable offense, even in this unseasonable weather!), but he's managed to get together some presents, and in deference to the holiday, has prestidigitation'd his kneesocks so that they're covered in red and green stripes. He's busying himself by lighting any candles that go out, nibbling on snack food, and generally trying to be helpful wherever he can.

As the night goes on, Angus has something to drink and gets increasingly loose-limbed and giggly, slumping against anyone who sits next to him, because guess who is 11 years old and assumed that the drinks taste weird because of their altered water supply, and not because they've been generously spiked with booze? This guy. He's like, 3/4 of the way through one cup, but that's more than enough to knock him on his ass. ]

Sir/Ma'am! Guess... guess what?

This is a really good party.

sweet boy

[pocketspa]

[Ohhh, look at this tiny baby magic boy. Taako catches on to what’s happening pretty quickly, but also he’s not gonna like… admit to it or anything. This is fantastic. This is fuckin hilarious.

It’s work to suppress his giggles as Angus flops towards him, Taako gently standing him up with a steadying hand on his head.]

Beats the hell out of the Director’s shindig last year, right? Yep, chaboy can really throw ‘em.

[He bends down, waving a macaron right in front of Angus’ nose.]

And here’s the best paaaaaart. Macaroooooons.

oops we fucked up

[restinglichface]

[Lup plops down with a small package in her hands and Angus immediately slumps against her, the elf looking down slightly startled at first, before her mouth curves into one of her trademark, toothy grins.

Oh shit, the kid is absolutely trashed. This is incredible.]

Hell yeah, Ango. What else were you expecting? Taako and I always throw the most bomb-ass parties. You can ask anyone.

[Please ask no one.]

mODERATELY RESPONSIBLE ADULT TO THE RESCUE

[barold]

[Shit.

Shit.

This isn't good. This is terrible and awful and Angus could get really sick and how did this happen and why had he let Taako and Lup handle the drinks, there's going to be strict words--

-- and also he's. Very sweet. And very little. And about to be very sleepy. Barry clears his throat and tries to gingerly take the cup out of his little hands.]

It's pretty great, huh? Y'doing alright, Angus?

hav at thee

[knockthemdead]

[Kravitz doesn't do Candlenights.

Alright, he can't actually really say that anymore- Kravitz hasn't done Candlenights. Not as far back as he can recall. And then suddenly it's fucking happening, and he doesn't have a single gift, and he has an invitation. The word 'family' has been pressed upon him before, but it's always felt like an expectation to meet, not whatever this is. He doesn't know how to accept it, or how to measure the volume of it, and not being prepared isn't helping at all.

So he overcompensates. Kravitz, dressed in suit pants, a white collared shirt and a sweater over the top, (he knows how to cater to his audience, okay) wanders around offering help wherever he is absolutely not needed, ruining moments, and foisting last minute gifts onto people.]

I SHALL

[pocketspa]

[Honestly, Taako half expected Kravitz not to come. This was like... it was hard to say what kind of event this was. Last Candlenights with their entire group like this was fuckin’ depressing, and his last Candlenights was kind of a disaster. And it hasn’t exactly been a year since then, with the way this place has moved him; he showed up at midsummer back home and late spring here, and then lost a week somewhere in the middle, not to mention Kravitz appearing from his midsummer a month or so late. But dates are dates, and while he’s never been one to celebrate them, Candlenights does mean it’s been… give or take, a year. A year since Taako stood across the hall from a crystal golem trapped in tentacles, a year since my name’s Kravitz, a year since he locked eyes with a handsome man in a mirror and went, damn, if that’s what you get what you die sign me up.

Permanence is hard, and messy. And this year didn’t go easily, or really permanently, seeing as eventually he’ll end up back home and all of this will be gone. But an anniversary is an anniversary, and he can’t help but feel just a bit sentimental.

He slides up behind Kravitz when he thinks the other man isn’t paying attention, using Minor Illusion to make him feel something slither across his shoulder in lieu of his fingers, something much more rubbery and, well, tentacle-like. At the same time, he tips forward a bit on his toes, his heels giving a bit of lift to pull his mouth to Kravitz’ ear.]

Hey thug, what’s your name? How’d you get into this fancy-ass shindig?

[Taako can’t help but punctuate it with a giggle, as if Kravitz would somehow take it seriously. But his own jokes are funny, and for once, something feels light.]

[restinglichface]

[Whether it's Kravitz' thing or not, there's at least one elf at the party who absolutely appreciates the effort he's gone through to not only be there but to at least attempt a bit of holiday cheer. However serious his thing with Taako really was (Lup put bets down on 'as serious as death' ages ago), Kravitz has certainly stepped up his game in the last few months, taking Lup's words about the importance of family straight to heart.

She's still not completely chill about the not letting her lichdom slide thing, but that's pretty much whatever. She loves that Kravitz makes her brother happy and that's what matters the most.]

Sooo, [Lup slides up besides Kravitz during a quiet moment in the party, waving her phone around in front of him.] You in that sweater. Me in this baller dress. We're def takin' a holiday selfie together, right? It's literally all I want as a gift.

don't u mean krav at thee

[hellosirs]

... That is one heck of a sweater, sir.

[ Angus is giving Kravitz another one of his Looks, like he's taking mental notes on the reaper and jotting things down for later reference. He doesn't really know what to make of Taako's Spooky Reaper Boyfriend at the best of times, and now 'wears goofy skeleton Candlenights sweaters' has been added to Kravitz's mental profile, alongside 'kind of a dork', and 'seems like a generally nice person'. ]

Aren't you hot, though? It's pretty warm out!

waddup it's the Sweater Bois

[barold]

[In Barry's book, Kravitz is doing alright Candlenights-wise. What's a family get-together if not bound to be plagued with awkward moments and last-minute gifts? It's how he's done Candlenights with these exact people for a century and odd change, so Barry considers himself somewhat of an expert these days - if a little out of practice. He's also decked out in a goofy sweater, bluejeans prestidigitized with multicolored lights, and when Kravitz sees him approaching, he's bringing over a cup of something steaming.

Desert heat be damned, it's not fucking Candlenights without some hot fucking chocolate.]

How y'holdin' up, bud? [He hands Kravitz the mug.] Gettin' into th'holiday spirit?

did someone say wang up the holiday

[weedbgon]

[ WHAT'S UP, FUCKERS.

Merle's ever a man of mystery. It flows through his veins. He's got shitty gifts to pass out for days! Literally nobody is safe tonight and he will be making his rounds to equalize the suffering across the whole party.

Where is Merle after a certain point, though, you may be wondering. If you don't catch him wandering around being a weird nosy weed dad, I mean. To answer this question with a question: you know those youtube videos of cats who get onto high shelves or into closets and decide they're more comfortable than ever in there?

Now consider this detailed artist's rendering of Merle "it's candlenights lads" Highchurch, because he is a gremlin and he loves it in here. Please get within a few feet of him, he wants to talk to you. Yes. You. YOU. ]

How's the party treatin' ya, kid?

of course

[pocketspa]

[The fact Taako can even see Merle in this plane of existence is like, remarkable enough for this party, tbh. He's inevitably going to arrive, like a little forest goblin, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. They live together and half the time Taako just thinks Merle's a fucking cryptid.

But he's here, and engaging, so Here He Is Too, I Guess.]

Uh, I made the thing, so fucking amazing. It's tasteful and rad and it took like three days to get this much alcohol for us to decimate in a night, so uh, you could thank me. You should, actually. Do that.

o candlenights o candlenights how lovely is thy dwarf bush

[barold]

Gah!

[It's still a little early in the evening to go sneaking (?) up on folks like this, Merle. Barry hadn't even noticed the dwarf retreating into the festive bush for comfort (??) or to siphon the raw plant energy (???) or whatever it is he does in his spare time. Does he live in there? Actually, Barry doesn't want to know.

At least he showed up, somehow. Barry huffs out a shaky laugh, brushing off the cookie crumbs he'd gotten all over his sweater in his momentary panic.]

I-It's goin' pretty good, old man. How long y'been in there? That doesn't look comfortable, gotta tell ya.

absolutely incredible

[knockthemdead]

[It's super super weird to be called kid by this weird bush-dwarf. He is very old. Way too old for this shit, certainly.]

It's fine- how did you get in there without knocking it over? How do you do these things, Merle?