hashtag_chocobro | The Apartment above the Photo Hut; Sunday Afternoon [02/11]

Entry tags:

The Apartment above the Photo Hut; Sunday Afternoon [02/11] - PuppyBowl Birthday Party!

Prompto would be entirely honest; if there was anything a bit different going on in town, he was completely unaware of it, because he'd been singularly focused since pretty much Friday on getting things all ready and set up for Noctra's birthday party today. The decorations were an amalgamation of both puppy things and football things, with a both First Year Down! and Let's Pawty! balloons to really drive it home.

And, of course, the birthday girl herself was showing her appreciation for the theme, as well! Unfortunately, with her dad's excitement all morning in getting things up, she hadn't been able to nap like he was hoping she would, so he was holding his breath that the whole thing wouldn't make her too cranky or overwhelmed, but at least there was plenty to distract her in the meantime. Including a little help from Rain pulling in duty as Party Ruferee.

Then there was getting everything with the catering set out for the guests, which included your typical moddable game day fare, but especially puppy chow, mini hot dogs, and, of course pizza rolls! There were a puppy bowl birthday cake, even, with some vegan cupcake puppy players!

And, of course, near the entrance, there were plenty of party hats for anyone who wanted to claim their allegiance for Team Ruff or Team Fluff or just Team Noctra (he suspected those would be the most popular, really).

And for once, after everything was set up and copious amounts of pictures had been taken, Prompto actually wasn't feeling like he hadn't gone enough on the theme, and was feeling pretty good about this one, actually!

[[ open party is open! If you've ever talked to Prompto or Liz even once, you probably got an invitation. Heck, even if you've never talked to either of them, you could have ~mysteriously~ gotten one, too! Maybe it's your big destiny to meet your true love at a one-year-old's puppy bowl party, you don't know!! ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

It should be no surprise that a clearly sun-kissed and relaxed Liliana was very unfamiliar with most of these party refreshments. It wasn't like Ignis was particularly known for his pizza roll appreciation or his mastery of mini hot dogs.

She was currently examining a tacquito, while about to make the rookie mistake of popping a pizza roll fresh from the oven into her mouth.

If the molten lava that was pizza roll filling made her unable to enjoy her last night of Argentinian cuisine, she was going to be quite put out.

"Liliana, hey!" There was a little red in Prompto's cheeks when he spotted her and gave her an awkward smile and a wave,but his had nothing to do with sun-exposure and everything to do with...well, anyway. "I'm really glad you guys could make it! Sorry it kind of cut into your vacay time a little though..."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he knew it was fine and not a big deal, but he still felt bad about it, okay?

"How's Argentina been?"

Everything to do with deep, emotional heart-to-hearts in her garden with (one-sided, obviously now) tears and the like? Was that why Prompto was feeling self-conscious?

She once again waved off his apology. "Darling, don't focus on that, focus on how I was entirely correct about Ignis not missing this for the world." And, okay, she supposed she was here too, but that was less about not wanting to miss the party and more that it seemed ridiculous for her to not come if Ignis was. What, was she supposed to just stay in Argentina, lounging in the sun with a good book and better wine, waiting for him to return?

Absurd. Clearly. Hence her presence.

"Argentina has been simply marvelous," she preened because, yes, it had been a brilliant idea from start to finish. "We went to a wine tasting last night that highlighted some of next year's releases and it's entirely possible we're coming home with every remaining bottle of this particularly velvety Malbec in their cellars."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Prompto allowed, rolling his eyes at Liliana, it he was grinning, too, even chuckling a little, "you were definitely right there, I will give you that. And that....sounds really great for you guys."

Probably not how he'd want to spend his time there, but good for them!

"So, what?" He snickered a little. "That all will get you through....a couple weeks? Maybe a month if you're being conservative with it?"

Yeah, they were some fancy, bougie bitches, it was true. Though Liliana had also been thoroughly enjoying lying out in the sunshine, Ignis spreading various lotions and oils into her skin, which was something Prompto would likely enough, if with Liz rather than Liliana.

And, you know, if he remembered such lotions existed, instead of just getting sunburned.

"Darling, I said we're likely buying the entire reserve," she chided. "...So closer to six weeks, if we limit ourselves."

Look, he lived without any sun for ten years! His DNA was from a land of ice and snow! He burned just by thinking of going outside! Cut a guy a break!

"Ahh," Prompto nodded knowingly. "You're an optimist, then, I see."

There was a small pause, though, before he ventured, "....were you guys gonna share any of that wine?"

You know, that was fair. Maybe she should give Prompto a break.

...Just one more thing, how much suntan lotion had this pale, delicate flower use on his vacation?

"We might be persuaded," Liliana said, mouth crooking up in a smile. "I'm already going to be convincing Ignis to throw a tasting party when our wine is finished aging, but there's no reason we can't do something similar with the wine we're actually coming home with." She tilted her head. "Are you interested in wine, Prompto?"

Re: Arrive & Mingle - PuppyBowl Birthday Party! - 02/11.

hashtag_chocobro - 2024-02-12 01:05 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Arrive & Mingle - PuppyBowl Birthday Party! - 02/11.

deathsmajesty - 2024-02-12 01:17 (UTC) - Expand

"You look like you've been somewhere warm," Annie observed, maybe a little play-jealous as she wandered over with Maggie on one hip, her mother's hair fisted in a hand determinedly (a fact which Annie was ignoring in favor of -- ooh, taquitos.)

"Annie, darling, hello!" Liliana said, all smiles. Look, you kill one of your demon creditors and then flit off for a trip to Argentina and see what it did for your mood. "Oh yes and it's been lovely. We've been visiting a darling little vineyard resort in Argentina for his birthday. Once I saw that they let you make your own small-batch wine, I knew there was nothing else I could get him that would be more suitable."

She glanced at the baby in Annie's arms - or, well, specifically the outfit - and then gave the child a grave and serious greeting. "And hello, Maggie. I see your grip-strength has improved."

Look, Liliana's baby talk was reserved for her cat.

Honestly, Annie supported that. Maggie would eventually be developing little language skills of her own, after all, unlike (?) the cat (who, like all cats, would be a precious baby for always, and should be spoken to thus.) And Maggie, for her part, stared at Liliana before shaking that hair in her hand, perhaps to show off her bounty and/or strength.

"¡Bienvenida de vuelta!" Annie replied, with the careful pronunciation of someone who was dedicated to learning a second language, but perhaps overcoming the rote way she'd initially learned the basics in high school. "I haven't been to Argentina yet, but it's definitely on the list once the kiddos are big enough. I didn't know they'd let you make your own wine, that's kind of awesome."

Edited 2024-02-11 16:42 (UTC)

"¡Gracias! Ojalá fuera más cálido," Liliana replied, sounding like a native speaker who hailed from Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina, because Planeswalkers were bullshit cheaters in a ridiculous number of ways. "And yes - we spent a few days touring their vineyards and trying their grape varietals, then there was a wine tasting where they went over what each type of grape brought to the different wines, and then we got to make our own. Now it's in the resort's hands to ferment and age and eventually bottle and when that's all done, they'll send us something like ten bottles of wine."

Hmm. She bet Ignis could be convinced to have some kind of tasting party to celebrate their wine. She put a pin in that idea for later.

Annie looked appropriately impressed at Liliana's accent -- though, she might have been more jealous than impressed if she realized it had come without the aid of any lessons from little owls in one's phone.

"You get all that, honey?" Annie asked Maggie, since the whole reason she was trying to get a better grip on Spanish was to raise the kids to be bilingual. (Maggie offered no comment in either English or Spanish, so she'd probably gotten it all fine and found her mother's question condescending, tbh.)

Turning her attention back to Liliana, though, she frowned a little in curiosity. "How long does something like that take?" she wondered. "Like, I know you're supposed to age wines after they're bottled, but it's a thing beforehand too?"

"Oh yes, they undergo two fermentation stages before they're bottled," Liliana explained ~~after some frantic googling on my part~~. "I'll have to ask what cask Ignis chose for the second fermenting, I think he was leaning oak, but he had several compliments for the clay ones, too. We can also choose how long we want them to age. The younger the wine, the more intense the flavor, or we can let it age and mellow some, too."

She shared a smile with Annie. "There was an entire class about this that we attended, even though I'm fairly sure Ignis knew it all beforehand."

Liliana certainly hadn't. Everything she'd known about wine had come from the drinking of it. She wasn't really a maker of things, unless you counted the undead.

“Liliana, thank you for coming,” Liz smiled, “how was Argentina?”;

"Delightful," Liliana said with a soft smile. "So warm, Liz. I can't tell you how much time I've spent lounging in the sunshine with a good book and Ignis on hand with more of that unguent to keep me from burning."

Unlike, oh, say Prompto who had come back from the Bahamas looking like peeled shrimp.

"I can see these past few days have been busy for you as well," she congratulated, looking around at the decorations.

"It sounds like a wonderful time," Liz smiled, "and yes, there's been a lot of preparing, Prompto's been so wonderful with everything, its basically been a whole weekend of preparation,"

"Well, it certainly fits the theme," Liliana said. "It takes a lot of work to get a party this thematic. Next time, darling, if you need help, do let me know. I'll send my steward over."

She certainly wasn't going to volunteer, of course, but she had no problems voluntelling others.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind thank you," Liz promised, "the puppy bowl theme turned out really well, Noctra's quite enjoying herself,"

'Keep that in mind.' What a lovely way of saying, 'Prompto would quite possibly begin screaming and not stop if we did.'

"I pity you both tomorrow when she wakes up and demands more puppies," Liliana said with a small laugh.

Re: Arrive & Mingle - PuppyBowl Birthday Party! - 02/11.

flamesburned - 2024-02-12 01:18 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Arrive & Mingle - PuppyBowl Birthday Party! - 02/11.

deathsmajesty - 2024-02-12 01:26 (UTC) - Expand

"This seems a bit different than your usual sort of party," Stark said. "Particularly the food. But you look well."

"Thank you, darling, the Argentinian sun appears to agree with me," Liliana said, acknowledging the compliment first to the surprise of no one. "And, yes, this isn't terribly my style, but Ignis could hardly be expected not to come to Noctra's birthday, and since we were getting a portal anyway..."

No, that didn't really explain why she hadn't just sent him on alone while she stayed and enjoyed the resort's amenities, but pointing that out would just be a mistake.

Clearly she had to come along to describe the foods to Ignis in detail!

"I'm sure Prompto and Liz appreciate your presence. And Ignis. Of course."

She wouldn't do that to the man she [404 verb not found]!

...She would stand near them as Gladio described them and snicker behind her hands. Though Liliana was a surprising amount of gremlin by volume, so she'd had no compunctions about filling her plate with wings and pizza rolls and taquitos.

"They appreciate Ignis' presence or he appreciates mine?" Liliana asked, dimpling. "I mean, I'm sure you're correct either way."

Who didn't appreciate her presence? She was a gift!

Girl, you got him to move in with you. Accept the very obvious love!

"Both," Stark said. "I meant both.:

Shan't.

"Well then, you were right on both counts," Liliana said, genially. And then, her expression becoming more solemn she asked, "And are you quite recovered from Thursday's lesson?"