OUR HOUSE

[saltwaterlungs]

CHARACTERS: Phil, Dimitri, Darcy, Ruby, the Venom Symbiote, and you!
DATE: June
LOCATION: The farmhouse on 499 Winter's Avenue
SITUATION: Home-making and housewarming
WARNINGS: Usual warnings for all characters involved but otherwise n/a

I'll light the fire, you place the flowers in the vase (Closed to phil/dimitri/ruby/venom)

Moving out of the Oak and Iron has been on Darcy’s mind- well. Virtually since she got to Pumpkin Hollow. But with Phil back and all, they started making plans for it in earnest. A combination of saving up and mysterious brass from some old dude fairy (??? she isn’t asking too many questions) means that they have the means. All they have to do is do it.

The week prior to the housewarming is spent working in and around the construction of a couple of new rooms, subdivided up from the old floor plan. Paint, wallpaper, fresh fabric to reupholster some of the furniture, a lot of cleaning. Plus there’s the logistics of moving all their stuff, which is significantly harder without cars and on an island that’s bigger than one ship. Darcy doesn’t even have that much shit, it just all stacks up somehow.

She spends her time mostly between generally assisting the move, setting up the kitchen, and putting her room together once they’ve finished building it. Darcy can be found doing any of those three things.

Rest your head for just five minutes, everything is done (Open)

It’s not going to be the shindig to end all shindigs, but once the dust has settled and everyone’s recovered from moving everything around, friends and family will get a call inviting them over. All the windows are open for the mild Summer night air, the curtains drift a little in the breeze, and the song of crickets can be heard from anywhere in the house. The lights inside the house are warm and cheery, and seem to beckon you in, the shadows around them seeming… darker, somehow.

There’s lemonade with some Phil-made ice cubes in it, and Darcy hasn’t moved from the kitchen in service of making canapes to feed anyone who shows up. Cold cuts on bread, sandwiches with cucumbers left over from the carnival, small fish cakes. It’s a good way to break the kitchen in. When the food has been made, Darcy sets up out the front on the porch, curled up with some lemonade on one of the chairs, looking out into the night and making some small greeting to anyone who approaches.

Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy cause of you

[wildcard!]

Comments

[goodweather]

Phil laughs as César does, deep and with the whole of his chest. “We blew a hole in the side of that building! Started something of a fire, too, but we got it put out. It was a magic realm, too, so we didn’t pay a cent in damages. We were a couple of lucky dogs for having just blown up a wall.”

[pineapplesalmon]

"Oh no!" César laughs louder. "It's a good thing the place was magical, then! How big of a hole was it; what did we take out?? If it was anything like my lab at home, it should've been a pretty big one!"

César needs to know more of this story. Because yup, this entirely sounds like something that would happen to him.

[goodweather]

He's still sniggering as he says, "We blew a huge hole in the salt room of a spa, or something. Those kinds of details were less important to me than figuring out how to put the fire out. You understand."

[pineapplesalmon]

"We assaulted a salt room?" César puns immediately and reflexively, without thought, because unfortunately the pun is more important to him than knowing how they put the fire out.

[goodweather]

Phil just laughs even harder.

When he comes down a little bit, he sighs contentedly, wrapping a hand around his knee. "You also helped me with a little construction project one time. I put up a couple of signposts where people could have them theoretically point to home. Basically a signpost forest with reminders of where we all came from or wanted to go. You helped organize everything and provide the materials. It was a nice project. Gone now, but... it was nice. You put up three. Buenos Aires, Ciudad de Mexico, and Geneva. You were very exact about making them look like American road signs."

[pineapplesalmon]

César needs time to come down from laughing himself.

César rolls that around in his mind, then chuckles warmly. "Because that's where I was living then. And I'd jump into something like that with two feet." Then he pauses a second time as he considers that a bit deeper. "... would it make sense to do something like that again? I don't think I could get the right materials to make mine look like signs from the US, but I do have a woodworking shop in my attic."

[goodweather]

Phil pauses. His head tilts.

"... Hm. Maybe. You think people here would go for that? Back then, I did it mostly because everybody was kind of in a state of desperation. It could still be nice, though..."

Hmmm. "We'd have to, like, get permission from the town to keep it up in a public place."

[pineapplesalmon]

"You say that like we're not living in some crazy sometimes-horror town." César shrugs warmly. "I know enough about the Eterna to know there wasn't weather. We'd probably want it inside a building somewhere. But which building, I'm not so sure. I'd offer my greenhouse, but, no, it should be a place in town."

Like a multicultural center. Maybe. That won't exist for a while yet.

[goodweather]

His smile turns carefully strained. "Believe me. This is an upgrade."

But then he relaxes, dropping it for a wondering look. "Definitely a public space, ideally in the town center. Not Town Hall, not the Library, definitely not the Church. I mean, Temple. Hm... well, we don't have to come up with something now. I'll just keep it in mind whenever I commute in."

[pineapplesalmon]

"I do." César lets that part drop, too.

He nods along to those suggestions. "It's honestly a good activity for when the weather turns colder, anyway. Let people enjoy the warm sun right now. Then we can gather together around a fire when the chill enters the air."

wrapping?

[goodweather]

Ah, being believed on the first shot. He remembers why he liked this guy so much.

"Oh, for sure. It's too hot to do all that hammering right now. I'd know, I just did it." Phil chuckles.

"It's really, really good to see you again, César." He eases himself to standing, slowly pulling himself up. "I'd better get back to hosting. Shall I see you downstairs?"

wrapping!

[pineapplesalmon]

It helps that César knows what they went through is in the realm of possibility. Pocket dimensions are a thing.

César laughs. "I've been doing it, too. It's awful."

He gives a short wave, smiling at Phil. "It's good to meet you again." César takes this with too much stride, perhaps. "I'll be down when I've recharged my social batteries."