b u o n e ~ f e s t e

[sharktrash]

Who: Priders! (Basically if you (or your friend, or your dog) has had a positive interaction with anyone from MANTICORE, consider yourself invited, dragged along or sent in someone else's place. And even if you haven't been invited it's totally fine to notice something's going on and show up or  randomly come across this and stay!)
What: Genos and Squalo throw a Solstice dinner party. Italian food for everyone!
When: December 21?ish (forward-dated a bit so it doesn't fall right before irl holidays)
Where: MANTICORE penthouse
Warnings: MANTICORE Squalo, Carnies, language, minors getting drunk, substance abuse, someone might decide to bone, idk.


[ Fuck the creepy shit, MANTICORE are aggressively throwing a Solstice party! Because why not, and who has the patience to wait until New Years? ]

[ There are locations/prompts in toplevels, but feel free to start your own as well. Generic timeline of the night would be: cooking, dinner, socializing with games and booze and possibly other things, and  a movie marathon into the wee hours of the morning for the ones interested.  ]

Comments

[sharktrash]

[ The only Princess movie Squalo had picked is probably The Little Mermaid, but hey, someone else might've put others on. Either way, it's animated fish time now. ]

[ Squalo's too mesmerized to even notice he's being used as a pillow, to be honest. Hopefully the gross sobs that escape whenever the Shark Mafia loses or little Nemo calls out "DAD" won't interfere with his sleep too much. ]

[dishevelment]

[No, they're not going to bother him. He's just going to unconsciously wrap his arms around the lazy cellist, as if to offer comfort.

The dreams were actually peaceful for once. He just didn't like those he cared about being upset, whether he was awake or not.]

WHY IS THIS CUTE. CEASE.

[sharktrash]

[ He'd be offended at a less ungodly hour and with less booze and coke in his system, probably. Right now? It actually does feel comforting. He might even lean a bit into the hold, still stuffing popcorn after popcorn into his mouth and weeping. THAT FISH LOVES HIS SON SO MUCH. ]

NEVER

[dishevelment]

[Koumei stirred a little at the continued weeping-- and proceeded to stroke Squalo's long hair in an awkward attempt at offering comfort.]

There, there, [he cooed, voice muffled by the pillow he was flopped all over.] It'll turn out good in the end.

[sharktrash]

I know, I know. [ sniffles. ]

[ He never sniffles. Just how high and drunk is he? Normal people would probably need hospital at this point. ]

It's just so -- so touching.

[ almost chokes on a popcorn while quietly sobbing, and finally lifts an arm to wipe his face with his sleeve. ]

[dishevelment]

[It didn't matter how stoned Squalo was, because Koumei was going to keep gently toying with that long hair.]

...It is, [he said, taking a lock to begin twisting it into a braid.] Anyone would want a dad as dedicated as him. He deserves a Father of the Year award!

[sharktrash]

Absolutely. Little Nemo is so lucky.

[ He shoves a whole handful of popcorn into his mouth, probably to ease his suffering. Whatever else he says is muffled into incoherence. ]

[dishevelment]

Luckiest little fish in the sea.

[He didn't bother stifling the yawn that punctuated his remark, and instead flopped even further on top of Squalo and his stoned binging and weeping. The little tiara fell askew and became entangled in his disheveled bun.

It would need some attention in the morning. He was too tired to care right now.]

[sharktrash]

Yes.

[ Hey, the weeping has stopped. He's just sniffing occasionally now. But, now he notices that tiara and moves one hand to prod at it. ]

Decided to be a princess tonight?

[dishevelment]

Mmm?

[He blinked blearily at Squalo, as if emerging from the depths of the sea to linger on the shores of wakefulness for a little longer.]

Was a gift from Xan. He wants me to dress as Peach-- I told him I would as long as he dressed up too.

You had Mario Kart here. Felt fitting.

[sharktrash]

Ah. Did he?

[ He's still fingering the tiara. ]

I feel like I've seen this somewhere before.

[ A little tiara with a Cheshire-like grin under it. And obnoxious laughter. Was it someone he knew?.. ]

[dishevelment]

Yeah. He said it'd make an awesome photo shoot.

[He lazily ran his fingers along Squalo's arm, enjoying the feel of it.]

...I think you're dreaming. I've never worn this before today.

[sharktrash]

No, I mean, did he dress up. Saw him in an apron earlier, that's hardly a costume.

[ He didn't have kids, did he? Ah -- that touch snaps him out of it. He rests his head against the backrest of the sofa and smirks. ]

Sure, dreaming of a pretty princess. [ A pause as he tries to untangle the tiara from that mess of red hair. ] Don't sleep with this or you'll have to cut it out.

[dishevelment]

Not yet, [Koumei murmured, idly imagining how Xanxus would look dressed as anything ranging from Mario to Marth. The Dashing Prince look suited him better...

....maybe with a cape...

--Thoughts were cut off at Squalo's touch and words, wakefulness slamming into him with the force of a fire alarm.]

...That'd be bad, [he muttered, reaching up to try to detangle to tiara as well.]

I can't remember the last time I've had a haircut!

[sharktrash]

Fucker's not keeping up his end of the bargain. You should remind him.

[ Forcing Xanxus into a pair of plumber overalls sound like a pretty good end to his evening, actually. If Koumei wants help with that... ]

[ But anyway. Untangling the princess regalia. ]

Just -- hey, you can't see up there. Let me.

[ HE GOT DIS BAE ]

[ and then he blinks. ]

Seriously? Not even a trim?

[dishevelment]

I'll remind him when we're both awake...

[Because it was no secret that both Xan and Mei liked their naps a little too much. No wonder they both had odd reputations.

Koumei shifted, all but burying his face in Squalo's chest so that he could properly work on the detangling job.]

The color's natural, and mom was always telling me how special it was when I was a kid. My family's got Chinese ancestry, and red is really rare in that population.

[sharktrash]

[ He makes a vague sound of 'i doubt that's a good idea' but leaves it be. But, oh, that's almost like cuddling. Wow. He's not sure why but it feels weird. ]

[ Whatever. He busies himself with the tiara, freeing strand after strand of hair from it. ]

Huh, that's pretty cool. All the more reason to take good care of it, don't you think?

[dishevelment]

Probably, [he grumbled, his voice muffled against the fabric of Squalo's shirt.] It's just a pain to brush it all the time. Your hair's not as thick as mine!

[sharktrash]

That's a shitty excuse. It'll just take some more effort.

[ And it's free! ]

[dishevelment]

[Freedom is good! But it doesn't stop the whining.]

But my arms get so tired that they'll fall off, and then I'll be useless as a pianist....

...and then I'll die, because Page will kill me.

[sharktrash]

[ Oh ffs. He'll put the tiara behind the backrest of the sofa... and if there's no convenient table or couch structure it just might drop on the floor. Doesn't matter. He's got to procure a brush from somewhere. His jacket? His ass? Behind the cushions? The world will keep wondering. ]

Heeey now. What's a little bit of dying? Mom's gone through all that effort to squeeze you outta her cooch, the least you can do to show your gratitude is give your natural gifts proper maintenance.

[ HE'S GOT A BRUSH. And his other hand is looking for the end of Mei's ponytail. ]

[dishevelment]

...I think I might be dead, [he mumbled, distracted by that one word and the mention of his mother. The tiara and that brush didn't much matter-- this close to dreamland, he felt oddly connected to that strange tactician he kept dreaming about.]

Having a hard time recalling Mom too-- it's weird. Life was always a day by day thing as a kid, too. Guess everything just got stuck in the blur.

[sharktrash]

Shh, shh, I know. Me too, yeah? Still gotta look gorgeous in that casket.

[ He's starting to brush that long hair from the tips. It's pretty gentle for now. ]

[dishevelment]

[Gentle is good; Mei's not even thinking about that now.]

...Do they even give funerals for an enemy general?

[sharktrash]

[ He considers it, and keeps brushing. ]

Don't think so. Probably something more like tying his corpse to a horse and dragging it on the ground around the city while everyone cheers and spits on it.