takeroot | noctium inbox

[Is this the roof that is soon to become Nikolai's roof. They will have to ask him to get it.]

I am very pleased I did not have to hit anyone with the sign, yes. Imagine if it was left with a dent.

For our next party, two preliminary guidelines:

1. A proper party without the strenuous labor
2. A spare frisbee in case the new frisbee we must now purchase somehow winds up on a rooftop that is not our own

those are good guidelines. one moving adventure was enough for me

speaking of parties, i do have this pic from a birthday party i was at a while ago

[She sends a selfie that shows her peeking in from the edge of the frame, wearing a silly looking party hat. In the background, standing in an ordinary looking apartment, is a lanky young man dressed in sunglasses and a full tuxedo.]

you remember that weird picture of our moving ad? this is the guy that made it!

Oh, the one who was insulting about "internet safety," as if that is a real thing.

[Constantin has definitely never invited any weirdos to their house from the internet... never happened.]

The hat suits you!

i think so too! i'd never encountered that birthday tradition before, but birthday hats are going to be a feature of my birthday party for sure

and yeah, he can be a little sassy! he's a bit of a weird guy

[As if that wasn't abundantly clear from the deep-fried advertisement alone.]

he's also the one who gave me lil micah. right after i met him, too! he didn't even know about my collection yet

[Who just randomly gives new friends taxidermy animals as a gift? This guy, apparently.]

That certainly does have implications, I suppose, but if he is your friend now, then it was a nice gesture.

[It's not creepy at all, retroactively!! Great taxidermy bonding.]

I have a vitally important question about the hats: Do we design our own?

Edited 2021-08-07 19:44 (UTC)

absolutely we design our own! that would make the party so much better, don't you think?

if you are going to wear a silly hat, it might as well be a custom made silly hat

plus i mean it's just a paper cone, so even someone who hated crafts could glue on some random stuff and be done in a couple minutes

And is designing the hats part of the party? I did once go out with Nikolai to do art, and it was quite fun!

["Art" here is the ceramic ballerina and not at all matching, comically large ceramic ice cream sundae he painted almost competently and brought home once upon a time. That art.]

it should definitely be part of the party! but it doesn't have to be a big event. people could just do it as they arrive

that is assuming we're all here when my birthday rolls around, but if anyone around here has made progress toward getting any of us back home, i sure haven't heard about it! so i feel like it's pretty good odds i'll be able to get at least one birthday party in

We could set up a station in the foyer.

And yes, I have the feeling that we will have plenty of time for all manner of parties while we're here.

[The irony sails straight over his head...... who has birthday parties...]

you know what other kind of party i want to have? a costume party!

i don't mean like a masquerade. that's basically just a rich person party with extra bells attached

i mean like a normal house party, but with costumes. i bet i could make a pretty convincing hag... i've got the claws and everything

Any kind of costume? And you would choose a hag...

[Well, it's different from the clown costume she wears every day, so whatever makes her happy!!]

What costume do you think I should have? I have never dressed as anything but myself!

i am not sensing very much enthusiasm for my hag idea! what costume would you suggest for me, o persnickety prince?

for you... i guess it depends on what kind of vibe you want to go for! you could dress up as a big bird, maybe, but that would be pretty involved. vampire would be really easy, all you'd need is some spooky eyes and bloody fangs

or i could try dressing you up as a clown

I think a vampire might be somewhat insensitive, and there are already enough loose feathers around the house from the real birds without a costume to shed them.

[Anyway hmm... the ideas... Aha, he's got it:]

We will dress as each other!

[Insensitive... to vampires? Are there vampires hanging around Sumarlok that she doesn't know about? Actually, there was that guy on the network with way too many teeth who might have been a vampire. Or maybe some kind of demon. Maybe he's onto something!]

ooooooooh, but connie, you have such outrageously impressive boots! where will i ever find a pair like them?

and are you really prepared to put that much purple on your body?

[She has a very purple wardrobe.]

If you give me your word you will behave and not ruin them, you may borrow my boots! They will be much too tall on you, but you'll have to endure.

I don't mind purple.

[But he iiis realizing he doesn't own anything purple, actually... he's just going to look like a skinny grape.]

connie... as if i could possibly even begin to misbehave while wearing your boots. i'd barely be able to walk in them!

[Seriously, what size are his feet? Nyskie is not a tall woman. The term clown shoes is appropriate here, although that's not really a ye olde jester concept.

She will need to stuff a lot of socks into the toes.]

but i will still promise to treat your boots with tender care. though you are right, they will be more like thigh-high boots than knee-high ones on me

[Very sexy, actually.]

how committed are you willing to get? will you let me put face paint on you? are you going to wear a bowtie?

You're crafty, you could find a way to misbehave while shut in a box.

[This is a compliment! Please treat his boots nice.]

A bowtie: no. I may consent to the paints, but you will have to show me what you want to do with them, first. I can hardly wander around with something unseemly on my face.

[Aw, high praise! Clearly she has made a big impression on him with her mischief-making skills.]

we could do something understated! [lol] tiny little cheek spots, maybe? just for fun

it's a good thing the gems are a fan of purple and green. i bet you could find enough stuff in your size to make a very convincing likeness of me

now hear me out... what if i paired your boots with jorts

the best of both worlds

Cheek spots are alright. Purple dimples, then? I can see the appeal.

[He already has freckles, but dimples...]

And I wish you would stop calling them that. They are short pants!

Still, if you were to pair my boots with some reasonable short pants, your legs would still be entirely covered.

[She's tiny... the jorts + tall boots combo will just become bootpants.]

"short pants" is an awfully long and boring way to say "jorts"

[Embrace it, Connie. She has added this word to her vocabulary and no one is going to tear it from her little claws.]

also... who said anything about the pants being reasonable? if they go down to the boot cuffs, i could just cut them even shorter

[She can and will pair his big, silly boots with daisy dukes if she has to. Not even dedication to a costume is going to see her in full-length trousers.]

Your costume of me is rapidly becoming quite the caricature! Are you going to do a voice? Carry one of those "worm strings" around and call it a dove?

[Jot these down, but also don't. He knows not what he does.]

[Interesting decision, volunteering ideas for her to better impersonate him at this future party! If he isn't careful, she might take it as encouragement.]

the worm-dove might be too confusing. perhaps a nice taxidermy bird instead

[Haha just kidding. Unless...?]

if anything, it should be you who is sporting the string worms. and probably your own pair of "short pants," considering that i don't think full-length trousers have graced my legs even once since i got here

Not a hideous one, I hope. My birds are lovelier than that mouse thing your friend gifted you.

[Respect his birds with these dead animal props, thanks...]

Are the short pants to be the puffy kind?

that depends on how adventurous you are feeling in your costume choices, i think

and how secure you are in your dignity

[That is to say, Nyskie wears the puffy kind because she likes them, but she knows that people here find them bizarre-looking. There is a nonzero percent chance that some people they know might laugh.]

but it WOULD be authentic. if you were feeling extra fun, you could get some matching 'art thou nasty' ones

those ones are my favourite

[Puffy shorts he can do, whatever... but art thou nasty... he doesn't think he's nasty??]

Could it say something else, perhaps?

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