[OPEN] Cheeseburger in paradise. Heaven on earth with an onion slice.

[shittywizard]

WHO: The residents and neighbors of MF#3, and whoever else wanders by
WHERE: The backyard of Maurtia Falls 3
WHEN: Some sunny weekend in August
WHAT: Backyard barbecue, baby!
WARNINGS: Puns and really gratuitous food descriptions.

While the backyards of the imPort housing in Maurtia Falls aren't huge, clearly #3 is making the best with what they have to offer. Between Magnus's construction skills and Taako's magic, their back porch has been modified (without a construction permit, good job boys) to accomodate an aboveground pool, and is now decorated with magic dancing lights, the pool full of novelty pool floats. Music plays from speakers pointed out the windows of the house, and the lawn is set up with a crate of frisbees, lawn darts, bocce balls, because the only good cookout games are ones that involve throwing things--clearly nothing here could possibly go wrong!

Behind the grill, Taako is grilling away, with Tina as his sous chef. They've got ribs, barbecue chicken wings, burgers, and hot dogs laid out to cook up fresh, and Tina's got a handwritten chalkboard menu up with pun names for each menu option (like "Bean There, Done That", a vegan black bean burger patty; or "You Chive Me Crazy", which is a burger topped a sour cream, cheese, and chive spread.) While Taako's grilling to order, he's outright refusing to cook hamburgers any more done than medium, and may straight up refuse to serve you if you dare order a burger well done. He's seasoning everything with an inexplicably magical looking salt shaker, too, if anyone takes notice.

Set out on a table beside the grill is a whole ton of food, all gourmet quality thanks to their combined skills and powers: BBQ potato salad with cheese and bacon, grilled pineapple salad with cilantro and feta, a Mediterranean tortellini pasta salad, grilled corn with cotija and chili-lime butter, mixed berry and watermelon salad with mint, and a heaping basket of freshly baked hot dog and hamburger buns. There's also a huge cooler full of beer, wine coolers, and soda. There's more than enough for anybody who might want to stop by! And with the delicious smells wafting out of their yard, who wouldn't?

Comments

Lucretia, OTA, idgaf about format pick whatever

[journalkeeper]

Lucretia has managed to find more world-appropriate clothing by this point -- a pale blue dress, in this case -- but somehow she still looks prim and proper and regal as fuck.

She looks a bit out of place eating a burger, nor does she seems to care because she is loving it. "Holy shit, this is a good fucking burger. Goddamn."

Later she is delicately sitting on the steps of the porch, watching people play lawn games. If you manage to throw something particularly well you may hear the sound of her polite applause.

[continuousgroaning]

"Uh, thanks," Tina responds bashfully to the comment when she hears it, fanning herself with a handheld fan. "I grew up making burgers, so it's always great to hear compliments."

[h2no]

He doesn't actually approach Lucretia until she's sitting on the steps watching the games. Archie leans on the railing, standing next to and slightly behind her, watching with vague amusement.

"You seem like you've settled in well," he comments. "Did you ever find a big enough tank?"

[shittywizard]

[ Taako never doesn't love the compliments on his cooking, and he preens a little at the Director's comments. ]

Right? I got up at like three o'clock in the damn morning to bake these buns, and the kid here [ He gestures at Tina. ] came up with the menu concepts. She's a natural at it!

[burlyboy]

[ Magnus, on the other hand, looks the opposite of prim and proper. He's still all stitched up and burned and while he's safe to swim, it's pretty gross - but Magnus has literally never passed up an opportunity to walk around shirtless, so shirtless he is, in a pair of bright pink swimming trunks with a cartoon dog print on them.

He's not so big on the whole shame thing. ]

Okay, yes, good fucking burger, but more importantly: what gives with the outfit? You can't swim in that!

OTA!!

[burlyboy]

[ Magnus spends a great deal of time lounging in the pool, floating happily on a novelty pineapple and dragging his fingers through the water, Steven the Goldfish floating beside him. He's convinced himself that Steven enjoys the illusion of being in a bigger tank, and gently pushes him in the direction he's swimming every now and then.

Otherwise, he can be found by the grill, watching Taako cook with every sign of enjoyment, a little fascinated by how quickly a professional chef can work, and otherwise just stuffing his face with an absurd amount of food. He's a big guy! He eats a lot! And when the food's good, he eats an entirely disgusting amount. You may hear him say, every now and then, mouth full, ] Thiff ish amazing.

[hellosirs]

Can Steven swim outside the bubble at all, sir? Or is this the wrong kind of water for him?

[ Angus is sitting at the edge of the pool, kicking his feet in the water and watching the fish with curious interest. This is a pretty chill day so far! ]

pooooooooooooool

[h2no]

[archie is sitting on the edge of the pool, legs dangling into it. he takes out sharpedo's pokébal, setting it on the edge and releasing the shark. the bright white light that materialises it snakes under the water, forming the shark directly under magnus.]

Bro! [he calls out, grinning like the shitty butthole he is.] There's a shark in the pool!

[shittywizard]

[ Taako's showing off like it's his job, flipping burgers into the air with practiced ease, letting them land perfectly back on the grill, or catching them on a plate with a showy flourish. It's easy to see why he used to have his own cooking show, because he's downright captivating in action. He flips three burger patties into the air one after another, catching them in an expert stack on a bun and passing the giant meat monstrosity to his buddy. ]

Say it, don't spray it, my man!

OTA

[continuousgroaning]

[Tina's enjoying helping Taaco cook- it's filled with pleasant associations, after all, of the long hours spent in her family's restaurant, looking after the grill while her parents do prep, standing next to her dad and learning how to make a good burger.

When not cooking, she can be found spending time in the pool, or playing with the dogs in the rest of the house's yard.

It's a nice day, she thinks. Her family wasn't able to have much time off for cookouts because they had to keep the restaurant open as much as possible, and why cook things on a grill when that was what they did for a living? Here, she misses work since it's what she's used to, but sometimes having a day 100% free of responsibility is good.]

[chulk]

[There is an interloper in their midst. Amadeus wasn't planning on crashing the party per se, he just happened to look over in curiosity and was handed a plate like he was meant to be there. You don't turn down free food especially when you ate as much as he did.

He's piled his plate as high as he can manage while he continuously shoves more food into his mouth.]

Hey, you're pretty good at this.

[Except he said this a little less intelligibly considering he's still chewing.]

[h2no]

[it's fun watching tina grill - she's clearly a natural and, well. she smiles when she does it. that in itself is good.]

Hey, T. Think I could get an uncooked patty for Crobat?

[shittywizard]

[ Taako is likewise enjoying cooking with Tina. While he's more used to cooking by himself, there's something strangely familiar about having someone alongside him. He even winds up showing her some of his showier grill moves, like how to triple flip a burger and catch it on a bun to entertain while they feed the their friends. ]

See? It's all in the wrist. A little twist as you flip it up, then you get the plate in position like this. You wanna give it a shot?

[burlyboy]

[ As Tina floats in the water, she'll suddenly find herself buffeted up into the air as Magnus swims below her, unseen, then bursts to the surface again with her on his shoulders. He has no distinct reason for doing this, beyond the fact that it seems entertaining in the moment, and he likes messing with the kids every now and then. ]

Angus, OTA!

[hellosirs]

Ango can be found sitting at the edge of the pool, kicking his bare feet in the water and enjoying the dancing lights that bob around his head like fireflies. He doesn't really know how to swim, so he hasn't actually gone into the pool yet, but he's enjoying the water from what he considers a safe distance!

Otherwise, he's either munching down on some potato salad (he tries to remember his table manners at first, but it tastes so good that soon he's pretty much just inhaling the stuff), or getting bowled over by Uncle Jesse, whose enthusiasm for frisbees is only matched by his enthusiasm for pinning Angus down and covering him in doggy slobber. Somebody save him!

[journalkeeper]

Lucretia makes her way over, delicately waves a nice juicy steak in front of Uncle Jesse, shaking it a bit before throwing it away from the two of them. The dog immediately gets off and goes racing after it. If Angus looks, though, the steak no longer appears to be there -- an illusion.

"Do you need help up, Angus?"

lmk if this isnt okay

[h2no]

Oh, poor Angus. Archie laughs, takes a picture, then decides to help the poor kid. He gently pushes Jesse out the way, then crouches down to lift up Angus - holding him up and out like some kind of weird baby. Mostly so Jesse can't get back at him.

"Ah, kid. You have a little..." he places Angus on a nearby table. "...Stuff on your face."

[shittywizard]

[ Taako's taking a break from manning the grill, floating on his back in the pool with his ponytail fanning out in a long blond trail in the water behind him as he floats past Angus. ]

Hey Ango. Having fun?

ANGO!!!

[hombrenuevo]

[ Hey, someone his age! This will be novel. Wading through the shallow end of the swimming pool Chico surfaces beside the boy's splashing feet. ]

Aren't you hot?

[ He raises his face just high enough to get the words out above the water's surface, then slips back down into the pool. ]

maybe i should toplevel in my own post too huh; ota

[shittywizard]

[ Taako's having a blast cooking, flipping burgers in increasingly complex and impressive ways. Anyone who stops by the grill to watch him cook is subject to every ounce of his celebrity chef persona, which noticeably more cordial than his usual flippant attitude (though only by comparison).

When he's not behind the grill, maybe you'll find him lounging in a chair on the deck, soon to be joined by a giant black boa constrictor who comes slithering out of the house to join him in the sun. Or maybe he's in the pool, or out on the lawn, making frisbees levitate to get Magnus's dogs riled up. ]

i attack!

[redhott]

[ Kyle can smell that grilly goodness from his house, so of course he has to come snooping. He's eighteen, he's a growing boy, there's always room for a friendly cook out burger.

But he is all about manners, too, so that's why he brings something like a house warming gift. It's a little late to warm a house when you are the one who's new, but whatever. It's the thought that counts, right? ]

Uhh, hi. I'm your neighbor in that one. [ He points to the adjacent house. ] We haven't met yet, so I brought some s'mores! [ See the saran-wrapped plate in his hand. ] And a... potted-plant... [ Which is more like a tiny cactus in a plastic pot. He did remember to take the sticker off, though! ]

[nicetouch]

[ An Asian man in his early 20s eventually joins Taako on the lawn. Despite the summer heat, he's donning a black hoodie and his trademark baseball cap, and his hands are stuffed in his Burberry trenchcoat. ]

Awesome party, dude. [ He looks over at a levitating Frisbee with an appreciative grin. ] We have magic-users where I'm from, but you're the first one I've met that's also a kick-ass chef. Pretty rare combination in my world.

tags all yall

[h2no]

Hey, Taako!

[archie remembered taako's name, finally, recognising the guy from the one time he's seen him when he wasn't blind drunk with magnus.

he holds out a wrapped up bottle (very clearly a bottle) out for him.]

I, uh, meant ta give you this a while ago. A sorry for getting really drunk with Magnus and crying a lot in your kitchen gift.

[bassackwards]

[ Mae doesn't live here, but she does live next door, and that's really all the invitation she needs. She can currently be found sprawled out flat on her stomach on the lawn, trying to entice an alarmingly large snake to come over to her by wiggling a hotdog like it's bait. ]

Sssssssss.

[poreiavian]

[Loma is not a resident of 003, but she does live right next door over in 002. She's out in her backyard just enjoying the warmth of the sun, sunglasses on and... still mostly clothed. Ok so she isn't looking to get tanned, just to chill out.

However the faint smell of meat being cooked, along with the chattering noise next door, can't really escape her. She walks over to the fence that divides the two houses and peaks her head over it, where she sees Taako flipping the burgers in magnificent fashion.]

You're quite skilled with your flips. [She comments, still looking past the fence - tall enough that only half her face can actually be seen.]