[ closed ] i want to sing like the birds sing

[fussiest]

WHO: alhaitham (justscribing) & kaveh (fussiest) & midnight (unreserving) & netzach (unsafety)
WHAT: librarian frat house building and four-way nonsense
WHERE: wherever netzach wants them to be tbh
WHEN: uhhhh sometime this week
WARNINGS: bickering! also pda, probably

idk what's happening here tbh, make ur own headings! threadjack! threadhop! be wild! be bold! be free!

athuria: frat house log is just three men in love with kaveh doing whatever the hell he asks of them

Comments

renovation nonsense.

[fussiest]

[fussiest]

[ the sun is shining. the birds are singing. or rather, there would be sun shining and birds singing if this were another entirely different kind of city and if it weren't remarkably overcast for a sleepy autumn afternoon. but the anemic ambient temperature otherwise, kaveh thinks, the one advantage is that you never had to account for major temperature fluctuations, and so the lumber you store at the beginning of the month is still viable by the end of it without any real consideration on your part. in a way, it's a relief, one more consideration struck off the work pipeline that streamlines an already exceedingly complex workflow. on another, it feels wrong. like being a master of watercolour and being presented with watercolours that you didn't have to dilute with paint. even if you got the perfect shade every single time through this esoteric and likely somewhat demonic turn of events, it still wouldn't feel the same.

anyway, the thought is for a future kaveh to tweeze out and stake claim to. today, there are materials to be moved, hands to be put to work, and renovations to be made. with seventy shutters drying in his workshop and nearly five hundred metres of copper soldering tape still in the middle of setting, a mere apartment renovation is a welcome break. kaveh intends on breaking through the flooring and building in a spiral staircase. it's that kind of break. ]

Hey, now, [ he snaps out - ] Be careful with that! At some point in time we're going to run out of shelves to break down in this city, and then where will we be for wood lath? And you, don't jostle the paint! We need to maintain consistency, which means I don't want to open up a can and find out that there are enough bubbles in there to fill a small washing machine.

[ and then, because he's kaveh, he turns to netzach: ] Are you sure you want the roller and not the brushes? It is a bit heavier than the rest.

[unrequite]

[ Midnight hums amicably in response, deposits the wood in their designated spot in the dismantled kitchen, then walks past Kaveh again. ]

You will find a way to get what resources you need, even if wood no longer presents itself as an option. I have a sea of faith in your ability to shape the world to your exact vision with nothing but a bit of paste and a toothpick.

[ He then walks back to the hallway for more wood, and pokes Kaveh in the ribs on the way. He retreats from his crime with a little halfjog. ]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh, because he is kaveh, kicks midnight back. it's a gentle kick. ]

And what is your faith worth to me, hm? Is your faith going to bring me better quality tooth-picks and particularly resourceful toothpicks? And since when would it replace what I would rather have, which is plenty of woodlath and maybe a single sequoia tree. It'd burn my heart to cut it down, but I'd do that and more if it would fix the quality of lumber around these parts. Preposterous.

Bring in the cloth as well. We'll need to start spreading it before Netzach can paint.

[unrequite]

My faith does nothing; your power moves the world. Perhaps it's like having certain faith in the rise and set of the sun.

[ Kya! Midnight giggles all the way to the hallway like a hyena, but when he returns, he does indeed have the cloth folded up underneath a fresh pile of wood. ]

I can set this up now, if we need it, but I was assuming we'd need to apply the primer first... Or did Netzach say he'd do that bit himself too?

[justscribing]

If your paint is going to get too shaken at a normal walking pace, you should have brought a trolley to move them. [Says Alhaitham, unrepentant, as he deposits the four cans he was carrying by the handles onto the ground next to Kaveh and Netzach.] I didn't see the primer with them.

[abstractart]

Primer's in the second pile over there.

[he operates fairly well on... well, you can't really call it organized chaos when it's skirting the line of organization, but he knows where to find the things he's been working with.]

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham looks.] Ah.

[Then he'll grab one can to set down between them as well.]

[fussiest]

Yes, but then where will you fit in leg day? You needed the exercise anyway. It's like walking a dog, or a sumpterbeast.

I used trolleys to bring things here. I already got it here most of the way. What's a little big extra work in the elevators?

[unrequite]

Did somebody say leg day?

[justscribing]

This is coming from someone who won't join my morning run. [Kaveh how much more muscly do you want him.]

[abstractart]

I can pick up Midnight if I have to, I can handle a roller... it'll go faster.

[a little extra effort for a lot of saved time-- as much as he dislikes exertion, this is a worthwhile trade. he takes the roller in hand, content with this, and does not offer to offset the others' load.]

[fussiest]

You can pick up Midnight? [ kaveh looks netzach up and down. he calculates his mass to a margin of error less than 0.001%. ] What type of carry, though?

Right before renovating

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham is here, but not at the same time Kaveh arrives because some people actually take time in the mornings.

But he's here, striding in with his usual confidence. There is, contrast to the usual, a backpack slung over his shoulder. And with it he approaches the desk Kaveh has commandeered, where Kaveh is sitting, and sets it down with a thud.

That's "hello". He leans over to peer at the blueprints as he unzips it.] How many walls are you expecting us to take out today?

[Pulled from the backpack is a container full of a medley of fresh cut fruit (no durian) slid right in Kaveh's way.]

[abstractart]

[well. there's knowing that the guy he met in the office knew kaveh, and there's finding out that the guy knows kaveh. the 'participates in projects with him' kind of knowing him. the 'brings him cut fruit at work' kind of knowing him.

after kaveh disappears to go inspect something or another, or to fetch something, netzach watches alhaitham briefly before he finally approaches him, with a lazy little wave.]

Guess I probably should've introduced myself or something sooner, huh...? I figure Kaveh already told you though.

[justscribing]

[He knows Kaveh, including knowing Kaveh skipped breakfast to get here very early for set up after almost certainly not enough sleep.

But off Kaveh goes, and Alhaitham continues reviewing the blueprints until he catches Netzach approach out the corner of his eye and turns around.] Oh, you're Netzach.

[Netzach, one of the names that's marked on this blueprint where his bedroom is to go in the final layout. And Netzach, Kaveh's newly "hired" workshop assistant. And Netzach, the man that confessed to Kaveh and told him about how love was miracle.]

He did tell me you're his recent volunteer assistant. [Because what currency could Kaveh be paying him in.] Though you wouldn't have had to go out of your way to introduce yourself to me. We would have met again either way.

[fussiest]

[ in this house we don't say hello, we throw bags onto a table. kaveh doesn't even bother to look up. instead, he adjusts his blueprint the moment before the bag hits, the annotation that he is writing virtually uninterrupted from the gesture. it's not until the fruit reaches him that he gives it a suspicious glance.

no durian. kaveh's shoulders relax. he reaches for a toothpick. ]

Five, and a single section of the flooring. I'll need all of you on crowbar duty - I've marked out in pencil on the walls from where to where you ought to begin knocking out plaster and prying out the wood lath. When it's finished, what will essentially happen is that four apartments will merge into one, large unit. I was vehemently against having four bathrooms for the number of people that Netzach expects to cram in here, of course, but he assured me that it will work out somehow.

[justscribing]

[No durian. Alhaitham abjectly refuses to ever cut up a durian for Kaveh.

He leans closer over Kaveh's shoulder to read the annotations.] Not everyone spends as long in the bathroom as you do.

[Coming from the guy who uses 3 in 1.] Besides, you wouldn't actually be able to add more without knocking out another apartment, right?

Kaveh thirst trap

[justscribing]

[Because it's three hours and two walls through, and it's a workout. Alhaitham had removed his gloves and accessories at the start of this, but now the sheen of sweat and heat from so much upper body working is making his shirt uncomfortably sticky.

So he sets the crowbar down against what's left of the wall being removed, slides the sash off his shoulder and removes his headphones. They're hung over his back belt pouch, finally leaving him clear to peel his shirt up and over his head.

This is for c but I'm not the boss of y'all.]

[fussiest]

[ anyway, kaveh drops an entire armful of plywood.

the ensuing sumeran swearing isn't meant for public ears, really. ]

[justscribing]

[He just removed his headphones! Oh, his ears.

But he looks over his shoulder at Kaveh's direction.] What happened?

cuddle pile????

[fussiest]

[unrequite]

[ Oh, being discovered is absolutely Midnight's fault in some way. He has Netzach entirely in his lap, sat next to a set of dismantled scaffolding he was supposed to be mantling, and is instead being a bit too overzealous in whatever touching war he's engaged in with Netzach. (At least theyre sitting on a shoved aside couch, and they did not remove the tarp just to be comfortable... But still, this is very blatant skiving.)

Midnight blows a soft raspberry into Netzach's neck. ]

No one's ever done this to you before? Really? Not even as some sort of prank?

[ He does it again. He giggles because he has the sense of humor of a 5 year old. He does not bother to be quiet enough to get away with it, and hasn't been for at least the past five minutes. (If Kaveh's already here, he may even be pointedly ignoring anything he has to say. He is... how you say... such a fucker.) ]

[abstractart]

H-hey, hey-! Stop that...

[he's laughing, though, as he tries to wriggle away. stopppp it tickles stopppp.]

Nobody ever has.

[once again, something he just never had much of in his former life... but he'll take most kinds of affection, from midnight, and more importantly: he'll take an excuse to sit for a while.

...to make sure midnight sits for a while, too, after carrying materials and then moving on to the scaffold; he's not trying to hide anything, either, assuming kaveh will probably get it.]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh has to hide a smile. in the singular beam of the sun through a window that kaveh's rolled up gamely in an effort to bring in a little breath of fresh air, he supposes that it's only right to compare the two of them to a pair of cats, one carefully grooming the other. he hides the smile because it's best to be severe at midnight for this sort of thing; can't let him think kaveh's gone complacent.

anyway, there are appearances to be kept. kaveh looks severe as he comes up. of course, he only nudges midnight's thigh with his foot. ]

I leave the two of you unsupervised for fifteen minutes, and this is what you've gotten up to, hm? Behave. [ kaveh says, even as he slips two water bottles by their side. ] And what on Teyvat is that noise you just made? It's not going to leave a mark, is it?