CLOSED | Dylan's 15th Birthday

[codicies]

Who: Dylan Brock codicies, his housemates, and those invited to the party — which is pretty much everyone he's had a positive interaction with.
What: Dylan's 15th birthday party, a bonfire cookout!
When: October 8
Where: Home of Diana Prince in Little Love, KS
Content Warnings: none (but will label things if asked)

Dylan's 15th Birthday Bonfire

Toplevel Prompts:

SETUP

(CLOSED to Dylan's housemates & anyone who might have showed up early to help prep)

Setting up for the party beforehand.

FOOD

Autumn has set in. The daytime is cool, the evenings are chilly, and there's a bonfire roaring in one of Diana's fields. Dylan's been prepping food for the party all morning — There's sausages, s'more supplies, and shish kebabs stacked with meat & vegetables. There's even some sweet potatoes! He saw a video on Japanese street food and wanted to try cooking potatoes on the fire in foil.

As for drinks, of course water and soda are available, but he managed to borrow some coffee urns from a kind caterer in town in exchange for a little manual labor. Now he's got a great setup for hot coffee, hot chocolate, AND hot cider all evening!

There's also a VERY large sheet cake for serving later. He'd been offered a brain-shaped cake, but the pictures had been a little too realistic, and he didn't think he (or the guests) would find it all too appetizing.

Though he's a little afraid the brain cake is still coming out, whether he likes it or not, but the sheet cake will be what he uses to blow out the candles, thank you very much.

SWORDPLAY

One of the gifts Dylan received was a real-life sword from Diana! He's been taking lessons from her and is ready to try it out. There's a little clearing a little ways from the bonfire where he's trying it out. If you want, you can come and spar — with Dylan, with Diana, or even with each other. With swords, sticks, or even with fists!! Come join the impromptu Fight Club.

EDIT to add: there are real AND wooden swords available for sparring, as well as wooden & straw dummies to practice on as well!

GAME TIME

There are frisbees, a football, soccer balls, even a ninepin set?? Do you have these games in your world? There's all kinds of fun sports gear available. Or you could grab something at random and start a game of Calvinball.

FIRESIDE

With the daylight fading, the fire becomes the center of activity. As you roast marshmallows or weiners (or grab one of those potatoes out of the fire) everyone huddles around, seated on rocks, stumps or lawn chairs as we all sing songs and tell stories.

Any spooky tales from your homeworld? Any songs you'd like to sing? Dylan had gotten a few guitar lessons from Jaskier before he disappeared, so if you start singing, he'll try to follow along with chords!

FIREWORKS

oh my god who brought those. please don't set any crops on fire. EXTINGUISHERS ON STANDBY.

WILDCARD

Any Standard Bonfire Activities I've forgotten, go ahead and throw them in!

After-Party Sleepover

(CLOSED to Dylan's housemates + Nico, Will, Hunter, Hibiki, and Chris Yukine)

Six teenagers sleeping on couches & air mattresses in the living room, watching movies... what crimes will they commit?

Comments

CAMPFIRE SONGS

[codicies]

[ Have you ever seen Whose Line is it Anyway? Let's set this up like a game of HOEDOWN.

Reply with a prompt & a starting verse, and/or reply to another thread. ]

Prompt: SPACE

[codicies]

[ Dylan's still pretty new to guitar, but he knows enough to string these chords together. With the prompt of Space, he starts singing — ]

I've never been off planet, I've always been on Earth

Even though out there's the place of my ancestors' birth

Someday I'll hop a rocket and I'll take a trip up there

'Cause they say that in the void of space no one can hear you swear!

Dylan Brock | OTA

[codicies]

(( I'll match whatever writing style you prefer! ))

A: Prep
Dylan's surprisingly organized as he preps for the party. He's chopping meat & veggies for the shish kebabs and arranging them on skewers, AND avoiding cross-contamination with proper handling!

Or maybe you catch him a little later, after the prepped skewers are covered & in the fridge, as he arranges S'more supplies on a large tray.

Or even outside, setting up chairs around the makeshift fire pit!

B: Swordplay
Dylan isn't quite used to the weight of this particular sword, but he's getting better at it already. He's still a little clumsy, but it's clear he's been practicing. He stands in a fighting stance, grinning and glancing around.

"Okay, who wants to take me on?"

C: Food
Dylan's got a small pile of oblong foil shapes in his arms, and he starts tossing them into the bonfire.

"Sweet potatoes," he says to anyone who asks what they are. "I saw something about it in a video on Japanese street food!"

D: Drink
Oh, hey, what's that bottle in Dylan's hand? Looks like he swiped a beer from the cooler and is sneaking a swig of it. You're not gonna be a total narc, are you??

E: Wildcard
There's other things going on at the party. Engage with Dylan in some tomfoolery.

A

[sol_annoyance]

[Pretty much as soon as Will has gotten Nico settled into napping on the couch, and after having eaten a KitKat, he walks into the kitchen to see if he can help with any prep work. It's only polite to at least offer to help!]

Anything I can do to help out, birthday boy?

Gift + Potential Swordplay

[sixthdeadliest]

"Happy birthday, Dylan. Thank you for inviting me."

The small, neatly-wrapped box had required a trip back to Central City to find an appropriate shop that could make the item. It wasn't as symbolic and personal as a tanto -- he didn't know Dylan well enough for something of such heavy significance -- but the little foldable kogatana was a useful little knife. Primarily used for woodworking or sharpening pencils, but deadly in a pinch should someone try to hurt the kid.

B

[robintohood]

Jason's holding a practice sword when Dylan asks who wants to challenge him. He mentally notes how the birthday boy is holding himself up and how he's holding his weapon. They could both use the practice.

"Sure, why not?" Jason says. "Thanks again for the invitation."

D.

[frenchkissed]

Eddie's dad sense are on fire!

Spotting Dylan from across the party with a beer in his hand, Eddie's torn between playing the Cool AU!Dad who says it's no big deal and playing the Serious AU!Dad who calls the cops and lets Dylan spend a night in jail to teach him a lesson. He settles for being the Honest AU!Dad as he walks over to him. That one comes most naturally to him, anyway.

"Hey, bud. One or two's cool, just don't go overboard. And call me if you're in trouble, okay? It's like J-Kwon said. Teen drinking is very bad... But I'll save that story for another night. Just have fun, alright?"

C

[doctopoda]

Oh, yes?

[Otto's interested! The tentacles also appear to be; one of the lower ones is watching the potatoes get thrown like it might try to catch one.]

Sounds like a fun thing to try.

C

[qualityfriend]

[Dana still looks dubious.]

How do you know when they're ready? And how do you get them out without burning yourself?

Sleeper | OTA | CW: brain cake image link

[definecat]

A. Prep
Surprisingly, Sleeper is actually being reasonably helpful for a change. This is an important date to Dylan, so they have chosen to do what they can to make things go off well. Whether than means helping to move and arrange outdoor furniture in their less common humanoid guise or clambering up trees and fences to put up lights, they're definitely around. And more than willing to give an opinion if invited.

They may also be behind this monstrosity being next to the sheet cake on the dessert table. Which is a perfectly edible cake, once you get past the appearance.

B. Present time

Once the guests start arriving, Sleeper takes time to find a spot among the presents because it gives them the opportunity to observe and also interact with guests that might have brought something for the guest of honor. It's not really a huge deal, and nobody is expecting a lot of them, but having a guard cat on the table seems effective, right?

C. Food and Drink

While they tend to keep their distance from the open flames for safety's sake, Sleeper is definitely enjoying the food. If you're roasting marshmallows or sausages, you may get asked for some extra. They'll even bring over a proper plate.

D. Wildcard

Got an idea of where to see the cat, or their large humanoid shape, depending on what's going on, feel free to drop a line or just start something here.

B

[sixthdeadliest]

Six had a small, neatly-wrapped box which he added to the presents table after he'd finished helping set up. He paused at the sight of the cat.

"Hello, Sleeper. Making sure no one wanders off with any of the gifts?"

C

[robintohood]

Well aware of Sleeper's weakness to fire, Jason walks over holding two plates of food. One is for himself while the other is a plate of sausages for Sleeper.

"Thanks again for the invitation. It's been nice," he says.

C

[doctopoda]

...that's an interesting cake.

[He wasn't around for the prep, but Otto does pause at the food table to check out this...brain cake. Who put that together and why??? Well, never mind, it's hardly the weirdest thing here.

That might actually go to Sleeper? He's definitely addressing them - he knows that the weird alien cat is Dylan's sibling, even if he doesn't quite know what that's all about. Really, it's not particularly his business.]

B

[qualityfriend]

[Dana shows up with a small wrapped box that smells like chocolate and an unwrapped bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup. She beams at the cat on the presents table.]

Hello, Sleeper! Guarding your brother's spoils? Or your own?

Six | OTA

[sixthdeadliest]

A. Prep/Packing Up

The birthday boy had invited him despite them having fairly recently met, so Six decided that perhaps the best way to introduce himself to the neighbors would be to help setup. He wasn't an expert on parties, but he had two perfectly good hands for moving things around. Just needed someone to tell him what to do whether it was setting up before the party or breaking everything back down as the guests started heading home.



B. Food

There was something nostalgic about the food. Not that the Numbers did cookouts or anything, but Six had definitely had the roasted sweet potato on a stick before. A sweet treat that didn't make him sick to his stomach. The only thing better would be to roast an apple over an open flame.

Regardless, he was probably on his second or third mug of hot apple cider. He was going to pass on cake and not just because one of them looked like a brain.



C. Swordplay/Hand-to-Hand

Now this was an activity he was familiar with.

He looked at the lineup of swords, periodically picking them up to test the feel before putting them back down. He had his own, of course, but he wasn't sure if they'd be considered cheating since he had so much practice with them. Could be seen as an unfair advantage if other people were trying to adjust to unfamiliar weapons.

Well, if nothing else, he could join in the hand-to-hand sparring.



D. Fireside

Six sat on the edge of the fire where the group wasn't as tightly-clustered. He'd surprisingly been having a pretty decent time even though he wasn't one for parties as a general rule. True, he'd spent a good chunk of it more or less on the periphery, but he'd enjoyed it.

The spooky stories he knew probably wouldn't be appropriate given they were all true. And not entirely family-friendly. Well, there'd been that one mission with Knight he could've possibly told without too many issues, but if Knight ever showed up, he'd probably try and kill him for it even though it was equally-embarrassing for both former mercenaries.

Instead, he contented himself to primarily sit and listen.



E. Fireworks

"...Are these even legal in this area?"

Though the moment the question was out of his mouth, he supposed if there were people with superpowers around, fireworks were probably low on the priorities list for local law enforcement.



Wildcard

Got something you'd like to bounce off of me? Go ahead and drop it here!

Otto Octavius | OTA + closed

[doctopoda]

i. octo-cab service (closed to Jason)

[Truthfully, without having a role to play, Otto might not have attended the party at all.

It's nothing personal. He likes Dylan and Eddie! Just...well, he hasn't been to a fifteen-year-old's birthday party since he was that age himself; he's not quite sure what he's meant to do there. And...well, maybe he finds excuses to bow out of social affairs more than he used to. It's just...different, these days.

Point being, though - he was asked to help out, so of course he'll do that! Dylan has a few unaligned friends in other cities without transport, and Otto has his own teleporter courtesy of the Alliance. He's probably not meant to be using it to cart unaligned metas around on social calls, but honestly that is half of what he does with it.

He hasn't actually spoken to this Jason before. Dylan was the one to set everything up and send him the meetup coordinates. As he teleports in, Otto spares a second to hope that Dylan mentioned the entire actuator situation to his friend.]

Jason?

ii. swordplay

[Of course once he's there, Otto sticks around. It'd just be rude otherwise.

When the impromptu fight club begins, he's stood off to the side, watching Dylan and the sword with something that looks like muted horror.]

Is this what kid's parties look like these days?

iii. fireside.

[Thank god, the rest of the party is a little more normal!

Otto sits on a filed-down stump he's procured from somewhere or other, rather than a chair like everyone else. He doesn't tend to get along well with chairs.

Fire, on the other hand, is easy! He's got marshmallows on a skewer in one claw, and a potato held loosely in the other. That actuator spins its claw back and forth a little as it sits in the flames, excited to be trying to cook a potato! For his part, Otto's drinking a hot cider.]

You can see the stars so well, away from the city like this.

[...still not moving to Kansas, though.]

iv. wildcard

(( hit me up at lluosogrwydd if you want to do something else. or just tag me with it. ))

[robintohood]

[Jason was surprised when Sleeper invited him to Dylan's birthday party. Truthfully he was more friends with Sleeper than with Dylan. Not that he had anything against the kid. It's just that they haven't talked as much as Jason has with Sleeper.

Ultimately though, he decides to come. It helps that Dylan arranged his transportation.

In Central City, Jason waits at the meetup point with a wrapped box. He then waves when Otto says his name. With the older man's tentacles it seems it would've been impossible to miss him]

Hey. Otto, right?

[demigoth]

Right around the time prep is ending

[ In Nico’s defense, he was invited for a sleepover. It’s just that the sleeping started a little early for Nico. He’d volunteered to bring an extra person or two, no more than 2 trips with 3 open spots, but he’d warned that it would make him sleepy.

He wasn’t kidding, either, Nico had passed out with part of a kitkat still dangling out of his mouth. No real warning, just ni-ni Nico. At least Will would’ve expected it.

Now, he’s waking up, and from the distressed little sounds he’d be making right before he sat bolt upright, it wasn’t the best dream. Nico looks around the room wildly, eyes settling on you for a panicked moment. And then he remembers and eases into a slouch. ]

Right. The party.

Swordplay

[ Nico’s sitting with his legs outstretched on the ground at the edge of the training area, watching others work. A nasty-looking black sword balanced across his knees unsheathed. It’s there for his own protection - he knows they’re using practice swords, and he’s not going to get beaned in the head with one if someone loses their grip. He wants something to deflect unexpected projectiles with.

He wouldn’t mind sparring, but he’s definitely trying to avoid catching Dylan’s eye. Showing up to someone’s birthday and taking them on with a huge training advantage is unnecessarily mean. ]

Sleepover

[ Maybe the other kids are interested in the movie choices, but Nico doesn’t have enough of a modern pop culture grounding to campaign for a particular film. He’s busily checking out the stack of board games. There’s Twister, the Here to Slay game Nico had bought Dylan as a birthday present, and … a Ouija board.

Nico turns it over in his hands, clearly confused. He’s not sure if he should be insulted.]

Do slumber parties always try to commune with the dead?

Wildcard

Ending of Prep Time bc his bleeding heart refused the sleepover prompt

[sol_annoyance]

[Will has just finished his last task for helping to prep the party. He's going over to check on Nico in the living room, but stops when his boyfriend bolts upright and looks around like he's expecting danger. He waits until the other boy sees him, recognizes where he is, and remembers why they're here. Will's smile is small as he looks at Nico.]

Yep. We've just about finished the prep work.

[The son of Apollo sits down next to him and puts a gentle arm across Nico's shoulders, if he allows it.]

How're you feeling?

Jason Todd | OTA

[robintohood]

A) Food

[Thanks to Dylan and Otto, Jason makes it to the party. He's even bought a present. He puts it down with the other gifts before getting himself a plate of food.

After getting himself two shish kebabs, sausage, and some hot cider, he stays at the edge of the crowd and people watch as he eats]

B) Swordplay

[The chance to further practice his swordplay during a 15-year-old's birthday party is a great surprise for Jason and now he feels less socially awkward about coming. Instead it's been replaced by very mild nervousness and excitement that he might have a chance to spar with Wonder Woman. And even if he doesn't, it would still be worth seeing her spar with others.

He has a wooden practice sword and is making some tentative swings, ready to play and train]

C) Wildcard

((OOC: Hit me! I'm always open to new CR! Have questions or concerns? Go for it! My contact information is on this journal's profile page. I'm also in the game's discord server and I have a feedback post.))

[demigoth]

[ The edges of this party are unusually crowded. Nico’s there too, head-to-toe in black with a skull on his shirt and belt buckle, holding an empty plate. He’s spoiled for choice and doesn’t know what he wants.

And now, he’s too distracted to finish choosing. For the second time in a month, he’s looking at a dead young man. But - not dead? Death still lingers on this one - he’s not near death. He died. Why does this keep happening? Is it Nico? Is there something wrong with Hades throwing off his perception, the way Apollo’s troubles affected his oracles?

Nico is openly staring while he tries to figure this out. ]

Hunter | OTA + Closed

[badbutsadboy]

Setup [locked to any others there for setup]

[Hunter has of course busied himself the second he got here. It's not that the Demon Realm doesn't celebrate occasions like birthdays, but Hunter has never been invited to one. He hasn't been friends with Luz and the others long enough for a birthday to pass and the Coven scouts had never invited him to birthday parties. Who invited their boss of all people?]

[Since this is his first birthday invitation, a gift of welcome he wasn't expecting, he knows he has to achieve proper birthday guest standards. He has to be an exceptional birthday guest and prove that he was worthy of Dylan's invitation. So he's helping out in the kitchen with a great deal of speed and intensity, following the directions of others that seem to know what they're doing. After all, he doesn't know the human food involved in human birthday celebrations, and he needs to make sure he meets the required cooking objectives with speed and precision.]

[He does at least know his way around a kitchen. There were servants at the palace, but it had seemed rude to wake them up anytime he wanted a meal after some kind of mission or patrol that kept him out late, or just for a midnight snack, so he'd often cooked for himself at any off-times. Unlike how he'd originally dealt with his enemies, he'd tried to be more gracious to those serving under him. There was a difference between being a bossy boss with incredibly high standards and just being a jerk, after all. Unlike Adrien, the head of the illusion coven, his goal had never been to make one of his underlings just rage quit.]

The cutting of the vegetables and Earth meats has been accomplished. [Despite the speed he'd worked at, the meat cubes for the kebabs are almost perfectly cube-shaped.] What's the next objective?

[It makes for a bit of an odd sight, someone doing things in the kitchen with a soldier's intensity, like he's on some serious mission, but dressed like that. He's wearing baggy lounge pants that are merchandise for the Angry Birds game, covered in angry red cardinals, white crocks (with white socks with cutesy birds on them), and a t-shirt of a wizard that looks like it belongs on the side of a van.]

[Flapjack, his cardinal Palisman has been helping him where he can, stirring things with a spoon held in his beak or chirping out measurements or suggestions where he can. He's still on the table, hopping around and carrying over kebab sticks one at a time.]

Setup [locked to Dylan]

[Hunter looks extremely anxious as he approaches Dylan.]

I read that in human birthday celebrations, it's traditional for the host whose birthday it is to receive gifts, just like back home. I wasn't really sure what to get you, since humans have a lot of goods in their markets and I don't really know what a human teenager likes.

[To be fair, he also isn't sure what a witch teenager would like best as a gift either. He's different enough from other teens his age that he's pretty sure his tastes wouldn't apply.]

The shopkeeps at the Walmarket weren't the most helpful. [His eyes narrow slightly.] It seemed like they were afflicted with some kind of curse that saps human will, so I reported it to the Alliance. Hopefully one of their mages can help them.

Since I wasn't sure what to get, I figured I'd also give you a traditional birthday pie, like we make back home, in case my gift doesn't meet proper human birthday standards.

[He knows how to make them because he'd found a recipe book when he was younger and sometimes made them for himself on his own birthdays. It was a way of still having something a little celebratory despite celebrating alone.]

[In retrospect, it probably wasn't even his real birthday, just some random day Belos had told him. Or whatever day he clawed his way out of the dirt after the Grimwalker spell brought him to life.]

[He bends down and reaches into the bag he brought to pull out a gift that's clearly a sphere. The feeling and sound of something liquid sloshes inside. The wrapping paper is just pages ripped from magazines, taped awkwardly together.]

[In the other hand, he pulls out a small hand-sized pie. The crust looks fine but the inside looks horrendous, like the meat filling was probably entirely giblets, offal, and/or tongues of some kind. Two roasted chicken feet are sticking out of the top.]

They didn't have bat feet, cockatrice entrails, or trash slug tongues, so I found human world equivalents.

[There are people native to Earth that could have used the ingredients he used in ways that taste truly delicious. He is not one of them, because he's not from Earth. His palate is entirely alien. While nothing in the pie is actually dangerous, it's all ingredients humans use, and it's all fully cooked, it's nowhere close to edible, and every spice is paired wrong.]

[The tragic thing is if he'd given it to one of his witch friends they'd think it was one of the best birthday pies they ever had.]

[Hunter holds out the two gifts, one in each hand, and bows down toward Dylan until he's facing the ground, in an entirely too formal gesture.]

Fireside [OTA]

[Hunter is confused about the fire. He doesn't know why the humans would have one if it wasn't for warmth and it's not that cold seasonally yet. And they all brought warm cloak-like clothes, like the heavy hoodie he brought. The idea it could just be fun rather than practical or for a ritual doesn't occur to him]

What's the fire for? It's not cold enough to really need it for warmth. Everyone's dressed well for the elements.

[His quizzical look is slightly concerned.]

Are we doing a book-burning? We used to do a lot of those back home but it turned out wild magic wasn't dangerous after all, so it wasted a lot of rare books for no reason.

[The ones he hadn't discreetly pocketed to read for himself, anyway. Someday if someone recommends Fahreinheit 451 for his reading list, he's going to intensely identify with Guy Montag's whole deal.]

But if it's the tradition, I can leave and come back with a book that isn't a rare copy.

[He's already getting up, ready to fly off to a book shop, because he doesn't want to birthday guest wrong.]

After-party Sleepover [locked to those invited]

[Hunter didn't bring any specific pajamas because it's not like he'd ever really worn jim jams back home, just taken off his cloak and mail and tunic, all the things he wore as a uniform, and settled in in the more comfortable clothes he wore underneath. The idea you wear pajamas is a comfy idea your parents teach you. Belos hadn't encouraged any comfiness ever.]

[So he's there still in his t-shirt and lounge pants, sitting on the floor with his back against the couch.]

[He looks thrilled to be there. Not only did he get invited to the party, he got invited to the human social sleepover afterwards, clearly meant for the most elite of friends and acquaintances.]

[He turns to the person next to him.]

Is there anything I should know? If we were chosen to perform the more important arcane birthday rituals, I don't know anything about them.

[A pause.]

They don't involve any Earth animal sacrifice, do they? I didn't bring a change of clothes.

WILD CARD! [OTA]

[Hunter will be all over, doing things way too intensely, feel free to hit me with anything!]

Fireside

[robintohood]

[Jason had been pleased earlier to see Hunter was also invited to the party. It means he's made some friends. Jason had largely left him alone so that he could enjoy having fun with people closer to his age.

Upon hearing his comments about book burning though, Jason's slightly alarmed and gets up with him]

Whoa, hey. We're not doing that tonight.

[codicies]

[ Dylan stifles a laugh at the bit about the 'Walmarket,' but doesn't hide the smile. ]

I'm sure they'll look into that right away.

[ Dylan's caught off gard when Hunter presents the pie and bows. ]

Oh, uh — you don't have to bow, it's okay! This isn't super formal or anything, I'm really happy you're here. Thank you so much for the... pie.

[ He takes the pie first, staring at it blankly. It is... not at all appetizing, but he's not gonna say that to Hunter's face. Still... if there was any household to bring this pie to, it was this one. Even if Dylan didn't eat it, Sleeper or Venom definitely would.

But for now... ]

Well, there's not enough to go around, so I'll put this away to eat later.

[ He looks curiously at the sphere. ]

[badbutsadboy]

[Hunter stands up straight and looks pleased that Dylan seems to like the pie. He is right, a traditional birthday pie is usually just for the birthday person, there's not enough for everyone else. And he's been busy preparing for the party, so it makes perfect sense he'd just eat it later when he had time to enjoy it.]

[So fortunately he doesn't stare expectantly at Dylan and wait for him to eat it or look upset it's getting tucked away.]

[Instead, he nods at the other gift.]

I tried to get something I could understand the purpose of and it seemed useful. It's the kind of thing I heard the coven scouts sometimes mention as gifts they'd gotten.

[When he unwraps it, it's...]

[A magic 8 ball.]

I didn't know humans could make their own scrying globes without magic, but I guess they figured out how to do the equivalent of precognition magic with your science.

You can ask it advice about the future!

Eddie Brock + Venom | OTA

[frenchkissed]

1. Set-Up

( anyone who volunteered to help get things set up might stumble onto a scene where venom's furiously rubbing two sticks together like a caveman while eddie tries to get things started with matches.

just a casual sunday at the ranch, truth be told. )

IT IS ABOUT THE FRICTION, EDDIE.

Yeah, bud, but there's a reason that we have, y'know, lighters these days, right? Matches? Because it's better than carrying sticks and magnifying glasses around in your pocket.

NO! IT IS BECAUSE HUMANS ARE LAZY. THEY FEAR... THE FRUITS... OF THEIR OWN LABORS...

( says venom, putting in lots of labor with the sticks and getting no fruit in return. he ends up breaking his sticks and grabbing new ones, but this whole old-school thing isn't really working for him. )

2. Sword Fight

( whoever said there are no teeth in sword fights is a total moron because teeth totally have a place in sword fighting. like, if venom were to bite the sword out of an opponents hand, that's an automatic point in his favor, and he's won. that's his strategy. and it's a good one. )

FORFEIT, TINY NERD! CONCEDE OR DIE!

( meanwhile, eddie only ventured into the fight pit just to see how things are going. he never imagined he'd get drawn into a sword fight. he's not doing great. he's not even doing good. it's a lot of eddie ducking and hiding behind his sword, and ultimately throwing his hands up in the air. )

Yield! I yield, man... totally yield. Good, uh, game? GGs all around. Damn, I'm getting too old for this...

3. Presents

Closed to Dylan
( the cool thing about not being perpetually broke for once in his life is the fact that he's able to share his newfound with his friends and family. being on the alliance's payroll isn't wealth, per se, to most people, but eddie has graduated from the starving artist, eating ramen noodles for dinner each week life to being in a tax bracket that lets him afford things like brand-name cereal movies that he can buy instead of rent.

it's unreal.

he and venom can also do things like buy dylan a shitload of cool things. )

Hey, Dyl? Can we borrow you for a sec?

( just a minute or two. eddie doesn't want to take dylan away from his party for too long. )

4. Fireworks

( who brought the fireworks — is that even a question? who, at his child's fifteenth birthday party, would arrive decked out in glitter and glowsticks with fistfuls of fireworks clutched tight in each wildly waving tentacle but venom? Venom Unpronounceable-Middle-Name Brock brought everything. spinners, sparklers, poppers, floppers, the kind that fly into the air and shoot off into a dozen other kinds of fireworks.

man, this cannot be good for the environment.

but it's a birthday! they're allowed to be environmentally un-friendly for dylan's sake. )

LET'S TIE A LOSER TO A FIREWORK AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

( that's you. you're the loser (unless you're dylan, because in that case you're spared). otherwise, yeah, venom is tying something bright and dangerous to your back and preparing to light it just because.

party on! )

5. Sleepover

a.) Closed to the Rowdy Teens
All right, do whatever you're gonna do, but the prank calls end at midnight. Don't set anything on fire. If you sneak out, that's cool, just don't get the cops called on you. If you do, know your rights. Don't say anything without a lawyer present. If they're not detaining you, they can't hold you. Ask to leave as often as possible. Uh... You all know how to escape out of handcuffs, right?

( so maybe it's not that kind of sleepover. it's still better for eddie to be safe and make sure these kids know the basics. like how to flee from the cops and how to eavesdrop on people without them noticing. just useful life skills for any teen gathering. )

b.) Closed to Ripley & Diana

( with the teens inside doing whatever it is that teens do, eddie and venom are outside picking up after everyone. the mess isn't huge, but it's better to get a head-start on it rather than leave it until morning. at some point, though, they start feeling too lazy to make anymore progress, so the layback in one of the lawn chairs and crack open a beer.

they'll clean more after this. )

I think that went well, don't you? I mean, Dylan seemed pretty happy? So did Sleeper.

3

[codicies]

[ Dylan is have a fantastic time. He's smiling and laughing alongside all the friends he's made here — in a handful of months, he's gained more friends than he had in years back home, and right now it feels like he couldn't be happier.

When Eddie takes him aside, Dylan follows without protest. ]

Sure. What's up?

Hibiki Tachibana | OTA

[determinationtofist]

[1] Food and Food

[ Celebrating your birthday is important! Hibiki will be one of the first people here to insist on this. Therefore, she was extremely quick to make her way over with Chris being dragged along with her.

And, perhaps a little predictably, Hibiki's attention is immediately grabbed by... the food.

Specifically, of course, the meat. She's not usually this meat-centric, she swears, but ever since she ended up a werewolf... well... ]

Mmmmph?

[ That sure is Hibiki with three whole sausages sticking out of her mouth. Her wolf ears are fully out alongside her tail, and her tail is wagging away as usual. Thanks to the food, no doubt. Heck, she's even holding a plate of even more food. She might end up eating out the entire party stock by herself at this rate... ]

[2] Fight Club!

Hah!!

[ Hibiki is not a swordfighter. She fights with her fists, and she's actually rather adamant about keeping it that way. She fights with fists so that way her hands remain empty, therefore allowing her to open them and reach out to others. That was Hibiki Tachibana's Armed Gear.

So it's a good thing that hand-to-hand is also an option, and ever-eager to train, Hibiki was quick to get in on that. ]

Oryah...!!

[ Put simply, Hibiki's movements are dramatic... but effective. There's very little wasted movement in her unique form of martial arts. You may recognize her main style as seeming to be reminiscent of—perhaps even largely inspired by—Bajiquan, which only adds to how "explosive" her fighting style is, even though she's not even wearing her Symphogear.

But more than that, occasionally her style will suddenly and abruptly change, and suddenly it's like she suddenly started using a different style altogether. How is she doing it? Where did she learn this? Who taught her how to fight?

The answer to that... might leave you somewhat baffled. ]

[3] Game Time with... Puppy?

[ Hibiki's already endless energy has already combined with the endless puppy energy she's been given by the confluences, and as a result, once the games start... Hibiki is frankly everywhere. She's following the rules, at least! Mostly...

Mostly meaning that at times she will forget the game entirely and just focus entirely on chasing the ball. Or you've thrown a frisbee and, regardless of if it was thrown at her or not, there's suddenly this almost-blur as Hibiki sprints across the field with freakish speed, leaps into the air, and tries to catch the frisbee in her mouth.

She's unsuccessful most of the time, sure, but occasionally... she actually is successful.

Of course, she snaps out of this puppy-like frenzy often just as quickly as she enters it, suddenly realizing what she's doing and looking down at the frisbee in her mouth, confused... but she also keeps re-entering that state as well.

At least the ears and tail make it pretty obvious why this is happening? ]

[4] Sleepover Surprise (Closed to those invited)

[ Sleepovers are always fun, so of course, Hibiki is eager to spend the night. Watching movies, playing games, snacking... just overall having even more fun until they all eventually pass out in the middle of whatever they were doing.

At least, that's what Hibiki thought was going to happen... but there's something that she's ended up forgetting, or rather, not realizing about tonight. It's the night before a Full Moon... which, for whatever reason, apparently counts. It's the first time this is happening to her, so there was no way for her to know to be prepared.

Occasionally, throughout the night, Hibiki will seem like she's in some kind of trance. She's easily shaken out of it, and she brushes it off as maybe being more tired than she realized with all the work she's been doing lately...

But then, suddenly, she's managed to slip away without anyone noticing.

Then, there's suddenly a loud CRASH coming from the kitchen. Investigate, and what you'll find is a large, bipedal werewolf, fully furred and wearing Hibiki's pajamas...?

Yep, that's Hibiki, currently in the process of ransacking the fridge for any kind of meat she can find. She's grown a little in size, but she's still small enough that her PJ's are still able to fit on her... even if it's a tight fit. She's messily tossing anything that doesn't have any worth to her out of the fridge, which is the source of all the noise.

But her ears and nose twitch when anybody approaches, noticing you and prompting her to stop what she's doing and suddenly whip her head around. Yep, it's definitely Hibiki. Her hairstyle is still clearly visible, and her hairclips are still there too, but is it safe to be around her right now? Since she's a Werewolf, couldn't she go berserk— ]

...!?

[ ...actually, despite her current appearance, her face is much more... puppy-like in nature, rather than wolfish. More than that, though, is the fact that... she doesn't even seem threatening at all. Mostly because her expression is immediately more akin to a look of puppy-like guilt.

Bad Hibiki. No raiding the fridge. Bad girl. Go sit in time out. ]

Wildcard

[ We all know how it works. OddEyes is my plurk, feel free to friend me and plot with me! ]

[trustheart]

[ Just when Chris started to wonder where Hibiki had gotten off to, she heard a loud crash. She got up quickly, ready to curse and basically dress Hibiki down when she found her, but after she charged into the kitchen, she found...well, the whole scene is self-explanatory. ]

What on earth?! You can go full dog!?

Chris Yukine | OTA

[trustheart]

[-Food-]

Chris is mostly standing around, hovering near the food tables. She barely knows anyone here, and it's making her feel more than a little bit awkward. She's been to birthday parties before, but they've been relatively smaller, more intimate affairs. Surprisingly, though, she doesn't seem at all confused about the culture, but that comes from being half-American and spending much of her youth abroad.

As the party goes on, she'll try some of the food, focusing on the kebabs and, later, the cake. She seems to be a fairly messy eater of the latter, however, given she's gotten some of it on her face.

[-Swordplay-]

"I don't do swords," was Chris's reply as she was offered to join in the playing around. Nevertheless, she ended up staring at them wistfully for a while, as if she were preoccupied with something. Or maybe they put her lost in thought. It's hard to tell.

[-Sleepover-] [closed to those invited]

As awkward as Chris had been at the party, she's even more awkward at the sleepover. The only sleepovers she'd been part of before had been with freeloaders who invited themselves inher small circle of close intimate friends. Even the girls at Lydian hadn't managed to get her to come over to one, and yet, here she was with some people she barely even knew. And on top of that, save for Hibiki they were all guys.

She'd spend a lot of time quiet and keeping to herself...at least, until the movies start. Then, she'll start to open up, getting really invested and cheering at the action-y parts. It seems even people like her could loosen up!

Swordplay

[determinationtofist]

[ Chris may be standing off to the side, but Hibiki's been getting in on the action... at least, she is in terms of the hand-to-hand stuff. She doesn't do swords either, after all. That being said, she does see her staring wistfully at them...

...which is strange. Chris is a very gun-gun, dakka-dakka type of gal. So, after she's finished sparring with someone else... ]

...I didn't think you liked swords, Chris-chan.

[ There are a few ways to take that, but fortunately for Chris, Hibiki isn't teasing her... yet. ]

diana prince | ota

[monomachy]

i. food

Ensuring there was enough food for the party had become something of a personal mission for Diana. She still longs for the grand feasts on Themyscira, sitting around a table or a fire with her sisters, sharing stories and drinks, and this seems as close to that as she can get right now. So she'll be moving to and from the kitchen of her ranch, bringing out trays of vegetables, meats, and various snackfoods to the field where the fire is. She helps herself as well, particularly the marshmallows for s'mores, which she holds out over the open flame to achieve the perfect golden-brown, crispy coating. There are more than a few times when she burns the 'mallow to a crips, but nothing goes to waste, and they just end up in her mouth instead of between some graham crackers and chocolate. Maybe she could use some tips.

ii. swordplay

When Dylan had asked her to teach him to swordfight, she had been absolutely delighted. It reminded her a little bit of when she had been a child, and all those times she had begged her mother to let her start her training. But he'd only needed to ask once--he is old enough, she thinks, to learn and have his own blade.

Having the ring set up at his birthday party seems like an equally good idea, though when the weapons, both steel and wood, are out, Diana watches everyone unerringly. Her eyes never leave the ring or the participants, and she circles the roped off area diligently. Live steel is only given to those who she knows are already skilled with a blade, or can prove to her they can handle it without accidentally stabbing themselves. She does not wear her armor, but her own sword and shield are kept atop a haybale nearby, and she's wearing her bracers, sleeves rolled up to leave them visible.

Go head, ask her to spar. She'll be thrilled.

iii. wildcard

[ooc; hit me up with anything! feel free to pm me or hit me up on plurk at watchet.]

[robintohood]

When Dylan and Sleeper invited him, Jason had been surprised and then thrilled to learn it was going to be at Diana Prince's home. He knew that with the multiverse at play, there was a chance she wasn't going to be the same Wonder Woman he knows back home but he still couldn't help but be a little excited. Though he's become cynical with most superheroes these days, Wonder Woman is an exception. He's always admired and highly respected her.

He's even more pleased once he gets to the party and sees everyone has a chance to practice some swordsmanship. A spar with Diana? It's almost a dream come true.

Doing his best to keep his excitement at a reasonable level, he smiles at Diana and picks up a wooden practice sword. Best to start easy first and see where he goes from there. For all he knows, she could have him flat on his back within ten seconds.

"Can I spar with you?" he asks politely.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST the next morning (closed to housemates & those who stayed over)

[codicies]

[ Dylan's been getting better at cooking. He's not quite ready to try making pancakes from scratch, but he's getting better at recognizing when to flip them & when they're done.

He got up a little early for this — set a vibrate alarm so he could get up before his friends without waking them, and headed over to the kitchen to start making pancakes. By the time everyone gets up, the fresh-cooked pancake smell is wafting through the house.

Some of them are a little lopsided, and one or two are a little burnt — but for the most part, the pancakes are perfect! There's butter, syrup, and jam on the table.

Who's ready for breakfast?? ]

[exasperation]

[ ripley felt too self-conscious to visit a teen's birthday party. he really didn't want to be one of those adults who thought he was cool enough for the youth (he was not). but he does come down for breakfast. and freezes. ]

Oh. Uh. Hi.