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

[sol_annoyance]

[These two have Seen Things. Will looks somewhat... sad, which is definitely a break from his usual calm and collected demeanor.]

I do wish I could've inherited some skill in combat, just to help everyone else on that front. But... even with this gift, I can't save everyone.

[The way he says it is more of a statement of fact tinged with some regret than anything else, but it's clearly something he's had to accept some time ago.]

I don't let that stop me from trying, though.

[doctopoda]

That's the best any of us can do.

[It's hardly as though combat skill saves everyone either. They all have their areas of expertise. Honestly, it's still somewhat bizarre to Otto that he is a combatant now; he'd certainly never been a fighting man before.]

You could still take some combat training, couldn't you? I don't like how many kids are involved in things like that here, but if you're going to be, it wouldn't hurt.

[sol_annoyance]

[Will looks embarrassed. There might also be some shame if Otto looks close enough.]

I have training, and my partner did convince me to get a weapon for myself, but... I don't measure up to where I should be. Especially not with the weapon my family's supposed to excel in.

[Ugh, to Hades with it, he might as well spill so Otto understands better.]

My Dad's Apollo, the Greek god, and I've got a lotta siblings from him. We've got a lotta amazing archers and fighters, but I'm not one of them.

[No matter how hard he's tried.]

[doctopoda]

[Oh, dear, maybe he shouldn't have suggested that. Otto turns a little more fully to Will, only one of the actuators remaining focused on the sparring.]

That's perfectly alright, too. Not everyone is a fighter, no matter what family they're from. No matter how good anyone is, none of us would last very long if we didn't have any healers around.

[Weird that he's in a place where he's just taking "I'm related to a Greek god" in his stride now!]

[sol_annoyance]

[Will runs a hand through his hair. Otto definitely has a point, and it's one that Chiron has told him in the past, too.]

You're right. Logically, you're definitely right. It's... Hard to shake the guilt, though.

[And other complicated emotions. Maybe he'll have the time to work through all that while he's in this world before going on that quest with Nico. Though, Will has the distinct feeling any progress made might get negated.]

[doctopoda]

That's fair. I've never found it helps much, either.

[People will tell him it wasn't his fault. Otto knows it was. Of course, logically, it isn't as though he intended any of what happened - it was an accident, even if one with a clear author. But that doesn't help.]

But I do think your sort of work is easily the most admirable we can do. There's better ways to help people than throwing punches. [Or cars. Otto sort of wishes he did less of that.]

[sol_annoyance]

[Will nods, and he does eventually smile.]

Thanks. And you know where to find me if anyone needs my skills in particular.

[doctopoda]

Of course.

[He'll probably never do this. At least not for himself - but hey, sometimes other people get hurt!]

It isn't all about what we can do, anyway. We could probably all use a little more time to relax like this. [He gestures widely, with a hand, at the party.]