I'm No Party-Throwing Expert But I Do Think This Is Gonna Be A Good One!

[summerdude]

The first day of summer dawns bright and warm, a steady breeze stirring through the trees. The day itself is a flurry of activity: Magnus and Tress meet up in the kitchen early in the morning to start throwing together refreshments for Galahad's party. They make three kinds of cookies, and also a tray of flat brownies — Magnus has it in his head that half of the cookies and all of the brownies should be turned into ice cream sandwiches and, accordingly, tracks down Susan (who seems to know everything about this place) to get her to produce a deep freezer for Legoland. (She has that look on her face like he smells bad the whole time, but when he mentions it's for the bachelorette, at least she seems slightly less cold and standoffish.)

While the baked goods cool, Magnus ransacks the pantry for chips and candy and stuff for sandwiches. He lets Tress handle ice cream selection; when they find boxes of Bagel Bites in the freezer, he cheers. Legoland definitely has a microwave; they plugged the freezer into the same outlet. (Is a bachelorette the same thing as a slumber party? Maybe!)

It's early evening by the time everything is done and set up, even with Alex and Tress's help. He decides that the substantial food and record player should both be reserved for Legoland, partly because it does have electricity. They lug a big old table up to the top of the tower for the taste tests, and then an easel with giant post-it notes for the 'naming Mansion constellations' portion of the evening, and then a bunch of the smaller easels, sketchpads, and a selection of different art supplies (markers, crayons, watercolors, pencils, acrylic paints) he and Sunny have been tracking down and hoarding, for the bestiality portion of the evening.

After sending Tress and Alex off so they can get ready, he sets up for the taste tests: bowls full of different candies (white rabbit, hopjes, strawberry-flavored fizzing warheads, Reeses's cluster bites, Haribo gummy goldbears, hundred grand bars, red vines, salmiak licorice, candied verdant vines (Tress made them), and nerd ropes), bowls full of chips (Takis in the flavors angry burger, blue heat, and dragon sweet chili; Lays in the flavors Wasabi Octopus, All Dressed, Cappuccino, White Rabbit Rich Toffee (to compare with the actual white rabbit candy), and Pimento Cheese), and several cloth bags covering different red-flavored sodas, with wine tasting note cards so people can try to guess which is Code Red, which is Big Red, which is Cheerwine, and (in a fond nod to Alex), which is Tizer. He completes the array with a stack of paper for general ranking notes for the candy and chips. (There are also a couple child-sized easels and ranking sheets, for Mothwing and Sunny, but Magnus did also bring regular water for her and Sunny, a fish supplied by Drosera for Mothwing, and some carrots and apple slices for Sunny. There is also an easel and notepad for Shen Yuan, even though he's just a ghost and probably can't manipulate it, but he knocked once for yes when Magnus asked his growing body if he was going to make it.)

Finally, after convincing Drosera that she should absolutely wear a cute little bolo tie and party hat for this, he darts into the mansion for a quick shower, a change into one of the outfits Galahad picked for him when they tried on clothes, and to collect the groom himself. He presents Galahad with a white sash embroidered in gold; it reads GROOM TO BE. There's also a little tiara that he found in their bedroom. He assumes it's a cheap gimmicky one, but it's actually filigree red and white gold with real sapphires, diamonds, and pearls — he just picked it because it's delicate and will blend in with Galahad's hair in a way that will let the sapphires really pop.


Stages of the night will be posted in parent comments; everyone is welcome to thread with whoever in response to those! Awkward social interactions between people who aren't necessarily friendly are encouraged.

Comments

legos!

[summerdude]

In the final segment of the evening, once everyone is sick of stars, it'll be time for everyone to make their way to the basement and, subsequently, Legoland. There's stations for all attendees — though, by this point, it's after Sunny's bedtime, and so Alex is going to turn into an enormous stork and carry her to Sagramore's cottage while everyone else starts making their way to the Mansion.

In addition to the earlier preparations (moving the freezer and the like), a bunch of Lego sets have been laid out so people can choose a specific project; there are also several bins full of assorted bricks for people who prefer to create organically. The rest of Legoland has been decorated with streamers and balloons; the freezer is clearly labeled, and when they get there, Magnus will start making bagel bites.

This is a great time for people to chat, eat the pastries and ice cream sandwiches Tress made, and build!

Re: legos!

[mothwingofriverclan]

This is maybe one of the more confusing places Mothwing's ever seen. Everything is made of smooth twoleg material, and looks like mouse-sized versions of real things. With a start, Mothwing recognizes a box with a picture of a clearing with a large stone in the middle, and four old oak trees at each corner. It's Fourtrees in miniature. It even has small versions of Blackstar, Leopardstar, Firestar and Tallstar sitting on top of the Great Rock. She sniffs it, hackles raised, wondering how it got here.

[onthewillowsthere]

At this point in the night, Galahad is definitely flagging -- he's made friendly small talk with so many people, people he likes, but it's a lot, and he's starting to wish it were just him and Magnus.

The Legos, though, are a perfect antidote. Before long everyone is mostly working quietly at their own projects. Enjolras and Laertes are putting together a detailed reproduction of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame while deep in conversation, Gideon and Gu Xiang are fighting over individual Legos, Lan Wangji is so focused he might as well be meditating.

Galahad builds the mansion greenhouse set, which even has a tiny red-bellied black snake to hang in a lemon tree. When he stops to eat one of the ice cream sandwiches, he realizes that his hands aren't shaking any more. He feels calm. He feels happy.

[peaklordshen]

As Galahad builds, he'll notice a stray minifig head start rolling across his workspace til it hits into a long black hair piece, which it clicks into, and then several green-clad arms float over and click into a torso, and then legs, until a little green-clad lego man stands in front of him and gives him a little clunky wave.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad's eyes widen and his fingers curl against his palms so he doesn't reach for the minifig.

[peaklordshen]

The minifig half-walks, half-floats over to his hand and taps at it with a tiny hooked arm, like, it's okay. Its little plastic face doesn't change, of course, but there's a feeling of a smile in the air, anyway.

[onthewillowsthere]

So this time he opens his palm for the minifig. "Shen Yuan."

[peaklordshen]

Minifigs can't nod, so this one bends at the waist a couple times in confirmation. At the same time, there's a phantom hand tucking Galahad's hair behind his ear fondly.

[onthewillowsthere]

"You came," Galahad says, so, so flat.

[recognizance]

SecUnit is, for the most part, sitting this one out as well, but the general quiet is a relief to it too. It wanders the perimeter, looking at the models, some of which are cool and some just creepy. (It is NOT investigating the box which depicts, from under the other boxes stacked on top of it, a lot of black and gray blocks and the letters "p e r".)

Re: legos!

[untamedantinous]

Enjolras is certainly very intrigued by all the lego sets. --And the ice cream sandwiches. He chooses one and nibbles on it whilst perusing the boxes, until he spots one with a very familiar name and place attached to it. He will, he thinks, save that one for later, and places the box to the side with the rest of his things. Instead, he selects another Parisian landmark -- Notre-Dame de Paris, which he regards with some fondness before heading to Laertes to settle in and put it all together.

Re: legos!

[quote_gentle_unquote]

The night already feels strangely heavy for a celebration; when Susan sees the Stone Table picked out in plastic blocks, she fears she might actually start crying. She stares at it for a long moment, her heart in her throat, reaching out to skate her hands a scant half-inch from the surface but never quite bringing herself to touch it.

When she selects a block set to build, she chooses something utterly unrecognizable, thoroughly different from anything she's seen before, and she follows the included instructions slowly, carefully, not once glancing back. Her hands are steady; her face betrays nothing. She'll chat pleasantly with the girls building next to her. She remembers the dryads who lived in those trees, is the thing. She remembers when the mice ate through Aslan's bindings, and the pilgrimages she and Lucy would make every year as queens in the hopes that Aslan would come back, and when they had the council of war against Caspian's uncle.

The ice cream sandwiches taste heavenly. She looks forward to sneaking one back to Lancelot at the end of the night, and letting him coax her from the quiet that has settled deep in her bones.

Re: legos!

[sporesprouter]

When Tress sees the box set that is a remarkably creditable representation of her ship, her eyes widen to what feels nearly like the size of the moons at home. She knows that if she builds it here, she'll just start crying, so she sets it carefully to the side for now, her portrait from Galahad resting on top of the box, and she moves to the assorted bricks to start putting together whatever calls to her.