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

Arrivals!

[summerdude]

When guests arrive, they will find Magnus and Galahad hanging out with Alex already in flamingo form. The first thirty minutes of the night will be unstructured; guests are welcome to mingle, engage in taste testing, and chat.

Bestiality time!

[summerdude]

Eventually, Magnus will shepherd everyone over to the easels. He'll press a kiss to Alex's feathery little flamingo head, and then announce that she's selected a few animal forms that they can draw -- he won't announce them up front, but as drawing and painting go on, it will become clear that the forms include, but aren't limited to, flamingo, hippo, unicorn, and giraffe -- and that if guests ask very nicely, she might try one or two additional forms after that.

He has some idea that bachelorette parties are supposed to involve specifically bringing up the groom as much as possible? But he knows Galahad would hate that. He's just trying to facilitate a bunch of activities Galahad loves with people he also loves. He does, as a nod to this being Galahad's night anyway, manage to refrain from mentioning just how great and cool Alex is every other word in his announcement of this first formal activity.

stars!

[summerdude]

The final activity for the tower proper is naming Mansion constellations. Conveniently, even though perhaps it might have been wiser to make this the last activity of the night, the sun has set remarkably early for the first night of summer. As such, it's dark enough to be able to see the bright ribbons and dots of stars in all their splendor.

Everyone will be able to use the telescope in turn, picking out clusters of stars and nominating names (and, maybe, explanations for why the name and combination of stars ought to be a constellation — this can involve making up a new mythology, if the attendees feel so inclined!), though of course using the naked eye is also an option. Ultimately, everyone present will vote on their favorite options. Surely there's no way for this to go wrong...

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!