[Semi-Closed] Trails of Welcoming Party

[fiddlestick]

Who: Class VII, SSS and any friends they invited
When: Evening of October 1st
Where: Trails House!
What: Welcome to Aefenglom/Post-Dorchacht party!
Warnings: An obscene use of tacky decor. Also liquor.



Having the forewarning of the dream that some classmates were coming, the members of Class VII decided to hold a welcome party not just for their old friends, but invite the friends they've made in their time there. The days after their return from Dorchacht, they went straight into preparation work. Setting up their home for new occupants, preparing food, planning activities, and decorating.

On the evening of the 1st, after more emotional reunions were done earlier near the Coven, the party begins. Already from the entry hallway balloon decorations, you can tell this will be a party to remember. The living room too is full of balloon decorations which were put up more clumsily by decorators who spent so much time on the entry hallway they ran out of time. Above it all hangs a giant glitter banner with names hastily enchanted on, giving warm welcome to their old classmates.

Balloons aren't the only decorations. There's magicked bubbles, floating around the room with glitter within that forms the names of the people near them (though the spelling might be off). There's pirate octopus lanterns, random seasonal wall hangings, streamers, poppers, kazoos, party hats for people to wear and all sorts of other random (but also tacky) decorations. The entire first floor and courtyard are covered in these decorations.

A lot of thought was put into planning this party. Was it good thought? That's debatable, but they were thoughts.

I. The Food
What's a party but its selection of food? Despite the questionable decorations, the food table in the dining room is nothing to snuff at. There's a whole spread made of easy party foods: kebabs, mini sandwiches, chips and dip, wings, and vegetable platters. For those with a sweet tooth, there's a build your own crepes station with ice cream and fruit with handmade crepe shells. Towa, with the help of Shinji and Elliot, worked hard to make the food as delicious as possible.

Among Towa's dishes are a few brought by some thoughtful guests. These are a bit more varied in quality...from Ignis's made (and Prompto delivered) fine new recipes to Zack's more questionable fae jello cake that's enchanted to make you giggle if you're brave enough to eat it. Food wasn't asked of the guests, but they won't turn away anyone's kind donations.

Lastly, the drink table is well supplied with juices, ciders, and other cold drinks found in the city. For those looking for alcohol, there's some available - along with a sign written by Lloyd reminding folks not to drink if they're underage. Decide to ignore the sign? You'll need some help, as the alcohol bottles have been enchanted not to pour for anyone under 18. Next to the drink table, there's another table devoted entirely to freshly brewed coffees and teas.

II. The Games
Every party needs good entertainment, and there's plenty to be had. Spread out throughout the party, there's different activity stations. Some are more traditional party games- like pin the tail on the faun, pictionary, make balloon animals or other crafts, etc. There's a spot with decks of cards for card games in the living room, some traditional cards and some magicked to be Zemurian-based card games. Out in the courtyard, a few chess sets have been set up for anyone who fancies a logical game. In the music room, there's music playing on record for anyone who wishes to dance, and a keyboard for anyone who wants to play. Or...try your hand at the bagpipes in there. Why not.

Once it's dark enough outside, a corner of the yard becomes devoted to playing with sparklers and small fireworks. They're magically enchanted to be different colors and shapes. In the opposite corner, there's a bonfire set up with marshmallows to roast and plenty of chairs to sit and talk. Both areas have been stalked up with easy-to-use water spell scrolls - in case anything gets out of hand.

If you're looking just for some good conversation to get to know people? There's jars throughout the party with paper slips which have questions on them meant for conversation. Some are silly ("What superpower would you want?") while some are more thought-provoking ("What's your third favorite memory?") - though most of them are pretty light in levity.

III. Quiet Spots
While festitives are fun and all, everyone needs a little quiet once and awhile. The first floor and outside are devoted to party activities, but there's a couple rooms opened on the second floor that are nice and quiet. Enchantments have been put up to muffle sound from downstairs. Any valuables have been stashed away elsewhere, so you won't find anything worth taking.

Comments

[clickclickbang]

Oh, good, two other things I don't have a lot of.

[But he'll take seat.]

So, how do you play?

[bad_crowmance]

Alright, so the numbered cards are pretty much face value-- you've got card values one through seven.

[ He starts laying out each of the cards face-up to show them off. ]

The number one card-- [ He points to it. ] --does have a special ability I'll get to in a moment. The specialty cards are where the strategy comes in-- you've got "Bolt," "Mirror," "Blast," and "Force." You with me so far?

[clickclickbang]

So far so good!

[So are we talking a weird form of blackjack? Is that what this is?]

[bad_crowmance]

[ It's like blackjack if blackjack had trap cards. ]

Alright so first we've got "Bolt."

[ He holds the card up. ]

This lets you negate the most recent card your opponent played. It's a good way to keep 'em from getting higher than you can beat.

[clickclickbang]

Makes sense. Does Blaze do the same but moreso?

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow shakes his head and picks up the Blast card. ]

Nah, each one of 'em has different jobs. This one lets you remove a random card from your opponent's hand. You don't get to know what it is until they discard it, though.

[clickclickbang]

[Blast, not Blaze. Ah this is already a little confusing.]

Do I get to pick the card or do they?

[bad_crowmance]

You get to pick! It'd be too easy on 'em if they could choose on their own.

[clickclickbang]

Point. Okay, so Bolt wrecks their turn, Blast maybe ruins their next turn...

[bad_crowmance]

That's right. And then you've got "Mirror."

[ He holds up a Mirror card. ]

This one lets you swap the cards you've played with your opponent. So if you've got eight points and your opponent has thirteen, as an example, you can swap them so you have thirteen points and your opponent's stuck with the eight points.

[clickclickbang]

And Force does....what?

[He's pretty sure the three trap cards cover every sort of thing they need...?]

[bad_crowmance]

Force doubles the value of the cards you've played. So if you've got thirteen points, you play Force and then it's now a twenty six-point hand. It's a great way to pull ahead when you're behind.

[clickclickbang]

Right.

[That's a weird name for a card that does that but moving on.]

So what's one do?

[bad_crowmance]

Right, so you remember how Bolt can negate the most recent card your opponent played? One has the power to restore that card. It only works for a card taken away by Bolt, but it's pretty handy to keep available if you have one in your hand.

[clickclickbang]

So it's a Phoenix Down, basically.

[Doesn't seem too complicated but does seem way more strategic than he was expecting. Oh well, he's already this deep.]

How do we decide who goes first?

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow has no idea what a Phoenix Down is, but it sounds like the guy has the basic idea down so he nods anyway. ]

To start with, we both draw a card. The person with the lower value gets to play first.

[clickclickbang]

[Prompto claps his hands and rubs them together]

Then shuffle and deal or whatever you gotta do to start the game! And, uh, are we betting?

[bad_crowmance]

First round's free!

[ He says it cheerfully, but the truth is that he doesn't really have much in the way of cash to gamble with. It's a terrible flaw he plans on fixing as soon as possible. ]

[clickclickbang]

[Time to get a job!

But Prompto nods and settles in, eager to give this game a shot.]

Oh, Prompto. By the way. You're...one of the new guys?

[bad_crowmance]

[ Time to get a job! Or you know, gamble with the locals until you get money. One of those things. ]

Yep, sure am! The name's Crow.

[ AKA, the one guy who DIDN'T try to walk out of the party upon sight of the horrendous decorations. ]

[clickclickbang]

Oh, the one with a sense of humor.

[Just saying.]

Wonder who they're gonna get to clean up with the glitter balloons start going limp. They'll never get it all out.

[bad_crowmance]

Yep, that's me!

[ Look, he'll own it. Machias and Jusis are great but neither of them has much of a sense of humour to speak of. ]

Personally, I nominated Jusis and Machias.

[ They'll never agree. ]

[clickclickbang]

I'm not sure which one is which, but I am sure that the blond one would probably just walk out and not come back this time.

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow grins at that. ]

Jusis is the grumpy blond. He's always like that.

[clickclickbang]

So it wasn't just the horror at the glitter balloons and daemon-looking lanterns that did it?

[Snickering.]