Birthday Party

[peripheries]

Who: Paul Atreides and all his CR
What: Throwing everyone’s favorite Duke a surprise birthday party
When: Forwarded dated to April 1st
Where: Bone House in Gaze

Content Warnings: Drinking, underage drinking, drugs (both fictional and not), drawings of space worms, skeletons, will add further warnings if necessary



When you arrive at the house in Gaze, (affectionately known as Bone House), a skeleton will open the door and offer to take your coat if you have one. No need to take your shoes off or anything!

The large house has been decorated with black streamers and confetti. In the entryway and hung on the railing to the second floor that overlooks the entrance to the great room are large banners that say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL” (though one looks like it used to say “Jaune” but was just painted over? Whatever).

In the Living Room, there is a large board and various colored markers for people to write messages to the birthday boy. There is also a table full of bottled water and various couches, chairs, and beanbags to collapse into if the party gets to be too much and one needs a quiet place to rest or a place to chill if you’ve imbibed too much… well, whatever you had.

It is also where all the food and drinks are.

There’s an extremely large charcuterie board with the usual meats, cheeses, and olives as well as an extremely eccentric collection of snacks ranging from individual sized Cheez-it bags, to humungous bags of Doritos and salty chips, as well as nearly every kind of Oreo one can imagine.

There are also various cakes, all angel food. Some are misshapen, some have an attempt at being frosted with whipped cream and fruit, one even says “Happy Birthday Ka-” before that was hastily covered with a bunch of strawberries jammed really close together.

At the island, a skeleton is playing bartender. Surprisingly, it can seem to take and understand individual orders, but there’s always a constant flow of tequila shots being made and sent out to the great hall to be served by another skeleton.

And, no, of course it’s not going to check your age to see if you’re legal. It’s a skeleton. Why would it care?

The Great Hall is the center of activity and where everyone is encouraged to mingle and have fun. There is a skeleton on the grand piano in the corner gleefully playing piano covers of the hits from the Shrek Soundtrack with the occasional cover of “DaRude’s Sandstorm” when it has another one to help out.

In another corner, on huge piece of paper that spans nearly 6ft wide and 8ft tall is drawing of an Arrakis sandworm and it’s giant maw. The game is Pin the Tooth on the Sandworm and it’s… very easy… because the worm maw is most of the board. Even if the skeleton spins you as you’re blindfolded, it’s pretty hard to lose. If you manage to do it, which is likely, the skeleton running the game will award you a tequila shot! If you lose, the skeletons will award you a tequila shot (but it’s rail).

(It’s a drinking game, isn’t the point to drink?)

There’s also a table that has many candelabras on it, numbering up to seventeen. They’re still lit and burning even though there is a sign that says “make a wish!” even though it almost looks like a shrine for the dead.

…It’s maybe clear that the concept of “birthday candles” was greatly misunderstood.

There is also a skeleton dealing out small doses of “Spice”, a psychoactive drug straight outta the Duneverse. However, you must check in with this Skeleton to get a dose. There will be no “permanently melting your brain with ancestral memories” at this party!

Teacher’s/God’s/Jod’s/The Emperor Undying’s study, adjacent to the main hall, is closed and locked. Though, the lock is fairly easy to break if someone really wanted to get in. There’s not even skeletons guarding.

That said, many things are warded with eerie runes of blood and bone.

So, fuck around and find out.

The upstairs is generally off limits. Party goers can climb up the stairs, and it’s encouraged if they want to look over the Great Room from above, but all of the bedrooms are carefully guarded by more skeletons who will SCREAM VERY LOUDLY if you try to enter and will become hostile if done by force.

Of course, this won’t happen if you are with someone who lives in the house.

Enjoy the party! Mingle away!

((ooc: if you have any questions or anything, please hit me up at worldtype)) or via PM.))

Birthday Board | At the Party | The Morning After | IC Party Games | Spice Dealer

Comments

sansa stark (alayne stone) | asoiaf

[dohaeris]

i. birthday batcat (paul, semi-open)

[if the concept of fashionably late exists in westeros, it almost certainly hasn't made it much farther north than sunspear. in any case sansa has a very special present that should probably be handed over before the party gets going in earnest. so she arrives precisely on time, and her entrance is not as dramatic as it could be. littlefinger would probably not approve, but she doesn't care very much anymore.

the skeletons strike fear in her heart and stir anger in her belly, but none of it shows on her face as she hands her shawl to the skeletal valet. alayne stone thinks the white walkers are only a story. alayne stone has no unburied dead. it feels a little like breaking her promise from the catacombs, but she reasons it's all right to be alayne stone in the service of house stark. in any case making a fuss will not put the dead back in the resting places they were left in.

beneath her shawl is a dress inspired partially by margaery tyrell but mostly by her quiet rage. she could never entirely work out how margaery's brocade bodices hung exactly, so she made do with leather pauldron-like caps over a black cotton bodice with a plunging neckline and sleeves that puff gently at her shoulders and twist tightly closed above her elbows. she's padded out the rest of her shoulders with raven feathers and black leather feather shapes, edged in steel and pale bloodstone beads, trailing down slightly lower on her right side, from which silver-and-charcoal weirwood leaves fall. shadowy direwolves barely sketched peek out from her collar and around her sleeves, and the high-low skirt piles in back to form a slight bustle, with a grey petticoat covered in silvery velvet scales and scale mail pieces grazes her boots. for once her hair is only half up, gently twisted back and tied with one of the leather feather pieces hanging down over the resultant ponytail. it has not been smoothed back with water and pulled tightly in order to appear darker, but blazingly, defiantly red. and of course there is the small black batkitten held close to her neck with its customary needle necklace.

lady has a matching collar studded with the black leather pieces and silver mail scales. in her mouth she holds a leather strap secured to two boxes containing two dozen cupcakes in every flavor sansa could find. she is not entirely sure kaworu managed to get paul to bake his favorite kind of cake.

she does not relinquish her black embossed satchel to the valet skeleton, either. she still has another surprise up her sleeve.

(other people are welcome to greet sansa once the batcat has been delivered!! any other responses will be assumed to take place after paul's.)]

ii. tequila sunrise (open, cw teen drinking)

[after much pleading sansa was able to get the tequila shot skeleton to mix hers with juice. it's not lemonsweet, but it's better than choking on spirits, which is almost certainly what she would have done without it.

distilled spirits are known but rare in westeros, and sansa is determined to keep her head at this party. she sips the juice carefully, which is not hard as it doesn't taste very good. nevertheless she is used only to beer and wine and finds herself a little more tipsy than she intended (and perhaps a little more honest). she rolls her eyes at whoever's nearest and friendliest.]

I don't know what I have to do to get someone to ask me to dance.


iii. 'investigating' (open)

[sansa has kept her eyes wide open in this house of unburied dead. she's noticed the lock on one door only and the skeletons lurking upstairs. if she catches you poking around, she might sidle up to you, doing her very best to project an aura of mild, amused, gossipy interest (which thanks to her paleblood is actually quite effective.)]

Did you find anything very exciting?

iv. the dog at the party (open)

[lady's ears are flat. there is a miasma of odd magic, and all the old bones smell wrong. still, she is nothing if not a polite guest, and can be found under tables, sometimes gnawing at an apple or other piece of fruit, and she is very much open to pets (unless it looks like you are going to steal her snack).]

i. birthday batcat

[terriblepurpose]

[Paul has yet to be filled in on the details of how this party came to pass - although the odd comments about rice are beginning to illuminate some details - so he's not watching to mark Sansa's reaction to the undead servants, as he otherwise might. He does mark her punctuality and the gifts she seems to bear as he approaches her with a still somewhat bewildered smile, his eyes a blue that is only human.]

Lady of the thread [he says, admiringly, both allusion to her dress and to his own caution about her name] I'm glad to see you join us, along with your companions. I hope it wasn't too arduous a journey.

[He smiles at the three of them in turn - girl, Lady, and kitten, then girl again - then nods to her dress, eyes demurely averted.]

Especially in such a fine dress. Another of yours?

[dohaeris]

[sansa grins at the nickname and gently lifts the kitten from her neck, allowing him to lick away the remaining blood droplets. she holds him out to paul.]

This one is yours. He's my Visenya's brother. Lady Edythe was very pleased to hear I'd found a home for another one of Minette's kittens. I thought you might like to have a cat.

[she pauses, smiles up at him.]

Happy nameday.

[lady sets the cupcake boxes at his feet.]

We picked up a few little cakes for the party.

[kaworu seemed entirely too dismissive of her suggestions for getting paul to bake his own favorite cake.]

[terriblepurpose]

[Paul accepts the kitten with wide-eyed surprise, very gingerly. He's a tiny thing to hold in both hands, his small, delicate wings fluttering slightly as he's moved.]

Thank you. This is very kind - all of it.

[He brings the kitten to his chest, over his heart, which seems to settle him, before he stoops to retrieve the cupcakes.]

And Kaworu made my cooking sound that bad?

[He smiles, mildly teasing.]

I promise, I had help, but I'd be a poor commander to turn down tactically superior reinforcements.

[dohaeris]

[sansa laughs brightly. he sounds almost like one of her brothers, jesting as if party cakes were a military matter.]

He made it sound as if you might be cooking to his tastes, and not your own. And he wouldn't tell me what they were, either, so I thought it best to bring a few different kinds. [one of every flavor cupcake they had.] They're only from the shop, I'm certain I know less about baking than you do. And--

[she digs into her satchel and pulls out a black leather tunic that buckles at one side. the chest and shoulders have been lightly padded like suitcoats she sees men wearing in cellar door sometimes, which of course serves the dual purpose of extra protection. it is carved with branching weirwood designs at the collar and cuffs, which close with pale bloodstone buttons. there's an empty circle at the chest. she hands it to him, a bit sheepish now, conscious now that what seemed a perfectly reasonable number of gifts at home seems rather a lot once presented.]

You didn't have any armor in the catacombs, and it looked like you'd been hurt. Nobody had your measurements, but I can take it in. And nobody had your sigil, either, but I left room to carve it, if you like.

[she smiles, again a bit sheepishly.]

That's all. Truly, the kitten was the present.

[terriblepurpose]

[It's a number of gifts that wouldn't have been out of place where Paul comes from, and given what he knows of Sansa, it doesn't strike Paul as odd. What does strike him, as he accepts the armor (cupcakes set aside on a nearby table, for now, kitten kept close), is their complexity and extent.]

I can only thank you again. This is very fine armor. It must have taken you a long time to make.

[He drapes it over his arm as elegantly as he can, for now, though he'll have to see about putting it somewhere people aren't trying to break into for safekeeping later on.]

We're all still learning things. It's one of the parts of this place I like. Magic or baking - which might as well be the same thing, as far as I'm concerned.

[dohaeris]

[sansa laughs!]

At least we don't have to do magic in order to eat!

[and smiles thoughtfully.]

That's a wonderful way to look at it.

[she did like learning new things, once upon a time. now all she thinks about is how much she still has to learn.]

I'm glad I can do magic, and cook mushrooms, even if I have to clean dishes when I'd rather be sewing with Lady. Truly, that's one of the parts of this place that I like, I have so much time to sew. I was able to finish your jacket quite quickly because no one was interrupting me.

[she flashes a brighter smile.]

Were you very surprised by your party?

iv

[the_obedient_servant]

[Chara is sat opposite Lady, as if they are at a peace summit, discussing grave matters that could have consequences for decades to come.]

You're not secretly the god of this world, are you?

[dohaeris]

[lady looks up from her apple to hear herself so addressed, and tilts her head in confusion. it would be well to have the girl here to speak for her, or the raven.

she is from another world, and she is of its gods, but she is not one of them. neither, too, is she a dog, much less an annoying one.]

[the_obedient_servant]

Hmmm.

[They contemplate these matters, fishing out a treat that they procured for this purpose and examining it.]

I have decided to place my trust in you, you who bears resemblance to our god the dog. I am a grave enemy to have indeed should you break my trust. But as an ally... I bring many advantages.

[It's unclear if they're deadly serious or merely fucking around. It could be both. They offer Lady the treat. It's expensive. They had to give up a gemstone for a bag of them.] Let this be a symbol of our alliance.

[dohaeris]

[lady makes a whimpering sound. it's clear this child is in need of kindness, and also the treat smells good. lady accepts it gently in her teeth, and reaches one paw out to rest against the child's leg.]

[the_obedient_servant]

Yes, excellent. We are friends and allies now. I will call upon you when the war comes.

[Okay, so maybe they are just fucking around. They give Lady lots of ear scritches.]

[dohaeris]

[lady accepts the scritches and huffs happily. sansa will not not consider this a valid alliance when she remembers it tomorrow but her interest will be primarily one of big sisterly concern for chara's welfare.]

iv bless sansa for bringing lady

[creidim]

[ There's a soft gasp when she spots the dog under the table, pulling back the table cloth and staring with wide eyes. What a beautiful wolf-dog! She reminds Luna of her own Helga a little bit. Hello, Lady. Please do not mind the pale, antlered girl currently peering at you. She's mostly harmless, just suffering from some Corruption.

Luna's enjoying herself, but it's all a bit too much this 'party business' at times. So of course she's going to be someone who finds the dog at a party. Especially when said dog is hiding in a nice quiet place like under a table. ]

Oh, hello. It's a bit noisy out here, mind if I join you?

[dohaeris]

[oh no, this poor girl smells of corruption. lady will have to send her hound. she whimpers and presses her nose against the girl's knee.]

[creidim]

Oh, no. [ Oh, this is the worst. Making dogs whimper is not good. Luna's mouth upturns a little. She crouches down, offering a hand. Even if the dog's got her nose at her knee, she's trying to be careful. ]

I'm sorry, I do probably look quite strange don't I? I'm alright, though. [ Mentally, at least. ] Can I pet you?

[dohaeris]

[lady does very much look like a dog at her young age, but she is truly a wolf, and despite her good manners she lacks a dog's easy communication skills, evolved through thousands of years of selective breeding and coexistence with humans. a careful observer who knows much of dogs might notice that her tail is still, and does not curl upwards like some of the breeds of dog she most resembles. the noises she makes are not always the noises a dog might make, but at least she does not growl so easily as her siblings.

she whines an apology for upsetting the girl and lifts her nose to sniff the girl's hand, as is polite, and then rests it more directly on top of the girl's leg, to be reassuring.]

[creidim]

It's alright, you're alright. [ She's certainly not upset with the animal for being a little distressed at the state of her. Even Helga gets a bit like that with her the past few weeks. She's worried too, as if she can scent it on her. Something wrong.

Luna pets the top of her head very gently for a few moments, smiling dreamily. She is very happy to pet! ]

You're a very good girl. I think you've got the right idea to stay here, parties are a bit much aren't they?

[dohaeris]

[lady presses closer and rests a paw on the girl's knee. she is more concerned than distressed. she must get her girl to send the hound.]

iii. 'investigating'

[possessum]

( Peter's actually not trying to snoop around. In fact, until the young woman approaches and subsequently snaps him out of the odd sort of trance he's in, he has no idea he's even up here at all. Because it isn't quite Peter who's found his way to the upper levels of the foreboding home — but rather, something else. Something ancient and powerful and so aware of what strange sensations are prickling from this place. Something that's been staring wide-eyed and unblinking at those skeletons, following a few of them around until making its way upstairs.

Then, someone speaks— and Peter's jolted back into himself, albeit sloppily. His eyes are glossy and dazed (...of course, this may also be attributed to all the pot he's been smoking); his mouth tipped open. He looks like he's just woken up and has to remember where he is. ...Who he is. )

What? ( He says, stupidly, ogling the girl for a moment. (The thing, still so present in him, immediately recognises her; it had caught a glimpse of her around the city last month. It remembers that her colour was silver, with black around the edges of it. The demon took note; it won't forget. And it wonders what her colour meant.) )

Oh. Uh.... Sorry, I don't— ( Peter hears music coming from downstairs, a little muffled from the room it's in. Awareness seeps in slow and surreal, a little like a dream. ) —This is Paul's birthday party, right?

[dohaeris]

[oh, well. sansa's been dealing with progressively drunker people all night. she gingerly ascends the stairs--lady had smelled skeletons this way--and reaches out to this new boy.]

Yes, it is. Would you like to sit down?

[possessum]

Actually— Yeah, that might be... that might be good. ( Peter's nodding, aware he's pretty unsteady on his feet — and not aware that he probably does seem like he's been drinking too much.

He's got one palm pressed against the wall as he just starts... sliding down to sit right there on the top stair of the staircase. The boy blinks widely, trying to wait out the dizzy sensation behind his eyes. )

Woah... Sorry, I uh. Don't know what's up with me.

[dohaeris]

[oh ok, we're sitting on the scary skeleton stairs. that's fine. she glances down at the landing, hoping lady will seek her out.]

It's all right, I'm ill-used to spirits myself.

[honestly any number of things could be troubling this boy, but it's the first thing she can think of that she might say to put him at his ease.]

Would you like me to bring you some water?

[it generally helps. she glances down the stairway again, and sees lady sidling into view. lady may be able to tell if this boy is suffering from corruption and how badly; she shouldn't like to ask her omen to bring the blood hound unless beasthood is a very eminent threat (drunkeness seems more likely).]

[possessum]

( Spirits? If he were thinking about it more clearly, he might reason out that she's of course talking about alcohol, but Peter's first thought is— )

Right...? They're so creepy...

( He thinks she means the skeletons... which he is fully assuming to be some kind of haunted bullshit going on in this clearly haunted house. Peter runs his unsteady hands over his face before casting glassy eyes back up to her. )

I think I'm okay. Just got kind of dizzy there... Thank you, though. ( Peter manages a little smile, grateful for the offer, before he catches sight of the dog down below — and brightens. Peter's 100% a Dog Person, and still nursing the wounds of losing his own dog from home, when he'd come to Trench. )

There's a dog...!

( ...She knows, Peter. )

[dohaeris]

[spirits...creepy?? was he talking about ghosts?? but then there is lady, so she brightens.]

Oh, that's Lady. She's mine. I suppose she's come to look in on me. The skeletons are...concerning.

[oh!]

It would be better if they did have their own spirits in them, I think. I've been told that they move by someone else's will.

[lady lopes up the stairs, ears flattened. she whines; there is something deeply wrong here, and there is something in the boy that shouldn't be. sansa's senses it when she does, and her eyes widen, but there isn't a good way to tell someone they have two smells, and one of them isn't human.]