just gotta ignite the light and let it shine

[whattaprick]

Who: Everyone who's stupid enough to show up for this, because legal drinking ages are for people from a different century/planet.
When: Afternoon/Evening, Day 30
Where: Lakeshore
What: Local Carnival workers get wasted and set off fireworks by the lake.
Warnings: Carnival shenanigans, ie. booze, drugs, and people getting set on fire probably. Put any tag-specific warnings in your headers!

So, Wismuth happened.

Lambert's pretty willing to bet a good chunk of the Carnival is pretty happy to act like Wismuth didn't happen, but he also doesn't really care about what sorrows people are drowning or not tonight: he knows he needed this drink, and after he'd slept off the immediate exhaustion that came with running around Wismuth for nearly two weeks with the power of Creation more or less constantly burning through him, he's ready to something, anything to feel like himself again.

Fast-forward to the lakeshore. There's a huge bonfire going, a box of assorted fireworks that's been 'liberated' from wherever the hell engineering keeps their supplies, and probably a crate of wine that's going to disappear sooner rather than later. Anything else, someone's going to have to bring themselves.

[ ooc: This is a mingle log! Bring your own entertainment, food, questionable substances etc. ]

Comments

STEVEN IS HERE | OTA

[starseedling]

Sometime after supper, Steven will notice the gathering of people down by the lake. He heard some people talking on the radio about hanging out earlier, but he'd felt like he wouldn't be welcome somehow - or like it wasn't for him.

It takes until after dinner for him to decide that he's being silly. He's felt so lonely for weeks... shouldn't he just go enjoy the presence of his friends?

Steven arrives at the gathering shyly, with his entourage of animals in tow. Lion and Lil have been refusing to leave him alone ever since he came back, and Bud isn't keen on leaving either. After the first little while, his Pokemon break away to go play in the water, and Lion is already napping, while Steven sits around uncomfortably, drinking a juice.

He's very much got that 'I'm at a party and don't know what to do' face, as if he isn't sure he's allowed to be here. Also, is it just you or has he grown a couple inches taller since before Wismuth?

[motivenotfound]

Mari is mostly looking for people she tried to murder, or else like... Tanyuu, but she catches sight of Steven sitting by himself by the water's edge, and, well, someone's gotta break the ice.

Also, Tabris told her that he went to talk to Steven and she'd been really distracted and has no idea what her familiar said to him, so maybe she should check in on that, too.

Hopefully he's not too on edge, because she announces herself by bending over him and making eye contact upside-down, her glasses falling 'up' to cover her forehead and hair hanging down to brush the ground.

"Steve-man! you're looking kinda lost. Oh, hey, are you sure you're old enough to be drinking that?"

Then again, it doesn't smell like booze......

[stillwinningthehardway]

Scout comes by, looking tired and picking at a handful of rounds of bread. Her clothes, at least her undertunic, are wet, as is her hair. Her Togetic is on her hip, doing that bird thing of trying to swallow half a roll whole, its entire being concentrated on that task.

The splash on her face isn't hugely paler than her normal skin tone, but it's enough to notice. She smiles wearily. "Steven. Did you get any food yet?"

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst is skipping greasy food(?) lumps on the lake when she spots Lion, and with him Steven -- she straightens up immediately, dumps the remaining deep fried garbage into her stomach mouth, and hauls over.

"Steven!" she exclaims, scooting to a stop just shy of crashing into him. "Hey dude, what's up, I haven't seen you since... y'know..." Some of the enthusiasm drains out of her voice, and her expression, and her... everything... "Since we were both evil, I guess..."

[hippocarnival]

Steven's lion makes him very conspicuous, which is lucky for Yuya since he knows who exactly is sitting by themselves over there. His hands are empty as he approaches, circling around the front so he doesn't just surpise Steven with his sudden presence.

"Hey!" He greets him cheerfully, waving. If course he heard Steven at the concert, but he's still glad to see his friends back. "What's up?"

[betheman]

"Hello, Steven!" Gongenzaka's greeting is a little warmer than one would expect, coming right out from what they all had. Or...perhaps it's just as warm as imagined? The taur trots near toward where he spots the other after only a few moments of looking over the others at the lake, apparently determining he'd rather be just as out of the way as the other. Gongenzaka has his own pokemon with him-more obviously changed in height than Steven himself, though.

Apparently, someone managed to evolve. (Congratulations, Suzu, the Granbull)

Hardly the point, he looks down to the other with a smile. "I, the man Gongenzaka, see that I am not the only one avoiding what Lambert intended?" He holds a cup of juice up a bit as he says that-NO BEER HERE NOT TODAY.

Well, the tone remains positive, but grows a little more soft. "...Are you alright, Steven? It would seem that over here, it is quite lonely, after all."

Scout | OTA

[stillwinningthehardway]

Scout has not entirely recovered yet, but physically there hasn't really been anything to recover from, so for the past couple days she's been basically hiding in the trailer she shares with Hinawa, and going out when she has to under the cloak of her glamour. She's not hurt now. It's oddly disturbing when you take an injury that somehow doesn't kill you, that should have taken weeks in a bacta tank and several surgeries and replacement organs and tissues and then some physical therapy to recover from, and un-make it in seconds. It hadn't even had a chance to consciously hurt, her main sense memory is the feeling of cold moving air where air should never be, of her blood taking her body heat with it.

She misses the rush of Creation, the surge and spill of it. The Force is always there, always present, but Scout is weak and perceives it weakly. Something about Creation had felt so validating, she's guilty just thinking about it because she shouldn't feel that way and should just be happy it ever blessed her at all, and with it slipped back to its source she's left regular, incompetent, fumbling Scout.

But self-pity has never helped anything, so Scout is here, leaving tri-part hoofprints on the shore. She takes her outer robes off to wade in and swim from time to time, whenever she thinks she's started to brood, and doesn't drink but eats readily. She brought some rolls with meat or fungus in them that aren't bad impaled on a stick and heated in the fire.

With her is her togetic, left well out of the events in Wismuth. It refuses to really take flight, messing up her hair and dignity by riding on her horns and head or on her shoulders or in her arms, unusually clingy and preening at her. Scout tolerates this, though it's really annoying swimming with seven pounds of weight on her head.

She looks a little different. Even Scout's undertunic is opaque and fairly concealing so it's not wholly visible, but the skin on her collarbones and much of her throat and climbing up the side of her jaw to her cheek, to one of her ears is paler, a little more golden with darker golden-brown freckles, the color in a weird splashy pattern that may look unpleasantly familiar if anyone saw her during that confrontation on the stage. It also shows somewhat on the insides of her arms and wrists and palms. That skin is healthy, continuous with the rest of her, but it really looks like when Creation re-formed her flesh it didn't color match properly.

[whattaprick]

A roll on a stick and shoved in the fire should not be a hard thing to cook. Lambert, amazingly, is still failing at it — this is the third one he’s managed to char to a vaguely lump of coal-ish state, though this is the first one he’s actually attempting to cook with Scout present. It’d be nice to say the reason for the shitty cooking is because he’s pleasantly intoxicated... but no, he really is just that bad at this.

“Did you make these yourself?” he asks, distractedly.

LAMBERT | OTA

[whattaprick]

The Nightrider is around, blessedly free of sequins and booty shorts at last. While they’re technically already at a stop and he should probably be getting ready to do his job, 1. he’s pretty resistant to getting hangovers, and 2. he’s arguably worked in worse conditions.

The spring to his step isn’t as sprightly as it should be — the leg wound Childermass gave him is well on its way to healing, but he’s still a bit stiff. Despite that, he seems relaxed and in a relatively good mood. That may have a lot to do with the bottle of unknown but undoubtedly alcoholic substance and shot glass he’s wielding with a wicked smirk, brandishing it at whoever happens to be in hearing range.

“Want some?”

Later, when the liquor runs out (he only brought so much, considering he suspects he’s better off saving it for future drinking binges), he’ll move on to other entertainments.

“Try one of these, Peridot made ‘em.” He’s holding out a bowl filled with chunks of shiny, oily... something. Do you dare try a bite?

“Here, hold this!” Some sort of explosive is being shoved into your hand. And now Lambert appears to be trying to light it with magic, while you’re holding it.

And much, much later, when the laughter and the running around has worn him out, he’ll get away from the rest of the crowd to stand by Pig’s paddock (the horse now thankfully back to a horse and no longer talking). Not doing anything in particular — just leaning against the wood and smoking.

Time to get a plant drunk

[chronosynthesis]

"Hm?" Syrlya leans over as Lambert catches his attention, looking at the bottle of faerie ale he's holding--which actually does cause him to perk up with interest, but probably not for the same reasons Lambert would. Frankly, fae ale is just really pretty to look at.

"Oh, all right," he offers a tilted smile. He ended up coming to Lambert's call, he might as well indulge in the merriment as well. It's some sort of celebration, isn't it?

[atouts]

And it's that much, much later that a crow decides to land the fence post nearest to where Lambert leans. As previously predicted, he absolutely did skulk the night away in a tree, keeping an eye on the party as it ran up and then wound down again. He gives a quiet caw noise, tilting his head to one side so he can eye the witcher curiously.

[dirthena]

Lavellan has, due to previous encounters with Lambert and alcohol, learned to treat any overt offers of a drink with caution and skepticism. After Wismuth, however, she's willing to put past lessons behind her and not care. Maybe it'll help her figure out how to apologize for nearly killing Cole, even though she knows he wouldn't ask her to in the first place.

"I do believe I'm owed one," she says with a smile and a brow raised. It's the only thing she wants about Wismuth on her end unprompted, even though the urge to comment upon the acquisition of something other than short shorts to wear is there, lurking beneath the surface. It most likely shows in her eyes regardless, amused but also thankful.

[sunflowerfields]

Hinawa blinks in confusion at the explosive in her hands, and it finally dawns on her what it is when she sees magical sparks trying to set it alight. She drops it with a yelp.

"I knew I was right to check up on things." She sighs, putting her hands on her hips.

Strange | ota!

[kingsroads]

1: SOBER STRANGE
For all of his whining during Wismuth, Strange is in a surprisingly good mood! Creation noticed his efforts, everybody's back to the way they were (or will soon be back to the way they were, thanks Sans), and his constant fae paranoia has gone from overbearing to a gentle nag in the back of his thoughts. Strange's contribution to the food and drink fund is a bottle of sunlight ambrosia, half a bag of potato chips, and a dozen hard boiled eggs, half of which he's going to eat himself.

For the most part, Strange is flitting around, going from conversation to conversation. "You should be enjoying yourself," he chides, as he pushes a glass of wine onto a different carnival member. At one point, he's stolen the bowl of Peridot's disgusting food concoction from Lambert and is just eating half of it himself.

Though there are moments when he's looking over the lake itself with a small little frown, obviously thinking hard about something.

2: SLIGHTLY HAMMERED STRANGE
Strange paced himself! It's in the late evening, after the sun's gone down that he's had enough to be drunk. To his credit, he's stayed away from the faerie ale. To his detriment, Strange pretty much drunk an entire bottle of wine (and a bit of the ambrosia, and a sip of whatever liquor other people bring). Still, that's moderation!

Needless to say, the drunk person shouldn't have a firework. Strange is holding a sparkler, with a small little smile on his face. It looks very pretty as the sparks reflect off of his eyes and hair, but it's also a drunk person holding a sparkler so that's a point of concern right there. He's also somehow lost his waistcoat and the top few buttons of his shirt are undone.

"This is lovely," he'll admit, "but we need something bigger." Wait a moment. "I can make something bigger!"

Alternatively, there's a puff of deep purple smoke just hanging out near a tree as Strange attempts a magical version of sobering up via hanging out in smoke form for a bit. Don't mind the smoke, it's just hanging out in an weird not-smoke like fashion.

1 ISH

[starseedling]

It hasn't been enough to make him go back to his trailer, but Strange may notice after a while that Steven seems to be actively avoiding him at the party. He's trying not to make a big deal of it, but if Strange comes to join a group that Steven is hanging out with, Steven will quietly wander away not long after. After it happens repeatedly it's probably pretty obvious it isn't a coincidence.

If Strange wouldn't do anything about that in particular, then it will probably go on like that for the rest of the night. If he does want to stick his nose in it, Steven at least doesn't have it in him to flat out run away if Strange approaches him directly.

Ginko | OTA

[dontpokethat]

A

Ginko could, in fact, really use a drink. But when a majority of the carnival is probably going to be getting drunk, and he wants to keep an eye on them, and also there’s a lot going through his head right now that he’d rather not let slip out in a moment of alcohol-induced indiscretion… it’s not really an option.

So, instead, he’s opting to sit on the beach, tail curled loosely around himself, smoking one of his mushi cigarettes while Antlers and Miu run around with any of the other animals present that might be interested in playing. He… also seems to have brought along a jug of water, and a sizable stack of little paper cups, which he has placed on a blanket next to him, in case anyone needs water shoved at them. Which seems likely.

B

Okay, no, he can’t actually stay in one place all night, even if he’s worrying about the entire carnival while he does it. He can worry from other places.

Like, in this case, the lake itself. He’s not in particularly deep - the water just reaches his knees, and he’s rolled up his pants to account for that, though the ripples on the surface occasionally end up splashing against the cuffs anyway.

Believe it or not, he's probably still sober. Sometimes standing out in a lake at night and staring into the water is just something he wants to do.

B

[sunflowerfields]

Hinawa's certainly going to check on anyone getting near the water, sober or not. He doesn't look like he's swaying, which is a good sign.

"You're not too chilly out there, I hope?"

Miko Nakadai | OTA

[pullingamiko]

A, cw for attempted underage drinking

Hell yeah actual adult party - and, since most of the adults here are, frankly, horribly irresponsible and/or don’t seem to have a concept of legal drinking ages, she can take full advantage of that fact.

Which… okay, that might be easier if wine wasn’t, as it turns out, super gross. After getting hold of some, she nearly spits out her first mouthful, then looks at her cup with an offended look. “Aw, gross, it’s like somethin’ went bad! Why do people drink this?”

...Unfortunately, she’s committed to this now, so she’s just gonna. Make an attempt to drink more of it. This is probably fine.

B

(( OOC: Honestly she’ll just be Around, and has Screamo with her, so if you want to just hang out on the beach/generally do stuff that does not involve attempted underage drinking, go for it!! ))

a

[milkruns]

It's probably a good thing that June doesn't actually know Miko is here, or she'd have been looking out for her. Then again, June might have saved her the trouble of discovering she doesn't like wine if she'd gotten to Miko earlier.

She has a glass of wine in her own hand, although she still looks pretty sober. She's mostly just...mingling? Does it count as mingling if you're half-people watching because you barely know anyone here? Close enough. But then she hears a familiar voice -- so familiar it actually jolts her a little -- but when she turns, she...doesn't totally recognize the girl complaining about wine. (It's an acquired taste, child.)

"Miko?"

Peridot | OTA

[periphrasing]

A. (CW for horrible food crimes)

Okay so when Lambert had put out the call to ask if anyone wanted to drink, Peridot hadn't been expecting quite this many people. That is, she'd been expecting Lambert, and Strange, and maybe a handful of other people? Plus Amethyst, who she'd insisted on bringing along.

The reality of the situation is a bit overwhelming! This is a straight up party. She's trying to take it in stride though. And look, she brought snacks! Lambert had insisted she bring something along, and had also given her the advice that 'deep-fried and salty' were a winning combination for a good snack food for humans. SO... with Amethyst's help, they've whipped up a batch of deep-fried comestibles.

Unfortunately for all the human party guests who dare to partake in these offerings, Peridot literally doesn't eat, and Amethyst eats literally anything, so. What these fried items actually consist of are: literal whole fried vegetables from Peridot's garden, including entire ears of corn, carrots, heads of cabbage, tomatoes, squashes and eggplants... And. Balls of mayonnaise. Yeah. Just, deep fried mayonnaise. Because you can deep fry literally anything! Some of what is being served, like the corn and the green beans, actually LOOKS pretty tasty, but if you dare to take a bite? You will find out the hard way that they have even gone and ruined that by adding an ungodly amount of salt to the mix.

Also, if you try some of the food and don't absolutely love it, Peridot will be incredibly offended. She worked really hard on this spread.

B. Make your own explosion.

Questionably edible balls of grease aren't the only things that Peridot has put together for the occasion. There's fireworks too! Some of them are leftovers from various carnival performances, but she also appears to have a kit with her and is making some on the spot. It doesn't seem like a particularly safe practice, but she is at least wearing goggles, so. A for effort?

"This next explosive will produce by far the most destructive and DEVASTATING spectacle yet!" You may overhear her cackling to herself, grinning fangily while she pours gunpowder into one of the casings.

Maybe she'll make something custom for you if you ask nicely.

A bit of column A, a bit of column B, AKA Option C.

After a certain point in the night, it's obvious that the fried foods are a hard miss. Peridot is not taking this well, and now she's throwing a baby fit by shoving some of the food into the PVC piping she's using to help launch the fireworks, lighting the fuse, and then blowing it all sky high. Bits of smoking squash and carrots, blackened popcorn, splatters of mayonnaise... it's all coming back down to the ground, and landing in the lake, and just generally making a terrible mess.

Wildcard

I ain't picky. If you've got something you want to talk to Peridot about, she's around and easy to pull aside for a chat.

peridot's awful taste in food

[kingsroads]

Saying that Strange's taste buds aren't exactly the best is putting it nicely. After all, a short list of the things that the man's willingly put in his mouth include army rations, poisonous plants, a dead mouse, and juice from said dead mouse. You learn to stomach some terrible stuff that way and you probably get your taste buds screwed up something fierce. Strange is probably the only person here who's actually eating most of Peridot's food and definitely the only person here who thinks it's halfway decent.

It helps that he's getting drunker as the night goes on. Thanks, booze.

Strange has picked out a plate that's entirely carrots and squashes (even for someone with as fucked up taste buds as him, the mayo was a little too much). Partway through the evening, he spots Peridot and waves her over. "These carrots are delicious, by the way. A bit too salty for my taste but the texture's wonderful!"

No comment about the other vegetables.

June | OTA

[milkruns]

June's not really the 'party irresponsibly' type; she's usually painfully responsible, because somebody's gotta be. But the last few days have been, uh...well, she thinks 'earth-shaking' is a fair description, and she's still reeling from the fact that she won't see home or her son for a year, and really, honestly, right now, she could use a drink.

The fireworks she'll eye warily from a distance, but the bonfire is warm and inviting and is giving off a sort of comforting vibe, like a college party she's way too old for but somehow found herself at anyway. She spends a little bit of time hanging around semi-awkwardly, feeling oddly out of her element, before she decides to hell with it, and grabs some of that wine going around before it's all gone.

She doesn't drink a lot, and it kind of shows in how quickly she slips into a tipsy mood -- a little more prone to laughter, a little more honest, and a little more pliable. If you wanted to get to know June without her polite friendly neighbor face on, then this is the time, and she's happy to accept any offered drinks once she's gotten going, provided it's, you know. Not too suspicious.

But for the first time in a while, June is determined to do something fun. She's also a little more willing than usual to do something stupid. Sometimes those things are synonymous.

[dontpokethat]

It's cool, June, certain people around here are willing to be responsible adults in your place. And it's only partly because their go-to way to deal with stress is by giving themselves more work.

Ginko is taking a moment to ruffle up Miu's fluff and shake some of the sand out of it, and takes note that there's someone around who he doesn't recognize from the Carnival. "Hey. You just sign on?"

PAPYRUS | OTA

[spaghettimonster]

Early Party

Papyrus is himself again in a painful mix of relief and grief that he welcomes, pain and all, because everything is worthwhile and wonderful. Even going to the beach, getting drunk, and making a terrible mess that he'll need to clean up tomorrow... it's worthwhile! Life is beautiful!

He's sober, and already rambling things like this. It's going to be a long night.

An Eggcellent Party

A ways into festivities, people (probably Lambert and Papyrus) realized that it's just not the same without Sans here. Between notions that they could speed up the hatching with heat, and generally egging each other on, they reach the conclusion: sure, he hasn't hatched yet, but that's no obstacle to him being here!

So Papyrus goes off and gets his brother's egg from the Ringmaster's tent, to haul it back to the edge of beach and shore where the sand meets the grass. Others can come along for the walk, or meet them on the way back.

A little further into the party, Papyrus is hanging out with the egg, which is nestled down with a blanket around the base, and... is that a sticky note attached to it? Are those art supplies strewn about? Has someone already drawn a cartoonish version of Sans' face on it?

The answer to all of these is yes.

A Midwinter Night's Dream

Later in the evening, the egg is decorated, nobody's hurt it, and Papyrus dips into some alcohol and a fair amount of that faerie weed Scout got him back on the moon. And he goes on a magical journey of the mind, creating a wonderful world of hallucinogenic smoke...

And it messes with his magic. Slightly. So when he decides that he needs to hug his daemon Sistina, and does the spell for summoning her... something goes a little awry. It's not immediately obvious what - there's a skeleton and a goose hanging out together, looking much the same as ever... But their voices sound a little off, and they seem to think they're each other.

Ask what the heck, try to help, or point and laugh.

wildcard-ish

[whattaprick]

By the time Papyrus catches him, Lambert is pleasantly tipsy, which makes him slightly more inclined to listen to his rambling. However, Lambert also spends the time nodding understandingly ... slipping Papyrus booze, largely as a tactic to get him to breathe and shut up for a while.

It's when Papyrus is starting to display the mild level incoherence that Lambert's come to recognize is the best time to propose any ideas to someone drunk, that the witcher finally voices the idea that's been tickling at the back of his mind ever since the skeleton showed up.

"You know who we're missing?" he interjects loudly, interrupting Papyrus in the middle of whatever rambling speech he's in the middle of. "Sans. Sans should be here."

Alphys | OTA

[textsfromhotland]

Alphys doesn't want to forget Wismuth happened- in fact, she wishes she were still there. Being a Star Guardian was amazing. She was strong. She was graceful. She was useful. And just like that, it was over, and she was back to being the same nervous dweeb she had always been.

She hadn't planned on attending the lake party, but she's drawn by the fireworks. She still keeps her distance from the bonfire, so she doesn't end up being the downer that she's certain she is. Instead she sits at the shore and holds up the little frog charm Noa had given her before they parted. She's not sure why, but holding it makes her feel a little less empty- like she's still got a tiny link to Creation.

Alphys might be hard to notice at the edge of the festivities, but after a short while she starts... glowing? It's faint, but it's definitely not just the fire reflecting off her scales. She's glowing a rainbow of soft pastels, and there almost appear to be bubbles floating around her.

[exaomori]

Drinking was great. Drinking with coworkers after accomplishing something, after some kind of victory, was even better. On the other hand, it was getting noisy and this wasn't home. For once, Shura finds herself moving away from the main hub of activity and excitement for a moment to clear her head. Except it looks like the light show isn't just limited to the bonfire and the fireworks.

"Tryin' out a new trick or something?" She calls out as she nears, wondering if she should have said anything at all. Whoever this was seemed pretty focused on whatever it was in her hand. But bubbles weren't normal, right? Even for this place.

THE GREAT EGGSCAPE | group thread because Sans is only doing this once

[osteothropy]

Sans has been dead before, this much he knows. Yet, it wasn't quite like this. Waking up in a reset timeline with only vague memories of anything that came before isn't quite the same as remembering yourself dying. Remembering how you died, how it felt, and how it's been to regrow your body all over again.

The transition is fuzzy. There are faint impressions of things - the presence of others, vague warmth, being enclosed in a way that is both comforting and disquieting. With a more complete hold of his mind, he'd remember that he signed on for this, so it shouldn't be any big surprise. Practically speaking, the sensations speak louder than factual knowledge, and he's in a weird kind of mental state that goes hand in hand with having his soul trapped in an egg for over a week.

It's only very recently that he's regained any sense of his body - occasionally moving around, only to be exhausted before he could start. He's tired, and comfortable where he is. Trying to focus on how he got there seems inadvisable. The vague inklings he's worked out in dreamy thoughts make it hard to get excited about being born again.

Still, every so often, he finds himself trying to flex his body, becoming increasingly aware of being trapped in something and less naturally complacent about being there. He isn't particularly uncomfortable, but he's restricted from all sides, and the more capable he is of questioning it the weirder it is.

He strains his leg against the shell, too weak to make much progress. Yet, finally, after a few hazy attempts, it's enough that a crack begins to form, getting wider and wider until - pop.

A section of shell breaks away, just big enough for Sans's foot to come out, covered in a thin layer of slime. Feeling the night air on his toes, he flexes them a little, before vaguely thinking 'cool' and immediately falling asleep again.

That was a lot of effort, okay?

[textsfromhotland]

It's late, and Alphys is dozing off, chin resting in her hands. She just about drifts off to sleep as a slime-covered foot explodes out of the shell right next to her face. She screams and scrambles backwards, curling her tail up in front of her in defense.

Syrlya | OTA

[chronosynthesis]

[A]

[Lambert might not call this a celebration, but given it's on the heels of saving the world (or really, many worlds) Syrlya doesn't see why they can't interpret it that way. Of course, he intends to be among who he would call closest to friends. But there's also plenty of times where he's alone, back against a tree as he just watches everyone else mingle. It's nice, really.]

[B]

[At some point, Syrlya's still sober and looking through the fireworks with some obscurity. Of course, some of the grander celebrations he's been to have involved fireworks--nothing says success like colorful explosions. But he's never really used one.

He pulls one of the smaller ones out of the box. It's simple enough in design, but then he's quickly looking for whatever is supposed to hold the firework in place--unless you just fire it from the ground? But the lake is surrounded by grass... and water, admittedly.]

B.

[dirthena]

( Lavellan is way on her way to being tipsy thanks to both Lambert and Strange -- completely independent of each other -- but that doesn't dim her excitement to see Syrlya. He is one of the few people she feels as if her apology list is short, for at least she didn't attempt to kill him. That list was longer than she'd like it to have been.

Fireworks are a rare thing in Thedas -- only the qunari have gaatlok -- but she recognize them from the Winter Palace. Enough to be able to help him out. )

There should be a canister if there's not a stick attached to the thing itself. If there is, try putting that in the ground and then pointing it... pretty much anywhere where there isn't someone you like.

lavellan | ota & closed

[dirthena]

ota.
Lavellan is here and there throughout the night, in increasing increments of tipsy. Mostly she's simply enjoying the fact that everyone else -- those she knows and those she doesn't know -- seems to be having a decent time. Occasionally she'll wander between the bonfire and the shore, letting the water lap up to her ankles as she sips from the glass of wine clutched in her one hand. It's a good evening, and she smiles widely at anyone who looks like they might approach.

"I'd avoid running into anyone who looks like they might be having a bit too much fun foisting drinks off on others," she cautions, before taking a sip.

cole.
Needing Cole's unique brand of kindness feels almost greedy after the events of Wismuth -- he's compassion, after all, and Lavellan doubts she is the only one in need of reassurance or comfort. Once able to process it all, it comes as no surprise to her that Creation sought him out -- she wouldn't know what she would have done, or how her experience would have ended without him.

But the evening is getting on, and she's found the base of a tree back far enough away from the party not to draw attention to herself. Settling in amongst the roots is second nature -- a first nature, even -- and she smiles against the rim of her wineglass as she takes a sip. After a certain point she doesn't even need to look over to see him to know that he's there, hovering. And while perhaps some people would find that intensely distressing, Lavellan isn't even phased.

"I'm glad you're alright, Cole." Considering she'd cut a rather significantly large gash into his chest. It's a heartfelt admission, and she turns to look at him. "And thank you."

solas.
She catches him on the fringes of the party -- unsurprising, all told. Not that she hadn't wanted to see him since her return, of course, but he'd been damned difficult to pin down. Also unsurprising. That they don't talk, keep a careful orbit around each other, is par for the course these days; he doesn't even venture into her dreams anymore. That she should take that with a sense of loss is something she's not going to examine closely, not after she was so furious with him for daring to do so in the first place.

Ass.

But she wants to see him again, craves something that feels -- if not normal, then as normal as she's going to get -- with him. The Void has forced her to spend far too much time dwelling in misery and despair for her tastes. So she comes up beside him when his attention is elsewhere, although she doesn't think for a moment he doesn't know she's there.

"I think this is the most Dalish thing I've done since leaving for the conclave," she jokes, looking at him and the bonfire beyond.

[hurtcomfort]

Cole had been hanging out on the fringes of the party for most of the night. He didn't want to be directly down there. It was too busy, too crowded, and Lambert would yell at him. But if he hung around near the edges, he could flit in every once and then to take someone's drink away from them, stealthily move the fireworks away from someone, things like that.

But then Lavellan went to sit down beside a tree. And Cole knew he had to check on her. So, he walks over, quiet for a moment, just thinking and watching and feeling until she calls his name. Ah. Well that's to be expected.

He's visible as he sits down next to her, crossing his legs as he does so. And, at her thanks, he gives Lavellan a little nod. "You're welcome. I'm glad you're alright as well."

Yuusei | OTA | underage drinking

[alphudo]

[Yuusei may be 18 but that's still not a legal drinking age; just a warning!]


START OF THE NOT-PARTY

Yuusei remembers a few things being said to people over Carly's radio. Something about a drink, something about hotsprings, and as Carly occasionally turned to him to explain the formulating gameplan, he found himself being roped into roasting some soybeans for a party of... some sort. Something about "de-stressing," he recalls. Whatever the matter is, Carly insisted that he went with her.

"You're going to be contracted here soon, right?" she said with a luminous grin. "Not everyone gets a chance to meet some of their coworkers ahead of time!"

And now that they're here, he's... not really sure what to do. He admittedly recognises some of the folks around, which surprises him a little bit! As soon as they arrive, though, he feels like he's being left alone as Carly goes to put their roasted soybeans on the tables. She's entrusted him with Nuna for now so he at least has some form of companionship (at least until he works up the guts to go talk to someone).

Yuusei knows there's alcohol here, and he might look into that a little later, but for now he goes to investigate the lake, staring out over its surface. May as well have a seat and adjust to the atmosphere. Who knows, maybe someone'll treat him to a little chat.

In the meantime, Carly's around with snacks, most likely jumping right into the not-festivities for "de-stressing." Well-deserved de-stressing.


MID-PARTY

He's still by the lake once things really start to settle in, but while he was sitting anxiously and contemplating how he might go about doing literally anything at the start, he's now looking much more relaxed, if still quiet and very much keeping to himself. He got his hands on some wine at some point, and he's pretty sure Carly told him to avoid any faerie ale but just a little bit can't hurt right?

The sky is beyond beautiful in this place, and he's happy to stare up at the stars as he lies on the beach with a cup settled carefully in the sand, fingers wrapped around it just in case. It's... nice. So so nice.


[This is mostly for Yuusei, but for the party-start prompt, Carly is also an option to be tagged!]