third time's the charm

[odenson]

who: The NEETs, Chibita, anyone who was invited or wants to stumble across the party
what: A Belated Bday party for the NEETS
when: Afternoon-Evening, Dec 10th
where: On the beach in one of those convenient cabins mentioned in the mingle log
warnings: none insofar. Probably drunken shenanigans, bad karaoke and possibly feels? We'll see.

So once upon a time (that time being, specifically, on the TDM about a month and a half ago,) Ichimatsu mentioned to Chibita that he'd missed his own birthday. Naturally, Chibita suggested that they have a belated party to make up for it. Now, he's making good on that idea. It just so happens that the festival and the Beach Cabins offered above happen to be a rather good opportunity. So he's managed to snag one of them this morning, and claimed it for the party later.

Said cabin is now moderately decorated. There's a couple simple happy birthday banners up, as well as a couple non-helium balloons scattered on the floor. Chibita's set up a bit of food and drink in the kitchen for people to come in and nosh on. The table has been taken over by an array of finger foods, mostly. Chips, dips, veggies, bacon-wrapped-dates, shrimp chips, gyoza, salted chicken wings, and various yakitori. Oh, and, of course, oden. Because if Chibita's preparing the party, there is absolutely going to be oden.

There is, also, a cake. Said cake is homemade and looks quite similar to the one in this photo. But don't worry: that stick of oden is made of fondant and moulding sugar. The cake has also been safely tucked away in the fridge for safekeeping.

Aside from things to eat, there's also plenty to drink. Nothing really too 'hard liquor'-ish, though. Beer, wine and cider, mostly, as well as mulled wine on the stove, because it's cold and that's a great drink for the holidays. And plenty of soda and other non-alcoholic entities, for those abstaining or too young.

Additionally, there's several different board games in the shared living space for people to play with. Scrabble, Taboo, Pictionary, and even mahjong, to name a few. So have a go at those. There is, unfortunately, a TV screen that's been hooked up to a Karaoke machine. So that is also an option, to be used for good or for evil. There's plenty of space to lounge and mingle to your fancy, both inside and out. There's a fire in the fire place, as well as a bonefire outside, supplied with the necessary ingredients for s'mores.

So, uh...help yourself? Maybe you know any of these guys and were invited. Maybe you just stumbled across the party on the beach and decided to join in. The post is your metaphorical Belated Birthday Oyster.

Comments

[ragnarsson]

Seeing the three of you here makes me think of my own brothers.

[He especially misses Ubbe, the second-oldest one who has always looked out for and defended Ivar, and Hvitserk, one of his middle brothers who was quiet, but had a dark side to him like Ivar did. Nine long months away from them, but he sees their faces in his dreams all the time. But he won't bring the mood down with talk like that.]

Did you see the gift I brought the three of you yet?

[relieable]

[Osomatsu really loves his brothers, too. he misses the ones that are not here]

I did! Thanks a lot! [his smile is wistful] We're all big movie fans. And you even brought classics! [he's a big fan of older things, surprisingly]

[ragnarsson]

It's only a classic if you've never seem them before. [Especially not someone who grew up in the eighth century, and screamed the first time he watched a movie because he thought the car was going to come out of the screen and hit him. But he doesn't talk about that. It would ruin his tough Viking reputation.] My friend Yuri has been trying to help me out with getting up to speed on the culture of the twentieth century.

[relieable]

[Osomatsu nods with interest]

What's your favorite thing about technology so far?

[ragnarsson]

Hot running water.

[He answers instantly. People didn't realize what a luxury that was. Ivar came from a time where baths were done by having people haul water into a tub and heating up until it was warm enough. That was a time-consuming process, especially for people as clean as the Vikings.]

[relieable]

[ah... not what Osomatsu would have picked, because he didn't even think of that! he really does take things for granted]

Oh, yeah... Guess you... wouldn't've had that... Man, that sounds like a pain.

[ragnarsson]

You're telling me. Especially in the winter when the water freezes over so you have to chop it up into chunks and melt it back down. I was very lucky. As part of the royal family, our slaves did the work for us, but the peasants, they had it much rougher.

[Ivar really had it much better than he would have being born into any other family. He was always extremely grateful for that fact. Since coming here, he'd had a lot more to be thankful for.]

[relieable]

[um, wow! now he's just thinking about all that extra work for a bath... Osomatsu would have been the dirtiest peasant ever in that case]

What was it like bein' part of a royal family?

[ragnarsson]

Easier than being a peasant. There was always enough food and new clothes. Not so much fun where you're the youngest prince and a cripple so everyone ignores you or doesn't take you seriously, but I had it much better than most.

[Ivar never had to work in a traditional sense until he came to Riverview. Not that he minded since it kept his skills sharp.]

[relieable]

[ah, right. Ivar was crippled. that... sounded really sad, that people ignored him, even though he was a prince. the more Osomatsu thought about Ivar's life, the more guilty he felt about his own. he was pretty selfish, and he came from a life where everything had been handed to him, partly because he was the oldest son.

he scratches his cheek, thinking]

Before I came here, I'd never worked a day in my life. I wasn't a prince, or anything, but my parents spoiled me rotten. I thought life was really good, growin' up with all my brothers. [he shakes his head, what was he trying to say?] I guess... Livin' on my own has been really hard. But I'm starting to realize how good I have it, even now that I'm living in the quarantine.

[ragnarsson]

Everyone has to grow up sometime.

[Ivar shrugs. He'd definitely gotten the impression that the NEETs had come from a time and place pretty one a complete opposite from what he'd experienced, not just in terms of technology, but in culture.]

But that's not a bad thing. Once I got motivated, I became the leader of a great army, and it helped me learn to stand on my own two feet. In a manner of speaking, I mean.

[relieable]

[ah... Osomatsu chuckles at that, because he thinks Ivar is making a joke about the whole feet thing........ hopes he is]

So did your army go to war?

[ragnarsson]

[Don't worry, he is. Only Ivar is allowed to joke about his condition. Anyone else who does so gets a knife to the throat.]

We did. All the way to England. We've already killed one king and we're going to do the same to another.

[He says this all very proudly, the way most teenagers talk about getting all A's on a report card or how they'd gotten their first paycheck from a job.]

[relieable]

[uh... wow... they killed a king? what rebels these vikings were! Osomatsu looks both impressed and scared at the same time]

Well, uh... That's good! I guess! Good job! [????????]

[ragnarsson]

[That's definitely the proper way to look when Ivar talks about anything Viking-related. Just be glad he spared Osomatsu the gory details of what blood-eagling entails. He'd likely make the man puke.]

Thank you. I'll go back someday soon and finish the job.

[relieable]

Is there, uh... A reason you're goin' around an' killin' kings?

[ragnarsson]

Because I got bored and thought the monarchy could use a shake-up. [There's a beat before he adds on:] That was a joke.

No, the reason is that these kings killed my father, the most famous Viking king of all time. One hated him outright and did the deed, but the other pretended to be his friend while handing him over all the same. I hate him the worse for it. When I get my hands on him-- [He bares his teeth in the slightest resemblance to a smile.] --they will hear his screams all the way in Hell.

[relieable]

[ah...... AH. that is some messed up story! Osomatsu can practically feel the rage radiating off of Ivar]

I... I'm sorry. [at least Ivar got them back]

[ragnarsson]

It's alright. The gods were good to me. My father has ended up here in the city.

[Which was a good thing for everyone's welfare. Ragnar was perhaps the only one that could put a leash on his son's more violent and brutal tendencies.]

[relieable]

[???????]

Wh-what, really? Like, he's alive, an' everything?

[ragnarsson]

Yeah. He's from about four years before I was born, but it's alright. Just having him here again is enough.

[To have his father present again, Ivar would have done just about anything. His love for the man knew no bounds.]

[relieable]

[wow. that's incredible. Osomatsu drops his gaze for a moment in thought]

This place... has that kinda power, to pull people here from different worlds an' different times. It's super weird.

[ragnarsson]

I gave up trying to figure out the rhyme or reason to this place a long time ago.

[Nine months here and Ivar has become inoculated to all the weirdness.]

[relieable]

... I'm just wonderin' why they can't send us home... or why they choose only certain people to send here, an' not others. Yanno?

[ragnarsson]

Well, perhaps not everyone feels as out of place as us. As for going home, I've been working on a way to do that, at least temporarily. I've got things back there I need to deal with. But I'll come back once I'm done.