riverviewlogs | [OPEN] Eddie's Bday Bash

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[OPEN] Eddie's Bday Bash

who: Eddie's friends + any party crashers!
what: A surprise party for Eddie Thawne's 30th birthday
when: forward dated a little to July 4th
where: A nice park not too far from the river
warnings: Spiked drinks, will add as needed

Cisco, Taako, and Yuri have all come together to throw Eddie a party for his 30th birthday!

The party has a chill, summer barbecue vibe; the list of invited guests was limited to people who are friends and coworkers of Eddie, but any characters are welcome to stop by and join in the fun. It takes place in a large park near to the river, with trees and a wide expanse of grass. There is a marquee set up, to protect the party-goers from the bright sun, and casual seating inside on blankets atop the grass. Since Yuri handled the decorations, there's a lot more leopard print than one would expect in this context. Like a lot more.

SURPRISE!

Cisco sent out the invitations went a week in advance, all the details included along with a particularly dire warning that if anyone blabbed to Eddie about even the existence of a party, Cisco would do horrible things to them with science as punishment. Somehow, remarkably (though likely not because of those threats), no one gives away the secret, which means that around 3PM everyone is waiting in the marquee for Taako to lure Eddie in. Cisco goes around, handing everyone party poppers with plenty of confetti and glitter and telling them to hush and get ready for the big moment!

FOOD

If Taako were catering this party for either himself or for someone who had given him free range, there would be a lot of delicate hors d'oeuvres and over the top cakes to feed a crowd of people, but he's managed to keep the theme and the person this party is for in mind, and gone for something a little more chill. The cake(s) is still fancy, as are the mini cakes to go with it, and he had a little fun with the macarons, because what's the point of being an amazing baker if he can't show off.

There are typical munchies set out on a table, although the chips and dips are all handmade rather than store bought, and the cheese and crackers came from a little deli that Taako is particularly fond of. The main event itself is a burger bar, with the assorted meat being cooked on a nearby barbeque by either Taako, or…. a floating set of tools that seem to be keeping a pretty good eye on things, when Taako is off doing whatever it is that he does when he isn't cooking. There's also an assortment of warm and cold salads, for anyone who's into that kind of thing.

There's not an overabundance of food, but it also never seems to look as though things are going to run out. Magic, bitches.

REFRESHMENTS (WITH A LITTLE EXTRA)

About an hour into the party, some mischievous guest takes it upon themselves to add a little something extra to the refreshments, just to make things interesting. But this isn’t your average slipping in a little bit of vodka in the punch on the sly situation. Instead, if your character drinks either of the following, they will feel the following effects:

iced tea: anyone who drinks the iced tea will feel the effects of a mild truth potion. the effects do not compel the drinker to spill unrelated secrets, but are strong enough to prevent white lies and cause some pretty awkward social faux pas.

lemonade: anyone who drinks the lemonade will feel the effects of a mild fascination potion. this potion will cause the person who drinks it to become obsessed with an object, person, or phenomenon that they see or hear within the first two minutes after drinking it. this can encompass anything, so use your creativity – do they become suddenly enthralled with cake? a song that was playing from the dj station? with another partygoer’s shoes?

The effects are cumulative, so if your character fixes themselves an Arnold Palmer, they will become both truthful AND fascinated. The effects last up to four hours.

SINGING & PRESENTS

At some point in the afternoon, everyone will gather around to make Eddie go through the process of blowing out candles on the big cake (Cisco allowed himself to be talked down from 30 individual candles to two candles, one with a 3 and one with an 0). Enthusiastic, hopefully not TOO off-key singing is highly encouraged.

After that, there is a table where anyone who brought a present will have left it by that point; anything, however little or small, however appropriate or inappropriate, is welcome.

DANCING & FIREWORKS

Who doesn’t love a bit of dancing? As the afternoon starts to fade into evening, partygoers who are inclined to shake their moneymakers can move out of the marquee to the small portable dance floor that has been set up on the grass. Nearby is a pretty cushy sound setup with plenty of speakers and Riverview’s own Otabek lending his talents as DJ.

Once sunset has faded and the sky is dark enough to properly appreciate it, a fireworks show has been prepared by Taako, to wrap the night up with a bang!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[There's absolutely a little theatrics with the fire on the grill while he has an audience, because that's just how Taako rolls, but he doesn't think too much of it when Cisco gets called away.

Nor does he think too much of it when Cisco is a little bit blunt, later in the day when he drops down beside Taako.]

Hey, no one's died, that's gotta be some kinda accomplishment.

[Someone has definitely died during a Starblaster party when they got a bit cavalier about the whole resurrection thing.]

No one's even maimed themselves. Small miracles.

[ After a second's consideration, Cisco lets himself fall back, stretching out on the grass and flinging an arm over his eyes to keep the sun off them. A lot less elegant than Taako's cool sunglasses, but it gets the job done. It's kind of nice, actually, to just absorb the heat for a little bit, even if the grass is prickly on his back and he shouldn't leave the guests unsupervised for too long. They're like children, honestly. Some of them ARE children as far as Cisco's concerned. ]

I just really want everything to be perfect so Eddie doesn't spend the day thinking about being dead.

[ W...hoops, that's a little too much truth there, Cisco. And he'd been doing so good up until now, passing off all the effort he put into arranging this party as nothing but light-hearted fun-mindedness. ]

[Oh.

It's a moment of honesty that surprises Taako, in part because he doesn't really think about the whole... death thing, a lot, but then he doesn't have the emotional attachment to it that Cisco does. But it's still like, nice? Really nice? That Cisco put so much thought into it.]

You really care about him, huh?

Of course I do.

[ There is no hesitation before he gives the answer, though it isn't exactly clear where the obviousness of the response is meant to be located: whether Cisco is saying he obviously cares about people willy-nilly or whether he just thinks Eddie is obviously very easy to care about. Maybe it's a little of both.

If Cisco hadn't had the iced tea, perhaps he would have left it at that. But since he did... ]

And I feel a little indebted. I meant grateful. But also, yeah, indebted. And kinda guilty, naturally.

[ The only reason he doesn't bother explaining those feelings is that he just assumes Taako knows the context already. Cisco is starting to get an inkling of a suspicion, that maybe something is going on here, making him answer a bit more honestly than is his inclination. But then again, it might just be a weird mood, who even knows? ]

Bet you do, too.

[Taako figures everyone from Cisco's little group would feel that way towards Eddie; it's kind of natural to feel guilty and indebted to someone who took a hit for you. So it makes sense.

And then Cisco isn't quite asking a question, but there's something in there that needs responding; his first response is to just say yes and leave it at that. But that isn't the truth.]

As much as I can care about anyone, I guess.

[Uh.

Well. That's not... terrible, maybe Cisco will ignore it, although Taako is wondering if fucking Merle has snuck up on him with a zone of truth.]

[ Surprise! Cisco is not going to ignore it. In fact, he is going to roll over onto his side, tucking an arm under his head and looking over at Taako, a small frown forming on his face. There's a moment of quiet as he decides whether today is going to be the day they have this conversation or not. After all, it's Eddie's party, and as previously established, Cisco really wants the thing to go smoothly. Badgering Eddie's boyfriend and putting him in a bad mood, or else making him storm off or maybe even kick Cisco's ass (if he'd really meant that), all of those thing qualify as ruining the party.

Eventually, he caves and says: ]

I can't tell if you're trying to say you care about him a whole bunch, and that's really sweet, or if you're trying to say you're a semi-sociopath, and that's really not.

[ Taako might not know the terminology ~~not that Cisco is using it correctly~~, but then again, Taako might not be inclined to answer at all. ]

Gods, I'm not-- [Not a sociopath; he might have trouble with emotions and shit, but he can empathise and he can care about people it's just... different.] For so fucking long, every single person I met was gonna die, you know? It got kinda hard to keep caring about anyone aside from the crew, cause what's the fucking point?

[They were dust. Dust with hopes and lives and loves and it hurt to keep caring, only to know all that was going to be lost.

Taako exhales shakily, looking at the sky rather than at Cisco. What he's saying could sound cold, and in a way it is, but there's a tightness in his voice that belies how much this affected him.]

And this is place is-- it's different, I get that. But it doesn't go away.

[It never went away, even when he couldn't remember why.]

[ Cisco listens, the crease between his brows deepening, but it makes sense. Taako had explained to him at least the basics of the immortality situation, with the ship reseting the crew to how they'd been, and that they'd gone to a lot of different planets in between the resets. But they'd never come close to talking about what that had been like for Taako, or the sort of psychological impact it must have had. Which is evidently... a lot. ]

It was like they were already dead, when you met them?

[ He really shouldn't have said it aloud. Even though he knows Taako won't have any idea of the significance, it's sadistic to himself, to make the comparison. He likes Taako, a lot. Likes him as a person, likes spending time with him. But it's hard not to hear a bit of an echo of Eobard in what he'd just said. And that is, to put it mildly, distressing.

But there are differences. Subtle, important differences. Taako said 'hard to keep caring. Like he was isolating himself out of self-preservation, and necessity. And Cisco can hear that slight tremble of emotion in the way he's breathing. Most of all, though, he's talking about this like it's a problem. Like it's something he wishes he could get rid of, instead of tossing it off as an excuse for anything he might choose to do. ]

That's messed up.

[ Not the most soothing of responses, in its actual language, but he says it with much more sympathy than accusation in his tone. The truth is, more than anything else, right now he just feels sad for Taako. He can't imagine not caring for people. Cisco's problem has always been that he cares for people way too much. Even the ones who really don't deserve it. ]

You must be really lonely.

I dunno, I mean... that's the kinda way some elves look at humans but it's not just that. [He does a little, like he's already told Cisco, but he thinks humans can still have fulfilling lives, even though they're short.] If they were gonna keep living out their lives it'd suck but I'd deal with it, right?

[That kind of thing, leaving people behind, never staying long enough to develop attachments because he and Lup would always be travelling to the next place is different, than what it felt like fleeing from the Hunger. It's all compounded, sure, but...]

But with the Hunger, that's fucking it. Can you imagine knowing everyone you meet is gonna be dust within a year?

[So yeah, it's lonely, but he manages to keep those words inside, at least.]

[ It's a little weird, actually, hearing Taako talking about the Hunger again. He had told Cisco about it way back when, during one of their first conversations, and Cisco hadn't really gotten it. He could tell it was horrible, yes, but it had been like a story - a tragedy that was far away and abstract, not fully REAL. But since then he's gotten to be friends with Taako, and while he might not know any of the people who had gotten mowed down in the path of this horrible apocalyptic thing, it's obvious now how much it's fucked up his friend. And it makes Cisco think of that earlier, comparative flippancy, and feel pretty shitty about it. ]

No, I can't imagine it.

[ He's not even going to pretend to be able to empathize with something that is so completely removed from his own experience. But just because he doesn't know how it feels doesn't mean he's indifferent. Cisco swallows, looking at what he can see of Taako's face from this angle. For a moment it occurs to him that Taako is saying an awful lot more about this stuff, with a lot less obfuscation or jokes, than he usually does. But it's hard to be concerned about that, in the face of everything else. ]

I think I'd probably go nuts. I mean - I'm not saying you are. I just mean. I don't think I could handle it.

Lup couldn't.

[The words spill out thoughtlessly, and two words shouldn't wrench his heart the way they do, but it's a realization he's been trying to lie to himself about for a long time. Lup couldn't handle all the lives they lost, all the people they failed and even worse, the ones they killed in their failed attempts at derailing the Hunger. Lup was so much kinder than him, even before the journey, she had a bigger heart and more compassion, and it drove her to do what she did. It left her dead in a cave, alone, and every day since he's remembered her, he's terrified of the thought that she couldn't even remember him, when she died.

There are no right choices.

Back soon.

He can't talk about that.]

I'm not being down on myself when I say I'm a shitty person, it's just that being selfish is how I didn't go fucking crazy.

Oh.

[ Cisco manages to keep the thought quiet, because he's pretty sure it's not something Taako wants to hear right now, and maybe not something he really has a right to say, considering he hasn't been where Taako's been and endured what Taako's endured. But to him, it seems like turning selfish, so he could keep going, in order to save the entire universe from destruction - well it ends up being just a roundabout means of being supremely unselfish and self-sacrificing. The kind of awful big-picture stuff that would leave Taako cut off from people, but the universe safer. ]

Okay. I get that.

[ It seems so... small, in response to what Taako had revealed and admitted. But Cisco doesn't have anything to offer but this: an acknowledgement that he doesn't and can't truly understand, and his acceptance. Anything else he might try to say - justifications, comfort, whatever - just sounds like bullshit in his head before he even seriously considers saying it.

There is one more thing, though. Simple, yes. But of course, true. ]

I like you anyway.

[ Not that he thinks Taako had been keeping any of this quiet out of a desire to be thought better than he is, or a desire for approval. Cisco knows it's much more complex than that - and what had Taako just said, after all. His priorities don't revolve around other people approving of him, because he's used to shielding himself from caring about other people at all. But even with all that in mind, it seems important to Cisco, to say it. That he likes Taako even as, yes, maybe a sometimes shitty person. ]

[Not saying much is probably the only good response; platitudes would only feel kind of insulting when everything that happened is on such a huge fucking scale that it's hard to comprehend for someone who hasn't been through it. And Taako isn't going to ever hold that against anyone, because it's better, that it was only the seven of them who had to struggle. Two of them couldn't handle it, but five made it relatively intact and that was luckier than they should've been.]

I like you, too.

[It feels final in a way, but it's enough for Taako to look back at this conversation. He's been way more honest than he ever has been, except for with the rest of the IPRE, and it's more than just rambling when he's upset or drunk or something.

He scrubs a hand over his face and looks back at Cisco.]

Hey, what the fuck is going on?

[ In a different context, Taako saying he liked him would make Cisco happy - just happy, in a warm, simple, lovely way. Who didn't like to be liked? Who didn't appreciate a reminder that they meant something to someone? But now, after everything Taako had said, after getting just a glimpse of what a complicated thing it must be for him to like anyone, even in an offhand way, that little burst of happiness in his chest is tinged with sadness, too.

When Taako asks what is going on, Cisco hadn't thought he was anticipating the question, but his answer is immediate and without doubt: ]

I have no fucking idea but there is definitely something weird, right, it's not just me?

[ Cisco sits up and looks from side to side around them. He doesn't know what it is he's searching for, exactly. Weird cursed fireflies again, or else some kind of cursed "let's have a conversation about painful shit" sigil, or who knows what. But there's nothing. ]

Feels like a zone of truth without the tingles.

[There's always a little bit of a sign when that spell is cast, enough to try to push against (which Taako can usually do), but there was no real warning this time, nothing that suggests something is wrong.

He waves a hand to cast detect magic, but nothing unusual shows up, leaving Taako frowning slightly at the scene around them.]

I'm not drunk, so that rules that out. But there is something weird, for sure. I should not have told you that shit.

[Cisco doesn't need to hear it, and Taako doesn't need to say it out loud where it can exist, instead of being tucked away safely.]

I'm gonna assume that's some magic thing.

[ Just like he assumes it's some magic thing when Taako waves a hand through the air, even though Cisco doesn't see it having any kind of effect whatsoever. He can surmise at least from the unsatisfied look on Taako's face that whatever it was, it didn't work. ]

Yeah, no way is this booze. Booze makes me tell embarrassing stories about guys I fucked in college, not sit around asking you every horrible question that pops into my head.

[ Perhaps he should have made the connection - that it wasn't alcohol both of them had been drinking, but that they had both had some of the same beverage. But Cisco had set up that bowl of iced tea, and it just doesn't even come into his head that it might have been tampered with after the fact. ]

I'm glad you told me. I mean I'm not glad you did it because of whatever the hell is going on, but it explains some shit.

[ Wow, yeah, he definitely would not have admitted he is glad about their super depressing conversation, if he were entirely in control of what he is saying. Something made evident by the fact that immediately after he says it, Cisco puts a hand over his own mouth, eyes going a little wider. What Taako had said about this involving truth-telling seems to be right. ]

[Well, that confirms what he'd been thinking anyway, that this is some kind of truth compelling... effect, and it operates similar enough to zone of truth, since it's not like he feels as if he needs to just tell everyone everything, suddenly.

He's just responding more honestly to shit he's asked.

It's hitting Cisco too, whatever it is, and he arches an eyebrow at that little I'm glad you told me, although he looks more amused than offended.]

So, hey, maybe we should shut the fuck up before one of us says something real embarrassing. Last thing we need is for you to confess your love for me.

[Jokes make everything better.]

But I'm taking a raincheck on the embarrassing college stories, for sure.

[Those sound great.]

[ Cisco rolls his eyes at that joke about him confessing his love, but he is grinning, too. He is also in the "jokes make everything more bearable" school of thought. At first, he tries to do what Taako suggested and just keep his mouth closed, but after about a minute and a half of silence he speaks up again. ]

I totally agree, but also, hanging out at a party in total silence is unbearably boring and if I am under some kind of truth curse there's no way in hell I'm saying a word to anyone who's not you or Eddie.

[ Which in itself is pretty revealing of who Cisco does and doesn't trust at this party. There are people here who are his casual friends, sure. But none of them that Cisco would risk being honest with. Not even close. Part of that is because they're the only two who know he's a metahuman, sure, but it also goes beyond that.

Cisco chews at his lower lip for a moment or two before suggesting, tentatively: ] Maybe. If we're careful. Truth or dare? With like, a promise not to ask any fucked up sad questions?

[ Hey, it's a thought. It'd distract both of them from the dark shit they'd just been talking about, and it also ups the stakes of the game a little. Maybe too much, though. ]

[Somehow, he's surprised that Cisco managed to last a whole minute before needing to talk again, because while Taako is a chatty kind of guy, he can just chill if he has to. Cisco, apparently, cannot.]

Oh, for sure.

[And he's not even sure he'd want to risk a truthful conversation with Eddie; it's not anything... personal, just that he likes to be in control of things like this. An overly truthful conversation with a friend is easier than an overly truthful conversation with a boyfriend.]

If you don't think I'd pick dare every single time you really don't know me at all.

[Honesty is the worst.]

That's cheating. I mean, it's not actually against the rules, but that's not how it's supposed to work!

[ Taako might think so, now, but Cisco suspects he might change his mind after a few rounds. And if not, well. It's still better than just sitting around, or stopping and letting himself think for too long about just how many people had died around Taako in his lifetime. ]

Alright, fine. If that's how you wanna play it. I dare you... to take the most unflattering selfie you can, show it to me, and not delete it until the end of the party.

[ Game on. ]

[Taako opens his mouth to say I hate you, but it's not true and whatever's effecting him makes it impossible, so he changes tact.]

Oh, fuck you.

[That works.

And then it kind of clicks that there's more to just unflattering for him, it's not just making a weird face, and before he can stop himself:]

Fine, fine, but I'm not dropping my disguise self spell.

[Now it's his turn to cover his mouth with his hand, although he mutters a quiet fuck behind his palm.]

[ Cisco doesn't have any idea what it is Taako's hesitating and struggling to say - he assumes that Taako's (lovable) vanity is causing him to rethink his strict anti-truth stance that he'd just expressed a moment ago. What he ends up saying, though, is a whole lot more surprising. ]

I'm sorry drop your what now?!

[ The question is an automatic reaction; Cisco hadn't known that spells for disguise were even a thing (though in hindsight it makes sense) or that Taako is apparently wearing one. But when Cisco looks at his face, and he looks the same as he always does. Which means either he's missing a detail, or the spell only disguises very tiny details that he's missing... or else that it disguises a lot and that he has no idea what Taako really looks like, sans magic.

He's stunned enough that it's a few seconds before he thinks of throwing up one hand, halting any response Taako might give before it can come. ]

Wait- wait- I said I wasn't gonna ask... you don't gotta answer that. Even though I, like, really want to know .

[ Well, that last bit wasn't on purpose, but Taako probably could've guessed that Cisco was curious, regardless. ]

[Taako sighs, but it's more frustrated at himself than anything, and with a wave of his hand, the spell drops. It's not a huge difference, at least probably not to most people, but there are a lot of reasons that it sits badly with Taako, and only one of those is vanity.

And it's not like Cisco doesn't know a whole lot of shit about him anyway, so... in for a penny, in for a pound.]

I'm not like, lying about what people see. That's what I used to look like, the disguise.

[If anything, the more plain face is the fake one.]

[ Cisco hadn't actually expected Taako to up and drop the spell. He doesn't seem compelled to do it, either - there's a moment before Taako does it when he sighs, and seems to make the decision.

But once he does, well, Cisco is relieved. He has not had the greatest track record when it comes to people he's close to disguising themselves long term. And while he might not have assumed Taako stole someone's appearance and identity in the same way, all the same, it soothes Cisco's paranoia to have that curtain pulled back and see that there's really hardly any difference at all. ]

You're still way cute.

[ .....Yikes. Thanks, honesty. Anyway, moving on.

Cisco wants to ask if Eddie knows, any just how it was that Taako's appearance somehow got changed so that he had to use some kind of magic to look the way he used to. It doesn't seem like age, and the way he'd said it... it doesn't sound like it was any kind of natural process. ]

C'mon... take a selfie already and gimme a dare before I ask any nosy questions like what happened 'cause I really wanna know what happened but it's way not fair to ask when we're whammied so let's just go.

Head and shoulders above the rest of the world, I know.

[It's half true and half bravado, but apparently not such a lie that the serum is denying it from being said, and it helps that he knows Cisco isn't just being placating when he says Taako's still cute.

But... fine, he fishes out his phone and takes the stupid selfie, and despite his protests, he absolutely goes for as awful as possible, since if he's going to look bad he's going to win at looking bad.

Logic.

Once taken, he tosses the phone to Cisco to get his approval.]

I'll tell you like, some other time when I'm not gonna spill more shit than I wanna. Wonderland was fucked up. [Which in and of itself is saying too much, so he's going to quickly move on:] Gimme thirty seconds of a song from the Wizard of Oz, dealer's choice.

[Most people aren't great at singing and even if they are, don't enjoy doing it in front of people, so he figures that's a fair dare.]

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