[Closed - Floor Six and Friends]

[alchemyfreak]

who: Floor Six and Relevant CR (All characters are encouraged to invite friends!)
what: Alphonse Elric's Surprise 18th Birthday Party
when: September 23rd
where: Floor Six
warnings: None, and not expecting to need any.
Please put any appropriate warnings in comment subjects and I'll adjust accordingly



If Jay hadn't suggested it, Ed probably would not be planning a party for Al. They were generally pretty low-key and after so many years in Purg birthdays were hardly a thing, nevermind the sort of life they had back home. Still, Ed had found a way to keep Al out of the communal building to provide enough time to prepare for the floor for what should be a relatively small gathering of friends.

Similar to the party thrown in July when his brother had first arrived, Ed had gone through the trouble of making sure plenty of snacks and food were in stock for anyone interested. Once again, anything your character could find within the Quarantine may very well be available, soft drinks, juice, some forms of alcohol, chips, cookies, pretzels - the usual assortments of party food. Requests and special diets had been taken into consideration as well as organization that allowed for food that may not be edible to the majority being set aside and labeled as such. The kitchen island was covered in bowls of treats and the buckets that had been used to carry the water guns were on the floor, filled with ice and holding additional drinks as well. There will also be pastries baked by Lola, food prepared by Jacob Kane, Otabek Altin and Shigeru, an apple pie for dessert made by Jason and an assortment of other possibilities - anyone is welcome to bring or make their own dish to share.

Games were laid out in the entertainment area, for anyone to help themselves to. Cards, board games, video games etc. Ed figured that some people might show up before Al arrived and others may not get there until he had returned, better to have things for everyone to enjoy themselves with either way. Although Ed only had a small list of people to invite - half their friends lived on the floor, and they hadn't made too many lasting friendships yet with how many people had gone home - he tried to invite anyone he could think of that might be interested and did encourage others to bring someone along, should they so choose.


[OOC: Characters invited will consist of Floor Six, and Floor Six CR. If a character has a few degrees of separation from Floor Six they may also be invited as a friend of a friend. If you would like your character to come and are unsure how or if they might be invited send me a message and I'll work out a solution with you! Chances are if you think your character would get an invite, you're good to go. Alternately, if you want an actual IC invitation in your character's inbox, let me know!]

Comments

birthday boy! ota

[alkahestic]

ARRIVAL →

[ having spent the previous night with ed at the general store and then cleaning up afterward, al has no suspicion that a party has been planned for him. so when he arrives, he's taken by surprise, eyes wide and bright as he realizes what his brother has planned. it's a celebration and al can't help but grin because it's so thoughtful of his friends and his brother to put it together.

the first thing he does is make his way to his brother and wrap him up in a big hug. he squeezes ed and whispers a "thank you" in his ear before pulling away. then, he addresses the party at large: ]

Thanks so much, everyone! This is the best!

MINGLING →

[ after making the rounds, al finds himself over at the table with presents stacked on it. it's been a long time since he's had a birthday party, but he's happy just to have friends and family there to celebrate. still, there are so many people and things to do, he doesn't know where to start. he grabs himself something to drink from the food table, already eyeing the apple pie (!!!) before turning to one of the guests with a smile. ]

Are you having fun? I can't believe how many people have come!

PRESENTS →

[ along with the tables for food and drinks, there's also a place to drop off presents. al will get to it eventually, but he's too busy at the moment making the rounds and enjoying himself. ]

AFTER PARTY (closed to Ed) →

[ after most of the party has died down, al takes his chance to pull his brother aside. it's a moment or privacy and quiet that allows him the chance to truly thank his brother for everything. not just for the party, but for the night before and being able to spend private time with ed. his fingers wind in ed's shirt and he's still smiling enough that it feels like his cheeks hurt. pressing his forehead to ed's, he makes a low noise and whispers again. ]

Thanks for everything, Brother. This was amazing. You are amazing.

Present and a mystery!

[hititwithacrowbar]

[ One of the cards left, someone had put far to much work into. It was all made of magazine letters. It looked like a fancy pretty card on the outside, inside it looked like a stalkers letter, except it had a time and and an address, which was for two days after the party around sunset at the lazer tag arena. If Al knew the address.

The card had no name on it, but near by was a box, inside was the coolest boots Jason had been able to find. After all, the king of kittens should have some bad ass boots.]

[alkahestic]

[ the shoes are definitely cool. al looks them over with glee ( they remind him of his brother's boots, but cooler ), and is even tempted to put them on at that moment, but abstains only because he's checking out the rest of the gift.

the card is strange. it's a bit sketchy given the way it's made of magazine letters, but al figures it must be from someone he and ed know because how else would they know to buy him those boots? he sets the card aside and makes a note to visit the address at its appointed time. ]

[hititwithacrowbar]

[ The card would eventually lead them to the rest of Al's gift. ]

[shoplifter]

[Laura isn't really sure how to buy presents for anyone. There's mention of it, of birthdays needing gifts; Delilah never got a chance to have her birthday, but Laura doesn't remember their being anything but a cake, anyway. Thoughtful and careful, she is quick to ask around for what constitutes as a genuine present. Eventually she settles for these little figurines. Clearly she's done some espionage work to try and decode Alphonse, the guy she's yet to meet, and yet... Edward invited her, so she makes the most of this kind gesture. Also, to eat a lot of the food.

She goes right up to Alphonse and holds up the newspaper-wrapped box.]

Edward's brother.

... Feliz cumpleaños.

[alkahestic]

[ taking the gift from the young girl, al tilts his head in questioning. he doesn't know her but has no doubt that ed is familiar with her. there's something familiar to her, like elicia or even nina, but also different. and since she's made the effort to bring him a gift, he smiles kindly at her and gives her a nod.

what she says doesn't make sense to him, but he can guess the context. it must be "happy birthday" in whatever her language is and that just makes him smile more. ]

Thank you. Mm, I am. My name is Alphonse. What's yours?

[shoplifter]

[She moves her hands to her pockets the moment he takes the gift, looking a bit stiff, a bit awkward, like perhaps this sort of thing is entirely new territory to her (it is). She gives a slight smile and finds some level of social skill inside her.]

Laura.

... Edward said I could come and eat lots of food.

[Nailed it.]

[alkahestic]

[ it's clear the girl feels a bit out of place and that pangs al's heart. so he kneels down in front of her and offers her another smile. a hand is outstretched in offering, though he won't be hurt if she doesn't take it. ]

He's right. You can eat as much as you want. There's plenty to share.

[shoplifter]

[It's not that she's... not wanting to take his hand.

She's just not sure what he wants from her. With confusion, she reaches and grabs it in a rather unorthodox way, with their fingers laced. Not to shake his hand, but just holding it. Is this what you wanted? Clearly this is what you wanted.]

You should eat a lot, too. It's your birthday.

[alkahestic]

[ the strange grip merely makes al beam a little more. she seems a bit confused, so maybe hand shaking is not something done in her world. whatever the case, he's okay like this and even gently tugs on her hand. ]

Don't worry, I will. Do you see that pie over there? [ he gestures with his free hand. ] I'm going to make sure I eat at least half. But if you want some, I'll share with you.

[alchemyfreak]

[Ed doesn't really think much of the night before, this was the big thing - that had been more of a distraction. This also hadn't been his idea though, so at the thanks he just ducks his head slightly, smiling in response to Al's excitement.]

Nah, it was Jay's idea anyway.

[Still, there was more to come and even though the laser tag had also been Jason's mind at work, Edward did have one last surprise for his brother once this was all said and done.]

Besides, you haven't even gotten your gift yet.

[alkahestic]

[ reaching out for his brother, he shakes his head. ]

Doesn't matter who came up with it or what my present is, Brother. To be able to share this with you and our friends... It's perfect.

[ though, that isn't to say al isn't curious about what ed's gotten for him. ]

[alchemyfreak]

[Ed just grins at that response, because of course none of that would matter to Al. Even if he knows Alphonse would be curious about the present, their inquisitive nature was one thing that they shared but his brother was always the more patient (and polite) of the two.]

I’m glad you’re enjoying it, Al. You should probably focus on enjoying the rest of this while I clean up. Night’s not over yet.

[Which has absolutely nothing to do with the party.]

[alkahestic]

[ laughing at that, he gives his brother a gentle nudge with his elbow before reaching up to tug on a bit of ed's long hair. ]

Don't work too hard, Brother, and I promise I won't party too hard either. I still want to spend some time with you when we're all done here.

[alchemyfreak]

You better not, there's still work to be done when this is over.

[Because naturally putting off work for ones' own birthday was just unheard of.]

[alkahestic]

[ giggling a bit, alphonse mock-salutes his brother and nods. ]

Of course, Brother! I won't slack off at all.

mingling

[tempredmental]

[Keith nodded.]

Yeah. It's a nice party.

[It wasn't crazy overwhelming for the introverted desert boy here, so that was already a plus in its favor. The ball had been a lot to take in all at once, so he was relieved that this was quieter.]

Though, I think the really important part here is if you're having fun, right? It's your party.

sorry for the delay

[alkahestic]

[ while the elrics are known for being extravagant in their transmutations, the way they spend time together has always been a bit more low-key. family has always been important to them, which is why al grins when he sees shiro arrive with a friend from his world. ]

I'm having tons of fun! Did you see? Jason even baked me a pie. I can't wait to try it.

np :)

[tempredmental]

What kind of pie is it?

[It was good to see someone having fun. Keith couldn't help but smile a little.]

[alkahestic]

Apple! Brother and I have a friend back home that would make apple pie for us. She learned it from another friend of ours. [ and at the indirect mention of hughes' wife, al's smile falters a little, but he hitches it back up. ] It's my favorite food, especially since I can eat again now.

[tempredmental]

[The hesitation is small enough that Keith doesn't immediately catch on, but the comment about being able to eat again is something he gets immediately confused by.]

What do you mean, 'eat again'?

[alkahestic]

Ah... [ huffing a nervous laugh, Al rubs the back of his head. ] It's a long story, but, um. For a while? I was nothing more than an empty suit of armor. I couldn't really eat or sleep, anything like that.

[tempredmental]

......

[Keith had no idea how to answer that.]

Uh... right.

How?

[alkahestic]

[ laughing nervously again, he shrugs. ] Like I said, it's a long story. The short of it is that Brother used alchemy to affix my soul to the armor and saved me from dying.

[tempredmental]

I didn't even know someone could do that. That's...

Wait, alchemy... like chemical science stuff? or... something else?

[Because, as Keith was learning with the Lions, Altean alchemy wasn't exactly like Earth alchemy... and many modern scientists looked at it as more of a pseudoscience or philosophy than an actual thing. Beyond that, the only thing that Keith could think of was the phrase "changing lead to gold", which sounded more like chemistry than anything else.]