[end of vacation] cool youth party for cool youths

[and_survive]

It wasn't a birthday party, for all that she'd turned seventeen a few days ago. Or, at least, crossed the date that marked that; there was always that confusion about time, here, and not just how it meant she was either seventeen or wouldn't be born for another three years. It was, as a lot of things about Darrow were, slightly out of joint.

That wasn't why, though. She just hadn't thought of it such. It was a party to mark the creeping end of summer vacation, the fact that although the season itself was still going strong, school would have its claws in them soon enough and then it would be gone, the last of the hot days fading while they were stuck inside.

She thought it made for a good venue for the cause. Konoha-Uchi didn't entirely feel like hers; it was a home, but one that she'd moved into and been left behind in, as with so much in her life, and she didn't have a sense of ownership, just a simpler one of residence. Which seemed a little fitting, frankly, for inviting her friends and their friends and frankly anyone else in an expanding circle of youth to come on by and live it up before commitments got their hooks in all of them again. She'd loaded the pickup with food and drinks and ice and was still relying a little on people bringing a thing or two themselves, but she'd done alright, she thought, considering she still wasn't technically old enough to be getting some of what was absolutely vital to any good party, but she'd managed, with some help.

Aside from the bedrooms, which she'd closed off -- Korra's because she'd never been quite sure what to do with that one, now, her own because Kyle could make all the social media posts about soul-searching quests to be open and honest with his love that he liked, he wasn't going to be open and honest with his love in her bedroom if he showed up -- she'd opened all the living spaces up to the outside, allowing breezes and people both to sweep through as they would, between the indoors and the shaded spaces of the porches. Even the lake, if anyone got hot or drunk or just plain whimsical enough to throw themselves in.

On a day like this one it didn't seem like the bar for that would be very high. The water was clear and quiet and calm, much like the surrounds usually were. Sometimes, that quiet seclusion was a goal in and of itself.

Today, it was mostly a good setting in which to get raucous.

[gathering post for gathering in. gather. party.]

Comments

[and_survive]

Her hair was still purple, because she was pretty sure Darrow High didn't have any rules against it. She hadn't checked, because if it turned out she was mis-remembering she didn't want to have to change it back just yet. Essentially, she wasn't doing anything preparatory, because once you did it was almost like that was the end of the vacation, and she wasn't giving it up just yet. They were still new concepts. In the QZ everything just kept marching on, and once she'd left the QZ she'd had to keep marching on.

Here, there was this strange period where nothing much was expected of her. Maybe she expected certain things from herself, but she could shuck those off, take solace in this time that was built seemingly purely for her to goof off in, and attempt nothing more than achieving even higher levels of goofing off, which hopefully this party would bring. She had no more goals than drinking, having fun, maybe making out with someone without it immediately being followed by horrific trauma.

It wasn't much to ask, she didn't think, but she'd settle for the first two, starting with maybe trying to get good at beer pong and then drifting outside to see what was up there.

[catch her anytime from early afternoon to evening, anywhere about, however many sheets to the wind is your preference]

[fatesdesign]

Rapunzel loves how big of a deal birthdays are here. It's always a cause for celebration, and this time is certainly no different. Ellie said that the party wasn't necessarily for her birthday, but it's close enough.

She shows up a little late with a box of cupcakes and a bunch of colorful balloons, hair braided and cascading down her back while Pascal sitting on her shoulder. She's wearing a blue dress that swishes around her thighs as she moves through the crowd.

"Ellie!" She says once she spots her, bouncing over to her with a grin and holding out the balloons. "Happy birthday!"

[formicine]

The purple hair makes Ellie pretty easy to spot, and Blue slips off from the slight formation her friends seem to have taken walking in to come give her a hug.

Birthdays are, in her mind, a celebration that the person in question exists and has made it through another year. Ellie's birthday being so close to her own, and to Blue's one-year anniversary of appearing here from out of the cave, just hammers home the significance and the total transitive nature of this place. There's so, so little reason for them to even know each other, but this place has crossed their paths, and she's feeling bold and brilliant about it, some little part of Ellie's story.

"Hey," she says, sneaking behind Ellie and wrapping an arm around her waist, standing on her toes to give her a kiss on the cheek over her shoulder. "Happy birthday!"

[thatsallthereis]

There was a litany of reasons Gansey found himself at the party. He wanted to meet people, to get an idea of what it might be like to adjust to a place like this. He wanted to find like minds and put faces to names.

Like Ellie. What he knew about Ellie could barely fill the one of the plastic cups that lined the table. He knew she and Blue were seeing each other and that she had purple hair and -- that was about it. Even a Solo cup would be too large for his knowledge; maybe a shot glass was more fitting.

For this reason, his reasons for being there were also political. If he was aware of her, surely she was aware of him. There was a line to be walked between the political and the personal. It would be a challenge, but Gansey was confident. He had no other choice.

"You're Ellie, right?" He tiled himself into her eyesight, smiled. "I'm Gansey. I brought you this." He handed her a 40 of vodka that he may have procured from Ronan's collection. Gansey had been taught to never attend a party empty-handed. This was not that kind of party, but this was also not a situation Gansey had quite expected to be in. "To say thank you. This place is gorgeous."

[light_of_the_world]

Hild had never been to Konoha-Uchi before, but as with all places in the countryside that were open to her sight when she went walking, she knew it. The beauty of the place had caught her eye on more than one occasion, and she was pleased to know the one who lived here now so she could have the excuse to visit and look inside.

It was too hot still for substantial clothes. She knew the house was on a lake, and the possibility of swimming might arise, but in her bag Hild had stashed away, along with her other treasures, a her flimsy bikini for later. (How light and insubstantial modern clothes felt as compared to the fabrics back home never ceased to amaze her on some level.) The light sundress she wore did more than enough to save her from the heat.

When she found Ellie, the girl was standing at a table full of red cups, a curly haired boy filling each with a small (in Hild's eyes) measure of beer.

"What's this?" she asked in lieu of actually saying hello. Her attention, once caught, was hard to take away.

[fatesdesign]

A lot of her friends are going to be starting school soon, and Rapunzel tries not to feel like she's missing out on something. She did pick up a packet of information on how to obtain something called a GED, which is apparently an alternative to finishing high school. There are classes once a week with other adults, and she thinks it'll be good for her.

Summer is winding down, and Rapunzel isn't looking forward to the snow coming back. Apparently that's still awhile away, but she still plans on soaking up every bit of warm sun while she can. The dress that she's wearing helps, letting the fading sun hit her shoulders as she moves through the backyard with Pascal on top of her head. Her hair falls down her back in braids and waves, the bottom of it brushing the grass as she walks.

"Hey, you want a beer?" Someone asks, holding out a bottle and twisting off a metal cap. Rapunzel reaches out and takes it, sniffing curiously before taking a sip. It's truly awful, but she gives the person a weak smile anyway. She doesn't want to be rude, after all.

"Thanks," she squeaks out, after finally managing to swallow. Why do people drink the stuff?


[Be the generous beer giver, or see her making a face at it after they walk away.]

[sayshazam]

"Pretty gross, right? I thought drinking beer would be cool until I tried my first one. It's nasty," Billy said, giving Rapunzel a smile. He knew what it was like to feel the social pressure to drink. He didn't understand liking alcohol at all but apparently a bunch of other people did.

"If you don't want to drink but don't want to have a ton of people offering you beer you can just carry around a half full bottle."

[madesomenoise]

She's here - of course she's here. Ellie's pretty much the best friend that she's got in Darrow, other than, maybe, Jack and Carson, and Ellie's throwing a party so Girl is going to be there. She's streaked her curls with bright colours, her dress is slinky and tight and she feels like a real, real Killjoy. It's amazing.

She's also maybe, possibly a tiny bit drunk.
So maybe she'll just ask Ellie if she can crash, rather than going home where Poison can see her?

Maybe.
But, for now? For now, there's dancing.

[sayshazam]

"Whoa, your hair looks awesome."

Billy didn't mean to blurt it out like some sort of socially awkward weirdo but he kinda was a socially awkward weirdo and her hair did look pretty cool. He was probably lucky he didn't blurt out how the dress looked on her or something. She did look super cool though.

"Sorry, I just- you have a really cool... fashion. Look. Thing."

[and_survive]

"Sunshine!" Ellie said, spotting her, beaming, and making a beeline for her, drink sloshing a little with the movement. "Okay, when your boyfriend sees you in that dress you are not using my room. You can use the guesthouse."

She was kidding, sort of, in the way that all of that was entirely true but mostly just in the spirit of fun.

[formicine]

"Hey," Blue says, dancing over to bump her shoulder affectionately against Dee's. "Sunny D, you're making me feel under dressed."

Granted, Blue is well aware that there is no dress code and would promptly ignore it if there was one. But, her idea of "party look" being a tank top cut into fringe from underbust down, jean shorts and a lot of eyeliner, she can admit when she's outdone and Dee is outdoing most of the room.

"You look great. How goes?"

[iwasmore]

Noah is starting college soon, so this might be his last party like this. After the fourteenth he'll have to trade in for frat parties with beer and bros.

Yeah right.

The kind of cool thing about technically being eternally seventeen is that he can get away with still being a teenager when he wants to. He came with his friends in the Pig, dressed in a tank top and shorts, a wide brimmed hat shielding his eyes, set to enjoy the rest of summer for as long as possible.

"Hi!" he calls when he finally manages to climb out of the Camaro, looking for Ellie - or a table - a large watermelon tucked under each arm. "I brought two watermelons!"

(There was a two for one sale at the grocery store, and Noah is pretty sure you can make some kind of fruity vodka drink with watermelon. Or maybe that's champagne?)

[and_survive]

Ellie stared at him. Then she stared at his melons.

"...you sure did," she said, laughing. "What the hell, man? Wait, are watermelons a big party thing?"

She couldn't rule out there being a whole variety of uses and purposes for watermelons at a party. Maybe she'd been lax in not having any and Noah was saving her ass.

[train_baby]

"Hi," Yona says, walking over with a drink in her hand like it's her job to greet people, despite not knowing whose party this is or how she wound up here in the first place. If it mattered, she thinks, she wouldn't have heard about it, or someone would have noticed her seeming out of place by now, though she can't imagine herself being overly fazed by that. If her not knowing the host were a problem, then she could just introduce herself. That seems like it would take care of the problem.

It's nice to see a familiar face, though, even if it's been a while since she's last run into Noah. "Do you need help with those?" The bringing of watermelons to a party, she doesn't question. She can't think of any other she's been to where someone arrived with fruit in tow, but her experience with parties is limited to the time she's been in Darrow, so for all she knows, she's just missed the ones where this was a normal occurrence.

[best_thief]

Lila had been invited to Ellie's party, and after being told that it wasn't a ball (which is the only sort of party Lila has been to, or rather, crashed) and dresses were optional, Lila remembered the date and decided to go.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't all these people being loud and, sometimes, rowdy. Parties to her mind had always been for adults, formal things for the upper class. This was like a tavern of much younger people had spilled outside into a large gathering. Almost like the beach had been, but without the children or adults. Lila considered herself old after taking care of herself so long, but she knew she was only a few years above Ellie.

At least this party included drinks, because Lila felt she needed a few. Especially after a boy, who introduced himself as Kyle, put his arm around her. He nearly lost said arm, but Lila didn't want to ruin Ellie's party with bloodshed, so she instead upended her drink over his head.

Ignoring the boy's shock, Lila returned to the drinks table to get herself another.

[train_baby]

Yona hadn't been invited. In fact, if asked, she wouldn't remember how she heard about the party in the first place, only that there was one, and she's never been able to turn down a party, especially one so different from anything she'd normally do. She doesn't get out to this part of Darrow much, and for all that she loves the noise and the chaos of the city, there's something equally fascinating about being out here. She'd never seen a landscape like this before arriving in the city, never knew what was under all those feet of snow. It may well be for the best that she didn't. She can only imagine how much she would have felt like she was missing out on.

Being determined not to let anything fit that description again is all the more reason she turns up, a bottle in her purse that she'd meant to keep for herself but somewhat reluctantly sets out with the other drinks. It seems the least she can do when she doesn't even know whose house this is, and it's not like there isn't still plenty for her to have.

She does so, too, a cup that isn't her first beside her as she sits by the stairs leading up to the house, her skirt hiked up and her legs dangling in the water, absently moving back and forth. There's a part of her that's sorely tempted just to pull her dress over her head and jump in, but she refrains. Instead, seeing a shadow behind her, she leans back on her palms, head tipping all the way back so she can grin at the person standing there, nearly upside down in doing so. "Hi."

[and_survive]

They hadn't exactly had parties in the Quarantine Zone so much as the odd illicit gathering, and not often. Certainly nothing like what people did here, and even though she'd been here a while she wasn't certain she was doing it right.

She thought she was, though, at least a little, because people she didn't know were turning up, and that had to be part of the point, right? Sometimes too many new people was reason for caution. But sometimes, especially when it was a party full of people near her own age, it was just an opportunity for fresh faces with fresh stories.

"Hey," she said, tilting her head to the side and leaning to try and get her own head as far to upside-down as she could, so that they'd be on a similar orientation. "What's up?"

[sayshazam]

It was kind of weird to be here. Even with Korra having been gone for so long it still felt like her place and Billy still missed her. The hurt had faded a little with time but it wasn't gone and seeing Korra's house (and it would always be Korra's house to him, sorry Ellie) made it hurt a bit more than normal. But Ellie was his friend and he liked her and he liked hanging out with her so he just sort of ignored the hurt as much as he could. It wasn't Ellie's fault.

He recognized a few people from school and a few more just from being around. Darrow wasn't big enough that you didn't see the same people over and over after a while. Everyone seemed to be having a good time though, hanging out and drinking.

Billy didn't really drink that much but Ellie had asked him to bring some beer. Weirdly enough he was probably the person that could easily get some. All he had to do was turn into Shazam and go buy some. So Billy was showing up to the party with a keg. Only now he realized he was going to be "that guy that could get a keg for your party". Crap. Ellie was probably the only person he would do this for.

"Um, I have beer?" Billy called out, shifting the keg from one shoulder to the other. "What- what do I even do with this giant can of beer?"

[and_survive]

She was going to have to remember that: it turned out, Billy was the guy who could get a keg for your party.

She wouldn't have minded at all if he'd showed up without something, of course, people coming -- her friends coming -- was the important part. But it was extra helpful. It added to things.

He was also, apparently, the guy who could carry a keg. She was impressed. She didn't know if she'd have been able to, or at least not on her shoulder like that. She worked herself, made sure to stay strong and get stronger, because if nothing else she'd spent a lot of time having to pull herself up onto things, but the whole thing... she'd have to work at that.

Probably they should use the keg and not just put it aside for her to work out with, though.

"Billy!" she said, bounding over. "Today, you're my hero. Uh, shit, let's- kitchen, I guess?"

[thatsallthereis]

Though it didn't make sense, Gansey was surprised this was a house party.

When he, Noah, and Blue pulled up, Gansey had expected something... different. This felt so much like the location of an Aglionby party, save for the building's Asian aesthetic. There weren't a lot of tea houses in Henrietta.

It was a gorgeous place, Gansey noted as he entered. It had been well-prepared for a party and Gansey found he was in a similar state. With a bottle of wine he'd procured from a less-than-legitimate retailer (he'd gone for label over legality -- he was somewhat used to having more resources at his disposal when purchasing a gift), he wove through the party, looking for a crowd in which to settle himself. In Henrietta, someone would have shouted Gansey boy from across the room by now and Gansey would know exactly what sort of place to put himself in. In Darrow, he was a stranger. Anonymity was a blessing and a curse.

[train_baby]

She's fairly certain she's never seen him before, but to Yona, that doesn't — and never has — made a difference. If that weren't the case, she wouldn't be here at all, at a party thrown by someone she doesn't know, uncertain who the host even is. A party is still a party, and all of her friends in Darrow started off as people she hadn't met before. There's no reason for this to be any exception in that front, or for it to give her pause in circulating through the people who have gathered, sipping from a drink in her hand.

"Hello," she says when she sees him, thinking idly that there's something just a little unusual about him, though she wouldn't be the one to determine what it is. "Did you just get here?"

[boywhoflew]

When Dee had said they were going to a house party, somehow an Asian tea house hadn't been what he had expected. Not that he had ever really been to a proper house party (that one house warming he still felt like he might have crashed absolutely did not count) and nothing much to compare to but still... he figured it was just another one of those things that could only be explained by Darrow being Darrow.

Dee had flitted off the second they were inside, ready to dance and drink he had just snorted and left her to it. He wasn't sure if it was the Killjoy in her or just her, but whenever it came time to let loose and make noise she was off like a shot, and he was fine with letting her have her fun as he settled in.

The only problem being that now that he was one his own, he didn't really know what to do with himself.

"Mingling," he muttered under his breath as he grabbed a bottle of something alcoholic and started edging into the party. "I can totally do mingling."

[and_survive]

"Hey, you gotta help me out here," Ellie said, once she realized her path through the crowd had fetched her up next to Sunshine's boyfriend, about whom she'd heard -- from Sunshine, naturally, but also because he was that guy Billy punched at prom -- but never met. "Am I meant to interrogate you, or what?"

[formicine]

Blue is pretty sure she's either made a really good decision or the worst one in history, inviting everyone in Hywel to Ellie's birthday; the feeling in the Pig echoes it, with Noah loaded down with two enormous watermelons, Gansey with a bottle of wine and her holding her birthday present for Ellie in her hands.

About halfway there, she makes a joke about Noah's melons because there's no Ronan to do it, and they all laugh, and it's good.

Still, as soon as she gets out of the car, she's overtaken by everything. She's never been to this place before and it's --

Well, it's gorgeous, and it feels like she's stepped into another country, maybe another world. As far, anyway, as she can get in Darrow, and she steps away briefly to take her time. To look at the flowers, the rocks, to investigate the architecture, as though she's actually in Japan and can soak it all in.

It's nice, and for a moment, stepping onto the back porch over the lake, she feels truly transported from Darrow.

Someone's laughter cuts through the peace, and she grins, happy Ellie's gotten herself a good party. Maybe she'll be jumping into this lake later. You never know.

[light_of_the_world]

"It's beautiful, isn't it." It was very much a statement, not a question, that Hild voiced as she glided to a stop beside Blue. Her green eyes were fixed on the lake as well, absorbing every detail. She had walked by the place more than once in her journeys out into the country, hunting down herbs and rooms, solitude and familiar surroundings. She knew the views from outside looking in, but not inside looking out till now.

"The way the flowers fall onto the water... Everything looks like a picture." She tilted her head down towards Blue, a smile on her lips that hinted at a secret, though there absolutely was none. "Can you imagine waking up to this each morning?"

[yougetup]

There's a party. Miles isn't usually big on parties, but he wonders if part of that is because he knows what would have happened to him back home if either of his parents had caught him going to one like this.

Dad would have told me I didn't get to see daylight again. Mom might have sicced grandma on me.

There are a couple of things I really don't miss from home.

Still, his schedule is about to get a heck of a lot busier. It'll be back to trying to fit in Spider-Man stuff between homework and classes and trying not to only pass everything by the skin of his teeth this year.

And even though he's actually there, he still hasn't decided if he's actually going to drink. So he's spent most of the 20 minutes he's been at the party standing awkwardly at the table of refreshments.

Who am I kidding? I'm just gonna end up with a Coke anyway.

[and_survive]

He looked a little bit serious. He put her in mind of Sam, a little bit, which was not a memory she could linger on and stay cheerful, and she was determinedly doing that. She'd thrown a party for the sheer fact that she could, and she wasn't going to let where she'd been before interfere with this important purpose.

"You go to my school, right?" she said. "Do we have anything together? Shit, I guess we wouldn't know. I'm Ellie."

[forthelittleguy]

So, a party. They're not exactly my strong suit, but I got an invite down the grapevine from Noah, and if I'm gonna be going to school soon anyway, I'd rather meet people now than in homeroom. A bunch of them will probably be drunk anyway, I figure, so I'm thinking it'll be harder to embarrass myself.

That's what I'm hoping, anyway.

I stand just outside on the sidewalk for a moment when I get to the address, partly because I'm hesitating, partly because... well, it sounds like it's a pretty big party and I know like, three people.

You have superpowers. This is gonna be nothing, right?

After taking one breath to kind of steel myself, I head in, smiling awkwardly at the people I make eye contact with while looking around for familiar faces. Yeah, I'm here to meet people, but... I mean, you know. The chip bowl is right here.

[and_survive]

He was new, Ellie thought, or at least new to her. She didn't know everyone, and it was entirely possible there were people at her school of whom she had zero awareness. She tried to keep track, out of sheer curiosity at the mechanics of life in a place unaffected by cordyceps, and because you never knew when something would be interesting, but there was only so much time.

And there was a whole other school, besides. Still, she thought he was new. He was hanging around the chip bowl a little like he was, too.

"Hey, did you hear about the guy who got beaned in the face with a can of soda?" she said, waiting only a fraction of a second before cutting in with, "he's okay, it was a soft drink," and mugging a little.

[i_win]

Nearly a year later and things hadn't really settled down, but Carl was starting school soon and Judith was safe, and that was all he really had it in him to care about.

That night, Judith was with Beth, and as much as he hated putting extra pressure on her when everything was so awful for her, he really, really needed the night off.

Carrying a bag of soda and chips and store-bought dip through the house to the kitchen, Carl realized how much he missed Konoha-Uchi. Sure, those months hiding out had sucked, despite all the freedom he'd had, and they hadn't lived there long enough to consider it home, but for a while, it had been the closest thing that he and Judith had to one. Maybe it was because Ellie was his age, or maybe it was because they understood each other, or maybe it was because he'd had a crush on her (that he was over, okay?), but he'd felt welcome there, in a way he hadn't with Beth and Daryl.

That was probably screwed up. Most likely, he was screwed up, but it wasn't like anyone could really blame him for that.

Grabbing a soda from the stash he brought, he wandered into the living area, awkward in that way he was (and probably always would be) at parties. Most kids his age didn't worry about staying sober enough to handle a crisis. They weren't concerned about mapping out the exits, or cataloging usable weapons.

Though, with this crowd, he probably wasn't the only one.

[and_survive]

In truth, it was a comfort to know there were other people who came to an event like this and kept up an edge of concern, of instinctive planning driven by the knowledge that things happened.

Partly, it was a selfish kind of comfort. Maybe all of it was, because the foundation was that it meant she wasn't alone, and over that was the fact that if someone else was, someone she trusted, she didn't have to worry quite as hard. She could drink more, and see if that managed to shut that part of her up. Sometimes it did. Sometimes it just made it louder.

She was doing okay now, though. She knew Konoha-Uchi and she knew where her weapons and her supplies were -- and that she had plenty -- and that helped.

"Carl!" she called, weaving through the people to him. "We gotta figure out something we can dominate at. I did okay at the beer pong thing but it's not like I spent a lot of time bouncing balls, y'know?"