Twelve PV Invited closed

"Happy birthday June! Thank you for your." Crumples up the paper, tossing it to the trash bin. "Hey June it's your birthday! So Happy Birthday! Thank you for being such a good friend...." Scratching the quill against the paper, the words on it molding with the newly applied ink. Monica, sitting at her desk, is encircled by crumpled or scratched out pages of happy birthday cards.
She looked over at the time.... it was nearly time for the party. She threw herself back in her chair, staring hopelessly at the wall, calling out for inspiration for a birthday card. But the blank drywall gave none.
It was June Selwyn's birthday, and along with that, a party to celebrate! Having only crossed paths with June a small amount of times, it was a bit of a bewilderment to be invited to such an affair. Not that Monica had anything against June, quite the contrary, she rather liked what she knew of June, but it's always hard to tell if a friendship is truly growing, or if a person is simply being polite.
Monica had spent the better half of the day mulling over a perfect birthday card for June, unfortunately she didn't quite know what to say in it. Everything Monica put on the paper felt too much like a card you got from that one relative, that you never really see, or hear from, until it's your birthday, and they throw in an envelope some money along with a small HAPPY BIRTHDAY, message that only says, "This is what I am obligated to give you".
"Why is it so hard to say, 'Happy Birthday! I think you are great!' Without seeming daft?"
Monica stared down at the empty page. If the words wouldn’t come, perhaps it was time for a new approach. Lifting her quill, she placed it down, and began to add strokes on the white sheet before her. She made a first long line, tracing up the ce tre of the page. Travelling up this line, she added in some strokes, sparsely placed on it. At the bottom of the page, she added swirls, that grew and inter-formed with one another, transforming into a platform that supported the “weight” of the centre line. Crowning this line were peddles. Building off of one another, filling out the top of the page, and bringing the image to life.
Taking a moment to look at her progress, she adjusted. Adding tips to the small branching lines that ran up the stem, turning some into thorns, but others into leaves.
She took out some red and green colours, and began to fill in the image on the page. The centre line, now filled with an emerald green. The peddles at the top, each with their own scarlet red. Now the picture was coming to life.
Monica took darker and lighter shade of red and green, adding in shading, and creating different areas of light on the rose.
Finally, just above the finished peddles, she wrote in the best cursive she could form, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'
Monica lifted up her creation, taking in every angle, and double checking all of her shading.
The rose was exactly to her liking. It reflected pose, strength, as well as a delicate beauty, and life. This is what she wanted to say, but lacked the words to do so.
Monica, finally satisfied with her card, gathered her things to head off to the festivities.
Monica was the first to arrive, She found June, finishing laying out blankets underneath a hung up birthday banner. The sky overhead was clouded, but the rain seemed to be holding off.
"Hey June!" Monica called out as she approached.
"Happy Birthday!" She handed the card to June, "It's not much." Monica stood and looked around, it was quite a nice set up, simple. But still welcoming.
"Do you need any help setting things up?"

Interacting with: @June Selwyn Mentioning: @Monica Evans

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Date: 23rd June 2022 Outfit: x

What exactly were you meant to say to a childhood friend you've just recently remembered? Great question. Unfortunately, the answer didn't seem to be in any textbook in the library. Though Adelaide was excited to attend June's party, and thankful that the girl had even invited her, she was also a little nervous. It was more than likely going to be a bit awkward, but hopefully things went back to the way they used to be quickly. For June's gift, Adelaide had settled on giving June a copy of one of her own all time favorite wizard adventure books. She really hoped June liked it.

When it hit 4pm, Adelaide made her way down to the grounds where the party would be held, June's wrapped present in one hand. The blonde slightly regretted wearing shorts, considering it was raining a little, but it was too late to go back to the castle and change. She didn't want to be late to the party. So, she just had to deal with it. Luckily, when she got to the party area, there was only two people there - June, and one other person Adelaide didn't recognize.

"Hi, June," Adelaide smiled, waving at the girl, "Happy birthday!" She held the present out in front of her, "I know you said gifts weren't required, but I wanted to give you something. It's one of my favorite books, about a wizard who goes on all these different adventures and defeats a lot of different villains. Very action-packed. I hope you like it!" She looked around the area at the set-up, and she had to admit it was quite nice. At least June had gone ahead and laid out some blankets so they didn't need to sit on the wet grass. Hopefully it would be a good day, despite the dismal weather.

Leonard Oaksworth

Interacting With: @June Selwyn | Mentioning: @Maggie Hawkins & @Monica Evans | Dialogue Hex: #143314

Forevermore riding a horse so high its shoes were hoove-fitting steel stilettos and its bodily apotheosis was more qualified for basketball than the legitimate half-giants in their classes, Leonard Oaksworth considered himself an excellent expert at and within many things, but not even his dexterity in self-deception could convince anyone that he was good at partying. If everyone else, as he so often considered, had been built for socialising and making genuine connections with other people, he’d quite simply been abandoned at the factory midway through the process, tossed carelessly onto Earth with a bit too much oil in his brain and a little too little heat in his heart. He was mechanical in many ways, and while it would be expected for this fact to work in his favour, it instead meant he’d be completely clueless as to the emotional whims of his peers, hanging up glittery streamers like there was no tomorrow for clashing decor palettes. Still, a machine could very well throw on a bag of skin and a fashionably vintage suit and pretend to have fun as it chatted and chortled along with a bunch of absolute strangers.

There were five steps to the perfect party, in Leonard’s mind. Of course, each step was to be cleanly separated into fifteen chapters with fifty clauses intercut with around five hundred articles and at least five thousand footnotes for each word that went into excruciating detail about any atom that dare have a chance of interfering with any part of the plan, which meant it was horribly succinct and simplified by the standards of the snake, but he would have to make do with the equally succinct period of five days wherein he could come up with a rational response to whatever June Selwyn chucked at his incredibly dense head. First was the conceptualisation of the event, which primarily fell on its organisers when it came to the meat of things: figuring out the ‘why’s and ‘how’s of the latest installation in Everything Will Go Wrong: Magical Edition’s premium almanac. Second was the arrangement of the affair’s ‘when’s and ‘where’s, wherein he prayed to the gods of prefects almighty that Selwyn was truly smart enough to not have hidden a secret, utterly illegal location for her twelfth bash somewhere in the fine print of her invitations. Third was the scheduling of entertainment, which Leonard was certain would be easily provided with the inevitable capture of Maggie Hawkins for her crimes against humankind. Fourth was formulating an answer to the ‘who’s of the party, bulleting down the folks most likely to show up and have a good time (in which case Leonard figured he should’ve gotten to expanding June’s social circle sooner). Finally, there were the toppings on the cake, so to speak, blowing the candle and punctuating the fire’s extinguishing with all the tearful thanks for socks and gran’s sweaters and the grand finale of a speech that would dismiss from the odious occasion that was interacting with other people by saying how much one valued and loved their time with said other people.

It was at the very last step he feared he’d fumble, all his efforts coming to nought by unintentionally wrapping a horde of explosive insults in colourful paper and bestowing it with an incredibly offensive bow. There was a smidgen more than a children’s picture book to tell when it came to his history with the birthday girl, so it wasn’t as though he could fully personalise anything, and it would’ve been downright slothful to repeat everything covered in his RSVP in marginally fancier calligraphy. For then, his only goal was to further the development of his companionship with the younger student, to earn another invitation for the June of next year and get a chance to do better. Inspired by a present gleaned from his own birthday, he dug through piles of filled notebooks to find it: a thick journal bound with smooth brown hide. Leonard didn’t make his purchases lightly, but he could never quite find the right beginning to a book promising to bear his greatest burden since he spent a good amount of quid on the item. It was maddening, to not have anyone to talk to about his perfectionism, and he couldn’t even find the perfect start to perfectly describe his perfectionism.He could only hope that Selwyn would fare better in such matters of letting one’s mind flow out unto ink, that she wasn’t so consumed, devoured by the doubts of oneself that came with every small decision. That she would, well, have fun with it. Doodle little vipers during duelling season, number up her top novels, films, and albums for the year, make plans for world domination and the ultimate genocide of everyone who’s ever wronged you. The totally normal teen girl things.

“Happy birthday, June Selwyn.” At last, he approached his fellow Slytherin with a smile and a wave before bringing out the journal and the lizard wizard of the hour: Merlin Normandy Leonardius Rosconai Owain Ddraig-Oaksworth. The squirming little thing had ever so politely declined putting on its formal attire and made its dislike of the drizzling climate known, but he didn’t intend on breaking his promise of bringing an adorable plus one. “It’s supposedly bound with real leather, but I figure what matters more is what you put on the inside. I did write a small note on the first page, but feel free to skip it if you’ve had enough of my rambling writing.”

Fortunately for June Selwyn, the blithering and blathering pulled straight from his terribly ouroboros-like tongue would cease as he harkened to the first guest and her extra present. While the celebration’s current setup seemed more or less finalised with a few droplets dampening its polish, he would be glad for any excuse that could both bolster his burgeoning friendship with the girl and a reputation of reasonable responsibility he fancied more and more as they were to make the eventual transition to another school year.

“Oh, yes, if you need any assistance with anything, I too am here to help.” He saluted the birthday girl in a peppy manner best befitting number one on the list of the most over-the-top gestures to give to someone who was very much still in acquaintanceship. Then again, it was more appropriate than whatever vulgarities Maggie Hawkins had up the sleeves of her robes, so he let it lie along with his offer for assistance.

No one was there, and then all of a sudden three people had sprung up at the same time. It was exciting, the type of nervous-excited that bubbles up in your stomach when you realize that something is really real, and not your perfectly-constructed imagining of it. The birthday party had begun. Now there was room for error, more things to take into account. June straightened her posture and took a deep breath as Monica greeted her. Here we go.

"Hello, Monica! Thanks for coming!" June smiled, her eyes lighting up at the card Monica handed her. "Monica, thank you so much!" She set the card down on a space of one of the blankets she had specifically reserved for presents. "I'll read it later, if that's alright."

Just as June was taking a breath to continue the conversation, another person came into view. A familiar sight, but one June hadn't regarded in a long time. An embarrassingly long time. She waved back at her childhood friend, "Adelaide! You came! I'm sorry for not reaching out during the year, I just-" June couldn't find the exact right words to say. Better not to say any at all, then. She smiled, "I just missed you, that's all." June took the gift, appreciating the wrapping before putting it next to the card on the ground. "Adelaide, thank you so much! I'm quite impressed that you've found something that isn't already in our library back home."

And then the third arrived. Of course Leonard Oaksworth was the type to arrive precisely on-time for things. It was wonderful. And he was, of course, the type to keep true to his promises, as June let out a small squeal of delight when she saw Merlin. "Oaksworth! Thank you so much, and you brought Merlin!" June peered at the lizard, unable to hold back the smile that seemed to appear whenever she saw or thought of the little creature. "Thanks for coming, both of you." She stood upright once more, accepting Leonard's gift and flipping through the pages, resisting the (incredibly strong) temptation to drop everything and read his note immediately. She had to be strong, appear put-together and suave in front of the upperclassman. She closed the journal and set it on top of the wrapped book. "It's wonderful, Leonard Oaksworth, thank you. And, quite honestly, I don't think I could tire of your 'rambling writing'. Your 'répondez s'il nous plaît' was so articulate that I've saved it with my copy of 'The Castle Around Your Bones'." June stopped abruptly as her cheeks flushed slightly. Perhaps it was not a good idea to admit such things to someone you were, to put it simply, trying to impress. "Anyways, this is a lovely gift, thank you."

"Um, well, I'm fairly set up already, but thank you all. Oh! Could someone get that corner of the blanket right there? It's a bit wonky..."

Time went by quite quickly once the little trio of party-goers had arrived. After an hour or so of playing games that Monica had brought and idle talk, a rip of blue sky appeared in the clouds. Sunlight poured through, beautifully illuminating the patch of land where the small party was; as if a spotlight was shining on the students. Someone was walking towards the group, but the sun was in June's eyes and she couldn't make out exactly who it was. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the light and squinted to try and get a closer look...

This was amazing. Absolutely genius. And way better than spending the day figuring out the rest of this prank set up!

“Henry, you’re a genius.” He shifted the crappy slip-n-slide they’d gotten sent under the guise of a party and well, now it wasn’t much of a lie, was it? Now it would be used for a party! Just a crashed one. Oh, it would be great though. The birthday group wouldn’t know what hit em; might even thank them for lightening up the party with the glory that was their water gun stash.

The 2 boys were great at crashing after all, why would parties be any different?

“Okay, okay! Last minute prep.” He said, pausing to plop their things on the ground. The cauldron he’d brought slushed with water, a few extra water guns floating in the lake water. He shoved at the green and blue plastic with his toe as he spoke, “how are the balloons holding up?” Said balloons were 2 simple red ones they’d got last minute and quickly filled with some confetti and red powder Elsi had left over in his trunk. They’d be able to pop em easily, sending the confetti & powder flying through the air and covering the poor sop closest to it. They weren’t exactly holding up as well as they had been, what with the extra weight and tiny bits of helium they’d let out when getting the confetti in but they still kinda floated! So good enough!

They each had one really good water gun, large and half haphazardly decorated in their house colors, both were filled to the brim with lake water already. But aside from the cauldron of water was the water bottle Henry had, for quick ammo refills when on the run…

Elsi nodded with a smile when everything checked out on Henry's end. “Good, cause I think we found the birthday bash on the invite you found.” Both boys would be able to peek towards the group; a drop of rain pelted his head, another pooled into the watery cauldron. “Look’s like they’ve been at it for a while, I think,” a beam of light broke the clouds, like a challenge, “now is a perfect time to crash a party.”

Henry would hand over the balloons while the 2 dropped the slip-n-slide and Elsian put down the cauldron. Then, they’d raise hell with the water guns after saying happy birthday. Easy peasy!

Or at least it was in theory.

Hopefully this group could take a little joke in the form of a water fight.

“Ok, ok.” He unrolled the plastic, squinting at how much tinier it was in person. “Do the thing!” Henry would get a half gesture from the grinning Gryffindor towards the slip-n-slide, urging the Slytherin to fill the thing with air as he fumbled to make sure all the water guns were ready and filled to the brim.

Once done, and Henry finished blowing up the slide, Elsian shoved the cauldron into the crook of his arm, free hand grabbing one side of the funky looking crocodile head and pulling. It really was short. The head barely going above his hips but then again, it was supposed to be slid on so maybe that was normal? At least it wouldn’t hurt when they inevitably hit their heads on the soft plastic.

“Ready?”

Elsi would grin at Henry, snickering a little at the hilarity of crashing some random 1st years party with a crocodile slip-n-slide as the 2 began to drag it forward towards the group, the slippery grass helping. Upon reaching them it’d be dropped, slightly shoved to the side as Elsian put the cauldron down, grinning and throwing his arms out dramatically as if the 2 idiots had been expected all along and barely made it like some sappy rom-com show.

“Happy Birthday uh-” he looked at the smudged writing on his hand, “Jean!”

Henry whispered to him. “June! I meant June!”

The 2 boys were obviously up to no good. From the way Elsi grinned, the way they’d showed up unannounced and late, and with arms full of random things, it screamed up to no good. But how bad could it really be when all they did was hand you balloons and say Happy Birthday?

“We come bearing gifts~” The answer was extremely.

With a rather pointed look towards Henry, a sign to get ready perhaps. He reached into the cauldron, tugging out water guns and dropping them onto the soft grass, 2 rather large ones shoved into the crook of his arm as the cauldron was picked up and some of the water thrown onto the slip-n-slide in preparation. It was all quite oddly calm, even the way he put the cauldron back down, still heavily filled with water, turning to face June with a smirk.

“Surprise!” He chirped cheerfully, aiming the red and gold nozzle at June and shooting her in the side. A cool spray of water would likely hit her if she wasn’t fast enough to dodge, cool and refreshing in the budding summer weather despite the day's best efforts to stay cool.

“Think fast, birthday girl.” He laughed, tossing the 2nd gun to her. Many would likely say he was a fool for equipping the enemy but it was only fair, she was after all the birthday girl!

The next shot was aimed at her guests. They’d either need to think fast and fight back water gun to water gun or make a break for it, less they fall victim to the next blast. There would be no mercy. The 2 uninvited guests were officially crashing this party.

Interacting: @Elsian Cox | @June Selwyn
Mentioning: @Leonard Oaksworth | @Monica Evans | @Adelaide Barlowe

Dialogue: ✕ | Thoughts: ✕ | Quotes: ✕
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It was great fun thus far, once some other friends of June started showing up, Monica pulled out the games that she brought for the group to play. The first one she was dying to play was Dutch Blitz! A fun, simple, and hight intense game, that challenged ones speed, level of attention, and remaining cool under ultimate pressure to be the first to clear all of your cards, sans 3.
Laying out the cards, Monica walked through the rules of the game.
"So each of us has our deck of cards, each deck has 4 colours, with each colour having the numbers 1 to 10. When we start the aim is to create piles in the centre of the group, building numbers for each colour from 1 to 10, the more cards you get out, the more point you get. You want to burn through your pile of 10, once that is gone you call blitz and the game stops. It is very fast pace, and because we are all playing at the same time, it can be quite hectic, but that's what makes it fun. When Blitz is called, what ever number of cards you still have in your 10 pile you double, but make it negative, So if you have 6 cards left that would make it -12 points. The cards you put out in the centre add 1 point to your negative score. So if you had -12 points, but you got out 18 cards, you would have 6 points that round. The one who called blitz has zero points, so they just have to add up the cards they got out. Does that make sense?" She paused for a moment, waiting to hear any questions, and answer them to the best of her ability.
"Well in any case it will all make sense once we play, we can take it slow at first."
Starting the game, Monica was fighting to hold back the urge to speed play, but in the spirit of good sportsmanship, she managed to set an acceptable pace for those learning the game.
The pace gradually started picking up, and Monica found herself growing in stress, they were getting really good at the game, offering quite the competitors. Monica loved every moment. Cards flying on the blanket, voices growing louder, fighting to be the first to call blitz. It was a full on battle of the blitz.
Before anyone had noticed, an hour had gone by. With good company, fun games, snacks, and celebration in the air, time truly did fly by.
And then....
Looking up, Monica's gaze was met with a thrown out slip and slide, and a shortly soaked June via a water gun. Monica didn't know the culprits, but they sure did make an entrance. Water guns were cast into the air, one directed at June, the other towards Leo. Before given the chance to move, Monica was met with a drenching herself. Taking a moment to asses the situation, Monica made plans how to defend/get in on this full on water war. First was to get herself armed for battle, dodging to the side, executing an excellent summersault, attempting to avoid another shot of water, giving into the fantasy of a James Bond wannabe.
This was a surprising turn of events, but what great fun!
"WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!" That must be the mission, the goal, the task at hand.

Dear @June Selwyn, @Avery Chen, @Monica Evans, @Adelaide Barlowe, @Leonard Oaksworth, @Elsian Cox, @Henry Knight

June 23, 2022

xxxxxxxxHappy birthday, indeed. Since Maggie had made contact with June Selwyn, her days seemed a little bit brighter. Life seemed a little bit sweeter, a little bit easier. It was fun with June, fun prancing around and frolicking like there was no tomorrow. Frolicking. Ha. What a funny word! They were frolicking, or something.

Of course, Maggie was not anticipating being so busy on June 23, the very day that June had invited her to a birthday party. She hadn’t thought about it at first, so busy messing around with Avery in a little Quidditch practice, gearing up for the next games (second year, here they came!), but the second she had finished, sweat drippping down her face and beading at her temple, fingers swollen and sore from where she had been gripping her broomstick for dear life, it came and hit her like a sack of bricks. June’s birthday!

So Maggie had hustled to her bedroom along with Avery to bring the games and sweets that he had provided, grabbing her own birthday gift to the other girl. It was something small, stupid. A pack of band-aids, accompanied by a note that read simply ‘sorry about the accident’. ‘The accident’ being the fact that June had ended up in the hospital wing as a result of Maggie’s little practice session.

As they approached, sweat on Maggie’s brow, she panted. ”I don’t remember!” She huffed as they crested the hill, though her eyes brightened as she saw the mass of others mingling at the little party. The assembled people were… squirting June with water guns? Maggie really didn’t know if that was actually what they were doing, because she couldn’t see June being cool with being soaked at her birthday party, but you never knew. Maggie came closer and pocketed her package, wetting her lips and glancing around for a spare water gun. Hm. If everyone else was doing it… was there really any harm in picking one up?

Ooh! Familiarity! Leonard Oaksworth! ”Leoooo! Howdy!” Maggie turned to Avery. ”He hates me. Anyways. Hey, Junie! Hey! Hey hey hey!”