Ingress' 10th Birthday Party Extravaganza!

[smallestopener]

Out by the lake, there is a large construction dedicated to the 10th birthday of Lady Ingress of the House of Arch. Ingress has had birthday parties on this site before - there was a birthday princess ball her 7th year, a playground party for her 6th.

This party is different from either of those. Tom, Door, and Ingress worked on the design for months.

There are three ways to get into the birthday party.

Guests can go through the hedge maze. It's enchanted, of course, but the walls shift places at a docile rate. The path is wide and firm, so this is the easiest way to enter the party.

Guests might also try the obstacle course of tubes to crawl through, walls to climb, ropes to swing over deep ball pits, curly slides to fling themselves down. The only enchantment on this entrance are anti-falling charms.

Or guests can bounce through the giant bouncy castle!

Once they've passed through either of the three entrances,they will enter the clearing for the birthday party proper. Picnic blankets are spread out over the grass, and there are plenty of chairs scattered about. Paper lanterns float above people's heads with purple and green streamers linking them together.

A long table overflows with plenty of cold water, birthday treats, and other refreshments. There is a cake with lots of icing roses, of course, and ice cream. Each guest may help him or herself to a Wizarding cracker in a large basket at one end of the table, and there is space beside it for gifts, should guests wish to bring one. Gifts are not expected, however.

Most importantly, there is Ingress, a little girl in the comfortable gray uniform of a Herald-in-training, who is not so little anymore.

Come and have fun!

Comments

Hedge Maze

[smallestopener]

Enter through a stone archway decorated with streamers, balloons, and a banner that reads, "Happy Birthday, Ingress". The walls might shift on you, but this maze is designed for a gentle stroll, not a vexing challenge.

Re: Hedge Maze

[azure-mercy.livejournal.com]

Hedge mazes are part of Delvian religious tradition, although they are not mazes as such but winding paths to meditation gardens. (Also, on Zhaan's planet, they are blue, not green. But that's neither here nor there.)

It is partly by virtue of its familiarity that Zhaan picks the hedge maze, and partly because she isn't too keen on the bouncy castle or the obstacle course. She proceeds following the left wall with her hand on that side, and holding Ingress' present (it's a small present, but she'll like it!) in the other.

She'll come out the other end before too long.

Re: Hedge Maze

[cutting_edgex23]

X opts for the hedge maze, as the bouncy castle is too easily punctured and the obstacle course is not practical.

It helps that she has a head for maps.

Obstacle Course

[smallestopener]

There are tubes to crawl through, walls to climb, ropes to swing over deep ball pits, curly slides to fling themselves down, and just about anything else you can imagine. It's big enough for adults to manage, too, but they might not be as limber as they hope!

Re: Obstacle Course

[a1enzo]

Enzo is making his way through the course with great glee and skill. The Academy makes its cadets run obstacle courses every so often, of course, but they're meant for training, not fun.

Enzo wonders, as he swings over the balls, whether there would be any way to persuade Coach Hardlink to incorporate some of this stuff.

Re: Obstacle Course

[im-so-sari.livejournal.com]

Sari has never met Ingress, and has no idea that there is a birthday party in progress. The obstacle course, however, definitely merits Investigation.

She slides into the first tube with the practiced ease of someone who's been sneaking through ventilation ducts for most of her life. (Which is just shy of eight years so far, but still!)

Bouncy Castle

[smallestopener]

Oh, Ingress loves the bouncy castle. The roof is taller than it looks, so you can bounce and flip to your heart's content.

You can go in with shoes, too, thanks to one of Tom's charms.

[nomorekaraoke]

It should go without saying that Lorne opts for the Bouncy Castle. He also opts for taking his shoes off beforehand, as he's given to understand shoeless feet enhance the experience. They're very bling-y shoes, this pair. A silver pair that perfectly glitzes in the sunshine, because he remembers Ingress telling him one time he should have glittery shoes too.

Since he does, well... Maybe his favorite birthday girl is a year older now, but he hopes she can appreciate the sentiment. He hopes she'll never be embarrassed by his antics, either.

Meanwhile, there's a green and red demon bouncing like a little kid in a Bouncy Castle. With the past few months (and with the months to come, revealed in OOMs), boy does he need this.


"Wheeeeeeeeee!"

Re: Bouncy Castle

[shoeless-ed.livejournal.com]

"Wheeeeee!"

"Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Look! Here are two uninvited guests!

A skinny girl with wild red hair and a Welsh corgi are making their way through the bouncy castle. Well, sort of. Mostly they're just bouncing and only incidentally making their way towards the birthday clearing. Ed is curious about what lies beyond this bouncy castle, but at the moment she is more interested in the castle itself.

Re: Bouncy Castle

[puckishly.livejournal.com]

Puck despises shoes.

But he is very intrigued by this "bouncy castle" notion Ingress had mentioned-- and, thus far in the experiment, delighted.

Half the fun is in the journey; therefore, he may be turning just a few more somersaults than are strictly necessary on his way through the castle.

The Birthday Party Clearing

[smallestopener]

Once you've made it into the heart of the party, enjoy some refreshments and relax on a picnic blanket or sit in a comfortable chair conjured up just for this occasion.

Guests may mingle here. Talk amongst yourselves and have some cake!

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[smallestopener]

You can catch the birthday girl here before she runs off into the bouncy castle, obstacle course, or the hedge maze again.

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[young_tmriddle]

Tom is pleased the party turned out so well. Truly, he was going on Ingress' word for most of the madness of the design. Bouncy castles? Ball pits to swing over? He'd never had experience of much of this, and he is glad he bowed to Door's wisdom to include those odd little plastic balls in the pit instead of snakes. The snakes could have been harmed by people falling on them, after all!

Anyway, he is here, greeting guests, sitting with Door, and enjoying the day.

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[shadowsusannah.livejournal.com]

The hedge maze is definitely the most wheelchair-accessible route of entry; Susannah is still slightly out of breath when she reaches the clearing. Mingling is out, but if people want to come to her, staked out by the refreshment and the table of presents, she's in a pretty good mood regardless.

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[azure-mercy.livejournal.com]

Zhaan emerges here once she navigates the hedge maze. Satisfied with having found her way, she deposits her present on the appropriate table, gets some iced tea, and sets out to greet the birthday girl and mingle with the other guests.

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[shoeless-ed.livejournal.com]

Ed periodically loops through the clearing on her way to go through the obstacle course or the bouncy castle again. She is wearing an admiral's hat obtained from her wizarding cracker (she tried to put it on Ein, the Welsh Corgi, but he won't wear it).

Ein is staying in the clearing, begging for meat- and/or cheese-related foods from the party guests.

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[ellectrical]

Elle wanders into the clearing eventually. Which path she chose may be apparent from the leaves she's pulling out of her hair.

... it was probably the best option, in her case.

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[im-so-sari.livejournal.com]

Once she reaches the clearing, Sari makes a beeline for the refreshments table and starts grabbing handfuls of goodies.

Manners? What are those?

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[youowemeafavor]

Somebody here is rather expert at mazes by now. Brushing bits of leaves and twigs from his frockcoat, one Marquis from London Below bows deeply in front of the birthday girl.

"Lady Ingress." His smile is deep and generous; there's a wrapped box in his pocket and he'll put it in the appropriate place momentarily. "There's a rumour that today is important on so many levels. How old are you now, twenty? Twenty-five?"

Even very busy and morally questionable adventurers are allowed to make jokes from time to time. "Happy birthday."

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[of-atlantis.livejournal.com]

Kida has not seen Ingress in many, many years, to her sense of reckoning. But the blue hair and smiling face is quite unmistakable to her.

"Ingress?"

Re: The Birthday Party Clearing

[puckishly.livejournal.com]

Puck is studiously avoiding Tom and Door-- no need to clash with the delightful Lord and Lady on a day that is for Ingress, particularly as it's been several years now that he's avoided making her cry, and it would be a pity to spoil his winning streak now.

With a raucous crow-call and a deft handspring, Puck catapults out of the bouncy castle and lands in a sprawl of limbs on the grass. Grinning, he pats down his pockets-- no damage to Ingress' gift.

Excellent.

Gifts for Ingress and Wizarding crackers for guests

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What did you get in your Wizarding cracker? If it's a hat, you have to wear it. It's funnier that way!

If you have a present for Ingress, you can leave it here.

Re: Gifts for Ingress and Wizarding crackers for guests

[azure-mercy.livejournal.com]

Zhaan, adorned with a couple of luminous balloons on strings, sets a small box down on the presents table. It's wrapped in turquoise-colored paper and tied with a silver ribbon.

Inside is a silver bracelet featuring a cabochon gem as large as an adult thumbnail. The gem is a sort of opalescent blue: it perfectly matches Ingress' hair, but unlike the hair, it shimmers in rainbow colors depending on how it catches the light. The whole bracelet is very shiny.

[gil-whimple.livejournal.com]

On the run as usual, Gil can't resist dropping by for one moment. After all what would a birthday be without cupcakes (http://www.grandmasecrets.com/pages/cupcakes.jpg)?

He negotiates the hedge maze, places the stack carefully on the table, takes another minute to watch the birthday girl with her guests then grins and scampers off, this time bounding through the bouncy castle with a cheerful whoop of "Happy Birthdaaaaaaaay".

[smallestopener]

Ingress waves and yells a thank you as Gil bounces away. Then her eyes light up as she notices the cupcakes. Mmmm, Gil's cupcakes are the best.