The Harkonnen-Wolfe Wedding Extravaganza! (with Dethklok!)
((In short- It's a giant over-the-top wedding party with a Dethklok concert for characters to enjoy and do whatever- the whole school's been invited. It should be noted that Dethklok's music is known to have a almost magical effect- they've driven audiences insane, raised trolls, caused hurricanes, etc. Half the food's been spiked by Valentine, choose your poison if desired! This was a group-written bit of epic TL;DR with permission received from all characters mentioned- sorry about the length, but there's a lot going on! The dragons arrive at the very end of the party- they mark 'the end' so to say, and are mostly just torching everything but the DETHTOWER, They're not assaulting any random chars, so there's no reason for anyone to interfere with them, it's basically 'under control'. . . =D ))
Certain human traditions are nearly universal- in most any culture, the concept of marriage can be found in one form or another. And in most of these cultures, marriages involve weddings. The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Lord Valentine Wolfe knew this as well as anyone, and, also knew exactly what a wedding actually was. Although many of the common masses felt weddings to be a wonderful, romantic celebration of a couple's love and commitment, both of these noblemen knew that a wedding was actually a huge, memorable party- memorable being key- intended to make a public statement. Although the exact nature of this statement varied from situation to situation, Vladimir and Valentine were well-aware that their union was making the best statement, which basically summed up to "We're better than you, we have more fun than you, and if you fuck with either of us, you fuck with both of us." Obviously, this statement had to be accompanied by a party of unforgettable proportion.
The two overlords had planned for months, adding ever more details to the extravaganza, and as spring drew nearer to summer, the time to make this unforgettable statement had arrived. The two overlords had planned for months, accumulating an abundance of strange, decadent, and occasionally dangerous details. The Baron's 'assistant' Jasper Hale had helped to arrange many of these, even covering many of the various expenses as a holiday gift to the pair.. Jherek Carnelian had also agreed to assist by lending his transfiguration talents to various aesthetic matters, pleased at any opportunity to showcase his generally extravagant artistry.
Invitations went out in the days before the wedding, all fancifully gilded and embossed as such things should be. These were of course sent to everyone at Hogwarts, without exception, friends and enemies alike- in fact, Vladimir made certain that the dragons, especially Smaug, received theirs (which had been magically increased to an appropriate draconic size), much to the terror of the house-elves dispatched upon the order. Most of the invitations had been delivered by owl, and in case of any Shoggy-interceptions, equally gilded announcements had also gone up in the halls. A notable detail of all the invitations was that technically, none of them invited anyone. Invitation left room for refusal, whereas these requested attendance. Also notable was the mention that Dethklok would be performing the music, including a full set at the 'reception'.
The wedding itself took place in the evening, the better to take advantage of its location for aesthetic effect- this location was upon the portico of the DETHTOWER itself, which had been covered with crimson carpeting for the occasion- and this was the most moderate bit of decor. Between the DETHTOWER's laser show (which the Shoggies had obligingly hued with red lenses for the occasion), the massive urns of magical fire lining the steps and portico, the griffons, the red-and-gold peacocks, the nude statuary, and the 'mutant bats' (which were gigantic jeweled affairs which Jherek's imagination had very much removed from their humble origin.), the lavish red carpeting might as well have been unnoticeable.
And so, it was to the brutal chords of Dethklok that the grooms made their way to Dethklok's portico to publically formalize their union- obviously, walking to the DETHTOWER on such an occasion was beneath them. Their lavish carriage was of course open, the better the show off their outfits, and drawn by massive black horses with flaming manes and hooves, another concoction of Jherek's. The wedding party itself was quite small, consisting only of the grooms (the better to draw attention to themselves), along with Jasper, and Ariane Emory, who found herself recruited in the position of 'flower girl' for an aesthetic balance. She was clad in a lovely black gown, and scattered the contents of a basket of Valentine's drugged rose-petals. Vladimir had insisted upon garbing Jasper in a lush black robe for the occasion, close fitted about the upper body, and accented with elaborate golden embroidery, studded with blood-red gems. His own high-collared robe was even more lavishly adorned, of crimson silk entirely covered with rich embroidery in a darker shade, all glimmering with garnet accents. Valentine Wolfe, elaborately veiled, shone in brilliant, unblemished white from head to toe.
The nuptials themselves were a short affair- Valentine and Vladimir were there to be married, not to be bored by tedious sermons. Being the heads of their own houses, they saw no reason for anyone else to officiate the ceremony, in which their exchanged vows basically amounted to "we will indulge in every decadence, continue to have more fun than you, and shall crush each other's enemies". Having announced themselves married, the party could officially begin! And both knew very well that it was the party that would assure the event was etched into the minds of all who attended- even if that memory was rather chemically muddled.
For, in proper Valentine Wolfe fashion, a good half of the food had been spiced-up with some chemical enhancements. There was of course a great deal of this, all of the best quality, and representing a world's worth of culinary and chemical delicacies. The wedding decorations remained on hand, and as the party commenced, the more ambulatory sorts wandered amongst the crowd. The nightmares were still harnessed to the carriage and designed to act more placid than they appeared, but the griffons were legitimate magical creatures. The nude statuary, which had been a surprise contribution from Jherek, began to wander around as well- the statues were actually automatons. Originally, Jherek had intended them to fight upon encountering each other, but, finding this rather difficult to implement in his creation due to his own experience, Jherek had remembered something about 'make love, not war'- what happened when the statues met was definitely interesting and not for the eyes of children. There were, however, a few random carnival rides (namely a Zipper, an Octopus, and a Gravitron)- these were mainly intended for the amusement of the Shoggies, who were sure to swarm any school event.
But, the focal point of the reception was of course, Dethklok. The immense portico of the DETHTOWER was given over to the band as the night deepened, and as they took their positions (sans Murderface, who they couldn't find- but they always mixed him and Toki out, anyway), Jherek performed a quick bit of transfiguration, filling the stage with 'battle-fog', and creating a harmless lightning effect which surrounded the members of the band, dancing over their bodies and instruments, and lighting them in an eerie glow. Throughout the performance, Jherek continued to provide appropriate visual effects (which became ever more tumultuous as the music energized his mood in its curious way), keeping well off to the side as not to be a distraction (and possibly to avoid and potential glares from Valentine, given Jherek's confusion over proper outfits to wear to a wedding- like Valentine, he was clad entirely in white.)
Vladimir and Valentine had of course watched some videos of Dethklok performances, and, were naturally anticipating the 'results'. As the school's no-death spell made death waivers rather redundant, they weren't expecting a massacre- but they were hoping that the music would have its strange, rather supernatural effect
upon at least some of the crowd, if not all of it. And indeed, as Dethklok broke into their set- which opened with a wedding-oriented song they'd written as a surprise for the newlyweds- there were distinct signs of the music's contagious effects. The Shoggies milling about the crowd were some of the first to showcase any signs of music-induced hysteria, which in their case took the form of some primitive reversion- they ceased to produce anything but alien, unintelligible sounds as they swarmed about, attempting to devour anything in their path- obviously, due to the no-kill spell, they managed to fail at this, but failure didn't diminish their enthusiasm- it was only diverted when, a couple songs into the set, Pixie began darting about over the crowd, showering it with her hallucinogenic pixie-dust- most of the alien cries turned to "ooooohs" as the landscape began to resemble one of Toki's bizarre and colorful musical hallucinations.
Much later in the evening, the pair of dragons decided to make their fashionably late appearance, figuring they could make the greatest impact once the party was in full-swing -- there was only one way to answer the audacity of these two humans requesting their presence. Ancalagon's immense wingspan filled the sky as he circled above the gathering, setting things alight with blue fire. Smaug had taken to the ground and, unscathed by his comrade's fire, set about bodily destroying the elaborate decorations and what remained of the banquet. His own fiery breath soon joined Ancalagon's, green and blue flames consuming everything in their path -- save the DETHTOWER. This left Smaug's adoptive Dethklok 'family' safe where they were, which was all that he cared about. Once the party had been obliterated to their satisfaction, Ancalagon took his leave by wing, and Smaug lumbered over to join Dethklok.
The most logical place for the newlyweds to take cover during the draconic rampage was of course inside of the DETHTOWER- they weren't exactly rushed about this, surveying the chaos with delight as they made their way across the portico. The no-death spell was certainly a boon to voyeurism. From the relative safety of the tower's entrance, they had an excellent, somewhat non-euclidean view of the fiery mayhem, which Valentine was recording with one hand. As he sipped from the glass of champagne held in his other, Vladmir turned to him and remarked, "Ahh, now that's the way to end a party." The night was certainly a success- and far from over in the mind of the newlyweds, who lingered a while to film the flames before slipping off into the corridors of the DETHTOWER for some predictably desired privacy.
Certain human traditions are nearly universal- in most any culture, the concept of marriage can be found in one form or another. And in most of these cultures, marriages involve weddings. The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Lord Valentine Wolfe knew this as well as anyone, and, also knew exactly what a wedding actually was. Although many of the common masses felt weddings to be a wonderful, romantic celebration of a couple's love and commitment, both of these noblemen knew that a wedding was actually a huge, memorable party- memorable being key- intended to make a public statement. Although the exact nature of this statement varied from situation to situation, Vladimir and Valentine were well-aware that their union was making the best statement, which basically summed up to "We're better than you, we have more fun than you, and if you fuck with either of us, you fuck with both of us." Obviously, this statement had to be accompanied by a party of unforgettable proportion.
The two overlords had planned for months, adding ever more details to the extravaganza, and as spring drew nearer to summer, the time to make this unforgettable statement had arrived. The two overlords had planned for months, accumulating an abundance of strange, decadent, and occasionally dangerous details. The Baron's 'assistant' Jasper Hale had helped to arrange many of these, even covering many of the various expenses as a holiday gift to the pair.. Jherek Carnelian had also agreed to assist by lending his transfiguration talents to various aesthetic matters, pleased at any opportunity to showcase his generally extravagant artistry.
Invitations went out in the days before the wedding, all fancifully gilded and embossed as such things should be. These were of course sent to everyone at Hogwarts, without exception, friends and enemies alike- in fact, Vladimir made certain that the dragons, especially Smaug, received theirs (which had been magically increased to an appropriate draconic size), much to the terror of the house-elves dispatched upon the order. Most of the invitations had been delivered by owl, and in case of any Shoggy-interceptions, equally gilded announcements had also gone up in the halls. A notable detail of all the invitations was that technically, none of them invited anyone. Invitation left room for refusal, whereas these requested attendance. Also notable was the mention that Dethklok would be performing the music, including a full set at the 'reception'.
The wedding itself took place in the evening, the better to take advantage of its location for aesthetic effect- this location was upon the portico of the DETHTOWER itself, which had been covered with crimson carpeting for the occasion- and this was the most moderate bit of decor. Between the DETHTOWER's laser show (which the Shoggies had obligingly hued with red lenses for the occasion), the massive urns of magical fire lining the steps and portico, the griffons, the red-and-gold peacocks, the nude statuary, and the 'mutant bats' (which were gigantic jeweled affairs which Jherek's imagination had very much removed from their humble origin.), the lavish red carpeting might as well have been unnoticeable.
And so, it was to the brutal chords of Dethklok that the grooms made their way to Dethklok's portico to publically formalize their union- obviously, walking to the DETHTOWER on such an occasion was beneath them. Their lavish carriage was of course open, the better the show off their outfits, and drawn by massive black horses with flaming manes and hooves, another concoction of Jherek's. The wedding party itself was quite small, consisting only of the grooms (the better to draw attention to themselves), along with Jasper, and Ariane Emory, who found herself recruited in the position of 'flower girl' for an aesthetic balance. She was clad in a lovely black gown, and scattered the contents of a basket of Valentine's drugged rose-petals. Vladimir had insisted upon garbing Jasper in a lush black robe for the occasion, close fitted about the upper body, and accented with elaborate golden embroidery, studded with blood-red gems. His own high-collared robe was even more lavishly adorned, of crimson silk entirely covered with rich embroidery in a darker shade, all glimmering with garnet accents. Valentine Wolfe, elaborately veiled, shone in brilliant, unblemished white from head to toe.
The nuptials themselves were a short affair- Valentine and Vladimir were there to be married, not to be bored by tedious sermons. Being the heads of their own houses, they saw no reason for anyone else to officiate the ceremony, in which their exchanged vows basically amounted to "we will indulge in every decadence, continue to have more fun than you, and shall crush each other's enemies". Having announced themselves married, the party could officially begin! And both knew very well that it was the party that would assure the event was etched into the minds of all who attended- even if that memory was rather chemically muddled.
For, in proper Valentine Wolfe fashion, a good half of the food had been spiced-up with some chemical enhancements. There was of course a great deal of this, all of the best quality, and representing a world's worth of culinary and chemical delicacies. The wedding decorations remained on hand, and as the party commenced, the more ambulatory sorts wandered amongst the crowd. The nightmares were still harnessed to the carriage and designed to act more placid than they appeared, but the griffons were legitimate magical creatures. The nude statuary, which had been a surprise contribution from Jherek, began to wander around as well- the statues were actually automatons. Originally, Jherek had intended them to fight upon encountering each other, but, finding this rather difficult to implement in his creation due to his own experience, Jherek had remembered something about 'make love, not war'- what happened when the statues met was definitely interesting and not for the eyes of children. There were, however, a few random carnival rides (namely a Zipper, an Octopus, and a Gravitron)- these were mainly intended for the amusement of the Shoggies, who were sure to swarm any school event.
But, the focal point of the reception was of course, Dethklok. The immense portico of the DETHTOWER was given over to the band as the night deepened, and as they took their positions (sans Murderface, who they couldn't find- but they always mixed him and Toki out, anyway), Jherek performed a quick bit of transfiguration, filling the stage with 'battle-fog', and creating a harmless lightning effect which surrounded the members of the band, dancing over their bodies and instruments, and lighting them in an eerie glow. Throughout the performance, Jherek continued to provide appropriate visual effects (which became ever more tumultuous as the music energized his mood in its curious way), keeping well off to the side as not to be a distraction (and possibly to avoid and potential glares from Valentine, given Jherek's confusion over proper outfits to wear to a wedding- like Valentine, he was clad entirely in white.)
Vladimir and Valentine had of course watched some videos of Dethklok performances, and, were naturally anticipating the 'results'. As the school's no-death spell made death waivers rather redundant, they weren't expecting a massacre- but they were hoping that the music would have its strange, rather supernatural effect
upon at least some of the crowd, if not all of it. And indeed, as Dethklok broke into their set- which opened with a wedding-oriented song they'd written as a surprise for the newlyweds- there were distinct signs of the music's contagious effects. The Shoggies milling about the crowd were some of the first to showcase any signs of music-induced hysteria, which in their case took the form of some primitive reversion- they ceased to produce anything but alien, unintelligible sounds as they swarmed about, attempting to devour anything in their path- obviously, due to the no-kill spell, they managed to fail at this, but failure didn't diminish their enthusiasm- it was only diverted when, a couple songs into the set, Pixie began darting about over the crowd, showering it with her hallucinogenic pixie-dust- most of the alien cries turned to "ooooohs" as the landscape began to resemble one of Toki's bizarre and colorful musical hallucinations.
Much later in the evening, the pair of dragons decided to make their fashionably late appearance, figuring they could make the greatest impact once the party was in full-swing -- there was only one way to answer the audacity of these two humans requesting their presence. Ancalagon's immense wingspan filled the sky as he circled above the gathering, setting things alight with blue fire. Smaug had taken to the ground and, unscathed by his comrade's fire, set about bodily destroying the elaborate decorations and what remained of the banquet. His own fiery breath soon joined Ancalagon's, green and blue flames consuming everything in their path -- save the DETHTOWER. This left Smaug's adoptive Dethklok 'family' safe where they were, which was all that he cared about. Once the party had been obliterated to their satisfaction, Ancalagon took his leave by wing, and Smaug lumbered over to join Dethklok.
The most logical place for the newlyweds to take cover during the draconic rampage was of course inside of the DETHTOWER- they weren't exactly rushed about this, surveying the chaos with delight as they made their way across the portico. The no-death spell was certainly a boon to voyeurism. From the relative safety of the tower's entrance, they had an excellent, somewhat non-euclidean view of the fiery mayhem, which Valentine was recording with one hand. As he sipped from the glass of champagne held in his other, Vladmir turned to him and remarked, "Ahh, now that's the way to end a party." The night was certainly a success- and far from over in the mind of the newlyweds, who lingered a while to film the flames before slipping off into the corridors of the DETHTOWER for some predictably desired privacy.