7684/Tony Stark's Birthday Week: Open Bar

Tony Stark's Birthday Week: Open Bar
Date of Scene:	30 May 2019
Location:	10th Floor - Stark Tower
Synopsis:	Lots of Avengers attend Tony's birthday bash!
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Thor, Wasp (van Dyne), Spider-Woman (Drew), Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Captain America, War Machine

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Iron Man has posed:
The STARK Wednesday evening party has exploded. The night is particularly important, as it is the 'true' birthday for Tony. Yes, big parties are going on, particularly the weekend one where anybody that's anybody will probably be there, but this is the one that actually matters: it's the one with the people closest to Tony's inner circle.

The enormous party is well organized, and people can mingle through the various areas at will. The stage is in use; one of the famous rock bands just finished doing a brief set to applause and cheers. Each musical guest has a personal lighting and effects set, no doubt arranged by the man of the evening, Tony Stark. The comedy guest, also the MC, returns to the mic to give a few minor jokes while they change over equipment for the next performer. The 'pyrotechnics' area has been very active this evening, with a great deal of showmanship related to holograms and technology that's dazzling to see up close and personal. Holographic characters appear now and then in the dance area, mingling with glittering displays, causing delight among the partygoers.

The front of the party has recently been hit very heavily by the press and photographers, as reporters start to work their way in to get their pictures of more than just the entryway, but they're kept out of the main party zones.

Where is Tony himself? No doubt preparing his amazing entrance; it wouldn't be a STARK party without that.

Thor has posed:
    For once, Thor had arrived early. Or rather had simply been there for a good length of time while things had been set up, while others had gathered. He had even made something of a pest of himself as he asked after how the holographic projectors worked and inclined heavily that he would very much like a demonstration.
    But it was this early presence that allowed him to avoid the press, the attention, to simply let him /be/ there without announcement. He took time to speak with some musicians, asking them if they knew any of his favorite songs, they didn't, and inquiring after matters at length in what it took to be a successful skald in the mortal realm.
    And then the people began arriving. That allowed a better cover. Drinking, mingling, making the meets and greets that were needed. He looked debonair in his tuxedo, with his hair pulled back in a short pony tail, and his eyepatch not the subtle runic one he normally wore but a simple black one to match his ensemble.
    Until this hour in the night where his obligations done, he found himself a comfortable spot at the edge of the festivities at the tertiary bar where the tender became his target of attention to whom he spoke.
    "So tell me, Barmistress Kelly. This Hot Topic where you worked? Why do you so claim it was 'the worst'?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Do socialites do 'casual'? For people like Janet and Tony-- even an elbow-rubbing social climber like Stephen Strange-- parties are part and parcel of the daily life. You go to be seen, to be seen in the right place with the right people.

At the moment, Janet's at the top of the social pecking ladder. Forget nobility, Presidents, New York socialites. The last van Dyne is sitting at a bar watching Thor trying desperately to be friendly to the bartender, and doing so with an open expression of mirth. Janet's clad all in shimmering silver with a subtle blue iridescence; single-shoulder dress that clings to her curves and ends with a short, asymmetrical hem with just enough slack in it to flitter in her wake. It gives her an ethereal, pixie-ish look, and she gives Thor a look of fond hopelessness.

"He's being serious, honey," Janet advises the bartender-- and then slides her empty glass over. "Pina colada, please, and no I don't need it in a pineapple."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica spent hours in her room, trying desperately to get into this dress. She put it on upside down at least twice. But now, she has arrived, in a formal gown delivered to her by JvD. Red silk, adorned with black and gold banding...a hint of a bustle to accentuate the derriere, and a slit up the back. A scarf flows with every movement, back over her shoulders and down to mid-thigh. Jessica's hair is swept up and held with a silver arachnid comb, spilling down over her shoulder on one side, and she looks...positively...mortified.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Someone once said, 'People are strange, when you're a stranger' so you can only imagine how people are when you are literally Strange.

    Stephen arrives at the party unannounced and likely uninvited. Or he may have been, Stephen doesn't read his mail all that often. The wizard makes his own entrance through the very fabric of space and time, to save what may be a good half our of traversing New York traffic. A glowing orange circle made of sparks forms near a window and grows to a full two meter diameter. The circle is a window to another room, or world who can really know (It's Greenwich) and out steps a man with blue robes and a flowing red cloak hanging heavily from his shoulders and framing his face.

    Without much pomp or circumstance, Stephen closes the magic window and his voice booms heavily through the room. "I seek the avengers." Though the wizard didn't raise his voice, he simply projected it with a simple spell.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's entrance to the party was kept brief, pausing for media photographs for only a few seconds before giving them a smile and continuing on inside. She steps in, wearing a red dress, something clearly inspired by classic princess looks. All in shades of lustrous encarnine, it centers around a herringbone corset-style core in black that wraps around the ribs and forms a hard horizontal slash across the midchest. It's worn over a mesh shirt heavily embroidered with swirling black abstract shapes that cover the shoulders and arms. The dress is a deep shade of scarlet and sports a princess cut around the waist, hanging to the lower calf. Wanda wears it with a pair of low-soled tan cavalry boots, and a multi-braid gold necklace with copper and silver woven into it, and matching earrings.

The female Maximoff is far less comfortable in such settings than is the designer of her attire for the evening. Wanda looks about for her brother, but either misses him or he is not in attendance. Probably in California and planning to arrive in a few minutes, fashionably late. The Transian woman makes her way over to a bar to pick up a glass of wine and then wanders about, greeting guests who stop to talk to her.

Iron Man has posed:
There's a lot of Avengers present, but due to the number of other people ALSO in the room, it isn't like you can just throw a shoe and hit one, unfortunately. Still, Stephen's entrance gets a lot of attention, even if it does rather blend in with all of the other insane lighting displays already present, particularly around the stage and dance floor area. Right now, large golden wisps with streamers of fiery feathers are swooping around to accent the strong live musical show.

Security does react to Dr. Strange, though: someone can't just appear without getting more than just a casual eye. That the security (of which Stark Tower is one of the most secure places in the world) doesn't accost him means he's on the list, really, whether he's aware he is or not.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen looks around the room and sighs once to himself. It seems the spell wasn't enough to get everyone's attention, Stephen deigns it necessary to actually go out and mingle, find the people he needs to speak with and in a hurry.

    Stephen begins to walk through the room and as he heads towards the bar, assuming at least ONE Avenger will be there, his robes begin to shift and fold in on themselves while new fabrics slide out from beneath his clothes all in a single calm motion. The Sorcerer Supreme is now dressed in a full tux, it's a nod to the double-breasted shirts of medical officers from the 19th century; deep blue, with a crisply starched collar that rises to cover the back of his neck and squares off under a gold-and-green cravat worn under the chin. The frontpanel is deeply scarlet red, and a double line of buttons holds it in place. The vest is cut above the beltline in the front and transitions to long, dapper tails in the back, and is matched with a pair of sleek black trousers and cordovan shoes polished to a burnished luster.

    Stepping up to the bartender with his fingers tugging at the cuff of his shirt Stephen smirks, "Have you seen Tony? Or anyone of the big members around?" The wizard asks idly.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet beams happily at the sight of Wanda and Jessica sporting their new dresses, and beckons them over. Jess looks like she needs a little encouragement. "Jessica! Oh my god, that looks even better on you than I'd dreamed," Janet marvels at the raven-haired woman. She beckons her to a nearby seat.

A beaming smile is flashed at Wanda, along with an extended hand and grasping fingers in an offer of a held hand of friendship. She's about to repeat her effusive praise, but then Strange manifests, and she gives him a quizzical look.

"Well, I think we've got a quorum of Avenger. Everyone except the Army guys are here." She picks up a bar peanut and flicks it at the end of his hawkish nose. "'Big' Avengers? What the hell does that even mean? Last I checked, the biggest Avenger's /me/. When I want to be. Instead of being adorably cute." She wrinkles her nose at Stephen with a smile. "I'm glad you're at least wearing your tux."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda catches sight of Janet waving her over and moves that direction. The offered hand is taken and held long enough to give a warm squeeze. "Thank you for the dress, Janet. It's just stunning," Wanda says, looking down at herself and letting go of Janet's hand to give a little spin.

She casts her green-hued gaze over to Jessica and says, "You look absolutely lovely, Jessica. I'm glad to see you escaped the paparazzi," Wanda tells the dark-haired woman, giving a warm grin as if having had her own encounter with them.

Wanda glances over to where Strange is, having just missed his entrance as she was herself coming in from outside. "Hello Stephen. Glad that you could make it tonight," she says, holding up her wine glass towards him in greeting.

Captain America has posed:
Better late than never, one supposes? Steve makes his arrival in a far more subdued manner -- by really just speaking briefly with security to ascertain that, indeed, it is he, and then walking into the expansive, frenetically-decorated and noise-rife room. He's sporting a tuxedo delivered to his apartment by courier and one fashionista surely had a hand in it. Maybe this one will survive?

Sleek and expertly-fitted in navy blue, black silk lines the lapels and shoulders. He wears a white undershirt beneath it and a black tie. At his wrists, cufflinks that flash in black-steel and gold inlay in the shifting light show from the band on-stage. It doesn't take him long to spot Janet and the others at the bar and he shows up out of the crowd wearing a small smile.

"Shortcakes." Of course, the first greeting goes to Janet along with an arm curling about her trim waist. Wanda, Jessica, and Thor all get a grin and then...there's Stephen. The Sorcerer gets a transparently surprised look.

"Doctor. Didn't expect to see you here."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica is drawn along with Janet, and gives a hasty backward glance before she is absorbed into the quorum of Avengers. "Oh...Uh, yeah, thank you, Janet. It's beautiful. I'm just..." She fusses with the flowy little red scarf, and the minibustle, and startles with the appearance of Strange. "Oh my dear Lord, I thought you were Hydra...."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "As how you Avengers can't afford me, neither can Hydra." Stephen admits to Jessica, before he turns his attention to each member addressing him.

    To Steve, Strange says, "I wasn't expecting to be here myself, and I'm only here briefly."

    To Janet he responds, "I adore the tuxedo and greatly appreciate it, though it's now impossible to get Wong out of his. I think he may sleep in it."

    Then to Wanda, Stephen adds, "As I told Steve, I wasn't expecting an event to be occurring tonight, or I would have been a bit more selective." The wizard admits before he leans forward and lowers his voice to be heard just above the din. "I've come looking for the artifact you all recovered from a Hydra cell not long ago. It's incredibly critical that I remove the sphere and store it safely and properly."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet's smile turns from gregarious and effusive to something altogether more solid when Steve Rogers walks up and slips an arm around her waist. She hugs his Dorito-shaped frame as best she can from her seated position, and then touches his jaw just enough to prompt him for a (relatively) chaste kiss. "Mm. That looks even better on you than I thought it would," Janet tells Steve, and pats his breastbone with a fond affection.

She focuses back on Strange, blinking owlishly at his premptory demand. "Orb? Glowing thing?" She looks around, feigning confusion. "Oh. OH! Yeah, I don't know where that is. I sold it on eBay a few weeks ago. It was taking up space in the kitchen." Her drink arrives and Janet sips from the glass, giving Strange an absolutely straight-faced look.

Thor has posed:
    It is that moment that Thor reappears in the circle of worthies, standing taller than most and casting a shadow that is entirely unworthy of the words he offers, "Did you know that the woes facing a retail employee are enormous?" He says that as if he's sure this is apparently an injustice.
    But then he does not find a sufficient 'in' into the conversation so instead hovers about the edge of it, listening to the others as they speak of some magical object and his expression remains mostly blank. Luckily Kelly saw fit to provide him with some fine whiskey that he holds in a container usually reserved for festive drinks like 'The Volcano'. It is a large ceramic tropical piece of beverageware that has palm trees and parrots decorated upon the sides, and almost seems like it would be better served as a punch bowl on a table meant for four.
    He sips.
    "I know not of this thing, Strange. Someone fill me in." He declares.

Captain America has posed:
Stephen gets a little nod of head back and forth from the Captain. He remembers the reclusive nature of the good Doctor well enough; his earlier reaction stemmed from it, after all. He remains standing next to Janet with his hand resting politely at the round of her hip and no lower as he listens over the resounding music behind and beyond them as it picks up once more.

Janet's immediate reply as to the whereabouts of that dratted Orb has Steve giving her an oblique look that's vaguely amused despite his veneer of professionalism. It is, in fact, NOT disappeared off into the world of eBay and to the hands of some unwitting consumer.

"It's in R&D downstairs back at the mansion," the Captain replies, ignoring for now any scowling at jokes undone. "Stop by the mansion anytime, we'll get it handed off to you. It's contained for now as best we could manage." Which is fairly well despite the circumstances.

"It's the magical sphere we found on the island. You were enjoying a siesta," the Captain asides to Thor.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen's mouth drops open and he slowly turns his head to Janet. His grey eyes flutter as he blinks them so rapidly. "You... you sold the orb of autumn, a magical artifact that is required to keep the four seasons in balance... you sold that. On eBay?" The wizard gufaws. He's about to have a full on panic attack when Steve assuades it and fills the doctor in.

    "Thank you Steve, I shant dally her any longer. I must be off as I have much work to do." The wizard says and turns away from the group as if to leave at this very moment to go fetch the orb.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff returns the smile to Steve. In her slowly spoken way, Wanda tells Janet in a voice that Steve will be able to hear, "He cleans up rather nice, doesn't he?" She glances back to make the smile to Steve a teasing one before she's turning to hear what Doctor Strange has to say.

Wanda glances between her other teammates, apparently having missed whatever outing took out the aforementioned Hydra cell. "Good bye Stephen, nice to see you, if briefly," she says to him.

Iron Man has posed:
As many of the partygoers are aware, this was not the first of the parties, by a long shot. "Party Week" it is, after all, and the amount of liquor that has gone through these parties is heavy (including that which has flowed into Tony himself). Whether he's come to this party with having already started in that vein may not be clear; Tony's a big presence, though the amplification of liquor may be involved already.

The musical act draws attention first, as the applause for that song crescendos, "And, the man of the hour?!" A squadron of Iron Man armors, in sudden extremely lifelike and believable holograms come from the stage and the area around it. The trails they emit are bands of color and power, weaving knots of light through the air over the main floor. Out of all of it drops one of the armors, straight to the floor in the center, which naturally started to clear due to the focus of the display: you HAD to step back to appreciate it.

The helmet slides open as Tony rises from the superhero pose, both arms out, his smile wide and charismatic. "TONY STARK," announces the musical guest, rolling into "Whatever it Takes" by Imagine Dragons, while Tony strides forwards into the main floor of his party, the armor sleekly falling away in a kaleidoscope of parts, aided by tiny drones. 'I'M READY FOR WHATEVER IT TAKES!' sings the band.

It's a grand show; Tony's a master of spectacle. The bold styled suit under the armor, of black and almost iridescent blue trims brings imagery of the famous arc reactor energy sources to mind.

Tony starts to greet guests warmly: handshakes, laughs, thank-yous, as he's swarmed. The swarming is clearly desired, though: this is Tony's element, and perhaps in many ways, his birthday gift to himself.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Iiii know, right?" Janet murmurs back at Wanda, utterly failing to conceal her pleasure at Cap's dapper dress. But then Steve goes and spoils her prank and she looks up at him then sticks out her tongue. Pbbbht. "Spoilsport," she mutters at him and takes a savagely elegant sip of her drink!

"Strange, get back here," Janet says, making a grab for a tuxedo sleeve before he can get too far. "I was just yanking your chain. C'mon, we never see you socialize. The orb's not going anywhere! Sit, hang out. Have a drink, Tony always puts the good stuff up in the bar," Janet prompts Strange. She makes gestures at Wanda and Jessica-- squad, attack! Box him in!

Thor has posed:
    Towards Steve, Thor gives a single nod and his lips part for a moment as he says, 'Ah'. Then they close back around the straw of his drink and he takes a long siiiiiip.
    A sip that lasts about as long until the Spectacle that is Stark begins. And Thor is no different than most of the audience, his attention is drawn to the wild glamour of the moment, the brilliant lights reflected on his features. A curve of a smile around that straw is seen as he keeps on sipping, then he stops to laugh and shout with the crowd.
    "Huzzah, Stark!" His deep voice carrying with rather great weight. Then he reflects, features nicely flushed perhaps from the drink or the moment, then he adds, "Bravo!" As if remembering that that word is good for this sort of moment.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen is caught by his sleeve and turns around to face Janet. "That's because I never socialize. I simply lack the time. There is critical work to be done and I doth have much time to linger and chat as I once did." Stephen says with a frown towards Janet.

    The wizard seems to barely be distracted by the arrival of Stark and the amazing light show. Though to Stephen, the light show was nearly what it's like to walk to the back of his fridge some times. Depending on the day and the last time Wong went shopping.

    Strange pauses and seems to consider staying a moment as he looks to Thor, Wanda, and Steve, as well as Jessic and Tony and Janet and finally he seems to look towards an empty section of the floor before rolling his eyes. "No. I'm staying." Then turns to the Big Avengers, "I can linger for thirty minutes, but I have much work to do this day."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica is far too enthralled by Tony's entrance to even hear, much less act on, Janet's call to 'box him in.' She breaks into a slow smile that brightens exponentially, and she applauds with the other guests. Even long after the applause has died out, she stands, seemingly mesmerized by the spectacle. "Does /anybody/ know how to make an entrance like Tony Stark?" she asks no one in particular, as no one is probably close enough to hear, anyway. The lights and the display of grandeur is enough to keep her gaze, as she watches Tony work the crowd.

Iron Man has posed:
Thor's bellow reaches Tony over the crowd and he orients, with a flashy grin, and aims a finger-gun over at Thor in reply, acknowledging him. He also spots the rest of the Avengers near Thor, and his palm opens in a wave to them as well.

The little droids zing here and there with the parts of the armor, disappearing off into their little robot-cubbies, presumably. A few of the holograms prove that they are not just holograms, though: the unmanned suits, from years bygone, have landed near the band area, allowing people to come and admire them a bit closer.

Tony's attention gets pulled by a woman coming up super close to him to excitedly praise, and he plants a cheek-kiss on her before starting to handshake and chat his way down generally towards the Avenger group. As the host, and birthday boy, it's going to take some time, but Tony's in no rush: nope, the basking has commenced.

Captain America has posed:
Steve's giving the whole display a fairly impressed flick of his brows and wry little smile. He glances over at Jessica and nods. "If I ever need someone to plan a public display, he's the man I'll go to." A small laugh escapes him despite himself and he sneaks his arm back in order to clap a few times. Thor's hollering has the Captain outright grinning for a second before he turns back to Stephen.

"Have a drink then, Doctor. Tony's spared no expense." His hand gestures at the impressive number of bottles behind the bar itself. "I've got a whiskey on the rocks on the way." It'll do nothing to him, but it'll taste nice at least. His arm returns about Janet's waist. "Order what you want."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff turns to see the entrance by Tony. She smiles and claps along with the crowd as the light show goes on. After she turns and hears Stephen's decision to stay. "Good," she says, moving over to take his arm with one of hers. "Now I can pin you down on helping me with that project," she says. Though there's a small twinkle in her eyes, as rather than talking about whatever project that is, she stops a passing waiter with a tray to scoop up a drink for Stephen. "Drink, sorcerer," she tells him, lifting her glass in offering to tap against his if he will. She'll sip her wine either way.

Wanda looks over to Jessica and says, "If he ever loses his inventive genius, he could hire himself out to rock bands doing stadium shows." She seems in a light-hearted mood today. Better than the quiet funk that has gripped her the past few days.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet leans into the circling embrace of Steve's arm, cheek resting against his shoulder for a few comfortable moments. "I'm not looking over at Tony," she declares, bluntly. "All that does is encourage him to show off, and next thing you know he'll be blowing up watermelons in the ballroom. Again."

She wiggles her fingers to get the bartender's attention. "Okay, ignore all these lameass old guys," Janet tells the woman. "Bring up a bottle of that Shi'ar wine for Captain America, whip up a batch of AMFs-- don't skimp on the liquor, more alcohol than ice, I'm not even kidding--"

A bright smile crosses her face and she pivots back to Wanda and Jessica, leaning backwards to speak to them around Steve's shoulder. "Think we ought to order the boys a round of Blowjobs?" she asks, raising her voice a bit.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen is effectively trapped by the Avengers and their Super Power: Peer Pressure. Which usually Strange is too prideful and willful to fall for such schemes and plots, but today, he's already here. It's a birthday. Rock n Roll is being played. The wizard seems for once in his life to go for with the flow of life.

    Stephen does glance back at that empty spot on the floor at the invisible, non-corporeal, sphinx that has been charged to observe him, and it simply sits on the floor. Stephen looks away and finds a glass of whiskey in his hand, two large ice cubes and a clink from the Scarlet Avenger when their glasses meet. "To the future Miss Maximoff." Stephen says and then holds his decanter up to the group. "To the Avengers." And then he takes his sip.

Thor has posed:
    Thor's laugh is a satisfying raucous, 'HaHaHa!" In response to Stark's point and wave, returned with a salute from his immense drink even as the billionaire continues to cycle through the crowd. But once Stark's attention is off of him Thor is shaking his head and still grinning to himself, turning back to the circle of his friends and settling in near Steve and Janet, "A wizard by any other name..."
    Another chuckle and then a long siiiiip from his drink and in the right quantities mortal beverags are not entirely horrible. He looks over towards the others. Towards Strange he lifts his drink in recognition of the toast though he perhaps didn't hear it, "Indeed, to them!"
    Then he leans over towards Cap, "So what are we doing now?"

Captain America has posed:
"Guess I'm having wine," Steve comments half to himself and half to the group. Smirking somewhat ruefully to himself, he glances over his shoulder towards Tony slowly wending his way through the throng of well-wishers and ass-kissers. He'll make it here...eventually.

"To the Avengers." The agreement from the Captain comes without a drink. His attention slips to Thor and he leans in to hear the question sotto-voce.

"Drinking and talking, I'd guess," he replies to the Asgardian. "Janet's probably going to end up dragging everyone out to dance again after a few more drinks." He did catch part of the question about blowjobs, but it doesn't register in his mind; those weren't a worry way back when and no one's dared to prank him with them yet. YET.

Iron Man has posed:
The problem with being a host is that if things DO need attention, Tony gets pestered about it. One of his security people slips their way up, and asks Tony a quick question, leaning in. Tony, though, clearly waves the man away with disinterest and distraction. "Find Pepper," Tony delegates cheerfully, turning towards another partygoer on his left, some more celebrities. He gets 'stuck' there (clearly not against his will) for a while, and coaxed to dance by two women in very low cut dresses. It's a brief tangent, since the song was wrapping, and Tony playfully flirts with both of the women, before smoothly coming directly to the Avenger group.

"Wow, we assembled well, this time," Tony teases Steve, offering a handshake/hug combination to Steve, and starting along through the others for greetings. Up close, his manner suggests he's tipsy, but highly functional. He's just a little 'extra' forward and warm.

Thor has posed:
    "Stark!" Again with the loudness, then folowed with that same. "HaHaHa!" Though this time murfled with the remains of some frilly shrimp toast that Thor had just chomped and swallowed. As Tony makes the rounds and he gets within arm's reach of the Asgardian. There's a thump thump thump on his back as he's perhaps taken in for a one-armed embrace, the overly large drink being held out to the side.
    "Stephen was most displeased with something." He gestures towards Strange, then says, "I am enjoying myself." Status Updated. "And apparently Janet has some designs on making us all dance or some such?"
    There, status update completed. He turns away and addresses anyone who might be near. "What did I miss?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"To the Avengers!" Janet joins Strange's toast and sips her drink.

Janet rises on her stool, heels hooked through the rungs underfoot, and hugs Tony with a perilous balance. He gets a sisterly peck on the cheek. "Happy birthday, Tony," Janet bids her friend, and smiles up at him.

Fortunately she doesn't slip and sits back immediately to curl into Steve's side again. And then she pokes Steve in the ribs. "'Dragging' you out to dance? You /love/ dancing with me," Janet reminds Steve. "I mean, inasmuch as your arthritic old man knees can keep up."

"Okay! A round of Blowjobs for the boys," Janet declares, waving a hand overhead. The bartender (barely suppressing a grin) starts setting out shot glasses, filling them each with liquor and then rapidly topping them off with whipped cream.

"Ah-ah," Janet says, before anyone can reach for theirs. "It's customary to take the shot without using your hands." She curls her wrist around her rum, sips, and beams encouragingly at the Avengers lads. "C'mon fellahs, you can do it! I know none of you are chicken," she says with a needling sort of playfulness.

War Machine has posed:
     Rhodes is at the party because of course he is. The man doesn't miss a chance to show up to hang out even if it's just to be a wall flower in the backgound.

     Though this time he's got the beard back. He'd kept clean shaven for so long some had thought the beard to be lost to the ages. It was a relic of a bygone area of halceon youth the sort of thing only spoken of in quiet whispers beneath ones breath in the darkest reaches of the night.

     The beard that could shake the heavens grown thick and luscious like a bear-cub had decided to curl up on his face and fall asleep there for the winter.

     Its majesty is a sight to behold as he makes his way through the crowd from a different angle dressed in a suit and tie that had been hand delivered his way by a certain smol bug. It's well fit of course, because why wouldn't it be? Yet it does seem a bit odd when faced off against the mighty power of THE LEGENDARY SUPER BEARD.

     He's stopped in his own path by a woman who only needs to start that sentence before he knows the conversation isn't going anywhere. "Hey aren't you Tony's" Just a duck to one side as he blends back into the crowd and out from the conversation leaving a rather attractive blond standing on the spot confused and in a bit of a huff as she couldn't even finish a sentence.

     He ducks about like this making his way over to the kind of people he actually wants to spend time with.

     Admittedly it had been a while since he redeployed, but then again once a soldier always one. The time had come and gone and he was back from the desert for a short while. Though he didn't often make clear when he was deploying anymore with how often it seemed to happen.

     "You know with how dense this party is I was starting to wonder if I'd find any familiar faces." Spoken with a bright smile from ear to ear that falls down to a bit more of a smirk. "Feels like half the city turned up."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"That's was quite the entrance, Tony. As always. Happy Birthday! I assume we're saving the spankings for later?" Jess seems a little more at ease. Perhaps she has forgotten she's dressed as a cupcake with a bustle. She slides in closer, angling to give Tony a hug. "Every year, I think there is no way to follow the last party. And every YEAR you prove me wrong."

Captain America has posed:
Setting aside his bulbed glass of the Shi'ar wine, Steve leans in to return the handshake/hug combination thrown his way. Tony gets a solid thump or two between his shoulderblades and a grin, true enough for the normally staid soldier.

"Sometimes it all comes together. Figure we like to keep people on their toes." He glances back towards the stage and out across the crowd momentarily. "Nice entrance." It had to be said because, frankly, it's true.

Rhodey arrives and Steve lifts a hand to him. Those shots, however, those are eyed dubiously. Janet is given a blatantly suspicious look. He glances between Rhodey, Strange, Thor, and finally at Tony, hoping one of them will give a clue as to precisely how ridiculous this whole shenanigan is. He takes up his wine again in the meantime because that, at least, is safe territory.

Iron Man has posed:
"Glad you came," Tony answers of the birthday wishes, appreciative, smiling into the well-wishes. Thor gets an 'oof' as usual, when he gives one of his big hugs (even side-hugs) to Tony. "Great; I feel caught up," Tony teases Thor. "Did you bring your new squeeze?" he asks.

Barely a brow is lifted at Janet's little game she's set up: If Janet hoped to embarrass the Avenger boys, she won't find that with Tony. "Of course it is," he agrees with her smoothly, and takes his shot immediately and entirely shamelessly. No hands needed: hardly. Tony's kind of experienced with various kinds of shots. After taking it he flips the glass over and flashes a wink at the group.

"Rhooodey!" Tony suddenly calls, spotting his 'sidekick'. He gestures grandly to the drink game Janet had set out. "Add another for him," Tony instructs the barkeeper.

"I've already gotten started on the spankings earlier, until I got in trouble," Tony winks aside at Jessica. "Pepper's reserved the right, going forward."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen looks at the concoction that Janet has placed before everyone and he sets his drink down beside it. As his drink goes down his eyebrow goes up towards Janet. "No hands?" He verifies and then looks to Wanda with a playful wink to the witch before the shot starts to lift up into the air of its own accord.

    Stephen even crosses his arms before his chest as he starts to tilt his head back and the drink goes up.

    Just as it gets to Stephen's face he opens his mouth and the drink casually pours itself out into his waiting maw. Then the empty glass falls straight down and Stephen's hand catches it with a subtle wince of pain before he sets it back on the bar and collects his whiskey. "Wow... Tasty-ish..." The wizard reports before he takes a step back and announces. "I really must be going, I trust you all, but I do know magic is none of your forte, I would feel better knowing that orb is safe. Also, Happy Birthday Tony."

Thor has posed:
    "Ellisandra, no. No. For assuredly her beauty would outshine your arrival, Stark. And we can't have that, not at your own party!" Thor's mood is rather warm, helped by the large amount of alcohol he has consumed. But his grin is given freely to Tony without any clouding of manners nor propriety. A brief moment of pure sentiment.
    But then his attention is drawn to the tray of shots with their whipped cream and set before him, as this has become the focus of attention. "No hands you say?" His brow quirks behind the eyepatch as he observes Tony's approach to it and he seems curious, but then when Strange uses his abilities the Thunderer laughs, "Hah, clever!"
    Then he steps forwards, "My turn then to attempt this blow job!" Loud enough for there to be a rather hurried flurry of titters and then laughter around him that he most likely isn't /entirely/ aware of.
    Leaning forwards he leans down, long hair held back by the pony tail and he wraps his lips around the entire shot glass and straightens up quickly, downing the whole damn thing in one go, his adam's apple working twice as he gulps. Then he /ptoos!/ the empty shot glass into the air and catches it in one hand.
    "Hah, bested!"

War Machine has posed:
     "You know Tony one of these days they're going to actually accept my retirement from the Marines." Spoken with a bit of a chuckle as if that's all that's needed to explain where he vanished to this time around. It was just a day in his life and that's how things tend to go.

     He looks over towards the shots and is about to mention something when Thor starts shouting about Blowjobs and it causes him to just instantly smirk, adding "Actually, with all these going around makes me feel like I'm back in Tijuana"

     There's a time spent working the trajectory in his head. A moments contemplation on how this could either be pretty cool or very embarrassing depending on if his math is right. Then again he's a fighter pilot how could his math be wrong?

     A light bump of the tray with an elbow sends one of the blowjobs falling down towards the ground, a quick tap of the knee sends it right back up in a parabolic arc that manages to use the momentum to keep the contents from spilling. One step back and a light lean positions his face at just the right angle so that the contents spill out the shot and into his mouth before a bend forward sends the shot back the other way and missing the tray instead landing next to it.

     "Ah dammit." Spoken with drink still in his mouth trying not to spill it as his head levels again a quick hard swallow before he lets out a light sigh. "Forgot to account for the central air."

Captain America has posed:
"That's a trick." And it is, the levitating shotglass. There goes Thor, doing his, and Steve laughs over the lip of his wine glass before he sips at it again. The drink is nearly on par with the Asgardian mead in terms of strength, but being wine, the societal check to sip rather than chug it down keeps the Captain from attaining a buzz just yet. Rhodey's display is enough to make those mobile eyebrows dance up and he eyes the tray.

"Well, can't beat any of that."

So Steve picks up the shot, ignoring all rules of engagement, and takes it before putting the glass back down on the tray. He smacks his lips. "Sweet." Another mouthful of the Shi'ar wine clears his palate. He lifts a hand towards Strange in farewell, giving the man a small smile.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony does pick up one of the other Blowjobs and drink it as well, just after Steve does: trust Tony to go for more than one. The manner was distracted, tipsy: he forgot that all of them may be needed for the game, and it was THERE. Stopping him from enjoying a third one, though, a few more party guests (who have been enjoying the show of Strange and Thor+) attempt to flag Tony down, and succeed. Tony turns to them to accept more well-wishes about his birthday.

"The next band is coming, and a second light show. And a cake. Of which I don't know the details, so I can't tell you if there's a 'show' inside it. We'll find out together," Tony plays with them.

Rhodey's display earns an honest slow clap from Tony, smirking. "More practice for your foreplay, maybe," Tony recommends.

Strange is making his exit, and gets a parting response from Tony, though. "Come to Saturday's," Tony suggests, upbeat.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff returns from a round of mingling with other guests and saying hello. By the time she's circled the room and made it back to the other Avengers, it looks like Wanda is ready to be back amongst people she knows better. "Tony, how do you ever manage to get to know so many people?" she asks him, shaking her head. "I think everyone I've met since I came to New York would fit in this room. Not just the ones I'd want at a birthday party,"she says in her soft, Eastern European accent.

Wanda returns her empty wine glass to a waiter and acquires a new one, though that's only her first glass of the evening. "Rhodey, there are you. I was worried we wouldn't see you tonight," she tells him, offering him a friendly smile of greeting.

Thor has posed:
    As Thor looks on, listening to the give and take between the others, he bobs his head a little with the music and then tries to siiiiip some more. Only his sip begins a slurp and a gurgle where the straw no longer brings any of the whiskey to his lips. So he grimaces and looks down at the betrayal of his volcano and frowns.
    "Bah." He says succinctly, then lifts his drink and tells anyone who so happens to be near enough to hear. "I find I am without drink, and thus I shall remedy this matter." And with that he turns and begins to walk off and away back towards the tertiary bar where he most likely will be assaulted by tales of retail woe.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet hops down off her chair and scampers over to hug Strange, thumping into him with her vastly inequal mass compared to his wiry frame. "Saturday?" she asks, looking up at the doctor with a beaming smile. "Don't skip out, we need you around more. And /not/ just as a magical consultant-for-hire," she reminds him.

Strange is given another hug and Janet heads back to her seat, pulling the last shot towards her. "Steve," she tells the Captain. "You're killin' me, Smalls. It's like this." Janet's head bobs and she engulfs the shotglass with her mouth tilts her head back, and swallows with a convulsion of her throat. The glass is returned to her hand and the chipmunk-cheeked socialite swallows the shot and then sets it upside-down on the counter. "Like /that/. It's a party trick, Cap, you gotta /live/ a little!" She makes grabby hands for Steve even as she retakes her seat, tugging him close as if seeking warmth for her bare shoulders.

War Machine has posed:
     Rhodes leans down for just a moment collecting the broken glass from where the shotglass had landed in the shot itself before setting the broken shot and its contents onto the bar.

     He doesn't take much time to do it, but still it's a small bit embarrassing. It was however exactly what one could be expected to get for trying to show off. Not to mention that he got some of the stuff splattered onto his beard in the process. Either way he snags a handkerchief out from his suit jacket and wipes off his face just in time to see Caps go of it.

     "See all the loop deloops in the world won't save an airshow that ends with a crash landing." The handkerchief goes right back down into the pocket of his suit. "Trust me, one of these days I'll get the landing right." A bit of gesticulation as he waggles a finger over in that direction his attention going back over towards Wanda who's now fresh arrived.

     "You almost didn't see me tonight" He motions over to the large crowd all about. "Place is almost as packed as the usual parties." Grabbing a cool refreshing RC Cola now with real sugar and less artificial sweeteners. It's the taste sensation that's sweeping the nation and a treat that just can't be beat. Now available at a supermarket near you in four bold exciting new flavors to welcome the 2027 season. It's a fresh take on an old classic you won't want to miss.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Saturday?" Stephen asks, woefully disconnected from the world the wizard really is. "I'll try, but I can't make promises with the way the world works." Stephen admits to Janet and Tony actually lifting a hand to wrap around Janet's shoulder and gives her a polite squeeze of a hug before he turns around and walks deeper into the crowd before simply vanishing in thin air, along with his invisible sphinx.

Captain America has posed:
"I'm living just fine." Steve moves with the tug to end up aligned with Janet's side yet again. "Those shots are too sweet for my taste. This's better," he adds to the fashionista, indicating the glass of Shi'ar wine in his hand. Another scan of the room proves the drinks are still flowing and the dance floor is beginning to fill up, single by single and couple by couple and raft-like group by group.

"I think you'll all have to see if you can out-dance Tony. Last time I checked, he could jive better than most folks I know." Yep, challenge leveled. Someone on the dance floor falls and a drink splatters along with the shattering of glass. "At least better than them," Steve amends with a little wince, glancing around the Avengers grouping. "I'll be the judge."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff takes a sip of her wine. "I don't know how you do it, Tony. One of these parties would be enough for me in a month," she says. Wanda watches as Janet does the last shot, laughing and clapping. And glad that she was wandering the room when the shots were handed out.

"Pietro still hasn't made it. He must be actually doing something," Wanda comments, pulling out her phone and sending a message off to her twin. She watches Doctor Strange's disappearance and says to herself, "I really must ask him about the sphinx sometime." She glances back up, phone put away. "Steve, I thought I heard that you and Janet were quite the dancers together? Time for a demonstration for the rest of us, isn't it?" she says, trying to get the pair out dancing together.

Iron Man has posed:
"All of this," Tony says to Wanda, gesturing around and behind him, "is fuel on my fire, I love birthday season," he says, with a grin sent across to Rhodey. "I like the challenge; to do better and bolder each year." He truly does: the liquor's only making Tony unfocused. He doesn't seem to catch much of the comments of the challenge about him dancing: but there's a lot going on, and he's actively hosting, and minding the variety of people.

"This is the smaller, intimate group. Most of the business connections are part of Saturday, and those that couldn't fly out from Hollywood or wherever mid-week," Tony comments flippantly. He then lifts a hand in an 'excuse me', "Back in a bit," he says, going towards a pocket of media. He needs his /pictures/.