october: free for all | ❝ lurking in the shadows ❞

[quickfingers]

WHO: EVERYONE? Anyone. (And Peter.)
WHERE: X-Fam House, Nonah.
WHEN: Friday the 13th!
WHAT: Giant ass Halloween party. On Friday the 13th. YOU ARE ALL INVITED.
WARNINGS: tbd, probably some disaster.
NOTES: So this party's invites are pretty scattered so if you have CR with Peter, you can feel free to assume you've been invited (if he hasn't literally ic inboxed you) or found an invite/ heard about the party from anyone else and are still welcome to have fun! Feel free to plurk me (valleyheart) if you have questions but aside from Peter's top level, it's free game to do what you want!



The Invitations

[If you're a friend of Peter you might've been invited personally, but even so you might find one of these bad boys slipped your way, in your mail or taped to the inside of your next pizza order leading up to the 13th. On the back of the invitation is a hand scrawled address in Nonah, the home of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr - if you're familiar, you're familiar. If not, doesn't matter, 'cause it's Peter's disastrous party about to go down and you're still welcome.]

The House

[The party takes place at the "X-Fam" house in Nonah, which some of you may remember hosted a bbq not too long ago. Yeah, the place where Erik and Charles live - not that this party's sponsored by them in any shape, way or form. In fact it's more of a "while the cat's away, the mice will play" type scenario because asking permission to hold a killer party is not something Peter did.

He was responsible enough however to use caution tape to cross off the doors of the bedrooms in the house, preserving the privacy of his housemates to a degree. The other rooms aren't off limits and neither is the backyard, all of which are decorated festively for the occasion. Cobwebs litter corners and hallways, weaving through the banister rails complete with fake spiders nestled in them. The curtains are somber, as a variety of stick on decals are covering windows and mirrors alike. Decorations sit on mantles and door frames, with each window sill featuring a lit candle or something equally spooky.

The backyard is lit by dim orange lights, featuring seating and open night air for those who wish to get out of a hot, loud house and admire the stars. Just mind the witch legs and don't litter cigarette butts everywhere, alright?

The door's open and a variety of tunes are playing, audible from the street.]

The Party

[So you were invited (or not,) and you found your way to the right house. The lights are dimmed and the music's loud, so come in and get a drink from the fridge or the creative yet nerdy 'keg'. Peter's no Martha Stewart nor is Wanda really in a mood to make a lot of cute treats so you'll have to put up with standard party fair: potato chips, pretzels, a huge stack of pizzas and a few large bowls of candy corn. That shit is everywhere, there's no escaping it. You need ice? Just don't choke on the critters.

Rooms not cordoned off are yours to wander and get wasted in, same with the stretch of grass in the back yard. Wander with your goblets of definitely spiked punch and a handful of candy corn. Because if you're not eating it then you suck.

At some point there will be a cake pulled out because Peter's drowning in sisters and Lorna's birthday is this month. Clearly the thing to do is to (monster) mash it in to the Halloween celebrations with a creepy cake. Say a spooky happy birthday to the girl with green hair when you get the chance.]

Comments

[nightmarist]

[Ronan would point out that, no, he's referring to the lipstick. But then Magnus would probably try to wipe it off, and Ronan much prefers him wandering around the party like this a little while longer.]

Should we trade costumes? You'd be a much better Titania. I don't know what Adam was thinking.

[fehus]

[folding his arms on top of the railing, Magnus leans in and presses his chest tight against it, hoping to absorb some coolness from it, or maybe pin his heart in place. his skin feels hot and stretched, like it doesn't fit right]

[he hums thoughtfully]

I'm prince of the elves, not queen of the fai -- oh. That's probably what he was thinking. Is that a mean or a funny joke?

[another hum]

You'd make a good Gomez, though. [he tilts his head against his pinestriped arms, some lipstick on his cheek smearing out of lip-shape. his own lips are quirked at the corners, looking at his friend] But a better Lurch, Lynch.

[nightmarist]

Is there a difference between a mean joke and a funny joke? He's not wrong.

[Queen of the fairies, indeed.]

But I guess the problem with either of those options is that I fit entirely too well into the Addams Family universe. It's barely a costume.

[fehus]

[Magnus rubs fingers through his glittery, skunk-stripe hair again, hands feeling restless in a way they usually aren't. his hair is obviously only going to get worse, throughout the night]

Yeah. You do. A lovable weirdo with a taste for the macabre.

[it occurs to him to ask]

-- Who the Hel is Noah? I didn't realise there was a Shakespeare thing going on, I thought he was a cool fungus.

[nightmarist]

[Ronan cocks his head at being described as "lovable". He's not sure even his boyfriends would call him that.]

He's Puck, obviously. Not too far off from a cool fungus.

[fehus]

[he's Puck, obviously -- Magnus is a reader and honestly incredibly intelligent, but the statement makes him laugh. these private school boys could really be something else. it's weird to think he might have been one of them, in a different life]

Ahuh. Thanks for the clarification.

[he doesn't seem to realise he's said anything particularly notable or embarrassing, with calling Ronan lovable. he is, to Magnus]

Who would I be, o queen?

[nightmarist]

You're kind of an ass, so I'd cast you as Bottom.

[Incidentally also the object of Titania's romantic obsession? Let's not talk about that.]

[fehus]

Now that's a mean joke...

[Magnus may be incredibly intelligent, but he stops at the first and most obvious interpretation, occam's razor and all. he chuckles, interspersed with;]

Heehaw, heehaw.

[nightmarist]

Perfect. You got the part.

[Ronan sips at his drink, glancing at those lipstick marks again.]

So, you and Alex?

[fehus]

[ah. he flushes bright enough that he's an evening sun version of his usual high noon light. this is the conversation he'd been a bit -- afraid of, he supposes, a fear he's decided to set aside for Alex's mental wellbeing (which was far more important than any weird hang-ups he had about discussing his relationship status or sexuality with the population at large). in light of how tonight has made him Feel -- grinning in the dark, overwhelmed, shockingly normal -- the question doesn't seem so scary and invasive, anymore. it doesn't hurt that Ronan is, possibly, his best friend here, apart from Alex]

[he nods, confirming soft but firm;]

Yeah. Me and Alex. It's -- [there's an entire smart boy dictionary's worth of words that could here. amazing, shocking, insane, perfect, terrifying. so Magnus ends with;] -- a lot. I mean, I'm definitely in love with her, and basically have been I think since we met? So.

[so]

[nightmarist]

I could tell.

[Before the lipstick evidence, even! It has been pretty obvious since Alex's arrival. Ronan punches Magnus gently in the shoulder.]

Congratulations, you bastard.

[Truly, Ronan's happy for him. He suspects that, much like himself and Adam, Magnus and Alex are meant to be together on some cosmic level. After all the bullshit he's gone through, Magnus deserves this. Alex does, too.]

[fehus]

[somehow it's not the reaction he was expecting -- which is more on his own lack of self than anything to do with Ronan -- and if he weren't einherjar strong, he'd probably have stumbled sideways with even the gentle punch. as it is, his mouth drops open, working soundlessly for a few moments before he breaks into that same kind of grin as before; overwhelmed, expressive, like he's never heard the word "Ragnarok" or been harpooned like a seal on the battlefield. he's so -- he's so fucking happy. he can't believe this is his afterlife. he's used to living and dying with so, so much less than everything he's ever wanted]

Th-thanks.

[he stutters it, and he should probably be swaggering back at Ronan, but instead he hides his face, that grin, in his hands. he isn't sure how to process being this happy anymore, in front of people]

[though he does manage to sputter, incredulous;]

Wh-what the fuck? How did you know?

[nightmarist]

I'm not fucking blind.

[He would literally have to be, to miss all that lipstick. Which he still isn't pointing out.]

It's written all over your face.

[Again, literally. But also in the other sense. Magnus has never looked this happy before, not as long as Ronan's known him. It's enough to warm his cold, cold heart.]

[fehus]

[behind his hands, Magnus makes a groaning noise. he doesn't feel like he'll be emerging from behind them, ready to face how embarrassing he is at apparently all fucking times, any time soon]

That's exactly what he said. [a pronoun shift, reflecting the day Alex actually confessed to him] Actually, he called me Bambi? Which I guess is worse.

[not everybody can be cool and collected and sharp and good looking, he wants to argue. it's not fair, that Alex and Ronan both have the ability to not broadcast their feelings to a room]

[nightmarist]

[Ronan is arguably just as bad, but Magnus never had to witness him pining for Adam from afar. It was not nearly as secret as he would've liked to believe.]

Bambi sounds about right. But it's a good thing, isn't it?

[Because Alex loves Magnus in return. He can't be humiliated when the feeling's mutual.]

[fehus]

[reflecting that same thought;]

No, it's a good thing she likes me back, or else I'd just be venison.

[it's crazy to say out loud, honestly. Alex Fierro likes him back. a smile splits his face again, wide enough to peek out from behind one palm, nearest to Ronan]

...It's not just good. It's, definitely the best thing that's ever happened to me.

[he may not be the swaggering type, in love -- apparently much more of a hopeless lover, for all his lack of romantic ideals -- but he nudges closer to Ronan, wanting that grounding stability of his friend, built like a fucking brick shithouse and wrapped in yard upon yard of sparkly organza]

It's crazy...

[nightmarist]

[Ronan has to marvel at it, how happy Magnus looks. He wonders what it's like to feel that way. To make someone else feel that way, the way Alex has. This is what love looks like.]

It's not crazy. It makes perfect sense. What's crazy is how long it took.

[fehus]

[he cocks his head sharply at that, face coming out from behind his hands]

Huh? What d'you mean?

[from where he's standing, he can't make any sense of anything]

I mean. Post-mortem, definitely might be a little late for my first girlfriend, yeah.

[nightmarist]

Not that, though I guess also that.

[Ronan can hardly judge. He only had his first kiss last winter.]

I mean Alex has been here for like a whole month and it took you guys this long to finally go for it.

[fehus]

[Magnus pinks a little, confesses]

Um, actually, we've kind of been dating for like, three weeks...

[so they didn't make it quite a whole month, getting together in the last week of September]

Just, um, keeping it on the downlow while we figured stuff out a little. [pause] While I figured stuff out, mostly. Except I didn't actually? I got distracted by getting to like, date Alex. [there's some awe in his voice; he blushes a bit deeper] Um, but that's okay, I think. Alex doesn't mind that I'm a clueless ass. Like Bottom.