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

[garotted]

--Really? [ about the not getting drunk thing. she hums out a thoughtful noise, taking the offered cigarette and pressing it between her lips again to take a drag. ] I'm not much of a drinker-- [ she hates losing the control of herself, being unaware of her surroundings; it had been dangerous on the streets. ] --but not even having the option is bullshit. Is it a powers thing?

[ that's what she assumes, anyway, but then.. who knows, considering all the people here? it may be typical of his world for all she knows.

she glances back up, then, smiling once more and ashing the cigarette before handing it back. ] Yeah, I think it could be fun. And you're right, Jess and Roger might suit that part better. --Maybe you should be Eddie Valiant in that case.

[heisenbitch]

[ Jesse would answer her question about his powers, but her suggestion of Eddie Valiant makes Jesse's eyebrows snap up in surprised amusement. ]

Eddie Valiant? The angry, bald, fat guy?

[garotted]

[ despite herself, she laughs. ] Not how I would've described him, but yeah. Just, like, do your own interpretation of him or something. Plus it's an easy costume, just grab a trenchcoat, a tie, and a hat. Bam, done.

[ if anyone asks, he can also be a police detective or mobster in that case. very versatile. ]

[heisenbitch]

[ A high-level drug lord dressing up as an angry, bald, fat detective. How ironic. It would be like embodying that Schrader asshole who's got such a raging hard-on hateboner for Jesse back at home. He tilts his head and gives Alex a pointed look that's accompanied with a wry little pointed smirk. ]

Do I seriously look like a tie and trenchcoat kinda guy?

[ In his leather jacket and jeans and skull t-shirt he's wearing right now? ]

[garotted]

--Do I look like a Jessica Rabbit type of girl? [ she's not nearly that sexy, really. (not much of a singer, either.) she shrugs. ] Anyway, it's an idea.

[ to start him on his way to great halloween costumes. godspeed, jesse.

she kicks her heels off, curling her toes in the grass as she glances idly back toward the rest of the party. ]

What is it you do back home? Or here, for that matter?

[heisenbitch]

Um. Work part-time at Import Comics as one of the lead illustrators. Also run a health retreat just outside Heropa. Miracle Springs. You mighta heard of it, I dunno. [ Jesse reaches out a hand to take back the cigarette for another drag. He doesn't sound overly sure of himself mentioning those two things. However, the next part comes to him easy; a convincing lie that's based on an element of truth: ] Back home, though, work for a guy who runs a pharmaceutical company. Blue collar shit. Cleaning lab equipment and stuff.

[garotted]

--A health retreat? [ she glances back toward him with an amused, intrigued glance. ] That's an interesting combination. [ illustration and.. whatever people do at health retreats. honestly, she's not really sure. ] A big change from what you did at home, too. I guess most of us can say that, though.

[ it's weird not fighting everyday here, just.. being able to be herself. not being afraid of what each new day will bring, not having to suspect everyone for her mother's involvement-- ]

Just living in Midgard again is a weird enough experience. Having the luxury of going to parties like this, you know? I couldn't really do this when I was alive.

[heisenbitch]

[ Mid-what? Jesse is about to cut in and ask what that is, when... Oh. The curious look on Jesse's face turns into a brief questioning squint, and then slides away into quiet, dismayed realisation. Only the fact that Jesse has met Noah stops Jesse from being weirded out, freaked out, alarmed, perturbed, all the things that had raced through Jesse's mind upon finding out Noah was a ghost. If anything... the lack of being freaked out by a dead person is what allows more room for that dismayed realisation to sink into his chest. ]

Shit. [ A quiet exclamation that slips out absently, more to himself than to her. ] Jesus, I'm— I had... I had no idea. I...

[ God, she's just a kid. That makes something squeeze sorrowfully in his chest. And what can he even say to that? She's probably heard it all before, and there's nothing Jesse can say, really. So, the formless words he's about to say are shut off, Jesse pressing his lips together in a thin poignant line, his shoulders slouching slightly as he regards her with a soft, compassionate little sigh. ]

[garotted]

[ the dismayed response earns a curious, slightly startled glance, but then her lips quirk up in a small smile. ] Don't give me that look, I have a pretty decent afterlife. I'm a demigod, so I live in Valhalla.

[ with people who've become her family, with her boyfriend, cared for and accepted in a way she'd seldom found in life. even with all the dying she does, she doesn't really have any complaints.

she nudges her foot against his, a shoulder lifting in a shrug. ] Anyway, I was never going to live long. My mom would've killed me eventually, one way or another. [ nbd. ]

[heisenbitch]

[ A small incredulous squint is levelled at her, like he can't work out how she could be so flippant about something like that. It quickly morphs back into dismay. That's... awful. That's... God, that's fucked up. Jesse presses his lips together and looks away for a moment. ]

Jesus, that's... [ He can't think of how to even respond to that. He shakes his head slightly. No words. But when he turns his head to set his attention back on her, it's like he's regarding her in a completely different light. Not with pity or with sadness, but... pensive deliberation, perhaps. ]

How long've you been here?

[garotted]

[ she can be flippant about it because her afterlife is so, so much better than her life had been. and honestly, it's too much to acknowledge how damaged she is. what's the point? it's not going to fix her; there is no fixing her, or fixing the past.

her brows lift at the new expression on jesse's face, but the question surprises her a little. it's not really one she expected. ]

I guess it's been a little over a month now? [ it doesn't seem as if it's been that long, but she supposes she and magnus keep pretty busy. ] Magnus got here the month before that. What about you?

[heisenbitch]

[ The question about how long he's been here goes ignored by Jesse. He's not focused on himself right now. ]

You've done other fun stuff, too, right? Like, besides parties? [ That pensively deliberating look becoming searching. Although, her mentioning Magnus causes him to pause for a beat, before adding: ] ...Magnus isn't...?

[ Dead, too, is he? ]

[garotted]

[ other fun stuff? ] Yeah, I guess so. I haven't considered it much in those terms. [ they've been swimming, though, and they hang out with friends, and they hike--

the mention of magnus makes her pause. is he asking if he's like alex? ]

He actually died before I did. We're hallmates in Valhalla; that's how we met. [ sort of. more or less. she's not sure it's a good idea to tell jesse about beheading magnus that first time.

she gently plucks the forgotten cigarette back out of his hand to take a drag, breathing out smoke through her nose like a dragon. ] --But honestly, we have a pretty good time back in Valhalla, too. It's not all fighting all the time, and I have my own pottery studio.

[heisenbitch]

[ Oh... Jesus. Jesse swallows like he's wincing very slightly at hearing that Magnus, too, is dead. These poor kids... Of course, there's also the fact that they get to live again, here, but how could that possibly discount or take away the trauma of death? He hopes to god they weren't murdered the way Noah was. A part of him wants to ask; another, much larger part of him doesn't want to ask, lest it dredge up pain or memories of suffering.

And it's only her nonchalant way of talking about it that has Jesse's dismay turning slightly into morbid curiosity. ]

Is Valhalla, like... what, like Heaven?

[garotted]

[ the question makes her laugh, bare foot bobbing a little as she finishes the cigarette and stubs it out in the grass. ]

Norns, no. Heaven's supposed to be sunshine and rainbows, it sounds boring. I'd say Folkvangr is probably the closest to that sort of thing we have in our pantheon.

[ magnus's aunt's in charge of it, and she knows he's met her and been there, but she's never been interested enough in the place to ask him much about it. ]

Valhalla is.. basically where warriors that died in battle go. [ she shrugs, twisting a few strands of long dark hair around a finger. ] We're an army, we train to fight at the end of the world. More or less.

[heisenbitch]

[ Jesse pushes his hands into his jeans pockets with slouched shoulders and looks down, scuffing his shoe against the grass with a stumped little shake of his head. God, that's heavy. And here she is, talking about it like she might as well be telling him about something she had for lunch earlier today. ]

Shit, that's... [ One hand withdraws from his pocket again to rub the back of his neck. When he drops that hand back into his pocket, he exhales a sigh with a puff of his lips, then sets his attention back on Alex. His lips pull into a weak attempt at joking smile. ] Well. You're a helluva tougher kid than I was at your age, I'll definitely say that much.

[ Because he literally doesn't know how to even respond to any of this outside of being mortified. ]