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

[fehus]

[oh -- he jerks his head up a little, like Peter's clapped]

Sorry, I didn't realise it was like, a weird thing?

[a pause]

...Speaking of, messed up families...

[quickfingers]

[Peter shrugs. It's kinda a weird thing.]

Yeah?

[fehus]

[he holds up his hand, points to it]

The whole, sister-trying-to-kill-you-at-your-fun-Halloween-party, thing?

[quickfingers]

Right. [They're going back to that, aren't they. Damn.]

So, well. Friendly bickering went really sour - somewhere around me calling her a witch bitch, but in my defense she is bitchy and dressed as a witch. I know in retrospect I could've not said what I said for some other reasons, but it escalated from there.

[...] It could've been worse. The only reason I got fucked up was because I've been drinking.

[fehus]

Yeah, no, "I should have dodged" is like, a concerning reaction to that?

[he frowns, eyes dropping to the carpet]

Not that calling her names was like, a bright idea. She can't really be friendly if her emotions are turned off. Which is also still pretty concerning.

[...]

Um. Yeah.

peter: explains stories so well

[quickfingers]

[Peter sucks in a breath.] I mean, I cut my hand because I did dodge - but I was [vague hand gesture] and it was [vaguer hand gesture] and it almost kinda ricocheted into the crowd. So I grabbed it. Which, when you're not really thinking about what you're doing is a terrible idea at high speeds.

I like broke my hip too, it's been amazing. [Exaggeration is his coping method in times of stress, alright? He's got a bruise the size of a baseball though, but he's not about to show you while they're two dudes standing in a bathroom with the door open.]

We kinda threw beer at each other, that was the real kicker. [He chuckles, despite himself.] I really got her good with that. It's really not funny, except it is.

Re: peter: explains stories so well

[fehus]

[oops that convoluted story didn't matter -- Magnus' eyes immediately drop from Peter's face, and it might be more obvious this time, that he's taking in what kind of damage was hiding on Peter]

What? Let me see your hip.

[quickfingers]

[Peter's chuckle kind of dies and he watches Magnus watching him.] What? No, it's fine.

Stop undressing me with your eyes, Chase. It's just a bruise. [A pretty good one from smashing up against that table, and his ankle's seen better days. But does he frowns at drawing too much attention to himself here.]

[fehus]

"I like broke my hip" doesn't sound like just a bruise. You realise it's really easy for me to heal, right? Like, I'm bad at most stuff, but actually okay at healing?

[he will never understand the resistance he gets, offering to heal. it made sense in Valhalla, where dying with glory was preferable in most cases than being repeatedly healed (which was also frustrating to him). but it makes no sense here, with mortals, who treat their bodies like disposable garbage]

Small stuff takes like, no energy.

[quickfingers]

[He waves off such worry with a flippant hand gesture.] I don't even feel it, at least not anymore.

If it's bugging me tomorrow I'll give you a call and strip for you then. I kinda wanna see what colors it'll turn too, it's not often I get whacked that hard.

[fehus]

[Magnus' blond eyebrows draw in, and he looks at Peter in pure Nordic consternation for a moment before... dropping it. he won't force healing on anyone, outside of crises situations]

Does your -- does Erik know? About your sister turning off her emotions.

[quickfingers]

[Peter pokes at the spines of books in the library, admiring the boring selection.]

She's kinda hard to miss. I try to stay out of her shit right now, but I doubt she's hiding anything from him. And I don't really know what to say to him about it - hey dad! Wanda's off her rocker, golly gee whiz that's the shits.

[fehus]

If they're close, maybe he could talk her out of doing this dumb crazy thing?

[he doesn't quite sound as if he believes his own suggestion; Magnus doesn't particularly Rely, ever, on adults to fix things, but... Peter's whole life has all these messy familial strings, still]

[quickfingers]

I don't know how much he could really help my sister. It's - I'll admit this part is stupid but I don't really like having to turn to him for help, too? It's a weird balance in this house and while it's kinda cool having him around, I'm also feeling some strange vibes.

[God, why is it always you he's having serious discussions with about life. You're a good bro but you shouldn't have to put up with so much Conflicted Peter.] Part of me prefers to be able to take care of Wanda and myself without him, like we have been taking care of ourselves our entire lives.

[fehus]

That's not stupid? I literally have an estranged god-dad, dude. Asking for help from somebody you barely know but are somehow related to and who gave you weird powers is weird and hard.

[Magnus makes his way to the stacks on the other side of the room. he looks relaxed, even with his concern for his friend; having these kinds of conversations doesn't scare him]

...But it's not like asking for his advice would be like, giving up all your autonomy or whatever. It'd just be advice.

[quickfingers]

Keep in mind my dad tried to shoot a president and end the world. [Peter's stubborn but relents with a sigh.]

Maybe I'll ask. I've just been talking to Jean, really. Trying to work out what to do.

[fehus]

Is that working? What's Jean think?

[fingers trailing along book spines, with more care than one might expect]

[quickfingers]

We just kind of agreed we have to be there for Wanda, but it's hard - Jean doesn't want to get in her head without consent. But it's not like Wanda's in the right headspace, but who gets to make that call?

[Peter slumps onto the couch, laying his head back against the cushions behind him.] It's a no win situation.

[fehus]

[Magnus frowns -- this collection of books is pretty boring -- and turns to look at Peter]

[he has a couple choice opinions about No Win Situations, which is probably the title of his autobiography, but]

-- Can you fix the problem that made her do it, in the first place?

[quickfingers]

[Peter closes his eyes. Can he fix that? Golden question.]

Something I'm already working on, yeah.

[fehus]

That's good.

[Magnus smiles a bit, shrugging shoulders. he doesn't need nitty-gritty details]

You're her family. You'll figure something out, even if it seems no-win right now.

[quickfingers]

[Peter opens his eyes and sits forward again, rubbing (freshly washed™) hands over his face.]

Talking to you is always a trip, man. But you give some good vibes, so thanks for that.

[fehus]

[Magnus quirks a wry expression]

I'm a sunshine peace demigod. It's what we do, probably? I don't know, I'm the only one I know.

[he moves back towards Peter, thinking -- it'd be better to get Peter having fun again, after a fight with his sister like that]

C'mon. You're the host, you have to show everyone how to do the monster mash.

[and Magnus, Peter probably knows by now, doesn't do much Touching. like, ever (with the obvious exception of Alex). he nevertheless extends a hand to his friend on the couch]

[quickfingers]

[Peter looks at the hand before gratefully taking it, pulling himself to his feet and then fixing his suit before giving an affirming nod.]

Sounds right, but only if it's a graveyard smash. [Pls don't mind this bro pat on the shoulder, ok?]