metalogs | CLOSED | Dylan's 15th Birthday

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CLOSED | Dylan's 15th Birthday

Who: Dylan Brock

codicies, his housemates, and those invited to the party — which is pretty much everyone he's had a positive interaction with.
What: Dylan's 15th birthday party, a bonfire cookout!
When: October 8
Where: Home of Diana Prince in Little Love, KS
Content Warnings: none (but will label things if asked)

Dylan's 15th Birthday Bonfire

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SETUP

(CLOSED to Dylan's housemates & anyone who might have showed up early to help prep)

Setting up for the party beforehand.

FOOD

Autumn has set in. The daytime is cool, the evenings are chilly, and there's a bonfire roaring in one of Diana's fields. Dylan's been prepping food for the party all morning — There's sausages, s'more supplies, and shish kebabs stacked with meat & vegetables. There's even some sweet potatoes! He saw a video on Japanese street food and wanted to try cooking potatoes on the fire in foil.

As for drinks, of course water and soda are available, but he managed to borrow some coffee urns from a kind caterer in town in exchange for a little manual labor. Now he's got a great setup for hot coffee, hot chocolate, AND hot cider all evening!

There's also a VERY large sheet cake for serving later. He'd been offered a brain-shaped cake, but the pictures had been a little too realistic, and he didn't think he (or the guests) would find it all too appetizing.

Though he's a little afraid the brain cake is still coming out, whether he likes it or not, but the sheet cake will be what he uses to blow out the candles, thank you very much.

SWORDPLAY

One of the gifts Dylan received was a real-life sword from Diana! He's been taking lessons from her and is ready to try it out. There's a little clearing a little ways from the bonfire where he's trying it out. If you want, you can come and spar — with Dylan, with Diana, or even with each other. With swords, sticks, or even with fists!! Come join the impromptu Fight Club.

EDIT to add: there are real AND wooden swords available for sparring, as well as wooden & straw dummies to practice on as well!

GAME TIME

There are frisbees, a football, soccer balls, even a ninepin set?? Do you have these games in your world? There's all kinds of fun sports gear available. Or you could grab something at random and start a game of Calvinball.

FIRESIDE

With the daylight fading, the fire becomes the center of activity. As you roast marshmallows or weiners (or grab one of those potatoes out of the fire) everyone huddles around, seated on rocks, stumps or lawn chairs as we all sing songs and tell stories.

Any spooky tales from your homeworld? Any songs you'd like to sing? Dylan had gotten a few guitar lessons from Jaskier before he disappeared, so if you start singing, he'll try to follow along with chords!

FIREWORKS

oh my god who brought those. please don't set any crops on fire. EXTINGUISHERS ON STANDBY.

WILDCARD

Any Standard Bonfire Activities I've forgotten, go ahead and throw them in!

After-Party Sleepover
(CLOSED to Dylan's housemates + Nico, Will, Hunter, Hibiki, and Chris Yukine)

Six teenagers sleeping on couches & air mattresses in the living room, watching movies... what crimes will they commit?

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[Hunter stands up straight and looks pleased that Dylan seems to like the pie. He is right, a traditional birthday pie is usually just for the birthday person, there's not enough for everyone else. And he's been busy preparing for the party, so it makes perfect sense he'd just eat it later when he had time to enjoy it.]

[So fortunately he doesn't stare expectantly at Dylan and wait for him to eat it or look upset it's getting tucked away.]

[Instead, he nods at the other gift.]

I tried to get something I could understand the purpose of and it seemed useful. It's the kind of thing I heard the coven scouts sometimes mention as gifts they'd gotten.

[When he unwraps it, it's...]

[A magic 8 ball.]

I didn't know humans could make their own scrying globes without magic, but I guess they figured out how to do the equivalent of precognition magic with your science.

You can ask it advice about the future!

[ Dylan sets the pie aside on a table and takes the Magic 8-Ball and turns it over in his hands, grinning with absolute delight. He'd always thought these things were neat, but grandpa would have never sprung for one — partly because of his penny-pinching, but mostly because anything even adjacent to the occult wasn't allowed under his roof. ]

This is awesome! Never had one of these before. Thanks so much, Hunter.

[ Hunter seems to think it's real. Dylan knows it's just a toy and isn't really magic, but saying it like that just spoils the fun, doesn't it?

He gives it a little shake. ]

Are we gonna have a good time tonight?

> Aʟʟ Sɪɢɴs Pᴏɪɴᴛ ᴛᴏ Yᴇs

[Hunter smiles brightly to see that it seems to work. With all the party planning and people that are probably invited, it seems like it'll be a fun night so the scrying globe saying so means it's probably calibrated right.]

[In fact, his ears even perk up at Dylan's enthusiasm and thank you. While they look like a human's ears but pointy, a witch's ears are a bit more expressive than that, perking up or laying flat based on any of the more extreme swings of their moods.]

I'm glad you like it.

[He looks a little shyer after that.]

Thanks for inviting me. This is the first birthday party I've ever been invited to.

Edited 2022-10-10 04:21 (UTC)

[ ...That ear thing was adorable. Dylan feels a flutter in his gut at the sight of it, but doesn't pause to contemplate it. He just shrugs, still smiling. ]

Well, if this is anything to go by — [ He holds up the magic 8-Ball ] — your first one's gonna be awesome.

So wait, did you not have parties for yourself?

[An awkward shrug.]

I'm not -.

I'm not like most people. Like...the ones that grow up in a family. And do normal things like go to school.

So I didn't start making any friends my age until a few months ago.

[And also it turns out he wasn't born, anyway, is a thing he doesn't say.]

[Birthdays would've just been another lie, for something freakish that wasn't born, that was made of parts (some dead) and twisted magic, that clawed its way out of the earth.]

[He goes back to meal prep because he can talk about some of these things, but not while meeting Dylan's eyes. Still, despite feeling like he needs to busy himself while talking about it, despite needing to look away, he can still do it. He doesn't realize it, but it's a testament to his resilience that talking about his past doesn't make him just cave in on himself.]

It's not even a "my world is different from Earth thing." It was weird compared to the way my friends grew up too.

So no birthday parties. It wasn't like I didn't celebrate, though. I couldn't take off from work - we only had one day off a year, and always the same day, but I still carved out some time. I usually made a birthday pie for myself.

It's nice to finally have been able to do it for someone else.

Edited 2022-10-11 01:44 (UTC)

[ Dylan's expression falls as he listens, brow furrowing as Hunter talks about work. At his age? Really?

He glances back at the pie Hunter made him. So that really was... a sincere gesture, huh? Crap, he's going to have to give an honest go at eating it now, isn't he? Guilt will tear him apart if he doesn't. Maybe those symbiote genes will kick in when he tries so he can down it in one go.

Dylan looks back to Hunter. He's smiling again, but it's softer and warmer this time. He leans in close and puts his left hand on Hunter's shoulder. ]

Well, next time, you get to do it with friends. So whenever your birthday comes around, we can celebrate however you want.

[He looks a little surprised at the touch - he's always a little surprised when people are gentle with him. But it's a good surprise, the same way he's been grateful anytime Willow or Gus have touched him a friendly or comforting way.]

[It's nice. It's welcome. He relaxes into it.]

[Dylan is very nice for doing it, and for the promise he's making.]

[It's just one Hunter doesn't want to follow through on.]

I appreciate the thought. But there's stuff around my birthday that's...complicated now.

[It'd just feel weird, spending a whole day, a) with people celebrating him, given they don't know the person he use to be, someone who maybe doesn't deserve celebrating, and b) not actually having been born.]

[He adds quickly.]

But I would like to be friends!

It was cool. How you took charge of that fight we were in? Like it was no problem at all. It reminded me of my friend Luz.

[Quick-thinking Luz, who instantly came up with the plan that saved Hunter's life: using Gus' illusion magic and taking his place when Kikimora tried to capture him and take him back to Belos.]

[ Dylan nods. No need to press him further about the birthday thing — if it's shit, it's shit, and one party isn't gonna fix whatever bad associations he's got with it. If there's one thing that never helped Dylan, it's people trying to force positivity when he just wants to process being sad for a while. ]

Okay. But if you want, maybe you can pick another day to celebrate. Something else important to you, you know? If we're gonna be friends, we should have some kind of day for you.

[ At Hunter's compliment, Dylan feels his face get a little hot. ]

You think so? I mean... I was mostly just bossing everyone around. I wasn't the one flying around and doing magic. That was awesome! I couldn't do that.

[He only gives Dylan a nod about picking another day to celebrate. Maybe he can think of something or...]

[Or do something he always wanted to do, deep down inside. Like a Moonlight Conjuring, something he could never do back home because of his lack of magic. The people here didn't really have magic, either, but a Moonlight Conjuring wasn't just about the actual ritual, it was also about spending time with your friends.]

[But Dylan moves on and it's a welcome transition.]

[Hunter notices the slight flush, and feels strange about causing it. But...good strange.]

Trust me, I know what just bossing everyone around looks like. [He used to do plenty of it himself, without much sense of tactics or grace. Kikimora had done it, too. They'd competed at it.] You carried yourself well. Kept a clear head. And you coordinated everyone without even knowing what we could do.

[Attacked the situation with confidence, projecting it whether he was feeling it or not.]

You demonstrated excellent command potential.

[ This is... so wild. It's not like Dylan's never been complimented before, but no one's ever seen leadership skills in him. Even after the fight with Knull back home, it was always generic stuff, "You're so brave" and other simple compliments authority figures might dole out when you're young and/or traumatized. But hearing about specific things he did well...

Dylan's blushing harder, but he tries to laugh it off. ]

Sounds like you're speaking from experience.

I am.

[He has to decide what to say. It helps that he has something to do with his hands. There are a fair number of people coming. There's a lot of meal prep.]

[This whole situation is...weird. Back home, his friends know about his upbringing. It takes some of the pressure off, when he talks about anything to do with the Emperor's coven. If he brings up anything that they find messed up or horrifying, they might be sympathetic or sad for him but it doesn't get weird.]

[Here...it's strangers or relative strangers. Here, they have no context about his world and have no idea that he took such an awful role in it for so long. Here, they don't understand the reality of the Emperor enough to understand why being raised by him was bad. Here, he's not sure if telling them things will get odd looks or pity.]

[(It doesn't help that he doesn't entirely know what's normal and what isn't yet, just that a lot of his upbringing was probably the latter.)]

[That means he isn't sure what would count as oversharing, what will cause horror, and if it does, how much it will cause.]

[At the very least he doesn't feel shame about some of it, though. About his role in it, sure, about the awful things he did as the Golden Guard. But there is a lot he is soundly able to put at the Emperor's feet. And he knows that accepting responsibility for his actions and being open about who he was and how he's done wrong is something he owes any of the people he hurt (including the Palismen he handed over to Belos). It's a no-brainer that he should sometimes admit the fault that was squarely his.]

My world has a system of covens, that were put in place by the Emperor. Most people have multiple types of magic, but after they became adults they were forced to pick a coven and use only one type. They had to get coven brands that limited their magic.

[Which may explain what looks like a tattoo on his right wrist. Not that he had any magic to limit, but Belos had marked his ownership of him and set him up to die on the Day of the Unity all the same.]

The Emperor... turned out to be terrible. And a liar. And the whole thing was done for something awful.

[That's not too much information, right?]

I used to be in the Emperor's coven, until I learned the truth and joined the resistance. Usually in a leadership position on missions. There were a few others that were too. [Like Kikimora.] When it came to anything that required real leadership we weren't actually that good at it. Just bossing people around isn't the same thing as really leading. People only obeyed because they didn't want to upset the Emperor.

[Which is why ragtag rebels like the Owl Lady and Luz could sometimes thwart them.]

[...Okay, when it came to the Owl Lady, she thwarted them more than sometimes.]

Compared to that, you did well.

[He sounds older than he is here. What sixteen-year-olds dealt with missions and leadership, had once had to fulfill duty, had the self-awareness to understand the nature of command and what it should really entail?]

[It's not a good thing, even if he's scraped together some wisdom because of it. He's a teenage boy, he should've gotten to worry about normal homework and making friends and who to ask to Grom dances and winning flyer derby games instead. Even he knows this.]

Edited 2022-10-17 05:06 (UTC)

[ While Dylan's comment hadn't exactly been an invitation to lore drop, it isn't unwelcome, either. Sharing history feels like a sign of trust, and Dylan's honored to hear it. He leans in closer as Hunter speaks, trying to understand the world he's describing.

At the mention of coven brands, Dylan's gaze briefly darts to Hunter's wrist, but he doesn't interrupt. ]

So like... a police force. You were a cop.

[ There's no malice or accusation in his tone, it's just a matter of fact statement. Dylan doesn't have a lot of love for the police — He's gone to them for help before, covered in bruises, and their solution was to drop him right back into the hands of his abuser with wonderful advice like "try to get along better with him."

But Dylan's not directing any of that toward Hunter. After all, Hunter isn't a cop anymore. Dylan doesn't know what exactly being in the "Emperor's Coven" entails, but when Hunter recognized it was bad, he left. He left and started fighting against that system. That alone is worth so much.

Watching Hunter explain it is like watching him age fifty years. He looks so... sad. And exhausted. Dylan's been homeless before and doesn't think he's ever looked quite that weary.

He's quiet for a moment, trying to think of what to say in a moment like this. Well, at least you're out of it now? Yeah, Hunter already knows that, Captain Obvious. I've made bad choices before, too? It's not a contest.

Honestly, trying to make Hunter feel better about it just reminds Dylan of the police trying to minimize his grandfather's abuse. At that time, all Dylan wanted was someone to acknowledge he'd been abused at all, that what happened to him wasn't right.

He decides to roll with that. ]

Sounds like the Emperor put you through a lot of awful shit.

He sounds like a dick. I hope he fucking chokes.

I don't know what a cop is but if it's something like a town guard we were something much worse.

[It's the truth and he can't hide from it.]

[But then Dylan mentions the Emperor and -]

[That one is hard.]

He's gone. Thank the Titan.

[ Except it's hard to just be glad. He's relieved but the horror of how the man who raised him created and manipulated him, the horror of Belos turning into that, the horror of watching the man who raised him get reduced to so much goo by the Collector. ]

[ It's a weight that's still on his shoulders. ]

My world still has some bad things going on, but at least he isn't one of them.

[Despite how this is a little hard to talk about - so much he can't even mention that Belos raised him yet - he looks grateful for Dylan's reaction. He gives him a look that's much softer and less distant.]

[Sometimes the best thing for someone to say is "that sucks, I'm sorry it happened to you."]

Sorry, if I brought things down. I just admire when people can do better than all that.

[ The way Hunter says "We were something much worse," sticks out to Dylan. It's so... heavy. Guilt, Dylan supposes, but there's... something else there, and he's not sure how much he should pry.

He watches Hunter's demeanor shift as he speaks. It's... easy to pay attention to him, Dylan thinks. Despite the heavy topic at hand, that realization makes his heart flutter. They're standing near a window, and one side of Hunter is bathed in sunlight. The soft, golden glow seems to highlight every shift in posture and every change in expression. Dylan couldn't take his eyes of Hunter if he wanted to.

And when Hunter's distant gaze comes back to reality and focuses on Dylan with that soft expression, that flutter in his gut explodes into a gentle chill up his spine and down his arms.

Later, when he thinks back to this moment, he might understand what he's feeling. For now, though, it's just... strange. And pleasant. He doesn't have any other words for it.

Yet. ]

You haven't brought anything down, I promise.

[ Quite the opposite, really.

Dylan realizes his hand is still on Hunter's shoulder. He steps a little closer, bringing his other hand up to the opposite shoulder. He squeezes softly, then smooths both hands down Hunter's arms, stopping at his wrists and holding them gently. ]

Look. I don't know what exactly you've done, but I've... met people with some pretty awful pasts before. Did some terrible things, and sometimes even enjoyed doing them. But they're good people now. Or at least they're trying to be. And that kind of effort earns a lot of my respect.

[ He smiles, hoping the implied and that includes you, too, comes though. ]

[It is tremendously kind. In his reckoning of Earth, he's wondered how it could create someone like Belos. What terrible forces could shape someone like him?. And they were out there. Their google site and wikipedia had made that clear. He'd already done some deep dives into Earth history, especially about witch hunts.]

[Earth present seemed to enjoy witch-hunting too - at least on this Earth.]

[But Earth had also produced Luz Noceda.]

[He shouldn't be so shocked at the kindness, but he is. He shouldn't be so shocked at the gentle touch, but he's surprised at that, too.]

[He almost pulls away on reflex, because being touched by Belos was rarely a positive thing, even if he'd had to tolerate it. Even a hand on his wrist or on his shoulder rarely stayed affectionate. Touches often started parental and gentle and then turned possessive. Squeezing. Painful.]

[And afterward, there were so many times he'd had to get a wash basin and soap to try to scrub the black stain out of his cloak, knowing that his uncle would be upset at his lack of decorum if there was a stain the next time he saw him, even if he'd caused it in the first place. Magical laundry potions had never quite seemed to do the job on their own, no match for his uncle's curse. It'd taken some elbow grease.]

[But he's had at least a few times of being touched in ways that don't hurt, by Willow and Gus, by the flyer derby team, by Darius. When the students and the Resistance had met up, and Professor Bump told Darius about saving Gus and fighting beside them against the coven scouts, and warning them about the Day of Unity, Darius had pulled him closer by the shoulders and been so proud.]

[So he knows touch doesn't always come with something sharp as an afterthought, even if it's what he's used to.]

[This is like the flyer derby team, right? He and Dylan fought side by side and won against an enemy together. That meant camaraderie. Maybe the beginnings of a friendship.]

[Still, even if it's just friendship and most likely a very basic kindness, his face goes beet red and it spreads to his ears.]

[He eventually withdraws his hands, because he feels exposed, but one of them just goes to rub his neck and he doesn't look displeased.]

[Just awkward, but not displeased.]

Thank you.

For, uh, being so nice, but also for inviting me to a human birthday party.

[He turns to go back to meal prep but doesn't look unhappy. He still looks pleased.]

I've always been interested in the human realm. Portals sometimes open up between my world and the version of the human world attached to it so there are sometimes things that cross over. Objects. Papers with writing. My friend Gus collects human artifacts; he used to be the president of the human appreciation society at his school.

And I heard stories growing up. My unc - [He quickly self-corrects.] The man who raised me said he'd been there before. He told me about your green trees and how the rain doesn't boil.

[One of the few things he hadn't lied about.]

I'm also interested in your human cultural rituals, especially the ones human teens do.

[a) Learning normal teen things was nice. b) Might as well get in touch with what might possibly be his heritage, if he'd been made as an echo of a long-dead human.]

Edited 2022-10-21 07:50 (UTC)

[ The sight of Hunter turning so red, right up to his ears, turns Dylan's smile into a wide grin. For some reason, he really wants to try and make Hunter do that as much as possible.

He turns back to food prep when Hunter does, listening as he speaks. It looks like his mood's lifted — mission accomplished! No one's going into Dylan's birthday bummed if he has anything to say about it.

Dylan looks over at Hunter as he cuts off he word "uncle" — Clearly there's a story there, one that Dylan guesses might be... a little familiar? Hunter's talk of his... not-Uncle hopping worlds and the Human Appreciation Club doesn't quite fit. And with Hunter's earlier talk of not liking his birthday, well... he's probably had it way worse.

Besides, Hunter doesn't need to hear about the soap opera that was Dylan's life for that whole year or so. ]

It's weird to think of them as human rituals, but... yeah, I guess that is what they are.

You're gonna be learning about a lot of them. Halloween's coming up, then Thanksgiving and Christmas. [ He pauses. ] Or... any number of winter holidays. There's a few to choose from.

[ He needs to get more into the habit of saying Happy Holidays, if for no other reason than he knows his ultra-religious grandpa would lose his goddamn mind if he ever heard Dylan default to it. And even if he'll never be here to see it, it's cathartic to be defiant to him anyway. ]

Anway, this is actually a pretty holiday-dense time of year. I think you're gonna have a good time over the next few months.

[ He pauses, then turns to look at Hunter again. ]

Hey, can you tell me about some of your cultural rituals?

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CLOSED | Dylan's 15th Birthday

Dylan's 15th Birthday Bonfire

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