metalogs | ‘Cause a Halloween party’s a rad excuse To put your body through mad abuse

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‘Cause a Halloween party’s a rad excuse To put your body through mad abuse | OPEN

Who: The Stranger Things cast
What: A Housewarming Party hosted by the gang & Settling in to their new haunted home
When: Late October - Early November
Where: Private Housing, Sunset Falls
Content Warnings: probably drugs, drinking

Moving In.

[ It's not quite the joyous occasion they were hoping it would be. The disappearance of one of their own has left a heavy air over the group, but they're determined to try to make something of the situation. And so they proceed with the move, their belongings loaded up in the back of a teleporting truck.

Neighbors are welcome to spy the new arrivals. A perfect collection of unlikely friends that look like they belong in a horror movie cast. You'll get a drink for your trouble - or something a little less legal (or more legal, if you aren't) if you offer to lend a hand. Evidentially, some among their number are not terribly well equipped to do heavy lifting. Damn sticky nerd arms. ]

HOUSEWARMING PARTY is written in slanted block print on a piece of cardboard, staked just outside the newly purchased manor seated near the edge of town. It is a utterly ridiculous piece of architecture, and the gathered teens have more space than they know what to do with.

So how better than to fill it with a house party?
There's a stunning indoor pool just begging to be cannonballed into. A classy lounge for enjoying a little existential angst and ennui. There’s enough guest bedrooms for anyone who wants to crash, though be warned: few are furnished. Some rooms are off limits, for your own sanity rather than theirs.

The music pumping through the place alternates between 80s metal and pop, with some newer tunes sprinkled in there for flavor.

There’s food, a legion of kegs and, well, that less than legal stuff is making the rounds too. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ billy (and loki) show up not long after things get started, literally teleporting into the room in a shower of blue sparks that fade when they touch anything. billy, as usual in his civvie clothes, looks like what you'd expect a trendy gen z goth witch to look like, and at his side, loki is tall, sleek, and wearing a green leather jacket that looks like it might have cost a small fortune.

one might easily mistake them for a couple, considering the way loki tends to hang on or around billy while they're there.

billy also brought a gift, which is a series of what looks like small, decorative keys. if anyone asks about them, they're made to turn any door with a keyhole into a temporary portal directly back to this house. you know, so the residents can get home quickly in an emergency. he wasn't sure what else to get them, since he doesn't know any of them. ]

[ ooc; generic open prompt!! billy and loki came together, and you can interact with either/both of them here. ]

[ Tim spies Billy across the room and does a sharp double take, surprised to see someone that he met in passing at Robin’s party. He doesn’t like it when different segments of his life overlap, even if it’s as innocent as the guy he met at a street market knowing the girl he met at group. It’s… messy, somehow, and Tim tries to head it off any strangeness by going to say hello. ]

Hey - don’t I know you?

[ He smiles warmly at the stranger and gives a tiny wave. ]

You were at that clothing stall in Central City a few months ago. You got me that shirt.

[ You magicked that shirt. ]

It’s Billy, right?

[ billy starts a little at the voice, turning to face-- ] Tim! [ it is tim. he'd made a coat for him, and they'd had boba. he'd been really flustered about the whole thing, hadn't he?

.. tim. how many slight guys named tim are there around here? would it be too much of a coincidence if this is loki's tim? the odds have to be pretty steep, but the odds of them meeting like this were probably pretty steep, too. and loki and billy are very steeped in magic, which is fond of defying odds.

hm.

instead of letting any of that show on his face, he smiles at him, easy and pleased, and reaches to take and squeeze his hands briefly. ] It's nice to see you again. Did you wind up settling in the area, then? Do you live with these guys?

[ Well, at least he’s not a hugger. Tim returns the squeeze - what else can he do - but takes his hands back at the first opportunity.

Confirmed that it’s the same guy, though. The name is a dead giveaway. ]

No, I live in Central City. I’m just here for the party. I know Robin, but I don’t know her roommates yet.

[ There’s no check in his voice when he says Robin’s name. Living in Gotham, he’s long since used to saying Batman and Robin in conversation without any hint of awkwardness. ]

But how are you here, if you don’t know who lives here? Just taking them up on the open invitation?

[ and one of the people who live here is named robin? too many funny little coincidences. ] Yeah, more or less. [ he blows a curl out of his eyes, head tilting faintly in consideration. ] My brother and I are probably getting a place here in Sunset Falls, so I figured I'd drop in to say hello and see the neighborhood while I'm at it.

[ .. should he ask? loki's so busy playing with the keys in the next room that he can't just grab his attention. he doesn't want to freak tim out if he really is an anxious vigilante.

oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and he's really feeling nosy. ] Hey, not to make this weird, but your surname isn't Drake, is it? [ he jerks his thumb back in the direction of the room he'd come from. ] Loki mentioned a friend of his named Tim Drake. [ a 'friend'. ]

[ Coincidence, hell. It’s impossible for this many interconnections to be random. Tim feels like he’s being set up, but he doesn’t know what for. He withdrawals inwardly, a little less warmth in his expression.

He replied to Robin’s post with his Tim Drake handle. No point in saying his name is anything other else; if Billy isn’t actually Loki’s friend, there’s still an easily identifiable source for the name. ]

Yeah, it’s Drake, and I know Loki. A Loki.

[ He doesn’t follow the gesture with his eyes. If Loki is here, Tim will find him later and … something. He can’t tell Loki not to talk about him at all, because he’s been actively talking to people about Loki. Maybe he can ask to know how many friends might ambush him like this or for a guidebook on what to say.

Tim wants to ask if Billy is the friend who’s returned, but his careful approach extends to protecting Loki’s privacy as well. ]

I don’t know the names of all of his friends, I’m sorry.

No, no! That's okay. [ he flaps his hands a little, apologetic when he notices the uncertainty. ] I haven't been back long, and he probably-- I mean, who likes losing people? I just wanted to introduce myself properly if you were him. It seemed like too much of a coincidence for you not to be, honestly.

[ he pauses, then indicates himself, smile tilting crookedly. ] I'm Billy Kaplan-Altman. Loki and I were teammates starting out, and we've been friends since then. He knows my husband, too.

[ not that the last part much matters right now, since teddy isn't here, but it feels important to say. he doesn't want tim to get any wrong ideas. ]

[ Ah, so it is that friend. Tim does misinterpret the situation, but not in the way Billy’s concerned about. The comment about losing people, being a friend and teammate - Tim’s own experiences cloud his judgment, and he lands on Billy Kaplan-Altman being due to meet an unfortunate fate or maybe returning from one. It eats away some of the suspicion. ]

No, no one likes losing people. It’s always hard.

[ A mental string of red yarn goes from Billy to Loki to David Alleyne. Best not to mentally dwell on losing people. Does Billy know Bart Allen as well? Their circles are becoming a Venn diagram. ]

It’s nice to properly meet you. I didn’t mean to be rude. I wasn’t expecting to bump into anyone else I knew here, and, when you said you knew Loki and my name, it was like my adopted first-cousin-once-removed’s girlfriend spotting me in the supermarket and asking how the new job is going. Like, it’s good, but how do you even know that?

[ He wants to find an angle to ask what Loki’s said about him, but David’s warned him off explicitly trying to quantify Loki. Billy seems chatty, and Tim doesn’t want him to tell Loki that he’s been prodding for information. ]

[ he laughs, shaking his head. ] It's okay, I knew asking it that it was going to sound pretty sketchy. I almost didn't, but.. you know, I figured we'll probably spend time together eventually. Especially since Loki came with me today.

[ he doesn't know if tim's open about his sexuality or that he's dating(?) loki, so he carefully doesn't imply he knows any of that, especially out here in the open like this. it's definitely on his mind, though. loki certainly seems to have a type these days, and it's slim, dark-haired, awkward, nerdy guys. (he remembers the monty python reference.) ]

Loki's a lot like a magpie, [ he adds after a moment, thoughtful. ] He likes what he likes and he's possessive of it. [ a beat. ] Not in a dickhead way, just-- He wants all the things he likes where he can see them. [ he rolls his eyes fondly. ] On the other hand, he doesn't want me to scare you off. Which, like-- [ he spreads his hands in a gesture to indicate how harmless he looks. ] Really? First of all, I'm a delight. Second, Loki can be so charming and so overwhelming that he should be grateful I can tell you some embarrassing stories about him.

[ Is he dating Loki? Loki seems to delight in popping into life for a day or chat, prodding at boundaries in the most confusing way possible, and then wander off until the next time he wants attention.

Tim doesn’t want to admit to being overwhelmed though, so he’s overlooking that. ]

Loki mentioned he was going to a party. I didn’t realize it’d be the same one, and he doesn’t know I’m here. I was going to ask him to come, but he had plans.

[ Everything is so criss crossed. Maybe Billy’s right, and it was inevitable they’d meet, but Tim’s not sure if he’s being quarantined for unknown reasons.

Liiike getting too much insight into Loki. There’s a flicker of recognition on magpie. Funny Billy compares him to the bird that Tim saw in Loki’s dreamscape. He’s been avoiding looking up more Norse mythology since Loki chided him, but maybe he should look for magpie references.

Or like being scared off, apparently. ]

He’s worried that I’m going to get scared? I think I’m insulted.

[ Being anxious or even afraid is fine. It’s human. Letting it dictate what he does? Now it’s a matter of pride to not be “scared off.” ]

Is that why I haven’t actually met any of Loki’s friends through Loki? Not like he’s met mine, although he’s met my - oh, crap, why is everyone at this party? If Steph finds him, she’s going to embarrass me more than anything you can say about him.

[ his expression lights up with slightly wicked delight at this new name. ] Ooh, is Steph someone from home, then? [ don't mind him, just putting this steph's name down as someone to gossip with, it's fine.

he bites his lip to get his smile back under control, then clears his throat, a finger tugging absently at one of his earrings as he refocuses. right. tim now, steph.. in a few minutes, maybe. ]

I must've asked just before you messaged him. I guess it worked out, though, since you both wound up here at the same time. [ he releases his earring and straightens slightly, mouth pursing thoughtfully. ] In most magic, these sorts of coincidences don't really exist. Usually it's something, you know-- [ a vague wave of his hand. ] --big, like universal mystical forces at work. [ or possibly he or loki unconsciously making it happen, but he's not going to say that. ] And we are in Sunset Falls. [ a beat, and sheepishly: ] I think it's sort of neat.

[ oh, come to think of it-- ] Actually, this might be why he didn't want you to meet any of us like this, we're all sort of.. a lot. We've all lived weird lives. [ and it kind of sounds like tim has, too, if he really runs around on rooftops at night, but.. maybe not the same brand of weird. ]

billy kaplan-altman & loki

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