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

[heatmetal]

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. ]

Comments

[wordiness]

[ now that billy's met tim, he makes a beeline for steph. it hadn't been that hard to figure out which one was her, mostly by process of elimination. so when she takes a break from dancing, he sidles up with a bottle of water and a smile that says he's ready to cause problems on purpose. ]

Hi. I hear you know Tim. [ he drops the water into her hands, gaze flicking deliberately over to where loki's probably flustering the shit out of tim, then back to her, and he offers his hand. ] I'm Billy. Loki's my.. [ he trails off, squinting thoughtfully. ] I was gonna just say friend, but also my own personal menace?

[eggplanting]

[Oh.

Hello.

:3 ]

I do know Tim.

[Steph's answering smile is immediate and conspiratorial, and she accepts the water gratefully. Back home, she wouldn't really be accepting drinks from strangers, even sealed bottles of water (Gotham, man), but if Billy is friends with Loki and Tim is... dating (????) Loki, then it's probably fine.

Also, she's thirsty.]

And I like to think I'm his personal menace. Everyone needs one, you know?

[wordiness]

Those are the best friendships, [ he agrees fondly, smile softening helplessly. he does really love loki, even when he kind of wants to strangle him.

he summons up a seat for her if she wants it--because let's just be honest, a bunch of college-age kids live here and they don't really have things unpacked yet--then settles in the air, crossing his thighs lightly and leaning on an intangible armrest. ]

So what's he like? Really, I mean. Not the I-don't-know-you-so-I'm-being-polite behavior.

[eggplanting]

[Aww, that's sweet. Steph is, at heart, a big softie, and she's felt very lucky here to have so many of the people she loves around. It's nice to see other people have the same luck.

And other people can apparently just do magic like it's no big deal. She doesn't have the same issues with magic as some other Bats do, but she does give the chair a suspicious look for a second before taking a seat.]

The problem with that question is that Tim has as much dirt on me as I do on him. It'd be mutually assured destruction if I told you about his weeb phase.

[Stephanie.

That's a war crime.]

[wordiness]

His what phase? [ that's.. incredible. ] I already knew he was a nerd--[ gesturing to himself. ] he's in good company there--but this is blessed content. Was he a waifu guy?

[ he literally can't imagine it from what little he knows of tim so far, but that's what makes it dirt.

still, he needs to clarify: ] I'm not really looking for anything too personal, just, you know.. what's he like around you and his other friends? Are there a lot of people from your dimension here? [ his smile tilts back up slightly. ] Can I trust him to be good to Loki?

[eggplanting]

[It's an absolute delight that Tim has already been pegged as a nerd.]

Mmhmm, totally, he had one of those body pillows and everything.

[The snicker that follows this statement may give away the fact that Steph is just taking the piss. Tim was more of a video game nerd than anime nerd, but she doesn't know enough about video games to really comment on exactly how nerdy he was.

She can maybe comment on the rest of Billy's question. Maybe.]

There are a few of us around, that one I can answer easily. The other two might take a little bit of time, and am I right in guessing that he didn't tell you I'm his ex?

[Not from anything Billy has said, she just knows Tim.]

[wordiness]

[ his eyes widen, his lean toward her becoming just a little more pronounced. ] He did not tell me that. [ probably because he already knew this meeting was going to be a disaster for his privacy, but billy doesn't feel particularly guilty about it. he's dating billy's loki, after all. ]

He just said you were a close friend of his. I guess it wasn't a messy breakup..? [ in his general experience, messy breakups don't leave lasting friendships afterward, you know?

he summons one of the beers from the kitchen, popping the cap off and glancing to her questioningly in case she wants one, too. after a moment, he takes a sip and adds ruefully: ] I definitely understand complicated relationships, though.

[eggplanting]

[Tim continues to be the most predictable creature in existence, despite his attempts at trying to be mysterious and unknowable.]

There's sort of some weird universe stuff going on, but he'll always be one of my best friends.

[Steph shakes her head at the unspoken question, choosing to take a sip of her water, instead. A drink every now and then doesn't hurt, but even with Cass and Tim around, she prefers to keep her wits about her.

She tilts her head at Billy's comment, looking sympathetic.]

You've got one of those too, huh? [Who doesn't, especially in comics?] Tim's one of the best things that ever happened to me, but we were dumb, messed up teenagers, and I think we're better off as friends.

[For so many reasons.]

[wordiness]

Alternate dimensions, [ he sighs with a commiserating nod. ] They're such a pain in the ass.

[ he takes another small sip of his beer--he also doesn't often indulge, though he's had more to drink in this reality than he probably has in the whole rest of his life--thumb scraping at the label as he lowers the bottle again. ]

Mm, kind of. [ he doesn't really owe any answers, but she's been kind enough to answer his, so. ] My 'complicated' is in the future, technically. A long, long time in the future, hopefully. No offense to him.

[ he clears his throat, setting the bottle down on a table that isn't there. ]

Anyway. Tim seems nice, but he also seems kind of high-strung?

[eggplanting]

Oof, that kinda sucks.

[Weird future relationships are not something she's had to deal with, and that's something she is very grateful for. She's got enough going on without adding that kind of drama into her life.]

Um, yeah, he's the most — [wait] — he's one of the most high strung people I know. He has plenty of good reasons to be, but that part's not really my business to share. You kinda get used to it, if that helps.

[wordiness]

[ one of. ] Yikes. [ just how many super high strung people do you know, steph? ]

I definitely have my fair share of high-strung friends, [ he assures her. ] Some people would probably say I'm one of them, but only because I have to herd cats so often and I don't like herding cats. [ tommy's right, he's become the mom-friend. when did that happen? ]

[eggplanting]

The trick is to be one of the cats that need herding and then you don't have to do it yourself.

[Somewhere in the multiverse, Babs just got a headache and doesn't know why.

She does feel a little bad for talking shit about Tim to his new boyfriend's (? still not sure on that one) friend, because while she does like to tease him, she doesn't want to give anyone a bad impression.]

Tim's also one of the best people I know, and unfortunately the high-strung-ness is part of the whole package. Sometimes you just gotta give him a smack upside the head to knock him out of it.

[wordiness]

[ he laughs at the suggestion, shaking his head. ] Maybe not a great idea when you have my powers, but desperate times and all..

[ he picks up his beer again, rolling it between his palms and head tilting. honestly, the teasing way she talks about tim, her quick defense of him, says everything he needs to hear, so: ] Loki's pretty good at getting people out of their heads. In a good way. [ he takes a sip of his beer, tapping the rim against his lip. ] .. I hope he'll wind up liking all of us. We're all close, you know? I don't want him to feel awkward hanging out with any of us.

[eggplanting]

[Steph seems to consider that for a moment before nodding in earnest understanding; she might not know his full powerset, but considering all the weird magic users she's met and knows of, it's probably better if Billy stays sensible.]

You know how they tell you that when you add a new cat to the house you should like, keep it separate from the other cats and let them sniff each other through the door first so they don't get overwhelmed and immediately hate each other? Tim's kind of like that with new people. He'll warm up eventually, it just takes a while.

[She isn't sure exactly what Billy knows about Tim and Loki, so she's not outright going to say anything about their relationship; she can just comment on the basics of Tim's personality.]