singillatim | Hot Potato (party log)

Hot Potato (party log)

Who: Chloe Frazer & any and all party people!!
What: Harvest Celebrations/Halloween Party/Ruby’s Birthday/Rat Marriage/Big Communal Cooking Party so Chloe doesn't burn down her house
When: October 12
Where: At Chloe’s house on Greene Street

Content Warnings: Food descriptions, probably.
Other Notes: Feel free to make this a mingle and reply to other characters!

Chloe had wondered whether to go through with the harvest party once Lalo had disappeared, but as they say, the show must go on. There's still a lot worth celebrating, and people need something hopeful after the mess last month. Luckily her house had made it through everything all right.

The poster had said to wear a costume, so she's hoping to see a lot of those, and she’d recruited some people to help her put together the menu exactly to Lalo’s specifications, so unfortunately no one is safe from British Potatoes. There are even candles for the birthday cake.

Chloe herself is dressed as a sexy lumberjack, with one of Lalo’s old flannels tied in a knot under her breasts and denim cutoffs made from the jeans Kostya had gotten blood on (shh). She's got a fire roaring, because otherwise she’d freeze.

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[ Honestly, Billy is more surprised by Kieren's choice to show up looking like than than he is to see Kieren like this in the first place. He wonders if that's part of why the other looks so uncomfortable at the party, or maybe it's just that he's not the world's biggest party person, just like Billy himself..

Still, it's not like he's going to let a friend stand around all by himself in the middle of this. Especially when Billy imagines he's not unwelcome company for Kieren. ]

Kieren. [ Billy says to announce his presence - mostly to not startle the other while Kieren's already uncomfortable. Not to mention that Billy seems to have gone with skeleton as his costume - wearing his usual clothes, but having drawn a rather intricate skull design on his face with charcoal. ] Would you want to sit together for a bit?

[ You know, at the edge of the party.. Away from most of the people.. ]

... Yeah. [ Thank Christ for Chloe, really. And Halloween. If this had been at the Community Hall, Kieren would never have entertained the thought. It's... baby steps. It's as close to being okay with what he is as he's going to get right now.

Still, it's a tiny bit stressful. And he's definitely not a party-person. Sitting with someone away from the party is honestly kind of perfect. ]

Nice skull, by the way. Very spooky. [ There's a beat, and there's a genuine smile. ] And I guess congratulations are in order. Cornelius has been flaunting the ring.

[ Billy starts heading away from the main crowd, over to a more quiet corner of the party he's already been staking out himself - as an introvert at a social gathering, you really need to know where you can flee to in order to avoid an awkward conversation. Or, in this case, to help out a friend who might need a place that's a little bit more quiet.

There's the briefest slight touch against Kieren's elbow to guide him along in that direction, but then it's gone, Billy speaking up as they walk. ]

Has he? [ There's a sound that seems like it's right in the middle between being a sigh and a huff. ] I hope he has not been telling you anything too bothersome.

Oh, no more than usual. [ Kieren offers the tiniest of smirks, turning his head slightly to look at Billy for a brief moment as he huffs. Yeah, he's taking the piss a little bit. ] Only fair to let him brag a bit, I suppose.

[ It's not like they often get much to be happy about in this place, to be honest. It's a nice break from the usual doom, misery and hardship. And sometimes it's nice to have something to tease about. ]

Very romantic of you. [ Listen, his impression of Victorians for the most part is just... repression. ] Nah, but in all seriousness— good for you, Billy.

[ He huffs a little bit.

Considering the way Billy looks, it seems that it's a sound mostly born from faint embarrassment. Especially since he's having a hard time directly looking at Kieren as he speaks. ]

We have already been sharing a house and a bed for most of a year. It makes this little more than a formality. [ Especially since just the first fact by itself is already plenty scandalous to some people here, Billy is sure. Mostly their own crew mates. ] I just thought--

[ He starts, but then stops. Almost as if he realized he was almost being a little too open there, and it makes him look even more embarrassed as he shuts up, quiet for a good moment or two without saying anything else before he dares attempt to speak again. ]

There were wedding rings everywhere after the attack. [ That does not sound like what he originally was going to say. Apparently Billy thinks admitting to robbing the dead is much less embarrassing than whatever he was about to say, huh. Or maybe he just trusts Kieren with this admission. ] We should not let them go to waste.

Well, formality, maybe. Or maybe a bit romantic. Symbolic, even. [ He offers it gently, evenly. ] The reason doesn't matter. It's just something you do if you want to, it's nice.

[ People don't have to be married to be living together these days. People can be in long term partnerships for five or fifty years and not be married. So it's really not all that scandalous to someone like Kieren.

Billy stops and starts and Kieren's raising an eyebrow, head tilting curiously at the man. But what Billy does come out with has Kieren looks a little slack-jawed in surprise. Ooo, okay. That's, uh—]

... Don't think I considered 'not wanting wedding rings from the dead going to waste', though. [ Well, Billy has a point. ] But I don't think you're the first person to steal from the dead. Pretty sure we're all doing that in this town.

We have to do what's necessary to survive. [ Billy agrees.

Not that.. the wedding rings were really a necessity, but.. you know. They deserve something nice too, right? Just a little treat.

He doesn't linger on it for too long though. There is something else to address here, after all. Something rather obvious, and Billy doesn't just want to shove it under the carpet when it seems like a relatively major change. ]

.. like you right now, in a sense. Right? I did not expect you to show up here looking like that. [ Not that Billy thinks it's a bad thing, but it's certainly a brave thing. Especially when he sometimes gets antsy himself about how much people here like to turn people into outcasts at times, and when he knows how worried Kieren is about what he really is. ]

[ Billy's words are met with a tight-lipped smile. It's not the first time he's heard that. Amy told him that, so did Alex. They're not easy words to hear. Granted, it's in a different context. Stealing from the dead is a lot different to eating the living. His head dips and he makes a soft humming sound: non-committal, non-confrontational. ]

Well— [ He inhales, lifting his head and looking around. Billy's got his skull makeup on, and there's others dressed up in varying degrees. ] I guess this is also kind of a Halloween party.

Halloween's the one time of the year where it's okay to be a monster. And— well, Chloe'd put a stop to anyone starting shit. So I figured... maybe just this once.

[ Momentarily Billy contemplates telling Kieren that he wouldn't really have all that much trouble with setting the belongings of someone who was being rude to him about his condition on fire, but.. he's not sure if Kieren is the type to appreciate that, really.

Instead he figures he'll keep it to himself. At least for now. ]

It is always alright to just be who you are, Kieren. [ Even if he knows the reasons why Kieren thinks it's not. But-- let's face it, without any Darkwalker influence, Kieren is exactly like the rest of them. Billy doesn't know why he should view him differently from any other person then. ] Besides, if you are going to call yourself a monster, then I am not even sure anymore what word we would need to use for Cornelius.

[ Implying he's worse. Gently. Almost playfully, if Billy was better at displaying that emotion. Instead it's just coming out in a kind of dry and deadpan way.. ]

Guess I'm still trying to learn that one. [ Kieren's smile is small and tight-lipped. It's sad. But he gets what Billy's getting at, and he quietly appreciates it. Kieren doesn't really know when he'll be okay about it, or if he'll truly be okay. He really doesn't.

But it helps, hearing that.

He lets that moment hang for a few beats before his brow furrows. Cornelius, well— his mouth opens and closes. Yeah, he's heard all that shit about Cornelius. He's still Kieren's mate, though. And in true fashion, for lack of not knowing what to say— he leans into humour. ]

Well, he's a bit of a dick sometimes. And a weirdo, but— [ He inhales, eyebrows raising. ] I suppose we can't be totally perfect.

[ A bit of a dick certainly is more than Billy imagined the other would say - though he understands that with the way Kieren is saying it, it does sound like he's just taking the piss. Which works, considering that's pretty much the same thing Billy himself had been doing. ]

Then you know what I put up with. [ There's the tiniest hint of a smile on Billy's face as he's saying it though.. It's likely he means that affectionately. In his own way.

There's a slight pause. And even when Billy starts talking, it's a little slowly - implying that thought might have been a thoughtful pause, the man trying to decide on how to bring this up. ]

Have you ever thought about.. [ Another pause, much slighter. ] You know. Finding someone?

[ The wink wink version of finding someone, that is. Not that Billy is actually winking. He would never. ]

I am aware pickings are slim here though.

Think I've got a bit of an idea, yeah.

[ Kieren's own smile is small, quietly joking. Yeah, Hickey is the way he is. But he's still the person Billy loves. Kieren gets it. He hums thoughtfully at the question, head dipping for a moment. ]

It's... kind of complicated. All of that. For something like me.

[ Something, not someone. It says it all with that particular word choice. Kieren isn't sure it's... he doesn't think anyone would want him like this. Not in that way. Kieren shifts from foot to foot, a little uncomfortable. Something flitters in his expression. ]

I mean, there was someone, back home. [ He doesn't mind saying it. It's Billy, and well— he gets what Billy's getting at. The man's trying. ] He, uh— he was like me. He was my best mate. We grew up together. He died. Then I died.

We both came back like this, and— he died. Not long before I ended up here.

.. I'm sorry to hear it.

[ Despite the fact that it's still said relatively calmly, it does seem like Billy actually means those words. There's something in the way he pauses for a moment before saying it, in the way the gaze in his eyes softens a little bit as he looks at Kieren.

Look, he would hate to admit it, but he'd also be feeling pretty bad if Hickey got himself killed in this place like a dumbass. Kieren must be feeling at least that for the person he liked, if not more. ]

At least there is a chance he could show up here as well. [ Look, Billy is pretty sure he died, and he's here. Why couldn't the same happen with Kieren's partner, even if he already died twice? ] You could have another chance.

Maybe? I dunno. [ Rick's already dead and gone. He doesn't know if he can come back again. Maybe, it's possible, like how so much of this place here that seems impossible is. ]

I've been here right since the beginning. No one from my home's ever turned up here. Guess I'm just... one of the unlucky ones. [ Saying that, he's not even sure he'd want anyone from his world to end up here. Sure, it'd be nice having them here but... if the Darkwalker got Jem. He can't bear the thought of it. ]

Not like you lot from that Expedition. Mad how you all keep turning up. Maybe it's like a proximity thing. You were all in the arctic, anyways.

[ Billy lets out a slight huff. ]

I would rather have you have your mates here than have all these men I know around.

[ Sure, he's.. mostly glad Hickey is here. Sometimes he does think about how peaceful it'd be to not have that guy around, but on the whole, it's a not fully a negative experience.

The rest of them though? Far more doubtful. ]

Shoving us all into a small town together is practically torture for everyone involved. While I imagine you have plenty of people you would be glad to see.

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Hot Potato (party log)

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feel free to drop this if it's been too long!

no way, i always want more kieren!!!

;u;

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