etrayalogs | [open] t-t-t-taking over, teenage rebellion!

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[open] t-t-t-taking over, teenage rebellion!

WHO: Adaine Abernant (

furiousfists), Fabian Seacaster (

maximumlegend), and YOU!
WHEN: June 3rd
WHERE: Apartment building's rec room
WHAT: Joint birthday party!
NOTES\WARNINGS: Underage drinking

It's only thanks to Aurora's message that Adaine has any idea what day it is. She looks at the text on her earpiece's readout and blinks, comprehension coming to her slowly.

Today is June 3rd, of the year 40██.

June 3rd...

June 3rd??

"Holy shit, it's my birthday!"

Adaine's birthdays haven't been much to shake a stick at, historically speaking. It's only in the past year, after she stopped living with her parents and moved in with Jawbone in Mordred Manor that anyone ever gave a crap or tried to give her anything for it. If it hadn't been for Jawbone, she might've been perfectly happy to let another year pass without fanfare. But now? She wants to at least acknowledge it. She'd be happy with just a slice of cake at the diner, but there's one thing that makes her think that perhaps that won't cut it.

If today is June 3rd, Adaine's birthday, then that means a few days ago it was May 31st. Fabian's birthday. And Fabian Seacaster is not one to let a birthday celebration be anything but maximum legend.

And, so it is that the two birthday Bad Kids set about throwing as raucous of a birthday bash as they can manage with such short lead time. The rec room in the bottom floor of the apartment building is decorated to the nines with balloons and streamers, with snacks, sodas, and even some alcohol to make mixed drinks set out on a table for all to enjoy. Anyone who the pair have spoken with is invited, but if anyone makes any comments about teenagers drinking alcohol, they're labeled a buzzkill and told to vacate the premises. Adaine manages to find a boombox somewhere with a CD, and plays some generic party music for people to dance to, should they feel so inclined.

All in all, it is a night of revelry, the likes of which Etraya has likely never seen before.

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[ Krouse doesn't know what he was expecting.

That's a lie. He knows what he was expecting. It's just that one survey of this eminently normal looking teen basement party made him cringe to compare it to the mixture of Rivendell and My Super Sweet 16 he'd half-envisioned.

At least he's not underdressed. His unbuttoned grey shirt tossed over a black henley is even mostly unwrinkled, thanks to the trick of hanging it in the bathroom while he showered. Between that and the two brown paper bags he brought with him, he estimates that he's met his minimum initial party guest obligations past showing up.

Fabian apparently disagrees. Krouse accepts the cup he's being offered with a friendly smile and a nod, then raises it for a polite sip. ]

- man, what the fuck?

[ He laughs even while his face screws up in almost-pleased disgust, tilting the cup to inspect its contents. ]

Oh, yeah! Now you're feeling it!

[ Fabian seems incredibly amused - yet approving - of Krouse actually accepting and drinking the stuff. Or, you know, drinking an initial sip. The jury is still out on whether or not Krouse is actually going to be brave enough to drink more bad baby milk than just that.

The guy grins so widely though that it's practically making a twinkle appear in his eyes, moving his hand to give Krouse a just slightly too hard friendly pat on the back. ]

First time?

[ First time partying? First time having bad baby milk? Who knows what Fabian means, he's not really giving an indication one way or another, leaving it widely up for Krouse to interpret. ]

[ Fabian's thump radiates through Krouse's chest and sends him rocking forward on his toes, bad baby milk almost sloshing up to the rim of the cup. He shoots Fabian a narrow eyed look that starts ambiguous and turns equally sparkling, smile slanting sharp. ]

Believe it or not, we don't do a lot of milk-based cocktails in Wisconsin.

[ A joke Fabian won't get without context, so: ] We have a lot of cows.

[ He doesn't know if this is a dare or a prank. Either way, he's never been one to back down from a challenge. Holding eye contact with Fabian, he raises the cup back to his lips and takes a long, deliberate swallow.

It's really not better the second time. ]

[ It really is hard to tell what the intention behind this drink is, huh. It's probably even more confusing when Fabian grabs a second cup of it off a nearby table, and then just starts sipping it himself like this is.. a normal thing to do? He's not even really making a face as he drinks it. Maybe he's had enough of it that he's numb to it now? Who knows. ]

Yeah?

[ Fabian grins, like something about the idea of having a lot of cows around is really funny.

Or maybe he's just tipsy already. ]

Come on, you have to tell me more about this Wisconsin! I've never been there before! [ .. obviously. Obviously the half-elf has never been in Wisconsin of all places.. ] What's the place come from like, huh?

[ ...is this an elven and/or hellish delicacy?

Krouse certainly feels like he's learning a lot about something, be that elves, devils, the world of Spyre, or just Fabian. He's not sure what he's learning, specifically. If he's gauging strength of the bad baby milk correctly, he might lose the capacity to learn anything after a couple of these.

He eyes Fabian more neutrally, a little taken aback by the odd concept of Wisconsin being a place anyone would be interested in. The name of the state sounds more intriguing the way Fabian says it. ]

It's rural, mostly. Not a lot of people outside of the cities, and the cities aren't big. Lots of farmland, lots of forest, lots of lakes. Winter lasts forever, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be. The summers are good.

[ Third swallow. His tastebuds are getting numb. ]

There's not a lot to do there except watch sports and drink. [ Which are, of course, activities Krouse is all about. ] And people are way too into cheese. It's a whole thing.

[ Summing it up like that, it sounds as unremarkable as it is. At the same time, he almost wants to say more - about how vividly blue and vast the sky is, which he never noticed until he left. The way Lake Superior goes on forever. The glacial lakes and the tumbles of ancient stones left behind by ice sheets long retreated. An accent that bounces off the roof of the mouth that he barely has anymore.

His smile is a little fainter as he shrugs. ]

Nothing to write home about.

[ Being way too much into cheese is.. a little bit strange, Fabian must admit. But he can certainly think of stranger things, so he won't question the taste of the people from the place Krouse also comes from. Especially since he's currently holding some bad baby milk and all. Fabian truly has no leg to stand on when it comes to that. ]

Watching sports and drinking are some of the most fun things to do anyway though, right?

[ Hey, he's here for putting a positive spin on it all. It'd be different if Krouse sounded like he actively hates the place, but even though there's no real praise for Wisconsin in Krouse's words, it doesn't sound like he dislikes it either.

It sounds like it just.. exists. Which Fabian gets. ]

And not having to worry about the world ending every year or so. [ There's a slight pause, before he adds: ] I'd hope, anyway.

[ Fabian isn't sure who's going to save Krouse's world when the other seems so surprised by concepts from Fabian's world.. If there's no adventurers, who's then keeping the place safe? ]

[ At the 'most fun things', Krouse huffs a laugh, raises the cup in a loose toast, and ventures another sip. It's easy to interpret as agreement.

The laugh he gives 'every year or so' is louder and looser, practically a real chuckle, and instead of a sip, he takes another deep swallow. He's well on the way to the bottom of the cup, and his stomach is increasingly unhappy with his decision making. ]

Every two years or so. Localized apocalypses not insured against. [ He drops into a fake PSA voice, officious and brisk. ] Do you know where your community shelters are?

[ He waves a hand, reverting to a more typical tone of arch amusement. ]

I don't think they planned for this kind of world ending threat, but how could you? Anyway. Not party conversation. Are you having a good time, birthday boy?

[ He huffs. ]

You should've heard the stuff we talked about at my last party. [ .. even if about half of that involved him not knowing how to deal with a truly hot girl at his party.

But Krouse doesn't have to know that. ]

But-- of course I'm having a good time! [ He dramatically throws his hands up in the air, gesturing at everything around them right now. ] I mean, how could I not? Even if this place sucks, I'm getting to have an impromptu slightly belated birthday party with all of my new good pals!

[ Look, Krouse. You're included. You're a new good pal. ]

And no place can ever be truly miserable as long as you're not alone in it, right?

[ Of course the last party was wilder than this. Fabian seems like the type. It's easy to picture a whole parade of various fantastical girls and cool guys traipsing into some hellish party pad prepared to take the roof - possibly literally - off the place.

It's also easy to believe Fabian is having a good time here, anyway. He's built for having a good time. It's a skill Krouse has never cultivated jealousy over, because he might as well be jealous of a chameleon's ability to change colours. It's so far out of his reach it'd be pointless.

Personally, he finds it easy to be miserable when he's not alone. That he's avoiding it here so far is the surprising part, nearly as much so as Fabian's loose inclusion of him in the category of pal. ]

I'll drink to that.

[ Things to keep to himself as he kills the milk concoction and hangs onto the cup, not in a hurry to freshen the drink. Instead, he shifts the brown paper bags he's holding in his other hand, presenting the one covered in hand drawn moons to Fabian. ]

I got you something. It's not much, but - can't show up at a birthday party empty-handed, right?

[ The 'something' in question is a black baseball cap, emblazoned with white all caps letters reading GO SPORTS. It struck Krouse as funny in the Roxx, and he's hopeful on being able to defend it here, now that the possibility it won't go over quite as well as he anticipated is occurring to him. ]

[ Fabian's eyebrows move up in surprise for a moment when he realises that Krouse didn't just bring some sort of weird personal snack stash to the party, but.. a gift? For him?

Definitely not what he expected. Especially as he points out: ]

I told you that you didn't have to bring gifts!

[ Especially when Fabian prefers company so much over gifts at this point. Gifts couldn't fill the void of the empty mansion back home where he had been abandoned, after all. The best gift anyone can give him at this party is just showing up.

.. not that he's protesting the gift itself. No, once the surprise faces, Fabian actually looks excited when he takes the bag from the other. He's still busy taking the bag from the other, not even having arrived at actually getting the gift out of there yet, when he's adding: ] Were you that busy thinking of me? You're trying real hard to get into the captain's good graces, aren't you?

[ Maybe it's the first rush of alcohol getting to work in his bloodstream (probably not, but Krouse isn't an experienced enough drinker to know that), or maybe it's just the infectiousness of Fabian's genuine excitement, but either way, Krouse feels an unexpectedly real warmth at the enthusiasm his gesture is being met with. He laughs once, dry and surprised, and shifts his remaining bag to his hand holding his cup so he can run his fingers through his hair. ]

Mm. You got me. I'm manuevering my way up the social ladder as we speak.

[ Impulsively, he darts his hand out to nudge Fabian in the shoulder with his knuckles, several tiers down the measurement of force from a 'punch'. ]

Is it working?

[ He can hang in this register of back and forth shit-giving. It gets less weird the more he practices slipping back into it, like chipping flakes of rust off an old set of hinges by working a door. ]

[ He's taking the time while Krouse is speaking to open up the present - though Fabian's approval of it is very noticeable right away because he continues to grin, even when he spots the hat.

In fact, he's even already moving to put it on his own head, apparently zero shame about wearing the world's most generic sportsball merchandise in the middle of a busy party full of people he's trying to impress. ]

You know what a guy appreciates!

[ Sportsball stuff, apparently. Of any kind. ]

Oh, man, I wish I had my varsity jacket here. [ That's what this place should have given him to make up for the fact he had to celebrate his birthday here and belatedly, clearly. ] It'd really complete the look! I can't exactly convince people I am an accomplished player back home without that and this, right?

[ He points at the cap at the 'this' in that sentence, and then--

Well, watch out, Krouse, because he's coming in for what seems like a potentially complicated and elaborate bro handshake.

What do, man. Improvise? Try to keep up with it? ]

[ Of course Fabian has a varsity jacket. Krouse can practically see it now, owlbear emblazoning and all, Fabian in a crowd of similarly attired teenage boys. Maybe it's enchanted to make the owlbear rear up triumphantly on command, like a holographic sticker.

It's not an image that comes with as much scorn as it could, partly because he's also picturing the hat as part of it.

But then Fabian is coming in for the handshake, and he has to switch tacks. It's not completely out of left field. This is the kind of thing he had to expect when establishing diplomatic overtures with a jock.

What catches him off-guard is that it reminds him of the equally stupid handshake he and Luke came up with as a joke. A joke that stuck around, to his chagrin, but never quite embarrassing enough to quit it on purpose. It just stopped, eventually.

He tries to go with it, following along with Fabian's moves as best he can, his smile tilting in odd bittersweetness. ]

Maybe you can get someone to make you a new one? For the new team you're coming up with.

[ It seems like Krouse's attempt to keep up with the jock handshake goes well enough. Either that, or Fabian is just too nice to comment on it, since he doesn't say anything either while they're doing or once they're done.

Instead he just addresses the thing Krouse said with a pleased enough grin. ]

That actually doesn't sound all that bad.

[ Fabian is still missing it in his wardrobe. He's been able to find some stuff here that's his style, but unfortunately the clothing shop doesn't seem to stock varsity jackets for jocks who just can't go without for too long.. ]

Though that means I got to come up with a team name first, huh? If you got any suggestions, you should let me know and I'll take them into consideration!

[ He definitely whiffed the handshake. The timing was all wrong, he missed the knuckle tap, and he has no clue what Fabian was doing at the end. The ease Fabian brushes past it with throws him back to suspicions that Fabian has been drinking more milk than it initially seems. Or he's just still being nice.

Krouse lets himself entertain the alternative possibility that this is some immense long con for a second, then dismisses it. No one goes to this amount of effort to secretly be a dick for no apparent reason. ]

Manticores?

[ And while most of his thoughts were on the social nuances of the occasion, some others apparently went wandering down the path of inspiration. He waves his empty cup through the air, improvising his elaboration. ]

Because they're made of the parts of different animals, like the team would be made of people from different universes. And they're intimidating, but arguably majestic.

[ Fabian's eyebrows rise.

He looks surprised, yes. But it's not just plain surprise. No, he also looks impressed. ]

Damn, you just thought of that on the spot?

[ It's even more impressive when Fabian's friends are so notoriously bad at names.. You don't want to know the suggestions Riz and Adaine did for a new name for their trio half-party in this place. Or what Kristen apparently thinks is an acceptable name for a god.

Krouse actually coming up with this feels like a breath of fresh air in comparison, and Fabian tips his new hat - okay, cap - in acknowledgement. ]

That's amazing! We might in fact have to use that one, the story behind it is too good! And just think of the merchandise opportunities! [ Look, a guy's got to earn money somehow when he can't access daddy's trust fund.. ]

[ There's a pleasant flush across the back of his neck as Fabian literally tips his cap to him, even though this is still stupid. It's definitely the milk. He's not someone who takes every stray, thoughtless compliment to heart.

It's just that Fabian has so many, and gives them out so freely. He's indiscriminately pleased by everything. Must be nice. ]

I know my fantastical bestiary, what can I say?

[ Maybe not so fantastical for Fabian, sure, but that's beside any point. ]

Take a few other ideas before you commit. I wouldn't want people thinking I bribed you with the hat. [ He teases, lighter and easier than he would have expected. ] I should go find the other guest of honour, anyway. You have time to deliberate.

Oh, right!

[ It's almost as if Fabian forgot the entire party was even happening around them. He was just that engaged in the conversation, apparently.

Which means he gives Krouse a grin as he takes a step back. ]

Yeah, wouldn't want to take away from your Adaine time. She's awesome. [ Can't hurt to hype up a friend a little bit to someone you think is good for her to know, right? ] Make sure to tell her I said hey.

[ Fabian, you're.. you're literally at the same exact party. Right now. You're in the same room!! ]

[ It's a skill to be able to make someone feel like they're the only thing you're paying attention to in the world, and for once, Krouse thinks it's something they have in common. He's not sure he's ever been as good at it as Fabian is, but some people just have natural talent. ]

I will, I will.

[ Even if they are in the same room, he figures Adaine will appreciate the sentiment. He decides not to lead with it, though. He'd hate for it to come off as if he's only here because of Fabian, even if that is, in a technical sense, strictly true. ]

Might even mention the 'awesome' thing, if I remember.

[ A harmless rib for the road; he has a feeling Adaine has heard that from the horse's mouth once or twice. ]

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[open] t-t-t-taking over, teenage rebellion!

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