The Samhain Ball - Come as You Aren't

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

A woman strides through the Nexus, garbed in royal finery of a distinctly Elizabethan style. In the crook of her arm, she carries an ebony scepter shod and capped in silver. There may be something familiar about her confident bearing, her angular features, her mismatched eyes. When she pauses to speak, the cadence of her words might spark recognition--is this Schön?!

"People of the Nexus, friends, in the world from which I hail we stand on the cusp of a special day, a harvest-fest when the walls between worlds grow thin, when masks and costumes are worn to frighten away the wicked spirits--or to invite them in on more congenial terms. So on this day, I invite you, each and every one of you, to join me in a revel to bid farewell to Summer, and welcome with fire and song the coming dark! Join me, won't you?" Letting her gaze sweep the crowd, she raps the heel of her scepter once against something solid, vanishing in a flash and leaving a sparkling trail for the curious to follow.

A cool wind herds dry, crackling leaves through the gathering gloom. On the cusp between the parklands and the residential district, darkness and cloudy skies have been slowly coalescing for days around a stately house of Gothic style, ivy-encrusted and showing its age somewhat. A square tower stands vigil over the entryway, tall windows overlooking the flagstone drive looping around a fountain gone dry. The house’s angular wings stretch to either side, the windows dark save for occasional glints and gleams of colored lights bobbing within. A glow does creep over the line of the roof, however, and the faint throb of distant music hint at something happening behind the house. The door stands open, a silent invitation to every brave soul who passes by.

((Happy Halloween! Enjoy the festivities. All LOLs are optional. Threadhopping is encouraged. Backtagging is forever, so don’t worry about missing out: we’ll still be here when you get back from your more mundane ghosties and goblins.))

Playlist
Visualosity
The Entrance
The Ballroom
The Banquet
The Bonfire
The Corn Maze
Dark Corners
Costume Icon Requests
The Photo Booth

Comments

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity steps forward before crouching down beside Amelia, wiggling her fingers to entice some of the chao over to her. Very few people in the Nexus have long enough limbs to handle upsies for everyone at once. "He does good work. They haven't even managed to dislodge the decorative bits on my dress yet. Feeling better?"

[ixis]

Naugus, to his credit, looks like he considers it for a moment. But then eventually shakes his head.

"It won't be necessary. But thank you all the same. Quite gracious of you."

He can never learn to just expect the best of people. Not ever.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"As you will. The repast, at least, I hope may bring some satisfaction."

[sumarusfinest]

As long as they don't try to eat them Katsuya won't make a fuss over it either. Just being somewhere quiet with a fire going cuddled up next to Verity makes this a pleasant addition to the night.

The fact that this has managed to help Verity calm down makes him even happier. He likes being able to help her when she needs him.

"...This has turned into quite the evening. I may have to rethink my dedication to Halloween."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"He's very good, yes." Oh look, one of the chao has made its way up her arm and onto her shoulders. It's now trying to figure out where her mask is attached so it can wear it, too. Unfortunately for the chao, it's tied under her hair, so it's unlikely to get it off.

"A little better." She sighs, throwing a guilty look at Verity. "I'm sorry, for freaking out before. This whole night is just more stressful than I expected and then one of them was grabbing at my hair pin and I--" Another sigh as she gently removes her mask and hands it to the chao playing in her hair. Can Verity tells there's been a little crying going on? There's some slightly smudged makeup around her eyes. "It hit me harder than I expected and I reacted poorly."

[smartass_captain]

"Yeah well, I meant it as 'Iowa Bros' time. Which usually ends in fun times." Jim folds his arms over his chest and gives Clint a decidedly 'no you didn't' sort of look.

"Trying to get inside before I freeze my dick off, maybe. And the entire point of making this shit look sexy is to get out it before the night is over. If I wasn't concerned with the ramifications of flirting with Harrowheart, that could have been an easy sell. He's pretty into me."

[aw_hawkguy]

"Okay, see? That's an entirely different kind'a raising hell," Clint points out.

As to Jim's hopes for a date, "fair enough. Hey, what happened to that Felix guy? He seemed nice." Nice. Listen to Clint, he sounds like somebody's old man. Now Jim knows how Kate feels, when Clint's trying to offer helpful relationship tips (Clint just don't).

[brave_heart_verity]

No, they might taste the bobby pins but they do not taste good so there's no interest in eating them. Bobby pin swordfighting might have a future. Or using them like batons. It's hard to tell. They may end up throwing them around like confetti.

"Mm, it's been a lot more fun than I expected," she admits with a sleepy sort of tone. "I'm glad you came."

[smartass_captain]

The problem with being Jims best friend is Jim not filtering what he tells you. Bones is glad Jim had someone else he can empty that garbage onto.

"Yeah, so lets get to it before I freeze and you change your mind." Jim has no grand scheme in mind yet, but give him a minute or three. "Felix is definitely doable. The distinct lack of women in the Nexus would be more upsetting if every other guy wasn't hot as hell too. Pretty sure he's into Verity though, so aside form that being...weird..I'll need to make sure I'm not pissing off Verity by fooling around casually with her friend."

[brave_heart_verity]

A mask? Oh, happy day! This mask is big enough for several chao, and will be handed down to the others for examination. They're being as careful as they can with it.

"It's been hard for both of us. You did a good job extracting yourself from the situation." Yes, she can see that there were tears, and she suspects Amelia's feeling pretty spent at the moment. Better to have her rest now if she's needing a rest than to have her push and have a much bigger scene. "There are some quiet rooms upstairs if you need to lay down for a while."

[sumarusfinest]

Katsuya shifts the overcoat to better cover Verity's shoulders for her and pulls her against him gently. He's warm and great for napping on. So considerate and quiet and gentle.

He smiles because for once he isn't the one so relaxed he's nodding off. Verity's been through so much, of course she'd be exhausted over a night of dancing, emotional distress, and babysitting herds of baby dumplings. He certainly wouldn't fault her for a nap.

"I'm glad you asked me to." Now she's getting a slow, gentle kiss. Affectionate and sincere.

[rogueinladysclothing]

Play away, little chao, for when she goes to leave, Amelia's taking it with her. For now, though, she's more than happy to watch them try it on and pass it around.

"Still, I'm sorry for causing a scene. I didn't mean to." She frowns and shakes her head a bit. "No, if I disappear again, it's to go back to the inn. I know I haven't been here that long, but if it get so bad that I want to disappear, it means it's time to take away the temptation of falling into myself and doing something else embarrassing. I may still check out what's upstairs before I go, though. Marked off areas have always intrigued me." There's a small glint of mischief in her eyes as she gives Verity a sideways glance. Despite everything that's gone on tonight, she's still herself under all the makeup and gown.

<3 <3 <3

[fightlikehell]

A pet really would be an experiment. In all his years he hasn't had so much as a goldfish. A cat would be a great start. A little more hands off than a dog. Or chao for that matter.

He does only in that way a person can see that another person obviously attracts attention from others. If that means still being close by he would be so very content. They've just met. And so far her company has been a terrific buffer for the kind of culture shock he's going through. That aside, Matt plainly would like to get to know her better.

A hand in her hand and a grip on her waist he smirks. "Yes." Because that's what gentlemen do. And sure he can pull his act but at his core Matt Murdock would like to share a dance with a friendly lady. Blindness and secrecy won't stop him. "Just let me know if we're too close to someone."

[fightlikehell]

"At least you get a little bit of a chance outside of freezing." Matt lives off of coffee even more in the winter himself. And central heating. Can't live without that. Hopefully Steve had some. The smell of the cider with the clink announces it's arrival. It's very considerate of him to be so careful with the placement. He can feel the heat radiating from the mug.

"Thanks." That's what you say to someone who's being helpful.

"My time. Phew. Uh." Matt grins a little nervously. He could start a million places but most recent history hasn't been that great. A battle in the streets for one, a terrorism attack for another... "You said you're from 1941, right?"

[westfallcorndog]

"A big tree that dances? Steve, you little rascal! You danced with a treant and you didn't even know it? You oughta be honored, man, they're important people! ... Treeple. They're super wise, if you know how to listen. And it sounds like you do!"

Lil' Steve is growin' up and learning things. Harrow is the proudest parent in this moment.

Harrow's hands disappear into his quiver and come back with a set of bandages and leather wraps. He quickly binds his hands to his wrists and flexes his fingers when he has the appearance of normal arms again.

He offers his right hand to Steve and says, "Teach me how to waltz, Steve. You lead, I'll be the girl."

The drunken, giant, hairy-chested girl.

[brave_heart_verity]

Mmm so cozy. But she's not going to nap. First, because she doesn't want to, and she's damned stubborn; second, because there are chao in the room, and there's no sleeping when chao are nearby.

And third, because that is considerably more kiss than he usually gives her, and now she's quite awake again. "Mm, you must be having a good time."

[brave_heart_verity]

Everyone is always themselves under the masks.

"That's an option too, if you think it's best. You're not obligated to stay any longer than you want to. You'll be disappointed by what you find upstairs, I think. From what I've seen it's just a lot of empty rooms." Curiosity is one thing, but wasting time is another. Then again, Verity's hardly done a thorough search. Who knows what Amelia may find upstairs. Or who.

[aw_hawkguy]

"Right, let's get back inside and find you someone to dance with. Did you see the dancing tree? Not that I'm suggesting a date with it..."

An afterthought finally comes to Clint: "which arrows did you say you took, again?"

⊂((・▽・))⊃

[brave_heart_verity]

Chao aren't hands-off. They're all hands on deck. Although even Wilson Fisk might not be immune to their charms. Maybe Matt's world doesn't need more metahumans; maybe it needs more cute.

The culture shock people experience in the Nexus is hard to avoid, but a familiar sort of presence and having things come at you more slowly can help. Maybe times like this, being blind isn't all bad? He can't see the giant tree person they're sharing the dance floor with, so that revelation can wait until he's feeling more prepared for introductions.

Don't smirk at her, Matt, she's being nice. Well, okay, he can smirk if he must. He's lucky he's cute. "Sure thing." It'll be quite a partnership, him leading with her occasional course corrections. They'll make it work.

"So, does being blind help you get away with crashing people's parties like this?" It's daring to be teasing him about that already, but she's feeling daring tonight.

[rogueinladysclothing]

That's still something she's learning.

"True, but I can't know for certain without checking, can I? Besides, finding out for myself is always better than being told." Usually that statement would apply to doing something less than savory, but for once she means it out of sheer curiosity. Can't know unless you try, right?

"But before I do that, I believe I owe my... friend a dance." She blushes slightly at saying that. Having a friend is so odd for her. Once she's gotten Verity's attention with that, she stands and offers a hand to her. "May I have this next dance?"

Curiosity can be a fun or dangerous thing...

[rogueinladysclothing]

After all the dancing, all the food, and the one not-so-small freak out, Amelia is ready to take one last pass through the manor before she calls it a night. Of course that means she's going to explore the "forbidden" upstairs. She wouldn't be a very good rogue if she didn't care about searching through the darkest corners of this area of the place.

Her footsteps are light as she passes through the halls. Any locked rooms? She's opening them - no rogue in their right mind goes anywhere without their lock picks, after all. With the exception of her brightly colored dress, one might not know she was coming until they came face-to-face with her in the dimly lit halls.

[drehnifusbahi]

"Onward, then," he agrees. He can't help but grin himself. Shade-Seeker's enthusiam feeds his own, especially given that this adventure lacks the sort of stakes he's become so used to. If they don't manage to 'beat' the maze, the only potential consequence is a bit of embarrassment.

It's a habit Vanyel shares, for similar reasons - though in Skyrim the most common tend to be bear traps and pressure plates. The latter isn't so much a concern on a dirt path, but the former... even if the standard sort don't work, he's sure whoever designed the maze (if that wasn't also Schon) could come up with a magical variant.

[brave_heart_verity]

This is why Amelia's the rogue and Verity's the practical one: Verity can take someone at their word when they give her an honest warning. And yes, irony fully intended with this answer: "If you say so."

Standing up means first removing the chao, which takes Verity a minute and nearly costs her an earring. They're grabby. But once she's got them all on the floor and distracted she'll take Amelia's hand with a smile. "Happily."

[rogueinladysclothing]

Oh good, irony. That's not something Amelia's life is built on. Not at all. Nope.

When she really wants to be, Amelia can be an incredibly patient person, so she doesn't mind waiting for Verity to extricate herself from the chao. She smiles and leads the way to the dance floor, finally becoming aware of the slightly awkward state of both of them being about the same height for this dance. No matter. Amelia rests one hand gently on Verity's waste, scoops up her skirts with the other and then gently takes Verity's free hand again.

"I thought a nice waltz might do us both some good," she murmurs softly as she begins to lead. "Something easy, light, and goes with pretty much every kind of music I've heard tonight." Despite the fact that it's a little weird to be the same height as they dance, Amelia's not going to break eye contact with Verity when she speaks. Her feet are sure in their movements, and she even manages that small motion where she pulls her hand away from Verity's body just a bit to "tell" her where they're going as they dance. Leading is not something that Amelia seems to have any issues with.

[sumarusfinest]

"It has been a rather interesting evening." Katsuya chuckles, ticking one of the chau who thought they had the free hand under control.

Cooing burbling giggles! The most fiendish of attacks.

"How are you feeling?"