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

[smartass_captain]

"Snow Queen. I see. It sounds like something you'd appreciate." Apparently by the 2250s Frozen isn't the phenomenon it is now. That's how long it takes. Might as well embrace it Reynard.

"I love winter. Snow, cabins, a fire in the fireplace. All that stuff is great." Cozy. Homey. Just because Jim doesn't have those things doesn't mean he can't appreciate them.

[shardofwinter]

Apparently by the 2250s he'll be lucky if people stick around Earth long enough to experience Winter, by the sounds of things.

Jim just hit upon he easiest way to make Reynard truly smile. "Mm. Hearty stews, mulled wine after a day of gallivanting about the white countryside... There is a lot to love about Winter."

[smartass_captain]

"Iowa's too flat, man. I've always wanted to go to a mountain cabin some winter, way out in the middle of nowhere." Maybe with horses. Jim likes them well enough. A cottage out in the countryside with a big fireplace. It's too soon to think about the fleet grounding him for good. Retirement is a lifetime away yet, but Jim thinks that he'd like that kind of place when it's time.

"Right? It sounds...Cozy." Plenty of people still stick around Earth. Space isn't for everyone, and the fleet's pretty strict about who gets to go. Colonies are a thing too though, so there's winters in a lot of worlds now! Man, Reynard might even like Delta Vega. Doubtful though. Eternal freezing winter is one thing. The huge Jim-eating monsters are another thing altogether.

[shardofwinter]

"Mountains and cabins are my forté." His free hand rests on his heart again briefly, pride subtly puffing up his chest. "I've built a couple by now. If you're able to deal with solitude and the occasional rough patch, it's perfect for Winter. Very cozy indeed."

The cold Reynard can deal with, monsters like those... he'd rather leave somewhere like Niflheim. Although a place of eternal Winter might make Reynard one of the worst monsters of all.

[smartass_captain]

Would it really? He wouldn't just be a jolly happy Snow King making forts and castles all day? Sad times, indeed. And then there's the whole monster thing.

Jim is not a fan. Thumbs down on that planet.

"I hate the holidays around that time of year, but man the season is just the best. Winter, I mean." Christmas and Valentines day can just die in a fire. Also his birthday. Bleh. Worthless, the lot of them. Ruining a perfectly good season.

"So are you going to do any Snow King displays or is it just for show?" Careful with that grin, Jim. It's getting to be sincere.

[shardofwinter]

Such enthusiasm is welcome, and unknowingly flattering. It's like listening to someone compliment a play he helped put together. He'd be happy to listen to talk like that all evening, and it shows. "I dislike what the holidays have become. They used to have some value, once upon a time."

"Ah. Unfortunately, I have little Winter power at this time of year. It would be nothing compared to what I can do in Winter..." He pauses and then concedes with a shrug, "But... if I were to be asked very nicely I might put on a small display."

[smartass_captain]

"Maybe for some people." Not for Jim. It's not worth making a fuss about though, not when there are possibilities of a demonstration on the table. Jim's eyebrows make a beeline for his hairline with how fast he's raising them.

Jim motions for one of the waiters and murmurs something in his ear before giving Reynard a chuckle and a wink. There is soon an entire bottle of the fine red wine he's obtained for the man upon his coming over.

"I can be nicer if you want, but that depends on your definition of nice."

[shardofwinter]

The secretive word to the waiter gets a curious look from the Winter spirit and Jim's wink gets more than a little suspicion. Though the arrival of more wine, an entire bottle in fact, clears things up nicely and has him smiling again.

"I don't know how much nicer you can be than keeping a man's wine glass filled." He scoops the bottle closer so that he can look over the label, shaking his head slightly though his expression is one of appreciation. "Very nice indeed..."

Then his gaze flickers up to Jim. "I'm curious. Is there a reason you're so eager to see some Winter magic? Or do you just like to get as much as you can out of an evening?"

[smartass_captain]

"Now that is an easy question to answer." Jim grins as though it was obvious.

"There's no magic in my world. i'm an explorer by nature, so the chance to see something new--something no one from my world has ever seen before, is more than reason enough."

Beat. And a chuckle.

"Plus, I think you're interesting, and this is an excuse to get to know you better."

[shardofwinter]

"You need an excuse?" Reynard grins and takes a generous swig of his wine. "Perhaps you'd care to share more about yourself while I think up something suitably impressive to do? Going from 'a small town in Iowa' to exploring space sounds like quite the tale."

[smartass_captain]

"Any I can get when it comes to a pretty face." Because what fun is it if there's no jokes? Jim finishes off his drink.

"I was born in space, actually." Still smiling, though it no longer reaches his eyes. "Moved to Iowa right after my old man died. Spend my life as the only genius level repeat offender in the Midwest, until I was scouted for Starfleet a few years ago." Jim smirks, shaking his head.

"Don't know why they wanted to recruit a hillbilly with blood pouring out of his nose having got into a bar fight with some Starfleet recruits, but there you go." There's a nostalgic chuckle. "That was a good fight."

[shardofwinter]

Such joking is met with playfully exaggerated preening. "Oh, Jim, you flatterer you."

Reynard sits back and sips at his drink while he listens, lifting an eyebrow at the mention of 'genius' and his grin widening as Jim recalls a bar fight. It sounds more and more like Jim's extracurricular activities match his own a fair bit.

"'Genius level repeat offender'. That's quite the title to have gotten yourself. I'll be honest, you're one of the more personable 'geniuses' I've come across in my years. It's very refreshing." He sets about opening this new bottle of wine. "So. How did you do in 'Starfleet'?"

[smartass_captain]

"I didn't give it to myself." Jim looks up quickly. The distinction is important. "Pike did. The--" The father figure he never had. The first man to see something in Jim aside from his past. The man who changed everything. "...The guy who recruited me to the fleet called me that. When he told me I was wasting my life in Iowa. That I could do something with my life."

Too many emotions, memories, regrets..when it comes to Pike. Jim licks at his lower lip while he considers how to continue. You're being too serious, Jim. Charm, remember? His smile comes back. Jim seems to have remembered himself.

"Four years to graduate as an officer, eight to get your own ship." He gives Reynard a knowing grin. "I did both in three." Granted, there was a lot more to it than being smart to getting his own ship, but that's a whale of a story.

[shardofwinter]

After their first conversation, Reynard is aware that some subjects are going to get danced around as they pull up unwanted memories and feelings. He's been friends with soldiers before, with people who'd seen too much. They're the people who've survived blizzards in their time, and he's able to afford them patience. He has time, after all. Perhaps even more importantly, he won't comment on it, simply matching Jim's smile when it returns.

"Twelve years brought down to three. Are you sure that wasn't just your competitive streak?" Reynard asks and then hiding his querying look behind another swig of wine.

[smartass_captain]

"Might have had something to do with it." Okay, we're back on full thrusters. Jim can even manage a wink over the new drink he'll be grabbing from a passing waitstaff.

Reynard not commenting on it means Jim can bury it somewhere deep and away, where it belongs and get back to the matter at hand. Which is of course flirting and bravado.

"I don't like being told what my limitations are. Makes me want to prove them wrong."

[shardofwinter]

"A motivation that can be used for both good and evil," Reynard muses aloud while he quietly wonders where the bet for Jim's costume falls in that category.

"You must frustrate your superiors no end... And they still gave you your own ship... Your own ship..." His brow shoots up. "That makes you a captain." And then it drops down suspiciously. "They still have captains in charge of ships in space, don't they?"

[smartass_captain]

Sexy is neither good nor evil Reynard. It just is.

"Guilty as charged, but they know that I get the job done. And that I know what I'm doing." You know, if they don't look at the regulations too closely. "Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. Best ship in the fleet." An opinion, and one up for debate probably, but there's no arguing with Jim Kirk when it comes to his ship or his crew.

He'd die for them.

"Rank doesn't mean much here though, so."

[shardofwinter]

"Captain Kirk, well that does have a nice ring to it." Alright, he's impressed, and it shows. Commanding a ship is not an easy task, and that someone so young managed become captain, from a legitimate authority no less, has to be recognised for the achievement it is. "I've known captains who would be outraged if someone neglected to acknowledge their captaincy, but if you would prefer me to stick to first names and no titles, I will."

[smartass_captain]

"I think so." Jim's proud of the work he does, but gone are the days where he'd remind everyone to call him Captain like a little shit. He's learned some modesty.

"Eh, getting snubbed by the fleet is one thing, just getting to be me is another." Jim gives an easy shrug. "Jim Kirk's still the hillbilly kid from Iowa, not some Big Damn Hero everyone has huge expectations of." He'll pull out his bow from it's holder on his back and grin.

"Besides, today I'm just Hawkeye."

[shardofwinter]

That modesty will come in useful later in the year.

"You're lucky it's not February. You'd be mistaken entirely for Cupid." Reynard's grinning morphs into a thoughtful look. "Hawkeye is one of those costumed criminal chaps, isn't he? Hangs around here sometimes. Thankfully with trousers."

[smartass_captain]

It's not much, but take what you can get, right?

"That's entirely fine with me too though." Jim grins mischeviously before shaking his finger. "Tsk tsk. Hero. Hawkeye is a hero. And also a relative of mine. This is actually his genuine old costume from the 70s. I stole it out of his closet a while back along with his practice bow and a few old arrows."

[shardofwinter]

Reynard raises a hand. "Hero, my apologies." The latter part gets a snigger. "You stole it from his closet? Oh I bet he loves you for that."

[smartass_captain]

"He's not exactly thrilled that I'm reminding everyone that he actually wore this at one point, but he's being a good sport about it." Jim shrugs.

"I bet him a long time ago I could make anything look good. Even this. He might have the muscles, but I definitely wear it better, hahaha! He didn't think I was serious."

Really if he didn't want Jim to borrow it, he shouldn't have shown it to him in the first place. "And really, his brother helped me steal it, so it's half his fault too." Such terrible relatives Clint has.

"Not exactly everyday attire, but I think I pull it off well enough."

[shardofwinter]

The spirit's eyes roam up and down Jim's costume again, firmly pinning that crooked grin to his mouth. "There's not that much of it to pull off, my dear. It looks like the the eighties tried its hand at making a tunic." He leans a little closer. "Clint knows people wore trousers under those, doesn't he?"

[smartass_captain]

"This was the entire costume. I am being historically accurate." He snickers though. Jim knows it's a ridiculous getup. Being ridiculous and not caring is half the fun.

"Still, with that outfit you're wearing, I bet we make quite a pair. Shockingly bright color duo!"