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

Entrance

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Inside the door, a checkered marble floor echoes under a vaulted ceiling painted with a fresco of a star-spangled sky. Staircases flank the far side of the room, rising to the second floor, but are roped off with velvet. A butler in a black domino mask stands waiting to greet new arrivals and direct them toward their area of interest.

To the left of the door, blocking the hallway into one wing of the house, stands a desk graced by a bell and card, and attended by a smiling individual in costume. The card reads, “Coat check, peace-bonds, safe storage. Management accepts responsibility for the safety of all items stored.”

To the right of the entrance, an unobstructed hallway is brightly lit, flanked by a sign which reads, “For our honored guests, costumes provided by local businesses. (Enchanted pieces as marked.)” Down the hall, doors stand open on rooms in which some of the Nexus’ purveyors of clothing, accessories, cosmetics, and more wait to craft a costume for anyone who wants one but didn’t bring their own.

Straight ahead are light and sound, and the rail of a balcony that overlooks the ballroom, flanked on both sides with stairs descending to it.

Ballroom

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Light blazes from crystalline chandeliers, illuminating the heart of the celebration, a vast ballroom. From the overlook at the entryway, grand staircases carpeted in red velvet flank a stage (currently occupied by an energetic troupe of musicians). The side walls are paneled with mirrors, multiplying the sense of light and space, and transforming the room into an infinite swirl of bright costumes and lively steps. Even the infinity between two mirrors is not enough to contain the festivities, however; the wall opposite the stage is a set of windows over glass-paned French doors, thrown open this night to let the revelry spill out and onto the torchlit patio.

Banquet

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

The dining hall of the old mansion was built to feast royalty. Long tables run the length of the room, the thick tablecloths barely seen beneath the array of dark and decadent morsels. Dishes full of every delicacy crowd the tables, offering everything from sweet and (un)savory finger-foods to the most elaborate desserts. Situated between the doors into the dining hall, a sleek bar offers almost any drink desired and regular displays of flair and showmanship. Smaller tables arranged to accommodate groups of varying sizes fill the rest of the room, lit with candles and firelight and the occasional twinkling fairy light. Servants circulate to clear away dishes and clean up as needed.

One table stands apart from the rest, bearing covered dishes marked with small signs. Each sign warns of the specific LOL the candies beneath that cover will bestow. Passing waitstaff check the table regularly to see that the covers are always replaced, and the signs remain present and legible.

Bonfire

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

The dance floor technically ends at the edge of the patio, but the garden beyond is softly lit and several paths invite exploration into its secret romantic corners. One path leads toward a flickering light of many changing colors; at the end is a rainbow bonfire. Cushions and blankets surround the fire at a safe distance, inviting conversation or cuddling. A table to one side provides drinks and everything needed to make s’mores.

Corn Maze

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Covering what had been a sprawling lawn, this year’s corn maze is complex and sprawling. There are many prizes hidden behind the rows of stalks, but also many hazards; which is which is to be determined by those brave enough to dare.

Tricks, twists, traps, treasures, and a true Minotaur await within.

Dark Corners

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

It’s Samhain, and a party in a big, old house. There are plenty of out-of-the-way places to have a quiet assignation, lurk and watch, or snark with the like-minded. Whether a secluded grotto in the gardens, a shady doorway off the ballroom, a corner of the dining hall, or a forbidden room in the roped-off upstairs, this is the catch-all for those who want a breath away from the crowd.

Verity and the Chao (sounds like a band name...)

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity's not wearing a costume per se, but it would be understandable if people didn't recognize her there on the edge of the dance floor, watching the chao scamper about trying to dance with everyone. Starting at the top: her hair tonight is blonde, pinned up in an intricate weave of curls and braids decorated with silver and gold twig hair pins; she's not wearing her glasses, but she is wearing a fair bit more makeup than usual; and her black gown is simple and floor length, unadorned except for a few twists of the fabric. The tattoos remain unchanged and might be the biggest giveaway, if they can be spotted under the bruises.

The chao are all dolled up too--literally, they were given a box of doll clothes and left to pick out their own ensembles. It's all crazy cute, and crazy how cute they are. They're looking for dance partners, playmates, shiny bits to abscond with for improving their own costumes, toys, games, and living jungle gyms. Engage at your own risk, and ignore with the same warning.

Tremble at the return of (Prom) King Groot!

[i_amgroot]

There's a massive, ambulatory tree on the dance floor, swaying in time to the music and looking around amiably for a dance partner. He seems to be wearing a colorful bow tie and a plastic crown. Smiling, he assures anyone who seems interested, "I am Groot."

Costume Icon Requests

[brave_heart_verity]

((Comment here or PM me if you want the deets to be a surprise. I've got Photoshop open and I'm ready to go!))

Photo Booth

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Set to one side of the patio portion of the dance floor, a modest curtained booth bears a simple sign: "Iconographs". Commemorate your costume, your new friends, or the silly face you're making with the aid of a Discworld imp with a great deal of paint.

Re: Costume Icon Requests

[juststeverogers]

((Let me know if any of mine are terrible, haha. I went ahead and made icons anyway even though I said I wasn't gonna))

Re: Costume Icon Requests

[brave_heart_verity]

((I'm sure they'll be great. :D))

[magnetite_plz]

"Welcome to the bitchenest shindig around, myaaa~!" Yes, that is a demon. Yes, that is a Nekomata, and yes, somehow she is dressed as a video game catgirl. It was easier than trying to hide her paws and tails.

"Have some candy! See the sights~ Tricks and treats, spooks and greets nya! Everybody's welcome~~!"

[juststeverogers]

All Steve had really gotten in way of warning was Verity's word that this was happening, but he's still rather startled to see such a grand display in what was once his favorite artist nook.

"Wow...this is..." This is definitely something, Steve.

[gate_crasher]

Shade-Seeker donned his robes of office as Archmage of the Mages' Guild to attend the ball, but it's a larger and more formal gathering than he is accustomed to attending (and, given its informality, that is saying something). He's been lingering in the entrance area, trying to determine whether he was supposed to bring a coat to check, when his eye is caught by the (possible) Nekomata.

"Excuse me," he greets her, "but have we perhaps met before?"

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Mister Rogers, how wonderful of you to join us!" The woman who invited everyone made a sweep through the entryway just in time to see Steve there, and welcome him personally. "Welcome, welcome, and how are you?"

Re: Bonfire

[damn_yourself_early]

Where there's fire, count on finding Loki, dressed as Prince Valiant, swapping stories and gorging himself on s'mores.

Trick or Treat Poppers! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Party_poppers.jpg

[magnetite_plz]

It is most certainly an enchanted costume, as she's actually wearing more clothing than normal. She's holding a bowl full of what look to be party poppers carefully in her fluffy white paws.

"Nyo idea what you're talking about~ I'm superstar Felicia, super spy extraordinaire and queen of the DarkStalkers!" Not that it means anything to the Shade Seeker. "But nyah really, it was me Nekomata all along, nyohohohoho~!" She bounces eagerly holding the bowl out.

"Go ahead nyaa! Take a popper, pop some streamers to celebrate!"

((No LOLs here, just party treats))

[juststeverogers]

Okay, wow was that Schon? Steve looks properly taken aback, speechless for a moment before he regains himself.

"W-wow. You make a more convincing dame than I do." Don't ask how he knows that. Or do, whichever. "Uhm..Verity told me there was gonna be a party. I..I didn't bring anything though." He wasn't really sure what day it was, so it sort of caught him off guard.

It's a dungeon! Time to grind.

[sumarusfinest]

Now, you see, Katsuya had sworn he was walking up the way toward the manor, yet the next thing he knows, he's no closer to the house than he was before, and he's hopelessly lost in the corn maze.

"...This is what I get for supposing it was a path..." The officer huffs, adjusting his ascot as he continues adventuring toward the party proper.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Well, a little magic and a good tailor," she demurs elatedly, before assuring Steve, "you brought yourself, for what else could we possibly wish?"

[gate_crasher]

Shade-Seeker is a little taken aback, puzzled by the little objects (and Nekomata's... everything), but takes one delicately in his claws. "What does one do with them?"

[nodamselnodistress]

Go left! No, go right! No, better turn around and go back. That feeling of being watched isn't getting any better if you keep going forward, that's for damn sure.

Re: Ballroom

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

Let it be known that even Sith know how to do the whole party thing. A little asking around and a little research on the side can do a lot of wonders when it comes to finding out things, particularly about this 'Earth', and its varied residents and holidays. Given the vast majority of Nexus residents being from there, it's no surprise that there was a wealth of information to be found when you know where to look.

Truthfully, deciding on a costume was much, much harder than actually finding out about this. Dressed the part of a dancer, although hers was black, rather than white. She still wore her silver gloves and the black bracers with them, and her saber was divided into its two pieces and attached to her belt at either hip, disguised as part of her costume.

The Nexus may or may not protect against violence, but paranoia wasn't exactly a rational thing.

Still, parties weren't something she was entirely ignorant of. Sith saw themselves as a form of twisted nobility, and parties came along with that.

[brave_heart_verity]

Dia's got a choice: talk with Verity when she gives a friendly nod, or deal with the chao who want to play with the snake. They don't know what a snake is, but it looks like it's for riding. "Oh. Sorry about them. They're excitable."