tampered | MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S PARTY

When; Evening, Sunday 21 June
Rating; PG
Characters; EVERYONE~
Summary; one not-so-summery midsummer's night.
Log;

You could call it being hard-headed, but Blair much preferred committed. They did set it to be this date, after all, and the next day would not be midsummer's day anymore. Besides, no one could tell when the snowstorm would end.

For the not-so-brave, there has been a tent set up on the side, all fitted with heaters on full blast. Stand in the heat, down your sangria and pretend it really was summer. But for the more adventurous ones, most of the revelry was still happening outside. The storm had subsided by the day before, and the blanket of snow looked festive enough by itself. Where else could you have a snow party in the middle of summer?

The play had just finished, with great success of course, and the people were now dispersing amongst themselves, eating and chattering. Blair, now with a checklist in hand, was standing by the corner, deep in one thought or another.

Long tables decked out with hearty foods has been set up, and yellow fairy lights lined the snow-laden trees. Under a great tree, a group of musicians were playing a rural dance song, but no one was dancing yet. It could be because of the corsets. The guests were mostly dressed in period garb, complete with large hats and puffy sleeves. Truly, if it were not for the speech, Shakespeare would have felt right at home.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It hadn't gone perfectly, but that was to be expected with theater, and Yuuko thought that the players had pulled together admirably in the end. And her own father hadn't turned up with the rest to complicate things, which made it easier for her to concentrate.

She was quite impressed with Neil and his evident struggles to get here and fix all of the problems that crept up last minute. She caught him backstage afterward, looking a little dazed. She hadn't even bothered to change out of costume, thinking that the gauzy dress and elaborate hair rather suited her. In any case, she wanted to say something to the boy.

"Neil, you did well," she said, approaching him.

Uta didn't play much of a part. However, she was still happy to be close to Yuuko-san as one of her fairies. The cold made it impossible not to wear tights along with the fairy dress, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

"You were awesome too, Yuuko-san."

She admired Yuuko quite a lot. She wonders why she always felt shy around her...

Yuuko turned and smiled to see the girl. "Thank you, Uta-chan. And I had such lovely fairies."

She blushes at the compliment. She's never taken part at a huge production like this before. School plays simply could not compare.

"Ah... it was fun! But uhm... I'll be leaving early today though, and I just wanted to congratulate you before I went off..."

"Oh, you have other plans?" Yuuko lifted an eyebrow in surprise. She leaned down and continued, smiling, "You might want to change out of costume, then.~"

"Something like that, yeah."

She fidgets, totally forgetting she was still in costume.

"Ah..! Right, right! I should do that now... heh. I'll be seeing you, Yuuko-san! Enjoy the after party!"

"Have a good time!" Yuuko called after the little sprite, smiling as she left. She wasn't sure exactly what Uta was up to, but at least she was happier now. Yuuko hoped that state would continue. Uta spent a lot of time cheering other people up-- even herself sometimes, she'd admit. She deserved a bit of happiness herself.

"Thank you," replied the boy warmly, still grinning like a fool. That was unlikely to change for-- oh, say, the next few days. He was pleased enough that he could ignore his father's illusory presence almost entirely.

"You made a wonderful Titania," Neil added, smiling a little more broadly. The fairy costuming did suit her, and her otherworldliness (in Neil's opinion) lent itself well to the role.

He'd seemed so distraught on the Network this morning, and to a lesser degree, in person when she'd arrived this afternoon. She was glad to see the tension gone from him. It made him look so very young... perhaps his actual age.

"I enjoyed it," she said honestly. She had, from the most ridiculous scenes to the most serious ones. She'd never pretended to be a fairy queen before. It was something to add to her resume, even if it was only a trick of the stage: a costume, a few bright words, and you could almost believe her wings were real.

"And how was it, playing Puck again?" she asked, her voice light if the question itself was a little heavy.

His grin sobered a little, just for a moment, as he considered the question. It was hardly a secret, what had happened at home-- though not too many of his friends knew the whole story. Yuuko knew more than most-- he'd spoken more with her about the darker side of this, the ways in which it was difficult to reprise his performance.

"It was... good. I'm glad I did it," he announced, brightening again a little. "I'm glad I could."

He means that in two senses-- both having the opportunity, and his own capacity to brave the sad memories it stirred up.

She tilted her head to one side, and smiled. "You should be proud. And your father, as well, though I suppose parents don't always understand the things most important to us."

She was proud of him, even if his spectral father wasn't. She knew he had more strength in him than the ending of his short life might have suggested.

He glanced over his shoulder for the first time. His father was still there (though not, of course, for Yuuko,) silent but sporting a sullen scowl.

Neil turned back to Yuuko and shrugged. "It doesn't matter anymore if he disapproves," he said quietly. "I'm happy. I think that's more important." It wasn't his father's life, after all.

"Thank you, Yuuko."

"You're welcome," she said simply. "And you're right. It is more important. If your life belongs to you, yourself, the only limits on it are the ones that you impose."

She reached out and poked him on the nose, grinning, before she turned away and disappeared into the crowd. A woman as tall as her should have been visible for a little longer than she actually was.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S PARTY

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || Backstage squeeing is required<3

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || ...thread-jacking for the squeeing toos?

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || a threadjack it is!

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || Yey~!

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || <3

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || Backstage squeeing is required<3

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || Backstage squeeing is required<3

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || Backstage squeeing is required<3

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || Backstage squeeing is required<3

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || Backstage squeeing is required<3

POST-PLAY FOR THE ACTORS || Backstage squeeing is required<3