tampered | (no subject)

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WHO: YOU.
WHEN: Valentine’s Day, sundown – 4 a.m.
WHERE:

caughtthebullet estate, the Palace.

And what is a City overrun by Venice flair without its masque?

Come sundown, the overly-lit Palace, suffering under a sea of orchids and a white-and-gold palette, will be welcoming the ladies and gentlemen of our fair City as its guests to this year’s Valentine’s Day ball. Have no fear, the Palace staff has been given notice to help newcomers dock their gondolas!

Should they lack their own, ladies will be served a dance card, white cape and masque upon arrival. Gentlemen without can also be helped find a suitablemask.

Guests will not be introduced by name, but by their choice of pseudonym; instead, they can play the guessing game until masks are formally removed at midnight, giving their time, and maybe their hearts to some hopeful stranger.

jesusing_clown and a cohort of waiters will produce the evening’s treats;

taravata will be attending on any task that calls for strong arms and keen balance;

risetwice’s patisserie will be providing breads, cakes, and the evening’s tort; and

eagleofautozam has promised sweets and candied souvenirs.

The ball’s sponsor and delightful host,

caughtthebullet passes his compliments, and the

sparkling_by puts himself at your service.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Please, be welcome.

[ooc: up very early, but you know what to do! Thread, threadjack, take advantage of the masks for cute shenanigans, and most of all, have fun! ]

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Allen stands in his waiter uniform, carrying a platter of cakes out. It's a big temptation not to scarf the lot down, and throughout the evening he'll be casting longing glances to the tables of cakes and treats, aaaah he wants to eat it but NO, he is determined to be professional tonight.

The evening’s celebrations would not be complete without sampling some of the tasty candies provided by Geo’s Sweet Shoppe. Beautiful truffles (http://i54.tinypic.com/2w1sk6g.jpg), gourmet chocolates (http://i56.tinypic.com/w8ufz5.jpg), or foil covered chocolate hearts (http://i52.tinypic.com/29d8wm0.jpg) are all free for the taking. These gorgeous treats are being passed around the room on silver serving trays by one of the servers: (http://sinandservitude.livejournal.com/profile)Sebastian (http://sinandservitude.livejournal.com/), (http://courage-of-fire.livejournal.com/profile)Hikaru (http://courage-of-fire.livejournal.com/), (http://antipillar.livejournal.com/profile)Lantis (http://antipillar.livejournal.com/), (http://geo-metro.livejournal.com/profile)Geo (http://geo-metro.livejournal.com/), and (http://eagleofautozam.livejournal.com/profile)Eagle (http://eagleofautozam.livejournal.com/).
Each guest will also receive a candy souvenir, either a lovely heart-shaped lollipop (http://i55.tinypic.com/2ykewid.jpg) or one shaped like a rose (http://i56.tinypic.com/35ce9o9.jpg), with either a white or gold bow elegantly tied to the stick.

As for Eagle himself. He will be going about the business of serving those candies so delicately prepared for this evening’s event… and using every possible opportunity to put Hikaru and Lantis into situations where they have to interact with each other. For surely, once Lantis is exposed to Hikaru’s charming nature he couldn’t do anything less than fall in love with her.
Even though, technically working, he is still Eagle and totally open to random conversations.

Dawn arrives just at sundown wearing a black one-shoulder dress (http://pics.livejournal.com/the_dawnster/pic/00005pb4) with black heels. It's a dress she just recently purchased and she's really kind of happy to not only have a great job at City Solutions to pay for it but also to have a place to wear it out. Her hair is up in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She steps out of the gondola and takes the offered white cape to clasp around her neck and the offered mask. It's a little nerve-wracking thinking of a party where there might be ballroom dancing. But she also knows that someone is coming to help her out on that front.

As it is, she can already smell all the sweets before she enters the ballroom and knows she'll eventually cave to them. And the music, lovely. She'd always loved music and the way it could take a person over emotionally. This was going to be fun, she already knew that. She just had to find her dance partner.

Last week, Merry had gone out shopping with Uni, searching for a white dress she'd like to wear to the ball. It wasn't as though she didn't already have a plethora of dresses in her closet, and to be honest, at first she'd wondered if there was even a need to go out shopping. But those were the clothes that she wore on a daily basis; the Victorian style clothes that others saw as formal, she saw as ordinary. So in the end, she'd decided on getting a new one-- a dainty dress (http://multiply.com/mu/modifiedminds/image/2/photos/upload/300x300/Stu3ygoKCIsAAFojlrM2/2500-loli.JPG?et=G2fV0btHGA6%2CDizMvDSgTw&nmid=291114809), shortened on one side to give the skirt a sweeping look.

Cain hadn't looked too appalled when he saw it...or maybe that was just a trick of the light.

Well, now she was here, and there was nothing else to be done for it. She was determined to dance one dance perfectly, for her own pride's sake.

Flicking a curl of her blonde hair (http://hairstyleschat.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/cute-prom-hairstyles-20101.jpg) back and fixing the white camellia (http://www.where2guide.com/Articles/jan20082/white_camellia.jpg) affixed there, Merry clutched her dance card in her hand before she started walking to search for the punch. She was going to be up past her bedtime, after all, and she needed something to keep her awake.

Aya was already there and waiting near the entrance. He had the mask that had been offered here, not really minding it all. His main focus was to find Dawn among the people that were there already. Not an easy task really but he did manage to catch sight of her before she put her mask on. Moving through the crowd, he made his way over to her.

"Dawn?" He smiled a little even if she wouldn't see it beneath the mask. He was wearing a white suit that he'd found in his closet. Really, he had no idea why he had it or who had given it to him but it did fit. "You look beautiful."

Dawn was looking around a bit anxiously and was just starting to consider taking her mask back off when she saw Aya heading toward her. She smiled brightly as well and unceremoniously wrapped her arms around him in an excited embrace. She might have even bounced a few times on the toes of her heels. "Thank you so much for coming here with me. And I'll owe you a million thank you's and I'm sorry's by the time the night is over and you've taught me how to ballroom dance. But I promise to try really hard not to step on your toes."

She pulls back finally and looks down at his suit. "You look great too. We make the best masque couple. There should be a prize."

Aya actually managed a laugh as he let her hug him. He wasn't sure how exactly to respond to the hug but he managed to awkwardly return it. Brushing some of his hair back from his face, he let her ramble a bit to get all the words out before he even tried to speak himself.

"Thank you. But I think my toes can manage you stepping on them a few times." He'd certainly suffered worse than that in his time anyway. Besides, it was just nice to see Dawn so excited by this. "And you don't have to thank me. I'm glad I could offer some help."

What better than a nice sugary sweet to keep one up past their bedtime?

“Maybe I can interest you in one of these delicious treats?”

And a tray is lowered to a more acceptable height so the young lady can decide which, if any, candy she might like to have.

"Help and great company." She slips her hand in the crook of his arm at his elbow, imagining that she were in another time and place (which she would be completely embarrassed to admit to someone) or in one of the historical books she'd read before. She had never been to a party like this though and it seemed like it called for some kind of decorum that was beyond her own time period.

"Because if it's just help I'm a charity case and you have to have a good time too." She smiles, her other hand smoothing out her skirt and the long cape around her. "I should have gone with a longer dress, huh? Wait, never mind. You said I look good and I'm going to accept the compliment and hope I don't shame you. Can you smell the chocolate? I can already smell it." Conversation with Dawn can occasionally be hard to keep up with -- especially when she's excited and/or nervous.

"Alright then. Help and great company." He made sure to play the gentleman now, guiding her through the crowd and over to where the chocolate was. If she could already smell it then getting her a piece or two before they danced would help to possibly ease her nerves. It used to help his sister if she was nervous all those years ago.

"I doubt you'll shame me though. You just focus on having fun and that will be more than enough."

Ginny Weasley arrives at the Ball a little more than fashionably late, if only because she wasn't entirely convinced about attending in the first place until the last possible minute. Perhaps it had something to do with being dateless, perhaps it had something to do with being dressless, but in the end, it all came down to having a good time despite it all—and she does like a good time. She deserves a bit of a good time given the past few months. The witch had entertained the idea of taking Albus, but she'd discovered his empty apartment just a few days earlier, and though she's not said anything to anyone about it, that's said it all. One less person to have on her side or at it, as it were. No matter. Not now. (Though she could have used his help in coming up with something to wear, at the very least.) A few magical alterations here and there with some old dresses she'd worn in past events, a bit of creativity, and she'd come up with something suitable to the occasion (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y41/little_pirate/KarolineHerfurth-DeutscherFilmpreis2010-Arrivals.jpg), all pale, sheer, and floating fabric fluttering at her ankles as she walks into the palace.

Her first thought is that she won't be able to find her friends quite as easily as she assumed on the gondola—an actual gondola, for Merlin's sake—ride over. She gets handed a dance card at the door, and though she's a bit at a loss about it all despite having it explained to her before, she keeps it on hand. The Gryffindor witch adjusts her own mask (http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--90000--82883_product_1510322630_thumb_large.jpg), gold threaded among the white, and huffs a bit under her breath. Well. She always did like a challenge. With one final absent touch to her hastily done-up hair, perhaps her only identifier for the evening with its fiery cast, she disappears into the crowd.

Edited 2011-02-15 00:47 (UTC)

She was more than a little bit thankful when she realized they were nearing the buffet table piled high with sweets. That really would help to calm her nerves. It was really strange, she could go into a club and dance to her hearts content without batting an eye. This was so posh she felt like she might be sneaking in through the back door, even though she wasn't.

"No shaming. Check. And if anything goes terribly wrong, we can always hold onto the fact that we look great." Plus she had a thinly carved stake strapped to the outside of her right thigh but no one needed to know that. Growing up in Sunnydale and as the Slayers little sister, there were some things you learned not to go without.

At the buffet table, she picked up a piece of chocolate and just inhaled the scent of it. "This has to be magic, magical healing powers that can cure any woes and calm all anxieties."

"I don't know about that. I think you outshine me." Of course, when you were someone who didn't think highly of yourself anyway... Something he wouldn't really mention here. His words just sounded like he was making sure to compliment her thoroughly. Something he could be good at if he tried.

Watching her with the chocolate, he smiled a little. "I knew someone who was the same way. Bring her around chocolate and she felt better right away."

Actually, for all he knew she probably was still like that. He hadn't checked in on her recently.

Dawn has to smile at that, that he knew someone else who let chocolate affect them so deeply. She finally takes a bite of the dark chocolate candy and her eyes actually close, her head nodding just a bit as she literally savors it for several moments of silence. But hey, Aya gets a break from her continuous talk. Only for a few seconds though.

"Wow. No really, wow. So good." She looks at Aya and poses a question spawned from her own curiosity. "You knew someone else that was this into chocolate? I should probably know them since we could bond in the chocolate love."

The girl grinned a little behind her mask (http://www.parduephotos.com/stock-photos/5146.jpg). Being able to eat treats so late at night was one perk she could enjoy at the ball, at least.

Remembering her manners, she inclined her head a little in thanks. "Can you tell me what kind they are, sir?"

Perhaps it comes with the territory when one is a fairy-tale princess, but Rosella likes getting dressed up for formal occasions, especially balls. And Valentine's Day has always held a particular significance with her, filled with old memories of departed friends and a lingering sort of acceptance, in hindsight, that the old maxim still rings true: it always gets better.

Contrary to what she's seen in holidays past, she's not wearing red, pink, or white tonight; instead, she's chosen an outfit in gold (http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=27842814), with shoes that aren't quite glass slippers but still suggest something of the like. Though she does trade her black wrap for a white one at the door, she keeps her own mask and gives its fastenings a quick pat, ensuring the ribbons are still snugly situated amidst her hair (http://www.hairfinder.com/haircollections2/weddinghair13.jpg). And with her dance card securely tucked away but ready to be produced at a moment's notice, she's ready for an evening of magic, whatever this Valentine's Day might bring.

It's the third one she's seen in her stay in the City. And three is a magic number, isn't it? They do say it's the charm, after all.

For anyone who knows her, she's hardly difficult to pick out--both from the nuances of her appearance and from her habit of lingering on the edge of the dance floor, watching the passerby with great interest--but for anyone who doesn't, she's just another fair damsel contributing to the elegant display of the ballroom. But beneath her mask, she's smiling her best, because this sort of affair is familiar to her, and comfortable, and she's eager to see what wonders the night might hold.

Cinna entered the ballroom with the ease of someone used to these sorts of events. His perfectly tailored suit (http://cdn1.iofferphoto.com/img/item/110/499/383/hugo-boss-men-s-wedding-luxury-white-suits-+-gift-tie-d8e84.jpg) and blank mask (http://www.bluemoonmask.com/schede/bianco/16.jpg) made him a pale canvas, the only color coming from the red silk of his tie and handkerchief. Those with careful eyes could possibly make out the silver flash of cuff links in a mockingjay (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0d815Ev9EjQ/TUoSicdarBI/AAAAAAAAARk/E8DyBaZlr3E/s1600/Mockingjay_Pin.png) design. Something identifiable, something unique to his friends so he could be recognized by them if they needed him.

Looking around, he frowned under his mask. Finding his date was going to be difficult. Mingling through the crowd, Cinna studied the color of eyes, the width of shoulders, the angles of a jawlines, things he habitually noticed as a stylist, and things he hoped would give him a clue to Angela's whereabouts.

Edited 2011-02-15 01:27 (UTC)

And Eagle is only too happy to do just that, candy being one of his favorite subjects.

“The chocolate truffles are filled with either a raspberry, vanilla, or caramel center,” indicating which one is which with his free hand, “the foil covered hearts are pure chocolate and the candy with the glittery valentine’s symbols on them are a mix of white and milk chocolate.”

"My lady," says a stranger (or perhaps not quite a stranger, the way those cat's eyes, gold on green on gold, shine behind a black velvet mask), "May I have the honour of this dance?"

It was, perhaps, a bit short on one side. If it were the same length all the way around, that wouldn't be so bad. Or perhaps if it were a decent length in front, and longer in the back, that would still preserve the effect and a bit more decency.

But what was done was done. And, anyway, no, he wasn't so appalled. It was white, after all, which was quite the fashion in London for young ladies, and this sort of hem seemed to be the modern style, and Merry was happy with it. And her happiness was the more important part.

Cain kept his distance a moment, watching her as she moved about the room. She seemed, to his eyes, to already be at home in such a gathering, to know how to wander in such a way as to see and be seen, to mingle among the crowd but to still stand out from it. She was still young, but there was such a grace to her, as delicate as any flower. Perhaps they wouldn't see their own world again, perhaps Merry would never make her debut or be presented at court, but she seemed as though she yet could in this moment, that she was already of a piece with both their own world and the City.

He pulled himself from his musing for a moment to make his way towards her and to be, jokingly, bold.

"Young lady," he said, smiling behind his black velvet mask, "I don't believe we've been introduced, but may I still be so bold as to ask you for a dance this evening?"

She let her eyes look over the cute little treats, a thoughtful hum leaving her lips. Well...they all looked so good. Almost too good to be eaten, really, but she would never refuse chocolate.

"Which one do you recommend? They all sound so good!"

Hardly a stranger, not with those eyes and that voice, but it's a delightful game to pretend, just the same.

"I'd be delighted," she answers with a tip of her head and a hint of a smile, and offers her hand in return.

Arriving at sundown, Derek shows up wearing an all black suit, even the tie is black. He dones the available mask at the party and walks into the ballroom looking around at the festivities. He's rarely one to pass up a party or a celebration so this is right up his alley, even if it's a little dressy for his usual kind of party. He heads over to one of the many trays with food on them to peruse the options. The ballroom is really beautiful. Everyone looks great. And he's looking forward to having a great time.

Grell took a light step into the room, dressed in a long red ball gown, the edges tucked with frills. His hair was curled and done up with a few set roses and curled his fingers over his mask. The edges were shaped like a fox though he had cut out the part with the very sly and sharp teeth so it displayed only the edges of his lips and downwards. He produced a small fan and opened it, the edges of it flicking against his hand as he waved it against his face. Oh, he was a little nervous as he entered, though he took dainty yet bold steps forward. He fit the dress well from shoulder to toes, his curves fitting in all the right places.

William had never let him out much and the fact he was attending such a ball as himself and not some cheap plain boring ol' butler was enough to let the excitement wash away the nervous air. Even if his date was hidden in the crowd he would know that body anywhere. Sebastian was one of a kind with long features and a handsome build. Still, he looked like a lost rose in a thorn bush, but he was beautiful Madame behind a mask.

Hanna can't help but feel nervous and out of place as he arrives. He's never been to anything this fancy or elaborate before...he never even went to his prom, so he has zero experience with big dances or fancy clothes.
He can't help but feel out of place, like he doesn't belong here...he sighs and looks around at everybody and their amazing outfits...

He feels underdressed in his simple brown tuxedo (http://hairstylefashion.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Long-Tuxedo-hairstyle-with-long-side-bangs1.jpg), and just plain silly in his colorful carnival mask (http://i1.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/-1/lens2181421_1227086408Masquerade_Party_Mask.jpg). But everybody is in masks, so that helps...

He sighs again, before smiling nervously. This can't be too bad...after all, he's here with Euphie. She'll know what to do, and he's determined that they're going to have a great Valentine's Day together.

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