VELVET ROOM PARTY

[finchmods]

VELVET ROOM PARTY

All of the students who RSVPed on Khalil's journal post fall asleep surprisingly early Saturday night, some recognizing their own fatigue and calling it a night early while others drift off accidentally on couches or at desks. Regardless of how difficult they normally find it, this sleep is deep and comes over them quickly and completely. When their eyes open next, they're not in their dorms anymore. Instead, they're... in an old school roller rink? The rink itself is large and has a disco ball suspended above it; music is pumping through the speaker system, though the DJ booth off to the side of the rink is vacant. There's a concession stand stocked with various snacks, different kids of booze, and soda, alongside which there are tables to sit at. Off to one side there's a circle of low, ottoman-like seats for Spin the Bottle, and nearby is a utility closet, complete with broom to totally get in your way, for Seven Minutes in Heaven. There are also a few 'party rooms' if you need a little bit of privacy, but the doors don't lock and there are windows in the doors, so, you know. Everything looks pretty typical, except for the blue door at the far end of the building where the entrance would be.

As at the other parties, the students find that they're not wearing what they were when they went to bed. Now, they're dressed in (primarily blue) clothes that are a little bit retro. Like, 80's and 90's retro. There's an abundance of neon, tight fitting materials, and loud patterns, all of which, honestly, look pretty great under the lights on the rink. The party's host, meanwhile, wears a striped referee shirt with deep blue instead of black stripes, and has a whistle hanging around his neck that's going to be a little ineffectual, what with his mask and all. When the partygoers arrive he's standing behind the counter at the skate rental area, arms spread out and braced on the counter. Come check out a pair of skates and get to skating! Or, like, whatever you want to do, he guesses.

Early in the evening, Khalil approaches Thalia Mitchell with a request... can she name his friend? Alongside him is the mysterious Velvet Room denizen Thalia had seen before. Though her body language suggests she's not entirely pleased with it, they settle on Joni (Mitchell) as her name, and she spends most of the party wandering around and avoiding speaking too much with anyone. Meredith Rhydderch overhears a conversation with Khalil and Joni, where Khalil suggests she personally apologize to Marzio Sarno, Slade Winchester, Russell Reeve, and Luke Pokorny for scaring them. She refuses, but does at least take the time to sneak a glance at each of them.

StB & 7MiH

Adam Ho StB #1: Rose StB #2: Sullivan 7MiH: Dustin	Atticus Starling StB #1: Lyle StB #2: Neal 7MiH: Slade	Blake Hasenkamp StB #1: Dustin StB #2: Monet 7MiH: Josephine	Clarissa Day StB #1: Pearl StB #2: Sullivan 7MiH: Venus
Conway Loxton StB #1: Kodi StB #2: Slade 7MiH: Justice	Dustin Espinosa StB #1: Blake StB #2: Marzio 7MiH: Adam	Eli Gardner StB #1: Liam StB #2: Thalia 7MiH: Petra	Flint Chambers 7MiH: Sullivan
Hadlee Loxton StB #1: Henry StB #2: Meredith 7MiH: Rose	Hamsi Khan StB #1: Jude StB #2: Noah	Henry Arany StB #1: Hadlee StB #2: Neal 7MiH: Lyle	Josephine Linville StB #1: Petra StB #2: Slade 7MiH: Blake
Jude Tobin StB #1: Hamsi StB #2: Venus 7MiH: Thalia	Justice Bishop StB #1: Lillian StB #2: Luke 7MiH: Conway	Kodi Hansen StB #1: Conway StB #2: Zinnia 7MiH: Martin	Liam Blumenthal StB #1: Eli StB #2: Lyle
Lillian Armstrong StB #1: Justice StB #2: Petra 7MiH: Suzy	Luke Pokorny StB #1: Mason StB #2: Justice 7MiH: Noah	Lyle Hemmings StB #1: Atticus StB #2: Liam 7MiH: Henry	Martin Geary StB #1: Marzio StB #2: Pearl 7MiH: Kodi
Marzio Sarno StB #1: Dustin StB #2: Martin	Mason Chambers StB #1: Luke StB #2: Venus 7MiH: Meredith	Meredith Rhydderch StB #1: Hadlee StB #2: Noah 7MiH: Mason	Monet Romilly StB #1: Blake StB #2: Zinnia 7MiH: Neal
Neal Valentine StB #1: Atticus StB #2: Henry 7MiH: Monet	Noah Dressler StB #1: Hamsi StB #2: Meredith 7MiH: Luke	Pearl Kline StB #1: Clarissa StB #2: Martin 7MiH: Zinnia	Petra Warren-Yates StB #1: Josephine StB #2: Lillian 7MiH: Eli
Rose Chapman StB #1: Adam StB #2: Thalia 7MiH: Hadlee	Slade Winchester StB #1: Conway StB #2: Josephine 7MiH: Atticus	Sullivan Sinclair StB #1: Adam StB #2: Clarissa 7MiH: Flint	Suzy Choi 7MiH: Lillian
Thalia Mitchell StB #1: Eli StB #2: Rose 7MiH: Jude	Venus Rosales StB #1: Jude StB #2: Mason 7MiH: Clarissa	Zinnia Howe StB #1: Kodi StB #2: Monet 7MiH: Pearl

» SKATE RENTAL: Khalil is handing out skates when he's not 'policing' the rink! Fill out the form to see what, uh, unique skates or blades you get!

» THE RINK: No one will yell at you if you walk out in your sneakers to dance in the center, but it is more fun if you skate, you know? The DJ booth alongside the rink has a computer hooked up with access to a lot of music, if you want to pick some beats.

» CONCESSION STAND & TABLES: Stocked with just about anything you could want food-wise and drink-wise. As usual, a couple of the items are blue that shouldn't be, like the popcorn. Right next to the concession stand are tables where you can take a seat, chill out, and stuff your face with everything you grabbed.

» PARTY GAMES: A small circle of ottoman-like seats has been set up for party games off to the side of the tables! Spin the Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven are the mainstays, but it's easy enough to start your own games, too! Nearby there's a tiny utility closet that's a tight squeeze for two people.

» PARTY ROOMS: There are three side rooms set up with tables and lots of blue balloons, like they've been set up for birthday parties. The doors on these rooms don't lock, and there are small windows on the doors, so they're only slightly private.

» END OF THE NIGHT: At some point (god, how long has it been?), there's a feeling of restlessness in the air, as though night is coming to a close and they'll be waking up soon. Best to get your last hurrahs in!

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Please note: Students arrive with nothing they had on them in the real world (including their journals) - so no journaling while here! If you can find Khalil, you can ask him for things, though.

Comments

Blake & Pansy

[tippedin]

Pansy closes her eyes. Blake is saying things that she's thought before. Although Pansy has looked at it from a different perspective. She's happy that Adam and Scout are Leaders, that Atticus is a Second, that Suzy is a Wildcard. These are the people she wants deciding the outcome of this game they're stuck playing.

And she's happy Blake that is a Support. Also fulfilling an important function. But from safety.

Of course, that's not what she says when she opens her mouth.

"You don't know that," comes Pansy's own whisper, low and dangerous, close to Blake's ear. "The rules are different now. The Shadows are coming through. No one is safe."

Blake & Pansy

[undebted]

Blake sucks in a sharp breath, almost like an aborted sob. But her eyes are dry. She's not that girl anymore.

"I'm not afraid." It's a lie and it isn't. She knows the Shadows can reach through their Support Personas and affect them. She knows that Shadows can spill out of the rifts and find them. But if anyone falls first, it'll be Justice and Jude and the rest of the squad, and if it comes to that, then Blake will be ready to go with them.

But she is scared to death of watching it happen. Blake turns her head towards Pansy, knowing they must look ridiculous, clinging to each other in the middle of a party; but not wanting to shatter this moment if Pansy won't. "Are you?"

Blake & Pansy

[tippedin]

Pansy's eyes meet Blake's -- "I'm terrified" -- and then move off.

It's a rare admission. Maybe as rare as the the hug they're in. And the sound of her answer travels no further than the tight circle of their embrace, meant for no other ears. The thought of her squad dying, of being unable to protect or lead them, of herself dying... these fears simultaneously motivate her and wake her up in the night. She projects constant strength, but it's not always natural or real.

There's a small pull at the corner of her mouth. A memory of something her mom would say when Pansy was scared of the bees in Jackson Park. Something she'd always thought was bullshit, but it rings true right now.

Her eyes find Blake's again. "But the Shadow's are even more scared of us." And then Pansy's fire is back, genuine and not put-on. "Or, at least they should be."

Blake & Pansy

[undebted]

Even now, even though she heard it with her own two ears, it's hard to imagine Pansy scared of anything. Of course she must be. Of course they all are. But Pansy, more than anyone else that Blake has known, moves through life with a cool fearlessness that's never shown a single doubt or weakness.

It's there when Pansy meets her gaze, and says, at least they should be. "They should be," Blake repeats, without thinking. She balls her fist in Pansy's roller derby top, and sways backwards, unsteady at first but finding her balance in her vintage Doc Martens. She stares at Pansy's face, wanting to say something... comforting, like we'll be okay or I wish I could keep an eye on you, but none of it sounds right in her mouth. It's a numbers game. Not everyone can survive. "They're going to run. And never come back." She lets go of Pansy. "Not ever."

Blake & Pansy

[tippedin]

Pansy exhales when Blake lets go of her shirt, releasing a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. Don't go, she wants to say. Letting go somehow represents returning to fighting monsters. Which she simultaneously loves and hates. But she doesn't say that, possibly out of strength or weakness. Pansy is a girl of extremes. She can be this or that and will switch between the two but not pause to exist in the middle. And right now she's back to being the unafraid Leader.

"We'll kill them," she amends with a confident smirk. It occurs to Pansy, she'll no longer tell the Swords about this moment. They're both... compromised.

"You good?" she asks her friend. And her tone suggests there's only one acceptable answer.