VALENTINE'S DAY DANCE

[finchmods]

VALENTINE'S DAY DANCE

The red carpet has been rolled out at Finchwood, and the decor does its best to distract you from the fact that this is still taking place in the gym. Banners proclaim that this is the Oscars ceremony, and for the first part of the dance freshmen mob the red carpet. [Character A] answers the freshman reporter's questions with grace as camera flashes go off in the background. [Character B] on the other hand says or does something terribly embarrassing by accident, which a freshman paparazzi catches on camera.

Inside there are elegant tables to the left, a dance floor and stage to the right. Once everyone is settled, Venus Rosales and Neal Valentine take the stage as the hosts of tonight's award ceremony! They give a banter-filled speech about how the night will go, and wish all these talented actors and actresses luck! Thalia Mitchell (and their band/partner if applicable) gets the night started with a cover of a Hollywood classic, and now it's time to party!

Throughout the night, Sabrina Lane is continuously assailed by paparazzi freshman who didn't get the memo that they only had to play this part for the first few minutes. Meanwhile [Character E] visits the refreshments table where Rose Chapman is "bartending", whether or not they have clearance. The drink they make is... suspect. Gross.

After the awards are given out, students file out of the gym in their fancy dress. The night is cold but clear, and the stars overhead are bright. Their lives might be complicated, but tonight was very silly and simple.

HOW THIS WORKS

• The theme of the dance is old Hollywood glamour! The dance begins at 7:00 PM and ends at 11:30 PM. Then everyone must return to their dorms.


• At the end of the night, some students will be awarded Oscars if they pose for photos! The categories are: Best actress, best supporting actress, best actor, and best supporting actor! These will be chosen via RNG. Just make sure you reply to the Nominee Photo Op header to qualify! ♥ (You must have replied to this header by Monday, February 18th at 11:59pm CST.)


• There is a "bar" where student council members and volunteers are making mocktails for the guests. While none of it is alcoholic, the drinks are served in cute glasses with convinging garnishes. The menu is:
  1. Cupid's Kiss. Hibiscus, strawberry, and seltzer.
  2. Bee's Knees. Honey, lavender, and lemonade.
  3. Green Light. A cucumber cooler with mint and tarragon.
  4. Casablanca. Rosemary, pear juice, and ginger beer.
  5. Leading Lady. Mixed fruits in mixed fruit juice, garnished with cinnamon.
  6. Golden Globes. Raspberry, mango, and lemon sorbet in Sprite.
  7. Shirley Temple. Ginger ale, grenadine, and a maraschino cherry.
  8. Tall Dark and Handsome. This is chocolate milk in a martini glass.
• All night, the music played is from Hollywood's golden age, and the lighting is dim and romantic. A plush red carpet leads to the stage, and the dance floor around it is mellow and romantic.


• One corner of the dance has a projector set up as a tiny theater, with chairs set up in rows. On the projector, movies like Casablanca, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Singin' In The Rain are being screened.

» Before the Dance: It's time to get ready! Be sure you look your most glam for the red carpet.

» The Red Carpet: Students arriving at the dance must walk down a red carpet, lined with freshmen asking them questions about their relationship and taking tons of photos. Awkward!

» The Bar: Just inside and to the left, there's the reprieve of a bar and table. Sadly, no real alcohol is being served, unless you slipped a flask in to spike your mocktail.

» The Dance Floor: Classic romantic songs play through the speakers tonight. It's not a very up-tempo dance, but it sure is classy.

» Movie Screening: Would you rather enjoy a Casablanca than cut a rug? This tiny makeshift theater is for you. The movies are being projected on a white sheet, and chairs have been arranged in front of it.

» Nominee Photo Op: Anyone who poses for a photo on stage, be it alone, with their date or in a group, could win an award tonight!

» Awards: And the Oscar goes to...

» Around Campus: Some people have decided to opt out of the dance, so they're free to enjoy the quieter-than-usual campus.

» The end of the night: It's been a long, fun night, but it's time to rest.

» OOC - Discussion

Comments

BEFORE THE DANCE

[finchmods]

Soph Girls Get Ready

[deathpositive]

An hour before the dance, Zinnia is dragging out her makeup kit. Well, one of her makeup kits. The one without all the fake blood and silicone prosthetics. Her hair is in curlers and she's wearing a tee-shirt and shorts, not yet ready to don her gown. In contrast, her makeup is full and flawless. She flutters her fake eyelashes at the nearest girl. "Are you ready for a makeover?"

THE RED CARPET

[finchmods]

Noah & Hadlee

[trailerparkprincess]

Entering the dance is like a dream to Hadlee for a lot of reasons, one of which is that she lives for this - the attention, the glam, the cute date at her side. Plus, this is all so far away from friend drama or life-or-death school drama, and all of these things have her practically glowing. Couple this with the fact that she's traded her glasses for contacts and has her hair styled into waves that cascade down her shoulders, and she maybe almost looks like a person in a dream, too.

She hugs onto Noah's arm, posing for a freshman photographer before she looks up at the boy. "Ohhh, I wish we could just stay here forever," she drawls, not even really wanting to leave the red carpet.

Kyra & Marina

[weewilywilkie]

There are quite a few Juniors who would be and probably are extremely comfortable on a red carpet, glam and shining in the spotlight. Kyra isn't one of them. But, to her credit, she's there, in a simple black cocktail dress. And dodging the fake paparazzi by hiding behind Marina's shoulder. The end of that carpet looks impossibly long, so she stops and surveys it before putting even one foot down. She's heard them already asking about relationships. That seems like...a lot. This night was going to be intimidating already, but adding little flies to the mix makes her shrink back. Just a little. Just for now.

"There's side doors." She quips at the girl whose elbow she's hovering behind, a soft murmur. "There have to be."

Mason & Merry

[expansivemind]

Merry isn't a hundred percent sure about this matchmade date thing, even if she did sign herself up, but she sure is here. At the dance. With her friend. She hopes he doesn't feel as awkward about it as she does. Someone needs to do the emotional heavy lifting here.

"Should we pose for pictures?" she asks out of the corner of her mouth. The whole paparazzi act weirds her out a little. She'd definitely try to dodge the red carpet if she were an actual famous person.

THE BAR

[finchmods]

Mixology 101 (Open ++)

[whiteknuckles]

Rose has never tended bar and even if she had, this one would be a little outsider her wheelhouse. Like, first of all, she has no idea what tarragon is and second, she certainly doesn't think it belongs in a beverage.

Frankly, mocktails as a whole are a novel concept to her —Rose, loudly, upon taking a sip of her Leading Lady: "Yo, this bitch juice."— but she's got strong ideas about what flavours go together and absolutely no common sense to stop her, so catch her taking over this bar. Anyone who's brave enough can request a handcrafted custom drink, +/- a splash from the two (2) flasks she smuggled in in her bra.

Feedback not accepted. She does not take requests.

Roland (Open++)

[dynamitewithalaserbeam]

Roland, himself, may have more of a Bruce Willis Can't Be Killed thing going on, in general, but he can dig the Old Hollywood feel of this dance, even if he doesn't quite look the part. That's what he grew up with, after all - Grandma loved to throw on stuff like Singin' In The Rain and talk through Bing or Gene or Fred standing at bars looking serious and manful. Or something.

Roland's leaning against the bar, holding a martini glass with chocolate milk in it. He does not feel serious or manful. But he does feel extremely nervous. Maybe he should go watch a movie.

Slade & Open++

[vanghost]

For someone standing by a bar in a snazzy bow tie and drinking a whimsical green beverage, Slade doesn't look like he's having too much fun. He probably shouldn't have even come to this dance, but he needs to keep an eye on his kids. And he'd feel a little bad for fully ignoring Gregory. Still. He's standing with his arms crossed. "This is a vegetable." He complains, putting his green light to the side. He hadn't signed up for those.

Lee & Open

[woeislee]

Lee may not have a date, but she has a killer outfit — a little black dress with a bat wing neckline that she had worked on herself from a couple of thrift store garments Frankensteined together. She also has a "bee's knees" mocktail, chosen because it's the prettiest drink, though it doesn't taste bad either. In a few minutes, she'll offer to take a turn tending the bar, or she'll find something else useful to do, but for now, she's taking some time to people watch over the top of her drink.

Jude (open ++)

[heyjuderefrain]

Jude slinks over to the bar. It seems safe here. People are unlikely to ask him to dance if he's seated with his sugary mocktail. The lack of alcohol does not disappoint him. His palette is too sensitive, he thinks. Booze tastes like nailpolish remover smells, and the last think he wants is to be compromised in front of his classmates.

So he sits alone at a table, nursing a fizzy drink as he radiates discontentment. Despite that, he dressed for the occasion in a deep blue suit and bowtie. Keen eyes will spot that his lapel pin is a little dog, and his pocket square has cats and mice printed on it.

Henry + Open (Multiple)

[henryarany]

A tall, broad-shouldered guy that's never particularly difficult to spot, Henry isn't accustomed to people being unable to find him. Add in the purple carnations pinned to the lapel of his blazer and he figures that he should be even easier to pick out of crowd. But even so...his mystery date hasn't found him yet. And he hasn't found her either. The thought that he's maybe been stood up hasn't fully formed in his mind yet, but it's beginning to and a twinge of restless embarrassment is taking shape. But it's no big deal, right? He can laugh this off if it comes to that, can't he? Haha, well, what can you expect from the Shadow Post?

Still.

The boy hums a few restless notes to himself, fidgets with his boutonniere (maybe he got the wrong flowers after all?), and goes back to looking toward the red carpet, searching for an accent of purple.

Adam & Marty

[adamho]

While Adam had ended up coming to the dance with Marty instead of Nora, the evening hasn't been much like a date. Apart from arriving together and some early banter that had been equal parts frustrating and amusing, they'd mostly gone separate ways and done their own things. Which is fine by him. Still, when he realizes that the other boy is approaching the bar, he hesitantly decides to make some sort of effort and orders two drinks instead of one. Maybe the other boy will even have a flask or something; it would be a fitting silver lining for coming to the dance with someone like Marty, wouldn't it?

Armed with two drinks, a green light and a Casablanca, he approaches the Wand and offers both to him. His choice.

"....Hey."

Ces & Scout

[star_boy]

Flint and Scout have parted ways to see other people before they make their early exit, and of course the first person Scout's looking for is Ces. Even though she's small, he can always find her in a crowded room, and this is no exception - he spots her quickly, and after getting them both Shirley Temples from the bar, he makes his way to her with his offering.

"You're the prettiest girl here," he says on approaching. "I can't believe the freshmen aren't mobbing you."

THE DANCE FLOOR

[finchmods]

Venus & Sabrina

[knockyouout]

Venus isn't sure why the freshmen paparazzi are so obsessed with Sabrina, but she's a little too charmed by the whole situation to tell them off. She likes the extra attention, and maybe likes Sabrina's exasperation a little bit, too. It gives her a chance to play the hero. So, under the pretense of official dance business, she drags Sabrina away from everyone else and into a storage closet, where there isn't really much dance-related business to be taken care of at all.

"There," she says, taking a step closer to Sabrina. She's wearing three inch heels and Sabrina is still taller than she is, but she likes to think she makes up for it in presence. "Now we're alone."

Flint & Scout

[empereurs]

Flint doesn't really consider himself an introvert until he's forced to endure camera flashes and invasive questions about his personal life. ("Invasive" such as "Is that your boyfriend?") But he'd pasted on a smile and resisted fleeing the interminable red carpet, helped in part by Scout's hand in his. This is their first dance together, and he doesn't want to start it off on a bad note.

It's easy to be brave, when walking into a rift. Harder to be sure when you need to find the right words for how you feel about the boy beside you, to an audience who has no right to know.

When the emcees cue the start of the dance, Flint's first stop would normally be the refreshments table. This time, he takes Scout's hand again and tugs him towards the dance floor. "I don't want to monopolize you for the entire night, but..."

Lyle & Josephine

[josiecat]

Decked on out in a long floral dress and more makeup than she normally ever wears, Josephine maybe doesn't feel old Hollywood glam, but she does feel fancy. And happy. And glad to be at this dance. It's so fun to see everyone beautiful and happy, and it's always fun to see how they decorate the gym. She's definitely taken the time to appreciate the atmosphere and the style of all of her classmates, but that time has passed - now it's time to dance, and while she's making her way out onto the dance floor alone, she catches sight of Lyle, free of his date, and takes a detour to intercept him.

"Hey, do you know where I can find a dance partner?"

MOVIE SCREENING

[finchmods]

Nora & Eva

[darthevader]

Eva has never seen Casablanca. She's seen Singin' In the Rain exactly nine hundred times, but she never found herself in the mood to watch a movie about ??World War II?? Beautiful people stuck in Morocco?? She's not entirely sure, but coming in mid-plot in the middle of a high school dance is honestly the best time to try.

Eva sits down in the middle of the makeshift theater, obnoxious (but masculine!!) tiara sticking up way too much to be polite, and she's immediately confused.

"Is that Humphrey Bogart?" she stage-whispers to pretty much the whole theater. It's Ingrid Bergman, but good guess.

NOMINEE PHOTO OP

[finchmods]

<b>Name(s):</b> Everyone who's in the picture <b>Description:</b> What was the photo like? <b>Anything else?:</b> ??? Short form is short

NOMINEE PHOTO OP: Hadlee & Noah

[trailerparkprincess]

Name(s): Hadlee Loxton & Noah Dressler
Description: They pose for too many pictures, almost all of which are bad. There's at least one of: them kissing, Hadlee sticking her exposed leg out as far as she can, Hadlee fake fainting in Noah's arms, Noah fake fainting in Hadlee's arms, and a single shot of them actually looking like nice, upstanding citizens. The one immediately following this has Hadlee trying to put Noah's hand on her butt, though.
Anything else?: G a r b a g e

AWARDS

[finchmods]

As the night draws to a close, it's time to announce the awards! And the Oscars go to...

BEST ACTRESS
NORA LEE!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
EVA CRAWFORD!

BEST ACTOR
ADAM HO!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
ULRICH ROTH!

BEST PICTURE
MASON CHAMBERS & EMMA LILYWHITE!

Congratulations everyone! Take a bow and blow some kisses to your adoring fans.

AROUND CAMPUS

[finchmods]

Cups Boys Common Room: Eli & Noah

[pleaseloveme]

Eli miraculously managed to sneak under everyone's radar this February, because no one had asked him his dance plans. They were so busy with their own problems that Eli just fell through the cracks.

Which was perfect, because now he's taking up an entire couch and two ottomans. He's in his pajamas, a blanket draped over his shoulder, huge headphones covering his ears. He has glass that is definitely just water and not vodka on one side, snacks on the other. His laptop is open next to him, but his focus is solely on the video game console in his hands. He bites his lip, focusing, and doesn't notice that he's no longer alone.

THE END OF THE NIGHT

[finchmods]

Dustin and Lucy

[lucillefer]

As clear role models of restraint and virtue, Lucy and Dustin return from their outing to town on time for curfew. The dance is beginning to wind down as they enter the student housing building, and it's 11:20pm as they make their sneaking way up the quiet stairwell, one in front and the other trailing behind.

Slightly less virtuous -- because Lucy, at least, can only be described as such for so long and with very specific parameters -- is the way they find themselves alone together again not long after. Their dark corner for tonight is the second floor storage closet, wedged in behind the farthest shelves from the door, and Lucy has only just softly pushed Dustin against them when the first sound of returning voices begins to trickle in from down the hall.

"Close," she whispers. Her face had been tilted upward already for a kiss, and now it breaks into a wily, victorious grin. They've never had so much time together at once as they have today, and now they've won this moment too. Lucy doesn't deserve any of it. Too bad that's not the only reason she wants it.

OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[finchmods]

Thank you Meggie & JJ!! Sorry we added even more sections!!! Thank you for all the hard work everyone puts in!!! And now I'm going to make an afternoon cocktail.

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[droppedyoursmile]

DANCE DANCE FANCY DANCE

hi guys I'm entertaining in-laws for the first half of the day and then I'm going out of town until Monday BUT I should be more available this afternoon. Emma is here but probably just eating snacks and hiding behind things to scare people, Sabrina and Eva are around and doing much more normal stuff, and Marzio is not here because boys are trash. LMK IF YOU WANT THINGS

Also can I get character D for Sabrina make her life bad