cuddlecity | EVENT: A VERY NICE BALL.

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EVENT: A VERY NICE BALL.

Blink, and a week goes by; close your eyes, and the evening of the fifteenth comes to life, the cool glow of moonlight illuminating the quiet streets of the city. For once, it seems like the entire city's come to a standstill — many of the local businesses have closed early today, with signs advising they'll reopen first thing in the morning, and even the dependable, cheerful squawks of the street vendors have hushed for the time being. Hurried as this year's event may seem, the annual celebration is a city tradition that's not to be missed; bakers and booksellers alike know this all too well, and any lingering souls in their shops will be gently but firmly shooed to the exits by late afternoon. They've got to get all dolled up too, after all, and such finery takes time.

Whether the Social Committee's video enticed you or you've been dragged by the metaphorical scuff tonight, the Samhain Ball hopes to offer you an evening of seasonally appropriate escapism. There's something for everyone tonight, from the comforting swells of smooth jazz and upbeat swing pouring out from the stage where a live band plays, to the mouth-watering smells and tastes of a gourmet plated meal served early in the evening, to even the simple beauty of the decorated ballroom itself.

The first hour or so of the evening allows for guests to enter at their leisure through double doors at the north end of the ballroom, where all are greeted by the smiling faces of Flora and Cornelius in their matching cream pantsuits. Should you choose this main entrance, you and your companion — or companions, if you've brought more than one — will be announced in grand style, befitting the occasion. (Savvy — or sneaky — attendees may note the auxiliary entrance on the west side of the ballroom. Follow the garden path, and be mindful of the sprinklers. They do have a tendency to go off at the wrong moments.)

Take a look around, and soak in the sights. The ornately carved ceiling of the ballroom has been obscured for the evening with tasteful black draping dotted with the gentle glow of strung lights. It lends a twilight quality to the evening, enhanced by the soft flicker of tea lights placed at the center of each table on the east side of the ballroom and the sconces hung on the wall throughout. Each table, too, features a soft cream tablecloth and a bounty of autumnal florals, perfectly arranged to match the golden chairs surrounding. There's plenty of seating for all, and no assignments — feel free to claim a table for you and yours, and free your hands of anything you may not wish to carry.

The slow fade of music from the stage signals attention to a single woman illuminated by spotlight, whose silhouette should look familiar to anyone who's spent time in the city. With a small, tired smile, Mayor Drake welcomes you and yours to the city's annual Samhain Celebration Ball; her speech is short, but touches on the importance of the holiday, from the appreciation of the harvest to the welcoming of the new year, and reminds both natives and visitors alike to take time in the coming months to cherish their blessings — including this most immediate one, the promised Samhain feast.

Once you've settled around a table, the ballroom welcomes you to chat with strangers and friends alike, encouraging conversation with soft instrumental music and the quiet, pleasant generosity of passing waiters carrying flutes of happily bubbling champagne. A little liquid courage never hurt anyone, after all.

Dinner is an affair in itself, plated and served by hushed but skilled waiters whose capable hands whisk courses in and out with no more than a smile. No matter your dietary preferences or needs, there's an appetizer, entree, and everything in between available for you — simply raise a hand, and a member of the waitstaff will be at your side to assist in taking your order when you're ready. Linger as long as you like at the table; there's no rush to leave, but when you're ready, let the swells of the music from the stage entice you to the west side of the ballroom, where a dance floor's lit by the warm glow of so many twinkling lights overhead.

The music itself goes on through the wee hours of the evening, so there's plenty of opportunities to fill your dance card with any number of partners. The songs themselves vary from gentle waltzes perfect for cheek-to-cheek swaying to faster rhythms suited for swing dancing's signature dips and twirls, and requests are always welcome if you've something particular in mind. There's even a microphone tucked to the side, just in case you feel the urge to croon with accompaniment to someone special as the night goes on.

Of course, if you don't feel like dancing, or just need to rest your feet, there's plenty of entertainment tucked in the hall. In a small room just off the ballroom, you might find a collection of old-fashioned photobooth machines, ordered on accident and set here where they won't clash with the rest of the decor. They're operational, of course, and free of charge; feel free to take a few silly photos, but be sure to wait for them to print. There's the gardens, too, equally decorated with twinkling lights, though the effect is muted by the moonlight that trickles through the canopy overhead; the adjoining hedge maze and walking paths have often been a perfect site for quiet walks and romantic interludes in years past.

While a perfect world might allow such a charmed evening to last forever, unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and as the late hour of the evening gives way to the promise of dawn, a familiar tune is played to signal the end of the event. As the lyrics go, you don't have to go home... but you can't stay here. Time to make your way to the exit, and see where else the night takes you.

Whew, talk about words. Should you need a recap: be pretty, because this is a fancy event. Bring a friend or come stag, whatever you choose; eat, drink, dance (or don't) and be merry, for this is an event without any dramatic accidental consequences. Well, except the sprinklers... and maybe your own excessive consumption of champange, but that's up to you!

And, though we say it every time, please don't forget that your mod team is here for you with answers to any questions you might have, whether related specifically to this event or the game in general. If you have any further questions specific to this event, we encourage you to ask away on our QUESTIONS COMMENT here in this post. If you have general questions, or prefer a more private venue, our GENERAL INBOX (and SCREENED INBOX) is always available for you.

Enjoy your evening, cuddlers, but if you would, please — save the last dance for us?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

arriving (ota)

Even though he's asked Glinda to the Ball and she's agreed to go with him, she's told him that she's going to be helping decorate and they've decided that he'll meet her there. It hadn't actually occurred to him that he might have trouble finding her in the crowd right away once he arrived, though. She's definitely here, because he's got her scent in his nostrils already, but there are a lot more people here than he'd initially assumed there would be. It's pretty clear to him as he makes his way in, looking around at the decorations, that he's underestimated the popularity and importance of this holiday here.

Derek sort of wanders around for a short while, half looking for his date and half just checking out the surroundings and trying to remain approachable because it's been a long time since he's bothered to come to any event of this sort — the last black tie type of event he'd attended was a cousin's wedding when he'd been twelve. He'd skipped his proms in high school because they'd come just after the fire. He hadn't felt any draw to go to them; his life had changed too much for the worse back then. Now, though, he's looking forward to seeing people he knows — from work at CriminALES or just from having seen them around at the gym or on the network. He's been keeping largely to himself and settling into a life where it's safe to be himself and he can just live a normal life again. It's taking some getting used to and Derek's pretty sure it's going to take a lot longer than he'd like to become the social butterfly he'd been once upon a time, again. He'll get there, but the fact that he's at this celebration, he thinks, is a pretty good step in the right direction.

After a while, he'll make his way to the first table he sees with more than one available seat. Eventually, he'll find Glinda, and once he does, at least he'll have secured them a pair of seats before dinner kicks off. "Is it okay if a friend and I sit here?" he'll make sure to ask before actually taking the seats.

dance floor & gardens (ota)

While the band is very talented and Derek's the first to admit it, the music they're playing isn't really his style. Unless asked by someone, he isn't likely to get to the dance floor proactively — Glinda may be the sole exception, because he imagines he really ought to since he's the one who invited her to come with him to this thing. It'd be kind of awful of him to make her ask him to dance in that case; she could've gone with anyone, after all. But, if a woman is to ask him for a dance, he isn't likely to turn her down.

When he's not, however, dancing or eating, he'll have wandered out to the gardens. It's a beautiful night, after all, and it'd be a shame to waste it indoors the entire night. Largely, he can be seen appreciating the scenery and the moonlight muting the artificial lighting, but now and again, he'll nod a greeting or say a polite hello to a passerby and maybe strike up a conversation.

closed to glinda

There hasn't been a romantic moment between them since the semi-unintentional one at the bonfire before, but Derek's been looking forward to spending more time with Glinda. It's weird that they even get along, he thinks, because he's typically known for being more quiet and reserved, keeping to himself because he's used to people back home (besides McCall's pack) preferring it that way, meanwhile Glinda is such a bubbly an bright presence. They're practically opposites and it certainly doesn't help that he's familiar with the Wizard of Oz film.

He still hasn't mentioned that. Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe she'd think he was crazy like Scott did. It's one thing for Scott to have an averse reaction to Derek admitting to something that seems unlikely — in Scott's case, time differences — but it might be a lot harder to experience Glinda having the same reaction. He's sort of taken a shine to her.

With a small smile, Derek leans closer to her to be heard over the music. "In case I haven't mentioned it, you look beautiful tonight," he tells her. When he pulls back, the smile on his face is genuine and he isn't necessarily trying to flirt so much as he thinks that when a woman looks beautiful, someone ought to make sure that she knows it by coming out and telling her. He might not be the first or last one to say so tonight, but just in case, it's better to say it than not, he thinks.

"Do you want to go check out that hedge maze? I could use some fresh air," he suggests, lifting his eyebrows in question.

wildcard (ota)

(( or hit him up with your own starter! feel free to shout at me on mistojen or discord: mistojen #8486 for plots. ))

She'd seen glimpses of him throughout the night.

Sometimes she'd watch for a bit, lips curling into an smile without her even knowing as he laughs at someone's joke or does something nice for his date.

Other times she'd look away as fast as she could, afraid that he'd look towards her and they'd make eye contact and she'd have to ... have to ...

It's been a month after all, since their talk in the cafe and since Derek told her that he was a werewolf. Even if there hadn't been a communication blackout, they hadn't seen more than glimpses of each other since and well, it's obvious to Felicity why she's so nervous to talk to him again. By not talking to him, she'd sent a message that she hadn't meant to send, and well, tonight is the night she's going to make clear that she isn't trying to avoid him on purpose.

Or so she tells herself. Felicity knows she isn't always the best at making things clear. But what better way to tell a man that, then by asking him to dance?

Right?

With her arms resting in front of her and her fingers interlocked together, Felicity makes her way towards him — one step at a time — before she begins reaching out to tap him on the shoulder. She pauses though, when she's just an inch away from making contact, and instead closes her fingers into her hand and bites her lip. Maybe something less touchy would be better. She doesn't want to be startling.

"Hey," she says instead, in as friendly a way as possible, trying to get his attention with her voice this time — just as the last few sassy lines of Womanizer fill the ballroom and the band begins to change. Her hair is down, her eyes are hopeful, and there's a genuine sense of I've-missed-you in her smile.

While it's typically difficult to sneak up on Derek Hale, maybe in the middle of a fancy party filled with the leftover scent of food and too many different perfumes and colognes and music in the air, it's a little easier. He doesn't hear her coming and doesn't catch her scent until she's already greeting him and when Derek turns to see Felicity Smoak, he's pleasantly surprised. She'd been the first person here he'd been fully honest with and told that he's a werewolf. She'd also stopped really talking to him after that. She hadn't been in his OkCuddle and he hadn't seen her around the network. Derek had been trying to give her space to process it, but he'd since come to the conclusion that she'd decided him being a werewolf was a dealbreaker and that was fair enough, he supposed. Most people aren't used to that sort of thing existing and he can't exactly fault her for having been uncomfortable with it.

The expression on her face, though, is a little confusing to him, because it reads more like she's hoping he'll give her a moment of his time when she's the one who seemed to have walked away from a potential friendship. Or something more; he'd been genuinely interested in feeling out something more, because God knows he's attracted to her. Had been when he'd met her and continues to be.

"Hey," he says, sounding as surprised as he is. "Long time, no see," he adds. "It's good to see you."

It is. He's glad that she's okay, if nothing else. His eyes move over her reflexively and he smiles, looking a little more pleased to see her and a little less shocked that she approached him. "You look amazing. How've you been?"

Even though he's told her about his senses, Felicity hasn't fully internalized it. She hasn't experienced it for herself after all, and it doesn't even occur to her that maybe, he could have smelled her presence before she said hello.

"It's good to see you too," she says, smiling a little wider. When he compliments her, that smile gets wider still — this is going well. She even gets some of her playfulness back, because pretty soon, she's lifting her eyebrows to take an obvious look at him and tilts her head.

"You don't look half bad yourself." All said with just the right grin to show that she's teasing, just a little. But then there's a pause, because while Felicity would love to think herself as fearless and totally badass, she still has to pause just to gather a tiny bit more courage before she asks her question.

"Would you ... like to dance?"

It really is nice to see her. Derek had thought that they'd gotten on pretty well. He'd had a bit of a crush on her, if he's being honest, and he's trying to keep that in check right now, seeing as how he's actually technically here with someone else. A sheepish sort of expression passes over Derek's face and he shakes his head a little while ducking it slightly before he looks back up at her. "Well, thank you very much."

She's just full of surprises, though, because then she's asking him to dance and yeah, okay, he's at a fancy party where people are actually dancing on the dance floor, but it still takes him a little bit off guard. All the same, he can't say no and he wouldn't if he could. She's Felicity. She's the first friend he made here.

"I would love to dance," he agrees with a smile, getting to his feet and holding a hand out to her for her to take.

As for Felicity, it isn't lost on her how handsome he really is. Something about that chiseled face and that unfairly good-looking stubble. What she likes about him the most so far though, is how good of a sport he was when they first met and she was quite literally ducking the authorities. Says a lot about person — he doesn't jump to conclusions, he's willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, and he's ... trusting. He had to be, to tell her about werewolves.

It just all adds up in the end.

Still, it hasn't fully hit her yet, not consciously at least, that her heart beats a little faster when he's around. For now, she's just a girl asking a guy to dance, and if the way he says he'd love to makes her smile, all the better for it.

The next song that plays isn't one she knows, but she recognizes the singer and the fact that it's going to be a slow dance. It makes the moment when she takes his hand all the more nerve-wracking, but her fingers can already feel that he's warm, and strong, and suddenly, focusing on him is a lot easier than focusing on her nerves.

Derek starts to lead Felicity out to the dance floor by the hand when she takes it and he smiles a little, almost apologetically, his eyes flickering away from her and to the band as the song changes and it's something much slower. That's just as well, he thinks, because it's a little less deafening for him when they play the slower tunes. They seem to play a little quieter to go with the mellow speed.

His eyes move back to Felicity and his hand moves toward her waist. "Is it okay if I...?" he asks, his hand hovering a few inches away from her hip as the hand he's holding hers in shifts slightly so that he can settle them into a ballroom dancing position. Derek knows how to do that specifically from the lessons his mother made he and his sister take when they were young, for a wedding once.

The last thing he wants to do is presume anything, but it's the only way he knows how. If she wants to slow dance some other way, she's probably going to have to show him.

derek hale • ota

dance floor

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gardens } this is very late but hopefully still okay?

totally fine!

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