cuddlemods: (Default)
CUDDLE CITY ● MOD TEAM ([personal profile] cuddlemods) wrote in [community profile] cuddlecity2017-10-15 12:18 pm

EVENT: A VERY NICE BALL.

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?

recoined: (213)

kimberly hart • ota!

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-16 05:04 pm (UTC)(link)
↪ a little bit louder now.
( a party is a party, and a ball is no exception — while kimberly comes to this one dressed up a little more formally than her everyday uniform of yoga pants, daisy dukes, and tank tops might suggest her capable of, she's still the same social butterfly as before. glasses of champagne and upbeat music certainly don't hurt, either.

she's all too happy to claim a dining table for herself and her friends, with plenty of seats to go around for any that might want to sit come meal time, but she doesn't linger at the table any longer than she has to. no, the dance floor is a near-constant attraction, the peppy trill of brass and beats a perfect companion to the happy spins and dips of swing. she's glad for the lessons now, cheeks flushed from exertion, and pleased with her choice of dresses as the skirt hem fans out with each giddy twirl. wallflower friends need not fret about finding the right partner, either — as the dance brings her near the edges of the floor, kimberly's all too eager to gesture a shy friend in. )


Come on, dance with me!

( ... or, instead, to pause her own movements long enough to drag them in, if necessary. it's a party, after all, and what good is a party without someone to share it with? )
↪ a little bit softer now.
( eventually, though, the efforts of the evening require a little downtime, and so she'll take to exploring the rest of the venue. the photobooths are especially appealing, a perfect place to strong-arm a friend into for some unplanned vogue-ing, and the gardens too with their prettily twinkling lights are well worth exploring.

when the late hours of the evening come around, it's the garden patio that kimberly lingers in, heels kicked off and resting underneath her as she perches on a stone wall, moonlight trailing over her bare shoulders. it's quiet out here, just the soft echo of the music slipping under the closed french doors, and cool enough that the flush of her cheeks has the opportunity to finally fade.

should anyone happen to wander out while she's resting, she won't scatter — instead, she'll offer a tired smile, maybe even a wave of her hand. )


It's nice out here, isn't it?
Edited 2017-10-16 17:06 (UTC)
amarillos: (m)

softer

[personal profile] amarillos 2017-10-17 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
[the evening begins to wind down, and for trini, that means that her shoes — little torture devices with modest heels — are off, casually held in her right hand by little more than a crooked index finger. she leisurely makes her way out of the ballroom where the sound of music still manages to seep through the doors and out into to cool night air of the gardens beyond.

she's never been one for spectacles, but after volunteering to help put the event together, even trini couldn't resist the urge to see all her hard work come to fruition. of course, wanting to see the event doesn't make being around so many people who want to know all sorts of things about her any less stressful. and after one too many well-meaning party goer introductions, trini's about had her fill.

she takes a deep breath and practically smells the cold air that should be coming in the next few months. the thought brings a smile to her face as she meanders the grounds in search of a quiet place to sit. off in the distance she sees a lone figure, dressed in black. who looks like she had the same idea as trini.

perhaps it's the moonlight reflecting in the other girl's hair, or the result of one too many glasses of bubbly champagne, but regardless of the reasons, she's curious enough about the other person to head toward her rather than away.

that's what this place is about, right? she reminds herself. finding people. connecting with others. possibly in more ways than one.

trini hasn't gotten a good look at the girl just yet, but she definitely hears the comment, nods along at first before finding herself responding rather shyly.]


Yeah. It's peaceful. I just needed a moment away from everything.
recoined: (10)

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-17 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
( the voice is familiar, but then again, lots of voices have become familiar for kimberly these days. friendly ones, like clary and baby's, and not-so-friendly ones, like the girls at the gym who make snide comments under their breath about the slower students in her class. after being on the other end of those comments, kimberly has a hard time letting such catty behavior go — she's made an enemy of those girls time and time again by now, calling them out for their snippy remarks with a quick chide before diverting her attention back to the routine.

without a glass of champagne to distract her, her empty hands are left to smooth out over the fabric of her dress, fingers splaying out atop her lap; the music is quiet, and kimberly hums her agreement as it stills in the distance. the band must be readying the next song. )


It reminds me of home, sometimes. The gardens, I mean — I used to go for hikes at home in the mountains, just to clear my head...

( the night breeze is cool, ruffling the ends of her hair as it sweeps across her skin, and kimberly can't help but think of the last hike she'd taken. running into jason, and everything that had followed. she had to wonder how he was doing. him, and billy, and trini — did they know she was gone? they shouldn't, she knew that, but she wondered. would their ranger connection mean more than what this city usually found to be true, or would her absence truly not have even registered yet? )

You can come sit, if you want. There's room.
amarillos: (l)

[personal profile] amarillos 2017-10-17 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
[her new companion's sentiment feels so oddly familiar, as does her voice. she doesn't dare try to hope that this girl who speaks of hiking in the mountains might be kim. as far as trini's been aware, her friends are safe at home in angel grove, right where she left them.

a nagging sense of guilt over leaving them is washed away with the reminder that they won't even know she's left and really she's enduring blisters and formal dancing for them, so they should be grateful.

trini nods along to the words. she does want to sit down. maybe get to know this person a little bit better, so she steps a little more into the soft glow of the light near the bench and carefully sits at the corner not currently occupied on the cold concrete.]


I know what you mean though. I'd go work out just outside of town. There were these great views of the city below. This garden's not quite like my favorite spot but it's definitely making me a little homesick.

[a soft sigh and trini wrings her hands together. would she get to see home any time soon? and how funny was it that it took an alien invasion and meeting four other perfect strangers for her to finally feel like she'd found home.]
recoined: (398)

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-17 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
( her feet ache. she's been on them all evening by now, dancing until she physically couldn't anymore, and while she knows she'll feel right as rain in the morning, it doesn't do much for her lingering pain right now. pulling her feet up to the cool surface of the concrete gives the opportunity for them to rest, her arches pressing against the curved edge of the benchtop for relief.

a quiet sigh, and kimberly lets her shoulders drop down, willing relaxation through her body. )
Yeah, I know the feeling. ( she couldn't imagine anyone in their metaphorical shoes wouldn't feel a little homesick, even with how nice the city had proven to be. )

I have a friend back home who does things like that. Yoga on the mountains, very zen goddess-y. You'd probably like her.

( if trini let somebody like her, that is. running away unless coerced otherwise seemed to be her modus operandi. hashtag bye, et cetera. )
amarillos: (c)

[personal profile] amarillos 2017-10-17 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
[is trini's urge to up and bolt increasing by the minute? it's hard to tell, but the voice plus the comment about the friend make it really hard to not think that the universe or maybe just those two shiny happy volunteer coordinators are pranking her.

it's why trini finally glances sideways at the girl occupying the other half of the bench. even in the dim light she can recognize that profile — each feature carefully catalogued over the course of an entire year spent in the same biology class and then countless hours training side by side — there's no mistaking that she's managed to bump into one of the few people from home who actually know who she is.

which presents an interesting situation that she'll have to address shortly: does she pretend like she doesn't know and wait for kim to figure it out or does she just rip the bandaid off.

she opts for the latter.]


It's tai chi, dummy. And you're right. I do like me.
recoined: (259)

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-17 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
( kimberly's head snaps to focus so fast, the sound probably could have echoed out across an entire football field. as it is, her expression is impossible to misread, wide eyes and parted mouth a dead ringer for shock and surprise. )

Trini?

( who else calls her 'dummy' in a voice that's both dismissive and filled with fondness? who else does yoga — or tai chi, apparently, even though kimberly still doesn't really know what the difference is — on mountaintops and needs to get away from parties? who else but trini?

the reaction is two-fold: simultaneous lightness in her heart from sheer relief at finding a friend in the darkness, and a confusing tightness in her chest that feels oddly like disappointment. at what, kimberly's not sure, and she's not ready to dive into it yet. not when trini's right here, and she's missed her so much already.

right now, all she can manage is to blink, body turning towards the other girl in a hesitant attempt to get that much closer. )


I didn't know you were even here...

( how did she not know? shouldn't she have known right away? shouldn't their connection have alerted her, somehow? the power coins' proximity or... something, right? )
amarillos: (b)

[personal profile] amarillos 2017-10-17 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[kim's expression is beyond priceless, trini decides. and the only hint of anything beyond mysterious indifference that usually keeps her real feelings masked is a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth.

if only she could take a picture to make the moment last. it almost makes up for being pulled off a cliff into a pool of water below.]


Kim. [trini tilts her head and looks at kim once more.]

I didn't know you were here either. How long?

[who knows why trini didn't know. maybe something the city did. maybe their bond wasn't as strong outside of angel grove.]
recoined: (14)

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-17 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
A couple of months, ( murmured out over a shrug. the exact amount of time, the number of days that have passed since kimberly had wound up as one of many attending an alternate universe's version of college move-in day, doesn't really matter. ) It seems like a lot longer.

( she's tempted to pull the other girl into a hug, but something stops her. maybe it's the fact that she's never had opportunity to see trini dressed up like this, all sleek and beautiful, in an actual dress. )

I'm really glad to see you, Trini.
amarillos: (d)

[personal profile] amarillos 2017-10-17 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[it's trini's turn to state in shock at kim. her mouth falls open, eyes wide in confusion.] Months?

[they'd only just defeated rita and saved the city. it doesn't make sense that she's been here for months.

the unspoken how hangs between the two of them as trini looks kim up and down. in sleek dress and heels, kim looks a hell of a lot like what she imagines kim would've looked like at a dance during the height of her popularity. trini would like to reach over and tuck a few of those flyaways back behind kim's ears, but before her hands can betray her, she folds them primly over her lap.]


I'm glad to see you too. Not sure how this whole time thing works, but glad that of all the people I could've run into it was you.
recoined: (146)

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-18 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, months, ( kimberly echoes, a hand reaching up to brush fingertips through the edges of her hair. ) It's kind of — I don't know. The city says time stops? At home, whenever you leave.

( if she closes her eyes, she can still smell the salty air that permeated through all of angel grove, feel the weight of the armor hanging over her skin, the slick copper taste of blood pooling in her mouth from their battle with rita and all her putties. it's been months, but she knows that coming home again will be like she never left. finding trini here feels a little like it, too.

she's been here for three months now, 90 days and change of getting close to people she never expected to meet in the first place. she's found friends — and more than friends, even — something she never would have thought possible. something that had seemed impossible in angel grove without the benefit of the cheerleading squad. or the rangers.

are we friends, or are we power rangers?

that had been the question, once upon a time around a flickering campfire, but kimberly couldn't help but feel that trini's presence here was an answer to that question. yes, to both. trini was both an integral part of the rangers and her friend. somebody whose presence felt right, in a way that kimberly couldn't quite explain. )


So... intimacy, huh? I didn't take you for much of a cuddler.
amarillos: (d)

[personal profile] amarillos 2017-10-19 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. [she nods along in understanding.] They mentioned as much to me. I don't think I really believed though.

[though kim doesn't specifically mention it, she kind of figures that she and kim are thinking of the same thing, of home and their battle weary bodies. of the wrecked buildings and streets of angel grove.

trini's definitely also thinking of kim here without the rangers. she's sure that kim managed just fine, and is grateful that she's not the one who had to do this alone.

of course, kim has to ruin it by bringing up a reminder of girlfriend problems that she's had.]


Shut up. I'm going to rescue kittens until I can go home.
recoined: (289)

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-21 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
( she can't help but smirk a little at trini's defensive retort. not that kittens aren't cute and cuddly and well worth spending time with, but she's pretty sure there are better ways to spend time than by completely ignoring all of the other faces in the crowd. )

Don't worry, I'll cuddle with you. If you promise not to steal my blankets.

( and yes, she does mean cuddling. but if trini wants to assume she means something else... well, what she keeps to herself doesn't hurt anyone, right? )
amarillos: (c)

[personal profile] amarillos 2017-10-21 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
[there may be more effective and certainly more enjoyable ways to waste the days in cadelle, but trini's a prickly one.]

I'm not the blanket thief, princess.

[she chimes back. if she doesn't comment on the cuddling part of the equation it didn't really happen, right?]
recoined: (259)

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-21 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, rude.

( to be fair, while kimberly is in fact very fond of burrowing under the blankets, she does prefer good old fashioned body heat to the allure of a blanket cocoon. )

We'll see if I let you use my good blankets now, grumpy cat.
amarillos: (m)

[personal profile] amarillos 2017-10-24 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
Oh. You were planning on breaking out the good blankets for little ol' me? Consider me touched.

[she's two steps away from an eyeroll, kim. don't test her.]

You'll have to at least buy me dinner before I'll even consider cuddling. What kind of girl do you think I am?
recoined: (26)

[personal profile] recoined 2017-10-25 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
( what kind of girl does kimberly think she is? don't ask her to answer that. that's a loaded question and a half. )

I'm just saying, if you can't find anybody to meet your impossible standards, I can clear my schedule for you every now and then. A little Chinese food takeout, some Netflix, the good blankets — I mean, it's a pretty decent offer.