Day without a Night | The Midsummer Ball

[redlightgreenlight]

Characters: Everyone
Date: August 21st
Location: Courtyard of Public Opinion
Situation: The Midsummer Ball and a Solar Eclipse
Warnings/Rating: None


"Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon's sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be:
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear."
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Comments

Set Up

[redlightgreenlight]

Decorating for the ball began mid-evening the day before. At first, it seemed a near impossible task, given just how many smaller pieces were involved. Hundreds of glowing lights, if not more, and natural garlands provided by the local flower shops were meant to cover every inch above the dance floor. Tables were set up for guests and food display alike, each needing the candles and flowers Midii had picked out (with more than a little help from Marinette). There were cutlery and place settings and decorations to hang in such a way, it looked as if they were floating. (Some of them very well might have been.) But with the aid of Foreigner and Kedan alike, hour by hour, a vision of ethereal design began to take shape. Ready for the festivities to come.

[commandandcontrol]

Sonja was busy organizing the caterers. 'Caterers' probably lent a bit more organization and respectability than might actually be warranted. It implied a large budget, a single company. This was more like an outdoor grill in a tented off area churning out food while Sonja placed put out boxes of takeout from other places she'd made personal runs to.

Everything actually smelled pretty great and she was using all her willpower not to start samplings things before the party officially started.

KPD Briefing

[redlightgreenlight]

Three hours before the ball was due to start, kedan and foreigner officers gathered to discuss planning. Kaliel was grim faced as ever, probably about as enthusiastic about the event as some of the other foreigner officers. The group went over the most likely disturbances and a few less likely ones, just to be on the safe side. Vigilance was mentioned multiple times. After about an hour, assignments and shifts were called out. The meeting would disperse two hours after starting so that officers attending out of uniform would have time to get ready. After the meeting, uniformed officers would roam the space, keeping an eye on the beginning of the festivities.

[spoilsfun]

Conan was the youngest and smallest officer here by a large degree. He really wasn't sure what exactly anyone expected of him here, apart from being another set of eyes (seeing as he had yet to inform anyone in the department regarding certain tools he carried with him as self defense).

But he sits through the briefing, paying careful attention to the assignment and shifts. He'd been to enough parties that had ended in disaster to know how important these plans could be.

And then he sets off to get ready for the party.

Food Table

[redlightgreenlight]

With food shortages continuing to be an issue, the spread at the ball is hardly opulent, but Sonja has done what she could. There's a modest salad bar of raw vegetables and cabbages served with light dressings and creams. Keeliah's staple mystery meats are abundant in fried finger food form, meat pies and stuffed into mushrooms. The most involved dishes are fish related, with large platters of baked and fried marine organisms (the word sometimes used loosely) sitting in sauces and garnished with herbs. The table has a colorful assortment of small pastries and sliced fruit. An open bar makes sure that everyone's drinks remain full.

[unetrustworthy]

Midii had little use for that bar...but plenty of use for the food served that evening.

Though she was already familiar with the selections due to aiding in decorations the previous evening, her eyes still shone with great interest when she reentered the room, dressed in her latest best, deliberately avoiding the dance floor in favor of the food table. Modest, yes, but enough that she could take a small plate for herself and still fill it to the brim with a sample of everything.

For a majority of the evening, she could be found standing off to one side, nibbling on everything from fried finger foods to pieces of fruit, as she watched the festivities around her with passive amusement.

[spoilsfun]

Conan had successfully argued his way into wearing his usual blue suit and red bowtie to the party. It saved him the time of figuring out how to insert his voice changer into a new bowtie casing.

On arrival, he quickly realizes that there would be very little of interest to him here until the eclipse starts. He had no interest in dancing, and less interest in having adults talk down to him.

He heads for the food tables, only to realize that he was too short to actually reach any of the food. He turns and goes in search of a chair.

[looksfine]

Aya noticed the boy's dilemma from a distance, seeing only his height rather than his age, and quietly approached with what she believed to be an acceptable solution:

One hand raised, she extended her energy into a solid beam of green construct material. Just barely translucent, but strong. Strong enough for her to use it as a sort of paddle to scoop under several nearby plates of options, lift them off the table and reposition them at a lower height. One which Conan should be able to reach without the need of that chair.

[invisibill]

Danny quickly finds his way to the food. He quickly fills a plate with the less interesting meat and seafood, and quite a few pastries. And then he finds his way to an empty chair.

Now he just had to figure out what to do until the eclipse started.

[commandandcontrol]

Sonja sat down next to Danny with a few pieces of food on a plate.

"Enjoying the party?" she asked. She'd seen Danny around for awhile but had never really chatted with him. "I'm Sonja."

Re: Food Table

[de_evilise]

Marinette had definitely not come to the party alone. First and foremost, she came with her friend. Who she also had the biggest crush on, though she never fessed up about that. Problem is she ate so many breath mints before coming out, that her stomach was a little queasy. The fact that she was on a date - a real, actual DATE, with Adrien made that a LOT queasy. But she refused to let that ruin the night! She just needed something to settle her stomach, so after a short while she had casually excused herself and wandered over to get a (non alcoholic) drink at the bar.

... she could barely hold the cup. She was so focused on not spilling it on herself, she didn't notice anyone else. Careful not to startle her, she might spill her drink on you!

[unetrustworthy]

One didn't have to be a keen observer to see the danger of the situation.

Midii wasn't exactly sure why Marinette was so tense, but she did know she had no intentions of getting any drink on her new dress. So she made sure to approach with care, slowly entering the other girl's line of vision and stopping more than a few feet back (just in case) as she tentatively lifted a hand in greeting.

"...are you alright?"

[purrns]

Adrien is absolutely here, dressed in the lovely suit Marinette made for him and doing his best not to get any stains on it while he tries every single food he possibly can. It's a miracle he hasn't gained a hundred stone since being on the turtle. Strict diets are a thing of the past, and he is absolutely planning on eating something of everything. If he finds something he especially likes, he's bringing it over to you.

"Hey, try this! It's great!"

[lasergrenades]

If there is one thing that Pepper loves most about parties, aside from the decorations and the dressing up, it's definitely the food. She loves parties in general, but big festivities always bring out something special.

Rather than reuse her purple dress from last year, Pepper is wearing a black and turquoise outfit that matches the color of Bakura's shirt. There are a lot of different options available to try, so she makes sure to graze, taking small portions so she can have the widest selection possible.

She spends most of the night beaming, whether here trying the food or elsewhere in the Courtyard.

Open!

[upshore]

If Miles has to be here, he's gonna be soused, thank you very much.

Okay, okay - his 'free food' alarm has never gone away. But still. He's still grumpy and broody, because that's his thing these days, but he's trying to not be such a sourpuss.

He can be found trying to strike up conversation, or grumpily leaning against the wall, staring into his drink like it will fix all of his problems for him.

Dance Floor

[redlightgreenlight]

There’s a mixture of music as Kedan musicians try new things alongside their more traditional songs. The Kedan dances range from line and circle dances to pairings, not so different from certain foreigner worlds in certain ways. Locals are happy to show the foreigners their traditional dances and will often invite foreigners to join in their group dances. Others are especially delighted to try some of the dances from the Foreigner’s worlds, approaching foreigners almost at random to ask for instruction, and are quite disappointed if turned away.

[backwordscompatible]

However brief her spontaneous vacation had been--(Chat had been right; she couldn't remain still for long. Too dull.)--Zatanna looked refreshed and as full of life as she ever had.

Her flowery dress looked more appropriate for spring rather than late summer, but she didn't seem to care. It was cute and comfortable and didn't hinder her movements on the dance floor in the slightest. Which came in handy as she was more than eager to join in any new moves the locals were willing to show her, no matter how ridiculous they might seem at first. Shame be damned, she was having fun!

"I mean...I suppose I could show you what I remember of the waltz," she offered in response to a request. "But it's been a while. And I would need a dance partner."

Dance Floor

[de_evilise]

She was really lucky, she had managed to finish her dress with a day and a half to spare. She had thought about making it polka-dotted, but she felt that would be too on the nose. She was painfully nervous though, and for good reason.

Though she came to the dance with Adrien, she didn't have the heart to turn down one of the kedan if they asked her to dance. Just one dance wouldn't hurt right? She had all of the rest of the night to hang out (and dance with) Adrien if he wanted. Provided he didn't mind that is.

[annihilist]

Devin knew how to dance, but he was not inclined to engage in the festivities. He was there to observe and to keep an eye out for any trouble, and sticking to the edges of the Courtyard wasn't sufficient for that. He was looking for any out-of-the-ordinary behavior, and people-watching was something of a hobby anyway.

He'd dressed up as requested, the cut of the suit fitting him well. It wasn't so fancy that Devin felt like a trussed up penguin, but it was enough to satisfy Valdis' requirements. Anyone approaching him to ask for a dance will likely be met with sarcasm and snark.

Open

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis moved from one partner to the next, sometimes learning, sometimes teaching and once taking center stage with a friendly tango. She hoped that particular instance hadn't given people the wrong idea, but she wouldn't worry about that now. She curtsied to her partner as the current dance ended and moved to the sidelines to take a short rest while others continued to dance. Genesis hadn't been a hindrance so far tonight, hadn't been since she had forged it back to the gem, but she casually ran her hand down the side of her dress, as if smoothing it, to check the dagger's location. Satisfied that it was still there, she began to look for her next partner.

Open

[no_light]

It would have been a gross lie to say that Kylo was happy to be here, but not coming to the ball would have been like admitting that he was trying to avoid certain people. Or even more damning, that he was still embarrassed by his humiliation at Foreigner Con.

Thus the almost!Sith could be found skulking around at the edge of the festivities, sending the dancers sullen looks. He was determined to avoid the dance floor himself, but he had gone to the effort to dress nicely in a floor-length heavy black robe with ornate black brocade cowl, and a floor-length red tunic underneath.

open!

[ruinsprofessor]

Raine's the wallflower sort; she's been dragged here, and has even conceded to being dressed up in something ivory and high-collared, but she doesn't venture out on the dance floor on her own, rather sticking to the edges and watching everyone else having fun.

She is smiling, though, but it's a softer, nostalgic sort of a smile.

All the same, if someone approaches her she'll perk up, and make her best effort to be conversational and cheerful; she just may have to be pulled off the wall. "Enjoying the night, so far?"

Eclipse

[redlightgreenlight]

An hour after the ball begins, the sun dims and festivities cease. Anyone who looks up will see the sun disappearing behind a dark orb, the moon. Within moments the sun is completely covered and the city is plunged into darkness. Dismay among some and delight among others rises quickly as a few kedan from the Board of Sciences order everyone to look away. Obeying is highly recommended because two minutes later, the moon begins to move aside and light returns, bright and sudden. The band quickly resumes playing music and KPD officers move to reassure those who are still concerned. For the most part, the group recovers quickly and the party resumes as if nothing has interrupted them.

[looksfine]

The reason why it was so dangerous for the majority of carbon-based life forms to stare directly at the sun, eclipse or no, was because the sun produced far more energy in its rays than eyes were designed to handle. Such an overload could cause temporary, and perhaps even permanent damage to one's retina without proper precautions being made.

Aya, however, had no such concerns, as her image receptors were already in possession of the necessary filters, having had the prior experience of navigating multiple stars throughout her universe. As such, she was able to not only stare directly at the eclipse without cause for alarm...but subsequently able to project a filtered image for any who wished to view the eclipse safely.

A service she was most happy to provide once she realized the dilemma of many younger individuals in particular.

[invisibill]

As resident astronomy geek, Danny had come prepared. He didn't have a solar filter for his telescope, and hadn't been able to find one in Keeliai. But what he did have were cardboard boxes.

So as the eclipse starts, Danny busies himself setting up a homemade pinhole projector.