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September Event - Guest Appearances

GUEST APPEARANCES

Ignition

September 20th is the Autumnal Equinox. Many places across the world of Concorde celebrate the first day of fall. While various nations and regions have their own cultural practices surrounding it, nature is god everywhere. And so the inception of Mother Autumn’s domain is universally recognized, even if the names change from place to place. But on a little island named Marrow, in a little town called Pumpkin Hollow, there is another reason to celebrate.

The birth of Dahlia Leeds is not so important an event that it supersedes Celestine herself, and neither Dahlia nor anyone in town is foolhardy enough to claim as much. In fact, after the events on this very same day last year, one might argue that perhaps her birth at least started out as a bad thing. But she is certainly the wealthiest person in town. It is through the combination of substantial wealth and a generous heart, two things that are very seldom found in the same place, that we end up with a soiree where the birthday girl would rather spoil everyone else on her day than herself.

The doors to Leeds Estate, which presides proudly over the town upon its throne at the crest of Founder’s Hill, are flung wide open. Large sums of Brass are paid to caterers, florists, and seamstresses to make sure this place is decorated to the nines. Some businesses labor all year, just to prepare for the handsome payoff they’ll get from this event alone. And you, dear neighbor, are invited. Not only are you invited, but you are dressed for the event in whatever your heart desires, completely at the birthday girl’s expense. Dahlia ensures no cost nor conflict stands in between anyone in town and a much-needed break. She is determined for this birthday of hers to be a good night.

Or else.

Incipience

{ The timeframe between ignition and the peak of burning, where a small, contained fire spreads and grows gradually into an established flame. All it takes is a spark. }

The whole town is abuzz as preparations for the gala begin. From the moment people begin to wake up for the day, the air throughout Pumpkin Hollow just feels electric with excitement. After August, people have been needing this lift in morale, and after how last year’s gala went… well, there’s a lot riding on this one. And Dahlia seems much more in control now.

Speaking of being in control, the whole lead-up process has been incredibly organized. You wake up to a delivery--- your outfit, perfectly tailored and completely paid for. Accessories are included. She truly thought of everything.

It’s noteworthy that Dahlia’s invitations this time included another name beneath her own. “Suzanne Marie Dyneax,” it said. Most people don’t know the name, but gossip gets around in a small town like this. It’s not hard to pick up on the fact that this probably refers to Susie, one of the teenagers that Dahlia recently moved into her home, whose own birthday was ruined by Seemingly’s attack. Gift baskets have been delivered to others whose days were in proximity to the disaster--- Zivia, Capochin, even CT. Wine, fruit, and sweets, along with a birthday card. Dahlia has said in the past, “my birthday is your birthday,” but never has that felt more true.

With businesses mostly closed for the celebration, you are left with the majority of the day to prepare in relative peace. For many of the women in Dahlia’s inner circle, there is even a pre-party group dressing room set up on the third floor of her home. Only those who received her special invitation (Susie, Noelle, Fever, Cassandra, Anya, Alice, Patty, Melanie, Basira, Elsie) are permitted to join, but any friends or partners are gladly invited to wait at the bottom of the stairs for the girls to make their grand entrance.

The food is laid out, flowers placed, dresses laced and buttoned. The clock strikes 6pm, and the fun begins.

FLASHOVER

{ The moment when a blaze reaches its maximum size and heat, and the radiant heat in the space is such that all combustible materials ignite at once, allowing the flame to steadily and freely burn for the rest of the night. }

By the time it reaches 6:15, the ballroom is already flooded with eager dancers and hungry dinner guests. After all, the whole town is invited, and everyone’s excited to see Dahlia’s beautiful new ballroom and take a load off.

The music is elegant, played by a rotating cast of musicians who join the party when their act is over. The food is extravagant--- Dahlia and two of her partners are some of the biggest foodies in town, so this is expected. There is talking and laughing and the swirling of ballgowns, and all is well.

But there is a guest you do not recognize in the corner of the ballroom. An older man with white hair, strong features, and a dour expression. You can see Dahlia eyeing him, then flitting over to him, then talking to him. Her expression shifts from anxious, to annoyed, to resigned, before at last she sighs heavily and leaves him to it. Whatever it is that’s going on, clearly it’s something Dahlia is willing to begrudgingly tolerate in order to get back to having fun.

The reason for the disturbance becomes clear in short order, but by the grace of Celestine (and perhaps Eligos), it isn’t a reality bending nightmare or an attack by some monstrous beings. It is simply more guests.

A lot more, in fact.

Those who were on the island in September of the previous year will recall the Visitor’s Center, which appeared briefly just past the beach and served as temporary living and meeting quarters for visitors from the homeworlds of current residents. It would seem that this is a repeat incident. For the night of the gala, one to two “plus ones” have been invited for the vast majority of offworld residents. Most of them are friends or family who are happy to see their guests--- but this is ultimately a working of Eligos, so naturally, this is not always the case.

At the very least, Eligos seems to have been generous with his own granddaughter. As she turns away from him, she very nearly runs into someone much shorter than her. A dark haired human man with dwarfism. He laughs at the accident, grinning up at her as she stares back at him, utterly baffled. Then, petticoats billowing out, Dahlia sinks to the floor and embraces him as tight as she can, head pressed to his chest with little regard for her carefully-styled hair. Even those across the room can hear her shout his name. ”Jonah!”

Within the hour, the ballroom is packed with nearly double the people originally expected, turning the party livelier than it’s ever been. Tearful reunions, laughter, dancing, mischief, romance, sparring, cruelty, and even proper, righteous violence. Truly, this Leeds Gala will be one for the books!

--------
[ OOC reminders: each apped-in player character is entitled to one or two guests from their homeworld. This can be former selves, family, friends, enemies, and they do not have to be from the character’s exact canonpoint. They can be from the past or the future. You may play them yourself, ask another member player to do it, or recruit a non-member player to do so with moderator approval. Non-member players are permitted to join the Discord server while they’re active in this event! Threads you write for your own guests are eligible for AC for the character they’re there with, and threads you write for someone else’s guest can be used on the AC of a character of your choice. Just make sure to mark them as guest threads. After the gala, guests will be allowed to move freely about town, stay the night on Saturday and go home Sunday, or leave right after the gala if preferred. And last but not least, characters played in the gala can be apped directly from this event, rather than going through the normal arrival process. Let a mod know if you have questions, and have fun! ]

Smoldering

{ The decay of a flame as available heat, oxygen, and burning material gradually diminish. Eventually, the flames will recede entirely into glowing embers, glittering like orange starlight amid the ashes of what once was. }

The party rages well into the night. It’s not typical for residents of Pumpkin Hollow to stay out this late, with everything around here that goes bump in the night, but eventually party-goers begin to find their way out. They move in small groups, huddled around lanterns, may they ever stay lit. Perhaps the surprising bit is that their guests can go with them. There are even reservations made for board overnight at the Oak & Iron, all under the name “E. Rex”.

But alas, these reservations are only booked for one night. And by the time the sun begins to set on the darker half of the year for the first time, an unfamiliar black boat is moored at Jack's Marina. One that the guests will recognize as the vessel on which they arrived. They must leave by the time it becomes dark.

Or must they? Perhaps for a select few, they will fail to feel the call which draws them home. It is unclear why. There are many that Mortanne would have allowed residency for, if she could. But for some reason, all but a small few feel the pull. Perhaps Eligos has simply abandoned them here. (Or maybe none at all end up marooned and everyone goes home? That all depends on you, dear reader.)

When the sky goes dark, the aptly named Heavy Heart shoves off, with only her crimson sails hanging suspended seemingly in midair in the moonlight. The black ship is otherwise consumed by the night. And soon, even those flashes of red vanish into the distance.

Moments recede into memories, like a dying fire settles gently into glowing embers at the bottom of a hearth. The festivities are over, and the guests are gone. Life in Pumpkin Hollow resumes as before. But maybe just a little warmer and brighter.

“My birthday is your birthday,” as Dahlia often says.

Happy birthday.

References to the appearance of Leeds Estate can be found here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It shakes out to be an insanely busy night.

Their own guests and those of others take up so much of Kris' time, dragged around a bit by the whims of their Soul. Most of them end up being worthwhile endeavors, despite Kris' awkwardness, but they are a little grumpy that the only things they've chosen to do deliberately tonight have been play piano, throw themself bodily at Asriel, and chase Pluey across the ballroom.

So they make time to do something they want to do. Nerves fray a little at the idea, but they remind themself that they are (apparently) good enough at what they're planning that Susie felt the need to remark on it.

So, one at a time, they track down their friends from home.

"Hey," they say softly as they come up beside one of them. "You got time to dance with me?"

When Kris finds Susie, she's freshly knocked back a lovely flute of fruit juice, brows lifting in surprise when they seem to appear out of nowhere. They're good at that, though, aren't they? Somebody oughta get a bell for them. She's all grins at the offer, quickly abandoning the empty glass to give them her full attention.

"Uh, obviously, dumbass, I was waiting on you!" The needling is given with nothing short of pure affection, and she offers her hand, already primed to drag them into the crowds of other dancers. "C'mon, let's go! It's on you if I step on your feet, though."

"I can take it. I'm a tough cryptid," Kris boasts, smirking and following her out. "Happy bonus birthday, by the way. You look pretty."

"Oh, uh... thanks! The dress and everything was Dolly's idea, honestly. She's good at talking me into weird stuff like this."

She's totally not deflecting because she has no idea how to handle the compliment. Absolutely not. It doesn't matter that she's never really been called pretty before, she can handle that in a completely normal, measured way. And her purple face definitely isn't getting any violet-red in the cheeks.

"You look good, too, by the way. I like your... little cape thing. It really works for you."

"Yeah? I thought it was pretty slick," Kris agrees, pleased. "You wanna learn how to dance fancy or just wing it?"

"Woah, you know how to dance fancy? Since when?" Susie can't help but look and sound genuinely impressed. She's been watching people sweep and sway skillfully on the dance floor off and on all night, but she'd never imagined Kris being able to do that. "Maybe we can decide if the music's good for a fancy dance type of thing? If it's too fast, we could totally just wing it."

Looking sheepish, Kris gives half a shrug. "It was for like a theater thing a couple years ago. I tried out for a bigger role but they just let me be an extra... I did a waltz in the background of a scene once."

They don't mention that they took their tiny role so seriously, trying to do the dance as perfectly as possible. The anxiety around it made them dance stiffly, unfortunately, but they at least have good form. "This one's in 3/4 time, which means it's good for waltzing. If you wanna try it. It's not too hard."

She's only seen a couple performances that the school's theater have put on since she moved to this particular school, but they've always seemed like a lot of fun, even if a little bit dorky. She's starting to learn that some of the best things are, though! And the offer gets a moment of sheepishness of her own, a beat of uncertainty, before she settles on it.

Screw it. It's a party, and people have danced way worse than she might if she messes it up. Why not?

"Yeah, y'know what? Let's try it! I bet I can follow it easy enough."

"Okay, so here's how it works. Hear how the music goes in a pattern? One-two-three, one-two-three. Feel it? You step on the one. I'm gonna lead so you can follow, 'cause this is your first time, but you'll kinda step backwards a little with your left foot, and we just kinda go in a circle. Make sense?"

Kris moves in front of her, setting a hand on her waist. "Your right hand goes on my shoulder, and then we hold hands on the other side."

"Oh. Uh. Cool, okay!"

As instructed, Susie lifts her hand to their shoulder, and opens her hand on the other side. When Kris's own is held, she steps, clumsy but trying to follow along as best as she can. One step, then two, then three. It's hard to feel the rhythm at first, but just like learning the drums, after two passes, it starts to feel smoother. There's the occasional scoot of her foot try to get in the right place, but she feels like she's starting to get it.

"You're... pretty good at this," Susie remarks, glancing down to their face, and then away. Maybe it's the proximity, the hand that holds her own, but it's not helping the wine red that starts tinging her cheeks. "Am I doing okay so far?"

"Yeah, you got it," Kris praises, smiling fondly. "You got good rhythm. No wonder you got so good on the drums."

Cute. She looks so cute with that little blush. "We should dance more often."

Susie can't help a little grin, and it's hard not to lose her pace, admiring that smile of theirs. It's a good look on them. She's immediately embarrassed by how quickly the thought crosses her mind to make sure she sees it as often as she can.

"Yeah, y'know what? We really should. This is a lot more fun than I thought it'd be."

Ralsei had been sitting politely a little ways from the buffet table, patiently working his way through a plate of appetizers. It's still a little weird to him, getting to eat as much Lightner food as he wants, but he's enjoying himself! And he looks very cute in his red and white dress, if he may say so himself. He looks up at Kris's approach, smiling happily -- but then Kris asks him to dance, and Ralsei is so surprised that he actually looks back over his shoulder, just to make sure Kris isn't speaking to someone else.

There's no one there, but still..."You're asking me?" He just wants to make sure!

Kris makes a sort of grimace that's halfway between amused and confusion. "Uh, yeah? Obviously."

"I was just making sure!" Ralsei stammers awkwardly, before setting his plate aside and standing up. "But if you're sure...I don't know if I'll be any good, but sure! I'd love to dance with you, Kris!"

He shyly holds out his hand, letting them take the lead.

"It's okay, I'm sorta mid anyway. It's not to be good, it's just to have fun." Kris accepts his hand, feeling a little princely in the moment. How ironic, since Ralsei's the prince here. Cute...

They lead him to the dance floor spinning the both of them playfully before getting into step. It's just a simple, tight waltz. But it's nice.

"Having fun?"

"Of course!" Contrary to his earlier self-doubt, Ralsei's steps are light as he follows Kris through the spin and into the dance.

"I'd have fun even if you did step on my toes a few times, Kris," he confesses with an embarrassed little giggle. "I'm glad you aren't, though! I don't think you're mid at all, you're really graceful."

The compliment makes Kris duck their head a little, laughing. "You're the graceful one," they murmur.

And it's true, he is. The little spins he does while casting, the regal posture he holds himself with, the way he seems to float sometimes...

Even now.

"Means a lot coming from you."

Is Kris good at flirting? Are they, really?????

Regardless. Dess is off talking to that girl with the cool haircut when Kris approaches her, so she's alone right now. And it'd be nice to have something to do that isn't watching her sister talk to strangers, which even Noelle will admit is kind of weird.

(And it's even nicer that Kris still wants to dance with her, after everything.)

Noelle's face flushes, but she nods, extending a hand. "Um - yeah. Yes." She giggles, a little nervously, but a little not. "You're not going to step on my toes, are you?"

"Your hooves are pretty short compared to most people's toes, I'd probably have to be deliberately trying to step on 'em to do that," they point out as innocently as possible, while failing to answer the question. They won't, of course, but who would they be if they didn't tease her a little?

They take her hand, leading her to the dance floor. Their form is pretty good for basic ballroom dancing, if not a little stiff. (As they told Susie earlier, they did a waltz for a theater thing once a couple years ago and that's the breadth of their experience.) For a while, they're a little quiet, looking like they're deciding what to say, speaking at last at probably the exact moment that Noelle might be considering asking what's on their mind.

"Do you remember that one Christmas Eve where you were at my house and it was a full moon? And there was all that light on the snow outside, and it was all silver and sparkly when we looked out the window?"

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September Event - Guest Appearances

For Susie/Ralsei/Noelle

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