voyagers | party post } { fool and king, ghoul and ghost

On the evening of the twenty-ninth, the ballroom on the main deck of the boat is decked out in lavish black and gold, thanks to Carol and Sophie, and the assistance of the very strong men they enlisted to help (thank you, boys). It's been a while since Carol has thrown a full out ball, and she liked the chance to stretch her event planning limbs again, even if those attending are mostly the ghost robots in their cater waiter wear.

A soft music is playing over the guests as they enter. As they pass through the threshold, there's a table with simple masks for them to choose from, in case they've forgotten their's. Once they pass through the main archway, they'll find their way to the large dance space where the ghost robot band is sitting, because live music is so much better than a recording, and they actually don't sound half-bad, all things considered. They also take requests, so feel free to tell them that song where you always wondered what it would sound like with a full orchestral backing. There's a large, expansive dance floor in the middle, and you're welcome to get out there and shake your groove thing whenever you see fit.

Tables with food line the far left wall of the room, as well as clusters of tables for the guests to sit when they so choose. There's also an open bar nestled into the far corner, for all your alcoholic needs. There are also plenty of dark corners to slip into, if you don't want anyone to see what you're doing, however the narration suggests watching those dark corners carefully. Rabbit holes lurk in pretty much every shadowed area of the ballroom and while they won't always drop you into a strange location of your choosing, there's a high chance they will. There's probably a high turnover of people arriving back in the ballroom, looking like they've gone five rounds with a bull.

Probably because they have.

The boat seem to want to promote this event as much as possible. While not everyone loves a good ball, some non-attenders may suddenly find themselves in attendance, completely dressed and no idea of how they got there. Trying to leave? Might not go so well either. For some, socializing isn't so much a choice as a punishment, but there are probably plenty of people to help you have a good time.

Or you could go on a trip to Narnia. One never really knows.

[OKAY BALL IS GO sorry I was late getting this up. Rabbit Holes are to be used at your discretion, but if you need suggestions or want me to randomize something for you, just shoot me a PM/private plurk/ping me (

iluvroadrunner6) and I will give you a scenario. Otherwise, mix, mingle and have fun with all the pretty formal wear. o7 Actionspam/prose/whatever floats your boat for this, it was easier to just write up the top part in prose.]

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Angel's there in a suit and tie he didn't pick out for himself, having arrived not entirely of his own accord. It was presented to him when Cordelia informed him he was going with her and took Connor from his arms, ushering him into the bathroom to change. She was already decked out to the nines, giving him little room to take her image in before the bathroom door was slammed in his face. When he emerged, she had his son dressed up in a little suit, draping a towel over his shoulder before handing Connor back over, muttering something about spit up stains and returns. (He refrained from reminding her that there was no point in spoiled returns when everything was free.)

The last time he was at one of these things, it was in Sunnydale at Buffy's prom. The last function that school saw before graduation and its inevitable destruction. Good riddance.

"One day you'll be going to your prom," he told the toddler as he bounced him in the careful crook of his arm. "Hopefully at a high school that's not sitting on the mouth of hell."

Connor squealed at him, the music not bothering him as much as Angel feared it would, and reached for his father's mask. It was tied loosely and slid easily off his face. One end of it went into Connor's mouth, rendering it a lost cause. Which was okay, because the vampire wasn't too thrilled about wearing it in the first place.

Cordelia barely went to her own prom -- her parents had lost all their money and no matter how she worked she still couldn't afford that dress. Luckily, Xander had come to her rescue and bought it for her. Not that that makes up for cheating on her or her getting skewered in the aftermath but at least that story ended on a better note than it could have. As it was, she and dances didn't always go so well. There was the time she was kidnapped by Marnie the invisible girl (okay, so she gets she deserved that one in retrospect) and she'll never quite forget Slayerfest 99 (and after all that neither she nor Buffy won Homecoming queen, that's the real tragedy here) but she figures hey the ship isn't on a hellmouth so what's the worst that could happen?

Besides, she's not even going to have to return this outfit. Being on a ship where everything is free is kind of awesome. She wears her hair in loose curls to complete the look.

But she's also not going alone -- which is why she dragged Angel with her. Besides, it's good for him to get out and actually mingle with people during the hours the sun is away. And they don't have Lorne or Fred or anyone they trust enough to watch Connor here so of course the baby comes with them. That's totally normal, right?

Cordelia laughs a little as she watches Connor chew on his father's mask. "Guess he didn't think that was the best look on you, huh?"

"I think of it more as doing his old man a favor."

Angel tugs on one of the mask's strings, but Connor refuses to let it budge, clamping his gums down on the edge he's got in his mouth, the tiny fingers of one hand fisting the nose piece through one of the eye-holes. The mask is no longer his father's. It's his new, velvety teething ring — a teething mask.

"It is a better look on him than you," Cordelia concedes with a small smile. Masks turning into teething rings is probably what you have to expect out of dragging babies to things like this.

Small price to pay, really.

Angel makes a face at that remark and the smile that accompanies that.

"I'll have you know I've been to my fair share of masquerades. Just... you know, more in the capacity of being at them in the interest of making meals out of the rest of the guests. Come to think of it, this is the first one I've been to where I haven't eaten anyone."

Cordelia rolls her eyes a little at that. Many people would be off put by their friend casually mentioning how he used to eat people but for them it's kinda business as usual at this point.

"And I've never been to one before -- so it's a day of firsts for everyone."

Which is one of the things he ~~loves~~ likes about her. He doesn't have to filter himself or pretend he's got a split personality disorder by referring to Angelus as a separate person. He can own his actions and not have to worry about her judging him for them or being utterly horrified. She knows that while that was him, he hadn't been in control of what he did while without the ability to discern good from bad and possessing a certain inclination towards evil.

He still felt that pull towards darkness — something else he didn't have to hide from her (she'd seen him get caught up in it, after all, when Darla was making a mess of everything) — but with a soul, he could fight back against it; ignore it. Angel didn't have to be that evil thing that made Angelus a legend if he didn't want to. And he very much didn't want to.

"I thought you went to your prom." Not the same thing, buddy.

"This is not the same thing as my prom -- though yes, I did go to that."

She almost didn't -- thanks to her parents tax evasion -- but Xander had come through to her last minute and bought her the dress she had been trying to earn. It didn't make up for cheating on her, for acting like she was the bitch for not forgiving him, but it was a nice peace offering. At least they didn't part high school on completely awful terms.

"I went to most of my school dances -- except for the ones I was kidnapped during."

Which did happen...more than once in her time at Sunnydale.

From his point of view, high school dances seemed to hold the same kind of significance as the galas he used to attend in his human youth and after he was turned alike. He glances between her and the dance floor, shifting Connor from one hip to the other.

"How are the ones you went to different than this?"

Clearly, the vampire didn't get it.

"Well for one thing, no one has tried to kill me during this."

It's a joke but seriously -- formal events at Sunnydale High never went well. It's kind of weird there's been no monster attacks at this one yet -- but in a good way.

"Honestly, everything's a step up from Slayerfest."

party post } { fool and king, ghoul and ghost

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