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 Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 8:03 am
Holiday parties had once been the bread and butter of a young teenager named Fallon. She got a head rush thinking about the coordination of it all -- guest list, invitations, theme, venue, menu, place settings, name cards, schedule of events. Each winter season, Fallon would rent herself out to any and all friends who needed someone to host a holiday party. She might have been Jewish, but Fallon could deck the goddamn halls with the best of them. Those chestnuts? She would roast the s**t out of them. And jingle bells? She took out ******** stock.
All in the name of a damn classy party.
This party, though, was happening to a very different girl. The tiny whispering voice of Fallon had been swallowed and mashed into Ares, and with corruption, that shred of humanity had withered to a single bent stem in a black bouquet. Still, as she oozed out from mirrorspace into a mirror just down the street from Quinn and Lydia's apartment, Fallon felt a pang of longing for party planning. It was a silly thing -- but, hey, it was the holidays. Wasn't that the time for silliness?
Truth be told, there were far too many things that Ares needed to be doing in that moment. She had pulled herself away from the mirrors and energy draining for this brief reprieve to bond with her court. With so much pressure on her, Ares had splintered from them at times, more of a figure of command than a daily presence in their lives. But Ares wanted a parallel family, not an army. Well... she wanted both, but STILL. This party was the first step in working extra hard on the former.
Out of politeness, Fallon appeared on the doorstep of the girl's apartment and, after a deep breath, knocked three times on the door. She was dressed immaculately in a kneelength black lace dress, black stockings and skyscraper high black ankle boots. Her hair was pinned up in a smoothed french twist, and a pair of silver Star of David earrings dotted her dark ears. The outfit made her look much older than she was, and the giant tupperware container filled with homemade gourmet cupcakes didn't help.
Fallon might rule the Dark Mirror now, but she could still bake up one hell of a storm.
In the name of... the holidays.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:28 am
Grant stuck by Lydia, smiling and watching the scenes, wondering about their contexts but imagining he'd figure it out in due time. His curiosity was limited by his nature as a follower. It wasn't that he was shy, per se, he just didn't want to be rude and butt in.
Which sometimes he didn't notice was exactly what he did a lot of the times when trying to be helpful all the time.
"I think it's going very well. You both did a great job! I don't think I could have gotten together something like this." He shook his head, looking around and nodding his head as if reaffirming his assumption as the right one. "And I hadn't thought to, and it's very nice of you to bring everyone together for the holidays."
He heard the door being knocked on and looked at her, smiling.
"Someone's at the door," he said, though he was pretty sure she hadn't missed it. He was beginning to wonder how many people were going to be showing up, and hoped there was enough room for them all. but he didn't doubt for a second that Lydia and Quinn had taken that into consideration.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 3:20 pm
Quinn was trying to decide if she should be annoyed, furious, or happy about the gifts that Veer had gotten her. It was pretty obvious that he had gotten her cat things to poke fun at the fact that she had been turned into a cat for a week.
But she made a promise, so instead of getting angry, she plastered a big smile on her face and looked back up at him. "My name used to be Kat," she said quietly, swallowing hard for a moment as she considered her old life. "My mom called me her Kitty Kat."
She looked down at the gifts again before reaching up, going on her tip-toes and wrapping her arms around Veer in a hug. And in the holiday spirit, she planted a big ol' kiss on his lips before dropping back down onto her heels.
"Thank you," she said with a big grin before she quickly went to the door when she heard the three knocks.
When she opened it, her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "Holy s**t, Fallon."
Completely ignoring the fact that she had a giant tupperware filled with delciousness, Quinn immediately pulled the other girl into a tight hug. "Come in! I don't think you've met everyone, as civs, I mean. Holy s**t. I'm so glad you could come!"
She was beaming when she took Fallon's hand and lead her into the room, kicking the door shut behind them.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 3:27 pm
Another new arrival caught Lydia's eye as they came in the door, and though their nose was buried in a book, she passed the young mad a smile anyways. She didn't know Pascal very well, barely really, and only from word of mouth, but it didn't matter. It didn't matter how well she knew any of these people, they were her family now, and she cared for each and every one of them, despite certain obnoxious qualities(coughVeercough). With every additional member of their court in their small apartment, Lydia felt just a little more whole, and should anyone care to glance her way they'd notice a odd sort of smile. Certainly happy, but with just the slightest hint of sadness.
Absently she took to running her fingers lightly along Grant's arm as she rested her head against his shoulder, and her grip along his wrist tightened minutely. Only days ago she'd come so close to losing him again, and though she hadn't dedicated a whole lot of thought to it, she might have picked up a few clingy habits since then. "Well this is my family now, all of you. and that's what holidays are about, right?"
A knock sounded at her and Quinn's door, and she glanced that way as her boyfriend rather adorably stated the obvious. Most of the people she'd expected to attend were already there, so she wasn't entirely sure who it could have been. As such she turned a slightly puzzled look up to the senshi of kindness, despite knowing damn well he wouldn't have a clue as to who it might be, and then gave his arm a little squeeze before moving away to answer the door.
Quinn beat her too it, but she stood beside her roommate as she opened the door, and then tilted her head at the young woman that stood on their welcome mat. Of all the members of their small court, Ares was the one that had been least expected to pay a visit. She was incredibly busy, Lydia knew that, so it was a bit of a shock to find their queen in civilian guise standing in the hall, holding a thing of cupcakes.
It took a space of a few heartbeats for the ginger haired girl to remember her manners, but she stepped to the side, watched as Quinn pulled Fallon into a hug, and then greeted their queen with an exceptionally fond smile. "I'm sorry, my hospitality went out the window there for a second, welcome! Make you self at home." God, she must have sounded like a giddy idiot, but right that second Lydia just didn't care. The mother ******** queen of the dark mirror court had taken time out of her insanely busy schedule to pay her little party a visit. And she brought cupcakes!
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 4:40 pm
"Holy s**t" wasn't exactly the kind of polite holiday greeting that Fallon's old copy of Jane Austen's How to Be a Lady would recommend, but she spent enough time around both Gaia and Leto to be used to this sort of thing. "Hello," she said, smiling dimly. Magenta eyes dipped down the length of the girl in front of her. "You look very nice, Quinn." It was certainly a change from her normal appearance, a welcome one in Fallon's opinion.
Taking the other girl's hand, Fallon let herself be led in to the room, one hand still holding the cupcakes. "I recognize some," she said quietly to Quinn, "or from photos." Some of the civilian faces were a blur to Ares so she relied on photos to memorize their faces.
Lydia's, though, she knew. "Thanks for having me, Lydia," she said. "You look nice too." It was a canned response of politeness. Fallon was full of them.
It was so strange to be in her civilian form. She hadn't even bothered to create a new identity. And why should she? She lived in mirrorspace, mostly. It was odd to be an apartment like this, such a clear tie to humanity. Fallon felt a mix of jealousy and disconnect at it.
Turning to face the room, she smiled again. "Happy holidays, everyone. I brought cupcakes -- they're organized by flavor." Fallon pulled free from Quinn to set the cupcakes down and pop open the lid. It was more or less a makeup case-style Tupperware made specifically for cupcakes with little circles suspended in plastic. Each one held a decorated cupcake. Above each row, there was a little sign telling what flavor it was too: chocolate ganoche, red velvet, carrot cake, vanilla and cardamom, cinnamon toffee, lemondrop, raspberry mousse-filled, and lavender poundcake.
"Help yourself," she said plainly. And then, feeling a touch awkward, Fallon attempted to fade into the background of the festive atmosphere.
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:39 am
Kestrel went a little red as he said who he was. As if she hadn't embarrassed herself enough that night! At least she was now in control of what she was wearing and wasn't jumping off buildings so at least as Kestrel she could keep her decency.
"Thanks." Was her reply to the compliment. "Thank you as well for the other night. It really did help quite a bit." She thought it was worth reiterating the fact that without Remarque's help she would still probably not have a clue what she was doing.
"Erm, ish. I still don't know pretty much everyone here. What about you?" She asked as the knock on the door happened and Quinn got up and then there was happiness and whatever else you wanted to call it as another girl came in.
"Who's that?" Kestrel asked Jett hoping he might know but then with how everyone was acting Kestrel had a pretty good guess who she was. She watched though as Fallon gave everyone cupcakes and then blended into the background. How odd.
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 12:20 pm
“Stupid ******** cold,” Mal hissed from across the street. As much as she enjoyed the holiday season, what with all its good vibes and shameless consumerism, December meant the start of freezing her a** off every time she wanted a cigarette. And considering she was about to attend a Dark Mirror Court Non-Denominational Mixer, she was very much in need of a cigarette.
She inhaled as she watched several people filter into the apartment building, rocking anxiously on the heels of her boots. The bag of Doritos she had brought as the requisite party contribution she expected no one to touch bounced against her plain black skirt, which only hours before had been buried beneath a massive pile of clothes. Her drab military jacket and stockings were equally wrinkled, the over-sized red ribbon adorning her head the only festively cleaned-up thing about her. Nicotine fix shrinking to a smoking stub between her fingers, she dropped the cigarette and crushed it beneath her foot, hurrying across the street with a swear word accentuating each step.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like her fellow DMCers, it was just that she didn’t know them. And, in some cases, didn’t like them. The little gathering she had been invited to felt like a party for work, when you were forced to see the people you had maintained a strict professional relationship with awkwardly let their hair down, and you weren’t getting paid to make strained small talk with them. The whole situation made Mal uncomfortable, and when she was uncomfortable she had a habit of... overcompensating with social grace.
“Hey party people!” she nearly shouted as she let herself into the apartment. “Oh man what a lovely home you have is that a real tree oh s**t someone made cupcakes!” She was a lightning bolt of exuberance through all the measured rapport and friendly conversation. “Oh, hey, it’s that guy!” She pointed with a thumbs up at Jett. “And this chick!” She gave a “hey, sport” punch of the arm to Lydia. “How’s the family? Or.. wait.. that’s probably not a good subject.” Awkward pause. “I brought Doritoooos...” The last syllable was elongated with the tone of a half-hearted “yaaaaaay,” head tilting as she hoped the offering of flavored tortilla chips made up for any current or future faux pas.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 2:02 pm
If Jett noticed the redness of Kestrel’s face, he quite solemnly ignored it. He made not effort to receive her gratitude and instead allowed his line of vision to follow hers to Fallon. It was by assumption and deduction that he determined she was Ares; the way Quinn greeted her was as much of a giveaway as anything.
He had never met the leader of their court outside of ‘work’, and even then their interactions were limited in number. It seemed a bit odd—that when she was Ares she had such presence, and yet now—as Fallon—she was so eager to disappear in the group.
If she wanted seclusion, he wasn’t going to force himself in her direction; she certainly wasn’t as social as, say—Mal, there—but Jett could respect her decision to try and fade into the background. Mostly because he didn’t exactly know how to start up with a conversation with her, anyway.
“Fallon,” he said to Kestrel as he repeated the name Quinn had greeted the girl with. He suspected Kestrel had her own assumptions about who the girl was, and while the concept that the female they served and worked under had joined them was curious enough—though Jett couldn’t help but be interested in Mal all the same. She might have been loud and boisterous, and mildly obnoxious in Jett’s eyes, but he felt an undeniable sort of kinship with the girl. They had been inducted into the Court together, and though he rarely saw her—in or out of civilian form—he still felt some odd sort of tie to her that he hadn’t with the others.
That had felt that tie with her did not prevent him from finding humor in the awkward situation she had just opened up for herself. Of course, he was sympathetic towards Quinn—as much as a self absorbed a** could be, anyway. While he kept his eyes directed in front of him, he continued to Kestrel in a conversational tone, “I know most of them. Some better than most. For example, Raven over there—the blonde?” he gestured. “She’s pretty easy to get to know. She’s got a big mouth and loves to talk about herself.” By his tone, it was clear that he was on good terms with Raven; he’d said it loud enough that she could hear and even seemed like he was trying to provoke her a little bit.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:01 am
Lydia beamed at Fallon when she was complimented. Maybe it was silly, but the teen had an overwhelming desire to gain Ares' approval, make her proud. If her attire was pleasing to the other woman, then all the better. "Thank you, you look lovely as well." It was hard not to gush, but she controlled herself, and instead looked down at the cupcakes Fallon set up for them. "Did you make all these? They look delicious." It came out a little surprised. Not because she didn't believe Fallon could cook, but that she'd actually taken the time to do so.
There was something to the gesture, some motherly quality, that warmed Lydia's heart. Their queen cared for them, truly cared for them.
She let the other girl fade into the background as she pleased, but she did pass along a very warm smile before the sudden and unexpected arrival of another stole away all her attention. She didn't recognize the girl that let herself into their apartment, but she certainly acted as though she belonged there, so Lydia had to be confident that she was a DMC.
For a moment she could do little but stare, rather overwhelmed with the cascade of compliments and other comments about her and Quinn's apartment and the party itself, but she snapped out of it when Mal delivered a playful punch to her arm. The comment that followed, no matter who it was directed to, stung, and the unsure smile she'd been wearing wavered slightly before she forced it back into place. "Hi, I'm Lydia." She offered her hand politely. "Thanks for coming, and for bringing something. You can put the chips on the counter. Dinner should be getting here soon."
Whether Mal took Lydia's offered hand or not the red head moved back towards Grant's side after introductions had been made. She was still smiling, but there was a definite sense of strain to the curl of her lips now. It would pass, it always did when the subject of family was brought up, but it was impossible not to react. All the same, she passed Quinn a meaningful glance as she reclaimed her boyfriend's hand, sliding her fingers in between his and squeezing in a bid for comfort.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:41 pm
Poor Veer was left a bit stunned by that, licking his lips -- and if everyone had been looking at him instead of the entering Fallon, they might have been able to figure out why he teased Quinn all the damned time, why he hassled her. Why he had two cans of cat food in his bag and the plan to leave it tucked into her pillow.
His expression only last for a moment, pleased, before it melted back to feigned indifference. He worked his way over to the bar to make himself up something strong, with the clear intention of getting smashed and making an a** of himself before he went home. Princess or no princess.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:14 pm
((I figured I'd type up a big post to wrap this up- anyone is welcome to do closing posts as well if they'd like!))
In the swirl of madness in keeping all of their guests entertained and content, Quinn hardly noticed when there was a knock at the apartment door. Thankfully she felt a nudge, not even bothering to figure out who it was and she opened the door to find dinner waiting for them. She ushered the caterers inside and showed them where to put all of the food they brought, paid them the remaining balance and bid them adieu. While Lydia entertained, Quinn quickly and carefully placed the food on the table along with the wine that Jett brought and called the group to come and eat.
After a delicious and well-worth-the-price meal, Quinn would hand out the gifts that she bought the entire Court. Nothing big or expensive, just a small token of her love and appreciation for each and every one of them. Veer's gift would have an addition just for him- a card that very clearly had Warcraft game time on it, a practical gift that she knew he would use.
And then? Well, it was safe to say that Quinn indulged in the extensive collection of liquor that she kept in the kitchen for the occasion. It wasn't often that she went all out and drank heavily, especially because she never knew when she'd get a call from any of the rest of the Court. But tonight there would be no patrolling, so alcohol would be her bff.
When their guests eventually cleared out of the apartment much later in the evening (some of them staying into the early hours of the following morning drinking with Quinn), Quinn collapsed onto her couch in a fit of giggles and eventually sleep would come over her.
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