[OPEN] The monster mash

[theearth]

Who: Badri and YOU.
What: Impromptu halloween masquerade
When: Halloween night, 10pm onwards
Where: A wedding chapel in Vegas. Y-yeah.
Warnings: None - shoot me a PM if anything needs adding!


[ Any of the Numbered who have set foot outside today are likely to have seen some of the rather unique posters plastered around on every available building/lamppost/fence/beloved family pet. Observe the glitter-saturated horror. ]



[ Y E A H. Regardless of which echo boundary they're in, the notices are everywhere. Some lucky Numbered may even have had one shoved into their mailbox! GOSH. There's also an address for a weddng chapel in Vegas (confusing many Fussen locals in particular) and a note that masks are mandatory and will be provided to people who don't already have one. How considerate!

C'mon, Numbered Specials. Party with Badri and forget all the horrid stressful things that are happening. ]

Comments

[waltharius]

[ Walter doesn't notice Eri until he speaks. When he finally does, he is taken aback by that outfit. Really, he shouldn't be -- the get-up screams Eri Ampora, and masquerade balls are basically just excuses to be as outlandish as humanly possible. But his eyebrows still shoot up, and the corner of his mouth twitches slightly. ]

Oh... um. Hi, Eri. Nice outfit. Very... bling-y?

[ Did he use that right? He hopes he used that right. While Walter doesn't look thrilled to see Eri, he doesn't look especially unhappy either. Probably because Octavia and Alan aren't within the immediate vicinity, and without them, conversation will (hopefully) be a lot less frustratingly antagonistic. ]

I don't really have any plans. Or a dancing partner. I just kind of got dragged into this. But I have to admit, it is better than sitting at home.

[yerawizarderi]

[To be honest, the outfit he's wearing is more akin to a banshee's screech to any onlooker's eyes, than a simple scream of how much it fit Eri. He's a walking obnoxious eyesore sometimes, and a masquerade merely gave him yet another venue to show that much off. With Walter's compliment (was it a compliment?) He nods and grins broadly.]

Thanks, you actually look pretty good yourself. Did--whoewer dragged you here--do your, uh... [A gesture to Walter's hair, and kinda his face in general.]

You look good--I mean, it looks good. Yeah.

[SMOOTH. but it's fairly obvious, without Octavia around to provoke him, Eri's actually pretty civil. If... a little awkward.]

[He shifts a little, before directing his glance elsewhere, staring at someone random in the crowd not far from them.]

I'm surprised you'we been left alone when you got dragged here, kinda lame. Sure it beats home, but what's the point if you're just gonna get ditched.

[A beat.]

I mean... I ain't doin' much right now, so if you'd like company, I ain't opposed to hangin' around with you till they return. We could just chat an' people watch, or if you wanted to dance--

[A quick glance to Walter, before he looks away again. Trying to play it smooth. He honestly has no idea what he's doing. Walter's cute, sure, but he's also guilty of the crime of being friends with Octavia!! But he's also pretty nice despite that, and not horribly annoying either.]

--not that you got to, I get not wantin' to or whatewer. No pressure.

[He is such a failure at this.]

[waltharius]

You think so...?

[ Eri starts piling on the compliments. Awkward compliments, sure, but genuine ones, and honestly, Walter is pretty flattered. He isn't used to people saying good things about his looks. His cheeks get a little red and he has to look away, though that ghost of a smile from earlier has turned into a real one. It doesn't last long, but it's a thing.

The word 'dance' kind of jerks him back to reality. He looks back up, startled. A compliment or two is one thing, but now he wants to dance?

There are a few options here. The obvious one is to say no, because this is still Eri, and he has said terrible things about his friends.

But...

...no, he can't sacrifice his morals because someone said something nice to him. And he would be a wrecking ball on the dance floor anyway. Just. Gonna turn him down. Just -- ]

Nokay.

[ That did not come out right. ]

[yerawizarderi]

...

[Eridan stares at him for a moment. Of course he didn't miss that smile from his compliments, it looked good on him! Definitely an expression Eri hasn't really seen on Walter before. But the reason for his staring is because he's not sure if that was a yes or a no. It had "no" in it, but it also had "okay". However, it's decidedly more of positive answer than a negative, he thinks? Or maybe he just wants to dance with Walter enough that he's just going to ignore the "no" part to it.]

Perfect, c'mon.

[He says it quickly, somewhat nervously, and reaches over to take Walter's hand if he can. He'll be leading him out on the dance floor.]

Mind if I lead?

[He's asking because he's not really practiced in following, and besides he's not really sure Walter even knows how to. Eri certainly does, because he's a loser and likes dancing (not that he'd openly admit to it) so it just seems like the smart thing to do.]

[waltharius]

I--

[ No, too late. He's made his bed and now he has to lie in it. Or dance in it. Whatever. He lets Eri take his hand and steer him to the dance floor. The last time he resisted he caused a scene, so in order to avoid some sort of terrible clumsiness induced apocalypse he goes along with it.

A short dance. That's all. No big deal. And Eri is acting kind of... well, different, so maybe this will be okay? ]

I... don't mind. I'm -- I don't really know what I'm doing.

[ Another quick look down, and then up. ]

So... please don't be mad if I mess up. Or trip.

[yerawizarderi]

[With Walter complying, this certainly makes things easier, even if not less awkward. Eri's feelings some mad nerves right now. See, he knows how to dance, how to lead even, but he's never really... practiced too much with someone else, as sad as that is. In short, he's a nerd who practiced dancing by himself.]

That's fine, I do, as long as you follow my lead you'll do alright.

[Which is more of a comfort to Eri than Walter knows, because if he messes up, Walter isn't privy to that fact.]

Put your hand here--

[He says as he lets go of Walter's hand for a second to place Walter's other on his upper chest/shoulder. His own moves to the small of Walter's back, before his free hand takes Walter's hand again, lacing the fingers.]

Alright, all you hawe to worry about is followin' my lead, your feet...

[Eri glances down a moment to work on their foot placement, one of his between Walter's own, and one on the outside.]

So long as we keep our footin', we shouldn't hawe any mishaps.

[Like Walter stepping on Eri's toes or something. He waits a second to get comfortably close to Walter now that the placement is all done, and with the flow of the music, he takes a step forward. But not too quickly, he'll let Walter catch up, maybe even give a little bit of a tip:]

Take a step back.

[At least it's said a little quietly to not embarrass him too much.]