🎃 HALLOWEEN MINGLE 🎃

[benames]

You are cordially invited to Cisco and Winn's Not-Too-Terrifying Halloween Costume Party!

Who: everyone ( yes, you too!)
Broadcast: N/A
Action: aboard the Iskaulit!
When: current



[ on the night of the 28th, the lecture hall will open its gates though it'll look remarkably different. Winn and Cisco would have decorated the corridors leading to it with Jack-o'-lanterns made from the pumpkins gathered at the little patch on the planet. The hall itself will be similarly decorated, along with other traditional scary Halloween decorations made from paper and fabric ( don't ruin the little paper spiders, they took hours to make! ). There will be music from various times of Earth-1 and Earth-3, so don't be surprised to find Lady Gaga playing alongside the Spice Girls! Feel free to make requests or otherwise, just show your skills on the dance floor!

There will be a bar run by Nami offering free sodas, though you'll have to pay for your own alcohol ( remember, don't drink and fly! ). Alongside the bar, characters will find a few tables offering candy from Earth-1 won by Cisco at the game room with a little sign reading TAKE ONE, LEAVE SOME FOR OTHERS and quite a lot of space chips and protein dips as well as various candy from all over the different planets ( cleverly hoarded by Winn! ) and a large selection of pumpkin pies and pumpkin treats. Characters will also find a line leading to Cisco's trusty ice cream machine, though it'll only offer peanut butter flavored sorbet.

At the corner of the hall there will be a karaoke machine with a little sign-up sheet. Characters could sign up solo or in groups and list the song they'd like to sing. Keep in mind though, the entire hall will be able to hear your rendition of Sexy and I Know it!

Adventure-seeking characters will be able to follow signs reading HAUNTED HOUSE and reach a large hall that was turned into a maze by large cardboard blocks painted black or covered by dark fabrics. Making it out of the maze won't be too hard and the maze itself won't be too frightening but will be mildly startling. It'll include some nifty engineered animatronics of witches, scarecrows, scary clowns and skeletons as well as holograms of ghosts! The song featured in the invitation will also be heard here, on repeat. It's a good break from the dancing and for some private conversations and moments.

Remember, costume are mandatory! you don't want to be caught by tonight's pumpkin kings, do you? ]

Comments

[paraclete]

[As Shinji steps over the mess of the mannequin, Kaworu keeps their hands together. His touch is light; he isn't squeezing. But his hand is steadfast, the yearning in his subtly curled fingers—he'd be happy if he never had to let go. At first he lets his hand, with Shinji's, trail behind him, as he takes a few steps. He has turned forward and walks forward, looking forward, moving forward. That's what he hopes for: to move forward, hand in hand with Ikari Shinji. They could have forever. He's still trying to wrap his head around that.

Of course, it's not so easy to change these ingrained habits, the crisscrossed parts of his head and heart that say the future's not important. Compared to the beautiful boy just behind him, the future just isn't important. Facing it... Whatever steps he's taking... None of it compares to looking upon Shinji's face—

Kaworu turns until he's completely facing Shinji. It's such a fluid gesture that his steps don't even stop. With a sweet posture, all cautious angles, he reaches for Shinji's other hand, if Shinji will let him take it. Walking backwards, his steps are slow but measured, and he looks like he might sigh (lovesick or longsuffering). His smile is small, but it stands out on his face.] So you're worried about that. Well, when the heart is fearful, it doesn't want to be. [His voice is in line with his smile; he isn't critical at all. Still guiding Shinji along, not paying attention to his own back, he asks,] So what else is worrying you? Right now. [They're about to enter the next room, but Kaworu seems fearless; Kaworu seems as though he's never worried in his life. But that's silly, of course. He just doesn't care about what's at his back, when he can look at Shinji instead.]

[astrobleme]

[Of course Shinji allows Kaworu to take his other hand. He doesn't resist it. It's the opposite of resistance when he's eagerly unfolding his fingers so they can close around Kaworu's instead. Joined by both hands, with Kaworu in front of him, it's impossible for Shinji to look anywhere but at Kaworu. Prickles of annoyance--watch where you're going--what if you trip and fall?--can't compare to the satisfaction of having Kaworu focused on him. (He's starting to understand Asuka's insatiable desire for attention.)

The next room is a crude yet sinister imitation of a graveyard. Shinji doesn't even spare a glance for the collection of styrofoam tombstones.]

What else is...

[Everything to do with you wouldn't be a much of a helpful answer. The more time they spend together, the more Shinji worries about being with Kaworu, especially the promise that they'll be together forever. Back then, with Kaworu in the thrall of a fever, Shinji didn't realize how insane it was for him to be so cavalier about endorsing forever. That nervous breakdown came later, and in private. He thought about how a lot of things can happen between now and forever. A lot of bad things. Good things, too, but there's going to be a metric fuckton of bad things...]

I don't really know how to put it into words. [Holograms of classic white ghosts drift aimlessly throughout the room, clinking long chains, muttering dire warnings. As one ghost floats by, Shinji's uncertain expression settles into something pinched and grim.] When you're not around... When I can't see you, I'm always wondering where you are and how you're doing. [But it's more than an idle feeling. More than a neurotic routine. It's like an urge--purely compulsive behavior. This isn't normal for best friends or boyfriends or whatever. He's more insistent when he asks,] Do you know what I mean?

[paraclete]

[Kaworu's next breath is half a laugh. It's certainly not mocking, and not even really amused; more than anything, it's endeared. His fluttering huff is just a little wash of joy.] I know what you mean. [I wonder, Kaworu would ask himself, what Shinji-kun is doing today, when he was waiting to meet the Third Child for the first time again. I wonder, Kaworu would ask his tree, what Shinji-kun is dreaming about, when he was waiting to greet a gift from the stars. It's pining but more extraordinary than pining; it's longing, but more fantastic.

The ghosts and their morbid murmurs can't harsh the silk of Kaworu's smile. He is cooler and smoother than porcelain despite the hauntings of this evening (and of lifetimes). He stares at nowhere but Shinji's face, even as he nears a line of wires, but instead of moving to navigate, Kaworu steps up—then up again—??—both his feet are off the ground, just enough for it to be noticeable. There's the softest glow of a halo above his head, until he touches back down, slow but certain. Without a missing beat, he continues,] I am always thinking of you, so I know what you mean. But is it worrying you too much? Your heart is pretty fraught, and feels like it needs to be protected. So comes the light of the soul. Your light shouldn't be stifled, but you need to feel safe, as well. That is more toward peace.

[astrobleme]

[Shinji's incoherent flexes of the soul have none of the airborne elegance that Kaworu is demonstrating right now. Shinji doesn't know how he's ever going to come close to parity with Kaworu. It's intimidating to think about how little he knows. It's worrisome, too, to think about what the price might be for learning more. The more he taps into what it means to be an Angel, the more he strays away from what it means to be human. This is a lot different than the tension between being happy or being sad as an individual...

But Shinji watches the halo shine in and out of existence, and he wonders (in spite of himself) if Kaworu can teach him how to do that soon.]

It's not just about me, [he says quietly, stepping over the wires in a more conventional way.] I want to protect you, Kaworu-kun. I think I want to protect you more than I want to protect me... [That sort of savior complex nearly destroyed the world multiple times. He briefly clenches his jaw, ignoring the taste of bile.] Which doesn't make much sense when you think about it. You're way more capable than I am, right? You know how to defend yourself, don't you? But I feel like...

[Like he's back inside Eva, suited up and ready to do battle again. The urge to fight off any threat, real or imaginary, can get to be overwhelming.]

I have to prove that I can protect you.

[Shinji doesn't know how to articulate the finer points of an Angelic courtship display. If he were a bird, he'd be busy arranging shiny trinkets and fresh berries in the vicinity of a nest.]

[paraclete]

[The hologram ghosts still project across the room, regardless of any mounting emotions. And they are mounting. The ghosts and their chains sound as pretty as bells, in Kaworu's opinion. These rituals of the heart, unique to the rarity of Lilin-bound Angels, could give any setting a backdrop of beauty. So the ghosts are beautiful. They are beautiful even as one projection slips over Kaworu's body, momentarily illuminating his already white face—it lights up his eyes. When his pupils contract in the passing light, they pull in small from a stance blown wide. His eyes are soft even in their desire, but his appetite is evident in them, in the way his pupils overwhelm his irises. Yes, he wants something.

But he won't quite ask. At least, not directly—] I want to protect you, too. [His thumbs sweep over the ridges of Shinji's knuckles. His steps are slowing; his guidance falls much quieter; finally he stops leading Shinji completely. His feet fall still, and he lingers in this room like the ghosts.] I want you to be protected. I want you to desire to protect yourself. But, Shinji-kun, I want to protect you, too.

[Could it all have been bred from the impulse of his birthright? An animal instinct taken way too far? Kaworu has died to secure Shinji's safety, after all. More than once, but the last time still exists for both of them. It is just about you, Kaworu thinks, heart tender like it's tired. Or, it should be. He keeps thumbing the tops of Shinji's fingers, slow, almost idle.]

There is nothing you need to prove to me. [But his voice holds no disapproval. In fact, he seems moved.] But I feel your heart, Shinji-kun. Your efforts are the most beautiful... [His eyelashes dip. He breathes in.] The most beautiful thing I could ever witness.

[astrobleme]

[It takes several more seconds than it should for Shinji to realize he isn't moving anymore. The entire point of a haunted house is to get to the end, conquering all the scares within... That's how it's supposed to work, but Shinji doesn't mind that they're stopping. His anxiety about the ghosts is less potent than the newest knotting of his stomach, a sensation so rough and nameless, like nausea but not. Kaworu's eyes couldn't be a more perfect shade of red. Just when Shinji thinks there's no way Kaworu could be more appealing, he notices something that proves him wrong. God damn. If not for the lupine mask on Shinji's face, the rising heat of his cheeks would be very apparent.

Even after weeks of trying, Shinji can't figure out how to calm down. Meditation doesn't work. Ice-cold showers--they don't work. Almost everything reminds him of Kaworu, and whenever he's reminded of Kaworu, his heart reminds him that loving Kaworu is a matter of life and death. He wonders if Kaworu can sense his heartbeat in his fingertips with how hard they're throbbing.]

Kaworu-kun... [The most beautiful thing. Shinji wants to dismiss that as hyperbole, but he knows Kaworu to be nothing if not sincere. It's a level of devotion that shouldn't be possible when they've known each other for less than a year. It's like a storyline out of a--well, it's like a fairy tale.] There's still so much I don't understand. And it's not just the stuff you can tell me, it's all the other... the, uhm... [All the time in the world, though. That's what they're supposed to have: forever and ever. A year could be two years, then three, then four. Four could be ten, twenty, thirty. Fifty. It's alarming and exhilarating to think of a century. It feels forbidden. It feels like another mental breakdown in the making.] Sometimes I think about some pretty weird things, [he admits, the words almost getting stuck in his throat.]