knightsoflegend | after-party ♔ april

Entry tags:

after-party ♔ april

♬ Jeux d'eau - Ravel

WHO || Wynn, any and all Knights not currently on missions (if you are uncertain if your character would be at the castle for this, ask!)
WHAT || Squiring Ceremony Afterparty
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Ballroom
WHEN || April 1st, 2014, 6:00PM [backdated]
HOW || Prose OR Actionspam

The "afterparty" is rumored to be the real main event of the night. A black-tie affair in the lavish, opulent ballroom, it is every new Knight's chance to mingle and meet some of their new brothers in arms. Of course, a couple hours are provided following the ceremony for everyone to change, do hair and makeup, and choose from the vast array of formal attire in the closets of the balcony "dressing rooms" located at the top of spiraled staircases on either side of the ballroom. A separate dressing room exists for men and women, and they include full bathrooms (with, thankfully, very modern plumbing).

The squires are usually among the last to arrive, and the ballroom is full to the brim with a fancy array of people, of all shapes, sizes and species.

Hope you aren't shy. They're all here to meet you.

Feel free to make your own open threads for people to come congratulate your newly pledged knight.

ooc; also if your Knight wants to get all gussied up, you can make a Disguise (Cha) check for how good they were at hair/makeup/stylin', etc! This goes for... any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[With his disguise check of 23, Hook's looking handsome tonight. And it's not particularly surprising that Emma takes his breath away. She could do that while wearing a sack.

Still, there's something particularly striking about seeing her dressed like this. Perhaps it's because he knows she really is a princess, or perhaps he just enjoys the sight of her gorgeous legs and smooth shoulders. Whatever it is, he can't stop himself from approaching her.]

You're a vision, Swan.

And you're - [ her eyebrows raise as she spots him damn son. she swallows and works up a wry smile. ] A very well-disguised pirate.

[ because it's impossible not to bring it back around to digs about the pirate thing. it helps temper the flattery. not only that, but faye's party was only a few days ago and that conversation, despite the amount of alcohol she'd consumed trying to forget it, was still fresh in her mind. hook had neglected to ever tell her precisely why it was that emma was bothered by his actions at that first party.

and she remembers faye's encouragement. look at him. looking at him now, faye's right; he doesn't look like a bad guy. he's gorgeous. but that doesn't change what she can't get overlook. being able to see and confirm that faye was hurt by the truth only strengthened her resolve where scotland had weakened it. ]

[He raises his eyebrow.] You give the most interesting compliments, lass. [At least he thinks there's a compliment buried in there. Her initial look had been complimentary enough.] I've never felt the need to disguise my nature, love. I'm a dashing rapscallion in any garment.

Good, then you don't need me to compliment you; you've got that covered all on your own.

[ she'll drain the rest of her champagne on that note, setting it on a nearby table. ]

You don't need to... [He steps in a bit closer, giving her a playful pout.] But it'd be certainly nicer to hear it from you.

Cut that crap, Killian.

[ she rounds on him, looking dour and not at all endeared by his pouting. in fact, it seems to be what pushes her into, oh, i don't know - actually talking. ]

Is there anyone in this castle that you haven't roped into singing your praises? [ it's less biting than what she'd been thinking: if i don't compliment you, will you just go find some teenager who will and take advantage of what she'll give you? ]

[Plenty of people, actually. Some knights tend to have annoyingly high will saves. But Killian's not quite dumb enough to take the question at face value.]

I've no clue. I'm not interested in just anyone. [Just because he'll flirt with anyone and anything doesn't mean he's particularly invested in the outcome most of the time.] As you so scrupulously pointed out, I'm aware enough of my own handsomeness. From most, it means nothing.

[But Emma's not most. From her, it would mean rather a lot.]

Not interested, maybe, but not unwilling to settle, right?

[ she bristles, folding her arms over her chest. ]

You sent Faye to try and butter me up talking about how you'd apologized, and it never occurred to you to give her the full story. Thoster - Thoster, I get. But Faye? [ the sheer audacity involved in an apology that doesn't even include what he's apologizing for makes her fingers grip tightly to her upper arms. ]

[Hook looks completely and honestly confused. Thoster had told him at some point that he'd talked to Emma, but Hook had known nothing about it beforehand, and hadn't read it as buttering her up afterwards.]

...what?

[Yeah, he's too confused even for snark.]

You kissed me. And when I wasn't having it, you made yourself feel better by taking advantage of a teenage girl who thought you just wanted her. You wanna tell me why none of that occurred to you to mention when you passed off some cheap apology to her for it?

[ she mad. she's not even touching thoster rn because that didn't actually bother her at all, but the pattern and faye. ]

Well, for one thing, because I didn't expect her to run off and tell you about it. [It's not like it was a private apology, but he hadn't expected he'd be graded on it.] It was between me and her, and I was more interested in moving forward and getting to know her as a person like I ought to've done from the start.

What a relief; you've even managed to make your apology about getting what you want out of her. [ she paces a few steps, then turns back to him and draws in, dropping her voice to a hiss. ] You're right. You should've done it from the start, but you didn't. And you don't get to just ignore what you did wrong and carry on because you decided you wanted to. People are more than what you want out of them.

[Hook shakes his head.] You just love to pick out things to criticize me on. You weren't there. You have no idea how it went or what I said past what you've gleaned from Faye and assumed from me. But as it happens, it wasn't all about me.

But then again, I think your problem is more that it wasn't about you. Stop using how I treated Faye as something to hide behind. You're upset because of how I treated you.

[ he's not entirely wrong, but he's not entirely right either.

she's mad because that had been her, once, and she cares too much for faye to be able to just let it go. she could forget that he'd blown her off. if it was some other knight, some woman that he'd decided to have a one-off with and never call back. she doesn't expect better from him than that. but it was a kid - a kid that she had come to think of as hers.

and it is an excuse. it is something to hide behind, because she's been waiting for an 'i told you so' since the moment she left him on that beanstalk, something to tell her she'd made the right choice. if she really believed she had, though, she wouldn't even be engaging now. she just wants to convince herself. ]

You're wrong.

[ it's not how he treated her, but someone else - long ago. someone who had swooped in and taken advantage of a teenage girl to get what they wanted from her, and hurt her in the process. took advantage of her enthusiasm and fervor and what she had to offer and left her in the lurch to take all the damage. who'd never cared at all.

but she's emma; she'd rather disengage than admit any of this or step back to analyze it. she clams up, shaking her head and tightening her jaw. she pushes back a wave of indignation and settles into something colder. ]

Am I? [He tilts his head, watching her with a soft expression. The closing off means he must be getting close. Push too hard and she'll leave, but maybe a bit of gentle prying won't be turned down.] I know I acted a complete cad, but I get the feeling there's more going on here.

You could have found anyone.

[ and it's clear in her voice that she's tired of this - of how it has dragged on, of how she can't just let it go. she wants to be able to, but it feels impossible. it's exhausting to have to explain it over and over. deflated as she is, it's clear that she was well past the initial backlash she'd felt, the kick of jealousy that his actions had (intentionally, she's sure) provoked. ]

She could have been anyone. But you took advantage of a little girl. You used a teenage girl to get what you wanted, and when you apologized, you didn't even have the decency to tell her the truth of why it warranted one. [ because emma'd been the one who had to explain; he'd forced her into a corner where faye couldn't understand why emma wouldn't get over it, and emma had to explain and be the one to hurt faye with that knowledge. she's pressed with guilt and wondering if maybe faye just never needed to know. ]

Edited 2014-04-09 17:47 (UTC)

Because I kissed you? [He shook his head, glancing away.] I wish I could tell you I treasured the memory of kissing you as much as your kisses ought to be treasured, but any pleasant recollections I may have had were shattered by the expression on your face when you caught us together. I'd hardly thought of that part of the evening until you reminded me. I had no intention of lying to her.

[Not that it'll make a difference to her, he's sure.]

Besides, it would hardly have been better if I hadn't kissed you, would it? I'd still have taken advantage of her.

[ his admission seems to catch her off guard and she shifts her weight to her other foot, sideswiped by it. her stomach flutters into her chest - treasured. the guy sure knows how to spin a phrase, but she soldiers past it, licking her lips briefly and then pursing them. no intention, maybe, but that didn't change what had happened.

he's not wrong, and that frustrates her. that's the real issue of it, that he'd taken advantage of faye's want to feel wanted and let her believe that she was so that he could bury his own dejection in indulgence. so no, it wouldn't have been better. it would have been the same crime. but faye had certainly seemed especially put out by it. ]

It makes a difference to her.

[ and that's what emma is going to keep her focus on. how faye feels about it. though, all in all, her demeanor seems to have softened considerably from the bristly greeting she'd given him. ]

[He looks surprised to hear it. After all, Faye had known Hook didn't love her. She had even known he and Emma had... something, after she caught them if not before. That a kiss could make such a difference to her was not something he expected. But he doesn't want Faye to be hurt. She'd seemed rather indifferent to his actions before, but if that's changed...

He swallows lightly.]

Then I suppose I have another apology to make.

[ faye's assessment of hook's feelings echoes in emma's mind as she watches him, wondering if it was her insistence or his own understanding that lead to this decision. she hunches her shoulders, thinly guarded. ]

For her sake, or yours?

Hers. [He doesn't have to hesitate or think it. It's got nothing to do with her insistence or his understanding. He doesn't need to be told he acted poorly, and as much as he wants her, he's not doing this for her. If it makes her feel better, that's a nice bonus, but it's not enough to completely change his nature. Or at least, it wouldn't be if he hadn't been far too ready to change already.

The fact is, Faye's hurt. He'd like to make it better, if he can.]

She's a sweet lass, deep down. I'd rather not see her hurt.

Isn't hurting people a part of the pirate job description?

[ she says it to deflect from her discomfort at how he's surprised her. she goes in expecting the worst of him, and he seems doggedly determined to prove her wrong at every turn. ]

The best part about being a pirate is that there are no rules. I get to write my own bloody job description.

[He gives a half shrug.]

I won't pretend I've never hurt anyone, but I do have a code of sorts. And I don't hurt my friends and allies.

Honor among thieves: who knew?

[A sliver of a smile.]

If you go around stabbing the people you like in the back, it'll leave you rather lonely.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject