itscurtains | one thing's universal, life's no dress rehearsal

Entry tags:

act 3,
week 6

one thing's universal, life's no dress rehearsal

[Prom night! The greatest night of your young lives if you watch any Western high school media from the past 60 years. The looks, the music, the copious amounts of fancy snacks, the sore feet from dancing heels and then spending the rest of the night in bare feet- it’s all part of the bigger package.

The courtyard and the roof have both been decked out in a special way for tonight, despite no one really seeing Hester or anyone/anything else decorating. There are round tables set-up in both places, covered in yellow-gold tablecloths. Some of them have platters of snacks laid out on them, one has a large punch bowl that never seems to empty no matter how many drinks are taken from it.

On the roof there’s an extra table with pencils, small slips of paper, a box wrapped in gold wrapping paper and a notecard labeled Song Requests. Just write a song, pop it in the box and within a few minutes it starts playing! Weird, there doesn’t seem to be a sound system anywhere...

Red paper lanterns have been strung around the outline of the roof and between stakes in the courtyard, granting soft romantic light for a night to remember. Put on your best costume shop formal wear, get ready to lose your shoes after an hour and sneak in liquor even though most of you are of age.

After all…tonight belongs to you.]

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[Farrah may be grounded until college for her stunt the day before, but Good Dad Ben is a kind jailer. He has let her come to prom.

Her dress is incredibly tacky and awful, but she wears it like she’s the queen of the prom, and has clearly spent too much time on her makeup prior to showing up. Her trademark braids have been let down, and wow; she’s clearly put some of that ex-pageant girl work into the elaborate curls she’s crafted her hair into.

She can be found putting in numerous requests for Party Rock, or sampling the snack assortment. For the most part, her illness is kind to her. But sometimes… she will stare at an empty spot on the dance floor.]

They just look so nice together. [Her voice is emotional.

Or—- she may slide up beside one of the girls.]

Holy shit. Unzip the back of my dress and stand here with me for a minute, I can’t breathe in this fucking thing.

[She’s better behaved for the most part of the night, and stays dutifully under the watchful gaze of her chaperone. Towards the end of the night, though, when Benji looks away for a few minutes— she vanishes from the party.

She can be found in the Garden during this time. She stands before Salieri’s bench, pensive, unsure what to do—- then finally, gives a little spin to show off her look, and begins to sing.]

I was that fallen girl
But now I see myself in the world
And I know that it won't be all roses
No wizard can hold this girl down

Just say hello
Farrah Salieri
Her mind is in motion
Her little heart beats

The raising highs
The crushing defeats
You were holding my hand

[Spongebob was uncertain if he would even be wanted after his stunt he pulled yesterday. He knows he fucked up badly, and even after all the tears and apologies he worries that he would have still be seen as an unwanted presence. That him just being there would open wounds for everyone else.

And the fact that he was still pretty banged up from yesterday, but frankly it was a minor factor in him thinking he shouldn't go.

But with gentle encouragement from Orpheus he decides at least go. Just to show everyone that he was still here and still alive.

He owes his family that much.

After a quick trip to Elle, he shows up at the prom exactly when it starts. His outfit should look sort of familiar to some people, stilts and all. He specifically asks for some eyeliner and his wig has a ponytail.

And, for the first time since Connor, he has his nails painted. Black with glittery accents this time. It was his little way of letting his lost family knowing that he won't forget them.

He sits back from the party, for the most part. Spongebob sits at one of the tables, with a ukulele on his lap. He plucks at the strings with his one good hand as he watches the festivities.]

[Well, let's be honest here. There are no half-measures when it comes to Maya Tendo. From the moment Prom is announced, Maya knows that she'll not settle for anything less than the best. Even her sickness seems to take note of this, for the visions she's had die down, and her mind seems much sharper than it had the last few days.

And so she arrives at prom on horseback, thanks in no small part to Cassandra. She's dressed exceptionally well, and just as extra as one might expect. To anyone that approaches her, she'll kneel down and take their hands. Naturally, a kiss will be pressed to the back of any offered palm.]

May our night together be beautiful.

[No matter who you are -- girlfriend, sister, brother, father or friend -- Maya will approach you for a dance. If you don't know what you're doing, don't worry, she'll guide you through. And if you do, well -- she's happy to take on a challenge.

Occasionally, she does take breaks. She sips water instead of punch, and watches the crowd silently. Her expression is... almost unreadable. She looks between each member of their group, as if trying to commit it to memory. After all, she knows what day it is. And though she may hope against hope itself that nothing will happen, it's hard to shake the feeling that their numbers will be even thinner come morning.]

[After a harrowing morning and afternoon, Benjamin ended up downing about double the normal dose of cold medicine, and passing out in Ambassador until it was time to get ready.

When he wakes up, he feels vaguely foggy and thirsty, but after drinking water and splashing some on his face, his fever has abated enough for him to be able to dress up and enjoy the party. The soft lighting and atmosphere are soothing, and he finds himself sitting at one of the tables, just kind of quietly enjoying the music, and having people around him.

At some points, when he thinks he's not being watched, he'll withdraw a small dark blue and white plastic beaded lizard from the pocket of his vest. The colors of his tuxedo and shirt, almost specifically chosen to match. When anyone approaches, the lizard goes back in his pocket, his own little secret, as he continues sipping his punch.

He doesn't take to the dance floor without a partner; he's not about to subject everyone to that, though there's a few people he wants to dance with and a few more he won't (or can't) say no to.

But, near the end of the night when the party is beginning to wind down, you might see him dancing, laughing, with a partner who isn't there at all.]

[Spongebob watches Maya at the prom for a long time, smiling softly. He remembers how scared she was yesterday, and how he made her feel that way, but now...

He sees her and hopes she feels this happy for the rest of her life. He hopes he never beats herself over after a performance, he hopes that the world holds nothing but wonder and joy for her.

When Maya finally starts to take a break, Spongebob finally decides to approach her.]

Wow, sis, you were a natural out there.

[He sounds almost a little envious, but he looks at her in the most admiring way.]

[Spongebob, frankly, feels a little awkward approaching Farrah tonight. He knows she doesn't hate him, but he still feels responsible for the previous day. He wished he could do something, anything, to show her that he is going to actually be there for her. The last thing he wants is to have Farrah thing that this could happen again and that she can't come to him for help.

Suddenly, an idea comes to mind. His body still aches, it aches a lot, but he was a young sponge; one dance wouldn't kill him. He shakily gets up, goes to submit a song request, and quickly makes his way to Farrah.]

Hey, Farrah, how about a dance?

[He holds his good arm out at Farrah, expecting her to grasp it.]

[Holy Shit.

Look, Farrah has always known Maya’s pretty. She’s not exactly Farrah’s type, but there’s definitely always been something about her that made Farrah go “Okay, yeah, she has a whole harem of women” and it made sense.

But—- this? This is excessive. This makes Farrah’s heart drop into her stomach, do a little hopeful flip, and fly straight back up into place again. On horseback? For real? Horses were not supposed to be her thing but—-

I thought you weren’t a horse girl, Farrah.

Farrah sharply elbows the air beside her.]

Shut up—- [She seems to be listening to the blank space beside her intently, then gives it a face.]

Okay, Annleigh. That’s just offensive. [Right. But. Talk to Maya. She’s right here having ridden in on freaking horseback, and isnt her dumb, imaginary airheaded sister. She tries to bounce back and smile.]

Damn, Maya. That’s the most extra prom entrance I’ve seen. And I go to private school.

[Farrah’s just over here, bickering with the empty space beside her. She… seems like she’s having fun though, despite how fierce Farrah’s side of the conversation sounds.]

Jesus never said anything about how close you can dance with a guy at prom, that’s made up—-

[ Then Spongebob approaches, and she tosses her head at the empty space.]

I’m gonna dance. You should too.

[And then— she turns her attention completely to Spongebob, and takes his good arm.]

[ Mercy of mercies, Orpheus is actually feeling more or less fine when it comes time to start getting ready for Prom. He still aches all over, and his thoughts are a bit fuzzier than usual, but he's got his energy back and is pretty sure everything he's seeing is actually there!

He turns up on the roof dressed in a deep purple-blue tuxedo with golden accents, a leopard print scarf draped over his shoulders, and gilded ivy leaf laurels in his hair. A tribute to Dionysus - one that's maybe a little off for the occasion, and he feels a little silly wearing it, but Elle said it looked good on him, and he trusts her judgment when it comes to fashion and formal wear much more than he trusts his own. This is maybe the second time he's had to wear a suit in his life, after all. In any case, he goes looking for Eurydice immediately, though if he happens to run into anyone else on the way he'll smile and take a shallow bow, offering his hand. ]

May I have this dance?

[ Afterwards, as the night begins to wind down, anyone other than Eurydice may find him in the art room, pulling plastic bags stuffed with something out of the supply cupboards. Noticing that he has company, he looks up, startled and shoving the bag back into the cupboard and slamming the door, before relaxing once he sees who it is. ]

Oh, hi! Sorry, I didn't hear you come in. Um, do you mind helping me with something, though, while you're here?

[Farrah’s on the hunt, when she hears the faint rustling of plastic bags coming from the art room. She throws open the doors, busting in, declaring—]

All right you two, time to—- [Oh. It’s just Orpheus. She smiles at him, glancing around the room to verify it’s just him there.]

Oh. Hey, Orpheus. Sure. Whatcha need?

[Spongebob doesn't judge. He's been babbling to his visions pretty much all week, and, well, if her visions aren't upsetting her right now, who is he to judge.

He guides her out to the dance floor, and just in time his song pops up. It's a cheery, happy song that Farrah might be familiar with.

He dances with her, awkwardly but clear that he's having fun, as he sings along with it.]

I know, you see
Somehow the world will change for me
And be so wonderful

Live life, breathe air
I know somehow we're gonna get there
And feel so wonderful
And it's all for real

I'm telling you just how I feel

So wake up the members of our nation
It's your time to be
There's no chance unless you take one
And it's time to see
The brighter side of every situation
Some things are meant to be
So give your best and

[He looks Farrah, eyes sparkling with hope that she hasn't seen from him in weeks.]

Leave the rest to me

[Angus arrives late, wearing an outfit consisting of silver leggins, a black tunic, bits of jewelry, and black flats. Above that, he has a crown, though it is covered up by a lion mask when he arrives, taking it off only to speak and eat. Above that princely outfit, he has a lion pelt as a cloak.

Barbarian prince is here to party like a Hootsman.]

Hey, it may be heavy, but isn't the point of balls to look cool?

[He takes to the dance floor most of the time, still wearing the lion costume and dancing wildly to each song regardless of its headbanging levels. Every movement is exaggerated, he's got to do a high kick here and there. It's practically a workout.

Rest comes infrequently, and that's usually spent feasting on the snacks as if this were a mead hall and dropping in song request, though he pauses with most of them. A lot of the music he's listened to in court have to do with exploration and battle. Not...exactly dancing. And no one want to think of death in a time like this.

He turns around, watching the others have fun. Their numbers are so low now; they all can fit so easily in the courtyard. But they're happy. They're together. That's what matters most when it comes to surviving.]

[Farrah’s just. Happily chattering away at no one over here—-]

Okay. No. I can see how you’d think that, but he’s not The Lion King.

[She whips her attention back to Angus, beaming, and holding a water bottle up to cheers him.]

That’s exactly what proms for! Wow. Everyone went all out.

[Who is she talking to- oh, right. Illusions. Angus picks up the nearest bottle of soda and raises it towards Farrah.]

It all looks incredible from here! [With a lion's mouth hiding half of the roof from his vision.] And you? What do you think of it?

[Not in pain from...yesterday?]

[ Janis arrives at prom right at the start, eager to have any distraction at all from the hallucinations she got fucked up by earlier that morning! Apologies to Brett Ryback, she's sure you're nice when you aren't telling her Peregrine's going to die.

She's not too dressed up, that's not her style, and she didn't have time to make something, so she goes with... well, it's definitely a look that she's making work (she's the one second from the right, for the record). Would it get her kicked out of a real prom? Very possibly! Does she care? Not particularly! She might be slightly ill, but she's not going to miss a chance to try to wow her girlfriends!

... to wow the one girlfriend. Holy shit. She can be found, briefly, out of sight of Maya after she enters slamming a couple glasses of punch. ]

A fucking horse. Holy shit. A fucking horse. She took Cassandra's horse. I'm so fucking gay.

[ After that brief Panic, she spends the rest of the night... well, mostly with her girlfriends, probably? Like. It's a prom. She wrote off the idea of going to one of these with a girl a long time ago.

But she does, sometimes, talk to other people! And, like Maya, she might offer a dance to... well, anyone. ]

Hey, come on. You and me.

[ Or, if you'd prefer, she can be found hanging around the edges of the place, card in hand and a frown on her face. ]

Do I go serious? Do I dare?

[What is that outfit. It's so...unlike Spongebob. Angus can't help but worry about the choice in color, but the eyeliner does resemble Salieri's. He can't fault the man for wanting to remember him.

Angus takes a break from dancing and slides onto the table, thankfully not knocking over any plates, and removes his lion mask.] You play?

[Spongebob smiles brightly at Angus. It's his way of showing that he's relatively okay.]

I do! Or... I did. It's hard to play ukulele with one hand.

[He looks, slightly worried, at his broken arm, before looking back up at Angus.]

I guess this means I am really a human, huh?

A horse, and that outfit——

Janis. You have got to do something about this. I cannot think of Maya as hot.

For now, at least. [Angus can't promise much, but he knows that if Spongebob is transformed one way, then he can be turned back.] But we are getting out of here soon. All of you will.

[He glances down at the mask, his hands itching with an invisible rash. He rubs them roughly on the fabric of his pants and checks them again. Just skin, for now.]

If you can't play...can you sing?

[ In the late morning, Peregrine had lost her wits completely and found herself convinced that a blizzard had struck the school. She'd worked herself to exhaustion in her sickness, thinking her dear friend Lexy was beside her. And then, maybe half an hour after the start of prom, she woke in her dorm, believing it all to be a horrible fever dream.

It's honestly Peregrine's intention to stay there. To get herself something to eat and try to spend the night sleeping off the...everything. Truthfully, she hates the idea of a prom. The last time she ever saw her brother, he'd rushed into her room for last minute assistance with his bow-tie for his own senior prom. She thought she'd see him again when she woke up the next day, after he'd crash into bed at some ungodly hour. She thought nothing of it.

That hadn't been the case. Peregrine hates prom.

Except—

Except there's a little something that changes that. When she wakes and sits up fully, putting a hand to her head, she finds herself, her cloak all covered in dirt. She finds a jacket slipping off her bunk where it'd been laid across her like a blanket. It's a jacket she recognizes, and—

Well. A few things click into place pretty fast.

Peregrine rushes to prom maybe forty minutes late, tracking mud from her boots. Unlike everyone else, she's not dressed up. Her hair's messy but at least brushed, and her cloak's in desperate need of a wash. Under it, she's wearing...one of Janis's jackets. That's the only real change to her appearance. Instantly she looks and feels out of place. She's gasping slightly from running, but overall she looks better than she has the last few days. She's not even shivering.

She looks around, for someone specific— oh, who're we kidding? She's looking for Janis.

As the night goes on, she does seem to settle in. Still awkward, even if someone (Elle, LSP, probably one of them) has descended upon her and tried to make her look a little more presentable. Mostly she stays off by the edges, getting some nourishment and some water. She watches the punch bowl pretty intently, mostly to make sure no one's trying to spike it.

And— at some point, while taking some time on the roof, to get a little air away from most people, she goes still.

"Found you." ]

...I know. [ Her voice is quiet. She's talking to someone not there, as most of them have been. ] Would you've...hated this too?

[ Despite that...she's smiling, very sadly. ]

Still... Maybe it would've...been nice.

[ If she could've danced with him. ]

[A part of Elsa wonders if setting out an open buffet among a group of people suffering fevers of various severity is a good idea. Won't they get even more sick? It's not like there's anyone else around that can get sick because of them, but still... hm.

Worries aside, Elsa has been attacking the punch bowl in an attempt to keep herself hydrated, so she easily overhears Janis's rambling.]

You never thought you'd find a knight in shining armor-type in a place like this, did you?

[Like. Mood. Elsa totally gets it.]

Edited 2021-07-08 20:28 (UTC)

[Farrah needs to get away for just a little bit, too— especially after her trip down to the Garden. But she hadn’t expected to walk up on this.

What she’s seeing feels… weirdly personal. Almost like she shouldn’t be seeing it. So, she just lingers, a little bit away, staring up at the sky.]

I’m just lucky that Benj let me out of the dorm room.

It’s pretty fun. Normally, kids don’t get to go to prom until Junior year. I died before I got there. So I should just be grateful.

[ Peregrine doesn't notice Farrah. At least, not at first. She's actually...she's laughing? Under her breath, eyes closed, listening. ]

Even a thousand miles can't keep us apart...

[ There's no music. No melody. ]

'Cause my heart is wherever you are.

[ Another soft, breathy laugh. ]

I wish you'd been there, I was- I was just awful. I can't believe I didn't step on Maya or Janis's feet. I wish you were here, I... I wish you could hear this.

[Well... As she keeps talking, it keeps getting weirder and weirder that Farrah’s eavesdropping, and while the smart thing to do here would be to very stealthily bolt away, Farrah’s... Farrah.

So after a few moments, she heads over, closer to Peregrine.]

Per?

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one thing's universal, life's no dress rehearsal

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Break

Music Requests

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art room

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punch

cw visual hallucinations

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Punch

roof

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