diamonds_forever: (Default)
Emma Frost ([personal profile] diamonds_forever) wrote in [community profile] xavier_institute_logs2015-02-14 06:25 pm

The Valentine's Date Auction [OPEN]

WHO: Eveyone who signed up + the school in general
WHAT: this thing
WHERE: Right here, in the Institute
WHEN: Saturday evening, the 14th
WARNING(S): Given the nature of the event, I almost expect it, but remember the rules regarding that kind of thing. Take it off the log if it goes there.



Never let it be said that Emma didn't know her stuff. Not content with the paltry and tired and cliche decorations Kurt and subjected the students to at previous events, she had completely taken over, using a combination of her wealth and mutant powers to create a sort of bohemian love palace for the students. Dance floor, tables, the finest foods. This was not a party the likes of which they had seen before... unless they were part of the older crowd, and had witnessed Emma at work before.

Was she good or was she good? On the stage, Emma stood proudly, taking each of the auctionable singles to the stage, one by one, and selling off just a fraction of their free time to the highest bidder. And the fact that it was all for charity left the whole situation comfortably guilt and obligation free.

Of course, as the host, she was more focused on the party and its guests as a whole than any particular individuals... Attempts at sneaking off probably would go unremarked upon. Probably.

[[ OOC: Each auction will receive its own top level, as well as a top level for general mingling. PLEASE CONSULT THE PLOTTING POST BEFORE BIDDING ]]
presto_turn: (Smile ♬ Enjoying your company)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-18 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
[Pretty much...?]

I said it's not something I do often.

[At least he's self-aware enough to look sheepish over how flustered he's gotten over it. It really is silly. And, once Labrys stops jamming away at full-force, he's able to keep step with her well enough, though he'll still be following her lead...]
now_i_know: (Telling me I'm free)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-18 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
Alright. Watch.

[She then stands next to him and shows him a few steps.] ...but the most important part, see, is watchin' what your hips and shoulders are doing. If y'do it right, your hands and feet will follow.

And don't worry about getting the moves to look a certain way. Just move smoothly and naturally.
Edited 2015-02-18 12:05 (UTC)
presto_turn: (Casual ♬ Meet-and-greet)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-18 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[Shindou lets her shift around beside him, looking over and watching her walk him through each step before he attempts to mimic it. After a try or two, he can handle most of them passably? It's just being aware of your whole body, the same as on the soccer field...

It's progress, though he still hasn't relaxed entirely.]


Alright. Like this?

[He pivots around so that they're facing each other once again, trying to catch back up to the music before the song plays out.]
now_i_know: (I had so much)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-18 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, see? You ain't so bad!

[But it's too late. Right as he gets back to facing her, the music ends, the light dims, and the music becomes much more... intimate.]
presto_turn: (Pensive ♬ Delicate)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-19 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
Mn, thanks.

[He's ready to breathe a sigh of relief - maybe even hang out for another song or so - when the music fades. Smiling, albeit with a rueful twist that says he knows he kind of owes her, now. He'll admit, this is more engaging than camping by the punch bowl.

But then a slow number has to start up, and he has no idea what to do. He didn't sign up for this!]


Ahm, would you like to...?

[He bats a glance between Labrys and the edge of the dance floor before offering her his arm. He's gone an unsubtle shade of pink now, and he's not even sure if she'll say yes?

But not asking now would have to be just outright heinous.]
now_i_know: (I wanted just to be with you)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-19 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
[She smiles a little and nods. Mostly for the sake of continuing his education on dance... and maybe... yeah, it'd be nice to dance with somebody. A reminder that there are good things int he world. Like teaching somebody to dance, or moving real slowly in step with somebody.]

[She takes his arm, which... considering their substance, is as close to delicate as she is ever going to be able to manage. As they move closer to position her head lowers and tilts. Her eyes ask 'do you know how?']

[But she wasn't about to ask now and maybe offend him.]
presto_turn: (Smile ♬ Let's have a tea party)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-19 06:32 am (UTC)(link)
[That look's easy enough to read, even if she doesn't say it aloud, and Shindou nods back - perhaps just a half-second too promptly.

Though, truth be told, this is closer to something he knows. A high-school slow dance isn't a waltz, but it's not a wholly alien thing compared to one, either. And his piano tutor back home had made sure he learned at least that much about dancing music.

So, he tries to start from there and fake it, clasping hands with her while he lets his other draw around to rest lightly along her shoulder blade. From there, if he just slows the steps down so that they're in time with everyone else and remembers to lead...

Well, it can't turn into too much of a disaster, can it?]


You can tell me if I'm doing it wrong, though.
now_i_know: (And I will hold you close)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-19 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, she can't fault his willingness to try it. He suspects there's more to that self-criticism than he is admitting, but she won't ask.]

[It's none of her business.]


Just try not to step on my toes.
presto_turn: (Smile ♬ Little gentleman)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-19 07:01 am (UTC)(link)
I'll do my best.

[And look back at her, halfway teasing as he raises his brow. At least if he trod on her feet, she'd have good odds of coming out of it without any broken bones.]

So - [He's got this "moving slowly in a circle" thing down well enough that he can attempt small talk too, now, maybe.] Where are you from? My family's from Tokyo, but I've been here a year now -

[Or six, depending on whether time travel counts. He's just going to gloss over that bit.]
Edited 2015-02-19 07:33 (UTC)
now_i_know: (And say the words I feel)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-19 07:45 am (UTC)(link)
I was born in New Jersey! [Hence... the accent.]

But we moved when I was seven and I also been in Himeji! Papa was in the air force.

[Still she separated out a bit to flash a glowing smile.] But hey! We were probably neighbors, huh?
presto_turn: (Smile ♬ We're best friends!)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-20 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
Maybe for a while. How old were you when you were there?

[She looks about his age, he thinks. Even with the years he spent in stasis, it's possible they were in the country at the same time? If she'd been when she was younger, at least. More recently, and she may have only arrived after he'd left.

That would be a gloomy thought, normally, but tonight he just shrugs. He's already spent too much time brooding, probably.]


I haven't been back for a long time, honestly. Besides a few months, this past summer.
now_i_know: (Cause I know)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-20 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
Well... let me think...

I was born in April, 1999... spent about... th'first six years of my life in Jersey... so... 2005? Somethin' like that.

[She's trying to forget the last few years, though.]

I sorta miss it too, but I'm not ready to go back just yet.
presto_turn: (Smile ♬ Fond)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-20 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. We would have, then. I didn't start here until my first year of American high school.

[That makes him brighten some as he circles them back around. Even the friends he went to school with then aren't actually his own age anymore, so that's a bit of luck.

Though then he quiets some at Labrys' last comment. He knows well enough not to press a new student about their background if they don't volunteer - the answer's usually not a happy one - but still:]


This place feels like home to me too, now, though. Everyone looks out for each other here.
now_i_know: (And keep me from fading away)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-20 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[She did, and she was appreciative. She gives him an encouraging smile as he continues to lead.]

Yeah? I keep gettin' that. Lots of folks here have nothing but good things to say.

How long have you been?

Uh... here, I mean.
presto_turn: (Wild ♬ Sengoku blossom)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-20 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah... [That's kind of a thorny question. He slows his step somewhat as he tries to sort out an answer.

Most of the students who'd come in this year would know about the Phoenix Incident, at least, but it's harder to know how to explain to someone new. They probably don't have a section on it in the orientation packet or anything.]


This is my second year as a student? But I was a freshman when the Sentinels attacked the school, so...

That was almost six years ago.
now_i_know: (But you shielded me)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-20 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[That was enough to give her a pause. Literally. She took a step back and got some distance between herself and Shindou.]

Sentinels? Six years??

[That's not something you expect to hear in casual conversation. Or at all ever, for that matter.]
presto_turn: (Wild ♬ Surveying the field)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-21 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
[Way to go, kiddo, just off-handedly mention killer robots before the song's even wrapped up. Damn it, why couldn't he have just stuck with "I'm a sophomore this year?"]

Sorry, uhm -

[He draws his arm back from behind Labrys' shoulder, loosening his digits around her hand as well, in case she wants to pull back the rest of the way. He's wincing a little, unsure whether to backtrack or to try to explain.]

You haven't heard about the Sentinels? They were...well, anti-mutant weapons that the government here made. They attacked the school at the end of my first year here, so...

[There's literally no way to finish this story that's not going to make things worse, whether it's trying to explain Jean Grey's sacrifice or the damage that had shut the school down for years after or how. as a side-effect of the Phoenix's power, a good portion of the student body at the time had more or less blinked out of existence for half a decade.

Shindou decides just to give up, instead, his shoulders slumping low.]


I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it, when everyone's trying to relax. I thought you'd already know.
now_i_know: (And your picture fades each day)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-21 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
[She could tell there was more to it, so didn't press. But there was one thing that definitely got her attention.]

Anti-mutant weapons...

[Her unease was pouring from her face. She was hoping she would never have to hear that phrase again... or think what could have been were she not able to escape.]
presto_turn: (Pensive ♬ Playing at adulthood)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-21 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
...They shut down the program for them, afterwards. No one's seen them used since.

[Still, he says that like it's only weak reassurance. Which it is, especially given that their designer's whereabouts are still unknown.

There's not really time to offer anything better, though - by now, the song they were dancing to is fading out, sending the couples all across the dance floor separating or wandering back to the refreshment tables before the next number comes on.]


It's just, that interrupted life here at the school for a lot of us.

[In some cases, literally.]
now_i_know: (That inside of me the sky)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-21 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I bet...

[She wanted to offer him some assurance, but she really couldn't.]

Geez... we all gotta history, don't we?

[Ah, right. Realizing that the people are leaving the dance floor they ought to make for the tables again, right?]

[Maybe dancing wasn't such a good idea, anymore.]
presto_turn: (Wild ♬ Sengoku blossom)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-21 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[Yeah. The next song coming on has a much jumpier beat to it, and Shindou can't honestly say he's up for it at this point? So, he's going to start drifting for the edge of the dance floor with everyone else, tilting his head back towards Labrys as an offer to follow.

He's going to attempt an awkward smile once they're back away from the crowd, shrugging his shoulders.]


Thank you for the dance, anyway. I didn't mean to interrupt it like that.

But...I ought to head back to the dorms before it gets much later. I still have homework for the weekend. [He winces just a little there. The really sad thing is, it's a Friday and that's not even an excuse coming from him.] I enjoyed this, though! It was nice meeting you.
now_i_know: ((And) that was the beginning)

[personal profile] now_i_know 2015-02-21 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[The even sadder thing is, because she as out of school for such a long time THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LEGITIMATE EXCUSE TO HER.]

Yeah, I haven't had this much fun in a long time!

It was Shindou, right?

I hope we can do this again.
presto_turn: (Smile ♬ Enjoying your company)

[personal profile] presto_turn 2015-02-21 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[Junior superheroics and schoolwork are a difficult balance, okay? You don't want to have to ask for an extension on a paper just because the Friends of Humanity decided to make trouble right before the due date, you know?

But for now Shindou's just breathing out a sigh of relief, glad he didn't thoroughly spoil things.]


Mn. I'm sure we'll see each other around.

Goodnight.

[And with a short half-bow and a wave, he's headed off for the ballroom doorway.]