Gathering: New Year's Eve Gala

[concierge]

The annual Nexus New Year's Eve gala began at 8 in the evening. Too grand to be contained by the lobby or dining hall, the gardens at the front of the hotel were employed, with long strings of white lights forming a twinkling canopy from the front doors all the way to the hedge maze. The weather was temperate and calm, and the night perfectly clear.

Drinks were served at various bars set up throughout the gardens and lobby, with champagne cocktails being the specialty of the night. Wheeling through the crowd was a bartender with golden cart providing warm drinks on the go: Tom and Jerrys, rum punch, negus, and Irish coffee.

Crisply-dressed wait staff wove through the collected guests with an abundance of hors d'oeuvres for all different tastes. The Bistro remained open with a limited selection of items for those who were wanting something more substantial.

Above the front doors was hung a large, gold-rimmed clock counting down the last hours, minutes, and seconds of the current year.

Comments

[thebitchfelloff]

This party was the polar opposite of Cameron's scene. There had been a notice up about it all month long, and every time she'd walked by the front desk, she'd changed her mind about going. Once she'd decided that free food and booze was too good to pass up, she then spent another week worrying about how she should dress for something like that. Not that she ever would have admitted it.

In the end she'd remembered the last disastrous time she'd dressed up for a swanky event, and just ended up in her camo pants and t-shirt. Maybe she stuck out in a crowd like this, but that definitely wasn't anything new.

[barton_me]

Clint knew how to drink. He also knew how to pretend to drink, which is what usually happened when he found himself at a fancy party - always for work, never for play - but this was certainly different. No, at this party he didn't have to keep a clear head, and he also didn't have to swan around in a suit that, no matter how immaculately tailored it was, always felt far too restricting. While Natasha always liked an excuse to squeeze into one of those dresses that looked like a torture device, Clint was more than willing to show up to the party in jeans and a well-worn leather jacket. It had been expensive and looked really nice, once.

He had been drinking steadily for a large part of the afternoon (he could blame Natasha on that one - they were starting to become functioning alcoholics for the holidays, though the key word there was functioning) but he had made sure to cut in with lots of food and water, not intending to ruin the party for himself or anyone else. Still, he was definitely a bit rosy-cheeked when he came across a young woman who appeared to put as much stock, if not less, in a pretend dress code as he did. "Happy holidays," he said, toasting her with his half-full bottle of beer. "Do you think we'll be kicked out for not wearing dress shirts?"

[thebitchfelloff]

Cameron smiled and snorted out a faint laugh. "It's almost sad that we won't be," she answered. "The people running this place are so nice it's creepy. I think I'd feel better if they gave me a little shit, to be honest."

Even tipsy, the irony didn't escape her. After so many years pushing against a system designed to isolate people like herself, people who could think out of the box, here she was, accepted just as she was and wishing she had something to rail against.

"Nice jacket," she added, and took a sip from her own beer.

[theprodigaldoctor]

The wait staff are sort of unnerving Chase. For someone who'd attended a great number of functions with perfectly dressed waiters in his youth, seeing them mill about here was like a shove back to those days where he was itching to get away from the boring talk about immunology and medicine. Funny how he'd decided to dive right into it, too. At least here, no one wanted to talk to him about the latest medical procedures of anything.

The rum punch in his hands kept him warm as he waited for his blind date for the evening. He'd worn a casual blue button-down over a pair of decent slacks and had worn a black tie, letting the service know that he could be found with the blue and black combination. Until then, though, he figured why not enjoy a few drinks?

[only_hope]

Obi-Wan had not been on a date for quite a while, at least not one as formal as this. When he showed up at the gala in his own blue shirt, he almost laughed when he saw his date. Of course. Of course.

"Fancy meeting you here. Guess we're not drinking to the end of the world?"

[theprodigaldoctor]

It takes Chase a little bit of him to actually realize who his date for the evening is supposed to be. It's not that he'd been expecting a woman or anyone in particular, but this is sort of a hilarious turn of events. "No, definitely not," he admits. "So I take it you're not usually a ranger aiming to take down giant lizard monsters?"

[bonetown]

Okay, so Alex totally knows that there's a party and yes, okay, she has a blind date, but dinner is super important and it's not like she can just leave it to go find some dude. She does manage to at least tuck a bib into the collar of her pink shimmering dress before she tucks into the plate of chicken and ribs, eagerly having her last meal of 2014 before she goes to party for the night.

True, it's not like partying at home, but if she goes through a door at exactly midnight, she can be at Jane and Brad's and she can totally be in two places at once. So long as Clone-Alex doesn't end up killing her, it'll all be awesome and fine. Besides, Alex is already planning to get the drop on Clone-Alex, but don't tell her that.

Paying her bill, she grabs a glass of champagne as she pulls her best Cinderella, except as she's bending to pick up her silver shoe from where she'd gotten it stuck in a garden cobblestone, she kind of knows that's not how the story goes. "The shoe's at the end of the night," she chastises herself, shoving it back on as she wobbles her way back to standing. "Ooh, champagne waiter!" she calls, wiggling her fingers. "You and I are gonna be friends, how about you come spend some time with Mama?"

[not_lost]

"I thought you had a date tonight," Fiona said as she stepped up and caught Alex by the shoulder, just to be safe. Those shoes looked like an accident waiting to happen out here.

For her part, Fiona was dressed for tending bar, with the standard black slacks, white shirt and black neck tie. She really wished she could have worn her normal jeans, but it was a fancy party and she was earning doubletime.

[thestarlord]

"Heeeey Mama," Peter drawls. He had signed up for the blind dating shit just because he was bored and it looks like his date is a complete stunner. Good. That's exactly his type - a knockout.

"I'm Peter, friends call me Starlord. How's it going?"

[dayswithoutincident]

This is such a bad idea.

This is the mantra that continues to beat at the back of Bruce's mind as he skirts the edge of this party, a cocktail held fast in his hand. He's been to big parties before, has been to parties that were raucous or outrageous or toeing the line of what was legal, but that was a very long time ago. Being in the fray now is entirely different from simply understanding its potential magnitude, and if he's going to be here, even simply on the fringes, he won't be able to avoid the sheer kinetic energy of the place. It feels like something about to explode.

Bad idea or not, however, he's here with a purpose, and one he's sure Tony would be proud of. This an experiment to prove a theory; the perfect, unmissable opportunity to determine if all of his hours of meditation make any kind of tangible difference to genuinely living his life rather than perpetually shying away from it.

He really hopes so, because the tux he's wearing is a rental.

[shes_biochem]

She's feeling a touch underdressed. Simmons hasn't really attended many big blowout New Years' parties in previous years, usually working on post-exam work and projects, but now that Agent Coulson has solved his little puzzle (can you call it a puzzle when it's something alien driving you madly insane towards death?), they've got a lot of searching to do and Simmons is better at the science and not so much the scavenging. So she's here, eating canapes and abysmally underdressed in her slacks and blouse.

Popping the last mushroom canape in her mouth, she slides into Bruce's line of vision and makes sure that he sees her before she gives a little wave. "Hello," she greets brightly, almost a sing-song. "Are you dressed like that for a particular reason or am I just really, honestly, badly out of place?"

[trulyoracular]

Christmas is over, praise the gods. The mistletoe crisis has greatly diminished and with that, Olaf feels like he can get back to normal. Better than that, he's got a blind date. Not actually blind, he hopes, but even if that's the case, he's dated a blind chick before. She had great sense of hearing and amazing sense of touch. He's even gone a bit out of his way, wearing a striped bowtie (though, atop the Hawaiian shirt? It's not exactly classy).

Still, who cares? The night is young, mistletoe is gone, and tomorrow morning, he will be reborn all over.

[namesgiven]

He'd made an effort to try and dress more modern for the party. It was still a black dress, but heavily sprinkled with gold beading and trim, and cut so that it was quite elegant, far from the neck-high, confining dresses that she was accustomed to after so long. She didn't really know if the blind date was a great idea, but she knew that, to understand the hotel to its fullest, she needed to know more of its occupants.

It had been nice to discover Olaf as her companion for the evening -- the bartender who had recommended a rather good drink.

"Mr. Johnson," she said with a small smile as she came to stand beside him.

[likepalegold]

This is a terrible idea.

Gatsby's not sure why he'd thought it smart to see how his heart's ache had been mending. The idea had been a preposterous thing, but at the time he'd been taken with the spirit of the idea and so had signed himself up for a blind date that surely won't be Daisy. He's made a practice of being politely disinterested in other women, but now that he's aware that Daisy had made her disinterest in him politely known, he should move on.

Funny him thinking that, it having been over a year and he's still here, thinking of Daisy. That's not quite the moving on he suspects he ought to be doing. Still, baby steps are still forward movement and he'll take anything, at this point.

[speedy_queen]

So Thea had signed up for blind dating. It had seemed like a good enough idea at the time and she thinks having someone to hang out with on NYE guaranteed might be a good way to get out of her funk. She slips on a slinky black sequined dress and big earrings and goes down to the party, determined to have a good time.

Her date? Is a complete knockout. He's Leonardo DiCaprio, actually, and she can't be more pleased. Thea has discovered that this hotel is really full up on hot guys.

"Hey, so, Thea Queen," she says, offering her hand. "I think you're supposed to be my date? I really hope so. If not, well, I'd sure like to be yours."

[not_lost]

By the clock behind the front desk, it was almost 1:30. After midnight, the party had steadily wound down, and Fiona's bar out in the garden had been closed down an hour after. Her till had been counted, her bar cleaned and inventoried, and her tips stuffed into the pockets of her neat black slacks. Overall, she'd made over $200, which made the ache in her feet completely worth it.

It was more subdued in the lobby, and she plopped down on one of the sofas there with a satisfied sigh. Her tie had already been removed and the top two buttons of her white shirt unfastened, and now she bent forward to unceremoniously pull the shoes from her feet. As of ten minutes ago, she had gone from being an employee of the Nexus to being a guest.

[heir_of_durin]

For hours, the din from the party had accosted Fili's ears and left him confused, unsure what the occasion was for, and slightly out of place given that he was the only dwarf in sight. Still, if mead and other alcohols were to be served, he found that taking advantage was hardly something he should feel guilty over. With a heavy cup in hand, he found himself navigating his way out, nearly stumbling several times from bumping into unnaturally tall men and women.

It was a very near miss when he avoided spilling the ale over the woman taking off her shoes and Fili's balance took but a moment to recalibrate himself. "Is it wise to rid yourself of your boots?" he asked warily. "I don't think the floor is very clean."

[of_mirkwood]

Legolas was not entirely certain what it meant to celebrate a new year. To him, the years were but moments and the idea of such a large party to celebrate the coming of another year was novel and incredibly human to him. Still, he wanted to participate fully in this new home of his.

He had one of the sparkling cocktails in hand and, unsurprisingly, it registered as barely a tingle - nothing but elfwine would truly intoxicate him but he could be merry with the rest of them.

[connorwalsh]

An elf. Connor's date was an elf.

Not a sort of femme, twinky guy who looked like he could be prancing around a forest, but an honest-to-god, straight out of Tolkien elf.

How will I know him? he'd asked the friendly front desk agent who had delivered the assignment for his date. She'd laughed and told him there was no way Connor could miss him, and she hadn't been wrong.

Orlando fucking Bloom was standing by one of the bars waiting for him, complete with long, silvery hair, pointy ears and ridiculous cheekbones. It took a lot for Connor to be intimidated by a man, but this was definitely one of those times.

"Hey," he said with a smile as he approached, putting on his best bravado. "I'm Connor."

He held out his hand, strictly habit, and then wondered whether elves even did that.

[birthrightblack]

Jaenelle has always loved winter, especially the deep, dark winter nights following Winsol. She likes the idea of celebrating the New Year, too, and while she is wary about attending a party with a partner she doesn't know, she's excited too.

The Nexus isn't like any place she's ever been to before. There's no one else here quite like her and the fears she has while in Little Terreille and Kaeleer are far, far away.

She has a glass of wine. She'll only have one and stay clear-headed, of course, but she's anxious to meet her date.

[nebaritralk]

Blind dates. Of course Chiana had signed up, once someone had explained the concept to her. With a bit of luck she'll get a potential mark for a date, or someone interesting, at least. A good frel would certainly be interesting at this stage. Turned out that whoever she was, her date was a she. The clerk had told her that much when she'd asked, because you never knew with people's names, even if Jaenelle did sound more feminine than not.

Chiana's dressed in the latest corset she's made for herself, a patchwork of grey fabrics that fans out into a short skirt. Of course, she's wearing tight trousers underneath, and her usual boots, but for once her arms are bare, and she's glove-free. This is absolutely her version of dressing up. She's looking through the crowd for someone fitting the summary description the clerk gave her, and she figures this one might just be it.

The potential Jaenelle happens to already be holding a glass, so Chiana gets one for herself and walks over to her, coming up from behind and asking, once she's standing in her personal space, "Jaenelle, by any chance?" She's got a smile ready for her when she turns around, too.

[chippedteacup]

This was a strange place, but it wasn't wholly unusual. It reminded her of Storybrooke - a very large, metropolitan version of Storybrooke, condensed into a hotel. Luckily, Belle had already overcome the culture shock that came from moving from the Enchanted Forest to a modern town. At the moment, she was just trying to figure out this place.

She'd found the door in her apartment she had above the town library, and she didn't think Rumple or Regina had anything to do with it. And this place was certainly unlike any world she knew or read about, in fact just looked - well, like a nexus. Which was more than interesting.

Restless and tired of waiting alone in Storybrooke, she had come through only to find a New Year's celebration currently in place. Belle lingered, finding that her presence, while not noticed, certainly wasn't rejected. She watched the people around her, intensely curious, as always, and wondered what brought all of them here. From what she could tell, they were all travelers like herself.

[princehonorable]

Seeing the familiar face across the room, Charming crosses with the first bit of hope that he's felt in ages. He's been trapped here so long, trying to get back to his family in Neverland and no matter what door he picks, it never leads him there. But if this is Belle, then maybe he's been given an olive branch. The only thing he has to hope, now, is that it actually is her. He slides up to her with a degree of wariness, giving her a hopeful smile. "If you're not actually Belle, this is probably me being a very creepy stranger, so I'm going to be really optimistic."

"Tell me if I owe you an apology, any time now," he says warmly.

For Natasha

[captain_rogers]

The stack of files he kept in a box shoved under his bed remained a weight across his shoulders in the moments he spent unoccupied. Hours in the gym or in the company of anyone other than just himself and Steve thought he was in a good place. Otherwise...the world felt as if it began to creep in on him, for all that it remained left behind one of the hotel's doors as he focused on allowing Bucky to find a way to trust him once again. There was too much history on those pages. Too many hours he'd spent with his nose in those pages, or found himself waking from fractured dreams those files had bled their details into to create muddled images and too sharp fact that kept him from sleeping well, more often than not.

The idea of remaining in his room or being left to a weight bag and tape across his knuckles...was not pleasant. What was? A night out.

New Year's Eve offered an easy excuse to give up the pretense of being productive. As little as he liked winter, there was something to be said just then about losing himself in a party, hopefully with a few friends.

It was exactly that thought that had had him asking the one woman he trusted over any other if she wanted to go to the party with him. "This is, uh, something," and with that brilliant bout of linguistic capability, gave Natasha a sheepish smile.

Re: For Natasha

[regimes_fall]

Natasha was warmed by the champagne currently making its way toward her belly, half of the glass she held in her hand having been tossed back the moment it’d been handed off to her. She preferred New Year’s far more than Christmas, not just because of the drinking but because there seemed to be much less pressure involved. Not everyone had a family and a warm place to rest their head on Christmas Eve, but everyone could use a new start, Natasha believed, and she was in all the better mood because of it. Because of this, Steve’s invitation had been a welcome one as she had spent far less time with him as of late than she liked, and she could not see the harm in attending the hotel’s party with a friend.

She looked up at Steve when he spoke, her lips curling a bit as she finished her glass and sat it on a nearby table before hooking her arm through one of his. “It really is,” she said, injecting the familiar note of faint teasing into her voice. “Should we dance or do I have to buy you dinner first?”

Teasing Steve and occasionally flirting with him had become part of their banter, for all that she was no more serious about one than she was the other. She was genuinely fond of Steve in the way she’d been fond of few others, and when that fondness rose sharp and strong in her it seemed easier to flirt with him or to jab at him about being a fossil than to take too hard a look at herself or wonder what their friendship might cost him in the future. Natasha had a short but detailed history of having all that she loved killed or worse, and with Steve’s trust so recently earned she couldn’t bear to have another name in red. Hooking at his insecurities hid her own, and although she knew it was a bit dastardly to do so, she could not help it. It was why when offering up to him a series of potential dates she never put herself on the platter. Much like herself and Barton, she and Steve were going to be close - there was no coming back from that - but not that close.

“Unless that was considered second base in your time,” she continued to distract herself from the line of her thoughts. “Then I guess we won’t be dancing for at least another ten dates, hm?”