Entry Thread - Start Here Please

The excitement flowed through her, putting a sassy bounce in her step. Amberelle was grinning as she made her way down the sidewalk to join the parade. Immensely pleased she had decided to spend the previous day in town at the Piazza, since she was now able to be here joining the festivities as they began at dusk. Here it was, Halloween, and the air was cool and crisp and the streets filled with costumed partiers. "Ok, so it's not Mardi Gras," the young Anantya admitted to herself, "but it's almost the same!"

Her hands and lower arms were covered in black satin gloves, and over her decidedly Moulin Rouge inspired pink and black corset and skirt ensemble she had a black velvet and fur stole to keep her shoulders warm. Her bag was around her left wrist with her watch, bouncing against her thigh as that hand held up her skirts some to reveal flashes of fishnet stocking clad legs disappearing into tall black granny boots, laced backwards tonight in a shimmering pink satin ribbon with cute bows near her toes.

Stifling a giddy giggle, she fell into step with a masked group of Musketeers. Her boots clicked softly as they walked, flirting shamelessly with her. She laughed, holding her crystal encrusted black and pink Venetian style mask by its ebony wood handle close and tossing her head saucily. There was no worry of jarring the well-secured pink feather adorned black satin top hat she wore tilted at an angle over her hair, which was slicked back to her nape and secured into a mass of fat golden curls cascading down her back.

Arriving in front of the two establishments hosting the party tonight, she spent a few minutes mingling and soaking up the atmosphere before heading inside.

(( example of mask style ))

((OOC Amby out))

Jan lugged the keyboard out of the back of the truck, pretending to grunt a bit under the strain of such 'heavy' equipment. He cast a look around the back of the truck at the parade in progress, eyeing the costumes and the gymnastic feats with an appreciative eye. Not that he couldn't contort his own body like a pretzel but it was always more impressive to him when he saw a human that could do it and this was a whole group of them.

“Come on Ash. We've got to get this stuff set up before -that-” He pointed to the spectacle in progress. “gets done or it will be a hell of a lot harder.”

The girl in long black pigtails strung with multi coloured yarn gave him a 'no fucking kidding' look before jumping down with a couple of guitars. She shrugged past him and into the back of Babylon. Jan smirked and followed. He liked Ash... or if you wanted to truly piss her off, Ashley. She was one of the most intelligent and practical members of the band.

The equipment was soon unloaded and his truck was moved. Once parked,Jan looked over and picked up the mask laying on the passenger seat. It was a rich red paper mache mask burnished with gold. It was appropriately styled after someone's idea of Jan Klaasen and was a typical mask seen in the Carnivale by other names. It had a long nose and frowning brow but did not cover his mouth so he could sing. It also had no annoying feathers or sequins or any of the other strange things the female members of Nox Æternus tried to hook him up with.

Slipping the mask over his head and smoothing his hands over the tight black leather pants, Jan opened the back door to the club. He retied one of the strings on the sleeve of the unbuttoned black silk shirt and muttered to himself.

“Let's get this party started.”

((OOC: Comme ça



Out to Babylon))

Carol loved this time of year. It was just starting to chill pretty durn good on the streets of Nachton so her costume was a tiny bit out of season, so she pulled the velvet cape she wore over it and followed the parade down street. She reached up and touched her mask, a half white satin, half red satin joker's half face that went well with her matching tight fitting bodice and tea leaf shaped matching white and red satin skirt that fluttered about, exposing much leg and other sensative skin.

Simon would be along in a few minutes, now that the sun was setting, so she enjoyed the music and laughter as half naked bodies danced in between the patrons on the sidewalk. The parade reminded her of Disneyland, of all things, but only because the flurry of lights. There were no children to be seen on the streets of Nachton, not for this function. Babylon's night to shine and finally open was accompanied with whispers and somewhat disdainful looks. Carol smiled at the thought - a scandalous house of flesh opening up in Nachton. Heaven's no.

With a little squee of delight, Carol jumped into the crowd and began to dance happily around the brightly lit float that was decorated with delicious brown women from south of the equator.

Ellis took a deep breath and smiled. Being out in the open, amongst all the little people was something she certainly missed. The masquerade ball was definitely a faboo idea and she was very much pleased. Her steel plated leather boots clanked slowly as she strode down the street, following the parade. The tips and heel were plated and further up she wore matching embossed leather, tight fitting red pants that had a hard, black with blood red lace bodice with a sickeningly small waist. Her arms and shoulders were bare, except for the long, gloves that had spikes up by the arm bands. The matching black bat she swayed gently next to her. Her mask was a little bit of fantasy and a whole helluva lot of pain. Her green eyes peeked behind an iron mask that covered her entire face. Her long black hair was pinned up in a severe bun. Ellis' outfit was reminiscent of Saryn, a goddess in a long forgotten online game. Ever...something.

Ellis twirled the bat, not bothering to look where she was going but just extremely pleased with the opening of Babylon. She would've loved to have had her hand in that but alas - clan treachery and all that got in the way. No matter, tonight was for fun - and fun she would have.

Simon emerged from the sewer just in time to see the parade start its slow trek down the street. Sometimes being a vampire was inconvenient - sewer travelling being disgusting and all. Wiping off errant dirt on his jacket, he then adjusted his embroidered black satin mask over his eyes. Not really caring for anything ornate or colorful, he chose his outfit just as plainly. Dark grey wool with a velvet placket and matching dark wool pants.

He weaved in and out of the crowd, trying to catch up to Carol when several of the dancers moved to him, entwining themselves around his arms. They carried him across the street, just blocking his view of a woman twirling a severe looking bat. Disengaging he bowed slightly and moved on. At this rate, he'd catch up to Carol as they neared Babylon, so he slowed his pace and enjoyed the scenery.

Hammerthynn snorted with much disdain. This was Xeph's idea, to join the parade and integrate with Nachton's high society. He supposed it wasn't disdain, he would just rather be at home reading up on his new interest, archeology. The smells in the air intoxicated him - fruit, leather, meats...Hammer was starving as made great pains to avoid being snared into a discussion but kept his eyes on the beautiful woman dancing around him.

Adjusting the embossed leather mask that was basically an eye patch, he pulled at the sleeves of his Himalayan shearling coat, revealing his cashmere turtleneck. He had no desire to dress in costume tonight, his skin was cover enough of what was really underneath.

Xeph admitted that there were some perks to being the Alpha and not the Beta. Simple enough to suggest Hammer mingle with the parade-goers and Nachton's high society, without making it sound overly like a command. He had to, after all. Being marginally high profile himself, there was little he figured he could do to get out of it.

He'd done his best to convince Hammer to wear the eyepatch on the other eye, trying to keep a straight face while making that suggestion. His own costume was perhaps a bit uninspired but, he figured, well-executed. Clad from head to toe in red, heavy sweater, cargoes, sneakers all included, he'd managed to find a suitable devil mask, unadorned red satin covering half his face, the sides extending up past his eyes to form horns.

It was also Alpha's privilege, he figured, to cut out of the parade and observe most of it from comfortably inside Club E.

News of the parade and club opening came a little late to Nic, so when he called Livia on short and invited her, he was somewhat surprised she was available. But he was also thrilled, and enjoyed talking to her about what they could both wear to the event.

In all his time in Hollywood, Nic had experienced his more than fair share of playing 'dress up'. Cowboys, pirates, soldiers, suave playboys, and even a zombie or two, one thing he didn't miss about leaving that life behind was the grease paint. Now days it took more than just the Halloween holiday to give him enough incentive to put on a costume.

Fortunately Livia hadn't expressed any strong desire to appear as anything silly like Little Red Riding Hood, or for Nic to accompany her as the big bad wolf. Between the two of them they chose to go in more of a mardi gras type garb, and spent a lot of fun time looking for masks, and then finding clothing to compliment the face wear.

Nic had been struck momentarily speechless when he walked to her suite and picked her up tonight. It was truly a vision of beauty that opened the door, and feeling a little like a young man in short pant, Nic did all he could not to choke up when he greeted her.

"Livia, you radiate beauty...you're gorgeous!"

Placing his hands tenderly on her bare shoulders, Nic gave her a very soft, short kiss just to the side of her plum colored mouth, not wanting to disturb the makeup she had so artfully applied. Her hair was pulled back away from her face, and he turned her slightly to see how the back fell in curls nearly to her waist. A faint dusting of something purple sparkled among the curls, and gave her a very ethereal air.

"That mask was pretty when we saw it on the website, but on you it's perfect. Your own beauty gives it a glow it didn't have before...you're just stunning."

He bit back any further compliments, afraid he had already gone overboard. Stepping back a little, Nic was better able to appreciate the gown she wore, and how it could have been created just for the mask, or vice versa. And yet before he opened his mouth again, to tell her how beautiful she was, Nic turned himself around for her perusal.

"Will I pass muster? You don't mind I chose the simple tux, instead of something more swashbuckling?"

Nic's mask was similar to Livia's but slightly more masculine looking. And he did, in fact, have on a very nice tux, instead of any formal type of costume.

"Shall we?" Once they had duly admired what their efforts had created, Nic was more than ready to get to the parade and show off his date.

Livia had fussed quite a bit this day in her suite while the sun was high. She had painted her nails, shaved the short pale downy hair from her legs, set her hair in large rollers and generally fussed with all the usual primping. Seeing Nic's reacion made it all worth it really.

Once they found the masks she had gone all out in picking the perfect fae attire. Her sheer hose had a plum tint, casting just the right color onto her long legs. Legs which were framed perfectly by a long skirt of black silk. The skirt was full and flowed like rich waves down the back of her legs to the floor. The hem was only half a circle though as it came around the front it went upwards sharply to end dangerously above her knees. Not enough to expose the lacy tops of the stockings, but high enough that she would have to sit very delicately to not expose that.

The corset she wore was a piece of artwork in silk brocade and austrian crystal beading. Its rich plum hue matched the mask perfectly while leaving her shoulders adorned only with a hint of sparkle from her purple dusting powder. Her hair was pulled back away from her face, giving the mask room, by a slim clip covered in matching beads. Her hair which flowed down her back in large curls had been dusted with the sparkly powder while the hairspray was moist so it glistened and gleamed as if hiding treasure.

What makeup she was wearing was matching to the mask. Vibrant purple and dusky teal eyeshadow, liner and mascara. Since this was a one time event she had foregone the teal contacts but instead opted for the lipstick to match the plum. The very tiny pouch with her key, identification and cash card was tucked out of sight, down her corset. Where else would a girl stash her valuables? Her necklace was a twisted design of five strands of teal wire and sparkling crystal beads on each twist. Shoes from Victoria's Secret had completed the outfit perfectly.

At the kiss she blushed fiercely and tried to return his compliments. He did look beyond handsome in that suit. The mask he wore was a great compliment even to his blonde good looks.

"Thank you. You look dashingly handsome and I dont think anything 'swashbuckling' could compare. Every woman will envy me for having such a sumptuous gentleman to escort me to the event."

Placing her hand upon his offered arm they went happily down to the lobby. Livia was not completely surprised to find Nic had hired a limo to take them to the event, still she was beyond flattered. Once she carefully slipped in, mindful of the mask, skirt and heels, they were soon on their way.

A soft giggle escaped Alyshia as she stood next to a man wearing a clowns mask, he looked over at her and poked out his tongue before walking in another direction, looking down at herself she smiled at her beautiful outfit, her blonde hair was flowing down her back as she stood there watching the parade move by, her hips swaying to the beat of the music, letting out another series of giggles as another funny looking man passed by she decided to make her way over to one of the clubs.. if they would even let her in, sometimes it sucked looking this young.

"I'll just have to make them understand that i'm no school girl"

Opening her purse she made shure her trusty mobile was still with her, patting it lovingly she smiled while walking towards the clubs.

(( ooc. Alyshia out ))

The crowed moved in a heep of partying and joyfull people, standing in the mids of the crowed was Alexandra, her dark eyes taking in the people around her as she played with a lock of her hair which had been pulled up in a mass of (for the occasion) deep purple spiral curls to match her beautiful skirt and corset , the black and silver mask hid most of her face giving her an elegant but mysterious look.

She kinda hoped she would run into someone she knew, maybe Sam or Panos, seeing all the couples move along side her made her miss her men.. more then she was willing to admit to either them and herself.

Preparation had taken a lot longer than she'd thought it would. As usual.

She'd started the early evening by braiding each individual color strand of her hair into tight cords, binding the end with a tiny rubber band of the appropriate color. After that was completed, she put on a blue spandex tube bra and hipster panties. The next big step was wrapping the blue, yellow and black electrical tape into a three weave mesh over her entire upper body. She'd gotten stuck on the back portion, but she managed to hunt down Rupert to have him finish stretching the pre-woven grid over the appropriate areas. She'd be a little sticky by the end of the night, but that was pretty much a guarantee for most folks at a titty bar, anyway. Figuring she was just ahead of the game since she'd know it was just tape and not...something else...she grabbed her worked aluminum mask. Yes. That'd do. She looked like a living mesh of cords and wire. Righteous.

She'd planned on bumming a ride from another resident, but she'd taken too long getting ready - everyone had moved on already. Opting against the motorcycle in late October when wearing nothing but electrical tape and undies, she had one of the drivers take her down...which was just as well. There wasn't even anyplace she could have comfortably squeezed her bike in down here...this scene was fuckin' hoppin.

The best part was that she wasn't even remotely the least or most outlandishly dressed. Now...this party had promise. Looking around, she tried to decide what to do first. She'd not been in Eternity before, but the whole Babylon thing was the crowd puller. Well, the night wasn't over in the least - she'd have time for both, more'n likely.

((ooc: Dawn out!))

Aishe didn't really have an active interest in either of the clubs hosting this masquerade, but it was halloween after all, and that was one of her favorite holidays. This year, mindful of hanging bits of fabric that might get caught up under the feet of overzealous dancers, she'd carefully constructed her costume to compliment the mask she'd picked out.

She was dressed in black from head to toe, her hair bound into a french braid with long feathers tucked into it. She'd sewn rows of feathers along the back of each arm of the sweater to approximate wings, crossing up over her shoulderblades and meeting at the nape of the neck. She wasn't a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but she could wield a needle and thread as well as the next college grad, and felt fairly confident that her feathers would stay put so long as nothing bad happened.

A short black silk skirt peeked out from below the sweater, with black leggings beneath that, tucked into her usual chunky black shoes. It was simple, but fairly obvious. Of course, she thought, it wouldn't be a good costume if she hadn't arranged some way to manage to get tripped up somehow... so she and kem had gone the extra measure and managed to construct a set of jesses, complete with bells. One leather cuff with a shimmer of rippling bells was secured firmly around her right ankle, a leather clip hooked to that, which in turn was connected to a thick leather thong.

It attached to Kem's left wrist, loose enough that they could move a foot or two away from each other but not so loose that it would drag on the ground or become an obstacle to trip on. To Aishe, it seemed like a great deal of fun, and she had to admit that thus far Kem had restrained himself from yanking her foot out from under her; she wasn't sure she'd have been able to do the same if their roles were reversed.

They had come with Pakpao, whose outfit complemented theirs, a very festive trio as they paced the parade and took in all the sights.

It was really difficult not to yank on the fabricated jesses around Aishe's ankle, but Kem thought he was being fairly well-behaved about it, in spite of Pak's urgings to misbehave, and the threat of her using her own abilities to make it appear as if Kem had done so.

Aishe's costume idea, he had to admit, was cute and clever. So here he was, the falconer to her hawk, dressed in a complimentary mask of black and gold, simple black sweatshirt, black cargoes, his usual black boots. A black leather falconer's glove covered his left arm, from fingertips to elbow, the other end of Aishe's jesses clipped to that. And, since they were technically supposed to be in costume, his hair was dyed stark black to match that of his two companions. He'd been assured that would wash out quickly, within a day or two, so he'd done it.

The lights and costumes around them were fun, he had to admit, and there were far worse things than strolling around the city during the festivities with Aishe on one arm and Pak on the other.

Apparently Pak was losing her mind in her old age and considering how young she was, relatively speaking, that didn’t bode well for the future, but she was here. She’d initially declined to go at all but had been talked into it.

A falconer and a hawk, Kem and Aishe had picked (actually Aishe had picked was her own speculation) good costumes but personally Pak would have reversed the rolls. After some minor discussion she’d agreed to come as a fox, of sorts. She wore a brownish read turtleneck and pants, a creamy white silk scarf loosely knotted around her neck hung down her chest and dark brown socks had been pulled over her pant legs, she complimented that with fingerless gloves of the same color. Her mask was the same brownish red but softly brushed with white around the cheeks and dotted with brown nose. The ears were easy, faux fur, very realistic and worn without protest. The tail on the other had been a point of contention.

Something inside the former prostitute rebelled at the idea of wearing any animal tail at all, venting in her native tongue about blond bimbos and bunnies and moving on with her life for several minutes. It had been in vain though and she’d consented to wear the thing, after all it did match the ears and sort of sold the whole costume.

At least she wasn’t alone, she even had the Aishe’s costume to play with and Kem to blame for it. But she’s save that pleasure for later, a great deal later as it would undoubtedly lead to Kem tormenting her… er… tail.

Tavi looked down at the black empire waisted dress with appreciation. It was layered gauze over velvet with an antique gold border. The flowing sleeves and long skirt were fun and far more girlie pretty than her normal attire. What really made the dress in her opinion was the corset that she wore underneath giving her slight frame actual cleavage.

Smacking her brother on the arm, she pointed at her chest.

"Look at that! Boobs! Who knew those were in there!"Â?

She flashed him a fanged grin, thinking now that the hours of preparation were definitely worth the results. Sitting around in the common room after deciding to go to the Halloween event being held downtown, Tavi had smirked at her brother and suggested a costume idea.

"What if we go as vampires? I mean really the idea of two werewolves going dressed as vampires to a party being hosted by humans is utterly hilarious, don't you think?"Â?

Tobi definitely had the make up skills to recreate the enraged vampire effect from the cheesy but ever popular show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So at the end of Tobi's make up ministrations and her clothing and wig choices, Tavi looked much like Drusilla. Her brightly coloured locks were carefully hidden under a wig of smooth raven waves. Her laced up heeled boots put her at an average 5'5"Â? making her seem slightly less invisible standing next to her towering brother.

She smiled up at him again through the yellow contacts. Wrapping her hands around his arm, Tavi leaned her head against her brother and looked out at the sea of brightly hued and scantily clad bodies.

"So where would you like to go first?"Â?

Tobi gave a dismissive snort at Tavi’s declaration of her ‘assets’, pointedly not looking down, but out toward the street.

“Yeah, only took some engineers and a couple of two by fours to bring them out.”

Ducking a little but knowing there was no chance in hell he was going to avoid getting smacked, he figured he’d better just take it and move on.

It had been Tavi’s idea to dress up as vampires but he could see the humor in it. He had, however, griped a little about his choices before settling on Spike, mostly because he thought it would be more fun to recreate the especially tall forehead of doom with latex and makeup. He wasn’t going to fake a british accent though – he’d only sound enormously stupid. Not that he cared, but a man had to have standards.

Decked out in a black leather trench coat with a red silk shirt and black slacks underneath, he turned and smirked at his reflection in a storefront window. He still had to be a little careful but he thought he’d done a good job with their masks, allowing the latex to move with the skin underneath so they could still talk and make normal facial expressions without worrying that something was going to slip loose. The shorter blonde wig that covered his shaggy red hair had taken some work but overall he thought the yellow contacts they were both sporting were at the greatest risk for a wardrobe malfunction.

He turned to his sister, shrugging.

“Club Eternity? Whatever’s fine with me.”

/ooc The wonder twins out!

Alexander stepped out onto the crowded street, in uniform for the first time in nearly two centuries.

It wasn't exactly the crimson red and white uniform that Alexander had been used to, but it was a British Officer's uniform nonetheless.

Alexander was dressed in the dark green officers uniform of the famous 95th Regiment of Foot, the 'Chosen Men' made famous by author Bernard Cornell and his fictional character Richard Sharpe.

And Alexander had been promoted from Major to Colonel. An amusing oversight. The uniform was a perfect replica, although the Light Cavalry Sword hanging from Alexander's left side was most certainly authentic.

Alexander keep the tall hat known as a Shako under his right arm, and a white Gatto mask covered the top half of his face.

Alexander let out a soft laugh. Tonight should be interesting. He made his way through the crowd, towards the entrance

((ooc- Alex out))

The Warrior towered above the majority of people revelling in the carnivale atmosphere. Through his helm Ezekiel could make out both Eternity and Babylon. Both would reek of flesh, sweat and excitement. But where should he go first?

Pah. Ezekiel longed to scratch his back, but the chestplate prevented that. It was either the Brad Pitt inspired Greek Warrior costume or the Prison Jumpsuit. And Ezekiel wasn't having nothing to do with the Prison Jumpsuit.

The Greek Warrior costume certainly made Ezekiel more intimidating, revealing even more of his massively muscled physique. Even though the streets were bustling with people, there was a small vaccant circle around Ezekiel as he strode purposely through the mass of humanity, like the Colossus of Rhodes come to life.

Babylon or Eternity? Ezekiel snorted. Whichever door he found himself at he'd enter. Simple as that.

(ooc - Ezekiel out).

Richard had not been in Nachton for very long. From what he gathered, it was a thriving city. What better place then this to find some of those of his own kind? The problem was, Vampires weren't listed in the directory. He had no idea how to find other Vampires - maybe by chance? - then he would to find...a needle in a hay stack. And tonight, well, tonight seemed right down his alley. The Masquerade Ball brought back memories of when he was, well, alive.

He donned clothes straight out of the time period he was from. They seemed even more fitting on him, and he could not remember the last time he had worn such clothes. The mask he wore was not traditional in the sense you didnt you have to hold it to your face. It was a black mask, wrapped around his head with what was called an elastic band - a fine invention if he did say so himself - though the bands were masked by the black hat he also wore. A black cape - he felt every part the vigilante - matched his black pants and boots, while he wore a loose fitting white button down shirt. He also carried a cane, complete with the silver head of a lion. He felt like he was back in England, if not for the fact that he was in America.