lucie-crane

[lucie-crane]

"I appreciate that," Lou said, letting the mask slip off her face and holding it in her arms. "Things like this always make me feel like I'm wearing dress-up." Half of that, she assumed, was the reality that she'd been living in her mother and sister's hand-me-downs. Learning a sense of style and the rhythm of a life without them would take some time. Looking to the pumps, she shook her head, "It might be a crime but I've never actually seen that movie."

Marisol, too, was at the thrift store with a similar goal in mind-- to find something cheap but stylish for the masquerade. Everything she already owned just wasn't enough, she wanted to go big and bold! Especially as she had a date this time.

She planned to look drop dead gorgeous, okay? To the point Mollie's mouth better hang open and several brain cells disconnected from the mere sight of her.

"It's very Phantom of you," Marisol agreed, briefly checking over the other woman's mask, "but who says that's a bad thing? You wear it better." She plucked up a pair of pumps and showed them off -- they were black and white striped. "Are these too Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?"

[lucie-crane]

She nodded, adding, "try not to hold it against me," and tugged her sweater a little closer around her as the wind whipped up from over the water.

"I can see that, actually. A sign below if you accept personal injury, death, hauntings, general creepiness, and mold." She had a wry thought that such waivers might do well being passed around to newbies in town. A big old initiation into what it was to live next to witches and vampires and other werewolves. She raised an eyebrow at Kodi. There was a sense of freedom and looseness to them that she couldn't help but admire. "I think the only rules you follow are your own."

"Ah, so you're saying you're from small town farming country in the middle of nowhere, USA. Nice." Kodi had seen a lot of the states traveling around with her family, and there was a lot of open space in the midwest that seemed to fit that description, if she recalled correctly. She had a point, though - wasn't much to look at.

Kodi's eyes turn back over towards the lighthouse, tipping their head back to take in the full height of the decrepit structure. "I guess so," they agree after a moment, shoulders lifting in a shrug. "But maybe someone takes care of it to keep it safe enough. One of those things where you sign a waiver saying you accept the possibility of your imminent death by entering." Kodi glances back at the other as they speak about the risks not deterring them and a sly smile upturns the corner of their lips. "What do you mean? I'm nothing if not a complete and honest rule follower."

[lucie-crane]

"Well, I'm not trying to make a bad impression," Lucie said, shaking her head. Despite everything, she still had the desire to be liked; to put a good foot forward. Politeness like a noose around her neck. "I haven't drank anything since-" since she'd been turned. She wasn't exactly sure if she could get properly wasted. Charlie certainly had seemed to enjoy good bourbon in the evenings, but he'd never been very forthright with the knowledge. She was quick to fill in the pause with a half-truth, "well since I got here, actually. Do these things usually get pretty wild?"

Maybe she had been baiting Chester, a little on impulse and little in the hopes he'd rise the occasion, either way when he cleared his throat she stood a little straighter. He wasn't great, but he made up for whatever natural talent he lacked, with showmanship. By the time he was bowing she was smiling wide and clapping her hands together lightly.

"And now all you need to do is try that in a corset."

"well, i do, so if you change your mind, i do a wicked good winged eyeliner," chester responded with a click and wag of his finger towards lucie. at hearing it was her first party since arriving, he let out a 'oooh!', excitement reflected in dark green eyes. "so, what? you're trying to make a good impression on the townsfolk? just get absolutely rat-arsed to quell the nerves, it's the only way to go,"

it was the cheese in the mouse trap, the sweet sticky substance on fly strips, being asked if he had the pipes, ultimately tempting him towards performance. chester looked far too pleased with himself as he coughed, tried a few notes before cracking his fingers and pretending to play an invisible organ. letting out a series of 'duuuuh duh duh duh duh duhhhs', the witch imitated the famous opening of phantom of the opera, before repeating in a slightly higher pitch.

"in sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came," the lower parts weren't great, just not terrible, hands now clutched over his chest as if terribly lovesick, dramatic in every gesture and look. the rendition only truly became unbearable towards the end of the verse, voice cracking as chester tried to hit the note;

"the phaaaaantom of the opera is there, inside my mind,"

and then chester bowed low.

"see? christine,"

[lucie-crane]

[lucie-crane]

"I'm not sure I have it in me for all that." Lou laughed as she let the mask drop from her face. She usually wasn't one to draw attention to herself. And, during her days in the shoppe, it was often comfort over style. Don't wear something you couldn't bear to ruin. It was the golden rule in carpentry. "It's really my first party since I arrived in town," she admitted.

She leaned back a little as she considered Chester as Christine. "You've got the look, but do you have the pipes?"

he was stood in-front of the magazine display pouring over an old edition of another as the familiar screech of coat hangers on the racks cut through the music playing overhead. chester liked to go through new stock, and had stumbled upon a few fashion mags that had become free to read for all patrons - himself included.

whoever had been browsing found something to their taste, looking over at lucie with a half-formed smirk on his face. "i don't think it's enough. you need a cape, maybe some wild make-up underneath the mask," chester suggested further. "we'll go out, i make a wonderful christine,"

[lucie-crane]

endless gifs of DIANA SILVERS ( 9 / ?? )

2019 vs. 2022

[lucie-crane]

"Yes. Junior year. My high school's production. Well-," she added quickly, "our attempt. The girl playing Christine got expelled two weeks before curtain call because she was found smoking weed after practice." Her back-up didn't have quite the talent, but the show had gone on to varying success. She let the mask drop on from her face holding it carefully in her hands. "I mean, I like it, but I think I should fit the mask to my outfit. Not the outfit to my mask. Or do I have that backward? I've never been to a masquerade."

Hearing about the masquerade, Gabriel was actually rather excited. It sounded fun, and another way that he could spend time with Juniper and Cricket - and probably everyone else in the town. Granted, he wasn't sure he'd be making an appearance on the dance floor or anything like that. But a couple drinks at a table in the corner? It sounded like a good night out.

The only problem was his wardrobe was already rather limited, and he definitely didn't have much by way of formal wear. So he found himself at Magpie's eye, a thrift shop where he was hoping he might be able to find something that would suit the event without spending too much. He was poking through the racks curiously when someone spoke, and his eyes lifted to find someone looking back at him with a mask held up to their face. "Uh - Can anything really be too Phantom of the Opera, really? I think if you like it you should get it."

[lucie-crane]

"Boring," Lucie said nodding her head pointedly. "That's the word your looking for. It's probably why so many people in my town were old drunks. Everything gets a titch more interesting when you've got beer." She had some affection for that little town with it's stout buildings and it's long fields, but no desire to return to it.

Her smile slowly widened as Kodi kept talking. The dark didn't scare her much anymore, not with her vision so improved. She was more scared of what she could do some nights; of the wolf under her skin that didn't get to stretch their legs properly. Her gaze shifted to the lighthouse's weathered stone and then back to the girl before her. "Well it's probably not safe, right? Bet it's a big old liability if someone falls through some molted wood." She paused. "But you don't look like that's going to stop you."

"Windmills and silos," Kodi echoed, nodding, "yeah, that doesn't sound nearly as interesting to look at." Might make an interesting scene to see once in your life, probably, but there was something about the water that Kodi had always loved. They were much more familiar with the waves on California shores than here, but ocean was ocean, right?

Kodi's eyes tear away from the water to look back at Lucie as she speaks, following her gaze to the flashlight that they not so discreetly now tucked back into their pocket. "Oh, yeah. Like I said, the views here...to die for." Shoulders lifting in a shrug, Kodi gave a smile. "It gets pretty dark around here once the sun goes down, you know?" Jerking a thumb over their shoulder, Kodi's head tips, "do you think they ever do tours of this place? I mean, it's pretty run down, but it's got to be some sort of historic treasure around here, right?"

[lucie-crane]

Where: Magpie's Eye When: Early October Who: Open

Lou had attended catholic school growing up, worn through her plaid skirts and black tights, endured her 'sunday finest' for church sermons and luncheons. And, the second her bedroom door shut, she was tossing herself into sweats and t-shirts. These days her 'fashion' sense skewed casual and cheap. She was living off the salary of an apprentice and thrifting whatever hit her fancy. She didn't have much in the way of formal attire and that's what had her on the hunt today. She wasn't going to the masquerade in her mismatched boots or in a pair of acid washed jeans.

She'd worked her way through some of the racks looking for something proper before stumbling upon some masks. "What do you think?" she asked one of the fellow shoppers, lifting it up to her face. "Too Phantom of the Opera?"

[lucie-crane]

Growing up under her grandmother's roof, there were strict rules and stricter curfews. There was a thrill to being hundreds upon hundreds of miles removed from her hometown and her old routines. Her little apartment wasn't pristine, her hair was messy, and the mud on her boots was two days thick.

She'd come up this way for the fresh air. After a day working with planks of wood, the scent of sawdust and earth was thick in her nose. As she stepped up toward the lighthouse she jumped from leaf to leaf searching for that satisfying autumn crunch.

It was no wonder someone heard her coming.

"Yeah, actually," she tucked her hands into her pockets as she approached, "I'm a midwest girly. It's been windmills and silos all my life so this," she nodded toward the water, "still kind of gets me." Her eyes dropped to the flashlight in the other girl's hand and she paused, eyebrows drawing together before asking, "You come for the view too?"

Open starter! | Kodi & OPEN @ The Lighthouse

Kodi had been picking around the outside of the lighthouse, scoping out possible entryways into the crumbling building. Banks had made it sound rather enticing, and she had shown up with a bag over her shoulder, a flashlight equipped and ready in her back pocket, and a plan to spend the entire night exploring the old building - hopefully without ending up dead or caught trespassing. But even if Kodi didn't eventually find a way in to explore the building, the sunset over the water was a damn pretty sight to behold...

After a minute she turned her gaze back towards the entry to the lighthouse, giving the handle on the door a futile tug before inspecting the lock. It would probably be easy enough to pick --

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Kodi spun to face the other, leaning back against the door as if they'd just been enjoying the scenery, casually. "Howdy, stranger. Come here often? I, for one, couldn't resist the views."

[lucie-crane]

Sylvia Plath, from The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

[lucie-crane]