2019-11-05 - Platinum Cabaret : Goblin Danse

The Platinum Cabaret is looking rather spooky this evening. The decorations go well with the dimly lit interior, the fog crawling across the floor in a creepy way. The waitresses, bartenders, dancers, hosts and DJ's are in full regalia, ready to spook, scare and dance the night away. Some drinks are already being made, supervised by the silver-haired tattooed woman behind the bar.

Mae is sitting on a stool nearby, nursing a drink slowly as she watches people fill the club. "Hopefully this doesn't turn into insanity. I'd like a nice quiet evening where things are spooky without being spooky. You know?" Who is she talking to? Probably one of the bartenders.

Dylan enters not from the front, but the back, and given the chills that run down him? Spooky is the name of the game, tonight! Thankfully his features are mostly hid behind his phantom of the opera style three quarters mask, his black shirt, red vest, and black pants accentuating that outfit. But it's the flowing black cape that truly gives him a phantomesque appearance, and on he goes towards the bar. "Booze," He says to no one in particular save for whomever is manning it as he slides up next to Zoiya. "Syringes! Three!" He coos out, with a touch of /need/ for something to drink, rather than just to idly pass the time. Only then does he turn that big, beaming, if a bit too panicked smile to Mae, "Hey ya."

At Bar:
Poe isn't the greatest when it comes to dressing up, but he'll certainly come out to appreciate the other costumes and spooky happenings that may be happening at the Cabaret. Things can be spooky enough around this town without really having to celebrate the idea. He makes his way inside and heads over toward the bar too see what he can find to drink, wearing jeans and a close fitting button down shirt with a few buttons unclasped.

At Bar:
Love slinks behind the bar after affixing her mask carefully over her waist-length mass of silvery-grey curls. She's dressed in black with a cropped racerback top, a long, sleeveless duster over that, her right arm in a single pauldron & armor sleeve, with a wide belt and a hip bag full of mysterious things. Her mask is silver steampunk style goblin half-mask, little horns and a silver finish. She wears tight leggings with cutouts down the thighs, generally dark and slinky. Her hair's worn down in frothy curls with silver flowers, laser-cut butterflies, and small crystals woven in. Her heels are low ankle boots, but it still brings her height to 6'1". (Outfit: https://tinyurl.com/y38qom6x, Armor: https://tinyurl.com/y6drjul5, Mask: https://i.imgur.com/4ROJ5M0.jpg)

Love sprinkles dry ice powder on a trio of pearlescent purple Witch's Hearts in martini glasses, and sends them along with a costumed waitress with a reminder, "Tell them not to drink until the smoking stops." Each glass froths with the misty fall of dry-ice-induced smoke, mirroring the thick fog that's rolled in outside. She leans against the bar and says to Mae, "From your lips..." She turns away to suck up Dylan's Bloody Mary Syringes from a big pitcher behind the bar.

At Bar:
Roxy sits near Mae at the bar, wearing a slutty Snow White costume while on the floor. [https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bb/7e/cd/bb7ecd31e949c318da3a610d538036c9.jpg] She is nursing a sidecar, the orange-flavored cocktail helping calm her nerves. She and Mae worked very high on their routine for tonight, and she wants it to go well. She nods to the tattooed dancer. "Yes, I agree. I have had quite enough weird stuff this week already."

At Dj Booth:
Lyric is already there since the party was well on its way to crazy. There in the DJ booth she's pumping out tunes with party beats and dancing rhythm. Head phones are on, one side flipped up and they don't seem to bother her masquerade mask she's wearing. Her dress moves with her as she dances behind the booth, bobbing her head occasionally when the beat catches her. Hips sway and she does look as if she's living her best life back there, having a great time.

Gabriel has opted for a sort of Thriller zombie look, wearing jeans, a leather jacket, a solid-colored t-shirt and some white pancake makeup over his already dark skin. No mask, though. There's an eye roll when he has to show ID to get in, because, does he look under 21? But then he moves to the bar, past Mae, ordering a Zombie for himself.

At Bar:
Tim's not precisely a regular at the Cabaret, but he's not a total unknown. Maybe because it's a convenient place to meet with clients. Actually, that's precisely why.

He's in a smart white suit with a dark red and gold tie; no mask for him either, but he's not particularly into the whole dressing up thing. He's mostly here to support a client and have some fun drinks, maybe meet some interesting people. He heads to the bar and orders a Poison Apple, tips generously.

At Bar:
Mae spots that look on Dylan's face, and she just squints at him for a few beats. "What's wrong?" She asks quietly, before Roxy grabs her attention, as does her drink. "Hey, Love. Can I get whatever she's drinking?" She asks, pointing a pinky toward Roxy. "Yes well, if it gets insane, I'm going home, hiding until someone gives the all clear."

She steals one of Dylan's syringes until she gets a look at what's inside of them. "Yikes, no thank you." She hands it back and shudders. "Tomatoes are bad in drinks." Even if Love makes them.

She wiggles her fingers at Gabriel when he passes, flashing him a brief grin.

At Bar:
When Madison comes out from the back, she seems to have a huge smile on her face, or at least, she would look like so, if her face wasn't obscured by a human face mask. Tonight, she is not Madison Holloway! She is Sexy Leatherface. Lipstick, short butcher's apron, frilly miniskirt and a lot of blood everywhere, all she lacks is a chainsaw.

Blame the cops. She had one! And now she doesn't.

"You should have SEEN that, dude! And he loved Kit Kat too! Ate it up. Which si kind of why I am hungry right now. That was my emergency Kit Kat!" The person, who quite obviously doens't know this insane person, eyes Madison and walks away from her, as she is left alone but no less enthused.

In passing by Dylan and Blake, she does some handsigns, as if they are part of something now. A secret covenant, forged in friendship and gore. "Sup!"

The goth goes to the bar, immediately, and drapes over it, eyeing the bartender, "So, how big is the discount for SOs of the dancers? I am going to level with you, lady, I need it to be pretty high." Madison smiles behind that hideous mask, the bright eyes behind those eyeholes trying their best at mustering some puppy power. She still looks outlandish.

Blake enters from the back right after Dylan. He's wearing two blank masks, one white in front, one black in back. A silver crown is slightly askew atop his head. The rest of him isn't very special. Blake leather jacket over a black zip-up hoodie, a band tshirt, dark gray jeans, and black shoes. All that's visible of his face are penetrating blue eyes behind the mask. He moves to the bar and looks to Love to ask, "After that. Two Zombies." His voice is shakey and he looks back to Madison quietly.

At Dj Booth:
Park has dressed for the occassion...sort of. It's easy to confuse goblin with gremlin! (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2e/74/2b/2e742b07988c0fc2dd60a235cc116fcb.jpg - costume, not PB - no time, alas, for photoshop) She is at the DJ Booth with Lyric, dancing around, her ears threatening to smack her fellow DJ at any moment. Somehow, Park has also managed to get her Pokemon headphones on too, though, like Lyric, only one actually covers her ear. Since it is a 'masque' dance, she also wears a medical face mask decorated with Gizmo nose and mouth...which she wets when trying to sneak a mouthful of water without moving it. "Oops" she giggles. "You look awesome, Lyric. Everyone does!"

Nicole arrives through the front entrance. She had helped some of the girls of the Platinum do their hair and nails and things earlier in the day, then gone off to get ready herself. She hasn't gone all out, but put together something that fits the theme, she thinks. She wears tight faux leather leggings with a flouncy skirt over them, pulled up to her hip on one side. A leather vest bustier has, for tonight, been trimmed with black feathers around the sleeves while silver chains of varying links circle her waist as belts. Lace half-fingered gloves are also decorated on the outer edge with black feathers. Her blonde hair is done up to be rather voluminous, all the better to be seen with the black half-mask she wears, decorated with a crowned plume of black feathers. Her eye makeup is dramatic and on point with dark liner and shadows of green, turquoise and gold, and her lips have been painted a glittering ruby red.

Once she enters, she waves to all the girls she helped get ready, greeting them with hellos and 'you look amazing!'s before she heads to the bar to see about getting herself a drink.

At Bar:
"Miss smiley," Is all Mae gets from Dylan, not that she should expect much more from him. His fingers curl around the first shot, only to hesitate once the woman says it has tomatoes. Down he peers into it, and whatever is on his mind? The need for booze wins out over whatever the taste might be. It's downed quickly enough that he probably doesn't even taste it. "Hey," He straggles out to Madison, giving a bob of his head to the woman, before out he gives a low push of breath out. "Sketch book," He mutters, given he's without it.

At Bar:
Poe scans faces of those those her knows as they all come in - raising a hand toward Mae, Blake and Dylan at very least since they're all pretty close to where he's at. He gives a quick smile toward Love as well, but she's pretty busy with the pile of orders. He's not in huge rush, so waits until the crowd settles a bit.

Alison strolls into the Cabaret, occasionally pausing to rub sleep from her eyes. Her eyes are about all that are visible of her face, actually. She's got on a mask covering her face (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61xsgridXJL._SY355_.jpg), leaving only her eyes and red hair visible, the latter puncuated by plastic red horns. The rest of her is covered by the same costume that she's been seen in here earlier this month, and elsewhere during other Masquerade events. Fire engine red vinyl underbust corset, matte red bra, matching booty shorts (despite lack of much booty), and knee-high boots. No, it's still not really an appropriate outfit for being out in public, and yet, she's wearing it. Again. But it's Halloween, so... yeah, sure.)

Spotting Madison, she makes her way over to the bar after paying and getting her wristband. Ali waves to Park in the DJ booth on her way over there though, hipbumping Madison when she gets close. "Hey!"

Gabriel soon gets his Zombie from the bartender and then spies Lyric over in the DJ booth. He grins at her and raises his left hand, wiggling his ring finger. This will make sense to her? He seems to assume this will make sense to her. But he then just settles in to a stool, looking around, as if this is his first time here.

At Bar:
Love slides three syringes in a test tube holder to Dylan, plungers up. She grins at his costume. "Nice mask." She slides over a couple of orange slices too, because the phantom looks like he could use some vitamins.

One of the other bartenders comes down to mix of the zombie while Love's fiddling about chilling coup and martini glasses with scoops of Ice. Into the zombie goes all manner of liquor and flavors, and it's about two minutes later that it's slid across the bar to Gabriel. Love happens to be watching that go together, and she slides in behind to garnish the glass with a strawberry, sprig of mint, and splash some lemon juice before she gives it a stir and then slides it back to Gabriel. "If that tastes like fiery assholes, let me know and I'll remake it." She nods to the other bartender. "Trainee."

She twirls a coupe glass in sugar. "One sidecar coming up."

At Dj Booth:
Lyric hip bumps with Park and smiles, "Your costumes are always a surprise, it's so cute!" Smacking ears don't seem to bother her at all either. She reaches below the counter and tugs out a bag of cotton candy, twisting a pink piece out and offering the bag to Park. "Cotton Candy hair," she tells her for no obvious reason, but giggles after. "Really just cotton candy, but I told the gingerbread man my hair was made from cotton candy. Now I have a little fan club. I owe them candy now." Her drink is empty, she got started on it early. A wave to Nicole when she comes out, as well as to Love and Roxy and Mae. She adores the employees here. Noticing Gabriel, she grins and finger waggles to him but says nothing to embarrass him. Or herself.

At Bar:
Roxy smiles her small smile at Mae when she orders a sidecar. "They are very good. Love makes them very well," she notes. She returns Lyric's wave from the bar and lifts her glass to her in a toasting gesture. The DJs always have their backs. Then she spots a familiar face and she waves to Tim.

At Bar:
A thankful smile is flashed to Love, and out Dylan coos, "Your wonderful." Even as he picks up the second of those blessed shots, and down the second one is tossed just as quickly as the first. The only thing that stops him from the third is the sight of Nicole, and up a hand lifts to give an eager wave towards her. "Hey ya!" A bob of his head is offered up as he watches, and that lopsided smile is cast her way. "Look great!" His eyes flicker over the bar, another big huge nod cast towards Blake and then Poe once both are spied.

At Bar:
Madison grins as Alison arrives, and she hip bumps the redhead, before eyeing the outfit, "Daaaamn! It really came together, huh? I told you, there is nothing that looks better than vinyl! You are killing it!" The Goth Leatherface then squeals!

"You are -not- going to believe what just happened to me! But you gotta swear not to tell anyone else! Not even Cam! Have you ever watched Superbad?" Her explanation is going to take the long route. That is, if she can stop pausing it to talk other nonsense, like waving at Nicole from the bar. "Ohmigod! It is my Medusa, the hair badass! Hey there~!"

She thumb points at Dylan besides her, "This dude is a ridic artist! And a hero! Saved my ass just now! Great sense of humor. If you are looking, he is yotally hook up material!" She eyes Dylan, and nods. She has that 'I gotchu bro' look.

Tim raises his hand to Roxy in a greeting, nods and gives her a smile of 'not bad' for the outfit. In fact he's taking in many of the outfits, noting ideas for a variety of uses. He smothers a laugh at Love's comment about 'fiery assholes', eyes the drink she gave to Gabriel as if to note it for avoiding.

At Bar:
Mae grins over at Roxy, nodding her agreement. "Once I have a sip or two, we should probably go back and get ready." She glances down at her plain black dress. She might be a witch? She's an under dressed one. She glances around, watching as some of the hired talent go running after people cackling. "That is kind of spooky." Too spooky for her? Seems not.

"You'll have to tell me about your heroics at some point. " She murmurs toward Dylan, a faintly amused look on her face.

At Bar:
Love pours cognac, orange-flavored liqueur, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker loaded up with ice, gives it a vigorous shake. She holds the cap on with one finger, her manicure clear gels with three dimensional white roses affixed. It doesn't match the rest of her, but sometimes a goblin bartender likes to have pretty flowers, ok? She strains the drink into the sugared coupe, a vibrant orange cocktail slid across to Mae in short order.

When the trainee bartender passes her, she leans in to say something quietly. The woman nods, grins, and sets to work on Tim's Poisoned Apple. Love watches for a few beats, then nods to Blake. "Heard. I've got you." Mixing two zombies at once is easy peasy. So much rum. So. Much. Rum. What the hell, she makes four.

Love leans on the bar and asks of Madison, "Favorite 80s monster movie?" Seems like discounts are dependent on trivia answers tonight. While she's talking to Madison, she waves to Poe, smiling right back. Her gaze returns to Lady-Leatherface right after.

At Dj Booth:
"Ooh! Cotton candy. Yummy. Do you know they call this 'fairy floss' overseas? Which would seem pretty suitable for the party." Park has a big handful of the sugary goodness before peering at Lyric's words. "Who is the gingerbread man?" She then takes a bigger handful and settles it atop her head. "Does that work?" she giggles - she has not had any alcohol. Yet. A wave to Alison when she sees her rocking out the Devil outfit once more. "Hey, Lyric, that guy is waving his ring finger at you. Are you married?" Another wave for the lovely women at the bar. "You can go get a drink if you want, Lyric. Set Mae up first though."

At Bar:
"I am going to go say hello to a friend. I will meet you backstage!" Roxy chimes cheerfully at Mae, before she drains her glass and sets it down, sliding off her stool and navigating on 4 inch red sparkly stiletto heels through the crowd to Tim. "Timothy!" she greets with a smile. "I didn't expect to see you here. What a pleasant surprise. How are the art students doing?" she asks.

At Bar:
Blake doesn't notice Poe at first. He watches as the bartenders take care of all the orders ahead of his. "Two-," he re-orders after clearing his throat, thinking it was possible his words got swallowed up by all of the noise, but...he doesn't have to. He nods to the Love. "Thanks." He grins when he hears Dylan being peddled out heroically. He pulls out the cash and thumbs the bills out before leaving it on the bar top. "Keep the change." It's a decent tip, but not great. Then he moves over to Poe. "Hey. Do I look high right now?"

Gabriel wanders on over to Park and Lyric at the DJ booth, grinning as he catches up just in time to hear Park ask the question. "It's an inside joke," he explains to the non-Lyric DJ, as if that somehow explains it. He lifts his glass to Lyric. "Looking angelic tonight, Lyric. Good to be something you're not for the holiday, right?" He teases.

At Bar:
Heroics? One might swear Dylan's face goes as pale as his white mask itself, until that third shot is downed, and the booze does its job, at least for the moment. He melts againt the bar into a lazy lounge, "Uhhhmmm," He offers to Mae first, those blue eyes going wide with far too much innocence, seen even with that mask on. "Yeah. Later." It is a promise at least.

"Uhm. Hi." Suave and funny indeed! Sorta. Not at all, as Dylan gives a lift of his hand to wave towards Alison. He reaches into the depths of his cloak, and out comes his trusty sketching pencil, but paper? Well, cocktail napkins will have to do, and surely love won't mind him stealing a few. "Blake's awesome," He reminds Madison, all with genuine sincerity and a touch of hope not so many people will be asking about his so called heroics.

At Bar:
Alison yeahs at Madison! "New bottle of vinyl cleaner got in just in time. Pain in the ass though." Her voice is a little muffled through the mask when added to the din of the noise of the Cabaret. "Superbad? That's the one with, uhh.. oh, yeah, Superbad, right. What, did you forget your ID at home?" She orders herself a Devil's Heart from the bartenders when they're not otherwise swamped with orders. Alison then turns back to Mads. "I still feel underdressed in this outfit. Here's not so bad, but at the park for the ceremony? SO COLD. Also weird stares."

At Bar:
Tim accepts his drink from the trainee with a wink and a smile once it's done, has a sip and nods. "Excellent," he assures her, and turns to Roxy. "Looking good, hon. A party like this is a great place to meet people. And," he pulls out his phone, swipes at it a bit, peers at something, "your order should be sorted out in the next week." He pockets his phone again, bobs his eyebrows. "Sorry it took so long, those sorts of requests can be a pain these days. And," he gestures at her, "since the fall session is back in, I should get a modeling date set up for you. I've got two drawing classes of freshman who have no fucking idea how to draw a person."

At Dj Booth:
"Oh yeah, that's totally my husband. Just in a dream though. It was one of those one dreams where you're not where you were when you went to bed?" Lyric laughs and reaches for some more cotton candy and eats some, glancing at Park's hair candy. "Perfect." Giving the circle finger sign. She preps Mae's song for her though, making sure everything was perfect, and gets another twist off of the cotton candy, "I'll be back," she winks to Park, moving to intercept Gabriel if she can only to find him standing there already. She moves closer and offers cotton candy to his lips only to follow the gesture with a heated kiss.

At Bar:
The bartender in the silver goblin mask waves to Lyric & Park in the DJ booth when she spots the duo bouncing around in there together. And she says to Dylan, when he says she's wonderful, "Shhh. Don't tell people that." She snags the cash passed over for sundry drinks ordered and slips it into the little bag on her hip.

It's not long before a swirling Poison Apple is set down for Tim by the trainee bartender, who's dressed like a dark-clad plague doctor. The drink is a swirling burnt orange with edible glitter making it shine, a little spice kicked in by fireball flavor, otherwise a sweet and very apple-y over ice. It comes with a straw for stirring. Agitation keeps the opalescent glitter flashing in the light and smoke of the bartop. She passes over two zombies for Blake, jams a straw in one for herself (oh boy), and slides the fourth to Poe.

Poe likes Zombies, right?

At Bar:
Roxy smiles brightly at Tim. "That is fantastic news! And I look forward to posing for your classes. I need to head backstage now and get ready for my routine. You'll see me again in a few minutes!" She squeezes his arm lightly, then heads off to the dancers' area.

At Bar:
"Hey Blake." Poe says, squinting at the man when he asks the question. He slowly shakes his head toward Blake. "I don't think you look high. But, maybe you're always high and I don't know how you look otherwise?" He ventures, shrugging and accepts the drink from Love with a smile - Poe loves Zombies. He turns to watch the stage as things start to move in that direction.

At Bar:
"What do you mean you 'feel' undressed? You are super undressed, girl! And hey, rock it! This is the day in the year for it." She motions towards her exposed thighs, which is more skin than she ever shows. All bloodied up, of course, true to her genderbent costume. You gotta be authentic to Leatherface, other wise what is the point?

At Dylan, she just grins, "SO humble! And who is Blake?" She eyes Blake, "That one? Oh yeah, he picked that lock like some Skyrim character! Bam, we were in! That was sick!" From afar, she air high-fives Blake.

Madison is caught in the headlights of Love's stare. She takes a moment to register that the bartender isn't scolding her, but actually offering a discount. She was NOT expecting to get one, but she grins, those eyes flitting at Love's as her head loads from what seems to be an immense library.

"Critters!" She bites her lower lip, hands clasping together, jumping in place, excited about what she is going to get. Madison seems to have an infinite amount of energy for games and trivia, nodding at Love, but growing less and less confident she got it right by the second the tattoed woman doesn't say anything.

Gabriel seems surprised at the cotton candy from Lyric, but he laughs and dutifully leans forward in his pancake zombie makeup to devour it, letting it dissolve on his tongue. But then there is a kiss that follows it and the detective laughs, returning in kind, wrapping an arm around to accept the DJ's greeting.

Subscribing hard to the theory of 'Better Late Than Never', Viktor finds himself held up by security. Again. As he gets a thorough pat-down. Again.

He's giving the guy a little 'hurry it up' hand gesture, ruffling the line of his black and gold suit when a hand goes particularly high up an inner leg, shifting that gesture into one of 'Okay, keep it slow, we're good here.'

This is what happens when you and an establishment's security team meet most often at a local range.

At Stageside:
"Thanks," Blake says before he lifts his white mask. Down the hatch the Zombie goes. At least some of it. He holds the other one down near his waist. Then he looks up at Poe. Then he squints at the man. "Whatever," he mumbles and moves closer to the side of the stage to sit down. Blake? Either doesn't notice Madi or he totally ignores her. He sets his extra Zombie down and looks up to the stage.

At Bar:
Love thinks about that for a moment, Madison's answer to her 80s movie question, and then, at last, she nods. "That's a solid, classic choice. Would you like a witch's heart, my dear, or are you more interested in something a little less cinematic?" She rests her hands on the bar top, inked fingers lightly drumming those gel tipped nails along the bar.

At Dj Booth:
"I have those dreams" Park nods sagely to Lyric. "On the top bunk it happens all the time because I fall out. If you hear thuds in the night, it is usually me." They may not be married but Lyric and Gabriel are certainly getting the kissing on like they are. Park blushes furiously as she nods to her co-worker to take over the DJing. Thankfully, there is a Love to wave to and a Mae to watch on stage.

At On The Stage:
The lights come up, and there stands Mae in a cream colored dress, her hair done up in braids around a fillet in her hair. She looks frightened, and in the background a voice whispers, "Woo her." Flutes play a melancholy tune. "Win her." The voice whispers, sighing as Mae pushes away from the wall to approach a table with a lit box on it. Her fingers touch the lid, and she eases it open, the light spilling across her face from inside. "Seduce her." Comes the voice again, the whisper insidious as she lifts a diamond necklace from the box.

The music grows louder, she turns, her eyes on a figure in a dark dress dancing out of the shadows.

At Bar:
Nicole waves to Lyric and Dylan, sseeing them a little belatedly as she was taking in all the costume around her. Laughing, she smiles at Madison "Hi hi. How are you?" When the bartender (perhaps Love) comes by, she asks, "can I try a Poison Apple? Thanks!" Fishing some money out from her bra, she sets it on the bar top before looking around again.

At On The Stage:
The figure is akin to a manikin, no facial features or hair, and wherever the glorious black gown does not cover, there is glittering black fabric, like a bodysuit covering them from head to toe. The dress is a magnificent thing, all black fabric with a sheen to it, shifting beneath tulle, alternating down the skirts. It has a V neckline that dips down past the navel in leather lapels, and a golden sash that goes from the right shoulder to the left hip, with black fabric draping from it in a sheer cape whose ends attach to rings worn on the figure's hands. A massive collar stands up from the lapels, a good two feet in height, framing a stiffly netted headpiece. It moves as if possessed.

It is like a feather being blown by the wind, sweeping and swaying in the golden sense of firelight from behind it. Like a ballerina on tiptoe it dances this way and that, the cape flowing about it like a thing alive, and dashes in towards the other woman, before closing it's arms and dancing back from her once more. It teases, it beckons, it spins across the stage like a top, a whirlwind of black.

"Make her one of us." The sibilant whisper echoes in the cabaret.

Now it entreats and entices, moving in a glorious waltz, splendid and graceful. It darts in and out towards Mae, and strokes a black-covered thumb across her lower lip for just a moment, before twirling away again. In and out, an endless dance.

At On The Stage:
-- At Bar -- Dylan, for a long moment, seems to be quite removed from the conversation, having purposefully dragged himself out of it. But he's busy sketching on that napkin, his head bobbing to the beat of whatever song is playing at the time, those three shots doing nothing to phase the quickness of his hand. Only once he seems satisfied does his head tug back up, all to stare at Madison and Alison for a long heartbeat. "Here." It's to the first he states this simple fact, passing her the sketch he's done.

And that sketch? It's of a small goblin, who has cut off a beer can and fashioned it into a hand. He's striking a heroic pose with a frying pan, a hero of the day and prepared to save whomever it is he thinks he's saving. One might, at first, think it's a cigar sticking out of his mouth, but a moment of focus makes it quite obvious that? That's a bar from a kit kat.

-- At Dj Booth -- Lyric gets pulled a little closer to Gabriel, or maybe someone squeezed by them and pushed her there. She mmms softly before finally breaking off the kiss and looking into his zombie face. "No one ever told me cotton candy was better that way." Her own light ice blue eyes sparkle with mischief. "Much better than pot roast." Finally, she drops her arms and introduces him to her fellow DJ. "Gabriel, this is Park. Or Mee." Allowing Park to qualify which she prefers. "Park, this is Gabriel." Though now that Mae is dancing, she directs her attention there, counting the beats of the music, certain everything was set right, and it was and she beams. "You should watch her dance, she's so incredible." Catching the movement from Nicole, she waves back and winks, happy to see her here.

-- At Bar -- Poe continues to watch the stage while he drinks his Zombie, head moving with the music - having lost Blake to the crowd with not much comment after he gave his honest assessment. That's what friends are for.

-+ At On The Stage +- Mae darts back to the wall, pressing against it as the figure dances on, her eyes wide as she watches the cantering dance. Closer the dark figure comes, her hand shadowing across Mae's face, making her gaze hazy as if she were drugged, or hypnotized. Her eyes close completely and then, as if she were being prompted, she lurches forward to mirror the figure and they begin to dance together.

Around they whirl, skirts flying, hair coming loose to curl around her shoulders. The dance gets more wild and reckless, and still they mirror each other. Mae backs away from the figure, but the figure dances on. Then they both pause, eyes on one another. The music picks up in tempo and the figure dances toward Mae, her arms out as if for an embrace. Mae mirrors that, dancing forward, her arms spreading as if to embrace the dark form.

The lights in the club go out, the sound of a thunderclap rumbling through the building. A full four seconds pass and then the lights are back on, but the dark figure is the only one on the stage, it's Roxy, Mae is nowhere to be seen.

-- At Bar -- "Oh... wow.." Nicole comments to Dylan at the bar. "They always put on the most amazing shows... like, not what you expect for a gentleman's club. I mean, this...." She gestures towards the stage. "Is just... jaw-dropping!" When she notices he is sketching and into his quiet zone, she grins. "Oh... sorry." She lets him finish, her eyes going back up to the stage. However, in their sweep of the club, she spots Poe, and Gabriel too, giving them waves if she manages to catch their eye.
%% Zoiya leaves place On The Stage.

-+ At On The Stage +- The dark figure, Echo (or Roxy as some know her), stands stock still for a long moment. In the 4 seconds of darkness, the black gauzy coverings over her face, arms, and chest, and legs were torn off, leaving her features visible, pale skin, blue eyes bright as a spring sky, and dark, dark makeup. Tendrils of black hair are spin about her face, looking wet. Her eyes are darkly lined and her lips are painted black as well. The gown seems to cling to her as if by magic, at least for now. The headpiece forms a widows' peak from which the netting rises. She lets out a slow breath, looking over the audience members, a wicked expression beginning to form on her face. The strains of Bryan Ferry's "Is Your Love Strong Enough" from the movie they are portraying begin to play.

Just one step at a time
And closer to destiny
I knew at a glance
There'd always be a chance for me
With someone I could live for
Nowhere I would rather be

Echo begins to dance in a more modern fashion to the song, but still with plenty of elements of ballet. As it reaches the first chorus, the cape is stripped off her as she pirouettes, and falls to the floor.

Is your love strong enough
Like a rock in the sea
Am I asking too much
Is your love strong enough?

Gabriel smiles at Lyric when she pulls away and then nods his head to Park. "Nice to meet you," he says, simply, letting her decide the name that she wants to go by for him. "Gabe Quintanilla. It's a long story." As if to explain him and Lyric. He then turns towards Mae on the stage, nodding. "We've met, but I haven't seen her dance before." Then there is a Nicole and she receives a raise of his glass in greeting.

-- At Bar -- Love is somewhat distracted by the dance on stage, but she nods, and her pale-eyed gaze finds Nicole with that order. "Sure, sweetheart." The silver-masked bartender sets about unstoppering a bottle to pour the orange-glittered liquid into a shaker with ice, alone with apple cider, grenadine, fireball, and a splash of cranberry. She shakes it and strains it into a glass, contents swirling burnt-orange and spicy-sweet. She tucks a little stir straw into it and passes it over to Nicole.

She leans on the bar watching Mae & Roxy, then just Roxy up on stage! The mirroring dance is hypnotic, and the bartender may need to be reminded to move again. Which will probably happen when Madison orders. Or by the time Vik manages to make it through security.

-- At Bar -- Madison leans against the bar, her hips swaying like a cat's behind her, eyes on Love's as if she is trying to find something inside the bartender's head, "Cinematic, of course! If I have the option, I always go with the sparkly one!" She seems way excited about these games, or at least that is until the stage action begins.

She turns around to eye the performance, looking at Nicole, "We meet everywhere! This is some fated stuff!" At the performance, Madison nods, slowly, "We are getting into Tim Curry territory. Bold as fuck. I like it." A smile on her face, she is obviously enjoying the whole theatrics of it, her eyes glued on the performers now.

The goth is paying attention to the performance when Dylan calls her attention. When he does, Madison takes the piece of paper, confused. She eyes it, and it takes a moment for her to register what is up, as if she is waiting for the other shoe to drop that, weirdly enough, doesn't. She grins, still somewhat confused, and sniffles, hugging the man. "That is so sweet, dude! You didn't have to!"

If Dylan was trying to keep it to himself before, now it is going to be nigh impossible. She immediately turns to Alison and Nicole, "Look what he did! It's Cancatcher!" She squeals, and then shuts the fuck up, realizing there are performances she might be messing up.

"Is it always like this at Halloween?" Viktor half-asks security before throwing out a little 'What?' shrug as a leatherman, folded and closed is held up in front of him with a judgmental stare. "You know I-"

Aaaand lights. Gone.

When they come back up, Viktor's staring with a slightly incredulous look, and the security guard is just shaking his head to wave him on through, handing back the little lazer cut mask that'll cover most of one eye and a cheek in gold.

-- At Bar -- Tim waves at Roxy as she departs, peers at the various goblins. The Cabaret sure has gone all out with this whole goblin thing.

He settles back at Roxy and Mae dance. He's honestly not sure what he'd expected, but this, was not it. He stirs his drink and sips. This should be a show in Vegas or something, what were they doing in Gray Harbor? (What were any of them doing in Gray Harbor...

-- At Bar -- The artist's head swivels over towards Nicole, flashing her that brit smile from beneath his mask, even as Dylan's attention turns to see what she's watching. That small turns even more dazzling for a few moments, and he agrees, "Art." Pure, plain and simple, at least as far as he's concerned. "Doing good?" It's a touch of worry cast towards the hair fairy, kept mostly hidden due to his outfit.

"Uhhhmmm, it's-" Not that he needs to finish that thought as the lightbulb goes off in Madison's head, and soon enough he's being squeezed in a hug. "Oh. Right." Out his arm comes awkwardly for a few moments, giving a pat against her back to this woman he's just met. "Welcome."

-- At Dj Booth -- "You can call me either" Gremlin-Park assures Gabriel as she is introduced. "Nice to meet you. You should definitely marry Lyric. You won't find any better." Then her eyes are also on the magic happening on stage. First Mae and then Roxy - so incredible. "Oh my gosh! I love this movie. But this is way, way better." What must nomadic truck drivers think when they show up here expecting cheap sleaze and get such incredible beauty instead?

Mae walks out from the back room, and now that she's done for a while, she's actually in costume -- if it can be called that. She's wearing a Unicorn onesie ( https://tinyurl.com/y6jkletc ) complete with matching slippers and glitter around her eyes. She is carrying what remains of her sidecar, which isn't much, and once she reaches the bar she settles down near Dylan, Blake and Poe. "Blake. You know, I'm glad you're here. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? You too, Poe? Because I want you to come to dinner at his house." She points at Dylan. "Before either of you ask, I'm not cooking."

She turns her head to Love. "You too, by the way. Oh and can I have one of the smoke drinks please?"

-+ At On The Stage +- Echo moves to the pole and sets her back to it, an arm reaching up over her head to grip it as she slides against it slowly, eyes closed as if fighting the inner war of darkness and light. One hand unfastens the overskirts of the outfit and she leaps up on the pole, letting them pool at the base, leaving her in the V-necked corset and matching black thong panties with sheer black stockings. Her legs wrap around the pole and she backbends, hanging on by her legs above her in a figure four position, head dangling towards the floor as her arms move in sinuous waves.

Just one beat of your heart
And stranger than fantasy
I knew from the start
It had to be the place for me
Someone that I would die for
There's no way I could ever leave

Echo's fingers trail down that deep V from navel to throat, the broad expanse of bared skin and captured curves. Then she sets her hands on the floor and does a walkover off the pole into a front split.

Is your love strong enough
Like a rock in the sea
Am I asking too much
Is your love strong enough?

-- At Bar -- "Thanks, Love." She smiles and winks at the bartender, which may or may not be noticed with that mask she is wearing. She leaves the top on the bar and reaches for the glittery drink, taking a sip of it and smacking her ruby red lips. Nodding to Madison with an 'mmhmm' she smiles. "We certainly do. Fate!" She looks to the sketch Madison shows off and smiles. Not knowing what significance it might have, she says, "his art is always spectacular. At Dylan's concerned question to her, her smile fades slightly, but she nods, reaching over to give his forearm a gentle squeeze.

-- At Bar -- Dylan leans in, letting his shoulder bump gently against Mae's once she settles down and starts handing out invitations, while he? He goes back to sketching. "Another drink!" Not a shot by the sound of it, and those big blue eyes are cast towards the stripper in hope she'll figure out something for him. His eyes are still watching what goes on with the stage, a low 'hmmm' of consideration, all the while he sketches out something.

And this one? Well, Dylan knows Blake is still there. It's slid over to the man, "For you." And it? It has another goblin drawn on it in good detail, but this one is down on his knees, arms lifted up as if bowing to royalty. He has a deliriously pleased smile on his face, and held in his hands are two quite sharp knives. "Good," It's a reassuring smile cast towards Nicole, before she too gets a, "Thanks!" for her compliment.

-- At Bar -- Love shakes up a combo of shimmery blackberry purple liqueur into a shaker with apple brandy, shaking it just long enough to chill the liquid without melting ice to dilute it overmuch. She pours a short splash of grenadine that bleeds to the bottom of the martini glass, settling red there. She serves it up with a bamboo skewer stabbing through a heart-shaped strawberry and a blackberry. Crushed dry ice powder on top creates a theatrical smoking effect. "Don't drink this until it's stopped smoking." She gives it a swirl the tips her nails along the base of the glass, and slides it across a smoking bar top to Madison.

She busts out laughing when she sees Mae in the unicorn onesie. "I love you so much. Oh my god." She carries on laughing and then slurps a huge slurp of the extra Zombie she made. Because what situation isn't improved by Moar Rum.

She's still smiling when she starts in on a second Witch's Heart for Mae, shaking, straining, and smoking her potions up behind the bar.

-- At Bar -- "I got your text." Poe says to Mae, giving a quick smile. "I'd love to come for Thanksgiving. Gran has something going on with friends and I don't think either Lex or I are going to put together much in the way of a meal. Having good food with friends sounds like the perfect way to spend it. You'll just have to let me know what to bring. Supposed to bring something when you get invited over, right? I've seen them do it on television shows." Because God knows, Poe has never been invited to Thanksgiving like a real adult.

-- At Dj Booth -- Lyric outright laughs and shakes her head. "We're not really getting married. I don't do that." That whole get married thing. In a lower aside to Park she says softly. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that promises aren't for keeps?" It's probably something most around here learn at a very young age. She watches the stage more and smiles, "They are so good at what they do." A look to Gabriel, maybe a touch confused at something, but she smiles. "Maybe."
%% Viktor is about to join the scene.
%% Viktor has arrived.
%% Blake leaves place Stageside.
%% Blake joins place Bar.

-- At Bar -- Blake moves back to the bar after Mae's routine is done. His mask is up now and he looks a little pale. He has one empty zombie glass, which he deposits on the bar near Mae and Dylan. Then he starts drinking the other when Mae asks her question. "Uh...I don't know." When the drink with the sketch ends up in front of him, he squints down at it and then back up to Dylan. "That actually happened?" He turns to Dylan. He's not listening to Poe right now. Nope. All of that intensity and focus is on Dylan.

-- At Dj Booth -- "Of course promises are for keeps" Park pouts at Lyric before her grin is back. "That's why you don't make any. And since we'll be rock stars, we can't really get married, so I understand that you're just using Gabriel for hot sex." A sweet smile for the man in question. "I'm sure you're not complaining. Isn't Roxy so classy" she sighs. Then an exuberant wave at Mae. "I have one of those!" she mouths, pointing at the onesie for a moment before back to the show.

-+ At On The Stage +- Echo slides her hands back down the center of her chest, and they rest on the bottom of the bodice. She unfastens it and it slides off her shoulders, leaving her nude from the waist up, her skin glistening from a dusting of glitter. She rises from the split with nothing but the strength of her legs, hands sliding up her body, over her curves, and over her head as she does so, as if being drawn upwards by an invisible thread.

Is your love strong enough
Just one beat of your heart
Is your love strong enough
Just one beat of your heart

She clutches her hands to her breast, head swung to one side, eyes shut, as if that inner struggle is still going on. Then she drops to the stage on her back and her legs lift, stockings sliding against one another as she stretches out languidly, accepting her darkness. Her hands hook into the sides of her thong and in time with the music, she lifts her torso to almost press against her raised thighs, and slides the little fabric undergarment up and off, leaving her bared to the crowd.

Strong enough?
Strong enough?

She writhes on the floor to the final strains of the music, hands moving over her body, before the lights wink out once more. When they come up, she is gone.

Gabriel laughs at Lyric's response and then turns back to the stage. When Zoiya comes out with a unicorn onesie on, and he quirks an eyebrow and then just shrugs his shoulders. Sure. That's how this works. But then there is talk of Lyric just using him for sex and he rolls his eyes at Park.

-- At Bar -- Dylan watches the reaction Blake has, and his head tips to one side, for once not sinking down beneath that gaze when the fellow looks his way. "Yes." He states without an ounce of deception, certainty in his voice. "Thanks... helping." He murmurs, that lopsided smile appearing briefly before he leans in towards Mae, a couple - probably exactly - words whispered before he looks around for a drink. Any will do, really!

-- At Bar -- It's not on the menu for the night, but Love cracks open a ginger beer to mix up a Moscow Mule for Dylan. It's served in a chilled collins glass rather than a copper mug here, and garnished in mint and a lime wedge. There should be just enough vodka in there to get his personal party started.

She pulls out a pitcher from the cooler, a bottle of prosecco too, and pours up a line of Peach Bellinis made with fresh puree from local, organic peaches. They're refreshing, tart, and sweet. She smiles, glancing up to catch the end of Roxy's dance, raising her glass to it after she sends a waitress packing a tray of bellinis off to a 6-top near the stage. That should keep them refreshed.

"If I'm going to dress up, I'm going to be comfortable." Mae responds, giving Love a prim grin. "I didn't get the memo that says when you're female that you have to dress skimpy for Halloween." She kicks her feet back and forth and picks up her drink once it stops smoking. She nods at Dylan and then she leans against the bar to watch Roxy complete her dance. Then the Bellinis are poured and it catches her eyes. Hello.

She catches Love's eyes and mouths, "I want one of those." pointing to the drink she just poured.

It's too noisy to carry on a proper conversation so she decides to pester people about turkey later, and proceeds to people watch.

Free. Viktor is free of security. Just in time for the lights to cut out at the final part of Echo's routine, his eyes distracted by the sight of... is that a unicorn onesie?

His leg instantly eats shit against an unoccupied chair in sudden dim-light of an unlit stage.

He keeps it in, though. Echo's routine is not end-capped with the sound of someone yelling 'Goddamnit' and a litany of curses. He, however, is totally putting more weight on one leg when he finally reaches the bar.

-- At Bar -- Pouring another bellini is easy enough. She hasn't even put the bottle and pitcher away! Love pulls out another champagne flute, pours the sparkling wine, and tops up the other with the puree mixture. She gives it a light swirl and then passes the bubbly tart drink to Mae, her nails clicking lightly against the glass stem. "I got these from a local. They're really good peaches."

Blake knows. He was drinking one outside earlier.

-- At Dj Booth -- "We haven't had sex, Park." Lyric tells her. "In fact, that was our only kiss too." She applauds both Mae, then Roxy, aka Echo. "I am going to go get a drink, if you need me, Park, just call me over." She sort of nudges Gabriel in silent invitation, or he can stay and get to know Park too, whichever he prefers, but she's going to the bar for a drink.
%% Lyric leaves place Dj Booth.
%% Lyric joins place Bar.

-- At Bar -- The appearance of a moscow mule has Dylan's eyes going ever so wide, and this time? He just mouths to Love, 'Your wonderful' so no one can overhear that she's secretly the bestest bartender ever. Those shots must be really kicking in now, catching just the bit of skimpy clothing not needed from the dancer next to him, and his hea dswivels to focus on Mae. "Beautiful. Unicorn." He concludes with complete honesty before he slumps against the bar. Fingers fumble a bit for his phone after one last glance to her, and then they start tapping, with a fair bit of backspacing due to tipsy texting.

-- At Bar -- Tim realizes he's probably watching a little too intently. Attempts to effect a mild disinterest. Be sophisticated, Bakshi, like you learned at all those boring as fuck gallery parties. Viktor's saga with security helps lighten the mood, but he still fans himself at the end of the routine, takes a big ol' swig of that Poisoned Apple. He might need a few more of those. Scratch that, he will need them.

He winces at Viktor's collision with the chair. Well. Someone else is going to want to drink a lot too, looks like.

-- At Bar -- "Thank you." But there's a sense that the two words from Blake mean more than something passing and perhaps not just to do with goblin sketches. "Of course." He keeps looking up to the other man like some kind of anchor. "I should probably give them this drink then. I promised. Watch mine?" The one that Dylan just bought him of course. He looks over to Love and nods before disappearing into the crowd toward the back.

-- At Bar -- Love takes a few steps down the way, pausing in front of Viktor. She leans against the bar, her arms loosely crossed, regarding him through her silvery goblin mask, moon-colored gaze intent. "You need a drink, babe?" Is that judgment in her tone? Surely not.

-- At Dj Booth -- "Oops...sorry" Park blushes brightly behind her half-mask at Lyric's chastity revelation. "I'm sure you will though" she offers hopefully before a hug adieu to the other DJ. Gabriel will get a hug too. Many people who come within arm's reach of Park do. Applause and hollering for Roxy Echo at the end of her set before she moves to line up the music for the next dancer. "I've got it, Lyric" she promises; no 'Baby Shark' tonight.
%% Viktor joins place Bar.

-- At Bar -- Love thumbs up to Blake, keeping an eye out for his drink. She knows, and knows well, what comes of unattended drinks on a bar (very recently, in fact). If she ever catches someone dropping a roofie in this bar...

-- At Bar -- ...Viktor will end up drinking it. He's got a half-wave going on to Tim and his empathetic wince, and elbows up on the counter to look at Love with a slightly weary gaze. "All of the drinks. Please."
%% Dropping Alison from pose order. (by Alison)

Mae leans in to bump Dylan with her shoulder, aiming a brilliant smile in his direction. She is beautiful, and she's rainbow colored. She pushes down her hood and pulls her phone from her pocket to start firing off text messages. She looks pretty intent while doing so, and then she picks up her drink to sip at it. She watches Blake take off and then her eyes settle on Viktor. "Hey, you made it!" She holds up a finger and then sends off another text.
\Roxy emerges from the back a few minutes later, back in the Snow White costume, accepting tips from patrons as she passes them, and pressing a kiss to Mae's cheek as she passes her in thanks for her help with the routine. She gets a water from the bar and heads back out to find Tim again. She is all smiles when she finds him. "Was that all right?" she asks him, hopefully.

Roxy emerges from the back a few minutes later, back in the Snow White costume, accepting tips from patrons as she passes them, and pressing a kiss to Mae's cheek as she passes her in thanks for her help with the routine. She gets a water from the bar and heads back out to find Tim again. She is all smiles when she finds him. "Was that all right?" she asks him, hopefully.

Gabriel gives Park a hug farewell when she offers it to him and slips off to follow after Lyric to the bar, digging out his phone to send a text or two before he slips up into the stool next to her, waving for another Zombie for himself. Yes, they are strong. Just like how he seems to like them.

-- At Bar -- "Yeah." Dylan tells Blake, that lopsided smile flashed towards him, a twitch of hi snose, before a deep, steadying breath is taken in. That exchange has a brief glance cast to Mae to see if she watched, but soon enough his eyes are back on his phone, all the while sucking down that moscow mule as if it was the nectar of the gods itself. That bump from Mae has him swaying far away, only to come back in and gently collide with her again, before his fingertips continue tapping away.

-- At Bar -- The goth has been silent so far, eyeing the performances and drinking her Witchy drink (after it has stopped smoking). She does so slowly, sip by sip, her eyes distant as she thinks about a thousand things, or simply zones out.

Madison stuffs her drawing, quite carefully, into her apron, waving at Dylan and mouthing a 'Thank you'. From her purse, the goth takes a few crumpled notes, eyes the prices of drinks, picks some coins from her wallet, counts them, and gives it everything neat and counted to Love.

"I reaaaaally need to check on something, Ali. Don't get into trouble! Or better yet, do, and we can share stories." Madison finishes her drink, and eyes Love, knocking on the bar, "Hey, thank you for this, this ways -amazish-! And this place is great! I gotta jet now but hey, you have a fan!"

As Roxy passes by her, she adds a "You killed it!" before strutting elsewhere, tippity tapping at her phone!

At Bar:
Slowly Dylan staggers to his feet, peering at his phone for a few long moments. He smacks it once, a small frown curling to his features, and then it's stuffed into his his cloak. "Thanks Love," He offers the bartender a big, boyish smile flashed her way, before his eyes fall to find Mae. "Hi. Wanna?" Well, who knows wanna what, but surely she'll figure out whatever that means.

At Bar:
"One drink. One. At a time." Love replies to Viktor, and then wanders down the bar to assemble a concoction of unequaled redness and fiery burnination. In a cocktail shaker. With a mess of tabasco sauce. She pours that into a rocks glass, waves to the trainee up to the front lines of the bar. She winks to him and then raises her brows to Mae, and skitters off to take a break.

At On The Stage:
Mae gets to her feet, pulling the hood of her unicorn costume up. She grins over at Dylan, nodding. "Sounds like a plan." She takes his hand, pulling him toward the door.

Meanwhile the party rages on, people drinking and partying in the background.