Pilot Ridge Holiday Bash 2013!

[Event !]

Who exactly started the Pilot Ridge Holiday Party tradition has been lost to time, as at least three different people in town claim it was their idea. (It was totally Mrs. Perry, but not enough people can corroborate it, so she has to share the credit.) But no matter who first put it into motion, the party is a tradition the whole town anticipates every year.

This year, it is being held at The Churchkey Bar and is being sponsored by Cecil Wathen. Admission is $20, and half of that is donated to the charity-of-the-year. (This year's charity: an organization fighting homelessness.) There is a sliding scale for those who cannot pay, partially funded by those willing and able to pay more. There is plenty of food, and plenty of booze. Not to mention, a lovely dance floor.

And they're serious about carding. No Hammel students or characters under 21 allowed. Not even ones who might work there.


This event will be closed on January 31. The party itself takes place on Dec. 21. This thread is not eligible for Thread of the Month. It is a party thread, so do not worry about post order, so long as you have something to respond to. (And get people involved! Drink and dance with someone new!)

[Barbara Robinson]

It had been a good year for Barbara. The summer months had brought a lot of business to her ice cream parlor, and the mild autumn and beginning of winter meant that she still had a healthy stream of customers coming through her doors. All this was to say that come the holidays, she was feeling particularly festive, a word not often used to describe the woman.

Arriving right on time to the annual holiday party, she paid thirty dollars at the door, asking that the extra ten go to someone who could not afford the full price of admission; she was a woman who had gone through her own financial hardships, so she knew what it was like to rely on the generosity of others. Now that business was doing well and she could afford to, she wanted to pay it forward.

Frankly, her presence at the holiday party was a change for her in the first place: last year had been her first time attending, despite having lived in the area all her life. The risk she'd taken in going (she didn't like social occasions like parties, especially when she knew so few people there) was rewarded by making a whole host of new friends. Some she saw throughout the past year, others she was looking forward to seeing again this evening.

Heading into the building, she found that she was among the first to arrive. She never understood the concept of being 'fashionably late' or whatever. Fashion, as it was, was somewhat elusive to her: she wore this evening a dress of forest green, her hair newly cut and highlighted. She thought she looked nice.

Making a bee-line for the bar, she sat down on one of the stools and gestured towards the bartender. "Stella, please." She was a middle class woman at heart, and she liked beer.

[Elizabeth Greene]

Elizabeth normally went to these sort of functions with her husband. It was just easier for her to be able to 'lean' on someone, so to speak, since sometimes her ability acted up and she felt every single emotion going on in the room. At a large gathering where the booze was flowing freely, that could often be very overwhelming for her. But being unable to find a babysitter that night - their daughter was nearly nine years old now, still a bit young to stay home by herself - and figuring it was more beneficial for Councilor Greene to attend the party than her husband, they decided that it was time for some daddy-daughter bonding. So Liz was off to the party on her own.

Handing fifty dollars at the door - as a politician, she had reason to ensure she gave much more than was necessary - she stepped into the bar and took a look around. She was wearing a dark orange skirt suit and emerald earrings, her hair tied up in a loose bun. It seemed not too many people had arrived, so she made her way over to the bar and ordered herself a glass of red wine. Once the party was in full swing, she would make the rounds.

[Molly Kingsley]

Molly was hiding.

She was also two beers in.

But even with a buzz, she still had the presence of mind to be hiding.

Because she totally recognized that blonde guy who had just walked in.

Though... well, the last time she saw him he was wearing something a lot more... Batman. Molly was pretty sure it was Dark Knight era, but, to be honest, she didn't remember much of that evening. She was full of con juice. And by con juice she meant Four Loko, Kraken, and something one of her roommates had mixed her. She was mostly trashed.

What she did remember from that night were the following;
1. She'd been dressed as Morrigan from Dragon Age
2. She'd been fixated on keeping her boobs in her shirt
3. She'd gone to the late night chip tune show in one of the ballrooms
4. She'd been dancing with some cute guy, and then...
5. There was definitely some making out.

They'd probably swapped numbers at some point, but Molls never really got in contact with con friends until she was going back to the con where they'd met. And she also felt mortified by the prospect of con friends seeing her irl. This was because at con Molly was confident, and frequently loud, and flirty, and constantly tipsy. And irl, she was quiet, awkward, and couldn't flirt to save her life.

Molly took a deep breath, beer bottle clutched in her hand, and peeked out from behind the wall leading to the bathrooms. It took her a second to find him again, but as soon as she did she flattened herself against the wall again. He was so much closer! It must've been that walking business. Walking! It moved people closer!

She needed to leave.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see him. She... Well, yeah, she didn't want to see him. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't remember his name. Because they'd made out, like, a lot. Like, probably sloppy and groping and draped all over him in a corner of the concert... Yeah, not her proudest moment.

In any case, now she was in need of an escape. She was also almost done with her second beer. And she decided the best solution would be to attempt to take the beer out the exit by the bathroom. Cause that was totally legal and a good idea. And she was a solid 70% sure there was no lock or alarm on that door. Despite the sign that claimed otherwise.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The Pilot Ridge Holiday Bash was one of Sean’s favorite events on the Pilot Ridge calendar. While he was no longer a practicing Catholic, and had, in fact, been a confident atheist for thirty years, he enjoyed a party and he was perfectly capable of both celebrating a secular Christmas, as well as paying homage to the winter holidays belonging to other cultures and religions. More than that, the Bash was a time for Sean to check in with adults from the town that he didn’t often get to see otherwise, and an opportunity to let his hair down in his chosen community.

They had hired a neighbor to watch Bailey for the evening, and both men and set aside additional money for the cover fee. The charity was for a good cause. More than that, both men had been in exceptionally good moods, with their respective winter recesses upon them. Sean had suggested that they wear tuxedos, and Josh had readily agreed. Thus, both men had arrived dressed to the nines in full tuxedos.

Josh had been in an exceptionally good mood, and so he had been complaining about the Christmas atmosphere far less than usual, which, in turn, put the telepath in a good mood.

Upon reaching the entrance, each man paid fifty dollars to cover twenty, because it was the season to be generous. Then, they approached the bar to order drinks.

The telepath, upon seeing Barbara, offered the younger woman a smile. “Good evening! It’s always nice to see you.”

[Stefan Spencer]

There's a slight chance that Stefan had been looking forward to this party a bit more than he should have.

Of course, he was all for charity. And Christmas. And all that. But really the important part of this little get together was seeing all his friends...and drinking with them of course.

He pulled up in his new motorcycle, even though the weather wasn't exactly appropriate. But it was his Christmas present to himself and he couldn't stand the idea of it sitting in the garage until spring.

It took him a moment to fix his helmet hair in the mirror and adjust the bow-tie of his tuxedo, but it was worth it to look is very best as he walked into the party.

"Well, hello hello," he said to no one in particular as he walked through the doors. He was grinning so much that his cheeks were starting to tire and the evening had only just begun. Of course, he made a beeline for the bar. No surprises there. He'd had a drink or two...or three before making his way here, but that was nothing compared to the plans he had for the evening.

"Don't you too look handsome," Stefan said to Josh and Sean after he had ordered a scotch.

"And Barbara, is it?" he continued, turning to the woman who looked vaguely familiar. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure, my dear."

[Barbara Robinson]

It wasn't long after she sat down that more people started to arrive. Thankfully, she saw someone she recognized almost instantly, which was a load off the mind of the woman who tended to get anxious at these sort of events. "Sean!" The woman greeted jovially, a bright smile lighting up her features. "You too, of course. Sit down, have a drink." She gestured towards the bar stools surrounding her; there were plenty for Sean, his partner, and anybody else who might join.

She turned towards Stefan upon being acknowledged. "Barbara, it is," she replied lightheartedly, extending a hand towards the man. She wasn't certain whether they had met before, perhaps at last year's party? He looked familiar, though not terribly. She had met a lot of people the previous year, so perhaps he had been among the crowd.

[Cynthia DeMato]

Cynthia DeMato lived for holiday parties. The company, the drinks, the cheer, the holiday spirit... all of it was just perfect to the socialite. And while she had loved hosting the annual bash last year and had raised a lot of money for the Opus Foundation to provide instruments to underprivileged youth, she was looking forward to just enjoying the evening without having to set up before or clean up after.

Donning a ruby red dress with her dark hair pulled back in a curly bun, Cynthia entered Churchkey, putting in her donation and checking her coat at the front. She then made her way into the bar, taking a moment to look around and see who was there. It was early yet, but already a few people had arrived. She recognized Councilor Greene immediately, both from their days at the House together (though that was really dating themselves) and political functions more recently. She also recognized, though not by name, the woman sitting at the bar from Pilot Ridge Chamber of Commerce meetings, where owners of local businesses gathered once a month to discuss issues important to business owners. There were a few other people she was certain had been at the party last year, as well as some new faces. This was turning out to be a good party already, and she had only just arrived.

Making her way to the bar, she ordered a glass of red wine for herself as Elizabeth approached her.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil had leapt at the opportunity to have the Churchkey host the Christmas bash. It was for a great cause and should be a fun night if it all went to plan. Cecil and the staff had spent the past few days making sure the place was decked out to the nine's, bright and cheery and full of Christmas spirit without being tacky. It was also a rather personal celebration for Cecil himself; it had been a year since he had dragged this place out of run-down ruin and turned it into the thriving little bar that it was today. It had taken an awful lot of time, sacrifice and money (of course), but... looking around the bar, seeing all these faces coming and going and bursting with holiday cheer...

It had been worth every single cent.

The Churchkey had, of course, already made a sizeable donation to the charity of the evening and the Welshman was excited to see what the grand total at the end of the night would be. With far more people over-paying than under-paying it was surely going to be an impressive figure, and that thought filled him with a quiet bubbling happiness. Standing behind the bar with his team, where any decent owner should be, Cecil had made an actual effort with his appearance tonight and was silently rather pleased with himself. It had been a long time since he had actually tried to look actually decent, and the jacket had been hanging in his wardrobe since he had first moved to Pilot Ridge a year and a half ago.
How time flew...

After overseeing things for a few minutes, making sure everything was flowing the way it should, Cecil stepped towards the front of the bar and smiled brightly at the first person to grab his attention. “Gwyliau yn hapus! Happy holidays! What can I get for you?”

[Melody Rivers]

Looking Good and Feeling Fine - that was Melody Rivers' mantra, and she was living it this evening. She was looking good in a light purple strapless dress, blonde hair falling down in loose curls to her shoulders, face made-up just so to give her a healthy glow. Silver bracelets banded both wrists, and a long black necklace hung just above the upper rim of her dress. And she was feeling fine as she always did come the holidays, the one season where nearly everyone was in positive spirits.

The annual holiday party had arrived, and Melody was sure to arrive on time so that she could get the most out of it. Making her donation at the door, she practically floated into the room, bright smile lighting up her face. She recognized Cynthia right away, as well as a few Hammel staff she was certain she'd encountered in the hallways at some point. She gestured for Cynthia to wait for her while she grabbed a drink at the bar, and as soon as she reached it, she was greeted by a man she assumed was the bartender.

"Oh! You too!" She replied jovially, already enjoying herself. "Gimme something strong, will you?" She asked, leaning over the bar towards the man. "With vodka." She thought for a moment. "Cosmopolitan. But strong." In case that wasn't already clear...

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh settled comfortably at the bar, greeting Barbara with a pleasant smile.

"How is business? Added any pies to your menu?"

He thought she ought to; her pie for the festival over the autumn had looked scrumptious, and he envied the judges.

The arrival of Stefan brought a wider smile to his lips, although the compliment elicited an affectionate eye roll. "It's good to see you, as well. Here to scope out stories for the paper?"

But before either of his friends could answer he spotted Mrs. Green at the other end of the bar.

"Oh, excuse me, I need to go speak with Elizabeth," he apologized, meandering toward the younger politician. He offered a nod and a wave at Cecil, vowing to speak to the bartender later, before settling down beside the woman. "Liz! I've hardly seen you since Election Day! The town council working you hard?" He greeted her only to be interrupted by the sound of an alarm blaring.

He hadn't seen the young woman sneaking into the bathroom with a beer in hand, and had no idea what the cause of the commotion was. This was not how he had expected the annual party to start off.

[Molly Kingsley]

Wow: bad bad bad idea.

Molly's eyes widened and she pulled the door shut right away, stopping the alarm, but not before it had rung out shrilly. She glanced around in panic and hurriedly pushed into the nearest door, praying no one would go searching for the source of the alarm.

It's loud alert had definitely sobered her up for a moment, though. Long enough to realize what a horrible idea it had been in the first place, and berate herself on the worst possible choice of escape routes.

But apparently not long enough to recognize a male symbol from female. 'Cause she was pretty sure she'd never seen urinals in the bathroom when she came for Pub Quiz.

Molly had been quite panicky before, but now she thought she might be having a minor crisis. Hyperventilating slightly (which was a horrible idea in a men's restroom), she briefly considered stepping out and slipping into the next door for the women's - before she cut herself off with terrified laughter of what might be waiting outside that door. She did not like attention. At least, not today. Not when she was dressed more like a freezing cold college student than a mature Hammel research assistant with a flourishing freelance graphic design business. The hoodie under her leather jacket didn't really scream 'success.'

At least she had the sense to step into a stall and close the door. Though she couldn't really pull off the disguise of a guy, thanks to the skinny jeans and heels. Pretty sure most guys weren't wearing heels to this party - though you never know. She managed to kid herself into thinking maybe she could just hide in the bathroom for the rest of the night and not be noticed.

[Barbara Robinson]

As happy as Barbara was to see certain familiar faces from last year's holiday party, it warmed her heart that they seemed just as happy to see her. Barbara wasn't one to make friends very easily - even just casual ones - so she was somewhat anxious on that front.

"Business is booming!" She exclaimed, smiling as Josh sat down near her. And it was: Shake was surprisingly busy these days despite summer having been a memory for three months now, making the off-season slump a bit less of a financial burden. "Ya know, I wasn't going to, but wouldn't you know it, Thanksgiving came around and I just had to make an apple pie." Because after all, who didn't love a slice of warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top? The very thought was making Barbara look forward to next November. It was likely these seasonal adaptations that kept Shake a happenin' place even in the autumn months.

More and more people were showing up, which was great, because it meant Barbara didn't necessarily have to be the center of attention. She liked chatting with those she knew, but she was the sort of woman whose business not everybody needed to know.

An alarm went off, and Cynthia raised an eyebrow as she took another swig of her beer, the bottle about half empty at this point. It was turned off soon enough, but needless to say it was something of an odd occurrence.

[Elizabeth Greene]

Liz had just accepted the wine glass into her hand from the bartender when she heard her name. Turning away from the bar, she saw her friend Josh approaching her.

"Josh," she greeted, moving in for a quick hug, as so many professional women greet their peers. "It's good to see you. You're right, it has been a while. Too long."

She smiled at the question. "The council and my daughter," she said with a laugh. It was true: her daughter, now nearly seven years old, was turning into a bit of a handful, having developed something of a rebellious streak not unlike Elizabeth's own in her younger years. "But things are going well," she added. "What about you? How's the practice? Is Sean here?"

An alarm suddenly went off, causing Liz to jump slightly, looking briefly around with a soft exclamation of 'oh, gosh,' before settling back in to her conversation.

((I'm assuming Elizabeth is aware of Sean, even if they aren't close like she is with Josh. Let me know if that isn't the case!))

[Everett Lilien]

Everett had entered the bar, paying his fee and exchanging typical pleasantries with a lot of the Hammel staff before heading in the direction of the bathroom. Maybe he was immature, but him and Gabe still weren't talking and when he'd been ready to leave, Gabe was in the bathroom probably spending a good amount of time on his hair. He didn't want to deal with the possibility of talking to him, so he'd decided to wait until he'd arrived at the Churchkey to use the bathroom. And man, did he have to pee.

He threw open the door to the bathroom and went inside, relieving himself quickly before he went back to the bash and tried to have some fun. Maybe Faye would be there.