Ain't Nobody Home Tonight

[Catche Jagger]

((Betty Quinn continued from Stop! Meatball Parm & Listen!))

In a room off from the main portion of the party’s commotion, Quinn had helped to arrange seats and other bits of furniture into a loose circle. At its center sat a coffee table, holding assorted drinks for any participants might need. Relaxing a bit in a chair, she looked over the scene.

After separating from her friends for a bit, Quinn found her hands idle and growing anxious. She couldn’t drink too much to ease that tension, though. No, she needed to stay relatively vigilant at a party like this, just in case something went horribly wrong. It was certain to make the evening duller for her than it would be for most, but it was a duty that needed to be done.

Luckily, someone (she actually couldn’t recall who at this point) had suggested that they start up a game of truth or dare, and Quinn had eagerly volunteered to help set up the room for the game. Noise still filtered in through the open doorway, as did the occasional person, but the place still felt something like an island among the sea of partygoers.

Now, scooting the final chair into position, she relaxed a little, adjusting the fake glasses that she wore as a part of her Velma costume, before clasping her hands together.

“So… who’s going to go first?” Quinn asked with a gentle smile, looking around at the others in the room.

[RC~]

((Przemyslaw Ziemiak Pregame Start))

Przemek was hesistant to go to a party. It's not like he doesn't like parties, or he didn't want to go. But something inside him told him not to go.

But there were a lot of people here. It wasn't this kind of party, just a friendly school party, with his classmates, more like a school event than a wild house party. It was tame, he talked with a few people and suddenly found himself in a circle of chairs playing truth or dare.

Przemek smirked at Betty.

"Why don't you go first? Truth or Dare, Betty?"

[DerArknight]

((Dawn Montogomery continued from Operation Cold Hands))

To be perfectly honest, Dawn's presence in the circle was more of a misunderstanding: when she saw a few people refigurating the room's seating arrangements, she assumed they were going to play Musical Chairs. And now that she had helped set everything up, a weird obligation held Dawn in place.

She could count the times in her life where she played Truth Or Dare on one hand. In her experience, it was a game that could be a lot of fun, but was always only one sentence away from getting very awkward. It all depended on the people you played with.

While not particularly close, Dawn knew that Quinn and the boy whose name she had trouble mermorizing even after all this years of being classmates were okay people. Same went for the others in the circle. So it should be okay.

Awaiting Quinn's answer, Dawn took a sip of her coke zero.

[Cicada]

Praise be the sheeple, the meek who shall inherit the earth.

She was happy to float along with her cosplay- mostly done but for the fluff choker. People's praise and interest and confusion was graciously welcome, of course. However briefly she existed in someone's memory before she inevitably drifted out, light and color existed in her life. A bit more vibrant than the usual explosion of hues that spilled over her canvas brain. Too much to hope that others felt the same when she gave them her best self and her best smile. Too much to ask. She'd be content with whatever anyone was willing to think of her. Good or bad.

The drift of her dandelion body ended when she saw familiar faces.

(( Cedar Dailsay's Friends, Thread 3 ))

Well actually, maybe she couldn't honestly call two of the three already formulating a circle of bodies friends in the strictest sense. Przemyslaw was friendly and straight lace, a party boy minus the party. Well, most of the time, present an exception to the rule. Maybe he wanted someone to ask, to validate his reason for showing up. Maybe if she got a moment.

Quinn was one among several who shared the same name, a leader among thespians who mostly did not share the same name. Like Przemyslaw well put together in the obvious way. A good soul who didn't need a Cedar in her life.

Dawn was a friend but one Cedar admittedly struggled with. Her soul gently oozed baby hues, soft, inviting to some degree that made Cedar quietly uncomfortable. Too close was too close, even if welcome. Still, Dawn was probably out of her element here, Cedar didn't remember that Dawn played the potentially raunchier sorts of party games all that often. Neither did Cedar by default, so here they were on even ground.

Cedar smiled for herself and the others, found a chair by Dawn and took it with a pleasantly mild hum of pain as her bones settled into place. A tumbler of water sans more interesting mixers rested between the pink-tinged fluff enveloping her forearms- all she'd be eating or drinking this whole party.

"Hey guys." She sounded tired, which was typical when she was encountered in the wild. Cedar had already debuted the costume at school, but her voice hopefully gave her away if there was no prior association. Immediately she offered. "I'll go first if that'll help us get started. If Quinn goes first though," she took a moment to contemplate the necessary firstborn sacrifice. "Truth: which Betty is the most annoying. Dare: pull up compass app and try to swap costumes with whoever the needle points at." Pause.

She shot a cheeky peace sign Dawn's way because why not.

[Catche Jagger]

It was good that Quinn wasn’t the only person likely to show good judgement in the circle. Dawn in particular had always come off as a kind and good-natured sort, not the type to fly off the handle.

Przemyslaw, on the other hand, had something of a history. He’d cleaned up his act more recently, but there was something to be said about an addict attending a party, even if the atmosphere was relaxed for now. Though she tried not to let it show too much, Quinn would be keeping a careful eye on him as the night progressed.

Cedar was more of a mystery to Quinn, but she’d heard nothing particularly negative and the girl was wearing some sort of very cute anime costume. The dare she provided also seemed to indicate an inclination away from things getting too risque, which spoke positively to her self control.

“Oh well, I hate to be too conventional, but I suppose I’ll start us off with truth.” She spoke up, smiling at the others before continuing.

“If we are just going off of my own experiences… well, I love all of them dearly, but BB and I haven’t always gotten along the best.” A sigh escaped her lips with that statement, her smile briefly replaced with something more ambiguous and thoughtful, not so much needing to grasp her answer, but instead how to frame it.

“I’m sure she would pick me if she were asked the same question, and I don’t think I’d hold it against her. It’s just how we are. So that’s my answer, Betty Black.” Quinn came to the conclusion with some authority in her voice, as though explaining the solution to a riddle.

And now came the chance to get a better understanding of the newest arrival. Quinn’s smile returned.

“Since you volunteered, why don’t you go next, Cedar? Truth or dare?”

[Cicada]

((skip approved))

Cedar made a note to herself: trim the bangs. Wig hair was sharp and hurt if it got in the eyes.

"Dare," no hesitation. Bit of trepidation but she kept that to herself.

[RC~]

((Przemylsaw Ziemiak continued elsewhere))

[DerArknight]

Not long after they started, Cedar came along and joined them. Glad to see a more familiar face, Dawn answered Cedar's peace sign with a smile.

The game started, and Quinn's answer was surprisingly to-the-point, which was fine with Dawn. Otherwise it could have ended awkward.

The mobile phone of Przemylsaw rang, so he excused himself for a bit. Dawn kinda hoped he would rejoin them later.

Then it was Cedar's turn, and she chose Dare. If they played with the "Truth-Truth-Dare"-rules, that meant she might have just saved Dawn from having to do a Dare, so that was nice from her. Dawn found Dares more difficult than Truths since words could be resolved with even more words, while actions could have much bigger consequences.

[Gundham]

((Karin Han Pregame Start))

Karin liked parties. Sure, parties were one of the leading causes of social interaction, but they had good aspects too. For instance, the music. Karin's mother sometimes played traditional Korean stuff when she was doing housework, and some hymns at church got lively enough when the congregation was super into it, but party music? That was music in the raw. Music that wanted to take hold of you and make you feel things, and made you want to dance about them. She'd tried listening to some of the songs at home on YouTube, but you never got the same effect with earphones, no matter how loud you turned up the volume. You could only really get into it by being there. And sometimes the food was pretty good too.

The lighting, though - that was a minefield at any party, and this one was no exception. And in fact, the bubbleheaded hostess seemed to have gone out of her way to make it worse. Just what kind of parents were Mommy and Danny Bird if they were willing to shell out for an actual lighting rig for their skank princess' bone-a-paloozas? There were lights spearing around the room in time to the beat, and every now and again they'd probe in her direction. Karin was a lot better about bright lights than she used to be; a few years ago, she wouldn't have been able to enter a room like this without throwing up or having a panic attack. But not today, Satan! After several years and probably several thousand dollars' worth of therapy, she had worked out a defense mechanism. Karin reached up and adjusted the two-dollar pair of sunglasses she'd bought at a gas station, ensuring that the lenses would block out the accursed lights. Sure, it was dark and she'd run the risk of stumbling into things, but she could always pretend she was drunk and giggle a bit. People would forgive drunk giggly girls for anything.

"Hey, cool 'stume!" said the kind of guy who would say "'stume" to a human he didn't know and think it was a good idea. "Kung fu guy, right?"

Karin looked down at the white pajamas she was wearing, then gave him the best withering look she could muster through the shades. "Wowww," she said, drawing it out for full condescension points. "Try... Elvis Presley?" she said, pointing to the shades. The "duh" went unsaid, but was definitely implied. This was one of Karin's favorite games at Halloween parties.

She didn't stick around for his reaction, but instead slipped out the side. She was looking for the alcohol. Not that she was going to drink any - her parents would hit the roof. Alcohol was a road map to embarrassment. If you followed the little red cups around the room, you could figure out who was going to cry, who was going to ralph, and who was going to run upstairs with whoever else to really annoy whoever washed the bedsheets in the Bird household. Stuff like that was ammunition - she didn't plan on using it any time soon, but it was good to have it stockpiled just in case.

But there wasn't any alcohol in the room she'd stumbled into - just a room full of chairs and people. Karin was about to excuse herself when she heard the three words that were even better than alcohol. "Truth or Dare?"

She invited herself into the room with a quiet wave and sat down in the corner, outside of both the circle and the game. She had no interest in playing, but she was very, very interested in watching. Not that she wanted them to know that. She pulled out her phone just to make it clear that she wasn't intending to infringe on whatever they were doing, but kept her ears open while her thumbs aimlessly scrolled. Who knew what kinds of juicy secrets might slip out?

[Yonagoda]

"Heyyyy," Bets drawled as she set her bottle down and dropped down to site crossed-legged on the floor, her hair and dress landing into positions a few milliseconds after her body, legs impacting the ground with a little floomp, movement fluid.

"What are you doing?" Which was sort of a shorthand for 'I know what you guys are doing, can I join in?' Which further highlights the impossible social conventions for people in even the most casual of conversations which also then-

So she caved in and took a small sip of a disgustingly saccharine 10% spiked punch 90% diet spite concoction. It must be about 0.05% alcohol, and mostly just artificially flavored water, but the activation of the placebo effect in her brain had convinced her that she was either a.drunk or b.on a sugar high. Or both. At the same time. She wasn't very good in health class.

Truth or dare had a reputation of getting out of hand. Drunk teens, peer pressure to debase oneself, and the such, you know. Betty was the kind to pick truth, because it was pretty easy for her to get away from lying.

[Catche Jagger]

Cedar’s lack of hesitation in leaping directly into a dare did catch Quinn off guard, leaving her in silence for a moment. Dares were usually the most dangerous part of this game, the part which could most easily slip into an outrageous arms race that would cause nothing but headaches.

Perhaps Cedar thought the party needed to be livened up, or she didn’t care about the possible ramifications, or perhaps she’d read Quinn more successfully that the girl would’ve liked. Her posture had grown tense at the confidence with which Cedar announced her choice.

Bets’ arrival gave Quinn a moment to breathe, and she let out a gentle sigh.

“Hi Bets, we’re just playing Truth or Dare. You’re welcome to join.” She explained with a welcoming smile, gesturing towards an empty chair to the side of the room. Still, there was no use in fixating too much on Bets or the question of “why” Cedar had chosen her current course of action. Quinn would be holding up the game if she did.

“I dare you… to sing for us. You can choose the song, verse and a chorus.” Quinn smiled as the idea came to her. It was a good choice, she thought, something that could serve as a challenge or embarrassment for some, without becoming dangerous or dipping into the risque.

Her expression turning more self-satisfied as she thought the matter over, Quinn relaxed into her seat once again.

[DerArknight]

Dawn acknowledged the two newcomers with friendly but stereotypical greetings. More people meant more fun, after all.

When Quinn - now no longer the only Betty around - proclaimed the dare, Dawn got clairaudient for a moment. Then she relaxed. It was an easy dare that shouldn't make any problems.

Now that I think about it, I can't remember hearing Cedar ever singing. I wonder how good she is?

Dawn took another sip of her drink.

[Cicada]

Quinn, she'd possibly caught off guard. Cedar guessed she had been a bit too enthusiastic to throw herself under the bus, voluntary self-humiliation wasn't always the most relatable.

Bit more of a crowd forming now!

... Just in time to witness her minute of glory, question mark? Cedar wasn't too good at TikTok- she wasn't actually aware that JEM had any budding influencers. At least on that particular platform. If anyone was going to upload a video of her singing because it was that good or that bad, she wouldn't be guaranteed to be upset, but she still reserved the right to not be particularly happy about it!

Cedar adjusted one of her horns, the bobby pins threading the plaster mold through her wig cap dangerously close to surrendering to gravity. She appraised the other newcomers. Karin, a supposedly unpleasant gossip. Another Betty- Bets, if she remember right- who was friendly and well liked but not particularly noteworthy for being either. Neither probably too receptive to her own particular brand of being overbearing, probably.

Anyways, Cedar stood as Quinn sat. She wasn't going to put her full spine into it but a little bit of posture helped with the whole lung exercise thing she called singing.

Also some of the others were drinking. Tempting. Punch, coke (the soda variant)... She'd have to ask if any of them were spiked before she took the risk, and she probably wouldn't anyway.

So there was one song that came to mind immediately, like, the melody almost started coming out of her mouth before she could remember the actual phonetics of the words she only knew because of practice and not because she actually spoke the language. Much as she wasn't the best singer she had fun with her allotted minute and thirty- had to make Tenshi proud, after all. Rep all the weebs with her stupid smile, slightly exaggerated and theatric sway, the little finger snaps. Being an alto she couldn't hit a number of the relatively high notes without her throat audibly tightening up to force them out. She could hear the choir club's leader reprimanding her for not practicing her head voice in the distance as she sat down, satisfied and confident. Regardless of if she'd embarrassed herself or not she'd had fun. Enough for eyes to shine like she'd just aced it, either way.

[Yonagoda]

Bets wasn't interested in Truth Or Dare unless it was humiliating to someone.

She pulled out her phone and wondered if she actually had the power to ruin a relationship if she dared someone to, like, kiss someone else. It's kind of weird, a game that relies so heavily on trust and relationships- you can't play it without a highly social setting, be it a crowd or a handful of close friends and whatnot, because the very bases of the game is 'how far can you debase yourself dor amusement and the chance to inflict it in others.' with an underlying vibe of 'nobody is forcing you to say the truth/do this, but everybody is watching you so if you refuse you'll look like an asshole.' Like, what a perfect example of 'if your friends jumped off a bridge would you do it to' except instead of bridges it's just asking someone who their crush is.

To be entirely honest, some weird psychopathic part of her wanted to dare someone to do something actually dangerous, like straight up stabbing someone dangerous. Just to see if she could. Just to see if they would.

[Gundham]

Karin's phone blipped. Her dad was here to pick her up. What the heck? He was at least an hour early. Her mom must've given him the wrong time by accident. Or on purpose. Karin's mom didn't like her going to out to parties. It was super lame to get her parents to drive her to and from places like this, but thanks to her phobia she'd never be able to drive herself anywhere at night - barring a situation where the Massachusetts government collectively went insane and outlawed headlights on all motor vehicles.

She mentally debated telling him to just come back later, but sighed and got up. She didn't feel like fighting him at the moment. Besides, nothing really juicy was happening here anyway. If she needed to spread embarrassing anecdotes about the party later she could just make something up and say that anybody who disputed it was just too drunk to remember.

"Tuh," she huffed at the phone, as she stood up, contriving to make it look like someone somewhere was being stupid, and she was heading out to go straighten them out. And away she went, slipping through the bodies as she headed for the door.

((Karin Han continued elsewhere))