03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
Marius couldn’t help but smile. “Of course, my Lady.” He did a knightly bow and kissed her hand before he even knew what he was doing. Playing it cool, he led her to the dance floor. In true Marius fashion, he placed his hand lightly and respectfully on her hip, getting into an overly-formal, almost waltz-like position. He wasn’t very good at taking the lead, but he'd try his best. He started to dance and, however awkwardly, he was really having the best time he’d had in awhile.
“To answer your question,” He said, swaying with the music. “He used to be a Baptist minister. We're still involved in the church here, but he hasn’t been behind the pulpit for some time now - he’s been sick...” Marius trailed off, leaving the end of the sent dangling in the air. Restoring his temporarily-faded smile, he spun her around, seeing the way her dress caught the light. “But enough about me.” He said with levity. “What kinds of things do you get up to? You seem like someone that’s ready to take on the world. In the best way possible.” Marius couldn’t stop smiling, giddy, just wanted to know everything there was to know about this enchanting young woman.
Post by Ellis D. Youngblood on Apr 10, 2021 20:59:11 GMT
Ellis D. wasn’t a moron. He could do moronic things at times, but he wasn’t correctly characterized as one. There was nothing subtle about Ida’s words, from where he swayed, and his mind kept turning, struggling to reconcile with it. He burned for her, it was true, but that didn’t mean he was going to spread her legs and have his way with her. He wasn’t a brute. From her advances—surely he wasn’t flattering himself to see them as such—it seemed that’s exactly what she expected him to be. But he wasn’t that guy. Granted, in a moment of weakness he had been—once—but there was a reason it was one time and hadn’t happened again.
“I’ll text Milo.” He agreed casually, intending to do so first thing once she went to the bathroom. If he went with the lake alone with Ida on a night like tonight with the stirrings in him that he had, he wasn’t sure what would become of them. Their friendship. It was too valuable to risk.
“This song sucks. Let’s do something else.” He’d abandon the dance floor with her if she was agreeable to it.
“This song sucks. Let’s do something else.” Ida nodded, still feeling disoriented, and followed him off the dance floor. She didn’t know what reaction she’d been expecting from Ellis D., but it wasn’t this. But how could she be surprised? He was the responsible one. The principled one. The reasonable one. They'd never so much as acknowledge what had happened between them. More than that - whatever had happened was the beginning of the end for Ellis D. and Alexis. It had fundamentally changed his life here, and - however much it hurt to admit it - maybe not for the better. How could she have been so sure that he would sweep her up in his arms? Ida was glad that the lights where dimmer on the edges of of dancefloor, as she could feel her cheeks burning with shame.
Ida had so often pictured it in her mind - the moment when she would profess her love to Ellis D. and everything would fall into place. The fantasy where she could have it all: have their friendship as it was now along with the deeper connection she craved. Standing here now, she felt completely stupid. In typical Ida fashion, she'd lost sight of reality and under the gleaming lights let the fantasy overtake her. Ida had a sinking feeling that maybe this time she'd gone too far.
By the time the lights and crowd were behind them, the spell was broken. The self-assuredness she'd felt before drained from her body. Suddenly she was Ida again. The red dress and her fancy shoes felt ridiculous - like she was a kid playing dress up. Her words played over and over again in her mind. Feeling a hole opening up in her chest, Ida wished she could take it all back. She started to feel sick.
"Hey." Ida stopped dead. She realized she wasn't smiling, and quickly pasted a passable grin on her face. "I need some air. I'll be just a second, I promise." Keeping cool, she smiled. "You won't even miss me." Ida turned and made for the door, wondering if he'd follow, hoping he wouldn't. Yes, Ida was embarrassed. But mostly she had to get her head straight - to remember who she was, and who they were to each other. They had the whole night ahead of them, and she wasn't going to spend it acting like a fool.
Jade grinned and giggled softly as Marius kissed her hand in a very gentlemanly fashion. She loved it. She was having a great time tonight! They moved onto the dance floor and he pulled her into a formal dancing position. On a night like prom it felt almost natural. Though he was so tall that her hand on top of his shoulder soon moved down to his upper arm where she could rest it more naturally.
If she wanted to kiss him she'd have to stand on her tip toes in order to manage it and he'd almost certainly still need to meet her half way.
The thought of kissing him made her smile and she actually almost blushed. Almost.
When he spoke of his father she gave him a soft, sympathetic smile. She could guess by the way he said that his father was sick that it wasn't something like a cold or the flu. She squeezed his hand gently as they danced but didn't offer any verbal words of comfort. What could she say? She'd have to think on that one.
Her grin lifted as he asked about her. It was a nice compliment, she was a fan. To be seen as someone who could take on the world made her feel pretty amazing.
Jade had a bad habit of assuming the worst in people before they proved to be decent at heart but with Marius she had somehow skipped that first step. There was nothing about him that had made her assume he had dishonorable intentions or anything negative at all. He seemed like a genuinely good guy and she found that admirable.
"I work over at the movie theater," she replied. "I love movies. Especially anything to do with the supernatural or horror flicks. I also love art. Drawing is my favorite right now. What about you?" Her attention was fully on him, one-hundred percent engaged in his reply.
Milo and Journey slow danced together and Milo was feeling pretty awesome right now. He felt lucky that he had stumbled upon Journey that day at the library and that he had decided to ask her to prom. This was far more fun than hanging out by the punch bowl looking for something or someone to entertain him.
The music shifted and the song ended as Milo grinned down at Journey. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted @ida and glanced over to see her heading towards the door. Huh. Maybe she just had to pee. He looked back in the direction she had come from to spot Ellis D. Youngblood, wondering if something had happened.
He was curious but not curious enough to distract him away from his date. He turned his full attention back to Journey as the beat of the next song picked up and he grinned as he started to dance, his curly hair bouncing as he hopped to the beat and moved in a playful circle around her.
Marius chuckled softly. Admittedly he’d always been a little bit of a wimp when it came to horror movies - particularly the ones that involved the supernatural. In one of his few and feeble attempts to make friends here he’d been coerced into seeing Insidious in theatres. The movie stuck with him for weeks afterwards. Growing up with a charismatic preacher like his father - he’d always been taught servants of the devil were a real and present danger. Not that he really bought into that kind of thinking, mind you. But it was a hard mindset to shake. After all, in a slasher flick, once you were dead - you were dead. No matter what torture you endured at the hands of some maniac, once your lights were out you were onto your eternal reward (as his father would say). But when demonic possession got involved things got...blurry. And, in his opinion, much scarier.
“Horror movies, huh? Admirable. I have to admit I’m a lightweight when it comes to that stuff.” Marius laughed. “I’m more of a classics kind of guy. Not that horror movies can be classic of course. Just not, you know, my cup of tea.” He dropped off, not really sure where he was going with this. “But drawing I can get behind.” He continued. “Beautiful art that stays on the page. Unless there's some sort of art gallery horror flick I need to be aware of.” Marius laughed at his own joke, not sure if it was even funny.
He shrugged when he asked her about his own hobbies. “Admittedly I’m a little bit of a nerd, I guess. I like NPR, talk, jazz, that sort of thing. I read a lot. I try to support Black artists and authors when I can. Honestly my interests are kind of all over the place.” Finding his footing, Marius smiled. “But movies I’m not so good with. Maybe we can go sometime - your choice. You’re the expert after all.” He lifted his arm to spin her around.
Post by Ellis D. Youngblood on Apr 13, 2021 19:48:43 GMT
Ellis D. wasn't sure what he intended to do as he took them from the dance floor, but the last thing he wanted was for Ida to walk away. He knew she was being flirty and forward, and while he was tempted to press into it, he didn't feel like he could. What he didn't expect was for her to be upset. Was she upset? Maybe he was reading into it. He couldn't see her face well, but from what he could see the smile was sincere. Maybe she just needed a smoke.
"If you're going to smoke I'll come..." he offered, though he'd be the first to say it sounded like she was getting away from him. Shit. Ruining relationships seemed to be his forte.
“If you’re going to smoke I’ll come…” What she wanted was to say yes. Yes, come away with me and let’s share a cigarette and make out by the dumpster and pretend we’re the only two people in the world. Ida chuckled to herself. At least her sense of humor about the whole thing was returning. She breathed out, like releasing the air from an overblown balloon. Damn him. Damn him for being able to reach her even when she wanted to be left alone.
Ida smiled again - weaker this time, but earnest. “When there’s a break in the action, who don't you tell lover boy over there about the plan.” Ida glanced towards Milo Laurent who was still very engrossed in his date’s company. “Then come find me. I have to...I don’t know. Not be near you for a second.” The words came out before she had thought about what they might sound like. There was so much to unravel, and this by no means was the right place to do it. She reached out and squeezed Ellis D.’s hand, looking at him gently, hoping he’d understand - at least a little. At least enough for now. Letting go, she turned around and headed for the exit.
Post by Ellis D. Youngblood on Apr 14, 2021 0:34:31 GMT
Ellis D. set his bold brown gaze on Ida and didn't remove it. Not when she said what she did, her words making something in his chest jolt. Not when she reached out to squeeze his hand. Not when she turned and headed for the exit. He stood there, still, watching, his brows lowering a little over his eyes as the door swung shut behind her.
Not be near you for a second. He felt like he knew what that meant in this context, but he doubted himself, doubted her, doubted them. And he didn't like that she needed to step away. If there was anyone in this world he wanted close it was her.
Confused, stricken in a way he didn't understand, Ellis D. shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants which weren't nearly as deep as he would have preferred and turned to look at Milo Laurent. If his friend caught his eye then he'd surely see that Ellis D. was looking directly at him, ready to talk.
Journey was not sure what to expect out of her date, but damn was Milo Laurent proving to her that he was better than she had expected. A bright smile on her face as he started moving around her, dancing in a way that had her spin to keep up with him as bright blues flashed to him. When his eyes lingered on Ida leaving for a moment, she bit her lip. Her eyes immediately seeking her date, Ellis D.
She found him, staring at Milo from his spot. Clearly something was wrong. But it seemed that he wanted to talk. She felt anxiety build up a bit. Milo looked happy, she didn’t want to rob him of it. But she also didn’t want to keep him from a friend in need. She reached for Milo’s hand, to still him a moment. “Do you want to check on him? I could use a bathroom break.” She offered. Journey, always in tune to others feelings while willing to give up her good time as well. Her hand squeezed his, she would come right back for him. She planned on arriving and leaving with him.
Ida stepped around the corner and ducked behind the far side of the storage shed - a favorite hangout place for the surreptitious high school smokers. Normally there would be at least one other person hiding out, but today it was empty - everyone inside enjoying the festivities. In any case, she figured Ellis D. would know where to find her. Ida lit a cigarette and took a drag, her nerves starting to calm.
She ran over her options in her head. One: she could play it cool. Go on like nothing had happened. Bury her feelings, and act like everything was just fine, thank you very much. Nothing to see here. Two: She could play it off as a big misunderstanding. Crack a couple of self-deprecating jokes about how socially backwards she was and act like the whole thing was just her being a big goof. Three: Apologize. That was a trickier needle to thread. It required an acknowledgement, however small, of her unresolved feelings that had almost been called to the fore. But an apology was a sounder fix, one that allowed her to reassure him (and herself) of their friendship. However much she didn’t want to, she knew it was the right thing to do.
Ida took another drag of the cigarette. If her friends hadn’t found her by the time she was done, she planned to go back in looking for them and get on with the night.
This song was a good one, though not what he typically listened to when it was his own playlist to jam to. Still, it was a classic and not too shabby of one either. As @journey reached for his hand he looked over to Ellis D. Youngblood at her question, catching his friend's eye. What was going on over there?
He looked back to Journey with a grin. "If you're trying to ditch that's a pretty lame way to do it," he teased, but he tossed her a wink. "Ok, I'll see you in a minute."
He let her go to the bathroom and he made his way over to Ellis D. "Hey man, where'd Ida go?" he asked, running a hand through his hair as he shoved the other in his pocket.
Post by Jack Hollifield on Apr 14, 2021 23:56:10 GMT
Teenagers. They were amusing and maddening at time. Jack remembered his senior year well and how annoying it felt to technically be an adult but not treated any differently than a child. Still, he had a job to do. He tapped a few couples on the shoulder, warning them of their distance. Were prom dresses getting sluttier these days? He was pretty sure they were.
He spotted Alexis Vanderson and @zane and was about to make his way towards them when he caught the acknowledgement from the boy. It wasn't technically enough but he let it slide and made his way over to where @kali stood. "Ah, young love," he said with a grin, moving to stand beside her and facing back out at the crowd of high schoolers.
Post by Alexis Vanderson on Apr 15, 2021 0:03:32 GMT
Alexis chuckled as @zane teased her and gave a playful shrug of her shoulders, a conclusion that he was probably right. Though in reality she was sure this boy had girls falling all over him.
As he spun her out and pulled her so her back was to his chest and he whispered in her ear she was definitely one of those girls. Her heart felt like it stopped in her chest for a second before picking up it's pace in order to catch up from the delay. She felt breathless. Ok, that was hot.
He spun her back out and just in time too as she spotted the Principal moving past them. She smirked at Zane. "It's a date," she promised him. Was prom over yet? Could they skip to the dinner or dessert part but she was definitely getting hungry for something.
Over Zane's shoulder she caught a glimpse of Ellis D. Youngblood standing with Milo. Had Ida ditched him after all? She hoped so.
Jade didn't blame Marius for not liking horror flicks. He was far from the first person she had met who felt that way and it didn't bother her. She knew she was weird in that way...and may other ways too. She loved the thrill and adrenaline of being scared and knowing it was all just a movie. If those things were to happen in real life...well she'd probably feel very differently.
She laughed at his joke about an art gallery horror flick. "Not one that I've seen, but there are a lot of random ones out there," she said chuckling. She thought he had great interests, nerdy or not. "I like that it's all over the place, you aren't stuck in just one niche."
She grinned as he spun her around, her dress flaring out and as she came back she ended up landing a little closer to him than before. "I'd love that! And I promise nothing scary," she said happily. "How about next week?"