acrookedchild: (He found a crooked sixpence)
Abigail Widdowson ([personal profile] acrookedchild) wrote in [community profile] undergrounds2015-07-01 07:21 am

Stroke of Midnight [OPEN]

Miss Abigail Widdowson cordially invites you to Geap Manor on Wednesday, July 1st at 19:00.

Food, drinks, and music will be provided.

All are welcome, but individuals are to be aware that any hostilities during the evening's festivities will not be tolerated.


It is the first time in at least a generation that the doors of Geap Manor have been opened to the general population. Or, at least, as general as the supernatural community could be considered. Some invitiations were made personally, but most were formally sent to the higher ranking members of the various factions.

Dinner is announced precisely at 19:30. The small, intimate eating area for the family has been turned into a buffet room. The caterers Abigail hired have obviously been paid well to make sure there is something for everyone. Rich meat dishes, hearty vegetarian dishes, light fish dishes, plenty of accompaniments and finger food. There is also plenty of fairly fresh blood for vampires. For the others, there are wines, water, and tea available.

The grand dining room has had its large table removed, replaced, instead, by small tables that can comfortably hold four. They can, of course, be pushed together to allow for more room.

The ballroom is open to the guests, and the DJ has also been highly paid to make sure the music played is precisely to the hostess's tastes. There is plenty of modern music, good for dancing, as well as older classics. However, interspersed are classical pieces meant for waltzes and foxtrots and other such ballroom dances.

In the sitting room is a drink cart with wine, tea, water, and blood. Chairs and divans are available, as the room is a quiet place, a little away from the ballroom, so conversation can be had with ease. There is an unlit fireplace, and a portrait of Abigail a few years younger than she is now hangs above it.

Most of the rest of the house is locked. One can wander the hallways, but it may prove ultimately fruitless. One who simply walks up the stairways will find the walls of each lined with the Widdowson family portraits of every generation, starting with one of a ten-year-old Abby, her parents, and her six-year-old brother. As one takes in all the paintings, a pattern presents itself. Every Widdowson woman featured is pale, thin, and blonde.

The grounds are beautifully maintained and fenced in by wrought iron on top of stone. A very traditional look for such an imposing manor. On the path from the street to the house, there's little remarkable, save the knocker on the door. Behind the house, however, if one ventures away, one might get the keen sense of something from inside the house watching, waiting, and hungering. On the ground floor, the locked rooms are mostly unremarkable, save for the study at the back of the house. Linger too long near there, and one might hear a sound coming in a pattering set. It isn't a knock against the door, no. Instead, it is the sound of something hitting the wall. If someone were to force their way into the nursery on the second floor or the attic several stories up... Well. They likely won't be coming back to the party. Or to anything.

Wandering, of course, isn't a suggested enterprise. The old house doesn't like people poking around and trying to find its secrets.


(Everyone who has at least a familiarity with the supernatural is welcome, as the invitations were distributed widely. Mingle, make your own top comments, enjoy the food, etc!)
emotioneater: (Eh)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-07-16 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
"If it is, it don't seem t'be a friendly sort." The feeling reminds Cooper of a large guard dog, the kind that doesn't bother with growls or barks, instead waiting until the intruder is close enough just to snatch up in its jaws. He dislikes feeling like prey. "I don't think it likes us being here."

He watches Aradia out of the corner of his eye. No scent and no noise makes her blind to the vampire's most keen senses. It's a strange state to be in. "So who are you then?"
megidoomed: (♈ the voices always tell me that)

[personal profile] megidoomed 2015-08-04 11:23 am (UTC)(link)
"It's definitely too private a house to like parties like this. Not wanting random strangers poking through it's stuff would sorta be part of the package."

There's no fear in Aradia's soundless steps tonight, even as she stops to examine the painting next to Cooper - she knows he's probably watching, but for once she's not afraid of needing to dodge an exorcism. There's probably some old law of hospitality that apply to a party like this, and even if it doesn't he looks sane enough to warrant being friendly. For now, anyway.

The fact that she technically wasn't invited and therefor wouldn't actually fall under the rules of hospitality gets cheerfully ignored. Nobody can prove anything if she doesn't open her mouth. "I'm Aradia, though I doubt that's worth anything around here. You?"


( ooc: I'm super sorry at how late my reply was! If you don't wanna continue this thread I completely understand. c: )
emotioneater: (Default)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-08-07 06:34 am (UTC)(link)
"I hope it doesn't try anythin' with me. My obituary is not going t'read 'eaten by a giant house'." Was it tactless to be discussing death with a ghost? Possibly. Then again, Cooper didn't have much in the way of manners. "That would just be too humiliating."

He gives her a polite-looking nod in lieu of being able to do anything like shake hands. "Call me Cooper. That's not worth much either 'less you're in Islington territory."

OOC: It's all good. I'm slow like the turtle anyway!
megidoomed: (♈ it would be okay)

[personal profile] megidoomed 2015-08-07 04:12 pm (UTC)(link)
If it was tactless, then Aradia certainly doesn't seem to notice. If anything her deadpan tone warms slightly at the choice of topic and Cooper earns the beginnings of a grin. Oh dear. "There's worse epitaphs out there if you think about it. I heard about one guy who died trying to use a barrel as a makeshift rocket-fueled go-kart - at least with the house you'd still have most of your dignity afterwards."

Some ghosts spend their afterlife watching over loved ones, but clearly a better pastime was trawling the depths of the Darwin Awards.

"We can team up and be a pair of awkward nobodies then," though Islington means vampire, which crosses off at least three unasked questions. Beyond an answering wave to match the nod and an oddly curious stare, the almost-confirmation of Cooper's supernatural type goes entirely unremarked - ghosts have no blood, after all. Unless someone's discovered a way to feed off souls, there's no danger here. "It's nice to meet you, Cooper. Even if it's at a stuffy party in a creepy old house."
Edited (whoops grammar) 2015-08-07 16:13 (UTC)
emotioneater: (Ghoul)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-08-11 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
"That's one way t'weed out the weak ones. Personally, when I die, it is going to be done in a spectacular fashion and preferably doing somethin' that will make for a completely inappropriate story at my funeral." Being an immortal, he's thought of his death much more than the average person would have.

It's rather a relief to not have to worry about anything happening while he's talking to someone. He can let his guard down and just relax. "No better place t'have a memorable meeting. Definitely better than running into each other on the street."
megidoomed: (♈ it's how i'm meant to function)

[personal profile] megidoomed 2015-08-11 07:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"Awkward funeral stories are the best. Especially if nobody's expecting them." Oh, she likes this one. He's not afraid to joke about the important topics in life, and that wins instant points from Aradia. Too many supernaturals avoid thinking about death entirely.

It helps her stay grounded, and it's not long before her attempt at a smile stops looking artificially blank. Success. "I didn't think about it like that. It'd be like running into someone at the shops, I guess. A brief meeting and then... nothing."
emotioneater: (I have rules)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-08-12 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
"Best one is people who die on the toilet. There is no such things as having a dignified funeral after that." He's attended quite a number of funerals in his lifetime. Eventually, there was bound to be a few that were hilarious instead of being the weepy mess that most of them were.

"Exactly, my ghostie companion." If he talks to her for much longer, she's going to end up with some sort of nickname. It's just the way he rolls. "This way, we'll remember each other. So where is your usual haunt when you're not attending spooky old house parties?"
megidoomed: (♈ if you'd pretend to be surprised)

[personal profile] megidoomed 2015-08-15 01:53 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's definitely up there. I've heard some more embarrassing ones, but bathroom troubles usually get better laughs. Makes things awkward for the family though." Aradia, on the other hand, tended to deal with the ghosts of the deceased more then their corpses. Which... wasn't as big of a perk as it sounded like, as bodies generally don't sass back.

However, she grows thoughtful when her haunt is brought up - oh, there's a moment of hesitation, but what's the harm? It's not like she's subtle about where she can be found. "I'm usually in Lewisham, near the Thames. But I'm trying to get better with the whole 'wandering around' thing."

There's a beat of silence, and- "... Unless you meant that in a general sense, not in a ghostly sense. Sorry. What about you?"
emotioneater: (Smirk)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-08-21 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
"I just said it for the pun potential." He shrugs one shoulder up and down. Cooper certainly wasn't going to waste the opportunity to break out every ghost-related turn of phrase he possibly could. "You were free to take it anyway you choose."

In response to her question, he waves a hand vaguely around. "Oh, here, there, 'n everywhere." He really lived in Southwark, yet was hardly going to tell that to a ghost he just met. He would really prefer not wake up in the middle of the day with a ghost sitting at the end of his bed. "Just about anywhere in Islington territory really."
megidoomed: (♈ it would be okay)

sorry for vanishing again! D:

[personal profile] megidoomed 2015-08-29 02:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Aradia finally breaks into a fit of laughter, shameless enthusiasm pushing past the spectral deadpan because she's always a sucker for puns, especially ghostly ones. Cooper's quickly racking up more friendship points the longer their conversation draws on.

Although, the narration disagrees with the implication that mid-day ghost visits aren't fun. Someone needs to live a little, clearly. "I might have to drop by some Islington haunts sometime, then, see if I can't scare you up for another chat. Or the other way around. You probably have an easier time wandering around then I do."

Puns. Even if she's a little rusty at them, it's always a good night if puns are involved. Oh dear.
emotioneater: (Default)

There there. Life happens. /pats on head.

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-09-01 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
Aradia will be in for an amusing sight if she visits Cooper and wakes him up. He'll shoot out of bed, scream, and end up clinging to the ceiling like a character out of a Looney Tunes cartoon. "I'm sure I'll find you hanging around somewhere in the city, so long as you don't fade away and become a stranger."

How long can they keep the puns going for? Nobody knows, it's a mystery.