+ Now the Jingle Hop has begun [OPEN] +

[vitaelamorte.livejournal.com]

Who: Everyone [OPEN]
Where The Ballroom
When: December 18th, 6PM-midnight (oocly however long you want to keep logging)
Rating: Well gosh, that really depends on you folks and how you behave, doesn’t it? I’m going to tentatively guess PG-13 though.
Summary: The mansion's decided to throw you all a party out of the goodness of its heart. You know, if it has one. This is the open log for the Jingle Bell Rock portion of the event!
the Story:

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancing and prancing in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air.

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet
That's the jingle bell,
That's the jingle bell,
That's the jingle bell rock.

The ballroom is decorated extravagantly for the occasion, with all of the same sorts garland and holly and lights covering the rest of the mansion, at the moment. There is another tree at the far side of the room as well, though not nearly the size of the one in the front hall, decorated in a very classy white. From the ceiling, fake snow is falling from somewhere that can’t quite be seen, but it does not seem to gather on the floor more than a flake or two.

There are tables with chairs to one side, near a table filled with delicious food and beverages of all kinds, from wine to wassail to eggnog and more. The rest of the space is reserved for dancing.

We could tell you that the mansion is going to force you to dance forever and ever or something, perhaps until your feet fall off, but we won’t. Gosh, you’re all so suspicious. I mean really. The party-goers may wonder at first, some entering very suspicious of the mansion’s intentions, but it will quickly become apparent that for once…for once, it doesn’t seem to be a trap.

So giddy-up, jingle horse, pick up your feet and jingle around the clock. You can even go mix and mingle in the jingling feet. That’s the Jingle Bell Rock!

Comments

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

"...A crocodile?"

Contrary to Philip's narration Philip himself hasn't actually made the pleasure of Amy's acquaintance yet.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

"Yes: at the table just over th-- damn!"

Daniel starts to point at a spot halfway down the buffet table, but his swinging arm knocks over the half-full wine glass. Two or three cloves scatter over the tabletop in the middle of a spreading red stain.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

It's Philip's turn for hysterical laughter now, right? Not quite to Daniel's extent still, but nonetheless ve-ffffwhahahahahahaha.



Oh... oh my god, someone actually sounds bitter here! And it's not Philip!

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

Daniel's pretty much helpless with laughter at this point.

"All of them! V... vexed! Every endeavour!"

He's referencing a conversation that Philip wasn't actually present for, but who's keeping count?

With exaggerated care and uncoordinated clumsiness, he sets the glass upright. Then he shrugs merrily and knocks back the little puddle of wine that didn't spill out onto the table.

And then: jingle go some bells in whatever song is playing, and Daniel quiets and stills, then stands.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Haha haha ha--huh?!

"...Dan?"

Blink. Blink.

"You look a bit stiff there."

Ffffhah-- OHWAIT! BELLS!

...That should not have taken him as long to figure out as it did.

Right. Time for serious face. Philip stands up, puts his hand on Daniel's shoulder and shakes, carefully.

"Daniel?"

He doesn't expect it to have much of an effect, after what he's been told about his zombie baking sprees, but he's still curious to see what that event looks like from the other side of the hypnojingle.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

Sorry, man, but he doesn't seem to even see you. He just picks up the wine glass and, face blank, walks over to the buffet table. Or more accurately wobbles over to the buffet table. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot give it back its sense of balance.

If Philip cares to follow, he'll find Daniel drinking as steadily as if it was his day job. As a small mercy, the mansion has him sip the wine rather than chug it. When the glass is empty, he fills it back up from the steaming tureen and starts again.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Philip does care to follow!

He cares so much, in fact, after watching for a while he will even attempt to fill Daniel's (now) empty glass with water before Daniel himself can hypnoselect a beverage of his choice.

Let's see how that goes.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

Not so well, we're afraid. Daniel pauses as if confused, then pours the water onto the floor. Well, mostly onto his shoes. Oh boy, those trousers better not be dry-clean only.

Then it's back to the wine.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Okay.

Uhm.

That was disappointing.

And also sort of really funny.

Maybe if Philip carefully tries to pry the glass out of Daniel's hand?

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

It's easy to grab hold of the glass. Daniel doesn't exactly have super-agile dodging skills at the moment.

Taking it away might prove more difficult, what with the death-grip he suddenly has on it.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Aww, no. Philip would never try to take Daniel's favourite mulled wine toy away from him!

...Well, I mean, except for that one time in the last tag where we said that he was trying to take Daniel's favourite mulled wine toy away from him.

But I digress.

So... holding on to the glass and not letting Daniel lift it up to the drinking stage, Y/N?

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

Y, except for the part where Daniel apparently has enough muscle power to shove boulders and support beams around.

Either Philip's going to give way, or the glass is going to break.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Philip didn't mean to engage in some form of bizarre arm wrestling, so he carefully lets go as soon as he realises that Daniel is using more force than is probably healthy for the poor, little drinking vessel.

New plan? New plan, uhm...



Yeah, we got nothing.

Philip helps himself to a nearby fruit salad and stands back, observing.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

This is the point where the latest song reaches its chorus, which involves a peal of bells and then another peal of bells and then so many peals of bells that it's hard to tell where one ends and the next begins. But begin and end they do.

God, it's like watching the physical version of a stutter.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Here's a fun piece of trivia: The reason Philip knows his baking was caused by bells is that Clarence attempted to achieve that very same effect by recreating the sound of bells in Philip's mind.

He heard the mind bells all right, but apparently the mansion decided to trademark and monopolise its mindfuck jingle, so the corresponding effects remained missing.

It was a sad day for Clarence then... and it's a wonderful moment for him now.

Philip... well, the first bell switch got a chuckle out of him, but it's been exchanged for a frown by now, because that's just cruel.

He waits until the chorus is over to see whether the on or off switch prevails.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

A few more cheery lines of bells later, it's the latter. Daniel's experience of the last several seconds has been as one trapped in a series of photograph that don't quite follow on from one another. Or as a character in a movie with a bunch of frames missing. If neither of these comparisons suffice, just trust me that he's given up trying to speak and is disoriented as hell.

The extra wine catches up with him, and he starts toppling sideways and has to catch himself clumsily on the table.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

This seems like an appropriate moment for a little copy and paste with a few annotations.

Right. Time for serious face [again]. Philip stands up [gets rid of his fruit salad], puts his hand on Daniel's shoulder and shakes, carefully. attempts to provide additional stability.

"Daniel?"

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

And Daniel attempts to stay upright. Between Phil's steadying hand and the helpfully-positioned table, he manages not to end up on his arse. But this time he doesn't laugh.

Slurred: "See it did it again."

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

"Yeah..."

And Philip would be having the time of his life with it, if he was more of a practical joker. As it is he merely has a careful look around the hall.

Objects of interest, as far as he can see, is an empty lounge nearby and the exit. The lounge seems easier to reach by far, but staying in an area frequently blessed by bell music might not be the best idea.

He intends to relay this conclusion to Daniel, but doesn't come much further than something heavily overshadowed by tones of 'my place or yours'.

"Where do we go now~?"

NOT NOW MANSION GDI.

Uhmuhmuhm...

"...Do you want to leave?"

HA. Okay, that's the cliffnotes version of everything Philip wanted to suggested, but it will have to do.

Not that Philip actually thinks leaving the choice up to Daniel is such a good idea, but even (or perhaps especially) piss drunk he doubts his ability to drag his friend anywhere without his consent.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

It's okay, Daniel's had a similar idea. It's less easy to joke about in the actual event.

"I am all right. I can... I c'n conduct myself."

Well, you know. We said he'd had a similar idea, not that he'd lost the desire to be impressive. Give him a moment. Let him wobble some more, maybe register the fact that he's literally balancing in a confusion of inebriation at this point.

"...P'raps somewhere to sit down."

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. Sure."

In case you're wondering, that's an affirmative. An okay, if you will. Sitting down was plan B, after all.

Philip helpfully offers to hook arms for the greater good of maintaining Daniel's not-end-up-on-his-arse streak. He looks towards the lounge and--

What the hell? was a lounge, only seconds ago!

Right. Okay. There's some

He grits his teeth and looks past Daniel's shoulder, back to where they sat earlier,

"You fucking--"

Philip bites his lip. No hissing at the alien virus in his head while in company. Utterly wankered company, but company all the same.

He takes a sharp breath.

"Over there okay?"

He attempts to turn Daniel carefully, steering him towards... a comfortable sofa and a few armchairs or a lovely yucca plant.

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

"What did I do?" he complains, being not exactly up to the task of considering the statement's implications at the moment.

Leading him places is remarkably easy, since he has for now decided to use Philip as a dedicated balancing-post.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Philip really wishes Daniel had chosen a different statement to respond to. So he repeats the other one again, a little louder, a little slower, because obviously Daniel did not understand him properly in his drunken haze.

"I just asked if over there was okay."

He attempts to point with his head while venturing boldly onwards, leading Daniel further in the direction of the

@&F#KC§€S!H/#D@!!!

[blimeyjamwalls.livejournal.com]

"No," says Daniel, who picks the awkwardest moments to be stubborn. "You said--"

OH HEY, is that the bell-filled chorus coming round again? He starts to pull away, walk back to the buffet, then stops.

"--y--"

Then starts walking again, then loses track of his centre of gravity completely and ends up in a heap on the floor. After that, well, imagine a guy totally out of his skull trying to arrange his limbs into a standing position, but constantly finding that they've moved somewhere he doesn't expect them to be. It's not an endeavour traditionally associated with success.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

Behind them the back into a lounge while

Philip himself wonders if that's where most of his drinks have gone to. He also wonders whether an alien with the mind of a teenage prankster is preferable to one with the disposition of a homicidal maniac.

He has no time to pursue that particular train of thought further as Daniel resumes his futile limb rearrangement dance, forcing Philip to bite his lip and cover his mouth in an effort to (shamefully, as the narration would like to add) hide his own amusement.

Once again he will be forced to wait for the chorus to end until he can take action. As much as he wants to offer a hand immediately, he doesn't quite trust the extent of his steadying quality at the moment.