HAPPY Awards (Main Thread, All Guests)

[~ ADMIN]

HAPPY Awards

The Humanitarian Actions and Peaceful Progress Yearly Awards are pleased to inform the crew of the Venia of their nomination in this year's awards in our most prestigious category: The Robert Yetholm Award for Universal Humantarian Efforts.

The entire crew is therefore invited to the award ceremony, which will take place on the 3rd of August 2461 at the Grand Plaza Hotel in New New York on New Earth. Formal attire is required, and a banquet will be provided for the guests.

We anticipate your arrival with great excitement, and wish you the best of luck.

The HAPPY Awards Commitee

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Table 12

Blake, William
Brooks, Kiri
Fairholm, Natalie
Gwyther, Penn
Man, Unicycle
Tyler, Katherine

Table 13

Johnson, Dee
McAdam, Annabelle
Pratt, Oliver
Martin, Luke
Porter, Alliana
Reed, Tobias

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Okay, so the idea is that there is this main thread which anyone can post in. There is no posting order, just a random melee of posts. Hopefully people will be able to keep up. When one, two, or a group of people split off from their table, then they can start a new thread, so that it doesn't get mixed up with the rest. Or, you have the option to start your own thread where your characters meet up, then they can join this one.

Please notify me by Personal Message when the side thread is closed, so I can archive it, and so it doesn't clutter what I think is going to be a busy board.

Enjoy!

[~ ADMIN]

Annabelle, as far as she could tell, was the first person from their crew to arrive. There were going to be eleven of them in total, and even if they didn't win the award, this would hopefully be a great night away from the ship. It wasn't every day that they got to ditch whatever uniforms they had and get dressed up. Plus, she didn't know whether anyone else had noticed, but she couldn't think of a bad looking person on board the ship. They were all pretty stunning.

Anna wasn't usually a fan of dresses, she had a bug bear with them from her past, but she thought she'd feel odd and strangely masculine turning up in trousers. So, she'd picked a floor length gown, one that she hoped would match her personality somewhat, splurged on some new shoes and a clutch bag to match, and done something with her hair and face instead of just leaving it to nature. When she'd looked in the mirror, she'd barely recognised herself.

She heaved a sigh as she watched all the people passing her, checking their seat locations on the computer screen before they entered the hall. Rubbing her hand across her arm nervously, she hoped that someone would turn up soon, someone who she could talk to instead of her just standing here looking like she was lost.

Outfit/Hair/Make Up

[William Blake]

A suit. Will couldn't remember the last time he'd worn one. The full year before the Venia first set off, Will had been with the ship, making adjustments and offering advice (often that advice turned into him just taking over what the person had been doing), and hadn't had time for conferences or whatever. And even then, his life had been pretty hectic, had been since he left University back in 2457. Well, he was wearing one now, and it wasn't really half as bad as he remembered. There were still more comfortable things he could think of wearing.

Not just his boxers, which he and Natalie had discussed the other day.

The Grand Plaza lived up to it's name, it was a beautiful building, classy, and very well built. His eyes scanned from the architecture round to the doors to the hall, intrigued to see if anyone else had arrived yet. He was waiting for Natalie in particular, obviously, there were some other crew members which could tolerate his presence, maybe one of them was around. Eventually, a woman with red hair caught his eye, instantly looking relieved upon seeing him. Did he know her...? Oh, it was Anna! He didn't recognise her at first, he hadn't see her... well, like this before. They greeted each other with slightly teasing compliments and engaged themselves in small talk till the others arrived.

[Natalie Blake]

Natalie had been very careful to avoid her full-length mirror the entire time she'd been getting ready, almost afraid of what she'd see. The last time she'd worn a dress, she'd been going to senior prom. As she stumbled into the washroom to find her rarely-to-never-used make-up bag, she noted that senior prom had been the last time she'd worn heels, too.

After using the lightest coating of make-up she could without simply using none, Natalie played with her hair for a moment before giving up and leaving it down. Then, taking a deep breath, she finally turned to her mirror and examined her appearance. Pale gold eyebrows shot up and brown eyes widened in shock. Was that really her? Gods, she needed to wear dresses more often.

Shaking her head, she grabbed her clutch and made her way down to where the crew was going to meet up. There were already two others there, a girl with red hair--wait, was that Anna?! They both needed to wear dresses more often, or people--including themselves--would never recognize them. It was then that she recognized the man standing next to her. It was Will. And damn he looked fine in a suit.

Natalie took a moment to put her eyes back in before walking over to them. "Hey you two," she said brightly, offering them both a smile and throwing Will a sly wink. She hadn't forgotten their little chat yesterday, and she was curious if he was actually serious about meeting up afterward.

[William Blake]

Anna had been so glad when she'd seen Will arrive, someone that she could make conversation with and not look like a loner if she was standing next to him. She acknowledged that he looked good pretty much all the time, but the suit... the suit... Anna mentally slapped herself. Get a grip, woman. They chatted until Anna caught a glimpse of blonde hair over Will's shoulder and smiled, realising who it was. Natalie looked completely different and completely stunning in her black dress. It was almost like the two of them had colour co-ordinated.

Anna nudged will, nodding over his shoulder before greeting Natalie with a "hey," and a grin. "You look amazing."

Will let out a quiet 'oof' as Anna elbowed him in the ribs, a little more forcefully than she'd meant to, he was sure. "You really don't know your own strength," he told her, before turning on his heel to see who was approaching. A wide smile spread across his face as he laid his eyes on Natalie, she looked gorgeous in her understated black dress, no back, like she'd told him the other day. "Hello there," he grinned, "you look positively ravishing." Hey, he said his middle name was flattery. He had to resist the urge to skip the ceremony and go straight for the after party.

[~ ADMIN]

Luke was glad that he and Alliana had managed to get everything sorted out before heading down to the hotel for the ceremony. He would be holding her hand, physically and metaphorically, all the way. He doubted that there would be any fuss over her appearance, after all, her name had been cleared and the officials that arrested her weren't exactly the type to come to these sorts of things. The only fuss he assumed they'd be making was over how beautiful she was, and how she was already taken.

A small group had already gathered outside the ballroom; Anna, Nate and Will, each and all showing off just how good looking they were. He actually felt like he paled in comparison. Giving Ally a smile, keeping a hold of her hand, they made their way over to the group. "Hey everyone," he said, raising his free hand in greeting. "Ladies, you look amazing. Will," they shook hands, Luke more at ease with Will now that he actually knew the guy. All he'd heard before was hearsay, and although he'd been grumpy at first, he wasn't a bad guy.

Anna grinned when she saw Ally and Luke enter, holding hands and with smiles on their faces. It was a good sign! She'd talked to Ally the other day, and she could tell how worried she was that everything wouldn't work out, but Luke was a great guy, and he'd just proved it. "Heyyy," Anna gave Alliana a one armed hug, "I think Ally looks pretty spectacular too," she grinned, commenting even though she'd helped Ally pick out the dress. No doubt Luke had already told her how beautiful she looked.

Glancing around at the people here, she was beginning to feel like a fifth wheel. Where was everyone else?

[deejohnson]

It was one of Dee's first nights on the ship, and she still didn't know anyone. She was nervous about the award ceremony, but couldn't turn down a good party. She had a pretty girlie style, but usually ended up wearing a top and jeans instead of dresses. The second she heard about the party she knew she had the perfect dress for it.

After getting dressed she inspected herself in her full length mirror and smiled softly. She knew she looked gorgeous and wanted to make a good first impression on the rest of the staff. She applied some makeup, took a deep breath, and walked out of her room and to the Grand Plaza.

She grinned broadly as she entered, ecstatic with the prospect of the party and with meeting all new people. She noticed a group of five people standing over to the side, all of whom were extremely good looking, and walked up to them confidently and said, "Please tell me they have alcohol at this thing."

[Alliana Porter]

Ally held tight to Luke's hand. She wasn't letting go tonight. She was still incredibly nervous, fearful of the judgmental glances. However, upon arriving the only glances she arrived was from men, eyes up and down her body. She was glad he had decided to join her, then again, they were sort of together anyway.

Her face lit up seeing Anna in her stunning purple dress. Anna was so much more of a fiend than she could ever have imagined or ever wished for. "You look beautiful anna." she smiled, turning into her side hug. It was as if she was a completely different person now. And Natalie? She about took her breath away. Everyone look absolutely amazing. Ally even had to admit to herself how dashing Will looked. She owed him so much more, now that he had rescued her from the cold grip of a governmental prison and returned her to her lover's arms. Speaking of, when Anna released her, she immediately drew a hand to his back and pulled herself back to his warmth she absolutely loved him.

There was a voice she had not recognized before and she turned with the rest of the group to the new figure. A well looking woman, in her mid 30's in a beautiful dress approached them with a smile and a rather unusual first line. She bit her lip and looked back at Anna, trying to figure out who in the world she was.

[karen2]

Ben didn't really understand why it was necessary for him to come to the ceremony. He wasn't that important of a crew member, and there was no guarantee they'd win the award, anyway. And then there was the fact he had to wear a suit. A suit. It just wasn't fair. Not that he didn't look good in one, it was just that they were just so darn annoying to wear. And doing up a tie was a pain in the keister.

All the same, he dolled himself up--he even threw in a dash of cologne--and went to meet up with the rest crew in the Grand Plaza. There were six people there already. Luke and Will had arrived with their respective dates, as had a girl he didn't know but who looked quite lovely and--good lord, was that Anna? He's seen his superior in many things, ranging from uniforms to sweats, but never had he seen her in a dress. She looked simply radiant.

He overheard the new woman's comment and smiled, sauntering over. "If they don't, I don't know if I'll live through it," he joked, flashing his white teeth. "Don't you ladies look good tonight," he added, using his comment as an excuse to throw another glance at Anna. He knew that there relationship was more or less strictly business, but damn.

"So who all else are we waiting for?" he asked, not entirely sure who he was addressing now.

[deejohnson]

Dee could see the glances that people in the group exchanged and she smirked. "I'm Dee Johnson, by the way." She reached out her hand to shake everyone's. "As you probably guessed, I'm new. I'm working as a Medical Officer."

[~ ADMIN]

The group was expanding exponentially, more and more people joining them. She shared Ally's slightly confused expression as Dee joined the group. She must have been new because Anna hadn't seen her around before. Lucky that she turned up just as they were all heading for an award ceremony. "My eyes honed in one the waiters swanning round with trays of champagne as soon as I reached the door," she smiled across at Dee, "there'll be plenty to go around." At least she'd introduced herself, now they weren't completely in the dark.

That was when another voice interjected and Anna couldn't help but be surprised. What was Ben doing here? His name hadn't been on the guest list, unless he was Unicycle Man, of course. She wouldn't put it past him not to fake his name on the guest list. The sight of him in a tux made her head spin, who knew he could look so... gorgeous. She grabbed onto Will's arm for support, trying to hide what she'd just done, praying her cheeks didn't flush pink.

There certainly were a lot of them now. Luke had a firm grip as he shook Will's hand, and he nodded to the man. He had accepted Luke's gratitude at the time, and the words 'I owe you' came up, which Will would keep in mind for the future, should he ever need a pilot, or just a friend. Alliana looked fabulous, as did all the women. Will had passed Dee in the hallway as she'd been heading to the sleeping quarters earlier, he'd heard she was another medical officer, there sure was a lot of them, probably because the crew kept getting themselves into trouble.

Will glanced across at Anna as she seized his arm, and smirked when he realised what the reason was. He didn't know whether Anna had realised that Ben was eyeing her with just as much interest as she was eyeing him. Funny really, seeing as she and Ollie had seemed pretty close when they'd made it back from their shore leave. "Okay there, dear?" That one earned him a scowl as he'd just drawn attention to her, making her more embarrassed. He glanced across at Natalie and pulled a face mouthing 'whoops'.

Luke's hand almost felt like it was in a clamp Ally was holding it so tightly. Once they'd greeted everyone, Luke placed his arm around Ally as she cuddled into him. "Nice to meet you," he said to Dee, before pointing to everyone in turn, "Anna McAdam, Chief Tactical Officer; Will Blake, Chief Engineer; Natalie Fairholm, Engineer; Ben Braun, Tactical Officer; Ally Porter, Science Officer; and I'm Luke Martin, the pilot." He think he'd got everyone. "As for who we're missing I think it's Katy, Ollie, Penn, Kiri and Toby? He had looked at the list too, interested to see who was going.

[Natalie Blake]

All the women look so beautiful, Natalie noted. What, are all the female geniuses of the world supermodels? And it wasn't just the girls, either. The men were looking pretty damn good, too. When Ben showed up, his eyes were only for Anna, and Natalie wondered where his thoughts were taking him. She'd thought that Anna and Oliver were into one another, but Anna's reaction to Ben in a tux made her wonder.

And Will went and made things worse for the poor girl, who's face was starting to turn the same colour as her hair. She narrowed her eyes at him and stepped around to his other side to come to Anna's aid. "I think she's just warm. After all, it is a little hot in here, and what with the dress and the thick hair... I can relate. Her and I'll go to the powder room to freshen up a bit."

She knew that Anna probably didn't want to walk away after that, but they could at least wait for her cheeks to turn back to their normal colour and she could collect herself before facing Ben again. Men almost always said the wrong thing when a woman was flustered. Speaking of which... Natalie threw an annoyed but also mildly amused glare at Will.

"We'll be right back. Oh, and it was nice to meet you, Dee," she tacked on for good measure before pulling Anna away to the safety of the washroom.

Anna's reaction was unexpected. She stumbled a little and gripped onto Will's sleeve, her face flushing. A slight grin played with the corners of his mouth, but he pushed it back. That Anna seemed to find him attractive shouldn't make him happy. After all, her and Oliver seemed to be close. He didn't want to ruin that. Did he?

He brought his head back around when Natalie excused the two of them, nodding curtly. Focus, Braun! he chastised himself, turning to the medical officer next to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Johnson," he said politely, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it. When Luke listed the people missing, Ben nodding to show he'd heard and glanced around to see if there was any sign of them.

After he found nothing, he turned back to the group and sighed, running a hand down his face. There was nothing wrong with thinking Anna looked nice. Hell, Alliana was gorgeous, too, as were Dee and Natalie. Just so long as his mind didn't run off with him--which it almost always did--he'd be fine.

[somerandomhippie]

Katy sighed, meandering into the hall. It was always the government that did stuff like this. First day home, she wanted to go see a Broadway show and wander the streets all night. She was homesick, though she would never admit it. But, of course, a fancy dress ball came up out of nowhere. Ah, still. Free drinks, good company and an excuse to finally wear that dress that her mom had gotten her for Christmas. Even if the hemline was above regulation. Hey, she was young, and so was the night. Might as well.

She spotted the Venia gang, looking like the fashion brigade, and popped over. "Liking my crib?" she grinned, leaning on a table. "It's better in jeans, to be honest. More pockets." She had already tried stuffing her hands in invisible pockets numerable times, and failing.

"Ooh, is that a guy on a unicycle?" she suddenly interjected, spotting a guy on a unicycle. "That is so cool! I should have brought one! Do you think he would let me ride it?"

[somerandomhippie1]

Penn stood in the door, scanning the crowd of aristocrats and politicians. Great. More fancy dress parties. Last time he had been at a party above casual, people had started shooting at him. That had spoilt it somewhat. He finally spotted the Venia people. Well, at least he didn't seem too overly dressed.

He wandered over, nodding at everyone. He wasn't usually much of a chatty person-- he did chat, he just didn't like starting it. He looked around, something nagging at him-- Kiri was missing. That put him off slightly. He had wanted to see her in a dress. Not that he was going to admit it.

He shook his head as he heard Katy spazz something about a unicycle. "I doubt it," he chuckled. "Though you could certainly give it a try."

[deejohnson]

Dee smiled back at Anna. "Well, champagne doesn't exactly count as real alcohol, but I think we can make it work." She chuckled lightly and then averted her attention to the obvious sexual tension going on between Anna and Ben, raising an eyebrow. She then realized that Luke was introducing the crew to her and she looked from face to face, trying to commit everyone's names to memory. "Nice to meet you all," she said with a broad smile.

She smirked to herself and nodded at Natalie as she ushered Anna off to the bathroom. She knew she'd either ask them about that later or find the story out from someone else on the crew. She looked back to Ben, who was now reaching out his hand to shake hers. She firmly gripped it and said her hellos.

Another woman entered the room. Dee laughed at her spastic comment about the unicycle. "Just go over there and tell him you're the unicycle police and you need to take his into custody," she said jokingly.