ArchivedLogs:How to Halloween

How to Halloween
Dramatis Personae Jax, Matt, Ororo, Tian-shin
In Absentia	2015-10-21 "We're gonna be /lousy/ with atmosphere around here."
Location <XS> Conservatory
Tall panes of glass keep this large indoor garden warm year round. Tended to by the school's groundskeeper, the conservatory is lush with plant life, a carefully cultivated paradise within Xavier's walls. The room serves as a classroom as well; in the center of the garden a ring of seats forms a small circle, a favorite locale for some teachers to hold court. Outside, the blustery wind gives a crisp edge to the brilliant sunny afternoon, but in here it's just plain pleasant. The taller plants give some shade to the circle of chairs in the heart of the Conservatory, where Matt has settled himself comfortably with a tall silver thermal bottle and a laptop. Dressed in a dark green short-sleeve button-up and dark gray linen trousers with polished black Oxfords, he might pass for looking professional today by some standards. The permanent genteel mess of his short brown hair, however, softens the effect somewhat. He is typing industriously at the moment, head bobbing lightly to music no one else can hear. Jax, on the other hand, doesn't really pass for professional, today or most other days. Vividly flame-hued hair, red t-shirt reading 'All my heroes have FBI files' paired with black skinny jeans, very stompy boots, mismatched red and black armwarmers, very glittery makeup, huge mirrored sunglasses. He has a thermos in hand, too, and a small tupperware of cupcakes as he trots through the conservatory. Settles himself uninvited on the end of Matt's bench, thunking his head down on the other man's shoulder and waggling the tupperware at Matt. "Matcha?" The cupcakes, not his thermos. Ororo takes a more 'blend in' approach to her wardrobe - neutrals and earth tones. A beige, sleeveless top and a brown flowy skirt with white sandals. Her white hair hangs loose about her shoulders. "Has anyone ever mentioned you bear a striking resemblance to a young Elton John?" Ororo asks with a smile, looking over Jax's bright ensemble as she nears him, casually strolling amongst the plants. Tian-shin wanders into the central clearing, her hesitation just barely noticeable as she enters. She wears a pink brocade Chinese shirt emblazoned with silver plum blossoms, its diagonal collar line secured with silver knotwork button, black jeans, and black knee-high boots. Her hair is tied back in a tight bun she has a messenger bag slung over one shoulder. "Hi. Is this the Halloween planning session, then?" Her eyes skip between the other teachers present, and one slender black brow arches. "Oh gods I need it in my mouth *right now!*" is Matt's ever-so-polite reply to the offer of cupcakes. He plants a kiss on Jax's head and, setting laptop aside, snags a cupcake. "Bless you, beautiful man. Hi!" This might be directed at either Ororo or Tian-shin. Probably both. "Is it bad that I'm not sure what Elton John looks like?" He does not seem *too* distraght, though, as he takes a big bite out of the cupcake. His free hand lifts at Tian-shin's question, forms a fist, bobs down and back up as though knocking an invisible door. "Matcha cupcake?" Jax offers the others -- even as his features start to transform, shifting and changing until he /does/ look rather /precisely/ like a young Elton John. "He looks like this. Or looked. Anyway. My plan for Halloween," he informs Matt, "is t'use you as a battery, I hope you don't mind. Anyway we don't have so much of a budget as last year but I don't think that should be a problem if we pitch in for cookin' an' decoratin' an' -- spookin' an' all." "Ah yes, All Hallow's Eve," Ororo says, sitting down with a grin. "Should be fun this year, especially with the recent influx of students." She watches Jax morph into Elton, giving a nod of approval. "Very impressive Jackson. Now..." she turns back to speak to all. "What exactly /do/ we have planned? I could possibly back a few tins of goods and otherwise have the special effects. Fog, cold spells, Tesla coils. Whatever is needed." Tian-shin blinks and, smiling a closed-lipped smile, also takes a seat. "Thank you." She plucks a cupcake from the Tupperware container with a gesture half-way between nod and bow. "Hm...I'm not sure you look all that similar, at least to that image," this as she studies Jax's newly assumed face. "It is impressive, though!" She nibbles on the cupcake appreciately. "Matt insisted that I come, but I don't know that I'll be much help! To be perfectly honest, I've never really.../done/ Halloween." She blushes faintly. "I can always pick up supplies, if I'm given a list." Matt leans back to get a better look at Jax's features. Shakes his head, tsking. "No, you're way cuter. Oh, plans, right! I have...plans, just a sec." Stuffing the rest of the cupcake into his mouth and washing it down with a sip from the thermos, he pulls his computer back into his lap and wakes it up. When his mouth is fit for speaking again, "Well, maybe calling my notes 'plans' is a little generous." He grins shamelessly. "My first bullet point was just 'Jax'," which the other man can see for himself, "and of course I'm happy to be your battery. I thought that we should pass a hat around in the teacher's lounge the next few days, augment our budget just a bit? But really, between Ororo and Jax, I don't think we'll need to *spend* much on special effects. You," looking at Tian-shin now, "can definitely help pick up supplies, at one of those pop-up Halloween megastores." He frowns. "...Maybe with a buddy. Might be overwhelming if you've never Halloweened." "Oh my /gosh/ if you ain't never Halloweened before it's gonna be an /experience/." Jax's features snap abruptly back to being his own, his face lighting up with excitement. "I think we should stage a full-on skeleton war." Around them, the greenhouse starts to animate, skeletons armed for battle beginning to creep out from the trees, the soil stained with blood, smoke from cannons curling up at the edges of the room. This fades, though, into desolation, trees withered, ground barren and littered with bones. "Or maybe the devastatin' aftermath of the skeleton war. Go post-apocalyptic." Ororo watches the 'skeleton war' with a rather studios expression, contemplating it before she responds. "I'm partial to the fear of the unknown myself. Flickering lights, unexplained noises. A mysterious draft. The feeling that something is there but never quite pinning down what," Ororo says, just as an eerie chill fills the room. Her eyes begin to turn white and she stares at the group with the faintest of smirks. "And never knowing what is lurking in the shadows..." The room begins fill with a fog, white tendrils swirling in the air, growing thicker by the second and homogenizing with the air around them. Just before it completely blocks vision, to dissipates almost as quickly, revealing a blue-eyed, almost giggling Ororo. "Halloween /might/ be one of my favorite holidays..." Tian-shin's eyes widen fractionally. "Is Halloween shopping really /that/ intense? Should I bring a weapon? Or, I guess that's Thanksgiving shopping." When the skeletons start emerging from the foliage, however, she rises and actually /starts/ to reach back for the sword that she is not presently carrying. Then blushes /furiously/ when she realizes the provenance of the invaders. "Oh! Sorry, you'd think I'd have gotten used to that by now." She sits back down and ducks her head. Though Ororo's illustrated suggestions has her gazing about in appreciate wonder again. "Post-apocalyptic wasteland works well with mysterious drafts and unexplained noises, right?" "I *love* Halloween." Matt's smile grows broad as the others cycle through their special effects, his vivid green eyes wide with childlike wonder. "But I tend to favor the really *cheesy* kind of theme. Sheet ghosts, skeletons with googly eyes, orange and purple everywhere." He reaches into a pocket of his trousers and pulls out a floppy rubber spider, balancing it on his head. "Just when you thought I couldn't conjure up anything, huh? Anyway, I think we can probably managed more than one approach to decorating, considering the talent on hand. Maybe get some music that goes with each. We can have a skeleton war *and* its aftermath, *and* a spooky graveyard shrouded in mist, no?" Jax bounces when the room starts to swirl; his hands clap together with pure delight, afterwards reaching out to trail fingers through the fog before it vanishes. "/Oh/! Oh yay! No-yeah we totally need -- lots of that. All of that. We're gonna be /lousy/ with atmosphere around here." He scuffs a hand against his cheek, giving Tian-shin an apologetic smile. "You might want t'bring a weapon if you're on candy duty, it can get vicious if y'wait till too late an' are tryin' t'pick up the last bags'a Skittles." His nose wrinkles at Matt's suggestions. "Oh my /gosh/. I hope you're ready t'be a /whole/ lotta battery." Ororo chuckles and bows her head to the praise. "Your illusions are equally stunning Jackson." She clears her throat and turns back to the group. "I lean more towards the more...realistic horrors but maybe in regards to recent events, a more light-hearted approach would be appreciated. As the group teases Tian-Shin about candy duty, Ororo shakes her head. "Alright, alright, you're going to scare the poor woman away." "I look forward to seeing all of this come together, then." Tian-shin tilts her head at the fake spider on Matt's head. "I generally /do/ carry my sword when I'm out and about, but I leave it at my desk when I'm here." The hint of a smile ghosts across her lips. "So I think I can handle candy duty no matter how scary the store gets. Maybe should get on /those/ acquisitons sooner rather than later, though. Just so I don't need to duel anyone over the last bag of Skittles." Matt has been typing while the others speak, nodding steadily (the spider miraculously remaining on his head the whole time). "All right, I will write up a short note to the staff listserv about contributing to the Halloween fund. Who knows, some of our esteemed colleagues may have ideas to contribute, as well." He nods gravely at Ororo. "Yeah, I kind of missed the outbreak, so I forget that some kinds of classical Halloween horror are triggering to most people now. But yes, let's get whatever ready-made candy we need first. The rest of the treats we can make. And by we I *mostly* mean Jax." As he eyes the matcha cupcakes with exaggerated longing. "This is going to be amazing. Let's show the new students how we do Halloween!"