DRUMROLL PLEASE...

[latebreaking]

WHO: Everyone participating and attending the CHARITY BENEFIT. Don't forget to tag yourselves!
WHERE: One of the City's many fancy, large event ballrooms
WHEN: FRIDAY, the 5th, 5 PM onward
WARNINGS: Doubtfully any?
SUMMARY: It's the big night at last! FOR YOUR OWN REFERENCE: Bidding results have been posted here.
FORMAT: Whatever is your pleasure.


The night is here at last. Please make sure you're dressed as nicely as you're able, and take care to donate at the door if you're able -- it's not required, but it's all too a good cause. Upon entering the ballroom you'll see many tables laid out with white tablecloths and place settings; feel free can sit and order something, the restaurant is open until 11PM and the bar opens at 8PM. In the left corner is the table where at any given hour or half hour interval you can find someone signing autographs and photos for imPorts or natives alike. The schedule reads:

ERIDAN AMPORA, 5PM - 5:30PM
DEPUTY MAYOR EDWARD NYMGA, 5:30PM - 6PM
CAPTAIN METROPOLIS, 6PM - 6:30PM
MORDIN SOLUS, 6:30PM - 7PM
BEAST, 7PM - 8PM
HUNTRESS, 8PM - 9PM
GREEN ARROW, 9PM - 10PM
WILD TIGER, 10PM - 11PM
IRON MAN, 11PM - 12AM

In the right corner is the auction set-up; at 8PM sharp the auctioneer will set up a ballot for silent bids to be placed, and announce the highest bids at 15 minute intervals. Good luck! It should be wrapped, like the signings, at 12 midnight. Have fun tonight, Cityzens, eat, drink, be merry, and bid until your desired option has been pried from your cold not-dead fingers. At 12:15 the WINNING BIDS will be announced.

Congratulations, everyone; you have raised $136,022! Below are separate mingling threads to utilize as you'd like: there's loads to do, just mind the clock. As usual, don't be shy about new CR!

Comments

[glowsferatu]

Throughout the bidding, Kanaya would only have seemed more irritable. She didn't have much money to spare for this, and the higher the bid went, the more it dwindled. Having to pay bills was one of the worst killjoys she had ever encountered, and that was saying something for someone with her temperament.

Still, even if she had gone over budget in her attempt to win, it felt worse to resolve to that and only lose in the end, even if it meant more money staying in her pocket. Seeing Charlie reveling in her victory only drew an automatic glare from her.

[foreverbouncing]

Charlie was still grinning like an idiot, until she noticed that someone was glaring at her. Which meant she must have won someone they were bidding on, and really, sore losers sucked but...

Was that Kanaya? What?

After a thoughtful moment the redhead started right towards her! Coming to a stop with a friendly sort of grin, if somewhat puzzled.

"What'd I do?"

[glowsferatu]

As she approached, Kanaya was tearing up a blank bidding sheet. It's too late to put in a counter, it wouldn't do her any more good. When she heard Charlie, she turned and crossed her arms, meeting her with a sneer that showed her fangs.

What did she intend to do with two boys, anyway? "Shopping around, I take it?"

[foreverbouncing]

Oh, right. "Uh," She frowned faintly and then shrugged as it turned into a grin. "I guess? It was sort of an accident, I didn't actually uh...expect to win?"

She didn't have the attention span to win auctions, she figured. And hey wait a second.

"Wait, what? You don't even like boys!"

[glowsferatu]

Her eyes narrowed at the insinuation. "No, but Terry is a friend of mine." It was more than a little her fault that he was involved in this to begin with. "He deserves better than to be treated as only a second choice. He's more than a backup, an alternative." It would certainly do her better to not come near communicating her real beef, after all, especially so rudely.

[foreverbouncing]

"Okay, that's not cool," Charlie frowned right back at that, crossing her arms. "I wouldn't have bid on him if I didn't think a date could be fun!" Or at least interesting...

Okay, admittedly, there was some 'backup' going on here but what did that matter?

"Plus it's a date auction, it's not like it'll magically make people fall in love, most of these dates'll probably be totally awkward."

[glowsferatu]

"No, but he's already enough of a burden on his own self esteem that such a cynical approach will only feed into that." Wow, Kanaya, whose side were you supposed to be on again? Maybe rethink the approach there. "I just wanted him to meet a nice girl and maybe threaten to experience some kind of happiness." She was only digging deeper now, it was definitely time to try a different angle.

She let out a huff, staring at the ceiling for a moment before trying again. "But then, that doesn't really address your own potential problems, either. Are you sure you'll be able to juggle the two? Or if things should go blissfully with the first, where does that leave the second?" That was good, she has a plan now. She might even pull this off. "You may find yourself needing backup of your own! I know someone. You know, in the case that one of them, say Leo for instance, were to go unattended." Very subtle there. The way her hand played against her temple as she mentioned Leo's name, or the fact that she'd begun glowing again without even noticing it. No one could ever see through Kanaya Maryam's sense of artifice.

[foreverbouncing]

"I'm not being cynical!" Charlie grumped, her frown getting worse. "It's just realistic! It might be totally awesome but it could be totally awkward too."

And then, the more Kanaya talked, the more amused Charlie looked, as she began sliding the pieces together in her head. "Wait a sec." She relaxed some, at least. "You stuck Terry up there to set him up on a date, and you were bidding on Leo to give him to somebody else for a date!" A beat. "But I'm the cynical one somehow?"

[glowsferatu]

This is what happens when you're a terrible liar. Her arms slipped a bit from their defiant position as her eyes grew wider, caught red-handed. "I don't see what cynicism has to do with that at all!" And then, almost muttered, "...If it were even true."

[foreverbouncing]

"Uh huh."

Charlie just laughed then, no longer offended...not that she ever stayed offended long. "It's true and we both know it. So who were you going to shill him off on?"

[glowsferatu]

"That..." she started, caught completely off-guard. Does she try to play this off? Maybe try to turn it in her favor? Or simply flail about internally while trying to make a recovery? There was never any competition. "It doesn't really matter anymore. I've already lost, anyway. She's just a friend, but one I thought deserved a nice evening with a boy who isn't otherwise occupied or homosexual. Maybe one she could like."

[foreverbouncing]

"Well that doesn't sound too stupid," Charlie decided after a second of batting the idea around. "I mean, it was nice of you and stuff, instead of bidding on somebody for you..." Hmm.

"Maybe I could convince him to do it anyway?"

Not that she'd give up her own date, but what boy would disagree with two dates?

[glowsferatu]

She had a chance. She could salvage this, as long as she didn't screw it up. "I could, uh, take care of your clothes..." Yes, that was it, that's the right angle to go with. Run with it! "If you let Roxy take Leo out, I'll make you over for the date with Terry."

[foreverbouncing]

"Okay, that'd actually be sort of cool..." She hadn't had a make-over since Spider-girl left. And then she hesitated.

"Wait so, would this mean I give this whole auction date thing to her, or can I just convince him to do both? I bet I can convince him to do both."

[glowsferatu]

Kanaya frowned, shrugging slightly. "Well, that's really at your discretion. I don't especially care either way, as long as Roxy has her night."

[foreverbouncing]

"Oh, she will!" Charlie grinned. "Like a boy would ever give up a chance to go on a date."

[glowsferatu]

Charlie apparently didn't now most of the boys Kanaya did. Terry included. "Uh, yeah. I suppose I'll have to take your word for it."

[foreverbouncing]

Well Kanaya knew a bunch of fussbudgets then. "Trust me," she said with no real proof to back it up.

"So Roxy, huh? I think I talked to her once but...what's she like? How can I sell this idea?"

[glowsferatu]

"Well, let me think. She's sweet, she's outgoing with a fondness for enjoying herself. She cares deeply for her friends. Uh, she gets much better grades in science than I do." She hesitated a moment while thinking about it more. Roxy shouldn't be a difficult person to sell at all, but she's never thought about having to try. It all just felt so obvious if someone had only spoken to her.

"She's sober." Dumb answer, seriously.

[foreverbouncing]

"I...usually don't think 'sobriety' when trying to describe someone, but alright," Charlie laughed. "She sounds cool enough, except for the grades part." What? NEEERDS.

"I can totally swing this."

[glowsferatu]

"Her grades are indisputably cool." Kanaya narrowed her eyes, she wouldn't hear any such implication about Roxy, that girl had things under control. "But alright. When would be best for me to work out whatever disputes may instead arise in your wardrobe?"

[foreverbouncing]

"I don't really think 'grades' and 'cool' in the same sentence. Or school at all..." Charlie didn't like school, even if she was going to college.

"Okay, so how about...Saturday afternoon?"

[glowsferatu]

"Yeah, well, not to be rude but I guess you don't really know what you're talking about, then." Kanaya has always been a pretty big supporter of school, it is the best method she had found of learning more about human culture, or at least things that have pointed her to what to research further. Also, Roxy being cool, everything she excelled at obviously had to likewise be cool. Maybe even the occasional trip to detention was cool, but Kanaya wasn't nearly cool enough to take it that far herself.

"Saturday afternoon should work. Though we'll want to start early, as I'll have him to contend with by night's end as well."