bakerstreet | the shadow is cast

the shadow is cast

Becoming the Costume

Up until just a minute ago everything seemed normal enough. Perhaps you were at a costume party, surrounded by guests, decorations, and refreshments. Or were you just trying a costume on at the shop? Maybe you were out trick-or-treating, backstage at a theatrical performance, or just seeing how you look in a costume that mysteriously appeared in your closet.

Whatever was going on, something just suddenly changed. That costume you were wearing? Is what you now are.

Now you're no longer a person in a costume— you're another person. Or a monster. Or a space alien. Or a zombie. Or any of a multitude of other things— some strange, some frightening, and some just, well. Unfortunate.

HOW IT WORKS:
♦ Leave a comment with your character's name and fandom, and state any preferences. If you'd like to roll for/pick an option here, go for it.
♦ Tag another character. Pick one of the options, either by using the RNG or just selecting one that interests you.
♦ Play out the results and respect others' preferences.
♦ Have fun!

1) Fantasy - Fairy tale characters or literal fairies, knights or princesses, dragons or unicorns? Anything that belongs in a storybook would fit in this category.

2) Sci-Fi - Aliens, astronauts, androids, oh my! Someone from another planet, or maybe this one a few centuries from now.

3) Occupational - This includes any costume for a particular occupation, be it a doctor, construction worker, maid, police officer, teacher, or soldier.

4) Historical - Costumes from any era from the beginning of time until the present day. Caveman furs? Togas? Victorian ruffles? Or perhaps you have some disco fever.

5) Scary - Ghosts and goblins, witches and black cats, or maybe a blood-covered ax murderer? Or maybe you have a different definition of "scary" and dressed as a tax collector, who knows.

6) Animals - This could range anywhere from gaining animalistic ears and tails to a full-on transformation, depending on how elaborate your costume was to begin with.

7) Pirates - It's time to swash some buckles, raid, pillage, and plunder.

8) Angels and Demons - This one is... fairly self-explanatory. But are you one of the demons that looks demonic, or perhaps an angel interested only in smiting the wicked?

9) Circus - Any clowns that don't fit in the "Scary" category would go here, as would animal tamers, trapeze artists, or perhaps one of the more elaborate Cirque du Soleil style costumes.

10) Cosplay - Your character was dressed as another fictional character from any medium. Let's hope they don't run into that actual character, or else we'll have some real meta going down here.

11) Wildcard - Pick an option not listed here!

Meme inspired by a suggestion from hyperkinetic!

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One would hope that Usagi had a pleasant birthday. With every year that brought her closer to womanhood, she was a little taller, a little more slender, a little more perfect.

Hopefully she wouldn't think it strange to return home to find a gown draped over her bed. Perhaps it could be fun to try it on. Didn't every girl want to grow up and become a beautiful bride?

Certainly, there could be no dark magic behind the sweet little birthday gift. Right?

It had been a wonderful birthday, with all her friends and Mamoru beside her to celebrate and remind her of how fortunate she was to love and be loved by them. She had played and sung karaoke and eaten her favorite foods until she felt sick, and counted every minute of it precious not only because they were her favorite activities, but because of the company in which she did them.

When she finally wandered into her room that night, still humming the chorus of one of the songs she'd sung earlier, she thought nothing of the gift but to delight in it. It had to be from Mamoru, it simply had to be. Maybe it was a hint! Maybe he finally thought she was old enough to marry him!

With a squeal of delight she dropped her bag on the floor and all but bounced over to pick the dress up, holding it against her as she examined her reflection in the mirror, beaming ear to ear at how perfect it looked. It looked like it would fit her perfectly, and so there was nothing to do but try it on immediately.

And so she put thought into action, discarding her clothing and pulling the dress on, admiring the lovely folds of fabric and the way it rustled with her every move. Humming to herself, she leaned closer to the mirror, plucking a white silk flower from a bouquet on her dresser and holding it against her hair, trying to determine where best to place it.

It suited her wonderfully, tight in all the right places and spilling regally down her legs. It was obviously tailored to her body, as it worked to make her look like she had more curves than she normally did, as if it moulded her figure to suit its shape rather than the other way around. It did feel like a second skin against her body, as more perfect than anything she'd ever worn before.

If she'd been at all attentive to her years fighting evil, perhaps she'd recognize it as feeling too perfect.

But yet, it was a little too plain all the same. A dress like that needed accessories! Gloves, jewelry... All of which she'd find laid out for her on her dresser. The jewelry in particular glittered, catching the light and creating hypnotic patterns in its prism. An expensive cut, obviously. Her anonymous benefactor had spared no expense on this gift.

Perhaps if Usagi had been paying attention, she might have noticed. Perhaps she might have realized how unusual it was to find a perfectly-tailored dress laid out on her bed, with matching expensive jewelry waiting for her to find, all without a single note to indicate who it was from. But if Usagi had one flaw, it was being far too trusting, and such was the case here. She'd simply assumed things were as she wished them to be and proceeded accordingly, and by the time she had tucked the flower into place and noticed the glittering accessories waiting for her, all she could do was pounce on them with even more delight.

Now these were far more suited to a dress of such quality than the simple flower she'd selected, and Usagi carefully drew it out of her hair again to replace it with jeweled clips, pausing to admire the way the gems caught the light and scattered it across the wall in shimmering rainbows. They did seem a little elaborate, even for Mamoru, but - she shrugged off the moment of doubt and carefully draped the necklace in place, adding the earrings and pulling the gloves onto her hands, happily wiggling her fingers to feel the silky fabric slide against her skin.

The jewelery really did make the look work. As she set each piece against her skin, it was like a veil slipped over her perception of her surroundings. This bedroom: boring. So childish. Unsuited to someone as royal as herself. Mamoru: so pedestrian. Too plain of a man to have given her gifts this elegant.

It was perhaps insulting that he'd never proposed to her, but in a way that insult left room for a hidden gift. She'd be able to fulfill her true purpose as a bride with her real husband-to-be.

Perhaps she was already so enspelled that it was safe for her benefactor to teleport within, appearing from thin air and making his way behind her as she gazed at her mirror image.

"My dear Serenity," he announced himself in a whisper. "You must hurry. We wouldn't want to miss the ceremony."

Each glimmer and flash of the jewels, every shimmering fold of the dress and gloves, drew her attention away from her earlier thoughts and feelings. A high school girl? Certainly not. A fighter for justice? When would she ever have time for such things? Usagi smiled dreamily at her reflection and the perfection reflected there - the absolute picture of a stunning bride, everything she had ever dreamed of and hoped for.

Everything?

Was it really? Wasn't there something--

Oh, of course! Usagi straightened again, carefully sliding the last piece of jewelry, the lovely, glittering ring, onto her gloved finger. What would a bride be without her groom? That had to be why she didn't feel entirely right about this, it was because she was missing someone!

And as though her thoughts had summoned him, the white-haired man appeared behind her in the mirror, framed neatly in the reflection as though they were posing for a portrait. There. There, he must be the groom, the other half she had been born to find and marry, for what other purpose could a bride serve?

She lifted her reflected gaze to his with a smile no less bubbling, no less delighted than the one she had worn while admiring the dress and jewels, and clasped her hands before her chest. "Oh, no," she replied, with real concern. "I certainly wouldn't want that."

The sight of her made him shiver. She was just as beautiful and ethereal as ever, perhaps even more lovely now that she wasn't cowering away from his presence. It had been a long, hard road to reach her again. Death didn't let its residents escape as easily as Serenity might have others believe. But it was worth it for this moment.

"Perhaps we should practice our vows, my darling," he urged, taking one of her hands in both of his and guiding her away from her reflection, lest she stare long enough to notice how quickly her ring was becoming tarnished black from the dark energy it radiated. "Won't you vow to honor and obey me, as long as you live?"

All doubt vanished at his touch, the gentle pressure of his hands brushing away fleeting half-thoughts of her surroundings, of the life she had lived to this point. None of it mattered. None of it was at all important. She was a bride, the loveliest bride to walk an aisle, and with the most handsome groom, so attentive and charming and generous.

She tilted her head slightly, just the faintest line of concern forming between her brows as she allowed him to direct her. "I thought it was unlucky for the groom to see his bride before the ceremony," she chided gently, bringing her other hand to rest atop his. "You know your vows letter-perfect, just as I do."

And to prove it, she began to recite the words ingrained in her memory, practiced over and over with all the focus Usagi could never have shown to her schoolwork, for that had never been as important as this. "I vow to obey you and serve you, to love, honor, and cherish you, forsaking all others. I will keep to you, and only you, for all the days of my life."

And as Usagi invoked the terms of the wedding ceremony, the world around them flickered and dissolved. All at once, they were standing in a chapel, surrounded by Black Moon nobility, standing together before the Wiseman himself. None of them should have been alive. And yet it was all happening, all so very real.

Did it matter that he'd skipped over his own vows, that he'd not promised any of the things she'd just sworn?

"Your crystal, my love," he crooned softly instead, holding her clouded stare with his piercing eyes. "You'll have to give it up so you can devote yourself to me completely. You can give it to the Wiseman for safekeeping."

It would have been very bizarre indeed, even terrifying, to see the collected ranks of the Black Moon, had Usagi been thinking like herself. The battles might have been years ago, for her, but she had still remembered them with regretful clarity. With the influence of the dark power surrounding her, however, her mind set so firmly on the identity of the joyful bride, only a hint of distress flared within her at the sight - a hint that she quickly dismissed as understandable nervousness at her much-anticipated wedding.

It could not, however, entirely dispel the concern that arose at his request. Her crystal? There was something about that which made her not wish to agree, some doubt or worry that she could not pinpoint. She lifted one gloved hand to her breast, frowning slightly in mildly confused consternation, watching her groom for some explanation of either his request or her reluctance. "My...crystal? But I--"

She groped for words that couldn't come to her lips, some way to shape the protective flare within her. Was she truly such a greedy person, that she couldn't give up such a bauble when asked? "I...need it," she finished, though she didn't sound completely firm about that.

When she murmured that she needed it, the Wiseman's ethereal hands swept over his crystal ball, prompting Diamond's own earrings to glow faintly. Even in death, the hierarchy of the family hadn't seemed to change.

Diamond recoiled, dropping her hands and gasping.

"You need it? But my darling Serenity... I thought you needed me." He took a step back from her, leaving her cold without him. "Don't I mean more to you than a gaudy hunk of jewelry?"

"No!" Immediately distressed, she stepped closer to Diamond, eyes wide and face utterly pale as she reached out, trying to close the distance between them once more. "I mean, yes, of course! Of course you do!"

And hadn't she just sworn to honor him, to cherish him, and to obey him? If he made a request of her, especially one so utterly simple, how could she go back on her vow only a few short minutes after making it?

Her heart twisting with regret and shame, eyes suddenly brimming with tears, she drew out the crystal and held it toward him. "Please...please, take it. If it would separate us I cannot keep it."

It was plucked from her palms without the need for Diamond's intervention; a wisp of energy drew it away from both of them until it settled seamlessly within the orb clasped in the cloaked figure's skeletal grip.

Perhaps Usagi would notice a searing cold overtake her now that she was robbed of her magic's defense. Would she notice her body warping from the force of enough black energy to transform an elephant into a hellbeast?

Where memories were blocked before, now they'd return in a flood, tainted and wrong.She was here because she'd chosen to be here, after she'd survived the most horrible, solitary birthday. Her loved ones had all abandoned her... They'd always all abandoned her. They'd left and ruined the future they'd talked of creating. The only family she had was Black Moon. That was why she was here to marry its prince.

Perhaps her body would still fight, struggling to keep the crescent mark on her forehead upright, to prevent it from growing dark and inverted. But how long could she last here in the den of darkness?

Diamond only stroked her hair, until his fingers were low enough to cup her cheek. "You look so much better without it. It will be my privilege to have you as my bride now."

For an instant panic surged through her - no, I need the crystal, please, I didn't mean it, give it back - and then the thought was swept away by the energy that washed over her, vanished as thoroughly as if it had never been, much like the memories of her life. Why had she objected to giving up the pretty bauble? It made no sense at all, for she had others, could obtain more still if she so desired. Perhaps she might even be judged worthy of black crystal earrings like the pair Diamond himself wore, which gleamed with their own dark fire, like and yet unlike the crystal she had given up.

A shiver abruptly ran through her and she moved a little closer to her prince, leaning lightly into his touch as she gazed up at him with open adoration. He was the only one who truly cared about her, who had returned to save her from empty loneliness and abandonment. Unbeknownst to her, the crescent that had flared golden upon her brow at the crystal's appearance began to darken and lighten in pulsing waves, as though with her heartbeat; each time it lightened it was never quite as bright as before, while each time it darkened it reached a deeper shade. There was clearly a struggle going on within her, but one which did not seem at all likely to succeed.

"I'm very pleased to hear it," she replied, with the innocent sincerity that was so much a part of her that it could not help but carry over despite her disappointments and abandonment. "It was such a simple, silly little thing. I can't imagine what came over me."

He leaned down to compensate for the space between their heights, lips pressing against the flickering symbol upon her forehead.

"You've nothing else to worry over, Serenity. I'm here with you now. We're all here. We'll be your family."

At the touch of his lips the crescent darkened several shades, then abruptly inverted itself before the struggle resumed, though growing clearly weaker and weaker as it approached a pure black. Though she didn't know why, she shivered again, and reached up to touch light fingers against his arm.

"We'll create a new future...together," she said, half a declaration and half a question, as a hint of fire flickered behind her eyes. If those she had thought her friends hadn't disdained her so, abandoning her to pursue their own selfish desires instead of working together to improve the world, there was so much they could have done. But with the support of the Black Moon now behind her, she could do even more. She could help everyone live peacefully, create the shining utopia of black crystal rather than silver.

[He owns costumes for every single musical genre and a few inspired by individual musicals or plays. Bring it.]

[Not interested in 3, 4 or 10, thanks.]

[Not really interested in 2, 9. or 10, otherwise ota.]

[Milly Ashford was, Shirley thought, one of the few people who could announce a last minute party (and not just any party, a "masquerade ball") and turn it into an absolute rousing success, just as though it had been in the works for months. Something about her just encouraged things to fall into place, word to spread, and a crowd of guests to descend, all masked and costumed and, to all appearances, having the time of their lives.

Something about her also made Shirley agree to wear a ridiculous costume and allow Milly to do her makeup to match. It was hard to tell under the paint, but she was blushing a bit as she self-consciously tugged at the hem of her skirt, trying to work her way through the crowd toward the refreshments, dutifully going to check on them at Milly's request. Everything would be perfect, she knew from past experience, but it never hurt to check, especially if it made Miss President feel better.]

Excuse me - ah, pardon me. Sorry, could I just...ah!

[As she slipped past a couple dancing enthusiastically, one of them swung an arm wildly in what was intended to be a flamboyant dance move but which required Shirley to duck quickly to avoid being hit. In the process she staggered back a step, accidentally bumping into another party-goer with an exclamation followed by profuse apologies.]

[Especially interested in fantasy (fairy, princess, evil queen, mythological creature), animals (partial or nearly full transformation, but not completely full), or demon (evil Mitsuru?)]

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the shadow is cast

Ana Clark, Dawn of the Dead 2004, OTA

Yuuki Kuran | Vampire Knight

Dick Grayson | Batman | OTA

Lukas Bondevik/Norway | Hetalia | OTA

Nagisa Hazuki | Free! | OTA

Usagi Tsukino | Sailor Moon

/keeps drawing a blank on the last thread, HERE'S A NEW ONE.

i don't think we had a thread going, but i will GLADLY thread with a diamond!

OH sorry! I thought that Minako was yours. I justmake assumptions about how small the fandom is. >>

nope! :) always good to see there are other players around, though :)

Oh, then oops! In that case, pleased to meet you!

likewise!

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ffffff wrong journal you totally didn't see that

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Isaac Lahey | Teen Wolf | OTA or M/M for shippy stuff

Damon Salvatore | The Vampire Diaries | OTA (or M/M for smut)

Music Meister | Batman

Axel χ Kingdom Hearts

Yukiko Amagi | Persona 4

Shirley Fenette | Code Geass

Yuna | Final Fantasy X-2

Andrea | The Walking Dead | OTA

Jenna Sommers | The Vampire Diaries | OTA

Jenny Humphrey | Gossip Girl | OTA

Richard Duke of Clarence | The White Queen | OTA

Minako Aino | Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon | OTA

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Mitsuru Kirijo | Persona 3

Nunnally vi Britannia | Code Geass (post-series)