#the steele ball

[theshieldjanitor]

He had been doing so well. That was all Ted could think about as he slowly started breaking down. He hadn't meant to. The usual nerves he had before a show had been infinitely worse knowing who he was playing for and how many people would be there. And he--along with the other three members of the band--felt massively under dressed for the event. But they had managed to truck along. The song covers were popular, they sounded good, and he honestly thought that he would make it out unscathed.

And then it all came crashing down.

It had just started with a small joke from the drummer about how it reminded her of their high school days. After that, Ted couldn't see the rich folks in the room anymore. All he saw were the handful of teenagers who would come to their shows, including the girl who used to sit all the way in the back on her phone, scoffing at them until she could ramble about how he needed to get serious when he drove her home. Every irritated brown haired woman reminded him of her. And then when a guest asked if they did weddings, Ted could feel the pressure building up. He had barely managed to make it through the next song, quickly announcing that they'd be taking a five minute break before disappearing down the hall.

"Get it together, Jones," he whispered to himself, trying to steady his shaking hands. He turned around and yelped when he saw someone standing there, needing to pause to catch his breath before asking, "What are you doing here?"

[agentbennet]

His attendance would mark only his second time attending a gala, the first? Last years Steele Ball, it clearly wasn’t his specific arena of events but he wanted to help in even the smallest of ways. It was glaringly obvious of course that the other attendees and himself were in drastically different tax brackets but Jake never cared about such trivial things. He’d once again floated the black tie by taking his suit jacket off the moment he was insider and turned to drape it over the back of his chair, he’d use the fact he can move around easier without it and well the converse on his feet weren’t exactly black tie either but who’s gonna tell the guy in a wheelchair he had the wrong shoes on? He’d opted to test the bounds. 

“Somehow even grander then last year.” 

[nxgrave]

Parties like this reminded her why she hated normal people. As Michael sipped on her martini, she glanced around the room, watching as people with deep pockets patted themselves on the back for doing the bare minimum. It was pathetic. They had no idea what true struggling was, though she hoped they'd soon learn it.

She tucked the red hair of the wig she had chosen behind her ear then brushed down the skirt of her dress. She had intentionally picked something rather bland. After all, she had no desire to stand out or be remembered. As far as anyone in the room was concerned, she was just Layla Markins, assistant to some banker who was too lazy to come out here himself. Same as probably a good twelve other people in the room.

She leaned on the bar, motioning for the bartender to get her a water--she needed to keep her head tonight after all--and drummed her nails on the top, not quite noticing someone approaching from her side.

[shieldsfilemistress]

For some reason, Chen couldn't shake the nerves tonight. She had no idea why; for the first time in years everything had gone to plan exactly how she had wanted it to, yet that nagging feeling that something was off refused to go away. She strutted around the room in her signature red gown, checking in on every little thing until her assistant shooed her away from the band, insisting that everything was going to be fine.

That didn't stop her though. As soon as she saw a familiar face, she slid right up to them and asked, "This is all going well, right?"

[seesbetterfromadistance]

The Steele Ball

In years past Gala’s had become something of a routine for Clint whether attendance were required as part of a mission or whether it was one of Stark’s latest whoo the crowd events he’d attended countless but he only ever truly looked forward to Chen’s gala, it benefitted children who in some cases sadly shared much of his own backstory, it hit close to the heart. 

But punctuality was something of a ‘soft’ subject when it came to the archer,  sure on missions it was adhered to but when it came more social like outings Clint never really saw the need to subscribe to time tables. Normally he’d arrive at what you’d consider a fashionably late hour but this time he’d returned from the mission later than anticipated and by the time he’d actually resigned to letting medical tend to him any semblance of fashionable disappeared as the descriptor of late. He’d opted for a tux, one that fit him so well he looked the part… well unless you considered the new bandage across his eyebrow, the shoulder sling that was an addition out of only necessity, and the fact that beneath the white shirt was bandages covering a wound. 

Even still he walked into the ballroom and despite being hit with far too much noise from every direction he was ready for a fun night. Already he brought his hand up to adjust the volume on his hearing aids, struggling with the side that currently had no use of an arm but now that it was more comfortable he strolled further into the space. 

[apostolicattilan]

The Steele ball charity gala

He couldn't help but feel out of place, even if he'd complied with the dress code and worn a suit and tie. Very rarely did the priest trade his cassock for such attire, but he didn't have the energy to argue it.

He'd mostly come to make sure his donation went to the right place. That and he was bored on leave and figured he'd go and see if he could actually meet anyone responsible for the foundation.

Owen had donated before on behalf of the local diocese, but had never actually met any of them in person yet.

Thankfully he wasn't feeling too bad, but even all cleaned up and dressed up nice he was sure the fact he was tired and uncomfortable would be clear. Oh well. He was here to do something good for others, not win awards for looking nice.

[shieldagentburr]

It had just taken one phone call. One call for everything to go to hell. She had been checking in like Chen had requested, suspecting that everything was alright, only to learn the opposite. Of course. God forbid she got one night off.

She quickly went to find a trustworthy face, taking them by the arm as she continued walking. "We have a problem," she said, making sure she was quiet enough that the civilians wouldn't hear.

[agentsterling]

Are you going to slow dance with your wife tonight? ^_^

"I was planning on it til her deranged, alternate-universe, assassin, hell-spawn broke out of jail, yeah."

[agentsbarlowesquared]

Given their social circles and their status in said social circles they of course would be attending the Steele ball, Liv had tucked a sizable check into Eli’s breast pocket given she had no space for the envelope herself as they had gotten out of the car. He was off socializing with who knows at this point and she’d excused herself from possibly the most mundane small talk conversation on Earth. 

Walking up to the bar she’d ordered herself a Martini and was sipping at it while watching the crowd when they came up on the side of her, “Fancy seeing you here.” 

[agentmasonmiller]

The Steele ball was the one charity event that Mason never thought of as a performance, in truth it was one of the only charity balls he’d ever really looked forward to. Most he attended merely because he contributed so much to the charity, or because of a family requirement but this was for Becky, it was for the wondrous work she did and for that reason it’s one he’d never miss under any circumstance even if his life was slowly being torn down by The Carver. Normally he was a pillar of punctuality, but mere minutes after he’d changed into his tuxedo and adorned buck with his little suit collar alarms started to blare along the wall of video feeds. Cursing under his breath he’d checked the time and ‘put out the fire’, unfortunately doing so had taken far too long and he hadn’t been there to walk in with Joon, in truth he’d forgotten to even text her.

He pulled up to the front of the building and put his car into the usual lock down mode for the valet, as he got out he tucked the envelope containing the absurdly large donation into his chest pocket, his firearm of course visible for a moment before he walked around to open the door for Buck who hopped out and took up  his usual place snug against Masons leg. With that they walked in, but Mason was interested in the routine hellos, his eyes were scanning the room for the familiar redhead. 

[whatisyouremergency]

The only thing worse than being in a room full of rich people is realizing she was becoming one of them now. Since Mason had been shot she had moved in with him to help take care of him when he was home. This was lead to him convincing her to stay. Her daughter needed no such convincing. She was melting into the lavish lifestyle like soaking in a bubble bath. The life she always mocked Chen for living had become her own and it felt like an itchy sweater on her.

Still, she was willing to support her friends. Chen was hosting, Ted was in the band, and... Yeah, that was all of her friends.

Joon took a drink out of Sterling's hand as he walked by and downed it.

"Keep em coming."

"I'm not a waiter, Joon." Sterling said, more confused than upset about it.

"Meh." She replied, putting the empty glass back in his hand and walking off to find her daughter.

[daumilk]

JOJO part 1-7 🌟

[scary-monsters]

my fake bf who eats rocks and has an attitude problem 🧡

[eyefoes]

grahh girlfaves part 2 !! 💗

[shieldsfilemistress]

What is it?

The Chen Foundation Charity Gala is an annual event to raise money for the Foundation’s projects. The main one this year is the addition of the Children's Park.

Where is it?

Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.

When is it?

Right now!

Who all can go?

Any and all. While Black Tie Attire is a requirement (and security WILL notice anyone not wearing it), the gala is a pretty known event in the city. You’re more than welcome to have your character have received an invite, paid for a spot, or is simply trying to crash the party.

Anything else?

I’ll be using the tag “the steele ball” to track events across the night.

While this is a charity event, characters are not expected to donate anything unless they specifically desire to do so.

Have fun!

[haddockkkk]

👇👇💅🧸🤠🏇🏇‼️