dualislogs | oh, we dance in misery

WHO: Open to all Dualizens!
WHAT: the Plague Memorial Masked Ball
WHERE: the Mayor's Mansion (central Dualis)
WHEN: the evening of November 16
WARNINGS: Visuals/discussion of disease and death in the setting. Anything else, please use appropriate warnings!

At 8 p.m. sharp, the lights inside and around the Mayor's Mansion turn up, and the doors are opened to the crowds that begin to trickle inside. All entrances are manned by Iterations, and all party-goers are scanned for both proper attire (formal and masked, mandatory) and weapons (absolutely forbidden) before being allowed entry.

Once inside, attendees are greeted to a spectacle of warmth and light and lavish decorations, all themed in white accented with gold and violet. Venture into the ballroom, and you'll see intricately carved ice sculptures in various representations of death, all laden with garlands of marigolds and violet chrysanthemums. At one end of the room, a rotating cast of musicians plays soft music in differing arrangements of strings and piano. Long tables at the other end of the ballroom are piled high with punch fountains and platters of delicious party foods, and a few bar stations serve beverages of the more adult variety to those of age.

Outside the main ballroom are seven smaller rooms, for more intimate conversations and quiet recovery from the main gala (or just skulking like a brooding weirdo, if that's your thing). Six of the rooms are decorated in monochrome blue, purple, green, orange, white, or violet, and the seventh room is pitch black with red accents.

Throughout the night, the mayor herself winds in and out of the crowds, shadowed by a pair of bodyguards. She is all smiles, greeting people with a friendly handshake and effusive words of thanks for attending the ball, but she never stays in one place long enough for a true conversation. This is a celebration of life and a remembrance of the dead, after all - not the time or place for talks of business or politics.

Enjoy yourselves tonight, everyone! And remember - death eventually comes for everyone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Whistle;

She had come to the party dressed to blend with the crowd though Yuna never did blend very well. She was wearing white in a style that reminded her of the traditional garb of the temples and yet it was more comfortable than that. It was like a mix of her new life and her old one; perfectly balanced. Her mask was white as well, simple in its design but perfectly accenting the sweet curve of her cheeks. Her hair was flared as it always was, it was a little too short for her to do much with it but her braid had been released from its usual pink ribbon and now hung over her shoulder with silver twisting through the chestnut strands.

She was lovely, the party was elegant and stunning, but Yuna had a singular goal when she stepped through the door.

She was looking for someone.

Discretion was the better part of valor but in this case Yuna hoped that those around her might excuse the sudden interruption. She brought her fingers to her mouth and a loud clear whistle shouted from between her lips as the air evacuated her lungs.

There were probably better ways to walk into a party.

Exploring;

The decorations were interesting. The ambiance might have been alarming if the point of the masquerade hadn't been known before she'd walked inside. There was so much death in Spira and Yuna wasn't particularly comfortable celebrating it but everyone should be remembered.

By remembering someone, they became immortal.

She walked around the different rooms and listened to the bitter sweet music that floated through the halls. Each room was a little different and each color reflected across Yuna's white dress as if she was the final piece of that room. All but the black room. It felt as if nothing fit in there.

Yuna found another decorated skeleton, this one looking too real for her liking. Spira didn't have things like this. People didn't leave anything behind when the died... except for the fiends. Without thinking about it, Yuna did a simple prayer of sending, bowed her head to the statue, turned and returned to the main party.

From then on she could be found watching people dance, even dancing herself, speaking in each colored room but she never returned to that black room or the skeleton she'd blessed.

Wildcard;

[ooc: Yuna is happy to dance, drink, eat and enjoy all of the colored rooms. I will honestly go with any starter if there is something you want to do with my lovely High Summoner here. If you aren't sure then PM me or hit me up on plurk!

mizuyoko. You can also run into her at any point in any one of these two posts.]

Sometimes what you need at a party like this is a little alone time. In David's case that alone time definitely took over him when he started exploring the colored rooms. Nothing he could hack into. Nothing he could gain new information from. Nothing that really would satisfy him that the mayor knew more than she had been letting on. That she was actually just another pawn of the Head. So, in the end, he had settled himself down and chosen to take some time to rest. Which meant enjoying a chair in a room that looked good with his white and black and silver motif, and he smiled when he watched the woman walk in. The white worked so well, catching all the hints of purple and turning her into a decoration in the flesh.

"You know," he speaks up as he lifts his glass to her, "if the mayor had any idea of how you would look in this room, I think she might have hired people to just stand in outfits like that to serve as living statues. Accents, if you will."

And spies, of course. People loyal to her and the Head. He was quite happy that wasn't the case.

Yuna's head turned towards the source of the voice before she registered what he had said. "Ah-" He surprised her and for a moment she didn't know what to say. Yuna felt both annoyed that he had implied her to be something akin to decorations but also flattered... she wasn't really sure what to think. It wasn't exactly an insult.

"I don't think I'd have as much fun standing in one room all night. They do have statues." If he was looking for a specific decoration of some kind.

Her fingers rose to her lips, brushing against the rosy hue before letting her arm return to her side.

Yuna was trying not to blush but the mask offered some protection from David noticing. Maybe he thought she was pretty enough to have a statue of her made. What would he say if she told him that there was a statue of her?

Or maybe she was thinking too much about a harmless comment.

She wasn't as well-versed with such occasions as she would have wanted to be. A masquerade ball was really something right out of a book and she had to admit that before she arrived, she found it both surreal and laughable. Masquerades totally didn't happen in the flesh. Yet it seemed she had been proven wrong when not unlike Yuna, she found herself there in gown and mask.

She was in the midst of admiring Yuna's garb, pure and white, when she whistled and she couldn't help lifting her hands and settling them over her ears. For some moments anyway. She didn't anticipate that either.

"...Was that necessary?"

She supposed it was. Or else Yuna might not have done it.

"Oh!" Yuna turned towards the woman standing nearby and offered a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. I was... looking for someone."

Perhaps it wasn't the easiest way to find him.

"He told me once, that if I whistled, he'd come running and he was supposed to be here." She'd never had to explain it before. In fact, as a Summoner, Yuna had never had to explain anything she did. There were times when Wakka or Lulu questioned her but in the end everyone gave her space. It was a Summoners privilege, as long as she journeyed, but this was a new world with new expectations of her.

Having to explain it made her feel a little embarrassed about it.

"It's silly, isn't it?"

oh, we dance in misery

Yuna 🔮 Final Fantasy X-2

Exploration - Purple Room

Exploration - Purple Room

Whistle

Whistle