oh, we dance in misery

[headandhand]

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.

Comments

[wishalone]

Yeah, she sees that sidestep. (Especially given she just did one of her own.) That's fair. She really would like to know, just so she can be prepared, but so long as he doesn't bring trouble down on her head, it's fine for now. She saw him tinkering on stuff that first night she showed up, so she thinks there's a decent chance of it being something like that.

She starts to turn her head to look back down the scope, but something else catches her eye and she pauses. A swirling design on the gun, two snakes overlapping, tail to head... It's familiar. When she glances back at Drifter, she spots it again, this time in the green pendant hanging around his neck.

"Good, 'cause I'd be pretty pissed if there was." Her answer comes light and quick. "So you think something's gonna happen? If your clients need looking after while they're there."

[be_notorious]

"Yeah, my clients are some of the most wanted folk in the city right now. Made themselves a good amount of trouble."

He sits cross-legged and squints off in the direction of the building, everything a blur of lovely lights and themed colors and dull, Golden Age blandness. Tempered by the fact that it's within sight of this lackluster, poorly kept building. Thank god for economic instability even in a controlled place like this.

"And if I don't look out for 'em, I can't figure out the Head's transport tech. An' I will goddamn get my hands on that roadmap if I gotta and get my old ass out of here. I'm sure people'd want the help movin' on, too. But right now, I gotta make sure these damn fools don't get themselves killed."

The Heart don't make the best decisions, but he needs them to survive long enough that he can get access to that mess of a Head.

[wishalone]

So that's what his goal is. It makes sense. Most people would want to go home, right? That's normal.

If given the opportunity, would Kyoko go home?

Why is that even a question?

There's a line of tension growing in Kyoko. She passes the rifle back over to Drifter. "They can't take care of themselves, huh? What a pain. They get to enjoy the buffet while you're sitting out here playing babysitter." She doesn't actually know enough about the situation to know for sure that's what's going on. But it's how she's choosing to take it, because it distracts her from her own thoughts.

[be_notorious]

"They don't know I'm watchin' 'em. Just figured I'd volunteer 'cause I don't ever trust anybody to be able to handle somethin' on their own. Seen too many fools put the wagon in front of the horse and then bitch when it don't work right.

"...God that buffet sounds good about now."

His mouth waters a little thinking of it, and he swallows thickly. Just food in general. Some if it's probably even good! Little whispers gather in his head. They tell him that it'd be good to eat. That he needs something. He's dying here, and the whispers repeat in his mind. They tell him food would be good right now. Anything.

Ur is in there.

He reaches for the nearest twinkie alternative and makes quick work of it. Then around a half-full mouth he says a muffled, "Some of them kick up a fuss and are the showy type. If they make a mistake?" He swallows. "I wanna see it before I find out the hard way."

[wishalone]

"I thought it was a bad idea to be showy about kicking up a fuss here." Kyoko clucks her tongue. "I mean, if you're gonna be that way about it, this is a good place to do it." She points at one person in the crowd with a cracker, then another, another, another... Multiple quick flicks of the wrist in succession to make her point.

"But that just means the people in charge have to be expectin' something like that, right? They'd be on you faster than a wolf on injured prey. It can't be worth it, unless you can be so flashy they can't sweep it under the rug quick enough."

[be_notorious]

"Well, the whole universe is a font of bad ideas. Darkness always eatin' up the light. Keeps the damn light from blinding you, though."

He sounds like there's some poison behind that metaphor, a little bit of anger there.

"Yeah, they gotta have a close eye on the thing. Either way, I think it ain't a great call even showing up at this place. What the hell are they even thinkin'? They get arrested, they're not gonna be doing any of us any damn favors."

Especially him. They have his guns.

[wishalone]

Kyoko can't say she gets what's going on with that weird metaphor. But she recognizes the tone, the emotion, even if she wouldn't really be able to put a word to it. There's a history there. One she's not gonna pry into.

"There's gotta be something down there worth the risk. It just doesn't make any sense otherwise." But she has no idea what it could be. Are they using the party as a cover? Is there something in the mansion they're trying to get at? Somebody down there they can't get a hold of otherwise? She's too new to have any clue.

Something -- someone -- approaching the mansion catches Kyoko's attention, and she turns her head. It takes her a second to register what exactly she's looking at. "Is that... Hey, is that girl's dress glowing?"

[be_notorious]

"Yeah, it is..."

And then he pauses for a bit. "She's pretty, too. Ain't nobody wearin' dresses like that back where I'm from anymore. Especially nice lookin' ladies."

He's seen a psion or two geared with glowing attire. But they're not that easy on the eyes.

[wishalone]

"I mean..." Kyoko hadn't noticed. Not really. The dress was more distracting. But he isn't... wrong.

She doesn't notice the touch of color growing on her face.

"I can't say I've seen anyone wearing something like that before, either." She wouldn't be surprised if there'd been a magical girl with a glowing outfit. But she hasn't seen one. "You'd have to like attention, you know?"

[be_notorious]

Drifter, however, notices that little bit of pink that hits her even in the dark. "I know that green-haired woman in the black get-up down there. Look how good that cut is on her."

He gives her another go with the scope so she can check out Lorna's attire. Just because he's getting the inkling that this girl's never really had the chance to see someone pretty and really consider why they might be pretty.

[wishalone]

Kyoko takes the rifle back without a hint of suspicion. It's on topic, after all. She closes one eye and peers down the scope. It takes her a second to pinpoint the woman he's talking about, and then it takes her yet another second afterwards before she responds.

"Musta been made for her." To Kyoko's eye, it's as suiting as if it were her magical girl costume. It fits perfectly, like it was meant for her.

........

When she hands the rifle back, she pushes it towards Drifter with a little more force than strictly necessary.

[be_notorious]

"Hey, waitaminute, got one more person for you to look at." He says before accepting it back, putting his hand on it. "There's a tall drink-o-water in a tux down there. She was near the doors a minute ago. I don't know if you're a dress kinda girl or what, but just as a note, if you wanna get dolled up and still look good, you can always go the way of that kinda formal wear."

Kyoko seems like the type that might consider a tux or at least a dress jacket if she decided to pretty up.

[wishalone]

"I-I've seen enough!" She keeps pushing the rifle towards him. "What's with you all of a sudden? I don't need fashion advice."

Though something tells her this isn't about the fashion.

[be_notorious]

"Haha! Nothin' wrong with findin' somebody easy on the eyes." He straightens out, and rather than watching down the scope in a fit of paranoia he takes it. And oddly, he gets a little more serious.

"You from somewhere where it ain't okay or has it just been a case that life's too quick to give it much thought?"

Because she's a teenager. She should be thinking this kind of thing.

[wishalone]

Kyoko feels herself bristle, and though she couldn't tell anyone why, really, she just knows she doesn't want to be talking about this any more.

"Maybe I've had more important things to deal with than this kind of thing," she bites out, volume rising. "Why do you care, anyway?"

Pure teenager.

[be_notorious]

"I don't especially." He outright says. "But hey, you're a good kid. You want a pretty girl or boy, you go for it. Don't know when the chance'll pass you by and kickin' yourself is a hell of a lot worse than a little embarrassment."