headandhand: (mayor marcelina)
the head | the hand ([personal profile] headandhand) wrote in [community profile] dualislogs2019-11-16 05:12 pm

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.
firacrux: (Would you look at that)

[personal profile] firacrux 2019-12-02 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
If only Seifer knew what she was going through. He'd simply assumed that she'd integrate with ease, she seemed like the type to find herself a place no matter where she was. Social, friendly, well liked... it never would occur to him that she'd struggle to fit in. Maybe they had more in common than he realized. After all, without Raijin and Fujin, and with Nida being less involved these days, Seifer's found himself quite lonely as well. Who do you talk to when you're terrible at forming close relationships?

Then again if she'd spoken her concerns he'd insist that she was far more a part of the group than he ever had been. He'd not been a part of them since the orphanage a lifetime ago. Tossed away and forgotten. Rinoa had far more right to be there than he ever did.

But, the good news was they weren't talking about that. They're going to dance and enjoy themselves in this death celebration. As for the question about why he knew how to dance? She could ask. Simple answer was like Squall, he was trained. Unlike Squall, he practiced more. Takes everything to the serious extreme. "They'd have to be sectioned off, can't have them getting into dangerous places." Like the forge or the rest of the machinery. Sounds like it'd be a real hassle.

"You're right. It's a dumb idea."
etherealsage: (charm - akin to flirt)

[personal profile] etherealsage 2019-12-02 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
"I didn't say it was dumb," she corrected him. She'd never tell someone any idea they had was 'dumb,' because that was just a horrid thing to say. On the contrary, she always wanted to encourage. If she could be realistic in tandem. Sometimes realism didn't allow for that and as much as she wanted to with her head in the clouds, it wasn't going to happen. For a multitude of reasons.

"Just that we might have a lot to cat-proof if you really decide to adopt a bunch of them. I mean, in the end, if we can take care of them, that's what matters, right?"

Which basically meant if they couldn't, then the obvious answer was not to go crazy with power and adopt every alien cat that crossed their path. She was certain Seifer could take care of at least two before it became a handful for him, though. Yet it sounded like he had one that his sights were set on. Leave it to him to pick a special one that likely not many were interested in.

Something about the prettiest things could sometimes come in the most ugly of packages.