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.
whosthemonsternow: (Default)

[personal profile] whosthemonsternow 2019-12-05 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yea, true, but not a lot of people seem to like being called by their last names." She shrugs, offering the testy reply a lopsided smile.
cadiastands: (10)

[personal profile] cadiastands 2019-12-12 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't mind." Civilians are weird and she refuses to be held responsible for their bad life choices, okay. "I don't expect everyone to go about calling me 'Lieutenant,'--" because she's realized they won't, not because she wouldn't prefer it if she thought she could get away with it "--but everyone here is far too familiar."

It's like you're not from a horribly stratified, classist dystopia or something.
whosthemonsternow: (Default)

[personal profile] whosthemonsternow 2019-12-12 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't think very many here are military, all they know is being familiar, especially too familiar." She shrugs a bit, glancing around at all the people, "So just Nero, then?"