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.
blitzcheer: (it's sunny suny sunny)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2019-12-05 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"As lucky as you dropping in and seeing a pretty face after your fall." Or it felt that lucky, anyway. "We ended up on the road together after that."

A far better time than getting stuck around with an old guy, for sure. But it's nice, this—chatting about Yuna and what they did, in a way that'll never be his definition of normal, but you can mistake it for it. He wants to ask, do you have any plans back home?, but keeps the question in his throat. Knows better than to ask a question he can't answer, it reminds them of their circumstances. Despite the light in it.

"Is she going to keep growing flowers while she's here? You two got any plans?"

That might be better. Even in this city, people had plans, from what he'd seen or heard.
legacy_blade: (Default)

[personal profile] legacy_blade 2019-12-06 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"She works at a florist shop," Zack grins. So yeah, she's clearly still going to be doing that. But plans? Wow, who even knew what plans could be.

They'd barely even started dating before he'd left. Now his goal was simple.

"I want to spend all the time with her I can before this is all over."
blitzcheer: (chatter chatter)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2019-12-07 12:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Tidus grins, mostly to himself. “Sounds like the best plan you can have,” he submits, sparing a glance to the dance floor, to the noise and music blending together as one. You wouldn't think all the talks about murder and danger are true with a sight like this. ...maybe not until one of the ice sculptures catches your eye, anyway.

“I guess I’m hoping I make the most of it.”

He shouldn't overthink it, really.
legacy_blade: (Default)

[personal profile] legacy_blade 2019-12-08 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"Then go, find your girl. Make the most of it," Zack smiles, warm and friendly below his mask. Even his eyes, faintly glowing, sparkle through the creation. "You never know when you won't have more time."

He learned that the hard way.