[open] welcome to the masquerade

[implying]

Date & Time: Friday the 7th, 4pm to midnight.
Location: Palace of Versailles, France, 1772.
Characters: anyone! Even characters not yet accepted as of when this log goes up. 8)
Summary: It's just some fancy masquerade dance with spiked punch.
Warnings: here be pictures, slow connections beware.


Welcome to Versailles.

The decorations are arranged, the food is prepared and laid out, the music has been rehearsed, and... most people have their costumes and masks ready. At precisely 1600, the Transporter machine activates, and a full room of people and all of their decorations, food, musical instruments, and costumes are sent back to 1772. The Palace of Versailles is in the height of its splendor, the weather is perfect and cloudless, and the gardens are in full bloom for the spring.

➣ Explore the Palace

Holy shit look at this, you have the chance to get your grubby little fingers all over history before it even becomes properly history. Do you know how many famous butts sat in all these plush velvet chairs? Or are going to sit in these plush velvet chairs? And they were all probably just talking the hell out of French, too. Wow. Go invade some bedrooms, poke your head into the kitchens (but no more than that, or territorial cooking elves might take offense), just. Touch everything. Everything. Just know that where ever you are, there's no escaping that beautiful music your fellow Transports are inflicting on you, that shit's just echoing all over the place tonight.

➣ Admire the Gardens

Jeez look at this, these people just had way too much money. But you get to benefit from it! You can basically just get yourself lost for hours here, so try not to starve or anything. Meet all the statues, go streaking through the fountains (please don't, no one wants to see that), get lost and desperately burst through cute little trees in your increasingly frantic attempts to find the exit. There's all sorts of fun you can have!

Just don't wander too close to the edge of the grounds, or you'll encounter (run into?) the invisible forcefield set up to keep wandering guests from utterly ruining history. That's probably a good way to get yourself a bloody nose.

➣ Enjoy the Banquet

There's tables and tables of this finger-licking good finery here, and it's all for you. And can you believe how fancy it is? Oh my god, those sausages have adorable little spears through them. And those spoons gently cradling their cheesy goodness? Yeah. They're made of crackers. And don't even get me started on these desserts. This is amazing. You've never eaten this good. And naturally, each drink (some of which are spiked, you're welcome) has adorable little frozen flowers in the ice cubes. Who even comes up with this stuff? Elves, that's who.

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Comments

[heavyhanded]

[ This particular knight in white armor here would be hard-pressed to admit it, but this place might actually be nicer than the Red Keep at King's Landing. The paintings are better, anyway. But Jaime's still looking pretty damn unimpressed as he peruses the sights, which happens to take him in range of... a guy he vaguely recognizes.

Before he ends up watching the guy more than the palace, he cuts to the chase and heads over, already eying him thoughtfully. ]

Stark, isn't it?

[got_it_memorized]

[Well that gets his attention. The narrow look on his face shifts and his eyes widen noticeably, all the suspicion sort of bleeding away into visible surprise. He recovers quickly, schooling his face back into something closer to uncertainty.]

So Demyx isn't as far off the rocker as I thought he was, is it? [He says it more to himself than to Riku, and then tilts his head a bit, his arms still folded, but somehow less guarded than before.]

The future, huh...? [The suspicion returns a bit, but is belied by the incredulous grin.] Funny, I'm pretty sure I haven't used that name you called me the first time since about ten years in the past.

[You've got his attention, Riku, but he's not sure he's buying your story yet. WHO SENT YOU? WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?]

[implying]

[ "Life of the party", perhaps not, but he's certainly enjoying himself to the maximum. So he only grins, accepting the title. ]

I've danced a fair deal, certainly. [ And here he leans down again, a hand on either of the armrests of her chair as he considers both it and her. ] Now, tell me, my dear— have you worked out yet how best to dance, or shall we be inventive and creative to find it tonight?

[implying]

[ He comes away again when a cookie, and smiles at her around a nibble off of a corner. Perfectly innocent intentions, see? ]

My thanks, but — I didn't. [ And quickly, without time for response: ] Have you had any of the drinks yet, my dear? The ice cubes are truly works of art, each one!

[payback]

[Rin's here, for curiosity and the idle feeling of - why not? She circulates through the crowds, dressed up pretty in green, enjoying the feeling of anonymity and the activity of other people.

When she sees Sollux she freezes up for a second, though. A deer-in-the-headlights expression can be made out even under her mask - well, it's not like it covers her whole face, so that's easy. She has no idea whether to say anything to him or not. The impulse to sidle away and hide in the crowds is for a moment overwhelming.

Even though the spread looks delicious.]

[implying]

Oh, it's only a part of the costume, the same as cufflinks or jewelry. [ He shrugs, smiles. ] I doubt very much if anyone will take offense to your forgoing.

[payback]

Yeah, that's what I want. Like a quest. [She shrugs shortly.] Though, we kinda have that already. That's why I like it here.

[implying]

Well, I wish you all luck.

[ He wouldn't have approached (or at least not for long) if there were danger of misting. He may have neatly covered his face, but water like that would still likely wreck havoc on the metal parts of his body, which he still fully intends to keep under wraps. But it seems dry enough here, so he's content to stay. ]

What is it they call that? Irony, isn't it? [ He grins. ] I thought it fitting, really.

[totallytrustworthy]

[There's an awkward pause as Chloe watches her gulp down more of her wine. Tries to pretend she's taking in the scenery, but with the expression she's carrying, that's a blatant farce and they both know it.

Right, screw coverups. New strategy.]

Drinking game. You and me.

Rin Asano | open, anywhere

[payback]

[Rin waffled back and forth for literally hours before deciding to come but - why not? She does love nice outings, getting dressed up and doing fun things. She doesn't do enough of that lately.

She went to an effort. All her hair is up in a headband braid (you'd be hard-pressed to ever find her with it down) and she's wearing a beautiful green dress.

Where can you find her? Anywhere and everywhere. Sidling through the crowds with ease, not standing out amongst everyone else's finery, or picking over the banquet table, where the flower ice-cubes prompt a real smile out of her. Or in the gardens. It's a nice night, nice to be in an atmosphere of levity, even if she always gets to thinking a little too much.]

[implying]

[ ohhh it's his favorite four-eyed alien. He doesn't mind the tight hug, because he's returning it just as tightly. And, hey, no mask to awkwardly maneuver around today! ]

Thank you, my dear!

[ He leans up to press a kiss to her check, shortly followed by an equally brief kiss against her lips. He's supposed to be on his best behavior with Equius tonight, but he can't entirely resist. ]

And you're absolutely stunning, has anyone told you yet? [ Well, sort of. There's a kind of charm to her arrangement, which is just as unusual as the rest of her, so at least it's fitting. ] I do hope you're enjoying yourself?

[implying]

[ He'd thought that had been a figure he'd glimpsed way out at the edge of the grounds. So over he heads, and for once the slight frown is easily displayed and not hidden away under the neutrality of the mask. ]

I do hope you're not lost?

[payback]

[Instantly, a FEROCIOUS SCOWL spreads across her face at those words - don't think she didn't catch them! She did catch them, and shall remember them.]

I saw the ice cubes. They're cute. [They actually made her really smile, silly as they were, but hell if she'll admit it.]

I'll avoid having an unhappy conversation with you out of respect for the occasion.

[whatsupcroc]

( Her lips curl up at the corners, thinking back to Kelly and something she'd once said. Dancing isn't that exciting, in her experience, if it'd been a fun form of exercise when she was younger. She'd fallen out of it after her mom died, then picked it up again through the community groups her brother had her working with. That'd stopped when he'd been transferred overseas. )

If you're asking if I know how to dance, I do. And I can ever promise I'll never step on your toes.

( Her chair's not the best for this -- something lighter with a different wheel angle would be best, but it's not terrible, either. Her grin broadens as she quirks up an eyebrow. He's actually at a great height for her, small as he is compared to many of the adults running around in Exsilium. )

The real question is, do you think you can handle me?

[healplz]

[ Dang, look how fast that smile can become self-depreciating. ]

Well, thank you— it is only something I found about the city, however, and nothing like your clothing, which seems much more suited to you.

[notstubborn]

Drinking game? [ It throws her a little, she blinks a few times. Not the most classy thing to be doing in the middle of a masquerade ball, but ─ ]

Sure. [ A pretty great distraction if she's heard of one, and who knows they may get to a point where they'll simply stop caring. ]

[healplz]

[ Cocktail weenies can wait, Ashraf has mysterious and familiar singing to investigate. And so he's off, drink in tow because he's forgotten to set it down, threading through crowds and hallways and searching for the singer he's mostly certain he'll recognize! ]

[spongetastic]

[Peter turns at the girl's voice, offering her a soft smile behind his mask]

It may be a bit too glitzy for my taste. But my niece asked me to come, and I didn't want to disappoint her.

[healplz]

Alright. And then what if you stay to oversee him, and if the Initiative has no group missions planned for us in the near future? What does that mean for you?

[ He can guess what it means, and he clearly remembers the solution he'd employed last time for it. He'll do it again, if he has to. ]

[spongetastic]

[even without his powers to give him a hint thanks telepathy he would've known it was Adam. One does not go on a roadtrip with someone without recognizing certain things about people]

... Nice outfit.

[whatsupcroc]

( Vanadi had stated this was a memorial celebration. Collette had known then she was probably going to be there, for all the fact it was fancy and formal on top of being, at the outset, a party with lots of dancing.

Most of it doesn't appeal to her on a level past novelty. Socializing she prefers to do in comfortable clothes, though this did have a draw for pulling in so many of the Transports all at once.

Wearing masks, if they followed protocol, turning everything into an interesting guessing game should the disguise be complete enough. Her own green, blues dress Minato had made, in such a style to be a stylized mermaid, paired with the blues and greens in body glitter she'd found by chance in the last week, now painted over her forehead, eyes, and the tops of her cheeks.

She'd had to hand the mask off to him earlier, though Caesar didn't make himself particularly hard to recognize. )

Hello stranger.

( Then, precisely because it seems the sort of thing he wouldn't do, she asks with a grin: )

Wanna dance?

( Vanadi had put her into the mindset of actually showing off how maneuverable her own legs were. So what if this was a standard chair, and not an a-frame with the wheels? No one was exactly asking for Salsa here. (Good thing, since she remembered next to none of it. Waltzing was simple, more "modern" dance styles were interpretations and good partner reading.) )

[spongetastic]

[once Peter got over the wallflower stage, he started actually walking around and try to socialize with people. Might as well start with a pretty girl]

Having a good evening so far? [yep he's the best at small talk]

[slingshots]

[ She watches this technically-sign-language closely, and determines that there's really just the one way to interpret that. It's also about this time she discovers a half-sheet of paper folded into one of her pouches, and a pen in another. Good.

She flattens the paper out, scrawls quickly, folds even more quickly, and shoots the plane downwards. It lands... well, a few feet off from Collette on a nearby table, but hey, considering the distance, she likes to think that's not bad.

And should the paper be unfolded, in tight, messy handwriting will be: ] tensions running high @ ur 2:00, out of tarts, nm else

[slingshots]

Kinda.

[ Yes, definitely, as she's never faced off against one of the big names without the Boss around. But naturally, that's not the reason she'd ever give. ]

Me? 'm awful at dancing. Figure it'd be all chicken legs out there, so probably there's no point trying.

[spongetastic]

[oh it's his roommate. Better go say something polite to her]

I'm wondering that myself. What I'm doing here, I mean.