synflux | ( open. ) masked gala

Entry tags:

( open. ) masked gala

WHO: Any Outsider is more than welcome!
WHAT: The Royal Gala (citation needed)
WHERE: "Ruby Room," an event hall in Neo Tokyo.
WHEN: 10th day of September.
WARNINGS: Alcohol, potential suggestive topics, and will update as we go!

Throughout the week leading up to the event, every Outsider will have received an elaborate invitation in a wax-sealed envelope. Each letter will be relatively unique, but ultimately seems to carry the same contents:

Your presence has been summoned to the first annual royal gala, which will take place at the Ruby Room on the 10th day of September, the year 2078. Please come dressed appropriately, and do not forget a mask. While not required, depending on your dancing abilities, it is highly suggested.

- Callisto Regulus

CODED BY TESSISAMESS
Whether people attend out of a sense of obligation, out of suspicion in finding more about the event (and by extension, what it entails), or even simply as an excuse to dress up and raise ones spirits— all is welcome. While no theme is established, one could likely surmise from the envelopes that the colors of the venue will be predominately decorated in reds, black, and golds.

No matter where one looks, the entire hall has been intricately decorated. While the vast majority of the venue appears to mirror what one would see in a palace, including all the pillars and seemingly expensive items put on display, if one peer through their oculars, they will find it is designed much like ones room upgrades are: through technology. Though, a smaller percentage of some of the items appear delicately handmade, including the lace on the dining tables thanks to some assistance. It is as much the decadent scenery as one could envision, even if to some degree, it's fake. But, listen, they do technically have some sort of budget.

Additionally, as specified on the invitation, as soon as anyone walks through the doors of the venue, and have their names announced (per course of a royal celebration)— if they are wearing a mask, they will find that their identities are obscured from others. This includes their appearance and voice, which may appear blurry or slightly different to what it usually is. This is because the venue itself casts an affect on anyone wearing a mask, making them completely anonymous to one another. However, the illusion is quick to break if one just removes their mask!

Aside from the mystery of the masks, there will also be several other forms of entertainment available for the night:

1. DANCE
As with any gala, there will naturally be music and dancing throughout the night. Soft music will play throughout the venue and will include several tunes. If one doesn't know how to dance, perhaps they will have a partner who knows all the steps? If not, if they open their oculars, they will find several guides passive aggressively attached to a folder dropped to all Outsiders called "Educate yourselves" made by yours truly. They do, however, appear to be fairly good guide videos, even if they are made through AI, and may even utilize your own face? Oops.

2. GARDEN MAZE
There will be a section in another room of the venue that is labeled as being a maze. When one enters, they will find themselves surrounded by extremely tall shrubs, or what appears to be that. Instead, it is much like a virtual escape room. The point is to find the exit that will lead them back to the dance hall. However, it won't be so easy. Hopefully no one loses their partner for the night in here.

3. SECRET PASSAGEWAYS
If one explores the maze deeply, they will find that the main hall isn't the only place it leads to, instead they will discover that there are several hidden passageways that lead to secret rooms. Perhaps, it was made to provide some people some privacy. Privacy appropriate for such a demure and mindful event, that is.

4. FIREWORKS
At the end of night, there will also be a firework show. Considering that actual fireworks weren't permitted even during the festival period, it's reasonable to say there will be no real fireworks here. However, what guests will get is a VR firework show at the end of the night. Perhaps, not an entirely poor way to end it.

Perhaps, these events and how elaborate the venue is at least makes up the lack of food items. While there are food, they are kept rather simple. Maybe in light of recent events, it was decided they keep it within means. While the food may appear fancy or delicious, they will be made with what is similar to ration bars, but in varying flavors. To make up for it, the main dish, however will be a delicious mystery meat. No one knows where it comes from, or what it's made of.

There will also be several speeches throughout the night, and perhaps you may also feel inclined to make your own before a toast? Whichever the case, surely no one is here for Callisto's speeches, at least.

( ooc note: the mask prompt was approved by mods and purchased with points, but feel free to have your character remove their mask if it's not their thing! i just wanted to add in a fun surprise in the log. also, you're free to assume whatever is typically in galas to be here, so don't feel locked into anything! the most important rule of all— have fun!!!

once again, your character is free to get an invite as everyone was invited! 👍 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Silco may be masked, but for as good as they are at hiding one’s identity, it doesn’t work as well when you come in with that person. Tezcatlipoca had been content to leave Set and Silco to go have his own fun for a bit, but after getting the vibe of the party… Yeah, he decides he needs a drink. Or several. This really isn’t his style is the conclusion he’s come to.

He’s not surprised that it’s the case for Silco as well. He snickers as he approaches, boldly unmasked, and he grabs a drink from one of those tables that he’s hanging around. But before taking a drink, he tips the glass Silco’s way. ]

You’ve been over here for a while, but haven’t seen you take a drink yet. Waitin’ for someone else to get poisoned?

[ called out… he knows what you’re like silco ]

[ Damn, can't a guy be paranoid without being called out? ]

Something like that, yes. Want to prove my paranoia wrong? I could use a drink after being here for some time.

[ It's not his kind of party either. Mind, Silco isn't much of a partier, but there's a certain atmosphere that he feels at home at that is... not this. Really, he's more at home in the same atmosphere as Tezca is, and it shows from the way they both go for the alcohol inevitably. ]

Especially if this is going to continue to be so... courtly. [ His tone does little to hide his opinion. ] If I were younger, I would consider casing the joint.

[ He says, as if he wasn't still considering it for fun. ]

‘Course. Didn’t come over here for you, bossman.

[ Playful as always, he takes a good drink, then sighs contentedly. He’s definitely partaking in the open bar, and in fact, it’s the only reason he’s still hanging around. He figures it’s probably about similar for Silco, so he grabs a second glass as he steps closer to put it in Silco’s hand. ]

And one for you. All good, see? So, drink up.

[ It’s not a request. But he looks out to the little crowd, and a smile curls over his glass as he takes a more languid second sip. ]

…Could still case it. No reason to not have some fun with it.

[ A soft laugh, and Silco slowly removes the mask to drink from the glass. His mask had been something particular for the man. No mouth, one eye covered, obscuring him from chin to hairline, and the only eye left exposed was the unblinking one.

Silco always did have a flair for the dramatic, after all.

The anonymity seemed to vanish the moment he pulled it off, and he was exposed. He disliked it, but. At least around someone like Tezca, it was a touch less so. At least that is how he could justify it to himself, as he took his first sip.

Nice enough liquor, though that meant it didn't burn like acid and gasoline down his throat. Well, there was no accounting for taste. (Or Silco's lack of it) ]

I suppose you're right. You never know what valuables are being kept here. It might be nice to obtain a bit more cash on the black market anyway, given that we have clearly failed so spectacularly, hm? We might need it.

[ He smiled, the challenge something that (as always) makes Silco more interested in the pursuit of survival. ]

[ Tezcatlipoca smiles a bit more as Silco takes the drink. He’s pleased to encouraged him to loosen up, however small that loosening might be. Just seeing a flash of his face as the mask is briefly removed is a good sign of that.

However… As the topic of money comes out, his smile twists into a sour little frown. ]

Ghh… Don’t remind me. Been havin’ to work more at the bar because of that. And don’t get me wrong, like the work, but shoulda just gotten paid.

[ He’s still annoyed at how LILITH shifted the blame onto them, since he’s quite adamant that it wasn’t their fuck-up, but. No need to get into that with Silco, really. He knows Silco agrees. Hell, he’d agree just to be contrary. ]

Hell, black market sounds better anyways. You hear about them wanting us to go collect parts? I say fuck that. I ain’t a cop.

[ Really, if he brings it up, he's liable to get Silco out there giving one of those speeches if he isn't careful. Tezca knows Silco enough to know that the man really gets worked up about things that he sees as "unfair", and especially when he thinks he has been wronged.

So Tezca probably helped the entire population of Outsiders dodge a bullet that was "old man yells at cloud", but don't worry, he'll open his mouth eventually. ]

I have heard about it.

[ He admitted and then smiled. It's the sharp smile of a shark, who sees blood in the water, and has already started swimming in that direction toward it. ]

I, on the other hand, am happy to comply. After all, who better knows the black markets than an ex-smuggler?

[ His tone said, very clearly, that there was something Silco was looking to get out of this. They both knew Silco wouldn't play along for free. ]

...You are.

[ He says it flatly, but his expression says it all before his elaboration. "You're not a cop either", so clearly Silco has another idea in mind here. Tezcatlipoca gives a cursory glance around to make sure there's no one that might overhear and snitch, but shrugs once he's satisfied. ]

So, what's the catch? You just gonna take over the operation, or...?

Oh no, I have no interest in dealing in Kaiju meat.

[ Not...quite that. ]

But it is an excuse for me to dig through what passes for a criminal underbelly while netting some appreciation from LILITH for my troubles.

I do not doubt that LILITH's eyes will be on me if I continue to not perform in the Kaiju fights, so I would prefer to find something to keep their ire from me.

[ He sipped at his drink. ]

All the while, I'll be digging through the black market, looking into the ebb and flow of the underground, and seeing who does what, who deals in this, or that. I have my day job, of course, but you and I both know the excuse to keep books is only useful as a primer.

[ Essentially, he wants to use it to get his face and name out there, and maybe a few would give up Kaiju dealing, but unless they can turn that meat into something useful — and without a mind to do so he finds it unlikely — it's relatively useless. ]

[ His idea of things was admittedly simple, but he laughs, impressed as Silco lays out more of his scheme here. It’s perfectly fitting and what he’d expect, but there’s a lot that he can see under the surface here too. For one, it’s not so much the scheme itself that Tezcatlipoca narrows in on as that little statement about why he will. ]

Hm. So far, wouldn’t disagreement with your assessment, but also comes back to my repeated problem with our “employers”. If they wanted someone that could fight kaiju, they shouldn’t have picked you.

[ Even with what Kenos had provided him, Tezcatlipoca isn’t sure that he’d be up to the challenge of it, if not physically, certainly not in resolve. Silco, saving a world? They were making the wrong kind of bet there. But this is all perfectly factual to Tezcatlipoca, so he doesn’t apologize for it. If Silco is offended by it, then he’ll seek to prove him wrong, which is precisely what he wants. ]

But I dig the plan, even if they don’t. Hell, if that’s the kinda business you’re getting up to? I’ll make a request. You find any weed, send it my way. Would like to have some on hand for our stressed out fuckers.

[ He laughs, and nods to him. ]

Includes you, in fact. But I’ll owe ya a favor for it, if that sweetens the deal.

[ Well, he laughed, so he probably agreed. ] Yes, I agree. I'm a touch unsuited for it, aren't I?

[ He sipped at his drink. ]

Powers notwithstanding.

[ Hey, they both know how dogged he had been to end the world, and this one also didn't have anything that he saw as worthwhile. It didn't stop him from getting drug there in his plug suit, but it certainly didn't keep him from getting hit with acid rain, or from trying to avoid catching too much attention from the Kaiju.

Thankfully, it was rather easy to. He doesn't think it will be every time. ]

Just weed?

[ He asks, with a touch of incredulity. ]

Easy favor.

[ The “just” makes him laugh, and he gives Silco a (playful) kick to the leg. Annoying… ]

Yeah, just weed, asshole. My party boy days are over, I’ll have ya know. If I don’t have the luxury of tree provided immortality, can’t exactly put this body through the wringer and OD on stuff for the experience of it.

[ Which is surely no surprise to Silco. Even though Tezcatlipoca hadn’t been in Kenos that long before they’d found their new “assignment” here, he’d still barged into his office in Draumahol more than once to partake of the couch after overdoing it. Actually dying had only happened the once, but still. He’s markedly more responsible here. ]

But done deal, least when you come through.

Mm, well, a few hits of something else certainly isn't going to put an end to you, but I see the point.

[ He, too, now that he is not a shard bearer, is feeling it. He had not so often needed his injections, but now that they are here...

Well. His body does not show the effects of kenos, but his mind does. It is a habit that is mentally broken but not physically, and he feels it these days. ]

I've been keeping to the markets lately, don't be surprised if I swing by one night with your... special request then. It won't be difficult.

[ With all of the confidence of someone who likes black market dealings. ]

Well, if it's not difficult, you're getting a low tier favor in return.

[ He's teasing because Silco keeps mentioning it, mostly. There's definitely some requests he would refuse, but unlike a certain someone, he's not exactly interested in "equivalent" exchanges most of the time. For Tezcatlipoca, it's as simple as someone asking for his assistance, and he'll give it.

...Which, granted. It might come with some pain for it, but that's essentially normal. At least giving Tezcatlipoca an offering upfront would help dull whatever consequence he has in mind. ]

Haven't bothered looking into any of that, honestly. Hear about it some at the bar, but despite how I hung around Kowloon, criminal enterprise isn't exactly my thing. I'm neutral to it. So, appreciate your expertise.

Edited 2024-09-21 22:01 (UTC)

No? I thought it would have been your area of interest as well.

[ Honestly, it's a little surprising, given how hard he'd gone in Kowloon. He'd thought Tezca would be interested in such things, but well. Maybe it had been more the novelty of it than anything else.

Or maybe he just liked the danger. It could have been either or. ]

Well, isn't that what I'm here for? [ He spread his hands, a smile of irony on his face. He did not spill a drop of the drink with the motion. ] At least it is something I am good at.

It's an adjacent area. Crime's got plenty of conflict, so that makes me happy, but actual crimes are someone else's domain. You might think of it as splitting hairs, but that's how it works.

[ But he also says this knowing it's a bit above Silco's understanding, and he wears a shitty little grin to show it. It's just the kind of contradictions that show up when you talk to Tezcatlipoca too long, and he enjoys those deeply too.

Teasing Silco is just a small thing, though. He takes another drink with an appreciative noise as he gestures. ]

—So, hey, don't sell yourself short as a result. You're good at crimes and conflict.

There's a god of Crime?

[ Does he sound interested? There's something in his voice that definitely sounds interested in that.

Look, he already knows his world sucks, but hearing that someone has domain over criminals kind of makes him feel even more jealous of some of these other worlds. ]

You're too kind, Tezcatlipoca. Of course I'm good at both. As you said, they often work together. Especially where I am from. Conflict is our daily life, and crime... well. Became part of it.

Sure. There's gods for everything.

[ He laughs, because it feels so obvious to him that it hadn't occurred to him that it might not be the case for Silco. He'd just figured his world was a case where the gods weren't worshiped anymore, but the conception of them still existed, much like the modern day of his world. ]

Crime covers a lot, and we get more specific than that, but we have five of 'em that cover most of it. Ahuiateteoh. The five gods of excess and pleasure.

[ Which might not be how Silco personally thinks about it, but Tezcatlipoca's smile is wry. He won't get into it, since it's really not something he cares about personally, but the Aztecs were much more strict and conservative than Tezcatlipoca himself might give off. Silco wouldn't be welcome there, despite his "profession" having gods that would look out for him. ]

But don't go cheatin' on me. [ That part is teasing, since Silco couldn't in this world, but the elaboration is completely serious. ] You're my acolyte. No other's.

Oh don't worry.

[ He waved a hand. ]

Excess and pleasure doesn't quite describe my kind of work either. I'm not likely to leave you behind just for that.

[ A twitch of a smile, a spread of hands. ]

After all, I am sure they have plenty of people who would be vying for their attention. Meanwhile, I earned my place where it is.

[ And that was a point of pride for him, wasn't it? ]

Exactly. Ain't just anyone that earns the favor of Yaotzin, and you even got a good deal out of it, relatively speaking. Didn't even have to shoot ya like I did for Daybit.

[ "Yaotzin" might be a new term for Silco, but it's also an odd one because Tezcatlipoca says it like it's a name. And, well, it is, more or less. He's a god with many aspects and epithets, but when it came to Silco, there's no better title than "the venerable enemy", in his opinion.

But, anyways. He laughs and takes another drink. It's a healthy swig this time, so it seems like Tezcatlipoca is wanting to get drunk. ]

Not yet, anyways. Won't discount the possibility.

[ Man, Tezca, how many names do you even have? ]

You know, I'd prefer if you didn't shoot me. I've already learned to dodge bullets fairly well by now as it is, but the reflexes have been getting rusty.

[ Whether he means enforcer bullets or otherwise, well.

He ain't great at dodging Jinx's we know. (lol) ]

Who's Daybit, anyway?

[ Maybe he's in a good mood, at this party (probably not) but he asks with some measure of curiosity. He hasn't had the chance to learn as much about Tezca outside of Quetz, and maybe a part of him wants to learn more about this god he's the acolyte for.

He sipped at his drink slower, after he asked, much more level, and definitely not interested in getting drunk drunk. (He'll get a little drunk though.) ]

[ fun fact it's suspected there was one for every day of the year in fact ]

Unfortunately, ain't about your preferences. If I decide that you need a bullet, well, you have to accept your gift from god.

[ He snickers, so every impression is that he's joking, but Silco knows him enough that this couldn't exactly be guaranteed... And, honestly, Tezcatlipoca doesn't really know either. He's fickle and whimsical by nature, so he can't even predict his own behavior when it comes to things like this.

Plus, teasing is better than the other subject. He doesn't feel shy about Daybit in the slightest, since their partnership was business, and Silco would understand that. But the fact that it had been his Shard that Tezcatlipoca had chosen was a different matter. So, he shrugs as he answers. ]

Daybit's the guy that summoned me in the first place, so if his unlucky ass ever gets dragged here, you should thank him. He did all the hard work, and whether it's Yima or LILITH, they're just stealing his efforts so they can get me at a huge discount, cosmically speaking.

[ He waves a hand, since he knows that part won't interest Silco. The magecraft of it all, that's not what he's into. Instead— ]

But I still tested his resolve when we met. Shot him in the gut to make sure he had the will to follow through on his plan of destroying our world for good. Obviously, he passed.

[ Call him mister 365 ]

Hm.

[ Is all the response Tezca can get to the "threat"/"joke", and honestly? Maybe this is a little bit why he likes Tezcatlipoca. For all that he was a god of conflict, he knows Tezca is fickle, and who does that remind him of? It's enough that he only lets the promise glance off of him, but there's a look in his eyes that says, very clearly, he doesn't mind the joke, at the very least.

Maybe he wouldn't mind the bullets. Really, he thinks, as long as he doesn't die, it would just serve to make him stronger, wouldn't it? ]

It sounds like I'd like him. [ He admitted. ] He did a lot of work to summon a god? To destroy the world?

[ Silco laughed, a slightly wheezy thing, echoing through his lungs. ] Sounds like my kind of person.

Haha.

[ It’s a different, short kind of laugh, but it’s a hard one to read because of the difference between Tezcatlipoca’s warm, pleased smile and the dryness of the laugh. There’s a glimmer of something sharp in his eyes, but for once… It’s not on Silco’s side, exactly. ]

Nah. He might even just kill you without sayin’ a word, once he got to know ya. Depends on if he thought it was worth it or not, and even I couldn’t tell you that.

[ He takes another drink and leans closer as if to emphasize the point that’s surely deeply confusing, considering Daybit’s apparent plans and his ability to wrangle a god like Tezcatlipoca. ]

He’s a profoundly good man. It’s why he’s my priest, and you’re my acolyte.

[ There’s a heavy weight in those words, almost like Tezcatlipoca is challenging Silco somehow, though the first part of it lies in the contradiction that’s obvious. The implicit question is exactly the sort that a god would give an acolyte to puzzle over… Though Silco isn’t exactly a man of faith and self-reflection.

So even though there’s a gleam in his eyes that’s almost predatory, it’s also gone quickly as Tezcatlipoca leans back again. His posture relaxes, and he gestures idly with his hand. ]

—Or, something like that. Viewpoints are profound, you know?

Both a good... and a bad man as titled figures.

[ It's the word he can use. What does an acolyte really mean? For Silco, he doesn't really know. He embodies conflict, and were he to be faced with certain death, he may have the name of a god on his lips in a last-ditch effort. However, he isn't particularly... reverent.

Then again, maybe that's what Daybit would be for. ]

God of conflict, hm?

[ He appreciates the irony. There had been people like that in Kenos. Amos had been a... resolute man, with his own internal morality, and he followed it to a T. Selfless in ways that Silco could never really think about. He doesn't know if Daybit is the same, but he can see the connection, nonetheless. He would have been something so different than who Silco would have been.

Then again, Silco had a template, didn't he? ]

Well, remind me to catch him in a good mood, if he ever arrives.

[ Though, the way Tezca speaks about him, that's probably a reason to avoid him. Not just because he's liable to kill him, but. Well. He suspects he knows which way Tezca would lean in favor. The twitch of his lips gives the thought away, too. ]

Edited 2024-09-26 06:47 (UTC)

[ Tezcatlipoca’s gaze stays sharp and predatory with a smile to match it. As Silco puzzles through it, it’s almost like Tezcatlipoca is watching the path of his thoughts. Or at least, that’s the impression. Truthfully, he doesn’t have anything more than a sharp intuition, at least in this form.

Though as such, that little twitch of Silco’s lips makes the god laugh and relax with the laugh too. He scoots closer and tosses his arm over Silco’s shoulder as he keeps his drink in the other hand. ]

Hey now, don’t give me that look! I can tell what you’re thinkin’, and I’m hurt, bossman.

[ He isn’t, of course. ]

You and Daybit wanna duke it out? Fine by me. I won’t interfere either way. That’s kinda the deal, yeah? Both of ya have the same task of seizing your fates all on your own. I’m just here to watch and cheer you on. And criticize you, when you deserve it.

[ However, Silco might have preferred that sharp glint in his eyes compared to the mischievous one that quickly fills them instead. For Daybit, Tezcatlipoca is fond of messing up his (already messy) hair, since it annoys him. He could do the same for Silco and he’d be just as annoyed… But he has a better idea. He leans in just a little further and kisses Silco’s scarred cheek before he withdraws with a grin. ]

But, hey, good news is that he’s a weird guy. So long as you stay lowkey, he’ll pretty much leave you alone. He’s not chatty like I am.

( open. ) masked gala

wildcard

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)