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

If that's what you wanted you should have picked something that doesn't smell like one of my curses, Silco-san.

( Here Geto is, maskless and apparently charming, well dressed for once as he sidles into view, hands in his pocket. ) Is it made out of a kaiju, perhaps? Tch, better not let LILITH know of it, you'll be back in for interrogation in no time.

( Also it's fairly nice to see someone else being a delinquent. It's a room, he's fairly sure. But whatever. No one will find out from him. )

Not enjoying yourself?

It's that bad? [ He muttered with a chuckle, as if the fact that it's being compared to a curse is a point of pride for the man (it is) and he waved he cigar as if to make the smoke float a little bit more around the area.

For good measure. ]

I suppose you could say that this is decidedly not the type of party I enjoy. I was drug here by my acquaintances, and it is difficult to refuse a pair of gods when they want to drag me along.

[ Look at this tiny man. Could he fight anything? ]

Don't tell me someone drug you too, hm?

( He is looking, and for some reason he does not believe that for a second. It's possible they're all very lucky not to have been knifed in the back by now. )

Ah, something like that. I'm trying new things. But it also helps that I know a few busybodies.

( (: Rover (: ) Though I'm sure she intended for me to dance, so if you see a woman on a mission asking for me don't tell her you saw me, mm? I'll owe you one.

( A smile, all teeth. He's fairly certain he understands Silco's motivations by now. )

Oh, you will, hm?

[ His lips twist into a smile. ]

Well, far be it from me to help someone find their hearts desire tonight, hm?

I think they'll have plenty of help, but isn't it nice to have a roadblock every now and then? I quite like the idea of making things more difficult for her.

[ This is because, at his core, Silco thinks struggle is good.

Even for the silly, innocuous stuff. ]

I knew I could count on you, Silco-san.

( He knows he absolutely 100% cannot do that, but a little lip service never hurt anyone. And Geto really should be fostering some relationships now, if he's going to claw his way out of the pit of his mood. At least this one is tolerable, in that he's amusing to Geto for very specific reasons. )

Who are you hiding from then?

( Arms crossed delicately across his chest, the picture of relaxation, though he does seem to be listening out for something. The party noise is not good for the suspicious. )

Is someone trying to lure you onto the dance floor?

[ Silco made a face somewhere between disgust and annoyance. ]

If they did, I would murder them where they stood.

[ Could he? Probably not, but that wouldn't mean that he wouldn't try. Silco was not one to simply put himself out there and dance. Once, a world away, someone had tried, and Silco still remembered that moment at which he'd been asked to dance to fulfill a bargain.

He'd tapped his foot, and called it a dance.

No, he's certainly not going to be dancing for anyone to see, he promises himself, not realizing that he will be a liar by the end of the night. ]

Let's simply say I am hiding from everyone. I am not a natural social butterfly, as you can probably tell. Being out amongst the... masses when they are like this is... annoying.

[ Local man runs a bumping club but actually hates being in the bumping club. ]

Still worried they'll come out of the shadows?

[ He asked, after a long moment. Geto certainly is trying to look relaxed, but. Even still, he looks on edge. ]

Something like that. Like you, I feel mostly uneasy in social situations. I'm very ... exclusive in who I choose to spend my time with. ( Though the fact that he willingly converses with more humans here means maybe something of that is loosening. He doubts he'll ever get back to the carefree nature of his youth, but baby steps. ) And how I am seen. A character flaw, but what can you do?

( He gives Silco a wry smile, almost knowing. )

Also, I'm trying to cut back on my vices. A terrible idea, but I'm aiming for better, and at the time that felt like an easy step. Don't talk to anyone outside of Brimstone, Silco-san. They start believing in you and it leads to such discomfort.

[ Silco laughed. ]

What do I care if they believe in me?

[ Belief and investment mean little to Silco, who has never been interested in the opinions of others. ]

People believe me an upstanding industrialist, investing in making my city work with topside every single day. Even while I do so, I erode that tenuous tie, strengthen our people, and force us apart.

So what do I care if they believe in me? I've been disappointing beliefs since the day I was born. [ A half laugh. ] The last time someone tried, I killed her. She was a god, and I crushed her soul between my fingers, and watched the sun die for only a moment, because of it.

[ Unlike Geto, who has potential to improve — ~~even if uh. that was a bit cut.....short?~~ (ba dum tsh) — Silco's best version of himself is still worse than most. The Best version of himself gives up his dreams for his daughter, and dooms his people into war and disaster.

Great! ]

I suppose I should feel honored, if you're choosing to spend time with me then, hm?

Well.

( Well. )

It's refreshing to be around someone who doesn't wear pretences. You and I are more similar than you know. I've made decisions that some people find unhinged, but I've made them for the survival of my people. Someone has to, in the end. Otherwise the world does not change. And they were the bloody kind, violent, I have done things that were they to become common knowledge here, Silco-san, I'd have the majority of heroes in our number coming for my throat.

( A pause, and then humming. )

I'm not exactly shocked. Though a literal god?

As literal as Tezcatlipoca, Set, or Ereshkigal, yes.

[ A laugh, and then he leaned forward, as if sharing a secret: ] Actually, She was Tezcatlipoca's brother. I crushed her shard, and with that, Tezcatlipoca was able to manifest in the world. Trading up, I would say, but the rest of those where I was were not quite so thrilled.

[ Even Set, whom Silco had a...unique connection with, had been angry that he had crushed Quetz's shard before the entire population. ]

Ah, but if such a decision is necessary, you would be in good company. If these heroes knew half of what I did for survival, they would have already culled me from the herd. Yet, they allow the people here to struggle under their own weight of ignorance and powerlessness.

Who is truly doing the heroics here, hm?

Edited 2024-09-15 20:11 (UTC)

I'm a little glad I only have curses to contend with, Silco-san. That all sounds too complicated to me.

( Spreading his hands in front of him in a what can you do? kind of motion, watching him carefully. ) I suppose Tezcatlipoca owes you then, is that so? ( Another hum, thoughtful. ) At least you could get a discount of him.

( Geto tried, but being beautiful and disdaining apparently doesn't work. )

I don't blame them that much. The "heroes", I mean. A lot of them have never had to look at the dark underbelly of the beast to see how futile it is. I was like that myself, once. Eager to save the world, and all the people in it. Only once I saw how cruel the people I was protecting were did I change my mind.

( A sigh. )

I don't mind doing the hard work at least.

[ A laugh. ] I didn't kill her for him, but I suppose he does, in a way. Even though we are here now, so it is hardly that useful to him. To be fair, he used to freeload at my bar plenty, if he didn't give me a discount, I'd be insulted.

[ He is, after all, Tezca's acolyte, too, in a way. What does that mean? He isn't really quite sure, but thus far Tezca has occasionally been... frankly more intense and driven than Silco is normally used to from the laid-back god. Like he's trying to push him, but toward what he doesn't know.

Silco has a habit of pursuing the power and what they can do for him, without considering what they would do to him, as well. It's a problem. ]

I suppose, at the end of the day, at least you looked into the darkness, and accepted that it was the way that it was. So many of them see that, and decide that their reality should be different. They perceive it, and they look away. Have you noticed that?

[ Few did, and the fact that Geto did was enough to rise him in his estimation. ] More should do what you did, I think.

You might not think so if you knew exactly what I did after I saw that darkness.

( He doesn't mind that it's revealing something, Geto has less and less of an interest in hiding who he is these days. Especially to this man. )

I still aimed to change the narrative, it can't be said I wanted to accept the reality I was in. Because like you, the people I cared about were being used. The weight of expectation, the nonchalance of humanity, it bothered me more and more as time went on. Humans - ( At that, he gives a wry little smile. He knows what he is talking to. ) - could not see the monsters in the dark, but they caused them. And so my friends toiled, and hurt, and died for them, and nothing ever changed.

( A hum, a little sigh. )

I wanted it to. Badly. I thought I could, but it was not to be. You won't ever find me shocked, at least.

People make all sorts of monsters without ever even realizing that they do so.

[ People rather than humans, but to be fair, his world has a touch more variety than just humans. ] The odd thing is, it seems like the longer one lives, the more danger they cause. At least in my experience. They lose touch with what little they see.

[ He does not think he would mind so much, if he saw what Geto did. Perhaps he would be wrong, but he often could tell, when someone was a monster, that there was Very little that would force the man to blink — wink — whatever. ]

I wanted to break our chains with the violence necessary, you know. I doubt there is much that could give me pause, given what we have had to do ourselves to even get close.

[ To be fair, I don't think Geto's plans would be that much worse than addicting your people to super!drugs. ]

Hm.

( The seriousness breaks, Geto's smile widening. ) Well, it's not like it's a problem we have to face here. Jujutsu Sorcerers are few and far between in a place like this, and it is not like they're the only ones fighting now. I cared more about the power imbalance, with that more even I don't see any point in enacting any of my plans. It wouldn't do any good.

( He's still fairy deranged, but that's more of a character flaw now than anything else. )

I imagine the same is for you, no? We've been plucked from our respective battles. What point is there in fighting the shadows?

What point?

[ these aren't really his people. But there's a small, nagging part of Silco that keeps whispering in his ear the same mantra over and over again. That there's a mass of people who are powerless, and would it not be good to show them that they can have power? ] It is not the same, no.

Though, if we were to show them that they have as much control over these circumstances that we do, if they were to fight like we do... Do you not think this would all end sooner?

[ That he could get home, to a monumental task that he only now understands is a task. He wants to burn them down for what they did, but... there are other things too. More important than even that. ]

Well, perhaps that is all I know, fighting in the shadows.

Ah, that's interesting.

( He looks to Silco anew. )

I was given options once. When I was young. Enlightenment, or eradication.

( A strange stress on the word, but perhaps Silco has come to know a little of Geto too. He's certainly stopped hiding parts of himself away in certain circles anyway. )

One would have taken time. The other quicker. Crueller though. I would have thought you the type to follow that same thought, but no. You would have taught humanity to be better. Then, what would you have them do here, Silco-san? For the most part LILITH's recruits are powerful, unlike the civilians. Would you still want them to take up arms and fight no matter the personal cost?

[ He laughed. ] Stronger, yes.

[ Is that better? Even he knows what sickness lay in the sump level, where the sickest of addicts lay. ] We did not have a choice. We were not strong, we were weak. We could stop production, but we would have been eradicated ourselves. We were once, in fact. [ A tap of his fingers at the ugly scar across his face. That was one of his gifts from his first attempt, after all. ]

I refuse to let us be eradicated, so fighting for enlightenment, of a sort, it was.

We with no power, no money, no hope, we fought against our betters. More powerful people with guns and gas masks, healthy enough that they were not subdued by toxins or smog.

[ A roll of his shoulders. ] The people here should not rely on others, they should take it for themselves. If they want something, they should do something with it. Not let the moneyed and smartest lead the way, when they could take just as easily.

[ A beat. ] Is that so different than what you would do?

Edited (WAIT I FORGOR SOMETHING) 2024-09-24 02:26 (UTC)

It depends.

( Thoughtful. )

On which side you think I should put you. ( A flicker of a smile. ) Because if I think of your plight in the same light as my own, then yes. I protected the outcasts of my society with everything I had. And it took a lot, Silco-san. It had a cost, and I bore it. Maybe I should see it like that. You have your downtrodden, so do I. But as for the humans.

( A hum, lyrical and considering. It's more even and gentle than the conversation either way. )

Well. They were powerful in their own way. The creators of curses but not the ones who took the weight of their removal. Blissfully ignorant, safe in their arrogance. There should have been so many sorcerers, but we died in droves. Children fighting wars for people who did not even care that they existed. So I don't know. Because I am a very angry person, I think. Logic might not come into it.

[ He offered a laugh. ]

Honest. I like that.

[ A pause, because it's both different, and not so different. ]

I understand, I think. We have no such disparity. It comes down to money, and power. No curses, no magic.

Well.

[ A scoff. ]

Except for whatever the Hextech is at the academy, but that is to line the rich's pockets even further, and leave us behind in the muck.

[ Well.

Unless they stole it.

His fingers brush against his pocket, instinctively. ]

Living like that makes angry people — monsters. And we are what circumstances led us to become, aren't we? There is no shame in that. It is strength, even if it is...isolating.

( At the very least Geto now knows the loneliness isn't just him. Not that it will help him sleep much at night, but he'd wondered if somewhere his conviction hadn't stuck quite so thoroughly. Silco seems a man who knows what he wants, and the cost in which to get it. That he might feel that widening maw too, well.

It's as soothing as it is depressing. )

I suppose we could be glad LILITH saw fit to outfit us with some likeminded individuals.

( The pleasantness that crosses his face this time isn't quite as fake as it's been on occasion. Certainly his aloofness has been thawing around this man in particular every time they meet. It might even be considered truly friendly. )

I wonder if it bothers you too, being snatched from something you were working towards. Though perhaps a conversation like that requires more alcohol.

Quite a bit more alcohol.

[ He said, with a dark, almost bitter laugh. ] I am...singularly driven, but I've not been pulled from one, but two important causes. One after the other, and it seems that each world seems to want to redirect me time, and time again.

At least, this one holds little allure comparatively.

[ Then again, that means he feels more listless. He'll find his place, a mission, of course, Silco always does. But he cannot, will not cut himself to the quick over and over again for a cause that does not speak to him like the cause in Kenos did. How could it? Particularly now that he knew that the thing he had been so desperately clinging to wasn't even fact? More the fool him, of course. ]

You're a popular man.

( Easily, but he can understand the frustration that might bring. It makes him a little more sympathetic to Silco's plight than he would have been before. Though that's been steadily trickling the last few months. )

Maybe it's the drive in you that makes it so. Places like this, they need the hungry, don't they? They need those willing to strive forward, otherwise the work would never be done. You have a survival instinct. LILITH probably thought that would be a well-aimed blade, but they haven't given you much of a reason to care. It's a waste.

Isn't it?

[ At least with the matron, he'd been given a reason. That crystalline soul he still keeps nearby, even if it is inert and cold. It is not really her, but... ]

Well, perhaps LILITH wants me to find my own motivation. Oh yes, there was then offer of money, but if funds could solve what we needed in Zaun, we could have made change long ago.

[ He looked at Geto with a twitch of his lips. ] I think you understand, yes? What it is to need something to make us care.

There's only one thing that could properly motivate me. I'm not entirely sure LILITH has that power.

( Maybe if he could simply survive. It isn't like Geto actively wanted to die, but a part of him had always been ready for it. He'd accepted his fate. LILITH might offer him something like that. But he highly doubts they'd give him a genocide of his own. ( Does he still even want that? The question has him glancing back to the human in his company, thoughtful. ) Still, he huffs out a laugh, shrugs a shoulder. )

I'll do what I must, but if they want me to go above and beyond they'll have to try harder.

smoking buddies smoking buddies smoking buddies.

god these two delinquents stinking up the place

most likely to be expelled from base, geto-and-silco

it's fine they can make their own base with blackjack (curses) and hookers (drugs)

curses and drugs, sounds like a party, absolutely will not affect the bulbous kissy face curse sjdkl

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