Masquerade Mingle

[thespaceopera]

[The night has finally come--the Gravity Rush is nearly upon us! What normally serves as a large performance hall has been gutted, emptied of its boring furniture and rigged up into a fantastical mismatch of technology and old culture. No matter where you go tonight, you're encouraged to move around, dance, play games, whatever helps you sleep in late tomorrow morning.

If you aren't one for scurrying around a ballroom all night, there's always plenty of people-watching to do. After all, so many people are wearing extravagant costumes and elaborate masks. How can you even tell who is who? Get lost in a crowd of sequins, chatter with a sun and a moon, or try to beat the guy in the monster-mask at a game of cards. Meet your friends or make some new ones--this masquerade party has begun!]


[[ooc: All sections are up now, have fun! A related ooc post is HERE for any questions or plotting you'd like to do.]]

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Apollo

[neversets]

[ Despite not having been around long, Apollo has managed to scrounge together funds for a simple gold mask and an ankle length white coat that flares around him when he moves. He is, more surprisingly, still in bare feet.

Those who have seen him can easily recognise that big grin and the long, silver white hair. He's dancing with anyone who shows interest, male, female, young or old. ]

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ He can't say if it's the mask, the coat, the bare feet, or the smile that draws him to Apollo. Maybe it's a mix of all three. Certainly when you combine them all it makes for an interesting character, and Kirk likes interesting. It's gotten him into more trouble than a cat with nine lives, but hopefully Apollo won't prove to be the bad kind of trouble.

He comes up to the man and bows slightly, silver and gray with golden hair to contrast against Apollo's gold, white, and silver. ]</sub>

What's a masquerade without one mystery dance? If I may?

_{[ He held out a hand to him, all smiling charm. ]}

[neversets]

[ Apollo cants his head slightly, looking at the man, then the hand. He gives a small smile after a moment and takes the offered hand, stepping out to the dance floor. ]

Sure. Do you prefer to lead or follow?"

[universal_charm]

I'll lead, if you don't mind.

_{[ He looked to Apollo to make sure that was acceptable as he brought them to an open space, turning to face him and reaching up to place his hands in the proper position. ]}

Do you dance like this a lot where you're from?

[neversets]

Go ahead. My ex preferred to lead when we went dancing.

[ Which was probably more to do with his controlling nature than anything else, but Apollo just steps in and places his hands in the proper placement. ]

Not a lot. I do enjoy dancing on occasion, but rarely more than dancing my little girl around the kitchen, recently.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Thankfully Kirk had been trained in some formal dancing at the Academy on the assumption he might one day be invited to some sort of diplomatic affair. It behoved the Academy to make sure their representatives had some elegance in them. It is nothing fancy, but it goes with the beat of the music, which he thought was an accomplishment. ]}

Little girl? So you're a dad?

[neversets]

[ Apollo knows how to dance, but he has no idea where he learned. Another of those lost things. ]

Yeah, Jenny. She's nearly seven now, sharp as a razor. Takes after her predecessor, Jenny Sparks. Hopefully she won't take up the smoking like that Jenny did.

[universal_charm]

_{[ While Kirk himself is not all that comfortable with children - in fact the idea of becoming a father terrifies him - but the clear love Apollo has for his daughter is warming, and he feels himself smiling as the man describes her. ]}

Don't worry - I'm sure she's pulled only the best from Jenny and yourself. I'm guessing she's not here with you?

[neversets]

[ Apollo laughs. ]

God, no, she's not... Jenny is literally her predecessor. My Jenny is her reincarnation. I'm not her biological father, I'm very, very gay. We adopted her, my ex-husband and I.

[ Yes, Jenny is very clearly Apollo's favourite subject in the world. He adores his baby girl. ]

No, she's not. I hope what I've heard about differential time flows is true.

Apollo

[bythewaves]

Maglor is wearing the colors of his long-fallen house, today - hair braided in a elaborate pattern with blue and red and white gems and gold wire. Sea-green armor over Finwean blue robes, he looks like something belonging to the sea. But the silver harp is by his side, a dead giveaway.

He hangs back, for the most part, watching the crowds and the musicians. But he recognises Apollo's song, and will come over to say hi.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, my friend."

[neversets]

Not just the harp. He doesn't know many people and those ears give him away.

"Hey, yeah, it's nice to be off the ship and with people. You seem to have managed to dig up a lot of grand clothing. I still haven't found a decent pair of boots at a price I'm willing to pay. I have a habit of burning through clothing."

He offers Maglor a glass of something that tastes like wine.

[bythewaves]

"The robes are old" Maglor excuses wryly. "You cannot see the patches under the armor. And armor costs a lot less if you are willing to do a lot of the work yourself."

He accepts and sips at it. "At least the food and drink is familiar. Mostly. And with your abilities I had not considered that but it would make sense! Have you any tailoring skills yourself?"

[neversets]

"Me? No, not at all. I can manage basic repairs to torn jeans and glue Jenny's favourite shoes back together, but I usually call in Angie and beg her for help."

He sips at the wine, which seems perfectly inoffensive to his taste. "I'm a lot more durable than... basically anything I own. My uniform is packed away somewhere, it's fairly durable but sadly not here."

[bythewaves]

"My brother was always the one to mend our patches and rips - over the years I had to learn, but I fear I will never be particularly good at sewing either!"

Maglor hums a little in understanding. "How troublesome - you would have thought they would at least have brought it along for you."

[neversets]

"Well, it's been a while since I wore it... since I retired, really." There's no need for Apollo of the Authority. He tried using a civilian name, but he was a bit too recognised for that, so instead he became Apollo, Jenny's dad and wore cargo pants and tees and not skin tight armour that could absorbs as much heat as he did.

"Maybe I'll manage to find something fairly durable on one of these stop over worlds."

[bythewaves]

Maglor nods thoughtfully. "I do not know what would be required in the making of such a thing, but in a place like this, surely they would be able to generate sonething similar. I fear it far outside what I know! Well, the Dwarves had the secret of armor that could bear dragon-flame, but I suspect even were it enough you would not wish to wear armor constantly!"

[neversets]

"It wouldn't hold up to the heats I need it to."

How to explain the intense heat of a star? Where reality itself is starting to burn, reshaping the fundamentals of the world into new elements?

"Honestly, I'm not sure how I withstand the heats I do..."

Apollo

[ecclesiophobic]

[Strangely its Apollo's feet Kurt notices first. It's later in the evening, and while he's drank a little he's nowhere near drunk, which is what he'd have to be to ignore the baseline discomfort of putting feet like his in shoes like this. He can't walk the way he normally does.]

You know, if I'd thought they'd let me in with bare feet I wouldn't have bothered with these damn things.

[neversets]

[ Apollo flashes a brilliant smile and pushes his mask up to hold his hair back. ]

Take them off! I don't actually own shoes, I wasn't wearing any when I was taken. If you're not comfortable, lose them.

[ecclesiophobic]

Tempting, but feet like mine are magnets for being stepped on once the alcohol starts flowing. I'm going to be on them a lot tomorrow washing all this dye off.

[He gestures with his tail toward the rest of him, the few dull gold rings threaded onto it glinting.]

[neversets]

That is one exquisite tail, if I may say so. I presume the rest of you is just as exquisite, from what I can see.

Dye?

[ecclesiophobic]

[Kurt smiles, broad and shamelessly proud of himself.] They call me incredible for a reason, you know.

And stage make-up for the bits that aren't fuzzy. I'm normally blue. [And red over his left eye, which is covered by a mask because the dye kept sliding right off the Crimson Dawn mark.]

[neversets]

And quite rightly they call you that.

[ He offers out his hand. ]

That's going to be pain to wash out. Would you dance with me? I'll even let you lead.

[ecclesiophobic]

Is it? I've only ever dyed clothes before, and that's not supposed to be temporary.

[Oh the naivety. Kurt takes the offered hand without a second thought. He hasn't drank nearly enough to have not noticed the mild flirting, but he's used to it from all versions of Gambit that he's met. The man would die if he didn't flirt, and its fun. Nice.]

Oh, that's good. [Kurt leans in, as though to whisper some great secret as they make their way to the dance floor proper.] I'd probably try to anyway from force of habit.

[neversets]

I dyed my hair once, long story, suffice to say that you shouldn't dye hair like mine. It took months to get rid of the colour.

[ He places a big, warm hand on Kurt's shoulder. ]

I'm Apollo.

[ No, he hasn't made the connection from their text talk. ]