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.]]

Comments

[sandhate]

[ he is so uncomfortable. he's never been more acutely aware that he was born a slave than shit like these.

it's a reoccurring thought that nags at him. and there's no mission, objective, goal, someone to rescue to distract him. his shoulders are straight and tense in his outfit, and he keeps blinking. his clearly didn't think through the design for his mask when he cobbled it together from scrap metal he had left lying around. especially because he only has one eye now that half of it collapsed. it doesn't matter too much. the force innately guides him; move left here, step forward there. he looks on at the dancing people and makes a face.

he is so uncomfort--

chairs, there are chairs. an escape. anakin makes a beeline for it. catch him before he slumps into the chair and never gets up again, or at the chairs where he'll sit and stare blankly like someone just dragged him to shop for clothes and it's been three hours already. ]

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka notices as soon as Anakin begins to excuse himself from the dance floor and extricates herself from her current dance partner. She's been looking for an excuse to get him to dance with her all evening, but he always seems to be occupied by someone else. Suddenly she's at his side, grinning deviously.]

Anakin! Are you avoiding me? I had to get Obi-Wan to teach me how to dance, you know.

[sandhate]

[ he laughs slightly at the thought of obi-wan teaching her to dance. his poor old master. anakin shifts in his stupid coat then shrugs. ]

Ugh. Obi-Wan is a much better teacher at that. This is [ he waves his hand ] his thing. You made the right choice.

[resnipstance]

[She crosses her arms.]

You don't think I'm going to let you off that easily, do you?

Come on. One dance!

[sandhate]

[ anakin stiffly clasps his hands behind his back and walks off. ]

Uh huh.

[ it is the most uncommittable response he can give while he escapes ]

1/2

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka makes a face at his back for a moment, eyes narrowing at Anakin's stubbornness. An annoyed noise accompanies it.]

[resnipstance]

[Quickly, she ducks around Anakin and pops up in front of him again.]

Come on, Anakin. Please? [Puppy dog eyes are in full effect.]

We probably won't get another opportunity to do this again for years. You know as well as I do that when we go home, everything's going to be a giant mess for a while, even if we set things to rights.

[sandhate]

[ oh great. that card is being played. that card that shuts him up immediately and makes him forfeit all resistance.

he sighs and tilts his head backwards for a second then he holds out his hand for hers. there may be a small smile on his face ]

Just so you know, you can't keep bringing that up to get your way.

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka takes his hand and leads him back to the dancefloor, evidently pleased.]

I don't know about you, if we're going to be stuck in a prison anyway, I plan to use my time here to the fullest.

[beardstrokes]

Now there's something you don't see often.

[ He's not sure whether to be amused or sympathetic. Maybe both. ]

Were you someone's Poster Boy for the day?

[sandhate]

[ he refuses to kick his feet at that comment. so he'll just pull a face ]

Poster Man, please. I'm old enough to have kids, remember?

[beardstrokes]

I should be calling you old man, since you're leaps and bounds ahead of me.

[sandhate]

[ he gives obi-wan a dry look. ]

Oh no, I could never take your place as the old Master.

[beardstrokes]

True, you have a long way to go to beat Yoda but at least you're catching up.

[sandhate]

[ he shakes his head and switches topic ]

So, I heard you taught Ahsoka to dance.

[diplomacme]

[ Padmé, unlike Anakin, is in her element. It's even better that trade negotiations don't hinge on the color of her dress. Which is fortunate, because she went out of her way to make them match.

She finds him in one of the chairs on the side of the room. He looks so stiff and uncomfortable and she can't help but feel a slight twinge of guilt. She'd asked Anakin to come to the party with her, but she thought he'd wanted to go a little. Apparently, she'd been wrong.

Padmé sits in the chair next to his and covers one of his hands with her own. ]

Are you okay?

[sandhate]

[ he sensed her approach but only lifts his head at her touch.

beautiful. he thinks that word was invented for her. anakin can't help but smile, his hand curls around hers. she's worried about him. and he can't have that. ]

Of course.

[ a sly smirk replaces the smile as he grows more confident. ]

How couldn't I be, with the most beautiful woman on this planet sitting beside me?

[diplomacme]

[ She leans over to give him a brief kiss before drawing back and giving him her own sly smile. ]

You should know by now that complimenting me isn't a good distraction.

[sandhate]

[ there's no pause as he shifts to full avoidance. he leans towards and keeps their distance close, eyes flickering downwards before meeting her eyes again, speaking in a hushed voice when he does ]

Then you have to tell me, what is a good enough distraction?

[diplomacme]

[ Padmé gives him a look. ]

Nothing, when it comes to your well-being.

[sandhate]

[ damn, padme. he's trying to flirt with you. now, it's like he took a cold shower instead. ]

You worry too much. [ he smiles, faintly. his palm curves around her face. ] Relax, go have fun.

[passingthrough]

[Kitty steps back to the edges of the dance floor where the chairs are and scans the crowd looking for her date or just a friend. She notices Anakin instead.]

Did someone wear you out or drag you here against your will? [Sorry, these are apparently your only options unless you have a write-in option.]

[sandhate]

[ He glances up at her, another well dressed person, here for a mingle. He laughs at those options and digs the heel of his hand into his brow. ]

At this point, I think both of those things have been done to me. [ He gestures at a chair next to him ] Feel free to get off your feet. I don't know how you guys wear heels but my wife keeps telling me it kills her feet and she's still wearing them.

[passingthrough]

Maybe you should try the heels sometime. It could be you don't know what you're missing out on. [She smiles, but now that he's mentioned it, she has been dancing basically non-stop since she got here in shoes that are less than forgiving. Maybe a tiny break would be nice. She takes the offered chair.]

I used to do ballet which was a different kind of foot and shoe challenge, but it toughened me up.

[sandhate]

CONT'D