genessia | EVENT- Genessia Masquerade

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EVENT- Genessia Masquerade

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade
Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you
Masquerade! Every face a different shade
Masquerade! Look around, there's another mask behind you

Welcome
Though the evening outside is chilly, there’s nothing but warmth and lively atmosphere inside. The room itself (the ballroom atop the self proclaimed ‘most romantic and luxurious’ Genessian getaway) is almost blinding, glittering with gold from floor to ceiling, save for the towering framed windows that provide a beautiful sight of the city below. Tables are scattered here and there around the perimeter should attendees wish to rest their feet, but the centerpiece of the evening seems to be the massive, sparkling chandelier casting its warm, golden glow over a rather extensive dance floor. One end of the room is reserved for the band, poised just near the hearth featuring a roaring fire, while the other showcases a grand staircase on which one may make their entrance, should they choose to explore the upper lofts that surround the room beforehand.

Early in the evening, once the room has begun to fill, a couple steps up to welcome everyone on behalf of Genessia’s Performing Arts Center and the cast of their most recent musical. While the event is free, and they are delighted to be able to share a magnificent evening of splendor with everyone, they do wish to make everyone aware that should they choose to donate tonight, be it through benevolent gift or through the auction or gambling tables, all proceeds will be donated to the Red House Foundation- more specifically, Genessia’s branch, located in the heart of the city herself.
The call to enjoy the masquerade is punctuated with a deep bow and the swell of the band picking up once more to lead everyone into a night of majestic merriment.

Photos
With numerous celebrities about and the event in full swing, it’s to no one’s surprise that there are photographers practically crawling the place. Fortunately for all, quite a few have been hired by the event planning team and will be snapping moments (both candid and posed) of everyone in attendance. There’s even a designated area with various props to play with and a lovely backdrop doused in gold. These photos can be downloaded from the network later, so take advantage of these professionals, should your heart desire! After all, did one really look their best if there’s no photo to prove it?

Dancing
While there’s certainly no pop star performing and the music is much more classically suited, one will hear a familiar tune more often than not, spun by the tuxedo clad musicians to suit a more modern crowd. It’s upbeat and energetic for the most part, but every so often, they're likely to switch the mood to something much smoother (dare they say, romantic?) to sway to. Instructors are scattered throughout the crowd, should those unfamiliar with the ballroom style wish to learn something new!

Food
A party without food is absurd, regardless of the occasion. Drink flows readily from the bar, and an impressive variation of hors d’oeuvre has been laid out in a brilliant spread on the long tables along the edges of the room. Partake as you will, and leave a donation to show your appreciation if you’re so inspired!

Costume Parade
What’s the point of a masquerade without an outfit promenade? Show off your inspired attire to all who will gaze upon you. The more flamboyant, the more attention your costume will draw, and the more in-character one seems, the more believable the evening will be- Embrace the masks and let loose! Tonight is the night to be whoever (or whatever) your heart desires.

Gambling/Auction
Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, there are multiple donated items on which to bid, ranging from weekend getaways to baskets of sweets to… rather peculiar fashion and odd home decor.
To the right of the auction display, there are multiple gaming tables with waiting croupier, ready to assist those with heavy wallets attempt to woo Lady Luck. The winnings (should there be any) can be kept or donated- the choice is yours.

Gardens
If one finds a need to escape the swirling of dance and swell of the music, the gardens below may serve you well. There’s a lovely courtyard, and just beyond the fountain, a garden maze, well lit for the season with the gentle glow of dazzling lights. Take a stroll alone, or hide away with a lover or confidant, or snag a seat for the fireworks- the choice is yours.

Fireworks
No grand gala ever ended without a burst of excitement to round out the evening. Toward the end of the evening, the sky will be lit with a brilliant display of silvers and golds, all timed perfectly with the band’s final performance. One can watch from the gardens or the rooftop, or, if in need of something more ~private~, the balconies throughout the hotel.

Masquerade! Burning glances, turning heads
Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you
Masquerade! Grinning yellows, spinning reds
Masquerade! Take your fill, let the spectacle astound you

((ooc: Questions? PM this journal or poke dovefire on Plurk! Have Fun!))

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Photos

Erza arrives at the party wearing a formal dress that she had previously worn for a royal gala, along with a butterfly themed mask. With the Fairy Tail guild present at this ball, she made sure to dress to impress.

She's thrilled to have her picture taken - Erza certainly enjoys showing off her outfits, and it's always nice to have something to remember these kinds of nights by.

Dancing

Erza always admired the natural grace of dancers. Her own method of dancing was... unique, to say the least, though she had been improving. If she didn't get too carried away, she could dance normally.

As it stands, she's on the edge of the dance floor, watching for now. However, she's eager to get out there, and it shows - her eyes almost light up as she watches the people dance.

Gambling

Most people wouldn't consider gambling relaxing, but Erza Scarlet isn't like most people. For whatever reason, she seems to have borderline-supernatural luck when it comes to games of chance, and that's no different here than it is back home. Whether it's dice or cards, she seems to be doing quite well for herself, as the stack of chips in front of her gets higher and higher.

Once she's had enough fun at the tables, she'll sit back and see how others are faring or mingle with other spectators.

Gardens

Toward the end of the night, Erza could use some quiet time, and the gardens are perfect for that. It's certainly not as busy or crowded as the rest of the party, so she'll take her time to enjoy that sense of calm. She might be found admiring the greenery, but then again, this place seems perfect for a romantic stroll with her girlfriend.

He avoids making eye contact when he's bluffing. Zeref's voice would be heard in Erza's head. He'd long since mastered telepathy, on the scale of being able to issue commands simultaneously to entire regiments of the Imperial military all at once. It would feel completely different from when Warren does it. Beyond likely having learned the magic in completely different ways, the two weren't anywhere close to being on the same league as mages; with Zeref, there was no subtlety, no gentleness, no warning, just the voice of someone who was used to micromanaging hundreds of thousands of people all at once like a skilled real-time strategy game player, focusing on only one person in the room... well, two, if you count Mavis.

He thinks his mask hides it. It doesn't. I can see his shoulders tense up every time he looks at his cards. He then looks at his drink. He's stressed, and he thinks the alcohol would help him. Yes. Zeref is helping, though not necessarily helping her cheat. He can't see their cards, after all. If she were to scan her surroundings, she'd see Zeref sitting next to Mavis at a different table. They've been the last two people at one particular poker table for almost an hour. Everyone else had been beaten, but as usual, the two can't seem to win against each other.

Sitting at Zeref's table, Mavis seems very focused on her own cards and game. Yet, after a few seconds, her voice can be heard by Erza and Zeref, telepathically as well. I noticed him as well. Don't let Fairy Tail's money be stolen by a cheater.

Innerly she was very happy that Zeref decided to help Erza. He was starting to act more and more like a Fairy Tail member, no matter how vehemently he would deny it if asked. The other reason why she was happy about him surveilling Erza's table was that his attention was now split in two different directions.

She smiles and sets her cards down. "I win!"

Edited 2018-11-10 23:21 (UTC)

Thanks. I won't let the guild down! Erza felt a bit odd, communicating telepathically like this, though she supposes that it must be how Warren feels a lot of the time. At least the two lovebirds are far enough away that they can't see any of the other player's cards - she wouldn't want to have an unfair advantage in this test of skill and luck!

"I call," Erza pushes forward her chips, smiling a little as she hears Mavis's voice over the din. The other player, for a moment or two, drops all pretense of being calm as his eyes widen and he tenses up - even Erza, or someone like Natsu who likely hadn't played poker before, would have noticed that he wasn't prepared for that. Mumbling, the man folds, and Erza collects her winnings before heading over to Mavis and Zeref's table to see how things were going.

He should have known Mavis had telepathy, too. She could create illusions convincing enough to fool him, after all. Telepathy is a step backward from that. He almost apologized to Erza. Having two other people in your head at once was a good way to get a headache.

Of course, Mavis interrupted that thought process with her declaration of victory. "Hold on, Mavis. You haven't seen my cards, yet."

When Erza approached, he paused, refraining from setting his own cards down. A sly expression spreads across Zeref's face. When he finally did set his own cards down, Mavis' hand was indeed better... but not by much. "The game's still not over."

Well Mavis was more used to use telepathy with her guildmates during battles but, after all, it was sort of a battle too.

Well done, Erza. Then she returned her attention to her own table as Zeref talked out loud. She raised a thin eyebrow. "I don't need to see your cards."

She smiled at Erza, confidently, then looked back at Zeref just in time to see him set his cards down. Yeah, just as she'd thought. She picks up her chips with a defying look on her face. "Bring it on, then, your Majesty." The mask couldn't quite hide her cheeky grin.

Now that she's done with her poker game, Erza works her way over to the table where Mavis and Zeref are still playing. Given how long it's just been the two of them, they've drawn a bit of a crowd - many are curious about who's going to win, and there are even a few side bets about the outcome.

Erza works her way to a spot where she can still see the game, but she can't see either player's cards; she'd hate to help either Mavis or Zeref win, even inadvertently through her reactions. She always found it best to have someone to test your skills and push you to your limits, whether it's as a rival or in romance, and she'd hate to interfere with that here.

Despite their relationship - or maybe even because of it - Zeref and Mavis played games of skill against one another all the time. Chess, Lejenca, and now, poker. On a much grander scale, Zeref considered the entire Ishgal-Alvarez War to be exactly that. With how powerful Alvarez had grown, there simply weren't any more challenges left for his 'simulation game.' Ishgal didn't have the numbers for a protracted war, and everyone on the continent knew it. Their only hope for victory laid with their guilds, including Mavis' strategies. Even if, hypothetically, Alvarez were to win (and Zeref didn't go through with Neo-Eclipse), it would have only been a matter of time before many in Alvarez started saber-rattling for another war, this time in Giltena. But it just wouldn't have been the same. Sure, it was home to Magia Dragon, and he'd heard the rumors about them, but only God Serena and possibly Irene would have cared about that. Zeref didn't, and apparently, Acnologia never bothered to confirm them, either. But they weren't Fairy Tail. Historical significance aside, they were boring.

Zeref placed the small blind bet on the table. Mavis had more chips than him, now, but Zeref still wasn't in danger of losing yet, so long as he played cautiously. As the dealer dealt the cards, Zeref glanced at his own cards, keeping his own pokerface up. Mavis was getting cocky. He knew she wouldn't slip up that easily, and he wasn't going to take chances. He sits, silently, waiting for Mavis to bet.

Since she's sitting next to him, Mavis pays the big blind. She looks very smug right now. But then again, knowing Mavis, it could be part of her strategy. She glances at Zeref and smiles, holding her cards close to her chest. Then, her eyes briefly turn to look at Erza, but she doesn't say a world, not out loud, that is.

You're already done playing?

Erza nods, seemingly in response to nothing, before realizing that wouldn't come across through telepathy. Yes - none of the other players could withstand my fighting spirit for long! The way she sees it, poker, like combat, is another form of competition.

Good luck to both of you. She was confident that, regardless of who won, the money would be put to good use, and while she was obviously biased towards Mavis, she figured it wouldn't be as fun for either of them if the winner was decided purely by a string of bad luck as opposed to superior strategy and predictions.

Zeref didn't respond telepathically. His featureless eyes stared at Mavis, trying to read her. She'd had that smug look on her face the entire time; on anybody else, it would have been a tell. Mavis had had the exact same expression on her face the entire time, even during the few hands where she lost. He'd never heard the story of how she and Yuriy first met; if he had, it would have made a lot of sense.

"I bet five hundred." More than half of a paycheck for him at Scribes and Scripts, but given that he and Mavis had cleaned everyone else out at the table, it was still relatively small compared to his winnings. He pushed the chips towards the center of the table, and waited for Mavis to either call, or fold.

Or raise.

"Your five hundred. Plus another two hundred." She pushed the chips towards the center of the table and waited for the other players' reaction, her expression never changing for a second.

Thank you, she answered Erza when she was done with her turn.

Edited 2018-11-15 14:24 (UTC)

Erza's definitely going to keep a close eye on both of them - she feels like there's a lot that she could learn from this poker game, and she's going to try and see if she can pick up on any subtle cues about how the game's going. Both Mavis and Zeref were quite collected, so she'd really have to test her observation skills to find any kind of tells.

((OoC: Feel free to continue without me; I'll keep an eye on this and jump back in once Erza has something to say (well, think) or it's done.))

"Call." Zeref pushed two one hundred-bill chips into the pot. It could go either way with Mavis; she could be bluffing, or not. But he wasn't about to back down; no, the game was getting way too good for that. Even if it was going on for nearly forty-five minutes, now, unheard of for a party like this.

He readied himself to flip over his two cards.

Mirajane herself was dressed in a simple but elegant mask with a simple but elegant dress. She'd considered some outfits that would have her stand out more, but she didn't want to overshadow the favorite ladies in her life, but she still wanted something that was fancy and fine enough to impress. After weeks of deciding she'd hoped she'd made the right decision, and she strolled into the grand ballroom with Erza on her arm, right before letting out a gasp when she saw it all for the first time.

"Ah! It all looks so gorgeous doesn't it Erza?!" This was like one of those balls out of a fairy tale, with princes and princesses, lost lovers from across time coming together once more, or a secret masked thief in their midst intent on stealing the magical jewel from the sword of wonders. Okay probably not that last part, but she suspected that Erza was probably just as wonder struck as she was by going to an elegant ball with a love of her own for a change. They'd been to a few parties as fancy as this, like after the grand magic games, but this one felt a lot more special to her because it was her first formal ball with Erza.

When she followed Erza's gaze it struck Mirajane almost immediately as to what had her rapt attention. Erza had expressed a certain fondness for dancing on many occasions even if she danced a bit more... aggressively than most people. It begged the question of whether she should let Erza take the lead or take the lead herself so that she could keep Erza from turning her into a spinning top. She of course had learned this very technique herself, and taught it to Lisanna, but that was better suited for Fairy Tail parties than formal balls where they wanted to leave the building intact. Oh what to do, what to do...

She curtsied to Erza, and offered her, her hand rather daintily. "May I have this dance my lady Scarlet?"

Edited 2018-11-11 04:23 (UTC)

Erza's eyes are sparkling with excitement as she clutches Mira's arm. "It's like something out of a dream!"

Managing to tear her eyes away from the dancers, she looks at Mira, admiring her dress. It may be simple compared to some of her other dresses, but to Erza, all of that white makes her seem like some kind of heavenly being. It makes her proud to have Mira all to herself like this.

Erza curtsies back, taking Mira's hand as they walk out to the dance floor. "Certainly, Miss Strauss." She chuckles a little - this formality is a bit odd for her, but she likes it. It makes her feel like she's living in a storybook.

To keep Erza from turning this into a sudden whirlwind of motion, Mirajane decided to lead. When Erza took her hand, Mirajane placed a hand on Erza's hip, and swung her into an easy box step, whispering the motions in a hushed tone so that Erza could easily follow along if she didn't remember how. "Back one step, left one step, forward one step, right one step, and there you have the simple box step~!"

Oh she didn't mind some more extreme dancing as the night went on, perhaps a tango, or whatever aggressive twirl of motion Erza had in mind, but Mirajane was craving a slow dance to start them off so that she could just back in the glow of giddiness that Erza had for the formal party. The only other part of this scale she could remember of the top of her head was the King's after the grand magic games. Of course, she hadn't really had much opportunity to party with Erza after the grand magic games at the King's palace because her siblings had been occupying so much of her attention that night, so the fact that Erza was wearing the same dress made her a bit nostalgic. "You look gorgeous tonight my love, I'm glad you chose to wear this dress."

Edited 2018-11-11 23:35 (UTC)

Erza was relieved to hear Mira's advice - the dance was easy enough to remember, so it's not like she'd have to be worrying about her feet for the whole night. As long as she didn't call upon her 'fighting spirit' to help her with dancing, the "Dancing Demon" wouldn't be making a comeback tonight.

"Thank you," Erza says as she beams - she'll never get tired of hearing Mira's compliments, or giving compliments to Mira for that matter. "And you look beautiful. Seeing you in that dress, I almost thought that you transformed yourself into an angel."

There was a little giggle from Mirajane at Erza's compliment, and she leaned in a little closer to kiss her on the cheek. "That was really cheesy Erza, but very sweet nonetheless. It might not hurt to have us read some romantic poetry to one another at some point so we can expand upon your repertoire of compliments and romantic vocabulary. Without the trashy, overly sexualised, or corny lines of those romance novels Lucy tells me you borrow from Levy."

Because that's what she should do while dancing with Erza, fluster her so badly that she feels the need to rely on her fighting spirit to keep going. Well hopefully Erza would take the teasing in stride and not too much to heart, Mirajane did still enjoy it, but if Erza had said something like that in front of others she'd feel vicariously embarrassed for her.

"So Erza, have you ever tried to Tango? They say it is the most romantic of dances."

Erza's voice betrays a mix of nervousness and surprise - she's not sure what Mirajane would think about her reading those books, and she's surprised that Lucy would have told Mirajane about them after what happened to the last poor soul who decided to blab about Erza's reading habits.

"Er, well... maybe that's a good idea..." She'd still read the trashy romance novels, of course - they were addicting! - but broadening her horizons couldn't hurt.

Still, she brightens up at the mention of tangoing. "I haven't tried it, but I'd love to! I know the basics, at least..." Given the sheer amount of romantic drama that she's had, she wouldn't have dared try to tango before coming here, but she watched plenty of lacrima videos on how to do it in case the opportunity ever arose.

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EVENT- Genessia Masquerade

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Gambling

Let's make it a group thread :D

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Dancing/Gardens (later)

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