maskormenacelogs | Winter Gala

Entry tags:

Winter Gala

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Jeopardy
WHEN: Saturday, December 21 from 5:00 p.m. onward into the early morning hours of Sunday, December 22.
WHAT: The Winter Gala Fundraiser for Jeopardy Relief Efforts
WARNINGS: Please include any necessary warnings in your TLs.
NOTES: This post will serve as a catch-all for logs for the entire event (though you’re also welcome to post things elsewhere, of course).

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Well, mostly. In the wake of a near-apocalyptic event, the city of Jeopardy is in need. What started out as an idea to advertise Rikki Chadwick's burgeoning business, after a little more planning and nabbing some ideas from Kenzi's post, she and Rupert have reconfigured and rebranded their idea to focus less on her and more on the relief effort.

Characters will enter the venue after giving a small donation at the door and they will be greeted by a large room lit in blues, soft pinks, and purples. From the ceilings hang snowflakes made of glass. The centerpieces are also made of glass. Come to think of it, nearly all the decorations are made of glass. Except, that is, the mistletoe hanging from several of the rafters and archways. A buffet-style dinner will be served from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at which point, the buffet tables and seating tables will be cleared away to make room for the makeshift stage for the DJ and a gigantic dance floor.

Drinks will be flowing, music will be playing, and people will be bidding on silent auctions to win everything from one of the centerpieces to a date with their favorite imPort and everything in between. So, eat, drink, and be merry until you can't stay awake any longer. Why not? It's all for a good cause, after all.

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[ Disappointment isn't a sentiment that comes naturally to Hentzau, considering how easily he takes most things in his stride. And as with every one of those rare disappointments he encounters in life, he tries his best to outwardly shrug this one off with a laugh. But the laugh isn't convincing and the smile fades too quickly as he resigns himself to the cold hard truth: there had been a few auction lots that had eluded his grasp tonight, despite his best efforts. And, yes, Rupert is disappointed, it's true. He's uncharacteristically quiet as the room erupts into amused chatter around him, discussing who-won-who and which unlikely pairing would prove to be the most scandalous...

He sighs a little, toying with a discarded wine cork in a bout of exceptional melancholy. Because, damn it, Hentzau had wanted the most scandalous to be him. ]

[Kylo Ren, on the other hand, is in exceptionally good spirits. For a man who professes to have absolutely no interest in currency or understanding of those who do, finding himself to be the top ticket item for an auction of this nature has, perhaps not quite so unexpectedly, gone right to his head.

Being wanted in general is a novelty, really.

Hentzau catches Kylo's attention for a few reasons. Firstly, that disappointment seems to match an earlier tug of desire he's almost entirely certain was aimed squarely in his direction. Secondly, because looking him over reminds Kylo of a very rich, enticing vein of fantasy they left all too sadly unexplored at Ronan's birthday celebration. And thirdly— most importantly, perhaps— because he rather likes the idea of playing a game.

He murmurs something in Ronan's ear, pulls his hand up to his lips to kiss it, then peels away, stalking across the floor with smooth, unhurried purpose. He doesn't bother with a greeting to announce his presence.]

I'm almost disappointed.

[ Think of the devil. The primary source of his uncharacteristic despondency is stalking towards him and Rupert, head still inclined in a moue of annoyance as he fiddles with the cork, watches his approach from behind dark lashes with a thrill of anticipation. It's difficult not stare, though. Kylo Ren, that towering figure, dressed like that and looking at him like that and --

Rupert does laugh at the question, a delicate huff of disbelief, but doesn't look up from toying with the cork. ]

You? You're the most desirable imPort in the room. Officially so, in fact. [ Is he a little jealous? Perhaps. Perhaps he does regret not putting himself up after all. He looks up, properly this time, and meets Kylo's gaze with an expression of amused incredulity. ]

What could you possibly be disappointed by?

[He is, isn't he? The most desirable in the room. It's a numerically proven truth, and he's insufferably saturated with the knowledge.

Not that it really shows on his face— Kylo's expession isn't smug, or self-satisfied. He simply seems just a little more solid, his usually intimidating physicality amplified somehow by the affirmation. He considers. His voice is low, smooth and unhurried.]

Perhaps I didn't think the bidding would get too rich for your blood.

[ Ah. Ah. Disappointed in Hentzau, then. And maybe disappointed not to have been won by him. Rupert's expression shifts with understanding, nodding slowly as he savours that little revelation. ]

Oh, come now, don't be disappointed by that. Lorrant is a highly entertaining young man, I can vouch for that much. [ Code for 'a good fuck'. ] I'm sure you two will have a lovely time on your little museum trip.

[ He nudges the seat beside him at the half-cleared table, knocking it out a little in invitation. Join him, Kylo. ]

In fact... [ He cants his head, regarding Kylo curiously. ] Would you want to know something?

[Kylo can't resist curiosity. His own, or being the focus of someone else's. He pauses as if weighing his options, eyes narrowing slightly as he regards Rupert's expression... but he will sit, after all.]

Enlighten me.

[ Having Kylo's attention like this is equal parts thrilling and terrifying, and he loves it. It's intoxicatingly flattering, this intense, intelligent interest, and Hentzau wants to gorge himself silly on it. He settles instead for a quietly smug little smile as Kylo takes a seat beside him, and Hentzau can't help but lean a little closer in response (most people would do the opposite and scoot away, a primordial survival instinct tells him in the back of his mind). ]

I cannot begin to tell you how little I care for museums, [ He informs Kylo gravely, with all the solemnity of a cathedral confessional. His words are quiet, as if sharing a terrible secret, and he presses a sorrowful hand against his breastbone in a pantomime expression of apology as he continues: ]

Quite honestly. I could not summon a single, solitary shit. In fact, had I won you, I promise you that we would not have gone anywhere remotely near that museum.

[Kylo's interest tics near invisibly into amusement. It's not as if he graces Rupert with a laugh, or even really a smile— but there is something new in the dark glint of his eyes that wasn't there before.]

Where would you have taken me, then. If you had.

[ Rupert's expression grows ever more theatrically sorrowful as he sits back in his seat, spreading his hands in a sheepish shrug. ]

Alas! Now we shall never know.

[ His reply is as frustrating as it is amusing, he knows, and the effect of Hentzau's mock sorrow is only slightly ruined by the boyish grin he struggles (and fails) to keep contained. His gaze slips away, glancing at where Ronan sits. ]

Does he always go where you go, your magical lover? [ Rupert nods in Ronan's direction, across the gala. ] I get the impression you two are one and the same in most things.

[Now, Kylo's lips tug into... well, a smirk, rather than a smile. Just briefly. He leans in towards Rupert, the weight of his focused attention following the motion so clearly it's tangible. Almost physical.]

Are you asking me if your friend Lorrant just won himself a taste of our union as an undeclared bonus prize?

Perhaps.

[ Hentzau, to his credit, doesn't waver beneath that intensity. He holds Kylo's gaze through the sheer power of bare-faced arrogance and smiles sweetly in reply. ]

And had I but known I would win the attentions of you both, perhaps I might have bid more.

[Kylo's gaze lingers, heavy and curious, on the richly confident challenge of the man. There's nothing particularly salacious about his scrutiny, nothing to suggest stirrings of that kind of appetite— but in this particular moment, a strength of will capable of altering and manipulating reality is focused entirely on Hentzau alone... and he can almost certainly feel it.]

Ronan goes where he pleases.

[And, he doesn't add, what pleases Ronan the most is to please the one he chose to wield him. Instead, he leans back. The pressure of his undivided attention eases, though hardly disappears.]

And your friend would have to please me. Considerably. If he hopes for anything beyond the prize as described.

Lorrant is quite pleasing. [ Handsome, he means. But Hentzau knows that pretty people in this world are ten a penny; surely to earn Kylo's favour someone has to be more than simply pretty...

Kylo sits back but Rupert can still feel the weight of his regard; it takes everything in his dumb, impulse-fuelled body not to chase that movement and lean closer, eager as he is not to lose that immediacy of attention. He toys again with the discarded wine cork, considering his next question and the idea that is stirring behind it. ]

I must ask: why did you offer yourself? Was it purely out of charity - or something else?

[As if Kylo Ren has a single charitable bone in his body. His amusement pulls his mouth into a curve.]

Curiosity. Have you met Joseph Kavinsky? He's possibly the only person on the planet who would dare ask me to participate. I had thought it was some attempt to buy my attention for himself, but—

[Well. Either Kavinsky's pockets had been emptied by Kylo's unexpected surge in popularity, or something else had distracted him.]

he does seem very pleasantly frustrated with the outcome.

Ah.

[ An understated reply that doesn't match the expansive grin of delight that slowly blossoms at the mention of Kavinsky's name. The Jaguar. Of course. The fact that Kavinsky is on friendly enough terms with Kylo to dare him into taking part isn't as surprising as it should be. Clearly Hentzau isn't the only one who sees Kylo as some kind of challenge. ]

I suppose it's some small balm to know someone shares my frustration at losing, [ He adds after a moment of thought. ] But what of your curiosity? Is it - [ Oh god is he really going to say this? YES HE IS: ] - satisfied?

[I'm never satisfied is so thoroughly baked in as the answer to that question that there's almost no reason to say it out loud, is there? Kylo's barely perceptible smile tells Rupert all he really needs to know.

Still. Kylo's heavy weighted interest slides right back into place with steadily building intensity as he watches Rupert's expression shift. He makes no effort to conceal his study whatsoever.]

I didn't anticipate it. The level of interest, considering my reputation. But perhaps I should have.

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Winter Gala

post auction | closed to kylo

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oh dear look at that italics tag i forgot to close

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