[open] Vampire Ball - May 26th (backdated)

[baisant]

The invitations go out a week in advance. Some of which are hand written (ink on parchment, of course), to those of whom he wishes to see personally, though of course they are welcome to bring guests. The more the merrier, or so the saying goes. Especially in the case of such an event as this. Jean-Claude is vying for the spot of President of the Night Council, after all, and while the event is not technically connected to the election, timing is everything, mes amis. And what an event it is.

The instructions on the invitation are quite simple. There is to be a ball. But not just any ball, a Vampire Ball. If you are a vampire, an ally, or interested in becoming both, you are more than welcome to attend. It is a night to celebrate the collective history of the Nest of London. Formal historical costume is a requirement of attendance. Masks will be allowed as well, though the event is technically not a masquerade. All wood and silver will be checked at the door, for this is a night of entertainment.



The event is being held in a private historic home, presumably for the atmosphere. In the foyer there is a coat check (along with wood and silver check, courtesy of Guilty Pleasure's well-loved bouncers). The guests are funneled through from there into the main ballroom, where yes, there is a live string quartet playing. How did Jean-Claude afford such decadence? It helps when you have lived for so long as he has and have had very little to spend money on besides clothes and decadence. It certainly couldn't be his own private residence -- could it?

Off to the side of the ballroom is an array of chaise lounges and other sofas and chairs, while on the other may be located several tables of refreshments. It is clearly indicated which table is intended for the vampires and which is for those who are still among the living. There is another bouncer posted on watch over the refreshments, and the punch in particular -- they need not have a repeat of the last time someone spiked their drinks in such a fashion after all. There is quite a selection of finger foods on the table for those who are so inclined to partake in such delicacies, and there are offers of champagne, wine, and punch for that table. There are finger foods on the other table as well, although not as many, and each one has an accompanying card indicating the donor's name and blood type, just in case you were wondering why they were for the vampires.

The house is of course bigger than the ballroom and the foyer, but few guests are allowed to venture up the front stairs or beyond the little hall to where the restrooms are located. That does not mean, of course, that there are not those who manage to sneak past the little corded ropes meant to keep such troublemakers within check, especially when the bouncers are otherwise preoccupied. There are all sorts of fun rooms to explore.

And so many costumes from so many eras! Guests are encouraged to talk amongst themselves and share memories of the good old days for those lived through them, or ask questions if there are curiosities from those who did not. Today is a golden age, Islington Nest is at its strongest yet, and it is a time to celebrate what it is to be Vampire. There is more to such a life than drinking blood and having fangs, a sophistication and experience beyond the hunger. If nothing else, Jean-Claude hopes to share this with the attendees on this evening.

Which at least manages to begin without a hitch, but if you should manage to stay for the end of the night, prepare for some fireworks to ensue. For what is a party without a little drama...


(ooc note: anyone is welcome to attend, though if you are anti-islington you will not get very far in the door before being turned away. certain allies/those who have helped jean-claude in the past will have received direct invitations, but there is a general buzz passed around the nest and islington allies ahead of time that will have spread through the supernatural community leading up to the day itself. as stated above, historical costume is a must -- vampires are encouraged to wear something from an era they lived through, though humans are welcome to whatever they desire! masks are fun so wear one if you like though there will be no anonymity here.

details will be in jean-claude's comment below, but his ex, asher, is going to be crashing the party at the end of the night, so if you're there for the end of the evening expect that as well. i will make a comment for asher as well on his own so you can tag with him before the main event if you decide you'd like to skip out on the fireworks as he and jean-claude butt heads for the first time in hundreds of years.)

Comments

[longterm]

Ballroom

Cesare had half a mind to dress in his old clerical garb for Jean-Claude's party, cross and all, as a demonstration of his devotion to doing good. After all, if he can love God so much that he becomes a priest, or a cardinal even, then surely he can take care of a city?

But it's too risky, even for a man like Cesare. He doesn't want people looking too deeply into his past and such an attire would invite them to do so. So instead, he settles on something more modern, though still with a virtuous edge. It's not what he would have worn at the time, but it works for him for now. Perhaps the time has come for Cesare to shift out of his normal black attire and into something more virginal? Anything if it will help him with voters.

He's mostly staying at the sides of the room, by the drinks, schmoozing with everyone. After all, it's his goal here to get along with people and make them like him. Anyone who Jean-Claude has invited is good enough for Cesare too. Is it a bit shady of him to attempt to poach guests like this? Most definitely. But all is fair in love and politics. At least, that's his excuse.

Lights out drama. For Nancy

When the lights go out, Cesare takes this as a perfect opportunity to escape Lydia and track down Nancy. He had seen her earlier and had made a note. At the time, though, he hadn't realised how much he would need her help. He moves up behind Nancy in the dark, taking a hefty swig of his wine.

"I need you to call off your girl," he says quite firmly. Having some whore cling to him is not helping his campaign.

[morevacant]

Of course Lydia's here. As if she'd miss a party, and a posh one at that. No, this is the place to be seen tonight, and she is determined to make an entrance and a good impression. Her dress is inspired by the regency period - at first glance, she seems perfectly pure in it, innocent even. But the low cut of the dress, and it's sheerness soon put a stop to that notion. And Lydia loves it.

She spots Cesare as soon as she arrives, and sidles up to him.
"My handsome man!" She leans in to him. "You look so very dapper, you know?' She glances down at her own dress. "Do you like it? I wore it just for you." She smiles coyly.

[longterm]

Cesare had texted Lydia once. He had done so because, quite frankly, he had had a pretty good time with her that night, even though it had been weird as hell. It was different and, at his ripe old age, that's quite a rare thing to come across. He didn't text her again, though, when he received a barrage of texts in response. Contrary to popular belief, Cesare does try to avoid the crazy ones. Or at least the clingy ones.

Besides, now Cesare is running for president under the image of integrity and virtue. Having some whore following him around isn't exactly great for publicity.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, turning to her in surprise, trying to sound polite but not exactly managing it. He's still aware that he needs her vote in the upcoming election. She is a witch, after all.

He looks down to her dress. "....Do you know it's see-through?"

[morevacant]

Lydia balks at Cesare's offhand tone. "Don't you want me here? I thought you'd be happy to see me?" She sounds injured, and her eyes turn tearful - puppy eyes, her sisters had teasingly called them when she was little.

She hugs herself tight, suddenly self conscious. "I thought it would be… you know?" She drops her voice a little, her cheeks colouring. "Tempting." Because she can't, already embarrassed as she is, admit that she hoped she looked sexy.

[longterm]

It's in hat moment that Cesare realises quite how risky what he's doing actually is. It's not a good idea to fight with a whore in the middle of a party filled with prospective voters. The worst thing right now would be a scene.

He bites his lip for a second as he considers is, before quickly shifting gears. He rakes his eyes deliberately over her.

"Trust me. You do. But shouldn't that be saved for a more private moment between the two of us?" I.E. not in this room right now. She can ask him for more money later. He doesn't want to deal with this just yet.

[morevacant]

"I thought all the men wanted their mates to be mad jealous of their girlfriends?" Lydia's stance doesn't relax, and neither does the fiery red in her cheeks. She's so embarrassed.

"Do you just want me to leave?"

[longterm]

Their girlfriends? Cesare panics a bit about that. What on earth could she possibly mean? Surely not what he thinks she does.

"No, no, no, of course not," Cesare responds more out of damage control than any real sense of her wanting to stay. In fact, he would really rather the opposite.

He moves in towards her, speaking in a slightly hushed voice.

"But I'm not exactly the boyfriend-girlfriend type, Lydia." That was her name, right? Lydia?

[morevacant]

"What?" She feels like she's falling fast through a deep, dark hole, right through the earth's core.

"I thought you liked me? I…. I thought you wanted… Oh God." Realisation hits her like a ton of bricks. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?" Her cheeks flame, and she mutters her admittance. "You just wanted a quick fling, didn't you?"

[longterm]

"We didn't exactly play it slow, Lydia..." Cesare responds with a tilt of his head and a small nod. "We barely know each other." Which, to be honest, is helpful for him. The less Lydia knows about him, the less damage she can do to him. He doesn't need her realising that she could hurt him here.

"But I did enjoy that night..." he says with a smile, trying so soften the blow.

[stauncherhearted]

Cesare manages to catch her off guard and she spins around, gin sloshing in her martini glass.

"My girl?" She didn't have any girls. "Lydia's her own person." Oh, yes, she'd found out who Lydia's Mystery Boyfriend was. Even though Nancy had tried to hint that, y'know... Maybe you weren't actually together?

But why should anyone take relationship advice from a whore?

[longterm]

Cesare rolls his eyes and lets out a frustrated, disbelieving sigh.

"Either way, I need you to get her to stop it. It's beginning to harm my campaign." And if there's one thing Cesare prioritises above all else, it's his quest for power.

"Have a talk with her, please. Tell her that this isn't how it's done. Teach her some damn discretion." At least Nancy hadn't paraded herself around him in see-through dresses most of the time, at least not until Cesare asked her to.

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy purses her lips together tightly. "Cesare- what in god's name possessed you to sleep with her, anyway? I know you have a thing for gingers, and Lydia's lovely but she's... not your type." Her tone, by the end of it, is light.

And that's when she puts it together. The money for the dress. The card. Cesare.

"Did you hire her? Cesare! She isn't a sex worker! She's a bloody student!" She puts her hands on her hips, giving him in the darkness the most angry mother face. Usually it made children tremble.

[longterm]

Cesare rolls his eyes. He doesn't like being given the misbehaving boy treatment. He's clearly too old for that and has proven to Nancy many a time that he's no immature teenager. Just because Cesare isn't paying her anymore, it doesn't mean he likes being scolded and talked down to.

"I'm sorry, Nancy, but she undoubtedly is. I don't know what image of her you've whipped up in your mind, but she's been badgering me for more business for weeks."

He shrugs.

"Maybe she's copying you?" If Nancy isn't directly involved in Lydia's dealings, then it's likely there was at least some idea sharing going on.

[stauncherhearted]

"I taught her how to give a good blowjob, but that was after your date." She crosses her arms over her chest.

"I'm out of that life, Cesare. And Lydia's not going anywhere near it. She's just absolutely boy crazy. And seems to think you're her boyfriend because you fucked her and gave her money." She sighs.

"Why did you think she was?"

[longterm]

Cesare rolls his eyes, still not quite believing her. For an ex-whore, Nancy's pretty judgemental right now.

"She strolled up to me dressed like a harlot and asked about sex within two minutes of us meeting. We went to her place, we fucked and I paid her afterwards. Call me old fashioned, but that's an awful lot like a whore to me."

He bristles a little bit.

"She's not my girlfriend." Cesare doesn't do girlfriends. That's why he pays people: to avoid that trouble.

[stauncherhearted]

"Or maybe she's an eighteen-year-old who wants to act like an adult and be the sort of girl she imagines a handsome fellow like you would take home." Seriously, did Cesare not own a mirror? Did he not have thousands of portraits painted of him? Was the very image of Jesus not recreated in his image? GOSH.

"Did she ever ask you for money? I recall being very up front about them at the beginning. I'd have taught her that, wouldn't I have?" She cocks her hips out slightly. "I know she's not your girlfriend- I tried to tell her that, do you want to see the conversation?" She starts to go through her phone to try to find it for him.

[longterm]

Cesare isn't entirely impressed. He can understand Nancy's point, but he doesn't care for it.

"If she doesn't want to be a whole then she shouldn't take cash for her services." His voice lowers and he leans in towards her in the darkness

"It's an honest business. We both know that. I don't think this is something that you need to protect her from." Over drinking? Yes. Social faux pas? Yes. But not Cesare giving her some money for a quick lay.

[falsify]

Eames had been planning to continue his life of not interacting in Cesare in any way, shape, or form — it's a way of life that really works for him — but then he saw that child clinging to him, the same one who's now a drunk mess, and it's impossible to pass up the chance to needle the virtuous presidential candidate about it.

"Babysitting tonight?" Eames smiles cordially, a glass of wine in his hand, "I don't see your date around, is it naptime?"

[longterm]

Cesare is stuck in a bit of a difficult situation. For one thing, Lydia most definitely isn't his date. He had hired her services a couple weeks ago and she's been bothering him ever since. Cesare has no doubt, however, that telling Eames the truth would make him look even worse. It dosn't exactly look great when you were soliciting the work of a sex worker just weeks before the start of your presidential campaign.

Cesare has a right mind to roll his eyes at Eames and claim that he's sure Eames himself has done something similar. Cesare knows Eames is old. As long as they're consenting adults, Cesare has no doubt that Eames has been with someone considerably younger than him. After all, Eames is an old fart. It's difficult not to be younger.

But that too is a bad idea, an admission of guilt and responsibility that Cesare is not willing to take on. And so he smiles at Eames, as politely as he can, and speaks as firmly as possible.

"She's a supporter of my campaign," Cesare replies. "She likes my message, what I'm doing for London. Has anyone ever liked yours?" He asks it with a smile as if it's a perfectly innocent question, but he's quite clearly implying that it's difficult for Eames to have supporters and fans. Particularly dressed like that.

[falsify]

Eames raises his eyebrows and nods when Cesare says she's a supporter, as if actually interested in Cesare's nonsense. He can dress it up however he wants, but they both know the fact of the matter is Cesare has a child hanging off him, and he highly doubts it's something the man wants.

"Oh? And what is it she's supporting?" The question is an obvious attempt at bait, and Eames isn't taking it. Especially not when there's something so entertaining about the situation Cesare has found himself in, and he drops his voice a little with his question, "she knows you can't bring back free school meals, right?"

[longterm]

"She's old enough to vote in this election." Unlike Eames, who still has no voice in the matter. Truly, Cesare is surprised he's even giving him the time of day right now.

"Though it's odd that you seem to take objection right in the middle of my campaign, rather than when I got along well with Nancy." After all, Nancy was a similar age back when he was purchasing her services. Clearly this is a poorly formed political move. "When we both got on well with Nancy," he adds, because he's pretty sure Eames was sleeping with Nancy too. After all, who wouldn't?

[falsify]

Wow, how wrong can one man be? Eames lets out a sudden and sharp laugh, not entirely surprised by what Cesare has to say but still finding it hilarious nevertheless, and shakes his head.

"I never said I objected," Eames says, still very amused. He finds it a little disgusting maybe, but he doesn't have any particular objections beyond it being poor taste on Cesare's part. It's certainly not like he's hurting anyone, not if the way Lydia seems obsessed with him is anything to go by.

Still, a point must be made, and Eames tips his head a little toward Cesare and lowers his voice so it won't carry past the two of them. "But if you must know? I don't fuck children."

[longterm]

Cesare's eyes narrow for a second. He doesn't like Eames' suggestion and the words are vulgar to say the least. He speaks in a lower tone to match Eames' as he takes one more step closer, leaning into the conversation.

"Nancy and Lydia are delightful young women, and I suggest that you speak of them as such," he says warningly. He's sure neither would be interested in being described so condescendingly as children, even if Cesare would have done the same exact thing in private mere moments earlier.

[falsify]

Well, he's seen one of those delightful women throwing up in the expensive ceramics not so long ago and he's called Nancy a child to her face before, so he doesn't especially care about Cesare's opinion on the matter.

"Please. Lydia's a little girl with a passport and a push-up bra, and Nancy's naive enough to think Cooper's a good person to settle down with."

[longterm]

For once, Cesare actually agrees with Eames on something. Cooper is a dreadful waste of space and anyone with any vague sense can see that. But it won't do Cesare any good to say that. Instead, he raises his eyebrows a little in false surprise and tilts his head with a smile.

"With charm like that, however do you get laid?" he asks, having clearly abandoned any consideration of trying to impress or get along well with Eames at this point.