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

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.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"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?"

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.

"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.

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.

Yeah? Well. Deal with it, bro.

"She thought it was for a dress!" It's a huge misunderstanding, honestly. And someone won't take his share of the blame.

"I mean I'll talk to her, but- she doesn't know about me, Cesare." About what she used to be.

Cesare rolls his eyes. He doubts anyone could be that stupid.

"How many times has your date ever paid you for a dress immediately after sex? Because I'm pretty sure that's not common practice." It's an absurd thing to consider. He was clearly paying for her services.

His eyes narrow slightly when Nancy continues explaining.

"What do you mean she doesn't know about you?" Everyone knows about Nancy.

"Well first of all, never, because they pay me for services rendered, not my fucking dress. If they pay for my dress, you know very well the dress is bought before. You act like you've never been with a prostitute before." Seriously, you know how it works, Cesare.

"She doesn't know about my old job." Pointedly.

"My point is that if I gave someone money, it obviously wasn't a regular date," Cesare snaps back with a bit of an eye roll. Of course he knows how whores work. By the way Nancy's talking about him, you'd think he hadn't been on this earth for hundreds of years already.

"I don't care if she knows about your job or not. You need to get her to back off. She's your friend, isn't she? Talk to her. Or I will, and I'm not sure what I'll say just yet." Cesare and Nancy are friends, yes. But he's still used to leveraging power over her. Some habits die hard.

"SHE doesn't know that! Have you spent any time with her? She's as green as grass, she is!" The more irritated she got, the more Cockney her accent became, the less-refined her speech patterns.

"Have you been listening at all? I said I'd bloody talk to her, Cesare. I've been trying since she first called you her boyfriend. But she's drunk enough that even I know it's a bad idea to have that conversation right now. I know teenagers a hell of a lot better'n you." So, in other words, fuck off, she's got it.

Despite all of Cesare's stressing and fierce words to the contrary, he knows that Nancy is right. He nods and rubs his hand over his mouth, trying to figure this out.

"Ok. Fine. Fine. Thank you. But I need you to succeed. I can't have her running around, thinking I'm her date. I'm not her date. I don't do dates." Cesare Borgia is too bloody old for that, thank you very much. Not to mention, that it would massively affect his campaign.

"I know, and I'll tell her as much. She'll listen to me, I promise. I already taught her how to give good head." So guess you'll never get to experience that, Cesare.

But the most important part of all of this was that Cesare had just admitted she was right. Fuck. Yes.

Cesare blinks a couple times in quick succession as he processes what Nancy has just said. Neither of them quite know yet, but with that statement, Nancy has just guaranteed that Cesare will be talking to Lydia again. He most definitely intends on experiencing that. And Nancy thought she was helping...

"Thank you," he says with an anxious, stiff nod. "Text me about your progress when you can, OK?" Cesare needs updates and lots of them.

Damn it.

"Okay." Not about blowjobs. You're not that lucky. "I will." She pauses for a moment. "You look great tonight, by the way. I saw you earlier." It was Cesare. He always looked great, let's be real.

Cesare smirks a little and gives a playfully quizzical look.

"Careful, Nancy. I'm now spoken for," he jests. He knows she's just being polite and friendly. There's nothing between them now. But that doesn't mean he can't mess with her a bit.

"But if I weren't already taken, I'd say that you look very nice as well." He gives her a smile and a nod. It's not what Cesare himself would have put her in, but it's undoubtedly very nice indeed. Maybe, just maybe, it's better than what he would have come up with.

"You have yourself a good evening, Nancy. And text me, ok?"

"And if I weren't taken, I would be flattered," she responds. She'd been with Cooper for over a year now, and out of the business for almost six months.

"I will. When the lights are on I'll find her."

"Thank you," Cesare says, and he genuinely means it. Cesare gets on well with women, but he isn't always the best at talking to them. At least not the type of women like Lydia. Nancy is kinder, has a gentler edge to her and can soften the blow. He needs Lydia to be happy, or at least not enraged. Otherwise she won't behave.

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

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