Masquerade Ball - Totally not an ambush

[hiken]

Who: Anyone going to the Corsair Island Masquerade Ball!
Where: ...IDK?
When: April 26th - 27th (Early AM)
What: The Masquerade Ball + Ambush (12am)
Warnings: D for dancing, V for violence, A for Ace, L for Luffy
Style: Action or prose.
Status: Open to anyone attending!

There are going to be two main threads. One for the ball itself and the other for the Ambush! There will be an obligatory third thread for FASHION. Just remember to tag your muse in the subject header and OTA or 'Closed to ???' as you comment.

Comments

MINGLE

[hiken]

[Meet people! Talk to them! Discuss your evil plans! The lobby is crowded and so is the dance hall, so have a great time trying to find the bathroom.]

OPEN! near the beginning

[formerabyssinian]

[The ball is as extravagant as he expected. Dressed in a navy uniform, with his hair neatly in place underneath a cap and his sword at his side (luckily the uniform came with a belt for it), Aya walks through the crowd, engaging with other navy officers as they approached him. Grateful for the information about navy ranks, salutes, and other things, Aya doesn't feel hesitant at all while interacting with them.]

[Eventually, he does excuse himself, giving the reason of meeting his date. It's true enough, and a young man in the navy surely needs to socialize with the opposite gender more often.]

[Feel free to catch Aya as he makes his way back into the crowd.]

[booyaka_boom]

*Now that Selphie was all dressed up and actually at the ball, she was feeling a little nervous. Maybe that was weird, but she'd tried so hard to look good, not that she would let Aya know that. She had to find him, somewhere in the crowd. Maybe the navy are more polite sometimes that she thought, or maybe in her current outfit they were being generous and letting her past, but Selphie moved around with ease until - there. She spotted Aya, eventually, and bashfully made her way towards him, lifting a hand in a small wave in case he didn't see her*

[watchesthesea]

[Kairi had been spending her time wondering around, blending in as best as she could and pretending she was the daughter of one of the navy men. It seemed easy enough and she looked sweet and innocent enough for them to actually believe such a thing.

She had just moved on from a nice couple before spotting Aya from the corner of her eye. Best go make nice right now, after all she was a navy mans daughter, she should at least speak to some of the navy herself.]

Good evening. I hope you are enjoying yourself? [She said with a cutsey, knowing full well that people might still be watching. For now it was best to keep up the act.]

OPEN! towards the middle

[redcinemareel]

[Because Grell needs to make a fashionably late entrance. There is certainly a lot of guests there, which is good, in a way. It means the ball will be lively with so many personalities present. She does meander about, trying to see if she can spot a certain someone around. She knows he's here.]

[fierybluebird]

[Who, him?]

[Marco will be barely stopping for a breather. Only just long enough to check with his informants and slowly corral and isolate certain navy men on his hit list.]

[At the splash of red though, he'll be ducking behind a group of other officers.]

[~Catch him if you can~]

OTA

[donthithimintheballs]

Logan, cleaned up nice and neat thanks to a good man on the crew, was wandering the place. Slowly. You can find him in the Lobby for a while, chatting with some people about this and that and... moving on when he got bored. Which was easy to do here.

It was too stuffy, and this damn mask was a pain in the ass. But he moved about, keeping an eye out for several things. One? Crew mates. He tried to keep a sniff on them as best he could. Know where they were and what their positions were. If anyone got made, it'd be the end of it there. So he was making sure those that came were safe.

He was also on the look out for a couple of Navy Faces he wanted to revisit. Only with all the masks it was hard to tell. Still, he was looking.

You might find him in the ball room, on the sides, taking a drink once in a while, or flirting with a woman here or there. Come, bother him in the lobby or the ballroom.

OTA

[justgetseconds]

[Conchita's own interactions with those present are hardly pure. Oh, sure, she can easily play the happy socialite, discussing politics and the weather, but she is holding back salivating over so many deliciously warm bodies. So many to devour, so many to consume, the scent of so many delicious meals around her. Ah, she's tingling with anticipation and joy. Surely there's one or two she can pick off later on?

Ah, but for now, she's behaving herself, containing the urge to simply devour.]

OTA

[uccellodifuoco]

[He never would have thought that he would actually miss Saori, especially not as Saori and not just Athena, but it's undeniable that this would have been easier had she been there. After all this kind of thing was perfect for her and she had enough experience that he could just tail along while waiting for the part in which he was really interested. Then again, just one event isn't enough to compensate having to deal with her in this world, it would be too much of a pain. Except that it probably wouldn't and he knows it.

Ikki doesn't wander the place much, he spends some time at the lobby before moving to the ball room to play the role of a wallflower when he's not somehow roped into talking with someone. He's really not the socialite type, fortunately he's not the only one neither it's rare for someone who didn't really enjoy those events to be obligated to go due formalities, which is to what he sticks when asked.]

open!

[hoodwinking]

[Bonnie generally enjoyed social gatherings like this. Every so often, she'd have to crash one of these balls to take down a vampire with a group of lower-ranking hunters, and it was always fun to see the reactions of all the people scattering when the bullets started flying. Tonight, she's a little subdued. With her trying to keep a low profile she was forced to leave her basket behind on the ship, concealing what little she could on her person. Annoying, but necessary.

One of the problems with having such a young face and a cute disposition as hers was the occasional Naval Officer stopping her to comment on who she was with. She always said that her guardian was away speaking to others, and with a curtsy, she skipped away. One in particular, happened to say after that that her mother should be proud of having such a cute and respectful daughter. With a false smile and one more curtsy, she walked away again. Muttering "jackass" under her breath.

She can be found wandering around the ball, listening in on conversations and drinking water. For the most part, she's attempting to blend in for info.]

OPEN!

[cherrybombpie]

[Kodachi looked out into the sea of faces and dresses, smiling as she stood atop the staircase leading to the ballroom. Of course, a lady such as herself deserved a grand entrance, and she could almost imagine the spotlight on her as she took her first step down the carpeted staircase.]

[This was going to be a most fun evening.]

OTA

[allendsmeat]

[as predicted, Luffy is pretty bored through this whole thing, waiting for the punching to happen. Though he might dance once or twice, you can find him cleaning out the buffet in front of agonized kitchen staff, sleeping in random places, or hiding somewhere and flicking boogers at people.]

Open to allllllllll!

[fortyfivedegrees]

[After all that had happened, Brook finally felt back to his old fun-loving self, and there wasn't any way better to celebrate a return to his jovial mood than to crash a navy ball! Thankfully, this was a masquerade, meaning that a large mask and some elegant gloves were all he needed to hide his skeletal features...but in place of his usual smaller tophat, he'd adopted a much larger one that covered his afro completely; a small sacrifice in order for him to fully enjoy the evening. After all, it was kind of hard to miss an afro that big, even in a crowded ballroom.

At the moment, he was simply moving about the room, listening in to conversations for information and generally mingling with the guests while he ate and drank.

Feel free to find Brook wherever in the room, he could use some nice company now that he was feeling better.]

Open!

[theartofboom]

[At the start of it all, Chandra's not really sure of what to do. The crowds she likes, and it's easy to lose herself in them, and the food tables are pretty grand too. The smells of all sorts of rich foods are just...well...the scent of pure bliss. Her red dress, high cut and modest, might look a little out of place on the young pyromancer but she's definitely not shy about talking to people.

Approach at will, but be prepared for her to talk your ear off.]

OTA

[breakfastmetaphors]

[When he'd agreed to this mission, he was told he'd have someone to do the talking for him. Somehow that didn't work out. With this many people around, he isn't even sure of the exact positions of the rest of his crew in general, let alone Luka in specific.

So here's L-Elf, wearing his New JIOR dress uniform (because he didn't wear it during the Navy assault, so why should he waste crew funds on buying something for the ball?) and the cheapest, simplest domino mask he could find. His only other attempt at disguise is slicking his hair back, but that one stubborn piece in the front is still sticking out as it always does. Luckily, his general military bearing isn't out of place in company like this, but the way he's just holding a drink and staying out of everyone's way as much as possible sort of is.]

OTA

[kingkilvas]

[Naesala stays off to the side of the room for the most part, observing. He's been to an event or two hosted by humans before, though this is the first time in attendance disguised as one himself, and it certainly makes it easier to put on the charm. In spite of earlier objections, he's starting to like this kind of idea. It's a moot point with laguz, of course, he can just pick everyone apart by scent alone, but sneaky things like this are right up his alley.

While he's redone his hair only to hide his pointed ears, Naesala continues to listen in on conversations around the room. He gives off a relaxed vibe, but human clothing and a restrictive cloak for his wings makes him a pretty uncomfortable raven otherwise. It doesn't affect his fake cheery disposition toward these fine upstanding naval officers and other associated nobility, though, so he keeps moving through the room schmoozing it up. Feel free to bother him.]

open to all

[arcadiasailor]

[Harlock's camped out by the open bar as far away from the main part of the ballroom as he can manage. He's currently watching the crowd and sipping wine. His posture is slightly stiff, it's been ages since he's been to social gathering like this. From behind his mask is eyes are scanning the room looking out for pirates he knows are in the crowd.]

OTA

[yatteyanyo]

-Tojiko was, technically, off duty. But that didn't stop her from being alert to any sudden problems. She knew that both her crew, the Spades, and maybe a number of others had plans for the evening, to try and get something, anything, out of their enemy ranks. But for her, the focus was just on getting her head back together. Since regaining a living form, things had been a roller coaster. Mood swings, depression, and a serious questioning of if she had done the right thing...

She was counting on Young Link to help her through that tonight so she could get back on track to help her crew and find those shards. And what better way than a temporary retreat back to court life... Well, at least a more Western flavor of it. A woman of her status didn't have a lot of difficulty blending in, either way.-

OTA

[rebellions]

... This is gonna suck.

[With that optimistic statement, Ragna takes a few awkward steps into the vast ballroom. The Grim Reaper belongs here no more than an elephant would, and despite Kodachi's sincere attempts to dress him appropriately for the occasion so that he could blend in with the crowd, the formal clothing he's not used to only makes him more uncomfortable. He can only hope his uneasiness isn't too obvious for other people to notice, though that remains to be seen.

To sum up: he's stuck in a huge room full of random people he'd normally do his best to avoid, trying to find a lady he's never actually seen before. What could possibly go wrong?]

The hell have I gotten myself into...?

Open to All

[the_grey_lady]

[She stands just on the very edge of things, swathed from head to toe in silvery grey. It's impossible to say who she may be and, in fact, may be no one at all]

Elissa's MINGLE - OTA

[elissacousland]

Drinking, nibbling refreshments, chatting up Naval officers and their friends, flirting...

Pickpocketing, stealing jewelry from the necks of tipsy women...

Oooh! Was that medal made of real gold?

Elissa is less Grey Warden and more magpie tonight - or would that be the famed Denerim thief known as the Dark Wolf? Take care that part of your finery doesn't end up in one of the many hidden pockets of her gown!

OTA

[thetruehistorian]

[Robin's smile is quick and bright this evening. With so many donning masks and doing their best to be mysterious, she's chosen instead to greet those approaching her with as sunny a disposition as she can muster.]

Open - earlier in the festivities

[maskedtyrant]

[Dakota Perkins, for all her show and discussion, is sadly absent for the Navy masquerade. She and her secret date have made plans for later in the day; presumably she's off somewhere preparing for them, like the diligent date she is.]

[The ginger woman who shows up instead is probably unfamiliar to most, if only because of the mask she wears. It doesn't seem like the little black strip of cloth over her eyes hides anything, and yet, trying to place her appearance after she leaves is...difficult. Maybe those with stronger senses other than sight will have more luck discovering just what's going on here.]

[In the meanwhile, the Tyrant sweeps her way through the crowd, casually listening in on conversations and hovering by snack platters as they pass her by. Occasionally--much less often than she would like, to be honest--she finds the lone party-goer and waves them in with a look or other slight gesture to engage them in conversation. Sometimes, she's lucky and they're actual Navy officers. Other times--]

Hey! Enjoying yourself?

OTA

[orderispeace]

Haytham entered the party a touch later than most others. With so many of the Naval crews attending the Ball the streets were largely free of them. It made for an excellent opportunity to catch up with old contacts, inquire about the state of the islands, and even sow a few seeds that might in time further the cause of his Order.
To that end could he be blamed for helping himself to the contents of the Naval Officer’s pocket when the hapless gentleman bumped against his shoulder? It was a man he had seen before, one of the lot who had attempted to apprehend Ban and he when they had... been engaged in a little necessary smuggling. The mask Haytham wore prevented ready identification, so he could bow and ever so politely offer his apologies.

“A thousand pardons, ever so careless of me.”

The soldier grunted, hurrying on past Haytham to the packed entryway as the Templar smirked and pocketed the stolen wallet. Only after securing the ‘treasure’ did Haytham speak to those in the crowd around him.

“Lively party so far, have I missed anything interesting?”

OTA

[crackpotcrocker]

[Even in a Navy uniform there's something conspicuous about how Crocker. Maybe it's because he's just standing and lingering there in the background and just watching people. Like a child who lost their parents in a crowd and he can't seem to find his shipmates they've all taken off... Somewhere. His shipmates are one thing but an entire party, no. He wasn't ready for this. This is even worse than the faire. So, he'll just stand there and awkwardly rub his opposite arm.]

She's going to pay for this. Oh, yes.