[open mingle] from my laboratory in the castle east

[gekkajuu]

Who: EVERYONE!
What: Diva's! Birthday! Masquerade!!
When: August 4
Where: the Nadril caves
Warning(s): This is a mingle, so please indicate if your starter isn't OTA. Also: please put any necessary warnings in your subject lines when things pop up!

Atsushi has been planning this for a while now, but needless to say, a certain dragon forced him to adapt his plans, and arguably not for the better. Still, he's determined to make this work! Diva told him she's never had a birthday party in all of her long life, and that is just not all right - so of course he promised her she'd have one this year.

He... should have maybe not said anything, and just done this in secret. Or at least he should have known better than to ask Diva what kind of party she wanted, because she sure had a lot of wishes... That's Diva for you, though. Besides, after more than 170 years without a birthday party, she deserves to say exactly what she wants!

Atsushi has spent more time than he probably should have, decorating a part of Nadril's cave system with fairy lights and anything else he could find. For being in a cave, the setting is very atmospheric! There's food, drinks, and recorded music - not all of it suited for a party, but there are instruments too, for the more talented guests.

A masquerade was Diva's first and foremost wish, and with everyone having limited means and fewer possessions here, masks have kindly been provided by your hosts at the entrance. Some are classy; some are a little unusual; some are -....... Well, you should probably be at the party in time, so all the good masks haven't been taken yet. How well have you disguised yourself? Did you bother to hide your identity at all?

A gift for the birthday vamp is appreciated, but your presence is the biggest gift. There's no better time than the present to forget the unresolved situation elsewhere on the planet, and have a little fun together!

Comments

Chuuya Nakahara | Bungou Stray Dogs | OTA

[thetaintedsorrow]

[As the bartender (okay there’s not really a bar but just pretend) for the party Chuuya can be found mixing up cocktails and pouring drinks pretty much constantly, which means he won’t be walking around to mingle much. However if you approach him he’ll gladly chat, and maybe even make a special drink just for you! He’s missing his hat and has donned a simple mask, but is otherwise dressed much the same as ever.

Come say hi! Maybe, if you’re lucky, you can even drag him away from the bar to dance! Or just to hang out, really. Anything goes.]

[dancerefresher]

[Normally she'd be avoiding the bar but...she knew the hair. And the fact that he had done that floating thing in the snow...

Olivia hurried over, swallowing and clasping her hands to her chest.]

I-I think we met out on the trip here? You-I think you saved me?

[Oh. Right.]

I mean to say-hi! Hello. Um.

[thetaintedsorrow]

[He’s certainly not expecting to see Olivia again so soon, but it’s a pleasant surprise. He wasn’t really sure what became of her after their little trip through the snow.]

Hey. Yeah, I remember you.

[A playful grin.]

Did you come to get a drink to take the edge off?

[dancerefresher]

Hello!

[She bounces a little on her feet. Sorry Chuuya, she's just got the jitters, as usual. But she's glad to see he's all right after their little trip.]

Oh-I guess I could use one but-I wanted to thank you. For your help. It was really...I don't know if I would have survived without it.

[thetaintedsorrow]

It wasn’t all that big a deal, but you’re welcome.

[Thank the Natha for the pin in the first place...]

You want wine? Or something a bit stronger?

[dancerefresher]

Maybe not.

[She smiles though, politely disagreeing. Her head tilts though.]

Stronger? I'm not familiar with anything other then wine and beer.

[Which is a polite way of saying "I hope you're not serving me rotgut"]

[thetaintedsorrow]

There’s whiskey, but I’m not about to take a cute girl by surprise with anything too crazy.

[He gives her a wink. Maybe his tastes run in the other direction, but he can still think she’s pretty.]

Or maybe some spiked hot cocoa?

[dancerefresher]

[She giggles, the noise soft. She's okay with this, mostly because-well it doesn't feel like Chuuya means anything by his compliment. Harmless flirting!]

I'll go with the spiked hot cocoa? Whiskey might go right to my head.

[She's pretty small, so it's not just a fruitless concern, like her fretting can be.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

You got it.

[Chuuya pours just a tiny bit of rum into the hot cocoa before sliding the mug over to Olivia.]

So how do you know Diva?

[thedarkbond]

We've got to stop meeting like this~

[Chuuya isn't the only one with a somewhat demonic-looking style going on tonight, though Ren's mask is a slightly more ornate version. Let it not be said that he turns down the chance to be fancy when it arises. He kind of ruins it with his usual cheery and slightly vapid tone, though, and the cutesy wave of a hand.]

Though I don't know if the drinks will be as interesting tonight as they were last time... [Unless they managed to get access to the same sorts of things that the Frosty Tap uses.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

Hm? Oh, it’s you.

[Chuuya recognize Ren even with the mask on, and he greets him with a little wave as he approaches the bar.]

Nah, but they’re just as tasty.

[To him, anyway.]

The only non-alcoholic drink I’ve got is cider.

[thedarkbond]

[Considering how sparse the mask is and the very identifiable feature that is Ren's hair, he was hardly expecting to not be recognised, and he gives a cheery wave back at the greeting. Clearly as long as no names are mentioned they can totally pretend it's still mysterious, or something.]

Cider is fine. [He waves a hand vaguely, like it makes no difference to him.] Did you invite yourself to run the bar or did the birthday girl ask you to do it...?

[thetaintedsorrow]

[Chuuya pours some cider and slides it over without delay. It’s not as fun as mixing up drinks, but oh well.]

Diva asked me to do it. I’ve known her for a while.

[Long enough to know what she’s capable of...]

What about you? Do you know her or did you just show up for the party?

[thedarkbond]

[Ren pokes the cider glass thoughtfully for a few moments, as if testing it for something, before picking it up.]

Oh, I just showed up, I thought it sounded fun~ [Ren doesn't know Diva well enough to know what she might be capable of, but then, he's not one to assume anyone has completely benign intentions anyway.] I offered to help cook, though, since I'm pretty good at that and it sounded like she needed more people...

[thetaintedsorrow]

Yeah? What kinda stuff can you cook?

[Because Chuuya really isn’t very good at making anything that isn’t mixed drinks or instant noodles...]

Did you bake a cake?

[thedarkbond]

No...though I was wondering who baked the cake, it's a pretty interesting cake...

[It's blue, for starters, which is an interesting colour for a cake to be when he wouldn't have been sure previously if this world had things like food colouring. He taps a finger against his chin like he's still thinking about it, then shrugs and smiles.]

Oh, lots of things. For big groups, stuff like curry and hayashi rice are pretty simple and work really well~ [Curry is somewhat more finicky, but still worth it in the end.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

Yeah it is.

[Chuuya’s stomach actually growls at that.]

You should let me try your food sometime, then.

[thedarkbond]

[Ren tries and fails to disguise an amused smile at that sound, though it slips back into his vacant expression before long as he twirls a finger around the edge of his glass.]

Really, just "sometime"? For a moment there it sounded like you'd prefer to have something now...

[Even if it was funny to hear his stomach growl.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

Well it’s not like you can whip something up right now, right?

[Though there’s definitely an abundance of food around. Chuuya just hasn’t had a chance to leave the bar and get any.]

[thedarkbond]

Well, no, but I can go get some of something I made earlier~ [Ren did show up a little early to make food, so there's definitely things he made among that abundance of food.] You seem pretty busy, so it can't hurt to get something brought to you, right?

[It was typically how he did it when he was working back home, and Chuuya doesn't have the benefit of a personal secretary like he did.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

[Not anymore. As a mafia executive he could have anything and everything brought to him, but that’s obviously not the case on Nysa.]

Sure. Bring it in.

[His stomach even growls in agreement.]

[thedarkbond]

[Ren curls his fingers against his mouth again to stop himself from laughing, but drifts off towards the food tables nonetheless. He comes back about a minute later with a deep dish - unsurprisingly given what he'd said earlier, it's hayashi rice, or as close as he could get with local ingredients.]

It's still pretty warm, so make sure you eat it quickly~ [He sounds like someone's mother...]

[thetaintedsorrow]

[Chuuya isn't one to turn down free food, even if most of the time he's wary about it, and once Ren brings him the hayashi rice he gives it a sniff.]

Smells good.

[Maybe he should be more worried about Ren trying to poison him or something, since they pretty much just met and all, but yolo. He takes a bite of the dish and-]

It's delicious.

[And there he goes, tearing into the dish like a starving animal. Alas, table manners weren't a priority in the mafia.]

[thedarkbond]

[Thankfully, Ren apparently doesn't have too much of an issue with lack of table manners, since he merely rests his chin on his hands and watches Chuuya tear through the food with some sense of amusement. He's an impressive eater, at the very least.]

Thank you~ [At least here he's not going to have people getting offended he was the one who made it, either, as funny as that might be in its own way.] I was a bit worried about whether I'd be able to do it right on this world, but it seems like it turned out pretty well.