[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

[thetaintedsorrow]

Bigger? Who??

[Chuuya can’t recsll anyone he’s met that’s bigger than this guy...?!

Oh, but he’s totally being rude. Ahem. Time to do his job.]

Oh yeah, did you wanna drink?

[conqueredhearts]

The one called All Might and the man known as Reinhardt are both larger than I.

[Oh right though. Drinks! Those are what he came for!]

Ah yes. What have you here? I wish to partake.

[thetaintedsorrow]

I’ll keep in that in mind.

[He’s definitely one of the tiniest people around. Poor Chuuya...]

There’s beer, whiskey, and wine. I have a few mixers too.

[No sake, unfortunately.]

By the way, the name is Chuuya.

[conqueredhearts]

[He nods as he considers before finally...]

Surprise me!

[He thinks that's the perfect way of handling this. Then it gives this bartender creative freedom!]

It is good to meet you, Chuuya. I am Iskandar!

[thetaintedsorrow]

[Chuuya likes this guy already. With a hearty chuckle he starts mixing up a drink that’s certain to knock Iskandar’s socks off. If he’s even wearing any.]

Nice to meet you too. Now I wonder-

[Chuuya passes a mean-looking red drink over to Iskandar with a grin. It’s spicy and incredibly strong, and he hopes that it’ll get a reaction out of him.]

How much you can handle?

[conqueredhearts]

[He looks at the drink and grins when he sees how red it is.]

My favorite color!

[Because of course his favorite color would be the color of his own hair and eyes.

Without hesitation he tips it back and drinks the entire thing down. Yep. The entire thing. Right down to the last drop. When he's finished, he slams that glass onto the counter and lets out a satisfied sound.]

What a fine kick! In spice too! I can still feel the burn on my tongue and in my belly!

[He laughs and pats his stomach.]

Ahhh. I haven't had a drink so strong in awhile. This is even better than the ones I have been mixing for myself!

[By the way, he loves new flavors and can really old his liquor, Chuuya.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

Mine too, actually~

[For various reasons. It’s such an intense, passionate color, fitting for an ex-Mafia executive.

He grins from ear to ear when Iskandar drinks the entire thing in one go, feeling just a little proud of himself for making it that strong. He laughs and clears the empty glass away before starting to mix up another drink, this one bright green in color.]

That right? You look like a guy that can hold his liquor.

[Which means he’ll add an extra shot to this particular drink before sliding it over. This one is insanely sour but also incredibly alcoholic, with a hint of green apple flavor.]

How about this one?

[conqueredhearts]

[Lifting up this glass, he notes the color of it. How impressively green!

Just like the other, he drinks the entire glass in one go. This one though, he smacks his lips after and bursts out with a surprised laugh. A pleasant surprise though.]

Why, it is sour! Yet there is a sweetness to it too! It is like a candy I ate once.

[He points to the empty glass he's holding.]

What is this flavor?

[thetaintedsorrow]

Green apple. It’s a common candy flavor back where I come from.

[But he’s not finished yet. He has a few more surprises up his sleeve, and he’ll start by mixing up a drink that’s a concoction of all the strongest liquors available to him. It’s a light blue color, not exactly intimidating...

But it’s at least five times as strong as the drinks before it.]

All right. Try this. It’s the strongest thing I’ve got.

[conqueredhearts]

It's quite delicious! Though it oddly tastes nothing like an apple at all. Interesting.

[Setting the glass down, he smacks his lips a couple of times. Delicious all the same though. He quite likes that. Perhaps he'll have to ask for the name of it and see if he can try getting more of it in the future. That and the spiced one too.

Seeing that another drink is coming his way, he grins and waits. When he sees it, he lifts it up to look at the color.]

Amazing. It's the color of the day sky!

[A laugh before it's right down the hatch, guzzled down to the last drop. He lets out another sigh after and bursts out with another laugh.]

Ha! Now this is the thing that will put hair on a man's chest! That's got a nice fire in my belly now!

[Please don't mind that he laughs at downing strong booze, Chuuya. It's just Servant stuff.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

Go figure. Blue raspberry was also a thing that existed back where I’m from.

[If he wants more then Chuuya is happy to make him more drinks sometime. He’s pretty fun company, after all.]

Sure is.

[Chuuya doesn’t mind that reaction, grinning from ear to ear as Iskandar finishes off his drink.]

Damn, what does it take to get a man of your size drunk?

[Barrels of ale, perhaps?]

By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, where are you from?

[conqueredhearts]

Ah well you see, you may find some struggles in getting me drunk. I'm not at all sure that I can presently. A shame really since being drunk is such a pleasant experience.

[You know, that Servant stuff again.]

I am from Macedon though. Though I did spread my Kingdom all the way into Persia!

[He sets the glass down and grins at him.]

Have you more delicious new drinks to try with the supplies you have?

[thetaintedsorrow]

[Hang on a second. Give Chuuya a minute to process “Macedon” and “Persia” and “can’t get drunk”.

...

Boy, if he weren’t already familiar with demons Chuuya might be horribly confused right now. Though he seriously doubts that Iskandar is the same as Mephisto...]

You’re not a normal human, are you?

[conqueredhearts]

Actually I'm not human anymore. I'm a Spirit! Though, it is true that I was human once around two thousand years ago or so.

[In truth the kind of Spirits he hails from are close to what demons are like even if not exactly the same. But Iskandar doesn't ever really think about that.

In fact, he's standing there grinning at his declaration of what he is like it's just no big deal.

What? It's not.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

Oh.

[That's it. That's all he has to say. Maybe he'd be more surprised if he hadn't met several non-humans already. Still, you can't tell by looking that Iskandar is anything but human, so it is a bit surprising to hear.]

So you got like powers or something?

[conqueredhearts]

I do. Some seem to be closed off for the time being but I still have access to other things that I can do.

[You know, those non-game breaking abilities.]

Have you any abilities yourself?

[thetaintedsorrow]

I do, actually.

[He activates his ability, glowing with a red aura.]

Watch this.

[With that he leaps onto the ceiling with catlike grace, defying gravity itself by being able to stay anchored where he stands. His coat, hat, and hair stay in place as if he’s standing normally.]

Like this.

[conqueredhearts]

[Red eyes track the motion as he watches him move right on up to the ceiling like he belongs there. Laughing, he moves behind the bar so he can look at him better.]

Impressive! What sort of power are you using here?

[thetaintedsorrow]

My ability. I was born with it.

[Just casually on the ceiling, no big deal.]

Where I come from abilities are pretty common. Mine is gravity manipulation, but there’s plenty of others.

[He finally deactivates his ability and lands on his feet with catlike grace.]

I’m guessing there’s others like you where you come from.

[conqueredhearts]

Amazing!

[Watching his new friend land, he laughs a bit. That question is a good one and perfectly fair. So, naturally, he nods.]

There are hundreds of us. Though only a few of us are ever summoned at a time.

[thetaintedsorrow]

Really? Do you know of any others here?

[Cause if so Chuuya definitely wants to meet them.]

How do you go about summoning more of you?

[conqueredhearts]

There are no others here to my knowledge. As for summoning them, that requires a mage. I cannot do so myself.

[He strokes his chin a bit, considering.]

Mm. Yes. I think I'm the only one of my kind here.

[thetaintedsorrow]

A mage? You mean like a wizard?

[He’s met some magic users so far, so it really isn’t surprising.

Chuuya huffs a laugh.]

Are they all as brawny as you? You could probably toss me across the room if you wanted to.

[conqueredhearts]

Something like that yes.

[Definitely involving magic though. And his understanding is that wizards are meant to be similar for that.]

Oh I could. Many of my kind could as well even though a number of them are actually not as brawny as myself. My size has more to do with my life than it does my status as a Spirit.

[thetaintedsorrow]

I imagine you did a bunch of impressive stuff.

[Or else he wouldn’t have become a heroic spirit, right?]

I’ll keep that in mind. You’re a guy I’d definitely want on my side.

[And he thinks he’ll try mixing up one last cocktail, this one being dark, almost black in color. It looks like something that you shouldn’t drink, but it’s definitely made out of ingest-able ingredients. The flavor is that of some kind of exotic fruit, sweet and tart...with a harsh bite at the end.

He slides it over to Iskandar with a grin.]

I’ve got a bar at my place, if you ever wanna drop by. I could use a drinking buddy.