+ Where Do Your Loyalties Lie? +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: Everyone
Where: The party
When: 7/21-7/23
Rating: PG-13 (warn if you go higher)
Summary:
The Story:
Orlais' current ruler, Lacie, has invited anyone of name, fame, and influence to The Winter Palace for three days of extravagant festivities surrounding the peace talks between her and Tillie, whose grasp for the throne has plunged beautiful Orlais into a dreadful civil war. Unbeknownst to both a third player, Elsie, has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to obtain her own share of power over the land.

Get ready for three days of fancy food, fine drink, good music, good entertainment, and just a little bit of murder, maybe? Your character has secured an invitation, and will join the illustrious crowd, become privy to the latest scandals and gossip, and observe as the struggle for Orlais' throne reaches its final chapter.

[OOC: This is an open mingle log for the Dragon Age event. The plotting post can be found here and event details can be found on the Bulletin Board.]

Comments

[bibliocorn]

[He lets out a soft, panicked 'oup!' as his glasses are plucked from his stupid tiny human nose. He flails his arms in her general direction to try and retrieve them, but he can neither see nor balance all that well, so he mostly ends up ineffectually pinwheeling around. ]

No. No. I promise. I'm just a scholar. Deeply uninteresting.

[He clears his throat. Maybe asking nicely? He only has the vaguest of ideas how to deal with Peggy at the best of times, so he has no earthly hope right now.]

Can I have those back, please? I need them to see.

[mucked]

[ and, equally, no one who claims to be deeply uninteresting ever really is. margaret doesn't say that part out loud, however. instead she takes hold of both his wrists as if the grip might steady him and his bobbing about. ]

I'll return them, certainly -- but with conditions.

[bibliocorn]

[He stares at his wrists, realises he's now effectively trapped in whatever insanity he is about to be pulled into and laughs nervously. ]

Um- conditions? What sort of conditions?

[When it comes to Regular Peggy this could range from clearing something up about a magical subject she's stuck on or helping to hide a dead body (probably). What could Thedas Peggy want? ]

[mucked]

Your name, for one. It's only fair as you seem to already know mine.

[ a point that she twists into a kind of playful disagreement -- shellacking charm over the fact that it had initially left her spooked.

she gives his hands a light tug. nearer, yes, but also in the direction of a more open space where other pairs are already whirling. ] And a dance.

[bibliocorn]

M-my name? I'm Sun-

[No. That's not a human name. He glances around, looking for inspiration despite everything is kinda blurry. ]

Sunny Bowl...Shoe?

[That did not sound even remotely like a human name. But he doesn't have time to worry about it because suddenly there's tugging and that word.]

No. No, no. You don't want that. I'm really not good at...that. Or um. Moving. In general.

[mucked]

...Sunny Bowlshoe.

[ a pseudonym, she assumes. and a rather clumsy one at that. margaret clears her throat and tries not to draw too much attention to how miserably he's failing to even follow the grand game. ]

I'm glad to meet you. [ she gives her head a shake and lets the 'borrowed' spectacles fall down the bridge of her nose so she can better see him. ] But not half as glad as you should be to meet me. Turns out I'm an excellent teacher -- when it comes to all the best and most fashionable Orlesian dances, that is.

[bibliocorn]

That's right! Sunny Bowlshoe. And yes, I am actually very glad to have met you.

[That last part, at least, comes from a place of complete honesty. Peggy's one of his favourite people here, even if she's not quite...herself right now. He wouldn't change meeting her for anything.]

Oh. You are? [Bugger. ] Um. Well, I'm probably going to end up falling over. Fair warning.

[mucked]

If you fall, [ she takes a broad step backwards -- leading him along with her as she does, ] you have my solemn promise, Sunny, that I shall catch you.

[ she only needs to hold his glasses hostage until they make it to the actual dancefloor. until then, it's just as well that she still has a firm grip on his wrists; she can direct him to where he needs to go. ]

[bibliocorn]

There's an absolute chance that you're going to have to follow through on that.

[He contemplates pulling himself away and running for it, but he's not convinced he can run on on two legs, and she still has his glasses. For now, he's effectively trapped in following her to the dance floor.]

[mucked]

[ she's all command and control. but unlike her usual self, it's executed with a silken personality instead of a steeled one. every correction she makes to his posture is done lightly, softly, and with a familiar little touch; by contrast, the real peggy carter would have simply ordered him about.

but, at the last moment before the music swells back to life, she snatches the glasses off her face and pops them gently back onto his nose. and the first thing she directs him to see is her smiling face. ]

All you have to do is follow my lead.

[bibliocorn]

[This is super weird and he's not comfortable with this at all. But at least he can see, so he'll take it. He nods, hoping that compliance might make this an easier experience for him.]

Okaaaay, but don't say I didn't warn you.

[mucked]

[ apparently, it doesn't bother her that he's got no sweet clue what he's doing. she is more than prepared to position his hand at her waist. she takes the other, graceful and charming, in her opposite hand. but beyond these two points of contact she is decorous enough to leave plenty of space between their bodies.

she's looking to enchant, after all, not to ensnare. ]

Pay attention to the music, Sunny. [ she uses his name in (mostly) good faith. ] It'll give you all the cues you need.

[bibliocorn]

[He's going to fall on his face. Or worse, he's going to fall on her. The hand placement is confusing too, it's not how ponies dance at all. Not unless they're Pinkie anyway. But the laws of gravity don't apply to her, she doesn't count.]

R-right. But I don't really know the music, so I'm not sure the cues it's going to give me?

[mucked]

Good dancing music is like a steady pulse. [ she informs him, pulling "sunny" into an initial step. ] It's regular and predictable and once you start to hear it? It won't matter if you've never heard the tune before. You'll understand the musical grammar beneath it.

[ she picks up on that beat, begins to step in tandem with it, and prompts him to follow her as she does. slow at first. ]

[bibliocorn]

[Even on all four hooves, Sunburst has all the grace of a three legged, drunken elephant. Now he's down two legs he's really considerably worse. He stumbles into the dance, looking increasingly nervous about this whole venture. ]

I understand grammar plenty, but I've never heard about it applied to music.

[mucked]

Oh, it's so alike! [ she posits, slowing down so he can catch up and take note of the steps. ] Music is like poetry. Bits and pieces put together in a particular order -- and I suppose the dance is how you choose to read it.

[bibliocorn]

[He's not convinced of her comparison at all, but he's not about to hightail it away. Awkward as this is, he does like Peggy a lot, and wouldn't want to upset her, even if she's not truly herself right now. And so, he feels he should at least try. ]

Right... right. So it follows a certain structure?

[He tramples on her foot and he's inwardly glad it IS a foot and not a hoof which would hurt considerably more. ]

Ooops, sorry.

[mucked]

[ yes, there's a wince. but she hides it quickly with a smile. well -- a grimace. at least. ]

Think nothing of it. [ she pivots her pain into laughter. ] You're not the only handsome stranger to step on my toes tonight.

[ ...probably true. ]

[bibliocorn]

[That does elicit a small laugh out of him. 'Handsome' doesn't tend to be the adjective of choice used to describe him, even amongst other ponies. 'Frazzled' was where they usually landed.]

And probably not the last, though I hope the rest are a little less awkward about it.

[See there can be other people who can stand on her feet, it's fine, she can let him go, it's fiiiine. ]

[mucked]

[ it's true enough: "sunny" isn't quite her type. but every dance partner, no matter how clumsy, should be called handsome or pretty. the gears of society need to stay lubricated, after all. and she hits him with another gracious smile -- one that doesn't show so much as an inkling of pain. ]

We all start somewhere, darling.

[ because even in this jaded and clandestine alternate version, she can't quite help but be a little bit inspirational. ]

Although some of us start later than others.

[ oh, there's the sting. ]

[bibliocorn]

Well, thanks for the compliment but-

[No, wait, that was more than a little backhanded. He snorts. ]

Gee. Thanks, Peggy. Super charming, there.

[mucked]

You know.

[ she pauses, taking a liberty in leading the dance and taking them on a theatrical turn. the skirts of her dress billow with the movement. ]

You're awfully forward for such an otherwise bashful creature. [ she leans in; she whispers, conspiratorially. ] Nearly no one uses my diminutive here.

[ only her "uncle" regis, really, and he'd just as soon shorten it more and call her peg. ]

[bibliocorn]

[He wasn't expecting the turn and lets out a panicked noise that, while made by a human voice box, is absolutely not the sort of noise a human would make. If one were listening hard enough, they could almost all it a whinny. Almost.

He very nearly trips, but manages to catch himself. Not that it makes the situation any less terrifying. He smiles, trying to deflate the situation.]

Oh, sorry. Um- I guess I forgot myself. [Or, technically, she forgot herself. ] I'll try to avoid it, if you want?

[mucked]

I don't much mind. Not really.

[ it's peculiar, is all. as is so much about him! the noise he makes especially -- and margaret just about managed not to laugh. ]

Only it's a bit surprising. [ she winks! honestly, she winks. ] But it's also not a terrible surprise.

[bibliocorn]

[He doesn't think he's ever seen Peggy wink in the time he's known her. He's not sure how to feel about that. The winking. ]

That's good! I- uh. I'd hate to offend?