The Victor is...

[gamemakers]

Who| EVERYONE. IC participation is mandatory (OOC is not, you may handwave)
What| Momoko's victory crowning
Where| The ball room
When| The Wednesday before the next arena.
Warnings/Notes| None atm.

The party was styled for Momoko.

The tables were covered in lace, delicate dishes and silverware, flowers that fell from vases covered in Victorian paintings. It was the most extravagant tea party to ever be thrown, with tiny, thin china cups and a too many tiny little finger foods being passed around to count. The ballroom has been styled in extravagant Baroque, as the Capitol was fairly liberal with their adaption of historical time periods.

The costumes were just as liberally chosen, from tall, powdered wigs holding birdcages with live birds, clearly hailing in the style of Marie Antoinette to regency gowns gathered under daringly (and occasionally outright) exposed busts to tight corsets and the skeletons of skirts exposed and decorated. A quarter played live music at one end of the room, before a wide dance floor.

At the head of the room there was a long table with a throne for Momoko, as elaborate as anything else in the room. And along the long table, group close to those who they seemed to enjoy, was a place for many of the Tributes, with a small place card that said "Special guest of The Capitol." This table was fed first, received drinks first, and was clearly favored.

Any Tributes not seated at the long table with their peers were dispersed among the the smaller table spread about the room, left to rub elbows with the guests invited from the Capitol, and the reporters covering the event. Security was, if anything, tighter than the last crowning.

These people have seats a the big kids table. You guys are free to decide who sits by who (And if three people sit by one person, don't worry too much about it) but they are, when possible set by their friends:

Atticus Bell
Draco Malfoy
Chibi-Usa
Dr. Grey
Adel
Tony Stark
Howard Bassem
Javert Neeshka
Vanessa Carlysle
Lindsey McDonald
R
Albert Wesker
K
Alpha
Diana
Katurian
Aunamee
Maximus
Blaine Anderson
Alex Rider
Glinda
Gaila
Parker
John Watson
Lottie LaBouff

Comments

[battroll]

That, at last, does stir a reaction that's something other than the smiling, polished facade. Bruce blinks, taken aback for a moment to the point of shock.

"I'm... afraid," he begins, trying to stay with something safe, something polite, but stops there as though not entirely sure how to continue. Finally, he just says the most pressing of the concerns.

"When you say 'husband'...."

Of course, there really was only one definition of the word. Still, reconciling this with the Lois who'd been dancing in his arms so recently was difficult.

[lassoftruthiness]

Diana stared back, bemused by his apparently genuine surprise. "I'm afraid I only know of the one definition of the word." He must recognize the names, or at least one, for his reaction to be so extreme (well, for Bruce). But there were definitely gaps in his knowledge if such a small and public fact could throw him off balance.

[battroll]

"I... see. That's.... ah."

He's not quite sure what to say, to be honest, and is so caught up in trying to reconcile those facts that his steps almost slow, for a moment. He catches back the thread of his disguise quickly enough, though his expression is still bemused.

"The last time I met the lady, she was still single. I wouldn't have thought there'd been enough time, between now and then...." He laughs, just a little, still sounding lost. Still not quite sure what to think. It's almost insulting, to think that she'd gotten over him so quickly.

"I wish I'd had a chance to offer congratulations."

But to Kent? She'd never shown any interest in him, that had all been on his side. And Lois was known for many things, but charity wasn't one of them. Had she, perhaps, found out Superman's secret identity as well? Had that changed her mind?

Except, he thinks slowly, maybe there was more to it than that. This woman, Princess Diana, seems to think that she knows him, a princess from an island he's never heard of, a superhero, one who keeps company with Superman.

He looks back into her eyes, gaze a little sharper again, trying to discern he's not quite sure what, something about the truth.

[lassoftruthiness]

"What?" said Diana, now growing more and more confused herself. Bruce knew the names, knew or at least didn't scoff at the concept of superheroes...what were they missing? "They've been married for years." And Bruce had offered them an apartment and organized the roster so that Clark could leave Metropolis for his honeymoon with some peace of mind. That was plenty congratulations.

"You know," she said slowly, staring back at him speculatively. "I'm beginning to think there's some aspect to this conversation we're not aware of. You don't recall me at all, and yet I remember meeting you quite clearly, visiting your home," here she hesitated, but she needed to know, and there were only so many ways to gently and discreetly probe someone about their secret identity. "I'm sure I'm hardly the only woman you've had over, of course, but how many others have you given the full tour? I especially loved what you did with the...lower levels."

Diana is not the best at subtle.

[battroll]

Bruce's eyebrows went up, and he lost part of the charming mask he wore in public. His eyes turned fiercer, his expression more grim - and, when he spoke, very quietly, his voice was slightly different. Darker, rougher. He was probing for recognition. He was still speaking in nonsense, but the voice, at least, was Batman.

"You're right," he says in a voice like black velvet that was almost a purr, but one with sharp edges hidden deep inside it, "I don't bring many down there. After all, not many people use it, so I don't feel the need to show it off. There's enough in the rest of the house to be impressive."

Barbara was here. Barbara, who had brown eyes instead of blue, who was too young, whose fighting style was completely changed. In hindsight it had been clumsy of him not to come up with a theory of alternate universes earlier to explain the discrepancies here, but he'd been distracted by not actually knowing this woman - Barbara, at least, he'd known. But here, now... it was the most likely explanation, especially as she hinted at just how much she knew.

[lassoftruthiness]

Oh, thank Hera. She was beginning to fear this was a Bruce Wayne who had never become Batman. She felt some of the tension leave her body, which was likely not the usual reaction to Bruce's 'batvoice'.

"I would never accuse you of showing off," she said, a little dryly. "At the time I understand the...tour as a gesture of trust. A place we could discuss shared interests."

[battroll]

He noticed the shift easily enough - and it was interesting, because that wasn't the typical response, but if she was from another universe (or possibly just another timeline?) and he knew her at all well...

His voice lost a bit of the edge it had when he was probing her, though now had gained a different one. Thus far there were four people he'd willingly granted access to the cave - Alfred, Dick, Tim, and Barbara. That he'd allowed her down - that he'd shown her down, according to her - was profoundly telling. The fact that she claimed to be a superheroine was also telling, because she wasn't acting as though she worked directly for him. That made sense, it was difficult to imagine him having a princess as part of his team.

The voice he spoke with was halfway between his two personas - too dark to be Bruce Wayne's normal self, but still with much more charm than Batman ever really displayed. "I'm not sure about that. I don't know if I could resist showing off for you, even if it wasn't much." He's still flirting, though at this point it's half-automatic.

She knows him, but he doesn't know her. He doesn't know how well he knew her, but apparently well. She'd been to the cave. She was a hero. What else?

[lassoftruthiness]

Diana kept her eyebrows from raising, but just barely. It'd been years since Bruce had flirted with her, at least with any real intent behind it as far as she could tell. But this Bruce didn't know her, so this was just as possibly genuine as it was a part of the playboy persona.

Either way it was best to play along. "Well, I was impressed, I can't deny," she grinned, just slightly flirtatious as well. Alternate universe or not, she can't quite separate the Bruce she knows from this one, and he's too much like a brother at this point for it to be genuine, but for the sake of secret identities and a reason to continue speaking with him at future dates, she can play it up. "A bit gloomy for my tastes, but not a bad place to, what's the American phrase, 'hang out with friends'?"

No reason not to play up the foreigner aspect either, even if she's lived off Themysicra's shores for decades now.

[battroll]

He didn't know her, though apparently she knew him - that was not nearly enough grounds to prompt him to open up. She knew his secret. His mind was racing, wondering how best to use this.

And, of course, besides it being an automatic reaction, almost programmed in - besides his being outside the mask, even if dressed in some ridiculous costume, and they were dancing at a party... well. He couldn't deny that she was beautiful. And, if she was a hero, he had good reason to get to know her better, both to analyze her potential to be helpful and if she was a potential threat.

So he smiled and followed where she lead the conversation, because it was difficult to talk anywhere here.

"I should compliment you on your accent. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you'd been raised in America."

[lassoftruthiness]

"It feels like it sometimes, after so long away from home." She smiled easily, trying to think of ways to suggest they meet up later for more private conversations, ways that don't make it harder to break through this man's walls, or make the Capitol suspicious of their interaction. "Of course, now I am away from my homes both first and second. It's nice to meet someone who's from the same place." Or close enough to the same place to do for now.

[battroll]

"It would be nicer if they hadn't brought us here to die. That sucks some of the enjoyment out of seeing a familiar face." Bruce's voice is slightly dry as he says it - Barbara. Not his Barbara, but a Barbara, one who worked with a version of him. She'd been brought here to die. There's a very faint flicker of something deep under the mask - pain, or rage, or possibly both. And now Princess Diana, who knew him even if he didn't know her.

[lassoftruthiness]

Now Diana could see hints of her own Bruce in this man, and it's sobering that pain and rage make him recognizable to her. Her own smile faded slightly and when she spoke her voice was quiet, the anger she'd kept tamped down her entire time here so far slipping through, just barely. The anger that had grown with every frightened civilian and impossibly brave child she'd met. "Yes, I can think of many other more preferable ways to meet."

[battroll]

He noticed the change in her, but doesn't comment on it. She's angry too, good. If she claims to be a super heroine he'd expect her to be.

"Still, it would be a shame not to take advantage of things as they stand, as much as we can."

[lassoftruthiness]

"I completely agree." And she was desperately wishing for some place where they could talk more freely, touch base, though a place of actual safety and privacy was likely impossible. "I haven't had much chance to explore the nightlife here, have you?"

[battroll]

The best that could be done was to stick to crowds and keep quiet. And, especially, keep conversations away from here - because if there was one building in all the city that was all but guaranteed to be bugged, this was it.

There was only so much that could be hidden when you were constantly on camera, and Bruce had already accepted certain inevitabilities - the gamemakers knew more about what he could do than he'd have liked, but it couldn't be helped.

It was an interesting question, because there were two different meanings to the answer that could be given. Both were, however, the same, which made the answer itself easier. "I'm afraid I haven't had much time myself - I haven't been here long, and have had even less time to explore the ins and outs of all this place has to offer."

[lassoftruthiness]

"Then perhaps we could discover those ins and outs together?" Diana offered, only realizing after she'd said it how euphemistic it sounded. She sent up a thankful prayer that Hal or Ollie or their like weren't around to hear that and let it go. She was supposed to be flirting, after all.