seelie; video; why this

[depicted]

[Oh, look, it's Dorian Gray! Everyone remembers Dorian Gray, right? Sweet kid, a little naive, recently got scolded at the royal audience? Well, today you wouldn't believe it, not from how very self-possessed he looks, how pleased, how utterly brazen.

One might think that someone who just got publicly called out and punished might feel more need to keep their head down and be discrete, but apparently not. Every actor needs an audience, and this actor, at least, seems to be particularly committed to enjoy the show he's putting on. Feline in recline, he speaks as one who savours language, gesturing in smooth, languid movements. He is the 1890s Aesthete come to life, in all its hedonistic glory, and he is here to share.]

How dreary we all are getting. It's the fin de siècle all over again, but with far less Oscar. Or Yeats, for that matter. [Suitably, mockingly dramatic:] "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"

[And here's a scoff.] I'm not feeling it. We are meant to be the court of tradition, of love, of welcoming the apocalypse. And yet I haven't seen even one orgy in my time at Caer Glaem. Frankly, I'm unimpressed.

[The headshake turns back into that canary-eating smile, and he purrs out his proposal for fixing this shameful problem.]

So tonight, at the sun's setting, I'll be holding a, ah, ritual in the Magi's Workroom. Wine from Mandragora Estates—top of the line, for those tragically ignorant of the most up-and-coming vinery in the Drabwurld—and various other substances. Children not invited.

It's a protection ritual, for the record. It would be so very unsuitable to be decadently useless in our embrace of the End. Try to bring yourself as magically charged as you can.

[ooc: THERE WILL BE NO LOG FOR THIS I am not going to put up an actual orgy log dear god. But this a thing Dorian will really be doing, any character can come as long as they're over the age of consent. Wine, drugs, and sex, all night. Technically, it really is an actual magical ritual.]

Comments

[truesight]

That doesn't explain anything. [ but she's laughing ]

C'mon, what is this? Really?

[depicted]

I should say it's what it looks like, Rachel. I'm inviting people to an orgy.

[truesight]

Yeah, about that.

[ half of her knows she should just let it go, but the other half is way too curious ]

I know a lot can change in a few months, but like- I was second guessing myself about giving you a hug the last time I saw you because I thought you might pass out. So can you see why I'm not completely convinced here?

[depicted]

Oh, you mean about that.

I took a nap and went home. Lived out an extra hundred or so years of my life. Changed a lot in that span, you can imagine. [Even though most of the changing was in the first two years of it.] So I'm not who I was.

[truesight]

Oh! Okay. ... Okay. [ just absorbing all of that yes ] Sure. A hundred years? I imagine orgies are old hat by then.

[ listen she's not comparing Dorian to a god right now, only she kind of technically is, because she's had weird talks like this with Apollo before, and- yeah. just gotta roll with it. there is absolutely some part of her that's just so focused on his name, the story that goes with the name, the fact that it's seeming less like a story. but they've talked about this. ]

I know this probably makes me a jerk, but I'm glad you came back. Or that they brought you back, I guess.

[depicted]

[Maybe it's a bit of a jerk thing, but it's also kind of sweet. The smile twists up a corner of his mouth.]

Yeah, orgies definitely aren't something new by this point. And I won't call you a jerk about that, promise.

[truesight]

Good, because I'm not taking it back even if it does make me a jerk.

[ hmph! ]

But hey, who says orgies aren't old hat for me by now too? Maybe that totally is my scene. It's been a long time since we caught up outside of gallery stuff. Maybe I- take part in orgies now. Maybe I orgy.

[ cause it's a verb ]

[depicted]

[Hand over his mouth because he's trying not to laugh super loud right now.]

Do you orgy? [sure, it can be a verb]

[truesight]

Only all the time.

[ she doesn't mind how very obvious his amusement is, hey, she lives to entertain okay. maybe later she'll have a defensive "I could totally orgy..." moment, but that moment is not now ]

If you ask the right people in Leathann, that's all they know me for. Pretty much.

[depicted]

My, my. Perhaps I should ask around next time I drop by, get all the good gossip on you.

[It's too much fun, okay?]

[truesight]

You could, but then the mystery would be gone, and where's the fun in that?

[ although the mental image of him asking some of the really amazing people she met at the Spire about her orgy habits is kind of hilarious ]

Plus, I don't think you would ever look at me the same again if you heard their gossip. I'm not sure I want that.

[depicted]

Oh, dear Rachel, the cat is, as it were, out of the bag now. There is no turning back.

[So much scandal!!]

[truesight]

[ she bites her lip then, tries to look all worried like she made some kind of mistake, then sighs ]

I can't stop you, Dorian. I only ask that you treat me with the same kindness you always have, even after learning all the weird, weird things I got up to. With multiple people. At the same time.

[ aaaand now she'll press her lips together in a very obvious attempt at not laughing ]

[depicted]

[with the straightest of straight faces]

I'll try not to judge.

[truesight]

Such a gentleman.

[ aaand now she'll laugh, yes ]

Anyway, maybe I'll stop by. I mean, if the wine's really that good. It'd be a mistake to pass that up.

[depicted]

The wine's excellent. But I can have some sent over to you, if you can't make it by.

[NOT LIKE HE'S TRYING TO PROTECT RACHEL'S EYES OR ANYTHING]

[truesight]

Thanks.

[ it's one of those slow, suspicious "thanks"eseses that might possibly have a question mark at the end of it, yes. the "I think?" goes unspoken ]

Your open invitation is starting to seem less open. Am I missing something?

[depicted]

[Caught out here, he tries to put it delicately.] Dabbling in that sort of thing—I mean, you are welcome if you're truly interested. But it can be a bit much if you aren't accustomed to it.

[He knows you haven't been having orgies in Leathann for a year.]

[truesight]

Fighting in a war is a bit much too, y'know? That's sort of how things go around here.

[ but she's grinning a little, at least ]

But I'll think about it. For your peace of mind.