open | your baddest behavior

[cozen]

WHO: Alexandrie, Bastien, Byerly, and their captive audience
WHAT: Mandatory etiquette and dance lessons
WHEN: Justinian 15, 9:45
WHERE: The Gallows
NOTES: See the OOC post and IC announcement for more information! If you didn't sign up, you can still participate in Parts A and D, and just handwave the other two, without needing to sign up or get an assignment. If you want to do B and C, you can find your own dance partner/seating group OOC, or you can sign up now and we'll dole out new assignments if we get enough latecomers to do so. If you signed up and are missing from the lists when you shouldn't be, I'm sorry and please tell me!

disclaimer: event less fancy than pictured

Seating Assignments
— Table One: Gwenaëlle, Iorveth, Matthias, Athessa
— Table Two: Flint, Ilias, Darras, Med Seller, Yngvi
— Table Three: Julius, Thranduil, Anders, Brienne
— Table Four: Benedict, Colin, Valentine, Six, Derrica
— Table Five: Teren, Salvio, Bartimaeus, Osana
— Table Six: Freddie, Petrana, Kain, Merrill, Silver
— Table Seven: Yseult, Cosima, Steve, Inessa
— Table Eight: Sidony, Fifi, Nell, Fingon
— Table Nine: Thor, Nathaniel H., Solas, Skadi

Dance Partners
— Cosima & Nathaniel H.
— Athessa & Anders
— Teren & Flint
— Freddie & Bartimaeus
— Yseult & Darras
— Nell & Julius
— Merrill & Colin
— Skadi & Benedict
— Gwenaëlle & Solas
— Petrana & Salvio
— Osana & the Medicine Seller
— Sidony & Matthias
— Six & Thranduil
— Brienne & Valentine
— Fifi & Steve
— Thor & Fingon
— Ilias & Iorveth

Comments

(A) A Lecture

[cozen]

ooc | one thread, open to everyone—lexie, bastien, and byerly are going to talk a lot, but anyone is welcome to interrupt with questions or their important opinions.

First are introductions—Lady Alexandrie, Bastien, Byerly Rutyer, each varying degrees of gracious for everyone's cooperation in being taken hostage—and an overview of the plan for the evening.

"Before we get into the particulars, we have some general advice," Bastien says, from where he's sitting on a table. They haven't started yet. He can sit where he likes. (Good posture, though.) "First: unless you are one of the elite, or attempting to fake it, you do not need to know everything. If you do know everything, it may be best to pretend otherwise. They do not want you to be as good at following their rules as they are. They might feel threatened if you are."

[coquettish_trees]

"Just so." Alexandrie nods. The bright copper of her hair is swept up, a few ringlets let to fall forward alongside a gilded half-mask; she is pearls, feathers, and several layers of white flounce trimmed in gold.

"It pleases many in the peerage to be charitable to those who comport themselves well, assuming they adhere to the standards of whatever class they appear to belong to. Act too poorly and you are a hazard to associate with, too well and you shall seem as if you aspire beyond your means. Both attract attention, and likely suspicion as well."

She holds up a hand in an attempt to forestall the possibility of grumbling (whether successfully or not). "While I am sure a great many of you are already cross about the distinct likelihood of being condescended to and about how terribly unjust you find the class structure across Thedas, I implore you remember for what cause you endure."

[hornswoggle]

Yet again, John finds himself in a situation where he is uncomfortably aware of the ways in which he is misplaced. Even an entire journey and an evening spent among nobility hasn't dispelled John's awareness that he'd be better served in a variety of different positions, but none that relied on whether or not he could blend into polite company.

It's always jarring to realize all the ways he's become acclimated to one particular type of lifestyle.

Despite all his complaints and misgivings, he's found himself a seat and appears to be paying attention—admittedly, he's paying attention to everyone else in the room rather than wholly to the lecture itself, but it's as good as it's going to get where John's concerned.

[sulahnan]

Athessa is too uncomfortable in Gwenaëlle's loaner dress to not pay attention, though she otherwise would have been slouching back and rolling her eyes with boredom. It's not that the dress itself is uncomfortable, of course, just that it's...too nice.

And, according to what Alexandrie just said, too nice in more than one way.

The elf's brow knits, a frown tugging at her mouth and she makes a quiet sound of disgust. So I could have just worn regular clothes? She crosses her arms. Remembers the dress. Uncrosses them. Would've been better off dressing like a servant. Or a chair, better yet.

[bouchonne]

"Of course, sometimes you want to offend someone." Byerly looks phenomenally relaxed - sprawled in his chair, one elbow slung at an outrageous angle across the back, a wine glass dangling from his fingers. He doesn't have a mask, and doesn't have good posture, but does have an air of absolute and utter certainty.

"If you can provoke them into insulting you - in undecided company - ah, then you have so much power over them." He sighs fondly. "One time - you two remember this, I think - we were having tea out-of-doors, and I employed my knife to reflect the sun into the eyes of the Baron Almasi until he sprang to his feet and began bellowing obscenities at me. The Baroness felt such embarrassment over his poor conduct that she positively loaded me down with bottles of very fine wine to buy my silence. What a lovely week that was."

[cozen]

Bastien purses his lips into a smile of good-humored, mildly embarrassed disapproval—he remembers, it was fantastic. Byerly is serving his purpose, and Bastien's own purpose is to disapprove, this very small amount.

"Mssr. Rutyer is here to be a bad example," he says, "which you can follow if you like. If it is expedient." He gestures to him, open-handed, like a piece of art on display. "At the moment, for example, he is the only one drinking. In most situations, as a guest, if you are not confident that you know what is expected of you, you can cheat by avoiding being the only person who is doing any particular thing, or wearing any particular thing, or not wearing any particular thing."

Like shoes. Dalish.