#gilded:start

[hxxll-o]

setting ;; tokyo ,, shinjuku district  who ;; @lcvenderfields​ ++ elise 

He flew to Tokyo with determination in his heart and the naive notion that his sister would actually be somewhere easy to find. Of course she wouldn’t; she wasn’t at the Ritz (even though HE almost got kicked the fuck out for aggressively insisting that she is and causing a scene) and she wasn’t at Hugo’s apartment either. After 18 hours of flying plus travel to the two locations, Bo’s mind was almost foggy with exhaustion. He stopped at a 7/11 to grab a drink, an onigiri, and to charge his phone while he scrolled through Google Maps for the mention of the street in the screenshot Astrid sent.  It was a heavensent that the 25th person he asked on the street finally 1) spoke English, 2) knew where the street on the picture was, and 3) could give him a general idea of the location so he could get a taxi there. That took another 2 hours through evening traffic, but once he exited, he looked at the massive buildings standing row by row next to each other and felt a sinking feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. Bo should have anticipated this, but he stupidly pictured that she’d be in some shiny little house with an easily accessible door, safe and sound. 

So then began his search for the next few hours. He knocked on every single door, every single floor, spanning 3 apartment complexes. He marked the ones that didn’t answer so he can try again and apologized to those who looked like they were either terrified of the wide eyed, frazzled American or pissed off that they were interrupted in their private residences. Finally, on the 9th story of the 3rd apartment complex, door 924-A gave way as soon as he knocked. Bracing himself to get attacked for pretty much *invading* someone else’s home, Bo cautiously walked in and looked around,squeezing his eyes closed for a bit before opening them again to get used to the unnatural, florescent lighting. The neon signs from the outside illuminated the walls but the bulb above was bare and flickering. There, on the couch, he spotted a pool of messy blonde hair and took a more courageous step unmarked by care. “Elise? What the fuck--” She looked strung out, almost clinging to life and losing fast. Bo kneeled by her side and grabbed her face, giving her a little slap to wake her trance like state before he pushed her back and checked her pupils. “Are you fucking STUPID? Do you know how much everyone’s been worried over you? Who the fuck do you think you are, just fucking off like this? We need to get you an ambulance--”

[esmestryker]

Location: The Louve Event: Auction Status: Open to all

“What do you think?” Esmeralda questioned as turned her head and pointed at the newly shaved side. Instead of her tradition random change of colour for an event she decided a cut would be a nice change. She couldn’t be more happier with it. “Go on, be honest. I can handle it!” 

[crownedempire]

Dinner at the Palazzo | open

"Wonderful isn’t it?” Amelia questioned as approached from behind, she was making it her mission to talk to everyone from the Society attending the event. She had big plans for the future and needed as many people on her side as she could to make those plans reality.  “Nothing is quite as beautiful as Rome during the night.” She paused, turning her attention from the person to the streets outside, “Dinner is over, join me for a walk?” 

[victoriaadsuar]

Location: The Louvre Status: Open

If there was ever an event Elvyra had wanted to pass up, it was this one. Any one, really, that she couldn’t attend arm-in-arm with a handsome distraction. The invitation had been enticing enough, mysterious and demanding, and a trip to France even more-so, but she was bored by it all. A charity auction? It was too tense and stuffy, no room for a single misstep, especially not as an initiate. But she was desperate for a bit of a mischief. Near the open bar she chose a seat with a jacket already draped across it for that very purpose, despite the array of available options. Just a cavalier swipe of her hand had it slipping to the ground, freeing it up to be perched upon, which she wasted no time doing. A conspirator’s smirk turned her expression feline as she flagged down a server with a cavalier wave. “Enough champagne. Perhaps you can figure out a way to deliver me the makings of a perfect tequila shot without earning me too many scandalized glares, yeah? This is a formal function, after all.” (x)

[hargrcaves]

–––– open starter ; at brunch in london.

like the absolute bitch his past self had been, he had convinced himself to go out last night, get absolutely hammered on some top shelf absinthe that wasn’t technically legal if...you know, not abiding by the law was a crime ( enter massive eye roll here. ), and then nearly break his arse falling off his horse at practice that very morning. he was still sore. but nothing made antony feel civilised again like brunch with another society person ; someone with their shit together in the daytime so he could feel bad about himself. that and a killer selfie light ; his cheekbones deserved those good vibes.

                          ––––– “ so then somehow, i ended up with only one shoe, ” the equestrian yammered on, pausing only momentarily to scrape the gold leaf off of his crumpets. “ anyway, what were you up to before i texted? ”

[spcakeasy]

Jude  is  quick  to  cover  their  smile  before  speaking,  though  a  smirk  is  fighting  its  way  through.  "I  have  no  idea  what  you're  talking  about-  I  didn't  see  a  thing  just  now."

[bigbrcthxr]

LOCATION: AFTERPARTY AT THE MOULIN ROUGE (OPEN TO ALL)

“Tequila to kill ya feelings,” he offered, grinning wildly in amusement at his joke. He waved the bottle at the other, drawing shotglasses from the table, gesturing at a bowl of sliced limes and copious amounts of salt. Felix occupied two seats, leaning against the other in his intoxicated state. It was ridiculous, really, what a mess this had all made him — and now Felix Salamanca did what he knew how to do best: drink. “Come on, then. Come drink with me. No body shots, I promise — unless that’s what you want.” 

[theroyaledward]

location: Ko Thxng open to all

The social hour was something that Edward was familiar with and had played this part a few times before. It seemed however, that every word would be remembered and he couldn’t put a foot in his mouth. He did want to become a member and after Poppy ascended, he was sure his time would come soon. The conversations so far had been easy to follow, mostly being about current affairs and entertainment culture. Edward could talk himself through most obstacles and was thankful he was able to get through it without blanking on any topic of discussion. When he returned to his room that he was assigned-thankful there wasn’t someone else he was sharing it with, his hand dug into an empty pocket. 

It was then that he realized he must have lost his key to get inside the room, his mind already trying to trace the last moments he saw it and not coming up with anything concrete. He had only a few drinks and didn’t think losing the only thing to access his room would be a consequence. Edward tried to jostle the door open, pushing before resulting to slamming his palm on the door before realizing all attempts were voided. A step behind him caused him to turn and find something that resembled an innocent smile. “Got locked out it seems. This probably happens a lot,” he excused, stepping away from the door as if he was being violent against it moments prior. “Sorry, if I was being loud.”

[lcvenderfields]

after a week of listlessly sitting in bed (first in the family home, then in her brother’s california home, and then in their australian airbnb), astrid ventured out, mostly so that her siblings would stop worrying. her family, though she loved them dearly, was overbearing and overwhelming, and the combined efforts of one brother trying to make her cry and the other coddling her in an effort to not make her cry, and her sister trying unnaturally hard to be nice eventually drove astrid into the streets of downtown melbourne. 

despite the sheer amount of people in melbourne for the olympics, she’s not all too surprised to see a familiar face as she browses the exterior of a local bookshop. she musters a small smile as they get closer; a far cry from her normally sunny disposition, but hopefully enough to be sufficient. 

“fancy seeing you here,” she jokes lightly. “what are you up to today?” 

[kitdonovan]

location: Ko Thxng open to all

It wasn’t uncharacteristic for Kent to have brought his work with him and though he knew it would get in the way, he had succumbed to the decision already. He knew that these spontaneous trips for the society would have consequences and it wasn’t unnoticed by the people that watched the news. After the last society event, this barely phased him as he scrolled through an endless list of emails that he needed to answer. It would be around three in the morning before he answered them, knowing that people in America were on a different time and the timestamp on an email would be calls for concern. For once in the span of almost an hour, Kit pushed his phone away and instead, moved his drink closer to him. It was Saturday afternoon and everyone was free to roam, but he knew that he didn’t want to add work into his schedule. If he was going to be here, he needed to be in the moment and not worry about what was happening in America. Already they had covered the election and the only news was budget recycles in wall street and the arrest of a prolific author. 

Kit finally looked up to see that somewhere between the time he had picked his phone up and set it down, someone had slipped into the seat beside him. “How is one supposed to escape work when it tends to follow you?”

[lajuliettebeauchamp]

location: Ko Thxng open to all

The weekend was tasked with compelling conversations and perfected lines. She was used to being around a group of this size and wasn’t intimidated to strike a conversation with anyone. Already she had been told what to do and what not to do, know what to say and who to. She was grateful for her member mentors and hoped that after this weekend, Juliette would be stepping in the right direction of being a member herself. The dinner had been successful and now she was attempting to win favor by going up to people. If there was one thing she knew how to do it was to talk through a painted smile and be engaging. 

When she saw someone alone, she didn’t hesitate to close the space before someone else managed to slide into her place. “You’re alone and your drink is shallow. Both aren’t good combinations. Lucky for you, I was just about to go to the bar myself if you want to join me. Might I say you are impeccably dressed tonight?”

[hxxll-o]

setting ;; melbourne ;;  who ;; @lcvenderfields​ ++ astrid

“It’s a first person hero shooter and it’s set in an apocalyptic wasteland in 2090-- not to be confused with Cyberpunk 2077, which is also set in the future but.. not all that apocalyptic and not primarily a computer game. I have a new arena set in Australia and it’s fucking badass,” he explained while they walked past the row of eager, excited fans and smiling models dressed for photo ops. With a hand on the small of Astrid’s back, he entered the warehouse he rented and paused in the front room, where a group of excited, oblivious fans were getting instructions.  “You’ve played laser tag, right? It’s just like that-- but you shoot zombies instead. I mean, I guess you should also shoot each other if you want to play to win. You get to pick between a limited edition 2020 Melbourne Olympic skin in game, a figurine, or a shirt if you’ve got the highest point of the round.”  Some of the superfans shot them little glares as Orion continued to speak. He shot them a look (receiving a few wide eyed stares of acknowledgement that soon followed) and got suited up with his own vest that dawned a glowing green orb in the center and a gun.  “It’s VR so you need glasses too. There’s some ultra cool effects I added,” he smiled down at Astrid, excitement evident on his features, “You’re not scared easily are ya?”

[thalassoneira]

LOCATION: INTRODUCTION AT THE PALAZZO

OPEN TO: INITIATES

The Grand Hall of the Palazzo was larger than life. Its purpose was to make everyone inside feel small, but in this room full of figures that were themselves larger than life, it only accentuated and drew together a glittering image of perfection and grandiosity. She had purpose here, she knew what her role was today. Alessandra looked for solitary figures, ones currently disengaged from conversation. When she found one, she was ready to pounce. The smile that curved her lips were sweet, but behind her eyes was fiery determination. Once she stood among them, a long time ago, and as exacting as her assessors were then, she would be now. Did this person belong in this society? Did they deserve to be among their ranks, to stand beside the magnates that led the world? Her gaze inspected every inch, as though searching for flaws, drawing a first impression with a single sweeping gaze. “Alessandra Doria-Pamphilj,” she introduced herself, offering a hand to shake. “Might I trouble you for your name?”

[crownedempire]

@lcvenderfields​ for Astrid

The trek from the Olympic village to where her family had been staying wasn’t a long one. She rather liked Melbourne and was excited to explore more on her days off. Today however, she had something much more important to do. Emotions weren’t really her forte, she struggled enough to understand her own let alone understand others but she did know break ups were rough. Astrid said she was fine, Dom called bullshit. She didn’t know how to help her but she knew how to distract her. Tickets to a private tour of one of the best art galleries in Melbourne would do the trick. Just the two of them. She wasn’t a fan of art but she could deal with it for one day if that meant Astrid would be distracted.

“You ready?” She questioned standing in the door way, smiling at Astrid “Not to late to back out and take one of your friends” 

[inescapcble]

GROUP STARTER FT. @hxll-0​, @ofchampagnetears​ and @ofivana​

relaxation (noun.) — the state of being free from tension and anxiety. a state, predictably, not often inhabited by the united states of america’s young president. lax muscles and a smile made easier were, for leontine artemisia morgan, indulgences less common even than the blue moon in the washington d.c. sky.

and yet, on this french-coast getaway with the netherlands’ hopeful heiress, the formalities of work life for the first time in six months were fully — as close to ‘fully’ as she can get — cast aside; she was half-dressed, her skin warm and cheeks rosen from the half-empty bottle settled in her right hand, her phone on the bed-side table ( so she could hear it if the tell-tale ‘work’ ringtone goes off — it shouldn’t — but ignore it if it’s anyone else, excused by the exertion it would take to go and get it ) with her girlfriend awaiting her on the sofa. yet when she moved to return to ivy’s side, tuck herself into the taller woman’s embrace to watch the episode of duncan’s show due to start in ten minutes, she was faced by the twins bats out of hell. a sound half-laughter and half-scoffing spilt from her lips. 

“uh, no. you can both turn it around—” she made a vague gesturing movement with her fingers as she herself turned to head back the way she had come, still laughing, “and get out.”

[hargrcaves]

––– open starter ; the tuileries garden, the louvre. 

even though he’d been in the society for ages, this was his very first charity auction. mainly because he was on the riding circuit during the spring, but actually because he just refused to turn up year after year after year. so after finally saying fuck it, antony had charmed a whole tray of macarons from the caterers and escaped out into the tuileries garden for some fresh air. and he had just bitten into one –– bespoke versace jacket abandoned on the grass, glass of champagne in the other hand, lit cigarette only just balanced his fingers –– when he heard someone coming his way. “ macaron? ” antony asked, hazy smile and all.