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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S PARTY

He watched the ball leave the croupier's hand, flying in a low arch towards the Roulette.

He called his bet, the subtle twinge of a kalosian accent sticking to his words as he smiled.

Chances for self indulgence were rare. He would take as many as he got.

Casually, he plucked a glass of champagne from a passing server, nodding and raising the glass to the young lady with a smile before bringing it to his lips.

Not too shabby.

---

TL;DR:
-Going with a Gamble!

OG ROLL was 12.

There must always be a specter at the feast. Wolves prowl the feywild as much as they do any other forest. Despite the insistence of certain parties that he dress up like a certain small fairy boy, Hitoshi ultimately decides to wear a wolf mask. It's heavy. It obscures his vision. It gets the point across. Between a heavy gray coat that trails behind him, the mask, and his weapons obscured just out of sight, it evokes a certain image. He is no beast, but this is his domain. Those who trespass upon the sanctity of the fairy queen's domain do so at their own peril. The summer court needs its knight.[break]
Hitoshi likes to think of himself as a samurai, but he supposes he can play the part of a fey knight for one night. As Yumi Hasegawa gives her grand speech, he stands silent at her side. That he is shorter than her does nothing, at this juncture, but sell her own beauty. She's larger than life, otherworldly, dwarfing even the most fearsome beasts of the wood in all her glory.[break]
"I'm gonna walk the crowd. Make sure there's not any trouble." His voice carries more gravity than usual. It has a sharper edge. Her safety is paramount. The safety of her realm is paramount. To suffer fools and slights at this juncture is to invite threats upon her authority. That he can't allow.[break]
The illusion cracks at the sight of Gwyar Wledig. Seeing through the disguise with an animal's instincts, he walks right up to the man. His smile is broad under the wolf mask.[break]
"Master, you may be a great swordsman, but you suck at at gambling."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard your damn order, okay? I'm working on it, so just sit still and give me a minute here... _{The hell even is a sangria, anyway...?}"

You're not sure how you got roped into working bartender, but boy, do you hate it! Whoever decided you'd be a good fit for this role better hope your paths never cross in a dark alleyway, and you'll say nothing more about that. Actually, you'll also offer that same warning to the dumb bastard that got food poisoning on the day of the grand opening, and then you'll say nothing more about that. But, at the end of the day, no amount of seething, coping, nor malding is going to make this any easier. Much like a square peg being forced through a round hole, you've just got to grit your teeth and get through it.

As you crouch down, sorting through shelves of near-identical bottles of near-identical booze, you wish you were doing something else right now. Security rackets, smuggling, pickpocketing, counterfeiting, or literally anything else at all whatsoever. You didn't get on board with Team Rocket to serve drinks to rich pricks wear the world's ugliest suit.

God, the suit. How do you even describe it? Some might call the colour tyrian, but you'd call it fucked fucker purple. No amount of floral patterning and fairy-themed flourishes can prevent it from clashing with your natural aura of human filth. And to top it all off, it barely even fits you. You've had to compromise the dress code in about a half-dozen places, folding fabric and rolling up sleeves, and even then, it's still uncomfortable. It's terrible. It sucks. This sucks. Fuck this.

...Well, at least they're paying you well for this. Or at least, you hope they're going to pay you well for this.

"Aha, here!" Finally, you find the exact "vintage", grabbing it, pouring it into a glass, and serving it to one of the dozens of million-dollar swine packed around the bar. "There. Now, pay up and sod off, yeah?"

---

PROMPT: Describe your costume, x1 Form Change.

SELENA WILL HAVE SEEN LIMOUSINES COMING TO CASINO STARLIGHT, a view against the high ceiling glass windows of L'Amphitryon as she sips from a fine glass of Desmarais pinot noir. The Kalosian then lift her flame-like shawl over her black sheath line, the red garment mimicking fiery fairy wings in line with the celebration's theme, as she graces the carpeted floors into the counter, "Put it on my tab, please."

She eventually reaches the lobby where she sees Yumi Hasegawa gives her speech. The invitation for Rockets is like a general default being set in Sootopolis but a casino experience is something Selena is more than willing to oblige. After all, she has all the money to spend.

A midsummer night's dream. Podarge flutters behind her upon the colors and pizzazz of such wonder Yumi Hasegawa puts into the opening, excitedly dragging her trainer inside the hall.

Fortunately, she sees the familiar faces of Cillian Quinn, the unfamiliar face of his husband, and another stranger. She decides to approach first the waiter (Shred Zeppelin), adding her order into his tab. "And a Desmarais pinot noir for me, please."

Selena then turns to Cillian Quinn, her eyes scan the winter-like ensemble before breaking into a smile. "I didn't peg you to be dressing up for occasions, monsieur." And then her scarlet gaze turns to Tempest Quinn and Aurelie Lefevre. "Bonsoir. We haven't been introduced yet, non?"

---

TL;DR
- OUTFIT OF THE NIGHT: Click here and imagine with.
- Selena is already drinking when she sees limousines approaching; decides to go down now for the main event
- Listens to Yumi Hasegawa and is dragged by FLUTTER MANE into the interiors of the Casino
- Sees Cillian Quinn and the group and approaches
- ORDERS A DRINK at Shred Zeppelin: a DESMARAIS* PINOT NOIR; *Desmarais being a Kalosian brand owned by Selena's family
- Addresses Cillian Quinn and INTRODUCES HERSELF to Tempest Quinn and Aurelie Lefevre

REWARDS
- 1x Form Change
- 1x Level Tutor
- 1x Ability Capsule

EVENT: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S PARTY
Cillian Quinn Tempest Quinn Aurelie Lefevre
#OPEN_FOR_INTERACTION

While it wasn't exactly fey-themed, a knight with motifs of a certain legendary Pokémon loosely fit the theme. After all, the Johto Beast was a mysterious creature! Plus, fey kingdoms still had to have castles, and castles meant knights! ...Right?

Either way, Josh, having just been reinstated as Gym Leader of Mauville, had neither the time nor the desire to come up with a costume idea before traveling to the casino. He had been to Starlight previously with ollie morales , so the place already had his information. At least his helmet would make his face much less recognizable. He did have to be very careful, though; one false move could get him in big trouble. Elinor Anderson 's situation came to mind. He trusted his Pokémon could protect him. They always had. It was time to relax and celebrate his return to Mauville Gym!

Dressed in striking yellows, blacks, and purples, with a prominent Raikou motif, the knightly costume made him look like a medieval hero straight out of a fantasy novel with the Johto legendary at the center of the plot. At his hips was a sheathed, plastic sword in the shape of a lightning bolt. Even among the other whimsical costumes, it stood out. Anyone who had researched the Gym Leader knew exactly who was wearing that costume; by now, Josh's love of Raikou was well-known.

Josh brought enough cash for three bullets at the low-stakes poker tables. He preferred the 2-5 games, but with him just getting his job back, he had to be more frugal and play the 1-2 games. The competition wouldn't be as stiff, but that was okay; he was there to have fun, not to win.

Unfortunately, many of his Pokémon were too large to be out of their Poké Balls while on casino grounds. One of the few that was permitted was Raikiri, but the Zeraora would draw too much attention. Zeraora were a rare species, after all; the costume and the Pokémon would easily let Rocket connect the dots. The only one at his side was Janus, a saddle-wearing Espeon that was large enough for him to hop on if need be while being just within casino standards. Several other of his Eeveelutions were on his belt, as well. Pulling up a chair and sitting down next to jade rivers, he greeted the young man with a simple "Howdy!" Jade may have easily been able to recognize the voice. Stacking chips from his rack, he turned his head toward the dealer and requested, "Deal me in."

The name of the game was Hold'em, very popular in Unova. He covered his hole cards and took a look at them. Two fairly high hearts, but not connected. With only six people at the table and him being in the cutoff, he could afford to stick around. Jade's early position bet had him worried, though. "I call." The rest of the table folded out, leaving just Josh and Jade to play out the rest of the hand. "Do you know if that Unovan bar is still here?" he asked. "I went there last New Year's and it was amazing."

Makoto didn't come expecting to spend all that much - but the notion of a party... It felt a little exciting, even if initially daunting. Perhaps they could enjoy themselves a little bit, mingling with other people? It'd certainly be the first party they'd be able to properly participate in in a long, long, time - and the ones that their mother brought them to back then... Well, they certainly weren't at casinos.

For their costume, they decided to work smart - not hard. They wore a black lace dress, victorian in style - something that belonged to their late mother, once upon a time. Paired with it was a simple masquerade mask - black with deep purple glitter - (though they had to wear contact lenses to comfortably wear it,) and matching purple lipstick. They put extensions in their hair as well, to reach down to their shoulderblades after being braided.

All in all, nothing too outlandish, they liked to think - although it wasn't necessarily fae in theme, was it? So, they enlisted Kuro's help - the little zorua providing illusions from its hiding place in their shadow, to add a little bit of pizzaz in the form of dark translucent wings, that looked quite lifelike. Though they indeed toyed with adding other touches, well... They didn't want to go too overboard - nor draw too much attention to themself.

They were here just to try something new, to revisit something that they hadn't been able to enjoy in a long while - not to steal the show.

The sights within were dazzling, to say the least - it felt as though the casino spared no expenses in preparing for the festivities of tonight. People bustled across the marble floors, enjoying drinks and games alike - a sight that seemed to excite Tsukiko, their alolan ninetales following at their side. Makoto did recognize a few of the partygoers - even if it was primarily those of Rocket - though...

... What ended up drawing their attention, ultimately, was Josh Devlin .

Makoto wasn't sure what it was that caught their eye, initially. Perhaps it was the knight costume, that stood out amongst the many other people dressed like fairies like themself? Or his companion, a rather sizeable Espeon? The presence of a saddle was interesting as well - giving them a sense of almost deja vu, when paired with the themes of the costume. Quite honestly, there was something about him that felt familiar... But they couldn't quite figure out what.

Thus, Makoto took a seat with Josh and jade rivers - joining in on the game, and curious to see if talking with the duo would shed some light at that little unformed notion nagging at the back of their mind. "Those are some splendid costumes," They'd compliment the two, smiling cordially as they were dealt a hand. "What inspired them, if I may ask?"

Laying down next to her trainer, Tsukiko would reach out a paw towards Janus - the fox looking to lightly bap at the Espeon, in an invitation for play. Just sitting around looking pretty would be boring, after all!

TLDR:
- Makoto is dressed in a black Victorian-style dress with lace + a black-purple glittery masquerade mask, with purple lipstick and extensions for a shoulder-blades long braid. Kuro is hidden in their shadow, using illusions to give them lifelike dark fairy wings. (Prompt: Describe your costume)
- Upon entering the casino, their attention is caught by Josh's knight outfit, and Janus. Gives them a deja vu-ish feeling.
- Wanting to figure out what about him is nagging at their brain, Makoto sits down with him and Jade to join in the game of poker (Prompt: Gamble)
- They compliment the two on their costumes, and asks what inspired them. (Prompt: Strike up a conversation with someone new; Jade)
- Tsukiko is accompanying Makoto + laying down next to their seat, attempts to paw at Janus to invite him to play while they're both sitting/laying around.

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