The White Swanfish Gala (Open to All, including party-crashers)

[creepycyclops]

The White Swanfish Gala is this evening - A VIP-only event where invitations are only sent to the likes of the heads of industry, Mover stars, avatars, and their guests. The host is Wil Zan (Slade's affable civilian alter ego), and he is dressed in a fine white and blue silk nehru, smiling broadly and chatting with what seems like every patron there, one at a time. He has brought in the finest chefs to provide an unlimited stream of fine food and drink, popular musicians provide entertainment and lively music to dance to, and this gala is sure to be an event worth talking about for years.

Interestingly, Zan has set up some rather unusual security measures. Though your average riff-raff will be kept out, he has intentionally left strategic security gaps that can be bypassed by the bold and the cunning. Zan actually has men covertly watching these gaps, but instead of stopping these party-crashers, their instructions are to inform Zan. (This serves as a sort of test for potential apprentices that Slade may try to recruit in the future.)

((NOTE: This is an event log, so not every reply has to be toward Slade. Feel free to write what your character is doing at the party or how they snuck in, etc. "Zan" is likely to give you his attention, but others can too.))

Comments

[restoredhonour]

Lord Zuko is more than used to the excited reactions he sometimes gets, even before their previous meeting. So he just offers Bolin a warm smile as he takes a seat. "I came for Jinora's ceremony, and to meet with President Raiko, but I had no intention of staying. The city had other plans for me, it seems."

[lavamylife]

Bolin does remember seeing Lord Zuko at Jinora's ceremony, though it's not as if he actually had had the chance to talk with him there. Then again, it's not like Zuko was the center of attention at that encounter, and Bolin had a lot more on his mind.

"Yeah, I guess you kinda... got stuck here in the city with everyone else?" Bolin replies, trying to make some degree of (not super awkward) small talk. "I guess you haven't heard anything from the Fire Nation since... or even what's going on with the spirit barrier thing..."

[restoredhonour]

He shakes his head, expression grave. "I've been making frequent attempts to establish contact, but the barrier truly has isolated us." Between that and his grandson reported missing from the United Forces stationed in the city, he has plenty of worries on his mind besides just Republic City's issues. He can only hope the Fire Nation -- and the rest of the world -- have not met similar fates to here.

"I have no idea what the barrier is, but I've spoken with Korra, and she's trying to find a solution." Aang, too, but he has no idea how much Bolin knows about other Avatars running around yet, so that particular detail goes unmentioned. He trusts Bolin, but there's too many people here who might be listening in on their conversation.

[lavamylife]

"Yeah, that's what I've been hearing from the newspapers," Bolin says, his face more than a little concerned by the matters. "Especially so soon after all the Earth Kingdom nonsense. I mean, we managed to get all of my family out of Ba Sing Se before anything happened, but I haven't heard from Zaofu since we got stuck here." He frowns at that, clearly not liking the fact that there's no news.

"Korra's working on the barrier?" Bolin seems concerned by that. "I mean, is she going to be okay trying to look into that... after all that happened with her... you know, with the Red Lotus and all that?" It was still on his mind, and Korra was acting a little strangely with being in disguise and all. Technically speaking, Bolin did know about all the other Avatars showing up, but he doesn't even think to bring it up.

[restoredhonour]

"I was concerned about that, as well... but when I spoke with her she had little recollection of the battle with the Red Lotus, and she was in perfect physical health." Lord Zuko still can't figure out what happened any more than he can figure out the reason for all the strange appearances of people from the past. And if the spirits could provide an answer, so far they've been silent.

"Actually, I spoke to your brother at the police station shortly after. He told me something similar -- that he had weeks' worth of missing memories." Does Bolin at least remember, he wonders?

[lavamylife]

Bolin indeed does remember all of the things since then, and... it confused him too. And with the talk of Korra and Mako missing memories—both of which he knew about—but it was so easy to forget that Korra wasn't as weak as he had seen her or that Mako didn't remember the epic fight that they won. "Mako told me the same thing too. And Korra said she didn't remember anything after the fight with Zaheer," he says, nodding in agreement. His forehead is scrunched, and there's just so many unanswered questions.

"But I remember everything that happened. I even remember seeing them both at Jinora's airbending ceremony." Bolin pauses for a moment. "Mako wouldn't lie to me about that." He might not tell the whole truth, but he wouldn't lie to Bolin, even if Bolin thinks he's wrong sometimes. "But I don't get it; how could they just forget what happened!?"

[restoredhonour]

"I'm not sure if it's just a simple matter of amnesia. Kya anticipated that Korra's recovery could take weeks, if not longer. And yet here she seems to be in perfect condition, with no recollection of the poison or most the battle..."

Lord Zuko lapses into silence as he mulls it over. Why are some affected by the changes, but not others? It could have been the spirit world's way of helping Korra back on her feet, but even so...

He lowers his voice over the chatter and music as much as possible, so as not to be overhead. "There are some here that seem to have been pulled by the spirit world out of the past. I wonder if Korra and your brother follow that same pattern." Even if their 'past' isn't as far back as the end of the Hundred Year War, like many, it would still explain the discrepancy.

[lavamylife]

The theory seemed totally plausible, but then again, it seems plausible for the very reason that it is a theory that at least sounds reasonable, and Bolin had no other explanation for it. Besides, it was Lord Zuko's idea, so that by itself immediately made it one of the better ideas that there could be, right?

"Oooh that's good," he says in obvious admiration. "I mean, it certainly explains everything, and it's better than all the other ideas I've heard, like how it's actually Korra's stunt double that's going around town pretending to be Korra so people aren't worried about the fact that the Avatar is sick!"

Bolin needs to stop reading the tabloids like now.