Open: it's time now to sing out though the story never ends

[vineleaves]

[This is being posted early, but it is meant to be occurring on the one year anniversary of Dionysus arriving at the mansion.]

There's a room in the mansion Dionysus discovered somewhat recently that is, for lack of anything better to call it, a dance studio. Shiny hardwood floors, one long wall of mirror, the opposite wall featuring a mounted barre. If anyone happens to be walking by it today, the open door might catch their attention, as Dionysus has his cd player set up playing music, which he is dancing to at the moment. He's wearing a pair of gauzy, loose pants that sit low on his hips, complete with a gold belt with dangling chains that serve to help emphasize his movements. His hair is pulled up into a messy bun, finally long enough that he can get all of it up with only a minimum of strands sticking out oddly.

He has been here for a whole year. To be fair, he's only slightly certain he's got the date correct, but even if it hasn't been a full year to the exact minute or whatever, it's close enough. A whole year. A year trapped, held prisoner for some unknown reason, unable to break out, kept away from all of his friends and family. A year in which he has been given the wonderful opportunity to meet people he couldn't possibly imagine living without now, in a place where anything, even stopping death, is possible.

Dionysus is fairly zoned out as he dances, so if anyone decides to duck in and say hello, it might take him a while before he notices.

Comments

[vineleaves]

"You would make an incredibly cute satyr."

[futaille]

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you think I would make an incredibly cute anything."

[vineleaves]

"Yes, but that's beside the point."

[futaille]

"If I turned into a slug, you would think I was the cutest slug you've ever seen."

[vineleaves]

"It's not my fault if you would be a very cute slug."

[futaille]

"Would I be a cute moth?"

[vineleaves]

"Of course. All moths are cute anyway, so that one's a freebie. Are you about to ask me about every animal and bug there is?"

[futaille]

"I could. Or I could branch out. Would I be a cute... mud puddle?"

[vineleaves]

Dionysus laughs. "I'm sure you'd be the cutest mud puddle to ever puddle up."

[futaille]

"What if I were... obscene graffiti?"

[vineleaves]

"Oh well I do love a good bit of obscene graffiti."

[futaille]

"True. That was a terrible example. What if I became... ah... a candle stump?"

[vineleaves]

"I'm sure you'd be a wonderfully scented, very beautiful and decorative candle stump."

[futaille]

"All right, all right, I surrender. I'm sure that if I were sewer water you would find me the best of all the sewer water too."

[vineleaves]

"I have to say, I think you'd smell better as the candle--"

[futaille]

"I think that's normally true too."

[vineleaves]

"Well of course. You smell better than a candle."

[futaille]

"That depends on the candle, I think. You definitely have some candles that smell much better than I could ever aspire to."

[vineleaves]

"Oh, I don't know about that."

[futaille]

"Unless I'm fresh out of the bath, I suppose."

[vineleaves]

"Fortunately we've got the largest bathtub, so being fresh out of the bath isn't a difficulty."

[futaille]

"That's true. I'm fresh out of the bath reasonably frequently."

[vineleaves]

Well now he's just thinking about Grantaire in the bath, so he has to give him a kiss. It's the law.

[futaille]

He kisses back. It's very nice to be able to earn kisses so easily.

[vineleaves]

Dionysus deepens the kiss, his fingers twisting through Grantaire's hair as he slips into Grantaire's mind.

Quite some time later Dionysus is in the other room getting ready. He decided it has to be a surprise and all be revealed at once, rather than piece by piece if Grantaire watched him getting dressed. So he carried the (large) box from Kade into the Art Studio Formerly Known As Grantaire's Room and set about getting ready.

First things first: hair and makeup. His hair is much longer than it was this time a year ago, but still not quite long enough to do many of the more extravagant hairstyles of the era, so he opts instead to just go with something more simple. He pulls most of his hair into a bun, leaving a good amount of curls to either side of his face to frame it, and then adorns it with some vines. He doesn't do a ton of makeup, but he figures if he's getting all dolled up anyway, he should at least do a bit of something. Powder, mascara, a basic eye, oh maybe a tiiiiny bit of contour too, because why not. He does manage to stop himself before he gets too carried away. He wants the focus to be on Kade's wonderful work, not his makeup skills.

Well, actually, he wants the focus to be on him, but also on Kade's wonderful work. It evens out somewhere in there.

And there's seemingly no end to the amount of work poor Kade had to do for this one outfit, either. Dionysus got the mansion to cough up the stockings and shoes he'd need, but Kade still had to make: a chemise, corded stays (along with, of course, the busk Étienne decorated for him) that are fan-laced so he can more easily get in them by himself, a corded petticoat, a pintucked petticoat, a small ruffled skirt support, and perhaps most crucially, big fluffy sleeve supports.

That is all before even getting to the gown itself. The lovely white silk they picked out together that reflects light green when it moves through the light, a thick green velvet sash around the waistline, gorgeous embroidery of vine leaves on the skirt, it's all absolutely perfect. Dionysus throws on a nice pair of earrings and a necklace, checks himself over in the mirror to make sure everything is laying how he wants, and then heads back into the bedroom.

"What do you think?" he asks, doing a little twirl.