Realistic or Modern La Lune Bleue

[XxRoseAlchemistxX]

XxRoseAlchemistxX submitted a new role play:


La Lune Bleue - Welcome to the roarin' 20's. Grab a drink and enjoy the party.

St. Louis, Missouri 1920. Located in the junction between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers the city is one of the nation's largest. It's both a busy river port and a bustling train hub.The recent enactment of national prohibition is in full effect and promises to bring change. For better or for worse. The cities once prosperous breweries struggle to stay in business and most do not survive. However an emerging underground business begins to fill in the gaps, or the taps as it were....

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[XxRoseAlchemistxX]

Another summer night set upon St. Louis and while some were tucked away at home, others were in taking part in the cities nightlife. The Blue Bayou cafe was closed for the night, yet people still came in through it's door. Walking up to the counter, and whispering to the gentleman there, "Moonshine Under Moonlight." they were guided to the back of the cafe and what appeared to be a wood wall. It opened up as the gentleman knocked and they were lead to another door, and upon opening it, La Lune Bleue speakeasy was revealed.


It was just the start of the night and speakeasy was nearly filled to the brim with it's usual patrons. People of all walks of life participated in the grand party beneath the grand city. Old money, new money, jazz players, flappers, even prestigious businessmen, they were all there. The band played upbeat jazz music as show girls in flashy outfits danced on the stage. People were at tables talking, others on dance floor. The place seemed to sparkle as it was filled with an excited energy as people drank and partied. Gracie walked around the grand place talking to her guests. Granted their number of guests had dwindled considerably since Louis death, and a number of employees. People had run out on the business thinking perhaps Louis had been in shady business but they still managed to get some loyal patrons every night. She worried greatly under her smiles and schmoozing. La Lune Bleue was on hard times and Gracie was struggling to keep it afloat.


La Lune Bleue's famous singer sat backstage prepping herself and awaiting her first introduction and performance of the night. She did her hair and makeup and put on her now famous glittering blue dress. It sparkled like a night sky and while it was beautiful and she loved it, she also despised it. She was meant to go up on that stage and looked love lorn and innocent. But it was all show, just like everyone was these days. She took long drags from a cigarette she lit and watched the smoke rised up and embers burned.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

It was late night, i was staked out in my car outside a run down old building in town that even rats wouldn't call it home. An informant tipped us of on an illegal alcohol distillers and distribution center, peddling out houch by the truck load each week. There wasnt enough evidence to raid the place so it was up to us to watch the place and search anyone who leaves the the building and looks suspicious. It was a warm summer evening, hotter then two mice screwing in a wool sock and just as uncomfortable to be exposed to it. We were on our third hour of stake out, with no movement and i have began to think this was a wild goose chase. The old itch had been gnawing at my for two of the three hours. An itch i couldn't scratch away or use ointment on. The only cure was cold drink of whiskey. Normally i would wait until i was of duty to drink, but fate seemed to have other plans. I reached into the inside of my jacket taking out a small hip flask from the pocket and taking a drink for the contents inside.

 

[Roach of Wrath]

Grayson sat right beside his partner on what seemed to be a pointless sting op. Seeing him open him take apart in his vice he decided to take part in his lighting up a cigarette. "Are you sure your tip is on the up and up?" Exhaustion taking a toll on his body he could have been at the La Lune Bleue. He didn't care for the drink, but the singer is what made it all worth it.

 

[Tinman]

(ok I will post in a second I just have to mark it on here so I can do it on my phone while I lay in bed)

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

"I am starting to wonder that mysel..."I try to say before i began to cough as the drink burned down my throat. What i drank could barely be considered whiskey more like pure alcohol flavoured with piss, which considering the source would surprise him. Suppliers were desperate for alcohol finding all sort of sources for it not limited to detergents and varnish. Been stories of people going blind from drinking such stuff. Some people care enough to make effort in there drink to be relatively safe to drink others...Well are in it just for the money."...Merde..."i said clearing my throat of the last of my cough before taking another drink, the process beginning a new.

 

[Sea]

"Moonshine Under Moonlight."


Millie beamed and shimmered with anticipation as she entered La Lune Bleu. She had been here a week ago for the first time and had invited her reluctant friend along this time around. After having her most recent written article rejected from the newest edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, she was driven to have the best time tonight. She was adorning a sequined golden-silvery flapper that was soft and easy to move in, giving off sparkles that caught in the light every time she moved. Her face was pale, waiting to be flushed with excitement. A fashionable headband was nestled in her neat, golden hair. A beaded purse was clutched in her right hand, its silver chain held between her knuckles. She was wearing a new pair of shoes that 'absolutely needed to be danced in'. She radiated excitement and charm, despite her lack of accessories and flair. She had spent a good deal of time and money on this outfit knowing perfectly well it may be gone by tonight. Her money from her parents was saved and was her last resort for recreational usage. She still had money from her last paycheck and sort of expected herself to throw most of it away tonight. Tonight would be fast, young, and forgotten.


"Come on, Bernice," she giggled, tugging her dark haired friend behind her as she felt the wooden contraption close behind them. "Remember the last time you got an edge?" She took in the crowd that hummed excitedly and sighed inwardly with contentment. Her friend shook her head. "Don't be silly, Mills. I don't like going to these places. It's all sweaty and then there's the law-" Millie covered her friend's mouth for a brief second before releasing her, a sign that the law should not be mentioned tonight. "I suppose you intend to wake up tomorrow at a stranger's place with a bunch of feathers covering you from head to toe like a bird." The blonde flapper laughed, as if the idea awakened her in an odd way. "Ab-so-lute-ly!" She drew out each syllable with an fiery note. "Once is never enough, Bernie!" Her friend sighed and attempted to make the best of the situation. Once Millie made up her mind, there were very few things that could change it.


I need a drink. Millie wanted to take a seat on an empty chair, a swiveling bar stool. A young man dressed in a sharp suit happened to leave just as she was scanning the chairs and she quickly took his spot. Sometimes she had good luck and she really did appreciate it. "A modern cocktail," she said to the bartender, speaking the first drink that came to mind. He told her that they didn't have enough sloe gin to make modern cocktails tonight. "What?" she protested, giving a slight hesitation before ordering a mojito. Her friend had struggled keeping up with her quick pace and was now lost in the crowd, perhaps caught up in a random conversation. Bernie may think she's quiet, but she loves to speak her mind to strangers. The blonde flapper chuckled to herself. A young man next to her caught the chuckle and began to strike up a conversation, complimenting her headband. A minute later, she found he was a cousin of her friend's friend's boyfriend. Apparently a few of her antics had been carried over to him. "Funny how we've never met, Vinny," she said, right when her drink came. He looked like he wanted to offer to pay for it, so she quickly paid for it herself. She liked proving herself independent. The young man, Vinny, nodded. "Yes, it's weird, Miss...?" She lifted her chin in mock dignity. "Rose. Millie Rose." He cocked his head. "Oh? I heard your family name was Rosenburg." She brushed it off with a flick of her wrist. "Oh, that? Rumor. I go by Rose. Rosenburg sounds so...snooty, doesn't it?" She wrinkled her nose in an expression of disgust and he was forced to agree. The conversation was slowing down and he was appearing duller by the second, resembling the flat tires (boring dates) she had brought to parties. "I heard that the singer here is..." he was saying, though she barely heard the rest of the sentence. The mojito gave her an edge, a buzz, and although she wanted another one, she decided to wait for a bit.


She really disliked boring events and boring folks, and was honestly looking for some witty fun people. She decided to wait for a few moments for an excuse to leave Vinny. Smiling at whatever he had just said, she donned the rest of her mojito.


((Apologies if I got any 1920s reference wrong or if I completely misinterpreted how speakeasys work; I tried to research about 1920s slang/speakeasys, so I may have gotten some things mixed up. >.<))

 

[Roach of Wrath]

"Not to much now. I can't have you ossified on the job, encase I still need you dead eye accuracy." He said taking anther drag of his cig they always calmed his nerves, and reminded him of his father when he was on leave from the navy. He motioned his pack of 'Lucky Strike' cigarettes to his partner, sending the silent message 'Do you want one?' to him. "You know it the least they could do is be on time to the own arresting." Grayson joked.

 

[MissPenny2]

Chin held high, Mary-Ellen Cumberland moved confidently down the broken and cracked sidewalk, her eyes set on her target. She was on a job. Then again, when wasn't she? Taking the picture and working its angles, that was her specialty. She'd gotten rather impeccable at it too.


Her black heels clicked across the pavement, each step bringing her closer to the car where the two detectives sat that she knew would be waiting. She didn't slow her stride one bit, but smoothed down her simple black dress as she neared the automobile from the back. Slipping two fingers into the small purse that hung at her left side, she removed a rectangular piece of card stock and let one of her signature sly grins creep over her lips. Coming to a stop just outside the driver's window, Mary-Ellen pressed her palm against the glass, the piece of white card stock sandwiched in between. It was a business card, bearing the image of a red fox leaping towards the right side of the card.


"You're not going to learn anything just sitting out here, boys."

 

[Tinman]

Gerald:


It was my job to stand guard upstairs and guide people into the back. It was dull for the most part, but when the quaint little shop really closed down I locked her up and joined the raging party downstairs. People from all walks of life came around, on occasion someone would notice the French Croix de Guerre I wore even while I had my suit on. The Croix was a honor I earned during my service in France, and even when standing at the door of the speakeasy I would sometimes get firm hand shakes from others who truly knew what it meant. I eventually made my way into the Blue Moon, and the scene was something to behold. I looked over the crowds and saw the glimmering dancers on the stage, The band on the side and in the back keeping pace, the bar, like a cliff face in the sea weathered the tides of people crashing against her rugged shores. Everywhere there were people dancing and gambling, drinking and laughing, this was the night life of the twenties. I made my way through the pulsing crowds towards my Employer, Gracie, my friend Louis' widow. "Madam" I said with a slight bow. "The doors are locked"

 

[XxRoseAlchemistxX]

Gracie turned from speaking with a guest to Gerald who had come to her. "Thank you darlin'." She said to him speaking in a soft charming voice, "Go ahead and enjoy the night honey, but please do keep an eye out on our guests let me know if anyone significant rolls in." She told him. She turned around back to her guests but quickly stopped and back to him, "Oh darlin' before I forget would you mind doin' me a favor? Would you please go up back stage and make sure Stella is ready? It's about time she started her performance." She explained, "And if it's not to much trouble announce her to the audience would you dear?"

 

[profnox]

The car stopped in front of the speakeasy, disguised in the night's shade, and Liza stepped out of the car.


"I thought I was dropping you off with friends."


The man behind the steering wheel leant closer to the open window.


"That you are." she said bluntly, fixing her shirt's collar without looking back at him.


"Come see me tomorrow." he asked her.


Liza glanced back. His eyes bore into hers, and she had to glance down before saying,


"Sure."


When she walked away, she knew it was a lie. There were certain things you couldn't do after spending time with certain people.


Stepping into the building, Liza murmured "Moonshine under moonlight." and the doors opened for her. Before stepping completely into the building, she took a deep breath, swapped her lover's gaze - perfected by the time she was seventeen - for a more suited face.


Finally, she let her eyes fall onto the crowd.

 

[Tinman]

Gerald:


I started my walk through the alcohol infused dance floor, through people who seemed enthralled in just the air that this place exuded, I waded my way through them with careful attention to the people that were around me, analyzing to see the mood of the people. The party was raging and I would soon become a minor cog in its overwhelming mess of clockwork and gears. I breezed past a red curtain, like a whisper on the wind I entered the backstage like that of a long lost ghost making its rounds through its past life. Through all the radiant glitter, elaborate dressers, and ever hungry musicians I tread on wards passing sights some only saw once in their lives. The flow of people seemed endless and chaotic, yet even so it didn't changes in response to my arrival. I came to the room of one woman who had made an illustrious name on this very stage, Stella, she was the favorite dancer, for all patrons of the speakeasy came to see her and gaze at her beauty. I entered the quarters where she would commonly get dressed and ready for her next performance. "Excuse me, Stella?" I asked as I knocked on the door just outside the room "You are up in just a few"

 

[XxRoseAlchemistxX]

Upon hearing the knock Stella snuffed out her cigarette and opened the door. She was lucky enough to have been given her own dressing room, "Thank you Gerald." She said giving her hair a quick fluff. "I'm ready to be announced if you will." She was always told by Louis to never just get up on stage, he made it a grand show by always announcing her, 'La Lune Bleue's songbird' is what she was known as. She couldn't care less for the dramatics, but figured he wanted it that way for a reason so my as well stick to the plan. After all if it ain't broke don't fix it, wasn't that what they say?

 

[Tinman]

Gerald:


I simply nodded to Stella and took my leave to take my place upon the stage. The raging musics started to die just as I peeled back the curtain and stepped forth onto the stage lights gleaming in my eyes I stepped up to the Microphone. Looking out onto the eager crowds, booze on their breath, all of them caught up in the moment, the time, the drink. This was the life to live, and we all lived it. I cleared my throat just before I made my voice boom over the crowd. "Announcing our own shining gem, The Song bird of Le Lune Bleue, Stella Sawyer!" I motioned towards the curtain from where I had just came and an uproar of an applause reached up to the heavens, threatening to tear them down with their will alone. Then I saw an age old friend of mine who I had not seen for quite a time, her light brown eyes like stars in the night sky, and her smile could make some of the strongest men melt, my friend Liza Grant. I stepped down from what seemed like an alter, for many came and threw their praise upon this stage almost as religiously as churchmen. I made my way though the entangled Crowds once more, beating on against the ever flowing rage and storm of the dance floor. I eventually meet my intended target and held out my arm to her "An escort my fair lady?" I asked with a slight smirk and a smile, the likes of which even a blind man couldn't help but notice.

 

[XxRoseAlchemistxX]

All the lights in the speakeasy dimmed, except for one spot light shining at the stage telling the audience where to look. The curtains drew back slowly to reveal a beautiful woman in a stunning blue dress behind them waiting. She walked forward in a slow and sultry manner, the shimmer of dress emphasizing every movement she made. Finally she approached the front of the stage grasping the stand up mic gently with one hand. Stella looked out at the crowd. It was quiet and all eyes were on her. It was in moments like this she remember the words her mother had told her when she was young. "I hope when your older you'll be a fool my dear. This world is cruel and the only women that can survive it will be beautiful little fools." It was the only advice her mother had ever given her, and she had failed to listen. Because Stella was in fact no fool, she saw everything for what it really was and not what it appeared to be. It made her bitter inside, and had more than once caused her heartbreak. Her heart was now so broken it seemed there was nothing left. It was in moments like this she remembered, and she used the memories to fuel the emotion in her songs. Even if what she sang about wasn't true to herself. She heard the piano begin to play, she closed her eyes and sang with all that was left in her. ((



))

 

[profnox]

"Not tonight, Gerald." Liza said, greeting her friend with a smile.


"Tonight, you'll be a friend. I've missed you."


She took his arm anyway and led the way into the speakeasy, taking a cocktail from a passing waiter's tray.


She spared a glance for the stage, where the songbird Stella Sawyers was pouring her heart out on stage.


"Very dramatic, that one." Liza said, motioning to the stage with her drink and then taking a sip.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

"Non merci, one vice at a time is enough for me for one night. Even i have my limits "I replied in my bad attempt at humor waiving the cigarettes off. I liked Grayson a straight shooter with a good intuition and tough enough for this job. Honest enough to keep me in check from falling further than i have but loyal enough not to rat me out for it, at least if i dont go too far. It was the reason i kept him with me. I leaned my head back and sighed rubbing my eyes, my neck felt stiff and the car seat felt like i was seating on hot coal."Thats it! Ca craint. Another five minutes and we call..."


I jumped slightly seeing the girl on the other side of the mirror. I rolled down the window and studied the girl closely. Chocolate brown hair, piercing eye and skin you now was smooth as feather. Her manner and jewlery indicated a girl of wealth, looking like that it wasnt hard to believe. However she was in a bad neighborhood but looked comfortable in it, indicating to me she didnt just earn her money by looking pretty. The look was familiar in a way i couldn't place.


"Is that so mademoiselle?"I replied

 

[Tinman]

Gerald:


Liza always was a dominant force to be reckoned with and always taking charge of every situation. "I have missed you as well Liza, how long has it been?" I asked her as we made our way through the dancing mob, ever engrossed by the drink and song. Eventually we made our way, zigzagging through the mass of people until we came to our table. The least used table in the entire house, it was old a weathered, yet it was always polished to a shine. It is here in the dark corner of the house that Liza and I would sit for countless hours talking about everything and anything, religion, politics, science, theater, music, nothing didnt pass between our lips when we were in this dark corner of our own little world. I pulled out a chair for her to sit as we made it to our destination. "Well one has to be, to be constantly on a stage and at the will and praise of countless others" Stella and the spotlight belonged together, it seemed that all was right in the world as long as she was on that stage.

 

[Roach of Wrath]

The girl chocolate brown hair seamed to have something to say to my partner. Henry was a fair cop sure not the most honest, but his one of the best we got in a town like this. He doesn't judge me on the color of my skin, which is something I can't say for rest of the force. We both under stand the you can't change people and there vices but you can regulate them. He .45 caliber pistol before returning it to it's shoulder holster making sure she didn't see it listening in on the conversation.

 

[MissPenny2]

Mary-Ellen gave a small shrug, her careful gaze traveling around the street block for a moment. "Well I suppose you can continue to give it a try, but I think these people are smarter than you give them credit for." She paused, her eyes falling back to the driver. "In fact, I know they are."


Her grin seemed to brighten a bit as she leaned over to become level with the two detectives, her arms neatly folded and rested on the window's edge. "Allow me let you gentlemen in on a little secret..." She started, her voice soft as she scanned their faces with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Whatever you think you've got on your hands here? It's so much bigger than you have imagined."

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

"Madame, its been a long night i don't have the time or the inclination to humor you."I said barely containing my irritation to the girls games. Not to mention she was drawing attention away from a building. To that end, i indicated to Grayson to keep watch if he wasn't already. Bs turned back to the girl. "You have information for me or do i have to take you in for abstraction of justice?"

 

[profnox]

"To each his own." Liza shrugged, never really taking an interest in singers.


As she sat down, she thought for a moment about how long it had been since she'd sat here.


"Three months, perhaps?"


A pang of guilt struck her. She had said nothing to Gerald about her leaving when she did. She feigned a smile.


"We left so suddenly. Even my coming back was unexpected."


That part was a lie. She'd left on a trip with a man she'd worked with. They'd travelled up to France; where she worked her way into assisting with a film he'd been busy with there. Frankly, once the film had been made and was lining up for release, she'd left him.


A couple of calls later and she had a new man waiting for her at the airport on her return.


Liza took another sip of her drink and smiled at Gerald.

 

[MissPenny2]

"Oh now, Detective, I'm just trying to give you a heads up." Her face held the look of a mock pout just before the grin worked its way back to her lips. "No need to be in a hurry. If you don't listen to me, you aren't getting anywhere, anyhow."


"You see, the dilemma is that I was hired to come over here and keep you two lovely gentlemen preoccupied. However...you happen to be in the unique position of being able to give me something I want." Mary-Ellen paused, her eyes shifting to the building before continuing. "There's a man down in city lockup on minor charges. I'll give you a name if we have a deal, but I want him out. Working on good faith, I'll set you up where they're delivering the booze." Her grin had faded, replaced with a deadly serious glint in her eye. "Because I can promise you, they aren't taking it through the front door."

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

I though on it for a minute, looking ahead at the building ahead of me. Its true what she said it is possible they could have missed the bootleggers in the building thank to a back door. A buyer would be a good way to trace them again but...the deal smelled funny to me, the deal sounded too good to be true: a prisoner for a possible speakeasy or other seller. What was the prisoner to warrant such i deal? Also she was hired to distract them? I wondered curiously before turning back to the girl.


"Whats the name of your prisoner?" I asked in the blankest expression i could master.