Portraits revealed through your current reading position.
Donut's sponsor has become empress and joins the Masquerade as a remote celebrity judge, satisfying a production-role loophole for her buy-in.
D'Nadia's father retires, elevating her from princess to empress. She appears in the goodwill ballroom as a solid-smelling but gently intangible Saccathian wearing a sparkling purple dress that hints at many concealed tentacles.
She judges both the pet and talent contests and warns Donut that sponsorship will not produce favoritism. The judging job makes D'Nadia part of the production, a technical requirement and loophole supporting her buy-in bid.
D'Nadia is angry that Quasar and Carl's new corporation nearly ruined that bid, though the transaction ultimately survives. She remains in orbit until after the event, when her group plans landfall.
A towering tentacle-faced Saccathian empress in a glittering purple gown shaped around hidden limbs.
D'Nadia combines Donut's sponsor relationship, contest authority, and the corporate ownership maneuver around the crawl.