#masqueradeballprep

 "You want me to invite those Anarchist miscreants to my ball? That’s..."

"...delicious. But I need a reason. Something gauche. Something scandalous. Something that would make Prince Lacroix gag on his own taste."

"Andy Warhol. Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster). That grotesque mess of chrome and morbidity... Perfect. Unfortunately, it’s owned by Judith Ward now. That banshee of the screen."

The doors open with a theatrical creak. A pale, silver-haired figure glides in like a living relic of a dying dream:  It’s Andy Warhol:

 "I heard someone said ‘Warhol’ three times in front of a mirror. That’s usually how I show up."

"Oh, I know a lot about vampire culture. People say I was just the producer—just a name attached to Blood for Dracula (AKA Andy Wahrol's Dracula)... but I knew exactly what we were making. I even wrote its most memorable line:"

"Dracula isn't scary because he's undead. He's scary because he's useless."

"That's one way to put it."

"He’s aristocracy clinging to relevance. He needs 'pure' blood, virgins — symbols of a world that doesn’t exist anymore. That’s the whole joke: the 'purity' is gone, and so is his power."

"A decaying elite feeding off the working class?"

Andy: "Exactly. The peasants are alive. Sexual. Modern. He’s a rotting museum piece in a world that dances without him."

"So it’s about class struggle."

"It’s about the myth of control. Dracula thinks he’s superior, but he’s sick, pathetic. A parasite dressed in old manners. Just like every old empire."

"That’s why I liked it. Because death, power, blood — it’s all performance art. And eventually, everyone runs out of stage."

"And the Silver Car Crash?"

"The ultimate reminder that beauty and death are best when hung in the living room. Judith doesn't understand it. She just wants it because it matches her sofa."

The group discusses the next steps with Sophie and Andy.

Sophie: "Bring me that piece of chrome carnage, and I will hand the Anarchs their invitations tied in black ribbon. Very avant-garde."

"We’ll handle Judith Ward."

Next Episode: "How To Steal A Warhol" – Silver never tarnishes... unless you scratch deep.

Will Judith Ward part with her Warhol?

Can Leslie resist judging Judith’s aesthetic crimes?

Is Andy Warhol really just haunting the Toreador, one gallery at a time?