MASQUERADE

[goosemods]

MASQUERADE

Classes are not cancelled this afternoon, which leaves Event Committee scrambling after 3 PM to get everything in order in the Atrium. Students having dinner are given only 30 minutes before they’re ushered out past the privacy curtains again, since EC claims they need the cafeteria for a “special surprise.” At 7 PM sharp, the Atrium opens, and the Anonymity Charm activates.

Mardi Gras is the theme of the night, and the Atrium has been decorated all over in purple, green and yellow. Floor-to-ceiling backdrops are arranged along the walls, depicting a festive city street, and painted figures of masked performers tumble, juggle, swallow swords and perform magic tricks for the students. The ceiling is decorated with glimmering, stylized stars and a smiling silver moon, and multicoloured confetti falls continuously, vanishing just above everyone’s heads. Purple, green and yellow balloons are strewn across the dance floor, but will magically skitter out of the way so no one accidentally steps on one.

The refreshments table is the real star of the night, with a chocolate fountain surrounded by plates of various fresh fruits, marshmallows, caramels, cream puffs and cakes. A long table features treats styled after the theme, with mask-shaped cookies, cupcakes with edible beads, macarons in purple, green and yellow; glittery cake pops, and sprinkles on literally everything. (A few special treats have been set aside for vegan students, and Prospero will point to them.) At the far end of the table is an open bar adorned with feathers and colourful silk, where students can order mocktails from a menu. Isabelle Sargent, Ursula de Luca and Todd Skynner all volunteer to take shifts behind the bar for an hour (or two), and make conversation with their anonymous classmates while serving up drinks. A masked house-elf will always be present behind the bar, if no one wants to play bartender.

Step through the doors into the cafeteria and you’ll discover a stage has been set up with anonymous karaoke. Have you been too afraid to sing in front of your classmates? Now, if you perform badly, no one will know who you are, so get up there! This room is also popular for the MVSC photobooth in the corner, which automatically spits out a strip of four animated photographs for the low, low price of a half-dragot.

If you want a quiet moment, then the balcony is the place to go. The decorations out here are just as bright and glittery, but the little benches have comfortable purple, green and yellow cushions, and there’s bluebell flame lamps providing warmth and light on this chilly but romantic February night.

Staff is present and also wearing masks, but they aren’t using the Anonymity Charm, to make it easier for students to get help if there’s any trouble. Anyone who’s using anonymity to harass others will be given only one warning before they’re ejected from the dance. Observant partygoers will spot Dr. O’Hare on the arm of Mrs. O’Hare (appropriately, they’re wearing matching rabbit masks), but his partner, Agent Larke, is nowhere to be seen…

Just before midnight, Mr. Oakes presents an awe-inspiring fireworks show right above the lake. You can walk outside for the full view, but the backdrops will be taken down so you also watch from the tall windows of the Atrium. The last fireworks light up the sky at the stroke of midnight, when the Anonymity Charm ends.

HOW THIS WORKS

• Decorating the Atrium begins around 3:15 PM, and the cafeteria is cleared at 6:30 PM.


• Cocktail dress code. That’s party dresses and suits, but you won’t be dinged for getting too fancy or dressing slightly more casually. No jeans or t-shirts, though!


• The dance starts at 7:00 PM, and runs until around 12:00 AM. These are also the hours of the Anonymity Charm: the charm activates just as the clock strikes 7:00 PM, and only within the confines of the lodge and the immediate surrounding area, and permanently deactivates at midnight. If students don’t have a charmed mask of their own, a simple domino will be issued to them at the door.


• Anyone wearing a charmed mask becomes unrecognizable to those looking at them. You might have known a person by their voice, height, hair, skin, or lips, but now suddenly… you aren’t certain. This could be anyone.


• This effectively means that you can’t guess the identity of an individual by their physical traits. However, you might recognize them either from their speech patterns, or something they tell you.


• It’s easier to recognize people by their masks, but if you want your character to struggle with this as well, you may. (The same applies to clothing.) This means you might be at risk of losing track of your date if you come as a couple. This is up to individual players.


• Mr. Calderon-Boot has the power to take the charm away, though, so if you act in a truly horrendous manner or break a rule, you could still get caught. Not to mention that a lot of people will remember if the guy in the blue domino mask was being a total dick all night, and someone might later see it amongst your possessions.


• If you leave the dance, the charm deactivates until you return. If you remove your mask, the charm deactivates, but will reactivate once you put your mask back on.

» Setting Up: In the afternoon, Event Committee works on getting the Atrium looking its best. Event Committee has thrown up magically impenetrable curtains around the Atrium, so even students exiting dinner at 6:30 PM won't be able to see what they're working on.

» Before the Dance: Dress to impress! Do you let your friends see your mask, or are you hiding it until you get to the dance? The trails have been swept by Mr. Covington, to make it easy as possible for students get to the lodge. (He recommends wearing your boots, and changing footwear once you reach the lodge.) Doors open at 7 PM.

» Beginning of the Dance: Students are allowed into the Atrium and get to admire the decorations and everyone's masks. The music aims to get everyone dancing with a playlist that’s heavy on the jazz, ragtime and brass band. (~7:00 PM)

» Refreshments Table & Open Bar: Food and drinks are available all night, and there’s little tables, decked in colourful tablecloths, if you want somewhere to sit. Head to the bar if you want someone to mix a drink for you—all non-alcoholic, of course. (~8:00-11:00 PM)

» Anonymous Karaoke: Through the doors to the cafeteria is a stage with a karaoke setup. Can you guess which one of your classmates is performing? (~8:00-11:00 PM)

» Photobooth: In the corner of the cafeteria, you can take instant mementos of your night. Just insert a half-dragot coin, and strike a pose! Note that the Anonymity Charm does not work in photographs, so your pictures might give away your identity... (~8:00-11:00 PM)

» Balcony: The balcony overlooks the lake, and some students mingle out here to chat or appreciate the scenery. (~8:00-11:00 PM)

» End of the Night: The music winds down with some slower, romantic songs. Just before midnight, there’s a fireworks show. The charm immediately ends at the stroke of midnight, Cinderella. So either leave the dance by then, or stand around with everyone else to unmask and see who you’ve been talking to! (~11:00 PM-12:00 AM)

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

Comments

SETTING UP

[goosemods]

Isabelle

[-sparrow.insanejournal.com]

After classes, Isabelle scrambled like the rest of Event Committee to get things set up. She works her little but off and takes direction from the elder EC members to get everything ready before everyone shows up.

Mina, Event Committee Dictator

[wilhelmeana]

You'd think by now that Mina would have Event Committee running like a well-oiled machine, but life keeps throwing them curve balls, like setting them up to throw the biggest dance ever and then giving them the least setup time so far. But Mina isn't cowed by hard work or having to shout at anyone who idles for even a second.

Boxes need to be carried! No no NO, those are the wrong decorations! Backdrops have to be pinned to the walls! (Ignore the whining of the people in the paintings!) Balloons have to be blown up! Table and chairs have to be set up, and wrapped with colourful ribbons in a PRECISE ALTERNATING PATTERN! That tablecloth is uneven! Who has all the supplies for the bar?! You've got a wand, work on applying these stars to the ceiling! No, now you've put those stars too close together! Oh my GOD, someone get those people out of the cafeteria so we can set up the stage! Pillows! Masks! Streamers!

The quietest Mina ever gets is when she's working on the charms for the raining confetti. It doesn't really need her personal touch on it, but after the Winter Formal chandelier, she's not taking any chances with the spellwork. Despite time constraints and Mina's tendency to make everything so much more frenzied than it needs to be, Event Committee ends up pulling it together in time for everyone to run back to their cabins and put their finery on.

BEFORE THE DANCE

[goosemods]

Xavier, i wrote this up at noon yesterday and now i am outing myself as a weirdo

[solveforx]

As per usual, Xavier is having a hard time leaving the mirror this evening. Oh well, fashionably late is fine. Just one last glance at his reflection and THEN he’ll go (this is, like, the third or fourth “one last glance,” at least). He cuts a dashing silhouette if he does say so himself. In forest green, with matching mask and flower crown, he looks like a business elf. A sylvan CEO. Zav very strongly feels that his name tonight should be Lysander Oakleaf, Esq. Some idle part of his brain takes the cue to run off and begins statting an elven lawyer-bard for the next D&D campaign and it’s a solid 45 seconds before he can wrangle himself back to reality.

Before he heads out the door, Zav moves a few strands of hair so that they fall over his mask. Roguish. Noice.

Xavier is not making much of an effort to hide his identity. His fellow Ribbonfin senior boys have probably seen his mask, already.

Jr Azurbabes

[princeprincess.insanejournal.com]

Kenzie sees every dance as an opportunity to dress even more outlandishly than the last. She pulls a massive pile of lace flowers and tulle out of her expandable trunk, and it becomes clear Kenzie's wearing a ball gown (http://orig06.deviantart.net/7f83/f/2017/054/7/c/kenziemask_by_meggiefox-db05vh7.png). Her dress and mask are covered in fake flowers and leaves, and her still visible lips are painted berry red (kiss-proof, naturally). Her hair's been done up in dramatic curls, although soon no on will be able to appreciate the color.

"Do you think the green will fool anyone into thinking I'm a Ribbonfin?" she asks. "I don't plan on acting sweet all night, though."

Senior Azurgents

[indiefolk]

Diego has not been hiding his outfit from his cabin, and his preoccupation with the idea of a plague doctor mask is revealed by those eye pieces. As it turns out, glasses + mask = no fun, and Diego's eyesight is pretty bad. However, Diego got Mina to help him transfigure a spare pair of glasses into the lenses of his mask, so when he puts it on he can see perfectly.

He's barely been able to focus on anything but the dance today. He has no idea what happened in class. He and Ravi have big plans tonight, and Diego wants to deliver on the promises he made. Serious agent of the king, hunting down spies, saving the world, being really competent and sexy. Diego looks at himself in the mirror and doesn't really see it in him. He pulls the mask down over his eyes, though, and suddenly it seems a little more plausible.

Jr Copperjerks

[cygninae]

Reid says he's not going. This isn't a huge surprise. He goes to maybe a third of the dances, and usually only if someone has decided he'd make good arm candy. As all of his roommates are getting ready, he's lying in his bunk, reading. He's even doing homework, just to keep Sy off his back. This is the extent of his manipulation, and it was probably unnecessary. Three of his roommates have dates to worry about... and Casey is Casey.

However, hidden in the bottom of his trunk, Reid has used magic to make his one suit white, and has transfigured a shoe into his mask. The effect is somewhat... swan-like.

Soph Azurbab(i)es

[magitechnically]

Essie is ridiculously excited for this dance. Maybe a tiny part of her is bummed that she doesn't have a date, but then she quickly recalls that just means she can dance with all the cute boys!!! No one is going to call her Mina and Diego's baby sister tonight! For her outfit, she's pairing a white bunny mask with a frothy white dress and the winged shoes from Diego. She's a flying bunny. Or a bunny fairy. Or something. It's CUTE, okay.

Before she heads out the door, she just has to solve the dilemma of which lipstick makes her look the most smoochable. ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Isabelle & Bash

[-sparrow.insanejournal.com]

Isabelle has to get ready very quickly. In the midst of it all, she accidentally ruins her white dress and has to make a last minute change (http://imgur.com/ztfmmSq). Good thing she went with all those colors, huh? This makes her close to being late, though, and she dashes over to Bash to get her hair done. She does ask for the color to be changed, and for her already short hair to be slicked back.

Jr Ribbonfins!

[un_kept]

Avery works mostly on helping other people get ready, she's definitely good at make-up, she can do hair decently well, etc. She sneaks off to get ready herself, donning a pretty yellow and black dress with matching black mask that sort of resembles a butterfly. She waits for her friends since she has no formal date, and trying to remember who some of them are before they head in and become unable to recognize anyone.

Senior Coppertale Boys, aka the Cold War

[firstposition.insanejournal.com]

Rafael's outfit (http://orig09.deviantart.net/4d15/f/2017/055/a/2/rafaelmask_by_meggiefox-db07xw8.png) came from advice from a combination of Ravi (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/goose_ooc/75764.html?thread=4984820#t4984820) and... Ricardo, actually. Rafael's much more fashionable brother send him a dramatic suit to go with his rather plain mask, maybe as a sort of peace offering. The letter also unfortunately contained comments like "Anyone you take will be out of their league!" and "Is Leo actually dressing up this much? He didn't seem like the type. You know, if you bring him to the wedding he'll have to—" Etc. etc. etc.

But Rafael is focusing on one of the last comments Rico wrote: "It sounds like he makes you happy."

Rafael leaves the cabin in high spirits, and while not friendly, per se, he's trying to not be horribly icy with Chris and Robin tonight.

Sophomore Ribbongirls

[orangepip]

Pippa went with a peacock theme for her outfit and mask, but as she wriggles into her iridescent sequinned dress she realises she's never worn anything quite so clingy before. It's thrilling, and a little alarming. It's the kind of dress for dancing with a ~mysterious stranger~ in.

Being shorter than your average model, the dress is longer on Pippa -- but it's still above knee length. Is that too short? Will a teacher turn her away at the door for dressing inappropriately? It's too late to change it now -- but hopefully her roommates can reassure her she doesn't look too scandalous, even if she feels it.

Senior Azurbabes

[unregrettable]

Etta is wearing her favourite party dress, which possibly defeats the whole point of masks and anonymity charms... but seriously, who can afford to buy a new dress for every dance? The pink and black mask she made at the crafting session gives off slight bordello vibes, because Etta is incapable of crafting anything classy, but she's secretly rather proud of her trashy mask.

She spends a while making sure her hair looks amazing, because even if no one will be able to recall what it looked like afterwards, she'll know.

Sophomore Ribbonboys

[evercreep.insanejournal.com]

Calvin has his mask propped up on his head as he looks at himself in the mirror. His entire ensemble (http://orig00.deviantart.net/309c/f/2017/055/b/4/calvinmask_by_meggiefox-db08d12.png) is thanks to Cole, and today's the first time he's seen it. The first ten minutes after the reveal were spent finding a dozen new ways to gush over Cole's incredible talent... and another few minutes were dedicated to fawning (a bit more shyly) over how handsome Cole looks. The final touch is tying the woven green bracelet (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/gooseberry/346556.html) on his wrist. Calvin uses his teeth to finish off the knot.

"What made you decide on fearsome dragons?" he asks, smiling at Cole in the mirror's reflection.

Senior Ribbonfin Girls

[valentinez.insanejournal.com]

Z takes her time getting ready. She spent the afternoon chilling for once (!!), so she's relaxed and slightly more peppy than she's managed of late.

After getting her dress and "formal" boots (https://68.media.tumblr.com/779c5c67d454c372cf6290005bdd15ff/tumblr_oluew3KWq61tdamqjo1_500.png) on, she'll hang around to help out with hair and last minute adjustments before slipping on her simple mask (http://www.maskparty.co.uk/ekmps/shops/maskparty/images/black-silver-domino-eye-mask-438-p.jpg) and venturing off to find Ryan. ♥

EBONHIDE SR BOYS, loudest party on campus

[ninjaleo]

Leo had to beg/borrow/barter around a little to get his suit (please assume pants are also worn). It involved petitioning both his older brothers and brother in law, and several of their friends for the pieces. He charmed them a dark blue to mask the mask Ravi gave him (which was very nice!). But in the end he's actually kind of happy with how it looks. It's not as showy as he knows some people will be, but that's never really been Leo. The gold will have to be what distinguishes him from all the anonymous people.
Anyway, he probably gets ready in relative quiet and tells Nate to have fun, but is kind of impatient to go meet Rafael.

Senior Ribbonboys

[icovington.insanejournal.com]

Isaiah is keeping his outfit simple- black and silver domino mask (https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1RnOwHVXXXXclXXXXq6xXFXXXi/Pure-handmade-Italy-Venice-font-b-Mask-b-font-font-b-Masquerade-b-font-font-b.jpg) and suit sans tie. (http://ethnicelebs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/LMK-066806-Lucien-Laviscount-400x571.jpg) Because this isn’t a formal, formal dance. So that’s ok. Right?

He’s trying very hard to look cool, you guys.

He also is very obviously nervous and keeps checking the mirror like maybe, all of a sudden, he looks stupid or has food in his teeth. Feel free to make of that what you will Ravi.

BEGINNING OF THE DANCE

[goosemods]

Isabelle

[-sparrow.insanejournal.com]

In a multi-colored mask (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6e/2d/ac/6e2dacf1f407ee872e5d1daa643ce265.jpg) and a very nice but very last minute choice on a blue dress (http://imgur.com/ztfmmSq) with even her hair a different color, Isabelle is sure no one will recognize her. She's covered in glitter (this time on purpose) and makes her way into the dance completely solo. It doesn't matter if anyone sees, right? No one would know it was her.

There's only mild panic coursing through her right now. Just mild.

REFRESHMENTS TABLE & OPEN BAR

[goosemods]

Isabelle the Anonymous Bartender That's A Little Too Slow Omg Stop MEASURING...

[-sparrow.insanejournal.com]

Isabelle volunteers to be one of the people behind the bar and yes, she really does measure it out and make it take just a tad longer than it really is necessary to receive your drink. Oops!

ANONYMOUS KARAOKE

[goosemods]

ANONYMOUS DANGER ZONE

[laaurel.insanejournal.com]

Laurel performs Danger Zone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK0P1Bk8Cx4), complete with dance moves and air guitar. It's the only song she ever performs at karaoke, so probably gives her away to a couple people, but OH WELL~

PHOTOBOOTH

[goosemods]

Ree

[reehobbs.insanejournal.com]

Ree is ALL ABOUT THIS, and drags everyone in with her. Everyone. She doesn't know who most of you people are, and she doesn't care, you're taking photos with her and her giant feather mask. DEAL.

BALCONY

[goosemods]

Avery

[un_kept]

A break from all the dancing and fun, Avery wanders out onto the balcony for a bit. The fresh air and general quietness feels nice, and she leans against the balcony checking on the scenery for a bit...

END OF THE NIGHT

[goosemods]

Isabelle

[-sparrow.insanejournal.com]

She did manage to dance. Does anyone dance with her? Is she going to be surprised at midnight by a handsome stranger (male or female) who sweeps her off her feet? Or laugh with a friend she didn't recognize? Issy is definitely less up-tight tonight, so there's plenty of chance for multiple dances, even before midnight.

🎭 OOC - Questions, comments, concerns! 🎭

[goosemods]

I thought about not using a Gossip Girl gif, but FUCK IT let's embrace the shitty teen drama spirit of Gooseberry.

Also this is such a long post??? Oh my god. I am secretly Mina in my zeal for impractical party planning.

Re: 🎭 OOC - Questions, comments, concerns! 🎭

[solveforx]