gooseberryhigh | MASQUERADE

MASQUERADE

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!

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Uttering a small sound of surprise as Levi pulls him closer and gets a bit too amorous for a school dance, Cecil is immediately flustered. He doesn't trust their anonymity quite as much as Levi does and that's not the point anyway. He'd react in much the same way if the two of them were completely alone. What the other boy has to say, though, makes him laugh and he relaxes in Levi's grip, shaking his head, "You don't have to do that. It's just...it was very sweet. You're sweet."

He glances briefly toward the stage. He'd thought about getting up there himself, finally, emboldened by the sense of being unrecognizable...but his heart is beating too hard now and he's too embarrassed. He'd definitely freeze up. He turns his dark eyes back to Levi and sets one hand against the boy's chest. "Think...we can go get a drink?"

Levi's expression softens when Cecil calls him sweet and he lifts a hand to place it over the one on his chest. His gaze follow's Cecil's to the stage, lingering a bit longer as he discerns the meaning of that look before glancing back to Cecil and grinning. "Yeah, whatever you wanna do!" he agrees easily, taking hold of his hand and lacing their fingers together. He lets Cecil lead them, making idle chitchat on the way. "Do you think, like... any teenagers are actually ordering the Bloody Marys? Does anyone even like Bloody Marys or do they just pretend to like it?"

Smiling gratefully, Cecil lets Levi's fingers flip between his and leads the way toward the bar. The question earns a sheepish laugh. "You're asking me? I...don't even know what's in a Bloody Mary. Apart from tomato juice." And why would he? He's never had one and never made one. But he still looks embarrassed. After a moment, he adds, "I had a pink 'champagne' earlier. I can recommend that?"

Is it a surprise to anyone that he'd pick one of the sweetest drinks available? Probably not.

"It's cold tomato soup with hot sauce and vodka and some other shit in it," Levi helpfully explains, wearing a grimace. He's never had one either. And why would he? Sounds gross. "I'm surprised you didn't go with the sunset-looking one with the pink sugar rim," he jests as he sees another student walk by with one. For a brief moment, he considers just ordering plain apple cider to mix his firewhisky into but decides better than that. "I want that one I've been seeing with the rock candy in it, but... I want two rock candies. And if they won't give me two rock candies, then I want two of the drinks with the rock candy in it." Ahh, a man of refined taste.

Cecil grimaces along with Levi -- a Bloody Mary really does sound awful -- and laughs, shaking his head, "Let's...not get that." Then a sheepish smile spreads over his lips and his dark eyes flit downward to look at the floor; his boyfriend knows him. And his hopeless sweet tooth. "It was my second choice," he admits, then looks at the other boy fondly, squeezing his hand, "Second drink of the night, so I guess I'll try it? And I bet they can spare a second swizzle stick. They've gone all out tonight."

Wilde's turned slightly to face her better. It's strange, the way her attributes seem to shift with the flickery light from the doorway. Sometimes she has a dark head of long hair, and sometimes it looks like she's pulled a hood over herself like an assassin.

"You think so? I mean -- obviously it'd be easier for a bodily transformation -- but for a simple illusion? Not that it'sactually simple... You're right." It's a messy network of things, that much is clear. "Either way, I bet we could make an ethical claim for knowledge of the method. I suppose we implicitly agreed to be subject to it by even coming here, but it's not like we signed anything."

Wilde speaks with the confidence of a person with no second thoughts. This is probably because it's easy to feel extra confident when you have no idea who you're talking to, but he hopes it makes him seem very self-assured.

"... Now that I'm thinking about it, though, it's easy to assume the masks are central to the illusion, but I think they're more like receivers. Maybe the enchantment is on the general space, and the masks are charmed to bounce and amplify it."

Ravi applies just the slightest pressure on the knife—if it was sharp at all, it would’ve cut. This is his mission. The only thing he’s being paid to do, and he hasn’t cared anything else since he’d been a young boy with absolutely nothing and no one. What use to him is king and country? What use to him is his heart?

“I didn’t expect you to.” He’s killed good men before, and men who stood straight and brave even in the face of certain death. There’s nothing different about this man… except that he somehow always finds a way to make Ravi smile. His grip tightens on the knife—

—and he abruptly pulls back, throwing it so it skitters across the floor and hits the wall with a clatter. Internally, Ravi winces, but the only thing evident on his masked face is emotional turmoil as he tries to pull away. He doesn’t get far. Diego still has a hold on his arm.

“If I asked you to ‘make it quick,’ would you humour me?” Ravi asks softly.

Diego keeps his grip on Ravi. This must look dramatic. The window behind them, the long empty hall, the dim lighting. Really spot on atmosphere. Diego hopes his silence seems dramatic, and doesn’t reveal that he’s searching for a good line. I can’t refuse you anything. No. Run away with me. No. I could never rob the world of such a handsome face. No.

“Leave this place,” he finally says, and lets go of Ravi’s arm. “Go live a quiet life somewhere. I never want to see you again.”

Ravi stumbles back. The fireworks are still going, lighting up Diego’s profile with green and pink lights. His lips and the line of his jaw are visible beneath the mask, but he still doesn’t look anything like Diego. He doesn’t sound anything like Diego either. He seems stern and dangerous, every inch the kind of man an autocratic monarch would trust to root out spies. If Ravi were as clever as they said, he would leave.

“Come with me.” He puts a hand on Diego’s chest, his fingers curling in Diego’s cape. “What has duty done for you? Paid you in riches? Made your name to be feared? Given you the power of life and death over common men?” He takes a step closer, not threatening this time, but pleading. “Is all that as important as what you feel? Or will you tell me that you feel nothing?”

Wow. Ravi is good at this. Diego feels lucky he’s had his mask on the whole night, because this way Ravi can’t see his struggling or surprised expressions when he’s trying to keep up with the improv. On the other hand, he’s a bit tired of not being able to get in close to Ravi. The long beak just serves as a barrier, keeping them apart more effectively than their star-crossed lovers narrative. The forced distance seems more pressing than his reputation as an actor right now, so Diego reaches up and pulls his mask back and off his head. He drops it gently on the ground, the metal bits clattering on the wood floor.

“You make a traitor of me,” Diego says in his most dramatic whisper.

And suddenly, he’s Diego again. Ravi can’t stop himself from smiling when the Anonymity Charm falls, but perhaps this joy is only his character’s joy. He moves his hands up to Diego’s neck, and just stares at him for a second, handsome and familiar and sweet-faced without his glasses. It takes another two seconds to think of an in-character response. “Let me be your country, and I shall never be betrayed so long as you grant me your affection.”

Too much? Despite the charm, the way he shyly grins is perfectly Ravi. So is the way he pushes Diego’s back against the window, and kisses him deeply, with all the impulsive desire he’s been bottling up all evening.

Diego only has a moment to let out a quiet, breathy laugh before his back’s at the window and Ravi’s mouth is on his. He returns the kiss with playful enthusiasm, no longer able to pretend he’s some brooding agent of a nonexistent king. Strong arms wrap around Ravi’s waist as he urges him in closer.

Despite character having been long since broken, the first thing Diego says when there’s a break in the kiss is another line from their pretend drama. But Diego sounds too cheerful, too faux-seductive, now that he’s unmasked. “Then shall I serve you as I did my country?” he says suggestively.

Ravi bites his lip, and presses his face against Diego’s shoulder, embarrassed. He’s still wearing his mask, with all its sharp edges, but he doesn’t want to let go of Diego in order to take it off. Right now, he doesn’t want to let go of Diego, ever.

“Thank you. This is the best date I’ve ever had.” As if Ravi’s been on a lot of dates. But the heat in his face feels like it’ll never go away, nor the giddiness under his skin, like an electric thrum travelling to every inch of him. His arms go around Diego’s neck, and he turns his head to kiss Diego’s cheek. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to dance.”

"You're right," Saira says almost eagerly. There's nothing that excites her like a puzzle. "Of course you're right. The masks are antennae for the localized charm, essentially. It makes far more sense if it's done in two parts rather than one."

Sylla has never been asked to dance by anyone. She can imagine herself in an Austen novel, which she quickly rescinds in her own head because a Bronte novel is more her style, she thinks. She wonders if she should still hold true to her Artemis resolve, but someone at least is bold enough to ask her to dance, and she can respect this.

She hums a pensive sort of murmur, because mystery is always better, and eagerness is not the Borgin way. But nobody knows she is a Borgin tonight, especially not a mystery masked dancer. "Nobody has ever thought to ask me that question," Sylla smiles, standing taller - or as tall as the tiny girl can, at least. She primly extends her hand with a nod. "I would love a dance."

She grins at the faux whiskey. "Ooh, I'm hidin' out. I'm in deep." Fern points at some random passer by. "See him? He's followin me for sure."

Dimi holds his confident smile as he is made to wait, but his mouth betrays him, blooming into a full grin when his mystery girl extends her hand. Although he doesn't hesitate to take it in his own, his ears prick at the familiarity of her accent - a former Hogwarts student, then - and there's a breath's worth of a pause before he responds. "Oh, you know, that's very surprising to hear." He leads her toward the dance floor. "Who wouldn't want to have a dance with Selene?"

“I didn’t even miss it.” Diego’s fingers find where Ravi’s mask is secured at the back of his head, and he carefully removes it himself. He does this in a way that’s less smooth and more time-consuming, simply because the idea of dislodging Ravi is so unappealing. “Kinda missed your face, though.”

Ravi helps by grabbing his mask so it doesn’t fall to the floor and break once the ribbons have been untied. He sticks his fingers through an eyehole and lets it dangle from his hand as he loops his arms back around Diego’s shoulders.

“Is it everything you hoped for?” He’s grinning as he touches his forehead to Diego’s. “LARPing, that is, not my face.”

"Selene. . .who is to say that is my true identity?" Sylla muses aloud, picking up the skirt of her dress and giving it a wave as she stands ready to dance. "I could be Diana, and then there are many who would fear her." But she can drop the character for a tall stranger with quite nice hair, she thinks to herself, looking up to him with a confident, eased smile.

"I have no idea", she replies, not masking her own voice. Not that the charm really allows even your voice to be recognized but still. "Why thank you. It's just something I had lying around," she says with a wink.

"The huntress, herself? Well, I'm honored to make your acquaintance and I hope to avoid your wrath tonight." Dimi takes the lead as their song begins. Despite his apparent surety, he's just passable as a dancer. Even with the anonymity charm, it's obvious he's aware of this. A breathy chuckle escapes him.

"You're going," Cameron announces, decisive and cheerful. "What do we need to do to get you ready?" Already, he's hovering, equal parts friendly and insistent.

"Put the mask on my face," Wilde intones, not serious.

Then he throws the hacky sack at Cameron. Think fast!

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MASQUERADE

ANONYMOUS MUSICAL VAMPIRES THAT TOTALLY AREN'T LEVI AND CECIL - Continued via email!

Wilde & Saira

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Re: Wilde & Saira

Sylla & Dimi - yeah I'm still replying to this eons later for. . .reasons. . .

Todd + Fern

Sylla & Dimi - cool cool cool cool cool

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Re: Sylla & Dimi - cool cool cool cool cool

Re: Cam + Vee

Re: Sylla & Dimi - cool cool cool cool cool

Sylla & Dimi

Jr Ebonfellows

Jr Ebonfellows