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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This is where they're supposed to meet in for their final scene. Isolated. Silent. Dark. Outside the window at the far end of the hall, he can see the fireworks begin to go off over the lake. Diego's so distracted watching the bright, colorful lights framed perfectly by the window that he doesn't notice the lone figure coming up behind him.

Thanks to magic, the approaching footsteps are totally soundless on the wooden floor of the lodge. The bronze glimmer of Ravi's suit might have given him away, but he can see, from the angle of that beaked mask, that Diego's focused on the fireworks. The king's most trusted agent is unaware and utterly defenseless when the knife blade slides under his chin.

"Not like you to be so careless, Master Morales," Ravi says into his ear. It's only a butter knife in his hand, but anyone might feel their heart skip at the feel of stainless steel against their throat.

Diego gasps in involuntary fear, and his hands fly to clutch the wrist holding the knife. It only takes seconds for him to realize what's actually happening, but the adrenaline is still coursing through his veins. He can hear his own heartbeat, quick and scared. The first thing he does is break character (again) and giggle at the playful threat and not-so-near-death experience. For the sake of the game, he snuffs out any heartier laughter, and his grip on Ravi's wrist tightens.

"So this is how it ends?" Diego turns slightly towards Ravi, feeling his breath on his ear. He swallows hard. His character would probably be cursing himself for letting this happen, wondering what this means for king and country, contemplating death, etc. But Diego just feels... excited. He leans back into Ravi, less like a captive and much more like his pliant boyfriend. "Make it quick."

Ravi smiles at Diego's giggle. Normally, Ravi prides himself on his ability to stay a focused LARPer for hours, but it would be a lie to say he hasn't broken character all evening. If he's supposed to be a clever, mysterious spy, then he's also fairly ridiculous one, easily side-tracked by cookies and karaoke and pointless pranks.

But he's had fun. And it's gratifying to hear evidence that Diego is having fun too, but Ravi sobers too when he hears Diego trying to get back into the spirit of things. Their final confrontation isn't over yet.

"Giving up so easily?" He keeps the knife where it is, but slides his other arm around Diego's waist so they're flush against each other now, his chest to Diego's back. The Anonymity Charm obscures a lot of things, but it can't touch this, his growing familiarity with the feel of Diego's body. Ravi exhales slowly. "I must confess, I'm disappointed. Here I thought you'd be a match for me."

One of Diego’s hands leaves the the knife at his throat to instead clutch the arm around his waist. “Mocking me before my death?” Diego arches his neck back, as though daring Ravi to strike the killing blow. “I won’t beg.”

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.”

“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.”

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MASQUERADE

Diego & Ravi in a secluded hallway.

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi

Diego & Ravi