WINTER MASQUERADE

[goosemods]

WINTER MASQUERADE

The privacy curtains are erected in the Atrium as soon as lunch ends, and it's all hands on deck as Event Committee get ready to transform the Atrium. Students having dinner are given only 30 minutes before they're ushered out past the privacy curtains again, so the cafeteria can be claimed for a "special surprise." At 7 PM sharp, the Atrium opens, and the Anonymity Charm activates.

House-elves will take cloaks and coats when students arrive, and usher them past festive red curtains into a light-filled carnival. Yards of colourful fabric drape out from the center of the ceiling and fall all the way down to the floor, creating the illusion of a circus big top. Blinking holiday lights cover the walls, twisted into familiar designs: candy canes, evergreens, dreidels, green and red candles, etc. At different corners stand four tall trees decorated in honour of the four houses: one in plum and gold with fuzzy bear decorations, one in olive and copper with glass trout, one in azure and white with feathery jays, and one in orange and black with felt foxes. A mystery gift exchange is taking place by the trees, so come claim your present!

The dance floor is outlined with twinkling lights that magically strobe along with the music. Cheer captain Madison Ives has organized a dance spectacle opener with the help of the other cheer captains, and student band The Heretics are set to perform tonight!

The refreshments tables lining one wall features fair foods such as bagged popcorn (mixed with green and red M&M's), hot pretzels, candy apples, funnel cakes, corn dogs, french fries, cotton candy, and endless varieties of fizzy soda. (A few special treats have been set aside for vegan students. Prospero recommends the falafel on a stick.) Communal tables and chairs have been adorned with red-and-white-striped fabric, to give them a candy cane circus feel.

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 carousel-themed photo op, where you and a masked stranger can pose in front of seasonally appropriate mounts in the shape of a reindeer, a polar bear, a two-seat swan with holly and red ribbon around its neck, and a plastic Santa Claus inviting you to sit in his lap. Only once you've stepped up to the carousel mounts will you see the sprig of mistletoe hanging overhead. Event Committee volunteer photographers will take your picture, to be publicly posted later so you can guess who was posing with you!

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 red and green cushions, and there's bluebell flame lamps providing warmth and light on this chilly December night. From here, you can see the sleigh rides running just outside the lodge, within the sphere of the Anonymity Charm. These romantic magical sleighs seat up to three, and circle the lodge on a set track that takes you past trees also decorated with brilliant lights.

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 (1) warning before they're ejected from the dance. The same applies to a handful of MACUSA agents, in identical black masks and black robes, but they appear more interested in patrolling the dance than talking to anyone.

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.

CLICK HERE FOR ANONYMITY CHARM RULES

• 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. Also, the charm also doesn't affect your sense of touch, smell or taste. (But please don't lick anyone to figure out their identity.)


• 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. The effective area of the charm is the lodge and the area immediately surrounding the lodge, enough to cover the sleigh rides.

» Setting Up » Before the Dance » Beginning of the Dance » Refreshments » Mystery Gift Exchange » Anonymous Karaoke » Carousel Photos » Balcony » Sleigh Rides » End of the Night » OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

Comments

REFRESHMENTS

[goosemods]

Food and drinks are available all night, and there's little tables decked in colourful tablecloths, if you want somewhere to sit. (~8:00-11:00 PM)

Someone hard at work. (open to multiple)

[goosemods]

Several ornaments hang suspended in the air at the invisible command of a wand. Every time one is returned to a tree, another one flies off.

Someone hard at work & a lazy bum

[prophesie]

"Ooh," Marie says, as she watches this person's handy charm work. She's changed her clothes; Tally had insisted on matching, band-specific attire, but now that the singing was done, she was back in her own dress. And, consequently, anonymous again... although her bright, colourful ensemble is unlikely to belong to a shier student.

"Pretty!" Eloquent, Marie.

A nervous girl. (open to multiple)

[goosemods]

A very nervous-looking girl in an elegant sleek black dress and feathered mask but discordantly messy hair is looking around the floor like she's trying to find something. If you're observant you might notice she's only wearing one earring... oops.

A nervous girl + Sy

[threatens]

Well, this is goddamn deja vu. Sy, wearing the exact same thing he wore to last year's Masquerade, has lost his date. He just turned his back to get drinks and now... shit. Fuck. It's cool. He can figure this out.

He spots a girl with messy hair, and tries his luck. "Yo. Who's the best-looking Quidditch captain in school?" Sy holds a cup of punch out to her.

A playful boy. (open to multiple)

[goosemods]

A tall boy in a smart tux catches your attention with a playful grin. He raises his cup of punch just slightly as if in greeting.

A playful boy & Lachlan

[lachlangalbraith]

When Lachlan sees the other boy lift his cup, his initial thought is that he's saying a long-distance hello to...someone that's not him. He doesn't know who anyone is apart from Addy, after all, and nobody should know who he is either. But there's no one behind him. Maybe he's worse at this anonymity stuff than he thought. Or maybe the other guy is just being friendly. He smiles hesitantly and then walks over even more hesitantly. "...Hey. Enjoying the party?"

A playful boy & Lilika

[lilipad]

Lilika rushes past in search of her twin, her high heels clicking out a frantic beat. Suddenly, she skitters to a stop and takes three long strides backward to stop in front of this curious boy. "Hey, have you seen me around?" she asks, tapping one fingertip against her bluejay mask.

A grinning girl. (open to multiple)

[goosemods]

The girl's hair is sticking out at a dozen angles, and it's because she hasn't sat in one place all evening, until now. A grin's splitting her face in two as she collapses on the nearest seat, kicking her high heeled shoes very decidedly off. She has the presence of mind to smooth down her short-enough skirt, at least, as she stills.

A grinning girl and a shy Madison.

[cupquake]

This has been a wonderful night. The success of the dance number, the buzz of the crowd, and of course, the anonymity charm have combined to give Madison a glow of confidence that she doesn't have to fake. For once. She feels light and airy in her dress, not at all like this is the night before going home.

Still, though, this girl's energy is sweet and playful -- infectious enough that Madison can't help but smile a little at her kicked-off shoes, but bright enough that she's a little nervous to actually speak, despite her good mood. She gazes down at the girl from the corner of her eye, pretending to be more interested in watching people pass.

"You look like you're having fun."

A grinning girl & the bunny fairy.

[magitechnically]

The bunny fairy crawls out on hands and knees in her formal gown from where she'd been hiding behind a sofa. One of the girl's high heels is held high above her head. "UM. Cinderella??? Hello???"

A boy with a deck of cards. (open to multiple)

[goosemods]

A boy, smartly dressed in black and gold, shuffles a deck of cards. When he sees you looking, he beckons, fans the deck and offers it out as you approach. "Pick a card?"

A boy with a deck of cards + Concordia Knight

[cheer_leader]

Dia was having so much fun. It was exciting to run around under anonymity and interact with people when you didn't know who they were. Although she kept the mask from the exchange (that didn't go with her dress) at all, she was sure the reason people knew it was her by her overly peppy attitude anyway.

She's half-thinking of approaching this boy, and has only taken a few steps towards him when he pulls out a deck of cards. This definitely solidifies her decision to chat with him, and she bounces up with a huge grin meeting her lips. "Hmmm okay... this one!" She picks a card slightly left-of-center.

A boy with a deck of cards & a terrible sophomore.

[cherubic]

Archie reaches out, hesitates, and then carefully moves his hand to select the card furthest to the left. "This one," he declares, then looks back up into the eyes of the stranger. "What's the game?"

An indulgent boy. (open to multiple)

[goosemods]

At the refreshments table, a boy balances a plate in one hand that's already heaping with funnel cake, cotton candy and anything sweet. A golden ball of something fried and sugar-dusted suddenly escapes from his lopsided plate, and he catches it out of the air... and pops it into his mouth.

An indulgent boy & a human trashbin

[bubblewrapped]

Every time Lucas attempts to approach someone, he has to push through a wall of resistance his brain puts up and he kind of doubts how good of an idea this little game was, in general. But, no, it's cool. Talking to people is actually alright(ish). Especially when he pretends he's someone else.

So he touches his mask where the bridge of his glasses should be, approaches the unpicky eater and offers a, "Nice one."

An indulgent boy & honestly? A picky eater.

[ulixes]

Ulysses laughs. Good reflexes and a determination to help himself to the best of the table? Whoever this kid is, he likes him. "God forbid you lose a bite," he teases, gesturing at the pile of food with his own, much emptier plate.

An indulgent boy & the bunny fairy.

[magitechnically]

The bunny fairy peeks her head out from under the cloth on the refreshments table. "Hey," she calls, trying to get his attention. "Drop something down this way!"

A curious girl. (open to multiple)

[goosemods]

A slim girl is watching the proceedings of the dance with curiosity, not really engaging with anyone. Though she seems much more interested in observing than anything else, there's nothing in her demeanor that suggests that she would rebuff company.

A curious girl & a waitress

[heyitsnia]

This has become a bit, now. And Nia's loving it. Once again, she's got a drink in both hands and she's scanning the crowd for something interesting.

She finds it in a girl people watching and sidles up, doing her best to look a bit exasperated. "There you are, I was looking all over for you!" She offers the drink. "Or have you decided you want to dance, now?"

A curious girl and a Searching Boy

[ferdie]

He still can't find Ursula, but he's a little more comfortable with approaching wallflowers. "Hi." He manages a whole question this time. "Someone sure put this dance together really well, didn't they." If it is Ursula, he doesn't think she'll be able to resist a compliment.

ILLICIT CORNDOG EATING CONTEST

[princeprincess]

A girl and a boy with matching sly smiles stand by the refreshments table with a proposal: whoever can eat the most corndogs in one sitting will be awarded 100 dragots. On top of that, Mackenzie and Ulysses these two totally unidentifiable rogues promise to put in a good word for you with none other than Casper Kim! (Disclaimer: This bonus offer only lasts until exactly when Casper Kim finds out about it.)

[OOC: Reply to this saying your character participated in the "competition" and I'll roll a number between 1-20. You have until 11:59 PM 12/17!) You can also just reply to this with your character reacting. Don't worry, prefects, because a teacher will break this up before too long.]

Oz

[dumb_ass]

Who couldn’t use 100 dragots? Oz sure could. He has zero hesitation walking up to this contest and attempting to win. Bad decisions, commence!

A Cotton Candy Fairy

[heyitsnia]

"You can keep the Casper Kim approval, I can earn that on my own," says a gold-clad cotton candy sugar fairy in a simple mask as she grabs a corndog and winks cheekily. "Time to make me regret a cinched waist dress!" This is totally not the head girl everyone.

A dissatisfied boy. (open to multiple)

[goosemods]

Someone has been standing alone by the snacks for several songs. Instead of making conversation with his neighbors, he's picking up pieces of food and then discarding them after trying a single bite. His red-orange sports coat and bright green mask clash badly.