gooseberryhigh | WINTER MASQUERADE

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WINTER MASQUERADE

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!

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Micah's mouth automatically tilts up in a smile, and he looks the stranger up and down in a very obvious way, even though it's pointless. The most he can get is... probably male, judging from the suit, and open to flirting, with that black lace mask. His height seems to fluctuate in Micah's vision, but Micah's not a very tall boy, so it's probably safe to say the other person is at least five-foot-eight. Micah would know for sure if he could touch him.

"I have a job to do." He pats the side of camera the way you'd pat the head of a beloved, trustworthy dog. "And I'm doing this thing where I play hard to get in hopes of enticing a mysterious stranger into seducing me out onto the dance floor." He shoots Tall Dark and (Hopefully) Handsome a wink.

Yes, this is absolutely Micah. No question. It doesn't actually sound like his voice, but Calvin knows that inflection. And that ridiculous wink. Calvin exhales and resists the urge to roll his eyes, because for once it's acceptable rather than improbable that Micah might be sincerely flirting with him. Micah has no idea that this is the boy who, almost exactly one year ago, told him there was never going to be anything between them. Calvin feels a pinprick of guilt for not ending this charade immediately, but he's never claimed to be a good person.

"So if I were to outright ask for a dance, you would say no?" he asks curiously. "Since you're playing hard to get and all."

"Yes," Micah says instantly. "I mean, yes to saying no. I'd say no. Of course." There's a weird thrill to this. When was the last time that Micah refused someone who flirted with him? He doesn't remember. He knows that his identity must be obvious—he's the only person in school who carries this blue Leica M6 everywhere—and anyone who knows Micah even a little knows how, you know, undiscriminating he is.

He lowers his camera, holding it to his chest as though this small barrier between him and the other boy might back up his words. "Maybe I want a little wooing first. Maybe I'm really shy, or I'm nursing a broken heart, and I need to be charmed before I'll dance with anyone. Maybe I'm an abysmal dancer, and I'm trying to save your toes from getting stomped on."

"Shy? Broken-hearted?" Calvin echoes, no trace of an accent so far as Micah can hear. Micah's exaggerated speech about his unavailability has Calvin's stomach twisting with nauseating affection. Stop, he tells himself. Thank him for his time and leave. Tell him who you are and tease him for not recognising you. Of course, he does none of those things.

"Then I'd best move slowly, else you'll run off on me, Mr. Photographer," he says and clasps his hands behind his back. "So no dancing, but may I offer you a drink? We could walk together to the balcony and let me try my hand at wooing."

Micah tries, and fails, to not grin. He loves the stage, but he'd never make it as an actor. Unless it's like really weird Hitchcock-type cameos? Man, that would be cool.

"No dancing for now," Micah corrects, because he's never successfully played hard-to-get in his life. He grabs the leather camera bag he left hanging from a chair, and puts his Leica away. He took plenty of photos in the first hour, enough to satisfy both Newspaper Club and Event Committee. He slings his bag over his shoulder and looks the boy over again. Micah should really make him work for it. Feign disinterest until he brings back a drink, and act unimpressed by what he picks. Really, Mr. Smith. Do I seem like a vodka martini kind of floozy to you? He nearly giggles imagining himself playing the femme fatale.

But he should try. Just a little. It's the Masquerade, after all. Micah puts his hands on his hips. "Well? Aren't you going to be a gentleman and offer me your arm?"

Calvin recognizes the camera bag that he gave Micah last year. It was a tattered vintage thing that Calvin had repaired and modified personally. It's gratifying to see him using it, although it's not a rare sight, and certainly not one to get flustered over. He's being ridiculous again. Calvin bites his lip so his smile doesn't give too much away, although it might be a hopeless cause. It's hard to keep a straight face when Micah's being like this, pushy and playful, clearly delighted by the attention of a stranger. It's a shame that the stranger's true identity isn't anything nearly as exciting as what Micah's probably imagining.

"Oh, ah. Right. Of course." A bit stiffly, Calvin offers his arm to Micah. He ought to have gone to cotillion, just to learn the manners. He could have truly impressed anyone then, Micah included. "May I?"

Edited 2017-12-17 20:27 (UTC)

Micah makes a show of considering the offer, but it's an act and everyone knows it. He takes the stranger's arm, and then pretends to be feeling up the guy's muscles as he runs his free hand up the guy's sleeve to find where his shoulder is. Aha, he's definitely taller than Micah. And... okay, wow, no pretending needed when it comes to feeling up muscles?

There is nothing gentlemanly about how Micah gives the boy's bicep a little squeeze. "Oh man," he says. "You know, I was hoping you were hot, but now I seriously have to ask: are you hot? Like, grade yourself on a scale of one to ten, one being 'my hotness is only outstripped by my sense of modesty' and ten being 'I'm an unearthly forest spirit whose beauty can't be contained by human language.'"

Edited (you're so lucky i fucked up one of my apostrophes so dw wouldn't eat my repeat comment) 2017-12-17 20:28 (UTC)

Calvin sputters for several moments, but tries to keep it subtle. Primarily because no reaction would be more Calvin-like than to start shouting and scolding Micah for propriety. In the interest of anonymity, he must take this in stride. Calvin tries to maintain his composure through sheer willpower, but under his mask, his face is turning red. Can Micah see that through the charm?

"You can't ask that," he objects mildly. It's a struggle. "The point of this whole dance is that you don't know what I look like. What if I tell you I'm not hot?"

Edited (I'M SORRY I WAS MAKING COFFEE IT'S AN IMPORTANT PRIORITY) 2017-12-17 20:29 (UTC)

"Then I'd tell you to take off your mask and prove it." Micah grins, making it clear he's willing to call the other boy's bluff. But he doesn't let go of his arm, or stop steering them towards the dance floor instead of the refreshments table. Cute embarrassed stammering is at least the price of one free drink. Micah loves a boy who flusters easily.

"You can't ask for that either," Calvin reminds Micah, who's diverting them away from their original goal. His heart speeds up slightly as Micah leads them towards the dance floor. Calvin's not an impressive dancer, which is another strike against him if he's trying to pass as a dashing senior. Still, he doesn't resist. "Are you lost?" he asks in an attempt to sound coy. "Or am I actually being that charming?"

"Nuh-uh. If I answer that question, you'll stop working so hard to impress me." Micah shrugs his bag off his shoulder and drops it on a table. Slightly careless treatment of a very expensive camera, except that Calvin put enough protective charms on that bag that Micah knows it's pretty safe from getting stolen.

The reminder makes him hesitate for a moment. He's done his best not to think about it. He's had plenty of practice. There's a well-worn box labelled with Calvin's name in his mind, where Micah stuffs every painful, yearning, immature thought he has, enough so that Micah can make jokes when the subject comes up. He can grin and make outrageous comments and try to provoke scandalized reactions out of Calvin. As friends do.

Micah pulls his hand away from the bag, and turns to face his new dance partner, just in time for a slow ballad to start. Like something out of a movie. Micah looks up at him, still unable to make out any specific feature except the black lace over his eyes. "So. Do you lead, or follow?"

Calvin freezes for a second, and then says, impulsively, "Follow."

He only knows what he briefly picked up from Cole, and what he learned was that he looks like less of a fool if he lets the other person take the lead. And maybe he enjoys the idea in some guilty part of his heart, despite his height and shoulders. His face is still a little pink after Micah's comments about his muscles.

In his mind's eye it looks awkward. Calvin, tall and broad-shouldered, and Micah, slim and pretty. But no one will know this is him, not even Micah himself. Calvin is briefly free of judgement, and it emboldens him. Realistically, he knows that no one is even paying enough attention to judge him most days. Still, just the idea of his classmates' eyes is enough to get him worked up.

Very carefully, he releases Micah's arm and raises his hands as though he might intertwine them behind his neck. "If you don't mind, that is."

Edited 2017-12-17 22:04 (UTC)

Micah smiles. "I asked, didn't I?"

He steps in close, and moves his hands to the other boy's lower back. (Man, his back feels nice too. It takes real effort for Micah to not "accidentally" let his palm drift down and check out this guy's butt.) He's danced before. Not in any formal circumstances, but Micah loves playing and flirting with his friends, so there's never been a lack of dancing at Azurcrest.

And there had been that time this summer when he got Spencer to dance with him in this dive bar with a jukebox, and the half-dozen people there had been too drunk or too tired to care that they were both boys. Just two stupid kids on a nowhere highway, so stupid that they believed they were in love.

Micah exhales. "So, I can't ask what you look like. What do I get to know, then?"

"I think I know who you are." It's a bold statement, but hopefully a tantalizing one. Micah's well-known enough that Calvin feels safe admitting it. He smiles smugly after the confident admission, arms around Micah's shoulders as they start to dance. It's a slow song, which is both better and worse. He only needs to sway in time with his partner and not be a burden.

"You're that Azurcrest photographer, aren't you?" he continues. "You were taking pictures for the school paper."

"'That Azurcrest photographer'?" Micah echoes, sounding almost offended. But he doesn't stop swaying them both to the slow, longing melody of the latest song. "Are you telling me that I don't have enough brand recognition for you to know my name? This is unbelievable. An outrage! Obviously I haven't been talking about myself enough in public. I'm making it my personal mission to ensure that everyone in this school gets completely sick of the name Micah St. Clair!" He suddenly flashes a grin. "Vote MVSC for Prom Prince."

Calvin sighs in (familiar) exasperation. "Don't make everyone so tired of your name that they won't vote for you on principle," he warns. Of course Micah is going to go all out for Prom Prince. He'll have steep competition, though, and Calvin can only hope that none of his other close friends decide to run against him. Calvin hates conflicts of interest. "And you should really let people play coy with you a little longer, Micah St. Clair. I already knew your name."

"Sorry," Micah says, not sounding sorry at all. He's pleased the boy knows his name, even if "People Who Know Micah's a Photographer" doesn't at all narrow down his identity. Still, Micah attempts to suppress his grin, and just ends up gnawing on the corner of his lower lip. It's probably not a sexy look, but maybe, just maybe, it's a little coy?

He's so bad at playing coy. Even worse now that his identity's been confirmed. Who has ever known Micah to play hard to get? "For the record, if you're flirting with me because I'm easy, I'm super not. Reputations exaggerate! I'll need the seduction cranked up to eleven before I start kissing, and you, my handsome friend, are sitting at a paltry 6.75."

"Lower that to a solid 5. You still don't know if I'm actually handsome." Calvin's correction is quick and dry, not betraying his spinning thoughts. The music swells romantically, and his heart flutters. This is a ridiculous conversation, hardly worthy of getting twitterpated, but logic is failing him. He feels deeply, horrifically foolish, especially with what Micah's accusing him off.

"And I'm not flirting with you because you're easy," Calvin adds, sounding vaguely offended by the insinuation. "In fact, I don't expect we'll kiss at all tonight."

The more the boy discourages him, the more Micah's into it. Oh man. People always say it, but seriously, something is wrong with him. What event in Micah's childhood twisted him so horribly that few things excite him more than a boy telling him I am not going to kiss you? Who should he blame for his psychological damage, his mother or his father? Why can't he be attracted to basic stuff like respect or affection?

Micah has to fight against the urge to flutter his eyelashes. "So, let me be clear," he says in a low voice, leaning in closer so only his anonymous date can hear. "If the opportunity comes up for us to spend a little private time together, maybe out on the balcony, or in a hallway... I should definitely say no, because you wouldn't be interested in that at all?"

"It isn't that simple," Calvin objects, but very carefully. He allows himself to drift closer to Micah, and hopes he can't tell how hard Calvin's heart is beating. His lips are close to Micah's ear now, face hidden from view. It's a struggle to keep his voice level, but Calvin likes to think of himself as a competent liar. Accordingly, he should make at least a passable actor. "If I didn't want your company, I wouldn't have approached you. But nor did I approach you because I felt I was, as you seem to think, guaranteed to get something."

Micah inhales as the boy moves closer, his voice warm and oddly familiar against Micah's skin. He wants to think that this guy is someone he knows, but the way he smells doesn't trip anything in Micah's memory. It's not Spencer, in any case. Spencer's cologne smells like whiskey and tobacco, and he doesn't talk like this.

"So what do you want?" Micah turns his face a few degrees towards the other boy's.

Calvin inhales, and after a moment of thought, decides that telling the truth is the easiest option. He smiles wistfully, which seeps into his voice. "Your undivided attention."

Micah doesn't know what expression passes across his face. Not his usual confident grin, nor his obnoxious I know I'm charming you smile. Maybe it doesn't matter, with half of his face covered with a mask. It's embarrassing enough that his face is getting warm.

He has to take a deep breath before he finds a flippant enough response. "You'll have to destroy my camera. It's the only way."

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WINTER MASQUERADE

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin

Micah & Calvin