lostcarnival | ⇨ THE MASQUERADE

Who: Everyone! Attendance is mandatory.
When: Late Day 65
Where: The Celebration
What: The Masquerade arrives, and so does the carnival's enemies. For more info, check out the Draculas 101.
Warnings: Further party hell. Also, vampire violence, mind control, etc.

THE HOST & THE HORDE↴

The time of the Masquerade arrives. You've been given free reign of the place up till now, but a few hours before the party commences the Host will inform you that your presence will be required, and will assist you (forcibly, if need be) to sort out any last minute costuming concerns you might have if you've left it until now. When masks and outfits are sorted, you'll be left to your own devices until you are summoned on the evening of Day 65.

The Masquerade will start off normally - relative to everything else in this place, at least. Everyone in the Celebration will be called in for this event, centered in a grand hall with side rooms offered to those that need them for whatever reasons might come up. The food and drink is especially ambrosia-esque this evening, and the music will stir your soul, even if you're not usually a music person. Enjoy it if you can - the peace won't last.

► MASKS: Though the masks seemed only mundane before, once within the Masquerade atmosphere, they will magically begin obscuring people's identities beyond what a normal mask should be able to do. When a person is wearing one, it would be supernaturally difficult to figure out who they are - maybe you forget what their voice should sound like, or maybe the other details escape you. Of course, it's possible to figure out if you look for it, based on general shapes and personality traits, but unless you know someone well it could be a challenge. Of course, you can just take your mask off and remove the enchantment entirely - though the Host will hassle you if they notice you going without. Stop ruining the party!

► TEMPTATION: Though it's felt easy to be whisked away by the draw of pleasure and luxury during the rest of the week, that feeling will seem to come to a head at the actual party. If you are aware of what needs to be resisted then it's possible to fight back and ignore it, but more than ever it feels all too easy to just dance your life away. Nobody seems to be dying from it, at least, or 'burning out' any faster as a result - it's mostly just extremely distracting from other concerns. Like vampires, for instance.

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE↴
It's during the latter half of the party that things will start to go bad. Though it will go unseen by the carnival, the Masquerade has gained an additional set of guests - the vampire's of the demon lord that has been chasing them for the last several months. The Host doesn't discriminate, and anyone is welcome to attend the Celebration, provided they don't start a fight.

Right. About that.

► THE KINDRED: The vampires don't like to play fair, which means that they are going to be attacking with stealth and trickery - taking advantage of the way that the party has dulled the alertness of many of the carnival's workers. They'll be using that lack of inhibition to lure individuals into places they can be attacked or turned in private - their primary goals are to capture the Supervisors and to turn as many of the Ringmaster's workers as possible before escaping back to their dimension. Some of their targets will be gone before anyone has a chance to notice.

Remembering that they will be avoiding big public confrontations, so if anyone starts one of those it will probably by the carnival members striking back. This is going to wear on the Host's patience extremely quickly.

► COLD IRON: Oh, right, and they are definitely bringing iron weapons - as pure as they could get. They'll have things like iron collars or shackles to try to trap people with, as well as iron daggers and guns with iron bullets. They'll have to be on the down low with, but they are going to exploit that weakeness as much as possible. Those that have only been in the carnival a few months will mostly just feel discomfort at the touch of it - as if they are touching something that is slightly too hot or too cold. Veterans that have been around for years will find its touch to be burningly cold - the type of temperature that would threaten to destroy flesh after prolonged contact. Those that have been here for up to three years will take it the worst. See the Transformations page for more details!

► TURNING THE TABLES: Being turned is a mixture of pleasure and pain, and is often hard for mortals to mentally reconcile as it happens to them. Being drained by these vampires is simultaneously impossibly satisfying and extremely terrifying - once they've started in on your, the way it overwhelms your mind and body can make it nearly impossible to stop them without help. Once you are dead or dying, they will feed you their blood - at which point your body will go through a painful transformation as the demon spirit takes its place inside of you and your dead body is violently resurrected.

As soon as you wake up, freshly changed, the bloodlust will set it - it will be extremely hard to control, and at first all you will think about is wanting to sate that hunger. Combined with your sire having direct control if your mind through your blood connection, new vampires will be mostly incapable of doing anything but following the whims of the rest of the vampire pack and seeking nourishment. This blood lust will begin to fade after they've fed. Killing isn't necessary to feed, but it can be hard to stop yourself, as a neonate vampire.

► CLOSING TIME: Before the party is officially over, the Host will have had enough. Before you can pursue all of the vampires or take back the people they've stolen, the lot of them will have escaped back to their dimension, and the Host will have kicked the entire carnival out for participating in so much violence. If you want to make any final moves before you go, this is the time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's food here.

[Right in front of him in fact. Yuugi presses his nose to under her jaw, pressing a bit more into her warmth, his eyes fluttering shut. It's right underneath. He can hear her blood pounding in his ears, would've been able to even without the enhancements that being turned give him. For some reason, though, it's worrying to him, but the hunger beats out his worry. His other hand takes hold of the hip opposite where he already has a grip, head angling, tilting, and mouth opening against her skin, breath warm.

Some part of him hesitates, fighting the hunger, the demonic spirit, but Yuugi is so hungry. His hands find the wall behind her, a snarl ripping from his throat and fist hitting the wall, crumpling forward.]

I can't. I can't...not you...

[ He means her. It hits her suddenly. She doesn't have any idea why he's like this, but all she does is clasp his hip more firmly. ]

N-no, Yuugi-kun... it's okay... [ She vaguely notices that she's started shivering uncontrollably. She gulps. ] What... do you need?

[ She feels very small. The boy in front of her is half-Yuugi and half something else entirely, and she can feel it - even when he was turning fae at the Carnival, he wasn't like this.

But he's important to her, and for all the times she couldn't help... even if it's frightening, she has to see this through. She steels herself and tries to calm both of them down with quiet words. ] Tell me.

[...She's too damn nice for her own good.

His fingers dig into the wall, unwilling to take hold of her just in case he hurts her. The thing about Yuugi is he's always had a strong will. From fighting Dartz's mind control to standing up to his bullies, his willpower is always the thing that's seen him through. He growls, lip curling back, paws digging into the floor (has he gotten taller? It's hard to tell with his mind so focused on her blood).

He won't hurt her.

There's a nagging in his head that sounds much too much like his sire and he shakes it, trying to ignore it.]

N-no. I might...I don't want to hurt you.

[ She trembles, because whatever else is going on, those words are all Yuugi. She clutches his hip firmly. ]

You won't. [ Visions of a classmate taunting her with a wide grin, a teacher throwing her to her doom with distant eyes, and the helpless cries of her terrified classmates -- all come to her, and she sees echoes of all of them in Yuugi.

But none of them had, in those moments, given a thought to her. ]

I-I want to help you. Please... let's get you to Zecora, all right? [ She doesn't lose her grip on him, keeping him there lest he flee. ] We can fix this.

[His ears flatten against his head and he steps away just a meter, trying to get some breathing space between him and her (slim, beautiful, delicious) ~~blood~~ neck, hands going to his hair. Yuugi's nose scrunches up, muzzle wrinkling with the motion and snarls leaving his throat as he hunches, trying to fight off the commands coming through, teeth bared, eyes flashing red.

A hand suddenly slams back into the wall behind her, his entire body shaking from trying to fight it. There's not much else that he can say, words dying in his throat as the sire's will wins out against his. Yuugi growls, mouth opening wide to show the sharp teeth at the front designed to rip her throat, breath hot.]

No.

[ She cries out and cowers beneath him, her ears flattening against her head too. As she stares up at him, her heart twists at the pain she can see in him.

She doesn't know what else to do. With a shaking hand, she finds her walkie and clicks it on, turning it to a channel. ]

So tell me what you need. [ Her eyes flick left, catching sight of what's nearby - the snack table. A signal to whoever's listening. ] Maybe we could talk about it while we eat, hmm?

[He hears Chiaki's voice and is looking for her instantly. He's been looking for her, and Yuugi already. They are part of his crew, and it's his job to keep the safe. When he hears her on the radio, he knows she must still be holding out, but for how much longer? She's a smart girl, because her hint about the food works. He sees her, sees Yuugi in front of her, at least, he thinks it's Yuugi. Just to be safe he pulls them apart, shoving them gently away from each other with his Psionics as he steps forward.]

Chiaki... What's going on?

[His eyes flick back and forth between them. He's waiting for one of them to make their intentions known and hoping this isn't some kind of trap.]

I...I can't...

[Can't talk or can't eat, it's a mystery, and it's unsure whether he's talking to her or nothing at all. A small whine leaves his throat, fingers pulling at his hair in an attempt to make pain win out against it. His ears pick up the sound of Psii's voice, eyes flashing as they're pulled apart, hand reaching for her before he stops himself. His shoulders hunch, a small moan leaving him.]

I'm so hungry... [Yuugi whimpered, ears pulling back against his head and shaking it, looking up at both of them.] I don't...get her out of here. Before I...

[ Her legs almost give out from relief when Psii arrives, but she forces herself to remain upright. ] He needs to see Z-Zecora, or maybe the Ringmaster. Something's really wrong with him...

Pl-please. [ She keeps her eyes focused on him, telling him silently she's here, she'll help him, she won't abandon him. ]

[Unfortunately for Chiaki, there isn't much that Psi can do to help Yuugi now. As soon as he hears Yuugi's words, and sees the way the other boy is falling apart he knows what's happened. He picks Chiaki up without asking, carrying her in his arms like you would a bride. He looks to Yuugi.]

I will come back for you.

[It's a promise, not a threat, though the potential for violence is likely clear to both of them. Without another word he launches Chiaki and himself into the sky, flying over the crowd and away to safety.]

Don't worry about me.

[The relieved look on his face says everything, his hands leaving his hair to wrap around himself as he takes a step back. As long as she was okay, that was all that mattered. Yuugi's stomach burned with need and he snarled as someone bumped into him, upper lip curling back and snapping as he whirled around and pounced.

Now that Chiaki was away from him, there was no need to hold himself back. He pushes the party guest down, growling loud enough to be heard from the air, and tears into them, teeth clamping down until blood stained the front of their pretty white dress.]

No!

[ This is the opposite of what she wanted, and she makes a futile grab for Yuugi. Which means she's staring right at him when he loses control completely.

The results are horrifying, and Chiaki's breath catches in her throat. She doesn't know what to do for too long, and she's almost out of earshot when she gets her voice back again. ]

Yuugi-kun, no!! Breathe! It's okay! It's okay...

I'm sorry.

[He murmurs, not even bothering to look at her as he flies, too busy keeping an eye out for anyone who might try to attack them. His grip on her tightens as he holds her close.]

⇨ THE MASQUERADE

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