lostcarnival | ⇨ THE MASQUERADE

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⇨ 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

A - Party Games

[After getting carried away with Psi, Joker remembers what he was supposed to be doing- which is being on his best behavior while Snake is still adjusting. A little bit of guilt churns in his stomach when the thought hits him, and he spends a lot of time before the masquerade clearing his head with a bit of flying in the only open space he can find. He knows he's changed a little, too, something stone-like shimmering in the cracks of his wooden arm and antlers, but that's inconsequential, really. Eventually, however, the Host manages to call him down, and get him all dressed up.... So here he is.]

[But he's still trying to keep a hold on himself, even as his feet bounce to the music, so anyone wandering about and not immediately busy will suddenly find themselves coming face to face with a fine gentleman in deep purples. Staring at them are themselves- or, rather, their reflection in the shattered mirrored shards of the mask Joker wears. He's grinning, as usual.]

Care ta play a guessing game?

B - Dance the Night Away

[Eventually, he can't hold back anymore, and some lucky random stranger will suddenly find themselves the recipient of a cheeky little bow.]

Might I steal ya away for a dance?

[He winks playfully.]

C - and then everything went tits up

[It's a pretty little thing that steals him away in the end, their dance taking them just a bit far from the main throngs of the party. Joker doesn't think much of it, for a second, just laughs and tries to steer them back- he's had Atlantis and he has Psi, he thinks he's done for at least a while with that.]

[Except then suddenly metal is clasping around his wrist- not the first time unsurprisingly. What is a first is how it burns, colder than fire yet twice as hot, and Joker sees fangs curling over lips a split second after. The vampire's mistake is an amateur's one, instinctually looking for his other arm instead of remembering that it's to her that she should lock him to, and by then he's slamming his foot into her chest with a swear. He's dealt with vampires before, and he's better now- he's up in the air in a flash.]

[There will be time to swear about the Ringmaster later- it's god damn England all over again- but for now, he swoops over the rest of the party and tries to ignore the iron quietly but steadily burning through his goddamn wrist.]

Performance! Oi, Performance, answer yer Stage Manager right now or God help me!

[Not exactly the partying kind of tone, anger and desperation, but it should hopefully get through to people.]

[ It's hard to miss a figure flying in the air, but Lambert isn't exactly subtle himself -- by now, skirmishes and ambushes in cul-de-sac have left him worse for wear, his formerly-shiny coat now tattered and torn at the edges. He's back in the thick of the party because he thinks there might still be carnival workers trapped in with the dancing, but he'll look up right quick when he hears the yelling, something that's causing a murmur of discontent among even the most vapid, burned-out guests. ]

Get down from there, you idiot! [ He'll call -- though Joker may not recognize the voice, with the mask's magics in effect. ]

[He absolutely doesn’t recognize him, but his response would be the same as it is.]

Bugger off!

You're just making yourself an easier target!

[ He races along the ground, trying to keep up, but just ends up plowing right into another party guest, knocking his mask off long enough to reveal who he is. ]

And yer just-

[Oh, wait, shit. He swoops down as the mask is knocked off. Some people aren’t happy about some asshole with big wings smacking into them, but oh well. It’s just a bad night for everyone, isn’t it.]

Lambert!

[ Lambert picks himself up off the floor, coughing, then glares up at Joker. It's not awfully hard to tell it's Joker, since stage manager is hard to miss. ]

D'you have to make so much noise? We're trying to get away, here!

Yes.

[Said like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.]

I’m not waitin’ until we’re back at the carnival ta do a head count of my lot.

They might not even be here anymore -- and yelling's not going to find them faster.

[ He keeps his voice now, hoping to attract less attention, but who knows what Joker's attracted by now. Lambert snatches up his mask and jams it back on his head again. ]

Edited 2017-03-10 18:30 (UTC)

And with all these bleedin’ masks, just tryin’ ta look for ‘em the normal way ain’t gonna do much.

[A quiet swear.]

Everyone shoulda brought their damn radios…

Nah, that would actually make our lives easier, wouldn't it?

[ And they most certainly can't have that, of all things. The horror. ]

New rule: we bring those bleedin' things everywhere.

[But that's for the future, and Joker refocuses on the present.]

Have ya found anyone else?

[Tamaki has his hair swept up, with one strand braided, and his own mask is a simple, light blue one that covers half his face. He's wearing a white suit with a matching light blue tie and light blue trim; a simple outfit, but fitting for Tamaki.

Tamaki's been mostly interested in eating food this whole party, but when someone is suddenly asking him to dance, he lights up. Dancing is maybe Tamaki's favorite thing after food, and the atmosphere has loosened him up enough that he's ready to go, even if he doesn't recognize Joker yet.]

Dance? Okay! What kind?

“That’s the spirit!” Some people, he knows, are still holding themselves back- or just not partying types. It’s nice to run into someone who’s willing to indulge him. (And then, after, he swears he’ll go back to keeping an eye on Snake. No messing about.) “I know a couple of fancy dances myself, but what are ya good at? I’ll see if I’ve heard any of ‘em!” People who actually single out dances by types, well… You gotta check with those sorts.

Fancy dances... those are a bit more out of Tamaki's depth. Though he can waltz a little bit, and he can probably pick up on any dance shown him after a few minutes.

"I do a lot of freestyle..." That's the most apt word for what he used to do, on street corners and in parks with friends, before doing choreography for his idol group. He can do some breakdancing, too. But none of that seems to be what the mysterious masked man has in mind.

"I can learn a fancy dance real fast though!"

There’s no need to worry here- Joker is intrigued and excited by the idea of anything new. And at the mention of ‘freeystyle’, he’s perking up immediately. Even with the strange effects of Celebration’s masks, it’s probably possible to see the way his eyes have lit up.

“Nah, go on, show some freestyle! I wanna see how good ya are~.”

Ah, so he wants to see Tamaki's kind of dancing! Tamaki's eyes light up, too, more than happy to show off. It is, after all, what he's best at.

"Okay! Then, come on!"

He moves for the dance floor, bouncing a little to get a feel for the beat of the song playing. And then he's off, moving his body naturally. Though he's making it up as he goes, and he doesn't know the song well, his movements are sharp, fluidly moving from one motion to the next. It's clear he has a lot of control over his body and what he does with it. He's in his element now.

It takes a little bit of work for Joker to find room on the dancefloor where he can adequately watch, but that quickly doesn’t become a problem. Everyone makes sure there’s room for the sudden show of freestyle, plenty of whoops and cheers urging him on, and Joker’s voice is right there amongst the crowd’s.

“Definitely a lot better than the fancy stuff!” he laughs, somehow making it through the myriad of other voices that are alongside his.

Tamaki gets a big smile on his face from the cheering, enjoying every second of it. Dancing is fun enough on its own, but when the crowd is having fun with him, that really gives him a lot of energy. It makes him want to try even harder!

He grins at the other man when he hears his comment. "It's more fun, too!" he yells back - which may be an unfair judgement, since he's not as familiar with that kind of dancing, but no one in the crowd seems keen to argue with him about it.

"You should try!"

There are few things better than watching a natural performer in their element, and it doesn’t take a man like him (although being experienced does help) to recognize how much the kid is living it up even more now that he has attention. At the invitation, Joker laughs. “Ya make it look so easy, but how much is it, really?”

"It is! I started when I was in elementary school!"

Which inadvertently answers the question - Tamaki has been doing this his whole life, of course it's easy for him. But Tamaki's perception of "things that are easy" is built mostly on his own experiences: he and his friends dancing together after school, and later dancing with professionals who have training. But anyone could do it if they try, in Tamaki's opinion.

"I can teach you some easy moves."

Yeah. That’s what he thought. Chuckling, Joker shakes his head to himself. He likes to think he’s a fairly fast learner, at least when it comes to thing like this, but even he’s not too sure about learning such moves right off the bat.

“Alright, show me these moves, and I’ll be the judge of how easy they are, ha.”

"Okay. Watch."

He bounces for a moment to get back into the rhythm of the song playing, and then he's off again, stepping his feet in time with the music. He crosses his feet while moving his arms fluidly back and forth, then leans back and swings around before righting himself again, in perfect time with the music.

"Stuff like that."

Watching and taking mental notes, Joker whistles again. That doesn't seem too different from the kind of moving around he already does on the stage when he has to be out at all. Still, there's one little thing he has to ask about.

"So do ya need two arms ta swing about, or is just one fine?"

Joker - ota

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