⇨ THE MASQUERADE

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[whattaprick]

Lambert feels much the same way. There's a lot that's on his mind, things he knows should worry him, but while he's been successful at remembering he shouldn't drink and fall back further into the festivities, dancing isn't something he's necessarily mentally fortified himself again. He's clumsy at first, but he finds his feet quickly enough -- he wouldn't live long if he couldn't coordinate them -- and soon he's moving in step, matching Strange beat for beat.

"You're not a bad teacher," he'll allow, after a few measures of stepping. He'd still rather it was a nice comely lady in his arms, but this guy's amusing, at least. He lets Strange nudge him into turning, keeping his grip steady on his waist and hand.

"You do this a lot? Dance with strange men?" It wouldn't really be Lambert without at least some token effort towards hitting on someone.

[kingsroads]

"You're not a bad student," Strange responds, with a little nod. Because he isn't. Whoever this other man is, he at least knows how to dance and knows enough about dancing to pick up on something unfamiliar. It's refreshing. The last time he danced with someone like this was...Lord, at least a year ago. Before Venice, before losing Arabella...it's odd how slightly nostalgic the simple act of dancing is making him.

As for the question, a wry smile plays on Strange's face as he gets that look that people get when they're about to tell an awful joke and they know it.

"Usually I'm the one considered strange." Ha ha, it's a joke, a really bad joke that's only funny to Strange because he's got his mask on and there's no way Lambert could recognize him due to the spell of the Celebration. But he's amused himself and that's enough to count. "Tell me your name and you won't be a stranger anymore," said in a very matter-of-fact tone. He is 100% oblivious to that 'being hit on', sorry Lambert.

[whattaprick]

Learning to dance is a touch nostalgic for Lambert too, though his memories are slightly different from Strange's -- not that he's aware of it.

He chuckles at the joke, though in a sense he's not really laughing at it.

"I'm sure most people here could say that of themselves, as well," is what he says by way of explanation. Step, turn. Still, at Strange's suggestion, the mask isn't big enough to hide his face when he grins.

"You're not getting my name out of me that easy. Takes the fun out of it, doesn't it?"

[kingsroads]

"Oh, it certainly does," he admits, with a wry little smile. "But when I go back to my room later and tell my suitemate that I had a lovely dance with someone, he'll undoubtedly want a name."

It's straight up teasing, entirely evident in his tone. Lars...is probably drunk under a bench somewhere, how odd that Strange hadn't really thought about the other man until now. Surely that must be the party, right? After all, why would he want to think about anything else?

As the song ends, Strange steps apart from Lambert and gives the man a little bow. "You're leading next, by the way."

enjoy polish folk dance: https://youtu.be/uaIU08LiG1o

[whattaprick]

"Then tell him," his lips curl, slightly. "You danced with Gwynbleidd." It's a joke, that much is clear, though the man won't appreciate his source of amusement. Borrowing Geralt's name feels appropriately irreverent, and he's certainly got enough of them to go around. His wolf medallion's hidden inside his shirt, which is probably for the best.

"And what about you? Do I get a name to call you?" The music picks up sharply, a jaunty tune that has his foot tapping. "Here, hand on my waist and hold the other -- just keep your feet moving when I turn you and you'll be fine."

Probably. In any case, Strange won't get much of a choice before Lambert sweeps them off, taking them milling through (and occasionally bumping into) other guests as they go.

aw yeeeeeah

[kingsroads]

Gwynbleidd. Well, this is either someone from a different world or someone from the carnival using an alias. Either way, this only cements in Strange's mind that he's perfectly fine using an alias himself. Strange places his hand on Lambert's waist and grasps his hand.

"You may call me Merlin." He opens his mouth to say something else, but Lambert sweeps them off before he can do so.

He can't help it: this is fun. Strange lets out a laugh as they whirl around the dance floor. He starts to apologize to some of the guests they bump into but by the third or so person, he decides to forget about it. After all, by the time an apology's formed in his mouth, they're away from the guest that they've bumped into in the first place. Strange looks over at Lambert, giving the other man a wild grin.

"So, Gywnbleidd. What's this dance called?"