![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
- ! ic/ooc,
- augustin chevalier-desjardins,
- crysta waldinger,
- doc yowell,
- dorin lee,
- enoch waldinger,
- eureka castillo,
- harris stone,
- linus lowe,
- lou sweetapple,
- maximilian hart,
- mc flores,
- murphy nowles,
- parson starling,
- poet knightstep,
- raine riley,
- salvador roca,
- thomasin hendricks,
- vidalia laroux,
- whit woolwine iii,
- zeke zelizer
Halloween Masquerade
HALLOWEEN MASQUERADE
After more than a week of tight-lipped workers going in and out of the Rec Centre, Hall A finally opens its doors for the Halloween Masquerade. Everyone is permitted to attend as long as they're wearing a mask and following the dress code, and attendees all step into a lush shadowy space seemingly lit only by candlelight.
Black velvet-flocked damask wallpaper covers the walls, with heavy crimson silk draperies and candlelit wall sconces interspersed every few feet to bring a gothic warmth to the proceedings. (The Waldingers promise to restore everything back to normal later.) Gold-edged antique mirrors are hung at random, reflecting the unrecognizable faces and fantastical costumes. Candelabras and vases full of dark red roses adorn every table. As promised, there's food, an open bar, music and dancing. Enjoy yourselves.
Black velvet-flocked damask wallpaper covers the walls, with heavy crimson silk draperies and candlelit wall sconces interspersed every few feet to bring a gothic warmth to the proceedings. (The Waldingers promise to restore everything back to normal later.) Gold-edged antique mirrors are hung at random, reflecting the unrecognizable faces and fantastical costumes. Candelabras and vases full of dark red roses adorn every table. As promised, there's food, an open bar, music and dancing. Enjoy yourselves.
PLAYLIST
MENU
SPECIALTY DRINKS
BLACK WIDOW MARTINI - Dark rum, dry vermouth and lime, rimmed with sugar and garnished with blackberries. An elegant choice.
EYEBALL SANGRIA - Red wine, brandy and pomegranate juice, with eyeballs made of lychee and frozen blueberries. Fun!
THE BLOOD BANK - A half-dozen plastic syringes filled with Bloody Mary, served on ice. Are you injecting these shots yourself, or will you share with a friend?
THE MINTY PAYNE - Sparkling rosé wine, blackcurrant liqueur and rose syrup, garnished with roses. Every time you order this, you must loudly wish Minty a happy birthday first.
EYEBALL SANGRIA - Red wine, brandy and pomegranate juice, with eyeballs made of lychee and frozen blueberries. Fun!
THE BLOOD BANK - A half-dozen plastic syringes filled with Bloody Mary, served on ice. Are you injecting these shots yourself, or will you share with a friend?
THE MINTY PAYNE - Sparkling rosé wine, blackcurrant liqueur and rose syrup, garnished with roses. Every time you order this, you must loudly wish Minty a happy birthday first.
FOOD
Silver trays of hors d'oeuvres are arranged on the buffet table, featuring a variety of tea sandwiches, canapés, crudités and desserts. Seasonally appropriate offerings include: pumpkin & brie crostini with candied nuts, ghostly apple blackberry hand pies, monstrous fried chicken sliders, and spider-webbed deviled eggs.
VOLUNTEERS
[Volunteer A] gets turned away at the door and is forced to rethink their entire costume, and also maybe their life. They're allowed back in the second time, even if they did nothing to change their outfit. Are the bouncers just rejecting people for fun?
[Volunteer B] thinks they see Director Riddle in a particularly scandalous getup, but it’s really [Volunteer C]. Too bad [Volunteer B] already told all their friends that their employer was definitely dressed as a [insert costume here].
Every time Linus Lowe looks into one of the party's many mirrors, they see a glowing entity lingering in the background—but no one's ever there.
The illusion emitter in [Volunteer E]'s mask starts malfunctioning, and they sidle up to [Volunteer F] without realizing that their identity is no longer obscured. Oops! Someone eventually comes by to give them a replacement mask, and an apology voucher for a free drink at the bar. (Wait, isn't it an open bar anyway?)
[Volunteer G] chugs their Eyeball Sangria too fast, and chokes on a lychee eyeball. Help! Luckily, [Volunteer H] steps in and performs the Heimlich maneuver to save them. Do they reveal their identity, or slip back into the party as an anonymous Good Samaritan?
Vidalia LaRoux accidentally knocks a candelabra off a table, right onto Maximilian Hart. Their clothing catches on fire, but only for about a minute. Turns out all those flames were illusions, and their clothes are totally unsinged. Whew!
[Volunteer K] swears that someone dressed up as a creepy Victorian child ghost keeps following them around the party. They point the semi-translucent ghost out to [Volunteer L], who says they don't see anyone. Wait, what? The ghost flees any attempt to approach them.
Okay, these illusions are excessive. Knowing that Enoch Waldinger's illusions disappear if you refuse to believe in them, Rufus Kearney concentrates hard on being a huge killjoy. For an instant, they see all of the illusions flicker out of existence, but the illusory costumes quickly reassert themselves once they're no longer concentrating.
[Volunteer N] and [Volunteer O] run into each other a record five times in the half hour they’re stuck in the hedge maze, like they’re old classmates at a grocery store. They decide to just embrace it, team up, and actually find their way out!
[Volunteer B] thinks they see Director Riddle in a particularly scandalous getup, but it’s really [Volunteer C]. Too bad [Volunteer B] already told all their friends that their employer was definitely dressed as a [insert costume here].
Every time Linus Lowe looks into one of the party's many mirrors, they see a glowing entity lingering in the background—but no one's ever there.
The illusion emitter in [Volunteer E]'s mask starts malfunctioning, and they sidle up to [Volunteer F] without realizing that their identity is no longer obscured. Oops! Someone eventually comes by to give them a replacement mask, and an apology voucher for a free drink at the bar. (Wait, isn't it an open bar anyway?)
[Volunteer G] chugs their Eyeball Sangria too fast, and chokes on a lychee eyeball. Help! Luckily, [Volunteer H] steps in and performs the Heimlich maneuver to save them. Do they reveal their identity, or slip back into the party as an anonymous Good Samaritan?
Vidalia LaRoux accidentally knocks a candelabra off a table, right onto Maximilian Hart. Their clothing catches on fire, but only for about a minute. Turns out all those flames were illusions, and their clothes are totally unsinged. Whew!
[Volunteer K] swears that someone dressed up as a creepy Victorian child ghost keeps following them around the party. They point the semi-translucent ghost out to [Volunteer L], who says they don't see anyone. Wait, what? The ghost flees any attempt to approach them.
Okay, these illusions are excessive. Knowing that Enoch Waldinger's illusions disappear if you refuse to believe in them, Rufus Kearney concentrates hard on being a huge killjoy. For an instant, they see all of the illusions flicker out of existence, but the illusory costumes quickly reassert themselves once they're no longer concentrating.
[Volunteer N] and [Volunteer O] run into each other a record five times in the half hour they’re stuck in the hedge maze, like they’re old classmates at a grocery store. They decide to just embrace it, team up, and actually find their way out!
CLAIM A SPOT
Whit & Sal
"Not sure," Sal admits, too honest. "I'm so used to being myself, I dunno how not to be myself. If that makes sense?" Nice going. All of this self-doubt will really turn the other person on. He looks curiously at them, trying to see if he can tell who they are. "What about you? Are you having fun?"
Whit & Sal
He shuffles awkwardly and looks down at his feet, shy. Great job, Whit. You're being really normal and attractive right now!
"You seem nice," he says quickly, deciding to focus on the person across from him instead. He smiles at them, looking up into their eyes as though they might betray who they belonged to. "A real gentleperson. I bet you're cute!"
Whit & Sal
"I gotta ask you something," he begins, "and you gotta do me a favor and not read too much into it. Um. Are you a Liminal? And if you are, are you the kinda Liminal where like... you really, really need your powers?"
Whit & Sal
"I am a Liminal. And I don't need them, no. They're fairly minor!" he answers honestly, not wanting to reveal too much—if they knew who they were talking to and how utterly uncool his powers are, they probably wouldn't want to spend any more time with him.
"Are you a Liminal?" he asks, wanting to keep the conversation going while he still can.
Whit & Sal
He moves closer, putting his gloved hand on their shoulder. They feel tall. A man, probably. "I'm kinda nervous, actually. Not 'cause of you. You seem... nice. I just don't do this a lot."
Whit & Sal
"I don't do this sort of thing a lot, either. Or ever, really. I basically haven't kissed anyone since becoming a Liminal," he confesses with a nervous chuckle. His hands shake a little as he lifts them up to place them on the mystery astronaut's shoulders.
"Thank you for being so nice, though. Would it be all right with you if I kissed you?"
Whit & Sal
He moves his hand to their neck, his thumb just brushing their jaw, and he's very sure now that this is a guy. "Yeah. Okay," he whispers, and leans in, kissing them.
Whit & Sal
"Mm, you're a really good kisser!" he says encouragingly. "You taste nice."
Whit & Sal
But he finds he likes this person, who's trying so hard to make him feel comfortable even though they've admitted to being nervous and inexperienced. "You're really cute," Sal says, subconsciously repeating someone else, but not knowing how else to respond to the bloom of affection he feels towards this stranger. "Can't believe people haven't been kissing you."
Whit & Sal
"But it's okay. I've accepted it. You're so nice though—I bet you could kiss whoever you wanted to, if that's what you wanted. I would say 'Don't be nervous!' but I know it's easier said than done. I don't think you have anything to be nervous about, though."
Whit & Sal
He doesn't complete the sentence. "Everything's so goddamn weird, like all the time. It doesn't make sense, but I kinda don't feel so nervous around you anymore." His smile is a little wry as he looks at them. "I'm not all that nice outside of here."
Whit & Sal
"Maybe in another life, we could've been friends."
Whit & Sal
A sly note enters Sal's voice. "Though you saying that makes it sound like you just don't want to kiss me again."
Whit & Sal
"I would kiss you again if you'd like that," he says cheerily, glancing down at his watch. "We still have a few more minutes, but I don't want to overstay my welcome. Up to you."
Whit & Sal
Plus, this vampire is way too nice to give him shit once they find out who Sal is. Or when they hear him say this next thing: "Though you might as well make out with me too, so long as we're stuck here."
Whit & Sal
"I wear glasses," he says, and gives Sal another peck. "and I work in the Commercial Center. Your turn!"
It's only after he's already done this that he feels a sudden wave of anxiety that maybe this person will be grossed out if they figure out who he is.
Whit & Sal
"I'm in two divisions," Sal offers with a grin. "The dangerous ones." He's a young man; is he not supposed to brag about being an explorer? He cups his closet partner's face with his hands and kisses them again, just because he can.
Whit & Sal
"You must be really strong and brave. Maybe you've even saved my life before," he says, running through his mental inventory of who he knew that worked in both Exploration and Security. A few people come to mind, but nothing definitive, so he decides to offer up another clue.
"I'm not nearly that exciting. I work in a shop. I'm not an adventurous hunk like you."
Whit & Sal
"You don't even know what I look like." He resists the urge to add although I am a hunk, because that would be insane, but he's grinning in amusement. "And you can't be that unexciting if you're here. People can work in a shop anywhere. You gotta be pretty damn brave to work in a shop right next to the Riftlands, where the wildest shit happens every week."
Whit & Sal
At Sal's compliment, however, it's Whit's turn to be caught off-guard.
"I guess I've never really thought about it that way before?" he confesses, feeling all warm and fuzzy that anyone would think he was brave just for being there. "I feel like I always just picture people like you as the heroes, and people like me as the NPC shopkeeps that tell you how many gold coins an armor upgrade costs. I wish I was as brave as you, though."