enodia_ic | 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.

PLAYLIST

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.

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!

CLAIM A SPOT

LOCATIONS

➼ MASK DELIVERY ➼ ARRIVALS ➼ DANCE FLOOR ➼ OPEN BAR ➼ REFRESHMENTS ➼ BALCONY ➼ PARTY GAMES ➼ OUTSIDE ➼ END OF THE NIGHT ➼ OOC DISCUSSION

VIEW LOCATIONS

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's weird," Raine says, although his posture has relaxed a bit now that he's confirmed Enoch's identity. He turns to face him fully and narrows his eyes as he examines his face. The mask naturally draws attention, but he pulls his gaze away from it, trying to find some familiar detail in the shape of his nose, the line of his jaw, the curve of his mouth.

"I feel like I should be able to recognize you," he admits.

"Thank the illusion emitter. Normally, when someone starts mentally poking at my illusions, I have to concentrate to maintain it. But a machine can sustain a high level of concentration for longer, making it difficult to see through the illusion. Even when you're trying to, even when you know what you should be seeing." With the anonymizing effect, he looks like a man wearing a mask, but not really like Enoch. He doesn't sound like Enoch either—his English accent neutralized, his exaggerated cadence smoothed down—but hints still slip out. He says con-cen-trate like Enoch would, hitting each syllable a little too emphatically. He holds himself like Enoch does, straight-backed and tense, except for his hand on the railing, which has slid a few inches closer to Raine.

"So is that a good weird or bad weird? Remember, I expect an honest review."

Edited (clarity) 2023-10-29 17:14 (UTC)

This is, Raine assumes, the surprise project Enoch has been working on for so long, and he considers his response carefully. Even though he can acknowledge that these illusion-emitting machines are an impressive technological achievement, he can’t exactly will himself to like the effect in this moment. He’d rather be looking at Enoch.

"It is a little exciting," he concedes. "I wasn’t expecting to meet a handsome stranger tonight."

Enoch bursts out laughing at this unexpected line. "You're going to make me jealous." He means it as a joke, but the words come out without even a hint of a lie, which is—complicated. He's not the type to be possessive of other people. Of secrets and scientific discoveries and the organizational standards of the archives, yes, but not of people, with all the attached expectations and potential for disappointment.

Dissect that later. There's a party to enjoy tonight. He closes the distance between them, and brushes his fingers across Raine's shoulder. "I knew who you were the second you came through the doors. I've seen this jacket before."

"In my defense I didn't know I was actually supposed to be tricking anybody," Raine says. He knows he's probably easy for just about anybody to spot, although he doesn't really mind. He's not the kind of person who'd exploit the supernatural anonymity anyway.

Well. For the most part. It does afford them a sense of privacy even though they're in full view of everybody. Succumbing to an intrusive thought he's been battling since he started talking to Enoch, he reaches out to brush his fingers against Enoch's cheek.

"It's a Halloween party thrown by two Waldingers. Of course you're supposed to trick people." But only a handful of people really knew what to expect tonight, and Enoch deliberately kept Raine from being one of them. It would've been a little too easy if he knew he could wear anything and the mask would make his costume look good.

Enoch is about to explain the intricacies of the anonymity illusion when the touch on his cheek scatters his thoughts. He wonders whose face Raine sees when he does this—and ah, there it is. Enoch is jealous, as irrational as that might be. He closes his eyes, concentrating on the illusion centered on his mask. This might be Doc's tech but it's his abilities powering it, and it takes little effort to pull at the anonymity strand saying everyone and weave in a new one that says everyone but Raine instead. When he meets Raine's gaze again, it's Enoch's eyes looking out from behind the starry mask, and Enoch's voice saying, "Less exciting now?"

Raine's head tilts to the side as the illusion dissipates, and though for a moment he seems visibly caught off-guard the expression is quickly replaced by a smile. "That's better," he says by way of response.

Leaning back a little to get a better view of the outfit without stepping away, Raine's hand drops from Enoch's face to trace the beadwork on his shoulder. He likes the costume; it displays the same intricacy and showmanship the rest of the party does. A little egotistically, he's also pleased Enoch went with his color suggestion. After giving the costume a thorough once-over, he meets Enoch's gaze again.

"Hi," he says.

Enoch watches Raine study him with an unexpected thoroughness. While Enoch isn't the literal peacock here, this is the most flamboyant he's dressed in the entire time they've known each other, and he's conscious of a desire to impress Raine. He's so intent on trying to read Raine's expression that he seems surprised when he speaks again. Enoch blinks a few times, inexplicably glad that half of his face is hidden.

He can't think of a response to that soft "Hi" that wouldn't sound trite or sentimental, so instead he straightens his shoulders, taking on the clinical tone he gets when he's asking follow-up questions for a study. "At what point did you ascertain my identity?"

Raine presses his tongue to the back of his teeth to suppress a laugh and shakes his head, like Enoch is misbehaving by deploying the scientist voice on him. He never liked it when Enoch had chased the few proper dates they’d gone on before with strongly agree/somewhat agree/no opinion/somewhat disagree/strongly disagree questions, but now he lets himself pretend Enoch’s motivations are less clinical than they probably are.

He wishes he could say he had some immediate intuition in spotting Enoch, but that would be a lie. He wasn’t even entirely sure when he started the conversation. Still, he has a few bits of deductive reasoning to share.

“I looked for somebody who was observing everyone else,” he says, turning back to the balcony railing. “I thought you might be coming up here to get a better vantage point on the party. See who’s not having enough fun. Or too much.” He’s facing the party now, but still glances at him sidelong. “That’s Enoch behavior.”

At this completely accurate assessment, Enoch puts his back to the party as he leans against the railing next to Raine. Illusory rift energy continues to swirl from his cape, in bright, shifting colours.

"I recorded everyone on a spreadsheet, and I've been rating their fun level on a scale of 1–10." Only partly a lie, which Enoch delivers with an unselfconscious grin. "Once people get over the disorientation, they quickly warm up to the idea of being concealed. I wondered if even you might like it. Fifty-fifty odds, really. Your dislike of being perceived, versus your own pathological honesty."

Halloween Masquerade

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch

BALCONY: Raine & Enoch