Paper Faces on Parade

[applesaucemod]

The residents of Manhattan will once again find themselves drawn into the currents of the rift when they sleep tonight. Once again, too, the rift is drawing in people from other worlds, both those who might one day find themselves pulled through in waking life and those who might yet escape its grasp.

Tonight, it seems, a celebration is in order. The ballroom of a country manor is the setting for tonight's gathering. Wood and marble gleam in the gas lighting, and a bar at one end of the room provides the, ahem, social lubricant some guests may require. At the other end, a staircase leads to a walkway that runs the entire parameter of the room, allowing guests to watch the dancing from above. While the party is localized in the ballroom, who knows what secret passages and hidden ways a grand old house like this one might conceal?

Those who appear here will find themselves wearing a disguise on arrival. Should the rift cause one to appear in a costume not of their liking (as it is fairly likely to do), an enormous wardrobe can be found through a door near the bar. In it, guests will find a seemingly infinite assortment of costumes and masks of all sizes and varieties ready for their use.


[Mod note: Usual dream-party rules apply. Both members and non-members are welcome to use any character, be they already in the game or no, and players can choose whether to have their characters remember this in the morning.]

Comments

[bluesuit_handy]

He's almost made it -- what's beyond that door he doesn't know, but Andrew is hoping the answer is 'much fewer people.' The only part of his outfit he can remove without exposing himself is his mask, and he's left that on because embarrassing as it is, it at least hides a little of his face.

He recognizes Daine a split second before she does him and quickly turns his face away. It's too late, though; she's seen him and guessed. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he tries for a lie.

"Er, Peter."

Never mind that Peter doesn't have sideburns, or that Andrew's accent will shortly give him away if she somehow manages to fall for it. It's not like Andrew's even met Peter; he just knows the man is generally unliked and probably deserves to have people think he showed up to a party in a big pink dress.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine raises her eyebrows, then lets out a little sigh. "If you were Peter, you'd've sworn at me by now," she says, not unkindly. It's true, though; she can't imagine the magician having a very positive reaction to being caught in a dress.

Not that Andrew seems any less embarrassed about it. "There's a wardrobe room just over here," she says, tilting her head towards the door. "Come on, I'll show you."

[bluesuit_handy]

"Fuck?" tries Andrew unhappily. He sighs, shoulders slumping. It might help his efforts to impersonate Peter if he actually sought the man out and talked to him. Then again, how often does he need to pretend to be Peter?

He brightens a little (or rather, looks painfully hopeful) when she offers a way out. "Is there?" And he's off, not even waiting for Daine to turn and start walking before he strolls in the direction she indicated.

[wildmage_daine]

That earns him a pained (if not entirely unamused) wince. "Don't try to be Peter; it doesn't suit you." Unlike that charming shade of pink.

"I passed it on my way down," she explains as she hurries a bit to catch up. "I think this is quite a big house we're in. Anyway, the wardrobe is just to the right - shares a wall with the bar."

[bluesuit_handy]

"From the sound of it, I'm not sure being Peter suits even Peter," he replies. "I still haven't met him, you know that? And it's not for lack of trying. I think the Doctor scared him off."

He turns the corner, still sticking close to the wall as if that'll make him less conspicuous. In a moment, he's stepped inside the surprisingly large room.

"...When you said wardrobe room, I was thinking maybe a few jackets," he says, gawping at the racks and racks of clothing and accessories.

[wildmage_daine]

"He was all right when he was a bat," she says diplomatically, trying to be fair. "I've only met him in the dreams, though."

She pokes her head into the room behind him and grins at all the options. "Well, you're sure to find something," she points out, wandering over to examine some of the masks on display. She likes her wolf one too much to replace it, but it's still fun to look at what else is available.

[bluesuit_handy]

First order of business: trousers. Andrew starts pawing through the first rack of such he sees, looking for something at least a tiny bit manlier than what he's got on. "Have you seen James anywhere?" he calls without looking up from his task.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine glances his way, shaking her head before realizing he won't see the gesture. "No," she says as she returns her attention to the masks, "but it's not easy to tell who anyone is from above the dance floor. That's where I was when I first arrived, and I'd only just come down when I bumped into you."

[bluesuit_handy]

"I'd say I hope he ends up in a dress as well, but he wouldn't be embarrassed anyway," he sighs. There -- black dress slacks that look like they'll fit him. He awkwardly shimmies out of his petticoat, casting surreptitious glances at Daine as he does so, and tugs the trousers on underneath his skirt. Perfect fit!

[wildmage_daine]

"I'm sure you're not the only person who's been dressed a bit strangely," she says as she admires a golden elephant mask. She could point out that she normally doesn't wear fancy dresses, but it's hardly the same as ending up in something she finds embarrassing.

[bluesuit_handy]

A shirt, coat, and tie just happen to be hanging at the end of the next rack, ready to help Andrew turn this into a black tie event. He pauses for a moment, almost ready to tell Daine not to look, but then decides she probably won't anyway and that he can handle it if she does, and simply shucks the dress off over top of his head and dumps it on the floor. The forgotten mask goes with it, and he stands half exposed for a moment as he gets the shirt unbuttoned.

"I just might be the only man in a dress," he shoots back.

[wildmage_daine]

"We won't know that for certain until we check," Daine shoots back, glancing his way just long enough to confirm he's mostly in black before picking through the masks for options that might suit him. Something understated, she thinks, as she starts to set aside some possibilities.

[bluesuit_handy]

"Kilts don't count; some people wear those deliberately," Andrew says firmly.

Shirt, jacket, double windsor on the tie, cufflinks he finds in a drawer -- and there, black converse peeking out from a row of shoes! It's almost as if he were meant to find everything he needs to copy the Doctor's way of dressing fancy dress the way to which he's accustomed at these sorts of things. Andrew preens a little, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles before turning to show Daine the final outfit. "What do you think?"

[wildmage_daine]

What's a kilt? Daine shrugs the question off. "Then I'm sure you're not the only person wearing something they'd rather not - elsewise there'd be no need for all this."

Now that she's been invited to look him over, she turns to do so, an approving smile spreading across her features. "I suppose it suits you better than the dress," she says, as if it's a difficult admission to make. But then she adds in a more genuine tone, "You look quite handsome." Gesturing to her little mask collection, she asks, "What do you think of these?"

[bluesuit_handy]

A grin spreads across his face and he needlessly adjusts his tie, proud of himself. "I thought so," he agrees, strolling back over to see what she's got. It takes only a glance and a moment's consideration for him to pick out a favorite.

"This one," he decides, picking it up by its edges and gingerly strapping it to his face.

[wildmage_daine]

"Perfect!" Daine grins up at him, then lowers her wolf mask. "Shall we try to find James?"

[bluesuit_handy]

"We shall," he agrees cheerfully, aware that the mask does nothing to hide his expression. He nudges Daine's shoulder. "Suits you," he says with a nod to her mask.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine's mask does plenty to hide her expression, but between the generous eyeholes and the short(ish) muzzle, he can probably still see that she's pleased by the compliment. "And I didn't even have to look for it," she says, grateful the rift seems to have made things relatively easy for her this time around. Maybe it's making up for mucking with her wild magic last time, though if that's the case, it still has work to do.

[bluesuit_handy]

"Who did you bribe?" he laughs, leading the way back out toward the ballroom. "And what do you suppose it did put James in?"

Andrew's hoping it's something dapper, actually. Teasing James is often not as much fun as teasing a lover ought to be, since it can be tricky to go far enough that James gets he's being teased without going too far.

[wildmage_daine]

"I expect it's to make up for trapping me in my human shape last time," she says. Though now that she thinks of it... frowning a little beneath her mask, she raises a hand to where she can see it and tries to change its shape. It obliges by becoming a wolf paw, and she lets out a little sigh of relief as she changes it back.

"Could be anything," she says, curiosity piqued. "I don't think I saw more than one of any outfit from the walkway."

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew is never going to get tired of watching her do that. He grins, making no effort to hide his scrutiny.

A thought strikes Andrew, and he grimaces. "I just hope he's not a funny robot." Because that might upset even James. Standing on his tiptoes, he peers about the room in search of the other man.

[wildmage_daine]

Yet he hesitates at the thought of Daine seeing his shirtless back...

"I think I'd've noticed if anyone was dressed as a robot," she says, looking around for something to stand on so she can get a better look at the crowd. Spotting an unoccupied chair, she steps up and shifts her eyes into those of a hawk. It helps a little, but given everyone is in masks of varying sizes, it's still no easy task to pick out anyone she knows, let alone one person in particular.

[bluesuit_handy]

Different! It's different for her! Also, she's not naked at the moment.

Andrew gives a little hop and decides to throw all decorum to the wind. "James?" he calls. Jumping again and sort of spinning in place, he waves his arms in the air. "James! Where are you?"

[wildmage_daine]

Riiiiiight.

Daine stares down at him, somewhere between amused and mortified. "What are you doing?" she hisses before putting a hand to her mouth to smother her giggles.

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew pauses in what he's doing to give Daine an innocent look right back. "Looking for James," he explains guilelessly. "Or helping him look for us. He's got good hearing, you know."