( open ) I'll wear your colors til you come back home to me

[dothelokimotion]

Who: Everyone!
What: Masquerade Ball
When: 17th of October
Where: The Opherium
Content Warnings: N/A

[ Much like Loki's last party-venture, this is set up very much in the same vein. a large ballroom for dancing needs. Tables and waiters passing around hors d'oeuvres and drinks. At the entrance of the ball room, there’s a fancy mask waiting for you if you don’t have one already. There’s a strict dress code for the event this time and Loki expects everyone to dress accordingly.

The masks also have a spell attached to them. They’ll afford you complete privacy. No one will recognize you under the mask. Unless, of course, you take it off and let them know. Perfect for the party guest who may want to indulge without causing a fuss. Hit up a partner and see where the evening takes you.

This event wouldn’t be complete without candy, of course. There are candies arranged on the tables in all types and colors. In front of them is a small description regarding each kind of candy. Be sure to read them carefully, as Loki has added a little . . . extra to the sweets, to give them a little . . . zing. ]

🍫 White Chocolate: For those who needs a little honesty ( truth effect )

🍷 Alcoholic Chocolate: For those who need to loosen up ( slight aphro effects, please mark headers accordingly and communicate! )

🍬 Sour Candy: For those who are tired of being nice ( shorter tempers )

🍓 Fruit Candy: For those who need to open up ( increased generosity )

If you have a question or comment to direct at the host, Loki is by the entrance dressed in red and gold with a mask to boot. he’s instantly recognizable, compared to the masked attendees. ]

Welcome.

Comments

masquerade

[doctopoda]

[Though of course they cannot currently recognize one another, Otto is equally delighted as his sudden magical anonymity! He's really missed being able to just be Some Guy!]

Why, thank you! I like yours, too!

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

[ Not being stared at or risking arrest shouldn't be such a novelty, but hey, here we are! It's a nice break from everyday life! ]

Nice! Same hat!

[ She doesn't recognize him! She doesn't know he's probably too old to get the meme reference! Doreen shoots him some fingerguns too, because no amount of anonymity will stop her from being a dork. ]

For real though, these things are seriously great! Kinda wish we could take 'em home. I would 100% wear flowers on my face, all day every day.

[doctopoda]

[Does he get the meme reference? Absolutely not! But he can imitate the fingerguns right back! He's just too giddy about this whole mask thing!]

We could ask. I wouldn't mind keeping one, either - although, I can tell you're wearing a mask, at least. That might be a little odd.

[For the things he wants anonymity for, like being a normal human person! It'd be great for vigilante stuff, if you do that under a secret identity like everybody but him.]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

[ Aw yeah! Mutual fingerguns, this rules! ]

Don't care, I'd make it into a fashion statement. Once people realize how cool they'd look in a mask, everyone will be going all Phantom of the Opera out in public.

[ Doreen is all about the vigilante stuff! Maybe she just needs to use one of these masks and rebrand her secret identity... Or she could keep the current mask and be Squirrel And Also Gratuitous Flowers Girl. ]

[doctopoda]

Capes. Capes should also be part of it.

[Not in a superhero way, just generally for everyone!]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

One hundred percent. If we're going all-out with this, might as well make big fancy hats part of this fashion trend, too.

[ this world isn't ready for that level of fanciness! ]

[doctopoda]

Oh, yes, hats off to that.

[OTTO THIS IS THE REAL REASON YOU CAN'T MAINTAIN A SECRET IDENTITY]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

[ LOOK, HE'S TALKING TO THE ONE PERSON IN CENTRAL CITY WHO IS 100% COMPLETELY FOOLED BY FLIMSY DOMINO MASKS, it'll probably take another dad joke or two to raise suspicions! ]

Now we just have to make sure that giant chandeliers don't catch on too, that could be problematic.

[doctopoda]

Loki's got a few of those in his theatre, too. I tried to warn him!

[Which didn't go great because he didn't get the reference, but HEY this person does!]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

Honestly, knowing Loki - the Medium-Sized version at least, I'm not super familiar with the older, fancy one who owns the theatre, and I'm pretty sure the little one hasn't seen Phantom - he probably enjoys the potential for drama.

[ Note to self: if Phantom of the Opera is somehow a multiversal constant, pester Medium Loki into taking Little Loki to the show! ]

[doctopoda]

I don't know any of them well...but that does sound right.

[LET'S DO PHANTOM, OTTO'D GO! and probably be really emotional about it for dead wife reasons but you know, that's really neither here nor there]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

I'm pretty sure Lokis having a flair for the dramatic is a universal constant. Dude would one hundred percent be into Phantom, the one from my universe probably has a whole Broadway subscription set up.

... Man, I haven't seen Phantom since I was like ten, does he start throwing fireballs at one point? Was that a thing?

[ if you're on vacation in NY for the first time, and your parents take you to a fancy broadway show, you're either gonna see Phantom or CATS, it's practically law! ]

[doctopoda]

Oh, yes, that happens. There's a fair amount of fire. Must be why it's such a hot ticket.

[we're on a ROLL]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

... Waitaminute.

[ THE DAD JOKES HAVE REACHED CRITICAL MASS!! Doreen squints up at him, and then flicks her mask up. ]

Who am I talking to?

[doctopoda]

[...hold the fuck ON! Otto's eyes widen behind his mask (and his glasses which I've only just realized he must also be wearing awkwardly over the mask or something, don't worry about it).]

That is remarkable! [How did he not see her whole entire tail before? Did he see it and simply not consciously register it? The actuators didn't, either, and that has some very interesting implications! He glances around - no one is really looking their way.] Here, look at this.

[It will, he assumes, be a similar effect for her as he lifts his own mask, a claw nimbly removing and replacing his glasses. Giant tentacles phase into being!]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

Oh dang!!

[ Man, these things work insanely well! How did she not notice the squad?! ]

... Okay, yeah, we have to either bribe Loki or figure out a way to reverse-engineer these things, holy crap.

[doctopoda]

[Otto laughs, slipping his mask back on. It doesn't re-disguise him from Doreen, now that she knows, but at the least it puts the glamour back on for everyone else.]

I only came for the opportunity to try it out for the night - I never thought it would work this well! You know, a friend of mine has been working on something similar for me. I'll let you know when he finishes it.

[They're in similar straits, so a similar approach ought to help them both, right?]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

[ Doreen cranes her neck to look at the actuators... or at least, where the actuators were a second or two ago! ]

Has anyone bumped into the Squad? It's one thing to make them invisible, but it's another to have people unconsciously walk around them!

[ She examines her own mask for another moment or two before popping it back on. Once again, she's back in incognito-mode! ]

Oh yeah? Is your friend doing a tech-based thing, or a magic thing like this?

[doctopoda]

Not yet, but we've been careful.

[In theory, the actuators are fairly good at ducking and weaving! That's fine for one night - but it's also liable to throw Otto off-balance if it happens too suddenly, and he finds that having them on high alert for long periods is sort of mentally taxing for him. It's not sustainable.]

Maybe I should test it...that's most of what Balthier and I have been working on, recently, getting people to walk around them like that. He uses magic, too.

[Though they at least test it on David, instead of Otto just sticking his invisible arms in front of random people at a party.]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

[ Doreen has it easier in that respect; if anyone gets close enough to accidentally bump into her tail, then they're already inside her personal bubble, whereas Otto's bubble is much bigger and more volatile! ]

Dude, take notes on tonight! See if anyone notices them, it's not exactly a controlled environment, but it's the closest you're gonna get to a random sampling of people!

[ she is 100% in favour of sticking them in front of random people in a party, as long as he doesn't trip up a conga line or something. For science! ]

How's your friend's thing been working out so far? Any luck?

[doctopoda]

It's been going fairly well! We're testing that part, actually, the subconscious awareness. Not in public, not quite yet...

[Though it's certainly a testing stage they'll have to proceed to at some point! Otto eyes a few nearby people, considering, then jokes:]

You're not gonna turn me in for tripping people at a fancy party?

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

Naaah. Besides, it's a Loki party, if he's anything like the others, I think he'd consider those kinds of invisible shenanigans a bonus.

[ He would probably be sitting in the rafters somewhere, eating popcorn and watching the chaos unfold! ]

I hope your dude's thing works out, it'd make things a heck of a lot easier.

[doctopoda]

It really would. Especially in Excelsior - though we're actually thinking about moving to Central.

[Idly reaching out in an attempt to get someone to walk into his arm...]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

Oh, snap, really? Has Excelsior gotten worse? More to the point, do you guys need any help moving? Seriously, I can carry a ton of stuff.

[ Super strength comes in handy with moving furniture! Her eyes follow the actuator as it goes; you can practically hear the Jaws theme! ]

[doctopoda]

Oh, yes. If it were only me, I might just put up with it - [he can't say it wasn't sort of earned] - but the kids shouldn't have to deal with that kind of thing.

["The kids"? Otto takes a second to process what the hell he just said. And then just decides not to unpack it!]

I'll let you know. I'm not too shabby at moving myself, you know.