[EVENT] MASQUERADE! PAPER FACES ON PARADE

[khuimods]

Characters: Anyone and everyone!
Date: October 20
Location: Aisling Tower grounds
Situation: It's the annual event! The Aisling Tower hosts an elaborate masquerade to celebrate Shadow Nights.
Warnings/Rating: In individual threads - please remember to warn!


As dusk falls on October 20th, the bone white spire of the Aisling Tower gleams brightly in the fading sunlight. Once a year, the Tower throws open its doors to begin the official Shadow Nights celebrations. It's a lavish and popular event, attended by all walks of life in Aifaran.

But as the Night Parade approaches, the excitement in the air is tinged with trepidation about the barrier. Perhaps the donning of masks will help Aifaran shed its fears.


In the week leading up to the masquerade, the Tower is a flurry of activity while things are rearranged and set up for the influx of visitors. A special room is designated to provide suitable attire to rent for the evening to those who cannot afford fancy clothes as a staple of their wardrobe. All for the low price of the dry-cleaning bill for the outfit!

When the day finally arrives, preparations are made in earnest during the morning and afternoon, festooning the surrounds with seasonal decorations. The steady deliveries of food, drink, and decor create a buzz about the place. Tables dressed with fine cloth are brought into the courtyard and as the gates open, spirit lanterns in a variety of shapes and colors are lit, and the courtyard shines invitingly as guests arrive.



At the base of the Tower, an atrium that makes up most of the ground floor has been cleared for the masquerade. Wide, sweeping ramps lead upwards, dotted with tables and some cushioned benches for seating. The upper floors of the Tower are still off-limits to the public, and discreet guards stand watch. The interior of the Tower is done in whites and creams, with accents shimmering like pearls. As a result, the vibrant costumes and decorations stand out all the more distinctly, a riot of color across a blank canvas.

Let Shadow Nights begin!

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OOC Notes: The Masquerade log is available for threading throughout the rest of the month. While there are starters available for threading, feel free to create your own top-level comment! Enjoy the festivities.

Comments

B

[highprofilerichkid]

Man, those flying cat things are popular, aren't they? Tony isn't sure what to make of the phenomenon, because he's never had a pet or really been an animal person, but... he has to admit, they are cute.

There's even one guy standing on the sidelines who has his catbat critter sitting on his shoulder. It doesn't seem to mind the hubbub of the party.

"That is a really chill alien flying cat thing," Tony observes. "Aren't you worried it's gonna fly off? How do you catch an escaped catbat?" He eyes the adorable little fuzzball skeptically. A flying pet seems like a lot of hassle.

[soloflight]

Jacen lifts his wineglass in greeting, grinning at Tony’s questions about his catbat. Unlike the other guy, he’s always been an animal person, had pets for as long as he could remember. “No, I’m not worried. If she does fly off, she’ll come back.” Despite his roguish grin, he says it so matter-of-factly, like how one would say that the color of the sky is blue.

The critter curiously stretches her head towards the newcomer, and Jacen lifts his free arm, elbow pointing at Tony, so she can scoot over for a closer look. “Go on. He’s a friend,” he tells her reassuringly.

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony dutifully holds his hand out for inspection. Maybe he doesn't do pets, but he doesn't have a problem with them, either. Catbat is welcome to investigate, so long as it doesn't, like, cough up a hairball on him.

He raises his eyebrows at the other man's assertion, though.

"How do you know?" Tony doesn't know much (read: anything) about animal training, but given that they've only been handing these things out for a few hours, that seems... optimistic. The catbat gets another assessing look. "It can't understand you, can it?" Because that might have troubling implications about their level of sapience and status as pets.

[soloflight]

The catbat, naturally, begins sniffing the Tony's hand.

Jacen, on the other hand, laughs at the question, ducking his head a little as he admits, "I can actually understand her. In a way. It's not... actual thoughts. More of feelings, impressions." He glances at his pet, which has now begun to lick Tony's palm. "I think she somehow understands me, too. Enough, at least, that she doesn't fly off whenever she feels like it."

[highprofilerichkid]

"You can read animal minds? That's... kind of awesome, actually."

The catbat has started to lick him with its tiny, sandpapery tongue, and it is too cute for words. Okay, he can maybe see the appeal.

"I know a lot of people who run around with animal themes, but I think you're the first person I've met who can talk to animals. Way cooler power than mounting a laser on your forehead and calling yourself 'Unicorn.'" Honestly. That doesn't even count as an animal-based superpower, it's just dumb.

[soloflight]

Jacen frowns slightly, not quite getting what Tony means by ‘animal themes’ or why anyone would mount a laser on his forehead if all he wants is to be called Unicorn. But the other guy doesn’t seem fazed about him being able to understand animals, which leads him to assume he has some abilities of his own.

“What can you do?” he asks curiously. “Sounds like a lot of your people have powers of some sort.”

[highprofilerichkid]

He's just saying, for all the popularity of superhero/supervillain animal themes, there's a disgraceful lack of people who actually have abilities that involve or mimic animals in any meaningful way. Lack of commitment, that's what that is.

As for Tony's powers: "Solve math problems really fast," Tony deadpans. Technically not wrong. Then he relents with a grin and adds, "You could say I'm an inventor. I have a suit of power armor that I built when I was fifteen. There's not a lot of people with powers, but the ones who have them... tend to stick out. The suit helps me keep up with people who can, like, bend cars with their mind and turn themselves into lasers."

[soloflight]

“A suit of armor?” Jacen’s suddenly excited. “My brother wants to build a droid, but we’re still looking for parts. A ship would be more preferable, but I don’t think it’s something we can build from scratch around here.”

He looks around for Anakin, but while the Force confirms his presence to be somewhere in the Tower, he doesn’t seem to be in the dance hall.

[highprofilerichkid]

Tony perks up immediately. Talking to animals is pretty cool, but you know what's even cooler? Robots.

"Oh, yeah? Are you guys engineers too? You should come down to my workshop some time. It's nothing like what I have at home, but I think it can handle a round of robot-building."

[soloflight]

“Not exactly. But my brother’s very good at what he does.” With an emphasis on very. Although Tony might be surprised that the brother he’s referring to is practically a kid. (Or maybe not, since Tony built his suit at fifteen.) “Thanks for the invitation, though. He’s going to love it.”

Then, belatedly, he realizes he hasn’t introduced himself. “It’s Jacen, by the way. And my brother’s name is Anakin. Great to meet you.”

[highprofilerichkid]

"Tony. Good to meet you, too. Yeah, I'm there a lot, so you can probably come around whenever you want. It's Stark Solutions. It doesn't look like much right now, but it's got all the important stuff. I'm gonnna upgrade once I land some bigger contracts and have more capital to work with. I was gone for three months, so I'm still catching up on the rent."

Paying rent sucks. Being an independent adult who has to work for their living is so overrated.