foolishmemers | So close to feeling alive...

Afterlife Masquerade

We all know that life is a party, but what if death was too? Welcome to the afterlife masquerade, where you can mingle with your fellow tethered spirits, or maybe get that last dance that you didn't get a chance to while you were alive.

All the deceased guests at the masquerade wear a mask that's somehow based around the way that they died, like one themed around smoke and ashes for someone who died in a fire, or crumbling earth for someone buried alive. The suit or gown can be a little less literal, either a thematically matching version of what they were wearing when they died/what they were buried in, or something new altogether. Only living, dreaming guests can see the masks, however.

And as for the living? Well, for the living a masquerade is a dream, a fancy ballroom full of familiar forms in beautiful masks. However, even though the voices of the people in the masks are familiar, their identities are always just out of reach. You've had worse dreams, though, might as well enjoy the music and the dancing and the company, however mysterious it is.

1) A life goes by, romantic dreams must die: There are a lot of people here, and while you're waiting for the living to join you now's as good a time as any to get to know them. You can't see each other's masks, but you can look in the punch bowls and watch those you left behind.
2) But I bid mine goodbye and never knew: Maybe you're bleeding out or teetering on the edge of life and death; either way, you're not long for that world, but luckily it seems like the next one isn't too bad either. Maybe you'll see a familiar face, as the masks come off.
3) So close was waiting, waiting here with you: You've been having these dreams a lot lately, about a masquerade ball full of people each wearing their own colorful, unique masks. Might as well dance while you're here, even if you can't put your finger on why your partner seems so familiar...

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[A small figure runs between each guest, cheerfully asking for another dance. Their outfit switches from a short, green frilly dress at the start of the ball to a light blue suit at the end, but the red, sequined mask they wear remains the same. The base is orange, with a red area in the center that bleeds around it in a gradient, culminating in blue feathers at the edges.]

[Another small dancer is here, wearing a blue dress suspiciously similar to a princess dress that popped out of the slot machine a few times. Her mask looks like a standard domino mask at first glance, but upon closer inspection there are jagged cracks all over it, like someone tore it up and hastily glued it back together again.]

Man, this party's kinda dead, huh? [wink wink nudge nudge]

Ehh, it's not that bad.

[This person... She stares at her for a moment. The omino mask does not conceal her identity in the slightest, and yet... she can't picture the face in her mind's eye.]

I mean, how much can you expect from these kinds of parties anyway?

[Fiddleford died in a tuxedo and he's wearing one here too. Instead of tacky green tartan it's pure off-white like the color of champagne -- or moonshine. His mask, for those that can see it, is the same off-white color and in the shape of a skull. It's missing only the lower jaw; from the lower edge of the mask hang strings of off-white crystalline stones that completely cover the lower half of his face and are meant to evoke a cascade of liquid. His body may have been burned when it was found but it wasn't the fire that killed him.

This is a more formal affair than he's really suited to, so he spends most of it around the fringes of things. He's not avoiding anyone, exactly, it's just this whole event is kind of weird and bittersweet.]

Edited 2017-09-15 01:22 (UTC)

[It's not unusual for Ford to have vivid dreams. Some are dreams and nothing more; those are easy to filter out and dismiss as his brain merely processing the events of the day. But some...some feel more like astral projection, or prophecy, both of which Ford is a firm believer in and wouldn't dismiss as possibilities for himself. After all, he's always been a magnet for the unusual.

So this? Some sort of...masquerade ball that feels all at once dreamy and incredibly lifelike? Well, Ford isn't thrown too much. He's dressed all in deep royal blue, a velvet suit far fancier than anything he's ever worn. He's at least glad to be rid of that God-awful gold suit. But he has to admit, his current duds are fetching.

The room is vast, and maybe a little misty—dream mist?—but still Ford finds himself drawn to one masked figure in particular. Dressed all in fetching off-white, and that mask—it tugs at his heart in a way that's melancholy for reasons he can't quite pinpoint. But it's not enough to keep him away. He approaches on sure and steady feet and holds out one hand, palm side up, to the tall stranger in white.]

Might I have this dance?

[Oh.

Mmm.

Fiddleford hesitates for a long, long moment before taking that hand. After spending so long in the afterlife seeing Ford's face again is... it's something. His heart is pulling itself in several different directions at once, but the strongest direction is forward. This is a chance he didn't think he would ever have again. He can't let it pass him by.]

Of course.

[He might not know precisely who the man in the mask is, but Ford finds himself holding his breath for an answer, feeling as if this moment is incredibly important somehow. When the masked mystery man agrees to a dance, his shoulders lose a little bit of their tension and he breaks into a grin, his fingers curling around the longer, thinner ones resting in his palm.]

Thank goodness.

[With a self-assuredness that only comes with years of practice, Ford pulls the stranger in close, letting one hand rest at his waist, over the fine material of his jacket, and raises their joined hands to shoulder height, stepping into a steady, measured waltz.]

I hope you don't mind my being forward. It's just—something about you made me sure I should come over here.

Of course I don't mind.

[Well if this isn't familiar. He remembers the Fourth of July dance vividly, partially because it was the first time Ford tried flirting with him in earnest and partially because he tried leading that time as well. Just like that time, Fiddleford plants his feet and gently but firmly shifts the arrangement of their hands until it's more to his liking.]

Though I don't follow.

[Last time his tone was clipped, almost aggravated. This time it comes out fond.]

Oh! Oh.

[He looks momentarily abashed, and then a look of odd concentration crosses his face. Either he's experiencing deja vu, or the faint tugging at his memory is something real that he hasn't quite the capacity to remember just now. He lets the other man rearrange their hands, and lets the fond tone of his voice sooth his worry that he's forgotten something important. That gets pushed to the back of his head, for now.]

It's the strangest thing, but I can't shake the feeling that I knew someone like you, once. A long time ago.

[He doesn't have a mask, and he's wearing his blue and silver embroidered waistcoat with his black breeches. The heels of his shoes click and his buckles jingle as he dances. He feels lighter here, happier, even among strangers in strange masks, strangers who seem so familiar at the same time, like a dream that he can't put a name to. He has a smile and a dance for everyone who wants one, but even when there's no partner to be found he enjoys himself on the dance floor, feeling lighter and more unburdened than he has in months.]

[Here's someone not wearing a mask for a change and looking altogether quite confused by all this. After all, it's a strange dream, isn't it? And since it's a dream, she might as well be in a dress she has never seen before. But it's fine, Wendy thrives at parties, even weird dressy events like these, if she tries.

She wanders around, taking everything in, approaching people and trying to strike up a conversation. Many of the figures here seem so familiar to her... but it's always just beyond her to figure it out. At least it helps her mood, makes her cheerful in the face of some strangeness.]

Man, is this a great dream or what?

Edited 2017-09-15 02:11 (UTC)

So close to feeling alive...

Wander | Wander Over Yonder

Star Butterfly | Star vs. The Forces of Evil

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Fiddleford McGucket | Gravity Falls

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LeFou | Beauty and the Beast

Wendy Corduroy | Gravity Falls