We got dressed—Link as Vincent from the Final Fantasy games, and me as Sephiroth. Not pretty, concept art Sephiroth, though. I was the original 16-bit version, including a half-foam wig that gave me blocky hair, and a trench coat with foam shoulder pads.
Our masks were the finishing touch, though we’d wait to put those on until we got to our destination. Link’s was a black mask that covered his eyes, and the high collar of his trench coat covered the lower part of his face. It was impossible to see whohe was, if one didn’t account for the fact that he would probably be the only six-foot-six wall of muscle in the room.
My mask was more simple, but I felt a little more terrifying—flesh colored and meant to cover my whole face, with holes for eyes and otherwise blank and smooth.
We headed to the hotel across the street from the convention center. Normally I hated stepping foot in this place—the building that bore my family name. But seeing the lobby full of people in costumes, celebrating their fandom, their love of video game media, made me grin. The energy in the air was contagious, and knowing how much my father would hate seeing this in one of his establishments didn’t hurt either.
We let ourselves get swept up in the crowds and carried toward the suite where the AcesPlayed party was happening. Several companies were hosting different types of events tonight. It was a kind of mingle-and-wander-and-do-whatever-grabs-your-attention evening.
The AcesPlayed room was packed. We were hosting a masquerade-slash-dance-slash-karaoke. I was pretty sure Brandon had bribed Dustin to tack thekaraokepart of things onto the end, but Link was looking forward to that as much as the rest of it, and that made it a good idea as far as I was concerned.
By my count, there were a few hundred people packed in here, and at least fifty of those were lined up for their chance to sing. Link got to skip the line and put his name on the list.
A familiar blend of voices came from nearby. It didn’t matter that Danny and Reese were wearing masks. Their voices were famous, and their costumes were giveaways too. I wasn’t sure what Brandon was wearing. We joined Danny as Ozzy Osbourne, Reese as Joan Jett, and Brandon as… a guy in a powdered wig, and tux that had a long-tailed coat?
Danny was trying to explain to Reese why she couldn’t just fill out the karaoke roster with her own name, and kick everyone else off stage.
I was pretty sure he was losing the discussion.
The three of them looked up, and said in unison, “Hey, Link.”
Link-as-Victor waved.
Brandon looked at me. “That makes you… Elliot. Nice.”
“Thanks.” I grinned, though he couldn’t see it. “You’re going to have to help me out though. Did I miss the part of the eighties where that”—I gestured to his costume—“was a thing?”
Brandon’s mask only covered his eyes, so his smirk was visible. “I’m Leopold.”
What? “Leopold?”
“Leopold? Leopold. Leopold.” Reese and Danny muttered the name again and again, in overlapping whispers of various tones, before dissolving into laughter.
Ah. Fucking creatives.
“Leopold Stokowski,” Brandon said.
Of course. Why didn’t I guess that? “You did this for a Bugs Bunny joke?”
“And because he was a brilliant composer.” Brandon sounded offended.
“Largely for the Bugs Bunny joke,” Reese said.
Brandon’s scowl was visible behind the mask, but it faded quickly. “Adam’s idea.”
“Blaming it on your baby brother doesn’t make it better.” I was kind of jealous I didn’t have a joke with a bad pun. Though, 16-bit Sephiroth was still pretty fucking epic.
Someone called the three of them away, and they waved before vanishing into the crowds. It was good to see Brandon more like himself than he had been a year ago. He was a lot happier since he walked away from his job as our full-time sound guy, and switched to more of a consulting role.
More power to him, but I couldn’t imagine it for myself. This job was my world and AcesPlayed was my universe. I wouldn’t give up this group for anything. Turning the game on Monday was amazing. The energy in the air tonight was even better, laced with the high of a successful release and so many years of hard work to get here.
Still… an obscure reference to a Bugs Bunny cartoon twice as old as we were. Fucking creatives.
Link went one way, to talk to a few people, and I headed to the bar for a drink. I’d stop myself before I had too many, or by the end of the night I’d be telling everyone how much I loved them.
I had a reputation to uphold.
The longer I spent at the party, talking to fans and other industry professionals, the higher my mood soared. The couple of whisky sours I had didn’t hurt, and probably added to the way I scanned the crowd for Fallyn every few minutes.