lostcarnival | ⇨ THE CELEBRATION

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⇨ THE CELEBRATION

Who: Everyone, especially YOU.
When: Day 60 - Day 65
Where: The Celebration
What: The carnival workers are invited to spend the week within the realm of the Celebration, the grounds of a party that has been going on for centuries. Accommodations are luxurious, but those with keen instincts might notice something off about this whole arrangement... (Questions can go to the original setting post!)
Warnings: Booze, drugs, sex, and everything in between.

THE CELEBRATION↴

If you observe that the layout of the Celebration grounds seem inconsistent, then you would be correct. In reality, what lies at the end of each corridor depends largely on what the guests of the Celebration want at the time - if a few people find themselves craving a drink, a bar may appear. If a group finds themselves wanting to dance, a club will open up. This goes on at all hours of the night, and given how many dedicated partiers fill the building, the services are well used. It isn't instantaneous, and the Host has to consciously decide to provide that service, but the changes are fast none-the-less.

► ROOMS: Each trailer pair will be assigned a room to themselves - whether or not it has two double beds or a single king sized bed seems essentially random. Hopefully you aren't too sensitive about keeping that space to yourself. The curtains at the far side of the room don't actually lead outside, but instead to a walk-in closet filled with the Host's best guesses at the type of clothing you might like. They may not hit the nail on the head, but at the very least all the clothing will be in your size. The styles could be just about anything, from any universe, but they do tend to average out to clothing that is Earth-ish. Either that, or clothing that looks like they are meant for elves from a high fantasy novel to wear.

► SHOPPING: If none of your pre-picked outfits tickle your fancy, plenty of boutiques and clothing shops can also be found around the grounds - whatever you're thinking of, you'll probably be able to find a shop appropriate for it eventually. Though, maybe it doesn't really count as shopping if you don't have to pay for any of the things you take back to your room with you? Unfortunately, from the sounds of it, you won't be allowed to drag all of your haul back to the carnival with you, so you better enjoy it while you can.

► DINING: There is no daily schedule to follow, after you arrive. You are free to attend the dining room whenever you wish, and will be seated at large round tables with whoever else may be around at the time, and can either order from the menu or most dishes you may think of off the top of your head. If you don't like the fine dining experience, there are also a selection of smaller cafes and eateries that open and close at varying times of day - and, of course, you can always call for room service.

► ENTERTAINMENT: There is plenty of live music around the grounds (not that you can ever seem to remember who the performers were afterwards) whether it comes to harp music while you eat or a full set of DJs in the club you found. If you are inclined to look for them, you may also find some cozy lounges with big screen TVs, and access to a multi-universal quantity of films. What's there or isn't there is unpredictable, but if you come from a standard variety of Earth you probably recognize some of them.

► SUBSTANCES: You don't have to be coy about it - just ask one of your servers, and you'll be able to get whatever kind of vices you might be craving. Drugs, alcohol, ice cream... it's all good. If this sounds like a nightmare for potential addicts, you would be correct. It's not uncommon to see people clearly over-indulging in certain locations, though guests are usually escorted back to their rooms if they take ill - only to see them back at it again the next day.

► SPA DAY: If you'd like to take a swim, pools of various aesthetics are easy to find. So are hot tubs, and saunas, and Host servants who are willing to give you a massage or manicure. If the party crowd isn't your scene, there are plenty of more low-key opportunities to indulge.

► GREENSPACE: There is one park area on the grounds, which appears to be constructed on the rooftops of other parts of the complex. While there are trees and greenery, there is no real sky that you can see - only the illusion of one. It may start to occur to you over time that no window or rooftop actually leads to any kind of outdoors. The Celebration really is there only thing here.

These are really just examples, and you can get creative with what kind of services you find offered while here, when it comes to generally mundane comforts. It really feels like the Host wants to win you over, as if you staying just a little longer has some sort of intrinsic appeal.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Amethyst is having the time of her life. After what Sans told her about the vampires, and after running into trouble with Steven and the others in Atlantis, she's been way more stressed about being at the carnival than she has been for a while – the Ringmaster's decision to let everyone have some time off really hits the spot. Amethyst would be pretty susceptible to the Celebration's charms under ordinary circumstances, but with these worries weighing on her she's even more willing than usual to just fling herself into whatever options for hedonism the party dimension has to offer.

DRINKIN: Gems don't really get drunk, but that doesn't stop Amethyst from partaking – she likes a lot of the tastes and the smells, and chucking beer bottles into her mouth whole so she can crunch up the bottles with her awful teeth. She also likes how other people get when they're drunk, because it's like carte blanche to behave like she's drunk too.

"Hey!" she declares, leaning up against one of the Celebration's many bars, grinning hugely. "Who wants to see how many shots I can pour in my belly mouth before it starts comin' out my regular mouth??"

EATIN: If... if you want to be around Amethyst while she shovels a bunch of posh canapés into her mouth like they're chips and then eats the napkin and half the plate as well then, like... you could? You could, hypothetically. That's an experience you could open yourself up to.

DANCIN: Amethyst ends up spending quite a lot of time clubbing – even without the same capacity for substance abuse that the Celebration's organic guests can indulge in, she finds it uncannily easy to just lose herself in rhythm and movement. Not that she's really in any position to notice there's anything uncanny about it.

Spotting someone she actually knows almost isn't enough to get her to extricate herself from the stranger she's grinding up on, but she manages it, just, still bouncing gently on one foot as she makes her way over.

"This place is awesome, huh?" She pushes some of her hair out of her face. She's breathless, flushed, exhilarated, and there's a slightly glassy look in her eye. "I forgot how much I missed this kinda thing."

It's late on day 64 – or possibly early on day 65, it's hard to tell here and it's not like gems keep regular sleep cycles. Amethyst hasn't been doing much sleeping since she got here. She's been kind of distracted.

Right now, passing out sounds great – but for some reason this seems more important. So here she is, thudding against the door of Peridot and Lapis's hotel room so her horns scrape against it a little bit.

"Peridoooot," she groans, muffled through the door.

Peridot hasn't seen Amethyst much at all since they arrived at the Celebration, but that's okay. They've both been pretty busy relaxing in their own ways, and Peridot's been fairly distracted by finally getting to watch Camp Pining Hearts for the first time in nearly two years.

That doesn't mean that hearing Amethyst's voice is an unwelcome event, of course. Her ears prick up immediately, and she bounds off of the king-sized bed that she and Lapis have been sharing with her usual energy, scrambling over to open the door.

"Amethyst!" she exclaims, holding her arms out in welcome and beaming ear to ear. "Fancy seeing you here. How can I-- Woah." She blinks, taking in Amethyst's present state. "Are you okay?"

She opens her mouth, but at the last minute she chickens out; she slumps even further and looks away instead of saying what she was going to.

"Nuh," she manages. Her voice is a a little raspier than usual. "Ain't seen you around much. You doin' OK?"

"I'm doing great, wow-thanks for asking!" She chirps. "I found out that the televisions here have every single episode of Camp Pining Hearts, so Lapis and I have been watching it pretty much non-stop. Nyeheheheheheheh... Here, come in, come in!" She scoops an arm around the other gem and ushers her in through the door, squeezing her shoulder lightly. It's obvious there's something wrong Amethyst, but Peridot knows that straight on pestering her for an explanation isn't going to get her anywhere. Better just to bring her inside.

"Oh... that's pretty sweet," says Amethyst weakly. She glances around the hotel room as Peridot leads her inside, and is relieved to see no sign of Lapis... come to think of it, she honestly wasn't sure what she was planning on doing if it turned out Lapis was here? And, hell, how long before she gets back?

She... awkwardly fumbles for Peridot's hand on her shoulder, not looking at her. "Hey, uh... I gotta talk to you about something."

Most people would tense up at that sort of statement, taken as the universal signal that an uncomfortable conversation is looming on the horizon... But not Peridot. Peridot lacks the social context to react in such a way, or to draw any such conclusions.

"Sure! Here, have a seat," Peridot says, guiding Amethyst to the bed (which, for the record, is TRASHED, because Peridot and Lapis have both discovered how much fun it is to jump up and down on this thing) and making her sit down. She immediately takes a place right next to her, sitting on her knees, tail swishing contentedly. "Can I get you anything?" she asks. "They're not used, but I think we have some tea bags in here somewhere..."

"Nah, I'll pass," says Amethyst, her own tail curling around her feet. She kind of feels sick. She's been feeling pretty sick for the last few hours, and she's not sure how much of that's because of the assortment of substances she's been stress-eating.

She chews her lip.

"I... kinda boned some elf guy at a party downstairs."

The grin slllllooooowly slides off of Peridot's face.

"Oh," is all she says, mildly surprised. She... Does not know how to feel or react to this admission at all?

Amethyst steals an anxious glance at her.

"If you don't mind then it's whatever," she says quickly. "You don't gotta, like, have an opinion about it just 'cause we make out sometimes, I just figured–"

She breaks off, struggling. She's not sure what she figured? She just... felt shitty doing it behind Peridot's back. But maybe that's dumb. It's not like they're dating.

Wait, they aren't?? Dating??? ??? ??? ?

Peridot glances over at her, head cocked, face scrunched up with confusion. "Oh. I was... under the impression we had something a little bit more complicated than that going on, but..."

She doesn't even sound angry? She's just purely confused. It's not like she has a lot of experience or context for how these things are supposed to work; most of what she knows about this stuff comes from human television shows. Amethyst's proposed infidelity, or lack thereof, is scarcely an issue next to the dawning possibility that Peridot might have had the wrong idea about the two of them this whole time.

"Oh," says Amethyst, sitting up a little -- she looks simultaneously relieved and dismayed, somehow. "I mean, yeah, but..."

"But what?" Peridot prompts her, frowning. She's reluctant to say anything else until Amethyst clarifies what she's getting at.

"But..." Amethyst shifts uncomfortably, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand. "I dunno, I mean... like you said, it's complicated, right?"

Well that doesn't clear things up at all.

"I always assumed we were engaged in something of a so-called 'romantic' relationship," Peridot says carefully. Her tail is betraying her anxiety, partaking in a slow, nervous swish, that rustles the bed sheets every few seconds or so. "Are we... Not? Was I incorrect in drawing that conclusion?"

Boy. Amethyst wants to sink directly into the hotel bed.

"I... no, but..." She pushes a hand through her hair. This isn't how she imagined this would go? In her head, when she'd lurched up to the door, and in the hours preceding, she'd been thinking she'd admit what had happened and Peridot would... reject her, one way or the other - either she'd be so disgusted she wouldn't want anything to do with Amethyst any more, or it would turn out she didn't care because it wasn't that kind of relationship. And then on some nasty, sick level it would be a relief, and Amethyst would let herself sink back into partying her nasty, sick brains out until she forgot about all of this.

That's how this was supposed to go.

She stares at the floor. "I kinda thought you'd be mad about this."

"I'm not... mad, I'm confused," says Peridot, although she sounds a little bit irked when she says that. "Am I supposed to be mad? Earth inhabitants usually only keep one exclusive partner, right? But... I don't think I care about that."

She puts a hand to her forehead, wincing. "I'm... not very good at this human relationship thing," she says, in a completely out of character display of humility.

Amethyst blinks up at her. Then she laughs, confused and ashamed and... well, mostly confused, dropping her gaze back to the floor.

"Yeah," she says, "Earth stuff is pretty dumb, huh."

"I don't think it's that dumb," Peridot murmurs in meek disagreement, with the tone of someone who just had their favorite video game insulted in front of them but doesn't want to defend it openly for fear of having their taste judged. "At least... this. Us. It isn't."

"..."

Amethyst finally lifts her head to look at Peridot for more than a brief, nervous moment.

"You don't think so? I mean... I'm not very good at it either."

"Of course not!" Peridot says, looking back up at her and blushing furiously. "I mean, there are some things that I wish we would do differently, but..."

Amethyst looks away with a wan smile. "What, like getting freaky with strangers on party world?"

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JUST 4 PERIDOT

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EATIN

you poor unfortunate soul

she chose this