[open] ring the bells that still can ring

[pipers_son]

Who: Joker and you
What: All's fun and games, but the Performers still need to work. Joker occupies himself with that, and maybe a few other things. Like cooking. Or sunbathing.
Where: The Big Tent, the cookhouse, trailers, and eventually the lake
When: Days 145 - 152
Warnings: Potential talk of trauma? But nothing more than that

A - Time to Work

[It's over the Performance Department's channel on the radio that Joker's voice buzzes through.]

While it's all well and good ta take a break, this is a reminder for folks ta get practice in. We won't be doin' real impressive shows for a while, probably, but that just means it's more important ta keep practicin' for when we move on from the Summerlands.

Any problems or questions, come find me in the Big Top. Oh, and we got some new folk in, in case ya haven't seen yet.

[Sure enough, Joker can be found in the ring, bouncing around making sure people are doing fine, practicing some tricks himself... All sorts. He'll come over the second he sees someone enter.]

B - Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle

[In the cookhouse today? Well, you'll find Joker getting to work, apparently mashing up all sorts of fruits, getting their juices.... Of course, with the one arm problem, sometimes this means needing to get inventive.... Are his feet shoeless? Don't worry about it.]

[Later on, Joker is bouncing from trailer to trailer, leaving jars of jelly and jam for everyone. Why? Well, you'll have to stop him to find out.]

C - Lost in Thought

[Joker knows a lot of people in the Summerlands, what, with the carnival already having visited it once before and Joker being... himself. So it's of no surprise that throughout the carnival's stay, he's often gone into the city, chatted with just about everyone, and acted as if he's perfectly fine.]

[On occasion, however....]

[Those who go to the carnival's lake will find him trying to push what looks like a.... blow-up rubber floating thing out onto the lake's surface with his feet, Feathers the Dartix trying to help him along. Joker is notably not wearing any actual swimwear... besides, like, his usual atrocious mash up of 'modern' fashion.]

[Later on, if no one interrupts him on shore, Joker is out in the water proper, but not... really messing around. He's just sprawled along the pool float stomach-first, his wings stretched out completely and partially in the water. Occasionally the water carries him a little closer to shore- perfectly within talking distance.]

Comments

a jam thief appears

[moonfang]

[Zangetsu doesn't like the Summerlands much. It's not that it isn't beautiful and lovely and blah blah blah. He was just -- understandably -- done with fae for now.

Someone remind him he is in fae carnival.

But it means that he's mostly hanging around the carnival and getting to know every inch of it. He spots someone in some odd clothes stuffing something into his, and then Gon's, mailbox. He waits until the weird guy has moved on before checking the mail. What he finds inside is unexpected. A jar of something brightly colored. Unsure of what exactly it is, he opens it and sniffs it. It's cloyingly sweet, whatever it is. With a finger he removes a dollop and puts it on his tongue.

Holy crap. It's some kind of sweet fruit paste!! Humans called this something. Jam? He didn't remember. But he didn't realize it was so delicious. He manages to slurp up the entire jar in a few seconds, barely taking time to breathe. He licks his lips and looks at Gon's mailbox. There's probably more in there, but--

Well, he actually kind of likes Gon.

Brightly Colored Jam Man is making rounds up ahead, so Zangetsu stealthily follows behind him, aiming to collect all the jelly for himself.

Except one of the mailboxes is less sturdy than it looks, and it snaps at the base, falling with a loud metal crash.

Zangetsu is a little stunned, staring at the broken mailbox with his face covered in jam and his arms full of pilfered goods]

[pipers_son]

[Yeah, so, as it turns out, loud noises do get attention.]

[Oh, Joker would have heard eventually- those long ears are for more than hanging earrings from- but that definitely speeds up the process. He jolts, wings flapping, and twists on his heel at the incredibly incriminating sight.]

[For a long second, he just stares.]

[Then the laughter bursts out, so much of it that he's forced to double over, jam basket banging against his legs.]

[moonfang]

[uh oh. Caught red handed.

And, incidentally, red-mouthed as well.

As he stands there like a deer caught in the headlights, his own long hare's ears pointed forward, one of the jars slips out of his grip and falls. Thankfully, it rolls, unharmed, across the grass. Between that and the laughter, he snaps out of his fright and narrows his eyes]

Hey!! What's so damn funny?

[pipers_son]

[Choking back his giggles, hand still at his mouth, Joker tries to right himself.]

Have ya seen yerself in a mirror, mate? Yer covered in jam!

[moonfang]

Am not! [He says it reflexively, but then licks his lips with his blue tongue. And tastes jam from somewhere over on his cheek.] Ok. Maybe I do. But it tastes really good! I've never had anything like that before. [he... makes an attempt to hide his pilfered goods behind his back]

[pipers_son]

Oh, is that why you've tried ta get a hoard of it, then?

[Still grinning, he stares pointedly at where it's trying to be hid.]