⇨ THE CELEBRATION

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

taggin qt childermass before plot childermass because i can, damn it

[whattaprick]

Fun Childermass had been enjoyable to start, and it's pleasantly vindicating to see him plastered, even if Lambert has to drink twice as much to match it. After a certain point of hearing that rumbling voice go on, Lambert's let the bulk of it pass from one ear through the other. It feels like listening to a very academic bear, and when Childermass carries on and on, he decides that's probably enough of that for now and reaches over to unceremoniously put a hand over the other man's mouth to smother him mid-sentence.

"Shhh, I get it," he shushes, half-smothering laughter of his own.

"Why don't you just marry magic? You sure know enough about it," he snickers into his drink. It's just funny, endlessly funny, how much a little drink and the right motivation can get a guy talking more in fifteen minutes than he's spoken in all the time Lambert's known him. Which isn't saying a lot, but he knows the silent type when he sees it.

there is no such thing as qt childermass you take that back

[atouts]

"Even if you wanted to use the old court, you would need twelve practicing magicians for it, and what did we have? Two! And it's not as if anyone would ever let him be in charge of any court all on his own. It's not as though he's the king of bloody magician—"

And then someone rudely shoves a hand in his face like that. Now that's something that's never happened before and even as he is now, he'll jerk back and smack the offending hand away before giving Lambert such an offended look.

"What? That doesn't even make sense."

protect qt childermass 2017

[whattaprick]

Lambert laughs at that, mostly because seriously, that face.

"Mr. Childermass," he says, with exaggerated formality. "The only time I ever hear someone talk this much about one subject is when they're in love with it. I mean, usually the object of their affections is a bit more capable of returning them, but..." He waggles his brows. "You clearly have strong feelings about it."

Just two magicians, he says. Just like Strange had. And yet the math doesn't quite add up -- literally. Strange had mentioned a mentor he'd had a falling out with; Childermass had mentioned being in the service of a magician. He certainly hadn't acted deferential to Strange in the least when he'd seen them together, so they're talking about something else. Yet he'd been at the circle in the woods, tasked with assisting in channeling energy to open a dark gate...

Right now, Lambert is playful, not completely blitzed out of his mind, so he can put some pieces together.

"Though I think your math's off. You're a magician too, aren't you?"

[atouts]

To that, Childermass rolls his eyes and takes a moment to check his drink. Empty, but he's already very sure he's had enough as it is.

"I do not know how else I would speak of it. If it is love for magic, then so be it, but it is still a matter of great importance even if not," he manages to get out with minimal slurring after that. He brings his head back up at Lambert's question, though, and let out a soft laugh, more of an amused huff of air than anything else. "And the answer you would get to that would vary greatly, depending on who you asked."

He sets the empty glass aside, balancing it with great care on the arm of the couch they've taken over.

[whattaprick]

"Well, that's a great way of not answering the question," Lambert snickers, hooking his arms over the back of the couch and taking up too much space entirely as he lounges on it.

"But in case you hadn't noticed ... I wasn't asking anyone else, I was asking you." He sits up and leans in, using the sudden loss of personal space to search Childermass' face, a smirk still playing on the corner of his lips.

"Forget about what anyone else says or thinks. Are you a magician, or not?"

[atouts]

Even as Lambert encroaches on his space like that, Childermass is unmoved. The closeness hardly bothers him and he knows leaning away would only invite further loss of couch space. So he only squints tiredly at the other man, then glances up towards the ceiling as if considering an answer that's written somewhere up there. There isn't, obviously, but he's thinking.

"Context still matters," he concludes, looking down and at Lambert again. "But as I am able to use practical magic, I suppose I must consider myself a magician."

[whattaprick]

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Lambert drawls, reaching back over for his glass and lifting it towards Childermass and raising it in a vague toast. Most magic's impractical, as far as he's concerned, but Childermass does seem like a practical person -- so it's funny to think of a definition of practical magic outside of the sense he's thinking of it. Practical magic, like the sort you'd use for washing dishes and cleaning up messes, sounds exactly something Childermass would be good at.

"What's the hangup? You ashamed of being one or something?"

[atouts]

Lambert's damn lucky he didn't ask what the difference between practical and not was, because that way only leads to him going on and on again, likely not at as much length, but still. Childermass gives his head a small shake at whether or not he's ashamed by magic, of all things.

"Hardly," he answers. "But there have only been two officially recognized magicians in recent time and I am not one of them, nor do I expect I'll ever be."

Not that he sounds terribly put out by that fact. It just is what it is, apparently.

[whattaprick]

"'Officially,' huh? Sounds like a load of paperwork to me," Lambert snorts, shoulders shifting on the couch until he's found a comfortable position to settle in and he does, eyes drifting half-shut.

"If there are only two magicians in all of England, who the hell does the recognizing?"

[atouts]

"Parliament," Childermass says, but not without the biggest goddamn roll of his eyes that there has ever been. Stuffy politicians (even stuffier than Childermass!) deciding anything about magic, it's ridiculous.

"Although considering one of those two magicians spent an inordinate amount of time ensuring he was the only one about, it is not quite so shocking that there would not be more."

[whattaprick]

"If they don't know anything about magic, what the hell right do they have to decide anything?" Lambert is not magics biggest fan, but even magic has standards! England sounds less and less like a place that ought to have magic if it's going to be so backwards about it.

"I'm guessing that magician wasn't Strange." If Jonathan Strange had his way, probably even the pigs in England would have magic. Lambert props his head on a hand, rolling on his side to squint at Childermass. "The magician you said you served before, then?"

[atouts]

Childermass shrugs. It is what it is, even if he does find it particularly stupid.

"And you would be correct," he confirms Lambert's guess. "He and Strange had vastly different approaches to how magic should be."

[whattaprick]

"And which of them did you think had the right one?" Lambert asks, thinking out loud. "I heard he was Strange's mentor and there's no love lost between them. You said you left his service ... did you decide you'd rather work for Strange instead?"

[atouts]

"Both and neither," Childermass says in what can only be an incredibly unsatisfying answer. He does not side with one or the other explicitly and that's his way of saying as much. "I only agreed that magic must be returned to England, even if both had their own idea for it."

Asking if he decided to work for Strange instead, though, that only gets a shake of his head.

"And no. I always knew Norrell would the last master I would ever have." Well, almost. He pauses, thinks about that, before having to amend, "Mortal master, I suppose, now that I must take the carnival into account."