⇨ GAME START INTRO LOG!

[ringleaders]

Who: EVERYONE!
When: NOW!
Where: Around the carnival grounds, and in the Cookhouse.
What: Carnival worker orientation, Ringmaster style.
Warnings: Alcohol consumption, maybe drugs. Other things?

BRAVE NEW WORLD↴ ► THE NEW: It doesn't matter when you entered the tent to discuss your new contract with the Ringmaster, you exit it beneath a blanket of stars. Pointedly alien stars at that - currently the carnival grounds are being treated to a show of shooting stars, and what appear to be unnaturally large and living green moons hanging just a bit too close. The carnival was bustling when you entered, but now it's in the latter stages of being shut down for the night. If you manage to find a clock, it states that it's around 8PM. Workers from during the day will be passing through the grounds, attending to various pieces of business. None of them will seem very surprised or concerned by the goings on, though some may be sympathetic enough to pause and answer your questions. If you put some effort into finding out how it became nighttime, you may discover that it's been anywhere from a few hours to 7 days since you originally signed your contract. Someone may explain to you that it was probably some kind of time bubble, meant to keep you out of the way until the Ringmaster had time to deal with you. Every few minutes another new person will pop out of the tent, looking just as confused and under the impression that they had only just finished discussing things with the Ringmaster. Weird. She passed you a note before you left. Opening it up, you'll see you've been assigned a trailer number, and been given the instructions to drop off any excess belongings and do what you can to get settled in. You have until exactly 9:36PM to do so, because that's when you'll be expected to attend what is listed only as "WORKER'S ORIENTATION". This is, perhaps, more abrupt than you were expecting - but what can you do? You're here for the long haul. ► THE OLD: If you've ever seen a mass recruitment before, then this is no surprise. People enter the tent when they're recruited, and then sometimes how up again days later when the Ringmaster is ready for them. She isn't a big fan of wasting her time on individual orientations when she's expecting a crowd. Maybe you're too jaded to all of this to care much, but you'll see the newbies wandering around, probably confused and maybe a bit lost. Maybe you're the kind whose is sympathetic enough to pause your role in clean up and give them some directions, and maybe a word of confidence. Maybe you'll just jeer at them, because you're some kind of asshole. Either way, you expect you'll have the chance to see them later tonight. Whether by world of mouth, radio, or written note, supervisors will be passing out the following message: all workers are to report to the Cookhouse at 9:36PM sharp for "orientation." If you are at all familiar with how things go around here, you probably have a good idea of what this implies. Mandatory Karaoke Night. MANDATORY KARAOKE NIGHT!!!↴ At 9:36PM, the main dining hall of the Cookhouse will be found heavily decorator with various coloured lights and at least one disco ball made of what is ostensibly high karat gems. There are a bunch of cushions and additional seating set up along with the usual tables, and at the head of the call there is a state set up - a karaoke stage. For veteran workers, this is no surprise. Karaoke nights are fairly frequent as activities go, even if they are not usually mandatory. Some of you probably have signature songs already prepared. The karaoke machine is set up with mostly karaoke tracks that would be popular in the 90's and 00's on the average modern earth, with a few that are more recent. It also has some other random stuff from other worlds that people rarely sing because they are confusing and in languages no one understands. Here is a big karaoke list for your inspiration! The more stereotypically karaoke the better. Beyond that, there is plenty of food and snacks that were prepared by the cooks earlier, as well as a bar set up for alcohol and other vices. The selection is, as most things in the carnival, eclectic. Music will be played in between if nobody is singing, and otherwise veterans are encouraged to bring along their own fun and show the newbies a good time. The Ringmaster does ask that vets attempt to be courteous to their new coworkers. It's just being a good host.

Comments

Joker - OTA

[pipers_son]

Pre-Orientation (Veterans)

[It's not really an unfamiliar sight, to see Joker running around the carnival doing just about.... anything, really. In the last year that he's been Stage Manager, this has become a bit more focused, but still.]

[Tonight, however, as the grounds empty out... It's obvious, with a big bag he's carting around on either ground or in the air, that Joker has some other plans in mind. Anyone who pays attention or follows him will find him putting.... yeah, those are fish bags on the trailers for all the newbies.]

[He's giggling, the twit.]

Public Carnival Frequency

[Enjoy the walkie talkie you're supposed to carry buzzing to life, new faces.]

Helloooo, ladies and gents and other various folk. This is Joker, yer Stage Manager speakin'!

I shouldn't have ta tell anyone that there's an orientation tonight at the cookhouse. Since there's a high chance most folks with be smashed outta their minds with alcohol, if ya got questions, feel free ta ask 'em now, or hold yer peace.

And, ah... Welcome ta the Carnival~.

Orientation

[It takes a lot of work to get dressed up when you have antlers, wings, and only one arm... So Joker hasn't, not really. He's still wearing his bright carnival wear from yesterday- a colorful vest, shirt underneath, all that- and his tie is a little undone. He's sprawled out on one of the larger cushioned sittings, both because he has wings...]

[And because, on the side of him missing an arm, he has a plastic skeleton leaning up against him.]

[Don't ask.]

[Don't ask even though he's put a bottle of soda in one of its plastic hands matching the one he has in his own good one, and he laughs with every song, apparently delighted to be here.]

[Don't worry, he's just a little bit adrenaline high. He's been working a lot the last few days.]

Joker's Wild
[Have another idea? GO FOR IT]

Public carnival frequency!

[mistweaver]

[It takes some doing for Jou to figure out the walkie-talkie, but for the love of Xuen, she wasn't a student of goblin engineering for no reason. Eventually, she does figure it out. She's already been past her trailer, and has acquired her new 'present'. Yes, she's going to use that chub bag with pride.]

So, is it you we have to thank for our lovely new accessory? If so, thank you!

[Yes, she dug through the bag and found the card...]

[pipers_son]

[Another laugh, but he's quite pleased.]

Well, ya deserve ta be greeted properly, don't ya? Wouldn't want ya ta feel unwelcome.

[mistweaver]

I feel welcome. Somewhat! [Mostly because the situation is so strange...] This bag is very charming, in its way, and quite unique!

[No she has never had a bag like this before. And really, she is delighted. It's like Greatfather Winter came early!]

Pray, do you know where I could find the doctor? I would like to report in before I go to orientation, though certainly I'd meet them there...

[Not that anyone can't just listen in on this, but Jou doesn't know that.]

public carnival frequency

[rescuee]

[ His radio crackles to life and Jajo fumbles to pull it out of his swanky new bag, startled. Stage manager, the voice had said? That's... his boss, isn't it? He'd better answer this call pretty smartly, then.

It takes him a few tries to figure out how to work it, and his large hands aren't really equipped for something of this size — but he does his very best. Still, 'smartly' isn't really a word that could be used to describe any part of the response process. ]

Hello — Joadiarnadata, reporting in. [ That's how you answer a boss, right? It's how he answered his last boss, seems best to play it safe. ] I do have a few questions, actually. Do you have very much time?

[pipers_son]

Ah, I remember hearin' about ya! Our new beast tamer, ain't that it?

[Yeah, to the surprise of no one, Joker looked into this. He can't speak for the other supervisors, but he has a vested interest in who's working under him. The situation is already, for a lot of people, unpleasant. He might as well look after them.]

Hope ya don't hold it against me if I get yer name wrong a few times, but yeah, go ahead. I got time for one of my own~.

[rescuee]

[ Okay, well, first observation: this Joker fellow is way nicer than his last boss. He appreciates that, but still doesn't quite ease out of his nervously instinctive formality. ]

I wouldn't at all, sir. Although... most people call me Jajo, as you're welcome to. [ A little weird, offering a nickname to a supervisor, but okay. New place, new customs. ]

Public Frequency

[otokogi]

[ Mitsuki's a little surprised to hear the familiar voice coming out of the walkie talkie but the guy did say he was the stage manager.

He waits until Joker stops talking before he replies. ]

What time are we reporting in the morning? And thanks!

[ For the weird bag, for the welcome, for the offer of a job, it's a catch all kind of thanks. ]

[pipers_son]

[Well now, if that isn't a familiar voice.]

Considerin' how I imagine the state of things will be tonight- [People are going to get hammered is what he's saying] -just this once we'll start things off a little late. Let people have 'til ten, and then I'll start botherin' all of ya on the radio, ha ha.

So, what did ya think of the Ringmaster?

[otokogi]

[ That's pretty much the reason Mitsuki was asking. If the entire staff, or enough of them to merit a warning, is going to get that festive, a late start seems appropriate. It's also how he's going to decide his own limits. Ten is plenty late, which is very good news. ]

Oooh, a merciful boss. Thanks again!

[ The Ringmaster? It's a public channel so he can't just come out and say she's gorgeous and terrifying, can he? Probably not on his first day. ]

She's not like my old manager, that's for sure! But she was very fair!

Radiooo

[dragnerd]

[ It takes him a few seconds to recover the thing after he almost dropped it at the unexpected sound, but after some fiddling Natsu's voice finally reaches the airwaves. ]

Uh--Boss? [ How's he supposed to address him? ] What's that weird bag for? On the mailbox?

[ Truth be told, Natsu hasn't actually removed it from his mailbox yet. He doesn't really know what to do with something like that. ]

[pipers_son]

Joker’s fine, not like I’m the one who runs the circus.

[For once.]

Anyway, it’s a bag. Ya put things in it. Don’t worry, it’s not magic~.

[dragnerd]

Oh. Well, uh, thanks, I guess.

[ No clue what he would hold in such a thing, but Natsu guesses it's a pretty nice gift, even if it is a little...fishy. ]

But what's it supposed to be? Some kinda bird?

[ It's not his fault he's never seen a mola mola before. ]

Orientation

[veinglory]

[All night, Gottlieb has been thinking over what he'd say to Joker if he saw him again. At the start of the evening the words he had been polite but firm - as close to being angry as he was capable. Like a disappointed school teacher scolding a student they found tugging a girl's pigtails.

That, however, had been before he'd found the drink. Now the words he wanted to say seemed to twirl and wobble in his mind, making it very hard to hold them down. Especially when he actually was face to face with his new boss again. Holding a skeleton. He tilts his head and squints, looking between Joker and his plastic pal.]

-- I wash going to have a few wordsh with you, but I see you are entertaining company.

[He has possibly seen other more animated skeletons this evening.]

Re: Orientation

[pipers_son]

[Oh, Gottlieb… Joker really does feel bad about that particular instance, he swears. Really! If they hadn’t needed so many workers, he swears he would probably have let the vampire wander off on his way and not paid him much mind.]

[But… Well. Business. That’s how it is.]

[Not that he can use that excuse for swallowing down the laugh he wants to make at that commentary as Gottlieb comes up, and he flashes a grin at him. It’s a bit lazier than his usual charming grins.]

Nah, it’s fine if ya would like ta sit down with us. Napolean here’s perfectly fine with a bit more company.

[...And really, when Joker thinks about it, considering everything else in this place, it’s probably a wise precautionary move to treat the fake skeleton as a possibly real one.]

Joker's Wild

[motivenotfound]

[On the one hand, Joker has shown all of them up by greeting the newbies with presents. The fact that they're bags shaped like fish isn't really the point--in a way, you would say that almost makes it worse. (Whether that's because the idea is stupid or if it's because Mari thinks a cornucopia of fish-shaped handbags is the coolest thing ever is up for debate.)

On the other, he had the decency to include the other Supervisors in his unexplained gift-giving spree. Mari has to admit, the bag he got her was pretty cute. Which either shows he's aware of what a position he's put everyone in... or shows that he's totally oblivious.

Lucky for her, she can solve both of them in one fell swoop!

And at some point during the early night, Mari takes advantage of Joker's distraction, sticking out one inhumanly long leg to trip him.

But then--with so many people around and all, who's to say that was her?]

[pipers_son]

[Et tu, Mari?]

[Joker is so absorbed in the scene of the party, bobbing along to the music and laughing at whatever shenanigans are going on in the other side of the room, that he doesn’t even notice the leg in his way. So down he goes, squawking in surprise- and flaring out his wings from pure surprise.]

[Mari may or may not get hit.]

[WHUPS]

Orientation

[drrdrrdrr]

Oh man, [Amethyst claps a pawlike hand down on top of the plastic skeleton's plastic skull as she deposits herself next to it with a heaped plate of assorted snacks,] who's this lucky guy?

Orientation

[pipers_son]

[As Amethyst hops down on the other side of his skeletal date, Joker beams at her.]

Ain’t he charmin’? Sans was a true friend and introduced a buddy a his as my date. His name is Napolean~.

Public Carnival Frequency

[nowingsyet]

[Look, it's the man that encouraged her to leave for the carnival on her radio. She's grateful for the pretty bad although she has questions about what's in it.]

Yes, what is a 'joker' and why is it on a playing card?

[pipers_son]

[It’s a good thing Joker has had to get used to different cultures and thus weird questions like this.]

Ah- it’s a person who tells jokes or funny stories and such. Have ya ever heard of a jester? It’s the same thing. And it’s on a card because that’s the design of certain playin’ cards- the highest rankin’ ones have kings and queens and such on them, and then there’s the joker card. If ya would like, I could explain it all ta ya at orientation~.

public frequency

[solaris9]

[ Stage manager sounds very official. Goku figures he should probably introduce himself. It takes him a couple minutes though, to figure out the radio and how to make it work. He's never used something like this before. ]

Uh, hi. Are you like the boss or something?

[ Did that go through? He's not even sure. ]

[pipers_son]

That would be the Ringmaster. I’m one of the many chaps under her- I suppose ya could say I’m the one in charge of all the performers.

orientation

[wild_magic]

[Sometime a bit later in the night, Susan's wanderings lead him to where Joker is sitting with his skeleton - which honestly is what catches his eye, more than anything else. He has a mission, after all of the trouble Lauren's caused so far, and maybe this guy has an answer for him?]

[And so the boy approaches after a moment, only a moment's hesitation before asking his really important question.]

Um, I know it's a weird question but... Do you know what skeletons like?

[pipers_son]

[Susan and Lauren have actually caught Joker’s eye already from their earlier scuffle with Sans- not that it was hard to miss exactly. So when the boy starts to approach him, he actually looks up as he notices and quirks up an eyebrow.]

Ha. I can imagine what this is about. Yer the ones who riled up Sans, right?