⇨ HEARTSTONE MANOR

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 170 - Day ???
Where: Heartstone Manor
What: The carnival arrives at the Heartstone Manor. Do your best to play along, and try not to get too far ahead of the schedule with threading if you can avoid it, in case something that would affect your character happens early on.
Warnings: Individually marked! Could be a lot of things.

BEAUTIES AND THE BEAST↴ When the carnival arrives at the Manor, everyone will be taken into the Throne Room to greet the Prince for the first time. He will be lounging on his throne, and will take a look at the guests that the Ringmaster has brought before eventually dismissing everyone so that he can talk to her alone. After that, they will be given a brief tour of the Manor by some of the servants, and then brought to their rooms to start picking out clothes for tomorrow. On the first night they will be permitted to wear regular clothes, but starting the next morning the dress code will be enforced. There will be a number of servants helping guests with clothing, and making alterations to suit the non-humanoid features they may have. The tailors work with fabric by hand, but their stitching is impossibly quick and accurate, with changes being made to complex clothing at unbelievable speed. Some guests may note while working with them that one of the seamstresses has wooden mannequin-esque hands instead of human ones, and another has two sets of arms. The arms are one of the most obviously inhuman traits that they'll see while first touring the building. Come the morning of Day 171, the daily routine will begin. ⇨ THE DAILY SCHEDULE ⇦ ► FIVE MEALS A DAY: Between breakfast, lunch, tea, supper, and evening drinks, the meals you are required to attend are frequent and long. Each meal (except drinks and tea) will have multiple rounds, and use all of the fancy cutlery. It will be difficult to keep up for those that are untrained. The food will vary greatly, but will generally to be palatable to those that are into whatever kind of food it might be. Some of them are odd delicacies that are very much an acquired taste, however. People who cannot eat will be given a pass once the Ringmaster explains it, but will be looked down on for it. ► DAILY ACTIVITIES: There are scheduled activities for every morning and afternoon, and everyone is required to attend. Descriptions of each activity are provided on the "Event Descriptions" tab of the spreadsheet linked up above. There is only one hour of free time scheduled per day, after supper, and beyond that the servants will almost constantly have you on the go. The Prince and Ringmaster will not be present for most of the activities, but they will be there for every meal. If you character refuses to follow the schedule or makes a huge mess out of proceedings, make sure to report it here. ► AFTER CURFEW: At 11PM, everyone is expected to return to their quarters and spend the rest of the night there. Wandering after curfew is unacceptable by the Prince's rules, and if you do it there will be the chance of discover. Based on your character's stealth abilities, there will be dice rolling to determine if they are discovered or not, and by whom. Make sure you report any after curfew activity to the mod post here. This can also take place as an investigation if they are actually looking for something instead of just farting around. ► ROOM AND BOARD: The servants will remain upbeat for most of the time the guests are here, unless something is done to provoke them. They will be present at every activity, and there will be a variety of different individuals. One frequently spotted character will be the butler, a man with dark hair and small, sharp horns. He seems to be the main organizer of things. ► ODDITIES: Even beyond the obvious, there is something off about the Manor. Doors, windows, and other household objects will sometimes move seemingly without cause, and other times there will be banging sounds in the walls, or mysterious voices heard at a distance. It feels like you're being haunted. If you have a moment to wander the corridors, then you'll sometimes see open doors abruptly slam shut the moment you lay eyes on them, and wall sconces turn off or on. It's weird, man. ► THE HUNT: The Hunt activity will have its own event post, and some sign ups for those that will participate meaningfully. There will be some dice rolling to determine who hunts the most impressive game, and rewards handed out accordingly. Before that post goes up, however, you can do some investigations for the start of the event, if your character is interested in looking into the specifics of the contest and overall context. MAKE SURE THAT ALL DECORUM VIOLATIONS ARE REPORTED HERE.

Comments

[diamondsare]

Blue wasn't doing too badly by where she estimated points to be. The servants had explained the rules quite thoroughly when she'd made it clear that was all she was interested in, but having her ball knocked awry did mean free turns..

"It is unfortunate a tool could not be crafted to suit your size," she murmurs, certain he'll be able to hear her anyway. Raising her voice in such genteel circumstances seemed ... wrong. Like yelling at court. "But I suppose in turn that could technically give an advantage.."

Though how it was, as Gon works to precariously tap his ball further along the path they had to go, was certainly also a disadvantage. Blue's content to wait while other balls are tapped about before working on shepherding her own back in the proper direction, but she's not aiming for those so-useful hits of other balls. The game might end too soon. "Do you enjoy it? It is certainly not an aggressive game."

[betheman]

Admittedly, Gongnzaka had tried to keep track of how things worked, but in the end by the time they reached scoring, had somewhat given up. As long as he could follow the rules, it would be fine. Every now and then after he's taken his turn, he has to sigh with relief, watching the ball sail through its determined course.

"Auuh....in a few ways, it is certainly enjoyable.... ....the greatest disadvantage is, naturally, the size of myself in relation to the course..." She was right to think he would hear him, at least-these ears pick up considerable amounts of things.

[diamondsare]

"I wonder, if I were to ask for a course more suited to my own size, if it would be better for you as well?" Politeness and reasonable requests seemed to go far with the servants, so long as those requests were also in the same lines of the things they were supposed to be doing anyway.

So; still playing! But perhaps playing on a scale that suits eight and nine foot tall beings instead of five and a half foot tall beings. "Though by the time it is set up, the evening may be upon us."

[otoko]

"Hmmmm....that could be, but..." Well, Gongenzaka chuckles, waiting for Blue to finish her turn. "...You are quite correct..! Though in such a place, 'evening' seems to never come as it is!" he laughs, the twilight sitting around them.

[diamondsare]

He wasn't wrong, but it draws her attention skyward again, expression pensive. "It is so, but also is it not lovely? Perhaps a blue sky and fierce sun would be a pleasant variety, but I find the glitter of distant stars to be comforting."

Not so good finding a dark ball among the hedges, as she had discovered earlier. She's careful to pick her way back out of the path of other players once she's finished, especially to leave Gon ample room.

"The sunsets on worlds with thick atmospheres may have more color perhaps, but our host's sky is pleasant enough to view. A touch brighter would be ideal, but ... like the size of the course, ideal for me is not ideal for all." A hoop is delicately stepped over.

[otoko]

Well to that, he does have to chuckle. "Aaah, it is certainly still beautiful. ...Confusing, but beautiful...." Well, Gongenzaka squints as she searches for the ball, attempting to locate it himself. Eventually it's his turn again however...and so he trots with care, readying the mallet.

"It is strange to think of a place unaffected by that which would occur in any typical reality... Though I, the man Gongenzaka, can at the least safely say that you have wonderful taste so far as I have been made aware..!" he adds with a smile.