lostcarnival | ⇨ HEARTSTONE MANOR

Entry tags:

⇨ HEARTSTONE MANOR

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Gonna do day-based subthreads, etc, I can't miss a good bandwagon.]

On the first full day of their stay in the mansion, Taako opts to wear a very nice gown with a pale golden color; when he was presented with his clothing options, he saw the gowns that the ladies were being offered, and he all-but demanded to have some of his own, despite the warnings and confusion on the part of the servants.

What he wasn't prepared for was the undergarments. Holy hell, the undergarments. He's never worn a corset before, believe it or not, but he was already committed, and it was a little too late to back down once he was informed he'd have to wear one; his poor, pudgy body is awfully squished inside of it, but he's not a quitter, unless it's convenient or more fun to quit, or pretty much he's just in the mood for it. At any rate, he sets his mind to spending at least one entire day in that fine gown, and he's going to do it.

Despite the underwear situation, Taako makes it to and participates in all the daily activities fine; he's actually a very talented archer, given his race's inborn talent with them and his past need for practical weapons (there was a time when he couldn't recall being a wizard, after all, and he had to defend himself somehow then.) It only takes him a few tries to start nailing it, firing right down the center of the targets; the first time it happens, he reacts with as much surprise as anyone, but by the third time, he switches to giving whoever's nearby a smug nod of his head, grinning from ear to ear.

"That's how we do!"

During charades and pass the slipper, he mostly minds his manners, slipping off only momentarily to talk with Foster instead of playing the games; he barely knows how to play the latter in the first place, though he gets surprisingly into charades when it's his turn. He manages to resist the urge to use Polymorph when it's his turn to act; he can't help but feel like he'd get in trouble for that.

Still, seeing a fully grown elf in a full-length gown act like a cat on all fours is probably not something anyone here expected to see, especially with the enthusiasm he gives it.

The next day, Taako noticeably opts for more masculine look today; it's literally only because he definitely needs a day off with no corset, as he's pretty sure that thing broke his fucking ribs.

Reading and contemplation is... well, it's something, anyway. It's nice to have some peace and quiet, though he can't help but feel a little bit antsy, given the place they're in, the eyes on him. He mostly pretends to be reading and listens, eyes peering over the edge of his book and ears picked up, trying to take in any unusual activity. If you watch him, however, you may catch him accidentally pretending to read a book that's upside down in his hands...

When it comes to card games, Taako isn't great at most of them, but he's a star at poker. Who knew that somebody who spends most of his time lying and hiding his emotions would be such an expert poker player?

... that said, the fact that Foster is the one sitting beside him at the table should be warning enough to anyone else who joins them that maybe this table isn't the best one to play at. If you're looking for an easy game, maybe steer clear of Team Low Empathy. It seems they've just finished up a round, and Taako is gleefully stacking his chips, even though the game is over and he's about to have to return them to the pile.

"I hope you people never play this for, like, actual money."

On the third day, he's right back in dresses again, this time showing up for riding practice in a slick black riding habit and top hat. Given both his personality and dressing habits, and the world from which he originates being what it is, he's pretty familiar with horseback riding, both sidesaddle and otherwise; honestly, he may be able to help out others who are less experienced. He's not terribly showy about it, for once, given his riding experience has been purely practical instead of for shows, but it's pretty obvious that he's experienced in how easily he's able to take to it, even riding a strange horse he's never met before.

[Wildcard]

[Got anything else specific you wanna do with him? Let me know here! We can work something out, I'm sure.]

Alphys is no stranger to having a male roommate who looks better in a dress than she does, so she doesn't pay Taako much mind. To be fair, she's having enough problems with the giant cupcake she's been stuffed into.

"I c-can't put my arms down."

Taako covers his mouth with his hands-- laughing is rude, but holy shit.

"Do you need a hand, darling?

She looks like one of those cake dress dolls that somebody went buck-wild on, or like somebody inflated a prom dress.

"I'm o-okay right now?" She doesn't sound very sure of it. "I can walk okay, b-but I dunno if I can fit through doors in this thing. Who needs this m-much tulle??"

"Didn't they have anything a little more... flattering?"

Taako can't help the giggles that are creeping into his voice as he circles around her to take it all in, eyebrows raised. That is... a lot of dress. In general.

"I mean, okay, I guess it makes sense that they might not be ready for the world's second-tiniest dragonborn or whatever you are, but still. They're fae. You'd think they could at least fix this shit up for you."

"I guess not. I m-mean, I'm definitely not an expert at this fancy dress-up stuff." Read: Alphys has never worn a dress this fancy in her entire life. "Are they supposed to be this poofy?"

"Uh. No. Well, uh... not all over, anyway, and definitely not on you. Look at you, you're like a little buoy lost in a sea of tulle."

Taako can't help but smirk as he surveys her. God. They're gonna have to pick her up and turn her on her side like a two-by-four to get her through the doorways. Taako reaches out to gently try to smooth some of it down, but the dress doesn't seem to want to hold that shape.

"What's this fuckin' petticoat made of, steel beams?"

9S, by contrast, is dressed in clothes that include pants, his sword still hovering by his back. Unlike the last time they met, the sword is sheathed in an ill fitting scabbard, loops of cord keeping the scabbard hanging off his sword's hilt. Notably, his robot friend is missing, and his 'blindfold' is tied around his arm instead of his face.

9S has absolutely zero experience in archery, but he does a... passable job at it, hitting the middle rings of the targets. While he has perfectly fine aim -- he's the one who fixed the aim correction software on his flight unit! -- it's the actual physical holding of the weapon that is throwing him off. Sure, he can wield his sword with his hands when it comes down to it, but the sword is his in a way the bow and arrow isn't. This would be a whole lot easier if he could just throw the arrows with his magnetic field, but somehow he gets the feeling that would be frowned upon.

The whooping shout draws 9S' attention away from his look of consternation he'd been giving his bow. Oh, that's... his neighbour? Well, he's looking way more cheerful? And uh. Wearing a dress? For some reason? Isn't that something only females wear?

"Hey, nice shot." How to not make this awkward, given their last meeting? "Looks like your arm healed up alright."

Nailed it.

Taako glances back at 9S, and-- well, at first, he almost doesn't recognize him without the blindfold, though the voice is definitely familiar. It isn't until he mentions Taako's arm that he realizes all at once who he's looking at, and he breaks into awkward giggles, holding his un-bracered arm up to turn his wrist. There's a little bit of a seam where it was repaired, but it seems to function just fine, at least.

"Yeah, Zecora's pretty good at what she does, fortunately for chuckefu-- mm." He breaks off, about to curse in front of everyone, and frowns at himself. "Uhhh... for goobers like me."

He's definitely not great at this whole being polite thing. But at least he's making an effort!

"... uh... hey, thanks for that, by the way." Taako's voice drops, the tone changing significantly; it's still devoid of the darkness 9S heard that day, but he is more serious, his voice softer. "Things worked out... a whole lot better than I thought they would back home, but I'm still glad to have that thing off of me."

9S blinks, surprised at the thanks. Considering how the guy had been that day, thanks certainly isn't something he was expecting.

"Oh. Um." A small smile crosses 9S' face. It's nice to feel useful. "You're welcome."

Would've been nice to get the bracer off in a less arm choppy way, but sometimes you can't afford to be picky.

But on to other topics! That may or may not be just as awkward in a totally different way!

"Sooo... what's with the dress? I thought only females wore those."

Taako's eyebrows shoot up, a hand going to his chest in an unhelpfully "femme" way.

"Wow," he says, breaking into a half-smirk of disbelief, "Awfully old-fashioned of you for a robot. I saw the dress and I wanted to wear it, that's pretty much the whole story."

He finally breaks into a grin, pointing squarely at 9S.

"You gotta open up your mind, my man. There's a whole world out there, and not all of it sticks to being just for girls or boys or whatever."

9S scowls the moment Taako calls him a robot. Why do people in the Carnival keep saying that!? "I'm an android, not some stupid machine." Get it right, Taako!!

But spiel over, he does consider Taako's explanation of why he's in a dress in all seriousness.

"Huh. I thought dresses were restricted by gender, but... I guess there really there's nothing stopping a guy from wearing a dress. I mean, it's just fabric, right?"

Maybe he should try one on some time...

"But it looks awfully uncomfortable. Is that really any fun to wear?"

"Whoooops, that's my bad," Taako says, holding up his hands defensively. "Uh, sorry! I am not yet well-versed in android... terminology and what have you."

Fortunately enough for Taako's social anxiety, 9S immediately grants him a chance to change the subject in the form of what seems to be a sudden gender revelation; Taako can't help but feel proud.

"Anyway, uh, yeah, I mean-- it's not the most comfortable thing in the world, but you don't wear this stuff to relax around the house, know what I'm saying?" He fluffs up a handful of curls, grinning at 9S and batting his eyelashes.

It never really occurred to him that guys could wear dresses. Pretty much almost all the female YoRHa androids wear dresses or skirts or tights while the comparatively few male androids wear shorts and coats like him. It's not like they really go shopping for their clothes.

"I... guess. But wouldn't you want to be comfortable when you go out, too?"

He hums a little, before continuing, idly toying with his bow as he speaks.

"My partner wears that kinda stuff into battle. It's not as um. Ruffly? As what you're wearing, but she fights in a dress."

And kicks ass while she does so.

Taako | OTA unless I say otherwise!

Days 171-173. also borrowing strange's idea.

First day?

Holy fuck that art

:3

no subject

no subject

no subject

Archery

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Charades

no subject

no subject

no subject

Horse Riding

no subject

no subject

no subject

Time for that high fantasy rpg confusion

OH BOY