⇨ 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

DAY 171

[dontpokethat]

Croquet

Okay, well, they’re outside, so that’s a start. Better than it could be.

However, even after being told the rules, Ginko seems… kind of unsure of how to actually go about playing this game. Or maybe he just feels like there must be more to this that he is inevitably missing and about to fuck up.

Either way, he honestly kind of sucks at it. Is he not paying attention or is he just bad at yard games? It’s— actually, it’s probably both. Just saying.

Archery

Ginko, for all the time he’s spent in the wilderness, has basically never actually wielded a weapon. Specifically, in this case, he’s never touched a bow before, and feels like a bit of an idiot trying to handle it.

Despite that, though, he’s actually not doing too badly; it’s taken him some fumbling to get the hang of actually handling the bow and arrows, but, once he’s worked it out, his accuracy isn’t too bad.

croquet

[pipers_son]

If situations weren't what they were, Joker thinks he would find it rather funny how Ginko seems so out of place at the croquet field.

As it is, he really understands. He won't lie. The whole event honestly has him on edge, although he's doing his best as usual to hide it all. So because they're friends and because he needs to do something that isn't making sure Tamaki accidentally knocks someone's brains out, he wanders over in Ginko's direction.

"Havin' a spot of trouble, Ginko?"

[dontpokethat]

Ginko blinks and looks up from staring blankly at the grass. It takes him a moment to parse what Joker said, then he just... nods.

"I, uh... guess so. ...The Prince isn't expecting us to be good at this, is he?"

[pipers_son]

"He bl-" A quick bite of his tongue before he starts over. "I'd hope he wouldn't. This sorta game was started as an excuse ta talk ta folks. Well..." Joker's mouth curls in a sly smile. "Certain types of folks."

Carelessly, as relaxed as with a showman's cane, he twirls his mallet in his hand. "Want me ta teach ya a little trick?"

[dontpokethat]

It's a little surreal hearing Joker trying not to swear, honestly. Ginko snorts. "Why'd people need an excuse? If you want to talk to people, talk to them... don't need to go hit a ball through a hoop for that."

Rich people are weird as hell.

He raises his eyebrows a little, but gives a hesitant nod. "...Sure."

[pipers_son]

Rich people are absolutely weird as hell, a fact that Joker will never argue against. For now, he just clicks his tongue in amusement. "Oh, but it ain't proper for a man and a lady ta be chattin' all cozy like on their own if they ain't married, now, is it?"

In other words, this was absolutely an excuse to flirt, once upon a time.

And the best way to flirt in private iiiis....

There goes Joker's ball, clacking right into Ginko's to send it straight into the hedges! Pretty deeply, too. Impressive for a guy who's had to use one arm for this whole endeavor. "Whups!" Joker says, so obviously not sorry that it's nearly painful. "There it goes! Shall we go retrieve it together, Ginko?"

[dontpokethat]

"Of course not, what was I thinking."

Sarcasm at rich peoples' expense aside, if Ginko had suspected before that Joker might be going somewhere with the "excuse to talk" comment, he's absolutely sure now. He watches the ball disappear, then glances back questioningly at Joker and gives a small nod. "...Sure. Let's go."

He can't deny that he's a little worried. Under their current circumstances, he has trouble imagining why Joker would need to pull him aside unless something is badly wrong.

[pipers_son]

Swinging the ballet to rest up on his shoulder, Joker hums as he takes off. He looks utterly casual as he does it, faking things well as he always does. It's only when they're well into the hedges, away from prying eyes or the Prince's nonsense, does he genuinely ease up a bit. Wood taps against wood as his fingers shift against the mallet.

So. How.... to go about this.

He has not a fucking clue.

For a second, it really does seem like they'll just be searching or a runaway ball, Joker nudging his feet into the hedges now and then. Finally, however, he clears his throat. "So," he starts, almost awkwardly, "about... that time. With the tree. Remember that?"

[dontpokethat]

Ginko stays silent, pokes around in the undergrowth, and waits for Joker to speak. Whatever he pulled him over here for, rushing him won't do any good.

Of course, Ginko is assuming that this is going to be something he's found out about the Prince, or the manor, or something like that. Not "that time with the tree". Ginko had been pretty sure, in fact, that Joker intended never to mention that in any capacity ever again.

"...Yeah. I remember." He doesn't mention that it would be a little difficult to forget.

[amusicaladventure]

Ash watched his shot shoot wide with a slight, puzzled frown, her own mallet spinning idly in her hands as she twisted it.

"You've never played mini-golf, have you," she finally said.

[dontpokethat]

Ginko just... stares blankly at her for a couple moments. "Mini-what?"

That answer your question, Ash?

[amusicaladventure]

"Oh man have you missed out." She shook her head, despairing for the state of the multiverse, then hefted her mallet. "Okay, check it -- the first thing you've gotta do is get the proper grip on your mallet. You can't control your mallet, you can't control anything else. You're a guy, so you can swing through the legs, but I can't teach you that..." She twitched her skirt slightly with a shake of her hips and a smirk. "So. Grab it like this."

She demonstrated the hand-over-hand grip on her stick, looking up at him to make sure he was on board.

[dontpokethat]

"Apparently I've missed out on a lot of things." According to... a million people who are apparently from the future or whatever.

He followed her lead as best he could, glancing occasionally between her hands and his to make sure he had the grip right. "...Okay. Like that?"

[amusicaladventure]

"Right, right," Ash said, wondering if swishing one's tail was ladylike behavior in a ballgown. Somehow it had never come up before, and yet she was sure the fae had rules about it.

Well, the damn thing was pretty much on autopilot nine-tenths of the time anyway, so best not to worry about it.

"The key is to hit it flat. You hit it flat, it goes straight, and that means aiming is all in how you position it."

[dontpokethat]

"Okay. So..." He pulled the mallet back and swung it gently toward the ball, not actually hitting it. Just testing. "Like that? So you've got to watch the angle, and the height."

[amusicaladventure]

"Exactly. Your goal is to hit it dead on, with the mallet pointing exactly where you want to. After that, everything's in the power you put into it, because the aiming is already handled before you even take the shot!"

Yeah, she definitely had to talk the Ringmaster into setting up a mini-golf course.

rolls a d20, gets a 3

[dontpokethat]

Ginko nods, staring down at the ball. That makes sense, so…

He pulls the mallet back again and swings it gently at the ball, not intending to send it very far, just to practice aiming - but, somehow, manages to hit it at an angle again, sending it rolling off to the side. He straightens up and watches it with a frown. “...I think I might just be bad at this, actually.”

croquet

[dorkypantsuit]

It's actually the first time he's getting to see and hang out with Ginko in a while. Since he has to eat breakfast with the other supervisors, share a room, and can't go out at night, hanging out with the people the Psionic actually likes has been more difficult than usual.

Honestly he hates this place. All the rules he had to follow, his entire day being decided for him, it reminded him of some not great moments in his life. Being allowed to make decisions was a good feeling. He wasn't excited about losing that privilege again, even for just a short while.

Still, seeing Gink makes him a bit happier, so he smiles when he see's him.

"Hey." he says, coming over and wrapping his arms around Ginko from behind. Ginko is fine with PDA's right? Psi doesn't even have a mallet in his hand. He clearly has no intention of actually playing this game it seems.

[dontpokethat]

Apparently, he’s not super comfortable with that, given how he tenses up and then sort of... gently removes himself from Psi’s hold. But that’s more because of where exactly they are than anything, and he doesn’t seem particularly upset. He gives Psi a small, but genuine, smile, and does brush a hand briefly over his.

“Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be playing, too?”

[dorkypantsuit]

He frowns as Ginko slips out of his embrace, but buries it away for now. At least Ginko looks happy to see him. He's smiling, and that's always something Psi likes to see. He reaches out for Ginko's hand instead, hoping that if hugs aren't acceptable at least handling hands might be alright.

"Games like this sort of loose their appeal when you're psionic." It's sort of a true explanation. He could actually play the game without using telekinesis, of course, but that just seemed like a ridiculous prospect when you could just move the ball with your mind and win instantly.

[dontpokethat]

Holding hands works for him - and seems less likely than hugging to be considered inappropriate behavior. He laughs quietly, his ears flicking.

"Shouldn't you at least pretend to be playing, then? For the sake of appearances and all that."

[dorkypantsuit]

"What's wrong with pretending to watch?" he responds, giving the hand in his a squeeze. He's been having trouble staying calm ever since the came to the manor, but this helps. It helps a lot.

[dontpokethat]

"Well, for one thing, I'm not sure this is meant to be a spectator sport." It sure doesn't seem like it would be very fun to watch. "Just be ready to pick up a mallet if a servant says something, alright?"

He won't push beyond that, though. In fact, now he seems more focused on just standing here with Psi's hand in his then on playing the game.

[dorkypantsuit]

"Of course." he answers, with a sly grin. Ginko worrying about him is kind of cute, even if he feels it's at least a little unnecessary. It wasn't like playing the games was a requirement as long as you participated in some fashion. That's what he though at least. He really didn't want to be contradicted on that either. He needed to be able to at least pretend the rules they'd been given had some amount of flexibility to them.

"Though if it's you I'm watching I'm sure I'll be kept very entertained."

[dontpokethat]

Ginko snorts. "Hey, as hilarious as I'm sure you'd find it to watch me screw up over and over, you could at least try and hide it."