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

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?"

"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?"

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."

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?"

"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.

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?"

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.

Fuck, he remembers. Joker had sort of hoped he'd forgotten because, indeed, he'd rather never mention that ever again.

But, no luck, and he's the one who decided to bring it up. Joker falls silent again, already regretting bringing this up. But what can he do? He has to see this through to the end now. For a moment, he just tries to tug his foot from one of the hedges where his laces have gotten caught for a moment.

"Ya never really brought it up," he finally tries, wings ruffling uneasily. "Did... ya ever have anythin' ya wanted ta ask?"

Ginko's shoulders shift in an inaudible sigh. "I had... a lot I wanted to ask. I didn't bring it up because... it was pretty clear you didn't want to talk about it."

You know, seeing as how Joker avoided him for so long after it happened.

But... if he's asking now.

"...What happened before you came to the Carnival?"

Another shift of his wings, his shoulders rolling with the agitated gesture. Ha. What was before the carnival? More than he'd care to talk about.

"That's a lot of years before now, y'know," he says, not looking over at the other man. "Lots happened. I mean-" Joker jerks up the empty space where a right arm would be, sewn up to the Prince's tailor's specification. No empty sleeve to flap around there.

"Lived a life, y'know."

"...Guess so." Ginko supposes he can't fault Joker too much for giving a vague answer to a broad question.

So he'll narrow it down a little. His tone drops slightly, his voice showing as clearly as his face that he's aware of the likely gravity of what he's asking. But he can't keep leaving this unanswered, not with how much it clearly effects Joker.

"What... happened that made you think you should have been left with the vampires?"

He'd known. From the second he'd decided to approach Ginko about this kind of thing, Joker had known that is the question that he'd get asked.

Still. It doesn't make him any happier to hear it actually vocalized. Joker grimaces, shoulders hunching upwards. At the time, what had set off that confession had been Snake's reaction to him, but... He knows that had only been the flint, and not the tinder.

How to explain? It takes him a moment to get the words together, and longer to lend sound to words. "I..." His mouth twitches. "I wasn't a good person, ya have ta understand." Frankly, he's pretty sure he still isn't, but that's neither here nor there. "I did... cruel things ta people- ta families. Things that can't ever be fixed. And I did that just for my own selfishness."

Ginko pushes aside his first thought, that brief impulse to ask what it actually was that Joker did. The thing is, the details don't matter, not at this moment, and trying to get them out of Joker right away strikes him as needlessly cruel.

So he goes on to his next question. The one that he feels is probably more important. "What were you gaining from it?"

Selfishness is an abstract; all it tells Ginko is how Joker views his own actions. If he's going to form any kind of a judgment here, he needs to know what it is that Joker is calling selfishness.

Somehow, that's a worse question than the first, and Jokers wings draw in tight around him. "Nothin'," is what ends up hissed out, and he bites down on his tongue in self reflection. "I didn't end up with anythin' at all."

Just- an idiot. That's what he'd been. All that work, all that panic, the fear and desperation and feeling so sick with his own self hatred-

"Just a dumb bastard in the end, all the ways that could mean."

Okay, that's not... a great reaction. Ginko tilts his head slightly in thought. He thought he would be getting something, clearly. Had he come to that conclusion on his own, or been told by somebody else?

...Okay. One question at a time.

"What did you think you were getting, then?"

A beat of silence.

As easy ("easy") as it had been to admit all his failings, it almost seems more shameful to admit what he'd been working for. His ears twitch, lowering as his mouth twists.

"...Safety. For... the place I- I didn't grow up there, but I ended up there, eventually." His foot taps just once against the grass, and his fingers knead at his pants leg. "Orphanage."

Ginko is...

Speechless.

Not for long, but, for the first time since they've been talking about this, he isn't just pausing to think about what to ask next, how to word his questions. He simply isn't thinking of anything to say at all.

It only lasts a couple moments. Then Ginko takes a breath, glances away, and then back to Joker. "How... is that selfish?"

"They were kids too!" It comes out almost venomous, loathing, as Joker snaps around with his wings half out and bristling.... but not at Ginko. As usual, as it's always been, it's at himself more than anyone else.

"They were kids too, and they didn't even- they- " His mouth snaps shut, and he jerks his head away. He's getting too loud. If he gets too loud, it'll be more than apparent that they're not doing anything to do with the damn game.

If nausea is curling in his stomach, painful and twisting, and his skin is getting pale, well....

Ginko winces at that, his eye going wide out of surprise more than fear. That shock doesn't subside as Joker's words sink in; instead, it's joined by a sick horror deep in his stomach.

"What--" He cuts himself off, looking away and taking a breath, but it's probably clear enough what he was going to ask. As far as he can tell, there's simply no point to asking Joker what actually happened to the kids. It doesn't really matter - and he can guess, anyway.

So, instead.

"Who... who wanted you to do this?"

He can't imagine that Joker would have arranged it himself. Not from how he's acting, and not from what he knows of him.

Honestly, he's half expecting Ginko to finish the question that's right there on the tip of his tongue. The answer is... worse than he can probably imagine. God only knows that it was worse than the rest of his family ever thought and, in the end, even worse than he thought, too.

Secrets upon secrets, each layer peeled back to only reveal more of a person's disgusting nature.

Who wanted him to do this? There are so many answers he could give to that, and Joker grits his teeth as he tries to figure out one. Finally, he forces the words out from between his teeth. "It... was the person who owned it. Us. A Baron." His face screws up, his usual masks not strong enough to mention the next part without being warped with revulsion and hatred and.... perhaps some fear, even now, as much as he despises the feeling. "Our 'father', as he said."

What strikes Ginko more than Joker's words is his tone, the way his expression twists with emotion. It's not something he thinks he's seen from Joker before - not when he was sober, at least.

"Why did he...?" Why would someone want that to begin with?

Joker's quiet laugh is sharp, the way biting into something bitter is. "Wanted somethin', course," he mutters. "Ain't that the way it is? Nobles want what they want, and anyone else gets ta pay for it." There's more to it, of course, and hints of that story show in the way he reaches across himself to curl his fingers in the empty spot where an arm would be.

But... "It's... a bloody long story." He glances through the hedge, ears perking up as he tries to tell if anyone has come to find them yet. This is a bit of a risk, but sometimes croquet games can take literal hours.... and few people here are actually good, or know what they're doing. Maybe they won't be too missed. Then again, if he's honest, maybe it's not looking out for him and Ginko that he's doing this. Maybe he just... wants to not speak, for a moment, to gather air in shaking lungs and steady himself.

It doesn't work as well as he'd like.

"He was lookin' for someone," he mutters at least, a little more together than moments before at least. "And that was how he lured 'em out." A spasm, at the corner of his mouth.

The more he's heard over the past few minutes, the more carefully Ginko has been observing... everything, really, but especially Joker. His body language, every shift in his expression; they all say clearly that there is far more that could be said here, far more that Joker doesn't want to say.

And as for Ginko... well, to a degree, he's curious. He still has a million questions, about who the Baron was looking for, why he would take this approach. About just what it was that he made Joker do. How many children had fallen victim to this whole thing.

It's a rare thing for Ginko to decide that he doesn't want an answer after all. He'd argue if asked, without a doubt, that knowledge is one of the most important tools someone can have; anything from a broad concept to the most precise details can end or save lives, depending on which people have what information.

But.

What Joker is describing is far in the past. Ginko can't think of any real reason he'd need the details, beyond his own curiosity. He's not sure that's worth what he'd probably find out if he pushed - and it's certainly not worth pressuring Joker further when he's already so clearly in pain.

If Joker is ever willing to tell him the details, he'll be ready. But, until then, he can only think of one thing he might truly need to know.

"...If you don't mind me asking. What was this Baron's name?"

Edited 2017-10-18 19:44 (UTC)

Joker blinks.

In contrast to the other expressions he's been making throughout this entire thing, whether his well used fake smiles or a twisted myriad full of negativity, it's almost comical. Perhaps it would be, if not for the conversation subject.

Out of all the thing he was expecting... All the questions that could be asked were always worse ones, more prying ones that he only really allows because he's not sure if they're getting out of this one alive. Yet that question, so plain and blunt-

"Kelvin," he finally says, still a little stunned and confused as the answer slips from his mouth. Belatedly, his brow furrows slightly. "Baron... Kelvin."

Ginko nods - slowly and thoughtfully, filing that away. Just in case he ever needs to remember. There's little chance that he'll ever need to know what was specifically done to those children, but... well. As much as he hates to imagine it, he can't predict who might wander into the Carnival in the future.

Assuming the Carnival has a future, of course.

He lets out a breath and looks at Joker again. "...Thank you. For trusting me enough to tell me this."

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