⇨ FOURTH WALL EVENT! (OPEN TO ALL)

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone and the 4th Wall Visitors!
When: Day 175
Where: Heartstone Manor
What: THE 4TH WALL BALL BEGINS! This is where unapped visitors can post and roleplay. Please read the rules and setting info below. For more information and visuals refs, read this. Questions can be asked over here.
Warnings: Individually marked! Could be a lot of things.

THE GRAND BALL↴ Heartstone Manor is a giant, spooky castle floating in the middle of a twilight filled void. It is the home of a Wyld Fae calling himself The Prince - and despite his name, he is a bestial creature crammed into a gentleman's clothing, completely obsessed with replicating the ideals of old timey human society, much like the 1800's. The Prince and his many servants all dress in a manner appropriate to to the 1500's - 1800's, and decorum and beauty are held sacred above all else. All the workers of the carnival are currently staying there, in the hope of enabling a successful diplomatic venture between the Ringmaster and the Prince. The Grand Ball is being thrown by the Prince to honour these guests, but his manner of doing this is going to come as a bit of a surprise. THE RULES↴ Powers are all partially nerfed for 4th Wallers. They can be used in small to moderate ways for the sake of RP and narrative flavour, but 4th Wallers shouldn’t generally be using any powers in a super disruptive manner. No using powers for fighting with NPCs (yet), causing general chaos, or otherwise making your character a burden to the Prince. If they try, they’ll find themselves unable to do so. Your character isn’t sure how they got here but they think they’re okay with it. Your character won’t remember how they were captured by the Prince at the start of the ball. They’re just kind of here and in formal wear, and something tells them it’s probably fine to just enjoy the ball. They are wrong. In-game characters won’t initially remember how they all ended up at the ball either thanks to a temporary amnesia effect, but they will be able to be concerned about the fact that other people (possibly people they know) have shown up, and the fact that those other people are probably the Prince’s captives. Weren’t they doing something else at the castle before this, though? It’s hard to remember. This is all very confusing. 4th Wall character who aren’t apping in were possibly never the real deal in the first place. There are a mixture of genuine captives and spooky replications created with magic – this is to provide some flexibility regarding 4th wall character’s states in game, as well to allow more than one of each character to be played. If there are multiple people playing the same character, then whichever one has an app accepted will have been the real one. No doubles of in game characters. (Taken list here.) No AUs, no CRAUs, and nothing else besides characters that have full source canons or are original characters/fandom OCs with no bearing on the canon plot. If you tag in with a character who breaks these rules we reserve the right to remove them. THE SETUP: 4TH WALLERS↴ With incredibly foggy memories of their recent past, your character will find themselves at a grand ballroom dance, filled with a mixture of normal humans and odd looking humanoids that have strange features like wings, horns, tails, fur, and the like. They have vague memories of being dressed for the occasion, but are not sure by who or why. Most disturbingly, they will find that, at first at least, they don’t really care about the details. It seems like a pleasant event, doesn’t it? Why not enjoy it. This effect is definitely some kind of mind control, so you can feel free to have your characters be a bit confused and conflicted about it. Ultimately, they have been charmed to participate in the dance, so they will feel like riding the wave is the best thing to do even if that wouldn’t normally be their cup of tea. If your character has resistances to some forms of mind control, they are still overruled in this circumstance. They may discover people they recognize (castmates) or even duplicates of themselves (somehow?), and these can all be treated as canonly occurring and played out as such. This event is canon for Lost Carnival, so it should be played seriously and respectfully – not that silly shenanigans aren’t also bound to happen. All characters are required to dress in formal attire appropriate to a period area – specifically anywhere from the 1500s to 1800s. The Prince prefers if people are heteronormative in their clothing choices, but if you want you can probably get away with your ladies wearing suits or men wearing dresses as long as they look presentable otherwise. THE SETUP: MANOR GUESTS↴ You find yourself at the Grand Ball without really remembering how you got here. The last few days are a foggy blur, and though you can remember some of the important stuff you were dealing with, it will feel less important right at the start. Of course, as the night goes on, memories of how the carnival reached this event will become more and more clear – as well as the inevitable worry and stress that comes with it. For most people, there will have absolutely no memory of anything that happened after the morning of Day 175. Did the boating trip ever happen? Possibly not. Even as the night progresses, they will still have no recollection of how most of Day 175 went, which is probably disturbing. The Mod has contacted those that are exceptions to this privately to tell them what they will remember. The people lost to the Manor’s security earlier in the week will be here too, but not as guests. In fact, all of them will be dressed in the black attire of a Heartstone Manor servant and will seem pretty okay with that fact. There are parts of them that look changed – and their dispositions are definitely one of them. How else could they possibly be working for the Prince now? Updates to the event situation will be posted down in this section below. People can react to these posts as the circumstances change, and may new top levels based on them. It is possible to try to sneak away from the ball, but Manor Security will be trying to hunt you down. There is no mandatory outcome planed to this event, so character decisions can and will have a major effect in where the plot goes from here. THE ACCOMODATIONS↴ MUSIC AND DANCING: There will be music playing the whole night, and most of it is so good you feel practically compelled to dance to it. It's possible to resist, but why would you want to do that, you party pooper? FOOD AND DRINK: There are circle tables set up with fine silverware, and upon sitting down you will soon have a waiter come back to ask for an order. You can request basically any European cusine and it will be made for you. You will also be given drinks, most of which are alcohol, no matter your age. Fae don't care about children. BALCONY STARGAZING: There are balconies that are connected to the ballroom in multiple locations that you can step out onto to get some fresh air. You'll see the courtyard of the Manor down below you, but everything beyond that is black, as if the castle is floating within a twilight void. (Because it is.) One small change is that there are stars out tonight, probably added to the sky for the occasion. ALL NIGHT LONG: The ball will go on far into the early morning. Or, at least, until everyone fucks it up.

Comments

Cole | Dragon Age | fourth wall!

[hurtcomfort]

panic! on the dancefloor
Ohhhh he doesn't like this. Cole doesn't know how he got here but he's not worried about that but he wants to dance but he doesn't know how. Everybody's happy and smiling, but it feels wrong. Happiness covers hurt but not like this. Or does it? Thoughts tumble around his head like they're falling down a mountain. He doesn't know what's real or what's this lovely feeling or why he wants to dance (but oh how he wants to dance!)

At least the outfit is familiar, a red dress uniform that looks oddly like what he wore at the Winter Palace. Unfortunately, it contrasts terribly with his oversized hat: a hat which Cole is doing his hardest to try and hide behind as he lingers on the sidelines like the world's most gangly wallflower.

"I don't understand," he mutters, in a low voice yet audible enough to hear, a little bit scared and more than a little bit confused. "Wings like beetles, the horns shouldn't be like that. It's a ball but it isn't. Too many, too smooth. I don't want to think but should I?"

All of this is just a smidge overwhelming.

he literally can't drink
Someone gave Cole a glass of wine. Not wanting to be rude, he accepted it. Of course, the problem now is that he doesn't drink. He can't drink, not like this, not now. But he doesn't want to set the glass down somewhere and get someone in trouble, because he knows that would get someone in trouble. They're happy but they're worried but they're scared? There's a filter over all the thoughts, over his thoughts, and Cole doesn't really know what to do with it.

But one thing he needs to do is get rid of this glass. So, screwing up his courage, he walks over to the nearest person (he doesn't like this, they're all looking at him, watching waiting eyes on his every action). "Hello," he quietly says. "Do you want this?"

This inevitably happens multiple times as multiple glasses of wine are pushed onto Cole. He'll approach anyone, no matter their age. Spirits apparently have trouble with things like the concept of a legal drinking age.

( ooc: though a lot of his more ridiculous powers are nerfed as per fourth wall rules, please take a look at Cole's permissions page for info about his empathy/telepathy/general creepiness! )

drink

[espigeon]

"If you don't, sure!" Julien collects a full glass off of the pale young man and sweeps along on his way. And then again. Possibly several times, always moving off again quickly. Busy busy! Gotta make a good impression on the new boss, lest he get... well, anyway, that's not going to happen!

But this is a lot of full wineglasses he's taken, and service isn't just giving and taking food, so this time he pauses. "If you don't like wine, we've got other things," he says, smiling into the depths of that cartwheel of a hat. "Fruit juice, tea, coffee. Barley water. Twilsey! Hot chocolate. Really, though - if you've got a cup of something already, they probably won't keep handing you drinks."

What a nice problem to have. The new pedipalps on either side of his smile twitch, as they've kept doing. He is confident that as he gets used to them they'll stop, this is fine. Everything's going well now.

[hurtcomfort]

"But I can't drink," Cole repeats, more insistently. Why does he keep naming things, that's not helpful! It's just a list! Cole looks up at Julien with a frown, unintentionally picking up on the worries, on the hurts as he debates arguing his case about how he can't drink some more.

Oh. This one would be tough. A mind on top of another mind, a Julien on top of another Julien. Gotta keep going, let's make a good impression on the Prince, it's my job but it isn't, there's also another, arranging outfits and sewing clothes for a woman made of light and a tall strong woman. How do they fit in here? Because they do but they don't and Cole is just downright staring at Julien as he tries to untangle the mess that is Julien's mind at the moment.

"You...feel odd. I can help, if you want. Some of the strange is simple to see."

He thinks. Maybe. But if he can see it, will Julien even understand if he explains it?

[espigeon]

Julien's so much happier to wait on guests who aren't from the Carnival! It's worth lingering. He's still addressing their needs, it's fine, he won't get in trouble for it if he doesn't make it obvious. Take any goodness while it's there, even relative goodness.

"I am odd! I get that a lot," he says cheerfully, eyes appearing and disappearing around him. "It's so kind of you to offer, but my job is to help you. Have you tried 'no thank you' when someone tries to give you a drink? I assure you, we won't take offense!"

From a carnie he would, a bit at least, but that's just because there's not much the carnies do that isn't annoying on some level. He'll be glad when they're gone. (God, no, he won't.)

dance magic

[eclipsingblade]

Ichigo's been watching Cole for a whole perhaps three minutes now on the sidelines of all the dancing going on, working on figuring out if the guy in the enormous hat was just shy or had no idea what he was doing. Or maybe was crazy.

Or all three.

"Hey." Wings like beetles? Maybe he should err on the side of crazy. He jerks a thumb towards the dance floor, expression a little scowly - but that seems to be his default expression, not so much the emotions to go with it. "You want in on this? If you don't know how I can show you a couple, then you can grab someone."

Just ... grab someone, it's the best way to handle it. "... Don't overthink it." he adds after a moment.

[hurtcomfort]

When he hears Ichigo's voice, Cole looks up, confused for a moment before the confusion fades into a neutral expression. Want in on what? On...ohh on dancing. Well, he doesn't know how to dance. But everybody else is dancing, so he should do so as well? It might solve the push in his head, the yearn, the drumming desire to dance that he's never actually felt before.

"I think I do want to learn," Cole responds, definitively, as if making up his mind. He'll learn, he'll dance, he'll throw the thought from his muddled mind. "I wouldn't grab someone, though. I'd ask."

Someone has a loose grasp of idioms.

[eclipsingblade]

"Asking's fine too." Ichigo didn't bother, it was just more convenient to ... do what he wanted, less chance to say no. Maybe having something to focus on will help the poor guy's confusion some.

He looks around quickly for a spot a little out of the way, because instruction actually on the dance floor would put him way in a spotlight he isn't even remotely interested in. It might not be entirely unwelcome at least to be around the orange haired young man, there's no overwhelming surges of emotion, just a steady evenness instead. No conflicting, struggling memories.

Maybe a little calm will be good. "C'mon. I'll show you how it's done over here. The basic couple anyway, good enough to enjoy the night with." With that he turns and heads for a spot where some tables were going to be set up, but the poor servants are simply waved away, sorry he needs this space right now.

drinks

[dressedtothe]

When he's approached by a stranger with a glass of wine, 9S frowns at the drink, thinking hard about this. He's always kind of wanted to... but it was always kind of against protocol to, you know, get wasted during a mission. Then again, he's also not working for Command right now... Except, isn't he on a job of some sort? But... what? Hm... it's strange that he can't quite recall what it was.

But there's people dancing in obvious pairs of men and women, and... he can't help but think about the person he really wants to dance with. There's something about the thought of dancing with 2B that quickens his pulse.

But she's not here.
There's no point in hoping.

9S reaches for the glass. "Sure, I'll take it off your hands." One can't hurt, right? "Why did you take the glass if you don't want it, anyway?" This guy doesn't look like one of the servants.

[hurtcomfort]

"I took it because it made him happy," Cole explains, letting 9S take the glass. "They don't yell at you if you do your job properly."

He can't help it: Cole's voice tightens slightly and his tone grows slightly scared, obviously picking up on the hurt and suffering from one of the servants around here. However, that tone only lasts for a moment or so before Cole's thoughts shift as easily as the breeze, picking up on 9S's confusion instead.

"You never know," Cole simply remarks, looking over at 9S. "I showed up. She might as well."

But how did he show up? He got here, he must have shown up somehow. But there's too many thoughts, too many conflicting thoughts, people who are other people who are other people. He knows who he is now but this is still too much. But the hurt comes out in droves. Is that why he chose this?

[dressedtothe]

Well, he supposes he can't disagree with that; he'd do the same if it made a human happy.

The sentiment is... appreciated, but he doesn't believe it. 2B's supposed to be back in the Bunker. The whole point of him taking the contract with the Ringmaster was so that he could learn about humans without anyone noticing he's gone, thanks to... weird time shenanigans, he supposes.

"How did you show up?" 9S doesn't take a drink from his glass yet, tilting his head. "You're not one of the servants."

Based of what he'd said about the wine glass.

full permission to use any and all mind-reading or emotion-feeling stuff on taako here~

[tacosgay]

The elf that Cole addresses-- a dark-skinned sun elf clad in a fine red gown-- blinks at him for a second when he's addressed, as though he's trying to sort out if he's met Cole before, because... well, that's exactly what he's doing. He didn't anticipate the Prince having guests at the ball besides them, though, in hindsight, it makes sense.

"... yeah, uh, can I just... test something first? I mean-- don't get me wrong, I want it, but... I'm, ehh... I've got... allergies?"

He smiles weakly at the stranger, still holding a hand out to accept the offered glass. He's also lying. After the Prince attempted to poison him, he's very hesitant to ingest anything offered to him there.

Despite the fact that he's smiling and acting friendly enough, beneath the surface is a heavy dose of fear. The fae here have proven just as unpredictable as the last batch of them he encountered, and, last time, it ended in him having his skeleton smashed, so he's not eager to see where this party is going.

gotcha, gotcha!

[hurtcomfort]

As Taako offers his hand to accept the glass, Cole actually doesn't offer it. Instead, he just stares at Taako, mouth slightly agape. He doesn't have it! The fog over everyone's memories, the thing that makes it hard for Cole to figure out just how they're feeling, the thing that makes it hard for Cole to figure out how he's feeling, this elf doesn't have it!

"You shine!" And Cole is the happiest he's been all evening when he points this out. "Bright and clear, the sun through the haze. Burning and beautiful."

Granted, he's expressing his excitement at Taako's intact memories in a way that provides absolutely no context as to what the hell Cole's thinking. But he remembers! That's so wonderful!

[tacosgay]

Taako blinks at that, confused, his eyes wide and face maybe just a little bit flushed.

"Uh... excuse me?" There's an edge of confused laughter in his voice-- well, this is an awfully forward stranger, as far as he can tell. It almost dulls the edge of his fear, for a moment; if nothing else, Cole's enthusiasm is a welcome change from everyone else's confused, dreamy drifting.

D...drinking....

[soft_focus]

Ah. Hmm. She may be taking dishes, but well...that one is rather full. More importantly though, once Reira comes near, something odd may be happening if he starts feeling some of her thoughts.

They're filled to the brim with the emotions-good, bad, neither-of everyone in the room.

It's quite a lot of people. And perhaps tricky to parse out some of her actual thoughts, which largely focus on being scared of breaking any orders right now. If she breaks an order, well. She doesn't even Know what could happen this time.

She doesn't want to risk it though, for whatever reason.

As it is. The glass. "............................That's still full," she quietly says, frowning. "..............I'm supposed to take empty dishes..."

[hurtcomfort]

Likewise, when Reira approaches Cole, something odd may be happening if she starts feeling some of his emotions. There's a desperate yearning to help and utter confusion at the situation, but he also mirrors some emotions of everyone in the room—though the only thing Cole's mirroring is the hurt, pain, and fear that everyone feels.

So when Cole's mind strays towards Reira's, a natural desire to help and to figure out how she's hurting, he just...kind of pauses. Because there's so much in here but there's so little Reira. Any conversation about the glass is forgotten as Cole tilts his head slightly, looking at Reira with a frown.

"Where's the you inside you?"

[soft_focus]

What an odd way to put it-and yet an accurate one indeed. It was said by some that perhaps, she didn't have a soul-and while it was inaccurate, certainly, the fact remained that there was so little to call herself, she could have taken in any other being there.

Negativity is pain. A physical sort, and one that crawls under her skin, but she's working, she tells herself, so she cannot let that show. Reira stares at the glass, and then to Cole-not a carnival worker, so someone she must show some proper respect and care to, at the least.

...It is hard to answer such a question, however. ".....What do you mean... ....The me inside me?"

Can't drink - full mind reading permission o7

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya watches Cole take the drink, thinking nothing of it. Until it's presented to him instead, ans he blinks a couple times in hazed confusion.

"Oh." He gingerly takes the glass. "I suppose, thank you?"

[hurtcomfort]

Well, at least he took the glass. That makes Cole feel better and might make Syrlya feel better. Though, as he looks over the other man, as Cole drifts into his thoughts, certain things start popping up again and again.

Huh. There's something about Syrlya that feels oddly familiar.

"You feel like her," Cole clarifies, looking at Syrlya with a frown. "Like the Inquisitor. Strong and true, banding together, helping the hurting. But you're a Commander. And you're not her. Are you?"

[chronosynthesis]

The glass proceeds to nearly slip from his fingers, but he catches it just in time. That's not at all what he expects to be questioned about. Certainly, he didn't expect anyone to look at him outside his Vigil uniform (he never wears it anymore) and see Commander.

"I--don't believe I am anyone but myself?" He says, at first uncertain in his hazy confusion before he straightens up.

"I was a Commander, not an Inquisitor. Who are you?"

infomod wars go

[puddingemote]

It's a feeling he's not entirely used to yet, because he hasn't experienced it since Portland, but as soon as Tamaki looks at Cole, he knows that he's possessed. He can't explain how he knows; there's just a really clear feeling in the back of his mind, telling him that whatever is inside that body, it's not the original soul. Is it a ghost, though, or something else? He's having a hard time telling. Definitely a spirit of some kind.

Normally, his instinct would be to turn the other direction and run, get away from the ghost(?) at all costs. But since Portland, his feelings about them have changed. Some spirits are bad, sure, but some are good. And this one doesn't seem all that malevolent, at least at first glance.

He decides to get closer, though cautiously. The spirit is muttering something about beetles and horns, and it's all nonsense as far as he's concerned.

"Hey. Who are you?"

[hurtcomfort]

For all that Cole's shifted towards a spirit, he's still borrowed the shape of a mage, the real Cole, who lay dying, afraid and alone in the White Spire. And, for all of Cole's sneakiness, he's still solid. He still bleeds. He's weird and straight up doesn't realize that Tamaki is able to peg just how weird he is.

So, at Tamaki's question, Cole just...kind of stares for a moment. Oh. He's talking to him?

"I'm Cole," he answers, as if that explains everything. "Who are you?"

[puddingemote]

"Tamaki," he answers back, equally confident that this is enough explanation. He tilts his head a little at Cole, looking him up and down. What is he?

Curiously, and without asking, he reaches out and touches Cole's shoulder. Assuming he doesn't move away, he nods to himself after withdrawing his hand, convinced of something.

"Mm. Like I thought."

He just had to make sure there really was something there.

panic!

[sworntothesword]

Connie doesn't catch most of Cole's mutterings, she's definitely got more of a one track minde.

"Hi there-" she says. She does notice that he seems to be having a bit of a hard time, and she's there to help! "Would you like to dance?"

Dancing seems like the solution to all of life's problems!

[hurtcomfort]

Cole just...kind of stares at Connie for a moment. Not entirely sure what to do, he just watches Connie for a few seconds, contemplating his options before he answers her question.

"I don't think I know how?"

It's said in a confused tone. Because honestly, Cole has memory problems on the best day. The addition of the memory haze isn't doing anything to sort out his muddled mess of a mind.

"But I think I want to?"

[sworntothesword]

"I can teach you!"

Her dad had taught her a few steps in a simple dance. She remembered she'd been so mortified at the thought of dancing in front of a crowd, but with just her and her dad it had been fun.

"Since I'm teaching you, I should take the lead role-" She felt a crackle in her mind, an obfuscating smog that started to seep into her consciousness, and she blinked it back. "-but it's better if you take the lead, since you're bigger." And the man. What?