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.
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ringleaders) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
lostcarnival2017-10-13 06:00 pm
FOOD
He should have. It should have tugged on his soul, yanked, like someone grabbed ahold of his very essence and tied it to a speeding truck. But it hadn't.
However, for a while now, he's felt a little... something. A pinprick at the back of his mind, just annoying enough to make ruin his complete enjoyment of the party. Something important. Really important. But it isn't until he sees a shock of unkempt orange hair from the back that some of that fuzziness begins to part.
What was it...? He stares at the other for a while, eyes narrowed in his poisoned haze. The guy picks at his food, but clearly isn't interested in eating it.
--WOAH more importantly!! He has UNEATEN FOOD! He wants that. The thought of importance and familiarity slips away back into the fog and he approaches the teenager from behind, ears canted forward, and speaks up.
"You gonna eat that, or just look at it until it shrivels up to dust?"
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And then someone questions his desire to eat his meal.
Now, it isn't that he precisely wants to eat it. Ordinarily he wouldn't even mind sharing. But it's that voice, and thus anything like sharing or cooperating is extremely unlikely. Which might be why he jerks his plate closer to himself, a piece of lettuce falling off its little tower of maybe-burger, the glower shot over his shoulder three shades shy of absolutely poisonous.
"Of course I'm going to eat it!" No he isn't. "Anyway you can just order your own!" Hey he knows that guy.
Except last time they ran into each other .. which wasn't really all that long ago, surely, there were absolutely not rabbit ears involved or ... expensive, fancy looking suits.
Or long hair. Is that a bow?
"What the hell are you wearing?" No that isn't the question he needs to be asking, there are far, FAR MORE important things to be concerned with..
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"You AREN'T gonna eat it, you've been staring at it for... like... five...minutes..." His voice goes from accusatory to trailing off, and his ears slowly move from their upright position to a drooped one as he speaks. After a short pause where Zangetsu just stares at Ichigo while he asks about his clothes of all the stupid inane bullshit, his eyes snap into sharp focus and his ears shoot forward.
Ichigo. Ichigo is here. He was kidnapped by that fucking Prince. He's in danger. That's all that matters now. Gon had told him he was here, even! But somehow, on the walk from his table to Ichigo's, he had forgotten about it.
He is going to tear the Prince limb from limb.
"Shut up! That's not what's important!" he sits in the chair adjacent to his master and grabs his face in both hands. "Look at me! I need you to tell me how the hell you got here!"
A few servants take notice the the apparently mute rabbit man actually speaks quite well. So much for that ruse.
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All of this very much should be troubling Ichigo far more than it is. Even when he contains his reactions and emotions, they're still actually there and right now ... right now it doesn't get through. Right now it's just mild annoyance at being interrupted and a desire to prevent This Guy from getting anything he wants, namely the cheeseburger.
Having his face grabbed should elicit a stronger reaction than setting down his fork and reaching up calmly to grab those wrists and squeeze just where bone would grind against bone. It's ... a subtler sort of violence, a not entirely gentle 'request' to be let go.
"I walked through the door, what kind of idiot question is that?"
The door to the ballroom specifically. "Seriously what are you wearing? Is that a bow? Why the hell are you wearing a bow?" ... "And why the hell are you on the outside, while we're at it."
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Zangetsu's face twists a bit from the intense pain of having his arm bones rubbed against one another, but it only makes him loosen his grip so that Ichigo's stupid cheeks aren't being squished. He needs to keep Ichigo looking at him, looking in his eyes. He worries that if he lets go, he'll forget what he was here for.
"Did you? Did you really walk through the door? Do you remember that? Do you remember how you got into that outfit? Cause I sure don't." Rrrrrggggghhh! He's focusing on things that aren't important! Zangetsu removes one hand to rip the bow out of his hair. The long ponytail it was holding up unravels and then disappears like smoke, leaving him with a haircut matching Ichigo's.
"FORGET about the bow! This is important! Focus!"
He says it a little too emphatically; he's talking to himself as much as he is to Ichigo.
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As he speaks, and then rips the bow out of his hair, which then shortens itself with alarming ease, Ichigo is dead silent, watching, weighing.
He remembered the door. There's a hallway outside of it. The outfit.. there were people. With measuring tapes maybe? That part was...hazy, like a part-remembered dream days later, and the more he grasped at it the more it slid away. Slowly, his brow furrows. Maybe Zangetsu's getting through.
"You sound a little strung out."
Or not.
"If you want the burger that bad, you can have it. This is a party, you should be having fun, not ..." He gestures a bit, letting go of those death-white hands. All this shit. The questioning things. Stop questioning things.
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.... Aaaaand it's gone. With his hands released, he balls them into fists by his face and barely manages to not scream aloud, instead making a "HRRRRRRRRRGGGGHNNNNNGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH," type noise. He unballs his fists, his fingers now tipped in talons in his frustration, and digs them into his scalp.
"Dammit, Ichigo!! Why do you never listen to me when it really matters? Something... something is WRONG here!"
... Oh. He can have the burger! AWESOME! Time to---
NO. NO. STAY FOCUSED. Zangetsu holds his head and growls, pushing the fog away again.
Brainfog.
Wait. Brain.
Maybe he couldn't get through to Ichigo's brain, but maybe he could approach it from a different angle. He's definitely noticed that his partner's reiatsu is... gone, more or less. He reads as nothing more than your average human, just like the other guests. The Prince's doing as well, no doubt.
He reaches out suddenly, putting his clawed hand on Ichigo's chest and digging his claws in -- not enough to bleed, just enough to pinch. He sends a surge of familiar energy into Ichigo's body, dark and hot, and hopes that maybe that might do something.
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Like dances.
He wanted to get back out there. How long had it been anyway since he'd bothered? Sure some of it was froofy dancing but it was something. "Yeah, I know." Something's wrong. "But maybe for once I want to focus on what's right." Like having a good time!
And .. not .. eating that questionable burger.
That reiatsu is both foreign and not, and he knows it as much as he could possibly know anything - and thus knows what could have probably qualified for a very, very tiny cero is not actually an attack. What the hell the purpose of it actually is he can't guess.
And it leaves a little scorched mark on his velvet vest. The offending hand is immediately seized, and if Zangetsu at least wanted the dazed expression gone, he gets that much - that's very much an annoyed scowl.
"You are not starting shit here."
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There's nothing right here! he wants to protest. But instead, he just gives Ichigo a sulky, defeated look.
An annoying, distracting, sickening feeling rises in his chest. He recognizes it, but not from his own private experiences. This was despair, something he had felt through Ichigo only a few times. But only once for himself before, when he and the old man had fused, and had to teach Ichigo had to say goodbye for what might have been forever. He flinches again as his hand is grabbed, and the claws flake away like old paint underwater, returning to black fingernails.
Finally it is him that has to break eye contact, and he looks down at the floor.
"I'm... not..."
What more could he do? Was Ichigo doomed to this stupid brainwashed life of frivolity and lace? There's plenty of things he could do, of course. He could haul up and punch him in the face. He could stab him through the gut with his sword. He could knock him out and carry him out of here. But that would piss off His Royal Stick-up-the-butt, and he's not sure they're ready for a full on war in their addled state.
... And besides, would it even work?
Thunder rolls outside as despair strikes a certain Ringmaster as well and he can't help but think how appropriate it is.
He jerks his hand away and replaces his sullen look with a matching scowl. He can't give up yet. There's still options.
"Fine! What is it you want to do, then?"
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He's not used to dealing with Zangetsu like this. In his inner world, yes, but those confrontations were almost inevitably violent. Had he ever had a simple conversation? Had he ever had something like sitting at some fancy table with a rapidly cooling cheeseburger-thing on hand and NOT had it end in gratuitous violence?
He wasn't sure.
After a solid few minutes he lets go again.
"Look."
It's a sober tone, not sullen or peevish, almost but not quite neutral. Maybe closer to analytical, but there's a touch of disinterest he can't get rid of. His gaze shifts back to the not-burger. "I know something's not right here. You're here, for one thing. I can see you, and so can other people. And maybe in a while that'll be really important. But right now I don't want to think about it."
Thinking about it is difficult. His mind slid away from it like steel on ice. He raises a hand, turns it over, and flexes his fingers thoughtfully. "I know something's keeping me from thinking much about it. Maybe someone, something like the shit Aizen can do but with emotions. I can't even get concerned about it."
He's still in there, at least. It's cold comfort.
"But this is a dance party, with ridiculous burgers that aren't even really burgers and waltzing and shrub centaurs and little green lizard ladies and angry skeletons. If someone wanted to hurt us they'd have done it. If we were going to die we wouldn't get ... this." Ichigo gestures.
"So relax. For a little bit. Every night like this ends sooner or later. And when it does... someone's not gonna be having a good time anymore."
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Actual minutes tick by like hours. Music plays on, unimpeded by the growing storm outside. Zangetsu almost can't take the silence when Ichigo finally speaks again.
As he listens, the lump in his gut hardens. So he knew, after all. He knew what was happening. He just couldn't make himself care.
And that wasn't his fault. If he was going to stop this, if he was going to do his duty, he was going to have to cut off the head of the serpent. Or the manticore, as it were.
Zangetsu stands and straightens his stupid clothing.
"Then do what you want, King. Dance, drink, eat. Stay out of trouble. But I can't relax. I've relaxed enough. I guess I'm just an anxious horse, after all. It's time for me to act. So while at least this part of you," he says, gesturing to his own chest, "-- is lucid, I'm going to get something done."
Watch over him, old man.
He pulls his hand across his face, summoning his ebony black mask to hide his features. Time to put an end to this mess.
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Zangetsu's going nowhere easily, by the easy way Ichigo rises to his feet. He knew something was wrong with his power, but he'd never hesitated to face terrible odds before.
They're already getting a couple of looks from passing servants who'd much rather be doing their jobs than worrying about pissy patrons.
"To keep them from doing stupid things that'll get them and other people hurt or worse because they don't have the brains to do anything other than react. And I already told you. You're not going to start shit here. If you bothered to try to think about it you'd know why."
Zangetsu was not one for thinking He was there for reacting. Ichigo had long since learned not to trust the Hollow's judgment on anything at all, and the other half of his power, the one he could rely on ...
This place wasn't nearly quiet or empty enough to try meditation.
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He lowers his head slightly, creating an effect like a glare from the cold, empty white eye holes.
"And I already told you. I'm not. I'm going to speak with the Ringmaster about ending this charade. That's all. I have never lied to you about important things, Ichigo, and I'm not starting now."
.... But of course he wouldn't believe him. He never did. He never believed anything he said. So he doesn't make any sort of move. Just stands there, motionless, expression masked completely by the-- well, mask.
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Where said four legged shrub was right now he wasn't sure but it surely wouldn't take long to find him. Something that big doesn't just blend in. "You're not wearing that because you want to go have a chat." It wouldn't be hard to force Ichigo to his knees. Getting him to submit is a very, very different matter.
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But... Ichigo wasn't going to let him go without making a scene, was he. Creating his own self fulfilling prophecy. So, with a heavy sigh, he pulls the mask from his face and looks down at it in his hand.
"You've seen very little of what I can do. What I've done since I've been out and about. But you never believe me anyway, you absolute asshole. You can't even trust yourself."
With another sigh he sits down, setting the mask next to the cold cheeseburger with a "clack". He then snaps his fingers and attracts the attention of a servant who had been watching their tense standoff.
"Whole roasted pheasant, ya brainwashed pissant."
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"Trust is earned, and all you've ever done with it is try to kill me or possess me." It's said flatly, a touch coldly. Their interactions never were pleasant. "The ends don't justify the means."
He'd never bothered to find out if this was normal, but presumably it was. Or maybe 'normal' was closer to the relationship he had with the old man.
What was he doing right now?
Ichigo doesn't relax immediately when Zangetsu sits down, that didn't mean the battle was won, simply ... delayed. He knows how this song and dance goes, and it's nothing like the dancing going on over there.
"...Ask for it whole and they're probably going to give it to you with all the feathers and inside bits."
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He wonders that as well. Was the old man affected by this strange haze too? Or was he perfectly normal with a voice that couldn't reach Ichigo in his current condition? Maybe a little of both? Zangetsu feels like he could probably go back inside Ichigo's soul if he wanted, to check on his old friend. But he isn't sure he'd be able to find his way back out again.
Not worth the risk.
"Yeah, and? What if I want the organs and stuff in the middle? Those are the best parts."
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It wasn't hard to just stay alive. Run like a coward, hide in holes, never do anything or help anyone. That ... wasn't something he'd ever do. There were far too many things that were more important than his own life.
Like the pending end of reality?
There's a moment's pause and a frown, but that thought detaches and floats away; whether it was his or another voice that had suggested it, he doesn't know. And for now, doesn't care.
"The organs and things in the middle only go into stuffings you disgusting--" The song changes, and Ichigo pauses again. Oh he likes this one. "...Actually, hold that thought. I'll deal with you later."
It's hard to resist and he's not gonna bother. Whether or not Zangetsu is going to be there when he gets back is another matter entirely ... and very unlikely.
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He gives a small, knowing smile as the music takes Ichigo away. Oh he may WANT to deal with it later.
But Zangetsu won't be here.
He watches as Ichigo moves to the dance floor and does... what he must assume is "dancing". It looks more like flailing to him but at least Ichigo seems to be having fun? Brainwashed fun.
Zangetsu takes his mask and disappears into the crowd.