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.
|
|
|
|
|
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ringleaders) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
lostcarnival2017-10-13 06:00 pm
no subject
Or how to know when you're not in your right mind. Despite his words, though, he sighs and sinks a bit. Until he's forced to draw back into the dance. "But I do not know what it is or how to break it."
no subject
"Witchers can't do much against this kind of thing," he muses. 'Work the problem' is not a phrase that has or ever will exist in Lambert's vocabulary, but years of getting yelled at by Vesemir to use his brain instead of rushing for his sword are ... mostly ignored, but yammering at the back of his head now.
"Now that we know it's there ... could wear off on its own." Eventually. Assuming it's not a constant effect being laid on them again and again. Luckily, he at least has some frame of reference. "The Celebration was like this. Couldn't think until the vampires were almost on top of us."
no subject
"I would try to avoid the food and drink, just in case." Even if he knows that doesn't necessarily save them--might as well eliminate one other avenue if poisoning. Although it'll be a wonder if any of them get out of this without alcohol.
no subject
"Food and drink was how they got us at the Celebration too." He sighs. From the smell of his breath and the flush in his cheeks, yes, he has been partaking himself. It's that kind of a night.
"Did they really not teach you anything that could help? Seems like that's a big oversight."
no subject
"This isn't Mesmer magic. It isn't a spell I can break in part because I have no idea what the spell is." His tone is testy and short, but it's only because he's just as frustrated with himself. If he could just do something about this, they could get back to whatever urgent matter they were attending to before this--frivolity.
Well, lesson learned. He'll need to figure something out to make his own magical defenses stronger for the next time (nevermind, if he could remember, that it still wouldn't do a thing against ingestion).
no subject
But his nightrunners? They've been smart, they haven't gotten caught this whole time (as far as he can remember, anyway) and Lambert knows what they can do. And there's one way that not being caught up in the heat of the moment makes some things easier: it gives Lambert room to think.
"Scout," he says, abruptly. It's a bit of a non-sequitur. "She cleared poison from me, once. Some Jedi thing..." Scout probably wouldn't appreciate him dropping that name so casually, but-- "If it's something in our blood, she could help."
Or not. Again, fucking enchantments, man. But there's a distant, lingering sense of urgency. A feeling that they don't have the time to wait out the enchantment wearing off.
no subject
"Strange can identify magic as well," Syrlya leans closer and lowers his voice to a whisper. "That and his own magical knowedge may help if it is not simply a drug. We should find them both, and 9S."
Because nightrunners gotta stick together, although Syrlya is getting the feeling that there's someone else important in all this that he's forgetting.
no subject
"You should ... you should look for the acquisitioner. He can get people places faster. He'll help." Childermass is important, but Lambert's reasons for considering him so are infinitely simpler than his utility in a fight. His fingers tighten on Syrlya's fingers, a flicker of that urgency coming closer to the surface again.
"He might have gotten caught up, too." Joke's on him, of course. Just this once, Childermass has the good fortune not to be affected by the magic of this place at all, because Lambert wasn't around to convince him to have a 'fun' time.
no subject
He knew already what the fae were capable of. He won't be caught off guard with them again.
"I suspect everyone will be under the same enchantment, or at least everyone who knows too much. We should find them both."
no subject
However, the question remains ... what do> they do when they find each other? Maybe they'll have enough missing memories together to sort out that picture clearly. Or maybe, by then, it will be too late.
no subject
"We should find a place to meet, but without gathering slowly." They don't want attention for standing too long too far from the actual event. "Perhaps a balcony, but what time?"
no subject
But what makes a decent alternative? He cocks his head, thinking. "Count it off in songs, maybe. If I'm not there in seven, you have to figure out something without me. Can you do that?"
His grip on Syrlya's hand tightens briefly, as he continues. "... I'm good in a fight. But I'm not good at this. The last curse I tried to break, the ogre killed the guy who hired me before I got the chance." The most he can do, if it comes down to that, is buy them some time.
no subject
Syrlya snaps his attention to Lambert suddenly while the request sinks in. He feels, suddenly, very targeted. There's a moment where he's standing back when he was asked this question before, when he was asked to fill the position of Marshal--before he shakes himself and considers, oh, Lambert probably means all of them. There is no second-in-command for the nightrunners, certainly not Syrlya.
"I--yes." It doesn't sound as confident, more distant, so he squares his shoulders and tries again. "Yes, we will. They're depending on us, aren't they?" The carnival, probably the Ringmaster--if she didn't have the power to prevent this, then they need to handle it themselves.
"Truthfully, I am not better at breaking curses, but that is why we are not doing this alone." He looks up over the crowd. "There's a balcony to the east. We gather everyone and meet in seven songs, figure out what we're missing."
no subject
"Guess we'd better get to it." It's as good as an answer as Lambert can hope for -- and just in time, as the the song they're dancing to begins to wind to an end. He gives Syrlya one slow, showy twirl on the dance floor before releasing him and giving him a dramatic bow when they finish.
"Thanks for the dance."
no subject
"Of course. I'll see you soon, Lambert." And with that, he turns to go and try to find the rest of their team--and Childermass.