lostcarnival | ⇨ FOURTH WALL EVENT! (OPEN TO ALL)

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⇨ FOURTH WALL EVENT! (OPEN TO ALL)

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.

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Both of his hands are behind his back down with the tray clutched in his fingers. It's all he can do to to prevent himself from defying that major order yet the hate building with every word is clear.

"It's just that I stopped being worth your time. I wouldn't have stopped looking for you unless I was ordered to and I was sure that someone else better suited could find you."

"That's not it," Strange quickly interjects, his voice tinged with light annoyance. "You're a member of the carnival and a fellow magician, of course you're worth my time."

But the question remains obvious. If so, why didn't he keep searching. What was stopping Strange from finding Tyki? Because it had to be something, right? He would have kept looking...wouldn't he? The memories swirl around and blend into each other and make it hard for Strange to pick out just why he stopped looking through the ever growing mental haze.

"Something must have happened."

His serene smile is still there judging, knowing, telling. Already he can feel the metal digging into his fingers with the tighter grip forming. His hate lingers, voice tinged with disgust and fuel for the growing fire. He can see the other struggling and he delights in it. He anticipates more. That fog clouding everyone's mind led them further into the dangers of this manor.

"Then why am I here now? Why was I not saved? Why am I wearing this uniform if you tried so hard, Mister Strange?" With Strange he never prowled like he was now. He takes another step forward as he pushes for that final answer. He wants Strange to admit it. He failed. The Prince won.

"I'm on the right side now. I have no use for the carnival any longer."

Edited 2017-10-15 20:37 (UTC)

This is going to drive him back to madness, Strange can tell that much already. Because he should know. He should know why he couldn't save Tyki and what prevented him from doing so in the first place. Strange takes another step backwards, looking utterly distressed for a moment.

"Something must have happened," Strange repeats, more to convince himself than to convince Tyki. "Or something must have stopped me."

And he looks over at Tyki with a frown. He doubted Tyki tell him. But it can't hurt to ask. "You still can be saved. I just need to know what stopped me to begin with." Don't ask him how he knows, he just knows. Enchantments can be broken. If someone twists your mind, it can be fixed. But that doesn't change the fact that Strange has no idea how he'd even start to go about saving Tyki! And that doesn't hide the note of desperation that's staring to creep into his voice.

He prowls with Allen. He prowls with Lambert. He even mild prowls with Childermass if only to get under his skin. Not with Strange. Not with how he is now taking a step forward for every step that Strange takes back. It must look odd in the middle of a ballroom and yet everyone was too distracted and pleasantly dancing.

"Isn't that what everyone says? Something always happens. 'Don't break the rules' but someone will." His voice drops to a malicious tone, "That's easy, Mister Strange. I can tell you what stopped you. You're weak."

He might be confused. He might not know how he got here or why he couldn't save Tyki. And he still doesn't know what stopped him from finding Tyki in the first place. But even though this mental haze, it doesn't change the fact that Jonathan Strange is obnoxiously arrogant.

As such, Tyki calling him weak lights a fire under his ass more than anything else. Strange's expression rapidly shifts from hurt to downright annoyed. Weak?! How dare he! He brought magic back to England, he saved his wife, he's dispelled a few enchantments (though he can't remember which ones right now), he is anything but weak!

"I am one of the greatest magicians of the age," Strange continues, more to himself than to Tyki. Though with the next sentence, he tries to push back past that confusion and that distress to just give Tyki a glare. "Whatever stopped me wasn't my own failings."

Oh sorry. Did he strike a nerve? His leaning stops at least as he rolls back up onto his heels and he starts advancing forward. The magician was biting back and that serene smile returns to a more complacent expression. This is why he enjoys his company usually. Right now that's just annoying.

"And that matters how, Mister Strange? If you still lose all your friends in a war even if you are the victor, is that a win? If you save countless lives but have to destroy two of the most important, is that because you couldn't or you weren't able to?"

He chuckles darkly, "If you fail to find missing people because you aren't capable of breaking past whatever stopped you, does that not make you weak?"

As Tyki starts to move forward, this time, for the first time in the whole conversation, Strange stands his ground. He's clenching his fists, claws digging into the palm of his hand as he tries to push past the fog, tries to push past the haze and simply stand firm.

"You aren't missing anymore. Perhaps I'll prove my strength by bringing you back to the Ringmaster or proving you wrong in a different way." Though what that different way is, Strange doesn't know. It'd have to do with Tyki, who's still acting so odd. By this point of the night, he knows that for some reason, he's unable to perform any larger, flashier acts of magic.

"Besides, you forget something: I never went missing." For all Tyki may taunt and torment Strange about being weak (and he certainly isn't), at least he was smart enough to not be captured.

That doesn't stop him from taking a step forward even as Strange stands his ground. He's uncomfortably close now but at least he isn't leaning over him. Tyki is rather exceptional at reading body language and he can see the frustration rising.

"No, I'm not yet it was not your doing unless you're plan was to allow me to wait in suffering until I showed up on my own." That is a bold claim though and he'll reach down to tap at Strange's glass with the edges of his fingertips as if asking to fill it up for him again, "I would love to see you try. Just don't fail again, Mister Strange." Because that would be a reported offense if he did.

Tyki's malice towards Strange starts to rise again, twisted and cruel at the source. This is not his friend. Strange is his enemy yet the silence conveys his thought process. He knows exactly what Strange is implying and his smile his faltering, "Let's be honest, Mister Strange. If it hadn't been me it would've likely been someone else sooner or later."

Strange still holds his ground, looking over Tyki as the man steps closer. Tyki's words linger in his mind, the threat of failure hangs over his head, as Strange continues to try and come up with a solution. Tyki's acting so odd, so callous, so unlike the Tyki Mykk he knew. And yet, the utter cruelty of Tyki's words can't help but remind Strange of someone, of...himself? No, that doesn't make sense, it's of himself in Portland, his actions when he was enchanted by Nightshade wait a friggen moment.

A memory flits to the surface, of dispelling an enchantment. He doesn't know if Tyki's enchanted or who might have even enchanted Tyki to begin with but fuck it, it's worth a shot. With a small smug smile that hides the fact that he doesn't have a goddamn clue what he's doing, Strange continues. "Well, Mister Mykk, you'd love to see me try again? Perhaps it shall happen now."

He's muttering something almost inaudible as Strange further closes the gap between them, like he's going to whisper a secret into Tyki's ear or go for an embrace. However, instead of either of those, Strange leans in to give Tyki a quick kiss on the cheek.

Unfortunately, the power nerf is a thing. And Strange's devil-may-care attitude doesn't change the fact that breaking the enchantment on the bicorn was a freak accident. Absolutely nothing happens except hey, congrats Tyki, you just got kissed. And, as Strange backs up, he realizes absolutely nothing happened.

"Damn."

It's a complete 180 of his personality. Well, almost. He was always like this just less open about it. He didn't like to scare off those that weren't his enemy or at least not right away. He liked to have a friend or two he would and could rely on. Right now Strange was the enemy and that is all he needed to know.

"Oh?" It's disgusting how much Strange seems to smile so smug and Tyki won't move a step back when Strange leans in near him. He's waiting for something rule breaking so he can report it and he's been instigating all night for the right moment. He expects words, a secret, a spell or anything else but the kiss he suddenly receives.

That serene smile is instantly gone as confusion and utter shock warp on his face to sudden revolted disgust. It gets Tyki to take a step back and a napkin is snatched from the tray he was balancing behind him in favor of wiping off his cheek as if he was just burned. Had Tyki been in his right mind he'd be laughing his ass off right now. Just look at that anger rising.

"All of you are so utterly revolting."

Alright, so breaking the enchantment might not have worked, but it is a bit cathartic seeing Tyki so utterly annoyed after their prior conversation. At least it seems the situation's shifted from Tyki having the upper hand to both men on tenuously solid ground, even if Strange knows that all Tyki has to do is prod about certain gaps in his memory and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"I have been mad before," Strange casually answers, as if that's an explanation. "I suppose revolting and madness go hand in hand."

And hopefully, Tyki might be able to file away that kiss as 'madness' and not 'something to pay attention to.' People don't gossip about embarrassing things, right? And this seems like it might have been embarrassing for Tyki.

He's unnerved because this foul carnival worker had the nerve to put his disgusting lips on his cheek. That anger is building and there is barely anything he can do about it. Strange was lucky he was no where near the balcony right now because he might've gone over it even if for just a second. He has the advantage of being somewhat revealed by the ballroom. Tyki couldn't be as open as he wanted to be. He wasn't allowed to kill.

He dumps that napkin back on the tray like it was trash and his fingers flatly press against it to avoid hitting him with it. Malice is rising and every moment longer he looks at Strange the more he remembers the reasons why he was better off on this side of the playing field, "Just what were you trying to achieve by doing something so disgusting?"

The more angry Tyki looks, the more smug and jovial Strange tries to look in return. He's pressing a nerve. Which is...good? Maybe? Hopefully it's good because this is the path that Strange has found himself on and is just straight up going to continue with. New plan, annoy the shit out of Tyki in the hopes that he'll focus on that instead.

"It was a test," Strange explains, smiling still. "The results were...interesting." Strange still has a reluctance to lie, this innate feeling deep inside his gut that twists and churns whenever he says an outright falsehood. Of course, vague statements and half-truths don't count as lying.

"And disgusting? I might be a novice when it comes to kissing other men, but I certainly have experience enough. Surely it couldn't have been that terrible."

"A test?" comes a very low toned response. "You were using me for one of your foolish experiments? Now, now, Mister Strange. That's rather ill advised."

His head turns away from him towards a particular woman in the crowd and then over towards others that Strange knows, "Oh, I saw your 'experience' earlier. She's rather beautiful. Whoever she is to you." To which he means Arabelle. Were he in his right mind she would be someone he might want to dance with. Right now everyone was essentially prey and fodder. Thankfully she wasn't part of the disgusting carnival.

"Experience means nothing if it is still foul."

And then that smile quickly vanishes. Top way to get to Strange's shitlist: threaten his wife. It doesn't matter that Tyki's statement isn't actually threatening, this conversation's gone in so many different directions already that Strange is interpreting it as a threat.

"If you harm one hair on her head, no matter if we're still at this damned ball or not, I'll turn you inside out myself."

It's a heavy threat, especially coming from Strange. But dammit, he did so much to bring Arabella back to him: madness, getting cursed, bringing magic back to England, summoning the Raven King. Of course, some of those actions weren't just to find a way to reunite the two, but everything, even bringing magic back to England itself, was partially to do so.

Meanwhile Tyki's serene smile returns gently to his face now that he's clean enough not to be marked by Strange's ill kiss. He'll apologize later but right now that malice is very much there.

"What's wrong, Mister Strange? I thought we were friends. I would never imagine hurting a woman that beautiful. That pure." And she's not a carnival guest. It kind of adds to the image of everything.

"And I would never let you touch me in such a filthy manner. Air is a thing a human needs and while I do not know how your spells work specifically I wonder how long you could concentrate without it."

"The problem here, Mister Mykk, is that you are just as much a human as I am. I wonder...in a battle of magic, which one of us will collapse first?"

Strange hates this. He hates the fact that he can say such callous things so flippantly and he hates the fact that he already has plans brewing in his mind to incapacitate Tyki if needed: shove him through a mirror, choke him with the wine, turn into smoke, fill the man's nostrils and lungs. He doesn't know how long a person can go without air but he can't be that long.

He feels a little part of himself just recoil in horror at those thoughts. But, at least in his mind, Arabella is in a clear danger and he'll simply do anything to save her. Damn propriety and damn any sort of gentlemanly virtues.

"You," he says defiantly and confidently. "I am quick to the draw. Are you? I am use to fighting under pressure. Are you?" He'll regret revealing this much later. Right now it doesn't matter.

Tyki is use to killing and when it came to his family he'd kill. He'll understand this later given how much emotion Strange is finally showing. Not to mention his way of surviving would be similar to how he survives the water tank in the Big Top.

"So she means that much to you, Mister Strange. Enough to kill."

"I fought in the peninsula," Strange explains. "I too am used to fighting under pressure and performing the impossible."

Just not as much as Tyki has. And not as fast as Tyki is (though Strange doesn't know this just yet). Still, Strange knows that given the chance, he could put up a hell of a fight. Or, at least, poof into smoke form until he's able to buy enough time to fire off a spell.

Though at Tyki's last statement, Strange doesn't feel the need to say anything. He's threatened the man already. It should be obvious to Tyki that yes, Arabella means that much to him and yes, he's willing to do some damn drastic actions in order to keep her safe.

He has no idea what this peninsula is but apparently it was enough to give Strange somewhat of a big head. Then again, everything gave Strange a big head.

He's itching to fight now but he's not allowed to and he would never take that first attack anyways. Finding powerful people always made him want to at least have a go or two with them.

"Alas, it's not really up to me whether or not you get to die right now. As for her... " He starts to say something but then he just doesn't. Strange didn't need to know the reason why the Prince invited everyone here. The seed of doubt would work just as well, "It doesn't matter. It'll all come to fruition sooner than later."

Though, it will all come to fruition sooner than later? Strange is just so interested in that statement and so interested in what Tyki's implying that of course he's going to keep pressing and of course he wants to know what's going on.

"Well go on then," Strange continues, as he looks at Tyki. "It seems you know something. You might as well tell me."

He doubts he will. But maybe, just maybe Tyki will let slip enough via bragging for Strange to actually know something about what's going on, especially if it involves Arabella.

It was bait Tyki knew he would take if only to regain some sense of control. His serene smile is back in full force as his eyes narrow in a pleased manner now that he has bought into his words.

His old self could never shut up and like a classic villain he would spoil the plan because he would assume they would die at his hands. "I can already feel like you'd die for that information. It's why I'm not going to tell you, Mister Strange. Besides, I have guests to serve for now."

He notices Strange has yet to sip the drink he gave him before, "How troubling it'll be if you forget anyways."

Indeed, Strange hasn't touched the drink. The idle conversation leading into not so idle threats have caused Strange to lose his appetite. After all, there's nothing to kill the mood like a bitter argument. Though, if Tyki won't tell him the information, then he'll simply have to find it out himself.

Somehow. Assuming he even remembers that damn inference in the first place.

"Rest assured, Mister Mykk," Strange continues, raising his glass in a mock toast—though he still doesn't let the drink touch his lips. "I shall try my hardest to remember. Best of luck serving everyone. I hope we aren't too much trouble."

There is always downing a drink later should stress increase and time becomes of the essence. In his mind there is no way this ball was going to end peacefully. Either someone was going to panic, start a fight or become enraged enough to start shouting.

"If you didn't want this nearly as badly as you do I might've told you." His shoulder rises in a gentle shrug as he he inclines his head at the mock toast if only to equally and falsely acknowledge it, "Certainly a waste of my time, good sir."

At least Strange will get a little peace now as he turns his back on him and proceeds off to fetch a few glasses left unattended.

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⇨ FOURTH WALL EVENT! (OPEN TO ALL)

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