⇨ 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

[prazerbutterfly]

Lambert earns his silence again as he smiles, stares forward and says nothing. It's that pause he's granted once more as conflicts arise in his mind. Not needed? He's always needed. He's always wanted. His family left him here. His carnival workers allowed him to run off. His 'friends' allowed him to mule day after day within that piss hole deep within the Prince's domain without food, water or sleep. The Prince at least tried to feed them.

It should make him think but the confusion is making him angry. He understands those words. Without his dull lives and his family he would be terribly lonely and things would be rather dull, "If that's the case then I would be less worried about that and more worried about the fact you may never go home, Mister Lambert. That is, according to you, whether he needs any of you. In my experience from one killer to another not everyone has to live, do they?"

[whattaprick]

The odd pauses, the barely-veiled threats, it's all odd, even under the fog of complacency the enchantment draws over his sharper instincts.

"Not everyone," he agrees, giving Tyki another grin, smarmy and wide. "But he doesn't need to need us. We're still his guests, aren't we?" And though it's been a struggle, he hasn't broken any of the Prince's rules ... not to general knowledge, anyway. Of course, it's perfectly likely that the Prince already knows they're not here to be good little house guests, but why bother with the farce of the ball and hosting them, then? Just to see them squirm before he twists the knife?

Come to think of it, that sounds exactly like the sort of thing a fae would do. Oh well. If the Prince really is dedicated to keeping up appearances indefinitely, no sense in not taking advantage of it while it lsts. He tilts his glass, watching the liquid move inside, then glances up at Tyki again.

"Thanks for the drink," he says. It's clearly meant to be a dismissal, though whether Tyki listens or not ... "If I see our host, I'll be sure to compliment him on the excellent service."

[prazerbutterfly]

His smile actually falters as Lambert starts to speak out loud. It angers him internally that this man has such a mouth and yet he can do nothing about it. There's a large conflict behind his eyes.

"You are, Mister Lambert. You are his guests." His eyes flick to the side towards the balcony and then back to Lambert. If he was allowed he'd send this man right over the edge whether or not he could survive the fall or not. He would love nothing more than to see his face. Then again, he was a supervisor and he imagined at least most of them could take care of themselves in in the most extreme situations. "Had your words carried any real weight perhaps we all would still be guests."

He hums under his breath as he sets the glass top back onto the bottle of whiskey in hand, smiling returning, "But of course, Mister Lambert. Do call me if you need another drink. I have a feeling you'll need it." Not that he'll need to call him. Tyki is rather attentive.

[whattaprick]

It would be interesting to see Tyki try -- even Lambert can't say how that would turn out. A man who smells drenched in fresh blood all the time is someone to be wary of, but the fact that he simply isn't attacking him for the provocation means something ... even if it's just how dedicated the Prince is to preserving appearances.

And appearances are all it is. This is why Lambert hates manners and propriety: they feel so dishonest. How can you get anything done pretending to be something else all the time?

Nonetheless, he won't respond other than to wave Tyki off with a last, sardonic smirk. "Don't worry about me. With all the people the Prince invited, I doubt you're going to get any rest all night."

[prazerbutterfly]

The problem with harming someone is that he'd have to save them especially if the balcony was used and that would be a lot of wasted effort. "I don't have to worry about you. That much is true. There are others to manage your... rudeness."

He's expecting someone to fuck up or at least try something. It's why everyone was getting drinks as much as possible. He was lowering inhibitions and dosing everyone with the same level of treatment to goad them into a fight. If he could take a punch, he would, if only to get them caught.

Right now his manners were very dishonest. Most of the time they weren't. His words give that same pause again. If only Lambert knew how tired Tyki was or how very little he had eaten the entire time. At a point he had even been tired enough to doze with a giant spider after a great deal of trust was given. It's a wonder he hasn't collapsed by now. "Stay out of trouble, Mister Lambert. Enjoy the party." He'll dismiss himself then if Lambert has nothing to say.