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
no subject
"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."
no subject
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."
no subject
"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.
no subject
"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."
no subject
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.
no subject
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."
no subject
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.
no subject
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."
no subject
"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.
no subject
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."
no subject
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."
no subject
"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.