⇨ 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

[kuudroid]

9S. What have you done?

"You're correct. 9S is my assigned partner. You've met him as well, then?" 2B is as relaxed as she'll ever be, considering that there's a magic enchantment keeping her sufficiently subdued on top of her normal restrained behaviour.

[periphrasing]

His partner? Crud.

"...Yeah, I've met him. I'm supposed to be his boss at the carnival." She lets out a heavy, disappointed sigh, sags her shoulders, and waves 2B off. "Let me save you the trouble: I'm an 'alien', so you're probably not going to want to dance with me. So there. You can go ahead and be disgusted now."

[kuudroid]

... "That makes sense." But 2B isn't being outright hostile? "Are you hostile to humans?" It's an honest question, and 2B can understand why 9S would be put off by having an alien life form be his boss, but if this alien isn't hostile, there's not much point in being hostile back.

[periphrasing]

"No, I'm not!" Peridot replies, and there's a bit more dismay in her tone than she'd intended to let on. She knots a hand in her hair and averts her eyes to the floor, looking embarrassed. "I mean I used to be hostile to Earth, I guess, but. Then I saved it? And I live there now! So...."

[kuudroid]

"If you're not hostile towards humans, than I have no reason to be hostile towards you. It's a waste of energy to oppose someone who isn't a threat." There you go, Peridot. 2B admitting that she has no problems with you and yours. "Besides, the aliens from our time have been dead for awhile." Machine's are just all around dangerous like that.

[periphrasing]

Wow, attractive AND logical-minded, DOUBLE THREAT

There's a lot of emotions occurring to Peridot at once here. Surprise. Relief. Even admiration, actually. Which all just leads to her angrily wondering why the heck 9S is such a jerk about this, in that case!?

She keeps a lid on that anger though. At least she has some ammunition to use against 9S, next time they cross paths. "That's... a very rational way of viewing things," she says, with no small amount of appreciation. This time, she holds out a hand for 2B to take.

[kuudroid]

9S is a huge jerk about it because that's just how he is. He's a huge jerk to Pascal too. 2B takes Peridot's hand, and waits to see whether or not this alien would like to lead the dance or be lead. "From our conversation, I have reason to believe that 9S is from a not insignificant time in the past. The aliens who have invaded Earth in our time have been dead for millennia." There you go, more ammo to use against 9S should she need it.

[periphrasing]

Be lead, it seems like. Dancing is one of the things that Peridot will always take the back-seat on, even despite her rather bossy nature.

"Great. So they're all dead... And I'm not even from your universe," she grumbles, following the android out onto the dance floor. "But for some reason, he still hates me."

[kuudroid]

Then lead 2B does, sliding her one hand to the small of Peridot's back. It's... a little harder, considering their difference of height, but it's not the most complicated thing that 2B has done this evening.

"It's how we're programmed." 2B does feel the same nasty violence that 9S must, but it's muted by both magic and her own circumstance. There's no point in fighting, and harming this particular alien wouldn't help what has already been done.

[periphrasing]

Peridot suppresses a shiver. This is the first time she's attempted to dance with a partner since that time she attempted fusion with Garnet for like, 2 seconds, and it's a lot for her little gay heart to take.

She's also not very good or coordinated, but she does her best to keep up.

"So it's like a programming error?" she asks, perhaps a bit more energetically than she should. She sees an opportunity here, and she's desperate enough for a solution that she's quick to jump on it: "I could probably fix that! I mean, if he'd let me..."

[kuudroid]

"It's not an error." It's part of their core programming, something directly tied into their personal consciousness data. "I'd suggest you put that thought of fixing it away. He wouldn't enjoy you messing around in his head." Or with his programming, for that matter.

2B adjusts her steps to help Peridot keep in time with her own steps. "I don't think it would be impossible to befriend him, even if he dislikes you." He had made nice with the machines in Pascal's village, after all. He'd even gone out of his way to help the son machine who kept locking himself up, and even explained things about how the world worked to the little sister machine.

[periphrasing]

"O-Oh..." If it's something that keeps him from getting along with people he's supposed to be working with, then it sure SOUNDS like an error in Peridot's book... But she hadn't really thought about it as something as personal as messing with someone's mind, so she has the grace to at least look kind of ashamed about that.

"Well if you have any suggestions, I'm listening," she groans, looking somewhat downtrodden.

[kuudroid]

Well, as far as 2B is concerned, if this Alien quickly realized her mistake in saying she could reprogram an android, she's clearly not malicious. She's even looking for alternate ways!

"He likes taking apart machines." It's always been a constant with him. "Maybe if you worked with him and offered some of your technology to him." Of course, 9S might think something is up and think it's a trap... But, then again, the allure of taking apart an alien made machines might be too strong for him to resist.

[periphrasing]

"Some of my technology?" Peridot says sort of faintly. She guesses she could... She doesn't really particularly enjoy when other people mess with her stuff, but if it's for the sake of being a better leader...

She nods. "Thank you. This is all extremely useful information."

[kuudroid]

"You're welcome. Good luck with 9S." Also, Peridot? How do you feel about a gentle spin? Because 2B has seen some of the others spin in their dance, so clearly it's an important step for them to do as well.

"The harder the challenge the more engaging it will be for him." Besides, clearly it would be beneficial to the both of them if 9S wasn't wasn't aggressive towards his new boss.