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
"He poisoned you all at breakfast," he tells Lambert. "And spent the rest of the day wandering around mindlessly, up until he needed you to dress up and come to his ball."
How much of this will even stick in Lambert's mind in the next few minutes, though, he has to wonder.
no subject
"I was supposed to meet Syrlya. Find someone who could clear this." Fat lot of progress he's made on that so far.
He shakes his head. "Whatever he did, I can't even get pissed." He could meditate it out, or try to, but that needs an hour they don't have. That sense of urgency is about the best he can get to right now. "I don't need to remember to help. What do you need?" Because that's why he's here, isn't he?
no subject
"If Syrlya is similarly affected, he may have simply wandered off and forgotten as well," Childermass points out, carrying on with the dance Lambert's leading them in without really having to think about it at this point, although he is keeping track of when the song sounds like it's ending. Not yet, but he doubts there's that much time left. "A pity you can't just have Mr. Strange kiss you and see if that won't clear it up."
Because someone absolutely mentioned that part about breaking the bicorn's curse at some point, you can't tell me otherwise, okay.
"But failing that, do you think you could at least catch everyone's attention? I need to be able to leave the ballroom, but not while the Prince might be watching me."
no subject
However, Childermass's question brings Lambert's attention back to the matter at hand, and he frowns. Catch everyone's attention...? It's an odd request, though Childermass's reason for asking becomes quickly apparent.
He's doing something dangerous, something that needs to be big enough to draw the Prince's attention. Lambert's not sure what Childermass expects him to manage -- he's hardly going to lure the Prince with small talk, of all things -- but he still nods.
"I can try." He moves them around another pair of dancers, deftly. Perhaps it's not the answer Childermass would prefer to hear, but at this ball, who knows. "When?"
no subject
"Give me thirty minutes," he says, moving along where Lambert leads with just as much ease now that he's figured the steps they're taking out. "Or three songs."
That's roughly thirty minutes.
"I'll be leaving after that, regardless of whether you remember or not."
no subject
Speaking of songs, how long has it been since they started this one? They must be halfway through, at least. Noticing the confidence in his step, Lambert decides it's time to take things up a notch, and he presses a hand at the magician's back to dip him gracefully before easing him up again.
"Was that all?" he asks, brows raised. Of course, he knows that isn't all -- the wryness in his voice gives that much away. But even when he tries to reach for the memories he's aware should be there, his mind meets nothing but fog.
no subject
"It was," he all but growls out. "Unless you have something else to add, there isn't anything more to say."
Because he's not laying out his plan step-by-step. He's not even sure it'll work, much less if he'll be changing it on the fly or not.
no subject
"You look good tonight. You should keep those if you can."
He's only being a little facetious.
no subject
"Only if you manage to lose that god awful hat you have on."
no subject
When the song comes to an end -- as it inevitably must -- he lets Childermass go and gives him an exaggerated bow, sweeping the hat off his head and pressing it to his chest. When he straightens, the offensive headpiece tucked under one arm, he raises his other hand, displaying the feathers he's pulled off it and kept tucked between his knuckles.
"Three songs," he tells him, in lieu of a 'thank you for the dance' or 'goodbye.' "Then I'll give them a show to remember."