⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 178 - B1: Day 6
Where: The Carnival and sometimes on top of the Heart of Stone.
What: Now that the Prince is dead and gone, there's a lot left to sort out. As the remaining servants are liberated and those captured by the Prince are tended to, it's time for recovery and goodbyes.
Warnings: Nothing in particular.

HOME GROUND↴ At long last, it is over. The Prince is dead, and all of his stolen Names have been restored - all that's left to do is treat the wounds and move on. For the first day or two, the Ringmaster will be arranging passage for the servants that are left, all of which have remembered their names for the first time in years. The earth elemental that had been trapped and forced to serve as the Prince's manor, the Heart of Stone, is happy to help for the moment. It appreciates the Ringmaster's mercy, and is free after untold eons of imprisonment. Yet, there are plenty of aspects that are far from simple. There are still servants left mad and transformed into beasts, with no easy way to change them back. The Prince's spells outlive him, and those bearing his poison and his curses will have a difficult road ahead of them. Though most of the bestial servants have been rounded up, and a large number that had been reduced to unmoving statues returned, even the Ringmaster can't return them to normal so simply. The next week is for rest and for settling remaining affairs. If you want to bid farewell to any particular NPCs, or assure care is given where it's needed, now is the time to do it. ► A CURE: The Ringmaster will tell everyone simply - there is no simple way to undo another fae's magic. The Prince's powers were essentially on par with hers, which means that those who have been transformed to stone and those that were cursed into beasts and driven insane are not something she can trivially fix. It will take the work of the carnival and a couple weeks of treatment to shed the curse of stone, and the maddened servants are an entirely separate matter. She will do what she can, but for the most part she is arranging for the Prince's servants to be cared for elsewhere. At least for now, the Ringmaster will be animating the stone portions of people's bodies with magic, though those portions will still be a bit clumsy and numb feeling. ► THE NEW HEARTSTONE: In the absence of the prince, the Heart of Stone will be taking over the remains of the Prince's realm and preventing it from collapsing into void. As it turns out, the manor had been an earth elemental all along - a form of Wyld Fae almost on par to the Prince and Ringmaster themselves. How the Heart of Stone was enslaved is a long story presumably, but the Ringmaster considers it to be a sign of the Prince's own depravity. The Heart will be allowing visitors for the first couple days of this period through the portal, but keep in mind you are essentially just walking around on its body. At least the realm has a floor, now, instead an endless abyss surrounding it.

Comments

[hippocarnival]

I can help. [He moves to sit across from her with a nod.]

Yugo's a daredevil. [He might be their only daredevil?] Uh, but he's not feeling well right now. I'll let him know you want to help with his make up when he's better, okay?

My name's Yuya, by the way.

[disjunct]

Yuya, huh? Yuya... with the kanji I'm guessing, that means you must have a very playful name!

[ She rolls her sleeves up. ]

Playful it is! Got it! One second, and...

[ Junko's hands move flawlessly and too fast. One hand holding his eyelid down, he can feel brushes quickly rotate over his eye, eyeliner, a fake eyelash and then some, before she goes to the other side and does the same. She's moving at an inhuman speed. The whole ordeal is done in about... 22 seconds.

She holds up a mirror and... tada! Pretend the pink is more red. ]

You're an acrobat, so you absolutely, 100% have to go out there looking flashy. People often look at expressions while people do stunts, to see if you have any fear, or are totally confident. Eye makeup is a great way to do that! They look for your colors! And it's in fashion for everyone now!

[hippocarnival]

You got it! [He grins, winking comically.

He closes his eyes and holds perfectly still, relaxed. Theatre make up is something he's very used to now, so it doesn't bother him to wear it.

But he does notice how fast she is. If she's experienced, that's great, because it's one less thing he has to worry about every performance.

When she finishes he takes the mirror to look over the design, leaning closer. Then he turns up to her with a thumb's up.] It looks great! And that's pretty insightful... have you done this before?

[disjunct]

I have! I'm... well, I don't mean to brag, but back in my world, I'm the Ultimate Fashionista. Or model, I guess. I know how to apply makeup like lightning, I know how to tailor on a second's notice, I know how to do all that stuff-- because you can't always rely on your team to do it for you, and being an Ultimate means being invulnerable to crashing and burning.

[ She contours his face a little bit. Good thing he has thick eyelashes, that'll make his face pop out more, even doing tricks above the stage. ]

Next time you wanna do an acrobatics show, come to me. I'll be on the job.

... do you want me to finish the look?

[hippocarnival]

That's really cool. [Ultimate Fashionista? It does sound like bragging without the context, but not in a prideful way. It's like duelists who are dedicated to their playstyle and prove themselves in the arena.

He nods.] Sure! I can't perform for a while either, but that doesn't mean I should stop thinking about it. If we finish it, maybe I can use it next time.

[disjunct]

[ It's actually a really real thing! Junko's true ability is the Ultimate Analyst, but she used it to make herself the Ultimate Fashionista, so... she's both? I guess. ]

Good! And I'm bored as hell, so it's a win-win.

[ Suddenly, her voice sounds pretty professional...? And. Glasses. When did she put them on? But she's brushing on cover-up and going through the motions of brush and blending and so on, just as quick as she picks out another palette for lip colors. ]

Traditionally, it's impossible to do a full face after doing the eye makeup, but I earned my title for a reason. We'll be matching the rest of your highlights to the eye makeup. Are you strong on lipstick or do you have a preference for only what will enhance your act?

[hippocarnival]

I only wear make up for performances, so I guess whatever looks best for my act? [He talks carefully around her brushing on more make up, trying not to disturb it.]

What's your name, anyway? [He can't just go around calling her make up girl.]

[disjunct]

[ She does a matching color that's dark enough to make his lips stand out while in performance. Accent the parts of his face people will be looking at... ]

The powerful, unstoppable, Enoshima Junko-chan! It's too bad my contract is worth too much to me to have too much fun here.

[hippocarnival]

Nice to meet you, Enoshima-chan! [Yuya pauses. He hasn't used honorifics in a while, and it's a little weird mixing it with faeish.] Why can't you have as much fun with your contract?

[Is it just because she's separated from home? He never felt like he didn't have freedom in the carnival. There's even less rules than his mom.]

[disjunct]

I have some hobbies that the Ringmaster would frown upon. I tend to take the horns on any project I become involved with, so I get pushy and end up making it a lot about me, haha! But it's good to know your faults!

[ She's not technically lying. She really isn't. Her last project was just the world, that's all. ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya's having a hard time imagining hobbies that the Ringmaster wouldn't approve of. Probably something dangerous to the carnival? Destruction of property and hurting other members were definitely on her bad list.

He stares blankly for a moment, before shaking himself from his reverie.] Oh--yeah! Cause then you can work on them and be a better person.

[He knew where his flaws lied after all.]

1/2

[disjunct]

[ Junko smiles. ]

[disjunct]

Oh no no, I meant that I just get ambitious when I get sucked into something like this! I can control myself juuust fine. You know, like wanting to climb the ranks really fast? That.

She seems pretty content where she is, so that's what I was talking about.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya blinks. She... wants to become the Ringmaster?

Yuya's expression turns into a wry smile. Proving yourself to be a supervisor, sure. But the Ringmaster is fae, and Yuya's pretty sure no one is taking her position anytime soon.

But he'll let Junko believe in that.] What'd you join the carnival for? Did the Prince kidnap you, too?

[disjunct]

For a place to start anew again! What I went through by coming here was so painful and despair-inducing that I can only obtain it by signing myself away to indentured servitude.

Imagine playing a game for victory your entire life. [ She's lying, it was much shorter than that. ] Just one victory. And instead of it ending in a crushing loss or an amazing victory, it ends in... nothing. A coin standing on its side. To me, that's a worse punishment than losing.

So I'm glad I got to go through it! Now, onto greater things!

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya raises a brow, getting slowly lost in her metaphor. Not that he doesn't understand it, but he can't tell what it's a metaphor for.]

So it's really bad for you at home? [She sure seems positive about her future, though.]

[disjunct]

No, it was great! Here, hold out your hand--

[ She tries a few swatches of color against his skin tone, as if nothing she said before actually mattered. ]

[hippocarnival]

Oh. [A pause.] But you don't want to go back when your contract with the Ringmaster ends?

[He's probably missing something here? He'd agree that the situation with the Prince was painful, but then what's stopping her from just picking up where she left off?]

She can send you back at the same point the Prince took you, so it's like no time passed at all.