lostcarnival | ⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

9S has a lot of mixed feelings about all that. After all, if people had just stuck to the rules (or at least, not gotten caught), then many of the events that occurred wouldn't have even happened.

Then maybe he wouldn't have had to kill Rita.

Besides, Tyki is a human! So it's not like he's going to condemn him for his actions... at least, not in front of his face.

"I don't understand the purpose of punishing you." 9S says, wandering around looking for a knife. He raises his voice so Tyki can still hear him as he drifts away. "Everything's over, so why rub it in? What's the point?"

So does he if he's honest with himself. If he hadn't gotten caught, would someone else have? Would he be as angry with himself then? Would he even care as much as he does now about some of the people that were afflicted. This had done just as much good for Tyki as it did harm.

"Oh? You don't think I deserve it for causing a chain effect of one painful experience after another?" He gestures with the knife according with every word, "I was careful, 9S. It wasn't like I was wandering the hallways. He cheated yet I still got caught." He sighs small and proceeds to keep peeling with an almost fluid gesture.

"You can stop looking for a knife. This is my punishment after all." He's developed a technique by now anyways, "I see the point... but tell me, what do you think I'm being punished for?"

Edited (edited for new information/new response) 2017-11-15 18:37 (UTC)

9S makes a noise that sounds like he's going to disagree, but he wanders back to Tyki, leaning against the nearest object as he talks.

"Well, the only thing you did 'wrong' was break curfew and get caught."

He honestly can't think of any other reason for Tyki's punishment. It's not like him and Syr caught any flack for breaking curfew; if anything, Lambert encouraged it. The key difference is they didn't get caught.

"But then why are you the only one getting punished? All those other people broke curfew and got caught, too." 9S kicks at the ground with a boot, a little bit of frustration leaking into his voice. "Just because you were the first one to go missing doesn't mean you should have to bear the punishment of the actions the others took, too."

His boss is kind of being a jerk about it. He would rather not get in more trouble or have to incur more potatoes. He might be getting the hang of it now but he was slowing down and getting tired of it already.

"Yes, a particular section of wall between two of the rooms turned out to be a hidden passageway on the inside and not wanting to wander I turned back. To my surprise I didn't return to the room I was in seconds before but another hallway. The house cheated but the point of the matter is that I still got caught as a result."

Childermass had allowed him to wander as long as it was within room to room. It's why he hadn't explored further even if he feels now maybe he should've. Still, he won't say anything bad about Childermass. It was his own choice after all to leave his room.

"I'm afraid that's not a question I can answer. I'm sure Miss Reira will be punished in time if she hasn't already been. One punishment given to one person may not necessarily fit another. Also, I have been up out of bed so perhaps my walking around is grounds for being punishment ready."

He uses the knife to tap the stool he's barely using behind him, "He at least gave me somewhere to sit." He chuckles lightly as he tosses a potato into a basket and picks up another, "But if I am the only one being punished I certainly can't contest it. It could be worse. I could be dead or enchanted to behave."

"Mmm, if you say so."

He doesn't really agree, but there's not really much else to say about the situation. Tyki got caught, now he's being punished for it. Still...

"How long have you been at this for, anyway?"

9S eyes the considerable pile of peeled potatoes, as well as the even larger unpeeled piles. Has Tyki even had a break? He's pretty sure it were him peeling the potatoes, he'd be bored out of his mind.

He can share that sentiment if only for the fact he's been through a lot. Yet, this was about making it right to people. Trust was a large deal for a conman and when one wasn't trusted, they failed.

After all if he can't even obey this task, as easy as it was even if boring, then how could he be trusted with anything else?

"Since I woke up. Maybe closer towards late morning. I'm not sure." He hasn't had a single break with his tireless effort to keep going lest he be caught not peeling potatoes.

Er. "That's a long time for a human to go without a break, right?"

Things aren't quite the same for androids, but he's been around the Carnival long enough to see people get tired and their attention start to wander.

"You should rest for a bit. I think the Aquisitioner wouldn't be happy if you sliced your fingers because you were tired or something."

He laughs softly at the way he says it and his tone is cheerful, "Heh, maybe. Every human is a little different, Mister 9S. Besides, I'm not sure exactly what time it is anyways."

He kind of lost track of what time it was after the second, third, or fourth basket. He's not sure when he lost anything at all.

He finishes a potato again and tosses it into the basket. At his words he does set it down on his raised knee and lets his fingers stretch out just for a moment, "I could use some water..." Yet here Tyki is eyeing every shadow, wall, and dark space around him.

9S addresses his hovering robot friend that I totally didn't forget to mention is with 9S until now. "Pod, go get a Tyki a glass of water from the cookhouse, will you?"

< Affirmative. Proceeding to acquire water >

And so Pod 153 floats away.

The careful attention to the shadows doesn't go unnoticed by 9S. What's he so afraid of? 9S doesn't really know the full extent of Childermass' magic, but he would hazard a guess it's less flashy than Strange's and more shadow oriented. What's there to be so afraid of, anyway? Childermass couldn't possibly do anything too unpleasant to him while they're under the Ringmaster's contracts, surely?

Well, he supposes Childermass could shove Tyki into his shadow or something. The manor's servants seemed perfectly fine after he let them out, though?

"Time's a little weird here, but," 9S checks his internal clock, "it's 2:47pm, Carnival Time."

It's not fear as much as he just doesn't want more work put on him as much as possible but 9S doesn't know that and if mentioned he wouldn't correct him.

He eyes the bit of technology he's not familiar with but then Akuma were mostly magic and machinery. He's mentioned it vaguely before and he'll keep rolling his fingers until they stop cracking. "Neat little buddy you have there." He could use ones of those. His Tease were capable of a lot of things but they could only carry so much.

He's been in that shadow but he was a giant rage ball of a Manor Servant at the time and while it wasn't frightening or unnerving he found it not to be all that displeasing by his standards.

"Huh, I didn't realize time had passed that quickly." Ugh, he was hoping it was later in the afternoon. "I have a feeling I'll be at this all day."

Sucks to be you, Tyki. But at least 9S is keeping you company?

"Oh, you mean Pod 153? Yeah. It's my tactical support unit."

9S folds his arms and leans against the nearby wall.

"It can take care of most of the boring and mundane tasks, which frees me up to do other things. But its directive is to also support me in battle and provide advice. Things would be a real pain without Pod 153 around."

Pod 153 is also capable enough to not get caught sneaking around the manor--

He is really appreciative of that right now. Anyone that has come and gone already seems reluctant to stay around for long.

"Pod 153? That's a rather dull name. Ralph suits it better or Walter."

Not to mention he tends to give everything nicknames. Nor does he really know sometimes technology only responded to respective code strands.

"It would be a shame if you had to do everything yourself, Mister Nines." Nickname acquired even if it isn't all that different.

Wow, that manor cheated and it knows it. He was just going from room to room.

Yeah, seriously! Imagine if he had to clean his and Rita's shared trailer himself! It had been pretty bad when it was just Rita. It had been a sty, even. Luckily for both of them, Pod 153 is perfectly capable of tidying up.

He does brighten up considerably when Tyki uses his nickname, though. Wow, yet another human who uses his nickname without him even telling them!

"Pod 153 is just what it's called." Even though it has a robotic voice that could be interpreted as feminine. "Why Ralph or Walter? Those names are totally different."

At least Nines makes sense!

"They are common names. Plus, it looks rather fancy if you really look at it. One bow tie right about there," he says as he points, "could suit him well. Or even on top of her head."

Common servant names to be exact. He couldn't tell the difference if 9S used him as a servant or not. He was not one to assume.

"There are a lot of them in your world that serve as companions then if it is 153?"

9S follows Tyki's finger and tries to imagine it. ...Yeah, nope, he still doesn't understand how a bowtie would suit Pod 153. What's with humans and assigning features that are irrelevant to the object in question? First it was Rita and her gendered blastia. Now it's giving a name to Pod 153, which doesn't even have emotional AI like androids do?

"Yeah, there's a lot, since a pod is usually assigned to each YoRHa unit. There's actually even more, since pods come in threes. The one with me is actually Pod 153b. They swap out when one's getting maintenance done... I think."

To be honest, he never really paid much attention to the pods. They've always just kind of been there in the background, taking care of the menial tasks that would be a waste of resources if an android was assigned to it.

Because sometimes 9S humans like to live a little outside of necessity. It's called being alive and doing what one wants to do. If he wants to put a bowtie on a pod then let him put a bowtie on a damned pod. Not everything had to have a reason. He needs to teach this boy to indulge already.

"I was wondering what would happen if your boy stopped working. Thankfully you have plenty of them so you don't have to break your back doing your own work." He's teasing of course but if 9S doesn't pick up on that he won't care.

"Still, they are handy by the sounds of them."

But Pod 153 isn't even in the shape of a boy!?

"Yep." They sure are handy. And not just because they have four hands. "I mean, I could do things myself, but that would just be so boring." 9S glances meaningfully over at Tyki's considerable pile of potatoes.

In fact, here is Pod 153 with that water for Tyki. Hovering up to Tyki, Pod 153 offers the glass with one clawed hand. < Water obtained >

Exactly. It has no shape or identity other than its name. Why not make it something cute or fashionable. He knows if he had one he'd probably put something on it to make it seem less plain.

"I feel the same way. It's likely why he thought this task so punishing." Because it really was the boredom killing him.

He should feel awkward about taking things from machines given his era but Tyki surprisingly has no qualms about it at all. His servants at home were Akuma after all. Magics and machines after all. He'll take the water and will drink a good portion of it. He was always thirsty with this poison in him. "Thanks."

Boredom is a special kind of hell. 9S commiserates deeply.

With the water given, Pod 153 will return to 9S. 9S waits until Tyki finishes his water before he speaks. "Hey Tyki. So, uh... I just want to ask. You seem human, but you're kind of not, too. What are you?"

Oh. That's a subject he wasn't expecting. He is aware that others are able to scent and scan him here but it is an interesting question all the same. Does he lie or tell the truth? Was keeping anything a secret worth it anymore?

He tilts his head back against the stool and does a quick once over on how many souls are in the area around them. Only then does he speak again with his fingers now tracing the rim of the glass, "In my world, if I was asked that question and you didn't believe me when I told you I was human, that would be grounds for ensuring you told no one else." To which he means execution or heavy blackmail. The latter rarely happened as much as the first. "I was human. I am human. The correct term would be 'Noah.'" It's all he gives him right now as it was a silent challenge to see if he could correspond any references to that term.

So it's a secret, huh? Ha ha ha... murdering someone who found out too much? Oh, he's more than familiar with that, even if he doesn't remember it. He can't help but let slip a hollow laugh. "I see. Maybe our kind learnt that from humans."

Noah? 9S files it away in his memory as another term, similar to witchers. The name itself has no significance to him; he hasn't read data on the Bible. At least, not in his current time period.

"So you're human and not? What makes you not human?"

He chuckles as he justifies he's had enough of a break and sets the glass to the side with just a little bit of water left in it. He then picks up a potato and starts peeling again just to get back into the swing of it.

"Humans are the ones who made you, right?" he says with a hint of expecting an exchange of information or even curiosity. "That would explain how you might've learned."

He waits for him to decipher what he can and can't before speaking once more, "For starters, I'm not limited by a short lifespan."

Nice try. 9S isn't in the mood to talk about how he's been getting stabbed in the back by the very organisation he was, is, working for. Maybe he never will be.

So instead he follows the second topic of conversation.

"The average life expectancy of a human is about 75 years. So you'd live longer than that? How much longer are we talking here?"

Oh well. 9S is doing enough to keep him company even if for a little while. He can't very well complain.

Now that he's peeling again he can focus on that instead of looking 9S over and getting into that investigation of his own curiosity. He can always have time for that later.

"As long as I want. I won't die from old age." It's not as if they are immortal. It's just they don't die from normal means. Someone would have to kill him.

Huh. He's kind of like an android in that sense, isn't he? As long as they're kept maintained, androids could theoretically live indefinitely. Though he doesn't know many older androids; all of YoRHa are quite 'young' and he's not sure how old the resistance androids are.

"Do you get to pick how you look, too?" 9S waves a hand, vaguely gesturing at the Carnival in general. "Humans usually look different as they age, don't they?"

Though if Lambert's informal survey and Strange's reaction to a lot of peoples' ages was anything to go by, the Carnival are full of people who don't look the age a human usually would expect. Or something.

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