lostcarnival | ⇨ 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

[He had taken on impossible tasks before. He would have done it again. But it hadn't come to that, so in the end, it didn't matter.

Though, Zangetsu is still at a loss as to what you expect to do about the freed servants, Ichigo.

The Hollow grins and puts his foot down. But then Ichigo goes and jumps to THAT conclusion and Zangetsu just wants to scream a little. He makes a big gesture with his arm that would probably be more impressive and more gesture-y if he had both of them]

That's not how it works, partner! Those servants were turned into animals as punishment. As long as I'm a good boy by the Ringmaster's standards, that won't happen. And considering she likes eating her enemies as much as I do, we get along pretty well.

[.... but then again, Zangetsu can't completely rule out the possibility. There were some creatures in the menagerie.......... could it be?

... Get your paranoid shit out of here, Ichigo!]

[That stare. That level unblinking stare, that asks what he's not bothering to actually voice.

Are you sure about that?]

[~~HOW DO YOU SEE INTO MY EYES LIKE OPEN DOORS~~

For several long moments, Zangetsu attempts to stare back with equal intensity and levelness. It's the world's weirdest staring contest, like someone looking at both sides of a funhouse mirror.

But soon enough, one of them has to break. And it's the one that, until that very moment, had no doubts that the animals in the menagerie were just that -- animals.
He flails backwards with an undignified scream]

GAH!! I don't KNOW for sure, ok?! So sue me!!

[in fairness, Zangetsu was also not the sort to go looking for that sort of thing. He was good at just ... accepting things that didn't directly affect him.

He sort of envied it.

Because right now it leaves him with a mild headache. He rubs his face with one hand, managing to not groan.]

And better yet, after that little display with the Prince, I know damn well it's not like I can ask around and be sure the answers I get are even the truth. If that guy can make us all think the only thing that matters is being Lord of the Dance..

[Then the Ringmaster could convince them of anything as well.]

...Look, just try .. to not completely become a bunny or something, okay? We can probably figure out a way for you to keep some kind of a mind but I really don't think I can deal with that look Rukia would get if she found out my zanpakuto's a rabbit.

[She'd steal him.]

[he didn't have any reason to question it! But now that Ichigo's brought it up... guh. It was never going to leave the back of his mind. Not ever.

He huffs and rubs at his arm stump, recovering from the indignity of being stared down by Ichigo.]

That's right, she really likes rabbits. But forget her! Sode no Shirayuki would never let me live it down! [he pauses, then sticks out his lower lip in a pout] ... I'd be the most badass rabbit ever, though.

Maybe but she'd also never let me have you back so let's avoid it.

[Because this is clearly something either of them have ANY control over. At all. As opposed to random effects just generated due to proximity.]

I can explain a lot of things but that one would be hard.

[Oh by the way his inner hollow is now a killer bunny, like the one from that movie by that British comedy troupe. Ichigo did have some pride and he knew how he'd react when certain OTHER shinigami caught wind of it.

...And anyway how long had Zangetsu been missing an arm?]

Tch. That midget wouldn't know what to do with me. I'd run circles around her. Maybe literally, if I'm a rabbit. ......... But it's not going to come to that anyway so let's not even talk about it!!

[despite his cruel remarks about her height, Zangetsu does like Rukia. She's probably his favorite of all Ichigo's friends. After all, she was the catalyst for his powers awakening when they did. Hell, without Rukia, Zangetsu would have probably been dormant until Ichigo died! What a pain.

... Other Shinigami? Well. Renji didn't have much room to talk -- Zabimaru was a baboon with a snake on its ass. Kenpachi might laugh a little, but as long as his power wasn't dampened, he wasn't likely to care what form a zanpakutou took.

....

took you long enough to notice, dingus. Zangetsu isn't going to say anything unless Ichigo asks, though.]

I know exactly what she'd do with you.

[It's muttered. He's seen how she reacts and acts around specific sorts of cute things, and inserting Zangetsu into that wasn't hard at all.

Could he handle having a bunny for a zanpakuto?

..Probably. So long as it didn't result in weirder transformations than apparently he already dealt with.]

And it might so it doesn't hurt to consider it. Like am I going to have to get an exercise wheel for you or something. Or how the hell am I going to get carrots in my inner world?

[That's what rabbits eat right?

He's not asking. Not about that, not yet. The loss of an arm isn't exactly a minor thing, for someone who can regenerate.]

[just add some rabbit ears to your full Hollow form and call it a day, Ichigo. It would be so cute~

Either way, Zangetsu is getting frustrated with this entire conversation, and he stomps his foot against the ground angrily]

Would you LET IT GO already?! That's not going to happen!! And even if it does, you can cross that bridge when you come to it!! Idiot!! ARGHH! YOU MAKE ME SO MAD!

⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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