⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Winter Breaks: Day 6 - Day 25
Where: THE MOON
What: The carnival journeys to one of its moons to celebrate the Lunar Solstice. More information here.
Warnings: Winter fun.

MOON WALKING↴ The journey to the moon only takes a blink of an eye, but it leaves the carnival far away beneath you. The second moon can be seen on the peripheral, massive compared to its usual view. At least when the holidays start out, there will be no notable wildlife on the moon, though this is something you can talk to the Ringmaster about if you think it needs a change. It sounds like this is the first time she's used it in quite a while - it probably needs some dusting off! Claim your cabins, and proceed to... well, do whatever you want! There is no rush and little obligation, besides to enjoy yourself. For real, this time. She promises there will be no vampires. Or, at least, none that don't already work for the carnival. ► CABINS: Living arrangements are character choice for this event, and there are a variety of cabins of various sizes, mostly built to house 2-6 people, though you can fit more in if you squish. They are all made of wood and of a rustic design - no fancy modern furniture, here! Each building is housed with a fireplace and the needed amenities. You can pick up materials to cook with the private kitchens if you like. Theoretically, you could spend the whole holiday sequestered away, watching the snow fall. Some of them also have outdoor hot tubs available! ► ACTIVITIES: Activities are mostly going to be character driven, though there will be some large group games like bingo and maybe a poker tournament happening at some point in one of the festival halls. Otherwise, there is a lot to offer: skiing, snowboarding, hiking, ice sculpting, snowball fights - it goes on! If you'd like to run a winter activity, just let the mods know, and we will get the word out there for you. ► FEASTING: Every day isn't a full-out feast because that would get a bit unhealthy, but there will be a number of specific feast events over the holidays where everyone is encouraged to let out their inner hedonist and stuff themselves. There will be one big feast per week, with smaller but also delicious meals offered in between. The feast dates will be B12, B18, and B24. There's also plenty of alcohol available for anyone who wants it. ► SHOPPING: As mentioned in the planning post, there is a massive market being run by the World Walker Caravan! The Ringmaster has given everyone 1250 credits to spend on items, but there is a caveat - must spend at least 500 of those credits on gifts for other people. And it better be a good one, if you only buy one! (She will ask that you do not buy her presents, however. She appreciates the sentiment, but it seems sort of silly buying her things with her own money! If you'd like to gift her, please have it be something more personal or handmade, but you are not obligated to get her anything at all.) ► TREATMENTS: The beginning of the holidays will also be about the time that the emergency Medical Team will have finalized their treatments for the Prince's poisoning. Watch out for further information on that - and make sure to get treated if you are suffering from petrification or poison induced illness! The holidays will be a lot more fun that way.

Comments

[sarcaskick]

[ His expression is absolutely blank as he stares at the words BAD BITCH all but screaming up at him from the box, and with one hand he reaches in to pull it out and hold it in front of himself. A pause, as he sets the box down to lift the jacket up proper, turning it around to see both sides.

Silence.

Long, still silence.

And then he shrugs, wasting no further time in putting it on. ]

It's so important to give an honest first impression.

[wild_magic]

Susan is happy to just watch them, honestly, happy he could find something good and also help make sure a strange little animal got a good home. He smiles when Lauren thanks him.

"You like it, then?" He'd figured that by now, but it's still nice to hear it. He's glad he picked so well for his brother.

[disjunct]

Exactly? That's what I fucking thought! Anyway, go go-- there's a bunch of matching stuff underneath.

[ First are the leggings-- hand-knit with wool, who knows when she made them. They've got a gray stripe up the sides and-- oh no, they don't come up that high. In fact, just about over his robot legs. They are bonafide thigh highs. ]

And this next one goes with those! When I saw magic fabric, I knew just what to do.

[ Black daisy-duke shorts with 'ARE YOU NASTY?' on the back. But if he rubs his hand over the message, it'll change. ]

[dontpokethat]

Look, he can still watch over the handful of dumbasses from here, while listening to... whatever weird thing Joker has decided he needs to inform him of.

He is not, however, particularly expecting to be touched, though he maybe should have seen that coming. It's not even the odd texture of Joker's fingers that strikes him so much as the contact itself, and his heart makes a sudden, brief jump into his throat before settling back down where it's supposed to be.

"Uh-- thanks?" At a loss, he kind of... pats at the back of Joker's hand. "I, uh... I should be able to sleep more after this. So there's that."

Boy he is now very very aware of all the other people in the vicinity who are definitely seeing this.

[sarcaskick]

... Don't cars have roofs?

[ WHATEVER WHATEVER MOVING THE FUCK ON ]

Fine, let's see. Never have I ever...

[ ... this is actually really hard, what hasn't he done-- ]

... celebrated my birthday.

[ Okay so the words themselves make it sound super depressing but he seems completely and totally okay with this fact. Honestly, he seems a little smug ]

[sarcaskick]

[ He goes back into the box with a little more eagerness than hesitation, now that it looks like there might actually be something interesting inside. The leggings are... weird, maybe, but then again it's a good way to keep his metal feet from making so much noise if he's not wearing his boots around the trailer. Alright, sure. He can roll with that.

The shorts, though.

The shorts.

He's back to being blank-faced as he reaches out to touch them, scrunching his nose as the message changes to THICC AF right before his very eyes. ]

You know, there are probably less expensive ways to tell me you like my ass. You wouldn't be the first. I do squats.

[disjunct]

Damn. I mean, when were you even born? I don't even know how old you are...

[ She doesn't pity him for it, either. She takes the shot. ]

Haha-- okay, okay, never have I ever... hacked a retina scan lock. I've always done it... properly and manually.

[ manually + eyes = oh no ]

[pipers_son]

In contrast, Joker is completely dismissive of all the people who might be watching. One of them is Tyki, who's perfectly fine, and another is Foster, who doesn't exist as far as he's concerned, and then there's Hinawa. Hinawa would understand, right? That Ginko is handsome, and deserves good things.

"Good," he mutters, decisively. "Ya deserve it. Ya were workin' so hard..." Regret knits his brow together, and his smile become almost self deprecating.

"M'sorry."

[disjunct]

There are less expensive ways to say anything but Junko Enoshima doesn't say anything cheaply. I'm always aiming high!

[ Then-- glasses-self. ]

This one was because... I suppose because it is useful. To you. To help yourself not die.

[ Beneath (and taking up the most of the box) is a leather armor set that would make anyone look like a Guardians of the Galaxy hero crossed with a Blizzard hero. It's iconic, it's chic, here's the example so let your imagination run wild from there. ]

[sarcaskick]

Beats me! I just kind of guesstimate it. Maybe I'm actually twelve, who knows?

[ For real though it's not like he grew up in a home where there was a big circle on the calendar telling him when it was, and his dad sure as shit never brought home a cake. ]

I wouldn't know how to hack anything. If I can't get in somewhere by breaking a door down I find someone who can.

[ Which means no shot for him this time! ]

Never have I ever gone on a date.

[mylastchance]

"Yes." He didn't think he even really needed to say so, but he did appreciate the gift.

"We'll need to think of a name for him."

[dontpokethat]

See, Foster is the one Ginko is most concerned about. Though the fact that Hinawa is neither drunk nor on fake post-sex pills might make her presence a little more of an issue.

However, the shift in Joker's words and expression immediately distracts Ginko from worrying about other people watching. His ears flop down and back, and his hand stills on Joker's. "For what? You don't have anything to apologize for."

[disjunct]

Wanna fix that?

[ She doesn't follow it up with a giggle, just a 'what the hell is she thinking' grin. Nonetheless, she doesn't take a drink either. She's never conceived the idea of a date that didn't bore her, but now that she's in new places? ]

Okay, back to the game-- Never have I ever... shared a bed with someone.

[ EN GARDE ]

[wild_magic]

"He's your pet, you should name him." Susan would be living with him of course, but in the end it's still 100% Lauren's pet, not his.

"Maybe Stanley has some ideas, though... Or Fluff."

[mylastchance]

He laughs before backing up a bit to give the kit some space.

"Does Fluff have any ideas?"

[pipers_son]

"Yeah I do." It leaves him in a sigh. At the same time, his expression starts to sink. The novelty of the cure had been entertaining, for a while, and seeing Ginko well rested had been nice, too, but... As always, in the end, it's hard to ignore everything weighing down on him.

"Made ya upset. Hurt ya. S'not a good thing, Ginko. Don't deserve that."

[wild_magic]

He pauses for a second as he asks her, the cat only barely looking up from where she is before laying back down again as Susan frowns.

"She says she'd rather sleep."

[dontpokethat]

Oh no. Ginko makes a mental note that Joker, when drunk, inevitably ends up miserable, no matter how cheerful he may start out.

"Hey-- that's not your fault, Joker. None of it was."

[pipers_son]

"Still," he mutters. Alcohol only makes stubbornness worse, as it turns out. "Doesn't matter. Still hurt ya." Still, if there's one thing that can be considered a positive out of all of this... Grimacing, Joker pulls his hand away and slides it up the bridges of his nose, covering his eyes.

Shit.

"...Don't wanna be here..." Eight minutes or something, right? That's how long he had to stay in the water? His leg feels a little more decent, but...

[mylastchance]

He laughs again, before standing and moving to sit beside Susan instead.

"Guess it's up to us think of something instead."

ii

[anti_nonsense]

Rita's out exploring the market for the first time, having only recently been cured. She's bundled up with black earmuffs and a red jacket that seems to have been tailored to fit around the base of her wings.

At the sudden request, she furrows her brow, looking mildly offended. "Hey, what do I look like, your servant?"

But for whatever reason, she takes the item anyway.

[wild_magic]

Susan happily leans against Lauren once he's sitting next to him, watching the box from their spot to see if the little fox comes out.

"Well... Is it a boy?" Lauren said he, so he's guessing it is, but he wants to be sure.

[dontpokethat]

It's pretty evident that arguing with him on that won't really get anywhere. So Ginko just gives a quiet hum of disagreement, and his tail thumps against the floor of the deck.

...Shit. "I think you need to stay in a few minutes longer, Joker. Do you think you can deal with that? ...Or do you feel sick?"

If he feels sick, it would probably be best to get him out now, given that he's drunk in a goddamn hot tub.

for 9S | B11

[anti_nonsense]

Once the cure has been fully developed and their trial run is confirmed to be successful, Rita's quick to start on curing herself. By the time the network announcement is made, she's already downed a full dose of the potion and prepared a bath for herself in the cabin. Maybe it would be safer to do it with everyone else, but who wants to go take a bath with a bunch of drunk men? Rita sure as hell doesn't.

Besides, 9S is around, and if Rita suddenly fell unconscious and started drowning, he'd be sure to notice with his ability to monitor vital signs. And Cole's got that emotion-reading thing going on for extra assurance, assuming he's somewhere nearby too. So she's fine.

Well, except for the fact that the potion she drank contained an absurd amount of alcohol, and in the time it takes to have a bath, it's completely gone to her head.

She manages to dry and dress herself (though her sash is tied sloppily and her tunic isn't exactly straight) and opens the door to step out into the living room, steam wafting in behind her. Her skin is back to the smooth texture of flesh, but her feet are unsteady and her face is visibly flushed, both from the alcohol and the heat. She tries to take a step forward, but immediately stumbles and grabs the door frame for support.

[brightspot]

"Oh." She frowns at that answer, about not eating, unsure whether she should prod or not but finding that her curiosity is too much to handle. He'd offered that information freely, it was probably fair game to ask more about it, right? Yeah.

"Why don't you eat?" Five pops a kernel into her mouth, munches quietly as she continues watching him.

The information about the tree reminds her of ones she thinks she's seen before, though she can't place where or when at first. They're... Tall trees, triangular in shape, all small at the top and bigger at the bottom. Lit up with lights, brightly colored baubles hanging from the branches. There's usually a star or something on top?

Someone calls her "Titch" and lifts her up with the star in her hands so she can reach to put it on the top. It's her mom, she thinks. Or technically not hers, because it's not really her memory. It still somehow makes her feel a little warm and fuzzy, momentarily surrounded by family, people who love her. She misses that. A lot.