lostcarnival | ⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

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⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

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.

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Ginko snorts, and gently pushes Joker back upright. "C'mon. Sit on the edge of the tub, then we can check it out."

"Yeah, yeah..." Wobbling only a little, he gets upright and takes a breath. Getting onto the edge as he is right now seems like it'll be a mess if he uses his hand, so...

Sorry, Ginko, he's trying to do the flying thing again. Sorry about that water splashing. At... least he's only trying to flap up a little bit?

Oh no that is absolutely not what he had meant. Ginko makes a faintly distressed noise in the back of his throat, then jumps to his feet and grabs Joker's arms.

"--No. No, don't... don't do that. If you don't want to climb out, I can just lift you, okay? That'll be safer."

You mean he grabs Joker arm. Singular. Because that's the only one available, and thus has Joker twisting awkwardly in a way that only a one-arm grab can be. With faintly green water still sticking to one side of his face, he blinks befuddledly at Ginko.

"What?"

Whoops, that could've gone less uncomfortably. Ginko makes sure Joker is standing solidly on the floor of the hot tub before setting his hands on his shoulders to make sure he stays there for the time being.

"I'm sure you remember what happened last time you tried to fly in this kind of condition. Lifting you out has a much lower chance of leaving you stranded in a tree. But I do need you to hold still if I do that."

"....Oh." The way he says it, Joker genuinely had forgotten up until right now. Grimacing with a lot more feeling than he'd normally bother with sober, he reaches up to press his hand against his face.

"Sorry. S'like walkin'- y'know. No thinkin'."

"Yeah, the 'no thinking' was pretty clear."

Snarking aside, though, Ginko waits for Joker to finish his moment of realization. Once he seems to be more settled, he says, "Alright, now hold still."

Then he crouches some, gets his arms around Joker's waist, and hauls him right out of the hot tub.

Oh, Joker certainly holds still... but that might be from the pure shock of actually experiencing a lift from Ginko. Logically, it's not surprising. He's seen Ginko lift all sorts of things while taking care of the menagerie.

Yet knowing is entirely different from the experience, and Joker finds himself stunned into silence as Ginko lifts him straight off of his feet. His own hand hovers awkwardly nowhere in particular, fingers almost near enough to brush against the other man's skin, and his toes curl uncertainly while his feet dangle in the air. Maybe it's the alcohol- yeah, it's definitely the alcohol, right- but he's suddenly extremely aware of how defined Ginko's arms can be with how they press right into his torso.

"Oh," he says after a second, as if he's realized something.

Ginko steps back from the hot tub, focusing on keeping steady and not dropping Joker or anything. It's unlikely that he will, but he'd rather be sure, and there are definitely some puddles around here.

Watching his step as he moves away, however, does give him a few moments longer to become acutely aware of Joker's heartbeat against his chest. That sure wasn't there last time he carried him around - which. Duh. He had been a vampire then.

He turns away from the tub and sets Joker down, gently lowering him to sit on the deck. Seems like a better idea than trying to get someone this drunk to stand upright. "Okay. Let's see that leg."

Even with Ginko's care in setting Joker down, once he's even a little more independent, the stage manager nearly tilts to the side and just barely manages to catch himself with his good hand pressing down against the ground. "Huh?" Oh, right. His leg. Tearing his gaze away from Ginko's arms, he glances down at it.

"....I can wiggle my toes." And, quite clearly thanks to the length of his shorts, it's plain to see that his leg is all flesh now and no stone.

He crouches down next to Joker, giving a small nod as he checks the state of Joker's leg. "That, you can. Looks like you're about done here."

Then he looks over at the state of Joker's everything else, and his mouth quirks slightly. "...Which means you should probably get settled and sleep this off. Who are you staying with?"

"My arse is freezing straight ta the ground," Joker informs him helpfully, which says something about how being drenched in water and out in the middle of winter is a bullshit and questionable idea. He's sure he had something around here, somewhere, like shoes, but who knows where they are now. Things are foggy.

But as for the question... With his odd lolling to the side, Joker glances over to where the tub is. Instead of his usual general smile, his resting expression seems to be a lot more serious... which means any moment now he's going to fall back into his usual bad drunken habits of being miserable.

For now, however, he eventually raises a hand to point straight at one Tyki Mikk. At least, what can be seen of him. He's either sunk into the water or the tub, but hey, that's fine.

"Ah-- yeah, hang on." He leans over to grab his coat from next to the hot tub. There's a bit of slimy water on it from the puddles around the area, but it's mostly dry. Ginko unfolds the coat, shakes it out, and pulls it over Joker's shoulders. At least it's something, but he definitely needs to get inside sooner rather than later.

Then Ginko follows where he's pointing, and... oh dear. Okay, so, dropping him off at his own cabin would mean he's effectively unattended. He could leave him with Doll, but he'd feel bad making her look after her drunk brother when she's supposed to be on vacation...

"...How would you feel about staying with Psi and Tanyuu and me for the night?"

While Ginko may be taller, he can't be that much broader. Regardless, it feels easy to sink into it, and Joker droops his wings so that it's even easier. It's not perfect, still a little cold as his body heat and that of the coat adjust to each other... but it's experienced some benefits from being near the heat of the hot tub. Burrowing into it, Joker curls his fingers into the opening. Yeah. This is better.

His eyes squint open at the offer, blinking a few times as it sinks in. It's easy to tell when it's penetrated through the fog of alcohol. Joker's eyes immediately widen, and his ears flick down in dismay. "Oh no," he mutters, curling his legs closer up to himself- mostly for the heat, partially as a reaction. "Aw, hell, I'd just- I'd go and ruin somethin' that nice."

Ginko blinks, startled for a moment - then leans forward and sets a hand on Joker's shoulder. "You won't ruin anything. We're all your friends; I'm sure they'd rather you be there, where we can keep you safe, than off on your own in this condition."

"But I make ya miserable." Slouching, he leans wearily into Ginko's touch. Really, it's a nice thought, and he knows he'd probably accept in an other condition but this one. Just... "Like with the hunt."

"What?"

Ginko picks up on Joker leaning in, and... okay. Should he just...

He scoots over and puts his arm around Joker's shoulders. Once again, it's sort of a clumsy effort, his wrist on Joker's far shoulder and his hand hanging limply against his arm. Fucking hell. Physical affection was a mistake, but he hopes it's a mistake that will bring Joker some amount of comfort.

"You don't make me or them miserable. The hunt wasn't your fault - the problem was what happened to you, and what... what we had to do." He lets out a quiet breath and looks over at Joker, his ears drooping. "...We all care about you, Joker. And we like being around you."

Edited 2017-12-19 23:28 (UTC)

Faintly, as Ginko seems to fold over every bit of him from his shoulders down into his lungs, Joker wonders how the man can be so warm. Even his scent seems pleasant and reassuring- or is he just thinking of this memory with another one from not that long ago? Either way, Joke slumps against him, taking the lack of space between them as an offer.

"Everythin' is always happenin'," he sighs, words a little wet from deep within his throat. His face, for the time being, seems like it's clear. But only for now. "And I can't give folks better." Turning his head, he nudges his face against Ginko's shoulder with only the faintest thought to make sure he doesn't gorge out his other eye. "And, hell, I'm doin' it again. The talkin'."

"Things happening to you is not your fault," Ginko repeats, his voice quiet and insistent. "You give us plenty as it is." Sometimes too much, but now isn't the time to bring up Joker's workaholic tendencies. "You're a good friend, Joker, whether you believe it or not. That's why we care about you so much to begin with; it's not a mistake or because of what you pretend about yourself or anything like that."

He lets out a breath, somewhere partway to a laugh but not quite getting there. Even through his sweater, he can feel the heat emanating from Joker's face, and he watches the white vapor of his breath dissipate in the air. "Don't worry about that. I don't mind; gives me a chance to clear things up."

That sounds incredibly incorrect to him, on multiple levels. If only his mind were put together right to understand how, and explain it all. But poison and then intoxication do not make for a clear mind, and Joker gives up easier than he'd like. Instead, he just sighs against Ginko's shoulder, curling up a little and the coat falling further about his shoulders.

"You'd worry more if I was on my own like this then, yeah?" he mumbles into Ginko's shirt.

The longer they sit like this, the more fidgety and uncertain Ginko gets. It's not a matter of being uncomfortable with being so close to Joker - which surprises him, actually. Normally, he'd only be in such close contact for so long with Tanyuu or Psi - or maybe one of the carnival kids that just sort of decided it was Time for cuddling. Like, say, Doll.

Joker has been a good friend of Ginko's for a while, but now he finds himself wondering for a moment just when they got this close - which brings him to the actual problem.

He has... no idea what to do. Putting his arm around Joker was a pretty bold move comforting-wise for Ginko, but now there's probably more he should be doing, but. He's about out of ideas, and his instincts for this shit are absolutely terrible. But Joker is curling up with his face buried in Ginko's shoulder, and he feels like he should respond to that... somehow.

Ginko pats Joker's shoulder clumsily and feels like an enormous idiot.

At least answering verbally is easier. He might now know how to act, but knowing what to say isn't any kind of a challenge right now. "Of course. The best thing you can do for me or them is come over, so you can stay safe."

Funnily enough... Joker remains utterly oblivious to Ginko's torment about his physical comfort skills. Then again, it's not as if he's ever been in a state to be picky. The first time he bared his soul, he'd been too overcome with emotion to care. Any sort of comfort had been good enough.

Right now, he's just drunk. Same thing, really.

Regardless, at the answer, Joker heaves out a sigh, and the gust of warm air slips along Ginko's shoulder to end against his neck. Alright. Fine. He's too tired to ague with it. "Okay," he says quietly, surrendering. "I guess s'the least I can do."

That unexpected puff of breath makes the hair on the back of Ginko's neck stand on end, but he just smiles slightly and gives Joker's arm another pat.

"Good. Think you can walk, or should I carry you over?"

"I can walk, Ginko." Somehow, his accent becomes just a little bit thicker with the indignation. He has to be excuse, however, as he reaches over to prop his hand against Ginko's shoulder.

Alright. Up onto his feet. He can do this.

Joker abruptly pitches forward. Thank god for wings and flapping.

"Hmm."

Ginko pushes himself to his feet, but doesn't move to interfere with Joker's... attempt just yet. Better if he proves it to himself, and he should be basically fine as long as he doesn't try to fly off. ...In which case Ginko is grabbing him immediately.

Aaaand yep there he goes. Ginko takes hold of Joker's shoulders to steady him, though it seems he's mostly got it covered with his wings. "--Careful. Careful. What was that about being able to walk, huh?"

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