(open) i have made the fire up bright

[pipers_son]

Who: Joker and whoever else
What: The best way to recover from trauma is to aggressively ignore it, right? And bake.
When: D13 and onwards, with special shoutout to D19
Where: The Carnival Cookhouse, and about the moon

A - D13 onwards, Cookhouse

[Joker can't exactly say he understands fae holidays, which he supposes is nothing new. Despite the fact that they all live under the Ringmaster's employment and interact with her fairly regularly, very few people probably understand the details that go into the fae life. Still, he understands the concept of giving gifts well enough, especially with the various worlds he's seen which all have their own holidays. He figures he can come up with something well enough.]

[While the marketplace is and well and good, Joker doesn't have nearly enough for the amount of people he wants to give things to- especially some of the new faces around, who he suspect might be feeling a little fish out of water. Well, fortunately, there's always one thing guaranteed to be done.]

[For the rare soul that ventures down into the Carnival for whatever reason... They will find that smoke is wafting up from the cookhouse, and the lights are all on. Opening the doors will find a certain song wafting out from the kitchen. Its singer is wearing some jeans and a simple white sweatshirt. His cooking gear that he won't mind if it gets a little messy.]

Tom, he was a piper's son...

[The small of gingerbread is thick in the air, along with a couple of other things he has in mind, and Joker is casually at work decorating what appear to be, yep, gingerbread men. Feathers the Dartrix is on the counters, casually observing, and looks up when someone appears. Enjoy the cooed greeting.]

B - The Moon, various days

[With how long he was out of commission, just laying around and trying to deal with being poisoned, that really hasn't given his wings much time to get their usual exercise... So Joker is back on the moon with everyone else, flying about.]

[....And other things.]

[As the snowball going for someone's head will attest to.]

Watch out~.

[Look at this smug asshole, in his glittery jacket and his striped scarf. It's made worse by the fact that he's actively juggling snowballs in his one good hand.]

C - Joker's Wild

[This post will also be used for various 1x1 things for Joker to do, but if you have something in particular to approach him about, let me know! I'm flexible for him to do all sorts of things now that he's recovered from poison.]

Comments

[pipers_son]

It's, ha... foggy.

[Completely different senses, way of processing things, of just moving around... It's a hard thing to mesh with his still human mind.]

So I'm fine. Talkin' about it with ya won't hurt me, right?

[steadydollypegs]

[At this point, Doll, leans back so she can look Joker in the eye with an extremely skeptical look.]

I think we've talked enough about it, don't you?

[pipers_son]

Alright, alright, I get it.

[His ears droop a little.]

I'm just sayin', that's all.

[steadydollypegs]

[Doll's cool eye flicks to Joker's ear tip and back to his face, a wrinkle of concern forming between her eyebrows.]

Y'can' want ta know? Why?

[pipers_son]

I just.... [Jeez, now he feels awkward, and he glances away with his ears flicking.] Feels like I could help, if I knew anythin'...

[steadydollypegs]

[The irony of this isn't completely lost on Doll. Does she go eye-for-an-eye? He doesn't tell her anything, so she doesn't either? That doesn't seem like the way of progress, though, and could only give Joker something to point to the next time she begs to know what's bothering him.]

[She takes a deep breath and lets it out.]

I was surprised we found ya first, honestly. [She folds her arms and bows her head a little.] Th'way ya were crashin' through the trees? Sounded like a thunderstorm comin' through. I didn' even get a scratch on me neither, 'n Tamaki didn' even hafta pull me outta yer way. [Doll arches an eyebrow at him.] Ya were terrible at bein' a bird, Joker, don' quit bein' a stage manager.

[pipers_son]

[Listen, he knows this is a little bit of hypocrisy here, it's just.... Different. Okay? He swears it's different.]

[...And also that he is apparently a god-awful bird, which has him blinking down at her.]

....Well. Was I a pretty bird, at least, then?

[Just lighten it up. That's really all he can do.]

[steadydollypegs]

Ehhh... [Doll tilts her head and makes a pained face.] Kinda awkward, if 'm bein' honest. Had this kinda... stand-up thing like... [She searches, she searches--]

Oh! Like whatcha got right now! [She puts her hands behind her head, mimicking his hair. She is giving him so much guff right now.] Yeah, exactly that~

[pipers_son]

Hey now, c'mon! [He laughs regardless, trying to pick her up with his good hand for a small spin. It's not the most elegant thing in the world, but he's trying.] Are ya sayin' I'm not pretty enough for it ta carry over onta a bird?

[steadydollypegs]

[Doll laughs and helps, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.]

Naw, not at all. 'M sayin' y'look funny no matter what y'happen ta be that day.

1/2

[pipers_son]

On one hand, I wanna protest. But on the other hand....

2/2

[pipers_son]

I am a Joker.

[steadydollypegs]

Oh don' you start! [Doll laughs and gives Joker a little shove. It's a terrible joke, but of course Joker won't feel bad in the slightest about it. Her laugh tapers off, her fingers resting in his scarf. Jokes aside... he shouldn't know everything, but maybe just one thing wouldn't hurt. If she shares one thing, shows she handled it, maybe he wouldn't think she was so fragile.]

I told ya it was gonna be okay. 'N ya repeated it back ta me. In my voice. [She swallows, remembering her voice fading out as Joker died.] So ya were really good at that part'a bein' a bird!

[pipers_son]

[It's an atrocious joke, and the wide grin on his face says that he doesn't regret a single word that came out of his mouth just now. It was too good a chance to pass up on, after all. What kind of guy would he bit if he did?]

[Such good humor doesn't last long, however... Of course it doesn't. All his laughter fades away at the confession, and his hand gives a twitch. He wants to say something, but.... what?]

...Musta been a funny thing, ta hear yer own voice.

[steadydollypegs]

Yeah... 'was. [Chilling and terrible were the words she would have used, but 'funny' is less emotionally loaded.]

But, you know, it all turned out alright in th'end. So. No harm done.

[pipers_son]

[Sometimes, 'funny' just means 'seriously horrific', but in a more socially acceptable way that doesn't bog the conversation down. Just how words work. Joker doesn't really question it; he's not educated enough is the way he figures. So, instead, he pats her head.]

We're here together. Yeah?

[steadydollypegs]

Yeah. [She looks up at him and pulls a smile out from somewhere deep down.]

That's all that matters ta me.

[pipers_son]

I'm glad.

[He really is because, in this place, it seems like he can only do so much for her. From the day he's been born, he's only ever been one person- sometimes not even a whole one depending on if anyone listened to what people would say of him, which he has. A single person can't do much against everything that happens in the rest of the universe, of reality, with its fae and angels and curses.]

[And as one person, all he can do is pat Doll's head.]

Gonna play with her new toy there, or shall we head back? [A pause.] Ta the moon, funny as it is ta say that.

[steadydollypegs]

[One person patting her head is just about everything Doll needs, fortunately. She's never been too safe anywhere, and she's realizing that the carnival isn't much better, but as long as she has Joker and whatever family they've made for themselves, she has to believe that everything will work out better than it did in England. Joker provides the pats, and Doll will provide the unending optimism.]

...Nah. Let's go back. Ta the moon. [She giggles and reaches to take his hand.] Tamaki showed me how ta use the 'microwave', I'll make ya hot chocolate!

aaaaaaaaand scene?

[pipers_son]

Oooooh, yer learnin' about microwaves now! [Laughing, he links his hand with hers.] Our little Doll is movin' up in the world. C'mon, then, let's see how good yer hot chocolate is.

[And that won't fix everything... but it'll be good enough on a cool night. Joker will let that warm him as best it can.]