Who: Everyone who's stupid enough to show up for this, because legal drinking ages are for people from a different century/planet.
When: Afternoon/Evening, Day 30
Where: Lakeshore
What: Local Carnival workers get wasted and set off fireworks by the lake.
Warnings: Carnival shenanigans, ie. booze, drugs, and people getting set on fire probably. Put any tag-specific warnings in your headers!

( just own the night like the fourth of july )

Who: Everyone!
When: S2:D6-D11
Where: Wismuth and the Carnival Grounds
What: The carnival enjoys a few days in Wismuth, a coastal city on this planet's version of the American east. However, there are a few things very unique about this version of the planet...
Warnings: The usual, wholesome fun.

PILLAR OF CREATION↴ Upon arriving, things in Wismuth will seem pretty peaceful. It's a massive city, with no shortage of things going on, but things like violent crime and homelessness are at an all time low. You can wander the streets without much scrutiny, presumed to just be tourists, and most people here come across as helpful and friendly. ► VIBRANCY: The main thing that sets this planet apart is its vibrancy - AKA, the raw creative energy its filled with, flowing from its status as a Pillar of Creation. There is no literal pillar, but Wismuth and its planet is a place where Creation's energy comes through strongest. As a result, everything here feels somehow more real, more intense in a way that's hard to put a finger on. Life is abundant, and its bleeds through in every sensation. ► ATTRACTIONS: There are plenty of things to see while going around the city. First and foremost, there is a lovely beach area bordering the ocean, and a number of tourist aimed attractions built around it. There are giant malls, movie theaters, live stage performances, museums and all kinds of other points of cultural interest. Anything you can do in a big city you can do here, but better. ► ALLOWANCES: The Ringmaster will be giving everyone a reasonable amount of local currency for a few days on the town. You can't make any massive acquisitions with it, but it's more than enough to eat out, see some shows, go to the beach, and whatever you like. You can feel free to pick up some casual supplies, like mundane clothing and souvenirs. There will be more given out later, after the performance week. ► PERFORMANCE: Performance week is starting early this time, after only a couple days of exploration. When the carnival has already been on vacation for a month, the Ringmaster figures they may as well get right to it, and then do more touring afterwards. Members of the local populace will find themselves in the carnival once performances begin, dazzled by the other worldly sights. Magic doesn't seem to exist here, despite the fact that it will flow easier for people bringing it from other worlds.

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.

Who: Everyone who isn't in jail!
When: Day 175, 11:30PM onward.
Where: The Realm that used to contain Heartstone Manor.
What: Team carnival has gotten what they came for, but in the meantime they have lost what they came with. With his ace in the hole gone, the Prince is tearing apart the Heartstone Manor and reshaping it into an impregnable fortress to lock away his new most precious commodities - the Ringmaster's captured followers. Welcome to a hostage situation, this could take a while.
Warnings: Violence, and etc.

AFTER THE BALL↴ Around 11:30PM is when everything starts changing - and for most in Heartstone Manor, the triggers will have remained unseen. In the ongoing thunderstorm it was easy to miss, and the Prince losing control over his realm only occured before a small group of workers intent on saving the carnival from a terrible fate. An ancient High Fae artifact called the Blue Rose was stolen from the Prince, and in reaction he is being forced to abandon his plans of controlling the Ringmaster, instead trying to hide away in his realm for the purposes of saving his own skin. His main bartering chip? The workers that he's been capturing up to this point. He knows that, unlike himself, the Ringmaster cares about mortals, and especially about the ones who follow her. He's willing to bet that she won't allow them to die for the sake of her own convenience, and he's right. Now that the Blue Rose is the carnival's, she's intent to take back what was stolen from her, as well as the lives of all the servants that the Prince has been stealing away for eons. By whatever means necessary. ► SPLIT THE EARTH: Characters all across the Manor will be treated with initial tremours that will soon escalate into a full-fledged earthquake, capable of collapsing buildings and rending the earth. The cause of this is simple: the Prince is using his powers of elemental earth to reshape his realm into something more suited to protect him. Specifically, he is changing what was a manor house into a fortress meant to defend, and allowing the rest to collapse into ruin. The Manor is still nothing but a castle floating in a void - as the earth breaks apart, it will be nothing but an endless freefall between the floating chunks of debris. Over the next twelve house that earthen debris will be reshaping and solidifying into a new layout, but having to be there while it happens is one hell of a ride! ► BREAK THE ILLUSION: It's as the world starts shaking that the last of the Prince's spell over the minds of his guests will begin to fade away. However, it may wear off more slowly than is helpful in an emergency earthquake situation. The ballroom trance may linger even as lives are threatened, and it will take a pointed effort to make sure that everyone gets out of the Manor's collapse safely. At the same time, the illusionary guests will begin to fade and disappear. The ones that remain are the ones that are real, but it may be a bit painful to realize which ones were simply a lie to begin with. ► SAVE WHO YOU CAN: Despite being knocked out by a surprisingly massive blast from the Prince's magic crystal, the Ringmaster will manage to gather herself up eventually. When she does, the last of the storm will finally come to an end. She'll be doing what she can to try to gather up both servants of the Prince and all of her workers, but it'll be impossible to get to all of them first. A large portion of the servants have undoubtedly been stolen away by the Prince into his newly built fortress, but with the effort of carnival members new and old, they can still save as many as possible. Of course, those held in the Prince's most secure prisons will remain out of reach... for now. ► WAKE THE SUN: As the worst of the earthquakes stop and the new islands of floating land begin to settle, the clouds from the thunderstorm will finally pass, as the Ringmaster seems to summon up a sun to light the realm for the first time since the carnival's arrival. In reality it's sometime in the early, early morning by the Manor's schedule, but whatever! It's easier to not die when the sun is out, don't you think? The Prince's security and gargoyle soldiers are still out and about, and they're clearly interested in capturing as many hostages as possible. ► SIGN A CONTRACT: This is when the Ringmaster will be taking those that were summoned to the Prince's ball aside to offer them contracts in order to free them from the Prince's influence. She'll do her best to explain that the only way to wipe out his control is to take on a new 'master', but they can take some time to think about it if necessary. The truth is, of course, that until they officially sign onto the Ringmaster's camp, there will still be the chance that the Prince will be able to control them. ► WALK THE RUINS: One Day 176 things will have settled completely, with the land now forming a massive fortress on the far side of several large floating islands. The ruins of the old buildings will scatter those islands, forming towers that will swiftly gain small colonies of gargoyles, ready to swoop down and attack carnival members. Further complicating matters is the fact that the rending of the landscape has resulted in bursting open the underground prisons that the Prince had been keeping his most bestial servants, which mean all kinds of mortals long since twisted into the forms of giant spiders, scorpions, monstrous beasts, and other terrifying creatures will now be running amock on the islands, desperate for food. Try not to hold it against them - they didn't ask to be this way. ► REGROUP: While the Ringmaster doesn't want everyone to just run back home (if they do that, the Prince will undoubtedly make them unable to enter again, or at least take over the landscape more fully) she will manage to open a portal back to the carnival in the afternoon of Day 176, formed between two freshly grown trees. This means that carnival members will be able to fetch new clothing, supplies, weapons, and whatever they need to prepare for the battle ahead. Right now, the chaos is still unfolding, but the battle to save the Prince's captives is still ahead. [OOC: Gargoyles and transformed servants from the underbelly can be NPC'd from this point onward. Gargoyles are the Prince's most deadly servants made of extremely durable rock and bearing scorpion tails with venom that can turn bodies into stone. They want to grab anyone they can, trap them, and then fly them off to the Prince's dungeons as collateral. Don't let them! Transformed servants are the beasts who were freed from the underground prison they were left in to rot. They are servants that were transformed into monsters by the Prince, and most of them have been driven insane with bestial hunger from months and years of starvation and atmospheric poison. The Ringmaster is interested in helping them, to see if there is way they can be changed back, so if you have the heart nonlethal methods are most appreciated.]

Who: The Ringmaster, Mari, Sans, Zecora, Childermass, Strange, and Lambert.
When: Day 58, at night
Where: At the devil mark in the trees.
What: The Ringmaster has attained what she needs to strike back at the leader of the vampires that have been stalking the carnival, but she needs some help.
Warnings: More wannabe satanism.

FIVE SHARP POINTS↴ Three of you were here for the original meeting in which the sigil was discovered - and two of you scryed in to watch said meeting against the Ringmaster's orders. Either way, the majority of those invited by the Ringmaster are familiar with the demonic sigil burnt into the ground within the carnival's forests, now in the center of a small crater instead of buried beneath fallen leaves. It's glowing an angry red, like burning coals, and has been every since they tried to destroy it with explosive a few weeks earlier. The Ringmaster has explained herself to you in advance, this time. She spoke to you in private, asking how strong your grasp was on the arcane, and if you'd be willing to aid her in a ritual meant to defend the carnival from its enemies. Presumably you said yes. She was looking for mages and magic users, the best in the carnival. Also Lambert is here, for some reason, despite only having turned up a couple days ago. She leads you out to the spot, and starts passing out a set of five obsidian daggers - one to each person, excluding Lambert. They have an odd weight for their size, supernaturally heavy, and read as deeply magical in a way that feels akin to a thick haze of black smoke. "I need you five to stand at the points of a pentagram, around the sigil. And be careful! We can't risk any geometric carelessness..."

Who: Lambert and YOU
Where: The Carnival
When: During the downtime between Atlantis and their next world.
What: Any Witcher worth his salt knows the first thing you should do when you're in an unfamiliar environment: get the lay of the land.

( assuming nothing kills you first )

Who: The Ringmaster and possibly YOU.
When: Day 55 - 57
Where: Carnival grounds.
What: The Ringmaster is mortal now, or something, and it's possible to kill her? But, the real question is... will you? This post can be used for actual murder attempts, but also anybody who really wants to talk to her while she's doing this. (Murders take threading priority, of course.)
Warnings: Possible murder, I suppose.

GAME'S ON↴ So, apparently the Ringmaster is mortal now. Or, at least, that's what she says. It may seem like some kind of trick - but on the other hand, she has also sworn this to be true in a way that those more familiar with fae would realize makes lying impossible. Even in general, fae are not inclined to lying and the Ringmaster does not have a history of it. After her announcement on the radio, she can be found around the carnival, no longer an enormous sea serpent mer, but instead back to her normal human form. She doesn't have a mer tail either, at the moment - instead she just walks on the sand as if there is no water, her thin dress and hair the only think disrupted by its flow. She will not hide from anyone wanting to take a closer look, nor will she threaten people away from taking action against her. For the most part she will just keep acting like she usually does, without the flashy gimmicks, still expecting the same levels of respect. Why, though, is the question? Why is she not capable of accessing her magic, and why is she telling everyone about it like it's no big deal? It's as if she's trying to play some kind of game - but the suspiciousness of it all may not be enough to put all all opportunists. Believe it or not, the Ringmaster's life may actually be in the worker's hands. Characters may work to protect her if they wish, but she will not directly order them to. Characters may also, if they choose, actually kill her. This is a real possibility, and something that there are plot plans for if anyone dares make the move - it won't get rid of her forever, but it will affect the upcoming plot in significant ways. Also, obviously, it will affect your character's life, and the lives of those around them. One thing we can promise is that the Ringmaster will not strike back against her murderer when she inevitably comes back somehow. Of course, whatever other consequences may come from the choices they make are yet to be seen...

Who: Mari Makinami Illustrious and YOU
What: Come hang out with Mari at the mall! She doesn't actually want you here.
When: Early on in The Matrix
Where: Local mall, or it's up to you.
Warnings: None

( Some of us are TRYING to be UNDER COVER here!! )

Who: Mari and the Nightrunners!
What: Mari introduces herself to the new Nightrunners and gives them a briefing before they hit the road.
Where: In front of the ferris wheel????
When: S1:D6
Warnings: N/A

( You guys thought she forgot )

Who: Joker, those working entertainment, and whoever wants to do fun arts and crafts
When: The day after the orientation, and then after the ringmaster's announcement
Where: The Big Tent and one of the side stages, respectively
What: Joker gets his performing ducks all in a row, and then does an arts and crafts corner. As you do. Mingle log!

At around ten in the morning, as he told a few other workers and anyone who'd been listening in on the walkie talkies, Joker starts to radio in those who are working under him to meet up in the big top. Hope you had breakfast and not a hangover! Of course, for anyone who tries not to attend, Joker will cheerfully hunt them down and bother them into going.

Sorry, mandatory, you know how it is.

It's later in the day, after the ringleaders' own announcement, that eventually Joker makes another of himself, this time to the general channel. It's an invitation to one of the side stages to make dreamcatchers together, for anyone who still craves company or simply doesn't know what the hell a dreamcatcher even is. Along with that, Joker has taken it upon himself to make sure signs advertising this are plastered all over the carnival.

He drew them himself. Please appreciate the scribbled stars.