lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 15st - 22th, 2017
Where: Still in Portland
What: As all sides of the struggle gradually become informed, and the awareness of outsiders begins to spread, Portland faces a critical question - what should be done with them? And who gets to decide?
Warnings: Individually marked!

THE WOLVES AMONG US↴

► WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS: It's fairly common knowledge that October is a special month - Halloween has always been an excitable time in the supernatural community, because its during this month that the magical energies of Earth seem to disproportionately swell in power. This peeks on the 31st, and has every year for as long as anyone can remember. The holiday of Halloween is a byproduct of this, because the magical phenomenon has gone on for ages past. It's also a pretty common time for wizards to attempt bullshit shenanigans, and also when the Severing first came into effect.

► TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL: Towards the end of the week, Prudence Jaeger will be asking her angelic contacts for a pretty huge favour - she wants them to help her and some of her associates break into the Circle stronghold that the visiting Council members are staying at. It seems that they have some kind of macguffin item that will be needed to crack the barrier cutting off the Earth from the cosmos - and, to that end, allow the angels and mysterious outsiders to return to wherever they call home.

► THE PATH TO HELL: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Team Heaven isn't the only group to clue into the fact that the Circle has what they need. On the same night that the angels go in, so will Anath's army, as the arch demon finally arrives in the city just in time to join the party. Whether the angels and demons fight each other all the way or cooperate to achieve a mutual goal is up to them.

► WITH GOOD INTENTIONS: The Circle and Torchlight aren't all bad, okay? It's entirely possible that they are just acting in the best interest of humanity - unfortunately, that has resulted in them being pretty massive pricks recently, and now the payback for that is arriving on their doorstep. If you're a member of the Circle, you may or may not realize that anything is coming in time for you to prepare. (That will depend on your threads up to the end of the week.) However, once the fight starts, you'll be charge with defending the Councillors whether you like it or not, and Torchlight is getting pulled in as an unexpected ally to ensure their safety as well. Are you going to heed their call? Or is it time to split from the pack?

► BLOOD OF ICE AND FIRE: It's been made no secret that the Rose Queen isn't the only fae trying to pull back her lost changelings - now the Winter Court appears to be doing it, as well. More than a handful of changelings have gone missing over the last couple weeks, lost to both the thorns and agents of the Count. Whatever they're doing, it's also in competition with each other - Winter and Summer will be biting at each other's heels far more than normal, to the degree that it becomes clear they must have some competing objective in mind. Unfortunately for everyone else, that objective happens to conflict with the desires of just about everyone else. Fae are, by nature, opportunists.

- ✪ -
These are the major conflicts that will be coming to a head towards the end of Week 3. In the meantime, your actions will decide how certain elements are set up, and what the likelihood of success is for each group.

Dice rolling handily won the opinion poll where we asked for the preferred method of conflict resolution, so that will be coming into effect a bit later on to determine who actually wins and loses, with advantages based on the choices made.

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[ Likewise, Strange isn't paying any attention to the shadow at her feet. Instead, he's looking at Carly with a glare, as if staring at her long enough will somehow miraculously make him figure out just who this woman is.

Obviously, it's not working. ]

Perfect, [ he can't help but grumble, unintentionally making Carly a target of his bitching and moaning. ] You don't know and I don't know, and due to all this nonsense of the past few weeks, who knows if we've even met each other before to begin with, and--

[ Nope, there's a pause to his rambling, as Strange staggers forward slightly, then leans on the wall of the cat cafe to overcome a spell of dizziness. He still leans against the wall, not really wanting to move, but giving Carly a critical frown. ]

What's your name?

[She doesn't know, he doesn't know, NO ONE EXCEPT ASSHOLES KNOW HERE it's all a very horrible party at this point and Carly grows more and more irritated all the while. Finally she answers-]

Carly, [she half spits, ready to leave.]

[ That only makes Strange's confusion even worse. Because Carly...he does know a Carly. He couldn't tell you what she looks like or how he knows her in the first place, just that somehow, in the back of his mind, he knows a Carly who also might like to sew.

Huh. Well, those were two sets of memories that he didn't link until now. Strange purses his lips in a frown. Not really caring that he sounds like an idiot, Strange just pushes onwards, ]

Odd question, but do you know how to sew?

[ If she questions his line of, well, questioning, he can blame this on the nonexistent fever brain or some other sort of excuse. Lord knows he looks like he's sick. ]

[Honestly she's ready to run-or at the very least turn around and walk off. This is making her more and more irritated and-]

What kind of question is that! Of course I know how to se-

[...Ah. ....What. Hold on though, she doesn't remember doing lots of sewing, so what...]

[ Strange looks far too smug at Carly's confusion. Ha. Granted, he's still confused and he still has no idea how he knows her or how he knows she can sew but he's right and that's what matters. ]

I knew it, [ said despite the fact that he did not know it in the slightest. ] You've probably had the oddest past few weeks in the history of creation as well.

My weeks, [she quickly snaps,] were going fine! The only weird thing about them was that fair, and all of the demons coming around! [She adds, apparently forgetting how secret that sort of thing is.]

We don't know each other!

You went to the Animal Fair? You'll have to tell me how that went. [ Strange skipped out on it though really, considering all the nonsense that's been happening, he kind of regrets doing so. At least if he went, that would be one more thing he knew the answer to. ]

And you're right. We don't know each other. And yet I knew that you sewed--so obviously that means we must know each other somehow.

Edited 2017-07-15 05:26 (UTC)

[Carly has No Tolerance for this-instead she turns around, and starts trotting off, her shadow stretched behind her and chuckling.

It, at least, is still chatting-] MhhhhnnNhnahahahhahahaa....A good try, magician, a good try...

[ ...alright, so we're doing this then.

With seemingly no care how mad it makes him look, Strange looks down at Carly's shadow. He starts walking himself, just so that he'll keep the shadow close, so they can actually have conversation because apparently he's just talking to a shadow, why not, things are weird enough as is. ]

It's hardly my fault people are so stubbornly blind to the truth. [ Strange, Carly can hear that. ] Besides, how did you know I was a magician?

[Fortunately hearing that first bit makes her storm away faster, so it's just Aslla hearing that last bit.] Hnhnhnh...yes, we'll go with that, hmmm?

And I know many, many things about YOU... ...But after all, people ARE remembering curious details about their lives as of late, aren't they?

People are remembering details. I'm remembering bits and pieces about a Jonathan Strange, but I don't know if I'm him, if he's me, or if we're not each other.

[ It's all butterflies and philosophers: is he a mage from Portland who dreams of being a magician from England or a magician from England who dreams of being a mage from Portland? Strange doesn't know enough to make a definite claim on it. ]

Likewise, my soul is touched with magic from another world, though whether that's the cause of the memories or an aftereffect of the memories I've yet to divine. The two, however, are undeniably connected.

Oh trust me, [the demon scoffs,] You ARE him. This life you have, that she has, that so, SO many of you 'have' here is every bit as false and handcrafted as one of those cheap paperback novels so many of you are fond of... [Not that he knows the details of it all but hey. He can at least be smug about THAT.]

Not that I intend to help any of you work to break THOSE walls down, obviously...

Well why not? [ Strange asks, with a little shrug. ] There's already plans in place to break down the walls and restore everyone's memories. Care to be on the winning side of things?

[ He's saying this with 100% certainty. Of course the Rose Queen is going to break the Severing and fix everybody's problems. And if she doesn't then he's just going to pick up from where she left off and break the thing himself. ]

Because unlike you idiots, I happen to find the life here 'better' than the other one. In fact if half of you paused to think, perhaps you'd agree..!

Your very use of the word 'winning' here implies there's a contest to be had, for that matter. How amusing... [Aslla, it Is a contest-]

I'm afraid I have paused to think already. And truth be told, I'd like that other life more than this one.

[ The English Jonathan Strange had so much that the Portland Jonathan Strange yearned for. Power, respect, actual friends, a loving wife. And the more those memories unfolded and the more Strange learned about the other man, the more jealous he became. ]

And of course there's a contest. [ There's a pause, before Strange continues. He can give the demon this much, just as a show of trust. ] Part of the spell needed to break the Severing is...flexible. Certain components are needed for the ritual but everybody's been playing keep-away with them for the past few weeks.

[ The Circle has this object of power, the Summer Court wants said object of power. The Summer Court had the Rose Queen's changeling son who then fled to the Sanctuary who then fled God knows where. Lord only knows who'll have possession of what in the next few days. ]

And what do you think happens regardless of who wins then, hnnn? If everyone is gunning for the same thing, then I imagine the same end result is to be expected. The wall falls, and with it everyone gets to go on their merry way home...

[The shadow hisses.]

Do me a favor-don't threaten the life I actually want, if you expect me to let you back to your 'old' one...

[He says, implying he has any sway over all of this.]

[ Strange pauses for a moment, thinking things over. ]

Instead of threats, what about an alliance. I'm a mage of certain power and if we manage to break the Severing, I'll have even more power, possibly enough to arrange it so you and the girl can stay here.

[ Sorry Carly...though as Strange talks, there's that sinking feeling in the back of his head. Of course the demon and the warlock couldn't stay here, they had to be somewhere else. ]

Everyone isn't gunning for the same thing--the mages would be perfectly content to let things stay as they are. But help me out and if the spell gets broken, I'll see if there's a way to keep you here and I'll perform the necessary spells as needed.

[The demon rolls his eyes.] At this point, I have a feeling the mages hardly count in all of this... [Buttttt...Hmmmm.]

...Very well...I have no doubt we'll be approached by demonic sorts sooner or later vying for whatever part of this is still open. If you intend to keep your end of the deal, you'll have eyes on their efforts. If, [he warns, the shadow briefly seeming to smoke,] I suspect otherwise however...

[Well he can't do anything so this is just pigeon fluffing right now. But it's an Attempt at a threat, right?]

I said I'm a mage, not that I'm part of the Circle. I've made an alliance with the Summer Court.

[ He is 100% the Summer Court's lackey, though Strange has yet to actually connect the dots with this. ]

And trust me. I plan on keeping my eyes on all aspects of the playing field, demons included.

[ says the man who has no idea the angels are also trying to cause shit. ]

Very intriguing...Well, I imagine that's going 'wonderfully', [The demon chuckles, seeing well ahead to the image those dots form.]

I suppose we have...something of a deal then, [He hums.]

Provided you know where your business lies, of course...

Trust me. I've never been more certain of my actions than I am now.

[ And, oddly enough, without thinking, Strange gives a little polite bow to the shadow demon. ] My name is Jonathan Strange, by the way...though I suppose you already knew that. I doubt you'll find me near the cat cafe any time soon but I enjoy taking lunch in the city parks.

Mmmm, you'd be surprised what SOME are calling themselves right now...it IS refreshing to hear something familiar though...

..I'll keep it in mind, [he murmurs.] As for the girl...she tends to follow drama-if you smell trouble, she'll no doubt be close behind...

Along with myself.

Considering how this month has been, I imagine I'll be close behind as well. [ Because guess what Aslla? Things have been BONKERS. ]

Until then, demon.

...Until then...

[And the shadow slinks back closer to his host, the two going separate ways.]

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

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at least now he can talk to one who Knows Things-

thank u ascla

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