⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 138 - Day 152
Where: The Summerlands
What: The Ringmaster brings the carnival to the Summerlands immediately after being freed from Portland so that everyone can take a fucking nap. Her included.
Warnings: Individually marked! Most likely discussion of torture and trauma in here.

DAYS OF SUMMER↴ You made it! And things are back to normal... more or less. Upon waking, you will be greeted with a clear blue sky and gentle breeze – the carnival has found itself situated between a pair of mountain peaks, with great fields of flowers extending in the distance. In the other direction, you’ll see mountain-top cities and tall waterfalls accenting vast swaths of forest. Some of you will already know this place. It’s the Summerlands. You game here once to rest in safety nearly a year ago, and now you’ve come to rest once again. ► WAKING UP: Shortly after the carnival arrives, the Ringmaster will send out a somewhat cryptic radio message - but her immediate location won't be clear. Whatever items you had on your person at the time the Severing was broken will still be on your person, including whatever clothing. All of the animals and pets of the carnival will have returned to the grounds as well, though they are currently free from their designated living spaces. Things in the carnival will appeared to have naturally aged a month, as if the carnival was been sitting here empty and waiting while everyone was in Portland. The lawn needs mowing. ► SUMMER CITY: After the Summer Fae become aware of everyone's presence, they will welcome you into their city. There are stairs that lead up the sides of the mountains, but thankfully there are also magical means of getting up there as well. The Summer Fae will be willing to help workers with the injured as needed, offering herbal remedies and healing magic to those that want it. You'll also be invited to join them for dinner, but they will not be particularly offended if they are turned down, for now. ► SUMMER PEOPLE: The fae here will mostly enjoy the company of any carnival members that offer it - it doesn't seem that much happens here besides day after day of peaceful meditation and relaxation. It is not uncommon to see Summer Fae spent days doing exactly the same thing, whether that be enjoying the weather, listening to music, or dancing - the day and night periods may be similar to earth, but when you don't need rest it can all blur together just the same. Some of the fae work on feats of agriculture or craftsmanship, and while there is no particularly need to work in this place, they take pride in the fact that they do. ► NEW ARRIVALS: Though the Ringmaster will not be offering much guidance for the first week or so, eventually the carnival will begin running for a few small performance sessions, off and on, as a thank you to their fae hosts. The carnival will also be open to receiving new arrivals during that period, and so there will likely be some newbies to train and get orientated as well.

Comments

there is no color here

[dorkypantsuit]

The black clothing on it's own wouldn't be enough of an attention-getter for Psi, but combined with the everything else Steven has going on for him, its just enough of a make over for him to say something.

"Did you accidentally ruin your normal clothes or something?"

[starseedling]

When Steven looks at Psi, a lot of confused feelings burble up inside of him, and he doesn't know how to react to it. His lion ears push back, his tail wagging in agitation.

"No - my normal clothes just don't represent me anymore, so," he says, flustering a bit as he says it. He's had to answer a lot of questions like this today. "This is just how I look now! Deal with it!"

[dorkypantsuit]

He puts his hands up, stepping back. Mostly, he does it as a joke, but the way Steven's ears and tail move do make him pause for a moment.

"Hey, that's fine, nothing wrong with black and glitter. It's a good look on you!"

[starseedling]

With Psi backing down so quickly, Steven doesn't really know what to say in response. He clenches his fists, feeling embarrassed more than anything. He deflates.

"...I'm sorry," he says, rubbing his arm. "I didn't mean to get mad at you."

[dorkypantsuit]

He should be surprised, by that reaction, but he's not. He knows Steven well enough to know false bravado isn't his go to move in these situations. Rather, another version of him knew Steven well enough for it. It leaves him wondering for a moment who he should be. He could act familiar, but really he wasn't. It was the other Steven he knew, and likewise this Steven didn't know him.

He frowns. "Hey, don't worry about it. Stuff happens." He pauses, scratching his head for a minute before he continues, "Something on your mind?"

[starseedling]

Yes, absolutely. Yet, how exactly can he explain it without sounding like a total sadsack? Or... without sounding like the particular kind of resigned sadsack that he's attempting to be? This is really hard.

"Mostly just how..." He trails off, trying to pull back his gothic exterior. "My life seems like it has to be terrible in the same ways no matter where I am or what I do."

[dorkypantsuit]

Well, shit. The Psionic's eyebrows raise in surprise. He really wasn't expecting Steven to say that. It's actually weirdly relatable, which kind of sucks because it's the sort of quandry the Psionic doesn't really have any answer for.

"Or no matter who you are?" he asks, thinking back on the fuzzy memories of another life. "Yeah. I think I know what you mean."

[starseedling]

Steven frowns. Despite the fact that he just confessed to feeling exactly that way, too, it makes him sad to hear that someone else shares those feelings.

"I don't know what to do," he says, sitting down on the stand nearest to him, visibly deflating. "It just... makes me so sad, and pretending it isn't sad doesn't work either, so..."