[ota] have to believe we are magic

[kingsroads]

WHO: Jonathan Strange & you!
WHERE: various points around the carnival
WHEN: Days 33/34
WHAT: actually doing his job + failing a bit at magic + accidentally succeeding a bit at magic
WARNINGS: n/a!

in the main tent: showing off some
To the surprise of everybody, Strange is actually doing his damn job. Granted, his damn job of a magician instead of his damn job as a mercenary with the Nightrunners, but he's staying in the carnival for now, trying to keep an eye on Childermass as best he can. After all, Strange knew in theory that Childermass knew how to rest, but he wasn't entirely sure if he knew in practice.

So here he is, in the main tent, actually practicing. Sometimes you can find him just staring at a candelabra, as if staring will magically make it do something. Other times, Strange is actually working magic, as a giant top made out of the dirt floor of the tent spins around the stage, or animals made of straw prance around the area.

The most notable thing about all this? Strange looks downright relaxed as he works his magic, possibly the most relaxed he's been since he first arrived.

anywhere: like the one thing childermass is better at than him
Something's weird about that patch of shadows out of the corner of your eye. It almost seems like it's trying too hard to be shadows. The stillness is unnatural and you can't shake the feeling you're being watched. It's not changing with the light, instead the shadows remain just shadows, no matter what. Occasionally, facial features can be made out in the shadows, that of a tall, wild-haired man, concentrating very hard on not being seen.

And then the shadows sneeze. Whoops.

"Damn," Strange can't help but swear to himself as he suddenly becomes visible, peeling himself off the shadows of whatever building he's up against. He sniffles a bit as he carefully rubs at his nose with clawed hands. "I still don't entirely understand how he manages to do it so well."

trailer 29: sorry y'all his bad
Strange is in his trailer (which honestly, is a bit of a mess, with stacks of paper on too many surfaces, this is what you get when you give the eccentric a closed space.) He sits at the table, a candelabra in front of him. Match lit, Strange mutters something under his breath before he lights the candle.

What he muttered was a summoning spell, something to summon a faerie. After all, it worked back home, why not see if it works here, while they're in faerie. The worst that could happen was that it didn't work, after all (Strange has very low standards for 'the worst that can happen') So, as the candle is lit, you find yourself randomly in this guy's trailer...and wow, is Strange a bit confused at your arrival.

"Hmm. It wasn't supposed to bring in workers."

( ooc: so because I thought it's hilarious, I kept Strange's ability to summon fairies except, surprise, it's weird in the carnival and he's equally likely to have summoned someone tainted with faerie magic aka characters in the game. This'll default more to veteran characters/characters with more changes but if you want your character to have been pulled out of what they were doing to appear in some rando's trailer, I am all for that! drop me a pm or plurk @allikateor if you have any questions! )

Comments

[kingsroads]

"I already know that people are here from a different time than me," Strange can't help but remark, with a little laugh. "Were you here during the Matrix?"

[amusicaladventure]

"Oh yeah." Sour face; that place had been SO boring. Couldn't use her magic, couldn't even be herself. "That was an Earth too, wasn't it?"

[kingsroads]

"It was. And it was over a hundred and fifty years in my future." Strange had asked around, looking at newspapers as well as chatting up any sort of person in the Matrix. He hated the Matrix for plenty of reasons, the fact that he was out of his depth reigned first and foremost.

"Most of the other carnival members from Earth treated that world as if they were used to the cars and building sizes. I had no idea such things existed to begin with."

[amusicaladventure]

"I'm used to that stuff too. Point is, that might not be your Earth. Probably isn't your Earth, actually. Which I guess is kinda comforting considering how it turned out." Wasn't exactly a Good Ending, was it.

[kingsroads]

It is a bit comforting. And also explains why that Earth had no traces of magic to begin with.

"So the safest thing to do is assume that, unless our experiences align perfectly, assume that someone else's Earth isn't the same as my Earth?"

[amusicaladventure]

"Probably, yeah! I mean that's a lot more likely than you being from the same one, all things being equal." Simple math to a girl used to this sort of nonsense.

[kingsroads]

As someone not used to it at all, Strange can't help but shake his head slightly, giving Ash a small smile. "I suppose this shows just how little I know about all these different worlds...is there any way to tell that people are from the same world? For all we know, I might be part of someone's past."

Of course, the obvious answer is 'just ask them, you dumbass' but that seems to not be crossing Strange's mind.

[amusicaladventure]

"Good question." There were, doubtless, spells and so forth that could do it, but... "Let me answer it with another question -- if you can't tell, does it matter?"

[kingsroads]

"I suppose that it doesn't," Strange responds, with a little siiiiiigh. He can't help but frown a little, thinking things over. "Still, I would like to know how I'm remembered in the future."

[amusicaladventure]

"Really?" said Ash, to whom the thought had never occurred. She straightened up slightly, the better to put herself on an even level to him -- it felt strange looking up at someone when you were questioning something that simultaneously profound and weird. "Why?"

[kingsroads]

Because Strange has made a handful of bad decisions and wants to see if people remember those over the good he's done. And what he had expected to be his legacy he found vanished out of his hands.

He's not telling Ash that, though. Instead, Strange simply shrugs and asks, "Doesn't everybody?"

[amusicaladventure]

Ash shook her head immediately. "Naw. Not me. I don't expect to leave a mark... and if I do, it's just gonna be whatever the people who came after me write. They won't know me, they won't be in my head, they won't know anything about why I did what I did. And I have enough to worry about in the present."

[kingsroads]

"I suppose that's where we differ," Strange remarks, with a little laugh. "With the state of magic in my world, I know I'll leave a mark--I simply don't know what kind I'll leave." After all, no matter what, the revival of English magic will certainly be talked about in the future. It just remains to be seen if Strange's name will be mentioned aside it.

[amusicaladventure]

"I suppose you stand out. Especially since you're famous debater and all." Ash smiled the sort of smile only a cat could really master, bemused and sincere all at once. "But what if they got it all wrong? You'd just end up mad or upset."

[kingsroads]

"I would. But at least I'd know. And frankly, I'd prefer knowing but it's bad to not knowing at all." says one of the nosiest most busy-body people in the carnival.

[amusicaladventure]

"Couldn't do anything about it, though," Ash pointed out. "Would it really be better knowing they got it all wrong?"

In this respect they were clearly two different people.

[kingsroads]

"At least for me it would. Because even if they got it wrong, I'd still know."

It's the knowing that Strange places more of an emphasis on than anything else. He's always been impatient and reckless, learning about the future's no exception.

[amusicaladventure]

"Don't get it," Ash said, shaking her head, then brushing back the strands of hair that slipped down over her face from the motion. "But hey, you know what you want and where you stand, so I sure can't argue with that!"

[kingsroads]

"I can say the same with regards to you," Strange responds, with a little laugh. "Besides, there's no use trying to convince someone of something so relatively inconsequential as this."

It's a little bit telling that Strange refers to potential timeline disruptions as 'inconsequential.' Somebody still has a lot to learn with regards to time travel nonsense.

[amusicaladventure]

"Hey, sure there is -- but only if I have to make sure you don't forget to live in the present. That's the biggest waste, if you get so worried about what people might be saying about you years from now that you forget to actually enjoy the time you get!"

At twenty, Ash of course thought she had all the answers. Though to be fair, she did have a little wisdom tucked away in that strange little brain of hers.

[kingsroads]

"You don't have to worry about that with me. I plan to spend my year at the Carnival exploring and learning everything I can about this place."

Because it's really amazing. He's actually in Faerie, surrounded by faerie magic, occasionally going off to strange new worlds (like the Matrix but that sucked so we won't talk about it)...what's not to love about this place?

[amusicaladventure]

"And afterwards? When you head back with all that knowledge?" Curiosity, cat; it can't be helped.

[kingsroads]

"Afterwards, I intend to quietly retire back to Shropshire with my wife." There's a fondness in his eyes as he talks about his wife, a sort of gentle nostalgia that's not really present in most of Strange's conversations.

"Perhaps I'll publish my memoir in that world as well."

[amusicaladventure]

"Oh, you're married!" Ash had been carrying a little tension for much of this conversation, but now it melted away as she relaxed fully. No wonder nothing was working! Better yet, now she didn't even have to worry about it. "That's cool. A lot of wizards end up in that whole, 'married to magic' deal and I always figured they were missing out."

[kingsroads]

Entirely unaware that Ash had been carrying that tension in the first place, Strange nods, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Older magicians tended to have that sort of 'married to magic' belief--my former mentor was unmarried as well. Still, I'm surprised I didn't tell you about her. It must have slipped my mind."

He is one of the more scatter-brained people in the carnival so that's expected. Strange doesn't seem to be too rattled by it, as he continues talking. "Her name's Arabella. I've loved her ever since before I took up magic."

It's obvious he loves her, just from the tone of his voice. But there's a little bit of sadness in there that seems oddly out of place with his words.