HELL OF A HANGOVER PT. 1

[ringleaders]

Who: The people who escaped!
When: Very early Day 66 to Day 67
Where: The Carnival
What: The Ringmaster brings everyone she can back to the carnival after getting kicked out the Celebration, a bit worse for wear. Those that have resolved their threads at the Masquerade can start trickling over here as they sort things out.
Warnings: Angst, mostly likely, as well as potentially graphic injuries.

RETURNING HOME↴ About 45 minutes after the conflict with the vampires begins, the Ringmaster will finally show her face at the Masquerade - and immediately be mortified by what she sees. Though initially mostly confused by the fact that there's been problems over the week, and characteristically obtuse about what's going on, as soon as she realizes the severity of the threat she will launch into action. If the Host managed to miss the combat already going on, they won't be able to miss the Ringmaster tearing up the joint and looking for her people. She's quick to scoop up those that have managed to gather in the dining hall - but unfortunately her arrival seems to be the vampire's cue to retreat. Her attempt to challenge the Host about this will result in the being finally losing their patience and banishing all the vampires and all of the carnival workers from the premises, forcing them back to the portals they arrived from and launching their remaining belongings out with them. The Ringmaster will be pretty fucking pissed off when they return (once again) and will tell everyone to take the time they need to recover, but to stick together and stay safe for the time being. She has a plan to chase down the carnival members that have been stolen, but it will take time. ► BEER PONG: Apparently the Ringmaster spent the entire week playing a nonstop game of beer pong, against several dozen of the Host's bodies. She hadn't quite won yet when the Masquerade began, so she was late. Whether or not she was caught up in the same spell as everyone else is up to interpretation, but the answer "definitely probably." She won, for the record. ► MISSING: Upon doing headcounts, it will turn out that all the supervisors are missing, as well as several regular workers - a few of which will have been spotted as freshly turned vampires during the fighting. Whether that was the point of the attack or not is unclear, but it's pretty clear that the Ringmaster is a little bit devastated about it - particularly about the supervisors. However, she will refuse to talk to anyone long enough to get into too many details. ► THE PLAN: The Ringmaster will announce that she intends to get everyone back - it's just a matter of figuring out their way back to the dimension they've been stolen off to. She guarantees that she will find it, but that it may take some time. In the end, the workers will have a total of two days to recover and plan - during the evening of Day 67, she will be leading a rescue mission to get them all back. You don't have to come, but lives do depend on its success.

Comments

[empty_vessel]

"It sounds like a plan, then. Is there food you don't like? Besides sweets, I mean. Allergies? Dietary restrictions? I'd rather not plan on making grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon and find out that you keep kosher. Jimmy smiles, preferring to err on the side of caution. "I'm guessing no, but I'd much rather ask and find out before we get going."

"And with the spell, should I have a go at it as an independent study, and come to you if I have any questions or accidentally set something on fire?" Not that Jimmy expects the latter, but his luck isn't the best. "And probably run over in a joyous rush if I figure it out?"

[kingsroads]

"Not really," he answers, with a shrug. "I do like eggs, though, both scrambled and boiled." He gives a little nod towards the half-eaten and probably slightly cold by now plate of scrambled eggs. Those were pretty darn good, at least in Strange's opinion.

With the spell though...he frowns, thinking. What would be best for Jimmy? "Well, I imagine you'll have to partly take independent study no matter what." After all, there would be times when either or both of them were busy and couldn't help out the other. "But what if we agreed on a time and place for regular meetings? That way you could practice, I could critique, and then we could talk about magic in general."

Because sure, Jimmy could do this just as an independent study...but Strange really liked the idea of just talking about magic with someone. He wasn't going to let this opportunity slide.

[empty_vessel]

"Sounds good to me. Magic critique, cooking lesson, and then we finish with magical theory and lunch? Or dinner, as well. I'm flexible." At this point, Jimmy might need to get a day planner again. Shifts, not-therapy lunches with Sherlock, and now magical theory and cooking lessons with Strange.

It's amazing.

"Say.... three days for me to bang away at the spell, plan out a lunch option, and come back with a notebook full of questions?"

[kingsroads]

"That works for me! I'll try to remember that three days from now."

The key word here is try. Strange knows that his memory's absolutely awful on the best days, he's probably going to end up with the equivalent of post-it notes all over his trailer reminding him of when his meetings with Jimmy are.

"We should meet and practice at the big top. It's one of the more..." There's a pause because how best to say this. "...magic resistant areas of the carnival. I doubt anything will go wrong in the first place but if something does, better there than out in the woods."

[empty_vessel]

"Makes sense, that way if something goes wrong it's not a trailer going up in flames." Jimmy has no idea how scrying would make something catch on fire, but better safe than sorry. "And I'll have time to write up a list of notes about how I get this to work."

"... Should I remind you in two days?"

[kingsroads]

"I'll try to remember," Strange can't help but add, as he makes an absolutely futile attempt to defend himself. "But honestly, remind me is probably for the best. I'm certain that once this place settles down into something resembling routine I'll remember, but as it is?"

Strange idly gestures to seemingly nothing, but what he's trying to point out is the post-vampires chaos. As it is, it's a little bit chaotic.

[empty_vessel]

"Absolutely. I'll come find you when everything has settled down to the usual level chaos instead of the spikes we're having right now." Easy for something scheduled for three days from now to slip your mind when the entire Carnival goes to hell (again?) in six hours.

"See you then?"

aaaand that's a wrap?

[kingsroads]

"I'll see you then," said with a smile and a nod.

Except they won't because hell. Whoops! Still, Strange is treating all this like it's perfectly fine, no problem, no need to worry about hell in the slightest. They'll fight that battle when they get there.