what's cooler than being cool? ice cold

[kingsroads]

Who: everyone!
What: hey wait a minute, why's it suddenly cold oh for fuck's sake Strange...
Where: the carnival + Alola
When: all of day 76!
Warnings: none, will edit if needed

the Carnival
Surprise, it's now winter.

Starting from the early hours of day 76, the Carnival is covered in snow, the temperature rapidly dropping from 'nice' to 'freezing.' Patterns of frost cover everything and icicles dangle from most buildings. Try to be careful as you're walking around, patches of the ground are frozen over and incredibly slick. Nobody be that dumbass who tries to stick their tongue to the ferris wheel, you're just going to regret it later. Enjoy the fact that almost anything that used to be a liquid is now frozen solid. All in all, it's like someone flipped a switch from summer to winter--there was absolutely no sign something like this would happen in the first place. Why not ask around to see what's up? Or, just enjoy the change of weather and pelt your friend in the face with a snowball, that's also an option. The Carnival re-enacting the plot of Frozen lasts all day, though things finally start to melt and/or magically vanish once dusk settles.

For all you vampires who've slept through most of this, the effects of winter still linger a bit after the faerie's vanished, though in slowly diminishing form. The temperature's a bit warmer and some of the liquids have started to melt, but it's still a bit uncomfortable. It's hard to clean up an entire magical wintery hellscape by yourself, okay?

Alola
Due to the way the Carnival drops people in Alola, it's entirely possible to miss the fact that something weird's going on at the Carnival. Still, some of the winter wonderland manages to seep it's way into the tropical paradise. For most people, the changes are noticeable but easily dealt with. The temperature drops to something more chilly but not downright freezing. Occasionally there are small flurries of snow, but they'll end up melting fairly quickly. Locals are downright confused, mentioning that really, it shouldn't be this cold, this weather is weirdly unseasonable.

Also, what's that weird little ice fox that keeps showing up? More and more ice Pokemon feel a little bit braver thanks to the cold temperatures and are willing to venture out into areas that ice Pokemon might not normally live in. Go train all your fire cats by having them beat up the sentient ice cream cones, everybody.

( ooc: here is the relevant ooc post! This is an open mingle-style log, so feel free to create your own threads, tag around & have some fun! )

Comments

[pipers_son]

"Then you'll want ta head outta the carnival for a bit." Well, once they get whatever she needs from her trailer, anyway. "Maybe see if ya can stay at a fancy hotel, charm someone inta a free stay." Teasing, he winks.

[amusicaladventure]

That earned a derisive snort from Ash. "Have you BEEN there? Pretty sure the only way I could earn a 'free'--" she finger-quoted the word -- "stay is if I beat the concierge or the owner or the designated hotel battle guy in a creaturefight."

[pipers_son]

A pause as he considers that. On one hand, he's pretty sure that's true. On the other hand... "Do ya have any moral conniptions about cheatin'?"

[amusicaladventure]

Ash snorted again, in a very unfeminine fashion. "Joker. I almost literally have the cheat codes to the universe in my blood and bone. All I have to do to get whatever I want it to sing it out, whatever I want. Before you even get into morality, you gotta get into the fact that just getting everything you want without any real effort makes you a shitty person who does shitty things."

[pipers_son]

All he does in response is shrug. “Well, it was an idea,” he says lightly, moving on from the subject as easy as a breeze. “Anyway, a shame they live in the more sunny places, or else we could get ya a nice coat. As it is, if yer stayin’ in the carnival for the night, might just want ta hoard what blankets ya can.”

[amusicaladventure]

"Or find Strange and make him fix it," Ash said, punching her fist into a palm a few times to indicate the type of persuasion she would employ. "Man, what if I get some sort of weird change out of this cold snap?"

[pipers_son]

Well, the Ringmaster was already making him do that, so Joker didn't burst her bubble with that little bit of information. Instead, he just snorted at the idea. "Well, it might make ya less cold, for starters."

[amusicaladventure]

Oh, Ash didn't doubt that other people were on the job, officially or not. She just had her ego, after all.

"Eh. Yeah," she said, with a game smile that didn't cover the droop of her ears and tail.

[pipers_son]

There there. He pats her on the shoulder. "It'll all be over in a bit. Just gotta weather it out, yeah?" Ba dum tish.

[amusicaladventure]

"Honestly," Ash said, with a nervous little laugh. "I'm kinda scared about changing."

Not that in principle there was anything wrong with differences like that, but... Ash's looks kind of mattered to her. They were part of her self-image.

[pipers_son]

Ah. This old conversation. It's one he's had a hundred times now, or at least that's what it feels like. Frankly, it's something he's not sure any worker in the carnival ever stops pondering for as long as they stick around. So, putting on a relaxed air, he stretches out one wing around her comfortably.

"Scared about what in particular?" he asks, voice taking on a casual but soothing tone, trying to encourage her to keep going. She's one of his own; it's his job to help look after her.

[amusicaladventure]

"Duh, I'm vain," Ash said, shooting him a wry sidelong glance. As much as her appearance was a product of her heritage, she nonetheless had gotten quite used to looking good and its associated benefits. "What do you think?"

[pipers_son]

He can't help but snort at that. "So just that, huh?" Well, that was fine. He shrugged. "Sometimes ya end up lookin' quite fetchin' with whatever changes happen. So there's always that?"

[amusicaladventure]

"Yeah, just that. What, did you think you were gonna hear a worry about looking different and having weird animal characteristics from me?" Pointedly, Ash swished her hips and half-turned to swat him with her tail. "No, I'm worried about ending up like a yeti or something. Or turning into the non-sexy kind of undead."

[pipers_son]

"Well, it's not always animal characteristics..." Pointedly, he waggles the fingers on his wooden hand, grinning wide. All sorts of weird shit happens in the carnival. He's sort of given up on being surprised about it, at least after a good couple of years now. "But c'mon, look around- how many people can ya say really got a raw deal on the looks department that they weren't startin' out with already?"

[amusicaladventure]

"How many of them looked as good as me to start with?" Ash shot back with a smirk, before adding more seriously, "I mean, I'm not the best person to ask that, I'm not picky at all. But waking up one day and not liking what I see in the mirror is kind of scary."

[pipers_son]

Faux offended, he places his hand to his chest. "Are ya sayin' I'm not good lookin'?" he shoots back automatically. "Anyway, lets wait until we get there, huh? No point in fussin' about a bridge that hasn't been crossed yet. And, if it's any help, it wears off, from what I hear, if ya stay outta the carnival long enough. So if ya don't like it, at least it won't be permanent. Like...." He rolls his hand through the air a little as he tries to think of an appropriate comparison.

"A bad hair cut."

[amusicaladventure]

"You can be good looking and not as good looking as me," Ash said, looking him over with an appraising smile. "I wouldn't put a bag over your head." But more to the point, she glanced down at herself with a little frown. "I know it won't last, but I'm here for a bit, and not liking yourself can be pretty damaging even for a short time. I'm guessing you have no idea how vicious girls can be in school..."

[pipers_son]

"Never had proper schoolin'," Joker says almost glibly. It'd sound like simple dismissal or acceptance, but he keeps going on without batting an eye. "Just grew up in the gutters, where they didn't much care how pretty ya were one way or the other." He taps his chin. "Actually, even when I was back home, had a fair share of people turnin' up their noses at us and our fakes outside the circus ring too... So I'll admit, it's hard for me ta get this sorta thing. We never had time ta focus on stuff like that."

[amusicaladventure]

"Kids are hell, man," Ash said, like she was soooo far out of her teenage years. "Long and the short of it. And teenage girls are absolutely vicious."

[pipers_son]

He'll keep from pointing out how young she is, instead just leading her up to her trailer. "Well, we're on a bit of a teenage girl shortage here at the carnival, so ya won't have ta worry about that. Just... work through things at yer own pace, I suppose. See what fate rolls for ya."

Oh, but that reminds him- "Ya shouldn't get the worst of it if ya stay away from much magic around here, like what the Ringmaster tosses out. Most folks who only stay for a short while don't change much, I've found."

[amusicaladventure]

Hey hey, 20 was much older than 19. 20 was all adult. "Yeah, sometimes you can't avoid it. I kinda think I lucked out not still having a big ol' fish tail for a lower half..." But maybe changes didn't happen that weren't impossibly inconvenient? How would she even function normally on land?

/refers your character to another of your characters

[pipers_son]

“Oooooh.” As they come to the steps of her trailer, he grins widely. “I bet if that had happened, Zecora would have somethin’ ta make gettin’ around easier. I don’t think she hasn’t had a fix yet for most things.”

[amusicaladventure]

"I could magic myself up something, but it wouldn't be convenient." Ash bumped open her trailer door with a hip, then shot him a mild glance.

[pipers_son]

"How so?" he asks idly, even as he pauses right outside her door. Coyly, he tilts his chin down just enough to be glancing up through his eyelashes, grinning rakishly.