⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[bananaspeedrider]

.... Well I... [Yugo's not used to getting this sort of encouragement since it was usually always just him and one other person to count on but-] Yeah! Definitely!

[-it's enough for reeling him back into the hope of seeing Rin again, despite other lingering misgivings. Reina isn't akin to being some sort of... replacement goldfish for him while here or anything.]

[destiny_key]

Oh, um...

[She seems like she doesn't want to be bothered, but he has to at least try. Lambert told him her name, at least, so he has someplace to start.]

Um, is your name Carly, by any chance?

[atouts]

As soon as Sora mentions ice, Childermass is sitting up straighter in his seat, suddenly tense. Sora may not know what that means, but he clearly does. He hears out the rest of what he has to say, then purses his lips into a thin line, brow furrowing.

"The Winter Court," he says grimly, letting them both know exactly what the place must have been. "And some kind of ritual... I know you said you do not remember the rest, but please try. Were there birds anywhere? Anyone with feathers, besides myself?"

[hippocarnival]

[Sorry man, the rules of associating with Yuya are constant encouragement. He got your back.

There's nothing else they can do about Yuzu or Rin right now, though. And Yuya isn't ready to talk about having the same face--he always gets an awful feeling thinking about it. Maybe next time.

But there is one thing he can make sure of before he lets Yugo go. He fixes him with a series expression.] Before you go find Noboru, I have something to ask you. Why did you attack him?

[whattaprick]

Lambert's blood just about freezes in his veins at Sora's reply, but on the end of Childermass's statement he'll simply be quiet, waiting for Sora's response to that as well. Though he'll take a moment to prompt him--

"Was this a vision of the future? Not the past?"

weird! i pinged you but lord knows how unreliable plurk pings can be

[kingsroads]

"My name's Jonathan Strange. I'm a mage--and also perfectly human. I've been undertaking research on the Severing as well as an odd trend of weird memories that've been popping up lately." Strange is still keeping his hands visibly at his side, making certain that Steven can see them and trying his hardest to seem calm and nonthreatening. It may or may not be working.

He's not going to lead with the whole Rose Queen thing. The kid's scared enough as is, that would just make him bolt in no time. There's a pause though, as Strange doesn't entirely know what to do next. How does one talk to kids, Strange doesn't know.

"Do you want to sit down or should we have this conversation here? There's a waiting room down the hall, they've got halfway decent chairs there."

[bananaspeedrider]

[Ah yes, that.]

... Because Reina told me to. But since I deserved to know, she did finally tell me that the guy she was with before might've been able to... move on.

[And absolve Yugo of her ex's death? But that part doesn't make sense. He would never orchestrate such a terrible thing.]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya frowns, knitting his brow.] Why couldn't be move on already? Why is that Noboru's fault?

[insidescoop]

[The woman frowns-but nods, eyeing the other suspiciously.]

...How did you know? [she manages, though she suspects, somehow, that she knows why. ...But she is too tired to brush things off and leave now. Too tired.]

it probably just got lost in the plotting fuss

[starseedling]

So Strange has been here before, then? That's a little bit more hopeful, as far as Steven is concerned - if he's familiar with the Sanctuary enough to know what the chairs are like, then he probably isn't... evil? Specifically?

Steven doesn't know anyone. No amount of faith or reason for trust seems to make a difference. So, he holds his distance regardless, keeping his wide eyes focused on Strange as he offers a shallow nod. He'll go into the other room, but first...

"What's the Severing?" he asks. Surprise, Strange. This kid actually has no idea about any of this stuff. Despite being a key component to the whole thing, apparently, he has no idea of his own relevance.

[kingsroads]

Strange just...kind of stares at Steven for a moment, a little bit confused at how he doesn't have any idea what the Severing even is. Oh good Lord. Does this kid not know anything? They're going to be here all night!

"The short version is that the Severing's the cause for all of our problems right now. The long version is that it's a magical barrier, keeping angels, demons, and the fae trapped on Earth, cutting them off from the realms of heaven, hell, and faerie. Remove the Severing, and said angels, demons, and fae will fuc-uh, go away back to their own realms and probably cause less chaos on Earth."

Don't cuss in front of the teenager. Of course, this is all pure conjecture on Strange's part, but who'd want to be stuck somewhere they don't want to be in the first place?

don't worry about it! :)

[kingsroads]

"It's a stomach bug!" Strange complains, face still in the bushes, though the tone of voice shows that he's obviously annoyed. "You know I can hold my alcohol better than this!"

Of course, the last time Pearl saw Strange this drunk was over fifteen year ago...right? He's not sure on the date and once again, isn't entirely sure what the cause of that lapse in memory is. No matter what, time's changed and he, at least, has gotten older, though he's reluctant to admit it.

Still...it might be good that Pearl's here. He doubts that word's spread to her yet, considering that the Summer Court's probably had to deal with seven shades of nonsense lately and he only actually pledged his allegiance a day or so ago. Might as well go ahead and tell Pearl where his loyalties lie

"Glad to see you though," Strange can't help but admit, as he straightens back up, trying to regain what little dignity he had to begin with and trying his hardest to not look like a middle aged man making a fool of himself. "It'll save me a trip later."

[bananaspeedrider]

Souls... they tend to stick around for specific personal reasons if they fixate on it hard enough. Obsessively.

...Unless they really can't move on nowadays thanks to the Severing- that's possible too.

[Sounding a bit less like some low-life biker teen there, but side effects from borrowing information out of planted memories must be endured.

Also Reina accused Noboru of feeding on corpses. Don't humans have a thing about bodies being "desecrated" or something? One can connect the dots.]

But helping ghosts isn't part of my role or expertise. You'd have to talk to a... [Brief beat.]... psychopomp angel.

[starseedling]

That... maybe sounds like something he's vaguely heard before? It just hasn't been that relevant to his life up till this point. It was just always the way things had been, in his lifetime.

"Would they...?" Steven asks, genuinely dubious of that idea. He doesn't see why they would, not when he knows what his mom is here for. What she does. She'd been here before the Severing, hadn't she? He can't see why she would leave, after.

He frowns, and glances away for a moment, obviously still uncomfortable.

"I don't think that's the cause of my problems right now."

Which doesn't mean he has no interest in helping, if it really is the right thing to do, but he also doesn't really understand how that would help. Wouldn't more of them just show up?

[hippocarnival]

I don't think so... Tamaki said the same thing, that ghosts tend to stay behind if they feel like something's holding them back. I just wanted to know what it was. If she still has a grudge, I don't want her trying to hurt him again.

[And extended from that, for her to have Yugo try and hurt him again.]

[kingsroads]

"Actually, it is." Welcome to one aspect of the plot, Steven. Strange is trying to explain this as calmly as possible, though he can't help the hint of a patronizing tone that slips through occasionally.

"Your mother wants to break the Severing. That's the reason why she's been trying to get you back these past few weeks: she needs your help in order to do it."

Strange technically doesn't know how the Rose Queen needs Steven, but he has a feeling it probably won't end up well for the poor kid. Still, if he doesn't know what the Rose Queen intends to do with Steven then he can safely dodge that question if it's asked!

[starseedling]

Steven freezes, his eyes lingering on Strange in a moment of shock. She... what? This is the first he's heard of any of this, and the knowledge that she's had some ulterior motive this whole time, when he'd just assumed she wanted him back out of raw possessiveness... it's a little chilling. Did she have him on purpose? For something like this?

What does she want with him? What has she ever wanted from him?

Steven's sudden rush of anxiety is pretty clear on his face, as is the way that he doesn't seem to know what to do or say in response. All he manages to do is warily take a step back, getting the feeling that Strange might have a connection to her, if he's claiming to know what she wants.

After everything that's happened, it has him already looking like he's ready to bolt.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya's aligning himself with the Angel's cause as well!

He's also involved in efforts to weaken the Summer court with the rose spell and helping Rita's attempts against the RQ.

[kingsroads]

Maybe he's not as good at this convincing thing as he thinks, because Steven looks like he's going to run away real fast. Strange holds his hands up again, showing Steven his open palms. No magic, no trying to grab the kid, just good old-fashioned talking and guilt trips.

"Hey, hey, just calm down a moment. Look, it's obvious you've got questions. So ask them and I'll tell you what I know. After all, I've got nothing to hide."

There's a small little frown on Strange's face as he says it, like he's not entirely sure he believes his own words. Because he does have a few things to hide and there's the start of an odd, sinking feeling in his stomach as he lies to Steven. But at least in his mind, none of them have anything to do with Steven to begin with so why should he tell him?

"Besides...you really don't know what's going on, do you."

[insidescoop]

GUESS SHE'S STORMING THE CIRCLE THEN time to set so many things on fire \o/

[starseedling]

Despite himself, small rose vines have started sprouting from the stone floor, their roots clinging to the flat surface with no further need for support. They twist and grow around his feet, with no particular direction in mind - simply reacting to Steven's fear.

But that doesn't mean he isn't actually listening to what Strange is saying. He does have questions. Unfortunately, the ones he really needs answers to probably aren't the ones that Strange knows anything about.

"Why does she need me?" he asks, though his look is no less strained and anxious. No amount of empty palms is going to make Steven trust him, not right now.

[kingsroads]

How do you deal with teenagers? Why is he so panicky? Yuya wasn't panicky, Strange could have entire conversations with Yuya without Strange worrying about completely bungling the whole thing! The obvious answer of 'Yuya isn't half as traumatized as Steven' doesn't enter Strange's mind as he continues to try and fail to look nonthreatening.

"It's the strength of the familial blood between you and the Rose Queen as well as the fact that your soul's been touched with magic from another world that'll let her cast the spell to break the Severing in the first place."

Let's...just not mention the whole 'oh and by the way, you might also not be from this world' thing right now. That level of crazy needs to be eased into and magic from another world seems like a safe enough way to ease into it.

[periphrasing]

"Great. So it's NOT just me." Something in her tone is accusatory; OBVIOUSLY, you two were supposed to be able to pick up the slack, since Peridot had known from the get-go that she wouldn't be very good at this.

The bat groans and flops forward, pressing her face into the dirt. "Face it: We're never going to commune with this stupid spirit. We're just not werebeast enough for it," she sneers.

[starseedling]

What? What?

This is too much. While being touched by magic from another world is slightly less daunting than knowing he might not be from here at all, it also makes way less sense out of context. How did that happen? What does it have to do with anything? Is he lying? Is this a trick?

He can't stop anticipating the moment that Strange will strike. When he'll get him in a moment where his guard is down. He keeps backing away, and the vines grow more quickly.

"I'm not coming with you," he says, his voice becoming sharp with fear. "I'm not letting you take me!" The last part he outright yells, and then he starts running.

[whattaprick]

The Beast's not the only one giving Peridot a strange reaction, he'll just kind of stare at his sister for a moment, like he's never seen her before. Because honestly, it kind of feels like he barely knows her at all right now. But since she looks just as confused...

"I've never worked for a carnival in my life," he'll say, after a moment, but she's not the first one to bring it up, so he'll go on. "But someone did come to the cat cafe and said I used to be their boss."