lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

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.

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Thankfully, Sans doesn't have much weight behind him. He's a spirit, after all, and not even a particularly big one. How much he weighs is probably voluntary, and there's no need to have any weight to throw around.

He'll let Greg guide him over there, thinking it's sort of funny that he's doing so, in the mean time. So concerned. Why?

"Had to find a new place to hang out. Kind of had a disagreement with my roommate," he says. Greg probably knows full well that that his roomate was Psi, since they share an apartment building and all. "I tried coming by a few times, but you weren't around."

He'll flop down on the couch, since Greg apparently wants him to sit.

[Yuya doesn't know what else to call it. Another dimension? That doesn't seem right, either...

He nods along with Strange's explanation. It's a little disappointing Strange doesn't know more, but he expected this probably wouldn't be easy. And he knows he won't be able to stop Rita from going after Axel. He has to help her find a safer way.]

Yeah, I--huh? [He blinks rapidly, furrowing his brow.] What do you mean, you can't report what you don't know?

Look, a lot of things have happened to Sans that shouldn't recently, so he's not going to rule out getting a drunken concussion from the list. Get comfy, bud.

"I got that feeling." The two of them were on... rocky terms, last he checked. It's a wee bit distressing to hear Greg's missed a few visits, though. "Sorry, I've been... you know. Stuff." Things happening. Everyone's awful busy lately.

"You caught me now, at least. What's going on?" He hovers over Sans, less literally than it might be if it were the reverse.

Edited 2017-07-09 05:18 (UTC)

Welp. That sure gets Sans's attention. It sounds unfortunately familiar, and causes an uncomfortable feeling to stir in his spirit, like a creeping sense of dread. Why doesn't anything in this place make any sense anymore? He's starting to question the explanation put forward by Prudence. Hell, when it comes down to it, he's already been doing that for a while.

How could this many people be having these same problems? Does that mean it isn't just him? Or is it really just that ubiquitous? Not only is he not real, no one he knows is real either.

"You're not the only one," he says after a long hesitation, a certain grimness to his expression that wasn't there before. He really wishes he was allowed to drink in here. Or, at least, that he could get away with it during business hours. "It's... kind of a problem."

A problem that Sans has an answer for, but not one he particularly wants to give. It feels like admitting to something blasphemous.

[ Strange pauses for a moment, thinking things over. There's really no good way to address this. He knows Yuya's been trying to help out the changelings which really, good for him, everybody needs a hobby. But it also means that he's not going to take this well at ALL.

So, with a sigh, Strange just starts bracing himself for so much arguing. ]

I've decided to throw my lot in with the Rose Queen and the Summer Court. I'll try not to betray you all but obviously, I can't make any promises.

[ It's said in a very calm tone, as if Strange is expecting Yuya to flip out about this. But really, what else could he do? The Severing needed to be removed. The Summer Court was the most helpful in telling him how it was done and, at least in Strange's mind, the most likely to get the damn thing accomplished in the first place. ]

"Yeah. Stuff," Sans will agree, leaning back on the couch, grinning in a way that is at least a little bit manic, despite his apparent exhaustion. "There's a lot of... stuff."

Except, he's actually going to clarify this time. That's what he came here to do, right? Unlike in other realities, it's easier for him to just out and explain himself, too. There's no reason for it to be forbidden, is there?

"Things with that fae? They got kinda. Weird." He puts a hand over half of his sockets, looking distant and bewildered. "I think I'm kinda... not... real?"

None of this is right.

[Yuya leans back, taken aback. It's obvious very quickly on his face that no, he doesn't take that terribly well.] What? Why? I haven't seen her do anything but hurt and take people for the past few weeks!

[In the back of his head, he remembers Rita's disgust with Strange. Was this why? But what is he even gaining?]

Things have a habit of getting weird with the fae. And they do have a tendency of making it unclear what's real and what isn't.

Greg squints at Sans, and folds his arms as he parses the claim.

"Well, that's sort of the definition of super-natural, I guess." His head cocks to the side. "Otherwise, you... are here in the room with me, pal."

Realistically, Sans isn't a supernatural by his own standards, at least. That title gets thrown around from the human perspective and angels mostly don't argue with it because it's pointless to do so - but everything he does and experiencing is natural, according to his own nature. Yet, parts of this make it feel unnatural, and that's the problem.

"I mean... the person that I conceive of myself to be... isn't real," he says, which, ironically, is more real than he often gets about things. "My memories aren't real. I dunno."

He's not articulating this well, but it doesn't matter. If he just keeps talking long enough, something is bound to come out that makes sense.

"I remembered being somewhere else."

For a moment, Greg says nothing. He just squints further, chewing his cheek. Then he straightens up a little, eyes widening. He looks down, mouth working with vague, voiceless murmurs while he works it out.

Finally, Greg runs a hand over his face. He suddenly looks a lot more tired... which is saying a lot.

"What do you mean?" That's all he can ask, right now.

"I think... I remembered having been in hell. Somewhere. I guess. I've never actually been there. Or I thought I didn't? But now I remember that I did."

He keeps trying to ramble his way through this mess.

"Some angels used to be human souls, before they were reborn as angels. I never remembered anything like that, but then... I suddenly remembered all this stuff about hell. When that fae had me. And she said that she didn't think I was a real angel. So, like, the hell does that mean, right?"

He snorts to himself bitterly. This would be easier if he wasn't crossfaded as fuck, but he also probably wouldn't get through it, then.

"But it's worse than that. Because it sounds like she might be right. Like that stuff I remembered... is more real than anything I remember doing here."

"That..." ...doesn't make any sense, he wants to say. What would that make Sans, then? Of course he's an angel--the things he's done, the powers he has, Greg's seen him do it, there's been no question since the day they met.

Which was when, exactly?

Greg sits beside Sans on the couch. He hasn't thought about it much, because it's completely ridiculous, and physically hard to do. But the way Sans describes it... something about it, Greg just can't deny...

"...sounds familiar."

She's hurting changelings, not people. They're especially not people in the eye of the Rose Queen. [ And, based on Strange's slightly dismissive tone of voice, they're kind of not people in his eyes as well.

But as for Yuya's question, Strange continues to try and keep the calm tone going, mostly because he doesn't want to get into a fight in the middle of a public park. Muffling spells can only do so much if the party's visibly yelling. ]

She's the most powerful being in Portland and the only one who even has a chance of telling us how to remove the Severing. Besides, don't you want to know what's wrong with your memories and how to fix them to begin with?

[Yuya stares, wide eyed. He doesn't understand how Strange can just say that. There's tons of changelings in Portland--he's met them, hasn't he? They weren't that different.]

I don't care how she sees them, or you! They're people! [He glowers.] And I--I don't want my memories back if people have to get hurt for them. That's not right!

People are going to get hurt no matter what, [ Strange responds with a scowl, as his expression narrows. ] If it's not the Summer Court doing the hurting, then it's the Circle or the demons. There's no way people are getting out of this unscathed.

[ That much was obvious to Strange, what with the Circle harassing people at the same time as the demons harassed others. He...still has no idea what the demons want, but they obviously want something. ]

Rita is going to use Renegade contacts throughout the city to seek out non-Circle-affiliated practitioners of magic and ask them:

1) if they know anything about the Severing, or how it may have been tampered with recently.
2) if they know of any way to enter and exit the realm of a powerful fae like the Rose Queen, and if there are any spells or tools that may be effective in fighting or defending against fae. (especially for changelings who might not be able to safely handle iron)

She'll also be hitting the books at the Sanctuary and perusing the book collections of other rogue mages (at least, those who'll permit her) to seek answers to those same questions.

[That's... true, but he still hates hearing it.] That doesn't mean we should just ignore it! If that's how they're going to do things, then we can find our own way.

[He hasn't the slightest idea how to do it, but he hates the idea of aligning himself with someone whose goals and actions he can't agree with.] You're a really good magician, aren't you? Why do you need the Summer Court?

"Does it?" Sans prompts, sounding skeptical, as if he's assuming that Greg couldn't really be understanding what he's talking about. If anyone else understands what the hell its supposed to mean about him, then that's news to Sans. Except that he might not be from this place at all, and whenever he came from was a lot more shit.

He should hope that Greg doesn't have any familiarity with hell flashbacks, at the very least.

Definitely not the stuff about hell, small favors. He glances sidelong at Sans, and gives a small nod.

"I've been... well, I thought it was just dreams, at first. But I keep meeting people and thinking they're... wrong, somehow. Like they ought to look different, or be somewhere else. Most with people I don't even know, or... or I shouldn't, anyway."

His face screws up. "I... I think it might've happened with you, too. It's hard to remember, I kinda... just ignored it."

Ever since the incident with Doll the week before, Tamaki had noticed more and more demons coming around the campus. Most of them didn't venture onto the grounds, so he usually stayed near his tree and watched them move on by. None of them seemed interested in him at first, so this seemed safe enough...

At least until one spots him early on in the week, and starts stalking toward him, another following in its wake. At first, he thinks maybe it's someone else they want, but the demons zero in on his tree. Panicked, Tamaki tries to float back to the dorm room, only to feel a sudden, strong force pull him back toward the ground.

The demon isn't letting him leave, he realizes with fear.

"Well, what do we have here," the demon crows as it got close. "An errant spirit, huh?"

"We don't have time for this," the other demon mutters. "Anath won't like-"

"I just want a little soul to go, that's all," the first demon interrupts, reaching out for Tamaki. "It'll only take a moment to devour him."

"L-leave me alone!" Tamaki snaps, yanking back to get away, but the strong force is pulling him toward the demons, not letting him go. "I don't want to go to hell!"

"I wasn't going to take you there," says the demon with a smirk. "There are other things demons can do with souls, you know."

Tamaki screams as a feeling like claws sinking into his skin hurts his elbows, eyes searching wildly for some help. Please, please please - he doesn't want to die again like this!

Sans listens, staring into space. Well that's... not good. He doesn't understand this - it doesn't feel real. With how vague the information he's been given on the subject is, it's hard to reconcile that his life - even some of his closest friends - aren't really a part of this. Aren't what they think they are.

It makes his head spin, more than anything. It's not anybody's fault, but it just makes him feel worse.

"Gotta be kidding me," he says, and the strain is obvious. There's a last ditch effort towards addressing this with a note of humour, but it isn't working. He stands up, abruptly, a hand on his head.

"I don't wanna deal with being someone else, Greg. I got enough to deal with bein' myself!" And that statement doesn't make much sense, but he's not in a state to address this rationally.

For his part, the full scope has yet to sink in for Greg. He spent too long convincing himself it was all sleep deprivation.

"Woah, woah, breathe, man." Like, figuratively. "This--let's just... let's just think about this. Even if all this crazy stuff is true--and, really, who says it is! But, but even then... what does it change?"

Well, with a second's thought, it changes a heck of a lot. Like, a freaky amount. But no, no he's trying to reassure right now.

"You're still the guy I know. Right? That doesn't change just because you... you're not from heaven, or wherever."

Greg isn't getting it, Sans thinks, but that's fair, because he hasn't even told him everything he knows yet. Which, he probably has to, now. If this conversation is going to continue, he can't just leave out the details.

"This half angel came to town, to talk to us about how everything's been all topsy turvy lately. She said that it's all about the Severing event from twenty-some years ago - that something big enough, numerous enough, passed through. Enough that it was more than the wards that caused the Severing could take, and now everything's all screwed up."

"And it sounds like those otherworldly things were actually people." He pauses in his rambling long enough to face Greg, with the kind of expression that seems like it should be accompanied by tears of frustration, if Sans was any better at emoting. "People like us. That we just... got inserted here like a week ago, and think we've been here forever when we actually haven't."

"Some guy replaced Marmaroth completely! He didn't remember anything about this place. He said he was a dimensional traveler that just showed up here, like a ninja samurai or somethin'."

Giving details about Marmaroth only confuses matters, but the fact that it is this bizarre seems important. It can't be understated how fucked up that is.

[ Because he's not a really good magician, he's a damn liar who's been passing off fae info as something he discovered on his own. And Strange is just going to keep on lying. ]

I don't need them. I'm allying with them because again, they're the people who're most likely be the ones to actually fix this.

1: A VERY STUPID PROMPT
One of the many problems with Strange is that he's started to get odd memories back. Memories of a different him bending the elements to his will, traveling through realms closed off, drinking potions and concoctions in order to gain madness and achieve...something (the memories are a bit fuzzy on that.) Repressing everything can only go so far, but if the memories were true, he could do so much more with even a fraction of that man's power.

The problem here is that AU-Strange hasn't exactly twigged onto how OU-Strange succeeded in becoming mad in the first place, nor what the madness actually gave him. But whatever happened, the quest to become mad was obviously a big deal and obviously important, so it was worth a try. He started off small, of course, but even small doses of poisonous herbs brewed in a tea can have a terrible effect on the body.

As such, there is a grownass man straight up vomiting into a bush or a public trashcan at 11am on a weekday. Who's ready for the hot mess express?

2: IN & AROUND THE SANCTUARY, LATER IN THE WEEK
There were two things the Rose Queen wanted: the artifact owned by the Circle and that changeling brat of hers. Well, the likelihood that Strange could get the first has severely decreased, but he could at least attempt the second (even though there's a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at the idea of kidnapping someone to faerie and Strange is terrified that they'll actually force him to go through with it.)

So, where would a changeling fleeing the Rose Queen head to? Obvious answer, the Sanctuary, especially since Yuya cast the spell and restored the threshold. Strange takes careful care to enter the Sanctuary with just his wallet, his cellphone, and the clothes on his back. Once he gets there, it's obvious he's looking for someone, though he's cagey about who as he starts interrogating anybody who remotely looks like they know what they're doing.

"Is there any sort of roster or check-in list or something? I'm looking for someone in particular and don't know if they're here."

C: CLOSED TO CARLY, EARLY IN THE WEEK, OUTSIDE THE CAT CAFE
Strange is pretty sure he's banned for life after almost getting into a fistfight in the middle of the cat cafe. Still, there's nothing that says he can't watch the cats looking in from the cafe window so ha, take that Lambert. He's gained a newfound appreciation for the furry bastards and god knows after how ridiculous these past few weeks have been, he deserves to watch cats be cute for a bit.

So, after five minutes of looking at the cats through the window with absolutely zero subtlety and one coughing fit later, Strange turns to leave. Unfortunately, he's still a bit disoriented from said coughing fit and manages to walk smack into Carly. The two bump into each other right in front of the entrance to the cat cafe and almost instantly, Strange takes this accident as an opportunity to grumble.

"Watch where you're going!" he snaps, despite the fact that this was entirely his fault. He turns to look at the person he bumped into, probably to yell at them a bit more, when he pauses. Something about this woman looks...familiar. Weirdly familiar in a way he couldn't place.

"Have we met before?"

WILDCARD
Strange can be found in various parks, his apartment, and his office as well! A note that throughout the week, he looks like shit, starting off normal-yet-messy but ending the week closer to 'dude, you need to see a doctor.' Hit me up on plurk/the ooc plotting post if ya wanna hammer out a different starter!

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

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CLOSED to Lambert

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Jonathan Strange | ota!