⇨ 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]

[He bothers to hover back down closer the ground for better ease during the conversation.]

Well don't be afraid to ask me things to help compare, but what do you remember about yourself... or a fae carnival?

[Yugo being careful? Nah, who would really take the effort of listening in on them? The worst case scenario is demons maybe, but they've been no trouble for this angel to ward off so far.]

[kingsroads]

"It is for me," Strange remarks, with a little frown. He had to tell Ash about this at some point, he owes her that much. And, as much as he'd like to, he can't just flounce off and head out with no explanation.

"I'm thinking of leaving the Circle. What all of you do next is no concern to me."

[kingsroads]

[ Strange...just gives him a blank look. Sorry Yuya. None of those memories are any sort of familiar and aren't giving him any sort of deja vu. ]

Do any of them relate to you being an esper? All the flashes of memory I've gotten have something to do with magic.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya shakes his head, pausing as he thinks that over more deeply.]

... I don't think there was anything like that, or magic, or vampires or anything that really existed. I just remember things being normal until--[Until there was someone with his face, but--] the invasion.

[If anything, talking about it is helping Yuya figure out the order these memories come in. He's sure that has to be how it went--all of the mundane ones, those are earlier than the... more violent, alarming ones.]

I think the carnival was really recent, I think that was the last place I was.

[hippocarnival]

Er--[Really, Yugo, you could just put your glamor back on. Yuya leans back as he peers up and up at him.]

I remember a carnival! [He just skips right over talking about himself and their shared face.] I remember being in it, but I don't remember why yet... I just know the fae there agreed to help me with something.

[bananaspeedrider]

[He processes that for a moment and-]

Yeah! Something like that. Maybe I was too, but can't really tell for sure... but I remember having some kind of motorcycle and-

[Honestly the angel doesn't know which form makes Yuya feel more comfortable, but looking human would probably help him look more inconspicuous right now wouldn't it? Though instead of the raven-haired college student, the draconic guardian shifts into a still same-faced kid with blue hair like from the Animal Fair, white scales and vivid color pattern converted into some sort of racing suit?]

-looking like this!

[... One can almost hear the awkward cough.]

[hippocarnival]

[That looks a little more right, but not quite the familiarity he thinks Yugo should be. That isn't how he's always looked, is it?]

Is the carnival all you remember? [They don't have much to go off if that's the case.]

[bananaspeedrider]

..... I lost someone. And they must've been really important to me because somehow I could travel through dimensions while looking for them?

[As much as he's more confused than anguished about the matter, it's true that it doesn't make the idea of forgetting someone like that hurt less. Just hurt in a different way from missing them.]

[amusicaladventure]

That didn't surprise her. She didn't expect Strange to understand her viewpoint -- not yet, anyway. "All right. Name me one thing that you'll possibly get out of leaving the Circle."

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya's eyes widen. That concept is so deeply familiar he'd swear he did it himself. He did, didn't he? For... for...

His attention snaps up.] I was looking for Yuzu! That's why I joined the carnival!

[Out of context, that's ridiculous. But he finally remembers who he was trying to protect.]

[bananaspeedrider]

Who's Yuzu?

[Yuya, he swears on the name of who created the angels in this world that if you're the one copying him...]

Does she maybe have anything to with... what was that name... Rin...? Not that I know who that is.

[Where Yugo connects one dot, he misses another one.]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya grabs for Yugo's arms, just about shaking him in a frenzy.] Yes you do, that's why you're remembering her! And you know Yuzu too! She was... she was with you in the dimension with the motorcycles and Jack!

[kingsroads]

[ For the first time, Strange wishes that he actually had more of these memories. All he has is snippets, brief images, like a collection of individual frames snipped out of a film with absolutely zero context. ]

Well if you remember the carnival and I vaguely remember the carnival, then perhaps whatever magic that touched our minds and souls came from that carnival in the first place?

[ Maybe. It's a tentative hypothesis and Strange can't help but frown, like he's not entirely sure he believes what he's saying. ]

Of course, I still have no idea how these memories got here in the first place--the Summer Court doesn't know either, by the way. [ He can tell Yuya that much. ]

[hippocarnival]

But what did that magic do? They have to be real memories. [Yuya believes that so strongly. Maybe they aren't really his memories...? But they absolutely happened.] Do you think we both made a deal with that fairy?

[bananaspeedrider]

[Her? A dimension with motorcycles? Jack? Yugo's just going to pull back from the kid if he can.]

Oi! Slow down already! I mean sure half the time I keep wanting to call Reina that but...!

[Memory bits decide they've been triggered enough to interrupt, two other girls that have expressed frustration in their own ways upon being called by that name that make Reina's anger over it positively tame.

"I've been... waiting all this time. I've been anxious, powerless... and sc-scared..."

Wait, who's tearful voice does that belong to, which rings so familiarly on its own that it's a cacophony in his head and stabbing his heart... which causes his moment of pause mid-sentence to die off into frozen silence.]

[anti_nonsense]

They can't afford it? Interesting. With the way the Council's been flexing their muscles around town, one would think the Circle was in a much better position than that. Maybe their actions were just a bluff, or an act of desperation. Then again, there's always a chance that Strange is full of crap.

What concerns her more is this supposed cause he's chosen to back instead. Is that for real, or is he just covering for his wounded pride? "And what cause is that?" she asks, looking doubtful.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya lets go once he sees the wheels in Yugo's head turning. Truthfully he only barely remembers Rin, but thoughts of Yuzu come back so strongly he can't believe he really forgot until now.

Somehow he just knows Yugo is having a similar revelation, but he'll let him figure himself oyt before he interrupts.]

[kingsroads]

[ Strange...isn't entirely sure. He'd like them to be real memories. Truth be told, he thinks he'd be happier as the other Jonathan Strange than he is now. But Nightshade's exact words were so vague, that he's still not willing to commit to anything definitive just yet. ]

Perhaps. But the fae are able to tell which court you belong to. [ And after last week, he knows that even certain changelings are able to track via court. ] When I made my deal with a Summer Court fae a few weeks ago, the specific fairy in question didn't make any mention of my soul being touched by fairy magic from another universe, just that it was touched by magic in general. And, most importantly, nothing's trying to drag me back or punish me for swapping alliances yet. [ Considering that he spent part of last week dealing with the Winter Court attempting to yank Childermass back to their team, Strange knows that's DEFINITELY a viable option. ]

If there is a carnival fairy in the first place and we did make a deal with it, it's either not here or just as muddled as we are.

[bananaspeedrider]

[Ever watched your own face crinkle up and start crying? At least Yugo isn't the snot-nosed kind.]

Wh-what the hell is going on here... that I'd forget someone like a childhood friend...?! Rin was all I had at one point!!!! And... not too long ago...?

[No restraint whatsoever with his bawling.]

[kingsroads]

As he talks, Strange places his hands behind his back, explaining in a tone that's a bit too haughty for his own good. "The Rose Queen's the only person in town with the slightest chance at breaking the Severing. As such, I've made an alliance with the Summer Court."

He knows Rita's going to hate this. He's fully prepared for Rita to yell at him and question his judgement and possibly punch him again. But what does she know? She's a changeling, she probably doesn't know the scope of the Rose Queen's powers or just how important the Severing is to begin with. Her opinion doesn't matter in the first place.

On the other hand, it doesn't occur to Strange that mentioning he's going to work with the Rose Queen in the very building that the Rose Queen attacked a week or so ago is a terrible idea.

[kingsroads]

Strange is ditching the Circle to support the Summer Court.

[kingsroads]

"Actual information, for one," he responds, with a roll of his eyes. It's not really a secret that Strange has been asking around about the Severing. Likewise, it's not a big surprise that he keeps on striking out. Few people like him to begin with, why tell the creepy guy secret information?

"You really need to hire somebody to do a better job of keeping the Circle records straight. There's a swatch of information that's 'conveniently' missing."

He makes physical air quotes around the word 'conveniently'.

[hippocarnival]

Well, that's what the Servering did, isn't it? Mess with all their magic? [But if fae don't share well, maybe it's just Yuya. Sure would be nice of he could remember the details about that agreement.]

Do you know why a spell would even mess with someone's memories like this?

[anti_nonsense]

The Summer Court? The Rose Queen?

"Are you insane!?" she sputters in shock. "I mean... are you completely braindead? In what world does that sound like a good idea!?" Rita knows people who fought tooth and nail to get away from the Rose Queen. How could he willingly join her? And what kind of an idiot is he to admit it here, of all places, and to Rita, of all people? There's no way she's letting him near any Sanctuary residents, knowing this.

"And since when do you want the Severing undone? Didn't all this crap start because someone was messing with it in the first place?" It doesn't make sense. Just what is his goal here?

[hippocarnival]

Uh--[Okay, Yuya's got this. He fishes around his pockets before just. Offering Yugo his jacket to cry on.] It's okay! We can't really control that, Rin would understand!

[Maybe.] You remember her now, and maybe if we remember enough we can figure out what's going on.