⇨ 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

⇨ INVESTIGATION THREADS

[ringleaders]

Below are prompts with specific investigation-based hooks. The first ones are hooks designed for specific characters, who may reply as they see fit, but if you find something you'd like to investigate, please make a post here explaining what your character is doing to find out info. All investigation threads will be done in summary form as opposed to going tag by tag.

DON'T BE VAGUE. If you are having your character investigate something, you must explain what your character is specifically doing to find out information. Don't just say "I investigate the posters." You have to be more specific, by saying what your character is doing, such as "My character is going to ask around in X community where a poster was put up, trying to find out if anyone saw who did it." The more specific you are, the better info you will get in return.

You can also confront NPCs by this method, and you'll get summary posts in return explaining how the situation will unfold based on your actions. Investigation is important for this plot! Various boons and advantages will be given out for characters who make a difference.

Please restrict all investigation actions to one or two actions at a time. Please don't give me a laundry list of the five different things your character is doing, because it makes everything too time consuming to get through. Stick to one main thing your character is looking into per tag.

► VISIONS FOR SEERS & WEREBEASTS (OCT 15TH+)

[ringleaders]

This with foresight will be able to sense the impending conflict hanging in the balance. All the paths of fate seem to be going in one direction, but the way that final destination takes form is in flux.

At the center of it all, you will find the concept of a great tree, with billions of shining fruit, like stars in the sky. Upon that tree you see spilled: the blood of Summer, the blood of Winter, the blood of Hell, the blood of Angels. All of these exist simultaneously, yet in solitude.

And, slowly, the boughs of that tree will begin to burn.

[periphrasing]

Peridot does some preliminary Google searching, without expecting much results wise. Keywords consist of various combinations of "tree" and words like celestial, supernatural, symbolism, burning, fire... and then thanks to memory regain, "tree" in association with things like multiverse, planes, dimensions, etc.

[destiny_key]

Sora tells Joker about the vision, and then does his usual method of 'wander around the city and hope he stumbles on something' to try and look for clues, or maybe the tree itself.

WERE BEAST

[mylastchance]

Shit. That's pretty scary.

[spaghettimonster]

Papyrus complains to his captors that he's having strange dreams, between the skeleton war, the circus mutants, and the bloody burning tree, and ask if they can fix the wards to have something that stops bad dreams.

[betheman]

(I know it's the wrong account but shhh)

Okay so! Having decided Carly never encountered Anath's lot during week 2 (and was just Scared A Lot), how likely is it that encountering someone from the demon's entourage now could end in information/hints regarding this Outsider business? If it comes up, she might join willingly. If it doesn't, she's probably booking it and on that note-

IN THE EVENT NO INFO WOULD COME FROM DEMONIC KIND, if word about her somehow reaches angelic sorts, what could happen if Carly somehow makes contact with Pru herself, complete with the spotty memory 'am I from here?' plight? This is mostly a question because I'm unsure how easy it would be for a demonic warlock to make contact with a half-angel.

[ringleaders]

The problem with the demons is that the ones chasing people down are really just a bunch of thugs that are being told to bring people back to "demon party central" where people would check her out to see if she reads as an outsider. At which point they would probably ask her questions about that and make a lot of implications.

Pru is not super eager to share information with demon folk (despite the thing with Psi) - especially since Carly is bound to a demon who doesn't necessarily share her allegiances. Word probably wouldn't get to Pru about it unless Carly started talking about it really openly, which would also get her ganged up on demons for the same reason.

[whattaprick]

Lambert and Peridot are going to spending the early part of the week searching for the Beast. Realistically, they have no idea how to find the Beast in the first place, so they're basically just going to head out to where the Animal Fair was held (in the daytime, first, then come back in the night time if they don't see anything).

If successful at finding her, Lambert's questions basically boil down to what the hell is going on? and if she has any insight into why the other Fae seem really aggressive recently.

[ringleaders]

The Beast turns out to be really easy for Lambert to find now, and Peridot too. Instead of getting chased around by feelings of imminent death, if they wander into that part of the forest, the Beast will eventually mischievously reveal herself.

...Unfortunately, she also seems a bit clueless, because her response to that question is "obviously they are scared of me." Which... doesn't necessarily line up. It seems like the information they have may actually be news to her.

[periphrasing]

As the week progresses, Peridot and Foster are going to be teaming up and doing some sleuthing for themselves. Acting on some information that he heard back in week 1, Foster is going to go ask around the were-wrestling circuit about the whispers of the wounded Earth Spirit; Peridot will mostly just be tagging along uselessly at first, since she honestly hasn't interacted with many other weres and this is new turf for her.

First thing's first: Their primary goal at the start will be to ask around and seek out someone in the circuit who is much more spiritually attuned than they are, since the duo's collective lack of spiritual savviness is partially what lead to them writing the issue of the earth spirit off in the first place. What with all the current rumblings in the supernatural community, though, they both figure it's time to start paying closer attention to everything, and this is as good a start as any.

While they are searching, Peridot will be asking the other weres if they all experienced the same vision that she did.

[ringleaders]

They will find the same dude that Amethyst did, though it seems circumstances have changed a little in the interim. He's a huge, buff, bull werebeast who seems eager to talk about spirituality to anyone who will listen - and, in particular, will jump right on the opportunity to discuss said "visions" with anybody else that has seen them.

He'll say that he believes the vision of the tree represents the Earth Spirit - that is, the core of pure life that both creates magic and first spawned life on earth. Some of the Elders believe that there is a huge spell fueling itself off of the Earth Spirits energies... and that continuing to do so could risk damaging it forever.

He's pissed off though, because he can't see someone even COULD use the Earth Spirit for something like that, unless some of the werebeasts were helping them. Because werebeasts have a unique connection with the Earth Spirit that no other race does, because bluh bluh bluh, he will ramble about this for a long time and recommend you a self published self help book he wrote on the subject.

It's about using your primal werebeast spirit to fight good.

[bananaspeedrider]

This angel intends to seek out Prudence Jaeger again because uh... remember that thing you said about outsiders?

Well Yugo's been getting weird memories as well and he's starting to think he's so obviously one of them too. As well as this vampire he met and half-fried.

[ringleaders]

She's pretty easy to find once you've been in contact with her, and she will happily hear out anything Yugo has to say on the subject. She'll seem a little concerned/disturbed that so many angels here may be some kind of transplant, but not in a way intended to be offensive. She'll ask him for any information he can give about his origins, and if it aligns with what Zangetsu said.

[kingsroads]

gotta report back to boss.

Partway through week 3, Strange is going to summon Nightshade again and tell her the results of his investigation into the Circle's knowledge of the Severing. Unfortunately, those results are jack and shit. He'll tell Nightshade that the Circle 100% caused the Severing but he 100% has no idea how they did it, that they're trying to go after demons and rogue elements, and he's preeeeetty sure that he's gonna get kicked out of the Circle sometime soon because he's a nosy fuck. Likewise, he'll mention that he's found at least a couple more people who've got odd memories so the weird souls are more widespread than either of them thought.

Also, Strange is also now firmly on Team Get The Severing Gone. So hey, Nightshade, what else can he do to help out?

[ringleaders]

She's a little disappointed that he wasn't capable of being more subtle, but that's fine. Hearing that he's firmly on the side of getting rid of the Severing is good. That much she can help with. As such, she's going to reveal a bit more information.

She'll say that the Summer Court has plans to bypass the barrier... but that it depends on having a sympathetic link to the universe outside. What has changed circumstances at the moment is that 1) it seems that the barrier was put under a great amount of stress from large number of individuals passing through, and 2) it's theoretically possible to use the spiritual link those individual's souls still have to the outside to break through the barrier's spell.

The complication is that the outsider being used to to form this connection would have to have a powerful connection, like a blood relation, to the being powerful enough to cast the spell in the first place. So, essentially, the Rose Queen is prepared to break the spell on Halloween, except she still needs an artifact the Circle is holding, as well as a catalyst in the form of an outside that has been converted into one of her children.

Fortunately for her, a being like this already exists - she believes that her recently escaped changeling son could be used for this purpose. It's just a matter of finding him and bringing him back. At which point, they could all go free, of course.

[otoko]

AND ON AN ACTUAL GONGENZAKA NOTE-

After he's healed up from his encounter with Yuugo (which presumably allows time to learn more about this nonsense), Gongenzaka and Yuuya will ponder a bit about the spell he's been using all month; namely the beacon spell that lets him feel out the souls/energy of others in the area at the cost of drawing the attention of literally all of them to himself.

The theory is? If something's up with THEM then maybe they can find someone who knows what to DO about it by using this spell. The drawback is that...he's pretty sure given the narrow mage encounter of Week 2, it'll bring the heat down wherever he is.

BUT HEY.

What would happen ff he used the spell to specifically call attention to his not quite vampiric soul and the not-quite right souls around him at the time? (It should be noted that Yuuya will have absolutely spoken to Strange by this point, which is part of why the Try is there. Also Gongenzaka isn't going to be alone; at the very least he'll have Yuuya with him...maybe others?)

[ringleaders]

A spell like that probably wouldn't be the BEST for feeling out people with strange souls, since you usually have to look quite deeply to get a read on the things that are inconsistent. Its like looking at cells beneath a microscrope, rather than something you can eyeball from a distance.

He'd definitely bring a lot of hell onto his ass by doing that right now, though.

[espigeon]

Do angels tend to know anything about the Earth Spirit? Would Prudence have any word about it? Iuliael's getting more memories about Julien and basically concluding "he's actually a werebeast! only that's the Earthmind instead". He'd tell her what he's picked up. He has an idea that he caused a version of the Severing by making a deal with some kind of powerful entity, but he really doesn't remember the details. Just that, happily, that was an entirely different world so he's not responsible for this Severing.

[ringleaders]

They CAN know about it, yeah. Particularly, psychopomps and the like know that that is where they escort spirits to after death. So an angel could know some stuff about it via a variety of methods.

Pru knows enough about the Earth Spirit to discuss it. She knows it ties into this situation, just not how specifically it was utilized.

[anti_nonsense]

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.

[atouts]

First point of interest, Childermass would have gone back to the Rose Queen to report that he has delivered her message and it was not taken very seriously. Assuming she doesn't shoot the messenger...

Childermass will be taking a closer look at what entrances into the Rose Queen's realm he has access to. He wants to determine the best route to getting The Beast in. Once he figures that out, he will relay this to the Beast when he can (assuming she's still back in the forest and willing to show up and talk with him regularly and so on).

[small_reservations]

Ok, so Axel here got taken around the 12th. I just need to know what happened to him in faerie, if you want to thread it (and if so, on week 2 or 3), if he's being mind-controlled at all (and if so if it's the Rose Queen or Ignatius's doing), and if when he's coming back is up to me or a mod decision. Thanks!

► GHOSTS, AKA TAMAKI (OCT 15TH+)

[ringleaders]

There's been a lot going on to upset the spirits of the city, between the fae's aggressive activities and the demons on the warpath - a ghost could easily be made into a meal if they're not careful, when it comes to the residents of hell. The most prevalent sense of unease, however, is caused by something that the dead may be closer to than anything else.

The Earth Spirit is sometimes referred to the afterlife by the angels, and some ghosts will understand that that's true. It's where spirits go when they're finished with this world, and some say that it's so they can someday be born again, when they are prepared to move on from this chapter of their existence. For some ghosts, that clarity can take a long time to find.

However, as the days shift closer and closer to the 31st of October, that light at the end of the tunnel will seem to reach out for them in a way that it never has before. Though it's hard to understand, it will speak to them in familiar voices when they allow themselves to get close - but it's not asking them to join it, not quite yet.

It's asking for help.

[anti_nonsense]

After hearing about her from Lambert and Childermass, Rita's going to try seeking the Wyld Fae for herself. She'll be returning to the forest and calling for the Beast by name. If the Beast doesn't show after some time, she'll try mentioning that Childermass sent her.

If she does get to meet her, she'll express her interest in getting the Rose Queen dead, and that she's been told the Beast might have a way of making that happen.