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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Oh uh...!

[That's obviously a no. Whoops.]

Well where would I find him then?

[Clearly this should be seen as a good sign. Despite that as far as Yuya's seeing, Yugo's just been sulking. But in his defense, he was totally doing productive things earlier like beating up demon goons.]

At the Sanctuary... can you even get close to him without hurting him?

[Otherwise, maybe consider a letter.]

[All things considered, this angel's particular aura and shine ebbs and flows depending on his emotions and degree of focus. What's normal for Yugo isn't guaranteed to be the norm. He ponders a moment and nods- oh wait Yuya's still all the way at the ground.]

... Yeah. I can.

[But first...]

I swear I'll get around to it soon, but can I ask you some things while you're here? Weird memory stuff.

... Okay. [He supposes this isn't a weird memory thing he can really put off. He needs answers just as much.] What is it?

[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.]

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.

[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.]

[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.]

..... 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.]

[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.]

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.]

[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!

[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.]

[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.]

[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.]

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.

[Good attempt Yuya, but it seems the angel thinks that shoving his face into Yuya's shoulder is a better idea. Somehow. Hope you don't mind tears wetting your shirt too much.]

No she wouldn't! I'm the most t-terrible person ever now...! I can't go back to her or Reina...!!!

[Yuua leans back as Yugo cries on him, mostly from the strength of the other. He pats Yugo's back after an awkward pause.] Hey, it's okay, if you're that close then Rin would definitely still want you around! Hasn't she been waiting for you?

Maybe...?

[Okay that wasn't a confident answer either, but the thought doesn't incite any additional blubbering out of Yugo. Instead he seems to be well cried out as he pulls back from Yuya and seems to have it handled on getting the tear tracks off his face. Doesn't make his nose stop being red, but the angel's taken his first step toward calming down.]

Edited 2017-07-18 02:28 (UTC)

[He puts his hands on Yugo's shoulders, partly to support him... partly to keep him at arm's length.] She's definitely waiting to see you again, so don't give up on her!

[At least he sounds really confident about that.]

.... 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.]

[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?

[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.]

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

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.

Edited 2017-07-18 03:33 (UTC)

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hippocarnival - 2017-07-18 03:36 (UTC) - Expand

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bananaspeedrider - 2017-07-22 02:14 (UTC) - Expand

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