lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 22nd - 31st, 2017
Where: In Portland, for the last time.
What: The seasons change as the Winter Court seizes a surprise victory, claiming both the Tree of Life's pendant and the blood catalyst needed to take control of the Severing Ritual. Meanwhile, interdimensional problems are about to get more weird. Check out the conflict results for the attack on the Circle as well as the Beast's attack on the Summer Court here.
Warnings: Individually marked!

DAYS OF WINTER↴

As the end of October nears, so does the grasp of winter. On the night of the 22nd, it will freeze overnight, and the temperature will drop for the following days. As the night grow long, world-wide magic slowly reaches it apex, set to reach it on the night of Halloween. With so many factors at play, knowing what to do with that moment of power may be a challenge.

► FULL CIRCLE: The Angels succeed in their planned attack on the Circle, managing to get to the living quarters of the Council members with the help of Ashleigh Mischief. The plan goes without much resistance from the mages or from the demons attempting to claim the ritual object for their own. Of course, when the fae make a surprise attack on the Angels after they flee the scene, it has the surprise result of the Winter Court ended up with the pendant in their talons. Threads for this attack can be done in this log. If you need mod direction at all, let us know, but otherwise feel free to NPC demons, angels, or random Circle members as you require.

► THE QUEEN'S GARDEN: Realizing that the Rose Queen is distracted with attempting to claim the pendant, the Beast will summon her co-conspirators to raid the Queen's gardens. The ultimate plan seems to be to get the Beast far enough into the gardens to kill the Queen, while also rescuing as many changelings as possible along the way. As it turns out, this doesn't go well. While they do manage to penetrate the gardens with Childermass's help, the Rose Queen, Ignatius, and Nightshade happen to all be there. Seriously outnumbered, even by the Beast's terms, it will take everything the group has to just make it out alive, sustaining heavy injuries as they go. In the end they will manage to rescue Greg universe and four additional changelings that were imprisoned there, but any damage done to the Summer Court itself will be negligible. Threads for this can also be played out here!

► REFLECTIONS: As the ritual draws closer, the line between this reality and the one you came from will also be becoming less clear. Regaining memories is not required, but it will naturally become easier to occur, especially if you're already started receiving them. It's a good time to start making connections, while you still have the chance.

► THE SEVERING: One way or another, the Severing is going to make an impact on both this world and the lives of those trapped inside of it. The Angels are going to be making an attempt to interrupt the Winter Court's ritual, as will the Summer Court and Anath's forces. Whoever comes up on top will be the ones to decide what to be done with it. Yet, with news that the Severing continuing could cause irreversible damage to the planet's spirit, it could feel like there are no perfect options. There will be an event header put up for this by the mods closer to the end of July.

(NOTE: canon powers will returning while the ritual is in progress, so keep that in mind for planning - both sets of powers will be active.)

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Whatever appearances Childermass is intent on preserving, Lambert is wholly insensitive to it. All he can see is the changeling pulling back again. It pisses him off enough that he retreats to as far away as he can get, pulls out his cigarettes, and spends the rest of the time waiting for the signal to move in smoking resentfully and glaring.

Later, when Lambert has to be practically carried out of the Rose Queen's realm, he'll be in too much agony to think of saying anything like 'you were right' and 'I'm sorry.'

After that, there won't be a chance to say much of anything at all.

Ginko may have been pulled into some weird shit in his life, but he's not all that used to encountering ghosts - though, even if he were, he'd probably still be pretty upset at first to see a teenager walk toward him and right into oncoming traffic.

He doesn't quite manage to choke down the horrified noise he makes, or keep himself from stepping forward, but-- then the car is gone and the kid is. Fine.

"You-- wh-- what?" Sorry, give him a moment. The guinea pig on a harness by his feet, while not necessarily as shocked, seems similarly confused and snuffles curiously at Tamaki's feet.

how can i help??????
where are you?????????

we need to talk about this!!!!!!!!!!

Pumpkin happily trots right back over now that things are a little bit more calm. She gets her front paws up on Strange's legs and looks back over her shoulder at Peridot and Lambert with a dopey grin, like HEY CHECK THIS GUY OUT! HAVE YOU SEEN HIM? WOW!

Meanwhile, Peridot looks utterly unrepentant in the face of that death glare, defensively bristling and scowling right back at him. WHAT THE HECK IS LAMBERT SO MAD ABOUT?

"Hey! I am merely drawing conclusions based off of the evidence that I have observed for myself so far," she says snippily. "The key point here is that, whatever he is, he's obviously very important to you!"

Edited (LAST EDIT I SWEAR) 2017-07-31 05:04 (UTC)

Lambert cups the cigarette with a hand and lights it, entirely disregarding the fact that they're indoors, while he mulls it over. He isn't certain of the magician's terms with the fae, only that he'd been unbelievably proud of it. Part of him, horrifyingly, feels the instinct to insist they continue to make every effort to look for Strange, but practicality wins out.

"You think their plan's going to get him out alive?" He's quite serious when he asks that question. Right now, he'd sign up for just anyone who could guarantee that, even... "Because I know the demons are planning something too."

As long as Pumpkin's somewhere remotely near Strange, he'll happily give the dog pets and scratches and just generally try to endear himself to this adorable little animal as much as possible.

"I'd hope they're not boyfriends," Strange idly remarks, with a smile that's a little too smug and a little too malicious. "Childermass is already seeing someone else--I'd hate for Lambert to be the other woman."

Other man? Whatever. And it's not like Strange is entirely certain Childermass is seeing someone else. But two weeks or so ago, Childermass was pretty cozy with Strange's ex-wife in a way that suggested to him at least that they were pretty close to being a couple.

Portland is a friggen soap opera apparently.

"Nothing's permanent. Entropy is always going to tug at any spell or force in existence, degrading it over time. In that respect, the Severing was bound to fail eventually. But there are groups moving to deliberately take it down as well." More than she'd known, as it turned out, though only a faint twitch in her eyebrow betrayed that fact.

If Strange is going to be like that, Lambert's going to be nasty right back. It's probably hard to maintain the appropriate snippiness when Pumpkin, being a dog and therefore entirely immune to passive-aggressiveness, is now trying to lick Strange's hand off, but dammit, he's going to try.

"What, you mean fake-dating your ex-wife because you asked him to stalk her?" he asks, with feigned surprise. "Like I said, I know he's not dating anyone, because we actually talk about things."

The last part is straight up false because Childermass divulges personal information like rocks dispense blood, but you know what, sometimes a lie is necessary in service to a greater cause. It's also amazing how much Lambert wants to just throw Strange out a window and wonders how he ever let himself be suckered into thinking the man does things like, you know, care about other people.

Though as soon as the words are out of his mouth, Lambert instantly regrets them too. He buries his face in a hand, groaning, and shakes his head. "But that's not the point! We all want the same result no matter what our reasons are, so can we please just focus?"

Edited (lambert has too many instant regrets) 2017-07-31 15:04 (UTC)

While she considers the question, Rita seats herself on Strange's couch and leans back, gazing up at the ceiling. "Well... angels aren't exactly known for killing needlessly, or leaving people to die. But if the demons and the Summer Court show up..." She trails off, but it's obvious enough that such a situation could end badly for Childermass.

"If one faction wants to take control of the ritual, killing another faction's catalyst wouldn't be out of the question." Her gaze wanders, lingering pointedly on Yuya for a few seconds (that's a warning, by the way) before she shifts in her seat and looks back to Lambert. "The good news, I guess, is that the Winter Court won't let him get hurt until they're ready for the ritual. All bets are off once it starts, though."

[Zecora arches one fine eyebrow.]

I would like some more details, first. I know something has been happening, has been building, for some time now.

Yuya frowns right back at Rita. "That's not going to happen! They're not going to just kill someone innocent... I'll tell them to make sure Childermass makes it out alive. They'll listen to me."

Hey, being the catalyst has to allow for some small amount of favor asking, right? He sighs. No trust at all... but he trusts Rita and Lambert, so he can give them a little more detail on the angel's plan.

"The plan is just to disrupt the Count's ritual, clear the area, and the do it ourselves. They think that'll be best if we go for the Count, since he's the caster."

He looks between the both of rhem. "Even if it's just to save Childermass, you can come with us! Anyone on our side helps."

Yuya nods. "I'll find it as fast as I can." He glances around to try and determine where it likely would have fallen.

... He has absolutely no good guesses, so he just dives into the bushes on one side and digs around for it. The unfortunate thing about using his telekinesis to bat things around is that if he's not paying attention very specifically to the object, he has no idea which direction he was just flinging it. There's no muscle memory to recall.

"Thanks for--" He ducks out of one bush and starts squinting at the shadowed foliage by the trees. "Saving me back there. I guess you're not Summer Court...?"

He hadn't asked when they last met, but given the starkly different abilities... well, that seems to be the implication.

WOW OKAY this conversation sure is. Swiftly. Becoming a lot. Peridot gives Strange an odd look at his snarky commentary towards Lambert, but then Lambert starts talking about... Fake dates? Stalking? Ex-Wives? Peridot is nosy, but only insofar as the topic directly affects her or her friends. Whatever's going on between Childermass and Strange, she doesn't want to know.

"Focus on what?" she asks. "You haven't even told me why you're both here yet."

Aside from the obvious point that Lambert also lives here, anyway.

It was going so well, too, until it wasn't. It's such a simple explanation for so much that Joker kind of wants to laugh, although that might be his own delicate state of mind and coping mechanisms talking.

Leaning back, he runs a hand across his face- a hand that now feels strange and as if it doesn't belong. Ugh. Will he get to keep this arm? It's damn useful, in his opinion. "If here was somethin' worse, then ya think they coulda left a-" His hand flicks through the air, aimless gestures that don't mean anything. Filler time. "-A diary, or descendant who knows the reasons, or anythin'. As it is, now we're all at each other's heels and throats."

You mean they'll hold this conversation while Strange is fighting and Joker is dodging his ass off- his options for fighting are a bit limited when he's in human guise like this. So he ducks past another violent exchange, doing his best to close the gap between them. All he needs to do is get close enough...

"Well it's where that trinket everyone is after is, innit!" he calls over the ruckus. "Since when did mages get along with the Summer Court?"

Strange briefly shoots Lambert a downright death glare, the sort of 'oh my god don't you dare bring that up' sort of glare before turning his back entirely on the man to focus directly on Peridot. Is this petty? Yep. Does Strange care? Not really! "My efforts to locate Childermass haven't turned up much. Most likely, this means that he's in an area that's warded somehow. While I am skilled in the art of scrying, I'm not powerful enough to push past some wards by myself."

Besides, it just feels right to do magic with two people. There's a longing in the back of his head, like he's missed this sort of thing. He continues talking, but tries to pick up Pumpkin while he does so because this dog is currently in the running for 'best person in the whole room.'

"I said you were a talented mage and I meant it. If we combine our magic and cast the spell together, we might have a chance of finding Childermass."

Or not because the true fae are bonkers level magic but hey, attempts count for something.

Jeeeez what kind of weird crap has Lambert even gotten involved in here. Who the hell are they even talking about that he's so--

Wait. Wait.

Fuckin' SWEATER GUY.

Miko does her best to stifle a squeak as she works it out, by... shoving her face into her rabbit's fur. Sorry, Screamo, this was not what you signed up for when you followed her out of her room. She hurriedly scoots another couple steps down, scooping Screamo into her arms.

Yuya, does Lambert look like he's in any state to help anyone right now? Bruised up, ribs bandaged under his shirt, arm still aching from a run-in with one of Childermass's sisters almost two weeks ago...

Oh, why the fuck not. Not like he's got any other ideas. He exhales smoke, tipping his head back against the wall.

"All right. I'm in." But as for how he's going to be of any use ... hm, now there's a good question. "Guess you can count Tamaki in, too." Just don't mind him casually volunteering the poor ghost, nope ...

Not having supernatural hearing, Lambert doesn't pick up on the scuffle on the stairs -- though he's also busy rubbing a new set of lines into his forehead. Pumpkin is definitely the one in this room having a good time, shamelessly bestowing her doggy affections on Strange, mwah mwah, hope Strange's fingers don't have weird poisonous plant juice on them because that would be bad.

He's not sure how he feels about Strange praising Peridot either, but the turn the conversation's taken gives him a reason to get up and (slowly) move over to the other side of the room.

"And I have something that belonged to him." He doesn't know if it'll actually help, but hey, anything's worth a shot. Don't worry, he's not pulling out the sweater. Instead, he's going for the closet and digging into the pocket of the jacket he'd been wearing during the attack on the Rose Queen's realm, producing a slightly banged-up looking black feather.

His glare dares them both to say anything snarky about this.

[ All the exclamation points captures how Lambert feels, although he'd be loathe to admit that much... in any case, he'll text Sora the address of a hole in the wall coffeeshop not far from his home. ]

Can't really get around much, but if you can make it here I'll fill you in on what I can.

"Since I learned this was all the Circle's fault!" Strange just continues firing off force bolts at various angels and pulling up a barrier spell to keep himself safe. All in all, he's acquitting himself halfway decently. Portland Strange is a smidge better at combat than England Strange.

"Why the hell do you want that thing in the first place?" Because again, Strange still has no clue why the hell this man's here.

"Mmmhmm." Papyrus hums a couple of I'm listening sounds as Taako talks, so it won't seem like he's not listening. The business of settling himself in a chair and sipping at his water is a little more important than the characteristics fae in another life time... but the break from embarrassing revelations is a welcome one, and if there's more he can do to encourage that trend, he's taking it.

"So, they were really different? And you remember? Does that mean, do you remember a lot about back then?" Everybody else he's chatted with, they're in the same boat as himself; struggling to remember more than fragments.

"I'm Papyrus!" he chirps, like that's the most essential part of answering both those questions. "Believe me, by now I have regrets about that whole Animal Fair thing. And Sans is..."

He hesitates for a moment, considering what to say. Sure, they ultimately recognized each other, and generally agreed about what the deal was between them. Sans' first reaction back then was to get him out of the way so nobody would know about it... that should stay a secret, for now.

"It's complicated," he finally settles on. "I would say we're friends! Sort of!"

Edited 2017-07-31 21:42 (UTC)

Rita stares down at the coffee table, contemplating.

"I don't like the angels' plan," she says firmly to begin with. "But, at least until we save Childermass and put the brakes on the fae's plans, I can work with them." It's her best bet if she wants to get in and make it far enough to disrupt the ritual.

There's a pause. "Who's Tamaki?"

Honestly, none of them are in shape for a fight... but Yuya understands willing to go through anything, in any shape, to save someone. And he'd rather they try with the angels than just the two of them by himself.

He looks up at Lambert, raising his brows. "Tamaki's helping too?" He did become suddenly more mobile... although Yuya doesn't know just how tangible it is.

Still, help is help. He smiles. "Don't worry, we'll definitely save him."

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

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