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.)

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YOU SAID IT FIRST..!!

[Everything has stopped fighting, by now.

Also, everything is on Fire.

(What were they fighting over?!]

Seriously? You yammer on about...travelling dimensions for someone, you mix up my NAME, [she adds, an accusing point to the other as she goes on.]

What do you think that means?

This is actually easier than Sans was expecting, thanks to what was apparently some kind of internal corruption in the Circle - some of the other angels are managing to make a bee line straight for those private chambers, which means that Sans is working on scouting the periphery. Which also means he has some time to snoop around.

Which, he does! The Circle obviously has some secrets they've been keeping, and most of the time a Circle HQ would be off limits, even to an angel. No harm in a little bit of property damage between friends, right? He knows there were going after a ton of randos in the last few weeks, and so when he hears some cries for help and comes across some warded prison cells he can't help but be curious, and at least a bit sympathetic.

He swoops towards the door, and deftly cuts it off its hinges with a swipe of his angelic scythe. As the metal door falls into the hallway, the angel is left floating on the other side, staring in bewilderment at the familiar figure inside.

"...Seriously?" he asks.

"Ravens, maybe?" Fun fact: Strange doesn't know anything about birds. They were black, they were flying, they were ravens. It doesn't matter what they were in the grand scheme of things, just that they flew off with the pendant (and they were fighting over a pendant to begin with? What a silly ritual component.)

Unfortunately, Strange also did not think ahead and does not have anything regarding first aid. Good job humans, you've thought this through splendidly.

"But no, they weren't Summer Court. Summer Court's all...flowers and trees and things like that. Birds are favored by Winter Court." At least for Strange, this is an annoyance over a major problem. After all, the ritual required two parts.

"I do!" Strange complains, frowning at Rita. "Trust me, there's nothing I want more than the Severing broken. But I don't want it to happen in a way where Childermass gets hurt."

It's odd. For all of Strange's bluster and snideness and general dirtbag personality, he's a hundred percent serious about not wanting Childermass hurt--and, based on the awkward frown on his face, he's also a hundred percent not certain why he feels that way to begin with.

"I don't know what the ritual entails or what's happening to Childermass in the Count's realm, but it wouldn't surprise me if it ends up badly for him."

Yeah, it's not that hard to match imagery and guess that those particular fae were Winter Court. Some of the other demons will almost certainly know, at the very least.

Not especially! She may see some stuff talking about evil crows in China Town, but that's it. Anath possibly already knows where the Winter Court lives, though.

As long as Strange is standing, Yuya will worry about his injuries later. He has some pressing questions.

"The Winter... oh." He'd near forgotten about the other Court with how dramatic the rose queen has been in Portland. That must be the Court John and Allen come from, then.

Yuya doesn't look pleased to hear that'd who took the pendant, though--not knowing their position meant he couldn't trust them not to be as bad as their summer cousins.

"You said the ritual needed a catalyst, right? What's the catalyst? Do you think they have it?"

Fair enough! Seems she's on even ground with other demons in pointing Anath at the Winter Court to try and hijack that ritual then.

On that note; while Carly's casting ability is obviously still based entirely in 'summon fire', it occurred to me that if canon powers are returning, that means she'd be able to use her original fire magic around then.

Since Carly's original fire absorbs the energy of those touching it, she'll use this toward the hijacking...Assuming it helps at all. She'd likely volunteer to be the Catalyst as well, assuming she had Anath's word that the Carnival crew would be going home.

~~Has it occurred to her that this door is possibly only opening to hell, No, she legitimately still thinks the barrier is some kind of One and Done oops~~

SIDE NOTE is there any way for the catalysts involved in the ritual to hijack it themselves-specifically changing the ritual from 'only this realm gets access' to 'NOPE, ALL DOORS OPEN'.

Papyrus jumps away from the door as it moves, watching it neatly fall to the ground, sliced out of the wall like it's nothing. So smooth! He's been imagining that kind of thing happening for a week, and all the glaring in the world did nothing!

And the person responsible... He knows that face. With startling, double-layered familiarity.

"Hey! Sans!" He exclaims, delighted despite the disapproval radiating off the skeleton -- the angel,
skeleton... him. "Thanks for helping a brother out! You were right, I'm really not cut out for this demonic deals business."

Well, this is the easiest lead Taako's come across so far. He stands and stares at the poster for a moment in amused silence, an eyebrow quirked as he takes in the goofy skeleton image printed on its surface. No, he doesn't recognize that skeleton, but he does remember Tanyuu mentioning the Carnival being host to at least one that could talk and do magic and hold a job, so who knows? Maybe there's more than one, or maybe this is that guy. Either way, he takes out his phone and snaps a photo of the poster, filing it away for later; and then he switches over to the dialer, carefully copying down the number as he strolls towards his apartment, taking the alleys as often as possible to avoid being overheard.

He has no idea if he's going to find out anything of value here, but with things as tense as they've been, it's for the best if he tries to keep a low profile.

He hits the call button, pulling his hood up over his horns and curls alike, waiting to see if anyone picks up.

That... was not the kind of reaction he was expecting. Sans continues floating vacantly, something nagging at the back of his mind. Feelings of disgust and defensiveness intertwine in a way that makes it hard to tell what he's even reacting too.

"...Convenient how that works, huh," Sans says, pulling back a little. The use of the word 'brother' makes him uncomfortable. "Everything starts seeming like a bad idea when you finally face consequences, right?"

He's still just the same careless jackass as before.

Rita just gives him an odd look. She sure as heck didn't expect him to start talking like he actually cares about someone other than himself.

She limps over to the table, drags out a chair, and sits down in it. "I saw them take him," she says after a pause, confirming Strange's suspicions. "I want Childermass freed, too. He knows something that I need to talk to him about." He must be another one with memories of another life... a life that Rita's starting to realize is more real than she ever wanted to believe. If something happens to Childermass, she might never get to find out who he really was, or how they knew each other before.

► POSTER REVISIONS - OTA

Within a day, Papyrus goes around to a lot of the posters to add hand-written notes to them.

OR LIVING UNDERGROUND, OR WORKING FOR A MAGICAL CARNIVAL

OR IF YOU'VE SEEN A WHITE DOG THAT ANSWERS TO COOLBONE

He stands around by each of these posters for a few moments, eagerly ready and willing to answer questions about them. A leash and bag of dog treats dangles in hand.

Edited 2017-07-24 19:11 (UTC)

A week's worth of dust, a dishwasher that's gone bone-dry (ha), and a trashcan that really should have been hauled out several days ago... Papyrus has his hands full catching up on errands. To say nothing of finding out where Coolbone-the-dog's gotten to.

His phone rings with fortuitous timing to snap him out of worrying for his pet (and possible secret pokemon). He pulls it out, sees an unfamiliar number, and answers before the second ring finishes.

"Hello! Are you calling about the poster??"

"Well!" Papyrus blusters, a finger raised as he feels around for a rebuttal.

Nothing comes to mind.

He remembers making all the decisions leading up to this point, feeling justified and vindicated with his cool super powers. The building dread of his family finding out, the sharper shock of an actual angel's disgust. Getting captured, imprisoned, threatened. Realizing that he hadn't prepared for any of this, not really, and that... all he could choose was how to respond to it all.

Dropping his finger and objection at the same time, Papyrus nods sheepishly. "You're not wrong. I've spent time on the inside, now. I'm a changed man."

Especially now that he remembers an idea as terrible as kidnapping and condemning a child to death... and deciding against it, with specific and theoretical children alike. A bone-deep certainty that everyone deserved a chance to change for the better. Like Sans -- like the angel is giving him now.

He steps forward, expecting to walk out around Sans' side. The wards are still active, and they respond.

As Papyrus is inevitably and violently repelled from the edge of the warding circle, Sans actually puts a hand to his face in exasperated dismay. He doesn't know why he's so invested in this bozo behaviour, but it's like he can't look away. He's just so... frustrated by it.

By how people only learn when it's convenient for them. Sans isn't an angel of second chances, he's an angel of death - and this seems like it would be a fitting end for a warlock of unchecked arrogance.

It wasn't in a psychopomp's nature to save lives or to take them away.

Sans shifts his wings as if he's about ready to fly off, leaving Papyrus there to face his destiny. There's no point in meddling with this, and as it is... he can sense that Papyrus remaining here would be a doomed path.

"Maybe you'll know better the next time around."

And he doesn't mean in this life.

"Ow," Papyrus groans from the far side of the room, pushing himself to a sitting position. "I thought... I thought the wards were in the door? Why did I think that, they're never in the doors..."

To the majority of his memories, it was a nonsensical thought. It takes him a second, but he figures it out. The barrier he remembers staring at for so long, it partly blocked the view of the far side with its pulsating gray light. Whereas here, the air between him and freedom looks like there's nothing there.

By the time he figures out his own cognitive error, Sans is shifting around and talking. If Papyrus understands Sans' implication, he doesn't acknowledge it, instead looking around for some sign of runes or differently-colored materials that are the source of the ward.

"There won't be a next time! No more deals with demons. I'll stick to fae, and my own hard work, from here on out."

YOU'RE THE ONE GETTING MY NAME WRONG...!!!!

[Someone sure is fiercely indignant. It's almost comical considering the situation and said anger is almost enough for Yugo to shove himself back up off the ground. Almost.

But yes what exactly are they still fighting over because more fire doesn't change that the artifact is gone and not in angel or demon hands.]

How would you like it if someone did that...?!

If you don't expect people to get it wrong, then you need to pronounce it more CLEARLY!!! [She retorted, hair practically bristling. At this point she's not even aiming. It's just sort of...Everywhere.]

Aah, second. While I, the man Gongenzaka did not attend... [..Well, Yuuya has covered the rest. He continues.] It is the first battle, when we charged 'The Circle', that I was present at.

[Yuya glances aside, frowning. That fight didn't end up going much better.]

I don't want the Fae breaking the severing. I don't trust them. [He turns to Yugo.] Does Miss Pru have a plan for getting it back?

[He is expecting a lot for Yugo to know here.]

[She does look remarkably like her. But so did Yuzu and... Serena. Once it's spelled out for him it dawns on him that... well... even he's not sure if his own feelings are genuine or out of selfish want for a replacement.

So confusing and painful. It was real while he still knew himself only as some angel "Hugo" right?]

I... well... I still being honest, that you mean just as much to me...!

[Okay maybe that's not as convincing. He's already drooping in sadness and uncertain guilt.]

.... But if that's what you want, we can go ahead and break that contract too.

Damn. Hearing that confirmed just turns Strange's expression to a frown. This was happening again?! Someone he cares about is being held captive in a faerie realm again and there wasn't anything he could do to stop it from happening. The main difference was this time, at least, Strange knew it happened and had an inkling of a plan to get the person back.

"I think that I don't like you," Strange says, holding up a hand to stop Rita from talking before he continues. "But we both want Childermass back. You look like death warmed over, so I don't know how much help you'll be able to be, but honestly? I've a feeling I'll need all the help I can get."

It's a roundabout way of asking for an alliance. After all, the grand total of people Strange could count on to help in a crisis situation is...one teenager. He's grasping for straws here.

I'm not- [She groans, a loud and muffled snarl in its tone.] Do you LOVE her?

You said you love me-but you pretty clearly love this...OTHER WORLD kid too! Whoever she is, so what, are you poly or something, WHAT ARE YOU FEELING?

[And for that matter-] ...And if you're not even staying here, then what are you doing..?

"Hell if I know," Strange answers, with a frown. He'll figure out the catalyst later, once he's sitting down and actually thinking straight, but right now? Strange is a bit too rattled and a bit too knocked about to put together the points which lead right towards Childermass.

"It's a person, though. And someone like us, someone who's not from here."

Experimentally, he unpinches his nose. The bleeding's stopped but Strange has dried blood all over his nostrils and upper lip.

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

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