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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Unfortunately for Strange, his other teammates absolutely suck at things like 'communicating among themselves,' and 'coordinating.' Lambert was expecting resistance -- a fight, the need to threaten Strange to cooperate, questions about what was going on -- so to have him capitulate that easily leaves him speechless for a moment, then angry, though it isn't at the magician for once.

"How do you know any of this?!" Is his immediate demand, pushing Strange up against the wall just a little more. Height difference or not, he certainly has the muscle to bear. Never mind that it's actually information that's a relief to hear, Strange responding this way is enough to ratchet up that paranoia.

"Did the Summer Court plan this?" He demands. It doesn't make any sense, if they did, and yet he can't think of any other obvious connection there.

Strange just gives Lambert a confused look because what? Why on Earth would the Summer Court plan for Childermass to get kidnapped? He's grasping at straws and they both know it.

"The Summer Court were planning something like this. The ritual they were using involves a magical item and a changeling that's a blood relation to whoever's casting the spell and who's also one of us from the other world. The Winter Court's got both components." And it's not a stretch to assume they're going to do pretty much the same thing.

Though some of Strange's memories coming back involve Lambert, he's still a little bit scared of the man and the fact that, if Lambert wanted, he could easily just beat up Strange and leave him in the alley. "We'll get our friend back," Strange continues, nervousness far too apparent in his voice. "I promise."

The reality is, if Lambert tried that right now, he'd probably end up right on the ground with Strange to begin with. He's in no shape to mount a rescue mission and he knows that, but if they've only got until Halloween to figure out how to get in that damn place and get him out, with neither of them knowing what that plan entails ... that lends an urgency that wasn't there before. Strange is probably right to be frightened regardless, because desperate people are hard to predict.

Lambert's heard a variant of this before from Steven, so that information isn't a surprise, but what Strange says last makes him whip up his head with a slightly hysterical laugh of disbelief.

"Strange, are you really that far up your own ass? You bound him and set him to checking up on your ex-wife. He wasn't your friend, he was your slave." Or treated close enough to one. But that isn't right either, is it? The words don't sit right on his tongue, and he fists his fingers tighter in Strange's shirt in response to his own uncertainty. Why can't he remember things, like Strange and the others can? Why are his clearest memories only anger and pain, and the rest just glimpses of thought or fleeting ideas?

"And now he's in the last place he ever wanted to be. Again," he finishes, bitterly.

Lambert grits his teeth and closes his eyes, letting Strange go as he steps back to try and ground himself. He had a plan, he reminds himself. Getting worked up like this isn't going to get Childermass out of there any faster. Does it matter, really, what Strange's reasons are for doing what he's doing? In the end, as long as Lambert gets what he wants, it shouldn't matter why Strange has suddenly changed his mind.

Edited 2017-07-26 04:36 (UTC)

As Lambert lets go of him, Strange slumps against the wall with visible relief and a loud, relieved, exhale of breath. His heart's still pounding, beating a mile a minute, as he looks over at Lambert and his anger.

"I'm sorry, you know. I don't--" Strange cuts himself off, frowning, trying his hardest to put what he's thinking in words. Now that he's getting more memories back, it's obvious that as much as much as he wanted to deny it and separate the two, he was the English magician. But he was the Portland mage as well, one a distorted reflection of the other.

"Had I all my memories when we arrived here, I never would have bound him in the first place. I'll admit that my actions here were...were beyond the pale, especially regarding the changeling. But back in the carnival, back in places that mattered, he was undoubtedly my friend." You were too, Strange is tempted to say, but he bites those words down as he looks over at Lambert. No, there's no way the man would believe that. Not here, and not now.

"So please," he pleads, "help me get him back."

Though he's simmering with mistrust, looking at the magician like he's still expecting some kind of trick at the last minute, there's more of Lambert that wants to believe -- desperately, transparently -- that what Strange is saying is the truth.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Lambert says eventually, disgustedly. "Tell him that yourself, when we save him." In case there were any doubt in Strange's mind about where he falls on the scale from 'enemy' to 'friend,' 'person I'm tolerating because I can see no other way to proceed forward' is about the best he can hope for. But that 'we' is as much of a capitulation Strange is going to get to the notion of 'helping.'

"Do you even have a plan for that?" Cue the judging stare.

"I've found another ally willing to help. The going plan is I bluff my way into the Winter Court and serve as a distraction, while she sneaks in and finds where Childermass is being captured. We free him, disrupt the ritual, and then leave."

He does not have a plan in the slightest. And, at least Strange knows that he does not have a plan in the slightest because his expression just gets more and more guilty the more he describes this 'plan.' It sucks! It really sucks!

"I'll gladly take suggestions, though."

Lambert just stares. This is a shitty, terrible, awful plan. If they go with that, they honestly might as well leave Childermass to die, otherwise seeing Strange attempt it would probably make him expire in embarrassment anyway.

He opens his mouth to chew him out, face already reddening in anticipation of how loudly he's about to tell Strange exactly where he can shove that plan of his, but straightening up proves to be a mistake -- his side twinges, and he flinches and curls in on himself, hand coming up to cup his heavily-bandaged ribs.

"...Not out here," he says, glancing at the sky. At least Strange can probably surmise what he's worried about. "How far is your apartment?"

"Not too far. We'll have to either walk or take the bus--oh damn." He still had Yuya's bus pass. He really should return it to the kid sometime soon. It wasn't like he could drive, after all (could Yuya drive? He was twelve, right, they couldn't let twelve year olds drive)

With a little shake of his head, Strange turns back to Lambert. "Anyway, walking or taking the bus, your choice."

After all, it's not like he has fun teleporting magic like Childermass does, especially considering his stupid English magic won't work in stupid Portland. What good are memories of traveling through mirrors if you can't actually do it?

Jonathan Strange, urban commuter. It's a weird mental image, and though Lambert gives him a strange look for that sudden exclamation, he decides he doesn't really want to know.

"Bus," he says after a moment. There's a couple of stops around the corner, and he steps out of the alley to begin walking there, still tender on his feet. Although now that they're on the move, he can finally notice how mildly fucked up Strange is looking beyond what poisoning himself could get into.

"What happened to you? Pissed the wrong person off?"

Edited 2017-07-27 01:25 (UTC)

Strange starts walking as well, pulling his coat tighter around himself to brace against the cold. He follows Lambert but jams his hands into his pockets as he does so. Was it always this cold this time of year?

"How much have I told you about the ritual? It requires an item of great power as well as the catalyst--the Winter Court have both now, by the way. There was a fight for the item of power, it was all a bit chaotic." An angel punched him in the face, it was awful.

There's a pause, because now that he's not being interrogated, he can see that Lambert's a bit fucked up as well--and that's before the fact that he's walking funny. "What happened to you?"

"I heard about it. That 'item' is a pendant and the 'catalyst' is John, and whatever it is, it's going to involve blood and ice," Lambert says, grimly, once again displaying his utterly useless awareness of the plot. Who exactly he learned what from and when is a bit of a jumble, but those two things he knows for a fact.

He's not offering an immediate explanation for how he knows that, though, focusing on responding to Strange's question instead.

"I was asked to help break some changelings out of the Summer Court," he says, offhandedly, without very much remorse. "It didn't go well. I'm surprised we didn't run into you there."

"I'm the Summer Court's ally, not their lackey. I don't have to help out if I don't want to." It's said with a scoff and a roll of his eyes, but inwardly, Strange is just swearing. How many people were there at that raid?! And why didn't Nightshade call to ask for his help! He could help out, he could easily help stop whatever half-assed attempt at a raiding party involved powerless humans like Lambert.

As much as Strange crows about how he's got most of his memories back, he knows what he's doing, blah blah blah, there's obviously some of the Portland Strange still left in his personality.

"Besides, considering you look like you got your asses kicked seven ways to Sunday, I don't think they needed my help to begin with."

"It was always a long shot," Lambert shrugs. "But a few people got their family back, so I guess it was worth it."

Not that Strange would understand that. At any rate, as soon as they get to the bus stop, Lambert's going to proceed to leaning against it tiredly. Assuming Strange doesn't make further attempts at conversation, he's content to leave it at that, and he'll follow his lead about which bus to get on and where to walk.

"If you say so," said with a roll of his eyes. Strange doesn't understand it, even though there's a small little memory, screaming to be heard about how he'd give anything to be able to storm a faerie court and get his family back. Which is absolutely ridiculous. He barely knew his mother and his father was terrible, what family would he want back anyway?

He doesn't know if he likes Lambert or not, so awkward silences are preferable than dealing with memory nonsense and getting threatened. Once the bus pulls up, however, Strange offers Lambert his bus pass.

"Don't worry. I have a spare." He has Yuya's. And so, the protagonist of a fantasy novel and a supporting character in a fantasy video game board modern public transportation. Strange deliberately slides in to make certain he gets the window seat before Lambert.

Lambert gives Strange a look like he's a dipshit, because hey, he has one of those himself! Useful for days he's too lazy to drive his shitty bike or deal with its temperamental nature. However, after a moment's tired regard for the bus pass offers, he just takes it with a nod of thanks.

He actually doesn't want to sit down, because he has no idea how quickly he can get up again, but he's going to very slowly and very carefully lower himself into the seat beside Strange, exhaling sharply when he's done. Could have gone better, could have gone worse.

"Let me know when we're near your stop," he says, simply. It's a practical thing, again, because he's not getting up fast any time soon.

Strange nods. And then the world's most awkward bus ride commences for seven or so minutes before Strange nudges Lambert, probably in one of his bruises because that's just how Lambert's week is going.

"Get up. We're the next stop." And now that Lambert can actually see what the outside of Strange's apartment complex looks like, hot damn does he live in a fairly nice neighborhood. It's not the richest of the rich because he lives in an apartment, not a house or a condo, but it's obvious that Strange came into some money because there is no way he'd be able to afford this working for the state.

Strange is very lucky he doesn't nudge Lambert in his cracked ribs or he would have gotten punched instantly, but as it is, the magician earns a sharp, unhappy hiss of breath.

"Watch it," he snarls, and then he does see about the business of getting himself up and out of his seat with minimal jostling. It's actually not too bad because no one else is getting off, because Strange's apartment complex has got nothing on Lambert's and in fact looks like an apartment complex that people who don't need to rely on public transportation use.

There's also no way that Lambert could have possibly imagined this was what Strange's hellhole of an apartment looked like from the outside. "You live here?"

"Don't look so surprised," Strange remarks, with a roll of his eyes, as the two exit the bus. "The state doesn't pay as much as I'd like but I came into money when my parents died."

That at least feels true in a way that both Portland-Strange and England-Strange can acknowledge as fact. Though, it's odd...the more he thinks about it, the more he's not entirely sure how either set died in the first place.

It's not that far a walk to the actual building. Once there, Strange doesn't go for his keys. Instead, he simply places his hand on the door and mutters something. The door audibly unlocks, then Strange enters, holding it open for Lambert. "I've disabled the wards, for now. Come on in."

Does everyone with magic just never use keys like the other plebes? Lambert considers clarifying the remark, but ultimately decides it's a waste of breath.

After only a moment of hesitation, Lambert steps inside. The apartment is still going to make his nose wrinkle, averting his head instinctively. This time, however, he'll stride (hobble) over to the nearest window -- hopefully, it fucking opens -- to crack it open and let some of the breeze in.

"Tell me what you've been able to find out so far. All of it," he adds, frowning.

Strange just walks in like it's perfectly fine and he can't smell any of the terrible fumes that are just blanketing the apartment. While Lambert goes to the window, Strange goes to the kitchen as he flicks on an electric kettle.

"Most of what I know I've already told you. The Severing is a ritual cast by the Circle twenty five years ago to cut off the realms of faerie, heaven, and hell from Earth. Something happened and recently, the spell's weakened--I think that 'something happened' is our arrival, by the way. The spell to break the Severing involves a magical pendant as well as a catalyst, someone who was brought here from a different world entirely and has a blood relationship to the spellcaster. Currently, the Winter Court is in possession of both of those items, the catalyst being our friend John Childermass. The actual ritual itself will most likely happen on Halloween."

Is that it? Strange pauses for a moment as he gets a pair of kind of ugly thrift store mugs down from the cabinet, thinking things over. There's probably something he's forgotten (there usually is). "Oh, and we're all probably from a different universe that has something to do with carnivals. By the way, chamomile, dandelion root, or my personal herbal blend?" Because look, this is going to probably take a while, Strange is at least making some tea for himself.

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

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