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

This is the final week! No directed prompts at the moment. This is your time to work out any final CR or plot issues before the finale fight comes around.

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.

When you know what your character, or a group of characters, is going to be trying to attempt when Halloween arrives, please let us know here. This can include things like if you are continuing to support the Angel Team, or if you are trying another route. The Angels will be continuing to ask for help from whoever will give it, and are open to hearing about new information regarding the situation - especially coming from apparent outsiders.

Taako and Foster are going to attempt to get control of the situation themselves, or at least to sabotage it so that no one else can; they're obviously going to fail, but they will be attempting it. Taako is obviously going to be splitting off from his previous support of the demons in favor of acting in his own interest, and in Foster's; once they set up their plans in-universe, Foster will be the main one acting, while Taako supports and defends him as best he can.

How exactly this resolves is still up in the air, but I imagine it's not gonna be pretty.

Assuming that Demons don't know That Much about the inner workings of Fae, could Carly's earlier investigations uncovering the murder of 'Winter's Claw' potentially lead her to realize that the ones that swooped in for the final steal are likely Winter Court Fae?

Also, could doing another net dive help her to find some way to help Anath's crew chase after those fae?

As mentioned above, the Beast and company try their hand at invading the Rose Queen's garden realm, trying to defeat her or, at the very least, rescue a few changelings (and a certain warlock) that have been imprisoned. Their entry point is a dead-end flower-filled alleyway behind a florist shop rather than the more commonly known entrance. Basically, Childermass is letting them into the realm the "back way".

While they do manage to pull off a rescue mission, they take heavy injury and ultimately lose, even with the Beast probably turning into a cool dragon or something (who even knows). Enemies include loyal changelings, summoned elementals, and vines that would like to crush you.

Their point of exit (unless individuals leave their own routes somehow) will be through Portland's rose garden, as it's the closest and quickest out. Upon exiting, they will be met with a massive flock of corvids (crows, ravens, jays, jackdaws, etc), so many swooping down through their group that it will be monetarily blinding. Once they pass, the group will find one of their less-than-friendly feathered guide missing from amongst them.

[ THIS IS A CATCH-ALL FOR GARDEN ATTACK THREADS (also basically just a recap of what's already written above).

Feel free to thread out any portion of the attack or NPC antagonists here if you'd like. ]

Yuya, Yugo, & Gon will try and get into contact with Pru a couple days into the week, after the failed assaults and they've had a chance to compare information with other outsiders.

They have some questions: What are the details of the ritual to break the severing and What is the Angel's plan for making it work properly? Basically seeing if they have a solid plan/McGuffin for taking control of the ritual from the Court before they storm it. How confident is she in her current plan, because Yuya's extra worried about what either Court will do with the ritual and doesn't want the Fae to get it.

When the reach the core of the gardens, it becomes clear that the Summer Court fae must be waiting nearby. It's the center, the place that the elementals and killer plants seem to be trying to protect - and that's the exact place the Beast is going.

"I'm coming for you!" she roars, and moments later, she will grow rapidly in size, her body rearranging into the form of an enormous dragon. The remains of her old skin burn away, leaving glowing orange and teal marks run across her dark scales in patterns.

With a flap of her wings that will send those unfortunately enough to be close by flying, she'll take off into the air, dive bombing the central courtyard of the garden.

hey Nightshade, it's captain useless, here to bother you again. Strange'll ask Nightshade two questions.
1: cliff notes for the raid on RQ's gardens because he was off getting punched by angels during the item raid and has zero clue what happened but probably heard rumors or something and wtf dragons?
2: does she know where the entrance to the Winter Court's main base is? If questioned further, Strange will phrase this like he wants to be useful and sneak in and get the plot trinket himself, this certainly isn't due to the fact that he's getting memories and his original personality back and is feeling mad guilty about all the shit he put Childermass through during the event, why would you think that.

A - Setting what is Right [Closed to Carly]

[The Circle didn't see them coming as the angel stormed the place and took the pendant. It was almost too easy so it wasn't too much of a surprise that the demons attacked. And then warriors from the Summer Court added to the chaos. Even as he blasted away an attacker after they scored a vicious slash in the dark hide at his side, one of them caught his eye. Someone that almost felt as familiar as Noboru and Yuya had, but that was impossible, surely!

He had charged and they went back and forth long enough to stray out to the fringes of the fight. Yugo doesn't notice when the battle for the pendant is lost to a fourth contender from the shadows, but the guardian is too busy dueling with the warlock before him. It won't last long, he's exhausted and the wound at his sides burns with a fierceness that he desperately tries to ignore.]

You warlocks are all the same! Thinking a demon is the answer to your problems, when all they ever do is use mortals for their own gain.

[Stupid, is what this angel's implying of her as he snarls like the dragon he appears to be.]

---
B - To Rise Above Defeat [Closed to Gongenzaka and Yuya]

[First, Yugo had needed more time to recover than he thought. Demon poison does that. But once he feels the minimum of functional enough, that marked the time for him to regroup with Yuya and Noboru. However, as Yugo notices when he finally hovers his way into the Sanctuary- Yuya's not looking too well himself. Huh.

But that aside, the angels needed a new plan and maybe between the three of them... it would be easier to figure one out.]

---
C - And What is Wrong [Closed to NPC]

[It was about time, despite the swirling nervousness in his gut. Yugo knew he needed to try making things right with Reina. Emphasis on try, since by the time the angel is finally standing before the dorm's door. Shaking.

He knocks.]

Reina? Are you there?

[Yugo waits but predictably doesn't get an answer. But despite the question, he can sense she is and just ignoring him.]

I... I'm sorry for everything. I couldn't do kill that vampire or... do anything right for you.

And I still don't completely know what's going on, but if that makes it sound like I was lying about myself... I swear I wasn't...! And the more stuff that keeps coming up, the more it seems like I'm not from here entirely... That I'm not a real angel, let alone from heaven at all...!

[Whoops, someone seems to have fallen at last into the "whole life is a lie" realization.]

A-and there's a lot of others with memories that d-don't make sense with their lives here either. But I'm not asking you to help me go h-home. None of that matters if the planet dies because of this spell the Circle made and... I need your help to save it!

[Yugo listens for a moment, but something else comes comes to mind as tears start beading on his face.]

I'm... I'm sorry about Jerry. I swear that... I swear on my oath that all I ever wanted was for you to be happy. Whether I was really there or not, I would've been trying to save you both! I... I can't heal people, but... I would have saved him too if I could...!

... So please! [Definitely crying now.] It doesn't m-matter to me if you... never want to see my f-face again, but I don't want to imagine you being gone...! Not when even now I still love you!

---
D - [Open Wildcard]

[Have something in mind? Come at me!]

[Yuya is definitely worse for the wear than when he left them during the fight for the artifact. He's bandaged, and lucky that nothing's broken. It doesn't appease him much, though, and he's slumped in a chair in the room, looking sullen and frustrated.

He gives Yugo a flat look before it registers who just walked in--and then he sits up a little more.] Yugo? Uh, hi.

[It's so lucky that Reina isn't here, isn't it? Carly has fire rolling over her arms as she fights, and when the Angel comes near she quickly inhales to ready a blast of flame not from her hands but from her mouth. Get the heck away from her, DRAGON-she can fire-torch better than you!

But she needs words to speak, not flames, and so as slightly out of breath as she is, she dodges and shouts-]

You don't know, what kind of choices come to this..! Some of them fight for love..!! [~~Rip AnathxDemonDude~~]

[With the last few days passing by, Reina has had time to focus on school-work for once, but more importantly to try and sort her priorities. 'Hugo' is lucky, frankly, that her roommate isn't in. As it is, She doesn't answer the door for a bit. Merely standing there, staring at it, listening as the angel cries outside the door.

And cries...

And...

The door opens to let him fall inward.] ....If I let you in, will you at least stop crying?

Edited 2017-07-23 14:14 (UTC)

[Suffice to say, Gongenzaka had to resist the suddenly difficult to resist urge to practically crush the other in his arms when Yuuya arrived in that state, but hey. All is...well?? That ends well or something.

Seeing the angel return as well did not somehow factor in as a possibility, and Gongenzaka stiffens from his own seat, eyes wide.] Mnnh-!

You've come as well?! I, th...

I wouldn't have thought angels would be involved in the second fight as well... [No, he wasn't- Gon no-]

[Well. Angel-patron warlocks are different. Plus angels are better than demons.]

And what about that demon you made your deal with...?

[Huh, it's feels weird to care about that. Yugo would've never imagined that he'd be trying to... save a warlock? Assuming such an improbable task was possible. But the dragon watches her movements closely, also trying to cover how his side bleeds with golden blood. And something else pitch black, hm. Memories or an evil mind trick?]

If I made this deal, do you think I had a choice?! [she finds herself shouting impulsively. She herself seems fatigued, but otherwise fine...

Or fine enough to aim for the gold and black.] Or that demons all think the same to begin with?!

[Direct hit! Yugo fights to stay above the ground, while letting out a strangled hiss of pain. He needs to get closer, because despite having options for long range in his arsenal... being up in melee range feels much more his style. Would going invisible work?

... He focuses hard past the pain- but Yugo has no way of knowing that even after his form phases out, Carly's demon patron is a lot closer around than he thinks... The guardian dragon's going for a holy smite from behind.]

Eh? A second fight?

[Yugo's gaze moves from Gon to Yuya. The kid.... well no they're both kids here aren't they? He's not sure about the vampire's age. After spotting a free seat, the guardian dragon shifts into his college student form and settles into it with relief.

... Seems that turning into a human form makes it easier for them to see that he isn't entirely over a bout of illness. Oh well.]

Is that the reason for all the bandages?

I.. um...

[Tears are still flowing strong down the angel's face, but at least with Reina opening the door he's managed to stops rambling his honest and yet awkward apologies. With occasional shouts of emotion in between. So dramatic right.

He wipes at his eyes and seems genuinely surprised that his fears of staying rejected at the door aren't quite come true.

.... Still crying, but not bawling in the embarrassing fashion he was just doing before. Maybe that's a start.]

I'll... I'll try?

[Proof in his favor then of these not being crocodile tears.]

[Yuya looks between the two of them, raising a brow.] No, Yugo wasn't there.

[He sinks further in his seat, looking to Yugo.] Some of us went after the Rose Queen to save changelings and stop her from hurting the city any more... it didn't go very well.

[Carly's warning comes only in the nic of time-]

Behind! [Aslla screeches, and though Carly moves to dodge, the light Sears against her skin as she cries out. With choked gasps, she retaliates however, screaming even still.] Are these even angelic tactics?!

Do YOU even know what's happening?

⇨ FOR GREG
Steven knows this is stupid, but he can't think of any other options. He can't just leave his dad's fate in other people's hands - let alone someone like Childermass, whom he still barely has reason to trust. The familiar landscape of the Queen's gardens summons up a low burning horror in him, that makes him want to be ill, to just lay down and give in. Yet, he doesn't.

It isn't just about him at the moment. If he can't get his dad back, then there's at least one other way he can be of use to people.

The cage Steven had been kept in when he wasn't busy with his duties was near the central courtyard of the gardens. It was beautiful, when viewed in an abstract sense - separate from the cruelties that had been committed within it and as a result of it. The bars were made of thorny vines, twisted and patterned like a garden fence and gate, that closed up at the top with space enough to see the sky through the thorns.

There was a raised patch of moss with vines growing around it that had functioned as a bed, and sometimes had functioned to hold him down for hours at a time when he'd misbehaved, ensuring his inability to even attempt an escape. To one side, a small stream flowed through, that could be used to drink and wash away anything that need cleaning. On the other side, there was a fruit bearing tree that peeked through the bars, that allowed him to eat when necessary.

The flavours were sweet, but the idea of them still leaves a nauseous feeling inside of him. Any superficial beauty there was hollow, and beyond those three amenities, the prison had been sparse and lonely. All that remained of his personal impact on the place were some piles of nice looking rocks that had function as something approximating toys, and some fragile flowers that he'd covertly transplanted from other places in the garden. Nothing there really belonged to him, and it still doesn't.

He doesn't want to go back.

Yet, that is the direction he's been going, ever since this attack started. He's not fighting - just running and avoiding, using his knowledge of the gardens to travel in the Beast's wake. He has to get to where his dad is being kept, and after that... it doesn't matter. After that, he'll figure out what has to be done.

His skin has gotten bloodied and his wings are torn as he reaches his old prison, and his footsteps become cautious. He doesn't dare call out, but he approaches all the same.

⇨ FOR OTHERS
Having demanded to follow Childermass into the battle, in the interest of saving his father, Steven is along for this ride whether he likes it or not. His main priorities are freeing any changelings he can find, as well as finding where his father is being kept. He'll be fighting fire with fire - or rather, flora with flora, because all he can do is delay the existing plans, or use his influence to momentarily convince them away from attacking.

He's almost as familiar with the layout of the gardens as Childermass is, though he's not going to be paying much attention to anything besides finding Greg. If he has to run into danger, so be it.

Edited 2017-07-23 18:11 (UTC)

[Yugo flickers back into view rather quickly and takes the hit even while knowing there's not much more he can tank through.

"I won't take an opportunity that's a setup!"

And then he said to that girl with Rin's face...]

No matter when, no matter the situation... you're supposed to grab any chance that you've got! Call it dishonorable for an angel if you want, but this I learned while growing up in the Commons!

[The warlock's shout of pain unsettles him to the core though, which is strange because it's not possible for him to be that soft toward his enemies... unless... But then he looks up at the sound of collective yelling, mixed with thundering wingbeats and footsteps, and retreating forms. What?]

Yuya isn't familiar at all, so at least he has the sense to try and stick close to people who are probably on the same side. He's not completely unarmed. Rita suggest he bring iron, so a crowbar it was and he's thrown a few tables--but he knows he's probably still at a power disadvantage and he needs to be careful.

That doesn't mean in the chaos he didn't get separated, and when dodging around the vines to find his way back he runs into--"Steven!"

Good, he's still all right. Yuya makes his way right for him, eying the vines in case he needs to weave out of danger.

Tch. [She scowls, hair still tied back in some tiny lazy ponytail and clothes left to a pair of shorts and the oversized shirt that hasn't quite hit laundry yet. Back into the dorm room then- the door will close behind them.]

How can you even say that...'love'? You don't even know who you are.

[Whatever it is, Carly pays it no mind. She focuses on words. On memories, on the fight-

Fire lashes forward, and she roars-]

And angels don't grow! So, tell me, what are you really here for?! Saying you're from Commons, like that should mean something...like I know you..! [she adds, and yet...she feels tears in her eyes...]

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

⇨ INVESTIGATION THREADS

⇨ RITUAL PLANS

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⇨ THE QUEEN'S GARDEN

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THE BEAST TURNS INTO A COOL DRAGON

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Yugo

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STEVEN DOESN'T TURN INTO A DRAGON

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For Others

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