⇨ GREYSOL

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 155 - Day 169
Where: Greysol
What: The carnival resumes its tour, this time heading to Greysol, a city tied deeply into the fabric of the multiverse. Here, everyone has an animal companion from birth that is the second half of their soul - and thanks to the Ringmaster, so do you. (Remember, joysweeper is our guest event runner for this location, and location specific questions should go to them.)
Warnings: Individually marked!

THE CITY OF GREYSOL↴ The carnival arrives in a manicured park in the center of a big city that sprawls out along where the river reaches the ocean. It’s spring, early enough that nights are chilly, warm enough in the days that people and their souls savor the weather, and sometimes shelter together from the rain. Greysol was designed from the bottom up to accommodate the human-dæmon bond. Go out and see! ► THE SHAPE OF YOUR SOUL: The dæmon-forming spell kicks in at about four in the morning. Most characters will wake up with their souls in some small form, curled against them. Even if they were awake, they became dazed and unfocused while their souls were being drawn out of their bodies and have little memory of how it happened. Until that evening every character's dæmon is able to change shapes, and children and some teens will continue to do so. Most will settle on their permanent forms by evening. Characters without dæmons will just look on, and the few who are thousand-pound bears have to handle being really big. ► IT’S GOOD TO SETTLE: Elaine Tavis Aracari, sixteen-year-old daughter of two actors and a moving pictures sensation herself, just ‘settled’ - her dæmon Tavis stopped changing shape - as a stunning blue peacock. Settling is a major coming of age milestone and celebrated as such in different ways all over the world. She and her family are throwing a massive party in the central park and inviting the public to join in! Enjoy easy access to free catering, live music and showings of moving pictures, and displays of mostly trivial magic. There are also form readers from across the country setting up booths, happy to accept a small fee to inspect your dæmon’s settled or most favored forms and tell you what they mean. Is there anything to these analyses? Eh, maybe, but they’re flattering and fun. ► WITCHING HOURS: Characters who are clearly witches for this event will often be assumed to be in town for a lover, and people, witches and not, may want to know who that is. Humans usually regard them with wary respect and interest. Real witches living with their human families or on business quickly suspect that something’s up, but without clear and present danger take a relaxed wait-and-see attitude. Wait for long enough and any possible decision will come around again, they believe. There isn’t time to learn much witch magic, but witches, real and carnival-made, have an inherent power: the ability to fly using branches of “cloudpine”, an attractive soft-needled tree common in the park. Witches usually ride large branches as if they’re steeds but can use even short sprays, and you’ll probably see the few witches in the city coming to the park to do so. Why not try? ► BEAR PUN: Human-panserbjørn relations have historically been troubled, but have warmed in the past century. It’s the 65th anniversary of the breaking of the Siege of Bertin, a much-mythologized time when Spectres flooded Greysol and a company of panserbjørn arrived and directed efforts to get the survivors out of the city. A statue is being erected and many florid accounts of the story are being told. If you’re in a panserbjørn shape for the duration of the visit you will probably get thanked and celebrated by people trying to hide their nervousness of you. Expect someone to ask if your dæmon would be a human - it’s a common supposition. ► KERNER ISLAND: From the harbor you can see a wooded island. Although there are no rocks to speak of it sports a tall lighthouse, and nearly all boat traffic avoids it carefully. On a clear day someone with binoculars or a particularly sharp-eyed soul can see loads of trash, birds and various other animals that don’t seem local, and… children? Adults and settled teenagers will see tall vague shapes moving about too. When asked about it the most important thing adults will tell other adults is don’t go there. They’ll hold their dæmons close and tell you that on that island are things that eat souls. They may also admit with mixed pride and shame that it’s been a source of wealth and innovation for the city. There’s a facility there that can open windows into other worlds, and the children who can reach it can cross through and bring things back. Many of the children are recruited by research and development teams on the lookout for items they can use, but there are also kids out to have adventures or who’ve run away. More on this later.

Comments

[steadydollypegs]

'S not much of a choice now, either though. [Doll scoots closer to the tree, trying to subtly lean in to this conversation. The air between them seems to be the problem, instead of their difference of opinion, as far as she's concerned.]

I can' choose ta watch ya suffer, Joker. I jus' can' do it. You know that.

[pipers_son]

....I know ya can't, Doll.

[Aurora can't help opening her beak this time, knowing full well Joker won't himself.] S'why ta usually don't.

[While true, he wishes the daemon wouldn't say such things, and his mouth twitches.]

[steadydollypegs]

[She'd been hoping he wouldn't say that-- or Aurora wouldn't say that. Doll had been dreading, deep in her chest, that she wouldn't like the response because it creates a dozen other questions. All of them painful.]

...were ya ever happy with all of us? Or were ya just...? [Hiding how he really felt about them all? Walter has been standing by too, and his usual perky and determined stance has gone slack. He curls up around Doll, trying to protect her, but he's whining something terrible, like he's been injured.]

[pipers_son]

Of course I was!

[The sudden burst of words seems to startle even Aurora, the bird flapping her wings in alarm. Joker is already up onto his feet proper as he says it, his own magpie wings carrying him upwards enough for it to happen. For a brief moment, his face twists into a look that's almost betrayed.]

I'm here for a reason- didn't I tell ya that? That I'm here for all of ya?

[steadydollypegs]

What 'm I supposed ta believe now, Joker?! [Doll leaps to her feet as well, finally finding her anger. Walter is still nervous and whimpering, but Doll doesn't need help right now.]

Ya tell me I never saw ya miserable, am I supposed ta believe yer only talkin' about this place?! The carnival?! Can ya blame me f'r askin' when ya jus' admitted ta lyin' ta my face on the regular?!

[pipers_son]

You and everyone else!

[They're out before he has a chance to stop them, and Joker grits his teeth before giving up. Everything's already gone to hell- why not add more coal to the fire?]

Ya aren't special, Doll! I'm just- it's what needed ta be done! For me ta take care of the whole family! And ya were happier before knowin', weren't ya!? We both know ya were!

[steadydollypegs]

[She was the first one to start yelling, so it shouldn't come as such a great shock when Joker starts yelling back. But it does, and Doll flinches when he starts and stays there until he's done. She doesn't interrupt because she's too scared, too upset, but there are dozens of things she feels in those moments.]

I was. But th'cost was too high. [Doll has been trying to not cry for a while now, but it's impossible at this point. 'You're not special' is going to reverberate in her heart for a long, long time and it hurts particularly right now.] 'N y'shouldn't've had ta pay it.

[pipers_son]

[There are a lot of moments when Joker finds that he does something, only to immediately regret it. Now? Now he doesn't think he's regretted anything faster, and the distress on his face warps into an entirely different sort.]

Doll-

Oh Doll!

[For once, not arguing over any of his issues, him and Aurora are on the same page. Both of them take off, leaving the height of the trees to land back onto earth. Joker doesn't waste any time in coming closer, his hand hovering near one of her shoulders.]

Hush, hey, don't cry... Don't cry, Doll.

[steadydollypegs]

[Doll doesn't make any move to run away or avoid the two of them, she stands right where she is and tries to wipe her eyes and not cry in front of Joker. Walter is going insane, leaping up and bracing his paws on Joker's hip, whimpering and begging forgiveness for whatever he's done to upset Joker and Aurora.]

'Don' leave, please don' leave--!'

Why? [She's trying so hard to do what Joker says and not cry, but there's nowhere for her to store the hurt, there's no physical way she can smile for him and say she's okay.] Why did ya take me in if I was jus' gonna make ya sad? I never, ever wanted that f'r ya I-- I'd take it all if I could. [She should have. She's an unwanted, ugly child and Joker? Joker had brought them all together and kept them safe and alive. What was she worth, really? Just another mouth to feed, just another silly girl who couldn't see when Smile lied to her.]

[pipers_son]

I ain't leavin', ya know I ain't leavin'-

[He murmurs it as much as he can, trying to make it convincing. Will it work? He has no idea. That's the problem with being outed as a liar. There's no reason to believe him now, as she said- for anything.]

[Joker says it anyway, hoping the words still have some weight.]

You don't make me sad, ya never do, s'just- other things, stuff that happens. But it ain't yerself, it ain't.

[steadydollypegs]

[Walter prostrates himself at Joker's feet though, still not convinced that he and Doll weren't about to disowned for making Joker this angry. Doll is still trying to keep her tears off her face, sniffling and snorting and trying to hold everything in-- and she's getting a little better at it now that Joker is next to her and talking calmly.]

Other things that happened 'cause I was there, and didn't figure it out quick enough. [Nevermind she was the youngest, and the most protected, she's going to hold herself to the same standard Joker had to when he was her age. That seems like the right thing to do.] 'M never doin' what I need ta be doin', I'm off doin' cartwheels while yer tryin' ta smile, 'm here gettin' in th'way-- I jus' wanna do somethin' right by ya. Ta make up f'r all-- all this.

[She gestures around them with both hands for a moment before Doll turns to look up at him. She's been too afraid to look at him until now.] I don' know what ta do anymore, but I'm tryin' my best.

[pipers_son]

[With Walter still so distressed, Aurora finally flutters down to the other daemon. She lands on the ground before him, immediately cozying up and burying her face into the folds of his ear. From her beak all soft reassurances, gentle consolations.]

[Joker, in the meanwhile, carefully cups his wooden hand along the curve of Doll's face.]

Doll... That's all I've ever wanted from ya. That's the whole point. I've only ever wanted ya, and Beast and Peter and all the others, ta be happy.

[steadydollypegs]

But what about you?

[Walter quiets down, tail coming back out from between his legs, his eyes falling shut so he can listen better. He pushes his solid muzzle gently against Aurora, in affection and appreciation.]

Joker... [She swallows and rests her head in his hand, holding it there with both of hers.] You've always meant th'world ta me. And not 'cause ya saved my life, but 'cause... ya never taught me ta hate, or be angry, in spite 'a everythin'. I see joy and beauty in things, and it coulda been the other way, easy. Ya gave me a gift, and-- and maybe it's time I did more ta share it.

[pipers_son]

[More than once has Joker marveled at how good Doll could be, down past even bone and into the very core of her. She's always been willing to see the best in people, and help them back.]

[It's just, he reflects, a pity that she's far too late for him.]

[But he's seen what happens when truth is let out, now, so he does her a favor. Joker keeps quiet and, fussy and nervous herself, Aurora does as well. There's just their gentle touches.]

Just existin' means yer sharin' it, Doll. S'always how I've seen it.

[steadydollypegs]

If that were true, my parents woulda kept me. [Who throws away something that makes them happy, after all? That doesn't make any sense.]

[She presses Joker's hand into her face until her cheek squishes out, her brow wrinkled in determination.] I'm gonna do better for ya, Joker. It's time for me ta do better. I gotta grow up someday.

[pipers_son]

Swine can't tell pearls from anythin' else. Y'should know that. [Likely it's not the first time Joker has said it, either. There are a whole lot of people in the world who don't realize the good things they have: the people around them, the food they eat, the roof over their head.]

[Joker's never been able to ignore what he has.]

[Sighing at the spark of stubbornness he can see lighting up his face, he shakes his head.]

Ya don't have ta grow up like this.

[steadydollypegs]

Then how? When? [Doll lifts her free hand and presses it to Joker's cheek.] I know the lot of ya tried ta protect me from everythin', 'n I'm grateful I got ta be a child while I could.

But I can' be one forever, yeah? Better yer here while I learn, 'stead of tryin' ta figure it out on my own.

[pipers_son]

[Better here? Really? Joker wonders that, lips drawn thin and the middle of his wooden hand distantly aching as if iron is lingering near it once again. He wonders even as they're still fresh from a world that played games with their minds and memories.]

[Is this really as any good a place to grow up as London had been? At least in the East End, all the dangers of life that had been expected and consistent.]

[Saying that would only make her worry more, so he doesn't. Just like so much else, he buries it away.]

Just.... Ya have ta remember the important things, Doll.

[steadydollypegs]

I know. 'S why I'm here. With you. There's nothin' else that's more important.

[Even with all of the mind games, and the danger, and the fact that part of her soul is now a dog-- she's never lost sight of staying for Joker, doing everything she can for him. But she can't do that if he doesn't tell her what's happening.]

Yer all I got, Joker.

[pipers_son]

There's plenty of things more important than just me.

[He lightly threads his fingers along her hair, so very careful not to tangle anything. A tinge of sadness is lingering in his smile.]

Stuff that's in yerself.

[steadydollypegs]

Oh yeah, sure. [Doll nods solemnly.] Someday I'll do four hundred cartwheels. Important things that come from inside me, right?

[She raises her eyebrows at Joker and smiles again.] I'm who I am 'cause 'a you, y'know?

[pipers_son]

And everyone else. S'hardly me alone, Doll.

[He'd rather it not be him alone, even if he's the one who always takes on the most responsibility.]

[steadydollypegs]

[...well. He's probably got a point there. She's gentle because she watched Jumbo lift Dagger and carry him without complaint. She always wanted to be as feminine and lovely as Beast, as happy as Dagger was, and as good a partner to somebody as Wendy and Peter had been. And Joker?]

[She tries to be as generous and compassionate and selfless as he was when he took her in.]

[Doll shrugs.] But you were the first.

[pipers_son]

[Well. He can't refute that, he supposes. It's Aurora who does it for him, voice quiet.]

Still, Doll.

[Yeah. That's right. Joker lets out a breath.] Still... Try not ta look a me alone, alright? There's plenty in ya that's all yer own.

[steadydollypegs]

Is there? [She's never thought of herself as someone apart from her family. The only times when she feels that kind of disconnect are when she's performing. When she's trying to live up to a namesake she doesn't feel describes her at all.]

Half of her is a flowery lady she pretends t'be. [Walter still sounds sad and miserable, but at least he feels sufficiently forgiven.]