lostcarnival | ⇨ GREYSOL

Entry tags:

⇨ GREYSOL

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Aw... He wants to peek inside so badly, but it's clear that the blastia is important to her. Sentimental, maybe? Either way, it seems like she'd probably get real mad if he messed around with it.

9S lowers his hand, but the disappointment is clearly written on his expression. "'Her'?" If his eyes weren't covered, 9S would be shooting Rita a dubious look. "Can a mechanical device like that even have a gender?"

Heck, from outward appearances, it doesn't even appear to have the capability of thought or communication.

Immediately, Rita's face turns red. "That's just..." Yep, she realizes how weird it is. They're inanimate objects. "...because to me, the blastia are more than just tools." Not that anyone can really understand her feelings on the matter, but at least most don't have the nerve to say anything about it.

"B-besides, what are you saying that for? You're mechanical yourself. Are you saying you're fine with being called it?" In fact, he didn't actually express a preference, and Rita knows full well that they're not equivalent anyway, but she's flustered and feels the need to deflect right now.

9S shifts uncomfortably on his feet. Is that how humans view that pronoun? That 'it' is an indicator of a mere tool, while gender shows a level of closeness unrelated to the target's actual ability to think?

"We are sexless by default, but..." That's probably more information than what Rita wanted to know. "I guess it feels kind of cold if you called me an it."

It's a plain fact that he's sexless but hearing 'it' directed his way fills him with a sense of detachment and dread he can't quite place his finger on. Maybe she does have a point about 'it' being used for just tools. He's made to serve but being seen as a mere tool rather than a person doesn't sit well with him.

Unwilling to dwell on that thought for any longer than necessary, 9S continues, "A-Anyway, I'm a YoRHa number 9 type S model, but people call me 9S. What's your name?"

It feels cold...? Well, maybe he does understand what she means, in some way.

"9S...?" She gives him a dubious look. For someone who looks and sounds so human, it seems kind of odd that he doesn't have a more human-like name.

Oh well. He asked for her name, and she might as well give it. "My name's Rita. Rita Mordio." She shrugs. "I've only been here a couple months, but I can probably answer any questions you have about the carnival."

Rita? Now where did he hear that name before--

"Oh!" A small smile crawls across his face as he realises who she is. "I was told you're supposed to be my roommate."

It's pretty convenient meeting her here and now, all things considered.

"Roommate? Wait... you?" Rita blinks a few times, processing that. That was fast; Childermass only just moved. She takes another moment to consider this information. Having an android for a roommate... and the pod's coming too, she supposes. After a delay, she shrugs. "Well, I guess it beats living with an old man and a slobbering dog."

In fact... this could be an opportunity to learn more about 9S and his technology. Sharing a roof might actually be to Rita's advantage.

"Have you seen the place yet? I can show you there."

An old man and a slobbering dog? Does he want to know?

"Nope. Lead the way."

If Rita starts walking towards their shared trailer, 9S will fall into step beside her.

"You know," he begins casually. "I wasn't in much of a hurry to find out where I was rooming. I always had my own room, but it's not like I used it for anything other than sleeping. So it didn't seem all that important."

He sends Rita a broad smile.

"But now that I know I'll be rooming with you, I'm actually kinda looking forward to it!"

Rita does start walking, listening as she leads the way (wait, androids sleep?) but it's the last thing he says that gives her pause. Her eyes widen briefly in surprise, but she quickly recovers her neutral expression.

He's not talking about being friends or anything, right? That would be stupid.

"Yeah, well, I guess it'll make it easier to exchange information," she replies, somewhat hastily.

The daemon on her shoulder, which had been quiet until now, lifts his head up. "Isn't that great, Rita? Now you two can be close friends!" he teases in a boyish voice.

"Shut up!" Rita hisses, swiping a hand at him. He simply scurries behind her neck, to her other shoulder.

Close friends, huh? ...That would be nice.

It would've been nice if 2B could've come along with him here, but the Ringmaster had only offered this to him. He'd been worried that maybe... he wouldn't really get to hang out with anyone, now that he's on what is essentially a solo mission.

But it looks like he was worrying over nothing.

He can tell examining Rita's feelings isn't something Rita wants to talk about, so he doesn't prod too deeply into it. But he can't resist saying, "Your friend's right. It could be fun!"

Fun? "Hmph," is all Rita says in response, eyes focused ahead of them. Rita's not big on fun, or on admitting she actually has fun sometimes.

She leads him into the trailer park, and points to indicate one of the trailers. "We're here. It's that one." It doesn't have anything in the way of outdoor decor, but it does have one thing the other trailers don't. On the roof of the trailer, a small animal with red and black fur takes notice of them, creeping over to the edge of the roof and staring down at the two of them. "Oh, right. I have a cat. That's Francis."

Aw, so she's like that, huh? 9S has to try hard not to grin at that reaction.

Taking in the trailer, it doesn't seem anything especially exciting. But 9S' expression lights up at the mention of a cat. A cat! He's never seen any sign of them on the surface, but there's plenty of video footage of cats that other androids have salvaged and distributed to the rest of the Bunker.

...There are so many video of cats in existence. So many.

He'll never quite understand why humans recorded so many videos of cats doing the most inane things. Why do videos of cats climbing into various containers exist in multitudes? 9S can only surmise that the relationship between human and cat is complicated and bewildering.

This one has unusually bright red fur, though. Is this really a cat...? Uncertain of how to behave in the face of unfamiliar wildlife, 9S gives Francis a small wave. "Um. Hello?"

Francis just keeps staring with what looks like a glare.

"He's not too friendly with strangers, but he'll probably get used to you," Rita explains with a shrug as she makes her way to the door. Her Litten tends to avoid people unless they have something he wants. Maybe she'll let 9S feed him a couple of times to get on his good side.

As they come closer, Francis doesn't move, but the target of his staring changes as his eyes are transfixed on the Pod and the way it floats in the air. Eyes widening, he shifts back on his hind legs... then pounces off the roof, attempting to smack the Pod out of the air with his outstretched claws. Rita, with her back turned as she faces the door, doesn't see and offers no warning for them.

Hmm... Well, that's fine. 9S waits for Rita to open the door, gaze sliding away from the trailer, briefly.

Luckily, Pod 153 comes with automatic evasive systems. Even though its priority is to support 9S, its own safety takes precedence even over that. So when Francis pounces, the boxy robot deftly jerks out of the way with a quiet whirr of its internal rotors. The entire situation hasn't gone entirely unnoticed, however, the movement catching 9S' attention. His head whips around just in time to see the 'attack' on his pod. "Hey! What's the big idea!?"

Bad cat! Normally this sort of attack would be met with gatling gun fire, but fortunately that function had been disabled as part of his agreement with the Ringmaster. And... well, the cat is Rita's pet. Rita, who is (mostly) human. So killing it is probably out of the question.

Dammit! What's he supposed to do?

Half paralysed by impotent indecision, 9S puts himself between Francis and Pod 153. Humans often talked to cats, so maybe... "Pod 153 isn't an enemy!"

Francis flails as he falls, missing his target but still landing neatly on his feet. His fur puffs out a bit in surprise, but he quickly looks up to relocate the pod. When 9S moves to interfere, he protests with a bossy-sounding meow.

At this point, Rita's turned around, watching the display with her arms crossed. The attempt to reason with the cat is almost funny... but then, who knows? Pokemon often seem to understand a lot more words than one would think.

"He's just playing," Rita offers with a shrug. "Cats evolved to hunt birds. They can't resist the sight of something flying around near them." She doesn't sound too concerned about the implication that her cat is trying to hunt the pod.

No amount of meowing from Francis is going to appeal to 9S' softer side; he doesn't have the heart--

The pods are pretty sturdy, but even so, 9S doesn't like the idea of Pod 153 having to be constantly dodging a cat.

9S keeps his gaze fixed on the cat, not trusting the creature to pounce while he's not looking. "Can't you just, I dunno. Tell him not to do that?" That works for pods! "Pod 153 isn't a bird or a toy. My pod could get damaged if he manages to catch it, you know."

Rita shrugs. "He doesn't really listen to what anyone tells him. Animal training isn't exactly one of my specialties, either." Sorry 9S, Rita is about as lazy and irresponsible as a pet owner can be. It hasn't really been a problem until now, since Francis is largely self-sufficient.

But since she can't just leave this standoff as it is, Rita walks over and scoops the Litten up into her arms so that he can't do any more stalking or jumping. He meows at her, but ultimately allows it. "...Is the pod really that delicate?" She has some doubts that a creature this small could damage something made of metal, designed with such highly advanced technology.

Once Francis is scooped up, 9S relaxes his stance. But he's still got an eye on you, cat!

"Well... no," he admits. Pod 153 is perfectly capable of taking care of itself, especially since it has to be used in combat against the machines. Pods are even capable of basic repair functions, so he doesn't even really need to perform maintenance on it. "But you'd be upset if he played with your blastia, wouldn't you?"

"...I guess so," Rita concedes, having taken a moment to consider that scenario.

"You could try to be more helpful," Krios admonishes her in a flat tone.

With her cat cradled in one arm, Rita waves the other in a dismissive gesture, then turns back to the trailer door. "Anyway, I'll show you inside." Her daemon's suggestion goes ignored as she opens the door and steps inside, then makes room for 9S to come in after her.

Of the two beds, the top bunk is a mess, with its blankets twisted around in a clump, while the bottom bunk is neatly made. Paper litters the table, and books can be found stashed on various surfaces. While most appear to be thick textbooks, there's also a thin, colorful book titled Litten and Me, an illustrated guide to caring for Littens. A few clothing items have been shoved into the closet without being folded, including a biker jacket that doesn't look like it would fit around Rita's wings. The kitchenette appears to have been used very little. There's a loaf of bread and a bunch of bananas on the counter, and the fridge is mostly empty, housing only a few condiments.

It doesn't look like anyone's dusted in a while. There are some scattered feathers on the floor, and some corners have accumulated clumps of cat hair.

9S follows Rita in, Pod 153 trailing after him. Wow, this trailer is... this is what humans would call a 'pig sty', isn't it? 9S sucks in a breath.

Don't insult the human don't insult the human don't insult the human.

"Wow. Do you ever clean this place?"

Whoops he insulted the human. Even Pod 153 has some words to say about the state of the trailer.

< Analysis: Interior does not appear to have recently undergone proper maintenance. Proposal: Begin cleaning immediately to prevent increased levels of dust and other foreign particles from entering filters >

Edited 2017-09-24 09:01 (UTC)

Just as 9S suspects, Rita has pretty much never cleaned the place. Childermass was certainly the cleaner of the two of them, but between their month-long absence while in Portland, the time he took to recover from injuries, and then his sudden departure, some tasks were put on hold for a while. And when those tasks fell to Rita... she couldn't be bothered.

"Hey, it's not that..." Rita begins to protest 9S, but Pod 153 interjects before she can finish the sentence. "--You too!? Come on, it's just a little dust. If it bothers you that much, then you clean it." She folds her arms and humphs at them. As far as she's concerned, this is a pretty normal level of cleanliness. What are they, a couple of neat freaks? Maybe androids are used to more sterile environments.

Yeah, no. Sure, he can take a little mess, but this is a bit much. That said, he's not the one who does the cleaning for his own room in the Bunker, sooo...

"Pod, I'll leave it to you."

< Affirmative. Initiating clean up >

And with that, Pod 153 hovers over to the top bunk in order to neaten the bunched up covers. Isn't it convenient having a robot buddy who can do this sort of stuff for you?

To Rita, he asks, "Where do you keep the cleaning gear? If you show me, my pod can handle the rest."

They're actually cleaning for her!?

Rita blinks a few times, not having expected this, but she recovers quickly. All things considered, this is probably an ideal outcome. "All right. Just don't mess up my notes on the table there." Some of them could easily be mistaken for scrap paper, and the way they're spread around the table looks like they were haphazardly dumped there, but Rita knows where and how each of those notes fit together.

"Most supplies are in the cupboard under the sink. There's a broom in the closet there." For all the cleaning Rita doesn't do, she at least knows where everything is. After a pause, she adds, "Seems pretty handy, that pod."

"Don't mess with the papers on the table. Got it. But if any of that ends up on the floor, don't blame me if they get moved." Pod 153's intelligent to know to not mess with the notes, but he may as well try to keep THAT particular mess contained to the table rather than allow it to start spreading to the floor.

As soon as Rita tells 9S where the broom is, Pod 153 makes its way there.

"Yeah. Pods are kinda more generalised in function than androids, but they are designed to support us. It's normally got a bunch of other functions, but we're not connected to the Bunker here and I had to disable most of its ranged support options as part of the Ringmaster's conditions. She, uh, doesn't like guns for some reason?"

Rita's gaze continues to follow the pod, but she nods at 9S's words. "Yeah. I'm not sure why, either. It could be because a lot of them use iron, but... so do swords, and those are allowed if modified. Maybe the fae just don't like mortal weapons powerful enough to be a match for magic..." She sets Francis down on a seat and pets him idly as she ponders that.

But then she raises her head suddenly, seemingly thinking of something else. "Oh, right." She walks over to a drawer, opens it, and retrieves an object. "If you still wanted to examine a blastia... I've got another one here." She holds it out. Like her bodhi blastia, its core is a small red gem affixed in a metallic body, though it appears to be a handheld device rather than a wearable one.

Too bad there's no vaccuum, sweeping is a little bit harder for a box bot like Pod 153. But it's doing a reasonably ok job of gathering all the feathers into a pile using the broom before sweeping them out the door into the yard outside. Thanks, Pod, you're a pal.

9S blinks, before his lips draw into a wide smile. "You're letting me look at it?"

He can hardly contain his excitement at examining this new piece of technology, barely restraining the urge the snatch the blastia out of Rita's hand. As it is, he hurriedly takes the blastia from her, immediately scanning it. Like her pendant, it does seem to be some kind of technological device, though on closer inspection, the core seems be a biological component.

"So this is biological and mechanical? Is the core some kind of power source?" he muses aloud. He can't get a read on the biological part -- that's not his specialisation, unfortunately -- but if it's a complex bit of technology, it's bound to need a source of energy. "Hey, you don't mind if I hack into this, right? I won't make any changes, if that's what you're worried about."

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