⇨ SAY UNCLE

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone who isn't in jail!
When: Day 175, 11:30PM onward.
Where: The Realm that used to contain Heartstone Manor.
What: Team carnival has gotten what they came for, but in the meantime they have lost what they came with. With his ace in the hole gone, the Prince is tearing apart the Heartstone Manor and reshaping it into an impregnable fortress to lock away his new most precious commodities - the Ringmaster's captured followers. Welcome to a hostage situation, this could take a while.
Warnings: Violence, and etc.

AFTER THE BALL↴ Around 11:30PM is when everything starts changing - and for most in Heartstone Manor, the triggers will have remained unseen. In the ongoing thunderstorm it was easy to miss, and the Prince losing control over his realm only occured before a small group of workers intent on saving the carnival from a terrible fate. An ancient High Fae artifact called the Blue Rose was stolen from the Prince, and in reaction he is being forced to abandon his plans of controlling the Ringmaster, instead trying to hide away in his realm for the purposes of saving his own skin. His main bartering chip? The workers that he's been capturing up to this point. He knows that, unlike himself, the Ringmaster cares about mortals, and especially about the ones who follow her. He's willing to bet that she won't allow them to die for the sake of her own convenience, and he's right. Now that the Blue Rose is the carnival's, she's intent to take back what was stolen from her, as well as the lives of all the servants that the Prince has been stealing away for eons. By whatever means necessary. ► SPLIT THE EARTH: Characters all across the Manor will be treated with initial tremours that will soon escalate into a full-fledged earthquake, capable of collapsing buildings and rending the earth. The cause of this is simple: the Prince is using his powers of elemental earth to reshape his realm into something more suited to protect him. Specifically, he is changing what was a manor house into a fortress meant to defend, and allowing the rest to collapse into ruin. The Manor is still nothing but a castle floating in a void - as the earth breaks apart, it will be nothing but an endless freefall between the floating chunks of debris. Over the next twelve house that earthen debris will be reshaping and solidifying into a new layout, but having to be there while it happens is one hell of a ride! ► BREAK THE ILLUSION: It's as the world starts shaking that the last of the Prince's spell over the minds of his guests will begin to fade away. However, it may wear off more slowly than is helpful in an emergency earthquake situation. The ballroom trance may linger even as lives are threatened, and it will take a pointed effort to make sure that everyone gets out of the Manor's collapse safely. At the same time, the illusionary guests will begin to fade and disappear. The ones that remain are the ones that are real, but it may be a bit painful to realize which ones were simply a lie to begin with. ► SAVE WHO YOU CAN: Despite being knocked out by a surprisingly massive blast from the Prince's magic crystal, the Ringmaster will manage to gather herself up eventually. When she does, the last of the storm will finally come to an end. She'll be doing what she can to try to gather up both servants of the Prince and all of her workers, but it'll be impossible to get to all of them first. A large portion of the servants have undoubtedly been stolen away by the Prince into his newly built fortress, but with the effort of carnival members new and old, they can still save as many as possible. Of course, those held in the Prince's most secure prisons will remain out of reach... for now. ► WAKE THE SUN: As the worst of the earthquakes stop and the new islands of floating land begin to settle, the clouds from the thunderstorm will finally pass, as the Ringmaster seems to summon up a sun to light the realm for the first time since the carnival's arrival. In reality it's sometime in the early, early morning by the Manor's schedule, but whatever! It's easier to not die when the sun is out, don't you think? The Prince's security and gargoyle soldiers are still out and about, and they're clearly interested in capturing as many hostages as possible. ► SIGN A CONTRACT: This is when the Ringmaster will be taking those that were summoned to the Prince's ball aside to offer them contracts in order to free them from the Prince's influence. She'll do her best to explain that the only way to wipe out his control is to take on a new 'master', but they can take some time to think about it if necessary. The truth is, of course, that until they officially sign onto the Ringmaster's camp, there will still be the chance that the Prince will be able to control them. ► WALK THE RUINS: One Day 176 things will have settled completely, with the land now forming a massive fortress on the far side of several large floating islands. The ruins of the old buildings will scatter those islands, forming towers that will swiftly gain small colonies of gargoyles, ready to swoop down and attack carnival members. Further complicating matters is the fact that the rending of the landscape has resulted in bursting open the underground prisons that the Prince had been keeping his most bestial servants, which mean all kinds of mortals long since twisted into the forms of giant spiders, scorpions, monstrous beasts, and other terrifying creatures will now be running amock on the islands, desperate for food. Try not to hold it against them - they didn't ask to be this way. ► REGROUP: While the Ringmaster doesn't want everyone to just run back home (if they do that, the Prince will undoubtedly make them unable to enter again, or at least take over the landscape more fully) she will manage to open a portal back to the carnival in the afternoon of Day 176, formed between two freshly grown trees. This means that carnival members will be able to fetch new clothing, supplies, weapons, and whatever they need to prepare for the battle ahead. Right now, the chaos is still unfolding, but the battle to save the Prince's captives is still ahead. [OOC: Gargoyles and transformed servants from the underbelly can be NPC'd from this point onward. Gargoyles are the Prince's most deadly servants made of extremely durable rock and bearing scorpion tails with venom that can turn bodies into stone. They want to grab anyone they can, trap them, and then fly them off to the Prince's dungeons as collateral. Don't let them! Transformed servants are the beasts who were freed from the underground prison they were left in to rot. They are servants that were transformed into monsters by the Prince, and most of them have been driven insane with bestial hunger from months and years of starvation and atmospheric poison. The Ringmaster is interested in helping them, to see if there is way they can be changed back, so if you have the heart nonlethal methods are most appreciated.]

Comments

►REGROUP - [locked to mercury]

[disjunct]

[ Once Junko signs her contract, hears the broadcast and sees that there's a portal out of this nightmare unfolding... she just bails. Other people are gathering supplies and weaponry, and believe her, she loves chaos in its extreme and there's no such thing as 'too much at once' but there is such a thing as getting over her mood about the game she was forced to abandon at home. You know. Before she could even reveal herself as the mastermind.

Poor, lucky Junko. Unable to win or lose the game she built on the backs of billions of bodies... was true ultimate, soul wrenching, mind bending, impossible in the sense of zero odds despair preceded by nothing in human kind before! So she's actually feeling pretty happy. She just doesn't want to clean up anyone else's mess, judging by the broadcast. Despite having energy for days, she actually wants to sit down a bit in her torn up dress and watch the peons help in the war.

Hey, someone else is here. Same idea, no chivalry. ]

Oh, you're that guy I almost let go petal to the metal on me.

[ Vulgar as always. ]

Heyyy, what's up? Aside from none of that shit I want to deal with 'outside'.

[sarcaskick]

[ If there's one thing they have in common, it's that they sure as hell aren't going to stick their necks out right off the bat for a bunch of strangers. He's had enough experience in getting in over his head, he's not interested in repeating the experience first chance he gets. He looks out for himself, first and foremost - that's how it's been, that's how it'll always be.

He will, however, waste no time in rifling through the available clothing to try and find literally anything besides this stuffy garbage he somehow found himself in. A guy's gotta look good, doesn't matter what dimension he finds himself thrown into.

He raises his head a bit at the familiar voice, eyeing her for a moment before resuming his search for something unobnoxious to wear. ]

Me? I figure if the apocalypse is coming or whatever, I might as well die in something more my style.

[ He finds a plain black buttondown shirt, holding it up to himself as he pretends to model it for her. ]

What do you think? Does this make me look fat?

1/3 let's do the personality shuffle again

[disjunct]

Absolutely hideous, but nothing can beat the garbage you're wearing right now, so I mean-- go for it. It's less offensive to my eyes.

[ She's in such a good mood she's even complimenting people, god bless. Only now does she realize she's not cozy in her tattered dress (because ew, tacky, she's not the Belle of the Walking Dead), and joins him in his search. Naturally, she picks out a lot of carnie costumes that are red and black with white trim. They all look vaguely familiar, but not to them. Probably because someone else who was very theatrical in the multiverse shares Junko's preferred color scheme. ]

Am I wearing fucking bloomers? Oh, hell no!

[ She doesn't give a single fuck he's there. She reaches up her skirt and kicks them off like they didn't have the privilege of touching her skin. ]

[disjunct]

[ They're immediately replaced by something white and black with sequins that couldn't possibly look comfortable. She starts ripping at her corset, like going through the process of unzipping and untying is also beneath her, and even with those skinny model arms she manages to tear it apart and let it drop to the ground.

First comes the rockabilly red skirt with the poodle on a leash design. Then, a black sleeveless button-up that she may or may not have just made sleeveless herself. A sequin belt. Red bows over her pigtails, though she inspects a sparkling skull scrunchie with absolute scrutiny. ]

It's not a bear, so fuck it! [ OVER her shoulder. ] Can't stand that tacky goth girl shit!

[ Acting a little more severe than she was before, she picks out the last bits of her outfit. A striped ~performer's~ tie and black shoes. No, wait, she finds the same two kinds of shoes in black and white and shoves her feet in them, regardless of size. One is a little too big and the other too small. OH WELL ]

Now it's fuckin' lit! Here, lemme do you! That shirt goes in the firm 'boring-as-shit maybe' pile!

[disjunct]

[ Where the fuck did her glasses come from? ]

I suppose since you did manage to seduce me, regardless of how brainwashed I was. That merits looking half-presentable. Normally, I would break a man's spirit and his neck for going that far, but according to my calculations, whether or not I was brainwashed, it was still an enjoyable, if brief, frisk. While I'm riding this ultimate despair high, I suppose I don't mind fixing you up.

[ This one more methodically but even faster goes through the clothes, analyzing his possible shoe size and kicking out a pair of black leather boots (with gray lace ups) towards him. ]

You're such a fascinating monochrome. Let's keep that a theme. No color. Intimidating and shady.

[ Some more quickly flipping through the outfits, going over them again and again as she tossed garments his way. ]

Try this.

[sarcaskick]

[ He doesn't take his gaze off of her as she goes through some truly bizarre behavior - he thought he'd seen weird people before, but holy cow this girl is something else. He'd gotten that impression back during the brainwashing, but now it's clear that the brainwashing had nothing to do with how absurd she is. She's just a freak, plain and simple.

Neat.

She doesn't demand privacy or modesty as she rips her clothes off, and he doesn't give it to her, watching all the way through her process of getting changed until she swiftly changes gears again to start helping him with his-- huh. He hadn't asked her for help, but if she wants to do his work for him that's just fine. Something in her wording makes him snort - but he won't say anything until she's done, catching the boots and other flying garments easily as she sends them sailing his way. He's already working on changing out of his outfit, though with less brutal efficiency than Junko had. ]

"Intimidating and Shady". Now I know what to title my autobiography.

[ He thumbs through some clasps to get his outermost shirt off, shrugging it onto the floor where he lets it lay in an unceremonious heap. ]

You seriously think you could, though? [ His eyes dart towards her, sharp with something in his gaze. ] Break me in any way whatsoever, I mean. Sorry to say, but I don't think you're made of the right stuff.

1/2

[disjunct]

Oh, absolutely I can.

[ All of her personalities go flat as a pancake just to give that immediate, straight answer, along with this look on her face. ]

[disjunct]

But it's like, over the past hour since losing the goal I've been working towards since for-evvvv-er back home, sure, it's fun to break everybody, but then you rob yourself of the ability to watch them break themselves. To truly crawl up from the dirt to fall face first into the mud that slides them into quicksand.

Why rip out a flower when you can let it rot to death? -- ew, that sounded poetic, forget that! Bzzzt. Why kill someone when you can watch them choke on their own regrets? If you destroy someone, all they ever were was a victim. If you let hubris and despair crawl up someone's back naturally... I mean, not that I know what your breaking point is, and T-B-H I'm not super obsessed with the idea right now. 'Cause you're cute, I guess. Maybe the brainwashing isn't totally gone? Or maybe I'm telling the truth, and THAT would be a total bummer.

...

[ Oh, right! She smiles. ]

Junko Enoshima. Former Ultimate-slash-Leader of the Ultimate Despair, now probably working for a dumb carnival. You?

[sarcaskick]

[ That first statement, that first expression, draws his grin a little wider. Not because he thinks there's any chance that she can, but because he'd love to see her try so he could shut her down.

But then she keeps talking, and... talking, and talking, and man. People say he loves the sound of his own voice (he does, mind you, but still). His eyes roll as he tugs the remaining garments off his upper body, revealing well-practiced muscles and well-abused skin as he picks up the long-sleeve shirt she'd selected for him.

Emphasizing, perhaps, that his breaking point is indeed hard to reach. ]

That's some psycho-sadist talk you're talking, but until I see the walk being walked I'm not convinced you're more than some chatty tryhard.

[ He pulls the shirt on over his head, running his fingers through his hair to make sure it's more or less still in place. ]

Mercury Black. Accountant.

[ he is not even TRYING to hide how full of shit he is. ]

1/2

[disjunct]

If you want to label me as a chatty tryhard, go ahead! That disrespect just fills me with despair, but it also feels great to know you're gonna underestimate me until the worst possible moment.

[ Junko has nothing to prove to him even if the urge is there. In time, there'll be a moment so naturally falling into her grasp that he will truly know she is batshit fucking crazy for the worst possible reasons and then maybe they can take each other seriously.

Mmm. Wait. Nope. Mmmmm. They won't get off on the right foot like this. With her threatening to bide her time until he sees the real her, he's just going to think she's a puss who gets off on her own words, like both of them do, but with none of the prowess to back it up.

She pauses for a good few stretches of silence. ]

Hey, guess what? It's the worst possible moment now!

[disjunct]

[ Warning him right before she does it is ballsy, giving him time to prepare, but she pulls a performer's knife (for throwing, or something, must have got lost between the clothes and...

And.

Well. ]

[sarcaskick]

[ Even if she hadn't spoken up to announce her intent, his aura gives the slightest little ping of danger - a warning that danger is imminent, even if the attack isn't the kind of thing he has to worry about terribly. Gods know he's taken worse hits from far more menacing weapons than a knife. The question isn't whether or not he can handle it, but rather how he will.

He could let her connect once or twice, let her see it's futile before he counters - no, no. Never show a card you don't have to. She already knew about his legs, he didn't need to telegraph any other abilities. He could break her arm, or her wrist, or both really - but if she's under the same contract as he is, that might put him in a bad spot. Better to avoid that.

Simple it is, then.

It takes less than a second. His movements are precise, but there's no visible effort to what he does - it seems like it's for the millionth time that he shifts back as she lunges forward, twisting his body to lash one foot up to connect with the tip of the knife. Either it would be wrenched from her hand or it would snap in two from the impact, but either way the attack is sent off-course. Not that she'll have long to register that fact, his body still spinning like a tornado to strike out a second time with his other leg to sweep hers out from under her, and the moment her back hits the ground he's whipping a leg down to press the underside of his mechanized knee to the vulnerable flesh of her throat.

And he's pressing down.

Hard. ]

Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Speak up! I'm all ears.

[ He declares, continuing to put pressure on her windpipe, assuring that conversation will be enormously difficult. ]

1/????

[disjunct]

[ The knife shatters in her hand. Her aiming was precise, he was just too strong.

That moment makes the rest of the indignity-- getting swept out from underneath her feet to having the greatest insult of all-- Mercury's fucking knee, in the clothes she picked out for him, against her neck...!

Her face is completely blank. ]

[disjunct]

[ That fairytale land wasn't an AI program like they'd been inventing at Hope's Peak. It was really real. She thought the brainwashing was for-certain a cue of an AI program. That this was a set up that was meant to reboot her, because she was unkillable, so the best thing they could do was lock her inside her own mind.

But he's proving, right now, that she's very killable! Easily! This world isn't a lie and neither are its monsters, its characters with powers-- all data Junko cannot analyze because it's not from her own, predictable world...! ]

[disjunct]

[ As long as she presses and presses and presses against this world, she will never be bored again! ]

[disjunct]

Holy shit... if you actually go through with it, I'd still die happy!

I could see the movement of your legs but not their capacity! I could read your motions and try to land hits but whatever you have-- prosthetics, right?? No, it's something stronger, better, and you're just a human and it's just your legs!

[ She's choking through this, but her expression is absolutely lurid. At the very least, this cuts down on her word count significantly. ]

I can't... analyze you...! I'm willing to bet I can't analyze anything for certain here! Oh my god, oh my god!

[ I'm glad canon gives me a gif for this ]

Is this what seeing television in color after a life in gray feels like? A world that can no longer be boring? [ Panting, trying to breathe, so on-- ] My gut instincts are always right-- you're really fucking cute! Press-- [ gasp ] A little harder? H- haa ha... I'm just joking, you've got that down pat... jeez, what do I even say...?

done

[disjunct]

I promise I'm dangerous... maybe not in this way anymore... but if you want to raise Hell here, all I need is some time to scope it out and for e- everyone to come back. I'm the ultimate... Despair and Analyst... I can predict any scenario down to a second... even right now, I'm... predicting something regarding you.

Haa... haa... don't worry, it's not a weapon...

[sarcaskick]

[ This is the part when the begging starts. The crying, the gasping, the clawing-at-his-leg-to-make-him-stop. Not that it usually helped, but it was goddamn hilarious to watch people who had been high and mighty become reduced to something so quivering and pathetic. He wondered how that face would look on her, amongst all the others.

And yet she becomes anything but that. If anything it almost seems like the very real risk of death and her own failure is turning her on, and that makes less than zero sense. Who in their right mind would find this precarious situation so enticing?

Well, maybe he answered his own question. She's nowhere near being in any sort of "right mind". Maybe it would be doing everyone a favor to just crush her throat and watch her asphyxiate, and yet... there's one more thing they have in common. They hate boring things, and she's sure as hell interesting.

He presses down a little harder for one second, two, three, as if threatening to really go through with it - but swings his leg up and away from her a moment later, rolling to his feet to stretch lazily, as if he hadn't just nearly committed murder in broad daylight. ]

You're the Ultimate Chatterbox, is what you are. I've never heard someone blab on and on like that while they're choking. People usually try to save their oxygen.

[ ... But something she'd said has him curious, and he doesn't bother trying not to indulge in it: ]

So, that prediction. What was it, exactly?

[disjunct]

[ She gasps for air, sitting up from the spot she was pinned, with a sweet smile on her face. His knee forced tears out of her eye, and she wipes them and flicks them dramatically, closing her eyes with a happy sigh while fixing him with the most content, if delirious smile. ]

This one you won't want to hear. It's like... finding a birthday gift before you get it. It makes you excited, but you ruined the surprise before you got there, and it makes you soooo impatient--

[ Her breathing steadies where there was sure to be a bruise on her neck. She shouldn't have called him cute, she should've called him hot.

Actually-- ]

We must be pretty similar. Even while we were brainwashed, we gravitated towards each other. All we had were our personalities and none of the memories... that's pretty interesting, don't you think?

[ Junko's subtle as a brick but she doesn't care, fixing her clothes and wiping dust of them. If only he had crushed her windpipe while all the doctors were out on the field! ]

Want to stick around with me? I promise, it's worth it if you hate idling around waiting for the carnage back there to get done with.

[sarcaskick]

[ He's quiet for a moment - before the biggest eye-roll you ever did see, shaking his head with a heaved sigh. ]

Oh, please don't tell me you're spouting some "love at first sight" crap. Of course we were drawn to each other - we're hot. That's kind of how that tends to work.

[ I mean he ain't wrong.

His hands rest on his hips - seriously, she was starting to talk too much. It was fine when the things she was saying tickled his fancy, but if she's about to go all soulmate on him he's less than interested.

Her offer earns a quirked eyebrow. He does hate waiting, maybe more than anything in the world, but he's not sold just yet. ]

I guess that depends what you've got in mind, Junky.

1/2

[disjunct]

[ She looks horridly disgusted at his insinuation, actually leaning back and making a face a la icon. ]

Don't fucking insult me with that garbage! I get that broken piece of knife and really shove it where it hurts--!

2/2

[disjunct]

I was more talking about how competitive we were, not the fluttery eyes bullshit. That's what was interesting.

[ Junko's so revolted by the idea of making someone think she was spouting soulmate stuff that she literally changes a personality just to get away from it. Amazingly, she doesn't comment on Junky, she'll save that for later. ]



I'm SAYING if we're being indentured servants to some goddamn ringleader, then we should make our own fun while the cat's away. Holding a knee to my throat is cute and all, but I wanna see what you can REALLY do. And in turn, I'll show you the real meaning of Ultimate Analyst!

[sarcaskick]

"Ultimate Analyst."

[ She likes that phrase a lot, and he lets it play off his tongue once, punctuating each word with a crisp "t" as if toying with the words and the ideas they convey. ]

If you're so good at figuring people out, then shouldn't you already know what I'll say?

[ Which begs the question: will he say what she predicts, or will he intentionally try to say something beyond her prediction? Or will that be too much hassle, and he'll just admit if she's right? Or is he going to just not answer her at all? ]

Come on, show me what you've got. Take the words out of my mouth before I even say 'em.

1/2

[disjunct]

Boo... I hate having to do that for new and exciting people. I mean, I have to, but it makes things so dull.

Okay, word for word.

[ Well, first, you get treated to this look, and then what comes out next-- is almost a deadly accurate impression of Mercury's voice, just having the tint of coming from a woman. ]

"You wanna see what I can really do and then pretend you analyzed all of it? Sounds like a shitty analyst to me. Sounds like you're trying to pull a stupid magic trick to convince me you're special. I'm only here for one thing: Getting out of my shithole of a world before it collapses on itself, and even though I signed a contract with the Ringmaster, I don't have any intention of bending the knee. I'm here to kill two things: time and boredom. If there's anything I hate, it's boredom.

Did you know? I killed my dad because I was bored of taking his shit. Sure, I was mad, too. But it was also dull as fuck. I joined up with some woman I didn't even know because I was so ready to get out of a boring fucking life.

So show me you're not boring. If I'm going to be interested in you at all, you better prove to me right now you're not boring."

[disjunct]

[ The piece of knife that broke off with so much force flings against a rubber trampoline set up at the other side of camp.

It flies back avoiding every obstacle that would've slowed it down, either grazing Mercury's cheek or showing off the light of his aura, which Junkie also doesn't know about.

She catches it between her perfectly sharp red nails, like lightning. ]