⇨ 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

⇨ INVESTIGATION THREADS

[ringleaders]

Not all locations will have much to investigate, necessarily, but this is the section where people can make investigation requests for if their character wants to learn more about a setting than is immediately apparent. This can also be used to cover the broad strokes of interacting with various available NPCS.

Like before, you must be specific about what your character is doing to find new information, and you must keep your requests to one or two actions per comment. No big laundry lists of things your character is doing - it is much easier to handle taking it one topic at a time.

⇨ THE RINGMASTER GETS PWNED

[ringleaders]

So, the Ringmaster got hit by a huge magical laser when fighting the Prince at the sight of the Blue Rose theft, and ended up making a crater in the earth at the far edge of the Manor grounds. She is also knocked totally unconscious. This prompt is for going to check on how that's working out for her.

Jonathan Strange | check the prompts for open/closed

[kingsroads]

break the illusion: closed to arabella
It's as he sees Gilbert Norrell start to fade from existence that something clicks in Strange's mind: something is terribly wrong here. The fade of the past few days starts to fade away as Strange starts to recall in clear detail what happened. The Hunt. Sans vanishing. The conversation with the bicorn and the rabbit girl. This place was even more dangerous than he remembered and Arabella was here.

It's not even a question in his mind, he has to save her. He wasn't going to lose her, not again. Not this time. Turning around to look at Arabella, Strange starts talking, deadly serious. "Bell, I—"

But then his voice cuts off, caught in his throat. Because as he reaches over to take Arabella's hand, Strange realizes that it too has started to fade.

room trips: day 175, ballroom, open
The ballroom's collapsing, falling apart as everything shifts and the ground buckles. But thankfully, a few of the mirrors are still intact. And in one of those mirrors appears Jonathan Strange, holding a handful of random crap that's basically whatever knickknacks that look relatively important from the kidnapped people's rooms

He's not stepping through the mirrors: instead, Strange has just appeared, as if a reflection. He's seen better days. His hair has returned to it's wild state and his purple suit is cut up and slightly torn. But the easiest thing to spot is that Strange has been crying. His mirrored eyes hide any redness on the eyeball itself, but that doesn't hide the puffiness under his eyes, the fact that he's even more pale than usual, and the redness around his eyes and nose.

"I'm back at the rooms," he explains, a little bit out of breath. There's a hitch in his voice that further suggests he's been crying. A dagger hangs at his side: a dagger that he very noticeably didn't have at the ball. "Tell me what to grab."

He's got to stay busy. If he keeps busy, then there's no time to think.

scorpion fight: day 176, open
These monsters are probably enchanted as well. Having seen the bicorn transform from horse to human, it's not a large leap to assume that these spiders, scorpions, and so forth he's seen around were originally servants. Having known how that bicorn went from horse to human, Strange is still a bit hesitant about how he's going to break this curse. He ain't smooching no spiders. He will, however, engage in mano a mano combat with a scorpion monster in the hopes that maybe the Ringmaster can kiss the scorpion off.

He's actually doing fairly well, moving out of the way of the stinger while calling up the air to push it back and some of the earth to try and hold the scorpion down. An earthen hand holds about half of the scorpion's legs in a grip, though that tail is still swinging dangerously in Strange's direction. Unfortunately, it's at this point that he spots a carnival member.

"Get out of the way!" he can't help but yell, right as the scorpion's tail swings in his direction. But a second later, only mere moments before the impact, Strange just vanishes, turning into a puff of purple smoke. Huh. That's new. Strange hasn't exactly kept it a secret that he has cool smoke powers, but for most of the carnival, this is their first time seeing this extent of it. The smoke is dark purple, smells oddly sweet, and moves to hover around the scorpion's facial area. Of course, as cool as this might look, there's still a pissed off scorpion monster trying to get out of it's trap.

who's ready for heartbreak city EYYY

[sensibleness]

The chandeliers in the ballroom shake with every tremor that runs through the manor, occasionally hard enough to send glass shaking free and shattering on the dance floor. Around them, everyone seems to still be running in slow motion, those caught deepest in the enchantment finding it harder to feel the urgency to extract themselves from danger.

And Arabella--

When she reaches out to take Jonathan's hand, the weight of it is still there, but lighter. Her form is slowly becoming translucent enough for the light of the ballroom to shine through, and her face as she looks down at her other hand is pensive. It only lasts a moment: when she lifts her gaze to look at her husband, her expression is quietly determined.

"This is a spell, isn't it?"

Yuzu Hiiragi | OPEN

[fusionactuallysuitsher]

Split the Earth + Break the Illusion

"What in the world?! An earthquake?!" Yuzu found herself barely standing as everything started shaking. Things were going to hell, especially as it seemed that everyone was starting to disappear. "What... what's going on...?"

And, at that point, something finally gets her to remember something.

"Reira... REIRA!" Reira was out there somewhere. It was time for big sister instincts to take over! Of course, she can't help but grumble as she looks over what she's wearing. "This is too cumbersome...!"

You know those moments where a character will throw off one set of clothing and reveals themselves in another? Yeah, Yuzu's just done that, tossing off that large dress of hers to reveal her normal clothes underneath, her Duel Disk already mounted on her wrist. "No time for the usual introductions - ACTION DUEL!"

Aaaaand she's off, a set of cards in one hand, ready to make a move to help her get across in her search for Reira and anyone else.

Day 176

Yuzu has no idea why she's still here, but she's still on this island. Maybe it's because she wants to deal with the Prince and his shoddy treatment. She's still ready to fight, though - nothing's going to stop her this day or any other!

She's going to tread carefully, trying to make sure she isn't ambushed by something lying in wait. Especially since there's a lot of monsters who want a piece of her and everyone else.

Split the earth

[hippocarnival]

Of course when the ballroom starts coming apart, Yuya looks for Yuzu. He's not losing her too, not again, so he rushes through the debris, scrambling to dodge falling rock.

"Yuzu!" He stops when he sees her, wide eyed and breathing heavy. She has her duel disk, and he's kicking himself for not bringing is. He's gotten used to its lack of use in the carnival and he realizes that's a mistake.

Still, she's safe. He's so relived, and rushes for her immediately. "Yuzu, we have to get out of here!"

[ not even really a toplevel ]

[whattaprick]

As the Manor begins to crumble, stone wrenching and twisting apart, the enchanted guests aren't the only ones in trouble. But what's another shuddering tremor rocking through the house along with the rest? It's easy to miss in all the chaos.

More difficult to miss, later, is a piece of debris going flying with a sharp kick of hooves. For those who can recognize her, Lambert's very large and in charge horse stands in the wreckage. She's also not alone: there are at least two oversized bugs on her back, some kind of water snake, and a stubby thing with a giant leaf growing out of its head. Under her, shaking off the dust and braying noisily, is a bright orange donkey.

She also has some kind of pumpkin clinging to her head, not that it seems to bother her as she looks around.

Once she's gotten her bearings, -- between the gathering of people and the threatening-looking towers in the other direction, it's not really a choice -- the horse huffs and begins to make her way back to the Carnival at a slow and steady pace. Any gargoyles stupid enough to get in her way are getting kicked to dust.

[ Mudsdale to the rescue, sort of! o/ If you had a pet or Pokemon stuck in the Manor rooms and want to say they got scooped up by a giant horse, just say so. ]

[pipers_son]

As the Mudsdale is determinedly trooping her way through the shitshow that is quickly becoming what was once a manor, she'll come across a Pokeball, but not just any one. Instead, it's aggressively rolling and bouncing, as if something is trying to get out.

That would be Feathers, Joker's Dartrix. Before all the poisoned food and brain fuckery, he'd thought it better to keep him in his Pokeball outside of time after curfew. Of course, that had meant a bird stuck away from whatever had been going on in the ball....

Please help.

Morgana | OTA

[humanhope]

escape
Morgana is an expert at escaping from Palaces by now. It's hard not to be when they always crumble around you after stealing the treasure! But that was in the Metaverse, not the real world, and here in the real world he can't turn into a car to get away as the manor falls apart around them.

But what he can and does do is run quickly, and launch himself onto someone's shoulder as they escape, hanging on with his claws.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Look, he's helping, even if they were already running to get out.

wild card
[hit me up with anything, Morgana is gonna be around checking things out and up for whatever.]

[disjunct]

Talking cat...? Oh, who is she to judge, she animates and controls an electronic bear, that's probably the same. Or someone put a speaker in that cat for some godforsaken reason. She changes her personality just for the occasion.

"Awww, cute! A widdle talking kitty cat! Nya-nya!"

This just means her escape parkour is going to get wilder and rougher, to see if she can buck the thing off or if it's got the kind of claws to hang on for all its nine lives. With another change of her face, Junko's wide grin returns. Her memories were coming back! All of her joyous, wonderful memories of ending the world.

"Hey, you know you picked the worst person ever to climb onto the back of, right? It'd probably be better to die here than to trust your life with me!"

It's a joke, isn't it...?

closed to zangetsu & eventually tyki

[atouts]

The manor is already breaking down and reforming, scattering all the guests and servants across the Prince's shifting realm. As such, it's tricky to get around, but Childermass manages. If he moves through the shadows fast enough, before what they're cast by or attached to change shape—

Well, let's just say he has a few close calls on the way, but he does inevitably spot the ghostly man against the darkening backdrop of what, he assumes, used to be the ballroom. He'll step out of the shadows and onto a mostly stable chunk of marble flooring and raise his voice over the chaos.

"Zangetsu! Over here!"

[moonfang]

What a hot mess this was. Zangetsu isn't sure what happened, but it must have been big. For now, he's still dressed in his stupid powder blue finery, and is sans blade. He hears Childermass call his name and his ears turn first, then his head, then his whole body.

And his expression goes from surprised to pissed in 0.2 seconds.

"BOSS! Where the HELL have you been?!!"

closed to peridot;

[atouts]

If Childermass isn't the first to arrive once the remaining supervisors have been called, then he will, at the very least, be the second. He's spent the past few hours either collecting up what's left of what is, supposedly, his own crew, small as it may be, or taking stock of who else remained, along with what around them might be useful. Overall, it's looking a bit grim, but there was one absence he couldn't confirm... or maybe just one he didn't want to confirm, not on his own.

There's any number of people he could corner and question, that's true, but by the time he's even considering that, he has somewhere to be. When Childermass does actually arrive, it's through even more shadows, the space he appears in empty one second and then occupied the next, no sound or warning to mark it.

He lingers in the shadow a moment, feeling out how much the constant moving from place to place has been dragging on him. He can tell how tired he is, though he'll make a point not to show it on his face when he finally does step out into the light, very obviously still wearing what he's been wearing all night so far — all that fancy clothing from the ball — and looking around for anyone else nearby.

[periphrasing]

He's not the only one who's exhausted. Peridot has beaten him to the meeting point... or maybe she was just there to begin with. Perhaps more importantly is the point that she looks like a mess, too; scuffed, soaked, dried out again. Her hair is frazzled out of it's normally perfect triangular shape. Altering her shape to fix her appearance just seemed like a waste of energy on top of all of the shapeshifting she's already done today.

She's just sitting on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest and her tail curled around her feet, frowning intensely at... something that's laying on the ground in front of her, a long object obscured by a bundled up tablecloth from the Prince's ballroom. It's only when Childermass approaches that she looks away from it at last.

"...What happened to you?" the gem asks unkindly, looking the acquisitioner over.

Syrlya | OTA

[chronosynthesis]

[The Blue Rose | 175]

They didn't have any time to follow the Prince or his orb (And really, they should have anticipated there was something else). Immediately the walls begin to shift, and the team that pursued the blue rose scattered.

Syrlya already knew what he needed to do--find the Ringmaster and deliver the rose to her. The problem with that is that she was blasted well to the other side of what's now a quickly crumbling manor. And it's still full of people. He'll absolutely get this rose to her as quickly as possible, but first there's a number of people, carnival members especially, who need protection.

He can thank the Prince's obsessive taste in decor, because there's a basic shield he's able to rip from the walls. It's uncomfortable to secure the straps around his arm, with the vines of the blue rose gripping the charred skin tight. But it's tolerable, especially when the rose makes it so easy to put power into his casting.

If you're in any danger, call out, and he'll answer.

[Walk the Ruins | 176]

Of course, he doesn't hold onto the Blue Rose for long. He knows the dangers that much magic can pose, and he passes it off to the Ringmaster without hesitation once he finds her well.

With the most immediate danger taken care of, he stands at the edge of the ruins and looks up at the new fortress and its floating islands. There's some wry, unreadable expression on his face, but it shifts to pity once he spots the new creatures milling about, just far enough that they don't notice him as they sniff and cry around.

"Oh, no... they were all servants, weren't they."

[WILDCARD]

[You know the game.]

176!

[hurtcomfort]

"They hurt. Warped and wounded, bodies twisted anew."

Hello there Syrlya, it's Cole, appearing right behind you as Syrla will soon find out he's apt to do. He's looking out over some of the creatures as well, with an expression of pity. Though, as Cole turns to look at Syrlya, his expression shifts to one of confusion.

"You feel more like the Inquisitor than ever." Before, it was just similarities in personality, motivation, goals. But now, there's the faint trace of something dangerous and magical and world-changing around him. He doesn't have it anymore, but that can't erase it from his thoughts. The Inquisitor called hers the mark. Cole doesn't yet know what the Commander called his.

Closed to Jasper

[periphrasing]

Just when Peridot thinks the night can't possibly go any further off the track-- because surely, a dragon and a giant wolf fighting in the courtyard and causing a spectacle must be the peak of terrible for the night-- the whole damn building starts collapsing.

The tech's first reaction is the kind of debilitating terror that only comes with the lingering trauma of having experienced something like this before. That moment when all the sound drops out, and you can only focus on the source of whatever it is that's triggering those painful memories. They were going to die. They were going to go down with the whole planet--

She shakes her head aggressively as if to clear those thoughts from her mind. She's being such a clod, the Cluster isn't a threat anymore! It's been handled! But she also knows an earthquake when she feels one, and perhaps that indicates that this is no less threatening.

Stay in the present. It's chaos in the ballroom-- Peridot skims the crowd for some kind of clue as to what is going on, carnival members and extra guests all alike. Some people are running, some are still struggling to shake off the tranquility spell that's been keeping them in check all evening. She's thinking the ones who are running probably have the right idea.

A quick mental checklist: She just saw Steven making an exit with Connie. Lapis is nowhere to be seen, but Peridot's not too worried about her... She rushes down the list of her other friends, moving towards a balcony-- and then she's interrupted mid-list when she spots Jasper, OF ALL PEOPLE, standing around looking gormless.

"Jasper you idiot!" she barks at the other gem from a few yards away. "We all need to get out of here, MOVE IT!" What in the stars is wrong with her!!?

[stompadour]

Jasper is glancing around, confused and troubled, but she can't quite get it together to do anything about it, because any of her instinctive reactions to this kind of situation would count as making a scene.

When Peridot yells at her she looks up sharply, making her 2 foot high stack of hair sway. She reacts pretty automatically to having orders barked at her, but when they're coming from a Peridot she's not going to just take them.

"You, Peridot," she grinds out, clearly stressed out. "What's going on?"

REIRA AKABA

[soft_focus]

CLOSED (Subject To Edit) | Yuuya, Yuzu, Strange

[soft_focus]

After she's done with the Ringmaster-whether for a few seconds, or a number of minutes-Reira is quiet. She still wears her maid clothing-still has the stones, in particular, covering her face and skin in ways that even cause the appearance of small spikes at certain points. For some it could be ghastly familiar-for others it's merely a nasty reminder of what occurred, especially in tandem with the reality of it all. The venom is still present-only the fog of mental haze created could be removed at this point, and the strong illness she feels is more than enough to warn her of that herself. It's not nausea, particularly. But it's illness, and strong, weighing upon her enough to feel in some ways worse than when she had while at the meal-table with everyone.

It's not a 'sharp'. But it's as 'strong'.

Even that however, is not as strong as her own feelings, which leave her sitting in silence for a few moments. The others, after all, are no doubt going to be coming in to talk.

CARLY NAGISA | OTA

[fortuneglass]

[SHAKE IT UP | THE MANOR]

It's rather obvious that something changed, when the tremors hit. Carly's anxiety has hit its peak by then. The battle on the courtyard grounds, finished-the people who left for the roof...still gone. There is no way for her to even begin asking for where they are, or what happened-and for a strained, painful thirty minutes after, Carly darts back and forth until she's left trembling on the balcony, her energy drained and her heart racing with anxiety.

At which point the shakes begin, shaking that isn't her own making. Shakes, and then full earthquakes, the woman shouting as she's jostled. As the world changes, the ball shatters it seems. Dancing figures begin to fade, smoking into dust on the wind before her very eyes. And in her mind, she finds herself fearful at first.

But then hopeful. This isn't orderly. This is chaos of the ultimate sort, a chaos that from what she's heard, what she's witnessed, what she's carefully been noting in the back of her mind would never stand under normal circumstances.

"Hah.....hhhahahahahahaa..." And in her nervous, sugar-low daze, Carly finds herself crumbling. Laughing even, a quiet sound that builds before she yells, taking to the air. "Finally...! ....Finally, it's time to do something..!" she screams, landing upon the roof as it begins to crumble. This dress is useless now-and though a lovely make, it is a bitter memory for all it represents. Her hair ties come loose as they crumble away into ash however, and with renewed vigor, she concentrates her red and violet flames over herself-one breaking apart the fabric of the gown until she's left with something long and loose and mobile, with only a thin set of straps to hold it up in the absence of sleeves-the other extinguishing the red until the fires exist no more.

She might still have the jewelry though. Whatever. "Alright..!" Time to move onward-though, as ready as she appears, she may seem a little...erratic in her flight.

Actually, someone should probably pull her back and make her get some food, before she crashes, both internally and otherwise.

[RESTOCK, REGROUP | CARNIVAL GROUNDS, MORNING 176]

"Hauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhh..." Sooner or later, the last of Carly's energy had to shrivel up into nothing-the woman forced back to the tent through the small entrance their Ringmaster had pulled up, sunlight rising outside to bathe the ruined world in a familiar and more than craved light. But Carly, for now at least, is instead located in the Wardrobe tent-with more than just clothes, for that matter. There is no doubt a few things that the other Supervisors are handling, but with her knowledge from her time as a Scout, she's gathered anything and everything she could find that was once the Nightrider's to dish out in times like this. Some basic weapons, pieces of armor...things better suited for combat like this. She has, as well, all the clothing anyone could ask for. A fortunate matter, when most anything that people are coming back with is ball gowns and layered suits.

She's also secured herself a large stash of food, which she's probably working her way through whenever someone comes in. "Mnhhhhgggg....I spent too long as a hummingbird again..." Owwwwww...

[RADIO: LATE DAY 176]

The message comes over the Radio-vague, and rather calmly-or at least, by Carly's standards-spoken tone giving the words quickly, without much room to let others answer.

"I'm going to be getting ready for a charge," she announces clearly, and judging by her tone, she's not kidding. "...but I don't want to go alone. If any of you want to join me... ...Any at all, I'll be in the woods, near our entrance!"

And with that, a click.

She'll be there, however. Still in that modified gown, her 'won' bow on her back, and her feet keeping her a few centimeters above the ground at all times. There's a pouch of sorts at her side-stuffed with, quite likely, various fruits, but a pokeball can be seen clipped as well.

Ready for battle indeed.

[[OOC - NOTE; many of these threads will only be able to go so far, since we don't yet know what the plans moving into the Fortress will be-so if threads suddenly grind to a halt, please, bear with!]]

Restock!

[eclipsingblade]

It's been one hell of a night for everyone, including the escaped 'animals' and servants that had been rescued. Half the people had simply disappeared, illusions or somesuch, and the ones that remained..

well, for Ichigo anyway, what the hell is going on remains to be seen. He'd spent the last hours of the night in the same clothes that the Prince's servants had dressed him in, but staying in that forever wasn't going to work well.. it constricted his movements. A few inquiries pointed him in the direction of the wardrobe tent.

He expects to see clothing, which is there.

The weapons were not expected, but were much nicer. He couldn't switch to his shinigami form right now, and there were some things that really needed stabbing.

"Hey. Uh."

The fact that that woman is glowing is noteworthy, but not enough to make being surrounded by bits of metal an incredibly unpleasant experience. That was good. This was the person handling wardrobe? Did the glow interfere with that work, or help it?

Not important now. "Are you ... the wardrobe lady?" Yeah, real smooth.

If Carly's ever run into Zangetsu, the appearance between the two is identical -- save for coloration. Ichigo actually has colors.

Scout | OTA

[stillwinningthehardway]

Scout doesn't blame herself for Joker and Rita being captured. She feels guilty, absolutely, she's awfully aware of what happened and how this is all of a piece with her other endeavors. Bad things happen, she survives, there is no benefit. She would love to go rescue them, if she just had an angle of attack that wasn't doomed to fail.

There's so much to do.

Early on Day 176 Scout's jury-rigged a replacement blade out of things borrowed from Peridot and is out on the field. This is a hilt attached to a cable connected to a crude, heavy battery on her back. When she activates the blade it's a big spluttering yellow-white thing, unevenly shaped and giving off a lot of heat. She doesn't like it it much, it's influenced by protosabers without being so elegant or sophisticated, but it's better than nothing.

It's very visible when she holds it up. Scout directs manor servants to safer or at least less contested places, but of course, sometimes the snarling plasma blade draws the attention of gargoyles, or of underbelly servants deranged with hunger and transformation. She tries to spare the latter when she can, and if that means hacking off the ends of a few limbs, well, that's merciful by her standards.

WILD CARD GOES HERE: Instead of at the end. Scout's not playing by that rule!! She'd have trouble with two or more large hostiles, especially the gargoyles.

BUFFET: Scout hangs back, grimacing, watching a variety of creatures with leonine or venomous arthropod features messily demolishing some of the tables of food that had been abandoned during the banquet. Very messily. Many plates are shattered, the tablecloths are rent or have been pulled off, and one table is shaking as something hiding underneath gnaws the legs, all to an incoherent chorus of half-growls and groans and hisses. A creature like a segmented panther with scorpion claws coming out of its back is frantically licking and licking and licking the floor where a cake had been dropped, having long since eaten the frosting and crumb.

Nervous, more human-shaped servants are watching too, also leaving some space. They whisper amongst themselves.

If someone else comes up to see Scout gives them a sharp glance, trying to determine their intent.

OBLIGATORY BADASS MOMENT (175): Something resembling an enormous trilobite beetle studded with orange and black stone is charging around, swinging back and forth as more human-shaped servants scatter and flee. It still has something like a human face, a human head, biting with protruding teeth and reaching for them with taloned forelegs, snapping and slashing automatically rather than in a targeted way.

Scout charges in and just slams into it shoulder-first. As it rears back she shoots out her opposite arm and seizes it by the throat, perfectly centered on the cartoid triangle just above where skin gives way to stone and chitin.

It claws at her with its forelegs, leaving cuts in skin and clothing. Scout protects her eyes and leans in, tightening her grip even as it gets more desperate and she flinches. She was Master Xan's best pupil, she knows her choke holds and she knows if she can maintain pressure like this her opponent will lose consciousness inside of ten seconds. Eight. Seven. "Ow!" Is something else angling in to attack her? If only she had her lightsaber!

175

[chronosynthesis]

Magic under Scout's feet starts to concentrate, before it explodes outwards and the ground stains purple with two clock arms slowly ticking. Whatever creatures around her, including the beetle in her hands, seem to slow down--their movements are sluggish not out of weariness, but suspended in a time that doesn't move as quickly as it does for Scout.

That should, hopefully, make it much easier for her to do what she needs to. Syrlya is still approaching, his arm with the rose wrapped around it extended outward.

"There you are!" He found a nightrunner, that's great. Now to find everyone else and the Ringmaster.

Connie Mahewswaran

[sworntothesword]

SPLIT THE EARTH

[sworntothesword]

Connie ducks under a table when the tremors start, following normal 'take cover' rules for earthquakes.

"What's happening?!" She yells, as the tremors continue far longer than a normal seismological event would normally go.

Day 176 specifically

[motivenotfound]

A. [First come, first serve... please don't multiply lead Mari to RM!]

"Aahhhhh~!

It's not a scream but a sigh of familiarity as Mari emerges from the forest to the packed-earth grounds of the Carnival she once new--she stretches happily, locking the clawed fingers on two of her four mismatched arms and pulling them over her head, then behind her back.

It's not until someone bolts past her that she realises something is... definitely different. The grounds are almost empty. And the few who are here--

"Hey-- Hey! Am I missing something?!"

No--she's definitely missing something. It dawns on her with narrowed eyes (a... lot... of narrowed eyes) and a long, sharpened canines pressing down over her lower lip. This isn't a Carnival. It's a ghost town. Or maybe--

In a matter of seconds, she's changed to work from play.

"Where's the Ringmaster?!"

B.

The portal between trees has been a godsend for the Carnival, allowing limited passage between the hostile realm and more familiar soil.

Still, one person it produces is a lot more startling than the rest.

A seven foot, four-armed teenage girl, covered in pink scales and 40-something blinking, moving eyes. She comes bursting through with the speed and fury of a bullet train and the enthusiasm of a golden retriever--and recoils almost as fast, yelping in dismay at the morning sun cutting through the canopy of trees.

"Fuck fuck fuck ow," are her first words, which are not very intimidating.

Which might help save her first impression, honestly, because every single one of those eyes is deep blood red and she's also carrying a long, blood-coloured, bifurcated spear.

"And here I thought she wanted me to come back..." she's muttering to herself--if you catch her now, you might be able to help her, but if not, she'll pop back through the portal and re-emerge with a big... pink.... cat-faced... umbrella............

"That's more like it."

Mari Makinami Illustrious, former Nightrider... is.... back.........?

C.

Questionable choice in sun blocking aside, Mari has a lot... a lot... to catch up on. There are still faces she recognises, and she'll be grabbing every single one of them, sometimes literally reaching out to snag a known face by the arm or wing to greet--and interrogate.

New faces... new faces get the same treatment, actually. The only difference is the presence of greetings like, "oooh, you're new!" and "hey, I don't know you!"

Try not to scream, she's harmless.

Probably.

[disjunct]

When Junko is the new person to get this treatment, she smiles very considerately, radiating warmth and calmness as she says, "Hi there! You're right, I am new!"

In an instant, she grabs the elongated arm that snatched her and digs her manicured nails into it.

"And being new doesn't mean you can fucking touch me!"

[disjunct]

►SIGN A CONTRACT

This is truly, the worst, most despairing event in Junko's life. She was on the cusp-- the very beginning and end of all hope in her world. The fact that she has to indebted herself to one person in order to be free of a curse that nearly made her-- well, lose her integrity-- made her so sick she wanted to puke. This was worse than dying and losing to Naegi or winning her own game that she rigged against the survivors.

... That made this the most awful thing that could ever happen to her. Karma was real. Her heart was palpitating like she just ran a marathon (which she practically did, escaping) and she'd won the biggest prize of all: being pulled away at the neck from her life's work. And yet...

She could do better. She gave herself a B+ on that round. Maybe a B. Of all the ways to end the world, it wasn't perfection. So she signed for a new one, 'eventually', just in case this one turned out more interesting than the last and she could save that wish for whenever she needed it. Then, she could rebuild from scratch. What's better than erasing your own save file and starting new again?

Nothing.

►WALK THE RUINS:

Junko is rather petite. She's a model, after all! A girl's gotta keep her figure in check. Her arms look like they'd snap with a good amount of pressure, and yet--

She's taking out her despair on the monsters, one by one, using her Ultimate Analysis to find their weak spots and then surge with a rush of hidden strength to attack, ripping off a scorpion's tail to shove it into the eye of a spider. When your power is to know several steps ahead of anyone or anything, it's easy to dodge, kill, rip out things with nails that had been manicured solid for a reason. She doesn't care that these were once people and if she knew they were, that'd make her happier. The tattered remains of her ballgown are stained with sickly fluid.

"Bonus round! Brainwash, contract, and killing spree! Oh my god, I've always wanted to fight giant spiders and scorpions, it's soooo unfair that you only found that in RPGs! But it's real! It's really real reality!"

She glances to your character, just to see if they're having as much fun as her.

Closed to Herbert West

[criticallyfucked]

Foster's plan, devised on the fly, takes him not over the edge of the ruined tower or down through the passages to a collapsing wall or door.

No, but it does take him down--down, deeper, into the manor's heart, where the shifting structure's outer boundaries cannot betray him to open air--or whatever else it is that's happening out there.

He takes the time to radio the Ringmaster--for approval, for evaluation, for... well. Let's call it direction.

But that soon ends as the manor itself seems to silence his radio. There is nothing now. Not even static.

How... ideal.

The ground beneath his feet still shifts, the walls still creak and rumble, but... staying put... will do him no good now. It's time to go. And quickly.

[scientificist]

When the manor began to fall apart, Herbert had still been standing on a balcony, trying to piece things together, pressing back against the fog and longing for his reagent. And for a moment, when the floor began to break apart, he'd felt happy, because it meant the ball was over. He was sure of it. Everything about the ball had been uncomfortable, so maybe...

But then he'd gotten caught up in the rush of servants, and the shifting walls, and he was ferried downwards, still clawing against the mist filling his mind.

He ends up wandering, mist still confusing him as he comes up against wall after wall. The press of servants moved along elsewhere, leaving him aimless without a ball to give him direction--unwanted direction, definitely, but at least it was something to lean into when things stopped making sense. It's all stone here, shifting and solid and nothing makes sense and he's starting to get misty feelings like he should follow directions from somewhere. He hates them enough that he's pointedly turning every opposite way he can go than where he apparently ought to be going, hands clenching and unclenching and it takes him a moment to realise, caught up in himself as he is, when he turns another corner at a junction and begins to walk right past Foster.

But he's not completely lost in his own head yet, and he comes up short, staring wide through square glasses at the interloper in his hallway.

"You're not a servant." It's almost a question, but not quite.

Ginko | OTA

[dontpokethat]

A - Ballroom

Well. When things go to shit, they really go to shit. At least Ginko was never expecting them not to.

Ginko starts moving almost immediately, looking around as he moves, his ears swivelling to catch any familiar voices or sounds of danger that may be getting too close. Anyone he doesn’t immediately recognize - or who just seems too out of it to get going on their own - is liable to be ushered or even gently pushed toward exits and safe-looking spots of land, while carnival workers are likely to get a quick string of questions. “Are you okay--? Who’s out of the manor so far, do you know?”

B - Medical Tent

There’s one bright side to things falling apart. There’s no need to play nice and stay in the Prince’s realm anymore - which means stocking up is finally an option. A quick check through the menagerie, a stop by his trailer - and then Ginko makes a beeline for the medical tent.

He hasn’t actually changed clothes, but somewhere between the ballroom and here he abandoned the coat and lacy scarf-thing. For the sake of movement, he’s got the collar open and sleeves rolled up past his elbows as he moves around the tent, loading whatever supplies he can into a bag slung over his shoulder. Miu the Spewpa is scurrying along by his ankles; the moment anyone else comes into the tent, she’ll let out a little peep and puff up in surprise.

C - Ruins/Wildcard

Staying on the carnival grounds won’t be any good; he can’t just wait for people to come back. So he takes his supplies and his Pokemon and heads back to what’s left of the manor. He’s on high alert, and won’t waste any time in getting to anyone who seems to be hurt or in trouble. He can’t do too much about the gargoyles but help people try to avoid them, unfortunately - but the little fluffball by his side might be helpful in non-lethally neutralizing any transformed servants.

(( OOC: Hit me up over PM or at omixgirl10 if you wanna plan something more specific!! ))

B

[chronosynthesis]

The rose has eased the pain in Syrlya's arm considerably, but it's still completely charred and Syrlya should at least bandage it until the damaged skin could be culled and tended to.

He stops momentarily in the doorway when he sees Ginko already gathering supplies.

"Excuse me--" He raises his good hand. "Is there still a roll of bandages here?"

Miko Nakadai | OTA

[pullingamiko]

A - Ballroom

Honestly, more than anything, Miko is relieved. Things falling apart like this means no more playing nice, no more trying to keep up with stupid, pointless rules of etiquette, and no more trying to keep this dumb lacy dress intact. She is so done.

When it becomes clear that things are going down, Miko literally - really, actually literally, thanks kangaroo feet - leaps from where she is, initially making a beeline toward one of the balconies. “Man, what’s going on now?! Where’s the Ringmaster-- this better not be like with the vampires again!”

B - Walk the Ruins

Speaking of things being a relief, words cannot describe how glad Miko is to change back into her own clothes, her Atlantean knife tucked into a thick belt that… is not really meant to hold a knife, but honestly, she does not even slightly care.

She wastes no time in getting back to the ruins, this time with her Whismur, Screamo, clinging to her shoulders like some kind of exceptionally round, purplish rabbit-cat. Her fluffy ears are perked up with excitement. She is about three hundred percent ready for this shit. “Alright, let’s do this!”

C - Wildcard

(( OOC: Miko will be trying to help with finding the hostages and helping with fighting; though she has not at this point been told outright that the ‘animals’ are really people, she definitely suspects something is up and will be trying not to kill them. She will however probably punch some gargoyles and end up messing up her hands. Hit me up over PM or at omixgirl10 to plan out fights and such! ))

⇨ BREAK IN ATTEMPT (3:30AM Day 177 | megathread please)

[osteothropy]

It happens very quickly. Maybe it won't even be seen, at first. Yet, very early in the morning on Day 177, a black and grey figure will suddenly appear in front of the tree portal set up in the supposed 'safe' area the Ringmaster has set up for carnival members and refugees. The next moment, it's dashed through the portal itself, passing into the carnival grounds unchecked.

This will show up on Peridot's surveillance equipment, and while it all happens very quickly, it certainly does follow a certain individual's familiar tactics and capabilities. Of course, he isn't stopping to say hello.

[soft_focus]

Reira cannot sleep. Everything hurts, and everything just feels horrible, and laying back in the trailer just makes it worse. Especially with what happened mere hours earlier. As such, after laying awake for a while she ends up deciding a walk is in order. Does walking hurt too? Yes. Of course it does. But it's something other than feeling sick on the couch in the trailer, and maybe if she's lucky she can find someone to talk to for a distraction. Not that she talks about much, but laying down watching confusion VHS tapes that someone managed to find lying around is doing nothing.

She doesn't see anything, and she doesn't hear anything, but she feels something, and that's what she follows. She doesn't shout out just yet, however. She's found that announcing her presence from too far a distance tends to....shock people.

And besides that, her throat hurts.

She sort of wonders what they're doing though, at this time of night. Maybe it's one of the people that just doesn't sleep.

...Except Reira frowns as she starts to actually catch what they're feeling. Something is wrong. Something is...very wrong, but her thoughts are still swimming under the effects of illness, and her words remain quiet. It's bad. It's sending prickles up her arms, and up her spine, like when she sits too near a den of rabbits.

Someone is scared...but it's mixed with something else, and Reira finds herself growing more and more suspicious as she goes-and hoping that, among all this, another set of emotions can perhaps show up if she needs some help.

Five | OTA

[brightspot]

broken illusion.

When the ground first starts shaking, Five's in the middle of a dance with another summoned guest like herself, and she pauses not due to the tremors but because suddenly her hands aren't grasping anything solid - her partner is fading away... Her mind is still hazy enough she has the thought (controlled, planted there) to simply find someone new to dance with. It takes the earthquake actually knocking her off her feet and to the hard floor to knock her to her senses (though, perhaps, only temporarily, for now).

She looks up and around wide-eyed and frightened, trying to arrange the voluminous skirts of her ball gown in order to stand back up. "What's happening...?"

signed the contract.

Five doesn't bother asking for a lot of information before she agrees to sign. Even if it's switching one master for another, with the Ringmaster she's at the very least being given the illusion of choice here, rather than just being kidnapped and brainwashed. It also doesn't bother her (in fact it makes sense to her) that the Ringmaster would ask for her service in return for rescuing her. She is, after all, risking a lot and putting a lot of effort into saving people here, even Five can see that much. Granted, a year seems like a long time to be away from her home, from the Raza. She's going to miss her friends a lot, and she's already worried about what's going on back there while she's here, but. Again, there doesn't really seem to be a lot of time for questions.

She lets the Ringmaster go back to doing what she needs to do, feeling... still confused, and more than a little lost, but at least somewhat on more solid ground. She clutches her walkie-talkie in her hand, then turns it on and begins fiddling with the radio as she walks cautiously, watchful in the early morning daylight, hoping to hear a familiar voice or at the very least some hint as to what she's supposed to do now.

A place to hide until things settle down some more. That's probably what she needs.

regroup ► but more importantly, WARDROBE.

In fact, what she needs is to get out of this... floofy, ruined gown. It started out very beautiful, if a lot different from anything she's ever worn before: a brilliant lavender, almost satin in texture, with lavish skirts and bows. Now, however, it's dirty, torn, ruined. And yet still entirely cumbersome to move around in.

Once the portal has been opened to lead back to the carnival, she'll head through and begin her search for a place to get more convenient clothing, stopping to ask either a passing person or a voice she may hear over the radio where she can go for that.

"I'd like to help, with... with whatever happens, here on out. But maybe in a-- a different outfit?"

[ ooc: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING. maybe this works, though? brand spankin' new and throwing myself in the fray here. be gentle with me? ]

contract!

[kingsroads]

At least in this thread, she sees someone before she hears them. Strange also looks a bit of a mess. His purple suit is torn, dirty, and a bit bloody in some places, and his face looks like he's been crying. Also, unsurprisingly, he's damned tired and was making his way to some sort of area in the safe zone where he could take a friggen nap. That is, until he spots Five. Once he's done so, the plans change.

"Is it a bit selfish to say that I'm glad you are real? After all, I enjoyed our conversation." And not just because Five thought his magic was neat! Giving the girl a little nod, Strange walks over towards her.

"I do wish that you could have signed on under better circumstances."

Cole | ota!

[hurtcomfort]

missing: one gay furry
He doesn't mind signing on. He can help here. Probably more so here than he could help at the ballroom, considering that Cole's mind is free and he doesn't want to dance anymore. Everybody needs some help, but the carnival members are stronger. The servants aren't. So, Cole spends most of his time with the rescued servants, talking to them, reassuring them, helping them console with lost friends and horrible memories. But it's after talking with one servant, a nervous looking rabbit girl, that Cole's realized he's got to go ask around.

He still doesn't really like talking to people. But she wants to know, so he shall try to find out. So guess what random person, Cole's right behind you, asking a question.

"Fangs, claws, pointed ears and a small snout. She's shorter than me but a bit taller than her other half. Friendly and fox-like. We can't find her." He says 'we' despite the fact that Cole is undoubtedly alone. Turns out he and bunny girl decided to split up to cover ground.

fake fantasy canon vs. fake technology
Cole has been given a radio. Cole does not know what a radio is. As such, he's sitting on top of one of the tables just kind of staring at the radio as if that'll somehow help him figure out what this thing is and what it can do (staring does not work). He shakes it. Nothing happens. Cole taps on the radio again. Nothing happens. He flicks a switch. Oh, a light turned on, that's a good sign! He moves one of the dials and a burst of static comes through the radio and what the shit he was not expecting that to happen.

In his shock, Cole just accidentally throws the radio...which then proceeds to hit someone in the shoulder. Whoops. But right as he thinks 'oh maker, I should probably make whoever this is forget that I threw a radio at them' said person turns around, right as Cole just gives them a perfect deer in the headlights expression.

Again, whoops.

wildcard
Cole keeps to himself more than searching other people out. He also, for the most part, remains on the carnival grounds and in the safe zone the Ringmaster's maintaining. He can be seen chatting with the servants, hanging out near the medical tent, or feeding some random Pokemon that have their owners stuck in rock jail, whispering something in their ears. Occasionally he just kind of stares at people like a creep. Something that people can note is that there are moments when the rescued servants or even fellow carnival members just walk past Cole, looking over him like he isn't even there.

( ooc: please respond to Cole's permissions post if you haven't already! )

Fake Fantasy

[hippocarnival]

Cole throw the radio. Yuya, subsequently, is hit square in the shoulder with the radio. It makes him jump suddenly, and he grabs his shoulder as he spins around with an irritated expression, trying to find the perpetrator.

"Hey!" He points straight at Cole. That's a look of guilt, right? Cole's also the only other person who isn't going on with their life as if they have nothing to do with the radio.

"Did you throw that at me?!"

For Peridot, Sora, and whoever else wants to save Rin!! Or drag him to the prince

[flashover]

[Lots of shit is happening at once, it seems. The ground starts to rumble, the rain is slacking off, and some of the guests are starting to… uh… vanish? So His Majesty was kind of padding out the ranks with fakes, huh? Well, I guess it was hard to get so many people on short notice!

But something has happened, and Rin can feel the Prince calling to him, summoning him back to the inner sanctum. He’s gotta go!

… Unfortunately, he is on the exact opposite side of the ballroom from where the fortress is coming to life. So he does what any good servant would do!

He books it.]

[destiny_key]

[Sora's in the kitchen when it starts happening, and the tray of glasses he'd only just set down tips straight off the counter and shatters on the ground. Well, hopefully he wouldn't get in trouble if it wasn't his fault.

That's really the last of his worries right now, though. There's kind of an earthquake happening.

He, too, books it, but out of the kitchens and into the ballroom. The Prince is calling him, and he needs to go, but... is that Rin?]

Rin! C'mon!

Closed to the Rescue Joker Brigade

[destiny_key]

[Sora's patrolling the outside of the fortress when he notices something off. He's been out here for hours, walking round in circles, smiling at the other servants on patrol when he sees them, and avoiding the worst of the monsters. It's pretty easy, it's something he's used to, and honestly, he prefers this to serving drinks by a mile.

The figures sneaking around the edges, however, are definitely not supposed to be there. Sora squints into the distance, and... are those carnival members?

Sora puts himself into a ready position, and pulls out his Keyblade. Time to do his job, it looks like.]

[puddingemote]

[Tamaki is creeping as carefully as he can, watching for any monsters that might be coming. He'd rather not have to fight any of them, if possible - most of them are pretty scary.

But the four of them are on a mission. Doll wanted to save Joker - of course she did. And Tamaki did, too. Miko volunteered to come along, and Morgana, the new... cat-guy... had claimed that he knew how to sneak into places, so he'd come along, too.

Getting closer to the fortress, he notices something up ahead, and looks over at the others, pointing toward the figure.]

There's someone over there.

█████ | Day 177 Early Morning Onwards

[osteothropy]

After being sedated, he doesn't find it in himself to wake up for at least several hours. It feels like ever last inch of his strength has been used and burned at this point, and there's nothing left for opening his eyes. The rest is much needed, but his thoughts are still fitful, especially when he finally wakes.

Having been captured by a few carnival members during his poorly executed robbery attempt, he was brought to the Ringmaster, who did her best to try to draw his mind back to some amount of sense, while also putting a ward in him to prevent him from teleporting. Since then, he's just been relegated to one of the empty trailers in the living lot, under careful watch and still bound. It would be sort of indignant if he had any measure of that at the moment. Tyki had essentially just rolled him up in a blanket so that he couldn't use his arms like a frightened animal, and he's been left that way ever since.

Also, Mari's effort to capture him had also resulted in his skeletal tail completely with scorpion barb being turned into a fleshy blue tentacle, the same length but far more harmless. He has little idea of how to control the suckers built into the thing, so mostly it's just been getting stuck to stuff, and the way its connected to his pelvis is still a mystery. It sticks out past the blankets currently covering him, occasionally flopping around in his sleep.

Whenever there isn't anyone around to speak with him, he'll either be sleeping or trying in vain to escape. He still feels like there's somewhere he needs to be, even if the Ringmaster tried to break the worst of the compulsion enchantments. His name still belongs to the Prince, which means every part of him is under the Prince's control.

He's not himself, he's not anyone, and it doesn't feel like he will be ever again.

[spaghettimonster]

Even with the end of the erratic radio updates through the break-in attempt, Papyrus finds himself unable to totally calm down from his jittery watchfulness at the portal. He decides to spend the rest of the pre-dawn hours standing watch there anyway, since... who knows! Maybe there's an accomplice! Somebody else sneaking around! It's definitely not to avoid checking in on... him.

Really, though, he's beyond grateful that others managed to catch his brother. Not just for having caught him, ensuring that he's here and not getting even more extra hurt, where the Ringmaster can try to put things right. But that others did it, and so Papyrus doesn't need to outright fight with him. Again. With bones instead of just words.

Dawn comes and passes without incident. Enough time for him to brace himself to see whether the Ringmaster's efforts worked, to see what condition he's really in... and for there to be enough people up and about for him to head back into the carnival proper. He takes a couple detours, to the mess hall and his own trailer, before heading to the temporary prisoner lodging.

"Uh... brother? Are you awake?" Papyrus asks at the door, hesitating to open it until he hears a sound within. He carries with him a tray of food; whatever today's normal breakfast offerings are, plus the special request of burger and fries. A second attempt at an overture of connection, greased by the offer of favored food to show that there are things he knows.

No extra grease, though. Once was enough for that.

CLOSED to Ichigo -- Possibly open later!!

[moonfang]

[There’s no sense of time when you’re unconscious. When you start to wake up, it feels like it could have been a few minutes, or a few days. In reality, it’s only been an hour, maybe two, since Zangetsu’s humanoid form destabilized and Childermass passed him off to Ichigo. Just stabbing Zangetsu, in his brilliant white sword form, into one of the servants to feed on their soul would have been an instantaneous fix. But of course that wasn’t exactly kosher. Being in contact with with his master was the next best thing.

It starts with a low whine in the back of Ichigo’s mind, a stirring and a presence of something all too familiar. It solidifies into a grumbling moan after a while, and finally actual words, seemingly from between Ichigo’s ears.]

Unnrrrrrggggghhhh. I sure hope someone got the license plate of the truck that hit me.

[eclipsingblade]

[Sadly in the intervening time Zangetsu has not been applied to any servants at all.

Partly because Ichigo has yet to find any that strike him as dangerous enough to bother with, and he's been looking. Sure there's monsters but fighting 'mindless beasts' really isn't up his alley and anyway mostly they seem corralled at this point so just roaming around skewering them for no good reason wasn't about to happen.

Waiting to go kick the ass of some guy holed up in a fortress sounded way too familiar and he was itchy to get to it before other familiar things started happening, like a parade of minibosses.

... And there's one of his usual minibosses now.

As Zangetsu works towards something like consciousness, Ichigo pauses, turns, and heads for the outskirts of the carnival. This network of tents was going to be annoying if things suddenly went pear-shaped, and most of the time things did indeed go pear-shaped.]

Nope.

[It probably wasn't a truck. And having voices in his head directly was in fact way more disturbing than the usual bullshit he had to deal with, hopefully this wasn't some new unexpected side effect of reforging...]