Lost Carnival Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ringleaders) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
lostcarnival2017-10-24 09:07 pm
ringleaders) wrote in lostcarnival2017-10-24 09:07 pm
Entry tags:
- !event,
- 9s,
- @heartstone manor,
- carly nagisa,
- cole,
- commander syrlya,
- connie maheswaran,
- doll,
- five,
- foster van denend,
- ginko,
- herbert west,
- hinawa,
- ichigo kurosaki,
- jasper,
- john childermass,
- joker,
- jonathan strange,
- junko enoshima,
- mari makinami illustrious,
- miko nakadai,
- morgana,
- papyrus,
- peridot,
- reira akaba,
- rin okumura,
- sans,
- sora,
- steven universe,
- tallisibeth (scout),
- the psiioniic,
- tyki mikk,
- yotsuba tamaki,
- yuzu hiragi,
- yūya sakaki,
- zangetsu
⇨ SAY UNCLE
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.
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.] |
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"I'll look for them back at the carnival," he explains. Or, what's left of the carnival, anyway. "Scrying requires certain tools which I don't have on me right now." After all, if you're going to fight a bunch of scorpions, might not want to bring a big honkin' silverish basin with you. There's a pause, before Strange petulantly continues,
"And a 'please' would be lovely."
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But in the end, it seems they'll have to retreat anyway. He had no idea Strange needed tools to do that particular bit of English magic; he doesn't seem to need tools for everything else he's shown 9S. Unless Strange is tricking him...
...No, he wouldn't do that.
......But it's hard to have faith in that belief, when so much of what he believed in might be a lie.
9S grits his teeth, clearly unhappy at this turn of events. "Fine. We'll return to the carnival." I can't lose you, too.
< Alert: Unit 9S' mental function was placed in a semi-uncontrolled state over 24 hours ago. Unit 9S has not undertaken system maintenance since. Proposal: Unit 9S should remain in the carnival to perform a full data overhaul >
9S pointedly ignores Pod 153, saying to Strange instead, "...You should rest when we get there. You look beat."
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He's also noticed that he didn't get that please. Dammit, kid. Still, 9S is obviously grumpy about something so might as well at least attempt a conversation.
"Do you wish to talk about this 'semi-uncontrolled state'?"
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It's going to be like that, is it? Fine.
9S turns to lead the way back to the portal opened by the Ringmaster to return them to the carnival. They can talk while they're leaving; the lifeforms converging on their location aren't going to wait for them to finish their conversation after all.
"You were affected too, weren't you? At the ball. I couldn't remember how I got there or what I was doing before that." His voice takes on a bitter twist. "All of us, lead around by fakes."
How dare the Prince use 2B against him! She's part of his memories! She's his!
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Still, Strange is smart enough to keep his mixed opinions on the illusions to himself. 9S obviously hates them and Strange knows that butting in with his opinion would only make it worse.
"I was affected," Strange affirms, as they continue to walk back towards the carnival. "Apparently there was something in the food, something that poisoned us all at breakfast." Now that he takes proper offense with. "I spent all of the dance in a haze, dancing with what I thought was my wife."
Which makes this the second fake wife Strange has had to deal with, like goddamn universe, can you slow your roll on these things a little bit?
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And that thought turns his expression into a deeper frown. He wants to just dismiss the words of that fake, but... what if it is true? That everyone is...
And everything they'd talked about... Were those really 2B's feelings? Or was some of it just what he wanted from her? A twisted perversion of his longing for to be closer to her when she always seemed so distant. Will they only be together in his dreams? He feels like such an idiot spilling all his feelings to something that wasn't real. He should've known...! He should've been able to see through it!
Calm down.
Calm down calm down calm down.
Focus on the issue at hand.
"...I'm sorry she wasn't real."
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Of course Strange loves Arabella. Of course he's crushed that she wasn't real. He was devastated watching her fade in front of him. But, a few hours have passed and Strange has seen that some of the other guests were real. Arabella would have been miserable at the carnival and would have suffered under the Prince's thumb. As much it pains him to do so, it really is better overall that she wasn't real.
It still hurts, though. As much as he wants to logic this away, Strange can't get rid of the hurt inside his chest.
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His throat feels tight with emotion.
2B... he was supposed to take her to the Ringmaster, beg for her to please allow 2B to join. A year and a day's worth of work. 2B had seemed like she was happy with the prospect of no command, no orders, being allowed to be herself for the first time, together with him...
...The 2B who wasn't real, that is.
"Why would being here be bad? She would be with you, wouldn't she?"
Maybe the real 2B doesn't want that. Maybe that distance she places between him and her is what's actually real.
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"Granted, I imagine she isn't happy right now, what with how circumstances are back home. But at least in my world, she'll have a much better chance of being happy than she would be at a faerie carnival."
Especially a faerie carnival where it's part of her husband's job to run headfirst into danger. Honestly, it's a good thing Arabella didn't learn of that nightrunner bit. She worried about him in the peninsula, it would be a constant stream of worry here, seeing as the carnival keeps getting into so much fae bullshit.
"And if I may be honest? I think I'd prefer her to be happy though we're apart than miserable but we're together."
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For the first time since they started their conversation, 9S raises his voice, actual emotion punctuating it, even if there's a strain of desperation threaded through his words. "But she'd be with you! Isn't that enough for both of you to be happy?"
He thought... he thought that human love is supposed to be stronger than any drug. 9S' shoulders slump, dejection and disappointment evident in his voice.
"...How can you be together in love and still be miserable?"
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"For instance, imagine both Arabella and I were captured by the Prince. Yes, we would be together and yes, we would be in love, but I think it's safe to say, we both would absolutely hate it. Love doesn't completely remove the fact that someone can hate the circumstances they are in."
And, at least for them, Arabella would hate faerie and hate the carnival.
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"Wouldn't being together make the pain easier to bear? But..." he murmurs, gaze falling to the ground. "I guess you're right."
He just sounds tired. When he had talked about going shopping together with 2B after the war was over, he'd expected her to dismiss it as yet another bout of meaningless conjecture. Instead, she'd seemed... happy at the prospect. But even in that moment, she had also seemed so inexplicably sad when she turned away.
If what that fake said was true...
(And you can't trust fakes)
...then he knows why.
9S' hands ball into fists and he lets out a laugh, hollow and devoid of humour. "YoRHa like me aren't supposed to have emotions." Emotions are prohibited.. "I think I understand why, now."
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There's a pause, as Strange mulls this over for a moment, before he asks.
"What do you think?" he can't help but ask. "YoRHa aren't supposed to have emotions, but you obviously do. Do you...I don't know, do you wish you didn't have them?"
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"I... don't know."
He doesn't want to believe the words of that fake, but too much of what it said makes sense...
...especially the reason why his memory barely spans 3 months, even though he was rolled out over 2 years ago.
"It hurts, being alive."
It hurts, being alive and alone and without purpose.
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"It does," Strange simply responds. Because really, what else could he say? He can't deny that. "And yet we muddle through it anyway."
There's a pause, before Strange attempts to shift the subject slightly. "9S. What happened to you at the ball?"
Because something must have happened. The way he was so bitter about the illusions, this stand-offish attitude he has now, the way Strange had to explain that though people loved each other, it was sometimes better if they were apart...something had to have happened. And Strange wanted to know what.
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He's never had someone to talk to about his problems before. He never had someone who could be entrusted with them. Not even 2B, who had her own secrets that forced them to be apart even when they were together. But Strange is a human, asking a question that is within his power to answer... and he thinks that Strange is one of the people who could understand at least part of it.
"...Imagine that the ball was the only time you and Arabella were honest with your feelings for each other."
He'd kissed 2B...
... And 2B had kissed him back.
"...2B was going to come to the carnival with me." Strange was right about him having an Arabella, so he thinks there's no need for him to explain who 2B is. 9S looks away, voice choking up. "She told me... everyone back home... They're all infected by a logic virus, including her. The virus corrupts androids and causes us to go crazy and attack the uninfected. It's not curable."
At least, most of the time. The virus mutates too quickly for the vaccines they have to keep up. If they're lucky a vaccine will work when treated in the early stages. If not, a Scanner like him could potentially remove it. But it would be an impossible task for him to save them all... and 2B... she...
"And I'm the only one who isn't infected."
Well there's A2, but he can't care about someone he's never met.
"We were going talk to the Ringmaster together. It was the only way to save her. ...But 2B... she wasn't real." He balls his hands into fists, voice growing louder as rage colours his words. "So nothing that happened that night matters. It was a fake, made to toy with my feelings. The things it said about me, about her, about everything, lies, all of it."
He laughs brokenly, a hand covering his face.
"But why can't I believe that? Why do I believe the words of something that wasn't real?"
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Though, as 9S expresses his last thought? That he understands completely. That Arabella wasn't real. Their conversation ended with that Arabella realizing she wasn't real. But she was real enough to Strange, real enough that the loss still pierces his stomach and he's more bound and determined to save everybody than before, simply because she asked to.
"I don't know what magic the Prince used to make those illusions. I don't know if they were pulled from our memories or were replications of those who already exist. But whatever that magic was, it made 2B real enough that you believed it was her. You believe 2B's words because even though she was fake, there was enough real to her that the words rang true. After all, I've a feeling you'd be able to tell instantly if 2B was entirely fake."
But Strange knows there are enchantments that could make something fake seem believable. He buried one of those. But he doesn't need to tell 9S this, not here and not now. He doesn't really know what to do here. But awkwardly, Strange reaches over and attempts to put a reassuring hand on 9S's shoulder.
"Something can be a lie and the truth at the same time. The world's devilishly contradictory that way." Some of the stories of the Raven King, those from hundreds of years ago, did they happen? Probably not! But they were real to Strange and that's what matters. Likewise, the Arabella that he danced with, that he spent time with wasn't the real Arabella. But it was good enough for Strange.
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"...Back home, we could never be together." Back then, he didn't know why 2B was so distant to him, while simultaneously being close. He knows now. He doesn't care that she's his executioner, only that it's Command that put her in the position in the first place. "We couldn't, because... because of her duty." Her duty to kill him, over and over and over again. "If it's true that everyone is infected... that she's infected, too..."
At least Strange has the certainty of Arabella still being alive back home, waiting for him.
9S keeps his blindfolded gaze firmly on the portal as he strides towards it, but his hands are curled into fists, shaking, as he murmurs, "...It never will be. Not unless the Ringmaster can do something about it."
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Never mind the fact that he doesn't know how to do healing magic or doesn't know a thing about the logic virus. Who gives a damn! 9S deserves happiness and if Strange could bring even the slightest trace of that happiness to the android, then he would do so. Besides, he's the greatest magician of the age. Given enough time and effort, he should be able to do something (he hopes).
After all, those months when he thought Arabella was dead and doomed were the literal worst months of his life. 2B isn't dead (at least, not yet) but Strange refuses to let 9S reach that point where he was, trying all sorts of desperate measures to bring her back, driven mad by the memory and his actions.
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A human isn't supposed to help him.
He's supposed to serve humans.
The humans who were so distant.
He can't help but question how Strange will do it. Strange doesn't know anything about the inner workings of androids or the constantly mutating virus. Strange doesn't know how rapidly it spreads, or how efficiently it corrupts their data. Strange doesn't know that they only certain method they have of dealing with it is to kill the infected android and reboot them in a new body from old memory data. Which can't happen anymore, with all of YoRHa infected.
But...
The rest of his mechanical brain tells the skeptical part of him to shut the hell up. If there's even the slightest chance of Strange saving her should the Ringmaster refuse to do anything... then he'll gladly wait for Strange to pull through. He'll wait years in the carnival if he must.
He can feel his throat closing up, choked with emotion as he brings his hands up to palm his visor, the fabric damp. A human shouldn't be doing this for him, a mere android. Everything in him is telling him to refuse. He doesn't deserve this.
But he'll do anything for 2B. "...Thank you."
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Strange has never encountered a problem that he couldn't solve via determination, steadfastness, and throwing a fuckton of magic at it. This isn't going to change now.
Although...that blindfold may do wonders for hiding 9S's eyes, but it cannot hide the emotion in his voice. Is the android crying? Strange reaches over to give 9S the typical male awkward one-armed shoulder hug.
"I know what it's like to go through hell to save the one you love. If I can make this journey even the slightest bit easier for you, then I shall."
The words are out before Strange can realize what he's saying. Ah. So 2B was the one who 9S felt so strongly for, the one who Strange teased 9S about, thinking it was Rita.
casual reminder that 9S only knew 2B for a month
But is what he feels for her love? He can't deny that he'd always felt something... special towards her. But calling her a lover feels too distant. Calling her family feels too unreasonable.
Most of all, he just wanted her to be here.
He doesn't know what to say, other than to thank Strange again. For being willing to go so far for him... As if his life isn't something that's just expendable and easily replaced. As if his life actually means something to Strange. All the words don't quite make it out of his throat, just a croaked out, "...Thanks, Strange."
Eventually, he does pull away, his step a little more determined, but a little less grim.
Time is strange while working for the Ringmaster. If time is still flowing back home, then it would already be too late for 2B. If time isn't, then... as much as he wants to beg the Ringmaster to save 2B... 2B has time. Rita doesn't.
"We have other problems to worry about. Let's work on those, first."
he just feels a lot of emotions, okay
Though, as 9S mentions the other problems, Strange winces slightly because oh yeah, he's just remembered that he has one of those other problems unconscious in his pocket and missing half a tail.
"You're right," Strange responds, with a nod. "After all, I still have a servant turned scorpion turned mouse on my person. The poor thing would probably like to be human again."
That poor servant probably also has a fuckton of issues right now, but Strange is not thinking about that part.
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"That's what you're worried about?" Seriously? Get a grip, Strange! "What about Rita and the others!?"
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"But I cannot do anything about them just yet. I can do something about this servant," said as he idly pats his pocket. "So I'll help them while coming up with a way to save those captured."
Because of course Strange is going to save those captured. Why wouldn't he?
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