⇨ 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

[tacosgay]

"Huh, okay... sounds simple enough. I assume you use those monsters to knock off life points?" He's suddenly realizing that having a child explain the rules of some card game from another world to him isn't going to be the most entertaining way he could possibly spend an evening, but, well. It sure beats spending the evening in that empty trailer, or hanging out with the crazy bullshit that's happening outside.

He realizes how rude that's going to sound if she hears that way too late to shove it aside, but he tries anyway.

[soft_focus]

Fortunately, Reira is an empath, not a mind reader-she merely stares quizzically at the other before eventually answering. "Mm, or spells, or traps. You have to think about things-because the other duelist will be trying to fight back, and defend, too."

[tacosgay]

... yeah, no, nevermind, scratch that simplicity thing.

"Uh... huh. I'll be honest, that all sounds super interesting, but I'm, well, a little on the slow side, so, uh. I mean, for one thing, color me impressed that you can even play it, you know, considering."

Considering the fact that he's pretty sure you're, like, five or something, and most kids that age have trouble consistently making it to a potty.

[soft_focus]

Reira is Beaming with Pride-

"Ah.... ....I practiced hard," she murmurs quietly. Programming direct-to-brain only goes so far, after all. "...People normally go to 'after school schools' for it, like the one niisama runs, so... ...It can be hard, especially to learn how to summon powerful monsters properly."

[tacosgay]

"... that's a pretty intense following for a card game," Taako says, increasingly getting the idea that, uh, maybe it means more than just a recreational hobby over in her world after all. In which case, it's becoming increasingly inappropriate for a kid her age to get pulled into it, but he has no idea what childhood is supposed to be like in the first place, so he doesn't comment on that.

[soft_focus]

"....It's a sport and also used for war, so....it needs a lot of people." That's really not how it works but, you know. Whatever.

Believe this, Taako, it's a hair better than what she grew up into.

"....I'm explaining it okay...right?" she adds, not quite catching the reason for whatever Taako is feeling.

[tacosgay]

"Yeah, no, uh, I get the rules and all, it's just, like. You guys use a card game for all that?" Holy shit. Well, that's cranked up his mild alarm to... well, from a one to maybe one and a half. Still, he raises his eyebrows a bit, clearly puzzled. "And they let kids get involved? Like-- eeeehhhhhhh, admittedly, I have no idea what being a kid is like, it's been a long time, okay, but that seems kind of..."

He breaks off with a long, pensive sound that drops low in his throat.

[soft_focus]

".....Solid vision can't be destroyed by normal weapons-so the Fusion dimension decided to use it to attack other dimensions," she explains, swallowing as she explains.

"And.... ....I'm....the only one my age, who fights with the Lancers. ....that was why my mom got me. To fight for 'Standard' Dimension."

[tacosgay]

Everything she just said gives Taako an enormous amount of pause. For a long beat, all he does is just... look at her; he glances off, and then back at her, and he sits back, pursing his lips.

"... uh. Okay. So, like. I have no idea what anything you just said to me means." And then he furrows his brow. "Wait, your mom got you?"

CW: CHILD SOLDIERS....and possibly abuse depending on how far this goes...

[soft_focus]

"Mm." She stares for a moment-no doubt gauging the waters when it comes to mood-but eventually deems it 'safe'. "....She took me from the soldiers in the place I used to live.... ....because she wanted to use me for that war instead of theirs. Because I was good at listening-no matter what they said, I could do that."

[tacosgay]

"... shit." It's murmured under his breath, but the tone is stripped of all of his usual smug apathy. "That's... uh. What happened to your, uh, original parents?"

This seems like a question that might be way too upsetting to actually ask, but here he is, asking it.

[soft_focus]

Taako is upset. That, Reira can figure out. She can even figure out why...Sort of. She might not feel much for the reasons, but enough people have been upset about this for her to learn it at least. That aside.

"....I don't know." She answers it honestly. Easily. Plainly. There's no attachment to them because....she never knew them. She can't remember them, for that matter.

She just knows 'mom' wasn't always her mom-it'd have been impossible, given they only knew each other a few months at most.

[tacosgay]

"Oh. Uh. Yeah, fair enough, I guess," he says, and that response actually seems to make him relax a bit, rather than being even more upset. "I don't really remember mine either, so hey, we have that in common."

[soft_focus]

"Umn, you don't?" Well, hey-if he's relaxed then...this is probably ok right?

"...Where did you grow up then..?" She has a feeling it Wasn't a Battlefield.

[tacosgay]

"Me and my sister kind of... grew up on the road, I guess?" Taako isn't sure why he's telling her this; he's hardly told anyone this information, even back home. Maybe it's the fact that, well, he knows all about her life now, so he may as well level the playing field. "We spent some time with family, then decided, nah, that wasn't for us, so we took off on our own."

[soft_focus]

There's..................a pause.

".......................You just lived on a road..............?"

[tacosgay]

"... uh, not... I mean, sometimes?" Taako giggles, but it isn't cruel. "We usually found some other travelers to stay with whenever we could, though, like... you know, adventurers or performers or whatever."

[soft_focus]

............... "But you said you lived on the road..........." Why did you lie-

Well, whatever. "There's a job for having an adventure?"

[tacosgay]

"Not... I mean--" Taako giggles, brushing his bangs aside idly. "It's... we lived with a few different groups, instead of just having a house that we lived in all the time?"

Oh, boy. For a kid who seems to've not had a childhood, much like Taako himself, she sure seems out of touch with certain things.

"Sort of. I mean, it's a thing where I'm from, but I have no idea about where you're from? But yeah, uh, there are a lot of people who just... kind of... make their living by going on adventures and fighting monsters and finding treasure, stuff like that." Taako waves a hand, sighing. "It's not nearly as glamorous as it sounds, I assure you."

[soft_focus]

"Mnnnh...." This sounds like a lie Taako. She's pretty sure you lied somewhere now. But hey.

"Mnnh... ...I guess because there's no monsters that are dangerous at home, that's why I didn't know about it then..." For once, she's simply missed something because of a world difference! Maybe. She hopes?

"...............It didn't sound nice...." Just so you know. She's pretty sure if it's a job that involves all of that, it's not going to be very nice most of the time at all.