lostcarnival | ⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

Entry tags:

⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

Who: Everyone!
When: Winter Breaks: Day 6 - Day 25
Where: THE MOON
What: The carnival journeys to one of its moons to celebrate the Lunar Solstice. More information here.
Warnings: Winter fun.

MOON WALKING↴

The journey to the moon only takes a blink of an eye, but it leaves the carnival far away beneath you. The second moon can be seen on the peripheral, massive compared to its usual view. At least when the holidays start out, there will be no notable wildlife on the moon, though this is something you can talk to the Ringmaster about if you think it needs a change. It sounds like this is the first time she's used it in quite a while - it probably needs some dusting off!

Claim your cabins, and proceed to... well, do whatever you want! There is no rush and little obligation, besides to enjoy yourself. For real, this time. She promises there will be no vampires. Or, at least, none that don't already work for the carnival.

► CABINS: Living arrangements are character choice for this event, and there are a variety of cabins of various sizes, mostly built to house 2-6 people, though you can fit more in if you squish. They are all made of wood and of a rustic design - no fancy modern furniture, here! Each building is housed with a fireplace and the needed amenities. You can pick up materials to cook with the private kitchens if you like. Theoretically, you could spend the whole holiday sequestered away, watching the snow fall. Some of them also have outdoor hot tubs available!

► ACTIVITIES: Activities are mostly going to be character driven, though there will be some large group games like bingo and maybe a poker tournament happening at some point in one of the festival halls. Otherwise, there is a lot to offer: skiing, snowboarding, hiking, ice sculpting, snowball fights - it goes on! If you'd like to run a winter activity, just let the mods know, and we will get the word out there for you.

► FEASTING: Every day isn't a full-out feast because that would get a bit unhealthy, but there will be a number of specific feast events over the holidays where everyone is encouraged to let out their inner hedonist and stuff themselves. There will be one big feast per week, with smaller but also delicious meals offered in between. The feast dates will be B12, B18, and B24. There's also plenty of alcohol available for anyone who wants it.

► SHOPPING: As mentioned in the planning post, there is a massive market being run by the World Walker Caravan! The Ringmaster has given everyone 1250 credits to spend on items, but there is a caveat - must spend at least 500 of those credits on gifts for other people. And it better be a good one, if you only buy one! (She will ask that you do not buy her presents, however. She appreciates the sentiment, but it seems sort of silly buying her things with her own money! If you'd like to gift her, please have it be something more personal or handmade, but you are not obligated to get her anything at all.)

► TREATMENTS: The beginning of the holidays will also be about the time that the emergency Medical Team will have finalized their treatments for the Prince's poisoning. Watch out for further information on that - and make sure to get treated if you are suffering from petrification or poison induced illness! The holidays will be a lot more fun that way.

Page 152 of 172

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Tanyuu holds out her hand for Frisk to take, then leads them down the street towards one of the meal halls--there's sure to be plenty of sweet treats for the both of them there.]

I don't think I introduced myself before. My name is Tanyuu; I work as one of the makeup artists. [She tilts her head down towards them in invitation--and you?]

"I could have," said with a little shrug, only a moment after Rita's question, "and I probably should have. But I didn't think you'd agree to this if you knew blood was involved."

And at that, Strange gives Rita a very pointed look. It obviously is bothering her and (at least in his mind) she obviously wouldn't have agreed to do this if she knew about the whole 'write the contract in your blood' bit. Not telling someone a creepy detail is a perfectly valid and sometimes needed strategy.

~~Y I K E S TYKI, ONE SIBLING AT A TIME.~~

Doll frowns at Tyki, though she agrees with most of what he's saying. It's just that she doesn't quite get the difference between those tea cup ladies and what she is. How are those kinds of ladies different? And why wasn't there just a different word for what she is?

Straightening up again haughtily, Doll picks up the glass. "I wasn' gonna chug it anyway, too much in m'stomach ta chance it." As she sips she looks sideways at Tyki, curious. "...how do these powerful ladies-without-manners get what they want?"

"Oh yeah?" Doll throws her latest ball, but it flies wild and falls apart-- too rushed, not packed enough. "How's that?"

"Yeah, but I musta tripped over more 'n half by now!" Encouraging. Doll grins and reaches to put her hands on Miko's back to push.

"Three, two, one--!" And Doll's strong legs dig into the snow and she shoves Miko to give her a good start.

Woah-- did that just? Doll's eye is wide as her focus follows the snowball that apparently passed straight through Syrlya.

And then the one he threw hits her square in the face. Doll yelps and staggers back, surprised mostly, but then the cold starts to set in and she groans and tries to wipe the snow out of her bangs. It's so cold on her scarred skin, and the little gems that pepper her face are even colder now. Altogether, very unpleasant.

[See, this is the part of a normal conversation where Tyki would dig a little deeper but the term Monsters narrows that down. Only a select few that weren't human upon arrival. Tyki knows a human soul when he sees one no matter how corrupt fae magic has made it.]

Most of them have been. I can't say the same for a few of us otherwise. Well, that's good to know you won't start off alone then.

While all birds of Anghel's species do have the mark (which is slightly duller on females), Anghel shakes his head. "It is a mark of my inescapable sin and a reminder of the Judgement Day."

"Yes, I noticed as much," Childermass replies, completely unsurprised. He couldn't really think of any reason for a wasted Tyki to stagger his way to the far end of the village and puke all over his snowy front yard besides being lost, horribly, horribly lost, and now here he is. So, he idly folds his arms across his chest, leaning his weight back on one heel as he does, and gives Tyki an extremely unimpressed look, but that can't be too surprising.

"But seeing how you've already imposed, you may as well stay where I can keep an eye on you. I am as responsible for your safety as I ever am, even if we're off on a holiday."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Same thing, right? Right!"

Disarticulated skeleton wrapped in warm mochi. Now THAT is a description. Not how Rin feels, by the by. Rin feels more like his whole body is a soft, warm sweater. Like laying out in the sun... yeah. It was definitely like basking in a ray of sunlight, but without getting too hot at all.

Rin smiles as Yukio collapses onto the couch and then laughs a bit. "You're not imposing. This cabin is huge for just Hinawa-san and I, and she's not even here right now! Chill out here for a bit."

To make it an even harder decision, Rin gets up and drapes a warm minky blanket over him.

[and what a cool trick that is. Sure, Zangetsu can do it, too. And some humans back home had figured it out as well. It sure did make things easy, not having to slog through feet of snow.

Unless you just wanted to. ]

I'm READY!

[smaller bullets with more punch, but smaller spray. A chunk of snow flies up and beans him in the face.

He falls backwards into the snow.

He lies there for a few brief moments before holding up his arms and going "WOO!!!"]

THAT WAS GREAT!

Of course. That's what Childermass gets for trying to dissuade the man, he's just going to do whatever he wants anyway. He rolls his eyes and finishes unpacking the rest of the bag.

Naturally, it's lunch. Or close enough, considering it's much, much later in the morning now. A canteen of coffee, a canteen of water and a bowl for Baker, fruit, then sandwiches cobbled together from early morning breakfast foods wrapped in napkins, some hardboiled eggs (also wrapped), and so on. It's the latter bits of food that he goes to deposit on the tarp by Strange, then he turns back to lay out the bowl of water for Baker, along with the fruit. It isn't the exact same as the berries the Pokemon eat back in Alola, but it's close enough and the dog doesn't seem to mind, the way he immediately buries his face in them.

That done, he turns back to join Strange where he sits.

"At least have someone waiting for you by your chosen arrival point, Mr. Strange. It wouldn't do for you to fall over and break your skull."

He reaches out to poke her nose just because she's making such a frown and he'll let his glass settle into his own hands and play with the rim of it with a wide grin. There was a lot to learn about being a lady.

"For one, they aren't tied down by the social constructs put in place. They either have enough money, wealth, or charisma to achieve what they want. Be honest, how many people do you have wrapped around your little finger at this point? Hmm?" He's teasing of course but it was kind of true. "I know I'm already locked in by your charm."

Yukio's already lost, even before Rin introduces him to the additional warmth of the softest blanket he's ever felt. He practically melts into the couch, flushed from the alcohol and the magical heat and feeling too much and not enough and tired.

But before Rin can move away, Yukio reaches out, grabbing for fabric or tail or something that will make Rin stay.

"Nii-san, ca--" he cuts himself off, aware that he's being childish, not looking at Rin but not letting go either.

"You've never seen a seahorse?"

He sounds a little surprised there; not everyone knows what a Mongoose is, but everyone seems fascinated by seahorses.

"They're little fish... they kinda look like they have a horse head. And they have a curly tail."

He demonstrates by drawing a swirl in the air with his finger.

"My clan isn't from an area by the sea. Not traditionally, anyway." For now that they were in Wycome, they were about to get a lot more ocean than they'd bargained for. The description makes her grin, however, and she shakes her head.

"It sounds like it would fit in my world just fine. Have you seen a lot of them?"

"I'm the Wardrobe Manager-one of the Supervisors," she answers. "Before that, I was mostly a tailor...people who work under the Nightrider as 'nightrunners' only do that part time..! So since I was doing more and more of the work in the Wardrobe department, I got a promotion in the end..."

She shrugs. "I like it~ And, obviously if anything serious happens, it's still part of my job to help in a fight..!" So says the former Tailor.

Curiosity getting the best of him, Strange looks over to peek at what Childermass is setting down. The fact that it's food makes sense—still, the idea of a moon picnic is a bit amusing. Imagine telling people back home about this! He pokes and prods some more, looking at the various sandwiches and canteens and then almost instantly makes a beeline for those eggs.

By the time Childermass is judging him for all his choices, Strange is already happily eating one of the eggs and will probably eat all of the eggs unless Childermass takes them away from him. He flashes the other man a grin: it's obvious Strange isn't taking the be careful or you'll pass out warning as seriously as he should.

"I do have that arrangement with the Ringmaster. Though, I'd prefer my death to be more tragic and heroic than a tap on the head."

Granted, he'd rather not die in the first place, but that goes without saying.

Foster doesn't look away from Herbert, doesn't dare break his gaze, but he feels inside of him an energy or nausea, barely notices his own shiver. A shiver, yes--of what, he doesn't know. It doesn't matter.

Good feelings. Bad feelings. It's feeling. And there it is, that feeling, that craving and cure he missed so deeply that he betrayed himself and his god(?) searching for it in all the wrong places, taking the raw flesh, the bared meat of his rotten purpose and sculpting it over and over, only for it to turn to ash in his ~~hands~~ claws. Again and again, by himself, trying to force the blood to the surface, but no stone large enough, no fragment of earth thrown uselessly into the ocean, rock after pebble after boulder after ruin. Alone on the precipice, screaming pointlessly back into the waves and wind as it crumbles beneath him, and ever but taking up the pieces of its ledge and casting them out ever further--

What a fool!

Because of course his design was never meant to succeed itself, but was meant to serve--

Even (or perhaps especially) in his compromised state, Foster is aware that he may never get another chance. Probably will never get this chance. He's waited--searched, tried to create this chance his whole wretched, pathetic, desperate life.

And now in this man, in this form, anathema--

He laughs, and briefly shudders in laughing, as though shaking out a chill of cold, or euphoria, or something--a feeling of visceral intensity so bordering on the obscene that it forces a physical response.

"You'll only ever get one chance," he slurs it a bit, but it's also not really clear if he's addressing himself or Herbert. It probably doesn't matter.

"Who--who am I to deny? That design... the deepest of devotions to your God, to my purpose, pour it out of me, into me. Fill me with your serum! Do it! Do it. I don't exist yet, but I can! I don't exist yet--" He makes another effort to rise off the bed, like an idiot-by all appearances, he might be trying to walk to Herbert. He hangs onto the bed post instead, staring into Herbert's eyes with what is either the intensity of a threat or the excitement of a promise.

"But I can."

"Nothing escapes you," he states casually as he watches that Childermass unimpressed air don the man all over again, "but this one knows your scent most likely and just led me here. Or maybe I was unclear of where I wanted to go." Tyki honestly couldn't tell up from down right now other than the fact he was sitting.

His grin grows wider than it already is and he sinks into that chair in a lazy manner. The cabin was warm, he was still tired and thirsty, and he couldn't really argue with the man's words that brought him such cheer and comfort, "If you insist, boss. I wouldn't want to make your responsibility harder~"

9S smiles, though it's a little strained at the corners. Yeah, that's right. Though he wishes being alive didn't hurt so much.

"We try to be like our human creators, but our physiology is different so we can't ever be exactly like them." He gestures to Lavellan's lost arm. "An injury like that is trypically easily fixed for us."

In fact, she's the first person he's seen to sport a missing limb. Minus the time he cut Taako's hand off, of course. But a zebra reattached it so it was fine.

"How'd that happen?"

He accepts the present, immediately curious about what is inside. Rita's present to him hadn't been wrapped. 9S can't help the grin spreading across his face, broad and genuine, "Thanks, Strange!"

He almost immediately starts to unwrap it before remembering himself. Digging into his coat pocket and feeling a bit awkward -- somehow, giving his gift to Strange is different to giving Rita hers -- 9S holds out a small unwrapped box of rainbow matches.

He explains, "Your magic tires you when you use a lot of it, right? I thought you could use these to help take some of the load off yourself during your shows."

9S watches Rita at work, holding still as she sticks the skin samples to his legs. But her question is easy enough to answer while he and Pod 153 run system diagnostics. He's not really used to doing system diagonistics on himself while not inside his own hacking space, but since it's just diagnostics it isn't hard to pull up a holographic screen and interpret the data readouts from it. Definitely something that would be more difficult without Pod 153's support.

"I wanted to put away some of the things I bought." A small pause, before, "But I was also looking for you." He squirms a little, awkward. "I um. Wanted to thank you."

Another pause while he processes the data. "Sample 4's no good. 7 might work, but I'd try another sample before going with that one."

It's kind of hard to see things like body language and human-shaped expression when he's flat on the floor and hallucinating snakes, so 9S totally misses the look Cole gives him.

"You'd help even if you didn't have to," 9S says from the floor, directed at Rita. Or maybe Cole? Or both. Both. Yeah, let's go with that.

But he's glad that Cole seems to have found his footing here. That he doesn't seem to feel so terribly alone.

"Easy for you to say," Lambert counters, pulling a face. "I've never had a knack for magic, and now I've got decades of muscle memory to unlearn." His gaze lands on the table, where Strange's other present to Childermass has gone neglected -- it's there along with the last, book shaped package Lambert brought but hasn't announced the recipient of. Since Lambert's a little shit with no respect for personal belongings, he's going to go about shredding the packaging because he wants to know what else Strange got!

Childermass, however, isn't going to receive a response from the witcher. That would be because as soon as his fingers make contact with the polecat's fur, Celandine sighs rapturously and shoves her hand right up against his palm. Still mid-unwrapping, Lambert's fingers and expression go slack as his eyes shut and he echoes the sound, dreamy and blessed out -- right up until his brain catches up to him and his face colors.

"Hey," he snaps, turning to look over his shoulder and struggling to keep his composure as another lazy wave of euphoria rolls through him just seeing Childermass and Celandine together. "Hands off the soul." Just ignore the fact that said soul is also gamely trying to climb into Childermass's lap, with a protest of her own.

"It feels nice, Lambert!"

Edited 2018-01-03 13:55 (UTC)

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 152 of 172

⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject