lostcarnival | Get Ready For the Show

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Get Ready For the Show

Who: All the performers, plus any visitors
What: Time to get back into the swing of things! Nothing says "I've recovered from trauma" like learning how to plaster a smile onto your face for the crowds.
When: D1 - D5
Where: The Main Tent
Warnings: None.... Probably

As the saying goes, "All play and no work makes Jack forget how to do his job". On the bright side...

Over the radio, Joker makes a cheerful announcement for all performers to start getting back into the practice schedule with new arrivals to show up on the first day back from the moon. On the first day, he'll be lenient. No one has to be on time, but he does want them to at least make an appearance and token attempt at practice. After that, well... Show up, or you'll have an aggravatingly cheerful stage manager paying a personal visit. He bothers because he cares.

To those who have become familiar with it, the tent is outfitted with all off the usual practice equipment, and new faces will be in for a treat. There are the usual acrobatics equipment: silk ropes, the high wire, trapeze swings. Daredevils will find all sorts of things to threaten their lives with, although they'll soon find that there are magical safety precautions in place which stop the Big Tent from, say, getting set on fire. And the magician stuff? Well.... Don't hurt yourself there.

Out of the love of his heart, Joker will make sure there are bottles of water nearby, so don't be afraid to work up a sweat.

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Okay! [Yuya does it with all the confidence of someone who doesn't think they're going to slip and crack their head open, making it to the bottom in a few seconds. His grip tightens as his feet his the ground, and then he lets go and turns to Strange.]

Uh--here. [He adjusts his hold to carefully grip the bird with both hands, wings folded to its body, and holds it right out for him.]

[ With a little nod at Yuya, Strange briefly mutters something under his breath. He taps the bird on the head and poof! It's now a single, solitary white feather. Despite the fact that Yuya did all the work, Strange looks a little smug and a lot relieved at the fact that the bird's not a bird anymore. ]

Thank you. You certainly got it down faster than I could have. And now, might I have the feather back?

[ And he extends his hand, offering it to Yuya. ]

[Yuya twists the feather between his fingers before he drops it into Strange's hand now that it's not a bird.] You used to do that spell with chickens, right?

[He definitely remembers seeing the chickens around.] Do they not have to listen to you even though you made them?

[ As he takes the feather, Strange pockets it. Yuya gets a little nod: yep, that was the chicken spell, just fine-tuned to hell and back. ]

It depends on other factors—after all, they're more magic than actual birds. How much I've practiced the spell, how complicated it is, the number and shape of the birds, things like that. Five's a good number, but the shape's more complicated than chickens. [ for some bullshit reason. ] I'll need to practice a few more times so I can call them all back easily.

[Well, Yuya can see why doves are probably a better show than chickens. He nods absently as he listens to Strange's explanation--he knows no better why they're more complicated than chickens, but any difference in routine can take practice.]

Are you making a lot of changes to your show? [Yuya's thought about changing some things. Duels have more than tricks going on, and he wants to come up with something that's equally exciting for the carnival.]

I'm making some, [ Strange explains, with a little nod. ] I'm confident enough with fire that I can use that for a few tricks. And then, of course, I've figured out my smoke entirely. If I make the pathway ahead of time, I can even float through a specific mirror as smoke.

[ The grin on Strange's face and the smile in his voice tells Yuya that he will ramble on about magic for the next half hour if Yuya lets him. ]

What about you? Starting some new tricks on the high wire or something of that nature?

Something like that! [He points up at the hanging bars around the balance beam.] I think it's more exciting if I jump back and forth between the trapeze bars and the beam.

[He spins his finger for emphasis.] I can cartwheel across it, or if I get it right I'll do a back flip!

[He sounds excited by the prospect, like flipping around in the air isn't terrifying.]

[ Strange, rightfully so, thinks that's absolutely terrifying. ]

Are you sure that's safe?

Sure it is! There's all sorts of magic safety in the big top if we fall or something, that's why you don't hear about anyone getting hurt.

[He waves his hand.] But part of the excitement is that it doesn't look safe. It's daring! I do this while dueling all the time.

[Well, less extravagant, but the idea is still there! Who knew a card game had so much activity.]

[ For all that he isn't a father, Strange is straight up in worried dad mode as he looks over at Yuya with a bit of a frown. Alright, so it's true he hasn't heard about anyone getting hurt...and it's true that there's probably magic safety nets or something like that. But for Jonathan Strange, a man who can't run or climb worth a shit, the fact that Yuya is doing things like jumping from the trapeze to a beam is still a bit worrying. ]

If you say so, [ Strange remarks, with a frown. ] Though any duel I've heard of doesn't involve jumping around. It's much safer if you use pistols.

[ For all that Strange has heard of duel monsters in passing, he still doesn't really know much about it...and also defaults to '1800s honor type duel' over 'children's card game type duel'. ]

[That gets Yuya to laugh, loudly for a moment before he puts his hands to his mouth to stifle it. Once he gets it down to giggling, he responds.]

No, no. We're not shooting at each other! Some duels area played on large fields with action cards you can play that turn the game around, but you have to grab them first. So if you know how to get around obstacles, you're a lot better at using them.

[He puts a hand to his chest, puffing up a little.] As an entertainment duelist, I want to make every duel fun and special! That means making every play exciting, including getting action cards.

[That definitely equates to backflips off of high places, he doesn't make the rules.]

[ Strange...still doesn't entirely get it. Alright, so it's a card game, but action cards? Large fields? How could you even see the cards to begin with? Yuya certainly seems proud of himself but Strange just looks a bit confused. ]

If you're playing on a large field, how could your opponent see what card you would play to begin with?

With my duel disk--uh, it's a lot easier if I show you.

[He can see he's losing Strange, and a month in Portland doesn't mean he's going to be savvy to future tech--especially tied to a hobby not everyone has.

He holds up a finger for him to wait, then dashes around the backstage. He returns shortly with the red device in his hands. Strange might recognize it from when he barged into Yuya's trailer before.

He clicks it on, attaching it to his arm and causing the yellow holographic blade to materialize.] This! They connect wirelessly so you can see each other's plays and make them appear in the field. It's all based on--you know what a hologram is? It's that.

[He hopes Strange knows what a hologram is out that's a whole other explanation and he's way less equipped for that one.]

[ Though he still doesn't know the function of the weird red arm thing, he at least knows it's Yuya's weird red arm thing. Strange watches, frowning still as some yellow thing materializes out of nowhere. And right then and there, Strange is resigning himself to the fact that this is going to be one of those things that he just won't ever really know how it works.

Still, he's paying attention, watching Yuya intently as he demonstrates the duel disk. At least he knows what a hologram is. Thanks, various digital worlds. ] It's like an illusion, isn't it? But made by technology.

[Yuya's explanation isn't terribly organized, either, which can't be helping.] Yeah, kind of like that. It's really advanced technology we use to play, the holograms are totally solid.

[He doesn't really get all the technical backbone of it, though. Anything more detailed and he can only parrot back advertisement.] You can play the game without it, but I like it more this way.

Do you have to play a game to make a hologram or can the...duel disk? Can the duel disk do it by itself?

[ Strange's next question isn't asked but it's pretty obvious what it is: so can you make a hologram here and now? He's staring at the duel disk, as if by staring at it for a long enough time he'll somehow be able to figure out precisely how the thing works. ]

It has a standby mode, but it doesn't last very long to conserve power.

[The staring is enough of a cue for Yuya, and he unbuttons the pocket at his side and blindly fishes out a card. He places it onto the hologram blade, and there's a slight digital effect under it before the monster materializes between them.

At first, it doesn't seem to be reacting to much, and it is very cartoonish. But its solid to the touch and... strangely lifelike beyond that. Like 'breathing' is a little too natural, and the texture too real. Strange can't sense any magic, but it's a hologram that, with a more realistic source, would be indistinguishable from life.] See?

Edited 2018-01-17 16:34 (UTC)

[ .....alright, so the hologram summons snakes in top hats. Not exactly what he was expecting. Still, he does see. Frowning slightly, Strange walks up to touch the top-hat snake, pleasantly surprised that it is solid to the touch and even more surprised that there's no trace of magic around the snake.

Huh! Who'd have thought that such a thing was possible? ]

And that's on the card? What other cards on there? Can it do any sort of picture or just those cards you've got?

[ We're getting into twenty questions here as Strange turns back to look at Yuya, 100% more interested in all of this now that he's seen the actual hologram. ]

[Unsurprisingly, Yuya has extremely dorky cards.

The snake turns to look up at Strange with an expression that could be taken as mildly quizzical, before it turns around to face Yuya.

Yuya tilts his wrist so Strange can see the card laying on the yellow blade. It's in Japanese, but the picture is the same as the snake.] The duel disks are only built to support the game, but you could make anything out of solid vision. You just have to know how to program it.

[He rubs the back of his neck absently.] Uh, but there's thousands of cards! I use mostly Entermates, and they look like this, but Gongenzaka's cards are robots based on samurai and ninja.

Edited 2018-01-17 19:43 (UTC)

[ Strange cannot read Japanese in the slightest but hey, at least he can recognize that snake! He's peering over at the duel disk as Yuya explains it. Alright, so considering that the phrase 'you just have to know how to program it' was said, Strange has a small suspicion that no, he can't just slap a drawing on there and have it be a neat hologram.

And, as expected, Strange has more questions. ]

What's an Entermate?

[ Are they all snakes? Ooh, or are they all in top hats? Strange has literally no idea, something that's exciting and confusing all at the same time. ]

This. [He points to the card, but at least realizes that isn't terribly helpful. So he pulls the rest of his cards out if his pocket and starts sorting through them.] It's just what that theme is called, since they're part of the same set.

[He holds up two more cards, which should make it a little more apparent.

It's a bunch of cartoon animals designed in a circus theme, basically.

The trampoline cat card, oddly, does have very, very trace signs of magic that match his pendulum. But if Strange isn't looking for it, it's very easy to miss.] It's the same type my Dad uses! Uh, but different ones.

[ Somehow, he's not surprised that the cards Yuya tends to favor are cartoon circus animals. It fits the boy's personality almost perfectly. Strange leans in to peer closer at the cards. He still has no idea what they say, but he's interested in Yuya's hobbies, wants to learn more about duel monsters, and honestly wants to see if there are more animals in top hats.

Instead, there's a trampoline cat which what the hell, that's kind of adorable.

But there's something odd about one of the cards. Strange isn't looking for the magic, but he's looking that card over and can tell there's something weird about that card in general. ]

May I have a closer look at that cat one?

[Most of the Entermates have top hats, he'll probably be pleased to discover.]

Yeah, sure. [Yuya nods and holds the card out for Strange to take. While he's looking, the hologram projection flickers out of sight, true to Yuya's word that it doesn't last long. He removes the snake card from the disk and shuffles it back into his hand.

The card itself otherwise looks totally normal. The magic is faint enough that it's less likely an object of power itself, and more like magic has influenced it. And similar enough to the magic Yuya channels himself through his pendulum.]

[ Strange stares at the card for a moment, concentrating rather hard on it. There's an odd familiar feeling to the card, like he's seen something like it before. But it's a trampoline cat, how exactly could he have seen something like—

Ah. And then Strange finds it. It's not seen, it's felt. He looks over at Yuya with a wry little smile. ]

Did you know this card was magical when you obtained it?

[ Probably not, because the magic feels so much like Yuya's, who didn't really have much in the way of magic before the carnival. ]

[Yuya's brows raise, confused.] Eh? Magic?

[Could Strange sense spirits? That's Yuya's first thought, but he's never expressed anything about seeing them before. Maybe his magic sense is so good he can just sense the magic of the spirits themselves, even if they're not using it?] What kind of magic is it?

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