⇨ THE ATHENAEUM

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 47 - Day 58 ish
Where: The Athenaeum
What: The carnival arrives at book world. First week, they'll be performing for magical manifestations of book characters. Second week, it's time to hunt (for books, in the library.) Around Day 58 some stuff will occur.
Warnings: Reading is mandatory.

FAERIE TALES↴ Though the carnival will be performing for its guests in the first week, they are welcome to search the Athenaeum while they are off duty during that time. The manifestations of story characters will be out in full force during performance week, with animals, people, objects, and even locations growing out from various tales. Most are distracting at worst, and will be curious to check out the carnival. Some, however, can be as dangerous as they were in their stories of origin. You know what to do. ► IT'S TIME TO ROLEPLAY: The best way to deal with book ghosts is to follow their narrative to its logical conclusion - turn the tables, work the story so it ends in your favour! Naturalistic and narratively satisfying plotting will have the manifestations following your lead. However, push too hard and introduce too many plot holes, inconsistencies, or illogical plot twists, and they will reject your reality utterly, becoming quite aggressive in the process. You can also use your natural abilities and powers to fight them in a traditional sense, but in the Ringmaster's experience, it's best to fight reality benders by bending reality right back at them. If you aren't careful, it's possible to be dragged fully into a story's reality, and then things get really messed up. ► IT'S ALSO TIME TO READ: The carnival came here for a purpose, and that purpose is to research. Specifically, the Ringmaster is looking for information on the Queen's Miracles - the set of ancient fae artifacts that the Blue Rose is one of. The carnival needs these artifacts to defend itself, but nobody knows where they've been for thousands of years. That's what the books are for. However, nothing is stopping you from pursuing knowledge for personal reasons. The halls are open to your perusal, and only your heart can guide you to the book you truly seek. Check the plot post to see what's allowed, and sign up to find plot info or other important game information below.

Comments

GONGENZAKA | OTA | All Event Unless Marked

[betheman]

[A Morning Run Through The Books | Day 47]

[Entering the Athenaeum was far more than entering a library. When he woke, of course, he prepared to begin his usual morning 'leg training'. A jog about the Carnival perimeter, with Marishi at his side, ending in a crossing over the lake. The moment he had exited the tent and come toward the Carnival's main grounds however, it was impossible not to notice the ceiling far above-not to mention, the many, many...MANY books.

Ahh, he finds himself thinking, ducking a swooping book-spirit bat as he carries on with an altered form of his jog. So this is what was meant by their coming search for clues.] Hmm! [he murmurs aloud, Marishi keeping a steady, calm pace, beside him.] So we are to look through this then...

[The cheetah, maned, shining, and wearing one of her 'manliness' t-shirts, chuckles.] Well, if that's the case, we might as well see if there's anything for us to learn from as well, wouldn't you agree?

[Naturally, being so boldly made aware of his inner intentions has the great 'taur stumbling and choking as his daemon laughs.] A-AUH-..!

[It is an interesting run, to say the least.]

[Off In The Fiction Section]

[There is without a doubt, truth to Marishi's words however-outside his typical patrol shift, Gongenzaka spends many an hour searching through the books of the Athenaeum, rifling through book after book. Of course, occasionally he's got his nose rather literally stuck in a book somehow relating to chakras...but it is with a dry and half-lidded frown that he looks up from one in particular, as the understanding of his book being fiction and not non-fiction comes forth.

Specifically, this is because there is now some sort of elemental chakra beast ninja thing looming behind him.] ...Is this truly the time... [he mutters, as if the thing behind him were merely an annoyance.

Perhaps the 'protagonist' could use a hand.]

[OF TEETH AND CRIMSON | PICK YOUR TALE]

[Gongenzaka's stories take the form of Ballads; request one you'd like to see a portion of, and I can reply with a section here. Alternatively, perhaps you might catch Gongenzaka reading one in particular...as the setting around him becomes akin to a stone, underground labyrinth.]

[WILDCARD]

[Beyond the above, Gongenzaka will be patrolling the realm constantly, sniffing about (sometimes literally) for either books, or someone in need of a hand. Feel free to tag with anything, or plot with me!]

Teeth and Crimson

[hippocarnival]

[It's the familiarity of the scrolls and their illustrations that makes Yuya pause and actually check them out. Most of the stuff here was tomes, and stylistically not anything similar to what he's grown up around.

It's dramatic and gripping, and he knows it isn't the information they're looking for but he finds himself reading the poem in full anyway. And... again, when there's something similar about the scene. Gongenzaka described something similar happening to him.

So he pulls out more of the scrolls and sits down to review them, lips pursed in a tight frown and brow furrowed as he looks for similarities between them--in the pictures and the words.]

[betheman]

[It's quite the set of tales-the first one relevant to itself seems to tell the tale of a large fox that might have, in its bid to protect the meeker around it, potentially slaughtered an entire army of similar kind. It's not really made clear what they are however-certainly, the fox at the center of the bloodbath in the art seems surrounded by canid 'things', but they don't look very fox-like.

Uniquely, there's an entire arm in its jaws. Delightful.

Yet another poem, separate from those, comes however; the image of a fallen 'kitsune' it seems (what with this 'fox' being quite bipedal, and clothed), a near demonic looking swordsman victorious above him. Even so, a number of figures seem safely away from the villain, protected by large samurai.]

'Pass ye not!' the man-beast cried
His arms spread far as could go
His body the shield between one and two
The enemy coming to slow

Their fangs were bared, shining things
With eyes that craved so great
Charging swift, with swinging fists,
And t'would soon be long too late

From man to beast, his heart had moved,
His body the shield for the rest
For t'were only claws, and teeth it seem'd
That could face the demons best

The man-beast moved, he caught the fang
Gripp'd tight through hands and will
With red thus pouring, pouring forth,
The feral man drawn still

For ferocious strength, even to shield
Would always, ev'ntually, be forced to yield

And white turned red would greet the ground
No more a shield, but one body to be found

[hippocarnival]

[Even if he's not trying to find similarities between Gongenzaka and the 'fox', these are pretty depressing stories. His gaze lingers on the illustration after he finishes reading the second poem.

Also, without definitive context they almost seem to happen in that order. The combining factor, after all...] So he was always protecting them...

[He's mumbling to himself, letting the scroll hang over his knees.]

fact: monkey is 'the other shima' ahaha

[betheman]

[It's definitely something worth muttering over. The ending of this particular scroll goes on about being healed by the fire of the sun or something, though it looks remarkably egg shaped instead of round in the art.

There has to be one 'happy' scroll right?

...Well there's one that continues off from the massacre one at least (apparently he met a 'monkey', and they battled their way out of the underworld. Or something.), but that's still more questions than anything.]

[hippocarnival]

[By this point, Yuya has gotten into the story just to follow it to what he thinks is it's conclusion. So of course he reads the next scroll about the monkey as well, escaping the underworld together.

After that scroll, though, he sits up suddenly at the realization of how distracted he's getting. Sure, they're going to be here for a while but he should still focus a little better on what they're really supposed to find: information on the other fae artifacts.

So he scrambles to quickly roll up the scrolls and gather them up before getting to his feet.]

'come to think i didn't think about how to bring gon into these' oops

[betheman]

[Probably a good idea. Well, he's got the scrolls now-best remember where to put them back later, lest he earn the Curator's ire, but that aside...where to?

WHERE IS THAT MAN...]

All he gotta do is walk in

[hippocarnival]

[Probably some random hallway because this library has no reasonable organization anyway. With the scrolls tucked under his arm, he pulls a few more books from the following shelves that seem like they have titles implicit of fae things.

Which is a completely random guess considering Yuya isn't familiar with fae literature. It's really no wonder he's not terribly successful. He's aiming to get a decent arms-full before he finds a table to sit and browse them at.]

no u-

[betheman]

[Well, when he does find himself ready to sit, he won't be alone-Gongenzaka, not that he particularly needs a table, has a whole mountain of books-right on his back!-and is presently half-curled in the nearest sitting area with a book in his own hands. Despite the size of his claws and fingers, page turning seems to be going rather well. He's truly mastered the art.

Gongenzaka's ears and nose alike twitch slightly as Yuuya walks in, and he briefly looks up, before nodding and grunting a positive greeting. He's, er. Not too sure about just belting a 'hello' across. This is technically a magical library, after all.

You look sort of like a weird cat though Gongenzaka, is that really comfortable-]

[hippocarnival]

[That is a lot of books. It takes him a moment to realize how compacted Gongenzaka is in the corner, eyebrow raising as he unceremoniously dumps his books into the table.

The scrolls, however, he keeps in his arms.] Hey. [He's not even trying to whisper.] What're you reading?

[betheman]

Auh- [Well. Shit if you're not going to whisper then...Fine!!

Anyway. He holds his one book forward.] Mmn...it appears to be a small guide to chakras, though, how applicable to my own present magics it is, I, the man Gongenzaka, cannot say...

[The answer, sadly, will be 'not really', but he's trying in any case.] I, the man Gongenzaka, have been gathering a number of books according to if they may have even a fraction of information within them... ...now however, it is time to read them.

[That said. He eyes the scrolls, blinking.] Mnh- scrolls, Yuuya? Have you found spells for yourself then?

[He has a scroll, back in his tent, but ah. That's a magical object.]

teeth!

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole rolled one of Gon's stories in the find a story ooc post. But honestly? He's a bit confused. This poem is very nice and very impressive, with so many wonderful flourishes...but there's something in there that confuses Cole most of all: he doesn't know what a vampire is. As such, any references to fangs biting and blood turning are completely lost on him.

But he wants to know. Whatever this is, it seems terrible. They go to so many different worlds with so many different hurts so the fact that there's one that Cole can't understand isn't good. So, he goes to seek out someone who might answer. And the someone he finds is Gongenzaka. He's there, he's been with the carnival for a while, he might know this. ]

Fangs flash and wounds open wide, [ Cole mutters, as he walks over towards Gon. He's holding the ballad itself to his chest, like he thinks someone might take it away from him. ] I don't understand. Do you?

oh boy COLE!!!

[betheman]

[Possibly making things even worse is the fact that vampires don't always mean the same thing or do the same thing depending on where one is from. So this could get bizarre even just talking to him. But on that note, Gongenzaka can't help but stiffen quite a bit when Cole approaches him with a familiar ballad.

Yuuya showed him the same thing after all.] MNH... ...I...the man Gongenzaka, presume you refer to the material within the piece that you carry..? [he asks, though he feels a bit as though he knows the answer already.]

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole nods before very tentatively handing Gongenzaka the ballad. ]

You've stayed here. You might know. [ Granted, other people might know as well. But Gongenzaka is here and Gongenzaka is the first person Cole's found and...Gongenzaka is worried as well. That's silly. Why would he not like this paper? ]

You don't like it.

[betheman]

.... [....He nods, perhaps in reply to both.] ...Aah, that is correct, [He answers, assuming the emotion was simply read easily from his body language.]

...It is without a doubt, a loose depiction of a time during which I, the man Gongenzaka, acted my lowest, after all...

[He might not blabber around about the incident, but he certainly won't lie when it's in his face.]

[hurtcomfort]

[ There's a pause, before Cole looks over at Gongenzaka. He can see the hurts, the worries, but there's still so much that he doesn't understand, things about vampires that he can't gleam from simple context clues. ]

They hurt you, [ Cole murmurs, as if it's obvious. ] Why?

[betheman]

Mn? [Now, that brings a bit more attention to what may or may not be odd about this. For a moment, he thinks to ask how the other knows that at all. Instead however, there is something about how Cole is muttering it that has him wonder if...Cole even. Realizes that's kinda weird.

And confusing.

He'll answer the question at least.] Assuming you speak of the vampires...yes. They certainly did-they are those who attacked the Carnival in the past...and killed some of our number, in fact. This particular parchment however...

...it brings to mind what occurred due to their counter-attack after we defeated them in that battle...

[hurtcomfort]

They came back, [ Cole mutters. ] They found you, they fought you, and somehow they changed you. But I don't know how.

[ He looks up at Gongenzaka, like Gon will somehow help explain the entire concept of vampires in a quick and easy sort of way. ]

[betheman]

Ah... [.....Well this has officially slammed hard into the realm of 'knowing things they shouldn't. Once more he finds himself stuck- at a loss for words, his eyes wide and the one with any semblance of an iris dilated in the confusion.

Deep breath in, Gongenzaka-Deep breath, and soon he brings himself back to some semblance of control.] ...Yes. ...That is...what happened.

[And so he will explain. Because if one who knows so much does not know...then perhaps there is something to that.] ...Vampires of this sort...they were of a demonic form-with a bite, they would infect the very soul of another, bringing them beyond death, and making them like themselves.

In their counterstrike, they did this to as many as they could, before taking them in as their own... ...a matter which involves a more than cruel form of 'thinning the herd'.

I, the man Gongenzaka, was bitten-and as with the others, for a time cursed with the craving, and reliance on blood from another for sustenance... [Something he managed to resist for a time. ...A fact that is exceptional in itself, not that he sees it as such.]

[hurtcomfort]

[ And Cole, to his credit, is listening intently, taking in Gongenzaka's words as he explains the whole scenario. To change someone's soul so drastically, so quick like that...it's worrying. He was scared of being bound, being forcibly changed into something he's not. This seemed like a version of that, but just for people. ]

But it wasn't permanent. [ But it could be permanent. ] She helped heal?

[betheman]

Naturally, yes- [It is strangely easy to follow where Cole's line of thought goes, as long as he assumes Cole...speaks of who he himself would think of first.

'She' here, well! That clearly means the Ringmaster.] In order to recover, we meditated upon ourselves, to separate what was 'us' from what was 'them'. The Ringmaster then excised that demonic thing from the soul, and destroyed it.

...It was not permanent...but, indeed, it has left its mark upon the past.

[Fiction]

[everybodypanic]

Hey I'll gladly deal with it if you don't want to.

[It was a distraction, from all these...

Books.

And all this reading that she was absolutely never going to do.]

I was looking for something worth doing, actually.

[betheman]

HMM! [Oh, Oh no-

While the large 'Wyrm' which has crawled out from the books is certainly looking ready to make itself a Pest (just as soon as it has all of the RED books that will be going into its hoard, thank you very much), Gongenzaka is suddenly worried for it more than he worries about the books around them.

...Or maybe he's worried for all of them.] Jinx-!!

I, the man Gongenzaka, hope you intend to avoid damaging what is AROUND us, then..!

[everybodypanic]

Ugh, do I have to? Can't I just, you know, blow everything up? It'd be a lot easier for everyone involved.

[Not really.

Just you.]

... Hey, what's with that look? You look like you're not actually happy to see me.

[betheman]

Not here, [He huffs, though his huffing is quickly turned into anxious grunts as he punts away some kind of buggy monster thing from the book's lore.] Unless you intend to see what the Curator will do if angered, at least.

[But that said, Gongenzaka frowns.] It is not you, who I am unhappy to see...though I, the man Gongenzaka, shall note that it seems when we meet, something tends to run sour..!

[Because of THINGS BREAKING. (Gon you've barely hung out, please)]