⇨ 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

[mylastchance]

"You and me mostly," He starts, humming in thought as he considers it. "But protection for the Carnival is good too."

[wild_magic]

"Well... Maybe you'll find something, then, if you try hard enough. This library is pretty weird so it could definitely happen." Even if finding an actually interesting book is apparently impossible.

[mylastchance]

"It would be nice." He picks a book at random, noting the pictures on the cover of people in spandex. It looks a bit silly to him, but it's hard to tell with Susan.

"What about this?" he asks, showing it to his brother.

[wild_magic]

Susan looks over to the book in Lauren's hands, and takes it after a second. It looks more interesting than anything he's found so far... And there's pictures inside when he opens it up, lots of pictures. He grins up at him.

"Yeah, I'll try it!"

[mylastchance]

Lauren's happy at least to have found something Susan is willing to try. He lets Susan give it a look, before pulling a random book off for himself and thumbing through it.

[wild_magic]

And Susan does look through it, although he doesn't get more than a couple pages into the comic before he's starting to glance to the shelf again. It's not that it's not interesting, just... It's boring standing here and looking at the same thing.

[mylastchance]

Lauren looks entranced with his own reading, unfortunately. Looking serious as he reads over the page.

[wild_magic]

He sees that Lauren is still reading the same book, and so he tries to read his, he really does... But soon enough he's bored already, not really able to get into the superhero story, and he puts it back on the shelf to pull something else completely random off instead.

[mylastchance]

The noise of the books clattering get his attention and he glances to Susan seeing him take something else off the shelf. He frowns.

"No good?"

[wild_magic]

He shakes his head, flipping through the new book.

"It was all... Bam, and pow, and weird boxes with words in them everywhere."

[mylastchance]

Lauren doesn't really know what Susan is trying to say, but it's clear he didn't like the book.

"I'm sorry." he offers, eyes apologetic.

[wild_magic]

He shrugs as he puts the book back and grabs another.

"It's okay. It looked kinda cool, but... I didn't really get it."

[mylastchance]

He nods, "What's that one?"

He asks, trying to see what Susan's grabbing at. Did something about it catch his interest? Or was he just grabbing without thought.

[wild_magic]

He shrugs again as he opens it to a random page and starts to read aloud (although a bit slowly and occasionally stumbling on a longer word).

"'She didn't know why the human was in their forest again, after she attacked him before. Didn't he know that elves didn't like his kind? But still, Il...,'" he trails off there for a moment before offering the book to Lauren, pointing at the word "Illora".

"What's this word?"

[mylastchance]

He shifts over to take a look, eyes widening for a moment as they see the name he's found difficult.

"It's... Illora." he says, a sense of hushed awe filling his voice. It might not have been the Illora he thought of, but still, to find her name in a random book out of all the hundreds present. He scans the rest of the page, eyes widening further, and his fingers flex as he fights the urge to take it from his brother.

"Keep reading."

[wild_magic]

He sees the look on Lauren's face, the way he answers him, and he frowns a little but nods anyway. He's sure Lauren will explain it later.

"'But still, Illora was in-tri-gued. She knew that humans were only destroying nature and she should hate them, but this man kept returning, kept leaving food out. She was thinking about him when he turned to her hiding spot and smiled before leaving again, and she was only more confused. Was he coming to see her?'"

Susan finishes the page before looking back to Lauren with a look of curiosity.

[mylastchance]

His fingers twitch again, and so he asks, before he rips the book from his brother without thought.

"Susan, can I see this book, just for a moment." he asks, suddenly feeling anxious. It was surely impossible that this was about the person he thought.

[wild_magic]

He nods, letting Lauren take it. Instead of taking a new book though he watches Lauren's face as he reads, to see if he can tell what his brother is feeling or thinking.

[mylastchance]

He's, for some reason, nervous as he takes the book, eyes scanning quickly over the page. His surprise from before returns, showing on his expression as he reads, before quickly turning a page, and then another. Astonished, his jaw drops, and for a moment he is truly speechless as he looks back to Susan.

Susan doesn't know what this is. He doesn't know.

"Susan..." He starts, and then stops, mystified.

"This is. Illora is... It's Nana's name." he finally says, hardly hearing himself say the words outloud.

[wild_magic]

Susan is only more curious as Lauren keeps looking, his astonishment clear on his face. But then Lauren is looking back to him and finally explains, and his own eyes widen as he realizes what that means.

"It's a book about... Our parents?"

[mylastchance]

He shakes his head, still not quite believing it himself.

"If it isn't, it's about a human and elf man and woman with their names"

That was too much of a coincidence to just be chance, wasn't it? He thumbs through the book, quickly looking for anything else familiar. When he sees the name of their old village times seems to stop, if only for a second. He looks to Susan, still shocked an unable to comprehend what he's seeing.

[wild_magic]

Susan watches him again, and when Lauren looks to him he leans in to look at the book. Of course he doesn't remember the name of their village, so it's meaningless to him, but from context...

"Lauren?"

[mylastchance]

"It's..." He starts, voice trailing off. "It's the name of our village."

They place he'd called home for all his early life. This book knew about his parents, and about their home. Suddenly he grimaces, looking hurt.

"This isn't possible, is it?"

[wild_magic]

"Well... This place is magic, right? So... I guess, it is possible." Even if it's unlikely. Out of all the books here, what were the chances that he'd pick that one up?

[mylastchance]

Lauren looks at the book again. Who could have even written it? There was no way it was possible. Suddenly he hands the book back to Susan. It wasn't true. There was no way for a book like this to exist, and that it would be found here by them was even more absurd. It could not be real. His eyes glance back to the book, now in Susan's hands. And yet...