⇨ THE EPILOGUE

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 61
Where: The Carnival
What: After all the rescues team return, it will be matter of tending to the wounded and getting the hell out of dodge. The Ringmaster can handle the fleeing part, but someone will need to look after those in the medical tent. Or, maybe, you just want to show up and ask what the hell happened.
Warnings: Some messed up consequences of faerie fuckery.

IN REPAIR↴ As the minutes tick past, all four rescue groups will eventually return. Everyone in the carnival is encouraged to help out, ensuring that the rescues and victims both are taken care of after the fact. You can tag in here as rescuers taking care of business around the carnival, victims recovering, or other workers checking in to see what's going on. This log is for general aftermath threads, made by anyone.

Comments

[stompadour]

Jasper's feet, the ones she currently has instead of hands, sort of twitch in a way that suggests she is trying to clench her fists.

"I don't want your pity, Peridot," she mutters.

[periphrasing]

Well she should have expected that sort of response. Peridot's face falls into a scowl. So much for that being nice tactic!

"Not all reassurance is pity, you know," she says, twitching her tail.

[stompadour]

What is 'nice'

Is it a weapon


"Well I don't need your reassurance either," Jasper huffs. "Either they'll bring him back or they won't, talking about it doesn't change anything."

She looks askance at Peridot.

"You all defeated that fae while I was destabilised," she says. "How?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot cocks her head slightly and gives her a Look, but decides not to pursue the other topic for the time being.

Technically they didn't really 'defeat' the Lady so much as hold her off long enough to make a hasty escape, but like hell Peridot is going to convey that truth to Jasper.

"We figured out that there's a 'magic' to this realm, which we were able to harness to put us on a more even level from which to combat the fae." And if Jasper wants more details, she's just going to have to ask, because Peridot loves making people ask for a lecture.

[stompadour]

Jasper narrows her eyes a little as that sinks in.

"... That's why we were able to fight her," she says. "Me and Lapis. Right? We couldn't before. Even as Malachite."

[periphrasing]

"...Correct," Peridot confirms, a little annoyed that Jasper didn't take her bait. "Normally it's a feat that would be well beyond our means, but this library has a unique defense system that allows us to use the power of a narrative to boost our own abilities and provide us with resources that we would not normally have access to otherwise."

[stompadour]

Jasper squints a little more. Importantly, this is a disbelieving but curious squint, rather than a thoughtful squint, just one of many in Jasper's expressive repertoire of squints.

"The power of... narrative," she repeats skeptically. "What does that mean?"

[periphrasing]

"...Did you read any of the books out in the athenaeum," she asks flatly, unsure if she can actually properly explain this if she hasn't.

[stompadour]

"... A couple," says Jasper, frowning. 'Read' here means 'flipped through and got bored'. "Why, were we supposed to be reading them?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot drags a hand down the side of her face, groaning.

"Ideally, yes," she huffs. "But that's besides the point. The important thing here is that all of those books had a certain structure and style of writing to them. By mimicking that style through spoken word, the Athenaeum itself would respond by making those words true. That's why we were all speaking our actions out loud like that."

[stompadour]

"Yeah, I wondered why you were doing that." Jasper makes to fold her arms, but it doesn't work, and she gives up, looking annoyed and flustered. "But you and the rest of them are always doing things that don't make sense, so I didn't exactly wonder a lot."

[periphrasing]

"Mmm. Yeah, I'm well aware that wondering certainly isn't something you devote much time to," Peridot growls, folding her arms over her chest. It's one of Jasper's more uniquely frustrating characteristics, in her opinion. "I still can't believe you broke rank and went ahead and charged at a true fae. What exactly did you expect to accomplish!?"

[stompadour]

Jasper bristles, glaring at her. "Someone had to do something," she snaps.

[periphrasing]

"Oh yeah, getting yourself destabilized and captured was definitely SOMETHING alright," Peridot agrees sardonically. "You put the whole carnival at risk with that stunt! And then I had to do something and come after the both of you!"

[stompadour]

Jasper huffs and looks away.

"I couldn't just stand there with that worthless fae wearing her like some kind of bauble."

[periphrasing]

Peridot gapes at her for a second, trying to process that. And then she throws her hands up in the air.

"What, you think that was easy for me to look at!? Lapis is my best friend, I wanted to charge over to that stupid fae and claw her dumb, indifferent looking face off!"

[stompadour]

"Tch." Jasper rolls her eyes a little. Friendship. "What I share with Lapis Lazuli is beyond anything you could understand."

[periphrasing]

Peridot scowls incredulously. "That wasn't meant to be some sort of challenge to prove who is more important to Lapis, you CLOD," she snarls, slapping her thick tail on the floor in her irritation. "First of all, I highly doubt it's 'beyond my understanding', because as you know, I am incredibly smart. And second-- I don't care what you think that you 'have'--" air quotes included-- "with her! That's not the point!"

She sucks in a breath and reaches under her visor to pinch the bridge of her nose, rubbing lightly to try and fend off the headache she feels brewing. "Listen: You're working with the carnival now. That means you're part of our team, whether you like it or not. And you can't just go charging around on your own impulse all the time!"

[stompadour]

Jasper huffs through her teeth and parted lower jaw, and glares at her.

"I know I made a mistake, Peridot," she growls. "I wouldn't do the same thing again. And don't condescend to me about Lapis. You don't know her like I do. You don't know what she's really like."

[periphrasing]

"Oh yeah?" Peridot sneers, utterly unconvinced. She was very clearly trying to steer AWAY from the topic of Lapis, but, fine! If Jasper is going to be that way, then they're doing this! "Why don't you enlighten me then? Tell me what you think she's really like."

[stompadour]

Jasper leans forward, her eyes shining and her lip curling in a sneer.

"She's vicious," she says, and the way she says it you could be forgiven for assuming she was listing positive traits. "Cruel. Vengeful. She's a monster, and if she's pretending she's not then that's because she knows you're too weak to handle the truth."

[periphrasing]

Okay well. Peridot doesn't love hearing, any of that, and she actually leans back a little with a grimace when Jasper leans forward.

She rebounds when Jasper's done, pinning her ears back and baring her teeth slightly. "I've spent more time with her than you EVER have!" Peridot snaps. "Maybe YOU'RE the one that's too weak to handle the truth, because you don't know how to react to anyone being anything other than rude and bossy towards you!"

[stompadour]

Jasper bristles, glaring fiercely. "You don't know what you're talking about. It doesn't matter how long you've spent with her. I've seen her real face, and if you had then you'd know you're just fooling yourself thinking she's anything like you."

[periphrasing]

Peridot isn't even a little bit scared of Jasper in this moment. Especially not with her hands and feet swapped like that.

"Of course she's not like me," Peridot snorts, swishing her tail. "But I know for a fact that she's nothing like YOU, either! So what, I'm supposed to be impressed or something because you both fused? Tch. I bet you don't even know who her favorite CPH character is! Or what the last Meep Morp we made together was, or how she feels about ramen noodles!"

[stompadour]

"What does any of that matter?" snaps Jasper. "What matters is I'm the only one who can take what she has to dish out. You'd crumble like dry dirt."