⇨ 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

[periphrasing]

"SIX MOMS?!" Peridot exclaims, her eyes practically bugging out of her head. "Oh, oh that's just GREAT! WOW! THANK YOU LAMBERT! Speaking as a gem who once kidnapped someone with just three, NON ultra powerful fae 'moms', and knowing how that ended, I'm sure that this just bodes SO WELL for us all!"

She pulls on her ears, groaning prolongedly, trying to bring herself back to center. "I suppose just talking to him and explaining that this was just a big misunderstanding is out of the question?"

[lordofthering]

"Is it a misunderstanding?" she asks. She stares at the water ahead of her, instead of Peridot. "This is what the people under my command thought was necessary. There is so way I could claim innocence that wasn't simply dooming those responsible. Even if I could convince him it was all a rogue team's doing, he would certainly demand retribution against them."

[periphrasing]

Peridot grumbles wordlessly in understanding. Lambert super duper fucked up here, there's no denying that. But the last thing she wants is to put him in a position where he could be harmed or killed as punishment.

She looks up again after a moment, frowning thoughtfully. "Ringmaster, if I may ask a question... Why not just kill him? Wouldn't he do the same to you, given the chance? I mean, I know striking down another of your kind is not an action without consequences, but what difference does it actually make if you destroy him or keep him prisoner? It sounds like the Summer Court is going to have it out for us either way. Isn't the net result the same? Aren't you just making things more complicated for yourself?"

[lordofthering]

She's quiet for a little while after the question, many different thoughts spinning in her mind. When she speaks again, it's carefully.

"I suppose that if he's a prisoner, it would be possible to barter his life in exchange for our escape, if it became necessary. If he's simply dead, then the Courts will assume I killed him for his power, and the only thing they could seek would be my punishment."

She exhales a bit of fire.

"But... more than that... I didn't choose to kill him. I didn't invite this situation, and when I took him, he was chained down and rendered utterly helpless." She lifts a paw, looking at her claws. "I remember him from Arcadia, I remember the day he was created. He was so young when everything happened, the Summer Maiden couldn't get through to him."

She hadn't honestly paid Ignatius much thought since. There had been a lot of fae they'd attempted to bring over to their side and failed. It's only now, seeing him again, and thinking about the past... it's made things complicated.

"I'm familiar with how gems are created, by now. You're born with a purpose, and as a part of something bigger. The Court Fae are much the same way. I know he's not guiltless, but... neither am I."

[periphrasing]

Peridot and Pumpkin both are listening with rapt attention throughout the whole explanation, but the end comparison really drives the point home. She grunts softly in understanding.

"...I think I get it. It's like how I wouldn't want to shatter Jasper, even if I were given the opportunity to do so... and even though I severely dislike her, and she's a dumb rude idiot who literally only lives for fighting." She sighs, twitching the tip of her tail thoughtfully. She'd never wanted to see Jasper corrupted, eithe-r. Poofed, bubbled away, imprisoned? Sure. If she's being truthful though, ideally, she would have liked to have seen the quartz open her mind a bit and maybe come around to their way of thinking. Instead, she'd chosen self-destruction.

"It's hard to get through to people when they've been brought into the world existing under those kinds of circumstances and expectations. But... Dimplomacy is never really impossible. I mean look at me, I used to HATE Steven and ALL of his friends." The hands go up: She starts counting off all of the cystal gem's numerous infractions against her on her fingers. "They captured me, they put me in a stupid bubble and then they stole all of my equipment... Garnet crushed me, Pearl punched me, and Amethyst tied me up MULTIPLE times. Even when I was forced to work with them out of sheer necessity for survival, all I could think about was getting off of Earth and going back to serve my Diamond. It took time for me to see the truth."

[lordofthering]

She nods her head, sending ripples across the lake. It's nice to have someone react with so much understanding. Fae aren't the only creatures to act this way.

"If they had simply broken you... they never would have known what could have been. Blue Diamond gave me the impression that she would easily shatter her enemies in return, were it not for our contract."

She looks up at the sky.

"So much of my time here, with the carnival, has been attempting to give people the chance to be more than what they were. Even if it sometimes happened against their will... I had thought that if they were given the choice, they would never look beyond the world they knew. There are so many people I never would have met."

"I have never considered anything more than territory and dominance before the Summer and Winter Maidens sought me out. If they hadn't... maybe I would still be there, today."

And that wouldn't be a good thing.

[periphrasing]

Thanks for reminding her how grateful she is that Blue Diamond left, RM. She needed that.

Peridot watches her sadly, silent for the moment. She has so many questions about the Ringmasters past, her curiosity burning to know more, but now hardly seems like the time for probing personal history questions.

"Maybe Ignatius just needs someone to reach out to him the way they reached out to you," she says softly. And then adds more dryly: "Granted, I'm well aware that this isn't exactly the ideal way to start off an effort like that, but. It certainly can't make things any worse to try, can it?"

[lordofthering]

She starts pushing herself up into a sitting position, though it's a bit labored as she does. Water rolls over her black scales.

"We did try before, but in a time with such conflict, it's no wonder that he would hold close to those that supported him since his birth. Perhaps, we didn't have the chance to try hard enough."

"I know I'm going to have to speak with him. I doubt that he'll accept anything I say at first, but... maybe with time... he'll be able to see what I do in the creatures here."

[periphrasing]

The gem nods firmly in agreement. "Right! And then maybe he can tell those six moms of his not to murder us all."

Bad joke? Sorry, she's kind of hung up on the six moms thing.

"Nyehhh... In all seriousness though--" She's about to launch into an impassioned speech, but, something makes her pause. "...Uh. Hm. Hold on. He can't hear us in there. Can he?"

[lordofthering]

The Ringmaster does a bit of a double take, looking down at her belly. She honestly hadn't spent much time wondering about it.

"Oh... hmm," she says. "I don't imagine so?"

But it's not like she has any practical experience with swallowing herself.

[periphrasing]

Peridot grimaces. She was kind of hoping that RM would have had a more reassuring answer than that.

"Sssspeaking from experience, and knowing what I know about the way in which sound is transmitted... He can probably at least hear you. Uuuunless you have some sort of magically sound-proofed stomach, that is."

This conversation just got so much more awkward.

[lordofthering]

"He might not even be conscious," the Ringmaster says, not that it's a very ironclad explanation. She raises a claw to her muzzle thoughtfully. "At least, I hope he's not. I'm really not trying to be cruel, but he is wreaking havoc on my insides."

[periphrasing]

"Is there some way we can check?" she asks, squinting a little bit. "It could be useful information to have, knowing if he's awake or not. If only for some peace of mind."

[lordofthering]

"Uhm." She looks really confused. After a few moments of thought, she hesitantly twists her neck around and prods her belly with her nose, but there's too much flesh between her scales and her stomach to tell.

"I'm not sure?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot literally would never have come to the following conclusion if she hadn't already been inside a giant monster once today, so. Thanks, Malachite? She guesses?

"I could... Go in very quickly, and try to check. If you wanted," she says hesitantly, after a moment's consideration. It feels like a very strange thing to suggest, but. She's not sure what else they can do, if they want to be certain? Her camera drone isn't exactly built for such a job.

[lordofthering]

The Ringmaster stares at her.

"That sounds extremely dangerous," she says. She would be super amused if it weren't for the fact that so much has gone wrong today and she doesn't want anybody else getting hurt.

[periphrasing]

"I know that," Peridot huffs, mildly exasperated. "The only other thing I can think of is that I try and use the drones that I built for surveillance back in the Prince's realm, but their cameras might not be able to pick anything up in such a low-light environment."

[lordofthering]

"Peridot, I don't know how much of his power he'll have access to," she says, tilting her head. "Ignatius has extremely destructive fire magic... it's difficult for even me to withstand, and I'm partially made of fire."

She doesn't know anything about the drone, really.

[periphrasing]

That reasoning is enough to get her to drop this rather ridiculous idea, because she is not especially keen on being incinerated... Especially not so soon after being reunited with her missing friends.

She grumbles thoughtfully, conceding that this is probably not the smartest way to go about this, at least not for the amount of risk involved. She's really tired okay, even geniuses are allowed some dumb ideas now and then.

"It would probably be good to know how careful you need to be about what you say while he's in there, is my primary concern," eyeballing her stomach. Stars this is a weird conversation. "Mmmm... OH! Wait wait, I've got it!"

She holds up her gauntlet clad hand and, one by one, pulls out three items out of the gem set within it: the spider drone, a little keychain flashlight, and some duct tape. In seconds, with her INCREDIBLE ENGINEERING POWERS, the keychain is taped to the drone, and she holds her new creation up triumphantly.

"Here, put this in your mouth. But don't swallow it! Just let it climb down your throat."

[lordofthering]

The Ringmaster stares at Peridot's device for a bit longer, nervous about it for something differently reasons. Eventually, however, she will lean down her neck and open that great big mouth for Peridot.

"I suppose..." she'll say, still sounding a bit noncommittal. Her breathe smells like Gatorade.

[periphrasing]

Peridot is going to ignore that uncertainty, because she's totally positive that this is going to work. She walks right up to the Ringmaster and gives the little drone an underhand toss; It's four spindly legs deploy before it even hits her tongue, and as soon as it lands, it immediately skitters down the back of her throat.

The gem flops back down on the sand next to Pumpkin and holds up the little remote feed that she has connected to the drone, which appears to be made out of an old, busted digital camera. "The feed isn't great, but it's better than nothing, I guess. Let's see..."

[lordofthering]

The tunnel of her esophagus is oddly tight for her size, given that she is restricting it artificially in an attempt to prevent fire and the swallowed Fae from escaping. The inside of her body is a grey color, and it all starts to blend together as the probe wanders along. Peridot may be wondering when she is finally going to find the stomach, when the lighting in the organ suddenly becomes brighter and-

JUMPSCARE.

A glowing red hand grabs the front of the drone, momentarily blocking the feed. There is a faint grunt of exertion, and the sounds of wet flesh shifting.

[periphrasing]

Peridot is startled badly enough that she fumbles the monitor, which falls from her hands and onto the sand. She stares at it for a second before snatching it back up, and then looks sheepishly up at the Ringmaster.

"...Yes. He's awake," she reports unhappily. Now she's extra glad that she didn't go in there herself? And she's not going to get that drone back, is she.

[npcarnival]

Peridot's reaction causes a bit of a chain reaction, as it startles the Ringmaster enough that she clenches her insides tighter, which apparently jerks Ignatius's hand away from the drone. He almost loses grip before managing to catch one of the legs. It shifts the view of the camera, showing the fiery glow of the fae's body reflecting against the interior of the Ringmaster's digestive system.

Instead of just a grunt, though, there's a choked off cry of pain this time. Finally, she'll be able to catch sight of the top of his head and one shoulder, the rest of his body squeezed between the walls of her stomach and lost from sight, like someone trapped in a terrible spelunking accidents. Liquid fire pours from the wounds still visible in his chest and back.

His movements are clumsy, and seem like he must be delirious and only barely clinging to consciousness. She'll hear another miserable sound as he tries to get a better grip on the probe and absolutely fails.

[periphrasing]

Rather suddenly, Peridot is starting to feel pretty nauseous. She looks pale, and gently places the monitor face down on the lake shore so she doesn't have to look at it anymore.

"...I know you're already well aware of this, but. I would highly recommend removing him from there as soon as you are possibly able to," is all she says, sounding somewhat faint, a vaguely haunted expression on her face. Good golly was that disturbing to see!