lostcarnival | ⇨ CAMPING GROUNDS

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⇨ CAMPING GROUNDS

Who: Everybody!
When: Day 64
Where: The Camping Grounds
What: While the Ringmaster attempts to purge the carnival of magical tracing spells and deal with the angry fire fae in her belly, everyone else is getting sent on an emergency camping trip with some unusual local fauna.
Warnings: Camping.

CRYPTIC CAMPGROUNDS↴

You're given about three hours to prepare, after the Ringmaster tells you her plans for the coming week. There is a vast selection of camping equipment at your disposal, and the means to take along enough food for the length of the stay. The wilderness of the planet you're left on is nearly idyllic, but some people just don't like the great outdoors.

► CRYPTOZOOLOGY: As it turns out, the carnival won't be alone here. There is a varied ecosystem of cryptids to be found as well, living in relative peace and mostly reacting to the newcomers with curiousity. More details can be found on the plotting post. You are free to NPC the cryptids as much as you need to, as long as you stick to the behaviours described.

► DREAMSHARING: There is a player plot going on which will allow characters to share dreams! These are specifically more dreams than nightmares, and the mushi-adept characters will be here to help.

► CHILLAX: There isn't any plot twist for this setting, so this is mostly an opportunity to decompress from the last plot and get ready for the future. The Ringmaster will show up occasionally to help with needed medical treatments and check on things, but won't stick around for long.

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"I'm back!"

Steven returns with a pink bubble full of lake water floating over his hands. He was going to use this to give Strange a shower when he was ready, but he was ill-prepared for the sight of Strange being literally on fire.

"Is he - ahhhh, fire!" Steven yelps, impulsively bursting the bubble and letting it drench Strange as he lies on the ground.

Between all the shouting and the splashing, it's almost easy to miss the soft, unmistakable sound of a shutter clicking.

Looking better than he has been -- still rough, but upright and with golden scales starting to peek out from under his bandages -- Lambert lowers the camera, watching Strange. He'd been heading somewhere else, but the commotion was hard to miss, and now he's got a nice little picture of the whole tableau.

Celandine's reaction is less restrained.

"STRANGE!" she hollers joyfully, racing across the damp ground, skidding to a stop beside the damp magician (accidentally kicking up mud on him in the process). "You're back!"

"He's naked," Lambert observes, meandering his way over. "And still on fire."

Edited 2018-06-11 03:45 (UTC)

Oh, that warmth and light were because Strange is part-fire now. No wonder! And, given what monsters are like, it's not alarming. It's certainly not any more unexpected than Sans gaining extra arms, or whatever happened to Gongenzaka after his egg time.

So Papyrus finishes gathering things before coming out, just in time to see Steven dump water all over Strange.

"Oh my god!" He dashes forward, towel at the ready, and drops it on the man. The towel should soak up egg goop, water, and mud alike. Hopefully it's not too flammable.

"...I don't know if I should be alarmed! Strange, does the fire hurt?"

"His influence?" Yuya turns to Rita and gives her a confused look. "You mean it's a change from being under him...?"

That's something he would dwell on longer, had Steven not just popped a bubble of water right on Strange's head (he feels a few droplets hit his face) and then for a moment he just stares stupidly.

There's a building crowd, so Yuya snaps himself back to attention and looks between everyone, and Strange. The fire doesn't seem to be growing at any rate, though it's still a question of whether it's flammable to everything except Strange. Yuya bends over to grab one of his arms. "Can someone help me pull him out?"

There won't be any modesty or clean up as long as he's still halfway in a goopy egg.

And then a bubble of water falls on his head. Strange is just too tired to move right now, so he can't really do anything as he gets wet. The flames in his hair sputter and most of them go out. A few of them start to light themselves up again, but the towel that's also thrown on his head puts out the remaining stragglers.

Now he's naked, wet, muddy, and goopy but he also has a towel on his face. Go team!

As Yuya grabs one of his arms, Strange blindly reaches out with the other arm to try and pet Celandine. At the same time, there's a lot of people yelling and talking at him and urgh, he probably should answer one of these questions or at least get some clarification

"What fire?" he very groggily answers. Because he doesn't see any fire. Is something on fire? Where is it?

"Oh no," Steven says, abashed. "Was that just his hair? I'm sorry..."

He takes a step back, covering his mouth with his jeweled hands.

"He's fine," Rita assures Steven, though it probably sounds more dismissive than anything.

With Yuya trying to pull Strange out of the egg, Rita simply turns around and faces away. She wants to make sure he's safe and himself again, so she's staying nearby, but if he's coming out naked, she doesn't want to see it.

Edited 2018-06-11 04:15 (UTC)

"Don't worry about it," Celandine scolds. She won't let him pet her right now, since she's uncertain of his mental state, but she'll stay close.

Now that Lambert's gotten his blackmail material, he should probably help Strange out. He's not to heavy lifting or bending over right now, but... his tail works just fine, so he'll use that, wrapping it around Strange's upper arm.

"Lift on three," he tells Yuya. And then, at no one in particular-- "Can someone grab a sheet? We should get him to West."

Edited 2018-06-11 04:33 (UTC)

[a: scholar gonna scholar | any day]

On most days during the camping trip, Rita can be found sitting on a tree stump with a notebook on her lap and a pen in her hand. Said hand is in near-constant motion as she writes down notes.

A few small stacks of paper sit on the grass around her, each held down under a stone that was apparently placed there to prevent them from being blown away should the wind pick up. A glance over the exposed pages may be enough to gather the general topics of the notes: one focuses on the Silver Mirror and all related intel, one on the various fae the Carnival has encountered, and the last delves into theories about the Source and the nature of the multiverse itself.

Rita doesn't seem to notice your character approach, as she's apparently too focused on her writing.

[b: even in dreams, scholar gonna scholar | d66-d67]

As your character dreams, they may find themselves walking through a wooden door and entering a round house, with one section of wall made up of the thick rock of a cave wall, while much of the rest of the walls stand lined with towering bookshelves reminiscent of those of the Athenaeum. Scattered over the floor are books, apparently too numerous to fit on those already-full shelves, and a number of strange-looking devices, each with a jewel set in them. Rita sits on the floor with a book in her lap while Francis, her Litten, lies curled up next to her.

What looks like an enormous crystal pillar stretches from below the floor, up through the ceiling. At your character's arrival, it emits a soft glow as it speaks in a gentle, feminine voice. "Look, Rita! We have a guest."

"Maybe they should learn to read," Rita mutters without looking up.

The guest in question might notice the words 'keep out' written on the door they just entered through, though they definitely didn't see it until now. Was it even there before?

[c: wildcard!]

Feel free to encounter Rita around the grounds! For the duration of the trip, she'll usually be wearing an Alolan tank top and shorts and will be sharing a tent with 9S, which she's not being particularly subtle about. In addition to studying, she may be found jogging along a path in the woods or practicing her magic (mostly of the fiery sort). Go ahead and reply with a unique scene or message me to plot one together!

Yuya hooks his arm around Strange's, then pauses and glances between him and Rita. If she weren't here, he probably wouldn't think twice about Strange's bare ass... but she is, so he shifts his jacket off and awkwardly holds it out while he continues to balance one side of Strange.

"I have this if no one can get a sheet now." It'll at least cover his hips, because how many sheets were brought in lieu of sleeping bags by the carnival? He looks back up to Lambert, waiting for his cue.

It’s a nice gesture, but it isn’t enough to cover what Lambert considers more personal than Strange’s junk: his scars. Mirrored scar tissue makes it impossible to disguise exactly the extent of the damage he’s sustained over his time in the Carnival, from the obvious like the shot to his shoulder and where Zangetsu stabbed him, to the scratches on his arms from Nightshade binding him, all usually hidden under stuffy Englishman clothing. It takes some of the amusement away from seeing him this way.

Celandine watches anxiously, tail flicking.

“Come on, up,” Lambert orders Strange gruffly. “One, two, three—” On the last, his tail tightens its grip on the magician’s arm and hoists him with surprising force.

Whoa.

[ ouch. ]

What the hell did you do that pissed her off so badly?

[ and also: ]

Yeah, I want a drink. I think I need it.

A. TRAINING
Busy campers who are struggling with their hammocks or trying to sort out how to pitch their tents may find themselves startled by one pink-haired boy suddenly showing up across the tent they have laid out when they look up, or catch him leaning over into their field of vision from just beside them with a cheerful wave, almost as if he'd appeared out of nowhere. Or maybe you just didn't notice he was there?? Weird.

"Ya need any help?"

He does happen to know a useful amount about camping, considering he'd grown up near mountains and had been dragged along on his brother's rock-climbing trips a good number of times, and his cram school's training trip was also in the woods.

B. IS THIS EDIBLE?
"Oi, how's this one look??"

Whoever happens to glance up at that moment may find themselves on the receiving end of a strangely glowing fruit that just got lobbed at them. Shima is hanging off a branch up above and had meant that for Rin, but since there's a decent sized list of edible stuff that Rin had been given--which is why Shima had been roped into helping him gather to feed the Carnival--it's just as likely that Rin had seen something else on the list and went off to grab it, or else Shima simply mistook where Rin was last standing and just accidentally chucked the fruit he'd picked at the nearest person he'd seen from the corner of his eye. Try not to get beaned?

C. WILDCARD
Shima will spend his time honing his perception manipulation spell he picked up in Wismuth, being fairly helpful to people so long as it seems like a fun social activity or doesn't put him out too much, or hugging a bug-repelling candle as he explores. THIS AND MORE OPTIONS. Feel free to provide a prompt or hit me up to plot!

Edited 2018-06-11 11:50 (UTC)

Even without witcher strength, moving Strange is like moving a gangly magician sack of potatoes. He's not putting up any resistance, instead he's blinking goop out of his eyes and just going with the flow. His hair sputters and starts to smoke as it tries to relight itself on fire. Lambert and Yuya easily pull this slimy naked Strange out of the egg. And good news! He's too groggy and out of it to bitch and moan about the naked part.

Yuya sticks his head through the doorway without even double checking if there was a sign. He's only a little sorry forthe privacy breach.

"Aw, you won't make an exception for me?" He drags his gaze around the room. What really has his attention, though, is the big green rock that just spoke and he stares openly.

"Hey, who're you?"

Rita may not have noticed Shima’s approach even if she weren’t so absorbed in her work, since he’s messing around with redirecting people’s ability to perceive him, though perhaps it might have failed if she were looking for someone snooping around like he is. As it is, it isn’t until he’s walked around her once, leaning to look at all the notes before he lets that spell dissipate and announces himself.

“Your name was Rita, right? How much did ya end up collecting?”

Well, there are plenty of others to make a big fuss out of the naked part for him.

Like Hinawa, who approaches covering her eyes with one hand and holding a large bedsheet out with the other. "H-here, cover him up, for goodness' sake!"

It's bad enough you guys drew dicks all over the egg, nobody wants to see a real one!

A: By the campfire

There's hardly a moment where Hinawa isn't cooking. She's up at dawn making breakfast, then she hardly sits down for the rest of the day to keep everyone full and happy. They were able to bring plenty of stock from the kitchen, but she supplements with mushrooms, berries, and roots gathered from the nearby forest. There's a smorgasbord of stuff available throughout the trip, and of course, she's willing to make something special if you ask.

Hinawa is also trying out the rack of spices the Ringmaster gifted her, and if you stop by she might hand you a small plate of something. "Here- try this!"

She doesn't actually know what most of the spices do. Hopefully you get one of the better ones.

B: ~~Don't~~ feed the wildlife

Over the course of the camping trip, some of the local fauna might wander close to the food stations. At first it's just a few jackalopes that seem braver than normal, then some nightcrawlers start hanging around. One evening, you might spot a bigfoot skulking at the edge of the woods, waiting patiently as Hinawa brings over some leftover cooked fish.

...Apparently no one ever told her not to feed the animals.

C: Checking in

And when she's not cooking, Hinawa, tailed by Sunny, is stopping at tents and hammocks to make sure no one is hiding. Because if there's one thing she's learned while being here, it's that everyone needs someone to check up on them once in a while, especially after a traumatic trip like the Athenaeum.

"Knock-knock! Have you eaten? Can I get you anything?"

D: Wildcard

[ANYTHING ELSE. If she's not cooking she's probably doing laundry by the waterfall or picking berries.]

Steven, who isn't even remotely concerned with weenies at the moment, takes the bedsheet from her and scurries over to help.

"Thanks, Hinawa."

As Yuya and Lambert hold him up, Steven will wrap the bedsheet around Strange's waist like a towel, hoping it won't fall off.

"There," he says. "Do you feel okay, Mr Strange?"

He doesn't know if spitting will help.

Rita waits until the body language of the others seems to indicate it's safe to look before turning back around to see the magician.

"Talk to us, old man," she urges him, glancing at Steven. His question should be simple enough for him to answer, if he can garner enough awareness to do so.

A: DESPAIR

"T-three hours for what?" Alphys groggily pokes her head out of her trailer just in time to hear the tail end of the Ringmaster's announcement. She had slept in, because of course she did. Being in between worlds meant she had some time to stay up late and catch up on the series she's been watching.

She rubs her eyes and puts her glasses on, and after her vision focuses for a few seconds she finally sees what that blurry pile of stuff in the middle of everything.

Wait.

Tents. Canteens. Hammocks. Oh no.

"...We're going...camping!?"

B: MISERY

THIS IS THE WORST THING EVER. It's muddy. It's humid. There's bugs everywhere. And Alphys can't for the life of her figure out how this stupid tent works!

She wrestles with it for about 20 minutes before tossing it on the ground in a help, then plopping down next to it with an exasperated SIIIIIGGGGGHHHHH. She just wants to roll out a sleeping bag and sleep through this entire horrible trip, but she's not about to do that without a tent to hide in.

And worst of all, there's no electricity out here! She doesn't want to run her laptop too long and kill the battery, so she can't even finish watching the last DVD in the series she was binging. This, truly, is torture.

C: ANGUI- Actually this part's not so bad (Mushi dreams)

Once she finally has a tent, Alphys bunks down with the intent of sleeping the trip away, because what else is there to do? ~~Enjoy nature, fish, socialize, help with medical stuff...~~ She's incredibly grumpy when she finally lays down and fortunately it doesn't take long for her to drift off.

Alphys is often plagued by nightmares, but this time she finds herself in a dreamlike facsimile of Wismuth. She's standing on top of a skyscraper, transformed into a Star Guardian again. Oh, right, it's time for the nightly patrol! Summoning her staff, Alphys flies into the starlit sky, looking down at the city below in search of any evildoers who need to be punished.

If anyone's wandered into her subconscious, they might very well be those evildoers, so watch out. "Stop right there! I am Mew Mew Kissy Alphie-chan, and I'll punish you~!"

D: WILDCARD

[Come bother the grumpy gus]

"We don't have to crowd him," Yuya grumbles as he hefts Strange up with Lambert. Nevermind he's part of the initial crowding, but he's pretty sure a little space is warranted for Strange to come to his bearings again.

He does still give Steven a grateful look when he wraps the sheet. "Thanks--can we get him to a tent or something first?"

Lambert probably has the right idea, getting him to the med tent if not the doctor.

At Steven's question, Strange groggily looks up. For the first time, he notices that huh, there are a lot more people here than he thought. He sleepily looks around everyone assembled before he gives everyone a wide smile.

He's not going to say it out loud, but the fact that there are so many people here who came to see him and help him when he, erm, hatched means the world to Strange.

"I feel fine," he answers, as he looks from Steven to Rita. "Just tired." He's becoming a bit less groggy and a bit more alert, but he still sounds tired as hell. Strange leans a bit more on Lambert's side than Yuya's, completely unaware that Lambert's bandaged and bruised to hell and back. "That whole business takes more out of you than I thought."

At the familiar voice, Rita lifts her head up to see Yuya. "Fine. You can stay," she decides easily, shrugging. It's not like Yuya's likely to cause any trouble.

The big green rock eagerly replies, "My name is Victoria. I take care of this place and everyone in it whenever Rita's away." There's a mature, almost motherly quality to her voice.

It's not immediately clear who everyone refers to, until one of the smaller devices on the floor, giving off a reddish glow from the jewel set in its circular frame, chimes in with a boyish voice, "Hey, we don't need any taking care of!"

"Yeah, you're just bossy, Victoria!" adds a yellow one.

"Huh? --Gah! When did you..." That sudden realization that someone's standing right there startles Rita. She clenches her teeth and recoils, but fortunately doesn't try to blast him. She wouldn't want to damage her notes, after all.

She takes a deep breath to compose herself, then reluctantly answers. "Yeah... Not all of this is from the Athenaeum, but I've been trying to summarize what I've learned and sort it into a few compilations."

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⇨ CAMPING GROUNDS

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Rita Mordio | OTA, will match formats

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CAMPING | D64 on

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Dreams

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Hinawa | OTA

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Alphys | OTA

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