⇨ CAMPING GROUNDS

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[insidescoop]

Carly seems to ponder those points in silence- though she certainly nods fiercely at the start, quite agreeing with him about Lambert. "...It was entirely unnecessary," she mutters, scowling. "...If they could restrain him, then they could have also just left him there until they were back in the Carnival..."

So...he's not the only one on team 'Wow What the Fuck'. "I actually made Lambert wear, ahe, something incriminating as a small punish- ...Ahh, Th-That's not important," she coughs, though maybe if Strange DOES remember this dream, he'll have context for some of Lambert's weird shirts now.

As it is.

"...They're not all black and white," she comes out with, frowning. "...The faerie, I mean....well, even just looking at the Summerlands, it felt like it wasn't, and then there's the Ringmaster, so..."

Carly catches herself before she spirals into a ramble, shaking her head. "...What I'm saying is I believe you. ...And the Ringmaster. ...she would have acted differently, if she thought he was as 'bad' as them," she insists, as much as she doesn't yet know of the firey one's fate.

"...At the very least... he sounds better than a 'demon god'..?" she adds- mostly in attempt to bring humor back, as she laughs nervously.

[steadydollypegs]

"Not bleedin', no..." But it hurts for reasons she's pretty sure are entirely in her head and not based in reality at all. "Haven' had a scare like this in a long time, 's prob'ly why it feels off."

[dontpokethat]

"Sounds about right."

He shifts in place, then lies back, folding his arms behind his head. There's nothing new to look at above them - just little particles of light drifting into the air from the river, like an otherworldly imitation of the night sky.

"Light veins like these are part of what allows the world to live, and yet most people can't even come here to see them. ...We're both pretty lucky that way."

[dontpokethat]

"Too bad." Too bad, because that means he can't appreciate how incredible this place is - which Ginko is sure he would if he weren't so thrown off, because who wouldn't? "Here's hoping he'll be able to adjust."

He lets out a breath and reaches into his pocket, pulling out his wooden cigarette box a moment later. "Personally, I'm just glad to stay somewhere a little closer to what I'm used to. ...Even if the wildlife is different."

[bananaspeedrider]

Ironically, those ideas wouldn't be too far off the mark. Yugo frowns, a clear sign that a detailed answer would open up a different can of worms.

"He was the one that won."

It seems he's definitely not feeling inclined to elaborate on this part of the topic.

[periphrasing]

"Well I certainly didn't either," the gem growls, finally lowering her hands. "Hmmnn. Well... If I haven't changed, and YOU haven't changed, the only variable that leaves is... the location we've both presumably fallen asleep in."

She taps her foot a moment, mulling over the likelihood of this being some sort of unusual dream sharing scenario versus Lambert just being a particularly stubborn figment of her own imagination. After a moment's consideration, she comes to a conclusion, scoffing loudly and putting her hands on her hips: "Whatever! I've been meaning to share this information with you anyway. And if it turns you aren't real... Then none of this matters, and there are no consequences anyway."

Peridot grabs the witcher's hand and starts pulling him over towards a nearby platform, talking as she goes. "I'm going to conduct an experiment while we do this. We should come up with some kind of code word unique to this situation. When we both wake up, I can give you the code word in the real world, and observe whether or not you remember what I'm referencing. Human brains are notoriously bad at retaining the information of what they dream about while deep asleep, but if I am interacting with your true consciousness right now, perhaps the code word will act as a trigger and bring this all back to you. And if you don't recognize the code at all... That will lend evidence to the idea that I'm actually just absolutely crazy, and I'm talking to myself inside my own head."

[reflash]

You'll never have to bring him anything. [Yukio says, with a wry smile.

He finishes his snack, taking a little bit of time to enjoy it. He'd asked for the herbs, so it would be a disappointment if she hadn't. But the snack is a present, and so it's worth being happy about.

But then comes the bag of herbs, and he starts digging through them.]

[exaomori]

Don't encourage him, Hairball!

[How does Shura know it's Kuro? The same reason she knows they're on their way to find some treasure. Kuro might be an attractive and strong mancat, but a demon's a demon and Shura isn't tempted by the beefcat. She lets out a big sigh, moving to try and catch up with Rin.]

You know you're just gonna catch his attention, runnin' around like that.

[Should she start adding stealth to his lessons? Ugh.]

Don't forget the plan. We're gonna sneak up on him and--[Hey, what is that unearthly screech? Is that the evil dragon??]--Crap!

[It's not good, either way.]

[stillwinningthehardway]

Scout considers the metaphor some more, turning it over and watching the light in its broad current, and more sparsely departing, dispersing. Returning? The flyaways look like sparks rising from a fire, but the context is different. They're not drifting away to die alone.

"You're right. It makes a lot of things harder sometimes, but it's a privilege too." She stretches her arm out towards the river, just to watch the light between her fingers. Scout feels heavily weighted down, but not in a bad way. "It would be a shame to miss this."

[wild_magic]

Susan nods as he thinks about that, figuring it makes sense. After all, he's always wanted to do the same after going without his magic for a while, just to make sure it works okay. But before he can actually respond Strange knocks him to the ground, and he stares for a moment before laughing and pushing himself back up.

"Hey, no fair! If you do that then I'll knock you down too!" Because there is definitely nothing more mature than a magic fight right?

[exaomori]

You never know, he might figure things out. [Or he'll just crash through life headfirst. It wasn't as if Shura hadn't done the same thing. Yukio would know, though with the twins to anchor her early on she hadn't gotten into as much trouble as she might have otherwise.

Yukio doesn't take a long enough break in Shura's opinion, but something is better than nothing. Everything Yukio asked for is in the bag and then some. A couple impulse buys, nothing too extravagant.]

What are you wantin' to work on tonight?

[atouts]

Childermass would make the exact same guess, knowing just enough about how the High Fae operate. That claim does draw a worried look across his face, though, because Jonathan Strange doesn't kill. Under someone else's sway, certainly, but why mention that at all?

"That still wasn't him in his right mind," he at least tries to put some reason to it, even if it's for naught. He knows better than anyone else how Lambert reacts to anything near his neck, how sometimes the witcher wakes up from some troubled sleep gasping for air. There's never been a lot to say about that. Comfort or pity; neither would fix the problem.

"He won't do it again. You know how he is."

[atouts]

"While I am well aware you have no respect for it, some men do actually value some privacy in their lives," Childermass offers that in reply. It's true, incredibly true in his own case, a man that so many know so very little about. "While I am not one to take any stock in the opinions of others regarding me, I would rather not be made into a spectacle, either."

[atouts]

Yeah, it's hard to tell if that joke hit its mark or went over his head because all Childermass does is quirk an eyebrow at Shura once she makes it. In theory, he's at least heard of people hating their in-laws, but who even knows.

"Hm." After her next clue, though, he looks down at the cards on the table. "If the were hiding them, that wouldn't be a very fair game. You'd have to expect anyone playing to know what these all are already."

Unless the game is unfairly marketed at the very slim margin of teenage aliens who are really into space biology.

[atouts]

"So war and more war?" Childermass can read between the lines, Syrlya. "Unless you're just the storybook hero type of plant, that is, then I would have to assume chasing trouble is for pleasure."

Because who in their right mind does it out of duty? Well, that's unfair. Childermass has chased down trouble enough times because someone sure had to.

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya's expression twists wryly. Actually, he's pretty sure a lot of people would romanticize the story of the lone commander who fights for the world and is every bit the noble hero they'll tell their children about. And Syrlya's pretty sure they'd be wrong.

"Essentially. My duty is to protect Tyria." Really. "You would be surprised how many people will potentially destroy a continent in the pursuit of more power."

Or maybe he wouldn't be. Maybe this is pretty normal in other worlds, they just don't have cataclysmic levels of magic to draw from.

[kingsroads]

Even just hearing the words 'I believe you' is enough to make Strange give Carly a relieved grin. He doubts he'll remember this when he wakes up, but it's nice to have someone on your side, someone who doesn't look at you like you're possessed because you aren't an arbitrary level of angry or are horrified at the use of torture.

And then, Carly cracks a joke to help bring the mood back. Strange can't help but laugh a little at that. His laughter is a bit less nervous than Carly's laughter. "Nothing we did ever had anything to do with souls, so yes, I'd say he's better than a demon god. Though I'm afraid it doesn't take much to be better than that."

There's a pause before Strange takes a step closer to Carly, pulling her towards him in the dance. He knows logically that nobody can hear him, but out of habit, he quietly remarks, "And thank you for believing me."

[kingsroads]

This is entirely immature and Lauren's probably going to yell at him again for disturbing the animals or whatever, but Strange just doesn't care. So what if this is childish and immature? He was just dead, let him have a little bit of fun!

Strange gives Susan a wild grin before causing the ground to rumble underneath him again, once again trying to knock him to the ground. "Let's see you give it a try!"

Strange is pretty much chomping at the bit for a magic fight.

[kingsroads]

"Being part of a couple isn't making a spectacle of yourself," says the man who would undoubtedly make a spectacle of himself should Arabella show up. We've just got two opposite levels of privacy and forthrightness that will never even remotely approach a happy medium.

As such, Strange is still baffled by the fact that Childermass thought this was something to keep quiet in the first place.

"You're allowed to show you like things that aren't tobacco or your dog," Strange teases.

[whattaprick]

"I'm practically a master at napping by now, too," Lambert grumbles -- but he'll open his eyes when he hears that odd cry, blinking slowly as he situates himself.

Or rather, fails to. This isn't a familiar place to him at all, though it doesn't occur to him to question it. Pushing himself up to a sitting position, Lambert blinks, looking around him.

Scout stands out, being one of the only people around his side. Lambert's close enough to reach out and poke her if he moves, so he does -- rolling onto hands and knees and reaching out with one clawed finger to prod at her side.

Re: MIDNIGHT STROLL

[psionichax0r]

He covers his eyes, reflexively backing away from the sudden blinding light. The mothmen that haven't run yet don't seem to like it either from the flurry that fly past him. He scowls.

"I'll tell you if you turn that off!"

[stillwinningthehardway]

The lesson continues, though it seems to draw further away, the details blurring until it's just the concept of the tiny old master teaching the young students. The garden and the life and sounds it hold persists, though now the starry moss carpet is cut with paths of white gravel, crisp-edged. It's an amalgation of some of the common areas in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, not a clean copy.

Scout opens her eyes before he can get there but doesn't actually stop Lambert from sticking a claw in her. With a heavy, teenagerly sigh she finally acknowledges his presence. "What? Are you going to pass a note next? There's better ways to get someone's attention, you know."

[betheman]

The end of my current contract?

Not for almost a year! [he answers, blinking. He sort of, well, signed for a second go after all. Anyway.] I, the man Gongenzaka assure you however, there is no pain- while it has taken some getting used to, it is more akin to...another form of hair, perhaps.

If anything, [He adds a little more weakly, gesturing with his mechanical arm,] It was the loss of a limb which took longer to adapt to!

[whattaprick]

[ Butcher, thoroughly spoiled for attention, waggles his ears happily. Yes, pets are good! But ... food would be better. He's already intelligently trying to sniff around Rin's pockets for fruit. ]

Baker's been hunting. [ Lambert explains. ] Can't really eat this many between me and Childermass, so...

[betheman]

"A...Aauh." He is trying to get it, and follow, but he's not entirely sure. As it is, this is what he's stuck with, and-

"SnfFFhkh- HhhHhahh..." But that aside, shoving a pile of plants at a canine nose is...maybe...

"hhAAAAA....aaAAAAAHHH- CHHHe-!!"

A poor decision, if the thunderous sneeze that immediately follows is any sign. Did you need those greens? Those greens are probably gone.