⇨ 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

[pipers_son]

"Hey, don't-" Joker doesn't have time to answer either question, on the basis that Feathers suddenly pushes forward with a trill of offense. Immediately, his wings spread out, ready for a little hop... a big hop...

Rather ineffectually, Joker flails one arm at him and tries to edge away. "Feathers, no! I've told ya that ya don't fit anymore!"

[fortuneglass]

"See?!" Carly, for her part, takes this as proof. "He's no longer a 'lap bird'..! He's a strong, guardian bird..! That's completely deserving of even a cape at least, I think."

Carly stop adding to your workload.

[pipers_son]

"Try tellin' him that!" Joker squawks, still flailing at his 'strong guardian bird'. "He hasn't stopped for ages now!" What if he just sidesteps this menace to society, or at least his spine-

"Besides, don't his feathers already look like a cape?"

[fortuneglass]

"Hnnn.." She looks him over a moment- still apparently not caring that Feathers may, in fact, send Joker to a chiropractor at some point. "It doesn't really count if it's his arms, don't you think? Hey, Feathers..! Feathers..!"

Oh now she tries for the bird's attentions-

[pipers_son]

Well, better late than never, or something. Feathers pauses from where he has one taloned foot up on Joker's pant leg and blinks over at her with a wide eyed hoo? Very gently, hoping not to get his bird's attention again, Joker leans down to try and unhook a talon.

Maybe he should have gotten a pokemon guaranteed less likely to break his spine...

[insidescoop]

"Say, Feathers..." If he's anything like other pokemon, he's got to SOMEWHAT understand what she's saying right? Yeah.

So. "...Wouldddd you like your own costumes in the tent~?" CARLY.

[pipers_son]

It's true. Feathers might be something of a spacecase from time to time who focuses on cuddles or food if either are available, but he does in fact understand what people say. So he pauses as Carly asks her question and, with both feet now on the ground, spreads his wings down to look at his body curiously. After a moment, he blinks up at her again with a soft rumbly bird noise of confusion.

Look at these beautiful feathers, Carly. In what way could they be improved?

[insidescoop]

Carly cannot speak Pokemon, but she can understand body language anyway.

"Hehh!! I wouldn't be covering you in a sheet or anything..! Costumes should bring out your best features, not hide them!" she huffs, her own feathers fluffing out.

"Just look at me!! You can still see my best feathers, can't you?"

Yes. Yes one certainly can.

[pipers_son]

Ooooooh. This is a good point. Feathers leans in closer, one wing curling back in almost as if to press a hand to his chin. Only without a hand. And arguably not even with a chin, either. Pokemon biology can be a funny thing, sometimes. Unable to find any way to argue, he gives a nod.

Joker, in the meanwhile, enjoys his freedom from being at on, and leans against Feathers' back with a huff of a laugh. As long as it's not his fault weight, he's found it's fine. Feathers is a sturdy boy.

[fortuneglass]

"Wonderful~! Besides, if you're getting costumes too, you get first approval you know; if you don't like it, you don't wear it. Simple as that~!"

She's probably going to excitedly sketch many many ideas now that won't see the light of day for a good few months.

[pipers_son]

With a look of pleasant delight, or at least as much can be broadcasted on a face that is mostly a beak, Feathers gestures to himself. First say! For little (big) him. He's flattered.

...And Joker is amused as he says over Feathers' head, "Carly, weren't we supposed ta put up the tents?"

[fortuneglass]

"Ah-" Oh.

Carly looks quite like she's been caught with her hands reaching for a bunch of cookies. Nervously, she laughs, rubbing the back of her head. "AhahahAHAHA... ...right..."

They should.

Do that.

[pipers_son]

Pushing himself off of Feathers, Joker walks past to pat Carly on the shoulder. "You'll get all the time in the world with him later~." After all, it looks like this camping trip will last for a while.

While he's setting down his own camping gear, however, Joker glances back at her. "Speakin' of, there was actually somethin' I've been meanin' ta talk ta ya about, but I just could never find the right time." And he's something of a coward, but it's fine.

[fortuneglass]

"Mn?" Walking at a more calm pace (or, well, floating more like), Carly stares for a few moments. "...Is there? ...What was it..?" It seems serious. Or at least, she feels it's probably serious, given that a 'right time' was even something to factor into things.

[pipers_son]

"Ha, well. I just wanted to sorta apologize for what happened in Wismuth?" He rubs the back of his head, carefully avoiding an obstacle course of ear, wing, and antler. It's truly a trial.

"I was tryin' ta be antagonizing and provokin' and all that, just tryin' different things ta see if I could break through ta any one of ya, but I was always a tad worried about it." He does rather like Carly, after all, and it'd be a damn shame if he ruined a perfectly fine relationship. That some of that hadn't just been an act is, well, something that doesn't need to be mentioned.

[fortuneglass]

"...Wismuth?" It takes...a moment to realize what Joker's even referring to.

And then she does. "...oh," she manages after a moment, her glow paling a little. "...I'm not sure anything would've worked, at that point... ...we're certainly close as coworkers, but..."

But in the end after all it took an arguable love confession from the half-star guardian in the audience combined with just about all of her allies turning to the light. She was stubborn in her dark.

She does manage the energy to get a rib out though. "....I definitely don't see how antagonizing someone would have worked in the first place though, you know..!" She'll just huff and pout as she says that, to get the humor across.

[pipers_son]

"Hey, talkin' at Steven seemed ta work! Somehow..." Joker still isn't entirely sure how that ended up working in the end. It doesn't even seem like the kind of thing that would happen in a fairytale. And he knows a lot of those.

Still... At least she's not upset, and he laughs a little bit at the ribbing. "Well, we have so many nice folks like Zaka in the troupe, I figured somethin' else had ta be tried! And I felt pretty safe hidin' behind a little boy." Hey, he can make fun of himself too.

[fortuneglass]

"Because that's Steven, and he was already on the fence about everything..!" she hisses, wrinkling her nose. "He's a very open-hearted boy, of course he's going to take anyone's words like that..!" Anyway.

She confesses that she's a little confused about the next part of Joker's words until he finishes. Her expression runs from absolute bewilderment to a dry frown, before she finally rolls her eyes. "...I think I spotted him during one of my earlier runs in the city...you shouldn't have been worried about someone the size of a pomeranian," she huffs. "Definitely shouldn't have been using a human shield against one..!"

[pipers_son]

Size of a Pomeranian... Joker laughs. After all, she's not wrong. Even as a villain, Steven had been hilariously endearing. A shame that he'd been so miserable after all of that.

"But he's a tough little Pomeranian, right?"

[fortuneglass]

Well, she'd been referring to Gongenzaka when she mentioned the pomeranian...

Big Deputy Dog got himself shrunk into a mascot for a bit there. (If she were to compare Steven to a dog, it would be a Chow puppy.)

But misunderstandings continue, and Carly shrugs. "Well...he was. We both know how big Gongenzaka typically is..." She huffs. "Seriously though, using Steven as your shield..."

[pipers_son]

Listen, in his defense, there was so much happening there, it's easy to have it slip his mind on who got changed into what weird thing. That was all a mess.

"Bein' tiny just made him all the more endearin' in a whole new way~." Zaka is just such a charming boy, after all. "And anyway, Steven was just the only one willin' ta trust me! Tanyuu sorta.... nearly killed me, after all."

Along with her brother. And Scout. It was a bad time.

[insidescoop]

"Hmnnnn...she was sort of scary, come to think..." As to the others, that's what moving to different background positions does Joker. That's what it does.

"...But I'm not going to hold it against you too much. Maybe a bit of judgement..." Human Child Shields, Joker, "...But it isn't like we were all thinking straight when you were around after all..!"

[pipers_son]

Listen, it wasn't like he was really using Steven as a shield, just their relationship...!!

"Yeah, that seemed ta mess up all sorts of folks. I can just imagine how it would have affected the rest of us. Glad it didn't do that much, then." He heaves out a sigh. "Would have preferred we hadn't gotten dragged in at all, 'tho. Still." He starts to dig through his bag.

"S'all I wanted ta get off my chest."

[insidescoop]

"The harder they fall, right..?" she weakly adds, unable to completely laugh about it. "...We got out of it, at least. And...I'm glad you decided to come forward, too!" she adds, nodding.

"...It's important to not dwell on things like this, I think..."

[pipers_son]

"Ha, yeah." Setting some of the basics out of his bag, Joker pauses to rub the back of his neck. Why does this remind him of something... Oh, right, of course. Obviously.

"I've been told I should probably be more open about stuff like that... So I figured, well, don't wanna make Carly of all people made, she might really carry on that threat ta put me in embarrassin' clothin'."