⇨ NPC MEET & GREET

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 76 - Day 78
Where: The Carnival
What: A gaggle of NPCs have arrived at the carnival to help with the acquisition of the Silver Mirror. There is an investigation thread for casual NPC interactions, and the rest will be handled in expositional megathreads.
Warnings: Nothing in particular!

HERE BEHIND YOU↴ As promised by the Ringmaster, near the end of the week there will be a number of guests arriving. All of them have encountered the carnival before in a variety of ways - you may have met them, or they may have been before your time. Either way, there are here to help. They owe the carnival a favour, after all. They are around for specific reasons, which will be carried out in the form of a couple conversational megathreads, but beyond that you are free to ask them questions in the investigation thread. ► THE DWARF FAMILY: This trio of dwarves (pictures here) are the heart and soul of the Worldwalker Caravan, aka the merchants that came to entertain the carnival during their solstic vacation on the moon. Brunis is a master tinkerer, Brauni is a master blacksmith, and Bal is a master chef. All of them are capable of creating amazing things, and if necessary they may be willing to do a few commissions for the carnival. ► SHIMMER & SCALD: A pair of escaped Winter Court changelings who used to belong to a fae called the Mother of Invention, and are now part of the Worldwalker Caravan. Shimmer is the more vocal of the two, and was apparently one of the Mother's top scientists before she fled. For obvious reasons, neither of them want the Winter Court to win the day. ► RAPH THE NEPHILIM: Mostly known for the fact that she was the brewer of the healing draughts that the carnival bought on mass from the Caravan during solstice. She uses her angelic powers to create and restore angelic artifacts, and knows a bit about angelic history. She's also had more direct experience with the Nephilim lifestyle than most. ► MOSS THE CHANGELING: Another changeling seeking refuge within the Caravan, she mostly gave the impression of being from the Summer Court. Unfortunately, whatever she went through seems to have traumatized her, leaving her so socially anxious that she struggles to carry on normal conversations. For those that met her, seeing her come out to the carnival in such a small group may come as a surprise. ► ALYSS & REYNA: A rabbit girl and a fox girl who were first encountered as starcrossed lovers under the tyrannical rule of the Prince. The efforts of the carnival helped to free them and the rest of the Manor servants, and instead of seeking refuge in the Summerlands, they chose to travel with the Caravan. They are mostly here on a social call, eager to say hello and lend what aid they can to the people who saved their lives. ► PRUDENCE & DAMIEN: The odd ducks out, these two are actually not from the Caravan at all! Instead, they are from Portland, in the version of earth that the carnival was trapped in for a month almost half a year ago. They were allies with the carnival during their efforts to break the barrier trapping them, and now, somehow, they've arrived at the carnival. Prudence is notably another nephilim, and the holder of a powerful angelic artifact called the Hand of God. Damien is her partner in crime and a warlock, or something.

Comments

⇨ QUESTIONS TO NPCS & INVESTIGATIONS

[ringleaders]

Want to talk to an NPC? Post here to have a summarized interaction with any of the NPCs listed above. Try not to talk to more NPCs than necessary to help avoid mod burnout, but if you just want to note that your character said hi to a particular NPC, feel free!

[betheman]

Most of this is Vague (Except One) so I'm putting it in the same comment- they don't need threads or talks, they're just little 'hi!' moments that are worth noting.

Reira would have greeted the Dwarves, specifically Brauni; during the Solstice she got things like the floating metal bone from her after all, so she'd just want to make sure to say hi! (If she could, she'd ask to take a picture with her though- something to remember her by!)

Gongenzaka likewise would check in with Brunis to comment on how handy the repulsor was. Heck Yeah, blasting the Rose Queen in the face (he is not actually super excited about that and kinda worried about the consequences). He would also want to greet Prudence and Damien. Hopefully they figure out it's him pretty quick when he says hi. (Also good on you getting your sword back Pru, he was wondering if that made it home safe)

LASTLY...the one who I'd be good for a thread with if that's fine?

Carly would quietly find Moss once she knew the changeling was around, if at least to apologize for her, ahem. Outburst while on the moon. She no doubt made things quite embarrassing and anxious, and that wasn't good of her.

Pru and Damien

[hippocarnival]

Yuya makes a eager beeline to Pru and Damien to say hi and ask how everything's going back in Portland. He'll mention which Fae from there seem to have left to tail the carnival instead and just look for the rundown how everyone's handling the Severing being broken.

[kingsroads]

Strange is going to seek out Shimmer. Mostly, this is an offer for them to get fucked up: he'll offer the most potent liquor that he can steal from the kitchens and ask Shimmer hey, I had like the world's shittiest past few weeks, want to get wasted. He might press for a bit of gossip depending on her answer, but priority #1 is getting hammered with his drinking buddy.

As a general note, Strange is avoiding the hell out of Pru & Damien, to the point where if they're in the same area as he is, he'll try and go elsewhere. Someone doesn't want to deal with all that "heeeey so last time we met, I was brainwashed and tried to murder you" baggage.

[npcarnival]

The other greetings will go well enough. Brauni will remember Reira and ruffle heir hair, while Brunis will remember Gongenzaka as that incredibly indecisive customer and will be relieved to hear that he ended up happy with what he got (if only so he doesn't ask about any modifications.) Pru will have no idea who he is until he says he was the vampire, at which point she will definitely remember... and be pretty baffled by how he normally looks.

What may be surprising is that Moss doesn't immediately flee when she sees Carly. She seems to be forcing herself to stay put with sheer willpower, but she will nod in response to Carly's apologies with relative calmness and accept them.

She'll say that it wasn't really her fault, this kind of thing is just difficult for Moss to manage. But, she intends to do better this time.

[npcarnival]

Both Pru and Damien will be relieved to see Yuya in one piece - after all, they never got the chance to see the aftermath of the ritual stabbing. They'll explain that they've actually had a very hectic few months, but not necessarily because of the Fae. A lot of them have left the planet, probably eager to be free of the barrier, but that they expect this is only the calm before a storm of them returning.

Which means they've been focusing on getting things on the Angel and Demon sides under control. If they are going to defend the planet, the war between them will only prove detrimental. So, on account of some personal business, the two of them recently made a trip all the way to Hell - something that Damien seems particularly awkward about.

Thankfully, Pru will make sure to point out, it was overall a success. As a result, they have some findings that they want to share with the carnival as a thank you, since the Ringmaster reached out to them.

[fortuneglass]

Carly notes that while it's not something that can have too much fault- it's not like anyone plans to suddenly blurt out attractions, cough- while it's not something with too much fault, it's hardly right for her to have left things as they were. She wanted to make it clear that she's not proud of what she did!

...And she'd be honored to have the chance to do better herself. So, she'll start with introducing herself- "Carly Nagisa, Ward- Ah...Administrator to the Carnival. I'm glad to meet you."

[npcarnival]

Lucky for Strange, Pru and Damien will not even try to seek him out, or pay him much attention. That whole business is incredibly far from their minds at this point.

Shimmer, however, will greet Strange with open arms - coming up to hug him, in fact. If he tries to ask about getting wasted while Scald is around, she will pointedly try to cover the fact that he said it at all, and instead suggest he mention it while they are alone.

She says she does have some heavy exposition to give to the carnival, but it's not exactly lighthearted fair. All she'll say at first is that it involves her old fae keeper.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya will make a show of being recovered, flexing and insisting it didn't cause any crippling damage. He doesn't even feel it now!

That's interesting--Yuya won't press them too much for the details they plan to share with everyone later, but he'll wish them luck on finding common ground with the demons to keep that world safe.

But he will ask if they know anything about Eden and Lilith, and if they're coming with them to find the mirror or just coming to share information.

[npcarnival]

"I'm Moss," is all that she'll say to introduce herself, and that part barely comes out. After some hesitating and stammering, she will eventually manage to express that she was nervous to come to the carnival under the circumstances, but that changelings need to stick together, because it's the only way they'll ever be safe from the fae.

[npcarnival]

Damien will sarcastically comment that it isn't so much common ground as it is "stop fucking around or we'll both die"... and then tentatively amend that fear of death might actually be common ground after all. But that's about it.

Pru will say that they do, in fact, have information about Eden and Lilith - part of going to Hell involved recovering an ally with a great deal more information about the multiverse than they expected. After all, before the carnival, the multiverse was sort of a distant concept, so it's all been very eye-opening. In a dizzying sort of way.

She'll add that it seems like some of this information will be very difficult for fae to obtain, as most Angels of Demons of note are incredibly unlikely to cooperate with them.

[kingsroads]

He will take that hug and hug her back because again, shitty past few weeks.

Considering that there's heavy exposition, Strange will ask her if she wants to ""talk"" before or after that. He'll also mention that they found some information on her fae keeper, the Mother of Invention, at the Athenaeum, the last stop they were at: just general information about how she wanted to defy the weaknesses of her own flesh, harness the power of fire, etc.

No matter if she wants to drink before or after the infodump, he's taking Shimmer's advice and he's definitely going to try and find a way to catch her alone sometime later.

[fortuneglass]

Carly is patient- she doesn't stare awkwardly or anything, but she keeps a small smile on, nodding when Moss is finished. If anything, she finds herself absolutely glowing (though not that brightly) by the end.

"You're very brave," she decides- somehow she finds herself thinking of how she was before coming to the Carnival, right now. "...I'm glad you came..!"

ah

"...Not just because I wanted to apologize, obviously," she'll add with a nervous laugh. "...But I think you're very brave, deciding to come."

[npcarnival]

Shimmer will frown about the Athenaeum news - in what is perhaps a bit of a surprise, she'll ask who found that information. About the Mother, that is. She knows a bit about the Athenaeum from past dealings, since it's all a larger part of the Caravan and the Ringmaster's connections circle.

As for "talking" she definitely would like to. Perhaps when they have some privacy later, winky face.

[npcarnival]

She'll only manage to accept that compliment with an awkward nod, staring at the ground to the left of Carly. She'll say that she had some odd thoughts about the carnival, in a way that is worrying to her. She thinks it relates to her former Master. Sometimes she still feels his will, even now.

She's worried about what that could mean for her.

[fortuneglass]

It's an odd place, is what she'll note to the first bit, though her nervous laugh fades quickly when Moss continues.

Rather than ask directly, she'll start with asking if Moss wants to talk about that at all- with the tone one would use trying to comfort a friend. The anxiousness is obvious after all, and she doesn't want to verbally pressure anyone into their traumas like that.

[periphrasing]

Peridot will excitedly seek Brauni out to greet her and hopefully catch up a bit! She probably brings Fleshy along as well, just to say hello, since the caravan was kind of her home before Peridot bought her.

She also has a favor to ask: With the engineering department's shift towards supplying and maintaining the carnival's armory, Peridot has found herself with some team members who have no idea how to work a forge or make weapons of any sort. She'd like to enlist Brauni's help in teaching the lot of them some weaponsmithing basics, since Peridot's not much of a teacher and Brauni is a master at this stuff.

Given the chance, she'd also like to chat Brunis up as well and kind of pick his brain for ideas about enchantments and gadgets that he think might prove useful in, say... fighting magic plants, or breaking through magic ice.

[npcarnival]

She'll say that she doesn't know if she wants to, or if she even can. It's just alarming to her that her master would have his eyes on the carnival at all, and doesn't understand why he would. It's a terrible thing. The absolute worst.

[kingsroads]

Strange knows for a fact that Tyki Mykk found some of the information, though others might as well. He can introduce the two of them, if she wants. Though why does she want to know who found the information?

And he is reading her loud and clear on that privacy matter, winky face back atcha. Strange spends the next however long trying to catch Shimmer alone.

BAL

[flashover]

Rin is absolutely seeking out Bal to be his own version of Chef Ramsay. It may not be crucial to the mission at hand, but he still wants to learn everything he can about the art of food. He'll mention that, specifically, he's not the best at the time management aspect of the whole thing. He also wants to know more about bulk cooking techniques. And... well, everything, really. TEACH HIM, SENPAI.

[fortuneglass]

Fair enough- she was at the manor after all, she can understand how there could be...limitations on what can be said. "Who....was 'he'? ...That fae?" She won't refer to him as a 'master'. It feels wrong- cruel, even. This is someone Moss ran from, after all!

"...Is there anything I can do?"

[hippocarnival]

Hey, whatever they can agree on for the good of everyone. It's good to hear they'll be less blind going in after this miracle.

He'll ask if Angels and Demons usually don't get along with Fae either, because of the world conquering? Yuya's glad to hear them going so far to protect Portland, but just how bad do worlds taken over by Fae get?

[npcarnival]

Brauni will give Peridot a big dwarf hug upon seeing her, the kind that would be a little bit rib cracking if gems weren't made of such sturdy stuff. She's happy to see her, needless to say.

She'll contemplate the idea of teaching and say that she could give it a try, but she doesn't know how much she could teach in only a couple days. She doubts most of the other carnival people will be as naturally talented as Peridot, after all, who is clearly as handy with a forge as she'd expect a young dwarf to be.

[npcarnival]

Angel, Demons, and Fae are the oldest beings in existence, Pru will explain. They don't get along because they are each other's direct competition, and they all want different things from the multiverse.

The Angels want to protect and nurture it. The Fae want to command it. The Demons want to desecrate it.

It's obvious which group she is biased towards, of course, and she thinks it's pretty hard not to be. Angels may not be perfect, but they ultimately want the best for the multiverse, for unselfish reasons.

Damien will say they have no idea what colonized planets are like once the deed is done. In fact, he was kind of hoping that the carnival would know that.

[npcarnival]

If Rin wants to get bullied by a dwarf kitchen overlord, this is certainly his opportunity. Bal will agree to teach him, but only if he swears to follow his instructions to the letter. This means that Rin can expect a lot of "wax on wax off" style drudgery in the name of improving his time management skills, forcing him to work fast under stress situations. Which Bal is mostly intentionally setting up to be stressful so that Rin can experience CHARACTER GROWTH.