⇨ POLARIS AFTERMATH

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 115-118
Where: Polaris/Wyldlands
What: After killing the Mother of Invention, the majority of the carnival has decided to take some time and sort out the Polaris refugees before heading to the Summerlands. This log covers miscellaneous post-Mother Polaris drama, as well as some light camping in the Wyldlands down below.
Warnings: Idk, stuff, I guess.

ADAPTATION↴ After the battle, the majority of carnival members will opt to remain in the secured section to Polaris, hoping to spend some time making sure that the rest of Polaris is liberated. Many of the staff are not capable of coming to grips with the fact that the Mother is dead so quickly, and the remaining Alphas are doing their best to keep Polaris under their sway. It will be a busy few days of changing minds and exploring the remains of the station. Thankfully, with everyone's powers intact and allies at their side, they finally have the advantage. ► SHIFTING STATES: Right off the bat, about 10% of the staff will immediately change sides upon hearing whats become of the Mother. They are actively eager to get away from Polaris, and will do whatever they can assist the carnival. This is mostly Gammas and a few Betas, who were working primarily under duress. Over the next day or two, those numbers will grow to at least 30%, with some of the staff managing to convince their colleagues to join them. About two days after starting, one of the Alphas will surrender to the carnival, encouraging those beneath her to support their cause. That leaves four Alphas remaining, and staff cooperation at 50%. ► CAPTIVE ATTENTION: The loyalist staff's main tactics are trying to create defensive points within the various test group areas, using the prisoners as hostages. Luckily, the carnival (and the staff on their side) will be in a position where it's possible to push them out with a mixture of convincing and force. Once prisoners start being freed, there will be even more force backing the carnival's efforts, meaning that it will essentially become a matter of cleaning up the remaining staff rather than any uphill battles. Most of this is being left vague intentionally, as most of this action is being handwaved. However, you can play out parts of it if you want and NPC technicians and rescuees. Other test groups can be filled with basically whatever kind of residents you like, since they are grabbed from across the multiverse. Most of the test areas are similar to B7. ► THE JACKPOT: Alongside cleaning up the staff, some members of the carnival have expressed interest in convincing the staff to help them with armoury issues as well as hunting down some of the Mother's most private loot. This will be handled in investigations, mostly through summary, because I don't have it in me for another megathread right now. Post your plans, and I will respond! However, know that I also don't have time to generate five million special items, so loot drops will be limited to my availability. Also, the techs aren't really blacksmiths so they generally won't really be able creating weapons from scratch or anything. Meanwhile, Ignatius is going to set up a camp ground outside of Polaris, mostly because he doesn't want to be there anymore. He'll keep a fire going and they can drag things from Polaris down there for camping purposes, and mostly Ignatius is just going to be chilling and making sure that the campground doesn't get assaulted by magical creatures. The Gilded Mark will create a portal between the campground and the station so that people can go back and forth as required. It also creates a handy escape route. You can even see Polaris from here, floating up there in the sky. How picturesque. ► WYLDERKIN: Apparently not everything in the Wyld Lands is a full Wyld Fae - there are also a lot of less powerful creatures called 'wylderkin' - apparently lesser forms of the Wyld Fae, who are more akin to animal level intelligence. They can be a variety of expected fantasy type creatures, such as flower sprites, weird bugs, and general prey animals they probably spend most of their time getting eaten by bigger dudes. All of them are sort of weird and fantastical, and none of them are exactly like earth varieties, though they may resemble them. They are more of a pest than a major threat in this part of the Wyld Lands, and Ignatius will scare away any that cause too many problems. ► FLORA AND FLUID: There are some plants that you can eat down here, that Ignatius will tell you about. Mostly weird berries and roots. There is also some pools of clear water, thought hey are filled with weird fish. Try not to bitten by any weird leeches. You can safely make up some of the creatures you find as long as they fit the general theme of lesser faerie creatures. This is just a rest stop.

Comments

⇨ INVESTIGATIONS

[ringleaders]

Below are prompts with specific investigation-based hooks. Some prompts may go up as hooks for specific characters, who may reply as they see fit, but if you find something you'd like to investigate, please make a post here explaining what your character is doing to find out info. All investigation threads will be done in summary form as opposed to going tag by tag.

DON'T BE VAGUE. If you are having your character investigate something, you must explain what your character is specifically doing to find out information. Don't just say "I investigate the Twelve." You have to be more specific, by saying what your character is doing, such as "My character is going to ask the Honorables that brought everyone in who the Twelve are." The more specific you are, the better info you will get in return.

You can also confront NPCs by this method, and you'll get summary posts in return explaining how the situation will unfold based on your actions.

[whattaprick]

As previously described on the OOC post, there is a loose plan to wrap together taking out Alphas trying to stir up rebellion and try to search for MoI’s iron stash at the same time! Lambert is going to request Samyaza to help by knocking out techs with a sleep song to minimize violence, and Shimmer and Gild to help with logistics of chip-swapping and finding things. So far, Lambert, Tyki, Childermass, and Gongenzaka are confirmed to be participating in the effort.

Sans is helping with info gathering by digging through computers for deets on iron experiments.

Lambert will likely want to handle looking for any stashes of iron himself.

Anyone who’s relatively able-bodied is welcome to come, combat abilities or not, to generally help subdue techs or talk them down.

ETA: For ease of streamlining investigation with the group, if you’re participating in the search/retrieval or your character would request them to look for something, please leave a relatively concrete description of what they’re looking for/doing below. No promises, but they’ll try their best!

Friendship!! Like day 116-17

[hippocarnival]

Ok these first two don't really need major response, I'm just establishing friendliness.

Kerubi: Yuya's going to re-introduce himself as Yuya/Iofi, since he didn't in Eden, and thank her for coming to help them. He'll casually ask about new Eden and how they're settling.

Gilded Mark: Again, going to introduce himself as Yuya, and tell her he's really glad she shared her power and helped all of them get free. He's trying to express gratitude without direct thanks to be considerate of how Fae are about that, so it might be a little awkwardly worded.

IGNATIUS: Day 117 Yuya will go down to the campsite and look for Iggy while it's still daylight. If he can, he'll park himself beside his stakeout and ask how he's holding up.

FRIEND TIME

[soft_focus]

Following Ath's lead for this stuff, this is something that shouldn't need any major response (outside Samyaza perhaps). It's mostly to establish Reira chatting with people they know.

She'll very early on run after Brauni and Samyaza first- she knows them best, and is generally excited to see them again. Even if the circumstances kind of suck. She'll offer hugs- and might actually have to catch herself just before each one before asking to give them.

Samayaza in particular will probably be faced with some childramblings about her daemon- who finally took the name 'Penuel', apparently inspired by that 'Phanu' name or whatever. Sorry Samyaza.

MORE IMPORTANTLY- she'll likely ask for help/advice with wind magic, explaining her long time goal and current progress. You do windy things right Samyaza? Any advice? (details obviously don't need to be given, it's just a 'SHE DOES/DOESN'T' sort of question)

Brauni just gets away with the hugs. Maybe some cheerful chatter about getting to help make bandages for Herbert (but really anyone she talks to probably hears about that.)

Reira will also try to offer Ignatius a hug! She's considerably more shy about that though because let's face it you don't need empathy to figure out he's not feelong great. She will probably also say that he's really cool and really nice and she's sorry bad things keep happening because that doesn't really seem fair.

(She did, after all, see the poor guy at Samyaza's party)

She will also shyly try to meet Alyss- since she vaguely recalls seeing someone like her at the manor that one night she was caught. Nice to meet you??

[fourthscribe]

Take two on magitek poking, now that things have calmed a bit and nerfing is undone (unless I misunderstoood something there?)--I'm fine with just a summary of what Tanyuu would be able to figure out of what it does and how to activate/deactivate it, since things are busy.

D116

[fortuneglass]

In more precise points-

Gongenzaka will introduce himself to Kerubi as being that octopus who hung around Yuuya/Iofi that one chat. Just a general meeting, which is probably at least a bit ??? coming from a ninefoot fox guy.

More importantly- Carly, when she realizes Moss is around, will tentatively approach to offer an apology for her insensitivity back before the Carnival went to Eden. She feels she especially owes Moss that, since she'd encouraged the other to speak up about the Huntsman in the first place.

Friend of a Friend?

[bananaspeedrider]

Yugo will seek out Kerubi- they never met back in Eden, but he'll introduce himself properly as Yuya's brother (...in a sense) if she notes the resemblance.

Mostly he wanted to ask real quick how one of her fellow Furies is doing- the border collie.

(OOCly: What is The Crying Dog's name?)

[periphrasing]

1) The mother is dead, but is the robot chassis still laying around? If it is, Peridot wants to go and get as many samples of that super resilient metal as she can, for studying and tinkering with.

2) Unrelated to the above, Peridot will try to get word to Brauni that she has a new enchanted metalwork idea she wants to run by her, if she's not too busy with other tasks. Peridot has been mulling over the idea of creating iron-repulsing electro-magnetic accessories for the carnies to wear for a while now, and she thinks she maybe has an idea of how to do it. She would very much appreciate Brauni's expert input in perfecting it/making the design as efficient as possible. Since they're only on Polaris for a few days at most, Peridot doesn't expect to actually get them all made or anything like that? But maybe they can tinker with a prototype, and arrange to work together some more once they've all safely moved to the Summerlands (assuming Brauni isn't heading straight back to the Caravan after this).

[kingsroads]

This one should be easy peasy enough. Neither of these prompts need responding to (unless you want to), this is just a "it happened" sort of thing.

1: Strange will chat up Shimmer, just in a "hey girl how you doing" sort of way, thank her for her help, and probably indulge in a mutual bitching session about how these little tuck shops don't have booze, what the hell.

2: Strange will chat up Ignatius and apologize for any odd actions that may have happened in Shabon or Polaris (he does not specify what said odd actions are). He was in a real bad place for a while and honestly, kind of still is in the real bad place, but he's trying to push past this.

[whattaprick]

Two questions, directed at Gild.

1. Can she shed some light on what potential repercussions there are for letting the Ringmaster (or whatever part of her is left) remain with the Hunstman? Is there any way to confirm she’s alive?

2. Can Gild’s power extend to finding a Miracle? Such as, say... the Red Beast?

[reflash]

Chips and tech questions! (because it's time for potential bad decisions with yukio)

First things first, once the chaos dies down, Yukio would look into potential chip upgrades and benefits of those. And then, he'd also look into potential magitec upgrades he might be able to convince someone to give him.

PAPYRUS | OTA

[spaghettimonster]

► WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS
So many times, the Carnival's rolled through others' worlds, been involved in some major upset in others' lives, and had to hightail it out of there to avoid making things worse. Between vampires and fae and their own inclinations for poking their noses in things, it's happened a lot. But this time the Carnival itself is out of reach, and what happens next is a group decision based mostly on everyone's mix of mercy and recognizing themselves in the other captives.

So Papyrus gets involved in helping spread the news of the big change in Polaris. Searching through the increasingly unlocked station, telling staff what he saw and knows to be true, helping with freeing hostages. He reassures as they go: if some of them want to stay here, doing science to themselves, that's fine! He won't stop them! But some of them clearly don't want to, and shouldn't have to. Everyone should get to decide for themselves.

Similarly, he makes a point of visiting with friends who've opted to stay on the station rather than camping down in the Wyld Lands. It's easier to check in with them, now that the threat of permanent imprisonment isn't quite so... loomingly real.

► WYLD CAMPING
Staying on the station all day and night would be... uncomfortable. The accommodations don't have much for positive associations, aside from finally getting to shower, and his brother quickly opted for sleeping landside anyway. Better to spend most nights down in the campground Ignatius made, where they'll have the chance to chat without the last couple weeks hanging over their heads.

Besides, the verdant Wyld Lands make a good contrast after that sterile station, and really? Just having the choice is a relief Papyrus intends to indulge in. Radio or no radio, he doesn't go too far from the camping area without a buddy, but it's nice to walk around in the woods for a bit.

► NIGHT CHATTER
As ever, Papyrus isn't one to sleep much. When others planet-side show signs of waking and wanting to chat, he's often awake, though sometimes heading back and forth through the portal on helpful little errands. There's things to do and he has the freedom to decide which to do, in which order, and it's a heady feeling. They're welcome to accompany him or to gesture for him to sit and talk, either way.

When he does eventually sleep, Papyrus doesn't do so as easily as usual. Maybe it's that, even down in the campgrounds, his mind doesn't really believe they made it out so quickly. Maybe it's something about how the Mother of Invention, talking through his brother that one time, reminded him of the bits and pieces of their father that he's remembered... That is, aside from the flirtatious overtones.

Whatever the reason, Papyrus sleeps longer and mumbles in his sleep far more than usual. He dreams of walking around Polaris, of following after a scientist's coattails in Hotland, of scolding his brother for napping at the sentry station yet again. Any number of dreams. All the while, accompanied by a curious and commenting presence that's hard to pinpoint, looking like his father - if his father had been transplanted into a chassis that resembled him while still being a robot.

NIGHT CHATTER

[osteothropy]

Sans dragged an entire mattress down here and some blankets to go along with it - some of the nice luxury ones from the tuck shop that cost like a million credits or something stupid. So, maybe that's where Papyrus ends up settling down sometime, sheltered by the massive width of tree trunk sloped overhead, but at an angle where you could still see the stars. Whatever stars actually are in a place like this. Are they fake? Are they real?

Does it matter?

Sans had been taking a 'lookout' shift, where he spent most of the time wandering around looking for plants and then experimentally cooking them for various lengths of time over the fire. Now he's done, and seeing his brother sleep makes it all too tempting to join him, so he does. He just kind of flops down on the mattress next to him, half expecting that Papyrus would actually be awake and just thinking intensely about how to best organize the chore schedule in Polaris going forward. Y'know. Something like that.

He's really sleeping, though, so he doesn't wake up when Sans initially joins him. He listens to the sound of Papyrus mumbling, unusually animated but not frantic enough where it feels right to wake him. He wonders about it, but it seems radical to jump to conclusions about how this is unusual. A lot of things are unusual right now.

Sans ends up falling asleep too, with two slices of bread laying on his chest, each with some kind of weird cooked plant thing laying on them, like half of a sandwich. Given it's Sans, Papyrus will still probably wake up before him.

WYLDTIME u choose the day

[soft_focus]

Reira isn't here to camp, so much as explore. Eventually all the people going down below is going to catch her eye, and she just has to check out the place. What's going on in the Wyldlands?? What's so great about that place versus up in the station??

Mostly she's determined there's lots of plants. Actually a small cluster of flower sprites seem to have decided she's their new tree, for the moment so...that's cool.

It's while these various things (they look like dandelion puffs actually) are sitting on her arms, that she spots Papyrus. (So did her daemon, but they're busy being a bird a little ways above. So.)

Spotting him at all is pretty great because it means she can awkwardly walk over, arms still held out at her sides for the 'puffs', and ask something she's been wondering. "Mn- Papyrus..!"

... "...What kind of metal did they put on you..?"

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.

'''CAMPING'''

[whattaprick]

When Ignatius declares his intent to fuck off down to the Wyld Lands and the Gilded Mark provides a portal to make it easier, Lambert's quick to follow, if only to take the excuse of being off the station for a little while. Sleep hasn't come easy, but if nothing else, a little prodigous rummaging around has managed to turn up some clothing that does the job of covering him up and avoid relying so much on the illusions to keep his changes covered.

He's taken it upon himself to spend time he isn't quietly meditating to help keep watch on the fringes of their makeshift camp, back to the campfire and eyes warily fixed on the Wyld Lands around them. When he hears footsteps behind him, he glances over his shoulder, raising his brows when he spots Papyrus.

"Heading out?" Doesn't seem like a good idea to him, at least not alone, but he can't really imagine the skeleton's here just to keep him company. His new, metal and circuit-threaded horns are both more subdued and more striking than his old golden ram's horns, but the new metallic bones of his tail are curled around loosely around him and as unobtrusive as they can be right now.

SANS | OTA

[osteothropy]

After the fight, Sans is not actually all that injured. A little roughed up, maybe, but nothing to write home about. Regardless, you better believe he's taking a long ass nap once things are settled.

He swaps out of his technicians duds for a t-shirt, hoodie, shorts combo he was keeping stored in his pocket dimension in the event he tore his clothes off. Then, he's applied some basic hygiene, eating some food, and getting to work.

► TINKERING
Instead of asking to have his implant removed, Sans is going to double down on its usage. Shimmer is helpful enough as to upgrade his chip for a Beta level one, which means that a lot more things become available. He's been asked to help search for some information on the iron based experimentation done here, and will take up Childermass on the request for data about faebloods. This amounts to a lot of scouring through Polaris records for things of interest, so you'll probably catch him at various computer interfaces, skimming through old records and other things. Some of it is pretty brutal to watch, what with various video logs of old trials, but Sans continues on regardless.

In between that kind of business, he'll be tinkering with his visor, trying to get it running with an operating system that isn't Polaris dependent. It seems like it could be useful, so he's going to apply some of the knowledge he gained to make it his own. He actually seems like he's in pretty decent mood, all considered. He keeps himself busy for the most part, like he did while working as a Delta, and spends the rest of his time as part away from Polaris as possible.

He won't spend much time fighting technicians or combating people in general. If he's there for that stuff at all, he'll be passively tagging along with Papyrus for diplomacy or Lambert for exploration.

► CAMPING
That means he's going camping. Despite how vigorously he's been diving into the shithole of Polaris's records, it seems that when he's done, he can't get away from the place fast enough. He'll spent most of his resting time down at the camp site, lazily sitting around the fire or just enjoying the outdoors. He's doing his best to balance work with rest, though he may have a bit of a thousand yard stare after dealing with some of those trial logs.

He's got some spare hoodies, t-shirts, and shorts if you need them, and despite how short he is he tends to wear baggy clothes, so they just might fit you. Otherwise, he's going to spent his hours cooking things over the fire that don't need to be cooked.

Camping!

[periphrasing]

Turns out Peridot's in the same exact boat as Sans is. She hasn't got the energy to do any researching or exploring of the station, but good golly she cannot get off that stupid ship fast enough once doing so becomes an option that's available to her.

At some point during the evening, when she happens to catch him awake, she drags herself over and quietly sits down next to him without a word, staring at him with a slight frown.

Syrlya | OTA 117-118

[chronosynthesis]

ELEMENTAL (group thread)

[chronosynthesis]

((Since this revelation can only happen once, this is going to be a single thread for anyone who pops in.))

Syrlya shouldn't be mobile. And to be fair, he isn't more than usual. He's relying on teleportation to get around most of the time, sitting or supporting himself with his ivory staff to get around. He's grateful to have his magic back again, not just for combating his helplessness. He'd never experienced not quite being able to reach it, and it was terrible.

There's something there he can't quite put his finger on, though. Like an expanded sense, but he pushes it out of immediate mind as just the pull of the Blue Rose. His Tyrian magic isn't functioning differently, after all.

It's when he stops down at the Wyldlands by the campsite, catching fresher air that he catches on. He's crouched by a bush with edible berries, threading the fingers of his afflicted hand around branches. He's not being very attentive, though, his gaze focused on the distance ahead of them. He normally knows better than to cast without a clear head, but he's been a little greedy to feel it at his fingertips again.

And that's how Syrlya accidentally sets a small fire onto the bush instead of growing more fruit.

"Ah--Thorns!"

Maybe he should have noticed when he didn't feel the pull of any will but the Rose.

Rita | OTA

[anti_nonsense]

[a: polaris - new friends]

In contrast to the past few days, Rita's cast away her Delta clothes and has started wearing her dueling armor regularly. It's not as cozy as a soft tunic or a robe, but it's a way for Rita to start looking and feeling a little more like herself again. Also noteworthy is the bandaging around one of her wings, and the band holding it rigid as it sits folded against her back.

Rita will be working hard in an effort to free Technicians across Polaris, and will also be going out with Lambert's team on a few excursions. At some point in the middle of it all, she may be seen back in sector B7, having an unusually animated (for Rita, at least) conversation with some of the now-friendly Technicians. Should one come close enough, they might catch some of what's being discussed: ways to repurpose some of the facility's tools and systems, how to approach and convince the Technicians holed up in other sectors... a few ideas are bounced around, and at the end, they seem to settle on something favorable.

As the Technicians walk away, Rita lingers behind. She smiles as she watches them go, and doesn't seem to notice that your character's close enough to see it.

[b: wyldlands - new flames]

Though Rita spends most of her time on Polaris, she doesn't pass up the opportunity to check out the Wyldlands. She'll take a look around the campsite, then wander a small distance away to get some magic practice in. Since Ignatius's transformation, Rita has felt a little different herself... and it was hard to miss how, in that last fight, her fire was a white-ish color. So while there's an opportunity, she'll take some time to feel out how her powers have changed.

She conjures statues of ice, some human-shaped, others in the form of large beasts and monsters, all with intricate detail... and then she uses a combination of water and fire magic to smash and melt them. At one point, she tries conjuring what looks like two enormous fists, one of white fire, the other of clear water, and uses them to pummel a gigantic boar statue into pieces.

Whatever she's supposed to be learning from this experience, it definitely looks like she's enjoying it.

[c: wyldcard]

You know the drill! Feel free to encounter Rita anywhere in this setting, or hit me up so we can plan out a specific starter!

B

[hippocarnival]

Yuya hangs back when he first spots Rita in the Wyldlands, having come down once he felt a little more confident the camp is secure. He doesn't want to bother her, but more than that... there's a part of her cycle of creation and destruction that catches his eye: the statues.

Whatever tragedy in seeing them ruined isn't enough to overpower the awe. After Rita smashes the boar, Yuya waits until she builds up another ice structure and that's when he rushes from behind.

"Wait, don't break it yet!"

Tanyuu and/or Herbert | OTA

[fourthscribe]

Tanyuu may not have been part of the main battle in the end, but she's still exhausted from the grueling weeks before. Regardless, she's done her best to help tend to the wounded and take care of smaller tasks...but she gets tired eventually. Coiled into a haphazard pile of tail with her head resting on her arms over the 'lip' of the loose bowl she's formed, Tanyuu is dead asleep amid a small riot of clearly recent plant growth--an indulgence she felt she'd quite earned after everything. The light is shining at just the right angle to keep the area warm, and it's a perfect spot for a nap.

So perfect, in fact, that the Doctor appears to have muscled his way into the area, presumably whilst Tanyuu was too asleep to complain. Herbert started out in the general area but over time has migrated to sleeping on his stomach over a lump of Tanyuu's coils, still wearing the stolen and modified white technician outfit. One wing is pressed towards the ground for balance and the other is expanded fully for warmth, splayed out upside down along the side of the tail pile. He's tilted diagonally downwards, with his face almost reaching the ground and his glasses tilting upwards on his forehead from gravity. At some point he pushed his sleeves all the way up in order to more effectively sun his awful hollow void metal arms, and they're stretched out in front of him on the ground.

The pair are out like burned out lights--but if you really needed one of them they could probably be roused with a few nudges.

Beau | ota

[impatientdefense]

► To The Victor Goes The Spoils - ota
There's no two ways of mincing it. The Mother of Invention accepted the whole lot of them as prisoners and experiments, stole their things and restricting their lives, and tried to kill the lot of them. And now she is obviously, totally dead, never coming back. In cases like that, there might be other rules among the fae, with wills and stipulations and such, but common law is: if you kill somebody who tried to kill you, you get their stuff.

So in the aftermath of the big battle, when people are gathering themselves and recuperating and wondering what next, Beau sees it as pretty obvious: they work through this place for all the useful gear they can comfortably carry and any lighter valuables that'll make life easier down the road.

► Would Fire Make Her Look Hot? - open to Strange in particular, Shura and other observers welcome
But one thing became clear during all this - the mundane power of punching real good doesn't always stack up when you're fighting against magic. While a small group of nine, give or take a couple could reasonably reliably count on having certain abilities onhand... The ex-carnival's actively pursued and has a big problem with splitting up in random groups. The only way to be sure she's got magic fighting with her... is to learn a little herself.

Book magic was out of the question, god magic was the sort of thing that others chose for you, and she wasn't born part-dragon or anything. But it seems like a lot of the magic people here throw around is stuff they learned with the carnival. And Strange, strange as he is, heard her offhand comment about wanting to light her hands on fire to intimdiate people... and offered to show her how it's done. So a day or so later, she's hunting the magician down to ask him for some instruction and demonstration.

► Wildcard - ota
Beau largely sticks around Polaris rather than head down to the Wyldlands, but she could be found doing a variety of things through the next few days. If you've got an idea in mind, hit me with it.

aw yeah, fire punches

[kingsroads]

Strange's second greatest love is magic. That comes with smaller, subset type loves such as 'showing off via magic,' 'piecing out a new form of magic,' and 'teaching people magic.' Beau's idle questions about lighting her hands on fire can help Strange accomplish those three smaller loves: showing off what he can do, piecing out a spell solely for hand lighting capabilities, and teaching Beau said hand lighting capabilities spell.

So, while Beau hunts Strange down, Strange leans against the wall of a random Polaris building, muttering things under his breath, frowning a little, and occasionally staring off into space as he thinks. Thankfully, he spots Beau.

"Oh! Beau, do you have a minute?" he asks, like the two of them aren't stuck on creepy torture facility until Gild and Ignatius have enough energy to yank them out of here. Of course she's got a minute.

Peridot | OTA

[periphrasing]

► Recuperating
It's always just her luck, isn't it? Gems can pretty much just walk off any physical damage that doesn't manage to poof them, but soul damage, on the other hand? Not so much. If Peridot had just gotten slapped around by some of those big metal arms, she'd probably be fine by now. Unfortunately for her, she'd let her raw spiritual energy mingle with that of a true fae's, and that sort of wound can't be easily bandaged or stitched up.

It's downright unfair, she thinks. She feels even worse now than she did after the ritual in the Count's domain, and she'd been straight up soul stabbed back then. This feels more insidious, like there's still ice somewhere down in her very core that refuses to thaw. Her typically boundless energy seems to be tapped out. She spends a lot of the next 24 hours following the battle just sleeping, but when she is awake, she's pretty much bored out of her mind. Some company would probably be much appreciated.

She can be found hanging around the tuck shop in the immediate aftermath of the fight, up until the campground in the Wyldlands becomes available. At that point she can be found laying around the camp fire down there, because she's super done with being on this station.

► Exploring for Spoils
She does go back up to Polaris the next morning. Not because she's particularly eager to be back there, but because she can't stand sitting around idle for too long. Her energy levels are still far too low for her to help with the takeover effort, but not low enough to stop her from wanting to loot the secured labs for engineering supplies. She hangs out around the established base camp, and if she recognizes you and you don't look too busy, she may try to flag you down.

"Hey! You don't look like you're doing anything important right now. I require assistance in procuring certain engineering materials. Permit me to to ride upon your shoulder to one of the tech labs!"

► Tinkering
With the supplies she needs obtained one way or another, Peridot opts to take things fairly easy after that. It's fine. She doesn't need to move around much for what she's doing anyway. She has her tools out and her crafting goggles on, and she's experimenting with what appear to be... electro-magnets? Hm.

Doesn't seem like she's having a very good time with it, though. Her mental fatigue is still pretty intense, she's just stubbornly trying to force her way through it at the expense of achieving any usable results. Each movement is sluggish, and it seems to take her at least twice as long as it usually does to think certain actions through.

RECUPERATING bc they should probably have something for that uh

[betheman]

Gongenzaka is feeling not so different from Peridot- being in her body wouldn't have done anything to protect his soul after all, so he was slammed rather nicely with the proximity damage himself. It's not as severe- she was the one handling the iron using her magic after all.

But they were very much both sitting right beside the Mother's soul for a few moments.

It's not until a bit after those many hours in the battle's aftermath, that he seeks her out though. Aside from having to recover himself (difficult, given that his body didn't take kindly to how long he wasn't in it), he finds himself distracted by Yuuya's condition, by Ignatius' and Gild's conversation...

When he finds she's not in the station, where he himself is staying...he thus checks down in the Wyldlands.

And sure enough, there she is. "Mnh- Peridot," he greets, bowing his head. "So you are here..." He doesn't sound entirely surprised- the idea that people would jump to get away from that place isn't something he's unaware of. "...How are you feeling..?" he tentatively asks, ears pinning back somewhat.

locked to Rita

[atouts]

Once he's no longer needed for getting around the station and collecting bits and pieces of the Mother's own personal stashes of this or that, Childermass won't be planning on remaining put on Polaris. The place still leaves him jumpy and the desire to put distance between himself and anything from the Winter Court is too strong. So, he's down below in the Wyldlands. If he plans on staying down there or returning to the station later, who knows, but for now he's found a spot near the campsite to settle down with Baker.

The massive fire dog had remained safe and sound within his shadow throughout their ordeal, something that gives Childermass in some small part peace of mind. At least Baker remains untouched by Winter, still soft and warm and absolutely fit for lounging against and dozing off.

That's where Rita will find the magician, still wearing what he stripped off that Gamma and resting back against the equally napping arcanine sprawled out behind him.

[anti_nonsense]

It's late in the day, with the central campfire casting long shadows over the edges of the campsite, but Baker stands out enough that Rita spots the dog and his master easily. Rita, for all the running around she's been doing through the day, doesn't look too tired herself. She wears her dueling armor, having discarded the Delta uniform as soon as things calmed down. Her injured wing remains bandaged and bound against her back, a band stretching across her chest to hold it still.

"Hey, old man," she greets the resting magician. "You awake?"

Rita's not sure she can expect a response, though she doesn't bother touching him or anything to try and rouse him. If it turns out he's too out of it to answer, she supposes she'll leave and try again tomorrow.

Hinawa | OTA

[sunflowerfields]

A: Polaris: Groceries

Being free of Polaris is so wonderful. But, while there's food down here, it won't be enough for what Hinawa's planning. So it's back to Terrible Science Land, at least for a little while.

There's a lot of food on Polaris- surely they won't mind if she takes some to the camp. She can be found going back and forth between the station and the Wyld, hauling bales of fruits and veggies. Maybe you'll see her alone, or... being followed by horrific giant tree monster!

If the tree spots you, it'll turn its single glowing eye your way and let out a deep "Trevvvv."

B: In the Wyld: Preparations

And then she's cooking non-stop.

Delicious aromas waft throughout the camp for an entire day as actual food is finally being prepared- a big difference from getting nourishment from those weird suits. If you ask, you can have a small taste, but you have to wait until dinner proper for a meal, and you may get asked a favor.

"Would you be a dear and get something from the station for me?"

...And that giant tree monster is still lurking around. Staring.

A - I missed this prompt before but I gotta

[impatientdefense]

Beau's sticking mostly to the station, more focused on looking for things to requisition from the spoils, but she notices when the looting seems to be going the other way. She follows after Hinawa, glancing at that armload of greenery out of brief curiosity what the lady's carrying, when her travel past Hinawa to the shambling tree that's following the lady around.

"Uhh... Hey, I think you brought some of the plants back with you. You didn't take, like, a moving sapling or anything, right? No stolen tree kids?"

Is that thing friendly, because it sure doesn't look like it came with Gild's group, but with how weird everyone with the carnival looks maybe it's somebody.

IT'S THANKSGIVING BRUH (OPEN MINGLE DAY 118-ish)

[sunflowerfields]

Look, we survived a month of hell, it's time to eat.

Hinawa and Rin have prepared a nice spread- all vegetarian, of course, and it's all the stuff found on Polaris, only now you get to actually eat it. There's stew, roast veggies, creative attempts at making apple pie without the pie, and of course, so many goddamn potatoes (Where do they keep coming from?) among other things.

Everyone's invited, even the former Polaris staff and other captives. Hinawa may even track down carnival members with plates of food to make sure they're eating.

[CONSIDER THIS A BIG MEGATHREAD FOR FRIENDSGIVING SHENANIGANS]

[flashover]

What is the DEAL with all the potatoes? Will he ever be able to escape them?

While there isn't any meat, there were eggs and dairy stowed away in the station -- or at least, reasonable approximations thereof. Rin isn't entirely sure.

He brings out a tray of candied sweet potatoes, setting it down on the large table they'd managed to find for their spread.

"Man, I wish we had a turkey... that would really put it all together! Are you sure we can't eat the wyldkin?" he says, only half joking.

shura | ota

[exaomori]

The Wyldlands might not be fun, but it's better than being stuck in Polaris for the time being. Shura isn't actively avoiding doing light work and seems keeping an eye out for potential trouble, but she isn't really volunteering to do anything important. So the usual for her, really. But the changes to her legs have her moody, and she'll eventually leave the main camp to seek out some solitude, finding a spot off the ground in a tree. She's not sulking. Absolutely not. It's just that she now has the time to process what's happened and she is definitely unhappy.

It's not hard to find her since she's not hiding, and she'll call out to anyone who spots her. "Don't go too far, now~ Might run into somethin' that feels a little hungry, yeah?"

Alternatively, if someone happens to be older--"Y'know what? I can't believe no one thought to pack something fun to drink in that egg space."

Or maybe something else, she's in the mood to tease and annoy anyone who will give her a reaction.

[textsfromhotland]

Alphys isn't big on the great outdoors, but she wanders out into the Wyld while testing out her implants. The scale-like protrusions on her head rise and compress as she meanders, feeling faint traces of magic through them.

"Uh?" She looks up as she hears someone calling out to her. "O-oh, I wasn't planning on going far..."