⇨ 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

[anti_nonsense]

"Wh... huh? What do you want to know that for?" Rita sputters, giving Strange a suspicious look.

The notion of actually talking about her feelings with someone else is kind of foreign to Rita, so naturally, her first thought is that he's just digging for teasing material. He sounded weirdly sincere while asking, though, so... ???

[kingsroads]

...he really should have expected this. So, Strange starts off first.

"My favorite thing about being with Arabella is how she makes everything easier. I could be stuck on a spell or worrying about something I need to publish, but then I take a look at her and it feels like a weight is lifted off of my chest." He leans back slightly as a dopey, nostalgic smile plants itself on Strange's face.

"I still have to work out that spell or finish my publication, of course. But in that moment, none of it matters. And when I return to what I'm working on, it's inevitably with new ideas and heightened motivation."

[anti_nonsense]

The perplexed look on Rita’s face persists, then gradually softens as Strange describes his feelings for Arabella. There’s a feeling of something pulling at her chest, a vague sense of familiarity and longing.

“Oh, so that’s what we’re doing.” She tries to sound aloof as she tries to find the words to describe her own feelings.

“When I talk to Nines... I feel like I can believe in humanity. I used to hate people, for the most part, and even though I’m past that, it’s hard not to be cynical when it feels like the whole universe is full of idiots.”

At last, that slight softening in her expression seems to reach her eyes. “He always tries to see the best in humans. Sometimes he’s just being naive, but... sometimes, he has a point, and everything feels a little less hopeless because of it.”

[kingsroads]

There we go. Strange smiles at Rita, giving her a little nod as she speaks. Honestly, he has only the smallest idea of what he's doing, but it's working so far so Strange continues.

"When I first met Nines, he asked me so many questions about humanity. What my world was like, what marriage was, things like that. Most people would simply ask and then walk away but he genuinely wanted to know what my answers were and cared about what I said."

There's a pause before Strange gently continues, "He cares about you most of all."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita's face reddens, and she lifts the drink to obscure it, even if just a little.

"...I know he does. Any time something happens and I start to worry he'll think less of me, he barely bats an eye. It's hard to stay worried about anything, really, when he's around..." She stares out at some distant corner of the room, picturing it now. His gentle words, the touch of his hand... If Rita had those now, she'd feel strong enough to overcome anything.

[kingsroads]

He thinks he can do this. All he's got to do is tell Rita all the things that Strange wishes someone would tell him. That should be simple enough.

Calmly, Strange reaches over to attempt to give Rita's hand a small squeeze.

"You'll see him again. Even if everything else goes wrong, we'll find a way to cross realms and find him. And no matter what, I'm certain he's out there, in Shabon, looking for ways to cross realms and find you."

[anti_nonsense]

Strange's extended hand gets a dubious look from Rita, though she doesn't pull her own hand away. He's really trying to cheer her up, isn't he?

"Hmph..." Rita scoffs. "That's what I'm worried about, you know. If he can't sit still until I get back there... if he goes out looking for me, then what? What if he does something stupid, like following after the Winter Court by himself?"

[kingsroads]

He's trying his hardest, okay?

"If he goes out looking for you, then we'll go out looking for him. But considering how the carnival tends to leave destruction in it's wake, I think he'll have it easier. It's easy to spot where we've been."

Half of the places they stop at, they leave radically changed. 9S would find out about Polaris at some point: you can't hide something like fae murder.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita looks ready to argue, but Strange’s next point, about the trail they’ll leave, is a little easier to swallow. She sighs, sinking back into the couch a little more.

“...I hope so,” she murmurs, conceding for now. “I kinda wish he could see what we’ve done with this place. He’d approve, I think.” He’d probably also be completely horrified at all that happened in Polaris in the first place, so maybe it’s a good thing that he missed that part.

“...I wonder if this place is anything like the place he came from...”

[kingsroads]

"Didn't his world not have humans any more? If it is similar, I wonder what the test subjects would be."

Of course, there's similar as in 'similar aesthetic' and there's similar as in 'carbon copy murder world.' Strange is interpreting this closer to the latter.

[anti_nonsense]

"I don't mean that part," Rita protests, frowning. "I just mean... the look of the place, the people, the technology... the rigid organization, the way everyone has a number instead of a name, and how they're all given a role they don't dare deviate from."

It was a weird feeling, how rising in the ranks and gaining more freedom only made Rita feel more restrained, in a lot of ways. She can't imagine living her whole life like that.

[kingsroads]

That makes sense! Strange lets out a little 'mmhmm' of acknowledgement as he nods.

"I think he'd approve as well. There were moments when it seemed that 9S loathed the role his world had shoved him and others he cared about in." Most notably, 2B. "Hopefully those poor Gammas, Deltas, and what have you adapt to their new world as well as he did."

Because if not...well, that's not their problem, is it. Strange doesn't really want to think about it. Instead, he takes a sip of his drink and scrunches his nose up slightly at the flavor. It really is kind of horrible.

[anti_nonsense]

Looking over at Strange, Rita manages a small smile. She's proud of what they've done here, and hearing him validate that feeling only makes it stronger. "...Yeah."

She knows that for many ex-Technicians, this is just the beginning of a long process for them to figure out how to live again. But they have that chance now. That means something.

"...Being a scanner suits Nines, of course. It's what he was made for. But... it just seems pointlessly cruel," she goes on to say, fidgeting with the canned drink and feeling the liquid slosh around inside of it, "to create someone with a passion for learning, a genuine sense of curiosity... and then limit what he can and can't learn about."

[kingsroads]

Strange's expression shifts to something a little unreadable for a moment. He sure has some opinions on creators (or rulers) limiting what their creations (or subjects) should learn about, while somewhat punishing their creations' (or subjects') devotion. But that's not his place to talk about, so he'll push past that for the moment!

"I'm sure they had justification upon justification, but you're right. It is pointlessly cruel. And I'm glad that Nines learned the truth about all that."

In the battle between knowing the sad truth and ignorance being bliss, Strange is firmly on team know the truth.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita nods, her gaze distant as she takes a long sip of her drink. "Yeah. I often think about... you know, what it's going to be like when he comes home with me. What kind of role he'll have in that world, what sorts of things he'll learn, whether or not the people there will accept him... not like I ever fit in that well, myself..."

She trails off, then looks up at Strange with sudden curiosity.

"...Still, after everything you just said, I'm surprised you'd want to help look for him. Weren't you in a hurry to get back to your wife?"

[kingsroads]

"I am," Strange admits. "Every day I'm away from Arabella, I miss her all the more. But at the same time, if I can help you two even get a fraction of the happiness we share, I want to at least take the chance."

It's a dilemma. On the one hand, Strange really wants to help his friends and help the two of them become happy. But on the other hand...god how he misses his wife. He's got no idea where to even start balancing the two opposite ends.

[anti_nonsense]

Just to make them happy...?

Rita squints at Strange, studying him as if trying to decipher a puzzle. It's hard to really accept it... but maybe he really was being sincere before, when he said he cared about her. Strange may be an idiot, and a jerk, but he's never been much of a liar, and maybe he really is a... friend.

She lets out a long, slow breath and sinks back into the couch, the tension in her body seemingly fading. She's not sure what to say, and there's a distinct delay before she speaks again.

"...Thanks, old man."

[kingsroads]

Strange is the sort of person who wears his heart on his sleeve and uses bluntness and sincerity in every day situations. So as Rita stares at him, tries to puzzle him out, he just looks back at her with this oblivious, slightly confused look on his face. Did he say something wrong? What's that for?

The confused look remains for a bit until Rita actually speaks. And then, it shifts to a bit of a grin.

"You're welcome." He's oblivious to a lot of things. But Rita obviously had some sort of internal something going on there. Might as well relieve whatever tension she had with a joke. "And don't worry, we will find him. I am the greatest magician of the age, after all. Finding one errant android should be easy!"

[anti_nonsense]

"The greatest? You?"

A grin spreads across Rita's face. She can't let something like that go unchallenged. "That might be true when you're in England, but so long as I'm around, you'll just have to settle for second place."

[kingsroads]

"Says the person who doesn't have any form of travel magic," Strange teases, giving Rita a wide grin. "Miss Mordio, you make stiff competition, but I'm afraid you'll have to settle for a solid second place."

[anti_nonsense]

"Hah! Imagine that, from the guy who barely understands the underlying scientific mechanisms of his own spells. I might not use those kinds of spells myself, but at least I can properly work out the theories."

As opposed to Strange's unscientific, clearly improper approach to magic theory.

[kingsroads]

"How much magic can you do without your blastia? I'm certain you've picked up some fae magic in your stay here but none of my magic requires a focus like yours does."

He idly gestures to Rita's blastia as he smirks in her general direction.

[anti_nonsense]

"What, you think my blastia is a weakness?" There's incredulity in Rita's tone, but at the same time, she seems an awful lot like she's enjoying this argument. "Don't be stupid. The blastia make me stronger. Sure, there was a time when I wouldn't have been able to use magic without them... but that just goes to show how amazing blastia are in the first place. Not just anyone can use them the way I do, either."

[kingsroads]

"I think your blastia is training wheels," Strange teases in return. He's grinning as he talks: this is the sort of magical debate that he so dearly misses from back home.

"It's a powerful artifact, I'll grant you that. But a magician's true strength is in the magic he or she can do by drawing upon one's own power, not the strength of a focus or artifact."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita scoffs. "It figures you'd want to use that as your metric -- it practically disqualifies everyone in my world. People can't use magic naturally where I'm from, remember? We all have to draw it from somewhere, barring a few unique exceptions." Some of which Rita actually has experience with, but in the end, blastia and spirits have proven to be the most reliable sources of power.

"Anyway, it should be obvious that knowledge is a mage's true strength, and a far better indicator of a competent sorcerer than whether or not they were lucky enough to be gifted with magic potential."