⇨ 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

[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."

[kingsroads]

"Considering that I wrote a book about magic, I win that round as well!" Strange gloats, either forgetting or ignoring that Rita's written scholarly work as well.

[anti_nonsense]

"The hell you do!" Rita snaps, indignant. "Don't tell me you've forgotten about my book. It's not like I haven't published plenty of academic papers over the years, either! Hmph. It's too bad you can't just come and visit Aspio for yourself. If you saw how we do magic, it would open your eyes to possibilities you've never even considered!"

[kingsroads]

"The same goes for you. If you could visit England, you'll certainly end up with ideas that never crossed your mind back in Aspio."

The teasing lets up for a moment as Strange admits, "I do wish you could come see England, though. The magicians there wouldn't know what to do with you."

It's said fondly, of course. Rita would wonderfully terrorize the magicians that took her seriously. And those that didn't? He's confident she'd outperform them anyway.

[anti_nonsense]

"I'd show 'em a few things they'd never forget," Rita agrees with a small smirk. She then goes back to sipping her awful drink, taking a moment to reflect on this. As annoying as Strange is, as much as he frustrates her... there's still something difficult about knowing they'll have to part ways soon, and for good.

"...Maybe we can still, you know, keep in touch when this is all over. If some of our allies were able to carry letters between worlds, then it shouldn't be impossible, right?"

[kingsroads]

"We won't need our allies." And then, Strange gives Rita a smug little smile. "I'll figure out a spell to transcend worlds myself!"

This is him just being prideful and arrogant for the sake of being prideful and arrogant. But honestly, Strange doesn't want to rely entirely on everybody else. He already knows it's a pain and a half being a courier service, the last thing he wants to do is pressgang someone else into being that for him unless they really want to.

"After all, I'll have to check in on you and Nines at some point."

[anti_nonsense]

"You?" Rita's eyes widen for a moment, and then the corner of her lips tugs into a smirk once again. "I bet you haven't even started formulating a theory for it."

In fact, she'd wager he's got nothing. But... hearing his usual brazen confidence is kind of heartening, in a way. Rita wants to believe it's possible. In fact, maybe...

"A spell on that level isn't something you can just wing, you know. It should have a proper structure and logic behind it... and luckily for you, I happen to be an expert in that side of magic." She straightens her back, a self-assured grin on her face. "As much as I'd like to see you embarrass yourself, kissing things and messing around with mirrors and whatever else, it might be in our best interests if we attempt a collaboration."

[kingsroads]

"I wouldn't say no to a collaboration," Strange remarks, matching Rita's smirk with one of his own. "After all, for all you brag about your structure, you don't have experience with traveling magic like I do."

Granted, Strange's is fairly limited. Even back in his world, without the confines of the carnival, he was only able to go to the parts of faerie that were directly linked. Still, it's a start. And it's certainly more than Rita knows.

[anti_nonsense]

"I'm a fast learner," Rita assures him. "I suppose we'll just have to see how much our respective advantages count for." She sounds plenty confident that she'll be able to contribute significantly. And besides, a little rivalry could only make them both more productive.

She lifts the can as if to take another drink from it, then stops and gives it a light shake. It makes a hollow sound. Somehow, she actually got through the whole thing.

"...I'm going to go get some rest," she decides, rising to her feet. "We can start working out the details another day."

[kingsroads]

Strange nods. He takes one final sip of his drink, before setting the can down on the floor. He's staying seated: Rita mentioning getting some rest sounds like a good idea. They've had a tough few days.

"I'll bother you if I come up with something interesting. After all, I'll be able to find you quicker than you can find me."

Because he is a goddamn creep. Strange doesn't acknowledge that as he continues, "Sleep well, Rita."