⇨ 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.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita will join in the effort, using her combat skills, tech knowledge, and experience with Polaris to help them get through the facility. She'll also make a serious effort in speaking to Technicians and convincing them they can be free now. Rita isn't the most gentle or diplomatic, but she's determined to see as many people as possible wake up from this nightmare.

She won't be getting a new chip in her head after the old one was disabled, however. Instead, she'll ask Shimmer (perhaps after this expedition) if she can remove what's left of her implant.

While they're searching through stashed items, she'll be mostly interested in finding iron or magic items, but if she happens to find a good whip-like weapon, she'll grab it for herself.

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.

[npcarnival]

Her head implant is basically destroyed after what Ignatius did to it, so Shimmer will agree to try to remove the bits, though she's putting it on a lower priority than things that are immediate issues. Once they get some good surgical equipment they can probably do it, though.

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??

[fortuneglass]

Carly can't join in since she's got busted legs and is more of a liability at the moment with her skillset/eyes anyway.

She does however, ask if people can keep an eye out for anything that could help with vision.

..Or at least. Hers. She'll explain that she can't perceive shadow anymore, which is suspected to be due to shoving bits of Strange's mirrors in her eyes.

She figures it's a long shot, but maybe some of the technicians have ideas on if there's anything in storage that may help?

[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.

[atouts]

Well, apart from the iron stash, if we're digging through files, Childermass will ask if any of those with chips can pull the station's data on faebloods. He's tired of learning about being one through first-hand experience, thanks.

[kingsroads]

Strange can gas techs as needed and will definitely help in the subduing people aspect of all of this.

He will also request information on any trials related to Ignatius or the Silver Mirror, to the point where he doesn't mind bullying some rando NPC Gamma/Beta/whatever to pull up the information if possible.

[alphudo]

Yuusei will gladly lend his ability to kick the hell out of people and generally restrain them, probably bringing some kind of binding material along with him if he can get his hands on anything appropriate.

In particular, though, he's going to be taking Carly's request and try to look for anything that could aid with vision (specifically shadow perception).

On the less magical side, he also wants to find some basic tools to take with him like what one would expect to find in the average toolbox, and a laptop he can access.

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.

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.

[osteothropy]

Sans will do this while he's at it.

[atouts]

Very grateful for the help, Mr. Sans. Childermass will hang out and watch him work while he digs.

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?)

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.

EXPERIMENTAL

[chronosynthesis]

When Syrlya isn't trying to swing Techs to their side with some rational diplomacy, he's testing just what's changed in him as a result of the Blue Rose. He's sure that's where this affinity had to come from, because he's never been much of an elementalist.

Sometimes it's just in the open area of the Delta section, sitting under a tree as he conjures small fires over his hand, brow fixed in concentration as he tries to manipulate it. Or he scoops up water and watches it freeze in his hands.

He does much the same small practice around the campfire in the Wyldlands. It's... odd. There's a sense of the form of manipulation that's familiar, but the elements themselves are foreign and he finds it harder to get his grip on them.

Mostly, he just seems a little bewildered about this.

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.

[osteothropy]

Sans is attempting to roast some kind of root vegetable on a stick, though it's looking pretty burned at the moment. Maybe it's intentional because despite staring at what he's cookie he isn't reacting to the fact that it's turning black. It would be a valid theory that he's just sleeping with his eyes open, except for the fact that he noticed Peridot arrive and start staring at him in turn.

"Sup Peri," he asks, more zen that is realistic at the moment. Then again, Sans is pretty good at acting zen when he wants to.

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!

[moonfang]

Zangetsu is definitely interested in the iron, and he's willing to help any way he can -- probably by ghost punching the techs.

If the iron is located, he's interested in knives, daggers, or short-swords or anything that can be attached to a chain and used at a distance, like a sickle or kunai. He'll also be looking for some sort of weapon, iron or not, to attach to his tail.

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!"