lostcarnival | ⇨ EPILOGUE

Who: Anyone who's ever been in the game before!
When: Day 143 and for the rest of time.
Where: The Ringmaster's Realm.
What: It's a time of reunions and also a time for goodbyes - for now, but probably not forever. This is the final official log for Lost Carnival, and it's potentially open to anybody who's played in the game. Thanks for everything!
Warnings: Is it safe? It's probably safe.

THE EVER AFTER↴

It's done. The Huntsman is gone and the Winter Queen has been cured of her self-inflicted condition. It will take time, but if things proceed well, it seems like they could end up with a sympathetic party in the Winter Throne. At the very least, guilt is a hell of a drug when it comes to getting someone's ear on important matters.

The damage that has been done is not something that can easily be fixed. Lives have been ruined or lost completely, and emotional wounds can last a lifetime. Yet, for the first time in eons there is a bold hope for the future - a hope for change in ways the Courts never knew they could.

There is so much to do in the aftermath that it will be years before any of it has been truly seen through. In the immediate hours and days following, however, the Ringmaster will be focused on seeing to the needs of her carnival. Or, at least, what was her carnival. She isn't sure what it is now. She'll probably always think of them as her family, even if they don't return the sentiment. Things are different now, are they not? They are no longer her followers, but the friends and peers she had always wished for in her previous life.

After they have finished their business in the Winter Court, she will bring them all back to the remains of her realm. They need time to rest, and time to think. As she begins the reconstruction of her world, she has a few announcements to make.

Firstly - all lingering contracts for those present are now considered paid. She will fulfill their wishes to the best of her ability regardless of how many days would have been left. Of course, it will take her a bit of time since they are all happening at once, but she'll be going down the list! All other contracts will be fulfilled or cancelled depending on individual situations, and whether or a person's connection to the carnival was still active. Otherwise they've probably been reset and their contract cancelled anyway.

Secondarily - she is unsure of the future of the carnival itself. With how much there is to do, she doesn't feel that she can simply run away again, no matter how easy that would be in comparison. Being one of the Miracles puts her in a unique position of power, and this time, she wants to do right by it. Her and Ignatius have some ideas, but it will probably be a while before they come to fruition. However, she will rebuilding her realm in a new shape, and everyone is welcome to stay there as long as they want. Alternatively, she will help them travel to wherever in the multiverse they'd like to go instead, and they will retain easy passage back to her realm whenever they wish to travel there. In the future they can probably even learn to world travel on their own!

Thirdly - she is going to be inviting back people who still had open contracts so that everyone can catch up and make decisions about going home. Not all of them will show up in this time, but she wanted to give them the opportunity. So, if friends or family went home but haven't been reset, they may possibly be arriving at the new Ringmaster realm to catch up. Otherwise, their contracts will be considered paid and they can stay at home. This mean, previously dropped characters can reappear in the realm to visit and get some closure.

As a final helpful gift, those who became Miracles will be able to edit the reality of the realm to their liking while she works on it. So, if you want to hang out and build some things, you are free to design and magically construct your own spaces like high-res Minecraft.

And that's only the beginning.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Aftermath]

As the former Carnival finds its footing, Ginko can’t imagine leaving. That feeling of helplessness still hasn’t quite left - the sense that things could go wrong at any moment, and the knowledge that, if they do, there won’t be much he can do about it. But he still can’t regret his decision to remain mortal, and he certainly can’t imagine stepping out now, after all that’s happened.

So he sticks around, looking for any way he can hope to help, even if that’s just by chatting with others and making sure that they’re looking after themselves. Which… as usual, it’s not like he’s got a lot of room to talk as far as self-care, but listen. He’s better than he used to be - and he sure as hell doesn’t want to leave the people behind who helped him get to that point.

[Over Time]

Ginko doesn’t spend all his time in the Ringmaster’s realm. As much as he loves the people here, he misses his own world, and his work, and the friends he left behind. So, perhaps inevitably, he ends up going back to Japan with some frequency, sometimes for days or weeks at a time. He’ll bring others along, if they’re interested - the opportunity to show the friends he’s made here the world he came from is a pretty exciting one, though he’ll certainly warn anyone who shows interest in going that it… could potentially be dangerous. You know. Being with him in the world of origin of the creatures that he is constantly attracting.

He knows how to handle them, though, it’ll probably be fine.

Even if he’s bound to wander between worlds, though, he always comes back to the realm - now the Court - eventually. He steers carefully clear of the political side of things, of course, because… honestly screw that. But he still likes it here. He likes having somewhere to be, when he’s not going anywhere in particular.

Maybe he can even start re-learning how to relax.