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| SHE'S BACK!↴
The Ringmaster has returned, with some changes. The Red Beast aspect of her being has been fully awakened by the Huntsman's ministrations, meaning she now has some old Phoenix memories. She also retains all her memories of the carnival and recent events, though, and seems more grounded in the personality you've come to know her for than anything else.
If there's one thing she's changed her mind on, however, it's the idea of running away. That obviously isn't working, and she feels that she'll never have back the freedom she wants for herself and the carnival unless she acts. After consuming the Huntsman and ending the battle in the Wyldlands, she will bring everyone back to what remains of the carnival dimension. Everyone's personal belongings and pets are still here, seemingly having been in stasis (and any living creatures will just be waking up as they arrive) but the landscape and structures have been obliterated and reduced to fundamental realm building blocks. She'll say she knew this would happen when she sent it away briefly before dying. It's a bit melancholy nonetheless.
The moons are still here, importantly, and with little trouble the Ringmaster will collect the Blue Rose and Silver Mirror, which are now fully under control. The magical resonance between the three Miracles is very loud, especially for those already touched by them. With all of them in hand, and with the strength of the Huntsman still running through her veins, she'll make those present an offer. With all three Miracles, everything feels possible - and she is able to gift those that helped her with their power.
But there are a few qualifications.
( Read more... ) |
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| PREPARATION↴
On Day 132, preparation for battle will be in full swing. With the reminder that both Miracles are currently at stake, both halves of the Summer Court will be putting together plans to reach the Huntsman. In the meantime, carnival members will be taken back to the Summerlands to get their shit together.
On Day 134, the mission will begin. Those willing to come from the carnival, the Summerlands, and military from the Summer Court will be brought to the Wyldlands to begin their search. The Wydlands are enormous and constantly shifting in geography, which means that finding the Hunt to begin with will be a challenge, let alone without giving an unnecessary amount of advanced warning. That's where the carnival comes in.
Faerie presences are very loud, and easily detected. Too many of them getting close to the Hunt's territory will alert the Huntsman to the scale of the attack, which is not in thier favour. Instead, the suggested plan is that the carnival travel ahead as scouts, alerting the Summer forces of enemy positions, enabling them to dive in as a strategic ambush. Their lesser auras and Wyld Fae essence will allow them to blend in - with some additional magical help, they may even be able to appear as members of the Hunt themselves. With the power of the entire Summer Court at their disposal, a lot of things are possible.
A few Summer Fae will be sent along with them - most notably Ignatius and Gild. Those from the carnival that ran with the Hunt will also have the key advantage of being able to sense the Huntsman's will, leading the rest in the right direction and anticipating the Hunts movements. As long as they can avoid falling back into the Hunt's sway, of course.
SETTING↴
The Wyldlands are a massive and mostly uncharted territory of Arcadian land that lies between the two faerie Courts. Historically dominated by the Wyld Fae, it has also periodically become the stomping grounds of bouth Courts armies, and is considered a no-mans-land where dubious or secretive operations take place. Obviously, the Wyld Fae have never been a huge fan of this, and Court military is generally considered to be an unwanted nuisance. The tension has only grown thicker since the days of the Great Beast's uprising, with many Wyld Fae caught between the tyranny of the Huntsman and the disregard of the Courts.
You can find any imaginable biome within the Wyldlands, and their locations constantly and gradually shift. A desert may develop into a rainforest within a period of a few weeks, and the only stable places are powerful Wyld Fae have set up their dens, grounding the territory into reflecting their own nature. In general, the landscape is somewhat surrealist in nature, with impossibly large trees being commonplace, along with floating islands, bizarrely shaped mountains, and other alien landmarks.
All of this makes it very difficult to navigate, but also perfect for hiding out in.
( MORE PLOT DETAILS BELOW ) |
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| SOLSTICE PLANS↴
The council with the Summer Maiden has run its course, and there were enough people interested in trying to have the Summerlands ally with the Summer Court that the attempt is going to go ahead. A couple days after the meeting, the Summer Maiden will leave to the Summer Court with an entourage of willing carnival members, with the intent of negotiating a peace between the two fragmented pieces of Summer. Of course, in real life, it is the holiday season, so the schedule will be as follows:
► DAY 127-128 (Dec 18th-26th): Free time in the Summerlands, while the Summer Maiden contacts the Summer Queen long distance and negotiates an Elysium. The Summer Queen will ultimately agree, but the exact communications they have will not be public. As of early 128, the Summer Maiden will announce that the Elysium set is to begin the next day, and anyone wishing to come along should prepare themselves. She is encouraging people to come so that they can be formally presented as part of her people and as people who cannot be trifled with. However, attendance is not mandatory, and those who don't want to come can stay in the Summerlands. The entire diplomatic mission will take place in an enclosed ceremony, and the Summer Maiden will be able to protect all attendees.
► DAY 129-131 (Dec 27th-Jan 7th): The Summer Maiden and her entourage will leave for the Summer Court. To those remaining in the Summerlands, and Summer Maiden and her party will seem to be gone for three days - however, to those in the entourage, the entire event will seem to just be one day and night cycle. The Summer Court has a timeless feeling quality to it, and so it will not map directly to the day schedule. It may feel either longer or shorter than a normal day to each individual, depending on how much stuff they do. The more active they are the longer it will feel, and the more passive and unobservant, the shorter. The opening part of the diplomacy log will be a casual mingle, and actual plot stuff will start to happen at the start of the new year.
► DAY 132+ (Jan 8th+): After the diplomacy mission, depending on the results, the next major plot adventure will happen with the Summer allies and carnival going to defeat the Huntsman. This plot will run for a few weeks and will be the last plot arc before the game's finale.
► DAY ??? (Feb, 2019): The finale of the game will occur and hopefully be done in a few weeks with some left over time to set up an epilogue.
If you have any questions about this timeline, ask them below! Otherwise, this post can be used for general plotting, and calling out whether your character is staying or going. |
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| WHAT NOW: THE POLL↴
The carnival has emerged victorious after a heated and exhausting battle with the Mother of Invention. Her soul has been torn asunder, and her body destroyed. Gild and a team of allies have arrived via airship, and will reveal that they have been camping outside of the base for days, aiding in the planning and execution of an escape plan. In total, there is Gild, Samyaza, Alyss, Reyna, Shimmer, Scald, Moss, Kerubi the fox, and Brauni piloting the ship itself. How they all got here is a long story. They were intending on breaking in with it and grabbing everyone if it came down to it, but now it seems that they have the opportunity to do more good here than that.
There are several issues that will arrive in the immediate aftermath of the struggle, and the characters will have to make some decisions on how to handle things going forward. Gild and Ignatius can provide some direction if needed, but ultimately neither of them want to force a decision in regards to any of this. (They most likely have some personal issues to work out between themselves, also.)
► WHERE TO STAY?
At the very least the carnival will have to spend the next day and night resting, so that people can get back on their feet and so that Gild and Ignatius can recover their strength enough to go anywhere. This can either be done by staying inside the section of Polaris they've overtaken, or by going down to the Wyld Lands (which are apparently below where Polaris is floating) and camping out there. The Wyld Lands are potentially dangerous, but the two fae are confident they can defend an area long enough to camp.
► WHAT TO DO ABOUT POLARIS?
In the aftermath of the Mother's death, the staff and prisoners of Polaris will be in a state of disruption and chaos. For staff, it will be really hard for them to accept that the Mother is actually gone and that this isn't some kind of test or trick, and for the prisoners, they are more or less still at the mercy of the staff overseeing them. The carnival has the choice to stick around for a few days and ease the process of liberating the station, by helping to overtake the Alphas and Betas clinging to power, and by basically spreading the news of the Mother defeat. They can also make sure the other test groups are actually released. Of course, they are not obligated to do this. They are free to just leave, as well, and hope that Polaris sorts itself out. If they do stay to deal with Polaris, most of this will be handwaved. Characters can simply declare what they are doing to help, and it will be done without challenge.
► WHAT DIRECTION TO TAKE?
Gild's immediate impression is that people will want to help the Ringmaster (though this may not be true) and based on that her recommendations are that they could either write to the Summerlands and ask for help in doing so, or they can go there themselves and be a bit more forceful. The Summer Maiden is notoriously passive, so Gild believes that she will be reluctant to help her own girlfriend, which is annoying. If they head straight through the Wyld Lands they may gain the element of surprise, of course, and go in there stealthily... but going it on their own could be difficult. Gild is willing to help either way. Ignatius doesn't seem to want to go to the Summerlands for various awkward reasons, but ultimately he will bend to the public opinion. People need a break, he thinks, and they probably won't find it in the Wyld Lands. For those not interested in dealing with the Hunt at all, the fae will recommend going to the Summerlands, because at least they can have a break there until everyone figures out what to do.
► WANT A FAERIE CONTRACT?
Once they are fully free of Polaris, Ignatius will consider the danger over and his contract with people will end. However, he will be open to offering protection for an extended period to anyone who wants it. The specifics are flexible - he really just wants the ability to look out for people in a patron sense. The Gilded Mark will also offer to be your patron, to take some of the burden off of Ignatius. Maybe this is a weird competition thing? Don't worry about it, it's there problem. Either way, both contracts will be flexible and mostly so that they can more easily lend you their power if necessary.
Given that information, here are some poll questions. This is an IC poll, so please vote once for each character. If you don't reply, you'll be assumed to be 'undecided' or 'ambivalent'.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28 While doing other things, where do you want to stay for the next night or three?
View AnswersStay in the secured section of Polaris.
19 (67.9%) Camp out in the Wyld Lands.
7 (25.0%) Either's fine.
2 (7.1%) How do you want to handle the Polaris situation?
View AnswersStick around to dethrone the Alphas, spread the news, and make sure prisoners are released.
19 (70.4%) Leave these guys to their own devices for now and come back later.
2 (7.4%) Abandon ship and never come back/leave them all to die.
4 (14.8%) Undecided.
2 (7.4%) What direction do you want to take?
View AnswersHead straight for the Wyld Hunt and send a letter to the Summerlands asking for back up.
0 (0.0%) Go to the Summerlands and ask the Summer Maiden for help directly/hang out.
23 (82.1%) Something else? (Suggest in comments)
2 (7.1%) Undecided.
3 (10.7%) Do you want to take any fae protection?
View AnswersSign on with Ignatius.
10 (35.7%) Sign on with Gilded Mark.
11 (39.3%) Undecided/Do not.
7 (25.0%) |
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| PREPARATION↴
With the Ringmaster defeated and claimed by the Huntsman, the ownership of everyone she has contracts with will have defaulted to the Huntsman himself - which means he is capable of forbidding everyone the use of their magic and powers. He does, of course, but it turns out he has little interest in keeping any of the Ringmaster's left over belongings. Soon after taking her egg, he passes off ownership of everyone else to an assembly of Winter fae that have been patiently lying in wait.
The leader of the fae in question? The Mother of Invention, a notoriously unorthodox magical scientist and researcher. While the Ringmaster is carted off to places unknown, the rest of the carnival is being whisked away to a place called Polaris for the indefinite future.
NOTE: If your character contracted with Ignatius, special rules will imply regarding their ability to use their powers. Right at the start, they will still mostly lose their ability to use powers, but as time goes on, their contract will conflict with the Mother's ownership of them, allowing minor uses of their abilities on a case by case basis.
SETTING↴
Polaris is a magical laboratory complex in Arcadia, floating just above cloud level. It belongs to the Mother of Invention, and is used by her and her technicians to study and develop magical theory. While stealing away mortals to this complex is a common practice, those taken from the Ringmaster's care are here under special circumstances.
All items, pets, and clothing will be confiscated on entry and locked away, followed by everyone having to go through a 'decontamination' process that mostly involves all the things you'd expect it to. You get scanned by various things and then sprayed with magical water vapor that feels very cold but apparently cleanses. Then, you are given new clothes - that are applied magically rather than being something you physically put on - and taken away to be individually interviewed. Please fill out this form as each of your characters, following the rules as explained. This interview will determine some things about how your character is treated during the event.
The new 'clothes' are actually just weird bodysuits in a shade of charcoal grey, with a texture somewhere between leather and silicon. It's flush to the skin and flexible enough to stay that way, but thankfully the material is thick enough that it isn't unduly revealing. You will mysterious find yourself not needing to eat or produce waste while wearing it. It's also basically impossible to take off on your own. If you are weirdly shaped, or have a lot of fur, feathers, or foliage that would get in the way of this, then the suits are custom applied and can be modded to accommodate such things. The design will endeavor to cover as much as possible while not being completely impractical. They generally won't cover things like tails or wings.
Characters will be locked up in compact cells during the night, either alone or in pairs. If your character is big they will be put in a somewhat bigger cell to accommodate their size, but there will still not be much leg room. The layouts are approximately like this, so if you have a roommate, things will be pretty intimate for your stay with them. Housing is functionally random and may change daily, irregularly, or not at all. Who you room with is your OOC choice, but in game characters are being assigned by the technicians.
( MORE PLOT DETAILS BELOW ) |
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| PREPARATION↴
On Day 92 the carnival will have fled from Eden to a new rest location. NPCs will have been dropped off in the necessary places, and then the Ringmaster is settling everyone into a space vacation while she works on dealing with the aftermath of her fight with Lilith. More specifics will be incoming, but this is what you need to know.
SETTING↴
Shabondamashii is technically a bathhouse, but the name is also used to describe the small city surrounding it. 'Shabon', as often called by foreigners who are bad at pronouncing things, predated the community surrounding it - over time, the rest of the city has built itself around the famous bathhouse's existing prosperity. The city is incredibly dense, and mostly filled with things meant to appeal to tourists. In this case, 'tourists' also includes beings from many other worlds. It's a universal nexus of a more frivolous variety, and both employs and is visited by a large variety of unique species.
The owner is a powerful being, and as such, many employees are 'paid' via room and board, plus broad magical favours similar to what the Ringmaster would offer in exchange for service. Helpfully, everyone is there willingly, and are allowed to keep tips as a secondary income source. Service tends to be excellent, given the worker's desires to earn as much wealth as possible before returning to their homes.
The layout of the city is incredibly dense, and overflowing with content. In terms of what you might see, it's pretty much anything you can imagine being in the world of Spirited Away, primarily defined by Japanese and other east-Asian culture. It isn't exactly like the earth variety, but it's close enough, and will be recognizable to people who come from those backgrounds. For the most part, as long as you aren't making up resources for your character to stockpile, if something fits the setting it's probably safe to assume it exists. The specifics of this location super don't matter.
( MORE PLOT DETAILS BELOW ) |
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| PREPARATION↴
On Day 79, full preparations to enter Eden will be underway. This isn't like past events where you'll just wake up in the new setting - the Ringmaster absolutely needs everyone's understanding for this. There are two major things that need to be taken care of before entering - blending in and knowing the context you're in.
According to various sources, Lilith barely visits Eden at this point. The whole set up has been spinning its wheels since nearly the beginning of time, and at this point, Lilith likely only shows up every few thousand years to see if there's been any progress. She also shows up to add more animals to the population, to replace the ones killed or outcast, but the residents all know to deal with this as a standard procedure.
This means that everyone is going to enter under the premise of being a freshly made Honorable - which means, in turn, that they will have to be in the form of an animal, and fit with the status quo. The Ringmaster will be handling the animal part, and will try to block out all of people's spiritual radiation with essence of Beast to make them blend in. There are also herbal mixtures that will suppress the carnival's auras, making them easier to hide their faerie natures. For the most part, people will have to settle on one super power that they will be able to use publicly, and the rest will have to be kept a secret. If you don't have any powers, the Ringmaster will lend you one for this mission.
Once everyone is transformed and everything has been explained, the carnival will enter Eden and pretend to be a new batch of beasts. They will integrate into society and, somehow, they will find the Silver Mirror.
SETTING↴
Eden is a realm created by the Nephalem Lilith, populated entirely by highly intelligent animals. Only beasts are allowed within its borders, and any form of 'man' (that is, humans, elves, or anything that is a creator of civilization in their world, even if they are furries) is forbidden to walk free. The alleged purpose of Eden was to create the 'Perfect' being, one pristine beyond the traditional ideals of good and evil. According to Lilith, only this being would be fit to rule the multiverse, and all other ruling species are sorely lacking.
The backstory of Eden can be found in these passages, discovered in the Athenaeum and available for viewing: The Silver Mirror, Eden, and The Serpent.
The majority of Eden is comprised of idyllic forests punctuated by beautiful architecture and art installments. The animals of Eden spend most of their time creating, whether that be building structures, designing art, or experimenting with the heights of music and theater. Essentially, they are all very cultured when it comes to the arts. However, their rate of output, and the fact that there is nothing to do with the things they make, tends to result in their creations being ritually destroyed just as quickly, as offerings to their Goddess Lilith.
Otherwise, the beasts act about the same way you'd expect people to. They have hopes, fears, interpersonal dramas, and everything else. The primary different is that they know no life beyond this one, and their pious devotion to Lilith is strictly upheld - even at the cost of their lives.
( MORE PLOT DETAILS BELOW ) |
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| YO, CHECK OUT THESE BUGS↴
Hello all! This is Casey and Maggie, players of Ginko and Tanyuu, here to bring you another mushi plot after far too long without! This one will be a lot more low-key and less disastrous, and hopefully enjoyable for this bit of recovery-downtime that the carnival is enjoying. Participation in this plot is entirely optional, and will have no lasting effects! We’re here to chill, guys, not have another mini-catastrophe.
The whole event will take place over the span of about 3 IC days, and a radio and log post will be going up for Ginko and Tanyuu’s IC alert of the infestation and for mushi shenanigans, respectively.
THE RUNDOWN↴
Where Ginko and Tanyuu are from, there are creatures called mushi - strange, ethereal organisms that exist in a state unlike that of other living things. Mushi are invisible to most people, but their effects can be quite noticeable nonetheless, and they can cause a lot of trouble for humans on occasion. Usually this only occurs when there is a very large concentration of mushi in the same place, but Ginko attracts mushi as a natural part of his existence/being/soul/what-have-you. As a result, since they aren’t really bound by the barriers between realms, they fairly frequently drift into the carnival. Most aren’t dangerous, and those workers who happen to be able to see them may have caught sight of some odd, glowing creatures clinging to walls or floating around. (There is no hard rule for who can and cannot see mushi, but supernaturally-inclined characters could be more likely to perceive them. Even the most mundane person could be able to, though, so don’t feel restricted in that sense!)
Starting on Day 66, patches of white, translucent wildflowers will start growing among the vegetation around the tents. They do not carry any energy related to the fae and look mostly unremarkable, but once everyone goes to sleep for the night the effects of their presence will become clear as everyone’s dreams get a bit...interesting.
( ”More ) |
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| PREPARATION↴
On Day 63, the carnival will arrive a new world, filled with vast forests, and the Ringmaster will promptly kick everyone out. You guys are going camping, while she tears the carnival realm apart and expels every single thing the Faerie Courts could be tracking them with - if they go after the Silver Mirror, they can't risk being followed. So, instead of spending the week in trailors, the Ringmaster will dump a wide array of camping equipment onto everyone, including appropriate food and recreational drink. She says this place should be totally safe, but knowing the irony of that statement, she is issuing a number of safety precautions as well.
Characters are encouraged to camp all in the same area, but it's possible to slip away and be a loner. At least until the Security Team gets on your ass, anyway. Otherwise, you're advised to take some time to recover. This place could be considered pretty idyllic... even with the odd local inhabitants.
SETTING↴
The Camping Grounds are set in a vast alien forest, complete with waterfalls, lakes, and unreasonably big trees in places. The local animals are mostly benign, but on the strange side. There are various plants and insects with fluorescent qualities, including some over-sized mushrooms. There are also edible fruits and berries - the Ringmaster has provided the kitchen staff and Nightrunners a list of which ones are poisonous.
There is no high civilization here, so there won't be any performing necessary. Some of the creatures nearby come close, but fore the most part it's pure wilds. Also, notably, there are few local carnivores - the primary source of meat is fish, and most of the animals feed on insects or plants. As a result, the ecosystem is of the peaceful sort. Unfortunately, those fish also have fur.
( MORE PLOT DETAILS BELOW ) |
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| YOUR STORY↴While people are digging for meta-plot relevant information, among the Scribe's writings it is also possible to come across information about fellow carnival workers! Though it might come in the form of a morality fable, or a legendary romance, or even take the form of a simple cryptic sentence about the worst deed you've ever done. It's hard to say what the Scribe may have seen and committed to paper. See the Rewards section on the plotting post for more details about what these writings might look like. This post is for submitting your pre-written tales based on the lives of your characters or their canons. If you would like to leave them open for anyone to come across, hit this post with a top-level! Sign up to find a randomized story from this post here. This can be along with whatever else is up for public discovery that catches your interest, this mechanic is mainly to add a bit of randomness to CR opportunities. Private discoveries among CR can be worked out on the original plotting post (or wherever else you like). | |
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