⇨ New Location: EDEN (SPECIAL EVENT)

[ringleaders]

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. PATRONS↴ ► HONORABLES: The average inhabitant of Eden is called an Honorable, and spends most of their life pursuing and perfecting their talents. They are immortal, but they can be killed - not that it happens much, outside of terrible accidents. Despite not being anthropomorphized at all, these animals are capable of being surreally dexterous, capable of using paws, hooves, and teeth as well as any master would use their fingers. This is mostly because, within the realm, they are capable of bending reality in both subtle and non-subtle ways. The more skilled they are at their craft, the better they can bend their reality. While Honorables mostly just look like regular animals, they may have supernatural features, such as odd colouring, additional features their species would not normally have, and glowing markings. For the most part, however, these feature are simple and not ostentatious. Life among Honorables is communal, and they share the buildings made by the community to work and sleep. What theirs is yours - but there are probably some social rules to it that aren't immediately obvious. Honorables don't need to eat, but when they do eat there is absolutely no meat or animal byproducts. To eat meat is the ultimate disgrace. All Honorables have one magical 'talent' at there disposal. This can be mostly any super power, whether that be making fire, passing through objects, or being incredibly strong. Even more often, it will be related to their artistic pursuits. ► ARCHITECTS: There are twelve Architects, and they are the rulers of Eden. Each one is a different type of animal, and they are seen as demigods to the local population. It is ever Honorable's dream to ascend to their status, though it's not clear if that's even possible. The Architects are responsible for Lilith's greatest work - the creation of the perfect being. Honorables aid their efforts where necessary, but for the most part, the most important of duties are left in the Architects' hands. Most Honorables don't even really know a lot about what it involves. Unfortunately, the carnival will know basically nothing about the specifics of the Twelve when entering. Hopefully it will be alright for them to learn as they go. DANGERS↴ ► OUTCASTS: There is one phenomenon that will be mentioned to you a lot, and that's the idea of being 'outcast' - that is, thrown out of Eden. This is the fate of heretics, or those who refuse to follow Lilith teachings. The specifics of what is included in this is nebulous, but one part of clear - those that defy Lilith are driven mad with hunger and reduced to their primal states, cast out into the barrens that surround Eden and left to consume and die as animals do in the wild. It's best not to do this, provided you don't want your sapience sucked right out of your brain. ► FANATICISM: That's not even the worst thing that can happen to you, though. Leaders and other key figures who would dare to fight against Lilith's authority often receive even more cruel punishments, in the form of ritual torment and sacrifice. When you have a bunch of reality benders who want to make an example of someone, it can get messy. ► BEING EXPOSED: All of you are banned, and none of you should be here. That means that if the locals find out what you really are, the results will not be good. The Ringmaster and her allies have taken numerous steps to conceal everyone's identities while in Eden, but it will only work if you stay undercover. REWARDS↴ Ideally, the Silver Mirror! However, as even in an event like this, there will be unique opportunities that come up as it goes on. Activity and involvement, as always, are the most rewarded. CHANGES↴ You're spending the whole event as an animal! These animals can be any physical age, and can have a few unusual characteristics, but nothing too crazy. Everyone will function along the lines of the Honorables described on this post. At the very least, each character will be able to take on a Common or Uncommon change based on whatever animal form they take on. Beyond that, it will be based on how things go. Beyond that, this is a PLOTTING POST, which means you can use it to make plans! The game chat is also a great place to discuss plots, so we welcome you to pop on in if you haven't already! The calendar has been updated with event timing.

Comments

⇨ QUESTIONS

[ringleaders]

Because I'm sure there will be a lot. Some stuff will be covered ICly, but go ahead and ask about anything that's confusing you.

[alphudo]

What's the limit on kinds of animals? I know over Plurk it was mentioned that serpents are Generally A Less-Than-Optimal Idea, but are there any other conditions or limitations we should be aware of? How much leeway is there re:mythical sorts of creatures? Are we restricted to real-world animals? Are creatures commonly found in other series that would be considered "regular animals" allowed?

( Sorry I know this was a lot but I wanted to get it all out;;; )

[betheman]

When it comes to a talent, how precise must the talent be?

To make the answer easier- I'm trying to determine if I would have to pick One energy spell at Gons disposal or not.

[scientificist]

Is the alchemical knowledge of magic dampening the power Herbert would bring? And if not, what kind of temporary power are we talking?

[anti_nonsense]

Can people bring any items with them into Eden?

The item I mainly have in mind is Rita's blastia (her choker), which she ordinarily never takes off and wouldn't leave behind unless she was told "no way, you gotta."

[bananaspeedrider]

So to what extent can the animals create things in the pursuit of their highest artistic passion- how technologically advanced can it be?

Ex. Dubstep (and other similarly techno-styled) music, photography, vehicular concepts/design, pieces incorporating light/electricity

[alphudo]

Yuusei doesn't really have any powers of his own; would technokinesis be an acceptable "talent" to receive from RM? That would be in this case the ability to move mechanical parts with thought instead of physical might, but specifically with the intent of creating something with a purpose (so no chucking metal at people). Examples could consist of simple animatronic or vehicle pieces.

If Eden's technology isn't at a level where this would be an appropriate power, though, then a sort of "animation" ability to allow instalments the ability to move independently (but again, likely nothing too terribly complex) would be neat! If neither of these are acceptable, I'm happy to reconsider further!

[mylastchance]

This might be a strange question, but can Lilith hear prayers that are made inside her realm? Can she hear prayers made to her specifically?

Mostly asking cause I need to know if Lauren will get in trouble for praying to his god >_>;;

[espigeon]

Could Julien be two animals? The smaller body would usually be in his inventory. Otherwise only one will be present, anyway, since either of him is too big to be portaled through a crane.

[worldlyafflictions]

Assuming that they don't have enough time to level up Shima's perception manipulation into straight up illusions, Shima would probably ask for a 'talent' for changing the appearance of things.

In this case I'm figuring the result will be that he can dye/palette swap stuff magically.

[prazerbutterfly]

Tyki will be a timber wolf mostly for his predatory state in this kind of place and because pack animal/family man traits. Lower umber grey fur mostly on his legs, belly, and muzzle that sort of outlines his face will be present. The rest of him on top down to his tail will be black. As usual, he'll have his Noah golden eyes. The power he'll be exhibiting is his Power to Choose. It'll be the most useful and he'll can con his way through a craft with it if necessary. As a trade off he'll be keeping his strength and speed on the down low.

He'll work to integrate himself into this new society as quick as possible helping out those that might need a helping hand. Tyki is already use to walking on all fours from his cat transformation. He won't mind a buddy or two to hang out with at night when he's not trying to make some poor chum on the opposing side his best friend. He will be finding his own fun in all this mess but trying to keep his nose clean and blend in.

Also, if there is any forbidden fruit that looks like an apple please keep him away from it. He won't endanger the carnival but ya know. Temptation is always a thing.

[periphrasing]

Peridot is going to be a wolverine. Thanks to her alternate self's identity as a werebeast back in Portland, her soul's natural essence is still definitely 100% bat. HOWEVER... knowing that this is going to be a rather dangerous situation, she's going to make a request to the Ringmaster to override that for this visit and turn her into something that's a bit scrappier and more fit for fighting, just in case things go sour. Thus: wolverine.

She's going to be sticking with her natural metallokinesis abilities as her one gift. Fortunately she already makes all kinds of ridiculous art so, she'll fit right in in that regard! She'll probably be doing a fair bit of snooping around and attempting to help with the Silver Mirror hunt as well, since there's not a ton for engineering to be doing here and she's bad at resting on her laurels.

Also since characters aren't losing their other powers, just repressing them for the sake of maintaining cover, Peridot is kind of in a unique position in that she does have an extra disguise of sorts at her disposal. Technically she can still access her bat form, which could potentially prove useful for the purposes of like, say, sneaking into one place to do an illegal thing as a bat, and changing back into a wolverine to hide while the heat dies down. Obviously this won't be foolproof, since the bat form won't be equipped to mask the changeling stench on her like the wolverine form is. Also the gem on her forehead will easily give her away as an outsider if anyone gets too close of a look at her, so there's that to consider too. SO. To summarize: She's available to help during this event with a potentially useful ability, but it's an extremely risky maneuver that she won't be using without very good reason.

[kingsroads]

Strange is going to be a raven because at his soul, he's a big nerdy fanboy for the Raven King, a magician from his world. Also, ravens are good at getting the heck out of dodge should the situation call for it.

The one gift that Strange is going public with is his scrying. If pressed, he'll come up with some bullshit explanation about how the best thing for art is making certain everybody can see it, something about wider access to everyone, he's a writer so he's got to be able to view the things to write about, yadda yadda yadda. This is basically a cover for him to be a massive creep.

Strange might do a bit of snooping, but his main priority is that the Ringmaster shoved him on Ignatius babysitting duty. Because of that, he ESPECIALLY doesn't want to draw any attention to them, so his main role will be dogging Iggy's footsteps + being ready to yank him out of trouble should the situation call for it. As a note, Strange isn't going to tell people about babysitting duty until they're in Eden or unless the Ringmaster brings it up herself.

[atouts]

isn't going to tell people about babysitting duty until they're in Eden

He's really lucky that he's the one who can fly away this time.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya is going to be transformed into a red fox! His talent is going to be his calming circle, though without his staff he'll have to use existing walls. His pursuit might be origami? Jury's out how successful that'll be with paws, but 'make smiles' is probably not a valid artistic pursuit on it's own.

He'll be, of course, following leads to the mirror, and also socializing with the actual honorables to get a better idea what they're like, how they might be able to make allies with any of them, etc. Etc. His best avenue is 'talk to people', so as a member of the new diplomatic team he kind of wants to prove he can handle a delicate situation like this so he'll be taking it seriously.

Syrlya will be a swallow-tailed kite and his talent will be illuions, which he'll heavily downplay around honorables. He'll excuse the ability by making his pursuit stage acting or magic, where it'd make for a more real performance.

He's going to also be looking for silver mirror information. He does have invisibility magic, and with his present flight capabilities he'll probably try and extend his search to places a lot of carnival members won't be able to access (including spying).

[anti_nonsense]

Rita is going to be a tiny and ferocious sand cat! She'll smuggle in her blastia and, sometime after their initial entrance, wear it like a collar. Her talent will most likely be her fire magic, which she has honed enough to use for practical and artistic purposes. She can heat up materials into more malleable states, scorch out patterns and drawings, and create intricately detailed objects and animals with fire.

Being conscious of how heavily her actions in the last big event may have affected the carnival, she'll try harder than usual not to cause any trouble, but will also feel a lot of pressure to make sure they succeed in getting the Mirror. She's not the most comfortable liar, however, and might want to stick around people who have an easier time bluffing their way through situations. Depending on what gets revealed about Ignatius, however, she might end up being particularly concerned about his presence.

Also: Rita collected and summarized all the texts they found in the Athenaeum pertaining to the Silver Mirror! She's willing to share, so if your character missed something before and/or would have wanted to get every detail, lemme know and we can say they met up and shared notes at some point before reaching Eden!

[soft_focus]

GONGENZAKA is going from giant muscle man to TinyMuscleCreature- specifically, he's going to be a Mimic Octopus. These guys can do...A lot on their own, which is handy for him suffice to say because he'll also be six inches of body with almost two feet of leg...

So not very large. He'll look something like this, and to give himself relative mobile freedom around the place will claim his talent to be 'energy manipulation' in the ~Spiritual~ sense, while focusing on poems whenever the Arts become important. In turn, he can hopefully wander around and patrol about as much as he needs!

Which is good because he'll have to return to the water every now and then, so,

CARLY ironcially ended up...fitting a good chunk of the bill for the Serpent from the athenaeum entry, w h o o p s... (I completely forgot fire was the second thing it had, anyway)

Carly will be a Flying Snake- a mildly venomous serpent which is about four feet long and about...Probably 2ish pounds? Maybe 3??? They're not very weighty snakes what with uh, having to FLATTEN THEMSELVES TO GLIDE, but I also don't know how snakes and weight works Uh.

UNLIKE the above, her scales will be somewhat iridescent. Shiny snake! She'd look like this.

As a power, she'll be claiming her fire magic- specifically, she'll sustain the idea of its general 'look' by constantly weaving demon fire with hell fire. On the one hand, it means she can easily continue her tailoring based pursuits and lean on that as her ~art~. On the...other, it means she can't risk using one flame over the other without giving herself away.

Oh well! As a snake, she apparently won't be 100% trusted, so she's going in with a slight handicap apparently; she can however, still turn into a hummingbird so who knows if she'll use that for anything. (Quite likely not, as it's a rather eye-catching bird)

REIRA for the sake of safety will name her talent as Empathy- because while her other few spells are easy on and easy off, her empathy is Always running, and it's easier to roll with that than it is to pretend you aren't aware of how irritated the bear next to you is.

While I'd looked at a few (including the ever fluffy Hoary bat), I've decided on the Vampire Bat for Reira- they're quick little buggers, and capable of running and leaping on land...Handy, when you're mouse size. She'll look a bit like this, and be of comprable 'youth' for that matter.

Reira however isn't really sure what she'll do when it comes to art, and depending on how much the other Honorables expect them to just know, will basically be Trying Everything at her leisure. Worst case she'll hopefully be considered childish enough at heart that it's normal.

Notably, if things seem 'safe' enough, she might not necessarily give up on practicing her wind magic...since right now it's not really an obvious thing, and amounts to her chilling in the air and flying aimlessly. Eyyyy.

[scientificist]

Herbert is going to be a small black domestic cat with the temporary power of actual anatomical x-ray vision. This means he's going to be staring at people more creepily than usual with an excuse of 'it's for my art' because he can see your musculature or bones. He's not actually very good at art so he's lucky he's undercover as a new Honorable.

Meanwhile, he's going to be mostly practising his paw dexterity so that if he needs to give someone medical help as a cat, he can. He's not a great liar but he's very confident, at least, and ready to go places he's not supposed to be.

[moonfang]

FURRIES!! actually, neither of my boys will have a single lick of fur. Surprise!

Zangetsu will be a shark. Specifically a pelagic critter resembling a white-colored sand tiger with unique black markings and large gold eyes He has... so few creative skills. SO FEW. Maybe smash poetry? Sweet fightdancing? Singing (badly)? Ichigo has a guitar in his room in the manga so maybe he (and therefore Zangetsu) can play that??? ANYWAY, HERE'S WONDERWALL. He'll be suppressing all his powers except his high speed regeneration. Go ahead! Cut off his fins for soup! They'll be back in 30 seconds.

Rin will be a secretary bird! IT'S FUNNY! BECAUSE YUKIO IS A SNAKE! AND SECRETARY BIRDS EAT SNAKES!! HAHAH!!
But seriously, he will kick the shit out of anyone who is mean to Yukio.
He'll have bright blue around his eyes instead of orange, and some peacock-like pinions left over from his demon form in Portland. He'll be keeping his fire powers and will be doing food art. You know! Stuff like this!! Though in reality probably more like this.

[atouts]

Childermass is entering Eden as a black-furred borzoi, aka the Russian wolfhound. He'll be claiming shadow constructs as his "single Eden power" since he can at least pretend to do artsy bs with it. Interesting as this place might be, he really only cares about locating their mark, the Silver Mirror, and will request all his thieves, conmen, and researchers dedicate their time fully to that pursuit. No shocker there, since that's kind of what everyone is doing anyway.

He's also open to people who got letters from the Starlight to come to question him about said letters since she's his acquaintance, though how much help that'll be, who even knows. Additional readings are out since he isn't bringing his cards with him.

ALSO, ACQUISITIONS, WE ARE TAKING OVER ONE OF THE SMALLER PERFORMANCE TENTS. It is mostly to give the Research Crew space to do their thing together, but the rest aren't barred from it, so whatever. If there are any reasonable requests for how that's set up or if you want a mingle log that people can hit up like... after... Eden... or backdated since we're a little out of time for between event logging, let me know.

[moonfang]

SWEET HECKIN AWESOME ASSHOLE TENT


a backdated pre-Eden mingle might not be a bad idea!

[blushfully]

SHIEMI is going to be an adorable and colorful quetzal bird. She'll be claiming some sort of nature/plant magic, much like the powers of her familiar, as her "single Eden power" and likely be using it to create wooden or flower art like dresses and other cute shit as her talent. As she's still new then she'll likely stick closest to her friends from home BUT if someone needed help with something then she'll happily roll up her kimono sleeves and get to work, she's not very strong but surprisingly determined!

[flashover]

The CUTEST SHIT

[worldlyafflictions]

Shima is gonna be a tanuki, though I haven't decided on coloring. He'll probably also need to request a pooower... since his are all demon-summoning or uh status-effecting people that he picked up during the Carnival... I'LL. ponder on what that should be.

[soft_focus]

Quietly sliding by with a giant thumbs up because I'd really hoped at least one person would be the weird tree-climbing dog and here we are-

Tanuki are just Great-

[spaghettimonster]

Papyrus is going to be a smilodon fatalis, commonly referred to a saber tooth tiger (not actually a tiger), and enjoy being bigger than usual, though on all fours... And keeping his blue magic for gravity/momentum manipulation. It's very convenient for art in high and unusual places, and for giving smaller folks rides if they like. Since he was already artistically-inclined, it'll take a while for him to find out what preternaturally improved talent he's getting in this.

lambert + eruka

[amphibiopathic]

Lambert is spending the duration of this stop as a European Wildcat. He has the fairly mundane skill of carving -- wood, stone, you name it, his claws can shape it into whatever form he desires. The results tend to be a little raw-looking but oddly lifelike.

He'll be seeking out other Carnival Honorables on the pretense of collaborating/wanting to use them as models for his sculpture work to excuse their interactions with each other.

Eruka will be an ordinary green frog, but will be inspired to take up aromatherapy. She can create scents both mundane and extraordinary, scents that evoke emotion ... or more prosaically and potentially usefully, scents that can disorient or knock out someone they're used on. She'll make those out of an infusion of oils, herbs, and her own skin's secretions, enhanced by the Flame to have fine control over her body chemistry.

As part of acquisitions, she's doing the sneaky sneaking around and casing the joint and is actually fairly experienced in this arena. She's also new, so just about any CR is welcome, and I'll be putting up a toplevel for her shortly.

ACQUISITIONS DOES A THING, D86-D87

[atouts]

Childermass has located a cave that he very much believes is the same cave that Ignatius escaped from and therefore is possibly a way into where the Silver Mirror is kept. Between Rita and Childermass, all of Acquisitions (save those they are unable to get to like, you know, bird magicians) will be made aware of the location.

In addition to that, he will share that he will be leading a group of thieves and researchers out to try and find a way in, so meet him at [ some generally private location who even knows ] late night Day 86 if you're willing to go. He plans on them poking around until very early morning Day 87 before, with luck, heading back to the city. He will absolutely make it clear that going there isn't mandatory and that it will be very dangerous, as there could be Architects out there with the Mirror.

Supervisors will also be made aware, of where the cave is and what Childermass is up to, just in case he and people on his team mysteriously vanish come Day 87.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO GO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW HERE. There will be an investigation thread for this once we settle plotting.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita is going! She'll be using her abilities to watch for magic traps and examine anything magical they come across. She can also use her new water magic to help them get through flooded parts of the cave, if need be.

Besides, she's pretty sure she's already aroused some suspicion, so she might as well act now. Can't lay low forever.