intro | day 104

[tacosgay]

Listen.

[The voice that comes over the public channel is... odd, and new to most folks here. He pauses for a bit, as if that's the entire thought-- but, sure enough, he follows it with an obviously annoyed question.]

So we're just kind of... here, because they say so? Like... this can't be legal, can it? Has anybody tried talking to the fuckin' police about this?

[As he speaks, he gets increasingly irritated, his voice breaking.]

I'm gonna be real with you guys: I've got half a mind to just kinda magic my way out, except I'm pretty sure the Ringleader or whatever would come after me. Is that a thing?

Comments

[insidescoop]

That would definitely get you stuck with a lot more debt, yep!

[On that note.] ...If...you're not here because you wanted to though....doesn't that mean you didn't pay for something...?

[tacosgay]

Look, I'm the one asking the questions here, bubbale, okay? Don't you worry about that.

[coffincomfort]

[Vincent can hear the rising emotion, but he doesn't react to it in the slightest. Instead, he responds with one short word:]

.....

Don't.

[tacosgay]

Yyyyeah, okay, that's pretty much what I thought. Is there nobody, like, looking into this place? Has nobody noticed that a whole bunch of people are kinda disappearing? Or is this a "time works differently in here" kinda thing?

[whattaprick]

Why don't you try it and find out?

[ Super helpful, this one. ]

[tacosgay]

See, I don't know if you know this, but dying hurts. I'm not real eager to find out if it actually sticks here or not.

[kingsroads]

Good luck with magicing your way out. I can't find any way to even view other realms from this one.

[ because THAT'S the thing to take away from the conversation. ]

[tacosgay]

[Oh, fantastic. Does that mean he can't Blink or Rope Trick here? Or... do any of his other realm-bending tricks?]

Well, that's just great, thanks for the heads up, chum.

[dontpokethat]

Don't do that, you'd just end up with more debt. And there aren't really any police that you can talk to here, except for Carnival security.

[tacosgay]

Is there literally anything you can do here that doesn't put you in debt to this lady?! I'm serious, everything that seems worthwhile doing just puts me even deeper in the shit!

[destiny_key]

Um, I wouldn't do that. The Ringmaster gets real mad when people try to skip out on their contract.

[tacosgay]

Yyyeah. See, thing is, I've already kind of... got a job, and it's pretty important, so I think it'd be best for everybody if I could just get back to that, you know?

[fourthscribe]

[Ohhhhh boy.]

Yes, she most certainly would. And unless your world's law enforcement is capable of combating a fae powerful enough to create her own pocket of reality, I doubt contacting them would help terribly much.

[Read: please do not, you will be squished.]

[tacosgay]

[s i g h]

Yeah, fair enough... eh. Whatever. This place is probably a whole lot better than where I was headed before, anyway.

[squeedlyspooch]

Would this escape attempt involve lasers?

[tacosgay]

It sure can, if that's your favorite flavor, bubbale. Though I'm kind of getting the feeling that even the most laser-filled of escape attempts wouldn't work out for me in the grand scheme of things here.

[small_reservations]

It's definitely a thing, but if you try, lemme know. I'll take bets on what she'll turn you into. Hasn't done a potted plant in a while, has she?

[tacosgay]

Eeeeeeuuuuuuhhhmmmmmmmm, on second thought, I think I'm good right here.

[fragileandsoft]

This place is... basically made of magic, isn't it? I dunno that magic-ing your way out would be any more effective than trying to walk away.

Walking doesn't work either, for the record.

[tacosgay]

Yeah, I kinda figured that much out, thanks. Powerful, incredible fae refuses to let you magic your way out, but walking? "Ehhh, that's fine, what am I gonna do? Trip 'em?" I got it.

[osteothropy]

Hiya. I'm the cops.

What seems to be the problem?

[tacosgay]

Uh, yeah, hi, I seem to be stuck inside some sort of fairy circus and they're insisting I work for them. Can you, like, do something about that, or...?

[handwringing]

Why would you broadcast such an idea to the whole Carnival? You realize the supervisors can hear this too, not to mention the Ringmaster herself.

[tacosgay]

Look, lady, I just got here. Assume I don't know anything. Besides, I'm not trying to round up some kind of... mass rebellion or something. Excuse me if I'm just a little bit pissed off over being held captive by some... fae.

edited based on other previous responses

[detonarrator]

Hey so technically I guess I'm "a cop". [The air quotes are actually audible.] And here's my official statement. Give it a shot, have fun.

[tacosgay]

Yeah, no, I think I'm good, thanks. But, hey, thanks for weighing in with your two cents, really means a lot.

[wild_magic]

Magic won't work, the Ringmaster is too strong. You probably aren't stronger than her magic, even if you think so. [Even he couldn't beat her when he tried, and he was really powerful.]

[tacosgay]

Yeah, no, that's a contest I'm totally cool not participating in. I'll let her take the gold on this one.

[atouts]

More like she would turn you into a frog or some other creature before you ever actually got far enough to require coming after.

[ Just faerie things. ]

[tacosgay]

Cool, okay, noted. So, don't try to magic your way out is the consensus, then.

[thevictoriandetective]

Don't be an idiot.

[Because he totally tried to leave too and it was disastrous.]

[tacosgay]

Solid advice, my man, duely noted.

[periphrasing]

[Peridot's been listening, but it seems like everyone else has shouted this guy down enough already, so she actually tries to take a more sympathetic approach for once in her life.]

It's really not so bad here, for whatever that's worth. Also, when you're finished with your contract you will be returned to the exact time and place from just before you entered this dimension, so you're not even missing out on anything while you're here.

[tacosgay]

Yeah, but, like... I really don't want this fae lady to mess with my body, you feel me? Like, I'm pretty okay with it right now.

[mossbuds]

That's totally a thing. She's pretty dang awful. I'm not saying it's right to go with the path of least resistance, but also, you might wanna go with the path of least resistance.

[tacosgay]

Yeah, I mean, it's not like there's a whole lot I can apparently do anyway, so I may as well.

[But hey, this guy's earned some points by being the first person not to defend the RM.]

Can I ask you something? How long have you been stuck here?