[The announcement is made around lunch hour, so you better be awake.]

Alright guys, listen up. We got some news yesterday, and it heavily implied that we have a crew of Summer Court fae tailing us as we speak. We're scheduled to be here for another six days... so, in the meantime, we gotta stop things up a bit.

First up, no more solo research. If you're going to be away from the carnival grounds, make sure you're in pairs - or even better, groups of three or four. I know Psi always tells everybody to do this, but this time it's for real. I don't want anybody wandering out there by themselves.

Lets try to work it so that every group has at least one person with a quick travel ability. That means people who can teleport, travel through shadows, fly really fast, or whatever. The faster everyone can collect back at the carnival, the faster we can get out of here if something goes wrong.

On that note, leave your radios on. Radios are not optional.

Gongenzaka, Syrlya, Amethyst, Shura, Zangetsu. Spread out between any groups forming so that I can have a point of contact. It's your job to make sure that people get moving as soon as an evacuation is called. Prioritize running over fighting. There's no point in dealing with these guys if we don't have to.



...Lastly, is anybody compiling these stories? If you haven't made a copy of any relevant stories you found, do that now. If you don't know how, get somebody else to do it for you. We should get them all into a binder or something.

Anyway, that's it. Oh, uh... if you have quick travel abilities, maybe speak up here? I've got teleportation available for any group that needs it. I'm not picky.

[Feel free to mingle/hijack threads as necessary.]

[Having kept an idle ear on the public channel for the last week and gotten a better idea of what to actually look for, Shima chimes in again today after coming across a rolled up scrap of scroll among the Scribe's writings.]

Hey guys, more news for ya. Maybe bad news? Unless RM-san's got some kind of amnesia thing going on and just doesn't remember being the last piece, [--that's a joke, mostly--] sounds like our last Miracle can run from us.

"The third, a Beast with a coat and blood of Red, with thoughts and dreams to match its will. As a being of Birth and Decay, its life was its own. It could not be held by the hands of its creator, and fled to the wild, seeking the freedom it was denied."

Looks like it escaped on its own.

[Usually when Peridot speaks up on the network, she's pretty perky and authoritative. NOT THIS TIME. HAHA.]

Ssssso... I don't want to cause a panic or anything, but there's not exactly an easy way for me to break this news to everyone, so I'm just going to come right out and say it:

I may have kind of, sort of... absolutely found proof in the Scribe's collections that the Summer Court is tracking us. And by the Summer Court, I mean specifically the Rose Queen and Ignatius and all their cronies from Portland are tracking us. And they know we have the Blue Rose.

....

Sorry.

...This is Peridot, by the way.

-----

[Mingle and threadjack as you please!]

'evening, Carnival!

Since we'll want ta help each other out while we're out here in the stacks, 'n since not all of us have been here years or however long you vets have been hanging in there, why don't ya introduce yourselves before ya read off anything interesting ya've found? Seems like a good time ta get ta know each other, right~?

I'll start!

Shima Renzou, reporting! And rright nnoowww.. [A pause and there's a shuffling of loose papers, possibly being rolled on or swum through.] I've found the biggest mountain of old newspaper clippings I've ever seen. Do Fae have newspapers? Ah, some of it might be poems--let's see...

"A few young sages one bright day..."

'Sages' is promising, right?

"Disputed, doth an old tale say,
Which is the prettiest part of women:"

Oooh...

"Some said the cheeks, and some the eyes,
And so they sought the beauteous Lais,
And asked her to award the prize.
The lady said, perhaps displeased,
These thoughts I cannot understand.

"If you could have them where you pleased,
I wonder where you'd put your hand?
'Twould be, you would see,
On their..."

...Oops, ehehe! I can't say that out loud ♥


((ooc: Mingle! This post is for sharing readings with everyone--dumb stuff, little plot stuff, 'anonymous' CR-related stuff to accidentally embarrass people in the carnival if you've found something on them, whatever your character might put on the air. Thread jumping encouraged! Shima will respond to anyone to who addresses him directly, feel free to show up just to roll your eyes at him.))

Hey, so. I know a lot of you are gunna be busy with research, so I figured I may as well put this out there... if you find anything written in hand-shaped pictographs, could you do me a huge favour and pass 'em my way?

I need them for reasons.

That said, how's it going out there? Any news?

I'll assume no one made my obligatory bring a buddy announcement while I wasn't here, so this is that warning.


Didya miss me?

[LABOR CHANNEL]

Mandatory check-in, whether I know you or not.

If anybody's been slacking tell me and I'll work out a proper punishment.

[It's the first day after performance week, the first day they've had off since the night of that lakeside party - the one with all the fireworks, and food, and food fireworks. It's mid-afternoon in the carnival, late enough that most people are probably up by now; who knows what time schedule the space station is on, relatively speaking.]

Hello carnival! How are you all doing, I hope you are doing well! With plenty of plans for your leisure time!

So, uh, about why I'm calling you all...

Has anybody noticed any... changes, to their magic, since... Everything in Wismuth?

[Mari is whistling a jaunty little tune, which lasts a few seconds before she actually speaks.]

Oh, hey! Okay, so, those of you who have guns back home and don't like them... you can just ignore me! Tune to another channel, or whatever. But if you do like guns, or don't actually know anything about them: let's talk!

I wanna get some practise in before the big day, because while we lucked out and the competition guns don't have any iron in them, they're also some kind of space laser nonsense, and that's not really a thing where I'm from, you know?

[Well. It's... kind of a thing? The Fifth Angel required an experimental positron rifle... as well as the entire power grid of Japan. So it's not really the same.]

So who's down? I know I'm not the only one who knows how to shoot, and if you never have, now's your chance to try!

.... but don't hold me responsible if you shoot your foot off, okay?

[Around the start of the new performance week, the Ringmaster will light up everyone's radios with an important message. Or, rather, some important musing.]

Hello, this is the Ringmaster speaking. I say that for the benefit of any new arrivals - everyone else surely recognizes my voice, by now. The rest of this may leave you in the dust as it will be touching on some carnival history, but you can may questions if you want to get up to date.

So, I spent a lot of time thinking when the lot of you were busy with that Pillar drama. As most are aware, a couple months ago we went on a mission to retrieve an extremely powerful artifact called the Blue Rose, which we have been using to defend the carnival from faerie threats. Which, seems successful so far, given that Nightshade didn't dare enter the grounds the entire time we were there! A victory, indeed.

It got me thinking, though... the Blue Rose actually comes as a set. As I've explained to a few of you, the Blue Rose is an organism created by the first Queens of Arcadia. Only three artifacts of its kind exist, as far as I know, and I fairly sure that none of them are actually in faerie hands.

So, I thought... what if we were somehow able to get the other two? Not only would that be enough to ward off the Courts completely, it would go a long way to defending us against any of the other nonsense we come across! Perhaps we could even go back to business as usual, for a while...

Anyway, in an attempt to be more forthcoming, I am presenting this idea to you for general 'work shopping' purposes. I know that the Blue Rose was a big hassle to get, but we know so much more now than we did then! I think it's worth a second look.

This is…Herbert West: a contributor to the recent cure as you may recall as well as…your new Doctor. [He pauses to let that sink in, sounding really smug about it.] The Medical Team is still, small but as more experienced members join it has become more…evident that we do not have the resources we need to properly, treat the Carnival staff.

Namely: up to date medical documentation on you all—now, I made do before with what I had, during the process of constructing the cure but those involved may recall being asked various questions, questions which would have been unnecessary had the previous department been keeping your notes on file. Perhaps medical files aren’t required by, magical zebras but they are required by. Me. It is considerably easier for everyone when all previous knowledge doesn’t leave with the former physician—I’m sure you can agree. [He’s trying his best to sound congenial, definitely, but it mostly comes off as stilted as usual…maybe it counts that he’s trying?]

Today and tomorrow, myself and Mr Okumura will be available to perform physical examinations; any additional medical history you can provide is, welcome, and if you would prefer to attend on an alternate date, contact me to arrange a time.

[And then because so many people here are damned word weasels:] I have to insist all of you show up. Even if you’re healthy. Especially, if you’re healthy to give us an idea of your baseline state but we will, of course, treat any issues you have. Understand, it’s for the good of the Carnival and everyone’s…future well-being.


[ooc: Make sure to help me out by posting anything you think of to the med tent info post. Also, Herbert is almost literally always in the med tent during daytime hours but let us know if you have an ooc preference for checkups.]