[By a few hours after the battle, there's been time to start redistributing everyone's recovered belongings - including and maybe especially radios. Maybe not all of them, given only a few people have access to the egg space and there's injured people holed up in the makeshift medical center of the once-shop, but enough.]

Ahem. Hi, everyone! I just want to remind you all of an old, unofficial, but relentlessly mandated rule...

- Bring a buddy when you go exploring. -

Or researching, or fighting, or making friends, or... whatever you're doing. It's dangerous to go alone, and all that. Be safe and recover well!

The Ringmaster has split into two selves. I've no idea where the second one is...

[ So hey, there's some bad news. ]

Anyone still listening, make for the temple in central Shabon. Some of us are trying to hole up there. If you're stuck and can answer, we might be able to send you help.

Hey guys! This is Steven!

I know everybody is pretty busy right now, and possibly more than one person? But, with the Eggspace Dimension being a thing, it made me think... that I have some items and stuff that I don't really need, that maybe someone else here could use more than me?

And, so, I thought maybe everyone could just list off any stuff they have sitting around that they don't want, and we could have a swap meet! Which means we'd trade items, or even just give them away to people in need!

Please join in, if you want to! I'm going to bring my stuff to the lounge near our Shabon rooms, if you want to come. Right now, I have a set of body armor that Connie left behind... it doesn't fit me, but I think you can get it resized, if you need the protection. It's black with minty green lines on it. I don't want anything for it, just tell me if you need it.

Um... I also have, like... a lot of diamonds? If anyone needs those for something. But only if you need it, okay!

[This post is open, so you can make and reply to people's top levels without Steven's intervention!]

[The radios will glow green as the Ringmaster begins a broadcast.]

Welcome back to the carnival, everyone. Things may look the same as before, but I assure you, there is no stone that has been left unturned or tree that hasn't been uprooted. We'll have no more stalkers from here on out.

There are a few things of relevance that I have to tell you about. Firstly, Ignatius is no longer in the moon. Instead, he's been relocated to a small island in the middle of the lake. He can't leave it, and you aren't allowed to visit it without my permission. If you do, and he wounds you, you can consider it your own fault.

In a related matter, I've decided to invest my magical energies into granting each of you a ressurection egg, as we clearly can't anticipate any peaceful resolutions from this. If you don't know what that means, it's essentially a ritual spell I'll need your help in completing - once it's done, it will bring you back to life if you happen to perish, but only once. Also, you will have to be in the egg long enough to regrow and hatch. This is no small favour on my part, and it won't work unless your soul can make it back to the egg.

Thirdly, after calling in several favours, I think the location of Eden is almost within view. A few allies will be joining us over the next week and giving us more information. Until then, carry on about your business, as there are some new things you'll have to get used to.

We're going to be organizing the Supervisor guided departments differently from now on. I have explained the details to the Supervisors, and they can fill you in on what will be expected of you. There will not be only six categories: Militia, Acquisitions, Engineering, Management, Administration, and Medical.

Supervisors, feel free to sound off with what group you are leading and what it is for.

Hello! I'm one of the newest members to recently join the carnival but because of... um, recent excitment I never got the chance to introduce myself to everyone. My name is Shiemi Moriyama and I'm from the same world as Rin and Yuki-chan if you're familiar with them.

I'm also the carnival's newest nurse so if you ever need medical assistance then let me know, I'll do my absolute best.

( somewhere in the background there is a noted 'Nee Nee' sound. )

Oh! I can also help with providing different types of plant life that you might need or might be more familiar with since we're surrounded by so much unknown. My familiar, Nee-chan, is a greenman-- a type of demon that can summon plants from his body. My family runs actually runs an apothecary back home and I'm training to take it over so I can also help with greenery questions or problems you might have.

[ After the Ringmaster's finished kicking everyone out and the tent arrangements are more or less settled... ]

So, I'm up. [ Short and to the point. ] Heard people were yelling at my nightrunners. You wanna yell about it some more, you can come yell at me.

[ That's it, that's the post. ]

[ rhys is usually pretty good with electronics but it takes him a little bit of time to figure out how to work this thing. it used to be so much easier. hyperion was a lot of things but technologically deficient it was not. ]

So, I gather things are still going on. Or maybe they're winding down? I can't tell because I've been stuck here the whole time.

[ he was still hanging out at the carnival, staying out of things because this was all a little too much for a guy who still considered him new. ]

Anyone need anything from back here? Laundry? Food? Hugs and kisses?

[ there would be no guarantee that he'd give anything that he offered. hey, he wanted to look good, not work too much. ]

I've got calluses on my hands from all the sweeping I've been doing because there's really nothing else to be done. That's how bored I am.

[ so, come back soon, ya'll. ]

Hey, do I get to give myself a promotion if ya'll are too busy? I've been doing super good work!

[ quit while you're ahead, rhys. ]

[ By the time the radio turns on it’s about an hour after Lambert’s group has returned and reported their findings to the Ringmaster. Now it’s just a matter of letting everyone else know. It’s Syrlya who speaks first. ]

As most of you are aware, the Summer and Winter Courts have pursued the carnival into the Athenaeum and taken some of our people hostage.

[ “Hostage" is a nice way to say permanent enslavement.] According to the Scribe and Curator, the lifelike and antagonistic nature of the books found here is the library’s defense against intruders, and it is under our control.

And has been under our control this entire time. [Tyki’s voice chimes in, at this point. To which he’s not bitter at all about it. This entire mess could’ve possibly been avoided.] Our will has been controlling the stories to a certain victory each time we have been swallowed up by one. It should be comforting to know that they cannot use the stories against us. They have not been given these defenses.

If we cast the Fae into our own narrative, the magic should be strong enough to combat them. We will be bound to the same story, so we cannot allow them to turn its favor or-- [And this he sounds less certain about.] --break the confines of the story ourselves.

It should be noted as well that the story cannot be entirely unbelievable. To play the part, it must seem plausible. One cannot just snap their fingers and a fae is weakened, for example. Something like that will allow them to break the story. The narrative must be consistent and convincing.

[ The Nightrider finally speaks. There’s an edge of tension to his voice, but otherwise, he’s pretty composed. ]

The good news is, this means you don't have to be a fighter to help. Bad news is, we still have to figure out how we're going to do it, who's going or staying, and if we're dealing with the Courts together or one at at time. We need to come up with something fast -- I don’t want them to give time to figure out their own plans. Catching them by surprise is the best chance we’ve got, so working together in groups makes the most sense.

If you have any useful ideas, now’s the time to share them.

[ And 9S chimes in: ] If anyone wants to hear the exact exchange we had with the Scribe and Curator, I can provide a recording for your viewing.

I said useful ideas.

[ ooc: this is mainly an ic planning post! ooc plotting post to follow to organize things more formally, but feel free to threadjack each other, form up groups of your own, all that good stuff to work out where your character will be. ]

[He really didn't want this to happen, but...]

I think it's time we start keeping a list of those who's disappeared, been taken, or is otherwise indisposed.

I'll start.

Lauren has been buried in the ground, somewhere, and Steven Universe has been taken by the Rose Queen.

[He says all of this blankly, matter of factly, and there's only the sound of a shaky breath at the very end.]

[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.]