EXPLORATION #6

[finchmods]

EXPLORATION

For the first 24 hours please post any exploration spoilers in journal posts under a cut!

While there are no locals to rescue this time, there's still an atmosphere of tension as the Finchwood Academy students climb off the bus and face the lighthouse on Sunday afternoon. The Shadow World has proven itself less predictable and more dangerous than ever lately and no one seems entirely certain what to expect, not even the denizens of the Velvet Room. As they wait for the rift to open, Atticus Starling notices that Iason is chewing anxiously on his lower lip and asks him if he's nervous. He denies it but proceeds to pat them awkwardly on the shoulder and wish them good luck before wandering away. Within a few minutes, the rift appears and the squads head into the Shadow World.

The other world is just as they remember it: dark and damp and lit only be its unnatural moon. The cathedral looms ahead and this time there are no footprints to follow and they have to pull open the huge double doors before they can enter. The door leading to the carnival grounds still stands open and, with only the briefest hesitation, they make their way toward it. While the bright tents and flickering lights remain, the calliope music and the distant voices can no longer be heard over the sound of rushing wind. Overhead, greenish-gray clouds swirl and thunder booms and lightning cracks. It looks like the sky before a tornado. The Supports indicate that they cannot sense any Shadows but that there's a familiar unreadable place (like the one that had hidden the king in the castle) where the big top stands and that any remaining Shadows are most likely there. Along with the ringmaster. While this has the potential makings of a trap, the groups decide that there's strength in numbers and that all six squads will go in together. When they reach the largest of the bright tents, each squad heads for one of the entrances, hoping to surround whatever's inside.

Unfortunately, as soon as they pass through the entrances something shifts. Their minds and senses reel as something reaches out and overwhelms them. For a moment, their knowledge of who they are seems to be slipping away and they seem to be staring into a bright light. A spotlight? An impossibly tall and angular silhouette stands in the center of the tent and introduces them in a booming voice.

The Masters of the Mystical Arts! -- Squad 4, now dressed in the glamorous and gaudy outfits of stage magicians and their assistants. Tailcoats and top hats abound!
The Fearless and Death-Defying Daredevils! -- Squad 5, now dressed in fitted, brightly colored clothes with bold designs and liberally-applied sequins that demand attention.
The Mysterious Fates! -- Squad 7, now dressed in bold, symbolic representations of their arcana: Justice (XI), The Hanged Man (XII), The Devil (XV), and The High Priestess (II). Each has the number of their arcana painted in gold on their forehead.
The Ferocious Beasts of Distant Lands! -- Squad 11, now dressed (sparingly) in leather, furs or feathers or scales, and bones. Each has a metal collar around their neck with a long chain attached to it.

They want to obey and come to the ring. Before any of them can step forward, however, their Personas manifest and the power attempting to overtake them loses its grip. If this is the power that had gripped the students of Haling High School, it's no wonder they never stood a chance. The figure in the ring howls that the show must happen and slams his cane against the ground with unnatural force that makes the earth rumble. Only now aware of their surroundings, the students of Finchwood Academy can see that the massive tent is full of faded, shade-like figures, both in the audience (where they watch and cheer and scream) and the ring (where they leap and twirl and tumble like performers). The ringmaster waves his cane and Shadows appear too, each poised to attack one of the squads before they can reach the ring.

This... is about to get messy.

Squad 4

Three Shadows are there to confront Squad 4 before they can reach the ring: a magician with a billowing cape and a third, vertical eye in the middle of its forehead that is somehow difficult to look at and two magician's assistants dressed in sparkling leotards and fishnet stockings. One is cut in half, with its upper body floating freely above its lower body and the other is full of holes bleeding black fluid; apparently, the magician's tricks don't always go as planned. Determined to aid his squad, Eli focuses on the trio of Shadows and hurries to report that the assistants are vulnerable to water and that there's a dangerous power in the magician's third eye, though he can't decipher what it is. Yet. So informed, the squad rushes into the fray, with Flint covering Mason so they can attempt to take down the assistants quickly and Emma and Suzy holding off the magician.

Summoning Eyael, Mason goes after both assistants with powerful blasts of water. The high pressure torrent not only seems to push them back but seems to be dissolving them into something foul and slick and black as they struggle to escape the onslaught. While both do, only the top half of the first assistant manages to escape and its torso hits the dirt with a thump before it begins pulling itself along with its now-gnarled hands. Both are coming for Mason with a vengeance. Fortunately, Flint is there to intervene, summoning Lehahiah to blast the whole assistant with a beam of light while he slams his katar down into the other, pinning it to the ground and destroying it. While the other keeps coming, lashing out at the brothers with a sudden burst of flames that they just barely manage to avoid, another blast of water is enough to put it down for good.

Meanwhile, Emma and Suzy charge the magician with their weapons drawn but are knocked back by a boom of thunder that almost takes them off their feet. Before the Shadow can attack again, though, Suzy regains her footing and lunges forward her woldo again, slashing and lunging and landing several blows that cut into the Shadow. When she aims another jab at the third eye, though, it manages to knock the weapon away and suddenly manifests a bright string of kerchiefs from its sleeve that wraps around and around the woldo before whipping it (and Suzy) away with surprising force. Emma is in the midst of summoning Daniel to follow up with an attack when the Shadow's third eye opens wide and begins to glow and both girls feel the effect immediately. The oppressive sense of fear that attempts to overtake them is familiar to Emma and she desperately attempts to fight it while Suzy starts to give into it. Before she can, though, Emma suddenly realizes that her Persona can fight back. The light inside of Daniel's tree-like body glows bright and the Persona's will goes up against the Shadow's, overcoming the fear with a sense of confusion. The magician's senses blur and it seems to lose its focus. It stumbles and it reels and its magic winks out. Emma has successfully cast Confusion. So enfeebled, the magician is no longer a threat and the squad easily takes it down.

With the Shadows defeated, Squad 4 heads toward the ring, arriving alongside Squad 5.

Continued in Inside the Center Ring.

Squad 5

The Shadows that appear to face Squad 5 are a motley crew, all humanoid but fundamentally off. A knife thrower and its partner, both unnaturally slim and ashen with featureless faces apart from two large black eyes. A fire breather with a red mask and charred skin. A sword swallower with blades protruding from inside its stomach and a too-wide mouth leaking blood from which it pulls two weapons for the fight. One thing they all seem to have in common, though, is speed and the initial charge forces the squad to scatter to avoid being set ablaze or cut to ribbons.

Forced into facing off against the sword swallower one-on-one, Venus quickly finds herself in a bad situation when the Shadow slices her bat into three separate pieces, only one of which she manages to hold onto. And that's not likely to do much damage. She's quick enough to evade the next blow that's aimed at her and summons Omael to strike back but misses. While the Shadow continues to attack, Hadlee pipes up that she just needs one good shot: the Shadow is weak to lightning! Thinking fast, Venus attacks again, this time with a darkness spell that momentarily blinds the Shadow, leaving it furious and flailing and in no state to dodge another crackling bolt of lightning. This next blow lands and the Shadow shrieks before breaking apart into mist. A number of swords (covered in something foul and black) clatter to the floor where it stood and Venus reluctantly grabs one to replace her bat. Ew.

Meanwhile, the fire breather corners Petra and immediately attacks in the expected manner. Fire leaps from the curled lips of its mask and the girl has little choice but to retreat back and try to avoid being forced into a corner or into the now-jeering audience. While the flames obscure her view, she still lifts her rifle and attempts to shoot and is soon rewarded with a howl of pain as a bullet pierces the Shadow's abdomen. Unfortunately, this seems to anger it more than anything and it rushes at Petra, grabbing for her with its charred hands. Before it can reach her, however, Harahel appears to intercept it and (when ordered by Petra) impales the Shadow with a stone spire that erupts from the ground. It bursts into flames that burn away the moss and plants growing on Harahel and blacken some of the Persona's stone body before it can retreat, though Petra herself is protected from anything but the phantom ache of her other self's injuries.

Cut off from the others by the knife thrower and its partner, Adam and Kodi end up on the defensive almost immediately because neither is quick enough to outmaneuver the pair of Shadows. While Adam finally manages to strike the duo with a bone-rattling blast of thunder, the attack proves useless against them and the failure only seems to make the Shadows bolder. A large, brightly-colored wheel appears behind Kodi and four chains reach out to grab her, pulling her back against it despite her efforts to wrench away. The intention is obvious even before the wheel begins to spin and Adam rushes for the knife thrower, enraged and unwilling to let his second be target practice. Hadlee, who has been observing the fight and focusing on the Shadows' resistance to thunder, suddenly sees something she's never seen before: a sphere around each of the Shadows that Haziel knows how to destroy. She reaches out with her Persona and these spheres become momentarily visible to the students fighting the Shadows before shattering into pieces and disappearing. Hadlee has used Break to remove the Shadow's resistance to thunder. She tells Adam to attack with Aniel again and this time the pair of Shadows can't defend against the magic. Both are thrown back and off their feet. While Adam goes after the knife thrower, attacking first with his fists and then with another blast of thunder that destroys it, Petra arrives to put several bullets through the other. When they're both destroyed, the wheel that Kodi is held against disappears. Apart from her bruised pride and some actual bruises on her wrists and ankles, she appears to be unharmed.

With the the Shadows defeated, Squad 5 heads to the center ring and arrives alongside Squad 4.

Continued in Inside the Center Ring.

Squad 7

The Shadow that approaches Squad 7 isn't innately intimidating but the familiarity of the small crystalline figure wrapped up in a dark cloak is enough to put the group on edge, especially Conway, who heard about Theodora's encounter with this entity in detail. Before the boy can charge the Shadow, though, a deck of silvery tarot cards appears in its hands and it spreads them out in the air. Four cards lift to face the squad and, as they do, a figure leaps out. Each one resembles a twisted combination of a Finchwood Academy student and their Persona that seems more than ready to fight for the Shadow. The Wheel of Fortune summons 'Sullivan', who smiles and strolls toward Lillian, encircled by orbs of metal and glass. The Chariot summons 'Theodora', who rushes toward Conway with her long sword drawn. The Hanged Man summons 'Dustin', who draws one of the several bloody blades stuck into his chest as he lunges for Wallace. The Devil summons 'Russell', who blows Selby a kiss before suddenly lashing out at him with a long chain.

The fight quickly explodes into chaos, with each of the squad members facing off against a Shadow wearing the face of a friend, a mental game which proves to be cruelly effective in throwing some of the squad members off their game. This proves particularly damaging to Selby, whose hesitation to shoot an arrow into 'Russell' gives the Shadow an easy opening to charge him and strike him across the face with the chain. The impact breaks his cheek bone and will leave an arc of painful bruises. It sends him stumbling, allowing 'Russell' to hook the chain around his neck from behind and pull him back, prepared to start choking the disoriented boy before he can stop seeing stars. Fortunately, Lillian comes to his rescue before that can happen, shooting her harpoon into the Shadow's side. In its surprise, it drops Selby. It's even more surprised when Lillian reels it in and destroys it with a blast of dark energy from Jeliel. Momentarily distracted from her own opponent, Lillian almost finds herself on the receiving end of a painful shock as 'Sullivan' throws one of the glass spheres floating around it and it explodes with a bright discharge of electricity. Jeliel, however, is able to protect her and prevent any damage because of its electrical resistance. Keen to return the favor, Selby forces himself back into the battle and joins Lillian in fighting 'Sullivan', who is eventually taken down an arrow through the (sunglasses-obscured) eye.

Meanwhile, Conway enters into an intense duel with 'Theodora', using his charkram to deflect the Shadow's blade and lash out in kind. In Theodora's voice, the Shadow taunts him, saying that it will win because she's always been the stronger one. Doesn't he remember training? He's so pathetic. The Shadow soon strikes one of the chakram so hard that it cuts straight through it and the boy has to drop his weapon to avoid losing a hand. But he's got two chakram. While the Shadow is looking smug over its small victory, Conway throws the bladed hoop into its neck and manages to disarm it, destroying the Shadow with its own weapon, which then turns to mist his hands. Wallace has a similarly intense battle with 'Dustin', but the rendition of his roommate never speaks. It does weep silently throughout, though. Awkward. The Shadow manages to land one good blow, leaving a bleeding gash on Wallace's forearm, though taking the hit put Wallace in a position to disarm the Shadow and ultimately destroy it. No pain, no gain, right?

Finally, all the doppelgangers are gone and the squad turns their attention back to the Shadow. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be out of tricks just yet. As they attack, the fortune teller begins flipping over more cards. The Sun, which launches a blast of fire toward Wallace as he attempts to attack with Mihael, damaging the Persona enough to force it to retreat and leaving Wallace with burns on his arms. Strength, which deflects their attacks like a shield. The Hermit, which somehow banishes Achaiah before Selby can carry through with an intended attack. The battle is proving impossible to predict and goes from bad to worse when the Shadow flips over the Death card and a rush of black mist leaps from it and engulfs Lillian. While the mist is quick to dissipate, Lillian feels the impact almost instantly and drops her harpoon gun so she can wrap her arms around herself. She feels sad. And empty. And suddenly can't understand the point of any of this or anything at all. She's been inflicted with Despair.

Realizing that something's wrong, Conway is quick to take charge. He orders Selby to protect Lillian while the rest of the squad attempts to get through the fortune teller's unpredictable defenses. Each card turned presents a new challenge and the squad continues to be thwarted at every turn until Imamiah surprises all of them, Conway and the fortune teller included, by manifesting a shield to protect against an attack launched by the Emperor card. In that moment of surprise, Selby (who has been standing with his bow drawn in preparation), puts an arrow through the fortune tellers head. It collapses unceremoniously forward and its cards scatter across the floor.

The squad hurries to gather around its incapacitated leader and regroup, looking toward the ring.

Squad 11

The Shadow facing down Squad 11 is familiar -- a tall, eyeless 'man' with a mouth full of serrated metal teeth dressed in a bright uniform and armed with a whip. The animal tamer. Flanked by two additional Shadows, a tiger with bones protruding from is flank and back like spikes and a massive serpent with a flared hood, the 'man' rasps for them to obey and holds out his hand, summoning the chains attached to the squad members' collars into his grasp. While they all attempt to brace themselves when the Shadow pulls the chains forward, only Thalia and Atticus are able to dig their heels into the dirt and stand their ground. With the chains momentarily taut and strained, Thalia brings her sickle down on hers and Atticus' forcefully, breaking them apart and freeing them while the animal tamer hoists their other three companions into the air. They've earned their freedom... but they've also become the primary targets of the two ferocious Shadows.

The serpent lunges toward Atticus, hissing and biting, though the boy is able to hold the Shadow at bay with his halberd, blocking each attack and cutting its gaping mouth. The tiger goes after Thalia, charging the girl and leaping at her with its claws bared. While she too manages to hold the creature off and dodge its attacks, neither is in a position to help their squadmates, still dangling in the tamer's grip. They don't intend to remain helpless, though, and Pearl begins firing arrows into the Shadow until, with a roar of fury, it slams them all toward the ground. Before they can crash into the dirt, though, Pearl summons Rochel to catch them against her cloud-like body. The Persona also grabs the chains, freezing them solid and rendering them brittle enough for Neal and Marzio to break apart. The three scatter but don't get far before the tamer knocks them off their feet with a boom of thunder. Before it can attack again, however, Quincey uses Jabamiah's dark magic to temporarily obscure the squad from the tamer so they can help Thalia and Atticus. This effect will fade if they attack the Shadow but, for now, it gives them some much-needed breathing room.

Acting in tandem, Atticus, Pearl, and Neal are able to overpower the serpent, which is susceptible to fire and falls quickly once Neal enters the fray. Marzio and Thalia, meanwhile, take on the tiger, with Thalia keeping it occupied enough that Marzio can move in and land a hard blow with his punch dagger to the beast's head, instantly destroying it. Unfortunately, Quincey pipes up to let them know that the dark magic is wearing off and that the Shadow is using some kind of magic to create more creatures. They turn in time to see the tamer crack his whip and darkness beginning to gather. The first takes the form of a lion with metal claws and a sharp metallic tail while the other resembles a large white bird with pale golden eyes that settles on the tamer's shoulder and immediately begins to sing. The song is sad but beautiful and makes it difficult to focus and Quincey immediately begins telling them not to listen. As the song threatens to pull them into its thrall, Thalia manages to regain her senses and suddenly throws the weighted end of her kusari-gama toward the bird, successfully lassoing it and pulling it away from the tamer with a disgruntled squawk. This didn't happen quickly enough to save them all, though, and Pearl slumps to her knees, suddenly overwhelmed with misery and lacking the will to fight. She hides her face in her hands. She has been inflicted with Despair. An alarmed Atticus moves to her side, intent on protecting her.

With the bird still wrapped in chains, Thalia puts an end to it quickly while Neal and Marzio rush to attack the tamer, determined to prevent it from summoning more and more creatures. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done and the tamer continues attempting to form more creatures even as it fights the squad, attacking with his whip and bursts of thunder. The battle seems to be grinding into a stalemate that will last only as long as the squad's energy does. They need another solution. As if on cue, Sitael manifests behind Neal and the boy understands that there might be another solution. A halo and wings of fire appear as the Persona casts a new magic, drawing the tamer's attention to it. The Shadow lowers its whip and turns its eyeless face toward Neal and Sitael as if to look at them. The remaining creatures disappear into smoke and, after a moment, it offers its whip. Does he want this? It's all the Shadow has to offer? Neal has successfully Charmed the tamer... and none of the others fully understand what's going on. They almost feel bad destroying it.

Finally safe, Atticus puts an arm around Pearl and the squad turns toward the ring.

Inside the Center Ring

Making quick work of the Shadows and emerging relatively unharmed from battle, Squad 4 and Squad 5 reach the ring at the center of the big top together and exchange tense looks. Not far away, the ringmaster stands beneath a flood of lights and watches everything around it. The Shadow is a tall, angular creature with a body made of roiling black mist, dressed in a bright ensemble of red, gold, and black and armed with a cane with a golden orb on top. The longer the group looks at it, though, the more dull its garments seem and the more the shine comes off its cane, like the vibrance washing out of an old photograph left in the sun. The only thing about it that never changes are its large, bright yellow eyes. It taps the ground with its cane and murmurs a strange mantra in a wispy voice: The show. So you'll see me. The show. So you'll see me. The show. So you'll see me. While there is anger in its voice, there's something else as well. Desperation? Loss? Fear? None of them have time to figure it out for certain because, without warning, the Shadow looks directly at them.

Deciding that the time has come and that they'll do this together, Flint and Adam exchange nods and lead their squads into the ring to confront the ringmaster. As soon as they do, though, the bright lights overhead flash and a solid circle of light energy forms around the outside of the ring. The squads left outside will find themselves unable to enter and the squads left inside are unable to get out. At least for the time being. The ringmaster wastes no time in turning on the squads. It twirls its cane and wind begins to rise, filling the air with dirt from the tent floor and making it difficult to see. It slams its cane into the ground and generates a clap of thunder that makes the ground shake and threatens to knock them back with the force. Summoning Aniel, Adam is able to protect himself and Petra, who had been standing just beside him, but all of the others go flying back into the light barrier. Flint and Venus strike it hard enough to have the air knocked out of them and both struggle to catch their breath amidst the swirling dust. The others, though, recover more readily and Kodi and Suzy are soon charging the Shadow together and reproducing a maneuver they'd come up with during the squads' recent group training session. While the blows land, tearing the Shadow's clothes and drawing black, viscous blood, the ringmaster doesn't react and proceeds to knock the girls away with two broad swipes of its cane. The Shadow begins to follow after them but is dissuaded by a sudden hail of bullets and arrows, courtesy of Petra and Mason, though this doesn't seem to bother it much more than the other attacks had and it soon returns to the offensive, attacking with incredible physical strength and powerful magic.

Desperate to unravel the secrets of this Shadow and help their friends, Hadlee and Eli reluctantly combine their skills to perform a more thorough analysis but find that a sort of mental feedback threatens to lash back at them immediately. Startled by how close it comes to pulling her in, Hadlee seizes Eli's hand back in the auditorium for a moment... not that she'd ever admit that. Despite this surprise, Eli is quick to report what little they did see: the Shadow is vulnerable to stone attacks and it seems to have a broad range of mental abilities (though, given what happened when they entered the big top, that's hardly a surprise). Before they can make use of this knowledge, however, the wind picks up and the dust swirling around them becomes impossible to see through. From within the sandstorm, they begin to hear voices too. While the words are indecipherable, the anguish in them is clear and the squad members can each feel it trying to seep into their thoughts. Forcing himself to focus and pull away from the voices, Flint shouts over the wind for Suzy to try counteracting the gale with one of her own but no response comes. Fortunately, Eli and Hadlee are able to locate the Shadow and call out to Flint when it passes by him, allowing the boy to launch a stone spike into its side with Lehahiah, doing enough damage to stop the constant onslaught of wind. When the dust settles, they can all see the ringmaster on its knees bleeding black ooze into the dirt but they can also see Suzy curled up on the ground and looking hopelessly despondent and Kodi gripping her scythe (incorrectly) with both hands and looking around, confused and frightened and completely at a loss. Suzy has been inflicted with Despair and Kodi has been inflicted with Forget.

Unwilling to give the Shadow a chance to recover, Emma, Adam, and Venus immediately rush to attack with their Personas and overwhelm it with a combined blast of dark energy (another technique they'd practiced during their shared training session). Finally, the ringmaster collapses and dissolves into smoke. Afterward, the squads quickly regroup and attempt to reassure Kodi (who is losing her temper and becoming argumentative toward all of these unfamiliar people in an attempt to hide her fearful confusion) and Suzy (who remains unresponsive and lost quietly in her misery). As they do, the walls surrounding them come down and they can finally see the other squads. Adam insists on carrying Suzy as they depart.

While the ringmaster is defeated inside the circle, those outside the circle notice a shadowy figure sitting in the front row of the audience stand up and being to scream in pain. The figure falls to their knees and presses their hands to their temples before they abruptly go silent and jerk their head up. Their pained expression fades and something like relief crosses their face before they collapse forward into a pile of ash. Conway Loxton gets a good enough look, even at a distance, to realize that the figure's face had resembled that of Jordan James.

With the powerful Shadow defeated, the energy encircling the ring collapses and the big top around them seems to shift. Just like last time, the Supports can sense some powerful magic being undone and then the carnival abruptly disappears, replaced by the boardwalk. In the wall behind them, there's an open door leading back to the cathedral. The carnival has been destroyed.

Once outside, they wait about 15 minutes before the rift closes and they head back to Finchwood. The rift was open for a total of 5 hours, 16 minutes, and 27 seconds.

» BEFORE EXPLORATION: There's a light lunch before the squads slated to enter the rift are bussed out to the lighthouse.

» THE SHADOW WORLD: Please put your squad name in the header. Keep in mind that Support students are in the auditorium together with Ms. Voss and are not physically present in the Shadow World, but their threads can go here.

» FINCHWOOD ACADEMY: Students that aren't set to explore are told to stay on campus and be battle-ready, just in case.

» AFTER EXPLORATION: Everyone doing ok? Students that were injured or afflicted with ailments are taken to Iason before they're allowed to do anything else.

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Comments

BEFORE EXPLORATION

[finchmods]

THE SHADOW WORLD

[finchmods]

FINCHWOOD ACADEMY

[finchmods]

AFTER EXPLORATION

[finchmods]

Noah outside the auditorium (open)

[strikings]

Until now, Exploration weekend has basically been permission to sleep in, but even Noah can't idle away for that long with half of the school is missing. As time stretches into the fifth hour, Noah wanders down to the auditorium.

There's not much to see, with the doors closed to anyone but Supports, so he settles on a bench and tries not to... feel anything about this. Because he doesn't. The first Supports to exit will hear the loud sounds of Candy Crush echoing through the hallway, although Noah stands quickly when he sees one of his friends.

Slightly Injured Venus (open)

[knockyouout]

It's late, and Venus knows she has class tomorrow morning. But instead of sleeping or even trying to, she's down in the kitchen, making herself some hot chocolate. It's sugar and calories she definitely doesn't need at this hour of the day, but... she's had a rough one, and thinks she deserves some kind of reward.

As she reaches for a mug, something in her side twinges painfully and she withdraws her arm, wincing. She hadn't felt badly hurt when she'd left the Shadow World, so she hadn't bothered with Iason. But as she hikes up the hem of her t-shirt to investigate, she sees she has a pretty nasty bruise forming where she collided with the barrier earlier.

She pulls the shirt up a little higher without regard for modesty (she's wearing a sports bra, anyway, and shows up to training in just that all the time), prodding gently at the bruise to gauge its size. She's so involved in her work that she forgets about the milk she still has simmering on the stove and doesn't notice when someone else enters the kitchen.

Texts to Adam

[upperhandsen]

To: 🛑 D 📵 O ⛔️ N 🚫 T 🙅🏾‍♀️

[1] [a photo]
[2] Where is this?
[3] this is hansen
[4] 🗺 ❓❓❓

INJURIES/AILMENTS

[finchmods]

AILMENTS Characters that have been inflicted with ailments during battle will be taken to Iason after returning from the Shadow World. While Iason can sometimes negate ailments completely, just as often he can only lessen their effects and the characters must endure some symptoms for between one and four days until the ailments fade completely. This is opt-in. Reply below if your character was inflicted with an ailment and you would like Iason to be unable to heal it completely. Sorry, kids! He tried! 🤔 Kodi (inflicted with Forget) 😢 Lillian (inflicted with Despair) 😢 Pearl (inflicted with Despair) 😢 Suzy (inflicted with Despair) For more information about how the ailments impact characters after leaving the Shadow World, click here.		INJURIES Characters that received injuries during battle will be taken to Iason after returning from the Shadow World. All but the most severe injuries can be healed without issue. The mods will notify you if an injury is severe enough that it can't be healed; otherwise, assume that it was healed. ✖️ Kodi (bruised ankles and wrists) ✖️ Selby (broken cheekbone and bruises) ✖️ Wallace (forearm gash, burns on arm) ✖️ Squads 4 & 5 (miscellaneous bruises and scrapes)

Re: INJURIES/AILMENTS

[opalescents]

This was the best gift you could give me of course she is going to keep it??
(This whole thing is amazing ps oh my godddd?!?!)

Re: INJURIES/AILMENTS

[upperhandsen]

kodi is 100% keeping forget. also all the girls despaired breaks my heart??? (and makes me laugh bc it's kodi's main girl + the two she tried to smooch in the last few days. kodi has a communicable illness and that's called Making People Sad.)

Re: INJURIES/AILMENTS

[mentalmap]

god i don't know if the world is prepared for Sad Suzy but she's def gonna stay sad for a day or two :'c :'c :'c

Re: INJURIES/AILMENTS

[woeislee]

Oh, Lee is gonna keep the sads >:)

OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[finchmods]

Holy moly.

A Special Twist!

[finchmods]

Because the ringmaster attempted (but ultimately failed) to turn the students into performers in his show, they all ended up in circus outfits for the duration of their time in the carnival. Each squad has a theme but describing each costume would've been... bad, so we left this vague. If you feel so inclined, describe your character's outfit and their reaction to it below! This is optional and just for fun/reference.

The costumes will return to their normal clothes once they return to the cathedral.

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[harmreduction]

i'm taking a for atticus i'm sorry i'm greedy

also? oh my god

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[heliocentrist]

WOW THIS IS SO COOL

i can't believe i'm being enabled to make neal a sexy catboy again.

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[empereurs]

omg. omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also SHADOW OUTFITS MY FAVOURITE THING

flint is incredibly worried about suzy and kodi (and will be worried about lee and pearl later), but otherwise feels satisfied about how they collapsed the circus. he's exhausted but refuses to sleep until he's sure that everyone else is okay

tal is a) a COMPLETE BADASS and b) going to cry about pearl and then be mad she's crying and yell about how fuckin stupid this all is

noah is ?around? ok i imagine he is actually hanging out near the auditorium in case hadlee and any other support needs him so :c

I'm real tired today but please let me know if you want my characters for anything. :(

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[like_lazarus_i_rise]

Can I take b for Conway?

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[like_lazarus_i_rise]

Also like thank you so much for making this relationship for awkward by having Conway and Dora kill shadows that look like eachother??? This is everything I wanted

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[youredoinggreatsweetie]

omg Despair girls :((((

WONDERFUL I'M SO GLAD PEOPLE GOT BAD OUTFITS

Also none of my kids were explorating but if you want Hamsi or Sully or Liam for anything, please let me know. I'm around all day.

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[trailerparkprincess]

I have no reason to be tired and yet!!! I am.

My kids exist for you!!!

Hadlee is wigged out! She's upset about Selby's (fixed) face! She's upset that she almost got mentally messed up again! She's upset that she held Eli's hand!!! Everything is bad (nothing is bad, please relax Hadlee). She's a little mad she didn't get an outfit :(
Scout is incredibly worried about everyone, big surprise!! He'll come tell Pearl about all the horses she'll get to ride at Christmas to try to cheer her up or something :(
Shiloh is ???? dumb. He's glad Marzio is alive.

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[mudskipper]

STOP BREAKING MY BOY SELBS

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[upperhandsen]

okay wow this is amazing? thank you so much for everything you do. i am WOWED.

kodi is in a bad way. she spent most of the fight incapacitated and even the badass thing she and suzy tried didn't seem to do anything in the long run. as a bonafide control freak losing control terrifies her, and that happened both on the wheel and with Forget. she finished exploration with no idea what was going on (or why her ankles and wrists are bruised?!?!), scared af, and extremely combative as a result. yay.

she's going to stay forgetful for a few days after iason handles the majority of her ailment. she's going to be quiet and confused and, yes, angry because she's confused. but also because she's default angry.

HER OUTFIT!!!!! IS ORANGE AND YELLOW ARGYLE!!!! it only covers one leg and one arm à ziggy stardust and there are so many sequins.

she's also suuuuuper mega worried about all her despaired girls (PEARL and SUZY and LEE) and will make it her life's work this week to try and make them feel better, even if she forgets why

i am here and will thread with any and everybody~~~~~~~~

luke also exists in this universe or so i have been told.

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[heliocentrist]

OK OK OK

Neal is coming out of the shadow world notably more down tempo than usual, but still VERY vocal about how amazing his squad was. He's concerned about Pearl, and actually feels ?something? about charming and then mercy killing that shadow. He accepted the whip, and... HEY MODS was he able to take it out with him or did it disappear with its owner? Also, he was in a sexy panther costume with a collar and chain around his neck. It was a Look he wished he could have shared with Russ.

Eli is uhhhhhhhh shaken up as per uuuusual. He's freaked out about Suzy, Pearl and Kodi's situation, and whether or not Hadlee's going to kill him for touching her even though she initiated it????

Zinnia is... around? She's a little jealous that her Squad didn't get to take down the ringmaster, but she's also jazzed for those that did? If anyone wants to hear her scream at them about how cool they were, let me know.

I'M AROUND AND READY TO DO SOME SCENES!!!

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[harmreduction]

Okay, okay.

Atticus is mostly concerned about Sad Pearl, a very unPearlish thing for Pearl to be, and will spend the rest of the day fussing over her incessantly.

Venus, upon realizing she was wearing a sequin-covered unitard. She's fine! She probably picked a fight with forget-ed Kodi because she's terrible.

Merry was a real hovermom at the other supports today, because she feels a little ownership over this dungeon and is ticked her squad didn't get to take out the Ringmaster. This is probably Sabrina's fault somehow.