genessia | Event start!

Event start!

Let the Cirque du Vrai begin!

OOC: The event starts today. It affects Attleton. Players can make their own posts and have fun with it or they can reply to this post with top levels and have fun that way! Up to you! There will be a separate log posted for the Showstopper on the 29th. If you have any questions or would like to sign up for the Showstopper, please check out the event details and remember that sign-ups for the Showstopper close tonight at 11:59pm PST.

Please note that if your character tries to enter the circus without a mask and costume (cannot be something your character already owned because it's not a disguise if it's theirs), they'll be prevented from getting in one way or the other. Don't try to get around it and don't try to be like WELL NO ONE CAN STOP MY CHARACTER!! If your character goes right past them they'll find themselves in the field the next day the second they go past the gates, capiche?? No cheating it's not fun for anyone.

As the sun sets in Attleton, a strange haze seems to glow over the barrier for a few moments before in the distance, a sequence of lights flickers on. The entrance sign first, then tents and merry-go-rounds and booths and all manner of dizzying fun illuminate just as darkness falls. It doesn't take more than a few seconds for the sounds of cheers and fun to fill the Attleton air. It almost seems like it's calling to you, inviting you in. As you approach, a man on stilts greets you. He explains that the flyers that have been floating around town with the wind and on the walls were all for this, the Cirque du Vrai! Become someone else to become yourself, step right up! You don't need to buy a ticket, you just need to buy a costume.

"There's a costume shop right next to the entrance for those who aren't prepared, and a master mask maker who will create any mask you desire, or leave it up to him once he decides what he thinks suits you. If you brought your own, that's fine too! The Cirque is here for days, there's time to spare! Don't let reservations drive you to despair! You'll miss out on fun if you let your life run all over the mystery we've so prestigiously spun. Test your skills, test your wills, find your chills, thrills, and pills. Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for is just beyond the gate! Accept who you are and you'll need none to commiserate!"

The man laughs, leaving before you can ask what that means to invite another in, and the game begins. Welcome to the Cirque du Vrai. Enjoy.

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[He sketches a courtly bow, and turns back to the poor carnie, placing down another red bill. Six more knives, and he's not even pretending these are serviceable - the handles are half falling off and the blades are visibly warped.

And it really, really doesn't matter. Julius Belmont taught him how to do this, and the man was nothing if not an able teacher. Six more perfect throws.]

Does milady wish a further demonstration?

Yes. You may proceed when ready.

[If this guy is as skilled as he seems, and what just happened was no a fluke, she might just be tempted to take him as a minion. It doesn't hurt to have a capable agent to send out on assassination missions, does it?

She stands by, at a angle to easily keep an eye on him and the targets.]

As you wish.

[She is, unfortunately, bound for disappointment in that goal - Soma is not a killer. Not of men, at least - monsters on the other hand... Still, neither of them knows the other's mind right now, so what harm is there? The carnie has pulled out all the stops, now - there is a selection, I kid you not, of dull kitchen knives on the counter now. He wants to see this one, too.

Soma takes a little more time, this go-round; each knife has its own unique profile and weight, and they clearly weren't even designed with the possibility of being thrown in mind. In the end, though, it doesn't matter - not only was he taught by the best, he has the edge of actual superhuman senses. Six more throws - six more bullseyes. This isn't a fluke. He turns to the young lady and bows, smiling.]

Satisfied, or is further proof required?

[She never considered it possible for throwing knives to be a viable weapon, but she thinks oversize now.

It was a satisfying spectacle, but she can think of one more test. Yellowish wispy ribbons of magical energy swirled around her hands for a few moments before the ribbons started gravitating towards the ground.]

Think fast~

[At least four to eight fist-sized earthen stones burst forth from the ground in front of Soma. She wants to see if he can break them all before they fall back down.]

[When the girl he had been - he thought - merely entertaining brought out the sorcery, Soma's brow rose behind the dragon mask. That kind of talent is rare in the young. Earth magic, at that - the slow, rock-steady control needed for that kind of work spoke volumes all on its own. Even a spell this simple could not be dismissed - when one works with earth, after all, it's mostly a matter of scale once you have the control.

In the moment, he forgets something. He's been playing the part of the skilled but mundane marksman. But as he starts flinging knives again, the observant will note that he picked up none beforehand, and that they vanish after striking their marks. The carnie certainly does, swearing softly under his breath. Never trust a magician - the golden rule. And now he has before him not one but two.

But this is the Cirque du Vrai, and it's aaaall about releasing inhibitions. So instead of shouting and tossing both of them out - well, away - he applauds, a huge grin on his face.

Soma turns now to face his audience, bowing low. The entire performance took, perhaps, a handful of seconds. Julius could have done it in one.] Fast enough?

[Quite fast on the draw, but how fast on his feet? She may possess Earth magic, but it's by far not all she has.

Grinning mischievously under her veil, more wispy ribbons of magical energy swirled around her hands in a bright, bluish-white. She held her hands on front and traced a magic circle in the shape of a snowflake. Needles of ice began to appear inside of the circle, as of it was the beginning of a endless stream of icy projectiles.

Before the barrage of ice began, she broke the circle and ended the spell.]

I jest~
I must be off, but I hope we can play again sometime.

[Earth and ice? This girl was some kind of prodigy. Pity that she had other business, but he nods politely.] Of course. Ask for Mr. White on the network, when the time comes. Ah, but before we forget! [He turns to the carnie, and indicates the prize she had ordered in the first place.] This, I believe, is yours.

Likewise, ask for Princess.

[She doesn't mind showing off all of her magic, but she really needs a target, otherwise she will cause untold levels of damage. Before she went on her way, her attention was grabbed again. Ah yes, the big teddy bear. She came back for it.]

I believe it is.

[It's huge though. Really the size of a bear? This will not be easy to carry.]

[There are two courses of action he can take, here. One, he can carry the bear - either as it is, or stored in what he's taken to calling hammerspace (he's from Japan, after all), inside his coat. Or... he can do what he does here.

He accepts the bear from the carnie, ties a ribbon around its neck, and... it disappears. In its place, a miniature version, with a ribbon carefully tied around its neck, a sealing charm dangling from it.]

Remove the ribbon when you get it home, and it will return to its original size. Just make sure there's nothing breakable nearby when you do. [Yoko taught him that one. It made carnivals with Mina much, much more enjoyable, since it meant he didn't have to carry around her chosen winnings. ...Not all of them, anyway.]

[She stares down at the teddy bear for a long while before kneeling down to pick it up. The gesture alone confuses her. Aren't royals usually hated? Even after turning her magic on people.]

You are kind. Why?

[He even offers her a hand back up to her feet. He's a gentleman, after all, even if he's about four centuries behind the times for it back home.]

I could give you many reasons. I could say that a wise man once told me that kindness costs nothing, and may be worth your life. I could say it is simply my nature. But the truth is, there just aren't enough smiles in the world, and I prefer to change that, when I can.

[She accepts the hand and hoists herself back to her feet, bringing the teddy bear with her. Chances are, she might have a smile hidden under her veil when he explained.]

You are a credit to your people. You would fit in well with my Kingdom's knights. ... Or, then again, maybe not.

[Given what he knew of actual knighthood from Dracula's memories, he rather hoped not. The romantic ideal is far, far from the truth. The half of his face visible beneath the mask smiles, though - clearly this young lady understands that, herself.]

Knights and dragons do not, I fear, get along very well. We are altogether too fond of flying away with the maidens they've sworn to protect and getting up to all manner of troublesome adventures.

[Her knights are a cut above the rest. Great, unmovable walls of iron standing in between enemy and home. Dragons a simple myths in her world.]

You speak as though you are a dragon yourself. Yet mine eyes lay upon no scales or wings.

[She's lucky to have them, then - he knows all too well about the other kind. As for dragons, well...]

Would you perhaps like to see me breathe fire, to prove it? But no - you are right in that, at least. I am no dragon, in truth. Just a man, if one with stranger abilities than most. An ancestor of mine did win the title of Dragon in an order of knights, though.

[But the less said about him, the better. He definitely doesn't want to give the poor girl the impression that Dracula might be friendly.]

Don't you dare breathe fire near me.

[She's sick of explaining how her people are vulnerable to heat, having evolved for frozen lands.]

I am curious, though. You speak like you are a dragon, and seem to want to avoid knights.

[He holds up his hands, surrendering to her decree.] No fire. Got it. Though... hmm. [He digs in a pocket for a moment, finally extracting a necklace with what appears to be a ruby the size of a robin's egg.] If you truly fear fire, this will protect you from it. I've no use for it; my own resistance outstrips it.

[He gestures at his costume - a white dragon - and smiles a slightly self-deprecating smile.] Merely trying to be in-character, I suppose. The world I came from no longer has such things as knights or dragons, at least in anything other than a ceremonial form.

[She stares intently at the ruby necklace. A desire to have it. A princess should always get the nicest things.]

It's not just fire, but heat from direct sunlight as well. Stagnant air of temperatures higher than the average room temperature makes me sick.

[He's not putting it away; it's freely offered.]

Those, alas, I can do little to protect against. But the pendant is yours; I can make another, if I need it.

[She gladly takes the necklace and puts it on the teddy bear for safe keeping.]

I wonder if you kindness has any ulterior motives. Not like you will tell me, of course.

None that I'm aware of. [He shrugs at the suggestion.] I have few friends. Adding to their numbers can't hurt, and you're interesting.

Interesting...?

[She considers herself lucky to have anyone pay attention to her. For someone to say that she's interesting is a mystery to her.]

Interesting in what way?

Well, you haven't cringed in fear or run away screaming from me, for one. For another, you've displayed a remarkable talent for magic for a lady as young as yourself.

[He smiles, then, and folds his arms.] But that's not what makes you interesting. You barged up to a total stranger and demanded he do the impossible, then made him do it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. You have guts, to put it plainly, and you remind me of a very dear friend from home.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event start!

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I was asleep this whole time. :|

It happens

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