Bright lights! An abundance of color! A cacophony of laughter and delighted (?) shrieks! Welcome, everyone, to the carnival! Enough of those nonsense protein shakes and that hoity-toity recycling; it's time to let loose, have some fun, and live a little! No judgment will be allowed today, not when everyone’s dressed up in ridiculous costumes and eating those unnecessarily huge turkey legs (it... is turkey, right?). For you see, CERES has invited the Traveling Circus of Tjghsldiwk (they hail from a different planet, but here's a hint: the h is silent) to bring some joy to the colonists. This is a safe place to let your inner wild child out, really. Definitely safe. Promise.
Yet for those who are a little less easily convinced to follow the sounds of laughter and amusement (bless your sensible hearts), they will find themselves grabbed and forcibly dragged by a pair of friendly souls in matching costumes. Everyone should be able to enjoy the festivities, don’t you think? Can’t have them missing out on all this jolly good, innocent fun!
The Public Announcement System crackles with... well, a fit of coughing first. But then a gravelly voice speaks! It seems the ringmaster has an announcement for you all. What joyous news can he bring?  Listen... I know that we’re supposed to keep these idiots entertained for at least another day or two but the machinery’s starting to complain. I think I heard the gates of the petting zoo groan – they’re on their last legs.
... Wait, this isn’t the direct line
Oh.
Ohohoho!! Have a great time, everyone! Everything is perfectly fine!
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PHASE I [ 11 00 ] Come one, come all!! There’s quite a large amount of people here, isn’t there? You’ll find yourself tugged this way and that – up until you get dragged right into a changing booth. The helpful attendant meets you with a worryingly large grin – how is her face not breaking? – before pushing you right through the curtain. Then you’ll be given your choice of one of these lovely garments to change into. Look, one of them has to match your skintone, right? Don’t be picky about it! You also have... 90 seconds to figure out how to wear it before you’re tossed out into the middle of the crowd again. Have a good festival!
If you’re not willing to put on the outfits though, that’s fine. Instead, they’ll top you off with a cape and crown, shoving you out onto a... stage? Your adoring public cheers for you, yells your name, and throws confetti in your honor! Then a jester appears again, announcing your grand title:
The Ugliest in All of Cerealia.
Don't worry, that's just your introduction to the carnival; enjoy the rest of your time here! (They may or may not have given you back your clothing.)
PHASE II [ 1600 ] Do you hear that? Cymbals crashing together, trumpets blaring off-tune, the march of absurdly tired feet – a parade is coming! Best move off to the side before an acrobat quite literally tumbles into you. If you are an unfortunate casualty, they’ll actually just start to fall asleep on you because they’re tired… so very, very tired.
Yet the parade continues to march on without them and you can let yourself be distracted by the impressive jumping around and festive partygoers (who seem to be joining in the parade as they please, in various states of undress). But be wary. Distraction will only make you easier prey for the very hungry caterpillar that’s coming up the street next. Run if you can, but it has so very many legs and it’s coming after you.
For those unable to make it away from the caterpillar, they will find themselves gulped right into its gross, drooling mouth – and about five minutes later, they’ll be released out again onto the streets covered in a pink slime. It looks like you won't be able to free yourself from the stuff, so hopefully you can find a friend to get some help! Or one of the strangers around you? Unfortunately, when a kind soul finally comes by to pull you out of the slime, they’ll find that the outside of the gunk is not only immensely sticky but also slippery. If they're not careful, you'll both end up stuck to the gunk together.
You both better get out of that stuff quick because once someone joins you, the slime starts to move. Quick and gooey, it'll pull you and the hapless soul with you down the street at a much too quick pace. Hopefully you won't slide into too many people as you skid your way through the streets of the Entertainment District like some sort of demented Katamari Ball. This is why you should never trust giant bugs!
PHASE III [ xxxx ] In a smaller booth, toward the outskirts of the carnival, some may find a familiar face manning a quiet little shack on her own. Although those who have been in the colony long enough may have first encountered her as an 8-bit version of herself, Aria the fortune-teller is now back and more than willing to drag unsuspecting people into her hands again. Once you step into her stall, she takes one long look at you before sliding over a fortune cookie and a mask. What do you mean you didn’t ask for a mask? That's too bad, because it's yours now. She won't say anything more than that, giving nothing more than a quiet dismissal with a hand and an enigmatic smile to match.
When you step back outside, you’ll find that you just can’t get rid of the mask. If you toss it into a trash bin, it’ll be right back in your pocket. Throw it at a friend? It’ll be in your hand in the next second. Throw it away enough times and it’ll suddenly plant itself on your face -- which leads to all the alien carnival goers in the nearby vicinity suddenly going still with fear before moving to get as far away from you as quickly as possible. Well... you seem to be able to take it off for now if you still want to enjoy the carnival. It just won't go away, and every time you try to throw it away, it'll attach itself to your face. Might as well just keep it.
But... still, it's strange how none of the aliens running the carnival will look you in the eye now, isn't it?
PHASE IV [ 1200 ] For those who aren’t interested in dealing with the abundance of people, there’s also an assortment of critters gathered around for the petting zoo! They all seem to follow a general theme… kind of. That might be floppy ears and a tail if you... squint. The alien staff is right there and quick to ask you not to worry, they're perfectly harmless -- they don't eat humans! It would be bad for their diet, so feel free to pet them, if you can gather enough courage to do so.
Unfortunately, it seems as though this part of the circus was not put together very well; the rickety fences and cages don't really seem to do much against these giant...creatures. Towards the end of the circus' time here, it looks like those cages will start breaking down more and more, too.
The animals rattle the makeshift fences of the petting zoo, until finally, the fences just... collapse. Oops. The ground shakes as the animals stomp and immediately move to break out of their little ring. Well, would you look at that? You’ve apparently found yourself in the middle of a little stampede -- and those warnings about these animals not eating humans doesn't seem to hold much weight when now they're looking at you -- and they look pretty hungry.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] Left and right, there are voices shouting for your attention. "Hey pretty young miss!" or "Excuse me, you stud!" or "Look at this, jackass!" – that said, aliens think that you all manage to look the same, so who knows if they’re yelling at you in particular – and they’re all daring you to come and try your hand at their carnival game.
It’s run of the mill stuff: shooting games, tests of strength, and knocking down a couple of milk bottles. You might actually be doing well! Or... you might be embarrassing yourself in front of whatever cute person you’re trying to impress! But regardless, in the last allotted ten seconds of your game, no matter what, you’ll find your point score plummeting right into the negatives. Did you get a bullseye? What do you know, that’s now worth -1000 points! You missed? -5000 points.
The stall assistant seems to be having a grand old time, laughing at your pain and when the clock finally runs out, they'll give you a large grin. "Look at that score! Well, you know what that means, don’t you? Now, we win you!" With that, metallic tentacles suddenly sprout from the booth itself, looking to capture you and whoever you’re with. Welcome to the carnival, now you're one of the prizes. And it seems you'll be here for quite some time. That is, of course, unless someone can win you back from these really horribly rigged games.
Looks like you'd better get comfortable hanging motionless from a display, like an oversized stuffed animal. You'll be here for a while.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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Usagi Tsukino l Sailor Moon
W-whoa, wait! Hold on a--eh?
[In spite of Usagi's progress, once she arrives she is helpfully assisted to change from her outfit she arrived in, into this. Colour scheme wise, it's similar if not identical to her attire in her previous life as Princess Serenity. But that doesn't make her any less kind of uncomfortable in it as she is subsequently then pushed back out into the crowds, being told they would return her clothes once she was leaving.]
Y-you can't just--I didn't ask for a change of clothes!
[At least she isn't alone? It does look like others were wrangled into this too, judging by the familiar attire among the crowds. Which might somewhat help reassure her, even as Usagi is still evidently a bit self-conscious at wearing something like this.]
Phase IV: How do you even pet these?!
[Okay, so initially the idea of a petting zoo seemed fun. And cute. Usagi was expecting something like kittens or bunnies. Something small and fluffy. Not....whatever these things are.
She's staring at them, wide-eyed and nervous.]
Are you sure those cages look sa--oh no......
[The cages crashing down sure do seem to answer Usagi's concern there. Welp.]
BONUS: Locked to senshi:
[Of course this was inevitable that Usagi would be curious about the carnival, if only for the games and the food.
Which is exactly where she drags her friends over to, determined to help try get them something among the prizes. If she could actually.....beat the game, according to the staff.
What the heck this is so rigged and so unfair?!]
How is that worth -1,000 points?! This thing is broken! W-wait, what?
[And there's the screaming and protesting as she's trapped and subsequently hung up as one of the 'prizes'.]
IV
However, just as he was about to walk away?]
H-Hey, you better be careful miss! You're going to get hurt!
[He shouted before quickly grabbed Usagi's hand and ran!]
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[Usagi doesn't have much time to respond before the young boy takes her by the hand and pulls her along after him even as she looks back behind, wide eyed and pale.
Hopefully nobody else is still back there caught up in this. It's so crowded, Usagi isn't sure it would be wise or safe for her to try transform in the middle of all of this chaos as the animals rampage and get loose from their cages. Her feet instinctively carrying her forward as Takeru leads her away from it all.]
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As he looked back to see if Usagi was still behind him, Patamon quickly started to swell up and gave huge gusts of wind to those creatures! While they manage to slow them down, it didn't do all that much]
I think there should be a place to hide somewhere! I don't think they can keep chasing us forever!
[...Right?]
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[But where? As they keep going, Usagi starts to consider those that weren't in the zoo and might not realize what happened yet. If those things get loose out of that particular area of the carnival. Shouldn't they be warning everyone?
So she tries, calling out to those they pass, but whether they pay any attention or not is up to them, as Usagi can't force them and already now feels responsible for Takeru as it is. Along with...his pet?]
Ah! Here? I think we'll fit.
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bonus
Usagi-chan? Where did you go?
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[Because what is this. She is not some prize. And she totally should have got a better score than that. If she keeps wailing though, maybe her crying will be obnoxious and irritating enough that he would let her go anyway.
It has proved effective in the past when she was initially getting the idea of playing the Sailor Moon role, at least.]
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Wh-what are you doing up there? [because... why?]
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[The sign says something about a 'rabbit' as a prize. Clearly referring to Usagi's usual hairstyle. Which isn't helping her mood either. The vendor smirks, asking if Minako or once of the other girls wants to play.
As if they have much choice, if they want to help get their princess free from this mess.]
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Jumping in again!
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i.
Hey, you okay? [ this obviously isn't so bad for him because atop his hat is a crown, and around his neck is a cape. he takes off his jacket, though, and offers it to the girl next to her on stage. ]
Here, this might help.
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[Especially. Well, in front of this guy. Whoever he is. Hiro has mentioned Tadashi to her, but Usagi isn't quite yet making the link between them, simply taking the offered jacket to help cover her, if a little big on her in comparison. It still helps keep her a bit more covered than she would be otherwise.
Besides, when is Usagi one to turn down an offer of help from a cute boy? Never. That's when.]
I wouldn't have mind the crown. And cape, even. But this seems a bit much?
[Sure. She's a princess, but even then she still had a dress that covered more than this and didn't expose her stomach.]
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Yeah, I guess it is. [ a beat. ] Think you can get your actual clothes back?
[ or did a carnie run off with it... ]
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[Usagi certainly intends to get her clothes back. She's just not sure how likely that will be before the time she would be heading back home from the carnival, exactly. Still, she is grateful for the jacket, pulling it over her a little more.]
You're sure you won't be cold? I can make sure to get it back to you after.
[She doesn't intend on stealing it, after all.]
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phase one
She's also got a face painting kit in her arms! ] Usagi, hi! I didn't know you were coming to this.
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Just ignore the initial stare before she glares back to the changing areas.]
They went and made you change too, huh? But yeah! I wasn't going to miss this! The food and games should be good!
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phase iv;
[call it good luck, or just good timing that stahn just happens to be only a few feet away when things begin to collapse. he'd come to check out the petting zoo because he missed seeing animals, though these...
are not what he'd expect from a petting zoo. they seem pretty dangerous, and that's why as he hears the clanking of the cages, his reflexes kick into action. sometimes he's a little too fearless, and that's why he quite literally does a somersault over usagi, sword in hand (is the blade... glowing a fiery red? yes, it sure is.) until he can land in front of her, giving her an opportunity to get out of potentially being stampeded on.
he's got this, probably.]
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Still, Stahn's arrival gives Usagi some time to try snap out of her daze, stop staring wide-eyed and act when she hears him, sees this guy somersault over her, sword at the ready.]
But -- are you going to be okay?
[Is a sword really going to do much against these things? Well....it is glowing. somehow. But that doesn't stop Usagi hesitating even if she know she should find somewhere to hide and transform or at least focus on getting the kids and others out of here.]
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[his sword is capable of doing a lot, and stahn is more than aware of the fact that it's not a typical sword.]
I can hold it back, but everyone else needs to get out of here! [he doesn't want anyone else to get hurt, not from his own attacks or from the impending stampede. that thing is about to charge, too... which means he needs to hold it off as best he can.
the best he can do is shoot of an arte that doesn't have a large area of effect—so he shoots a beast forward, the projectile energy forming the image of a lion's head and knocking back the not-so-friendly creature. it won't last long though, but stahn doesn't want to get too engrossed in a fight when there are civilians who could get stuck in the crossfire.
usagi, help.]
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phase I
You, as well? ... Truly, was this really necessary?
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[Because. Well, now she isn't just uncomfortable herself but feeling for Alisha and any other that may prefer to likely be more covered up than this particular attire allows. For obvious reasons. Though Usagi's indignation is evident in her tone of voice, the look she throws at the changing area.]
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[ She wants her armor back... She was way too embarrassed wearing something like this out of no where. Though, Usagi's does look cute on her. ]
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[Standing nearby was an eight-year-old, also wearing a decorate outfit chosen for her...although hers was slightly more age-appropriate. Thankfully. She had a small, white cat-like creature hovering near her ankles and a slightly worried expression on her face as she stared up at the older girl.]
[She seemed...a little unhappy, Hikari noted. Though anybody with eyes and ears could have deduced as much.]
It's part of the game. But I don't know why yet.
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[At least Hikari's covers more. Usagi is thankful for that much in part for the younger girl. She can't help but smile at the white cat, though as Hikari continues talking, there's a sigh and slight glare to the changing area.]
I can't see why our clothes have anything to do with this though.
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Ah...somebody said this was a...carnival of some kind. Like a festival.
We always dressed up for festivals back home.
[Just not in outfits like these.]
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