//EVENT025.EXE

[reparator]

Who: Everyone who chooses to go to the fun, new alien carnival (and those who don't, but end up there anyway)
When: OOC: 1/26 - 1/30 ; IC: 5/13 - 5/15
Where: Entertainment District, Temporary Traveling Circus of Tjghsldiwk
What: The circus is in town! Temporarily. Everything is fine.
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for violence and some scary situations; please let the mods know if the rating needs to go up or the log needs to be locked!

---

//event025.EXE

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!

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I [ 1100 ] 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. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to Cerealia's JANUARY event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will last from 1/26 to 1/30, or IC 5/13 to 5/15. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

Comments

[dirtdevil]

I

[ as usual, he's done with this party before it's even begun. and, also as usual, it takes dragging to get him there—but this time, it's not even his friends. it's two freaks in hideous costumes who he would have been able to deal with easily under normal circumstances.

but when are circumstances ever normal anymore?

so, instead, after telling an attendant offering him his choice of skimpy women's outfits to fuck off, he's draped with a bright green cape (much too long, of course) and a cheap paper crown and named the ugliest person in Cerealia. whether that's accurate or not is subjective, but he definitely bears the closest resemblance to an angry, sleep-deprived royal garden gnome in Cerealia.

probably. ]

IV

[ it's always tragic when a freak accident turns a petting zoo into a stabbing zoo. which is to say, if you can't handle looking at giant monsters who are very ugly and very dead, best to keep moving, because there are several scattered around him. he seems to be in one piece and hardly even disturbed, standing among the dead and wiping monster blood off a knife with a handkerchief.

are we having fun yet? ]

[bloodbiter]

[she's been running through the crowd to see if there's anyone in need of help as the stampede continues; her own weapon is stained with blood as well, some of which has made it's way onto her skirt. she calls out instinctively when she sees him.]

Are you—

[her question is answered when she sees the animal corpses around him, and the blood on his knife. her eyebrow raises slightly; impressive. she speaks once more after a moment.]

Would you help me with something?

[dirtdevil]

[ oh good, another capable fighter. he only managed to dispatch a few of these petting zoo monsters, being only human and all. there are probably more still wandering around.

he looks up at her, his knife finally clean to his liking, though he has a feeling it won't stay that way for long. ]

What do you need?

[bloodbiter]

It's important to take care of all these animals as quickly as possible, but I think the more pressing matter is locating anyone who's currently being threatened by one. Would you assist me?

[tag team time.]

[dirtdevil]

[ hmm, yes, that sounds like a task worthy of his attention. he slides the knife away for now, stepping over a monster corpse in her direction.

in other words, yes. ]

Wanna lead the way?

[bloodbiter]

Certainly.

[she heads left, dodging around and under monsters as she goes, all the while keeping a lookout for anyone who needs assistance.]

May I ask how you dispatched that many with that weapon?

iv!!!

[hoasen]

[Seeing him kill things is just like seeing an old friend. It's definitely more comfortable than seeing him freak out about technology, anyway.]

Impressive as usual.

[dirtdevil]

[ aw, thanks. not that he does it for the praise, but it doesn't hurt to be appreciated. recognizing her voice, he looks up at her and shrugs, knife much cleaner than it was a few minutes ago. ]

I wasn't in the mood to be stepped on.

[hoasen]

[Of course! Since his deeds also ends up helping everyone around him. Positive reinforcement.]

I agree! It is reckless of them to leave the fences in such condition, but who knows if that was their intention.

[dirtdevil]

Based on my experience in every single one of these stupid events they put on, they don't give a rat's ass about our safety.

[ he kicks a fallen piece of the fence just for emphasis. ]

That or they're just wildly incompetent. Or both.

[hoasen]

[She pauses and crosses her arms, goodbye piece of fence, you were useless.]

I would think both, in this case. The way they acted, it was almost like it was entertaining to see how we would react.

IV

[zerotohiro]

[Hiro finally got smart and remembered his robot could fly and booked it away from some of the larger monsters when he realized he couldn't tackle them on his own, but when he and Baymax land it's about that point he realizes that wow. That sure is a lot of dead creatures surrounding them. He studies them for a moment, tilting his head and flipping up his visor on his helmet for a better look before spotting...a person. Who has a knife. And appears to be the most nonchalant dude in the entire petting zoo.]

Dude...there's no way you just totaled all of these guys with just a knife. [A beat.] ...did you?

[dirtdevil]

[ believe it, kiddo. he opens his mouth to confirm that, yes, he did indeed wreck all these monsters all by himself, but then he looks up to see who's talking...

hey, he knows that fat white thing. that's the robot that knows fifty billion medical things or whatever. which means that this kid must be Tadashi's little brother. the supergenius.

he pauses cleaning the knife for a moment to address him. ]

You're Hiro, right?

[zerotohiro]

[The supergenius probably looks like a superdork in his purple flight suit but he's suddenly glad for it. He glances at the knife first and then back to Levi's face, questions written all over his expression.]

Which one are you looking for? [Jaune ripped into him at prom when he thought he was Hiro Kageyama. This Hiro's learned since then.]

[dirtdevil]

[ he notices Hiro eyeing the knife and moves to put it away. he's not gonna get caught brandishing a knife at a child, especially not his closest friend's little brother.

and speaking of... ]

You. Unless there's another Hiro wandering around with a big white robot. "Baymax," right?

[zerotohiro]

[Well. Now he's wondering if maybe he's met Levi before and he just flat-out doesn't remember. That's unlikely since his memory's pretty much a steel trap but then what...either way, it's obvious he's more relaxed now that the knife is out of sight and he grins a little.]

There better not be. There's only one Baymax. [And the other is lost floating around in a portal somewhere, w h o o p s. The robot's armor covers most of the white but it's pretty clear that he's one in the same.] You've met him before?

i;

[jinko]

[ Maybe Levi would have wanted to keep that cape, but— sorry, his victory robes (victory being subjective here) are going to be ruined literally moments after he's been given them.

...That is to say, this hopeless mess of a kid is passing by with his ketchup-slathered corn dog when some rude alien carnie bumps him right into Levi's warpath. ]

Eh?! Ah, watch ou—

[ It's too late, the gross carnival food goes flying out of his hands and right onto the bright green fabric of Levi's cape. Disaster. ]

—S, sorry! I'll— [ 'Clean that off'??? With what, Atsushi? Cue some frantic hoverhandsing. ]

dear god

[dirtdevil]

[ no. no, this can't be happening. he didn't even want to be here (big surprise) and now here he is, the ugliest in all the colony, in a shitty crown and an even shittier cape and some kid is spilling his food on him and threatening to clean it off himself.

nope. ]

Stop.

[ —is the first thing out of his mouth, before he even has a chance to think. he doesn't want help. in fact, he was hoping for a good excuse to remove this cape anyway, and now he has one. he steps back away from whatever the hell just landed on him (he's still getting used to some of this weird-ass modern food) and then starts to pull the newly ketchup-stained cape off his shoulders, balling it up and tossing it into the nearest garbage can.

then, with that gross mess finally out of the way (he does have priorities), he turns to the culprit, slightly irritated. usually it'd be very irritated, but he did want to lose that cape anyway, so it was almost like this kid just did him a favor. ]

What the hell?

rest in pieces, levi

[jinko]

A—ah, I'm...!

[ 'Sorry', 'really fucking scared', who knows. He's not sure if he majorly fucked up by making Levi throw his cloak away, but he hasn't really been yelled about it yet, so— he'll try not to look like he wants to run away from here, with questionable results. ]

Someone just bumped into me, and—! I'm sorry, did you want a new cape...?!

[ He literally looks like he might run into the nearest tent and swipe a cape to make Levi 'happy', god save him. ]

[dirtdevil]

[ yeah, good luck making him happy. some sources say it's impossible. it's not, but it is difficult, and replacing the cape is definitely not going to do it. ]

Are you kidding? That thing was hideous. I was only wearing it until I was out of sight of those idiots.

[ he then very pointedly eyes the fallen corndog, and then looks back up at Atsushi. ]

Unless you were planning on doing that again.

[jinko]

Eh?! D-definitely not! I wouldn't make the same mistake twice!

[ ...Or so he says. The credibility of this statement can definitely be called into question.

Rest in peace, though, corndog. Atsushi's gaze follows Levi's down to his sadly fallen carnival food, and he makes a sound that verges on a disappointed ah before squatting to pick it up. ]

But, even if you didn't want to keep it... I'm sorry. I'll make up for it somehow...?

i.

[bropane]

[ someone looks REALLY excited about this. ]

Levi, hey! [ he runs up to the tiny bean. ] I didn't think you were here!

[dirtdevil]

[ there's a very brief moment where he looks like a deer in the headlights, but then he pulls himself together. yes, he looks like a dipshit. but Tadashi will understand his plight, surely.

...right?

he looks around to see if any of the attendants are still watching him, and pulls off his stupid crown before turning to Tadashi. ]

I didn't want to be.

[ shocker. ]

[bropane]

Calm down for a sec. [ you party pooper. ] I gotta show you something.

[ he nods towards a certain direction. ]

Follow me.

[dirtdevil]

[ wow excuse you, he's totally calm!! ]

What?

[ well, okay... but he's gonna remove this stupid-ass cape first. lead the way! ]