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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bonus.
arms crossed. mouth in a line. and, flatly: ]
I don't know why any of you bother asking, if I'll just be dragged to risk my life in whatever time waster you want in the end. [ oh.
she's a peach. but she unsheathes her sword almost immediately, approaching baymax, so at least milla's an efficient peach. an efficient peach used to Cerealian Bullshit. ] Go on.
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Your legs are not damaged. I see no reason to drag you. [Either the robot's throwing shade, or he's really perplexed. Most likely it's the latter though and he begins to lead the way, footsteps heavy as he parts the crowd for Milla to follow him. In the end, he stops back at the milk bottle game and he looks up at Hiro.]
Help has arrived. [And from his perch way up high, Hiro gives her a nervous grin.]
It's been a while, huh? [Eheh.]
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realizing she's "help", she sighs. ]
... I'm the one that needs help. [ mumbled to herself. how does she keep getting into these situations.... why are the hamada brothers such... headaches.... why does she not mind them being headaches?? she looks back up at hiro, and to his nervous greeting she finally offers a neutral: ] Maybe. I wouldn't know how long you've been hanging up there.
[ she's aware that's not what he meant. from her side, the stall assistant says something along the lines of interested in our grand prize? play to win him, he's the smallest and cutest one we've got!
the next thing he says is something like a good imitation of a dog mauling a squeaking toy, and then of an old man when thise young whippersnappers are playing on his yard, because milla only regards him once, looks back at hiro, then decides on skipping the game entirely. rescue plan: jumping right on the counter to try and scale the stand to get hiro free. WELL DONE. ]
Hey, Red. [ to baymax. ] Boost me.
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I don't think you really wanna know. It's been a little too long. [He shuts up then to watch her though, eyes widening in surprise as she jumps and begins to scale the stall itself.]
I can provide a "boost." [In fact, he's going to activate his rocket thrusters to elevate above the ground and pick her up to help. Hey, the stall attendant just said Baymax couldn't play. He never said he couldn't help in other ways.]
You sure this is a good idea? [The alien does not sound happy...]
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much like her completely elegant yelp of surprise with baymax's "boost" would've been better off just staying in her mouth, but that's not exactly what she expects. she steadies herself, the alien's yelling increases as he seems to be considering option "SECURITYYYYY". ]
... Thanks. [ is what the robot gets when milla settles. she asked for a boost, she gets a boost; she's probably asking for trouble, she's... obviously going to get trouble. at least she's sheathing her sword so she can reach for hiro with both hands and free!! him as she speaks. ] Nothing is a good idea here. Should I try what probably got you here and end this annoying day hooked up myself? No thanks. My question is why you didn't do this in the first place—
[ at least she feels hiro isn't dumb enough to end up in this kind of situation without some weird cerealia twist.
speaking of cerealia twists, that's probably a metal tentacle behind her as she goes on her "FUCK THE POLICE" rebellious streak. ]
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It's also suddenly clear why Baymax hadn't just pulled him down in the first place as another tentacle wraps around his foot and pulls him down, lowering him closer to the ground. Surprisingly, it's stronger than it looks. Sorry for the sudden jolt, Milla.]
Never mind all of that, just hurry u--[And he spots the second tentacle reaching for Milla too late.] Dive left!
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okay, plan a: scale the stand and just get hiro and leave... not going to work, obviously.
plan b: i hate everything here so i'm gonna wreck it is the next thing.
it's a small slash with her sword that marks the tentacle with a glyph further from its contact place with baymax, and after a short moment that glyph... well, bursts in a small show of purple flame, the tentacle splitting into two and letting the robot free. ]
So that's how it is. Move. [ eyes on the stall assistant, who's taking that opportunity to run off for cover and let his tentacle stand do the rest of the work.
another glance up at hiro. ] Tell Red to get you down from there already! I'll handle these pain in the—
[ cut off by having to stab through the tentacle coming at her left with a spear of light, which appears from the air in front of her hand with a flick of her wrist. Not In A Good Mood right now. she wants one day not full of bs, cerealia. one day.
she'd just blow up the whole stand but with hiro hanging from it that's probably not a good idea tbh. ]
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Baymax, roundhouse! [Okay, how about Baymax just kicks down the entire stand so now the tentacles on the stand are wiggling in the air zipping and darting at both Milla and Baymax while Hiro's freefalling and landing on the ground in a giant crash.
It's painful, yes, but it breaks some of the bonds holding Hiro to the stand and it's enough for him to start undoing the rest of them. Baymax is helping Milla fend off the wires as well as he can and by the time Hiro's up on his feet he appears in front of both of them.]
Let's go!
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pleasant image.
either way, milla definitely doesn't need to be told to leave twice. she runs in the opposite direction the attendant ran in, a glance over her shoulder to ensure that hiro and his not-currently-a-robot-marshmallow friend are following (hopefully the last remaining wires don't decide to tag along). and then: ]
So, having fun?
[ just slightly sarcastic. ]
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Surprisingly? Not the worst carnival I've been to. [Just as slightly sarcastic, flicking pieces of stray metal and tentacle from his armor.] Thanks for the rescue...who knows how long I'd be stuck up there.
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no more blowing things up, hiro's okay, it's all a success. woohoo. ]
Long enough for you to change from their "smallest, cutest prize" to their third tallest not cutest one.
[ she's teasing. and she might be a little too generous with third tallest.
she glances over her shoulder again to hiro, her steps finally slowing down with the fire far in the distance and no hint of pursuit behind them. ]
... But you're welcome. Not that it was that big of a deal. [ said less flippantly than the rest of her words.
blowin' up a stand. not that big of a deal. ]
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And she even comes with jokes. [He rolls his eyes, but he doesn't take his eyes off of her for the time being.] I wasn't really sure who Baymax would bring back when I asked him to go get help. [There's a pause...] But what did you do to blow the whole thing up? Artes?
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it isn't like she's actively looking for the sense of disappointment or anything with his words that she was the one who baymax brought along (ah, so that was baymax, and she glances at him when he's mentioned before glancing back at hiro)... but okay, she might be.
either way, she raises an eyebrow when he mentions artes. ]
And you come with lucky guesses. [ flatly. ] Most people would call it magic.
[ though she's aware there are people here who use artes, so maybe she shouldn't be too surprised hiro's run into them before.
smartypants. ]
If you want to be picky, the move with my sword and the glyph was a Martial Arte; the fireballs were Spirit Artes.
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I called it magic the first time I heard about them. [There's a slightly sheepish smile.] I've met a couple of people who can use them but I've never really seen them do anything like that. And I didn't know there were different categories like that. [Glyphs like Weiss, elements like Yuri and Stahn...it's an interesting combination.] It doesn't drain your energy or anything does it?
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[ even since she was an itty bitty tsundere under the care of five spirits, and her frown deepens just a little bit at that thought.
since milla's aware he's the curious type, she'll continue, a hand resting on her sheath: ]
The different categories are based on how you utilize the arte. Consider Martial Artes fancy physical stuff, and the Spirit Artes what you usually think of when you imagine magic. Long-ranged spells. Incantations. [ ... ] Though the way I use them shifts from short-range to long-range depending on what I feel like.
[ blah blah blah tales fighting system bullshit ]
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So really what you're saying is that there are some general rules and unspoken guidelines but you go against them anyway to benefit you. Like lighting stands on fire.
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she does. so he's got her in one, too. ]
You and Red over there [ glancing at baymax ] set that stand up to be firewood first. I was just making sure the job was finished properly.
[ arson is a TEAM EFFORT. ]
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It is important to complete all projects. Leftover parts may become a hazard.
Plus what's the point of having a karate database if Baymax isn't going to use it?
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[ no point, and that's why she bullshits the casting and spews out fire at close range and whatever else she does.
but karate database, huh... well, since the coast is clear and her curiosity had indeed been poking at her since the robot had first waddled up to her, she takes the opportunity to approach the red-armored marshmallow and... look him up and down.
then probably poke his armor. ]
So this is your nursebot superhero best friend?
[ from what she can recall hiro told her a while ago. ]
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