//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

OTA!

[corona]

PHASE I/II: Cirque du Soleil

[ Fun fact: putting a bra on over your head when you have seventy feet of hair is not an easy thing to do. Funner fact: contrary to popular belief, 1000 sq/ft is not nearly enough room for human sunshine to do what sunshine does best and GET HELLA TURNT UP.

So that’s what you’ll find her doing! One of the two. Stumbling out from the changing tent half-blind and (sorry) toplessly trying to… put on her top. It's the blue one, ha ha. Or! Spinning in circles down the street with two alien fire-breathers, heedless of any impending danger, and eventually rushing up to you (yes, you!) and asking with a radiant smile some variation of the following: ]

Come on! Why aren’t you dancing? Dance with me! This is incredible!

[ Please choose the latter. ]

PHASE IV: Sun Shower

[ Aw, sad girl in mask. Sad girl in mask who’s managed by this point to get away from find herself separated from either Jaune Arc (HAHA) or whatever superior specimen she was just hanging out with and is sitting on a crate in one of the "alleyways" between tents with the strange mask on, staring at her fortune with…out smiling. In fact, her entire aura is very grim. If you come any closer, you may hear some bitter whispering. ]

Ha. My "destiny" sure has a funny way of showing it.

BONUS ROUND: Solar Flare

[ And now you might want to cover your ears. Whomever’s in the area of the game stand is going to get an earful. God knows where got it. God knows which if any of the stand attendants showed her how to use it or even approved her use of it, but Rapunzel is standing in front of a shoot-em-out game with her eyes narrowed…

And a real pump-action shotgun.

And per… haps as a result of the last prompt, she’s not exactly holding back. Her aim is excellent: she’s firing .20 calibre rounds into a duck with real anger in her eyes. FUCK THE POLICE AND GOOD LUCK. ]

ALSO WILD CARDS ARE GOOD GIVE ME THOSE TOO

phase i;

[heiroglyphs]

[Oh hey, that sure is a topless Rapunzel struggling to change and probably bumping into all sorts of things. Goodness, that sure looks painful. Aren't you dislocating your shoulders doing that?]

Uh... do you need any help?

[corona]

[ YES! -- to both of those things. ]

N-NO! [ to one of those things ] No, I'm, I'm okaaaay it's– Wait, Weiss, is that you.

iv APPEARS ON THE SCENE

[ceded]

Hello?

[ She hears the voice before she sees the girl, because she passed by before looking up to see who was speaking. She pauses, doing a double take, and then manages to peer down the alleyway.

Concerned, Xion makes her way over to Rapunzel, hands folded behind her back. ]

... are you okay? You look sad.

THE THREAD THAT WAS LONG MEANT TO BE

[corona]

[ Rapunzel barely has time to collect herself - Pascal barely has time to scramble onto Rapunzel's head for a predatory scowl - before she's hearing the voice and sitting straight. Through the mask Xion looks more like a wisp of smoke than anything.

She doesn't recognise this person, but the downturned lips react automatically with a smile. ]

I'm fine. Just... getting some air, I guess. It's - kinda crazy out there.

bonus I AM HERE NOW /shoves everyone away

[bropane]

[ um. okay. he knows she can be very passionate, but is just wayyy too much. tadashi's not exactly a fan of hurting people, so guns are something that he has Opinions about. ]

Rapunzel!

[ is that enough to get her attention? he tries again. ]

RAPUNZEL! [ and he covers his ears again with his fingers from the noise. jesus christ, who did this??? ]

[corona]

Maybe. [ BANG ] Maybe I'm just... [ BANG ] Having fun!!! [ BANG BANG OH MY GOD BANG ]

Remember? You said that was okay.

[ It's not a cruel statement, though. Rapunzel glances at him from the corner of her eye before returning to her task. ] Did they not force you on that big wooden platform?

phase ii;

[immobileyes]

[ Mary just managed to recover from losing her clothes and then getting her clothes back-- and then Rapunzel comes charging up to her like a musically-inclined battering ram and she automatically reels back, hands held up defensively. ]

I'm still not that good at dancing???

[ SHE SOUNDS MORE ALARMED THAN SHE MEANS TO. ]

[corona]

What! Mary, come on. [ She's truly baffled by this reaction, really. ] How can you be good or bad at dancing? It's dancing!!

[ Rapunzel seems to be embracing her change. She's also reaching rather threateningly for Mary's hands with a grin. ] Here, look, I can teach you to dance instead of climbing tress, how's that?

bonus

[tsuranuki]

[ There's ducks explosding, and his ears are ringing just a little, but Saitou doesn't flinch too much. Good aim, but isn't the point to just win a prize?

He looks at one of the stand attendants. ] I believe she has won a prize at this point. [ A deliberate pause. ] Several prizes.

[ Maybe that will console her, just a little. ]

iv

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth steps - no, staggers - into the alley for a breather after the petting zoo incident, saber drawn and panting hard. He needed time to rest and to put together everything he'd found out so far about the carnival.

He wasn't expecting to find a sad girl in a mask muttering to herself, and despite his exhaustion, he has the energy to look concerned. Was she lost? Edgeworth hadn't been close enough to listen to what she was saying, so he approaches slowly, sliding that blade back into its scabbard.]

Excuse me...?

IV

[chaoticwhimsy]

Well that must be bad news, huh?

[Lumina had spotted Rapunzel's hair well before she had spotted Rapunzel, and wound up following it into the alleyway, and quietly slipped her way up until she was standing next to the crate, standing on her tip-toes to try and read the note.]

BONUS...

[adornmental]

[Things he did not expect to see today: The girl who enjoyed talking about 1000 different kinds of macarons shooting a gun with total accuracy at a carnival booth. Some things here fit, but this scene in general is just... entirely off?! WHAT HAPPENED HERE...

Not that he isn't impressed too, of course. ...And he supposes it isn't that unexpected, considering she did barrel out of the bushes with a sharp stick to take on a giant monster before. But still. After the bangbangbang dies down:]

...Are you some kind of assassin?

[?!??]

Bonus

[cresthopes]

[Whatever was going on, Takeru just happened to stand there in awe. As he looked at Rapunzel just shooting that thing with nothing but pure rage in her eyes. Does he even dare attempt to walk closer to her? Well, she had to cool down sooner or later right?

...Right? Time to risk it!]

Uh....are you okay, miss? You look kind of angry there!

phase 1

[pseudonyms]

[Oh jesus what is happening here. Thankfully both girls are dressed by the time Rise bumps into Rapunzel and she's mostly impressed she can move with that amount of hair. It's almost...funny how much fun she seems to be having and she can't help but smile back.]

I think you're the first person I've bumped into who's having fun here. Have you ever danced before?

phase iv;

[majinken]

[stahn himself had been passing through the area in an effort to find someone he lost; he's got a mask of his own too, though it's just resting atop his head and almost taming some of his wild mane.

...but that's not important. it's quiet enough in the area that he can hear rapunzel's muttering, and her tone of voice seems troubled. honestly, everything seems troubled, and as a person who lives life by a motto of helping anyone who needs it, he's compelled to stop and ask:]

Are you okay? [it doesn't matter that they've never met; for someone to be in this state at something that's supposed to be fun (though... how fun it actually is, stahn knows that's debatable), he can't just let that go. and it shows that his concern is genuine from his expression, with brows knit and a frown on his lips and a much softer gaze in his eyes.]

iv

[coastal]

[Admittedly Lili was looking for.... an exit. She's pretty much ready to get off this crazy train - but that's a familiar bundle of hair even with that mask. The mask scares her but what scares her more is the fact that Rapunzel sounds... sad. Immediately, Lili is approaching and completely forgetting the idea of looking for any exit.

Not caring for whether or not her dress gets dirty, she kneels in front of Rapunzel, very real concern in her eyes.]

Hey....

What's wrong?

[She's no good at comfort but - she can't leave her alone? That would just be unforgivable.]

Phase IV

[theshiningone]

[Passing by the alleyway, Hiro hears a cute girl in distress. He figured that it was time to perk her spirits! Confidently, he'll be marching down the alleyway with a rather smug look on his face.]

Turn that frown upside down, cutie! If you got dumped, then I'd be more than happy to fill in that void. [For like a day or something... Probably.]

ii.

[discard]

No.

[This...cannot possibly be any surprise to anyone. Leon managed to avoid the embarrassment of that outfit (he was given the cheap crown instead, but he trashed that immediately), but he just crosses his arms at Rapunzel and arches an eyebrow.

Why are you so... sunshine-y!! Leon doesn't even want to be here!!]

Go pester someone else.

I

[faithfulflame]

[Well this is a scene Rei's seen before. Usagi...caught in her own top, flailing around. Oh...but this isn't Usagi. This is some other blonde with a mountain of hair and oh geez. How does that even work?! There's so much human sunshine that it's like the torches are lit and Gondor is calling for aid!]

Do you...need some help?

[Seriously. You...wow.]

iv.

[meouch]

[ he's chat after an unfortunate run in with a stand (don't ask) and the thought that this isn't a normal carnival added in with the fact the petting zoo looks like a disaster waiting to happen (fingers crossed), means that the convenience of an immediate response and not having to find a hiding place with so many people outweighs a gigantic, stinking pile of camembert and plagg's dramatic sighs.

he catches sight of rapunzel by chance (well, not her face, but her hair), and he doesn't need to hear her (which he can, thank you magical kwami whatever. he'll make no comments on that statement just yet) to know she's. probably not in the best of moods. no one who slips into an alleyway ever is.

and considering how he's known rapunzel to be in the short time he's met her... ]

Do you always wear a mask when you're out and about?

[ like she's asked him before. this is his usual obnoxiously light greeting, but it's a tad more muted this time as he makes his way over. did someone ask for a headache? ]

I

[digiteyesed]

[Oh look, someone else got forced into the embarrassing blue outfit too, that almost makes her feel better about it--

Wait a second.

Ripping down the curtain from her own changing tent and hurling it right at a certain human sunshine. Sorry, no latter choices here.]

Rapunzel put a shirt on!

iv;

[liven]

[ Typically of her frequent inability to empathize - the problem with being a Legitimate Cat who just shapeshifts into a human - Shijima is about to walk on by when she notes Rapunzel. Sad human girls don't really matter to her.

However.

That hair.

Displaying absolutely no regard for personal space, she meanders closer and straight up touches Rapunzel's golden locks. ]

...How long does it take you to brush this?

[ AH YES. TRULY THE MOST HELPFUL PERSON FOR RAPUNZEL AT A LOW POINT. ]

2

[zombiedude]

[Nico's doing his best to avoid doing anything here and keeping an eye out for any surprises. He remembers the last time something like this happened, he got stuck in a ferris wheel and a situation he'd rather not repeat had happened. The carriage going completely dark and not being able to see what was attacking him hadn't been his idea of fun.

He's watching the parade cautiously, Cerberus sitting at his feet - one head sniffing at people's feet, another growling at anyone who gets too close for the dog's comfort to Nico, and the third making a nice pile of drool on the ground - when he spots someone he ran into during the ViVid swamp level not long ago, eyebrows furrowing as he wonders what, exactly, she's doing.

Then she comes up to him and asks him to dance. All three of Cerberus' heads turn towards her and the dog gets up on his feet, tail wagging and tongues lagging.

Nico holds his hands up, shaking his head.] Sorry, I'm not much of a dancer. [It's not that he doesn't know how - he has vague memories of his mother teaching him some steps, being familiar with ballroom dancing herself as the daughter of a diplomat - he just prefers not to, especially not in public.]

phase iv

[perfectdisaster]

[ He's not terribly interested in the carnival, and so the 'alleyway' seemed like the perfect place to get away for a bit, but there's someone there... and she doesn't seem terribly happy. And judging from the faint whisper he might have missed if not for the fact that he's not terribly far from her, yeah, she's not happy at all. ]

...For what it's worth, I don't think there's much truth to those.

[ He's going to assume she's referring to her "fortune". His own wasn't much to speak of, "Someone stole your fortune. Your life sucks. Have a good day!!!", so he's pretty sure it's all garbage. ]