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!
|
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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You're the one who's calling someone rude by insulting them. So there isn't a need to presume anything.
[ STILL AS RUDE AS EVER APPARENTLY, but admittedly, he prefers this much more than concern... because he doesn't need concern!!! ]
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I hardly consider it insulting -- should you be more mature to realize when someone is accurately critiquing you?
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[ what's worse, flustering lili or upsetting lili ]
You'd probably still call me selfish if I did.
[ The carnie who's been ignored all this time tries to speak up to get their attention.... don't squabble in front of his business??? ]
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I-I-I wasn't concerned...!!
[and she turns to the carnie to snap--] Stay out of this!
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Can't you tell we're having a discussion? [ he's smiling, but the look he shoots this poor stall assistant is equally frigid. the carnie backs away....... and disappears into the npc background.... meaning he just starts polishing his sad test of strength name plate. Souji turns his attention back to Lili, wondering whether he should laugh or not. ]
So if you weren't concerned... And if you weren't asking me just to annoying... Then...?
[ are u gonna dig urself into this hole lili ]
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But she's just going to grumble at that, huffing and shaking her head.]
Then.... then nothing! It's over, isn't it?
[Ah.
An escape strategy.
to SWERVE THE FUCK OUT OF THIS CONVERSATION]
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[ Souji eyes her with the sort of look that says "i feel like I can sense the bs here, but I guess I can let you swerve out of that one after all." ]
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[And she's just going to... avoid that look because shut up, Souji.]
And even if I did have any free time, I'd hardly choose to waste it on you.
[he's not dying so that means it's fine to resume being a rudeshit, right]
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Your words don't match your actions at all, you know.
[ Be like Souji, Lili! Become a perfect lying liar who can be concerned about people without showing an ounce of it. Or don't, because Souji dislikes those sorts of people the most (looking at you, Kaoru) like the hypocrite he is. ]
Anyway, if you really weren't concerned at all, then that means you won't go around telling other people about what happened, right?
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Lili's brows furrow then, because she doesn't gossip in the first place (probably because she doesn't have anyone to gossip with). But more than being offended, she's confused.]
Why are you so worried about me telling other people?
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I just want to make sure. [ let him tb in peace, lili ] It'd be troublesome for me if you don't keep this between us.
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But she's still really confused???
And back to kinda concerned--]
So you are still feeling unwell.
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I didn't say that. [ tersely ] I just don't appreciate people like you assuming the wrong opinions about me.
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[Listen, she's socially awkward but she's not stupid. Probably.]
But if not telling anyone means compromising your health, I won't agree to it.
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It won't compromise my health because my health was never a problem in the first place. Understand? I'm telling you to shut your mouth about it because I barely know you, so I don't trust you. And I trust other people here even less.
[ First Yuri, now Lili. Why can't he have met them both under different circumstances? Preferably one where death is permanent, and where he can get away with threatening their lives?! Life can never be easy. Now he has to tread that line between threatening physical harm and giving a reason that doesn't paint him as an invalid. Life was sure easier before he coughed massive amounts of blood on Lili. ]
Other people who'd like nothing more than to exaggerate that incident and use it as an excuse to nag at me -- when they don't know anything about me. [ and he'd like to keep it that way. Forever. ] I don't need false concern from them or you.
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[TO TAKE CARE OF THAT FIRST.
But he's angry and she's.... well, simply put, she's not unused to that. It doesn't scare her, like it would've before. As far as she's concerned, she's in the right and no matter what... it'll work out, somehow. It's the sort of frightening determination into the unknown that she picked up from Yona.]
Are you saying that you don't want me to talk because your pride can't handle being bothered by others? Is it really so flimsy or is this a poor excuse? I'd thought better of you.
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...You thought better of me?
[ Why? This girl standing in front of him - what right did she have to say that to his face? It both confuses and angers him, so basically like this entire conversation so far. ]
Then that's your problem, isn't it? You're making assumptions about someone you don't even know. It's not my problem if you're disappointed.
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A liar, apparently, but not a coward. I don't associate with men who have no spine.
[A coward wouldn't have recklessly tasted that drink for her. A spineless man wouldn't have ingested a foreign substance for the sake of someone that he didn't even know.
But it doesn't change the fact that even still, she has no answers.]
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