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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OTA
[Alice had been excited about the carnival! Finally, something fun and excited! She'd never once been to a carnival in her entire life.
And she would promptly never go again.
Dressed in a little violet cape with a crushed crown in her hands, she was trying as hard as she could not to get upset at being called "The Ugliest in All of Cerealia." Emphasis on "trying." She didn't think she looked ugly, she didn't think she looked any sort of unseemly, but it still hurt to be called that. She was wiping at her eyes and trying not to get even more upset about being upset, but was failing rather miserably.]
W-What do they know? T-They... No-Now you've gone and cried so much, Alice. A proper m-mess you've made of yourself. You-You're not ugly Alice. Crying w-will just let them know ho-how upset you are.
D-Did they really ask all of Cerealia?
[PHASE IV]
[Alice was a rather brave soul, if her curiosity got involved. And oh how involved it had gotten at the sight of the alien elephants. Especially the one with the tiger and peacock markings. She had petted the giant creature quite fondly, telling it again and again how beautiful it was, what a marvelous creature it looked like.
So when the animals escaped? The one Alice had been petting and cooing at did something quite different than try to eat her, for once.
Alice was sitting atop its back, having been put there by the elephant itself. She had never felt so tall! As it ran through the carnival, she would ask, quite nicely for it to stop and it seemed inclined to listen.]
Ah! Are you alright! [She called down to the person that had been running from some of the other more wild elephants.] Do you need any help!
[Bonus]
[All she had wanted, was one of the most adorable things Alice had ever seen and she wanted it. It was an alien bunny and it looked so soft!
Now she wished she had never tried to play. She struggled to get down.]
HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE! [She called out but unable to move. "Little Doll" was labeled neatly above her head as a prize to be won.]
phase one
[ She hated the UGLIEST PERSON ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH BASICALLY thing as well; it's rough when you're constantly faced with that fear - the fear of being unloveable - and then have to stand there as it's thrown in your face. Rapunzel smiles warmly and approaches Alice with a plate of funnel cake. ]
And - you know what? They're saying that to everyone. [ eye roll WHAT LOSERS CERES UGH ] Don't listen to it.
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They said it to you too? But... you're absolutely stunning.
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[ It's the highest pitch her voice has reached since their arrival, l-lol. ]
Uh. Good one. They've been telling everyone who comes through that they're ugly! It's - hah. It's actually really rude. What's their problem? [ THINKING ABOUT IT IS MAKING HER MAD. NOT COOL CERES ]
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Clearly they must be mad, then. And rude, indeed! [How could you call Rapunzel ugly? Honestly!] I suppose to an alien, all people must be ugly, which is terribly unkind.
Ah what... is that thing you are eating, though?
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Oh! And there's powdered sugar too! It's delicious in... case you'd want any...
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At the offer of getting to try it Alice bounced a bit on her toes and let out a little squeal of joy.]
REALLY! Ah... I would love to, thank you so much, Miss Rapunzel!
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1/2
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bonus
geddit]Right!
[ Nanoha quickly considers her options: Threatening the stall owner or simply blowing him away was of course, entirely possible, but she hardly had legal protection here. It might be more trouble than it's worth, but she'll keep that option in her back pocket for now. ]
I suppose I have to win this game then? How does it work?
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Dolls don't say more than "Mama" little girl. [Clearly the stall runner didn't like being called a cheater.]
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[ Nanoha shakes her head and turns to the stall runner. ]
Hey mister, won't you just let her go? If we leave it at that, I'll overlook your hanging young girls up.
[ She's not police, but really, that just makes her more dangerous. ]
i ...you don't want armin's help with anything else ok
He's also not sure how to comfort a small child. It's something he hasn't had experience with. The last time he was around children he was one himself, and he'd nearly always been the one doing the crying. Still, he'd better try, hadn't he? He wraps his arms around himself uncomfortably, hoping she won't pay too much mind to his unfortunate outfit.]
Is that your name? Alice?
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Y-Yes? [She swallowed and continued to wipe at her eyes.] I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so upset.]
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[Ugh, he's loathe to do it, but he gives a little spin for her to show off his own awful outfit, hoping she won't notice he's shaking a bit as well. She's young and upset, so there are more important things to focus on than that.]
You know, I've seen a few others with that crown too. I think it's just a cruel joke.
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[At the sight of him spinning, she blinked but she gave a small smile. She was glad she wasn't put in something like that, at least.]
That's a very strange thing to put a boy in.
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[There's a bit of deeper animosity under there somewhere, but it's not exactly appropriate conversation for a young woman. Armin sighs, though that little smile helps him to relax a bit as well. This is tough enough at his age, he'd hate to have to try and understand all of this as a child. If he can help her feel a little better by making fun of his own situation, then that's fine.]
Oh, so you can tell? I guess not everyone can. You know, the man at the duck pond said it matches my eyes.
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Bonus
Oh! Alice!
What are you doing up there?
[How did she even get up there?]
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I was trying to win the rabbit and I was even winning! But then all my points disappeared!
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[What kind of person would grab a small child and stick her among a wall of stuffed animals?]
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[Honestly, she didn't trust him in the slightest.]
Perhaps you can get the police!
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The...police? [She glanced around, wondering what the police department in cerealia even looked like. Sure, she knew...quite a number of people in the law enforcement business. Maybe they could help? Once she found them, of course.] I...think I see somebody who looks like a security guard. I can go ask him.
Wait right here, Alice. I'll be back in a moment.
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I
[It was that girl again. The one who was about her age, who'd invited her for tea. Alice.]
[Even if she hadn't recognized her on sight, Hikari would still have approached. She'd heard what had been said. The same words that, after paying a bit attention to the area, seemed to be spoke to many of the new arrivals. For seemingly no reason other than to be cruel. It had certainly gotten to poor Alice, whose heart was crying even louder than her tears.]
Don't listen to them. I think you look really pretty.
[She approached with a faint smile, wearing a strange outfit of her own. Similar to what many of the women had arrived in, only a little more...age-appropriate.]
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Oh, I do wish I hadn't cried so much. [At being called pretty, she gave another small smile, this one she felt a bit more.] Thank you, Miss Hikari. I- I know I shouldn't listen. I did hear them say it to everyone, but then I was out on stage and... and it became quite overwhelming.
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You don't need to apologize.
I almost cried too. [In fact, the only reason why she didn't was because she was too confused as to what was going on that, by the time she wandered off the stage and realized they'd been talking about her, the moment was over.] They didn't need to be so mean.
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How did you stop yourself from crying? [It would be a lovely trick to learn.]
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Well...I thought about how it might upset my friends if they saw me crying. And today is supposed to be about having fun, right?
So even though they were mean, I didn't want to let it get to me, and just...kept smiling.
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