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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A-ah... I am not sure! But... It belongs to that odd caterpillar creature. I have been caught by surprise, and- and trapped...!
...But, are you alright?
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I'd be a lot better if I wasn't a pillow. [She's kicking to try and free herself, but she can stretch enough to extend a hand to him.] Here, grab on. I'll see if I can pull you out of there.
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Is that man... a friend of yours? [Sorry, he just has to clarify. But he does reach back for her hand with his free one.]
Do your best, Rise-san! [He says as he clasps onto her hand with his own.]
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Get ready! [And she pulls! And...it's not really working. She's not that strong. Gomen.] ...think you can push off with your feet? [Another fruitless tug!] Ugh, what is this made out of, cement?
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And now Lee does his best to try to help her as she pulls at him.]
Ah! It is an incredible substance, to be sure! ...I will try my best, Rise-san!!
[He tries to move his feet as much as he can within the gunk. It's sticky, but he tries his best. And it looks like they're making some progress?! But he's still not quite breaking free.]
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We need something stronger to pull you out. [...! Idea!] Hey, which way did that caterpillar go?
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Almost...! [But not quite. He then looks around thoughtfully as she speaks.]
The caterpillar? Ah... when he consumed me, he was heading in that direction...
[He nods his head in the direction facing away from himself.]
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I am ready to act at a moment's notice! Just give the word, Rise-san!
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But fear not, brave warrior, for she'll return a short time later with the caterpillar right on her tail. She's booking it pretty fast and she dashes by Lee, calling out over her shoulder.] Grab the end, see if they can pull you out when they move!
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Ossu! [Rock Lee is all fired up as the caterpillar starts to pass by!
And so, he springs forward to carry out this plan! He manages to grab right onto the tail and grips it as tightly as he can, hoping that he'll be successful in getting dragged along to freedom!]
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But watch out for more of those pesky acrobats that are tumbling down the street. Where are these people coming from anyway? Rise loops back around so the caterpillar turns the direction it came, passing by Lee again.]
Any luck?!
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Rise-san! Thank you so much. Right now, I do have luck! I feel like I have... all the luck in the world! So, it is time that I lent a hand!
[Grinning gleefully, Rock Lee then dashes forward to sucker punch the caterpiller in the side of its face.]
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Show 'em your moves! [Granted, she wasn't exactly expecting him to punch the caterpillar but you know what? That's okay. That's totally fine, the entire thing's soon knocked on its side and all of its legs kick wildly in the air, wiggling and desperately trying to get up.]
...huh. I didn't think you really meant lending a hand.
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He then grins sheepishly and raises his fist as he overlooks his handiwork. It looks like the overturned caterpillar is also serving as a comical roadblock for most of the other acrobats.
Lee then flashes a smile at Rise.]
Ah, well as a ninja, I might as well give it my all! That is one problem solved... I could not have done it without you, Rise-san!
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Ahhh, it was nothing. Consider it returning the favor for you helping me when I first got here. [He seems fine, but:] You're not hurt at all are you? That looked like a pretty long stretch.
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Do not worry! I feel perfectly fine at the moment, aside from the remaining stickiness! [Then he makes an attempt at a joking tone:] Or, perhaps I grew an inch in the process!
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We're at a carnival. I bet we could find a hose to rinse off the rest of the stickiness. Wanna go look? [And leave the wiggling, sad caterpillar behind...]
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Do not worry, Rise-san! The last thing I would want to do is to leave you behind! [
Never mind that he somehow has a little more growing to do back in canon.]A hose? That sounds like a splendid idea! [He nods and pumps a fist.] Yosh, let us do this! [Farewell, caterpillar-chan...]
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Somehow growing strong like the noble bamboo...But at least he's in agreement and she laughs, stepping over a pair of the caterpillar's legs to start walking down the street toward a small cluster of concession stands.]Did you even get a chance to explore the carnival before that thing started attacking you?
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Ah... I have done some light exploring already! I was escorting Hikari-san for a while, and before that I- I had sought out my proper clothes...
...But there is still much ground to cover!
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[Fortunately for them, when they get closer there is in fact a hose looped around the back of a shaved ice stall and Rise darts forward to pick it up.] This should do!
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[He would admire how much CERES was able to set up in so little time if it wasn't also a trap of pain and/or humiliation.
He perks up as they see the hose.]
Yes, we found it! [Then he raises his arms as if in surrender.] Do not hesitate, Rise-san! Hit me with full power!!
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