estoria | //EVENT025.EXE

Entry tags:

//EVENT025.EXE

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm sure you'll get used to it.

[ she pats him on the shoulder. ]

And hey! You've even managed to record something for your voice mail. That's saying a lot.

[ Ah... but it was a failed one, lbr. ]

Someone wrote down instructions for me actually. [ There's nothing to be ashamed of in admitting that, at least Rei definitely helped him see it that way. ] I've been studying it.

[ nerd. ]

[ she appreciates nerdery, at least. you're lucky with this one, merlin. ]

Oh! That's good.

Do you know how to text yet?

[ Well it's a start. He gives her a smile when she asks that. ]

I can start one... the keys are taking some getting used to but it isn't as bad as I expected. [ If you want to wait 5 to 10 minutes for a text anyway. ]

I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually!

[ that's like waiting for phoenix to send her a text. she's used to it. ]

Soon, you'll end up texting in seconds. How's that sound?!

[ ah poor Phoenix... it's hard being Old. ]

That would probably take a lot of practice. [ But at least she's encouraging?! ]

Maybe you just need somebody to text you everyday!

[ anyway... ]

Do you have carnivals where you're from?

[ An eyebrow goes up at that. ] Maybe. [ But that seems like it would waste too much time. A moment passes then she changes the subject and he lets out a slow breath as he thinks of how to explain. ]

Not exactly. The King has entertainment for feasts that are... somewhat similar to this. There's the Grand Tourney, too, though that's more about fighting than anything worthwhile.

[ gUESS WHO ISN'T A FAN OF THOSE. ]

No rides, then, huh?

[ time for merlin to have another culture shock experience, then! ]

Come on, you've got to ride the dodgems!

[ it's not her favourite ride, but it sure sums up her personality quite well. ]

Rides? [ They feel like a ride with how eventful they can be. Not a single tourney has actually gone to plan and Arthur has almost died 43583458948 times.

"Dodgems" means very little to him, however. ]

Ride what-- [ Ah, too late. They're already heading in that direction before he has any time to properly learn what she's talking about. ]

[ and once they get there, merlin will find a bunch of cars!! so many of them in different colours. and the drivers are hitting each other as the tires screech and rubber permeates the air.

LOOKS FUN, RIGHT. ]

Do you want your own car, or should we share one?

[ athena, this guy probably can't even drive. what are you thinking. ]

[ It looks like such a trainwreck. Not like he knows what one of those looks like either but the clash of colours and the screech of tires makes him visibly cringe at first. ]

I don't know how to... [ YOU KNOW. DRIVE. He's never seen one of these before, Athena, how well do you think that'd go. The only useful part of it is that he can probably animate the cars with magic and wouldn't need the pedals but that's cheating. Right. ]

Okay then, I'm driving!

[ sometimes, you have to learn through experience! but that's okay. she slaps merlin on the back, hard, before falling in line. thankfully, there aren't that many people in line! they should be able to get on next. ]

[ S. O. S. ]

Righ-Ow! [ For someone who set the swamp on fire he sure did yell out pain when she slapped him on the back, probably getting a few people to turn in their direction. Most of the people seem to be focused on the ride itself though, which is thankfully a good thing as he tries to reach and rub the sore spot. What a brute. ]

[ gomen, merl. she's so pleased, though, and it shows because she's humming and is practically beaming.

the bell rings and the gates open for the people riding the cars to get off, and for the people in line to get in! ]

Come on! Our turn.

[ she picks a yellow car (what else is new) because it is only the best colour ever?!?!? ]

[ Well at least she's happy. That's something.

He follows when she indicates they can enter the ride now, following her into the car. It's a bit cramped honestly, considering how tall he is but it isn't the worst. He leans back once he's settled, and wonders if he should have thought again about letting her take the wheel. ]

What's the aim of this? [ Because really ]

[ she immediately takes her hand off the wheel. ]

Eugh... sweaty.

[ but at least her right hand's gloved. that's. that's the only safe hand. so she'll be driving with one hand - THIS IS TOTALLY SAFE. ]

Seatbelts on!

[ though before merlin could probably put his seatbelts on, the bell rings and it's time to ride! she says nothing else and drives instead, going around in a circle first before hitting her first victim. ]

Ha!

[ and now, to reverse and look for the second victim...! ]

[ Or she can ignore his question entirely. He's okay with that, though he isn't okay with finding out the Hard Way that it's about bashing into people. He scrambles to try and hook the seatbelt in place while she's in the middle of crashing away. One hand has to reach forward to stop himself from going flying.

It could be worse.

One thing is clear, however, this is a ride for sadists. ]

Wat-- [ Ah, too late. While Athena is looking the other way someone goes crashing into them. Too much is happening at once and it's hard to keep up. Whether Athena notices or not though he takes a deep breath, eyes flashing and suddenly time slows to a point that any person without magic won't feel anything. He's only had 0.2 seconds to understand how this works but it's enough to push at the wheel so that when time speeds up again they have the chance to zoom the hell away with minimal damage.

He isn't dying here today, no siree. ]

[ dodgems are always so much fun, and she's totally enjoying driving. there's just so MUCH POWER when driving, and the adrenaline rush makes her feel like she's on top of the world!

everything's all fine and dandy until the car suddenly swerves away from the path that athena had wanted the car to take. but that's fine! it's kind of weird, but it's probably just because the carnival is shady as hell and everything is cheap. it's a good thing her reflexes are quick, because she turns immediately and aims for a nearby car.

tally... ho...!!!!!! ]

OBJECTION!!!!

[ The only objection to be yelling out is how hard she's driving at these other people. He has to grit his teeth as they hit the next car, gripping on for dear life. His heart is pounding and he really wonders how they went from him blaming her for the paper crown and cape get up to this.

When she yells out his hands fly up to cover his ears. What did he ever do to deserve this pain???

Slowly he twists to try and look over his shoulder and the person they narrowly avoided before seems to be gearing up for round two. The speed up, and when Athena moves to reverse he lifts a hand. To an outsider it'd look like he was going to wave, like he was egging them on. However, his eyes flash gold and instead of them zooming forward they start spinning on the spot, even with the driver's hands in the air the wheel seems to just be moving on its own. ]

[ she looks back as she hears some tires screeching louder and louder, but looks ahead immediately to avoid any impending crashes coming from the front. and athena does it! she manages to evade to cars coming at them, and one of them even hits the car that merlin sent spinning.

wait. why's it spinning? did this guy do something again? ]

Whatever it is you're doing, keep doing it.

[ it's loud enough for merlin to hear, but not enough for the rest to do so. she might be getting excited now and thinks she can win it all (not that there's a prize here, mind you), but she remembers that merlin was so very secretive about what it is that he can do. and she won't forget that.

that said, more driving is happening, and after a few more twists and turns, their car comes to a halt and the bell rings loudly again. looks like their time is up. ]

[ He sure did do something. He ducks a little when another car zooms by, cringing visibly when the crash into the dodgem that is still spinning. Oops. Whoever is in there is probably going to end up puking by the end of this.

In fact, even though a bunch of the cars are spinning they don't stop even when the ride comes to a halt. He yanks the seat belt over his head, tripping out of the car before holding out his hand for her. All in all it was... pretty fun. But they need to get out of here as soon as they can. ]

Come on.

[ The manager of the ride is yelling angrily at that car and then when the person yells out, points in their direction--well. ] We need to go.

[ Whether Athena is ready or not she's getting tugged once her seatbelt is off. Ah... what a trip. ]

[ speaking of trips, athena's in so much of a rush that once they leave the vicinity, she accidentally steps on a banana peel and falls flat on the ground, face first.

this is clearly merlin's fault. ]

Ow.

[ Ah... dear lord please save them. He tries to stop the fall at least a little bit but it's difficult when your company for the time being is definitely showing too much skin and isn't even using the cape properly.

Needless to say that while he might cringe when she falls, he doesn't try to stop her other than gripping onto her arm because IT'S THE ONLY SAFE PLACE TO TOUCH. ]

Are you-- [ Ah. ] --alright. [ Yeah, he sure does quiet after that, especially when he hears the manager of that ride's voice getting louder, like he's closing in. Using his grip on her arm he pulls her down the nearest side alley he can find, thankfully more concerned with not getting found than anything else now. ]

[ she starts panting, though her brain is already trying to gather her bearings. man, that was truly something. and she'll definitely have to bully merlin later to forget about seeing her trip. that did not happen. ]

Oh man... [ pant. ] That was a ride, huh?!

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