dark_circus: (Default)
dark_circus ([personal profile] dark_circus) wrote in [community profile] paradisalogs2014-10-25 10:31 pm

By the pricking of my thumbs...

Who: Everyone
What: A carnival arrives
When: October 26th-29th
Where: The grounds between the city and the castle
Rating: pg-13 for some dark themes and mild horror

It's the early hours of the morning when everything is still dark that it happens. Heralded by the sound of calliope music and the crunch of dirt as the wagon train crests the hill nearing the castle. Other than this, there is very little sound to be heard as they halt off of the side of the path. A chill wind cuts through the air as a man disembarks the lead wagon, gazes up at the towering walls of the castle, and then directs a silent symphony with the wave of his hand. Wagons scatter and unfold, issuing forth a stream of dark figures and fluttering tents, like great bats in the night. The whole thing takes only minutes, and then is still.

By day, it seems mostly normal. The dark tents are brightly colored in the daylight, if not faded, and the air resounds with music and smells of popcorn and cotton candy. There's plenty to do and see to a casual attendee. The midway bristles with simple fair games ring tosses to balloon popping to a strongman game. There are small attractions everywhere like jugglers and fire-eaters. Those tired of games might brave the mirror maze, though it's an unsettling place even in the day. There is a small zoo to browse. Some of the animals are ordinary - pigs, goats, ponies, and ducks, though there are odd additions such as small blue horses, long-tailed antelopes, and a spotted lion (in a cage).There is a merry-go-round, but a sign out front reads out of order. The large tent at the end of the fairway is shut during these hours, though not necessarily to more adventurous prying eyes.

But the real attraction starts long after the sun has set. Flyers will circulate to patrons advertising the sideshow. Maybe you'll be handed one by a worker, or see it blowing over the leaf-strewn ground, or maybe the owner himself will place it into your hands. Mr. Dark, a tall man in an impeccable black suit, the sleeves rolled back to reveal arms covered in colorful tattoos, prowls the grounds greeting and amazing those he meets.

It's in the dark that the wrongness lurking just out of the corner of one's eye comes out to play. Mr. Dark, stripped to the waist to show off his grotesque menagerie of creatures on his skin, gladly draws in visitors to the freakshow within the dimly lit interior of the tent. See the blind seer, her eyes sewn closed. See the conjoined twins, the bearded lady, the human skeleton. An insect-like humanoid lifts weights over here. A blank-faced bat-winged creature lurks near top of the tent. An elven-featured face, collared with an iron necklace, floats disembodied on another side, invisible hands juggling objects.

And outside, the stationary merry-go-rounds moves, a siren song playing from inside, a ghostly green glow wisping from it's edges like smoke. Why don't you come take a ride? See a show? Step into the shadows...

((NOTE: Log will be divided by days. Please specify day or night in your post header. NPC interaction is most likely during the night, but Mr. Dark is available at all hours. If you'd like interaction with him or any other npc, do no hesitate to pm any mod account or post in the ooc comm.)).
yay_heiress: (Ooh! Guess What!)

[personal profile] yay_heiress 2014-11-08 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
So does that mean you can make real diamonds instead of the ones on cards?
yay_heiress: (Seriously Editorial)

[personal profile] yay_heiress 2014-11-08 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
Who can't wear white?

[She's not entirely convinced she needs to have them removed.]
yay_heiress: (C'est Moi)

[personal profile] yay_heiress 2014-11-08 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
It's second nature to me.

[Her smile is faintly smug.]
inafadingcrown: (Thought)

[personal profile] inafadingcrown 2014-11-08 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
This place... [Her eyes flick back to the main part of the tent, checking to be sure no one else is approaching.] You are in need of aid, are you not? Tell me my suspicions are not so far wrong.
deductiongeek: (Default)

[personal profile] deductiongeek 2014-11-08 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[Conan takes his time examining everything. He took pride in being a critical audience. For most of the sideshow creatures, Conan looks for the trick. Although the identity of the Collector was not lost to him. He could hardly forget that expedition.

At last he feels the presence of something watching him. Carefully he looks up, disguising the movement as a sudden interest in the roof of the tent.]
schrodingersghost: (Default)

[personal profile] schrodingersghost 2014-11-09 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
Here you go then.

[He tosses her the rings. ]
inafadingcrown: (You knew)

[personal profile] inafadingcrown 2014-11-09 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
[And that gets a little laugh from her] You must also consider that you are not precisely usual for a child your age.
schrodingersghost: (fenton - unsure)

[personal profile] schrodingersghost 2014-11-09 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Danny cringes at the sight of her eyes, and for a moment seriously considers just vanishing. This situation was not getting any more comfortable.

But he guessed he should be polite until anyone actually attacked him or tried to brainwash him.]


Um, I guess?
lightbranded: (Default)

[personal profile] lightbranded 2014-11-09 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
[He grins. ]

I suppose I am not, at that.
inafadingcrown: (side glance)

[personal profile] inafadingcrown 2014-11-09 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
Only that we take precautions to secure our resources in the castle before we depart, since it is unlikely enough of us will remain to defend them. You have some form of protective wards among your magics, do you not?
lord_wizard: (Default)

[personal profile] lord_wizard 2014-11-09 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[His lips thin for a moment, and then he huffs]

Not all magic is capable of the same thing.
lord_wizard: (hand on hips)

[personal profile] lord_wizard 2014-11-09 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
Some. Mine are likely the most diverse, but the problem with any ward is that it helps to know what you are warding against. A few powerful lock spells would be the most foolproof. Such as they can be where the castle is concerned.
lord_wizard: (hand on hips)

[personal profile] lord_wizard 2014-11-10 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
People who are far too pale, for starters. [Felix being one of them, although he'd probably do it just because it would look strange]
aprettyred: (I found Tatara)

[personal profile] aprettyred 2014-11-11 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Practical stranger who Anna has been picking up thoughts from for the past bit.

So while she's a little startled and stiff in the hug, its not like Rise just walked up and hugged her. She's clearly not that much of a stranger anymore, having just beat a rigged game together.

The red bear is theirs! Well worth hugs. Anna points out which one they want to the attendant, still in Rise's hug.
]

Rise is Japanese as well? [ Because that is the most important sidetrack. ]
therealrisette: (*giggle* Aren't I cute in this?)

[personal profile] therealrisette 2014-11-11 09:08 am (UTC)(link)
[The attendant holds out the red bear to Rise, forcing the older girl to back away from the hug to accept it. Smiling, she holds it out for Anna.]

Yep! I was actually a famous idol back home!

[She's not bragging! Well, maybe a little. More importantly, she wonders if this girl has ever heard of her as Risette.]

So you're Japanese too? Isn't Anna a foreign name?

[She believes her, she's just curious about the details involved.]
therealrisette: (Sideways glance)

[personal profile] therealrisette 2014-11-11 09:32 am (UTC)(link)
[She straightens up automatically in response, almost as if she were expecting the instruction. It seemed the sort of thing to do on stage, after all.

She gives the watch a curious glance as he takes it out, but just assumes it must be that sort of show. It's just a carnival, there's nothing to be alarmed about here, right?

She might feel the tiniest twinge of apprehension, before the watch spins and her gaze starts to turn glassy. She'd expected something like that, but it's so hard to concentrate... what's even happening...?]
therealrisette: (Kinda worried here)

[personal profile] therealrisette 2014-11-11 10:46 am (UTC)(link)
They don't hurt, or anything?

[She's more concerned about the straps than the height...]
fearbringer: (well‚ I am the high commander)

[personal profile] fearbringer 2014-11-11 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Careful. It might not like that.
freeslider: (touched)

[personal profile] freeslider 2014-11-11 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Wade shakes her head, confused at well...Rise's confusion.]

Please. Sugar said you didn't come back to the castle last night.
yay_heiress: (Celebrate!)

[personal profile] yay_heiress 2014-11-12 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
[She takes the rings and throws them one by one, terribly missing every shot except the very last one, which she somehow makes due to undershooting just a tad.]

*gasp*
Yay me! I got one! What do I win?
yay_heiress: (No It's Not Chinchilla)

[personal profile] yay_heiress 2014-11-12 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
Well, what does yours do?
yay_heiress: (So Important)

[personal profile] yay_heiress 2014-11-12 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
[She smirks slightly.]

I tan.

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