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paradisalogs2014-10-25 10:31 pm
dark_circus) wrote in paradisalogs2014-10-25 10:31 pm
Entry tags:
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.)).
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.)).
Day
But some of those prizes are very red, and as the only color she has left, she is drawn to them. But these games aren't fish scooping, or shoot-it-and-red-comes-out.
So she mostly stands back and admires the prizes, debating how she ought to go about getting one. ]
no subject
Not that she wants to alarm her, so she just approaches with a gentle smile.]
Which one are you looking at? You could probably try and win it...
[A bit sudden for an icebreaker, but she didn't want to just jump out and introduce herself out of nowhere, either.]
no subject
[ Anna isn't terribly surprised, but that generally comes with reading minds and.. not being able to turn thoughts off. ]
I don't know the game.
[ ... She could get past that, though. ]
no subject
[She means it, too! Of the prizes available, she'd probably have chosen the bear as well.]
How about we try together? Maybe one of us'll win it?
[And if she does, the younger girl could have it. She really just wants to be friendly and help out a little.]
Oh, I'm Rise. What's your name?
no subject
[ Although Anna is mostly interested in its bright shade of red.
She tilts her head a little at Rise. ]
Anna.
.... So we just go up?
no subject
[There's no one else waiting at the moment, after all. She'll hold out her hand for Anna to take if she wants, but either way, she'll lead the girl up.]
We just have to throw the darts and pop the balloons, right?
[A general question aimed at Anna and the attendant, who explains the game. Of course, the game is set up so you have to throw the weighted darts in an arc to have the best chance at actually popping a balloon, but Rise doesn't know that. (The attendant, however, probably does...)]
no subject
And a side effect of picking up thoughts, Anna finds out shortly after tossing her first dart.
Its not cheating to use knowledge that was so easily found, right? Particularly when the game itself is cheating against them.
Anna starts trying that arc thing, but she's never played darts before and has a little trouble with it. A couple pop though! ]
no subject
Wow, Anna-chan, you're really good at this!
[With only two of her own darts left, Rise glances over to see Anna's progress. She's really impressed! They might still need a few more points for that bear, though...]
Just a couple more, right? I dunno if I can get any, though...
[The attendant didn't seem to have any problem with the two of them working together, but maybe that's because even two people don't have much chance of hitting enough of the higher point value targets to win the prize. Some of them may even have been inflated less to make them harder to pop, even if a dart did hit them at the right angle.]
no subject
[ Anna traces what she means with one of her last two as well, before throwing it.
It bounced off that balloon. How rude. Anna frowns at the target, at the number of dead balloons, and then up at the bear. They could try again, now that they know the arc trick.
... or she could try getting it now. Rigged games, it isn't cheating to even them, right?
Anna tosses her last dart. Did the tip shine just a bit magenta? Did the balloon pop with a bit of burnt rubber smell? No one knows. ]
no subject
[She mimics the way Anna traced an arc in midair.]
Okay...
[They're so close! Rise doesn't want to waste her last darts, so she waits to watch Anna's throws more carefully this time. So unfair how it just bounced off like that! But then Anna takes the next shot, and Rise gasps in surprise.]
You did it! That was amazing!
[But they're still not done yet! They still need a little more, and Rise's still down to her last darts.]
Alright, I'm gonna try my best now!
[Imitating the way she'd seen Anna throw, she tosses one of her darts! And... it misses. That means they only have one more shot. Again, she carefully lines up, throws the dart in an arc... and misses. But this time, by some fortunate accident, it falls in just the right arc to pop one of the lower, harder to reach balloons. Which counts for just enough points to get the bear!]
Ah!!! It worked!!! We did it, Anna-chan!!!
[Hopefully, Anna's not averse to being hugged by practical strangers, because that's exactly what Rise's doing right now.]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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.]
no subject
It is written in katakana. I am Kushina Anna. [ And yes! Giant bear.
Or well, Anna makes it look like its giant, holding it as best she can. ]
... Do you want to have time with the bear too? [ She's okay having the bear visit Rise from time to time. The bear can go on trips- ]
no subject
If that's okay with Anna-chan!
[She really doesn't mind if Anna wants the bear all to herself, but it's sweet of her to offer. She just can't outright refuse.]
Maybe we could all visit with each other sometimes back in the castle, too?
[Family nights! A bear needs both of its parents, you know.]
no subject
I'm in room 317. What do you think about names?
no subject
Well, she'll just roll with it unless Anna says something!]
Oh, we're pretty close! Even though we're on different floors... I'm in 216 with Sugar-chan.
[Names, though... what sort of name would suit a red bear? Other than Teddie, of course.]
Hmmm... that depends. Do you think it's a boy bear or a girl bear?
no subject
Hmmm. [ Good question. It's big and round.
Much like Rikio. ]
I think its a boy. ... What do you think of Rikio?
[ And then the Red Clan will come to Paradisa and Anna will have a plushy clan of them already here. ]
no subject
Rikio-kun... it's a nice name for a bear!
[She silently agrees that it looks like a boy bear to her, too. Though she can't say exactly why.]