1369

[animusmods]

Characters: Anyone coming to Zo's carnival
Setting: Cafeteria; please specify the date and location in the carnival in your subject header!
Format: Anything
Summary: Zo has set up a carnival for the residents, but it's not meant to last. Anyone wandering after the bombs go off might see things they never wanted to see...
Warnings: Psychological and body horror
Note: Characters entering the carnival from the 27th to the 30th will experience visions! Please refer to the info post for details and reply to this thread if your character enters the carnival during these days.

[The carnival has taken up the entirety of the cafeteria. A large roller coaster and ferris wheel tower over the residents, while a child-sized roller coaster, a merry-go-round, and spinning teacups project much less daunting silhouettes. Stands are set up with standard carnival foods available, from ice cream to cotton candy. These stands do not ask for anything as payment.

On the twenty-seventh, the carnival appearance changes. The machinery all appears rusted and broken down, as if weathered with decades of rain and snow. Plants grow up and around the rides, ruining them, and all the food is rotten.]

Comments

25th, Food Stand then Teacups

[seventhsong]

There were carnivals on Auldrant. Lorelei simply has never been to one.

So it's really no surprise that he's turned up to this one. It would hopefully be there a while, so he's in no rush at all to explore the place in favor of at first finding out what carnival food is. And what it tastes like.

This is far more focused a sampling than most people would bother with. For Lorelei it's a new field of tastes to come to terms with, though most of them seem sweet. He wasn't excessively fond of sweets, but it was a worthwhile flavor to try. The variety of Everything On A Stick is going to take a while to get through, but he's determined!!

But eventually there's only so much even he can eat, and then it's off to investigate the rides, starting with the teacups. If he sees a familiar face, of course he's going to have to say hello. And then try to lure them with him onto these various rides..

Re: 25th, Food Stand then Teacups

[bloodyashes]

Well, it doesn't get much more familiar than this face. Asch is wandering between the rides looking faintly confused; not only does this look like something Dist might have come up with in a fever dream, with the lights and the spinning, but the normal features of the cafeteria are gone.

He hasn't exactly been to a carnival either, although a few things he passes remind him of Noir's circus.

Asch does eventually find his way over to the food stands, where Lorelei's red hair sticks out obviously. Of course; he should have figured that the sentience and his passion for all things human would wind up here quickly.

Bracing for hug in three, two...

[seventhsong]

Change isn't a bad thing. It might inconvenience some to not be able to avail themselves on the kitchens, but there was plenty of other free food! Lots of things to try! Granted all of it seemed to have grease, salt or sugar as a main ingredient, but it could be worse.

Lorelei's current selection of turkey and bacon on a stick at least isn't incredibly greasy. Bacon was interesting, and it was everywhere. His path towards the teacups is neatly stopped by a familiar isofon, and promptly he diverts. It might be predictable, but he didn't really care! This time at least his hug is only one-armed; he's learned not to get food anywhere NEAR long hair. ..Which means it's probably easier to escape from.

"There you are, my isofon! I have been watching for you. Isn't this a marvel? All these things!" Things that might be mundane to other people. He gestures a bit with his meat on a stick, looking thoroughly pleased. "It seems this 'Zo' fellow really is pleasant after all, this must have taken a lot of work."

[bloodyashes]

They're both very predictable; Asch, predictably, attempts to squirm out from under the arm. He mostly succeeds, except for a few strands of hair stuck to something sticky on Lorelei's sleeve. It tugs irritatingly at his scalp until he can pull it free.

"It's exactly the sort of thing Zo would do," he agrees, rather than saying anything about the hug (Lorelei did do him the service of not getting the bacon in his hair, after all). "He's just a kid." Kids liked circuses and festivals, it only stands to reason that kids would like something like this.

[seventhsong]

"If providing entertainment and peace for this place even for a short time is the sort of thing a kid would do, then bring on the kids," is Lorelei's observation. "I haven't caught even the suggestion of a monster yet."

It was a good thing. They might be imprisoned but it wasn't all that bad at the moment. Ways to keep them complacent maybe, though he'll enjoy the new experiences while he could. He might never get the chance to again. "You should enjoy it, my other self. Even if a little fun does kill you, it won't kill you for long."

The tower didn't let people stay dead, after all. And Asch could seriously use some mood-lightening. "Come with me. I want to see what these cup-things are for." Rides!!!

[bloodyashes]

"It's still daylight," Asch comments, but he can't really puncture Lorelei's cheer so he doesn't bother. Stupid isofons and their infectious good mood; it takes actual effort to eyeball the cups suspiciously.

"They look like something Dist came up with after a week long fever dream." All bright colors and mechanisms; Asch isn't enough of a fontechnician to tell what they do, although it's pretty obvious that they move somehow.

It's Zo, he reminds himself. The cups are probably not set out for a teaparty for murderous giants. Lorelei will find that while Asch makes no move towards the things himself, he's much easier to drag than he has been in the past, not even issuing a protest.

[seventhsong]

"Sometimes there are monsters in daylight. Just not as many." He's been practicing on them! Night brought out ones he had a hard time defeating though so that worked a whole lot better. And he has no problem pulling Asch along with him. Enough of a protest would get him to stop of course, but as there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of resistance, well.

It's easy to assume Asch is just putting on a front of stubborn refusal. Maybe he had a reputation to maintain, and really actually wanted to have a good time. It was Lorelei's duty to make sure this happened! "Ah?"

Dist. This takes a bit of thinking. "Oh yes, your work companion. ...Mmm. No. Not enough flowers and guns for him, wouldn't you say?" He could remember everything that's happened on Auldrant, it just took a bit to remember it when he wanted to. Dist was not someone he put a lot of thought into normally.

And right onto the teacups they go, if Asch doesn't really dig his heels in. It didn't look like it went fast enough to require hair tyes or braiding at least. "Are your friends here as well? We could find them, then bring them along too. I want to see the thing on the rails later, and it looks like it needs a lot of people." Roller coaster.

teacups

[terreifying]

[Rei is just about to step into a teacup when she sees Lorelei. Then, she steps out and waves.]

Heee~ey. Wanna do this ride with me?

[seventhsong]

[TEACUPS. RIDES. LORELEI WANTS THEM ALL, RIGHT NOW. Unfortunately 'pacing' requires he wait, or he'll run out of things to do! As Rei is spotted, and then he's invited onto the ride, he hesitates only a moment.

Mostly to make sure that nobody else was going to take her up on her offer instead. When this doesn't happen it seems he's more than happy to clamber into the cup and plunk down, beaming.]

Are all of these fun?

[Surely she already knows!]

[terreifying]

Yep! Everything's really really fun! And the food is good too! And play the games! You get prizes!

[She rambles even as the door closes and the ride begins to spin.]

[seventhsong]

[Good lord, it spins. This is fascinating. If Lorelei's hanging onto the edge of the teacup it's probably because he's never done this before.]

Really? What kind of prizes do you get? I found some of the food, is it all made out of bacon or grease?

[terreifying]

Stuff like stuffed animals. Or squeaky toys. Or breath mints.

[She would shake her head, but the ride is going too quickly.]

Nope. There's a lot of sweet foods too. Not just oily ones.

[seventhsong]

[Shaking one's head while the teacups are spinning is a good recipe to lose all the previously eaten snacks. Lorelei is not going to try it and find out the hard way.]

Breath mints? I suppose that's necessary with so many things out here to eat. Do you recommend any of them? I'm not really ... familiar with most [any] of this.

food stands

[warriorscribe]

*Well, they went from hot dogs to hot dogs on sticks. Fair enough, though it's a little strange to him since he got used to the ones on bread.

But then he notices someone familiar eating a lot more than he'd expect. He must be new to these foods too, right? Or maybe he just hasn't had them in a long time.*

The food is rather interesting, isn't it?

[seventhsong]

[Things-on-sticks were amazing, and he could actually keep clean while eating them. They are now Lorelei's favorite foods. When Enoch speaks up suddenly, it's right when he's delicately picking off something fried and tentacly and apparently delicious off one of said sticks. He pauses mid-munch, swallows hard, and swivels right around, beaming.]

It's amazing! They've put everything on sticks! I haven't had to touch a fork all day! ..Oh I see you have one too. Try the ones wrapped in cheese.

[warriorscribe]

The ones wrapped in cheese? *He looks at the stand and gets handed a cheesy thing on a stick. He'll...just finish his hot dog first.*

I don't think I've ever seen food as greasy as this.

*It's not bad, but too much is a little rough on his stomach. He's noticed most people have more tolerance for it than him, though. Or they seem to. He hasn't seen most people looking queasy, at least. Maybe it's more common where or when they're from?*

[seventhsong]

Yes. But eat them slowly, they're a very heavy food.

[But so delicious. Lorelei intended to go for another as soon as he had the room for it.]

It's a good thing, I suppose, that none of this grease can really genuinely adversely affect our health. It's just taste. Good taste at that. There are things that aren't all grease, however. I'll find you some, I've tried a little bit of a lot of these.

[Lorelei looks around alertly, then waves Enoch to follow him, heading to a different set of not-vendors.]

These green things are wrapped, grilled corn on the cob. You can add butter and salt if you wish, but they're not greasy at all and very tasty! I recommend the corns with the white and yellow, not just all yellow.

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch did as told, taking the corn with the white mixed in. He looked at it for a while, fingers brushing over the green leaves. Lorelei said they were "wrapped", so this was the wrapping, not part of the food, right? Enoch unwrapped the cob and looked down at it. It was clear he'd never encountered it before.

It was kind of native to a place an ocean away.*

[seventhsong]

[Lorelei found out the hard way that cobs are not for eating. He watches for a moment, then gestures.]

The little seedy things are the part that gets eaten. Don't bite too deep, they're all attached to a pretty solid and inedible core. Give it a try!

[He's fairly bouncing in place now. Corn was amazing.]

Teacups!

[melodyoftheabyss]

[ Tear's been standing in front of them for some time, eying them skeptically. On top of that, there was a hug ferris wheel that stood out in the distance. Everything here is different, and she couldn't get over how realistic it all seemed. On top of that, it wasn't something she usually would engage in, so Tear's not sure how she's suppose to approach any of these things-- the foods, the rides but her guard's up just in case anything happens.

How does one have fun, really? It's not too hard to miss the vibrant red hair that she caught sigh of through her peripheral vision. ]

[seventhsong]

[Hey! Isn't that one of Luke's friends? Yulia's great to the nth degree grandchild, too! Tear's regard of the rides is uninterrupted for a little while, maybe. Well, he can't just go say hello without having something to offer, which means before heading in Tear's direction Lorelei goes hunting for something he thinks she might like.

Eventually he decides on cotton candy. EVERYONE likes cotton candy, right? And then poor Tear doesn't get to spend much more time alone and puzzled.]

Hello!

[She's saved from the hugs he preferred inflicting on everyone by dint of cotton candy, which is promptly offered.]

Would you like some? I've found these rides are much more interesting when being ridden, as opposed to just being watched. Why don't you try them?

[melodyoftheabyss]

[ It's not very hard for her to notice him when he approaches her before she attempts to approach him. After a few more weeks of adjusting to this place, she's gotten used to the fact that that Lorelei has taken a physical form. He's also rather whimsical and childish, but she doesn't seem to find it strange. After all he's an entity that has been manifested into a human form. How, she's not sure, but she knows this is every real as anything

Tear has never eaten cotton candy before so she's rather quizzical when she sees him a approach her with a cheerful greeting and cotton like candy that is offered to her. She takes it, because it's offered but she's not sure how edible it is. ]

Thank you, Lorelei. [ There's a ghost of a smile that briefly lines her face before her expression changes to its usual. ]

They do not appear safe.

[ Judging from what she had observed anyway. ]

[seventhsong]

[A very grim girl. Did she smile much? Memory suggested not. Serious sobriety was the name of the game with Tear Grants. That's really too bad, as far as Lorelei's concerned.]

It's edible. A little stringy, and really airy, so it takes a bit of work, but it's very sweet.

[Cotton candy. It had taken him a bit to figure it out. And longer to clean up the mess that resulted from figuring it out.]

I've heard that the creator of this place is very vested in our safety and happiness. I don't think he'd make something that would be deliberately harmful. Besides which, if something does happen, I'm pretty good at healing. Do you want to take a chance, see what happens?

[Have fun? Though maybe that part would be harder to do, poor girl.]

[melodyoftheabyss]

[ Tear smiled, but not all the time. At the moment, there were many things that kept her from smiling. She will eventually harden herself even more in regards to that. It always has been with her. She might have changed a little but she still holds to her usual traits. ]

I see.

[ She continues to give it a brief look, before peeling off the cloud-like layer of the sugary candy. ]

It's hard to believe anything that is said here, however.

[ She replies to him, keeping herself guard. It seems safe, but she can't doubt that it can be dangerous either. ]

Yes, but I don't believe that is the point.

[ -- but Lorelei is different and carefree, as opposed to her always cautious and guarded self.

Having fun isn't in her vocabulary, but having fun might help her mood of sorts. ]

[seventhsong]

One may go through life mistrusting everything, doubting everything, and reap its rewards in due time. Or one may go through that same life knowing all is an illusion, and find joy in spite of it. Knowing that sweet stuff is a deception doesn't make it less sweet when you eat it, does it?

[Some fights are hopeless battles, and this is one, and Lorelei already knows it. She'll likely never be a happy, carefree woman. It just wasn't her personality. That didn't mean he couldn't, or wouldn't, encourage it anyway.]

There's enough pain in a life without looking for more. So have a little bit of a treat, and maybe have a little fun on the way. If that isn't the point, then what is?

[One hand is offered, crimson eyebrows rising sharply.]

It's not a bad thing to pretend to forget for a little while. Come play with the teacups, and enjoy the snacks all over. If it becomes dangerous, I will keep you safe.

[In lieu of his isofon. Luke should be there, picking at Tear until she relaxed, until she tried to have fun. He'd know how to better than Lorelei. But Lorelei... will make do.]