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

November 26th, everywhere

[bashfulshifter]

[While Rick had taken a gander around the carnival the first day it was open, the whole atmosphere was a bit too crowded, slightly too stifling to spend time really observing what was going on around him. Hopefully coming here on the second day, after everyone has tired from the initial excitement, will offer him a less adrenaline-spurred look around the place. You know--get a calm, rational perspective on the matter.]

[...]

[But you know, he can do that just as well from atop the ferris wheel...and with a couple of funnel cakes to keep focused...okay and maybe a ride on the kiddie-coaster look this wasn't supposed to be a professional job don't judge him]

Re: November 26th, everywhere

[glassceiling]

[Meanwhile, Claudia is just staring at him. She is here mostly for Claudia's comfort. She has little interest in these idle luxuries.]

[Nevertheless, the rides do make her curious. She cannot see what pleasure people can derive from just sitting in the slots of a giant wheel.]

[So when Rick gets off the Ferris Wheel, she'll stop him and ask him a question.]

...Is it really so pleasurable?

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick stops in his tracks, eyes wide with surprise and slight alarm. Claudia isn't exactly threatening, but he's never used to being pulled aside like this by strangers and is never prepared to respond to them. He gapes for a few moments, uncomprehending, managing a blank nod before he comes back to his senses.]

...I-It's...r-r-relaxing.

[glassceiling]

I see.

[She points to the teacups and then the ferris wheel.]

And those? Are they also supposed to be relaxing?

[bashfulshifter]

[He is reasonably confused, but nods again anyways. It's more a reflex action than anything.]

...Th--They, uh...c-c-can be. Y-Yes.

[glassceiling]

Then I guess spinning no longer makes the people of this age nauseous. Nor do great drops incite fear.

[technologic]

[When he gets off the kiddie-coaster, he'll just have one small, confused redhead blinking at him as he steps off.]

... Those are safe? [She really did think they were some sort of torture devices.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick blinks and does a quick double-take when he's addressed, flushing deep red because--well first off, stranger trying to flag him down in a crowded area, how does he even handle this--and second, he's been caught leaving a children's ride, which shouldn't be as embarrassing as it is. Her peculiar question related to it does nothing to ease his nerves.]

...Ah...u-uh... [Sorry, sorry, the blonde man needs to find some traction first for his words to stick. This process takes several seconds of awkward stammering to finish.] ...Y-Yeah.

[A beat.]

--I-I-I m-mean--I th--think s-s-so.

[technologic]

[And his embarrassment seems to make her embarrassed, since she ends up laughing sheepishly as she glances away, a hand reaching up to rub at one now faintly red cheek.]

Ah, s-s-sorry, that was pretty weird to a-ask... The only ride like t-this I've seen were, um, not a-at all safe back home...

[bashfulshifter]

[Oh no don't be embarrassed, you'll just make him more embarrassed about making you embarrassed and it will never end]

--N-No, no, i-it--I-I-I m-mean, it's...it m-m-makes s-sense to be, uh, c-cautious, since, ah...

[He trails off, shoving a hand in his hair with eyes glued to the floor by her feet.]

[sunflowerfairy]

[And Rick might spot someone very familiar in the line for the kiddy-coaster. When she saw the man pillow grown-up, she smiled up at him and waved, calling out, but not moving from her place in line.]

Rick! Isn't this awesome?! It's super fun! Let's ride together!

[bashfulshifter]

[And the man-pillow is more than happy to join her in line! He worries at first that he might anger the people behind them by cutting in front, but there really aren't that many waiting with them and there should probably be an adult accompanying her anyways. This is a good enough excuse, right?]

Y-Yeah--o-of course! H-Have you b-been on this o-one a-already?

[sunflowerfairy]

[It probably was, if anyone complained. Thankfully, it seemed that no one was going to argue against Rick joining the child.]

I haven't! But I went round and round on the cups, and I'm gonna ride the grown-up one later!

[..She was talking about the coaster, but Rick could think that she was talking about even bigger cups.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Brief images of those horrible "scrambler" rides at the theme parks from home flash in Rick's mind, but the trauma quickly subsides when he recalls that he hasn't seen such a monstrosity here and that Yotsuba is probably just talking about the bigger roller coaster.]

You are? W-Well you're m-much b-braver than I am! I c-couldn't go on that one a-alone.

[sunflowerfairy]

[She was! After all, she had never seen a carnival like this before. Japanese festivals were much different, even if the food was a little similar.]

Really?! But you're a grown-up! You should be braver than me!

[Yotsuba..]

[averytinyparticle]

Hey, Mr. Rick! What's that?

[Whether for better or for worse, Quark's been lured over to the familiar blond man due to the scent of delicious funnel cakes. Well, that, and he was also his funny, stuttering friend.

As if to drive home his point, he points directly at the treat Rick's holding once he's made his presence known.]

It smells really good! Where'd you get it?

[One can't really expect to have such things as carnivals and funnel cakes on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth, after all. No such time or resources left for that kinda thing. This was the stuff of legend here.]

[bashfulshifter]

H-Hey, Quar--Oh? [Rick halts in his greeting to follow the accusing finger and, almost instinctively, lowers his funnel cake to Quark's level in offering.] --I-It's a, ah, f-funnel cake! Uh...y-you w-want some?

[averytinyparticle]

A funnel cake?

[Since Rick's offering, Quark sees nothing wrong with reaching into the plate and breaking off a piece of the funny looking dough. Its warm, but not too much, he finds, to worry about burning his tongue.

The second it hits his mouth, of course, Quark can't help his eyes from going huge. It's all he can do to remember his manners and finish chewing before he opens his mouth again.]

I've never had anything like that before! That was amazing!

[Not as good as a root beer float but pretty darn close, mind you.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick is, as always, delighted that he could provide some way to make a friend happy, so his next course of action is to start dividing what funnel cake he has into a neat half.]

P-Pretty t-t-tasty, huh? [The less mangled half of the divided treat is again offered.] W-Would you l-like s-some of mine? I...r-r-really sh--shouldn't be e-eating so much, a-anyways.

[averytinyparticle]

[Maybe if he was a bit older, he would've simply thought of going and getting his own. Unfortunately, Quark can sometimes find himself tunnel visioned, as most children his age are, and is quick to take Rick up on the offer.]

Thanks! [Practically giggling in his joy, Quark takes another bite of the half he's been given before he makes to engage in conversation once again.] Are you having fun?

[no_longer_a_king]

What are those?

[There is food she has never had here, so naturally Arturia has come to see what it is. And since Rick is holding something edible she has never seen before, she is certainly curious about it.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick turns and blinks with wide eyes, caught mid-bite of the treat in question. He points at the funnel cake in his hands--realizes that's probably what Arturia is asking about--finishes chewing and addresses her properly.]

--A-Ah--f-f-funnel c-cakes! [The blonde man gives a small, shy smile and silently offers his plate so she can try some, leaving the question implicit.] They're a, uh, d-dessert. Very t-tasty.

[no_longer_a_king]

[Curiously, she breaks off a small piece of the funnel cake, stares at it, then eats it.

Instantly, her expression changes into one of pure rapture. If there is one benefit of being here, it's the different foods they can have and ever since she had started participating in the Grail Wars, Arturia has had the luxury of being a foody.]

Where did you get it? I would like some more as it's quite delicious.

[Then again, she likes pretty much anything to eat.]

[bashfulshifter]

...G-Good, huh? [Rick grins back, always happy that he's done something to please one of his friends, and immediately follows up by offering the rest of his cake.] Y-You can have the r-rest of m-mine, if y-you'd like!

[no_longer_a_king]

Are you sure? [Definitely surprised by him offering it all--especially when she could easily get one herself.]