+ Somewhere a Grandiose Carnival Was Going on in the Sky +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The grounds of the Mansion
When: March 9-16
Rating: PG-13 (warn if you go higher)
Summary: The Red Queen has thrown a carnival for everyone!
The Story:


From Friday, March 9, through Friday, March 16, the gardens and grounds of the Mansion will be a sprawling a carnival. The masked, unspeaking vendors will be selling trinkets and running free game booths. Carnival rides, exhibits, and foods represent all of the various cultures of those currently residing in the Mansion.


Of particular note, and perhaps incongruously, everything is decorated with red hearts.

Use this log for any and all of your carnival needs!

Comments

OTA

[nomorules]

I | 9th-16th, carnival grounds

<sub>[It's fruit from a poisoned tree, he can't quite forget that, but silly, bright, noisy, stress-free fun that's not an event and not a memory? It's a much-needed vacation from problems. Ryuji throws himself into it with the whole-hearted vigor he does most things with. He doesn't go near the blue box (and might in fact warn anyone to do the same if he catches them in the vicinity), but day after day, night after night, he's a repeat customer to the carnival with all the enthusiasm of a magpie attracted to shiny things.

Points to eyes, points to you. It's fun time, mothafuckas.

Ryuji finds a new carnival mask to wear each visit and can be found playing, riding (yeah, he'll be that guy rocking your ferris wheel seat, sorry not sorry), and eating whatever looks halfway edible.

All the games get a spin at least once, whack-a-mole and throwing games particular favorites. Over the week he racks up prizes that he either hands out to bystanders, leaves lying around the mansion assuming they'll find a home, or accumulates in his room (sorry, Jean). At one point he tires his arms out winning the biggest goddamn bear he can find and walks around with it over his head like massive sunshade until he happens on someone who looks down on their luck with the games. He'll drop it beside them with a "have a consolation prize."

There's a 90% it'll be with some variety of meat on a stick in his hands if you do spot him--or, on the occasion he goes up against the goldfish scoop--with the stick clenched between his teeth in a look of concentration. Fuck! This is hard! These are the frustrated growls of a guy with many broken scoops who really wants that goldfish with the stripes...]

(OOC: This is a general catch-all type dealio for all your carnival needs. Feel free to build off a prompt, or wildcard him, whatever your heart desires.)</sub>

II | 11th, haunted mansion

<sub>[Night time brings its own special appeal. The fair ground lights seem to glow brighter against the evening sky, the rides making new twists and turns in the dark. For a young adult not that far removed from curfews, there's a magic in night forays.

And of course, what better time is there to hit up the haunted house attractions than at night? When this is what greets you, you know what you're in for.

In homage to the American horror movies Wynonna's been introducing him to, Ryuji's dressed appropriately for the occasion with it swung around to rest on the back of his head. (He doesn't want to be mistaken for the real deal and get stabbed by a twitchy defender of the peace.) He nods at the entrance, smiling at whoever else has shown up.]</sub>

Looks pretty sweet, huh?

_{[There's more than just adrenaline rushes to be had for others out and about after sundown. Come sip lemonade on the carousel or enjoy the nightly firework show, he'll save you a seat. ]}

III | 13th, kitchen

_{[What do you get when you take a teenager with impulse control issues and five straight days of carnival food? Ryuji leaning over the kitchen sink Tuesday morning, face screwed up, a belly making a sound that's not a happy, healthy hunger pang, and a pile of half-eaten sugared doughnuts on the counter.]}

IV | 14th, ᴉɾnʎɹ ɹoɹɹᴉɯ

<sub>[When Ryuji's not at the carnival, he's still at the carnival... or someone that bears a passing resemblance is, with the same brown eyes and habit for slouching his shoulders.

Instead of a revolving array of festival masks tucked into bleach blond hair, it's a beanie pulled down low enough to cover the shade of his hair. And instead of running through the crowd, with a snack in one hand and a hard-won plushie in the other, he walks at a sedate pace, letting the crowd carry him, looking around on his own with an air of reserved energy not often seen in the high octane high schooler.

Seems like Ryuji's having an off day with the balloon dart board, too--his throws are way off, and some darts don't even have enough force to pop the balloons they do hit.]</sub>

Aw, man. This sucks...

_{(OOC: This is a prompt for Mirror Ryuji! Replies will be coming from ruleabiding).}

Regular carnival stuff.

[shslliar]

[Okay, Kokichi's been visiting this carnival all week and every time he sees Ryuji, the guy's wearing a different mask! The gremlin's starting to get a little jealous here.

So at one point, he decides to just walk up to the guy while he's having a meat-on-a-stick to challenge him.]

Hey, where are you getting all those masks from? They're super cool.

[nomorules]

_{[Ryuji's in the middle of sampling the culinary goods when Kokichi approaches, sitting on top of the table to use the bench as a footrest with a couple different meaty snacks on napkins arrayed around him. Vegetarians beware.]}

Hm?

<sub>[Bit of an odd question from where Ryuji's (literally) sitting. He hasn't been to a street fair or festival in his life that didn't have at least one mask rack kicking around--they seem like one of those things you always find when what you're really looking for is the takoyaki stand.

He waves the hand holding the half-eaten stick at vaguely... well, every compass point.]</sub>

Try lookin' for a bathroom. Can't miss 'em.

_{[The cheap plastic masks will find you, young grasshopper. They always do.]}

[shslliar]

[And now Kokichi's starting to feel stupid. He's not gonna let it show, though. He's gonna start messing around.]

Alright, I'll keep an eye out for the toilet masks or whatever. By the way, how many masks did you collect so far?

[nomorules]

That's not what I-- You know what, never mind.

_{[He's dealt with Akechi, he knows when a retort's a lost cause. Propping his free hand up to dangle between his knees, he shrugs.]}

Dunno. Ain't really been collectin' 'em, just wearin' 'em and tossin' 'em when I feel like it. Wonderland'll prolly clean 'em with the rest of this when things go back to normal.

Why? No duct tape today?

[shslliar]

Nah, that was a one time thing. You still remember that?

[Giggle, giggle.]

And you threw most of them out? Aw, man! I was totally gonna dare you to wear more than one at the same time.

II :D

[255000255000255]

[ Intrigued by the hammy mask, Monika steps next to the person wearing it and peers around to see their face. She'd been having a relatively boring night, having finally run out of carnival food to try, so she was glad to seize on some fresh entertainment.

Huh! She didn't expect someone that looks normal. Those masks tend to attract a certain subset of people. She can't help a laugh.

Holding her chin, she stares up at the haunted house. ]

I dunno, Mr. Voorhees. It looks a little boring to me, honestly!

[nomorules]

_{[--Oh, hello there, cute girl in his periphery, you have his attention. Ryuji stands up a little straighter when he realizes he's the object of someone's scrutiny. Finding his real face slightly less horrifying than an iconic movie villain's prop is a pretty damn fine compliment, all things being equal.]}

You know it?

_{[The movie, that is. "Mr. Voorhees." That's got a nice ring to it--not that he'd give up being Skull, except on special occasions like Halloween. And at, he supposes, at once-in-a-lifetime magic haunted houses. Her indifference startling a laugh out of him.]}

I know Wonderland can get old real fast, but this carnival is amazin'! Biggest one I've been to. I betcha it'll be wild inside.

[255000255000255]

[ Monika laughs again. He seems a little rough around the edges, but she doesn't mind it much. ] Kinda unmistakable, isn't it?

[ She puts her hands behind her back, letting out a cheerful little hum. ] This is my first one, actually~ So I guess whatever's in there would be even more of a surprise!

[ Seriously though, if she doesn't have to sign a waiver, she's not expecting much. ]

[nomorules]

Guess that makes us about even--I just watched the movie for the first time!

_{[It's not his first haunted house, on the other hand. Maybe it's a little counter-intuitive, but he's looking forward to something that's normal-scary for a change. Not life-or-death levels of scary, like a zombie apocalypse event.]}

Aw, hope you don't scare easy! _{[He smiles. She's a cute girl and smiling at cute girls goes together like white on rice.]} I can go first so you can stand behind me if you want. So you don't get the brunt of it.

[255000255000255]

[ Monika'll do one better. She grabs onto his arm with a grin. Standing behind him would be way less fun! ] I'll be fine! You'll protect me, right?

[ Ahh, so romantic. Her grin widens. ]

With someone like you around, I'm sure nothing'll scare me!

iii

[wildwest]

What is it with them godforsaken powdered nightmares?

[ donuts. they are the bane of his existence, and he has absolutely no sympathy for the nauseated teenager. actions have consequences. even donut shaped actions. ]

[nomorules]

<sub>[Oh good, witnesses to his poor life choices.

He whips his head around at Wynonna's walking mustache of a boyfriend, looking personally offended as if Doc had levelled the insult at him. Whatever sliver of self-consciousness he has over his terrible eating habits (which have objectively only gotten worse over the last year without a parent to drag his ass over his junk food intake) is overshadowed by his reflexive need to defend sugar in all its many forms. ]</sub>

They're--they're good...!

_{[It comes out less vehement than usual. His stomach really does feel upset. Apparently eating a bunch of sweet, battered foods in the morning wakes up your gag reflex, too.]}

I think I just... ate too many first thing. Oh, I feel sick.

[wildwest]

[ doc looks almost amused by the passionate rebuff. people's rabid affinity for donuts is something he will never understand.

but the boy appears to be genuinely nauseated, so it's with a roll of his eyes that doc goes searching through the cupboards. pulling open door after door, looking for something he swore to high heavens he saw in here just the other day, and— ah-ha! he pulls out a small bottle, fishing a white handkerchief out of his pocket. opening the bottle, he saturates the middle of the cloth with it, folds it half, and holds it out towards the teen. ]

Peppermint oil. I used to swear by it. Breathe it in, slowly, alternatin' between inhaling it and the air around you.

[ a beat, and then: ] Trust me, I'm a doctor.

[nomorules]

<sub>[You can take the boy out of the twenty first century, but you can't take the twenty first century out of the boy. Fast food is life.

Ryuji is content to brace himself over the sink while Doc moves about in his peripheral. The only thing more embarrassing than upchucking your food in front of witnesses is doing it while in the middle of sprinting for the bathroom and being too late--he'll take his chances here for the time being.

Makes a guy wonder if it's not possible to wish up a goddamn bathroom inside a closet...]</sub>

--Hm? _{[He lifts his head to see Doc brandishing a handkerchief at him like a movie villain about to chloroform his victim.]} That's what you were lookin' for? You're supposed to smell it...? Ugh, holy crap, that's strong!

_{[Doc should've explained what not to do before holding a cloth under this boy's nose because he leans in and takes a big, deep whiff before anyone can stop him.]}

Phew, I'm awake now!

_{[Aren't you a dentist? Are you sure this is a legit medical practice?]}

if this isn't okay, i will happily change it!

[wildwest]

[ there's another roll of his eyes as doc grabs a handful of the back of ryuji's shirt, yanking him back from the peppermint soaked cloth. ]

I said slowly. Deep breaths, slowly.

[ a dental surgeon is still a doctor. he went to medical school, tyvm — ivy league, at that! ]

Seems to me like you could use a good lesson in moderation.

II

[middlefinger]

[wynonna catches him when he has the masked pulled off, but she approves all the same. classic horror is something everyone should experience for themselves. of course, she imagines this haunted house won't be that scary compared to what she's used to, but it should be amusing all the same.]

Oh yeah, this is going to be a blast.

[nomorules]

_{[He's blaming her for the choice in headwear. Since Mary Jane left and took her Americanisms with her, Wynonna's taken her place as his American culture guru.]}

Try not to piss yourself, teach. Wouldn't want ya to embarrass yourself!

_{[He's all shark grin. #shots fired]}

[middlefinger]

Puh-lease, it would take more than a silly haunted house to rattle me.

[she's grinning broadly back at him.]

I bet you lose it first.

[nomorules]

_{[Honestly... that's probably true. He should have brought a change of pants. Or adult diapers.]}

Not me! I ain't scared! I made it all the way to the end of Kamoshida's perv Palace--once you go through that kinda house of horrors, nothin' fazes ya!

_{[... Probably.]}

[middlefinger]

Uh huh. Sure. Well if you're such a tough guy, you can go first then.

[prove to her that you're not a wuss, ryuji! what a good mentor she is...]

I

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji spots Ryuji trying to scoop that goldfish up and stops to watch. Not wanting to break his concentration, he doesn't say anything until the scoop breaks.]

How many tries have you had already?

[nomorules]

Damn it, not another one!

<sub>[He growls as his efforts are once again thwarted. Not even in Wonderland, where things are upside down and inside out, is he good at this game.

He tosses the ripped paper scoop aside where it joins a growing pile of them. Answer: a lot.]</sub>

Oh hey, Seta. Uh... more than one, less than a hundred? You'd think this would be easier in a world full of magic but it still sucks!

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji eyes the pile of torn scoops.]

...Are you sure it's less than a hundred?

[nomorules]

_{[Why are protags so savage.]}

Hey! _{[He lifts his head, looking offended.]} I'm not that bad!

_{[He is that bad. The only thing stopping him from reaching triple digits is that he's not as good as Futaba at squatting on the ground for infinite periods of time, eventually his legs get tired.]}