songerein | { haunted carnival | test drive #08

Entry tags:

{ haunted carnival | test drive #08 - october 2022 }

HAUNTED CARNIVAL

Full details on everything can be found here, but an important reminder that this event log doubles as our Test Drive Meme and information can be found in this section.

This means any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in October and will remain in Songerein from the IC date of October 25 through 31 (this log is forward dated to the 25th). However, outside characters can only thread within this log, so for those seriously considering the game, you are welcome to use non-festival prompts for your toplevels. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count October as their first time in the game without any disruption, so all content will carry over. Those who do not apply will disappear which should not seem too unusual as people randomly disappear already, however players in game can choose to retcon and pretend a character was never there to begin with if it would be easier; or even think their presence was just a dream.

IMPORTANT! All outside characters MUST have "TDM" in their subject line, even if you might not app. This will help people differentiate those who are already in the game and those who are not.

TDM threads are required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any questions here. Reserves will open Tuesday, October 25th and Applications will open on November 1st. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle after won't be until January.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view; updated 10/28)

American McGee's Alice - Alice Liddell
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Azula
BlazBlue - Noel Vermillion
Case Study of Vanitas - Vanitas
Dangan Ronpa - Chiaki Nanami
Devil May Cry - Lady
Final Fantasy VII - Cloud Strife
Genshin Impact - Albedo
Genshin Impact - Eula Lawrence
Genshin Impact - Kaeya
Genshin Impact - Razor
Great Ace Attorney - Ryunosuke Naruhodo
Helluva Boss - Blitzø
Helluva Boss - Octavia
Jujutsu Kaisen - Fushiguro Megumi
Kaze Hikaru - Okita Souji
Library of Ruina - Angela
Mikagura School Suite - Yuto Akama
My Hero Academia - Bakugo Katsuki
Octopath Traveler - Ophilia
Original Character - Kate Galloway (Jigoku CRAU)
Original Character - Marie Daenthelm
Original Character - Pauline Bonheur
Persona 3 - Ken Amada
Promare - Lio Fotia
Shadow Hearts: Covenant - Yuri Hyuga
Tales of Berseria - Magilou
Tales of Berseria - Rokurou Rangetsu
Tales of Berseria - Velvet Crowe
Tales of Hearts - Chalcedony Akerman
Tales of Hearts - Hisui Hearts (Aefenglom CRAU)
Tales of the Rays - Baldr
Touken Ranbu - Hizen Tadahiro
Touken Ranbu - Ichimonji Norimune
Transformers IDW - Soundwave
Your Wings and Mine - Shealtiel

I. CARNIVAL FUN

The moment a guest enters the carnival grounds, there is a high chance (read: optional) they will find themselves changed in some way to fit the spooky, haunted atmosphere. Instead of just wearing a vampire costume, the character will actually turn into one. Of course, how much of a transformation varies between complete to partial changes. It should be noted that this is only a cosmetic and ability change—no matter what someone changes into, they won't have any personality changes…unless one of the carnival attendants cast a small enchantment to make it so. Of course this is by chance as well (read: optional).

A. Haunted Food. While there is some standard fare carnival food around, the Haunted Carnival has some unique items with even more interesting effects:

Caramel Apples: Tart green apples dipped in caramel and decorated with chocolate to look like they’re covered in spiders and spider webs. Eating one of these will have the dreamer feeling crafty and industrious, just like spiders themselves often are. Also, the idea of eating bugs (or even other spiders?!) suddenly seems strangely appealing…
Cherry Blood Popcorn: Popcorn drenched in cherry syrup and decorated with candy bones. The combination of sugar and dreamotion energy leaves the eater feeling giddy and cheerful, somewhat in contrast to the gruesome appearance of the treat itself.
Funnel "Brain" Cakes: Funnel cakes colored to look like brains when served. Comes in regular or zombie brain varieties. Eating one makes you feel lethargic and hungry, like the only thing that matters is your next snack fix, but you’re not willing to do much more than shamble toward it.
Mummies in a Blanket: Small hot dogs wrapped in biscuit dough and decorated to look like mummies. After eating this, you may or may not want to wrap yourself into a blanket and take a nap—ideally somewhere dark and spooky.

B. FUN AND GAMES. Mixed in with the food vendors are several booths advertising a variety of carnival games, including but not limited to the ones below.. The prizes you win may or may not be cursed. Best of luck!

NERF Gun Shooting Gallery: Use dreamotion to shoot foam darts from a gun at various ghostly and ghouly targets lined up on a platform. Advanced players may want to try their hand at making the guns shoot other objects. Water? Fire? Glitter bombs? The only limit is one’s imagination.
Ring Toss: A series of witch hats are lined up, and the objective is to toss rings on the hats for points. Did something just peek up from under one of the hats? It’s probably nothing to worry about.
Potion Bottles: A variation of the milk bottles game wherein you throw balls to knock over flasks and beakers filled with strangely-colored liquid. In most cases, the spilled potion is totally harmless. Once in a while, however, it may have some interesting effects on the player and/or the booth itself.
Slime Pit: There’s a giant pit of slime with a sign next to it: prizes within for those willing to get a bit messy! Said prizes range from giant candy bars to random silly toys to skeletal limbs…? Oh that belongs to the skeleton having fun in the pit, they might want it back.

II. ATTRACTIONS

A. Hall of Mirrors. A classic maze of mirrors that are usually filled with special effects to make one's reflection look distorted. In the beginning the distortions are more humorous, making one look super skinny or extremely curvy. However, the deeper one goes, the reflections begin to look a bit…strange. The mirrors begin to reflect the "worst" side of an individual, but in a more embarrassing manner. When they first wake up in the morning, having a bad hair day, dressed poorly, being lazy on the couch—mostly benign things that would be embarrassing to show others. But there are some that may reveal one's darker self they wish to hide from others and are forced to face—especially when the reflections will step out and follow the original until the end of the maze. They won't do anything, just follow silently like a shadow, but even that may be taxing for anyone, especially if others see. The reflection must either be pushed back into an empty mirror, or it will disappear on its own when exiting the building.

B. Wild Carousel. The creatures on this carousel are not just colorful painted steeds but are more frightening in nature and looking more undead than living. Skeletal horses, direwolves, fanged deer with bloody horns. What makes this ride truly terrifying, however, is that the creatures are alive, restrained only by the pole stuck through them. But there are times when they manage to break free, causing havoc as they run through the park. The only good news is they don't attack, instead aiming for the carnival food as if hungry. Either hang on or help capture them back!

C. Cirque du Souleil. Near the center of the carnival is a large circus tent, and it boasts a variety of shows that are death defying, terrorific, and guaranteed to make everyone scream in fright and awe. The usual acts are available to see: acrobatics, musical performances, theatrical skits, and using ghostly steeds to ride through the large arena. But what makes this circus unique is that all the performers are capable of separating their soul from their physical body, similar to astral projecting or dreamwalking outside of dreams and being visible to all. And now they're asking for volunteer pairs to either participate in a more simple act such as an acrobatic stunt on the swings or tight rope…or eat a special candy that will allow them to have an out of body experience via dreamwalking outside. The only "flaw" is their dreamwalking form will tend to float up to the top of the tent, so their partner who hasn't eaten the candy has to tether them via dreamotion to get through some simple obstacles. No worries, the professionals will help return the soul if they get lost.

D. Spinning Bumper Cups. A combination of the classic bumper cars and spinning cups rides, this attraction has its riders in skull shaped bumper cars that will randomly spin. Riders have the ability to fire off "pumpkin bombs" at the others, which will splatter pumpkin goop to slow down their car. It will also make the car spin for a few rotations. Dreamotion will also help boost the speed, stabilize a spinning car faster, and make the pumpkin bombs more explosive. Just be careful—the barrier around the arena is made of bones and therefore quite brittle. It's not unusual to see a car spin out and lose control driving through the carnival grounds. Stop the runaway car and bring it back! Or shoot people with pumpkin bombs.

E. Ferris Wheel. Ah, the ferris wheel, a gentle ride that elevates one high in the air to allow them to see the sights below, in this case the entire carnival grounds and the surrounding areas like the bordering forests, the Observatory, and the edge of Reverein. However, as with everything in this carnival, the ride is not always so gentle. There are times when the entire ride accelerates to a faster pace, causing the (fortunately) enclosed cabins to rock dangerously as it rotates around. There are times when it keeps going, not letting anyone off until three rotations. And then there are times when the top half of the cabin disappears, exposing the riders to the cooler winds. Fortunately handle bars will appear they can hold onto, but no seat belts. Enjoy the view?

F. Other Rides. There are plenty of rides and attractions at the carnival, too many to list all of them here. A roller coaster, tower drop, gravitron, bungee jumps, pendulum ship—whatever one might think exists, it's there in all its twisted nightmare glory. One thing they all have in common is the more fear and thrill and screams generated, the faster they go. Just hope the ride doesn't stall and get stuck…

III. HAUNTING CLUES

Although the main purpose for these prompts is to find the clues, anyone is free to use them for general use and not focus on getting the clue. For those who do participate, we'll be asking for thread during our Activity Check! Those who are TDMing regardless of application can also have their threads counted by commenting to this thread and following the directions.

#1. Haunted Dollhouse. There is a special building called the Haunted Dollhouse. It's similar to a haunted house, however this attraction is filled with moving porcelain dolls that will try to scare and chase those who enter (it's quite likely some members of the newly added Porcelain Town have volunteered to help). Sometimes, those who enter are cursed into a doll and are now vulnerable. They are also not always able to move on their own will. This is not great as sometimes the dolls kind of…malfunction and will actually become aggressive. The weapons they wield are also not props, so that's a problem. However, they are small and can only inflict minor wounds and can be easily taken out.

The main clue here is "Villains!' I shrieked. 'Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!" To help both those who have turned into dolls as well as get the clue, everyone has to find the right place where some candied hearts are hidden. Fortunately the "blood trail" (it's raspberry syrup) will help lead them to the right place.

#2. Abandoned House. A little away from the main attractions there is a run down house surrounded by trees…and a lot of ravens. A raven with red eyes will guide those who dare or wish to face a lost loved one to the house. Inside it's just filled with faceless busts and empty paintings, but soon they are filled with the images of those lost ones. It could be a person, pet, thing, but they are there, just staring. Only the eyes and mouths move, and what the person hears are their insecurities and fears related to how they lost whatever they see. Anyone else will either see the original blanks or their own personalized images.

The main clue is "And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting // On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door // Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning // Shall be lifted – nevermore". To get out of this house, they have to first look for the bust that has the red eyed raven on it. This will be tricky as there will be many ravens with different colored eyes. Once they do, there will be a small picture frame. They must manifest one or more of the images they are seeing and capture it into the frame. This is simply done by waving it like a net, but the manifestation can move around. This can be as easy or difficult as a player wants, and how affected the character is from what they see and hear can also be a factor. The more affected they are, the easier it is to manifest but difficult to capture. The less affected, it will be more difficult to manifest as they have to tap into that raw fear, but will be easier to capture.

#3. Hay Bale Maze. Just outside of the circus tent is a large hay bale maze with the hay…looking as if it's seen much better days. It's filled with spooks that like to jump scare maze goers or bodiless limbs that reach out to grab, but aside from that it's harmless. Except for one particular figure.

The main clue is "Who dares?" he demanded hoarsely of the courtiers who stood near him --"who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery? Seize him and unmask him --that we may know whom we have to hang at sunrise, from the battlements!" There is a red clad figure wearing a skull mask. He will randomly bust through the hay walls and engage maze goers into a fight. Those who are incapable will flee in terror while the figure will chase, which will be a pretty good clue as to where he is. Once engaged, any weapon and dreamotion can be used at their disposal and the challenge is to just simply best him in a fight (not to the death). Striking the figure even once will earn a victory and the skull mask will be granted.

#4. Musical Catacombs. For a bit more lighthearted fun, there is an underground catacombs that is filled with tombs. Some of them have actual skeletons and ghosts sleeping in them, but they won't harm anyone if bothered. Just be a bit cranky, maybe throw a bone. At someone's head. Down here it's quite lively, filled with music, dancing, and a lot of alcohol. Minors will only get sparkling juice.

The main clue is "'Ha! ha! ha! — he! he! he! — a very good joke, indeed — an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo — he! he! he! — over our wine — he! he! he!' // 'The Amontillado!' I said." One of the games is a dancing game where the tombs will light up a certain color and participants have to properly hit the correct corresponding floor panel (basically a music rhythm/DDR themed game). Should they make a perfect score, one of the tombs will open and have a crusty wine bottle in it. It has competitor and co-op mode.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Focusing is incredibly hard right now, as are any thoughts in general that don't involve Gregson, as he continues to taunt her.

"Just give it up already. You're no detective. All you do is cause more trouble."

She grips her head, as she tries her hardest!]

A- a door. [She glances around wildly.] Yeah... Yeah. I saw... a door...? [It's hard to remember for sure right now, but she keeps tearing her eyes in different directions, seeing various visions of Gregson, until she spots a door and points towards it.]

Th-there! There's one, Sooze.

[ Susato had been looking in the opposite direction, but she turns her head sharply at Gina's insistence. She can sense the slight pull of desperation in Gina's voice, the desire to be helpful, and Susato can certainly relate to that. She smiles with, a noise escaping her as she starts a small sprint towards the door.

On the way, she passes Gina and grabs her hand without saying a word. Neither of them know if this will result in anything, but it's a place to start.

Susato is still looking left and right as she drags Gina along. Purple eyes, green eyes, yellow eyes... One raven appeared not to have eyes at all, looking instead like black holes, but then finally they stop at the one with eyes red like ruby, just above the door. ]

[Gina is tugged along, slowly unfolding her arms as she moves along with Susato. She looks around uneasily while they move, trying to focus on the birds rather than the images of Gregson, and trying to not listen to his continued taunts.]

Burnin'... [She mutters, thinking of the clue while she looks at the red eyes of the raven.] ...Oi, wot's this now? [She reaches over to pick up the picture frame lying there.]

[ Burning... 'All my soul within me burning.'

There's a laugh from her 'father.' "Do you have that sort of resolve, daughter? Let us see! How entertaining it's been to watch you to, running about the room like lost lambs." Susato growls slightly under her breath as she lets go of Gina's hand and flames begin to coat her fists. Fortunately (or not?) they disappear when Gina calls her attention.

She blinks, looking over. ]

Hm? That's... a photo frame? But there's nothing in it.

[ She leans forward to try to peek behind it, head tilted to see if there's anything written. ]

[She frowns thoughtfully as she looks it over. It really does seem to be empty!]

Right. Real curious, ain't it? Everytin' else 'ere 'as got sometin' in it. You'd expect to see a familiar face peekin' outta this frame, like all them other pictures around. [She tries to hold it up from various angles to try to figure it out. No luck yet! But as she keeps on thinking of the other pictures in comparison, some images of Gregson may flicker about.]

[ While the frame is still in Gina's hand, she can see parts of Gregson flickering like a ghost. First, it looks like his hat. Susato thinks it might be Yujin, but then the rest of him forms, including his signature fish n' chips. Susato gasps, but just as soon as she processes what she's seeing, Gregson's form starts to drift. ]

G, Gina, look!

[ ...And just as soon as she points him out, he disappears in a faint wisp of smoke. ]

.....He... He's gone?

[Gina gasps and drops the picture frame for a moment, staring at where the apparition briefly was.]

W-wot... wot just 'appened?! Was that... makin' 'im appear?! [Trembling, she picks up the picture frame to try again. While the other images of Gregson continue to mock her.

"See? You messed up. And you'll do it again. Any chance you'd have to save me, you'd let it slip through yer fingers like a chip that's too greasy."

Blinking back tears and trying to ignore the taunts, she focuses while holding up the frame. Sure enough, the familiar figure materializes. Gregson strolls around them with fish and chips in hand, like a wandering soul. And Gina is breathless for the moment, just looking at him.]

[ Not just the frame. Susato is certain that the manifestation has to do with Gina's feelings as well. For a moment, Susato is also stunned and at a loss for words, because it feels like forever since she herself has seen Inspector Gregson. Tears form in her own eyes unwittingly, but just as she's about to reach out, he starts to drift away.

"You two are helpless."

"Are you crying?"

The ghost of Gregson floats, half-heartedly waving farewell as he turns a corner away from them without even saying a word. Who knows if he'll even be there by the time they reach him. ]

N, No, wait!

Wait!!

[Gina gives out a strained cry, tears streaming down her cheeks while she looks at him. There he is, alive and whole and breathing... or is he? It doesn't look like he's quite there, and that's crushing to realize. Can she not hold him, and make sure he never leaves? She tries to run after him and desperately waves the frame around, to see if that helps.]

Don't go nowhere! Ya can't leave us again, ya 'ear me?? I ain't gonna allow it!

[ He's still visible when they turn that corner, but as Gina waves around the frame, it appears to go right through him. He disappears like smoke being waved away with a hand, or seeping through the holes of a net. Susato's shoulders slump, feeling just as defeated as Gina does, but she swallows, reaching a comforting hand up to her friend's shoulder.

She gently squeezes. Her voice is small. ]

May I give it a try?

[She lets out some shallow gasps as he disappears. She reaches out to where he was for a moment, her hand trembling, before she withdraws it. Her eyes are closed as she sobs, but she feels Susato's comfort. And she answers her with a slow nod, holding the frame out to her.]

[ Susato reaches for the frame and takes a deep breath. She gives both herself and Gina a little space, though Susato is too worried about her to go far. She closes her eyes, focusing, and the same flicker starts to appear before them in a blue wisp. For a moment there is no form, or perhaps it can't decide what form it should take. When she opens her eyes, she expects to see some hint of Gregson.

Instead, she sees Yujin Mikotoba exactly as she remembers him, casually tipping his hat.

In that moment, it feels like everything stops. ]

[Gina wipes some tears on her sleeve and looks towards Susato as she readies the frame. She tries to brace herself for the possibility of seeing Gregson again... but instead it's someone else who appears.]

P-Professor Mick...? [She gasps, and she looks towards Susato.] Your pa. ...Wot's 'e doin' over 'ere, eh?

[Gina asks uneasily while trying to make sense of it. First the boss and now him? It does start to seem like a pattern... but she's not sure what to make of it. All she can do is gently a place a hand on Susato's shoulder to try to give her strength for this moment.]

It's... It's not... [ Her voice cracks. The manifestation behaves exactly like that of Gregson's, meaning Yujin is soon slipping through her fingers as well. It's like that fateful morning when she woke to find him gone all over again. She felt Gina's hand on her shoulder and reaches up to places her hand overtop. ] It's not him, but still, I must...!

[ She feels the overwhelming need to catch him. There are so many things she wants to say, she hardly knows if she'll remember them all. This is why she writes letters--but there's no time to think about that now. She gives chase. ]

[ The picture frame is still in her hand, though at the moment, it's merely a weight. She turns another corner, and suddenly, she's not looking at Yujin, but someone much younger. Ryunosuke Naruhodo. ]

......This... They're the ones I have been seeing. In the other frames. The busts...

They're the ones I've lost.

[Gina rushes after her! It's in Susato's hands now, but she wants to do anything she can to help and support her! But she does stop in her tracks when he witnesses the latest phantom.]

...'Oddo... [She whispers quietly. It's like she barely got to see him in this world, so the sight of him comes with a bitter sting of nostalgia. Damn... she missed that silly guy, didn't she.]

S-so that's wot you was seein'. Instead o' the boss, it was... was the ones wot woke up on ya. [She remains close by her side, to provide support.] This is place is really... It's showin' us the folks we miss.

[ ......It makes sense.

In the next moment, Susato holds the frame close to her chest. She remembers Christmas; the necklace she gifted Naruhodo, as a reminder of their promise to make Japan a better place. The bookmark she received in return... and the image of Naruhodo appears to sharpen.

She looks from him, to the frame in her hands, back to him again. ]

The ones I miss...

[ She repeats. Then, as if getting an idea, she lunges forward towards Ryunosuke, jutting the frame forward like a net to capture him.

Just she does, Ryunosuke appears to reach for that necklace around his neck in a swift motion. He yanks it and tosses it away like trash, and there is the sound of his laughter as the manifestation disappears into smoke again. ]

[Gina's bewildered as she watches the scene unfold before her. As Ryunosuke disappears, she calls out.]

No! Don't go, 'Oddo! [But there he goes. With an uncharacteristically malicious exit. It might not have the same sting as Gregson's disappearance, but it does remind Gina that... yeah, she misses the dork too.

In any case, she looks towards Susato in hopes of finding clarity.]

Now wot was that all about? Why'd 'e... go an' chuck that tomfoolery like that?

[ Why indeed? If it wasn't truly Ryunosuke (and she's quite certain it wasn't)... it must be something from her own mind. Some fear that this place is praying on. Had she been that afraid of his rejection, of being a burden? Afraid that their promise had meant that little?

...She shakes her head. She kind of wishes she could sink into the frame herself. ]

He didn't. That's not the Naruhodo-san we know. [ For all that conviction and certainty, her voice still cracks when she speaks. ] But what now...? Shall I try again?

[ ...But what if he does something even worse next time? ]

[Gina continues to be puzzled and tilts her head as she looks towards the space where the phantom of Ryunosuke was. Gregson's whispers continue to taunt her.

"Still can't figure it out, eh? Likely you never well. Not like you're a real detective, after all."

She winces as his words pierce her, but he tries to focus on Susato's words and answer her.]

I... I dunno, really. We gotta be doin' sometin' wrong, but I ain't sure wot. We gotta... get 'em wiv these frames, right? [She shakes her head.] Gimme another go at it.

[Even if she's not sure about it, at least it'll be less of a burden for Susato.]

[ "It's for the best."

Susato looks down at the picture frame in her hands. For some reason she's hesitant to let it go. Maybe she doesn't feel Gina deserves that burden, but in a slow movement, she feels herself giving up as she lifts the picture frame back in Gina's direction.

"That's right. Defer to someone more capable. There's nothing wrong with that. You're a woman, after all."

Her dad's voice. But not her dad. ]

["Oh? Taking the lead so you can fumble again? No matter how hard you try, a diver's never going to break through this. The two of you should just keep on passing that around and failing. That'll be a good laugh!"

Gina winces, trying to drown out Gregson's voice while reaching to claim the frame. But as her hand touches the frame, she doesn't pull it away. She just thinks.]

...Or... wot if the both of us try at the same time? Both of us keep a grip at it, an'... an' we'll do this! We'll shut them old boys up an' good!!

...?

[ Susato seems to blink, considering this. Perhaps she's not thinking as clearly as she could be, but... together, at the same time.

That sure sounds good. ]

That's... That's brilliant.

[ She takes a step closer to her friend and slowly reaches to grab one side of the frame. Susato breathes in shakily without knowing what is about to happen next. ]

Let's see who appears... shall we?

[She nods firmly.]

Right, let's get it done. [She grips her side of the frame tensely as she looks ahead, hearing the mocking and jeering. Feeling the fear... the fear of not being good enough, of not being a true detective, of not being able to help anyone...] Alright then, you lot... Come on out! If we're really so ruddy, c'mon out an' tell us yerselves!

[She shouts out between tears. And sure enough, Gregson's phantom appears again, strolling forth.]

[ Gregson. Susato's breath hitches. There's a part of her that feels lucky for that, though it's not a comfortable feeling, and something that her imagination latches onto in the form of all those paintings and reacting in a low hum.

"Relieved, are you?"

"That's not very nice."

And yet maybe this will make it easier for her to help Gina. She will just have to hold onto that thought instead. ]

We can do this. Let's go, Gina!

[ With a determined grip of the frame, Susato takes the lead, tugging her in the phantom's direction. ]

{ haunted carnival | test drive #08 - october 2022 }

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