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.

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Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

For those who are participating our event as part of the TDM, you are free to submit any threads participating in item clue collecting (Prompt Section III) by commenting here! Use only one comment and just edit in any new links. Threads do not need to be complete. Although it's better if the thread at least gets to or is making headway in getting the item, any threads started with intention to get the item will count. Here's a handy dandy form to use:

i. arrival: howl at the moon;

[ well. what a thing to wake up to.

kaeya considers himself an adaptable fellow, naturally, but being pulled into a dream world while you're sleeping certainly pushes the limits of how much one can suspend their disbelief. he'll just move forward under the assumption that this is one very complicated, very detailed lucid dream, hmm? one in which he.. has large, fluffy ears, fangs, and a thick brushy tail. for kaeya's costume is that of a werewolf.

he's standing just at the entrance to the carnival grounds, his brows arched high, and his arms crossed loosely over his chest. his tail flicks behind him. despite his crossed arms, there's a slanted smile across his face that makes him seem approachable. the carnival lights and sounds and scents are all so tempting! should anyone else be hesitating nearby, he'll turn toward them, flashing a fanged grin. ]

Shall we?

ii. fun and games;

[ well, he'd rather find a nice bar to enjoy his spooky night in, but this will simply have to do, won't it? you're never too old to enjoy a carnival. kaeya is enjoying mouthfuls of the delicious cherry blood popcorn while he ponders the nerf gun shooting gallery. it takes him a few moments to understand the guns themselves, there aren't any firearms in genshin impact i don't..? think?? but they're easy enough to get the hang of. hold gun, point trigger.

except kaeya soon grows bored of shooting the targets.

incoming!! if you're unlucky enough to be nearby, you may just find yourself shot squarely between the eyes with a suctiony-nerf dart that sticks right to your forehead. kaeya laughs uproariously, one hand clutching his stomach, while he wipes tears from his eyes with the back of the other. ]

Apologies, my friend, I'm still getting the hang of this funny little toy.

[ he's fuckin lying he absolutely shot you on purpose. ]

iii. hall of mirrors;

[ how did he end up here? he's probably a little tipsy, and thought this was a good idea..

it's not a good idea.

at first it was funny, if not a little annoying, until the images in the mirror grew.. darker, his own face staring back at him with wicked smiles and truth in their eyes, reminding kaeya of about a hundred things he'd not like to face, thank you very much. worst is when he's suddenly facing the reflection.. of a young boy.

a young boy who looks very much like him, wrapped in a traveling cloak, and drenched from a cold rain. the boy's right eye is hidden behind a shock of damp navy hair, but the left stares coldly, piercing in its intensity. the boy does not smile, only stares with those haunting eyes, and kaeya grits his teeth, his hands tightening into fists at his sides, a prickling of frost creeping over his knuckles. ]

Unpleasant. Time to move on.

iv. wildcard

[ feel free to tweak any of the above prompts to make things easier to suit your character, or come at me with something entirely new!! kaeya can easily be found playing any of the games or sampling food and drinks or checking out the rides and attractions! hit me up if you'd like to plot! i can be snagged on plurk at owlcoholic or discord at redmage#4848. ]

1.
[Chalcedony immediately recognizes that he's not in Organica anymore. He doesn't find anything familiar about his surroundings and all he sees are strangers walking about. Not knowing anything frustrates him and feeling helpless frustrates him even further. He grumbles under his breath and grits his teeth. It seems like there's some kind of carnival taking place. How ridiculous. ]

I am Chalcedony Akerman of Order of the Valentin Crystal Knights. I will not tolerate such foolishness and senseless endeavors for I do not have time for this!!! A carnival? This is no place for a knight. There are very important matters that I must attend to and why are there webs all over?

[He is screaming a lot for a guy who's claiming he has a lot of important business elsewhere.]

Ugh, I don't want to see any spiders or bugs of any sort! Hey you there, I'd like you to show me a place where I may avoid these pesky insects. Let's leave this place at once.

2.
[Sometime ago Chalcedony got lost. He still doesn't know this place too well and he suddenly finds himself in a strange hall of mirrors. As he takes another step further he only becomes more confused. The walls reflect his image but they're distorted and warped in a strange way. Chalcedony's normally wearing armor and his knight gear but in the mirrors he appears to be wearing a ridiculous Halloween outfit.

Of course he's trying his best to ignore it but it continues to haunt him down the halls and the maze. ]

Is there a reason why I need to endure such suffering? This mirror fails to reflect my image and dignity as a knight. I mustn't falter here. To lose here would be an insult to the empress. I must become a man who can overcome any struggle. I'll find my way out of this, I swear it upon my blade.

[So maybe you happen to be lost too. Chalcedony will approach you with confidence and pull himself together.]

You appear to be lost. Fear not, as long as we stick together you'll soon see the light.

3.
[Chalcedony appears to be weak to the carnival rides. He looks upset as the bumper cups just spin faster and faster. He seems kind of sick from taking everything to the next level. These types of rides are not for him. ]

Hm, I wasn't trained for this task. I'm more familiar with the sword but I fail to comprehend how this would be useful for battle. How are you fairing with these trials?

[It's certainly a trial...for him. ]

Wildcard

[Wild card option available also feel free to pm for plots.]

I. Cherry Blood Popcorn:

[After being in this strange new world for a couple of days, it didn’t seem as bad as he thought. While he would much rather go home and see his friends again, he knew he could have had it much worse. Not when there was a carnival going on!

That said, as he started to eat some popcorn, the worries he might have had just went away. Instead, he found himself chuckling and walking up to random people.]

Excuse me, have you tried some of this food? I think it’s great and you’ll definitely like it!

[Was he being unusually talkative? Perhaps. But he also wanted to know more about the people here too.]

II. Spinning Bumper Cups

[Was it wrong of him to just take this moment to be a kid and have fun? Maybe it was a good thing that he was by himself where there was no one from home that would judge him for how much he was enjoying the festivities. The moment that he saw a car nearby, he decided to shoot the pumpkin bombs before giving himself a proud smirk.]

Ha, how do you like that?

[He shouted to his victim before there was a momentary pause. Feeling embarrassed, he gave a slight cough as he lowered his head a little.

Well, he probably shouldn’t allow himself to get that far.]

III. Haunted Dollhouse

[Ken has seen his fair shares of creepy places and a haunted dollhouse was no exception. That said, the moment he walked into said area, he couldn’t help but feel himself uneasy with the various eyes staring at him.

Looking at the person next to him, he didn’t want to come across as feeling inferior or not knowing what to do.

Instead, he shifted his weight before looking briefly at the ground. What could he say that would make him feel like he knew what he was doing?]

Any ideas on where to go….?

IV. Wildcard

[Surprise me!]

[Meanwhile, the person he happened to shoot at just so happened to give him a small glare before pulling out said nerf dart out of his forehead. Despite him not saying much, the look on his face just says everything.]

Why do I have a hard time believing that...?

[Just because he's tiny, it doesn't mean that he's an easy target...!!]

[Meanwhile there seems to be another brown-haired boy seated in another bumper car who looks like he's having the time of his life. The very dark "vampiric" outfit he has on makes him look more sinister than usual but the way he laughs when he shoots the pumpkin goop canon probably dispels any sort of demonic aura he has.]

Ahaha!! You're probably thinking about it too hard! It's not supposed to be like a battle you're supposed to just ram into each other! The harder the better until someone loses!

[It's not that deep, dude!]

[Diluc's arrival to the carnival is more deliberate, having been in Songerein for nearly a year now.

The costume he's wearing? Not so much. Upon their arrival, Diluc and Ori turned into a matched pair: she turned into a magician, and he into her ~beautiful~ assistant. In a bunny suit. With tights and stilettos. To his own surprise, he's been able to walk rather well on the heels (thanks, carnival magic!). It's a good thing, given that he hasn't been able to take the damn shoes off.

He stops dead in his tracks when he sees a familiar face near the carnival's entrance.]

Kaeya?

[As if this situation weren't embarrassing enough. When did he get here?]

Very well, in that case I won't back down.

[ He's being so serious about these bumper car rides. Chalcedony's thinking about it too hard, Sora's right. It's not like he'll ever admit to being wrong though. So he charges ahead with his bumper car and just keeps going like that. ]

I refuse to lose to you or to anyone else! When will you admit defeat?

[ It might be quicker if Sora surrenders. ]

Oh, me? I haven’t eaten any popcorn at the moment but I wouldn’t mind having some.

(Anya has been in a whirlwind of trying to get her bearings since the carnival arrived. In the meantime, she and Pooka have been checking out the ride offers when Ken approached them. Pooka also barks in happy delight with his tongue sticking out for good measure.)

Arf, arf! Bark, bark.

I. Arrival

It's been almost ten days since he was restored to normal. Honestly, he still felt exhausted from the whole thing. Spending months in essence fighting your noctaere form alone took a lot out of a demon. As much pain as it had caused him, the beatdown had been necessary.

He'll have to take it easy, but he wasn't going to miss the carnival. He'd never really had much of a chance going to them growing up. He wanted to enjoy something he'd missed out on.

II. Haunted Food

Alastor wasn't one for sweets, but he was definitely chowing down on those mummies in a blanket. His ears twitched merrily. Such a simple recipe, but so tasty!

Don't ask where he's packing all those little hot dogs. That twig body burns calories like nobody's business.

III. Wild Carousel

Fanged deer meet fanged deer.

Alastor beamed with utter delight at the carousel deer grinning back at him. "Why aren't you a charming fellow!" He brought a hand to his chin, smirking. "Reminds me of someone...Oh, who might that be...?"

IV. Musical Catacombs

Alastor had read the Poe tale before though it took him a minute to think of "The Cask of Amontillado" as he'd looked around the crypt filled with music, dancing, and plenty of alcohol. To be honest, his first thought had been that this was some sort of ghostly speakeasy.

The music had his feet tapping but the lights he found rather baffling. After all, video games -- especially DDR -- were looooong after his time.

V. Ferris Wheel

It was probably a combination of exhaustion from still healing, all the mummies in a blanket he'd eaten, and the dancing and drinking in the crypt. Alastor had settled into a nice darkened cabin to lazily gaze out at the rest of Reverein. Such a funny little town.

However, the rocking had soon put him into a doze, and the ride operator seemed to have forgotten he was in there. Massive apologies to anyone he managed to startle by going into a cabin they thought was empty only to have a quiet radio buzz emanating from a particularly dark corner.

Wildcard
Don't see a prompt you like? Toss one at me!

Edited 2022-10-16 01:02 (UTC)

Arrival: Shameless Vampire Prompt

[ Megumi's a skeptical boy by nature, and it's only natural he would be incredulous about the knowledge that he's apparently been pulled into a dream world. His physical body is still at home, still working tirelessly to save sister and take care of his best friend. That's what he's been told, and while he's hoping that that's true, it could easily be a ruse to put his mind at ease, so he still feels that lingering anxiety. There's no use getting caught up in those thoughts, however. He has to move forward, like he always does.

In this situation, that means explore the silly-looking, spooky carnival. Seriously? This feels so ridiculous in the face of everything he's been through so far. The moment he steps through the entrance, he can feel his school uniform shift in form, only a white, bloodied shirt and black leather pants remaining. The most notable change are the fangs that grow in his mouth. They're sharp and a bit annoying to deal with when he closes his mouth. He's assuming it's some sort of enchantment or technique.

Megumi will be walking around as a stereotypical vampire. Should anyone around him show a hint of blood, whether from a tussle with the unruly carnival horses, falling over and hurting themselves, or some other injury, that will catch his attention immediately. In fact, he wanders over when he typically wouldn't, and finds himself reaching out to take their hand, like he wants to pull them closer.

There's a blink, like he's catching himself. ] ... Oh.

Sorry.

[ ooc: i'm old and want to live my best life. blood-sucking can happen for whoever wants it ... he's 15 if that matters. ]

Wild Carousel

[ The scene before them is complete chaos. One of the carousel animals had bowled directly into the food stand in its ravenous fever, destroying it completely and sending popcorn, apples and cakes flying everywhere. With the food now on the ground, it's a free-for-all, the other carousel animals trotting over happily and having their share. Megumi happens to be standing nearby, and he's an unfortunate casualty, his clothes now a complete mess of spilled food and a candy apple sticking against his head (he hasn't noticed).

The boy who sported a quiet energy before is now glowering, his annoyance at the situation spiking. It's stressful enough to be told you're in a different land, and to apparently be a vampire now (for god knows how long; hopefully not forever). Now, he has to deal with this absurdity, too? Nah, fam, he ain't having it. ]

I've had enough of this nonsense. [ Clasping his hands together, he makes the shadow puppet of a dog, and from within those shadows a large wolf-like creature emerges. ]

I'm taking them out.

Abandoned House
[ It probably wasn't the right decision to enter this house, but with the new environment that he's in, Megumi's determined to explore. Anything that can help him wake up from this dream is a welcome thing. Once he enters, however, he's bombarded with the cascading images of his sister, sleeping serenely within the picture frames. Her eyes are closed and her lips don't move, but her gentle voice is unmistakable.

"You can't save me this time, Megumi."

"When I die, will you be all alone?"

"You told me I was disgusting. Were you happy when I went away?"

There's a hiss under his breath, and he tries his best to ignore the words, feeling them creeping under his skin and twisting up his heart. As always, Megumi focuses on the situation at hand. After the initial distraught, a hint of his true feelings visible on his face for a few seconds, he composes himself, falling back into his usual stoic, steely demeanor. He has a bad feeling about whatever curse has befallen this house, so it's probably a good idea to find the way out. ]

What if we broke through the wall?

Wildcard

[ Do whatever else with me?? Megumi will be a vampire for all the carnival prompts. He's mostly a wallflower who will be ... standing around, and not participating much in the games, but he's the type to jump in and help whoever looks like they need it (or just give a judgmental comment). ]

A. Carnival 101

[Though Angela herself had ultimately been the one to decide to enter the carnival in order to sate her curiosity, it wasn't long before she found herself in over her head. Her experience with anything so much as resembling this is secondhand at best, and of those secondhand experiences, she knows better than to take 8 'o Clock Circus's display as an indicator of what is and isn't normal.

Even the carnival's purpose is something of a conundrum. Compared to all she's gone through, Angela doubts anything here will manage to frighten her, and "having fun" is... not a strong suit of hers, to say the least.

And so it is that she can be found lingering where others are, watching carefully as they get on rides, play games, and mingle with one another, occasionally stepping forward only to remain silent, seeming more than a little lost.]

B. Introduction to Carnival Food

[Dreams, as Angela has gathered over her many, many, many, many long years of existence, tend to be illogical things. Stray memories and experiences gathered from one's life (perhaps with the influence of others) here, a few impulses there, and whatever else happened to be lurking in the human unconscious at the time.

It might explain the food displayed in the cart before her, but the fact that it is clearly food without an ounce of the grotesque realities the treats are based on leaves her feeling rather... puzzled.]

Why bother going through the trouble of making it look like that if it's meant to be eaten?

A. Bat Girl Begins

[Gina was hesitant about the carnival. Especially with the association with nightmares, considering her experience with nightmare energy on the moon a few months ago. But she finds reason to go. Aside from the hints that this could be helpful against that Story Eater fellow, she knows that others will most likely end up going there, including friends of hers. So she may as well go to help look after everyone.

And if she's going, she's having fun with it! Going along with the tradition, she comes wearing a bat costume, inspired by the bats belonging to Van Zeiks! Well, she doesn't get to wear the costume for long, as she quickly becomes a bat person. Furry, winged and anthropomorphic, but still bearing her blonde hair - and wearing some variation of her usual green clothing due to some quirk of the magic.

She can initially be seen panicking about this! And later on, testing out her wings and trying to fly. Try not to get in her way!

One could also run into her after she's calmed down and moved on to actually exploring the carnival grounds. Find her while she's checking out the snacks, or one of the games/rides/attractions!]

B. Gina the Hedgehog

[The scavenger hunt catches Gina's attention. She's intent on doing her part to collect items for the effort! That's what leads her into the haunted dollhouse, a decision that she regrets with every step. Once again she finds herself transformed, this time into some kind of animal plush.

In this new form, Hedgina can be seen being chased by some murderous porcelain dolls.]

Oi!! Dolls ain't s'posed to be so bloody vicious!!

[Gotta go fast! This stuffed hedgehog could use a hand.]

C. Nevermore [Great Ace Attorney 2 Spoilers]

[Now back to being Bat-Gina, she finds herself entering the Abandoned House. And this one is filled with even more regrets. To her, every bust and painting around her takes on the appearance of a certain man. Her eyes go wide, and she seems to shrink as she looks around, seeing his face everywhere.

His expression is always grim and lined with disappointment. And she hears his voice for the first time in a long time, saying things that cut through her.

"What's that? You haven't found a single clue here yet? Some student you turned out to be. You ain't saving anyone like this. Maybe you should have stuck with diving."

Gina stands petrified in the middle of the room, her wings curled around her as she looks around - and can only see him no matter where she looks.]

D. Wildcard

[Feel free to come up with an alternate prompt or hit me up for plotting!]

Stop..!

_{[ Looks like someone else is observing the spectacle as well and although Akira is someone who can shift into a monster at will, the beastly form he has isn't a werewolf. Today, though, it is. He settles a hand on Megumi's arm just right after the wolf creature appears, a set of triangular wolf ears on his head and a large, fluffy tail sticking out from behind him. He's in a red plaid shirt that is tattered and open along with some pants that have seen better days. He's barefoot, naturally. ]}

They're just hungry like all of us; they're not hurting anyone. See how they behave after they eat.

[ .. whoops.

WELL he wouldn't have shot purposefully at a kid, he'd just been shooting into the crowd!! ]

Heh.. sorry, kiddo! Wasn't aiming for you in particular.

[ well

that's

kaeya bursts out laughing, his fluffy tail wagging back and forth. he's had some strange dreams, but this has to take the cake - what was he drinking, last night? ]

Well, well, Master Diluc, aren't you looking ravishing tonight.

Arrival.
[Azula's not sure why she's here, or where here is, exactly. The explanation that she was in some sort of 'dream world' didn't help- was that some sort of spirit nonsense, or was she injured and dreaming while she died, or-

Whatever. This is tiresome. The carnival is noisy and obnoxious, her attire has completely changed and not for the better- she seems to be dressed in some sort of melodramatic robes, though she almost immediately pulls back the hood and removes the... mask...

Wait. Was she dressed as one of the kemurikage? Really? Why would...?

Whatever. It's not the strangest thing she's had to put up with recently.]

Ia. Cherry Popcorn ~~(The Obligatory Lighthearted Option)~~
[If she's here anyway, she might as well try to enjoy herself. It is, perhaps, easier said than done, but... maybe she could try to hunt down some sort of food. Nothing here is familiar, but those at least... sort of look like fire flakes? Maybe they'll be alright.

But the evening, it seems, is not done disappointing her. Rather than spicy, she finds that the snack is cloyingly, unpleasantly sweet. Well, that's... repulsive. At first, she's simply holding onto the snack for lack of a place to dispose of it, but after a while, well... she's decided maybe it's not so bad. She winds up having another handful of the popcorn, and another, and another... actually, she's cheering up already.]

IIa. Hall of Mirrors
[Azula hasn't actually experienced a hall of mirrors before, and so far, she's not impressed. Warped mirrors that distort her shape. If she were a child, she might be impressed, but mercifully, there are no children here. Anyway, it's quiet, that's the part she cares about, and reflections haven't brought with them any unwelcome voices since that night at Hira'a. If the worst she has to deal with is a diversion for the easily amused in order to find some peace, so be it.

At least, that's what she thinks, until she sees a mirror that doesn't seem to be warped and twisted like the others. Not at first. A mirror that doesn't distort her shape, exactly, it just shows... well, she looks mostly like herself, at least? A bit younger, far wilder and more tired in the eyes, makeup applied badly, hair butchered horribly and unstyled, posture limp and slumped over, wearing Fire Nation ceremonial attire.

Azula stares at the reflection uncomfortably for several long moments, takes a deep breath, and scoffs, forcing a dispassionate sneer.]

Hm. That's an entertaining trick.

[And then she forces herself to look away and keep moving, albeit a bit faster than before.]

[Azula was beginning to think she should have just stayed in the hall of mirrors. This place actually managed to be worse. Fortunately, she's had a lot of practice ignoring her mother's face and voice, but where before Ursa had been feeding her gentle lies, now she was hearing the ugly, bitter truths- the things she knew Ursa really believed, even if she had never said so in words. It was... distracting.

So she almost takes it as a relief when she bumps into somebody else in the house. Somebody... familiar. Wasn't that- nevermind, it's not important.]

I suspect it wouldn't work, but if you think you can do it, by all means.

[That way, if it backfires horribly, it won't backfire on her. Best of both worlds, and she certainly wouldn't mind being rid of this place-

"Using him, just like you use everybody. You really are a monster."

Ignore her, Azula. Just ignore her.]

I could have said the same thing myself.

[Shirou summons a blade using dreamotion magic and arms himself to fight whatever may come next. He looks at landscape and notices the large wolf-like creature coming out of the shadows.]

What the hell? Is that a familiar?

[He's a magus so he at least know that some magi can summon familiar-like creatures. Something tells him that being is of a different nature. They come from other worlds so it's probably some form of magic he hasn't been exposed to yet. He'll help Megumi if it looks like he needs assistance. ]

Hmph.

[He crosses his arms and tries to maintain what little dignity he can.]

Did you just arrive here?

I don't even think dolls are supposed to move like that at all. Talk about a mess.

[Alphen's also stuck in some kind of animal plush form. He can feel his stuffing coming out but he'll ignore it and just keep going.]

How are you holding up? Do you need help?

[ sorry diluc, kaeya is ogling you quite openly, his grin broad, showing off sharp fangs. didn't you miss him, diluc?? ]

Arrive?

[ he's still under the impression that this is a dream. especially now. ]

[He is trying VERY HARD to resist the urge to punch Kaeya in the face right now. Especially given the response he receives to the question. Diluc knows Kaeya well enough to know when he's lying (which is often), and that reaction isn't it.

So punching the smug look off of his face can wait until he's up to speed.]

Arrived. Here, in this world of dreams. Did the tapirs not tell you?

Oh yes, they certainly told me.

[ but it did little more than convince him that he is, indeed, just dreaming. not that that's necessarily wrong, per se.. and bunny suit diluc is really not helping, considering kaeya can't possibly imagine diluc wearing such a thing voluntarily.

granted, his werewolf parts weren't voluntary, either.. but anyway. ]

You're trying to tell me it's true, hmm?

a. spiders georg

[ The costume that Albedo has been hoodwinked into is unfamiliar to him, but as there is far more to see than simply marveling at this new form, it doesn't bother him much. He takes the bolts in his neck and stitched skin in stride, though the ghoulish green of his skin is a little disconcerting.

But he's had worse from experiments gone bad.

Instead, he samples some of the carnival fare, in particular, one of those winsome caramel apples decorated with spiders. Because of course he is, and while he isn't particularly more crafty than usual...

There's a hand tapping at your shoulder. ]

Pardon me, but I could use your help with something.

[ It's definitely spider-catching. ]

b. ferris wheel's day off

[ He's never been on an attraction quite like this one before, and he can't pass up the novel opportunity to see some remarkable sights that would be difficult to see otherwise. He'd like to take away a little inspiration for his next painting.

He remains mostly silent aside from cordial greetings with whoever is sitting with him, though once they reach the highest point of the ferris wheel and stop for not one, not five, but twenty minutes, he at last speaks again. ]

As nice as the view is, if we would like to descend anytime soon, we may have to take matters into our own hands.

[ What could possibly go wrong? ]

c. wildcard

[ Have something else you'd like to do with Albedo? Feel free to wildcard me! He'll be around for all parts of the event, including looking for clues if you are so inclined! ]

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

TDM CLUE SUBMISSIONS

kaeya | genshin impact | tdm

chalcedony akerman | tales of hearts | tdm

Ken Amada | Persona 3 | tdm

ii

3

i.

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Candy Blood Popcorn

Alastor | Hazbin Hotel

Fushiguro Megumi | Jujutsu Kaisen | TDM

Angela | Library of Ruina | TDM

Gina Lestrade | The Great Ace Attorney

carousel;

no subject

no subject

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender | TDM

Abandoned House

wild carousel

no subject

b

no subject

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no subject

albedo / genshin impact / tdm