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[polymods]

✖ THE CARNIVAL

Ⅰ. ARRIVAL & THE TEMPLE
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
You can see the lights of the Ferris wheel from the water, and by the time you pull into port you can smell popcorn, cotton candy, grease, sawdust. Music drifts on the air, interspersed with screams from the rides.

The carnival is in town.

Not just any carnival, either - the carnival. The one to end all others. Every circus you ever read about or saw in a movie, with striped tents filled with acrobats and sideshows, midway games complete with carnival barkers in straw boater hats. But it's also every shitty fair that ever rolled through your hometown, with unreliable looking men with greasy mullets smoking as they jockey the Wild Mouse, the Gravitron, the Zipper, the Corkscrew. There's a constant stream of 80s hair metal playing underneath the roar of the rollercoaster tracks, blending somehow with the traditional piping organ of the carousel.

Experienced Travelers will know by now that every island has its own temple, and this one is no exception. It’s not in the carnival proper, though; if you step away from the lights of the midway and tents, you’ll notice dozens of old wooden circus trailers, arranged in a circle, growing tighter together the closer to the center you walk. The trailers are functional living places, with built in beds - sometimes one, sometimes two - and a small table and an old wood burning stove with a cooking top just big enough to boil a kettle on. There’s a toilet, but if you want a shower you’ll have to go outside and find a tent set up at the outskirts of the makeshift trailer park where there are tent showers set up, locker room style.

The clearing in the middle of the parked caravan is completely empty except for a solitary midway game: a towering high striker. It must be at least twenty feet tall, surmounted by a round, red bell. A wooden mallet is leaned against a sign next to the game that reads, predictably, TEST YOUR STRENGTH.

Step right up.

Notes:
1. Please remember to mark threads appropriately with Content Warnings when necessary.

2. These prompts are a jumping off point - how they affect your character and their development is up to you.

3. The island temple is accessible to all. The High Temple is only accessible to new characters this month - it will re-open to all others next month.

4. The Test your Strength game can be played by anyone. How well your character does is entirely up to you, but the game does not necessarily measure physical strength.

5. These residents of the island are normal humans. Killing them is possible and will affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation.

6. Any food found on the midway is safe to eat, and is consumable by non-human entities.

7. Have fun!

---

Ⅱ. HALL OF MIRRORS
When it comes to amusements, the Hall of Mirrors has always been second-fiddle to the Haunted House. But the line for the former was shorter, so here you are. The guy working the door has weasel eyes and is smoking. He gestures for you and whoever is behind you to enter together; "No singles. For safety."

The lights are a dull neon, cycling from deep blue to cyan to purple and back again. You find that your outstretched fingers will bump against smooth, clear glass as often as not. The mirrors reflect the maze back into itself over and over, disorienting and strange.

Some of the mirrors are convex, some concave, and as you pass them your reflection warps and bends alongside that of whoever you're stuck inside the maze with.

At some point you will realise that the reflection looking back at you isn't quite right. It's still you, sure, but it's not how you really look, not on the outside.

Looking back at you from the cold glass is how you perceive yourself. Perhaps that's stronger, perhaps uglier, perhaps as a sniveling child or an ancient hag. And this reflection is going to follow you from mirror to mirror as you desperately try to find your way out.

One of you spots an exit sign, bleeding red light. Only catch is that it's behind a pane of glass. And another. And another. You could break your way through all of them, certainly, but it's not as if there's anything laying around for you to use to do so. Just yourself, which might work in action movies but tends to cause a lot of physical damage in the real world.

Above the glass someone has placed a sticker that reads, “who are you really?” in black sharpie. Answer it, and the glass will swing open. Don't, and well...

Guess you'll have several years worth of bad luck.

Notes:
1. Yes, characters can bash their way out of the maze, but it is real glass and will cut anyone who isn’t invulnerable. There is a first aid station run by extremely unreliable carneys on the premises, so hopefully they can patch themselves up enough there.

---

Ⅲ. THE CAROUSEL
CW: childhood trauma
Old fashioned organ music and a million flashing lights draws you to the carousel. It's a vintage delight: huge, with ornate animals carved out of wood and lovingly hand painted. There are horses, of course, but also lions and leopards and birds and rabbits and wolves... any animal you could want! In fact, you'll see an animal that looks perfectly YOU. You just have to climb up on it for a ride.


Settled on your mount, the ride begins to move. To your surprise, it begins to move backwards. You can't seem to ungrip the pole you're hanging on to, so you're helpless to escape as the ride spins again and again.

When it stops and you step off, you will be younger. You will in fact be the same age you were when a formative event happened to you.

You're a kid at a carnival! How fun! Well, maybe you're not that young, and it's probably not very fun at all considering that now your trauma is fresh.

The only way to become your proper age again is to get on the carousel and get it to run forward. Depending on your age, you might not be able to figure any of that out, but surely one of the other Travelers can help you. You'll definitely need someone to man the carousel controls. Oh, and be careful not to knock it into overdrive...

Notes:
1. If your character does not get back on the carousel and ride it in reverse, they will revert to their actual ages at the end of the month.

2. Please be especially mindful of content warnings with underage characters. A reminder that the game does not allow explicit sexual content with minors.

3. You do not have to regress your character to childhood - if a very formative event happened at age 20 for example, you can choose that route instead.

4. Speeding up the carousel while it is moving forward will result in, you guessed it, aging your character UP. Obviously you can ride it backwards again to fix this, or again the aging will be reversed at the end of the month.

---

Ⅳ. COULROPHOBIA
CW: clowns, suffocation
Who can possibly resist the big top? Not you! You're ushered into the tent and you take a seat in the stands, where you have an excellent view of the huge ring before you. The excitement in the air is palpable, and even if you're the grouchy type you'll find yourself a little bit thrilled.

It's a little surprising when the lights go up to the sound of screaming guitars. Mist belches from hidden foggers, and flames shoot from near the center of the ring. The lights stutter red, blue, green. The whole thing is a lot more rock show than it is Ringling Brother's.

At any rate, even if the ringmaster looks like a reject from a trailer park metal band and the music is liable to burst some eardrums, it's still a circus. There are trained horses and riders, contortionists, and a score of talented trapeze artists. It's all sparkling and impressive and terrific fun.

The trapeze artists take their bows, clearly ready for a break. And if a break is needed at the circus? You know what happens next, don't you?

SEND IN THE CLOWNS!

The clowns spill into the ring, all sorts of them! There's Harlequin and Pierrot, Auguste and Tramp. There's Bozos and Ronalds and Clarabelles and Krustys. Hopefully no Gacys, but there's so many of them that it's hard to know for sure.

One of these clowns - the one you hate the most, of course - approaches you in the stands. With comically exaggerated movements, it leans close to you and whispers...

Well. It whispers horrible things to you, really. It recounts to you some instance in your life where you delighted in the suffering of another, a moment where you really and truly were happy that somebody else was hurt. It's not a moment to be proud of, for sure, but as the clown tells your own secret shameful joy to you, you start to laugh. Really laugh - soon you're bent over double, tears running down your face, absolutely howling with laughter.

Your stomach hurts, and you're running out of breath. Very soon you won't be able to breathe at all.

Eventually, one of your fellow travelers won't be able to resist asking you, "What's so funny?"

The only way to stop laughing is to tell them. Otherwise you're going to pass out right where you sit, a creepy clown leering over you the whole time. Maybe your fellow traveler will be nice enough to drag you out of there if that happens, because if you're left alone? Everybody knows clowns get so much scarier alone in the dark.

Notes:
1. What happens if you really do get ditched with the clowns? Great question. Maybe they make you one of them. Maybe they eat you. Maybe you just wake up in the Big Top dressing room and see all the clowns smoking cigars and taking their floppy shoes off to film Clown Foot Erotica.

It wouldn't be a party without some jams.

Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

Comments

Roxy Spaulding|Gen13|OTA

[gravity_grrl]

Ⅰ. ARRIVAL & THE TEMPLE:

There's just something about a carnival that makes Roxy feel a bit like being home; maybe it's the smell of fried food (she is from Texas after all), maybe it's the greasy guys with mullets and ripped up T-shirts, or maybe it's the trailer park style of accommodations. Either way as she walks around the tents and trailers she can feel herself smiling at the sounds of rock music and excited screams.

"Do you want to split some food with me?" She asks whoever is nearby, "I know it's awful but I could totally go for a deep fried snickers bar."

Ⅱ. HALL OF MIRRORS:

Roxy, like a lot of women, has always had a complicated relationship with mirrors. There are days when she looks at her reflection and feels nothing but confidence and pride in how cute she looks and other days...well other days it feels like a battle to see anything good at all.
So to say that she isn't having a great time in the Hall of Mirrors is an understatement.

"We should have gone to the Haunted House...." She mutters to herself as she walks with her hands outstretched as the last thing she wants is to walk head first into something. She turns her head and is greeted by yet another mirror, only this one seems....different than the others.

"What the fuck?"

Ⅳ. COULROPHOBIA:

"FUCK YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Roxy is never going to deny her trailer trash upbringing, which means that this hard rock concert/show is right up her alley. You're lucky that she isn't flashing her tits at the lead singer.
She flops back in her seat as the main show ends, grinning and giggling, but when the clowns come out her grin falters and her posture grows wary. Her body language gets even more defensive when one of the clowns, a small clown girl of about thirteen with black pigtails and far too many teeth, leans in and starts to whisper in her ear. Roxy's eyes go wide with fear but her mouth begins to twitch up into a smile, small at first but then it grows into a grin and she starts to laugh. Soon it's hard to tell if she's laughing or screaming. The clown girl blows her a kiss and then skips away, singing:

"Those who've seen us know that not a thing could come between us, Many men have tried to split us up but no one can.
Lord, help the mister...Who comes between me and my sister
And Lord, help the sister who comes between me and my man”

V. WILDCARD: [Feel free to throw other ideas at me.]

Arrival

[santalamuerte]

Texas gal, meet uptight Missouri native. Unlike Roxy who’s completely enamored by the sights and sounds of those old carnivals which can be found in abandoned Kmart parking lots, Olivia is not excited about this at all. Chalk it up to being a new traveler under the duress of being pulled from home or the fact that the carnival lights are giving her a small headache, none of these newfound changes are going over well with her.

So to be approached by someone she’s never met before and getting asked about food is a bit jarring, to say the least.

"...huh? What?" Her expression, and tone of voice, are full of confusion. It might take her a second to process the question and actually offer a response. "I guess so? It’s really going to depend on which booth you want to try out though. These fairgrounds are known to cut corners on food preparation."

[gravity_grrl]

Roxy snort laughs and nods, "Yeah that's kind of an understatement and yet I still want something. I was thinking of donuts...or a corn dog...or popcorn."

Okay so maybe she's thinking of getting it all, but it would be nice to share with someone so she doesn't look or feel like a total pig. "Are you allergic to anything? I mean like, besides the 10 gallons of oil that is in most of these foods."

[santalamuerte]

"What about fried Oreos with french vanilla ice cream? If you feel like gambling on stranger snacks, there was a weird booth serving pizza cones nearby." There's something comforting about discussing food, even questionable carnivals delicacies, a common ground to stand on when meeting new people. Her hesitations start to disappear for the moment, mainly because the allure of sugary snacks is causing her appetite to grow.

"No, I'm open to exploring and holding whatever excess food you order." She's going to need to learn the ropes sooner or later, best to do it now with a companion. One hand is extended to Roxy calmly. "I'm Olivia. Sorry if I seemed on edge a second ago."

[gravity_grrl]

Roxy's eyes light up and she nods, "Oh hell yeah. Friend Oreos with ice cream sounds fuckin' delicious!"

She looks down at the offered hand and then takes it with a cheerful smile, "Nice to meet you Olivia, I'm Roxy. No worries about being on edge, a lot of folk around here seem to be a little wary of being at a carnival."

[santalamuerte]

"Starting with dessert is a completely acceptable option. I wish this carnival had some culturally diverse options for food though. Maybe some cold yakisoba noodles or Japanese-style fried chicken." She can only dream of such luxuries, something easier on the stomach at a time like this.

"Roxy. The pleasure is all mine." She shakes her head no to the last statement. "Actually, I'm okay with these kitschy carnivals, saw a lot of them back home in the Midwest. What bothers me is how I got here so suddenly...I wasn't exactly prepared to wake up on an island at random."

She gestures to the awaiting promenade of food, allowing Roxy do to the leading. Conversations can happen while walking, after all.

[gravity_grrl]

Acceptable, culturally diverse, pleasure is all mine? Uh-oh, sounds like this is one of those well spoken cultured types.

"Haha yeah kind of a mind fuck aint it?" Roxy says as she leads the way towards a large stand that is promising a multitude of deep fried goodies. "Where from the Midwest are ya from?"

1 - omg you're here!? Well I guess these two HAVE TO BE FRIENDS

[helpdesk_hero]

He doesn't know the strange woman who, suddenly standing beside him, was suggesting he chow down on a fried snickers bar with her, but David does visibly cringe at the entire idea of it. Hell, it's even more obvious that he's judgemental of the idea given he still doesn't have glasses to cover up the way distaste bunches around his eyes in particular. But he tries to play it cool.

"I have too many medical degrees to consent to something that bad in my body."

Oh totally! XD

[gravity_grrl]

"Aww come on, it's not that bad. Sides it's how you make your body build up a strong immune system." She says, "Trust me I know. I'm from Texas."

"But if that's too much for you what about some churros? Or fried chicken?" She says as she points at the menu.

[helpdesk_hero]

Ah. She's from Texas. That explains it.

"Yeah, still going with all these MDs I've got to say that you're actually literally wrong about that. It just builds up heart disease. But... I can be talked into Churros."

Because it's SLIGHTLY less bad.

[gravity_grrl]

"Yeah but those MDs have never had fried food from another dimension now have they? How do you know that this stuff isn't like, magic or some shit and will actually counter heart disease?" She counters with a grin and then bops up to the food stand, ordering them a box of Churros and one corn dog.

She returns to David's side with a grin and offers him the first pick of the Churros.

[helpdesk_hero]

"Actually, I have," David points out. Plenty of dimensional travel on his ticket. His interdimensional passport needs new pages. "And I know what magic feels like. And I'd know at a touch whether it was mundane or not."

She can keep her corndog. He does take a Churro.

"I'm David, by the way."

[gravity_grrl]

"Nice to meetcha David, I'm Roxy."

She grins and sticks the corndog in her mouth so she can offer David her hand to shake, the other holding the box of Churros. She's not ladylike but at least she's friendly?

mirrorsssss

[detectivemiracle]

Why did Chloe let herself be talked into this, again? This is really not her usual scene, but she is forever letting other people drag her into things. Story of her life, really.

"What the what?"

She's been busy staring at herself in one of the mirrors. She looks... tired. Hollowed-out.

[gravity_grrl]

Roxy has to pause before answering, moving back and forth to make sure that she is seeing what she thinks she is.

"This is fucked." She says, her voice sounding small and choked. She turns towards Chloe and looks into that mirror, trying desperately to see if it's different. It isn't. Looking back at her from all angles is someone who looks like her but is about 100 pounds overweight, with a flat chest and buck teeth.
She looks like trash.
White trash.

Roxy runs a hand through her hair, backing up and looking around for the exit. "This isn't funny. Are you seeing anything weird or did someone slip me drugs?"

[detectivemiracle]

[ Chloe's self-perception isn't quite as physically obvious - just disturbing to her. She looks older, more tired, haunted, even. Physically wracked with the guilt that's eating away at her.

She tears her gaze away from the reflection to address the other woman. ]

Uh. I'm seeing something. And I definitely haven't taken any drugs that I know of. Let's... get out of here.

[gravity_grrl]

[Once she sees the awful reflection she can't un-see it and when they start to try and find a way out of the maze it just follows her, watching her every move, almost mocking her. Finally she spots the glowing red exit sign towards the back and sighs in relief.]

There! Fucking finally.

[She stops suddenly when she notices the pan on glass blocking their way and the sticker that just reads "who are you really?"]

What is this fortune cookie crap?

[detectivemiracle]

[ Chloe sighs, by now her mouth a tight line as she tries to avoid the hollow, haunted version of herself that seems to exist in the mirrors. ]

More attempts at pushing us to improve ourselves?

[ She offers that almost sarcastically. ]

[gravity_grrl]

[Roxy, who is master of being calm under pressure, proceeds to bang her fist on the glass panel that stands in their way.]

Who am I really? I'm someone whose getting PISSED OFF with this crap, that's who!

[Okay, maybe not.]

IV. hey HEY! it's the stingy and battery show!

[kyley_b]

Does anybody really like clowns? The answer is: yes. Yes, if the existence of clown porn is anything to go by. Not that Kyle has watched a lot of clown porn, but he's internet savvy - he knows it exists.

He himself is mostly just vaguely creeped out by the sudden appearance of them, and when one of them gets close he focuses on eating his popcorn very intently hoping to give off the universal 'don't pick me' vibe one must use when there are shitty magicians or improv actors or anything around.

When Roxy starts giggling, he looks up. God that clown girl is spooky looking. He looks to Roxy, half smiling, an expression that quickly fades.

"Roxy?" he asks. "Uhm. Dude? You okay?"

They bite and light, and bite and lightthnhnhh... you know how it goes.

[gravity_grrl]

Her side is starting to ache and she can't stop herself from grinning, her laughter now coming out in small breathless screams.

"...it's...just...so funny!" She manages to gasp out, reaching over and grabbing Kyle by the arm. Looking up at him with eyes that are streaming tears, her laughter says she's fine but her eyes are panicked.

"...won't stop..."

[kyley_b]

Okay, she's not having a good time. That is not normal laughter, even of the tear-inducing variety. It's hysterical.

"What's so funny?" he asks. "Jesus, Roxy, breathe, dude, you're gonna barf or something."

cw: vomit stuff

[gravity_grrl]

It does feel like she might throw up soon, but instead of food it feels like she might puke out her actual guts. Or at least something that is acidic, nasty and bile like.

"She thought he was perfect." She manages to say weakly after her next laughing fit, straining to get the words out. "He was smart, rich, good looking, and he would do anything for her. He seemed so god damn perfect. A perfect guy for my perfect sister."

The next fit is a bit less intense and she gasps in a breath of air, continuing to spill her guts. "And when she found out that he was lying, that he was actually a weird stalker clone, she was devastated. It was her first real boyfriend and she cried for weeks and..."

She feels her gorge rise and she turns her head and gags, feeling empty stomach bile flood her mouth. "And I was happy."

cw: vomit stuff

[kyley_b]

Kyle puts a hand on Roxy's back, rapidly becoming more alarmed at the colour of her face. He's starting to think he's going to have to pull her out of the tent and... and what? He sure didn't see a medic anywhere. Not for the first time he wonders what's going to happen when one of them gets really injured.

At her admission, Kyle rubs her back a little. "I mean. That's... that's pretty shitty, dude," he admits. "But that's okay! People have petty thoughts! It's okay, dude, come on, you gotta breathe, Roxy."

cw: vomit stuff

[gravity_grrl]

She gags again and for one second her entire airway is closed off, unable to pull air in from her mouth or nose and she grabs Kyle's hand and squeezes it painfully. Terrified that everything will stay locked and she'll just die with bile in her mouth and tears on her cheeks. It finally subsides and she lets out a low sob.

"I was happy because it finally felt like she couldn't look down her nose at me, that she couldn't judge me anymore for all the shitty guys I've dated or mistakes I made with men."

She pulls in a breath of air, her laughter drying up and her body starting to shake from the adrenaline that is flooding her system, but at least she's stopped laughing. "Can we leave please?" Her voice is small and she looks at Kyle, her eyes desperate and scared.