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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

Olivia Moore | Original Character | OTA

[santalamuerte]

1. The Temple

[Olivia is one of the unfortunate souls who gets to spend their first month on this wild carnival island. The initial shock of being pulled from home and being forced onto a literal quest against her free will isn’t exactly welcome, but there doesn’t seem to be any immediate way to get back, so she’ll have to deal with it for now.

She can’t avoid being drawn to the temple grounds, not while the giant carnival game looms in the sky like a glowing beacon. The trailers, despite how word-down they look, remind her of vacations spent in the mountains or at camp. She’s seen worse living quarters, and the fact that she’s able to scrounge up a working tea kettle is a boon.

Stepping out of her claimed trailer with a worn metal mug in her hand, kettle in the other, she gets a good look at the star-filled sighs and breaths easily. It’s relaxing out here in comparison to the hectic fairgrounds, a peace and quiet she can enjoy.]

“It’s not the best cup in the world, but it’ll do in a snap.” [She mentions out loud, sipping from the mug while taking a seat across from the giant carnival game. There’s something about the ‘Test your Strength’ game that bothers her deeply, but examining it earlier proved fruitless.

What does it mean? And should she even bother trying to pick up the mallet?

Despite her thoughtful and pensive outward attitude, she won’t mind another traveler stopping by to start up a conversation over a cup of weak herbal tea.]


2. Carnival Games

[She’s avoiding any of the food stands and has no interest in the rides, which leaves only the midway full of carnival games left to explore. Olivia’s wise to the carnies gig, avoiding any game that looks completely unwinnable, which is all of them. The heckling doesn’t get under her skin, but what does cause her to stop is seeing a long booth full of skeeball machines. Not the newer models with 100 point holes, but the old-school ones that could be found at the local Chuck E’s Cheese.

The booth attendant seems nice enough, convincing her to give the game a fair shot. Her first attempt is lackluster, to say the least, most of the wooden balls going into the lower scoring point slots. But that one attempt is enough to help her find the secret to success, casually taking the carnie’s offer to play again.

So she can skillfully bounce each throw of the side of the skeeball ramp, causing most of the balls to reach the 30, 40, and sometimes the 50 point hole. It’s not a high enough score to win one of the big stuffed animals, but she’s presented with one of the weirdest bootleg plush ever seen. Olivia can’t even hide her excitement at actually beating the house at their own game, addressing the nearest traveler with a smirk.]

“Glad to see these some of these games aren’t rigged completely.”

3. Time for the Clowns! [ cw: mentions of bullying, sexist comments, bodily fluids ]

[Instead of being forced into the performance tent, Olivia is one of the rare people who willingly enters without a second thought. She was 8 the last time she saw a live circus performance, and the experience wasn’t something to write home about. Overpriced souvenirs and seeing animals do dangerous tricks, it was mainly her parents’ way of taking the family out for a ‘fun’ evening.

But now she’s getting to experience it again as a grown adult, in a much different style than the old Ringling Brothers shows. Everything is replaced for the modern audience, and honestly...she’s not a fan. Nothing about hard rock music or flashy sets particularly interests her, but the clowns are another story entirely. She’s drawn in by their unique makeup artistry and even the creepy ones garner a second glance. One of the more traditionally-inspired clowns has his eyes on her instantly, making sure to approach without saying a word.]

“Wait, you’re…?” [Turning her head quickly, she recognizes the clown’s makeup and clothing, a faint memory from her younger days of binge-watching Twilight Zone episodes. However, this clown isn’t a figment of her imagination, he’s here to provide the utmost ‘entertainment’. And it starts by him pulling out a familiar flower from out of nowhere, a vibrant purple dahlia, presenting it to her with a flourish.

As the petals touch her hands, a faint memory blossoms in the back of her mind, brought to life by the clown’s haunting words being whispered into her ears. The laughter bubbles up slowly, moving one hand to cover her mouth as to not disturb the other show watchers. She shows no signs of slowing down, eyes watering at each hallowed laugh. It’s fun recalling how she got revenge on her coworkers in the pettiest of ways, and why she ever forgot this is completely irrelevant now.

Someone might want to stop her before this moment of schadenfreude becomes fatal…]

4. Wildcard: ((Want to RP a different scene. Feel free to PM this journal or post it here. I'm open for most types of scenes.))

2: pika pika

[kyley_b]

[Kyle had stopped first and foremost to get a pretzel from a vendor, and then stayed to watch Olivia play. When he sees the weird plush she gets he shakes his head.]

Or at least they know enough to let people win often enough that other people see you walking around with a... what is that, a chinpokomon?

^_^

[santalamuerte]

If that's the case, I got completely bamboozled. Guess they can't give out large prizes to everyone, but seeing one stuffed animal is enough to get people excited.

[Don't worry, Kyle, she's equally confused by the aforementioned prize. She shrugs her shoulders and offers up the Pikachu knockoff for examination.]

Chinpokomon? Can't say I've ever heard of that, but maybe this is one of them? Here, take a look and let me know what you think.

[kyley_b]

That's my suspicion. Or, you know, you're actually good at it.

[He studies the little yellow abomination, then shakes his head.]

Nope. Close, but not quite. They were popular toys back when I was a little kid. You were supposed to collect them all.

[santalamuerte]

Nope, this was just a lucky break. Though there was a bar I frequented with my gym trainer which had a few skeeball machines. We would get drunk and play quite often, so maybe some of the old tricks rubbed off.

[She's careful to tuck the noisy little mouse under one arm, avoiding the dreaded sound button embedded in its belly.]

That's the gimmick to get everyone to spend money. Collect them all? Here's another 100 to go after. But now I'm curious, what were Chinpokomon like?

[kyley_b]

Okay, the idea of getting drunk with your personal trainer is pretty funny, you think they'd be against that sort of thing.

That's exactly it! It was pretty genius. And they kept changing the format, like they made a cartoon so you'd want the toys? And then the card game, and then the video game, and so on and so forth. Brilliant marketing really.

They were these little cutsey monsters. It was a Japanese thing. I dunno, I was into the craze and now I couldn't even really tell you why. I am pretty sure I nearly bombed Pearl Harbour over it, though.

[santalamuerte]

It was a thing we only did once in a while. Get done with an exercise session, go to the local brewery for burgers and beer. Though she typically stayed to one drink, I was the guilty party who got drunk from time to time.

[That comment gets a small chuckle out of her.]

I know, right? Let's not even get started with beanie babies. The CEO was a genius to create a false scarcity with those stupid little beanbag toys, manipulating supply and demand like a pro.

[She gestures for Kyle to follow her to the nearest booth, wanting in on the drink and snack action while they chat.]

That's kind of demented, in a way.

For Cleo (Ratcatcher_2)

[santalamuerte]

((Continued from here))

[Olivia is a woman of her word, intending to fulfill her promise to Cleo over the network, by looking into the current rodent population of the carnival. She's not sure what the exploration will shape up to be like (heck, she might not even see a single rat), but it's worth looking into. Patiently she waits near the entrance of the fairgrounds, observing her surroundings carefully for anything or anyone that might stand out.

She probably should've asked Cleo what she looks like to avoid any awkward stares towards other carnival-goers. A mistake she'll try to correct for next time.]

[ratcatcher_2]

[A young woman in her early twenties walks toward the entrance, looking up and around and appearing to be a little lost. She catches Olivia's eye and offers a soft smile. She speaks English with an accent and is quietly-spoken.]

Hello. I'm looking for Olivia?

[santalamuerte]

Yes, that would be me. Apologies if you were looking around for a long time.

[She offers up a smile of her own, extending a hand for a simple shake.]

It's nice to put a face to the name. Whenever you're ready, I can lead you to where I saw traces of the rats, Cleo.

[ratcatcher_2]

Oh, no. It's fine. I just got here.

[She smiles back, happy to take the hand.]

I'm thankful for your help.

[santalamuerte]

Guess we're both in the same boat then. This place...[She gestures to the carnival grounds.] is all completely new to me.

[She nods politely.] It's alright. You caught my interest with talk about an underappreciated species of animal. Speaking of the rats, we should walk towards the food stands. Pretty good chance we'll spot a few there.

[ratcatcher_2]

It's a good idea. They're good at finding the best scraps to eat.

[She says agreeably.]

3

[extrasensory_problems]

Carter is also a little disappointed with the big top, he was hoping for a classic old timey show (which he knows is cruel to animals and has many other problematic themes but he can't help it. He likes the aesthetic) so when the rock music starts he leans back in his seat with a slight frown.

The frown turns to a grimace of concern when the clowns come out, he isn't afraid of clowns particularly but you can't ignore how naturally creepy they are. When one gets close to the woman sitting next to him he tries to turn his head away, looking down at his shoes and hoping that he won't become the next target.
It's the sound of laughter that makes him look back up and he sees that the woman next to him is laughing jaggedly, which is fine, maybe the clown actually said something funny but....

It doesn't feel like it. Carter's brows crease in concern and a red warning light goes off in the back of his head, he reaches over and cautiously touches her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Re: 3

[santalamuerte]

Don’t worry, Carter, if she was a bit sounder in the mind, the lack of a traditional carnival would be troubling as well. For now, the laughter leaving her lips is quickly cascading into an uncontrollable stream, eyes welling up with newfound tears. His inquiry doesn’t go unnoticed, her gaze turning to the person sitting off to one side.

“Y-yes, everything is fine…” No. No. It clearly isn’t given she’s barely mustering up a cohesive sentence in between bursts of laughter. “I was just reminded of something funny from the past.”

She points to a clown who’s meandering between a set of two rows, fuzzy red hair and dressed in a crushed purple velvet outfit.

“You ever met a person who does a bunch of bad stuff and gets away with it? That clown, right there, is a striking image of my asshole boss. The kind of guy who can do whatever he wants without repercussion.”

[extrasensory_problems]

He raises an eyebrow and looks to the clown she is pointing at, a small chill walking down his spine when he sees that this clown looks eerily similar to the one from the old Twilight Zone show that he used to watch with his mom. He turns back to her, still slightly concerned because her laughter is still pretty frantic.

"Yeah I've met people like that."

[santalamuerte]

"Well...don't you think..." Another peal of laughter cuts her off, on hand going to her forehead as if a headache is creeping in. Yes, something does feel off about this situation, but she's not in the right state of mind to realize it just yet. Talking with Carter is helping though.

"The world is a better place once those people get their comeuppance, right? Bad people deserve bad things." She leans back in her seat, still wildly under the clown's fateful spell. "And it's alright for their victims to get revenge if you ask me. That's the funniest part, watching justice get served."

She gives him a rather terrifying smile, showcasing a hint of her malicious nature. "I did that to someone. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

[extrasensory_problems]

Okay so that's not exactly a friendly smile, nor a friendly sort of attitude but he isn't going to argue with her about the morality behind it. He's had his fair share of similar thoughts, he's just never acted on them before.

"You uh...didn't hurt anyone did you?"

[santalamuerte]

"I did."

Any truly guilty person would reel back in regret and remorse, but in this case, she's savoring the memory. Talking seems to alleviate the laughter, and to Olivia, Carter is someone who's there to listen. To hopefully take her side on the matter.

"My boss, he's the kind of guy who flirts with women, treats them like shit. I asked him for a day off once and he said no, so I got revenge on him." She stifles another burst of laughter. "I spiked his midday alcoholic drink with a few unpleasant medications, got him sick both ways right before his next big date. He really thought it was food poisoning! What an idiot!"

1

[detectivemiracle]

I'm more of a coffee drinker, myself. [ Chloe offers that casually, but shrugs and smiles a bit at the stranger. ]

But I guess we all have to sacrifice sometimes.

Re: 1

[santalamuerte]

Well, there was some basic coffee in one of the trailers. Can't guarantee it'll taste good, but if you want, I could go brew a cup really fast.

[It's worth asking, at least. Olivia just offers the other woman a small smile.]

That's true. Do you come from a place where sacrifice is quite prevalent?

[detectivemiracle]

[ Chloe huffs a small laugh, and holds up a hand as if to stop her from getting up to make her coffee right now. ]

Thanks, but I'm good. Really.

[ She does sit next to her, though, looking out over the carnival. ]

Sacrifice? I can't say I've thought about it, much. To me, my world is just... the normal world. Sometimes people make sacrifices, sure. Why, is it a thing in yours?

[santalamuerte]

Let me know if you change your mind. It's not like I have anything else to do right now.

[She scoots over to the left side of the bench so Chloe can have extra seating room.]

The concept comes up from time to time, but under normal circumstances. I'm not from a unique world, just an average Earth and United States. So to wake up here is rather jarring...

[She gestures outward with one hand towards the fairgrounds.]

I'm guessing you didn't ask for permission to be dropped off on a random island either.

[detectivemiracle]

Oh, I definitely did not.

[ Being yoinked from her life was definitely not on the agenda. ]

Where are you from? I'm from LA. Oh, I'm Chloe, by the way. Chloe Decker.

[santalamuerte]

I don't know how reassuring this information is, but everyone I've asked so far has answered the same way. Doesn't seem like anyone willing came to this place of their own free will.

[Her free hand is extended outward for a shake.]

Kansas City, of all places. It's nice to meet you, Chloe. Would you prefer to be addressed by your first or last name going forward?