carnivale

[jigoku_mod]

It's the end of summer. The close, muggy heat has given way to the chill winds of early marching autumn. Who knows if that's a relief or not. But the changing of the season has seemed to herald one thing for the ghost town.

Music. It'll filter from outside. Sometimes it'll be upbeat and bouncy. Sometimes it'll be discordant and strange. But it'll get louder and louder until the noise is almost overwhelming in the apartments, causing residents to spill out into the street to get away from it.

Oh, it's still loud out there, but it's bearable. Maybe because your breath will be taken away by the sight of the parade. Rides go by. Cages rattle by. Musicians and acrobats lead it in their brightly coloured clothes. Shadowy, tall and shapeless figures follow around. All of them are masked, and all of them follow the parade to the old carnival grounds, where everything is quickly set up. Stalls appear, filling the foul air of the town with delicious scents. Music continues to play. Showmen shout their wares.

And when you enter, the gates with clang shut behind you. You won't be getting out until you can show a ticket.

How do you get a ticket?

Enjoy the fair attractions, of course!



Rides

bumper cars - the bumper cars look like fun until you realize that there are ghouls littering the ride's area. You can't leave until you've run them all down. Ew. Guts everywhere.
mad house - are you really sure you want to go in here, in Jigoku? You might not come out with your life, and you'll certainly come out with injuries. What's inside? It's too dark to tell. Here, take this camera and use the flash to see...
tunnel of love - a boat with a seat for two, a dark tunnel leading on through a gateway that's covered with happy lovehearts and cheesy lights. But something moves in the water inside... are you brave enough to squeeze your eyes shut and hope that you come out the other end?
carousel - brightly painted horses, unicorn and pegesi ring this enchanting carousel. Just be careful they don't gallop off with you!
ferris wheel - it sure would suck if this thing crashed while you were at the top, right? Or if white-robed onryo started to clamber up it to your cabin.
rotor - get into the slot at the wall and stand still. Let the high velocity amuse you as you spin around and around! Or confuse you as you have to dodge the swipes, bites and grips of various creatures that decide to have fun with you inside this ride.

Souvenir Stalls

The festival boasts and impressive number of stalls that sell a multitude of different wares - but probably not the sorts of things you were expecting to find. They're simple in nature, a white tarp for a roof, covering tabled and tables of intriguing and disturbing wares. A simple rabbits foot could be placed right beside a fabled monkey's paw, all fingers intact, and right behind you could even be some sort of mystical yet unnerving item from your own world. How they got it, no one knows, but its there, and you can buy it.

For a price.

What what price is depends on the stalls owner, it may range from something and innocent as a shiny object you own, and even venture into the unnerving, like pieces of your hair, or even a drop of blood...

Game Stalls

All of the game stalls will award the same prizes. Balloons filled with things (from confetti to blood) that will burst suddenly all over you. Dolls stuffed with rice and hair. Kokkuri-san boards. Tickets to the Love Hotel. Weapons. Bags of corn. Toys and arcade tokens. A roll of red tape. Small packets of salt. Bags of fresh food. It's a gamble which one you get, but hey!

coconut stand - I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts. There they are, standing in a row. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head...! Knock one off the cups with your three wooden balls and win a prize. Miss and get pelted with the wooden balls until you're black and blue all over.
hook-a-duck - Everyone's seen the cute hook-a-duck stall before, right? You hook onto a little ducky and check the number on it. The number matches up to your prize! Let's hope it's something fun, rather than a balloon that'll burst blood all over you, or just a bunch of squelching innards on the end of your hook.
whack-a-resident - ever heard of Whack-a-Mole? Just like that, but with little pop-up residents of the apartments. If you can hit all of them in the minute and half that you get, then you get a prize! Beware, though... if you hit one with the mallet, they person will feel like they've been hit by one in real life, and this includes you!
hoopla - ring toss! You get five rings. Try to hook them over the pins - careful! it's more difficult than it looks. Fail? Well... you might get bound up and dragged to one of the rides, or into the love tunnel or worse, the freak show...
test of strength - pick up the mallet and give it a go! Let's hope you've got a good arm, because the malaise that will follow if you hit a puny amount isn't worth it. And be wary of hitting in the top percentage... do you really want a bunch of tittering fans following you around unseen at all times?
cork guns - Shoot the targets! Hit them all to win a prize. Only thing is, the moment you step into the booth you'll be aware of one of the white-robed onryo slowly coming closer and closer to you. Can you really keep your cool and score all three shots with that? Or will you be stumbling out of there with a new scar...?
guess your weight - Confident one of the shadowy fair-goers won't be able to guess your weight? Rather you than me, because if they get it right, you'll just float up, up, and away.

Food Stalls

Food won't be a problem on the fairground. There are various yatai stalls hosted by shadowy, maskless figures. The stalls sit about eight people, and provided you don't steal the seat of one of the mask-wearing fair-goers, you'll be invited to sit at them. All manner of delicious japanese cuisine is available at the stalls. Residents may notice the familiar face of the fox spirit with her own little udon stall, too.

There are various candy, candy floss, and popcorn stalls dotted around for sweet snacks.

Just be careful, and remember that gluttony is a deadly sin...

Freak Show

You decided to come in here, remember.

Some of it's the usual fare - bearded ladies, conjoined twins, pig-faced women... and some of it is repulsive and twisted. Monsters gnash their teeth against the flimsy mesh between you and them and you'll be certain they're about to burst through at any minute. Mermaids giggle and flash their fangs as they beckon from pools behind glass. Past residents look up at you with bleary, tired eyes, coming close to the bars and trying to speak with cut out tongues.

A word of advice?

Don't try to get them out.

Any comments, questions or concerns should be left in the comment section of this post. The Event Team will try to get to you as soon as possible! There will be a mingle post set up soon in honour of this event - feel free to tag in there, and use the main community for phone and text responses.