welcome to mayfield: day 4

[mayfield_mods]

[This carnival seems to be getting less and less maintained by the day. Your nerves aren't the only thing fallen apart: what were previously holes in the sky have expanded to cracks. What parts of the sky that haven't fallen into that strange, warping nothingness are full of brown smog-like clouds.

The carnival itself has become filthy, with trash and grease spots littered everywhere. The walls of the tents, wooden stands, and houses seem to be slightly melted, for lack of a better term. The holes of corrupted nothingness aren't confined to the sky anymore: pockets of nothing litter the carnival, shifting tears in the fabric of reality that hurt your eyes to look at.

A faint buzzing noise fills the air, making it difficult to concentrate. If you listen long enough, it starts to sound like voices. For your own sake, it's probably best not to listen to what they have to say.

You're also not alone here anymore, for those of you operating under the assumption that you ever really were. If you've been missing the friendly drones of Mayfield, fear no more, because scattered throughout the carnival are a few drone families seeing the sights, riding the rides and playing the games. Curiously, unlike the drones back home, these ones don't seem to notice you at all, acting as if you're not even there.

Also curiously: their features are warped nearly beyond recognition. Some are missing limbs or facial features; others appear to have had those features scrambled by Picasso's paintbrush, with mouths on their scalps or teeth on their fingers. Still other drones appear to be fused together at the wrist, or waist, or face. None of them seem to be any more aware of their deformity than they are of you.

...and yet, somehow, you can't shake the feeling that when you're not looking at them, they're looking at you.

New here? That's alright; your missing friends have had plenty of time to get acquainted, and they'll be happy to show you around. Just watch your step, because some of these old rides need some maintenance...]

OOC: If your character damages or affects the carnival or town in a noticeable and normally permanent way, please comment here.

Comments

[woodsiequeen]

[Viktoria doesn't quite know how to process what's happening to this house, but it isn't much of a stretch to know that it's dangerous. She sees the child nearby suffering some kind of effect from it, which is enough to convince her to keep her distance.]

Turn away! Come away from that awful place!

[42_passes]

[Crona's head whips around to look at the newcomer with eyes that...really don't look quite right.

Though...instead of moving away from the house, Crona looks back toward that fissure in reality, and takes a few steps toward it, almost transfixed by it.]

[woodsiequeen]

Stop!

[She starts after the child, but is quickly halted by the suddenly loud buzzing in her head. She claps her hands over her ears to no avail.]

What... is this...?

[42_passes]

Can you hear them? Asking and telling and even screaming.

They never shut up!

[There Crona goes, marching toward that fissure with a terrified, yet determined look on that face.]

[woodsiequeen]

[She barely hears the child over the noise in her head. Voices, pleading, begging, shrieking voices, drowning out all her thoughts.]

I... I hear them... sings me to them... takes me to the light!

[She doesn't even notice that she dips into her old dialect at first.]

NO!

[Viktoria lurches forward, half to try and stop the child and half because she can't seem to control her own feet anymore. She reaches out in one last attempt to stop Crona if she can.]

[42_passes]

[Crona stops dead, turning to look at the woman with empty eyes.

The kid slowly shambles up to her, gives her one last look, and grabs a handful of clothing.

There's not much strength to Crona's arms, but the kid does attempt to begin to drag the woman away. Crona's at least used to this kind of thing, and seeing someone else fall to it brought up...some sort of need to pull her away from it.

This IS how Crona's supposed to do things now...right?]

[woodsiequeen]

[She feels tugging in the other direction, away from the house. It's just enough to pierce the buzzing noise in her head. She turns and instinctively grasps Crona's arm.

Even as she turns away, the screaming and pleading grows more unbearable. She's filled with a desire to throw herself into the nothingness, dragging the child with her, but...]

Help me.

[She has to fight it as long as she can.]

[42_passes]

[Crona jumps when she grabs that arm, suddenly looking rather frightened.

Panicking, Crona does the only thing that comes to mind. With all the strength that little body can muster, the kid begins pulling as if life itself depended on it.]

[woodsiequeen]

[The child's grip gives her an anchor to reality, enough to keep the pleading at bay. She can move on her own, away from the crack in the house.

She doesn't feel safe until they are on the sidewalk, and even then the buzzing is still there. Viktoria doesn't understand what came over here, but it feels like it's over.]

[42_passes]

[The woman finally decided to move away from the house, and upon stopping Crona lets go before the kid has finished pulling, and ends up falling on that backside.

Crona just...stops to calm down for a minute. That was scary...]

[woodsiequeen]

[Viktoria falls to the ground, feeling far enough away from that horror that it doesn't try to pull her back in. She feels dizzy, almost. She looks and finds the child nearby.]

You... you saved me. Thank you.

[42_passes]

[Crona just looks kind of...confused and put-off by the statement. Boy, the ground sure looks interesting.]

I didn't...do anything...