Miraculous Mementos

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<<link "➻">><<run Engine.backward();>><</link>>  <span>CircusWIP</span>  <span style="grid-column:3;"><<link "➻">><<run Engine.forward();>><</link>></span>

<<link "settings">><<run UI.settings();>><<toggleclass "#menuLinks" "unstow">><<toggleclass "#header" "shadow">><<toggleclass "#menu" "glow">><</link>> <<link "saves">><<run UI.saves();>><<toggleclass "#menuLinks" "unstow">><<toggleclass "#menu" "glow">><<toggleclass "#header" "shadow">><</link>>  <<link "character profile">><<run Dialog.create("Character Profile", "profile").wikiPassage("Character Profile").open();>><<toggleclass "#menuLinks" "unstow">><<toggleclass "#header" "shadow">><<toggleclass "#menu" "glow">><</link>>  <<link "restart">><<run UI.restart();>><<toggleclass "#menuLinks" "unstow">><<toggleclass "#header" "shadow">><<toggleclass "#menu" "glow">><</link>> <<link "credits">><<run Dialog.create("Credits").wikiPassage("Credits").open();>><<toggleclass "#menuLinks" "unstow">><<toggleclass "#header" "shadow">><<toggleclass "#menu" "glow">><</link>>

<img class="character" src="https://placehold.co/400x600/transparent/FFF?text=L&font=roboto">  <h2>Character Profile</h2> <div id="charInfo" class="character">  <span>Name:</span> Leonora <br> <span>Pronouns:</span> pronoun/pronoun <br> <span>Label:</span> Information  </div> <div id="charBio" class='character'>  <p>''This dialog is filled with the contents of the //Character Profile// passage.'' <br>Space for a biography, character description/traits, or anything else. Scrolls automatically.</p>  </div>

<p>Credits go here! Please do //''not''// delete my credit. You can use the template in the commented HTML below the {{{<hr>}}} to add more!</p> <ul> <li>//Leonora// UI Template by <a href="https://lapinlunaire-games.neocities.org/" target="_blank">LapinLunaireGames</a></li> </ul> <hr>

Thanks for downloading my Leonora template! Don't hesitate to leave a comment on itch or contact me (https://lapinlunaire-games.neocities.org/contact/) if you have any questions and the code comments aren't quite getting you the info you need. Here's a quick guide to getting started: // CUSTOMISATION In the STYLESHEET, look for the sections marked with 🌸🌸🌸 and 🌙🌙🌙 emojis to customize the colors/background images of each theme. In passages tagged "Edit-Me!", look for the sections marked with 🌸🌸🌸. // AUTOSAVE Tagging a passage with ''autosave'' will create an autosave file at that passage. // GUIDE Below is a key to the colour-coded tags I've used to identify which passages should be edited with your own text, and which should not be edited without deeper HTML/CSS/Twinescript familiarity. //--------------- TAG KEY ----------------- "Guide" (BLUE) Reference passage. "Edit-Me!" (GREEN) Passages tagged "Edit-Me!" contain text meant for you to change to your own project's information. The releVannt sections to change in each are marked with 🌸🌸🌸. "No-Touchy!" (RED) Editing strongly not recommended without adVannced HTML/CSS/JS/Twinescript knowledge.

<h1>Miraculous Mementos</h1>  <div id="splashLinks"> [[Play|warnings and nsfw]] <<if (Save.browser.size > 0)>> <<link "Load">> <<run UI.saves();>> <</link>> <</if>> <<link "Settings">><<run UI.settings();>><</link>> <<link "Credits">><<run Dialog.create("Credits").wikiPassage("Credits").open();>><</link>> </div>

A week long trip to a "clown town" and three tickets? You know just who to call. <<set $arlo = 0>> <<linkreplace Vann t8n>>Vann, your childhood friend. His antsy behavior as a kid made you two a tight knit pair, he's been stuck to you like glue since elementary school. You already know that he<</linkreplace>> hasn't slept at all according to the constant string of texts he's sent you, so you're sure he'll respond right away even at this hour. <<set $vann = 0>> And <<linkreplace Arlo t8n>>Arlo, a friend made in the past few years that you met while at a distant relatives funeral. His grandfather chewed you both out when he found you tucked away laughing together in an alcove, declaring a funeral was not the time or place. He<</linkreplace>> will have woken up hours ago to help clean and prep for Mass. <div class='choice'> [[Text Vann]] [[Text Arlo]] </div>

<div class="right">Just a heads up, I'm leaving to join the circus for at least a week. Maybe forever.</div> <div class="message">What? Whenm We cantalk about thsi!</div> <div class="right">I don't know if we can talk about "thsi" cause I don't know what that is.</div> <div class="message">Not funny! What do you mean you're leaving? You can't just spring this on me. I have a long-distance job, I can come! Maybe I can help with… the circuses website? Circuses have websites, right? Who doesn't these days?</div> <div class="right">I guess you can come, but the circus is serious buisness. Guess i could pack you into a clown car. How much do you know about immersive roleplay?</div> <div class="message">$name! You really scared me. A week? </div> <<if $invitedArlo is true>> <div class="right">A whole week in "another world," you, me, and Arlo.</div> <div class="message">Oh, Arlo too? Does he really have time with all his church stuff and</div> <div class="message">things?</div> <div class="right">Did he not tell you? He's cut way back on all the church activities, so he's got tons of free time. He already agreed to be our carpool.</div> <div class="message">Right. Cool. Can't wait!</div> <<else>> <div class="right">Yup. Think you can do your job while surrounded by, uh, elephants and... what do circuses have?</div> <div class="message">No idea. So we're larping? Is it like a renisance fair but circus themed? Doesn't matter, I'll be there.</div> <div class="right">Good, hope you own some polka dots and stripes.</div> <</if>> You disappeared for a week, you know you'd come back to a Vann weeping on your doorstep like a puppy. <div class='notif'>//Character Profile Updated//</div> <<set $invitedVann to true>><div class='choice'> <<if $invitedArlo is true>> [[ready to go]] <<else>> [[Text Arlo]] <</if>> </div>

<div class="right">Hey, quit your job and join the circus with me.</div> <div class="message">Finally, I thought you'd never ask. When, where, and should I sell all my property?</div> <div class="right">Keep the makeup from your last middle school phase, the rest goes. IMG_20XX_73862735.jpg</div> <div class="message">A circus town? You're sure they're not going to harvest our organs?</div> <div class="right">Nope. Not knowing's the fun part!</div> <div class="message">Can't argue with that logic, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning.</div> <div class="right">… My morning or your morning?</div> <div class="message"> Whichever gets us there in time.</div> <div class="right">Alright, are you sure though? Thought you might be too busy helping your grandad out with church stuff?</div> <div class="message">I'll figure something out, I'm spendinng less time there these days anyways. Less volunteering and more just helping him out when he needs it.</div> <div class="right">👍</div> <div class="right"> Oh, can you pick up Vann to?</div> <div class="right">Please?</div> <div class="message">Course, see you later alligator</div> <div class="right">In a while, crocodile.</div> It may be your first trip with Arlo, but you're certain no matter where you went with him, he'd make it a good time. <div class='notif'>//Character Profile Updated//</div> <<set $invitedArlo to true>> <div class='choice'><<if $invitedVann is true>> [[ready to go]] <<else>> [[Text Vann]] <</if>></div>

The clicking of luggage wheels on concrete echoes through the street in the early morning. The roads are empty; the horizon brushed in the pinks and yellows of sunrise while the last of the stars are blinking out as most people are still in bed or only just now getting ready for the day. The rumbling of a car engine draws your attention. Arlo's car comes rolling to a stop beside you, windows rolled down. "Hello, <<nobr>><<if $disc == "pret">> pretty <<elseif $disc == "ha">> dashing <<elseif $disc == "cu">> cutie <<elseif $disc == "sexy">> threatening <</if>><</nobr>> zombie. Any idea where our friend might be waiting?" He grins at you, brushing his locs back over his shoulder. He wears a deep purple button up, perfectly pressed and the sleeves rolled over his elbows. Leaning down, you growl and grumble in response, "graahhg, grag, agurh." "Oh, you ate ?them already?" He sighs dramatically, "oh well. Think you would be interested in a trip with a <<if $disc == "ha">>equally<</if>>handsome stranger?" A small whine emanates from the back seat. "A handsome stranger and Vann," he corrects himself. "Hey!" Vann leans forward, face squished in the space between Arlo's head rest and the cars frame, "hi, $name." You wave at them both, "pop the trunk already before I get too hungry and eat you both." "Alright, alright, try not to bite my head off about it," rounding the car, you don't have to be able to see him to know Arlo is biting the tip of this tongue and snickering at his poor pun as you load your luggage beside theirs. Luggage secured, you settle into the car. <div class='choice'> [[You open the back door, sitting beside Vann who holds a tray of coffee, one sharpied with your goto order.|VannCar]] [[You open the front passenger door, sitting with Arlo who takes a moment to fiddle with the road tripping music you made together once when planning a dream trip.|arloCar]] </div>

"Morning. Here, it's a long ride," Vann hands you a paper cup, the contents sloshing slightly, bubbling up the opening to catch in the rim. Your favorite drink might change from time to time, but he always remembers what it is. "Thanks for bringing me, I don't know what I would have done if you didn't. I saw online that the reception onnly reaches inside the 'town' boundries with internet. I think if you dissapeared for a week with no contact I'd have a heart attack, like an actual--" <<set $vann to $vann + 1>> <<set $recep to true>> You cut him off to tell him he'd have survived. Just barely, but he would have. "Maybe." Yawning, he lays his head on your shoulder, "I barely slept last night with packing, do mind if I...?" The car swerves, the force throwing Vann away from you with a yelp. "Whoop, sorry guys! Bad pothole," Arlo glances at you both in the rearview mirror. You laugh it off, your heart beating faster. Vann sighs a trembling sound, rattled, and loops his arm a round yours. A familiar gesture from the nervous man. "Woke me up at least. Anyways, I tried to search for the activities at this pop-up circus experience theme park thing so we could plan ahead, but it looks like it's always a little different. So we're going to explore together, right?" That is why you invited friend's to come with you. "Right, that's why you invited //us,//" his jaw tenses. Arlo pipes in, "that and the free ride, snacks, and coffee." You nod, "of course." The three of you chatter as [[the car drives on.|The car drives on]]

"You remember everything?" He taps at the GPS mounted on the dashboard as he pulls out into the street. You catch a glimpse of Vann in the mirror, wilting a bit as his nail lightly scratches a paper cup. Of course you did. Doesn't he have any faith in you? "Sure, just double checking while we have time to pick up things on the way. The it looks like we've got our music, Vann's got your coffee, and there's snacks in the glove box. We're ready to live on the run." Oh good, now all the spiders you were paying off to stay out of sight won't be able to catch you when the cheque bounces. You shudder at the thought as Arlo cackles and dances his fingers on your shoulder. "The spider mafia is dangerous you know. Eight legs means six guns, and a built-in lasso." "Isn't that more western and cowboy than mafia," you point out. "What it is, is awful!" Vann shudders, "no one should ever talk about spiders," he mumbles on to himself, rubbig his arm as if he can already feel the legs of one. "Not if they use it to make you sleep in the fish tank." Sipping his drink, he glances at you from the corner of his eyes before clearing his throat, "thanks, by the way. Some space and time away like this with friends, I've needed it." Vann passes you your coffee from the back, not saying much more but leaning forward and resting his arms on the console box to stay apart of the conversation as [[the car drives on.|The car drives on]] <<set $arlo to $arlo + 1>>

Beyond the edges of the city, well-kept fields feed into a canopy of trees, road trip music trailing behind the car. Vann looks at a snack you'd passed to him,, "wow, I thought they only made this flavor out of the country," he splits, handing you half. Arlo grins at him in the mirror, "what can I say, I work hard to make this car trip a car-home." The pine and birch thread their branches together tighter the deeper the tickets lead you into [[the woods.|drive2]]

The dappled sunlight disappears entirely. Conversation halts, the shade itself suddenly feeling oppressive. The sounds of nature are swallowed whole. [[You turn your head to look outside.|drive3]]

As soon as your eyes meet the trees, the light is returns. The sun burns your eyes. The leaves seem more vibrant, the sky more blue, and the sounds of the birds somehow sweeter than you thought they were. It's nice to remember to pay attention to the world around you, not just your small personal world. [[And then, music.|arrive at circus]]

Arlo lowers the stereo to better hear the growing music. The road ahead is lined with colorful bunches of balloons as a town straight from a cartoon comes into view. Colorful asymmetrical buildings like reflections in disturbed water sprout in the clearing, arranged in a circle on the edge of town, creating a colorful wall of buildings slotted together llike puzzle pieces. Bursts of confetti fly into the air at random as you pull into the parking lot, a number of other cars already present as couples, families, and groups empty from their vehicles. "This is a pop up?" Scoffing in disbelief, Arlo puts his hands on his hips, looking at what seems like a real town from a circus based reality. "Maybe it's a rentable spot, buildings you can glue some paper on to make them match the theme?" Vann lightly grabs your sleeve, clinging to you the way he always has in unfamiliar surroundings. <div class='choice'>[[Rolling your arm out of Vann's grasp, you step forward eagerly, bumping shoulders with Arlo, "let's go find out!"|excited]] [[Placing a hand over his and sparing him a reassuring smile, you square your shoulders, checking your surroundings, "there has to be a map stand somewhere."|protective]] </div>

"Hold on," Arlo calls out after you, chuckling as you set off. He grabs the luggage you forgot and throws Vann's to him, hitting his hands that still hover in the air where you shurgged him off. The impact sends him stumbling a step back, knocking the pout off his face, "come on Vann, you can sulk and move at the same time." <<set $arlo to $arlo + 1>> "I'm not sulking," he hurries to catch up with your figure that already ahead of them by several feet. "$name! Slow down, if you get ito town before us, we won't be able to call you!<<if $recep is false>>There's only recpetion inside and no internet, you can't contact anyone outside of town."<</if>> Taken with the potential hiding behind the wall of colourful buildings you barely notice as both men catch up to you. You wonder aloud, "what kind of circus do you think it is? Comedy, performance art, do guys think it'll have a story?" Vann trips over a stone, stumbling and catching himself on your shoulder as he keeps up with you and Arlo, "narrative? Circuses have narratives?" Arlo nods, "Yeah, they can, usually the traditional ones." Alro matches your excitement, a bounce in his step as you approach the ectrance, "if it's a whole town, maybe it's a variety thing, like a fair?" "All that and more," a voice calls out from ahead. "Hey there!" A woman cartwheels towards you, a blur of colourful silks with red and white hair. Landing on her feet with her toes less than an inch away from yours, arms in the air, her nose brushes yours as she speaks, sparkling grey eyes meeting yours. "You must be the local raffle winner and co! I'm Lucy Goosey, here to welcome you to town! Which of you is the lucky $name?" <div class='choice'> [["That's me."]] [[Stay quiet and let the guys do that talking.]]</div>

<<nobr>><<set $vann to $vann+1>> <</nobr>><<if $recep is true>>"You said our phones don't work in here?" You double check. "Not exactly. They work, but only inside the town," <<else>> "Not exactly. they work, but we only have reception in the town. Otherwise, we can't contact the outside world. Fun," he chuckles nerviously.<</if>>Vann loops his arm with yours, eyeing the amount of cars and people all around. "There's a lot of people here too. I wonder how big it is inside," before he can spiral, you interrupt him. Squeezing his arm, you remind him you'll take breaks as needed and that there probably isn't anything to worry about. Him and Arlo both did research on this place online, if something was off about it, surely someone would have reported it. "?Theyre right, a place you have to live in probably has a few quiet spaces set up and a limited capacity. I doubt it's going to be as crazy as a real carnival is 24 hours a day and they have to have some kind of security," Arlo stands on the other side of Vann, resting his elbow on Vann's shoulder. "Of course we do," a voice calls out from ahead. "Hey there!" A woman cartwheels towards you, a blur of colourful silks with red and white hair. Landing on her feet with her toes less than an inch away from yours, arms in the air, her nose brushes yours as she speaks, sparkling grey eyes meeting yours. "You must be the local raffle winner and co! I'm Lucy Goosey, here to welcome you to town. Which of you is the lucky $name?" <div class='choice'> [["That's me."]] [[Stay quiet and let the guys do that talking.]]</div>

"Woohoo!" Lucy twirls, striking a pose, "incredible to meet you and your special guests," holding her hands behind her back, she turns on her heel to them, rocking on her toes. She stares them down expectantly. "I'm Arlo and this is Vann," he holds his hand out for Lucy. She grabs it and waves it up and down from above her head to as low as she can reach without pulling his arm from the socket. Arlo grins wide, keeping up with her. "Arlo marshmallow and Vann who can cancan, just as incredible to meet you both," she releases his hand and offers it to Vann. He hesitates but accepts it. She shakes his hand with the same exuberance as before, Vann's arm flopping like a cooked noodle, his body following suit and almost bowling him over. Freed from the handshake, Vann takes a large step away from her, almost hiding behind you. "If that's all you have for luggage, we can drop it off at home and I'll and give you a small tour of the town." [[Carrying your bags, you follow Lucy past the arched opening and into another world.|Enter]]

<<if $arlo >= 2>>"That would be ?them," Arlo gestures to you with a flourish. "Indescribably incredible to make your introduction $name," Lucy rocks on her toes, "I can't wait to show you around. And who are these special guests of yours?" "I'm Arlo and this is Vann," he holds his hand out for Lucy. She grabs it and waves it up and down from above her head to as low as she can reach without pulling his arm from the socket. Arlo grins wide, keeping up with her. "Arlo marshmallow and Vann who can cancan, just as incredible to meet you both," she releases his hand and offers it to Vann. He hesitates but accepts it. She shakes his hand with the same exuberance as before, Vann's arm flopping like cooked noodles and body following suit, almost bowling him over. Letting him go, Vann takes a large step away from her, almost hiding behind you. "If that's all you have for luggage, I can show you to the house you're moving into to drop it off and give you a small tour of the town." <</if>> Vann speaks up, leaning into your side and hugging your arm, "this is ?them, and I'm Vann." "It's incredible to meet you $name and Vann who can cancan! And who's our third and final guest for the week?" Lucy turns to Arlo, rocking cheerfully on her toes. "I'm Arlo and this is Vann," he holds his hand out for Lucy. She grabs it and waves it up and down from above her head to as low as she can reach without pulling his arm from the socket. Arlo grins wide, keeping up with her. "Arlo marshmallow, just as incredible to meet you," she releases his hand and offers it to Vann. He smile's politely but keeps an arm around yours, "sorry, my hands are full," he lifts his luggage with the other. She laughs, "Of course! Speaking of, if that's all you have for luggage, we can drop it off at home and I'll give you a small tour of the town." [[Carrying your bags, you follow Lucy past the arched doorway and into another world.|Enter]]

Guests and performers alike mill about on paved streets meant for walking only, not a car in sight. The buildings are just as uneven and curving as they were from the outside, as if stepping into a funhouse mirror. However, it seems a little less than half of the buildings are only cardboard cutouts that make up the colorful environment. Streetlights, neon signs and colored twinkle lights hint at a nightlife after dark. Statues and flower beds decorate the way as performers lead around larger groups to introduce them to their new environment. You pass by different signposts labeled with areas you'd find in a real town like a library and bakery, and then there's a sign pointing to the ringmaster's residence just as nonchalantly. Live music is inescapable here, musicians spaced out so their fading sounds meet. each time you reach the edge of one band or musicians reach, another can be heard. Their music melding to sound like distant big band music as both groups play the same song in time. It really does feel like you've stepped into a world where circus and carnival are a natural part of everyday life, as rainbow petals flaot through the air. "Yes, yes, so much to see," Lucy jumps onto a fence post, twirling like a ballerina on posts with the gracefulness of a cat as her too long sleeves follow and flow mesmerizingly with her movements. "Once you drop your things off, I'll show you where to get food and other amenities but otherwise, you're all on your own. The best way to experience the town is through natural exploration!" She leads you to a residential area, quieter and cradled by the forest. The music doesn't reach this area, but the decorations are still bright and busy, polka dots here, silk banners fluttering there. The house you're brought to has a <<textbox "$color""">> color roof with a matching <<listbox "$extra" autoselect>> <<option slide>> <<option swing>> <<option animal ear and whiskers>> <<option ball pit>> <</listbox>> as well. It reminds you of the house you used to <<linkreplace "draw as a kid"t8n>>draw as a kid, the dream house you and your best friend would spend hours dreaming about and planning together<</linkreplace>>. Inside, it is just as colorful as the rest of the town, but muted and softer on the eyes. Arlo throws his bag down on the couch, stretching his arms above himself as Vann peeks inside the rooms. There's a living room, two bathrooms, three bedrooms, and no kitchen. "I'm not seeing any fridges." Arlo double check's Vann's statement and confirms the same, "really? So we have to leave every time we want to eat something?" "We like to encourage as much interaction with the town and other guests as possible," Lucy points to the bright red rotary phone haging on the wall, "however, you can call for delivery if you're really not feeling up to it." With your rooms picked and luggage stowed, Lucy opens the door like a butler showing you the red carpet, "alright, now we can get this adventure started!" Walking by you, arlo points with his chin at <<linkreplace 'Lucy.' t8n>> Lucy. "You have any idea how she knew you were the raffle winner? Tell them the car brand or somemthing?" Your steps slow as you think back, trying to remember anything in the letter or email with your RSVP and the confirmation, if there was anything telling you to so much as to hand in your ticket. Reaching into your pocket, the ticket proving your raffle winner status is still there, untouched. "No." Before either of you can runimate on this further, Lucy and Ian are calling out to you both to catch up and keep moving. <</linkreplace>> Time to start your first day in [[Miraculous Mementos.]]

You are rattled awake by a loud and insistant knock at your door, unsure if your racing heart is from some forgotten nightmare or the pounding of your door alone. The clock tells you it is a few hours earlier than you'd usually wake up. Whoever is trying to break down your door is either a serial killer or in an emergency. Dragging yourself out of bed, you rake a hand over your <<listbox "$hair" autoselect>> <<option "long hair" l>> <<option "short hair" s>> <<option "curly hair" c>> <<option "locs" lc>> <</listbox>>. "I'm coming," calling out you hope they'll stop knocking and just. Instead, they hammer harder, the door shiddering under the assult. Annoyed and grumbling, you decide to take your time to the door. You make no move for the door. If they want to be annoying, then they can tire themselves out, you're not going to run out half nude for their sake. You get [[dressed.]]

AFFECTION $arlo $Vann $milo DEATH FLAGS $aflag - depend on arol $vflag - ignore milo's red flags INTERACTION $answer - manipulation line 1-5 $roof $extra $disc $tick $heavy $acstuff = accessorie on stuffie

<div class='choice'> <div class='neonText'> <div class='ghost'> <<linkreplace WHATS BEING REPLACED t8n>> ------ <<nobr>><<if $answer == 1>> fake <<elseif $answer == 2>> need <<elseif $answer == 3>> lost <<elseif $answer == 4>> behind <<else>> unlove <</if>><</nobr>> --------- <<nobr>><<if $disc == "pret">> <<elseif $disc == "ha">> <<elseif $disc == "cu">> <<elseif $disc == "grem">> <</if>><</nobr>> --------- <<nobr>><<if $tick == nail>> <<elseif $tick == lips>> <<elseif $tick == hair>> <<elseif $tick == bounce>> <</if>><</nobr>> ------- <<if $pgen == 2>> they verb <<elseif>> he she verb <</if>> <<if $pgen == 0>> male <<elseif $pgen == 1>> woman <<else>> they <</if>> --- <div class='choice'> [[and decide to just wander around for a bit.|VWander1] [[and head off to the animal exhibit.|MAnimals1] [[and check out where the rumbling of engines is coming from.|AMotor1] [[and decide to see what you can win at the game.|VGames1] [[and look for a class that catches your eye.|Mclass1] [[and decide to get the full experience with a Memento town makeover.|AMakeover1] <</if>>

Lucy holds true to her word of giving you a very brief glance at the town, practically racing you all through where to get food, clothes and various other amenities though you don't get a good look at anything except where to get first aid. She does let you know there are a plethora of activities available, and you can't miss how every street and corner has a performance. She also makes a point to cover what marker to look for if you need to ask an employee something. It seems anyone with two colored hair, one natural the other not, and their own face marks can be assumed to be a 'resident' of the town while you and the rest are guests. "Okay, okay, okay, now for the library," she handsprings towards the door of a imposing yet wonky looking academic building. "We actually get to see anything on this ‘tour'? How generous," you catch Vann muttering to himself as he catches his breath. Elbowing him lightly, you head inside. Wooden doors engraved with an optical illusion that make it looks like wavesconstantly moving [[open]], the sound of windchimes in a breeze sing from nowhere.

Stepping into the library is to step into a water oasis. The walls appear as quietly falling water glittering blues, greens, and pinks over smooth riveer stones. The area is dotted with couches and seating made to look like fluffy bubbles. You're greeted with the scent of light rose water and clarity. A woman floats through the room, her blonde hair with the top layer cut at the chin, underlayers falling down her back transitions into an unnatural silver which designates her as a ‘resident' of the town as she sorts books and gives recommendations to guests. Her skirt shifts in soft pastels as she moves, various beads and buttons shimmer in sweeping patterns diagonally across her bodice and a fluffy cropped jacket made of white fabric with pink fluff on the sleeves and collar. She's like a living soap bubble. Her sight catches on your little coterie and zeros in on Lucy. Lucy sweats under her approaching glare, giving an exaggerated sigh of relief when the librarians attention moves to you, "and what are you dew drops looking for today?" "Y'all got any history 'bout the town or some old papers?" Arlo jumps in, as both his and Wendy's demanors slightly shift. She blinks in surprise at the request and his eagerness, "yeah we do," she smiles and the perfume of what brings to mind evening flowers in bloom radiates from her, "if you chill for a sec over there," she gestures to a quiet area with a ferries wheel of news papers, "I can hook you up to learn 'bout our history in no time. Just let me finish up here." "Bet," with nod and a parting pat to your back, Arlo heads over to thoroughly embroil himself in the narrative of the town. "Now what about you two?" When adressing Vann with you, Wendy's demanor shifts slightly once again. Vann shifts his weight, looking around curiously, "isn't it kind of dangerous having so much water in a library?" "How else would the bookks soothe their thirst fr knowledge?" "Wendy, I got—" Lucy is cut off with a sharp look from the librarian. She cowers, holding a book up in front of herself like a shield. "Ah, that's why we're here," Vann sighs. Focusing back on you, she asks again, "you looking for anything specific?" <div class='choice'> [[You tell her that you're unsure, but a book wouldn't be bad.|book]] [[You tell her you're not big on reading.|book]] </div>

"That's no problem at all. How about we set you up with one just for fun while you stay here? Even if you don't read it, could be a nice little way to make your room feel more lived in. Unless you take a book and never ever bring it back for months." Her gaze cuts to Lucy. "Wendy, I know you're mad about the fees—" "And then finally return it only for a far too forgiving librarian to open it and find it wasn't the book at all, but a spring-loaded glitter trap you glued the cover to." "This time I swear—" "As long as you don't use it for that, I'm sure you'll be able to at least enjoy the cover art," her lips peel over her teeth in a smile that shows each and every one. "yes ma'am," the formalitiy is compulsive as you agree. He clasps her hands together excitedly, "whirling winds, I can't wait to see what you get. I don't always get to use this so when a special guest appears with the need, I'm always excited to see what you get." She presses a clipboard and pen into your hand. "In the meantime, it seems Lucy has some outstanding fee's she is definitely here to pay and your friend could use some help." With a nervous chuckle from Lucy as Wendy leads her away, you take a seat. Vann gives you space, reading the flyers on the corkboard in the mean time. [[It's a short quiz|book quiz]]

<<nobr>><<set $answers to [1,1,1,1,1]>> <<set $answer to [1]>> <</nobr>>Are you confident in your current goals? * <<radiobutton "$answers[0]" 1 autocheck>> I'm where I should be on the road. * <<radiobutton "$answers[0]" 2 autocheck>> I don't know that my goals are worth it. * <<radiobutton "$answers[0]" 3 autocheck>> I don't have any goals. * <<radiobutton "$answers[0]" 4 autocheck>> I'm in not moving fast enough. * <<radiobutton "$answers[0]" 5 autocheck>> I'm worried what others will think of my goals. Why do your friends love you? * <<radiobutton "$answers[1]" 4 autocheck>> I'm a good person to be around. * <<radiobutton "$answers[1]" 3 autocheck>> I'm laid back and fun. * <<radiobutton "$answers[1]" 5 autocheck>> It's convenient. * <<radiobutton "$answers[1]" 1 autocheck>> I convince them to. * <<radiobutton "$answers[1]" 2 autocheck>> I provide somethihng they need. One day, you dream of living with: * <<radiobutton "$answers[2]" 1 autocheck>> A few close friends. * <<radiobutton "$answers[2]" 5 autocheck>> I try not to think about it. * <<radiobutton "$answers[2]" 3 autocheck>> Alone in the city. * <<radiobutton "$answers[2]" 4 autocheck>> Alone in the country. * <<radiobutton "$answers[2]" 2 autocheck>> A large community. If I could run away and join the circus, I would: * <<radiobutton "$answers[3]" 2 autocheck>> Would help manage the logistics, money, time place, ect. * <<radiobutton "$answers[3]" 5 autocheck>> Would work in the background, helping the magic while remaining uneen. * <<radiobutton "$answers[3]" 1 autocheck>> Be a main performer, dazzling the audience. * <<radiobutton "$answers[3]" 3 autocheck>> Answer I'd figure it out when I got there. * <<radiobutton "$answers[3]" 4 autocheck>> Spend a lot of time learning the acts, becomig an understudy. I connect with others: * <<radiobutton "$answers[4]" 1 autocheck>> Easily. * <<radiobutton "$answers[4]" 4 autocheck>> With difficulty. * <<radiobutton "$answers[4]" 3 autocheck>> I'm not worried about it. * <<radiobutton "$answers[4]" 5 autocheck>> I don't. * <<radiobutton "$answers[4]" 2 autocheck>> Through work, relationships need work. <<nobr>> <<link [[You wave Wendy over, letting her know you're done.]]>> <<set $answer to []>> <<for $i to 1; $i lte $answers.length; $i++>> <<if $answers.countWith(function (fruit) { return fruit === $i; }) eq Math.max($answers.countWith(function (fruit) { return fruit === 1; }), $answers.countWith(function (fruit) { return fruit === 2; }), $answers.countWith(function (fruit) { return fruit === 3; }), $answers.countWith(function (fruit) { return fruit === 4; }), $answers.countWith(function (fruit) { return fruit === 5; }))>> <<set $answer.push($i)>> <</if>> <</for>> <</link>> <</nobr>>

After assessing your results Wendy hums, "oh, I love this one," and disappears between the shelves. Quickly reappearing, she cradles a paperback novel in her arms. "I know this book might feel out of place during your stay here, but I think books can be a good way to get a new perspective on ourselves and those around us." <<if $answer == 1>> She holds a book out to you, the cover resembling paint poured and swirled into shapes of a character on a stage, eyes encircling them. "This is a beautiful story of an actor, struggling with ?their relationships as they perform the final season of plays before the theater is shut down. Do those who love ?them really just have a parasocial relationship with the characters they perform? And will they still love ?them when the curtains close for good?" <<elseif $answer == 2>> She holds a book out to you, the cover shows a photo of hands held tight around razor sharp cable wire that cuts into their skin, blood trickling between the fine wires. "Oh, what a thriller. Through sheer determination and will, ?they <<nobr>> <<if $pgen == 2>> keep <<elseif>> keeps <</if>> <</nobr>> the cable car from plummeting to the depths with ?their loved ones inside. However, after they've made it safely to the other side, ?they still <<nobr>> <<if $pgen == 2>> don't <<elseif>> doesn't <</if>> <</nobr>> let go. Wanting to hold out until their luggage makes it too. They beg and plead with ?them to let it go as we explore why they won't and if they will." <<elseif $answer == 3>> She holds a book out to you, the cover resembles paper dolls in a diorama. A ?adultsPerson's face scattered haplessly. "I think everyone can relate to this at some point in their lives. A middle aged ?adultPerson drifting through life after finishing their masters. They realize they had spent so much time in school because it was at least something to do, a goal to work towards that is gone now and ?they can't imagine anything to even want. Feeling lost and directionless, we follow them as they travel across the world. Will they find meaning or enjoy the journey?" <<elseif $answer == 4>> She holds a book out to you, the cover shows a highspeed race with someone holding onto the back of the car, body waving in in the wind like a flag. "This is an exciting one! An aspiring professional racer keeps failing to make the cut while all their friends are already out there winning races. Feeling like only a pitstop in their friends lives between races, they chase after their friends to some interesting hijinks." <<else>> She holds a book out to you, the cover an oil painting in a gothic style. It shows a ?adultPerson alone in a frozen forest, a party of people in the background searching for them. "Both a heart breaking and heart mending tale of a ?adultPerson who after years of ridicule and neglect from ?their peers, struggles to see themselves outside of the warped perception they've been given, wondering what invisible thing is wrong with them. Are they too needy, too stupid, just not born to be loved? When they finally meet supernatural beings of the forest who care about them and value them, will ?they be able to accept the new mirror these companions reflect?" <</if>> Swaying dreamily over the book you've been matched with, she asks if you'll accept this as a gift from the library, no card required. <div class='choice'> [[You accept the book, interested to read it or at least leave it on your bedside and look like you read it.|take]] [[You want to try again.|book quiz]] </div>

The book rests in your hands, feeling heavier than it should. Before you can figure out how you want to carry it thorugh the day, Wendy say's she'll have another resident put it in your 'house' for you. You all reconvene at the doors, Vann with a hand full of flier pull tags and Arlo with weathered news papers that are soon whisked away by Wendy for a resident to take to your ‘home' as well. "What's with the newspapers anyways?" You raise an eyebrow at the stack being toted away. "You didn't notice on the way into town? There isn't just lore for the performance like most circus acts, the entire town has lore and history. It's like a giant ARG or unfiction." Vann glances at you, looking for any clue what either of thoses terms means. "And I don't think all of it's fake, like the founding—" Lucy interrupts, running over and slipping out the doors now sporting a big red stamp on her forehead 'LATE FEES.' The three of you follow after her. Outside Lucy wheezes, hands on her knees as Vann leans over to see her face, "this place still does late fees?" Vann glances at you with worry, "I thought libraries got rid of those." "Yeah, they did. This is just for me," Lucy puts her sleeve on her head and shakes both vigorously until she sends herself in a twirl, stumbling. "Did I get it?" Arlo burst out laughing as Vann tries to figure out the trick. Instead of red ink being smeared on her forehead, the letters are jumbled around her face, even the face paint markings she had before are mixed up and misplaced. <div class = 'choice'> [["Yeah, you got it."]] [[You reach out and poke at one of the letters on her face, needing to know if it's a sticker of some sort.|poke sticker]] </div>

She grins, fists on her hips, "oh good!" <<set $stickers to true>> "She can't be serious, she has to know right?" Vann whispers to you both. "If $name says nothing's there, then nothing's there," Arlo shrugs, playing along and enjoying the performance. Lucy looks around as she rocks from heel to toe, "what time is it? Let's see, if the sun is there," she points to where the sun hangs low in the sky, "and we're here" she points at the ground, "and there is a 78% rating of razzmatazz in the air and rising, then," she throws her arms in the air, "it's time!" Before you can get a full sentence out to ask time for what, she's already shoving you forward. "Time for the show!" [[Toward the heart of town, the music plays, the people talk, and the smell of candy and kernal corn fills the air.|preshow]]

Lucy does nothing to stop you. Finger grazing her skin, you search for the edge of the sticker. There's not one. All that you feel is the slight give of a warm human cheek. You try again to peel one of the letters off her <<linkreplace face. t8n>> face, a honking sound startles you, making you pull your hand away. She giggles, revealing a horn she had behind her back.<</linkreplace>> "Thanks for the help! I'll take it from here," she produces a bottle of glue. Pouring it out on her face, it dries quickly, to the alarm of Vann. "Can she breathe?" "No, absolutely not. But she'll be fine, probably," Arlo watches eagerly. Lucy peels off the glue mask revealing a clean unmarked face, even her curly face paint and dots are gone. Spinning the flexible glue mask like pizza dough, the marks flying off and land perfectly back on her face. She holds out the glue disk, only the words, ‘LATE FEES' remaining. "All clean! Way faster than a shower." "What kind of slight of hand was that?" "This week will go by much easier if you don't think too hard about how we do the incredible things we do." Arlo salutes, "yes ma'am." Lucy looks around as she rocks from heel to toe, "what time is it? Let's see, if the sun is there," she points to where the sun hangs low in the sky, "and we're here" she points at the ground, "and there is a 78% rating of razzmatazz in the air and rising, then," she throws her arms in the air, "it's time!" Before you can get a full sentence out to ask time for what, she's already shoving you forward. "Time for the show!" [[Toward the heart of town, the music plays, the people talk, and the smell of candy and kernal corn fills the air.|preshow]]

Lucy was right about the energy in the air, the anticipation is almost electric now as people excitedly funnel into the town center. A massive circus tent wiht a sign designating it as the 'Grand Tent' of shimmering blues and greens with stipes of yellow that the rest of the town is built around towers over you, blocking out the sun from where you stand in. Residents are handing out soft pretzels, sweets, and various styles of popcorn from caramel to chocolate strawberry. There are also a few coffee stands for the adults, handing out drinks to kids who want to be like their parents as well with sly winks to the parents. As Lucy guides the three of you to follow the flow of traffic, a man in a long heavy cloak approaches, hot pink bursts on his face like fireworks and mixed in his black hair. <<if $stickers is true>> "Lucy, you need to get into place— what is on your face?" "My face?" "Yes, what's on it?" "My face is, I hope." The man sighs, "we don't have time for bits. Get cleaned up and backstage or I'll tell Marcelis about your last incident." She chirps at the threat, "find, fine, you're no fun." She takes a deep breath, puts her thumb in her mouth and blows. The letters and marks pop off her face, the letters are sent flying, you and Arlo dodging them as Vann takes an E to the face. The marks stick down by the edges, snapping back into place. "Alright, you guys find your seats in the front row. As the raffle winner, it's been reserved for you. See you out there!" "Come on, you're going to hold up the whole show." Lucy runs after the retreating figure, "I thought you were Quik Fuse, not a short one!" she calls after him. Left alone with your two friends, Vann blinks, lashes fluttering as he defeatedly accepts the giant red E on his face. "Should we really go in there? This whole place is a bit much, isn't it?" "Come on, you've barely given it a chance. It's a circus, they're going to be… circusing," Arlo gleefully peels the E off of him. "If you get over stimulated you can stay take a break at the house and enjoy the walk around shows when you're up for it." "I'm not—" Before they can bicker in earnest, you push them into the tent. <<else>> "Lucy, there you are. Come on, you have to check your equipment before the show starts." "Pft, why? It's not like—" //"Lucy,"// the heavy warning in his tone makes her deflate. "Fine, fine, you're no fun," the man throws his hood up and walks off. Rolling her eyes, she turns back to you, "don't worry about him too much, Quik Fuse can have a //quick fuse// but he's more of smoke bomb than an explosive, if you know what I mean." Vann makes a confused whimper. "Alright, you guys find your seats in the front row. As the raffle winner, it's been reserved for you. See you out there!" Left alone with your two friends, Vann blinks, lashes fluttering, "should we really go in there? This whole place is a bit much, isn't it?" "Come on, you've barely given it a chance. It's a circus, they're going to be… circusing," Arlo claps him on the back, "if you get over stimulated you can take a break at the house and enjoy the walk around shows when you're up for it." "I'm not—" Before they can bicker in earnest, you push them into the tent. <</if>> Inside, it is a circular stadium. [[Giving your name, a man leads you to your seats with mini flag banners set around them instead of velvet rope.]]

In your seats the crowd chatters, glows sticks waving in the air as children and adults alike wait in anticipation. The lights shift from a soft white to red, blue, and purple spotlights casting irregular shadows on the floor rings of light ripple from the center like drops on still water. A man stands at the center of it who, unlike every other resident of the circus you've seen, has long natrually gray hair that the colored lights play off of like a moonlight waterfall, no dyed section to be seen. "Welcome, dear guests to our little community. I am Marcelis, the ring master here, second only to my wife," the tent is plunged into pitch black, only glow stick toys lighting a few stray faces. A storm of sparklers fly over the audience and twirls through the air to create a dazzling tornado of light. Converging, the sparklers illuminate Marcelis, his arm outstretched upwards to hoist up a woman standing on a unicycle, gray and purple hair bouncing with silent laughter. "Antonia!" The crowd applauds the introduction which Antonia accepts with a bow. She rides her unicycle as they continue, using Marcelis as her ramp while he moves his arms with practiced precision to aid her. Their combination of strength, control, and balance is an impressive opening act on its own. "We hope you enjoy you're stay here," Antonia pirouettes on the unicycle, as she rides from one of Marcelis's wrists to the other, "and please take full advantage of the activities and entertainment while you're here. Every resident of our community was a miraculous find for us along the way and are what put the word in the name and it's guests like you that gives them a chance to shine. So, without further ado, enjoy our dear friends showing off for your amazement!" [[Lucy and a few others descend from above on spinning rings in similarly shimmering silks, flowing ruffles trailing behind them .|first flirts]]

Juggling, trapeze, hair hanging, and more performances stream through in succession. You recognize the cloaked figure as Quik when he walks out with a long staff, lamps raining sparks on both ends as he begins his own performance. Throughout the show, there seems to be one performer appearing again and again in every other act, his shaggy black hair with bright orange highlights <<linkreplace 'making him hard to miss.' t8n>> making him hard to miss. That must be it. Why else would your eyes zero in on him every time he is visible and hold on him like he'll vanish if you lose him. Why would you care?<</linkreplace>> His time to be front and center appears to be during the clownery performance. He's introduced as Milo Sassafras the clown, though he's not dressed like a traditional clown. His hair alone is not the red wig you'd been expecting when a clown was announced. As for make up, he is only sporting the theme of distinct marks on his face as every other resident is. His outfit is made up of striped pants, the vertical stripes being inconsistent widths of strong but slightly faded pink, green, yellow and blue. He wears a black undershirt overshadowed by a thick cardigan with bubbled sleeves that each have two large pompoms along the arms. The man juggles, does slap stick, and some comedic acrobatics on a series of seesaws, Lucy joining him for many of the bits and gags. He winds down his performance with some crowd work, targeting adults and kids alike with ballon animals. One child requests a balloon dinosaur. Instead, Milo makes a flamingo. The child giggles, "that's not a dino!" "What? It's not? Are you sure? I thought they were birds?" The child shakes their head, smiling ear to ear at the attention of the audience and Milo's demeanor. With exaggerated gestures, Milo pretends to carefully inspect the balloon until it suddenly pops, the sound making the child jump but carefully placed to blow air directly at Milo's face, sending his hair back with a shocked expression.The child falls ino a fit of giggles and the audience laughs. He quickly makes the dinosaur for the child and moves on to the next audience members. Until he makes his way to you. He leans over the railing separating you from the stage, "and of course something for our guest of honor." Vann's knee nudges yours, but your attention remains on Milo. The friendly smile on his face and the full focus in his eyes, hazel and disarming, as if the rest of the circus and audience didn't exist makes you see why the other guests were smiling so much under his attention. It's not overwhelming but somehow flattering despite the situation. You accept the rose with his aid, Milo likely used to audience members freezing under these circumstances. His hands gently cup yours to wrap them around the large balloon stem. And then he's gone, leaving the stage with a bow so a knife throwing act can take his place. [[You sit the rest of the show with a balloon rose the length of your torso and a bloom the size of your head|aftershow]]

The audience cheers and applauds as the show winds to an end, all the performers stepping out to hold hands and take a bow. Soft white lights rising, signalling it's time to go, people filing back out into the streets. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Arlo stands between you, using you and Vann as elbow rests. You point out that Vann was definitely starry eyed once the show started. "Alright, yeah. It was pretty good." Stepping outside, you find the sun has set and the streets aglow with twinkling lights. As some people head to their 'houses' to get a head start on tomorrow, others mill about under the vintage streetlamps. Wisps of cotton candy float through the air as a child runs by with glow in the dark face paint. A resident hands out flyers to the adults about a bar opening in ten minutes on the less child-oriented side of town. Arlo bounces his brows, "I'm thinking we get some glow in the dark face paint and hit the bar. I'm betting this place has drinks we've never even dreamed of." "I think if I got tipsy and then saw a glowing face, I'd cry," Vann scratches his cheek sheepishly. "I for one, am prepared to find out," with a grin, he sweeps his locs into a quick ponytail. You pat a pouting Vann on the back. A wisp of cotton candy twirling through the air catches his attention. "You can get face paint; I'm going to get some candy floss." "Sounds good to me. I'll get face paint and a flier, Vann gets the sugar, and $name, can you ask a resident for our key? I just realized I don't remember Lucy ever giving us a key. Then we can all meet at the face paint stall and get you two covered." "She didn't give us a key?" Vann's eyes widen, slightly horrified. He looks to you pleadingly. [[You agree, ready to track down a resident for those keys. |end pro]]

"There you are." You don't realize the words are directed at you until someone is standing next to you, tilting his head and leaning over slightly, to be in your field of vision but not blocking your path in any way. It's Milo. His outfit has changed a bit, the cardigan replaced with a jacket he wears only on the shoulders, helped kept in place with a chain joining both sides of the collar. His black shirt is more visibly a low-cut muscle shirt without gleaming lights obscuring his finer details. It's <<linkreplace fitting t8n>> tightly fitting, a broad chest underneath hugged by the fabric and leaving little to the imagination<</linkreplace>>. "I'm glad I could I find you before you left," he holds out his hand, "I'm Milo." You accept his hand that wraps around yours and are welcomed with a light squeeze and a single shake. "Right, I'm $name." "$name," he repeats your name slowly, tasting every syllable and consonant as he gives you another light squeeze before letting go. "It would be my honor to treat our special guest to dinner to ?their first night in town." "Thanks," the offer is flattering and surprising, "but I already have plans. Actually, we think Lucy forgot to give us something, do you know where she is?" "That sounds like her, I bet Lucy got sidetracked showing you around huh? I'm sure she's around here somewhere. But if you haven't eaten yet, it's better to eat first and look for her later, don't you think? It was a long show and I'm sure your friends would understand," he smiles that [[warm focused smile again.|endpro2]]

<h1>Act One</h1> <<nobr>><<set $arlo to 0>> <<set $Vann to 0>> <<set $milo to 0>> <<set $aflag to 0>> <</nobr>>[[din1]]

warnings and nsfw toggle <<set $nsfw to false>> [[start set up]]

It's quieter where Milo guides you, not being an area the other residents are . A resident still walks up and down the street, doing tricks with flash paper. The smell of food makes your stomach growl. You comment that if you don't hurry, your stomach will start to eat itself. "We're almost there, I promise I won't let you waste away," he chuckles. Your balance having returned, he now keeps his arms behind his back. "There's plenty of options here so tell me, are you looking for something heavy and comforting tonight or on the lighter side? I'm happy with anything that makes my guest happy." <div class='choice'> [[Something heavy and warm to make you feel full and settled tonight.|din2][$heavy to true]] [[Something light but filling.|din2]] </div>

<<if $heavy == true>> He leads you to a bakery with a hanging sign in the shape of a cat hanging off a crescent moon. Glow in the dark stars trail a path along the walls to a concession stand window. They offer savory and sweet options, dinner and dessert from small meat pies, savory croissants, sandwiches and soups to the standard bakery dessert options. Getting your food, you take a seat together at an outdoor table, each lit with small baubles. <<else>> He leads you to a restaurant with a salad bar that brags about having enough ingredients to make salads from almost any culture. Everywhere grows edible plants along the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and sprouting from furniture specially made to hold seeds and life. Getting your food, you take a seat together at a table that has clover sprouting along the edges with begonias, borage, and chrysanthemums growing in the center. A natural, edible, and living center piece. <</if>> The first bite is quickly followed by another as your body is relieved to finally have something. After getting a few solid inhales of food, you slow down enough to ask how he found you in the crowd, the area had still been busy when he approached you. "Your rose," he gestures to the large balloon sitting in a chair like a third member of your outing. "I'll admit, I may have had an ulterior motive making you such a large balloon sculpture," he scratches the back of his neck and the pink on his face is so light, you're unsure if he's blushing or it's just the reds and pinks of the <<if $heavy == false>>flower garlands above you<<else>>tinted lights from the baubles<</if>> reflecting off his skin. "You came here with some people, right? Are they friends or?" He trails off. You tell him about Vann and Arlo, your childhood friend and your fastest made friend. One made from a lifelong familiarity and understanding of one another and the other feeling as easy and natural as someone breathing without asthma. He leans forward as you talk, resting his arms on the table and practically forgetting his own food as he listens. Like this is the most important thing Milo's ever heard and he's taking in every detail. Slightly overwhelmed by the attention and interest, you shift direction turning the question back on him. "Are you friends with the other residents?" "Me? You could say I'm friends with all the residents of Miraculous Mementos. I grew up here. Well, not here here but with the troupe. Marcelis and Antonia <<linkreplace "raised me" t8n>> raised me. They took me in when I was just a kid and loved me like I was their own. <</linkreplace>> [[Dessert is brought to the table for you both.|din.3]]

Remembering the show you ask, "you were in what, half the performances tonight? How many things can you actually do? Is that normal around here?" "Not really, no. Most of the residents might try something here and there to spice up their own performances, but most of us specialize in one skill. You can call me a jack of all trades," he states proudly, squaring his shoulders and posing, "acrobatics, gymnastics, precision, illusion, you name it, I know the basics of it. With all these skills, clowning came naturally." "Being a clown came naturally?" You tease him. "What can I say," he chuckles, "I don't mind making a fool of myself for guests like you. Though I'm not sure there's anyone quite like you." You point out that he barely knows you only to be met with a smile. <<nobr>><<if $answer == 1>> "But I want to, all of you." <<elseif $answer == 2>> "Maybe, but I know that I want to." <<elseif $answer == 3>> "Maybe, but it's a journey I'm looking forward to." <<elseif $answer == 4>> "Then how lucky am I that I have the time to learn?" <<else>> "What I do know about you already is that you're someone I want to know." <</if>><</nobr>>He clears his throat sitting up straighter, "If you let me, I mean." "Really?" you look at him amused but skeptical. This man is coming on strong. "And how many ?adultPeople do you get to know? One in every port?" He leans forward on the table. With a flick of his wrist, he produces a five of hearts. "Nope, usually with guests I just play my gags and bits, follow my script," holding it between his index and middle finger, he flips it over and over twisting his wrist, the hearts starting to spin the same on the card. "Only one so far has me spinning out like this," he holds the card still, face up. The hearts twirl on their tips in the paper. "Besides," he leans back in his chair, "if I tried to play with someone's heart, Mark and An would never stop lecturing me and probably banish me off stage to help with maintenance forever." "They'd pull you from performing for that?" It seems a little extreme. "Probably. If you've ever wondered if true love is real, they're the proof of it and they take it seriously." "Do you believe in true love?" "Yes," his response is abrupt, firm with no hesitance. "It's getting late," he stands up and rounds the table to you. He offers his hand to help you stand, "are you ready to head in? The best way to start your day bright and early tomorrow is going to bed first and the sooner you wake up, the more you can explore." [[You take his hand.|walk1]]

He walks you home, the night is cool and the natural scent of the forest takes over the streets. Only a small handful of people pass you by. The peaceful silence of the night cradles Milo's soft humming. You find yourself feeling a bit sleepier than you thought you were. "What makes you think I want to wake up early tomorrow," your yawn weakens your question. "You wouldn't want to miss anything, would you? A whole town is waiting to greet you tomorrow." You carry on with just his humming until he pauses again. "You've heard what I do, but what about you? Anything you like to do?" It's almost startling when the humming stops dead, his voice is nice and the air feels emptier without it. "Sure, I like <<listbox "$hob" autoselect>> <<option "dancing" sport>> <<option "crafting" craft>> <<option "writing" craft>> <<option "tinkering" craft>> <<option "fishing" sport>> <<option "woodworking" craft>> <<option "skating" sport>> <</listbox>>when I have the [[time.|walk2]]"

<<if $hob == "craft">> "Really? That's a wondertastic skill. What sort of things have you made?" <<else>> "Oh, there's so many wondertastic kinds. Which ones do you do?" <</if>> The rest of the walk, he encourages you to talk about what you do, the details, why you started, which kind you're interested in and want to try further in the future. You end up so absorbed talking about your hobby, you don't realize you're ‘home' until he stops walking. He stays on the sidewalk, toes of his boots just tipping into the lawn. "Looks like we're here." You nod, realizing that this is the end of the night, "yeah." "Good night $name," He bows, one leg sweeping in front of the other and an arm over his chest. "I'll hope to see you soon." You say your own goodbyes, ready to head in-- [[Cold.]]

<<if $agree == true>> "I knew it, there's something special about you. Since you're such a fantastic guest to have and were locked out of your home by another resident, I'm going to give you something just as special as you are." He pulls out a key. "A skeleton key, it works for almost every guest house in town. You can keep it for now." <<set $sKey to true>> Just like the balloon rose cradled under one of your arms, he presses it into your hands. "Now get some sleep soon please? You have a big day tomorrow." <<else>> He laughs, "points for honesty then. In that case, I'll use it for you this time and make sure you get your key tomorrow. Though if Lucy still forgets, it would give you a reason to come looking for me again," he strikes a thinking pose, a finger gun framing his chin. You cross your arms, "you think I'm going to lock myself out of my ‘house' for an excuse to talk to you?" He shrugs, "alright, maybe not. I'll make sure Lucy gets it to you and your friends." He walks you to your door, the skeleton key clicking in the lock. <</if>> "Is it?" You don't remember anyone saying anything notable was happening tomorrow. "Of course! Every day is a big day and a little easier to face with some good rest. And you never know what's going to happen, tomorrow could be the next best day of your life. You wouldn't want to be sleepy for the best day of your life, would you?" His words have such an optimistic and hopeful quality to them, it almost makes you excited to go to bed. Once more saying goodnight, you turn awy from him. Finally, you make it inside for the [[night.|worry]]

Stepping inside, you're greeted by the sound of two men yelling your name. <<timed 30ms>><<type 10ms>>"Where have you been?" "Are you okay?" "You disappeared!" "We had security looking for you." <</type>><</timed>> You raise your hands to placate them, "woah, slow down." They back off a bit, letting you get your bearings. Vann holds himself with bags under his eyes as if you've been missing for months and not a few hours. Cotton candy is sticking to the corner of his mouth and a curling design glows around one of his eyes. Arlo's glowing face paint is smeared where hes been pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing his temples; his bottom lip slightly split from where he's been worrying it with his teeth. You say the only thing you can think too. "I'm sorry." Vann immediately clings to you, face burying in your shoulder while Arlo groans and sags with relief, throwing himself on the couch. "You scared me. We're in a new place with strangers and people who have tons of weird tricks. I thought we stepped into a horror movie," Vann's voice is muffled against you, so much so you almost miss half of it. "So, what happened?" Alro sits up, watching you curiously, eyes scanning you for any damage. "We were supposed to meet up, but you never showed. You didn't answer your phone either." You think for the first time tonight to check your phone. It's dead. "One of the residents took me for food as the raffle winner. It was a surprise, it all just got away from me," you offer, unable to think of a good excuse for ditching them without warning. Arlo picks up the landline, absently calling off the security search they set out for you. "That wasn't cool, $name. I'm glad you're alright but next time you blow us off for some whimsical manic pixie dream boat, let us know." Vann's arms tighten around you. You agree, patting Vann on the back and shuffling over to the couch. "Damn. Ditched us for hours and you didn't even hook up," Arlo sighs with disappointment. "Eh?" Vann pulls back shocked. "Hey," you shoot back, "how do you know?" "You don't have any of face marks rubbed off on you on you and your hair's <<if $hair == 'neat'>>just as perfect as always. Even you can't keep perfect hair while foolin' around<<else>>the same <<if $disc == "cu">>adorable<<else>>charming <</if>>mess it always is. If you were covering up after foolin' around, you'd have cleaned it up.<</if>> Too bad, if you had stayed with us, then at least you'd have some sick face paint," he sticks the tip of his tongue out with a scrunch of his nose. His face paint is, indeed, pretty sick. He is covered in patterns that work together to create fangs and extra eyes. Before you can lament or celebrate missing the face painting, Alro opens his arms. "Think I can get any of that hugging action? I was worried about you to." Leaning into his arms, you realize far too late. It's a trap! He rubs his cheeks against yours, smearing paint on you with a victorious cackle. You cry out in betrayal. "Arlo!" Looking down you realize that's not the only face paint on you. In his worry, Vann has almost completely wiped his face paint off on your shoulder. You groan at the mess. Arlo cackles, "vengeance!" Scores settled and mood lightened, you all start getting ready for bed. Alro approaches you with a washcloth. "Here, need any help getting the paint off?" [["Yes please."|night1]] [["Thanks, but no," you accept the cloth yourself.|night-1][$aflag to $aflag+1]]

With warm water and soap, Arlo holds your face carefully under the jaw, his hand soft and acting like a perch for your chin. Leaning in, he dabs away the paint, warm brown <<linkreplace eyes t8n>> eyes, as mirthful and soft as ever,<</linkreplace>> flicking to yours before focusing back on his task with a small smile on his lips. Finishing, he tilts your head side to side to make sure he got it all. With a grin, he pulls back, "all done and ready for bed." "And what about you?" His own face is still covered in paint, much more than the smear you had on your cheeks. "Little old me?" he flutters his lashes, hands under his chin, "you want to wash my face for me?" <div class='choice'> [["Yes, pass the cloth.|wash]] [[Nope, you're on your own.|nowash]] </div>

Alro passes you the cloth, a corner already dipped with soap and water, "alright, you got it," he yawns, stretching his arms behind his head. You rub the paint off your cheeks, asking if you got it all. "What about you?" You hold the cloth in the air, returning the offer. His own face is still covered in paint, much more than the smear you had on your cheeks. "Little old me?" he flutters his lashes, hands under his chin, "you want to wash my face for me?" <div class='choice'> [["Yes, pass the cloth.|wash]] [[Nope, you're on your own.|nowash]] </div>

The [[night passes,|morning1]] sweet music in the background of your sleep.

<<widget "reaches">><<if $plural>>reach<<else>>reaches<</if>><</widget>>

He blinks back in surprise, "seriously?" "Yes," you take the cloth and rinse it off in the small bowl he brought over, turning to him expectantly. <<set $arlo to $arlo + 1>> "Right," he says it a little too loudly. Sitting still, he lets you take his face and clean him off. His eyes never seem to meet yours this time, his skin starting to feel concerningly feverish under your hands. "Are you guys almost done?" Vann leans over the back of the couch, inserting himself between you and Arlo, "I've gotta clean up to you know." Arlo flicks the back of his head, "hey!" You swipe the cloth over the curling design around his eye, "there, done," you say, poking his forehead. He falls backwards behind the couch, sulking on the floor. With a roll of his eyes Arlo finishes wiping off his face himself. "Night guys," Arlo pats your shoulder as he heads to his room. Vann lingers in the shared space as you finish up your bedtime routine. "$name?" His voice has a slight tremble as he gets your attention, a slight blush to his ears and nose. "Do you think we could have a sleep over?" Ever since you were kids, Vann's had a hard time with new places. Sleepovers are nothing new to <<linkreplace "you both" t8n>> you both. There was more than one occasion growing up when you were suddenly taken on a trip with him or sent to a summer camp so you could sleep in the same room as him to help. You always got the choice after if you wanted to stay or not<</linkreplace>>. You agree like muscle memory, helping him move his mattress to the floor of your room. You find your book waiting dutifully on your bedside table, there to keep you company through any restless nights that may come. Settled in his floor mattress, Vann says his goodnight's. You click off the [[lights.|sleep1]]

"Fair enough," Arlo rinses off the cloth and gets to work on his own face, asking you about your little outing with the resident. Before you can respond, Vann leans over the back of the couch, inserting himself between you and Arlo. "What about me? I've gotta clean up to you know," Vann points to the curling pattern that sprawls around his eye. "Help me out?" Arlo flicks the back of his head, "hey!" You grab a random cloth and swipe it over his face paint, "there, done," you say, poking his forehead. He falls backwards behind the couch, sulking on the floor. With a roll of his eyes Arlo finishes wiping off his face himself. "Night guys," he drops the wet and dirty cloth on Vann's head as he leaves to settle in his room. Vann lingers in the shared space as you finish up your bedtime routine. "$name?" His voice has a slight tremble as he gets your attention, a slight blush to his ears and nose. "Do you think we could have a sleep over?" Ever since you were kids, Vann's had a hard time with ne places. Sleepovers are nothing new to <<linkreplace "you both" t8n>>you both. There was more than one occasion growing up when you were suddenly taken on a trip with him or sent to a summer camp so you could sleep in the same room as him to help. You always got the choice after if you wanted to stay or not<</linkreplace>>. You agree like muscle memory, helping him move his mattress to the floor of your room. You find your book waiting dutifully on your bedside table, there to keep you company through any restless nights that may come. Settled in his floor mattress, Vann says his goodnight's. You click off the [[lights.|sleep1]]

You suddenly feel a bit<<timed 1s>><<type 150ms>>tired.<</type>><</timed>> "Have you eaten at all since you got here? You shouldn't go hungry," his fingertips brush your arm. A wave washes through you, making your hair stand on end. The lights shimmer over your skin and sink in, a feeling in your chest bubbling like the soda being sold nearby making you laugh at nothing. You realize he's right, you haven't eaten since this morning. "Yeah, but Lucy, she forgot--" "It's important to take care of yourself." That's true to, isn't it? You don't want to forget to eat much longer and he would know where to go. The scent of the stalls selling sweets fills your nose and mouth to a dizzying extent. You sway into something firm. Placed respectfully between your shoulders, Milo's hand steadies you. A warm breeze on your ear. <<nobr>><<if $answer == 1>> "You don't have to pretend your needs away for others. <<elseif $answer == 2>> "It's okay if you need a reminder or help with it sometimes. <<elseif $answer == 3>> "I can show you where to go, just tell me what you want. <<elseif $answer == 4>> "Take a step back, it's okay to let them go ahead. You can catch up with them later. <<else>> "I'd really appreciate the company.<</if>><</nobr>>" <div class='neon'>"Please?"</div> Your head feels like it's spinning and it takes you a moment to realize you're [[nodding your head.|act 1]]

<<if $nsfw == true>> Picking out some clothes, you note you'll need to wash your <<listbox "$body" autoselect>> <<option "underwear and bras" v>> <<option "underwear" p>> <</listbox>> soon. <div class='notif'>//This will only affect your physical sex, separate from pronouns//</div> <</if>> Stopping by the mirror, you find yourself as <<listbox "$disc" autoselect>>. <<option "handsome" ha>> <<option "cute" cu>> <<option "pretty" pret>> <<option "sexy" sexy>> <</listbox>> as always. Despite taking your time getting dressed and prepared for the day, the knocking at the door still hasn't stopped. The harsh awakening that had left you were pissed now bleeds anxiety. Should you call the police? You <<listbox "$tick" autoselect>> <<option "pick at your nails" nails>> <<option "play with your hair" hair>> <<option "bounce your leg" bounce>> <<option "chew your lip" lip>> <</listbox>> as you consider your options. Just as you open the phone app to call someone, the knocking stops. You listen for footsteps, but they never come. Worse, they never go. If you want to have a better idea of what's outside you could always <<linkreplace 'look a little closer.' t8n>> look a little closer. Peeking through the peep hole, there is just the empty street. You don't open the door until the sounds of other cars and people can be heard, assuring you you're no longer alone in the world. You open the [[door.]]<</linkreplace>>

Sitting down with it, a closer look at the pamphlet shows gymnasts on rings, someone breathing fire, and a person twisting their body in what should be impossible shapes. At a glance they advertise a wide variety of shows, not stopping at modern circus stage performances. You focus on the letter. Dear <<listbox "$pgen" autoselect>> <<option "Ms." 1>> <<option "Mr." 0>> <<option "Mx." 2>> <</listbox>> <<textbox "$name" "">>, We, the residents of Miraculous Mementos, would like to congratulate you. Every event, we conduct a raffle in the nearest city to randomly award one person with an all expenses paid stay in our lively town. That includes accomedations and any activities or items that strike your interest. If you have a family, they are all covered under your name. If you do not, you may invite up to two additional guests. Please, come to our town, enjoy your stay in your very own house and explore at your lesiure. Play games, win prizes, watch performances and dress up, all as you engage in our small town, a world away from what you know. We hope to welcome you to your home away from home soon! <div style="text-align: right;">Sincerely, All Of Miraculous Mementos.</div> Reading the pamphlet, it's not a real town. It's somt sort of pop up, week-long, live in experience, like a resort or park hotel where everything is themed as if the world was centered around the circus and fairs. It's weird, but it's free and looking it up online, it's legitimate and has positive reviews. And hey, if it sucks, at least you [[won't have to go alone|whoswho]]

template lenora

Getting ready for the day is spent rummaging through your suitcase as Vann lays with his back to you, mumbling half-awake about breakfast. <<set $day1 to random(1, 3)>> "They're gonna make us walk all the way there, hungry, starving, it's cruel is what it is. I'll die before we even get there," his sleep rough voice rasps just barely audible under the shuffling of clothes. "That or you'll blow away in the wind," Vann groans hopelessly at your comment. "Which is why," the door starts to creak open then stops, "you're both dressed, right?" Confirming so, it creaks the rest of the way open, "//which is why// you're both so luck I already woke up forever ago and ordered breakfast in," Arlo stands in the doorway, perfectly dressed and wide awake, holding a fragrant plate of food that makes Vann gasp. "I've always secretly admired you, you know, you've always been a really--" Arlo boos Vann and sets the e plate on his chest. Vann immediately shuts up and eats without sitting up. "Isn't that a choking hazard?" "Yeah, unless you're going to mama bird it to him, I don't think he'll be sitting up before he's done," Vann opens his mouth like he's a child at the doctors. "Gross," grimacing, Arlo heads back into the living room, gesturing to your plate of breakfast. You sit to eat, thanking him for getting the food brought in as he packs his messenger bag, "any idea what you're up to today?" "Haven't thought about it yet, you?" <<if $day1 ==1>> "I was thinking I'd drop in on a class and–" "And snoop?" "Snoop? Me?" He scoffs dramatically, hand to his heart like you've broken it, "how could you imply such a thing? Aren't a good and decent—yes, of course I'm going to snoop. I want to learn more about town, there's so much lore. But aside from that, maybe some games." You shout to Vann, asking his plans for the day. "Eh, I guess check out their little animals shows," he sits up and dusts the crumbs off his chest, brushing his fingers through his hair. "Maybe take one of those classes? Would you have fun at one of those?" You answer noncommittally. Once you're ready to go, you head out the door <div class='choice'> [[and decide to just wander around for a bit.|AWander1]] [[and head off to the animal exhibit.|VAnimals1]] [[and decide to see what you can win at the game.|AGames1]] [[and look for a class that catches your eye.|Vclass1]] [[and decide to get the full experience with a Memento town makeover.|MMakeover1]] </div> <<elseif $day1 ==2>> "I was thinking I'd drop in on a class and–" "And snoop?" "Snoop? Me?" He scoffs dramatically, hand to his heart like you've broken it, "how could you imply such a thing? Aren't a good and decent—yes, of course I'm going to snoop. Classes get me in buildings, and inside buildings are secret passages. And some cool skills, hopefully. Maybe after that, I'll take a look at the animals exhibits. How much you want to bet one of them is an actor in costume?" You shout to Vann, asking his plans for the day. "I'm going to get a makeover, get my hair and face done like the residents," he sits up and dusts the crumbs off his chest, brushing his fingers through his hair. "They do that here? But isn't their hair and face paint how we tell who works here and who doesn't?" "Yup, I asked about it last night," Arlo says, "they only do one or the other." "$name, go with me? We could get matching makeovers," his eyes widen, his sitting with crossed legs, hans between them, is reminicent of a puppy. With a grimace, Arlo turns back to his own preparations. You get your own things ready, <div class='choice'> [[and decide to just wander around for a bit.|MWander1]] [[and head off to the animal exhibit.|AAnimals1]] [[and decide to see what you can win at the game.|MGames1]] [[and look for a class that catches your eye.|Aclass1]] [[and decide to get the full experience with a Memento town makeover.|VMakeover1]] </div> <<else>> "I was thinking I'd drop in on a animal exhibits and–" "And snoop?" "Snoop? Me?" He scoffs dramatically, hand to his heart like you've broken it, "how could you imply such a thing? Aren't I a good and decent—yes, of course I'm going to snoop. He lowers his voice to a comedically conspiratorial tone, "Animals are the pinnicaal of innocence, it's the perfect cover for their puzzle. And how much you want to bet one of them is an actor in costume?" You shout to Vann, asking his plans for the day. "I'm going to walk around and take a look at what's going on, he sits up and dusts the crumbs off his chest, brushing his fingers through his hair. "See if I can find where the games are. It wouldn't really be a circus or fair without games, right?" You answer noncommittally. Once you're ready to go, you head out the door <div class='choice'> [[and decide to just wander around for a bit.|VWander1]] [[and head off to the animal exhibit.|MAnimals1]] [[and decide to see what you can win at the game.|VGames1]] [[and look for a class that catches your eye.|Mclass1]] [[and decide to get the full experience with a Memento town makeover.|AMakeover1]] <</if>>

It's your first day being let loose on your own. Might as well wander aimlessly and take it as it comes. Stepping out the door, Arlo calls out to you. <<set $wander to true>> "$name, hold up," he falls into step with you, "I'll walk with you, two pairs of eyes is better than one." He lets you take the lead to pick a random direction n and street to [[walk.|wand1]]

Your surroundings fade into a more typical fair setting; tents and stalls line the streets with plenty of space between them. Each offers hand crafted prizes on display, proudly being present by parents, children, and couples gifting them to each other while friends and siblings can be heard loudly bragging about their gaming ability. <<set $games to true>> "$name, came to play, huh?" Coming to your side, Arlo taps your elbow. "Want to unravel some secrets with me?" "Why are you so sure there are any secrets here in the first place?" "This place is made by performers that constantly roleplaying and gave their ‘town' lore. There's gotta be something to find. Like a scavenger hunt." You can't tell if this is reaching conspiracy theory levels of jumping to conclusions or makes total sense. Either way, your friend is here and there are games to play. "And if there's nothing, I'll still walk away with a few prizes and having crushed you." "Wow," bumping him with your shoulder, the challenge is accepted. "Now I have to destroy you, you've brought it on yourself." "Sure, and when I win all the prizes, I'll be ever so gracious and share one with you to commemorate your amazing ability too lose to me." With scoff you laugh at the audacity. Grabbing his hand you pull him towards a game booth, "best two out of three!" You bring him to the <div class='choice'> [[Fishing hole game.]] [[Buzzwire.]] </div>

<<set $milo to $milo + 1>>

When in Rome. <<set $milo to $milo + 1>> Catching up to Arlo, he holds up his hand for a high five. <div class='choice'> [[You wind up and clap him.]] [[You igore it, falling into step with him.]] </div>

No real line to the pool of water, people stand around it with toy fishing rods, trying to catch something from the splashing water. The rods don't have magnets or plastic hooks on the end, but long fishing nets dangling from them. Arlo crosses his arms, "a luck game? I can't take credit for beating you at a luck game." "One, you won't beat me anyways," leaning over the pool you can make out colorful fish darting around, "two, we'll see who the universe loves more." Something jumps out of the water, tapping your nose with a cold wet feeling, and drops back into he pool. Jumping, Arlo catches you before you can trample backwards over a child, laughing. "Is it a bad sign for me if the fish are already choosing you?" He grabs a handkerchief and holds it in front of your face, offering to dab the water off your nose but waiting to see if you'll allow him. <div class='choice'> [[You stay still and let him.]] [[You get it your self.]] </div>

An arm around you, he dabs the water off your nose. "Luckily it wasn't a piranha, wouldn't want anything to happen to that <<nobr>><<if $disc == "pret">> gorgeous <<elseif $disc == "ha">> sculpted <<elseif $disc == "cu">> adorable <<elseif $disc == "grem">> funny <</if>><</nobr>> nose of yours. How else are we going to waste time in candle sections together?" Putting it back in his pocket, he makes sure you're steady before stepping away. <<set $aflag to $aflag+1>> He studies the pool, "they're real fish? Is that okay?" "Sweet of you to worry, not a lot of people consider the feelings of a fish," a male resident with brunette hair mixed with a pink tinted silver speaks up, his outfit theme and features remind you of the librarian, Wendy. "There's no need to worry, the fish are all well trained by my own hands and there's a pipe underneath that leads to their large indoor tank. Any fish that's out is here because they want to be and have been trained to leave whenever they feel stressed." "You can train them like that?" "I'm a fish whisperer," he trails off for a moment, "bubblerer? The one that kissed your nose is Lolo, it's something she loves to do." "That's kind of incredible. How did you end up working here?" Arlo accepts one of the netting rods and sways it back and forth, testing out its weight as he asks. "Marcelis and Antonia find us. I'm sure you saw the show last night and it's not an exageration. They find us and offer us a place to live and belong. A way to make our passions useful and bring other joy." Arlo listens intently, rolling the information around in his head. He returns his attention to the game. "So how do we get points? You didn't write numbers on the fish, did you?" "No, of course not. When you catch a fish, we release it back into a water. Then it swims to the bottom of the pool to nudge free a capsule that floats to the top and inside is a number. You get your prize based on that. But for a competition, I wouldn't mind refereeing who catches a fish first." Both nodding, you ready your rods. And the game begins. Others watch you both from the opposite side of the pool, the epic battle of two people bouncing around their nets gently in the water. "Come on little guys, I always felt bad for Rainbow Fish, I'm on your side. I'm one of you," he drags out the last word to hum a pleasing note. A fish swims circles around his net, moments away from helping him win. In a split moment, an idea strikes you. Leaning over the rim of the pool, you waggle your head, hoping, waiting. <<linkreplace ‘Splash!' t8n>>Lolo jumps from the water, midair you swing your net up to catch her. You let out a cheer as Arlo lifts his net, fish inside, just a second later. "No!" "Yes!" you both carefully let your fish back into the water before reveling in the results. "That has to be cheating!" "No way, you had the same information as me," you defend your honor. "Fine, fine, you got me this time, but the next two are mine," his words are a challenge but there's nothing serious in his open smile or easy laugh. A challenge for the fun of it, but you won't feel bad if you do lose. clinking of two capsules happens behind you, reminding you of your prizes. "Let's see what you've won," the resident cracks them open, turning to the prize display. "Congratulations! That's one wood bead necklace and a brilliant kazoo." You both accept your prizes graciously, playing with them for a moment. "Alright, time for round two. How about the wire loop game?" Eyes following where Arlo points, you see people trailing a small loop around [[bent wire.]]<</linkreplace>>

You wipe off the water with the back of your hand, Arlo tucking the handkerchif away. hHe turns his attention to the pool. <<set $aflag to $aflag+1>> "They're real fish? Is that okay?" "Sweet of you to worry, not a lot of people consider the feelings of a fish," a male resident with brunette hair mixed with a pink tinted silver speaks up, his outfit theme and features remind you of the librarian, Wendy. "There's no need to worry, the fish are all well trained by my own hands and there's a pipe underneath that leads to their large indoor tank. Any fish that's out is here because they want to be and have been trained to leave whenever they feel stressed." "You can train them like that?" "I'm a fish whisperer," he trails off for a moment, "bubblerer? The one that kissed your nose is Lolo, it's something she loves to do." "That's kind of incredible. How did you end up working here?" Arlo accepts one of the netting rods and sways it back and forth, testing out its weight as he asks. "Marcelis and Antonia find us. I'm sure you saw the show last night and it's not an exageration. They find us and offer us a place to live and belong. A way to make our passions useful and bring other joy." Arlo listens intently, rolling the information around in his head. He returns his attention to the game. "So how do we get points? You didn't write numbers on the fish, did you?" "No, of course not. When you catch a fish, we release it back into a water. Then it swims to the bottom of the pool to nudge free a capsule that floats to the top and inside is a number. You get your prize based on that. But for a competition, I wouldn't mind refereeing who catches a fish first." Both nodding, you ready your rods. And the game begins. Others watch you both from the opposite side of the pool, the epic battle of two people bouncing around their nets gently in the water. "Come on little guys, I always felt bad for Rainbow Fish, I'm on your side. I'm one of you," he drags out the last word to hum a pleasing note. A fish swims circles around his net, moments away from helping him win. In a split moment, an idea strikes you. Leaning over the rim of the pool, you waggle your head, hoping, waiting. <<linkreplace ‘Splash!' t8n>>Lolo jumps from the water, midair you swing your net up to catch her. You let out a cheer as Arlo lifts his net, fish inside, just a second later. "No!" "Yes!" you both carefully let your fish back into the water before reveling in the results. "That has to be cheating!" "No way, you had the same information as me," you defend your honor. "Fine, fine, you got me this time, but the next two are mine," his words are a challenge but there's nothing serious in his open smile or easy laugh. A challenge for the fun of it, but you won't feel bad if you do lose. clinking of two capsules happens behind you, reminding you of your prizes. "Let's see what you've won," the resident cracks them open, turning to the prize display. "Congratulations! That's one wood bead necklace and a brilliant kazoo." You both accept your prizes graciously, playing with them for a moment. "Alright, time for round two. How about the wire loop game?" Eyes following where Arlo points, you see people trailing a small loop around [[bent wire.]]<</linkreplace>>

People curse and hiss under their breaths, a mother lightly cuffing her husband on the back of the head for it, as they use circled hooks to follow wires that hum with energy. Finger are lightly zapped as hooks tap the turning twisted wires, bringing both small shocks and the shame of defeat. Accepting a hook, Arlo presents it to you. "You won the last one, you get the first swing at it." Being granted first try rights, you accept it and step up. Following the wire, it seems to be turning a lot faster than you thought it was. Who sped it up? Your glance to the resident running the game costs you your win, rewarding you with only a minor zap. "Aaand that's the end of your winning streak," Arlo shakes his head, clapping your shoulder. "Oh, how the mighty fall." "Come on, the carnie sped it up while I was playing!" "Oh, now you're blaming the hard-working resident?" He clicks his tongue, crossing his arms to help prevent him from laughing too hard, "I thought you were better than that." "Alright, fine, mister hot shot," you hold the hook out to him, "you give it a go." "Why I would be delighted to," he fakes a snooty laugh and readies his hook around the wire. With focused ease, he traces the wire, not a moment of hesitance or doubt in his movements. The game is done, hook meeting the table, the resident applauding his success. You <div class='choice'> [[Cheer him on.]] [[Jokingly lament your defeat.]] </div>

Cold. A flash flood of panic runs through you. You swing around instantly, needing to know he's still there. [["Milo!"]]

He flinches as you call out ot him in a strangled scream, "$name? What's wrong?" Rushing back to you, he squeezes your arms, through his concern plasy a smile on his lips. When he touches you, it fades, you can breath again. Swallowing your suddenlly ragged breath, you searh for any reason to have called him back. "Key, key, we never got our key. Lucy never gave them to us." He hesitates, hazel eyes searching yours. Either he doesn't notice or allows you to lie with grace. With a last squeeze to your arms, he pulls back and starts to laugh, raking his hair back, "keys? She really forgot that?" He sighs, "Oh Lucy." He reaches into one of his coat's inner pockets grabbing something. He hums in thought. "I'm not supposed to hand this out to just anyone. But you can be trusted, right?" His tone throws you off at first until you realize he's putting on a show, his tone shifting to a performance cadance. <div class='choice'> [["Absolutly."|key][$agree to true]] [["Not even remotely."|key]] </div>

"Arlo! Have you considered being a brain surgeon? How did you even manage that," you cheer out for him again. "What can I say, I've got hands of gold," he wiggles them at you, bouncing his brows to make you laugh as you push his hands away. "Alright king Midas—" "King, I like the sound of that." "Uh huh, what about trying the next level then?" The wires are set up on three challenge levels, you'd both only tried the easier level. Twirling the hook between his fingers, Arlo goes straight to the hardest level. "What do you think? Can I do it?" "Does it count towards our two out of three?" You cross your arms. "Nope, this one's just for me." "Alright, I'll let your hubris zap you." "We'll see about that," he steps up to a much more bent and twisted wire spinning in place. As he again starts to trace the wire, a bit slower this time, more focused if you go by the furrow in his brows. Wrist twisting perfectly, the hook is never in danger of tapping the edges. An opportunity. You jump at him, crying out a sound— He palms your face to keep you back, finishing the challenge. "Ha! You think that would startle me? I've been volunteering at an animal shelter since I could walk, dealing with sneak attacks is second nature," he runs his hand over your hair, fizzing it where your playful actions mussed it, with a slightly cocky but entirely fond smile. You curse as he's handed a small bag of sweets for his prize. "Your turn," he holds the hook to you again. <<set $cheer to true>> Figuring why not, you [[take the hook.]]

You curse, "you can't beat me and do it so easily!" "Can and did, without cheating." "The fish thing was not cheating, but i'll trade you the prize I won from that for a surgery that switches our hands." "Interesting offer," he hums, "mostly becuase it would get you nothing. It's not just my hands it's skill. So I'd keep my skills and get a cool Frankenstein look." You sigh dramatically at your thwarted plan. "Ugh, fine. So, what about trying the next level then?" The wires are set up on three challenge levels, you'd both only tried the easier level. Twirling the hook between his fingers, Arlo goes straight to the hardest level. "What do you think? Can I do it?" "Does it count towards our two out of three?" You cross your arms. "Nope, this one's just for me." "Alright, I'll let your hubris zap you." "We'll see about that," he steps up to a much more bent and twisted wire spinning in place. As he again starts to trace the wire, a bit slower this time, more focused if you go by the furrow in his brows. Wrist twisting perfectly, the hook is never in danger of tapping the edges. An opportunity. You jump at up, crying out a sound— He palms your face to keep you back, finishing the challenge. "Ha! You think that would startle me? I've been volunteering at an animal shelter since I could walk, dealing with sneak attacks is second nature," he runs his hand over your hair, fizzing it where your playful actions mussed it, with a slightly cocky but entirely fond smile. You curse as he's handed a small bag of sweets for his prize. "Your turn," he holds the hook to you again. Figuring why not, you [[take the hook.]]

Taking the hook in hand, you try to copy him and the way he held the hook. "Come on $name, you got it," he encourages you, though not trying to distract you. You do last longer than last time but you're still treated to a light zap. Reflexively letting it go, the hook clatters down the wire. "Darn, you did pretty good though. You okay?" "Yeah, just a little zap," you shake your hand out, the zap was more startling than painful but left a prickling feeling behind. "Here," He takes your hand in both of his, turning it over and pressing circles into your palm. His warm hands are soft as they massage the feeling away, moving from your palm down your fingers, "better?" It is, and with your assurance, his hands slip from yours, the warmth remaining after and somehow climbing up your arms. "Looks like we're even. Now what to do for our deal breaker," Arlo looks around at the nearby games on offer. "What about that?" You point at a game that actually looks like it's made for competition. [[The shooting game.]]

The children sit in stools, holding the handles of toy rotary water guns. Pressured water fires out clumsily, the resident hosting the game prances around in a colorful raincoat and rubber boots as they watch over the game. The plastic toy guns loaded with pellets are reserved for the older crowd. A shot lands on one of the duck cut outs, creating a pink cloud and leaving a chalk print behind. You both step up to the stand, each handed pellet guns and assigned different colors. Fiddling with the toys, Arlo rests an elbow on your shoulder. He gestures to the garlands of stuffed animals hanging above the game. "Finally, some real prizes," kazoos and kids' jewelry is fitting, but are they really fair games without stuffed toys? Cocking his pellet gun, he clicks his tongue, "why do we have to shoot cute little ducks and butterflies? Have a heart $name, you can't shoot cute guys like these!" You can and will. The time starts. As you take aim, Arlo speaks in a high sweet voice, "we wuv you $name. Pwease don't hurt us." While voicing the inner thoughts and pleas of the targets, Arlo takes his first shot, a puff of purple chalk dusting a butterfly cut out. Your own first shot fires shortly after, hitting a duck. "You will fall by my hands," he snickers at your statement, needing a moment to compose himself and aim again. Quips are traded, laughs are shared, shots are fired, and <<linkreplace 'scores are counted.'>>scores are counted. <<if random(1, 100) <=50>> "That is purple's win," the announcement has Arlo pumping his fist in the air with a cheer. "Yes! <<if $cheer == true>>Told you, hands of gold.<</if>> And now it's official, I am the king fair games. <<unset $cheer>> "All hail! Though I don't know how much I trust you as king, you really betrayed all those ducks and butterflies, huh?" "The throne requires sacrifices." "Gonna use a feather on you while you sleep and give you nightmares about all the ducks you betrayed," you threaten. "You're going to use a feather on me while I sleep? careful $name, or you'll make Vann jealous," he sends you a teasingly suggestive look of duck lips and bouncing brows. While you retaliate, the resident gets your joint attention, telling him to pick from one of the dangling stuffed animals. "Alright, which one should we take home?" You eye them and see one that is instantly your favorite, however, you have to point something out. "But you won, it's your prize. shouldn't you be picking it? You gasp dramatically, "unless you're giving it to me?" "Ha ha, no! You're going to win your own," he sets his gun down, stepping behind you. His body is soft against yours, chest against your back, arms following along yours to guide you. He rests his chin on your shoulder, mint fresh scent of his body wash as his breath ghosts over your neck unintentionally where he rests his chin on your shoulder. "Ready?" He helps you aim, getting you more cut outs marked up, "got him. Just a little higher," he continues to whisper instructions to you, head resting against yours as he focuses on the targets and trying to see as close to what you see as he can. The resident announces that you've hit enough targets in solo-mode for your own prize. "We did it," Arlo's arms slip from yours to around your waist, squeezing you in celebration and briefly lifting you off the ground. Laughing, he lets you go. "Let's see who we're taking home," he eyes the stuffed animals on offer. You examine your options for [[fluffy friends together.]] <<else>> "That is <<print $color>>'s win. "Really gave those ducks and butterflies a run for their money," you cheer together, Arlo giving you a high five. "And now I get my hunting trophy, see any duck plushies?" "Getting it stuffed? What a waste, you should at least use them to stuff your pillow. Make use of the entire kill, $name." "I could use it as a pillow?" He agrees, scanning the stuffed animals. Scoping you the stuffed animals on offer, you cant help remembering his excitement at finally seeing a game with plushies earlier. "Come on, you're not going to make my plushie an only child, are you?" You pick his toy gun back up and dangle it in front of him. "Hm?" He blinks at you, "alright, one more try. Wouldn't want your plush getting lonely. Got to win them a buddy," he jumps when you slide up behind him, chest to his back and arms on his. You could swear he leans into you. You rest a hand on his waist, adjusting him less for his own stance and more so you can see around him easier. You give words of encouragement and help him aim, a few more targets getting hit this time. However, his limbs are stiff and not moving with you, muscles tensing to every moment as if surprised you're there despite your touch never leaving him. The timer runs out, the resident game host counts the chalk marks. "Drats, no dice! You didn't hit enough to win the solo challenge," they gesture to the strings of stuffed animals that hangs above the game, "please pick your prize friend, and better luck next time, sir." Arlo chuckles good naturedly as his loss, teasing you for being a poor teacher as you pick out [[your plush.]] <</if>> <</linkreplace>>

You see a few the catch your eye <div class='choice'> [[The cat, with black fur and glow in the dark skeleton print.|stuffed][$toy to 'cat']] [[The fox plush, with sparkling silver eyes to match the white marks where black ones would usually be.|stuffed][$toy to 'fox']] [[The rabbit plush, with extra cheek fluff.|stuffed][$toy to 'rabbit']] [[The bird plush that can actually be perched on fingers and bars.|stuffed][$toy to 'bird']] [[The bear cub plush, made to look realistic and just as cuddly, minus the killer mama bear threat.|stuffed][$toy to 'bear']] </div>

You see a few the catch your eye <div class='choice'> [[The cat, with black fur and glow in the dark skeleton print.|stuffie][$toy to 'cat']] [[The fox plush, with sparkling silver eyes to match the white marks where black ones would usually be.|stuffie][$toy to 'fox']] [[The rabbit plush, with extra cheek fluff.|stuffie][$toy to 'rabbit']] [[The bird plush that can actually be perched on fingers and bars.|stuffie][$toy to 'bird']] [[The bear cub plush, made to look realistic and just as cuddly, minus the killer mama bear threat.|stuffie][$toy to 'bear']] </div>

"Aw, what a cutie," he taps the <<print $toy>>'s nose. <div class='choice'> [[You hand the toy to him.][$arlo to $arlo + 1]] [[You proudly pat the toy's head.|Agameend]] </div>

"Aw, what a cutie," he taps the toys nose. <div class='choice'> [[You press the toy into his hands.][$arlo to $arlo + 1]] -pick for him or give him your prize [[You proudly pat the toy's head.|Agameend]] </div>

He stares down where you press the plushie into his hands, confused and fingers twitching in uncertainty. "What are you doing?" "Giving it to you, obviously." "But why?" He gingerly holds the plushie, thumbs petting its fluff. "I just thought it'd be nice for you to have that one. Do you like him?" You watch him chuckle and pet the toy. "This one's perfect. I don't know if I can just take them from you though. How about shared custody?" [[Shaking hands, you agree to co-parenting.|Agameend]]

He stares down where you press the plushie into his hands, confused and fingers twitching in uncertainty. "What are you doing?" "Giving it to you, obviously." "But why?" He gingerly holds the plushie, thumbs petting its fluff. "I just thought it'd be nice for you to have that one. Do you like him?" You watch him chuckle and pet the toy. "This one's perfect. Now I have to choose one for you." [[Soon, the resident is hading you one that Arlo picked for you.]]

Walking down the street past the other fair games, you chat, the stuffed <<print $toy>> in your arms. You chat, grabbing some stadard fair fod that's in the area, samplig the various stands on offer. "Oh," Arlo nudges you, "I read all those newspapers this morning waiting for you and Vann to wake up. I'm going to stop by the library and ask Wendy to send someone to pick them up from the house. Met up with you by the carousel?" Agreeing to meet up there, you [[stroll along the fair game street.]]

Alone, you meander through the area. As the games peter out, small shops line the street in their place. Some are walk in store fronts, others are stalls you would see at a farmers' market. One has handmade accessories with glass beads and charms created by the resident displaying them. "Having fun?" Milo has appears by your side, scanning between you and the glasswork. "Oh, hey," greeting him, you tell him about your day with Arlo. He smile's and nods along sympathetically when you mention how badly you lost the wire game. As you talk about your ay, his eyes focus on the toy in your arms with an intensity, flicking to the beaded necklace. "We have nice prizes here, don't we?" he reaches out, hooking a finger under the necklace and slides a slow finger along it before letting it slip back against you. <<if $aflag == 2>> Turing back to the stall, he looks over the glass trinkets. "Your friend there deserves something special, don't you think?" He selects a <<print $roof>> and orange brooch, a stained glass style sprig of mugwort and sweet pea. He pins it to the <<print $toy>>. "There, now they're just as <<nobr>><<if $disc == "pret">> lovely <<elseif $disc == "ha">> handsome <<elseif $disc == "cu">> cute <<elseif $disc == "grem">> eclectic <</if>><</nobr>> as you, a matching pair."<<set $acstuff to true>> <<else>> <<nobr>><<if $answer == 1>> "It sounds like you got to just relax and have a good day, I'm glad you're enjoying your stay so far." <<elseif $answer == 2>> "Sounds like you're already getting to relax, I'm glad." <<elseif $answer == 3>> "I'm glad you had fun today, and there's always more of that ahead around here." <<elseif $answer == 4>> "I'm glad you had fun today, Miraculous Memento's is a great place to just take it slow and enjoy the moment." <<else>> "Sounds like you had just as good of time with everyone here as they have with you." "What do you mean?" You look at him curiously. "Word travels fast between the residents here and it sounds like everyone's been enjoying seeing our special guest enjoy ?themself." Hi smile has a cheekiness to it. <</if>><</nobr>> He looks again to the glass accessories. "How about one more trinket for the day?" Picking a stained glass style brooch, he presets you with a <<print $roof>> and orange sprig of mugwort and sweet pea. Leaning in to pin it on you, the plushie is what stops him from getting closer, the toy getting slightly squished between you both. His closeness brings a scent that almost knocks you back with nostalgia. Before you can remember for what, he steps away. "Perfect," his voice is a breathless whisper but crystal clear in your ears despite the crowd. <</if>> With the evening settling in, the streets begin to twinkle with lights, the carousel a glittering beacon to follow against the orange blue sky. You didn't realize so much time had passed playing games. Thanking Milo, you still need to meet back up with Arlo. "Have a good evening, $name. I'll see you later," you [[leave him behind.|sgame1clue]]

You are handed a <<nobr>><<if $answer == 1>> bee plushie meant for hanging with honeycomb shaped rainbow throwers dangling from it.<<set $toy to 'bee'>> <<elseif $answer == 2>> horse plushie dappled with spots.<<set $toy to 'horse'>> <<elseif $answer == 3>> salmon with glittering scales.<<set $toy to 'salmon'>> <<elseif $answer == 4>> black cheetah whose fur has an iridescent sparkle too it and white spots.<<set $toy to 'cheetah'>> <<else>> butterfly with a switch that flutters is soft wings when turned on.<<set $toy to 'butterfly'>> <</if>><</nobr>> "Why this one," you ask. "It reminded me of you I guess, or maybe just something I thought would be good for you." Thanking him, you take the toy and [[carry on|Agameend]]

"Arlo! Have you considered being a brain surgeon? How did you even manage that," you cheer for him again. "What can I say, I've got hands of gold," he wiggles them at you, bouncing his brows to make you laugh as you push his hands away. "Alright king Midas—" "King, I like the sound of that." "Never mind, remind me to never encourage you again," teasing him about his ego, you get ready to take your own turn. Following the wire, it seems to be turning a lot faster than you thought it was. Who sped it up? Your glance to the resident running the game costs you your win, rewarding you with only a minor zap. "Too bad," he sighs, "guess we can't all be born royalty." "Come on, the carnie sped it up while I was playing!" "Oh, now you're blaming the hard-working resident?" He clicks his tongue, crossing his arms to help prevent him from laughing too hard, "I thought you were better than that." "Alright, fine, mister hot shot," you hold the hook out to him, "what about trying the next level then?" The wires are set up on three challenge levels, you'd both only tried the easier level. Twirling the hook between his fingers, Arlo goes straight to the hardest level. "What do you think? Can I do it?" "Does it count towards our two out of three?" You cross your arms. "Nope, this one's just for me." "Alright, I'll let your hubris zap you." "We'll see about that," he steps up to a much more bent and twisted wire spinning in place. As he again starts to trace the wire, a bit slower this time, more focused if you go by the furrow in his brows. Wrist twisting perfectly, the hook is never in danger of tapping the edges. An opportunity. You jump at him, crying out a sound— He palms your face to keep you back, finishing the challenge. "Ha! You think that would startle me? I've been volunteering at an animal shelter since I could walk, dealing with sneak attacks is second nature," he runs his hand over your hair, fizzing it where your playful actions mussed it, with a slightly cocky but entirely fond smile. You curse as he's handed a small bag of sweets for his prize. "Your turn," he holds the hook to you again. <<set $cheer to true>> Figuring why not, you [[take the hook.|take hook]]

You curse, "you can't beat me and do it so easily!" "Can and did, without cheating." "The fish thing was not cheating, but i'll trade you the prize I won from that for a surgery that switches our hands." "Interesting offer," he hums, "mostly becuase it would get you nothing. It's not just my hands it's skill. So I'd keep my skills and get a cool Frankenstein look." You sigh dramatically at your thwarted plan. Grabbing a hook, you get ready to take your own turn. Following the wire, it seems to be turning a lot faster than you thought it was. Who sped it up? Your glance to the resident running the game costs you your win, rewarding you with only a minor zap. "Too bad," he sighs, "guess we can't all be born royalty." "Come on, the carnie sped it up while I was playing!" "Oh, now you're blaming the hard-working resident?" He clicks his tongue, crossing his arms to help prevent him from laughing too hard, "I thought you were better than that." "Alright, fine, mister hot shot," you hold the hook out to him, "what about trying the next level then?" The wires are set up on three challenge levels, you'd both only tried the easier level. Twirling the hook between his fingers, Arlo goes straight to the hardest level. "What do you think? Can I do it?" "Does it count towards our two out of three?" You cross your arms. "Nope, this one's just for me." "Alright, I'll let your hubris zap you." "We'll see about that," he steps up to a much more bent and twisted wire spinning in place. As he again starts to trace the wire, a bit slower this time, more focused if you go by the furrow in his brows. Wrist twisting perfectly, the hook is never in danger of tapping the edges. An opportunity. You jump at him, crying out a sound— He palms your face to keep you back, finishing the challenge. "Ha! You think that would startle me? I've been volunteering at an animal shelter since I could walk, dealing with sneak attacks is second nature," he runs his hand over your hair, fizzing it where your playful actions mussed it, with a slightly cocky but entirely fond smile. You curse as he's handed a small bag of sweets for his prize. "Your turn," he holds the hook to you again. <<set $cheer to true>> Figuring why not, you [[take the hook.|take hook]]

Taking the hook in hand, you try to copy him and the way he held the hook. "Come on $name, you got it," he encourages you, though not trying to distract you. You do last longer than last time but you're still treated to a light zap. Reflexively letting it go, the hook clatters down the wire. "Darn, you did pretty good though. You okay?" "Yeah, just a little zap," you shake your hand out, the zap was more startling than painful but left a prickling feeling behind. "Here," He takes your hand in both of his, turning it over and pressing circles into your palm. His warm hands are soft as they massage the feeling away, moving from your palm down your fingers, "better?" It is, and with your assurance, his hands slip from yours, the warmth remaining after and somehow climbing up your arms. "Now that we've been electrocuted," Arlo gestures to another game, "how about we test our luck with water?" You head over to the [[fishing game]]

No real line to the pool of water, people stand around it with toy fishing rods, trying to catch something from the splashing water. The rods don't have magnets or plastic hooks on the end, but long fishing nets dangling from them. Arlo crosses his arms, "The only down side of a luck game is I can't take credit for beating you at it." "One, you won't beat me anyways," leaning over the pool you can make out colorful fish darting around, "two, we'll see who the universe loves more." Something jumps out of the water, tapping your nose with a cold wet feeling, and drops back into he pool. Jumping, Arlo catches you before you can trample backwards over a child, laughing. "Is it a bad sign for me if the fish are already choosing you?" He grabs a handkerchief and holds it in front of your face, offering to dab the water off your nose but waiting to see if you'll allow him. <div class='choice'> [[You stay still and let him.|still]] [[You get it your self.|self]] </div>

An arm around you, he dabs the water off your nose. "Luckily it wasn't a piranha, wouldn't want anything to happen to that <<nobr>><<if $disc == "pret">> gorgeous <<elseif $disc == "ha">> sculpted <<elseif $disc == "cu">> adorable <<elseif $disc == "grem">> funny <</if>><</nobr>> nose of yours. How else are we going to waste time in candle sections together?" Putting it back in his pocket, he makes sure you're steady before stepping away. <<set $aflag to $aflag+1>> He studies the pool, "they're real fish? Is that okay?" "Sweet of you to worry, not a lot of people consider the feelings of a fish," a male resident with brunette hair mixed with a pink tinted silver speaks up, his outfit theme and features remind you of the librarian, Wendy. "There's no need to worry, the fish are all well trained by my own hands and there's a pipe underneath that leads to their large indoor tank. Any fish that's out is here because they want to be and have been trained to leave whenever they feel stressed." "You can train them like that?" "I'm a fish whisperer," he trails off for a moment, "bubblerer? The one that kissed your nose is Lolo, it's something she loves to do." "That's kind of incredible. How did you end up working here?" Arlo accepts one of the netting rods and sways it back and forth, testing out its weight as he asks. "Marcelis and Antonia find us. I'm sure you saw the show last night and it's not an exageration. They find us and offer us a place to live and belong. A way to make our passions useful and bring other joy." Arlo listens intently, rolling the information around in his head. He returns his attention to the game. "So how do we get points? You didn't write numbers on the fish, did you?" "No, of course not. When you catch a fish, we release it back into a water. Then it swims to the bottom of the pool to nudge free a capsule that floats to the top and inside is a number. You get your prize based on that. But for a competition, I wouldn't mind refereeing who catches a fish first." Both nodding, you ready your rods. And the game begins. Others watch you both from the opposite side of the pool, the epic battle of two people bouncing around their nets gently in the water. "Come on little guys, I always felt bad for Rainbow Fish, I'm on your side. I'm one of you," he drags out the last word to hum a pleasing note. A fish swims circles around his net, moments away from helping him win. In a split moment, an idea strikes you. Leaning over the rim of the pool, you waggle your head, hoping, waiting. <<linkreplace ‘Splash!' t8n>>Lolo jumps from the water, midair you swing your net up to catch her. You let out a cheer as Arlo lifts his net, fish inside, just a second later. "No!" "Yes!" you both carefully let your fish back into the water before reveling in the results. "That has to be cheating!" "No way, you had the same information as me," you defend your honor. "Fine, fine, you got me this time, but the next two are mine," his words are a challenge but there's nothing serious in his open smile or easy laugh. A challenge for the fun of it, but you won't feel bad if you do lose. clinking of two capsules happens behind you, reminding you of your prizes. "Let's see what you've won," the resident cracks them open, turning to the prize display. "Congratulations! That's one wood bead necklace and a brilliant kazoo." You both accept your prizes graciously, playing with them for a moment. "Looks like we're even. Now what to do for our deal breaker," Arlo looks around at the nearby games on offer. "What about that?" You point at a game that actually looks like it's made for competition. [[The shooting game.]]<</linkreplace>>

You wipe off the water with the back of your hand, Arlo tucking the handkerchif away. hHe turns his attention to the pool. <<set $aflag to $aflag+1>> "They're real fish? Is that okay?" "Sweet of you to worry, not a lot of people consider the feelings of a fish," a male resident with brunette hair mixed with a pink tinted silver speaks up, his outfit theme and features remind you of the librarian, Wendy. "There's no need to worry, the fish are all well trained by my own hands and there's a pipe underneath that leads to their large indoor tank. Any fish that's out is here because they want to be and have been trained to leave whenever they feel stressed." "You can train them like that?" "I'm a fish whisperer," he trails off for a moment, "bubblerer? The one that kissed your nose is Lolo, it's something she loves to do." "That's kind of incredible. How did you end up working here?" Arlo accepts one of the netting rods and sways it back and forth, testing out its weight as he asks. "Marcelis and Antonia find us. I'm sure you saw the show last night and it's not an exageration. They find us and offer us a place to live and belong. A way to make our passions useful and bring other joy." Arlo listens intently, rolling the information around in his head. He returns his attention to the game. "So how do we get points? You didn't write numbers on the fish, did you?" "No, of course not. When you catch a fish, we release it back into a water. Then it swims to the bottom of the pool to nudge free a capsule that floats to the top and inside is a number. You get your prize based on that. But for a competition, I wouldn't mind refereeing who catches a fish first." Both nodding, you ready your rods. And the game begins. Others watch you both from the opposite side of the pool, the epic battle of two people bouncing around their nets gently in the water. "Come on little guys, I always felt bad for Rainbow Fish, I'm on your side. I'm one of you," he drags out the last word to hum a pleasing note. A fish swims circles around his net, moments away from helping him win. In a split moment, an idea strikes you. Leaning over the rim of the pool, you waggle your head, hoping, waiting. <<linkreplace ‘Splash!' t8n>>Lolo jumps from the water, midair you swing your net up to catch her. You let out a cheer as Arlo lifts his net, fish inside, just a second later. "No!" "Yes!" you both carefully let your fish back into the water before reveling in the results. "That has to be cheating!" "No way, you had the same information as me," you defend your honor. "Fine, fine, you got me this time, but the next two are mine," his words are a challenge but there's nothing serious in his open smile or easy laugh. A challenge for the fun of it, but you won't feel bad if you do lose. clinking of two capsules happens behind you, reminding you of your prizes. "Let's see what you've won," the resident cracks them open, turning to the prize display. "Congratulations! That's one wood bead necklace and a brilliant kazoo." You both accept your prizes graciously, playing with them for a moment. "Looks like we're even. Now what to do for our deal breaker," Arlo looks around at the nearby games on offer. "What about that?" You point at a game that actually looks like it's made for competition. [[The shooting game.]]<</linkreplace>>

The way to the carousel doubles back on the games section, so when your necklace suddenly snaps, the beads exploding away from you, a few splash into the fish pool. Cursing under your breath, you stop to look into the water. <<set $games to true>> Most of the fish have gone inside, leaving a clear view of the capsules that make up the pools floor, now littered with a few wood beads. Deciding if you should reach in to grab them or not, the familiar spots of Lolo swim to the surface, a capsule she chose floating beside her. Glancing around for the resident, they're no where to be seen, you decide to <div class='choice'> [[leave it.]] [[take it.]] </div>

Needing to o look for a resident to warn about the beands now creatinng a tirpping hazard on the ground, you walk away-- //plop.// Lolo is on the ground, floudering. Scooping her up, you gently deposit her back in the water. She swims around the capsule. When she seems busy swimming and not hoppig into the air, you turn to leave-- //plop.// Rescuing her agai, you get the message. taking the capsule you didn't earn is the lesser evil comparedto the fish killing itself to get your attention. The capsule pops open, water droplets catching on the paper slightly. It's not a slip with a prize written on it, but a torn scrap with crayon scribbled on it. Perhaps it's just a faulty one and Lolo was making sure they got rid of it before some poor kid won nothing. Smart fish. Letting a nearby resident know about the wooden beads scattered on the ground before it trips someone, you carry on to the [[carousel.]]

The capsule pops open, water droplets catching on the paper slightly. It's not a slip with a prize written on it, but a torn scrap with crayon scribbled on it. Perhaps it's just a faulty one and Lolo was making sure they got rid of it before some poor kid won nothing. Smart fish. Letting a nearby resident know about the wooden beads scattered on the ground before it trips someone, you carry on to the [[carousel.]]

You find Arlo leaning against a bench, watching the carousel as he sips his coffee. Making yourself known, he holds a second one out to you. "There you are, found something to do huh?" Accepting the drink, you almost drop the paper scrap, "what's that?" Explaining where it came from, his face lights up, "you did it. You found a clue." "Clues?" "For the game, we forgot to keep an eye out while playing. Guess the residents like you enough to give you one." Asking to see it, you pass it to him. He hums, inspecting the bright rough lines. "Crayon, but I can't tell what it's apart of. That scribble is a number though," he points to what, when turned the right way, may be a messy 7 or a 1 "But why a kid's drawing? I thought you were chasing some other mystery." "Technically, I have no idea what I'm looking for. But that's part of the fun," Arlo continues considering where this paper comes from when something catches your eye. A haggard looking Vann is sulking on the carousel. He's not sitting, but standing next to one of the twinkling horses, a wilted figure among the whimsy and joy the ride encapsulates. "Vann?" You call out, "what are you doing?" You have to wait for the next revolution to hear hims answer. "$name? I'm stuck." Arlo almost crushes the paper as he covers his mouth to laugh. "How did you get there? I've been watching the carousel." "Please just help me," he tries to walk off, but is pulled back by whatever he's caught on. Climbing up the ever-turning machine, you find the fibers of his shirt are entangled hopelessly on a horse. A yank snaps the fibers, freeing Vann and leaving part of his shirt behind. With a whimper, he rests his head on your shoulder, like a puppy hiding its face to sulk. With a pat on the back, you pull him off the ride and guide him to sit. "What happened to you?" Able to get a better look at him now, his clothes are shredded with claw marks. "The animals want to eat me and the ropes kept snapping," rolling up his sleeves, he reveals fresh bruises. Arlo makes quick work of locating something cold to press to them. Giving him a look over, Arlo is satisfied that Vann is fine, and returns his attention to the carousel, eyeing the potential steads. You press a wrapped ice pack to his cheek, showing him where to hold it. Pulling away, his hand covers yours with a tiny whine, keeping your hand where it is in a request for you to stay. <div class='choice'> [[You stay with Vann, icing his bruises.]] [[You check out the carousel with Arlo.]] </div>

vann explains a bit about his day with the animasl and class going wrong if with vann notice his results of abad luck day, notice aa lie frombefore – handled spiders casually, mentions before as with all their lives, tht he hates spiders call him out on spideers or dont

"I'll be back," slipping away from Vann, you join Arlo's side. "Ready to live your horse girl dreams?" "Oh, to feel my locs in the wind, living the cowboy days and riding magical horses with <<linkreplace 'Addison Jones into the sunset.' t8n>>Addison Jones into the sunset. "Who?" "Addison Jones, one of the best horse taming cowboys. No one could handle a horse better than he could, He's got a song and everything." <</linkreplace>> The carousel slows down, the resident watching over it calling out that now that it's evening, it'll be going a bit faster and the rings will be worth more for those interested. "Better get on one and make him proud then." You hop up and <div class='choice'> [[sit on a horse paired with another.]] [[sit on a lone horse to share.]] <<if $arlo >= 1>> [[watch Arlo sit on a horse, holding a hand out to you.]] <</if>></div>

Looking at him expectantly, he takes the hint. With a chuckle, he climbs up, settling in in front of you. Your arms wrap around his waist as you watch the world begin to spin. Horses rocking up and down have you leaning into him, cheek resting between his shoulder blades, as the music plays. The lights make the ride almost glow, everything outside of the ride feels distant, less real. Like you're on the inside of a snow globe. Arlo holds the bar with one hand, the other rests over where yours meet around his waist, as if he's worried you'll fall off while the carousel picks up speed. You take in not the smell of fair sweets like the night before, but of Arlo, <<linkreplace ‘cedar and cinnamon.'<<t8n>>cedar and cinnamon. Many evenings spent after his grandfather held mass, keeping him company as he cleans the church and relax in the grass afterwards, warm drinks in hand playing through your mind, almost playing before your eyes abstractly in the blurred light trails of the town. <</linkreplace>> A careless sort of quiet peace washes over you both. <<set $arlo to $arlo + 1>> Pressed against him, you feel him take in a deep breath and release it slowly. Despite being out in the open, the moment feels private, allowing you to ask, [["could I get a penny for your thoughts?"]]

Grabbing his hand and putting your foot in the stirrup, he pulls you up with ease, sitting you in front. "Comfortable?" He grabs the pole and puts an arm around your waist, as if worried you'll fall off once the ride picks up speed. The music plays and the horse rocks up and down as a firm soft chest presses to your back. Yyou're wrapped in the scent of <<linkreplace ‘cedar and cinnamon.' T8n>> cedar and cinnamon, the memory of the last movie night you shared together playing in your mind. A projector set up in an empty chapel he was helping restore in the middle of nowhere. Wrapped up in a quilt together as you drink hot chocolate together, laughing together and jumping at any sounds form outside before deciding to just spend the night there. That night you had been curious how it would feel to close the space between you, to lean into him and feel him against you. There is ample oppertunity to make up for that missed oppertunity now. Speeding up, the wind carries the sound of kids giggling on the other side of the ride. With no one on your side of the ride, the lights make the carousel almost glow, everything outside of the ride feels distant, less real. Like you're on the inside of a snow globe. The town is nothing but colorful light trails as a careless sort of quiet peace washes over you both. Pressed against him, you feel him take in a deep breath and release it slowly. Despite being out in the open, the moment feels private, allowing you to ask, [["penny for your thoughts?"]]

The pastel steads each themed after the seasons and time of day wait proudly to be chosen. Selecting a horse, you grab the bar and pull yourself up, waiting for Arlo to join you. He takes his place next to you patting the painted wood of the horse's mane. The ride starts to spin, horses rocking up and down as the music plays. The lights make the ride almost glow, everything outside of the ride feels distant, less real. Like you're on the inside of a snow globe. Arlo stands on the stirrups, leaning out to reach to the dangling rings but as the carousel picks up speed, his fingers can only graze them. Laughing, he sits back down, locs breezing behind him and his open grinning face. A careless sort of quiet peace washes over you both. Watching how the town passes as colorful light trails, Arlo's eyes unfocus. There's no one on the horses nearby, giving the feeling of privacy in the open so you don't mind asking him, [["a penny for your thoughts?"]]

"Hm," he rests his chin on the top of your head, "just thinking about the paper you found." "Really?" You can't see his face, but feel his arm thrown around your waist fidget with the clothes over your hip idlily. "Sort of," he takes a moment to sort his thoughts, "not exactly. It reminded me of something, that's all. I volunteer for the daycare at my grandfather's church when I can." You point out he volunteers for everything at his grandfather's church when he can. "True. I just love being where everyone is, helping when I can, talking to everyone, feeling apart of something. And kids, they're interesting," his hand tightens on both the pole and over your hands, "they draw a lot of things. Kids draw what they see in the world, they make it make sense when nothing really does for them." "Worlds a confusing place for kids," you agree. "Sometimes they say or draw things you have too piece together to figure out what they mean. Most of the time it's cute and harmless, but," he trails off. He tenses around you, tension filling his body. <<set $cuddle to true>> "Arlo?" He clears his throat, chest rumbling against your back, clearing the contemplative mood from himself. "Sorry, don't mind me. Now's not the time to think about that. Let's just enjoy the ride, it's a beautiful [[night]]."

"Hm," he blinks a few times, "just thinking about the paper you found." "Really?" You try and fail to catch a ring as it passes. "Sort of," he takes a moment to sort his thoughts, "not exactly. It reminded me of something, that's all. I volunteer for the daycare at my grandfather's church when I can." You point out he volunteers for everything at his grandfather's church when he can. "True. I just love being where everyone is, helping when I can, talking to everyone, feeling apart of something. And kids, they're interesting," his hand tightens on the pole, "they draw a lot of things. Kids draw what they see in the world, they make it make sense when nothing really does for them." "Worlds a confusing place for kids," you nod along. "Sometimes they say or draw things you have too piece together to figure out what they mean. Most of the time it's cute and harmless, but," he trails off. "Arlo?" He clears his throat, clearing the contemplative mood from his chest. "Sorry, don't mind me. Now's not the time to think about that. Let's just enjoy the ride, it's a beautiful [[night]]."

"Hm," he flexes his shoulders against your cheek, "just thinking about the paper you found." "Really?" You light squeeze him, moving your head to rest your chin resting on his shoulder. "Sort of," he takes a moment to sort his thoughts, leaning his head on yours, "not exactly. It reminded me of something, that's all. I volunteer for the daycare at my grandfather's church when I can." You point out he volunteers for everything at his grandfather's church when he can. "True. I just love being where everyone is, helping when I can, talking to everyone, feeling apart of something. And kids, they're interesting," his hand tightens on both the pole and over your hands, "they draw a lot of things. Kids draw what they see in the world, they make it make sense when nothing really does for them." "Worlds a confusing place for kids," you agree. "Sometimes they say or draw things you have too piece together to figure out what they mean. Most of the time it's cute and harmless, but," he trails off. You feel his teeth clench as he swallows down something distasteful. "Arlo?" He clears his throat, clearing the contemplative mood from his chest. <<set $cuddle to true>> "Sorry, don't mind me. Now's not the time to think about that. Let's just enjoy the ride, it's a beautiful [[night]]."

After the ride, you walk between Arlo and Vann home to wind down for the night. Arlo showing off his prizes and Vann nursing his bruises as you pick up meals to take home. Your room now has both your rose and <<print $toy>> to keep you company, the silver veins of the stained-glass brooch glinting in the light. <<nobr>> <<if $cuddle == true>> Trading your day clothes out for something comfier, you notice the lingering scent of cedar and cinnamon on them. <</if>><</nobr>> Sitting on the floor together, you eat and reminisce about the day, hearing Vann tell a harrowing of tale of a day Murphys law was invented for. Tonight, Vann sleeps in his own room, leaving you to crawl into bed alone, only you <<print $toy>> watching over you as you rest and to greet you in the [[morning2]]

The streets are lively with guests like yourselves enjoying the town and residents who both mingle and put on performances. Puppet shows, magic tricks, cartwheeling while juggling, every street has a passing performance on full display, entertaining but unintrusive. Mostly. A resident in an elaborate white ballgown bursts into the streets, followed by three others, women in simpler pastel pink dresses. "He'll never marry me without them," the bride collapses on a //very coincidentally placed and not at all put there specifically for this// fainting couch. The bride's maids surround her, loudly reassuring her. "Oh no, I'm sure they'll arrive in time." "Groomsmen are always late, it's," she trails off, "a tradition?" "The wedding will be perfect." "Oh!" She cries out, "no groomsmen! Not a single one! How will we ever get married at my perfect wedding with out even one," she wails dramatically. Despite her choked sobs, <<linkreplace 'only two tears visibly fall.' t8n>>only two tears visibly fall, to which she giddily smiles each time, excited to have produced real tears at all.<<linkreplace>> You whisper to Arlo, "what is this? A [[sad play]]?"

"No, I don't think its that." He studies the current players. The way they talk loudly about needing assistance, waiting for someone. "They're giving a cue for someone but," it's taking too long for a planned event with another actor to step in and the way they eye the crowd as if waiting for them. His eyes glint with light, "I think its improv." … "Improv?" Without telling anyone it's an improv performance? Not only is it unexpected but it's not like any of the other street shows you've seen so far. While some may have requested audience participation, they didn't depend on it and it was something simple like picking a card and giving yes or no answers. Without warning, [[Arlo steps forward.]]

"I've brought them, the goons men," the brides maids look thrown, not truly expecting anyone to join while. Meanwhile the bride lights up for a moment, doubling down on her performance. "Thank goodness—," she halts, "the what?" "the goons men. Got ‘em all lined and suited up," you're already groaning at his joke as he wears a shit eating grin. "We needed groom's men, not goons men," one of the bride's maid's collapses next to the bride. "Groomsmen? Why would you have them when you can have henchmen? "You've started a gang at my wedding?" "Oh, gosh no, that would be dangerous! I started a collective," Arlo pinche his fingers and drags them apart emphasize how this is so entirely different. "A cult?" "Perhaps. But they'll call you boss and take orders." "Like a cartoon villain? That is tempting," the bride sniffles. "You can order them around and send them through trap doors when anything isn't perfect for your special day," he pinches his non-existent handlebar mustache. "Really? That's perfect," she turns to her ladies, "get the groom, get the ring master, get my ring!" The residents pull everything needed for a wedding set out of compartment hidden near by, quickly setting up. Arlo grins at you expectantly. <div class='choice'> [[Join in as the groom]] [[Join in as a goon]] </div>

“My bride!” You go down on one knee before her, “I am ready to take pledge to you my hand, are the preparations made?” She squeals. “May darling <<nobr>> <<if $pgen == 0>> groom, <<elseif $pgen == 1>> lady groom, <<else>> partner groom, <</if>> <</nobr>> of course! The goons have done all the work, its time,” grabbing your hand, the street is now decked out for a wedding, guests sitting as guests and residents now dressed in matching henchmen outfits, referring to the bride as boss. A comically oversized suit is thrown over you clothes. Covering his mouth, Arlo snorts at the view. "Here, let me help. Have to look your best on your wedding day," he gestures to your tie, hanging limp and loose against you, almost reaching your knees. <div class='choice'> [["Thank you.]] [[I've got it.]] </div>

"Ey, that's right boss," picking a henchmen walk, you take up an idle animation beside him. He beams at you, gesturing to you as he presents you to the bride , “see? What’s better than this?” The bride’s eyes light up. “?they <<if $pgen == 2>>are<<elseif>>is<</if>> perfect! The wedding will be perfect! Get to work!” “You heard the lady, let’s get to work,” you put a hand up to pause him. “’old on boss. What about benefits?” “For the best goon in the business?” He pretends to think for a moment before smiling in a way that he sticks his tongue out at you, “I’m talking dental, baby!” You whoop out a cheer and get to work. Which is mostly watching other residents throw together a quick wedding set and other ‘goons’ joining the wedding. Someone dressed as the groom takes their place by the alter and you both line up behind them, listening as vows are traded. Marcelis the ringmaster makes an appearance to ‘officiate' the marriage. His eyes are lidded; half awake as he reads through the vows. “You are here to tangle ribbon wands of fate, through clownery and downery, for trick shots and failure,” the bride bounces on her toes, the corner of Marcelis' lips quirks upwards. “If anyone has a reason they should not—” A third guest [[speaks up.]]

“I object!” Sweeping the bride away, ?adultPerson flees to the gasps of both the audience and the actors, carrying the show away. A hand rests on your shoulder, “sorry buddy, no clown town wedding today. Maybe next time.” Marcelis yawns, sitting in one of the guest chairs. A bride's maid sits with him, offering him a drink. “You know she's going to count this as a success, right?” “Yes,” he takes a deep drink, “that's my own fault for setting the bar so low. Ah well,” he sighs, “no harm I suppose.” Taking your hand, Arlo leads you to him, practically vibrating with excitement. “Mr. Marcelis, right?” “Yes, that would be me. And you are our guest Arlo, special plus one of our priority guest, $name, correct?” “Yeah,” Arlo squeezes your hand, “last night was a great show but the town is even more impressive.” “I'm sure all of our residents would be flattered to hear so,” he shakes Arlo's hand, tipping his head. Arlo takes the oppertunity to ask a question. "What was a success?" "This improv show, techincally," he lets go of Arlo's hand to pinc the bridge of his nose. It was the 'brides' ideas. Impromptu improv with the audience. Told her if she could get a full scene going becuase of guest volunteers, she could do it regularly. Didn't expect it to work." "She's going to be floating on cloud nine for days over this," the woman reminds him. To which Marcelis nods and relaxes a bit. "True enough, though i worry how she'll react if it doesnt work out more than once." Arlo watches as the residents work together to dismantle the scene, talking more comfortably than just coworkers as they laugh, bump shoulders, confide in one another, and complain together, all with a dee familiarity. “How do you do it?” Arlo leans in, “how do you do you bring so many people together to work together and pretend to be a community like this?” This brings Marcelis to pause. “There's no pretending. We are a community. The town in a way, is real. Think of us as a traveling town that runs on tourism.” At this, you have to ask, [[“but aren't they employees you pay?”]]

“Of course, just as community workers in any town or city. The men driving the garbage trucks don't work for free, do they?” You glance around, the area feeling a bit different. Less plastic and more authentic as you consider its validity as a functioning town. After all, what is it really missing? “But what keeps them…. Like this?” “Like what?” Arlo does nothing to clarify his question. He doesn't react to Marcelis' words at all. [[You try to snap him back to it.]]

Shaking him arm, you call his name, dragging it out. Is eys jump bebtwwen residents and the surrounding buildings. He stands up right again, shaking his head. “Sorry about that, never mind. What you and Antiona have doe here, built together, it's amazing. I can't wait to catch another show soon.” “Please do,” he allows Arlo to breeze past the () he made, “there will be opportunities before the week is out and it's a fresh show every time. If you enjoyed the first one, I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest.” He stands, bowing to you both at the waist. “In the meantime, I have to rest. Have a fantastic day,” trading your own goodbyes, he walks away. As you look around again, the wedding set has been [[completely dismantled.]]

Cupping the lengths from the base of your neck, he crosses them, hand sliding down the under side of the fabric to pull and wrap where needed. <<set $aflag to $aflag + 1>> "You do make a dapper groom," he pats the finished knot with both an amusement and a sincerity you didn't expect. "If I do ever get married, I'll look a lot better in something that actually fits." With a chuckle, he guides you to the alter. Standing at the alter, Arlo stands as your best man and Marcelis the ringmaster makes an appearance to ‘officiate' the marriage. His eyes are lidded; half awake as he reads through the vows. “You are here to tangle ribbon wands of fate, through clownery and downery, for trick shots and failure,” the bride bounces on her toes, the corner of Marcelis' lips quirks upwards. “If anyone has a reason they should not—” A third guest [[speaks up.]]

Laughing, he holds his hands up, taking a step back. "Sure, you've got it. Forgot you had arms as long as garden rakes. Good luck." Your attempt is made mostly of trying to throw the fabric around itself, the tie far too long for you to create the tension needed for the knot. Arlo does nothing to hide his amusement as you end up with a lumpy knot, the tie ends now somehow dragging on the ground when they didn’t before. “How did you add fabric?” You’re quickly pulled away to the alter. Arlo stands as your best man and Marcelis the ringmaster makes an appearance to ‘officiate' the marriage. His eyes are lidded; half awake as he reads through the vows. “You are here to tangle ribbon wands of fate, through clownery and downery, for trick shots and failure,” the bride bounces on her toes, the corner of Marcelis' lips quirks upwards. “If anyone has a reason they should not—” A third guest [[speaks up.]]

The two of you continue walking down the street at random. Together you watch various street side shows but as the hours pass, you feel like you've been walking in circles. Food street, games, side shows, classes, minor activities, and a park with various minor rides sprinkled throughout. The town is circular, so this makes sense. But you never reach the edge of town, no matter how many turns to what must be away from the central point you take. The same cycle plays again and again. The town is circular, so this makes sense. But you never reach the edge of town. The town is circular, so this makes sense. But you never reach <div class='neon'>the edge of town.</div> The town is circular, so this<div class='neon'> makes sense. But you never reach the edge of town.</div> <div class='neon'>The town is circular, so this makes sense.</div> "Oh," Arlo nudges you, "I read all those newspapers this morning waiting for you and Vann to wake up. I'm going to stop by the library and ask Wendy to send someone to pick them up from the house. Met up with you by the carousel?" Of course. You wander alone, mind drifting to thoughts that come and go [[like air.]]

find where residents live

It' not until you notice the lack of music that you stop. This area is different. No houses stand, instead small colorful tents lined together, spaced perfectly along the street. Empty, hollow, no sounds or scents, this place doesn't feel alive. Green grass but where are the trees? Seeing something move brings a wave of relief over you. From between the tents appears Milo, making a direct line for you. “Found you,” he holds your arms, “why are you wandering off the path? There's no flowers here. Not for anyone.” He looks around, eyes track and catch on the air. Glancing at the tents, their fabric is still. Despite the open air and lack of true shelter or trees, there is no wind or breeze. The only thing moving the air seems to be your own movements and breath. A sharp inhale, sandpaper in your throat and lungs. Your scalp prickles, and alarm ringing through your body. Wrapping an arm around you, Milo leans in to whisper, "it was very impressive of you to find your way here alone, but let's head back to the [[main roads]] now, okay?"

You're head hurts as he practically carries your down the streets. You try and fail to track your surroundings, but lines aren't connecting and when something starts to, you cough, rattling the thoughts from your mind. “Deep breath in, come on,” light headed, you sway. A few more gasps for your starved blood and the world bleeds back into focus. Milo kneels before where he's sat you on a bench, the Grand Tent behind him. His hand on your cheek is rough, calloused, but gentle. As your eyes can finally focus on his, you find fear. “You're alright, you did a wondertastic job hanging in there. Having enough breath to speak, you ask “what, where was that?” The tension escapes his body as you prove to be lucid. He traces from your cheek to behind your ear. <div class='neon'>”You just got a little turned around. We took a walk together. Don't you have somewhere to be?”</div> [[You do.]]

His hand slides down, calloused fingers follow your shoulder and arm to wrap around your hand. Every inch, you feel more present, more aware. He gently pulls you to your feet. You should get going, it's almost time to meet up with Arlo. No. The street lamps and fairy lights are on, the sun has set, you are late. "I'm sure he'll understand," Milo squeezes you hand and points you towards the carousel. He bows, excusing himself. You better be [[on your way.]]

People walk by, stopping and chatting as the street performers appear to swap out. The day residents retiring to relax among the guests casually as others take their place, making glow sticks float to dance, small fire tricks, and someone tossing around chemicals that create bursts of colors from their chemical reactions. You recognize one of the 'brides maids' from the earlier performances. As she walks by, something flutters off of her. <div class='choice'> [[Grab it to return it to her.]] [[Leave it, it's probably garbage.]] </div>

Picking it up, it's a scrap of paper. It's hard to tell whats on it in the low light. Unsure if this is something worth returning at all, when you search for the woman, she's already gone. You shove it in your pocket for now, [[no need to litter.]]

It’s just going to be a feather or something. Nothing you need to touch. Continuing down the street, the wind picks up. Something slaps you in the face. It’s small and light, a torn scrap of paper. There’s something on it, but it’s hard to tell what in the low light. Already in your hands, you pocket it. [[No need to litter,|no need to litter.]] you think as the wind dies down just as suddenly as it kicked up.

You arrive to the music and lights of a carousel. The area is buzzing with people as they some take a ride and others simply enjoy it's atmosphere of simply [[joy and whimsy.|carousel.]]

The clap is a satisfying one, "alright, let's assimilate with the locals. Then if we look like them, they'll be more ready to tell us their secrets." You wind your way back through the streets, the houses near yours buzzing with excited guests. "How do you think they pick colors for themselves? Do they use those color charts and decide if they're a fall?" "This place seems in love with jewel tones," you comment. While there are a few residents have more soft or bold colors, jewel tones seem to be the popular option. "They are the best type of tones," he blows on his knuckles and dusts them on his purple jewel toned shirt. "I have a while idea on what color they might give you, just a shot in the dark." "It's not my fault if it's my purple era." "It very literally is." "My last one was a green-blue, purple is the next logical step, or more specifically, from peacock to plum and orchid." "Why do you even have color eras?" "You want to know?" He hunches forward slightly, narrowing his eyes. <div class='choice'> [[I have to know.]] [[Nah.]] </div>

He shrugs it off as you leave him hanging. "Lets see if we can get glammed up, then if we look like them, they'll be more ready to tell us their secrets." You wind your way back through the streets, the houses near yours buzzing with excited guests. "How do you think they pick colors for themselves? Do they use those color charts and decide if they're a fall?" "This place seems in love with jewel tones," you comment. While there are a few residents have more soft or bold colors, jewel tones seem to be the popular option. "They are the best type of tones," he blows on his knuckles and dusts them on his purple jewel toned shirt. "I have a while idea on what color they might give you, just a shot in the dark." "It's not my fault if it's my purple era." "It very literally is." "My last one was a green-blue, purple is the next logical step, or more specifically, from peacock to plum and orchid." "Why do you even have color eras?" "You want to know?" He hunches forward slightly, narrowing his eyes. <div class='choice'> [[I have to know.]] [[Nah.]] </div>

"It's…. The best way to use the dye." <<set $arlo to $arlo + 1>> You didn't know he used dye. "What, you thought i was buying entire new waedrobes every time?" He raises an eyebrow, finding the idea ludicrous, "one of our church goes makes natural dyes and keeps gifting me some. I dont want them to go to waste so i refresh my hwole wardobe with it." Eyeing his outfit, you do recognize the pieces and can spot a few <<linkreplace 'marks' t8n>> marks like the time you swung your arm too wide and accidentally jostled his coffee, getting a few drops on his shirt at a time he couldn't clean it off right away. You'd never notice it if<</linkreplace>> you didn't think to look. Those are very rich deep tones, however. <<if $hob == "craft">> "How much prep do you put into the predye work? it looks great." "Thanks, and way too much. Takes me at least a week to get my whole closet done." The rest of the walk is spent talking about the work that goes into [[dying fabrics.]] <<else>> "They're lying." Your words startle him, "what?" "Come on, those tones with natural dyes?" "It's entirely possible!" You spend the rest of the walk [[debating natural dyes|dying fabrics.]]

"Then you never will!" He cackles as he walks [[ahead of you.|dying fabrics.]]

Following signs, you make your way to the park, an area is set aside for an outdoor vanity set, chairs and a group for resident stylists already helping someones hair dye in the sun as another gets a few spots of face paint done. The style of both is visually different than the residents, but fit in with the surroundings. A pair of twins approach you, moving in synchronicity, one in red with a diamond over his eye, the other in blue with a heart over his, mirroring one another in appearances as well, "two more guests looking to embrace the spirit of Miraculous Memento?" Their words harmonize with one another. Arlo steps behind you. "Yes?" You take the lead, as Arlo hides behind you to the best of his ability. "Perfect! Take a seat and tell us which you'd like, hair or make up?" The one in red holds up the face paint, the one in blue, bottles of dye. Checking in on Arlo, he's covering his mouth with one hand and holding his stomach with the other, trying desperately not to laugh at the matching duo. Elbowing him, you take a seat in <div class='choice'> [[The red twins section.]] [[The blue twins section.]] </div>

Sitting with red, Arlo sits with blue. Having gathered himself, he speaks with the blue twin as they talk over oils, colors, mists, and those little travel tubes of conditioner. Your makeup artist starts with cleaning your face, selecting $roof as your color without question or input from you. <div class='choice'> [[Question.]] [[Accept it.]] </div>

There is a fluttering [[by your ear.]]

Something is pinned to your door. A colourful pamphlet with an image of performers, a circus tent behind them. Glancing around, no one has jumped out and tries to attack you. Just your neighbors going about their lives like usual. Nothing else to do, you pull down the pamphlet, a trifolded letter falling into your hands from [[between the pages|you.]]