The Showstopper

[genpcs]

Finally it's here, the event you've aaaaall been waiting for!

[ The woman, clearly the ring master of all of this, has a commanding voice as she invites the contestants to the stage. ]

Here we are, darlings! Each and every one of you have braved the Cirque du Vrai and found yourselves enough to make it to the final stage! I hope you're not too intoxicated with temptation to withstand some final truths. And the one who makes it to the end, well.. let's just say they won't be who you expect.

[ A curtain flashes in the background, the silhouette of a pendant behind a curtain. ]

Who will win Attleton's most prized antiquity? Who will be our champion? [ The crowd cheers as she eggs them on, some of them seeming far more excited than they should be about a competition of this nature. ]

There are three rounds. The talents round- impress our audience and move on, fail and feel free to watch from the sidelines. Round two will test your mettle, guts, and stomach. And round three.. well, only those who make it that far will know the darkest of tests.

Let's begin!

OOC: Pairs for round one will each receive a comment. Please discuss OOCly who will win the round based on capabilities/luck/etc., then feel free to play it out! Once you know who will win, comment here to let a mod know and you'll get set up for your round two match as soon as there's another winner to make a pair. Please note that all round one games and pairings have been randomized using random.org's List Randomizer. Please also note that things will escalate very quickly after the first round, so if you are not okay with your character getting hurt, possibly lethally, you need to have them be eliminated quickly and are responsible for doing so. Characters are still wearing their masks and costumes and will be referred to not by name but by "Player 1" or "Player 2" to keep anonymity as much as possible.

UPDATE! (5/3): Round two winners please reply here to report winners.

Comments

Round One Winners!

[genpcs]

Comment here if your character is a round one winner after discussing it OOCly with the player of your character's opponent.

Re: Round One Winners!

[dantesfight]

Dante A won his first round.

Re: Round One Winners!

[klutzette]

Colette will win her round.

[om_nom_namur]

"After much deliberation and in the spirit of the Cirque du Vrai, shuffleboard officials have determined that Jaune Arc is less disqualified, and will move on to the next round."

Sebastian Michaelis VS Soma Cruz

[genpcs]

Dance Dance Revolution Til You Drop
Non-stop DDR round with stand-up station (not controllers). Whoever stops dancing or fails first loses.

[hellish_butler]

[It's a secret, but the devil love to dance and enjoy the music. Waltz, minuets, sonatas, he love them all. So for the first task, a dance competition, this is a piece of cake.

To his opponent, he made a small bow curtsy before the round begins. The bright large monitor displays the music video of the song, the stereo blasting "Beethoven Virus" to start them off, and a fury of arrows ascending from the lower part of the screen.

It's not everyday to get an audience watching you perform, and Sebastian feels he's really shining as it has been long since he gives quite a show. Tempting as it is, the demon found this game...fun and he was bored for quite some time, as he's been in Genessia for a long time and there's a part of him that missed his homeworld. For now, the game is a fun distraction.

Except nobody knows who is the mysterious masked dancer, as he's silent and didn't give his name. It adds to the mystery. When asked before the competition begins, he simply said his name is "Mr.Black" to match the color of his suit.

All the crowd sees is a tall guy, wearing a classy white and black tuxedo with a black bow tie, wearing a crow mask (with real black feathers), a small black top hat, and a pair of black gloves. The crow dancer can sure really dance, stepping the flashing arrows on the platform with much accuracy with his feet, racking up the combos with his impressive moves.

When the song is over, he made a gesture to his opponent, being a polite bird, to allow Soma pick the next song for the next round. Sebastian isn't long-winded either. He's battle ready and dance ready!]

Remilia Scarlet VS Peter Quill

[genpcs]

Pies On You
Bake a pie and throw it at your opponent first! It will be judged by taste right from your opponent's face by a circus strongman, so make it with love!

[scarlet_devil]

[ Baking a pie...? She's quite confident that she can manage that even on a basic level. ]

You there, human! Are you ready for your inevitable defeat?

[ Remilia stands out with her wings... and especially the outfit she found herself in (with a matching mask, of course). It'd look more impressive if she was taller... ]

Theodore Satchel VS Marcus Wright

[genpcs]

Lemonade, Crunchy Ice
A twist on the old hand-clapping game! First one to lose gets a bucket of lemon juice dropped on them. Hope you don't have any open wounds!

Flandre Scarlet VS Edward Nygma

[genpcs]

Fright Fest
Contestants must create a prank to scare a third party. They may choose who, but difficult targets will result in higher scores.

Jaune Arc VS Namur

[genpcs]

Shuffle!
Contestants play a game of shuffleboard.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur scratches just below the gills on his face, squinting out at the oversized shuffleboard arena ahead of them, and leans his head down toward Jaune.]

Hey smolt, y' ever play this shitty game 'fore?

Koishi Komeiji VS Augustine Sycamore

[genpcs]

Drinking Contest
Whoever passes out first loses. Done with Everclear so it won't take long.

[koishi_komeiji]

Koishi had never had this 'everclear' stuff but it was probably pretty strong if it was going to get used. She shifted a little bit, reaching up to remove the lower part of her mask that was covering her mouth and jaw, leaving the rest of it in place.

"I'm ready to go when you are!" My that was an adorable voice coming out of a scary costume.

Koishi did feel a little bad though. Her opponent seemed human. At least, that's what her eye told her. It was a bit hard to glean details with it pointed away and with all the noise around.

"I'll drink one and a half for each one you drink. That's fair, right?"

Emerald Sustrai VS Blake Belladonna

[genpcs]

Eating Contest
Whoever eats the most deep fried pickles in 5 minutes wins!

[unhappy]

[ Yeah this is definitely something Emerald thinks she's got in the bag. She's been able to keep much grosser things than fried pickles down, and if worst comes to worst, she has no problem making Blake think she's doing better than she has...

But, fair's fair, she'll wait until Blake's ready and the timer begins to start. You're not gonna beat a street rat when it comes to eating, kitty cat. She just smiles friendly at her. ]

Best of luck, Blake! [ BFF. She's such a bullshitter. ]

Colette Brunel VS Tayler Phillips

[genpcs]

Rock, Paper, Scissors
Best 2/3. How easy!

[klutzette]

[Colette's happy that she doesn't have to change out of her dress for this challenge - she's grown rather fond of it. She leaves her mask on too since it makes her feel pretty.

She smiles at Taylor.]

Are you ready?

Cassian Andor VS Rocket

[genpcs]

Too Much on Your Plate
Contestants engage in a plate spinning contest! First to lose both of their plates loses!

Re: Cassian Andor VS Rocket

[notaraccoon]

Rocket's "costume" consists of what he could find that worked: A black hooded cloak-looking thing and, of course, a mask, though it didn't do a lot to hide his features. There isn't much you can do to disguise the fact that he's only four feet tall and, y'know, raccoon-like.

Nevertheless, he stands on the stage unembarrassed, though confused and annoyed once the task is announced. "Plate-spinning?" he mouths, but once the plates and sticks are brought out he vaguely recognizes the, er, sport.

"Oh yeah, I've done this before," on a bet, he doesn't add. "Easy. Up for the challenge?" His opponent is just some humie, serious-lookin' guy, he doesn't think it'll be a problem.

Hamusuke VS Grell Sutcliff

[genpcs]

Ring Toss
First to get the ring over the red bottle wins. Targets are moving, so you'd better have good aim.

Hamusuke VS Grell Sutcliff

[hamusukethewise]

"Let us make this an honorable battle."

Hamusuke is wearing a chicken head mask with a feathered cloak. Her snakelike tail is visible, making her look like a cockatrice.

Despite the lack of opposable thumbs, Hamusuke is quite adept at tossing rings. She twirls a ring using her snake tail and uses the momentum to toss it. She's surprisingly quick and agile for something so large and fluffy(feathery).

It doesn't take long for her to hit the moving targets. Her martial arts training helps her anticipate how the bottles move.

Kamille Rainer VS Mercury Black

[genpcs]

Pump up the jam!
Time for a little one-on-one basketball.

[sarcaskick]

[ Mercury isn't exactly dressed for the sport, and his mask probably won't help him much unless it happens to psyche out his opponent. Still, he seems pretty cocky as he steps onto the court, hands on his hips as he cracks his neck one way, then the other. ]

Ball goes in the hoop. Easy enough.

Pidonus Marasia VS Dante Alighieri

[genpcs]

Karaoke Party
Contestants sing the same song back to back, voice detection gives points based on note and lyrical accuracy! Highest score wins.

1/2

[have_hat_will_travel]

[As soon as the Succubus and bardess, Pidonus Marasia, had seen the nature of the contest, she almost openly laughed maniacally. A singing competition? Clearly, she'd been offered a 'gimme' to advance to the next round easily! Very good for exciting the crowd, this sort of thing.

As she strutted onto the stage in her blue chinese-style dress and simple opera-mask, Pidonus smiled with a borderline sadism...]

Oswald Cobblepot VS Dorian of House Pavus

[genpcs]

Step Right Up
Contestants use a hammer to ring a bell. A contestant must ring the bell to win. If both contestants ring the bell, it will be measured by force with which they hit the pad. (Measure in pad.)

[tevinteraltus]

[ He didn't take very well to being "Player 1", though he supposed it was better than being "Player 2", at least in the grand scheme of things. Usually fairly confident in the first place, Dorian was bolstered by fine wine and fine food from the Carnival proper, and strode confidently to the to the ringmaster, nodding. She'd spoken into the device she held when announcing them, it had amplified her voice to be heard by the throng.

That was easy to figure out. He stopped briefly, though completely unrecognizable, he was aware, in his brilliant blue and gold ensemble, but that didn't mean he didn't think he looked amazing and that the crowd deserved a good look at their anonymous champion. It also didn't mean they weren't deserving of the sound of his velvety voice as stopped briefly at the microphone. ]

Hello, all. It is an honor and a pleasure.

[ He gives a sweeping bow before taking his position near the bell. He's watched the Iron Bull swing a hammer like that enough to make this work, right? ]

Round Two: Colette Brunel VS Dante Alighieri

[genpcs]

Wowie, after a fantastic first round we've got the next game ready for two of our winners... step up, Player 1 and Player 2! Can I get another round of applause?

[ The crowd cheers. ]

As for round two, the first game is... Rock, Paper, Scissors! Wait, didn't we already..

[ She messes around with some index cards for a moment, then smirks, holding one up and then pointedly moving her thumb. ]

My apologies, ladies and gentlemen. It's Rock, Paper, Scissors, Cannon! The much more daring version of the game!

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Cannon!
Best 2/3. Winner must shoot the loser with whatever the loser used out of the cannon! That applause is explosive! What happens if the winner refuses? The loser gets the chance to fire! If both refuse, they both are disqualified and don't proceed.

Re: Round Two: Colette Brunel VS Dante Alighieri

[dantesfight]

[The red devilish masked man walks out in a brilliant reddish white suit]

[He waves to the crowd]

The guy is slightly confused.

"What is this joke, a.. game?"

"Oh... Player two picks paper."

Round Two: Jaune Arc VS Dorian of House Pavus

[genpcs]

[ The Ringmaster is humming a little tune and swinging her cane to the beat. She heads over to Jaune and Dorian after their first round, doing a little shimmy. ]

Ooh, I'm feeling the beat, you two! [ She turns to the audience, gesturing to the two of them. ] Jaune and Dorian, two brave souls stepping up to their second plate! Two may enter, one will leave! Well, perhaps. How about a battle of wits? I hope you two are good at word games, because we'll be playing Hangman next!

Now, there are a few rule changes...

Hangman
Both contestants play a game of hangman. Each contestant's hangman is someone they know stood on a box composed of six pieces. A piece is removed for each incorrect letter. Contestants may choose to trade places with their opponent's hangman at the start of the game, but will be disqualified from moving to round three for doing so. Their hangman must complete the game for them regardless or both boxes will be removed. If none of the four competitors want to move forward, of course, all may disqualify themselves, but if even one of the competitors agrees to play, the game must go on.

Please OOCly contact your (OOCly chosen) hangman's players now to get approval, then reply with their names for the game to begin.

[aurabble]

Jaune's hangman will be Weiss Schnee.

Round Two: Koishi Komeiji VS Remilia Scarlet

[genpcs]

[ As the ring master comes over to the next two contestants who made it to round two, she does so walking in a funnily straight line, balancing her cane on her nose like some kind of otter act.

Of course, she does a spin, lets it drop and catches it, then points it at the two ladies. ]

It's time for a duel, ladies! I hope you're ready for a show on the high wire.

Tight Rope Walking? You're on fire!
Contestants balance on a rope over flames and must use staves to knock each other off of the ropes. If the contestant uses any abilities involving flight, flotation, or other gravity-defying capabilities it is considered a forfeit of the match. Best of luck!

[koishi_komeiji]

A tight rope walk? Pshh. Koishi could do this with her eyes closed. "Yeah! That sounds like fun!" Though Koishi's idea of fun was questionable at best.

Up on the tightrope, Koishi had taken the time to remove the armor from her arms, rolling her shoulders and stretching, her tentacles poking through the slits in the sleeves. She was quite comfortable so high up off the ground.

She picked up her pole, moving a little more slowly than normal out onto the wire. She was used to walking on tree branches, but nothing quite so slim. Regardless she would become comfortable quickly enough.

Round Two: Soma Cruz VS Rocket

[genpcs]

[ When the ring master returns for this match up, she's got a can with her that says "Snake Oil" on it. ]

I've been having a bit of an itch lately, someone told me this'll scratch it right up...

[ She goes to pop the can open once she's right in front of Rocket and Soma, the lid bursting with spring-triggered snakes in every direction. She laughs. ]

Well, ain't that a bit of the wild west for ya! Snakes in a can, I'll be. Speaking of though, step right up!

[ She draws antique Smith & Wesson American .44 old west style guns out and holds it out to both Rocket and Soma. ]

What do you say audience, should we make them wear hats too?! [ She grins at the audience, who's cheering wildly. ]

Quick Draw!
It's the wild west! Both contestants are given a gun with a single bullet. Take ten paces, turn, and fire!

[notquitedracula]

[Soma looks at the gun for approximately ten seconds, then looks at his opponent. Then back at the gun again... and finally at the ringmaster. It's impossible to see his eyes under that mask, but the set of his mouth says it all, really. A whole metric ton of disgust. He takes the gun offered to him... and twists the barrel quite completely out of useful shape. With his bare hands.]

I forfeit. No prize is worth the life of another person, no matter what shape he wears. [He drops the twisted wreck of a weapon to the floor at the ringmaster's feet, and walks away, after sketching a courtly bow to his erstwhile opponent.]

ROUND TWO WINNERS REPLY TO THIS ONE

[genpcs]

Comment here if your character is a round one winner after discussing it OOCly with the player of your character's opponent.

[koishi_komeiji]

After much discussion we have determined that Koishi wins. But only by a hair.

Round Two: Mercury Black VS Emerald Sustrai VS Marcus Wright

[genpcs]

[ The Ringmaster seems to be pacing, counting the remaining contestants over and over. ]

Uneven number.. Well, I know just how to solve that!

[ She claps her hands together, then skips over to one of the nearby strongmen, who hand her a revolver. She takes all of the bullets out, then puts two in and spins it so it's impossible to tell where the bullets went. ]

Player one, player two, and player three. [ She points to each of them as a circular table and chairs are brought out. ]

They're classics for a reason, dears.

Russian Roulette
Players take turns firing the gun at the person to their left's head. If it goes off and you die, you lose. Don't fire at someone who's already dead.

Round Two: Edward Nygma VS Hamusuke

[genpcs]

[ The ringmaster starts humming that generic circus song. You know the one! Then almost on cue musicians on the side start playing along with her. She goes over to Nygma and gives him a look for a moment, then blows him a kiss. ]

You're a real cutie.

[ She chuckles, then moves over to center stage, brushing her hand over Hamusuke to ruffle his fur as she does and skipping away before he can react. ] Our final act of round two, everyone! Players one and two, please, climbs the ladders at the ends of the stage!

Trap-EZ!
Trapeze competition that requires competitors to perform increasingly difficult feats on the trapeze until one of them falls. Starts with one swing from one side to another. Contestants may choose one object each turn to make the journey increasingly difficult. Items include knife throwers throwing knives across the swing area, rings of fire, falling ribbons (obscures vision of trapeze on other side), swinging saw blades, and anything else you want to get creative with! Think real-life Ultimate Chicken Horse.

[acrostic]

[ Being called cute while wearing a mask and blown a kiss is probably the highlight of this so far. Is it the eyes? Are they giving him away?

Since it's a stage, he goes along with the showmanship of it all. Makes sure to catch that kiss and does an exaggerated bow before moving towards the ladder to make his way up.

Round One, while interesting, had been simplistic in his opinion. His opponent made such a tactical error picking him as the target that he was practically guaranteed a win even if he hadn't managed to prank anyone. Round Two trumps it by a milestone. A horrifically interesting good start.

Since his opponent appears to be someone in a highly unusual mascot costume, he might have an advantage too. Their choice of attire could be the tactical error. That can't be too functional. Limits movement. The weight balance could be an issue. Vision could potentially be impaired, assuming the person inside fits the typical proportions of a humanoid and can't rotate their head 180 degrees.

Any advantage will come in handy because he's never been the most athletic person in the world. A good grip though. It's all about momentum. Upper body. One swing from one side to the other isn't terribly difficult in theory. It'll be all about the placement of everything else. And the items. If he puts one one at a certain height, he could probably nail Player 2 on the head with it.

Is it against the rules to push them off? ]

I don't suppose you have a circus background? [ A cheerful tone to the question. ]

Round Three: BATTLE ROYALE (NULL)

[genpcs]

[ Advancing winners: Dante Alighieri, Koishi Komeiji, Rocket, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, Edward Nygma. ]

Those who have advanced to the final round will be brought to the edge of the circus tent. The audience has been vacated and is watching on live screens for safety purposes. The Ring Master's voice goes over the intercom, rather than in person. ]

Welcome to round three! Let's start things off with a little.. mmmmm... information~

[ In the center of the cleared out circus tent are five items:

1. Machete
2. Mace (bludgeoning mace)
3. Mace (spray mace)
4. Maul (war hammer)
5. Musket ]

There's one for each of you.. well, there was. Round two had a few naughties, so we're one short. Five weapons, six contestants.

[ Suddenly, all the lights go off and mysterious lights spark on at all edges of the tent, illuminating the inside in blue. Contestants may feel very, very strange for a moment. That's the feeling of all of their powers being drained beyond non-human characteristics. No special healing, no extra appendages (your character just won't be able to pull them out if they have any), no vampire super strength, nothing but normal human funtime, strength, mortality, etc. Your character is effectively a normal human for the duration of this regardless of species or circumstance because this fight is not about strength. It's about creativity and being selfish enough to want to win despite the cost. ]

Last one standing wins. Leave the tent and forfeit, but you have to get past your other contestants first. Don't forfeit, you'll get an Attleton charm for your troubles. The winner gets the grand prize. Forfeit, you'll be branded a coward for the rest of your life. Boo, don't forfeit.

Other than that, you've got free reign. Just kill everyone else in the tent and you win! Don't start before I say the magic word, now.

Three, two, one.. Abracadabra!

[ That's the magic word, apparently. Let the game begin. Absolutely discuss OOCly with your fellow players. Any god-modding and your character automatically loses. ]

[unhappy]

[ The carnival had been a mixed bag for Emerald. Honestly, there had been some things that have been fun but unfortunately, a lot of her temptations conflicted with others. She'd been hunted, she'd indulged in a brief moment of trying to actually trust someone other than Mercury that had ended very poorly (by fault of her own but taking responsibility for her actions wasn't a strength). She threw up a bunch of pickles, then cheated death when the freaky Terminator thing got mad because she emptied the Russian Roulette game gun in his face.

And now she was being asked to kill everyone else, including her partner, the only one she actually knew who was (sorry, Rocket, she wasn't familiar with your raccoony escapades, so you're just another vermin to her even if it's obvious you're not humanoid). Overall, temptation wasn't making her too happy, but if at the very least they could find a way to make sure it was just the two of them left..

Emerald wasn't going to wait for anyone else to process what was going on. The second the stupid magic word was said, she had broken into a sprint, slid down past the weapons pile to grab whatever was closest to her (the maul), and used the momentum to head right over to Mercury's side. ]

Partners?

[ If one of them was going to get killed, it had better be by the other. She didn't want it to be anyone else left standing here. ]