=>[ORP] Bloodfest 2015 Boardwalk

[Hivestuck]

This year, the Boardwalk is flooded with light, and sound, and activity. Now that Civisect City has risen from the ruins, Bloodfest's activity is combined with the natural background hustle and bustle of trolls living and working in the same area. The sponsored and approved booths with a variety of colourful characters leering out of them compete with the street vendors that surround any disoriented looking troll and drown them in offers for 'very expensive, limited edition' trinkets and baubles.
Delicious smells waft in the air, and sounds compete for dominance in your sponge clots, all of them doing their best to lure your attention towards wherever they originate from.
If you step off the boardwalk and onto the sand you will find the games taking place, most with at least a small handful of spectators, depending on the intensity and activity taking place in the designated 'competition zones'. Farther down is the fairground, boasting quite the impressive array of fast and furious rides. Heading inland will bring you to the massive hotels that mark the centre of the festivities, and beyond that, the sparkling new buildings of Civisect City.

OOC information
Here your trolls can hang out, comment on the games taking place, or just enjoy a yummy beetle kebab. This thread encompasses all non-event activity taking place in every area of Old Hemisect's beaches, so feel free to have your trolls visit the hotels, gift shops, beach, or even the fair ground. This thread will remain open for the entirety of the month of March.

Accepted quest trolls that are partaking in Bloodfest are allowed to roleplay in this thread!  

[amicableAggressor]

Standing behind her booth, Regina hauled on the heavy form that she had tucked down below her feet. With a small bit of effort, she dragged the life-sized replica of herself into position on a few boxes, and propped it up with more, to prevent it sliding over. If no one was going to meet her gaze the entire festival, why bother hanging around the booth? Besides, she had seen some other fun things being set up, and if there was one thing she was in sore need of, it was fun. As always, the monarch constantly worked to amass supplies of good humor and cheer, and as always they dried up like water in the desert the moment she was forced back into her boring, silent castle.

Removing her incredibly cunning disguise, she struggled the shirt over the torso of the stuffed figure, fixing the glasses to it's head with the genius idea of hanging the arms off of of the lopsided fins. It was almost as though they were made for that purpose. When the dummy was positioned well enough for a passing glance to fool the average lowblood, Regina looped a scarf a few times around her neck, enough to obscure her symbol, pulled on a broad-brimmed sunhat and glasses, and leapt the booth, striding off into the crowd. Time to mingle with the subjects. Glancing around herself at the crowds, aquatic vascular system rising, she began to whistle a cheery tune.  

[kamileunaire]

Piperi panted softly as his feet carried him out of the transport station and through the city, only barely distracted by the magnificently glistening lights of the new city. Though the little orangeblood had heard of the massive upheaval wreaked upon the city during the previous summer, he had hidden himself away, eager to avoid being touched by such disasterous happenings. It had worked well enough; no one knew about his hive, and even his few close friends had not bothered to call on him. He'd had no acquaintances within the old city, and so it was out of the question to care very much. The results had been saddening, a mass displacement of lowbloods...but the injustice of it did not directly affect him. He had his own troubles to worry over...

And boy, had he procrastinated in trying to solve them. The event that still plagued him was likely only a blip in the minds of most of the population of the planet, a funny time when they had all been drastically reduced in age and size. The problem had been dealt with by an industrious group of sleuths in the end, but through some inexplicable series of events, he had failed to receive his promised portion of the cure, allegedly ensured by the queen herself. There had been some logistical error, perhaps. Though he kept a mailing box in the city, no potion or bottle ever came, and though he had tried, no one had been willing to share theirs. Drones had been dismissive, and it certainly hadn't been sold anywhere regularly. Who knew what the ingredients had even been? In quiet frustration, he had hidden away, waiting for an opportunity to approach the queen...

What better opportunity than Bloodfest. He could remember his brief encounter with her, several sweeps before, and had high hopes that she would be there again. Dressed in his usual oversized sweater, he padded out into the crowds, anxious, but reassured by the notion that no one would notice or care about a little lowblood like himself. Swoosedad fluttered overhead, keeping close, and he gasped out loud as he finally saw it; a brilliantly bright booth, decorated in that familiar tyrian purple. He rushed over, and clambered to get the attention of the troll behind the table. His forwardness was uncharacteristic, but the urgency of his situation and finding a possible fix made him bold.

"H-hello there! Your majesty...Regina! I was wondering...if...ahh?" His soft voice trailed off, and he squinted. Was that a dummy? With a startled expression, he turned around, eyes sweeping the crowd until they landed on a retreating figure with a large hat. Immediately, swoosedad set off for the disguised troll, and so did he. As he drew nearer, the girl's horns were what ended up giving her away. Though the thought of talking to their forceful monarch again made his bile sack lurch nervously, he steeled himself, and skittered up to keep pace at her side, craning his neck to peer up at her. She had to lsiten to him...she just had to. A queen was supposed to try to help her troubled subjects, right?

"G-good evening, hello!" He squeaked, and his wings quivered against his back, hidden under thick black fabric. After a moment, a playful thought came to him. "I gotta say, Regina...I love what you did with the city. It's so d-different from how it was last time..." His voice was cracking, shaking, and he could only pray that she would acknowledge him.

amicableaggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

Looking around, Regina almost mowed right over the child in her desire to approach a booth at the same moment as he popped up, only notified of her imminent collision when he piped up. Slowing down in her pace, she tugged the sunglasses lower to get a good look at this troll, eyebrows shooting up at the same time as he began to chatter about Civisect. Like she had even really done anything. Sure she had sat on her throne, looked at the photos of the shithole it had become, and gone 'fix this', but beyond that she had simply used it as an excuse to stirr up trouble and throw parties, like the one currently going on around them both. She supposed though, that some trolls might actually think she had a hand in redesigning it. Like she was some sort of multifacited goddess that could whip out a blueprint for a city as though it was a cup of cool milk from a musclebeast.

It made sense then, that it was just some dim-looking rustblood kid. She had an eye for faces, but lowbloods, well, there wasn't much point remembering them. He didn't seem to be looking for trouble, but what other reason did he have for approaching her? Shame globes of steel beneath a wilting outer shell? Maybe, but if that was the case, then the wobbling voice was a real good act. She gave an incredulous grin, speaking up after his voice had trailed off. "'Do I know you?"

Kamileunaire

 

[kamileunaire]

Pip nearly yelped when she turned into him unexpectedly, biting hard on the inside of his lip as she slowed to avoid running him over. He cursed himself for a moment, cursed his rush, and his tremoring pump biscuit. As her sunglasses came down, he locked eyes with her a moment, and he was sure he would keel over, right then and there. It was her at least, he thought optimistically, as she stared down. He was sure she wouldn't recognize him, couldn't possibly expect her to, but the conversation they had shared at the Bloodfest before last had never quite faded from his memory. He remembered the ideas she'd laid out, how eager she'd sounded. He'd shared his own hesitant opinions about it, but that encounter didn't matter anymore, didn't count for what was currently happening.

He sucked in a deep breath, and tried to swallow his nerves, shaking his head as he started to answer. "Not really...maybe? No, we've met once, but it was a long time ago, y'see. I wouldn't expect anyone to remember, but..." he trailed off again, his words tumbling out in anxious, rambled form. "B-but the thing is, I'm in a little bit of trouble, and I think you're the only one who can help!" He seemed to shrink at his reveal, and swallowed hard, feeling as if his pump biscuit had leapt into his throat. He'd done it, and even if she told him to ******** off, or just laughed him away, he would at least have the satisfaction of knowing he'd tried. He did not relish the idea of spending several sweeps more trapped inside his tiny body, flight abilities horribly diminished, but whether she decided to entertain his pleas or not was her choice.

"That is, if you aren't too busy with other things." He couldn't help himself, tacking it on in a simperingly submissive manner. His reasoning was that during Bloodfest, she wouldn't have all the usual queenly duties to worry over. His mind swam as he looked up to her, glowing with cautious optimism.

amicableaggressor

 

[grayseasons]

Once Anguis had decided to have enough of the booths (and managing to escape Forera), he took a detour down to the beach. He had snagged a beetle kebab on the way and was idly taking bites on it as he made his way down to the shore. He hadn't been here in a very long while and it was... weirdly nostalgic in a way. He had met Forera here a long time ago, sweeps upon sweeps it felt, and it was weird to see the city so illuminated compared to his former memories of it. When him and Dragondad had traveled, they had skipped this city, and now he was faced with the newly found splendor of the area that contrasted with what he had formerly known. Not that it was bad, just a little jarring, and he mulled on that thought as he wandered up and down the shoreline.

His shoes were in his hand as he wandered the area, avoiding the more populated areas of trolls and simply finding some idle peace in wandering and watching. Anguis was sure to join the festivities again later, but for now he was happy to be a spectator and watch, not entirely focused on his surroundings in all of his wanderings.
 

[DraconicFeline]

PeanutButterpies

Psykgi couldn't help but feel a hit of civic pride at how her city had transformed. It had been such a shithole before, and now... She grinned at its sparkling glory. Yes, she was proud to live in this city. Prouder than a redblood ought to be.

Psy rarely got the chance to walk on the beach, and she was taking it where she could. She was an inner-city troll, and perfectly happy with it normally, but she was of the belief that if you did new things, you would grow. Ma'am was of the belief that if you did new things, you got noticed, and hopefully by the right people. So, Psykgi was walking on the beach, leaving – for the time being – her stall in the capable antennae of the rest of her lusus.

It was a gorgeous night, and Psykgi was definitely in a good mood.

Honestly, when was she not.

She noticed a fellow beachwalker and observed him with some amusement. ”That tealblood looks familiar.” she said to Ma'am. And with that, she went over to say hi.

”Hello!” she called out to Anguis. That was when she recognized him. ”You're the one that wanted to grow tall, aren't you?” she asked, feeling triumphant at the memory...  

[amicableAggressor]

"'Help huh?" Regina's smile grew bigger and her eyebrows raised higher, relishing the entirely new experience that was presenting itself to her. Little orangeblood kids didn't regularly trot up and ask her for things. In fact, they usually headed quickly in the opposite direction, avoiding eye contact. "Is this some sorta roleplay event going on? That FLURP -- or whatever -- stuff? I haven't stopped by there yet." Maybe they needed help slaying some big beast or something. Yeah, that made sense, this was some sorta immersive advertising. She liked the idea, though it relied a little too heavily on the kid garnering sufficient pity, in her opinion.

Wrinkling her nose at his follow up question, she flapped a hand dismissively at the rest of the festival. "Nahhh, just goin' around, tending to my flock. Y'know. Queenly duties. Gab away." Heck, maybe she was wrong in her guess. Maybe one of those lowblood 'My Life Sucks And It's Your Fault' groups had finally decided that sending small kids to beg her favour was the new surprise bombing. Either way, she didn't feel worried. There were plenty of highbloods and troops surrounding and mingling in the festival, and at the worst, the ocean was a hop-skip away. As she ran through various scenarios that would involve cutting a bloody swathe through her population, she continued to grin cheerily at the child, hoping for him to take the plunge, so to speak, and spit it out.

Kamileunaire

 

[kamileunaire]

Pip felt the heat rise to his cheeks as Regina smiled, meeting his question with one of her own. His thinkpan was subsequently flooded with relief as she responded with curiosity instead of anger or condescending amusement, and he found himself remembering that she hadn't been much different during their last encounter. Shaking his head, his panicked expression before turned into something more wide-eyed and hopeful. "No, I don't think it is." He looked confused for a moment himself, before she had started to speak again. Her words were almost enough to get him shaking with excitement, but he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself instead. She was actually gonna listen.

"Right! Okay...do you remember when, when that thing happened, where everybody thought they bought a really awesome strength potion, but we all got shrunk instead?" It was a bit silly to explain it that way, really, because even he knew that the Queen herself had been affected. Strength potions were not something Pip prescribed to on a usual basis, but the advertising had just been too good, too alluring. Hordes of trolls had fallen victim - but almost everyone had recovered from it. Everyone except him. "Well...I never got any cure for it, in the mail, or anywhere. No one was selling the stuff, and no one would share." He looked distressed again as he thought back on previous attempts to fix the problem. He could have tried harder, maybe, but things could sure get scary when you were a tiny little lowblood. "D-do you know if there's any left?" He still looked hopeful as he gazed up at her, once again bracing himself for the worst. Part of him knew that she probably had nothing to do with the logistics of such things, but if there was anyone with the power to help, it was Regina.

amicableAggressor

 

[Gl!tch~]

Luxara was, well, hanging out by the Trigger Happy booth as usual. Not behind it. But near it. She looked much like she had upon arriving at the newly-named Civisect: hair up in a squirrely ponytail, longcoat wrapped around her waist, and a pair of fingerless gloves on. While it was a good, summer look for her, the scar on her face stood out. Still somewhat fresh.

She had a slurpee and was happy to just be off duty for a bit. She could roam wherever she wanted...if she wanted to. Just the freedom itself was nice. But she was cool just watching things for a bit. Her usual pep was drawn in a little. Maybe it was because this was The Place, and even after all this time, it still stung a little. Just a tiny bit. This was a royal-run event, but everyone mingled anyhow. That was nice, at least. Maybe sometimes everyone could get along despite their politics or views. Just get some games and sports running, and fun became more important than anything else.
Speaking of, she was so ready to win the trophy for her blood color. Oh, so ready. It was going to be a good sweep for Team Green, she just knew it. After all, with Luxara playing for them as well as maybe certain other veggies, they had it in the bag!  

[Gl!tch~]

Braid flying behind him, Reemus ran past with pail and shovel in his little freckled hands. His badass necklace bounced against hist novelty Chittentown drought shirt. He was headed straight towards the beach to make the BEST SAND CASTLE EVER. Yeah! "Scuse me, mate, pardon me. Oops." he said as he dodged and shimmied around the crowds. He did what he could to avoid outright bumping into anyone, but it was hard sometimes. He seemed to have grown some.

Gillian raced after him, her leg healed a lot since the drought. She barked and woofed to get people to notice her yellowblooded charge was coming their way, and she was going to be right behind him. And she was absolutely willing to barrel on through.  

[grayseasons]

Not entirely focused, Anguis' head whipped around at the source of the noise, half out of fear that Forera (or whoever was running the booth with her) had found him and was there to drag him back over to the area. When it was only a redblood, he visibly relaxed, offering a smile.

"Hello!" He offered back, shifting his kebab so it wasn't so close to his face. He blushed at the identifier, grinning sheepishly. "Yeah, that's me. My sister is taller than me and I want to catch up. I'm the older one anyways! He pouted for a minute, but continued "Thank you for the advice though, it was really nice." A smile replaced the pout, obviously happy for earlier.

DraconicFeline

 

[Blasphemoose]

So far this experience into the world was less than what Cebass had expected. He was doing mostly awful so far. He was pretty sure he'd never taste anything again from those cupcakes, sure the shooting range was alright, he'd done pretty well with the darts and extremely well with the pots. There was also the troll he had the chance to meet. Probably one of the coolest, rudest, dumbest and very much most irritating thing he'd ever had the chance to grace.

And so he lay floating in the water. Occasionally his lusus nuzzled his back with its nose causing a squirming motion in the water. "I'm not upset, you don't need to comfort me," he muttered after the third time Ness nuzzled into his back. He then decided to swim back to shore and rejoin the rest of Alternia for a while.

once back on land he took to the crowds. Perhaps he'd meet some not so brain rotted individuals.  

[amicableAggressor]

There was a small pause as Regina's memory took a sharp swing into that unfortunate memory. She had done her best to put it behind her, as the last thing she had ever wanted to experience was sudden abrupt drops in height. If nothing else, the idea that this kid was suffering from the same kind of dimorphism got a few pity points. Still, that was sweeps ago. So this kid ... she didn't even try and hide the smile of amusement as the gears clicked into place. This little lowblood had been crawling around in the gutters since then, forced to relive his childhood. The pity points were mixed with the sneering thought that if he hadn't been able to get his hands on more of the cure, perhaps he didn't deserve any. The common practice of culling the week could easily apply to some wiggling lowblood like this.

"You mean you've been going around as a wriggler the entire time? Like, ever since then??" Shaking her head, she folded her arms across her chest and decided to lie. It wasn't so much that she was trying to punish the kid, more to see what his reaction would be to the end of his last desperate hope. Would he curl up on himself and sulk dejectedly off, or show a bit more spirit? "If you were looking for a fix, you probably shoulda come earlier. We threw away the last of the stuff a sweep or so ago."

Kamileunaire

haurhugh didnt get to reply yesterday SORRY;;

 

[kamileunaire]

As the seadweller's expression shifted from curiosity to amusement, it was Pip's cue to start fidgeting a little, giving her a sheepish look. He could only imagine what she was thinking, and it certainly didn't seem as if she sympathized much as she grinned down at him. Pip couldn't really blame her for it, either, because it was no one's fault but his own, that he remained child-sized. Couldn't he have worked just a little harder to solve it himself, or at least have had the globes to attempt to visit her at her palace, where the doors were almost always open to visitors, and had been for some time? Thinking about going into her home, her territory, still sent shivers down his spine. With his overactive imagination, that simply hadn't been an option. They were on relatively neutral ground here, and if things went sour, he could melt back into the crowd and not have to worry about fleeing some scary seadweller castle.

"I've gotten a little bigger, since then...but, yeah." He replied, accompanying the admission with an embarrassed smile, which all but vanished as she revealed the bad news. For a split second he looked biscuit-wrenchingly sad, before his brows furrowed and he steeled himself. There was no way he was going to give up so easily, not after all the time he'd spent mentally preparing himself for the journey, and his encounter with her. He had to try harder now, since he'd been too frightened to do it all those sweeps ago.

"Are you positive?? None of it was stored somewhere, just in case?" Even though he'd managed to puff himself up a bit, his soft voice was still stammering as he fished around for ideas. "Or m-maybe the recipe still exists, at least?" He sucked in a little breath, and let it go, sinking his hands deep into his sweater pockets. "I don't even know if it'd work this long after...but I'd do anything to be big again." He admitted after a moment, glancing up at her imploringly.

amicableAggressor

no rush! :3 <3