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To celebrate the forthcoming arrival of Midsommar, as well as the first successful North American tour leg of the Ghost Project led by Cardinal Copia, the Clergy decided to throw a big celebration. One not only for those residing in the abbey but for the whole town as well. After all, it is thanks to the townspeople that the Satanic community living just a little out of town gets to thrive.
If it weren’t for the locals’ acceptance and hospitality, the Ministry’s property might have gone up in flames a long time ago.
So, decided to organize something that everyone could enjoy and that would bring people together despite their differences, Sister Imperator came up with the idea to build a whole carnival in a field on the outskirts of town. There, families and Siblings of Sin could enjoy the games and the food stands, as well as different shows that would be held, one of them being the band performing, of course.
To make it even more attractive and exotic for the local people (but also because the tour leg they’re celebrating took place in the U.S.), they decided to combine typical American carnival stands with ones more Swedish-themed. That way, everyone could find something to enjoy, especially regarding food.
The celebration started at sundown. Unlike Midsommar festivals, which start at noon and continue well into the night, some even finishing the morning after, the carnival was a special occasion dedicated more to the success of the band with their new frontman than to the oncoming arrival of summer. Still, everyone was happy and excited to go.
Even the ghouls and ghoulettes had been looking forward to it. Or, at least, most of them admitted so.
And in order to keep their true identities hidden, not only were they instructed to wear their usual uniforms and masks but to keep their full glamours up at all times while hiding their tails, clawed fingernails, fangs, forked tongues, and unnaturally colored eyes.
As soon as they got there, accompanying Copia, Seestor, Nihil, and the rest of the Clergy members, as well as the Siblings of Sin residing in the abbey, they didn’t waste time before going off on their own, looking for what piqued their interest. Eventually, they ended up splitting into pairs and groups, with Aether following after Dewdrop ‒to make sure he wouldn’t get into too much trouble‒, Cumulus and Cirrus going on a food hunt, and the three remaining musicians (Swiss, Rain, and Mountain) just wandering around the carnival.
Meanwhile, the Cardinal, Papa Nihil, and Imperator trudged around the fair, speaking with the locals and making their way to the central stage. There, they found the local authorities, which congratulated and thanked them for organizing such a wonderful event. On the stage, performing some traditional songs, was a band of sorts, comprising an accordionist, a few string instruments such as fiddles, and a couple of wind and percussion instruments as well. Amongst the musicians present on stage was a certain Mr. Forge, who Rain knew very well.
However, said water ghoul is currently occupied away from the center stage, following two of his bandmates as they look around the fair in search of something to do. After all, the band is scheduled to play later that night, so they have plenty of time to kill in the meantime.
Unfortunately, that leads Swiss to have a very bad idea as soon as they stumble upon a sign outside a big tent.
“Should I enter the hotdog eatin’ competition?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” a worried Rain comments.
“I don’t see why not,” replies Mountain, unbothered.
The earth ghoul can see why Swiss shouldn’t enter the contest. However, he wants to see what could happen if the other demon does compete, so he doesn’t voice his concerns like Rain does. In the end, the drummer and the bassist kind of act as the demon and the angel on the multi-instrumentalist’s shoulders. But, unlike most people, Swiss decides to listen to the demon instead of the angel. Although, some could say that he had his mind made even before he asked the question to his companions.
The three ghouls walk into the tent, one of them going up to the long table positioned along the wall of the tent at the back, whilst the other two take seats amongst the crowd gathered there. Luckily ‒or unluckily‒ for them, the competition has yet to start, so Swiss manages to make it into the contenders’ roster.
Despite the bizarre look provided by a ghoul in full Ghost uniform sitting next to regular humans, everyone present inside the tent is looking forward to seeing who the winner will be. Obviously, no one except the demons themselves knows about their hellish nature; otherwise, everyone would be freaking out, of course. Still, neither Mountain nor Rain expect the competition to end well, given that despite being able to eat human foods, they shouldn’t eat much of it at once. Swiss either doesn’t know, forgot, or is straight-up ignoring that fact just to have a chance at winning the competition.
Once the master of ceremonies announces the beginning of the competition, the five contestants start to devour the hotdogs sitting in front of them. The time limit is set at six minutes, which the ghouls soon find out is a lot longer than expected. Who suffers the most, though, is Swiss, who starts to struggle a few minutes in and more than a dozen hotdogs down. All the while, Mountain and Rain watch with increasing horror how their bandmate begins to look increasingly upset.
About halfway through the time limit, Swiss is forced by his rebelling stomach to run out of the tent, followed closely by his two friends.
At the same time that the eating contest is taking place, not too far from the tent, Cumulus and Cirrus are walking alongside a row of carnival game stands, looking at what prizes offered interest them. They pass Dew and Aether on their way, only sparing them a glance before moving on.
The two ghouls, or rather one of them, are concentrated in one of the games, which turns out to be a small airsoft-rifles shooting range.
Dewdrop is currently annihilating all the targets with precise accuracy (all thanks to the practice provided by throwing guitar picks at Aether), gathering more than enough points to win all the prizes combined. He’s so engrossed by it that he completely forgot that Aether is standing by his side, looking at him with some modicum of concern. After all, his time must have run out already. However, it seems like the stand’s owner is too intimidated by the small demon to tell him to cease fire. Seeing that, the quintessence ghoul finally decides to intervene and reason with his friend to make him understand that the game is over.
“Dew, it’s okay, you can stop now. You won the biggest prize.”
“What? What prize?” A nonplussed Dewdrop asks after pausing his shooting to look at the other.
“Never mind,” Aether mutters, dejected.
Realizing that the lead guitarist is only playing for fun and not to gain any kind of prize leads the rhythmic guitarist to give up in his attempt to stop him. Instead, he just smiles sympathetically at the owner, silently apologizing for his friend’s behavior. At least, the human is relieved that the player who could vacate all the shelves full of prizes isn’t interested in any of them, meaning that they will be available to other players. That is if Dew ends up growing bored and leaving the stand; otherwise, other people will feel too intimidated to even approach the game.
In the meantime, the ghoulettes have finally come across an interesting stand that houses a ring-tossing game. Although, it isn’t the game itself that catches their attention but the lovely prizes displayed: high-quality, handmade plush dolls in the shapes of various cute animals.
“Aw, look how cute that plushie is!” Cumulus exclaims, pointing at a big and fluffy pink rabbit. “I want it!”
If it weren’t because she is a bit of a klutz when it comes to aim and coordination, she would attempt to win it herself. However, she and Cirrus both know that it would be a waste of time and money. Thus, the taller ghoulette offers her help.
“I’ll try and win it for you if you get me some pickled herring and meatballs.”
“Oh, yes!” The shorter demoness agrees, excited at the prospect of getting the plushie as well as some food. “I can get some strawberries while I’m at it too.”
“Just don’t take too long, sweetie, I’m already hungry.”
“Of course, girly!”
As Cumulus goes on her merry way in the direction of the food area, Cirrus pays for her rings and expertly manages to get them around each bottleneck, not missing even one. Upon winning, she chooses the prize that Cumulus had been eyeing, thanking the stand owner before walking away in search of her bestie. She ends up finding the air demoness queueing in front of a baking and sweets food stand. In her arms, Cumulus is already carrying what Cirrus asked her for.
When the ghoulettes reunite, they exchange goods, with Cirrus taking her food while Cumulus inspects her new plushie. The excited pianist thanks her friend as she hugs the rabbit, to which the other replies that it was nothing, right after swallowing a meatball topped with a piece of pickled herring.
After they get Cumulus a slice of traditional strawberry cake (known as “jordgubbstårta”), they leave the food court area and start to walk back toward the game stands. That’s how they come across Aether and Dewdrop once more, although this time around the two ghouls are at a different stand, a balloons and darts one. And as it happened with the previous game, Dew is killing it. Or rather, he’s killing every balloon in sight.
Seeing that prompts Cumulus to ask the owner for the prizes the small ghoul has won so far, to which Aether doesn’t even try to argue against. Meanwhile, Cirrus finishes her food as she looks on amused by the whole scene, especially since the fire demon isn’t paying attention to any of them, too focused on popping the last few balloons left.
“You can take any prizes you want, just… Please, take your friend with you as well,” the owner begs, worriedly looking sideways at Dew.
“Sure thing, we’ll do,” Cirrus promises as she and Cumulus start choosing the prizes they want.
“Dew, it’s over, let’s go.”
Aether nudges the little demon gently after he pops the last balloon, trying to get his attention away from the game.
“Yeah, Dewey, there are no more balloons left and we already got the prizes!” Cumulus adds.
“Alright, whatever. I’m done playing anyway.”
“Should we check on the others? See where they ended up and what trouble they got in?” Cirrus asks.
“We should probably do that, yeah.”
As Aether agrees with the ghoulette, he follows after an already retreating Dewdrop. Behind him, both keyboardists strut languidly, arms full of plushies. That’s how they leave behind the relieved owner, who waits until the band members are out of sight before rearranging the prizes on the shelves as well as putting up new balloons on the board.
On their way to search for Mountain, Swiss, and Rain, the group of ghouls and ghoulettes pass both Sister Imperator and Papa Nihil, only sparing them a fleeting glance before moving on a little more quickly. They all know that the higher-ups being near each other is usually a recipe for disaster since Seestor always runs on a short fuse and Peepaw has the talent to piss her off sooner than later whenever he opens his mouth. So, the musicians try to remain as inconspicuous as possible.
“All this to celebrate one month of touring? It’s too much,” Nihil grumbles while he looks around, judging people as they come and go.
“Oh, Papa, don’t be a killjoy,” Seestor admonishes with a light tone that bleeds exasperation. “It’s a lovely evening and everyone is enjoying the carnival. You should do the same.”
“It’s hard to do when he’s prancing around like he won a Grammy.”
As the current Papa continues to complain about the festivities and the motives behind the same, Imperator resolves that it’s best to distract him before he manages to sour her mood even further. Or worse, he somehow manages to spoil the carnival for Copia as well. Only downside is that doing so means catering to a side of his that she would rather not foster.
“How about I get us some gravad lax and a couple of snaps? Will that improve your sour mood?”
The offering of salmon and alcohol would seem to be enough to appease the old man. However, that’s not what he’s actually looking forward to.
“Well, sharing anything with you, Seestor, always improves my mood,” he assures with a toothy smile.
“Right. Let’s get the food then.”
“Can we share a piece of jordgubbstårta too?”
Despite Seestor’s evident discontent about the situation, Nihil is either oblivious or uncaring, which led him to ask for more than she offered. All in the hopes that they might share a slice of the cake in a somewhat romantic manner. Too bad he’s too dumb to realize that won’t happen.
With Imperator and Nihil on their way to the food court, the ghouls and ghoulettes finally come across their other bandmates, finding the three of them huddled together behind a couple of stands, with Swiss bent forwards (puking his guts out) while standing between Rain and Mountain. What the three of them could be doing there, their fellow demons can’t figure out yet. Still, they are keen to find out. And as soon as they approach them, they can already tell that the multi-instrumentalist is having a bad time.
“Oh, Satan, I’m never eatin’ hotdogs again.”
“Well, let’s see how long you hold onto that promise,” comments an unimpressed Mountain.
“I told you it was a bad idea,” Rain mutters his complaint. “No one ever listens to me.”
“You should speak louder then.”
Mountain’s poignant retort goes ignored by Swiss, who’s still dry-heaving above soiled grass. Although, he has recuperated enough to be able to speak once more.
“Guys! I think I’m dyin’…”
“What the hell is his problem?” Dewdrop questions when his group finally reaches the other.
“He ate too many ‘dogs.’”
Rain’s brief explanation is not enough to shine a light on Swiss’ situation. At least, it’s not enough for Aether, who completely misunderstands what the bassist meant.
“Dogs?!”
“Hotdogs, Aether,” the drummer clarifies.
“Oh, praise Satan. I thought for a second there that‒”
“Why do you have like a bajillion plushies?”
Swiss’ sudden question not only interrupts Aether but also calls attention to the ghoulettes who still carry all the plush dolls with them. Neither Rain nor Mountain had noticed them before the sick ghoul pointed out their presence, which leads them to exchange confused and curious looks about the number of toys they have gathered. Thankfully for them, Cumulus answers the question.
“Cirrus and Dewey won them for me!”
“I didn’t win shit for nobody, I just wanted to shoot stuff.”
“And that’s why Cumulus has everything,” Cirrus further explains.
“Yeah, I had to stop Dew before he won every prize in the carnival,” adds the rhythmic guitarist.
“Not my fault everyone else sucks at these shitty games,” Dew defends himself, arms crossed atop his chest. “They’re too easy.”
The mention of the different carnival games a few stands offer is enough to jostle Mountain’s memory, making him remember something he heard a little while ago when he was walking around the fair with his two companions. They happened to overhear a conversation between a few Siblings of Sin about an event taking place a little later in the evening. And, of course, he can’t pass the opportunity of letting his fellow bandmates know about the tidbit of precious information he got.
“Speaking of games, you guys saw who’s gonna be sitting in the dunk tank?”
“No, who is it?” An excited Cumulus asks.
“It’s the Cardinal,” Rain replies, beating Monty to the punch.
“Really? Can’t believe he agreed to that.”
Cirrus doesn’t understand why someone who takes pride in his appearance as well as cares for it at all times as the Cardinal does would accept to sit inside a tank half filled with water, taking the chance to be dumped in it. And the earth ghoul’s next words only serve to confuse her even more.
“Apparently, he volunteered.”
“What a brave man,” the water ghoul comments, somewhat sarcastically.
“Ya know what that means, right?”
This time, it’s Swiss who poses the question, a daunting big smile plastered on his face and barely visible behind his mask. To that, Aether and Dewdrop have opposite answers and reactions, with the fire ghoul mirroring the multi’s expression ‒although in a more sinister and menacing way‒, while the quintessence ghoul’s lowered head and deep sigh speak volumes of his resignation.
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes.”
The group of musicians makes its way toward a gathering crowd. There, they find their dear Cardinal sitting inside the water tank, dressed in his red cassock (sans matching hat) and still dry. In front of the clergyman, a line of players attempts to hit the target and dunk him, but so far no one has been able to succeed in the task.
“Oh, my boys and girls are here!” Copia exclaims enthusiastically as soon as he spots his bandmates. “I trust one of them will be able to achieve the feat no one else has been able to yet. Although, I’m sure they aren’t eager to dunk me in the cold water.”
Despite the man’s hopeful last words, he should know better than to claim the Hell-born creatures that have a knack for chaos and mischief would not delight in taking advantage of their frontman’s precarious position. Even though they do care about him, they still can’t pass the opportunity to have some harmless fun at his expense. After all, it’s just water he’ll get dumped into if they hit the target, and given that it’s a warm Spring night, he’s not at risk of catching a cold.
The first to take his shot is Mountain. The tallest ghoul takes a few seconds to aim before he throws the ball, managing to hit the target dead-on. Right on cue, the platform supporting Copia lowers him abruptly into the water, not giving him any time to yelp in surprise. That leads the Cardinal to swallow some water by accident. But at least his makeup is waterproof.
Meanwhile, the demons congratulate their friend, clapping him on the shoulders and telling him what a good shot it was. Also, Swiss and Dewdrop laugh their asses off while Cirrus attempts to hide her chuckles behind one of her hands.
“What a wonderful throw, my boy!” Copia cheers despite coughing up some water. “I’m sure playing drums so much has equipped your long arms with quite the strength.”
It’s not really the drumming Mountain does that gives him strength, but his ghoulish nature. Nevertheless, the frontman can’t say that in public, of course.
As the platform is set back to its former position, Copia sits on it once more. However, he isn’t as excited about his demons attempting to dunk him as he was before, knowing now that not only do they have the strength and ability to do so, but also the inclination. Thankfully for him, though, the next two throwers are Cumulus and Rain, who miss the target. Cumulus because of her bad aim and Rain because he didn’t have the heart to dunk him.
Unfortunately for him, Dewdrop, Swiss, and Cirrus don’t have the same reservations as Rain does, nor Cumulus’ shitty aim. Thus, the three of them hit the target in a row, dunking Copia three consecutive times.
By the time it’s Aether’s turn, the singer is ready to plead for mercy while the crowd cheers for the group of musicians. On one side, the quintessence ghoul is faced by Copia’s puppy eyes, on the other, most of his bandmates are taunting urging him to hit the mark ruthlessly. In the end, he can’t decide whether to miss the target on purpose or to heartlessly dunk his beloved Cardinal for what would be the fourth time in a row. So, he throws the towel and allows the next person in line to take his place.
What none of them had noticed until then is who said person is.
“Papa?” Copia asks, eyebrows rising and voice trembling slightly.
In front of him, Nihil tosses the ball from one hand to the other, warming up for his throw. Sister Imperator is nowhere to be seen; she either lost Nihil or abandoned him after losing her patience. Either way, the old man ended up at the dunk tank, intent on making the Cardinal fall into the water pit.
“Cardinal,” Nihil intones with mockery, a big smile pulling at his wrinkled face.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Copia’s attempted threatening words are spoken in a tone low enough to be heard by Nihil yet not by the onlooking crowd. The only reason the Cardinal allows himself such a blatant show of disrespect is the fact that Seestor isn’t present. Still, the man’s taunt only serves to fire up the Papa even more.
“Watch me, boy,” a contemptuous Nihil bites back.
In a surprising show of agility and strength, the man not only throws the ball but manages to hit the mark, making Copia fall once more. And as the crowd of humans and demons cheers for the old man, the singer exits the tank, adamant about his participation in the game coming to an end.
The crowd soon disperses after the MC announces that the dunk tank game is closing, and while Copia scurries off to lick his wounds, a confused Imperator approaches Nihil, inquiring about what all the commotion is about. The ghouls and ghoulettes seize the opportunity to get the hell out of dodge as well, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Or worse, also be the target of Seestor’s fury given that they were the ones to first torture Copia by dunking him.
Instead, they choose to chase after the Cardinal in order to comfort him, half of them because they feel sincerely bad for the man and the other half feeling apologetic but looking for absolution at the same time. All in the name of not having to face Seestor’s wrath.
Yet despite all the chaos and Copia’s unfortunate bullying from his bandmates and Nihil, the carnival can be considered a rampant success. So much so that the Clergy might consider turning it into an annual occurrence.
Although, it goes without saying that a particular Cardinal won’t be partaking in any games in the future as far as he gets a say in it.