#the dark carnival

[gamzee420]

Subjuggulatorism / The Dark Carnival

(I'm unsure if this already exists or not, but here! Sorry if the flag isn't that good.)

(Small Drug Mention.)

Worshipping The Unknown and The Unknowable, morally ambivalent deities known as The Mirthful Messiahs who promise the destruction of the world as we know it for the creation of a miraculous paradise. An idea of the actual worship service (though not possible in person probably) is a drug and sugar-fueled Bacchanalia, where supplicants with abandonment of reason and an emotion demonstration of their devotion to the party-hard lifestyle, along with culling anyone with a fun blood color. The Subjuggulator Paradise, or The Dark Carnival, is a dark and welcoming circus of endless amusement. 

In general, Subjuggulatorism and The Dark Carnival are about alternate states of mind, creation through destruction and destruction through creation, and other forms of duality, often through the use of tragedy/comedy masks. Also just drinking a SHITLOADS of Faygo, worshipping The Mirthful Messiahs and The Unknown & The Unknowable, wearing face paint (though you don't have to!), and knowing that The Grand Highblood is the Leader of The Church. 

(No clue what to put for tags.)

[midnightmadwoman]

If I had a quarter for the infernal circuses in pop culture I can think of, I'd have a dollar.

Which is quite a bit, even by Doofenshmirtz standards.

[roxspoxs]

Begging MeatCanyon/PapaMeat to make a toon of ICP

[carli-meows]

sorry im late for work, i was sad in my bed and contemplated giving up

dont worry the dark carnival reminded me to get the fuck up

[sottiali]

Termina festival

[creepyclothdoll]

The Devil's Wheel

The Devil’s Wheel

“If you say yes,” said the Devil, “a single man, somewhere in the world, will be killed on the spot. But three million dollars is nothing to sneeze at, missus.”

“What’s the catch?” You squint at him suspiciously over the red-and-black striped carnival booth. You’re smarter than he thinks you are– a devil deal always has a catch, and you’re determined to catch him before he catches you. 

“Well, the catch is that you’ll know you did it. And I’ll know, too. And the big man upstairs’ll know, I ‘spose. But what’s the chariot of salvation without a little sin to grease the wheels? You can repent from your mansion balcony, looking out at your waterfront views, sipping a bellini in your eighties. But hey, it’s up to you– take my deal or leave it.”

The Devil lights a cigar without a match, taking an inhale, and blowing out a cloud of deep, sweet-smelling tobacco laced faintly with something that reminds you of rotten eggs. If he does have horns, they’re hidden under his lemon yellow carnival barker hat. He wears a clean pinstripe suit and a red bowtie. No cloven hooves, no big pointy fork, but you know he’s the Devil without having to be told. Though he did introduce himself.

He’s been perfectly polite. 

You know you need the money. He knows it too, or he wouldn’t have brought you here, to this strange dark room, whisking you away from your new house in the suburbs as fast as a wish. Now you’re in some sort of warehouse, where all the windows seem to be blacked out– or, maybe, they simply look out into pitch darkness, though it is the middle of the day. A single white spotlight shines down on the two of you. 

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” you say. “I bet the man is someone I know, right? My husband?”

“Could be,” the Devil says with a pointed grin. “That’s for the wheel to decide.”

He steps back and raises his black-gloved hand as the tarp flies off of the large veiled object behind him. The light of the carnival wheel nearly blinds you. Blinking lights line the sides. Jingling music blares over speakers you can’t see. The flickering sign above it reads:

THE DEVIL’S WHEEL

“Step right up and claim your fortune,” the Devil barks. “Spin the wheel and pay the price! Or leave now, and a man keeps his life.”

You examine the wheel. 

The gambling addict

The doting boyfriend

The escaped convict

The dog dad

The secretive sadist

“These are all the possible men I can kill?” You ask, thumbing the side of the wheel. It rolls smoothly in your hand. Then you quickly stop, realizing that this might constitute a spin under the Devil’s rules. He flashes a smile at you, watching you halt its motion. 

“Addicts, convicts, murderers– plenty of terrible options for you to land on, missus!”

“Serial wife murderer?”

“Now who would miss a fellow like that? I can guarantee that the whole world would be better off without him in it, and that’s a fact.”

The hard worker

The compulsive liar

The animal torturer

The widower

The desperate businessman

The failed musician

The beloved son

“My husband is on here too,” you say. 

“Your husband Dave, yes. The wheel has to be fair, otherwise there’s simply no stakes.”

“I know what’s gonna happen,” you say, crossing your arms. “This wheel is rigged. I’m gonna spin it around, and it’ll go through all the killers and stuff, and then it’s gonna land on my husband no matter what.”

“Why, I would never disgrace the wheel that way,” the Devil says, wounded. “I swear on my own mother’s grave– may she never escape it. In fact, take one free spin, just to test it out! This one’s on me, no death, no dollars.”

You cautiously reach up to the top of the wheel and feel its heaviness in your hand. The weight of hundreds of lives. But also, millions of dollars. You pull the wheel down and let it go.

Clackity-clackity-clackity-clackity

Round and round it goes. 

The college graduate

The hockey fan

The Eagle Scout

The cold older brother

The charming younger brother

The two-faced middle child

The perfectionist

The slob 

Your husband Dave

Clackity-clackity-clackity.

Finally, the wheel lands on a name. A title, really.

The photographer

“Hmm, tough, missus, but that’s the way of the wheel. But hey, look! Your husband is allllll the way over here,” he points with his cane to the very bottom of the wheel, all the way on the other side from where the arrow landed. “As you can see, it’s not rigged. The wheel truly is random.”

“So… there really isn’t another catch?” You ask. 

“Isn’t it enough for you to end a man’s life? You need a steeper price? If you’re really such a glutton for punishment, I’ll gladly re-negotiate the terms.”

“No, no… wait.” You examine the wheel, glancing between it and the Devil.

You really could use that three million dollars. Newly married, new house, you and your husband’s combined debt– those student loans really follow you around. He’s quite a bit older than you, and even he hasn’t paid them off yet, to the point where the whole time you were dating you watched him stress out about money. You had to have a small, budget wedding, and a small, budget honeymoon. Three million dollars could be big for the two of you. You could re-do your honeymoon and go somewhere nice, like Hawaii, instead of just taking two weeks in Atlantic City. You deserve it. 

Even so, do you really want to kill an innocent photographer? Or an innocent seasonal allergy sufferer? Or an innocent blogger? Just because you don’t know or love these people doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t. 

The cancer survivor

The bereaved

The applicant

Some of these were so vague. They could be anyone, honestly. Your neighbors, your father, your friends…

The newlywed

The ex-gifted kid

The uncle

The Badgers fan

“My husband is a Badgers fan,” you say.

“How lovely,” the Devil says. 

Then it hits you.

Of course.

The weightlifter.

The careful driver.

The manager.

The claustrophobe.

Your husband Dave lifts weights at the gym twice a month. You wouldn’t call him a pro, but he does it. He also drives like he’s got a bowl of hot soup in his lap all the time, because he’s afraid of being pulled over. He just got promoted to management at his company, and he takes the stairs to his seventh-story office because he hates how small and cramped the elevator is.

“I get your game,” you announce. “You thought you could get me, but I figured you out, jackass!” “Oh really? What is my game, pray tell?” The Devil responds, leaning against his cane.

“All these different titles– they’re all just different ways to describe the same guy. My husband isn’t one notch on the wheel, he’s every notch. No matter what I land on, Dave dies. I’m wise to your tricks!” 

The Devil cackles. 

“You’re a clever one, that’s for sure. I thought you’d never figure it out.”

“Thanks but no thanks, man,” you say with a triumphant smirk. “I’m no rube. No deal. Take me back home.”

“As you wish, missus,” the Devil says. He snaps his fingers, and you’re gone, back to your brand-new house with your new husband. “Don’t say I never tried to help anyone.”

[explicette]

[roxspoxs]

Finally, someone who gets me.

Vampiro is the sexiest Juggalo I've ever seen.

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I visited the dark carnival through an elevator under my school (which was burning down) . Had a weird trade with a clown girl with a bunch of chains and then woke up because it was so ridiculous I actually noticed it was a dream.

[eridude]

@hazard-dot-net made a terrific comparison about the newest offical art

[snickandsnorty]

WALK HAND-IN-HAND WITH THE DARK CARNIVAL

Pomni as Carnival of Carnage

Caine as Ringmaster

Jax as Riddlebox

sit tight while I figure out the second half of the joker's cards

also im gonna do kinger irl eventually lol

[captvreme]

shot by: ri

[psykopaths]

[weirdlookindog]

Ray Bradbury - Dark Carnival. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1948. First British edition. Octavo.

Art by Michael Ayrton.

[otomehonyaku]

a reader's guide to otomehonyaku ☽ translation masterpost & request guidelines (updated 19 Nov. '24)

you can call me Ottie (she/her)! 20s, DiaLovers translator & writer

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Currently working on...

Diabolik Lovers More,Blood Stellaworth Complete Tokuten Short Stories ☽ All 10 characters (Next up are Laito, Subaru, Shuu and Reiji!)

Upcoming translations

Diabolik Lovers More,Blood Character Popularity Poll Short Story ☽ Subaru ver.

Diabolik Lovers Chaos Lineage Drama CDs ☽ Vol. 3 (Orange, 4 tracks)

Diabolik Lovers Grand Edition Special Booklet ☽ Year-End Pandemonium (Sakamaki short story)

Diabolik Lovers Vandead Carnival Special Voice CD

Surprise long-form story from one of the tokuten booklets

Diabolik Lovers Chaos Lineage Special Booklet ☽ Short Story (Scarlet ver.)

Diabolik Lovers Chaos Lineage Special Booklet ☽ Short Story (Violet ver.)

Diabolik Lovers Official Anime Novelization ☽ Chapter 4

Note: Please be aware that list is subject to change. If something exciting pops up, I might alternate this list with other translations─in this case, please refer to the 'currently translating' section above to see what I'm working on!

Mainline Diabolik Lovers instalments

☽  DIABOLIK LOVERS: GRAND EDITION ☽ INCLUDING HAUNTED DARK BRIDAL & MORE,BLOOD

☽  DIABOLIK LOVERS: VANDEAD CARNIVAL ☽

☽  DIABOLIK LOVERS: LOST EDEN ☽

☽  DIABOLIK LOVERS: CHAOS LINEAGE ☽

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Guidelines for requests & commissions

As a rule of thumb, Diabolik Lovers-related translations are always my priority and I sometimes write for fun. I do not take requests for writing (short stories, headcanons, reacts, scenarios and the like), though paid commissions are negotiable! Creative writing is quite a personal and subjective thing for me, so I tend to be selective as I want to ensure that I have enough inspiration and fun while writing in order to deliver a quality product. Please reach out through DM if you’d like to discuss a paid commission! Thank you for your understanding ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

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[explicette]