Katrina knew little about the Simpsons, to be completely honest with you. And why, you may ask?
Simple. The series had never really interested her, which had made her something of an odd one out amongst her schoolmates (back in the days when she was still of school age), as many other people in her classes followed the show and would discuss it without ceasing. This left her frequently unable to spot the pop culture references and other allusions that people made to it from time to time. But who cared? She had done a bit of reading on it and thought the whole thing sounded completely ridiculous.
But having said that, the notion of adults liking a show about technicolour ponies (that was originally made for young children) seemed completely ridiculous on paper. Thus, Katrina concluded, it may not be silly to like such a show (although some of her distant relatives had issues with her watching MLP), and so those who liked the Simpsons could continue to do so without interference.
It didn't mean she had to watch it, though, which was how she intended to keep it. But, having said that, this made her next choice of ride all the more strange when you think about it.
Periodically, the Simpsons team create a handful of Halloween episodes entitled Treehouse of Horror, which spoof old horror media such as the Twilight Zone, the Invisible Man, some Edgar Allan Poe poems and so forth. Sometimes Science Fiction is thrown under the lense, such as 1984 and War of the Worlds, or, in some cases, even classic horror icons (like when Freddie Krueger got a cameo in one episode). Entirely separate from the main Simpsons timeline, two recurring characters are Kang and Kodos, a pair of aliens who frequently cause mischief simply because they can and laugh at human misfortune. And guess what?
They got their own ride in the Springfield section of Universal Studios. Kang and Kodos Twirl 'n' Hurl (inability to write the word 'and' nonwithstanding) is a kid sized ride, but that doesn't always mean 'kid friendly', as anybody who has ridden Th13teen at Alton Towers can tell you. And Katrina had picked this out as her ride, for some reason, not knowing the context of the whole thing. Aero Top Jets had always appealed to her, for some reason.
So, away she went to join the queue, with a sigh of resignation. The others were all in the other park today, so (outside of breakfast) her only chance for communication with her friends was her phone, currently safely stored in her pocket and zipped in said pocket. That way, it wouldn't fall out if anything untoward happened. She had always kept valuables in zipped pockets to prevent anything untoward from happening. Some saw it as paranoia, but Katrina would rather her valuables were safe than at the bottom of a rollercoaster. She had read enough horror stories about people meeting sticky ends while trying to retrieve things from rollercoasters.
She was in the queue at last, and took her position in it as the line moved on. The queue line was mostly out in the open, barring some points where the line was covered, and TV screens were playing bits and pieces from Simpsons episodes (mostly Treehouse of Horror, but some others as well to spice things up a bit. After all, the worst thing in a theme park is boredom, and we don't want that, do we?). It took a few minutes for the queue to go through. The ride's position away from other things and the relatively high throughput meant that queues were generally short, so there was that, I suppose. At long last, she reached the front of the queue, and Katrina took her seat on one of the ride vehicles.
As she sat down, she didn't notice that her trainers had started to change. A white colour spread over their usual dark blue frame, and some of it suddenly shifted to yellow as it did so. The first awareness she had of what was going on was the fact her legs suddenly felt off. A quick look down would reveal her jeans had changed to black slacks.
"Well, here we go again," she sighed. She may seem blase, but it had gotten to the point she was just used to it. Not sensing anything else, her jumper suddenly gained a hood, hanging off the back, and the entire garment gained two pockets before turning sludge brown, with yellow lines running halfway down. More yellow trim appeared on the cuffs and the bottom.
Not long after, her body began to shift. Her skin turned a darker shade, almost ochre, although her eyes remained their usual hazel tone. Her hair turned white, pulled back up her head, and suddenly increased dramatically in volume, almost like feathers. Some hung down the side of her head, but most of it piled up and hung over like a fringe.
The ride came to an end, and she got off, discarding her glasses on the way. She didn't need them.
"Look! It's Gilda!" shouted somebody.
Gilda gave him the brush off and stomped over to the waterfront. "Idiot," she grumbled. Katrina now had elements of Gilda's personality, which was why she had suddenly become so grumpy and a bit rude. Keen to find out how the others were getting on, she dialled Tom and waited for the call to connect.
She was so busy looking into the water that she jumped when music suddenly started. There was a strange man and two musicians.
"Boldly Brave Dame Gilda,
Rode from from Griffonstone,
She was not afraid at all,
not Brave Dame Gilda!
She was not afraid to get hurt in-
many nasty ways!
Brave, brave, brave, brave Dame Gilda!
"She was not in the least bit scared of a simulator ride,
or to even lose her lunch,
on a rollercoaster!
To be menaced by some frightning actors there
in a horror maze!
Brave, brave, brave, brave Dame Gilda!"
"Quiet," Gilda said. "I'm trying to relax here." So she walked away and toward the next area of the park, when suddenly three aliens appeared in front of her. All of them looked they had been animated using early 2000s computer hardware as well as generally being uncanny valley turned up to 11.
"Hello!" said one, the colour of vomit. "Who are you?"
"She is Brave Dame Gilda, Brave Dame Gilda-"
"SHUT UP!" Gilda looked at them. "What's it to you who I am?"
"We need help finding our pets. Are you doing anything?"
"To ride a-"
"SHUT UP!" Satisfied the musicians were quiet, Gilda looked at them. "No. And I'm not in the mood to help you guys. Where did you come from? Video Brinquedo?" And she walked away.
"Brave Dame Gilda ran away!
Dame Gilda ran away, away!"
"Stop following me!"
"When danger reared it's ugly head,
she bravely turned her tail and fled-"
Gilda dived under a bench as they went on singing. Once they were gone, she dialled the number she meant to dial and listened for the tone.
"Hello! Marigold Medley! How can I help you?"
Who? Gilda thought. "Great, another perky one. I've had enough of those for today."
The person on the other end, this 'Marigold', seemed confused. "Who is this, please?"
"What's it to you?"
"There's no need to be so rude!" The girl must only have been young, judging from how the pitch of her voice was making Gilda's ears bleed.
"And there's no need to be so annoying." Moments later, the call ended, and Gilda looked about.
"Are you OK, ma'am?" asked a park employee.
"She's chickening out and buggering off-"
"I've just about had it with you three."