OPEN MINGLE | County Fair Fun

[kid_flash_found]

Who: general mingle
What: Little Love County Fair!
When: Throughout September
Where: Little Love, Kansas
Content Warnings: Animals, animal waste products, deep fried everything, crooked fair games, animals used for food.



Little Love is one of those places that allows you to forget all the hustle and bustle of city life. Except there's a fair bit of hustle of a different kind at the county fair. This is one of the big events of the year, and everyone is keen to show off the fruits of their hard labor. Animal shows and produce exhibits take center stage as people show off their attempt at the season's biggest and best.

Local artisans have crafts of every kind up for display and sale, as well as entered in attempts to win a blue ribbon. Did you want to purchase some apple-head dolls, or maybe you prefer the corn husk variety? Both are plentiful and shown with a variety of skill levels. The local wool and fiber guild has a lovely petting zoo and spinning workshop set up, complete with hands-on learning for anyone who stops by. Or maybe you're more interested in the groups demonstrating and selling tools to churn your own butter, make your own cheese, or even brew your own alcohol of various kinds. Homemade and handmade are the keys to a unique and enriched life, after all.

And of course there is entertainment. In the evening, a whole bunch of live artists take their turns entertaining, with headliners showing up for the weekends and smaller local talent during the less prized weekday slots. And while there's only a simple ferris wheel and some kiddie attractions for rides, one could spend time getting lost in the Maze of Mirrors or the Tunnel of Love. Most of the daytime fun is in the midway, which is expansive and full of people promising that everyone's a winner, although the number of people actually lugging around the giant plush toys is about what you'd expect.

You can't forget the food, either. Sweet, savory, and everything in between. Kettle Korn, sweet grilled corn, meats of every kind grilled to order and put on a bun for your enjoyment send up enticing smells everywhere you look. The cotton candy vendors are serving up a brisk trade, with some specializing in unique flavors of spun sugar and others just winding up clouds of colorful, fluffy sweetness. The deep friers can't be forgotten. If you can put in on a stick and coat it, they're serving it deep fried. Ice cream, butter, snack cakes of every variety take their place alongside the more prosaic corndogs and funnel cakes. There's something for everyone! Well, as long as you aren't counting your calories. Good luck finding a nice salad amongst all the fatty deliciousness.

When the judging is done, there's always time to hit up the auction block, as the 4H kids and other folks put up their livestock for sale. If you're looking for some new friends, you might be able to get them cheap, as long as you're in the market for hoofstock or domesticated fowl. There might even be some lovely peafowl up if you're looking for a little color on your farm and don't mind the noise. Surely everyone could use a few goats or chickens, or a nice yearling steer to fatten up? But you don't have to decide now, unless you actually win that lot.



[OOC: A mingle for all those who want to spend time at the fair. There aren't many rides, but animals are everywhere in every variety, and all the usual fair staples are present. Feel free to add specifics if you want.]

Comments

Mayuko Shiraki | Fruits Basket | OTA

[welcome_summer]

From Central City

[The news has been sent out over OurPowers that with the County Fair going on, round-trip teleporters are available for all metas to use in Central, Excelsior and Sunset Falls if they would like to visit Little Love. For those in the Diadem, it’s a chance to preview a possible home base. For the unaligned, this is one of the few opportunities to get a hold of a teleportation device, if only for a day.

Mayuko has been wanting to see another of the meta-communities before the deadline, so she’s in line for a teleporter. By all accounts, Little Love is “nice and quiet”. She has had experience with living in the Midwest, so she has an idea of what to expect. So long as you don’t loop through the corn fields, she thinks with a shudder. No mazes for her, thanks.

If you want to catch her before she heads out, she’s checking her bag over by the side ONE MORE TIME JUST IN CASE.]

Best Show in Town

[Mayuko is surprised by the size of the fairgrounds, and the number of exhibits on display. Early on, she can be found checking out the blue ribbon arts, crafts and plants, and oohing over the whole-class projects sent in by the regional elementary schools. But the livestock competitions grab her attention. So many kids washing and wrangling their animals beforehand, dressing in their predominantly white uniforms to go into the show ring, and relaxing with their cohort in the barns afterwards. The noise and activity draws Mayuko in, past cattle haltered in their barn, lambs being shorn in stands, and pigs flopped in pens with the fans on full blast. Or even finding more exotic entrants. She waves you over to her latest find….

The roofing over the show ring and scores of high bleachers around make this area a good spot to rest and spectate. A little more distance to appreciate the animals as they’re led around the ring. Mayuko sips on her soda and is happy to bring newcomers up to speed on the current competition.]

Midway Misgivings

[One of the last areas Mayuko checks out at the fair is the midway. After going through the craft stands, picking up decor pieces for her future home and pet accessories, she buys an egg-roll on a stick to munch on as she considers the attractions and game booths.

She did bring cash to spend, enough to play a few games. But now that she is here, a chill runs down her spine. Once upon a time, on another Earth, there had been a carnival in cornfields. The attractions had been twisted, and at one point a front for cultists in service to a monster. Other parts had been… fine. She remembers walking with her student looking for cotton candy, made with real sugar. The first taste of sugar in a long time.

Well. The afternoon is drawing on, and it won’t hurt to try a few games. Maybe you catch her doubtfully eyeing one of the many games calling for accuracy. "How hard does she want to go for that unicorn?" Vs. "lol abysmal aim". At least the skee-ball games are fun? And she won’t turn down a challenge!

But if she sees any prizes in long robes with clawed bird feet, she’s going to be outta there so fast.]

Wild Card
[Mayuko is game to check out whatever you tag in with around the fair, I'll go along with it! Any ideas you want to toss at me first, please poke me at librarydragons @ plurk]

From Central City

[qualityfriend]

[Dana had been debating whether to try heading to the fair using her own teleportation, but for that far... She wants to have enough energy to actually enjoy it. Long-distance practice can wait. So she's also in line for the teleporter, trying not to practically bounce with excitement. But she can't help grinning and waving at anyone else in line she recognizes.]

Tim Drake | DC Comics | OTA

[mostdangerousbird]

[ This is one of those events where Tim knows exactly why he's here yet has no idea why he's here. The Little Love County Fair wasn't on his calendar before Bart invited him. Once the invite was extended, it was pretty much set that Tim would be going, barring grievous injury.

He has no idea what goes on at a county fair though, and so before he commits to anything, Tim has to do a full circuit of the fairgrounds. ]

Midway 1

[ The Hall of Mirrors just. Doesn't sit well with Tim. It has kinda standard signage outside featuring clowns.

It's normal, right? Carnivals - this is essentially a carnival with animals and trucks - love clowns. There's nothing abnormal about a Hall of Mirrors with clowns painted on the frontage.

... Tim absolutely sneaks around back and finds the maintenance entrance. Watches it from a distance, sitting on a pile of straw bales - which it should be noted, he brushed off before he sat down. He's debating breaking in. ]

Craft, Small Animals (Chicken and Bunnies), or Produce Pavilions - please specify

[ Tim can admit to himself when he knows nothing about a subject. This building and all within? Essentially nothing.

Oh, sure, he knows that there is skill and care involved in all the entries. But what makes this rabbit superior to that rabbit, why the biggest tomato isn't also the best tomato, what makes those mittens better than the scarves, or why, in heaven's name, there is a wall honeycombed with 1' by 1' squares full of some sort of wheat and grass with a chickenwire mesh to hold it in place and how any of it could possibly be different. ]

That one’s interesting?

Midway 2

[ There are games that he is sorely tempted to try. Tim knows they're rigged - he's familiar enough with boardwalk games to know that there are some games, like cover the spot, that aren't worth playing. But the milk bottles, balloon darts, or, even better, the Jacob's ladder - those he can beat, and there is something smugly satisfying about walking around with a completely unnecessary giant plushie. He'll be playing the games in the mid-afternoon. ]

Food stands
[ He was dimly aware of the likelihood of nothing but fried food, but he was not prepared for so much fried food. Tim is currently standing looking back and forth between two stalls. They seem to only sell one main thing each, although both also sell drinks.

The one on the left: fried butter. The one on the right: fried Mountain Dew Code red. ]

I. am in. hell. I'm in hell. I'm in hell, and I haven't even died of the massive coronary that's going to kill me yet if we eat anything at this fair.

Arena, late evening.

[ It's just starting to get dark, but the temperature at the fair has been dropping. The metal bleachers are chill, and Tim's feeling the wind cut right through his "flannel" shirt, as it's just an oversized plaid cotton shirt that probably started its life at Abercrombie. The oatmeal-colored knit toque is pulled down snuggly on his head, and he's definitely managing to do sweater paws with the cuffs of the shirt.

The demolition derby starts in 35 minutes. In 5 minutes? The Power Wheels Derby. ]

And this is really an essential part of the experience? We could go find a Panera and get food that doesn't slide down of its own accord.

Wildcard

[ Open to other suggestions!! ]

Food Stands

[chin_godzilla]

(A familiar lizard is also appraising the vast amount of fried food available at the fair. Six feet tall this time, to be a little less imposing around the fair goers. Godzilla's seen all kinds of things humans call food, but from what he's seen, people will put just about anything in a deep fryer and eat it happily, if it's on a stick. He's tilting his head, watching various things be coated in batter and fried and may admittedly be a little curious.

Hearing Tim's objections to it catches his attention, but just in case he's still wary around the shrunken kaiju, he doesn't immediately approach. Jason mentioned what Tim's going through is unrelated to him, but he wants to play it safe. Fortunately, he's taken up a few tricks since they last met, with Godzilla picking up the whiteboard around his neck, quickly scribbling on it with a marker, and turning it his way.)

Hi.

Nico di Angelo | PJO/HOO/TOA | OTA

[demigoth]

Midway 1

[ Nico is wandering with the lunch he picked up from the food stands: an absolutely indecent amount of cotton candy. He wasn't planning on eating a ball of sugar bigger than his head, but cotton candy is one of the sweets he remembers from when he lived in D.C. in the '30s. It stands out brightly against the Metallica t-shirt, black jeans, and skull ring, as he eyes the games.

Some of the games are so old-fashioned that they might even be the same. Like the strongman test. That... Nico wants to try. ]

Um. Would you mind holding this so I can try that game? The stick isn't sticky.

Midway 2

[ He wants to go on the Ferris wheel, but everyone in the line is clearly in groups. Nico would feel like an awkward duckling in the line if no one else wants to ride it, but he keeps looking over. Walking past. He's either after the Ferris wheel or the carousel, whose entrance is right next to the Ferris wheel line, and he's even gone so far as to spend the time to read the placards with the history of both rides.

Nico shoves his hands in his pockets. ]

Did you want to do anything else? Grab a brass ring?

[ He means literally grab a brass ring. Nico is old enough to recognize the device on the side of the carousel that half the riders ignore. It's a brass ring dispenser that will spit out plain and brass rings - and that brass ring gets you a ride for free. ]

Goat, Sheep, and Llama Pavilion

[ It's Nico's fault, that much is clear to him. No one will know it was him. They can't possibly know that the teen who followed the flow of people through a set of double doors is a son of Hades.

Can't know that animals can feel the death on him. Nobody heard him curse in ancient Greek under his breath, right? Not under the bleating and braying.

The fences and gates are an appropriate height for calm, well-fed animals that have no incentive to leave their nice stalls.

They're nowhere near high enough to contain spooked animals intent on fleeing him. They form an impromptu flock as they escape over and through their fences and begin stampeding out the barn doors left open on the side of the building for airflow. ]

Pan's pipes, that's not good.

Wildcard

[ Let me know if there's something else you'd like. ]

Midway 1

[kid_flash_found]

Bart was mostly just wandering at this point. He hadn't really tried the games yet, because he knew all the tricks, and, well, it was more just practicing precision use of powers for him than any real challenge. But there were some he would never be able to do. The strongman test was definitely one of those. He just didn't have the right combination of strength and precision to get the maximum force added to the drop of the mallet.

But when asked, he shrugged, and smiled at the guy who looked to be about his age. "Sure, but you do know there's a trick to nearly all of these, right?"

Still, he held out his hand, eying the size of the cotton candy with bemusement. "I'd ask where you got this, but I try to go with something at least a little better purely empty calories."

Midway 1

[determinationtofist]

[ It's okay, Nico. Hibiki has the same exact size of cotton candy in her own hand. She didn't even KNOW that people made cotton candy this big! She had to get it when she saw it, right? ]

Mm? [ Nico catches her while she's in the middle of biting into her own stick. She quickly swallows and takes his stick off his hands. Honestly, his whole appearance clashes with having Hibiki with him as much as the brightly-colored mounds of sugar. ] Oh! Those are the ones that test your strength, right? Good luck!

[ She might make her own attempt at it after Nico... ]

Eddie Brock + Venom / OTA

[frenchkissed]

🧸 — WINNING PRIZES !

( metas shouldn't be allowed to attend normal things like county fairs because, eventually, some asshole is going to come along and win every single prize in the prize booth because of their alien accuracy and attention to detail.

venom is some asshole.

eddie let him have the body for all of ten minutes and he's using it to show off his strength and talent. as he should. he's better than normal people, and cooler, and much more handsome, so why shouldn't he show off?

on the bright side, at least he isn't using his power for evil. after earning himself a mountain of toys and plushies, he sets about to give them away to the loser children who haven't won anything. it's only fair. some people are gifted, gorgeous, and great at everything, and some people aren't.

like you.

you clearly aren't.

let venom take pity on you. )

THIS TOY IS SHAPED LIKE FOOD.
BUT IT IS NOT FOOD.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT IT.

( enjoy, pal. )

🐎 — BEST IN SHOW !

( at some point, eddie peeks in on the animals to see how diana's pets are doing, and while most are alright, one horse in particular seems pretty riled up. like the good people they are, eddie and venom are willing to dedicate the rest of their evening to making sure she's okay if they have to.

it's where anyone might find them, petting a shaky horse with two hands and seven tentacles, and they're quick to hush them if they come close. )

Think she's a little spooked... all the people, and the noise... It's usually a lot more quiet on the ranch, y'know? Might be sorta overwhelming for a horse that's not used to so much, uh, noise...

TRY SINGING A LULLABY!
HORSES LOVE BARRY MANILOW.
IT WORKS WITHOUT FAIL.

It's 2022. No one knows Barry Manilow. If anything, we can sing... I dunno, Doja Cat? You know any Doja Cat songs?

🥨 — SNACKS !

( later, eddie and venom can be found with their arms so full of junk food. it's impossible for one person to carry it all, so venom's carrying most of it with tentacles in the air full of popcorn and soda cups. )

Hey, you want some? There's literally no way we can eat all this.

SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, EDDIE.

No, I'm speaking for both of us, because you're gonna, eat ,like a mountain of food, and I'm going to be laying in a food coma for the next three weeks, and we're not going through that right now. So, suck it up and share.

NO!

What? No? What do you mean no?

( so it's eddie struggling to hold out a chocolate-drizzled funnel cake and venom fighting him from the inside to keep all their snacks to themselves. just another tuesday, really. )

🎡— HEIGHTS ?

( the story of how eddie brock ended up on a ferris wheel is a short one. it started with venom calling him a pussy, and it's rapidly ending with eddie watching his life flash before his eyes as he clings to the metal bar securing him in place and tries not to hyperventilate.

there's just something about heights, man.

to the person in the cart beside him, please have mercy.

if he needs to lie on his side, rest his head on your lap, and squeeze his eyes shut, don't call him a weenie for it: he's aware. )

CLOSED PROMPTS

[frenchkissed]

( maybe??? )

Prizes

[demigoth]

[ The teen looks at the cupcake plushie like it might poison him with glitter, feels, and a love of Top 40.

He makes no move to take it - even if it’s shoved towards him, he will let it fall. ]

No. I could win my own, and I don’t have anywhere to put it.

[ He could put it in a trash can, but Nico’s trying to be polite to Dylan’s family. Yes, this is polite. ]

Best in Show

[welcome_summer]

[Those sure are some tentacles! Granted, if Mayuko brought out her energy-tentacles, the poor horse would end up even more upset. She'll leave the pets to Eddie and Venom for now.]

Is Doja Cat a cartoon character?

[This one has not caught up to the times yet, sadly.]

( tunnel of LUUUURVE )

[exasperation]

[ so eddie had asked him to the county fair. to go with him, but probably not with him but they went together so. so ripley has no idea but not having an idea probably works out for him because then he doesn't have to figure it out. this checks out. unfortunately, with ripley's outed status as a meta, he's been very nervous going outside and could be cajoled into leaving if he wore a disguise.

so he's sporting a pair of shades along with usual vest and suit because he never understood casual dress codes. he squints at the attraction in front of them. ]

Dylan told us to go here?

Prizes!

[determinationtofist]

[ Fortunately for Venom, Hibiki hardly even notices the fact that this is pity for her unfortunately-lacking ability in carnival games. She takes the cupcake plushie with sparkling eyes. ]

Oh! Really? Thanks!!

[ It's adorable! She loves it! She wasn't planning on eating it, that's for sure, but she appreciates the reminder? ]

powerwalking away from the Tunnel of love

[codicies]

[ Makin my way downtown, walkin fast ]

Robin Buckley | Stranger Things | ota

[grivences]

[ Walking around the county fair, Robin feels more at home than she has since she arrived in this world last month. While Hawkins didn't have fairs exactly like this, the fair food, entertainment, and midway are all too reminiscent of their annual 4th of July fairs. She didn't get to go to the last one, given that she was busy infiltrating and then escaping from a secret Russian base at the time, but she'd been to enough of them in the past to feel nostalgic as she walks around the Little Love fair, munching on some kettle corn and enjoying the atmosphere.

She stops by the petting zoo, offering the sheep there little handfuls of food and laughing at the ticklish feel of their lips on her hand. She happily boards the ferris wheel and snaps photos of the scenery from the top on her phone. Stepping into the Maze of Mirrors is a little freaky, and it's easy to get lost or spooked. In the end, she puts one hand on the wall and walks her way through, trying to make it to the exit.

At the midway, Robin pauses by the carnival games, wanting to test out her new superpower. Whether you're in line for the ring toss or the test of strength, Robin walks up, taps your shoulder, and presents her offer. ]

Hey, I think I know a way to make you better at this. What's your favorite song?

Carnival Games

[welcome_summer]

[Mayuko looks over at the tap. She's debating this ring toss because doggone it, there are some dragon plushies with faerie wings as the prizes!]

What's that? My favorite song?

[cheerleader]

[It's been a pretty awesome time at the fair. When Robin invited her to go, Chrissy had eagerly jumped at the chance. It's the most Hawkins sort of thing she's seen since leaving the hospital, and that's both a bad and a good thing. On one hand, it makes her homesick and reminds her of everything that had led up to her winding up here. On the other, it's nostalgic and fun and she always has a ton of fun with Robin.

They spend forever at the petting zoo, Chrissy taking time to feed and pet every single animal. She's grinning and laughing as she gets Robin to feed them too, and snaps a few selfies and videos of them feeding one of the goats together.

Robin gets her to indulge in a little fair food, something she may not have done if she weren't having such a good time. But as it turns out, cotton candy and nachos are pretty delicious. Their romp through the midway turns into Chrissy determined to win a stuffed animal, and it's Robin that winds up winning it for her. Chrissy carries that stuffed rabbit with her proudly, cradling it close to her chest.

She doesn't remember if it was Robin or herself that suggests the Ferris Wheel. All Chrissy knows is that she keeps hold of her stuffed animal in one arm and reaches over to grab Robin's hand in the other. And then they're laughing and hurrying off toward the line, and both seem to be pleased when it isn't long of a wait at all.

In no time they're secured in one of the seats and are slowly inching their way up higher and higher. With a content sigh, she lets go of her hold on the stuffed animal and relaxes it on the seat between them.]

Did you ever go to the fair Hawkins used to have for the fourth of July? [That feels like a rhetorical question. Practically everyone in Hawkins goes.]

This is so much better than that.

diana prince | dceu | ota

[monomachy]

i. best in show

Deciding which of her horses to enter into the competition had been easy, in the end: a dapple gray mare named Asími that Diana had rescued shortly after moving into her ranch here in Little Love. She's a little small for a draft horse, but sweet with a stubborn streak. She's beautiful, strong, and everything Diana could ever want in a horse. And, in her eyes, a clear champion.

Diana takes her time grooming Asími, brushing her until she shines and reshoeing her right before the fair begins. Because of her even temperament, Diana has corralled her in one of the more open areas, where she can see and be seen by people wandering around the fairgrounds. The Amazon had purchased a basket of fresh-cut vines and flowers, and works on weaving them into the horse's long white mane and tail before the judging. She's likely to beckon over anyone she catches watching her, smiling and asking if they'd like to help.

ii. deep fried frenzy

Over the past months in this world, Diana has learned more about cooking than she ever knew in the past five thousand years. She would never call herself any kind of chef, but her culinary skills are no longer limited to skewering a rabbit over an open flame and microwave popcorn. Still, when she sees the abundance of booths offering deep fried, well, everything, she can't help but feel a smidge of doubt. She'll try just about any food, but this is... a lot.

She'll meander up and down the line of food stalls, occasionally stopping in front of some deep fried monstrosity to comment: "People really enjoy eating this?" She isn't judging, she's just full of incredulity.

iii. wildcard

[ooc; hit me up with whatever! i will match your tagging style, prose or brackets. diana will be around the county fair the entire time it's going on, and also hanging out around her ranch house. come say hi! hit me up on plurk at watchet if you want to plan anything specific.]

i.

[eggplanting]

Gotham City isn't exactly known for its horses, so Steph's experience with them is fairly limited, despite a brief attempt at a Horse Girl phase when she was around eight years old. She's willing to admit, at least to herself, that they make her a little nervous, what with the size and the considerable damage those hooves can do, but she's also a little bit fascinated by them.

And Asími is gorgeous, making it easy for Steph to get a bit lost watching her, enough that she seems slightly startled when beckons to her. She hadn't been paying as much attention to the person with the horse, and even once she does, Steph doesn't know Diana well enough to recognize another version of her.

So she just smiles, a little embarrassed at having been caught staring, but she approaches anyway. "Are you sure you want help? I haven't met a lot of horses before." Which is to say, she has no idea what she's doing, and doesn't want to accidentally upset Asími before a competition.

prizes????

[frenchkissed]

At some point during his very, very short time on Earth, Venom has learned that the way to a woman's heart is through excessive amounts of gifts and flattery. Eddie didn't teach him that. Eddie taught him that everyone's different, and you can't believe everything you see on TV. But psshhh to that, because Eddie isn't surrounded by beautiful women the way that guy Hugh Hefner was in that documentary they watched, so clearly Eddie is doing something wrong.

So, Venom's taking over Eddie's body in intermittent spurts—as told by the way Eddie goes from walking normally to fold in on himself like a pretzel and suddenly moving like a marionette—to play games and actually win them, which Eddie is pretty incapable of doing on his own. Eddie just wants to chit-chat with Diane and see how she's doing. Bleh, pleh, boring! He'll never win her heart like that. And if nothing else, Venom has learned that the goal of life on Earth is to win as many hearts as possible.

Really. That Playboy documentary was just so enlightening.

If Diana can ignore the way Venom wrestles Eddie over to a bottle-cap gun game and begins firing at rapid speed, she'll get treated to Eddie doing his best to talk over the sounds of corks flying.

"So, how's the job been? Working for Stark, selling sex toys? Still as rewarding as when you started?"

i.

[hevenly]

[ It would be a lie to say that Angela came to the fair for any reason other than to show support for her friend Diana and her animals, but Angela isn't about to admit to it out loud. She's dressed appropriately casually, fiery hair in a loose ponytail, the ever-present ribbons floating around her neck, distinguishing her from any other beautiful ginger women.

She smiles as she approaches Diana at Asími's side, looking over the horse approvingly. ]

She is a beautiful steed. You clearly have much care for her.

i

[qualityfriend]

[Dana was one of those watching the horse, though there did seem to be something oddly familiar about the woman tending to her, too. But the horse, well, this is the closest she's ever been to one. So when the woman invites her to join, she starts, with both excited and trepidation.]

Are you sure? I- I've never touched a horse- that won't startle her or anything bad, right?

Hibiki Tachibana | Senki Zesshou Symphogear

[determinationtofist]

[1] Midway

[ Honestly? The County Fair is definitely something that Hibiki's needed. Just a break from all of the nonsense that comes with being a popular singer. More than that, though, she's just happy to return to some sense of a normal life and just have fun. Plus, there's so much exhileration and fun happening around her that she can't possibly keep all of the emotions from flowing into her as a result.

Basically, she's just about as hyper as possible right now. She's not even bothering to try and keep her ears and tail hidden, and boy is that tail wagging like crazy. ]

Come on...! I've got this...!

[ You may be able to spot her out in front of one of the many games providing plushies as prizes... namely, one where you're supposed to shoot a cork gun at targets, and if you manage to knock a target over, you get a prize.

Hibiki being Hibiki, is of course, aiming for two of the bigger prizes. Two large bird plushies that are each practically the size of her head. She's managed to get the chicken, but the penguin is evading her...

...Listen, they kind of remind her of herself and Miku, okay? She squints her eyes as she aims again, and...! ]

G-Gwah!! I missed again...!

Ooh, tough luck, missy.

[ Oh, how distraught she looks... ]

[2] Food and Food!!

[ Oh god, so many calories, it's questionable if even Hibiki can manage to keep her physique if she's allowed to eat without any restrictions, but... that is of course, exactly what Hibiki is doing.

There are simply way too many food stands, and Hibiki has too much money to spend. She's clearly happy, if her wagging tail is any indication, but she's got practically an armful of food and snacks in her arms. Various fried foods, candy, and oh right...

Lots, and I mean LOTS of meat. She is technically a werewolf, now. Of course the meat appeals to her way more than it did before, but... ]

Mmph...! Thish ish alph sho goof...!

[ The rough translation is Hibiki remarking about how good this all tastes, but there wouldn't be a need for a translation at all if she wasn't talking with her mouth completely filled with food. Mostly meat, but there's a few other things in there too. ]

Wildcard!!

[ We all know how wildcards work. Plurk is OddEyes ]

[trustheart]

[ This whole time Chris has been standing next to her, eating from a gigantic ice cream cone. She's managed to get it down to the end while Hibiki is trying her luck, but eventually, she becomes too aggravated to let it continue. So she eats the rest of her ice cream and the cone in one bite, before slamming down her own share of fair tickets. ]

This is hard to watch, dummy. I'll win it for you in one shot!

Cassandra Cain | Detective Comics | OTA

[louder_than_words]

1. Fried Food

[The first thing Cass does is go to the food stands. Now there's a small girl walking around with a two plates stacked comically high with fried food. An amount of food that makes one wonder if there's an eating competition going on that nobody said anything amount.

There's a little bit of everything-- even the more dubious-looking fried concoctions. Now she's trying to find a place to sit so she can demolish her meal in peace.]

2. It's All Fun And Games

a. [After a satisfying meal, Cass has set her eye on the other most interesting part of the fair. The games.

Cass loves tests of skill and doesn't have enough knowledge of these kinds of events to know they're going to be rigged.

Not that it would stop her.

Balloon darts is first. Picking up the first dart, she can feel the way it's weighted. Off-balance. Not much. Just enough to throw someone off. She narrows her eyes. Adjusts to the weight. Compensates.

Aims. Throws. A loud pop as the balloon bursts.

She smiles and picks up the next dart. This one's balanced slightly differently... a clever trick. Her smiles grows into a grin as she throws again. Another pop.

Once all the darts are thrown, each one popping a balloon, she's told she can pick a prize. Out of everything, this is where she freezes. There are... a lot of choices. And she doesn't know what to pick.]

b. [Cassandra has been going through every game booth. She's about halfway through. Her arms are full of prizes that she was forced to pick. Some she just pointed at randomly. Some she picked on purpose-- a giant purple unicorn for Steph. A small red bird for Tim. A smiling black bat for herself.

Along with her spoils, she's amassed a little bit of a crowd following her. Watching her win each game in one try. She's... not-comfortable with all the people. So many bodies to keep track of. It is... a lot of noise. Not sound-noise, brain-noise. She's doing her best to ignore them.

She doesn't mind when they cheer for her. That's... kind of nice. Fun.]

2a

[kid_flash_found]

Bart had been considering various games, and how long he could play before getting told to stop. It was easy when you knew how the games were rigged, although some he couldn't get on the first try because the differences in how the water pistols were sighted or the darts were weighted required a little adjustment.

Then he noticed Cass. He didn't try to sneak up, because, well, it was Cass. She would know regardless. But sensing her quandary, he looked at the toys on display as he came up near her.

"Why not that one?" he suggested, thinking it was as deceptively fierce as she was. "You can always give the toys you don't want to a children's hospital or something."