thisavrou_log | OTA ツJune Event☽ CARNIVAL

Entry tags:

OTA ツJune Event☽ CARNIVAL

Who: Everyone!
When: Month of June (whenever)
Where: Kauto: Region II: Ellguana Fields.
What: Carnival!
Warnings: Please warn appropriately on subjects, thanks.

Illguana Fields Carnival

The Ellguana Farms is hosting a carnival this month. There are rides, food, shows, and experiences surely to be had by all! Most importantly this is a great occasion to come together and meet new people, to learn of each other, to branch out and broaden your horizons! Perhaps most importantly this is a great opportunity to reminiscence on worlds of your past and to learn through the cumulative efforts of those come before you. The carnival will have various components of technology and diverse themes to facilitate an excellent experience enhanced by the sheer will of hard working inhabitants coming together to celebrate diversity!

☾ Rides ☽

The rides were something Ardyn can imagine as fun and attractive for those who were easily captivated by bright lights and adventure! Although he would have find more fun flying around with his own power, he could appreciate the allure of being strapped into a mechanical machine and carried through a series of spins and gravity defying lifts. The lines were evidence enough of many people who have come to the rides for one reason or another;
the bright lights or that daring feeling of being at the mercy of machinery. He stood in line, his partner for the ride was tight against his chest. A prized teddy bear that he won at the coin toss booth. He was quite fond of the stuffed bear, the brown animal had an uncharacteristically large square head and a much smaller body. It reminded him of a moogle.

☾ Food ☽

Ardyn has been assured that one of the main events at any carnival should be the food. The rides, the games, the fun lights and vibrant characters were great, but give the crowd something wonderful to eat and they'll be sure to come back for it again and again. In fact, he was guaranteed that the food would stick to memory more than a show or ride! Naturally, with the hype he'd been described, he would have to try the carnival food.
With so many booths, however, he was finding it difficult where to sample first. To receive further direction he decided to ask the next person he would come next to. "If you would be so kind as to direct me to a food booth, perhaps your finest recommendation?"

☾ Games ☽

There were various booths set up with all kinds of entertainment. Some games required skill in fine motor skills, others strength, and most of them required simple luck. Ardyn had played most of the games, some he had lost (which he was delightfully frustrated about)
and some of the games he had won a prize, though he was finding the fun in the game to be even more rewarding then the obligatory prize at the end of a win.

☾ Shows ☽

Freak Shows seemed a bit derogatory in his opinion, however, having been at this function for quite a few days already he found himself educated in the culture of the carnival life. There was a sense of unity amongst the workers and so called Freaks, it left an impression of genuine homeostasis amongst the workers. Everyone had their part in bringing this carnival together and there did not seem to be any bad blood causing tension between one man to another. Be it the bearded woman, the ticket accountant, the pinheads, or lizard man, they all seemed to get along and look after one another while gaining a profit for all. He found that quite interesting, especially here in the worlds where humans were not the only species of people here. Ardyn was in line for a show of sword-swallowing and fire blowing. It sounded dangerous and exciting.

[ ooc; hello! Ardyn's taken up the position as an event organizer, which just basically means I'll be posting a log each month of some local even in which everyone is absolutely invited to!! This month's event is the Ellguana Carnival. Please enjoy! You can reply to any of these prompts or create your own, and/or make a top thread OTA/CLOSED to CR etc! You don't have to respond to Ardyn at all in any of the prompts! Additionally, you may see an instafeed on his mobile page re: events!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Now that one I really don't believe. I've heard that some of these games--"

She catches herself, and drops her voice.

"I've heard that a few of them are rigged so that they can't be won. Like pegs that are too wide for the rings to fit over, and other tricks like that."

"Yeah, but I don't think they count on someone being as physically strong as I am. Like that milk bottle game where you have to throw a ball and knock all of them down?"

He thumbs at a stall several feet away. The owner appears to be in a bit of a panic. You see, the bottles weren't just knocked over...they were shattered in place. And also there's a softball sized hole in the back of the stall...

"I guess you can say I've got my own cheat codes for these games."

Being the good and righteous princess that she is, Allura doesn't look that impressed.

On the other hand, she even notes to herself: "If they were the ones attempting to scam people... they only have themselves to blame, don't they?"

And then back to Darin. "But if they're that easy to you, then why are you playing them? They can't be much fun if they aren't a challenge. So, unless you're planning to decorate the house with those toys...?"

Or just Shiro's room, maybe. That's also a possibility.

With that, Darin suddenly clams up.

"Wh...What do you care what I do with them? Maybe I just want them all."

He huffs audibly and prepares to get on his way.

"I'm bored of these games anyway. Maybe I'll just head home."

He's not really bored, and she knows it. He just wants to get away from her, again.

But what sort of nerve could she have touched this time? It's just games and toys. Or did he realize they weren't fighting for once, and recoil at that idea?

Darin is an occasionally frustrating person.

"What about those games? It doesn't look like you've touched any of them." She's pointing towards the side of this area that doesn't have any broken carnival games.

One of the feature attraction appears to be a strength testing machine, where a prize can only be won if someone rings the bell. Apparently, there's children who are also attempting to cheat the system -- three of them are swinging the hammer down together. However, it doesn't seem to help much, and their powers combined don't come close to ringing the bell.

Darin makes a clearly audible...sound. That's really all it can be described as. Like a combination of choking on his own words and a groan signifying that she knows he's about to play right into her hands.

He crosses his arms and taps his boot impatiently on the ground.

"Come on, you know how strong I am. That game isn't even going to stand a chance. Where's the sport in that?"

He huffs. But he keeps watching those kids spend senc after senc trying to win the top prize when the mallet itself is obviously made to absorb the shock of a powerful swing, deadening the impact.

"Tch..."

He grumbles some swears and starts marching his way over.

"Alright alright! Lemme show you how it's done, alright?! Geez!"

Oh! That was easier than she thought it was going to be. He's right, though. The challenge of smacking things with a hammer alone shouldn't have been enough to sway him.

So what was it, then? She'll keep musing on it as she follows him over.

"You're right, though. The game shouldn't stand a chance." And then, as an aside: "In fact, you'd probably have a harder time if you tried to win without breaking it."

He doesn't even look like he's listening to her. In fact, it looks like he's thinking about something altogether different.

The children seem to be getting down to their last few sencs...and debating whether or not they should hold onto them or keep trying for the top prizes. After some deliberation, it seems like they're going to move on.

That's when Darin places his hands on his hips and gives a sharp whistle to draw their attention.

"Hey now. Are you going to just let this game beat you? What if I taught you a surefire technique to win??"

This seems to pique their curiosity but it also draws a dirty look from the stall owner. Darin, who by nature doesn't give a damn, takes the mallet and kneels before the kids.

"See...it's not about how much muscle you have or how much strength you have behind your strikes. A person can only go so far on brute strength alone. Nah, the secret? You need to believe that you can ring that bell! Nothing else in this universe matters as long as you believe in your own ability to succeed!"

He flashes a grin and tosses a few sencs at the stall owner.

"I'll show ya!"

He leads the first child over and sets him up with the mallet and positions him in front of the target.

"Alright, widen your stance. That's it...now square those shoulders...good good! Okay, now, do you believe you can win?"

The child emphatically nods. Smirking, Darin takes hold of and braces the child's arms.

"Now, roar to the heavens and strike!!"

With a combined yell from the both of them, they swing, hitting the target dead on and driving the weight into the bell with a satisfying clang. The stall owner stares agape, while Darin smiles knowingly. Sure, he may have used his strength at the very last moment to send weight rushing up to the top. But it was worth it to see the looks on the kids' faces.

"See? What'd I tell ya...?"

Well.

That was far more adorable than it had any right to be.

There's no way she can interrupt or complain about that one, so instead, she plays along.

"That-- that was inspiring! I've never seen such strength before in my life!" With a short, knowing look at Darin, and then back to smiling at the child. "Even I thought this one was unbeatable!"

Darin cocks an eyebrow at her little performance, but opts to keep quiet. Instead, he ushers the other children forward so they can have their own turns and win their own prizes.

Once they've stepped up and Darin helps each one win, he takes a step back to let the kids select their prizes.

Except, he would if the stall owner hadn't seized Darin by the arm.

"You! You cheated! There's no way those little brats could have won without you. You...you did something!"

Darin glowers at the clawed hand on his arm.

"I didn't do anything of the sort. Are you admitting that your game is rigged to prevent kids from winning??"

The kids haven't left yet, though. They're watching, wondering what this strange blue haired man could have done to help them like the stall owner claims.

"They just believed they could beat you and your dumb little game. That's all."

The look on Darin's face speaks volumes. Mainly, if this guy continues his line of questioning and risks bringing these kids down, there might not even be a stall soon.

"That's right!" one of the children speaks up, joining in their defense. "That's what changed! We lost so many times, that I didn't think we could really do it -- but then, I believed and believed and believed as hard as I could, and the bell rung!"

Allura is following from behind. "It must simply be mind over matter, then. Don't you think so?"

There's an odd tone in Allura's voice with that last statement, but it doesn't really stand out unless one notices that she's also giving the stall owner a hostile look.

One that's very quickly dismissed as she ushers the children along, as if ignoring the stall owner completely. "So, while these two talk, let's all see the prizes, shall we? Which ones would you each like?"

The stall owner matches their combined combative glare. He pulls his hand away from Darin's arm and brushes it along his chin in thought.

"Very well. If 'believing in yourself' is all it takes to beat my humble game, then I'll make you a wager. Every prize in my stall...provides you can ring the bell one more time."

Darin's grin widens as he steps up and holds out his hand for the hammer.

To which the stall owner shakes his head and wags his finger.

"Not you. If you've truly done nothing but inspire these folks, then you've clearly done enough. No...if she believes in you and your 'method' so much...then she should be the one to ring the bell..."

And with that, the stall owner holds the hammer out towards Allura.

Dammit.

It's sort of insulting, really.

She knows that this isn't just the work of the stall owner mistaking her for some frail waif. This carnival sees enough aliens that no one would be so careless as to judge by appearances. No, if he's wagering all his prizes, then the game is not just needlessly difficult -- there is a trick making it unwinnable.

But it's also very insulting, putting her in this kind of spot. Where she's supposed to be humiliated as someone weaker than a child.

So, she tries to stall for time.

"And what, exactly, do you expect to be different about this time? Or do you think that I don't know how to swing a hammer myself?"

The stall owner sneers and is about to retort when Darin holds an arm up between them.

"It's a deal...on one condition. She gets three tries. If she can't do it by the third try, you can keep the prizes and all of my money."

The stall owner considers this for a moment, then believing he has everything well in hand, accepts the offer. After all, he held the remote that controlled the density of the weight. There was no way he could lose to some offworlders.

Darin takes the hammer and brings it over to Allura. As he passes it off, he whispers, hoping her ears were as sensitive as they were big.

"I'll figure out how he's rigging it. Trust me. Just don't put everything you've got into the first two swings."

Yes, she heard the plan loud and clear. However, she doesn't look thrilled about it.

It would be one thing if the roles were reversed. She considers herself a reasonably quick thinker; figuring out the trick in three swings would be no issue at all. And if she failed... well... hey, there are reasons why she doesn't like being front and center on the team.

But instead, she has to swing blindly and trust in Darin. She doesn't like that, and she has no room to argue against it.

With a resigned sigh, she takes the hammer from Darin. "Very well. If you want to see me ring that bell, then ring it I shall."

But she takes some time walking over to the actual game, and lining up her swing. Both because she's uneasy about this whole setup, and to give Darin more time to see what the stand owner is doing.

Darin takes a position off to the side, arms folded across his chest. He has two chances at this; two chances to determine just how exactly this creep was making this game intentionally unwinnable.

He'd already discreetly examined the hammer before passing it off to Allura. It was solid. Nothing about it seemed out of the ordinary. That means the trick lied in either the target and metal plank, or the weight and the track leading up to the bell.

When Darin struck it before with the kids, he only used minuscule bursts of his strength right at the moment of impact. If it had anything to do with the target and the plank, wouldn't there have been more resistance when he felt it connect? He honestly wasn't paying attention, but now he wished he had.

Either way, he'd narrowed his focus down. If he could figure out what the gimmick was on the first try, then he could keep an eye on the stall owner for the second to see how he was controlling it.

"It's okay, Princess. We all believe in you. Anytime you're ready."

Darin had told her not to put everything she's got into the first two swings.

To someone who doesn't know Allura, that appears to be exactly what she is doing. She's holding the hammer like the weapon it is, and lining up her swing with the experience of someone who knows how to hold a weapon.

It's telegraphing to the man running the booth that she's not to be taken lightly.

And it's not just acting. She brings down the hammer with an impressive amount of force, even giving out a cry like someone attacking in a martial arts movie. If this is a normal game, the metal pellet should be sent slamming into the bell, easily.

But this isn't a normal game, is it?

It was a solid hit. One strong enough that, had this game been on the level, should have definitely rung the bell.

The weight, however, made it only about halfway up the pole before it slowed suddenly and dropped with a hard thud.

"Kehehehehehe...oh dear. It appears the belief you had in your friend isn't as strong as your belief in yourself."

The stall owner continues his shrill laugh.

Darin wasn't laughing though. Something about the way the weight had slowed...it wasn't natural. It slowed too quickly, like there was sudden friction on the rail leading up to the bell. And the loud thud it made when it returned to its spot on the plank? That was far too loud for a weight of that size.

So that was the gimmick then. The weight was somehow being controlled. But how...? Darin was fully intent on keeping his eyes locked on the stall owner for the next strike. But if he stared too hard at him, would that put him on alert?

Time to ease the tension a bit. If he plays up the overconfidence, it should keep the owner off guard.

"Yeah, come on Princess! That was just a warm up, right? That swing was the most feminine thing I've ever seen you do! Do you need a kiss from a Prince to wake you up or something~?"

Is he trying to make her angry? Because it's working.

The trick is making sure that anger stays directed at this rigged game. Not at the loudmouth who's helping her pull back the curtain on this trick. To not pitch the hammer back towards Darin's head, but bring it slamming down on the actual machine.

"Of course that was just a warm-up. I've got this under control, thanks."

It wasn't a warm-up and she could tell that wasn't natural, either. This situation is completely out of her own control.

She almost looks like a golfer who's just putted one into the rough, and is trying very hard not to let that fact affect her cool for the next swing.

But she ultimately does direct her anger the right way -- into the swing of the mallet, which is with notably more force than the first. The kind of swing that you wouldn't want directed your way, for example.

This time, as the hammer connects, the weight barely lifts off the ground, despite the considerable amount of strength Allura put into the swing. Darin's eyes weren't focused on the weight though. They were focused on the stall owner.

Right before Allura's swing, the owner seemed to guess correctly that she had more power than she was letting on. Fortunately, the big wind up allowed him to make the necessary adjustments...

...By twisting his cuff link. Which, in turn, raised the density of the weight to abnormally high limits. He arches his eyebrows. For the Princess to have even moved the weight, she would have to be hiding strength comparable to a giant. And here, she managed to get it off the ground slightly. Nevertheless, he sneers.

"That's two swings. One more and your escort's money belongs to me, along with the prizes these children nearly swindled me out of."

As if on cue, one of the children tugs on Allura's dress.

"We're believing as hard as we can! Is it not enough?"

Darin, on the other hand, has another ploy.

"Wow, Princess. Are you trying to flatten a doily? Weren't you telling me that Alteans were proud warriors? Do you need me to hold your petticoat or something for you?"

He flaps his arms at the wrists and continues in a falsetto voice.

"Kyah! This hammer is just so unsophisticated! A damsel such as myself might get a hang nail! Oh save me, my paladins!"

And as he puts on his little show, he's swaying his hips and inching closer to the stall owner.

For the moment, Allura looks as though she's lost sight of the game and is about to bring the hammer down on Darin's head.

... in more ways than one. Did she start getting taller?

"Keep talking like that, and I'll send you flying up into that bell, Darin! Be quiet and let me concentrate!"

She huffs loudly and prepares for her final swing. The game is definitely rigged. There's something, some tether that's applying resistance or counter-force or -- something. Neither of which she can spot from her angle.

Did Darin figure it out instead, or is he just getting his kicks in before this falls apart?

It seems that either way, she's plans to strike it with enough force to power through.

She's far taller than anyone else at the stand when she bring the hammer down with tremendous strength, enough to put her previous two swings to shame.

And that's when he makes his move.

He knew if he goaded her, she'd pull her giantess card. And a change like that would make the stall owner move in a hurry. Which means he won't be nearly as careful about his movements.

And, as planned, the stall owner panics. He sees Allura growing larger, winding up, and bringing that hammer down. He only had moments before...

Before Darin casually seizes the stall owner's wrist and jerks it painfully behind his back. Not a lot of time for a witty line, though he had a few prepared. He takes the cuff link and cranks it as far as he can in the opposite direction. Just as he suspected: it really was a dial. The stall owner yelps in pain as Darin twists his arm behind his back, but even that cry is drowned out by the crash and the explosion as Allura's hammer strikes. The weight, whose density had been lessened to that of a helium molecule, not only rockets high enough to hit the bell...it splits the bell in half and keeps going. In fact, it might even break the atmosphere at this rate.

The children all stare, mouth agape. The stall owner matches their slackjawed gaze, but his is decidedly filled more with pain than wonder. And Darin?

Darin just laughs.

"HAHAHAHAHA! WOW! NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!"

Should she be proud that she split the bell, or embarrassed that Darin played her like a fiddle? It's a little unclear which way she ought to lean on this.

Well, then again... all those children are watching. So, while her expression is firm, she still stands proud and points the hammer out like a more threatening weapon. It's a little unclear whether it's meant to be pointing at the stall owner, or at Darin.

"So! There you have it, then. Or would you like me to test this mallet on you before you have a little more faith in me?"

Honestly, it doesn't really matter which one it's directed at.

If that was meant to be a threat to Darin, he sure as hell didn't hear it. Why? He's already picking the stall clean of prizes and handing them out to the excited children, more of which have come and joined to watch the Princess 'perform.'

He's handing them out by the handful, and when he's done, he hands off all of the prizes he had won previously to the children who didn't get anything. By the time he's done, each child has at least an armful or two of various prizes to take home with them.

The now bankrupt stall owner is glaring both Allura and Darin down, rubbing at the wrist and shoulder that Darin had seized, but makes no move to intervene. After all, he can't raise the density of his weight any longer, he doesn't know where it could feasibly come down.

Once he's finished his work, Darin claps his hands together in a job well done type gesture, shoves one of them in his pocket and proceeds to go on his merry way without saying a single word to Allura.

Rude.

Rude is the word, indeed.

She masks her frustration while they tend to the children, but as soon as they have their prizes, she catches up with him in a huff.

"You could have told me," she began to say, before starting again. "No, you should have told me what you were planning from the beginning. I was just about ready to knock you into the stratosphere, next."

And given the way she's balling her fists, it looks like she wants to do it anyway.

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