[ step right up ϟ open ]

[kirkwalled]

Who: Hawke + Merrill + Anyone who comes to visit their balloon booth
When: IC: 6/9
Where: The Cultural Festival
What: Hawke and Merrill try to run a con. It goes just as well as you'd expect.
Rating/Warning: None!

---

HAWKE AND MERRILL

[ today at the cultural festival, there is a certain booth crammed in amongst all the other booths. it's bright and colorful and very much open to the public. the most noticeable thing about the booth are the stuffed plushes surrounding the edges -- plushes of mosley, bellona, and all kinds of fantastical creatures (dragons, unicorns, three wolves howling at the moon, etc etc). on the wall of the booth and the main attraction of it, is a wall filled with different brightly colored balloons and a sign that reads “BALLOON GAME”. pretty straightforward, huh?

then there are the two manning the booth: hawke and merrill. hawke, just as scruffy as usual with a t-shirt that reads TRUST ME, I'M A DOCTOR and merrill, elfy and pure. as your character approaches, they'll catch a conversation between the two friends. ]

You can't just tell them how to play, Merrill. It's a whole process, you have to convince them! Let them figure it out themselves and say nothing while they do it.

— But Hawke, if we don't tell them how to win, how ever will they— [ merrill's voice lowers to a slightly muffled whisper. nevertheless, she isn't being too discrete. ] Oh, I see. It's a trick, isn't it? You're always thinking ahead, Hawke.

First, thank you, I try. Second, no, no. Not a trick. [ hawke, stop lying. ] A challenge! They have to use their wits. Will the dart pop the balloon? Will they pop enough to win the prize? Will they use all three chances wisely or have to pay to play again? Only the Maker knows, of course.

But we're hoping that the dart doesn't pop the balloon, yes?

[ does this question even require an answer, merrill? unfortunately, hawke's actual answer is drowned out by the buzz of the fair but their booth is open and they're waiting for any sort of customer so, uh...

... step right up? ]

HAWKE

[ as the day goes, hawke decides to give merrill a bit of a break (or told her to go enjoy herself at the festival because she kept BLOWING THE CON -- either one) and hawke takes over the booth completely. hawke is charming and personable to those who approach the booth and encourages multiple attempts to win a prize. surely, you'll get it next time! surely. she even lets a few people win (if only to keep up the integrity of their reputation).

but at one point during the festivities, anyone who comes across hawke will find her at the booth, sitting on the table and leaning against the booth wall, arms crossed over her chest and... asleep? yes, hawke is asleep on the job.

you're welcome to wake her up. or not. you do you, friend. ]

MERRILL

[ with the culture festival wrapping up, merrill found herself levied with the grand, insurmountable task of breaking down the booth. she had to be useful somehow, seeing as how every time she cut in during a transaction, she ended up ruining the con.

this would be easy (easier, at least) if the booth wasn't so— so fancy, but unfortunately, it was way too future-y sci-fi for merrill to figure out. there were hinges in places merrill didn't know hinges could even be, and merrill had forgotten to ask hawke for the instruction manual. she decided, then, to just wing it — she moves to a nearby hinged corner and begins to fold it, when suddenly, it electronically takes over and flips wildly, causing merrill to fall on her back. damn.

when she gets up, everything looks good except... oh, well, it looks like a plush got decapitated. the three wolf moon plush was now a two and a half wolf moon plush. she grasps the head tentatively, wondering what to do now, when she sees someone approaching. she scrambles to her feet, hoping it isn't hawke.

when she sees it isn't, she sighs, holding out the... head. ]

Ah... you wouldn't happen to want a headless wolf for your, um, collection, would you? I'll gladly give it to you if you help me fix — fix this.

[ she waves over to the booth rather sadly. ]

Comments

[cultivations]

[ With a touch of amusement, ] I believe the Blights had more to do their eventual extinction, though the Wardens hardly helped.

[ does anyone even like the Wardens anymore at this point. ]

You commissioned these, then? That seems rather costly, given you're practically giving these things away as concessions.

both ofc

[buttonedup]

( Cassandra had a poor enough experience at the previous carnival to be immediately leery of anything remotely similar. She already has a glare on her face as she approaches, but as she nears and -- Maker help her -- recognises the people running the booth, her expression briefly flickers into one of confusion before she steels herself and again schools herself into a look of general disapproval. )

What are you two up to now?

[feminine_carnivore]

[ Chie doesn't even think to chastise the woman for not being as energetic as her, because Chie's so super focused on the game instead to worry about much else. Like... whether or not this might be rigged or anything. She's far too trusting, especially given that it's a woman running the booth. ]

Thirty? Okay! [ She has no idea if that's a lot... ]

Alright! Hyaa! [ And she throws her first. With plenty of gusto behind it, and a positive attitude, there's no way she can miss...right? ]

[animated]

[ Well, if nothing else, it’s clear that Merrill is adorable, so they definitely have that going for them. ]

“As many balloons as I can”, huh? [ He arches an eyebrow. Logically, three darts meant three balloons equals a win, but that was awfully vague. He’s not particularly worried, however. A game like this was practically made for an Animator like him, and he doesn’t exactly have to worry about subtlety. ]

I’ll play, I’ll play. You don’t have to talk me into it.

[ And he hands his card over to Hawke. ]

[manolia]

I get some use out of my knife, so it is easier to carry it with me. [His knife is also knocking around in his hat. Folded, of course. One wouldn't want an open blade that close to the scalp.] You would be surprised at the amount of things I can fit into this hat, see.

[Screwdrivers, pens, personal lubricant... You never know what you'll need!]

[In any case, he's finished, so he tucks the whetstone away and (after a moment of focus) gives the dart a throw. Will he pop any balloons? Probably, but who knows!!]

Both??

[bewrightback]

[Phoenix happens to be wandering by, still wearing a fake beard as he goes to and from his mock trial set-up, when that stand catches his eye. And the talk of trickery catches his ear.

But he draws near curiously, raising a confused eyebrow as he takes a closer look at the set-up.]

This game looks pretty straighforward to me... [Where's the trick? Throw darts, pop balloons, get prizes. Sounds simple!]

h & m

[feytality]

[Is Maya gullible enough to fall for this act? Or will her own conning skills save her? ONLY TIME WILL TELL]

Oh, oh, is this a game? What is it?

[She's looking at those cute little dolls with interest... this would be the perfect game to make Phoenix play for her]

[kirkwalled]

[ the sweet innocence of youth. hawke will just casually take that fee from chie and give her a thumbs up as she lines up her first shot. there's totally no way you can miss, chie!

... except she does! the dart just sort of loses steam halfway to the mark and falls uselessly to the ground. somehow. wonder how that happened? ]

Ohhh, tough luck! Two more tries though, maybe you can still win!

[feminine_carnivore]

[ The younger generation has to trust the older generation, right?! It's a fundamental trust between them, that makes the world possible! Students should trust teachers, and kouhais should trust senpais!!

And despite how pumped up Chie is about this, she ends up... completely missing the mark?! And worse that that it's like she didn't throw hard enough!! ]

H-Huh? I'm not even sure what happened there... but I know I can do it this time! [ She even rolls up her sleeve, just to show how things have gotten serious!! Taking up a better stance, she flows through the motions a few times before winding back and throwing as hard as she can! ]

you're a doll!

[cestmagnifique]

[ Hm. Well, at least this woman snaps to when she's prodded, though Mitsuru still feels a sense of disappointment. She doesn't appear to be a student, which is even more reason for her to set a prime example to the younger patrons. Certainly doctors have better sense of decorum than this.

But, to the task at hand. Her gaze shifts to the array of balloons. ]

Ah...so this is "darts"? I imagined the set-up would be a little different.

[ Yeah she has no idea what she's looking at. ]

[kirkwalled]

[ in another life, hawke's a responsible adult figure! but not this one. she shifts to sit up fully, folding her legs under herself and glancing back at the balloons when mitsuru does before back at her. ]

Weeeeell, it's balloon darts! You take one of these darts, [ hawke picks one up for herself. ] And point it at the balloon and --

[ hawke aims the dart for a balloon that she knows will pop, tosses it carefully and POP, the balloon pops and the dart falls to the ground. hawke looks back at mitsuru with a cheery grin. ]

Just like that. Do it three times, win the grand prize! [ a gesture towards the largest stuffed plushes decorating the booth. ] For the low, low price of only thirty credits.

[ and yet, she still overcharges mitsuru. ]

[kirkwalled]

[ yes! that's exactly how this work. trust your senpai, chie. it's not like your senpai is trying to con you out of every last credit. no way! that's totally not what's happening here! ]

Yes, one more try! You've still got two chances after all, if you make them both you'll definitely win something.

[ this one, mercifully, does actually hit the balloon and makes it pop! just like hawke said! whoa, it's crazy. it's like hawke wants to give her some kind of hope or something. hawke just grins cheerfully and gestures for chie to try the last one. ]

See, see! Just like that, you're getting the hang of it already.

[feminine_carnivore]

[ What kind of person would do that?! Just run a carnival game and cheat?! Surely this pretty oneechan here would never! ]

Alright!! I got it!! [ Chie jumps into the air, pumping her fist with pride. She did it! But that leaves one more to win. Maybe she won't get the big prize, but she refuses to lose! ]

Yeah! Just watch, there's no way I can miss with my next throw! [ Pulling her arm back, she breathes in slowly and deeply, focusing only on her target. With a quiet mutter of "don't think.... feel..." she throws that last dart with everything in her!! ]

[outcast]

The game! Of course! Here you are.

[ in a swift movement, merrill grabs for an item and reaches towards zero, hoping for them to hold out her hand to drop.. darts. which is definitely not any sort of artillery. ]

You'll get three chances to hit the balloons, which is why there's three darts, naturally. You seem like you'd be quite adept at this.

[outcast]

[ merrill's just going to lean in real close. she can't wait to see if he gets it! ]

Ah, don't mess it up! —I suppose saying that doesn't help, does it? I'll be a bit quieter.

[outcast]

[ in a swift motion, as hawke takes the credit card, merrill's waving over three darts into charlie's palm. ]

I'm sure you can do it! Maybe. You're capable, at least.

[ don't be mad at her if you lose, charlie!! this was all hawke's idea. ]

[outcast]

[ and a bang! pop goes a balloon. perhaps kashuu's eyes are serving him well here, or maybe there's evil blood magic in play to lull him into a false sense of security. either way, merrill's smiling. ]

You've got one! Now just two more.

[outcast]

Where did you get these, Hawke? They're quite curious. Nothing that I could ever sew, with my clumsy fingers.

[ hawke and her weird connections.. merrill hadn't even thought to ask, really. hawke and merrill were at a sort of mutual agreement there, of not asking. usually it ended in a headache anyway. ]

[outcast]

[ the first one's a swing and a mess. looks like, for this dart at least, chibi's whetstone was on his side but lady luck was not. merrill frowns. ]

You missed that one.. Well, I'm sure you can see that, seeing as all the balloons are still there. But you two chances yet!

[outcast]

Oh! Hello, Cassandra.

[ she was used to people talking to her gruffly, even when they didn't necessarily mean any harm (like aveline).. and, of course, when they did (like fenris), so she really thinks nothing of Cassandra's typically rough tone of voice. it wasn't an indicator of her feelings! maybe. ]

We're hosting a game, here! It really was Hawke's idea. She orchestrated all of this. She merely asked me to assist.

[ that should give cass an idea of how things were going.. ]

[outcast]

It's straight as an arrow! Or a dart, I suppose, in this case.

[ unfortunately, the people managing the stand weren't straight at all. well, one of them at least. merrill was as innocent as could be, just naive and blind to hawke's crookedness. maybe hawke asked her to help because her earnestness would help put some stock in their good will.

either way, merrill's beaming as if nothing's wrong. ]

Would you like to play, perhaps? I hope the darts don't get caught in your beard.. It'd be a shame to have to cut one out.

[outcast]

[ we will see how the card lay very soon... merrill's beaming, anyway, as if she's just as unknowning to hawke's shenanigans as maya was. ]

Yes! A game of darts. I wasn't familiar until just the other day, but Hawke explains it so well.

[ looks like you're up, hawke. ]

[cestmagnifique]

[ Hm. Yes, she believe she understands. The rules are simple enough. ]

So it's a test of skill.

[ Mitsuru says that far too seriously, though, for a balloon game. That's the kind of thing that appeals to her. ]

...Thirty credits? Very well.

[ Her concept of money may be a little skewed as well. She's prepared to pay up. Not that she cares much for the prizes.

HERE YOU GO HAWKE. Darts, please. ]

[ukakus]

[Of course the instruction manual is... elsewhere. With this Hawke person. Whoever that is. This is why wondering off with important documents related to weird space tables is a big no-no.

But, okay. Fine. They can do this. They can put this table out of its misery, and Touka can happily leave afterward.]

... That's an idea. I guess. [It's really not.] Maybe we should flip it over. See if we can fold the [uh] legs in.

[What are sci-fi future-y tables and how do you work them? She's from like, 200X. She owns a flip phone.]

[kirkwalled]

[ is he?? either way, his bank account is being charged ten bucks so let's hope so, kaneda. those overdraft fees are definitely not something to mess with! ]

I, for one, hope you do mess up because it would be funnier.

[ at least she's honest?! but yeah, that first dart isn't going to hit anything. when kaneda throws it, it's just going to sink right to the ground like ma...gic... or something. whoa, crazy! ]

See? Hilarious.