The Springtime Fair Event!

[megabond]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Recolle Square
WHEN: May 20-21
WHAT: The Springtime Fair!
WARNINGS: None, but PM if this needs to change

Springtime Fair Begins! The Booths and Rides! (May 20-21)

As Spring continues blossoming around the city, Recolle Square becomes very crowded for some reason; that reason being the annual Springtime Fair!

As most of the residents enter Recolle Square, they notice many kinds of booths and rides scattered around the park as volunteers and booth owners set up to start the fair. And since the theme for this year is the American Style Cultural Festival, they see many classic rides such as the Tilt-A-Whirl, Merry-Go-Around (with Chocobos instead of horses, obviously), the Ferris Wheel, and much more. Not to mention the carnival games and delicious food lined up in most of the booths as well with booths like "Yamazaki's Paris" and "Satellite's Pizza"!

With all of the booths and rides that the fair has to offer, you have a feeling you will have a great time that Spring has to offer in it's remaining time this year!

The Silent Auction (May 20/Morning)

Due to the Recolle Zoo and Aquarium's Endangered Animal Preservation sponsoring this year's fair, they have a plethora of auctions to you to bid on.

One of the auctions is a silent auction being held on one of the stages in the venue where you can bid on blind gift baskets. The contents of the gift baskets is a mystery, but the announcer did explain what you can get such as a month supply of donuts, some cute plush toys, anything you can think of from the sponsors! However, there is a chance you may get something you actually don't need, so if this happens, feel free to give it to someone who does need it, e.g. when you get a week supply of cat food when you're actually a dog person.

You may be tempted to peek in some of the gift baskets backstage, but where's the fun in that? Don't try to peek if you're not one of the volunteers and organizers or security will kick you out.

The Service Auction (May 20/Afternoon)

At 3:00 PM after the silent auction, most of the residents as well business owners and employees gather in front of the stage as the Service Auction is about to start. Once it does, you see that the tables used for the gift baskets are cleared as the announcer declared the Service Auction as well explaining the rules regarding the bids and the fees are given for their services. If you notice the whiteboard before you take your seat, you can see the list of participants available to bid as well the services they will offer as well the order of their appearance to bid on.

>> Dr. Arataka Reigen (Service: A free homeopathic consultation!)
>> Chloe Bouchard (Service: Yard Work/Gardening, professional level)
>> Rin Matsuoka (Service: One-man Personal Training Bootcamp!!! Get Fit Get Swole 100% On the Grind Etc. Also swimming lessons.)
>> Donald Maxwell (Service: Handyman and delivery services)
>> Terra Mason (Service: Hard, manual labor such as moving your furniture, paint your second-floor bathroom, basically anything! He can also teach you about the civil war, or make you somewhat fancy alcoholic beverages.)
>> Nui (Nadine) Harime (Service: Wardrobe consultation, custom tailoring to make your clothes actually look good on you, and/or sewing for one one-of-a-kind spring fashion item.)
>> Eleanor Lamb (Service: Handyman! Fix your gate, your lawnmower, appliances, electrical junk. Eleanor's good at putting stuff back together. Or...taking it apart, if that's your flavor.)
>> Penelope Raban (Service: Photoshop, Computer Repair, Debugging, or writing a simple program/phone app/etc.)

Judging by the services they offer, you can tell how either useful they be and/or how much fun you will have with them. Just make sure you watch your budget during the auction. Otherwise, you might not able to afford their fees!

Regardless, some of the proceedings (with special conditions from some of the participants) will go to Recolle Zoo and Aquarium's Endangered Animal Preservation, so at least you’d give some help to the cause.

[NOTES: To all of the participants listed above, you are free to decide on the fees as well as who won the bid on your character on your service auction prompts!

To everyone else, don't be afraid to make your top levels about how your character is watching the auction. But if you want your character to bid on your intended participant, make sure you go to their top levels as soon they are posted to bid one of them!]

The Pet Show Preparations (May 21/Noon)

The next day, the stage has been redecorated with bone banners around at the top of it along with some bones and ball props placed around the stage for this year's Pet Show. Not only that, a huge mat has been spread in front of the stage along with a obstacle course for all of the participating small and big pets alike while the audience can watch the events in front of them behind the rope line with several seats lined up for some guests who don't like to stand up all day while watching the show.

If you signed up for the Pet Show, you will spend time in the backstage area before the show, as you not only try to groom your pet for the cameras and the judges outside but try to calm them down before the big event begins. Thankfully, you are allowed to bring anyone with you to help you prepare your little (or big) star, from acquaintances to friends to siblings to other family members.

Let the Pet Show Begin!(May 21/Afternoon)

Once it hits 3:00 PM, the announcer then declares in a showman-like manner, "Welcome one and all to our annual Springtime Pet Show!"

As the show begins, the audience cheers in excitement over seeing some cute and cool pets walking down the obstacle course while the three judges wait to watch and decide on which cat, dog, or another animal will win this year.

Of course, as you are called into the field with your furry friend, you will try to help them out in two rounds. For the first round, you will not only have the chance to show off your pet but to also have them show off their talents or any tricks they learned. For the second round, it's just a standard agility round with the only rule is to pass through the obstacle course as fast they can. However, some parts of the course, such as the tunnel and the teeter board, turn out to be defective for some reason, but that's nothing that your pet can handle, right?

The Mishaps (May 21/During the Pet Show)

Of course, just when you think this pet show will go smoothly, you turn out to be wrong. That because just as the talent portion of the pet show starts, you witness some of the Chocobos run the obstacle course and start wreaking havoc such as pecking on some of the participants and guests' heads, running around the field aimlessly, and of course, causing some of their pets to panic and run away.

As the organizers and volunteers are left shocked and confused by this turn of events, one of the volunteers steps up and explained everything, revealing that the Chocobos were supposed to be for the petting zoo for today's event, but one kid got a little too curious with them and accidentally released them from captivity.

Whatever the case, your only two options are to either run away from the Chocobos or help out the volunteers and organizers round them up before most of the stage and booths are destroyed.

Pet Show Winners (After the Mishaps)

After the chaos has been dealt with, the MC returns to the stage unscathed from any animal hijinks. He is still shaken up by those Chocobos, but the show must go on.

With that, he then opens the envelopes that one of the volunteers gave him and reads it before turning his attention to the audience in order to declare which pet managed to impress the judges and the audience enough to win.

"Now then, third place goes to Zaveid Taleb's tuxedo cat, Fred, second place goes to Hitori Togusa and his white miniature schnauzer, Daisuke!

And now for the first place and winner of this year's Pet Show is..."

With a long drumroll that one of the volunteers is doing (How did he get those drums into the stage in 5 minutes anyway?!), the MC then opens the last envelope and reads the contents.

"Mohammed Hefaz with his budgie, Whitney!"

Once the winners are declared, the audience cheered in excitement for the winners while some of them are a little disappointed that their favorites lost.

As for the participants, they were either are happy or disappointed with the results or cheered their pets up. Still, there's always next year!

[NOTES: Just a reminder of the pet show prizes in case you didn't read the replies:

1st Place: $200 gift card to The Towers, $100 gift card to a known pet food brand, and two tickets to Recolle Zoo and Aquarium
2nd Place: $50 gift card to a known pet food brand, 3 new cat or dog toys
3rd Place: 10% discount to selected pizzas from Satellite's Pizza or Yamazaki's Paris.]

Aftermath (May 21/Evening)

Well, other than a little Chocobo mess back there, this year's Springtime Fair ended off with a bang. With most of the guests start to reflect yesterday and today's events, most of them help out the organizers, volunteers, and booth owners on cleaning and packing up everything.

But despite the chaos that has happened earlier, the organizers and volunteers are happy to hear that raised quite a lot of money for the Animal Preservation Program from the auctions and some of the booths, which can be a happy ending to this crazy weekend.

But no matter how you experienced the fair, at least you have fun, right?

With that, thank you for coming and we'll hope to see you in the next Springtime Fair!

Comments

ota!

[long_live_the_queen]

A. Obligatory Wandering (through the stands) Prompt, May 21st

[Look. Look. Lucy was outside today, and at least in range of interacting with people! Not necessarily engaging with them immediately, but out and walking.

...which was paradoxically what she shouldn't be doing right this second. Not without some crutches. Her sprained ankle hadn't started out too bad, but she kept aggravating it. By walking on it, by running, and basically everything she really shouldn't be doing. Painkillers and stubbornness were truly amazing things. Mostly painkillers.

But Lucy wasn't running now! ...she was before, but now she was being easier on her ankle, slowly meandering this way and that. Wherever a booth was, she was there on its periphery; usually just a shadow, speculatively watching. Or signing a release form to get on the rides, but hanging back before doing so (was that a stripped down teacup ride?).

Or sitting and resting her ankle, like a patient that didn't view doctor's orders like a suggested speed limit.]

B. KWEH, May 21st

[Okay, so. That promise not to run? Complete garbage. Lucy was definitely running away from that giant beak and talons that'd hopped the fence and was trotting purposefully after her.

...the chocobo probably just wanted to see if her hair was edible or not, but. Still! Beak! Claws! Lucy not apologizing for hobbling at someone!

Please help.]

wandering!

[complementing]

[Minako has not been in the best of moods since the 18th. She'd been hoping that coming to the spring fair would help perk her up a little, that seeing the hilarity of Terra auctioned off would lift her spirits a bit-- but even that hasn't done much to make her feel better. She needs a distraction, something to focus on that isn't related to her own morbid, worried thoughts.

And so she turns to carnival games.

That's where Lucy will find Minako, sleeves rolled up and her new ruby red eyes barely looking at the game in front of her even though she's smashing down every mole that pops out from its hidey hole. She's drawn a sizable crowd, in fact, both because of the silent rage behind each swing, and the small pile of toys she's collected.

She hasn't even noticed that she's about a thousand points shy of getting a top high score.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[The rhythmic thuds caught Lucy's attention before the crowd did; she was going to weave around them again when she noticed a familiar face in the middle of it.

The quiet anger on Minako's face wasn't...so familiar, though. It was actually kind of startling. But maybe it was just concentration...? Lucy started weaving through the assembled crowd with single-minded focus, occasionally stepping on some toes or rudely elbowing someone being obstinately obstructive without apologizing. She had somewhere to be.

Eventually, Lucy wiggled and hobbled her way to the front, walking straight up to her roommate without fear but stopping just before she got in range of the hammer. She didn't want to deal with a broken nose on top of everything else.]

...are you okay?

[complementing]

[Minako glances out of the corner of her eye at Lucy, and a smile lifts at the corner of her lips. It's her customer service smile, the one that's easy for her to freeze onto her face when everything has become chaos around her.

There's no need to lie when it's so obvious to anyone who knows her halfway well, though.]

Nope.

[And she punctuates this with a vicious smash over a fifty-pointer mole.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Oh. Well. That was...not what she expected. It actually made Lucy pause for a moment before rocking back on her heels, a small, awkward gesture. That was the thinnest cheer she'd seen on her roommate's face, and it was almost unnerving.

Lucy was garbage at being reassuring. She could barely do that for herself. But...she could at least try, for Minako.]

Bad time?

[To talk, or to interact with others, or to do much else besides bludgeon moles until the machine springs complained. Lucy wasn't good at complete sentences sometimes.

She glanced up at the scoreboard, blinking again. Minako must have been here for awhile.]

[complementing]

[Hearing Lucy's question is enough to make most of the anger deflate from her, leaving only a bone weary tiredness in its wake. Minako could continue to be angry with herself for hours on end given the chance, but she shouldn't let that bleed into conversation...she's trained herself better than that. And god, it's Lucy. Lucy is actually here, at the spring fair, probably enjoying herself before coming across the miserable mess she is right now. Minako needs to be more considerate than this.

She doesn't stop whacking moles, but it's more to keep her game going than actual fury now.]

...no, it's okay. I'm sorry, Lucy. You shouldn't have to put up with my bad mood.

[long_live_the_queen]

[She wasn't sure when she'd get used to apologies. But that did confirm that something was wrong, and Lucy felt a little guilty for asking—it was obvious, why did she need that confirmed? She stopped shuffling on her feet, looking back down at what Minako was doing.]

I didn't know you could get those.

[Look! Humor! Attempted! Kind of.]

[complementing]

[Minako laughs weakly.]

You'd be surprised. I get them more often than you'd think. I'm just really good at hiding them.

[Whack whack whack.]

Most of the time.

[long_live_the_queen]

[That was...hm. It made Lucy think back, and back and back—was Minako always unhappy, when she'd talked to her? Just...tolerating her, until she looked away?

Lucy shuffled sideways, cautiously aware of the hammer, and reached out to set her hand on the other girl's shoulder. Her touch was light, tentative, and uncertain. An attempt at reassurance, mimicked from others she had seen.]

...you don't have to.

[complementing]

[Minako is so startled, so unsuspecting, that she jumps from the touch, the hammer slack in her fingers and the moles forgotten. And then the surprise melts away to something more hesitant. Guarded and wary, but hopeful, even as her lips form the words to give her roommate an out.]

I don't want to burden you with my problems, Lucy.

[long_live_the_queen]

[For a moment, Lucy's hand was still suspended in the air where Minako's shoulder used to be. She closed her hand into a fist after a belated moment, pulling that hand halfway back to her chest before stopping herself. That...meant nothing, she was still fine. Everything was...just fine. Except Minako, who wasn't.

Lucy wasn't going to leave that alone. She felt...responsible? Like she could help. Do something meaningful, for once in her life?]

...you don't have to be like me, either.

[complementing]

[It's not hard to see that that Lucy is trying, and that she's trying for Minako's sake is quietly touching. It's ultimately what helps Minako decide to confide a bit in her roommate. She wants to meet her halfway, and show her that she's grateful for her concern.]

...okay.

[Oh wait.]

Let me finish this game first? I just realized I'm really close to getting one of the giant stuffed animals.

[And starts whacking in earnest again, to make up for lost time.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy let her hand drop down to her side—slowly, like she was worried about agitating some delicate process. There wasn't really anywhere else convenient to stand, let alone sit—her ankle was rather displeased. But she could wait.]

Mhmn.

[It wasn't really a word, but a mumble of assent that never left her throat completely. Lucy would stay here; she was too stubborn to leave. Even if that meant standing a bit awkwardly between Minako and the crowd watching her.]

WARK!

[true_noir]

[Chloe blinked as someone was running with a chocobo hot on their heels. Her head cocked and she looked at the scene with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. Honestly, they had to stop meeting like this, but right now it all seemed quite harmless, even amusing.

She waited until Lucy was getting a bit closer to see that she was almost certainly a little distressed and tried to trot in her direction, waving her hands and attempting to get the thing's attention.]

KWAH!

[That...wasn't even a good impersonation of a Chocobo, Chloe.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy is not impressed. By the over-curious bird or Chloe's attempt to sound like it. It was nice to see someone she recignized, but what. It wasn't enough to enough to stop in her hobbling tracks, though. Lucy was just disgruntled. The sky is still blue.]

You sound like a fucking duck?!

[The Chocobo was bewildered enough that it stopped, tilting its head at Chloe. What was that...?]

[true_noir]

It has worked, has it not? So if the duck is fucking, then it is keeping the bird busy, yes?

[She tried to interpose herself in between the two of them and waved her hands, letting out a shrill, very loud 'WARK' sound. it was closer by far, but still sounded like someone trying to moo at a cow. It was more likely to confuse than frighten.

The bird cocked its head and then pecked, Chloe narrowly missing getting a head bash to the face.] Bad bird!

[long_live_the_queen]

[Just when she started to understand people a little better, this happened. Lucy tripped on some uneven ground while she was busy staring incredulously at Chloe, interrupting her attempts to correct what she said. Her bad ankle failed her, and over onto her face she went.

At least it was grass, not gravel or concrete. That would make her ankle's sudden but inevitable betrayal astronomically worse.]

[true_noir]

[Well, Chloe's little girl had a way of coming out when it came to Chocobo. However, the sound of someone collapsing behind her caught her attention and she was down on her knees as the Chocobo raced just past them. Someone else could worry about that thing right now.

She went to try and check on the girl's ankle. She had been there when it had turned, after all, hadn't she? Or had that been another injury? Lucy seemed prone to them.]

Lucy, are you alright?

[long_live_the_queen]

[Running and insects were indeed involved in the sprain, but this sprain involved a spider later. Chloe was correct in assuming Lucy tended to live life not caring about her own wellbeing.]

Stupid...ankle isn't working with me today.

[true_noir]

[Chloe stopped just short of touching Lucy. her hands hovered there, close before she remembered and cleared her throat. There was obvious concern in her voice when she spoke up.]

Please... may I check it? I don't want to touch you without your permission.

[She was really trying with this, to remember the girl's issues with physical contact. Some days it was easier than others.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy hesitated, gaze dropping away from Chloe's face while she picked herself up enough off of the grass to turn herself over and sit. Not enough to stand; she didn't trust her ankle not to roll and collapse immediately right now.]

...if you want. It's just a sprain.

[It's rather swollen in its brace. She was being a terrible patient.]

[true_noir]

[Well, she had permission, so she was going to do it. She hefted, avoiding the joint and frowned down at it before looking up at Lucy with a bit of a grumpy, motherly 'do you know what you're doing to your body' sort of look.]

What did the doctor say you should be doing? Did they give you crutches?

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy was very good at the uncooperative grumpy teenager expression, in return!]

One. It got in the way. And I'm not going to sit at home all day.

[aka that's exactly what she should be doing]

[true_noir]

[And Chloe's look changed from motherly to 'are we seriously the same age?' She sighed and rubbed her forehead.] I never would have agreed to stay home all day either... but crutches will get in your way. It's so that your foot is not on the ground, causing you more pain.

If it is not off of the ground, it will not heal. Will use the crutches, just while you're out and about at least? [She was sorely tempted to try and put her in a wheelchair and strap her down, seriously.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[you're not her mom!!]

I don't even have it with me right now.

[It was leaning against a wall somewhere in her apartment. Lucy huddled her shoulders more and glanced away, still stubbornly digging her heels in.

Well, one of them.]