Oh Mr. Clown, Oh Mr. Clown

[maskormods]

WHO: YOU.
WHERE: Heropa Greenland Park.
WHEN: Sunday August 17th, from 11AM to 10PM.
WHAT: ImPorts participate in the local carnival, hosting their own attractions, helping with the booths and rides, and/or come looking to have a good time. Details here.
WARNINGS: None anticipated; please let us know if this should be edited.

Even in the daytime, Heropa Greenland Park appears almost dour in appearance and atmosphere. Employees of the park open the creaky gates at a few minutes before 11:00AM to allow imPorts and soldiers who have been ordered as security inside. Preparations have already started, with thick and colorful streamers lining hanging from one rusty looking lamppost another along the park's pathway. The booths look a little worse for wear and the while an effort had been made the night before, the park grounds are still coated in soda spills, popcorn, leftover hot dog bits, and other sticky and grimy messes. Sometimes the lights in the event booths flicker or burst entirely.

Needless to say, this place looks like it can use a makeover. While it fares well among its locals and those from Cape Canaveral, it has not been a place of interest among others in the state for quite some time. Right now? It looks more creepy than wholesome family entertainment.

But that's what imPorts are here for, aren't they? To liven up the place!

At the heart of the park is where employees have made enough room as possible for imPorts to set up their own attractions, booths, and whatnot. There will be small platforms for some imPorts and bigger ones may need to be shared among each other, scheduling their time slots for their own performances. There will be tables should anyone need it for performances that don't require a grand stage.

By noon there the line-up park employees had been expecting turns out even better than they had hoped. There are twice as many locals who've shown up, eager to see imPorts in action up close. By 12:30PM the park is bustling with people of all ages and all appear to be having quite the time, despite the occasional issue with the rides such as the merry-go-round (oops, it slows down more than it should), the carousel (it stops at least once every two hours), and the haunted house's lights go down at some point, though this seems to have worked in its favor.

Kids are screaming in delight everywhere, there are teens trying to do risky things on faster moving rides, and everyone is passing through the center at some point to come and check out what imPorts are going to do next.

Put on your best face and give them a show they'll remember, heroes!

Comments

[lyingheart]

[ she has a love hate relationship with sugar, not used to it, and liable to get amped up and jittery. Nonetheless, she reaches forward and plucks off part of the unmelted cottony goodness, bringing it to her mouth quick as she can to avoid it all melting over her fingers.

oh wow yes that's sugar. she makes a funny face, wrinkling her nose, and shaking her head. ]

It's so - sweet.

[immigrantpunk]

Mmmhmm.

[That's all she's getting out of him, as his mouth is full.]

[lyingheart]

[ Going to pluck off a bit more, but this is - ha. Hahaha she has avoided eating much sugar up to this point, aside from that one strange ice cream taste test with that Stiles guy. ]

Think you'll want the rest of mine? It's... good, really. And rich.

[ IT'S JUST SUGAR ANNIE ]

[immigrantpunk]

You don't like it, do you?

[Still laughing.]

[lyingheart]

It's a lot of sugar.

[ She offers as explanation, paired with a half sigh. Look, she's trying, it's just baby steps. ]

It's not easy to get used to.

[immigrantpunk]

It's okay, it's okay. I guess you need to start young for this stuff.

[You haven't really lived till you've puked up cotton candy on your mom's shoes after a ride on the tilt-o-whirl.]

If you want actual food, we could try some fried dough.

[lyingheart]

How is fried anything real food?

[ no she saw this other fried thing earlier and it was



absolutely stomach turning because it involved shape changing a snail into an edible





that is so not okay ]

Is there anything normal around here?

[immigrantpunk]

[Jayden shrugs.]

Probably not.

[He licks a finger to get the stickiness off it.]

We could make a break for it, if you want.

[lyingheart]

Please.

[ CAN WE LEAVE CARNIVAL HELL NOW JAYDEN ]

[immigrantpunk]

[Eyebrows go shooting up. He didn't expect her to take him up on that.]

You sure you won't get in trouble for defecting? [Looks around the sad little park.] Although... I guess we've done our duty.

[lyingheart]

I've completed all tasks requested of me.

[ Because Timelines Are Flexible And I Say So (TM). ]

I'm not turning into anything fourteen meters tall here, so what else is there to do?

[immigrantpunk]

[Oh, right... that little detail. He'd almost forgotten.]

Sure, let's go.

[And he takes off to toward the park entrance with a lot more relief than he was expecting to have, himself. Freedom! Real food! The possibilities are endless.]

Okay, now I'm thinking... Chipotle. You ever been?

[lyingheart]

No. What is it?

[ other than someplace to eat? chiplote sounds like................... nothing actually ]

[immigrantpunk]

Mexican food. The burritos are great. You can pick what food goes into it, so you'll know it's actual food.

[That seems to be a big selling feature for Annie.]

[lyingheart]

I have no idea what burritos are, let alone what Mexican food is like, but it's sounding more promising than this place.

[ which is like showing appreciation, if it's mild. of course, this also means she's letting him take the lead.

she has no idea where chipowhatsit is anyway. ]

calm down icon annie burritos aren't that scary

[immigrantpunk]

It's good. Trust me.

[It's also convenient that Jayden spotted the place on his walk here from the bus, so it's not a very long trip to get there. They cross the threshold from the park onto the street and no dark suited agents arrive to usher them into sedans, so that's a good sign. Jayden casts a glance at her as they walk.]

Hey, uh, you mind if I smoke?

[It's been a harrowing afternoon and now the nicotine itch has become impossible to ignore.]

problems when renaming icons and accidentally choosing the wrong default

[lyingheart]

[ she glances to jayden, giving a small roll of her shoulders in response. ]

Do as you like.

[ smoke isn't something she enjoys, but it's not like most people asked before, and goodness knew all what was smoked in the Walls. he's more polite for asking. +1 credit to jayden. it's not far to the restaurant, the name which she recognizes when she sees the spelling. ]

This is the place?

i went to chipotle the other day and could only think of this thread

[immigrantpunk]

[He's glad for her response, and eagerly digs out a cigarette and takes no time lighting up. At the very least he'll blow smoke away from her, since she doesn't seem interested in joining him.]

This is it.

[By the time they arrive he's smoked the cigarette down to basically nothing, and snubs it out in the ash tray/garbage can combo located conveniently out front.]

Be prepared for an experience.

[He holds the door open for her. Chivalry is not dead.]

i walk by it every day and this is always my thought too haha

[lyingheart]

[ Chivalry never existed, so past getting a blink from Annie, she simply moves on inside, figuring she's being ushered. Never hold out a chair for her, Jayden, she'll just assume you're claiming a seat and move for the other chair.

Inside the restaurant is a line of people wrapping back toward the door, waiting to speak with the first in a line of people standing behind a glass barrier, where various foodstuffs were laid out in metal containers. Annie hasn't sene a setup like this before, simply in never being in such a restaurant. She drags her eyes up after moving to the end of the line, reading the sparse, not entirely sensible list of items on what she presumes it the menu.

What is a bowl? Okay, a salad alone is... something. What are burritos? There aren't any helpful images, so she redirects her attention to watching and listening to the customers being helped at the glass bar. What is the expectation out of this place?

To Jayden, she may look overwhelmed, then overly intent as she observes what's happening toward the front of the line, expanding out to the register. She's super serious here. ]

i had it for dinner last night, too... i am slowly turning into Jayden, help me

[immigrantpunk]

[Jayden follows her to the counter, enjoying the look of perplexion on her face. She might know way more about war than he does, but he is King of the Burrito.]

Get the burrito. It's better and easier to eat.

[Because forks and knives are for losers. He goes before her to show her how it's done. Flour tortilla, white rice, chicken for meat.]

They're gonna ask you if you want cheese, sour cream and guacamole. Say yes.

this may be a writer problem but IMMA COME RESCUE YOU WITH SCIENCE

[lyingheart]

Why would anyone want sour cream? And what's guacamole?

[ Said as an aside, at such a level as to be difficult for the person opposite her at the counter to hear. Tortilla... she nods to the first one, studies the rice with an uncertain look on her face. There's more stuff on the white rice, so she indicates toward the brown, which lacks the green flecks. Beef? Beef for meat. Beef usually doesn't go horribly wrong in ways she can't handle.

Anything else? Yes to the green stuff, no to the salsa (isn't that a dance???), then a very hesitant yes to the three things Jayden told her to get. She really hopes she doesn't regret this as they're sent down the line to wait behind the person ahead of them to pay at the register. ]

OK THANK U

[immigrantpunk]

Because it's delicious. And guacamole is mashed up avocado with magic in it. Just go with me here, I know what I'm talking about.

[It's okay to give into the burrito, Annie. Just try it once, it can't kill you. He adds a big soda to his order and pays by fishing out several crumpled bills from his wallet. Much more satisfying than cotton candy.]

puts on my white coat and protective goggles

[lyingheart]

[ They both pay in cash - just a detail she notes, much as she notices how crumpled his bills are. Annie's taken to that over the card ever since the, er. Well, since right before her confession with her comrades on network. Her friends. Such a weird concept.

Annie settles on a shake of her head and a request for a water glass over anything else, getting a small cup in exchange and directed to the machine that produced the fizzy pops people enjoyed, along with the plain water she favors. She even has a tiny bag of tortilla chips, carrying it all after Jayden as if she's waiting for him to dictate where they're going.

Which she is. ]

... So what's an avocado?

[immigrantpunk]

[You got chips. He's so proud of you. Jayden leads them to a corner booth, near the window.]

Uh, it's green and Mexican and delicious. I think it's a vegetable. Or maybe a fruit.

[He's not really sure, but he's not sure whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable either.]

[lyingheart]

[ Annie slides in to the booth, facing the door rather than away from it. She sets her food down, giving Jayden a brief look of disbelief before deciding she actually entirely believes that he has no real idea what it is. Knowing the parts doesn't seem as important to most people their age in this world.

Not that she sees much to worry about in deciding if something is a fruit or a vegetable. Is it edible? Yes? That's all. ]

It's not sweet, is it?

[ She'll figure that out once the eating happens. Annie picks up her burrito, carefully peeling back the foil. This... looks very odd. Self contained meal, ready to eat. ]