¡ʎlɟ

"i'm like not scared of heights i swear. i've just never been on a ferris wheel and so, i don't know if i'm scared yet. like, will i regret it? will i yell? will you regret coming with me? probably, but who knows! not me, not yet, at least. but that's fun right?" yejin looks up at the wheel and it's massive size and height, biting her lip, a bit scared just from looking at it. "you can say no." ( @nepofmstarters )

          "     uh huh...     "     he believes her, he does  !  okay, maybe not completely — she's asking hypotheticals and talking in circles a bit.  haru tilts his head back, takes in the size of the ferris wheel, and shrugs.  whatever.     "     never been on a ferris wheel  ?  does that have to do anything with your not-being-scared-of-heights  ?  i'll go, but don't think you're convincing anyone.     "

          “  are  you  gonna  attempt  any  of  the  carnival  games  ?  or  do  you  think  it’s  all  a  scam  so  there’s  no  point  in  trying  to  win  a  prize  ?  because  i’m  pretty  sure  there’s  a  trick  to  winning  all  of  them  .  ”

          "     well, i like to do the games for the experience, and not for the prizes,     "     ishika says like the liar she is.  she finds competition in the smallest things, even carnival games aren't safe.     "     i've actually never been to a carnival.  not like this, anyway.  have you won anything yet  ?  is it worth it  ?     " 

stood at the edge of the valentine's day carnival, van couldn't help feeling drawn to the flickering glow and velvety, starry pattern of the fortune teller's tent. she sighed, a mix of curiosity and apprehension as she turned to the person nearby. " y'know, back in texas, we've got our fair share of superstitions — and mixin' fate with fortune-telling feels like playin' with fire, " she drawled, southern accent adding a touch of warmth to her tone. " but i'd be lying if i said i'm not a little curious. am i crazy for thinkin' about goin' inside and lettin' those cards have a say ? or is that just askin' for bad luck ? " in her eyes, it was like telling someone your wish after blowing out the candles on a birthday cake . . . if you said it or heard it out loud, it was never going to come true. but how could she not feel some allure ? she was known to be a romanticist, after all.

          truthfully, ishi had been wondering about going in there herself.  she knows pitiful little about fortune-telling that wasn't from television and movies.  and while she had her fair share of suspicions, it wouldn't be fair for her to write off fortune-telling when she hadn't had first-hand experience.  what better time than now  ?     "     is there something you've been wanting to know  ?  from what i've heard, people get this done more for the experience than anything else, like buzzfeed quizzes.  people want to know about themselves, especially from strangers.     "     and, well, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to walk in there and ask the person there banal questions just to hear what she wants.     "     i'm in if you are.     "

“     me?     mean?     ”     they gasp with a hand on their chest,     wobbly legs taking their sweet minute to walk them to the seat next to him,      “      you literally just left me in there,      what was i supposed to do?     drag myself out of there and ruin my outfit?     plus,     the kid had the kindness to help me out when he saw me struggling to get out,     i didn’t make him,    mean one—      you are the mean one,      ”     then,     they look back at him with a raised eyebrow,     one that softens up just the slightest once they’ve taken a good look at him,     “      you…     good?     do you need another water bottle?     ”

          his head is still spinning — not that he's planning on admitting that.  haru finishes off the bottled water and shakes his head, crushing the plastic in his hands  ( sorry, sea turtles, you never stood a chance  ).     "     i couldn't have made it any more clear that i wasn't doing that shit again.  you wanted to go, so you went.  not my fucking problem.     "     despite his choice vocabulary, he doesn't speak harshly.     "     'm good.  don't worry about me.  are you going for a third time, or do you want to take your shot at the balloon dart board  ?  i'd ask if you wanted somethin' to eat, but that sounds like a recipe for disaster after that.     "

         ۟. 🐻               ៶               𝐜𝐡𝒂𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞               〉               she   blinks   up   at   the   ride   before   glancing   over   at   𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄   trying   to   mask   the   anxiety   written   on   her   face   .       “   no   ...      no   way   .      there's   no   chance   i'm   going   on   that   ride   —      because   the   line   is   so   long   ,   it'll   take   forever   to   get   on   .   ”       hopefully   that   was   a   good   cover   ,   she   doesn't   want   anyone   knowing   she's   got   a   fear   of   heights   . that'd just be too embarrassing .   

          "     between you and me, i have a way to get to the front of the line really fast, but you have to keep it a secret if i show you.     "     ishika offers a hand to charlotte without hesitation or judgement.     "     if you really do want to go, that is.  if not, i can always treat you to some funnel cake.  or, i've seen some people say that the carousel is actually super fun.  just say the word.     "

          his  response  elicits  a  light  chuckle  from  hayden  .  “  i  never  looked  too  closely  at  the  pikachu  but  now  that  you  mention  it  ,  there  is  something  a  little  off  about  him  .  but  by  all  means  ,  go  for  it  !  ”  hayden  shrugs  .  “  you  mean  the  secret  isn’t  ridiculously  good  aim  ?  i’m  kidding  .  uhmm  ,  guess  it  depends  ?  i’ve  avoided  all  the  random-chance  ones  .  ring  toss  is  the  hardest  to  win  but  not  impossible  .  and  the  milk  jug  toss  might  be  the  most  straightforward  one  .  just  aim  for  the  center  of  the  bottom  two  bottles  .  there’s  one  heavier  bottle  that’s  hard  to  knock  down  .  thinking  of  giving  them  a  shot  ?  ”

          "     hey, be nice.  he might look weird, but he's got a good heart.     "     haru laughs and turns his head to where some games are set up.  a group of people at one station cheers loudly as someone wins at the watergun race.     "     'm not saying that aim isn't part of it, i just doubt you got all this without having some strategy or practice up your sleeve.  you ever see those tiktoks of that guy debunking carnival games  ?  the oval-shaped basketball hoops and all  ?     "     he points in the direction of the watergun race game.     "     how 'bout we start with something easy that has a guaranteed winner  ?     "

          “  do  you  want  one  ?  ”  hayden  asks  [  your  muse  ]  as  she  hauls  a  mesh  bag  filled  with  stuffed  animals  over  her  shoulder  .  guess  this  is  what  happens  an  archer  with  excellent  aim  decides  to  take  a  crack  at  the  game  booths  .  “  i  tried  to  tell  them  that  i  really  don’t  need  all  these  but  they  insisted  so  here  we  are  .  ”

          eyes widen at the haul hayden is lugging around, unaware that they even offered mesh bags to carry prizes after a certain point.  he scans the various stuffed animals, settling on the one that looks like a little bit of a fucked up pikachu — the eyes a tad too far apart and a dark spot on its tail where there shouldn't be.     "     i'll take the off brand pikachu off your hands if you don't want him.  what's the secret of besting these games  ?  and don't say it's because you're an archer — you know these games are rigged.     "

          “  i  think  i  just  saw  someone  attempt  to  destroy  a  heart-shaped  balloon  with  a  spoon  .  you’d  think  they  would  attempt  to  at  least  use  a  fork  .  or  just  avoid  a  valentine’s  day  carnival  in  the  first  place  .  it’s  like  they  chose  to  ignore  the  signs  .  ”

          "     if that's what it takes to get over an ex...     "     haru shrugs.  he's had bad exes that have led him to act in ways he's not proud of, but stabbing a heart balloon with a spoon is new.     "     maybe they got broken up with here and needed a quick and fast outlet.  or they're scared of balloons and that was just a reflexive action, you know.  but even a spork would've been a better option.     "