#then i fell asleep and had to wrap it up somehow 😄

[toribookworm22]

And a return happy STS to you!

Okay! Pick 3-4 of your favorite characters you've ever made. They can be from current works, past works, one offs, whatever. Got them? Good! They are at the County Fair! This place has all your standard US attractions. Elephant Ears, Funnel Cake, a Ferris wheel, scary house/maze, etc. What is everyone doing until the BIG FIREWORK SHOW in the evening? For the sake of ease, all attractions are free (came with price of admission) and everyone has like 100 bucks to spend on food, drink, souvenirs, or whatever.

If you feel like there would be some date action, there is also a Tunnel of Love of course.

Get silly and fanfictiony with it!

Hey, love! Thanks for the ask!

My picks are:

Tomas, Rolyn, & Maybelle all from The Animatronic Saga. Ready?

I'm starting to think was a terrible idea.

Not many people could've convinced me to come here in the first place, what with the merriment and the noise and the people, but I have an annoyingly large soft spot for the boys that they are now willing to abuse.

Rolyn brushes his pinkie against mine, signal for: Can I grab your hand?

Yeah. Soft spot, all right.

I grip his palm in mine, maybe a little tighter than necessary. "You alright?"

"Fine." My voice has gone reedy.

We step forward in the little line to ride the Ferris Wheel. I risk a glance up at it. Nope. Still looks like a death trap up close. My fingers start tapping against the back of Rolyn's hand.

"Okay, tough guy." He draws the hands we're holding up and around my shoulder-- no, I'm not sure how-- and tugs me out of the line.

Tomas sidles up on my other side. "Not like we have to ride it, Maybelle."

"What?" I feel so small between them and not just because I'm so much shorter. "We can ride it if you want to. I don't mind."

Tomas grins, eyes glinting. "Nice try. This is your first fair and we're only doing what you want to do. So what's first?"

Turned away from the giant death wheel, I'm now face to face with the rest of the monstrosity fair. Overlapping sounds echo from the line of games to our left. There's a few other rides to our right. And dead ahead: "I'm hungry. You hungry?"

Rolyn finally releases my hand, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a neat fold of cash. "Let's go, party people!"

I get one of those too-big-to-hold pretzels and a slushie that tastes more like pure caffeine then a coke. Behind the stand is a ring of picnic tables. I snag the one not already sticky, laying down a few napkins so my pretzel won't spill out onto the wood when it enevitably slips from its paper sleeve.

The first bite isn't half bad. "You've gotta dip it in the cheese," Tomas says, holding out a little plastic container of.

Nose scrunching up, I hesitantly do. "Whatever that is, it's not cheese." I grimace but let it into my mouth and- "Adenrore, that is yummy."

"Told you," Tomas laughs, taking a sip of Rolyn's Sprite.

Rolyn steals it back with a squawk. "Hands off my drink, you gremlin!"

Tomas just turns to me, making Granby hands at my slushie. "What flavor d'you get?"

Shrugging, I slide him the cup. He takes a dip then smacks his lips. "What is that?"

"Was supposed to be coke."

"That is not coke."

Rolyn extends a hand. "Let me try." Takes a sip. "That could be coke."

"Blasphemy." Tomas snatches back my drink. Slurps some more. "Nope. I don't know what it is." Takes another sip.

"Oh my gosh, you have your coding own!"

They both start to laugh, taking bites out of their own snacks. About halfway through my pretzel, my anxiety finally starts fading out. And since there's no way I'm going to finish the whole thing...

"Who's up for some games?"

...

The ground slips away from our feet, the bench swaying a little in the warm wind. There's a giant turtle cushioned on my lap, Rolyn and Tomas’s held hands sitting on top of it. I take a deep breath.

"Yeah?"

I nod, eyes locked on the where the last bits of sunset are. "Yeah. I'm okay."

The boys each lean a little closer into me. "Proud of you, Maybelle."

We stop at the top for a moment. The sky goes dark and there, from the field, they start firing off the fireworks. I've seen several countries and another planet, visited Caverns and traveled through a night sky of stars.

But this is pretty coding beautiful.