sweetcandygirl | Nothing Better than a Good Ol' Carnival

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Nothing Better than a Good Ol' Carnival

It is a great day to be at Coney Island. Harley had invited Caspar and Adia to come visit her, now that she was set up with a new community to protect.

Coney Island features an amusement area that includes 50 or more separate rides and attractions. And it truly embraces the themes of burlesque, circus sideshows and vaudeville everywhere you look. One can hear the excited cries of people on the rides.

The PINpoint address was set up so that Adia and Caspar are 'exiting' from a photo booth that is no longer used by the general public. Nearby, Harley waits by one of the food vendors, wearing a pink polka-dot dress and sporting sunglasses and a sunhat.

She beams at spotting her two friends. "Welcome to Coney Island!"

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More the better, then. Not that he'd admit it, but Caspar did feel a little guilty over letting most of his dog go to waste.

"I don't think so," Adia replies politely. "I know that Atlantis is a popular myth in some places, but it's a coincidence that our island has the same name."

The term 'freak show' gives her pause. There is usually not a good connotation with such a thing, but both Goat Boy and Harley seems okay with it? She's not sure what to say in response except, "Oh. Well, the Nexus is pretty diverse..."

"Didn't know Earth still had those things," Caspar remarks casually. "Think they'd have room for us? World's best-dressed robot and the Sweetest Human of all Twelve Colonies?"

Adia blushes and smiles into her hand.

"It's not the people that make the Nexus strange," he adds more seriously. "It's the reality-breaking magic."

Goat Boy studies Caspar a long moment when he makes the World's best-dressed robot comment. Then he smiles. "Eggy would challenge you on that."

Harley laughs, so much she has to hide her head in her hands to control the laughter.

"Reality-breaking magic makes it sound like something we deal with." Goat Boy goes back to his hot dogs.

"Are they going to be watching the Gang of Harleys tonight?" He glances at the still laughing Harley Quinn. She nods.

"Oh definitely. My best gal has to meet my brassy ladies."

Caspar raises an eyebrow at the laughter. What the hell was so funny? Adia whispers something in his ear that seems to placate him, and he goes back to wiping his hands. He should have worn a suit, dammit.

"I've never been to a roller derby game before," Adia confesses, trying to move the conversation along. "I'm looking forward to it."

"You named your team the Gang of Harleys?" Caspar asks skeptically. "Not one to keep a low profile, are you, Harley?"

Harley is going to make sure that he meets Eggy now, so that he understands that the laughter is not directed at him. She is just imagining the Egg-shaped creature wearing a suit over his ape-shaped robot body.

"Me? Gosh no... low profile is not my thing." Not to say she can't be sneaky and stealthy when the situation calls for it.

"Not only are they my team, but they keep Coney Island safe when I can't be here. I put out an advert in the paper and everything looking for the right girls."

"And now I have Bolly Quinn, Carli Quinn, Hanuquinn, Harlem Harley, Harley Queens, Harvey Quinn and our coach." She uses their roller derby names. Smiling at the obvious connection of their nicknames to her own.

Caspar smirks softly, but the setup makes sense to him. "So they know what they're getting into, then." Those names, though! "I'm sensing a theme here."

Adia laughs softly. She thinks it's nice that for once Harley can shine without her past problems casting a shadow over everything. "Will I get to meet your teammates, too?" She smiles up at Goat Boy. "Have you ever been to one of her matches? Do they sell pennants so I can root for them?"

"Wait until you see our roller derby costumes... lotsa red and black."

"We will make sure you meet the whole team." Harley promises her.

"I am their unofficial Mascot." Goat Boy gives Adia a wide smile. "And there is lots of merchandise we can get for you."

"Not pink and blue?" he asks, gesturing to her hair. Adia is unsurprised, she remembers the costume Harley was wearing when she skated into the Nexus.

She smiles brightly, but nervously, too. Harley's teammates sound almost as badass as she does. Caspar wraps and arm around her and gives her a reassuring squeeze. "If you hook us up before the match," he says to Goat Boy, in reference to the merchandise, "Then i'll make sure she's wearing team colors."

"My first costume was a red and black design." Harley explains to Caspar. She has come a long way from then. The most freeing thing about her costume now... is she is comfortable wearing it as normal clothing.

Goat Boy finishes all of the hot dogs. He gives an evaluating glance of Adia, then smiles a little flirtatious. "You would look good in red and black."

"It's a process, trying to find one's style," he says thoughtfully. He would know -- he didn't always wear suits and tailored clothes.

Adia smiles shyly at the compliment. "You think so?" she asks sincerely. "I don't usually wear colors that stand out..."

"You'd look good in anything," Caspar tells her, kissing her on the cheek. And then pointedly looking at Goat Boy. Easy on the flirting, Horns. "Harley, what time's your match? Do we have time for another ride, or should we head over?"

"Nothing wrong with standing out." Goat Boy grins. He chuckles a little at the pointed look. You have to understand Caspar, Harley's whole team is used to her constant flirtatious behaviour. They are all flirts in a way. It is second nature.

"We can head over to the roller derby rink." Harley smiles.

"We will save the best ride for last."

"No, of course not," Adia says quickly. "It's just, um... not really my style..." She'd prefer to let those around her stand out while she supports them from the sidelines, like she plans to do at the match.

She catches the pointed look out of the corner of her eye, and Goat's Boy chuckle. When Harley says it's time to head over to the rink, she says, "Sounds good. I just need to give Caspar something first."

"Hmm?" The Cylon turns to look at her and is rewarded with a tender kiss on the lips.

"Okay, we're ready," she says cheerfully, standing up. Caspar takes a moment to follow, smiling like an idiot. He hands her the stuffed bear, which she puts in her messenger bag... which really shouldn't have room for that giant bear... but it does. Huh.

Goat Boy takes Harley's arm in his own, when they both stand. And they share smile at the kiss between the couple.

"Love is such a precious thing." Harley smiles.

Goat Boy is about to agree, when he gets distracted by the stuffed bear fitting into that messenger bag. He glances over at Harley and she grins.

"My invisible friends are just as amazing as my Coney Island ones."

Harley leads them to a giant outdoor rink, which is located near the edge of Coney Island -- where one can see the large buildings of New York nearby. There is tons of people heading towards the match. Already one can hear music being played. And there is a ton of fan energy.

"So... I might be recognized as one of the players..." Harley warns them.

"It's charmed," she explains to Goat Boy, patting her bag. "A friend did it for me. I don't have any magical powers." Not ones quite so blatant, at any rate. She loops her arm through Caspar's and follows the other two to the rink.

The energetic chatter of the crowd filing into the stadium is exciting, but a little overwhelming, too. Adia stays close to Caspar, not wanting to get separated. "Is that a bad thing?" she asks, concerned.

Caspar would have thought that Goat Boy would attract the most attention. He raises an eyebrow at Harley. "Recognition from fans or someone else?"

"The fans can be a little pushy..." Harley explains. There is a scream of excitement when someone recognizes her. And suddenly there are dozens of people heading towards Harley to ask for her signature.

Goat Boy places himself between the energetic fans and Caspar and Adia, to act as a extra level of protection.

Harley seems to be enjoying the attention.

"I can take you guys to our VIP area, where you can watch the match." Goat Boy offers.

As the fans rush Harley, Adia steps back into Caspar, who switches his grip to hold her protectively. She's not afraid so much as in awe of the attention her friend is receiving. "It's like she's a rock star," she whispers to him. "I didn't know roller derby was so popular!"

"I have a feeling it's Harley who's made it popular," Caspar murmurs back. He looks up at Goat Boy and nods, appreciating the additional barrier between them and the fans. "Sounds good to me. Lead the way."

As Goat Boy gets closer to the VIP area, they are soon greeted by a rather large ape-shaped robot, that is controlled by a Egg-shaped creature. He waves at the arriving trio. "Greetings! Welcome to the Harley Lounge!"

"Hi Eggy!" Goat Boy returns the greetings. "It is my pleasure to introduce Adia and Caspar to you. They are friends of Harley."

"Any friends of Harley are friends of me." Egg opens his arms in greeting.

Wow... so that's Eggy.

Caspar feels both relieved that he is still the reigning champion of World's Best-Dressed Robot, and also completely flummoxed by the sight. He's seen a lot of things in his time in the Nexus, but nothing like this.

"A pleasure," he says, hiding his bewilderment. He will pass on that cyborg ape hug, thank you.

Adia also looks surprised, but she recovers quickly with a bright smile. "Nice to meet you, Eggy." She'll take a hug, if he's offering. So long as he doesn't accidentally crush her. "We're very excited to watch the match."

It was a hug he was offering. And Adia gets a nice ape-sized hug, with Eggy being careful not to squeeze too tight. He does lift her off her feet a little in the embrace.

There is a roar of the audience as both roller derby teams skate out of their dressing rooms. Eggy puts Adia down so that she can watch the action.

Each team has their skaters come out one at a time, with their names introduced. For Harley's team -- she is last introduced -- and the crowd goes wild with applause at seeing her.

The skaters start rolling around the rink. And the referees start getting into place. There is friendly banter between the two teams, as they get ready to face each other in the match.

The hug reminds her of Ice Bear a little, and she giggles when she is lifted off her feet. Once released, she returns to Caspar's side, much to his relief.

A nice perk of the VIP lounge is that they have an excellent view of the rink, even while sitting. Adia leans forward in anticipation of the start of the match, and applauds loudly when Harley skates into view.

Caspar also applauds while he assesses the team's costumes. "Good strategy," he murmurs. "All that color is bound to be distracting." It's something the Fives used themselves, to keep the humans guessing who was who.

As the teams get into position, one girl one each team places a bright-green cover on her helmet that has a large black stripe on it. Harley places a similar bright-green cover on her helmet that has a large black star.

"They do identify who is the pivot and who is the jammer." Goat Boy explains.

Blockers from each team line up into tripods on the rink, and the jammers get behind of them. Then the whistle blows and the action starts.

Adia is about to ask what the covers are for when Goat Boy explains. She smiles at him in appreciation. "Harley told me what a jammer does. I can't wait to see her in action."

Which is only a moment later, when the referee blows the whistle. As the skaters race around the rink, Adia keeps her eyes on Harley, curious what her friend will do once she approaches the opposing team's blockers.

As a jammer, Harley and the opposing team's jammer start a few feet away from the blockers. And then when the whistle goes... that is when the action starts. Harley skates forward, jamming herself between the blockers to find an opening and get past them. The other jammer does the same, as Harley's blockers keep a solid tripod to keep the jammer from gaining access.

Harley elbows and spins, knocking one of her blockers off balance slightly to gain an advantage. And then suddenly she is past the pack, skating around the rink as the crowd cheers.

"She has to get past them again to score a point." Goat Boy explains.

Adia watches avidly, listening to Goat Boy's commentary so she can follow along. When Harley gets past the blockers, she cheers along with the crowd.

...and so does Caspar! It's probably the loudest he's been their whole time at Coney Island, and Adia breaks her gaze on the rink to stare up at him. "Enjoying yourself?" she asks, a grin on her face.

"Yes," Caspar replies hurriedly, gesturing towards the rink. "Quick, you're missing the action."

As Harley approaches the blockers a second time, they react by reaching to the sides of the rink -- where there are several white bins -- and grabbing bats, chains and metal poles from the bins. This time when Harley reaches the jammers, the ward her off with the extra weapons.

"This is where our roller derby is different from other places." Goat Boy explains. "Anything goes here. Since most of the skaters have some unique abilities."

"Harley is really good at withstanding damage. That is why she is the best jammer in the business." Eggy claps.

Harley meanwhile is still using her elbows to jam her way through the blockers. With a spin, she even manages a high kick in her skates, to one of her opponents.

The sight of the weapons makes Adia tense instinctively. Goat Boy's explanation only helps a little. Intellectually, she knows that Harley can handle herself, but it's still unnerving seeing such violence on the rink. "Every match is like this?" she asks. "What sorts of abilities do the other skaters have?"

Caspar, meanwhile, looks practically gleeful. "Now this is my kind of sport," he says approvingly. "I'd be a way bigger fan of Pyramid back home if they added weapons."

Adia sighs to herself. Yes, she knew Caspar would enjoy roller derby, but does he have to enjoy this much?

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