OBTAINED STAMPS

Looked like they both had the same idea in mind. Howard moved as soon as the buzzer sounded off, yet so did June. When it had finished, both were well on their way to the top.

At least, Howard was.

June's inexperience made things complicated rather fast. As soon as she tried to climb the ladder, it's dastardly tricks and ploys swung with full force. Only a foot in and she clung on tight as she flipped upside-down, for the ladder had a mind of its own. Right bastard it was. Had she bitten off more than she could chew?

Absolutely. And yet...

She grit her teeth and clenched her fists tighter. No way in hell she let Howard get the better of her. Howard may have his 'experience' and 'safety movements'. Good for him. Yet she had something he could never hope to replicate.

Sheer recklessness. 

Without another moment of hesitation, she flung herself forward. Normally, a bad idea for a game such as this. This ladder had no friends but a plethora of enemies. The way it carelessly swung and spun in the wind has left many a people stranded at best. Thrown down onto the colorful, inflated chasm at worst. 

This mechanic simply refused. As the ladder attempted to twist just out of reach, she reached further. When it threatened to flip her around, she pushed back. Each and every move was met with a downright idiotic counter-attack. If the Tauros had been like her Talonflame in control, then this game was the opposite: her Talonflame wanted to call the shots, and she must never let that happen. To do so would end in an automatic loss.

And it was working. All the distance Howard had claimed early on disappeared in a flash. His consistency meant nothing if the opposition treated safety as another term to ignore. One wrong step would mean an immediate end, so she did not take a wrong step. June's frown slowly transformed into a cocky grin. "Better go faster, cave-boy!"

The end came fast. Both of them were near neck and neck. Unthinkable based on her first ten seconds, but the reality all the same. Would she cross first? She tried. In one last hurrah, as the ladder bent under her weight and attempted to buck her off, she simply let it. 

Howard could only watch as June flew the last bit of ladder and onto the blue mats, her body never touching the inflated attraction. Seconds passed, and June held her breath and stared down at the mat. Jeez, this thing smelt awful. Did they clean them ever?

"Looks like our girl here came out on top... but not cause of your ballsy-ass."

"Huh? Bullshit, what do you..." June trailed off. She looked over, only to see Howard...

STAMP GET - Win at least one carnival game

---

howard slayte

I will take one (1) Vaporeon please

What could Howard offer June? It's not like he was flush enough with cash to give her that (despite the hoard of tokens he apparently had), and she doubted he'd ever agree to part with even the dust from a single ancient artifact he kept in his apartment. Maybe he was actually a dragon underneath all that skin. Would explain his bouts of arrogance.

Wait. Hold on. June snapped her fingers, "I win, you owe me a favor. I ask for something, and you do it no questions asked. Since we both know you can't really offer anything material to me besides money, and I doubt I'd get anything worth what you just put on the table anyway."

In her head, it made perfect sense. Odds are, Howard's ideal discount is half off or bigger. If it wasn't, then she could scale down the 'size' of the favor to accommodate. Not that'd she would ask for anything too out there to begin with. That'd just be mean.

"And since we already shook, it's too late to change anything now! Now get us both in at the same time and let's see who can do... whatever this thing is faster."

Which meant getting in line. Thankfully, its reputation meant it didn't take long before they were up to bat. As June approached her ladder on the left, the full scope of how this game worked started to become apparent. She had never done this, and it looked hard. Those last few people fell at a moment's notice. 

All it took was a glance at Howard's stupid face for her to get back into the determined mindset. She's show that guy.

---

howard slayte

"Everyone knows it's rigged. That's the point."

June shook her head, "But if you think I'm gonna watch you from the sidelines, then think again. Who cares if it's rigged, I'll clear it faster than you ever could."

She had never done this attraction before. However, things had progressed far past considerations such as 'had she ever done it' or 'had Howard ever done it either'. In all honesty, the idea of Howard having to navigate rope bridges and other such things sounded extremely feasible. For Arceus' sake, the man watched Brycen-Man.

But the look in his eyes, and that stupid fucking smile he had on his face, his cocky smugness... rationality went out the window.

"Or are you scared to lose at your own game?"

June extended a hand. A formal declaration of challenge. No more beating around the bush: this had gotten personal.

---

howard slayte

I FUCKING LOVE GAMBLING I WILL BET THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON HORSE RACES

June didn't consider her and Howard true 'friends' yet. Acquaintances, sure. They had a moment at that shitty café. Hell, the man had pulled through for her in a time of need. That didn't mean nothing to the mechanic.

However, her shit-eating grin slowly faded. She stood silent, toolbox clenched in her hand. As the mechanical Tauros bucked off a kid after three seconds, she let go of the toolbox. It clattered to the ground, a thunderous BOOM to the small crowd that watched. It drew their attention quickly.

"Howard."

She looked him dead in the eyes. A fire burned behind those pupils, a dangerous inferno that threatened to swallow him whole.

"You do realize I ride a Talonflame every day, right?"

With the message sent, she slowly approached the ride and hopped the fence. The next person in line started to complain loudly, but the ride attendant shut them up fast."Let her cook and I'll conveniently forget that you need two tokens for your turn, yea?"

Nothing could hold her back. She cleanly mounted the 'bull' in one swift motion and whipped her fist high above her head. "Let's get this thing in motion, please!"

The operator did. As per usual, the mechanization slowly whirred to life. June took a firm but loose stance, an acceptance that this was not her dance to lead, but she must follow in step. Each whip, a preview of what was to come, didn't even phase the girl. Whichever direction it whipped, she followed along with an iron grip.

Yet the 'honeymoon' phase could only go on for so long. This ride got a reputation through sheer violence and unpredictability, much like the real life counterpart. For June, though, nothing seemed to change. With each violent rock, she was thrown like a sack of potatoes. Even as her legs moved every which way, and even lost their grip, the 'mechanic' held on. A minute passed, then a second. The ride moved in ways no one had even thought possible: seven-twenties, bucks that rivaled cliffs in drop off, and even both combined at the same time.

Only when the operator yelled "THREE" did June finally fall off. Even with the acceptance of defeat, it only happened because she let go of the reigns. Like everyone else, she flew off the mechanical Tauros and slammed into the thick, heavy mats. Where ground and horizon met blurred into one congealed, messy pile of nothing.

Slowly, the girl picked herself up and hobbled back to the guardrail. That shitty smile from before returned in full force. "And if you want, we can come back tomorrow on my day off and you can watch me ride this fucker into the dirt."

June would die before she backed down from a challenge, and she'd make sure Howard learned that.

STAMP GET - Involve or Reference a Tauros-Rodeo Game

---

howard slayte

PURCHASING/REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X Type 1 Evo. (Electrike to Manectric) (100 PD)
1X Gacha Ticket (50 PD)

TOTAL

do come again!

150 PD

The mechanic stared, dumbfounded. The illusive one-hundred points... he had-- no, no one had ever seen the likes of it before. Even the small crowd behind the man seemed confused. Or oblivious, as they stared off into space or looked onward with glazed eyes.

However, what cut through the relative silence was a single clap.

Clap. Clap.

"Congrats, Howard," June said, her hands clamped together. "And for all of that hard work, you get... a plushie! Absolutely incredible. Marvelous. Seriously, thank you for your performance for us lowly peoples."

A shit-eating grin covered her face and sarcasm dripped off of every word. Despite the grin that he started, she looked entirely unfazed. If anything, her grin threatened to rival even his own. What a terrible friend she was.

"So, archeology, a shitty movie universe, and whack-a-dugtrio," June counted on her fingers, "Whatever makes you happy, man. Whatever makes you happy."

"Hey June, how's it--"

"Not taking your place."

"But--"

"Nope. Come on, Howard, get your plushy and let's head on over to the next spectacle you got up your sleeves." June said. Without any warning, she started to head further into the carnival, towards the more serious rides and games. Just what had he gotten into?

---

howard slayte

"If I was the one who got stuck on duty for fixing it tonight, I'd clock you out rather fast," June said. "However, I'm the call girl. I get a call, I go to where they tell me, and I fix whatever's broken. That excludes that particular machine."

The seniors had made all the new mechanics draw sticks to see who would deal with the whack-a-dugtrio. At the time, it felt silly and childish to make them do something so drastic for what would be an easy shift. Hell, the guy on duty for that traded for the short stick.

"Are you kidding me? If that thing even thinks about breaking, all I'll have to do is give it a kick. Problem solved, and I get to dick around for the rest of my shift."

As June and Howard approached the whack-a-dugtrio, though, they could tell that it was very much not alright. It would not get better either, since someone had let their Pangoro get in front of the thing. The mechanic, with a nametag of 'Jim', had long passed the 'anger' stage of grief. He looked rather depressed and tired, with his tools scattered around the machine and an energy drink in his hands. 

"Dumbass," she muttered underneath her breath. For Howard, she pushed him towards the back of the line. "Better get in fast. The delinquents haven't had their fun yet. Once they get over here, you're not getting a turn for the night."

June crossed her arms and hung off to the side. While she was surprised to see Howard here at all, he seemed like the type to froth at the mouth whenever it came to 'free' stuff. That did lead to an interesting thought, though: had he ever gotten his hand caught in a rattata-trap? 

"Now come on, o great warrior, show all us puny mortals just how to actually play this game," she said. Howard wasn't the only one who knew how to get someone's blood boiling. And if he managed to somehow lose the game designed for kids, it'd be all the sweeter.

---

howard slayte

June wiped the thin layer of sweat on her brow and tossed her tools back into the toolbox-- literally. "Woah there pal, one at a time. I have a Talonflame I ride around, that's how I'm here. No, I have no fixed my bike. Me neither. The pay is good enough. And no, there are no free cinnamon rolls."

"Now, unless you want a broken leg or two, I'd get out of the play area. I'm sure that kid would love another go around, even if you're defenseless." She gave a thumbs up to the ride operators and quickly hopped over the first guard rail. If the girl had to wager a guess, it was probably the little kid that looked very proud as she stuck out her tongue at June that had caused the problem.

Stupid kid.

Whatever, the thing was fixed. Enough. Just had to last through the night and it wouldn't be her problem any longer. Better odds than the poor soul that got stuck fixing the whack-a-dugtrio every fifteen minutes. Seriously, who thought letting a Machamp have a go would ever end well?

"So... yea. Here I am. Fixing carnival rides. Better this than sitting at home," June said. "But seriously, what brings you here? Didn't strike me as the type to get competitive with pre-schoolers. Or ride bumper cars."

Or ride the roller coasters. Or ride the merry go round. Or the ferris wheel. Or play whack-a-dugtrio...

---

howard slayte

"Howard, just help me--"

Just as June managed to pull the thing into the far corner, Howard took hold of her and shook her like a kid would with a miltank-bank for any spare poke dollars. Instead of coins, the only thing she dropped was any pretense of being nice. In return to his action, she forcibly removed his arms and pushed him out of the way.

"I'll be the one to drag your ass out if you cause me anymore problems!" She set down the toolbox on top of the metal rail and reached towards the bottom of the car, where rubber met plastic. Whatever the girl did, a loud click rang out and the 'hood' popped open. Thicker black smoke pooled out, which she fanned away with a hurry. 

A sparky, angry motor awaited underneath. No parts looked immediately busted beyond belief. "Well, might be able to fix it... maybe. Something's messed up here, though. Give me a minute or three." June fished into the toolbox. After a few moments and a hmm or two, she pulled out a few tools and swiftly got to work. 

The odds of Howard having any idea on what actions she did to calm the motor down were next to none. Each individual part of the system met the end of a wrench as they were inspected, prodded and even dismantled. Lightning fast hands worked magic with the main motor, ultimately deemed the culprit. It was not a complex machine, but clearly something had fucked up with it. 

After a couple more minutes of tinkering, June leaned back on her back legs and whipped sweat from her brow. No more smoke poured from the block of metal, but the 'mechanic' looked less than pleased. "Not an expert on these electric motors, but I think it'll be good to go. However, services rendered will cost you five-hundred poke dollars."

A smile quickly broke out and a loud snort escaped her nose, "Hah, just kidding." She dropped the hood back onto the car and slapped the top. "Probably need to let 'er sit here for a round or two and then start 'er back up. A cool engine is a happy engine."

STAMP EARNED: FIX A RIDE

---

howard slayte