Summer Shenanigans, Wednesday, August 21, 2024

[sith_happened]

"Today is our last team building exercise of the summer," Anakin announced to the group in the park over the sound of preschool children playing on the playground equipment. "And today I have brought in helpers!"

Oh, good.

"You will be put into teams and work your way through a series of obstacles with the help of a four year old child."

Well. "Help." Anakin knew four year old children.

"Today you will be wearing festive hats instead of shirts!" he added. "They were not at all inspired by my wife watching political conventions the last few weeks."

Lies. There was no other reason to wear a corn hat.

"Listen for your names!"

TEAM LIBERTY
Harley
Hannibal
Kamala
Raiden
Steve M
Eleanor

TEAM CHEESE
Vi
Sam
Stewart
Arthur
Stark
Lana

TEAM LOBSTA
Senshi
Flint
Navaan
Summer
Don
Belle

TEAM CORN
Miguel
Beaker
Lydia
Jon
Gray
Ben

Comments

Arrive and Mingle!

[sith_happened]

Side eye the makeshift kitchens and the children, maybe.

Re: Arrive and Mingle!

[totalwildcard]

And here Harley was just innocently and with no sense of foreboding taking Bruce on a walk.

She only stopped to gawk because of her curious nature. Like, what was this? The island's weekly tai chi slash outdoor cooking class circle she'd never stumbled upon before?

Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[sith_happened]

Pick up your Hats of Authority! The children will definitely listen to you because you're wearing it.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[fears_no_one]

Flint was not going to put on his Lobsta of Authority until forced to, possibly at knife point.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[momslilassassin]

"I've done stupider things," Ben said, plunking his hat onto his head. "I just can't think of them right this second."

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[grenadesandohana]

"What does it say about me that I already own one of these?" Steve asked, putting on his Statue of Liberty hat.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[what_big_teeth]

At this point in her Shenanigans career, Eleanor felt genuinely disappointed when the team marker was not a shirt, and was just wishing she'd have known in advance so she could wear her Abe Lincoln T-Rex shirt to better coordinate.

...

...what had this island done to her??

Well, she'll figure it out after taking her selfie in her very cool new hat.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[stykera]

Stark really should have just run off with Summer today to some random part of space. Oh well.

At least now the extremely reasonable amount of paranoia he had might dissipate. Maybe.

For now he was just sighing heavily as he pulled a cheese hat over the top edge of his mask.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[but_mostly_america]

"This is an indignity," Sam groused. "Cheese instead of Lady Liberty? This shall not stand!"

Except it would, Sam. You were a cheesehead for the day. Deal with it.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Belle was not convinced a lobster on her head would give any authority whatsoever.

It was amusing though.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[somethingwithturquoise]

"If I start talking about worshipping lobsters by the end of this," Summer muttered, to no one in particular, as she looked up at her hat, "someone please just slap me until I get over it."

Look, she had head-and-hat-related religious trauma. It had been a whole thing.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[x_wondrous_x]

Was there a moment when Stewart attempted to put his usual bowler on top of his new Cheese hat?

Yes, of course, have you met him?

Did it work?

No, of course not, how would it? Realizing this, Stewart tilted the cheese hat until the bowler balanced on it can tumbling down, stuck out of his foot to catch it with his toe, kicked it up into the air to catch it, and then stood up stock still to toss it aside like Michael Jackson throwing a Frisbee.

And then settled in to sneer at all the children and wonder which of them he might be....dealing with, on a....professional level...in about...ten? years from now?

....probably closer to eight, for some of them, let's be real. He could spot a future skid from a mile away.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[totalwildcard]

Harley yelped when her name was called. "Wh-- I haven't signed up for anything!" she protested, to no one in particular. With a lot of confidence, considering she was the kind of person who might, on a whim, and then immediately forget about it.

Also wait, what was that about a hat?

"... Hold on, Brucey, mama needs to collect some janky headwear."

Yeah, so, for the rest of this whole ordeal, there was going to be a giant hyena keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings from the sidelines. None of the kids better do anything particularly stupid to Harley.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[carbsliftthespirit]

Raiden was wondering if he'd been assigned to Team Liberty because the risk of him eating any of the other hats was non-zero.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[ifwebeworthy]

"Honestly, where was this hat when I had patients who were kids?"

You weren't a pediatric surgeon, Don. That was why you didn't think of these things.

Re: Voluntolds, Come on Dooooown!

[mustbeawitch]

"First people don't wear hats, and then these are the hats that they wear?" Lydia asked as she examined her new accessory. "The future is most strange."

Race!

[sith_happened]

Each team will have to complete six challenges with their entirely moddable NPC children. (The first two teams have boys, the last two teams have girls, just to make it easier.) Fastest team through wins! What do you win? Nothing.

Challenge 1

[sith_happened]

Working in pairs (Harley & Hannibal, Vi & Sam, Senshi & Flint, Miguel & Beaker), get the children off of the playground equipment!

RNG says it goes: CHEESE, CORN, LOBSTA, LIBERTY

Challenge 2

[sith_happened]

Find that thing the child wants! Before you is a literal dumpster of stuffed animals. Each child has one they are looking for! They might change their mind about what it is halfway through! They might even want something that doesn't even exist! The second pair of teammates (Kamala & Raiden, Stewart & Arthur, Navaan & Summer, and Lydia & Jon) must climb into the dumpster and convince the child to take the toy.

RNG says: LIBERTY, LOBSTA, CORN, CHEESE

Challenge 3

[sith_happened]

Now that there are several hundred toys on the ground, clean them all up! The children are, of course, spreading them alllllllllllll over the park just as fast as they can. Steve M & Eleanor, Stark & Lana, Don & Belle, Gray & Ben, get to it!

RNG says: CORN, CHEESE, LIBERTY, LOBSTA

Challenge 4

[sith_happened]

Cooking! Following the recipe Anakin has left for you, Harley, Vi, Senshi, and Miguel must make six edible cookies with their NPC helper and Hannibal, Sam, Flint & Beaker must eat all six cookies with dying of food poisoning or making the child cry.

RNG says: LIBERTY, CORN, LOBSTA, CHEESE

Challenge 5

[sith_happened]

Play Keepy-Uppy! Each team has a balloon and a kid. Keep the balloon off the ground and unpopped for the longest time! Non toddlers, you may not use your hands at any point.

RNG says: LOBSTA, LIBERTY, CORN, CHEESE

Challenge 6

[sith_happened]

Chicken (or "chicken") nugget eating contest! How many chicken nuggets can you, your partner, and this kid eat in five minutes?

And how does that kid want their chicken nuggets? Hot? Cold? Completely without breading? Only eating the breading? Maybe they don't understand why they can't have hot dogs right now! Every challenge is a negotiation! Every teammate has to eat at least one nugget in the time to count. Steve M & Eleanor, Stark & Lana, Don & Belle, Gray & Ben, time to shine!

RNG: LIBERTY, LOBSTA, CHEESE, CORN

Drinks!

[sith_happened]

There's not a challenge here, just an unhealthy coping mechanism. Happy end of summer, Fandom. Grab a drink on Anakin.

OOC

[sith_happened]

There!