Make 'em Laugh!

Roger Rabbit, is the Human Target at the Disney Carnival.

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

Pocket Rocket

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

targetlaughter:

Merida laughed and shook her head as she walked. “Aye, even after years of long train rides and dull days you never get used to it. Having to sit in the same place for hours or do nothing. Despite the years of practice the best bit of the trailing is getting off the train!”

She turned to watch him as he talked, their personality’s fitting together so well like always as Merida looked around the city before them, wondering where they should get lost too first. “Nah remember that one time I hit you with the foam arrow? but you deserved it…I think… that was a few years ago now jeeze…” it was true. Robin and Merida didn’t bring Rodger into the ring until they were 100% sure that they had the trick down. Even then up till the week of the show would only use foam arrows just in case. Rodger’s life was not one to be played with lightly, if anything happened to him because of her…. Merida felt sick thinking about it. “well good! Because Robin and I have a bunch of new tricks up our sleeve!”

[targetlaughter-blog]

Doing nothing was definitely something that he could do without. For as long as he could remember he’d absolutely dreaded having to sit still for more than a few moments at a time. He still didn’t know how he’d managed to get through all those years of school in-tact.

But oh well! Those days were gone, and now was the time to go out and explore! They were in a completely new place, and he was with his best friend. What better way to break up the boredom of riding on the train?!

“Oh yeah, I remember that! I thought you did that on purpose!” He laughed, remembering getting hit with the foam arrow. Even if she hadn’t intended to hit him, the implications of that didn’t seem to bother him much as he kept in-step alongside her. “New tricks?” He looked at her excitedly. “What kind of new tricks?”

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

Pocket Rocket

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

“RODGER!” She cried happily and hugged him tightly, laughing as she messed up his hair just like hers. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in weeks! Robin and I were getting worried that you fell off the train.” Merida gave another laugh and let him go, bounding towards the door again. “I know what you mean Carrot.” she grinned as she opened the door for them, “After the third lap of the train you start to think about jumpin off it.”

The cold bit her as soon as she walked out the door, but she didnt care. The train had stopped and she was free to do what she liked for the rest of her day; and now her best friend was in toe, it couldn’t get any better.

Climbing down the ladder and dropping down onto the ground she wanted for Rodger at the bottom as she looked back up at him, her breath making fog in the air. “So how have you been lad, you ever comin back to practice or you sick of gettin shot at?”

[targetlaughter-blog]

Roger couldn’t stop himself from laughing if he tried. He immediately returned the hug and gave her a few joking pats on the back as they separated once again. He looked at her, feigning annoyance as she messed up his hair, but his smile quickly overtook that once again.

“I was about to jump too, I’m telling ya!” He laughed, quickly following after her so he could keep up. “I can’t stand being cooped up for so long! I was really starting to get restless! -- And no! How could I ever get sick of getting shot at?” He asked her with a grin. “Especially since you haven’t actually hit me yet!” In fact, he wouldn't trust anyone to shoot at him, more than he would Merida and Robin. “Now that we’ve finally stopped again, I can finally be your target again!”

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

Pocket Rocket

Slowing… slowing

Merida started to pace up and down the length of the train, looking at the window. City, always a city. Of course it had to be a city, there was the best money in the citys, the best shows the people. Merida just didn’t like them all the way since there were never any trails for her to explore. 

Still a city was better then being on the train for days on end.

Slowing slowing. 

Merida knew the trained always slowed to this pace when it was within 20 miles in its stop, that meant they were so close since it had slowed down a little while ago. 

Stop.

The final screech of the brakes came to her ears like music and the grin took over Merida’s face as she flew though the train towards the lounge car where she had left her bag. Slamming though the door she nearly ran head first into someone, she quickly skidded to the side and ducked under her arm- grabbing her bag and turning back around, breathless

“Come on come on! The train’s stopped! Its time to explore!”  She was restless and eager to get off the train, with or without company, though company was over better. “Come on lets go~” She turned back to the person she had almost run into. 

[targetlaughter-blog]

That train ride had lasted such a long time. At least, it seemed to last a long time. Most of the length of the ride was due to the fact that during it, Roger had been completely and utterly bored out of his mind. He had walked the length of the train more times than he could count now. He had watched most of the movies he held in his possession, and read the few comic books he had. He had watched the scenery pass, and slept, and struck up random conversations with anyone who was willing to remain in in company for longer than five minutes.

But still, the time has passed so slowly.

And now, as they train finally slowed down and came to a screeching halt -- outside of a city, no less! -- did the excitement finally pick up inside Roger’s chest once again, and he practically bolted out of his room and towards the exit, as soon as they were all given the go-ahead.

… Only to collide right into someone. Someone who was, presumably, equally as excited as he was.

It only took the flash of bright red hair to know who it was, and he smiled brightly.

“You don’t have to tell me twice! I’ve been bored out of my mind!” He laughed, following along after his friend. “It’s so nice to actually be able to stretch my legs! You know, in a way besides walking up and down the train twenty times a day!”

[soyouregoingtohang]

“I think… I’d pass out right now if I tried that.”

[targetlaughter-blog]

“Oh, I know! Drink water upside down! Have someone scare you! Eat peanut butter! -- Actually, now that I think about it... these might all be for hiccups.”

[womxnxup]

Gogo didn’t like being on the train, probably something she should have thought about before taking this job. On the other side of it though, Gogo would have taken this job regardless. She was getting restless though, there was nothing she could really do while the train was moving except draw up plans, but that wasn’t really how Gogo worked, she liked to draw up plans and then put those plans into action right away, not just sit around with random blue-prints. She’d found herself aimlessly wandering around where she could, trying to find something, anything, to do. She’d gotten to a point where she was totally bored and just sitting doodling in the lounge car, desperately waiting for something to happen. 

[targetlaughter-blog]

It had been a few days now since they’d taken off from their last location, and Roger was never one to remain stagnant for too long. In fact, it was stagnation that made him stir-crazy. It drove him crazy. Nuts! He had to get out and do something, or he might just take a flying leap out the window, just for the brief instance of entertainment it would provide!

… Well, maybe he wasn’t that desperate.

Still though, he couldn't just sit around any longer. A level of boredom this intense called for action! And so, he stood up and took to wandering the halls, not particularly watching where he was going. His aimless wandering brought him into the lounge car, where only one other person sat. Someone he’d never spoken to before. Making friends always killed time.

“Whatcha drawing?” He asked, hopefully not startling her as he came up behind her and regarded her sketchbook.

[soyouregoingtohang]

Does anyone know how to stop a nose bleed?

[targetlaughter-blog]

“Stand on your head?”

[xxx-dormouse-xxx-deactivated201]

I am flawed and I am hallow

Long thin fingers tapped the window as the train moved down the rails. The clacking noise that the wheels made over the tracks, the sound of things swooshing past and the colors blurring as she closed her eyes a bit was all slightly calming. Chewing the skin off her bottom lip, her other hand traced the open bottle that sat between her legs, the square glass pressed corners sharply into her skin as the train moved but it didn’t seem to break her from her dream world. 

Blue eyes refocused on her reflection, long blond hair lay lifeless and stringy around her shoulders, a heart shaped face, with a thin nose with a slight point to it, pale pink slightly full lips with a perfect cupid’s bow, hollow blue eyes that held so many more lies then truths that were lined and caked with black makeup. Parting her lips she looked at her teeth that at this point had more fillings then real teeth; not that anyone could really tell. 

Her fingers kept tapping as her eyes diverted from her reflection to the chipped black nail polish; she should do a touch up since most of her finger nails were chipped or almost completely bare. Picking up the bottle she held it to her lips and took a long swig from the liquor bottle; the whiskey burning her throat and making a fire burn in her belly before she placed it back between her legs. The sound of the train door opening caused her to arch a perfect dark eyebrow as she watched the person’s reflection enter her line of sight. 

[targetlaughter-blog]

As always, not a few days after they had gotten back on the train again, Roger had inevitably become restless. Being cooped up in such a small space, with nothing to do, or no new things to see – it got incredibly boring, incredibly quickly. As such, he’d taken to wandering, as he often did when things began to slow down... or speed up, he supposed, what with them being on a train.

It was getting later now, and it was raining lightly, the sounds of which were only amplified by the trains quick motion through the night. Perhaps foolishly, and desperate for fun, Roger had taken it upon himself to walk to the very back of the train and see what it felt like to be pelted by rain at 120 miles per hour.

It had been fun, but surprisingly, hadn’t been as pleasant as he thought it would be. Ah well. At least it had killed a couple minutes... but now he was soaked. Again, he opted to shrug that off as he re-entered the train and shut the door behind him. And at least the train was dry and warm. It’s not like anyone would see him anyways -- they were all probably asleep or in bed by this point.

Heading into the dining car, Roger was surprised to see that he was in fact not the only one that was still awake. Dor was up, and looking somewhat distracted as she stared out the window. Though she did take a brief instance to glance at him.

“A little late for dinner, isn’t it?” He joked.

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

I’m comin home- Merida and ...

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

Merida grinned. “maybe he will, who knows. Maybe a few people want to go camping its a good break from the carnival without straying to far and spending not much money at all.” the red head pushed her hair out of her eyes, it was nearly down to her hips now, perhaps time for a trim of her wild locks… “OH aye lad.” Merida continued the joke. “Back home the man with the most berries was the one all the lassies swooned for~”

The red head laughed at his suggestion. “way ahead of you laddie, that was one of the things I had been working on while away. I’ve got riding Angus and firing my bow to a target down pat. Thatwas one of the tricks I had in mind for the show. I also though fire hoops and a few other little fun things to throw in.” Best part was, Merida thought, she wasn’t joking about the feet shot, she could do that now, she had been working on it for nearly 6 months now, but away from the carnival she was able to master it.

[targetlaughter-blog]

Roger’s eyes widened in shock when Merida said that was actually something she had been planning for the act. What!? He had just said it jokingly, as something over-the-top that he assumed no one would ever possibly be able to do! But she wanted to do it!? -- Wow, that was Merida for you. You couldn’t doubt her for a second, or place limit on her, because she would soar up and blast through them before you could finish the thought.

“Wow.” Roger laughed, bringing a disbelieving hand to his head now. “You’re crazy.” He looked at her jokingly. It was a compliment -- he didn’t know anyone that possessed the skills that she did. It was a wonder she wasn’t doing something much bigger than this carnival. It was a wonder she wasn’t famous somewhere. If he ever went back to California, he’d be sure to suggest her for some kind of movie role. “How’d I get stuck working with ya, huh?” He joked. Of course he’d be at the ‘target’ end of her bow... but actually, when he thought about it, there wasn’t anyone more trustworthy when it came to that.

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

I’m comin home- Merida and ...

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

Merida laughed, she loved it that Rodger was enthusiastic about going camping for the first time. Perhaps they could get a few friends together and make a little event of it. It could be a fun thing to do for a couple of days. Robin, Rodger perhaps a couple other guys. The ideas were endless, but right now she was just glad Rodger wanted to go.

“Well at the next stop, or some other place. I have a website where I can google a place and it has all the best trail rides and where you can camp out. Its great, so we’ll find somewhere real nice and pretty for your first camping trip. And I don’t know Roder…” she looked sort of worried. “berry’s are awfully fast to catch~” she joked with a little grin. “But yeah, we’ll find something for you to contribute for a dinner! And lots of ghost stories.” 

The red head laughed as they headed back to the stables, Angus plodding along happily behind them. It was good to be back, good to have Rodger by her side again. “Have you seen Robin around per chance? I’m itching to get back to practising for new shows.”

[targetlaughter-blog]

This was just sounding better and better. Roger couldn’t think of much that would be more fun than spending a weekend roughing it in the wilderness – though he was sure his tune would change when he actually got there, and had to fight off the hungry mosquitoes with a stick. For now, the plan was wonderful, and the picture that Merida was painting was even more-so.

“Ghost stories, and a camp fire!” He exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement. “And I’ll show you. I’ll catch more berries than we’ll be able to eat.” He said with a mock look of challenge. Maybe he could stop off at a grocery store, stock up on all sorts of berries, smuggle them into camp and surprise Merida that way. Though he supposed that would have been cheating. Hopefully he wouldn’t end up eating his words – or did he want to, when berries were involved? He was getting off-track.

“Oh, Robin?” Roger asked, cluing back into the conversation again. He had spoken with the other member of their act briefly, but hadn’t really had the chance to sit down and meet up with him again. “No, I haven’t. Well, I have, but not lately! If you can go back in time, he was in the dining car a couple days ago.” He joked. “But hey, I’m always up for practice! We should set up a session. I’ve been so bored. I’ve been counting down the days ‘till we could get back to it.”

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

“That sounds like a plan then, in the next few stops, we’ll go camping. Should we invite anyone else?” Merida asked, pulling out an apple and starting to munch on it; another one was in her hand being offered to rodger. “I’m sure you’ll be the best berry catcher in the land, you could make it your full time gig. People will bow at your feet when you come back with so many berrys” she joked along, shaking her head so her curls swung back and forth.

The red head nodded, hoping Robin hadn’t wondered off again for good like the last time, or the time before that… either way the lad had a habit of being gone for long amouts of time without telling her. Something she hated for the fact she worried about him, and that she would be in charge of the sharp shooting act- neither she liked too much. “Of course! that sounds great, we could go over a couple ideas I had for the show!” the wilds did wonderful things for the imagination Merida had always thought; and this time had been no different with a few new tricks up her sleeve and great ideas to make the show have a new wow factor like never before.

[targetlaughter-blog]

“Sure!” Roger spoke cheerily, “The more the merrier!” -- Plus, the more people they had with them, the more chances there were for survival... at least, he thought so. “Maybe Robin’ll wanna come with us.” He shrugged. The other member of their performance trio would have made a great addition to the ‘survival team’. He couldn’t help but chuckle at Merida’s  joke, and he shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her a smirk. “Oh yeah, I’ll be worshipped, I’m sure.” He joked. Yeah, right.

When the mention of the act was brought up again, Roger’s smirk turned into a genuine grin and he looked right at Merida excitedly. It had been far too long. 

“Ideas? Yeah! Lay ‘em on me! -- What’d ya have in mind this time, sharpshooter? Hey! I’ve got an idea! You can do a handstand on Angus, and shoot at me with your feet.” He laughed again... but somehow, he didn’t entirely doubt that Merida would be able to pull that off.

[xxx-dormouse-xxx-deactivated201]

Dor stepped closer before bouncing away. “But, what if they are letters from fans, or children who saw you and look up to you now. You could be ignoring a letter from some poor seven year old named Timmy that lives in Florida and want’s to be just like you when he grows up.” She popped the p on the last word as she grinned at him.  

[targetlaughter-blog]

“Oh man.” He never thought of that before. Could it really have been people writing to him? He supposed he wouldn’t know until he looked. But now he didn’t want to look, just in case. “Do you really think it could be that?” There was only one way to find out. “What if Timmy was in the hospital or something, and his only wish for Christmas was to get a letter back?! What if I let him down?!”

[blessedby-puberty]

As soon as he had his hands back on his possession, he felt slightly better. But new panic was building in his chest. How much had the man before him seen? Had he seen the different sketches of prosthetic limbs that were tucked away in the pages? Or even the sketches he had done from his memories. Hiccup gulped down air, and shruggued. “Thanks..Th..Thanks. I uh…I just..Taught myself. I guess.” 

[targetlaughter-blog]

Never having been one for sensing someone else’s discomfort, Roger continued blabbing away, oblivious to Hiccup’s growing anxiety. In fact, his line of sight stayed focused on the book that Hiccup now clutched tightly against himself. Anyone else would have been able to see that it was almost protective. But he wanted to see more of it.

“Taught yourself? Wow. That’s impressive. How long did it take? Have you ever done anything with it? Like make a comic, or a cartoon?”

[blessedby-puberty]

Hiccup looked at the book, and felt his cheeks turn a deep red. While it was missing, he was hoping that no one would actually look in it. “Y…yeah..That’s it.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek and reached out to grab the book. “Th..anks.” He mumbled. 

[targetlaughter-blog]

“Hey, no problem! Man, I wish I knew how to draw like that.” Roger said, letting the book go. Hiccup seemed quite eager to get it back into his possession as quickly as possible -- probably because he wanted to keep drawing, or something. That would make sense. Someone of Hiccup’s skill-level probably never stopped! “Where’d you learn?”

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

I’m comin home- Merida and ...

[merida-darkarrows-blog]

Merida laughed, she loved it that Rodger was enthusiastic about going camping for the first time. Perhaps they could get a few friends together and make a little event of it. It could be a fun thing to do for a couple of days. Robin, Rodger perhaps a couple other guys. The ideas were endless, but right now she was just glad Rodger wanted to go.

“Well at the next stop, or some other place. I have a website where I can google a place and it has all the best trail rides and where you can camp out. Its great, so we’ll find somewhere real nice and pretty for your first camping trip. And I don’t know Roder…” she looked sort of worried. “berry’s are awfully fast to catch~” she joked with a little grin. “But yeah, we’ll find something for you to contribute for a dinner! And lots of ghost stories.” 

The red head laughed as they headed back to the stables, Angus plodding along happily behind them. It was good to be back, good to have Rodger by her side again. “Have you seen Robin around per chance? I’m itching to get back to practising for new shows.”

[targetlaughter-blog]

This was just sounding better and better. Roger couldn’t think of much that would be more fun than spending a weekend roughing it in the wilderness -- though he was sure his tune would change when he actually got there, and had to fight off the hungry mosquitoes with a stick. For now, the plan was wonderful, and the picture that Merida was painting was even more-so.

“Ghost stories, and a camp fire!” He exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement. “And I’ll show you. I’ll catch more berries than we’ll be able to eat.” He said with a mock look of challenge. Maybe he could stop off at a grocery store, stock up on all sorts of berries, smuggle them into camp and surprise Merida that way. Though he supposed that would have been cheating. Hopefully he wouldn’t end up eating his words -- or did he want to, when berries were involved? He was getting off-track.

“Oh, Robin?” Roger asked, cluing back into the conversation again. He had spoken with the other member of their act briefly, but hadn’t really had the chance to sit down and meet up with him again. “No, I haven’t. Well, I have, but not lately! If you can go back in time, he was in the dining car a couple days ago.” He joked. “But hey, I’m always up for practice! We should set up a session. I’ve been so bored. I’ve been counting down the days ‘till we could get back to it.”

[rucifee]

Did you all miss me? I know, I know, it’s been far too long. You may bring forth my ‘welcome back’ gifts.

[targetlaughter-blog]

Welcome back!

Where’ve ya been?

[xxx-dormouse-xxx-deactivated201]

“Nuh uh.” Even though she vocalized no she shook her head yes. Smiling at the other person, “No one sends me mail so I don’t bother with it.” 

[targetlaughter-blog]

“Oh, well maybe you could take some of mine off my hands! I didn’t even know about it until a couple days ago, and now I’m scared to look through the letters. If the IRS is hunting me down, I don’t want to know about it!”

[soyouregoingtohang]

I only found out after someone dumped a bag of unpicked-up letters at my door.

[targetlaughter-blog]

Oh good, so I’m not the only one then. That’s a relief.

[blessedby-puberty]

“Where did I put my sketch book…” 

[targetlaughter-blog]

“Oh, is this it? It was just lying in the dining car, completely unattended! And open! You’re really good at this, by the way.”