April 7th - Welcome Party

[cartesio]

Welcome Party

Though you've never seen the casino before, it is easy to find today. This is partly attributable to the music spilling from open doors right into the town. The people of Cartesio have made good on their announcement - doubtlessly, there is a party going on here.

Anyone entering will be confronted with a friendly citizen pulling them aside to inform them of their dress rental service. Though it is called 'rental' there is no actual fee to be paid. The townspeople have simply brought a collection of suits and cocktail dresses into the casino foyer and they are offering to lend them out for the occasion. A folding screen to get changed behind is provided as well.

Once you venture deeper into the casino, you'll find yourself in a surprisingly spacious room. Tables that might normally occupy the open space have been pushed to the wall and filled with various buffet foods. Though you might be tempted to spend your whole afternoon trying out the various local specialties, the rhythmic music from the speakers tries to lure you to the dancefloor. A few locals are already swinging their hips to the beat.

Though if you're simply looking for the main highlight of a casino, you won't have to look long either. Across from the buffet, you will find a wide variety of game machines. Pachinko, slot machines.... even a few odd-one-out games that look like they should rather belong in an arcade. Try your luck, try your skill! If you prove successful, an employee is waiting to hand out various fun goods to you.

There are quite a few townspeople in attendance on this party, but there is a silent understanding that you tourists are the VIPs here. Anywhere you go, any game you want to try, the citizens are quick to move aside for you and let you have the maximum amount of fun.

Links

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Comments

[carbide]

[Olympia's expression is perfectly neutral, and her posture is the same as always, so if it seems to you that she gives off a distinct air of not wanting to be here, it's probably just because someone's talked her into changing into a men's suit that doesn't seem to quite fit her. (She outright rejected all the dresses.)

She ignores the buffet entirely and initially skips the dance floor as well, heading straight for the games. She spends some time inspecting them, wasting a few plays on figuring out how they work. Then she starts playing pinball very determinedly. For someone who didn't know what a flipper was a few minutes ago, she's surprisingly good!

Later, she's unsurprisingly ungood at dancing, just kind of awkwardly stepping back and forth like she's never done this in her 28? 98? however many years of her life.]

games

[doublelammy]

[Millium has absolutely no idea what she's looking at with any of these. And it's exciting, but also, where does she even begin?

Well, maybe she can go see what Olympia's doing. Their previous bonding experience was over another machine, after all, why not this one? And besides, it makes interesting noises and has pretty lights, so Millium's interested in seeing what it is—]

Woah.

[This looks like fun! Hopefully her ogling isn't throwing off Olympia's groove.]

[carbide]

[Olympia's groove is evidently able to stand up to a 13-year-old girl, even one as powerful as Millium. In fact, at first it might seem like she hasn't even noticed. She certainly doesn't take her eyes off the pinball table when she responds.]

Millium.

[doublelammy]

[Millium would appreciate being referred to as powerful if she could read the meta.]

Olympia! [She offers a beaming smile up at her before returning her gaze to the table.] So, what is this? You're s'posed to keep the ball away from the bottom?

[carbide]

[Olympia smiles back, sort of, if you can call it that when she doesn't turn to look at her at all.]

More specifically, you try to get as many points as you can before the ball falls down too many times.

[doublelammy]

[It works well enough for Millium.]

And d'you get points by hitting all these other things up here?

[carbide]

Yes. You earn more points if you hit them in specific ways.

[For instance, if you hit all four panels of this drop target. There goes number three.]

[doublelammy]

Huh... but all you can do is make those little levers go up n' down?

[That seems like a real lack of control, if you ask her.]

[carbide]

You also have some control over the initial speed of the ball, and you can shake the table slightly to influence its movement.

[See? Much easier.]

[doublelammy]

Oooh... like this?

[...Sorry, Olympia, you're almost definitely getting a TILT warning with how Millium is now shoving herself against it.]

[carbide]

[Olympia tries and fails to brace the table against Millium's power. There goes that game.]

...no. Slightly.

[doublelammy]

[Oh.]

...Booooo. Why do all these games here only want you to do things slightly?

[Millium may still be a little sore over skee-ball.]

What's even the point if you're not givin' somethin' your all?

[carbide]

Sometimes giving things your best effort means taking a more subtle approach.

[Starting over, she launches the ball again.]

Games

[chiefminion]

You look like you know how this is supposed to be like. Mind giving me a few pointers?

[carbide]

[Olympia doesn't look away from the table.]

The table can be shaken slightly to influence the ball's movement, but shaking it too much will cause an error.

[chiefminion]

Shake the table...

[That's worth a try. Moloch grabs the pinball machine like his life depends on it, launches the ball, and once the ball is near the place he wanted it go to, he pushes the table -- a bit too strongly. Error happens!]

...this is what I get for trying to cheat!

[Not blaming you, Olympia]

[carbide]

For failing to cheat.

[To demonstrate, Olympia gives the table a light nudge, moving the ball from one flipper to the other. See, you have to be subtle with your dishonesty.]

[chiefminion]

[...she's not wrong. Moloch tries again, nudging the machine with a bit more care]

I'm not used to cheating. Or to playing with these machines. It's not like they're common where I come from.

[carbide]

It's the same with me, actually. It's the sort of thing that would be possible, but I've never seen one of these before.

[This is not slowing her down at all.]

[chiefminion]

This kind of technology isn't common in your world?

[carbide]

Not this particular application of it.

[Levers and gravity are pretty universal.]

[chiefminion]

I'm kind of familiar with the mechanics, but I had never seen them used into this. Usually it's more...destructive.

[In the worst ways possible]

[carbide]

Like a catapult? Or do you mean the energy?

[She isn't very bothered by the thought, either way.]

[chiefminion]

The catapult. Those are always seen during wartime.

[Although the energy itself is commonly used, too]

[carbide]

Of course, these are quite a bit smaller, at least for catapult ammunition. They'd be unusually large for bullets, though.

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