[ open ] birthday time!

[picky]

WHO: Marcille, Ryoji, and YOU!
WHAT: A party for the April (and May) birthdays!
WHERE: LILICO Game Center in Akihabara
WHEN: April 20th
WARNINGS: TBA

No matter who you are, you receive a text early in the morning from Ryoji (memors):

Good morning! Did you know it's a special someone's birthday today? Actually, we have several birthdays to celebrate, so join us today at the LILICO Game Center! There will be cake! Lots and *lots* of cake. Hope to see you there!

This is an open log, so feel free to tag out or top level or respond to the prompts below. Have fun!

Comments

LILICO GAME CENTER.

[picky]

A train ride to Akihabara later and you find yourself in LILICO Game Center! To borrow from the Locations page, the Game Center has claw machines, Gachapon machines, arcade games of any sort imaginable, a pachinko parlour, and the shining star of the center: The Immersive VR experience. (Please use responsibly. This is a family-friendly party.)

You can find the party in the Jump for Joysticks arcade section of the game center. There really is every arcade game you can imagine, albeit with different names to prevent fourth wall-breaking: Mrs. P*cman, DDR, M*rio Kart, Str**t Fighter, Skee Ball, Wack-a-Mole, etc. Here's a list if you need it.

Try a new game! Teach someone else how to play! Go nuts!

kaito nagano / original

[seafloor]

[ There is a disturbance in the F*rce at the arcade.

Walking down one of the aisles, your foot bumps into a Doraemon plush. Odd. Some careless kid must have dropped it.

As you take a closer look however (whether by stopping down or just by continuing your walk), another plush you comes into sight. SnoreMax. Next to it, some angry mole wearing a hardhat. Dracula's third child, Alacrud. An abomination with soulless eyes, tufts of fur in its ears, and a narrow yellow beak.

These toys are not strewn about haphazardly, no. Following them is akin to traversing a fuzzy, fluffy trail, with increasingly varied prizes stacked in mounds the further you advance. Rulers, coolers, vinyl decals, instant noodles... All laid out like bodies on a windswept battlefield.

And at the end of the path, surrounded by fluorescent lights, you see him. A madman wearing Everlight's colors, stopped in front of a crane game machine.

—No, not just a crane game machine. It's the only machine in the entire sector of the arcade that still has prizes inside.

Tokusatsu figurines, for the record. And they're quickly disappearing, vanishing into the prize chute before tumbling next to Kaito's feet.

A few employees are just kinda standing at the outskirts, expressions varying from astonished to impressed to outright mortified. They all look to you as if you might have a constructive solution for the rampant 'destruction' wrought by this 'force of nature'.

Do you? ]

[memors]

[ A solution? Sure, he's got something in mind...

Cue Ryoji rolling up next to Kaito with a...shopping cart? Where did he get it? Don't worry about it. Just worry about why it's here. ]

Hey, there. I figured you might need something to help you get all your prizes home.

[ He's gotta take all these back to base and try to fit them in his room. He's gotta. ]

[seafloor]

[ Kaito picks up the last toy to fall from its containment cell right in time for Ryoji to stroll up. Where the heck did that cart come from? Is he also using dimensional storage magics?

Well, whatever. Kaito happily deposits the prize into its new prison. ]

Thanks, Ryoji. I was planning on giving most of these away. This'll make it much easier. But that'll still leave me with quite a few prizes to take back to base...

[memors]

[ The only magic being used here is theft... ]

You're really amazing at these games, huh? Your talents never cease to amaze me! [ And he wants to give them away? He's so thoughtful, too. ] Is there a secret to your success?

[ Is it possible to learn this power??? ]

[queenofkur]

[ This goddess is looking with horror at... The carnage she's witnessing. There is no other word for this! Someone has lost it to their instincts and is now on a rampage, getting every last figurines and prizes they can! She would have just gone on her way, had the employees not begged her for help as a fellow outside.

And lo: she approaches him. She's torn between commending him for his competitive spirit and chastising him for being so greedy and taking everything. Ultimately? The later wins, because that's Ishtar-like behavior and she can't approve of it. ]

S-Stop...! Leave some for everyone else!

1/2

[seafloor]

[ Oho? Someone's approaching him? Kaito doesn't dare turn away from his quarry to observe the interloper. No, those scarred, (theoretically) bloodsoaked hands work deftly to properly end his symphony of (figurative) slaughter.

It is only when the last figurine tumbles to its doom out the chute and between his feet that Kaito turns. Mania dances in glowing(?) golds. The high brought on from his carnage paints a grin over his features.

Those predatory hues lock onto Ereshkigal's. Kaito's beam brightens. He lurches forward as if ready to pounce. ]

Stop, you say? This is but the beginning... The beginning of my new reign over Neo Tokyo's prize machines!

[ And suddenly, he

rears back, arms thrown to either side, doing his best impression or that one crazy blond vampire from the manga series Yukito likes. ]

All will know to fear the Demon of Shibuya! Bwahahahaha!!!

2/2

[seafloor]

[ —And just when the employees look ready to call security, Kaito's maniacal laughter comes to an abrupt halt.

He whips out a few large paper bags from god knows where and starts picking up the toys. ]

Just kidding. I'm gonna give most of these away to kids around the arcade. These types of games are designed to swindle children out of their money, so I'm doing them a favor.

[plagiarists]

[ While Sooyoung isn't in the mood to hit the arcade, there's someone who'd love to hang out there, especially if there's going to be a gathering of sorts. That someone in question is no one other than Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, who keeps bothering Sooyoung almost all morning before she finally gives up and allows him to take the wheel. Actually, it's never a good idea to do that, but sometimes a girl has to make sure her dragon companion has some fun.

Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is quite pleased with the mortified expressions and the destruction (or, in other words, empty crane game machines) Kaito left in his wake. ]

O Harbinger of Destruction, your quest is nearing its end! I applaud you for your efforts in sowing the seeds of ruin! I, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, shall watch your last battle before the apocalypse begins!

[ All of this coming from Sooyoung's mouth... well, it's definitely Something. ]

[yormama]

[ Housewife, mother, assassin, and now...a would-be game master?

See, that'd apply if Yor was attempting any of the other arcade machines, but she's not. Instead, she's going absolutely buck wild at the DDR machine. After a shaky start, she's actually building up a pretty good score!

Now the question is, do you join her in trying to beat her current score on the machine next to hers? Or do you egg her on to see if she can actually make it to ten million points? ]

[gimu]

[ choso has chosen to cheer yor on. how can he not? look at her go, smashing those steps with a force that would probably destroy lesser machines.

superb. ]

Dancing in this era is so violent—! You can do it, Yor.

[yormama]

[ Never in her life would she picture dancing to be this intense! Is this how they dance at those night clubs? She doesn't even know how to ballroom dance!

But she's swift on her feet and her reaction time is superb, so she'll keep at it! Right, left, left, up, right! ]

Right! Right! I'm doing it! I'm doing it!!

[ 250,000 points! ]

[memors]

[ Arcades make him nostalgic. He can be in an entirely different Japan than the one where Paulownia Mall exists, but if he closes his eyes...it's the same chatter of chiptunes and odor of potato chip-encrusted carpets. Just like home!

He's developed a love of video games despite having not played very many. At present, he is approaching one of those full-body, immersive arcade games advertised as Crypt of the Undead. There's a sign outside the machine painted with bloodlike lettering: "enter if you DARE!" ]

This sounds serious.

[ Waving any passersby down!! ]

Want to give it a try? It can't be as scary as it sounds. [ Probably. ]

[picky]

[ SHE DOES NOT LIKE THIS. But she is unfortunately the one who's been tailing Ryoji since they arrived. ]

You mean you haven't played it before?!

[memors]

I've played something like it...you hold a toy gun and shoot zombies on a screen, but they're pretty obviously fake, so there's nothing to be afraid of.

[ Words spoken moments before disaster. ]

[eyescar]

No way is it that scary, not compared to all the monsters we've fought here.

[ Yuji leans close, frowning at the display and shaking his head. ]

We've definitely got this, Ryoji-kun.

[memors]

[ That's right! What's a pack of zombies compared to fighting actual kaiju? He survived the apocalyptic Small World, this will be a walk in the park. ]

Right! This is nothing. Let's do this!

[ Puffing out his chest, he steps through the doorway into the arcade machine. Inside, it's dark, but eerie music plays, and there's some glow in the dark guns attached to the machine. Tentatively, Ryoji picks one up. ]

Have you ever played one of these before?

[picky]

[ Find Marcille at one of the racing games lined up near the front of the arcade center. Two seats for M*rio Kart are impossibly, blessedly open for once, though maybe not for long. She's wearing a simple blue dress with sandals and a green paper crown over her head. Her hair is in an intricate braid over one shoulder.

She isn't sitting on the seat, but her hand is pressed against the headrest as she leans over and watches the screen. It looks like you're trying to move along a pathway somehow... And there are bombs? And bananas? And ways to crash?

Whoever walks by, she's waving you over. ]

Do you know what this game is?

[yuwon]

[ initially when he's waved over, it's clear he's a bit surprised. maybe he wasn't expecting to be caught while trying to casually saunter out of here. regardless, he does turn back to her, his eyes scanning over the game.

oh...

this was pretty popular for kids, wasn't it? not that he ever had the luxury to sit around and play. ] It's a racing game. [ says yuwon as if marcille doesn't have eyes of her own. he seems to reflect back on his explanation, before: ]

Want to try it?

[picky]

[ Before she can say, Well, I think I've figured out at least that part, Yuwon asks her the magic question. She looks at the screen again worriedly, quietly biting her lip as she considers. ]

I guess that's the best way to learn, right? [ She slips her hand into her dress pocket, gathering tokens between her fingers. ] You don't have to play with me. You were just leaving, right Yuwon?

[newphew]

[ hey it's marcille! hunter obviously feels uncomfortable at this party, but since ryoji invited him, he came! and he's staring at the video game with a similar amount of confusion ]

I think it's supposed to be a human game. [ this sheds no light ] of.... racing? With weapons. [ he has never seen a banana before in his life so he assumes it's a weapon ]

[picky]

[ HOW DO BANANAS NOT EXIST IN THE OWL HOUSE? Anyway, she squints at the screen too, watching the characters flail and yell and spin as they're hit with seemingly random objects. ]

It looks like it, doesn't it? [ Squinting harder. ] There's so much going on, though... There are all these colors and lights. Are those monsters driving those machines? Cars, right?

[ She points to the screen of the chair beside them. ]

This just looks like a beach, though. It seems way calmer and easier.

Shoto Todoroki | Everlight / MHA

[heir_conditioned]

A mass birthday? Well. He's already given Bakugo his present, but that also doesn't mean he can't attend and try to help other people celebrate. From what he's heard there isn't a lot of downtime when things start kicking off and things certainly kick off here. Plus who doesn't love a good game or two? He's seen a few arcades walking around and maybe it'd be a fun way to meet new people, make new friends, or even help out.

I. On the train
Shoto sticks out like a sore thumb. His hair does him no favours and the idea that he's actually looking intrigued by the way the train moves quickly passed the scenes outside makes it look like he's never seen it before. He has, not often, but he has and it's as exciting every time. Anyone who happens to sit next to him, he will have no problem turning to speak to, even the most introverted of people. "Is this your first time on a train?" It isn't his. Not by a long shot having to live here.

II. A) In The Arcade
Arcade games weren't really a thing for him in his lifetime, not until UA, and not frequently then either. He's more interested in watching the games, especially the dancing one. It's not until he crosses the PVE fighting games that he's most interested. Or even more so in the jump-scare games where he has to use a gun to do them. It doesn't seem safe, but he realizes quickly they're not actually loaded. He's all for pretty much any of the games, or learning about them, or watching others play and experiencing them that way, too.

B) A More Direct Approach
On his way around, Shoto notices someone has dropped one of their coins and picks it up to jog the few steps up behind them and give it back. "I think you dropped this."

III. Clean Up Crew
True to form Shoto also has no problem sticking around after festivities to give a little bit of help cleaning up. He can be found doing various clean up jobs, wiping a table or cleaning up smaller messes left behind. It'll make for a good night's sleep when he's finally home. Or whatever can be called home here.

IV. Wildcard
Have fun. The only thing I'm not interested in is sparring/fighting pretty much. There isn't much else I won't roll with. If you're unsure please contact me!

iii

[ignoreher]

Wow, someone who's actually sticking around... besides her. Sure, she's a guest at these things and the like, but leaving things as-is isn't in her nature; Malkuth beams at Shoto as she sets a chair back in place, recognizing him almost immediately as one of her fellow Everlights. Kind of hard not to, given his hair.

"It feels good to clean, huh? My coworkers and I had a schedule back home to take care of our shared spaces, but we'd usually end up helping each other anyway... It's relaxing."

And it helps to clear the mind too, she finds, but that's neither here nor there.

[heir_conditioned]

Shoto almost has the same thought, there aren't many people who did stick around but at least these two have. To be polite he hasn't said anything to her, but when she speaks, Shoto turns his mismatched eyes onto the figure speaking to him, listening to what she has to say as he piles a few paper plates onto one another. "It does feel good to clean. Did you work for a cleaning company?" He's not very good at small talk, but he does know that he's interested to learn.

Shoto, however, is unaware that people note him by his chimeric looks. He knows people stare, but it's usually that he attributes it to his scar.