vidya game time

[retraced]

Who: Yosuke and Gilbert
When: Backdated to the 17th of March
Where: Arcade in the underground mall
Summary: Bros playing video games. Only one of them is probably any good at it.
Warning: Warnings for embarrassing DDR failure.

This place is too loud. Too bright. There are too many flashing lights that still confuse him and fill him with anxiety. But two years living in this 'modern' world and Gilbert still hasn't assimilated properly when it comes to all of this technology.

He's been in this arcade a few times before. The first time he'd left with a migraine that he thought would never go away, and the second time he'd embarrassed himself by tripping over a stray power cord and nearly shoving an entire rack of stuffed animals on a small child. He'd caught it before it could do damage, but he'd still fled and promised never to show his face in this place again.

But he can't say no to a friend either. Especially a friend who 1 - he owes, and 2 - wants to continue helping his antiquated way of thinking expand a bit more.

Luckily, no one recognizes him as he stands just inside the entrance waiting for Yosuke to show up, staring down at his feet and trying not to bump into anything or anyone.

Comments

[retraced]

There's no need to help, but...I guess by his count, I'll be twenty-seven next month.

[Now stop talking, he's concentrating here. Turning another wiiiiide corner with the finish line in view on the digital horizon!]

[inthejunk]

Next month, huh? What day.

[Vrrr-err-rroooom! Right around virtual Gil, and over the finish line with a little crow that's both unnecessary and not very sporting.]

What next? A shooting game to puff your ego back up? Waffles?

[retraced]

The first of June.

[It's the date that corresponds best with the calendar at home, which may or may not be the same, so. Yes. June 1st is the best he's got.

Pride broken from a third failed game, he slides off of the damned seat and proclaims, with all the dignity left in his body:]

A shooting game. [HE'S GONNA EARN SOME RESPECT BACK.]

[inthejunk]

[Yosuke smirks a little at that. Clearly, kick Gil's butt day has been a grand success. But yeah, sure. He owes the guy a few shreds of dignity back, so he nods and leads the way.]

Then we have a lunar cycle in common! Not that anyone counts it that way anymore, but you get the idea.

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A lunar cycle?

[It sounds like something that Ada told him once, but truth be told, he didn't keep that information in his head.]

[inthejunk]

Yeah, you know. [He makes a sweeping gesture, like a big arch.] The moon never sleeps, right? She always makes the tides, and...um...in the sky, it does things. You know. Phase things. Gravity things too I guess. Closer and farther, light and shadow, stuff like that? It's what the calendar used to mean.

[Hopefully it doesn't sound quite as stupid as it sounds like it sounds.]

[retraced]

[Blink.]

Huh?

[Yep, it sounds that stupid. Or at least, he doesn't understand why it's significant to share one of these lunar cycles with another person.]

[inthejunk]

Never mind.

[It's like everyone else is from a different planet around here.]

[retraced]

[Back at you, man. Why does no one here speak JapaneseFrenchEnglish?

But hey, up ahead, there's a game with fake guns and dinosaurs to kill! Gil walks right towards it.]

[inthejunk]

[Because that's absurd, that's why. But Yosuke follows along cheerfully enough. Time to see Gil in action!]

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[Okay, time to figure out where these tokens go. Yosuke had put them into a section of the game here that had a blinking light...

Ah, there it is. He counts out the number of tokens needed for himself and then turns to look back at his friend.]

Did you want to play against me?

[inthejunk]

Nah, I suck at these ones anyway.

[Besides, it gets in the way of his fanboying.]

[retraced]

You're sure?

[He only puts enough tokens in for himself, but still glances at Yosuke as he grabs the fake gun.]

[inthejunk]

[Nod nod. He's never seen you fire a gun while he was sober enough to remember it later before, so this will be cool.]

[retraced]

[Okay, this game has actual plot. There's an animation at the beginning that explains where these dinosaurs and other various creepy monsters have come from, and a very long winded description of how to navigate the compound that you, the player, is trapped in. Gil follows most of it, but it's still strange to watch digital people explain games to you. It's not exactly chess or tag or swinging cardboard swords around.

But finally the game begins, a digital voice tells him to do his best, and the little digital Gilbert rushes out into the field. Once the creatures start to appear on the screen, he takes cover, and Gilbert himself raises the gun.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Three digital shots, all three dinosaurs killed with a shot directly to the head. And even though it's a plastic gun, Gilbert is holding it expertly with his eyes narrowed and shoulders squared perfectly. He'd look badass if the gun weren't bright blue.]

[inthejunk]

Woah.

[Badass enough, dude. Yosuke is sufficiently impressed.]

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[From the game's speakers, there's the sound of a crash, a wall exploding, and from the rubble comes another few smaller, but quicker, monsters. Each one is taken out with a shot or two before they have a chance to scratch him, from one end of the screen to the other.

Gil's concentration never even wavers as he takes each one of them out.]

[inthejunk]

[They had to eventually find a game he didn't suck at.]

[retraced]

[Sometimes he's good at stuff! Even though monsters are coming out at every direction, somehow he manages to kill each one of them off with one shot.

Until, of course, the first boss comes along. Cue intermission where digital Gil and his plucky sidekick stand around on one side of a door and discuss 'strategy'. Then suddenly - health points are shown and the door flings open. Time to shoot some crazy huge dinosaurs and evil acid monster-things.]

[inthejunk]

Look out! On your left!

>small>[You may not need the help, but have some anyway.]

[retraced]

[It's helpful! The monster reaches out and actually gets a good swipe in before Gil shoots it dead. His health points are down a little, but he's still in good shape. On the screen, digital Gil is running for cover behind a broken car. Because cars protect against dinosaurs, apparently...]

...HTML is hard okay

[inthejunk]

You know, there's a shooting range somewhere around here.

['Cause wouldn't it be even cooler to shoot a real gun and let him watch? Huh, wouldn't it?]

stupid pointless scripting language

[retraced]

Mm. I have a membership there.

[Boom! Bang! Smash! Another level cleared!]

srsly

[inthejunk]

It doesn't surprise me.

[Ooh, cool...]

So, when do you wanna go?

[retraced]

You're done already?

[But he finally found something that he's good at!]