735/Molly's Arcade Adventure!

Molly's Arcade Adventure!
Date of Scene:	09 November 2023
Location:	Game Crown Arcade
Synopsis:	During a rare quiet evening, Rashmi calls Molly to ask if the Brit would like to join her at Tokyo's premiere teen time-waster hangout, the Game Crown Arcade. Games are played, discussions are discussed, milkshakes consumed, and a grand fun time is had by both.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Molly Skyline

---

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It's after dinner, homework is done, and all the necessary studying is already out of the way. Nicomachea's still crunching the numbers he's been given, and there's not much else to do. How to spend the evening...

TXT to Molly -- Hey, wanna be normal teenagers for a little bit? There's an arcade in Juuban I've never really been to.

A Tokyo arcade; unlike most of the rest of the world, there's still a *thriving* arcade scene in Japan, and Tokyo is *always* where the newest and awesomest games have been debuted, before having a *chance* of going anywhere near the rest of the world.

After the inevitable acceptance, Rashmi meets Molly at the subway, and guides her to the stop over at Juuban Ward, near the OSA-P Jewelry store ("Naru-chan's mom owns that place," Rashmi points out, like a tour guide.) where the two-story Game Crown Arcade sits, in all its teenager-attracting glory. As Rashmi opens the door, Molly's ears are assailed by a hundred attention-grabbing noises at once, calling her to this game of skill, that DDR machine, or one of the SAILOR V competitive butt-kicking adventures.

"Aaaand here we are!"

Molly Skyline has posed:
It doesn't exactly take Molly long to accept -- or to arrive, for that matter. Having a device that lets you fly, couple with the fact that she isn't keeping it busy with calculations or... anything really, resulting in a bored device that wants to do things, means getting anywhere slowly is becoming more of a challenge.

"I... I don't know who Naru-chan is!" she replies when the Jewelry store is pointed out, "But we'll have to check that out sometime too, I love jewelry -- and don't worry Starcrash, you're not being replaced."

The arcade, however, is something else. England still has arcades here and there, but not at all anything like this. Not at all. NOt even close.

Molly hasn't been to a Tokyo arcade yet, and as she walks in, her jaw more or less hits the floor. She gazes about herself in absolute, awe-struck wonder.

"...Heaven is real. And we're in it."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I'll introduce you," Rashmi chuckles. "She's in Debate club with me, and she knows *lots* of people in the uh... extracurricular side of things. *Amazingly* chill, too, she's a *good* friend to have."

Then they get into the arcade, and Rashmi can't help but laugh quietly, at the awestruck wonder on her friend's face. "Well... If that's true, Heaven's gonna be *really* happy to take your money. C'mon, let's get some cards and see what looks good! We can get shakes and stuff after a bit, if you want."

After a moment's searching, she finds the counter where yen is turned to in-store charge cards, and drops a couple thousand into hers. "So! What d'you wanna do first?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Oh, I *do* want," Molly affirms at the notion of getting shakes. "I love milkshakes, and since it seems like if you like anything you can be pretty much guaranteed that Tokyo has a better version of it, I'm definitely willing to give that a go."

Once the money is exchanged for charge cards (Molly still uses the term Quid interchangeably with Yen, likely that's never going away), she looks around the place, and there's just... There's just everything here you could possibly hope for.

"Uhm." The purple-haired teen considers for a moment. "Race you?" she suggests, pointing towards a sit down game with two seats, labelled 'Initial D the Arcade'. "One of my classmates was talking about that one, it's only been out a bit over a year and it's supposed to be pretty good." She pauses, and blushes softly, "If you like racing games, that is!"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I am *terrible* at games, let's go!" Rashmi answers. Because let's be honest; when you're at the arcade with someone, it's never *nearly* about whether or not you can win a game. Sometimes it's just fun screwing up with a friend!

And she *is* awful at the game, overcorrecting nearly every chance she gets, slamming into cars, running way off the road all too often... It's almost depressingly easy to beat Rashmi at racing, but she *does* seem to be having a blast, even still.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Start your handbrake before you reach the turn," Molly advises partway through a race. For herself, she's taken a Nissan Silvia -- black, with stylish headlights and taillights -- which she's managed to run into a food cart and take off-road more than once, but she's getting the hang of the controls. "You are using the handbrake, right? turn the wheel before you think you should turn, pull the handbrake, and you'll fly around the corner instead of ramming into the wall all the time."

As she's giving the explanation, she forgets to look where she's going, and rams straight into a wall, which definitely gives Rashmi ample opportunity to catch up and overtake. But hey! They're not real cars, and it's well worth it. Molly just grins as she backs her car up and gets back into the race, even if it was the final lap.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Turns out she hadn't been at all, because who uses a *brake* to *drive fast?* And it's hilariously misapplied more often than not, but when it *does* click the redhead can't help but loose an excited "Whaaaaaaa--!" as *she is responsible* for doing that cool thing everyone does with cars in movies.

Which is half the reason the game exists, after all.

Predictably, she finishes last, but doesn't even begin to look disappointed by the outcome. "...Okay that was *lots* of fun!"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly grins, "I had exactly the same reaction the first time I got it," she replies, grinning from ear to ear. "I'd spent a whole day doing nothing but crashing into absolutely everything in sight and going everywhere except around the corners, and I was ready to call bullshit on every drifting scene in every movie I'd ever seen, when I finally did get it and I was just 'Ooooohhhhhh so THAT'S how you do it'!"

She grins, and pushes her spectacles back up her nose as she does, "So, you pick next! What suits your fancy next? You know this place best, afterall!"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Molly-chan I have been here *once before,*" Rashmi laughs. "Most of the time the only videogames I play is Sweets Shatter on my phone, or family Smash Brothers night, which I am *also* terrible at. Bu-u-u-ut..."

Rashmi looks around their position, and her glasses catch a co-op sidescrolling brawler, except everyone is some form of wizard. "That! 'Wizards of the Lost Age!'"

It proves to be a special-effects heavy credit-muncher, but the action is *frantic,* especially when one is just learning the playstyle it encourages... Unless one has a Starcrash to tell them to go all aggro all the time.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Oh, now, this game is up Molly's alley. Side-scrolling brawler? She grew up on these, especially since the Orphanage had every version of Nintendo ever made in multiples. It proves to be a game that has a bit of learning curve for the purple-haired one, but she's doing fairly well straight off the bat.

"Starcrash, stop being a backseat video gamer," she mutters after the fourth time he tells her to go on the offense while she's low on HP and trying to back off so she can recover.

"Rashmi-chan, does Nicomachea tell you how to do everything, and constantly advise you that the best way to solve all your problems is to treat them like nails and hit them with something blunt?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"No, but we're all very well aware that Starcrash has some damage," Rashmi says, loosing a room-clearing blast of swirling lightning... *right* before the boss fight. "I'm starting to wonder how much I really lucked out, Nicomachea hasn't taken *any* serious damage that I know about, and he fell to Earth thirty-odd years ago. And I'm trying *really hard* to think of a Device from the Arthras that *isn't* some kind of busted, and... All I'm coming up with is Nicomachea and Raising Heart, plus the ones belonging to the Arthras' crew that Chrono's still holding onto."

She falls silent for a bit, pursing her lips at both Molly's situation *and* the two-headed Dragon Giant on the screen. "...It makes me wonder if Starcrash might not have belonged to a training officer, honestly. And since he's got memory damage, he's just holding on to the one tactic he remembers."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Hey, I feel pretty lucky to have Starcrash," Molly points out, all while fighting the two-headed giant. Which, she focuses on for a moment, 'cause two-headed giants definitely demand your full attention, if playing Dungeons and Dragons has taught her anything. But eventually, it goes down, and the two girls have a chance to buy equipment before the next level.

"So, sure, Starcrash is missing a few things, but... I can fix that? Hopefully, eventually? And it's not that his memory cores are damaged, they're just straight up *gone*." She pauses, giving her earring a light tap. "But maybe that means I can replace them. Just... need to find something out there that I can plug in."

The next level is starting by the time Molly's done talking, but she thinks she's prepared. "...Oh, and maybe check them for like... viruses or something, before I go installing them. That might be a good idea."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"That's not what I meant," Rashmi says, poking at the equipment menu. "You *are* super lucky to have Starcrash, but if he's missing memory cores like that, *he's* not lucky. And I think I know someone who might be able to fix him... But first I have to talk to her about how to install spells without having to go through the process of *creating* them."

"Which, I mean... Chrono's been teaching me, so give me a bit and I could probably help you with that. But it's still like programming, so it's not easy if you're not used to that, y'know?" Rashmi lifts a shoulder, then chooses a gauntlet that switches her spell type to Ice, in case that might help carry the pair through the next stage.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Yeah, I'm super lucky to have met you two, as well. Otherwise I'd just be a lone artillery mage trying to figure all of this out on my own, and probably meet someone with more power and less restraint than Sunbreaker even, and... honestly she's bad enough."

She leaves her damage type as the default -- lightning for the mage she picked -- and takes a wand that gives her a basic amount of multishot. Sharing is caring, afterall, even with DPS. She mulls over her choice for a moment before hitting the button to signal she's ready for the next level.

"Though, like, I do like the sound of that? Artillery mage. Sounds like I mean business. ...Moreso than I actually do, but hey. I'm learning." She grins, "And yeah, Starcrash is pretty unlucky to have lost his memory banks, but we'll help him out."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yeah, we will," Rashmi says... and then the next crowd of enemies falls upon the pair, and she falls silent for a bit, chewing on her bottom lip in concentration.

"Fair warning though... Person I talk to, she's probably gonna want to spar with you. She's... So okay, apparently where Chrono comes from, there's an entire other warrior culture. Like Klingons, except they speak German. And she *loves* to fight. I've put her off for this long, but I don't expect that to last forever. Just... warning you both."

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly enjoys the silence; an opportunity to just... be, with her friend. Well, also while fighting a small horde of the undead in the dark castle level. At least the time is being spent productively. There's a princess to rescue afterall. (Who totally won't betray them and become the final boss. We hope.)

"I'll, uhm, do my best to kick her ass then," Molly responds, with a measure of bravado that she is only partially faking. And hey, if they're like Klingons, that should mean that win or lose as long as you put up an honest fight you'll get some respect, yeah?"

Possibly that reminds Molly of something, as she bites her own bottom lip for a moment. "Thanks for being cool, by the way," she adds. "The other day, at my Mom's restaurant, I mean, after I uhh... totally came out by accident to you and Chrono."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, I'm *pretty sure* that's how it goes," Rashmi says uncertainly. "I'll let you know after I've been completely whipped into the ground."

She falls silent for a bit, but then Molly's thanks distracts her so hard, she ends up losing her last life to a skeleton pig, and hurriedly taps her card to continue. "I uh... You're... welcome? I mean... ...You said it's not something that gets talked about where you're from but like... I'm scratching out time in my activity schedule to get beaten up by a space woman who I'm pretty sure has *two* girlfriends, another friend has a really, really complicated relationship with *her* girlfriend, I have not bothered to even check but I doubt they'll be the last, and I could not tell you if *I* like girls at all because Chrono was the first person ever to confess to me and I've just never given it any thought."

Drawing in a double lungful of air after all that talking, Rashmi clears her throat. "...Also you clearly have not checked the manga section in *ANY* bookstore. Girls' Love is an entire *genre,* and apparently lots of them are *super* wholesome and adorable."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Britain has a conservative government that's... really unfriendly towards queer people right now," Molly replies, "And it's kinda what I'm used to. ...It's one of the reasons why my Moms decided to come here." She pauses, blushing, totally not paying attention to what she's doing and taking her turn to lose her last life to a skeletal miniboss with a really, really big sword. She aaughs at her own carelessness, and quickly taps her card in immitation of Rashmi, so she can keep going.

She'd been thinking about 'accidentally' dieing so her friend wouldn't be at risk of feeling 'worse' and then the choice got made for her, so fair enough.

"I guess I should'a known you'd be okay with it, I mean, I *told* you right up front I have two moms, I'm just... used to being super secret about it. I have long been wondering if I might be bi and not just gay, polyamory sounds like *fun*, and I have clearly got to get myself into a bookstore that sells manga as soon as possible."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Which is just about all of them," Rashmi chuckles. "As for the rest... I mean, you have *lots* of time to figure it out. Just, y'know, do what I kept not doing, and just ask to sit at a table with open space during lunch. Pretty much guaranteed *something* interesting's going on, and if you get a little extra food there'll probably be at least one person to share some with."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Well, one of my Mom's is a chef," she muses, as she knocks down the big skeleton and leaves it in a perfect position for Rashmi to get the killing shot on it. Hey, just because she's an artillery mage and not a support mage doesn't mean she doesn't know how to share. "So coming up with extra food is... a pretty common occurence, as it happens. Both Japanese food to an increasing amount and British food. I'll provide you with a chip butty sometime. ...And my other Mom builds and tunes performance cars and motorcycles."

She wiggles her fingers, taking a moment to restore her contact with the arcade game through the controls. "Maybe we should make a deal? If one of us is ever wanting to sit at a table but we're too nervous to -- I know I usually am -- we'll go together?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
This game has a much different view of Ice magic than Devicer reality probably does; while Rashmi *does* get in the killing blow, it consists of her character repeatedly slamming the prone skeleton with an ice boulder larger than she is. "Oh that too, but I mean; have you *seen* the lunch counter at the school? It's practically a buffet, mostly Japanese food unless one of the nearby businesses took a slot for however long they wanted it. Which, by the way, is a thing, if your mom can spare the time and manpower, you could probably have her talk to the admins about opening a ramen stand in the cafeteria for a week."

As the victory screen cheers their success, Rashmi looks over, smiling. "That sounds like a good deal, Molly-chan. You're on."

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly can't help but giggle at the use of an ice-boulder to repeatedly mash the giant skeleton until it stops being solid. "Okay, that was *peak* Dungeons and Dragons right there, that fight," she pronounces. "Everyone always thinks D and D is going to be like the Lord of the Rings, but it's usually more like, waffling somewhere between Lord of the Rings and Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail."

She pauses at the next shopkeeper screen, and buys a scroll that furthers the multishot ability of her attack, because just filling the screen with more lightning seems like a good idea. Also totally on brand for the wielder of Starcrash.

"I'll talk to Mom about the buffet," she adds, "I'm sure she'll be good with it. ...And I am totally looking forward to approaching a table with numbers on our side."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I'm thinking of asking Papi to set up a stall after the winter break," Rashmi says... Right as the random options for the item shop present an interesting choice. A shield that allows defensive magic, and a ring that increases the number of targets. And *now* she seems to be in a much more comfortable place, throwing shields over the both of them to cut down on potion usage, and letting Molly go to town with the room-sweeping lightning.

"I've met a *lot* of people over the past few months, Molly... It'll be okay, you can trust me on that."

Molly Skyline has posed:
And until Rashmi'd said that, Molly really hadn't realized just how nervous and afraid she'd been feeling... suddenly being in Japan, of all places, only literally the opposite side of the planet to where she'd grown up, where everything is completely different and sometimes she'd honestly just about kill for a bundle of fish and chips wrapped up in newspaper.

While the fighting is relatively light on the screen, owing to the two girls' character setups, she voices as much to Rashmi.

"And I totally didn't really *realize* any of that until now," she finishes, just after they've managed to get through a bit of a crescendo and reach a lull where they can do some looting. "And I feel better already, honestly."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, I understand," Rashmi says. "Not, like, completely, but... You should talk to Mami sometime. It was like that for her too, except she also had to Be An Adult too, and pretty soon Be A Mom. But most importantly, I'm glad you feel better about it. Because you've got two friends, but, that's just the start. There's a whole bunch more just waiting to meet you."

And now she fall silent, because it's time for The Final Boss. And what a cheap bastard he is.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I'm really, really glad we moved here," Molly murmurs, just as the final boss fight is starting up. And, he is indeed a cheap bastard, periodically rotating damage immunitites which means that since Molly didn't diversify, sometimes she can't do anything but run around and hope that Rashmi has a shield up at the right moment.

But when she can get her damage in, oh boy, is it great to have multishot when the end boss is BIG.

"We almost got him!" Molly declares, once she's had to use her card to continue once and the boss is down to a third life. "Almost there. *Almost*. ...As long as he doesn't have a phase two."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
...He has a phase two. And he *flies.*

"...I am too," Rashmi says quietly. Not out of embarrassment or guilt, just, most of her focus os on the giant cheap flying bastard they're fighting, and all she can think besides the conversation is 'I am *so glad* I got defense magic for us.'

The fight is long, and brutal, and absolute BS, and both girls' cards are mostly empty by the time he goes down... but he *does* go down, and Rashmi immediately bursts into a cheer as the Gigerian bastard starts exploding.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly isn't even sure if she has money left for any more games, but it doesn't matter, 'caues they got all the way through this one from start to gruelling finish, and the end boss is exploding all over the place. Once the screen comes up for the high scores -- and they both get a slot -- Molly takes full advantage of the available number of characters to put in 'Starcrash'. (Well, almost full advantage, she could've had ten characters and she only used nine.)

"I like it here," she declares. "Like... a lot. I have two really cool friends now, the food is awesome, the arcade is amazing, and there's just... everything here. Including magic weapons from space and spooky monsters, but y'know what, I'm good with that. It's like Dungeons and Dragons but real, even if it is scary sometimes."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Luckily, ten characters is *just barely* enough to enter 'Nicomachea' into the leaderboard, and Rashmi is absolutely pleased with the both of them when it's time to step away from the cabinet. "Milkshakes're on me," she declares, and leads Molly to the second floor. "I'm *really glad* you like it here," she says, as they approach the counter. "Hard enough to be away from your world, but like... it'd be a million times worse if being here was miserable to boot."

For herself, she orders a melon-flavored milkshake with lychee jelly and a cherry. When Molly's made her order and Rashmi's paid, she blinks in remembrance. "Oh! Right! So I was at a friend's house a while back, and accidentally walked off with something. I'm not *sure,* but, is this what I think it is?"

Out of a jacket pocket, she pulls what is to Molly's practiced eye, a d10. But while it might be resin, it's resin colored in transparent-but-cloudlike blues and purples, and there's a sphere in the center filled with pearlecent, sparkling liquid. The effect is very much like 'If God plays dice with the universe, those dice are filled with galaxies.'

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly opts for a salted caramel flavored milkshake, which she cheerfully thanks Rashmi for as they wait for the drinks to be made. Then, Rashmi produces the ten sided die, and she ooohs at it.

"That's... Well it's a D10," she observes, "But it's probably the most gorgeous looking die I've ever seen. I'd feel awesome just having that sitting on the table in front of me while playing D and D, never mind actually *rolling* it." She giggles, "Please tell me your friend plays a Warlock so she can cast Eldritch Blast and roll that thing like, all the time. Constantly."

Molly notices when the milkshakes are done, and plucks them both off the counter, handing the melon one to Rashmi and waiting until she's ready for it. "Does your friend have a whole set like that?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I can comfortably assume she does, and probably a couple dozen others besides," Rashmi deadpans. She's *been* inside Setsuna's house, there might well be an entire room dedicated to the storing of dice that she just *hasn't found* in her mapping of the realm. "But you met her already, uh... Just... y'know, not at the greatest time. She was the really little one, with all the green hair?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly has a slurp from her milkshake, and ohs!! "...Right, when I was, uhh, thinking I was right about to die from a death curse," she replies, "That was... Yeah, that was not exactly a great time. ...And I totally thought that next time I met Sunbreaker I was gonna teach her a lesson, except then I did and I crumpled quicker than a wet handkerchief."

The purple-haired girl sighs, "Not my most glorious moment. Thank you *again* for coming to save me. ...But yeah, I'd love to meet her again. When we're not being frantic, I mean."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Also she's lots taller now," Rashmi says, slipping into a booth and sipping on her milkshake. "And the school nurse. So there's that too, if you get hurt *anywhere* you can go to the nurse's office and you won't have to lie about anything."

The thanks is waved away with a smile. "C'mon, you'd've done the same if it were me, Molly-chan. Don't lose a fight that never happened, that's just a good way to lose fights that *do.*"

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Yeah I would've," Molly acknowledges. "And I'd've been quaking in my boots, but I would've. I'd fight anyone or anything to save a friend, even if I know I'll get my ass kicked. ...I've got you to look up to, afterall." She reaches over and taps Rashmi's milkshake with her own.

"That is really good to know, 'cause I don't doubt that sooner or later I'm going to get burnt or broken or sliced, diced, spindled, bent, pretzled, or... something, I don't know. I don't wanna think about it, but I mean we do *fight* stuff and stuff fights back."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
*dink!*

"I mean, yeah, we do dangerous stuff," Rashmi says, "but as long as we can keep going forward, we can't really be *stopped,* y'know? Anyway... I had fun, Molly-chan. I'm glad I called you to do this."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Oh we're definitely unstoppable, we've got girl power," Molly agrees. "I'd... still like to have some backup next time we face Sunbreaker, but that's off the point."

The purple haired teen grins from ear to ear, "I'm glad you did too," she adds. "I *love* Tokyo. Next time you want to show me something cool, I promise you I'll be there, and I can't wait."