November Catch-all

[bluecastleace]

Who: Hajime Iwaizumi + YOU!
What: November catch-all log
Where: Various locations
When: The month of November
Content Warnings: None thus far; will add as needed

((ooc:This catch-all will also serve as Iwaizumi’s introductory post! Please feel free to hit up any of the open TLs found below. I will likely be adding them as the month goes on! Please feel free to add me on plurk @ pantheraliam for plotting/updates on TLs being added!))

Comments

Pinball Wizard; Heavenly Blanc - Open

[bluecastleace]

[True to his nature, what Iwaizumi perhaps misses the most about his world is the opportunity to compete - even if it’s against a high score on a shitty arcade game. He’s been positioned in the corner of Heavenly Blanc for the last hour or so, feverishly slapping the buttons on the side of the pinball machine as he gets to know the game. One might hear him muttering to himself, eyes sharply focused on the tiny metal ball as it flings around the inside of the machine. An occasional curse or hiss of frustration might slip out of him whenever the ball drops below the levers and goes out of play, but he never lets it get him down too long before the next game starts. Sorry if you wanted a turn, Heavenly Blanc patron! He doesn’t look as though he intends to give the machine up any time soon, starting game after game until eventually—]

Haha! FUCK yeah! Take that, asshole! [He jumps back from the pinball machine with a fist in the air as the high score goes up by exactly one digit - but hey, that’s his digit! Don’t even try to rain on his parade!]

[forceofnature]

Ooh boy.

You show that inanimate object your ability to arbitrarily push a little metal ball around a big transparent tin can that makes funny noises.

[The girl at the table is loudly slurping a milkshake. ...That she had to make herself because it's not like this is actually a real restaurant.]

...Bet I can get more fake points than you.

[bluecastleace]

Huh?

[Iwaizumi turns to face the girl with a cocked brow and a half-cocked glare. He’d probably be more irritated if she didn’t look like she was about eight years old, but hey, an annoying kid is still annoying (and that vocabulary!). He snorts.]

Yeah sure, kid. Whatever you say. [As if he’s at any real risk of losing his hard-earned high score to a little girl.]

[forceofnature]

What's wrong?

[She slurps another mouthful loudly.]

Afraid to lose to a girl?

[This is Extremely Juvenile and Highly Cliche and she has no actual interest in playing into this particular trope, but Viridi's bored. Just as she is every day.]

[bluecastleace]

[So this annoying kid is really annoying as it turns out. Iwaizumi’s glare settles a little more heavily on his face.]

I’m not afraid of losing period. You beat my score? I’ll just beat it again. You wanna make a competition out of it? [He steps away from the machine, gestures broadly to it with both hands.] Be my guest.

[forceofnature]

Ahahaha! You fool! You have no idea how much Nintendo DS I play. Wait am I allowed to say that? Uhh... Nan...tindo SD.

Yeah, let's go with that.

[Viridi cracks her knuckles and hops up to the pinball machine.]

391,953,592? These are fake points. What, do you get a million just for breathing?

[bluecastleace]

I know what a Nintendo DS is.

[Doesn’t everyone?]

Talk is cheap, kid. Let’s see what you’ve got if you’ve got any.

[At what point has he come to in his life where he is getting into a pissing match over a pinball machine with a little girl? It really was all downhill once they lost their chance at Nationals, wasn’t it?]

[forceofnature]

Well, of course you do. You're probably from the time it was invented, judging from your clothes.

I'm maintaining plausible deniability here.

[Viridi tees up one of the balls and immediately begins to tap the buttons. Despite her bravado, she's genuinely pretty decent despite that it's clear she hasn't played this particular game before.]

You know, this didn't work at all prior to a few days ago. You're lucky you even get to play.

[bluecastleace]

[Plausible deniabili—- who the fuck is this kid?!]

As I’m hearing it, a lot of shit didn’t happen here “prior to a few days ago”.

[Never mind how intently he’s watching the balls fling around the inside of the machine as she plays. Talk about thirsty for competition, this one.]

Looks like you’ve played before though. [It’s just pinball, right? Hasn’t everyone?]

[forceofnature]

[With a casual flip, she sends it into a little pocket that exclaims COLLECT THE TREASURE and flashes and beeps for a few seconds.]

I've played Po -- uh. Poogeymen Pinball Ruby. Love that game.

[As it continues to flash, she chances a glance over.]

Wow. You're on this like white on rice, huh? You some kind of gaming junkie, kid?

[bluecastleace]

I’m watching. You talk a big game, you litt—-

[Cool it, Iwaizumi. No making children cry over pinball just because you’re frustrated that you for some reason give a shit.]

I’m watching. [He repeats himself. He’s cool! He’s calm! He’s watching.] Who you calling kid, anyway? You can’t be more than ten years old. [If that.]

[forceofnature]

...Yup. That's me. Ten years old. Haha!

[Her laugh is a tad bit unpleasant as she bites her tongue in concentration. Five more pockets light up around the table and in short succession, she launches the ball at each of them.

1... 2... 3 -- whoops, just barely missed. There we go. 3. ...4. Aaaaaaaaaaaand -- ]

Oh, no fair! Nothing happened when I hit the button! Aughh!

[that's not true at all
the first ball drops out of play]

[bluecastleace]

[Why does she sound like she’s lying when she says that?]

Ha! Nice try, kid. [You. The child. Clearly the child and not him.] Alright, put that second ball into play then. Let’s see what you’ve got.

[He can’t deny that it is a little exciting to see her play a more than passable game, though. She really must get around on that “Nantindo SD”.]

[forceofnature]

[Lie? Her? What a terrible accusation.]

That... was what us pinball experts call a warm-up.

[everybody in every sport calls it a warm-up.]

Second ball. May I point out I am about a fifth of the way to your score already?

[Wait how many balls do they get. Is it five. She thinks it's five. If it's not five, that will be embarrassing.]

[bluecastleace]

[Oh, so you’re a pinball wizard and a mathematician? he feels like saying. Instead, he just leans forward over the machine and smirks.]

You only get three balls.

[forceofnature]

I MEANT FIVE FIFTEENTH.

[It's not five/fifteenth. But that's fine.]

Math is a meaningless human construct anyway! Second ball!

[Ker-plonk. The second ball goes spinning away, and she recovers from her momentary fluster to send it bouncing around the table again smoothly.]

Anyway, it's the long game that matters. Racking up the bottom tier combos is small fry - I'm gunning for all the mystical sea charts and the pirate's true treasure.

[Viridi sniffs as the game flashes ENTER THE HIDDEN COVE!!!!!!]

[bluecastleace]

[Ah. So not a mathematician then. Iwaizumi’s eyes widen a little at the hidden combo she unlocks.]

Hidden Co—

What the hell is that?

[No fair???]

[forceofnature]

It's the cove where I get 100,000,000 points for every second I can keep the ball in the game!

[that's definitely not true
but this guy doesn't know that
regardless, Viridi's score does start to rocket up as she hits some levers and blinking bumpers - at one point, the board declares that she's found the MYSTICAL COVE SEA CHART]

I'm doing amaaaaaaazing ~

Look, all the little pirates are coming out and doing a dance!

[some kind of tinny, terrible sea shanty is playing, too.]

[bluecastleace]

[Somehow his irritation has only been made worse with the addition of yet more irritating things - like this pirate song for example (and Virdi’s rapidly climbing score).]

Yeah, whatever. You haven’t won yet, kid. And your score definitely ain’t going up by 100 million.

Save the showboating for when you’ve got something to brag about.

[It’s a weird shift to go from desperately wanting the ball to stay in play to desperately wanting it to slip through the levers - come on, come on...]

[forceofnature]

They're literally doing a show on a boat.

[Viridi gestures at her dancing pirate LED lights.]

I feel like that calls for showboating. You're just jealous you don't have skills like these.

[Viridi idly does that one thing where you balance the ball in between the two flippers when they're all the way up.]

So what should I name myself when I beat you...? What name did you put in?

[bluecastleace]

[“Showboating” - Iwa wants to remain irritated - he really does - but...when you right, you right. He actually laughs, which is a super annoying thing to do when you are trying to intimidate the competition (even if the competition is a ten year old girl?)!]

Shut up and put your money where your mouth is, you little twerp! [Said with a sudden fondness - the joke was funny, okay?!]

It’s Iwa - memorize it. I-W-A. [He prefers Iwaizumi honestly, but the scoreboard only allows for three characters.]

[forceofnature]

I'll be J-X-B.

[pause for effect.]

Because I'm one step ahead of you any letter you look at!

[Viridi's raucous laughter is such that she loses her grip on the buttons and the ball unceremoniously plunks into the hole. She doesn't even realize for a moment.]

Oh -- wai -- darn it!

I was distracted!

[bluecastleace]

[Goddammit— Why is this little kid so fucking funny? You are making it really hard to be annoyed by you right now! Luckily, Virdi is distracted by her own joke long enough to flub the second ball - and her score still has a lot of room to grow before it beats Iwa’s.]

Having a little too much fun there, are ya? [His grin is positively shit-eating.]

You know, in most sports there’s a rule against gloating - especially before you’ve won the game.

[forceofnature]

Auuuuuuuuuughh!

[She really
can't even blame anyone
which is her usual go-to for any situations like this]

That's it! No more Miss Nice Viridi! Don't make a single peep; we're playing this ball in Silent Mode! No distractions! Only winning!

[Silent Mode begins awkwardly with Viridi boring a hole through the pinball table with her laser gaze.]

[bluecastleace]

[He doesn’t remember agreeing to those terms, but very well! If she wants a silent round, then he’ll give her a silent round - and I’ll come out on top anyway, he thinks. His game should speak for itself afterall - and that’s not exactly a quiet score he’s got racked up there.

[This won’t stop him from watching her very intently though. You ever notice how the back of your neck starts to tickle when someone stares at you too long? Is that getting annoying yet, Virdi? Is it? Hmmm?]