Where a kid can be a kid...or something

[ferries]

The Discovery Zone / Chuck E. Cheese's / Arcade Meme

If you were a kid during the 80s or 90s, I don't have to explain. Everyone remembers those meccas of fun that were awesome, yet somehow still smelled vaguely of stale pizza and shame. Whether you're hanging out in the tubes, jumping in the moon bounce, or shooting some hoops, you're sure to have a blast.

Well, even if you don't, it's not like you can leave. As big as this place is, there seems to be no door. So you might as well just sit back and win some tickets.

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Comment with your characters.
2. Others will reply, rolling the RNG for the scenario.
3. Have shenanigans. Feel free to make wacky crossovers, since you're all stuck in here together.

SCENARIOS:
1. The slide
2. Ball pit
3. Climbing wall
4. Moon bounce
5. The tubes
6. The little viewing bubble
7. Skeeball
8. Hoop shooting
9. Arcade games
10. The claw machine
11. Laser tag
12. Harassing the poor guy in the mascot suit
13. It's your birthday party!
14. For some reason, you work here.
15. Wildcard

Comments

[beyourguide]

{now, Cloud, Tifa's dad would frown MOST SEVERELY on her spending time in the back of windowless trucks with boys.

Meanwhile, his snail slow pace shedding his boots has her bouncing a few more times in place while she waits. Once he's done however, she's on her feet on the very edges of the house, holding out both hands for his with a bright, encouraging smile. Seriously, Cloud, you have to get out more. It'll put hair on your chest!

then again, given the hair on his head, more of it on his chest probably wouldn't be the best idea...

Someday, they'd go ahead and explore his kinky cross dressing tendencies but for now that's a day far in the future and Tifa is unaware the guy celebrating her party with her has a thing for lady's underwear.}

Fine. {a little huff but she's too happy to pout as seriously as she's capable of at this age. Be that way, Cloud. Spare the five years olds from getting trampled.} How about the last one standing gets to pick out what we do next?

[anonfantry]

[ Well, unless MOST SEVERELY is any more severely than he already frowns any time he's in the immediate proximity of Cloud, he really won't be able to tell the difference that way...

He's so not slow!! He's just thorough, okay!? And you know it's nice once in a while to actually sit down to do something this simple -- most of the time, he has to be running and tying and dressing all at once, and he's really not very good at it, either, so there's that, too.

Ignoring your terribly filthy narration the sound his remaining dignity makes as it completely vacates the building, Cloud reaches up to take one of her hands -- because he's perfectly capable of climbing in, himself! But. He doesn't want to leave her hanging, either. Because. BECAUSE, that's why. ]

...That sounds okay. I guess.

[ How hard can standing up b--

Oh he just fell down stumbling his way in. ]

[beyourguide]

{hey, the narrator just calls 'em like she sees 'em, sweetcheeks Pleased, he's finally caught up and happy with the hand holding, Tifa's already turning to face the interior of the house and going up on her toes to -

oh!

- to barely keep her balance as Cloud performs a face plant of beautiful proportions. Well, maybe not a face plant, he did have one hand still free and Tifa wasn't watching but there was no mistaking the jello shaking feeling of him hitting the floor right at her feet.

There's a brief moment to appreciate the absolutely silly notion of guys falling down at her feet. She's glad she painted her toenails. Even so she can still feel sorry for Cloud, dropping down to her knees in another ground shaking movement next to him with a giggle.}

Cloud - you're supposed to make it hard for me to win. Just because it's my birthday doesn't mean you have to give me everything I want.

[anonfantry]

[ Yeah, it's basically a face plant.

And now everything's going to smell like that gross powdery rubber smell for the rest of the day and that doesn't make him much happier, either. But even with the way Tifa's collapsing down next to him makes the whole world take another violent shake (when did reality become jello, again?) right as he's pushing himself up onto his one free hand, when he looks up to see her smiling like that it's.

Just way too difficult to bother getting any angrier.

He shakes his head, instead, staring back down at the wobbly, untrustworthy floor beneath them and hoping somehow that it'll renew his waning resolve. Maybe the ball pit would'n't have been so bad, after all... ]

Sorry. [ HE'LL TRY HARDER! ] ...Rematch?

Zack's right. Girls are devious. But they aren't attracted to movement. They're attracted to awkward

[beyourguide]

{that's one of the reasons she enjoys being with Cloud. He's determined and he's a good sport about it.

It doesn't hurt that he's cute too.

But back to focus, she appreciates the way he's willing to try again for her and the smile she gives him is encouraging. She'll even dust a hand over his hair to show her support of him picking himself back up again. She's really not all that interested in winning. She just wants to have fun and part of her having fun is Cloud having fun.}

Rematch. {giving his hand a 'you can do it' squeeze, she starts to unwind her own legs and stand up, trying not to bounce on her heels too much in happiness as she does.} And we can do whatever you want if you win. Promise!

"Zack's right"? Girl, I'm never trusting your judgement again

[anonfantry]

Whatever I want?

[ Sounds like if Cloud wins, we're all going to be sitting quietly in a corner for a while. Or lying face-down in that giant pit of foam shapes, that'd be cool, too.

The recovery process will be long and arduous, but especially so if anybody sees him bouncing around in a giant inflatable castle.

With the help of that encouraging grip on his hand (for about two seconds, he's certain he can do absolutely anything in the world, if she asks), Cloud manages to get back up on his feet. Adopting a wider stance almost sort of helps, and that's a little heartening, too.

He might be able to do this. As long as no one jumps. ]

All right.

[ Now what? Just wait until someone falls down -- that was the game, right? ]

what?! He IS about the girls being smarter part. Look at Zack and Cloud. Look at Aerith and Tifa.

[beyourguide]

(wily winners were...?)

{she's far too young and innocent to realize she should put a safety net around that kind of promise and so Tifa simply chirps:}

Anything at all.

{besides, it's Cloud! She suspects corner sitting will be the default choice. Or maybe arcade games. They've got a snowboard one she'd love to try. But first she has to make sure Cloud lives that long and doesn't just combust from sheer seriousness. So she'll stay still as he gets to his feet and wait until he's stable -

before going as high up on her toes and she can and then coming down with an extra push.}

Yeah, but you never say something like that where he might see. Also. Point. I concede

[anonfantry]

[ Well, if it's any consolation, he's too dense and low on self-esteem to actually ask for anything more serious than taking a break from all of the crazy dashing about and constant humiliation that seems to be mandatory in places like this.

Arcade games might be okay, too, though. ]

H-hey! [ Though it really doesn't look like he's got much of a chance at beating her at this game, as her bounce sends him wildly off-balance, coupled with a jostling from behind by a stranger bounding past. His free arm goes pinwheeling for a second, but he manages not to collapse, this time.

Is that how it's going to be, then?

Righting himself unsteadily, he ignores the dizzying feeling of everything around him shaking so and abruptly takes a bound of his own, jumping clear off the floor of the moon bounce only to come back down with his weight in his heels. ]

True, true. I'll have to be more careful in the future or who knows what I could start!

[beyourguide]

{it's her bounce so she's pretty well balanced as she rides it out, watching Cloud almost careen off into the wall in his recovery. She can't help it if it makes her laugh, though she does try to hide it behind her hand. And she doesn't let go of his hand either and let it unbalance him the rest of the way. Her giggles are cut short though by the split second she has to watch his face change into something downright - well, battle worthy. It makes her eyes go wide just as he takes that bounce - and he does get a startling amount of height and comes down hard. It sends her staggering and it doesn't help that she's started laughing again. Because - he's playing! Sure, it's revenge playing but the point is he's playing and that makes her happy and so she teeters dangerous over the ocean surface of the enclosure and, well, everyone knows the best way to stay upright in a moon bounce is to just not stop bouncing. So that's Tifa, bouncing a laughing happy circle around Cloud, one hand in his and the other holding her hat on.

Challenge accepted! Keep up, Cloud!}

Something terrible, doubtless. Isn't that what we specialize in

[anonfantry]

[ Ordinarily, the sound of so much laughter directed at him would be just the height of horrible, for Cloud, but weirdly enough -- he can't seem to mind it all that much, just now. There's nothing mocking or cruel in the sound, though, and maybe that helps (it certainly doesn't hurt, but it's Tifa, too, and that never does).

The way she pulls him around in her circle makes his stomach take one great big uncertain lurch, competing with the lighter feeling of actually finding this kind of fun and not yet managing to best it. He clings to that as much as to the hand alternately helping him hold himself up and trying inadvertently to throw him off, trying to fall into rhythm with the completely random motion bouncing through the rolling floor under their feet.

The real downside, of course, to holding on to each other, is that once he finally hits a wave of motion at just the wrong angle-- ]

W-Woah!

[ --he's inevitably going to drag her down with him. ]

touche

[beyourguide]

{he's having fun. Cloud actually looks, in those moments when the world isn't up or down too much, like he's having fun and that means everything. Tifa doesn't believe in having fun alone. It's just not... well, fun. Fun is only fun when you're sharing it with other people and she feels especially good because it's Cloud and Cloud doesn't play enough. Or smile enough or laugh - ever. So that just makes everything better and when he goes down, a sudden shock of wide blue eyes and blond hair, taking her down with him because she'd forgotten to let go, she doesn't really mind either, the escaping:} Whoops! {sounding more cheerful and surprised than upset. It's a bounce house. It's not as if the ground's going to hurt. So she doesn't really fight going down in a tangle with him, more helpfully concerned with not gouging him with a knee or elbow than catching herself. Falling's part of the fun of a moon bounce after all.}

[anonfantry]

[ It was a devastating crash.

Thousands of casualties.

Property destruction everywhere.

Puppies and orphans dying left and right.

Which is to say, nothing really awful happened at all, they just sort of collided with the rubber floor, bounced a little, and then settled in a heap of awkward teenage limbs.

Unfortunately, the moon bounce's constant jostling is somehow even worse, sitting down (or maybe he's just gotten over his momentary infatuation), and Cloud is definitely starting to look a little green as he pushes himself up, letting go of Tifa's hand. ]

Urgh... Are you-- Okay?

[beyourguide]

Yep!

{she lifts her head with a grin, pushing up on her own arms.}

I guess that was tie, huh? We'll have to play for best two out of - {oh. He - doesn't look exactly healthy. Did she accidentally knee him or elbow him? A quick mental check of the parts of them that are still together doesn't give any indication of bodily harm. Still - } You look kind of funny. {the polite way to say puce. She's already scrambling to her knees.} Should we call a truce? Maybe try again later?

[anonfantry]

[ Maybe that's... A good idea...

Cloud just nods, afraid that if he opens his mouth and tries to force out something resembling words, he'll end up fulfilling the nightmarish premonition he had before setting foot inside the moon bounce. Time to go -- time to go!

He starts shuffling back toward the entrance, nausea and embarrassment locked in a dead heat to see which'll eventually come out on top. ]

someone tell Zack that he's bragging about realizing that he's not as smart as the girls

[beyourguide]

{she slips a hand under his elbow as much moral support as physical. He's not hunched over - well, not like he's in pain - and he's not holding any body parts so she guesses that's not what's bothering him. Slow, it finally dawns on her - }

Motion sick?

{she's heard of it but it's not as if there are a lot of thing in Nibelheim in motion, much less that give you the chance to get sick. Poor Cloud. He should have said something! And she hadn't even thought about something like that when she'd dragged him into a bounce house.}

You know, it might be silly but maybe if you jumped your way out of here instead of walking it would be better? Because then it's not the floor that's moving you, it's you. And it's not like you get sick when you're jumping normally. Right?

naaah, let him figure it out on his own.

[anonfantry]

[ When she figures it out, he freezes up for a second, already painfully ungraceful movements turning jerky as he fights to keep his balance without leaning on the arm holding his. It's not something he really talks about, and he's certainly never been confronted (when you throw up on a mission, guys just assume it's nerves).

So he reacts the same way he would were he hidden safely beneath the identity-erasing shield of his standard issue helmet. He shakes his head stiffly and keeps going on doggedly forward.

Well-meaning as her intentions are, he doesn't think jumping now is going to help even him out any more than just escaping the moon bounce as quickly as possible. ]

You're right. He's so happy. I don't think I want to be the one that harshes his squee

[beyourguide]

{of course to Tifa, Cloud having motion sickness doesn't mean anything but that Cloud has motion sickness. It's just the same as noticing his eye color. Except of course, his eye color isn't going to make him throw up if someone jostles him wrong. So she keeps her hand under his elbow and fends off kids that look like they're going to bounce too close until they're both safely on solid ground again and steered safely over to the side and out of the main path of the moon bounce. Then she lets Cloud go, just in case he wants to sit down -

or make a made dash for the nearest trash bin.

She feels pretty bad for doing that to him, tucking one arm behind herself to catch at her opposite elbow self-consciously. He had been having fun though. Just for a minute. She's sure of it.}

Stay here. I'll got get our shoes. I'll be right back and then we can try to find somewhere quiet you can sit down. Okay? Oh {she stops herself.} You don't have to answer. {an encouraging smile.} Be strong. I'll be right back.

That's my job, right. :c

[anonfantry]

[ He manages to hold it together enough not to need to bolt for a garbage can or the entirely too distant restrooms, but the way solid ground almost seems to dip beneath his feet, the whole of reality catching in the sway, isn't exactly encouraging.

How embarrassing.

All he can do is stand on the spot looking dumb while she rushes off to collect their shoes, breathing as deeply as he dares in hopes of regaining some semblance of equilibrium. The crowds and the noise are a little dizzying, unhelpful, but he likes to think he's gotten somewhat used to a lot of the same, from the city. He can definitely do this. He isn't going to be sick.

Or not right now, anyway. Not in the open. Not in front of (or on) Tifa.

Maybe his self-deprecating mantra is finally starting to take effect. He's the slightest bit less green by the time she returns, nodding and taking his boots and not making much of an effort to not look completely miserable. ]

nah, bb. The best lessons are the ones he has to learn on his own.

[beyourguide]

{Cloud looks utterly miserable as she comes back to him. He also looks utterly adorable, which she's old enough to realize is not something a girl should tell a guy - even if it is true. Instead, she gives him a sympathetic smile as she hands over his boots and even reaches out to gently push his hair back from his face because if he does feel like throwing up, his hair's probably the only safe place to touch him that won't set him off and besides, who doesn't want the excuse to touch Cloud's hair?}

Sorry about that. I didn't realize it would make you feel sick. {her own boots get dropped to the ground so she can expertly push her feet into them, arms out at her side for balance as she does. Her brows stay down over her eyes though, intent on making it up to him and trying to think of how. He needs somewhere he can sit down that isn't the greasy smelling food court. Not mentally complaining if he takes his time this time, she waits until he stops looking like he's going to make a dash for the trash can or pass out before she reaches out and takes his hand again.}

Think it's okay to walk yet? I bet the pool hall's pretty empty this time of day.

[anonfantry]

[ It's a pretty obvious miscalculation, on her part -- the hand brushing back his hair sends his stomach into a near violent lurch, no help for the nausea he's already wallowing in. As his throat tightens further, he only shakes his head once more. She seems to understand, at any rate, and maybe isn't really expecting him to say anything, anyway.

With his boots in hand, he drops into a crouch to pull them on, about as graceful as can be expected. It's a marginal improvement on his mood.

He's clearly surprised when he stands back up and she takes his hand; he's falling down ill and why isn't she making some convenient excuse just to lose him in the crowd, already? Who wants to waste their time hanging out with a guy who can barely hold onto his lunch, on their birthday, of all days? ]

It's fine. [ He's mumbling, sullen again in the face of obvious pity. ] I'll go on my own.

[beyourguide]

{her brows come down in obvious confusion and she squints at him, just a little, as if that's going to help whatever nonsense he's saying more be understandable.}

Why would you go alone?

[anonfantry]

[ Why would you want to go with me? is the kind of thing he'd ask if he were the kind of person who asks that kind of thing.

But he isn't, so he doesn't, just shrugging and searching listlessly for something faraway and definitely to his left to be interested in. ]

Don't you want to go do something else?

[beyourguide]

Well, sure. {After all, her day's not up until that last bit of sun goes down and it's the one day she gets to be selfish and only have to worry about what she wants so she's going to pack everything in until the very last second (and maybe pretend she doesn't realize right away when that last second has passed too).}

But I haven't decided yet. So we'll go catch our breath and relax first and by the time we get done with that I'll know what comes next. Please, Cloud. {Part of it's instinctive and part of it's that even as a teenager she's empathetic but a big part of it is simply that she doesn't like the way it makes her feel inside when he withdraws. She winds both of her hands around one of his for emphasis and gives him a light tug with her best hopeful smile.} Come sit with me?

[anonfantry]

[ Well, that's not exactly how he meant it -- but close enough that he can't exactly argue without having to actually admit to something embarrassing. Instead, he gives her another of those lolling, noncommittal nods, sans eye contact, and allows himself to be pulled through the crowded playground.

At least the return of his nervous self-consciousness (outwardly more like surly disdain) is taking the edge off his sickness quick; there's gotta be an upshot, here, somewhere.

Once they're out of the throng, all the screaming and electronic bells and whistles slightly muffled, now, with a bit of distance, it is a little easier to breathe. But it looks like he's twice as tense, anyway, quietly beating himself up for not having simply put his foot down, before.

...'Course, if she had needed to pull out the face she has on, now, to convince him to try it, in the first place, they'd. Probably be right where they are now, regardless. ]

/keyword btw

[beyourguide]

{Tifa's not entirely unaware of the power of that specific look of hers. After all, she's a teenage girl with a father that sometimes needs prodding in the right direction to make what she feels are the best decisions regarding her. So she only uses it sparingly but Cloud really had needed a bit of influence in the right direction she'd thought. He still wasn't relaxed or smiling - or as close to smiling as he usually got though and so she was determined to fix that too. Was he upset she'd dragged him into the bounce house? She'd have thought that except he'd gone and even more than that he'd been having fun for half a minute in there. She knew he had! So she wasn't sure why he'd gotten moody again but it was her birthday and she was going to find a way to help him enjoy it again.

That's right! The arcade! She'd seen a dance revolution machine in there.

It would be just what he'd need to cheer up.

First though they could take some time to just relax and catch their breath - or in his case, his stomach. She stopped clinging to his arm once they were inside the empty room but kept her hold on his hand with one of hers. She liked the way her hand felt when his was wrapped around it and it was her birthday (her mantra excuse for being bad today) and so she wasn't going to let go until he did. Besides, she didn't need both hands to hop up to sit on the edge of one of the pool tables.}

This is nice. I didn't realize how noisy it was out there until now. I guess I got too carried away. Have you ever been here before?