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

[anonfantry]

[ It's a trick question, see, because all fun is unorthodox when you hate fun. He is the enemy of fun. Fun is like poison to him.

Or at least admitting to the fact that he might be having it is, anyhow.

So he is sure to remember to look plenty uncertain as he follows her along on this exciting adventure. ]

Hey, wait up! Um... [ Falling into step next to that skipping is kind of awkward, but not any more than trying to have a normal conversation while she's doing that. ] So, what kind of game do you want to play?

[rods]

[ She can go to a slightly more normal pace, as long as Cloud is good at keeping it. Drag those feet and she's a-skipping'. ]

Mmm, I like... cute games. Not really scary ones. [ Headcanon that adult Aerith's favorite Gold Saucer game is the one where you feed a moogle nuts until he can fly to impress a pink moogle girl and then they have a brood of cute moogle babies. ...Yep. That one. ] But racing games aren't bad!

[anonfantry]

[ Oh, Mog House. How many hours of his adult life will be wasted trying to win that fat bastard a girl

I mean, for the GP. He definitely isn't invested in the storyline. ]

Okay. Then... Let's race.

[ But what to race? Virtual chocobos? Dangerously unsafe sports cars? Snowboards!? The choices are so many and varied. ]

so excited to have a chocobo icon, I forgot it was the wrong account.

[rods]

[ Cloud must feel a lot of sympathy for that sorry moogle

While there are a lot of options, it's really no surprise what Aerith gravitates to given her love of cute things. ]

Look! They let you pick the color of your chocobo. [ Ahhhh she is already navigating over for a mutated flamingo pink chocobo. All it takes is inserting the tokens. ...Well, and for Cloud to come over and get into playtime. ]

But it was so cute. I don't even blame you

[anonfantry]

[ Why else would he adopt all those children

Just trying to make his real life more like a video game he played once.

And really he should have known; that pink chocobo is just entirely too well-suited to her. So he'll just grab the purple one on her left and try not to put too much thought into that as he drops a few tokens into the game and joins the race. ]

Ready?

[ The giant, blinking START button beckons... ]

I might blame you if I die from Cloud's cuteness 8|a

[rods]

[ Oh no Cloud

And Tifa thought you were done with your flights of fancy!

Aerith is actually not quite yet ready since she's rearranging her dress to make sure things stay neat (and more importantly modest) while she's riding that chocobo into the dust

but she manages to get this done and reaches for that START button. ] Ready!

[ A little animation of their chocobos walking up to the starting line, and the countdown begins! 3...2--Hey, the game's theme music sounds a bit different from the normal fare...

I'm sorry, I had to

Anyway

1--Go! ]

Well, I can't make any promises there. You might just have to deal with it

[anonfantry]

[ SHE THOUGHT WRONG.

And boy that sure is either the single worst song I've ever heard or the greatest dear lord some loud, angry music. Cloud has never been more uncertain near a pack of giant plastic birds in his life.

He hastily makes up for nearly missing the start as the camera pans in dramatically over their neatly lined up chocobos, though, by making entirely too serious a face as he leans forward into his battle-ready position.

And they're off -- into a world of crazy rainbows and random underwater scenery and for some reason one poor unfortunate guy in a kayak going over a waterfall. Cloud's fighting to bust through the confused mess of colorful animated chocobos right out the gate; it's a total madhouse over here, no time for talk.

But plenty of time to make all those unflattering sounds of effort. He still has a lot of misplaced aggression to work out, too. ]

Cloooud you are supposed to be in the army stop that cuteness now

[rods]

[ Well with all that misplaced aggression, it seems the loud, angry, best trolling the fanbase music really suits Cloud! Aerith's not quite so aggressive; she's trying to go fast, but she also wants to see the sights of the game (that poor man in the kayak!). When she gets crowded, instead of trying to fight her way through she tries going around. Sometimes this works, sometimes it's just slower. Still, she's staying in the race and laughing, enjoying herself. ]

Isn't this fun?

[ Of course trying to talk to Cloud in a competition might be fruitless, but she doesn't know that... ]

But the infantry is the cutest part of the army. He's just doing his job

[anonfantry]

[ He is dead to the world, Aerith.

Trying to shake this jerk on the red who won't stop ramming into him attempting to trade feathers and staring intently at the back of that black chocobo way out in front -- he clearly has no idea where Aerith is, beside him or in the context of the race.

He does manage to (kind of) nod at her question, but otherwise all of his precious concentration is completely occupied. Because the NPC in the lead is obviously cheating. And that makes this personal. ]

...true. Zack has to carry all the cute for SOLDIER on his lonesome

[rods]

[ That NPC must be holding all the shoulder buttons down.

It's okay that Cloud doesn't know where Aerith is in the context of the race; she doesn't either. It's not first place and it's not dead last, though it's probably in the lower half.

She does miss the nod though, since she's looking ahead at the screen--this is why we have words, Cloud! Given the seeming lack of response she looks over to her left curiously and...

...

...

Oooohhhh. (So this is the look of a man possessed by a video game...)

Of course, being distracted by Cloud's Intense Concentration actually does cause her to fall into last place, getting a yelp from her when she notices before she redoubles her efforts. She's not coming in last! Eat dirt, blue chocobo! ]

His burden is the greatest of all

[anonfantry]

[ Words, shmords. He's got a race to win!!

Or at least place second in, if he can only maneuver his belligerent fake chocobo up close enough to that bastard in the tacky sombrero.

He is still apparently conscious enough of the real world to actually glance over at Aerith's distressed noise, however, long enough to note that she isn't having any issues more pressing than being pretty terrible at this game. It's really too bad chocobos don't come equipped with boosters or anything, to save her efforts.

Or like a button to have your bird peck any enemies flanking you into submission. That'd be cool, right about now.

As it is, the last slow-motion, outer space leg of the race is maddening but over soon enough and Cloud's looking decidedly disappointed with third place as he looks over again to find out whether Aerith is making any headway with not being dead last. ]

[rods]

[ It is either a demonstration of Aerith's indomitable will, or simple rubber band AI, that she narrowly beats the blue chocobo at the finishing line. She's 7th! Not 8th!

There's no victory music, but she feels somewhat accomplished anyway as she takes a look at the results. ]

Oh, there's you. Hmph...you got really far ahead of me. It figures! You were so into the game, it was kind of funny. [ There's a brief moment where Aerith turns to the game again, mimicking Cloud's Intense Concentration^TM in both expression and pose, before looking back to him. ]

[anonfantry]

I don't look like that.

[ Only that is an eerily perfect impression and a part of him probably knows (but still won't acknowledge) it. No, he is just going to frown at her. Pointedly.

As he slides off his chocobo, which is a motion no one could make look graceful or poised. ]

[rods]

[ She can't laugh too much, as she herself is getting down from the chocobo in a long skirt. Good thing it is long.

Still, she's beaming at his frown. ]

Don't worry, Cloud. Some girls really like the serious type.

[ Someday she will! Right now she likes the fun-loving type. She also likes to tease, but that's a constant. ]

Besides, if you were into it that means you enjoyed yourself, right? Want to try another?

[anonfantry]

[ He doesn't exactly believe her, on that point, but he's almost convinced she isn't completely making fun of him with the seemingly innocent observation -- so he lets it slide without further belaboring. Accidentally inciting a frank and open discussion on girls with Aerith is definitely worth avoiding, in any case.

He nods, then, not quite as reluctant as he should probably be, if he wants to seem like he isn't having a good time (which he doesn't, so much, anymore, either). ]

Okay. What d'you want to play next?

[rods]

[ Save your capillaries, Cloud, because a frank and open discussion on girls with Aerith would probably set your cheeks aflame. She would have much too much fun with it.

But the thought that Cloud may actually be having some of his own fun has her happily distracted from that topic to scan the games. ] Let's try... Super Dunk.

[ Pooointing to the basketball game. And let's say this one is a slightly more forgiving version than the one in Gold Saucer. That one is an everliving pain in the neck. Time to shoot some hoops! ]