[x] Pick a new game.
-[x] Racing games!
"So, what next, oh mighty Fighting King? What is thy bidding?" you teasingly ask Evelyn while a slight, happy grin grows on your face. You may have lost here, but you're still left feeling like you put up a good fight here. It's not failure you can remain ashamed of for long.
In response, Evelyn takes on a heavily exaggerated thinking position, as if mulling over a very difficult question.
"Hmm, I wonder… Ha! Very well, listen to my bidding ye mortals and listen well!" she proclaims with a wide pose.
"For thine King's decree is thus…"
Evelyn points towards the other side of the arcade, where several car simulators are laid out next to each other in neat rows.
"We shall now go and burn down the marks of our wheels on the road. It is the racing track that beckons… Forward, my brave knights, to the steeds of steel!" And with that, Evelyn begins her pompous, triumphant march towards the gaming machines.
You can see all your friends, sans Ariane, exchange some very confused glances with each other. Though they all seem to relent in the end, you can't help but to giggle inwardly at their expressions as they continue to follow Evelyn's lead. Ariane seems to agree, as she is doing her best impression of mimicking a flag-bearer to the royalty, all the while whistling out a regal-sounding tune.
Sadly, you don't get to hear the end to the song in the limited distance between you and the racing game picked up by Evelyn. She is leaning against a plastic bench of one of the car seat controls, legs crossed and arms folded, with a grin plastered across her face.
"See, this is a true beauty of a game, one that can have everyone in at once, and then some."
The girl motions towards the benches, sadly dropping the royal bravado in the process.
"Alright, everyone take your slots so we can start. It's a pretty simple one, so don't worry about that," she explains and hops into the seat she was previously leaning against.
The rest of you move to pick your seats with Ami in the lead. She seems to give the simulator a long, hard look before sitting down, though, as if seeing something familiar there. And with you seated between her and Evelyn, you can't help your curiosity and ask her,
"Ami? What is it?"
"Hmm… It's nothing," she answers you after a moment and shakes her head. There is an amused half-smile on her face.
"It's just been so long since we've played one of these. I don't even recognize this brand."
You do have some vague recollections of something like that happening with everyone, but the exact memories continue to elude you...
"Well, that just means you won't have a home field advantage!" Still, the back of your seat feels somewhat familiar to you, and you know this is a game you can do well in as long as it doesn't have any kind of nasty surprises.
For instance, jump scares.
Ami nods at you and turns back to the game. You sigh to yourself and close your eyes for a moment to chase the long-forgotten images. Unfortunately, you are quickly snapped out of your daze as you hear the computer announce to get ready and go.
You're caught completely flat-footed by the suddenness, and nearly scream when the screen flashes green and your friends speed off ahead of you. You got careless and lost the start advantage immediately! how does this keep-
"You know, Tamiko, the left one is the brake, and the right one is gas. Just a friendly reminder~," Evelyn teases from the side, but without lifting her eyes from her screen
You furiously shake your head and press the gas pedal. Tirades and screaming can come later, you need to rev it up now! Your car speeds off ahead of you, and you set your mouth to a determined line as you try to catch up to your friends. From your screen, you can notice that Evelyn is already in lead, probably due to previous experience with the game…
Your bad start cost you too much, though, and you can't seem to catch up to your friends no matter how hard you try. It doesn't help that the game has some unnatural and unfair curves that send you tumbling down a canyon a couple of times.
But that didn't matter that much, you swear!
It doesn't surprise you that much when you notice from the corner of your eye that Evelyn is closing on you with one of the game's special boosts. It's a tough place to pull ahead, considering the gorges and falls around you, but the girl seems to be confident enough to try. The exhilarated laugh tells you as much.
"Whee, that's the final lap!" she gushes out. You narrow your eyes at that. It's pretty clear that you cannot win this anymore… But you can do something to knock that cockiness down peg or two.
"Hmm, is that so?" you ask with a low voice.
"Looks like you're winning too…"
"Huh, what are you saying, Tamiko?" Evelyn asks, sounding a bit concerned all of sudden.
"Oh nothing… But don't you think…" you say in a conspiratorial tone and look Evelyn in eyes,
"...it would be a shame if something were to happen?"
And just as Evelyn pulls to your side, you swerve your steering wheel straight to your left, towards her. The girl has no chance to react as you push both her and yourself down to the canyon. Others soon buzz past you, appearing only briefly on the side of the screen before disappearing off your vision.
"Wh-what are you doing, Tamiko?" Evelyn asks you at the same time, her eyes wide.
"This is pure madness!"
"Madness? Hmm… Yeah, there is no real reason to it. Maybe it's for revenge, maybe just because I just wanted to see things burn," you say with a wide grin and give Evelyn a mock salute,
"Au revoir, Your Majesty! Vive la Revolution!"
Evelyn looks halfway torn between laughing and crying as the screen fades to black and her car appears on the highway again. She seems to settle on bewilderment as she speeds ahead of you to the tune of your laughter. You continue driving with leisure, knowing that the game will end if only one person is left racing.
True enough, it doesn't take long for Evelyn to reach the finish line and the scores to appear on everyone's screens. The only one more surprised than you about the victor is Mariko herself, who stares at the list with wide eyes. Sure, she only won Ami by a margin of a second, but she can't quite believe it actually happened.
[1st place: Mariko 93
2nd place: Ami 90
3rd place: Ariane 28
4th place: Kishi 25
5th place: Evelyn 22
6th place: Tamiko 7]
Ariane and Kishi followed them by a good ten seconds, another pair with a tight race ultimately ending with the victory to the former. Despite the drop, Evelyn seems to nearly have caught up with those two, falling short by only a few seconds.
You don't really mind the last place… that much at least. It isn't that bad with your friends, though it would be nice to win in something at least.
What do you do?
[] Hug someone!
[] Talk with your friends!
[] Take a break in the arcade cafe!
[] Round two, rematch!
[] Pick another game!
[] Leave!
[] Write-in.
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The dice legit hate Tamiko when it comes to games