open || ain't no party like a birthday party

[complementing]

WHO: Minako, Sakura, Ragna, and you!
WHERE: One of the arcade bars in the city.
WHEN: March 10th
WHAT: BIRTHDAY PARTY!
WARNINGS: None foreseen! Feel free to threadjack for Minako's Hot Potato Categories game.



[Welcome to the Emporium, an arcade bar that Minako and Sakura have decided to host their joint birthday party at! Come on in and have some fun playing games, eating junk food, and just hanging out with the birthday girls (and guy, if he decides to come).

There are, of course, the numerous arcade games that the place is known for, ranging from the old school 2v2 fighters to the shooting gallery kinds. But there are a smattering of other games as well, like DDR, darts, mini hoops, skeeball, and the pool table, too. There's also a wall of crane games in the back, with plenty of random and mostly cute prizes to win.

Make a stop by the purikura booth if you have time. Make some duck lips at the camera and then take the snaps home! (Or give them to the birthday girls for the memories.)

Oh, and be sure to exchange your money for tokens before you play all these games. The token machine seems kind of finicky, though. Maybe a strong (and hopefully discrete?) kick will help jumpstart it.

Walk to the dining area, and there'll be a feast waiting you! The arcade is providing a ton of pizza and wings, as well as alcohol, if you can show your ID. For dessert, there's the cake that Shuji made for the girls, as well as Minako's lemon tea cakes. Those are limited supply, though, so snag one before everyone eats it up.

Next to the dining area, there's a big sign that says "DUNK TANK OUTSIDE". Maybe take a look? Just be reaaaally sure you want to climb in before you do it, though. The towels provided by the arcade are pretty small.

And finally, if you need a break from the chaos, there's a couple of couches on the second floor. Take a load off and watch from above.]

Comments

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[Minako shakes her head, clasping Jasmine's hands in hers and looking at her with the full force of her puppy dog eyes.]

Jasmine, I don't want anything. Instead, can you please please please teach me how to be good at the crane game?!

[PLEASE.]

[selfloving]

[Puppy dog eyes aren't always effective on her. Having so many little sisters with so many needs will do that for sure.

When they're effective on her, though, hoo boy. Jasmine is, amazingly, caught off-guard by the tactic and even takes a step back when Minako first tries it, though her hands remain firmly clasped and she doesn't try to shake her off.]

It really isn't that hard once you can figure out which toys are loose and which ones aren't.

It's like a puzzle. Do you want to see?

[complementing]

Yes! I mean, I know it has to do with loose toys and picking the ones you can feasibly get, but they just always seem to be impossible for me to get. Oh thank you thank you thank you Jasmine!

[Minako goes in for the hug. HER YEARS OF ALWAYS FAILING AT CRANE GAMES ENDS HERE!!!]

[selfloving]

[Oh, she really went for it. Even if she's familiar with it by now, Jasmine can't help but be a little startled. All this for a crane game? Still, it makes her smile. She can't think of many friendships of her own that are so affectionate.

She returns it, much more lightly, and pats Minako on the back.]

It's pretty easy. [To her, at least. Jasmine turns back to one of the brightly-lit, stuffed animal-stuffed displays, and points through the glass with her index finger.] All right, Minako, tell me which items in this machine look easy to get?

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[Minako hops over to look through the glass with her, eyes flitting around. She's been trying to get better at crane games for so long now that she knows all the techniques-- it's just the execution and her luck that's really lacking.]

That purple dinosaur, and the chubby unicorn. Maybe the fluffy sheep if you move the chubby unicorn first.

[selfloving]

Purple dinosaur, huh... Did you know, Minako? Most dinosaurs have tails.

[Jasmine smiles, not unkindly. She leans a little closer, still pointing.] Its tail is wedged in there, and you can see the second layer is packed too tightly.

[Poor purple dinosaur. That one's definitely not coming out of there any time soon, unless they spend more money than it's worth. And even then...ehh.]

But the chubby unicorn - we can probably make that happen.

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[Minako peers in close and hums in vague understanding, circling around the machine to get a better view of how the tail is squished in.]

Ohhh...I thought it was stubbier than it looked.

[The chubby unicorn is just as good, though? Minako doesn't really care what they win so long as she can learn how to better her crane game skills. She pops some quarters into the machine, and it hums to life.]

Ready to go!

[selfloving]

All right, so you're going to want to make sure to hook onto a fat part, here. I'll tell you right now that the claw on this machine will shake when it hits the top at the end. Sometimes, there's nothing you can do.

[But Jasmine is very stubborn, and she knows that Minako can be the same way sometimes. Something like the machine being rigged against her victory isn't going to make her step down so easily. She stands beside the machine, bending over a little bit so she can get a better line of sight.]

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[Minako is very stubborn! And loaded down with a lot of quarters. She's ready to get this unicorn and her lessons in one fell swoop.]

Is there a side of the claw that's stronger on this one?