Dance, Dance, Status Quo! [Masako]

Cecilia normally wasn't much of a gamer; it wasn't that she had any particular distaste for them, but they had never quite been her thing. Very few genres interested her and those that did in theory such as, say, MMOs often left her feeling disappointed in practice. She could never get into the playstyle of the healer-type classes she'd opt to play and would frequently end up disinterested when she discovered how she had to hide behind tanks, DPSes, and the sort due to the squishy nature of the class. Sure, it made sense from a game balance perspective, but it simply wasn't for her. There was one particular kind of game she loved, though, and that was rhythm games. She wasn't sure why or what specific element of them made them so fun to play, but something about them just clicked with her. Perhaps it was related to living in Suzie Q? She was surrounded by music all the time, so it'd only make sense that a type of game so focused on it, its beat, and moving to its tempo would appeal to her.

Whatever the case, she couldn't get enough of them. In the past few years of her life, they had become one of her favorite hobbies and, having invested much time in them, she had developed a natural talent for them. While she was nowhere near being one of the best, Cecilia could at least rank top among her close circle of friends, and more often than not she ended up wowing those who weren't nearly as skilled at them. Today was no different -- a small crowd with their mouths agape had amassed around the machine as she played through one of its more difficult songs. Her feet moved like a blur hitting almost every note on time, the girl and her score waning a little near the end, but otherwise delivering a strong performance.

The crowd burst into a short round of applause as she landed a perfect on the final note and, save for a few, scattered across the arcade. Cecilia let out a few exhausted sighs and leaned her back up against the railing to take a breather. She was hardly done for the day, but for the moment she needed to rest... That song had taken a lot out of her.

Why in the world am I here again? Masako thought to herself. She honestly had no reason to be here, as far as she could tell. It was beneath her. These games of leisure were more for those who could afford to enjoy themselves as well as the peace that was given to them. Considering her own goals and ambitions, she couldn't allow herself a single distraction.

So, why in the world would she decide to come to a place like this?

Change of pace? she self analyzed, trying to offer an answer to her own question. This place is pretty noisy, and there are many a distraction. I suppose this kind of atmosphere is perfect to motivate one to play, but it is hardly suiting of my own needs or preferences. Still, if I'm to one day be able to act as the guard for everyone, I should familiarize myself with such locations. Learning how the common folk act could help shape my ability later on in life. She took a look around, watching the various choices of noise working together to make the cacophony that is Arcadia.

I should have picked a less stressful place... she inwardly groaned.

Still, something did manage to catch her eye. There was a crowd. It seemed to be enough to catch her attention. Thus, she found herself walking forward toward the crowd, curious as to what has everyone so worked up.

Huh... such a basic game... you just respond to the symbols to the rythem of the song. Anyone with decent reflexes can play this... but she's pretty decent, I'll at least offer her that much.

Like many others, she found herself entranced by this ones game playing. She seemed to be able to keep on top of the song all the way through. In a way, Masako envied her. Sure, she could potentially possess similar skills herself, but those were geared much more towards swordsmanship. No where in there does it include a foot based rhythm game.

She found herself among those who applauded her performance when she came to an end.

The performance was over, and the majority of people seemed intent on leaving. She should consider leaving as well.

Though admittedly, she was a bit curious about this one.

"That was some pretty impressive foot work," she said, deciding to break the ice as she approached her. "I don't often get to see such a worth while performance."

Words from an unfamiliar voice reached her ears -- a compliment. Cecilia turned her head to the direction of the source and nodded giving a light, proud smile. She had never met this woman before, but she didn't bother to question why she had approached: it was clear that the stranger simply wanted to offer her some praise and maybe play a match against her. "Thanks, thanks! You're too kind!" A smug, almost hubristic aura enveloped the girl as she took the mild appreciation and ran with it. "I am pretty good at it! Almost a natural if you ask me." Cecilia fell silent for a moment allowing Masako a brief interval to interject if she so pleased. Regardless of the response, however, the girl would continue to speak to her so long as she remained.

She took this time to analyze the girl, as she always did with anyone she met.

Oh, she's proud, proud of her ability. she stated, Though I suppose it can't be helped. She's obviously earned the skill, and seems to have a knack for bringing in the crowd. I'd be able to forgive someone for becoming a bit vein if that was a constant pattern. I even ended up contributing. Though I couldn't, in all fairness, deny when I'm impressed.

"It shows," she replies simply, "I don't frequent this kind of a place, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a common occurrence for you."

Then came a rather minor surprise.

"Oh, I couldn't," she replied, "I haven't the money for it. Besides, the only foot work I have available to me is the foot work of a swords-woman. I am absolutely certain I would be abysmal at this... form of entertainment."

"Swordswoman?" How odd. Was she a part of a fencing sorority or something similar? Was there even a club for those kinds of sports? Or maybe this was another Cadet she was talking to? That'd be cool, although hopefully skill with a sword wasn't a secret requirement for joining the ranks. Cecilia had no real skill with weapons and, well... more importantly...


A contemplative, somewhat concerned look flashed across her face, but about what was unknown and so it would remain. Cecilia quickly shook it away and hopped to another subject. Her hands would loosen their grip on the railing and she'd push off of it taking a few steps forward toward the center of the machine. "If you never try then you'll never get better. Practice makes perfect: that saying goes for everything, not just games. But whatever floats your boat. If you change your mind you'll know where to find me. I'll be here for a while." Without another word, Cecilia would slowly reach over to the menu screen, deliberately taking just enough time for Masako to have a chance to change her decision. If she didn't though, well, that was her loss. The pink-haired girl would simply select the song and start without her if that were the case.

Those words... somehow they had a lot of weight to them.

I supposed she does have a point. But in all honesty, what would dancing at a game like this ofer for me? I highly doubt I could gain something from it... then again, there's also that saying that goes "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Would I actually gain something from this? Well... I did come here for a change of pace. Why not? What's one attempt going to- she's going to pick!

"Wait!" she cried out, jumping onto the mat without a second thought. "Alright, you've twisted my arm. I'll make an attempt."

Cecilia beamed brightly and would wait for Masako to take her place on the other side of the machine. The cheerful girl would insert a few coins into the other side of the machine paying her fee for her and thereby allowing the two of them to play co-op. Moving her hand away from the song she was about to press previously, the pink-haired woman would knock the difficulty down a peg to 'normal' and select 'random' for the song. Whatever they got would be a surprise and there were so many levels on the machine that it'd likely be one that Cecilia herself was unfamiliar with. Who, save fate itself, was capable of saying what one the machine would select for them?

OOC Notes:

"Right... just hit the arrows with my feet... That sounds simple, right?"  She watched as fate would decide for the two what kind of song would be chosen.

Already, she found her eyes twitching at the choice that was made by fate.  She knew nothing about the difficulty or the kind of song it was.  It was the title that made her cringe inwardly.



It's like Fate is trying to insult me... she thought inwardly.  None the less, the song would play.

And already, Masako found herself tripping up.  While the idea was basic, she hasn't a feel for the timing yet, so she already lost the first few steps. She decided to risk glancing in her opponent to see how she was fairing.

Her feet pounded against the arrows in tandem with the beat as they had before. One would expect this song to be a breeze after she had beat the previous, more difficult one, but they'd be wrong: there was still challenge to be found within it, especially since normal mode meant moving at a slower pace and forced her to adjust her reaction times. Nevertheless, Cecilia gave it her all and managed to hit most of the notes that came her way without trouble. She improved upon the timing bit by bit going from okay, to good, to flawless gradually over the course of time. A fierce and competitive look took her face, but as she noticed Masako's score and trouble with hitting the notes she began to miss a few herself. Perhaps it was intentional? It was either that or a natural result from looking away from the arrows on her screen, even if only briefly. Only Cecilia knew which was the truth behind her waning performance.

Looks like she was getting the hang of it quite well. Very well, in fact.

This was quite embarrassing for Masako, but in all honesty, she was expecting something like this to happen.

I see, she's actually quite competitive. she thought to herself. Then I would be remiss if I didn't give it my all.

With that stated, she put her focus on the game in front of her, focusing on the arrows and the timing. The music itself was key, as the notes seem to have cues that allowed her to respond appropriately. It was time to see how much of a quick study she really was.

Chance of improvement::

Masako was doing awful... Like, really, really badly. Her score basically plummeted facefirst into the dirt. Cecilia couldn't help but feel bad for her as she stumbled her way to what was surely a quick loss. There was a layer of visible pity in her eyes, but it would quickly fade away as she feigned a look of smugness and triumph while focusing on the screen. Behind the mask though, her desire to compete began to vanish. There was no fun to be had in mercilessly destroying an opponent who could barely stand a chance and she had no interest in humiliating this random, nice person, so Cici would resolve herself to deliberately throw the game or, at the very least, lower her score a little for the time being to make Masako feel better. She'd begin to miss notes on purpose and would stumble over her feet feigning exhaustion all the while. The girl would put on a good show and try her hardest to make it seem as if this was a result of completely legitimate, natural failure.

...Perhaps she was trying too hard to make that seem like the case though. Because while she was messily tangling her feet together and missing arrow after arrow, Cecilia would accidentally trip for real and proceed to fall headfirst into the machine, bonking her forehead on it and being knocked to her ass from the sudden collision. "Fuck! That hurt!"

Well, that was a very abysmal performance. At least she expected to fail, so really it wasn't such a big deal. In all honesty, she couldn't really understand why someone would want to play this game, after this? She didn't hate it, per se, but it's purpose seemed lost on her. Still, she was a woman of conviction, and she intended to get to the end of this game.

That was until she saw her opponent suddenly trip on herself enough to fall head first into the machine. Any score she could have salvage was quickly lost, her score plummeting right down to failure. Then again, Masako, by that point, stopped playing, now by her opponents side and ready to offer aid.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a concerned tone, "Do you require assistance?" Already she offered a hand, ready to help pull this person back to her feet.

Cecilia rubbed her head with her hand and bit down lightly on her lip. Banging her head against a steel arcade cabinet was NOT on her to-do list for the day. But the pain wasn't that bad; she wouldn't let herself be caught sitting there whining over something so insignificant. She smiled at Masako's offer, an expression full of gratitude, but she wouldn't accept the hand and would instead push herself up on her own. "I'm fine, no worries. You shouldn't have stopped playing just to help me out. You, uh... looked like you were really in the groove." That last part was a blatant lie, but she tried her best to make it seem convincing.

The machine let out a loud buzzer-like noise to indicate their collective failure and would cut to the game-over screen displaying their abysmal scores for all nearby patrons to see. Thankfully, unlike the last song, there was no small crowd here to observe this time. Cecilia would let out a lighthearted laugh as she gazed at the screen for a split second before returning her eyes to Masako. "I'm guessing you don't want a rematch?" Truth be told, she herself wasn't feeling up to one after that. That was enough rhythm games for one day.

She had only one reply to say to her opponents attempt at complimenting her.

"That is a bold face lie, and you know it," she said rather sternly, "If it's any consolation, there is no harm in being honest about my skill. I did warn that they were not suited to this." Let us hope that this doesn't come back to haunt me, less I find myself the butt of many jokes.

"And you would be right to assume that I would not want a re-match. I'm more concerned about the potential for a concussion. Though it does seem as though you still have your wits about you."

"It's like I said, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Cecilia insisted in a semi-annoyed tone. It was clear that she appreciated the concern, but nevertheless, she didn't want Masako fretting over her. The pink-haired girl would seem to have little concern for herself and her well-being, instead opting to change the subject before her former opponent could bring it up further. "If you want we can head over to another game. There's plenty of stuff to play, but I won't pressure you -- your choice as to whether or not you wanna continue after that."

"By the way, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Cecilia Hunt. I'm a first year with the Helper Sorority. You attending Seven Stars too or...?" Masako looked to be around her age, although she was much taller, almost intimidatingly so.