nebula 1; video

[flatteries]

[ Guess who isn't used to making announcements over this thing and is heavily trying to surpress some social anxiety right now? This guy.

To his credit, he manages to smile rather convincingly, no matter how much he's sweating on the inside. ]

Hello, everyone..! I'm not sure if a lot of people tried out the arcade back on Diagad, but there was this charming game that involved having to dance..? [ DDR. He means DDR.

He just doesn't know it. ]

Either way, it was a lot of fun, so I got one of those machines for it here on the train! Anyone can use it, just.. please be careful and don't break it? It cost a lot of points! [ He worked hard for those!! ] If anyone thinks that it looks or sounds like fun, but has no idea how to use it, feel free to ask me for help! I can teach people!

[ ...

There's a slight pause, and then he adds with a bit more awkwardness: ]

Ah, and if.. someone could help me move that big, heavy thing.. I would certainly appreciate it.

Comments

[so_dark_a_road]

I had heard of them before, on the worlds I lived in after I left my own. But I've never played a video game.

[ Inigo was a lot quicker than Curufin was to learn the latest technology! Curufin only learned what he had to in order to function as a Void Warrior. ]

[ He chuckles. ]. If a guy like you likes this game, than who knows? I might like it too.

[flatteries]

Well, then come on over!

[ TIME TO LEARN MORE TECHNOLOGY, CURUFIN.

Or.. well. You know. Just the dance machine, in this case. ]

Unless you're busy right now.

[so_dark_a_road]

I'm not busy right now. Where are you?

[ Playing the video games is a different skill than building a generator for a sky-ship, which Curufin can do. He'll just have to adjust his thinking a little. But a dance machine? Well worth the trouble! ]

[flatteries]

I'm in the games carriage, right near the machine! Come on over!

[ And if Curufin does so, he'll find Inigo there - sitting on one of the arrow pads of the dancing machine as he's waiting for the other. ]

video --> action

[so_dark_a_road]

All right, I'll be there in a few minutes!

[ When Curufin gets there, he finds Inigo by the machine. ]

What do we do first? [ Big bright smile. He's looking forward to this. ]

[flatteries]

[ Aw, at least Curufin seems excited about this! Inigo is rather glad about that. After all, he mostly bought this machine so he can play the game again, sure, but since it was so expensive he's hoping that it's really something everyone on the train will be able to enjoy.

Even people who otherwise don't play a lot of videogames - like Inigo himself included.

So he stands up on the arrow pad. ]

Alright, trust me, this is much more simple than it looks! All you have to do is stand on the other pad over there.

[ Since it's a two player machine, so it's got two of those arrow pads. Inigo gestures at it for Curufin's sake. ]

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin goes to the other arrow pad, stands on it, and grins. ]

Now what do we do?

[flatteries]

Okay, hang in there for a moment..

[ Because Inigo has to get the game started! He cycles through a few songs by pressing the arrows on the pad underneath him, before selecting one - and so the song starts playing. ]

All you have to do is watch the screen. You'll see these arrows moving up the screen, and once they're at the top, you have to press that arrow with your foot!

[so_dark_a_road]

[ He watches carefully while Inigo demonstrates how to select a song by pressing the arrows on the pad. ]

Oh, I like that song! It seems like a great dance tune.

All right, I'll watch the screen. What happens when the arrows move up the screen to the top, and you press that particular arrow with your foot? And when you see them on the screen, how do you tell which arrow to press on the pad?

[flatteries]

Uh.. you know. [ Look, it's a vague answer - accompanied by a vague hand gesture, even - but what else is Inigo supposed to explain about what happens when you step on the panel at the right time? It's just how the game works! It's knowledge that came to him so innately back in Diagad, thanks to the fake memories, that he's having a hard time explaining it. ]

If you don't step on the right arrow at the right time often enough, the game ends. Game over!

[ .. does that make it a little more clear? He isn't sure. All he can do is demonstrate as the song plays on the screen, moving his feet and stepping on the arrows in time. ]

And you don't need to look at the arrows, they're just in logical order! To the front, to the back, to the left and to the right!

[so_dark_a_road]

Okay, I'll just experiment and see what works. [ Smile. He does get it that these things may be hard to explain. ]

It seems that the game itself includes rewards and penalties if you don't get it right. [ He looks closely at what Inigo is doing and imitates him. Curufin must be doing all right, or the game would end, and it hasn't. ]

Okay! I'll just use my directional sense instead of looking at the arrows. [ Step, step, press, press! This is very much like a dance. ]

[flatteries]

[ Inigo is definitely focused on the screen, so he knows where to step, but thankfully it's on a low enough difficulty setting that he doesn't have to look the entire time. It leaves him time to glance sideways, just to see how Curufin is doing - thankfully he seems to be grasping the concept. ]

Yes, it's just like that! [ Inigo says, as he watches Curufin move his feet. ] It's just all about following the rhythm of the music!

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin is grasping the concept, that's for sure! ]

One two three four five six seven eight! [ He counts off as though he were in a dance studio practicing a dance production, everybody using the count to synchronize their motions. And his body reflects this idea as he moves his arms and his body to the music. ]

[flatteries]

[ .. okay, that makes him laugh.

It's not a laughing at Curufin kind of laugh though, mind you. It's too happy for that, too genuinely joyous. It's just that if Inigo likes anything, it's seeing people getting into dancing. It's nice. It makes him feel a little less weird for being so into dancing himself. ]

You're a natural!

[ And hey, he might as well compliment someone who's getting so much into it. Like some sort of thanks to Curufin for going along with this. ]

I think we may have found the train's dance king!

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin grins when Inigo laughs. He doesn't mistake that happy laugh for anything but joy, as he's always liked Inigo's laugh and its nuances. ]

Yes, I am a natural! Most Elves love to dance, though of course this is contemporary dancing. Thanks for the compliment! I would happily be the train's dance king -- although I think that title should maybe belong to you, Inigo. [ Another smile. ]

[flatteries]

H-- Haha!

[ No, that's not a nervous laugh at all. Clearly! Obviously! He didn't stutter just there, and his cheeks totally aren't turning red..

Except that's totally what's happening here as he looks over at Curufin. ]

T-To me? Why do you think so..?

[so_dark_a_road]

You love dance, and you are very good at it. I've seen you, and that's my proof.

[ He doesn't want to embarrass Inigo, as he knows the man is modest. But Curufin has just said what he absolutely perceives and believes to be true. ]

[flatteries]

[ Please, Curufin! You can't say that so directly - though being so honest and straightforward about it is Curufin's style.

Not that it means Inigo exactly expected to hear this all the same. His face is growing as red as a tomato, and he stops moving entirely out of embarrassment, making his side of the game fail into a game over. He isn't paying any mind to it though, instead just nervously glancing around the room, like he's a terrified animal looking for an escape route. ]

I.. I mean, I.. am not that good..

[ That's an objective lie, though not necessarily a lie from Inigo's insecure point of view. ]

It's just.. we all need something to p-pass the time here, right..? [ Said as if he doesn't love dancing. Curufin is the one who's 100% right here, but what else is Inigo supposed to say while dealing with how flustered he is right now? ]

[so_dark_a_road]

[ It's true that being straightforward and honest is Curufin's style. But he hadn't meant to embarrass Inigo this much, or in fact, at all. It's just that sometimes his straightforwardness clashes with other people's modesty. He starts to worry a bit when Inigo blushes as red as a tomato. ]

Don't worry about it, Inigo. Whether you're that good or not, I appreciate your asking me to come and play this game. It's true that we all need to find things to pass the time, and we tend to choose things that interest us. [ He's not going to repeat what he said before, that he thinks Inigo loves to dance. He'd rather not embarrass him again. ]

Want to play another round?

[flatteries]

[ There's a slow nod on Inigo's end.

It doesn't seem to do too much about the state of his face, considering it's still very red, even now, but perhaps it's just not that easy to get the blush to come down quickly. Maybe it'll fade in a little while..

.. or maybe not, if he keeps thinking about Curufin's words. ]

U-.. Uh. Yes, sure.

[ He'll even move to restart the game again. ]

As long as you promise that you're going to play this if you ever feel like it, even when I'm not around! I just want people to have fun with it.

Good place to wrap this thread?

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Stop thinking about Curufin's words, then. Erase them from your mind, Inigo! ]

Oh, good!

[ And Curufin will likewise move to restart the game. ]

I can promise you that, Inigo. Maybe we'll play it together, maybe we won't. I think this game is fun, and I'll certainly turn up here to play it again.