[ this is a cute reaction... tobari watches rafayel for a second more than the actual game, if only because he's already familiar with it? the crane game prizes are the typical fare—plushies in all shapes and sizes, though there are exactly three that stand out that have ribbons and tiny scrolls of paper tied to their plushie arms or legs. a pink bear with a red ribbon. a brown otter with an orange ribbon. a blue octopus with a green ribbon. tobari taps the glass to point them out. ]
The goal is to get these three out. Each of the scrolls has a special coupon that can only be used for the duration of the date. The person who pulls out the plush gets ownership of the scroll—but we can barter if at the end if we're not happy with what we got.
[ tobari already knows what they all are but realistically this is just if raf wants a different prize... but he'll pull out a stack of tokens for the crane game that he got ahead of time because he knows money isn't an issue for rafayel but there's really some part of tobari that inherently rankles at the idea of his date paying for anything. let him pretend just this once.
he just got to know the bartender after bribing him to let tobari use the crane game for yaoi purposes..... ]
[ the fact that he is using this for yaoi purposes is taking me out...
imagine if someone brought their kid here, tobari... but, he does look at each prize, and he smiles at each one. he can appreciate the vision and the usage of colors. ] You sure the goal here wasn't for me to win all three? [ what happened to bartering? this is the greed that the bible talks about...
but, we all know that clearly rafayel is entirely all talk. in spite of his best efforts and weeks of practice, he can still whiff getting a prize. though, that doesn't do much against the sheer enthusiasm he seems to have. he's already grinning as he's contentedly already decided to free the blue octopus first.
he's already reaching to grab a token from tobari. ]
Who goes first? [ says rafayel already putting the token in to go... first. i'm sorry this is canon. ]
[ WHO WOULD BRING A KID TO A BARCADE it's fine tobari only set this up today and they're here before busy business hours purely to not get in the way. he's trying to be thoughtful while also setting up their date with a stupid little competition. ]
I forgot to mention the most important rule that if Rafayel gets all three then the date is over.
[ no he's fucking around
i think about how sometimes hinagiku is like wow tobari you really are 21 sometimes and it's mostly when he's being a little shit at her
roll to see if raf gets the octopus i guess OR YOU CAN JUST LET HIM HAVE IT... IMAGINE IF THEY ROLL LIKE SHIT THE ENTIRE TIME FOR CRANE GAMES. let his weeks of practice mean something ]
tobari was going to make some snide comment back but he's actually surprised at raf just getting it? hello? ]
Whoa. Are you actually good at this?
[ but also for the record this is the first time he's ever actually seen a crane game machine work so he's kind of also just amused at how much serotonin it brings out of just doing its thing....
still, the octopus makes its way down and the little chute and can be picked up!! tobari will grab it for rafayel, offering it up to him to undo the little ribbon... whenever he does, the scroll reads in simple script: coupon for one free question that must be answered honestly ]
[ normally, rafayel would be firm and entirely too pushy about going next right away, but he is distracted by the ribbon on its limbs. he undoes it, before reading the scroll, and...
is it bad if he's kind of glad he got this, just so that tobari can't ask him anything? the thought does give him pause, before he pockets the slip into his jacket pocket. ] Are you scared now that I have this? [ as for mister octopus, he does end up using one of its tentacles to pat tobari on the shoulder, as if encouraging him. ]
[ tobari is already grabbing a token, pausing as he realizes as he's about to play and dana also realizes as she's writing the tag that tobari knows what the other plushies and ribbons are so he tells raf, ]
Tell me which one I should aim for.
[ and after that it's just beginners luck that soMEHOW LETS HIM GET THE PLUSHIE ON THE FIRST TRY ]
[ what does this mean... he can't deny it's cute though... i think about how tobari probably didn't know what any of these animals were before he came to linkon and then he probably got stuck watching the capybara onsen livestream for four hours because he didn't know the perfect animal could exist
but he's just snorting, amused ]
I was pretty good at games back in the district since I'd kept getting invited to gamble. Maybe it's because the stakes are high?
[ but he'll undo the ribbon on this one: coupon for one free secret to be admitted by the other person ]
the first hour rafayel thinks it's adorable that tobari finds it so enchanting. three more hours in and rafayel is like "you know, i'm here, right?" jealous of capybara...
that said, he is still impressed at how quickly tobari got the hang of it. even if he was used to games? then again, maybe crane games could be seen as more intuitive. but? fuck? rafayel tilts his head?
oh...
so it that the one they're aiming for? he's soooo smug right now, like he's just found a weakness.
or that's the expression rafayel wears as his eyebrows raise just slightly and he flashes tobari an annoying smile. he's already pushing past tobari, while still hugging onto the octopus as he works the controls... ]
Sorry, but I'm going to have to win this and ruin all your plans.
raf still gets a fourteen and succeeds in getting the bEAR but tobari is annoyed enough at that gesture that he once again decides to retaliate. mostly where after raf has already pressed the button to release the crane, tobari will move much closer than he needs to, letting his chin rest on raf's shoulder and hand fall to the small of his back as he peers into the machine ]
Hoh? Is this how a master does it?
[ but he's truly just being a menace for fun—he'll pull back not a second later to pull the bear from the prize slot and lift it so raf can undo the ribbon....
coupon for the other person to complete one command within reason
but, at the same time... is being poked like that not actually increasing his affection, so he can better perform? that's what lads says. even if it makes no sense, when he tenses at tobari's touch, and feels so conscious of his every breath. that said, even when he wins the plushie, he almost stays locked in place, his ears still a little red.
though, he does seem to recover as he grabs hold of the bear.
he reads the scroll carefully. ]
Silly, aren't you always commanding me without this?
[ not the poke to increase affection and performance
but tobari is honestly a perfectly reasonable loser, crossing his arms around the otter which probably looks like he's hugging it close to himself which also definitely looks ridiculous
and he can't help his look of disbelief when raf tries to give him the scroll ]
I think you have a vast misunderstanding of our relationship.
[ tobari's bossy but somehow he feels like he loses to rafayel often ]
[ tobari does look really cute holding that otter...
he's going to have to take a picture later. ]
Do I? I think I got it just right. If I don't grant your requests, you might just never get to them. [ since he seems so busy prioritizing everyone but himself. ] Buuut, in return, all your secrets and truths are mine, yeah?
[ . . . but he's not wrong. even if tobari got the command one it would purely because he doesn't want to deal with rafayel using it on him instead! what would tobari even ask for! he's not sure! he might just prank rafayel with it later if he can't think of anything better
but then he'll offer out the secret scroll for trade, ]
If this is really what you want.
[ and here he was so sure raf would love to command him to do something ridiculous ]
rafayel ruining the plan by not wanting to ruin the plan... he happily takes the secret scroll, thinking he's preserved his feelings for one more day. though, he does think it would have been fun to film tobari doing a viral cutesy dance with wearing furry animal paws or something? ]
If you feel that bad, you can always let me get a dare on you later?
[ it reminds him a bit of purgatory... is that good? ]
[ please don't make him do a tiktok dance even though i think suzune would love tiktok dances... her new career path as an adorable influencer ]
I don't think I'm that charitable.
[ TO GIVE AWAY DARES FOR FREE? TO RAFAYEL? tobari trusts him least of all (in this specific way)
but he'll look over the tokens they still have left, tossing them in the air and catching them ]
We should have enough for a round of games, or we can exchange them for a round of drinks. Though I don't remember what your tolerance is like.
[ glances down at the stuffed animals and privately think raf looks ridiculous and cute with both the octopus and the bear ] Ah, but the bartender said he could hold onto these for us since we won 'em.
[ since they can't just take their lil plushie entourage on the rest of the date ]
[ don't you think he would know them by extension from suzune...
her first phone and her first exposure to moments posts and their tiktok/red note equivalents ]
Let's play another game then. If I win, I get that dare?
[ now he's locked in on this... ] With this many, we can do one game and one drink to share, right? [ honestly, his tolerance isn't very high, so he'll mind himself so he can at least drive. though, he does feel a little sad to part with the little guys for now, he looks back down at them, before nodding back to tobari.
[ he would know them but he would never personally dance them until forced by dare... so i suppose we'll see.... suzune getting to be a cute lil teenager in the modern world makes me emotional it's the life she deserves (it probably makes tobari a lil emotional too)
but right now he's focusing on catching this bear so that it doesn't fall onto the gross bar floor, looking at raf with some confusion ]
but, i am also emotional at cute teen suzune doing everything she wanted and MORE!!! can you imagine her cute clothes and accessories too? where is our modern suzune art. ]
I'd hold onto all three if I could, but your arms looked more lonely than mine did.
[ ... ] Plus, you could say this octopus is going to be my god of victory? [ extreme, but okay. that said, he is already looking through the drink menu. naturally, his eyes focus on the melon yogurt drink, but to be honest... he kind of wants to choose something tobari will like.
... what does tobari like to eat? has he seen him eating in purgatory? maybe a sake? ]
[ SHE WOULD BE SO CUTE.... SHE'D LOVE DRESS UP AND FASHION AND BEING A NORMAL TEENAGE GIRL....!!!! let's go influencer era suzune being cute and ruthless about men
let rafayel have a yogurt drink... tobari probably erred toward sake or something like a japanese whisky highball... but he hilariously also doesn't mind japanese sweets because it's what suzune liked and he missed her in purgatory.
anyway, smugly: ]
You're going to need all the luck you can get.
[ if he gets to choose the game he will be intentional and mean about it and see if he can find something raf is bad at because tobari doesn't want to do a dare. the difference in these approaches is killing me ]
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[ this is a cute reaction... tobari watches rafayel for a second more than the actual game, if only because he's already familiar with it? the crane game prizes are the typical fare—plushies in all shapes and sizes, though there are exactly three that stand out that have ribbons and tiny scrolls of paper tied to their plushie arms or legs. a pink bear with a red ribbon. a brown otter with an orange ribbon. a blue octopus with a green ribbon. tobari taps the glass to point them out. ]
The goal is to get these three out. Each of the scrolls has a special coupon that can only be used for the duration of the date. The person who pulls out the plush gets ownership of the scroll—but we can barter if at the end if we're not happy with what we got.
[ tobari already knows what they all are but realistically this is just if raf wants a different prize... but he'll pull out a stack of tokens for the crane game that he got ahead of time because he knows money isn't an issue for rafayel but there's really some part of tobari that inherently rankles at the idea of his date paying for anything. let him pretend just this once.
he just got to know the bartender after bribing him to let tobari use the crane game for yaoi purposes..... ]
Got it?
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imagine if someone brought their kid here, tobari... but, he does look at each prize, and he smiles at each one. he can appreciate the vision and the usage of colors. ] You sure the goal here wasn't for me to win all three? [ what happened to bartering? this is the greed that the bible talks about...
but, we all know that clearly rafayel is entirely all talk. in spite of his best efforts and weeks of practice, he can still whiff getting a prize. though, that doesn't do much against the sheer enthusiasm he seems to have. he's already grinning as he's contentedly already decided to free the blue octopus first.
he's already reaching to grab a token from tobari. ]
Who goes first? [ says rafayel already putting the token in to go... first. i'm sorry this is canon. ]
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I forgot to mention the most important rule that if Rafayel gets all three then the date is over.
[ no he's fucking around
i think about how sometimes hinagiku is like wow tobari you really are 21 sometimes and it's mostly when he's being a little shit at her
roll to see if raf gets the octopus i guess OR YOU CAN JUST LET HIM HAVE IT... IMAGINE IF THEY ROLL LIKE SHIT THE ENTIRE TIME FOR CRANE GAMES. let his weeks of practice mean something ]
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but, at tobari's words, he does end up pausing, his mouth agape. ] Hey, you better be nice.
[ don't make him pout already. ] That's pretty unfair since I'm like really good at this? [ he's not really according to everyone on twitter. ]
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this seems wrong. he's so excited and it's obvious!!!!! ]
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tobari was going to make some snide comment back but he's actually surprised at raf just getting it? hello? ]
Whoa. Are you actually good at this?
[ but also for the record this is the first time he's ever actually seen a crane game machine work so he's kind of also just amused at how much serotonin it brings out of just doing its thing....
still, the octopus makes its way down and the little chute and can be picked up!! tobari will grab it for rafayel, offering it up to him to undo the little ribbon... whenever he does, the scroll reads in simple script: coupon for one free question that must be answered honestly ]
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[ normally, rafayel would be firm and entirely too pushy about going next right away, but he is distracted by the ribbon on its limbs. he undoes it, before reading the scroll, and...
is it bad if he's kind of glad he got this, just so that tobari can't ask him anything? the thought does give him pause, before he pockets the slip into his jacket pocket. ] Are you scared now that I have this? [ as for mister octopus, he does end up using one of its tentacles to pat tobari on the shoulder, as if encouraging him. ]
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[ tobari is already grabbing a token, pausing as he realizes as he's about to play and dana also realizes as she's writing the tag that tobari knows what the other plushies and ribbons are so he tells raf, ]
Tell me which one I should aim for.
[ and after that it's just beginners luck that soMEHOW LETS HIM GET THE PLUSHIE ON THE FIRST TRY ]
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[ what does this mean...
that said, he is...
shocked. ] Liar, are you sure you never played before? Wow, they must really wanna come home with us?
[1/2]
[ what does this mean... he can't deny it's cute though... i think about how tobari probably didn't know what any of these animals were before he came to linkon and then he probably got stuck watching the capybara onsen livestream for four hours because he didn't know the perfect animal could exist
but he's just snorting, amused ]
I was pretty good at games back in the district since I'd kept getting invited to gamble. Maybe it's because the stakes are high?
[ but he'll undo the ribbon on this one: coupon for one free secret to be admitted by the other person ]
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Fuck.
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the first hour rafayel thinks it's adorable that tobari finds it so enchanting. three more hours in and rafayel is like "you know, i'm here, right?" jealous of capybara...
that said, he is still impressed at how quickly tobari got the hang of it. even if he was used to games? then again, maybe crane games could be seen as more intuitive. but? fuck? rafayel tilts his head?
oh...
so it that the one they're aiming for? he's soooo smug right now, like he's just found a weakness.
all is right in the world. ]
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when rafayel fails to get the bear, tobari just huffs out a mean-sounding laugh ] Hah.
[ and then he too immediately gets humbled with a matching 2
okay ]
What the hell.
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or that's the expression rafayel wears as his eyebrows raise just slightly and he flashes tobari an annoying smile. he's already pushing past tobari, while still hugging onto the octopus as he works the controls... ]
Sorry, but I'm going to have to win this and ruin all your plans.
[ :)
jk, maybe he's nice enough to trade. ]
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raf still gets a fourteen and succeeds in getting the bEAR but tobari is annoyed enough at that gesture that he once again decides to retaliate. mostly where after raf has already pressed the button to release the crane, tobari will move much closer than he needs to, letting his chin rest on raf's shoulder and hand fall to the small of his back as he peers into the machine ]
Hoh? Is this how a master does it?
[ but he's truly just being a menace for fun—he'll pull back not a second later to pull the bear from the prize slot and lift it so raf can undo the ribbon....
coupon for the other person to complete one command within reason
this really was the grand prize ]
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[ THAT'S CHEATING!?!
but, at the same time... is being poked like that not actually increasing his affection, so he can better perform? that's what lads says. even if it makes no sense, when he tenses at tobari's touch, and feels so conscious of his every breath. that said, even when he wins the plushie, he almost stays locked in place, his ears still a little red.
though, he does seem to recover as he grabs hold of the bear.
he reads the scroll carefully. ]
Silly, aren't you always commanding me without this?
[ so he does end up holding it out to tobari. ]
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but tobari is honestly a perfectly reasonable loser, crossing his arms around the otter which probably looks like he's hugging it close to himself which also definitely looks ridiculous
and he can't help his look of disbelief when raf tries to give him the scroll ]
I think you have a vast misunderstanding of our relationship.
[ tobari's bossy but somehow he feels like he loses to rafayel often ]
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he's going to have to take a picture later. ]
Do I? I think I got it just right. If I don't grant your requests, you might just never get to them. [ since he seems so busy prioritizing everyone but himself. ] Buuut, in return, all your secrets and truths are mine, yeah?
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[ . . . but he's not wrong. even if tobari got the command one it would purely because he doesn't want to deal with rafayel using it on him instead! what would tobari even ask for! he's not sure! he might just prank rafayel with it later if he can't think of anything better
but then he'll offer out the secret scroll for trade, ]
If this is really what you want.
[ and here he was so sure raf would love to command him to do something ridiculous ]
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rafayel ruining the plan by not wanting to ruin the plan... he happily takes the secret scroll, thinking he's preserved his feelings for one more day. though, he does think it would have been fun to film tobari doing a viral cutesy dance with wearing furry animal paws or something? ]
If you feel that bad, you can always let me get a dare on you later?
[ it reminds him a bit of purgatory... is that good? ]
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I don't think I'm that charitable.
[ TO GIVE AWAY DARES FOR FREE? TO RAFAYEL? tobari trusts him least of all (in this specific way)
but he'll look over the tokens they still have left, tossing them in the air and catching them ]
We should have enough for a round of games, or we can exchange them for a round of drinks. Though I don't remember what your tolerance is like.
[ glances down at the stuffed animals and privately think raf looks ridiculous and cute with both the octopus and the bear ] Ah, but the bartender said he could hold onto these for us since we won 'em.
[ since they can't just take their lil plushie entourage on the rest of the date ]
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her first phone and her first exposure to moments posts and their tiktok/red note equivalents ]
Let's play another game then. If I win, I get that dare?
[ now he's locked in on this... ] With this many, we can do one game and one drink to share, right? [ honestly, his tolerance isn't very high, so he'll mind himself so he can at least drive. though, he does feel a little sad to part with the little guys for now, he looks back down at them, before nodding back to tobari.
he slides the bear into tobari's arms. ]
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but right now he's focusing on catching this bear so that it doesn't fall onto the gross bar floor, looking at raf with some confusion ]
Holding onto the octopus?
[ as for the dare, he looks thoughtful about it ]
I'll pick the game, you pick the drink?
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but, i am also emotional at cute teen suzune doing everything she wanted and MORE!!! can you imagine her cute clothes and accessories too? where is our modern suzune art. ]
I'd hold onto all three if I could, but your arms looked more lonely than mine did.
[ ... ] Plus, you could say this octopus is going to be my god of victory? [ extreme, but okay. that said, he is already looking through the drink menu. naturally, his eyes focus on the melon yogurt drink, but to be honest... he kind of wants to choose something tobari will like.
... what does tobari like to eat? has he seen him eating in purgatory? maybe a sake? ]
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let rafayel have a yogurt drink... tobari probably erred toward sake or something like a japanese whisky highball... but he hilariously also doesn't mind japanese sweets because it's what suzune liked and he missed her in purgatory.
anyway, smugly: ]
You're going to need all the luck you can get.
[ if he gets to choose the game he will be intentional and mean about it and see if he can find something raf is bad at because tobari doesn't want to do a dare. the difference in these approaches is killing me ]
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