video | un: furuderika

[miiraculous]

 [Near the end of the month, after playing Jumanji more times than she cared to, Rika is able to face some realities. Those being that her house is more empty than before and that she's feeling lonely. She's never lost a friend in the way that she has lost Rena. There's no way to flip a switch and have her back, and that has been weighing heavily on Rika's mind.

And yet, the matter for which she makes a network call is rather childish and unimportant in comparison.]

Is the Trench always like this..? I never expected that a game board would be so mean... Games are supposed to be fun, not like that.

[She sounds more disappointed than traumatized. Perhaps a sign of maturity? Or being numb to so much suffering.]

Where I am from, my friends and I had a club where we played games together. Games let us leave our troubles behind for a few hours and spend time together, in a piece of the world where everything was fun. It makes me sad to think that games might have been ruined for the people here, because one of them was naughty. So I...

[Rika's voice trails off. She briefly imagines a cheerful Rena and how she would react to this. As part of her grieving, Rika tries to follow in the imaginary Rena's footsteps. This is more proactive than Rika's used to, so she can't help but sound uncertain.]

I want to make a game board that isn't mean and play it with everyone here. Does anyone know where I can find some paint? And a biiig piece of wood, or something similar, for the board? I've never tried this before, but... I would quite like to try. I do not wish for the fun of games to be taken away too.

Comments

video | un: Pierrot

[violetlies]

...I like games on mean difficulty, but yeah, not ones that actually hurt people.

[He's quiet, though, mostly because he's mulling things over. Kokichi adjusts his hat and speaks.]

If you're making a new kind of games club, are you accepting members? I can probably help you make the games, too, if you want. I'm kind of an expert back home.

[And he's trying to get into making toys here, so this actually sounds kind of perfect.]

[miiraculous]

New...

[Rika had not thought that far ahead. She had thought to make a kinder game and share it, but a club..? That is a Mion thing to do. Rika cannot imagine starting or leading a club on her own.]

I... am not sure yet. I do not have any games to be played at this time. [It's an excuse. She's batting the topic away, because Rika is scared of something so different.

And yet, it sounds fun. Maybe it would make the Trench more bearable if she had people to play with?]

[violetlies]

...It's something that might keep some of us entertained and happy, even when times are rough?

[He suggests. The girl looks uncertain, but he can get the idea that she might not entirely be against it.]

Of course, we'd have to make games first, yeah. But I can see it being fun. If it helped at home, maybe it can help here? I'm kind of the leaderly sort, though, so I might be getting ahead of myself. Might be because I'm not unfamiliar with the concept of a games club, myself. Kinda.

[It kind of reminds him of DICE, in a way. Just a safe space for people who wanted to have fun to have fun. So obviously, he's thrilled.]

...Sorry, I might be getting ahead of myself. Neeheehee.

[He folds his arms behind his head.]

I'm Kokichi. Kokichi Oma. It's nice to meet you, and if you want any help with this first one, at least...I'd be more than happy to help you sketch out a concept for it and make rules and pieces.

[miiraculous]

Kokichi..?

[He's an older boy, which adds to her hesitance. The Trench has reminded Rika that she's not used to making new friends. The closet she has to that is Keiichi and he isn't new to her anymore.

The offer is tempting. Enough for Rika to leave her comfort zone, if only enough to put her toe out of the unspoken line.]

Do you really know how to make games? I must admit, I am at a loss. I have never attempted this sort of thing before, but... I agree. Having something fun... might help.

[Those words do spark some excitement in her. "Helping." Can she really help?]

video: un: UNOWEN

[forwantofahorse]

[If you think about it, murder mysteries were just another kind of game. One you played between yourself and a long-dead, metaphorically if not physically, author.

This is where Sayo's thoughts are taking them as they're writing outlines on camera for their very first piece following... everything, really. As disastrous as the results of their last writing project were, there was something about untangling a puzzle as you molded it in your hands that caught their brain like nothing else. They need a hobby to take their mind off karate every once in a while, with the tournament looming in the distance.]

I'm not sure about creating the board myself—while I can draw, I've never been one for arts and crafts—but I should be able to help with making the rules, at any rate. I have a talent for these kinds of things.

[miiraculous]

You can draw?

[She's awed by this first. Making rules is an interesting skill to bring up as well, especially when Sayo doesn't look or sound especially strict.]

Rules are important too. You cannot win without a win condition. ☆

[forwantofahorse]

I can indeed! [Their chest puffs out in pride.] I'm not really a professional, but I've been honing my skills ever since I arrived here.

[Sayo is, in fact, considering starting a webcomic. Horror of horrors.]

...Or if the rules are too obscure, or the win condition too hard to find... the game might as well be impossible anyways.

[Now that draws a bittersweet smile from Sayo, although it's a mere flicker before their expression is once more.]

A proper board game will need more than a simple X, Y, and Z from me, though. What kind of game would you like it to be?

Video | UN: ClickClickBloom

[onekindsoul]

[Oh. That kind of sucks. Ruby hates to see someone realize just how this place can be.]

Unfortunately yes, this place really likes to play party pooper to anything fun.

But honestly I think you have the right idea. I'd love to see and play whatever game you come up with.

I don't think anyone's made a game shop here.

[miiraculous]

I suppose that games would not be anyone's priority here, would they? That is why I was so excited to see a game board this month. I wonder what it would take for someone to open such a store...

[onekindsoul]

I think you'd be surprised actually. Sometimes unwinding and playing a game with friends or strangers can mean the world to people here. It's important to keep up morale you have no idea what could happen next.

I think the first thing would be a can do attitude and a bunch of games.

video; UN: seeingtheworld

[schoolingfish]

I've seen some people selling paint at the market. And there's always plenty of wood debris in the ocean. I could swim out and see if I can find anything that's the right size for a board game!

[miiraculous]

Is the ocean not dangerous? I thought it was not safe to swim there?

[schoolingfish]

I'll be fine. I do it all the time!

But...you probably shouldn't.

[Because it definitely is dangerous. Honestly, even to him with all the weird stuff in this place it's nowhere near as safe as the Ligurian Sea, but at least he has gills and fins when he's in water so can manage well enough. She, on the other had...he doesn't want to play off the danger too much and have her think it's safe for humans.]

Video UN: glyphywitchy

[imaglyphwitch]

Is Trench always like this? Eh.

[Luz makes a gesture of the probability coming and going].

Oh, I have paint! It's probably one of the first things I traded for, since use them for fun in my spare time or to paint murals! Wood, well, I can probably find some driftwood out in the ocean, that's not too hard.

What sort of game did you have in mind?

[miiraculous]

Is paint very expensive here..? I must admit, I've only spent my money on food and clothing up until now.

[She pauses thoughtfully,] Perhaps a game similar to... Monopoly or Snakes and Ladders? Mi had many foreign board games and I did not always understand them in full.

[imaglyphwitch]

Some colors are more expensive than most. If you want a cheaper option, you might want to try making your paints from berries in the forest. I had to do that before we got things to trade with.

Oh. Sounds nice. You know there's also an arcade here where you can play electronic games though, right?

voice; un: ushiromiya

[entreats]

[ .. this girl again.

Even though she settled last time around that it's pretty likely that this girl isn't Bernkastel, there's still no doubt in Ange's mind that she's still got to be connected to the witch somehow. And when Rika then starts to talk about game boards of all things, of course it's going to draw Ange's attention.

Her voice still sounds a little weak, not having fully recovered, but she can't help but speak up all the same. ]

What kind of game do you want to make?

[miiraculous]

[Ah, it's this girl. Ange's talk of witches and Bernkastel has certainly sent a few shivers down Rika's spine. Assuming this to be a public network, Rika replies cheerily;]

Something like snakes and ladders would be a simple start, yes? It is mostly played with dice and the board, so it would be easy to make! Do you have a favorite game?

[entreats]

[ Witness the true power of Ange's overthinking. Even though snakes and ladders is a totally normal game, she's still thinking if there's some sort of hidden side to it when Rika is saying that.

Maybe it's the snakes part that's doing it, honestly. ]

I don't really play games.

[ .. well, that's not entirely the truth. It's hard if it's a desire to be honest that drives her to speak on, or if she means more by what she says next. ]

Most of the time, anyway.

video: un; an.observer

[thisislife]

I hate playing games in hard mode. For me, I'm in it for the story and characters, so I like to be able to focus on that and not on who had however many hit points left.

[and her expression softens. this young girl looks like she's really young, too young to have to deal with this bullshit]

They are supposed to be fun. Fun without a catch.

That's a really good idea, to create a fun game instead of, uh. That. There should be someone selling paint in Willful Machine somewhere. As for the wood...maybe they'd have some of that, too? So that would be a start.

[miiraculous]

A challenge should be something that everyone agrees to , yes~ Stories and characters, though... I have never heard of games with such things, but that sounds interesting! How does that work, may I ask?

[thisislife]

Yeah. Instead of oh, hey, here's some weird puzzle trap thing which has to be solved or else. It might be easier to go with just plain game pieces, like in Monopoly and Clue. That way, people could still pretend to be their own character without having to fill out something like Dungeons and Dragons stat sheets?

video; un: GoldenFlowers

[the_obedient_servant]

[Gameboard huh.]

I assume you mean board games and not video games?

[Their domain lies in both, but. You know.]

[miiraculous]

Someone else mentioned arcade games, but I have little experience with such things.

So yes. Board games. Do you enjoy them?

[the_obedient_servant]

The more complex ones, yes. I prefer it when it's not completely up to luck.

I can introduce you to video games, though. They've gotten a lot more sophisticated than simple arcade games.