Free Night at the Casino

[fieldtrip]

Who: OPEN to all / mingle log
Where: Queens (the casino!)
What: Wow July sure was a month! Time to take a breather and have a night out, courtesy of Toph and Mitsuru!
Warnings: N/A

FREE NIGHT AT THE CASINO

GAMBLING

Feeling down after that space infestation made you murder some friends? Getting tempted to bury yourself in the sand at the beach so no one can ever perceive you again?

Time for a tone shift! It's a free night at the casino. For tonight only, chips mean nothing -- which means everyone gets a rack of chips when they walk in and can let loose! Entertainment, food, and drink are also free within reason. (Abuse the privilege and find out who works security here the hard way!)

Welcome to Queens, the formerly shady but now revamped and reimagined casino in the entertainment district of Aldrip. Classy and minimalist but not gaudy, it's run, staffed, and heavily patronized by Chosen. Maybe you know someone who works there, maybe someone dragged you in to lighten up for once, maybe you're just stopping by for some fun.

Appropriately, the most popular game of the night is Queen's Blood, with tables set aside purely for teaching. There's also the standard casino games available in spades -- poker, slots, roulette, baccarat, blackjack, and so forth.

AT THE CLUB

It wouldn't be a casino without alcohol, music, and dancing. There's a low-key bar for those looking to have a conversation where they can hear one another over the pleasant live jazz, and a much livelier dance floor set off to the side in a different part of the casino with a DJ playing dance music.

FIGHTING TOURNAMENT

Beneath the casino is a massive underground cavern converted into a fighting arena.

It's a bit hard to find, intentionally -- either you were personally invited by someone or you stumbled across the covert speakeasy-style entrance in a corner of the main floor, possibly from the people jostling to go in and out. The stairs go down and down until they suddenly open out into the huge room, lined in walkways to view the fight.

There's three circuits to the fighting tournament: a bracket for fighting with powers, a bracket for fighting without powers (hand-to-hand and weapons only), and a shooting competition. Toph (fieldtrip) serves as referee for all of the above and is prepared to break up anything that goes too far. This is just for fun, folks!

Sign up in the comment below and maybe you'll even win something! Toph promises a super cool prize to the winner of each circuit!

FORTUNE TELLING

Get a free tarot reading!

It does seem like some of the glitching in Aldrip has made it maybe a little more accurate than usual lately... or maybe that's inaccurate? Feel free to have the cards have a real effect on them with a glitch!

DOG THERAPY

In one peaceful corner away from the din and bustle is a dog petting station. All manner of adorable and highly trained dogs are available for cuddles and play time.

Some of them are even up for adoption if you want to take one home!

Kakashi (battlefieldbrat) runs and operates this station with the kind supervision of Koromaru, our local good boy.

Code by 10billionghosts.

Comments

[depressionnap]

[Huh. That didn't even occur to him, vampires seem like such an interdimensional thing. Well, lesson learned!]

Can't deny that much.

[look he knows. he knows.

Vincent remains patiently still as Toph's hands continue to explore, and he's quietly delighted at her reaction.]

Now you just need a cloak that's seen better days.

[fieldtrip]

Why do I have to look like a mini you? [ she points out immediately. ] You could look like a big me. It's a privilege to be associated with the Beifongs, you know.

[ This is obviously a sarcastic joke.

She doesn't overstay her welcome, a bit self-conscious still, and before long she steps back. ]

[depressionnap]

I would, but I'd look terrible in green. I'd explain it, but I'm not sure how well you understand color coordination.

[It's spoken wryly, but even so, he considers a moment.]

We could switch headbands for the night.

[because it'd be funny and no other reason honestly

There's a pause, then gently Vincent reaches out to place his hand lacking the gauntlet onto the top of her head. Just lightly, but affectionately.]

You've made this place into something exceptional.

[fieldtrip]

[ Toph absolutely does not understand color coordination. She knows colors carry symbolism and national allegiance connotations and some of them look good and some of them look bad, but that's about it.

She's about to enthusiastically accept Vincent's suggestion when he gets all sentimental on her, and it's like she runs into an emotional brick wall. Toph normally shrugs off praise as her due and approval as unnecessary, but deep inside she's still a little girl who mourns that her parents will never see her for who she is, accomplishments and all. Vincent is definitely older than her - how much older, she's not sure, but he seems like an old man - and she knows he doesn't say anything lightly.

There's an awkward pause as she blushes faintly. Then she reaches up to brush his hand away and busily start unfastening her headband. ]

Please, this is nothing. Did I tell you that back home I have a school? That's way more impressive. [ This is somewhere between boasting and embarrassed deflection. ] Here -- let's do it.

[ She holds out the green silk headband with golden tassels somewhat demandingly. ]

[depressionnap]

[It's tempting to compliment her school as well. Toph is accomplished in many ways, subverting expectations around her no doubt, but he thinks that maybe she understands enough what he means to express. So, he doesn't pester her with anything of the like. Doesn't stop him from smiling to himself, though.

He is quietly proud, but he's expressed that enough.]

School for what?

[He accepts her headband, untying his own before placing the strip of crimson into her hand. Shaking out his hair, he puts on her silk headband. It absolutely clashes with the rest of his red and black ensemble, but that's fine.

If anyone says anything, he fully plans on a reaction that's more or less what are you talking about, I've always worn this.]

wtf they didn't give a notif for this

[fieldtrip]

[ She gets it. And it means a lot to her. Toph doesn't need the big dramatic friendship speeches to know who she cares about and where her loyalties lie -- she's always been the kind of person who believes actions speak louder than words, and now she makes good on it by happily affixing the rougher red cloth around her head.

As she works, she answers: ] Metalbending. Just because I invented it doesn't mean nobody else can do it -- and I want there to be a place where kids can go to learn how to get stronger if they want. [ In other words, what she'd never had.

Toph tests to make sure the headband isn't going to fall off and then grins up at him through her mess of hair. It is completely ineffective at keeping hair out of her eyes, not that that matters. The whole process has pulled her hair down from where it was tucked up and the overall effect is to make her look more like a traditional ghost, black hair all over the place and eyes barely visible. ]

How do we look?!

dw notifs cant stop me

[depressionnap]

So your earthbending extends to metal. Hm. ...Makes sense.

[It truly makes her a force to be reckoned with, and to extend that to others who might otherwise never have gotten the chance speaks levels. There are things he can interpret from various words and actions, but he does not dig deeper. If there comes a day in which Toph wants to talk more about herself, then he expects she will decide upon that for herself.

For now, he watches her put on the headband, and smiles crookedly.]

Perfect.

[fieldtrip]

Sweet. Oh yeah, didn't I tell you about that?

[ Toph absolutely can't remember who she's told or shown what. It all seems completely normal to her, basically public knowledge that she's Toph Beifong, earth- and metalbending master, and no matter how long she's here there's a big part of her that feels like she'll wake up tomorrow back at her school.

It's comforting to have some normal friend antics like switching their headbands just to be silly; she's absolutely going to go around in it for the rest of the night. ]

Somebody told me that even I couldn't bend metal, so, you know. [ Toph smirks. ] I couldn't let that stand.