(Shard)Arcades and Drinks!

[Diana Warren]

Diana chuckled as she looked from Mina to the newcomer making her way toward them.

Mary was every bit as striking as Mina, though in an entirely different fashion. Where Mina possessed an almost porcelain delicacy, Mary carried an equally exotic beauty with effortless confidence, the vibrant Hawaiian shirt somehow becoming part of the ensemble rather than distracting from it. Together they looked as though they'd stepped out of different stories that had somehow found the same page.

"I think I've stumbled into the most beautiful corner of the arcade," Diana said with a warm grin. "I'm beginning to suspect I was invited here just to lower the average."

Her attention shifted to Mary as she approached.

"No worries there. I wasn't planning on drinking beer either, so we're already on the same team in spirit." She lifted her own drink in salute. "And I solemnly swear not to eliminate you accidentally... or intentionally. Though I appreciate the clarification."

The mock seriousness only lasted a moment before she laughed.

"Mina's right—we're proving that talent at Skee Ball is entirely optional."

She rolled one final ball, which obediently curved away from the center just as the others had.

"...The machine and I have reached an understanding."

Turning back toward Mina, she nodded toward the nearly identical path of their last throws.

"I was skeptical of your conspiracy theory, but I'm starting to think these balls really do travel in packs."

She set the last ball back into the return and dusted her hands together dramatically.

"Well, I think we've established our credentials as legends of mediocre arcade scores."

Her smile broadened as she motioned toward the beer pong tables.

"So, here's my proposal. Mina and I play the first round, and Mary gets the coveted privilege of facing whoever survives."

She glanced at Mary with a playful smirk.

"Which means you get the advantage of scouting your competition first."

Then she looked between the two women.

"And regardless of who wins, nobody leaves without having fun. That seems like the only rule worth taking seriously tonight."

[Circe]

"Hmm?" Circe tilts her head as Diana tries for flattery? She couldn't be talking about the Beer Pong sets, for the arcade cabinets were WAAAAY more bling. "Greetings then Diana and do not sell yourself short. You got looks too," Circe gives the mortal a wink.

The Fairest's praise may seem hollow given she is, well, a Fairest. Circe often flirts with Ogres and Elementals in the past, so her standards may be a little warped...Okay, she'd chase a anti-material rifle with equal glee most would take to pursuing a puppy, her standards ARE warped.


They lost at Skee Ball? "Have you tried the overhand throw? Makes it easy to get a few thousand until security throws you out," she jerks her thumb over her shoulder with a smarmy smirk. "Something about being bad for kids, I say let 'em learn to cheat."


She doubted the games were rigged more so than just the regular physics that made it difficult. Though she gets amused as she comes up with something, "Oh you mean a set right? Figures the ball set would travel together," Circe nods and is proud of herself. She didn't make the sack joke. Eh, what the Hell, she is off duty right now. "The machines just want a full set of balls in their sacks maybe? That makes sense right?"


"Hmmm? Giving me an edge? Sure!" Circe chirps before taking a sip. "I have no problem stacking decks in my favor. It is Brisco Poker, the best cheater wins fair and square."


Circe starts walking around the Beer Pong Battle Arena. To find a good, solid something to lean against as she watches. It is tactical. Totally tactical. Rest oneself before effort, maintain stamina whilst consuming Tequila.

[Mina]

Laughing, “It’s not a theory if the balls consistently go in the same direction.” She didn’t want to say the game was rigged but come on. “Or I have a lean in the way I roll em.” Shrugging, “One of the two.” And she didn’t care enough to try and prove one or the other.

“Think Mary gets the advantage of better hand and eye coordination with her shooting skills. Did you see her at the shooting game? Pretty damn good shot over there. We might be in trouble.” Not that she was worried about winning, she didn’t care about winning.

“How’s your night been Mary?” she asks, always good to check on the current Monarch. Not that she needed anyone to check on her, she was quite capable of taking care of herself.

Arching an eyebrow, “As much fun as that sounds, and it does sound like fun,” she begins, “I do like hanging out in here, and would rather not get kicked out. Plus, I’m rather enjoying the adult drinks.” Holding up her drink pouch.

Shrugging, “A full set makes sense, anything less and it’s lopsided. And those jokes just write themselves and then feelings get hurt.” Nodding and sipping.

[Diana Warren]

Diana laughed outright, the sound carrying over the cheerful clatter of arcade machines.


"I had a feeling there was a reason security kept glancing in this direction."


She looked toward Mary with an amused grin.


"I'll remember the overhand throw if I ever decide to embrace a life of arcade crime. Until then, I'll settle for losing with dignity."


She gave an exaggerated shrug.


"...Mostly dignity."


As Mary continued her train of thought about the balls and the machines wanting a full set, Diana covered her mouth for a moment, unsuccessfully suppressing another laugh.


"I walked right into that one, didn't I?"


Shaking her head, she smiled between the two women.


"I have to admit, that's probably the most creative explanation for our terrible scores I've heard."


She looked over at Mina.


"And your theory has gained a little credibility. Every one of my throws seemed determined to follow the last one. Either I'm astonishingly consistent..."


She paused dramatically.


"...or the machine has developed a favorite lane."


Her eyes drifted back to Mary as Mina mentioned the shooting gallery.


"I did notice that. I think Mina's right—we may have accidentally invited a ringer."


Diana rested one hand on her hip, giving Mary an appraising look filled with playful suspicion.


"First she's offering arcade cheating tips, now we're learning she's a crack shot?"


She narrowed her eyes theatrically.


"I think we may have underestimated our future opponent."


A smile softened the mock accusation almost immediately.


"Though I'm not sure I'd call it an edge. Beer pong requires a completely different skill set."


She tapped the side of her cup thoughtfully.


"Namely convincing yourself you're accurate after two drinks."


At Mina's comment about not wanting to get kicked out, Diana nodded.


"I'd rather keep the arcade than the high score. Besides, mediocre scores make for better stories."


She lifted her drink in agreement.


"And I fully support making questionable decisions one adult Capri Sun at a time."


Looking between the two women—the delicate, mismatched gaze of Mina and Mary's equally striking, exotic features framed by the wonderfully loud Hawaiian shirt—Diana couldn't help but smile.


"I have to say, this has turned into a far better night than I expected. I came here thinking I'd waste a little time playing games."


She gestured between the three of them.


"Turns out the company was the jackpot."


With that, she motioned toward the beer pong table.


"So..." she said with an inviting smile toward Mina, "why don't you go first?"

[Diana Warren]

Diana laughed outright, the sound carrying over the cheerful clatter of arcade machines.


"I had a feeling there was a reason security kept glancing in this direction."


She looked toward Mary with an amused grin.


"I'll remember the overhand throw if I ever decide to embrace a life of arcade crime. Until then, I'll settle for losing with dignity."


She gave an exaggerated shrug.


"...Mostly dignity."


As Mary continued her train of thought about the balls and the machines wanting a full set, Diana covered her mouth for a moment, unsuccessfully suppressing another laugh.


"I walked right into that one, didn't I?"


Shaking her head, she smiled between the two women.


"I have to admit, that's probably the most creative explanation for our terrible scores I've heard."


She looked over at Mina.


"And your theory has gained a little credibility. Every one of my throws seemed determined to follow the last one. Either I'm astonishingly consistent..."


She paused dramatically.


"...or the machine has developed a favorite lane."


Her eyes drifted back to Mary as Mina mentioned the shooting gallery.


"I did notice that. I think Mina's right—we may have accidentally invited a ringer."


Diana rested one hand on her hip, giving Mary an appraising look filled with playful suspicion.


"First she's offering arcade cheating tips, now we're learning she's a crack shot?"


She narrowed her eyes theatrically.


"I think we may have underestimated our future opponent."


A smile softened the mock accusation almost immediately.


"Though I'm not sure I'd call it an edge. Beer pong requires a completely different skill set."


She tapped the side of her cup thoughtfully.


"Namely convincing yourself you're accurate after two drinks."


At Mina's comment about not wanting to get kicked out, Diana nodded.


"I'd rather keep the arcade than the high score. Besides, mediocre scores make for better stories."


She lifted her drink in agreement.


"And I fully support making questionable decisions one adult Capri Sun at a time."


Looking between the two women—the delicate, mismatched gaze of Mina and Mary's equally striking, exotic features framed by the wonderfully loud Hawaiian shirt—Diana couldn't help but smile.


"I have to say, this has turned into a far better night than I expected. I came here thinking I'd waste a little time playing games."


She gestured between the three of them.


"Turns out the company was the jackpot."


With that, she motioned toward the beer pong table.


"So..." she said with an inviting smile toward Mina, "why don't you go first?"

[Circe]

"Dig. Nit. Tye?" Circe exaggerates horribly as she says this. "I have never heard of this covenant. What means this word?"


She is amusing herself. "Pop pop, watch the 16-bit zombies drop, oh ho ho," she laughs with a bow at Mina's praise. "You should see me at side-scroller beat-em ups. I feed that machines so many monies."


Which was better than attracting attention to the guns thing, which she kind of does with the shirt. Okay. Nevermind, no denying it at all.


"Negative scores make for the strangest stories though, you usually only see that in bowling," Circe says to the mundy.


"Well, I got experience, ahem," she makes air quotes, "One of those dangerous, corrupting violent games," then laughs, "That folks used to shriek about in the 90s. Kind of hard to find it scary when a boss is a double-set of stripper Jason Voorhes, oh ho ho ho! How about you Mina? Good night thus far?" Mina had seemed to ve enjoying herself.

"Ooooh, who should I cheer on? Both maybe?" That'd be an interesting fan brawl to breakup.

[Mina]

A playful shake of her head, “Then remind me not to hangout with you two in arcades again.” From the smirk on her face, she was only joking.

“Or it needs to refinished.” Shrugging, “Level the lane out again. Might have to try it out again later, maybe.” See how the night goes.

“I can’t even be accurate sober, so once I start to feel these drinks, I’m screwed.” True story. True. Story.

Looking at her drink, then back at Diana, “What about after three? Where do we stand after three? Uh, asking for a friend.” Yeah.

A surprised look, “Me?” shrugging, “I guess I could go first.

“Oh, you know, it’s like when there’s a really fancy party and we have to bust out the fancy dresses that cover everything.” Nodding, “Making a good impression and all that.”

Laughing, “You wouldn’t want me on your team, I couldn’t hit a zombie at all. But I could probably be like, a pack mule or something.” Sure, she could do that, maybe.

“Or in minigolf! Think you want the negative score in minigolf.” And regular golf.

"I can’t complain, came out to relax and just have fun. Got some time off before classes start up again, so decided to take advantage.”

Stepping up to the machine, she takes a look at the step up, not really liking her odds, but also, not caring if she won or not. “I say you cheer for whoever you want. It won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t cheer for you, I’ll still love you.”

But, time to see what happened. Putting her drink down she picked up the ping pong ball and began to toss it.

And it landed in the cup! Arms went up!

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2026-07-25 21:46:16	Mina rolls 3 to Beer Pong 3!(Dex+Ath-3) (10 Again)	1, 3, 3	failure
2026-07-25 21:43:58	Mina rolls 5 to Beer Pong 4!(Dex+Ath-1) (10 Again)	7, 8, 6, 8, 8	3 successes
2026-07-25 21:42:31	Mina rolls 3 to Beer Pong 3!(Dex+Ath-3) (10 Again)	9, 2, 4	1 success
2026-07-25 21:41:42	Mina rolls 4 to Beer Pong 2!(Dex+Ath-2) (10 Again)	3, 10, 4, 10, 7, 9	3 successes
2026-07-25 21:40:21	Mina rolls 6 to Beer Pong 1!(Dex+Ath) (10 Again)	5, 7, 8, 10, 5, 2, 2	2 successes

“Wooo!” she cheers! Impressed with herself.

Seems this was her jam as she continues to hit shot after shot.

But just as she was settling into a groove, that last shot just wasn’t going it land.

“Aww!” frowning.

Ok! So we decided to go with the rules already set up for Beer Pong on the wiki, but with dice. We roll Dex+Ath, but subtract any successes we get from our next roll as cups that get knocked out! There are ten cups in Beer Pong with that being our target for the game, and if you roll 0, you've missed and are out! Seemed like a fair way to play

[Diana Warren]

"Negative scores?" Diana glanced toward Mary, brows lifting with amusement. "Now you're making me curious about exactly what someone has to do to achieve that. Because I feel like once you manage a negative score, losing stops being embarrassing and becomes an accomplishment."


The mention of scandalous video games from the nineties earned a laugh.


"Oh, I remember. Video games were going to corrupt an entire generation." Her expression shifted at Mary's description of the boss. "Though I somehow missed the one featuring a double set of stripper Jason Voorhees. I feel cheated."


Diana shook her head, laughing again before turning her attention back toward Mina.


At the warning not to hang out with the pair in arcades again, Diana pressed a hand lightly against her chest.


"That's harsh. We've known each other for all of five minutes and I've only been accused of arcade crime by association."


Mina's smirk gave away the joke easily enough, and Diana returned it.


"Besides, I'm clearly the responsible influence here."


A completely straight face accompanied the claim.


At Mina's suggestion that the lane might simply need refinishing, Diana looked back toward the skee ball machines thoughtfully.


"See, that's a much more reasonable explanation. Less entertaining than conspiring balls, but considerably more reasonable."


Then came the important question.


What happened after three drinks?


Diana slowly turned her attention toward Mina, regarding her with exaggerated seriousness.


"Your friend, huh?"


Her lips twitched.


"Well, you can assure your friend that after three drinks, confidence and accuracy become entirely unrelated concepts. You'll be convinced you're a professional right up until the ball lands on someone else's table."


She glanced toward Mary.


"Which brings us back to her request that nobody accidentally take her out. Maybe we should establish a safe viewing distance."


As Mina explained the fancy dresses, Diana laughed softly. "Ah, yes. Nothing says making a good impression quite like wearing something beautiful that you're terrified to breathe in wrong all night."


Her gaze returned to Mary as Mina declared herself useless against zombies.


"I don't know, Mina. I'm starting to think Mary has us covered if the zombie apocalypse breaks out. Apparently she spent the nineties preparing for it."


Diana gestured toward Mina's adult Capri Sun.


"And being the pack mule means you're carrying the drinks, so arguably you have the most important job."


Then Mina stepped up to the beer pong game.


Diana leaned casually against the side, looking toward Mary as she considered whom to cheer for.


"Cheer for both of us. Then you can claim you backed the winner regardless of what happens."


Her attention shifted back just in time to see Mina's first ball drop neatly into the cup.


Diana blinked.


Mina's arms shot upward with a triumphant Wooo!


"Wait, what happened to 'I can't even be accurate sober'?"


Another shot landed.


Then another.


Diana's expression became increasingly incredulous as Mina continued finding cups.


"Mary, we're being hustled."


She pointed accusingly toward Mina, though the broad smile ruined any attempt at seriousness.


"All that talk about being terrible, the drinks ruining her aim, not being able to hit a zombie..."


Another shot found its mark.


Diana laughed, shaking her head.


"And I believed you."


Finally, one went wide, drawing an aww from Mina.


"Oh, absolutely not." Diana pushed herself away from the machine. "You don't get to look disappointed after that performance."


She picked up a ping pong ball and rolled it between her fingers as she stepped forward to take her turn.


"All right. Apparently I have a reputation to defend now."


A glance went toward Mary.


"And no stacking the deck until it's your turn."


Diana gave it a go, and failed immediately. She saluted the machine with a snicker and took three huge gulps of her Gin and Tonic.

“Yup, I still suck!” She announced, and handed Mina the ball laughing good naturedly.

[Circe]

Circe shrugs as she answers Diana, "You ever heard the phrase I get told stories about drunk me?" smirking with a pause, "I wasn't the one getting told about MY antics, but a friend got told about HIS antics. Something about bowling into the opponent's lane from inside his own lane," Circe shrugs with one hand raised, "Take it with a grain of margarita salt as lots of alcohol was involved. Probably in the math too. Drunk calculations are why drunken risks are always miscalculated."


Secondhand stories are unreliable.


"Like the strong, silent, and almost nude types?" Circe points back where she'd came from, "They're that way."


The mention of the mundy being the responsible one caused Circe to raise a hand, "Calling I am NOT it tonight." As for the zombie readiness, Circe thinks for a moment. Then nods in agreement. She had read the Max Brooks book. "Shooters have to be good edu-mah-cation for zombie blasting, oh ho ho ho!"


"Negative is good in the golfs," she agrees with Mina, nodding.


"Double duty? Verily! I shall cheer the under-dog along. Ahem," Circe lackluster pumps her free hand in the air, "Go Team Left. Go Team Right. Raise your score out of sight."


"Oi!" She turns to Mina. "You know the proverb. If you ain't cheating, you ain't winning," giving her fellow 'ling a thumbs up. Thenlooks to the mortal, "Do something distracting, throw her off her game, use distraction. Something Super Effective~"


She is actually TRYING to cheer for both. It isn't going easy. Seems Mina has this though, so she might as well drink herself to even things out.