pc; fai

[shouldbe]

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w1, some nebulous date and time (maybe tuesday??)

[shouldbe]

[Well. They're here for the next four weeks and so far, there doesn't seem to be any sort of laundry service to take advantage of--which isn't the worst thing in the world, but it does mean that all of them, old-timey and modern, are going to be battling it out for the washing machines at one point or another. And while Wave's got a vague idea of what she's up against, she's also now armed with a lot of very cheaply made Halloween costumes in lieu of clothing.

Which means that a test run is in order to see how badly these things are going to shred.

So armed with a couple of the towels from her room and a couple of sacrificial costumes, Wave's studying one of the machines when Fai catches her attention.]

Hey, do you know how these machines work?

help i love that picture

[partymagician]

[ Fai glances over at her when he's addressed, his gaze briefly flicking to the towels and costumes in her arms before going back to the washing machine behind her.

He takes a few steps forward. ]

Hmm... I have seen devices like this before.

[ But Kurogane or Syaoran were the ones who used it most. ]

finding quality shitposts is one of my favorite parts of making pcs

[shouldbe]

[Seen. Whether or not that's the key word here, Wave nods.]

I've seen them before too. But it's been a long time. I know I'd rather use these than try handwashing everything, but I'm not sure how well these-- [She pulls at the thin fabric of one of the costumes] --are going to survive it.

[partymagician]

[ He hums, bringing a chin up to his hand. ]

It’s hard to say. Just how much do these move?

[ Hmm.

Fai goes over to one of the washing machines, opening up the lid to peer down inside. ]

Looks powerful.

[shouldbe]

I don't think the machines themselves move, do they...? I was hoping the towels would help protect everything else if it was too much power, but...

[There are a lot of options here. What the hell does "permanent press" mean?]

--Oh, I'm Wave, by the way.

[partymagician]

Fai. It’s a pleasure meeting you.

[ He flashes her a smile before turning back to the buttons. ]

Since we don’t know how the clothes might handle it, let’s avoid anything harsh for now.

[ So that takes a heavy duty cycle out. ]

w3

[shouldbe]

[She really hasn't gotten a chance to talk to Fai since everything went down during kings game--it might be for the better, really, but in a way it means that when she sees him in the arcade she's not exactly sure how to cross that weird little space, especially knowing what she knows now...

But honestly? Fuck it. It's turning into a reoccurring refrain, and it seems to be serving her well so far, so--]

Fai?

Kaeya told me what went on between you two.

[Wait wasn't she originally intending on apologizing--]

[partymagician]

[ Fai is fiddling around with some of the games, trying to figure out how they work when he hears Wave’s voice.

…And then she says that she knows and it looks like Fai would rather turn and run away than anything else right now.

But he stays, letting out a small breath. ]

What did he say?

[ He wants to know… what was Kaeya’s side of the story? ]

[shouldbe]

Enough.

[Enough for her to know that Kaeya's a dumbass and Fai was being petty. Familiar territory, really.]

I'd rather hear what you have to say about it first though.

[partymagician]

He rejected me and when I asked him about it, he said that I should have known better.

[ That's really all he has to say, but he decides to add: ]

Perhaps I should have, but I still hoped that he wouldn't anyway.

[shouldbe]

I see. [She could respond to it, tell him what she thinks on the matter, but... she's already told Kaeya what she thinks, and whether he acts on that is entirely up to him. She's not going to try to manipulate the situation from both sides to try and push them toward a specific conclusion.]

He told me that he'd rejected you, and we talked about the Top 4 a little bit.

[...]

I'm sorry for twisting the knife during the game on Saturday. He didn't tell me what was going on until after.

[partymagician]

It's alright. You're close with him and you didn't know. I can't fault you for that, especially when I was not on my best behavior.

[ He deserved that treatment, honestly. ]

I apologize for helping to create a tense atmosphere that night.

[shouldbe]

To be fair, he can be pretty provoking when he wants to be. I've already told him off for being an ass.

[rip kaeya no it's fine.]

But I hope he talks to you about it. [And she's just going to leave it at that, otherwise she's going to risk accidentally saying more than she means to!]

Is this the game we're supposed to try playing this week?

[partymagician]

...I hope so too.

[ His words are quiet, but definitely loud enough for Wave to hear. ]

I believe so! I'm not quite sure I understand how it's supposed to be played, however.

[shouldbe]

Do you want to try figuring it out together?

[Like a peace offering that isn't necessarily needed, but one she's going to offer nonetheless. Fai's set her on edge a little in the past, but he seems a little more accessible after everything that's happened.]

[partymagician]

[ It certainly feels like a peace offering, and he noticeably perks up. ]

I'd like that.

[ He smiles and it reaches his eyes for once. ]

I was looking for the instructions before you found me.

[shouldbe]

[Good. Wave smiles, too, but as he speaks a hint of mischief sneaks in. This will probably not be surprising at all, but--]

Who needs instructions? [She hops up onto one of the platforms, touching the screen like it's their phones and then, when that doesn't work, smacking the green button between the arrows. It's the only one that's not an arrow, so clearly that's gotta be how you start it...!

Then she turns back to Fai, gesturing for him to come up too.]

We're smart. We can figure this out, right?

[It'll be more challenging, but more fun to figure it out on the fly. And if he's unfamiliar too, it means they're on even ground!]

[partymagician]

[ The way she jumps up on the platform catches him off guard, but it makes him laugh too, full and genuine. ]

I like the way you think.

[ He hops on there with her, pressing buttons as he sees fit until the song selection menu suddenly comes up. ]

I'll let you do the honors.

[shouldbe]

[Let's gooooooooo Wave presses one of the arrow buttons and just... holds it down.]

Ready?

[And then she lets off and slaps the selection button again without even looking at the song they got, which I'm deciding is DJ Amuro's A because it's my favorite and also it'd be funny with the speed change to fuck them up]

So there are arrows at the top of the screen... I guess you just step on the matching arrow?

[Let's give it a try!]

[partymagician]

[ perfect pick ]

I think so...

[ When Fai coordinates the arrow to the screen and a PERFECT shows up, that all but confirms it. The song at first isn't too hard, especially with Fai's good hand-eye coordination. He feels like he's finally getting the hang of it when the song suddenly freezes...

And speeds up. A lot. Fai tries his best to keep up but he isn't good enough. ]

Ah...

[shouldbe]

[Wave is... not as GOOD. In fact, one might say she's edging toward a MISS altogether... but after a moment she scowls at the screen, expression setting in determination, and she. Well. Her hand-eye coordination isn't bad, but it's been a while since she's done something that needed quite so much of it; she's still hanging on by the time they get to the slowdown, but only just.]

That wasn't so--ah!

[WHAT IS IT DOING HELP similarly, she's doing her best but lol. That's going to be a FAILED song in the end.]

That... probably wasn't the best song to pick for a first try, was it?

[For a moment, she feels a little embarrassed by the poor showing... but then she starts to giggle, reaching out to hit the button again to continue.]

Okay, okay. Let's try something easier to start.

[partymagician]

[ He laughs too, light and genuine.

If he has to catch his breath a bit… so be it. ]

Mm… I’d say to go for a slower one, but now I’m worried it’ll switch up on us again!

[shouldbe]

So what you're saying is I should look for the fastest one, and then we'll be guaranteed that it won't change.

[Has Fai seen the sly grin she wears sometimes? Because that's the expression on her face right now; she knows very well that isn't how it works, but well. If you give a Wave a chance to be a menace, odds are she's going to take it.]

[partymagician]

[ He’s seen that grin directed at others, but now that it’s directed at him… she’s quite pretty with it on.

It makes him laugh again before he returns that same sly grin. ]

You make a good argument. The tempo change was the worst part of it, so why don’t we start out fast? I know we can both keep up.

[shouldbe]

[Oh...! She isn't expecting the answering slyness in his own expression, and it's enough of a surprise that her own smile loses that quality, growing instead to something more genuinely delighted.]

All right, let's see what they've got.

[MAX 300. I have to.

Unlike the last one, this one's starting at super-speed. Maybe it was a bad idea? Possibly, yes, but like hell she's backing down, even if she absolutely misses the first few notes just because of how fast those arrows are rocketing up the screen. But Wave knows how to dance, so she knows how to find a beat, and once she catches on to the idea that it's like following a partner in a weird sort of way she'll actually start to do okay! ...until the arrows slow and stop altogether.]

What's--No!

[THE MUSIC JUST RESTARTS WITHOUT WARNING HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO PREDICT THAT THIS IS BULLSHIT]