week three | dates

[showhost]

You worked up your courage and asked someone out on a date! Good job!





Now you have to hope the producers are kind re: where they send you.

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[haircared]

[ Oh, she doesn't know anything about games. Great, this is about to be a blast. Josuke brightens up even more, happy to explain. ]

Yeah, they're called "video games." You've probably played with, hm.... dice or cards, right? Or a board game? It's like those, but you play on a screen. And it's a lot more immersive.

[ He pats one of the motorcycle seats near them, thinking fondly of the last time he rode one. ]

In this one, you sit on and steer these bikes to race each other on the screen. I guess it'd kinda be like... uh... riding a horse, or driving a car.

[ Still not completely sure what she would be familiar with, so he tosses both of those out. ]

Anyway, places like these, if you're good enough at the games, you can win prizes. Sometimes, you can even get money.

[rosethorns]

So a bit like gambling.

[Money and prizes and the comparison to card games certainly lends to a conclusion like that, but there’s a little bit of wryness to her smile.]

Sounds like we’re in for some fun, though. I’ll have to follow your lead. [She lets her fingers glide across the nearest of the motorcycle seats.] You said it’s like riding a horse?

[Not a great skill of hers by any stretch, but this can’t be as hard as having a fidgety beast to control.]

[haircared]

[ He nods — yes, like gambling. Playing games for a payout. With her showing interest in the motorcycle game, he leans back on the adjacent seat, fishing the card they were given out of his pocket. ]

Yeah, sort of. See that pedal down there? You press down on it to accelerate. [ He gestures to it, then squeezes one of the handlebars. ] And these are the brakes. Kind of like the reins, I guess? This game is probably a lot easier than driving the real thing, don't worry.

[ You know... probably. He's only driven a motorcycle under truly dire circumstances, so he assumes this will be like a walk in the park. He laughs, explaining this all breezily. ]

And there's no danger of crashing. So, what do you say? Wanna race?

[ It's a bit of a joking challenge — he likes fun competitions. Why play games if you're not both gonna be fired up about winning? ]

[rosethorns]

[Competition isn't necessarily a major draw for her, but she can appreciate the allure when it's done in good fun—and it makes for a good gauge for getting to know how someone behaves when stakes come into play.

Which is all to say that she takes in his explanations with keen interest before taking him up on it.]

Hopefully I'll fare much better at this than I actually do riding.

[She laughs, but carefully swings a leg over to sit up on her motorcycle seat. The pedal and 'reins' get some experimental prodding to figure out the feel of them. Hmm.]

I suppose there's only one way to learn. Let's give it a go, then!

[haircared]

[ He settles in to the game next to her, expertly swiping the card for both of the consoles. Look, they even get to choose their bikes... there's a lot of color options on the screen to sift through. ]

You really ride horses? [ He laughs, scrolling to the purplest bike, briefly thinking about how cool he would look if he really had a bike like this in real life. Or if it was pink, maybe... ] Gotta be honest, I've never done it before. Seems like it'd be kinda scary.

[rosethorns]

[It takes her a second to figure out how to scroll through the bikes, but after glancing Josuke's way, she picks it up. She opts to go with a brilliant red one.]

The real scary ride is on a pegasus. At least with horses you're still firmly on the ground, not twisting around in the air at the whims of a flighty creature.

[haircared]

[ <--- guy who up until this point thought Dorothea was from a regular world ]

Wait... for real? Like a winged horse?

[ Their race can hang on for a minute, this is FAR MORE IMPORTANT!!! ]

[rosethorns]

[ <--- gal who definitely thought everyone had these things running around.]

Of course, what else would it be? [She sits up a little straighter since the game is OBVIOUSLY on hold while they sort this out, and her brows furrow a little in confusion.] Are they not common where you’re from? Now that I think about it, Ritsuka had sounded a little surprised when I mentioned them to her too…