[video]

[scootch]

[The journal clicks to life - shaky at first, then clearing up to show Ellie's excited face.]

Oh man- is this what used to happen during Christmas? The whole surprise-gifts-under-the-tree or whatever... it's kind of late, and yeah, there's no tree, but--!!

[She turns the journal around to show her sparsely-decorated apartment at first, and then, when she fixes it, a big, box-style arcade machine, the game title of "The Turning" splashed across the front in faded letters. It looks kind of beaten up, but not in too terrible a condition.]

Does anybody know about this game? It's supposed to be so cool, I heard all about it from a friend back home. I can't get it to work, though... they're supposed to be plugged in, right? It's in the middle of the room, so the cord won't reach anything.

Can somebody strong come over and help me move it? I wanna give it a try! ...And if it doesn't work, would anybody know how to fix this kind of thing?

Comments

[Written]

[scootch]

[Oh dear. Her writing isn't exactly eloquent - she can do it, but lack practice or need makes it kind of a mess - but she tries.]

Really? Okay, I'll have to try that. [...] Are they easy to break? I don't want to wreck it by taking it apart the wrong way.

[Written]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

Arcade games are pretty sturdy. Most of the cabinets I knew had locks to keep the service panel in place and to prevent kids from removing it. If you didn't get keys, it's possible there's not a lock on it or there's just regular screws holding it in place.

[A pause.]

You can talk if you want to, by the way.

[scootch]

You don't mind?

[She asks, as she's already switching to audio. Oh well, the lady'd said it, so Ellie will take her word for it.]

Oh, okay. Um... I'll look for some keys, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any. And I'll try the back panel, too.

[Written]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

Of course not.

You can also see if the coin panel on the front is locked. If it's not, keys might be in there. Sometimes the button for the debug menu is located in the front. It's how you change things like game difficulty and how much money you have to put in to play.

[scootch]

[....Oh, right. Money.]

We don't have any coins here, though.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

You can set machines to freeplay mode, no money needed then.

[A pause.]

But if you wanted the authentic feel of putting quarters into the machine, maybe someone at the smithy could make some metal tokens the same size and weight? It is a bit satisfying feeding tokens into the machine.

[scootch]

Oh wow, I never even thought of that. I'll give it a shot! Maybe the game's got a few spare coins hidden somewhere that I can use for a reference.

I like the idea of getting the authentic experience.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

Maybe there's a present inside the coin box. If I had any coins in my pockets, I'd pass them your way too.

You could always have a custom token made for this place too. Wings on one side?

[scootch]

Oh wow, that would be kind of badass! It'd be like Luceti's first coins. I think, anyway. I've never seen them before.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

I'm assuming there's no official currency or we'd probably be using it. But wings on one side seems fitting. Not sure what would go on the other. But if you're designing custom tokens, you'd get to decide what it looks like.

[scootch]

I don't know if I'm much of a designer, but it might be fun. I'll look into it, thanks.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

You're welcome. I'm Ginia, sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner.

[scootch]

No worries. I'm Ellie, nice to meet you. How come you're writing everything?

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

Nice to meet you too. And I'm mute.

[scootch]

Oh.

[Well that's awkward.]

Sorry!

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

Don't be. It's not that bad really. Honestly, I feel more sorry for the people that have to read everything I write.

[scootch]

[Well, at least there's that.]

It's okay, I don't mind. It's good practice anyhow.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[That's for sure, though to need practice reading or writing... hm.]

Been in Luceti long?

[scootch]

Like, four months? Long enough, though I know people've been around a lot longer.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

Doing okay? No one giving you grief or anything?

[Don't mind her, she's got a soft spot for kids and teens.]

[scootch]

Not really. Everyone here is pretty cool. If anything it's weirding me out, I'm not used to it.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

I hear you on that. Not a bad thing since we're all in this enclosure together, but still odd.

[scootch]

I can't complain. It's the first time I've been treated like I've heard kids are supposed to get treated. I've even gone to school.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

How are kids treated in your world?

[scootch]

Like shit, in a nutshell.

[Oversimplifying it, maybe, but humanity's made it pretty clear how worthless you are when you can't help rebuild society yet.]