forum "You DO like me!" "I don't think 'like' is the right word." "You tolerate me." "Maybe." one on one

Started January 29, 2021 by @cryptic-glitch

tune

"The claw thing seems pretty weak… are you sure it isn't broken?" He asked, watching closely and seeming confused. "I'm not sure it could lift anything up."

"Yeah. The game is sort of rigged against you. My mom is really good at it, though."

"Hm… I guess it's possible, then, but… intended to make you lose. What's the fun in making a game you can't win?"

"It makes it seem like you can win. It whets your appetite and then takes the snack away."

"But if everyone knows that, then why do they even play it? You know you're being tricked."

"Because you can get so goddamn close to winning, so you think you can win the second time you play, and it just goes downhill."

"Mm." Lin still looked pretty confused. "Seems like it would be better to not start in the first place, then."

"I know. I just like that frog."

"Alright, then by all means, continue."

Orion tried a few more times, and finally, she got the frog out of the machine.

"Nice! Now we can go do something else, yeah?"

"Yeah. Any particular game? Anything you noticed?"

Lin shrugged a bit. "I really don't know what they are."

"Hm. Well. Pick one that looks interesting. There's Whack-a-Mole, that zombie shooting game, uhm . . . Fruit Ninja. . ."

"I'll play whatever you want me to play, Orion." Lin shrugged.

“Ugh. Let’s do. . . Fruit Ninja.”

"Sure, works for me. I'll do whatever."

“Okay.” Orion put two tokens in the machine. “You get to play at the same time as I do on this one.”

"Oh, alright… how do I play it?" Lin asked, stepping up to the machine beside Orion.

“You just swipe your finger across the fruits, and try not to hit the bombs, as well.”

"Alright, then." Lin raised his finger to the screen and started playing alongside Orion. He seemed to be doing fairly well, although he was still confused.

“You’re doing good,” she said, giving him a light poke.

"Thanks… I've just been doing what you said. I don't think it's too hard? Unless I'm doing it really wrong…"

"It isn't that hard. Except when you do the endless version because then the fruit goes really fast."

"I guess that makes sense." Lin shrugged a bit. "When does the game end?"