[ They both must look like shit, because along with playing the slot machine for the 30th straight hour, Minato has also been subsiding on mostly coffee and whatever people pity feed him. He hasn't seen sunlight in a whole day.
He looks up and over at Axel when he speaks up, with absolutely no interruption in his lever pulling. ]
I'm not a gambler.
[ He's not gambling? This isn't an addiction. Axel doesn't know what he's talking about. ]
[ ... lea strolls over and leans over to look at minato's screen, a hand on the back of his chair. if there's one and it's not a stoole. i don't know what slot machine chairs look like and i'm too afraid to ask ]
[ I'm imagining one of those nice plush chairs, something comfortable to entice people to sit there all day and night, the opposite of hard restaurant stools that encourage people to leave. ]
Finding answers.
[ ...That was vague and he knows it. He fails another two times before looking up at Axel again. ]
What if it isn't, though? You know how in videogames, there's always this little mini-game... Sometimes it doesn't pertain to the main story, but there could be a chance it does. Maybe this is the key.
Uh... the video games I've played aren't that intricate, man. [ mostly because he has not touched any in Forever ] You seriously think there's a secret clue in the casino jackpot?
[ He hopes it's something more interesting than playing slots. His arm's starting to cramp and it's only day 2. ]
It's worth a try, isn't it? It's not even something that needs skill, just patience. I'm patient enough, and I don't have anything else going on, either.
[ No, he really wants to ask what a gummiphone is and what sort of games are on there and if Lea has his gummiphone with him and maybe they can play a little, but then Lea goes ahead and says that, and Minato has to turn away and squint at his reflection on the surface of the slot machine.
He looks like crap, but also, this is how he normally looks. ]
I think it's the lighting... Natural light tends to make things look softer. The ones here kinda flash and make my head hurt.
[ Minato frowns a little at having his hair ruffled, but makes no effort to pull away or fix his hair after Lea pulls away. ]
I'm keeping hydrated... Look how much coffee I've drank.
[ So many cups.... that are immediately peed out, so idk whether this is actually hydrating or dehydrating. Also the caffeine makes it impossible to take a break. He's Tired and Wired, a terrible combination. ]
The jackpot's there, but... If this would, in anyways, help... I know it doesn't matter who of us wins, but I don't want it to be months later, when it could be days. Nobody should have to be here that long.
[ That's exactly what it is, and so Lea should understand, right? ]
If I decide to tough it out, perhaps I'll be able to win by the next couple days. But if I take a nap and go outside, the outcome of the next pull is going to be different. It's not a matter of time, but of consequence.
[ Taking a half hour nap doesn't mean the jackpot is 30 minutes later, it means he's throw into a completely different timeline and maybe in this one, there is no jackpot, ever. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
WEEK 1, TUESDAY
he is currently not playing the slot machines. that's it. that's all of it ]
I didn't take you for a gambler, kid.
[ aren't all gamblers british or pirates ]
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He looks up and over at Axel when he speaks up, with absolutely no interruption in his lever pulling. ]
I'm not a gambler.
[ He's not gambling? This isn't an addiction. Axel doesn't know what he's talking about. ]
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Uh-huh. So what're you doing, then?
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Finding answers.
[ ...That was vague and he knows it. He fails another two times before looking up at Axel again. ]
What do you think the grand prize is?
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[ he has not really thought about it. ]
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What if it isn't, though? You know how in videogames, there's always this little mini-game... Sometimes it doesn't pertain to the main story, but there could be a chance it does. Maybe this is the key.
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[ He hopes it's something more interesting than playing slots. His arm's starting to cramp and it's only day 2. ]
It's worth a try, isn't it? It's not even something that needs skill, just patience. I'm patient enough, and I don't have anything else going on, either.
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The ones on my gummiphone, I guess?
[ but also minato the subject of video games is absolutely not the main point, and he looks critically at him ]
"Don't have anything else"... including eating and sleeping, or is it the lighting that makes you look this bad?
[ you can't criticize if you make it a joke, lea ]
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He looks like crap, but also, this is how he normally looks. ]
I think it's the lighting... Natural light tends to make things look softer. The ones here kinda flash and make my head hurt.
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He ruffles Minato's hair when he looks at himself in the reflection because how can he ? resist? ]
I think that's the dehydration, buddy. Your brain is begging you to take a break.
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I'm keeping hydrated... Look how much coffee I've drank.
[ So many cups.... that are immediately peed out, so idk whether this is actually hydrating or dehydrating. Also the caffeine makes it impossible to take a break. He's Tired and Wired, a terrible combination. ]
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That ... might be the real problem, actually. [ a... alright then ] Y'know, the jackpot's gonna be there even if you take a break.
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The jackpot's there, but... If this would, in anyways, help... I know it doesn't matter who of us wins, but I don't want it to be months later, when it could be days. Nobody should have to be here that long.
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You think taking a nap and seeing the sun for fifteen minutes is gonna delay you by months?
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If I take a nap, I'm not going to wake up for the next fourteen hours... Do you know of the butterfly effect, Lea?
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[ that is the most basic understanding of it, but he refuses to ever not use layman's terms ]
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[ That's exactly what it is, and so Lea should understand, right? ]
If I decide to tough it out, perhaps I'll be able to win by the next couple days. But if I take a nap and go outside, the outcome of the next pull is going to be different. It's not a matter of time, but of consequence.
[ Taking a half hour nap doesn't mean the jackpot is 30 minutes later, it means he's throw into a completely different timeline and maybe in this one, there is no jackpot, ever. ]
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I dunno, man. I always thought it was kinda bogus. [ ruthlessly blunt. ] What if you playing non-stop has unforeseen consequences the other way?
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Could happen. It's a chance I'm willing to take, though.
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Well... I won't stop you. But if you start hallucinating, at least take a nap? That's usually when things go bad.
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[ It's a serious question. Once that's out there, he can't even be sure this isn't a hallucination, this entire conversation with Lea. ]
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Hallucinations can't hurt you, but that you even had to ask means it's naptime. Chop chop.
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If hallucinations can't hurt me, then it's fine, isn't it...? I'll sleep whenever I pass out next.
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[ he is considering picking minato up and bundling him in a blanket burrito ]
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