[Midnightkitkat]

prompt 3


Old maid anyone?

[Meridiem]

What game does your kalon suggest, and how do they win?

Rings and dings surrounded Nemo as he cautiously tiptoed around the casino. He saw kals winning and losing on his left and on his right. He was on the hunt for one of the two casino workers. His ears perked up as he heard some squabbling from a table nearby. It was one of the casino workers, Rook, arguing with a very angry blue kal.

"You cheated me out of that hand! I want a refund!" The angry blue kal was practically climbing on the table. They had their finger pointed in Rook's face.

"Look, lady, chill. This is a game based on luck and chance. I didn't cheat you of any money." Rook had their hands up like they were surrendering. This was the perfect time for Nemo to sneak in and get the keys.

"So, Rook right, well im here to play you in a coin flip game for those keys you got," Nemo pointed to the keys hanging on their belt loop, "It's just a simple game, no skills needed-"

"Look, kid, im busy with someone right now so why don't you come back later." Rook motioned his hand as to shoo away Nemo.

"You're missing a golden opportunity here! If you win, ill give you $100 right here right now on the spot," he flashed a bill in front of their eyes, mildly distracting them from the furious gambler still yelling pon them, "but if I win, I get those keys." Rook started to look over to Nemo to see what coin flip game they were getting roped into but the frustrated kal who was now crawling towards Rook, pulled their shirt so they would have to pay attention to them.

"The game is simple. Heads I win, tails you lose." Nemo stuck out his hand for a fair pregame shake. Rook was so distracted by the casino goer that they shook Nemo's hand. "Deal." Nemo flipped the coin. Tails. "So its tails, you lose. So sorry you'll get 'em next time!" Nemo swiped the keys from their loop and bolted off in the other direction before Rook could realize they had been played for a fool.

(361 words)

[veridian]

username: qpplepie / link to sign-up post: here / kalon used: esryn

"What game does your kalon suggest, and how do they win? "

Esryn stood still, very still, to the point that the only sign of movement on his face was a gentle blink and a twitch of his nose. His hand is by his chin, scratching thoughtfully. Even the wind does not bristle his hair. The two kalons in front of him, Spider and Rook, he remembers, stare at him in worry. His brilliantly blue eyes bear into their souls and a dark feeling overcomes their hearts.

"Is he still alive?" Rook hurriedly whispered to her colleague, who made a face, an owo face, mirroring the kid. Upon realising, she scowled to herself; both of these morons literally shared two brain cells. Pulling a hand down her face, she waved her free one in front of Esryn's. He looked straight ahead, lost in his own labyrinth of a mind. So motionless... like a stone idol, or... a sleeping baby. He looked impossible calm, almost like he wasn't really still on this earth. His chest heaved, but really that was the only thing about him that beckoned the fact that he was awake. His eyes may have been mercilessly locked with Spider's, but he was almost somewhere else entirely.

Then, abruptly, his hands and shoulder jumped up, causing him and Spider both to shiver. Her colleague's dumb.. owo face remained docile on his face, but he was confused and obviously disoriented as he turned his gaze to her. But she was watching the wild flurry of Esryn's hands, signing out words one by one.

"If you want to... play. Then so be it. I challenge you,"

She tch'd, but with a smile: she gave the kid some credit, he played to win. Maybe the two brain cells he shared with Spider was his own. "What's he saying?" Spider asked her, oblivious to the blur of fingers in front of him, as Esryn smiled innocently.

"You have to guess what I'm thinking of. No takebacks."

[whim]

What game does your kalon suggest, and how do they win?

Wandering aimlessly, Iris struggled to find something to do as ironic as it was. All around her were flashing lights and brilliant signs pointing her to potential activities, yet she was looking for something a little more... Mischevious.

Her eyes were set on a glimmer from the stand at the front of the casino, a couple of kalons chatting amongst themselves in front. A set of keys, they appeared to be. Iris approached them.

"So, what's it going to take to get those from you gentleman?" Iris nodded her head towards the pair of silver keys.

"What, those? Those there are to the engine room, missy, what could you possibly want there?" One of them spoke up, folding their arms over their chest with a quirked brow.

"I don't think that matters, but I want in. There has to be some way I can get them, no?"

They shot glances towards each other as if they could communicate with looks alone. "Alright. How about a game?"

"What kind of game?"

"We'll be nice this time around since you look new here... Your choice."

Iris' eyes went off to the side, pondering her options. It was fair, but oh boy, was she awful at literally any kind of games. Be it video games, board games, casino games- she could never secure a win, especially with the looks of those two. Perhaps she should try an unconventional game, so to speak?

"Alright. It's called... Two red birds and a snake."

The two squinted their eyes quizzically. "Never heard of it."

"It's simple, really. First, you have to set up who's going to be the birds, and who's going to be the snake. To do that, you roll a dice first. The number indicates what you roll next. Each number you roll after that gives you points which you then add up. But, rolling the same number more than twice will earn you a "void" roll which you cannot use. Void rolls are to be kept track of when the game actually starts as a sort of penalty."

Iris checked their expressions after her long-winded explanation. Confused, yet making the attempt to follow along. It seemed to be working. Little did they know she was actually in the lead.

"... Afterwards, you must get a deck of cards, dealing them all out to each of the three players equally. Each card is a different point value, much like the dice, which then gives you an animal. This animal's very important to your relationship to your own, ie, the bird or the snake."

It seemed to go on and on like this for nearly half an hour, Iris spitting out rules, steps, exceptions, and systems of the so-called "game." It was merely word-vomit, as Iris didn't have a clue herself as to what she was explaining. Eventually one of the kalons butted it, much to her pleasure, growling a little as he snatched the keys behind him.

"You know what, take 'em, kid. No game's worth the amount of time it takes to explain for Pete's sake."

"Aw, are you sure? I was just getting to the actual gameplay." She feigned disappointment.

"Yes, we're sure." Was the sharp reply, complimented with a glare.

The silver metal was placed in the palm of her paws, and Iris walked off triumphantly. Looks like she had won her little game.

[elyx]

hmmm... she couldn’t come up with a game that would give her a surefire way of winning, so why not leave it up to chance (like the casino) and go for a good old-fashioned game of rock, paper, scissors! let fate decide what would happen here on the island. plus she loved the adrenaline that comes from chance based games, there’s a reason she’s frequented the casino so much this vacation. you’d be surprised at how much strategy goes into such a simple game. or maybe she just overthinks things, who knows.

so, it’s simple. best two out of three.
she plays rock,
he plays scissors
1:0

she plays paper, he plays scissors (again)
1:1

this is where it gets interesting, a dead tie, this one is the tiebreaker, but what to pick? he’s gone scissors twice in a row so will he go again? or is it a ploy to get her to play rock and he’ll go paper and win? or did he even have a strategy at all? maybe she should’ve picked a different game, her luck this vacation hadn’t been great so far. oh well, it was in the hands of fate now.

she plays paper, he also plays paper
nobody gets a point,
1:1

aha! figured out his tactic! fate was still on her side! for now anyways. but what will he do next? does he know she’s on to him? what to play, what to play. she doubts he’d go scissors again after that, but she’s played paper twice in a row now. she’s really feeling scissors though, maybe fate is telling her something?

she goes scissors, he goes paper
2:1
she wins!
maybe after all this time her bad luck has finally worn off!

[Northstar.]

Northstar. | Team Squid | Feat. Bunny Holland

"You want those keys, Baby Shark?" Bunny declares, saluting the now scowling kalon with great enthusiasm. "You got 'em." With great, stomping steps she makes her way to the casino. Predictably she gets distracted halfway by fresh fruit-kabobs, munches on those for a few lovely seconds, and continues her stomp.

"SPIDER!" Bunny calls, swinging the door open with all the drama of an old western cartoon. Her eyes shift left and right, a whistle on her lips as she searches. The crimson kalon practically appears from thin air. He squints three of his eyes at the bunny-eared kalon, and raises the eyebrow above the other three.

"Yeah?" he says on a sigh. It was ridiculous the amount of kruisers trying to get the keys from him, and no way was he giving them up without a good duel.

"I challenge you!" Bunny hops to stand before him, one hand on her hip and one behind her back.

"What kinda game you got in mind?"

"A DONUT EATING CONTEST!" Bunny whips out five boxes of donuts from behind her back. The scent of glazed dough and chocolate envelop the casino, causing quite a few tummies to rumble embarrassingly.

"Eh, that's not my kinda game..." Spider sighs... But those donuts sure look good... "Sure. What're the stakes?"

"Winner gets the keys," Bunny smirks sneakily.

"Sure. Piece of cake."

Bunny's smirk stretches into a wide Grinch-grin.

-----

"I...don't... ever want to see... another... donut... again," Spider groans. He's practically green, watching at the bunny-eared kalon devours bite after bite of glazed dough. The battlefield is dour. Chunks of half-eaten donuts litter the table before him, smeared in chocolate and sprinkled with sprinkles. Four of the five boxes are empty, bearing only the crumbs of munched donuts. A half a chocolate glazed donut stick to his top left eye and glaze rings his mouth. He could barely get through the second box and here was this small kalon on her third. Sorcery.

"Oooo! Try this one! It has sprinkles!" Bunny begs, wafting a pink-glazed confection before his nose. The six-eyed kalon covers his mouth and holds his breath.

"No! Never again! I yield," Spider whispers tremulously. "The keys are yours!"

"Ha! YES!" Bunny crows her victory and eats another donut to congratulate herself.

In the end, Shark got the keys and Spider... Well... He learned a valuable lesson: Never challenge a sugar-obsessed kalon to a sugar eating contest. You'll always lose.

[Kyar]

Aɴʏᴏɴᴇ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀᴜɪsᴇ's ᴄʀᴇᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋᴇʏ?

The instant Shark’s lips formed the words, the idea was forming in Twig’s mind. A game... a game.

Yes. He had it.

There were always the classics: checkers, chess, go-fish or crazy eights. Spoons was a good one, or maybe even blackjack. But none of them were right.

Tick-tack-toe or hangman on the beach would be a simple challenge. Too simple. This had to be bigger than that.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

“I got it!” he shouted in excitement. “Shark. I need your help.”

-x-

It turned out he needed more than just shark’s help. It took a whole handful of islanders to create the beastly contraption that now marred the face of the beautiful beach. It was more than a game. This was a full on obstacle course, complete with ropes, walls, tires (well, as best they could come up with, which mostly meant stacks of rope, cut vines, life preservers, and a few actual tires) and the grand finale - a dive from the back of the cruise ship into the clear waters below. It was perfect. Brilliant. The best challenge Twig had ever conceived of. There was no way they were gonna back down from this.

-x-

“What do you mean you won’t?”

“I’m not crazy, kiddo,” Spider laughed. “Sorry. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure that’s actually safe,” Rook agreed. “Honestly, I think you would get hurt. And we couldn’t have that.”

“Sorry,” Spider repeated. “It does look really cool, though.”

Twig’s fest dig into the casino carpet. “No, wait. If I do it, will you give me the key? I can do it. I promise I won’t get hurt.”

Twig watched as the duo exchanged glances. Rook didn’t seem thrilled, but he was sure he saw a glint in at least one of Spider’s eyes.

“If I finish the whole thing in less than five minutes I win and you give me the key,” he chirped proudly. “If I don’t, you can keep the key and tell everyone it was a bad idea.”

“Okay.” Rook was the last one Twig expected to agree. But here they were.

“Okay. Come down to the beach, and time me!”

“You’re gonna get hurt, kiddo,” Spider frowned. “This isn’t our fault if you do.”

“Of course not. Now let’s go!”

-x-

Diving. Leaping. Crawling.

Sweat.

Twig looked soaked before he even made his way to the ship, racing up platforms past confused repairmen, bolting across abandoned decks and buffet tables before he made it to the end. Climbing over the rail, he gave Spider and Rook one last cheeky grin, two thumbs up, and turned to face the water.

“He’s not gonna do it.”

“We could’ve just given him the key.”

“It’s already been way past five minutes.”

“Yeah. Maybe we don’t tell him that.”

With a deep breath and a war cry, the tiny kalon flung himself into the warm, wavy sea.

[✦ nemuri]

nikolai walked around the casino, thinking absentmindedly to himself. he wanted to find a way to get into the engine room, but from the looks of it, the casino employees are in possession of the key. it didn't seem like they were going to just give the key away, much to his chagrin.

however, the ghost hunter didn't despair. although he didn't frequent casinos, there was one game that he rather enjoyed playing. even though blackjack was a game of luck, there were certain methods to increase your chances of hitting jackpot or making the dealer bust. nikolai certainly wasn't the best card counter out there, but he knew enough about it. with his plan in mind, he took off for the blackjack tables.

upon reaching his destination, he didn't sit down immediately. he opted to wander around the tables first, peeking at the cards that the other people held. he'd stay for a while at each table to see what kinds of cards were dealt, but he was always moving. nikolai did this for half an hour, and when he finally sat down on one of the stools, the first thing he did was to catch the attention of the dealer. the table he had sat down at hasn't had a large number of face cards appear yet, and he assumed that his luck would most likely be the best there.

"hey, i heard that if i beat an employee at a game, i'd be able to receive the key to unlocks the engine room?"

the dealer nodded. "that's right. are you going to be playing blackjack for this key?"

"of course," nikolai declared, clapping his hands together. he had exchanged some money for casino chips earlier, and he placed down a bet of 100. "how many games should we play to determine the winner?"

the dealer pondered for a bit, as the other players at the table also pushed forward chips all of different values. "how about five rounds? we're almost done here as it is."

nikolai nodded his head in agreement, and the dealer began to deal out the cards. as he predicted, the two cards he received were face cards that equaled 20. when it came for the dealer to ask players whether they wanted to stand or hit, most people chose to stand. the ones that hit groaned when they busted, and seeing the common trend at the table, nikolai decided to stand as well. the dealer chose to hit, but it turned out that they had busted as well! the dealer then paid those who didn't bust, as well as collecting the chips of those who had busted earlier on in the game.

the game continued in such a manner. nikolai won another round while the dealer won two rounds as well, and when it came down to the last round, the dealer stretched out his arms and glanced at nikolai. "so, this round settles everything, right?"

yes," nikolai replied, shifting around in his stool as the dealer began to deal out the cards once everyone had placed their bets. he was relaxed, almost as though he knew what the outcome of the round would be. so what if the dealer had won two rounds earlier? this round belonged to him.

sure enough, the dealer had dealt nikolai a natural blackjack. he received a face card and an ace, which could be one or eleven, depending on one's circumstances. the dealer's eyes widened slightly in surprised at the outcome, but he shrugged his shoulders in acceptance. "i see how it is! the cards of blackjack favour you, huh."

nikolai didn't say anything at that, instead opting to smile instead. the dealer paid him one and a half times of his bet, as well as handing him the key to the engine room. he murmured a quick "thanks" before leaving the table.

he had the key now! this was good news. now he could officially try to shut up any ghosts that try to talk to him about "priorities" and the "dangers of gambling".


( 679 words )

[persimmon]

Prompt 3


Since she's good at dancing, Sequoia decided to challenge them to a dancing competition.

[watts]

rhyming all day keeps the possibility of losing rap battles away ;)