[closed] STRIKE OUT

[horrifictie]

Who ⬤ Harry, Kim, Kamui, Andy
What ⬤ Bowling Match
When ⬤ Early July
Where ⬤ Sutoku Region Bowling Alley
Content Warnings ⬤ N/A




With the blood rain and cursed nightmares gone, there's a promise that must be fulfilled. The bowling match of the century: Harry & Andy vs Kim & Kamui. The prize: the right to brag and sneer over the losers. The most important thing isn't winning, but that your enemies *lose*.

Comments

pre-game huddle: harry and andy

[horrifictie]

[ match is starting up in ten minutes or so. harry has his bowling fit on and bought an extra shirt for andy to wear too. ]

Ok, let's go over tactics. But first: get the shirt on.

[killtime]

[ It's an ugly shirt. Andy holds it up, then decides to make it uglier by unceremoniously ripping the sleeves off. Then she puts it on. ]

Okay. [ Dryly: ] Now what? You have some kind of grand master plan, Detective?

[horrifictie]

[ CONCEPTUALIZATION - Damn! Now you won't match as a perfect pair. Should you rip your sleeves too?
COMPOSURE - No, don't. You can't pull it off like she can. ]

I do. [ He smiles, twinkle in his eye. ] Know anything about *psy-ops*?

[killtime]

[ Of course he does. ]

What, like psychological warfare? [ This should be good. ] You want to play bowling mind games?

[horrifictie]

Exactly. It isn't only about how well we do. We need to screw with their heads a little, plant seeds of doubt.

For instance: if we play badly at first, they might get over-confident and start taking things too easy. *Or* we can play really good and psyche them out.

[killtime]

[ Dryly: ]

You want to bet on Kim taking things easy? Seems like bad fucking odds to me. [ Call it a gut feeling, but she’s pretty sure Kim’s coming for blood. ] Maybe we should reconsider my plan. The one where you distract him.

[horrifictie]

Distract him how? [ He raises an eyebrow. ] The guy cannot be distracted, Andy. I've seen how he can get. There's also Kamui too.

GOLD TEAM RULES: kamui and kim

[metafictions]

[This was his idea, after all, but the truth is... he has literally only gone bowling twice in his life. With everyone taking this 500 times more seriously than he is, poor Kamui's nursing some liquid courage at their lane's table-- too bad it's watered-down bowling alley beer, but it'll have to do!!]

Hey, Kim... do you have a plan for this?

[aceslow]

[ Kim, on the other hand, has been studying the bowling lanes with far more intensity than Kamui is accustomed to seeing from him. He can be trusted to stay focused during a crisis, of course, but he is otherwise a quiet, mild presence more apt to staying silent than anything else.

He's still silent now, mind. But there's a certain... focus behind those lenses, as though he's attempting to dissect the cartoon bowling pins dancing around on the monitors in his mind. He adjusts his glasses. ]

Yes. My plan is to win. So... that is your plan too. [ He squints at him. ] You're heavier than you look. So you've got to be, what, 70 kilos?

[metafictions]

[He's noticed. It's... Disconcerting. (Has he imagined it, or has the man's energy shifted slightly?)

Kamui furrows his brow, meeting Kim's scrutinizing gaze:]

Er, yes. Thereabouts. I haven't weighed myself recently. [A slight frown.] How does that factor into the winning?

[aceslow]

The ball, of course. There's no point in playing the game if you're not going to play it right, [ Kim says primly, looking over the line-up of colourful balls by the machine. (It's quite the fascinating machine, admittedly. He had gotten here early and spent precious time that should have been spent getting acquainted with the place getting distracted by watching balls move through it and trying to figure out how it works.) ]

You should pick a ball weight that corresponds to your own weight. The material matters a great deal as well, apparently, but I'm not experienced enough to know the difference. You'll need... this one, I think, [ he says, grabbing a ball with some decent looking grip, weighing in at 7 kilos. Honestly, why didn't Kamui already know about this? He should have at least done some rudimentary research. ]

Mm... maybe we should have talked about this before game day. Oh, well. A quick briefing will have to do.

[metafictions]

[Kim's 'not experienced', but already plotting their bowling strategy down to the weight and material of the ball? What's next, pin trigonometry? Kamui, looking only very slightly befuddled, takes the 7-kilo ball in his hands, getting accustomed to the heft of it. He'd used a lighter bowling ball the last time he'd done this with Harry-- perhaps Kim really is onto something here.]

A... briefing.

[He squints up at Kim.]

I didn't know you were this passionate about bowling, Kim.

[aceslow]

I'm not. Silly game, isn't it? Throw the ball, knock down pins, get points. A child could do it.

[ A child could do it... there's one at the end of the hall, cheerfully bowling their heart out. Kim does not appear to see the irony in his words. ]

However. [ He tilts his head to where Andy and Harry are currently standing, heads together, transparently conspiring against them. ]

Don't tell me you don't want to kick their asses.

ghetto milf VS gold meowboy

[killtime]

[ She's something, alright. The little gods only know what, exactly. Sometimes she's hard and sharp, as cutting as any blade she's ever held. But not always. Not always with him. He's seen her soft. Playful. Wanting. He's seen that sly smile of hers. How her eyes become slivers of dark color when they're heavy-lidded. He knows what it's like to kiss her. To be inside her.

But that was once. And the woman sitting there as Kamui steps up for his turn remains as unreadable as she ever was. The weight of her attention is heavy. She's quiet until he stepping up to the line. She waits until he's about to let the ball fly. Only then does she finally speak, her voice pointedly wry: ]

You didn't call me.

[metafictions]

[See, when it comes to Andromache, this is precisely what he had been expecting. No amount of warning and mental preparation can compare to her bringing this up now, of all times-- so although he's not surprised, he is just a bit irritated with himself for letting that ball loose at just the wrong moment.

He swears he can sense Kim, competitive as he is, boring a hole into the back of his head. He can totally make a split and salvage this into a spare, though. Perhaps.]

I knew we were going to see each other soon. [he replies, tone measured. She's not gonna bully him today.] But I'm sorry I left you hanging again, Andy.

[killtime]

[ She shouldn't be amused to watch the bowling ball roll down the alley haphazardly. But she's always been a little mean. Even when she's fond of someone. Especially then. ]

That's twice now. [ Wryly, as she tilts her head to consider him: ] I'm going to start thinking you don't like me the way I like you.

[metafictions]

[The alley's mechanisms set the pins up again, that split staring him down almost accusingly. He casts a sheepish glance over his shoulder as his bowling ball rolls back up to meet him: yet again, Andy's got his number.

So Kamui goes with what's worked before. His own earnestness.] I don't know the rules, Andy. I don't know how this works. I'm sorry.

Unless you're messing with me.

[And then he hefts the ball back up again. Laser-focused, he rolls it down the lane-- his ball strikes one pin, which slides perfectly to knock down its brother. Split.]

[killtime]

[ She should probably be better at defending herself from this than she actually is. That earnest thing he does — the apology — it's too good a counter for her brand of antagonism. It disarms her a little. So maybe he's got her number as much as she's got his. ]

You don't know how what works? [ There's only a twinge left of her wryness, and it's more habitual than anything else. A small deflection, and mostly transparent. ] Bowling? [ She glances out at the lane, now cleared of pins. ] Because you seem to be doing just fucking fine.

[ That's not what he meant. They both know that she knows that. ]

[metafictions]

[Wow. It did work. Maybe he's better at dealing with Andy than he thought.]

Being... [A thoughtful pause.] Being friends, I suppose.

[He offers her a smile, small and shy, as he steps back to let her take her turn.]

I'd never really been close to anyone, really, until I got here. Everything is new to me.

kimbowl VS andramache

[killtime]

[ She always knew he'd be a formidable opponent, if it ever came to that. Maybe a bowling alley isn't her usual battle field, but Kim's as worthy a rival as she's ever had. That's what makes her want to win, more than anything. Bitch has always loved a good fight. Plus, there's that shit with the story. The one about Kim that Harry won't tell her unless they pull this off.

To that end, Andy's willing to play a little dirty. She'll wait until Kim's getting ready for his turn before she speaks up, casual as you please: ]

I hear you're more of a pinball man.

[ A shot in the dark. This woman has no idea. ]

[aceslow]

[ Kim had talked a big game about not letting Harry's trash talk get underneath his skin. He had, unfortunately, failed to register that Harry would give Andromache fuel for her own trash talk. Top secret fuel, at that. He looks stunned for a moment - one of the few good things about being here is leaving all that nonsense behind - and then his head swivels towards Harry with a nasty little scowl on his face. ]

Officer.

[ Traitor. ]

No. Pinball is a stupid game. Bowling is... [ He glances down at the ball. ] Marginally less stupid.

[killtime]

[ A shot in the dark, but her aim is more true than she expected. If she wasn't sure before, that little look Kim shoots Harry's way kills whatever doubt may have lingered. Andy, for her part, simply smirks. Smug as you fucking please. Bullseye.

Dryly, as she eyes the lieutenant: ]

Didn't think it would be such a passionate subject for you.

[aceslow]

I would not call it passionate. It's not even worth talking about, [ Kim says flatly, idly spinning a bowling ball in his gloved hands, his feathers unmistakeably ruffled. ]

I simply think it's a game of no value. All it did was plague dozens of failed bars with dead, difficult to maintain weight. [ He raises a brow at her. ] Why, are you a fan?

[killtime]

[ She gives Kim a pointed little look, like she knows there's something here and she wants him to know that she knows. Not that it would take any great detective to figure that out. He might say the subject isn't worthwhile, but he's already offered a rather specific opinion — and more words on the matter than he might for something else. ]

Can't say I feel strongly about it either way. [ Dryly: ] But you make it sound almost personal. Like pinball pissed in your cereal.

[aceslow]

It's just a stupid game. Nothing more. Surely you've thought the same about some of the foolish things that youths get into over the years.

[ Youths, he says, as though he's not currently the youngest one here. But if they're talking about who's older in spirit, Kim wins that competition handily. A part of him has been ancient since he was a small child, and that part of him is usually reserved for the sort of disdain he reserves for things that personally offend him. ]

It's really not worth talking about. Besides, last I checked, we're here to play a different game.