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#Post#: 2257--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: Lamplight Date: April 5, 2017, 3:20 pm
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Lamplight can't help but chuckle at the black pony's
over-the-top introduction and cheesy greeting. "Nice to meet you
too, I'm Lamplight." She withdraws her hoof and gives a little
bit of a bow herself. She glances over at the other stallion,
who seems to be a bit overwhelmed at the moment. She's not
surprised, the newcomer seems to be a real handful. She steps
over to the electrically charged pony as he loses his train of
though, apparently distracted by a pony nearby taking a shot.
"Bowling is pretty popular, yeah. And the pins are for, well,
that." She motions to the knocked down pins in the other alley.
#Post#: 2268--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: Hex Date: April 8, 2017, 9:33 am
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[I]PLO. What kind of ridiculous name is that? Some sort of...
accented mispronunciation of Plow? What kind of unicorn would be
named Plow, unless perhaps they were a farmer?[/I] Hex shook his
head. [I]Country bumpkin indeed.[/I]
"Yeah", Hex says, stepping forward. "It's amazing what you can
learn when you actually use your eyes instead of just, you know,
flying off the handle at ponies." His voice adopts a more
patronizing tone as he continues. "Of course, I understand that
this can be a lot to take in. Maybe you've seen enough for, and
you can go home and have a lie down, take some time to process
everything."
Of course, Hex has already paid for the... "PLO"... if it is his
real name... But he's secure enough in his finances to have
wasted a few bits to get this pony out of his mane. And he
supposes it wouldn't be a total loss if he gets to spend some
time with this new mare. Lamplight, was it? Nice name, at least.
#Post#: 2270--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: PLO Date: April 8, 2017, 7:45 pm
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PLO's mane crackles audibly as he turns, facing the green pony
once more, the air around him almost seeming darker. "Off dhe
handle, you say?" His voice has slipped deeply back into his
accent. "My least sincere apologies to you, good sir, but I vhas
merely inqvhiringk as to dhe purpose of dhe strange vhite
objects. A qvestion, I might add, dhat you did not answer. But."
He reigns himself in, fighting his accent back down as well. "I
vh- will play your silly bowlingk- bowling game. Fear not for my
mental faculties."
He strides regally to the balls and picks one up with his magic,
not sullying his hooves with these large, strange, heavy
spheres. That green stallion would probably get an immense
amount of satisfaction from seeing him fail. And he might. But
no way would he let this...this pleb insult his intelligence.
Scowling, he stands at the entrance to the lane and hurls the
ball across, where it collides with the pins without ever
touching the ground. Six of the pins go down the back of the
lane, leaving the one on the right and three in the left corner
still standing. "How vh- was that?" he asks, glowering fiercely
at the green pony.
#Post#: 2333--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: Lamplight Date: April 18, 2017, 7:52 pm
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Lamplight can definitely see why the green pony would be
irritated by the newcomer. His personality certainly seems...
interesting. She steps a little bit closer as PLO takes offence
at the other pony's remark, his mane sparking ominously. She
doesn't really believe he'd try to hurt anypony, and he calms
down soon enough and walks over to grab one of the bowling balls
and proceeds to hurl it down the lane and smash several of the
pins down. Lamplight has to suppress a giggle. "You didn't do
too bad with the pins, but uh..." She walks over and takes a
ball herself, walking past PLO to the lane. "You're supposed to
roll it, it doesn't count if you just throw it at them." She
rolls the ball down at the pins, knocking down the remaining
three on the left side.
#Post#: 2373--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: Hex Date: April 28, 2017, 11:00 pm
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Hex takes another moment to steel himself. [I]This pony
certainly is not un-intimidating. Perhaps antagonizing him
wasn't in my best interest...[/I] Maybe it could be salvaged a
little.
He marks down the score of the mare and the weirdo, a 6 and a 3.
"I won't say whether you did well or not, since you technically
cheated, a nice thing to do right after disparaging my
character, I might add..." [I]Dang it, whatever happened to
salvaging this?[/I] "...but I'll go ahead and say with her help
you may qualify as a beginner. Let's do it like her from now on
and maybe they won't kick us out before the night is over."
[I]Shutting up should probably be high on my priority list about
now...[/I]
As they speak, the pins glow faintly pink as they're moved back
into place; no hint manifests itself as to the source, except
the glow around the horn of a stallion at the end of the row of
lanes whose nose is buried in a book which (mostly) hides the
bored expression on his face. "Now if you don't mind clearing
the way, I have some stalwart standing pins to lay waste to."
Hex walks over to the ball rack and picks out a blue 9-pounder
before taking his position.
He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, trying to
distract himself from the trouble he's surely in, then steps
forward and lets loose the ball of bowl.
#Post#: 2376--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: PLO Date: April 29, 2017, 4:44 pm
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While the green pony takes his turn, PLO walks curiously over to
the card he'd been marking. It appears to be some kind of record
keeping card, with slots for the numbers of pins that get
knocked down, and...names...
Well, that shouldn't be. Perhaps that pony...the card says "Hex"
on his, is he perhaps a warlock? It is not completely unheard of
for a non-unicorn witch or warlock...regardless, this "Hex"
seems to have perhaps misheard his name and marked it as
"Plow?", additionally drawing flowers around it. This is not
something PLO would stand for. From within his cloak, he
produces a dollop of red wax and sets it against his horn,
melting a drop off onto his slot on the scorecard.
A clatter of those "pins" (why are they called that? They'd have
a hard time piercing anything) draws his eyes up. "You would
fail to tell me all of the rules of your game and then presume
to accuse me of cheating, Mr...Five Pins?" Of the ten pins, Hex
had knocked down half, all on the left side. He puts the wax
back into its place and swaps it out for a signet ring which he
presses onto the drop on the scorecard, clearly marking his slot
as PLO. With perhaps a smidge of an extra letter on the tail
end.
When the ring is back in its place, he marks a 5 next to the
possible hexer's name and grabs another ball. This one feels a
bit lighter than the previous one. "Perhaps I should turn to
another to teach me, if you are not up to the task," he says,
ignoring Hex's attempt to interrupt him as he rolls the ball
down the lane, knocking over the rest of the pins with a smug
smirk on his face.
#Post#: 2430--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: Lamplight Date: May 11, 2017, 8:10 pm
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Lamplight eyes the last remaining pin regretfully and steps back
from the lane. She shouldn't have expected to knock down the one
way on the other side, of course, but it still feels somehow
inadequate. She walks past Hex as the pins are reset, and shakes
her head at his snippy attitude. Not that PLO is behaving much
better himself with his little tirade earlier. She looks back
down the bowling alley at where her regulars are in the middle
of their own game, and wonders if she shouldn't just go back and
join them again. No, she's being a bit unfair she tells herself
as she watches PLO messing around with the scoreboard. Stamping
his name on it with a signet ring and wax? Lamplight can't help
but roll her eyes at that, it's just a casual game after all.
They're not even really playing right, taking turns rather than
getting two balls each. She waits for him to finish taking his
turn, knocking down the other half of the pins that Hex missed.
"You know," Lamplight starts, "We haven't really taught him how
to play properly. Why don't we start over?"
#Post#: 2462--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: Hex Date: May 26, 2017, 10:24 am
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Hex looks like he's about to say something really mean and/or
stupid, which he probably was, but manages to stop himself to
take a deep breath.
[I]Hfffffffffffffffffffff...[/I]
[I]Pahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...[/I]
"You're right", he says to the mare. "Let's start over." He
manages to suppress a smirk, but the tongue in his cheek may be
visible for a second to anypony observant enough.
He gestures grandly to the surrounding area. "Behold the mighty
bowling alley", he says, drawing a few glances from other
patrons that he tries his best to ignore. "Called so because, at
its inception, it was carried out clandestinely in the shadowy
recesses of cities. For you see, it wasn't always a game; at its
inception, it was a divination method.
"Back in the day, before the three tribes came together, earth
ponies had a big dislike for magic. Or anything unicorn-related,
really. Not a lot of trust for them. But a few of us, desperate
souls, believed that they could help us see the future. They
would search out these fortune-tellers, who would give them a
large wooden ball. Several long metal needles were set standing,
point up, next to a map. They would pose a question; where they
could find love, where to buy a house, where to plant their
crops. Then they would tip the ball out of a bowl, forcefully,
knocking the needles flying. Every point where a pin stuck into
the map was a place where they should seek out whatever they had
asked for.
"Over time, I guess ponies just realized it was a fun thing to
do, so they decided to come up with rules and remove the pointy
bits that were liable to hurt you."
There. He thinks he managed to keep a straight face through it.
#Post#: 2984--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: PLO Date: July 16, 2017, 4:14 pm
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PLO listens intently to Hex's exposition, taking it in full
earnest. Fortune telling, huh? That would explain the affinity
with the game for a pony named "Hex". When the origin story is
done, PLO remains quiet for a couple moments, a burnt smell
seemingly taking the air as he processes what he has seen of the
game and what he was just told, bringing them into some
semblance of sense in his head. "Yes indeed," he says slowly
after a time. "These origins explain much of the game to me. Let
me see if I have this straight.
"The ball is a projection of our wills, to find and arrange our
fates." He motions to the pins at the end of one of the lanes.
"As an allegory for the points of fate, the goal of the game is
to destroy the...'pins' or rearrange them to our desires,
wresting control of our destinies for ourselves. Thus each pin
knocked aside is a triumph, a force towards an outcome more in
line with our own desires." He taps the score card next, with
the lined out boxes. "Two tries are allowed, for many seek
second chances and offer them to each other, but to seek a third
is to tempt the backlash of the cosmos by trying to wrest too
much control from its path. Knocking over all the pins grants
extra points for the round based on the next rolls of the ball,
as such could be attributed partially to the success previously
in controlling one's fate, granting a better position to be able
to do so again in the future."
PLO paces up to the opening of the lane, peering at the gutters.
"And if our wills are too poorly directed, they may have no
effect on our fates, or even adverse consequences. Thus the two
tracks that lead to no gains at all, as trying too hard or not
enough can sour the future. And going too far in changing the
outcome," he continues, hoofing along the foul line, "is just as
bad as trying to avoid it entirely, rendering a misstep as bad
as a misapplication."
He trots back to the scorecard again, tapping at the final round
squares. "And doing well enough on our tries to direct fate may
very well grant us advantage in the next life, so finishing out
with the clearing of the board grant extra opportunity to modify
our destiny further, though the lack of knowledge of the far
side of the afterlife is enough that the extra earnings
supposedly earned in the next life means that knocking the pins
down at that point are only granted as an addition to the
initial score of the last throw, not getting credited as gains
in and of themselves."
PLO pauses at the scorecard, his mane crackling as he tries to
think of whether he missed anything. "Did I miss anything?" he
asks, tossing his glance between Lamplight and Hex.
#Post#: 3057--------------------------------------------------
Re: Out of His Element
By: Lamplight Date: August 4, 2017, 9:06 pm
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Lamplight just shakes her head and glances over at the other
patrons who's attention had been drawn by Hex's "explanation" of
bowling. As if this game needed to be any more ridiculous. Of
course, Lamplight doesn't know much about the origins of the
sport herself; she somehow doubts it involved fortune tellers
though. Still, she has to give him some points for coming up
with all of that on the spot. PLO, of course, appears to believe
every word of it. He even provides his own interpretation of
what he thinks the silly history hex gave means. Ridiculous as
it is, it will at least make a pretty good story for later, one
the regulars would surely find amusing. Lamplight suppresses a
giggle, the two stallion's unfriendly attitudes forgiven at
least for now. Despite the ridiculous nature of Hex's tale, it
seems PLO has managed to pick up on the proper rules of the
game, and they were finally about ready to start a real game.
She smiles at PLO and shoots a glance over at Hex. "That's more
or less it." She can always tell him the truth later, for now,
pointing it out will probably just result in the two butting
heads again. "So, who's going first?" She asks, "I'll just sit
out and keep score for now." Hopefully they don't fight over who
gets to go first. Maybe she should have suggested a coin flip...
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