perfectmatch | week three

[ Meanwhile, Poppy is a normie and unaware of any ghosties. She just sees a normal arcade!! ]

Yeah! I haven't had the chance to go to one of these in ages. This is awesome.

[ She looks just about ready to take his hand and drag him off somewhere, but first, looking him up and down — ]

Hat would get in the way here, hmm?

[ With a little smirk on her face, but this is definitely just gentle teasing. Meanwhile, she's wearing what she pretty much always does: hoodie. ]

Eeh, it's embarrassing if you point it out like that, Miss Poppy ...

[ This would be a lot more convincing if he didn't say it at a near deadpan. ]

But it'd get hot wearing it indoors around so many machines, and I've already worn it long enough on the show to have firmly established by image by now, don't you think?

[ Oho, so it's not embarrassing at all. She grins at him. ]

Ohhhh, so this has been a branding exercise for you, has it? You're looking to advertise yourself?

[ Said like

Well, like that's kind of what she's here for. ]

[ Shamelessly: ] Of course! There's no rest for a freelancer in this day and age, when PR work all falls upon the individual and you never know when something might go viral. And a chance to cross-promote to an audience that's both wide-reaching and not the usual niche holds tremendous potential. It would be a mistake to let it slip by without doing some good promotion work, wouldn't it?

[ At least he's not here just to prattle and shill, though. Rom starts ambling down the aisle as he speaks, expecting Poppy to follow as he takes stock of what games are available. It's a pretty good and varied spread. ]

[ Okay yeah this guy is definitely an influencer.

Poppy just blinks up at him, but mostly because he is definitely better at this than she is. She should probably listen to him. Maybe pick up a pointer or two, but... ]

Cool, cool... yeah, you're right...

[ ... nahhhh they're in an arcade, it's video game time, and so she grabs his wrist to pull him over to a two-person game she spots; one with big, bulky plastic guns for them to hold aloft and shoot enemies. ]

C'mere. This one!

[ thank you so much for saving me from having to write another tag about influencer bullshit ]

Mm?

[ Rom puts up zero resistance when Poppy grabs at his arm, trotting along obligingly as he's tugged towards a machine. Is it just Poppy's imagination or does he perk up a tiny bit when she selects the light-gun game??? ]

Oooh, an excellent choice! I haven't played once of these in a while ... [ So he says, but he looks extremely at ease as he pops the plastic gun out of its holster and gives it a few experimental clicks. ] Shall we see if we can one-coin clear it?

Edited 2025-06-24 01:58 (UTC)

[ always

But, nope, Poppy's definitely noticing him perk up a little. The influencer stuff feels kind of rehearsed in a way, this feels a little more natural? This is the moment where she's deciding she really, genuinely likes Rom as a person.

So she's picking up her own gun, turning it over in her hands before she looks up at him. Oh yeah, this'll do... ]

We can absolutely one-coin clear it. [ If Rom is an actual gamer, then there is no doubt in her mind.

Clicks her own gun, aiming it at the screen now, and in the most badass voice she can muster: ] Let's do this.

Oh? Such confidence!

[ A grin as he slots in the coins to get their game started, then straightens back up, plastic gun held loosely. ]

I'll have to do my best not to let you down.

[ Then there's the electronic jingle of a round starting, before enemies start filtering onto the screen.

Rom seems to have been telling the truth that it's been a while since he played one of these. But that's no problem at all -- he only needs the first few minutes to acclimate to the setup and get used to the controls. Once that's done, he's a beast, all whip-fast reflexes and creepily good intuition, and a decent team player to boot. ]

[ Such confidence, and for once, it actually is earned. She shoots Rom a little sideways grin before turning her full attention to the screen, because of course there are now enemies to kill. Poppy swears under her breath every time she misses one, but soon enough she's on top of things — maybe not beast-like like her partner over here, but highly competent with a quick trigger finger that's more accurate than not.

And even a decent team player, to boot, because she is not going to let him die. They need to share this victory together, after all! One-coin cleared and everything!

They're well on their way. Poppy doesn't look away from the screen as she takes down another enemy, but she does have time to let out a low whistle as their scores keep racking up. ]

You really are good at this. Not that I doubted you — [ did she. Another enemy down — ] but I could see you and I tearing through this entire place.

[ is this friendship. is this respect. well yes. ]

week three | dates

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