View source for 2025-07-18: Goddess of Tricks

*'''Log: Goddess of Tricks'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Hazuki Nakao]], [[Tyler Gould]], [[Masao Inaba]]
*'''Where:''' Gigolo Arcade, Akihabara, Tokyo
*'''OOC Date:''' July 18, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' June 12, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Two strange gentlemen rescue a girl at an arcade from a situation she probably put herself into. It leads to her first grasp of connection in a while.''

----


 <Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
<poem>It is a decently packed Monday afternoon at the Gigolo Arcade in Akihabara. With a big game release in two Fridays, the staff prepares every day, fliers for June 22nd's Ultimate Night Parade 4 Remix Lightning Edition release event on both the exterior and to take home in the interior.
But that's not what's fun here. They have, besides many claw machines and shooting games, several cabinets for Super Night Parade 4 Advance Edition, which has gotten more popular in preparation for the launch. People are playing each other, often trading wins. But there's one cabinet, one that seems almost like it's sacred.
A teenage Japanese girl, around 16, in a hat, leather jacket, white undershirt, and overall fashion sense that screams 'foreign' (more Europe than American, but there's vibes of both) flexes her fingers, wearing compression gloves, waiting between rounds. Her opponent is sweating bullets, wiping his brow as he's trying to defeat her.
Within another minute and a half, he's down. Her health bar has moved very little.
"Screw you! You said you were brand new!" The older guy says as he rises, moving to hover over her.
"...what's...what's the big deal? It's not like we're playing for money..." The girl frowns, having not upsetted someone this much before. "It should teach you not to underestimate an opponent..."
"You think you can &#42;teach&#42; me? What's your problem?" The guy says, and it seems he might get heated. Elsewhere, a few people are chatting, watching as this goes on.
"The Goddess of Tricks might have bitten off more than she can chew. Phenomenal game skills, terrible people skills, right?" Another teenager laughs, and his buddies join in.
Looks like she isn't getting any distraction or assistance there.
"I just... wanted to have fun. I'm sorry to have upset-" she begins, but is cut off at the end.
"Sorry won't cut it! You need to pay me for my time!" the man says angrily. The guy is being ignored by Staff, who are a little busy (and hoping it sorts itself out, probably via her paying him).
Hopefully, the girl can get out of this, because otherwise... it may be tricky.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
<poem>Sometimes, help comes in the unlikeliest forms.
Take today, for example. In the middle of an arcade, one might be conjure up the image of a ripped fellow in a dogi of white or red. Or perhaps a more everyman hero, like a local plumber who just happens to have a particular affinity for fresh mushrooms...
Instead, the one who answers the call looks like he might be more inclined to play the villain. Garbed in black from head to toe, with a couple notable exceptions in shades of purple and red (like the Gekkoukan High patch emblazoned on his jacket). Skin as pale as a ghost (or, y'know, an American Introvert). Build not of a fighter, but far more lanky.
Tyler Gould might not look like a traditional hero by any means, but one thing he does have to his advantage? Height, the kind of look that usually makes people stay away and one might also add a deathwish to the list.
"If you want yen, get a job." comes the monotone words from the form stepping up behind said Goddess of Tricks, each carefully spoken and colored with that Bostonian accent. "If you want trouble..." he trails off, lowering his glasses to look directly into the older man's face, face expressionless. Eyes staring. "...then I'll give you that outside. You wouldn't want to break the games. Then I'd really have to hurt you."
Is this guy a highly trained martial artist? No. Secretly possessing legendary strength when made angry? No. He's someone who feels like he's got nothing to lose, and sometimes, that's even more frightening.
Tyler Gould
Tyler Gould is...
&#42; male (he/him)
&#42; about 17 years old
&#42; about 186 cm (6'1") tall
&#42; likely frowning
And he has...
&#42; straight, dyed-black hair that goes down to his neck, with...
&#42; a single purple stripe about an inch wide, which often hangs down between his left eye and nose
&#42; blue eyes, visible behind black-rimmed glasses with round lilac-tinted lenses
And he's dressed in the Gekkoukan High School's uniform, consisting of...
&#42; a black jacket that hangs open, with the Gekkoukan High School's logo emblazoned proudly upon it, worn over...
&#42; a black, long-sleeved shirt, with a somehow seemingly darker black tie tied neatly in place under his collar, tucked into...
&#42; black uniform slacks
&#42; a pair of black combat boots that are typically kept clean and shiny
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem>        For the likes of Masao "Mark" Inaba, struggling art college student reduced to living with the family again - no matter how much they missed one another - every so often he gets dragged along by things his parents need help with. The nearest place that has something they need for the family dry cleaning business is in Akihbara, and so it goes.
 
        'It goes' ends up being 'you have an hour or so to kill while waiting for said something to be delivered to the store' and it's just a whole mess unto itself. Welcome to life in the real world! Full of inconveniences and coincidential circumstances!
 
        He's just rubbing the back of his head as he ends up deciding the best way to spend that 'hour or so' is at a crowded arcade. Hm, hey, yeah, he hadn't been here in some years, he recognizes. The question is, do they still have that really old pinball machine? It's been some years, maybe he still got his high score.
 
        That pinball table's hallowed spot has since been taken by a UFO catcher with that weird security company mascot. (That one would have survived in crowded, precious, valuable arcade space into the late 2000's was already beating some steep odds.)
 
        "Ahhh, great." The guy says to himself. "Well, that's how it is, huh--- huh."
 
        There's an altercation brewing! He blinks a few times. A young teenage girl looking flustered, shouting, some other guy stepping up and delivering threats-- oh, hey, the accent on his Japanese, that's an American one, isn't it--
 
        Yeah, he'd better step in.
 
        "Hey," the grown-up approaches, "c'mon, you all oughtta step that down. It ain't worth kicking a fuss--" His eyes go over the posters. Oh, a huge game release coming up in a little under two weeks? Yeah. "--and gettin' all of yourselves banned ahead of that game coming out, yeah?"
 
        He's looking more in Tyler's direction, briefly, but he knows he's not the real troublemaker here.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
<poem>As the living ghost from Boston- wait, no, the Gekkoukan student comes into the scene, the man finally gives the girl some space. And then he gets angrier. "You want to have a problem, kid? Buzz off."
The girl is trying to keep her cool, but is worried. "Let's not fight..." she says, trying to figure out how to defuse this messy situation.
It's Mark, however, who gets him to actually leave. Not because of his words, no, but because he's Another Adult and it takes 'an adult trying to defuse the situation' for the guy to realize he's gonna lose face. "Tch, whatever! I'm out of here."
As the man leaves, the girl slumps back onto the seat. She inhales deeply twice through her nose, before exhaling.
"Thank you," she tells Mark, before turning over to Tyler. An American... "Thank you," she says again to him. "I didn't realize he'd get so mad... I've been doing this gimmick for a couple of months now." Gimmick takes her a moment to say, as if she's trying to settle on 'the right word' in Japanese. "Let me buy you both a couple of rounds of any machine you want. It's the least I can do. ...you both excited for the new game?"
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
<poem>Tyler, for his part, doesn't change expression when Mark interjects; in fact, at first he doesn't even seem to acknowledge the other man's presence. Instead, the unblinking eyes continue to stare at the threat in question. Is he even breathing?
It's not... exactly a bluff, but it's definitely a technique being employed. The first round, which if it doesn't succeed might lead to a handful of tokens to the face or a cheap shot allowed by misdirection.
Fortunately for both of the younger ones, Mark's choice of using &#42;reason&#42; clears the guy out, and once he's out of sight the American's attention turns to the man and offers a polite nod. A thanks, without vocalization of such. Fighting was definitely not the preferred option.
As to the question of getting banned? "It wouldn't be ideal, no." The monotone continues. Apparently not an attempt at a threat but instead just... his normal way of speaking. "Just not a fan of people like that."
Plus, he legitimately didn't want the games to get damaged. In America, arcades were getting rare-r with every passing year. The culture seems far &#42;healthier&#42; in Japan and... well. They're one of the few places where he can feel something close to normal. Worth protecting.
"It's no big deal," Tyler replies to Hazuki, about to say something else when he stops, pulls a small book from his jacket, starts to flip through it and continues. "I. Uh. Don't think I played the third one." Or the second, or the first. Imports weren't his thing! "Is the series good?" And finally, after stopping on a page in the book, and nodding to himself. "What 'gimmick' are you talking about?" Yup, that's a new word for him, too. Pronounced with a bit of awkwardness.
...and yes, the title of the book reads 'English-Japanese Dictionary', for those looking.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem>        Mark's eyes trail the leaving kids. He's just going to have to get used to the idea of being An Actual Adult. It's his turn to do some of the yelling! As they leave earshot...
 
        He whistles.
 
        "Huh? Y-y'don't need to pay me back for nothin'," he shakes his head to the timid young woman making the offer. "...I'm not another high schooler," he's hoping he's not being confused for one because he's not that tall! He looks over to the American transfer student.
 
        "Nah man, what you did was bad-ass, don't let anyone tell you otherwise," he says, "but--" He stops when he sees that dictionary.
 
        "I can speak English if you need, it's not a problem," he says to Tyler. His English is clear, spoken with the comfort of someone who has done so conversationally for some time. "The police here in Japan tend to take sides against foreigners. Just looking out!"
 
        "...Still," he slumps back into Japanese. "Those guys were punk-asses."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
<poem>As Tyler pulls out the dictionary, the girl tilts her head, before... speaking in perfect English (with an obvious English accent). "Oh, don't worry, I'm fluent. I said 'gimmick', which..." A pause. Mark can clearly speak English but is it rude to speak a different language?!
CHOICE PARALYSIS, AHOY.
She settles on peppering her speech with English words instead, using any words that would be more unfamiliar in English. She seems &#42;very&#42; comfortable with the language, much more than Japanese.
"I'm called... the Goddess of Tricks. Because I started out by telling people I was new, and they thought they could beat me...! So I kept it up - if we haven't played together before, I act like I'm new." She smiles a little, because it's a source of pride.
"I haven't lost a match." At least, in Japan. And from the compression gloves, it seems she plays a &#42;lot&#42;. "And it angered that guy, I guess, no one's ever gotten that mad."
"I'm Hazuki. Uh... if you need my last name, Nakao." She pauses. "Am I only supposed to give my last name? Or do I... say them together? How does it work?" she asks, looking to Masao, who is clearly native.
Though, Mark's comment about foreigners and police causes her to blink. "Is that true? That seems... wrong."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
<poem>Choice paralysis is a real thing! Tyler tends to be the kind that chooses quickly and then drives forward, though. So as he's presented with the option... he swaps to English.
"In a land where the ones who can converse freely in English are as outnumbered as Leonidas' Spartans, not practicing the native tongue will likely likewise doom me towards their fate." There's a twitch of his lips, here. Not quite a smile, but there was a tiny bit of motion. "Granted, dispelling the rumors of a god-king seems a worthy enough reason to die."
However, as the last page of his story hasn't been reached... he, too, switches back to Japanese. Forcing himself to learn. Total immersion is a solid method! "Let them choose their sides as they will," the police, that is! Though, that particular tidbit &#42;is&#42; noted. It's good information to have, just in case.
Now, his gaze shifts over to fall on Hazuki. No less than a full five seconds pass until he speaks, the time between spent observing. "You shouldn't lie." he offers matter-of-factly. "They shorten your lifespan." Case in point, randos who give you trouble as a result! "...trickery I can respect. It's just another way to play the game." Like using the Konami code! It's a fine line he walks. "But people like that will often grow angry when they've been outsmarted."
When she offers her name? He extends a hand; no gloves in his case, just pale, slender fingers. Is his skin cold to the touch? Not particularly, but it looks like it should be. "Tyler Gould." Beat. "But just Tyler's fine, please." Regardless of how it's supposed to work!
Then, eyes turn back towards Mark. Once again, no words are spoken, just an expectant stare.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem>        Mark listens intently to the storytelling when Hazuki introduces herself as the Goddess of Tricks, the way she slyly smiles at her own cleverness and her boastful behavior about having yet to lose a match.
 
        That's a Japanese name, but she seems unfamiliar with the way things are. "Oh, you didn't grow up here, huh... yeah, it's family names here, first. So, like, if I was going to be polite, I'd call you 'Nakao-san' or somethin' like that."
 
        Tyler goes on a flowery spiel in English that he largely follows. "Heh, well, they do teach English in a lot of high schools here..." He blinks the once at the 'let them choose their sides as they will' bit. Man, he remembers when he was ''that'' cavalier about it when he was a kid.
 
        Poor Baldy, man. He'd have liked to have him see some of the art he's been doing today.
 
        "Inaba. Masao Inaba. I'm a street artist 'n college student." He's leaving out all the details about just how messed up that situation got with Madarame confessing to plagiarism and destroying the livelihoods and careers of his pupils. It's okay, he'll deal, he's not going to dump that on them.
 
        "I mean... if it were up to me, I'd just go at 'em as I am. I'm the kinda guy where you look at me, you know who I am, what I am, what I do, yeah?" He says of Hazuki's deceptive presentation when it comes to her gaming skill.
 
        A stare is given to him, expectantly, by Tyler. Mark looks back... and just has a laugh.
 
        "C'mon, man, you don't need to try 'n impress me any further, all right? I'm just lookin' out."
 
        A hand goes to his hip. In the background, a school-aged kid in a red cap is playing a Gun About machine in two hands - as in, playing both player positions at once. He is being ''totally awesome''. Mark has to only look there, briefly, to realize he's in the company of kids who will rightly &#42;kick his ass&#42; at something he hasn't played in some years.
 
        "...Truth be told, I was stoppin' by in hopes they still had something here from when I was in high school. They don't, so... don't let me get in the way of you two havin' a fun afternoon, all right?" He looks up with a wide, deceptively youthful-looking smile.
 
        It's a genuine one! And it's good he's having it now because wow things are going to be a pain in the ass this afternoon once they have the thing they ordered.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
<poem>"Oh..." she says about the surname thing. She keeps introducing herself weirdly, that's probably why she gets lots of stares. (That, and the occasional 'we noticed Gender going on' and the very Western clothes contribute too, of course). Hazuki nods to Tyler once as he talks about... the Spartans and god-kings. "Oh, yeah. 300 Spartans, right? Great movie." If she recognizes what he's discussing, surely he'll think she's cool. Yes, she wants the weird pale guy to think she's cool. No, she is mostly unaware that the Spartans were more famous in &#42;history&#42; than the movie a few years back.
"It's nice to meet you, Tyler." Hazuki shakes Tyler's hand, turning to Mark as he introduces himself. BUT THEN HE SAYS WISDOM WORDS. "Hahaha... yeah, you're right!"
She's just saying that. This knowledge will not be applied.
Tyler, though, gets a tilt of the head. "Wait, does it? Your lifespan, I mean. That's... weird."
As Mark moves to leave, though, Hazuki nods. "It was nice to meet you, Inaba-san. Take care!" See, she does learn some things! And then, she turns to Tyler once Mark is gone. "Want to play a round? My treat. It's a great series, one of the grandest in the genre." Her fingers are already moving in preparation.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
<poem>"Right, but not everyone pays attention..." Tyler replies, thinking idly to the number of students he's seen in class just sleeping at their desks whil ethe teacher's attempting to educate them.
At least some things never change, whether its in America or Japan. Granted, he does see the value in ignoring that which you don't fully understand. Sometimes.
"So... graffiti, then?" he asks of Mark, silent for a couple moments as if making up his mind; that's precisely what he's doing. "I approve. I'll have to keep an eye out for your works."
A distaste for liars doesn't mean he always walks the straight and narrow, afterall. The words to Hazuki? Tyler nods along to these. Blunt force honesty &#42;definitely&#42; earns respect points.
"Alright; take care, then, Masao." Family name first. He pays attention. "I'm sure I'll see you around." Because he'll look for that artwork. Art, after all, is a clear window to the soul and fancy poetic things like that.
As Mark departs, he turns his attention fully to Hazuki, one hand moves up to push the lilac lenses back up on his nose. Without Mark to draw his attention, he'll just stare and he's aware of that much. It's a compromise to mitigate the unease.
"It was. I do so enjoy a tragedy, especially when it's rooted in truth." ...and the expression and tone fail to change, despite his claims to love it. Either &#42;he's&#42; lying, or just not the expressive type!
"It does," re: lifespan. "It can be... hard to explain." A pause, and he switches to English to add, "Perhaps lies anger the fates themselves and they trim your thread accordingly. Not that anyone escapes their final page in the end."
And then she's offering to play, and he considers for only a moment, before reaching for the other set of controls. "Sure. Hope I don't make it too easy on you." ...because his games of choice are usually the single player kind. Platformers. RPGs. Company didn't come often.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
<poem>Once Hazuki has Tyler's attention, she nods. "You're American, right? Your accent kinda gives you away." She says with a light smile, before figuring she should explain. "English. Raised in London since I was little, just... came back here before the school year." She looks down at her hands for a moment, before just smiling. It's better not to explain.
"Oh, I see... but it's not like those are real things, right? Supernatural stuff... that can't possibly exist. As much as I wish it did!" She adds, and it's true - she definitely wishes fantasy was more real than reality.
When Tyler agrees to play, though, she smiles a little more, even with her own gloomy countenance. She puts in the proper amount of coins, starting the game. She lets Tyler have his first pick of fighting game character; if he chooses her main, she'll choose her secondary to avoid a mirror match. The character she picks is described by the game as a 'Zoning' character, whatever that means.
Even though she's clearly trying to make it fun for Tyler (though not necessarily &#42;holding back&#42;), if he truly doesn't play this kind of game, the skill gap is noticeable. Hazuki could &#42;play in global tournaments&#42; with ease, knows all her pokes and meaties, and basically never drops a combo. She barely speaks during the game, though she's having a much better Vibe than she did before, her gloominess wearing off into grinning.
When the game is done, Hazuki turns to shake Tyler's hand, which she'd do whether she won or lost either way. She had fun! Hopefully, he did too.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
<poem>"Yeah," Confirming that he is, in fact, American! "My family comes from Boston, so... I'll try not to throw your drinks into the ocean." Was that a joke? The delivery didn't sound like it, but... there's also no distaste shown at her revelation of being a Londoner, and his face definitely seems like it would show &#42;that&#42; freely.
"It's... different here, right?" he asks, curious to how her own experience stacks up. "There's a lot of rules. In the language. In the recycling. In... everything." Beat. "It's not bad so far, though. Just different."
Of course, then the subject of the supernatural comes up and there's no hesitation when he replies, "It does." Back to English, because this is Important. "Spirits that lay outside mortal perception mess with out lives on a daily basis. They're the truth behind the whispers you hear when nobody else is near. The shadowy movement that happens at the corners of your vision." A momentary pause, "Rarely does legend not exist without some basis of truth. Not always as fantastical as the stories might tell, and sometimes much, much more dangerous." All of these words are spoken not with the normal monotone, but with a serious one. He definitely believes what he's talking about -- even if little does he know just how right he actually is.
For his part in the game, his own choice of characters is based less on their abilities and more on who looks coolest to him (his own definition of the word), and, in fact, he does not truly play this time of game, and the skill gap definitely shows. There's potential there, maybe -- his reflexes in general aren't bad, but there's only so much that one can do with the basic attacks when your opponent is whipping out special moves and combos all around.
During the game, he doesn't speak. His entire focus is on the screen, and while he most definitely goes down in defeat? He turns and shakes Hazuki's hand without hesitation when she offers. "That was pretty cool." It seems he did have fun, even in defeat! "I can see why you're undefeated."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
<poem>"Hah... don't worry, I think we deserved it." Hazuki smiles very briefly once more, before going gloomy again as Tyler mentions the differences.
"Yeah... it's not like the West at all. Everyone looks at you differently here. They have..." She doesn't remember the word in Japanese, so she goes to 'expectations' in English. "It's interesting how it formed that way, to be so different."
But then he's talking HOW THE SUPERNATURAL IS REAL. Oh no. Is this guy one of those religious nuts, or maybe Wicca? But even so, Hazuki's so lonely, so hurting for attention, she just nods along, trying to figure out how to respond. If she denies him, it'll just hurt him. She doesn't &#42;believe&#42; it and probably never will, but... she can pretend she's willing to learn.
"Oh? That's interesting... I know there's a lot of stuff about spirits and animism here... I guess it could be real... you must know a lot, huh?"
But as Hazuki wins the game, she's back out of the gloom again. "You've got a lot of potential! There's a home game, if you have a console. Maybe if you practice, you can beat me someday!" she teases.
That is, also, what people often like to hear. Just because it's not &#42;true&#42; doesn't mean it's not nice to say.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
<poem>'Expectations'. That's a heavy word, and one that's haunted him as well as any ghost might try. Especially after his parents died. There was an expectation to be &#42;normal&#42; and not his immediate family's brand of it. The number of people who accepted him for who he was he could count on a single finger.
Japan? At least the judgement doesn't come across quite as harshly, at least in his case and so far, though he worries that they're just comforting lies waiting to be revealed.
"Hah, thanks. I might not be entirely hopeless then." he replies, his attention fully on her once more. "Afraid I only have an old 8-bit system back at my dorm..." Yep, he's &#42;that&#42; kind of gamer! "...but I wouldn't be against coming back with more coins to get more practice in." Because, as stated, he did have fun! It's been legitimate years since he played a game &#42;with&#42; someone, too. It made for a nice change.
"And... yeah, I guess you could say I know a lot about that subject." He pauses, debating how to best explain. "My parents were experts on it, you know? It came up a lot over the dinner table, even if they didn't want me anywhere near it yet." There's a part of him regrets that.
But, moving back to the subject of the game... "If you're the Goddess of Tricks, though, I think I'd have to fight dirty in order to stand a real chance." And he's definitely not above that!
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
<poem>"Not hopeless at all! But if you only have an 8-bit... a little close to hopeless," Hazuki jokes. "If you drop by, look for me! I can give you some pointers."
And about the supernatural stuff... oh. His parents... he says 'were'. Did they leave him here too? She can't just assume they're GONE gone, but clearly there's something going on there. She won't pry - she wouldn't want it, either. "Yeah, I get that. My dad's company made this game," she taps the arcade machine, "but while I know a bunch of the business stuff, I prefer to just play the games. My dad... would probably prefer that too."
But she can't really speak for how he thinks like she used to be able to.
"Haha, you can try! I know every trick in the book." Hazuki smiles, before getting a buzz from her phone.
"My grandma asked me to pick something up, so I gotta go. Hope we meet here again!"
</poem>

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[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]