Scene #9230: Chips on the Table

Owner	Pose
Rufus Shinra	When you have Rufus Shinra money, booking the entire high roller lounge at a casino is easy. You just wave around enough bills. The noise of people winning and losing (mostly losing) money filters in from elsewhere, but otherwise quietness and stillness prevails here. People would have had to pass rows and rows of noisy slot machines and video poker kiosks on the way here, all chirping for attention, but there's nothing like that here in the high roller lounge. The main attraction here is, of course, the bar, located next to the roulette and craps tables. The full menu of drinks are on offer - with everything going on Rufus's tab - as well as food ranging from the pedestrian pub snacks to full on meals whisked in from elsewhere in the casino complex. Rufus himself is at the bar, two drinks in already, working on a bowl of fully loaded nachos while playing around with a small pile of casino chips. He's trying to balance them on their edges and build a house of chips. Nearby on the bar, there's an entire cheeze pizza, a tray of chef salad, a platter of fancy sandwiches, and a bucket of fried chicken tenders - all untouched. More food is apparently on the way.
Bowser	It is a good thing there's not any slots. Bowser is easily distracted. And slots are one of the few types of gambling Bowser is aware off. Most of Bowser's golf, curling, bowling, cricket friends all have lengthy experience with slots, which is the most prevalent source of gambling in his portion of the Multiverse. Bowser wears the world's largest hawaiian shirt, slacks, sandles, and a set of shades. He has a posse with him, all mostly equally dressed, goombas, koopas, boos, and Kammy, floating in her broom like the mobility scooter that it is. "Hey, kid!" Bowser slams a heavy hand up against Rufus' back. His other hand reaches out, expertly pinching one edge of the pizza with a pinky, the other with a thumb. He brings them both together, folding the pizza into a sort of taco. As an afterthought, he shoves some chicken tenders in there. Bowser bites into half of it, chewing twice before swallowing. "Where's the waitress! BRING YOUR BEST COLA! And whatever these morons will have." He jerks a thumb back at his posse, who list off a variety of dishes ranging from 'ice cream sundae' to 'shrimp cocktail' to 'a big pile of sauerkraut' and finally Kammy with 'the world's biggest mai tai and I want an umbrella and if you don't give me an umbrella, I'll turn you into a toad.'
Sarracenia	After the long week of war, Sarra is unsure she even wants to leave her castle for a while. She is up out of her wheelchair, but it is still not fun to move around. Her body hurts all over and she is still a bit disoriented from her time at 1/100th speed. So when Rufus suggests a night of drinking and gambling, Sarra is less than enthused about going. She probably wouldn't have if Gregory, her trusty butler, did not push her toward it. She arrives to find her 'favorite person' already here. Bowser, the evil overlord who does not think she is worthy of kidnapping and is devoted to her arch nemesis, Peach (who barely knows Sarra exists). She almost just turns around and leaves. But, Rufus did provide a pretty good adventure through that kunai knife. And it would be rude to leave once she has already arrived, so...Sarra heads in. Slots do draw her attention, being sparkly and loud, but she makes it to the high roller room eventually. She takes a seat on the other side of Rufus from Bowser. "Greetings, Rufus. I would ask how you are feeling, but..." She looks around, then back at Rufus. "...one rarely asks for a night of drinking and gambling if one is feeling great." Sarra does not usually drink, so she starts with something not too strong. A frozen fruity drink, mixing a few different kinds in layers to form a sort of rainbow. In contrast to Bowser, Sarra is in one of her typical red royal gowns, though it is less bulky than the ones she usually wears. More of an evening gown than a ballroom gown. It's lightweight materials flow out around her as she walks. It is form fitting with an elegant gown, with golden embroidery forming ivy-like designs along the torso, and complimented by long red velvet gloves that cover up most of her arms when combined with the short sleeves of the dress. It shows just a bit of her upper arms, which have bandages on them beneath her clothes. And for some reason she has a black eyepatch over her left eye.
Rufus Shinra	The attendants scatter to fulfill Bowser's retinue's litany of food and drink requests. Rufus makes a noise when Bowser slams him in the back. The small house of chips clatters to the bartop, though Rufus doesn't look like he particularly cares about it. "Oh. Hey." "... So Bowser, you gamble much?" Rufus starts stacking the chips again. "I already went a couple rounds, I'm up a few chips..." > "...one rarely asks for a night of drinking and gambling if one is feeling great." "Yeah, I dunno how I'm doing." He gets up from the bar, and wanders over towards the roulette table. "It feels like there was some... giant balloon building up pressure over the last couple of days. And then it's all been let out, and now I'm... deflated." "You gamble much, Sarra?" He picks up the roulette ball from the wheel, and starts rolling it across the betting table, absently. One of the staff glances over, but - well, if a high roller wants to play with the equipment, then they generally get to do whatever they want. "It's one of my favorite ways to waste money, personally."
Bowser	Bowser immediately starts laughing at Sarracenia, "You trying to get a boyfriend by looking like a pirate?! GWA HA HA HA!" "It feels like there was some... giant balloon building up pressure over the last couple of days. And then it's all been let out, and now I'm... deflated." A glance as he's finishing off his pizza, mostly by just shoving it into his mouth in a single large gulp. A rub over his chin, a thoughtful motion as the neurogoblins spark from one to another. He follows along, grabbing his cola from the waitress. The rest of his minions filter out into the club. Kammy immediately sets up at the highest buy in blackjack table, tucking her crystal ball in just under the table. A deep thoughtful rumble comes up from Bowser, leaning his arm against the roluette table. "Always happens between schemes," Bowser pitches his voice lower, as if he doesn't want anyone to hear him when he's not shouting. "You gotta take a little time, relax, take care of the burns, before the next one."
Sarracenia	'Yeah, I dunno how I'm doing.' Sarra nods lightly. "I...feel something similar. After all of that, the world feels a bit more...hazy. Less...real, somehow." she says. 'You gamble much, Sarra?" Sarra picks up her drink and follows Rufus as he heads to the roulette table. "I do not gamble. Or drink. Except on special occasions. But, I think this qualifies." she says before sipping of her basically alcoholic icee in a fancy glass. 'You trying to get a boyfriend by looking like a pirate?! GWA HA HA HA!' Sarra frowns and mmphs in annoyance. "I will have you know that a slash from a magical blade-like feather aggravated a previous axe injury. And it is taking longer to heal than I am used to. My doctor said I should wear this for the time being." Bowser might also notice that...Sarra's usually vibrant copper hair is completely grey and a bit frizzled-looking despite obvious care being taken to make it look nice.
Rufus Shinra	> "Always happens between schemes," "Yeah - but... this wasn't a scheme this time. This was..." "... This was a bit more... in-depth. I don't know if I'd call it a scheme." Rufus gazes down at the roulette ball as it rolls across the table, and then scoops it up. "Well - Bowser's crew drove away all the staff with all their food requests, it looks like, so..." He gives the roulette wheel a spin, and tosses the ball into its spinning chamber, watching it tumble around. "Want to have a little go at it while they're gone? Thousand chips each, winner is who has the most after... oh, four spins?" The ball tumbles across the wheel... coming to land on...
Rufus Shinra	... Red 27. Rufus plucks the ball out, and rolls it around his fingers. "And we'll make it interesting. Winner gets, oh, a favor from the others. A small one."
Bowser	Two neurogoblins are bumping in Bowser's head. He waves a hand aggressively, but he keeps his tone level. Angry more at seemingly trying to force a size 3 set of thoughts and emotions through a size 1 hole. "You gotta take a break. You can't just be evil all the time!" Evil a stand in word for something else. A single word for many concepts? "After a big scheme, I go out and work on one of my towers out on the edge of the Mushroom Kingdom." Kammy discretely takes looks at her crystal ball. "Sure, GOOMBA!" Bowser sips at his cola, recovering from exercising his two braincells by looking at Sarracenia. His cola spits out as he notices her hair, "You dye your hair?!" A goomba puts a small stack of dinner plate sized coins to trade for chips.
Sarracenia	Sarra is not much for gambling, but competition...she does enjoy that. She smirks lightly, though less than her usual smirks. "Very well. You are on." she says, then asks for the appropriate amount of chips and like bowser turns over the appropriate amount of dinner plate coins to pay for them. 'You dye your hair?!' Sarra growls in annoyance. "No I do not! I was cursed, and one of the side-effects was this hair! The dazzling copper is my natural color!" she huffs.
Rufus Shinra	Rufus has actual money to pay for his stake. (Though giant gold coins are accepted everywhere.) "So, roulette." "There's 36 numbers on the wheel, plus 0 and 00... we'll just respin if it comes up one of those, though. So don't bet 0 or 00." "You can bet on one of the numbers, that 1 gives you back 36 if it comes up." "You can bet on a row of the numbers, so 1 4 7 10 etc for the first row, 2 5 8 11 etc for the second - or you can bet on 1-12, 13-24, 25-36. Any of those, 1 gives you back 3." "And finally you can bet on black or red - basically evens or odds. Or the first 18 or the last 18. One gives you back two." "There's a few other kinds of bets you can make but let's just start with those." Rufus puts down a hundred chips on 13-24, and then another hundred chips on red. "Like that. Then when everyone's finished betting, we spin the wheel."
Bowser	Bowser starts slapping the side of the roluette table, bellowing out a laugh at Sarracenia, "Cursed! Cursed to look even older! You look like an old hag!" "I'm not cheating, how dare you, deal the cards!" He hummmms, Bowser grabs a fistful of chips and then puts a fistful (100) on divisible by three. Another handful, sstrangely also exactly 100, on 0. "I got the best luck, I'm the great turtle king!"
Rufus Shinra	Rufus stares. "I just said - if it comes up 0 or 00 we'll respin."
Bowser	Bowser glares at Rufus, "It's at the top!" He moves it down to 1, for number 1.
Sarracenia	Rufus explains the rules. Sarra has a bit of a @_@ face after. Luckily, roulette tables have a betting area, so even if she can't remember the value of the bets, Sarra can at least see what bets she can make. "Hmm..." Sarra considers the options, then puts 100 on red as well, then 100 on even, then 100 on the first row. 'You look like an old hag!' Age is already a touchy subject with Sarra, and the great turtle king is pressing that button after a particularly stressful week. Sarra looks at him, her one visible eye staring daggers. "At least I am not cursed to be a hideous turtle monster with dragon breath whether he is breathing fire or not."
Rufus Shinra	"Oh it landed on 27 again. Huh." RUFUS: 100 on 13-24: LOSE RUFUS: 100 on Red/odd: WIN 200 BOWSER: 100 on third row: WIN 300 BOWSER: 100 on 1: LOSE SARRA: 100 on Red: WIN 200 SARRA: 100 on Even: LOSE SARRA: 100 on first row: LOSE "So that's how it goes. Let's kick it up a notch here, though," says Rufus. "Remember we're only doing three more spins." He drops 300 chips on 13-24 again.
Rufus Shinra	"So this last week wasn't... a scheme. It was..." Rufus tries to find the right words. "A lot more... invested into it." "Like, personally." "Like... I had a lot more chips down on the table." "You ever have anything like that, Bowser? It can't all just be whacky antics, right?"
Bowser	"Whaddya mean? I'm always invested in Princess Peach! I put all my heart and soul into her!" But perhaps not the same tone of voice that firm and utter devotion has been heard in this multiverse. It's the words of a carpenter who enjoys bringing furniture out of wood, or the cook who enjoys crafting a fine meal. He gathers up 300 chips to slam them down at the corner of four numbers. A goomba moves them to the first column while Bowser is distracted. Bowser stratches over his chin, drawing his eyes over to Sarracenia. "What? I look great." He lifts an arm, flexing a burly bicep, "Picture of manliness!"
Sarracenia	Sarra's cheeks puff at the result. Bowser won more than her? That is annoying. "Three more, huh?" Sarra considers a moment then picks red again, odd this time, and first 12. "I did not actually have much investment myself. I kind of...just ended up there, not really realizing what it would mean. Once everything started...sides had to be picked, and...then things had to be done." Sarra says, her expression growing quite somber. 'Picture of manliness!' Sarra hmphs, crossing her arms over her chest. "Can you have manliness if you are not a man?" she wonders aloud.
Rufus Shinra	RUFUS: 300 on 13-24: LOSE BOWSER: 300 on first row: WIN 900 SARRA: 100 on Red: LOSE SARRA: 100 on Odd: LOSE SARRA: 100 on 1-12: WIN 300 "Yeah?" "Is that something you're really... putting yourself forward for? Or is it just something you want?" "I can tell you're passionate about it, but like, are you putting in the effort? Because like... Angela just executed a plan she'd been putting together for months, because she wanted something enough." Rufus studies the board and his opponents. Bowser is up by a lot. He needs to make up lost ground. "One more spin after this one. Four hundred," he says. "On... the second row."
Bowser	Bowser furrows his brow, a certain rage behind those eyes as a replacement for having to actually deal with that statement. He taps at the roluette wheel, snarling, growling. He grabs a full two hundred, slamming it down onto a third row bet, claws digging through the felt. His fingers come back, leaving the chips. "I haven't just been going through the motions! Every one of my plans is going to succeed, I'm just GOOD at them." He leans back from the table, his growling coming out as a low mutter. Sarracenia appears as someone he can take his anger out on. "I'm macho! Manly! It's a way of life!" He shouts over the background of Kammy pulling out her wand in a threatening manner towards the blackjack dealer.
Sarracenia	Sarra's cheeks puff -and- she lets out an annoyed mmmmmph as Bowser goes up even more. "...I did not really think I had such bad luck. It is just something I say to annoy Petra..." she murmurs to herself. 'Is that something you're really... putting yourself foward for?' "He kidnaps her on a fairly regular basis, builds entire castles, and loses a fleet almost every time that plumber comes to our world." Sarra says. "But...does he actually put himself forward for it? I think so. He is too dense to realize she is not into him and never will be, but he freely declares his devotion to her and kidnaps her himself." Bowser is too far ahead now. Playing safe won't work. Sarra takes 600...and puts it all on red! Her royal color! It can't fail her this time!"
Rufus Shinra	RUFUS: 400 on second row: LOSE BOWSER: 200 on third row: WIN 600 SARRACENIA: 600 on red: LOSE "... Right..." Rufus takes his remaining 300 chips... and puts 100 each on 1, 11, and 21. "All chips on the table."
Bowser	Now, if Bowser were smart, he could simply put all of his chips spread out on the proper numbers to force himself to win, preventing a win through laws of large numbers and statistics. Bowser bets on third row, third column, 36, 400, 400, 900. He glares at Sarracenia, "Yea, and what are YOU devoted to?" He turns that around on Rufus as well, though there's enough sort of residual sports dad energy that it comes out as a glare at him to argue against his devotion rather than actually saying it.
Sarracenia	The roll comes up black. Sarra slams her hands onto the table, shaking it some. "How could you betray me, red?! You are my chosen color!" she shouts, then huffs hotly and sips heavily from her drink. With only 300 left, Sarra mmmphs in annoyance as she considers her next option. It doesn't really matter now. Unless Bowser just throws away all his money away somehow. She sighs and puts her 300 on the red 7. It is the most cliche number, so she feels like losing the last of her chips to that is appropriate. 'Yea, and what are YOU devoted to?' Sarra smolders right back. "I am devoted...to becoming a shining beacon. A heroic princess who inspires hope to the hopeless and can be relied upon when needed. All while searching for that one special hero or heroine who sees my value."
Rufus Shinra	RUFUS: BUST SARRACENIA: BUST BOWSER: THIRD ROW: LOST BOWSER: THIRD COLUMN: LOST BOWSER: 36: LOST "Uh-" "I... think we're all out of chips with that?" says Rufus.
Rufus Shinra	Or actually Bowser wins because there was some confusion over where his chips ended up.
Bowser	The grousing of Bowser's face suddenly changes into a fierce grin. He slaps both hands onto the table. "There! See!" He points at finger at Sarracenia, "Being the villain always pays out!" The chips come up in a quick snap, closing his fingers around them. "Hrmm, small favor..." There is still that single thought. Rolling around his head. It bumps in the mighty open space, bouncing like a DVD logo, moving very slowly towards the corner, ever closer to landing directly in it. And when he looks at Sarracenia, he lets out a snarling throaty villain guffaw, head leaning fully back. With the other hand, he slaps at Rufus' back before turning aside, "KAMMY! Where are you, you old hag, gonna need something real big to show Peach this time."
Sarracenia	'Being the villain always pays out!' Sarra goes quiet. The villainous guffaw causes her teeth to clench. And after the events of the past week, it is starting to seem like being villainous really does pay out much more than being heroic. Sarra has to let out some steam right now. She reaches into her purse and starts pulling out a sword. She goes into a spin, pulling the sword free in a smooth motion, revealing it to be a large, intricately designed silvery claymore with a golden rose as the pommel, large golden leaves for the crossguard, and a green vine-like design going up the blade. Of course, there is little time to appreciate that as she finishes her spin...and cleaves the table in half. She hmphs, shoulders the weapon, then says to no one in particular, "...send me the bill..." darkly before she makes her way out. Still with the sword on her shoulder.
Rufus Shinra	Rufus staggers a bit as he's slapped again. And Sarracenia is now in a worse mood. "Uh - right, but - okay," Rufus says as she stalks off. "... See you around too, Bowser," says Rufus. "Just, let me know about that favor. That small favor, okay?"