i'm two quarters and a heart down

[hackr]

( neon's been busy. busy doing a whole lot of nothing. okay, well, that's not true. he's been trying to figure out his whole deal with jasper lately. he's also still in recovery after that haunted house he and ari walked through a few weeks ago. he's also spent a considerable amount of time vegging out in the spas, spending way too much time with his own thoughts.

a dangerous thing, even for someone who writes songs for a living.

not much for casino play, he skitters through the disorienting scene, having enough trouble finding the pathways through the booths and tables. finally, he finds mecca: the arcade.

it's a dark blue, cavernous space, techno music pulsating through the air, flashing lights and bells and whistles - it feels almost like home. the rhythm games call his name immediately and neon secures a dance game to himself, occasionally pausing to watch other impressive players rack up points. this is unlike anything he's seen at home. of course, their popularity has been on an unfortunate downturn since he was a kid. but here - here anything is possible. so neon gets to work. he's sweaty, long hair tied up in a ponytail. he's even asked the staff for a sweatband so he can pull his bangs away from his face. it's serious to him. he wants to play the uber difficult 3D mode.

eventually, he pulls off the 3D glasses and jumps off the platform, spreading his arms wide. next to him is an overflowing bucket of tickets he's won so far because he didn't want to use the more modern digital points system. )

I need another challenger! Let's freakin' go.