LTJG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen - The Arcade

[Lhandon Nilsen]

(( Walking the Promenade, Deep Space 14, in orbit of New Bajor ))

Lhandon had news. The moment he told Rouiancet about his new boyfriend, Eli Kovacs, her eyes had lit up like a Christmas tree and she had begun to bounce around the promenade.

Nilsen: We met on that Alpha Brenkelvi mission when he worked in ops for a little bit, then we got chatting and I asked him for a date and we kinda went from there.

What Lhandon didn't know was that the definition of relationship seemed to differ between Nilsen and Kovacs. Kovacs viewed taking it slow as still dating, while Lhandon interpreted it as "Yes, we're boyfriends now. This is amazing, fantastic, and wonderful."

Which means any conversations about this not a relationship-relationship from others, might just be a little awkward

Rouiancet: (big smile) That sounds like the way it goes. Seriously, congratulations! How are you feeling about it so far?

His smile was wide, and he spoke as if nothing could go wrong. He felt light, his heart was fluttering and everything he had wanted had been given to him by the universe.

Nilsen: It’s…honestly the best Ro, he just gets me, and like hours spent with him feel like five minutes.

Rouiancet: On the contrary, it sounds like I might be keeping you! I hope you two have been able to spend more time together this leave?

Nilsen: It’s all cool, he’s on shift for another few hours, which means I can make sure you’re not sneaking off to do work ::laughs::

Rouiancet: Sure, absolutely. Let's hit the arcade, and then I promise I'll keep relaxing if you promise to spend some quality time with him. Deal?

Nilsen: You got yourself a deal. I was planning to be around for when he got off work anyway. ::pointing to the arcade that they were approaching:: You’ll like this place, the whole thing is split in half, arcade on left, gaming tables on the right, he’s got every TTRPG book you can ever want and plenty of tables.

As they approached the arcade, its purple theme and neon lights were unmistakable, and the dichotomy between the two sides was apparent from the start. The left-hand side was a cacophony of sounds and visuals for the senses. There was a section dedicated to older arcade games off to the side, but the main attractions of VR games, DDR, and modern cabinet games were a draw. For Nilsen, this was very much a space that scratched an itch; his enjoyment of late 20th-century technology could be indulged here. For others, it was a different experience from that which one might find in a Quark's franchise; here, you played the games for the enjoyment of it, or to get into a high-score battle with three initials on a screen.

The other side was quieter and soundproofed from the arcade, but still as full of life. A large number of tables were set out, some with groups of people playing various different TTRPGs or engaging in mass-scale war games. The neon theme continued in here but it was much more subdued and only present in a small number of neon tubes which went around the upper skirting of the room.

[Fade to black - End Scene]

((OOC: After a chat in the Discord with our new ensign, I was inspired to have the arcade split in two. At this point, it’s just me living out my fantasy of an arcade/TTRPG/Model shop, anyone wanna invest? haha))

Lieutenant JG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen

Assistant Chief of Operations.

USS Octavia E Butler

O240007LN1

He/Him/His (Both player and character)