Yo, we're back, we've just escaped from the First Class Cabin, but from what I recall from the first time; we have one more room to escape from before we meet the other group again. (At least they have to deal with both the Second Class Cabin and the Kitchen this time around.)
Warning!: This is based upon a game that's rated M for Blood, Drug
References, Strong Language, Suggestive (read 'Sexual') themes, and
Violence. If any of these things offend you, don't click on the link.
'He paused for a moment, and turned around to look behind him. Seven was bent over, apparently doing something to the door.'
Junpei: What's he up to...?
(Making a door to before.) (Ah, come on! That sounds silly...)
'Junpei had spoke more or less to himself, but apparently Seven had heard anyway. The larger man stood up and turned to Junpei.'
Seven: I was just putting one of those plates in there. It oughta keep the door from locking again. Now we can come back here any time we want, right?
Snake: Ah... Why would you want to come back here?
'Snake was a reasonable one. Seven thought about it for a moment before he answered.'
Seven: I might like to play a little piano.
Junpei: Piano?
Seven: C'mon, let's get moving. We aren't outta this yet.
'Without waiting for an answer, Seven started off down the hallway. Snake shrugged, sighed, and quietly followed Seven. That's a lie, Junpei thought to himself. He had difficulty enough believing Seven could play the piano... But even if he could, the piano they'd just left was largely useless... The keyboard completely scrambled. If Seven wanted to come back, it was unlikely he intended to do so in order to play the piano. But if that was the case, why would he want to leave the door unlocked...? ...Junpei frowned, took one last look at the door, and then walked away toward his companions.'
'After some time in the hallway, they emerged into a larger, more open area. A large, metal grate, like the door of a jail divided it in half. They shook it for a while, but as they had expected, it did not move. Behind the grate were 2 elevators. From so far away, however, it was difficult to tell if they were still operating. On the left side of the grate was a door. Unfortunately, however, it was locked, and refused to open. Junpei took a moment to examine the left side of the room. Next to the wall was a set of stairs, leading downward. Standing guard at the top of the stairway was a large iron gate. Foreboding as it was, the gate seemed to be the sort that could be opened, unlike the metal grate that bisected the room. With luck, Junpei hoped he might be able to get it open.'
Junpei: ...The female symbol...?
Not quite, in this case, that's the symbol for the planet "Venus".
'He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Snake, naturally, was somewhat more sure.'
Snake: Ah... The [Venus symbol], I imagine.
(And Snake wins... Nothing! And he'll like it!)
Snake: Do you recall the similar symbols near the large central stairway? They reference many of the solar bodies...
'--Sun--'
'--Saturn--'
'--Earth--'
Snake: So, as you can see, that one is likely...
"Venus" named after the Roman goddess of love, who's also know in Ancient Greece by the name "Aphrodite".
Junpei: ...Not the woman symbol, but a [Venus symbol].
Snake: So I assume.
'While they had been discussing the symbols, Junpei now realized, Seven had slipped away. His absence now felt, Snake and Junpei turned to look for their missing companion. --There. Seven had left them to head down the hallway extending to the right of the stairs. Junpei grabbed Snake to lead him in the right direction, and they both headed off after Seven.'
Off toward the next room to escape from!
'Before long, the 3 of them stood in front of a door. It was a French door. Junpei tested the door, and realized that, unlike so many others that they'd encountered, it was unlocked. Almost as though he was afraid it would suddenly lock itself, Junpei threw the door open. He stepped inside...' (And here's the casino.) (What?)
'It took only a moment for Junpei to take in his new surroundings.'
Junpei: Is this some kind of casino...?
(Told ya!)
Seven: Sure looks like one.
Indeed.
'Before Junpei could comment further, a noise from behind made him turn around. Snake was shaking the door they'd just come through. As Seven and Junpei watched, he threw up his hands in frustration, and then kicked the door for good measure. It looked as though they were once again locked in. There was no reason to panic, however. Even if the door had been left open, there was nowhere for them to go back there. They would have to find another way out.'
We all know what time it is.
Seven: All right guys, let's split up and search this room. C'mon no dawdling! Let's go! Quickly now!
Alright! Stop talking about it and let's get to it!
'Spurred to action by Seven's words, Junpei and Snake began to examine the room.'
-------SEEK A WAY OUT!-------
Once again, it's time for a... (Raiding party!) (Will you two quit it with that Age of Empires gag!) Nope! Now let's see what's on this table here... It's a "card 5"? (More like the 5 of...Spades?)
'The 5 of Spades.'
(Told ya!) Let's see if there's anything in the table...
'There's nothing on the table any more.'
Nope, not a valid action. Dang it! And...can't click on the red jar on the bar. Oh well, turning to the left... Anything on this table?
Seven: That square table... It looks like a mahjong table.
(Didn't you watch an anime about lesbian mahjong players?) (No, that's just subtext at best.) Very heavy subtext, but still...yeah...
Snake: Do you play mahjong, Seven?
Seven: Uh...maybe? I don't remember exactly, but... I do remember a couple hands, and some of the rules, so I figure I must've played it at some point.
I have the ability to remember Pokemon type advantages and disadvantages and such, but as soon as that topic is Mahjong hands, Poker hands or any other "conventional" card game... *whoosh* in one ear and out the other... (Really strange... HEY! Why are you so concerned about memory problems with GAMBLING knowledge!?) (It's easy to figure out why Shimohi doesn't remember that kind of shit. Same reason Sherlock Holmes doesn't bother remembering that the Earth revolves around the Sun; it has no use to him what-so-ever.)
Snake: Excellent. Once we've vacated this vessel, I should like to play a game with you.
Seven: Can you...uh, play?
(Point Seven, do they even MAKE mahjong tiles for the blind?)
Snake: So long as you tell me which tiles I am eliminating, yes, I believe I have at least enough skill to defeat an amateur.
Hold on Snake! How can even Seven himself know if he's an amateur yet?
Snake: However, I must ask you to remove the red tiles when we play.
(Why...?) (Heh-heh... You have NO idea, do you?)
Seven: ...
Okay, that was weird. Next the dealers table! (What?) That...desk-like-thing in the upper-right corner. Oh here's another card! This time...
'The 3 of Spades.'
So, what's the card under the glass?
'Suddenly, Seven began to speak.'
Seven: Ahhh, baccarat...
(Bacca-what?!)
Seven: You ever played, Junpei?
'Junpei shook his head. He'd barely even heard of the game.'
Same here. (Dude! You've played this game before! Hell, you've even been in this very room before!) Must've forgotten about it. (Well, like most people, Shimohi's memory isn't infallible.)
Seven: All right then, how about I explain the rules to you a bit.
(Are you sure you actually remember them and are not making it up as you go along?)
Seven: See, baccarat is kind of an unusual game. You've got the Banker and the Player, and the whole point is that you guess which one's gonna win.
The Banker, most likely, because "The house always wins."
Seven: And whether the Banker or the Player wins all depends on their hands. The way each hand works is different from other games, too. See, you take the number from the ones place after you add up the value of all your cards. Whoever gets the number closest to (9) wins.
(There's a "nine" in a "game" with three "nine"s in the title!) Well, nine is considered a powerful number because it's what you get when you multiply three by three. It's a trinity of trinities! (Hurray!)
Seven: If your number is smaller than your opponent's you lose. And that's it. That's the explanation. Got it? Well, actually, there's a lot more to it--strategy, details, that sort of stuff...
Of course! (Don't you know anything about science!?) (And even more of your stupid references. This doesn't even have anything to do with science what-so-ever!)
Seven: But what I just told you sums the core game up pretty well. The single digit of the sum of all the cards you have--
I'm sensing a flashback to the key cards back in the third-class cabin...
Seven: The strongest hand is a (9)...And the weakest hand is a (0). You just ignore the number in the tens spot. Do you get it...?
Yes! Now let us look at the table already!
'He hadn't been asked for it, but Seven's explanation--rushed through it had been--was helpful. Although he had only half understood most of it, Junpei now felt as though he had some grasp of how victory was won in baccarat. However...'
(Shimohi's going to likely forget all this by the time we're in this room again, becasue... *drum roll* ...Shimohi sucks at card games! Now there's the title of this post!)
'...Junpei had no way of knowing if the puzzle in the baccarat table in front of them made use of those rules, and if it did, in what way. No problem, he told himself. He would simply have to try everything he could think of.'
My modus operandi if I can't think of anything else.
'Feeling more confident, if only slightly, Junpei approached the baccarat table.'
Let's see. The card under the glass looks like... *blue shock* ...An eight of spades. [sarcasm] Great, now we need a nine. This is going to be fun... [/sarcasm] Turning to the left, there's the slot machines. And to the left again... There's the lights that have a clue for the aforementioned slot machines! I try to tap on the lamp but...
Seven: Well, at least this one isn't lit, like the one in the 1st class cabin.
I end up tapping on the fireplace the lamp is sitting on. *sigh*
Seven: Maybe that's why it feels a little chilly in here.
Okay, hit the lights: take two and... Nothing happens. Not even a little message saying so! Okay, tapping on the glasses that the lamp light goes through... (Now we're talking!) Now, I tap on the lamps and... We see from left to right, the sign of clubs, diamonds, and hearts.
'Wait... When those 2 lights turned on, I heard something from the bottom of the fireplace.'
Junpei: What was that? I heard something down there...
Well, if you say so... Hey! There's a bag of...something. Let's pick it up! (It's... a "coin bag"?)
'There are a whole bunch of coins stuffed into this velour bag.'
Seven: Look at all these coins...
Snake: Perhaps these coins will allow us to convince the machines to move.
Yeah, but I'd like to look at what that thing was between the glass blocks...
Junpei: Hm? Didn't think I'd find a card here...
And it's... (The six of spades!)
'The 6 of Spades.'
([sarcasm] Thanks for confirming what we already know. [/sarcasm]) (You know you don't have to hit the "Search" button on every little thing we put in the inventory, right?) Well, the readers might be curious as to what would happen if it was hit? (What "readers"!? We all know all the hits this blog gets is just from refer spam.) Let's see... six plus five plus three equals... fourteen? Damn it! And...I don't feel like messing with the slot machines. (Yeah, the first time you dealt with this room, that's what you got stuck on.) That was from before this blog was even imagined. For now, to that door to the left of the fireplace!
'This door is shut tight. It won't open...'
(I guess you're stuck with the fucking slot machines!) *sigh* Fine, let's try the first one first...
Junpei: All right, let's put the coins from that bag in here...
Snake: What happened? I heard an odd noise.
Junpei: Uh... Well, to be honest, I don't know...
'I pressed some of the buttons and smacked the machine once or twice, but nothing happened--'
I know these things are nicknamed "one-armed bandits" but at least the wheels spin before they steal your money.
Junpei: Oh. ...Looks like the coins got stuck.
Snake: Oh dear...
Took the words right out of my mouth, Snake. Hope the second one works...
Junpei: All right, let's drop this coin in the coin slot.
'Come on you little bastards, I only need one of you...'
As noted if you scroll up, the answer involves the clubs, diamonds, and hearts. In that order. Let's see if hitting those buttons in that order works... (You have to spin the roulette first!) Right... "Let's do this, chums!" ("Leeroy...Jenkins!!!") And...
'7...7...7! Yes! 777!'
Which is how many Tools of Hell Neuro Nougami can use. (Yet another obscure manga series reference...) Hey! At least there's an anime adaptation of this. Unlike Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, which actually is just a manga series.
'Aaaand I think I hear something unlocking in there!'
Snake: Impressive, Junpei. It would appear to be unlocked now. There is something akin to a drawer in the bottom part of this machine, yes? That is a pick-up drawer for dividend. Probably the lock for the drawer got unlocked. Please open it, if you would.
That's what I was going to do. (Can you shut up so we can get on with it already!) (I'm counting this as a reason for the jar again!) Anyway. Inside the drawer is... a card and a key.
Snake: What is it? Is there something in there?
Junpei: Yeah, a playing card. And this...A key with the [Venus symbol] on it!
Snake: Excellent, Junpei!
(Did you read that word in Mr. Burns's voice!?) N...yes. (Of course.)
Snake: Now we will be able to open the gate!
Junpei: Then we just need to figure out how to get out of this room...
Snake: Correct. Come on, Junpei! Hurry up!
'...And he's off. There was a playing card and a Venus key... Better put the key in my pocket for later. As for the card...'
It's a two of spades.
'The 2 of Spades.'
(Like I said, you don't have to do that every single time.) But I do anyway. Don't like it? Tough! Let's revisit the baccarat table. We have the two, six, five, and three of spades. (That's not going to work! We're going to need something like a five, four, and ten of spades!) Let's check all the tables and see if I missed anything.
'It does look like a mahjong table, but I think this is probably for poker. There's nothing on it.'
Okay, how about that one table between screens?
'A square poker table. There's nothing on it.'
(Nothing again...) To the bar! (What!? I thought you don't drink!) I don't, I'm just looking for clues over there. (Yeah, Shimohi's not so frustrated that he "needs a fucking drink"...yet.) Akurei! (Just saying.) Wait! Is that a card on top of the cabinets?
Junpei: Hm? A playing card...?
(And, just as I thought, it's a four of spades!)
'The 4 of Spades.'
([sarcasm] Thanks for confirming what we already know. [/sarcasm]) Next up is that ten card, if Akurei's theory is correct. Let's see if there's anything on the counter-side of the bar...
Snake: Junpei, I found this on the counter. It feels like a playing card...
(Seven of spades. Damn it! Where's that ten!?)
'The 7 of Spades.'
(You're going to do this even if I complain about it, right?) Yeah. (*sigh*) Is there anything behind the glasses?
Seven: That's a lot of expensive glasses. Even cheap drinks'd taste great outta glasses like these.
Okay, how about below the counter where I found the four of spades?
'There's a whole lot of glasses on that shelf. Doesn't look like there's anything else back there, though.'
How about the bottles on the bar?
Seven: Well, will you look at that... Someone left a bottle of booze here. Don't mind if I do...
(I mind!) She'd like to see alcohol prohibition return. Of course, ignoring the boost to organised crime that caused...
Seven: Glug... Glug... Glug... Ahh! Oh, that hits the spot! Feel's like my throat's burning!
'Damn, he really drank it... We don't even know how long it's been there...'
For all we know, that could be that "Fire Brandy" stuff. How about that thing near the bend in the bar?
'The counter's pretty well polished.'
I missed it! (After trying to tap what looks like a sheet of paper several times, Shimohi accidentally taps on the bottles again.)
'There's a bottle with some booze in it sitting on the counter.'
Seven: One more sip...
Junpei: I don't think so.
We're cutting you off.
Junpei: I'm cuttin' you off, pal.
Seven: *Whimper*
(Is he trying to pull of the "puppy dog eyes"?!) Let's see... Nope, can't tap on that red jar I saw earlier even from this angle. Well, is there anything special about the walls to the left of the baccarat table?
Seven: Check out that stained glass...
Snake: How beautiful...
(Hey! Wait a minute! How can Snake comment on the beauty of STAINED GLASS if he's BLIND!?)
Seven: ...What?
Junpei: ...Huh?
Snake: Stained glass is colored pieces of glass, placed together in a frame. As I've said many times before... I need only touch it to know. I can at least discern the... Basic structure.
That and, maybe, from Seven's implied statement and Snakes own imagination, he conjured up an image in his mind of something beautiful... Let's see if there's anything else in the fireplace.
'A fireplace. There's some firewood here, but nothing else.'
Damn it, again! (For crying out loud! Let's try the table already!)
Junpei: Hey Seven, are we really supposed to play baccarat?
Seven: It's a baccarat table. What the hell else would we do?
Play a card game version of Calvinball?
Junpei: Hmm...
Seven: Aah, stop worryin' about it. It's real simple. What's the opponent's hand?
Junpei: Well, there's an (8) in that glass case...
Seven: All right, then that's your opponent's number. If that's the case, what 3 cards do we need to get that number?
Junpei: 3 cards?
(Duh! There's three card-sized rectangles below the eight under the glass!)
Seven: There are a couple of indentations with white lines around 'em, right? Those mean we gotta put down 3 cards. So...
Junpei: Place 3 cards here and defeat the opponent's 8. That's what I've gotta do, I guess.
Seven: Yeah, I think so.
'Hmm... Something tells me those aren't the only rules. All right, let's give it a shot. Before I start, I'd better make sure I've got the rules straight.'
Well, if necessary, I can just scroll up to get a refresher...
'There are 3 empty indentations. I just gotta pick a card and play it. I figure if I put them in the right spots, something oughta happen.'
Junpei: All right, let's give this a try.
Let's see... 5, 4, and 7...Nope. Oh wait, duh! 2, 3, and 4!
'All right, if I just put down these 3 cards... Yes! Open for me!'
("Open Says-a-me!") That's the activation spell for a Ni no Kuni cauldron.
Seven: Great! You did it, Junpei!
Hurray!
Seven: You think it's telling us to take the (8) card?! C'mon, let's grab it!
Well, let's get to it.
Junpei: All right, let's take this card.
'The 8 of Spades.'
(This again?!) It's practically a tradition. (Well, I don't remember you doing anything remotely like this except in the two rooms we searched before. That's not long enough for a tradition!) (*LOL*) (Both of you are crazy.) Well, maybe those cards can still be useful...
'The 3 cards I put down are stuck to the table. They won't be going anywhere any time soon.'
Dang it. Oh well. What about the door near the fireplace?
'That's the door we just came through. It's locked, and I can't get it to open.'
Well, that was a bust. A turn to the right and... There's another door and something on the wall! (How the fuck did you miss those the first several times!?) Failed Spot Checks, I guess. But, let's get to checking out that weird device...
Snake: It seems the card is attached to the panel. ...And attached very well, it seems. If you don't mind... What sort of card is this?
Junpei: It's a playing card. The ace of spades, in fact.
("Ace"...Better watch out for that mother fucker.) Well, I guess we add that eight of spades card...
'Here's the card slot. Looks like we need to put a playing card in here.'
Junpei: All right... Let's give it a shot!
(Use that eight card already!) No need for that, we "Started the game already!" (Another Age of Empires taunt...)
'And in you go--hey! All right, it opened up!'
Snake: It seems we have another device to contend with, yes?
Seven: There are 3 slots in this one...
Might as well, start messing around with that one.
Junpei: Let's see... 3 slots for cards. And there's a (9) right below them.
Seven: So, that probably means we gotta make (9) with the 3 cards we put in the slots, right? Just like what we did over at the baccarat table...
Junpei: All right, let's give it a shot.
We have only three cards left, so... 5, 6, 7...
Junpei: All right, so I put all the cards we had left into the slots...
Seven: What happens now?
'Is that...? Yes! I did hear something from the exit!'
Snake: Excellent work, Junpei! Wonderful! It seems the exit is unlocked! Let's go!
(And get out of this DAMNED den of sin!) Yikes! Niyagi... Cussing... That's a rare thing to hear.
Junpei: All right! Let's go!
-------YOU FOUND IT!-------
Junpei and his companions ran out of the casino and into a large, open, room...A room, in fact, that they had been in once before. There was little to surprise them there. The already knew what their next step had to be. The iron gate still stood in place. Locked tight, blocking the stairway. In the center of the gate, was the keyhole engraved with the [Venus symbol].
This time, however, Junpei had the [Venus key] in his pocket. Wasting no time, he pulled it out, and shoved it into the keyhole. He turned it. With the distinctive sound of metal on metal, he felt the lock click open.'
Junpei: All right, let's get this thing open.
Seven: No problem. Lemme help with this one.
I'm curious about something, was the group who went through the 5 door the reason the barrier was removed in the last playthrough? (Yes, you even commented on that the first time!) (What are you talking about? This is the first time!) Ah... Akurei was just making a little joke, don't worry about that...
'Junpei grabbed the handle on the left side, and Seven took the handle on the right. On Junpei's signal they both pushed, and the gate creaked open.'
Snake: It sounds as though you have opened it. We should be able to reach [C Deck] now, I imagine.
Junpei: Snake, are you gonna be all right? I mean, the stairs...
Come on! Even the the dead of the night, when I can't see a thing before bed, I can still go up and down stairs without tripping or falling and such. I just rely on my sense of touch in the form of my feet.
Snake: Please, do not do yourself the embarrassment of underestimating me. I would be unlikely to trip even if I were running backwards.
Seven: Good to hear. Let's move.
'At Seven's words, they leapt onto the stairs, and jogged quickly down them. In no time at all, they found themselves on C Deck.'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I think that's enough for this post. Hopefully we can see June and the others again soon. (A-hem!) Right, you can take care of that now.
Monty Python Reference Jar
Akurei: $27
Shimohi: $14
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