[ the worst part about this place is all the lights. marduk had been hoping to find some solace in the nighttime, but no; everything is even brighter and even harder to read, now. brushing off a person for the nth time, he squints up at a particularly obnoxious screen as it scrolls through the events of the night.
it is possibly the most horrible thing ever invented. he can't actually finish making out the words on it before the display switches again, and though he knows it's unlikely there's any useful information on it, he is determined to fucking read it all. it's the principle of the thing, really. the embarrassment of giving up would be just too goddamn much. ]
Who's fucking idea was it to come here, anyway? [ he asks no one in particular. ]
( b ) roulette.
[ a day later, and marduk has managed to find his actual game of choice. roulette is simpler than a card game (he'd never been good at three dragon ante, anyway) and harder to be accused at cheating at than dice, making it the perfect game to rig in his favor. he's smart enough to remember to lose money periodically, but for the most part he just uses bits of magic to influence the ball towards a better outcome, trying his hardest not to look smug every time he wins.
which is to say-- it's just an extraordinary amount of luck that he's won this much, obviously. definitely no foul play, despite the dirty looks he's getting. and the way he's chewing at his cuticles as the ball goes around? clearly, just nerves due to the amount he stands to lose. ]
open!
[ the worst part about this place is all the lights. marduk had been hoping to find some solace in the nighttime, but no; everything is even brighter and even harder to read, now. brushing off a person for the nth time, he squints up at a particularly obnoxious screen as it scrolls through the events of the night.
it is possibly the most horrible thing ever invented. he can't actually finish making out the words on it before the display switches again, and though he knows it's unlikely there's any useful information on it, he is determined to fucking read it all. it's the principle of the thing, really. the embarrassment of giving up would be just too goddamn much. ]
Who's fucking idea was it to come here, anyway? [ he asks no one in particular. ]
( b ) roulette.
[ a day later, and marduk has managed to find his actual game of choice. roulette is simpler than a card game (he'd never been good at three dragon ante, anyway) and harder to be accused at cheating at than dice, making it the perfect game to rig in his favor. he's smart enough to remember to lose money periodically, but for the most part he just uses bits of magic to influence the ball towards a better outcome, trying his hardest not to look smug every time he wins.
which is to say-- it's just an extraordinary amount of luck that he's won this much, obviously. definitely no foul play, despite the dirty looks he's getting. and the way he's chewing at his cuticles as the ball goes around? clearly, just nerves due to the amount he stands to lose. ]