Everyone is on a spectrum between being a honer and an innovator. Honers just care about perfecting their craft, even if the hypothetical best has already been reached, they just want to get as close as they can. Now innovators want to push the envelope of ideas and best ways to do things. But the best of both require some of the other. Pure honers are bland and by the book: stagnant, but pure innovators never understand the tools they have available if they never become proficient. It’s like yin and yang, order and chaos, I dunno, I think it’s cool.”

“Yea, I guess that makes sense. So you’re saying we’re actually helping each other get better?” She asked.

“Well, I don’t know if you’re getting any better but obviously I am.” He chuckled as they walk into the massive Dave and busters-esc arcade.

“Heh, whatever dude. If you win then I’ll come do your dishes until next week.” She said as they walked through the turnstile.

“Ohh, you strike a strong bargain. Ok, if you win I’ll go rock climbing with you since you’ve been begging me for it.”

“Yesss! Ok, you get the first pick, where we headed?”

They started with Zero-Gravity Laser Tag. She pulled an impressive move, pushing off of a teammate to capture the winning point before time ran out.

Next they moved to time chess. She resigned after all 16 of him spent the whole time complaining arguing with each other about how it should be causing a paradox.

After many of these hard fought battles they end up with 4 points each. There was only game they played for a tie breaker since it was the only game neither could get a firm lead over the other in. But she grabs his arm as he heads towards it.

“Ack, are we not going to invert golf?” He looks back, confused.

“I’ve actually been wondering… could we end on a different game?” She attempts her best puppy dog eyes with little success. He crosses his arms in pure skepticism.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’ve been toying around with this new strategy. It probably won’t work but I’m willing to risk it.”

“What game?”

“Inch ball?” He laughed in response.

“You are so on.” She smiled as they turn to head towards one of the older games. They haven’t played it in a while, because even though she was better at most of the physical games, he grew up playing baseball and would instantly crush her in basically any throwing game.

As they're putting on their harnesses, she goes up and helps him put it on.

“Oh my god, I know we haven’t played in a while but do you just not know how to put these on?” They both chuckle

“You should be worrying about yourself, once I get this thing on, my dishes are as good as washed.” Unknown to him, she slips a little metal disk in the back of his harness.

“Ok, keep dreaming bud.”

“Oh, I’m not dreaming, I’m planning. New glass every time I get a drink- ow.” She sinches it up enough to get the last clasp on, chuckling.

“Oh yea?”

“Yea, dinner parties every night, invite all my friends over, it’ll be great.”

“I’m sure they’ll love that. May the best one win.” They jokingly shake hands before starting the game.

They’re both carried into the large dark room. Mostly luminescent paint and black lights in the way of aesthetic. The cables they’re attached to lower them onto the tilting platform. They both wobble to gain their balance.

“This is so nostalgic! Too bad we’ll be done so quickly.” He said.

“Whatever keeps your ego intact.” She responded before making a dramatic battle pose before almost losing her balance. He laughed before pressing a button on the harness, causing a foam ball to fall from the ceiling.

He chucked it and she narrowly dodged it on accident, still trying to gain balance. As she got her first ball though, she’s hit right in the chest, feeling herself dwindle down a couple inches.

“Damnit!” She says as she flings the ball and totally misses. She takes a few more hits and is taken down about a foot. This gives her challenger enough advantage to shift the platform as she goes tumbling off.

This happens again.

And again.

And again.

Now she’s one away from losing 0-5, this is her last shot before next week, and she really doesn’t want to wait that long. She takes 2 hits, but then, she hits him back. She watches him dwindle a bit as she regains 3 inches. ‘Finally’ she thinks.

They trade again, and then she lands another shot, she’s back to full height. Then lands 2 more. He’s down a foot. He chuckles

“Hey, I think you’re finally getting the hang of this.” She laughs lightly, focusing on the fast at hand. They trade again, she hits him again. ‘Closer’.

Once he’s down about 2 feet he starts getting a bit confused.

“Yknow, you’re running out of time, you could probably get the point already.” He says before getting shrunk a bit more.

“I told you, I wanted to try out a new strategy.”

“You do you, I’m just pretty sure this is an objectively bad strat.” He said, now needing to look up at her, then shrinking a bit more.

As she hits him more and more, she carefully walks on the middle of the platform to not tip it as she gets closer and closer to him, making it easier to hit him.

Now, he only has about a foot left and she only has 2 minutes left before her chance is gone. He’s craning his neck up to look at her as she drops a foam ball half the size of his body on him. Down again. He starts to get pretty nervous.

“Uhh, what are you doing?” He says, dwindling again. She takes another careful step, he has no control over the platform anymore. He knows she doesn’t care about points now.

“One more should do it.” She says, now right on top of him. She gently taps him with the foam ball, he shrinks down to an inch. 30 seconds left on the clock.

“Ok, you’re kinda freaking me out.” He looks up at the skyscraper of his friend above him. She crouches down and smiles at him, reaching down towards him.

“All this for a contact point? Really?” He squeeked up at her.

“Not quite.” She said, not being able to wipe the smile off her face, it might actually work. 10 seconds left. She reaches towards her watch, looking up at the clock.

5

4

3

2- she presses her watch.

1- he feels a little shock against his back, he looks down to see the lights on his harness flicker off.

The happy lights and music plays as the automatic voice says

“Congratulations on your victory, Player 1.”

He didn’t grow back, his harness was broken. He looks up at her smile in horror as her fingers wrap around him.

“Congratulations little dude.” She smiled deviously.

“What the hell did you do??” Watching as she lifts him up to her face. She gently unclips his tiny harness before it zips away. Now left with the tiny person in her hand. She’s lifted up and carried back to the prep stage.

He yells and yells to get her attention but she doesn’t respond until she removes her harness. Now lifting him back up.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, you’re fine.”

“No I’m not! I'm a speck!”

“I just needed to try out this trick. I thought if anyone would understand, it’d be you.” He sits in her hand and thinks for a bit.

“Yes, ok. It’s a cool exploit, but you could’ve told me about it beforehand. Why didn’t you?”

“Well I haven’t actually sorted out if I can get you back to normal…”

“WHAT??”

“Yea, I knew you wouldn’t agree to it.”

“Cmon please.”

“We’ll sort it out later, let’s go to your place.” She said, smiling a bit.

“Wait what? My place?”

“Yea, my parents would kill me if they found you, and you live… lived, alone.”

“You’re just- Hey!” She quickly and gently slides him into the top of her bra cup.

“Cmon, we’ll talk about it later, I have your dishes to do.” She laughed.

She soon walked out of the massive building with her brand new captive.

The tinies captor quickly walks out of the arcade with glee. Moving towards the porter pads outside that replaced parking lots long ago.

“We’re finally going to make up a game you won’t be good at.” 

‘And if he would stop squirming around I’d be able to think straight. Maybe my bra wasn’t the best choice.’

As she gets there, she’s disappointed to see the fee for 2 people appear. She swipes her phone as they’re de-atomized, reappearing outside her house.

“Just have to grab a couple things before we head to your place.” Patting the unnoticeable lump on her chest.

Meanwhile, the newly shrunk tiny squirms desperately, attempting to get out to no avail. The pressure pinning him against the warm, soft skin prevented his escape.

‘I really hope she has her fun and gets me back to normal before she grows power crazed and decides to keep me like this.’ Continuing his attempts.

As she waltzes into her room, she plucks him out. Massive eyes peering down at her newest prize, admiring her new prize.

Completely blinded by the light, the squirming form adjusts to his friends overwhelming face. He had seen her in bizzare situations before but the knowledge that this was much less temporary, and completely out of his control, scared him.

“Haha, ok, you win! You got me! Can you… turn me back please?”

“Not a chance, buddy. I’ve been brewing up some ways to take you out of your comfort zone and I know you seriously need it.”

She giggles before he’s flung over to her anti-gravity d20 display. She knocks out her die before dropping him in, awkwardly trapped in the field, slowly spinning in place.

“First game, escape that and I’ll give you… 5 points.”

“Points? What are points for?”

“I don’t know yet, I’m sure you’ll be able to use them for something. How about 5 points and you don’t ride in my shoe when we head to your apartment.”

Her body leaned over his as he groans is designation, attempting to squirm out of this now. Satisfied with her first little game, she starts packing up clothes, as well as a few possible things to use for future games.

Meanwhile the helpless tiny floats in space, wracking his mind for what he knows about this device. ‘Gravitational servos, nitron switches… does it have an organo-fuse?’

He starts trying to take off his shirt.

Meanwhile, his massive friend moves around behind him. She hums a tune while picking up her various trinkets and toys, debating their validity for different potential games. Looking under her bed, she sees a box. Blushing as she looks back in the tinies direction before turning back to the box.

Floating around amongst his various clothes, he can feel gravity pulling him down despite one minor thing. He grumbles to himself as he starts to shimmy out of the only garment holding him in the field as he slips out of his underwear and falls to the desk below.

Ending up with a suitcase of all the things she thought she could use on her new test subject, she zipped it up before going to grab her new shoe prisoner.

“Since I wanted to really help you enjoy your new traveling spot, I thought we could walk to your pl- oh my god…”

She stared at the tiny little clothing, drifting around each other in a satisfying orbit with no tiny in sight. She started to look around in a panic.

“Hey”

She turns to see a little nude figure sitting on her nightlight.

“Where are my 5 points?”

Her emotions couldn’t decide between fury or genuinely impressed.