Summer 7 - Game Night

[norrhamn_residents]

[ It's a rainy afternoon on Norrhamn, with a distant thunderstorm rumbling over the gray sea. Typical Swedish summer, if we're honest, but that only means that the residents on this island know exactly how to combat it: with a game night.

The main dining hall has been cosied up for the occasion. There's plenty of blankets to go around and the tables have been laid out with flickering tealights and a variety of board- and card games of varying difficulty. There's Scrabble of course, and games like Settlers of Catan, Clue, Ludo and many others, along with regular decks of playing cards. There may be a few Witchcraft: The Collection around here too...

Alongside the usual offerings of hot food that's served throughout the day, the kitchen staff has set up a table with tea, coffee and hot chocolate, as well as treats like cinnamon buns and cookies, salty snacks and candy. Perfect to nibble on while in a particularly thrilling game of Backgammon, or just a good setup for a rainy day fika. ]

Comments

[dispare]

[Gatherings of any kind weren't a thing that April really cared much for; the past eight years of her life had given her a pretty strong desire to not spend her time in or near larger groups of people, or around most people at all, really.

At the same time, though, it wouldn't really be right to make no effort at all while she was here (and she had a weird feeling that she needed to). So, while she didn't necessarily plan on joining in on the actual games, she still went and paid a visit to the community center, showing up slightly earlier than would have been expected, as she'd already been out for a walk—she'd gone out for one before the rain really started to come down, and having nothing back at the cabin that she particularly needed to pick up first, she simply came straight to the center to escape the rain as soon as she could.

She could be found sitting at one of the tables, a mug of hot chocolate sitting there in front of her, already half-empty. There was a good chance that it wasn't her first one, either; she rather liked chocolate.]

Hanako Ikezawa | OTA

[burntviolet]

i;

[ Hanako could have spent the rest of this rainy day inside her cabin, but at the mention of a game night she feels a tiny itch in her mind that she can't for some reason scratch away that easily unless she just goes with the idea of joining the other guests inside the dining hall.

So she's awkwardly sitting alone at one of the tables, having brought her portable chessboard along. Currently, she's having a solo training match with herself, her scarred hand hovering over the pieces and moving them at random spots of the board. She looks very, very engrossed with the activity, to the point any sudden noise from the outside could cause her to jump off her chair.

You could join her, but just make sure you don't startle her too much. ]

ii;

[ Alternatively, when her mind isn't occupied by chess she can be found being a wallflower in general, watching people play board or card games and have fun together.

Perhaps you may have luck having her play along if you asked her (nicely) to join. ]

i

[vicissitudinal]

[Exxis had been watching at a distance himself, assessing what games were in play and what people were reasonably engrossed with the people around them versus those who were alone. He sees the girl playing a chess game against herself. She doesn't seem to notice anything else going on around her, so he takes measures to make sure his steps around noisy, although not to the level of stomping. Hopefully he won't scare her.]

Excuse me?

[burntviolet]

[ Her ears do catch the steps approaching, but she only looks up from the board when the man addresses her, hands withdrawing from the game to have them join together on her lap. ]

... Yes?

[vicissitudinal]

[Exxis smiles at her, slightly wider on one side than the other.]

Do you play solo chess often?

[burntviolet]

[ She offers a lingering gaze, then breaks eye contact and looks back at the board while nodding slowly. ]

I do... it's an effective m-method of training.

[vicissitudinal]

Is it? [Exxis doesn't take a seat as he hasn't asked her for permission to do so yet.] Do you assume yourself the role of an outsider judging your own decisions, are you simply trying to beat yourself.

i

[bluerocks]

[ Zel was on his way back upstairs with a fresh cup of coffee and a small plate with a couple of those little coconut-covered chocolate balls. He pauses when he sees the lone chess player, though, watching a few of the moves she's playing out for herself.

Here's a game he'll find worthwhile for passing the time; he's certainly interested in brushing up his chess skills while time is frozen for everyone else back home.

He approaches the empty seat across from her, gently setting down his mug and plate. ]

Would you care for a game with another person?

[ Of course, she might recognize his voice as that-guy-who-didn't-know-what-phones-were. ]

[burntviolet]

[ That voice is, indeed, quite familiar. It brings Hanako to full attention, a mute gasp raising up from her chest as she looks up at the man and quickly notices the odd features on his face. Her stare is one of full surprise before she's soon after assailed by guilt for gazing too long, knowing how it distresses her when people likewise stare at her scars.

Her eyes drop back to the chessboard while she mutters, extremely timid and ashamed. ]

Um... s-sorry for asking, but, have we... have w-we spoken before?

[bluerocks]

[ Boy, does Zelgadis know that that look. He almost considers retracting his question, a brief frown flickering over his face until he truly locks gazes with the scarred girl. His expression softens into one of not quite pity, but a recognition of someone else who has experienced painful trauma.

When she speaks, the memory of yesterday's embarrassing phone call immediately comes to mind. ]

Ah, ahem. Yes, I believe we spoke yesterday. You're the girl in the phone. [ He rubs at the back of his head; of course with such a small population on the island, they were bound to run into each other eventually. ] I'm Zelgadis.

[burntviolet]

[ A nod of confirmation, and then a small respectful bow directed at him. ]

... I'm Hanako.

[ She leans back on her chair, both hands hands curled into loose fists over the table, eyes still downcast. ]

I'm fine with having a... match w-with you.

[bluerocks]

[ Yesterday, he couldn't understand how someone who clearly knew how to use a phone sounded so hesitant to speak to him; standing in front of her now, he sees her overwhelming shyness. The scars look old enough that it couldn't have been a recent injury, and he wonders what sort of hard life she might have had to create such a shell around her.

When she sits back, he takes the empty seat and starts moving all the pieces back to their starting positions. ]

Would you like to move first, Hanako?

[ His voice is gentle, perhaps a contrast for someone who looks like he fell out of a demon catalogue. ]

[forever_jack]

Jack is set up at a table with a big mug of coffee and a cookie, playing Scrabble with himself while he waits for a potential opponent.

...His choice of words may to some appear a trifle lewd.

[bluerocks]

Zelgadis had holed himself away on the second floor, perusing the library selection while it was too rainy outside to get anything meaningful done (other than get drenched). Eventually, his coffee runs out, so he heads downstairs for a refill.

He's kind of surprised that in the intervening time, the main floor had been set up for some sort of group activities. Mostly interested in ignoring the games and getting his coffee, he makes a beeline for the hot drinks table. On his way back, though, he passes Jack's table, glancing down for just long enough to catch an eyeful of rude words.

"What in the world is this for?" He looks both confused and a little bit embarrassed.

[forever_jack]

Jack glances round, eyebrows lifting with curiosity at the sight of the blue guy apparently made out of... rock? That was certainly a different look.

"Do you mean the choice of words or the game itself?" he asks, eyes twinkling.

Well, there are people from different worlds and realities here, after all. Some of those places probably don't have Scrabble.

[bluerocks]

Zel's trying not to get sucked into what might be some bizarre ritual for...something to do with...certain body parts, but it's too late, he's already broached the question!

"Er, both, I suppose." He looks a little shifty-eyed, hoping he's not getting himself into anything too weird.

[forever_jack]

He could string this out a lot longer, but he's feeling generous so he relents and explains.

"It's called Scrabble. You have to make words out of the tiles you have, that mesh with the words already down on the board."

He grins. "I was just entertaining myself with a little dirty Scrabble - seeing how far I could get using only naughty words! It's a lot more of a challenge, frankly!"

[bluerocks]

"I see," he says, not really getting the purpose at all, actually. He's the last person you'd find spelling out obscenities on a table for personal amusement. "So it's a sort of word game."

He takes a sip of his coffee while he looks at the tiles more closely, noting the numbers in the corners. "I presume you're meant to score points based on the value of the tiles you use, and reaching special squares on the board give you more points."

[oracledriven]

[On Pulse, the rumbling sound of thunder was an omen, scaring off all the monsters but signaling the oncoming of less-hospitable conditions. Wind, lightning, sometimes rain, though usually non-potable. Storms were a time to hunker down by the light of a few candles or a generator...and in this sense, Noel feels almost at home, here in the dining hall, watching the tealights flicker.

While he's content to sit here for a while, nursing a mug of tea and watching the clouds roll over their little camp, curiosity gets the better of him after a while. He starts looking around at the games, inspecting some of the unused ones as he goes along.

You might find him spelling out "hello" with an unmanned Scrabble board, or maybe fiddling with some of the resource cards for Settlers of Catan. Not even the chess set is spared from his basically acting like an antsy five-year-old; he picks up a couple of the more intricate pieces, examining them closely, turning them over in his hand as he does so.]

These look almost like toys, more than anything.

[He puts the knight back on the board...in the wrong place. Come on, man.]

[bluerocks]

That's not where that goes.

[ The critique comes from clear across the room, where Zelgadis was about to leave with his fresh mug of coffee until he noticed that somewhere, someone had put something back in the wrong place. He'll just make his way over, pluck the knight from where Noel carelessly replaced it, and tucks it back in between the rook and the bishop.

Come on, if you're not going to play a game properly, at least leave it set up for the next person. ]

[oracledriven]

[Well, that was unexpected. Noel hears Zelgadis before he actually sees him, watching with surprise as the guy crosses the whole room just to put the piece back.]

Well spotted. [He is not being sarcastic.] Sorry, I didn't know they had assigned spots.

[That makes the whole thing a little more interesting. He taps on the knight again, now back in its proper spot.] Is that the stable or something?

[Since...since it's a horse...]

[bluerocks]

Heh. I guess I never thought of it that way. [ Zelgadis smirks at the idea of the knight's starting position being a stable. ] This piece is called the knight, but I suppose a horse is easier to carve. On either side is the rook and the bishop, and the row in front is made up of pawns. The goal is to protect the king, and capture the other player's king.

[ He points out each piece with a blue fingertip when he names it. ]

[oracledriven]

[Noel shrugs at the musing. It's not that he's creative, really, he just has no idea what he's doing at any given time. Anyway, the intricately-carved pieces caught his attention, and he's glad to have an explanation of what they are.]

Knight, rook, bishop... [He nods along with Zel's explanation, trying to follow what he's saying.] Sounds easy enough. [No, Noel. Just no.] Sounds like this is a game you know pretty well. Is it from your world?

[bluerocks]

Well, it can get complicated. Each piece has rules for how it can move. The pawns, for example, can only move one square forward normally, can only capture while moving one square diagonally, and are permitted to move two squares forward only if it's their opening move. [ He shuffles a couple of pawns around for Noel's benefit, including capturing an opponent's pawn. Getting dizzy yet? ]

We have this game in my world, but it's mostly a past-time for bored nobles. I didn't bring this set here, though; strangely, it would seem that other worlds have developed an identical obscure, specific, and overly-complicated board game.

[ He plucks the king from the board, holding it up for close inspection; it's a simple shape, but well- carved with some good heft. Was there something about this combination of figures and rules that was somehow universal across the multiverse? ] Is this not something you've seen before?

this is only, what, two weeks late? cries im sorry

[facings]

[ the weather is strangely comfortable, for Kieren as well, as far as it reminds him of Lancashire and its rainy autumns and winters. and while he's hardly a people person... there's something nice in staying in the dining hall with the others, even if he can't indulge in the offered food or drink.

it's hardly a surprise he gravitates towards Noel eventually, finding him hunched over the scrabble board, spelling out a greeting all by himself.

instead of saying anything, though, he simply picks up some letters, and neatly arranges the letters d, r and k around the end of Noel's hello.

(yes. hello, dork.) ]