waitingforplayer2

He did? [ She pokes her head out of the kitchen to look at him with wide eyes. ] Yeah, yeah! That sounds like fun, I'd love that!

[ She finishes preparing the tea while Atem's away, and she's got two mugs at the table by the time he returns. ]

Did the person who lived here before really play a lot of games, too...?

[He's back with a stack of games in his arms almost as high as his head -- his canine chin's pressing down on the top of the pile to keep it steady. The boxes are all sizes, all colors, and he'll set it gently on the table.]

He certainly did! His grandfather ran a game shop, so he knew a lot about different kinds of games...

[He picks up the tea mug. Nanami's free to explore the collection: board games, card games, dice games, games of chance, strategy games, dexterity challenges, puzzles...things for one player, two, or more.]

If there's nothing here that looks fun, I've got a small collection of my own. Most of them were gifts from friends...

That sounds like a nice place to grow up... [ Her eyes are wide as she stares at the stack of games, slowly running her finger down the stack of them as she reads the names. ]

They all look fun! [ This is a hard choice. She sets aside a puzzle that looks interesting, but probably isn't as fun for two people... and ends up pulling out a strategy game, a name she doesn't recognize, a game that looks colorful and intriguing. ]

This one, but I want to try all of these, I don't recognize some of them.

Okay!

[He'll open the box, spread the game pieces out, and start setting them up. She's got one arm -- it's only polite! The movements are deft -- this guy's minmaxed for DEX, even with werewolf claws in his way.]

Ryslig's got games I don't know, either...some are unique to this world, and some are kind of like other games, from different places and times...monsters from different worlds than me recognize them.

[Up up up the pieces go, dealt like a hand of cards in a casino. He passes the rulebook to Nanami, to let her read it for herself.]

[ She speed-reads through the rules, quickly getting the hang of it, noting the rules unique to this game and what's familiar to her. By the time she's put them down, watching Atem get out the colorful pieces, she's already thinking about strategies. ]

Mm, I recognize a lot of them, especially at the arcade... but there's some that are new.

[ It's a strange life, to be an octo and a jackal playing a game she's never heard of in a sunny apartment room, but not a bad one, she doesn't think, as she starts by taking her turn. ]

But I like pretty much all games, even bad ones.

What would you say makes a bad game?

[The tone is conversational, idle, kicking around ideas with someone like-minded. The last few pieces are put in place just after he asks: Atem's picked the darkest color to represent himself, a set of pieces of deep indigo.]

[ Her color is a lighter pink, to contrast. But it's an interesting question, and she thinks about it for a little while. They're a couple of turns into the game before she finally answers. ]

I think I would start with a game where I'm not having fun, but that doesn't really seem to be right, because some games aren't fun but they're still interesting. So I think actually, a bad game would be something that isn't interesting any more. Like how in Monopoly you'll know who wins really early on, or if there was a game where no matter what you did, you couldn't change anything and the story wasn't interesting.

[ Hmm, she looks at the stack of games but also remembers some of hers from back home and also the arcade's collection. ] I don't think not being able to change the game yourself makes it bad, exactly, because Candy Land is still really fun... but sometimes I'm just not really getting anything out of a game anymore. I'd still play it, though.

[ She brightens, sitting back to wait for him to take his turn. ] Hojo-san actually taught me how to make Monopoly interesting again, though! It's kind of like cheating and kind of like adding new rules, and I guess those can be sort of the same thing sometimes.

[He nods, taking in her opinions, giving them as much consideration as his turns in the strategy game.

A game that's not fun...that's not interesting...that you aren't getting anything out of anymore, and the outcome is set in stone and unchangeable. Those are good parameters for a "bad" game. He gives a nod, making a good move on his turn, then says, with his chin resting playfully on his hand:]

It's only "cheating" if the new rules aren't agreed on by all players! But what kinds of things can you do to make Monopoly interesting again, when it seems like it's already been decided?

[ Oh interesting. So he is practiced at this. She stares at the board, thinking for a while, both about her move and about how to answer. ]

You can make it so that the game is only one step in what you're actually playing. [ Takes another turn, and leans back, imagining it. ] Maybe the game you're actually playing is to see which of your friends is better at lying, and you all keep all of your moves secret and have to guess what you're doing. Maybe the game you're actually playing is to make somebody else get Monopoly instead, so everybody's trying to avoid it.

[ She suddenly sits back up, inspired. ] Or!! Maybe there's an entire secret underground black market, and you have to do all your deals there before you can move up top-- or even go on a dungeon quest-- you could bring Dungeons and Dragons into it too! You could combine games!

[A smile starts to tug at his face. Extra rules...from reverse-Monopoly to an underground black market, it's all interesting, and it all sounds...]

...that does sound like fun.

I suppose it would depend on who you were playing with...what kind of game changes they'd enjoy the most. After all, dungeon quests aren't everybody's favorite, but I know a few who'd like it a lot.

And that's where you come into play, I think!

[ She looks over the board at him, grinning with sharp teeth. ] That's how you design Shadow Games, so I think you'd be able to look at players and figure out what type of game changes would be most interesting to them. Maybe even while they're playing!

That's right. People's tastes in games are as unique as their important goals...what someone else likes, what someone else wants, won't be the same as you. That's something to remember in Ryslig, as well...

[He shifts one piece, then another, his tone turning thoughtful.]

What would make me happiest isn't what might make you happiest. That's why I'm not going to try to find out what really happened to your arm, or your head, in order to get even for it...because that would be for me, and not for you. If what you wanted was revenge, you have the power to take it, and I'd assist you as much as you wanted! But if it isn't, and you want to protect that person...then, hurting them would only be hurting you, and I don't want that.

[One last placement, finishing off his turn.]

So, if not talking about it ever becomes more painful than talking about it would be...it's okay, to talk to me.

[It's safe, he means, for her and for the person who attacked her.

But it's fine if she doesn't, too. They're in the middle of a game, and it'll be easy to change the subject. This is an ongoing offer, a continuous spell effect that won't be removed from the field.]

[ The subject changes more suddenly than she expected, and it takes several moments for her to catch up to him.

She's ... anxious, at first, at being questioned. But as he continues on, she starts to relax again, a little. Considers the moves he's making on the board.

Carefully makes a move of her own, thinking more. Then she looks back to him with a small smile. ]

You're a good teacher, Atem-kun. [ She twirls one of the pieces on the board a bit - it doesn't affect the game, but it's something to do. ] About all of the things there are to learn here.

[ Absently, she rubs at her arm, which has started to itch-- wincing when it hurts more than she expects. ]

I don't want to get even. It was an accident, by a friend. And-- they helped me after. [ Carefully avoiding pronouns, even.

But she looks at him, and trusts--, well, hopes-- that what she's saying won't leave the room. Even saying this much feels like too much. ] So... I'll be okay, once I heal, I think.

I had good teachers, when I first arrived.

[He says in reply, moving a piece of his own. There were level-100 players...Noa, Javert...who had given him guidance. Now he's the high ranking god follower with an arsenal of powers...so, it's right to help anyone new who wants it.]

It's hard to do well here, especially if you're a kind person.

But I like you, so I want to see you achieve your win conditions!

[One last move, and his turn's up.]

Do you have an idea of what those are, yet? What do you want out of this world?

["A friend and an accident" is good enough for him; he lets the subject of injuries drop.]

[ Oh. Well, that's hard to respond to.

Not his move-- though it's a good move, she's pretty sure. So she busies herself with a counter-measure first. ]

Umm... [ She watches the board while he takes his turn, turning the question over in her head. Finally she speaks up, hesitantly. ]

I guess it feels like it doesn't really matter... I could disappear from here at any time, right? So I just have to make it until then.

[ She plays with one of her head-tentacles idly, feeling sort of uncomfortable talking about it. ]

Before, um... I just wanted more time to play games with my friends. And I got that here, sort of.

[ She's not really seeing the board, now. She's seeing a floor far away, covered in blood, and her best friend's shoes in front of her as he watches. ]

So, anything fun I get to do here is kind of like a bonus level, right? It's New Game Plus.

[New Game Plus.

That's one way to think about having a second chance after dying. For Atem, it hadn't been...it had been a different level, a minigame that lasted much longer than any of the others. But...Nanami knows she died, then. She must know.

He reaches out and gently takes her hand, and if she doesn't pull back, he'll squeeze it, gently. No more contact than that, but it's a grounding point, an anchor to their current reality. Her eyes are distant, and though Atem doesn't know exactly what's going on behind them, he can smell on her that it isn't good. There are dark parts of yourself that you can get lost in, if you end up in the wrong place, or hear the wrong words...and it can be very lonely to have to pull free of that yourself.]

It's fine to be here to have fun. That's a good goal!

[He prompts, looking for her response.]

[ The dark bloody hall floor fades away, and he's squeezing her hand, and she looks up and finds his kind face watching hers.

She nods and smiles a little, her head-tentacles waving idly, brushing against the wound and making her wince again. ]

There's a lot that's fun and different here. [ She pauses, looking down at the game. Whose turn... hers, right? She has to finish her countermeasure... ]

Mm... and there's friends. [ Whom she loves very much. ] So things are pretty okay, really.

[ She'll treasure what she has, because it's a lot more than she ever expected. ]

That's good.

[He'll hold her hand until she pulls it back, contact that's light and easy and comfortable.]

That's what I want, too...I want to make as many good memories as possible, more than I can count, while I can. It's not always easy, but...even in a difficult game, you can still find the fun, right?

Yeah...

[ Something about the way he says it... even as she takes her hand back to move a piece, she considers him.

I died thousands of years ago, and my spirit was sealed away. He'd said that to her, maybe a week or two ago now. And the way he talks about making memories while he can... it's familiar. ]

How old were you, when you died the first time?

[ What a question to ask, and out of the blue. But the room is quiet, and the game is long. They've both got nothing but time. ]

[He looks at her, wondering if he's been perceived -- if she's seen through the light part of I want to make a hundred hundred memories! So many I forget a lifetime's worth! into the dark behind it. Not easy to say. His tone and face are neutral when he replies, makes the statement of fact:]

Sixteen.

[Too soon, he feels.

I want to go to the afterlife, one day. But not yet. Not yet, I'm not ready, I don't want to go now, I don't want to be sent away...

It's only when he thinks sent away that the muscles in his face twitch, a tell. There's aching loneliness behind this wish for more memories, an emptiness in half his soul that nothing yet has filled.]

[ Younger than her.

She gets up. Before either of them knowing it, she's hugging him, gently with her good arm.

It's not fair. He should've had more time. But now they both get it, at least. ]

Then let's make some really, really good memories here.

[She's--?

?!

That's not what Atem expected. Not at all.

Even after everything she's been through...she can still find it in her to be kind.

He takes a deep breath in, and then -- slightly, just slightly, leans in. His own arm, the opposite of hers, comes up and wraps around her back.]

Yeah. A million of them...so many good times that we can't keep track of them all!

[He's fine. He's just going to. Hug her back, and let his tail wag, slowly, gently, behind him.]

You're a really kind person, you know. That kindness...I've only seen kindness like that in one other person.

Edited 2022-07-04 23:27 (UTC)

Ah... it's not a big deal!!

[ It feels a bit awkward to be called out like that, actually. It's not even the first time. But she'll hug him as long as he needs, gentle and warm. ]

Who was the other person?

The person who had this apartment before you -- Yugi.

It takes a rare kind of strength, to be kind even when you're hurting, yourself. Not everybody has it.

[Atem certainly doesn't, he thinks. He has confidence instead -- the strength to fight back.

(He is horribly incorrect.)]

Try not to lose it...but also, don't forget, you have to take care of yourself, too. Don't just look out for others, Nanami. Be sure to rest, when you need it.

The one with the game collection? [ This is starting to sound like somebody she'd like to meet someday. She finally breaks off from the hug long enough to look around at the apartment walls, wondering what they were like when that person was here-- whether they were less bare, more lived-in.

That's also long enough for her to remember-- oh yeah, they were playing a game. She half-listens to Atem's advice. ]

Oh, I'm trying to! Protect my heart, like you said. [ She moves one of her pieces. ] But I'm okay, really. There's been a lot to do, but a lot of it has been fun!

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