awashrpg | USER #030066

[ dextera sets aside his laptop again, and then touches guren's hand where he had been hovering over the piece. although dex is quite proud of himself, he's not too proud to deny help—he's a kind winner, here, and guren seems to be onto it anyway.

he walks the piece back to where it had been when guren miscalculated, and then taps out a short progression of moves that might have served him better. guren probably doesn't need his help at this point, but it's an admission on dextera's part: he might have lost, if guren had gone this way instead. ]

[For a second, it seems like Guren might react poorly to the gesture. But his scowl slowly fades as each move is tapped out, and his eyes show his mood much more clearly— he's interested, and he's absorbing it all.

It's an entirely different perspective. To be able to play like this, to think ahead and think both ways, Dextera is extremely is intelligent. Of course, Guren won't compliment him aloud out of nowhere.]

I didn't even think to go that way. In a real battle, it wouldn't make any sense... [But that doesn't matter here, of course, and getting his head in this different mindset is still a little difficult.]

[ for all the mistakes dextera has made in his journeys, he's learned a lot as well—and although he can't remember much of his time before the blaze, he was a scholar, too. so people have told him. he has a mind that doesn't seem to suit his shrinking-violet persona. ]

Hmm.

[ dextera tilts his head in such a way that, without words or gestures, he seems to be acknowledging that this isn't a real battle. he can't speak to whether or not guren's move would be tactically sound in a war, but here? there are better ways.

guren will get his rematch, anyway, so try to put this knowledge to the test. ]

[He insists that Dextera starts again as white, and he's just as focused as he was the last time, all without looking focused at all. He doesn't want to give away anything, so he'll hide it all from his face and his body language. That's pretty standard.

Eventually, though, he passes a look at Dextera that's analyzing in a softer way. He has fun playing this, huh... Well, Guren does, too. But his having fun seems less impressive in the long run. Dextera seems more like someone who's needed fun for a while.

When he realizes he's staring like a weirdo and taking too long on his turn, he glances back down at the board. Hmm, a set up. An attempt to make him move one piece and start a chain of events that ruin his whole side of the board, but should he sacrifice a piece to prevent it? Or try a more daring and bold move from the side? Something that looks like his own set up, all to be a bluff.

Eventually, he picks something and slides his piece over, and then immediately looks back over at Dextera to see if there's a reaction.]

[ dextera gives himself away, with this one—he’s having enough fun to forget that he’s competitive, now that he’s won twice. his eyes widen just slightly, and he peers closer at the board.

guren is good. quite good, actually, and dextera is having fun playing against him... even if now the tides have turned in guren’s favor. he takes a little while on his move as well. ]

...

[ he tilts his head from one side to the other, considering, and then slides a piece into place. it’s not the move he was setting himself up to make, but guren made a good choice.

he might lose this one. ]

[Aha... He can't get cocky, he knows that, but he absolutely has to smile at Dextera's expression there. It's even more fun to knock each other off their feet, right? Guren had enjoyed it just the same, for as angry as he got. Dextera's move tells him that he can't figure out what he's doing just yet, and even if it's just for one move, that's all the time he thinks he needs.

He's all fired up!! He's onto something here!! He's going to win with this smug smirk on his face, he's so proud of himself.]

[ he is onto something here..........

dextera wants to win now that he realizes he's losing, but he's not sure what move he can make now that he's already recklessly placed his piece without taking longer to think about it. when guren is better, however, he wants to play with a timer. that's a challenge that even he hasn't taken on.

he hesitates, and places his last stand. if guren can circumvent this particular strategy in the next couple of moves, dextera will be locked out of a win. ]

Edited 2018-04-06 06:29 (UTC)

[Oh, good, because timed games is exactly what he'll be suggesting once he gets good enough. He has done it, with shogi rather than chess, but it's similar enough.

Let's see. He can memorize the pieces on the board, so he can think about his next move even as he stares straight across at Dextera, his head lazily tipped to the side so his cheek rests on the knuckles of a couple fingers.]

How am I doing?

[He's a punk. But he's a punk having fun with a friend, and if they're not both pushing each other to improve as much as they can, what's the point? He's got an idea to deal with this rock in the road, but he takes a little longer to consider the outcomes, just in case.

After a moment, he sits up normal again and makes his move.]

[ guren is a punk. there’s no denying that, though dextera finds himself a little amused at his question—intended to bait, he’s sure, since there’s no way guren doesn’t know how well he’s doing. ]

Hmm.

[ a few more moves...

but dextera lost a while ago, he thinks, and when guren has dextera’s king in check, he smiles to concede and raises his hands in defeat. that makes them 2-1 then, doesn’t it? in dex’s favor, but perhaps not for long. ]

[Yes. He doesn't say anything like that aloud, but he will allow himself to clench his fist in quiet celebration at his own victory. He's getting better! And maybe he's not going to learn anything applicable in real life with this, but he can still keep trying for that, too.

He laughs shortly afterwards, a genuine thing to relieve the tension that had built up just from excitement. Gosh. He'd almost forgotten how fun it was to play games like this. His laugh trails off and he's left staring at the board, wishing the rest of his friends were here.]

I wasn't going to leave until I beat you. [So, it's a good thing it only took a couple of games!! Shaking off other thoughts with a smile, he looks back at Dextera, leaning back on his palms. He seems like he had a good time, too...]

Even if there are more mysterious messages later, we can always play a game or two in between. [His uplifting pep talk, accept it.]

[ dextera is happy to see guren so happy, since they’ve had a series of difficulties lately—the town hasn’t been kind to them, though things finally seem to be settling into a routine once more.

enough that they can play a game or two of chess, anyway.

he nods, and he leaves the pieces as they are so he can sit with them later and figure out where he went wrong. it’s one of his small pleasures, and it provides a good distraction from the guilt that’s lately been settling on him for not trying too hard to return to his world. ]

...

[ although his laptop is right next to him, he seems content to speak with gestures—he bows his head slightly, a playful acknowledgement of guren’s skill. ]

[ Dextera is so nice about it... even after that asshole “how am I doing?” line he pulled. Guren shifts again, pushing off his hands to sit up straighter and rubbing the back of his head. ]

Honestly, I think it would have taken me a few more games if you didn’t walk me through your own counters on the other one. [ One would know the best way to defeat their own strategy, after all...! So, this is Guren’s admission that he admires his skill, too. Without outright saying it. ]

[ dextera is only nice about it because he isn't saying anything. guren is safe, as long as his hands are away from the keyboard—but his eyes light up with honest pleasure when guren compliments him, and he leaves behind that competitive streak for now to retake his laptop. ]

It wouldn't be as fun if you were as bad as the first time we played.

[ ...mostly leaves behind the competitive streak. ]

[ Guren gives that text a long stare before leaning forward over the chess board, hooking one arm around his neck and screwing his other fist into the top of Dextera’s head in the most aggressive noogie. ]

Huh? What was that? Who was bad?! [ Friendship ]

...!

[ dextera expected such a punishment, and so he finds that a laugh—breathy and voiceless, a sound out of practice but joyful nevertheless—bubbles out of him before he can even consider another response. he's never laughed in his life as much as he's managed to with guren over the past few weeks—a welcome, albeit sad, reality.

for now, though, he's not thinking about that. he's just trying to escape guren's noogie... ]

[At this point, the fondness he feels even at the laugh from Dextera is downright embarrassing. It adds to Guren's frown, since he's always grumpy about his own feelings, and he digs his knuckles down a little extra.

But shortly after that extra-punishment, he releases him, leaning back himself to frown across the board at his friend. It's incredibly clear that he's flustered in that lame way of his, and he hates it.]

I didn't think someone who couldn't talk would be such a smart mouth.

[ dextera fixes his hair even though it was a mess anyway—it’s more just an answering gesture to the noogie than a conscious action, since he’s watching guren cheerfully as guren gripes about his attitude.

he could talk, once, and he was a smart-ass then too!!! ]

Haha.

[ he’s still laughing as he types, quieter, a sound for himself that he can’t seem to keep inside. ]

I didn’t know either. I haven’t had someone to talk to in a long time.

[Hmm. No one, huh? That's a bit depressing, like most things about Dex are. Still, hearing that someone like Dextera hasn't spoken to someone in a long time, and is just... instantly this way... It's good, isn't it? That he can speak openly without worrying about it.

Guren laughs, a quick contradiction to the anger that's already faded.]

Seriously? You're too much. [What an honest response. It's pure.]

Well, keep figuring it out. You've got plenty of people to talk to, here.

[ his communication with others isn’t perfect, and guren in particular gets dextera at his boldest, his most experimental—but it’s perhaps because he has no voice that he’s so quick to express himself anyway, with anyone who seems like they want to listen.

he nods, pleased at the thought of speaking with others. ]

Thank you.

For playing chess with me like this.

[ not a change of subject—just a smaller gratefulness instead of expressing how much he appreciates guren for tolerating him. ]

[Guren watches him quietly as he types that out, resisting the urge to interrupt the minute he sees his fingers pass over what he's sure are the keys for "thank you." Gosh. Dextera is really like this. He waits until he's done and he's shown the laptop to respond.]

You don't have to thank me for things like this. [It'd be easier if he explained why, maybe, but how many times should he say it? They're friends. He likes doing this. He's having fun. He's the one who wants to say thank you.

Alright, maybe he hasn't said all of that, but he still feels like it's obvious.]

It hasn't been so bad. [Slowly glances at the ceiling, yes. A full admission. He is so very clear about his enjoyment.]

[ dextera understands guren’s lukewarm answer all the same. it hasn’t been so bad! that’s veritable delight, he thinks, and dextera starts to type out another response to go along with it—a sorry, until he catches himself and realizes guren probably won’t want to see that either.

with nothing to say but those two comments, however, he shakes his head and closes his laptop, returning his attention to the board. he doesn’t want to play another game, but he does want guren to explain himself...!!!

he taps the board, where guren made checkmate, and his intention is clear. the way dextera offered a counter, he wants to see guren come up with one for himself, too. ]

[Guren figured he'd ask for that. He laughs, gently reaching down to grab at the piece where he's sure the move had sealed his victory. Just like Dextera had done, he moves it back, and then shows an entirely different route with his other hand. Another piece, using some obscure train of thought to counter his own oddly angled attack to begin with.

Explaining like this is a little like explaining the way he thinks. He doesn't think he minds it.]

Like that. From there, I wouldn't have been able to do anything, and you would have cornered me like the last two times.

[ it’s a strange approach. dextera would never have conceived it on his own, which was probably his mistake—and guren can likely see the gears turning, as dextera works out more of his understanding of guren from this little demonstration.

chess isn’t a perfect match to the way people think or behave in the real world, but the two of them have distinct approaches from each other. ]

...

[ he nods, tracing his finger over the board as he considers what angles he can take with such a tactic... but guren’s style is a little beyond him, for now. ]

[Guren finds himself following Dextera's hand over the board with his eyes, almost lost in how he's trying to figure out his own take on this. His own hand in his lap twitches slightly, fingers flexing almost like he wants to reach out, but ultimately he curls them into his palm and looks elsewhere in the room.

It's hard not to feel guilty, sitting here playing games. He knows it's no waste of time. Friendship is important everywhere, and Dextera is his own person, and just as important— but Guren hasn't made any progress in figuring out how to get home, and it's eating at him. He left things a mess. He was still trying to finish his plans and make sure things got fixed. It's not a waste of time here, but it still feels like one in parts.

It's always in comfortable moments like these that he's left to sit silently and think about problems, but he remembers to appreciate it for what it is, too. After his stare around the room, he looks back at Dextera with unmistakable fondness. He doesn't really need a rematch right now, either, but he doesn't want to leave just yet.]

[ dextera realizes, after a few moments of extended silence, that nothing has been exchanged between them—and he looks up, his eyes softening slightly in an apology. he knows that when he's not saying anything, or trying to, that he must be boring to be around.

...even though guren doesn't look bored so much as thoughtful, dextera isn't self-confident enough to read that far into his expression. instead of prolonging this comfortable silence into awkwardness, he draws his hand away from the board, only to reach across and take guren's for his own. his laptop might be right there, but there's an intimacy he's come to prefer in writing into guren's palm.

plus, he's not sure what it is, but he feels like guren might need it too.

S-T-A-Y?
G-O? ]

...?

USER #030066

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