[ dextera moves, too, to offer guren a better angle on the laptop, even though he hasn’t looked at the quests entirely yet, either.
a jorogumo, some geese, a wish, a skill... there’s a kind of poem at the top, too, which dextera is silently gratified to see. it’s the wish that catches his attention, though, and he taps his finger to the screen and glances back at guren.
[It takes a few rereads of the same simple quest to understand, because he's surprised about it, honestly. Yeah, he came over here to help Dextera with his wish, pretty openly, but... seeing it in writing like that, with the word wish... It's almost sheepish, the way he scratches at the side of his face.]
You think that's how you got those tulips?
[He's less aware of how Dextera's smile had granted a wish for him, but that's just denial, it's fine.]
[ but why him? the quest wasn’t to have a wish granted. it was to fulfill someone else’s wish, and dextera doesn’t know what he could have done to earn those tulips when guren was the one who did the heavy lifting. ]
...
[ so it’s denial in his own way that leads to him shrugging, but it’s with less nonchalance than a shrug requires. it just gives away that he’s not really sure, but definitely flustered at the idea of having this put in writing. ]
[The longer he thinks about it, the more that sets it. He thinks back on it— these didn't go up too long ago at all, considering when he last looked. So, all it could have been was that conversation.
But Guren knows that Dextera helps him every day, and now he's thinking of all the ways he could have granted a simple wish, and that's getting to him. He looks away from the laptop, away from Dextera, and focuses on the chicken instead.]
Well... At least you got some nice flowers out of it.
[He has no idea what it was!! What a mystery!!! Don't look at him]
[ guren is lucky that dextera has nary a clue as to what he might have done for guren, and maybe he’ll never put it all together—the color of the flowers, the plot in front of his house—but it’s just as well. he would be embarrassed, if he knew. ]
...hm.
[ a quiet, confused noise, but a final one, too. there’s no sense in asking guren questions he probably can’t answer. he scrolls down to the next quest, noting the requirements of a skill, and he tries to get guren’s attention back with a shy little humor on his face.
[Chess... It's easy to see the screen from this close, at least, and he is curious about the quests, so he's not looking away from this right now.]
I guess you did. Chess probably counts as a skill, I guess... [In those vague terms of the network.] What, you can't think of anything else you could teach?
[ dextera pauses at that, but then plainly shakes his head without typing anything else.
the thing is, he has a lot of weird skills, like throwing or being able to whistle for his beloved chicken, but he doesn't realize he has them until he's actively using them. how can he teach someone something he doesn't know why he knows?
[He responds with that so instantly, so easily, answering that shrug with a small lean. It's a nudge, light as it is— his weight pressing against Dextera's just enough to wiggle him a bit before he pulls back to his own space.]
But I knew that already. It's why I asked you to crack at Fushimi, even if he's been hiding in Yata's room this whole time.
[ dextera breathes out an amused sigh, at that—and luckily for guren, he doesn’t seem especially embarrassed at the mention of fushimi, so it’s safe to say that he didn’t see that little forum post! all he knows is that he tried, and whether or not it’s been working, who knows? ]
[ that reaction makes him quite sure that he’s got the right guy, since fushimi definitely isn’t easy, but he was civil. that’s more than dextera expects from any interaction, really. ]
[Dextera probably thinks Ryo is nice, too, Guren thinks, and that's enough to make his frown a little more sour. It bothers him... But he doesn't have a right to say anything. He wants to help, but what's he supposed to do? He can't even get his own world straight, let alone whatever is going on in Dextera's.]
[ dextera thinks ryo is something—not nice, not cruel, but a mix of the two that carries with it shades of the archangel in a much more palatable form. there are no politics or guilt involved with ryo, but there's something there that he just can't place his finger on. ]
I'm just quiet. Sometimes that works in my favor. [ he's nice as long as people read niceness into his silence! ] Sometimes you can tell.
[This is so funny to him, Dextera admitting it, but he waves his hand between them to brush it off.]
Just because you're a little shit sometimes doesn't mean you're not nice. You give way too much lip for a mute guy. [GUREN] But you're patient with others. That's not done without kindness.
[ dextera trusts guren enough to know he doesn't mean anything in particular when he calls him a little shit, not least of all because dextera kind of set himself up for it. ]
Ha ha. [ written without laughing aloud, though he does smile a bit. ] Thank you, Guren. I'm sorry for mouthing off.
[ this too is typed with some amusement—it's not a real apology. ]
[Guren does laugh, shaking his head as he leans back just to rest his weight on his palm. He's still close enough to read the laptop.]
Sure you are. [Punk!! He loves the attitude, and that much is clear. He's got attitude himself— way more of it. The smart mouthing to superiors kind of attitude that risks punishment. It's no wonder his kid turned out the same way, too... And he certainly won't stop his friends.]
[ that sounds excellent. he hasn't gotten to flex his chess muscles in a bit, with everything happening so much lately, and so dextera nods, but not without providing guren a challenge that he thinks he's ready for. ]
[He's done the same thing with shogi, and he can do it now. How exciting!! He wants to test himself, too. He's probably already memorized where Dextera keeps everything, so he's going to grab it to set it up. He stands up to part ways for this short time just for this, so Dex can type his answer at the same time.]
[ dextera watches him set it up with some humor, feeling strangely warm at the fact that guren is comfortable enough in his room to just go set up the chess board on dextera's behalf. this is friendship! and he's glad to have it.
as for the time they have allotted for moves—they have several options, and dextera has never played a timed game before, but he doesn't want guren to pull his punches. after a pause of consideration, he offers this. ]
12 seconds.
[ why not 10? why not 15? who knows! he chose 12. either way, such a short amount of time will distinctly disadvantage him, but what he lacks in quick tactical thinking, he makes up for in pattern recognition. it should still be even enough. ]
[He's setting up the board by the time he looks at that, situating himself on the opposite side. To be honest, he thinks he'll lose this match. Dextera is incredibly good at chess, and while Guren would likely beat just about anyone else in a timed match, he's not confident enough to do it expertly himself. Rushed moves will make him skip over moves, forget options. Dextera's method of watching and learning by pattern means he already has this down to an art.
But that just means Guren will have to get better. He'll do his best and learn from it. He's excited!]
[ look at the polite way he gestures to guren, happily offering white despite his own misgivings about his advantage here. maybe he’s being a little coy about it, though, giving guren the advantage in the hopes that he’ll muck up his opening.
hm! who knows!!
either way, he’s got his laptop angled with the clock pulled up, so that both of them can keep an eye on the seconds as they tick away. he suspects they’re both a little too competitive, however, to let the other slip even without the clock as an easy referee. ]
[He's been thinking of a first move to make for a long time before this match, anyway. He moves to make it now, and it's right that he doesn't really have to look at the clock, but it's a nice reference to have.
Of course, a timed game means that Guren is going to be even more quiet than usual. He has to focus on thinking, after all. It's not like he's loud while playing chess to begin with, but he barely even gets to look at Dextera's face with how much he's studying the board.]
[ dextera is quiet anyway, but he’s actually a little louder than he usually is—when he makes a rushed mistake, a little noise of surprise leaves his lips, his calm façade for the game cracking slightly. ]
Ah—
[ he reaches to undo it, but stops himself before he can touch the piece. if guren didn’t notice the weakness before, he certainly will now. ]
[That's such a big mess up, he honestly wonders if it's a trap, at first. Can Dextera play that dirty? Pretend to mess up and actually lead him in a certain direction? He only has 12 seconds to bet on it, but he's going to go for it, anyway.
The first major glaring weakness he notices now that Dextera tried to undo that. He addresses that with a move, glancing curiously at him.]
[ even though he’s been playing plenty of chess with guren and others, old habits die hard. having hours to decide moves has made him a little prone to correction, testing pieces on the board, and he’s not as surprised by his own reflex as he should be.
his memories are hazy, but his body remembers. with guren’s move, he tries to get back some momentum by making an attack on guren’s bishop, but hopefully his little mistake doesn’t throw the whole match.
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a jorogumo, some geese, a wish, a skill... there’s a kind of poem at the top, too, which dextera is silently gratified to see. it’s the wish that catches his attention, though, and he taps his finger to the screen and glances back at guren.
was this...? ]
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[It takes a few rereads of the same simple quest to understand, because he's surprised about it, honestly. Yeah, he came over here to help Dextera with his wish, pretty openly, but... seeing it in writing like that, with the word wish... It's almost sheepish, the way he scratches at the side of his face.]
You think that's how you got those tulips?
[He's less aware of how Dextera's smile had granted a wish for him, but that's just denial, it's fine.]
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...
[ so it’s denial in his own way that leads to him shrugging, but it’s with less nonchalance than a shrug requires. it just gives away that he’s not really sure, but definitely flustered at the idea of having this put in writing. ]
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But Guren knows that Dextera helps him every day, and now he's thinking of all the ways he could have granted a simple wish, and that's getting to him. He looks away from the laptop, away from Dextera, and focuses on the chicken instead.]
Well... At least you got some nice flowers out of it.
[He has no idea what it was!! What a mystery!!! Don't look at him]
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...hm.
[ a quiet, confused noise, but a final one, too. there’s no sense in asking guren questions he probably can’t answer. he scrolls down to the next quest, noting the requirements of a skill, and he tries to get guren’s attention back with a shy little humor on his face.
in the nearest text box, he types this message: ]
I taught you chess too early.
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[Chess... It's easy to see the screen from this close, at least, and he is curious about the quests, so he's not looking away from this right now.]
I guess you did. Chess probably counts as a skill, I guess... [In those vague terms of the network.] What, you can't think of anything else you could teach?
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the thing is, he has a lot of weird skills, like throwing or being able to whistle for his beloved chicken, but he doesn't realize he has them until he's actively using them. how can he teach someone something he doesn't know why he knows?
another shrug, playfully apologetic. ]
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[He responds with that so instantly, so easily, answering that shrug with a small lean. It's a nudge, light as it is— his weight pressing against Dextera's just enough to wiggle him a bit before he pulls back to his own space.]
But I knew that already. It's why I asked you to crack at Fushimi, even if he's been hiding in Yata's room this whole time.
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He seems nice.
[ does... does he??? ]
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[ Spoken with a blank face. He’s not nice at all!! He’s got a heart, Guren knows, but god he was Work to deal with. Still, he’s mostly joking. ]
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[ that reaction makes him quite sure that he’s got the right guy, since fushimi definitely isn’t easy, but he was civil. that’s more than dextera expects from any interaction, really. ]
He was nice enough to me.
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[Dextera probably thinks Ryo is nice, too, Guren thinks, and that's enough to make his frown a little more sour. It bothers him... But he doesn't have a right to say anything. He wants to help, but what's he supposed to do? He can't even get his own world straight, let alone whatever is going on in Dextera's.]
You're the one who's nice.
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I'm just quiet. Sometimes that works in my favor. [ he's nice as long as people read niceness into his silence! ] Sometimes you can tell.
[ when he's being sassy. ]
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[This is so funny to him, Dextera admitting it, but he waves his hand between them to brush it off.]
Just because you're a little shit sometimes doesn't mean you're not nice. You give way too much lip for a mute guy. [GUREN] But you're patient with others. That's not done without kindness.
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Ha ha. [ written without laughing aloud, though he does smile a bit. ] Thank you, Guren. I'm sorry for mouthing off.
[ this too is typed with some amusement—it's not a real apology. ]
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Sure you are. [Punk!! He loves the attitude, and that much is clear. He's got attitude himself— way more of it. The smart mouthing to superiors kind of attitude that risks punishment. It's no wonder his kid turned out the same way, too... And he certainly won't stop his friends.]
Speaking of chess, do you want to play a game?
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Let's try it timed.
[ bring it on!! ]
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[He's done the same thing with shogi, and he can do it now. How exciting!! He wants to test himself, too. He's probably already memorized where Dextera keeps everything, so he's going to grab it to set it up. He stands up to part ways for this short time just for this, so Dex can type his answer at the same time.]
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as for the time they have allotted for moves—they have several options, and dextera has never played a timed game before, but he doesn't want guren to pull his punches. after a pause of consideration, he offers this. ]
12 seconds.
[ why not 10? why not 15? who knows! he chose 12. either way, such a short amount of time will distinctly disadvantage him, but what he lacks in quick tactical thinking, he makes up for in pattern recognition. it should still be even enough. ]
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[He's setting up the board by the time he looks at that, situating himself on the opposite side. To be honest, he thinks he'll lose this match. Dextera is incredibly good at chess, and while Guren would likely beat just about anyone else in a timed match, he's not confident enough to do it expertly himself. Rushed moves will make him skip over moves, forget options. Dextera's method of watching and learning by pattern means he already has this down to an art.
But that just means Guren will have to get better. He'll do his best and learn from it. He's excited!]
Who takes white? [Who is going first!!]
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[ look at the polite way he gestures to guren, happily offering white despite his own misgivings about his advantage here. maybe he’s being a little coy about it, though, giving guren the advantage in the hopes that he’ll muck up his opening.
hm! who knows!!
either way, he’s got his laptop angled with the clock pulled up, so that both of them can keep an eye on the seconds as they tick away. he suspects they’re both a little too competitive, however, to let the other slip even without the clock as an easy referee. ]
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[He's been thinking of a first move to make for a long time before this match, anyway. He moves to make it now, and it's right that he doesn't really have to look at the clock, but it's a nice reference to have.
Of course, a timed game means that Guren is going to be even more quiet than usual. He has to focus on thinking, after all. It's not like he's loud while playing chess to begin with, but he barely even gets to look at Dextera's face with how much he's studying the board.]
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Ah—
[ he reaches to undo it, but stops himself before he can touch the piece. if guren didn’t notice the weakness before, he certainly will now. ]
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The first major glaring weakness he notices now that Dextera tried to undo that. He addresses that with a move, glancing curiously at him.]
Did you really mess up?
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his memories are hazy, but his body remembers. with guren’s move, he tries to get back some momentum by making an attack on guren’s bishop, but hopefully his little mistake doesn’t throw the whole match.
he nods, embarrassed. ]
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