[ 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.
Ahaha, you must be tired or something. I was totally losing until just then.
[Even he could tell that... But it looks like Dextera is as pure as he thought, and this isn't some underhanded trick. There's a new attack going on, and he's trying to focus on it. But he's got the benefit of that mess up from Dextera.
It's going to be close, probably.
Last minute, quick decisions are his specialty. He can apply them easily to a game like this, with straightforward rules. It's when he's less familiar with the rules, and misses something, that he ends up really in trouble. Attack his bishop, but he's following a plan now from that mistake, hoping to use it as leverage to win, willing to make sacrifices!!]
So, really, even if I win, I won't feel satisfied... [That's the bummer of this.]
[ well, when he puts it like that, dextera’s competitive streak is sparked. he’s frowning seriously now, redoubling his efforts to come back from that slip. he’s not going to lose, if guren is going to be that way about it...!!
it’s difficult, with one of his pieces out of place, but he’s able to get a formation set up that’s defensive enough to buy him a few moves to figure out how to fix himself.
[And talking, like he thought, is distracting. Before he knows it, he's stuck again, and that has him laughing quietly, under his breath.]
You threw a tantrum, and it fixed it.
[His observation, even if it costs him a few seconds of concentration. He's backed up against a wall here, and he's running out of ways to recover. He clicks his tongue, and makes a move at the last second.]
[ dextera is a little more indignant at the suggestion that it was a tantrum, but it’s probably true—even if he wouldn’t admit it, he takes a lot of pride in his chess skills, and guren brings it out of him.
he’s focused on the board now, not on the silent seconds ticking by, and he makes a few moves that seem regardless of where guren’s pieces are on the board.
he has a plan in mind, and he’s going to execute it.
eventually, though, that stern look on his face eases, and he thinks it’s probably an inevitability that he’s going to win. still, it doesn’t change the fun of playing. guren doesn’t play like someone who has studied chess, and that’s interesting. ]
[ As always, Guren doesn’t go down without a fight. He’s taking longer turns now, using up nearly the full 12 seconds every time, and he’s improving, but he doesn’t have enough turns left. He can see his own downfall, but he plays to the last move, signing when Dextera takes his king. ]
I lost anyway. Good job. [ He’s clearly a little sour about it, even if his comment is sincere, but after what he said about it earlier, it’s probably for the best. He’d be sour either way. ]
Don’t show me how, this time. I want to figure it out myself.
[ dextera doesn’t know if he could walk guren through it as confidently as he has before, considering his big goof in the middle of it, but he nods.
chess is complicated, with hundreds of thousands of possible patterns and playstyles, and it’s fun to watch guren develop his own. he folds his hands tightly in his lap, leaning over the board to see if he can figure out how to counter his own strategy for later use.
maybe he can come to the same conclusion as guren. ]
[The huge mess up is half of the fun! Guren can see where his mind was before the mess up, and then after, see how he came back from it. At least, that's what he's hoping. It's taking a long time, staring at the board, sharing barely any of his thoughts except to rest his finger over a piece and wiggle it a little.]
Have you played this with anyone else here? [While he's thinking.]
[ dextera wasn't expecting that question, and it takes him a moment for his brain to catch up with his ears. he's played a handful of matches with other people, but it was nothing like this—guren is the only person he's habitually played with. ]
I played a few games with Minato once. [ a pause, as he considers the details. ] But I think he was just being nice. You're the only person I know who likes it.
Haha... No, I'm sure Minato enjoyed it, too. He's the kind type of person who'll have fun doing anything if it's with someone he cares about.
[Chess or who knows what else. He let Guren nap next to him for a few hours? That's beyond patience. It's like his friends, back home...]
When I was younger and my friends would try to convince me to play with them, sometimes I'd try to lose as fast as possible, just to get out of it. Goshi thought he'd got me beat until Shinya opened his damn mouth and ruined it. I remember being pissed that he'd seen through me.
[It was his own kind of game, playing the moves to lose... Back when he was even more of a grumpy tsun.
It's out of nowhere, he knows, but he wants to share it for a variety of reasons. He likes to remember, for one, and Dextera is one of the first people he can actually share this with, he feels like. He's unrelated to the army, and he's not going to tease him over sharing feelings or find it weird and out of place. Secondly, Dextera is missing memories himself... and Guren doesn't know if it helps to share his own like this, casually, but he's sure going to try.
He also wants it known that him agreeing to play along like this isn't so usual, either. Dextera has that aura about him that makes it comfortable, so he's not so grumpy. That one's the most secret reason, though!!]
[ dextera is a little stunned, really, that guren would offer him this information seemingly out of the blue, and it shows on his face as guren talks through the memory. his eyes are a little wider, his mouth parted in quiet surprise, but he's certainly nowhere close to teasing—as guren could have expected. although hearing someone else reminisce makes him ache a little for what he doesn't have, more than that, he's happy to have guren open up to him.
he knows this is rare. he won't take it for granted. ]
Thank you for playing with me.
[ it seems like that's all he's going to say, but then, since guren gave him something so important, he feels like it's only fair to reciprocate. ]
Sometimes I hear a voice that sounds like my own, asking to play chess again. Telling me that we were happy.
So it feels like I'm doing something good, when I play now.
[Hmm. He wonders if it's something to worry about that Dextera hears a voice sometimes that sounds like it could be his dead brother. Is that what it is? A spirit, a demon, something similar? But, even if the Order of the Imperial Moon never believed in an afterlife, he can see how Dextera would be comforted by hearing something like that and then moving to act on it.
As long as it's just playing chess, it's fine.]
It is something good. You're having fun, and so am I, so you don't have to thank me, either.
[He starts sliding the pieces back into place, satisfied with whatever he gathered from the last match.] If someone isn't there, asking me to play chess or shogi or video games, then sometimes I can forget to take a break for myself at all.
[ hm, well, yes, dextera is not going to tell guren everything that his brother says to him—the chess is the nice part to recall, and not the way he occasionally chants in dextera's ear that he's suffering, or that dextera is a traitor and a murderer. he's not thinking about those things right now, and tries to avoid it when he can, really. ]
...hah.
[ more a sigh than a laugh, but it's not nearly as tired as his sighs can often sound. there's a small smile, pulling at the corners of his mouth. ]
I've never had time to take breaks like this. It's all new to me, but [ this time, when he pauses... it's because he's shy. ] I'm always happy to do this sort of thing with you.
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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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[Even he could tell that... But it looks like Dextera is as pure as he thought, and this isn't some underhanded trick. There's a new attack going on, and he's trying to focus on it. But he's got the benefit of that mess up from Dextera.
It's going to be close, probably.
Last minute, quick decisions are his specialty. He can apply them easily to a game like this, with straightforward rules. It's when he's less familiar with the rules, and misses something, that he ends up really in trouble. Attack his bishop, but he's following a plan now from that mistake, hoping to use it as leverage to win, willing to make sacrifices!!]
So, really, even if I win, I won't feel satisfied... [That's the bummer of this.]
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[ well, when he puts it like that, dextera’s competitive streak is sparked. he’s frowning seriously now, redoubling his efforts to come back from that slip. he’s not going to lose, if guren is going to be that way about it...!!
it’s difficult, with one of his pieces out of place, but he’s able to get a formation set up that’s defensive enough to buy him a few moves to figure out how to fix himself.
it’s not going to be as close as guren thought. ]
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You threw a tantrum, and it fixed it.
[His observation, even if it costs him a few seconds of concentration. He's backed up against a wall here, and he's running out of ways to recover. He clicks his tongue, and makes a move at the last second.]
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he’s focused on the board now, not on the silent seconds ticking by, and he makes a few moves that seem regardless of where guren’s pieces are on the board.
he has a plan in mind, and he’s going to execute it.
eventually, though, that stern look on his face eases, and he thinks it’s probably an inevitability that he’s going to win. still, it doesn’t change the fun of playing. guren doesn’t play like someone who has studied chess, and that’s interesting. ]
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I lost anyway. Good job. [ He’s clearly a little sour about it, even if his comment is sincere, but after what he said about it earlier, it’s probably for the best. He’d be sour either way. ]
Don’t show me how, this time. I want to figure it out myself.
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chess is complicated, with hundreds of thousands of possible patterns and playstyles, and it’s fun to watch guren develop his own. he folds his hands tightly in his lap, leaning over the board to see if he can figure out how to counter his own strategy for later use.
maybe he can come to the same conclusion as guren. ]
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Have you played this with anyone else here? [While he's thinking.]
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[ dextera wasn't expecting that question, and it takes him a moment for his brain to catch up with his ears. he's played a handful of matches with other people, but it was nothing like this—guren is the only person he's habitually played with. ]
I played a few games with Minato once. [ a pause, as he considers the details. ] But I think he was just being nice. You're the only person I know who likes it.
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[Chess or who knows what else. He let Guren nap next to him for a few hours? That's beyond patience. It's like his friends, back home...]
When I was younger and my friends would try to convince me to play with them, sometimes I'd try to lose as fast as possible, just to get out of it. Goshi thought he'd got me beat until Shinya opened his damn mouth and ruined it. I remember being pissed that he'd seen through me.
[It was his own kind of game, playing the moves to lose... Back when he was even more of a grumpy tsun.
It's out of nowhere, he knows, but he wants to share it for a variety of reasons. He likes to remember, for one, and Dextera is one of the first people he can actually share this with, he feels like. He's unrelated to the army, and he's not going to tease him over sharing feelings or find it weird and out of place. Secondly, Dextera is missing memories himself... and Guren doesn't know if it helps to share his own like this, casually, but he's sure going to try.
He also wants it known that him agreeing to play along like this isn't so usual, either. Dextera has that aura about him that makes it comfortable, so he's not so grumpy. That one's the most secret reason, though!!]
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[ dextera is a little stunned, really, that guren would offer him this information seemingly out of the blue, and it shows on his face as guren talks through the memory. his eyes are a little wider, his mouth parted in quiet surprise, but he's certainly nowhere close to teasing—as guren could have expected. although hearing someone else reminisce makes him ache a little for what he doesn't have, more than that, he's happy to have guren open up to him.
he knows this is rare. he won't take it for granted. ]
Thank you for playing with me.
[ it seems like that's all he's going to say, but then, since guren gave him something so important, he feels like it's only fair to reciprocate. ]
Sometimes I hear a voice that sounds like my own, asking to play chess again. Telling me that we were happy.
So it feels like I'm doing something good, when I play now.
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As long as it's just playing chess, it's fine.]
It is something good. You're having fun, and so am I, so you don't have to thank me, either.
[He starts sliding the pieces back into place, satisfied with whatever he gathered from the last match.] If someone isn't there, asking me to play chess or shogi or video games, then sometimes I can forget to take a break for myself at all.
I bet you just need the reminder, too.
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...hah.
[ more a sigh than a laugh, but it's not nearly as tired as his sighs can often sound. there's a small smile, pulling at the corners of his mouth. ]
I've never had time to take breaks like this. It's all new to me, but [ this time, when he pauses... it's because he's shy. ] I'm always happy to do this sort of thing with you.
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