endgames | 029 -- [Action || Video]

[The afternoon finds Shikamaru bundled up against the cold and out and about in parts of the village he won't normally be in. Wandering, it might look like; he drifts in and out of high-traffic areas like the bar and the item shop to places less visited. The coffee shop he'll be at for sure, and his final stop will be the building that was once Azzip's Pizza.

This will do.]

[Video]

[Later in the afternoon, with dark still far off, the journal feed will click on to see Shikamaru surrounded by various colorful boxes among other things. He folds his hands over a table.]

It's come to my attention over the last few months that some of you have never heard of boardgames, or have otherwise never played. As a reasonable guy, I can let a lot of things go, but that... just seems sad.

[He shakes his head here. With woe, even. And then he gestures to the board games from various worlds strewn in the background. Close inspection will find a shogi set, a chess board, Go, Pai Sho, Plateau, Candy Land, Mouse Trap, ~~Jumanji~~ and so on. You can pretty much make up any family-friendly board game you want here and he will have it somehow. Go for it, actually. He hasn't played all of them.]

I'm here to tell you why they're awesome. [...] And possibly to petition for a partner. It's troublesome, but you'd be surprised how hard that is to accomplish here...

Katara. [Hint, hint.] Kotomi-chan. [Who he can't tease as well, so he'd best clarify:] If you're still up for that.

[He shakes himself with a grin, saluting at the journal with his left hand. He picks up the nearest game.] Anyways, let's get started. It goes like this...

[And from here he'll be giving the abridged rules of the games he knows to start. Feel free to interrupt him, or call him out on any games he skips.]

[/end Voice]

[Action || Locked to Konan]

[Much later in the night, after he's seen to everything he needs to, Shikamaru takes a box out of a drawer and goes outside. From it, he withdraws an origami hummingbird, and contemplates it slowly for a few quiet minutes.

When he's done, he holds it up at eye level and speaks seriously.]

It's about time we spoke again. Don't you think?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...at once?

[It gives him pause but HOLD ON AN IDEA IS FORMING.]

At once! Yeah! Can you do it?

[She could. Probably..]

Tell me how to play Candy Snakes, Yotsuba wants to know.

One second... [Aha, he's got the Snakes and Ladders game back now. He wipes the pieces off of it before adding in the Gingerbread Kid tokens from the Candy Land game, along with the cards.]

There. Now it's a brand new game, as you know. Ideally, you'd have actual candies in play, but I'm sure you don't want me to waste my time getting some--

[Whoah now. There's always time to go and get candy... But now there's some sort of wonderful combination of a game about candy and a game she's familiar with on the journals.]

Noooo no no, get candy, it's okay! Do both again, you can do it. Yotsuba believes in you! At once!

[Explain candy snakes and land of ladders and get candy. Show off those wonderful multitasking skills of yours.]

But the candy's across the hall--

[WOW LOOK WHAT HE GETS FOR TRYING TO ADD A CREATIVE ELEMENT. Actually no wait. He brings his hands together in the sign for the Kage Bunshin jutsu that Naruto taught him. Offscreen, a clone pops into existence, rolls his eyes, and goes to get the candy.

Siiigh.]

Okay, I'm getting it. The rest goes like this: you have a stack of cards with six different colors. [He picks through the deck until he has one of each: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.] Each color is worth one number. You following so far?

You're lying. You waved your hands around and then said things.

[That is most certainly not what she calls getting candy. If that was getting candy then she could do that right now! In fact, she does! Or tries to. At any rate she's putting her hands together and trying to copy the sign she just saw.]

Why are you a liar?

Why are you rude?

No I'm not, Yotsuba said please! That's what people say when they're not rude, please and thank you very much! [Huff huff.]

...Is the candy here yet? Did it get lost?

It only counts when you say it. [That said, the clone has returned (still off-screen) and drops a bag of candy into Shikamaru's hand. He laughs at the look on the original's face before dispelling itself in a 'poof!' sound.] But I'll still teach you anyways, now that I have the candy.

... Ohhh! It's magic, Yotsuba understoops!! [Just a sec, she's busy trying to push her face into the journal to see if she can see where the candy came from. WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS.] Can I learn magic too? I'll listen, I'm listening right now. Shh!

I think "understood" is what you meant.

[Deflecting!]

Understood, that's what I said! Pay attention! [Smacking the journal a few times to make sure she has Shikamaru's attention...

And then silence. Back to listening like a good little listener. Proceed.]

Sorry. [Waving his hands placating, like being chastised. Plan working just to form, of course.]

All right. So if you have candy, you take a handful like this. [He grabs a handful of mints and chocolate, not to full, and then drops the load over the board.] And then do that. Anything that bounces off the board you put in a winner's pile, and the rest you leave where it lands.

[The candy on the Snakes and Ladders board has fallen into various squares, some between lines. Shikamaru finishes sweeping up the winner's pile before nudging those pieces.]

If some are in more than one square though, you can fix that.