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

Uh... kinda. You could say it's like trapping.

It sounds boring.

[Trapping is hideously boring.]

No way, it's cool. It could just be... better.

...you want to build a better Mouse Trap?

...in a sense.

So I guess you're ready to try and teach me how to play Shogi, huh?

You bet.

[A good-natured sigh.]

When do you want me to come over?

Later's probably better than sooner. I have a few matches already, go figure. But it'll be more fun if we're not rushing.

How much later?

I dunno. After dinner? Or if you're busy then, tomorrow perhaps.

I practice after dinner, so... tomorrow would probably be better.

All right. Then it is.

Okay. Around three o'clock?

Yeah. That'll work.

See you tomorrow, then.

[And... action?]

[ACTION. The next day, everything will be set up. Regrettably, not on the elevator.]

Okay, so... [Katara stared down at the board.] How do we start?

First up, I should explain the pieces.

Okay... [She listens attentively.]

[And so he starts explaining what each piece is and what they do!

He talks about each token as he puts it on the board. Katara should find some of them move similarly to pai sho pieces, albeit on a square board. The concept of dropping might be something that interests her too.]

So... then we just move them like this?

[She moves a piece.]

Yup. [Assuming that's a pawn.] We take turns like that. Do you have it in mind how the other tokens move?

I think so...

Shogi is a game you can take your time with anyways. We can start, but don't be afraid to ask questions or stop to figure things out if you have a problem.

[He'll hand her a rule book too that she can go through if she gets stuck.]

[ action ]

markofthebrave - 2012-11-25 04:38 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-11-25 07:44 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-11-27 04:43 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-11-27 05:04 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-11-28 02:23 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-11-28 21:14 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-11-29 05:22 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-11-29 06:07 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-11-30 02:46 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-01 05:07 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-12-02 05:40 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-02 06:12 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-12-03 04:11 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-03 06:04 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-12-07 06:40 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-07 23:16 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-12-10 05:04 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-10 07:15 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-12-12 03:52 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-12 04:28 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-12-12 04:40 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-12 04:45 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-12-12 04:53 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-12 05:07 (UTC) - Expand

markofthebrave - 2012-12-12 06:57 (UTC) - Expand

endgames - 2012-12-14 05:51 (UTC) - Expand

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]