07.13f: Meet and Greet

The goings on of courts
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Joshua
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

Post by Joshua »

"In my homeland, we only play for real stakes. With billions or trillions of options, shadows and variations, a game without stakes can be found anywhere. It means almost nothing. We quickly get our fill of those. Actual consequences, are why the game is played. Shifting alliances, actual political consequences. Not a small game, but one that everyone, even bystanders have a stake in." Odin will sigh. "So, who I speak for would take a long time to truly explain. There is a shifting mess of alliances and concerns. Some, are only interested in the local game, others want to bring this place into it, still others wish to destroy this place to keep the game self-contained. My faction, as it is, wishes to understand more before making judgement. Once they know, it will splinter and rejoin the others. Some of them will accept you as allies or non-enemies, but most will simply see you as new participants. to be used as both."
misfit
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

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"Well you have seen how things stand here. Much as some might like to think otherwise, we are hardly a unified group, or even four unified factions. Right now we are clustered together like the pieces on the Shogi board at the beginning of the game. Given time, we will spread. Alliances and rivalries will no doubt develop along the way. In time it will likely look more like Chinese Checkers than Shogi with different sides working over and through each other in a scramble to achieve their own goals."

"So neither of us can truly be said to speak for our homelands. We are both but one voice among many. And we will both no doubt try to steer out homelands towards our own visions of their best outcomes."

At this point, Harrune will change strategies and begin to play very aggressively, going for a decisive win if he can manage it.
Krajk
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

Post by Krajk »

((Still haven't been jumped by inspiration, and the realization a few months back that I had access to tons of scientific magazine archives through the library has resulted in an on-again-off-again archives binge that is currently on "on", but Wyvern says someone poked him about poking Krajk and I figure that's reason enough for a post of some sort even though I'm not quite sure what/who I'm s'posed to be responding to since Wyvern forgot to specify and is now asleep. :lol:))

Krajk neither joins the game* nor wanders off completely, instead drifting about the immediate vicinity and letting the currents of the gathering flow past him. It's not quite a wallflower's 'leave me alone I don't like it here' sort of isolation but neither is it an antisocial sort of 'people suck, go away' (even though admittedly his opinion of people as a whole isn't the best); instead it's more 'I am here and listening and for now that is enough to satisfy me', a surprisingly subtle and sophisticated set to his body language that falls into the same confusing grey area as the difference between 'not liking' and 'disliking'. Despite frequently being away from the game he does seem to pick up on its nuances fairly fast, though at times it will be somewhat obvious** that his understanding of some quirk or another only comes after the fact; these points are more prevalent on moves that are more strategic than tactical.

(*There was a footnote here, unfortunately I seem to have forgotten what it was by the time I got around to adding footnotes. Oops. I may edit it back in if memory strikes me.)
(**To those with respectable warfare and/or psyche, at least.)
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Joshua
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

Post by Joshua »

Odin is not going to embarrass himself, but he's not willing to attempt the power usage to actively challenge Harrune. He loses gracefully, defending himself for a respectable amount of time. He even attempts to catch you in a draw at the end, but this is a lot harder in Shogi than in western chess. Once the draw gambit is defeated, he will ask, "Do you wish to start a new game or see how a proper ending plays out*?"

He will ponder the board while you are deciding. "Unfortunately, in my home-game, once cannot withdraw. Due to the nature of the betting, even if one were to 'bare their throat' for execution, an active but ineffective opponent can be of more use than a defeated one."
________________
*: It is customary to resign when you realize you cannot win. However, as neither of you has played this before, seeing the end-game to checkmate may give insight.
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Joshua
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

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Krajk's wish to withdraw from the immediate social scene has an unexpected side-effect. Once one drops out of the visible social aspect, one may perceive a second party existing in the same place but out of 'social phase*' from the rest. High elves, elder fae and similar are interacting with each other in this space, most with dozens of feet between them. The game** is slow, whatever passes for moves within it also involves noticing if a move has been made or not.

At least one of the participants, a gargoyle-style creature with polished granite-like skin, seems to offer an invite***.
__________
*: I think that makes sense.
**: It's a goth-off? Probably some ultra-high abstract fashion/style competition. There's a strange predatory undertone to it though.
***: Which could happen in another thread, or just quietly in the background of this one.
****: For the record, I think Asai has chosen to bypass the current round of this. I'm assuming she both plays this game and is quite good at it.
misfit
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

Post by misfit »

"Well, in keeping with the tone of the conversation, we may as well play it to conclusion."

"As for the metagame of which you speak, there is only one way to withdraw from the game and that is so...final. Such is the nature of politics. Once you are in, there is no way out. And one can easily find oneself in the game without ever intending to be there. Most end up as pawn that was used and expended by those with more influence. Some believe to have my influence when they are only pawns themselves. The skilled player can promote themselves along the way. I don't think that is part of your home or mine. I think it is a universal truth, even if I might sometimes wish otherwise."
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Joshua
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

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"This is true. But two things that makes true politics different is the persistence and shadow time. With fast time, one could raise a whole generation of pretenders to a throne in days. Slow time makes a most infuriating oubliette. And consider that my main world has had at least four millennia old regimes crumble, and each has worlds where time is a thousand or more times faster." Odin will state. "Think about that. Entire worlds with thousand-year-old traditions, whose sole purpose is to train the entry-level players in the game."
_______________
*: He can explain a little better than I can, but imagine that becoming the god-emperor of Dune was a final thesis before graduating to real politics. Which might include gaining immortality.
Krajk
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

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Krajk does not explicitly accept the 'invitation', but neither does he explicitly reject it. He might be participating, he might not; even he's not quite sure at this point*. But he is definitely, if surreptitiously**, paying attention to its undercurrents now.

(*The shark is mildly confused and not entirely certain he is suited to this sort of 'hunt', but at the very least he's quite curious.)
(**Even if he's not actually involved, no need to spoil another's hunt by drawing attention to it.)
misfit
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

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"I begin to see the problem. There are levels and complexities we haven't faced yet. You speak in terms of millennia, but we have only existed a handful of years. We haven't had the time for that yet. We're still gathering our main players and starting to locate resources. Pattern is such a new power that we haven't had time to test its limits yet. I don't think a shadow where time flows faster would help much with that. Too much of Pattern involves moving and seeking.* That would be too limited if contained to one shadow. Hopefully distance will give us the time we need."

*Yes, Harrune is learning that there is much more than that to Pattern, but he's not going to overshare with a potential adversary.
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Joshua
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Re: 07.13f: Meet and Greet

Post by Joshua »

"That is the hope. It is not easy to traverse to this place." Odin will observe as you finally get him into check. "And unlike the game, one cannot assume anything is a foregone conclusion. Dworkin has shown us that even the Logrus can be blinded, and that wound will mar our culture for a long time. Imagine if you will, the idea that one could redefine the palace or the gameboard. One would master every combination of this game, and then, we could add on a second board, or half of a board, or one might connect the left and right sides. The rules, already so complex, would change in an instant and those with the experience would need to adapt or die." He will ponder...

"What Dworkin has taken from his homeland is like that. And we wish it back. But one does not put a genie back into a bottle once it is released."
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