Closed Post: The only way to learn is by playing

[futaille]

There has been a seismic shift in the pinball status quo and Grantaire unwittingly brought it just by mentioning the game at the wrong time. Or the right one, really. Watching Magnus play was honestly kind of amazing, but it also was a very fast shift in fortune, especially with tales of Alex even beyond that. And if Grantaire wanted any hope of keeping any Rs at all on the high score list long-term, he needed to refine his game. (Sometimes it's easier to be spurred on by someone clearly ahead of you than someone coming up behind.)

So he is, of course, in the game room one dark (and Dark) evening, working on improving. Of course, as always, his plans are fully subject to change when previous offers come back to the forefront.

Comments

[lightbearinglord]

"Best not to be fighting with one's back to the river unless it is unavoidable," Lan Wangji agrees. He stays poised for a thoughtful stretch with a stone between his fingers before placing it at last.

[futaille]

"Such as when the river is teeming with crocodiles. Very difficult to ford that way. I'm sure it's terrible for the horses. At least if there's cavalry involved. Even worse for the infantry, though. Maybe that is the ideal time to actually use elephants." He picks up one of his stones and absently rolls it in his fingers for a bit before placing it down near one of his others, shading towards the center.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji, who has now identified the general shape of the defense he would like to construct, is much quicker to deploy his next stone, in concert with the others. "In this game, you will need to persevere without elephants," he says dryly.

[futaille]

"Honestly, elephants where there shouldn't be and none where they would actually be useful. What a turn of events." He places his next stone.

[lightbearinglord]

There is obviously some story he is missing here. Lan Wangji says nothing, but he glances up, awaiting the explanation -- or, at least, the continuation -- that he presumes is forthcoming.

[futaille]

"I think I alluded to it at the meeting, but there was a well-regarded general of antiquity who decided to lead war elephants over mountains as part of an invasion force. It ended about as well for the elephants as one might expect."

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." Lan Wangji recalls that, in fact. He did listen to everything Grantaire said, even the parts that made very little sense to him. "My apologies for the absence of elephants in weiqi."

[futaille]

"Apology accepted, but I'll withhold any actual complaint for the long-ago inventor of the game."

[lightbearinglord]

"That inventor's name is lost to history." Lan Wangji does appear faintly amused, however, if one knows how and where to look for the evidence of that.

[futaille]

"Yes, well, they know what they did."

[lightbearinglord]

Grantaire is so terribly lucky that Lan Wangji did not meet him earlier in life. Up until recently, he wouldn't have been half so capable of meeting this nonsense with a silent glance of indulgence. Grantaire does not appear to require significant input from him, so Lan Wangji returns to quiet contemplation of the weiqi board.

[futaille]

He has in fact never required significant input to continue speaking. "Although it would be interesting to teach an elephant to play the game. It's said that they're rather intelligent creatures. Although you would probably need to scale the board and stones up significantly to compensate for their size... It would be quite the spectacle."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji sets a stone in place, then, again, looks up. He is curious whether Grantaire will realize that it is his turn.

[futaille]

"And they could pick up the stones with their trunks and place them quite easily. Now, if they were playing against a human, it would probably be logistically a bit more difficult for the human to navigate, even if it were ultimately doable. So clearly the answer is to teach two elephants to play."

He does, however, pick up another stone and play it.

[lightbearinglord]

"I can think of only one elephant who might be available to us," Lan Wangji says. Assured that Grantaire has not forgotten what they are doing entirely, he makes his own move.

[futaille]

"Wait wait. We have an elephant here? How did I miss an elephant?"

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji keeps a perfectly calm, immovable expression in place. "Alex. Magnus' companion. She can change her shape."

[futaille]

"Oh. That... It clearly means I'm used to this place, that someone who can turn into an elephant somehow makes more sense than an actual elephant to me."

[lightbearinglord]

"An elephant would find it difficult to fit inside the mansion," Lan Wangji agrees placidly.

[futaille]

"That seems likely. Although Temeraire apparently shrunk upon arrival, so maybe an elephant would too. I have to admit, seeing a half-sized elephant wandering through the hallways would be magnificent."

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." One can hardly argue with that. Again, further speech on Lan Wangji's part seems wholly unnecessary.

[futaille]

"I would suggest a baby elephant toddling through the halls, but that would imply the existence of a mother elephant missing her young one or worse and that doesn't sit well at all."

[lightbearinglord]

Grantaire remains impressively endearing. Lan Wangji waits, again, to see if he will remember what they are doing or if the tragedy of the hypothetical motherless elephant will prove too distracting.

[futaille]

Hypothetical motherless elephants are important, okay. "I'd say perhaps the mother can come for a visit too, but that returns us to the logistics of an elephant in the mansion. Besides, then the baby would have its mother but they'd both be missing their herd, and if one elephant here would be unwieldy, an entire herd of them would be completely impossible."

[lightbearinglord]

A hypothetical travesty indeed. Lan Wangji puts on a perfectly neutral listening face and continues to wait.