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

[futaille]

Oh come on, it's a lovely bit of rhetoric. And at least he's actually consistently remembering to play on his turns now."That depends on the circumstances, I think. Younger because of a trick of numbers, though? No, not in the least."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji takes note of that renewed consistency, of course. If he had known that that was all it took to coax his opponent into paying attention to the game, he would have done it much earlier. "You are hardly wizened as it is," he points out.

[futaille]

It's unlikely to last indefinitely, but it's certainly notable. "I don't know," he answers with a wry tinge to his voice. "It seems like I should have died months ago."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji doesn't answer that aloud, but perhaps unsurprisingly, he also doesn't find it particularly funny. He gives Grantaire a single sharp look as he sets his next stone in place.

[futaille]

Okay, so that one didn't land. Fair enough. He shrugs. "It's true enough. I'm hardly old. No need to be shaving time off, it's just interesting to think about. Odd that the days would be as long but the years so different."

[lightbearinglord]

The idea of the days being equally altered is actually quite unsettling. A look of perturbation passes fleetingly across Lan Wangji's features. "I am glad it is only the years and months."

[futaille]

"Oh, so am I. It makes things strange, but not intolerably strange."

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn," he agrees. There is no reason to tell Grantaire how regimented most of his days have been throughout his life, but it does lend some additional weight to his agreement. At that moment, he manages the place the final stone to capture another collection of Grantaire's.

[futaille]

He laughs. "I am serving up stones on a platter for you, aren't I?"

[lightbearinglord]

"It is quite considerate of you." As always, Lan Wangji manages to deliver this with a perfectly straight face and demeanor.

[futaille]

"Oh yes, that's me. Always ever so generous." He has no straight face or demeanor whatsoever.

[lightbearinglord]

"Thank you, then." It is fairly obvious that Grantaire is going to lose this game, but they may as well play to a more inevitable end. He will learn more that way.

[futaille]

"Oh, it's nothing."

[lightbearinglord]

In that case, Lan Wangji subsides into methodical attention to the game once more. He does, after all, have a husband to return to, and that husband will be more petulant the longer it takes him to return. Some petulance is desired -- but it's a matter of striking the correct balance.

[futaille]

There's clearly an attention quota for the game, as Grantaire's lapses a bit more frequently as the game goes on. (He does at one point manage to actually capture some stones, though! ... It's only two, but it's the principle of the thing!)

[lightbearinglord]

It is a start, and better than nothing. In time, Lan Wangji glances coolly at the board, a stone between his fingers, and then replaces it in the bowl from whence it came. He doesn't need it. "I win," he says, perfectly neutral about that fact. "You performed adequately for a beginner."

[futaille]

"Well, that is truly better than the verdict I was expecting, so thank you. And congratulations on the win, as inevitable as it was."

[lightbearinglord]

"Thank you," Lan Wangji says, meaning for all of it: for the exchange of knowledge, the company during this dreadful season, and for that congratulations. He takes the time to put his hands together for a little seated bow. Only then does he set to the task of gathering the stones back to their proper places.

[futaille]

Well, he's certainly not going to leave Lan Wangji to do all the cleanup himself, so he works in turn on collecting those stones of his that actually managed to stay on the board so he can put them back in their bowl.

[lightbearinglord]

The assistance earns him one approving glance, although it may be difficult to identify it as such. Once everything is tidied, Lan Wangji stands. "If you like, we can play again later."

[futaille]

"Certainly. Can't play hundreds of games to learn what I'm doing if I don't play two."

[lightbearinglord]

"Naturally." The weiqi board slips into his sleeve; the bowls, he balances in his hands. With a thoughtful glance at the pinball machine, Lan Wangji nods to Grantaire and then turns to go.