((Faith C. Marshal-Mackenzie continued from Forest Green))
Faith always felt like she was intruding on something when she came along to chill out with Lucas at the games shop in the mall. She knew he went here pretty regularly to play Magic, and if she was being honest it felt like that was one of the few things that got him out of the house these days other than fishing, which she'd tried once and found to be so heinously boring that she'd politely refused invitations ever since. So, if she wanted to hang out with him, she ended up here - surrounded by all the subsets of nerds that made up nerdom. The anime nerds, the tabletop nerds, the comic book nerds, etc. You could probably put together good nature documentary spoof on it if you had the time, she was pretty sure.
In order to not attract too much attention she stood just off to the side of the entrance, making sure she didn't get in anyone's way, her eyes drifting over the crowd as she looked for the flash of red and orange that would let her pick Lucas out from the sea of graphic tees. He was the kind of guy that had a distinct uniform for himself, which was a little weird, but she wouldn't say it wasn't useful from time to time. Her initial scan didn't pick up any of that distinct colour though, and the store wasn't exactly crowded enough to hide him, which probably meant he wasn't here yet. Which meant she was going to have to entertain herself for a few minutes before he turned up.
Not like entertainment wasn't present in droves here though, she realised as she leaned back against the wall, watching the rest of the people in the store mill about. Faith kinda liked people watching in general, but it wasn't often she spent time watching the majority of awkward betas that ended up playing Magic interact with one another. It brought a little smirk to her face as she watched them chat about elves and combos and win rates and shit like that which mattered a hell of a lot less than just playing cool cards and using it as an excuse to chat to people.
She didn't really have a problem with most of the nerds, either. Her main problem was the fact that they seemed to have no standards for the people around them, even if they had them for themselves. The vast majority of nerds - like Lucas - were just chill people that liked shit like this, but were still functional people. It was just the fact that when someone came in stinking of BO, or McDonald's-ed themselves into a complete hambeast, or used fat ass anime titty playmat - No-one had the backbone to actually say anything to them and tell them to cut that shit out. Those kinda assholes were why nerds got a bad rap, in her opinion.
She didn't see any of those types though. The worst was probably this one kid who was a real stickler on rules, and looked like God was so ashamed of him he'd slapped him in the face on the way out of the door. She was glad he never played Commander, which was what she was here to play. She'd probably even play if Lucas didn't turn up, mostly because people would notice if she did that, and she wanted to make sure they didn't think that she was just here for Lucas. That would send the completely wrong message to both Lucas and everyone else.
With that thought in mind, she walked over to the table where they normally played the casual Commander game, and set her bright red deck box down on the table in front of her, the red mana symbol on the front of it pretty clearly indicating her favoured colour. She actually played Red-White-Black, with her commander being "Alesha, Who Smiles At Death" who was this badass warrior chick that brought other warriors back from the dead when she attacked.
Which - for the record - was fucking cool.
Faith sat down, filling up one of the six chairs that sat around the hexagonal table, sinking back into what cushioning there was and trying to look decidedly relaxed as she waited for the others who wanted to play to emerge out of the crowd and settle down at the table with her.
A Trip to the Nerd Zoo
It’s like Jurassic Park but way less scary - Open!
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Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 533
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
- Location: Where I need to be
A Trip to the Nerd Zoo
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.
((Toby Underwood continued from Bungee Jumper Lab))
It was nice to hang out and play some cards today. Given school was trying to hit him with finals and shit, and he was working, and he was trying to be around at home more than twice a week, he didn't have a lot of guilt-free funtime.
And fuck that, man.
Coming into the busy store was always a little bit of a sudden shift. The mall outside wasn't much louder, but the noisiness in here was more...personal. Yeah, sure. Toby shrugged his shoulders, adjusting his messenger bag's position, and started into the open room.
Nodding and/or giving friendly waves to some of the other regulars he knew to varying degrees, Toby noticed that one table was conspicuously uninhabited, save for a girl he recognized as Faith. He hadn't seen her around here much, actually; she was one of those in-your-face people who didn't care if people hated her. That was kind of admirable, honestly.
"Hey!" Toby called over the din, quickly dodging towards her territorial claim and seating himself across from her. "Faith, yeah? How's it going? I didn't know you played much."
She had a red deck box next to her, and it wasn't hard to imagine her playing that color. Honestly it was hard to see her playing anything else, certainly white or blue. Those were his colors, actually. "You up for a round? I've got Standard and EDH on me." His standard deck was...tenuous right now, admittedly. Dominaria had some really exciting stuff, like the new Teferi and several other reprints of old stuff, but he was still mostly running his typical Approach of the Second Sun and it wasn't taking on new cards well.
Commander, though, he'd finally finished building his Azorius EDH deck. His commander; Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer. The deck was a stalling pain in the ass based on negating all the damage until his ideal wincon went off; Azor's Elocutors, which gave him an auto-win if he could have in on the field for 5 upkeeps without taking damage. As such, he had a shitload of taps, bounces, walls, and nulling stuff.
It was annoying as fuck and he loved it. Toby hadn't gotten much chance to test it, though, so playing his control deck into an aggro deck was a good basline. If he got overrun too much, more tinkering would be required.
Toby set his bag under the table in front of him and scooted back his chair, rifling through it to find the relevant deck boxes.
It was nice to hang out and play some cards today. Given school was trying to hit him with finals and shit, and he was working, and he was trying to be around at home more than twice a week, he didn't have a lot of guilt-free funtime.
And fuck that, man.
Coming into the busy store was always a little bit of a sudden shift. The mall outside wasn't much louder, but the noisiness in here was more...personal. Yeah, sure. Toby shrugged his shoulders, adjusting his messenger bag's position, and started into the open room.
Nodding and/or giving friendly waves to some of the other regulars he knew to varying degrees, Toby noticed that one table was conspicuously uninhabited, save for a girl he recognized as Faith. He hadn't seen her around here much, actually; she was one of those in-your-face people who didn't care if people hated her. That was kind of admirable, honestly.
"Hey!" Toby called over the din, quickly dodging towards her territorial claim and seating himself across from her. "Faith, yeah? How's it going? I didn't know you played much."
She had a red deck box next to her, and it wasn't hard to imagine her playing that color. Honestly it was hard to see her playing anything else, certainly white or blue. Those were his colors, actually. "You up for a round? I've got Standard and EDH on me." His standard deck was...tenuous right now, admittedly. Dominaria had some really exciting stuff, like the new Teferi and several other reprints of old stuff, but he was still mostly running his typical Approach of the Second Sun and it wasn't taking on new cards well.
Commander, though, he'd finally finished building his Azorius EDH deck. His commander; Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer. The deck was a stalling pain in the ass based on negating all the damage until his ideal wincon went off; Azor's Elocutors, which gave him an auto-win if he could have in on the field for 5 upkeeps without taking damage. As such, he had a shitload of taps, bounces, walls, and nulling stuff.
It was annoying as fuck and he loved it. Toby hadn't gotten much chance to test it, though, so playing his control deck into an aggro deck was a good basline. If he got overrun too much, more tinkering would be required.
Toby set his bag under the table in front of him and scooted back his chair, rifling through it to find the relevant deck boxes.
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Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 533
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
- Location: Where I need to be
Faith smiled as Toby approached her. She'd never really spoken to him much, but she knew of him through Stepney, who she talked to plenty thanks to his position as president of the club. He'd been his only competition in the running, and had basically ceded the position to him. Faith couldn't really understand why he'd run in the first place if he wasn't willing to try and say he was the best person for the job, but hey - The world needed people who got in line too, she supposed. He looked pretty much exactly what one would expect given that little nugget of knowledge as well. Messy - as in, styled messy, not "I didn't do anything with my hair today" messy - brown hair, clothes so plain you'd put good money on his mom having picked them for him, and awkward facial hair he probably used to try and make himself look a little older than he was so he could act "mature".
Still, he seemed like a chill dude, even if he was pretty damn eager to play. Faith leaned back in the chair, looking up at him with an easy smile, red deck box still under her right hand as she listened to him talk about the different formats. She didn't really pay attention to anything that wasn't Commander - Other formats changed way too quickly or were too expensive for her. The idea of paying a few hundred bucks for some pieces of cardboard that you could probably just print yourself made her baulk.
"It's goin' good" she replied first of all, her tone relaxed as she tried to decipher what he'd just asked her, and the proper response. "I uh, don't come here too much. Sometimes I just want to hang with Lucas or Demetri though, y'know." She continued, deftly avoiding admitting that she enjoyed the act of playing the game.
There was a pause then, as Faith tried desperately to not look stupid, and figure out what EDH or Standard were and figure out if she had any of those decks.
The pause continued.
"... I only have my commander deck, do you have something to play against that?" She asked, her pride finally managing its way down her throat as her smile grew a little sheepish, eyes flicking away from Toby and down to the table in front of her. She leaned forwards, stretching the American flag borne on her own graphic t-shirt, which she'd deliberately worn, almost as if she was picking out camouflage to go on safari. As much as she'd have loved to bring out one of her actual, casual t-shirts, this was close enough to being a part of school that she couldn't risk it - as much as the very idea of that pained her. She flipped the top of her deckbox open and pulled out her cards, which were sleeved in matte orange sleeves, with her commander face up on top of it.
Still, he seemed like a chill dude, even if he was pretty damn eager to play. Faith leaned back in the chair, looking up at him with an easy smile, red deck box still under her right hand as she listened to him talk about the different formats. She didn't really pay attention to anything that wasn't Commander - Other formats changed way too quickly or were too expensive for her. The idea of paying a few hundred bucks for some pieces of cardboard that you could probably just print yourself made her baulk.
"It's goin' good" she replied first of all, her tone relaxed as she tried to decipher what he'd just asked her, and the proper response. "I uh, don't come here too much. Sometimes I just want to hang with Lucas or Demetri though, y'know." She continued, deftly avoiding admitting that she enjoyed the act of playing the game.
There was a pause then, as Faith tried desperately to not look stupid, and figure out what EDH or Standard were and figure out if she had any of those decks.
The pause continued.
"... I only have my commander deck, do you have something to play against that?" She asked, her pride finally managing its way down her throat as her smile grew a little sheepish, eyes flicking away from Toby and down to the table in front of her. She leaned forwards, stretching the American flag borne on her own graphic t-shirt, which she'd deliberately worn, almost as if she was picking out camouflage to go on safari. As much as she'd have loved to bring out one of her actual, casual t-shirts, this was close enough to being a part of school that she couldn't risk it - as much as the very idea of that pained her. She flipped the top of her deckbox open and pulled out her cards, which were sleeved in matte orange sleeves, with her commander face up on top of it.
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.
((Lucas Brady continued from Holistic Care))
The reason that Lucas was running late that day was not a good one. Simply put, he'd gone on a wiki walk that morning that he'd gotten lost on and wound up missing his bus as a result. This wasn't a terribly uncommon occurrence with Lucas, but somehow despite all the inevitable hustling the came from it he still remained totally out of shape.
When he arrived at the game shop, he was a rather sweaty red-faced sight. He'd still worn his matching red hoodie as always, which had done nothing to help on such a warm day, and his shirt was clinging to his chest just enough to be noticeable. He ran a hand over his brow, flicking off the sweat that stuck, and looked around for Faith.
It was cool of her to go out to these things with him. Magic was always just a casual interest of his, because those cards could get expensive fast and he wasn't made of money, but it was still a bit embarrassing to admit but, in Lucas' opinion, she was probably better at the game than him by now. He wasn't sure how that had happened, and he wasn't about to let her know he thought that, but there it was. It didn't really matter though. Again, it was just a casual hobby and he wasn't hung up on winning, he just liked getting out and playing the game. He liked hanging out with Faith too, so it was a win twice over.
Finally, he saw the girl in question, along with Toby, another one his friends. He headed over to their table, almost slapping a hand on Faith's shoulder from behind before overthinking it and holding fire, pulling it back into a wave in Toby's direction instead.
"Hey guys! Sorry, Faith, I missed my bus. Are you and Toby already playing?"
The reason that Lucas was running late that day was not a good one. Simply put, he'd gone on a wiki walk that morning that he'd gotten lost on and wound up missing his bus as a result. This wasn't a terribly uncommon occurrence with Lucas, but somehow despite all the inevitable hustling the came from it he still remained totally out of shape.
When he arrived at the game shop, he was a rather sweaty red-faced sight. He'd still worn his matching red hoodie as always, which had done nothing to help on such a warm day, and his shirt was clinging to his chest just enough to be noticeable. He ran a hand over his brow, flicking off the sweat that stuck, and looked around for Faith.
It was cool of her to go out to these things with him. Magic was always just a casual interest of his, because those cards could get expensive fast and he wasn't made of money, but it was still a bit embarrassing to admit but, in Lucas' opinion, she was probably better at the game than him by now. He wasn't sure how that had happened, and he wasn't about to let her know he thought that, but there it was. It didn't really matter though. Again, it was just a casual hobby and he wasn't hung up on winning, he just liked getting out and playing the game. He liked hanging out with Faith too, so it was a win twice over.
Finally, he saw the girl in question, along with Toby, another one his friends. He headed over to their table, almost slapping a hand on Faith's shoulder from behind before overthinking it and holding fire, pulling it back into a wave in Toby's direction instead.
"Hey guys! Sorry, Faith, I missed my bus. Are you and Toby already playing?"
Arizona wasn't at the mall that day for herself. Indiana's birthday was coming up and he needed a present. As such she needed to buy him one, the question of what to get him however was slightly more difficult. A rugby gift would have been too obvious and honestly she had bought him shit relating to rugby and his course at college way too often. She needed something different, that was why she was at the mall. There was a game store there and Arizona knew that he played D&D. Not that she actually knew anything about it herself.
Sam however did, so a few quick messages later and she was heading into the game store armed with the names of some newish source books. Whatever that meant.
Venturing into the land of terrible beards and even worse B.O. wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to. Sisterly love and all that shit though.
As she stepped inside Arizona was sure it would be a quick and easy purchase as long as she didn't meet anyone she knew from school...so of course the fucking place was full of people she knew from school and of course they were sat right in front of the shelves she needed to browse.
How fucking typical.
Sighing, Arizona committed herself to looking without tying to attract too much attention.
Sam however did, so a few quick messages later and she was heading into the game store armed with the names of some newish source books. Whatever that meant.
Venturing into the land of terrible beards and even worse B.O. wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to. Sisterly love and all that shit though.
As she stepped inside Arizona was sure it would be a quick and easy purchase as long as she didn't meet anyone she knew from school...so of course the fucking place was full of people she knew from school and of course they were sat right in front of the shelves she needed to browse.
How fucking typical.
Sighing, Arizona committed herself to looking without tying to attract too much attention.
V8
Aracelis Fuentes
California “Cali” Fox
Darryl Smith Jr.
Jessica Romero
Roberta “Robbie” Woodvine
Aracelis Fuentes
California “Cali” Fox
Darryl Smith Jr.
Jessica Romero
Roberta “Robbie” Woodvine
Oh, lucky break. Faith did have Commander, and she set her deckbox on the table. Toby nodded appreciatively at her commander; Mardu was not really his color set of choice, but it was a decent enough choice. It'd be a good matchup for his deck too.
Setting down his own pastel-blue box and pulling out his deck, Toby set his own commander face-up on the table and started shuffling. Just then, he heard the familiar voice of one Lucas Brady approaching, and turned to wave lazily back at his friend. Apparently he'd missed a bus, and yikes, the dude looked like he must've run here.
"We were gonna run a set, yeah. You got EDH? We can do a free-for-all." Before turning back to Faith, Toby noticed another girl from school, one who caught his attention for being more than little out-of-place. He looked to Faith and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Arizona.
"Have you seen her here before?" While waiting for her reply, Toby bent over and pulled his backpack out from under him to dig for his dice set. He kinda needed that, yeah.
Setting down his own pastel-blue box and pulling out his deck, Toby set his own commander face-up on the table and started shuffling. Just then, he heard the familiar voice of one Lucas Brady approaching, and turned to wave lazily back at his friend. Apparently he'd missed a bus, and yikes, the dude looked like he must've run here.
"We were gonna run a set, yeah. You got EDH? We can do a free-for-all." Before turning back to Faith, Toby noticed another girl from school, one who caught his attention for being more than little out-of-place. He looked to Faith and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Arizona.
"Have you seen her here before?" While waiting for her reply, Toby bent over and pulled his backpack out from under him to dig for his dice set. He kinda needed that, yeah.
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Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 533
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
- Location: Where I need to be
Faith's head turned as she heard her name called by a familiar voice, looking up at Lucas, whose face was currently matching his archetypical red hoodie in shade. Which probably meant he'd ran here, which was kind of impressive given how damn hot it was outside, but she'd hoofed it down to the range enough times to know exactly how he felt right now. She refrained from letting him know just how much like shit he looked and instead reached into her bag as Toby corrected him, rummaging around for something.
After a few moments, her hand emerged, clutching a reused bottle of water. She held it up for Lucas to take as she greeted him herself, giving him a wide smile by way of welcome. "Hey Lucas, glad to see you made it still" she shook the water bottle a little in her hand to draw attention to it. "Now drink some goddamn water before you pass out - You're nuts to be running that far in this heat man".
The idea of a free-for-all sounded pretty good too, that was how they usually did commander, and it meant that if her cards decided to not be well shuffled enough, she wasn't just immediately out as people would leave her alone until suddenly - Bam. She could attack with like a million dudes out of nowhere. Which was awesome. The looks on people's faces when she pulled something like that off were something to treasure, even if she didn't get to see it much.
"Free-for-all sounds good to me!" she agreed, before following Toby's thumb-pointing with her eyes.
Faith was surprised to notice one of the resident members of one of GHHS' athletic crown jewels - the girl's basketball team - in the store. Arizona was one of the most competitive on the team, and whilst they didn't interact much, she had heard that she was a big part of that success. In an alternate world where she shot hoops instead of targets, she was pretty sure they'd have been closer friends, but as it stood she and Arizona floated around the edges of their own circles of friends. Which was probably for the best, given that - like the state she was named after - Arizona reputedly had zero chill.
Faith couldn't help but crack a little smirk at that shitty internal joke as she eyed her for a moment, wondering just what the fuck she was doing in a place like this, because this was about as far from the Maori girl's crowd as she could imagine.
"Yo, Ari', the fuck you doin' here?"
After a few moments, her hand emerged, clutching a reused bottle of water. She held it up for Lucas to take as she greeted him herself, giving him a wide smile by way of welcome. "Hey Lucas, glad to see you made it still" she shook the water bottle a little in her hand to draw attention to it. "Now drink some goddamn water before you pass out - You're nuts to be running that far in this heat man".
The idea of a free-for-all sounded pretty good too, that was how they usually did commander, and it meant that if her cards decided to not be well shuffled enough, she wasn't just immediately out as people would leave her alone until suddenly - Bam. She could attack with like a million dudes out of nowhere. Which was awesome. The looks on people's faces when she pulled something like that off were something to treasure, even if she didn't get to see it much.
"Free-for-all sounds good to me!" she agreed, before following Toby's thumb-pointing with her eyes.
Faith was surprised to notice one of the resident members of one of GHHS' athletic crown jewels - the girl's basketball team - in the store. Arizona was one of the most competitive on the team, and whilst they didn't interact much, she had heard that she was a big part of that success. In an alternate world where she shot hoops instead of targets, she was pretty sure they'd have been closer friends, but as it stood she and Arizona floated around the edges of their own circles of friends. Which was probably for the best, given that - like the state she was named after - Arizona reputedly had zero chill.
Faith couldn't help but crack a little smirk at that shitty internal joke as she eyed her for a moment, wondering just what the fuck she was doing in a place like this, because this was about as far from the Maori girl's crowd as she could imagine.
"Yo, Ari', the fuck you doin' here?"
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.
Lucas took the bottle of water from Faith, smiling a thank you. It was a bit warm from being in Faith's bag but refreshing all the same. He downed a good quarter of it before stopping himself, hurrying to pass it back and not abuse the offer.
He took a seat at the table, still finding his breath lagging a bit. It wasn’t unbearable, but he thought he’d be better safe than sorry and took his inhaler out his pocket, where it had been shoved in next to his Magic cards. Two puffs was all he needed. He swapped it for his deck, which fortunately for him was his commander format one. He'd only had time to grab one in his hurry out the door, and he couldn't remember if Faith had any style in mind. Just as well: he didn’t have thirty bucks to burn on a store one and he didn’t particularly want to have to do so.
Artefacts were his cards of choice, powered by good ol’ reliable blue and white fuel. There was no particular rhyme or reason to his cards though, not compared to the much more strategic structure of Toby's. Instead, it was just a hodgepodge of whatever he’d picked up over the years that fit into the theme and a fair few that didn’t. Muzzio, Visionary Architect was his commander, because her effect was good and simple and got the job done. It had led to a game being interrupted in the past when Toby pointed out that a blue commander meant white cards weren’t allowed, because no-one had bothered to tell Lucas that rule when the rules for Magic had gone and changed yet again, but he'd stuck with her all the same.
He was in the middle of shuffling when Faith noticed Arizona. He smiled politely in her direction but did not add anything on. She wasn't someone he interacted with, because school sports were nowhere on his radar lately, and with nothing to say his usual habit was to keep his mouth shut and let Faith let the conversation go on without him until he had something worth saying.
He took a seat at the table, still finding his breath lagging a bit. It wasn’t unbearable, but he thought he’d be better safe than sorry and took his inhaler out his pocket, where it had been shoved in next to his Magic cards. Two puffs was all he needed. He swapped it for his deck, which fortunately for him was his commander format one. He'd only had time to grab one in his hurry out the door, and he couldn't remember if Faith had any style in mind. Just as well: he didn’t have thirty bucks to burn on a store one and he didn’t particularly want to have to do so.
Artefacts were his cards of choice, powered by good ol’ reliable blue and white fuel. There was no particular rhyme or reason to his cards though, not compared to the much more strategic structure of Toby's. Instead, it was just a hodgepodge of whatever he’d picked up over the years that fit into the theme and a fair few that didn’t. Muzzio, Visionary Architect was his commander, because her effect was good and simple and got the job done. It had led to a game being interrupted in the past when Toby pointed out that a blue commander meant white cards weren’t allowed, because no-one had bothered to tell Lucas that rule when the rules for Magic had gone and changed yet again, but he'd stuck with her all the same.
He was in the middle of shuffling when Faith noticed Arizona. He smiled politely in her direction but did not add anything on. She wasn't someone he interacted with, because school sports were nowhere on his radar lately, and with nothing to say his usual habit was to keep his mouth shut and let Faith let the conversation go on without him until he had something worth saying.
Toby either didn't realise or care that she could hear him. Her ears didn't exist she supposed. A response was about to fly out of her mouth but then Faith spoke up. Helpfully she actually addressed her a person. She didn't know any of these people well. She knew of all of them. Hell, it was impossible not to know who Lucas was. Dude was so salty about losing the student president election that he'd bitched on Facebook about it. How stupid did you need to be to do that? The fact it blew up was no surprise at all. It was also funny that he'd not come back into school for a few days after. Thus making him a moron and a coward. If anything he'd proven himself as the perfect politician. Unsurprisingly he was staying quiet.
Faith speaking up did require her to actually engage though, which went against the plan.
Her attempt to not attract attention was doomed from the start anyway. She was noticeable and a girl in the land of nerds. She had a book called Xanathar's Guide to Everything in her hand. The blurb talked about rules and story options for all character classes. It was on the list Sam had given her so it was good enough. She kept hold of it as she turned round to face the three at the table.
"Buying my brother something for his birthday." She moved over to the table, set the book down and lent on it. There were stacks of cards that had Magic: The Gathering written on the back. Her brother had talked about that before as well. She inclined her head towards the cards.
"The fuck is this?"
Faith speaking up did require her to actually engage though, which went against the plan.
Her attempt to not attract attention was doomed from the start anyway. She was noticeable and a girl in the land of nerds. She had a book called Xanathar's Guide to Everything in her hand. The blurb talked about rules and story options for all character classes. It was on the list Sam had given her so it was good enough. She kept hold of it as she turned round to face the three at the table.
"Buying my brother something for his birthday." She moved over to the table, set the book down and lent on it. There were stacks of cards that had Magic: The Gathering written on the back. Her brother had talked about that before as well. She inclined her head towards the cards.
"The fuck is this?"
V8
Aracelis Fuentes
California “Cali” Fox
Darryl Smith Jr.
Jessica Romero
Roberta “Robbie” Woodvine
Aracelis Fuentes
California “Cali” Fox
Darryl Smith Jr.
Jessica Romero
Roberta “Robbie” Woodvine
It didn't take a genius to see the misstep. "My bad, sorry man." Toby grinned, a bit embarrassed that Arizona had heard him. He had overestimated how much the crowd noise would drown him out. Thankfully Faith caught his fumble and actually talked to Arizona.
"It's Magic, we were setting up for a free-for-all." Toby was definitely not going to try to explain, even basics like mana and tapping were hard to teach if someone wanted to learn. A summary was impossible. He tilted his head to see the book she was carrying.
"Dungeons and Dragons?" It was for her brother apparently, not that he'd think she was into it. Then again didn't some of the girls' basketball team do that crap? Not his thing but he could dig it. Toby smirked. "Make sure he knows what you had to put up with to get it." Hey, he could joke about being rude. Better that than just being that asshole who can't tell that he's an asshole.
"It's Magic, we were setting up for a free-for-all." Toby was definitely not going to try to explain, even basics like mana and tapping were hard to teach if someone wanted to learn. A summary was impossible. He tilted his head to see the book she was carrying.
"Dungeons and Dragons?" It was for her brother apparently, not that he'd think she was into it. Then again didn't some of the girls' basketball team do that crap? Not his thing but he could dig it. Toby smirked. "Make sure he knows what you had to put up with to get it." Hey, he could joke about being rude. Better that than just being that asshole who can't tell that he's an asshole.
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Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 533
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
- Location: Where I need to be
Faith tried to read the book that Arizona was waving around, but the text at the top was pretty hard to read from where she was sat. Xantid's... Something something had an interesting cover though, some sort of eye monster and a butterfly, which Arizona seemed eager to explain away. Yeah. Sure, her brother. Just asking about it for a friend, right Ari'? Still, she couldn't judge. Wasn't like she didn't get a bit of shit for coming down and hanging out here, though most of that was more of a question of who rather than what. Though people might think twice about giving her just as much shit, she was pretty sure Ari' could take on pretty much anyone who wasn't on the football team handily.
Toby at least didn't try to go into like, a sales pitch for the game though, which was nice. A lot of them seemed to have no idea how to talk to people about anything other than the game, and - bless their hearts - whilst they had a lot of enthusiasm, most of them were the kind of nerds who like, enjoyed figuring out rules puzzles and shit like that. Not people who just wanted to have an excuse to chat and mess with people. The tears from the times where she dropped an Armageddon or a Ravages of War and wiped all the lands off the field whilst her many little warrior dudes swarmed over them were sweet.
Still, she should probably do a slightly better job of explaining it in a way Ari would actually understand. She pointed at the book in her hands. "Basically it's like that but way less fucking effort" she summarised, before adding a little more clarification. "Y'know, dragons, wizards, knights, that sorta thing. You fight 'em out to see who's best."
Toby at least didn't try to go into like, a sales pitch for the game though, which was nice. A lot of them seemed to have no idea how to talk to people about anything other than the game, and - bless their hearts - whilst they had a lot of enthusiasm, most of them were the kind of nerds who like, enjoyed figuring out rules puzzles and shit like that. Not people who just wanted to have an excuse to chat and mess with people. The tears from the times where she dropped an Armageddon or a Ravages of War and wiped all the lands off the field whilst her many little warrior dudes swarmed over them were sweet.
Still, she should probably do a slightly better job of explaining it in a way Ari would actually understand. She pointed at the book in her hands. "Basically it's like that but way less fucking effort" she summarised, before adding a little more clarification. "Y'know, dragons, wizards, knights, that sorta thing. You fight 'em out to see who's best."
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.
“You could join in, if you want.”
Lucas had blurted that out without even really thinking, something in the back of his head forcing him to make just a little bit of a contribution. He was still shuffling the deck in his lap when he asked, hands down out of sight beneath the table as they made a back and forth motion. How it might’ve looked did not occur to Lucas.
He didn’t really mind whether Arizona joined or not, he was just being polite by inviting her. Still, it wasn’t like he had anything to lose by doing so. and it could even be a good chance to get to know her better. He still wanted to do that sort of thing.
“Toby’s probably got a spare deck you could borrow, and we don’t mind explaining the rules.” He said, along with a small but friendly smile.
Lucas had blurted that out without even really thinking, something in the back of his head forcing him to make just a little bit of a contribution. He was still shuffling the deck in his lap when he asked, hands down out of sight beneath the table as they made a back and forth motion. How it might’ve looked did not occur to Lucas.
He didn’t really mind whether Arizona joined or not, he was just being polite by inviting her. Still, it wasn’t like he had anything to lose by doing so. and it could even be a good chance to get to know her better. He still wanted to do that sort of thing.
“Toby’s probably got a spare deck you could borrow, and we don’t mind explaining the rules.” He said, along with a small but friendly smile.
Toby was not enlightening. He was also not funny. He also maybe didn't think she could read. She wasn't as sure on that one. He didn't actually explain anything besides telling her the name, it seemed that like every guy in a game store he was so amazed by the sight of a girl that he had no idea how to speak to them. All in all, he was pretty fucking useless. Luckily for him Faith was there to actually be socially competent. Like Toby, however, her explanation did nothing to actually explain the game to Arizona.
It did sound like Dungeons and Dragons though. At least, it sounded like what her brother and Sam talked about from time to time. Not that she cared or made an effort to listen. Arizona had never really given a shit. Arizona slowly nodded at Faith's description and ran a hand through her hair. She still knew nothing about the game but it sounded slightly more interesting.
She was about to say something when Lucas spoke up. It seemed he did actually have a voice. Shockingly, he invited her to join in. That destroyed the entire plan. He also looked like he was jacking off. That was a mental image she didn't want. There was a short pause in the conversation as Arizona thought. She was weighing up whether she actually wanted to stay or not.
Eventually, a defeated sigh left her body.
"Fuck it, why not. Let me go pay for this."
She went over to the shop owner, who looked like every stereotype of an old nerd from the 80s and bought her brothers birthday present.
When she returned to the table she pulled a chair out and sat her self down.
"Alright, go nuts."
It did sound like Dungeons and Dragons though. At least, it sounded like what her brother and Sam talked about from time to time. Not that she cared or made an effort to listen. Arizona had never really given a shit. Arizona slowly nodded at Faith's description and ran a hand through her hair. She still knew nothing about the game but it sounded slightly more interesting.
She was about to say something when Lucas spoke up. It seemed he did actually have a voice. Shockingly, he invited her to join in. That destroyed the entire plan. He also looked like he was jacking off. That was a mental image she didn't want. There was a short pause in the conversation as Arizona thought. She was weighing up whether she actually wanted to stay or not.
Eventually, a defeated sigh left her body.
"Fuck it, why not. Let me go pay for this."
She went over to the shop owner, who looked like every stereotype of an old nerd from the 80s and bought her brothers birthday present.
When she returned to the table she pulled a chair out and sat her self down.
"Alright, go nuts."
Oof, cold reception. Arizona was a tough crowd, clearly. Thankfully seemed like the other two could pick up where he dropped the ball-
-wait what? Toby was caught off-guard by Lucas' suggestion, especially since it was wrong. He had two decks on him, yeah, but standard and EDH were completely different. You couldn't really play them together any more than a sprinter could win a marathon; they did the same thing on the surface, but the environments were way too different.
Even more surprising was Arizona actually taking Lucas up on the offer. She had not seemed the type. Okay, time to exposit as best he could. Hopefully he could segue that into a 'wtf lucas'. Not an actual one, but an approximate. "So in Magic you use cards like creatures and sorceries to reduce the opponent's life from 20 to zero."
Toby went back to go through his bag. Maybe someone else had a standard and they could switch to that? "Basically you put down 'lands' which use use as a resource. You spend or 'tap' land cards to play other things like your creatures which attack and defend for you, or other spell effects."
Sitting back upright, Toby put his other deckbox on the table. "There's different ways to build a deck depending on the game format. This one-" he tapped the first box, "is for like a niche style called Commander. Standard is probably simpler, if either of you have extras. I just have the one." He turned his gaze to Faith and Lucas.
Man, way to throw him under the bus Lucas.
-wait what? Toby was caught off-guard by Lucas' suggestion, especially since it was wrong. He had two decks on him, yeah, but standard and EDH were completely different. You couldn't really play them together any more than a sprinter could win a marathon; they did the same thing on the surface, but the environments were way too different.
Even more surprising was Arizona actually taking Lucas up on the offer. She had not seemed the type. Okay, time to exposit as best he could. Hopefully he could segue that into a 'wtf lucas'. Not an actual one, but an approximate. "So in Magic you use cards like creatures and sorceries to reduce the opponent's life from 20 to zero."
Toby went back to go through his bag. Maybe someone else had a standard and they could switch to that? "Basically you put down 'lands' which use use as a resource. You spend or 'tap' land cards to play other things like your creatures which attack and defend for you, or other spell effects."
Sitting back upright, Toby put his other deckbox on the table. "There's different ways to build a deck depending on the game format. This one-" he tapped the first box, "is for like a niche style called Commander. Standard is probably simpler, if either of you have extras. I just have the one." He turned his gaze to Faith and Lucas.
Man, way to throw him under the bus Lucas.
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Frozen Smoke
- Posts: 533
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:50 pm
- Location: Where I need to be
Faith had to hide a feeling of smug satisfaction as Arizona went to go buy her birthday present -probably to herself- before sitting back down at the table, deciding she would try out the game after all. She did understand though, it wasn't like Magic was associated with anyone who wasn't a complete social reject - herself obviously excluded. Plus, as much as she enjoyed it, the game itself wasn't exactly entertaining on it's own, it really came alive when everyone was messing around a bit, screwing with one another and making the board a complete mess. So explaining out all the rules was probably just going to bore her to tears.
As Toby immediately began to do. Faith could almost feel Arizona's eyes glazing over as he explained - of all things - the formats to her.
Fortunately, he left her an opening to jump in, as he realised he didn't have a deck to spare for the commander game. She didn't either, but she had a great idea that would mean she'd be able to walk her through the game without her being on the opposite side to her, so she slid her deck over to Ari as she spoke.
"It's cool, you can use my deck, that way I can just help you if you need it." she said, before thinking for a moment and adding a quick "Don't worry, I won't like, backseat drive you in how to play", as she remembered how that had gone when someone had tried to set that up with her the first time she'd come to the club. That kinda shit was frustrating, she wanted to be able to have fun, not be told what the 'optimal' thing was by some fucking nerd - and she was pretty sure Arizona would feel exactly the same way.
As Toby immediately began to do. Faith could almost feel Arizona's eyes glazing over as he explained - of all things - the formats to her.
Fortunately, he left her an opening to jump in, as he realised he didn't have a deck to spare for the commander game. She didn't either, but she had a great idea that would mean she'd be able to walk her through the game without her being on the opposite side to her, so she slid her deck over to Ari as she spoke.
"It's cool, you can use my deck, that way I can just help you if you need it." she said, before thinking for a moment and adding a quick "Don't worry, I won't like, backseat drive you in how to play", as she remembered how that had gone when someone had tried to set that up with her the first time she'd come to the club. That kinda shit was frustrating, she wanted to be able to have fun, not be told what the 'optimal' thing was by some fucking nerd - and she was pretty sure Arizona would feel exactly the same way.
Criticism or thoughts on my writing are welcome and appreciated - always looking to improve! Feel free to poke me on Discord or via PM.