((Penelope Fitzgerald continued from Diaries))
Penelope sat back in her chair in the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was, as usual, filled to the brim with people. The noise of their conversation filled the room and drowned out the normal ambient noises of the air conditioning and the clatter of trays and utensils. The smells of the low quality food being served were very mixed, Penelope had no idea what the cafeteria was actually dishing out to the hungry students today. The school normally served some sort of meat as the main dish, which was a big reason she brought her own vegetarian lunch, but she liked to know what they were serving just out of curiosity. Usually when she couldn't tell what was being served she simply looked at the trays of her friends that would sit with her, but today none of her friends had sat down yet. This wasn't entirely unusual, it happened sometimes, but Penelope was getting very nervous due to being alone in a crowded and noisy room.
Her friends not being present only added to the day being an odd one. Today had been a very strange day for her. She turned in the normal assignments and homework and did the normal in-class work, but every teacher she had so far was absent, being filled in for by a substitute. She presumed there was some sort of big staff meeting going on that caused all of them to be missing, but she wasn't sure, and ultimately the reason didn't really matter. Along with that, both of her parents had things to do today, so she was left alone in the house with her two sisters that morning. So many adults and other people being missing all at once just left her feeling odd; she always gets nervous when routine is broken. With routine came comfort, and with oddities came anxiety.
Penelope ate the last bits of the vegetarian spaghetti she packed in her lunch in the morning and put the container away in her lunch bag. She leaned back in her chair a bit more as she started drinking some of the bottled peach tea she kept in her backpack. Even when nervous due to being alone in a crowded area, Penelope never betrayed it, always appearing relaxed on the outside, even if she wasn't entirely relaxed on the inside.
As Penelope sat there hoping at least one friend would show themselves, she reached into her bag and pulled out her 3DS, flipping it open and booting up Animal Crossing in one swift motion.
Skeletons and Spaghetti
Open~
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VoltTurtle
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[Fiyori Senay, continued from Just Wants a Distraction
There were quite a few people who came to the cafeteria without actually eating any of the offered lunches. They did it for a bunch of different reasons. Some were vegetarians, or worse - vegans, who disliked the meat-heavy menu. There were other people, of course, who had allergies, and couldn't eat the food without dying. Perhaps there were even those whose reason was that they were flat-out too poor.
Fiyori, at least, belonged to the category of people who simply didn't like the food's quality. The young woman was a fairly decent cook. She could say that even the greatest catastrophe she ever produced would be more valuable than any of the cafeteria's food. Now, she wouldn't say that thing in particular. Would be kinda rude. And only like, 65 percent true.
There was someone else sitting at her table. Fiyori glanced at the girl's food from time to time, figuring out that she was one of the veggies. She was curious. Did the girl prepare these? Was it her mother? Or father? Regardless, would they taste good? Some veggies turn out to be decent cooks, what with this whole focus on food they have.
The girl finished eating. Fiyori continued with her own salad, but noticed that she took out a DS. There, interest piqued again. Now, Fiyori kinda hated that habit of some. This stupid thing where people wanna know what's happening on your screen and they lean real close over your shoulder. She didn't say she hated it though. 'Cause that'd be hypocritical. Fiyori stared over the girl, slowly munching salad. There it was, this dumb urge to see what she was playing.
There were quite a few people who came to the cafeteria without actually eating any of the offered lunches. They did it for a bunch of different reasons. Some were vegetarians, or worse - vegans, who disliked the meat-heavy menu. There were other people, of course, who had allergies, and couldn't eat the food without dying. Perhaps there were even those whose reason was that they were flat-out too poor.
Fiyori, at least, belonged to the category of people who simply didn't like the food's quality. The young woman was a fairly decent cook. She could say that even the greatest catastrophe she ever produced would be more valuable than any of the cafeteria's food. Now, she wouldn't say that thing in particular. Would be kinda rude. And only like, 65 percent true.
There was someone else sitting at her table. Fiyori glanced at the girl's food from time to time, figuring out that she was one of the veggies. She was curious. Did the girl prepare these? Was it her mother? Or father? Regardless, would they taste good? Some veggies turn out to be decent cooks, what with this whole focus on food they have.
The girl finished eating. Fiyori continued with her own salad, but noticed that she took out a DS. There, interest piqued again. Now, Fiyori kinda hated that habit of some. This stupid thing where people wanna know what's happening on your screen and they lean real close over your shoulder. She didn't say she hated it though. 'Cause that'd be hypocritical. Fiyori stared over the girl, slowly munching salad. There it was, this dumb urge to see what she was playing.
Gervais Frans Lambotte 
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
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Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
((Rene Wolfe: pregame start))
Lunch period was awesome. It was a well-deserved break from the endless lectures and quizzes that make up most of the school day, and it let you refuel so that you have enough energy for the rest of the day. Or at least that's how Rene felt about it. There was only one problem, and that was the fact that the food in the cafeteria, frankly speaking, tended to suck.
Fortunately, Rene had a plan in store to counteract that little issue. Two slices of leftover pizza brought from home that, despite being cold, she figured were probably better than whatever was being served out of the cafeteria that day. And judging by what she smelled when she passed by the lunch line, she figured that she was right.
She sat back in her chair and enjoyed her lunch while wondering what it was about pizza that made it almost as good when eaten cold as it was hot. Once she was through with her first slice, crust and all, she looked over at the rest of the table. There were two other girls sitting there, and one of them was playing a DS. Huh. Rene was starting to wish that she had brought her DS. Sure would make the dead time spent waiting for classes to start more interesting. She leaned over to try to start a conversation. It beat just sitting there quietly and waiting for class to start back up.
"Hey, whatcha playing?"
Lunch period was awesome. It was a well-deserved break from the endless lectures and quizzes that make up most of the school day, and it let you refuel so that you have enough energy for the rest of the day. Or at least that's how Rene felt about it. There was only one problem, and that was the fact that the food in the cafeteria, frankly speaking, tended to suck.
Fortunately, Rene had a plan in store to counteract that little issue. Two slices of leftover pizza brought from home that, despite being cold, she figured were probably better than whatever was being served out of the cafeteria that day. And judging by what she smelled when she passed by the lunch line, she figured that she was right.
She sat back in her chair and enjoyed her lunch while wondering what it was about pizza that made it almost as good when eaten cold as it was hot. Once she was through with her first slice, crust and all, she looked over at the rest of the table. There were two other girls sitting there, and one of them was playing a DS. Huh. Rene was starting to wish that she had brought her DS. Sure would make the dead time spent waiting for classes to start more interesting. She leaned over to try to start a conversation. It beat just sitting there quietly and waiting for class to start back up.
"Hey, whatcha playing?"
((ASTRID TATE: PREGAME START!!!!)))
Much to the misfortune of pretty much anyone who got in her way that day, Astrid was in a sour mood. A whole host of stuff had gone wrong for her today. Each one by themselves would have been fine, but having them stack on top of each other, one by one, was like a flame slowly growing, right next to a stack of dynamite.
First of all, Astrid had a headache, which seemed determined to continue tormenting her, no matter how much paracetamol she took. It had been there, just above and behind her eyes, since she'd woken up that morning, and there it remained, sending jolts of pain coursing through her skull during every lesson. Even during her history class earlier, her favourite lesson, she had found it impossible to concentrate properly.
What didn't help was the fact that she'd ended up getting into a completely pointless argument with some moron during history. They had made some asinine point about the War of the Roses – Astrid could hardly remember what it even was, that was how pointless it was – and she had simply attempted to politely correct him. The guy had been too far up his own ass to actually listen; he'd even attempted to argue the point when Astrid brought out a textbook proving him wrong, for Christ's sake. Eventually he'd admitted he was wrong, but the damage had already been done. Astrid had left that lesson pissed off and frustrated. Sure, she'd 'won' eventually, but it was like winning an argument against a brick wall; an inevitability that just makes everyone feel stupid and annoyed.
To cap it all off, she'd forgotten to bring her lunch today. It wasn't anything incredibly exciting, just some tuna pasta salad, but she had made it herself so she knew what went into it, unlike... whatever it was they were serving in the cafeteria today.
Astrid looked down at the tray she was holding and made a noise of disgruntlement. Apparently the meat on the plate in front of her was supposed to be beef. She didn't like beef, and she especially didn't like 'beef' coated in some mystery sauce. But food was still food, and she wasn't going to go hungry for the rest of the day.
Astrid surveyed the cafeteria, and made another noise of annoyance. For a place that served not-great lunches, and that gave the option to eat outside, the room always seemed to be packed. There were only a few spaces left that she could see, and even they were in danger of being swallowed up. Astrid quickly made her way over to the nearest one, and parked herself at a table containing three other girls. She vaguely recognised them as Penelope, Fiyori and Rene, and she had no interest in any of them. They weren't in her friendship group, and none of them shared her interests, as far as she was aware. Still, she gave a curt nod in their direction as way of greeting, before settling down and hoping none of them would be too annoying. Penelope was playing on some sort of games console, and whilst Astrid had absolutely no interest in gaming whatsoever, she had no qualms with those who did.
If Penelope decided to turn the volume up obnoxiously loud, however... well, she was gonna be in for a bad time.
Much to the misfortune of pretty much anyone who got in her way that day, Astrid was in a sour mood. A whole host of stuff had gone wrong for her today. Each one by themselves would have been fine, but having them stack on top of each other, one by one, was like a flame slowly growing, right next to a stack of dynamite.
First of all, Astrid had a headache, which seemed determined to continue tormenting her, no matter how much paracetamol she took. It had been there, just above and behind her eyes, since she'd woken up that morning, and there it remained, sending jolts of pain coursing through her skull during every lesson. Even during her history class earlier, her favourite lesson, she had found it impossible to concentrate properly.
What didn't help was the fact that she'd ended up getting into a completely pointless argument with some moron during history. They had made some asinine point about the War of the Roses – Astrid could hardly remember what it even was, that was how pointless it was – and she had simply attempted to politely correct him. The guy had been too far up his own ass to actually listen; he'd even attempted to argue the point when Astrid brought out a textbook proving him wrong, for Christ's sake. Eventually he'd admitted he was wrong, but the damage had already been done. Astrid had left that lesson pissed off and frustrated. Sure, she'd 'won' eventually, but it was like winning an argument against a brick wall; an inevitability that just makes everyone feel stupid and annoyed.
To cap it all off, she'd forgotten to bring her lunch today. It wasn't anything incredibly exciting, just some tuna pasta salad, but she had made it herself so she knew what went into it, unlike... whatever it was they were serving in the cafeteria today.
Astrid looked down at the tray she was holding and made a noise of disgruntlement. Apparently the meat on the plate in front of her was supposed to be beef. She didn't like beef, and she especially didn't like 'beef' coated in some mystery sauce. But food was still food, and she wasn't going to go hungry for the rest of the day.
Astrid surveyed the cafeteria, and made another noise of annoyance. For a place that served not-great lunches, and that gave the option to eat outside, the room always seemed to be packed. There were only a few spaces left that she could see, and even they were in danger of being swallowed up. Astrid quickly made her way over to the nearest one, and parked herself at a table containing three other girls. She vaguely recognised them as Penelope, Fiyori and Rene, and she had no interest in any of them. They weren't in her friendship group, and none of them shared her interests, as far as she was aware. Still, she gave a curt nod in their direction as way of greeting, before settling down and hoping none of them would be too annoying. Penelope was playing on some sort of games console, and whilst Astrid had absolutely no interest in gaming whatsoever, she had no qualms with those who did.
If Penelope decided to turn the volume up obnoxiously loud, however... well, she was gonna be in for a bad time.
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
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VoltTurtle
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Penelope looked up from her game when she heard someone ask what she was playing.
There were three girls at the table. Two of them, Fiyori and Rene, had been there for a while. The other girl, Astrid, had just sat down. Penelope was familiar with who they were as classmates, but she couldn't say she was friends with them. Penelope got ever so slightly annoyed at being asked what she was playing; she never usually drew attention until she started fiddling with a device that evokes curiosity out of people due to whatever novel function it has. Still, she didn't let this annoyance show in her face or in her voice. "Animal Crossing: New Leaf." She answered, abruptly.
Normally Penelope liked interacting with strangers, just for the sake of being a weirdo to them. But when she's in game mode, she would often rather just be left to it. And as much as Penelope would rather just say what she was playing and leave it at that, Penelope figured that simply leaving it probably wouldn't actually accomplish anything. She knew how people worked. Rene would ask another question about the game, and Penelope would respond, not wanting to seem like she was being rude. So, in order to get that out of the way somewhat, she decided to answer the most obvious question ahead of time. "I really like the game for how relaxing it is to play, ya know? There's no real win conditions and there are no real threats, so it's something that's super easy to pass time with." She paused, briefly. "Normally I don't get too into casual games like Animal Crossing, but it's sweet and cute and uninvolved enough that I can give it a pass."
Penelope took a sip of her tea and looked back down at her game, continuing to tap away at the buttons, donating the fossils she had collected from the town that day to the town's museum.
There were three girls at the table. Two of them, Fiyori and Rene, had been there for a while. The other girl, Astrid, had just sat down. Penelope was familiar with who they were as classmates, but she couldn't say she was friends with them. Penelope got ever so slightly annoyed at being asked what she was playing; she never usually drew attention until she started fiddling with a device that evokes curiosity out of people due to whatever novel function it has. Still, she didn't let this annoyance show in her face or in her voice. "Animal Crossing: New Leaf." She answered, abruptly.
Normally Penelope liked interacting with strangers, just for the sake of being a weirdo to them. But when she's in game mode, she would often rather just be left to it. And as much as Penelope would rather just say what she was playing and leave it at that, Penelope figured that simply leaving it probably wouldn't actually accomplish anything. She knew how people worked. Rene would ask another question about the game, and Penelope would respond, not wanting to seem like she was being rude. So, in order to get that out of the way somewhat, she decided to answer the most obvious question ahead of time. "I really like the game for how relaxing it is to play, ya know? There's no real win conditions and there are no real threats, so it's something that's super easy to pass time with." She paused, briefly. "Normally I don't get too into casual games like Animal Crossing, but it's sweet and cute and uninvolved enough that I can give it a pass."
Penelope took a sip of her tea and looked back down at her game, continuing to tap away at the buttons, donating the fossils she had collected from the town that day to the town's museum.
Fiyori waited like 16 or 17 days, or maybe only a few seconds until another girl brought salvation from guilt. Rene, the chubby ghost of Kingman. Oh no, that kinda sounded mean, but Fiyori held no ill will against her. They just weren't particularly close and so Fiyori's brain just goes "oh yes, this is chubby ghost" whenever she saw her. Yes, terrible. Fiyori doesn't recall ever saying this to her face. Figured she'd take it with grace though. Rene had this strange habit of commenting on people all the time. Said a lot of funny stuff, got Fiyori laughing.
Either way, it was Rene who eventually broke the "silence" and asked what was going on in the magical DS.
Her answer was brief and dry. Animal Crossing. Fiyori heard of it. Didn't play it though. Penelope, not particularly good at hiding her sourness, gave a further explanation. Fiyori looked over to the pair, listened, and eventually decided that the game was boring after all.
Another girl sat down, who was called Astrid and was probably from planet Earth. Fiyori glanced over, and nodded.
Either way, it was Rene who eventually broke the "silence" and asked what was going on in the magical DS.
Her answer was brief and dry. Animal Crossing. Fiyori heard of it. Didn't play it though. Penelope, not particularly good at hiding her sourness, gave a further explanation. Fiyori looked over to the pair, listened, and eventually decided that the game was boring after all.
Another girl sat down, who was called Astrid and was probably from planet Earth. Fiyori glanced over, and nodded.
Gervais Frans Lambotte Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
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Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Well this was just delightful, wasn't it?
It was lucky for Astrid that Penelope was sitting to her left. It meant she could actively side-eye her without looking like she was going cross-eyed. She'd heard of the game Penelope was playing, somehow, somewhere. Seen a couple videos or gifs of it online too. It didn't interest her in the slightest, and if she had to be honest – and, given Astrid was Astrid, she did have to be honest – she couldn't understand why it would interest anyone else.
Astrid leaned herself and her chair back, a sure-fire sign that she was about to start lecturing someone. For a moment though, she reconsidered. She'd just gotten done with a pointless argument that went absolutely nowhere. She didn't exactly want to get into another one so soon, especially not over a subject she hardly cared about.
On the other hand, she didn't have much of an alternative. Astrid realised this as she looked down at her tray. Just eating this... mockery of meat was bad enough, but if she was gonna focus on it and nothing else, then she might just scream. So it was either potentially getting into a pointless argument or eating what might as well be pure, unfiltered garbage.
Great. It was only lunchtime and she was already stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Well, one was less unpleasant than the other. Besides, if worst came to the worst, Astrid could always claim she was just stating her opinion. After all, technically that was true. She carved off a piece of 'beef', under some sort of impression that doing both things would cancel each other out through sheer awfulness, chewed it for far longer than should have been necessary, before opening her mouth to speak.
"Y'know, I think I've heard of that game."
Astrid swallowed the slice of beef, pulling a face, before continuing. How did it get to be simultaneously tough and slimy?
"Yeah, I think my cousin plays it, or something. Got something to do with animals and collecting fruit, right? And you're saying there's no real win conditions?"
Astrid looked down at her plate, wrestling with her piece of beef, feeling like she was trying to chisel Excalibur out of the stone with her knife and fork.
"Seems like a big waste of time, if you ask me."
It was lucky for Astrid that Penelope was sitting to her left. It meant she could actively side-eye her without looking like she was going cross-eyed. She'd heard of the game Penelope was playing, somehow, somewhere. Seen a couple videos or gifs of it online too. It didn't interest her in the slightest, and if she had to be honest – and, given Astrid was Astrid, she did have to be honest – she couldn't understand why it would interest anyone else.
Astrid leaned herself and her chair back, a sure-fire sign that she was about to start lecturing someone. For a moment though, she reconsidered. She'd just gotten done with a pointless argument that went absolutely nowhere. She didn't exactly want to get into another one so soon, especially not over a subject she hardly cared about.
On the other hand, she didn't have much of an alternative. Astrid realised this as she looked down at her tray. Just eating this... mockery of meat was bad enough, but if she was gonna focus on it and nothing else, then she might just scream. So it was either potentially getting into a pointless argument or eating what might as well be pure, unfiltered garbage.
Great. It was only lunchtime and she was already stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Well, one was less unpleasant than the other. Besides, if worst came to the worst, Astrid could always claim she was just stating her opinion. After all, technically that was true. She carved off a piece of 'beef', under some sort of impression that doing both things would cancel each other out through sheer awfulness, chewed it for far longer than should have been necessary, before opening her mouth to speak.
"Y'know, I think I've heard of that game."
Astrid swallowed the slice of beef, pulling a face, before continuing. How did it get to be simultaneously tough and slimy?
"Yeah, I think my cousin plays it, or something. Got something to do with animals and collecting fruit, right? And you're saying there's no real win conditions?"
Astrid looked down at her plate, wrestling with her piece of beef, feeling like she was trying to chisel Excalibur out of the stone with her knife and fork.
"Seems like a big waste of time, if you ask me."
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
The other girl - the one called Astrid - decided to speak up too. Knew the game too, heard of it, at least. Commented on the content of the game, something about animals and fruits. Fiyori looked at her, watching Astrid try and wrestle with her lunch. She figured there was something else she wanted to say.
Seems like a big waste of time, if you ask me.
Oh boy.
So Astrid was one of those people. You know, those piss bags who just like to cause conflict. Okay, alright. Fiyori wasn't technically much better in that regard. But at least she didn't call someone's else interests a waste of time just 'cause she found it boring.
Anyway, Fiyori was in no mood for this ensuing argument. Lunch time was over. She quickly packed her belongings, stood up, nearly tripped once and then quickly noped the fuck out of that minefield.
[[Fiyori Senay, continued in My Friends Are Assholes]]
Seems like a big waste of time, if you ask me.
Oh boy.
So Astrid was one of those people. You know, those piss bags who just like to cause conflict. Okay, alright. Fiyori wasn't technically much better in that regard. But at least she didn't call someone's else interests a waste of time just 'cause she found it boring.
Anyway, Fiyori was in no mood for this ensuing argument. Lunch time was over. She quickly packed her belongings, stood up, nearly tripped once and then quickly noped the fuck out of that minefield.
[[Fiyori Senay, continued in My Friends Are Assholes]]
Gervais Frans Lambotte Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
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Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
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VoltTurtle
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Penelope's ear twitched.
She glanced over at Astrid for a second, before turning her head back towards the game. She considered what she should do. Should she respond to the girl curtly, given that she seemed like she wanted to start an argument? Fiyori ended up getting up and leaving, so it seemed that Penelope wasn't the only one who had picked up on Astrid's intentions. Should she just defuse it? Astrid seemed like the type of girl that would be nasty if an argument actually began, even if Penelope was perfectly calm and composed like she nearly always was.
"Yeah, I guess you could call it a waste of time. It's inherently designed to be a time sink. I play it when I don't want to do anything else but I don't want to sit around doing nothing." Penelope took another sip from her tea. "It's cute enough to keep my attention, and that's what matters."
Penelope fiddled with the tea bottle's cap as she rearranged the furniture in her in-game house. She hoped that response satisfied Astrid. She seemed like the type that wouldn't be happy unless she felt she was right.
She glanced over at Astrid for a second, before turning her head back towards the game. She considered what she should do. Should she respond to the girl curtly, given that she seemed like she wanted to start an argument? Fiyori ended up getting up and leaving, so it seemed that Penelope wasn't the only one who had picked up on Astrid's intentions. Should she just defuse it? Astrid seemed like the type of girl that would be nasty if an argument actually began, even if Penelope was perfectly calm and composed like she nearly always was.
"Yeah, I guess you could call it a waste of time. It's inherently designed to be a time sink. I play it when I don't want to do anything else but I don't want to sit around doing nothing." Penelope took another sip from her tea. "It's cute enough to keep my attention, and that's what matters."
Penelope fiddled with the tea bottle's cap as she rearranged the furniture in her in-game house. She hoped that response satisfied Astrid. She seemed like the type that wouldn't be happy unless she felt she was right.
Astrid glanced at Fiyori and raised an eyebrow as high as it would go, as the other girl stood up almost as soon as Astrid had finished talking. Oh come on. That just made the whole thing look worse than it actually was. Astrid was in absolutely no mood to get into even a minor debate right now, let alone a no-holds-barred screaming fest. She watched Fiyori almost perform an incredible faceplant before leaving, then turned back to Penelope, rolling her eyes, shaking her head and taking a deep breath.
Astrid listened to Penelope describe the game in a little more detail, taking another bite of... no, she couldn't even call it food. Even her earliest experiments at cooking hadn't tasted this bad. She pulled another disgusted face, and shoved the plate to one side. If she was really hungry after all this was done, then maybe she'd go back to it. But not before then, absolutely not.
"So let me get this straight." Astrid said, furrowing her brow. She wanted to choose her words carefully; Penelope didn't seem like the sort to lash out in response to an offending sentence, but you really couldn't tell with people. It was always the quiet ones, and other cliche statements.
"It's your go to when the only option available to you is just... lounging around on the sofa, doing nothing? Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against video games. Like, I don't have any interest in them or anything, but I know they can develop some skills and shit, and some people make a living off of them. That's fine, but this-"Astrid gestured towards Penelope's DS.
"-This doesn't seem to have any of those benefits, other than 'cuteness'."
Astrid leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. Now she was interested in what other reasons Penelope had for playing this game, because as far as Astrid could see, it would bore her to tears. She'd read online that many doctors were using video games in order to heighten their skills, or something like that, but surely it couldn't be this game.
"No offense, but surely you could be doing something else with your time? Something more productive? Something more..." Astrid waved her hand in the air, trying to swat down the right phrase.
"Something more interesting, maybe?"
Astrid listened to Penelope describe the game in a little more detail, taking another bite of... no, she couldn't even call it food. Even her earliest experiments at cooking hadn't tasted this bad. She pulled another disgusted face, and shoved the plate to one side. If she was really hungry after all this was done, then maybe she'd go back to it. But not before then, absolutely not.
"So let me get this straight." Astrid said, furrowing her brow. She wanted to choose her words carefully; Penelope didn't seem like the sort to lash out in response to an offending sentence, but you really couldn't tell with people. It was always the quiet ones, and other cliche statements.
"It's your go to when the only option available to you is just... lounging around on the sofa, doing nothing? Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against video games. Like, I don't have any interest in them or anything, but I know they can develop some skills and shit, and some people make a living off of them. That's fine, but this-"Astrid gestured towards Penelope's DS.
"-This doesn't seem to have any of those benefits, other than 'cuteness'."
Astrid leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. Now she was interested in what other reasons Penelope had for playing this game, because as far as Astrid could see, it would bore her to tears. She'd read online that many doctors were using video games in order to heighten their skills, or something like that, but surely it couldn't be this game.
"No offense, but surely you could be doing something else with your time? Something more productive? Something more..." Astrid waved her hand in the air, trying to swat down the right phrase.
"Something more interesting, maybe?"
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
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VoltTurtle
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Penelope listened to Astrid's words while tapping away at the screen.
Once Astrid finished talking, Penelope shrugged, not turning her head away from the game. She understood what Astrid was getting at now. Astrid was obviously looking at it from a very practical perspective, which Penelope didn't really care for personally. "I think the game is plenty interesting." She said. "Sure, it's not exactly challenging and it's not developing any skills, but the game doesn't really have a defined endpoint so it's pretty hard to get bored with it like how other games can get boring after you complete them a few times." She leaned back in her chair a little bit. "Since, you know, I'm just playing it to avoid boredom."
Penelope took another sip from her tea bottle. "Also, I'm not really interested in developing any skills right now. I'm still just trying to figure out what I like doing and what I want to do with the rest of my life, y'know?" She turned her head momentarily towards Astrid before turning back to the game.."..If that's what you were getting at, that is."
Penelope played with the cap a little bit more before accidentally causing it to shoot off to somewhere two tables over. "...Shit."
Frustrated with herself for losing her tea bottle's cap, she downed the rest of her tea so as to not worry about spilling it later. She turned her attention back to Astrid. "So, yeah. Hope that helps you understand my perspective."
Once Astrid finished talking, Penelope shrugged, not turning her head away from the game. She understood what Astrid was getting at now. Astrid was obviously looking at it from a very practical perspective, which Penelope didn't really care for personally. "I think the game is plenty interesting." She said. "Sure, it's not exactly challenging and it's not developing any skills, but the game doesn't really have a defined endpoint so it's pretty hard to get bored with it like how other games can get boring after you complete them a few times." She leaned back in her chair a little bit. "Since, you know, I'm just playing it to avoid boredom."
Penelope took another sip from her tea bottle. "Also, I'm not really interested in developing any skills right now. I'm still just trying to figure out what I like doing and what I want to do with the rest of my life, y'know?" She turned her head momentarily towards Astrid before turning back to the game.."..If that's what you were getting at, that is."
Penelope played with the cap a little bit more before accidentally causing it to shoot off to somewhere two tables over. "...Shit."
Frustrated with herself for losing her tea bottle's cap, she downed the rest of her tea so as to not worry about spilling it later. She turned her attention back to Astrid. "So, yeah. Hope that helps you understand my perspective."
It was a good few moments into Penelope's explanation before Astrid realised that she was gripping her fork so hard her knuckles had turned white. That... was not a good sign. A little startled at herself, Astrid loosened her grip, gently placing the fork on the table as quietly as possible. She tried to make sure her face looked as nonchalant as possible, but she was certain her usual anger management technique would give her away.
Clench her knuckles. One, two, three, four, five. Unclench. One, two, three, four, five.
For once, it wasn't even anything that Penelope was saying that was pissing Astrid off. Hell, everything she said was... actually perfectly logical and understandable. To a point. Even if Astrid didn't necessarily agree with it. What was provoking her ire was the fact that Penelope seemed to refuse to actually look away from the damn game. The bottle cap rolling under a nearby table was actually a relief, in that it drew attention away from the DS. Astrid waited for Penelope to finish her drink, and her final statement, before speaking.
"Sure, I get what you're saying. But you're not trying to avoid boredom at the moment, you're talking to someone. You understand?"
Astrid casually cracked the joints in her fingers, before rolling her neck from side to side. She placed her right elbow on the table, and her chin on her right hand, looking at Penelope with some intrigue.
"Anyway. Usefulness of the game aside, I'm a little surprised you haven't figured out... well, from the sounds of it, anything about your life yet. I mean, shouldn't you have at least some idea of what you wanna do once you leave school? You can't just sit on your laurels forever, playing that game instead of considering this sort of thing. You keep putting stuff off until tomorrow, then tomorrow's gonna arrive and you haven't moved."
Clench her knuckles. One, two, three, four, five. Unclench. One, two, three, four, five.
For once, it wasn't even anything that Penelope was saying that was pissing Astrid off. Hell, everything she said was... actually perfectly logical and understandable. To a point. Even if Astrid didn't necessarily agree with it. What was provoking her ire was the fact that Penelope seemed to refuse to actually look away from the damn game. The bottle cap rolling under a nearby table was actually a relief, in that it drew attention away from the DS. Astrid waited for Penelope to finish her drink, and her final statement, before speaking.
"Sure, I get what you're saying. But you're not trying to avoid boredom at the moment, you're talking to someone. You understand?"
Astrid casually cracked the joints in her fingers, before rolling her neck from side to side. She placed her right elbow on the table, and her chin on her right hand, looking at Penelope with some intrigue.
"Anyway. Usefulness of the game aside, I'm a little surprised you haven't figured out... well, from the sounds of it, anything about your life yet. I mean, shouldn't you have at least some idea of what you wanna do once you leave school? You can't just sit on your laurels forever, playing that game instead of considering this sort of thing. You keep putting stuff off until tomorrow, then tomorrow's gonna arrive and you haven't moved."
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
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VoltTurtle
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Penelope sat and listened to Astrid as she talked.
"Well..." Penelope closed her DS and placed it on the table next to her tray. "That's not exactly what I meant. I've figured out a bunch of things that I'm good at and that I like doing, like drawing and developing video games, I just... can't really say I'm actively trying to develop those skills all the time. Sometimes I just want to sit around and play a relatively pointless game."
Penelope took note of Astrid's frustration as she spoke. It seemed Astrid wasn't exactly the greatest at hiding her disdain, but at the same time it looked like she calmed down after Penelope put her DS down. Perhaps she just didn't like it that Penelope was looking at the screen and not her, that would certainly explain her comment as she started talking.
Penelope adjusted her posture and started making motions with her hands as she talked. Not having a bottle of tea to drink or a bottle cap to play with as nervous tics was bothering her. "I guess what I'm saying is that you need to go with the flow sometimes. Don't be so wrapped up in making sure that every little moment is accomplishing something in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes it's important to just..." Penelope leaned back in her chair, getting into a comfortable position. "...Take it easy."
"Well..." Penelope closed her DS and placed it on the table next to her tray. "That's not exactly what I meant. I've figured out a bunch of things that I'm good at and that I like doing, like drawing and developing video games, I just... can't really say I'm actively trying to develop those skills all the time. Sometimes I just want to sit around and play a relatively pointless game."
Penelope took note of Astrid's frustration as she spoke. It seemed Astrid wasn't exactly the greatest at hiding her disdain, but at the same time it looked like she calmed down after Penelope put her DS down. Perhaps she just didn't like it that Penelope was looking at the screen and not her, that would certainly explain her comment as she started talking.
Penelope adjusted her posture and started making motions with her hands as she talked. Not having a bottle of tea to drink or a bottle cap to play with as nervous tics was bothering her. "I guess what I'm saying is that you need to go with the flow sometimes. Don't be so wrapped up in making sure that every little moment is accomplishing something in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes it's important to just..." Penelope leaned back in her chair, getting into a comfortable position. "...Take it easy."
So Penelope was playing Animal Crossing. Eh, Rene never really got the appeal, but she figured that it was kinda like The Sims or American Pie movies in that it was something that was really popular and had tons of fans for reasons that she would never really understand. She was more into Order of Ecclesia lately, and all of her gaming time lately had been spent trying to deal with that freaking giant skeleton at what she sincerely hoped was the end of the latest stage. She hated that thing.
As she mused about possible strategies in her head, shooting each one down for various reasons while working on her second slice of pizza, she completely forgot that there was a conversation going on right next to her. It was when she finished the slice and decided to just look for tips on the fight online that she started paying attention to the rest of the world again, promptly realizing that she had no idea what the other girls at the table were talking about anymore, or if it was even DS-related at all.
Faced with the choice of either abandoning ship entirely or trying to rejoin whatever was going on, she pounced on a brief lull in the conversation and said the first nonspecific phrase that came to mind in hopes of catching back up.
"Cool."
As she mused about possible strategies in her head, shooting each one down for various reasons while working on her second slice of pizza, she completely forgot that there was a conversation going on right next to her. It was when she finished the slice and decided to just look for tips on the fight online that she started paying attention to the rest of the world again, promptly realizing that she had no idea what the other girls at the table were talking about anymore, or if it was even DS-related at all.
Faced with the choice of either abandoning ship entirely or trying to rejoin whatever was going on, she pounced on a brief lull in the conversation and said the first nonspecific phrase that came to mind in hopes of catching back up.
"Cool."
"Hmm..."
Astrid could feel her eyebrows knitting as she listened to Penelope talk. Mostly this was just a common habit of hers, whenever she was debating or talking with somebody, but there was something that... intrigued her about Penelope in particular. It was hard to get annoyed with someone who actually knew how to rationally talk a point out, which Astrid appreciated. God knows, she'd encountered enough people whose idea of an argument was repeating the same goddamn point without altering it in the slightest, and after today's debacle, she would be happy if she didn't have to encounter it for the rest of her life.
But it seemed that there was some sort of lapse in communication between the two of them. Either that, or their worldviews just happened to be polar opposites. 'Taking it easy' was all well and good in theory. It wasn't as though Astrid didn't take time out for her own personal interests, either. Neither playing soccer nor cooking for Sophie were activities that would be vital, or even necessary, for her goals in life, but she did them because she enjoyed them a ton. Plus, they were both things that did end up providing useful skills for her to use in life, from general health and fitness, to improving her hand-eye co-ordination, to... well, knowing how to cook.
Just as Astrid was about to open her mouth to reply to Penelope, the other girl sitting at the table, who apparently hadn't disappeared into the ether after all, spoke up. That, in and of itself, was a generous term. A single word that had literally nothing to do with the conversation, any way you tried to slice it. She might as well have just grunted. Astrid looked over at her, left eyebrow raised as high as it could go, an unmistakable look of disdain on her face.
"Right, well, thank you for your... contribution. You might want to consider actually paying attention to what we're saying."
If she was being honest, which she always was, Astrid couldn't even really remember the girl's name. A little rude, maybe, but she wasn't on her radar, and most likely never would be. She rubbed her temple, before speaking again.
"Anyways, I can't really afford to, err, 'take it easy'. At least not the way you seem to interpret it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I make sure I have activities outside of the medical world, but they all have benefits that I can use. Hell, if I hadn't left it in the fridge, I'd have been able to eat some of the stuff I cooked last night instead of... whatever the hell this is."
Astrid gestured at the discarded tray, regarding it with a similar expression as she had with Rene.
"I guess I'm just... struggling to see the appeal of something that could easily be replaced by something that does provide greater benefits to you."
Astrid could feel her eyebrows knitting as she listened to Penelope talk. Mostly this was just a common habit of hers, whenever she was debating or talking with somebody, but there was something that... intrigued her about Penelope in particular. It was hard to get annoyed with someone who actually knew how to rationally talk a point out, which Astrid appreciated. God knows, she'd encountered enough people whose idea of an argument was repeating the same goddamn point without altering it in the slightest, and after today's debacle, she would be happy if she didn't have to encounter it for the rest of her life.
But it seemed that there was some sort of lapse in communication between the two of them. Either that, or their worldviews just happened to be polar opposites. 'Taking it easy' was all well and good in theory. It wasn't as though Astrid didn't take time out for her own personal interests, either. Neither playing soccer nor cooking for Sophie were activities that would be vital, or even necessary, for her goals in life, but she did them because she enjoyed them a ton. Plus, they were both things that did end up providing useful skills for her to use in life, from general health and fitness, to improving her hand-eye co-ordination, to... well, knowing how to cook.
Just as Astrid was about to open her mouth to reply to Penelope, the other girl sitting at the table, who apparently hadn't disappeared into the ether after all, spoke up. That, in and of itself, was a generous term. A single word that had literally nothing to do with the conversation, any way you tried to slice it. She might as well have just grunted. Astrid looked over at her, left eyebrow raised as high as it could go, an unmistakable look of disdain on her face.
"Right, well, thank you for your... contribution. You might want to consider actually paying attention to what we're saying."
If she was being honest, which she always was, Astrid couldn't even really remember the girl's name. A little rude, maybe, but she wasn't on her radar, and most likely never would be. She rubbed her temple, before speaking again.
"Anyways, I can't really afford to, err, 'take it easy'. At least not the way you seem to interpret it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I make sure I have activities outside of the medical world, but they all have benefits that I can use. Hell, if I hadn't left it in the fridge, I'd have been able to eat some of the stuff I cooked last night instead of... whatever the hell this is."
Astrid gestured at the discarded tray, regarding it with a similar expression as she had with Rene.
"I guess I'm just... struggling to see the appeal of something that could easily be replaced by something that does provide greater benefits to you."
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017