Mad Kings & Queens, Final [Monday, Period 4]

[atreideslioness]

When the class arrived today, they'd find the desks missing. Instead, there were cushions on the floor surrounding a number of low tables, and each table held one of two boxes.

"I'm going to assume that most of you are completely unable to focus on anything remotely academic today," Ghanima stated. "So today we're going to do a practical application."

"There is always a cost to removing a corrupt monarch from power," she continued. "People. Resources. There's not even a guarantee that you'll win."

"Each of you is a revolutionary trying to save their people. The person opposite you is a corrupt or insane ruler, that must be deposed." Ghanima held up one pawn, smiling. "It's up to each of you to decide where to draw the line for acceptable loss. Each army you lose is a point off your grade, unless you win it all."

"Welcome to your final. Pair up, or make teams, and have fun."

[Last verse, same as the first. Wait for the OCD! OCD up! Show her what you've learned!]

Comments

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

Reno looked at the Risk board. And then he looked at chess. And then he looked at the Risk board. And then he looked at chess.

He had no clue how to play either. So he decided to go with Risk in the vain hope that all the different colors would prove distracting enough to a potential opponent that maybe he'd have time to grab the game board and all the pieces, and then make a run for it.

Hey, nowhere did Ghanima say he had to play by the rules.

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin peered over his shoulder at the boards as well. "Chess?" That one, at least, he was familiar with. If only by proxy.

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"Chess?" Reno's echo was more than slightly on the baffled side. "I guess I can't be no worse at that than I am at, say, controllin' my own alcohol intake," he mused. "How do you play the game?"

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

That only earned him a look. "I had noticed," Merlin said dryly. "I-- you move the pieces."

That much he'd gathered!

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"Really? Movin' the pieces? Sounds like that requires thinkin', or effort or somethin'," Reno snorted, leaning over the chessboard and looking at the pieces as though perhaps trying to stare them down. "What's the different between, like, the ones with a crown, and them pony-lookin' ones?"

This was going to be a stellar game of chess, wasn't it?

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin... did not know. "Maybe we ought to try the other one? Then we can feign ignorance if we don't do it well."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"Or we could try an' make the both of 'em work together. The pieces on the checkerboard there look more interestin', but that Risk game's got a kinda kickass map, yo."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Laughing, he nodded in agreement. "Risky chess? Though, I think I'm a bit more apt for games where you don't need rules," Merlin admitted.

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"I was just thinkin' to myself, the best way to make sure whoever tries to go up against me don't end up with the whole board is to just pick the damn thing up and run for it," Reno chuckled, reaching over to poke at the Risk board. "I ain't got the patience for this kinda thing, anyhow. Nevermind I wouldn't know the difference between Japan and Africa if they both came around and bit me in the ass."

Africa was the continent, Reno.

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"It's--" He'd seen maps, damn it! He ought to know this! "--there?" That was South America, Merlin.

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"No, I think that one's Australia, yo. Everything'll kill you in Australia. Especially the cute shit."

They were really quite hopeless, weren't they?

"But they got good cookies."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Note to self, never allow Arthur near there.

"Cookies? Like those oatmeal ones?"

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"Cookies, like eatin' chocolate-covered chocolate sex with this sweet cream stuff inside," Reno corrected. "Best friggin' junk food I ever put into my mouth, yoto."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin was now thinking about gay porn. Thanks a lot, Reno. "...I think I liked the oatmeal ones more."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

There was absolutely nothing the matter with gay porn!

"Eeeh, more for me, then. I mean, if I can find a box of Tim Tams before takin' off for Gaia gain. You know how friggin' hard it is to find good cookies there?"

This had everything to do with the class assignment. Really.

Mostly because Reno was stealthily pocketing the gamepieces.

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"As hard as it is to find sushi in Camelot?" Merlin suggested. And politely ignored the missing game pieces. Servant. Used to this.

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

Reno was more or less a servant himself. But he was mostly the sort that the guy in charge had kept around because he was pretty. And because he killed shit good.

"Camelot's where you and Arthur are from, right? Ain't never been there, but if you say you don't got sushi, I'll take your word for it, yo."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin was relatively certain he was kept around because Arthur would be dead so many times over without him.

"No, we eat things cooked instead."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"That sounds like my kinda place," Reno decided. "I never did understand what it is people from Wutai or fake-Wutai see in things like raw fish. Or even some of the cooked stuff, yo. You ever see some of the stuff they got on tv? Squid. Little octopus things with the arms still on and the suckers still attached. They carve their little heads open and pop out the brains and just serve 'em like that."

It was possibly safe to say that the only Japanese food that Reno really trusted was the ramen that Doji had made into a 'repressing like hell once again' tradition.

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin just nodded along in agreement. "It's raw. It's not a bloody delicacy. You could get ill from that!"

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"Potatoes," Reno stated, as though this was on its own was a point well worth making. "Gimmie potatoes. I can live with them. They're safe. And flexible."

And they were used in the production of vodka! Which was very important!

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"And milk! God, they water the milk down here and it's just awful."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"Water it down?" Reno was clearly not much of a milk drinker. "I never noticed, you know? But then, we ain't so big in agriculture back home. Yet."

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Yet?"

Re: Activity: Risk or Chess!

[raspberryturk]

"We ain't so big in anything that actually grows in the dirt back home, yet," Reno clarified. "We're gonna work on that, some. I ain't a huge fan of the desert when people are hungry."

He shrugged as the last game piece disappeared into his pocket.