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Seamus Finnigan (openbottle) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-10-02 19:27:00

Entry tags:

character: adrian pucey, character: cho chang, character: finbar quigley, character: lisa turpin, character: pandora montgomery, character: seamus finnigan, character: viktor krum

Chess
Who: OPEN THREAD
What: Beginner's Night @ Wizarding Chess Championships
Where: The Roost, Finnigan's
When: Thursday evening
Rating: SFW

Instead of the usual large chessboard taking up the floor of The Roost, Seamus had had Dominic set up several smaller ones - with room around the outside for the more usual kind of tabletop boards and chairs. It was a spur of the moment to do something different for the evening and Seamus honestly didn't know what kind of a crowd to expect.

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pandacharms
2014-10-02 10:26 pm UTC (link)

Pandora slipped in with the familiar feeling of nerves somewhere deep inside. She hated it, honestly; she'd never been like this when she was younger. But so much had happened since then. She put a smile on her face, tugged her robe sleeve down and did a mild sticking charm to it, and went on in.

She glanced around and realized she'd missed playing. She wandered around for a moment before stopping at a complete chess board. She tilted her head at Seamus and smiled, wondering if he'd recognize her and hoping not. "Up for a game?" she asked.

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openbottle
2014-10-03 04:52 pm UTC (link)

Seamus looked up to find a customer approaching him and smiling. He was pretty sure he'd seen her at the pub before, but couldn't recall her name. The one small downside of his business thriving was that he simply couldn't remember and recognise every single customer anymore like he'd been able to in the early days. She looked about his age, though, so they might well have been at school together too. Well, it would come to him, or she'd tell him. Either way.

"Always," he answered easily. "Are you a beginner, or should I be preparing to get thrashed?" Seamus was pretty good on the chess board, but by no means a real master. He won a little more often than he got beaten, but he wasn't at the top of the leaderboard.

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pandacharms
2014-10-03 10:54 pm UTC (link)

"Not a beginner but sorely out of practice," she told him, one side of her mouth rising a little higher than the other in a smile. "I used to be decent, but I've not played in over six months, and haven't played seriously in longer than that." It was true, and though she remembered how it went, it'd be a bit before she got into a good groove. She came in expecting to lose a bit, but that was okay... so long as she learned from it.

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openbottle
2014-10-04 11:32 am UTC (link)

"Well, then," Seamus said. "You've come to the right place." He gestured at the white pieces, then considered. "Would you prefer to take this to a smaller board?" If she really was out of practice she might not want to take him on quite so publicly. Though the chess pieces were smaller than normal, there was still a crowd gather that would likely split their attention between matches.

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	pandacharms 2014-10-04 10:44 pm UTC (link)
	"Let's do a smaller board," she agreed with a slight smile. "I don't want to be utterly humiliated in public if at all possible. I'll someone else have the pleasure of the large set." She followed him to another set and sat down. "Which color do you want?" she asked. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

openbottle
2014-10-05 09:01 am UTC (link)

"I'll take black," Seamus answered, turning the board so the white pieces were in front of her. This wasn't his own personal set, just one of the generic ones they'd bought for the club, which meant its temperament could be anything from genially obedient to downright crotchety. "And I think you're vastly overestimating the level of my skill. The only person I've ever utterly humiliated on the chess board is Dean, and he's rubbish." He grinned and gestured for her to start.

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	pandacharms 2014-10-05 09:06 am UTC (link)
	Pandora contemplated the board for a moment, though it was hard to gauge unknown pieces. She missed her old set, which had been destroyed in a fit of temper by Bellatrix Lestrange during the war. "Yes, well, you never know," she said before ordering one of her center pawns forward two spaces to open. "And you could be having me on, after all." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

openbottle
2014-10-05 03:36 pm UTC (link)

Seamus watched her move, pleased to hear that she knew how to order the pieces around. Real beginners often tended to request - which rarely worked. He ordered his own pawn forward immediately afterwards. "I don't think that would be very good for business," he pointed out. "Lull people into a false sense of security and then wallop them at chess? They might not come back." He grinned, then realised she might not know who he was. Not everyone did, after all. "I'm Seamus, by the way, and I know I've seen you around but I don't know your name. Sorry." He smiled his most charming smile, hoping she wouldn't be offended.

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pandacharms
2014-10-05 03:47 pm UTC (link)

"Ah but you'd have won a game of chess,"she said, eyes glinting with amusement. If course hers was very much a Slytherin thought, our perhaps simply someone who knew a strategy when she heard it. "I thought it was you, Seamus. I'm Dora." Not that people at Hogwarts hadn't known her nickname, but it tended to be the safer choice. She took a moment to order her next piece forward. "Your pub is quite nice, I know I've never taken the time to say it, though I do hope the new cook is better than the last."

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openbottle
2014-10-08 04:11 pm UTC (link)

"Dora," Seamus repeated, trying to commit the name to memory along with her face. Just because he couldn't remember everyone anymore didn't mean he was going to stop trying. "As in Pandora Montgomery? I was talking to you on the journals." He beamed, glad to have made the connection. "Nice to meet you properly."

A few words moved his own piece forward in response, sliding smoothly across the board. He could only hope this was one of the more obedient sets but only time would tell. "Thank you, I quite like it." Which was a huge understatement, Seamus loved his pub, but to say so to people who weren't close friends sounded too arrogant. He shrugged. "I wouldn't have hired him if he was no good, but we'll see if he can keep up."

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pandacharms
2014-10-08 09:30 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, that's me," she said, glancing at him from under her lashes to see if there was a continued reaction attached to her name. Some people knew it right off the bat; some only heard a few things; some were clueless, and that was the nicest though not what happened the most often.

Her next piece slid out, her mind already three moves ahead even as they talked. It was like dueling or a lot of other things she enjoyed. "True, but the previous fellow was a little... unreliable at times." Well, one of them, there were shifts, she knew, but she most often came in later at night or occasionally for lunch.

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openbottle
2014-10-09 03:43 pm UTC (link)

Countering her move, Seamus was able to take the first piece of the game, watching as one of her pawns was sent flying from the board by his knight. He caught the piece and returned it to the table with a grin equal parts triumphant and sheepish. "Apparently this is one of the overenthusiastic sets," he said by way of apology. "Do you have a set of your own?" He generally encouraged people to bring their own sets with them, if they could, as they made playing much easier.

Seamus vaguely remembered that Pandora had been in Slytherin, but he tried not to let that colour his judgement nowadays. He'd seen too many Slytherin students at the battle who looked every bit as scared as he had felt. "He started out well," Seamus said, defending himself as best as he was able. "He was here for two years and it's only really been the last few months he gave us trouble." Admittedly, it had been quite a lot of trouble all at once... Seamus shook his head, focusing on the fact that he'd fixed the problem - for now. "I'm still looking for a second chef, just to make sure this never happens again. If you know anyone..."

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pandacharms
2014-10-09 10:08 pm UTC (link)

Pandora barked a small, surprised laugh as the pawn went flying off the table. "You don't say," she said, highly amused. She had her bishop slip up into play. "I used to, but I haven't in several years, unfortunately. It's on a list to get at some point, or make, depending. I could probably charm a set myself if I put my mind to it."

She dipped her head in assent. "I can understand that, yeah. Sometimes things just go downhill, unfortunately. A second one would be good, though, that way no one gets burned out and people can have days off without you having to cover them, right?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll ask around, though, see if I hear of anyone looking for work."

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openbottle
2014-10-10 04:13 pm UTC (link)

"Really?" Seamus asked, immediately interested. He'd been decent enough at Charms in school, but wouldn't have the least idea how to set about making a chess set of his own. "Was it you who posted in the journals about making customised ones?" He vaguely remembered the entry, though he was pretty sure he'd forgotten to comment on it. "I thought about asking for more details, but I'm honestly not sure I'd want to see chessmen with the faces of people I know treated like that." He gestured to the poor sacrificed pawn, wincing as he imagined... No. He decided not to even go there.

He nodded. "Thanks. And yeah, we've always had kitchen assistants and enough employees who can cook that days off has never been a problem - but I still think having two proper chefs would be better."

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pandacharms
2014-10-11 01:58 am UTC (link)

"No, it wasn't me, but we usually have a set or two on our shelves. I've my Mastery in Charms, so I have the right skill set, but I haven't done chess pieces since my apprenticeship with Master Flitwick, so I'd have to just look up the spells again." Though she wasn't sure she wanted a set charmed by herself. They made decent gifts though.

She ordered another piece forward, her grin sharp as it took one of his pieces, if rather over enthusiastically. "I would agree. Two chefs are better than one, especially long term. That way if something happens you have a built-in back-up."

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openbottle
2014-10-11 07:51 am UTC (link)

"Ah." Seamus scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't expect the journals to take off the way they have, sometimes its hard to keep track of who says what." He was pleased that so many people had gotten on board with his idea, though. It could only mean good things for Finnigan's.

For the next few moves, he was quiet, trying to focus on the game. She wasn't bad - but Seamus had more recent experience and he took several more of her pieces but couldn't quite get her in checkmate. "Exactly," he said, picking up where he'd left off. "Plus, different cooking styles means I can put more things on the menu. Our new chef is from Mexico so I'm hoping we'll be able to change things up a bit."

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pandacharms
2014-10-11 08:51 am UTC (link)

Pandora smiled at him quickly. "No worries," she assured him. "I'm not the best with names a lot of times, so I understand. But the journals are rather great."

She followed his example, focusing and planning, though she'd been right to say she was rusty. It wasn't quite on point, not like her dueling still generally was. But it was fun, and she could improve again. "Hm, never had much Mexican," she admitted. She'd be on the fence about it until she ate some of it, she supposed.

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openbottle
2014-10-11 11:19 pm UTC (link)

Seamus grinned. "Thank you. I'm really pleased with how they've worked out, actually." Even if it was mostly Dominic's work, it had been Seamus' idea and he didn't feel bad for taking credit.

"I've had some, mostly since moving here." London was significantly more varied in the kinds of food available than his home town of Greencastle, which had a pub and a fish and chip shop and that was really about it. "It's good. Onions and peppers and a little bit of spice but not too much, usually." Though Seamus supposed years of Dean and his family had lifted Seamus' tolerance for spice above what might be common.

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pandacharms
2014-10-12 04:23 am UTC (link)

Part of why she liked to use the journals was no one could necessarily see her, and so she could be comfortable and not hide parts of herself.

"I suppose I'll have to give it a try then," she said. "I've eaten quite a few things over the years, so I'm willing to give new things a go." Traveling gave her that opportunity, and she was lucky with that if with not much else.

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openbottle
2014-10-12 07:40 am UTC (link)

"And if you don't like it, Romeo still makes all the usual English things," Seamus confirmed. He'd been quite specific about that when he hired Romeo. He was happy to have some Mexican things on the menu, but this was still a pub and not a restaurant, which meant it should have the food people expected from a pub. Plus, Seamus wasn't giving up his Sunday roasts for anything.

With a quiet noise of triumph, Seamus spotted a way he could win - and in three moves had done just that. "Checkmate." He grinned. "You played well, though. A little bit of practice and you'll be back on form."

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pandacharms
2014-10-12 08:13 am UTC (link)

"Got to have fish and chips," she joked and grinned a bit. "Good to know the pub fare isn't going anywhere. I'd be a sad girl." She faux sniffled.

Pandora looked at the board for a long moment and then sighed. "You're right. Good game," she pronounced, holding out her hand to him over the board. "Thanks for the game, and thanks, I'm hoping to get there. I'm more up on my dueling than my chess lately."

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openbottle
2014-10-12 10:53 am UTC (link)

Seamus nodded. "Exactly. Though I know pub fish and chips are no match for real chip-shop fish and chips." No matter what chef he employed, that seemed to be a constant. He presumed it was something to do with the electric deep-fat fryer, or something. Maybe now that Dominic and Zacharias had got the projector working, it was something to look into.

He shook her hand willingly. "Well, I'm not that much help at duelling on a personal level but you know about the duelling club right?"

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pandacharms
2014-10-13 03:33 am UTC (link)

"They're still great to have." Especially on a day when you really didn't want to attempt anything resembling cooking, and Dora wasn't a great cook. At all. She tended to eat a lot of noodles and eggs and toast when left to her own devices.

"I look in on it sometimes but I've not particpated. I dueled competitively for several years and I can't help but worry that I'd hurt someone on accident." And then get accused of nefarious purposes and yeah she tended to keep to the fringes there.

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openbottle
2014-10-13 04:24 pm UTC (link)

"Better than nothing, anyway." Seamus looked up as the small crowd around one of the larger chess boards applauded. "I wonder who won." He couldn't make out, among the gathered people, who'd been actually playing.

He stood up. "I think I'll go have a look, if you don't mind. Would you like me to find you someone else to play with?" He thought he could probably find someone nearer her skill level, provide her with more of a challenge.

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	pandacharms 2014-10-13 10:34 pm UTC (link)
	"Go on. I'll find someone else to play, no worries," she told him, smiling faintly. "Enjoy the rest of your night and thanks again for the game." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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