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Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (itwasallme) wrote in madisonvalley,
@ 2018-11-04 18:12:00

Entry tags:

!closed, !log, ~2018 november, ~25 points, ~~erik lehnsherr (magnetic_lord), ~~hiccup haddock (itwasallme)

WHO Erik Lehnsherr & Hiccup Haddock (and a brief Aurie appearance)
WHAT Learning chess
WHEN Sunday afternoon
WHERE Charles' old house
WARNINGS TBD
STATUS Closed | Incomplete

Hiccup was still thinking a lot about how his last date of the night had ended yesterday. He'd gotten matched with Isak who had been absolutely pleasant to talk to and very understanding that there'd been some kind of mixup. But it left him thinking about things he'd never thought about before. He was honestly grateful for the distraction of lunch with Erik and Aurie. He very much liked the toddler and his conversations with Erik were always interesting, even if sometimes he did more talking. He didn't mind.

This afternoon, instead of saying goodbye after lunch, he stuck around while Erik got Aurie down for her nap and then they began their chess lesson. Hiccup had looked up the game after the older man had mentioned it the first time and found that it was a deeply strategic game. There were dozens of ways to play, plans of attack and defense, but he didn't look any further into it because Erik had expressed a desire to teach him.

"How do each of the pieces move?" he asked once they got the board set up. He wasn't completely unfamiliar with strategy games and liked to know the rules.

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magnetic_lord
2018-11-07 04:36 pm UTC (link)

Chess was one of the few things that Erik could always depend on to distract himself. It wasn't quite the same without Charles here to play with but to get a good game you had to show some of yourself through the game and Erik wasn't allowing himself to be social enough to play with others just yet. Teaching Hiccup, who wouldn't stop coming for lunch even now that Erik was spending more time with people was a logical step.

It would also tell him more about Hiccup. Despite all the lunches he didn't know him as well as he knew Clarke and the others and Erik didn't like unknowns around him.

"The front line of defense is the pawns." He touched one of the pieces in the front row with a fingertip before he explained to Hiccup how the piece could move. They seemed very straight forward until you explained them. The others were always constrained with their movements but the pawns could start with two spaces and changed how they moved by going diagonal to kill.

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itwasallme
2018-11-08 06:43 am UTC (link)

Hiccup really enjoyed lunch with Erik and Aurie every week and he was really excited about extending that stay to play chess. It was a way to be connected to Nina, but he'd also come to really respect Erik and value his opinions on the various things that they discussed in their time together. Even just being able to talk about Berk and the things he'd experienced and all he did to protect his home was helpful.

Chess seemed like a complicated strategy game and Hiccup listened with rapt attention as Erik explained the pieces, asking questions to clarify as needed. He felt reasonably confident as he moved his first pawn the two spaces forward, reminding himself internally that it could only move two places for the first move and then all the rest would be one place.

"When did you learn to play chess?" Hiccup asked. As always, he was hopeful Erik would give more context than just the straight answer, but he wasn't shy about pulling those pieces of information out of the older man.

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magnetic_lord
2018-11-08 05:01 pm UTC (link)

There were some things that weren't easy to talk about no matter what the circumstances but Erik was used to the way everything about him always edged on those things.

"When I was a boy I started learning. My teacher died not long after he taught me but others continued playing with me." The old man had died because he was a prisoner of the camps. He'd taught Erik to play with pebbles of different sizes to represent the different pieces.

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itwasallme
2018-11-11 06:15 am UTC (link)

It was on the tip of his tongue to apologize for Erik's loss, but he knew that wasn't something he needed to apologize for. Hiccup instead nodded and turned his gaze toward the board to make his next move. He was thoughtful about it, tried to imagine what counter moves there might be. It would take many matches and a great deal of time to learn the strategies and the flow of the game, but he wanted to prove that he was worth of being taught.

After he made his move - this time his knight - he looked up again at the older man. "I appreciate you taking the time to teach me. When you first mentioned it, I did look it up. Strategy and battle plans are my strong suits and it seems to be similar in that sense. Just a different battlefield." And far less chance of death, as well.

"Did you play often growing up?" Hiccup was definitely curious about Erik's upbringing, but since the other man was so cagey about it, he tried to be gentle and subtle about his questions.

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magnetic_lord
2018-11-11 03:12 pm UTC (link)

He'd gotten the idea to teach him from the things that Hiccup had said about his home and his role there. Chess was good at teaching people to look moves ahead and to try to think like your opponent. If you didn't understand the other person it was much more difficult to win. "It's the most important battlefield, you have to understand and play the battle in your mind before you fight it in person."

Erik moved another piece and leaned back in his seat to watch Hiccup's deliberation on his next move. "No. I didn't have opponents on a regular basis. But you can play against yourself as well. If I didn't have someone to play against I would work on strategies against myself."

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itwasallme
2018-11-14 06:46 am UTC (link)

He hadn't considered the idea of playing against himself. He was certain it would take him a while to fully understand how the pieces moved and how to anticipate such movements and responses. He was determined to do it, in part because he really did value Erik's opinion of him. It was important to pick this up quickly and well to prove himself a worthy student.

"It goes better the better you know your opponent. I am looking forward to getting to know you better." He quirked a smile, slightly playful in that regard. Hiccup certainly made no secret of the fact that he considered Erik a friend and enjoyed their time together. He'd come over more often if he thought Erik would be receptive to it.

"I'll practice in between visits," he promised earnestly.

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magnetic_lord
2018-11-15 07:00 pm UTC (link)

He got a look for the getting to know Erik comment but he let it pass. It was something that Raven or Charles would say which meant there probably wasn't a good way to argue it without it being a real argument. Things like that just took too much emotional energy right now.

"You might decide you don't like the game eventually. It isn't for everyone." Erik knew some people who were very avid about the game in the beginning but lost interest in it after they played for a little while. He didn't think that would be the case for Hiccup but he might be wrong about him.

"There is a philosopher that you should read sometime. He wrote on winning battles through knowing yourself and others."

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itwasallme
2018-11-20 06:39 am UTC (link)

His comment certainly landed as well as expected, but Hiccup took it in stride. He pushed, but always tried to do so in a slow, constructive manner without alienating the other man. He certainly didn't want to lose his friend over something avoidable.

"I could understand that," Hiccup replied, although he hoped that wouldn't be the case for him. He could tell this game meant a lot to Erik, so if they couldn't find common ground in this game, what else might there be for them? With so much riding on it, Hiccup would certainly give it his all.

"Which philosopher is that?" he asked, genuinely curious. He knew he could go to the library to find a copy of the text he was speaking of.

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magnetic_lord
2018-11-22 07:00 pm UTC (link)

It was a way of offering advice without having to be too direct about offering advice. Hiccup said he was defending their home and dealing with conflict. This was something that could be applied to that as well as his chess game.

"His name is Sun Tzu, the book is called the Art of War." He moved a piece that put him in position to take Hiccup's king in a few moves. He'd been moving in a way that might have seemed aimless but there had been a larger plan behind it of course.

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itwasallme
2018-11-25 07:57 am UTC (link)

Hiccup was slightly distracted from the game so that he could memorize the philosopher's name and his work. "I'll ask at the library for it," he replied and then turned his attention back to the game. He didn't understand the pattern for Erik's play, was too focused on how to continue his forward progress toward the other man's side of the board as opposed to defending his key pieces.

He moved to take a bishop and looked up with a bright grin, assuming he'd done something right when in reality, he left himself dangerously open to attack in another round of moves. Hiccup was a quick study though and for as much as he wanted Erik's approval, he knew the chances of him winning this game were nonexistent. This was a way for him to wet his feet, so to speak.

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magnetic_lord
2018-11-26 01:26 am UTC (link)

Erik was sticking to more traditional game moves to see how Hiccup reacted to it. He wouldn't win any matches for a long time but at the same time even while he was making very elementary moves there were a few moves that showed some interesting potential and there was a hint of a smile on his face.

"Checkmate." It only took a few move moves and he knocked the king over with a tap of his finger. "You are getting it."

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itwasallme
2018-11-26 04:26 am UTC (link)

Hiccup wasn’t very surprised that he lost soundly to Erik, but he was pleased with how the game had gone. He was definitely looking forward to playing more rounds with the other man.

It would have to wait for another day though, as he had errands that he needed to do before the sun set. “Thank you for teaching me. I’m looking forward to when we can play again.” It was very likely that he would stop by before Sunday for a game, but if he asked and Erik said no, he wouldn’t. And so he didn’t ask, just planned on it anyway.

[ooc: and wrap!]

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