InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I always wanted a peg leg."

Dr. Spencer Reid (thisiscalm) wrote in marinanova,
@ 2013-08-23 21:00:00

Entry tags:

:mingle, calliope-caliborn, data, euphemia li britannia, helix wamtani, kitty pryde (aoa), klara guildsen, lelouch vi britannia, lyle dylandy, spencer reid

233 // video/action // open
[ Although the other day was far from as traumatic as the last inmate influx, it left Reid a little pensive. Made him think of extreme aggressors, of 50 000 chess games, of expecting different outcomes in a game that would only end with check mate, but unlike a few years ago this is not a depressive thought. Instead, it makes him crave interaction and so he hits up the network. ]

Hey, guys. I was wondering... there's quite a few of us here that know how to play chess. How would you feel about an impromptu tournament? Nothing fancy, just... I don't know, anyone who's interested could drop by the library and we'll set up a few games. Bring a board, if you got one.

[ A bit of an awkward smile and then he cuts the feed. ]

(( OOC: MINGLE-STYLE! Email notifs are off, so thread to your hearts content! Reid will have a video response thread here and an action response thread here for your Reid-y needs! ))

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	ophiuchus 2013-08-25 11:38 pm UTC (link)
	Of course. [She sucks in air, and buys some time on her next move by rambling.] Given an unknown number of existing universes, and a nearly-infinite number of variations on each universe based upon alternate timelines, some are bound not to have chess. [Calliope does not abandon her strategy so much as she adapts it, hoping to catch him off-guard.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zugzwanger 2013-08-25 11:47 pm UTC (link)
	[An interesting move. There's the slightest of beats before he makes his move.] As well as alternate versions of ourselves? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ophiuchus 2013-08-25 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	Absolutely! [She is glad to have at least staved him off. It gives her back a tiny bit of confidence, and she continues to play through.] But not infinitely. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zugzwanger 2013-08-26 03:02 am UTC (link)
	[And he shortly reverts to his near-instant play, leading with his king, as he tends to.] I'm told there was a version of myself here before I arrived. I don't quite know what to make of that. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ophiuchus
2013-08-26 03:08 am UTC (link)

[Calliope stares at the king piece. It's an incredibly unorthodox strategy—even Caliborn rarely tries forcing it to do something other than cower in the back.]

[At least she knows it's not secretly a queen.]

I suppose that it may be that principle in action. Rarely do we meet our paradox selves, but it makes sense that a place like this would allow us to graze past our others.

[She moves again, having a hard time planning ahead in light of his king move. She suspects it's bait—she won't go for it immediately.]

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	zugzwanger 2013-08-27 12:57 am UTC (link)
	I see... [His next move now begins the forward march of a pawn seeking promotion.] I sometimes wonder what my world could have done if they developed into space instead of weapons of war. The more I speak to people from other places, the question kind of grows for me. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ophiuchus
2013-08-27 10:41 pm UTC (link)

[She is on the defensive, and she knows it. But she does her best to block the pawn, knowing the havoc a second queen would wreak on her army.]

[Still, his chatter is comforting and familiar, not unlike her own early moments of wondering about paradox space.]

It's certainly understandable.

I'm not exactly the expert, but other versions of Earth did take that approach. Unfortunately, in many of those cases, I understand that the weapons would still come in handy.

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	zugzwanger 2013-08-27 11:54 pm UTC (link)
	I suppose there are some things about humankind that are consistent. [Frowns, but sends another ~~distraction~~ pawn marching forward] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ophiuchus 2013-08-29 11:18 pm UTC (link)
	[Calliope's counteroffensive begins to strengthen as she solidifies her pieces in a better formation. But she knows that she shouldn't focus all her forces here.] It's not entirely humanity's fault. Plenty of other aliens are even more cruel and violent. Really, in the scheme of things, humans seem to be well-balanced. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zugzwanger 2013-08-31 02:22 am UTC (link)
	[But it's becoming apparent that any advancing pawns are merely a distraction, steering her more critical pieces to where they can get picked off by knights and rooks.] That's reassuring, I suppose. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ophiuchus 2013-08-31 10:54 am UTC (link)
	[ughhhhh, goes Callie's brain.] [She can't believe she fell for that, and then she can. The initial assault was definitely worth defending, but now...] [At least she picks up on it quickly enough to change strategies.] It should be! I may be a biased outsider, but humanity is quite lovely. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zugzwanger 2013-09-01 05:24 am UTC (link)
	[Oh look. You got one of his. How fortunate for you.] Was the other, more 'unbalanced' species you were referring to those grey individuals with the horns? [They were really the only other option, other than that blue kid.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

trolls: the tag.

ophiuchus
2013-09-02 02:34 am UTC (link)

[Hardly a victory—not until she snags the royals, at least.]

Trolls! And the answer is both yes and no.

Much like what I was describing with Earths, the trolls have experienced a similar phenomenon.

Consider two versions of the same world: Beforus and Alternia.

Beforus is populated by a truly peaceful race among whom war is non-existent. The longer-lived among them care for those with the shorter lifespans, and the only true strife is the sort that comes with interpersonal relationships.

Whereas Alternia saw millennia of brutal violence, the systematic culling of those deemed unfit, and the complete subjugation of its lower castes. War is not just in existence: it is what drives the government, in a brutal colonial march outward into space.

They are of the same species, but under drastically different circumstances. In one world, the Empress is not unlike a human "mother" figure—in another, she is the most brutal and cut-throat troll to be found.

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