And it's the stars, the stars that lie to you.

[neverheardofhim]

[This week, Varric opted to take a page from Vanille’s book. Gathering everyone together after the roller-coaster that the first trial had been proved to be somewhat cathartic for himself. He hoped that it would prove to do the same for the others.]

[He wasn’t alone, of course, having found himself blessed with the most ragtag team of chefs and party-planners. He might have had words for and thoughts on Elda and Kimbley, Mikazuki was welcome company, and he wasn’t about to turn away potential allies, even in a fight as simple as cooking dinner.]

[Once everyone’s set to a task, baking a cake, brewing tea, or stirring stew (the only task Varric could think to assign Elda to), Varric excused himself to his room. His first task was writing up cards, each personally titled and signed by Varric.]

Food in the Library. 5 p.m. Don’t spend the night alone.

[Each note was slid under a door and accompanied by a single rap on the wood.]

[With his tasks completed, Varric returned to the kitchen to put out any potential fires and, with luck, set the food out. A table in the library would be adorned with plenty of tea, cake, pancakes courtesy of Viktor, and stew thanks mostly to Varric (sorry, Elda).]

Comments

[feistytrader]

[...This is the part where he says "nothing" and haggles for her presumably useless piece of plastic.

...

Or he would, if he were in the mood. Instead, he points to her game.]

Let me see that.

[matchbreaker]

Sure?

[ She hands him the disc-cartridge-whatever... ]

[feistytrader]

[Excellent.

He sits down next to Elda and pops the cartridge into his system, then turns it on; turns out that it's some old fashioned shoot the swarms game featuring your big ass god hand at the top of the screen.

He's content to play it in silence; this is the most exciting thing he's had the chance to do in a while, and hell if he isn't going to enjoy the break from... You know, thinking about tense stuff.]

[matchbreaker]

[ what the fuck is this witchcraft??? Elda doesn't know what a television is, let alone handheld game systems. She sits to watch him do this, but she's so? Confused? So are those levers and buttons or whatever controlling this??

Um????? ]

[feistytrader]

[Unfortunately, Silver dies fairly early because this is maybe the third video game he's played in his life. He hands the thing over to Elda when he does, however.]

Give it a try. You move with these, and shoot with this.

[He'll point to the controls and everything!]

[matchbreaker]

[ . . . ]

What was that?

[ That aid, she'll just... try to... play this?

Elda is much worse than him, all things considered, she's not sure what she's controlling, and actually thinks it might be some sort of like - she thought she was controlling the other flailing mortals... ]

[feistytrader]

...You're the big hand. You want to shoot all the little guys. Sometimes they drop stuff, and if you shoot that, you'll get power-ups.

[Man, and he thought he was bad.]

[matchbreaker]

I'm the big hand?

[ . . .

She touches the screen.

It's not a touch screen right??? ]

[feistytrader]

[It is not a touch screen, and Silver quickly gives up on explaining in favor of moving her hands to the buttons. Please don't scratch the screen with your nails.]

Have you played a video game before?

[matchbreaker]

What's a video game...?

[feistytrader]

[...GESTURES BROADLY AT THE VIDEO GAME SYSTEM.]

[matchbreaker]

So ... it's a game.

[ .... Okay, her fingers are on the buttons now?!

... BUTTON MASHING ]

[feistytrader]

Yeah, it's a game.

[...Well, that's... better than her scratching the screen.

Jeez.]

[matchbreaker]

[ Hahaha... OKAY...

This time she seems to be controlling it well! Or at least better! She scores up into the hundred thousands... ]

I think I get it now...?

[feistytrader]

[Oh hey, now she's got the hang of it--!]

Keep going.

[He wants to see her set a high score, okay-]

[matchbreaker]

[ Honestly, it'll take hr over three game overs to get a score as high as he got on the first time, and even that isn't as high as the pre-installed leaderboards on the game. But she's trying, and actually starting to comprehend how this works by about the second time!

HEHEH. ]

It's like you're beating up these punks!

[feistytrader]

It's not as exciting as taking someone's star, but it's still fun.

[matchbreaker]

[ Elda... hesitates there. First with confusion, and then with a clouded sadness from memory association. Finally, ] Isn't someone stealing a star what got fish girl so desperate?

[ She shoots this back, hatefully.

As she's still playing the game.

To deflect ]

[feistytrader]

[...



Well damn son he fucked up there didn't he-]

...I mean a star shaped thing with a face.

[Even when you aren't playing Mario Party, it ruins friendships-]

It's currency.

[matchbreaker]

Oh.

[ . . .

She hands the game back. His turn. She'll watch. ]

[feistytrader]

Thanks.

[He'll start playing, but he's a little distracted; he does decently enough anyway, but soon speaks up.]

...Are you doing okay? Everyone was pushing you pretty hard.

[matchbreaker]

I looked guilty.

[ She replies quickly, as if that dismissed everything.

She's watching him play btw ]

[feistytrader]

Just because there was a reason to ask you twenty questions doesn't mean that it sucked any less.

[matchbreaker]

Besides, how many times have I threatened your boy?

What's it matter to you?

[feistytrader]

...I mean, you've also threatened me.

[...]

And he's not my boy.