felinguistic | (no subject)

[ but what if he drops the alcohol? ]

... [ shiraishi makes a distracted noise in the back of his throat, still looking at the cards. after a moment, he moves one from a line at the top onto one of the rows. ]

They're pretty pointless, and a waste of time unless you wanted to make counting cards your career.

[Been there done that Taako's to blame.]

Not a fan of numbers? [He's leaning over...and picking up a card to move it. Solitaire isn't a team sport, but it's fine. He's helping.] I've noticed that things like this help with critical thinking. [A pause.] ...or maybe I'm just talking out of my ass.

[ oh that scans ]

Numbers are fine if they’re important. [ he taps a finger against the table and moves another few cards around. there are only a few left so it shouldn’t take long. ]

Remembering what isn’t important is a waste of time and brain power. [ ... or perhaps it was. whatever he’s thinking, there isn’t too much heat or weight to the words. ] But here we have plenty to waste. It’s better than sitting around all day.

[He'll sit back and watch despite the fact he's tempted to rip the cards out of his hands and do it himself. It's an itch to scratch, but he's behaving.]

Even if it doesn't seem important at the moment, everything's relevant eventually. [But this is just how conversations with Shiraishi go.] ...if you're that bored, I can teach you a new game? I have some things I want to run by you anyway if you're interested.

[ hands off the cards, jumpy. ]

Unless someone's going to papercut someone to death, these ones might not be so significant. We'll see. Maybe someone will get creative. [ he lays down a few more cards, annnnnd-- done. ]

...

Alright. [ hfff ]

[He'll swipe up the cards after a moment and begin shuffling.] Ever play Blackjack? Or even heard of it?

[His hands move quickly to shuffle.] Or we can play a game that calls for a sharp eye. Your choice.

[ hm. ] It's in the rule books here. [ so. no.

he lifts his hands with a shrug. ] I've played a couple by now. I'm not against learning more.

[Sharp eyes it is.]

It's a game called Snap. I haven't played it in years, so I might be rusty, but it's pretty easy. Two piles of cards, face down. Each person flips a card and puts them in a pile in the middle. If the card flipped matches the number of the card below it, you call "snap" to prevent having to pick up the pile. If you end up with the most cards, you lose the game.

Easy, right?

....

That’s it?

It seems overly simple. The other card games listed a lot more rules than that. [ is this simple shit fun to you?? ]

Just play it and let's see how you do. [The real trick of it is to distract your opponent which is what Junpei's going to do. He divides the deck into two piles and shuffles his half, laying down a card. It's a five of hearts.]

So...have you checked into the gift shop yet?

[ Hmmmm. Shiraishi keeps his eyes on the cards being laid down, and watches Junpei before plucking a card of his own to lay down. Two of clubs. ]

I've given it a glance over. There's an interesting selection of items there, isn't there?

[He flips a three of diamonds.]

I haven't actually been. [First and foremost.] I've been trying to save up before I bother, but...I've heard some things.

Hmmm.

[ He flips a three of!!!! Hearts. Close. But not quite there. ]

Ah, so you've been saving. I see. [ someone's been banging. ] But yes. There's a... unique selection of things that are very fitting for this place.

[Hmm, indeed. A six of spades.]

May as well. [Someone's been banging but he's not offering more than that.] Anything useful? I suppose that depends on what you would consider unique. They haven't been subtle so far, so I'll admit I'm curious.

[ Ten of diamonds. binch they'll never snap. ]

Are you talking about the gem encrusted sex toy?

[Sometimes you manipulate a deck to see how long before someone catches on. Or in this case, sometimes the players are both stupid and roll with stuff. Junpei, on the other hand, simply nods along.]

Yeah. It's...pretty expensive, right? What would make it so special? [If it's gemmed, that probably sounds right.]

[ or they're just playing the game as some kind of mind game dominance thing.

no they just dumb. ]

All the gems, I suspect. It's not made for comfort.

So a display trophy. Or a weapon...is it heavy? [Did Shiraishi get to touch the gem-dick?

They're playing a game and he's asking about this.]

It's six coins, I've not been that eager to sleep around.

[ he's just

out here. saying this stuff. ]

No? [That surprises him absolutely none.] I'd think you'd be interested enough to at least earn more tokens than one a week.

Oh, I'm fine earning the tokens. But six in one go, considering there are other more interesting and useful things I might want to purchase first, is a bit much.

[He seems to be working a thought out in his head, still laying down cards as he goes.]

Like what? If you think that's safe to disclose. Don't worry, I won't judge. [A small grin. It's not exactly friendly, but it's civil.]

You're not curious what's on some of those untitled items? Like the disc? I'm sure it'll just end up being pornographic in nature, but what if it isn't...?

[ i'm glad they're bonding over put-cards-on-top-of-each-other. ]

Of course I'm curious, but how do you suggest we play those discs without a screen or a player? Unless you know something I don't?

[They're doing their best and he's having a good time learning shit.] You think they could be clues of some kind?

There are more floors here we haven't reached. If they're selling discs in the shop, I'd tentatively assume there's a way to play them here as well.

We have recordings of the previous groups. Maybe some were visual as well as audio.