Games of War

[Nebula Arisen]

Characters: All Staff characters welcome!
Prompt: On the eve of Utopia's first big day, Marco, the head of maintenance, has decided to host a large card game for Utopia's staff! How badly well can this go?!  

[Beyond The Time]

ＭＡＲＣＯ ↯ ＲＩＶＥＲＡ
ＨＥＡＤ ＯＦ ＭＡＩＮＴＥＮＡＮＣＥ


It was nighttime, and if they were lucky all of the royals had followed the rules of curfew and gone the ******** to sleep. Marco was certainly hoping so, anyways. Or at least that, come sunrise, there were not any major reconstruction efforts he'd have to begin. Being the head of maintenance for this school had already sounded like a daunting task when he was offered the position, but experiencing it for himself had been another thing entirely. Classes hadn't even properly begun yet and there were already things that needed fixing. Even worse was that there so far appeared to be at least one suspect in particular that always seemed to be at the scene of the crime. The kid never seemed to be at fault per se, but did always find himself in some sort of trouble. Marco tried to recall the boy's name...Richy? No, that didn't seem right, but Marco didn't care enough to ponder any further. At least there weren't any major disasters. The students seemed well-adjusted enough to at least keep the structural integrity of the place intact, and he hoped that would continue as school began proper.

After all, there were much more important things for him to work on tonight. Since he'd started working at the school, he noticed something strange. He got along with his fellow maintenance staff quite well, but with the others it was more of an enigma. It was almost as though they barely knew each other, which he thought strange. When would glance upon them in the hallways without saying a word he'd look much less resentful than he would at the various disaster sites he'd dealt with so far, wasn't that enough of a sign he thought adequately enough about them?

So he decided to try something he rarely gives himself time for: socialing. Socialing? No...socializing. That was it. Well probably, anyways.

The plan was a simple one. All throughout his years growing up, there was one thing that pulled the Rivera family together even at the worst of times. One thing that got them to come together and cherish each other's company: an intense, competitive and all-consuming game night. Tests of intelligence and willpower far beyond any broken doorknob or broken Richy. Marco used to be an excellent dealer as a younger man, and always felt quite honored whenever he got the chance to do it, but since the accident it hadn't been easy. He would have to rely on someone else for that, but he hoped that in itself could serve as a bonding exercise. And if not, he'd be able to sus out any potentially banned persons from the next event should he notice any tricks.

On that note, deciding upon what game to start boiled down to what would be able to serve as a learning experience for everyone while also being easy enough for newcomers. It'd have to be something engaging enough for the wide cast of characters that made up the workers here, but also be easy enough for newcomers to get a hang of things quickly. He ruminated on it for quite a bit, but one in particular kept coming back to his mind. One he finalized his decision, the rest of prep came down to organizing a group. Asking for a few favors, he got word around to the various workers regarding details of the event. Only some of the teachers and a few department heads showed up, along with some others, but that was enough. After waiting a little bit to see if anyone else would show, he decided it was time to begin.

"Ahem. If I can have everyone's attention,", he began, clinking his wine glass with a metal finger to bring the focus on him. He'd made arrangements for food and drink, helping out with some of the prep work itself. He liked being involved in all parts of the process, and it was a nice change of pace from his usual work.

"I've gathered you all here today for something very important. If we are to...'care' for these students or whatever, we're going to have to become a lean, mean staffing machine. A well-oiled unit. Unbreakable, words like that. "

Marco placed his card deck on the table. While it was just a seemingly ordinary card deck, and he doubted anyone else could understand, he felt its importance weigh it down. The gentle sound it made on contact was a declaration in his mind, a sign that the battle was soon to begin. The bespectacled gentleman eyed it for a moment, memories of his youth flooding back to him. The good times, the horrible ones. He couldn't shake the feeling that there might be horrible times here too, but if they could also have moments like this...then maybe it would all be worth it.

Looking back up at his co-workers, Marco continued his opening announcement.

"The game is simple: in Uilum we call it 'cheat'. It begins as follows..."

There was a tenderness to his voice as he explained the game, an earnest quality that was rare to be so apparent aside from when he spent time with his wife. Just slightly above monotone, but earnest all the same. It wasn't that he was trying to hide that side of him per se, moreso that these were the few types of situations where it came out naturally. A genuine sense of excitement, a glow, was abundantly clear the more he got into the mechanics of the game. He wanted to provoke a sense of comradery within these people of varied backgrounds, make them feel at home as best as he could in the best way he knew how. That being said, he knew he'd also have to set some house rules as well.

"All that being said, I suppose I should give a couple of warnings. First off, any hard feelings developed in game night stay in game night. We leave them here and don't resume them until the next venue. The epic highs and lows of organized recreational events are nothing to scoff at, but they shouldn't seep into our day-to-day interactions. Second thing, kind of awkward thing but...I'll need someone to cut for me. The not-so-good arm isn't the best when it comes to finer stuff like that. Any takers?"

As the words left his mouth, Marco couldn't help but feel a little silly. He'd gone through all the effort of getting everyone together, but still couldn't fully facilitate such an activity on his own. He was almost certain that someone would have something to say about it, what with all the acclaimed scholars and whatever the ******** Izolda was all in the room with him. Still, he clung to the hope that they could all have fun tonight. There'd probably be some tearing people apart as well, but that was part of the game night experience. But as long as that didn't get to be literal, he felt like he could find a way to be happy.

Location: Staff Lounge Room
Company: Co-workers
OOC:

 

[JunkoxxxTakami]

tab Khai had arrived with Ismene earlier and once they got the food and drink they wanted he'd suggested sitting. As he sat down on the couch, he had draped an arm around her shoulders. Usually in front of the students the two of them were extremely serious, sticking to the roles assigned to them. When he had gotten the invitation to come to this he wasn't sure what to expect but he was certainly curious to see what the night could bring. He wrapped his hand around his wife's shoulder for a moment before he looked around the room. There weren't that many people here, although he recognized the man who set it up as from maintenance, and there was at least two people who worked in the health office. As well as a few of his other fellow teachers. It was a shame most didn't come, but if they didn't want to make the effort, that was their loss, not his. His green eyes scanned the room and when the clinking sound of metal on glass rang through the room he looked up at the man who spoke. He tilted his head slightly as he ran his fingers softly up and down Ismene's shoulder and listened intently. He smiled and a light chuckle escaped him at his ending words. " Something like that..." he said to himself, echoing Marco's words before he continued to listen to the rules of the game.

tab His mind wandered some, he and Ismene were from Phronese, and he found himself wondering what the kingdom of Uilum held in regard to games other than this. He had read quite a bit on them, and with his power he knew all that could be read in books. He certainly had no issues learning more about the culture, and about all of the teachers present for that matter. His gaze moved from Marco to the cards on the table, as he softly tapped his finger against the glass in his hand. He spoke of warnings and the man couldn't help his soft smile as he took a drink of the wine of choice that Ismene got him. He leaned into her slightly, lowering his voice as Marco finished talking. " That sounds like fun, you want to join in?" he asked her, and as he awaited his response a voice from across the room chimed up. Khai lifted his head and looked over in the direction of where it came from. It seemed to have come from the nurse, who then in turn introduced herself.

tab " I can do that for you Marco!"

tab She seemed excitable enough, her voice bringing back some memories of the war for some reason however. He pushed the thought out of his mind as his hand continued to trace up and down his wife's arm. He felt like this could be fun to do, and if it meant getting to know people a bit better, or even making some potential friendships along the way he was all for it. He cleared his throat and spoke loud enough to be heard this time. " That all sounds like fun, perhaps we'll learn a thing or two about ourselves tonight." he sounded more excited than he really was, but he never was a card game kind of person. For the sake of getting to know other people however, he'd give it a go. He could see that a few people were a little more transparent than others, but then there were those he struggled to get a good read on. Either way, this would be interesting.

Where they are: Teachers Lounge
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Who they are with: Coworkers
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What they're feeling: Curious
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What they're wearing: This with a pair of black shoes.
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OUT of CHARACTER:

 

[JunkoxxxTakami]

tab Gwyn had a long day setting up, stressing, and when she had gotten Marco’s invitation to a game night she was more than excited. She was excited to Manon, and Marco, although she didn’t have much communication with him. She worked hand-in-hand with his spouse, so she figured she would attend. She had showed up early to help make sure everything was set up, then lurked on the sidelines, saying hello to people as they came in. She was preoccupied when Marco started to speak, her eyes wandering to the wall as she spaced out a little bit. Her mind running to the events of the day. She still didn’t understand everything but she was glad that everyone turned out okay despite the chaos of it all.

tab Her brown eyes moved back to Marco as he spoke and she remained leaned against the wall as he spoke of leading the students and she couldn’t help her smile as she kept quiet. He had his momentary quiet as he set the deck down and she cocked her head to the side waiting, her eyes shifting over the others in the room. She noticed the couple on the couch, she hadn’t spoken to either of them but knew they were teachers. She perked up as the rules were discussed, and then he made the request to have someone cut the deck for him. She raised her hand and a wide smile spread across her face. ” I can do that for you, Marco!” as she lowered her arm she spoke again. ” Should we do introductions or just kind of roll with it?” she asked, crossing her arms gently across her chest.

tab Her eyes shifted to the man sitting on the couch and she nodded in agreement. The rules of the game sounded quite fun, it would be interesting to see who had a poker face. She had a feeling that there would be a few people who might be good at it, unfortunately she would not be one of them. She was very expressive with her face, and it was part of the reason she worked with people but it wasn’t a good trait to have if one should try to lie. She wasn’t always like this, but it had slowly happened after the war, after years of having to be stone faced and she was now allowed to be honest with herself and others. It was almost refreshing to her.

tab it was clear the woman was very excited about the night, and what was to come.

COMPANY: Coworkers XXXLOCATION: Staff Lounge Room
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FEELINGS: Excited XXX XXXWEARING: This, with black ankle boots.
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OOC: