knifemonopoly | IC inbox

[Ryou opens his eyes, gives Atem a quick glance that's probably way more fond than it needs to be, and lasts a couple seconds longer than necessary at that...and then he turns his attention to his cup.

He lifts it up, glancing at his own roll. 2-2-5-6-5. It's not terrible! And now that they've both had a look, he bumps elbows with Atem gently to let him know that he's finished looking.]

You can call first.

[A smile. Go on, Atem. Let him see your play!]

[Atem doesn't look at Ryou, but that early pause --

He's looking, isn't he.

That's. He is astonished to find just how much he doesn't mind being looked at. Something about it makes him feel very...real? Very present? Of course Atem knows he still exists when his eyes are closed, he couldn't play this game if he didn't have object permanence -- but, as a vampire again, with silence where a heartbeat should be...it's strangely comforting to know for sure that someone on the outside is looking at him and confirming that Atem is here.

He spent a long time not being known! Being seen, specifically as himself, by someone else, who definitely likes looking at him in a romantic way, sends a curl of giddy warmth up through his dead heart.

His elbow's nudged, and he opens his eyes. Right, he was going to make a call...]

Three twos.

[He crosses his legs, folds his arms, and leans back against the couch....but in a way that shifts them closer, so their sides are touching here and there. It's not intended to be a distraction! It's not a play. Atem's just feeling affectionate, and recent events have him less hesitant about expressing that.]

[From that bid, Ryou decides to accept that Atem probably has at least one two under his cup. More importantly however, is the fact that Atem's adjustments had brought him closer to Ryou.

Ryou can't help a smile, even as he gives Atem a sidelong glance. This is comfortable and he likes it...but they are playing a game, aren't they? So he'll hold off from letting himself get too caught in the idea of, say, holding Atem's hand.

For now. And with great difficulty.]

Surely we can do better. Four twos.

[Ryou doesn't betray anything. Actually, he looks as innocent as ever while upping the bid just the barest bit. Maybe he's confident. Maybe he's bluffing? Who knows! He's got big glowing innocent eyes. Have fun with that.]

[He doesn't think Ryou would bluff too hard on the first turn. Probably has either a two and a one or two twos under there. That leaves three dice completely unaccounted-for...]

Oh? Then, three threes.

[This, combined with his last call, might suggest that he's got at least one ace under there...but it's still early in the game, still the first round. It's a bluff, but he doesn't expect to be called on it right away, and it's going to suggest that most of his dice are low.

Atem's not trying to end the game with a victory as fast as possible...this is for fun, with a very gentle wager. Slowly escalating bets mean he'll get more clues to what Ryou rolled.]

Edited 2021-09-14 01:29 (UTC)

[Well...that puts Ryou in a bit of a pinch, doesn't it? He doesn't have any threes, so his only course of action, logically, is to assume that Atem may have at least one two, one three, and maybe a single one. But he can't account for whether a second or third of the former two numbers is under the cup.

Or...maybe Atem's bidding off of Ryou's roll too. If he is, then he's sorely mistaken to do so, but Ryou has no choice but to take a bid based on a hunch here too.

...Still. For safety's sake, he makes a calculated move and hope it doesn't blow up in his face.]

Three fives.

[He glances blandly at Atem. There's a smile, but it's...different this time. Smaller, but somehow a bit more calculated.]

[Atem's brows quirk over his eyes as he tries to read that expression. Does that guess mean Ryou's got 1-2-5-5-5 or 2-2-5-5-5, or even 1-1-2-2-5...with ones wild, it's much harder to narrow down what your opponent's got! If you're lucky to roll enough ones, it's easy to fool one another...and that's assuming Ryou's making safe bets only.

...

With that expression, Atem's not certain he is.

Atem's heart doesn't go faster, since it can't anymore, but he feels that hollow ache he gets when he can tell his brain wants more blood, when adrenaline gets sluggishly kicked through his system.

This late in the game, if Atem makes a daring and implausible bluff, Ryou will call it out. That's why feeling it out with early bets is so important...should he bank on Ryou having a six under his cup? Or a one?

...Ryou's bets haven't been particularly cowardly. He'll roll the dice on it. And on the little bit of calculation in that smile--]

Three sixes.

[Uh oh.

One of them's in trouble, and Ryou's not sure which. He can't bid any higher without running a heavy risk of being called a liar, not with his own dice...but if he doesn't, then he'll have to call out Atem for that bid instead. He's not entirely certain that Atem doesn't have enough sixes to cover his bet. He may have a one, and Ryou has a six. But the odds of Atem also having a six...it's not a zero percentage.]

...Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but that's a rich bet.

I don't believe you.

[Ryou reaches out and takes his own cup, revealing his single six along with all the other irrelevant dice. Please don't have a six please don't have a six...]

[Heh...! Even Atem doesn't know for sure how this reveal's going to turn out. He reaches for his own cup when Ryou calls him out, but his eyes are on Ryou's dice when he lifts it, and --

Oh.

It's clear from the look on Atem's face that that roll wasn't what he expected to see. He thought Ryou had at least one one, and that was why he made those gutsy moves....but actually, they were bluffs and guesses....good ones, too.

Oh, shit. He won, but entirely by accident -- through luck. Which isn't unusual, his luck is pretty good, but he hadn't guessed that the last die in Ryou's cup was a six.]

Heh...! You played a more daring game than I thought!

[This is a compliment. For guts, and for fooling him for the whole round. A grin pulls across Atem's face, and there's a light in his eyes -- he's going to have to take this seriously.

But, like...it's the first time he's felt this way without feeling like he's in danger, or even like he's got an ulterior motive, an important goal....

Ryou's just a good player. Harder to predict than Atem imagined. And that's exciting.]

[Ryou isn't really mad he lost, just a bit disappointed to see the six there. The odds weren't that great. But Atem's words are seen for what they are--a compliment--and he can't be disappointed long.

He gives a big toothy grin, because he's proud that he'd bluffed his way through, and that he'd figured out Atem had a one! Maybe he set himself up though, going aces wild here. Oh well...maybe he'll roll a couple of ones himself next time. He can only hope.]

Ah...yes, well! I wanted to try and draw it out, if we could. You made some risky bets yourself, with the twos, and even the sixes. The win was well deserved, and that means I owe you a wish, doesn't it?

Would you like to collect now, or later?

[That sounds a little coy, but Ryou's still pretty chuffed about taking Atem by surprise at all, so it's not intentional.]

[God. Atem's brain has gone truly, truly stupid. Not only is the big proud grin cute enough to fill the space between Atem's ears with static, but he's thrilled. The fact that he's won a wish isn't as exciting as the fact that he'd been surprised? This wouldn't have been half as fun if Atem had won by predicting Ryou perfectly, by ending it quick. Playing games...just for fun...is great, actually? So, he tells the truth:]

I'll need a minute to think about it. I had something in mind before, but right now...what I want most is to play another round.

[There's other things he wants, but not enough to derail the game, there's good energy right now. Atem wants to see what Ryou's got.]

[Ryou could have gone either way, to grant a wish or play some more. This...is something he's missed.

Being able to forget everything around you except the person on the other side of the table and trying to pull a victory out of a situation based entirely in chance...that's exactly what Ryou likes. True, his situations are much more convoluted than five dice in an upturned cup, but there was a reason why he didn't always DM games--sometimes you wanted to play the person on the other side of the rules, and see if you could make them bend to your will. It takes more than a little luck.

Much like this situation.

He laughs, thoroughly amused all the same, and nods in affirmation. Yes. They're going to go again. And this time, Ryou's going to work harder to stay completely passive. Atem won't read this face.

Maybe he can win. He was just a single move away from it before.]

H-heh, alright. Back to the game then.

[He scoops his dice into his cup, covers the top, and gives them a shake.]

I'll be trying my hardest to win, you know.

[The subtext, he thinks, is obvious enough.

Stay sharp. Your trust will not be rewarded.]

[He mirrors the movement, nearly at the same time. There'd be a little split-screen effect here.]

Of course.

[Once they've closed their eyes for each other, all bets are off, and the game's on. No favors, no holding back, because to do anything else would show a lack of respect.

The cup gets turned over onto the table, and Atem shuts his eyes.]

You can look and call first, this time.

[Down smacks the cup. When given his opportunity, Ryou does take a quick glance under it. Hm. Well, that sure is a roll. He's pretty sure he can work with it! Nodding to himself, he settles the cup back down.

While Atem's still got his eyes closed, Ryou can't resist a quick little kiss to his cheek. Then he murmurs his bet into Atem's ear.]

Two threes.

Your turn.

[Ryou's enjoying this quite a lot, and even after he straightens and closes his own eyes so that Atem can check his roll, the excitement is more than visible in the way his pointed ears wiggle in excitement.]

Edited 2021-09-14 04:24 (UTC)

[He doesn't open his eyes when his cheek gets kissed -- that's fine, that's sweet -- but they do open when Ryou decides to murmur his bet into Atem's ear. He startles -- not much, but that's something else he wasn't expecting! He was fully into the swing of game, but that brings a dull, dead-blood flush to the skin under his eyes, across his cheeks.

Is that how Ryou's going to play? No mercy at all? Atem would have kept it professional, thank you, but now that's out, so he checks his own dice -- huh -- and puts a hand on Ryou's knee as he twists around to do it right back, the cadence of the announcement a smidge slower than Ryou's had been.]

Two fours.

[He's being very familiar.]

[Whoa, now. Hey...!! Ryou didn't intend for his little play to be taken so seriously, but it seems Atem's raising a different sort of bet along with the dice. The shade's eyes fly open and immediately he flushes darkly.

What...what did he say? Two...fours? Ha. Okay. Alright that's fair.

Ugh, what the hell did Ryou roll? He has to think about it for a second, and in the meantime he looks as if he's bitten off more than he can chew. Hard to keep up a poker face when you're flustered. After a long moment, he seems to compose himself, though there's a darker shade of gray still lingering at his cheeks.]

F-Four fours.

[Should he...do something else? The game is important...to both of them. He wants to win!

...Just as much as he wants to lean against Atem.]

[Oh, no. They might have to mulligan this round, Atem thinks, a grin creeping at his mouth -- it's already gone a little sideways, and he promised he'd show no mercy.

So, Atem leans over again, and plants a kiss on Ryou's cheek, warm and affectionate.]

Too bold. I call it a lie.

[Oh.

He'd blown it, hadn't he? Now the flush is back in full force, and it's not just from the kiss. He had wanted to be serious here, to win the game...and yet he'd miscalculated and probably thrown it all away just over a touch and a soft whisper.

It's embarrassing. He's the worst gamer, clearly.

He lifts his cup, revealing his roll; 4-4-3-4-5.

If Atem was bluffing at all on those fours, and didn't have one...then Ryou lost. Well-deserved, probably.]

I-I'm sorry, i wasn't trying to cheat.

[Atem doesn't seem bothered. He's laughing a little, as he pulls his own cup away -- an unlikely and unusual roll. He had opened with a damn dirty lie.]

I meant to work my way up, to save the truth for the end...but we both got distracted. Sorry I tricked you!

[Ah, Ryou's embarrassed now...Atem went for the throat, but did he go too hard?]

If you like, we can do that one over, since I didn't hold myself back, either.

[He gently bumps Ryou's elbow with his own. He's just as guilty of "cheating," if "a complete inability to behave himself" is cheating.]

N-no! No, you can't just...throw it away because I made a mistake...

[Ryou seems adamant about it. Maybe he'd screwed up, and maybe he was a bad gamer, but not bad enough to pretend it didn't count. Even on his birthday!]

You won, I made a mistake. If I didn't want you to do that, then I shouldn't have gotten cheeky in the first place, right? So...you win. I won't accept anything else.

We can try again. I'm going to win! I promise you that!

[He drops his dice in the cup again. Losing only makes him more determined, and you can bet he's not going to do any dumb moves this time. This is serious business. He has to prove to Atem that he can be an objective gamer, someone who can win fairly!]

[...all right, he can respect that. Getting cheeky is tempting, but...Ryou's pride is on the line. So, Atem nods! He picks up his own game pieces.]

Again, then. I'll go first.

[Shake the dice up, put' em on the table, wait for Ryou's eyes to go dark...]

Two twos.

[From a respectful distance.]

[Ryou is glad that Atem's going along with it. Once he's rolled his own set and complied with the rules to allow Atem to see his roll...he then opens his eyes, waits for Atem's to close...and peers under his cup.

There's a look of determination on his face as he speaks. He's going to do this right, and if he's lucky, he'll come away the winner, which is more than most people can say.]

One three.

[Perhaps a strange move, to raise the face but lower the posited number of dice. But it is a valid move. Either a very sassy move, or a very safe one. Atem can be the judge there.]

[It's true. If it's a lie, it's impossible to tell this early. A guess like that on his first turn doesn't tell Atem much...the skeptical, considering look on his face says as much.

The challenging look is back, too. Even if the last round was a bit of a disaster, Atem still won't go easy on him.

This bet might very easily be a lie; the same trick Atem just tried.]

Two threes.

[There's a give and take to this. This round is more like the first one, where they're feeling each other out...paced slower, neither one of them getting flustered and jumping the gun. It's...it's a little bit like making out, actually, he's realizing, now that he's done both...]

Edited 2021-09-14 12:14 (UTC)

[The gaze he gets doesn't fluster Ryou, not this time. He's very serious about this. If he loses now...at the very least he'll have redeemed himself in some way.

It probably shouldn't matter this much to him, but it does. As a result...he makes a strange play once again.]

One five.

[He stares at Atem, gauging his response. Ryou doesn't quite trust the two threes, but without more information, he can't play so loosely. The way they're playing, it's already dangerous. No one knows what plays are real. Just what plays are plausible.]

[The bet's going to go up sooner or later...Ryou's giving away almost nothing...so, Atem makes a bolder move.]

Three fives.

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 * PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1>** If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.

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cw undeath body horror and unreality but like, in a sweet way

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