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[use_everything]

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[failureisntachoice]

I'm more into taking, but I suppose I can put in a request if needed.

[ Though the lack of real betting is disappointing. ]

[use_everything]

[The first few moves of the game are slow.. both defensive players in general...]

I'd ask what you considered worthy stakes, but I imagine I can guess.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She has no plans to move quickly, she wants to see what Aral does. It's easier to adjust her tactics if she has a profile of his strategies. Their other board game didn't exactly provide proper data with how haphazardly it was played. ]

I was going for money. But I might settle for free drinks at the cafe or you bringing me drinks all afternoon.

[use_everything]

Ah. So is the aim to be spoiled or just enjoying the demotion of one's opponent?

[failureisntachoice]

If you're not willing to bet money then yeah. I'd get a massage out of you too, but that'd be asking for too much.

[use_everything]

[The problem with games like this is that it just didn't have enough variables. They were all patterns, a bit like chess. There were only a certain amount of ways to open as there were to play out end game. The random variables and chaos were missing. In some ways, a clean thought exercise was refreshing.

He makes the first advance, cautious, probing.]

For that high of stakes, I'd want a fighting chance. Can you play it on a human level?

[failureisntachoice]

[ She makes a face at that. Could she play that stupidly? It might take a lot more software tweaking than she's comfortable with to even try. ]

I'm not sure. How human are we talking?

[use_everything]

Challenging, but not impossible. That's hard to quantify, really.

[failureisntachoice]

Hard to quantify and hard to do. It's require me screwing with my software and I don't know how to fix anything that might break.

[use_everything]

[He looks up from the game, frowning.]

Absolutely not, then. I would not have you harm yourself.

[failureisntachoice]

Wasn't planning on it. It's not as easy as shutting down a few processes when that's how your brain functions.

[use_everything]

That's.. good to know. I have some difficulty conceptualizing it, I confess.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She shrugs. ]

It's hard for me too since it's how I always think. Which means we should keep the bets low-stakes then.

[use_everything]

[He considers the board and the available avenues. It's bleak but possible.]

Fair, certainly. If I win, I get to make up the board rule for the next round.

[failureisntachoice]

Are we doing custom rules now? I thought we were playing a clean game, unlike the other set-up you had with Miles.

[use_everything]

There's no such thing as a clean game. But still, I can think of something else.

[failureisntachoice]

By 'clean' I meant one without any convoluted rules. I already wasted space memorizing the last set.

[use_everything]

[He opens a hand, palm up.]

Which were you thinking to set your stakes as?

[failureisntachoice]

If a good massage is off the table then drinks delivered to me an entire afternoon. Wearing that apron of yours from the cafe.

[use_everything]

A massage does tend to be particularly intimate. Hardly betting material.

... I do believe those around me have gotten more interest out of my employment than I have.

Very well, I accept, terms reversed if I win.

[failureisntachoice]

I don't count a shoulder massage to be that intimate, but fine.

This'll do. [ Particularly since she'd like this first round to figure out his go-to strategies for winning. ]

[use_everything]

Ah. You hadn't specified. Cordelia prefers- [And stops, and simply lets that go with a shake of his head. That hardly matters here.

The terms set, he puts quite a bit more concentration towards the game.]

[failureisntachoice]

I know what she prefers. [ It's more a mutter and a light tinge of red on her cheeks as she redoubles her focus on the board. Yeah, that's the last of that conversation.

She continues playing defensively, goading him into offensive tactics where she can. It's the best way for her to build a profile of him and she can afford to lose this bet. It's the next one she'd like to win. ]

[use_everything]

[He looks at her, mouth open as if to say something and... decides against it.

It's not many moves from here, the small game of give and take, before he suddenly moves into the offense, several pieces played from the beginning of the game to the most recent fall backs and aggressive bites at her drawing tactics... come together into something cohesive, closing the gaps around Tex's forces neatly.

A tactic he's aware she likely watched fall into place and allowed it to develop, but smoothly done, none the less.]

[failureisntachoice]

[ Hm. So that's his style.

She watches as he deals the last blow and nods to herself. That's not enough to build a detailed profile on his tactics, but it's a damn good start that should carry her through the following round. ]

Pick an afternoon and don't forget your apron.