Poem: "Bluff and Show"
Dec. 11th, 2014 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the December 2, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from alexseanchai and dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "bluffing" square in my 9-29-14 card for the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
origfic_bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Antimatter & Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"Bluff and Show"
Lawrence was putting his books
into his locker when Stan came up
and bumped gently against his shoulder.
"So hey, we've got a guest speaker
for Activity Scouts this afternoon,
friend of my dad's needed to get
away from home for a little while,"
Stan said. "Would you like to come?"
"It costs money for visitors who
aren't actual scouts," Lawrence said.
"My treat," Stan said, smiling.
Lawrence felt tempted, but he also
didn't like the sense of debt. "We could --"
"No, we can't go Dutch because I'm a scout,"
Stan said, "and no, we're not splitting it either.
I invited you, so I get to pay. If you want,
you can invite me to something later,
and then it'll be your turn to pay."
"I guess that's fair," Lawrence said.
The idea appealed to him, although
he didn't know what to suggest
or how he might pay for it.
"What's the presentation about?"
Stan laughed. "Forgot to say, didn't I?
"There's a tolerance talk and then
some kind of gaming session."
"Okay, I'll come," Lawrence agreed.
The Activity Scouts made a lot more noise
than the chess and science nerds that
Lawrence usually spent time with,
seeming more akin to Stan's jock friends.
Stan made introductions, though, even
pointing out who might have common interests.
"This is Maurice," said Stan, introducing a black boy.
"He likes environmental science and emergency response.
Maurice, this is Lawrence, he plays chess and he's
on the science team at school too."
"Hi," Lawrence said. "What games do you like?"
Maurice shrugged. "I'm not very good at games.
I'm dyslexic, you know? I'm better at things
I can get my hands into, like grubbing in the woods."
"Oh, I know a couple of dyslexic chess players,"
Lawrence said. "Let me know if you need a hand
reading things, I've done that before."
Maurice's shy smile gave Lawrence a warm feeling.
"And this is Tycho, he goes by Tyke though," Stan said
as they caught up with a redheaded boy whose body hair
was so pale that it disappeared against his fair skin.
"Really? Like the famous scientist?" Lawrence asked.
"Yeah, my mom is like this gigantic science nerd,"
Tyke said. "You know the name?"
"I do. Tycho Brahe demonstrated that
supernovae and comets could not be
atmospheric phenomena," Lawrence said.
"Oh, now you've done it," Stan said.
"Tyke's been our troop's best astronomer
ever since he was a Cub Scout."
Lawrence was surprised to discover
how much he had in common
with the Activity Scouts once he
started talking with them.
He signed the attendance book --
wasn't even the only guest there --
and didn't argue over Stan paying
the admission fee for him.
Stan's father Stuart called the troop to order,
gathering the boys (and a few girls)
into a loose half-circle audience.
The speaker turned out to be a muscular black man
of middle age, who rolled easily into position
in a wheelchair that looked sturdy enough for hiking.
Deep, furrowed scars marked both calves and
disappeared into the long white socks.
Lawrence shivered a little, wondering what
had tried to get a piece of the man and failed.
Whoever he was, that made him formidable.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Simon,"
said Stuart. "He's going to talk about tolerance
and then teach us some fun strategy games."
"Hi, folks," said Simon. "Let me start with
my credentials. I'm a black man in a wheelchair."
He waved a hand over himself. "What you can't see
is that I'm also homosexual. So I know a lot about
tolerance and intolerance. How many of you
have sat through an anti-bullying presentation?"
All the hands went up.
"How about anti-hate crimes, basically
the same thing but more grown up?"
Everyone raised their hands again.
"So those talk about what you shouldn't do.
Did you learn anything that you should do
from those presentations?" Simon asked.
Long pause.
"Stick up for people?" someone said tentatively.
"That's a good start," Simon said. "Today, we're
going to skip all that 'anti' stuff and talk about
positive principles and how to use them in real life."
That sounded interesting. Lawrence leaned forward,
opening his notebook so he could take notes.
Simon's attention snagged on him,
a penetrating gaze that made Lawrence
feel anxious even though the man
didn't look particularly angry.
Lawrence sat back, trying to edge
behind Stan despite being in chairs.
"First, diversity benefits everyone by
making life more interesting and offering
different perspectives in solving problems,"
Simon said. "Second, everyone is an individual
and nobody should be judged just because
they belong to a particular group. Third,
accepting difference makes the world
safer and happier for everyone."
Those were all good rules.
Lawrence scribbled them down,
trying not to attract attention.
The rest of the principles
made just as much sense.
"Now let's put those ideas into practice,"
Simon said. "As Activity Scouts, we
aim to set a good example for people.
When you stick up for someone,
you make friends. When you help
someone, their skills improve."
Lawrence thought about how Stan
protected him from bullies,
and played chess with Arnold,
and generally encouraged people
to be nicer to each other.
"But tolerance means more than just
putting up with people you may not like
or giving them token roles," Simon said.
"It means learning how to weave them
into the community in significant ways."
Stan had gone to chess club with Lawrence,
and talked Lawrence into coming here.
It wasn't just Stan, though -- his whole family
acted like that, from Sloane's clumsy pranks
trying to help Lawrence fit in, to Stephanie
finding people to play Kaverns & Krakens
with her friend Vanessa.
Lawrence wrote down the list of tips
and techniques, wondering if he
could make them work as well
as Stan and his family did.
After the presentation, the scouts
milled around setting up card tables.
Tyke and Maurice got into a conversation
about what kind of games would be played.
Simon rolled over to Stan and Lawrence,
still with that clear appraising gaze
which made Lawrence feel torn between
wanting to hide behind Stan and
protecting him from a potential threat.
There was just something about Simon
that made Lawrence think the man
could pound him to pudding if he tried,
wheelchair or no, and nevermind
Lawrence's superpowers.
But Lawrence could make him work for it.
Simon gave them a casual smile.
"Did you enjoy the lecture?" he asked.
"Yes, you gave me some new ideas,"
Stan said easily.
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
Lawrence asked, shaking his hands out.
"I haven't done anything but take notes."
"One, you look like you've seen some trouble,
and two, you look like you've caused a bit of it,"
Simon said, not even trying to evade the challenge.
"That's worth keeping an eye on, just in case."
"He's with me," Stan said, stepping forward.
"Simon, try not to spook my boys,"
Stuart said, coming over to them.
That phrasing, my boys,
made Lawrence catch his breath.
"I'm not spooked," Lawrence said, but he was bluffing.
As if sensing that, Stan wrapped an arm around him.
Simon tipped his head, looking at them both --
and then shook himself, whole body relaxing.
"Sorry, boys, I forget that I still look scary
to people who actually know what they're seeing,"
he said. "Most folks just see this now."
One hand rapped the wheelchair.
"They're idiots," Lawrence said fervently.
Simon laughed. "People often are.
Truce?" He stuck out a hand.
Lawrence had spent enough time with a gang
to have learned the rules for offering and
accepting a truce. He decided that Stuart
wouldn't be friends with someone untrustworthy,
and that if Simon was calling for peace then
the sensible thing to do was accept it.
So Lawrence lifted his chin and stepped forward
to shake Simon's hand. "Truce," he agreed.
Simon grinned at him. "You've got pluck,"
he said. "Play any strategy games?"
"Lawrence is the captain of our chess club,"
said Stan before Lawrence could frame a reply.
"He's teaching me how to play."
That was a nice thing to hear, our club,
like Stan meant to keep coming.
"Well, that's great," Simon said. "You can help
lay out the games that I've brought. They might
seem familiar to you -- or maybe a bit too easy."
From a backpack Simon took out little rolls
of leather tied with thongs, which opened
into sets of nine men's morris or fox and geese.
As the scouts gathered around, he explained
the rules of the games and how to play.
"Now pay attention to the game pieces,"
Simon said. "See how simple these are?
You could play them with pencil and paper,
or draw the board on the ground and use
rocks for the playing pieces. Memorize
the game and you can play it anywhere."
That was brilliant, Lawrence realized.
Maurice noted the difference in moves
for fox and geese. "Only the fox can jump,"
he said, "so it's like having a superpower!"
"So it is," Stuart said. "Do you like
uneven games like that? I brought
my brandubh set to show Simon."
Stuart laid out that game. "The king
starts in the middle, and his men
have to get him safely to a corner
while the enemies attack them."
Simon watched the setup and
explanation, Lawrence peeking
over his broad muscled shoulder.
As some of the scouts began to play,
Simon brought out another game
that he called Bluff, which was
played with dice in a cup.
Stan proved terrible at that one.
He really was no good at lying.
Lawrence did much better at it.
"Next, let me point out what you
can learn from these games,"
Simon said. "Sure they're fun.
But the strategy games like
nine men's morris teach you
how to think ahead, how to
make predictions and plans."
"Yeah, that's true for the board games
but the dice one is all chance," Tyke said.
"It's just bluff and show, no strategy."
Simon shook his head. "No, Bluff is
about reading people. You study
their body language to decide
whether or not they're lying to you.
That's always useful to know."
That was utterly vital to know,
in Lawrence's experience.
He played more rounds of Bluff,
but he never managed to beat Simon.
Picking up a habit from chess club,
Lawrence switched to playing
fox and geese against Maurice
and nine men's morris against Tyke.
He was new to both games, so they won,
but it provided a lot more challenge.
"Bored with the simple games?"
Simon asked, sounding sympathetic.
"I'm fine," Lawrence said. "I think
I'll be able to memorize these."
"How's your math?" Simon asked.
"It's okay," Lawrence hedged,
wondering why he wanted to know.
"Lawrence is helping me with math,"
said Stan, who couldn't keep his mouth shut
when it came to cheering for other people.
"See, I always bring a backup game
that's more challenging, just in case
I happen across another serious gamer,"
Simon said, unrolling another bundle.
This one was long and thin,
marked like a checkerboard,
with wooden squares and triangles
and circles that all had numbers on them.
"This is rithmomachia," said Simon,
"also called the Philosophers' Game."
Lawrence couldn't muffle his hum of interest.
Maurice gave him a playful push.
"Go play with the grownups," he said.
"I haven't tried the bluffing game yet."
So Lawrence studied rithmomachia,
which really was all math. It had
elements of strategy but they
relied on putting numbers together.
It was absolutely riveting.
Simon turned out to be
a pretty cool guy, once you
got past the scary part.
"You said that the other games
have real-world applications,"
Lawrence observed after Simon won.
"What about this one?"
"It teaches you to see math everywhere,
and the relationships between pieces,"
Simon said. "It shows different ways to win."
Greater and lesser victories, in fact,
Lawrence realized as he reread the rules.
He thought about the other ones in play --
games about lying, about being surrounded,
and players with uneven pieces on their sides.
"So what really brought you out here today?"
Lawrence asked, watching Simon closely.
"Stan said it was on short notice."
"My partner is taking care of a friend,
so I volunteered to get out of the way
for a few days," Simon said.
"That just put me in the mood to
make the world a better place and
discourage certain things from going wrong."
Lawrence privately thought that anyone
who picked a fight with Simon was
asking to get his ass handed to him.
There was a coiled alertness to the man
that promised competence regardless
of the battle scars that put him in a wheelchair.
"Thanks for coming," Lawrence said.
"Your lecture was good, and so are the games.
I've told Stan that chess is great practice for
strategy and tactics in other contexts."
"Logistical thinking is always useful," Simon said.
"Good game, by the way." He offered his hand again.
Lawrence accepted. Simon's handshake
was warm and dry and oddly gentle,
without the crushing grip that some men
used in attempt to impress people.
At the end of the session, Stuart came over,
followed by Stan who settled next to Lawrence
as they packed up the various games.
"Are you coming over to our house for game night,
Lawrence? Simon is staying with us," said Stuart.
Lawrence looked at Simon, who was quiet and solid
and maybe not altogether scary after all.
"I'd like that," Lawrence said,
and this time, he wasn't even bluffing.
* * *
Notes:
[Character concept by Dialecticdreamer]
Simon Alston -- He has milk chocolate skin, brown eyes, and short nappy black hair. Although he still has some use of his legs, he's more mobile in a wheelchair than on foot. Simon is homosexual, and the partner of Tolliver Finn. They live in North Carolina, about an hour from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Simon spends a lot of time outdoors, so his skin rarely gets lighter even in winter. His wilderness skills span both recreation and survival aspects. His favorite sports include wheelchair racing and bobsled. He enjoys teaching his skills to other people.
Qualities: Master (+6) Activity Scout, Master (+6) Paralympic Martial Arts, Master (+6) Veteran, Expert (+4) Gamer, Expert (+4) Paralympic Track & Field, Good (+2) Family Values, Good (+2) Insightful, Good (+2) Sniper, Good (+2) Wilderness Skills
Maurice Stevenson -- He has short nappy black hair, brown eyes, and brown skin. He is a friend of Stanley Wood from the Activity Scouts. His badges include Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science, First Aid, Fishing, and Small-Boat Sailing.
Qualities: Good (+2) Activity Scout, Good (+2) Diligent, Good (+2) Naturalistic Intelligence, Good (+2) Science, Good (+2) Water Sports
Poor (-2) Dyslexic
Tycho "Tyke" Norris -- He has fair skin with freckles on his arms, blue eyes, and wavy copper hair although his eyebrows and body hair are blond. He is named after the famous scientist Tycho Brahe. Tyke is a friend of Stanley Wood from the Activity Scouts, who later becomes friends with Lawrence. His badges include American Heritage, Astronomy, Citizenship in the Nation, Communication, Emergency Preparedness, First Aid, and Space Exploration.
Qualities: Good (+2) Activity Scout, Good (+2) Amateur Astronomer, Good (+2) Family Life, Good (+2) Follower, Good (+2) Stamina
Poor (-2) Vision
* * *
Dating presents challenges over who pays for things. Stan's generosity pitted against Lawrence's wariness and lower income add up to a lot of negotiation, but they're making good progress.
Tolerance lowers stress. There are tips for teaching tolerance in the workplace and with children in the community. One useful trick in activism is to sidestep the bigot's attack, and strike back directly at their goals; in this case, Simon is undermining bigotry by teaching concepts that bring people together and encourage them to think deeply.
Diversity has many benefits. Understand how to increase it in clubs, schools, and businesses.
Historic games are fun! You can still find historic board games and other amusements. Check out nine men's morris, fox and geese, and brandubh. Simon is right; these all make great travel games and you can easily assemble your own set. Bluff belongs to the category of Liar's Dice games.
Rithmomachia is more complex; there's an applet for it now.
Reading people is a useful skill. Know how to read people and how to detect lies. Try to be gentle with it. Lawrence isn't used to being clocked as a person of significance because people usually overlook him due to his age. Simon is getting used to people overlooking him because of the wheelchair. But they can both see each other's relevance in their body language -- that if something happens, this guy isn't going to be part of the fleeing crowd, he'll be either causing the trouble or flogging it against the floor.
Gifted people get bored easily and require stimulation. There are many ways for parents and teachers to meet their needs. Rule #1: Use Layers! Always have a progression of options, whether for fun or for work, suited for different levels of experience and aptitude. Let people go through those until they reach their level of comfortable engagement. More than once I've had a panel where the audience was obviously not on the level advertised in the schedule, and if I'm the moderator, I just say, "Okay, where are you guys at with this topic? What do you want to talk about today?" They tell me and we go from there. This works because I know to do that and if I'm speaking on a topic I can handle it across a wide range of skill levels.
alexseanchai and dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "bluffing" square in my 9-29-14 card for the origfic_bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Antimatter & Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series."Bluff and Show"
Lawrence was putting his books
into his locker when Stan came up
and bumped gently against his shoulder.
"So hey, we've got a guest speaker
for Activity Scouts this afternoon,
friend of my dad's needed to get
away from home for a little while,"
Stan said. "Would you like to come?"
"It costs money for visitors who
aren't actual scouts," Lawrence said.
"My treat," Stan said, smiling.
Lawrence felt tempted, but he also
didn't like the sense of debt. "We could --"
"No, we can't go Dutch because I'm a scout,"
Stan said, "and no, we're not splitting it either.
I invited you, so I get to pay. If you want,
you can invite me to something later,
and then it'll be your turn to pay."
"I guess that's fair," Lawrence said.
The idea appealed to him, although
he didn't know what to suggest
or how he might pay for it.
"What's the presentation about?"
Stan laughed. "Forgot to say, didn't I?
"There's a tolerance talk and then
some kind of gaming session."
"Okay, I'll come," Lawrence agreed.
The Activity Scouts made a lot more noise
than the chess and science nerds that
Lawrence usually spent time with,
seeming more akin to Stan's jock friends.
Stan made introductions, though, even
pointing out who might have common interests.
"This is Maurice," said Stan, introducing a black boy.
"He likes environmental science and emergency response.
Maurice, this is Lawrence, he plays chess and he's
on the science team at school too."
"Hi," Lawrence said. "What games do you like?"
Maurice shrugged. "I'm not very good at games.
I'm dyslexic, you know? I'm better at things
I can get my hands into, like grubbing in the woods."
"Oh, I know a couple of dyslexic chess players,"
Lawrence said. "Let me know if you need a hand
reading things, I've done that before."
Maurice's shy smile gave Lawrence a warm feeling.
"And this is Tycho, he goes by Tyke though," Stan said
as they caught up with a redheaded boy whose body hair
was so pale that it disappeared against his fair skin.
"Really? Like the famous scientist?" Lawrence asked.
"Yeah, my mom is like this gigantic science nerd,"
Tyke said. "You know the name?"
"I do. Tycho Brahe demonstrated that
supernovae and comets could not be
atmospheric phenomena," Lawrence said.
"Oh, now you've done it," Stan said.
"Tyke's been our troop's best astronomer
ever since he was a Cub Scout."
Lawrence was surprised to discover
how much he had in common
with the Activity Scouts once he
started talking with them.
He signed the attendance book --
wasn't even the only guest there --
and didn't argue over Stan paying
the admission fee for him.
Stan's father Stuart called the troop to order,
gathering the boys (and a few girls)
into a loose half-circle audience.
The speaker turned out to be a muscular black man
of middle age, who rolled easily into position
in a wheelchair that looked sturdy enough for hiking.
Deep, furrowed scars marked both calves and
disappeared into the long white socks.
Lawrence shivered a little, wondering what
had tried to get a piece of the man and failed.
Whoever he was, that made him formidable.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Simon,"
said Stuart. "He's going to talk about tolerance
and then teach us some fun strategy games."
"Hi, folks," said Simon. "Let me start with
my credentials. I'm a black man in a wheelchair."
He waved a hand over himself. "What you can't see
is that I'm also homosexual. So I know a lot about
tolerance and intolerance. How many of you
have sat through an anti-bullying presentation?"
All the hands went up.
"How about anti-hate crimes, basically
the same thing but more grown up?"
Everyone raised their hands again.
"So those talk about what you shouldn't do.
Did you learn anything that you should do
from those presentations?" Simon asked.
Long pause.
"Stick up for people?" someone said tentatively.
"That's a good start," Simon said. "Today, we're
going to skip all that 'anti' stuff and talk about
positive principles and how to use them in real life."
That sounded interesting. Lawrence leaned forward,
opening his notebook so he could take notes.
Simon's attention snagged on him,
a penetrating gaze that made Lawrence
feel anxious even though the man
didn't look particularly angry.
Lawrence sat back, trying to edge
behind Stan despite being in chairs.
"First, diversity benefits everyone by
making life more interesting and offering
different perspectives in solving problems,"
Simon said. "Second, everyone is an individual
and nobody should be judged just because
they belong to a particular group. Third,
accepting difference makes the world
safer and happier for everyone."
Those were all good rules.
Lawrence scribbled them down,
trying not to attract attention.
The rest of the principles
made just as much sense.
"Now let's put those ideas into practice,"
Simon said. "As Activity Scouts, we
aim to set a good example for people.
When you stick up for someone,
you make friends. When you help
someone, their skills improve."
Lawrence thought about how Stan
protected him from bullies,
and played chess with Arnold,
and generally encouraged people
to be nicer to each other.
"But tolerance means more than just
putting up with people you may not like
or giving them token roles," Simon said.
"It means learning how to weave them
into the community in significant ways."
Stan had gone to chess club with Lawrence,
and talked Lawrence into coming here.
It wasn't just Stan, though -- his whole family
acted like that, from Sloane's clumsy pranks
trying to help Lawrence fit in, to Stephanie
finding people to play Kaverns & Krakens
with her friend Vanessa.
Lawrence wrote down the list of tips
and techniques, wondering if he
could make them work as well
as Stan and his family did.
After the presentation, the scouts
milled around setting up card tables.
Tyke and Maurice got into a conversation
about what kind of games would be played.
Simon rolled over to Stan and Lawrence,
still with that clear appraising gaze
which made Lawrence feel torn between
wanting to hide behind Stan and
protecting him from a potential threat.
There was just something about Simon
that made Lawrence think the man
could pound him to pudding if he tried,
wheelchair or no, and nevermind
Lawrence's superpowers.
But Lawrence could make him work for it.
Simon gave them a casual smile.
"Did you enjoy the lecture?" he asked.
"Yes, you gave me some new ideas,"
Stan said easily.
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
Lawrence asked, shaking his hands out.
"I haven't done anything but take notes."
"One, you look like you've seen some trouble,
and two, you look like you've caused a bit of it,"
Simon said, not even trying to evade the challenge.
"That's worth keeping an eye on, just in case."
"He's with me," Stan said, stepping forward.
"Simon, try not to spook my boys,"
Stuart said, coming over to them.
That phrasing, my boys,
made Lawrence catch his breath.
"I'm not spooked," Lawrence said, but he was bluffing.
As if sensing that, Stan wrapped an arm around him.
Simon tipped his head, looking at them both --
and then shook himself, whole body relaxing.
"Sorry, boys, I forget that I still look scary
to people who actually know what they're seeing,"
he said. "Most folks just see this now."
One hand rapped the wheelchair.
"They're idiots," Lawrence said fervently.
Simon laughed. "People often are.
Truce?" He stuck out a hand.
Lawrence had spent enough time with a gang
to have learned the rules for offering and
accepting a truce. He decided that Stuart
wouldn't be friends with someone untrustworthy,
and that if Simon was calling for peace then
the sensible thing to do was accept it.
So Lawrence lifted his chin and stepped forward
to shake Simon's hand. "Truce," he agreed.
Simon grinned at him. "You've got pluck,"
he said. "Play any strategy games?"
"Lawrence is the captain of our chess club,"
said Stan before Lawrence could frame a reply.
"He's teaching me how to play."
That was a nice thing to hear, our club,
like Stan meant to keep coming.
"Well, that's great," Simon said. "You can help
lay out the games that I've brought. They might
seem familiar to you -- or maybe a bit too easy."
From a backpack Simon took out little rolls
of leather tied with thongs, which opened
into sets of nine men's morris or fox and geese.
As the scouts gathered around, he explained
the rules of the games and how to play.
"Now pay attention to the game pieces,"
Simon said. "See how simple these are?
You could play them with pencil and paper,
or draw the board on the ground and use
rocks for the playing pieces. Memorize
the game and you can play it anywhere."
That was brilliant, Lawrence realized.
Maurice noted the difference in moves
for fox and geese. "Only the fox can jump,"
he said, "so it's like having a superpower!"
"So it is," Stuart said. "Do you like
uneven games like that? I brought
my brandubh set to show Simon."
Stuart laid out that game. "The king
starts in the middle, and his men
have to get him safely to a corner
while the enemies attack them."
Simon watched the setup and
explanation, Lawrence peeking
over his broad muscled shoulder.
As some of the scouts began to play,
Simon brought out another game
that he called Bluff, which was
played with dice in a cup.
Stan proved terrible at that one.
He really was no good at lying.
Lawrence did much better at it.
"Next, let me point out what you
can learn from these games,"
Simon said. "Sure they're fun.
But the strategy games like
nine men's morris teach you
how to think ahead, how to
make predictions and plans."
"Yeah, that's true for the board games
but the dice one is all chance," Tyke said.
"It's just bluff and show, no strategy."
Simon shook his head. "No, Bluff is
about reading people. You study
their body language to decide
whether or not they're lying to you.
That's always useful to know."
That was utterly vital to know,
in Lawrence's experience.
He played more rounds of Bluff,
but he never managed to beat Simon.
Picking up a habit from chess club,
Lawrence switched to playing
fox and geese against Maurice
and nine men's morris against Tyke.
He was new to both games, so they won,
but it provided a lot more challenge.
"Bored with the simple games?"
Simon asked, sounding sympathetic.
"I'm fine," Lawrence said. "I think
I'll be able to memorize these."
"How's your math?" Simon asked.
"It's okay," Lawrence hedged,
wondering why he wanted to know.
"Lawrence is helping me with math,"
said Stan, who couldn't keep his mouth shut
when it came to cheering for other people.
"See, I always bring a backup game
that's more challenging, just in case
I happen across another serious gamer,"
Simon said, unrolling another bundle.
This one was long and thin,
marked like a checkerboard,
with wooden squares and triangles
and circles that all had numbers on them.
"This is rithmomachia," said Simon,
"also called the Philosophers' Game."
Lawrence couldn't muffle his hum of interest.
Maurice gave him a playful push.
"Go play with the grownups," he said.
"I haven't tried the bluffing game yet."
So Lawrence studied rithmomachia,
which really was all math. It had
elements of strategy but they
relied on putting numbers together.
It was absolutely riveting.
Simon turned out to be
a pretty cool guy, once you
got past the scary part.
"You said that the other games
have real-world applications,"
Lawrence observed after Simon won.
"What about this one?"
"It teaches you to see math everywhere,
and the relationships between pieces,"
Simon said. "It shows different ways to win."
Greater and lesser victories, in fact,
Lawrence realized as he reread the rules.
He thought about the other ones in play --
games about lying, about being surrounded,
and players with uneven pieces on their sides.
"So what really brought you out here today?"
Lawrence asked, watching Simon closely.
"Stan said it was on short notice."
"My partner is taking care of a friend,
so I volunteered to get out of the way
for a few days," Simon said.
"That just put me in the mood to
make the world a better place and
discourage certain things from going wrong."
Lawrence privately thought that anyone
who picked a fight with Simon was
asking to get his ass handed to him.
There was a coiled alertness to the man
that promised competence regardless
of the battle scars that put him in a wheelchair.
"Thanks for coming," Lawrence said.
"Your lecture was good, and so are the games.
I've told Stan that chess is great practice for
strategy and tactics in other contexts."
"Logistical thinking is always useful," Simon said.
"Good game, by the way." He offered his hand again.
Lawrence accepted. Simon's handshake
was warm and dry and oddly gentle,
without the crushing grip that some men
used in attempt to impress people.
At the end of the session, Stuart came over,
followed by Stan who settled next to Lawrence
as they packed up the various games.
"Are you coming over to our house for game night,
Lawrence? Simon is staying with us," said Stuart.
Lawrence looked at Simon, who was quiet and solid
and maybe not altogether scary after all.
"I'd like that," Lawrence said,
and this time, he wasn't even bluffing.
* * *
Notes:
[Character concept by Dialecticdreamer]
Simon Alston -- He has milk chocolate skin, brown eyes, and short nappy black hair. Although he still has some use of his legs, he's more mobile in a wheelchair than on foot. Simon is homosexual, and the partner of Tolliver Finn. They live in North Carolina, about an hour from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Simon spends a lot of time outdoors, so his skin rarely gets lighter even in winter. His wilderness skills span both recreation and survival aspects. His favorite sports include wheelchair racing and bobsled. He enjoys teaching his skills to other people.
Qualities: Master (+6) Activity Scout, Master (+6) Paralympic Martial Arts, Master (+6) Veteran, Expert (+4) Gamer, Expert (+4) Paralympic Track & Field, Good (+2) Family Values, Good (+2) Insightful, Good (+2) Sniper, Good (+2) Wilderness Skills
Maurice Stevenson -- He has short nappy black hair, brown eyes, and brown skin. He is a friend of Stanley Wood from the Activity Scouts. His badges include Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science, First Aid, Fishing, and Small-Boat Sailing.
Qualities: Good (+2) Activity Scout, Good (+2) Diligent, Good (+2) Naturalistic Intelligence, Good (+2) Science, Good (+2) Water Sports
Poor (-2) Dyslexic
Tycho "Tyke" Norris -- He has fair skin with freckles on his arms, blue eyes, and wavy copper hair although his eyebrows and body hair are blond. He is named after the famous scientist Tycho Brahe. Tyke is a friend of Stanley Wood from the Activity Scouts, who later becomes friends with Lawrence. His badges include American Heritage, Astronomy, Citizenship in the Nation, Communication, Emergency Preparedness, First Aid, and Space Exploration.
Qualities: Good (+2) Activity Scout, Good (+2) Amateur Astronomer, Good (+2) Family Life, Good (+2) Follower, Good (+2) Stamina
Poor (-2) Vision
* * *
Dating presents challenges over who pays for things. Stan's generosity pitted against Lawrence's wariness and lower income add up to a lot of negotiation, but they're making good progress.
Tolerance lowers stress. There are tips for teaching tolerance in the workplace and with children in the community. One useful trick in activism is to sidestep the bigot's attack, and strike back directly at their goals; in this case, Simon is undermining bigotry by teaching concepts that bring people together and encourage them to think deeply.
Diversity has many benefits. Understand how to increase it in clubs, schools, and businesses.
Historic games are fun! You can still find historic board games and other amusements. Check out nine men's morris, fox and geese, and brandubh. Simon is right; these all make great travel games and you can easily assemble your own set. Bluff belongs to the category of Liar's Dice games.
Rithmomachia is more complex; there's an applet for it now.
Reading people is a useful skill. Know how to read people and how to detect lies. Try to be gentle with it. Lawrence isn't used to being clocked as a person of significance because people usually overlook him due to his age. Simon is getting used to people overlooking him because of the wheelchair. But they can both see each other's relevance in their body language -- that if something happens, this guy isn't going to be part of the fleeing crowd, he'll be either causing the trouble or flogging it against the floor.
Gifted people get bored easily and require stimulation. There are many ways for parents and teachers to meet their needs. Rule #1: Use Layers! Always have a progression of options, whether for fun or for work, suited for different levels of experience and aptitude. Let people go through those until they reach their level of comfortable engagement. More than once I've had a panel where the audience was obviously not on the level advertised in the schedule, and if I'm the moderator, I just say, "Okay, where are you guys at with this topic? What do you want to talk about today?" They tell me and we go from there. This works because I know to do that and if I'm speaking on a topic I can handle it across a wide range of skill levels.
Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 02:47 am (UTC)*glee*
>> Poor boys, it's not easy figuring this out, but I think they're doing ok. <<
Sooth. Figuring out a relationship is hard enough as a teen, but when you're also queer and one of you has been smacked around for years -- oh, and you started out on opposite sides of the cape -- that's really hard.
>> I like Simon.
I love Stuart. <<
Yay! It helps Stan and Lawrence when they have good role models like these.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 03:21 am (UTC)I love this turn of phrase.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 03:35 am (UTC)The amusing thing is, in Terramagne this isn't seen so much as a legal or moral absolute. It's more akin to politics or religion, and like them it starts a lot of arguments, but the common ground of having superpowers means that it's fairly commmon for people to have contacts or even friends across the gap. And it's really more of a spectrum than a pair of pigeonholes anyway. There are a few whackjobs like Haboob, a few unsullied heroes like Stalwart Stan, but most soups are in between somewhere.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 04:28 am (UTC)I love clever turns of phrase, word games, puns, and things like that. I also love when a setting/universe has unique slang and idioms, it feels more immersive and realistic.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 04:45 am (UTC)That has been my observation. I think that mainstream comics really missed a great opportunity to explore that. Magneto is my favorite supervillain because he is RIGHT. It's just that he uses appalling methods sometimes. I adore the episodes that show the friendship and tension between him and Professor X. But more often the plot goes for the cheap shot and black-and-white morality and ... *yawn* it's not as fun.
So I did different things with my superpower setting. I made the ethics more complex, while tilting the overall average to a slightly more positive place, because I did like the upbeat tone of early comics before they all decided to climb into the pigpen and have a giant mudfight.
>> I love clever turns of phrase, word games, puns, and things like that. I also love when a setting/universe has unique slang and idioms, it feels more immersive and realistic. <<
:D Me too. It's one of the things I adore about comics, the whimsical nomenclature. So I deliberately played up that aspect for this setting. I'm starting to find tidbits of slang from other languages besides English too.
Enjoy the vocabulary list.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 04:10 pm (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 06:41 am (UTC)There are also conventions about /teaching/ a person with a new superpower, regardless of whether the teacher is a hero or villain. It's an accord with several /major/ rules, enforced most strictly, oddly enough, by the villains. No pressuring someone to /be/ a hero, or villain. The goal is learning to use and control the ability. (Note that Granny Whammy breaks this one A LOT, and it annoys the villains in particular that she gets away with it when /they/ don't have the same liberty.)
Much like the nightly news, of course, the rare exceptions where courtesy and negotiations /break down/ are gossip fodder for years or decades. Today, everyone knows the phrase, "Remember the Alamo" but-- remember it for /what/? That part doesn't get discussed nearly so often as it is a quote used more OUT of context than anything else.
I still say, however, that Haboob is a grade-A nutjob, the closest thing I've seen in the Polychrome verse to a villain like the Joker or Two-Face.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 07:43 am (UTC)I love these.
*chuckle* Antimatter was kind of screwing with that when he designed his outfit, all white except for the black lab coat. Boss White (a black supervillain) does it by coming to work in a white suit with a white hat.
>> There are also conventions about /teaching/ a person with a new superpower, regardless of whether the teacher is a hero or villain. <<
They kind of have to because some powers are so rare, there may only be a few people with them -- and untrained powers can be a hazard to everyone, not just the bearer.
>> It's an accord with several /major/ rules, enforced most strictly, oddly enough, by the villains. No pressuring someone to /be/ a hero, or villain. The goal is learning to use and control the ability. (Note that Granny Whammy breaks this one A LOT, and it annoys the villains in particular that she gets away with it when /they/ don't have the same liberty.) <<
Granny Whammy is very much a product of her time, and back then there were certain expectations of people to do their civic duty. That's why she tends to view superpowers as public property. It works great for some personality types but not at all for others. That limitation is starting to undermine SPOON's effectiveness as society continues to evolve, and it will show up more in future storylines.
Imagine supervillains and superheroes as two nations, each with their own set of laws and customs, with some overlap ... and a perennial argument over politics. But they're nations defined by superpowers, not by geography.
>> Much like the nightly news, of course, the rare exceptions where courtesy and negotiations /break down/ are gossip fodder for years or decades. Today, everyone knows the phrase, "Remember the Alamo" but-- remember it for /what/? That part doesn't get discussed nearly so often as it is a quote used more OUT of context than anything else. <<
True. But the one time I saw someone shoot Buraq on purpose? (He's a teleporter, with first aid training, part of a punch team sent in to rescue casualties: hence neutral.) By the time Rampart went charging over there to kill the sniper, the guy's own troop had fragged him and thrown the corpse over the wall by way of apology.
>> I still say, however, that Haboob is a grade-A nutjob, the closest thing I've seen in the Polychrome verse to a villain like the Joker or Two-Face. <<
Yes he is. There have been a few others, but most of those are dead (The Mandible) or in jail (The Anathema). Haboob is among the most-cited examples of an irrational, violent supervillain. But traumatic brain injury and having your family butchered can do that to a guy.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 07:52 am (UTC)The problem? So far, no one's managed to corral him.
Another major difference between the two universes-- I think that if anyone /could/ get past the brain injury to work on the emotional issues, they would try. It's not just a plan to warehouse him and forget he has some legitimate complaints buried under the madness.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 09:46 am (UTC)Yes, that's true. Some people's freedom is a threat to other people's survival.
>> The problem? So far, no one's managed to corral him. <<
It's kind of hard when he's an avatar of the crazy part of the desert.
>> Another major difference between the two universes -- I think that if anyone /could/ get past the brain injury to work on the emotional issues, they would try. It's not just a plan to warehouse him and forget he has some legitimate complaints buried under the madness. <<
That's true. There are a significant number of people who would try -- although there's also a lot itching to cry Go Home Charlie! But trying to heal that? It would be like sticking your hands into a sandstorm of boiling glass. It's like that for him too, the poor bastard. I sympathize with his origin story, but I have a hard time sympathizing with the guy who desiccates entire villages. 0_o As you can see from some of the other story arcs, though, there's a lot of leeway for people to decide they want to change their ways for the better, and other people who will help.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 09:51 am (UTC)It could be done, with someone of Dr. Infanta's skill set or power set, but her Guardians won't let her within a hundred MILES of Haboob, knowingly!
Puppetmaster might do it, but he'd have to basically /sneak up/ on Haboob to not twig the crazy man's crazy into high gear beforehand.
It's a mess, blast it... I'd love to see the problem from the viewpoint of a devout Muslim, as charity is one of the Pillars of the Faith, and wowee, getting him to /accept/ potential help would really stack up some points!
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 10:10 am (UTC)Yes -- and he can't/won't do that. Haboob doesn't want safety. He wants revenge. He wants to destroy America and all the other infidels. He's a burning pit of rage and pain.
>> It could be done, <<
All things may be possible, but I think it would take a genuine miracle.
>> with someone of Dr. Infanta's skill set or power set, but her Guardians won't let her within a hundred MILES of Haboob, knowingly! <<
No shit. They would sit on her to prevent it.
>> Puppetmaster might do it, but he'd have to basically /sneak up/ on Haboob to not twig the crazy man's crazy into high gear beforehand. <<
Yes, that's true -- and his mind control isn't actually all that strong in terms of raw power. He works by finesse. Also, all the Marionettes would sit on him too; they don't want to lose him.
Which is basically the problem all around: anyone capable of healing that kind of damage would be considered too precious to risk.
>> It's a mess, blast it... I'd love to see the problem from the viewpoint of a devout Muslim, as charity is one of the Pillars of the Faith, and wowee, getting him to /accept/ potential help would really stack up some points! <<
The problem there is that Haboob is famous for being a bad Muslim -- that's in his character sheet as his Poor quality. With vengeance on the brain, the things he does are all kinds of wrong for that faith. So the other Muslims tend to hate him for perpetuating the Muslim = Terrorist stereotype.
But. I have one Muslim in play who believes his powers to be a gift from God. If Buraq is correct about that, then he might have a non-zero chance of fielding a miracle. (Think you can roll two spoons, kid?) The obstacles are that first, he hates politics; and second, nobody would want to risk the world's best punch team for casualties on the slim chance of healing a genocidal maniac.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 10:16 am (UTC)And /enough/ of one.
Otherwise, I believe the rest of the concerned parties are already chanting "go home Charlie!" quite loudly. He's just too dangerous to /ignore/. The problem so far has been opportunity to either contain him or cash him out.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-12-12 10:37 am (UTC)And /enough/ of one. <<
It would take ...
* God suggesting to Buraq that He would like His lost sheep back please. (Because a Messiah darn well would walk through a sandstorm of boiling glass in search of one lost soul. It's their nature.) "You want THAT one?!" "Yes." "... *grumble* ... *whimper* ... insh'allah."
* Tracking down Haboob.
* Getting close enough to take him down without killing him or getting killed in the process.
* Applying a miracle to get through that phenomenal hatestorm enough that Patches could heal however much of the brain damage was possible to fix.
* That might be enough to restore a sliver of sanity wide enough to get the kind of mental/emotional/spiritual consent to apply another miracle and patch up some of the nonphysical damage. (And why again is God expending all this trouble to get people to save the likes of Haboob? "To see if they would, of course." Of course. Jesus came to my fishbowl once, why shouldn't Mohammed?)
* Whereupon ... we can't call him Haboob anymore and that's the only name he has left ... whoever he is, would need to be stashed in a secret monastery somewhere in hopes the monks could guide him through the torturous process of reassembling his personality enough to spend the rest of his natural life atoning for his countless sins. Which I suspect would be a lot more painful than a bullet through the brain.
* Oh, and then several months worth of helping Buraq figure out how to handle whatever his tidbit of Telepathy had turned into, because I can't imagine being the same after all of that.
>> Otherwise, I believe the rest of the concerned parties are already chanting "go home Charlie!" quite loudly. <<
Haboob is probably Public Enemy #1 at this point. If there's a more powerful and more destructive supervillain alive, I haven't found them yet.
>> He's just too dangerous to /ignore/. The problem so far has been opportunity to either contain him or cash him out. <<
Yeah, it's hard to deal with someone who basically is the desert. The only ones who could stand against him effectively have been the Fennec, who also is the desert just the sane part of it; and Aquariana, who often lost because of the Kitab and who has switched her interest to the Maldives.