Honestly, if it hadn't been for the fact that A-Qing had been calling out her name before saying that, Alice would have been so sure that the girl had been looking for someone else and just mistook her for that person due to blindness.
After all.. Alice? Having friends? Those two things certainly don't go together most of the time except for when said friends are imaginary. And with two of them having disappeared only recently, the word stings a little.
Thankfully - or so she thinks - Alice doesn't have to worry about the momentary hurt look in her eyes as she sips from her tea. Not like the girl can see it.
"You'd consider someone a friend so easily?" Usually there might have been a bit more bite to it, but A-Qing is young. Alice can't fault her for it. It's more just a question than a snappy comeback. "Why are you asking? Do you need help with something?"
See, she'd rather answer requests for help ten times over than having to deal with someone calling her a friend.
"It's been ages, so why not?" she counters, having noted the hurt look and toned herself down accordingly. She doesn't want personal validation, she wants people to play a game with her. She can be hurt in turn about that later - but not much. Friends aren't really something she understands either. It just seemed like a good thing to say.
Yeah.
She shakes herself out of it.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter, I wanted to ask, have you ever heard of 'tabletop games'?"
Well, that's a sudden shift in topic if Alice has ever heard one. But she'd rather discuss anything but the difficulties of friendship or anything of the sort, so she will roll with it.
"I haven't." Her tone is back to normal again as she says it. "Though I can infer its meaning. Why?"
The pitch she prepared for Buttercup won't work here, she's been thinking, so.
"I saw one in a memory, back on that creepy mountain. It's where you have a storyteller, and they tell a story about evil monsters and villains." What had Alice complained of, way back when? Despicable villains, that was it. Okay. "And then the players each make a hero, a powerful warrior or a cunning mage or a virtuous priest, or... I don't know, whatever they want, and they describe how they defeat all the things the storyteller has invented."
That's the main thing she's gathering from here. She's not sure where the tabletop part kicks in.. Is it just because you're supposed to tell the story around a table or something? A bit of an odd choice to name it, but sure, she can roll with that.
"Well, I guess that doesn't sound.. bad." If anything, it actually sounds kind of fun, but as if Alice would ever admit to that so openly. But it's a game that sounds like it'd sure suit her usual daydreams. "And you can make your hero whatever you wish them to be?"
"Just so," she says, with the absolute confidence of someone who has no idea whether you can make your hero whatever you wish them to be. She knows one thing, though - if you can't, they can change that. There'll be at least three of them, and only one of Uta, and she's confident in her ability to tantrum.
"Mister Uta said he'd be the storyteller, so... do you want to play? It would be after the train stops, because he needs to buy a book."
.. The decision is slightly hard. On the one hand, this form of storytelling sounds fun. On the other hand.. it means having to endure social situations. Alice's #1 enemy. Sure, A-Qing isn't all that bad, but she doesn't know this 'mister Uta', and who knows who else is participating..
"I suppose I could at least.. try," she ends up answering. "Though I can't promise I won't get angry at anyone else involved if they're being too annoying."
"If they're annoying you, just have your character beat them and kick them," she advises without missing a beat. "It's just going to be you, me, and Buttercup, anyway."
There had only been two players in the memory she'd seen, but she reckons that adding more will tip the balance in their favour, and if things go wrong she has more characters to work with. Or something.
It's not like she's been overthinking this for days or anything. "You'll need a notebook and pencil, and dice, if you have them. Then we just find him after the train starts moving again."
And maybe a little bit more than just the character will have at it, if Alice gets annoyed enough.. But at least the playerbase has her a little more at ease. A-Qing isn't bad, and she recognizes Buttercup - it's what that little girl had said some people here call her, right?
Maybe Alice should feel weirder about playing a game with kids, but then again. Sometimes it's hard to find other tolerable company, okay.
"I don't have dice. They have those in the games in the game carriage though, right? I doubt anyone will mind if a few go missing." Not like Alice realises d6s might not be ideal.
"No one will mind. What can we do, take them off the train?" No one plays all of the games all the time, they can just suck it up if the games they're taking dice from come up.
A-Qing also doesn't realise that there are different kinds of dice.
It's fine, it'll be fine. The important thing is, it sounds like Alice is agreeing. "Thanks! Talk to me at dinner, okay? We can think of names."
It definitely is agreement! Surprisingly enough, even to Alice herself. She's well aware that she's not the most agreeable person, especially not when it comes to things that most people would find fun..
But she isn't sure whether it's the idea of a fun storytelling game, or the fact that it's kind of hard to say no to A-Qing's cute face, but she doesn't find herself minding this idea quite as much.
"Of course." A beat. "I will keep an eye out for you then." It's a simple thing to say, but then again, it's a simple thing Alice usually doesn't even bother to say. You and your ideas are pretty alright, A-Qing.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
After all.. Alice? Having friends? Those two things certainly don't go together most of the time except for when said friends are imaginary. And with two of them having disappeared only recently, the word stings a little.
Thankfully - or so she thinks - Alice doesn't have to worry about the momentary hurt look in her eyes as she sips from her tea. Not like the girl can see it.
"You'd consider someone a friend so easily?" Usually there might have been a bit more bite to it, but A-Qing is young. Alice can't fault her for it. It's more just a question than a snappy comeback. "Why are you asking? Do you need help with something?"
See, she'd rather answer requests for help ten times over than having to deal with someone calling her a friend.
no subject
Yeah.
She shakes herself out of it.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter, I wanted to ask, have you ever heard of 'tabletop games'?"
no subject
"I haven't." Her tone is back to normal again as she says it. "Though I can infer its meaning. Why?"
no subject
"I saw one in a memory, back on that creepy mountain. It's where you have a storyteller, and they tell a story about evil monsters and villains." What had Alice complained of, way back when? Despicable villains, that was it. Okay. "And then the players each make a hero, a powerful warrior or a cunning mage or a virtuous priest, or... I don't know, whatever they want, and they describe how they defeat all the things the storyteller has invented."
no subject
That's the main thing she's gathering from here. She's not sure where the tabletop part kicks in.. Is it just because you're supposed to tell the story around a table or something? A bit of an odd choice to name it, but sure, she can roll with that.
"Well, I guess that doesn't sound.. bad." If anything, it actually sounds kind of fun, but as if Alice would ever admit to that so openly. But it's a game that sounds like it'd sure suit her usual daydreams. "And you can make your hero whatever you wish them to be?"
no subject
"Mister Uta said he'd be the storyteller, so... do you want to play? It would be after the train stops, because he needs to buy a book."
no subject
"I suppose I could at least.. try," she ends up answering. "Though I can't promise I won't get angry at anyone else involved if they're being too annoying."
Aka knives will come out.
no subject
There had only been two players in the memory she'd seen, but she reckons that adding more will tip the balance in their favour, and if things go wrong she has more characters to work with. Or something.
It's not like she's been overthinking this for days or anything. "You'll need a notebook and pencil, and dice, if you have them. Then we just find him after the train starts moving again."
no subject
And maybe a little bit more than just the character will have at it, if Alice gets annoyed enough.. But at least the playerbase has her a little more at ease. A-Qing isn't bad, and she recognizes Buttercup - it's what that little girl had said some people here call her, right?
Maybe Alice should feel weirder about playing a game with kids, but then again. Sometimes it's hard to find other tolerable company, okay.
"I don't have dice. They have those in the games in the game carriage though, right? I doubt anyone will mind if a few go missing." Not like Alice realises d6s might not be ideal.
no subject
A-Qing also doesn't realise that there are different kinds of dice.
It's fine, it'll be fine. The important thing is, it sounds like Alice is agreeing. "Thanks! Talk to me at dinner, okay? We can think of names."
no subject
But she isn't sure whether it's the idea of a fun storytelling game, or the fact that it's kind of hard to say no to A-Qing's cute face, but she doesn't find herself minding this idea quite as much.
"Of course." A beat. "I will keep an eye out for you then." It's a simple thing to say, but then again, it's a simple thing Alice usually doesn't even bother to say. You and your ideas are pretty alright, A-Qing.