Balamb Garden, Actually on Balamb Island instead of flying around, Thursday Night Fandom Time
It was a quiet day in the office of the Commander of Balamb Garden. Nobody had started any wars lately, monster activity was low, the reconstruction of Trebia was going smoothly, there weren’t any discipline issues with the cadets… There just wasn’t much to do.
And so the Commander and some friends were playing cards.
“Just play something already!” Zell insisted, gesturing so wildly that his tipped-back chair almost fell over. “You don’t see me spending even a tenth of the time you take on every single turn!”
“Which is why you’re losing,” Quistis replied, casting her gaze pointedly at the dearth of cards laid in front of him. She lifted a card and prepared to play it, and then re-read its text and changed her mind.
“I’ve got more life points left than Squall!” Zell countered.
“Yes, but he’s playing a black deck, and he did that to himself on purpose.” Quistis sighed and began reading every card on the table for what had to be the third time this turn. “I don’t understand why we can’t just play Triple Triad,” she grumbled.
Squall rolled his eyes. “Because there’s no point,” he told her. “I have a full set of cards. I own every unique card in existence. I’ve been crowned the Card King. There is literally no one on the planet who can beat me. It’s not fun anymore. There is... no... point.”
“You could make a deck just out of your less-powerful cards and play with that,” Quistis suggested hopefully.
“It’s also much simpler, and therefore less fun, than the games I played in college,” Squall insisted. “Which is why I brought some of them back with me.” When he’d first shown up with an entire crate of Magic: The Gathering cards to hand out, everyone had thought he was crazy. Now… well, most of them still did. “It’s caught on in Timber,” he added defensively.
“Oh, Timber,” Zell snorted. “They worship the ground you walk on in Timber. You could tell them you like eating your own shit, and they’d probably try it in Timber.” He got up and stormed out.
“Don’t mind him,” Quistis insisted soothingly. “He’s just upset any time you like something from Fandom better than here. I think he’s worried you like your Fandom friends better than him.”
But… I do.
The problem with being aware of what people were thinking and caring about what they were feeling was that sometimes it hurt. Quistis also was worried that he liked his Fandom friends better than her, he could tell -- but she would pretend she wasn’t hurt by it unless he actually admitted it out loud. So he couldn’t admit it, or else he’d feel even more guilty about it than he already did.
Thankfully, the awkward moment was broken by a SeeD rushing in and saluting him. “Commander, we’ve received an urgent message!”
Urgent or not, this had to stop. Squall was virtually certain Quistis was encouraging it. He’d only been commander for a few days, and that had been years ago. He acted like he hadn’t heard the SeeD at all.
“C-- Commander?”
Squall look at him sternly.
“Sorry, Sir Squall!” He turned to Quistis and saluted. “Sorry, Commander! We’ve received an urgent message from a merchant convoy: they’re under attack by bandits!”
Quistis looked at Squall hopefully: did he want to lead the team she was about to send? Squall… thought about it.
(I would have gone, if that hadn’t just happened.)
Again, the awkward moment was broken, this time by a text from Rinoa.
PHONE GOT THROUGH portals may be up we're going back y/y???????????
Boy, Quistis was going to hate it when they left again.
(NFI, NFB)
And so the Commander and some friends were playing cards.
“Just play something already!” Zell insisted, gesturing so wildly that his tipped-back chair almost fell over. “You don’t see me spending even a tenth of the time you take on every single turn!”
“Which is why you’re losing,” Quistis replied, casting her gaze pointedly at the dearth of cards laid in front of him. She lifted a card and prepared to play it, and then re-read its text and changed her mind.
“I’ve got more life points left than Squall!” Zell countered.
“Yes, but he’s playing a black deck, and he did that to himself on purpose.” Quistis sighed and began reading every card on the table for what had to be the third time this turn. “I don’t understand why we can’t just play Triple Triad,” she grumbled.
Squall rolled his eyes. “Because there’s no point,” he told her. “I have a full set of cards. I own every unique card in existence. I’ve been crowned the Card King. There is literally no one on the planet who can beat me. It’s not fun anymore. There is... no... point.”
“You could make a deck just out of your less-powerful cards and play with that,” Quistis suggested hopefully.
“It’s also much simpler, and therefore less fun, than the games I played in college,” Squall insisted. “Which is why I brought some of them back with me.” When he’d first shown up with an entire crate of Magic: The Gathering cards to hand out, everyone had thought he was crazy. Now… well, most of them still did. “It’s caught on in Timber,” he added defensively.
“Oh, Timber,” Zell snorted. “They worship the ground you walk on in Timber. You could tell them you like eating your own shit, and they’d probably try it in Timber.” He got up and stormed out.
“Don’t mind him,” Quistis insisted soothingly. “He’s just upset any time you like something from Fandom better than here. I think he’s worried you like your Fandom friends better than him.”
But… I do.
The problem with being aware of what people were thinking and caring about what they were feeling was that sometimes it hurt. Quistis also was worried that he liked his Fandom friends better than her, he could tell -- but she would pretend she wasn’t hurt by it unless he actually admitted it out loud. So he couldn’t admit it, or else he’d feel even more guilty about it than he already did.
Thankfully, the awkward moment was broken by a SeeD rushing in and saluting him. “Commander, we’ve received an urgent message!”
Urgent or not, this had to stop. Squall was virtually certain Quistis was encouraging it. He’d only been commander for a few days, and that had been years ago. He acted like he hadn’t heard the SeeD at all.
“C-- Commander?”
Squall look at him sternly.
“Sorry, Sir Squall!” He turned to Quistis and saluted. “Sorry, Commander! We’ve received an urgent message from a merchant convoy: they’re under attack by bandits!”
Quistis looked at Squall hopefully: did he want to lead the team she was about to send? Squall… thought about it.
(I would have gone, if that hadn’t just happened.)
Again, the awkward moment was broken, this time by a text from Rinoa.
PHONE GOT THROUGH portals may be up we're going back y/y???????????
Boy, Quistis was going to hate it when they left again.
(NFI, NFB)