[maybe, just maybe, he's having a good time too. but he lets that chillier facade slip back into place, even if there's no denying a certain lightness to his step.]
It's not really any different from any other game. You can get ultra competitive or just pick up and play for fun.
[three guesses what kind of player he happened to be. and while he ordinarily would boast and brag and insist that he has no time for amateurs... well, obviously that wasn't true. at his heart, he was a gamer, a man who loved to play them as well as sell them. even if he didn't have a lot of time for casual bouts back home.]
And that might be true, but you should still give yourself a little more credit. I wouldn't hang out with a total bimbo.
[...wait, did he just admit to hanging out? oops.]
[ She knows he must be ridiculously competitive because he's definitely an alpha. Everything about him screams it, always has and always will. ]
I tried to play poker once. My friends wouldn't let me...
[ Mostly because some serious shit was on the line and they called her out for being stupid but THAT'S NOT THE POINT. ]
Aww, that's really nice of you to say. You sure about that, though?
[ He SURE DID and Ann Will Remember That™, Seto Kaiba. An elephant never forgets. Even if they've already established she's not an elephant but a stupid cat. ]
[ Wow. At least she's nice enough not to hit him, because he's a friend. Instead, since they're linking arms still, she just gives him a rough tug instead, huffing with a pout. ]
[kaiba pretends to consider the matter. and he gets into it, really into it, acting as though it were truly a do-or-die decision. the full seto kaiba experience, a stern look, sharp eyes, and the coldest, cruelest, chilliest tone this side of hell frozen over. even carmen's fire might be not be able to melt this ice.]
Say something smart. The smartest thing you can think of. And if it doesn't pass muster, I'm ditching you. Forever.
[ Ann blinks up at him, blinking. There's no way he can be serious right now-- actually, yeah, he can, and for a split second she does look a little panicked. ]
Uh...
[ Think. Channel your inner Makoto, Ann. You only failed one final exam. Except she's not real good when put on the spot, so she can only really come up with one thing: ]
...you're super hot?
[ That's the #smartest right?? ]
Make love not war?
[ This isn't a pageant-- ]
Male seahorses carry the babies and pop them out and care for them.
[ ....that was smart, right? It was probably smart. It's a FACT. ]
[kaiba takes a moment, or several moments, considering ann seriously. and in those moments, it seems like this might be the end. it seems like she totally flubbed it, he seems so unimpressed, so exasperated. even before he ever opens his mouth, his very expression reeks of condescension. it might even be enough to make carmen think twice.
and he holds it, and he holds it, and he holds it, and then...]
Heh.
[he laughs. it's quiet, reserved, and brief. but he definitely laughed. and all that displeasure flips right back around. it was a silly answer and thus exactly what he expected from the likes of ann, but he looks endeared all the same. it would appear that the ever crotchety kaiba has award her points for effort, and that's more than good enough.]
There's an old legend about seahorses. That after a hundred years, they become better than what they were. They become dragons.
[ She'd like to think that she's got street smarts vs book smarts, but right now that doesn't really matter, because he's asked her for the smartest thing she can think of, and when put on the spot, she's found herself absolutely lost. It's something she needs to work on, she knows this, but she can't help but freeze up and--
Is. Is he laughing? She blinks again, and then visibly relaxes at the quiet, pleasing noise. Jeez... ]
Wait, really? I've never heard that before. I wish it weren't just a legend, I'll bet they'd be super cute dragons...
[ ...Or really alien looking. She'll stick with cute. ]
I know! I just wish that I was... y'know. A little smarter.
[ But that requires opening books and she's not about that life anymore, blah blah studying sucks, school sucks. ]
The most generous. Even though you're stuck with me regardless of whether you really like it or not. 'Cause this is Hell and apparently this is your eternal punishment, congratulations~
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2021-11-21 11:04 pm (UTC)It's not really any different from any other game. You can get ultra competitive or just pick up and play for fun.
[three guesses what kind of player he happened to be. and while he ordinarily would boast and brag and insist that he has no time for amateurs... well, obviously that wasn't true. at his heart, he was a gamer, a man who loved to play them as well as sell them. even if he didn't have a lot of time for casual bouts back home.]
And that might be true, but you should still give yourself a little more credit. I wouldn't hang out with a total bimbo.
[...wait, did he just admit to hanging out? oops.]
no subject
Date: 2021-11-21 11:42 pm (UTC)I tried to play poker once. My friends wouldn't let me...
[ Mostly because some serious shit was on the line and they called her out for being stupid but THAT'S NOT THE POINT. ]
Aww, that's really nice of you to say. You sure about that, though?
[ He SURE DID and Ann Will Remember That™, Seto Kaiba. An elephant never forgets. Even if they've already established she's not an elephant but a stupid cat. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-11-22 01:42 am (UTC)[and leaning away ever so slightly, because he's pretty sure he's gonna get hit for this...]
Fifty percent, sixty percent bimbo at best. So there's at least forty percent brain knocking around in there somewhere.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-22 01:49 am (UTC)[ Wow. At least she's nice enough not to hit him, because he's a friend. Instead, since they're linking arms still, she just gives him a rough tug instead, huffing with a pout. ]
Can't be at least be an even fifty fifty split!?
no subject
Date: 2021-11-22 04:45 am (UTC)[kaiba pretends to consider the matter. and he gets into it, really into it, acting as though it were truly a do-or-die decision. the full seto kaiba experience, a stern look, sharp eyes, and the coldest, cruelest, chilliest tone this side of hell frozen over. even carmen's fire might be not be able to melt this ice.]
Say something smart. The smartest thing you can think of. And if it doesn't pass muster, I'm ditching you. Forever.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-22 05:44 am (UTC)Uh...
[ Think. Channel your inner Makoto, Ann. You only failed one final exam. Except she's not real good when put on the spot, so she can only really come up with one thing: ]
...you're super hot?
[ That's the #smartest right?? ]
Make love not war?
[ This isn't a pageant-- ]
Male seahorses carry the babies and pop them out and care for them.
[ ....that was smart, right? It was probably smart. It's a FACT. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-11-22 06:52 pm (UTC)and he holds it, and he holds it, and he holds it, and then...]
Heh.
[he laughs. it's quiet, reserved, and brief. but he definitely laughed. and all that displeasure flips right back around. it was a silly answer and thus exactly what he expected from the likes of ann, but he looks endeared all the same. it would appear that the ever crotchety kaiba has award her points for effort, and that's more than good enough.]
There's an old legend about seahorses. That after a hundred years, they become better than what they were. They become dragons.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-22 07:09 pm (UTC)Is. Is he laughing? She blinks again, and then visibly relaxes at the quiet, pleasing noise. Jeez... ]
Wait, really? I've never heard that before. I wish it weren't just a legend, I'll bet they'd be super cute dragons...
[ ...Or really alien looking. She'll stick with cute. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-11-22 09:57 pm (UTC)[because clearly she wasn't. they're both in agreement there. even so...]
Just be you. Your silly, annoying, insufferable self. And I guess I'll put up with it. Since I'm such a generous guy and all.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-28 06:24 pm (UTC)[ But that requires opening books and she's not about that life anymore, blah blah studying sucks, school sucks. ]
The most generous. Even though you're stuck with me regardless of whether you really like it or not. 'Cause this is Hell and apparently this is your eternal punishment, congratulations~