2025-09-11: Table Talk
- Log: Table Talk
- Cast: Myunghon Yeo, Remi Ryuuja, Hitomi Mandai
- Where: Cardboard Dragon, Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru
- OOC Date: September 11, 2025
- IC Date: Monday, July 09, 2012 (Afternoon)
- Summary: Myunghon and Remi are minding the store. Remi catches wind of something happening between Myunghon and Shinobu, but can't pry the details out of them just yet. Instead, Hitomi arrives to ask about ordering Table Talk RPG books. This, naturally, prompts an explanation for Remi of what those are, and Remi's interest is unexpectedly piqued. Additionally, Hitomi asks about using the store to run some one-shots.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
So Myunghon stayed with Shinobu last, Remi knows, and then afterwards they said they were fine and will be returning to the Cardboard Dragon and has texted all the relevant people that they'll be returning to service and that the store is open again! Clearly something really good happened. Or... not?
Because Remi kinda knows when Myunghon gets into this kind of mood and they're smiling extra hard and pretending everything's okay. It's a little more like how they've been before they met a whole storm of people over the last month and have had some large emotional lows. They're extremely polite and graceful, but there's something a little porcelain in the way they interact with their customers, like they're insisting everything is fine.
Regardless, that's the state of the Cardboard Dragon now, which is fortuitiously open despite the hiccup it's had over the last week of being tended to by volunteers and other people to sustain it because Myunghon had a... medical emergency, would be one way to put it. A medical emergency from a violent assault from a racist cop that included jumping out the third floor of a hospital. Saika might've heard about it because Tsumugi got involved.
"Here's your big pack of boosters, and also two cans of Nastea. Hopefully you'll strike gold," Myunghon rings up and hands the receipt over to a big spender from Kasu High, who's more attentive to the enormous pack of cardboard they've just spent all their allowance on. "I'll find the elusive Sourdough Princess this time..." they murmur.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi also took shifts at the Cardboard Dragon in Myunghon's absence. She's the Lieutenant, after all. (Whatever that means in practice.) And given the conversation she had with Myunghon when she invited her friend to stay with her...
... well, she is honestly very curious how things went at Shinobu's.
She also has some... very bad hunches observing Myunghon in the store today. How that smile is just an extra bit porcelain, how hard Myunghon is trying...
She's in the store in her usual attire, a black beret, wavy honey blonde hair, black turtleneck, long green cardigan, black skirt, gray tights, and dark sea green boots. "Good luck, dear," she says to the customer seeking a Sourdough Princess... whatever that means.
She glances to her side, dropping her voice after the customer steps away. "... how are you feeling, dear?"
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
Hitomi Mandai is making her pilgrimage to the Cardboard Dragon for a number of reasons.
One of them is that she has five thousand yen in her pocket and she's not going to blow it on Magic cards. How did she get that money? Good question, especially since she's torqued it up with an additional 1300 yen of her own. (Also, separate funds for dinner and train fare. She has planned ahead.)
Doesn't anyone sell her crap in the Port Island area? Not as much - or at least, not in a way she finds satisfying.
Either way, Hitomi opens the door to the shop, at about the point when the other customer steps away. She looks at them and drags ass a little as she steps forward so she can hold the door open, allowing them to exit. She is carrying, in addition to the money, a little backpack - it's not *tiny* but it's definitely not a hiking backpack - over one shoulder. It seems flat.
After a few seconds she sidles up towards the counter. No rush. Maybe she's eavesdropping. (She *is* in her Gekkoukan uniform, though the neck tie's been undone and the blouse is untucked. Street style. Or slobbiness. IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?)
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"I am perfectly fine, Remi," Myunghon immediately answers, a little too fast. "I have never felt better, really." Which is probably a complete and bald-faced lie given that even on the physical front they've got a lot of recovering to do with how they're really not leaving that right arm in their medical sling alone enough and keep aggravating it, not to mention how their concussion is clearly still having an effect on how their cognitive lapses keep interrupting their conversations...
"I have to thank you for all the assistance you all have given me over the past week." Tending shop one-handed is kind of annoying, but they're somehow managing... and perhaps being a little bit too stubborn with not wanting help. Which is another tell for someone as familiar as Remi because Myunghon is usually receptive to things that are just hard beyond their limits, like living things overhead, so when they get stubborn about doing things themself it's usually because they feel some need to feel control over a lack of control in their life.
The door rings again, and Myunghon immediately swivel-turns. They're basically the same Myunghon Hitomi saw last -- a tall, extremely lanky person with white hair and a black and white suit with a somewhat more dramatic black coat draped over their shoulders like it's limpeting onto them for their protection... though the sling on the arm is new. Did they take a fall or something.
"Mandai-kun? Why, it has been a while. Thank you for coming all the way out here again. I know it must be a pain."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Never felt better. Remi arches an eyebrow. "Myunghon, you are still recovering from your injuries. You do not look 'fine' to me." This coming from someone who's still favoring her left arm, of course. Right now she's not icing it ut she's got bandages wrapped around her left forarm, under her turtleneck sleeve.
(She is layered up even in the summer heat. IT's fine.)
"And you really need to leave your arm alone. It won't heal if you don't leave it in its sling to recover." She nods. "You are more than welcome, dear... your friends are more than happy to support you, so please, if you'd like to talk about anything that's happened--"
And then another customer comes in through the door. Blast.
She straightens up as Hitomi enters, putting on her most amicable smile. "Welcome to the Cardboard Dragon, dear." She hasn't seen Hitomi before, but apparently Myunghon has. "Is there anything we can help you with?"
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
Shuffle shuffle. Shuffle shuffle. Look.
Looook.
"Hey," answers Hitomi, soundong obscurely flustered. Then: "No, this place is cool... you've got good prices... it makes it cooler, you know? And, uh... well..." She shifts back and forth for a moment. She looks towards Remi then. Back to Myunghon.
".. It is kinda cold in here... uh, if you're hurt..." Hitomi trails off, looking down again. Then she takes in a deep breath...
And she answers Remi.
"I'm just gonna cut to the meat," Hitomi tells her, looking away from Myunghon -- injured? complex? witnessed her at her lowest?? uncomfortably erotic?? -- to focus on Remi, who has the advantage of being three inches shorter than Hitomi. That's right: Height prejudice. IN REMI'S FAVOR.
"You guys do tabletalk RPGs here? You know, TTRPG? Like Klarkash-ton or Blade World?"
NARRATOR INTERLUDE
Tabletalk RPGs! T T R P G - the uniquely Japanese flair applied to the field of roleplaying games! In Japan, due to various mishaps by Gary Gygax and assorted other persons who did not see the value of being 'big in Japan' - and did THEY make a Big Mistake - the scene has developed independently!
Call of Cthulhu needs no introduction - localized and translated, it has a lot of adherents, even if the sales numbers might not be that large!
Sword World, ironically enough, has been the host of several different well-known anime and manga series! Everyone loves the comical faces made by Deedlit, the alluringly charming blonde elf who forges the way for other beautiful elves of renown, like Celecia, Legolas, and this enigmatic 'Marcille' -- but we'll all meet her glamorous wisdom soon enough!
Why "Table Talk?" Because think about what you do in an RPG - you TALK -- traditionally at a TABLE! Indeed, computer RPGs somewhat precede the concept in the Japanese fan community!
We end our narrator interlude now. This is foreshadowing.
(editor's note: klarkash-ton is analogous to call of cthulhu. blade world is sword world. keep it straight in this world of gamer mercenaries.)
HERE AGAIN
"Because I was thinking like... okay, I mean, you guys have all these books over here, right...?" Hitomi must be going somewhere with that, but she's trailing off.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Remi points out that their injuries are still severe and that they shouldn't be pushing themself. That arm will never heal if they don't leave it alone. There's just the slightest tension from Myunghon as Remi says that if they'd like to talk about anything that's happened...
"Nothing... nothing happened," Myunghon answers in that really obvious voice that SOMETHING happened and they don't want to talk about it. "I had a nice stayover and that was it."
Could you be any WORSE at this, Myunghon?
"We have a customer," Myunghon does have to remind... they don't have to remind Remi, really, it's more like they're reminding themself. "Ah-- my apologies, we can turn up the air conditioner if you are cold." That wasn't even remotely close to what Hitomi said, Myunghon! They're so distracted right now. They have to keep the mask together.
Hitomi's asking if they have tabletalk RPGs. The answer is plainly -- no, they don't carry such items on the shelves. They've certainly talked about it, but it seems like it might be a little bit too niche for how much space it'll take up (and then someone points out if Myunghon could just remove some of their old books and then Myunghon balks and ends the conversation).
"Ah. No, unfortunately, we did not expand our inventory to carry such items... but I *am* familiar with what you speak of. I have some experience performing duties as a Game Master to some... eccentric players."
What they're not saying is that their current weekly tabletop group consists of PYRO JACK and JACK FROST and if they get too mad their players go 'yeah?? well BUFU DEEZ--'
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Myunghon insists nothing happened. A lovely stayover and nothing more. Remi's eyes narrow. "... mmhmm. Let's talk later, dear," she says in a quiet voice, and then lets the matter drop. They do have a customer present, after all.
"Tabletalk..." Remi pauses. She's only just started to wrap her head around 'card games' and 'video games', but 'tabletalk' is something new altogether. She slowly pivots her gaze to Myunghon, as if expecting them to have an answer. She looks surprised as Myunghon mentions familiarity, and then also being a Game Master... whatever that means.
She would be very concerned to learn how Myunghon's regular gaming group is.
"Yes, we do," agrees Remi of the books. "I'm quite fond of them, personally." She has a copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray beside her on the counter, in fact. "It brings a crain draw to our store, don't you think?" She makes eye contact with Hitomi. Myunghon won't go for remining one, Rmei is pretty sure, so she's trying to head that off at the pass without upsetting Myunghon more.
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
Hitomi looks, briefly, as if she very much WANTS to butt in about these injuries. But: She doesn't.
Because it's not what she's here to do.
"Mm," she says, pursing her lips. Then... "Oh, you have?"
"Because," Hitomi continues, casting a somewhat furtive look towards Remi, "that makes the explanation a lot easier..." Her eyes widen at what Remi says, though. She is on the spot. Say something cool, Hitomi thinks.
No, not that information about sea cucumbers.
After a slightly awkward pause, she says, "It's a really sweet ambiance... and... what I'd been HOPING was... first, that you'd have books since I only have like this one core book I got and I know there's like a ton more Blade World books to use, *and also*,"
Pause.
Her eyes turn to the side. Courage, Mandai!
"... I wanted to run something here, like, if you're cool with that."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon is going to be incredibly tight-lipped and stubborn about it, like some sort of shrivelling snail that tucks further in when poked. No, the only path left to Remi is to go to the other side of the equation of who was there on that fateful night...!! This will surely, absolutely, absotively go well.
Myunghon does look to Remi as they roll the term, but then they explain in terms Remi would understand: "Collaborative roleplaying between several friends, with someone acting in a role not unlike a stage manager. Each player imagines and acts out a character in the shared setting, and a series of rules facilitates the outcome of the story."
Myunghon's favourite book is, perhaps unsurprisingly, No Longer Human, by one Osamu Dazai, no matter how exotic and foreign they like to go on the fin de siecle. They usually have a copy on their person, which looks somewhat worn like it's a personal lucky charm...
"Hmmm. Well, Mandai-kun, fortunately this *is* a bookstore, and I do actually have contact with various suppliers if *do* wish to order books," Myunghon does remind Hitomi, because just because they don't order new books on the regular doesn't mean that they can't. "So if you can text me a list of some of the items you'd like to see, I'd certainly be happy to source it for you."
But Hitomi rolls for Guts!
2d6 (11) + 3 = 14 vs. Legendary (12)
+1: Sick card tricks.
-1: Injuries make it awkward??
S U C C E S S
"Ara," Myunghon is allowed to drop one of those sometimes. "I'd certainly be happy with arranging that, though at the present there aren't any dedicated quiet rooms."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
That's fine, Myunghon. Remi has social graces. (Well, she has some left, at least.) She can snoop around a bit for the information she wants.
"Well if you want books... Yeo-san, we could certainly order something from our supliers, yes...?" She has no idea just how different the form factor of these books are.
Hitomi wants to 'run' someting here. "Forgive my ignorance, but this is a... game you want to play, yes?"
But Myunghon explains, and Remi... looks intrigued. "I see. So not unlike... acting out parts in a story, but done as a game?" This is, seemingly, an entirely new concept to her. "How very interesting..." She looks to Hitomi. "And that's what you wish to do here?"
No quiet rooms. "Well, we do have the tables the card games are played on, I suppose..."
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"Yeah!" Hitomi says. She glances at Myunghon, who has proven they're no greenhorn when it comes to rollenspiel simulations of the early 21st century. Then back to Remi. "I think if it's not super busy we could just kind of work it in. Like, I know you probably have leagues and stuff."
She rubs the back of her neck. "... I kind of have to get people into it... I have to be honest with you that Magic's kinda wearing off for me... I do know some people who are gonna get into it back at Gekkoukan, though, so it's not like it's the end of the line. But that's why I thought of coming here."
To Myunghon. "Because I feel like atmosphere is going to be super critical for these things, right? And -- I don't know if it's gonna work but if you have a table and we put it near the bookshelves it'd be all like a library, right?"
Back to Remi. "I think it usually takes a few hours? I have club fees and stuff, we can pay a little if you need the space." or can she become a paid GM........
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon definitely figured Remi would be instantly interested in TTRPGs upon knowing what they *are*, or at least have a passing interest. "Just so. If you imagine, say, a fantasy movie, imagine if each of the protagonists were played by a player at the table each, and the hordes of monsters they vanquish are described by this Game Master to arbitrate and provide a challenge."
Do they have Leagues...? "Ah... no, this store has never qualified as a venue to any sort of GP or qualifier or other league competitionf or any card game, so that is not a concern, at the very least." ... they should probably not consider that an upside. But perhaps that's part of the idea, since this store should be at the very least some sort of front... right?
It's like a mafia restaurant getting too popular.
"Mmmm. Well, atmosphere... I suppose to those who are familiar with this store, it is fine, but some may be offput at how old this building is," Myunghon ruminates. "And given how long it takes you to travel here after school, I would daresay it may be more quiet and comfortable to run after store hours are over -- say five in the evening. Though that would mean you are taking a late train back too, Mandai-kun."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"Well, I'm certain we could find a way to accomodate it, if it does not take up too much space? I will admit, I do not know quite what is needed... But if you want atmosphere... it's not out of the question to move the bookshelves, to accomodate a table amongst them." A pause. "... we should seek the help of Aragaki-san, or perhaps Shimizu-san." That last name drop is partly an attempt to see what kind of reaction Myunghon gives.
"A few hours? That is rather long for a game, isn't it?" Not disapproving, just trying to understand it better.
"I see... so this... 'Game Master' plays something of the role of playwright, then?" She muses quietly to herself. "... but the must not control everything--otherwise it would be performing a play and not playing a game..."
"I should be curious to observe the playing of one of these... tabletalk games, was it? If that is not an issue. You will need someone here to mind the store, after all." After hours... "What bout on Saturday or Sunday? It might make the scheduling easier."
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"You just need a table, dice, some paper... not like, big board pieces or anything," Hitomi assures Rumi, blinking several times. Her brow furrows for a moment at the mention of Aragaki but -- nah, Hitomi decides, there's probably a bunch of people named that out there.
"Mmh... If it's not gonna put you out... if we're all coming up here as a club thing we can just do it during club time, I figured," Hitomi muses, "but I might try to spread it out. I figured I ought to do a lot of games with people, like what did they call them, One Shots? Just a single game, and if they like it, we can figure something out, right?"
little does hitomi know that being a GM is something that can easily suck up all your free time
or
does she?
"Sure, you'd be welcome," Hitomi tells Remi, blinking once. "And actually Sunday'd be awesome, but I might be going on my school trip... I guess I have to get the books anyway, though, right? Maybe I can take 'em along and plan..."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Very true, Remi. It may be a bit busier on the weekdays, but it will be easier than having to return home late on a weekday," Myunghon considers. But then Remi mentions asking help from Shinjiro or Shinobu and-- Remi can tell the faint flinch that comes from them, before, again, it's pasted with a slightly more sad smile as they glance away.
"I think you could obtain their assistance, yes," they say, a bit distantly, like they've already precluded themself from it.
A few hours? "If we use the movie example again, or even the amount of time it takes to go through several scenes in a play, it may make more sense, Remi," Myunghon explains. Yobisute! But it looks like Remi is getting a little more into it.
"Indeed. Try thinking of it as improv theatre," Myunghon explains. "For instance, if I told you a big dragon flew in from above, trying to roast your character, there are many reactions you may have, would you not? I would not simply say 'and then your character dies', nor would I dictate how they solve the immediate problem. Instead, I would listen to your proposed solution, and we would arbitrate it using the game ruleset. Perhaps a mystic would fly away, or a warrior would show his strength of arms."
Hitomi's been thinking of coming as part of club time -- and Myunghon thinks more about this. "That is also possible, yes... and indeed, when you are not certain if others would enjoy the hobby, a 'one shot' is indeed ideal."
Myunghon gestures to Hitomi and Remi and walks towards their laptop, and even one-handed, they prove to be actually deft at typing, still, browsing towards their supplier website. "Let's try Blade World... ah. Here. It does look like they have a variety, though with this many different products, I'll need your expertise as to what you'd like, Mandai-kun."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"Well, that sounds more than reasonable, then," Remi says to Hitomi of the supplies required.
It's definitely a different Aragaki.
"Performing it on a trial basis might be ideal... but we can certainly work out the logistics. It sounds like you needed some books ordered anyway, yes?"
Ah-ha. Remi catches that reaction with her sharp eye. More evidence to add to her metnal list. "Yes, I'm quite certain I could."
"Ahh, yes, I see. And when you factor in the time for these... rules and arbitration, as you put it, I see why it might take some time." But a Mystic could fly, a Warrior might show off a feat of strength... Remi's eyes gleam. "Might this be the sort of warrior who would wield a sword?"
In all of her stage combat jaunts, the one thing she hasn't done is slay a dragon...
Remi follows Myunghon over to look, also curious. "My word, that is quite a variety, non? What are all of those used for, I wonder?"
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"I mean, I already have the dice," Hitomi says with a laugh, as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Of course it is, right? She can have dice, if she wants to.
She takes a deep breath. "Oh yeah," she tells Remi. "There's a bunch of different kinds of guys with swords. Kind of like how samurai aren't the same as knights, right? I mean I only read the core book but --"
laptop
COMPUTER SCREEN.
Hitomi is drawn to that light. "Oh, yeah," she says, "I kinda want... lesse... players manual... I think they got this thing with lots of character sheets which I think would be cool to give out to people... oh, wow, is that a... hm... I have to look these up, they all kinda..."
Hitomi's glasses reflect some splash art of covers.
"... They all kind of just have cool fantasy people on the covers...??"
this project will occupy hitomi, and she will probably have to Do Research and send myunghon a text.
and money.
that doesn't go by text