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Foxfire
Oct 29, 2010 17:23:49 GMT -5
Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Oct 29, 2010 17:23:49 GMT -5
"They aren't much different up close. War is an unfortunate inevitability of civilization. It's not half so glorious as we are expected to believe."
Hitoshi glanced down at the board. Well, there's something... He placed one stone near another of the fox's, capturing the piece.
"What you see here is called a ko," Hitoshi explained. "Your piece was captured, but in doing so, my piece was put in jeopardy. You could place a piece on the other side and capture my piece, but this would create the same predicament, meaning that this could go on indefinitely. To keep this from happening, the ko rule goes into effect, which put simply, means that if I capture a single piece of yours, you are not allowed to recapture the stone that was just played."
A slight smile touched the edges of his lips. "If you like, you could think of the ko rule as a method to prevent needless casualties. Repeatedly capturing a single stone back and forth would do no good for either of us, but even with that knowledge, most people would continue with the ko out of pride."
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Foxfire
Oct 29, 2010 19:53:27 GMT -5
Post by Alex Meriweather on Oct 29, 2010 19:53:27 GMT -5
"Hmm." The fox grinned a bit. "Pride resulting in futility. That is another thing I have seen in war. Much like the shogi set."
He placed a stone again, away from most of Hitoshi's current pieces. "Are there games you play that are about things other than war? I'm having fun, but it makes me curious."
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Foxfire
Oct 29, 2010 23:39:29 GMT -5
Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Oct 29, 2010 23:39:29 GMT -5
"I play a bit of mahjong, though it's not my forte. My sister usually beats me quite handedly. We have a few old card games, as well, which my brother is fond of."
Hitoshi placed a piece near to one of the fox's. The move was a peculiar one; should the fox notice it, he could have easily taken half of the black stones in play with a single move. Were the fox not paying attention, however -- and here was the truly brilliant part of the strategy -- Hitoshi would be able to claim half of the board as his territory with the next move. His opponent's next move would decide the fate of the game.
"Most of the other games I know are children's games, and I doubt you would be interested in those. I would offer to teach you mahjong, but I'm not certain I know it well enough to teach it to you."
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Foxfire
Oct 29, 2010 23:50:11 GMT -5
Post by Alex Meriweather on Oct 29, 2010 23:50:11 GMT -5
The fox placed a stone to capture the stone Hitoshi endangered two turns ago.
"Would you mind if I asked your sister, then?" He smiled up at the man.
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Foxfire
Oct 30, 2010 0:29:16 GMT -5
Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Oct 30, 2010 0:29:16 GMT -5
"By all means, go ahead, but I'll warn you now, Hitomil either cheats, or is unfathomably lucky with her pieces." Hitoshi studied the board. "That's not to say that she's not good of the game, of course. The best tiles in the world won't save a bad player."
Hitoshi was not particularly surprised that the fox decided to pursue the ko. It was a beginner's folly to take notice of that before studying the entire board, however.
He placed another stone, capturing three of the fox's stones and adding a fourth of the board to his territory, while gaining significant influence toward the other side of the board.
"After the game is over, I should work on my studies. I need to read up on my history a bit more, and my calligraphy needs work."
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Foxfire
Oct 30, 2010 0:44:17 GMT -5
Post by Alex Meriweather on Oct 30, 2010 0:44:17 GMT -5
The fox chuckled, then placed a stone of his own, threatening, if not yet taking, a good chunk of the board.
"All right. I don't suppose you know of ways to get around this place without being seen, do you? I'm not very good with illusions- obviously, or your sister never would have seen me."
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Foxfire
Nov 4, 2010 13:23:38 GMT -5
Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Nov 4, 2010 13:23:38 GMT -5
"I can't say I do, unfortunately," Hitoshi replied. "There is a tunnel under the estate, but it only connects the bedrooms to the woods about half a mile from the city. I doubt you could use it to move throughout the house."
Hitoshi placed another stone. The fox was catching on quickly. Were Hitoshi to let his attention slip, he could have very easily lost a large percentage of his territory.
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Foxfire
Nov 4, 2010 13:43:58 GMT -5
Post by Alex Meriweather on Nov 4, 2010 13:43:58 GMT -5
"There's a tunnel into the woods?" he replied with mild astonishment. "Why would you do- oh. As an alternate route in case someone attacks you? Or is that not how humans think?"
The fox looked over the board, carefully considering his next move. That last one had taken most of his planning.
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