THIS IS AN IVAN VORPATRIL OPEN POST

[middling]

if you want to be tagged by account whatdidisay then say so in your comment/header. i can write starters if you give me an idea but also: pls write me some, pls, words are hard.

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[bouchonne]

[ What a pity. For once, that hadn't been a bluff; he genuinely had a strong hand. How satisfying it would have been to beat Ivan in earnest. - Not that Byerly has anything against the dear fool; on the contrary, he's exceedingly fond of him. How can you not adore that sweet simplicity? Heavens, would that all men were like his dear cousin-by-some-branches-removed.

By's smile doesn't falter as the rest of the table groans (it seems as though some people, hurtfully, are rooting against Byerly's success); he simply gathers up his chips and passes his cards over to be re-shuffled. ]

You're not doing so well, Ivan.

hope i don't even know how to play poker

[middling]

( At least he has support from the crowd. Ivan glowers at By and his comment -- how nice of him to point out the obvious. Two parts of him are at war: he doesn't want to lose to Byerly, god no. But he also wants this to be over as quickly as possible as to put as much distance between himself and the other man's smug smile.

Decisions, decisions. )

The night is still young. ( It is not. Ivan gestures for them to be dealt a new hand. ) And think how loud everyone around us is going to cheer when I make a comeback.

( He's just saying. )

me either, why did I pick this game

[bouchonne]

What a story of triumph that would be. Good over evil. Purity over corruption. Like Ivan-the-Fool rending the heart of Koschei the Deathless into pieces.

[ By tips his chin in thanks to the dealer, then picks up his cards and deliberately lifts his eyebrows, as though in astonishment. A real reaction? A fake one? Who knows? ]

What do you think, Ivan? Does the world ever fall into such storytale lines? Or do the wicked always win?

i don't know!! now we both must suffer googling for it

[middling]

I think you're reading too much into a game of poker, By.

( His hand is... good. Or at least better than his last, so he decides to make the, well. Average effort. As one does. Ivan places one of his chips in the center -- a measly first bet, and nods to the dealer. )

I raise.

i'm sorry, i should have gone for...uhh...wist?

[bouchonne]

Perhaps.

[ By has...a lot of nothing. Ah, alas. Well, he's certainly not going to fold after all of that. So he flips a few coins of his own into the pot. The fellow to his right does the same; the next one folds.

Pleasantly: ]

How's your hand, Ivan? Feeling confident?

nope. what about bs???

[middling]

If you're trying to throw me off my game it won't work.

( If there's one good thing about Ivan, it's that his ability to just gently ignore most things thrown at him with the air of vapid blankness works in poker, too. Ivan matches the bet -- it seems logical -- and leans back in his seat. )

What about you, By?