sixthiterationlogs | Give Me O Lord, I Pray Thee, Firm Faith, Unwavering Hope, Perfect Charity.

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Give Me O Lord, I Pray Thee, Firm Faith, Unwavering Hope, Perfect Charity.

WHO: Father Francis Mulcahy
WHERE: The Inn's common room
WHEN: June 26
OPEN TO: Anyone who wants to gamble, and anyone in white scrubs who wants to enable gambling XD It's a mingle, go forth and swindle your fellow players
WARNINGS: to be listed if needed

Many Snuggles died to bring you this entertainment.

All right, not precisely, but on two of the largest tables in the inn's common room are stacks of fleece circles in red, blue, green, grey, and black (they're not precisely cut, the scissors here really aren't up to doing very detailed work, but it's close enough). On both tables is a deck of cards he'd found in storage, and the good father himself is standing between the tables with a smile that's a little more mischievous than many people would imagine he could possess. He's used to leading group activities, but those had often been attended because they were simply something to break the boredom rather than something many people were truly interested in. Poker, however, had always been the camp's favorite activity, and it seemed many people in the village were interested in continuing the tradition.

"When I proposed this venture over these remarkable devices, there seemed to be an agreement that this would be a worthwhile activity to pursue. Anyone who wants to participate is welcome; anyone who doesn't know how to play will be taught. Obviously there can't be any betting for money, but these circles will still stand in for chips. Black will be one dollar, green will be five, blue ten, grey twenty-five, and red fifty. Call it sort of an incentive to want to play well, even if there's no tangible reward. And, to make it even more interesting..."

That smile quirks up just a little more at the corners. It's nothing extremely exciting, but his experience with Claire Temple while she'd been recovering from her mysterious pain had shown him something... potentially very useful.

"I'm sure some of you have realized that there are people in the village who seem to be in possession of various abilities, ones they did not have before. It seems those of us the people who brought us here chose to dress in white can... ah, improve a person, in a way. If we touch someone, apparently we can impart a little extra luck to that person for a period of time. I'm honestly not sure the extent of it, or the length of time involved, but I know it exists. So."

He turns, picks up a deck of cards, and starts to shuffle them in his hands, that smile looking downright pixie-like. "Shall we make this little engagement even more interesting?"

((OOC: reminder, white scrubs-people can impart good luck and confidence for twelve hours to anyone they touch skin-to-skin or are worried enough about to override any other thoughts. People in white do not have to play if they don't want to XD And people in other colors can grab a power-up from someone in white if they want to try it, or skip it if they don't, then just slip into a new game. And yes this does count as part of the Power Surge plot if you grab a boost.))

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Poker had always been a way for the senior officers on the Enterprise to relax and blow off some steam. It was a bonding exercise for them as well, something Beverly has sorely missed in the last year. She's missed a lot of the people, too, but that's a constant thing. Missing poker hadn't been something she expected, even if it makes sense to think about.

So once she'd heard about the poker arrangement, she'd planned to attend as soon as it came about. Which is why she's here in the Inn at this point in time. And she's dragged Jean-Luc along. He took far too long to join the senior officers and she won't let him lose this opportunity now. Besides, it sounds like it will be fun, especially given the news about her particular scrubs color.

"Deal me in," she tells whoever has the stack of cards next, smiling impishly as she looks to see who else is around to join in. "Let's see how this goes, shall we? If there's anyone new to the game, I'd be happy to show you how to play."

It'll be a lot of fun that way, especially if she can surprise people with her poker skills.

Peggy had made a habit of playing poker during her downtime with the Commandos, knowing not to bet against Gabe when he got that glint in his eye, that Falsworth couldn't bluff worth a damn, and that Dernier cursed like a sailor when he lost. It had given her some of the best entertainment of her life, during those bleak days after they lost Steve, after Barnes had fallen -- two constant empty spots at the table.

When the man suggests luck, she can't quite help her disbelieving little huff, because the idea that she might use luck in a game that she could win with skill and some excellent cold reading is rather insulting. She sits herself down at one of the chairs and eyes the people around her while she picks up the deck of cards in order to spend the time shuffling, waiting for someone to come and challenge her.

At least no one has gone and suggested they play strip poker, which had been one of Dugan's favourite requests. It did get a bit old, especially when Peggy tired of seeing all the boys' dirty underwear when she had conceded to a round or two.

Cutting the deck, she relaxes back and waits for someone to take up the challenge. "What do you think?" she challenges, when there's a taker. "Skill versus luck?"

He hasn't communicated over the device himself, being still mostly unfamiliar with that sort of thing, but he has at least figured out how to see the messages on it. So the notice about poker had easily caught his attention. There's something he hasn't done in awhile, even before he arrived here. He knows it won't be exactly the same, without money or even alcohol, but there's no harm in staying in practice. He could use something to do during his down time, too. He can't spend all day working, and he doesn't have the drinking and dicing option. Poker sounds like an excellent social opportunity, too, and those are some of his favorite things.

He hadn't heard about what those with white scrubs can do before now; he hasn't even figured out what he can do yet. It doesn't matter though. He's got plenty of skill without needing the luck that some could provide him. It might sound strange for someone of his former profession, but he dislikes the idea of cheating at poker, anyway. Use the skills if you've got them, and if you don't, then you've got no business attempting it.

He approaches one of the tables and whoever is already seated at it. "It's been awhile since I spent an evening like this. It should be a good time."

Poker and cards were foreign to Circe, but the level of excitement was infectious. After a long existence of toil and loneliness, it was a strange to be surrounded by so many. There wasn't idleness or indulgence like the gods might enjoy. This seemed to require strategy and thought. She watched at first, trying to get an idea of how it was played, but the combination of cards were confusing and made little sense.

There was no other way to learn but to actually try her hand. She chose a table with a few others, people that didn't seem like they would mind teaching a beginner and have the patience to do so. It would take a bit more than simply learning the combinations and what trumped what, there would also need to be an explanation about how the currency was gambled.

"Where do we start?"

"Do you know how to play?" Circe asked, practicing shuffling the cards as she was taught. It was still unfamiliar to her, the combinations of cards and when she was supposed to bet, but she was beginning to understand...if only a little. A few of the cards fell from her hands, no matter how she tried, it seemed that she couldn't manage to shuffle like the others.

"Do you want to try?" She offered him the deck, shaking out her hand. Her fingers were cramping from her repeated attempts. It was time for someone else to have a try. This was the first she had heard that the scrubs possessed magic, while luck would be a good thing to have, she preferred to rely on herself.

"I do, although I haven't in years." For various reasons that he doesn't need to go into here. At least he's disclosing what he thinks is important information. If she's okay with playing against someone who knows what he's doing, he'll be as helpful as he can.

He takes the deck from her and rests it on the table. "I'll do my best." He has figured out how to do most things with only one hand, at least the things that he does on a regular basis. So he just has to modify this method a bit. He splits the deck in half, rests his hook on the half on the table, and threads the two halves of the deck together. "It's not ideal, but it will serve."

"Oh." She hadn't noticed the hook at first. Of the many things she had seen in her existence, she hadn't come across something like this. "It was difficult for me to try and shuffle, I should have considered...I could try again?" She offered. There was no guarantee either of them would do well, but it was already apparent he was still more skilled than she was, even with a hook.

"If you tell me I am playing wrong, I won't know if you are lying or not." It was meant as a joke, something to lighten the mood a little. "I heard you need something called a 'poker face.' How do you learn how to do that?"

"I can manage." Unless she wants the chance to practice. He's got a handle on things otherwise.

"That would be cheating, and it's far more fun to win with skill." Which doesn't mean, necessarily, that he'll win every hand. Sometimes it really does come down to the cards in one's hand. "Ah, the poker face. It's bluffing and misdirection, but mostly it's just learning not to show a reaction to the cards in your hand. If your opponents know you have a good hand, that will make a difference in how they play."

For all that he's only recently started taking part in the poker nights with the other senior officers on the Enterprise, Picard isn't about to miss the opportunity to join in here. Especially not given that Beverly has gone to the trouble of dragging him out here in the first place. It won't be entirely the same, of course. But it is still an excellent way to relax, regardless of anything else.

The mention of a little extra luck, meanwhile, has him raising an eyebrow. It's certainly an interesting prospect, although thus far he doesn't see any immediate need to avail himself of a little extra luck. If other chose to, perhaps, but even then it'd only be to make sure that the playing field is as level as possible.

"That's certainly an interesting proposal," he comments as he takes a seat. "But perhaps we should see where we might get without, first?"

The latter is addressed to the others at the table more than than anything, and for all that he's asked he's none too certain about how the abilities Mulcahy has mentioned work, save for the few details that have already been mentioned.

Danny loves a good poker night so he is there early. He heads over to the priest and sits down next to him. "This is a good idea, a good poker night always lights the mood."

"Are you familiar with how the game is played?"

Admittedly, Picard can't say with any certainty that he'll be the best to explain the rules of the game, but that's more because he's never had to teach it before. He'd already been familiar with it when he finally decided that he might as well join the poker nights on board the Enterprise, and the same is true of all the rest of the senior officers who'd been involved. But he does know how the game is played and if nothing else that should help a little.

And of course, there is the possibility that Circe is already familiar with the game. But he figures there's certainly no harm in asking even so; if she already is, that's one step he can avoid, and if not, better to know before starting a game.

"How about skill against skill?"

After all, to the best of his knowledge, Picard isn't in possession of any extra luck (yet). And while he won't deny being a little curious about that particular ability - nor that he's wondered, a little, at what people who the Observer have chosen to dress in the color he'd arrived in can do - that's certainly no reason that they can't play the game honorably first.

He is, of course, unaware that the possibility exists that either the power he's been granted or the one Peggy has been granted might go off at some point in the process. But even if he had been, he would have been perfectly willing to try without them beforehand. The rest, for now, he's more than willing to leave in the hands of the cards themselves.

"Cards take skill?" That's what others had implied as well, but she couldn't imagine how. It was all about a certain pattern and keeping it secret from others, if she were to dumb it down to its most basic idea. Her unfamiliarity with the game would be to his advantage, unless was genuinely on her side. Though she doubted there would be enough luck to help her through this.

"Schooling your face from emotions? I suppose that is where the skill is?"

"No, I am not. There were no cards in my world."

Someone had at least explained the suits to her and what they represented, as well as showing her the hierarchy of the deck. While it wasn't completely clear, she had enough understanding to keep it in mind during the game. It was the rules of poker that she was still uncertain of. Someone had said something about pairs, three and four of a kind. But when the word "flush" came into the conversation, she was lost.

"Did you play this game before?"

"Partially." He'll try and explain what it means. "There's luck to it, in the cards that you're dealt. There's skill though in knowing what to do with those cards once you've got them. And if you've got a terrible hand, then there's skill in bluffing."

He sets the deck on the table between them. "A skilled player can win with a terrible hand, just by making the others think it's a good hand."

Peggy's always happy for a challenger and given that he looks well suited to the game, she knows it's not going to be so easy of a win if she does manage to get a little bit ahead. "I like that," she concedes, gesturing to the open seat beside her, sitting up perfectly straight and working to ensure that her face is passive and careful.

"Should I ask how much history of poker playing you have?" she posits. "Or is this the sort of surprise that I just need to wait for."

"You're certainly welcome to ask."

Judging by the smile that accompanies his words, though, he might not directly answer. Admittedly, of the people present from the Enterprise, he's not the one to really watch out for - that's Beverly - but he's not too bad at the game either. Either way, he takes the seat next to her without so much as a second thought, schooling his expression into a similar careful neutrality.

"Although I can tell you that poker hasn't changed too much over the centuries if that's any comfort."

"I have," Picard answers with a nod. "I won't say I'm the best at it," although he's certainly not bad either "but I should be able to explain well enough. Was there anything in particular you were wondering, or should I start at the beginning?"

If he needs to explain the whole of the game, he absolutely will. But he figures that if there are details that she already knows that it's better to ask than simply assume and end up explaining things she already knows (and possibly simply causing frustration as a result). And he has to admit that the rules of poker are slightly arcane; the sort of thing that one can't always pick up on simply by seeing it played. So really, some confusion is understandable in this case.

"Ah, hello, Danny. Yes, I've found that a good game always seems to bring spirits up." Is it technically against his vows to gamble? Yes. Does he do it anyway? Absolutely yes. Mulcahy's taken a seat at one of the tables and is shuffling the cards with a skill that shows a lot of practice in his past, and probably his present as well. "We have our weekly games at camp, and I feel like it wouldn't be amiss to make it a tradition here as well. Lack of money not withstanding."

With a smile that could almost be called sly, Mulcahy begins to deal the cards between himself and Danny, sticking with the standard five card draw for now. "How have you been lately, with all the changes afoot?"

Elrond had basically been mostly using the inn as his place of rest, so he was already there when this impromptu gathering had been set up and started gathering steam. The nature of it almost reminded him of similar festivities in Rivendell, even if the content of them differed. He observed things from the sidelines for a small time, giving the second statement some thought before he actually joined the crowd.

Elrond's never played this particular card game, but that doesn't deter him from settling into a seat beside the woman offering to teach it to people. "So, just how does one play this particular game?"

There's some very careful wording in there that has Peggy suspicious. Centuries makes her wary, but he doesn't look like he would be out of place to a time that she belongs and his accent certainly feels like home. Yet, at the same time, she's learned not to judge a book entirely by its cover.

"I do hope that other ways of winning poker haven't changed either," she jokes, gesturing to the cards. "You can deal, if you'd like, and tell me about what year it was for you." Sometime that had poker, at least, she can be assured of that.

"There is always other things you can trade, labour or other something else." He shrugs, meeting Mulcahy's smile with a grin of his own.

"It's been alright. Steve's been decided we should training for being on our own. In case we get taken from the village again." He takes the cards, looking at them as he gets them. "We do this sometimes at home too, playing poker I mean. It is a good time."

"Well, until we find an equivalent trade everyone's happy with, we at least have something to represent our ill-gotten gains," he says, nodding to the pile of "chips" in the center of the table. For all that they're just different colored circles of fabric, they at least give some sort of weight to the bets they were lacking before. "And at least there can be no fighting over someone taking a tenner for their own pile!"

The voice of experience, there. Picking up his own cards as he sets the rest of the deck down, he nods at Danny. "First after the dealer, so I believe it's your go.

"There seems to be a lot of people interested in camping lately. I hope we're not jumping into all of this too quickly; I know we need to be aware and learn more about this world, but it would be all too easy to get overly confident and lose our way. At least you're going out with someone to watch out for you."

"Bluffing? You mean lies?" She grinned, unable to keep a mask of seriousness to her features. Hermes had always managed to see through her, but he was an expert in lies. However skilled others might be, they wouldn't be close to him in talent. Much the better for all of them.

"Where did you learn to play this game?"

"I was told that there were various patterns I was supposed to find in my cards, such as 'four of the same suit.' I think I remember the different types." In the end, she would have to rely on the kindness of others to correct her if she was wrong. It certainly worked out to their advantage.

"It is when to bet and how to bet that I am rather confused on." Gambling wasn't in her nature, only gambling the types of spells she cast, as there was always a danger. This seemed like the sort of games the gods might enjoy. It required strategy, lies and manipulation. "We place a bet before we even see our cards?"

"Yeah, that is true." Danny takes a look at his cards and then adds a couple of the coloured squares. His cards are not bad, they aren't the best either. He is guessing it is a fifty-fifty chance that the priest has a better than him.

"Yeah. It is important that we get to know this place but we should always be safe. Steve might be an idiot at times, but he will keep his sister safe."

"I'll teach you the different combinations as we go," Beverly says as someone settles in at the chair next to her. She offers a smile with a tinge of impishness to it. This is going to be fun. "The goal is have the highest ranked hand at the end or to make the last uncalled bet. The fun part comes in trying not to reveal your hand to the other players. You don't want to give anything away on your face, especially if you're trying to bluff everyone into thinking you have a better hand than you do so that you're the last uncalled bet at the end."

She pauses for a moment, glancing shrewdly at Francis. "I happen to be one of those who was given white scrubs when I came back through the fountain. How do you feel about finding out if this ability to impart luck is real?"

Mulcahy chuckles as he looks at his own hand, contemplating. "I suspect quite a few people have said that, or something like that, about their friends in the past. But I believe strong bonds are what will pull us through this intact." The cards are decent, nothing game-winning yet, but not worth sacrificing a lot. There's the potential for three jacks, if his luck it in-

That chuckle turns to a sigh and exasperated grimace, and he's shaking his head at himself as he folds the cards carefully to the table before him. "I'm sorry, I should have asked before I dealt - did you want me to, ah, enhance your luck?" If his meaning isn't clear, he does hold out a hand to Danny, offering to shake to seal the deal.

"Aye, that's one way of putting it." Bluffs have acceptable uses -- such as in a game of poker -- while lies generally do not. But someone who's skilled at one is skilled at both. He lies less than he used to (he can't remember when was the last time) but he'll be putting his skills at bluffing to good use.

"Smugglers' dens and havens of piracy." It's the truth, and he doesn't see the point in trying to hide it. Everyone he talks to seems to figure it out eventually anyway. This just makes it faster.

"Enhance my luck?" Danny looks at him a bit confused, he hadn't really heard about this ability that Mulcahy had gotten. He takes his hand, almost without thinking and then he shakes his head. "How do you do that?"

"Maybe 'tip the scales' would be a better way to phrase it. We're still not certain exactly what the parameters are." Folding his hand around Danny's, like they're shaking, he nods at them and deliberately grips a little tighter. "Apparently those of us given white scrubs when we arrived have a small ability to change the outcome of... certain things, at least to an extent. Part of the reason I was eager to get this poker game off the ground was to test how far that ability extends to. It's something that could be very useful in the future. It seems to only work through physical contact, but there could be other ways to activate it."

And he is trying on Danny.

Danny nods and gives him a firm handshake. "If you think that will work let's try it. But how can we test if it works?" He is willing to help the priest with any experiment, he likes him and part of him trusts him.

"I mean we can try to play and see how it goes."

Mulcahy wouldn't be willing to try this with so much abandon if he thought at all that the ability was dangerous. It only did good, if on a small scale, and it allowed everyone a little bit of play alongside the cards. Many people in the village are competitive, after all - he's seen some people refuse the luck, wanting to test their skill without a boost, which is entirely fair.

"That's the idea. Now, let's test that theory." After he deems it long enough, Mulcahy lets Danny go and picks up his cards again, removing the two worst and stacking them to the side of the deck, pulling two more from the top. "Dealer takes two."

Danny glances at his cards. "Give me three." He places his three worst cards on the two Mulcahy already put down. "You got a chance to test this gift outside of the gambling room yet? Could be handy when hunting I'd imagine."

Elrond listened to the summary given to him, already tallying up a list of quick questions that needed asked before the game began in earnest. He suspected the combinations mentioned were no doubt tied into the ranked hands that had been mentioned afterward. What either of those were would no doubt--hopefully anyway-- be answered during the game play. Bluffing was an easy enough concept to grasp, be it in a game or something more serious.

At the question, he considered the offer and given it could perhaps offer a chance to answer some of his other questions given those aforementioned 'abilities', he nodded briefly as he answered. "I would be quite interested in the attempt."

Beverly's smirk widens just a touch at the man's answer. If he's willing to sit around for a time and learn, she is definitely interested in seeing how those powers work. If they do at all.

"I'll play the first hand and answer any questions you have as we go and then once you feel more comfortable, I'll let you play a hand and we can see if this luck thing holds out," she suggests. She doesn't want to throw him into a game without at least explaining the hands and types of cards and plays that can be made. Of course, a lot will likely be learning on the run, when he finally has his shot at playing, but the least she can do is give him a trial and explanation period.

Once the cards are dealt, play begins and Beverly schools her expression into one of mild interest. She keeps her companion in the loop as she can, quietly whispering into his ear what the cards mean and why she might decide to call someone's bluff or not as they go. She doesn't end up winning, but that's half the fun, too.

Some things haven't changed all that much across the centuries. True, the places humanity is reached out into have, but other than that a great deal of Earth is still similar enough to not make too much of a difference. Even despite all the suffering that had come of the third World War (which he isn't going to mention unless absolutely necessary) humanity has still survived. Had still dreamed of reaching the stars until it finally became a reality.

"Not to the best of my knowledge," he answers with a shrug as he takes the cards and starts shuffling. "As for years... when I left, it was the year 2373. Although I've been here for nearly a year now."

Plus there'd been the part where he might not, technically have been back in his own time as of when he'd been pulled into the village. But he figures that's a level of complication that he doesn't really need to get into at the moment.

"Before you see other people's cards, yes," Picard answers with a nod. "It's what you're betting on - that your hand is better than the other person's. But you can look at your cards before betting, just as long as you're careful to not let other people see them."

The rest is, largely, bluffing. On trying to make people think that your hand is good even when it might not be so, but that's something that takes practice under the best of circumstances.

Edited 2018-07-28 02:10 (UTC)

Peggy knows that timeframe sounds familiar, but when it clicks, she's surprised that she hadn't seen it sooner. "So, do you know Beverly, then?" It would make sense if he did, after all, it's a very similar time period.

"I've been here for several years, but I assure you, it's still not home," she says, quite determined on that front. She settles back to wait for the cards, eyeing them carefully. "What is everything like, in 2373?"

"I do," he answers with a nod and a gentle smile. "We work on the same ship."

Very closely, sometimes, but he figures that at least for now, the part where he's the captain of that ship is something that doesn't need to be mentioned. If Peggy asks further he'd be more than glad to share, of course, but it doesn't strike him as being immediately relevant.

"And I'm inclined to think the same way. This is certain tolerable, but home is, well, the Enterprise."

And somewhat more distantly, his family's home in La Barre.

The question about what things are like, on the other hand, takes a moment of consideration before he answers.

"I'm not... terribly familiar with all the eras of history, so I wouldn't be the best to ask for direct comparisons but it's... bigger, if that makes sense? Not in the sense of the buildings themselves being bigger, but in that we know that the universe is bigger. That there are other peoples than humanity among the stars and that we're not alone in the universe."

Peggy presses her lips together to avoid showing off a smirk that she's sure would get her in trouble. She's not planning to do that today, so it's best if she simply says nothing about it at all, letting Picard or Beverly simply talk to her about it or to each other.

"I know that we're not alone," she does want to admit, not for any sort of points, but merely because it's the truth. "What I did, my department specifically, we often dealt with alien artifacts. That doesn't mean that I've met any before here, that I know of, but I do know there's more out there."

"It must be incredible to get to explore all that," she admits, thinking of how much more there is out there.

"It is," Picard agrees with a nod. "Although I suppose I might be a little biased."

After all, he did choose to be one of the people exploring the stars, and if he hadn't been at least a little bit interested in the sorts of things that could be found out among the stars he almost certainly wouldn't have.

"It's not without its share of inconveniences and trials, of course. But it's definitely worth it, all the same."

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Give Me O Lord, I Pray Thee, Firm Faith, Unwavering Hope, Perfect Charity.

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