paixaorpg | Foundation Day Festival: Games Area

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Foundation Day Festival: Games Area

Character(s): anybody playing games
Content: people play carnival games
Setting: Joco da Crianca Fairgrounds, games area
Time: all day~
Warnings: Multithreaded posting format (please include time of day and sub-location in your comment's subject line)

Scattered through the western half of the fairgrounds are the game tents. They've got everything, from knocking over bottles to darts to a dunk tank; if you can think of it, chances are they have it. There's even a "Guess Your Age Or Weight" booth. Typically there is more than one game to a tent. This is a very loud area, with all of the games staff calling at once to get people to come over.

Naturally, there are prizes for those who win, ranging from little knickknacks and candies to giant stuffed animals - nothing particularly useful, but a lot of cute things.

The piece de resistance is a 25-foot Ferris wheel. It seats two to a car (three if you squeeze), and children under four and a half feet tall aren't allowed to ride without an adult.

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Luffy was nearly too busy, lost in laughter over his amusement, to notice his observer's wry remark. The young man in the straw hat, standing with his fists leaning on his hips, boiled over with a giggling outburst as he watched the purely bewildered look on the carnival worker's face as the blood seemed to drain out of his features.

"Hmm?" he finally replied, turning on the heels of his sandals towards Zexion. "No-no, that's not true at all."

Jutting out his arm, Luffy gestured towards the other Strongman platforms, with other happy festival-goers hoisting their heavy mallets and swinging them hurriedly down onto the lever with all their might. Their faces contorted and their muscles tensed as they gave it their all, with so much effort going into performing such a simple action.

"The point of the game is to hit it as hard as you can. Then, you win a prize!" he said, grinning brightly. "See?"

Right on cue, Luffy was handed an odd little stuffed panda. "Do you want this?" he asked, holding the plush out to the stranger.

Zexion resisted the urge to sigh at the 'definition' of the game offered by the strange young man. While it was true that was technically the point of the game, it lacked something yet. Perhaps another try was necessary to explain here.

"True, perhaps," he answered, letting the semblance of a polite smile settle itself on his face. "Nonetheless I would imagine that most here -" a slight gesture to encompass the other festival-goers in the vicinity "- do not share your strength, something that one could hardly call fair."

At the offer of the stuffed panda, he merely shrugged. "If you are sure you have no need of it."

"Fair? What's not fair?" Looking more than a little confused, Luffy's lips pursed oddly. "Everybody just steps up and tries as hard as they can with what they have."

True, Luffy was stronger than most. If anything was unfair, it was the comparison of pirate's physical strength with the rest of the crowd. Judging by how hard he had hit the platform earlier, the weight likely would have come crashing down just around the outskirts of the fairground borders.

Still, Luffy didn't see it as being an unearned advantage. It was easy to assume that his power came from some external source judging by his dimensions and build, a spell, an enchantment, special equipment, anything from among the worlds that could grant such a blessing, but even more unusual than such methods was the fact that Luffy's musculature was purely natural, gained from a very 'unorthodox' training regiment.

"That's what I do. It'd be unfair if I couldn't," he insisted, still holding the bear out to the one vainly using reason and rationality against Luffy.

A small sigh escaped Zexion's lips at that. Reason would have no place here it seemed - a realization that bothered the Nobody more then it would have were he anyone else, although he was careful to to let it show.

"So you do," he answered with another polite smile. "Why don't we just forget I said anything then. After all, you may be correct in that it would be unfair if you couldn't do all within your power." After all, not everyone was made with the same strengths - something he himself proved within the Organization that he belonged to.

And as it seemed that his temporary companion indeed wished to offer away what he had won, Zexion reached to take it, with a slight nod of thanks.

Luffy began to laugh once Zexion offered his concession; not mockingly, but warmly, as if he was simply enjoying the conversation. It was that simple nature that had won out against the Nobody's logic that granted him the pleasure of even a simple, friendly chat.

"So, what's your name?" he asked with a grin. "Are you from around here, or did you kinda show up here on accident too?"

"Ian," he answered in question to his name - it wasn't the truth by any stretch of the imagination, but at least it was halfway close to a name he had once had. "And I arrived by accident as so many here seem to. Might I assume that the same is true in your case?"

Of course, he didn't care one way or the other, but he was quite familiar with the lie of politeness and was more than willing to draw it over the emptiness. After all misdirection was his specialty.

"Well...I don't really know if it was an accident."

Suddenly, a moment of clarity amid Luffy's usual dim nature. He almost seemed reflective as he spoke, and briefly tilted his head up to stare at the false heavens above. "I think maybe something called me here, and I agreed to come." He smiled, and looked back towards 'Ian'. "Deep down inside, that is."

There was a pause as Zexion thought on that before answering.

"That may be the case for some. However I am certain that there are others who would gladly return to the places that came from. Not all are inclined to travel great distances and doubtless there are those who were in the midst of something important before this place called them here. Or even those who have not yet seen any others of the places they call home and begin to worry for those left behind."

And doubtless people would keep coming. That was, after all, the nature of the place.

Wrapping his thoughts around Zexion's reply, Luffy thoughtfully laced his fingers around the edge of his chin in a contemplative fashion, and nodded his head softly in agreement.

"Hmm, hmm, yes." he muttered softly. "I think I have a good reason for staying here, at least for now. I keep hearing about a bunch of weird sorts wearing black, who go around kidnapping people." Luffy turned his head aside and sneered at the thought. "Somebody ought to put them in their place. I'd do it myself, but I can't find any of them around."

Zexion would have laughed at that, were not for the fact that he knew it would have been a suicidal move, given what he'd already seen of the young mans strength. Instead, he merely shrugged - a 'what can you do' sort of gesture.

"They do seem to be scarcer of late. One can only hope they've been driven away for the time being."

Inside, however, he couldn't help from smiling a cold cruel smile, even if the facade of politeness hid it from view.

"Yeaaahhh...I guess that'd be good..." Strangely, Luffy seemed disappointed at the sentiment; he couldn't argue that a disappearance of the Organization would be a good thing, but his reckless, challenge-seeking side still wished for an appearance, however brief.

"But, you should probably be careful," he continued, still blissfully ignorant of the truth. "You seem like a pretty good guy, and I don't want anything bad happening to the nice folks around these parts."

Zexion merely smiled at that. "I believe I can manage to take care of myself, should it come to that. I appreciate the concern, however.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder idly about what would happen if he knew just who he was talking to. Not that he intended to bring it up of course. Leave that to more fool-hardy of his kind; he had no intentions of picking fight he knew he had no chance of winning.

Likely by accident, but Zexion's reply seemed to perk some odd sense of interest in Luffy. If he could handle himself in that kind of sad situation, could he have some sort of power, or a talent in combat?

"Naa, is that so?" he asked, a strange grin sliding across his face. "Are you pretty strong?" For a moment, he looked a little hopeful, in the foolish sense that he often looked to a friendly skirmish in order to entertain himself.

He shook his head at that. "No, I'm afraid. My talents lie in other places than combat."

And to be fair, he looked it - short, and tending towards something that could be only defined as 'bookish'. Truth be told, he'd rather not fight, if it came to it. There were other ways to bring down a foe after all.

Luffy clearly wasn't disappointed, judging by his looks; he kept right on genuinely smiling, and his curiosity only seemed be sparked to greater heights.

"Oh! That's okay, too." he remarked enthusiastically. "Not everybody has to be good at throwing punches. I can't do a lot of other things, so I need people with smarter talents to back me up."

If Zexion wasn't careful, Luffy was likely to try and recruit him to his crew, and it was very difficult to disuade him.

Zexion smiled at that. "That is, I believe the case in many things. Especially in place such as these, where humanity is so intermingled."

If Luffy tried, Zexion would hardly have any problems with it. After all, it would provide him with a secure place from which to weave his web of lies. And best of all, this young man didn't seem like the type to catch on until it was all too late.

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Foundation Day Festival: Games Area

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