JP: Carnival
Feb. 12th, 2011 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
89nkomhaxxor10[ picture prompt ]
The first time Quorra had come into direct, physical contact with video games was the weekend the carnival was in town. While it was impossible to keep her completely ignorant of their existence due to television and retail stores selling the damned things (not to mention what she knew about Encom from Flynn), Sam did his best to keep them away from her until she was ready to deal with them. He knew that, for her, games symbolized something different than they did for him, what with her experiences on the Grid. Hell, his own time on the other side of the screen had given him a new respect for the video games he played, however, he knew that instead of appropriated programs forced to go against their coding these were specifically designed to do the things he was making them do. He also knew that to Quorra a program was a program. She and Sam had also had all the discussions about the technology of his world, and of the various forms of entertainments, and she had had a lifetime of listening to his father's stories about the arcade. Even still, she wasn't sure how she would really react to them. So, at her request, he had kept his gaming consoles hidden until she decided she was ready.
But then the carnival arrived, and Quorra was curious and Sam couldn't say no. Watching her face was like watching a child, and the sights and sounds kept a smile on Quorra's face and a constant giggle of joy spilling from her mouth as she tugged Sam around the fair grounds. They wandered hand-in-hand, pausing wherever her interest pulled them; she wanted to go on all the rides, try all the games of chance, eat ice cream and cotton candy...and somewhere between the cotton candy and Sam winning her an over-sized stuffed animal, the sounds of the tent-enclosed arcade caught her attention. She dropped his hand and walked over, pausing on the threshold of the arcade's entrance. Sam followed, watching her carefully, straying no more than two steps behind her as she entered and took it all in.
Every so often, she would stop and watch the person playing, a mixed expression on her face as she watched the game-play; clearly neither Sam nor his father had done video games justice as they had tried to explain their concept and form to their young ISO. Each time she flinched and then suddenly moved on, Sam knew that either the player character or one of the opponents had just been killed. After watching her go through the motions a dozen times or so, he finally intervened. He stepped behind her as she stepped back, grabbing her hips firmly. She jumped at the surprise contact, and he slid his arms around her waist and held her gently, forcing her to watch the game some more.
"Please let me go," she asked softly, turning her a bit to try and look at him.
"Shh, Q," he whispered in her ear, and he felt her shiver as his breath hit her skin.
"But his avatar was just drezzed..."
"Just watch," he replied, sliding his cheek next to hers to nudge her gaze back to the screen. Her gasp told him she had finally looked back at the screen and saw that the kid was still moving his "avatar" around the virtual environment. "Remember how I said these programs were coded specifically for games? This is what they do. He has three chances to continue his objective before the game ends, and if he loses, he just pops another quarter into the machine and starts over. Even the guys he's killed get reset."
They stood there for a moment longer, and Sam quickly scanned the rest of the arcade. He saw a free machine and smiled. Taking a step back, he let his arms fall away from her as he took her by the hand and tugged her along. He fished in his pocket with his free-hand and dug out a quarter. He paused before the machine, pressed the quarter into Quorra's hand and gestured for her to have a go. She looked up at the artwork on the chassis and tilted her head in curiosity.
"Pac-Man?" she asked, shooting Sam a look. He smiled.
"You put the quarter in there," he said, pointing to the slot. She took up the stance she had observed from the other players and Sam stood behind her again. He placed her hands on the controls after she dropped the quarter in and he explained the controls. He helped her play for that first quarter's worth, his hands gently guiding hers. The second quarter he let her do on her own, his hands resting on her hips as he watched over her shoulder; she was hesitant at first, but once she got the hang of it, she was laughing again, clearly amused by the game. After spending another dollar's worth on Pac-Man, Quorra turned in his embrace with a beaming smile.
"Show me more?" she asked, and he laughed.
***
That night Sam dusted off his gaming consoles and he and Quorra spent most of the night playing. By dawn, Sam had a crazy, insane idea, and he almost wondered if it was an advisable one.
"Are you okay, Sam?" Quorra asked as she walked into the kitchen. She must have caught him brooding as he poured them coffee, if the tone of her voice was any indication.
"Yeah, I'm okay," he assured her. "Just thinking about something, is all."
She narrowed her eyes as he handed her the mug, and she frowned over the lip as she sipped at the hot liquid.
"How would you like to run an arcade, Q?" he asked, leaning against the counter as he watched her thoughtfully. He smiled into his coffee as her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She sputtered, coughing as she choked a little on her coffee.
Quorra frowned again. "What about changing the world?"
"That's going to take some time," Sam admitted. "I need to sort through my dad's files. With Alan running most of the show over at Encom, I have time to work on the world changing stuff." He shrugged. "I was thinking maybe we could re-open my dad's arcade, and I can work there while you run the place. You could play all the games you wanted all day long."
At the mention of Flynn's Arcade, Quorra's eyebrows shot up again and her eyes went wide. She swallowed thickly and Sam was certain he could almost see the tears well up. Her breath hitched as she thought about it for all of a nano-second before nodding vigorously. "I would like that very much, Sam," she replied emphatically.
Sam smiled and put his mug down beside him as Quorra downed the rest of her coffee, deposited the mug in the sink and then hugged him tightly. Sam wrapped his arms around her with a happy sigh. He had no idea what Alan would say about re-opening the old arcade, but right now, he really didn't care.
-----------------------
Word Count: 1,188
Muse: Sam Flynn
Fandom: Tron: Legacy
Comm:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
justprompts
The first time Quorra had come into direct, physical contact with video games was the weekend the carnival was in town. While it was impossible to keep her completely ignorant of their existence due to television and retail stores selling the damned things (not to mention what she knew about Encom from Flynn), Sam did his best to keep them away from her until she was ready to deal with them. He knew that, for her, games symbolized something different than they did for him, what with her experiences on the Grid. Hell, his own time on the other side of the screen had given him a new respect for the video games he played, however, he knew that instead of appropriated programs forced to go against their coding these were specifically designed to do the things he was making them do. He also knew that to Quorra a program was a program. She and Sam had also had all the discussions about the technology of his world, and of the various forms of entertainments, and she had had a lifetime of listening to his father's stories about the arcade. Even still, she wasn't sure how she would really react to them. So, at her request, he had kept his gaming consoles hidden until she decided she was ready.
But then the carnival arrived, and Quorra was curious and Sam couldn't say no. Watching her face was like watching a child, and the sights and sounds kept a smile on Quorra's face and a constant giggle of joy spilling from her mouth as she tugged Sam around the fair grounds. They wandered hand-in-hand, pausing wherever her interest pulled them; she wanted to go on all the rides, try all the games of chance, eat ice cream and cotton candy...and somewhere between the cotton candy and Sam winning her an over-sized stuffed animal, the sounds of the tent-enclosed arcade caught her attention. She dropped his hand and walked over, pausing on the threshold of the arcade's entrance. Sam followed, watching her carefully, straying no more than two steps behind her as she entered and took it all in.
Every so often, she would stop and watch the person playing, a mixed expression on her face as she watched the game-play; clearly neither Sam nor his father had done video games justice as they had tried to explain their concept and form to their young ISO. Each time she flinched and then suddenly moved on, Sam knew that either the player character or one of the opponents had just been killed. After watching her go through the motions a dozen times or so, he finally intervened. He stepped behind her as she stepped back, grabbing her hips firmly. She jumped at the surprise contact, and he slid his arms around her waist and held her gently, forcing her to watch the game some more.
"Please let me go," she asked softly, turning her a bit to try and look at him.
"Shh, Q," he whispered in her ear, and he felt her shiver as his breath hit her skin.
"But his avatar was just drezzed..."
"Just watch," he replied, sliding his cheek next to hers to nudge her gaze back to the screen. Her gasp told him she had finally looked back at the screen and saw that the kid was still moving his "avatar" around the virtual environment. "Remember how I said these programs were coded specifically for games? This is what they do. He has three chances to continue his objective before the game ends, and if he loses, he just pops another quarter into the machine and starts over. Even the guys he's killed get reset."
They stood there for a moment longer, and Sam quickly scanned the rest of the arcade. He saw a free machine and smiled. Taking a step back, he let his arms fall away from her as he took her by the hand and tugged her along. He fished in his pocket with his free-hand and dug out a quarter. He paused before the machine, pressed the quarter into Quorra's hand and gestured for her to have a go. She looked up at the artwork on the chassis and tilted her head in curiosity.
"Pac-Man?" she asked, shooting Sam a look. He smiled.
"You put the quarter in there," he said, pointing to the slot. She took up the stance she had observed from the other players and Sam stood behind her again. He placed her hands on the controls after she dropped the quarter in and he explained the controls. He helped her play for that first quarter's worth, his hands gently guiding hers. The second quarter he let her do on her own, his hands resting on her hips as he watched over her shoulder; she was hesitant at first, but once she got the hang of it, she was laughing again, clearly amused by the game. After spending another dollar's worth on Pac-Man, Quorra turned in his embrace with a beaming smile.
"Show me more?" she asked, and he laughed.
***
That night Sam dusted off his gaming consoles and he and Quorra spent most of the night playing. By dawn, Sam had a crazy, insane idea, and he almost wondered if it was an advisable one.
"Are you okay, Sam?" Quorra asked as she walked into the kitchen. She must have caught him brooding as he poured them coffee, if the tone of her voice was any indication.
"Yeah, I'm okay," he assured her. "Just thinking about something, is all."
She narrowed her eyes as he handed her the mug, and she frowned over the lip as she sipped at the hot liquid.
"How would you like to run an arcade, Q?" he asked, leaning against the counter as he watched her thoughtfully. He smiled into his coffee as her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She sputtered, coughing as she choked a little on her coffee.
Quorra frowned again. "What about changing the world?"
"That's going to take some time," Sam admitted. "I need to sort through my dad's files. With Alan running most of the show over at Encom, I have time to work on the world changing stuff." He shrugged. "I was thinking maybe we could re-open my dad's arcade, and I can work there while you run the place. You could play all the games you wanted all day long."
At the mention of Flynn's Arcade, Quorra's eyebrows shot up again and her eyes went wide. She swallowed thickly and Sam was certain he could almost see the tears well up. Her breath hitched as she thought about it for all of a nano-second before nodding vigorously. "I would like that very much, Sam," she replied emphatically.
Sam smiled and put his mug down beside him as Quorra downed the rest of her coffee, deposited the mug in the sink and then hugged him tightly. Sam wrapped his arms around her with a happy sigh. He had no idea what Alan would say about re-opening the old arcade, but right now, he really didn't care.
-----------------------
Word Count: 1,188
Muse: Sam Flynn
Fandom: Tron: Legacy
Comm:
justprompts
