Ficlet: Roll The Dice
Oct. 19th, 2012 10:38 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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onepiece_300It's been forrever! I am so incredibly rusty. Also, er, I'm not sure if there's much of a point to this. Maybe I just wanted an excuse to write this character again.
Title: Roll The Dice
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 297
Rating: G
Character: Paulie
Prompt: Sin
Spoilers/Setting: I think of it as post-timeskip, but it really doesn't have to be. No spoilers at all.
Summary: Just some talk about Paulie's main vice.
He's got it good, these days. There's no island in the world he'd rather live on than Water 7, no company he'd rather work for than Galley-La; no boss he'd want to follow but Iceburg.
Paulie is exactly where he wants to be, doing what he wants to. He's damn lucky, and he knows it.
But that's got nothing to do with it. People don't get that. That has nothing to do with why he'll perk up at the sound of rolling dice, the shuffle of a deck of cards; why he can't resist taking a bet – any old bet – in his daily life; why his feet keep taking him to gambling joints once work is over.
When you send those dice spinning, lay your cards down; when the game is in motion, there's a special magic like nothing else. It's like hearing Luck itself, all sharp-edged and shiny, spinning on edge just for you; like feeling a door of sheer opportunity open. Knowing you might just get to fly on the wind of fortune as it blows your way at last, beating the odds to glorious triumph.
And it's just plain fun. Oh, losing isn't fun, and he does that a lot. But being in the moment, riding the thrill – nothing can beat that.
Of course, it can be dangerous too – destructive, if you're careless. He's seen that before. Still, he's managed to hold up so far, and has sworn to never let it hurt anyone else.
Deep inside him, Paulie believes that chasing the thrill somehow even protects his current happiness. It's his one remaining sin, these days: without it, everything would be too good. Too perfect. No telling what might happen then.
Only way not to risk losing it all is to keep playing.
Title: Roll The Dice
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 297
Rating: G
Character: Paulie
Prompt: Sin
Spoilers/Setting: I think of it as post-timeskip, but it really doesn't have to be. No spoilers at all.
Summary: Just some talk about Paulie's main vice.
He's got it good, these days. There's no island in the world he'd rather live on than Water 7, no company he'd rather work for than Galley-La; no boss he'd want to follow but Iceburg.
Paulie is exactly where he wants to be, doing what he wants to. He's damn lucky, and he knows it.
But that's got nothing to do with it. People don't get that. That has nothing to do with why he'll perk up at the sound of rolling dice, the shuffle of a deck of cards; why he can't resist taking a bet – any old bet – in his daily life; why his feet keep taking him to gambling joints once work is over.
When you send those dice spinning, lay your cards down; when the game is in motion, there's a special magic like nothing else. It's like hearing Luck itself, all sharp-edged and shiny, spinning on edge just for you; like feeling a door of sheer opportunity open. Knowing you might just get to fly on the wind of fortune as it blows your way at last, beating the odds to glorious triumph.
And it's just plain fun. Oh, losing isn't fun, and he does that a lot. But being in the moment, riding the thrill – nothing can beat that.
Of course, it can be dangerous too – destructive, if you're careless. He's seen that before. Still, he's managed to hold up so far, and has sworn to never let it hurt anyone else.
Deep inside him, Paulie believes that chasing the thrill somehow even protects his current happiness. It's his one remaining sin, these days: without it, everything would be too good. Too perfect. No telling what might happen then.
Only way not to risk losing it all is to keep playing.
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Date: 2012-10-21 05:05 pm (UTC)I makes me see him sitting in a ring of gamblers, grinning like a loon, and I can tell why.
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Date: 2012-10-21 07:30 pm (UTC)(And yes, it would be extremely nice to see them again! ...and suddenly I wonder how Paulie would react towards seeing young and pretty mermaids. ^_^)
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Date: 2012-10-25 01:51 am (UTC)I love the way the language builds up - it's thrilling! The description flows so well... it really captures the moment.
Thanks for writing!
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Date: 2012-10-25 09:57 am (UTC)It's a great prompt - I really hope we'll get more entries! (It's fine with me if you want to extend the time, btw.)
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Date: 2012-10-25 08:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-25 10:00 am (UTC)