Spring 2005 TOA Round 1 - fragdemon v. Misato Anami

[LocoColt04]

I apologize for the bluntness of the description ahead, but I've got much larger things on my mind. You might not see much of me in the near future, so... yeah. Possibility of cancer = way fucking uncool. I'm just going to list off some things for you to take note of, and then I'll leave the rest up to your creativity.

• The tournament takes place in a modern setting (any of you who don't know that by now should be shot), in a very large field. Some of the grass is alive, but most is dead or dying. The area is obviously unkept.
• Vincent, my character, has mowed out a large section of the field. It's rectangular in shape, and the total area is little over half an acre.
• Within this rectangle, Vincent has chalked out a rounded boundary, moreso oval in shape. Any character who walks, gets shoved, or falls out of bounds loses points. (This doesn't affect ACTUAL judging... much. It's moreso for story purposes.)
• On one of the longer sides of the oval, facing east, is a set of hand-crafted bleachers for the spectators. All of the fighters, regardless of wins or losses, will be on the bleachers for this fight. The judges will also be on the bleachers, and perhaps a few random spectators.
• Each fight occurs on a different day, so you don't have to worry about things like time of day or conflicting schedules. What time you choose to fight is up to the first poster.

I leave the rest up to your imaginations. Most importantly, have fun! Just because it's a tournament doesn't mean you can't have a little humor. It's a fight, not a novel. I want to smile when I read it. And trust me... I'm going to need a smile.



edit:
By the way, you deserve to know what I'm looking for from your posts. Extravagant intro posts are wonderful, but consider this for the rest of your thread...

The better writer doesn't win. If you want a true "writing" contest, go set up an RP contest. Here, the writer with the best ideas and creativity wins. The person with the most description doesn't win. Here, the writer with the posts which are easier to follow will triumph.

I'm not saying that your posts should be a paragraph long and be straight to the point. I want some length, and I want some description. I just don't want the overkill that often comes from these tournaments. People run away from the TOA because they think they're judged on novel-writing skills. Well, you're not. Not as long as I'm in charged.

This tournament will focus more on the "B" part of RPB. Use that to your advantage, and have some more creative reign in your posts.

[fragdemon]

((OOC: Now that Sin City’s out, I can name an inspiration that won’t be obscure. The character of Marv in that film is the general inspiration for the guy (well, the comic version of Marv, but the comic and the movie are practically the same… except they don’t deal with Marv’s slightly below average intelligence in the film)… it’s just the simple idea of a brutish hulk who’s good for nothing except fighting… the actual characterization of the character is different, though))


Las Vegas is like...

He writes quickly and sloppily. He's naked. Almost. Without his shirt, he shows off his rippling muscles to anyone who looks into the room... with them he also shows his scars and disgusting body hair, and in the end his strength doesn't make him attractive at all.

To a passerby, he'd be brutish, crude, and stupid. He himself would probably agree.

But in the uneducated head was a calculating mind, only dimly aware of its own capabilities.

He looks outside his window at Vegas. Not the skyline, not the strip. He looks outside at shitty hotels, the drunks, and the prostitutes.

The prostitutes...

Las Vegas is like a prostitute. She's beautiful at first. If you simply wish to enjoy her, she's perfect. But the morning after, you'll see the scars and the fading bruises. The morning after, you'll just feel guilty for having her at all because you realize that one of those bruises came from you. Soon, all you want to do is just leave her because she makes you hate yourself.

Pretty good. Like Mark Twain or something.

Proud of himself, he gets up and takes a drink, pausing only to check the typed slip of paper next to him.

1: Describe the town you live in. How do you feel about it?
2: Describe yourself. What do you see as your flaws and strengths?
3: Tell, in detail, one time you felt happy and one time you felt sad or angry.

His flaws and strengths were obvious to her. He didn't need to tell her about them at all. Hell, she knew them better than he did. Why did she want him writing it down?

Must be a form letter or something.

He sits for a moment, realizing that there were too many moments he spent being sad, and too few being happy.

One time I was happy was during the Tournament of Arms...
____________

"So this is it?"

It was a funny sight. The passenger was a giant hulk of a man, the cabby a short and scrawny one. Both were smoking. Both didn't let the other's size affect their judgment.

"Yep."

"How much?" He looked for an ash tray to shove his cigarette in. It was jammed shut.

"Thirty bucks."

"Screw that. You didn't drive me that far."

"Fifteen bucks is a mandatory tip for stinking up my car you dirty piece of=."

"What did you call me?"

"You heard. Pay up."

With a sigh, the giant took his cigarette in his hand and simply crushed it in his fist, a sizzling sound could be heard as flame slowly crept from between his fingertips, consuming his entire hand.

"Are we going to have to do this the hard way?" It was the token bad ass sentence.

With a gulp, the cabby shook his head.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Twelve eighty."

"Good."

The flame disappeared and the beast checked his wallet.

"How about ten, I'm short on cash?"

Without hesitation the cabby hammered out a "That's okay."

He left a quarter as a tip.
____________

It was a cool idea. It was just a couple of guys fighting without weapons. As much as I love my gun, I’ve killed a bunch of people with my bare hands. You can see the reports, I think I had as many unarmed kills as kills with a gun. Not many people are really that effective with their bare hands. Of course, very few people have talents like mine.
____________

“Welcome to the Tournament of Arms, Mr. Mitchell.”

He expected something bigger. He didn’t expect the Madison Square Garden, but he did hope that the place would be bigger and better than some high school soccer field.

He would deal. He was Dirty Harry. Dirty Harry wouldn’t care about some spectacle. Dirty Harry would simply kick ass and leave.

“Let’s go.”
____________

I waited for at least an hour from my arrival to the arrival of my opponent. We just watched other folks fight. They were pretty badass. Scared the hell out of me.

But it felt kind of cool to know that I might die to one of them. I suppose that’s your problem. I don’t think you can fix it though. The idea of dying in a fight’s pretty damn appealing to my type.

Of course, the way the fight went, you have to be crazy not to love it.

He smiles, reminiscing.

[LocoColt04]

Enter Vincent, stage right, ragged and in pain.

Here's your friendly little reminder that the first round is over on the 14th. I'm not sure exactly WHEN on the 14th it'll end, but the threads will be closed. Any posts made up to the time of closing (even if they're technically after the 14th) will still count, so take advantage of the time you're given.

All threads will be re-opened after judging for a "finishing" post, where the winner will be allowed to write a grande finale explaining how he or she won the fight. If you have any intention of killing your opponent, you MUST have their permission beforehand, as many of our writers have some crazy roleplay thing going on with their characters. Of course, if you don't want to kill them, you're more than welcome to maim to your heart's content.

And, on a side note (since I know some of you are wondering), no cancer for Cesar. It's definitely a nerve problem, caused by a fuck-up in my spinal column. Certainly not any more fun than cancer would be, but at least the worst that could come of it is paralysis instead of death. No surgery yet, but we'll see what happens within the next week.

Lalalalalalaaaa... okay, I think I'm done here. Yeah. That's all.

Exuent Vincent, now in wheelchair, stage left.

[Misato Anami]

The blinds shifted up as the morning light broke into the room. Eyes squinting, she sat up and looked over at him. He smiled and walked next to the bed. Kissing her face, she smiled and looked up at him. Her bright orange eyes sparkled. He was the only one who knew about her eye color. It was odd enough her hair was white, but to have orange eyes as well?

He whispered in her ear as she stood to put on clothes. As she walked into her closet, she heard a loud bang at the door. Pulling her pants on, she ran out to find the door broken open. She saw the smoke of the gun and looked down. Shrieking, she ran to the body. Pulling his face closer to hers, he smiled slightly and could say nothing else. His eyes began to fade from the world. He spoke her name with his last breath.

“Lani…”

Lani looked down at him, tears in her eyes. Before she could even do anything else, she heard the door in the hall slam. Standing, Lani ran after those who killed her love. Reaching the depths of the alleyways around her building, Lani found them. Two of them. They saw her and smirked. Obviously she appeared helpless. She stopped as they circled around her. As one went to make his move on her, Lani grabbed his wrist and sent a volt of electricity through his arms. The man screamed in horror and fell to the ground. The other yelled, “Holy crap, you’re one of those freaks!” Before he could run off, Lani grabbed him by the head. Sending the same currents through his body, she watched him living the same fate as his partner.

Two bodies lay on the floor as she heard the sirens. Running off, Lani was never found in that city again.

“Wake up Lani… Lani!”

Looking up from her mounds of papers, Lani stared at her secretary. “Lani, you need to get out more and stop working. You’re a pretty woman, you need to get a boyfriend or something…” Lani shot her a stare that told her to back off. Shrugging, her secretary kept her eyes on her. “But who am I to judge…oh by the way, you got this today…”

Dropping the envelope on her desk, the secretary walked out of the office to head for home. Lani looked at the envelope. She knew what it was…

It seemed as though minutes… hours had passed as Lani stared at the envelope. It wasn’t going anywhere it seemed. Picking up the envelope, she turned it around to see the “TOA” initials on the envelope. Sighing, she opened the envelope.

“Lani –

Come back to the TOA. If not for anything else, at least do it for yourself. You need to move on.”

Lani tore the paper up and threw it at the trash. Looking out the window, she wondered how early it was in the morning. Grabbing her stuff, Lani walked out of her publishing office and onto the street where she was welcomed by two cars. Her usual car to take her home… and she looked at the slick black car that beckoned her to the TOA.

“Go home to only wake up in a few hours and spend tomorrow working on more clients… or go do what I was created for…”

Lani hesitantly began to walk towards the black car. Tipping his hat to her, the man opened her door and took her things to put in the trunk. The driver took her home where she’d grab her change of clothes and then off to where she’d fight.

“Welcome to the Tournament of Arms Miss Escalon.”

Opening her eyes from the few hours sleep she had, Lani wondered if she had made a mistake coming. Lani stepped out of the car and headed towards the TOA arena. Her soft tan boots left no sound as her white hair bounced at the nape of her neck. Her once blue eyes to the world were their real orange tone and the marks upon her body began to appear. This wasn’t reality anymore for her – this was who she was. A freak who made a living… living a lie.

Seeing the field, Lani had already begun to set her parameters in her mind. She had turned serious; her mind had scanned everything, her surroundings and all. She saw the crowd by the field, judges and some onlookers alike. Her chauffer from the ride had stepped beside her.

“Ah, Miss Escalon?”

“Yes, what is it?” The chauffer pointed and said, “There’s your opponent.”

[LocoColt04]

Heh... two intro posts, neither of which hold any importance in a tournament focused on action... and that, my friends, made this a tough call.

Progressing to round two is Misato Anami, and here's why:

1 - fragdemon: When you began in a present tense, I wanted to slap you. I had no idea what the hell was going on until you finally made the transition into the memory of the tournament. Though your idea isn't entirely original, I still give you credit for pulling it off; something most people might not be able to do. You were a little skewed on the environment (an unkept field of half-dead brown grass isn't exactly a high school soccer field), but overall, I liked your post. It had a strangely warm feeling to it, considering the character at hand. Unfortunately, it lacked a real setting-style essence. You had the opportunity to post first -- to choose the weather, time of day, and other variables left to your creativity; you touched on none of them. Oh, and, ideally, you wouldn't be fighting after anyone else, because each of the fights was held on a different day. No harm in watching though, because I also stated that the makeshift bleachers would be full of spectators for each fight.

2 - Misato Anami: Hot damn, two people who recognized the fact that their characters were invited to the tournament! I love the backstory provided by the flashback/nightmare Lani experiences. Much like with Harry, the reader gets a feel for the character's personality before any action begins. On a personal note, I love your invitation to the tournament more than anything I've seen in this first round. I'm interested to see how you develop your past relationship to Vincent, be it friendship or otherwise, in future posts. Lani has both a secretary and a chauffeur, and doesn't seem to belong. The room for development here is insane.



Unfortunately, the same was true for Harry. If there had ever been responses to the introductions, Misato, I'm sure you're aware that the result could have been different. Since there wasn't, and the judging had to come from introductory posts alone, yours was the one which showed more observation of the scenery and detail with events. I'm sad to see Harry go, but frag just didn't make enough of a standing with his introduction to stick around.

That said, this thread is re-opened for a "kill post," though it's obvious that you couldn't have killed Harry at the end of the fight, so you won't even have to worry about asking. If you're up to it, give frag a fight worth working into his character's profile. I know I'm interested in seeing it.

[Misato Anami]

Lani looked in the direction of her opponent. Her orange eyes took in every feature of him. He was about seven feet tall but built to the core. Even though he looked as though he hadn’t aged much, Lani saw some kind of maturity in him that only came with age. “People call him Dirty Harry… some say –“

Lani put her hand up to her chauffer. “It’s quite alright. I’d rather not know until later anyways.” Hearing overhead that it was time to gather for her round, Lani walked to the arena.

Standing at one end of the arena, Lani already knew her perimeters. Harry stood at the other end. They walked to the center as Vincent wheeled towards the center as well. Lani grew a little stiff as Vincent appeared and they both didn’t give way to recognizing one another fully, but Lani knew otherwise. It’s not time for something like that… thought Lani as Vincent greeted them both.

“Welcome to your first round in the TOA for this session…Lani Escalon, this is Harold Mitchell, but others know him as-“

“Dirty Harry I presume.” Harry smirked as the two shook hands, she could feel his underlying strength in him. Sizing each other up they gave their ‘good luck’ to one another and took their places before the round started.

Lani looked in the distance towards the stands and a figure caught her eye near where Vincent and a group of the judges sat. Pretending as though she didn’t see them, Lani saw the flag and began to take her defense.

Harry was first to come at her. All 274 pounds of him. Lani kept her pace and watched as he pulled a gun from his side. Shooting it at close range, Lani moved her head to the side, only catching the bullet alongside her cheek. He was faster than she thought. Clearing in, his fist connected with her stomach sending her backwards. With a wheeze, Lani’s feet struck the ground and she stopped her body feet before the ovular boundaries stopped. She kneeled over and coughed for a minute as Harry stood at the center of the arena. She stared at the ground for a mere moment. ”What am I doing here?...Why couldn’t I have just killed myself when he died..” Looking over to the side, Lani saw Vincent sitting there. His look said more than she wanted. He didn’t look disappointed but his eyes had more faith in her than most people ever had…

Standing up, Lani wiped the blood from her mouth as the stream along her cheek had already dried. With a growing rage in her body, she ran at Harry. Raising her arm in the air, the symbol upon her forehead glowed brightly. The sign of Escalon had glowed brightly as she felt the energy in her body gathering. Sparks of light began to show as she readied her attack. A streak of frost aimed towards Harry as Lani shot shards of ice his way. Harry went to deflect her attack with fire, but he seemed to have a problem with creating a flame. Cursing, he pulled out his lighter and was able to melt the ice. But as the ice melted, Lani was only feet from him and leapt in the air. Her right foot came around and made contact with his face sending him to the ground. Throwing his gun up once more, he shot. The bullet flew by as he went to shoot again. Realizing the gun was empty, he pulled his knife out. Lani had done the same. Pulling one of her twin long swords, the Twins of Odin, Lani threw up the sword as Harry went at her. Back and forth the two went – both dropping their weapons, they soon went hand to hand. His agility seemed to match hers perfectly as they missed each other sequentially. It was as they kept sparring that Lani began to track his pattern of fighting, move by move. Her eyes analyzed his move and from an unprecedented blow to his rib cage, Lani caused Harry to double over. As he came back up, Lani knew she couldn’t take him out with one blow alone. Her fist contacted with the side of his face, and before he could even move from the contact, Lani sent one last blow to his ribs, she felt a crack as his body lifted in the air and landed on the borders of the ovular barrier.. Breathing heavily, Lani heard the bell ring and looked down on Harry. She waited until he came to which only were minutes. Putting her hand out, she helped him up. Her usual knockouts left people out for longer but he was much stronger than she had anticipated. The medics had come with bandages just to tend to his open wounds. He’d have to go in to help with his ribcage.

As Lani began to walk off in the opposite direction, She glanced once more at the stands and noticed the figure was gone. With a sigh, Lani walked towards her chauffer who had a towel for her. The chauffer leaned over towards her as he handed her the towel.

”Miss Escalon… he’s here.”

Lani froze for a moment and stared at him. With another sigh, Lani thanked her chauffer and turned around only to be stopped.

“It’s been awhile Lani…”

EDIT: I didn't want this to be really long since we still have the rest of the tourney to go. And from this I'll open up with my battle with the next opponent!