high_seas | A Dance with Dragons

Entry tags:

A Dance with Dragons

Who: You!
Where: Li Yu Tiao
When: May 24th - 31st
What: The Festival of Dragons!
Status: Open!

That special time of year has arrived when the Typhoon Grips allow safe passage to the Sky Islands. Here on Li Yu Tiao, the Festival of Dragons is about to begin. During this time, the villagers celebrate the koi that pass through their island to spawn and the great dragon that guards their land with its powerful magic.

From the opening, the streets will be filled with music, dancing, and indulgence. Grab some incredible local food and sample the fine alcohol brewed on the island. The hot springs are open to adults in the evenings and offer both separate and communal baths.

From May 25th until the 27th, the Dragon's Judgement Tournament will take place. The tournament is single-elimination, in which combatants can win either by amassing points by connecting with their hits, or by submission. Only nonfatal weapons are allowed and killing is strictly forbidden. The winner of the tournament will gain the title of the "Dragon's Hand" for the next year, and will be gifted with a crimson robe and a golden dragon statue.

On the 30th, a large stage is erected in front of the Dragon Gate. At sundown, the woman decided to be the most beautiful on the island will perform a dance on the stage. She will be dressed in a robe of glittering gold and a headpiece resembling a koi's whiskers. The dance is said to entice the koi into the next stage of their lives. During the dance, a single koi will leap through the gate and be transformed into a great dragon with impressive rainbow-colored scales. It is said this dragon's magic keeps the island tethered to the Dragon Gate and is the source of its wonderful weather. As the dance completes, the dancer's dress transforms into a pair of brilliant wings, and she takes into the air to live as the dragon's bride and protector. The two will then depart together for the mountain's summit. While the dancer is almost exclusively a local villager, it is not unheard of for an outsider to be selected for the role.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Namur vs Zoro

[The crowd's not as quiet as it may have been if Namur stepped out into the ring before Keimi and Celestia. Guess they're getting used to weirdos showing up and showing off what they've got. The thing that the previous "creatures" had going for them is humans' sympathy to all things deemed lovely. Keimi, a mermaid, would win hearts and therefore favor by the wistfulness of her very nature. Celestia too, with her graceful form and ethereal flowing mane, would ultimately dazzle onlookers.

And then there's this shit.

There is a certain grace to his movements, a certain confidence in the way his head rocks from side to side and his shoulders roll. Some might root for him because holy shit what is that thing? It looks awesome, but mostly, he can taste fear and disgust from the gathered crowd. This, truly, is a monster in the ring.

It suits him just fine. He may be applying a little pressure to the people gathered closest to the ring, using his haki to instill a deep-seated and unconscious feeling of dread and inferiority. Heaven help the poor sap who steps into the ring with him.]

[Namur grins, showing his broad teeth, then finds a random woman in the crowd to wink at- extra points if she looks absolutely horrified. He's in the mood for a fight, damn it, and if he doesn't get a good one in the ring, maybe they'll send a mob after him later.]

[Well, there's not just one monster in the ring.

Zoro hops over the ring fence to find out who he's fighting, and grins widely, cracking his knuckles. His ubiquitous swords are not at his side, for once, he's chosen to fight unarmed in order to play a bit fair for the locals, not knowing that he'd not be going up against a local.]

Ohhhh. Look what I get to do today.

[he throws his shoulders back and faces Namur squarely, stretching his arms over his head]

What's up, Namur? Up for a beatdown?

Why? Bring some friends with y'?

[Namur chuckles, slipping his hands into his pockets and kicking his foot against the ground casually. Zoro likely wouldn't be fooled by Namur's laid back demeanor. His fighting will is glaringly bright at the moment, and there's still that pressure building.]

Well c'mon then Pleco-boy. Waitin' for me t' get old as Pops 'fore y' start or what?

Pleco...what? [gdit Namur don't use words he doesn't know. But it is, in fact, better than marimo. Only one person gets to call him marimo.

He tips his head in a sort of aloof shrug.]

Age before beauty. But if that's what you want.

[bam, there's barely a crunch of his heel in the dirt before he springs from his place, fists at the ready at his sides as if he's holding swords. He swings at the last second, aiming for that big target.]

[That big target that's got reach?]

[Yeaaaah.]

[Namur's not really putting any force behind it, it's more like just holding his arm out with a fist and letting Zoro run into it if he's going to.]

Y' swing like a swordsman, sheheheh!

[By which he means: way too wide.]

[yeah, he forgot about that. His shoulder hits the roadblock, stopping him short of being able to land a blow, but at least he's in closer.]

Yeah, so?

[he's just warming up, he swears. At least he's in a good position now to duck and lunge in closer, preparing to hit with his arm and shoulder if not a fist. Anything goes, means he can fight with all of himself.]

[Damn right he could, if Namur didn't use Zoro as a point of leverage and leap over the mosstop's head. He goes headfirst towards the ground, catching himself with his palms and uses the downward momentum to swoop his legs around in a circle, aiming to kick Zoro off balance.]

Gonna break a shitty rib next time cuz yer wide open. Ain't got yer swords for cover.

[alas, Namur, he fights with Sanji every day, so this isn't hard. He plants his feet and spins in place just in time to bring up his forearms to absorb the blows. Blocking that is like blocking Diable Jambe, only with less fire.]

Don't need 'em right now.

[sure, figuring out how to compensate for Namur's reach is going to take a few rounds of work, but he's not worried. As long as he keeps closing the gap and throwing punches where he can, moving quickly and pivoting on a dime.]

[Namur laughs.]

Sure 'bout that?

[Because his next move? Is a bigass hug. That lifts Zoro off his feet. And then Namur begins to fall backward, only he's spinning too, like a whale breaching, just a slow, inevitable twist towards the ground. Only he really doesn't feel like being on the bottom when they hit. He'd rather put Zoro there instead.]

[what the whoa hey no there will be no squishing today. Zoro wriggles a bit in Namur's grip, enough that as they go crashing down, he's face to face with the ground. His arms come free enough to reach out and break the fall, and he gets an idea halfway down.

Neither of them actually hit the ground. Zoro lands on his hands, essentially falling into a push-up stance. There's a grunt as Namur's bulk shifts on top of his back, and then a chuckle. Everyone in the audience who winced and looked away at the threat of a body slam looks to see him holding them both up on his arms.]

I work out with bigger weights than you ever day, fishface.

[and with a powerful shrug, he throws his opponent off.]

[There's a general discontented rumbling through the crowd. They had been afraid earlier, and the person creating that fear was now-

Laying on the ground.

Laughing.]

Ain't never seen nobody counter that move with a shitty pushup! Sheheheheh! Oh hell that's funny shit!

[He slugs Zoro's arm as he sits up, but it's a playful strike, rather than challenging.]

Yer a clever smolt, I'll give y' that!

People wonder why I do so many of 'em. Now they now.

[he lunges up out of that position, head-first, toward Namur. Mainly his gut. He's sure he's going to get stopped not even halfway but it's a chance he has to take if he wants to beat down this wall of muscle.]

[At least he manages to knock the wind out of Namur for a moment. Namur brings his knee up hard as a result, driving it into Zoro's ribs or kidneys, then rolls along with the momentum so that by the time he gets his breath back, he'll hopefully be on top.]

Now we're gettin' somewhere.

[Regardless of whether Zoro wound up underneath or managed to roll away, Namur hops up into a crouch and sends out a quick jab for Zoro's face.]

[little from column A, little from column B - Zoro started to roll to the side, absorbing the blow to his side and moving out of it, but he didn't get far. It's an awkward position, as he tries to dodge back, but it's faster and easier to just raise his arms to block again. The fishman-fist slams into his forearms with enough force to make him grunt. OW.

Anyone trying to keep score on hits is going to have a hard time following their moves. Zoro gives back with the momentum until his foot can find purchase, and then he pushes himself up and forward again. He's not the world's best fist-fighter but he can grapple like nobody's business, and doesn't even care that Namur's that much bigger than him. If he can get a hold, he can...

Well, he'll have a hold. What he does after that depends entirely on luck.]

[Being shaped like a torpedo with shoulders that slope forward rather than to the side occasionally as its advantages. One being that unless you aim low, there's almost nothing to grab onto except for clothing- and Namur's not one to be ashamed of his skin. He slips out of his shirt with a shrug of his shoulders and a slight arch in his back to ease out his fin, then grabs the cuffs of his sleeves as it turns inside out in Zoro's hands. He flows forward, wrapping the garment around Zoro's head and kicks him in the gut to get some space.]

[UGH SHARK SHIRT. Zoro throws it off pretty quickly, grunting at the kick, and keeps on keeping on, dropping his shoulder and plowing forward. His head is pretty hard, but he leads with his shoulder instead - he's not Luffy, after all. Anything to get in close, stay close, and give himself an opening to start punching any part of Namur within reach.]

[Namur chuckles, hopping on the balls of his feet to keep mobile, and darts toward Zoro's charge, swooping in and swatting Zoro's punches to the side as if the swordsman was moving in slow motion, then going on the offensive with a quick double jab-cross-jab combination just to see if Zoro can dodge them all. His onslaught lasts little more than a split second, then Namur bounces back and to the side. If distance is going to be his biggest advantage, damned right he's going to use it.]

[at least Zoro has sparred against Sanji enough to be able to keep up with this kind of offensive. He circles around, blocking hits and doing his best to get inside Namur's guard, looking for an opening for a real muttoryu move. It's hard to find one, and the longer this goes on, the more he starts to wonder if the referees are going to start counting points.

No way, man. He wants this to be decisive.

If Namur wants distance, he can have it. Zoro circles again and then backs up a bit, daring him to give chase. He has a couple of moves he can do, it's just a matter of momentum.]

[Namur takes the bait. He doesn't want too much distance between them, after all, just enough. So he moves after Zoro, and even lunges in for a powerful uppercut that, should it connect, would send Zoro sprawling into the fence.]

[as long as he times this just right...]

Mutoryu...Tatsumaki!

[his shoulders drop just a touch as he goes into a crouch and then spins furiously in place, tipping his whole upper body to launch whatever twisting air - and fists - comes out of it. He has a lot more power in his arms than the last time he used this wacky technique, it might just be enough.]

[Namur flies back from the force of Zoro's attack, and it takes him a second to regain control enough to flip back so he'd land on his hands and take charge of his own momentum. There's a lot of it though, so he launches himself again in a back handspring, then one more, then finally finds he can land in a crouch. He narrows his eyes, lips pulling back from his teeth a little as he smiles dangerously.]

What's the matter, Pleco? Scared a shitty ol' me?

[That pressure from earlier returns, threatening to overpower every shred of reason. Namur stalks forward, cracking his knuckles.]

Gimme the best y' got, Mosseater. While y' still can, anyway. Sheheheheheh!

[he comes back down into that crouch, one fist on the ground, to make sure his head isn't still spinning. Damn, that would've worked on a less intelligent foe. Should've figured. He still just sort of smirks.]

Nope, just seeing what it takes to topple a big rock like you. Guess you're bigger than the last guy. [not really, though.

He holds his ground, debating whether any of his other sword techniques can be used in mutoryu. Also, he wants to see what happens when Namur's fully on the attack.]

[Namur walks right up and throws a punch. It ought to be pretty easy to block.

Because the punch isn't the point. He just needs Zoro to reach out enough for Namur to grab his arm- or a piece of cloth, or anything, really.]

[he puts up both forearms to block, crossing them as if crossing his swords. Zoro's real problem isn't that he doesn't have a punch strong enough, but that he can't get it inside Namur's guard. So instead he's going to go on the defensive for a minute or two while his mind goes through the list of options open to him and rejects them one by one.]

A Dance with Dragons

Heat 5

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)