high_seas | 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 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.]

[Well, that's fine. Zoro can think. Namur is acting. He grabs one of Zoro's arms, and then with his other hand throws another punch- this one serious, and with a much shorter leadup since Namur's pulling him into it. Regardless of the outcome, Namur doesn't let go, and whips Zoro up and over, smashing him into the ground a couple times, leaving small dents in the arena floor.]

[well, that's going to leave a mark or two. It's a good thing Zoro's got a hard head. It takes all his will to keep from being totally rattled by these blows, but he only lets Namur get maybe two smashes before twisting himself free of his grip - while he's overhead, deliberately. Using the momentum to get a little more air, he raises his fists over his head as if putting two swords over his back.]

Mutoryu...Ootorou!

[fancy words for bringing both fists straight downwards. With swords it would have been flying slashes augmented by his downward fall, so unarmed it becomes a two-fisted concussive blow, immediately followed up by his actual fists.]

[The concussive blasts force Namur down with a grunt. He backbends, and kicks up with both of his feet, slamming into Zoro so they'll drag him down beneath the knees.]

[if he's going down, he's going down hard. Zoro twists so that when he lands, he's mostly on top of Namur. Sure, he doesn't weigh as much, but it's the gravity and the force of the drag. He's getting tired, and a little frustrated, but it's such a nice, visceral fight, he wouldn't mind going on all day.

Unless, of course, the referees are actually counting their points...]

[The referees might be too busy trying not to shit themselves to do anything useful. One of them still has his mouth agape and his arm partially raised from when he was going to say something before Zoro did a pushup with a fishman on his back- a move that Namur somewhat copies, now that their places have reversed. He already had his hands on the ground, so he surges upward into Zoro's space, throwing his elbow out to strike whatever might still be in the process of falling, and continues the spin on his knee with a downward punch intended to smash Zoro thoroughly into the ground once more.]

[it is very hard to land an elbow on someone who's throwing an elbow right back at you. Zoro does his best to twist out of the way, putting himself in line to get punched instead. He takes it solidly to the chest and flies back, but lands on his feet. Well, it's less landing and more skidding clear across the ring, leaving two long boot-tracks in the dust.]

Damn, you're tough.

[he's not used to fighting like this for so long, it's quite the challenge. From where he's crouched, Zoro explodes forward, fists at his sides as if holding two swords, his momentum on a path to strike right through Namur if he has to.]

Mutoryu...Rashomon!

[his fists come forward at the point of contact, thrusting all of his strength into and through his path.]

A Dance with Dragons

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