Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting

[revenancemods]

Characters: All those who signed up for Struggle
Content: Struggle!
Location: Twilight Town, Sandlot
Time of Day: Morning
Warnings: It's a Struggle, so there's going to be at least some combat
Notes: The rules of Struggle are simple: Each player has 100 colored orbs attached to their gear (usually a vest and helmet). Knock off and gather your opponent's orbs while keeping your own. The person with the most orbs at the end of the time limit wins the round. Special powers (magic and such) are not allowed - the vanilla humans need a chance to win too. Have fun!

It's a bright sunny morning in Twilight Town - or would be if it had mornings to speak of - but that's not what has the town all abuzz. No, that would be the fact that today marks the start of the Struggle tournament. All are, of course, welcome to come, so the question is really a simple one: who out there is ready to Struggle?

Comments

The Peanut Gallery

[unrecovered]

Just because you're not participating in Struggle doesn't mean you don't want to watch! Plus, the Moogles have jumped on the opportunity and are selling freshly-popped popcorn. Surely you can take an afternoon to watch your friends whack each other over the head with foam bats.

[This is for anyone who'd rather watch than participate in the tournament; you don't have to interact with Wash if you don't want to.]

[unrecovered]

Wash knew exactly two things about Struggle: it involved foam bats and York was going to be competing. That was more than enough to convince him to make his way into Twilight Town, fight past a group or two of Nightmares, and pick out a spot at the sidelines of the makeshift arena set up in the sandlot. He was in his armor - it was moronic to go in a fight against poisonous Nightmares without it - but had taken his helmet off, setting it on the bench next to him. Fang perched on the helmet, Melody sat alert on his other side, and Wash shared the popcorn he'd gotten from the Moogle with them both. Time to see what this was all about and hopefully have some good laughs in the process.

[4letters4ninja]

Ziva didn't know much about struggle, but whatever it was, it sounded way to entertaining to miss. So, she showed up at the Sandlot, Abby and Fluffy not far behind, looking forward to the entertainment. Seeing Wash, she wandered over, appearing to his side.

"This seat taken?" She asked, motioning towards the empty spot.

[unrecovered]

Fang perked up at Ziva's arrival and squeaked at Melody. Quick, move! Get in his lap so she can sit there! C'mon!

Melody blinked for a moment, cottoned on quickly, and got up, prancing into Wash's lap and settling down again. Ziva did make her person happy, and she could encourage that.

Wash perked up a bit when Ziva arrived too, though he wasn't aware that he had. He blinked at Melody's abrupt movement. "Guess not." He nodded towards the seat - it was hers if she wanted it. "Did you see the Moogles have popcorn?"

[sexyimpact]

With nothing really better to do, Etna had decided to show up to watch this "Struggle" thing that was going on. Hopefully it would be at least a little entertaining. If not... well, she'd figure some way to make it more entertaining, certainly.

If nothing else, at least it was an excuse to stuff herself full of junk food. Not only did she get a bag of popcorn from the moogles, but an armload of various candy and snacks that she deposited in a pile beside where she sat--perched on top of her own meow wow.

[grandsummon]

"Go, go!" Yuna cheered from her spot. It was an exciting thing to watch, and knowing that everyone was having fun seemed to excite her all the more. "Do your best!" she called to the next set of competitors that took to the ring, fist pumping the air a few times before she settled back into her seat, even if she did just hang on the edge of it.

Roxas vs Kairi

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas hadn't been expecting this.

When he signed for the tournament, he hadn't really looked at who else was involved. He was expecting Bolin, and maybe a few others but he hadn't even known that Kairi was here, and now they were opponents. It was weird.

Still, he had to focus. He had a reputation to uphold as a champion struggle player, after all. He couldn't loose it fighting someone he'd really only met once but knew oh so well.

It bothered him, and he shook his head, trying to let go of it.]

[skysmirror]

Being paired up against one of the grown-ups didn't worry Xion much. She'd dealt with opponents that height and taller before. While she didn't know York well, that didn't mean they couldn't have a friendly match.

One final check of her gear, and she was ready to go. Looking over to him, she offered a small smile. "Ready?"

[allfunandgamesuntil]

York checked his gear again; he'd taken his armor off for this, since not everyone would be wearing it. He took Xion in with a wary glance. He wasn't really comfortable with this; sure she could fight, but she was just a teenager. It didn't seem right to be hitting her with a foam bat, even in a friendly match. So he stood there, arms by his sides, his guard entirely down.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

[skysmirror]

"It'll be fine, really."

The Struggle bats were tame compared to what she'd dealt with before. Not that getting hit would be fun, but it was a part of the game and they had gear to make sure they wouldn't get too hurt. Really, she didn't see where York's hesitation was coming from. Then again, she wasn't used to grown-ups who had problems with hitting children.

She could reassure him for now, at least. If he wouldn't accept that, then she'd just have to find another way to show him that holding back wasn't a good idea.

[dork_of_keys]

Sora was starting to wonder if this was the best idea. Sure, it was all in fun. But he had stuff on his mind. Then again, maybe this would help a little.

His Spirits were wandering around among the stands looking for someone they knew to sit with. More than likely, they'd latch onto Riku, or Namine. They'd probably latch onto Kairi too if she wasn't participating.

He wasn't sure what to make of his opponent, though. He hadn't met her yet, but he'd seen her network post. He couldn't even begin to guess whether she was just stressed by the circumstances or if she was always that sunny. He sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter. Still, that barely mattered where it concerned a bit of friendly competition. He gave the gear one more check over. He was about as ready as he was going to get.

Bolin v. Tidus - who do you want to win?

[buymedumplings]

[Bolin made sure his helmet was on straight and gave his bat a few test swings. He was glad he'd been practicing with Xion and Roxas because now the foam bat didn't feel QUITE as cumbersome in his hands. Oh, it still wasn't the kind of fighting he was used to, but at least he was no longer a complete rookie.

Bolin stood across from his opponent with an easy yet confident grin.

He felt ready.]

whichever! I don't have a preference. :)

[go_dream]

[Tidus had known waving a bat would be different from using his sword. He hadn't been counting on how different. He switched the bat to his right hand, bouncing quickly from each foot in all his energy. He hadn't worn his shield, though his normal armguard remained in place. He tested out the weight of the bat, examining it with his eyes.

He met Bolin's eyes and grinned back. It was cheerful, good natured despite this being a competition, but entirely focused. As soon as it was time for them to go, he ran forward, watching Bolin for any signs of movement and swinging his bat as if it were a sword.]

okay I'll RNG it, best two out of three. Evens or Odds?

[buymedumplings]

[Bolin blocked the first attack. So Tidus was that kind of fighter. Bolin was used to judging bending fights but this wasn't TOO different. There was always someone who was an aggressive fighter and Bolin felt that was probably Tidus. Eager and full of energy.

Bolin pushed back and swiped at Tidus with his bat. He knew it was less about strength and more about getting the orbs off.]

[wavesinherheart]

Aqua had to admit that this wasn't quite what she'd imagined when she'd signed up for the tournament. The rules were definitely similar enough, but the foam bat she'd been offered felt distinctly odd in her hand. The weight was nothing like the Keyblades she'd been using lately, and it had been a very long time since she'd last fought without using at least some amount of magic. Still, rules were rules and she wasn't about to break them just because it wasn't how she was used to fighting.

She also wasn't exactly looking forward to having to fight Ven, but there wasn't anything she could do about that. Whoever had been in charge of the tournament had already decided and she'd simply have to make the most of it.

[salvagedlight]

At least this fight was more or less just for fun - a practice spar, if you will. That was the way Ven was looking at it, at least, and they'd certainly had plenty of those in the past. And the preclusion of magic and magic weapons meant that neither of them would cause the other any significant harm without something going really bad. So, overall, it really could have been worse.

He was even feeling pretty optimistic about his chances here, given that Aqua was primarily a magic user. Not that she couldn't or wouldn't use physical attacks, light no, but that was her strength, more than himself or Terra. And while she was very nimble, he did have an edge on her in speed - he just didn't know if it was enough of an edge to really make this work like he wanted. But he stepped into the ...fight area, weighing his own bat (it really was lighter than he preferred, he definitely wouldn't argue with that), more or less feeling okay with all of this. "Ready, Aqua?"

[wavesinherheart]

Aqua would readily agree that it could have been worse. But that didn't really mean she particularly wanted to fight Ven. Oh, she'd still give it her all, and likely no surprise. It just wasn't what she'd really wanted to see for the first fight in something like this.

"Ready when you are," she answered with a nod. Neither of them really knew what to expect in this (or so Aqua would guess), but there was nothing for it but to simply try. After all, standing around second-guessing herself wasn't going to be interesting for anyone. There was, after all, a fight to win.

Asami vs Emizel

[motorvation]

She wasn't entirely sure what had convinced her to listen to Bolin's mad ideas to sign up for this tournament, but Asami couldn't deny the idea had been tempting even without his input. This place was much smaller than even Republic City, and while the people here were, so far, very nice, there just wasn't much to do. She was used to keeping busy in various ways, and there just hadn't been enough of that going on randomly, so she was starting to formulate some other plans now that she knew more about this. The tournament was at least something to pass the time, something she felt comfortable with. Hand-to-hand combat was her forte, after all, even if it didn't usually come with a bat.

Still, she'd done some training with common hand weapons under the very thorough instruction of her teachers, so using the bat wasn't completely unfamiliar to her. It just wasn't very practical to carry a bat around with you when your own fists or feet were just as good for weapons. Also the padding for this looked ridiculous with the orbs stuck all over it. But this could be fun, and a friendly competition never hurt anyone. So she simply waited for her opponent, all suited up and ready to go. After making sure Nezha understood this wasn't a real fight and stayed out of it.

[trademark_skull]

The tournament sounded like great place to see how strong he's gotten.... Until he heard about the magic rule. W-well, it wasn't like Emizel still didn't know how to fight, and he had learned a bit just from watching others, it still shouldn't be that bad. It's supposed to be just a game with foam bats for crying out loud.

Once ready he stepped up, though Moxie seemed to have wanted to desperately go with him. Good thing stage was just tall enough for him not to climb over otherwise it's no surprise he would try. Once Moxie was settled, Emizel was a little more shocked at his opponent.

"Y-you again?" he didn't exactly remember her name. But he did at least remember that it was the person that helped him. What were the odds of that?

Round 2: Roxas vs York

[seasaltkeys]

[To be honest, Roxas had expected to win. In what he had of Sora's memories, he'd never seen the guy play a game of Struggle, so he doubted that Kairi had as well. It had been easy enough, but he hadn't really gotten a chance to talk with Kairi afterwards.

Shaking his head, he had to focus on the next fight. He'd watched the match and knew that York had beaten Xion. All the more reason to win, he figured, attaching a ball to his shoulder.

One he was ready, he turned to face York.]

[allfunandgamesuntil]

[York nodded to the kid; hopefully this would be a good match. He didn't think that he'd necessarily be able to do what he'd done last time, but he thought he could manage.

He settled into a guard position as the ref declared the start of the match.]

[seasaltkeys]

[The thing about Roxas is that when it comes to struggle, his competitive side comes out. Even though, really, the only time he played the game was in the digital Twilight Town. It doesn't stop the feeling from seeming very real, and it's something he doesn't want to let go of.

He's the type that likes to win, and win fast, so he'll charge straight at York, determined to land the first blow.]

Round 2 - Sora vs. Aqua

[dork_of_keys]

Sora wasn't sure what he had expected. Sure, he had seen a bit of how Struggle worked when he'd met Hayner and the others. But this was the first time he'd participated in a tournament. Then again, his opponent in the previous round was apparently very new to Struggle. It looked like he had more challenging prospects for later rounds.

... Like a Keyblade master. Nuts. Even if the orbs were the actual score, real fighting skill helped a lot. Ah well. This was all in fun anyway. Whoever won, it was all good as long as everyone has a good time. Taking games too seriously was a good way to ruin the fun.

"Ready whenever you are."

[wavesinherheart]

After the events of her last match, Aqua wasn't entirely certain she was ready to keep going. Oh, she knew that what had happened to Ven wasn't necessarily going to happen to anyone else, but that didn't mean she wasn't still concerned about what had happened. Still, she supposed there wasn't really much else she could do about it. She had a match, and it wasn't like she could ask Sora to wait until she was absolutely certain Ven would be alright. No, for now, she'd just have to put it out of her mind and focus on the match on hand.

"I'm ready."

[dork_of_keys]

Aqua actually could ask Sora to wait, though she probably couldn't be expected to know that. The question was how the tournament organizers would feel about it. Still, if she said she was ready, Sora wouldn't argue.

He considered employing the same strategy that York had used with Xion, though he supposed he might want to try to get an idea of how things might go first. With that in mind he took a ready stance. Opening with a normal straightforward attack seemed acceptable, especially when the response to it would tell him whether or not he should just try making sure he had more orbs and then running away. Thusly, his first move was a quick, diagonal swipe that would lead into a combo is he had that opportunity and was mostly aimed at knocking some orbs off the vest.