The Ratings War III: Republic of Heaven (Second Round Finals)

[The Sorrow]

Joe, I'm going to be blunt.
I love all the help you've given me and all the effort you've put forth into making this as great a tournament as possible.
I've altered my plans to accommodate your ideas.
But, in the end, it's still my tournament.
I am against the bracket system, and EXTREMELY against altering the matchups based on the whims of the competitors.
The point here is to not only have the competitors flex their creativity, but also have them adapt to new challenges in a short period of time (thus the arenas).
I am not revealing every single arena right now, because I'm not going to give everyone a shitload of time to prepare.
After this round one, round two matchups will be chosen completely at random.

Yes, I am entirely aware that I'm being an arrogant ass, but what you're suggesting goes against my original intent.

I will alter Nirvana.

That is all.

 

[Ultrajoe]

Joe, I'm going to be blunt.
I love all the help you've given me and all the effort you've put forth into making this as great a tournament as possible.
I've altered my plans to accommodate your ideas.
But, in the end, it's still my tournament.
I am against the bracket system, and EXTREMELY against altering the matchups based on the whims of the competitors.
The point here is to not only have the competitors flex their creativity, but also have them adapt to new challenges in a short period of time (thus the arenas).
I am not revealing every single arena right now, because I'm not going to give everyone a shitload of time to prepare.
After this round one, round two matchups will be chosen completely at random.

Yes, I am entirely aware that I'm being an arrogant ass, but what you're suggesting goes against my original intent.

I will alter Nirvana.

That is all.

Very well.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Mmm. I have to go against Crowghast first?

Interesting... I wonder how this one will play out.

Oh shit, I'm actually going to have to take time writing this. Finally, a challenge!

 

[Dastardos]

The new Nirvana is much better in my opinion. I'm going to enjoy writing this.

 

[Crowghast]

Spoiler: Well...

I really fucked up somewhere along the line.

I'm also very late, as it were.

I seem to have forgotten to give Oliver's backstory in my first post, and actually did more of a "bitter ending" for Tanner. But, I think if I try to delve too deep into it I'll get lost and end up causing another one of those delays.

All you need to know, is that Oliver himself is a normal young man, with an overt Schizoid disorder, who's father was extremely influential in the English government, and he can communicate with the dead. The rest of this is "filler".

This father of his I mentioned was neglectful, pompous, and also enjoyed the occult, far too much. This man only fathered Oliver for the selfish desire for an heir, and later, a test subject. After many years, thousands of Pounds in government resources, and several experiments, Ollie's papa manages to connect the boy, then 8 years of age, to the active supernal realm beyond ours. The process tore his soul from his body, and planted it as a sort of "mirror" in the aforementioned realm beyond.

What some might call Heaven and Hell, or even the "Underworld. What his father called "The Afterlife", what I term as "The Nevernever", and what young Oliver never mentioned again.

Returning was a rather simple fare, he had only to walk back into himself.

But leaving at his father's whim, was much more difficult.

The experience of being one with the dead and yet not one of them on a constant basis was, surprising for one at such a tender age, not traumatizing at all. No horrible phobias or night terrors. It changed him deeply however, and besides seeing past the veil of accepted reality, conversing with the souls of the departed, and being the accidental cause of several physics abusing paradoxes, he had immense trouble adjusting to life in the waking world afterwards.

He excelled in his studies, a thoughtful student, who could accomplish anything he set his mind to. Many of his teachers held high hopes for his future. Hopes which were dashed away upon his making the astonishing decision not to enter into a university. His reason was not understood, but then again none of them had spent time separated from their bodies.

His passion was for the spiritual, the paranormal, and the personal.

Things his father did not appreciate at all. He disowned the young Oliver, who proceeded to drift the countryside in search of the afterworld he felt more in common with, in search of spiritual enlightenment, and most importantly, somewhere that he wasn't familiar with. It was a challenge he endured, the change from the usual isolation, to the unusual status of 'outcast'. But he had gone through changes before.

He got as far as Ireland.

The rest is a tale of trivial need I shall expand upon later.

So here's the [i\]real[/i] intro for Oliver.

[i\][b\]----------------------------------------------------------------------------Abyssus Abyssum Invocat!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b][/i]

(Prologue under construction. Title should give a hint...)

Spoiler: Oh, one more thing.

Before I forget, here's Oliver's traditional RP character sheet:

[b\]Name:[/b] Oliver Driscol. (Pet name 'Ollie'.)

[b\]Gender:[/b] Male

[b\]Age:[/b] 21

[b\]Behavior:[/b] Characterized by multiple overt schizoid tendencies. Oliver is compliant and lacks assertion, often remaining quiet while his life is directed by others. Stoicism is a major aspect of his personality, one of the first things anyone notices of him is his reservation. He is deeply introspective and brooding, after a dominantly isolated living for all of his life and, as a result, he is aloof, extremely nervous of intimacy, and only marginally sociable. His speech is sometimes vague, lacks inflection, and, being absent minded, he can lose his train of thought very easily.

Outside of these tendencies, he takes delight in acts of generosity or kindness, part of a dual motivation of loneliness and longing, as well as being a trait his father beat into him, but more out of a personal desire to be accepted. He wishes to be trusting, and follows it almost to the point of naivety. But naturally, he sums up the worth of others at a glance, and will usually, and awkwardly, attempt to avoid them if he doesn't like what he sees. This makes him guilty, more often than not, and incites conflicting feelings which he spends days at a time mulling over.

Hobbies include carpentry, masonry, painting, and music.

Very spiritual, due in most part to his connection to the Nevernever, he practices meditation and reflection.

[b\]Appearance:[/b] He wears black... (Uhrg... will update later.)

[b\]Abilities:[/b] As a result to his connection with the afterlife, he is readily acquainted to Heaven and Hell. Within these realms, he has, effectively, limited control over spirit-stuff. The matter of the other world. Essentially, he can manipulate the environment.

Besides this, he has studied multiple arcane abilities, from voodoo to high ritual magic. From Catholic demonic exorcism to Satanic demon summoning.

Alright, sorry I'm late. Can't wait to start with... whoever wants to start.

(I have the feeling that if we aren't careful, this will turn into a confusing clusterfuck.)

 

[Crowghast]

Joe, I'm going to be blunt.
I love all the help you've given me and all the effort you've put forth into making this as great a tournament as possible.
I've altered my plans to accommodate your ideas.
But, in the end, it's still my tournament.
I am against the bracket system, and EXTREMELY against altering the matchups based on the whims of the competitors.
The point here is to not only have the competitors flex their creativity, but also have them adapt to new challenges in a short period of time (thus the arenas).
I am not revealing every single arena right now, because I'm not going to give everyone a shitload of time to prepare.
After this round one, round two matchups will be chosen completely at random.

Yes, I am entirely aware that I'm being an arrogant ass, but what you're suggesting goes against my original intent.

I will alter Nirvana.

That is all.

Very well.

Ouch, I bet that hurt.

But, to be honest, you would make a kick-ass host. Or, why not?

You'd make an even more kick-ass announcer.

You should be part-time announcer-guy.

Ultranouncer. (Sounds like "Ultrajoe" put into a blender with the word "denouncer".)

 

[Flying-Emu]

Alright, sorry I'm late. Can't wait to start with... whoever wants to start.

(I have the feeling that if we aren't careful, this will turn into a confusing clusterfuck.)

The challenger appears!

And here I was thinking I would have to PM you for character details. Thanks, mate.

 

[Crowghast]

Alright, sorry I'm late. Can't wait to start with... whoever wants to start.

(I have the feeling that if we aren't careful, this will turn into a confusing clusterfuck.)

The challenger appears!

And here I was thinking I would have to PM you for character details. Thanks, mate.

Marry! I just noticed how well timed I was.

Okay, let's go.

 

[Ultrajoe]

Act 2: Rise

Chapter 4: Judgement

Addendum: Pissing Contest

Non-Canon

-----

Eviljoe stood, arm etended upwards, and a lone black digit extended at the sky. He had been standing there for an hour, the profane symbol still unmoving and his gaze ever unwavering as Alpha wandered out of the trees to see what he was doing. The Man in the suit like dark chocolate stood for a moment, trying to work out what the Knigtmare was doing now. Alpha moved closer, leaning in to sight along Evil's arm and pick out his target.

Now, unless Evil had a serious problem with clouds shaped like Honda's, and it was a possibility, Alpha was stumped. "Ok, what are you doing?"

Evil didn't move from his spot, remaining a living statue dedicated to the third finger on his right hand. Occasionaly, he would mutter under his breath. When Alpha asked him the question, he merely pointed upwards and went back to flipping the universe the bird before saying "I just figured out that god sees this whole shithole as a pissing contest".

Alpha raised an eyebrow "And so you're showing him he's wrong by giving him the finger?"

"I can't piss" Evil said, simply.

While that statement raised so many more questions, it answered one that had been troubling Alpha for a while now.

-----

This is my jovial and non-confrontational way of saying: This is not just about you, Sorrow.

EDIT: Before another angry PM, the point of this post is to show that I don't want to argue about the damn issue. I wrote a funny little story rather than a list of my problems because I don't, suprise surprise, plot and cackle madly about 'stealing' this RP.

The only thing i am is slightly dissapointed, but not enough to derail this thread any more. That's why I wrote a story, and not an argument.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Removed to PM.

 

[Khedive Rex]

... Can't we all just ... Get along?

Sorrow, I will admit, I support the bracket system. I was not as enthusiatic about player chosen arenas but knowing in advance who you're going to fight seemed like a good idea.

That being said, I happily accept your judgement. In my mind you're not merely the person running RW, you're the GM. Like any other RP on the site, your word is law and arguing against it does nothing but slow the RP down and diminish the fun for everyone.

I'm going to ask everyone not to chime in about which set of laws they prefer, the matter isn't up for disscussion. If you feel you absolutely must, please do so in PM. Arguing here will do nothing but slow the thread, at the best, or instigate a schism at the worst.

On to a lighter subject: Dastardos, I'm honored you put me at the top of the your bracket. I'd love to return the favor but, seeing as after round 1 we're randomizing, brackets aren't really practical anymore. I guess I'll just simplify it than; you have the potential to do very well.

Meatspace: Assuming Ultrajoe's round one bracket remains canon, I must say our future fight intrigues me. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with your character yet but opportunities abound for some epic conflict. I might PM you later to ask some questions; you're welcome to do the same. I hope to have Lex's introduction up on friday (I've got AP tests and a play to do tomorrow so I'm kind of strapped for time) but if you want to know something before then or if I haven't explained something clearly, send me a message and I'll do my best to explain.

 

[Dastardos]

On to a lighter subject: Dastardos, I'm honored you put me at the top of the your bracket. I'd love to return the favor but, seeing as after round 1 we're randomizing, brackets aren't really practical anymore. I guess I'll just simplify it than; you have the potential to do very well.

I thought a bracket would be fun to do. See how correct my predictions are, but I suppose that doesn't matter anymore. And thanks I hope I do well too.

 

[Ultrajoe]

... Can't we all just ... Get along?

My point exactly. To say again, there's no need to explode over this, all I ever did was offer suggestions (Saying, very frequently, that it was Sorrow's call). My only problem (A minor tussle, really, i'm fairly un-ruffle-able) was with Sorrow's need to turn this into a power game.

All I ever did was tinker under the hood, your hands are very much on the steering wheel. Please don't make me into the villain I pretend to be. I only tried to make things better.

 

[The Sorrow]

I know you did, Joe. I'm not trying to make it a power struggle.

It's just that this is the first Ratings War that's been truly original in terms of content. The first two were both cribbed from other such tournaments. I suppose I feel a tad protective of it.

I'm not trying to make you the villain. I'm just...being inflexible.

 

[Ultrajoe]

I'm not trying to make you the villain. I'm just...being inflexible.

I'm sending you my MSN, so I can try to understand what you want from the tournament. If I can propose a way to formalize the system as I tried to do before, without treading on your initial aims, we may have found ourselves in a much less spiky Nirvana (couldn't resist). Inflexible as you may be, I think I still have one or two things to brighten up your day.

It also stops me treading my boots through your thread to bring my brainwaves to your attention, keeping the place fairly clean. Before you ask, I'm physically incapable of not being helpful. If i see two people fighting, I immediately kill them both.

If nothing else I want to sell you the idea of fixed match structures, but I'll save that for when you can see my words appear... in real time.

 

[Fire Daemon]

Spoiler: Things you might all want to consider

Hi guys.

Seems that I'm judging this thing after all, I thought I wasn't. I'm glad I get to judge this thing again as I am very impressed with the quality of writing. You should all give yourselves a pat on the back.

I have a bit of a favour to ask though.

It would be greatly appreciated by me if you could link together any character development or back story posts. This way a person can read all the back story without having to searching for it all in these 8 pages. It just makes the stories that little little bit better when you aren't pulling out your hair, looking for the next part. Some people have linked them or put them in their first post and it's helped a lot. With this large amount of people it's getting hard to keep track of all the back story. I know that vid20 made this post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/362.107952?page=5#1923706] but it doesn't link to every piece of writing and you can't expect for him to constantly update it every time something new is written.

I'm not going to go into the bracketing thing but it would be greatly appreciated if the two opponents can link their fights together (after the second poster has their story up) when multiple couples are fighting at once. Pretty much for the same reason as the back story linking, it makes everything a lot easier to find.

It would generally be better if OOC was handled in spoiler brackets and stories were left open. Couple or reason for this, one being that my computer tends to freeze when opening large posts in spoiler boxes (hasn't happened yet but the stories are set to get bigger) and the other being that the stories become hard to find in the jumble of OOC's. Another reason (I suppose) is that it keeps the thread looking much neater and makes things easier for everyone. If using spoiler boxes is a problem for people may I recommend a RW thread in Off-topic where we can discuss the goings on and the events in this game while keeping this thread purely for the stories. Would neaten things out and maybe make the first two points void.

Anyway, just some suggestions. You don't have to take them into consideration but it couldn't hurt to try and neaten this out a little.

 

[Lord Krunk]

Spoiler: Things you might all want to consider

Hi guys.

Seems that I'm judging this thing after all, I thought I wasn't. I'm glad I get to judge this thing again as I am very impressed with the quality of writing. You should all give yourselves a pat on the back.

I have a bit of a favour to ask though.

It would be greatly appreciated by me if you could link together any character development or back story posts. This way a person can read all the back story without having to searching for it all in these 8 pages. It just makes the stories that little little bit better when you aren't pulling out your hair, looking for the next part. Some people have linked them or put them in their first post and it's helped a lot. With this large amount of people it's getting hard to keep track of all the back story. I know that vid20 made this post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/362.107952?page=5#1923706] but it doesn't link to every piece of writing and you can't expect for him to constantly update it every time something new is written.

I'm not going to go into the bracketing thing but it would be greatly appreciated if the two opponents can link their fights together (after the second poster has their story up) when multiple couples are fighting at once. Pretty much for the same reason as the back story linking, it makes everything a lot easier to find.

It would generally be better if OOC was handled in spoiler brackets and stories were left open. Couple or reason for this, one being that my computer tends to freeze when opening large posts in spoiler boxes (hasn't happened yet but the stories are set to get bigger) and the other being that the stories become hard to find in the jumble of OOC's. Another reason (I suppose) is that it keeps the thread looking much neater and makes things easier for everyone. If using spoiler boxes is a problem for people may I recommend a RW thread in Off-topic where we can discuss the goings on and the events in this game while keeping this thread purely for the stories. Would neaten things out and maybe make the first two points void.

Anyway, just some suggestions. You don't have to take them into consideration but it couldn't hurt to try and neaten this out a little.

Spoiler: Here be me doing one of your OOC thingies...

I'll do that; when I've finished my purgatory post, I'll whack everything important together in my first post on this thread.

I'll update it when I write anything else, like my entries. Sound good?

 

[Zemalac]

Spoiler: OOCing Like There's No Tomorrow

It's official: Zemalac has emerged victorious.

Huzzah! I got past the first round this time!

If you will excuse me, I need to go break out the champagne.

 

[Dastardos]

Spoiler: Ah Shit

I just found out today I have a major test on Tuesday and a Major Presentation on the country of Oman on Wednesday. I haven't started doing anything for either.

Between that Star Trek coming out tomorrow and my battle post I'm going to have one hell of a busy weekend.

 

[rogueshadows]

Also, I like that Ultrajoe set the two with scythes against each other in the first match. Hooray for unwieldy weapons!

Amen.

lovely idea for battleground sorrow. love the "hellish valhalla"

and so it begins...