Up, Up, and Away!

[Nightwing 0]

Hey, here's my dark match, which I figured would be better as an actual dark match. I decided to take the advice and try to make it more of a promo (thanks, WhollyChao) to show off my characters psyche. Writing in first person is tough, and lemme say that Ced's moveset isn't exactly the most fun to work with. But here it is!

 

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Man, I’m nervous.

 

I mean, I’ve never been to a serious gig before. The crowd is loud; I can hear them from backstage, shuffling, talking, yelling stuff. And every time I can get a peak out, it’s not even half full yet. I think I’ve been here for a half-an-hour, waiting for the pre-show to start; one of the guys told me that I was going to be running a quick dark match before the show to warm up the crowd for everyone. Easy, right?

 

I bang the back of my head against the concrete wall once. My stomach is doing barrel rolls. For a second, I wonder what it’s going to be like when I come out for a real match, when…

 

“And now, a special pre-show dark match for your enjoyment!” the voice booms from the arena, and it looks like it’s going to be time to go out. “The following match is a standard singles match. Count-outs, ring breaks, and disqualifications are all in effect! Entering first…”

 

For a second, I’m confused, because I haven’t seen my opponent once while I’ve been sitting/standing/pacing/freaking out back here. The lights outside get dark as someone says “Night of Fire!”, and a few smoke machines turn on in the back, covering the ramp in a ground-hugging fog.

 

That’s the first time I notice that the top of the ramp has a door on the floor, which slides out of the way. The song keeps playing, but I’m oblivious to it as the group of girls begins to rise up, with my opponent standing behind them. The crowd is starting to cheer, the beat building up…

 

“FIRE!”

 

The fireballs shoot up from the stage surprise me a bit, and the girls all start going into some sort of dance routine, while my masked foe stands there in the middle of it.

 

“Hailing from Sacramento, California, and weighing in at 95 Kilograms… CED! ORRRRRRRRDONEZ!”

 

The ridiculous light-show/dance-off continues, and for a second I wonder whether or not I should do a serious revision of my own entrance. But enough of that; he’s walking down the ramp, and I need to get into character. I give a sigh and start bouncing on the balls of my feet.

 

I’m a superhero. I’m Blue Leaf. I’m Canada’s new protector.

 

The mantra repeats in my head, and the stage manager looks up from his clipboard and points at me. Time to step up.

 

“And his opponent…”

 

The lights stay up for my entrance, and the full force of the arena hits me like cold water. I’ve played in plays with a few hundred people, and I even did a gig in Ottawa in front of 1500 people. But man, there are definitely more than that here. Thousands, but it feels like millions. For a second, it’s like having an out of body experience; I can see myself, waving at the crowd with a goofy grin on my face as the crowd gives me a nice cheer in response.

 

“Hailing from the GREAT, WHITE NORTH, he is the newest member of the SWF, and Canada’s newest Superhero! Weighing in at 101 kilograms… BLLLLLLUUUUUE LEAAAAAAAAAF!”

 

I start to jog down the ramp, and my heart is pumping like there’s no tomorrow. I slap hands with a few of the people on my way down… at least, I think I did. I can’t even feel my hands right now. Normally, my mind would be screaming, but it’s not even like I’m there anymore: I’m just watching while my body does the rest. As I slide in, I notice they don’t have the announcers out yet. For a second, I’m a little angry, but it’s my first match. Start small, get big. I look up at the ref (some old, balding guy), and give him nod that I’m ready. He looks over at my opponent, who also gives a nod. Show time.

 

*DING DING DING*

 

The bell rings, causing a roar of the crowd that vibrates through my bones for a second. I hesitate to come out of my corner, and thankfully my opponent doesn’t rush me quick; he comes out cautiously. I slowly come out of my shock and meet him midway in the ring. For a second, I toy with the idea of offering a handshake…

 

… But that’s laying things on a little too thick. He starts to circle, and I go on the offensive first, throwing a hard open palm blow that flies just past his ear. I reset, and then go for a hard side kick, which he jumps back from, letting my foot fly past an inch away from his stomach.

 

He’s fast. Nearly as fast as me.

 

I move a final time, throwing a palm that crosses his face, missing again. But as he moves in for a strike of his own, I pull back my arm back, landing an elbow right into his cheek.

 

Nearly as fast.

 

He stumbles to the left a step or two, and I start laying it on: my right leg dashes out and hits him twice in the torso, pushing him back into the ropes. He bounces off a little bit and I grab his arm to toss him at the other side. The crowd starts to fade out from my head as I slingshot off the ropes myself, and as we approach I take to the air, my body landing right across his chest. We hit the ground together, and the ref begins his first count of the night.

 

ON-And the guy kicks out before the zebra can slap the mat once.

 

The crowd comes back to my ears, a little louder than it was before. I kip up to my feet, while my anime-masked opponent (I still can’t believe his mask. At least I’m not THAT big of a dork…) begins to roll to his, and I start my assault again. I miss a palm strike, but I nail him kick to the gut that doubles him over…

 

…At least, I though it did. He grabs my leg, and I quickly do what they taught me to in wrestling school: I leap up on my one foot for an enzuigiri that he manages to duck his head under. I can see a smile underneath his mask, and I go for the rebound, swinging my foot around for a Gamengiri… that also misses. But while I try to ready myself for a one-footed landing, my leg twists, forcing my body to follow it to the mat.

 

My nose hits first, and the canvas doesn’t give much as I hit it hard. My face stings, but I’m okay… until I feel 209 pounds land on the back of my calf and knee. The pain jolts through my body, and I can feel Ced holding it down for hard drop on the knee. Another painful drop, but this time I’m able to pull my leg as I roll to the side. My leg aches a little bit, but I’ll live. Superheroes don’t show pain, anyways.

 

I get to my feet, but weird, anime fanboy is already ontop of me, grabbing my arm and swinging me to the other side of the ring. I start my slingshot running, and as I turn around, I can see him leap up, spinning backwa-

 

 

-Oof. My chest catches his back elbow, and I slam back to the mat again. The crowd… so damn loud right now. I don’t think it’s many people cheering, but it’s so many more than I’m used to. I push off the ground, but I pay for being distracted with a knee right to my calf. My legs collapse, and I follow suit.

 

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Buckle down, pay attention. I feel him start to grab my foot, and I flip onto my back and kick him away with my other leg. I kip up, and my knee stings me as I catch my footing. Stupid mistakes. Before I can make an attack, he moves in and grabs my arm for a whip. He tries to toss me towards the other side, but this time I hold on, spinning him around instead.

 

He goes off running, and I take a little hop forwards, going for a trademark superkick… but he ducks under it and keeps running. Damn all, why can’t I catch him?! He bounces back, and leaps up, wrapping his legs around my head and spins me to the ground. My back bounces off, but it doesn’t hurt me enough to keep me down. I quickly move back up to my fe-

 

- And I get nailed with something in the face. For a second, my vision goes black, and I feel the mat on my back. God, what hit me? I try to shift, but something lands on my chest before I can get up. The crowd is roaring… no, I’m not going to let some half-rate anime geek beat me. I open my eyes to the bright lights, and something hits the canvas next to me.

 

“ONE!”

 

 

“TWO!”

 

 

I kick my legs in the air, thankfully stopping the count before the third beat comes down. He’s not faster than me, I’m just flustered. Nervous. Blue Leaf is a Superhero, he can beat this guy.

 

I start to pull myself off the mat, but I get some unwanted help thanks to Ced. I can almost hear his smarmy smile, embarrassing me here. He takes my arm and swings me at the ropes, and the footsteps following me means he’s not far behind.

 

Good.

 

I leap up as I near the ropes, landing both feet on the second rope. The rope pushes outwards before it rebounds, and I twist as I home in on my pursuer. The guy tries to stop himself, but he’s not fast enough to dodge this kick. My feet land dead center in his chest, and he flies back like he got hit by a bullet.

 

Of course, I’m not doing too much better. My face is still hurting from what I think was a kick, and I spend a few seconds on my knees, catching my breath. The crowd is really roaring after that last move; hopefully he knows who the real star is now. He’s starting to get up again, so I get to my feet first and wait for him to get up.

 

He looks a bit shaken after that last move. Good. I start back on the offensive, and my body feels faster than it did before. I’m not as nervous, and the crowd is behind me. He tries to dodge my first palm shot, but he doesn’t make it and I clip him in the jaw. I start pounding him, left palm, right palm, pullback right elbow, left sidekick, and I finish with a big leaping roundhouse kick that sends him away in a drunken stumble and the crowd shows me its approval.

 

I can feel the rush taking me, but I don’t let it go to my head: Blue Leaf has a job to do. Ced isn’t down yet; despite getting knocked hard, he’s only down on one knee, rather than being on his back. Gotta give him credit, he’s tough. But he’s not tougher than Blue Leaf, and start running at him. He can’t react quick enough, and I manage to step off his knee when I get close, spinning in the air to deliver a kick to the back of his head. He falls forwards like a collapsing wall, and I move in for a pin.

 

“ONE!”

 

“TWO!”

 

“TH-“ And the little guy manages to kick out. Then again, I didn’t expect it to end this easily.

 

My leg hurts a little bit, but not too much; he didn’t get to me long enough to do any lasting damage. I pull the guy up to his feet and position myself behind him, and I start to pull his head back for a reverse DDT… but it he’s much tougher than I thought he was. He quickly gives me an elbow to the ribs, but while I lose the reverse facelock, I latch my arms around his waist to not let him get too far awa-

 

OH ChRIST OH CHRIST! Rolled forwards, scissored my leg. God, it feels like my leg is going to break off. My knee! Gah! Don’t yell, don’t scream. Can’t scream. Gotta find ropes. Ropes. Grrhr. Pull yourself towards them. Don’t give up, don’t give up.

 

Rope! Oh God, that was close. My knee… God, it hurts. I can feel him pull me up to my fee-Knee to stomach. GAH. Can’t breath, he’s folding my knee up for a-

 

AH! My knee! Christ, it hurts. Kneebreaker. God, it hurts. Feels like it got worked with a hammer. Gotta get up. My training tells me to roll out of the ring, but I don’t listen: Heroes don’t run away, so Blue Leaf isn’t going to. He pulls me up again, but I manage to spin around and push him away.

 

My knee is killing me. I can hear a “Ced! Ced! Ced!” chant. My blood boils. He stands there, ready in the middle of the ring, just waiting for me to come in. I move in, hobbled, but I manage to come out with a sharp palm strike the flies past his head. He’s dancing. He’s making fun of me. Making fun of Blue Leaf. I swing wildly, and he does some dorky little dance move and flourish, and he nails me with a sharp kick that sends me reeling into the ropes.

 

I’m so damn angry right now. I push myself up and lean against the ropes for a second, and I see him playing to the crowd, taking away my cheers. I shake off my knee; it hurts bad, but I don’t care. I put it down and start moving towards the guy, and he stops his show boating to concentrate on me again. I move in and swing my leg, slower than normal, and he dodges again. Damn it. I go for a punch, but he grabs my arm and swings me towards the ropes, and I see him come at me on the rebound with ah-

 

Ouch. On the ground again. My eyes are looking up at the lights, so I’m not knocked out. My eyes are spinning in my head. I see the masked man pull me up and toss me towards the corner- Ah! My spine rattles with the impact, and he comes over towards the corner to give a hard kick to my stomach. This isn’t good. Gotta recover here.

 

He starts to pull me up as I clutch my stomach in pain, putting me on the top rope. I already know what he’s going for, and I’m not going to let him just do it. He starts to climb up, and he starts reaching for me to hit his little moonsault maneuver, but I give him a sharp punch to the face. He’s stunned, but he gives me a punch to the face for my efforts.

 

I’m not going to lose my first match. Not to some has-been.

 

I punch him again, putting more force into it. I can feel the desperation creeping in my head, but I stay calm. He starts to pull back his own fist, but I punch him again. And again. He takes a step back down the turnbuckle, and I see my opening. I use the last bit of strength I have in my legs to get over his head. Thankfully the leap isn’t too big, and my legs catch underneath his arms. He tries to balance himself, but the momentum is too much, and he’s flipping backwards as I’m flipping forwards.

 

The slam hits the mat with a crack, and the crowd roars for the maneuver. The little guy doesn’t move as the old ref hits the mat and starts slapping the ground. At this point, it’s elementary.

 

“ONE!”

 

 

“TWO!”

 

 

“THREE!”

 

The bell rings, and I let go of the pin. My knee hurts still, but I get up quicker than I have during the entire match. The crowd cheers, the ref raises my hand, and I love every second of it. I go over to Ced; I don’t really want to help him up, but Blue Leaf would. I extend my hand, and he grabs it. He looks a bit shaken up, and in my head, I smile. That’ll teach your ass to try and make me look stupid. But on the outside, I give him a hearty handshake. The crowd gives me a pop, and I take it in.

 

A little sloppy, but every hero has to start somewhere.

 

[Guest WhollyChao]

That was great. Really great.

 

I'm impressed you got the first-person thing so well, that does seem tricky.

 

Now I'm convinced you're a ringer.

 

 

[Toxxic 0]

That was pretty good, for sure. The promo side of things works really well, my only concern is that the match reads a little vague due (understandably) to Blue Leaf not always being sure exactly what he's just been hit with, and the lack of familiarity with his opponent means he can't pull the move names out like Mak and King do. I'll be interested to see if you can continue with this style in more competitive matches, but if you're ever trying to sell yourself as an underdog face and taking a beating I think the lack of ability to describe due to increased ass-kickery might hurt you.

[Mad Scientist 0]

That was some excellent first-person storytelling. I don't know how well it will transfer to the third-person match style that seems to predominate (at least for the almost-2 weeks I've been here). But very good inside-the-head writing. I like it a lot. Honestly, a dark match as a promo never occurred to me. Very cool idea, and I thought it was well executed. For whatever it's worth, you've got my newb kudos (or would that be kewdos?).