[Day 3] Epee Round 2: Himura vs. Aubergine

[gm bourgeois decadence [aya]]

EPEE ROUND 2: HIMURA VS. AUBERGINE

Welcome to the Individual Epee tournament of the second Panem Olympic Games! The fencing strips are located within the Olympic Arena, with stands for spectators traveling from Districts One, Two, Four, and the Capitol to watch the competitors. Television cameras are set up around as well, to broadcast the event to anyone staying home as well as to the other districts who aren't as lucky and competent as you all! Please be sure you stretch and warm up with your coaches before you're called to the starting block, and remember, make your district proud!

See also: Epee Information Thread

The three fencing events (Epee, Sabre, and Foil) are tournaments, which follow brackets. Each match will have its own thread, which will be posted by me. Feel free to roleplay your character fencing their opponent for each touch and then paste the code [*roll range="1-4"] without the asterisk into your post and roll, as you would with a Hunger Games die. This corresponds to the number of points your competitor scored in a row, and will be added to your total. All fencing bouts go to fifteen touches and follow turn order, as a regular fight using the combat system would.

The competitor who reaches fifteen points first wins the bout and moves on to the next round. As the bouts finish, the winners will be recorded here; when all the first round bouts have been completed, the bracket will be updated and the next round will start.

CURRENT SCORE

Anise Himura: 5
Nirvana Aubergine: 10



TL;DR
Dice: [*roll range="1-4"] until someone reaches 15. Take turns.
Deadline: 09/04 ~11:59pm EST

[Deleted]

District Two had served up a nice hot plate of fucking shit up for epee.

And she had to admit, the smirk on her face wasn't all because she'd beat that she-male Uriel to a pulp, but rather it was because she'd never predicted one event to be so thoroughly taken over by her own District. But hey, she wasn't complaining.

Her opponent was worthy. No more, no less. Anise Himura, a name worth remembering but not worth envying (but then again, Nirvana Aubergine had taught herself to not only be immune to pain, but to envy as well). She knew next to nothing about the girl, besides that her father ran a training center in District Two and that she may or may not be half robot.

But still, theres a spark of respect inside of her for her opponent.

And it's unlike anything else she'd felt for any of her former opponents, perhaps brought on by the fact that she knew how much her opponent trained for this, or perhaps from the fact that she hadn't slept more than an hour the night prior.

She takes up the sword and armor, and plasters a cocky smirk on her face.

"Good luck." She mumbles half-heartedly.

You'll need it.

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[shrimp]

A N I S E H I M U R A

She goes to bed after staring at the scoreboard, District 2 plastered across the quarterfinals. Her father nods at her ever so slightly before he heads off to bed.

Anise can feel tremors shaking up her arms when she's alone and the only thing she can do is stare out at the ocean again, watching the tide leap forward and snake back. Thank goodness she won the fight, she wouldn't have known what to do otherwise. Her sisters are asleep in the beds across from her, and hours later she joins them in their slumber, her mind filled with ocean foam and currents.

The next day she enters the arena, hair washed and eyes clear, staring down at her next opponent.

Aubergine - of course she knows the name - the Career family's been renowned as long as she's been alive. Nirvana mumbles a half-assed "Good Luck" to her before the match begins.

Truly, she doesn't care if Nirvana's just faking it. Not one bit - all that's important in this battle is the way their feet move, bodies twist, swords clash against padded foam.

"Likewise," she says, as she lowers the visor over her mouth.

When the buzzer rings, she strikes.

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[Deleted]

She has no hate for this girl.

In fact, it's surprising even to her that she can't muster up some form of fiery, burning anger out of the pit of her stomach and direct it towards Anise Himura whilst simultaneously acting like she doesn't give a fuck. And for Nirvana to question herself, for her unwavering confidence imbued in her to waver ever so slightly, well, you'd think the world was ending.

But she does have a desire to win.

And that desire takes hatred's place, and in fact, it does more. Because as Himura strikes her once she strikes twice in return, each step and each stab becoming more and more important to her as the sound of cheers from the crowd reaches her ears.

Anise Himura has a training center, and she was sure the bitch could swing a sword pretty well, perhaps even better than her.

But right now, Anise Himura was definitely not showing it.

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[shrimp]

A N I S E H I M U R A

They start off slow, with Anise gaining one point while the Aubergine girl gains 2, then 3 in succession.

There's no need for panic though. No need. Stay calm and clear like the ocean when the tides pull in. It's all a cycle, Anise reasons. She'll win points, she'll lose points. As long as she stays level-headed things will turn out in her favor.

Her breaths are deep, the oxygen coursing through her veins. She stares her opponent down, invisible through her mask. She really is like a robot now, with no way to tell her emotions.

Perhaps this will be her way to victory.

The crowd is silent. They watch as she executes.

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[Deleted]

The crowd turns itself to mute. And all she is left with is the face of Anise Himura.

That blank, stoic, robotic fucking face.

They're dancing, the two of them. Three points she gains, Nirvana gains the same. Nirvana gains two, Anise gains one. It isn't how she wanted the match to go. No, she wants this done quickly and easily. And true, she can muster up a bit of respect for her opponent for not actually being a bitch like Uriel the she-male or all the other fucking losers that took a measly stand up on these mats, but that doesn't make her any less prone to her desire to win, for victory. Not a medal, but bragging rights.

She glances at the faces of the crowd, each one easily content with how slow this match was going between the two of them, and she snarls. Quite literally, she snarls at them, and with a roll of the eyes she disowns them from her view, focusing instead on the task at hand. Quite literally.

"I hope that, when you lose, you actually show some emotion. Like disappointment."

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[shrimp]

A N I S E H I M U R A

She's been used to the taunts all her life. And she revels in it, she loves it when they can't think of anything else to say to her so they resort to R-O-B-O-T. And in a way it's almost a compliment. Robots are efficient, robots complete their directives. Robots know what to do and how to do it.

Her opponent literally snarls at the audience like a cat doused with water, angered that this isn't quite as easy as she thought it'd be. And when Nirvana Aubergine spits the same kind of "insult" out at her, Anise knows she's got her.

"I hope that, when you lose, you actually show some emotion. Like disappointment."

Nirvana Aubergine will not see her in this way, she won't allow it, and the fact that she even thinks that this is a way to psych her out is almost sad. The other kids never really understood her

(and she never truly understood them either).

The robot doesn't respond, but if Nirvana Aubergine could see the face behind the mask, she'd be shocked to see a smirk.

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[Deleted]

Theres no response.

Not a single word. Not a single. Fucking. Word. uttered from that bitch's mouth and it is completely destroying Nirvana Grace Aubergine. Tearing her to shreds, rip, r.i.p. And she's angry now, the empty pit in her heart now filled with an anger not at her opponent (no, her opponent was deteriorating as well, the points she was scoring proved it), but at herself. Because she's never not gotten a response before. This girl, this Anise Himura just sat there and took it like some human sponge or some shit.

She smirks again, but it's not one of cockiness, or the bitchiness that usually makes it's home on her face. It's one of complete shock, at the ability of this girl to simply just take everything. And in a way, she considers herself like her in a way, because when her own family would tear at her skin and bruise her bones like she was some playtoy in the labyrinth she'd simply take it all. Every single hit, she'd take it all with that same snarl on her face that she'd just flashed at the crowd and not a single lick of pain.

And so she turns to Anise with a face wiped clean of emotion, of the hatred and anger or smirks and smiles. And she speaks, sword held up in defense, ready to strike.

"Did you know I feel no pain, Himura? Ha, yeah, we're more alike than you'd imagine."

She sighs, dropping her eyes for a moment before bringing them back up again.

"You feel no emotion, or so i've heard. Anise the robot, yeah. Well I feel no pain. We ain't that far off."

She strikes.

"Except, one of us is obviously the better swordsman."

She smiles.

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[shrimp]

A N I S E H I M U R A

In a way it's frustrating, that even if Anise has got Nirvana Aubergine's emotions ripping apart at the seam the girl still gets point after point. But people work differently, Anise supposes as she readies herself for yet another rally.

But then things change. Nirvana stops and just stands there, her sword at the ready.

"Did you know I feel no pain, Himura? Ha, yeah, we're more alike than you'd imagine."

What?

"You feel no emotion, or so i've heard. Anise the robot, yeah. Well I feel no pain. We ain't that far off."

She feels no pain. Nirvana Aubergine feels no pain and for a second she's shocked. Intrigued, but shocked nonetheless.

"Except, one of us is obviously the better swordsman."

She's quiet for a second, the entire arena sitting without a single sound.

"Thanks."

Anise attacks.

"I appreciate the compliment."

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[Deleted]

The bitch speaks. She actually speaks and for a moment the smile on Nirvana's face is purely genuine, instead of stitched on with a needle of hate.

But it's the words that come out of her mouth that completely shock her. The words aren't robotic, and they don't carry an automated feel to them either. But they're...bitchy.

And she is shocked to find out that Anise Himura has a bit of bitch in her, under all that steel skin and stoic, robotic facade. But she smiles, cocking her head at the girl's meager one point against her.

She had a bit of bitch in her, sure. But she sure as hell didn't have the skill to pull it off.

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[shrimp]

A N I S E H I M U R A

Anise may not win this round.

And this fact stings worse than a wasp and hurts so much - after everything she's worked for, day after day after day after day after day this is what it results in? Two first round finishes and one second round?

She's fighting as hard as she can, the two of them are parrying and attacking as fast and strong as they can. But Nirvana's sword is faster today, stronger today and it's hard to get any attack in.

Anise Himura is strong, she knows this, everyone around her knows this. And losing to a member of such a respected family as the Aubergines is not even something that most people would frown over. They would tell each other "good job, you tried your best!"

Bullshit.

She needs to win, she needs this win. Out of the corner of her eye she sees her father leave the arena and she grits her teeth.

Shit.

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[Deleted]

Her icy stare is something of an oddity, because there is no smirk to accompany it this time.

She knows she's going to win, that much is clear. She'd been pulling ahead for the last few rounds, and that small pull had developed into her leaping ahead in points, scoring three or four points for every one that her opponent can snag. And there's something else that's weird about it, too, because instead of the hatred that normally came when she won her match, she feels something different, and something totally foreign to her.

No, not pain. Respect.

And it scares her a bit, unnerves her, because Anise Himura has gained her respect as a fighter, before any of her siblings or cousins or family could. And she huffs, unable to comprehend the feeling. So, instead of trying to think through the obstacle thats presented itself she strikes again. Because she's never been taught other wise.

"Truly, better luck next time."

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[shrimp]

A N I S E H I M U R A

She's still in it, but she's not. There isn't a way to get eight points before Nirvana lands one. That's not humanly possible but she's not even human so why should it matter.

She can feel cold beads of sweat drip down the back of her neck but she doesn't make a move. Better that her opponent think she's ice cold from nonchalance than pain.

Aubergine knows she's won as well, for although she only gets 1 more point off of Anise's defense, she makes one last remark.

"Truly, better luck next time."

Inside she's fire and brimstone, wanting to scream and punch the nearest wall. These past few days have been hell and as hard as she's fought everyone else has fought harder. There has to be something they've done that she hasn't - but what? She's worked day and night to be this good, but still everyone's better so much better what does she need to do?

"Thank you."

Anise makes her last stand, resolving to do better, to be better.

"Next time, I won't need it."

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W O W.

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[Deleted]

This match is done, over. And it's quite painful that it's dragged out like this, she can see it in the face of every onlooker in the crowd, and she knows just as well as they do that this match should be over.

But she doesn't give a fuck.

No, she can't find it in herself to truly, actually care that this match has gone on longer than expected. And so, she let's it go on a little longer, cracking her neck and smiling coldly at her opponent.

"I'm not sorry I won this match, Anise."

True.

"I'm not sorry I fought better than you."

True.

"I guess i'm sorry that you aren't going home a winner too. Whatever."

True.
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ooc: truly, Shrimp, thank you so much for such a wonderful match. I love Anise, and I hope to write with you in the future. <33