the first rule of fight club

[slavophile]

WHO: William Clayton Queen 2040 and you?
WHERE: What's The First Rule of...
WHEN: Shortly after the Displaced receive their ID's, throughout the next few days.
WHAT: William finds a lucrative, if illegal, way of making money. And, discovers his power.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Probably descriptions of graphic violence, crime, and maybe the possibility of every university ending.

N I G H T O N E

( You may notice William here, new to the establishment but given the rundown by Ilya and invited by Ephemera. But, he'd like you not to. He works at blending in so he can do what he needs to do.

He sticks to the outskirts and observes both the fighters themselves and the crowd. He orders one drink, which he nurses, while overhearing talk of the odds. Coupling what he hears with what he observes, he gets a pretty good idea of who rules the roost, who's put in to amp up the excitement, and who the closers are.

It's not even close to rocket science and he all ready has a formula in mind in order to make the best money he can. He's not going to do it forever, but if this can help him raise some capital, then he's going to do it.

When not at the bar, he stays a ways away from the cage.

Toward the end of the night, he finds himself above the fights, looking down. )

N I G H T T W O

( The second night, he feels he has the lay of the land. He gets in good with the wrong crowd to start his - not so grand plan, he'd admit. Mia would probably kill him. He's not behind a desk or negotiating contracts or flirting over hostile take overs. He's in the thick of it.

His first night at betting, he sticks to two fights. Both, he figures the outcome to be, but for different reasons. One is obvious. One has to be obvious. Everybody is betting for Ilya. William does, too, and not just because of what he's been told by Ilya himself, but, because he sees real technique. Not as knock down drag out as Mia, but he can more than hold his own.

He also knows Mia could take him, though. And his dad, too.

Tonight, he strikes up a few conversations, asking about certain fighters. Casual conversation. Even reacting a bit, just to fit in with the other toughs putting their money down.

P I C K A L A T E R N I G HT

( He settles in. The Fight Club keeps him close to Mia's memory. He begins to feel safe enough there to let his charm out. Observing the right people, he might send a drink over, courtesy of him, of course. He tells everyone to call him Clayton. They settle on Queen. Whatever, he's been underestimated before.

He finds a table he likes with a good view and even starts to like drinking a little more. He sticks to vodka for Mother Russia - and his dad, and Anatoly. It goes down the easiest, but he knows if he wants to live in his dad's or Mia's image his liquor's going to be brown.

There are a few people he observes who are VIP's, and others whose names he hears. It isn't easy putting faces to names, and most don't return the next night, probably wanting to keep a lower profile.

It's one such night where someone approaches him. Security. He's standing a little too close to the velvet rope. The guard tells him it's reserved. William attempts to quip about the table always being reserved but the reserving party never seems to show. It's a name he recognizes and remembers from a few nights back. But, he happens to know that guard? Was not working. So, he brings his hand out. Even now he forgets gloves in his wardrobe every time he changes, but it proves to be beneficial. Because, anybody observing can see a faint glow below William's chin as he tells the guard his name. The guard asks zero questions, and sends free bottle service.

Maybe that's when you see him, or, maybe it's ten minutes later when the guard returns - saying that table is reserved. William tries again. ) I know. I'm him. ( "You are not him. I know what that guy looks like." )

Yeah, so do I.

( Not the thing to say. But, he admits defeat.

When he sees someone he recognizes from the safe house, he asks... )

Hey. Go swipe that bottle. It's mine, but they think I was someone else. Until they didn't. ( He takes a second. ) I think I just discovered my power.


( Feel free to wildcard as well. If you have any questions or ideas, hit me up on Plurk at [Bad username or site: manipulative @ plurk.com!</small] )

Comments

Night Two

[requiemshark]

[ Ephemera fights most nights. Keeps him sharp, keeps him from spiraling too hard when his mind goes into corners it shouldn't. And slowly—very slowly—he's started to make friends with a couple of the regulars. Indy and Mika who keep asking him to go dancing with them afterward, Arjun who still laughs about the time he kicked Ephemera in the head, Micky who's less of an asshole than he lets on and is backing some enhancements in his hands. A couple others. Slowly, very slowly, they've become something like friends to him.

A few of them have asked about Angela, wondering where she's gotten to, but he's waved the questions off. Doesn't know how to answer them and so he focuses on the fighting. Gets into the ring, does his things. Soaks blows like he doesn't feel them at all and laughs when they land. Sometimes he hits the mat, but he always—always—gets back up again.

Unlike the other—Displaced or not—Ephemera fights entirely in long sleeves. Wraps his hands carefully so there's no chance of anyone touching him and triggering an empathy bond by accident. His style is brutal and quick, but designed around soaking damage and outlasting his opponent. He's taken some hard hits by the time he staggers out of the ring, but he's laughing and joking with the other fighters. In a good mood with the endorphins kicking in. And he's still in a good mood, despite the bruises on his face, when he ambles over to William. ]

Thought I saw you. Guess you found the place.

[slavophile]

( Both Ephemera and Ilya are good. They fight in different styles, as most do. Their techniques, speed, and strategies vary. He keeps his distance, if only to not alert anyone that he knows the guy. He doesn't have favorites. Though, testing a theory, he'd bet some of his provided stipend and it had paid him back well. Thank you, Ephemera.

Ephemera's in a great mood by the time he finds William by the bar. They're between fights and he finds he's developing a real taste for vodka. Always sipping and never more than two glasses. But, he does like it. )

Does everyone doubt my directional skills, or just my resourcefulness? I know people here don't know me, but I thought my confidence came across.

[requiemshark]

[ The fight was hard and rough, and just interesting to keep Ephemera on his toes. A good combination, given how badly he's been sleeping lately. A distraction from the Freelancer bullshit and the fact that Angela—Ginia—isn't here, and he doesn't rightly know how to deal with that. So he largely hasn't been. But that's another thing the fights are good for. Keeping him centered in the moment, and not his own thoughts.

He laughs at that. ]

Figure of speech. What'd you think? It's a decent operation.

[ There aren't many rules in the actual ring, but it's run efficiently. Ephemera can appreciate that. ]

[slavophile]

They make it hard to cheat, which makes it better and more fair. And, I guess the only rule is no kills? If looks like they even shy away from KO's. It's just about crying mercy.

( It is a decent outfit. )

You do all right here?

[requiemshark]

Depends on the night, and who's fighting. It can get nasty. Not like back home, though. Guess that's a bonus.

[ Ephemera usually doesn't go to the full KO, but there have been a couple times. He's been beat down himself more than once too, but never so badly he couldn't limp away afterwards. A far cry from back home, where everybody was armored up and fought accordingly. ]

Sure. Money's good. Keeps me sharp. And most of the regulars are okay.

[ A few of them are even friends of his. ]

You make any money tonight?

[slavophile]

Enough to get an idea of how it works, but not enough to draw any attention to me. You held your own.

[requiemshark]

[ Smart play. Learning the ropes before jumping in. ]

Yeah. I know what I'm doing.

[ Not a brag. Just a statement of fact. Having extensive nerve damage and a very high pain tolerance helps too, though he's used to fighting in armor and there have been at least a few fighters who've picked up on that. ]

Think you'll stick around?

[slavophile]

That's evident.

( He's not going to pat you on the back again. You're cocky enough. )

Not for much longer. But, I'll be back. I'm looking to make a name for myself.

[requiemshark]

[ Ephemera huffs, quipping a faint smile. He doesn't know William to well, but he thinks he might like the man a bit. He's getting better about not snarling at people when he meets them the first time. Trying to make connections that aren't entirely transactional or based on violence. Success has been mixed, but he's trying. He's trying. ]

Oh?

[ Not wasting any time, is he? ]

Well, this is a good place to start. Gotta do something to pass the time around here.

night one

[kgbs]

( illya's taken a few fights that night but he finishes early. he doesn't always have to fight throughout the night to pad his wallet. he wins, he gets paid and he goes on his way.

tonight, he sticks around to at least assess the new fighters that have come in with the most recent group. that's what he's doing when he spots someone familiar down the way a bit.

he pushes away from his spot and walks over, standing beside william. )

I see you were able to find the place.

[slavophile]

( William's eyes are fixed on the current fight. A real knock down/drag out. He'd like to look away, but he's calculating odds and watching the patrons' reactions - as well as how the credits are flowing and in what direction they're flowing.

He hears Ilya's voice to his side as he slides one of the electronic windows to the right. He smirks. )

Did you ever doubt me.

[kgbs]

Oh, I doubt everyone I meet.

( but that just means he's impressed when someone does something that he doesn't think they'll do. and right now, william falls under that category. )

And what do you think of what you've seen?

[slavophile]

The fights are brutal, and most are one sided which will make it easy to put credits down once I feel more comfortable with -- that side of things. I don't regret coming, and I'll need income. Or. What you'd call this. ( He takes a beat, smiling. ) You can really handle yourself. You could give my sister a run for her money, sorry to say she'd do a number on you.

[kgbs]

Would she?

( he's had plenty of people say that before and he's taken pride in putting them down when they finally squared up, person to person. )

Is she here? Or is all I have your word on this?

[slavophile]

You have my word, but, my word goes a long way. I'm not one to be hyperbolic.

[kgbs]

I will believe it when I see it.

( and no sooner. )

So, are you going to fight or just observe?

wildcard

[kill7]

(qi definitely had forgotten about the man he met when he first arrived, so when he bumps on a stranger on the street, spilling his drink on his new hoodie, surely he does not recognize the man.)

Ah, fuck. Seriously????

(totally qi's fault, though.)

[slavophile]

( William's collected his electronic earnings for the night and is mid-perusal of the docket for the next night when he bumps into someone.

He minimizes the neural interface.

Maybe it's a little of both their faults. )

Oh-ho, sorry. Are you -- that won't stain, will it? ( Oh. It's this guy. ) You're pretty far out from the safe house. Getting a better lay of the land?

[kill7]

(qi is mostly annoyed, looking at his ruined hoodie and too busy trying to dry it to notice the other man's face, until he spoke. oh, this guy!)

Oh, hey man. You seem well! (the hoodie was totally forgotten now.)

Yeah, just walking a little. This place is huge. What about you?

[slavophile]

I'm - yeah, I guess. I'm not usually that clumsy.

( Usually a guy who watches where he's going, anyway. )

Yeah, I took a walk, too. After four days in there, it's just nice to be out here, even if I don't have anywhere specific to be.

( Not going to tell the guy who stabs people with scissors about the fight club. )

[kill7]

(qi is... well. clumsy by nature. forgetful and distracted, thus this is why he doesn't even remember he needs a. a new drink and b. a laundry machine.)

Yeah, sure, but you seem less grumpy. Is this how you usually are... I'll have to change your nickname.

(qi squints his eyes for a second, stretching and gulping down the rest of his drink before throwing it in the trash.)

Definitely. It's not nice as home, though... And... Ah. I got new scissors, so when your hair grows, I can give you a haircut.