+Imaginary.Friends [semi-lit, NO POSTING]

[Sharubii]

{ IMAGINARY.FRIENDS }
welcome to the tournament.


[ introduction ]
Imaginary friends. They're cute, cuddly, and friendly, right? They're also loyal, obedient, and follow at their masters' heels – providing, of course, that their masters still believe in them. Once the cute little five-year-olds they once knew decide to deny their existence, these friends will disappear, never to be heard from again.

That's basically the definition of an imaginary friend, right?
Well.
Not really.

The actual cause of the phenomenon isn't known; however, the uproar and controversy of the event was immediate and eruptive. The impossible had been achieved: imaginary friends… well, weren't imaginary anymore. They were becoming real, materialized to the world; and the children were positively elated over that. Finally, their long-dreamed-of puppies or princess companions were visible and tangible: finally, they could properly interact with them, and play with them to their hearts' content.

Well, suffice to say that the older kids were envious – and, with barely concealed eagerness, they started creating "imaginary" friends of their own. The difference?

These creatures weren't innocent or pure. They were filled with the corruption of greed, of desire, to fulfill the wants of their owners. These friends – the teenagers (for, for some reason, no one above the age of nineteen could create such creatures) renamed them Mirages – were often made for one task or another; and often, several were made, each to handle a different task. In a way, these Mirages were slaves to their owners, and the only release they had from them was when they dissipated on the morn of their owners' twentieth birthdays, never to be heard from again.

And those were the easier cases for the police to handle. Soon, though, all hell broke loose, as the first violent Mirage was borne into the world.

It was utter mayhem: the Mirage seemed to stampede into the world, rather than quietly materialize as was customary; then, heeding its master's directions, started to wreak havoc on the city that it had been made in. The monster – for that was what it truly was – tore down houses and left them in tattered ruins, robbing as it did so valuable things: precious jewelry, money, and even tiny solid gold ornaments. A few people were killed in its rampage, and others besides were injured.

Then, the organized crime rate flew up and above even the most open-minded person's imagination. And the criminals? All teenagers – or rather, their Mirages, which did the dirty work for them. And, with the police being unable to produce an effective means of taking out the Mirages (albeit all-out bombing, which would kill innocent citizens), there was nearly no resistance to these crimes. Even those teenagers who tried to turn the tide away from committing these ugly deeds were soon overwhelmed and pushed back like insignificant gnats. Gangs started popping up; they battled each other for supremacy, pitting their Mirages against one another in bloody battles – and, almost always, to the death.

One day, in the midst of the bloodthirsty turmoil, an idea was hatched.
And implemented.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, a patch of land was claimed, and construction started immediately. The building of the giant, round stadium captured the interest of people around the world, and for once, there was a lull in the crime rate, even if it was an insignificant drop. Though public media kept trying to pry open the purpose of the building, none of the builders allowed for even the tiniest leak of information, and neither did the architects. Only when the construction was over, and a small village to the side added, did anyone previously not privy to the plans find out what it was for:

A Mirage fighting tournament.

Teams of Mirage owners – or, as the hosts of the tournament called them, "Masters" – would battle each other to claw their way up to the top; and as a result of winning, a coveted prize would be doled out to the individuals of the winning team: one million dollars each.

Suffice to say that the Masters of the existing Mirages became rather excited – who wouldn't be, with such a sweet prize at the end of the road? Giddy with excitement, the gangs that currently existed took their Mirages to uninhabited spaces, wide enough for rough training, and commenced preparations for the upcoming competition; and those Masters who did not belong to any particular gang went to seek one, if only to have at least a slim chance at grabbing the winning prize for themselves.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Mirage Menagerie Tournament.

[Sharubii]

[ setting ]

Dirt Road

The road that leads to the Coliseum, and - if one goes further down - the Village. This road branches off of a local road and winds around rural countryside for a good ten miles before the Coliseum comes into view. The landscape is rather unremarkable, as the only things dotting the sparse grass are weeds and the occasional tree. Because of the narrowness of the path itself, it's an unspoken rule that vehicles, when present, dominate it while those walking on foot (or on the back of their Mirages or Friends) travel on the grass. On occasion, you can see a Master or two in the middle of the field on either side, training their Mirages for the battles to come.

The Coliseum

The main arena is designed much like a Roman Colosseum: large, round, and with a very wide center stage. The walls of the arena are made of 7-foot thick granite, as a logical precaution taken against Mirages accidentally damaging the building. Around the coliseum is a large parking lot, where tournament participants and spectators alike may park their vehicles after coming off the dirt road.

Unlike the Roman Colosseum, though, the inside of the Coliseum is rather mundane. There are no intricate carvings, supporting spires, or wall paintings. Instead, simplicity is the key word: because the stadium is open-air and subject to the elements, the tiered viewing platforms are built much like balconies, with each level boasting one. Inside these "balconies" are stacks of foldable chairs, which the Tournament's staff leaves out in case the spectators get tired.

The arena itself is in the epicenter of the Coliseum. It's about twenty yards in diameter and filled with packed-up sand; at either end of the ring, there is an arching doorway in which the two current battlers will emerge. One of them is accessible by walking in a straight line after entering the main doorway, while those designated to go through the opposite door must walk around the interior of the Coliseum to get there.

The Village

After about two miles of traveling on the dirt road from the Coliseum, one will end up in the Tournament Village. This is where all the participants, spectators, and staff alike will reside in for the duration of the event. While the houses are small and lackluster in regards to furniture and decor, they are great in number, so each participant is given his or her own house, while spectator families move into the remaining houses. Those spectators that come alone or with one or two other people are often bunked up with another group.

At the entrance to the Village, there is a small reception building where one can enter to get their housing assignments. Would-be participants can also sign up for the Tournament here - that is, if the receptionist isn't taking a "5-minute" lunch break. On a bulletin board near the front desk in the center of the room, there are pinups of the current Tournament standings, teams, and battle times.

On the outskirts of the Village, there is a large, fenced-in park which serves more as a Mirage training ground than anything else. The only type of plant that grows there is grass, and a sparse few park benches line the inside of the area.

Near the middle of the Village, and directly adjacent to one another, are the Mess Hall and the Infirmary.

The Mess Hall is a large, elliptical building with a flat, blue roof. Inside there are rows upon rows of benches, all designed to sit twenty or so people. Because of the large amount of people living in the Village, this area is almost always seeing business, as cooks and servers busily fill out and serve orders to their hungry guests. Many of the food items are second-rate, and there seems to be an overabundance of carnival food on the menu.

The infirmary, literally only a stone's throw from the Mess Hall, is an even larger building - though rectangular rather than elliptical. As with the rest of the Village (and the Coliseum, for that matter), the inside is plain, boasting only a black-rimmed analog clock on the white wall looming over the reception desk. Surprisingly, that wall stands alone, and besides that there are only four others of its kind: the patients' rooms are not actually rooms, but sections of the building separated by heavy blue curtains. And, trust me, those curtains aren't soundproof: whoever and whatever is being treated won't spare you their screams of agony if indeed the treatment hurts. In the back of the building, near the center, there is a small door that leads outside, and outside there is a small path that in turn leads to a large shed-like building. This building is the storage place for all of the Infirmary's medicines, bandages, surgical tools, and other such odds and ends.

...................................................................

[ character information ]

Participants
Pretty self-explanatory, but here it is: a participant in the Mirage Menagerie Tournament. Due to the age constraints of those with the ability to create Mirages, plus a few moral conflicts in the past, participants can only be between the ages of 15 and 19. There has been a general outcry against this limited range, especially from the younger teenagers, but this rule still holds rigidly in place.

Before being able to compete in the Tournament, a participant must first join a team. A team is a group of Masters numbering three or more, all of which fight under a team name. A participant is welcome to register for the Tournament before being affiliated with a team; however, they will not be allowed to fight until they find a team to join.

Officials
Officials call the shots during battles, calling a match off once they deem a Mirage unable to continue fighting. As they themselves stand inside the ring during matches, they are in as much risk as the Masters currently fighting, and are therefore paid well for their service.

Spectators
Just as the title suggests, spectators are... well, spectators. They can be in any age group, from the incredibly young to the incredibly old, and may or may not have Mirages or (as their friendly, non-violent counterparts are called) Imaginary Friends tagging along with them.

Village Staff
The Village staff consists mostly of cleaning hands, nurses and doctors, and mess hall workers (cooks and servers). They are the backbone to keeping things in order in the Village, though they aren't paid as well as the officials. During Tournament matches, some of the staff choose to go and watch the battle: the higher-ups don't mind, really, as long as they're on break and not shirking work.

[Sharubii]

res.

[Sharubii]

Humans:

Code: Select all

[color=#4b0b0b][center][size=130][ [i]human[/i] ][/size][/center]

[size=85][b]Name[/b]:
[b]Gender[/b]:
[b]Age[/b]:
[b]Occupation[/b]: {Master, referee, spectator, doctor, etc}
[b]Appearance[/b]:
[b]Personality[/b]:
[b]History[/b]: {Optional}
[b]Mirages / Imaginary Friends[/b]: {If applicable}[/size][/color]

Mirages / Imaginary Friends:

Code: Select all

[color=#4b0b0b][center][size=130][ [i]mirage / imaginary friend[/i] ][/size][/center]

[size=85][b]Name[/b]:
[b]Gender[/b]:
[b]Master[/b]:
[b]Appearance[/b]:
[b]Personality[/b]: {Optional}
[b]History[/b]: {Optional}
[b]Fighting Style[/b]: {Only for Mirages entered in the Tournament}[/size][/color]

[color=#4b0b0b]

[ human ]

[Sharubii]

res.