SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

((Madeline Wilcox continued from Pretend This Thread Title is a Witty Lyrical Reference))

HEAVEN OR HELL?
LET'S ROCK!

Maddie loved the Guilty Gear cabinet.

YOU WIN

Fighting games weren't exactly her forte, but she loved BlazBlue, and when she found out that Guilty Gear was made by the same people and that The Castle had a cabinet, she had to try it.

LET'S ROCK!

It wasn't hard for her to pick up how to play, being rather similar to BlazBlue and other fighting games she has played.

YOU WIN

She usually played it whenever she came to the castle, and after playing it for a while, Baiken developed as the character she was best with.

LET'S ROCK!

She played it so much, even, that only the hardest difficulty provided any real challenge, but beating the AI over and over gets a tad bit boring.

YOU WIN

She wondered if anyone else would be willing to play with her. She looked around the floor, there were plenty of people around, surely someone would be interested. She raised her voice and said, "Anyone up for a round of Guilty Gear? My treat!" She decided if she didn't get a response, she would go do something else. She leaned back on the machine and hoped someone was interested.

((Michael Mitchellson: continued from If You Got It, Ball Out.))

Another day, another couple hours spent chilling in the arcade. What else is new?

The Castle was where Michael almost always ended up when he was bored with nothing better to do. It was nice to just relax for a while, shoot a bunch of people in Time Crisis, get his ass kicked at one of the many fighting games. Sure, most of these games had home versions available, but there was nothing like playing them in an actual arcade.

Today, Michael was in a Guilty Gear mood. It had instantly become his favorite fighting game the first time he tried it out, stunning him with its stylishness and mechanics that set it apart from the rest of the competition. Johnny was his favorite character to play as. You had to admire a man who wore a bitchin' hat and threw money at his opponents, after all.

Not that Michael was really any good. Though he could usually manage to force his way to victory against the AI, all hope was lost when a human player jumped in. He'd be almost instantly floored by a series of unrelenting combo attacks, not even getting a chance to retaliate. With practice he'd managed to survive for a little while, but almost never getting anywhere close to victory.

Aw, shit, it's her.

There was a girl leaning against the game cabinet, one who he recognized vaguely from school, but mostly from getting his ass rudely handed to him on a silver fucking platter by her countless times during his time at the arcade. They'd eventually declared each other rivals, fighting often. Occasionally, once in a very long while, Michael even won. Maddie's skill far outclassed his, though.

"Tremble, tyrant, for your reign of terror has ended!" Michael typed into his phone's text-to-speech program. "I, the hatted master, shall liberate this machine from your cruel grasp! It is a good day to rock!" Traditional challenge issued, Michael waited for Maddie to respond. Odds were that his rebellion would be violently crushed, but it would be pretty fun anyway.

Maddie started to yawn, and she prepared to walk away from the cabinet as a boy approached her. She quickly recognized the boy, they both had an interest in Guilty Gear and they had matches almost every time she came here. She didn't actually know very much about him, other than that she beats him often in Guilty Gear, mostly because she doesn't talk to him much, and she had only seen passing glances of him at school. Most of her interaction with him came from the times they have matches in The Castle.

She heard him issue the usual flair filled introduction, and she smiled and chuckled. "Always a dramatic entrance with you, isn't it?" She gestured at him. "Come on over. I'll pay for the match." She proceeded to stick two tokens in the machine, and select Baiken. She turned back towards Micheal and gestured for him to take his controls.

"Hope you're ready to lose." She said, playfully. "I know I am not about to."

Michael blinked, then took out his phone again. Yo, I can't read lips, you know. No idea what you just said. You still have my number, right? Text me if you need to say anything." Ah, texting. The second-best thing to having a handy dandy Daniel with you, and far superior to the dreaded pen and paper. This modern era of technology was pretty damn awesome.

Assuming that he hadn't missed anything important, as Madeline had gestured towards the controls, Michael stepped up to the machine and selected his favorite money throwing, bitchin'-hat owning pirate. Heaven or Hell, motherfuckers. It was time to test his might.

After Micheal reminded Maddie that he couldn't read lips, she kicked herself for being so stupid. How could she possibly forget that? She pulled out her phone and quickly typed in everything she had just said and sent it to him, adding in "Also, really sorry about forgetting you can't read lips." After she did that, she noticed Michael had already stepped up to the controls and selected Johnny.

She turned back to her phone and began typing in another message. "So, what do you want to do? Best 2 out of 3, 3 out of 5, 5 out of 9? I have enough money to last however many rematches you want." She sent the message and smiled from her lighthearted taunt. She turned back to the cabinet and prepared to best him yet again.

The moment of truth had arrived. The fighters stood facing each other on Johnny's airship, a second away from being at each other's throats. The match started, and Michael initialized his time-honored strategy of flinging attacks at the enemy and hoping for the best.

Huh, that's weird. I'm not dead yet.

Hell, he actually had more health than Baiken. Clearly the cruel gods of fortune were smiling on him today. The intense fighting continued, until at last a single coin flew from the stylish pirate. With the power of hope, freedom, and destiny behind it, that coin was flung straight into the face of the one-armed samurai: sending her to the ground.

Did. Did that just happen? Am I seeing this right?

Not only had he bested his mortal foe, he had done it with a cherry tap! This day would truly be a day sung of for generations. Michael struck a quick victory pose, only to be slapped back to reality as the fight entered its second round.

AGH THE PAIN HOW AM I EVEN SUPPOSED TO DEFEND AGAINST THIS HOLY SHIT.

The next two rounds were over in a blur, with Johnny being bested incredibly fast, barely even managing to scratch Baiken. Dazed, Michael took a small step back from the machine, digging out his phone and sending Maddie a text. "Giving me a moment of hope before brutally crushing my dreams, huh? You are a cruel empress, indeed."

Maddie took the controls as she watched the intro to the fight.

HEAVEN OR HELL? LET'S ROCK!

She decided to give him a brief respite and let him win the first round. She still fought a bit, to make it seem like she was actually trying, but in the end she let him land one last coin from Johnny, and watched as Baiken was brought to the ground. Round one was his.

She smiled devilishly. Now the real fun begins.

Round two started. She unleashed every single combo in Baiken's arsenal that she could readily perform, not giving Micheal any sort of breathing room and keeping the pressure on him at a maximum. After a few moments, Johnny fell. Round two was hers.

Round three started. She let up a tiny bit, but still made sure that Micheal didn't have any breathing room and kept the pressure very high. Ultimately, it was still too much, and the stylish pirate fell once again. Round three was hers. Looks like I win.

She saw Micheal dig out his phone and starting tapping at his keyboard, and right after he stopped her phone vibrated. She checked the message on it. She smiled. She rapidly typed out a response. "It's the most fun when you give your opponent a moment of hope and then immediately destroy them right after. Demoralizes them." Shortly after, she sent another message. "Want a rematch?"

"There's no fucking way I'm just gonna leave it at this." Michael typed into his phone. "When served a defeat as dark and bitter as Hell itself, I will never back down. That's one of my rules. Remember that." If only he had a cup of coffee to smugly drink...

"I'll pay for this next match. My coins tend to strike true when my money's at stake, I find." Superstition, but Michsel'd feel guilty if Madeline paid for every match, anyway. Sliding two quarters into the machine, Michael selected Johnny again. Stylishness would win the day or his name wasn't Michael Mitchellson, goddammit.

...

His name wasn't Michael Mitchellson, goddammit. After several more matches, Michael was forced to concede defeat for the day. After the first match, he hadn't been able to score even a single KO, though he came somewhat close a couple of time. Sending one last message, Michael typed "You may keep your throne for now, tyrant. Know this, however! Your reign shall end one day, and it shall be at the hands of I, Michael! The most stylish freedom fighter of all! Anyway, it's been fun, but TF2's calling. Later, Maddie."

Waving goodbye, Michael left The Castle, walking home. It may not have been the most productive of afternoons, but time spent playing Guilty Gear was time well spent.

((Michael Mitchellson: Continued in I Put On My Robe and Wizard Hat))

Maddie read the texts from Micheal concerning her rematch proposal. She smirked as she read the normal melodramatic texts that he always sent after he loses. He offered to pay for their next few matches, and she kindly accepted. She turned back to the machine and got ready to best him again.

---

After several more matches and several quarters spent, Maddie claimed victory for the evening. After the first match that she went easy on Micheal, he had been unable to score even a single KO since then. She made sure to give him some sort of chance, but that doesn't mean she would just let him win. He sent her one last text, with the same melodramatic tone, explaining how it had been fun but he has to leave. She waved goodbye to Micheal as he exited the premise.

She turned back to the Guilty Gear cabinet. It has been a fun day, but she had gotten her fill of the game after all those matches with Micheal. She decided it was probably time for her to head back home, as it was getting a bit late.

She walked out the front doors of the castle and into the outside air. It had been a very fun afternoon, any time when she gets to win against someone in a competitive game is a fun time for her. Perhaps she didn't accomplish anything another person would call productive, but she felt that any time spent having fun is good time spent.

((Madeline Wilcox continued elsewhere...))