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Post by Valencia Donahue on Mar 15, 2007 2:17:28 GMT 1
Pier 39. Tourist hotspot because of its position near Fisherman’s Wharf and the docks to Alcatraz Island. To Valencia, this place was a bit of a home away from home and a neighborhood that spoke her language. If you impress the masses enough, they’ll give you free cash and loose change, which is a good thing since all the shows were free anyhow and today’s society is composed of cheapskates and misers. Valencia strolled down the avenue, with hardly any traffic since so many people congregated here, and gave friendly hellos to anyone who acknowledged her, like fellow street performers and locals. She passed by a hotshot who can solve a Rubix cube in seconds, aspiring ballet dancers, and all the matter of strange people who just acted like themselves and got free money. Valencia reached into her pockets and dug out a couple quarters to drop into a can of a close by artist, who made hats and other crafts with palm tree leaves. Then, she found her spot unoccupied and got to work.
A while later, a friend nearby assisted Valencia with her li’l project and there she was… Hanging upside down in a straitjacket from a lamppost. An officer looked on with interest, knowing Valencia well enough that she wouldn’t vandalize the piece of San Francisco’s history. Valencia’s friend clapped his hands together at the job well done and got to work.
[FRIEND]: “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, here we have a young woman… Dangling by her ankles from this here lamppost strapped up in a straitjacket. Her name is Layla Hamilton and if I do say so myself… She’s mad! Bonkers! I mean, why would she want to do such a thing?”
“’Cause I know I can escape this and I’m capable of doing anything once I put my mind to it.”
[FRIEND]: “Really now? Well well welly well well! Today’s your lucky day then! I’d like to see you escape from that situation you got yourself into before all the blood rushes to your head. And makes you even more weirder. As you can plainly see, she’s strapped up good and tight, buckled all over the place and even from behind, and as plain as day, upside-down. Modern day Houdini, I suppose, but we’re not allowed to hang people from high buildings so we settled on this lamppost instead, a good couple feet in the air. So waddya say to—”
“Oh, just watch the mistress at work.”
A crowd began to gather around and gawked at Valencia as she writhed, wriggled, and squirmed in the straitjacket, swinging herself about while doing so. She heard snickers, murmurs, and other odd things, but one thing for sure was that the area wasn’t quiet, but she persisted, focusing all her attention to getting an arm loose enough to accomplish something. It didn’t take her long until she did and soon enough, Valencia was trying to get her head under the loosened arm, wriggling and struggling about some more until that was done too. Being upside-down made it easier as well. Now her arms were tangled up in a bizarre position, but little did people know that this would be one of the final steps to her freedom. Using her flexibility gained from years of circus training, Valencia twisted herself until she managed to swing her arms in front of her, creating a stir from the crowd below.
[FRIEND]: “What was that—3 minutes? Come on, Layla, you can do better than that!”
Valencia then swung her body until she got into a practical position and began to unbuckle the many buckles behind on her back. Her slender fingers worked away at the buckles as if they were nothing and with great flourish, she released herself from the straitjacket and tossed it to the ground, creating a roar of applause from the audience.
“Now get me down from here.”
[FRIEND]: “Oh, but can’t you do anything once you put your mind to it?”
Valencia rolled her eyes and laughed, since this was all a convincing act anyhow, and to the amazement of the tourists, swung herself until one of her hands could grab hold of the rope and the other got to untangling the mess of material fastening her to the lamppost. She made short work of the knots and shifted her legs around until she was no longer confined, then with the same show-biz flare, was liberated from bondage.
[FRIEND]: “Ladies and gents… LAYLA HAMILTON!!”
Flipping herself, Valencia landed on foot and a knee, then raised her hands victoriously with a bright, triumphant smile. She was happy, energetic, and felt like she was the queen of the world as the world cheered her on. It wasn’t much, but it was appreciation of some sort and a 5-minutes-of-fame that made her feel less like a weirdo freak and more like a couple-dollars-richer freak. Hmm. Her friend gamboled around the circle, gathering whatever people were willing to give up and Valencia seated herself on the curb, waiting for him to finish up as she rested. When he came back, he announced:
[FRIEND]: “$15.75… Maybe we should come up with a sob story or something. I think we should set the rope on fire next time—”
“No, no no. It’s okay. I’ll just think of something flashier and we’ll get more money that way. Five minutes for $16 isn’t that bad, even though I have to admit that I wish we made more. Whatever the case, this was a good warm up. I’m ready for something to get my blood going…”
[FRIEND]: “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS!! WANNA SEE THE GREAT LAYLA HAMILTON, THE BLIND BANDIT, TAKE ON A CHALLENGER USING ALL OF HER SENSES BUT[/I] HER SIGHT?! I KNOW I DO!!”
“I’m going to kill you.”
[FRIEND]: “This area! The entire sidewalk from THAT hotdog stand to this lamppost and everything in between is fair game—Oh hello officer! No, we’re not advocating violence, we’re just… Having fun and trust me, I know when to stop them before they go overboard, eheh! Think of this like that time when Val--Layla did all that acrobatic crazy kung fu, martial arts madness! No one will get hurt, I promise!”
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Post by taru on Mar 15, 2007 2:44:55 GMT 1
Taru looked at the girl who just flipped. Layla Hamilton, blind bandit...Hmm...But can't see huh...Taru stepped to the challenge. Taru walked to the person yelling Layla Hamilton.
"I won't mind fighting her..."
Taru took his jacket off and showed only his black t-shirt and white long sleeve under it. He was also wearing his loose jeans so he could move a bit more.
"Woman. Your blind correct? But what I've seen, you're stronger than a person with 20/20 vision. I'll take your challenge."
Taru looked at girl and the person yelling.
"Agreed?"
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Post by Valencia Donahue on Mar 15, 2007 3:07:36 GMT 1
[FRIEND]: “AHA!! See? This fine, strapping young lad here thinks it’s safe enough! And I’ll take some safety precautions right now, officer! Layla! Gimme your retractable walking stick! You might put someone’s eye out with that!”
“Wouldn’t it make the fellow fight better?”
[FRIEND]: “Oho! Now now, be nice to the people who still have functional eyeballs and give me that rod. That’s the ticket! And just in case we have any… Skeptics out there, look at these silvery-gray eyes! These argentine orbs look like they’re cataracts to me! But just in case… JUST in case! I’m gonna blindfold Layla.”
Valencia sighed and shook her head before letting her friend blindfold her with a piece of blue cloth. She stood up and straightened her form, body limber and loose from the straitjacket warm up. She wore a sleeveless top, close-fitting jeans, and fingerless gloves as she walked towards the area, with each stride registering the entire stretch since she’s worked here for years. She knew every bench, tree, and trashcan here and how many strides it took to get from point A to point B. Valencia waited for the challenger to step into the section for the spar to begin. She kept quiet, focusing all her attention to the cleared out area alone, ignoring the crowd that was gathering. She was in the zone.
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Post by taru on Mar 15, 2007 4:53:46 GMT 1
Taru started to think. Blind huh. I must think of something...If she must depend on smell and sound...Taru took off his shoes then quietly crept into the area. Taru's socks made no sound as it touched the ground. I need a hard surface to walk on. Grass would make sound. Pier 39 and its docks would make creaks as he stepped.
"Let's go."
Taru crept slowly around her making little sound besides the creaks. She probaly could hear him as he walked around. He saw the lamp post and slowly crept up onto top of it. Still waiting for her to strike.
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Post by Valencia Donahue on Mar 15, 2007 5:21:22 GMT 1
The moment she began to wait was the moment the fight began. Valencia laid the trap and her opponent was already knee deep in trouble. The moment Taru stepped up to fight, she laid a lock on him and kept tracking him ever since, with each step he took towards her. The short intro quote was also a huge clue. And hell no, she ain’t the sort to stay stationary if she knows that someone wants to take advantage of her lack of sight. She turned to face the direction where she presumed where Taru was and moseyed on over brisk-like with her carefully measured strides. By the time Taru was halfway up the lamppost, Valencia was right beneath it and what happened next was something you’d expect from a young lady who has a history of learning circus tricks. Think: Chinese Poles.
Without a second thought, Valencia began to climb the opposite side and she used the vibrations reverberating about on the aluminum pole to let her know where Taru was and where she was in relation to him. It didn’t take her long to climb up to his level and it didn’t take her long to do what she was going to do next, either. She swung around on the pole, grabbed hold of Taru’s loose jeans, and without wasting a second, began to swiftly slide down the lamppost. To sum it up… He was gonna get pantsed and all these fine people out here on Pier 39 were gonna see his boxers or tighty-whiteys, whatever underwear he may be wearing.
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Post by taru on Mar 15, 2007 6:04:56 GMT 1
Taru smirked. She's gonna pants me huh. Perfect. Taru unbutton his pants to reveal not boxers but basketball shorts he used when he ran. Taru slid around and put one of his feet down attempting a stomp directy at Valencia. She'd have to lose the pants she had quickly or she get stomped. Which would be pretty hard since he had a quite of bunch of stuff in there. Taru's foot was coming right down at Valencia she better move quick. Taru smiled at her as the foot came down for her. Only miloseconds away from impact. She probaly wouldn't expect basketball shorts right under the jeans he wore. Surprises is one of the most important element in fights.
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Post by Valencia Donahue on Mar 16, 2007 2:07:37 GMT 1
Obviously, and this doesn’t need too many words, you can tell when you’re wearing clothes and when you’re not. In Valencia’s case, the moment Taru lifted a hand off of the lamppost to unbutton his jeans, she sensed that something was missing and reacted accordingly when she felt a foot disappear as well. So in her mind’s eye, all she can perceive is that Taru was hanging on the pole with an arm and a leg and surely enough as he let his pants slide and drew up his leg to stomp, she instinctively knew that she had to get out of the way. Fast. Click-click-click-bam. That’s how her brain worked in moments like these. Instinct. She pulled herself close to the pole to get better rotational speed while she swung around to the other side, evading the stomp while tugging on Taru’s heavy pants. Thanks to gravity, the heavy junk in his pockets would make the pantsing faster.
[FRIEND]: “Layla, I didn’t know that you could pole dance and had a fixation with taking off other people’s pants!”
Not like she could see anything anyways. She didn’t care what others thought, she just wanted her friend to simmer down and not distract her. Valencia personally wanted to scream for her friend to nab the jeans and pawn off the pockets’ contents, but there was no time for that. She was too busy grabbing a discarded branch she noticed earlier in the nearby trashcan and thrusting it at Taru’s now-generally-defenseless lower portions.
((OOC: Typing with headaches ain’t fun.))
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Post by taru on Mar 16, 2007 3:47:04 GMT 1
ooc:Yeah I hope your headache goes away.
"Shit she's good. Really good."
Taru threw himself from the pole into a completely opposite direction and hit the floor so he wouldn't get hit by the branch. Taru noticed something. HOw did she get the branch from the trash can if she couldn't see. Memorization could be part of it but...That isn't right. And even if she couldn't see memorizing that spot is creepy itself.
"Layla. You're not blind are you...?"
Taru looked at her as he stood up from throwing himself away from her branch. She able to move this well is insane. There is a trick to this. She isn't blind so the fight is fair. He needs to use his wits to win.
"The blindfold might get rid of your sight. But your apperance with those grey eyes just make you seem blind isnt that right? It's kind of wierd how you could move so much, and still close on my position. Pretty ackward. Hearing and using your other senses would get you near me, but not that close. If all of my assumptions are just ignorance well I get my ignorance is truth. Because I belive your a fraud Layla."
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Post by Valencia Donahue on Mar 17, 2007 1:03:06 GMT 1
Valencia’s friend and the nearby officer exchanged looks. They both knew perfectly well that Valencia wasn’t genuinely blind, but at least she was blindfolded for the time being. On the other hand, the Asian heard a loud thump from Taru when he jumped off the pole, landing on the ground away from her and when he began to talk, she zeroed in on him. She tossed the branch aside as she slid off the pole and decided against answering her opponent when she had an act to keep up. Confused murmurs could be heard throughout the audience as the senior approached the sophomore, lurking and prowling along the way, gliding with each step as Taru kept yammering on. She actually didn’t want to be the one to attack, but… Eheheh… She didn’t want to stop and suddenly converse either. Priorities, priorities. So she walked up to her opponent, then stood there… Then spat into his face. If she remembered correctly, Taru didn’t tower over her, so it was perfectly possible for her to do so, unless her loogie landed somewhere else. |
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Post by taru on Mar 17, 2007 1:27:18 GMT 1
Fuck she fights dirty. Taru turned his face the other direction and let the woman's saliva hit his cheek. Whatever, a fight is a fight. And it's a fight he has to win. Taru stuck left his left hand at her neck and started squeezing. He swung around holding her neck to get behind her and then he wrapped his legs around her legs. He fell onto the ground with her ontop and his left arm choking her. He tighted his wrap around her legs so she couldn't get up. Let's see her fight on the ground. Taru tightended all his grips around her in an attempt to beat Layla.
"I can play dirty too."
Taru lifted his arm in the air and came down attempting to hit her breast.
ooc:I didn't mod did I? I don't think I did...
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Post by Valencia Donahue on Mar 17, 2007 23:44:21 GMT 1
((OOC: I know how to open up close-end RPing. Just mind yourself with the tense-usage. Future tense or present tense makes things least likely to sound like godding in comparison to past tense.)) The idea behind what Valencia did was to make Taru strike back, so that went along pretty well, wouldn’t you say? She heard a creak, signifying movement, but knew better than to react when she didn’t know where it’d come from except towards her in some way. In short, Taru’s hand managed to clutch her neck and by the way he was doing so, Valencia could tell which hand it was due to thumb placement. Left hand. Sure, it was kinda bad to let people grab onto your neck like so, but a single hand’s grip wasn’t usually as large as the width of an average person’s neck, meaning large enough to form a circumference around it, so Valencia knew she was fine as long as she persevered and not let him do more damage than she can put up with. She felt him turn and turned with him, refusing to let him get anywhere out of her “sight”. Before long, she sensed Taru’s grip change and gravity did the rest. Valencia was on top. Yay? CLEANSE YOUR MINDS, YOU WEIRDOS! Yay! And it was about time for the miss to consciously react, so the senior drew up her legs until she got into a sitting position on Taru’s chest, all the while still being squeezed by the throat. You can say that by now, it’d be a good idea to break out of his grip somehow before she suffers from oxygen deprivation. She’d say so too if this was an appropriate speaking moment, but since it ain’t, she might as well do something about it. Valencia didn’t have to worry about Taru’s legs, so the only other things she had to be concerned about was his arms… While both of hers were not only perfectly free, but her limbs were also long. Huzzah, I give you long reach. Remember about what I said earlier about a person’s grip hardly ever being big enough to form a circumference around a person’s neck? Well, in a typical person’s grip, the thumb is the weakest digit, so all Valencia had to do was to force herself into an upright sitting position instead of a crouching sitting position and she was fine. Okay, maybe it’s a bit tricky to do so while Taru here was pounding away on her back, but most attacks work more effectively when you’re striking away from yourself, not towards yourself. Oh? Yeah, back to her long limbs. Pushing against Taru’s throat with her hand (right), Valencia forced herself up, choking him in her own way and hopefully getting herself out of his (left) grip by the advantage of her arm’s length. But what about her other arm? Clawing out his face, perhaps, or unleashing a series of blows. Who knows. ((OOC: Art may not be completely to scale, but gives a good idea as to the position Valencia is going for. Valencia raising her other arm is illustrating the event should she be smacking Taru's face in, the event of her clawing his face out ought to be different. Let me know if anything is confusing or unclear.))  |
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Post by taru on Mar 18, 2007 3:34:56 GMT 1
Taru knew this could go on, but he rather end it. Taru pushed the put his right arm and elbowed her left away and grabbed her right arm and pulled it down, then he pushed her off him and stood up and went to the area where he lost his pants.
"Here."
Taru took out his wallet and took out 5 twenties, half of what he had left.
"Take care. There's no reason why I should stay here."
Taru gave her the twenties and then put his pants on. He continued to walk away from Pier 39.
"And if you wanna stop faking the blind thing and using a fake name. Because I heard your friend saying Val before he corected himself. Farewell."
Taru took his leave and looked the other direction. He could of let it kept going, but no point in doing so.
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Post by Valencia Donahue on Mar 19, 2007 2:25:56 GMT 1
Thank goodness that Valencia was sitting on Taru’s chest, huh? Or she’d be in a pickle! Not a really bad one, but she doesn’t like to be in situations coined after canned vegetables. When he knocked her (right) arm away and grabbed for the other one, she was going to throttle him with the one he knocked away until—
[FRIEND]: “Oy, Layla! The officer here thinks that this has been going on long enough and that if you don’t stop, we’ll hafta pay the dude’s hospital bills!”
So she stopped and got up as Taru pushed her as well to do the same. Valencia removed her blue blindfold in time to hear what he had to say, unperturbed by his words and already going for the cash he dropped. Yes, she was ignoring him. High odds were that wouldn’t get it if she bothered to respond to him as to why she adopted this guise, but hey, maybe he’ll figure it out on his own.
For all you know, I could be a “Valerie” or a “Valentino del Bosque Verde”. In the end, in spite of whatever I choose to entitle myself, I’m still a wild card and myself. Nothing is always as they seem.
Valencia dusted herself off as her stare traveled off into space while her friend returned to her side with their earnings from the bewildered audience. Not a treasure trove of bills, but it was enough to have a decent meal at some buffet with some friends. All it took was a single glimpse of the money Valencia had in her hands and…
[FRIEND]: “Whoa… If we knew that he had that much, we should’ve mugged him!”
“Didn’t I say that I was going to kill you?”
[FRIEND]: “Can we at least take his shoes?!”
“…I think he’ll come back for them eventually.”
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Post by taru on Mar 19, 2007 3:09:23 GMT 1
Taru looked at his feet and noticed he forgot his shoes. Crap. Taru ran back to where the girl was and put on his shoes.
"And you."
Taru pointed to the friend. He went right up to him and slapped him across the face.
"That's for being so damn annoying this whole goddamn time!!! And you."
Taru pointed at the girl.
"I'd like to talk to you sometime. You can tell me whats going on later at Starbucks if you decide to show up."
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Post by Valencia Donahue on Mar 20, 2007 2:31:39 GMT 1
[FRIEND]: “Ooowwwww~ What kind of man slaps someone?! Can’t throw a punch, huh?! HUH!? GIRLY, AREN’T YA!? I CAN TAKE HIM!!”
Valencia had to grab her friend by the upper arm to prevent him from getting any more riled up than he already was. She genuinely didn’t want him to create a scene that didn’t get them paid, in all honesty, but what can she do about this dude who’s wildly swing his fists about while being held back by a circus-trick performing stuntwoman? If you were in Valencia’s position, all you can do is watch with hidden amusement out of the corner of your eye while paying a small iota more attention to the person talking to you. Like this complete stranger dubbed Taru.
“If you say so.”
…And that’s all she said. A woman of few words, I give you Valencia Donahue, taciturn extraordinaire. Of all of San Francisco, she figured she can guess which Starbucks he’s talking about or just ask around for some dude who she just fought on Pier 39. With that, she turned away to take her leave, pulling her friend with him as he continued to utter and holler maternal expletives at Taru.
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