Battle of Genre Round One : Sci-Fi
Rokon Versus KamirooWolf
Rokon Versus KamirooWolf
Click me for the BoG R1 Main Thread for additional info!
Welcome to a Round One Battle Thread for the BoG Tournament! Be mindful now, as your votes are the determining factor to who takes the win!
For a few reminders though:
REMINDERS (Click to Show)
Now without further ado here are the works of our would-be Masters of Genre!
Rokon - Arthur
Spoiler (Click to Show)
Arthur was space born, a common occurrence from what his parents would tell him. The galactic paver association would send out teams of astronauts into the black pit of space for long periods of time to see if there was anything worth finding. Naturally the people would get close, and after that children would start appearing on the ships. Arthur had never been to earth, despite his parents being scheduled to return 16 years ago. “There's too much left to see” they would say. Every time those words went through Arthur’s head he would get upset.
His parents had seen so much but they kept going to see more. Then they got careless and went out into a planet that wasn't meant for humans. They didn't return to say the least. Arthur was the sole survivor of the S.S. Excalibur and since he had never been to earth he decided that he should return with all the data and discoveries of his parents.
The S.S. Excalibur was once a beautiful golden ship with a variety of details in a variety of colors. Purely for aesthetics of course. Yet now it was an old, just short of rusting, ship that clearly outlived its expectancy. Especially considering it hadn't been repaired since the demise of its crew.
Arthur watches the blue planet as his ship propels itself towards its atmosphere. “Well I guess this is really happening” Arthur says after a sigh. He stands and walks through the ship to the control room.
Arthur flipped switches and adjusted levers until the ship was ready for a successful landing. The rockets shut down as gravity dragged the craft down. Arthur clipped his seatbelt on as the gold craft fell. The S.S. Excalibur was slowed as a it's landing protocol activated. The ships thrusters pushed it out of its fall and landed it safely at a GPA landing zone
Arthur walked through the halls of the S.S. Excalibur for what to his knowledge could have been the last time. The ship's hangar door opened and Arthur stepped off of the ship. He took a deep breath. The landing zone had an odor similar to that of a mechanic's shop, not a smell Arthur was a fan of but one he could more or less identify.
a woman about twenty years old made her way to Arthur and looked him over. “You must be Arthur. I'm glad you were able to get here safely.” the woman said as she looked back and forth between Arthur and the Excalibur.
“I'm Arthur, yeah” Arthur said looking over the woman. “and you are?”
The girl smiled and gave Arthur a salute. “I am Lilane of the galactic paver association's ship return unit” she claimed. “When your message notifying us of your return came in I was given the job of making sure you were able to settle in on earth and turn in the information from your ship's journey” she added gleefully
Arthur released a heavy sigh and looked at the girl. “The data is all neatly organized in the ship.” he began. “For every file on the computer there's a printout. I'm not interested in continuing work with the pavers” he said
Lilane’s smile faded. “Well that sucks” she said. “maybe for you guys,” Arthur replied dismissively. “I'm done with space”
Arthur walked off. He left the majority of his belongings on the S.S. Excalibur but material objects were replaceable. What he really needed was to readjust to people being around and to figure out how things on Earth actually work. Everything he knew about it he learned from his parents and he was confident that the information was outdated considering how long they had been away.
Lilane ran up behind Arthur. She was determined to finish her assignment even if he refused to continue with the pavers. “Arthur, you don't have to work for the GPA anymore. Just let me show you around so you can get settled in” she said.
Arthur looked at the girl. If her helping him adjust was something that could be done even if he refused to continue working with the GPA then there was no reason to refuse. “fine,” he began, “you can help me, but remember, I'm not working for the GPA anymore” he added as he looked at Lilane. “then I should take you to the resignation office” Lilane said, her smile returning.
“Fine, lead the way” Arthur said as he waved Lilane along. The girl started walking in front of Arthur. She walked to an elevator and pressed the button for it to come. “The elevator will take us right to the office” she told the man.
Arthur nodded. He just wanted it to get done. How it got done was irrelevant to him. The elevator doors opened and the pair entered. The girl pushed a button and the elevator lifted before moving to the side, taking a number of turns and stopping at the office.
“I see elevators are different now” Arthur scoffed before stepping off the elevator. “they're called track elevators” Lilane responded as she stepped off the elevator. “they change directions more or less the way a train does” she added. “you'll see them all over”
“Hmm, okay. What's next?” Arthur asked, feeling like knowing that was making some form of progress. Lilane showed him to a desk with a screen on it. He walked up to the screen and looked it over. “You say your name and tell it you are resigning. Then you're done and I'll show you around” she said.
“Arthur of the S.S. Excalibur” he said not knowing of any last name he may have. The screen lit up and showed a picture of him from a few years before. A list of options was displayed. “resign” he said.[/Spoiler]
KamirooWolf - A Dream I Had
Spoiler (Click to Show)
Cry later, live longer.
Marines, physicists, botanists, and even a few athletes can do nothing as the towering colossi close behind scoop them up. One by one they are all taken. One by one they are all silenced with an excruciatingly thick crunch or a disturbingly satisfying “pop". Blood is unavoidable. Several pacifists have their white lab coats stained, only having time worry about how the splattered organs of their friends will weigh them down as the gorillas behind thunder ever closer. Fifteen men. Fifteen women. Seven children.
The gorillas' hefty feet make all attempts at running futile, lifting any fleet feet higher and higher off the ground with each closing inch. Children trip, parents stop to save them; and neither survive. It doesn't take long for the remaining three humans to rush into a thicket of brush taller than the apes themselves, bawling like newborns as they dive underneath an above-ground root acting as if an open blanket cover to offer false invisibility.
Seconds pass as if hours, the fear of the unknown never leaving the shelter of their pores as the three men huddle close underneath a root the size of a regular earthen oak tree. One man, Davies, yanks a relatively large wooden cross from his necklace and begins gnawing away at the corners with blood stained fangs, refusing to be taken as easily as his wife and daughter. The next, Bruins, buries his ashen face into the rich soil beneath, shouting muffled prayers to his God in heaven. The final man, Lakshma, sits in a cross-cross manner; his fingers neatly contorted into stereotypical signs for meditation. His outfit matches the action, his baggy brown and white cloths akin to monks who spend their lives devoted to some belief. None of them speak, but each and every one of them cries. Their tears overwhelmingly riddled with salt, yet the pain and confusion infusion spike the flavor just enough to emerge from the depths tainted with sodium chloride.
A clock sounds somewhere in the universe, and two of the three men feel their final hour come to an end as a massive footstep shatters the silence like a thin, inexpensive glass. A pair of gray, scarred hands wrap around the thick root overhead and in an instant the three stragglers are revealed to a band of simians. Davies is the first to break formation, charging the nearest ape with bloodlust gone mad in his opal eyes. Before the weighty beast can react, the holy shank in his possession is lodged deep within the creature's fur lined...ankle; a mere pebble in the road for a man. The gorilla wears a bored expression, wrapping it's thick digits gently around Davies' skull before the sad, sad man is but the remains of a wasted grape between the beast's fingers. His body is tossed aside as if rotten, contaminated fodder, and the two remaining men are quickly left with two decisions.
Run for dear life and prey the other man just happens to be slower...
Or
Accept death and journey to the other side in hopes that God is a merciful reality rather than myth...
The decision is made quickly, and Bruins feels a tinge of remorse as he kicks dirt up onto a surprised Lakshma without warning. The rich fertiliser and relatively miniscule bugs within blinding his vision just as a wide fist into the ground sends he and his freshly ruined attire to the other side for inspection. Perhaps the blindness to rapid death was a blessing...perhaps his anonymous end was a curse, all Bruins knows is that, in that moment, he is alive. His feet tear through the sod and assassinate as many critters below as necessary to rip through the dense jungle, flashes of his life and his accomplishments flying in the opposite direction as a clearing comes into view. It's not much, but even the smallest of phenomenon can be considered a beacon of hope to a man with nothing to lose. His legs tense on the verge of cramping, but the African American male forces them to push harder than they ever have before, tearing something without shame as sunlight plants a long, enchanting kiss on his sweat-soaked dark skin and standard military uniform as he nears the clearing. He can taste salvation, tears forming in his eyes as the pounding of approaching feet and primal roars near.
It takes a matter of seconds, but Bruins curses God and all under his name as a massive snow white tiger throws itself in his path, it's size laughable compared to the apes but terrific in the eyes of a normal man. Bruins attempts to keep charging, only to be felled immediately with a swift swipe of the creature's paw. It pins him down, making no attempt justify its actions before raising its majestic crown and arching its back. The first gorilla at the front of the troop hesitates, faltering slightly just before he is hit with a storm unlike any other.
The tiger's entire body vibrates, and Bruins can feel his soul being wrenched within his body as the mighty monstrosity bellows a roar so intense, so powerful, that even the apes ten times its size are launched onto their hinds. For the duration of the roar they screech and cry back at the declaration in fear, kicking violently into the black and brown soil as they shift direction completely, an expression of everlasting disbelief mixed with relief etched into their once vicious and twisted faces. Fear follows them as if a ghost latched onto the nape of their hairy necks as a parasite feeding off of their weakened hearts and underdeveloped brains.
As their sound akin to thunder in the darkest of storm clouds fades into the noise of other creatures going about their natural lives, Bruins can feel all the stress and fear instilled within his heart alleviate almost immediately under the large cat's weight. It doesn't hurt, his chest, but the grown man can quickly feel his adrenaline being sapped as a sharp pain stretches across the length of his right leg. There are several smaller injuries unrelated to the apes, but for now all the black man can do is take one last glimpse of the beast before him and half-heartedly thank his savior before darkness envelops his vision absolutely.
“Rest...take...child...child..." are the last words Bruins hears before his body goes limp and his consciousness goes blank.
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The muggy swamp water soaks into Bruins skin and the man can feel it seeping into his pores as foreign aquatic life forms brush past his stretched out arms. He is sprawled out in the center of the deep dank dark greenish-blue water, his own dark skin blending into the sections of the liquid shrouded in shade. Algae swims alongside the unknown creatures, and for a moment, the former squaddie of Spacial Expedition Brigade Squad C feels a flush of peace wash over his body. Through his finger tips and down his thighs, soaking into his uniform tan camouflage pants and staining it's matching shirt. His eyes begin having parasites sap at their vision, but the grown adult soon realises that he is merely crying. Realisation of his situation flowing faster than memory itself, and in mere moments Bruins remembers the thundering apes. He remembers the blood and guts of his gored comrades. He remembers the screams of a few of his close friends on board the ship. He remembers...a snow white tiger coming to his rescue. A spiny, urchin like slug clambers onto Bruins' wrist, and the space cadet quickly pulls away from its off-putting appearance to rise and grasp his surroundings.
Majestic, rich trees lined with moss and markings of untold age, greenery and vegetation as far as the eye can see, and a noble beast resting silently on a throne carved of stone and lazily splashed with random colors in haphazard sections. If Bruins had been obsessive compulsive, he would have had a seizure gazing upon the chair, but just as he shifts in the water he can only flinch as the beast's midnight orange eyes explode from the cover that was once their eyelids. The creature stares into Bruins' soul, but the human does not falter. His steely dark gray eyes meet the tiger head on.
“I like those eyes," The tiger speaks, instantly rupturing the tension and disassembling our protagonist's focus. “I see...humility and longing; a desire to be adored despite years of mediocrity in the shadows of others. I like your eyes, human...I like them an awful lot. And for that reason and that reason alone I have decided-" The tiger rises from its sitting position and proceeds into a light hop, being caught just before his fur-covered paws can be soaked in the unworthy, soiled water. Beneath each pair of paws are perfectly subjugated alligators, their ed