trans_9 | Multiverse's Next Top Model: Shoot Somebody Who Outdrew You

[Any threading between Rachel and Ruffnut, without NPC interruption, goes here. Feel free to set it up however you like! Chatting in La Casa, backstage, etc.]

It felt so strange to think that she had made it so far, when she thought about what these sorts of contests were supposed to be like.

But as t was, she was here. Proud warrior, overcoming all tasks put before her.

She was spending extra time on her hair now that someone had taught her how to make it look "Fierce" but not girly. When she brushed it out there was so much of it, she felt powerful thinking of it blowing behind her in the wind, singed by her lightning or soaked and heavy with the blood of her enemies.

Speaking of enemies...the girl who had helped her win the last round was the final obstacle on her path to the top. Whoever won Stacy would win, but as a matter of pride she would give Rachel her best.

'Fighting to the death,' admittedly, was more interesting material than normally presented in modelling competitions. Rachel was just glad she didn't have to go on about world peace or something.

Though really, she was also proud of having met the challenges. She was too determined to quit now. And definitely too set in this to let Ruffnut win.

"Gotta say, I'd rather it be you and not one of the others who were here." There were worse choices. Though she would have liked the chance to pound Sirius without holding back.

Ruff nodded in agreement. "When this is over we oughta hang out more. I'll show you my lair, introduce you to my err-" She blushed a little "Girlfriend" She was still so unsure about using the term it felt weird coming out of her mouth. But there was no sense in hiding it really.

"You'd like her. She's like us you know? A warrior."

That was the thing. Ruffnut could tell the more she watched Rachel that underneath that flawless skin was a viking woman. It was something in the way she held herself, something in the cold stares she had given the judges. Ruffnut could recognize one of her own and Rachel would have fit in perfectly on Berk.

"Sure," Rachel said, and there was something close to a smile there. Because Ruffnut seemed pretty cool. She wouldn't mind having someone like-minded to hang out with, on occasion. It was better than some of the other people she could spend time with, after all. "Can't complain about more battle-hardened people."

She tossed her hair slightly, before she asked, "So how literally do you think they take this challenge?"

It was simply luck that Ruffnut knew what the word even meant, "As literally as they take anything else around here. This whole place is nutballs." but despite herself she couldn't help smiling.

"As crazy as it is though, they must be doing something right if we're still here."

Rachel snorted derisively at that, but she still smiled.

"Well, clearly they have some taste if they picked us," she said, straightening out into her perfect posture and form. Then she paused and said, "Actually, I'm not sure even picking us over the others can make up for all the other crap they've pulled."

"Would we be failing Stacy if after one of us got the information we jumped them and gave them each a super wedgie?" Ruffnut mused forgetting the camera would probably transmit her words directly to someone who would tell the judges.

And at that, Rachel may have just grinned. A little.

"I'm pretty sure nothing in the mission briefing said we couldn't take it out on them afterwards." And then a pause. "Not that that'd matter." Because really, 'failing' Stacy was a pretty low concern.

"Aw man, lame." Ruffnut pouted but in good humor. After all dignity had never been too high on her list of priorities.

She may feel differently after watching how the cameras portrayed her experience though.

Rachel smiled still, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not sure I'll let it stop me one way or another."

Ruffnut's smile was eager but less excited. She REALLY didn't wanna blow her first mission where everything seemed to be going well and she was actually a part of it's success. Up till now every mission she'd been on she either botched, or had no actual effect on the outcome.

This was different though. Somehow...she had been important enough. Special enough to win her way to the top.

And that thought filled with her with determination. Sure it didn't matter really which one of them won, Stacy won in the end.

But Ruffnut was determined. This was HER mission to put in the win column.

Jay gives each of the girls a big, invasive hug. He smells vaguely like coconut oil and suntan lotion, not to mention hair gel. Then he scoots them off to hair and makeup.

The shoot itself should appeal to both models, as they're to dress as warrior princesses with shields, breastplates and....miniskirts. And somehow they're supposed to look like warriors with their midriffs bared and while selling CoverGirl lip gloss and pouting sexily.

But surely these two young ladies can manage that.

[Tag in and set up your own subthreads. I'll tag back with NPCs.]

Ruffnut finally felt in her element as she strut onto the scene in leather and steel. She may have felt a little exposed because of the way the armor was designed, but she had thrown shame by the wayside long ago.

Using a spear and shield she was the picture of a Valkyrie.

And it didn't hurt that she provided her own special effects as lightning burst from her spear butt when she slammed it to the ground. Her hair flew wildly like the howling winds were sweeping it back, but her struggles to learn proper hair care was paying off.

Jay titters behind the camera and gives pointless advice like "catch the light with your hair" and "look deadly but not angry, like a warrior but not battle-hardened". He oohs and ahhs at the lightning, although Ruffnut's weaves smoke a little and one of the stylists has to excuse herself to redo her hair.

"That. Was. Fabulous!" Jay gushes after the shoot. "Now go kill it on the runway! But don't actually kill it!" He's contractually obligated to disclaim that.

Rachel, on the other hand, is not so thrilled about the concept of the miniskirt, the bared midriff, and the lip gloss pouting. Even if the whole ensemble has a kind of 'Xena' vibe to it.

She'd have to throttle Marco before he is ever allowed to know she thought that.

With a fierce and determined walk onto the runway, Rachel hoists her weapon up confidently and determinedly. She can totally mix grace with ferocity, right? She swings herself into a 'ready for battle' pose, once she's close to the end of the walk.

"I want you to look just a little vulnerable, Rochelle." Jay instructs her from behind the camera. "Like the wilting flower forced to fight, but who secretly hates the war and only wants her Romeo to gallop home and fly away with her."

So yes, Rachel, parse that mixed simile and look both fierce and sad. Basically, be Cassie.

That was cause for another bout of 'seriously?' in her head. She saw the similarities there. And sure, she loved Cassie. But they didn't exactly mesh when it came to things like... fighting. Which is what this was about.

Instead of really doing the 'vulnerable' thing, she mostly just scowled at the judges. Resentful and begrudging almost counted, right?

Jay just shakes his head and clicks his tongue in a way that suggests that he's trying to be polite to Rachel, but that she's just doing so badly that he can't contain himself. Either way, it's clearly her fault for listening in to private creative director conversations like "is her hair too yellow?" and "I feel like her earlobes are lopsided".

When the shoot's done, he rushes Rachel off to the runway without another word in her direction.

The models are shooed off to the backstage, still in their warrior regalia, where they will find that the runway...is actually a racetrack.

And they're to be in bumper cars.

With jousting swords.

To be aimed at each other.

The judges sit atop golden thrones. Talleyho's muumuu drapes down the steps almost to the runway. Noted Fashion Photographer Nigel is practically salivating. Jay joins them and rubs his hands together with glee.

Tyrant sips white wine from a golden skull. "Walk." Or scoot. Whatever.

Make it fierce, girls.

[Ruffnut and Rachel, tag each other like mad!]

... Seriously?

Though really, after the chicken stuff and the other challenges, she can't really complain much.

Rachel raises and eyebrow at the fact that it's a racetrack but she's not exactly about to stop short now.

She turns to Ruffnut and simply says "bring it."

Ruffnut cackled at the challenge, her blood starting to pump. Finally! A challenge that came with a threat other then humiliation. The adrenaline in her blood began to flow as she floored the accelerator on the bumpercar and it lurched forward towards Rachel. To someone on the outside of the scene it was a mediocre top speed for any vehicle, but behind the wheel holding the lance solid it was breathtaking.

Rachel forces her own car into fast gear, as average as its fast may have been. She'd experienced way more thrilling than this. But hey, maybe the battle itself could be fun.

Okay that was unlikely.

She turned the car, surging forward to meet Ruffnut head on, jousting sword held high and ready.

WHAM!

The cars connected and lances clashed sending Ruffnut into a wild spin. Her lancetip dug into the ground lifting her out of the car.

The car continued on without her and her eyes were wide with surprise as gravity brought her back down bending the lance in a perfect arc.

She grinned wickedly knowing what would come next as the lance snapped back into form launching her through the air lance and all, hair whipping about before she landed with a less then delicate crash somehow feet first into the bumper car.

Rising to her feet again as the car slid to a slower pace she looked over her shoulder to see how Rachel had done, a twisted smile on her face.

Edited 2012-01-13 21:28 (UTC)

Rachel's car veered off course from the impact, her face set in something between grim determination and thrill. With a basically perfect balancing of the lance, she pulled the car from its wildly off balance spin into a smooth circle, turning it to land facing Ruffnut in her own car.

Ruffnut, of course, had pulled quite the impressive move. Rachel's face was something close to 'impressed.'

She didn't wait before she kicked the machine forward again, but this time coming at her at the opposite angle as Ruffnut had her weapon ready.

Ruffnut likewise threw her car into drive again lurching forward with her weapon at the ready. Once again she was aiming for the head on collision but as soon as they got close enough she swung the lance hard for the legs. Instead of a stabbing action as the Lance was intended for she was going for a trip!

Rachel was a little more thrown off by that then she would have liked to admit, certainly. Ruffnut was pretty good at this honestly. Rachel fights to keep her balance, and swings out to do a jab with her lance in the meantime.

Ruffnut caught the jab in her stomach...and warpped herself around it trying to rip it out of Rachels hands. It hurt some having the impact catch her in the stomach, but her legs remained surprisingly firm in the seat as the force of the car slammed into the other car and sent them both skidding away.

Rachel was admittedly thrown by that-- she wasn't used to fighting many people as forward as Ruffnut-- and jerked forward to try and keep it in her hands, but ultimately failed, instead knocked off balance as it slipped from her fingers. She was rocked as the car skidded backwards and away, but she wouldn't let that deter her.

Forcing the car into a hard turn back towards her opponent, Rachel stood in the seat and waited until she was just close enough-- to jump for Ruffnut's vehicle.

That...was impressive. And in the brief second that time seemed to slow down and Ruffnut saw Rachel flying through the air, the blond haired viking wish she had thought of it first.

Lowering her shoulder she braced for impact and caught Rachel head on. No slowing down. No flinching. The two collided with bone rattling force and Ruffnut's long arms were grabbing immediately for any hold they could get be it hair, clothes or soft fleshy parts to try an keep Rachel's momentum going and get her out of her cart!

Perhaps unfortunately for Ruffnut, Rachel also grabbed quite adamantly for her. It meant she had to lose her weapon (at least for now-- it tumbled away), but she grabbed for a firm hold on her clothes and hair. If the viking was going try and make her topple over and end up off the car, then the Animorph would take her with her.

What followed was the sort of fight that only girls could have. Ruffnut fought tooth and claw, her recently cleaned and manicured nails scratching for soft flesh. She threw elbows and even tried a headbutt as her long legs struggled to stay standing in her cart.

But gravity had it's way with her and she began to fall to the side still flailing at Rachel with whatever amount of training she could remember. It took all she had not to use her lightning powers just to cook the blond warrior.

And then their cart hit a wall.

Rachel didn't pull any punches herself. She fought hard and fast-- and fierce-- with the only thing she didn't do being a morph. But there wasn't much she could do when they made impact.

Rocking hard, she was forced to let go and tumbled to the ground, landing uncharacteristically ungracefully on her butt and skidding painfully. She swore, but fortunately she wasn't hurt too badly. The fact that the car was moving painfully slowly helped. In the meantime, her car puttered off in the opposite direction.

Suddenly realising she should act, she scrambled for the weapon that had fallen before, hoping to get there before Ruffnut could come after her.

Ruffnut was dazed but when she saw four identical Rachel's running for the lance she stumbled and scrambled on all fours to try and beat her to it.

She threw herself, full body not at the Lance, but at Rachel aiming for a pounce like a junglecat.

Rachel let out another rather unladylike noise as she suddenly felt the full weight of another teenager hitting her in the side, while she wasn't far from the lance.

She skidded across the ground at the impact, and swung out for Ruffnut in retaliation

There was a burst of stars in Ruffnut's vision and she heard a "CRACK". By her count...and in her current state counting was near impossible, she had now broken her nose eight times.

Still she felt the pain burning new life into her. Fire in her veins and lightning in her brain. Eyes wide she began to laugh with the exhilaration of it all and began swinging one fist after the other in rapid succession. Weapons were great, but hand to hand was her favorite. The direct contact that sent vibrations through her bones, that cracked her knuckles. It was like life itself pouring into her.

The judges sit upon their thrones, which seem to get bigger and golder and more filigreed with each different judging. Tyrant's skull-cup has apparently been swapped out for an entire skeleton, which clinks against the floor when she drinks from it.

[Tag and the judges will deliver their verdict.]

Ruffnut looked exhilarated after the battle with her worthy opponent Rachel. The make up artist and costumer had of course had their way with her once again making sure that while she had the signs of battle, she was still extremely presentable for the camera.

She'd almost forgotten about the competition.

Multiverse's Next Top Model: Shoot Somebody Who Outdrew You

BEHIND THE SCENES

Re: BEHIND THE SCENES

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

THE PHOTOSHOOT

Re: THE PHOTOSHOOT

Re: THE PHOTOSHOOT

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

THE RUNWAY

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

THE JUDGING

Re: THE JUDGING