Description: The Neo Development Project interviews two up-and-coming fighters by the name of the cool cat Daniel Jack and the... curiously reserved Intan. Trevor Hall, washed up actor, heads up the double interview in lovely Las Vegas. It's the Neo Discussion Project, baby!
"Welcome, fighting fans, one and all, to lovely Las Vegas!" Cues an unseen male voice to a stock sweeping view of Las Vegas' own Fremont Street. The violence of attempted Chinese invasion on US soil has not been without its scars here and there - Fremont Street was not too far away from the warfront.
The people here sure aren't acting as though they were inches away from being under Vega's thumb, from the look and sound of things. No, it's in fact almost uncanny as to how quickly the public seems to want to bring the public spotlight back to the fighters!
"I'm Trevor Hall, and you're watching the Neo Discussion Project - the number one stop for the latest news about your favorite Neo Development Project celebrities!"
The view cuts to a set with numerous monitors replaying various highlights from recent Neo Development Project battles - and some from the previous season, at that - along with some washed-up TV actor in their late fifties of African American descent given a throwaway gig as some talk show host. If he despises his fate, he surely doesn't mind!
"Tonight, I got a special treat for you fans," says Trevor, "right here tonight I've rounded up the two hottest names to come on down and have a chat with ol' Trev. I don't think I even need to say their names now! But, they can, if they'd like," he gestures broadly over to his guests, who are awkwardly forced to claim whatever space they can within an otherwise spacious fuschia couch. The entire set is incredibly garish.
"So, allow me to say to both of you at once, welcome to the Neo Discussion Project, and thank you for coming by!"
Dressed to the nines, Daniel Jack was cleaned, trimmed and groomed for his Vegas Night Interview. Armed with an orange zoot suit, he wears his swagger with the full presence that he brings to most fights. Red shades, a black pork pie, and even that red feather poking out of it. While looking out of place of most fights, Daniel Jack was damn sharp right here in the interview. Sitting on the couch, he kept his arms out. He wasn't worried about throwing too much space on the couch. He was a professional! If Intan had a problem, well, she would just have to point it out. Smoothly, the detective answers his interviewer with the casual air of a street sleuth.
"Why, that's a real peach thing for you to do, Mr. Hall. Real peach, I gotta say."
The detective looks around briefly, flashing the brightest smile he could muster, and frankly, succeeds. "The name is Daniel Jack. That's my fighting name, you see. But if the people out there is curious, well, I'm sure they can google it." Daniel gives a wink to the camera. "It sure it nice to be here tonight. Sorry if I stutter though, Trevor, I haven't had as much experience you have." The detective unleashes another smile, letting his personality roll off the set and right on to the screen.
Daniel Jack felt like he was right in his element.
Unlike Daniel Jack? Intan did most definitely not feel like she was right in hers. Dressed in her Gedo High School Uniform, she takes as little space on the couch as she can. She's blushing, fidgeting, and showing all the signs of stage fright. When the camera settles on her, she takes a gulp before saying. "Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Hall." Standard line. "I'm Intan." She fidgets a little more, letting Daniel take up as much couch space as he liked.
Man, that look on Trevor's face. He's either smiling because he's good natured or he just simply can't believe anybody would seriously dress like that today, what is wrong with that Daniel guy? He taps a card in his hand against his (obnoxiously curvy) desk. If he were Intan he'd probably be embarrassed to be seated next to a guy like that too, he imagines in very careful silence.
"Indeed! The two current frontrunners of the Project's second season, right here, folks! Truthfully, between you and me, I'm surprised she isn't already trying to stab him."
Laugh track.
"Well, to account for those who for some reason aren't /in/ on the happenings, both of you are currently frontrunners not only in score, but for number of fights too - the most active entrants thus far!" Daniel and Intan have both been making headlines, after all.
"But, let's cut to the chase and ring the bell!" The bell is rung. "For this round of the Neo Discussion Project is now fighting in the ring!"
Groanworthy.
"So, Daniel, I know you've got yourself something of a day job. Private detective, aren't you? How's that line of work holding up for you while you're on the way to the top of the Project?" Asks Trevor, and yet, through the magic of the MU* medium, somehow he manages to ask Intan a different question that will probably be answered simultaneously with the other, somehow.
"And you, young miss Intan. I have to say, there's sure been a lot of blood in all your fights thus far." This is an understatement. Fighting is no stranger to cuts and bruises and scrapes of all sorts, but Intan's knifework on camera has been nothing short of almost being disconcertingly bloody. "I think we'd all like to know, sometimes we kind of wonder if you're almost trying to kill everyone in the ring - what drives you to make your opponents bleed so much?"
Daniel Jack doesn't think he dresses THAT badly. Though the suit gives him a sort of flare that helps when out in the ring. The gi-wearing mooks are a dime a dozen. Even the student uniforms are pretty common. But a zoot suit? An orange zoot suit? That was his style! His presence! When some kid turns on the TV, and looks at the screen, he would see that detective in the classic 1930s getup, and think.
It's Daniel Jack.
"Why I'm surprised you know that, Mr. Hall. I'm a private eye by trade; shore enough, it's some dang good work. A lot of it has been boring for the last couple of months, but I got a real big gig right now tracking down a watch. I'd tell you the details, but, uh." Daniel Jack finally gives Intan the space she needs, moving towards Trevor with just a bit conspiracy in his voice. Stage whispering, he lets it slip to the interviewer.
"Don't want you bumped off by the Black Dragons, you dig me?"
Leaning back to the couch, the detective nods firmly. "But let me lay it to you straight, scuzzy. When I first got that check from Ken Masters on my two victories, that was the most money I done seen in all my years. If I didn't love problem sleuthing so much, I'd might just go and retire with the kind of cash I'm taking. It's like Mr. Masters doesn't want people to earn an honest day's living, with the kind of checks he's cutting!"
Daniel pauses for the laugh track on that.
Well, opening up with the tough questions right of the start. Intans sucks in a deep breath before answering. "It's a good strategy." She shuts up again. Though after a few moments of pause she comments very quietly in what's kind of a crude joke, "Besides, men could stand to know what it's like to bleed." Of course, due to the microphones it's picked up quite well, but she didn't think of that!
There's a bit of a nervous laugh to Trevor at mention about being bumped off. He can't be for real about that, can he? When the discussion moves towards an honest day's living... man, Trevor sure wishes he made as much as these NDP fighters are, that's for sure. It shows, very subtly in his eye, where he feels a sudden twinge of jealousy.
"Sure pays well to fight well, doesn't it?" Says Trevor, stating the obvious.
Count on Intan there to end up breaking up the conversation pretty quickly with her comment about men bleeding. There's laughter coming off the set and pretty much everywhere.
That, or Trevor's laugh has this odd echoing quality which would in fact be really really creepy. Maybe that's how he made a living when he was still acting regularly? If so, still creepy.
"Oh, that's a zinger." Trevor calms himself down after patting the desk several times. "That's more the kind of bravado I was expecting! Y'know, miss, you really do seem pretty sure of yourself all in all. The way you've talked down just about everyone you've fought on camera, heck, you're even enrolled in the Neo League! The big shots. You've got to tell me, where do you get that pluck from? That pepper."
Can't leave out Daniel, either, as he turns to him. "Well, whatever the case, you've done very well in your martial art. The Way of Todoh, I've heard it be called, though... now, look, don't take this as an insult, but your master has... well, I've seen his record, it's... well, certainly it's not holding you back." Sweat forms on his brow. He'd been rehearsing how to phrase this for a long time and still isn't sure how to make it sound... well, not like an invitation to be punched in the face. "Tell me, how's it inspired you to get this far?"
Daniel doesn't get TOO put off as Intan takes the wind out of his punchline. Daniel was a bit jealous that he was losing in the 'wit' between the two. Volume of words should always outdo quality of them! But no matter. Putting his leg up on the knee of the other, he doesn't let Trevor's laugh trouble him one bit.
The mention of Master Todoh, however, is another story.
Trevor, as well as the audience, can see how Daniel's smile gradually begins to fade as the interviewer continues on the tack of Master Todoh. As he finishes up the line of questioning, the detective's face is stony serious, and quite hot. Unable to contain himself, Daniel bursts out from the couch. "Don't you start Trevor! Don't you start! Master Ryuhaku Todoh has been DEFACED and MALIGNED by the Kyokugen Dojo! So help me, if you doubt anything that Master Todoh has to stand for, then I will show you, right here, right now, right in the heart of Vegas what the TRUE might of Todoh means!" The detective's body burns with a righteous, insulted intensity, but ever slowly, the detective lowers himself back down to his couch.
"But how has it inspired me?"
The detective doesn't lose the aura of losing the edge of that perceived insult. "Both Ryuhaku Todoh and Kasumi Todoh have inspired me a great deal in their teachings; Ryuhaku Todoh himself has provided most of the passion that I take from the art. He has taught me that no matter what, as long as you stubbornly cling to what you believe in, you will eventually overcome the challenges and come out on top! There is a certain power that you can take away, scuzzy, from looking in the face of anything, and drawing from within the courage you need to overcome it. What your -records- don't show you, Mr. Hall, is the kind of man that could boldly ride a steamroller towards the toughest fighters in the world, and not even bat an eye when they knock them both clean over a cliff."
"Are you digging me?"
Whatever pepper Intan has seems to be remarkably absent right now. Perhaps she forgot to take her Charisma with her, or perhaps there's something else going on. However, it's at the detective starts to get outraged that the Indonesian girl shows her trademark smirk. She still doesn't comment on Daniel's words, instead answering Trevor, "Fighting ... makes me feel alive... makes me forget about my sins..."
It's kind of easy for Intan's commentary - cryptic as it is - about sins and stuff to end up being lost to the sudden outburst of Daniel's offense at Trevor's insinuations. So much that an entire show could be made about how Trevor immediately cowers to Daniel's sudden bursting from the couch. The shouting! The metaphorical finger waggling to a far less metaphorical tonguelashing as Daniel's spirit burns brightly in speaking of the virtues of what he has learned from the Todoh family in a way beyond mere fighting!
Any intrepid fans of Intan - or those curious about her - might be taking note of her rather reserved commentary. Is this something that can be probed deeper by an outside party, perhaps?
"I, uh, I... I dig you. I dig you! I dig you!" Trevor slowly rises up from behind the desk, hands up as though he were being held up. "I, I dig you. It's, it's cool, isn't it? Er... right." He clears his throat and sits back down. Someone over his earpiece says it's not time for a commercial break yet, sadly, so he has to keep talking.
"Well... if I can break away a bit from the NDP for a moment," Trevor says, voice going more somber, "recently... I'm sure you're all aware of what happened in Asia and even here in the United States," Trevor says. "For a while, there was some discussion about whether or not organized fighting would be banned outright beyond China. A ban they've since lifted, but..."
Trevor composes himself, hands folded together as he looks out to the both of them. "Tell me. As fighters, how would you have felt if the United States, or... any other countries that frequently host organized fights... had decided to side with the idea to crack down on it?"
Daniel Jack leans back, actually looking a bit puzzled at this question. A world without organized fights? This was a bombshell question, and he had to think fast. While he did feel a little proud taking the wind out of Intan this time, he knew a bad answer would throw him back behind the top billing. Looking thoughtful for a moment, he finally answers, smoothly and calmly, while looking at both the camera and Trevor himself.
"Well, let me lay it to you straight Trevor. This may sound real queer, but a ban on organized fights is all out there. What a lot of people don't dig is the thought of living weapons going at each other like modern cockfights. I mean, what do fights prove? That people can kick the snot out of people? And what if you run into these people in the streets? I mean, you'd think that if you ban organized fighting, you'd end up with fewer martial artists. That means a lot fewer dangerous living weapons on the streets. Wouldn't that be nice, right? Having a population of docile, peaceful people?
"But let me tell you about Holly Wood."
"You don't know the name? You shouldn't. He isn't a tournament fighter. He doesn't even have a real martial art. All that he got to his name is throwing firebombs, and shanking you with a knife. And that doesn't sound too bad; except I ran into Holly Wood while exploring the Mad Gear gang. That's right; Holly Wood was a gangster from the infamous Mad Gear Gang. And he took me to the curb. Left me for dead in a dumpster. This was before I got serious in the tournament scene, before I got serious in training to defend against a wide range of martial art styles. Criminals have a need for martial artists, and if you ban organized fighting, criminals will still fight. And because of that, I'm going to tell you what I believe.
"China is wrong for wanting to ban organized fights."
"Now I'm not saying it is wrong to regulate them! I like having an EMT standing by when I run into someone like Intan shoving her knives into my stomach. But the fact of the matter is if you ban organized fighting, then the only tournaments you will have will be underground, criminal ones. And if THAT keeps up too long, you will start finding that criminals will be some of the most powerful fighters in the world, and the good guys, just like me, won't be up to snuff when they start pulling another Metro City Crisis. Or another Southtown Crisis. I mean, could you imagine the disaster that would have been if we didn't have some of these World Warriors out there, people who have trained for countless years in the organized fighting circuits?" Daniel Jack looks at the crew and Audience, his face asking.
"But those are just my two cents on the matter."
"I disagree, Daniel." Intan says softly, almost scared to disagree. "I don't care if they ban fighting, because I'll keep fighting anyway. I can't imagine a life without fighting, and no law will stop me. As for the criminals, the best solution is simple..." She makes a quick movement with her finger across her throat. All the while she's very nervous seeming. "People who hurt innocent people don't deserve to live. They deserve to be cut open and bleed out in the gutter."
So many politicians and pundits have had their whacks on the subject. The subject in question may now be moot, even dead, given China's movement has come to a screeching halt largely because of the efforts of powerful and concerned fighters as much as the blood, sweat, and tears of so many men and women who served their country's defenses proudly.
But it will remain an interesting topic for some time, as a massive opposition to these two peoples' ways of life. Daniel, who goes on a tangent to speak what it would mean on a street level in the eyes of one who had himself a terrible encounter with one of the Mad Gear thugs.
Mad Gear is not what it used to be, but any and all organized gangs have them as their ultimate measuring stick. They are a historical terror, if not a current one - and the potential still remains for a force equal or greater than them to assemble under someone's noses as it is.
Trevor keeps incredibly silent as Daniel relays, if only to try and not get his ire again after that outburst. Seriously, he's thankful that he's able to keep his teeth!
"I'd love to see the exchange rate on those two cents," Trevor says when he's sure he can speak without offending, "might be able to retire off the conversion rat--"
In comes Intan's disagreement. A counterpoint? Hers is terse and comes off as much more personal - an illustration of how dependant some people are for their emotional well being to fight. Especially... the way Intan does.
"If... if that's how you feel about those kinds of people," Trevor winces. Not because he is a criminal (though some say his acting was criminally bad in his latter active years), but the way she deals with other fighters is extremely brutal! He doesn't want to imagine what it'd be like to see her get her hands on someone she deems criminal!
"I, I know that was pretty heavy, thanks for playing ball with that," Trevor speaks up, "not many fighters have really gotten to speak about it, so I was hoping you guys could shed some light, but..."
He perks up. "We're just about out of time, folks, so, just some quick parting words from both of you... the season's still going strong." He was legitimately interested in the subject at hand, he actually seems really disappointed. "So!" He claps his hands together to try and hide this. "Tell me, both of you... any opponents you're looking forward to fighting? Anyone you're especially anxious to match up against... or avoid? Go on, spill it all out."
Daniel Jack looks towards Intan, and scoots away from her just a tad. Oh joy, she was crazy outside the ring as well. The detective flashes another smile, though. This was his first big interview, and even if it WAS with a washed up interviewer, he at least had a name. It was always better to get a named guy instead of a no name. Besides, he was so respectful just listening to him! With the interview coming to a close, Daniel looks about ready to stand up... when the last question comes.
Who did Daniel want to fight next, and who did he want to avoid?
"Well, Mr. Hall, the only person I wanted to avoid fighting was Zach. Not because I don't like him or anything, he is a great guy! But sweet lord he kicks like a mule. Ad tricky too! But with that fight down the river and past, I am eager to fight everyone else! My two favorites are going to be a bit personal though!"
The detective sticks out one finger
"The first guy in going to be Kazuki Kirigana of the Kirigana-ryu Aikido Dojo. It's a small dojo, not a big one, and in dire need of students. He is a nice kid, just need a good kick in the pants. Kazuki hasn't had any fights this season, and so help me, I will see to it that he gets some fights if I have to! It just isn't right for a dojo to not get any students, and it's own son not even promote it a bit!"
The detective unleashes the second finger.
"The SECOND guy on my hit list was a bit of a surprise to me, scuzzy! See, it has come to my attention that a certain Mister Jones is the former champ of the Neo Development Project. Now, that in itself might be enough reason for my to chase him down, but I got Mean Business with him over a fight outside the league! He done kick me to the curb, scuzzy! And I want to come back like a gang buster at him! A revenge match!" The detective kicks backs his heels, carrying more than a bit of confidence and swagger. "If he thinks his disco fighting is going to cut it in the official league, he is gonna get real surprised when I show him..."
"THE WAY OF TODOH"
"For the Neo League, I hope to get a match with Mr. Masters himself." Intan says quietly, though her eyes light up in anticipation some. "In the Saturday Night Fight I'm matched to Fuji again, going to try to win rather than tie this time, and I'd like to meet her a third time in the Neo Development Project too. Finally, I will fight all comers, much like the pretty boy over there, need to fight to win."
The enthusiasm by the Todoh student is something of a two-edged sword given the time limit. Daniel Jack chews the fat at length about other fighters. Zach's strength is well-known, perhaps the most well-known thing about him as a fighter in spite of his humble size. There's a bit of nodding about some Kazuki fellow or another. They haven't seen him yet in the League... a lazy layabout, huh. Did their parents sign Kazuki up or something? Who knows! Maybe we'll find out!
The talk about wanting to take on the champion of the previous season is entirely expected, if not the circumstances. "That so, huh? Mr. Jones certainly has a lot of people gunning for him, Daniel. I can't say for sure if there's a long line forming up for him, but hell, maybe you'll get to cut all the way to the front with that bravado."
Speaking of bravado, Intan's mention of wanting to fight Ken herself is an eye-opener. Normally, they aren't too big on League talk - those are the big leagues! This is for the up-and-comers, but she seems so sure of herself in words if not exactly in body language. "Well, young lady, good luck at... takin' a stab at it."
Even Trevor himself winces at his own pun. Seriously, it is really scary to watch her in an actual fight. "Anyway, Daniel, Intan, thanks for coming. So, fight fans, keep an eye on the Neo Development Project to check the progress of these fighters and more, or check us out online at motm.kicks-a..."
He gets cut off by a commercial break. Damn it, just missed it by seconds!
Log created on 02:25:02 04/08/2012 by Rust, and last modified on 19:38:10 04/09/2012.