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 Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 8:00 pm
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Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 8:18 pm
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Ganyma felt a touch out of place, even in his own workplace. The higher-ups had let him use a private room that had been mightily gussied up for the appearance of royalty – a highblood known as Lorata Gorgos. Ganyma had been signed up to become her sponsee under the “suggestion” of the ALG, and the fit seemed to be a match made in heaven. His beliefs, and Shield’s beliefs, were knightly enough to deem him an Alternian Hero – despite his sordid past. Under the presence of such an affluent and powerful troll, he was worried he might slip up. Do the wrong thing, or somehow maybe this was all a trick and he’d get sent back to the Pits. Taking a deep breath, the wrestler adjusted his coal-black suit. She couldn’t see his doubt, especially under the mask. Relax.
She would be here soon. Apparently, a tour would be provided taking Lorata through the corridors of portraits and sculptures of famous fighters and Alternian soldiers who made glorious appearances in the ring. Afterwards, she would be treated to the reenactment of a decisive naval victory off the coast of what was then Old Hemisect City, courtesy of the ALG. It would be a wonderful day to tour the facility, and even the weather seemed to shine in the presence of someone so important – or perhaps that was just the ever temperate atmosphere of Four Fronds.
Ganyma folded his hands in his lap, looked down at them as he curled and uncurled them in a palm. If he didn’t seal the deal, it might be the end of him. With any luck even if he botched the speaking bit, he had a few ALG-sponsored surprises up his sleeve.
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Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2017 9:34 pm
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Delighted didn't seem strong enough to cover all of this, but it couldn't be far off the mark considering how the seadweller seemed to practically shine with cheerful excitement. The ALG had pulled out all of the stops for her, without a doubt, and they'd hit every note they'd needed to make a fan of her right from the start. The portraits, the sculptures, the reenactment, it was all absolutely perfect. More than anything, she was left wondering why she hadn't already been spending more of her time at the Coliseum. She would have to fix that.
But for tonight, there was still one more very important thing to do! There had been an awful lot of competitors sending applications her way for Superstar Authority, and their approaches had been as varied as their qualifications. None of those applications had quite held a candle to this one, though. Out of all those applicants, he certainly rated high on the list of potential heroes. So she was especially curious to see how he held up face to face on his own merit, because it went without saying that she had very high expectations.
Before she knew it, her guide had taken her to that last destination, opening the door for her to let her into the private room she'd been told the man was waiting in. She nodded to the guide before stepping in, turning that bright smile on Ganyma as she considered him. There was a bit of a squint to her eyes, for a second, but it seemed a bit odd, somehow, to imagine fins onto his mask. Maybe if she tried again later.
"So," she started brightly as the door closed quietly behind. "You must be Shield!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 7:57 pm
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Ganyma stood as soon as Lorata entered, dropping into a confident bow at the waist before he extended his hand for a shake.
“That’s me. Thank you so much for coming, Miss Gorgos – it really means the world to myself and all of us here in the Imperious Coliseum.” He stated, words measured and practiced but genuine all the same. He took a step back.
The private room was very comfortable, with plush couches and armchairs surrounding a table filled with food and beverage. It was lit with gauzy, warm light, framing the portraits of fighters on the walls and casting gilded golden reflections onto the oddly iridescent wallpaper. Truly it was gaudy for the taste of a mid-blood, but Ganyma trusted that the décor was fit for royalty. He gestured to the chairs. “Take a seat, please! Would you like anything? If there’s something you want that isn’t here I’ll order it right up for you.”
The spread had a mix of savory and sweet, with a large assortment of drinks from saccharine to sparkling water. He sat himself back down in his chair and leaned forward, enthusiastically positioned towards the seadweller with his elbows on his thighs. “How was your tour of the ALG? Pretty amazing reenactment today, I’d say; haven’t seen that one before!”
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Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 10:27 pm
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"I'm so happy to be here," Lorata responded pleasantly, reaching out to shake his hand. As soon as he stepped back, she took in the rest of the room, but by now it was really no surprise how well put together the space was. They truly had been prepared for her visit. She moved forward to take a seat across from the gladiaterror as he motioned for her too, took a quick glance over the table before taking a drink.
"This will do for now," she assured, lifting the drink to take a sip. Almost immediately, she put it back down, leaning forward just as enthusiastically. "It was wonderful! I wish I'd come so much sooner, I would have if I'd known there was so much..." She paused for just a second, looking for the word she wanted, and then nodded as she found an acceptable one. "Inspiration. All the sculptures you have here...And I've read about that battle, you know! It was just like I imagined, when Sybota turned the fleet and-"
The seadweller paused, remembering herself, and settled back with a laugh. "It was wonderful."
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Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:13 am
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“Ooh!” Ganyma’s interest was piqued. “That’s great – I usually learn about the battles when I’m here. Learn on the job and all that. Glad it was like what you imagined!”
It occurred to him that it was a bit strange how little military history he knew, given Strochio’s parenting and their frequent jaunts in the city. It seemed physical training was more important, and tactics and the past were irrelevant. Made sense. The more and more he reflected on it, the more Ganyma realized that Strochio was, in fact, an idiot. He was making up for lost time, however – as biased towards Alternian Greatness as the history was, the ALG did the battles justice.
The wrestler shifted to take a drink from the table – just flat, average water for the tealblood. He cleared his throat. “So, I’m honored that you reached out to me specifically. Thank you for that. Ah—…“ He tried to recall the prompting his ALG mentors had given him to ask Lorata about. “Per the ALG are there any particular terms I can fulfill to make this a cohesive sponsorship? I will make sure to represent you in the most genuine light, Miss Gorgos! Oh, ah…” Hopefully all of those words came out in the right order.
He hopped to his feet, remembering something. “In fact, we have prepared a little something here…” He touched a panel on the wall, and a costume rack slid out. It was lined with beautiful jewelry, formal accessories and wrestling attire in golds, purples, silvers, jet black – royalty. The motifs were obvious. Aquatic, jellyfish, snakes hither and tither, and many in the style of Lorata’s usual garb. Ganyma gestured to a few of them, pulling some out and showing them in the light. “Our designers were thrilled to incorporate your unique touch. We’re hoping this is on brand with you, if you’d like to review!”
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