An open invitation to controlled violence: meaning, rollerball.

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

Greetings, all.

In conversation with Zed mun and Duo mun last night it became apparent that at present there is a distinct lack of something at Milliways.

That something is, of course, rollerball.

So, there's this Fight Club thing happening at Milliways, which is quite understandably confined to unpowered characters, but I thought it might be fun to present an opportunity for powered characters/suicidally foolhardy characters to participate in a game of controlled violence.

What is rollerball, you ask? Why, it's an unholy, ultraviolent melding of the fine sports of roller derby, rugby, basketball, croquet, and pyramid ball, played on rollerskates. Fire and motorcycles are involved, as well as a metal ball, heavy armour, and super high speed skating.


You know, like this:



You know who's in that movie still on Roller Skates of Awesome? JAMES CAAN, that's who!




Rollerball is a fictional sport that first appeared in a short story by William Harrison about a bleak dystopian future rife with corporate oligarchies and the extreme sport of rollerball, and then was immortalized by the marvelous director Norman Jewison in 1975 with the seminal film titled, aptly enough, Rollerball, starring James Caan, amongst other fine people. (The film was a scathing indictment of corporate globalization, media, the petroleum industry, and featured, as I mentioned, James Caan on rollerskates, as well as long sequences of eloquently brutal violence on a modified roller derby track. Very much worth renting.)

There's also the 2002 remake, which has none of the tense socio-political commentary and subtext of the original, but you DO get to see LL Cool J mow someone down on a tricked out Harley and a whole lot of other glorious carnage, so it all evens out in the end. Worth renting for the camp value alone.


Anyway. She-Hulk and Duo Maxwell have decided that they shall face off in a game of rollerball, and the Men in Black will graciously offer up a suitable venue for the game somewhere outside of Milliways.

But we thought we should invite anyone and everyone who might want to join in, as spectators, players, commentators, or hapless bystanders. Rollerball ideally is played in two teams of 4-7 people each, with specific positions.

If you want your character(s) to play, I have links to rollerball rules, pictures of track set ups, etc., and will happily provide them. The rules, of course, will probably be modified and/or broken at some point. If you want your character involved in any other way, just let us know!

So, any takers? C'mon, you know you wanna!


You get to defy the laws of physics!

Comments

[buongiornodaisy.livejournal.com]

This may very well be among the most fucking awesome things I have ever heard proposed for Milliways ever.

I agree, with more pictorial proof.

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

ROLLERBALL!

You would SO love the 1975 original film! You HAVE to rent it, then watch the remake. It's kind of a defining seventies film, in a lot of ways, AND DID I MENTION JAMES CAAN ON ROLLERSKATES, in spiked armour?

We need team names! Help us think of some! :-)

I rest my case, with this:

[joiningyousoon.livejournal.com]

While I don't have any superpowered characters, and my one who would possibly be foolhardy enough to think this looks like fun is so not allowed, I will gladly toss in -- somebody, as spectators, commentators, and/or hapless bystanders, because I absolutely want to be involved with something that makes me cackle with this much glee.

[fighting_mad]

Of course, I have no idea who exactly to volunteer, at the moment; will get back to you on that!

But of course, and a question.

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

Any and all that want to watch, scream with glee, yell, protest, cheer, announce the game at Milliways, etc., are totally welcome with open arms.

Is there anyone that you think Shulkie should toss over the track? Because I can guarantee you that at least one person is going to get tossed by Shulkie over the track wall and into the audience, in finest rollerball tradition.

I mean, we have standards. Come on!

And then there's the pyrotechnics....

[tiltingheartand]

... I cannot remember who exactly you play (besides the one I know) but is the one who's foolhardy probably the one I'm thinking of?

(PS MULCAHY SHOULD BE PART OF THIS. SOMEHOW. I DON'T CARE HOW.)

[mendanddefend_archive]

Hm... would Bob be insane and/or immature enough to think this was a good idea?

Take this brief quiz, and find out!

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

1. Can he roller skate?

2. If not, I'd be he can learn really quickly, no?

3. If he can't, he can just run or glide really, really fast, right?

4. Can he throw a ball?

5. Can he duck?

6. Can he evade when two other skaters come barreling up behind him like an inevitable juggernaut of wholesale destruction?

7. Will be score points with Dot if he plays?

[bring_a_sponge]

Well, he was crazy enough to help the MiBs against the Black Oil...?

[a1enzo]

"What's rollerball? Is it like jetball? Can I play?"

[renegade-enzo.livejournal.com]

...

*shifty eyes* *says nothing*

[mendanddefend_archive]

...I guess it's marginally safer than having CPU binomes take potshots at you?

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

People can get knocked down in this game, you know.

Hard.

So that they skid dramatically on the polished track on their posteriors.


*tempts*

[notascreensaver]

You have got to be. . .

No, never mind.

*facepalms*

[hero_farmboy]

You know, it's times like these Clark wishes he wasn't so damn paranoid.

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

But he could do a very concise write up of the game.

Or work triage helping Duo to weld his mech back together (heat vision = arc welder!), because Shulkie is going to TRASH Duo.

[command_dot_com]

Hey, it entirely possible for someone to vent their frustrations in this game?

[bring_a_sponge]

I think it's damn near required.

So long as you do it with explosions.

[silentson.livejournal.com]

So, about the rules-

Are powers allowed? Cause, Joe would be ina unique position to stay active. Oh, that guy has the ball? Jericho has that guy!

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

Well, we'll have to decide what degree of powers can be used. I mean, Shulkie here can lift ninety tons and leap from one side of the track to the other in one easy bound, but she won't be using her strength to that degree, of course, for the purposes of the game. What she will do is knock other people down and throw that ball like a mofo; you can bet your life on that. She'll easily wrestle with someone else that's superpowered, particularly if they're super strong, and other fun stuff. So it depends on the character and what they can do.

I didn't even know that we had a Jericoh here! *minisquee*

Um. Well. His powers might be considered cheating, in a non-powered game, but maybe we can work out a limited way he can use them in a game of powered people, like, say, for short bursts of a few seconds only, but all muns would have to agree to it and be totally comfortable with it.

So, thinking caps. If nothing else, he should play anyway. :-)

[weaverandom.livejournal.com]

....... *thoooooughtful*

[awesome_lilly]

Oh man DO IT!

Steph in Rollerball is an awesometastic idea! OBEY THE ICON

[goinghost.livejournal.com]

...So. In.

So long as it's after Daemonplot.

Danny'll CHEAT.

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

YAY!!

But what side will he play on?

Will he be on Shulkie's team?

Or will he know the joys of playing against her?!

[illmantrim.livejournal.com]

Hulk thinks this is an opportunity of others to pretend to be Hulk and look silly.

Sam thinks ... er, I mean, I think that it rocks!

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

*devious*

Also, I love that icon! BWAHAHAHA! Hulk have manic smile and SMASH PUNY OPPOSING TEAM!!!one!

[3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com]

Adrenaline sport? Guns and explosions?

With appropriate MiB body armor and a helmet that doesn't mess hair up too badly... here's one more for the girl's team.

:D

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

But can she skate? :-)

Yes to Goldy, yay!! But probably no guns. But there can be roller derby style hair pulling, brawling, trying to knock people off the track, etc..

[madroxmadrox.livejournal.com]

Oh so very in.

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Besides, it'd be fun to have Jamie and Jen talk before that to flirt so she can mention it.

Jamie may need armour. Just enough to protect him from superpowered head trauma, but not enough to prevent kinetic impact from spawning dupes, maybe?

"...and the opposing team increases to seven....no, eight...no, NINE players after that tackle!"

[forgottenfeline]

Kyo is suicidally competitive and has a loooot of unvented agression.

Count him in.

Posting from mun account.

[kali921.livejournal.com]

Sure! Does he have any special abilities we should know about? (I see the thing about turning into a cute kitty when hugged by the opposite gender in his profile, but is there more?) Because again, there are going to be some super powerful folk playing hardball in this game, but it looks like less powered/baseline people want to play too, which is totally fine, they'll just need to be quick, on the lookout, and be ready to get possibly knocked down (with mun permission, of course!), dragged, pushed aside, skated past, tossed out of the rink, etc. :-)

[jezrana.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure any of mine would get in on this (a lot of them aren't big on seeking out gratutious danger and chance of bodily harm outside of their work, the sillies), but I? Think it's AWESOME.

[fighter--pilot.livejournal.com]

Well, if there will be armor for those unpowered characters, Shalla's totally in.

:D