Showdown at the Colosseum - Cassandra Selinofoto vs Marius Domitian Scipio

[MarsExulte]

Rome, Italy....

August 27, 2024...

The sun seemed to beam down on the red sands of the Colosseum like light from a paintbrush, striping the hard-packed soil as if some surreal background of modern art. It had been millennia since this arena was used for its actual purpose: combat. The stadium seating was in disrepair, ravaged by the blows of time, wind, and rot, a far cry from the bloodsport arena it had once been. Makeshift gym bleachers were placed in the dirt, filled by hundreds of the vibrant and diverse assembly that made up the L.A.W faithful. In the center of the Colosseum was a small set of four ring posts, chained together with red cables, with a link of steel chain from the east and west turnbuckles, fashioned to some steel shackles designed for anklets. The fans came for a show. They wanted blood. It's damn likely they were going to get it.

"It's time to MARCH!!!"



The opening synths and guitars of Civil War's "Rome is Falling" hit the speakers as the fans erupt in cheers. They were interested in seeing what this Roman newcomer had to offer, so when Marius Scipio made his way out from one of the hallways, clad in his gladiator-style shorts, gladiator sandals, taped and studded wrist wraps, and headband, the fans gave him a standing ovation. Over one shoulder he was carrying a duffel bag with blunted swords, kendo sticks, and other hardcore knicknacks, items surely to be used for treacherous intentions.



"Well, there's something I wasn't expecting.." He thought to himself."These people barely know who I am and they're already out in full force. Guess I better not lose...Ave Roma."

Marius made his way to the center of the dirt ring, and tossed his duffel bag to the pole and began stretching, draping his arm across his chest as he stretched out his shoulder. His eyes peered to the opposing entrance, waiting for the Greek opponent who riled him on social media.

The bitch. How dare she besmirch the good name of our fallen consul-for-life, Gaius Julius Caesar. This was a fight he had to bring to her doorstep. It was Greece versus Rome. This time we end the discussion.

The intrusive thoughts flew through his brain, as his eyes squinted from the sun's glare.

"Come out, come out, Cassandra. Come out and face your fate."

[Aeri]

Fight or flight, was the nature of most animals.

But for this particular engagement, Cass had to take a flight, THEN a fight. However, she was particularly grumpy cause the flight? The flight itself lasted for FIFTEEN HOURS!! And EVEN though she was a butterfly, Cassandra was this close to getting air sick.

Luckily enough, she didn’t. And now, she had just another reason to beat the fuck out of this Roman. Looking at his profile, she did have to give the guy kudos, he had REALLY dedicated himself to the Roman bit, far more than she did to her Grecian roots. But that didn’t mean she was any less of a nerd about Greece history, and by the end of the day.. she was waiting at the temporarily waiting room of the colosseum for when it was her turn.

She did get her hand on the pyrotechnics earlier. But honestly? She could NOT believe she was in Rome, in the bloody colosseum. The place wasn’t perfect, but there was a reason why tourists flocked to it- and she was, ultimately, after this match.. a tourist.

She’d grin, thinking to herself..

“After I win, maybe I’ll make that dunce give me a tour. Gotta make sure not to break his legs for that..”

But speaking of Marius, Cass would raise an eyebrow upon his entrance. He was already calling her out? Oh, it was ON.

- - -

Flames erupted out out of the earth, two giant pillars coloured green. Greek fire made a pathway to the ring, as Cassandra stepped out. She had a cloak on her shoulders, and a flaming torch in her hand.

She was greeted by a LOT of boos, and some cheers. This was Rome, and she fought against it. However, that didn’t deter her. Handing her cloak and torch over to an official, Cassandra seemed to be in an.. engaging attire. It sure didn’t resemble her regular one, it seemed to be more traditional Greek attire, her hair pulled into a lovely braid, adorned by little butterflies, her bronze skin glistening with traces of oil to make her look like a goddess.

Spoiler

She’d grin a little bit, before breaking into a run. Bouncing off the earth, she’d acrobatically do a double flip midair, before landing cleanly on her feet into the ring, spreading her arms out to bask in the hate and the applause.

And then, finally, she would go and face up against Marius. He was taller than she was, but that did not matter. She’d have felled bigger men and women than him. Nice pecs though, the more.. impulsive side of Cass telling her to poke them.

But she wasn’t gonna do that to him. One hand on her waist, her lipstick covered lips turning up into a wicked smirk, Cassandra would lightly flex her biceps, taunting him.

“Well, well, well.. you actually came. I’m surprised, most people that talk shit online don’t come to me to get laid in the dirt.

..

.. hah, you picked a fitting theme music too..”

Oh BOY. She was asking for it, but she’d lightly grind her knuckles against his abs, glaring up at him. Swaying from side to side in her butterfly themed attire, the referee locked a cuff to her foot and one to his, chaining them together.

And then, he declared the rules of the match.

One Round.
First to score a pin, knockout, or submission gets the victory. Weapons are allowed, anything goes. No disqualification. Cass could work with that, she could more than work with it.

”Well, Marius? Last chance to back out, cause these fists? These fists are gonna be red with your blood if you don’t give up, right here, right now.”

[MarsExulte]

"Hm. Just so, huh? This is the Cassandra I've been going back and forth on twitter with..."

Matching the face to the Twitter handle, twitter fingers turn to trigger fingers...the girl broke off into a run and stopped on a dime with a full summersault, sticking the landing as if an Olympic gymnast. "Hmph...I've seen better." Marius thought to himself, as his eyes peered down at her lithe athletic frame. The girl was superfit and a beauty, body clad in a Hellenic set of leather armor with straps and a small cape, playing into the Iron Age feel of the match. She made a fine Hoplite. It wouldn't save her, though. She'd come back home on her shield, not carrying it. He would see to that.

"Of course I came. Why wouldn't I? Rome's prodigal son wouldn't miss an opportunity to wrestle at his home sweet Rome."

Marius dismissed the crack about his theme music, eyes peering intensely into hers before he let out a soft gasp as her knuckles touched his oiled abs, joints tracing over the contour of his muscled eight-pack...his hand quickly slapped hers off (c-crazy bitch), gently, before Marius took a step back and cleared his throat. Give up? Right here? Right now?

"Give up? Did the Horatii give up when outnumbered by the surviving Curiatii? Did Caesar give up when Vercingetorix vowed to drive him from the fields of Alesia? I'm here. I've come. I've seen. Now? I'll conquer. Go and fuck yourself, Cassandra. The fight's on."

The crowd boomed as the ambient mics picked up his response before he took a step back and grabbed his chain, tossing her the anklet. He motioned to the chain at her feet and his ankle.

"This is how this is going to work. You attach the anklet to my ankle. I'll attach this one to yours. Prevents either of us from leaving the ring. Wouldn't want you running away. Deal?"

It was a show of trust and fair play. They were going to batter and smash each other. No need to start things off with anything but respect.

[Aeri]

Cass was.. kinda surprised. Most of her male opponents were pretty big, and Marius- well he was bigger than her, but the last dude she fought had been a 6’5 behemoth- so her mindset was a little bit skewed when it came to that aspect. Assessing his figure, he was pretty.. stocky was the right word, built a little like a boxer. Her eyes flickered to his fingers, figuring that a punch from those would hurt like a bitch.. but it was as they said.

Float like a butterfly- and Cass could definitely float like a proper butterfly alright, but now the trash talk began- and she had a big mouth for it too. Crazy to think she had been a shy little thing when she started at LAW, an antisocial little introvert. But now..?

“Yeah, buddy.. about that, when I win.. you’re giving me a tour of this place. And pointing out every way Greece is better than Rome too, while you’re at it..

.. and home sweet Rome? You ever been here before? This place sucks! Even the pizza is terrible!”

She’d get her hand swatted off, and she pouted a little. She wanted more of a feel! This was so not fair, but she figured she could have some more when she left him breathless and choked out underneath the mats. Rolling her shoulders, Cassandra looked at the chains and.. then shrugged. That was fine by her. She’d crouch down, smirking a bit as she’d poke his thigh, just barely raising her finger under where it was covered by his outfit..

And then she’d clamp the cuff around her opponents ankle.

“Deal. Only way you’re walking out of this is on a stretcher anyways..!”

Standing up, Cass however.. didn’t give Marius a single second to crouch down. Instead, she’d lift her leg up in a swift kick, stopping just by his chin- and then grinning at him teasingly, wriggling her soles.

“You may now crown me, little Roman.”

[MarsExulte]

It was one thing to disparage him. The fight game consisted of such insults. Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor, and The Rock all used trash talk effectively, expertly getting under an opponent's skin.

"But disparaging our pizza?" Marius thought to himself and stewed, eyes brimming with indignant fury at the Greek beauty draped across from him as she attached his manacle to his anklet. "Better than every manner of goat and olives her silly Greeks eat..."

"Oh yeah? I'll b-buy you pizza, in Rome, that will make you throw yourself at my feet in shame!”

Marius barked, not realizing that he had just promised to buy her lunch. Maybe that was her intention. He wasn't the brightest fellow. He rolled his eyes as she finished manacling his leg before her fingers touched the crease of his gladiator shorts at the thigh. His eyebrows shot sky-high as he flicked her hand away, a small gasp escaping his pursed lips.

"H-hands off the merchandise. This is a fight, n-not heavy petting."

She relented, as the Roman took another deep breath, before shunting her hips out with a push kick that stopped mere inches from his nose and mouth. Her delicate sandaled foot hovered inches from his face. While her previous little touches had unrattled him a little, this? This was nothing. He didn’t shake, break, or cower.

Marius simply grabbed her by the calf and ran his thumbs gently along her heel, giving it a quick massage before moving his fingers and palms to the top of her foot and rubbing it softly there. Then, he latched the manacle onto her ankle and gently placed her foot down into the dirt, taking a few steps back.

"There you go. That will do. Hm. Don’t try to intimidate me, Greekling. You’ll find us Romans don’t rattle easily..at least in terms of combat..."

The gladiator took a few steps back and started to stretch out his head and neck, pulling each arm across his chest before shooting a few phantom hooks and jabs across the wide gap between them. He shook his head out and hopped on the balls of his feet before his eyes draped over to the ref.

"Ready when she is."

[Aeri]

She blinked a little, and then slowly a bit of a creepy grin was starting to crawl up on her face. Buy.. her pizza? The poor, poor guy did NOT know that Cassandra.. had a weird philosophy.

She only had one or two meals a day. And kept herself usually rather hungry, other than before matches or important events where she needed to be at her top shape. So when he offered to buy her pizza.. she’d lean over. Inspect his hips if he was carrying a wallet.. which he wasn’t, probably but..

“Are you sureeee? All the riches in Rome couldn’t afford to even feed me for a single meal, cause I eat like a horse! And I could probably eat a whole horse!”

She did give him a fair warning so if he didn’t heed it, it was on him. She’d kiss her fingers and go “mwah”, smirking at the poor guy who did not know what she was into. Her fingers lightly curled up, bouncing a little bit.

“It’s pretty cheap.. bet I could pickpocket all of it- after knocking it the fuck out, obviously!”

She’d giggle, kinda. It was kinda funny having someone touch her foot but he was starting to massage it.. she’d let out a small “mmmh!”- dude could notice just by touching her, the girl was incredibly pent up. Years worth of stress and training had caused her to have both a powerful body, but all the power inside her was boxed in due to her mindset.

When he’d clicked her manacle on, she was almost sorry that she didn’t get some more time with that. But she’d make him massage her later, cause for now? The time for fighting had begun.

The bell rung, and Cass had a bit of a wiiiide grin. She’d bounce up and down, doing a bit of a quick shuffle, kicking the dust up a little bit. She poised herself in a strange stance, kind of reminiscent of Mohammad Ali- but strangely leaned forwards than back.

”Ready.. set.. BANG!”

She’d shout, a dirty trick to break the concentration. And then Cass lunged, slipping down and slipping into his guard. He had longer limbs and she wasn’t intending on letting him make good use of it. Her free hand snapped up, aiming a jab right at his mouth, knuckles poised out- if it hit, she’d make it HURT!

[MarsExulte]

The "BANG" was telegraphing. It wouldn't serve her well at all. While a bit naive when it came to wordplay, and well, let's face it, slightly stupid when it comes to women, the Romaboo wasn't dumb when it came to the fisticuffs.

She got into his guard. His spider-senses went up, and when she tried to distract him verbally, he tucked his chin back and put a shoulder out, shifting his stance to a Sean Strickland-eqsue Philly shell. Her jab glanced off of his meaty shoulder, knuckles smacking hard into his rotator cuff, which caused him to grimace with a grin.

"That's the difference between Greeks and Romans. You Greeks are 'soo superior' with your socratic debates. You love to hear yourselves talk. We Romans? We just FIGHT!"

Marius brought his arm up, cocked, as if throwing a jab, before snapping his leg back and giving a quick push kick attempt right at the Greekling's belly, heel going hard at her navel with a quick tenacity. He had long legs, so why not open up with some range?

[Aeri]

Her jab sailed off like she hadn’t even thrown it. Okay, for a guy that grew up in Ohio, he knew how to fight. Unfortunately for her, she figured she’d have to take this much more seriously than she had been doing before. Her fingers twitched, and instinctively she’d take a step back. Didn’t help her much with his kick to her firm belly, but..

Cassie grinned with bared teeth. She was a quick little bugger, and this was a speciality of hers- her reflexes moved fast, iron like fingers just gripping his ankle and foot. Moving in close, she’d lock it in underneath her armpit- securing it.

“You fight like a Roman! And allow me to demonstrate how to break one- in style!”

Cass lifted her elbow up and SLAMMED it down in a painful strike to his calf, fully intent on dismantling the Roman right off the bat. But she also knew she was in drop kicking distance, so she’d make an aggressive play. Loosening her grip on his leg, she’d slide forwards, using her lithe body to grip up his thigh now, getting in REAL close and with an angle of advantage..

And then she socked his stomach right on with a powerful, drilling jab, knuckles out turned into the centre of his stomach!