Ghostwriter Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Today I was flicking through the channels on television, looking for something interesting to watch, when I crossed the path of an XWF! match. Having never seen one on television or in person (that may seem hard to believe, but I'm the Team Tomorrow: Asia/Pacific resident hermit - I rarely leave my quarters and go out even less) so I decided to watch it. I must tell you, it was one of the worst decisions of my life. How the hell can people get off on the carnage that fills the squared circle? How can the pay be worth it when you know that you're putting your backside on the line for people's entertainment?It makes me think of nothing more cruel and depraved than the Roman gladiatorial games. Risking your life to protect people is one thing, but doing it for money and entertainment is quite another.I downed half a bottle of whisky after the show had ended, the sight had affected me so much. I'm a pacifist, and watching that sickened me.I've said I won't make judgement calls, but this is one I can't help but do:What the fuck is wrong with you people? How can you enjoy the sight of that carnage?I'm half-drunk and don't give a shit if I've offended anyone with this statement. My bosses at Utopia can kiss my arse if they're pissed off with what I've posted here.For the Goddess' sake, everyone, pull yourselves together and stop this bullshit!Codex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Regan, calm down a moment and think about it.If this is really that much of a surprise to you, where have you been ....Sorry, just got your bio.You know that violence can be used in a controlling manner, and how effective it can be.People want to feel they have some of the power and control, thus bloodsports. Spectators exhibit power and control through a proxy. For the proxy, it is the adulation of the crowd; the spectators' attention riveted to them.Intelligence is no panacea for emotion, Regan. We are emotional creatures. We love, hate, fear, and hope. You have seen some of the dark side of that, but don't forget that this also allows us the joy of the written word. The spark ignited by poetry, or the tears brought on by a tragic epic.One does not exist without the other.As for the manifestation called the XWF, I can but shrug. It isn't something I have ever been apart of. Maybe Brother X can explain the appeal for a nova to participate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David 'Dr. Troll' Smith Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 I've done it. Spared against other novas in public for money (with somewhat modified rules).Part of the attraction is testing yourself in a relatively safe enviroment. Part of it is money (although that was very secondary for me). Part of it is the thrill of the crowd, the rush of the fight.There is an attraction, a real primal one. Having said all that, I don't really understand what the crowds get out of it (but I never watched sports as a baseline either). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridian Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Our society is in the middle of unprecidented changes. You have to expect a little strangeness like this.I view the XWF as more than likely a dead end ... but as for why its popular with the masses, well it's violent, spectacular, and lets the average joe get as close to nova combat as he will ever have a shot at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sakurako Hino Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 What I worry about is the Human fans getting exposed to ambient quantum energy. That much juice being thrown about must be triggering nodesparks...I can understand why the XWF exists. It's because of the need to excel. You see, thre are no real "Nova Sports" out there. So, some Novas get together to show off some martial skills.I used to hate on the XWF, but now, looking at some of the folk there, I've actually begun to admire their spirit. They don't go at eachother's throats. The other guy has to make a living too, right?If you're wondering what's caused me to change my mind? Well... Let's just say I've seen their fellowship first hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kincaid Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 <delete> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridian Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 I don't really have a problem with the nova on nova fights. It's the mitoids that bother me & the very few vicious fighters.But as for other nova sports, what about the nova only events at the Olympics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostwriter Posted September 24, 2003 Author Share Posted September 24, 2003 I apologise for my outburst. I was a little on the drunk side.Codex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sakurako Hino Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 No problem. We all get sidetracked when inebriated. Trust me on that one.As for the Nova events at the olympics, those are in my opinion PURE patronizing of a Nova's full skill...It may be just me, but in the XWF Novas are allowed a bit more freedom to use their abilities.There is just so much more that a Nova can do that is almost completely restricted by Human standards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 It is interesting to note that the gladiatorial combats of the Roman Empire became increasingly bloody as that culture became older and more decadent. There's probably a comparison with and warning for, contemporary society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphere Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 You think the XWF stuff's nasty? I've seen some vicious bare-knuckle fights in the East End that'd scare you sober! This was baseline on baseline, totally illegal of course.At least those shoot-fighters have professional medical teams on standby. Plus they've got forcefields and stone skins and healing factors and what have you.Stuff that makes me sick to my stomach is the battlefield Elite stuff N! broadcasts again and again. That Tottentanz vrs Slag footage for one. Used to call that messed up "entertainment" snuff back before the Galatea lit up the skies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmy Chillmeister Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Hell, I don't see nothing wrong with any of it.Fighters are fightin' because they want to.Fans are there because they want to be.Ain't no one getting forced to do shit. If they were, that'd be wrong. But they ain't, so quit yer bitchin. Yeah it's violent, but so are bullfights, football, boxing and some of that 'fake' wrestling they do in Japan. We're violent animals. Better that than going to war every third tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 I hear what you're saying Lemmy.Mind you, some of the boundaries between what is voluntary and what is not disapper when you wave a large bundle of cash/fame/adoration under someone's nose. It's easy for us to say that they have a choice maybe for some of them it wasn't that simple. As for the fans, well there'll always be fans, no matter what the subject matter, neh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 A moment for those poor baseline jobbers who have passed beyond the final circle. All for those few seconds of adoration or villany.Nothing like walking over the mass graves in some "distant" hell-hole to make you appreciate how little anyone appreciates life. I just wish it was a tad more distant than Madison Square Garden.Yes, people chose to be in the XWF. They also chose to pump Mite, strap bombs to their chests, and walk onto crammed subways with cannisters of Sarin gas.Your point is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphere Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Ask Slag whether or not he volunteered to be spitted on a pair of spears by some masked psychopath. Bit tough to do really. Don't think he would appreciate his death being war-porn for a bunch of over-exited wrestle-fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugin Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Quote:Originally posted by Jager: Yes, people chose to be in the XWF. They also chose to pump Mite, strap bombs to their chests, and walk onto crammed subways with cannisters of Sarin gas.Your point is? Now you're simply being obtuse. How about we address the glaringly obvious for those who seem to need help? One is a choice to endanger one's self while the others are decisions to endanger others without their consent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 People going to insane lengths to make the world notice them, and their cause, James? Mite-users end up dead, and they often ruin the lives of those close to them, or are you not familiar with Mitiod rampages?The Mitiods are doing more than just endangering themselves.The suicide attackers are not seeking to die in anonymity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugin Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 No, I did not ignore your reference to Mite users. The first group, the XWF Novas, are engaging in an activity harmful to themselves of their own free will. The other three are engaging in activities harmful to others, the Mite users included. I am speaking solely of Novas here Jager. Those baselines who are attempting to compete with Novas are not only deranged, but are in fact dangerous to their society as a whole. They should be stopped, by human society, for that is who they are a danger to. They are not a concern of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Quote:They should be stopped, by human society, for that is who they are a danger to. They are not a concern of mine. Seeing as you are a recluse, I can see were you are coming from. I believe that five or six rampaging mitiods might seem a bit more of an immediate nova concern to one of us who lives in the real world, isn't armored out the ass, dodges autofire for kicks, but is unaided in their immediate vicinity.I recall a case from nearly a year ago were some mitiods jumped a nova courier, kept him pinned down in some dungeon, and canabalized the poor SOB. Do you believe he considered it no concern of his (to paraphrase)?That's okay, though. Don't you worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugin Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 This courier was 'jumped' and eaten by HUMAN BEINGS engaging in a sad, pathetic religious excercise. They were abusing their bodies with drugs. Just as I wish for Novas to be able to police themselves, so also do I hope that human beings would make every effort to stop those of their own species who have gone renegade. Now, this young Nova should have defended himself. I am afraid I am not privy to every single detail in this specific case, as I am sure you are, so I am unable to discern whether or not this Nova was lax or simply unlucky. Whatever the case, this is more akin to a hiker walking out in the wilderness. If he is attacked by a puma, are pumas a 'problem' that humans need to address? Or did the hiker simply take his chances by entering the world of animals who might find him frightening or threatening?This one anecdotal case, as emotional as it is, is not enough for me to believe that Novas have to take a hand in a human problem that needs to be addressed by human beings. How very impressive of you to have brought up an unusual but horrific case to try to make a broader point. It's alright Jager, you have this unstoppable need to meddle. I understand this of you and accept it. I even find it endearing at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 -meddle, meddle, meddle-What? Huh? I this thing on?ME Meddle!!! Me thinks not, old spoon. I have nothing but the best intenttions.Actually, since any quality pistol round can still drop a mitiod, it's still just a human problem.Now, if man-eating pumas began investing in high-tech weaponry, became social creatures, and shared their political and philisophical beliefs ... yea, I would be concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David 'Dr. Troll' Smith Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Quote:James 'Prodigy' Meehan:...the XWF Novas, are engaging in an activity harmful to themselves of their own free will...Not all that harmful. Certainly not compared to being an elite, or a member of T2M, or ::cough:: meddling in politics.The vast number of "Nova on Nova" matches are actually "Nova on Mite Headed Idiot" matches. Even the Nova vs. Nova matches aren't that bad. The XWF doesn't want to see it's nova members killed and takes a lot of care to avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Ssshhhh .... Doctor Troll. For some, Free Will only matters if it is expressed in a way they accept.Buying into the established, baseline System is considered backward thinking. Picking on the XWF is relatively safe. Picking on DeVries for doing the exact same thing, with a far higher nova causalty rate, doesn't seem to be in vogue, though. I wonder why?Well, as Sphere reminds us, we see the death of Slag on some show or another at least once a week. Maybe killing a Utopian or three makes up for a great many sins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashnod Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Spoken as though every one who participates in the XWF and works for DeVries has made a full, educated, and unbiased decision on their erupted options, knows exactly what they are doing, and isn't motivated primarily by monetary gain.Obviously, this isn't true for everyone in the employ of those organizations, and the reverse argument also holds true.We do what we must to open eyes to other possibilities. Not everyone is aware of their options when they make their choices.We aren't any different from you for making our reasons for disliking the XWF public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Ashnod,not many people can see the future. Can you? Can you blame people for not being prefect?Codex, you say WFX is wrong. I agree, it is wrong,but it is not any more wrong than what came before it,and what is hapening around it.Mite should be removed from the world, but the Mite users in WFX are tame compared to the ones I deal see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David 'Dr. Troll' Smith Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Quote:Ashnod: Spoken as though every one who participates in the XWF and works for DeVries has made a full, educated, and unbiased decision on their erupted options, knows exactly what they are doing, and isn't motivated primarily by monetary gain.I prefer to think of it has being paid to explore various aspects of my potential. The XWF does lack something on the dignity scale, but only a little more so than Professional football.Hey, I had fun, I earned some bucks, and no one got hurt. Measured by those three things it was one of the best gigs I've had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashnod Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Quote:Originally posted by Signy Malory: Ashnod,not many people can see the future. Can you? Can you blame people for not being prefect? Intriguing.In two replies to my posts, you've twice asked whether or not I can see the future. In your previous posting, you claimed that you possessed that manner of sight.Are you saying that you cannot tell, with your much-proclaimed ability, whether or not I act upon similiar knowledge?It must be killing you not to know. You must be hoping I drop some hint one way or the other, and then will proceed attacking me depending on how I respond.I hope it's that, because as an outright attack, it doesn't hold any merit.Saying that...Do I blame someone for not being perfect? Of course not. Sentient species make mistakes and learn from them. It is the nature of intelligence to do this. This is a practical and rational way of adapting to faux pas.On the other hand...one doesn't approach a situation they believe to be a good one and think, "If this doesn't work out, at least I will have learned my lesson."I am not a parent to Novas joining the XWF. I am not under obligation to simply let them make their own mistakes then be there to give them a comfortable shoulder if they find the experience not to their liking. I disagree with everything the XWF represents and my conscience feels no guilt in working against it.For everyone trying to talk down the danger, understand this: the XWF doesn't forbid its participants from killing each other in the ring. It is discouraged, yes. It operates under the princicples of "accidents do happen" or "when dealing with Nova powers, everything cannot be controlled." Fights in the XWF are not necessarily staged. Many of them are as real and violent as any other combat sport, and a few still as violent as any combat. There have been Nova deaths in the XWF. Deaths meaning plural. The organization continues to function. It merely requires that the Novas who compete sign a waiver that they acknowledge the danger and will not hold the XWF responsible.Many Novas think that this is just a liability formality, and that such "accidents" either do nor happen any longer or will not happen to them. I feel no guilt, none, endeavoring to prevent Novas from having such "mistakes" happen to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Quote:I feel no guilt, none, endeavoring to prevent Novas from having such "mistakes" happen to them. It that last part I have problems with. Not the guilt part, but the unwelcomed parenting part.Its the You're to stupid/blind/young/whatever to take care of yourself and make your own decisions, so I will make them for you thing that smacks of Utopian thinking to me.After all, at what point and time does it become okay for adults to make their own dumb-ass mistakes. I am no fan of the XWF, either, yet it is their lives to screw up, if they so chose.By the way, are you making any effort to bring in Epoch for the butchery of Vile Bill?How about taking it to the killer of poor Slag?Personally, I am waiting for you to take ole Anna DeVries to the mat for all of the novas she has led down that primrose path to fame, wealth, glory, and death.It is easier to take it to the XWF. They have fewer novas, are far less dangerous if they get angry with you, and ... oh yes, they really are a bunch of pathetic bloodsuckers. Sorry Flair, but its true.Okay, so no one prosecutes XWF novas for the killings they commits. There has never been a serious investigation into the vast quantities of mite, among other things, they are shipping in, and no one (with power) seems to care about the hundreds of baselines who lives are getting destroyed by coercing them into using mite.But, should we really be picking on them for those few indescresions?95% of all Elites murders never go to court.No one has successful prosecuted DeVries for War Crimes.Hell, they never caught the killers of the Houston Tornado.Boys and Girls, its a dangerous world out there. Now you can't say you were never warned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridian Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Thank you Ashnod for working against my free will. Glad to see that the Teragen promise of freedom of choice only includes the activities and aspirations that your organization approves of.I for one wouldn't care to belong to a group that is so ... limiting.Nor would I care to have my choices dictated by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmy Chillmeister Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Hey Meidian dude, she ain't taking shit away. She's just trying to convince our trifling asses.Hey, Ashie baby, you've done convinced me, you hot mama you. I'll never ever step in an XWF ring. And it's got nothing to do with the fact that I'd get rendered down to my base components before the anouncer could get through my name. Nope, not at all. It's all you sexy.Jager, you are one sanctomonius son of a bitch aintcha? You just keep watching out for us though, I appreciate having an old man like you keeping an eye out for me. Makes me feel all safe. You remind me of my grandpa. When he was sober. Well, not completely sober. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Quote:Jager, you are one sanctomonius son of a bitch aintcha? AND HOW!!!!Besides, how much fun would I be if I was totally sober, sonny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David 'Dr. Troll' Smith Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Quote:Ashnod:...the XWF doesn't forbid its participants from killing each other in the ring. It is discouraged, yes. It operates under the princicples of "accidents do happen" or "when dealing with Nova powers, everything cannot be controlled." Fights in the XWF are not necessarily staged.Meaning it is a contact sport. Or maybe that is a "combat" sport. But really, if a nova thinks he is up to it, that's his choice and should be his judgement.Quote:Ashnod: Many Novas think that this is just a liability formality, and that such "accidents" ... will not happen to them.It was just a formality, and it can't happen to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashnod Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Meridian,I speak for myself on this affair. My hatred of the XWF is personal, not representative of the Teragen as a group. Glad to see you're assuming I speak for the whole of the movement one-hundred percent of the time, though. It appears I'll have to have disclaimers when speaking for only myself.Meridian and Jager,Sure. I can offer advice and let my opinions be known as much as anyone else. I don't recall going out of my way to punish those who follow that path.I haven't taken anything away from anyone. I've spoken my mind, I took a very public stand on the matter, but that is all.How I've suddenly been turned into an Orwellian figurehead, I'm not so certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Ashnod, if the Chief Executive of St. Croix threatens my life, I can figure I may not get a refill at the bar.If the Chief Executive of the United States threatens my life, I start re-examining all those little third world safehouses I haven't used recently.Two different people saying the exact same thing, but I can be forgiven for putting more weight on one than the other, can't I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashnod Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Jager,I don't know, has your free will been threatened by me recently? Have I told you I'd watching to see what you do in case I disapprove? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugin Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Jager, meddling and now paranoia? It's hard to envision you as the puppetmaster you've shown us to be in the past when you make such baseless accusations. Ashnod has never been one to force her will on others. She merely illuminates a path and then mocks those who choose poorly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Well, James, have you stirred yourself enough to actually go out into the world and see what is going on, or are you just sifting through accounts as normal?I tell you what, Prodigy; you sit down with an un-impeded Geisha in a face-to-face, and I will give some meaningful consideration to retracting my statements about Ashnod, and the effects she has upon others.Ashnod, I will break it back for you, because I think you will understand.-Jedi mindtricks.-Awesome displays of power by you and a handful of collegues at a certain XWF event, afterwards a half-dozen participants just saw the light.There is the overt snapping of the will, and then there is the careful shaping of another's mind to your liking.As far as I know, Ashnod, you have never threatened someone without cause, nor have you forced another to follow your beliefs. You don't go out and purposely trick others into following Teras. That isn't your style or your way.Of course, you are allowed to voice your opinion. We all should be. I just want you to accept the weight of your convictions.Especially because I think it will get alot of us killed one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sekhmet Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 There is a reason the words 'mortal' and 'mortality' share a common basis in your language. Do not foist these quaint social absudities on the world Jager. It is a poor fit. And as the wise have said on ocassion:"The narrow mind appears vast to those dwelling within."In seeking greater expanses you might come to understand others more fully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Quote:Originally posted by Jager: -Awesome displays of power by you and a handful of collegues at a certain XWF event, afterwards a half-dozen participants just saw the light. And this could be nothing to do with Ashnod's well reasoned argument I suppose? One that echoed the theme of this topic and asked, what the hell is wrong with you people!?Jager, give yourself a slap, you're becoming far too cynical in your 'old' age. As Ashnod has pointed out most revolutions don't proceed bloodlessly because they are not allowed to happen that way. People, the ones that perceive they have something to lose, just will not allow it. You just need to side step out of the way as unfortunately being cheerily pacifistic usually only means first place in the queue to the lime coated pit.What is the alternative then, to remain only doing and thinking the same old things for ever? To resist change stubbornly with your dying breath? I'm sure that's not what you really want, you don't come across that way, you come across as a highly moral yet practical individual, so I'm convinced that's not what you'd want. Surely you know that change comes whether we like it or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cryostorm Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 You guys sure do talk a lot of shit, don't you? I wanna know how many of you have been part of the XWF before opening your big mouths here. Not just some exhibition or pick-up event for a little cash, but an actual contractor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.