So now that we're a couple months in ..

is everyone still enjoying the game?

I still am.

I switched mains this xpac .. so my poor shadowpriest is stuck at 88 ...

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/proudmoore/Tenebron/simple    -- my mage.

Mine's up ..

Much love to MDK .. I always enjoy your stuff .. and as I said last week, I've been shitting myself all week knowing I had to step into the ring with you this round.

Now that I've got my stuff up .. I can go ahead and read everything else that's been posted so far.

I'll have my RP up shortly.

I was at Disneyworld this entire week .. just got back an hour ago ... but I did do some writing at night ... so, I'll definitely have an RP up!

My old UI package isn't kept up to date anymore (DuffedUI) .. so now I gotta venture out into another one. I'm trying ElvUI .. which I like .. but I need to figure out how to filter out some of the auras for the dot timer... and I gotta get used to Vampiric Embrace being a stupid on use ability w/ a cooldown instead of passive healing! I'm always blowing the CD on accident (because I always hit VE and Inner Fire to pass time.. now I can't! LOL).

It couldn’t have gone any better. No, really, it couldn’t have. “Simply Sensational” Sean Edmunds glanced down at his plane ticket to New York City and smiled.

“That’s what I like to see,” Karla leaned back. “That all-knowing smile.”

She wrapped her fingers behind her head and stared at the ceiling of the terminal. Edmunds flashed a grin at her as he placed the ticket into his shirt pocket.

“It couldn’t have gone any better,” he repeated, this time out loud. “We tore through the Group Stages like nobody’s business.”

Edmunds joined Karla in staring at the ceiling.

“And now we’re one step closer to sending Maverick into early retirement.” Her eyes filled with mischief. “The dope doesn’t even realize it.”

“And the best part,” Edmunds cut in giddily, “is that he keeps calling me to thank me for opening his eyes!”

A hearty laugh woke the couple sitting across from them. They glared at the camera.

“I’m going to take the VWF World Heavyweight championship from him at Bloodlust 14 .. and then, when we drag him kicking and screaming into the finals of the Extreme Tournament Finals, I’m going to take his career, too.”

Karla rubbed his knee before pulling herself into an upright position.

“Well, firsts things first.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. “Elimination Rounds.”

Edmunds reached over and grabbed the paper from her hands. “Can’t this wait,” he lamented as he scanned the other 17 names. “I’d rather sit back and continue to bask in the fact that I am the Group I Leader.” He smiled. “Not Masahiro. Not Hannah Rick----OOF!”

Karla slowly removed her balled-up fist from Edmunds’ chest, her cheeks reddening.

“Sorry,” she apologized quietly. “I just heard her name and it was a reflex.”

“Jesus, Karla,” he rubbed his chest, “We’ve beaten her twice already .. it isn’t like she’s that big a deal!”

“I know, I know. I should take solace in the fact that she’s batting zero against us, it’s just … ARGH!”

Karla’s frustration woke the couple across from them… again. This time they gathered their belongings and moved far, far away.

“Don’t worry,” he caressed her cheek. “If the EFK Gods have any sense of compassion, they’ll put Hannah against someone she can actually beat… instead of dooming her to yet another embarrassing defeat.” His eyes traveled from Karla’s to the camera.. and winked.

“Well, you were right about one thing, Sean,” Karla took Edmunds’ hand into her own, “things couldn’t have gone better.”




“Is it rolling?” The voice called out. “We’re in a time crunch here and we need to get his statement.”

“It says that it’s recording,” a second voice responded. “I don’t know why it… Oh.. well this is embarrassing.”

A second later the darkness is tossed aside as the lens cover is popped off. Staring down into the camera is VWF Backstage interviewer Kyle Bacon and an anonymous cameraman.

“Is this your first time at the rodeo or are you just naturally incompetent?”

The comment caught both of them by surprise. The cameraman grabbed the camera and focused it on “Simply Sensational” Sean Edmunds and Miss Karla. The two superstars stood off to the side of the Extreme Tournament backdrop set up in the Code Red Arena.

“Uh, just a technical difficulty, but we’re ready now!” Bacon stammered.

“Yeeaaaaaaaa…. Here, why don’t we do this?” Edmunds took a few steps forward and grabbed the microphone from Bacon.

“But!” Bacon immediately protested… but it was all for naught as Edmunds shoved the interviewer out of the camera shot.

“Sorry Kenny, but “Simply Sensational” doesn’t have time for asinine questions that exist merely to fill dead air. I’m here to talk about the Extreme Tournament and ONLY the Extreme Tournament.”

He quickly raised and then lowered his eyebrow as Bacon yelled “IT’s KYLE, FOR CHRIST’s SAKES!” off camera.

“This is it. The last stop before Siberia .. and only eight of us move on.” Edmunds planted his hands on his waist and stared defiantly into the camera. “So the question becomes, who joins Sean Edmunds a world away? Who can prove themselves tonight .. here .. at the Code Red Arena?”

“Because you’ll have to prove yourselves.” Karla took her spot front and center. “Every … single … one of you.”

“When Timothy Kahrs BEGGED me to represent the VWF in this tournament, I figured it’d be good for my brand. Come in.. win a few matches.. begin that slow ascent to make the VWF the most dominant force in the Knights again. Little did I realize just how,” a smirk crossed his lips, “EASY it’d be.”

Edmunds rubbed his chin as he let the words linger.

“And it’s been easy.” He shrugged. “So I beg of you, all of you that I haven’t had the,” roll of the eyes, “privilege of working with. PLEASE show me what you’re made of. Let someone give me the match that Hannah Rickman never could. Step into the ring with me and stand strong .. don’t wave and fall over at the mere mention of my name as Mashiro Chono did .. as Calvin Ingram did.”

“Calvin who?” Karla inquired.

“The Scottish guy.”

Didn’t ring a bell, apparently, as Karla stood there with a confused look plastered on her face.

“See? Don’t be the name that causes Karla to .. think. Because we all know how well that turns out.”

He sidestepped Karla’s swinging purse without even breaking his gaze with the camera, a joking smile on his face. Karla, however, did not find the joke terribly amusing.

“So while I may not know EXACTLY who I will be facing here tonight .. in the end, it really doesn’t matter. Because just like I have proven time and time again, Sean Edmunds will be walking out the victor.” He paused and scanned the scene around him. “This years’ Extreme Tournament is probably the biggest, most impressive tournament yet… and I’m not just saying that because I’ve tossed four men out of the tournament already.”

Karla smirked. “Look at all the talent that made it this far. Well,” she wrinkled her nose, “look at some of the talent that made it this far .. and then look at the dirty little rats that somehow snuck in as well.”

Karla suddenly suffered a coughing fit. Although, I’m pretty sure the words “Hannah Rickman” also escaped her throat.

“There’s a wide array of talent in the Elimination Rounds .. from the crème of the crop to the bottom of the barrel.” Edmunds’ face filled with arrogance. “And speaking of the bottom of the barrel, I’d like to extend congratulations to Ms. Rickman for also making it, even if so briefly, to New York City.”

Karla’s upper lip began to arch. You could practically hear the growl.

“And while Karla here might not share my enthusiasm, I think we both can agree that your visit at the Code Red Arena depends entirely on whether or not we meet again this soon. I know, I know, Hannah. You’d much rather play with your friends.. or share an evening with Leander Apollo.” He put his hand in the air as if to say ‘it’s okay.’ “It’s okay.” There it is. “I can understand that after being completely and totally overwhelmed in our last two matches that you’d want to spend time with people are more your … level.” A quick shrug of the shoulders. “And I don’t blame you. Honestly. I feel the same exact way when I play tennis with some of my friends. They’re professional tennis players. I’m an amateur tennis player. After a while I want to play with people who are closer to my talent level, too. So I can completely understand why you’ve surrounded yourself with losers.” He puts his hand up again as if to say ‘sorry.’ “Sorry.” Yep. “I mean amateurs.”

Karla’s smile grew bigger by the moment, but Edmunds continued before she could get a jab in.

“So while you surround yourself with other talentless hacks, “Simply Sensational” Sean Edmunds will be moving on.” Edmunds chuckled. “Speaking of second-rate talent, I can’t tell you how excited I was to see Scott DiBiase move on to the next round.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Karla hissed.

“You see, I accomplished many things at Rival Factions. For instance, I single-handedly destroyed SIMCOE and Hannah Rickman .. and carried Team VWF to victory.. but I apparently also broke Scott DiBiase’s little heart. Because even though it was ME who survived… even though it was ME who won the match for Team VWF .. Scott DiBiase spit the pacifier out of his mouth and cried his little eyes out.” Edmunds smirked. “So not only did I break SIMCOE… but I broke Scott DiBiase, too. And now he’s running around lapping milk out of Doug E. Fresh’s bowl.”

Edmunds placed his hand over his eyes and slowly shook his head.

"Are you really that surprised, Sean?” Karla placed her hand on his shoulder. “Once a leech, always a leech.”

Edmunds nodded. “And what a picture perfect comparison. There’s a major difference between you and I, Scott… well, aside from the fact that I ooze talent and you’re about as dry as the Mojave Desert when in that respect … but, I digress.” Edmunds glared into the camera. “You need to be accepted. You need to belong. For the past year and a half, what have we seen from Scott DiBiase? Attached to the nipple of Jonny Cedrone. What happens when Cedrone retires? DiBiase flails around in the water a bit before latching on to the Sinistry. And I’m sure the further we go back the more instances we see Scott DiBiase following others. Whereas Sean Edmunds is a natural leader. I make my OWN dreams come true, Scott.”

“You yearn for recognition, Scotty. It’s all you can think about. You didn’t care that the VWF won at Rival Factions.. you only cared that YOU didn’t get any of the glory that went along with it.” Karla wrapped her arm around Edmunds’ waist. “But let’s face it, Scotty. YOU didn’t deserve any of the credit. You spent the entire time bitching and moaning … and after you .. after Alexia .. after the rest of the VWF failed .. Sean was there to clean up your mess.”

Edmunds winked.

“So, Scott, welcome to the Elimination Rounds. Maybe you can stop suckling for enough time to actually contribute.” She shook her head. “But I doubt it.”

“But you know, it’s always nice to have some consistency in one’s life. For Scott, it’s consistently riding others’ coattails. For Hannah, it’s consistently failing whenever she steps into the ring with me… for me, and I suppose this cuts both ways, the fact that three of the five men I was in a match with at High Stakes are also in the Elimination Rounds. One of whom I partnered with. Now, J-Reb or his management might think that I didn’t live up to his standards.” He smized. “I think he’ll find that should we have the pleasure of locking horns in this tournament, that not only will I rise to his standards … but I’ll eclipse them. Johnny Rebel’s performance in the ET 2012 will be forgotten almost as soon as he packs his bag.”

Edmunds paused and pursed his lips.

“As for MDK and Insomnia? Well, payback's a bitch..”

“As is Hannah Rickman!” Karla snarled.

Edmunds glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow before turning back to the camera.

“Insomnia and Credible ruined my chances at wearing Experts gold … you two hacks couldn’t let the REAL competition continue on untainted… and because of that, I walked away empty-handed. I don’t like walking away empty-handed, Insomnia. But let’s face it, that match was a team effort. MDK had to rely on Juan Ramirez. Insomnia had to rely, unfortunately, on Ian Credible. Now it’s every man for themselves. And unlike Scott DiBiase, I don’t need to surround myself with inconsequential pricks to make myself happy. All I need to do is go out to the ring and do what I do best. WIN.”

Edmunds huffed.

“And I will win. Whether it be against you, MDK.. or Terry Marvin or Michael Callahan.” His voice began to boom. “Whether it be Marko Flins or Scott Rage.” A smile crept across his face. “Whether it be Hannah Rickman or Maverick Jones..”

“We’re hoping we don’t draw Maverick..” Karla reminded him. Edmunds shrugged nonchalantly.

“Whoever they throw at me … is going home disappointed.” Edmunds raised his arms outward. “Kurt Noble can buy all the help he can afford. Arkia Fisk can only hope that she does better than her former World Heavyweight champion, Masahiro did against me.. Evan Envi .. Apollo .. any single one of them will fall at MY feet and beg to be carried.” Edmunds seethed, “Because I won’t let any of you drag my match down the gutter. I’m going to Siberia as the superstar.”

His eyes burned bright as he glared into the camera, his eyes widening.

“There’s only ONE outcome to the Extreme Tournament 2012. Sean Edmunds will walk out of it with the True Experts Championship. Jack Benevolence will be the last one standing in my way. No MDK. No Doug E. Fresh. No Drake Mosa.”

Edmunds slipped in a quick smirk.

“And someone will have to sign this to Adrien, but no Specter either.”

Back into serious-mode.

“I came into the tournament to prove that I am the EPITOME of greatness.. I’ve cruised week after week. I’ve tossed stalwarts like Hannah Rickman into the trash pile. I’ve snuffed out Masahiro Chono and denied him another shot at Sibera, despite everyone and their mother clamoring for his coronation… and I walked out of Group I as the LEADER.”

“Just like we said.”

“Just like we said, Karla.” Edmunds cupped his hands behind his head and looked at his biceps. “I’m going to walk out of the Extreme Tournament as the Experts leader … and champion.”

Edmunds flexed as his biggest smile yet appeared.

“Don’t adjust your television sets, I am this Sensational.”




“You ready?”

Karla brushed down the back of Edmunds’ robe as the two stood in front his lockerroom door.

Is that the question that needed to be asked at this point? After five weeks of continually proving his dominance, “Simply Sensational” Sean Edmunds was feeling as good as he’s ever felt. He showed the world that his victory over Hannah Rickman at Rival Factions wasn’t just a fluke. He did it again in the Extreme Tournament.

Masaru Inoue was the talk of the town when the tournament began. Along with Hannah, he was supposed to be a shoe-in for Siberia. Yet Inoue is back in Phoenix. Thanks, in part, to Sean Edmunds.

So why should anyone question whether or not “Simply Sensational” was ready?

“Are THEY ready,” was the response.

With everything in place, Karla walked to the lockerroom door and opened it. The flashes from the assembled press blinded the camera. But Edmunds was ready.

So tell me, mystery opponent… are you ready?

There are some tough choices!

I've had a blast. I'm usually hesitant to do tournaments, but I've thoroughly enjoyed ET2012. It's been great RPing against a bunch of amazing RPers... it's been great reading other group's RPs ... and the results have been top notch each and every week.

Russ deserves praise, and praise, and some more praise amongst other things. He's done a fantastic job.

Tritch,

It was a pleasure RPing against you! I think you did a fantastic job .. so don't count yourself out!

I look forward to working you again the future!