RiThom of the FGC

Chapter 3

I had heard that there was a new event that had popped up recently. Yes, I thought to myself as I looked over the forums. Not only did they run Calibur, but the event was only about a fifteen-minute walk. It was a bit of a ways to go considering that I had to lug my stick, but it sure as hell beat having to buy myself a bus ticket just so that I can actually go and talk to people instead of getting salty as hell playing Ranked. So once the day came, I was more than willing to make the sacrifice.

I have mostly been playing with ByHephaestus in the mirror in order to try and learn how Sophitia really worked. It allowed for me to not only learn what I can do, but also what I shouldn't do. We would play for about an hour twice a week, but recently he'd disappeared, so for the past two weeks I've been scouring the Discord servers in order to try and find myself a game. I did manage to get a few games, but most of the time I was out of luck.

Most of the time, when I played in these matches I'd see just how much I have to improve. I was given a guide written for me in order to improve my general gameplan, but other than that I was mostly on my own. It was clear that although the world is so much more connected, the age-old arcade mentality of adapt or die still lived on in a sense. Some may find it charming, but I just think it's a pain in the ass.

Throwing my stick into my usual bag, I made sure that I also packed a bottle of water, as well as some deodorant for myself. After all, I'm not the most active girl, so I'd probably get a little bit sweaty on her way there. Lastly was my phone. I sent a message over to my usual partner in crime. [I'm off now. Wish me luck!] Soon enough, I got a response. [Fuck 'em up, Ri ^^].

Giving a small laugh, I locked the door to my first-floor apartment and took my time going down the stairs. It had been raining heavily last night, and with the freezing cold weather as well, it was possible the stairs were frozen. Falling on my ass or breaking my ankle would be a bad start to any day. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about as I made it down without an issue. I made my way to the venue. The event had started at 10AM, but I decided there was no need for me to get there at that time since I'd had someone put my name down for it in advance.

Approaching the venue, the first thing that I noticed was that there was a lot of people queuing to get in. They seemed to be paying at the door, and a lot of them were in cosplay; exotic outfits of characters of whom none I recognised. Showing my pre-registration, I walked in without so much as a second of waiting around.

The first thing that I noticed as soon as I walked in? The smell. It fucking reeked! I initially couldn't tell whether it was just nerves setting in on my part, heightening my senses, but soon enough I realised that wasn't the case. I took a second to step out and spray myself off, but that foul odour followed me out the door. I had to turn the corner just to get away from it. I hadn't even gotten all the way inside and already I was regretting my decision to show up here. But the show must go on, as they say, and so I braved the B.O. ocean and squeezed my way through to where the event was actually being held.

I approached the desk where the clerk looked up at me with a bored expression on his face. He seemed a little surprised when I said that I was here for Calibur and wasn't just supporting my boyfriend or brother. As seemed like it would be the case though, my hopes were swiftly crushed as soon as the guy opened his mouth.

"Reethom," he would say as he looked down at my line on the registration forms, finger tracing over the note that states clearly that my tag is pronounced 'rhythm'. I get that RiThom doesn't look like it would be said that way, but come the fuck on, read your note! My mood would only be shot further when he continued. "The Soulcalibur tournament is over there, it starts in ten minutes."

A bony finger directed my gaze towards a trio of TVs that had been set up in the corner. That was the second red flag in my head. This was claiming that tournaments were their main thing yet weren't running on monitors. Not to worry, I thought to myself as I shrugged it off and approached the setups. I noticed initially that it was an Xbox that was set up. Again, it would have been nice if I was told this beforehand, but I was at least prepared, since I always carried a Brook converter with me in my bag.