The Grindstone Special IV: Independence Slay (July 2, 2016)

[Warren Castille]

You know that guy. You see him every week on the other side of the line, and he's got a loud mouth but you've never had the chance to do anything about it. No one likes a braggart, you know. If only there was some way to rig the line-up, make it so you and him got to have a chat, like men...

 

THAT TIME IS NOW!

 

It's been six months since the Grindstone Special III: Season's Beatings and since that night we've been slowly handing out portions of the 7.5 million gil that the good folks of Balmung chipped together to support the community and, more importantly, settle some scores. We'll be fresh out of gil for the prize pot soon, so it's time to open up the chopping block to folks who want to put their money where their mouth is.

 

1) Person A wants to fight Person B, so he bids 100k

2) Person C really wants to fight person A, so he bids 150k. Person A is outbid for a match, so Person C gets his fight.

3) Person D doesn't care about rivalries and instead wants to see Person B+C fight. He bids 200k to watch them beat each other up.

4) Person A wants his match, so he outbids a billion gil. All of the other bids are ignored and A+B are on for a brawl.

 

 

If you've ever wanted to pick a fight with someone at the Grindstone, this is one of the rare chances anyone has to directly set up the match. So long as that person is actually amenable to the combat, you get your match if you put up the most gil for that person. If you're into that sort of thing, this also includes the people who stand around all hoity-toity on the rock.

 

So, what do we do with all of this money?

 

I put it into a big pile, documenting all of the incoming bucks on the spreadsheet (that's linked in my signature block, on the "Bids" tab!) and then dole out money to the winners of the Grindstone. Anything we have will be divided up evenly and last from July 2nd until the end of the year (December 31st, 2016)

 

 

How do I know you're not just going to take this and transfer servers?

 

You don't! If anything, take solace in the fact that you can't take more than 1m with you if you jump servers!

 

I don't fight at the Grindstone, but I want to give you money anyway because I'm a crazy person!

 

...okay! Get a hold of me via PM so we can arrange when to do the drop-off, all spy-like. If you want it to be OOC, that's fine! ICly might be a bit harder given the "we have no actual investors" fluff going on at the moment, but talk to me. We'll work something out.

 

Questions, comments, clarifications will be fielded below!

 

ANNOUNCING THE WHETSTONE:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've all been there. It should have been us in that final round, not the chump who got lucky and beat us. We should be fighting in the final round, not them.

 

Maybe I can interest you in the contents of this briefcase.

 

WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?

 

This is a test pilot for a new idea, and I'd like to demo it at this event! I've readily admitted that I'm a wrestling mark, and I think Money in the Bank is the coolest thing for drama.

 

 

 

In the interest of fundraising, I'm going to experiment with a Money in the Bank-like concept (that I haven't come up with a cool name for yet, sorry).

 

WHAT EXACTLY DOES THIS ENTAIL

 

Whomever winds up with possession of The Whetstone will have the ability to insert themselves in the final round of the Grindstone, no muss no fuss, even if they've already been eliminated for the night. There's more to it, but that's only pertinent to the holder.

 

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS WONDERFUL PRIZE

 

The night of the auctions, July 2, I will be taking entirely blind bids for this item. I will not be updating the tracker or announcing the current top bid, and I will not be telling anyone who is winning until bids close. If you want this item, you must offer what you think it is worth. I do have a reserve in mind of what I think would be a fair price for it, so if that isn't met, I'll just consider the experiment a failure and scrap it for the future.

 

Money in the Bank is a WWE concept. Wrestlers take part in a ladder match to win a briefcase containing a contract for a guaranteed title match, and it is able to be "cashed in" at any time for a fight with the champ. This can be a straight challenge. This can happen right after a hard fight for an easy win.

[Aaron]

Can I bid to fight myself that way I advance past the first round win or lose?

 

This is actually a legit question.

[Warren Castille]

Can I bid to fight myself that way I advance past the first round win or lose?

 

This is actually a legit question.

 

I can appreciate the philosophic approach, but no, losers can't progress. So even if the loser won, he's still a loser, so you lose.

 

No bribing your way into the second round.

[Sylastair]

Can I bid to fight myself that way I advance past the first round win or lose?

 

This is actually a legit question.

Only if you fight yourself Jim Carrey style like in Liar Liar.

 

[Aaron]

Can I bid to fight myself that way I advance past the first round win or lose?

 

This is actually a legit question.

 

I can appreciate the philosophic approach, but no, losers can't progress. So even if the loser won, he's still a loser, so you lose.

 

No bribing your way into the second round.

Shit, well there goes my plan.

 

*puts gil in shirt pocket secretly*

[Warren Castille]

 

 

 

 

We've all been there. It should have been us in that final round, not the chump who got lucky and beat us. We should be fighting in the final round, not them.

 

Maybe I can interest you in the contents of this briefcase.

 

WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?

 

This is a test pilot for a new idea, and I'd like to demo it at this event! I've readily admitted that I'm a wrestling mark, and I think Money in the Bank is the coolest thing for drama.

 

Money in the Bank is a WWE concept. Wrestlers take part in a ladder match to win a briefcase containing a contract for a guaranteed title match, and it is able to be "cashed in" at any time for a fight with the champ. This can be a straight challenge. This can happen right after a hard fight for an easy win.

 

 

In the interest of fundraising, I'm going to experiment with a Money in the Bank-like concept (that I haven't come up with a cool name for yet, sorry).

 

WHAT EXACTLY DOES THIS ENTAIL

 

Whomever winds up with possession of this will have the ability to insert themselves in the final round of the Grindstone, no muss no fuss, even if they've already been eliminated for the night. There's more to it, but that's only pertinent to the holder.

 

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS WONDERFUL PRIZE

 

The night of the auctions, July 2, I will be taking entirely blind bids for this item. I will not be updating the tracker or announcing the current top bid, and I will not be telling anyone who is winning until bids close. If you want this item, you must offer what you think it is worth. I do have a reserve in mind of what I think would be a fair price for it, so if that isn't met, I'll just consider the experiment a failure and scrap it for the future.

[GhostlyMaiden]

A money in the bank idea, not too bad. I would like to HOPE i'll be around July 2nd so I can be apart of this. I really enjoyed Season beatings and would love to be around for this one.

[Warren Castille]

It's this Saturday! I'll be out there fairly early as usual for some pre-RP, and anyone who is participating in the Grindstone is up for challenging!

 

What if I don't bid? ARE YOU KICKING ME OUT, CASTILLE?!

 

Of course not! Anyone who wants to fight will get to fight, as always. This is just a fun alternative to the people who want to be paired up with someone specific.

 

What if I don't have a lot of gil ICly?

 

That's fine! Bidding is in that sort of nebulous IC/OOC space. If you want a fight but don't want your character throwing gil away on it, just hit me up in tells or (inside of OOC bubbles) or something. Nega-continuity will be in full effect so no one needs to worry about suddenly being a gillionaire when they're actually a destitute beggar or anything.

 

Can I fight Bench, Judge Jredthys' horse?

RULE FOUR.

 

I hope everyone comes out to have a good time Saturday night!

[Star Lin]

*a cheer goes up from SC* Yes, I don't have to be at work until 11:30 am Sunday.  So I'll be able to stay up late for the event.  Though I'll probably be dead on my feet by the time I get off at 10 pm Sunday night.

[Leggerless]

 

...In the interest of fundraising, I'm going to experiment with a Money in the Bank-like concept (that I haven't come up with a cool name for yet, sorry).

 

Oh, I got you there fam.

 

In ancient and more medieval times, what was one of the best ways to improve the quality of your weapon, now available at your local blacksmith?

 

A little process I like to call Polish on the Stone due to the magical properties found within the grindstone.

 

Thank me later, Warren!

[Ha'uruh Nunh]

Bumping.  Come support your local friendly Grindstone.  Warren's gil-distributing has been public and open to everyone who cares to look at his spreadsheets, so you know every red gil-cent goes into the hands of whomever the dice favor any particular week.  This is tomorrow night.

[Indi26]

Also, I will be selling food-related housing items for donations to the pot! Send a tell to Lucerna Sainahs if you're interested!

[Warren Castille]

So, I'd consider tonight a pretty decent success! There was enough interest in the Whetstone for me to think it wasn't me overthinking or adding nonsense, and we made an okay amount of gil!

 

28,855,000 gil, actually.

 

Twenty-eight million, eight-hundred fifty-five thousand gil.

 

You are all amazing. Shido, you're amazing. Thank you everyone who came out to hang out and support!

 

Sorry if this is overly brief, it's 3AM and I am knackered!

[Jancis]

 

Everyone making it rain on Warren. We should get a shot next time with those coins from that one event. 

 

:geek:

 

Warren and Berrod, John's champion, after rolling around on the ground together for longer than most expected.

[Warren Castille]

So the running total of donations/gil/bids/everything is going to clock in at just over the 29m mark. I know I mentioned that this'll fund the end of 2016, but it turns out that the pot is so large if I do that it would take more than one trade to hand out the winnings at the end. Instead, we'll be extending slightly to pay for the next thirty-one Grindstones, which means we'll be running out of gil right around Valentine's Day.

 

What are the odds? :evil:

 

The continued support and interest in this event has never stopped being awe-inspiring, and trust me when I say that everyone involved in helping it persist week to week to month to month to year to year is amazing. Truly, absolutely amazing.

[Star Lin]

Hm, so about Feb.... better see about putting in that weekend off.  Maybe John will be confidante enough and using his own gil (so he doesn't feel pressure) to fight Warren by then.  *hugs Berrod* And many thanks to John's champion for stepping in crisis of faith in his skill (which he was hiding well from the others) but also the faith of what Grindstone really was about.  As Pick's spirit told him that night, 'You got yourself a great Crew'.