Disclaimer: Insert the usual stuff about not owning the characters, etc, here. Thank you EA BIG for yet another phenomenal iteration of the SSX universe. Now on with the story
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Some people would say that it was a day just like any other day at the base of the mountain. A brisk morning air hung outside the lodge, with a slight morning mist enveloping whatever it found. You could see the orange sun just beginning to peek out over the ridge and through the pines that lined the snow ledge above the half-pipe. The early morning riders were beginning to appear around the lodge: most were in small groups, two or three at the most, usually with their equipment in one hand and a warm beverage of choice in the other. But for the most part, it was perfect. Another morning on the mountain with a full day of riding ahead of you, the quiet tranquility of a day's fresh start... and really, could you ask for anything more?
As more and more people began arriving at the base of the mountain it became apparent that there was something amiss from the "standard routine", however. While many people were indeed coming to the mountain for a day of hitting the powder, there were far more people showing up without any equipment at all in their hands; and some people were carrying equipment of a very different kind. Further inspection would reveal that these groups of individuals were professional photographers, who had apparently come out to shoot the day's events by the SSX League members.
A young snowboarder stood in front of the lodge near the parking lot, kneeling on one knee in his oversized pants with his board flipped over so that he could give the bottom a fresh waxing before he started his runs for the day. His 'Hot Topic' beanie (with a band's logo on the bottom that only people he would want to talk to anyway would recognize) kept falling down in front of his eyes as he looked down waxing the board, and he kept losing his handling on the board as he tried to readjust the oversized hat that he was beginning to regret wearing. Suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his eye, and he glanced to the parking lot and saw a parade of black SUV limosine's pulling up to the front edge of the parking lot. He paused, one hand moving up slowly to tilt the beanie far enough back on his head that it shouldn't fall again. As the limos pulled to a stop, one of the rear doors opened and he immediately noticed the person who stepped out... Elise Riggs.
Elise stretched herself after stepping down from the limo door, her long arms reaching towards the sky as she arched her back. "God," she thought to herself, "they could have picked a closer hotel to put us up in." The mouth of the young man near the lodge tried not to appear like he was staring as she pushed her chest out, arms up, but the blonde bombshell was one heck of a sight in person. Elise, lowering her arms, seemed to notice him and sent a wink with an amused, knowing smile in his direction. Blushing, realizing he had in fact been caught staring, he quickly put his head down and pretended to be waxing his board again.
More limo doors began to open as the vehicles parked against the curb in a row. Moby had stepped out from the same limo as Elise, his long braids falling just behind his shoulders. Mac appeared hurried as he stepped out of his limo, and he was followed closely by a tall blonde man that was new to the competition this year... an amateur named Viggo who turned pro after he was discovered in the off months of the year by the League. As Mac fumbled to get something from his backpack on the ground, Viggo stood over him asking questions, his hands animated as he spoke. By the looks of Mac, he was doing his best to ignore the persistent newcomer who had obviously been like this the entire ride to the mountain.
As the rest of the limos opened, more new faces appeared. There was also a tough-looking girl with braids sticking out below her beanie, a rugged dark-haired man beside her, and a young (he almost looked TOO young) boy who came out of the same limo as Kaori, a young asian girl many people would recognize. She had been with the league ever since its inception.
"No no no, you keep saying it wrong. 'kao-ri'," she was saying to the boy with her. Griff was young, and perhaps a bit naive when it came to some things, but his proficiency on the slopes was something to behold. "Kay-or-ee," he replied, his mouth contorting as he attempted to pronounce his fellow rider's name. He meant well, but was having difficulty with this girl's strange name. "You're getting better," Kaori lied, at this point tiring of trying to explain just how to say her name to this boy... they had been at this for the past half an hour. "The 'a' and the 'o' kind of blend into each oth-"
"Hey! Hey, Mac, over here!" she suddenly stopped herself, giving Mac a wave and a smile as she spotted him knelt over his backpack beneath Viggo. She and Mac weren't able to talk much over the summers, since she always flew back home and Mac was still being schooled in America over the summer since his parents made him. He had tutors, since his parents were more than fair letting him use the Winters to ride in the League, but he still had to continue his education when he wasn't snowboarding. Kaori had missed Mac for his genuine, if not sometimes teasing, friendship and the ability to always make her laugh, and she was giddy to see him again. Mac breathed a thankful sigh as he recognized an opportunity to escape from the overbearing Viggo, and he quickly looked to see where Kaori's voice was coming from and hefted his bag onto his shoulder. Viggo looked a bit lost for words at first as Mac walked suddenly away from him, but spotted Elise and prepared to move in to try and talk with her.
DJ Atomika stood on the steps that led up to the lodge, surveying the competitors from behind his shades as they stood outside their limos. As the new announcer for the SSX league, he felt nervous yet excited at the same time: much the way the riders felt right now, he imagined. "Alright folks, over here!" he yelled to the group, and the group began to mill their way over to him as they picked up their small bags: mountain staff had begun unloading their riding equipment and miscellaneous luggage from the limos already. A few cameramen stood around snapping pictures of the group and of Atomika standing on the steps, clipboard in hand as he prepared to read a schedule of the day's events to the riders.
"Welcome to the base lodge of the lower peak! I hope you all had a good ride up this morning. Now, I know you haven't seen the courses yet, but I think it's important that you all know: it's taken event organizers over two years to turn this place into the ULTIMATE SSX championship!" he said to the group, and a round of cheers, whistles and clapping came from the riders as well as the group of onlookers that was growing around them. "I know you're all looking forward to this, so let's head on up to the lodge and I'll let the big boys explain how things are gonna work this year, all right?" And with that he turned and led the competitors up the steps, as the crowd behind him parted for the group and clapped again for the people who, as they all knew, were some of the best riders in the entire world.
A day just like any other day? Hardly. And this was only the beginning.
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Alright there ya go. I know it doesn't really go anywhere, but I felt like cutting it off and letting myself stew over where I wanted to really go with things anyway. Critique my writing if you wish, I promise I don't take criticism personally. In fact, criticism tends to be more helpful than praise anyway. (so don't be afraid to do either ) thanks
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Some people would say that it was a day just like any other day at the base of the mountain. A brisk morning air hung outside the lodge, with a slight morning mist enveloping whatever it found. You could see the orange sun just beginning to peek out over the ridge and through the pines that lined the snow ledge above the half-pipe. The early morning riders were beginning to appear around the lodge: most were in small groups, two or three at the most, usually with their equipment in one hand and a warm beverage of choice in the other. But for the most part, it was perfect. Another morning on the mountain with a full day of riding ahead of you, the quiet tranquility of a day's fresh start... and really, could you ask for anything more?
As more and more people began arriving at the base of the mountain it became apparent that there was something amiss from the "standard routine", however. While many people were indeed coming to the mountain for a day of hitting the powder, there were far more people showing up without any equipment at all in their hands; and some people were carrying equipment of a very different kind. Further inspection would reveal that these groups of individuals were professional photographers, who had apparently come out to shoot the day's events by the SSX League members.
A young snowboarder stood in front of the lodge near the parking lot, kneeling on one knee in his oversized pants with his board flipped over so that he could give the bottom a fresh waxing before he started his runs for the day. His 'Hot Topic' beanie (with a band's logo on the bottom that only people he would want to talk to anyway would recognize) kept falling down in front of his eyes as he looked down waxing the board, and he kept losing his handling on the board as he tried to readjust the oversized hat that he was beginning to regret wearing. Suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his eye, and he glanced to the parking lot and saw a parade of black SUV limosine's pulling up to the front edge of the parking lot. He paused, one hand moving up slowly to tilt the beanie far enough back on his head that it shouldn't fall again. As the limos pulled to a stop, one of the rear doors opened and he immediately noticed the person who stepped out... Elise Riggs.
Elise stretched herself after stepping down from the limo door, her long arms reaching towards the sky as she arched her back. "God," she thought to herself, "they could have picked a closer hotel to put us up in." The mouth of the young man near the lodge tried not to appear like he was staring as she pushed her chest out, arms up, but the blonde bombshell was one heck of a sight in person. Elise, lowering her arms, seemed to notice him and sent a wink with an amused, knowing smile in his direction. Blushing, realizing he had in fact been caught staring, he quickly put his head down and pretended to be waxing his board again.
More limo doors began to open as the vehicles parked against the curb in a row. Moby had stepped out from the same limo as Elise, his long braids falling just behind his shoulders. Mac appeared hurried as he stepped out of his limo, and he was followed closely by a tall blonde man that was new to the competition this year... an amateur named Viggo who turned pro after he was discovered in the off months of the year by the League. As Mac fumbled to get something from his backpack on the ground, Viggo stood over him asking questions, his hands animated as he spoke. By the looks of Mac, he was doing his best to ignore the persistent newcomer who had obviously been like this the entire ride to the mountain.
As the rest of the limos opened, more new faces appeared. There was also a tough-looking girl with braids sticking out below her beanie, a rugged dark-haired man beside her, and a young (he almost looked TOO young) boy who came out of the same limo as Kaori, a young asian girl many people would recognize. She had been with the league ever since its inception.
"No no no, you keep saying it wrong. 'kao-ri'," she was saying to the boy with her. Griff was young, and perhaps a bit naive when it came to some things, but his proficiency on the slopes was something to behold. "Kay-or-ee," he replied, his mouth contorting as he attempted to pronounce his fellow rider's name. He meant well, but was having difficulty with this girl's strange name. "You're getting better," Kaori lied, at this point tiring of trying to explain just how to say her name to this boy... they had been at this for the past half an hour. "The 'a' and the 'o' kind of blend into each oth-"
"Hey! Hey, Mac, over here!" she suddenly stopped herself, giving Mac a wave and a smile as she spotted him knelt over his backpack beneath Viggo. She and Mac weren't able to talk much over the summers, since she always flew back home and Mac was still being schooled in America over the summer since his parents made him. He had tutors, since his parents were more than fair letting him use the Winters to ride in the League, but he still had to continue his education when he wasn't snowboarding. Kaori had missed Mac for his genuine, if not sometimes teasing, friendship and the ability to always make her laugh, and she was giddy to see him again. Mac breathed a thankful sigh as he recognized an opportunity to escape from the overbearing Viggo, and he quickly looked to see where Kaori's voice was coming from and hefted his bag onto his shoulder. Viggo looked a bit lost for words at first as Mac walked suddenly away from him, but spotted Elise and prepared to move in to try and talk with her.
DJ Atomika stood on the steps that led up to the lodge, surveying the competitors from behind his shades as they stood outside their limos. As the new announcer for the SSX league, he felt nervous yet excited at the same time: much the way the riders felt right now, he imagined. "Alright folks, over here!" he yelled to the group, and the group began to mill their way over to him as they picked up their small bags: mountain staff had begun unloading their riding equipment and miscellaneous luggage from the limos already. A few cameramen stood around snapping pictures of the group and of Atomika standing on the steps, clipboard in hand as he prepared to read a schedule of the day's events to the riders.
"Welcome to the base lodge of the lower peak! I hope you all had a good ride up this morning. Now, I know you haven't seen the courses yet, but I think it's important that you all know: it's taken event organizers over two years to turn this place into the ULTIMATE SSX championship!" he said to the group, and a round of cheers, whistles and clapping came from the riders as well as the group of onlookers that was growing around them. "I know you're all looking forward to this, so let's head on up to the lodge and I'll let the big boys explain how things are gonna work this year, all right?" And with that he turned and led the competitors up the steps, as the crowd behind him parted for the group and clapped again for the people who, as they all knew, were some of the best riders in the entire world.
A day just like any other day? Hardly. And this was only the beginning.
==========================================================
Alright there ya go. I know it doesn't really go anywhere, but I felt like cutting it off and letting myself stew over where I wanted to really go with things anyway. Critique my writing if you wish, I promise I don't take criticism personally. In fact, criticism tends to be more helpful than praise anyway. (so don't be afraid to do either ) thanks