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 Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 9:04 pm
Username: Alamoraine
Wanted: Pirate!
Name: Jack Katch, a.k.a. "JK" (Pirate lingo for the hangman's noose)
Alias: Wannion (Pirate/Shakespearian for 'with a vengeance')
Strengths: Speed, pyrotechnics,
Weaknesses: Boisterous, brash, nyctophobic.
Username: Yousei Akki
Wanted: Ninja
Name: Shin Kaneko
Alias: Damatte Kuru (Comes Silently)
Strengths: Speed, Agility, Stealth, Logical
Weaknesses: Uncompromising, Aracnophobic, Perfectionist
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 2:42 pm
"So, are you ready for this?" Shin challenged JK as he laced his boxing gloves tighter by jerking the string with his teeth. He looked at his ages old friend in a thoughtful and considering manner. Flickering memories of their first meeting came to mind. How old had they been? Six or seven? It had been preschool, and Shin was proud that he could remember back that far. He had been carefully stacking the blocks according to their color when JK had approached and plopped himself down uninvited. The other boy's curious hair had caught Shin's attention and...well... It was embarrassing to admit that his first memory of JK was his attempt to chew on his hair. Shin cleared his throat and turned towards the practice ring. "I have read four books on different boxing techniques. I have no doubt that I will provide a flawless example of my potential and skill." Shin boasted with his smooth and mellow voice. There was no way he'd not make it onto the boxing team!
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 8:42 pm
Peering at the other through a few stray locks of hair that hung over his face like rope, Jack (or JK as his friends and.......others, liked to call him) snorted as he moved one of his arms up and down, testing the balance of the clumsy-as-Hell boxing glove that school regulations made him wear. If he had his way, he would just use his hands; it wasn't as though he had the dainty little girl hands that his 'old friend' had. He gave one expiramental punch for good measure before righting himself and moving up and down on the balls of his feet. He felt confident that he had the stamina to knock his skinny little adversary right on his ballerina arse.
He could still feel the other's slobbery fingers on his hair when they had been small. He had decided right then and there that someone who thought his dreds were toys couldn't possibly be trusted. Why less than two years later, the entire class had celebrated their Valentine's Day by making little baskets to hang over their colorful plastic chairs, and their classmates were to drop their cards inside each one. Everyone was supposed to give a card to each classmate, but it wasn't unheard of for best friends (or girls who LIKED YOU liked you) to leave a few extra. JK KNEW he had a few girls who would love to be his squeeze, but apparently Shin had ninja'd into the class next door and stuffed all of THEIR valentines into his basket. It never occured to JK to make friends outside of his own class; as far as he was concerned, Shin had did it just to spite him.
"You can read all the books you want; doesn't count a lick toward experience." he retorted as he aimed a mock-jab in Shin's direction, coming nowhere near the other. He had plenty of experience with fistfighting, and he was sure he could best anyone in his way despite the 'rules' he had to abide by that dictated that only certain moves were allowed. He smirked at Shin as he walked over to the ring; he'd show Shin just how much his dusty old books would help him. Maybe he could use them as a blunt object once he had his neck in a headlock.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 9:51 pm
Shin admired how perfectly laced his gloves were, but took a few moments to fuss with the length of the laces until they appeared to be even not only on one glove, but both. He flexed his fingers to test the give and restraint of the protective gloves thoughtfully. He had never engaged in competition of this sort. "As if you have experience worth noting when it comes to regulated contests." Shin jotted back verbally while playfully avoiding the jab aimed at him even though he was no where near close enough to accidentally brushing him. Ah. It had been like this for so long!
For a moment his mind flickered back to a memory of them in fourth grade. It had been a talent show as he recalled when their competition had gotten so serious. Shin had practiced singing his song for weeks. He had mastered the pitch and the tone. He had perfected his lyrics and sewn his own little tux for the event. Then...then JK had..well..he had pirated his idea! His song! He had swung out on stage, singing -his- song at the top of his lungs, acting all chaotic and wild as he shamed himself in front of the crowd. Shin had been too embarrassed to go out onto stage after hearing his song murdered by JK. What had made the blow even worse had been the fact JK had actually won! From that day on he had vowed to one up the dark haired boy. Shin's family was very serious about their vows too!
A whistle was blown, and Shin glanced up towards the boxing ring. He and JK were being motioned to, and Shin approached the ring with his chin held high. "Prepare yourself for a defeat most humiliating Katch!" He forewarned the other. "Your wild and unrestrained methods have no place in a sport like this!" Boxing had once been called the Gentleman's sport, and Shin was positive there was a reason for it. He had read every single book he could for weeks in advance, just so he could memorize every single rule!
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 10:18 pm
Shin's retort about contests caused JK to smile broadly as the ring drew nearer with every step. How well he remembered that contest, the very one that Shin was thinking of at the same time. There had been other contests between them of course, but that one stood out vividly for some strange reason. As though it was HIS fault that Shin couldn't look past the song itself and imagine the different ways it could be sung! He could recall a girl in the first grade, one with more bubbles in her head than brain, who had considered 'Pop Goes the Weasel' to be a romantic song and any boy who wanted to be her boyfriend HAD to sing it to her.
The thought of girls caused the smile to vanish from JK's face and his fists to clench inside the thickly padded gloves. He could recall another girl so vividly; red hair and eyes bluer than the water of a big-wig swimming pool. He considered himself very handsome, and knew that girls all over the school did double-takes at him as he sauntered down the corridors, but his eyes had always been on her. The end of the fourth grade year brought a school mixer, and for the first time in his memory, JK's carefree, whatever-happens-happens attitude failed him, and as day after day he spotted her crown of flaming red hair in the hallway, he groped for the perfect way to ask her.
He finally had a plan just days before; offer to carry her books and slip her a note between the texts. So it was nowhere near as brilliant as he would have liked, but he knew that he had lingered for too long and it was a miracle that anyone had yet to ask her at all. A bit of sly asking around was all it took to find out where her first class was being held, but as he homed in on the door, he had stopped dead in his tracks at the two figures standing just outside of it. It was her.......and none other than Shin. Both had been smiling, and he distinctly saw Shin's mouth form the word 'dance'. He saw the ill-fated nod and the happy sparkle of blue eyes, and both had walked off together, doubtless to discuss their attire, while JK was left standing dumbly in the hall like a slack-jawed statue.
The memory still having the power to bring color to his face, JK heeded the whistle and stepped into the ring, adjusting his weight and balance to his satisfaction and bringing the cumbersome gloves up to his face. He couldn't resist a smug smile and a response to match. "If it's restrain you want, maybe you should try ballet." He was confident that it would take less than no time to swat Shin like a bug and send him sprawling; the boy had the build of a twig, and books seldom taught you the finest points in fighting, the ones that were only given by experience.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 10:35 pm
Shin hooked his gloved hands onto the edge of the mat and pulled himself up onto the practice ring. Standing up, he carefully took a few testing steps and watched the mat give slightly under his weight. This was nothing like the carpet floor he had been practicing the foot movements on at home. Was that going to have an effect on his demonstration? Shin glanced over at JK and could not stop the smile from touching his lips.
His oldest friend...oldest rival... he seemed to be looking very serious right now. Shin felt a sense of pride already filling him. He turned to look up at JK and took his place in the center ring. "Ballet lessons would have proven handy. having strong ankles and being light on ones feet is a merit." Shin chose this moment to attempt and prove himself above the taunting words of the other. Shin paused and glanced over towards where the instructor stood in attention. He was going to defeat JK in this. He would not allow the taller boy to defeat him in this contest. Not like he had back when they had tried out for wrestling. Shin had only joined the wrestling team because JK had. He had thought that perhaps he could show the other boy up in the sport. It was all about leverage right? Positions and moves....Shin had not counted on JK being..well. His taller frame and more muscular body had given him a edge that no amount of leverage was going to make up for. Time and again he lost each match to JK.
Shin's cheeks flushed as he thought about the other boy pinning his shoulders down while the rest of the team claps and cheered him on. It had been humiliating! Now it would be his turn to humiliate the other. Shin lifted his fists up in front of his face. Carefully he arranged his elbows to protect his neck and chest in the way he had read. Shin's feet shifted and he positioned his soles just as the books had recommended. Shin's eyes darted down JK's posture and he frowned a little.
"Your posture is not correct Katch." He found himself unable to stop his attempt to correct the boy. Inwardly he felt a twitch and he dropped his gloves in an attempt to grab the other boy by the waist so he could fix the lackadaisical pose his rival friend tormented him with.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 8:11 pm
Unlike his adversary, who took the time to feel out the ring, how much cushion was under his feet and how much it surely differed from what he usually walked on, JK practically barged into the ring, only taking the time to get himself into a fighting stance, with his left foot out in front and his right planted behind him for stability. Not that he would need it; he doubted Shin could knock him backwards if he barreled into him at full tilt, skinny little beanpole that he was.
It wouldn’t be the first time in JK’s memory that his rival’s lack of muscle had failed him. In the beginning of junior high, still deep in the throes of their rivalry, both had signed up for shop class. To this day JK couldn’t recall who had the idea first, nor did he care. At that time, they had both been seeking only to outdo each other any way they could. Those who looked at them and did not see the glint of scorn in their eyes when they spotted each other across the room could very well have mistaken them for the best of friends, seeking only to get the same classes so that they could be together.
JK felt in his element in shop. He was quick to learn the ways of the tools and found a secret, smoldering passion for carpentry. He loved to work with a block of wood and shape it into something intricate and wondrous, even forgetting at times that his aim was to outdo Shin. This was his craft, and his alone, though he couldn’t resist the occasional smirk whenever he saw the other boy having trouble holding the wood in place as the band saw hacked at it, or mistakenly making his CO2 cartridge-propelled car too chunky for fear of it smashing and as a result, being much slower than the others. In the end, JK ended up making a positively beautiful model of a small ship as a final project. He had painstakingly shaped everything down to the tiny railings along the port and starboard sides, even going so far as to make the miniscule helm moveable, and when one gently moved it back and forth, the small rudder would correspond. He might have been able to sail it on a pond if he wanted to. It was really one of those rare times when the actual project was more enjoyable than the joy of finding something he was better than Shin at.
The thought buoyed him as he stood there in the ring, gloves up and at the ready, head cocked for the beginning whistle. So Shin hadn’t risen to the bait of his ballet remark, it didn’t change the fact that he was still the lighter and daintier of the two. It still irked him that he would probably have to be gentle; after all, it wasn’t as though he wanted to REALLY hurt him. He would just pin him, quickly and painlessly, just as he always had done before. “Look to your own posture,” he said cheerfully over the sound of the referee’s whistle, “Before you know it, you’ll be looking up at me from the floor.”
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Yousei Akki rolled 1 20-sided dice:
19
Total: 19 (1-20)
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 10:22 pm
He could do this. There had to be a sport of some sort that he could defeat JK in! Sadly he was quickly running out of options. Football and Soccer were too team oriented. He could not directly challenge JK in those sports. He supposed he could try chess, but that was a bit of a low desperate attempt best saved for when he had no other options to match and show up the other. Track was next on his list after this. Though again, there was so much team work involved, it would not allow him to shine against JK the way boxing or wrestling would. He would find something that JK could not taunt him about in his superiority! Like...Home Economics. It had been both a humiliation and a surprising gift. He and JK had quarreled something fierce at the end of the quarter. Shin had believed that JK had purposefully taken the last piece of pine that Shin had needed to complete his project. He had worked so hard...seeing the ease that JK had worked the wood with had driven him to distraction and he had ruined his project twice before he had been forced to give up on it and choose something simpler in design. It was a utter embarrassment of a bathroom caddy that did not even have a proper back due to the fact he had to use cast off pieces of wood to make up for the one JK had taken. He'd only gotten a D on the assignment, and he'd thrown a fit.
Needless to say, their next quarter they were both shipped into the girls class. Seeing JK struggling with the sewing machine had been...amusing. Shin personally found the machine easy to learn. It was very methodical and exact. He loved the cooking class as well. The exact measurements and timing! He had thrilled the teacher and the girls! Oh he had half the class clearly charmed by his tarts and pastry puffs! No ones cream was half as light or sweet as the stuff he whipped up! Shin had taken such pride in his mastery...until the verbal jabs came from JK. His joy had been killed for the culinary arts, but not his passion. He still cooked at home, but would not admit to it to even his parents.
Now though he was going to change this! He was going to claim a new mastery! Shin's eyes narrowed at the boast of JK and he was quick to return the retort. "Not this time Katch. It will be you who suffers defeat! I have quicker and more sure footed then you!" If the other boy was not going to take his advice then so be it! Shin listened for the short whistle burst to signal the start of their match. Immediately he lowered his posture, to make himself a slightly smaller target...well. He was smaller to start with but this would be to his advantage surely. Shin darted to the left, then swung his left fist out in a quick jab in his eagerness to try and land the first blow.
((The rules of the contest between the boys is simple. Alamoraine and I will roll a d20 each. If we roll 11 or higher, the blow hits. If we roll a 10 or under then the blow has missed. If we roll a 20, it is a fantastic strike, and if we roll a 1 then it is a flub. The first one to score 5 hits wins the match))
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Alamoraine rolled 1 20-sided dice:
13
Total: 13 (1-20)
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 10:57 pm
JK was ready for the first strike to come at him, but he had hardly expected his adversary's movements to be so swift! He grunted in surprise as the first punch landed solidly on his ribs, and he felt the skin smarting from the blow. THAT was going to leave an interesting bruise that he could more than likely brag about on the morrow. Bringing his padded hands up to a defensive position, he narrowed his eyes at Shin, the smile gone from his face. He didn't acknowledge what he perceived to be Shin's crowing at himself, and instead focused on returning the offensive hit in kind.
Apparently his 'old friend' was still full of surprises. He vaguely recalled a time when the pair had become so engrossed in their rivalry that they had sacrificed an entire summer to both do volunteer work at the city library. Even then JK had been shaking his head at himself; what the Hell had he been thinking? He had never been much for reading, and here he was stuck in an entire building full of dusty, booklice-ridden books when he could have been out enjoying the sunshine and practicing his woodcarving. Still, it had galled him to think that Shin would be somewhere where he would lose sight of him, and like a wasp hidden in a room, he would feel more at ease knowing precisely where he was, even if it meant doing the same thing Shin was doing all summer. At least it hadn't been all bad; the pay had been decent, and working inside the air-conditioned library couldn't be beat when the days turned sweltering hot.
But like everything the pair did together, it wasn't long before it turned sour. When the librarian discovered books in the return slot that had been horrendously stained with cola, Shin seemed quick to point out the time that JK had gone to the soda machine on his last break. Or when rude words were found etched harshly into the wood of one of the library tables, of COURSE it had to be JK, according to Shin, because he not only loved to stick a knife into wood, but carried a small knife around in his pocket just for the purpose, never mind JK's insistence that he would never deface wood in such a manner after earning his new respect for woodcraft (no mention of course of the other graffiti projects he may or may not have participated in, depending on which officer you asked). The straw that had finally broken the librarian's back was when an unsuspecting elderly woman, a patron of the library for 50 years and running, went to check out her favorite book on knitting patterns and found a torn out page from Playdude magazine stuck brazenly between the kitten and snowflake designs. Somehow it all got traced back to JK, and he had been fired before the summer was half over.
Any semblance of good humor had left with the arrival of that terrible and unfair memory, and now JK focused solely on bringing down the anorexic upstart who had chosen to make his life a living Hell right from his preschool years. Stifling the urge to go for a cheap shot and aim for the head, instead he feinted a jab similar to the one Shin had thrown, but pulled it back before it could hit and reached with his other hand to try and land a solid punch in the other's solar plexus.
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Yousei Akki rolled 1 20-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-20)
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 2:25 pm
Success! Shin felt his fist connect, and the solidity of it told him that this was indeed a well placed punch. Shin's eyes narrowed a bit further and a cocky grin pulled his lips up under the protective presence of his boxing glove. "First point is mine Katch!" He boasted proudly as he shifted his stance. From the corner of his eye, Shin thought he saw a girl watching, and he attempted to move himself to get a better view. Was she watching him? Was she smiling? Did she see how good he did? Was she pretty? Well he supposed that last part wasn't entirely important. The fact that it was a girl was all that mattered. He could see past her face and---
JK's returning punch was seen only out of the corner of Shin's distracted eye. He jerked back quickly and to one side, thus falling for the feint. He only barely managed to pull back as the true strike came at him. JK's glove smacked into his left lower ribcage. Damn it! He heard the point called out in JK's favor and he growled to himself. "Is that all? Your nothing more then a musclehead!" He whispered as he started to circle around JK. "That punch barely landed. Your not quick or light enough to win this contest." He taunted his rival before launching a flurry of small testing smacks at the others defending arms. If nothing else, it felt good to beat on JK without anyone calling foul.
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 8:55 pm
Resisting the urge to rub Shin's nose in it by bowing slightly, JK acknowledged his earned point with a barely perceptible nod at the referee. He was confident that he would be able to match the other blow for blow, no matter how much the other boasted of his agility and so-called 'knowledge'. Books didn't win you fights and no amount of pictures could teach you the way to throw a punch just so, or how , like he had just demonstrated, how to feint a weak blow in order to land another, more solid one somewhere else.
In spite of being proud and cocky at scoring a hit after the other's triumphant taunt, JK couldn't help but inwardly shake his head as his blow was counted. Was Shin making it easy for him on purpose? His movements seemed a bit off, as though he were trying to glimpse something out of the ring. Did he have family in the stands watching him? JK scowled at the thought; he wouldn't lose the match just to give any cheerers of Shin the chance to watch him rise up in triumph like some dumb boxing prodigy movie. But then it occured to him; Shin's folks would probably hog-tie his skinny duff if he broke concentration for a plaintive 'how'm I doing?' look. He must have spotted a pretty face in the audience. JK's eyes glinted mischeviously; if it was enough to cost his adversary a point, she had better be hotter than two dragons mating in a volcano.
The upcoming punches were wild and off the mark; JK had but to step back to put himself out of harm's way, batting away the few that actually came a bit close. "At least when I aim for a target, Kaneko, I can HIT IT!" Tucking his head down into the bulk of his gloves, JK ducked down and moved in on Shin, fist driving upward in an attempt to land a hit on the ribs jutting slightly out from the right side; might as well give Shin bruises that matched.
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Alamoraine rolled 1 20-sided dice:
11
Total: 11 (1-20)
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 8:56 pm
((And this would be the roll; sorry Akki. >.<))
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Yousei Akki rolled 1 20-sided dice:
16
Total: 16 (1-20)
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 9:28 pm
(Ha ha, it is okay!)
Shin's moment of hot headed and less controlled punching not only cost him his composure, but a point as well. His tanned cheeks flushed. He was being a fool. He was allowing JK to get to him again. Such flustered feeling was going to do him no good. In the past he knew that he did better if he remained in control and calm. The proof of this came clear when he did not manage to move out of the way of another punch.
That placed JK at a two to one advantage. Though Shin had clearly gotten in the first punch, and he had also managed to land a more firm blow then JK. It was the amount of points that mattered more then the actual solidity of the blow. He just needed to focus. If he kept his head, then he would surely manage to recover from this setback. He moved to his left as he repositioned his feet under him. Okay...in the second book he had read he placed his feet like this...
Mentally Shin went over the illustrations that had depicted how a smaller opponent should move against a larger one. He shifted his feet accordingly and straightened his posture and hips. He would not allow JK to keep him flustered! "Hit it hmm? You mean like how you utterly nailed getting Genine to accompany you to the Spring dance? Oh no wait." Shin grinned as he performed a 1-2-3 move from the lesson books. "That was me she went with!"
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Alamoraine rolled 1 20-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-20)
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 11:00 pm
JK was going to win this; he was becoming more and more certain with each passing moment. Already he had the advantage, and in his mind he could see Shin just groping about in his head for another useless taunt, or perhaps some moldy old factoid gleaned from one of his precious books. To him it appeared that already the flimsy preparations Shin had made were failing him, and all that was left was to call up the remainder of his decency and give his foe and quick and painless defeat.
But any thought of that flew away like so many droplets of sweat as Shin did much worse than mere trash talk. He had to use his precious breath to remind JK of what he considered to be his one great failure, the one time when he had really stung from the rivalry that he shared with the other boy. The library thing wasn't that big of a deal in comparison, and he was at least confident enough with his masculinity to not fret over the other making PASTRIES better than him, but when it came to contests of likeability......those were the ones that really hurt, more than any physical tussling that they could do.
Eyes smoldering in anger, JK focused on Shin's taunting face and allowed his anger to mount. Genine.......the red-headed girl that had held such sway over him, that turned his smooth speeches to noise, his smoother moves to clumsy, fumble-footed accidents. And she had chosen SHIN, the skinny little loudmouth that stood before him. It occured to him in his rage that a fat lip would go wonderfully with that fat mouth the other sported. Perhaps after this was over and no teachers were present to cite 'rules and appropriate behavior' to him as though they didn't so anything similar off of school grounds, same as their students. With a violence and swiftness that definitely spoke of a lot more than mere tapping for points, JK brought his right hand about in what he hoped would be a hard enough blow to the other's padded head to whip his little body back like a rag doll's.
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Yousei Akki rolled 1 20-sided dice:
7
Total: 7 (1-20)
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 7:33 am
Ah! Now the shoe was on the other foot! Shin felt a sense of superiority when the anger he had been suffering a moment before seemed to be transferred into JK's eyes. Now it was his face that seemed to darken! His eyes that were clouded with fury! Also it was his movements that were effected. Shin had known that boxing was more about control and strategy then wrestling. His arrogance only grew when JK threw such a wild punch. Shin easily and to his opinion, very gracefully dodged under the blow. They were currently tied. Two to two! Shin lunged forwards and threw a punch upwards in an attempt to perform an uppercut. His lips were already curled upwards. This was going to make three points. He was going to finish this quickly and utterly humiliate JK! Then he would make a point of finding that girl he had spied earlier and talking to her. Even if she was not interest in him, he could at least be sociable and ensure she did not gain a interest in JK. "Sloppy sloppy Katch." He chastised the other. "You over stepped in that move and now your balance is off kilter!"
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