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 Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:09 am
The sparring doll had never caught Roch's eye before. It sat neglected in the corner of the gym, since people, especially Roch, could usually find a sparring partner to fight against.
But he was getting sick and tired of his FEAR not working, his hits not hitting, his--well-- he was tired of it. And there was only so many moves you could do in his sound proof booth. He needed to be faster at getting his FEAR to work, and being in a peaceful environment made it easier--
He didn't need that.
So while all the other students fought each other, Roch headed for the stuffed dummy in the corner, summoning his guitar and looking at it for a long moment. "Don't take this personal or anything, okay?" he said.
Dummy's HP: 60
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
5, 6
Total: 11 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:11 am
Roch pulled back his guitar, clearing his mind and picturing Invi's face on the dummy. Yes, Invi. If he was going to challenge the guy again, he needed to be prepared. He twisted, slamming the edge of the guitar's body into the doll, surprised to find some resistance. Interesting, he thought as he stepped back. The doll was tougher than he had expected!
Damage: 5
Dummy's HP: 55
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
8, 4
Total: 12 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:15 am
He grinned slightly, knowing that beating on an unmoving object probably wasn't the greatest way to train, but hell, it helped to vent some frustration too. He'd done so jackin' well in the trials--until the dark cave. That had SUCKED. Just remembering it pissed him off enough to swing harder, slamming his guitar into the doll.
Damage: 6
Dummy's HP: 49
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
5, 7
Total: 12 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:19 am
Dammit, he had had a PLAN, he went on. He'd planned on acing all of the courses and shoving it in people's faces. Especially that jackin' reporter that had brought up his past. A kid that could do that good in a Horseman trial, they'd be forgiven for screwing up so much, right?
He hit the doll again, not really even thinking about it this time. Invi's face was disappearing, because he was realizing something.
He was pissed at himself.
Damage: 6
Dummy's HP: 43
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
3, 1
Total: 4 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:23 am
And the thing was, he went on silently, he KNEW he should have done the snow dash. He had the course in his head already, knew what to expect, knew a hiding spot at the end and everything, but NOOOO, he had to jump into a dark cave just because he was a jackin' IDIOT!
He swung blindly, not even seeing the dummy this time, he was so pissed off at himself. It was no surprise that he missed.
Damage: 0
Dummy's HP: 43
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
6, 4
Total: 10 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:29 am
He lowered his guitar, staring blindly at the doll as his mind rushed. How was he going to prove himself as anything other than a useless punk if he kept jacking up--
He stopped as Invi's words came back.
Now he was just making excuses. He sighed and brought his guitar up again, slamming it into the dummy.
Damage: 4
Dummy's HP: 39
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Ice Queen rolled 7 4-sided dice:
3, 1, 2, 2, 1, 4, 3
Total: 16 (7-28)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:34 am
So... if you jacked up, but couldn't complain about it--because that was just making excuses--then what DID you do? He didn't want to ask Invi, because Invi would just give him that "I am so disappoint" look and probably not tell him anyway.
This was something he needed to figure out on his own. He brought the strap of his guitar over his shoulder, remembering the feel of blood trickling over his fingers as he tried to play the A chord. But at least there was no blood this time. The sound slammed into the dummy hard, doing a decent bit of damage with its cry.
Damage: 13
Dummy's HP: 26
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
5, 7
Total: 12 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:40 am
But still, the punk boil thought, saying you jacked up is just an excuse, and he could understand that, but what if you DID jack up? One trip, one fall, spikes through the entire body and no flag to show for it. How pathetic was that? That was jacking up if he'd ever seen it! And worse! So much worse! EVERYONE else had seen it too!
It was the last obstacle for this trial. He'd done NOTHING to help his team on that one. Sure he'd gotten eight flags before that, but that was then, this was now--
Wait. He twisted, spinning with the guitar and slamming the dummy in the side with it even as his mind caught on to something.
Damage: 6
Dummy's HP: 20
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
1, 2
Total: 3 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:45 am
That was then, he repeated to himself, and this was now. What if... what if the failures and the achievements of the past didn't mean JACK? It was only what was going on now that really counted? Was that how he should approach things?
It went right back to Hel saying that the past was the past. And it seemed so ridiculously simple-minded to him, but-- he lowered his guitar, resting it on the ground as he let his mind try and take that concept in.
It would probably take a while.
Damage: 0
Dummy's HP: 20
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
1, 8
Total: 9 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:51 am
He had a juvie record. Roch started there, stating a fact that practically everyone--including the school--knew. He had a juvie record and the boogies knew exactly where he was. But here was the important part--they weren't DOING anything about it.
He stood a bit straighter, his eyes widening. He was in the second year of being a student at one of the most famous schools in all of Halloween. He was on a team of that school, doing trials for the jackin' HORSEMEN, representing the school, and most likely, all of Halloween. And the boogies weren't doing anything about it. Why would they?
With a little grin he shoved the butt of his guitar into the dummy. He was liking where this train of thought was leading.
Damage: 3
Dummy's HP: 17
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
8, 5
Total: 13 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:01 am
They wouldn't do anything, he realized. Not when he was being useful--not when he was working to become something that promised to bring in FEAR, and possibly, a good relationship with the horsemen. Sure he wasn't best pals with Invi, or anything, but he actually KNEW him. That was more than most in Halloween could claim. And sure he hadn't aced every part of the trials they'd been through for the horsemen, but he'd actually DONE them.
Him. A poor punk from the wrong part of Halloween. One with a shady past. And he knew that Halloween was wary of the horsemen, but there was that sense of awe when they were brought up, too. If there wasn't, why would there be so many jackin' reporters swarming the campus?
An evil grin was crossing his face as he did a full three sixty, slamming the guitar into the dummy once again.
Damage: 7
Dummy's HP: 10
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
4, 2
Total: 6 (2-16)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:11 am
But that wasn't enough, Roch thought abruptly. He hadn't put himself through the "baptism" just to think suddenly "Oh, I'm doing okay after all!" No. It might have been enough as far as everyone else was concerned, but he wanted more out of himself.
Wow, that was a strange concept. But it wasn't. He'd once told Riley that he would become the most famous reaper to ever graduate from Amity. He'd been lying--dreaming, even, at the time... but couldn't he try? Couldn't he SEE how far he could go?
The idea was so revolutionary to the boil that he just stood there, thinking about it.
Damage: 0
Dummy's HP: 10
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Ice Queen rolled 5 4-sided dice:
2, 1, 3, 3, 1
Total: 10 (5-20)
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:25 am
So... and back to the beginning with this, he thought, saying you jacked up was an excuse. The only thing you could really do was do it right, or don't make excuses about it. Easiest way to do that was to do it right every time.
He looked at the dummy, wincing guiltily as he saw how beat up the poor guy was. "I can't promise this will work, buddy, but I'll try," he said as he played his C chord.
Yes, the boil that had just decided to learn to do everything right every time was trying to heal the dummy he'd been beating on. OTL
And truly ironically, it didn't work.
Healed for: 0
Dummy's HP: 10
WC: 1,185
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