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Post by zuyuri on Jul 8, 2023 19:15:34 GMT
“If by rough, you mean being raised in an orphanage because even your own parents didn’t want you? Then yes.” Riku picked up his blade and turned towards a few trees a couple feet away from Utena. He got into his stance and began a few practice strikes, the wood chipping away with each hit as he spoke. “Then I finally get adopted at fifteen. Turns out the good doctor also had shadow powers, but rather than, oh, raise me like a son, he raised me as an extra tool in his belt. Sure, it helped me get control of my powers, but that’s not who I wanted to be.” He cut a branch clean off the trunk, where it landed with a satisfying thud. “I didn’t want to be a sidekick. I wanted to be a hero.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jul 10, 2023 22:51:43 GMT
Utena blinked. Jeez. And she'd thought her childhood was rough. Although who could say what was worse: being abandoned by a parent or having them treat you as a tool rather than a person. "Man. Makes my deadbeat dad look like a saint," she commented. But she did admire how Riku got himself out of that and decided to become a hero. Some people got stuck in situations like that and couldn't get out no matter what they tried.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 2, 2023 23:05:57 GMT
((Did you want to keep this thread going or nah?))
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 2, 2023 23:17:37 GMT
((Sorry I totally forgot about this thread!!)) Riku made a small Pft noise at Utena’s comment. He would have asked more about her life, but they hadn’t quite reached the “sob story exchange” milestone just yet. Sparring and fighting giant rock men wasn’t the same as hanging out somewhere after school complaining about homework. “Hey, you and I both found healthy outlets. And you have Bella, too. Let’s not get too sucked up in the shadows of the past.” He sheathed his sword. “Speaking of outlets, apart from woodland walks, how do you let off steam?”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 4, 2023 0:59:48 GMT
((No worries!))
Utena nodded in agreement. It was best not to dwell on that stuff. Of course, that was always easier said than done. Utena still felt the sting of her dad leaving sometimes and wished that things could go back to how they were when she was younger. He hadn't been perfect back then, but at least he had been around. Riku changed the subject, asking how else she blew off steam. "I like basketball," she replied. "Whether it's one-on-one or just me. Played on a team for a little while when I was younger, but now it's just a hobby." Hero work took up all of her time now, but she couldn't resist hitting up the court every now and then. "What about you?" she asked.
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 4, 2023 2:36:25 GMT
“Tried basketball once. It was okay, but using my powers to cheat starting making it boring.” Only so many times that he could just overpower a player using his shadow honing skills. That and throwing the ball with just shadows making three pointers every time? No challenge. It was why he liked BamPow better. “I guess you could say playing on the BamPow team is my release. It’s like if volleyball and tennis had a sports baby.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 5, 2023 22:09:45 GMT
"Aw, I think it would make things more interesting," Utena said. Sure, powers were usually off limits when it came to competitive sports, but Utena always wondered what it would be like if the players could just let loose. It'd probably be pretty chaotic, but entertaining. Riku's choice of sport though was something called BamPow. "Sounds intense," she replied. "How exactly does it work?" The first image that came to mind was people trying to smack a volleyball with tennis rackets, but she figured it probably wasn't like that.
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 6, 2023 2:26:26 GMT
“Well, it’s a sport where you can use your powers. To an extent.” Riku drew his sword and drew a rectangle in the ground. The rectangle was divided in half, and he put two leaves using his powers on either side.
“The net’s up to here,” he put his hand to his waist level. “Basically you a ball serve underhand, but like in tennis it needs to bounce once before anyone volleys. Two passes must happen before can try to serve it back over. First team to 21 wins the round, and it’s best two out of three.”
“You have eight teammates, but two players are in play. We have three rounds, and we rotate should someone get hurt or their powers get cancelled out because, you know, power science and stuff.” He still remembered poor Duncan getting pelted against an ice player.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 8, 2023 0:04:44 GMT
Utena watched as Riku explained. It did sound kind of interesting. And smacking the ball as hard as possible sounded fun. Although it would probably count against her if she did it at the wrong time. "Sounds like a blast and a half," she said with a grin. "Maybe you should teach me sometime." She hadn't played tennis too much, but she did have some experience with volleyball. Maybe she'd get the hang of it quickly.
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 8, 2023 2:57:33 GMT
“The good news we don’t use rackets often.” The only players that used them were Riku and his other teammate Dimitri, who could smack the ball so hard with his Lance, it left a tiny crater in an opposing side. “Tryouts are in a few days. We have a couple girls on the team. Coach doesn’t like that whole separate the sport because of gender bullcrap.” At the end of the day, they all liked playing BamPow, end of story.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 8, 2023 22:29:09 GMT
"Oh, nice. I think I'll stop by." Having boys and girls play together was sure to make things interesting. And Utena could probably get the hang of the sport well enough for try outs. Hopefully, she could still keep up with her schoolwork. Teachers never minded kids joining more than one team, but they did intervene if their grades started slipping.
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 9, 2023 1:28:58 GMT
“I mean don’t think I’m twisting your arm for it. I invited my roommate Caspar to try out, too. You’d like him. He’s just as competitive as you.” Heck, their first meeting was kicking around a ball until it exploded. He also just wanted to make sure people had a positive high school experience. After all, school was just a small chapter of life.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 10, 2023 0:07:22 GMT
"Oh, I've heard Bella talk about him," Utena said. "The guy can lift, like, a ton no problem right?" At least, that was how Bella had described him. She'd recounted the whole hydra fight to Utena and Caspar's strength had come in handy. It sounded pretty cool. Utena wished she could see it in action, although she usually preferred speed over strength.
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 11, 2023 1:55:31 GMT
“Yeah. His strength is nothing to sneeze at.” Riku gave a small huff of laughter. “The other day, he accidentally ripped the doorknob of our room right off. Easy fix, but man did he feel bad about it.” Caspar was a cool guy. Seeing him all bummed over minor deals made Riku’s shadow powers itchy. They liked negative emotions after all.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 12, 2023 2:58:00 GMT
"Oh wow." That sounded kind of exciting, if a bit inconvenient. "Lucky thing I've never had to deal with that," Utena commented. "Although Bella's been known to make a room covered in plants if she gets upset enough." That could be pretty crazy to deal with. More than once, Utena had come into her and Bella's bedroom back home to find it covered in vines or branches. Although the same could happen for the opposite reaction too. If she got happy enough, flowers would start blooming everywhere and Utena would soon be picking tons of petals out of her hair.
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