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RazorDan

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Posts posted by RazorDan

  1. This was a surprisingly good series. I loved it! Behind Shingeki no Kyojin, definitely my favorite of the season. It was immensely funny and entertaining, just the type of show that leaves a smile on your face. Highly recommend it!


     


     


    (btw made some edits to the title)


  2. It was average to me. I enjoyed some moments but to be honest, I'm sick of the obsession with Hunger games-type media. I'm a huge hunger games fan but it's irritating seeing so many imitations of it. Granted, this applies more to Western books than anime, but it was definitely a factor for me when evaluating BTOOM.


  3. Chapter 8: I'm Scared


     


    As the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, Apollo took a deep breath. He was going to see Javier and find out who Kametsu High had been drawn against in the regional tournament.


     


    'Hey Polo, were you off to?' called Lynn as she spotted Apollo walking down the corridor. Apollo turned and smiled at his classmate.


    'Coach says he's getting the Regional Tournament draw today, off to see who we've got,' he answered.


     


    'Where are we ranked this year?' asked Lynn. All 32 teams in the Kametsu region were ranked based on their results in the previous three years. Kametsu had always ranked in the mid 20s but their recent performances meant that they anticipated a higher ranking this time around as in the last three tournaments they had finished 19th, 6th and 4th


     


    '8th, but Coach reckons we're comfortably better than anyone else outside the top 3,' replied Apollo. Lynn hesitated.


     


    'Are Alexandria in the top 3? she asked, avoiding eye contact with her captain. Apollo nodded slowly in response.


    'They're 2nd' he said quietly.


     


    'Why are you guys scared of this Alexandria team?' asked IP, coming up from behind Lynn.


     


    The second years looked at him, startled by his question. Realising the uncomfortable atmosphere he'd created, IP quickly tried to apologise.


    'Sorry, um, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it's just I don't understand why you guys seem so scared of this team,' he stammered.


     


    Apollo sighed and glanced at Lynn. His classmate nodded. The soccer team captain took a deep breath.


     


    'Well, guess you guys need to find out soon enough. Last year, our team, we were brilliant. We beat every team we faced, including the team that was ranked 3rd. We were too fast, too skillful and, to be honest, too good. We were confident of reaching the nationals and in the last 4 we faced Alexandria Academy. Although they were ranked 5th, we still thought we could win, I mean, they were just another team packed with muscle and power and with a lack of skill and grace. We were dreaming of the nationals. The seniors were close to touching a prize they'd thought was impossible to reach. But then, we got destroyed. They played dirty, extremely dirty. We had two players go off injured and our captain was sent off. They won 3-0, we were bullied, beaten and humiliated. Their goalkeeper didn't make a single save. It broke us. Some of the seniors were so cut up, they even failed to make into college. That's why we fear Alexandria Academy,'


     


    IP was astonished. He didn't know what to say or where to look.


     


    'IP, look, I'm sorry, it's just the emotions are still pretty strong. This team we have. It's a new team, and although it has more talent than last year, we've played one match together. If we faced Alexandria before the last 4, we'd be annihilated,' sighed Apollo.


     


    'Luckily for us there are 30 other teams we could draw,' smiled Lynn brightly, trying to lighten the mood. ' Go see the Coach Apollo, I'll get the guys together in the clubroom and you can come break the news to us then. Forget Alexandria, there's no chance we've drawn them!' she said insistently.


     


    'Yeah Captain, these guys sound scary but no way will we have them as our first match!' chimed in IP, relieved at Lynn's attempts to lighten the mood. Apollo smiled weakly in response.


     


    'Yeah, you guys are right. I'll see you in a little while then,' he replied, turning away from his teammates. As he walked away, IP turned to Lynn.


     


    'Lynn, why is Apollo so afraid of them? I mean, there's practically no chance we'll draw them and yet he's already given up,' he asked, a mixture of concern and confusion in his voice.


     


    'Apollo was dominated throughout that match. He barely got a kick of the ball. At 1-0, we still had a slight chance and he made a big mistake, giving the ball straight to their striker who went and scored. To make matters worse, he was involved in the fight near the end that led to the Captain being sent off. Many of the seniors never forgave him after that. They were shocked and upset and they blamed Apollo. I don't think he's really recovered from that day.' explained Lynn, he words imbued with sadness.


     


    She put a hand on IP's shoulder.


     


    'Come on, let's go get the team together.'


     


                                        ____________________________________________________________


     


    As Apollo entered Javier's office, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. The Coach was leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk in front of him and his hands behind his head. His expression was decidedly tense and unhappy. Upon noticing Apollo, he made no effort to smile, instead giving him a brisk and glum nod.


     


    'Coach, who have we got?' Apollo asked, uneasily.


     


    'St Mathew's Catholic School, ranked 27th. Match is two weeks from today at our ground,' answered the Coach, swiftly. Apollo laughed with relief.


     


    'That's great!' he said, beaming. Javier dropped his gaze and looked at the floor, clearly uncomfortable. Seeing his Coach's response, Apollo tensed.


     


    'What is it?' he asked, urgently. Javier sighed.


     


    'Well, as you know, there are 16 matches in this round. The winners of matches 1 and 2 play each other in the next round. The winners of matches 3 and 4 also play each other in the next stage and so on. We..' he hesitated.


     


    'Coach, just spit it out,' implored Apollo.


     


    'We're in match 7, meaning if we win, we play the winners of match 8 and well...' he took a deep breath. ' Match 8 is between 22nd ranked Kametsu Art School and Alexandria Academy.'


     


    Apollo's eyes widened and he paled.


     


    'Apollo, we can discuss other things tomorrow, go and tell the others.' stressed Javier. Apollo nodded absentmindedly.


     


    'Apollo. Are you okay? asked the Coach, clearly concerned. His captain shook his head and said,


     


    'I'm scared.'

    • Like 3
  4. Later than promised I know, struggled with this one. Hope you guys enjoy though!

     

    Chapter 7: Conflict

     

    Students streamed into Kametsu High on another gloriously sunny day. There was a general buzz of excitement, with many of the students still reminiscing about the football match.


    'I'm telling you, Chris is the best player on the team!' insisted a voice.

    'No, it's clearly Apollo, he controls the whole game,' argued his friend.


    Axel smiled to himself as he listened to the debate. The match had been a good experience for him, and he was glad he'd decided to play for the team. As he strode through the main gates, he noticed a strange sight. It was barely 8:30am, and yet a girl was walking through the corridor, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, soccer ball tucked under her arm, and with sweat on her brow. As she passed him, he studied her face, failing to recognize her and deciding that she must be a freshman.


    'What are you gawping at?' she hissed, stopping suddenly. The girl was tall, with dark skin and short, curly black hair. She wore glasses and, through them, Axel realised she was shooting him a hostile glare. He raised an eyebrow.


    'So, I see you're a soccer player. How come you didn't trial for the team? he asked her, keeping his voice pleasant. She snorted in response, a look of annoyance crossing her face.


    'I don’t see how that’s any of your business,’ she replied, coldly, barging past him.


    Axel shook his head, bemused by her rudeness. As he turned to walk towards his classroom, he bumped into Lynn, a half smile on her face.


    ‘Hey Axel, I see you’ve met Kinara,’ she said, her amusement evident.

    ‘Kinara? Who is she?’ asked Axel in reply.

    ‘Well, if all goes well, she’s going to be the new right back.’


    Axel frowned.

    ‘Seriously? She doesn’t seem very keen to me.’


    Lynn laughed lightly.

    ‘Me and Chris spoke to her before the game and she was even worse. Have to try again later, Polo’s counting on us,’ she explained.


    ‘Well, good luck. Personally, I don’t think we need such an obviously disruptive influence.’ replied Axel.

    ‘Give her a chance Ax, believe me, she’ll be good for us,’ insisted Lynn.


    Axel sighed.

    ‘Let’s hope so.’ he said, evidently not convinced.

                                            

                                                                        _______________________________
     

    Chris grinned as he noticed the two cute girls staring at him. He was with Danny, sitting on a table in the school cafeteria. It had been a great morning for the boys, their classmates had been full of praise and admiration following the match, which had significantly boosted their popularity. Unfortunately, it had also boosted Chris’s already rather large ego. He nudged Danny.


    ‘Dude, look over there. Those two girls are definitely checking me out!’  he said, his voice reflecting his inflated self confidence. Danny rolled his eyes.

    ‘And? What are you gonna do about it?’ he mocked. The boys had known each other for barely a week, yet they were already firm friends with Chris’s intervention against Pav proving to be the starting point of their friendship.


    Chris grinned.

    ‘Watch me,’ he said, standing up and casually sauntering over to the girls.


    Danny smiled, amused at his friend’s cockiness.

     

    ‘Someone looks happy,’ said a cool voice, appearing in front of the freshman. Danny looked up to see Dark standing in front of him, hands in his pockets and a bored expression on his face.


    ‘Yeah, well it’s been a good couple of days,’ replied Danny cautiously. Suddenly, Pav slapped him hard on the back, causing him to jump.


    ‘Woah, relax man! Was just greeting you Danny boy! Why are you so jumpy?’ he laughed. On this occasion, Danny noticed the slight hint of a threat in Pav’s voice.


    He looked up in search of Chris, and was slightly dismayed to see his friend with his back to him and his arm around one of the girls.


    Dark followed his eyeline and noticed Chris. He broke into a smile.

     

    ‘Feeling a bit vulnerable are we? Why are you so nervous?’ he asked, his mocking tone making Pav snigger. Danny glanced at him and replied, making sure he kept composed and kept his voice even.


    ‘I’m not nervous at all. But is there something I can do for you? he asked.

    Dark smiled cruelly.


    ‘I think that you and your buddy should stop acting like you run the place,’ he replied. Danny snorted.


    ‘Do I sense a hint of jealousy there? Maybe cuz my buddy is getting surrounded by cute girls, you guys are feeling a little envious,’ he said, clearly amused. Pav placed a firm and threatening hand on his shoulder.


    ‘You don’t wanna make enemies of us Danny boy,’ he hissed. Danny shrugged off the hand on his shoulder.

    ‘I have no intention of making enemies. I just don’t know what you want,’ he replied, growing increasingly angry.

     

    Dark laughed mockingly.

    'A little popularity from a stupid game and you suddenly-'

     

    Danny sprang to his feet, cutting Dark off.

     

    'Don't you dare call it a stupid game,' he said, angrily. Dark narrowed his eyes in response, before grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and slamming him against the wall.

     

    'You're finished,' he spat, viciously.

     

    Chris heard the commotion and finally turned round. Seeing Dark push Danny against the wall, he yelled in anger.

    'Get your hands off him. What do you think you're doing?!'

     

    He moved to intervene but suddenly found his way blocked by Pav and a trio of goons.

    'Bastards,' he cursed. 'You don't wanna get on my bad side Pav, Dark knows all about what happens to people I don't like.' he warned.

     

    Dark laughed.

    'You're nothing at this school Chris,' he called.

     

    'Jealousy isn't a great trait to have,' retorted Chris.

     

    Dark laughed again, before turning his attention back to Danny. By this point, everyone in the room had stopped eating and were focusing on the situation.

     

    'Now, everyone listen up. You all know who I am and what I am capable of. I see anyone go near these clowns, they'll become one of my targets. Understand?' he yelled, making sure the whole cafeteria, which contained most of the first years, was aware of his message.

     

    Suddenly, Mr Hawke entered the room.

    'What's going on here?' he demanded.

     

    Satisfied, Dark nodded and let Danny go. He smiled at the teacher.

    'Me and Danny were just having a chat sir, nothing for you to concern yourself with,' he explained brightly.

     

    'This true Danny? inquired Hawke, looking at Danny. The freshman nodded.

    'Yes sir,' he answered, through clenched teeth.

     

    'Fine,' said Hawke, clearly still ill at ease. He sighed before addressing the whole cafeteria.' Now get off to classes all of you. Lunch is nearly over!'

     

    As everyone began to get up and leave, Chris checked on his friend.

    'You okay mate? he asked. Danny again nodded.

    The girls Chris had been talking to walked briskly past, ignoring both of them.

     

    Chris sighed.

    'Looks like you've ruined our popularity already,' he said, a note of sadness in his voice.

    • Like 6
  5. I actually think the Jesus comparison is helpful, I can see how it would help people who don't know much about Norse mythology. As for the chapter, dude I loved it, you're so skilled. Didn't have any problems with it really, understood what you trying to convey (I hope). I'm a sucker for mythology so definitely loved it. Looking forward to more!


  6. Just to clarify, you mean episode 5 right? But yeah, I agree, this show is ridiculous! Visually, it's one of the best I've seen too. I thought, halfway through episode 4, that the series was finally slowing down. How wrong I was. Look forward to this every week, fingers crossed they keep up the momentum.


     


    Dont open the spoiler unless youve seen up to episode 5


     


    One big thing I love, is that none of the characters are safe. They built up the group and I thought, okay there are our protagonists for the show but now most of them are dead. A truly unbelievable show.


  7. I know it was a bit of a cheat to get him off haha. The rehabilitation thing is pretty a common though, a player returning from a serious injury will only play some of the match, even though the injury has he healed, because he's not fit enough to play the full game at his peak level. Anyway, next chapter will be posted around Friday, updates will be faster after next week as I'll be on study leave from college.


    • Like 3
  8. Chapter 6: The Match- Part 2


     


    The rest of the half followed the prior script. Kametsu High ran circles around their opponents, but were unable to find that second goal and so when they went off for half time, Chris' magnificent effort was the difference between the two teams.


     


    'That Adam guy is too good,' complained Danny, stretching. Chris snorted.


    'Guess he wasn't good enough for us though,' he grinned, arrogance personified. Danny shook his head, Chris' cockiness was ridiculous at times.


     


    'Alright team, listen up. That was a pleasing first half, we're clearly better. However, I'm a bit concerned with our tempo, we're playing a bit slowly and it's making it easy for them to get their men between us and the goal' said Javier, calmly. Chris laughed.


     


    'We're way better, just give me the ball and I'll rip them apart!' he bragged. Danny shook his head again.


     


    'Relax Chris, if you keep charging forward you'll leave holes in the defence. We play a team game, there's no room for selfish players,' warned Javier.


    'They aren't good enough to take advantage of the gaps i'd leave,' retorted Chris.


     


    Breathless laughed and Chris turned to him, frowning.


    'Don't get cocky kid,' said the senior. 'Adam's been defending, if he decides to attack, you'll be eating your words,' he said.


     


    'But if he attacks, it'll give us more space to do the same,' chipped in Apollo, looking thoughtful.


    'Exactly!' chuckled Chris. 'Nothing to worry about,' he said.


     


    'But,' interjected Lynn. 'We're all assuming that they don't have anyone else. I was watching carefully, and they haven't played any of their freshmen.'


    Javier smiled, they could always rely on the ultra-observant Lynn.


     


    'Lynn's right. We are playing well, and we should win, but we cannot be complacent. I want a clean sheet, no goals against. Discipline and composure is important. Go out there and see this out,' he ordered firmly.


     


    'YES COACH!' came the reply from the majority of his team, bar Chris who grunted dismissively.


     


                                                                 ___________________________________


     


    As they re-entered the pitch, Lynn's observations were vindicated as two freshmen came on, replacing the right midfielder and the striker. Strangely, the substitute striker went into midfield, with Adam taking the position as the spearhead of Balamb High's attack.


     


    'COME ON BEARS!' shrieked their largely female fanbase, drawing slight smiles from the Kametsu team.


     


    The match restarted, Adam passing the ball to the freshman that took his position. The substitute immediately fired the ball out to the right side. Chris grinned as he intercepted it, and embarked on another run.


     


    'Pass Chris!' yelled Apollo. Ignoring his captain, Chris ran at the other substitute, nonchalantly knocking it past him. To his surprise however, the substitute recovered and intercepted the ball, knocking it through Chris's legs, before bursting past the stunned left back.


     


    'Back!' roared Apollo as the winger steamed forward. He was too fast, easily outstripping the Kametsu defence. Within a handful of strides, he entered the Kametsu penalty area, bearing down on Breathless. The senior reacted sharply, quickly coming off his line and narrowing the angle. The freshman clearly lacked the composure to go with his speed, blasting the ball straight at Breathless who made a good block. The loose ball dribbled out towards Jay, the defender turning and passing it to Apollo. The captain passed it to Jeff, his midfield partner feeding it into Danny's feet. Standing on the halfway line, Danny looked up and found himself faced with two defenders.


     


    The freshman smiled. 'You aren't the only team with a fast winger,' he thought as he launched a long cross field pass out to the right side.


     


    IP raced after it, his eagerness to impress outweighing his lack of experience. The ball looked like it was too long as it hit the ground, still 10 yards ahead of IP. However, instead of running out of play, the ball stopped, and span backwards, drawing stunned gasps from everyone present.


     


    'What a pass,' spluttered Axel as he jogged towards the penalty area. The backspin on the ball allowed IP to collect it, and he sprinted into the box.


     


    Faced with the keeper, he remembered the advice the Coach had given him, to aim the ball hard and low into the bottom far left corner. Taking a breath to steady himself, IP let fly, his powerful shot flying past the goalkeeper.


     


    Unfortunately, his accuracy was just off, and the shot crashed against the post. More fortunately, Axel had anticipated the movement of the ball, and was on hand to tap it into the empty net.


     


    The fans erupted as Axel high fived IP, a broad smile spread across his face.


     


                                                                       _______________________________________


     


    Axel's goal proved to be the end of Balamb High's resistance, as Adam Rivers went off five minutes later, explaining to Apollo that he was still in rehabilitation for a troublesome knee injury. Apollo himself scored the third goal, a finely placed finish from just inside the area after Axel had left two defenders in a daze. Balamb nearly scored a consolation near the end, as Chris was again beaten by the substitute winger, his shot once more being blocked by Breathless. However, there was an air of satisfaction about Javier as he addressed his players in the changing room after the game.


     


    'It was a good performance in that second half, 3-0 against Balamb High is a very good result. I think we all learnt a few lessons today,' he started, smiling as Danny nudged and grinned at Chris.' But don't let this get to your heads, Adam was clearly unfit and we struggled against him in the first half. I also want to work on stamina and fitness, we ran out of steam towards the end. However. I want to say well done to you all. We played well, and we've got a good team coming along. I'll have a notice up tomorrow, regarding training and our next match. Oh and Apollo, visit my office tomorrow, we need to discuss the upcoming Regional tournament draw. As for the rest of you, get home safe, get some rest, and I'll see you at school!'


     


    'YES COACH!' replied his tired, but happy squad, satisfied with their first match together, and looking forward to the hopefully glorious days ahead.


    • Like 6
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