ooc: application >>> gargleblasted
OOC:
Name: Aki
Are you over 16?: Y
Personal LJ: ginderpia
Email: akkiko_tenshi[at]hotmail.com
Timezone: Mountain (-0700)
Other contact:
IC:
Character name: Kevin Smith
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Timeline: Before Nationals and after the US Open.
Age: 12
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: Kevin is a tennis player from Prince of Tennis. What this means precisely is that, by default, when he has a racket and ball in hand, he can defy the laws of physics however he pleases. This is a fact that goes for everyone else in the series. Often, the strength required to use some of the moves these guys can perform would not only be beyond the capacity of the human body, but even some machines. And they don't just use it once, they're prone to repeating the move over and over without any lasting negative impact on their body. Those who do have such dangerous moves are eventually warned off of using them, or use them sparingly enough so as not to be in danger. Kevin, fortunately, has none of these.
What he does have is his personal shot, Illusion (another physics defying ability) and the Muga no Kyouchi. The MnK is not so much a tennis move as a state of being. While having been known to be voluntarily triggered, Kevin is not skilled enough in its use to do so yet. Instead, it comes into play whenever he is filled with an overwhelming, subconscious desire to surpass his limits. Many who possess this skill, when entering it, are able to use the various tennis moves of other players, usually the ones they have played against. In Kevin's case, however, when entering this state, not only can he utilize the skills of his former opponents but also any move he has seen with his eyes. His memorization skills are so remarkable that he needs only to have seen a move once before he is able to reproduce it perfectly in this state.
Other than that, he's your typical, bratty twelve year old.
How would they use their abilities?: To win a tennis match. ( :P ) While some may argue that such skills can be brought out of the court, this series and this character in particular is not the type to do such a thing, even if he hates to lose at anything.
Appearance: Roughly 4'11" in height, Kevin is short, slender and still free from the horrors of puberty. With blond hair, blue eyes and fairly pale skin, when he smiles he tends to look a great deal more innocent than he really is. What one might note to be abnormal about him, however, is his body build. Kevin, for all that he's small and young, is surprisingly fit, enough that he is able to keep up with older, more experienced teenagers in the sport. His strength and athletic prowess are nothing to sneeze at.
Background/Personality: Kevin is the son of George Smith, a former pro-tennis player. Yet despite having such a title, George was never able to make it into the US Open and instead retired, choosing to teach at a tennis club. His methods of teaching, however, were rather Spartan-ish and often brutal. To this so called coaching, two people stood up to him, Takeuchi Rinko and Echizen Nanjiro, Ryoma's future parents. When Rinko was injured protecting one of George's students from his violence, Nanjiro stepped up and challenged Kevin's father to a match, one George pitifully lost.
Humiliated and angered, rather than seek to better his own skills, George turned his vengeance and hatred onto his son, Kevin. Kevin endured a sort of hellish childhood, suffering physical abuse from his drunken father and mental abuse at watching his father break down. Eventually, Kevin did as his father had and chose to scapegoat someone, Echizen Ryoma. Nanjiro, he surmised was the source of all these problems and so, if he could defeat Ryoma and regain his father's honor, then everything would fix itself. With that motivation in mind, Kevin began to pursue Ryoma in the tennis world with an obsession that borderlined possessed. He entered several junior tournaments, seeking Ryoma and won them all. But to him, all these victories were worthless because Ryoma hadn't been there. Every trophy and compliment he earned for his skills was discarded without care, as he focused on his target.
Yet it was these very same victories that caught the eye of Richard Baker, the owner of a posh tennis club. He offered Kevin a chance to partake in the middle school Goodwill Matches where teams comprised of the best tennis players in Japan and America would compete in a friendly match. To add to the allure of such an offer, Richard told Kevin that Echizen Ryoma of Seishun Middle School would surely be in Japan's lineup.
There was no more to be said, Kevin accepted and was nominated as the American team's captain. He flew to Japan a week early and, in order to seize Ryoma's attention, began attacking all of the middle schools whose tennis teams were participating in the Goodwill matches. Challenging each and every player who hadn't left for the training camp, he beat them down viciously, telling them to send a message to Ryoma that he was waiting for him. When he finally did confront Ryoma, it was with a venom so thick that you could practically taste it. Unfortunately he was prevented from actually playing Ryoma outside of the matches by Ryoma's captain, Tezuka.
Fast forward to the actual tournament, Kevin's match was the last to be played and it was revealed that his opponent was not Echizen Ryoma. A fact that drove Kevin to disregard the match completely. If he could not take his vengeance on Ryoma, the American felt that the entire thing was pointless and hardly worth the time. The fact that he still played, however could have been because he just wanted to get it over with or because of the fact that it was his match that would decide if the American team got a sponsor or not. If he forfeited, it would be his teammates who paid the price.
And though he intended to not take the match seriously, his opponent, Kirihara Akaya, proved him dead wrong. Akaya, disgusted with Kevin's half-assed attitude, forced the blond to realize that even if he wasn't Ryoma, he was still a force to be reckoned with and played so well that Kevin had no choice but to take the match seriously. Unfortunately, halfway through the match Akaya injured himself grievously and had to be taken to hospital. Though that should have meant an automatic win for Kevin, his coach, Richard, insisted they allow a special rule to be put into play. That the reserve player, Ryoma, could take Akaya's place and the match could go on. His reasons for doing so, while unscrupulous, allowed Kevin to face his target and so the blond agreed.
The match resumed as it had before, only with a different player now and while it seemed Kevin had the lead at first, eventually Ryoma pushed him back, blocking him off at every corner and turning the score in his favor. While many feared Kevin would then resort to his violent tactics he had shown during his first week in Japan, one in particular scoffed at the possibility. Kevin was, in all honesty, too good of a guy to do that. The violent attacks had been a provocation for Ryoma, but once in an official match against his rival, Kevin would never stoop so low even if he was being pressured. Kevin, at heart, just wasn't the villain so many thought him to be.
Near the end of the match, when Ryoma managed to turn things around and was about to win, Kevin suffered what might be considered a mental breakdown. He was afraid that if he lost there to Ryoma, like his father had to Nanjiro, that he would suffer the same fate as his father had. Faced with such a future, though delusional as it may be, it scared him so much that he forced himself to break his own limits and entered the Muga No Kyouchi state, pushing the match into a tie-breaker. Unfortunately for Kevin, Ryoma was not one to be easily overwhelmed and the match ended in Ryoma's win. Despite his loss, however, Kevin came to an understanding of Ryoma in that state. He realized in the end how petty his father had been, obsessing over his loss as he had and still did. What occurred then was a sort of bonding between the two, the kind that cannot be described in words but only felt. He realized that in comparison to his easily dissuaded, depressed and irresponsible father, a man who strives beyond his limits every time and faces down the odds with endless determination was really an "amazing kind of guy." And so, the match ended and Kevin gave up his hatred of Ryoma, instead becoming a friendly rival. Someone who sought to defeat him on the court but for the purpose of becoming a better player and not vengeance.
Later, when he meets Ryoma in America, Kevin's hatred is all but a thing of the past. He displays an energetic and upbeat disposition as well an eagerness for every day life along with a budding maturity.
However, this is no indication on his current family life. In the past, Kevin has been shown to have a calm indifference towards violence directed at himself. Despite his father's drinking and abuse, he goes out in every day life and plays tennis with his friends and is shown to be laughing and smiling. When he was struck by Coach Baker, Kevin, though seemingly annoyed or frustrated, moved on without commenting on the hit. It shows he's built up a saddening tolerance of physical violence and, while knowing it's wrong, doesn't find it unusual. Yet even with all of these burdens upon him, he has shown an amazing resilience and determination. Such fortitude comes out in almost everything he does. In the way he practices tennis day in and day out and in how he pursues his goal with single-minded determination.
At the end of the series, he is shown to have matured a great deal and has set his eyes on entering the US Open. To do something his father could not and achieve his goal for him, even though his father has become what he has. Whether it's because Kevin understands his father's feelings or because he still retains the goal of trying to make his father return to his old self is unknown. What can be said of Kevin, however, is that he is a remarkable young boy with skills beyond his years and an energetic disposition that has not yet been destroyed despite his hardships.
Have you read up on how the game works?:
[The guide clicks on to show a pair of blue eyes framed by chin length blond bangs. … upside down. Hope you all have stomachs of steel because Kevin just spun that thing so fast, it looks like he practically tossed it. Once the feed is right way up, the American makes a noise of satisfaction and settles it on the table, apparently ready to get started.]
I’ve got a serious question for you guys. [There’s a pause because, really how do you word such a request? Well, nothing left but to go for it.] What… what do you do when you want to ask someone out? Without sounding lame, I mean. Just… hypothetically.
[And the look in his eyes? It promises hell in the form of bouncing green balls for anyone who wants to point out the red on his cheeks.]
3rd person sample:
Now this wasn't so bad. Reaching up and grasping the next branch, Kevin gave an experimental tug to see if it would hold, before hoisting himself up on top of it. Once his footing had a secure grip against the bark of the branch, the American paused for a moment to look down and see how far he'd climbed. Dizzily, he noted that he was now definitely high enough to warrant a broken bone if he fell.
"If." He muttered to himself, shaking such nonsense from his head before looking up again. The fruit he'd meant to collect wasn't much farther. Just a few more branches, stick the damn things into his backpack and he'd be on his way. Muttering softly under his breath about shitty luck and rigged straws, Kevin started climbing once more, pausing only when his fingers hit something that was definitely not bark or leaf. Blinking, he pulled the curious object he'd come to grip down and-
"HOLY CRAP-!" flung the equally startled snake as far as he could pitch it. Clinging to the tree for a moment longer and watching it disappear into the foliage, he finally called out rather belatedly: "Look out below!" What followed was a pregnant silence, before Kevin finally winced.
"I really hate camping..." He resumed his climb.
Name: Aki
Are you over 16?: Y
Personal LJ: ginderpia
Email: akkiko_tenshi[at]hotmail.com
Timezone: Mountain (-0700)
Other contact:
- AIM :: GinryuKnight
- MSN :: see email
- GinUingu | wingsofsilver
IC:
Character name: Kevin Smith
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Timeline: Before Nationals and after the US Open.
Age: 12
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: Kevin is a tennis player from Prince of Tennis. What this means precisely is that, by default, when he has a racket and ball in hand, he can defy the laws of physics however he pleases. This is a fact that goes for everyone else in the series. Often, the strength required to use some of the moves these guys can perform would not only be beyond the capacity of the human body, but even some machines. And they don't just use it once, they're prone to repeating the move over and over without any lasting negative impact on their body. Those who do have such dangerous moves are eventually warned off of using them, or use them sparingly enough so as not to be in danger. Kevin, fortunately, has none of these.
What he does have is his personal shot, Illusion (another physics defying ability) and the Muga no Kyouchi. The MnK is not so much a tennis move as a state of being. While having been known to be voluntarily triggered, Kevin is not skilled enough in its use to do so yet. Instead, it comes into play whenever he is filled with an overwhelming, subconscious desire to surpass his limits. Many who possess this skill, when entering it, are able to use the various tennis moves of other players, usually the ones they have played against. In Kevin's case, however, when entering this state, not only can he utilize the skills of his former opponents but also any move he has seen with his eyes. His memorization skills are so remarkable that he needs only to have seen a move once before he is able to reproduce it perfectly in this state.
Other than that, he's your typical, bratty twelve year old.
How would they use their abilities?: To win a tennis match. ( :P ) While some may argue that such skills can be brought out of the court, this series and this character in particular is not the type to do such a thing, even if he hates to lose at anything.
Appearance: Roughly 4'11" in height, Kevin is short, slender and still free from the horrors of puberty. With blond hair, blue eyes and fairly pale skin, when he smiles he tends to look a great deal more innocent than he really is. What one might note to be abnormal about him, however, is his body build. Kevin, for all that he's small and young, is surprisingly fit, enough that he is able to keep up with older, more experienced teenagers in the sport. His strength and athletic prowess are nothing to sneeze at.
Background/Personality: Kevin is the son of George Smith, a former pro-tennis player. Yet despite having such a title, George was never able to make it into the US Open and instead retired, choosing to teach at a tennis club. His methods of teaching, however, were rather Spartan-ish and often brutal. To this so called coaching, two people stood up to him, Takeuchi Rinko and Echizen Nanjiro, Ryoma's future parents. When Rinko was injured protecting one of George's students from his violence, Nanjiro stepped up and challenged Kevin's father to a match, one George pitifully lost.
Humiliated and angered, rather than seek to better his own skills, George turned his vengeance and hatred onto his son, Kevin. Kevin endured a sort of hellish childhood, suffering physical abuse from his drunken father and mental abuse at watching his father break down. Eventually, Kevin did as his father had and chose to scapegoat someone, Echizen Ryoma. Nanjiro, he surmised was the source of all these problems and so, if he could defeat Ryoma and regain his father's honor, then everything would fix itself. With that motivation in mind, Kevin began to pursue Ryoma in the tennis world with an obsession that borderlined possessed. He entered several junior tournaments, seeking Ryoma and won them all. But to him, all these victories were worthless because Ryoma hadn't been there. Every trophy and compliment he earned for his skills was discarded without care, as he focused on his target.
Yet it was these very same victories that caught the eye of Richard Baker, the owner of a posh tennis club. He offered Kevin a chance to partake in the middle school Goodwill Matches where teams comprised of the best tennis players in Japan and America would compete in a friendly match. To add to the allure of such an offer, Richard told Kevin that Echizen Ryoma of Seishun Middle School would surely be in Japan's lineup.
There was no more to be said, Kevin accepted and was nominated as the American team's captain. He flew to Japan a week early and, in order to seize Ryoma's attention, began attacking all of the middle schools whose tennis teams were participating in the Goodwill matches. Challenging each and every player who hadn't left for the training camp, he beat them down viciously, telling them to send a message to Ryoma that he was waiting for him. When he finally did confront Ryoma, it was with a venom so thick that you could practically taste it. Unfortunately he was prevented from actually playing Ryoma outside of the matches by Ryoma's captain, Tezuka.
Fast forward to the actual tournament, Kevin's match was the last to be played and it was revealed that his opponent was not Echizen Ryoma. A fact that drove Kevin to disregard the match completely. If he could not take his vengeance on Ryoma, the American felt that the entire thing was pointless and hardly worth the time. The fact that he still played, however could have been because he just wanted to get it over with or because of the fact that it was his match that would decide if the American team got a sponsor or not. If he forfeited, it would be his teammates who paid the price.
And though he intended to not take the match seriously, his opponent, Kirihara Akaya, proved him dead wrong. Akaya, disgusted with Kevin's half-assed attitude, forced the blond to realize that even if he wasn't Ryoma, he was still a force to be reckoned with and played so well that Kevin had no choice but to take the match seriously. Unfortunately, halfway through the match Akaya injured himself grievously and had to be taken to hospital. Though that should have meant an automatic win for Kevin, his coach, Richard, insisted they allow a special rule to be put into play. That the reserve player, Ryoma, could take Akaya's place and the match could go on. His reasons for doing so, while unscrupulous, allowed Kevin to face his target and so the blond agreed.
The match resumed as it had before, only with a different player now and while it seemed Kevin had the lead at first, eventually Ryoma pushed him back, blocking him off at every corner and turning the score in his favor. While many feared Kevin would then resort to his violent tactics he had shown during his first week in Japan, one in particular scoffed at the possibility. Kevin was, in all honesty, too good of a guy to do that. The violent attacks had been a provocation for Ryoma, but once in an official match against his rival, Kevin would never stoop so low even if he was being pressured. Kevin, at heart, just wasn't the villain so many thought him to be.
Near the end of the match, when Ryoma managed to turn things around and was about to win, Kevin suffered what might be considered a mental breakdown. He was afraid that if he lost there to Ryoma, like his father had to Nanjiro, that he would suffer the same fate as his father had. Faced with such a future, though delusional as it may be, it scared him so much that he forced himself to break his own limits and entered the Muga No Kyouchi state, pushing the match into a tie-breaker. Unfortunately for Kevin, Ryoma was not one to be easily overwhelmed and the match ended in Ryoma's win. Despite his loss, however, Kevin came to an understanding of Ryoma in that state. He realized in the end how petty his father had been, obsessing over his loss as he had and still did. What occurred then was a sort of bonding between the two, the kind that cannot be described in words but only felt. He realized that in comparison to his easily dissuaded, depressed and irresponsible father, a man who strives beyond his limits every time and faces down the odds with endless determination was really an "amazing kind of guy." And so, the match ended and Kevin gave up his hatred of Ryoma, instead becoming a friendly rival. Someone who sought to defeat him on the court but for the purpose of becoming a better player and not vengeance.
Later, when he meets Ryoma in America, Kevin's hatred is all but a thing of the past. He displays an energetic and upbeat disposition as well an eagerness for every day life along with a budding maturity.
However, this is no indication on his current family life. In the past, Kevin has been shown to have a calm indifference towards violence directed at himself. Despite his father's drinking and abuse, he goes out in every day life and plays tennis with his friends and is shown to be laughing and smiling. When he was struck by Coach Baker, Kevin, though seemingly annoyed or frustrated, moved on without commenting on the hit. It shows he's built up a saddening tolerance of physical violence and, while knowing it's wrong, doesn't find it unusual. Yet even with all of these burdens upon him, he has shown an amazing resilience and determination. Such fortitude comes out in almost everything he does. In the way he practices tennis day in and day out and in how he pursues his goal with single-minded determination.
At the end of the series, he is shown to have matured a great deal and has set his eyes on entering the US Open. To do something his father could not and achieve his goal for him, even though his father has become what he has. Whether it's because Kevin understands his father's feelings or because he still retains the goal of trying to make his father return to his old self is unknown. What can be said of Kevin, however, is that he is a remarkable young boy with skills beyond his years and an energetic disposition that has not yet been destroyed despite his hardships.
Have you read up on how the game works?:
- 1. Flaming Ferret
- 2. A) Lightning Post/Mission
- B) Selling your skills. ... such as if you're a mechanic. :|
- C) Mooch off other PCs.
[The guide clicks on to show a pair of blue eyes framed by chin length blond bangs. … upside down. Hope you all have stomachs of steel because Kevin just spun that thing so fast, it looks like he practically tossed it. Once the feed is right way up, the American makes a noise of satisfaction and settles it on the table, apparently ready to get started.]
I’ve got a serious question for you guys. [There’s a pause because, really how do you word such a request? Well, nothing left but to go for it.] What… what do you do when you want to ask someone out? Without sounding lame, I mean. Just… hypothetically.
[And the look in his eyes? It promises hell in the form of bouncing green balls for anyone who wants to point out the red on his cheeks.]
3rd person sample:
Now this wasn't so bad. Reaching up and grasping the next branch, Kevin gave an experimental tug to see if it would hold, before hoisting himself up on top of it. Once his footing had a secure grip against the bark of the branch, the American paused for a moment to look down and see how far he'd climbed. Dizzily, he noted that he was now definitely high enough to warrant a broken bone if he fell.
"If." He muttered to himself, shaking such nonsense from his head before looking up again. The fruit he'd meant to collect wasn't much farther. Just a few more branches, stick the damn things into his backpack and he'd be on his way. Muttering softly under his breath about shitty luck and rigged straws, Kevin started climbing once more, pausing only when his fingers hit something that was definitely not bark or leaf. Blinking, he pulled the curious object he'd come to grip down and-
"HOLY CRAP-!" flung the equally startled snake as far as he could pitch it. Clinging to the tree for a moment longer and watching it disappear into the foliage, he finally called out rather belatedly: "Look out below!" What followed was a pregnant silence, before Kevin finally winced.
"I really hate camping..." He resumed his climb.