Application~
OOC
alias: todaythesamesky/Monica
timezone: EST
chat: tanyaneko on gtalk, aim, and y!m
character journal: ero_megane
IC
name: Akimaru Kyouhei
age: 17
position & team: reserve catcher, Musashino Dai Ichi
koushien dream email: musashinocatcher2@koushiendream.net
history:
(Uh, kind of spoilery if you’re not current with the manga, up to around chapter 74)
Akimaru has almost lived a perfectly normal life. He has two normal parents, and his relationship with them is very normal. He has two older sisters, who are as annoying and supportive as is stereotypical and his opinion of them is exactly what should be expected in such circumstances. He has always gotten normal grades, and had very normal interactions with his peers at school, except-
Except and almost. Akimaru has almost lived a perfectly normal life, except for one thing, and that one thing is the center of his universe and the most important thing in his life and why he does anything he does. That one thing is Haruna Motoki.
Haruna Motoki has been his best friend since they were babies, and Akimaru is a catcher because Haruna said so when they were little. Akimaru has been catching Haruna’s pitches and therefore can tell from Haruna’s form what pitches he’s going to throw (thus, not needing signs and appearing to teammates as having a ~creepy bond~.)
But Akimaru has only ever served as a “wall” for Haruna, and has never been a regular on the baseball team, not even in middle school, and never really seemed to care enough to try to become a regular. He went to Guam on a family vacation, and went to cram school instead of independent practice, and that was okay, or at least not a big problem until a certain match Akimaru had to catch in, being the only Musashino catcher capable of catching Haruna’s real fastballs. Then Akimaru’s incompetence in all areas of baseball that don’t involve actual catching came out. Afterwards, promises about Akimaru’s motivation were made, leaving him flustered and confused and thinking about a whole bunch of things.
personality:
The main thing that needs to be understood about Akimaru’s personality is how truly and creepily Haruna-centric he is. Haruna’s favorite snacks are also Akimaru’s favorite snacks. Haruna’s hobbies are also Akimaru’s hobbies. Akimaru went to Musashino because of Haruna. Akimaru is a catcher because of Haruna.
That’s the big thing, at least as far as other baseball boys are concerned- Akimaru doesn’t understand the pure love of the game that the other baseball boys have, doesn’t care about winning the way the other baseball boys do, can’t see practice as anything more than a chore the way other baseball boys are able to. Everyone else plays baseball for themselves; Akimaru plays baseball for Haruna- this is pretty tragically ironic, since the fact that he isn’t playing baseball for himself keeps him from actually getting good at it and thus keeps him from being helpful to Haruna or even really seeing that he could be helpful or important in any baseball-related way. This is why Akimaru’s life is terrible. ;___;
Frighteningly overwhelming Haruna-centricity aside, Akimaru appears quite well-adjusted and reasonable. He can keep his Haruna-adoration down to socially acceptable bro-levels as long as he isn’t horribly stressed, and is generally friendly and sane-seeming and socially competent, even capable of talking to women. In bathrooms. To ask them for toilet paper. Because he is friendly and helpful and awesome. He could maybe even be considered a hero. A toilet paper hero, one could say.
To most people, Akimaru is the pleasant-looking glasses-wearing guy who’ll remember your name and keep Haruna from terrorizing the populace, or at least make exasperated faces behind him. Other people (read:Haruna) might find him lazy and annoying and unmotivated, but hey, at least he shows up to practice every day, even if he would rather be playing video games.
The thing is, if not for Haruna, Akimaru probably wouldn’t even be a baseball boy, but Haruna does exist, and so Akimaru plays baseball, even if he doesn’t have his own motivation. But who knows what time (and concerted efforts by certain pitchers) will bring?
strengths & weaknesses:
All of this is in personality, and so, short lists:
Strengths: creepy no-sign catching, remembering names, appearing to be a reasonable human being, the ability to talk to women (and ask them for toilet paper), saying cheeky things to Haruna
Weaknesses: inability to do anything a catcher is supposed to do besides catching pitches, laziness, lack of self-motivation, no understanding of what baseball means to people
Both?: Obsessive devotion to his childhood best friend
SAMPLES
-first person-
I am not going to talk about certain annoying pitchers in this blog entry, because this is my corner of the internet and I can talk about Shonen Jump in it if I want. Did anybody else read this week’s Bleach? I know some girls in class did and they were all, “Akimaru-kun, do you want to talk about it after class?” Did I want to talk about it after class? Yes, I did. They’re very nice girls. Most girls are very nice, actually, with the exception of my sisters, unless they’re reading this, in which case:
1) We need to have a talk about privacy,
And 2) I didn’t mean it. Please don’t hide my video games again.
But I am sure you want to know about the girls, and the Bleach. Alas, I did not talk about it with them after class, because I had some baseball things to memorize before I had to go to baseball practice, the way baseball players do, because I am Akimaru Kyouhei and this is my life.
-third person-
Excerpt from my HaruAki WIP of DOOOM
After practice Akimaru isn't smiling. It isn't even that practice is all that much harder than usual-- it isn't. It's just that he's used to practicing with Kaguyan now and being generally ignored by Haruna until he feels like throwing real fastballs, but this time Haruna practices with him from the start even though he's always said it's a waste of time because Akimaru's been able to catch his pitches perfectly for as long as they can remember and he always will. He says as much, and Haruna looks at him like he's stupid, which Akimaru is used to. Then his face changes and his eyes get all intense, the way he does when he's feeling really determined about something, and Akimaru knows this expression like he knows all of Haruna's expressions but he's not used to seeing it turned at him, hasn't seen it pointed in his direction in years.
“I promised the team I'd take care of your motivation,” Haruna says and oh, Akimaru gets it, gets that the team is what this whole thing has been about.
There are a whole bunch of things Akimaru wants to scream, but instead he just says, “Good luck with that,” and crouches, as slowly and carelessly as he can.
Haruna looks like he wants to punch Akimaru, and Akimaru feels something hot in his stomach when Haruna throws a fastball, a real one, and it hits Akimaru's mitt with all the impact of the first time Akimaru had looked at Haruna and wanted, the first time Akimaru realized it wasn't ever going to happen. He concentrates on making sure he's where he needs to be, even though he doesn't have to concentrate to do it, hasn't had to for years. He focuses on it anyway, on the weight of the ball slamming into his mitt, focuses and empties himself of everything else.
alias: todaythesamesky/Monica
timezone: EST
chat: tanyaneko on gtalk, aim, and y!m
character journal: ero_megane
IC
name: Akimaru Kyouhei
age: 17
position & team: reserve catcher, Musashino Dai Ichi
koushien dream email: musashinocatcher2@koushiendream.net
history:
(Uh, kind of spoilery if you’re not current with the manga, up to around chapter 74)
Akimaru has almost lived a perfectly normal life. He has two normal parents, and his relationship with them is very normal. He has two older sisters, who are as annoying and supportive as is stereotypical and his opinion of them is exactly what should be expected in such circumstances. He has always gotten normal grades, and had very normal interactions with his peers at school, except-
Except and almost. Akimaru has almost lived a perfectly normal life, except for one thing, and that one thing is the center of his universe and the most important thing in his life and why he does anything he does. That one thing is Haruna Motoki.
Haruna Motoki has been his best friend since they were babies, and Akimaru is a catcher because Haruna said so when they were little. Akimaru has been catching Haruna’s pitches and therefore can tell from Haruna’s form what pitches he’s going to throw (thus, not needing signs and appearing to teammates as having a ~creepy bond~.)
But Akimaru has only ever served as a “wall” for Haruna, and has never been a regular on the baseball team, not even in middle school, and never really seemed to care enough to try to become a regular. He went to Guam on a family vacation, and went to cram school instead of independent practice, and that was okay, or at least not a big problem until a certain match Akimaru had to catch in, being the only Musashino catcher capable of catching Haruna’s real fastballs. Then Akimaru’s incompetence in all areas of baseball that don’t involve actual catching came out. Afterwards, promises about Akimaru’s motivation were made, leaving him flustered and confused and thinking about a whole bunch of things.
personality:
The main thing that needs to be understood about Akimaru’s personality is how truly and creepily Haruna-centric he is. Haruna’s favorite snacks are also Akimaru’s favorite snacks. Haruna’s hobbies are also Akimaru’s hobbies. Akimaru went to Musashino because of Haruna. Akimaru is a catcher because of Haruna.
That’s the big thing, at least as far as other baseball boys are concerned- Akimaru doesn’t understand the pure love of the game that the other baseball boys have, doesn’t care about winning the way the other baseball boys do, can’t see practice as anything more than a chore the way other baseball boys are able to. Everyone else plays baseball for themselves; Akimaru plays baseball for Haruna- this is pretty tragically ironic, since the fact that he isn’t playing baseball for himself keeps him from actually getting good at it and thus keeps him from being helpful to Haruna or even really seeing that he could be helpful or important in any baseball-related way. This is why Akimaru’s life is terrible. ;___;
Frighteningly overwhelming Haruna-centricity aside, Akimaru appears quite well-adjusted and reasonable. He can keep his Haruna-adoration down to socially acceptable bro-levels as long as he isn’t horribly stressed, and is generally friendly and sane-seeming and socially competent, even capable of talking to women. In bathrooms. To ask them for toilet paper. Because he is friendly and helpful and awesome. He could maybe even be considered a hero. A toilet paper hero, one could say.
To most people, Akimaru is the pleasant-looking glasses-wearing guy who’ll remember your name and keep Haruna from terrorizing the populace, or at least make exasperated faces behind him. Other people (read:Haruna) might find him lazy and annoying and unmotivated, but hey, at least he shows up to practice every day, even if he would rather be playing video games.
The thing is, if not for Haruna, Akimaru probably wouldn’t even be a baseball boy, but Haruna does exist, and so Akimaru plays baseball, even if he doesn’t have his own motivation. But who knows what time (and concerted efforts by certain pitchers) will bring?
strengths & weaknesses:
All of this is in personality, and so, short lists:
Strengths: creepy no-sign catching, remembering names, appearing to be a reasonable human being, the ability to talk to women (and ask them for toilet paper), saying cheeky things to Haruna
Weaknesses: inability to do anything a catcher is supposed to do besides catching pitches, laziness, lack of self-motivation, no understanding of what baseball means to people
Both?: Obsessive devotion to his childhood best friend
SAMPLES
-first person-
I am not going to talk about certain annoying pitchers in this blog entry, because this is my corner of the internet and I can talk about Shonen Jump in it if I want. Did anybody else read this week’s Bleach? I know some girls in class did and they were all, “Akimaru-kun, do you want to talk about it after class?” Did I want to talk about it after class? Yes, I did. They’re very nice girls. Most girls are very nice, actually, with the exception of my sisters, unless they’re reading this, in which case:
1) We need to have a talk about privacy,
And 2) I didn’t mean it. Please don’t hide my video games again.
But I am sure you want to know about the girls, and the Bleach. Alas, I did not talk about it with them after class, because I had some baseball things to memorize before I had to go to baseball practice, the way baseball players do, because I am Akimaru Kyouhei and this is my life.
-third person-
Excerpt from my HaruAki WIP of DOOOM
After practice Akimaru isn't smiling. It isn't even that practice is all that much harder than usual-- it isn't. It's just that he's used to practicing with Kaguyan now and being generally ignored by Haruna until he feels like throwing real fastballs, but this time Haruna practices with him from the start even though he's always said it's a waste of time because Akimaru's been able to catch his pitches perfectly for as long as they can remember and he always will. He says as much, and Haruna looks at him like he's stupid, which Akimaru is used to. Then his face changes and his eyes get all intense, the way he does when he's feeling really determined about something, and Akimaru knows this expression like he knows all of Haruna's expressions but he's not used to seeing it turned at him, hasn't seen it pointed in his direction in years.
“I promised the team I'd take care of your motivation,” Haruna says and oh, Akimaru gets it, gets that the team is what this whole thing has been about.
There are a whole bunch of things Akimaru wants to scream, but instead he just says, “Good luck with that,” and crouches, as slowly and carelessly as he can.
Haruna looks like he wants to punch Akimaru, and Akimaru feels something hot in his stomach when Haruna throws a fastball, a real one, and it hits Akimaru's mitt with all the impact of the first time Akimaru had looked at Haruna and wanted, the first time Akimaru realized it wasn't ever going to happen. He concentrates on making sure he's where he needs to be, even though he doesn't have to concentrate to do it, hasn't had to for years. He focuses on it anyway, on the weight of the ball slamming into his mitt, focuses and empties himself of everything else.