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| Walls; Character Development; OPEN! | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 16 2009, 04:06 PM (288 Views) | |
| Affirmative Smackdown | Dec 16 2009, 04:06 PM Post #1 |
Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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It was one of the last few warm days before the cooler temperatures descended on them; most students were out enjoying themselves or studying begrudgingly. This late in the semester most had slacked off their physical training so the gym was relatively empty middle of the afternoon. He felt guilty for avoiding Maddie so often recently; she had been so helpful but he felt like he was growing to rely on his friends - girls! - far too much. He was their token boy-friend, a male in a cluster of women and though they all meant him well, he wanted to do this on his own. Standing in the middle of the gym, in an open sparing space, he went through motions slowly, as Micah had taught him. He owed a lot to her; Micah had taught him how to absorb things, how to stem the insatiable beast inside of him. He still ate twice as much as a person his size normally ate, but he no longer was debilitated by the lack of food at regular intervals. Eyes close, the blue hair fell long over his face, still shaggy, as he moved from one position to the other. He could feel something inside of him. The coach had told him simply that Micah must use the energy she absorbed differently because even if he augmented how much he absorbed into him, it was still pooling, collecting and building up inside of him. The man hadn't had many helpful suggestions but he had said that Ben needed to do something about it; he needed to use the energy somehow and especially since it was at his disposal. Ben didn't exactly know how one went about finding a teacher for this sort of thing; last time it had been shoved upon him and he had just gone with it. That had been in another time, another world that no longer existed - a world where his father had still been alive at least. Silencing those remorseful memories, he focused on the movements, feeling himself calmed and reassured by the orderliness of what he was doing. He had done a little research and had come up with a few options, even a few instructions on how to do it, but starting was the tricky part. That was why he was here today. He really meant to attempt one of these Walls. It was basically a construct of solid energy, in the form of a shape. It sounded easy enough - which was why he'd picked it. Eyes parting to look at his reflection in the polished glass that ran along the side of the wall he walked himself through the first few steps; feeling himself center, being aware of his entire body, closing his eyes he imagined that energy, like a bubble or a reservoir within him. If he tapped into that he could use it; that was the idea at least. It was alarmingly easy...the energy inside of him jumped to follow his command leaping from him and then out of him, this was where it grew tricky. He had to form it to his will, create something out of it and the energy simply didn't want to be anything. Perspiration broke out along his brow just from the concentration it was taking to hold on! With a loud, audible *pop* he lost his hold on the energy, it running away and dissipating back into the earth, the building, everywhere, back into it's true form. Ben reeled backwards, his head spinning and stumbled, almost falling. Groaning, he looked at himself in the mirror, "Nothing is easy, is it?" |
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| Nox | Dec 16 2009, 05:40 PM Post #2 |
I am the black mages
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Having arrived only a week before he had to do a great deal to catch up on work. Thom's head was still spinning from some of the things he'd learned for physics -String theory! Sheesh! - so he decided that meditation at that particular moment just wasn't going to cut it. He had heard about the gym from the get-go, heard that it was top of the line, so lacking any sort of idea of what he'd do once he got there Thom changed into some more casual clothes. Wearing his traditional baggy white t-shirt and a pair of random black sweats he swung his long (proportionate mind you) arms around in circles to get the blood flowing, threw a few quick jabs, and jogged the rest of the way to the gym. He ducked under the door frame (even though there was still clearance, he'd kind of gotten into the habit) and entered, in time enough to hear a loud pop. "Nothing is easy, is it?" "No, I suppose its not." Thom said as he made his way inside, still unable to see the speaker due to a combination of equipment and lighting. Walking around a few benches and a squat rack that was the main obstruction, Thom made his way to the center and flashed the blue haired boy a grin. "Unless of course, its possible. And if its possible, it is indeed learn-able." Thom shook his head as if to clear it, his shaggy blond hair catching the light. "What am I saying? I should be introducing myself! The names Thom." He took a large stride forward and held out his hand. "What exactly were you trying to do?" |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Dec 16 2009, 06:27 PM Post #3 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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Pulling himself up to his full height, he tugged at the loose t-shirt, ignoring the still disproportional image reflected back at him. He had been told many times that he was not anywhere near his full height; that he'd get taller, fill out, etc. His brain fumbled through what he'd done wrong; it was easy enough to draw energy in, in fact he did it without even thinking anymore. Even tapping into that reservoir was easy enough, it seemed to leap to his command, it was forming it that was difficult. Taken by surprise out of his thoughts, Been looked up, blinking around looking for the disembodied voice. "Huh," he said, blinking his almond colored eyes around the room until the figure of another guy emerged from around some equipment. He kept talking. And Ben wasn't exactly following him, then again he wasn't having much luck jumping the thought train. "Uh," the blue haired boy blinked at the proffered hand before recalling himself and sheepishly offering his own, "Ben, Ben Kostal." He wasn't an overly social creature, and felt a slight wave of anxiety; he still had some difficulty making friends. "I, um," he rubbed his hands together, wondering if he should be vague, evade the question entirely, or just tell the truth; it was difficult to explain. "I'm trying to make a wall," he said for lack of a better answer and feeling his ability to come up with any other plausible answer seriously lacking. Shrugging, he reached up and scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly, "Not working too well." |
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| The Master of Mischief | Dec 16 2009, 10:52 PM Post #4 |
Queen of the Monkeys
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Ben wasn't the only one with the idea to practice while the rest of the student body was out enjoying the sunshine. Keely slipped quietly into the gym, her trapeze resting on one shoulder and her heavy rigging bag slung over the other. The little shape shifter had discarded her usual baggy clothing for a pair of black leggings, a dark green leotard, and a white warm up jacket. Her dark hair seemed to be trying to escape it's pony tail, stray strands falling into her green eyes despite her best efforts to keep them contained. Since coming to AHS, Keely had done her best to keep her acrobatic skills sharp. Originally, it had been because she had intended to return to her family and the circus after a short stay at the school to learn how to control her powers. But then time had been rewritten, and she still hadn't been able to locate her family in this new, different time line. So now practicing trapeze and tumbling and such were for her own enjoyment, as well as a good way to keep in shape. She'd even discovered a way to practice using her powers at the same time. Unfortunately, she'd also discovered that swinging around twenty five feet in the air while hanging by her toes tended to attract more attention than she wanted, even at a school like this. So she'd taken to practicing when the gym was empty. Sadly, this didn't appear to be one of those times. Keely heard voices coming from one end of the gym, which just happened to be the side she used for rigging. Oh well. Hopefully she wouldn't get too many odd looks and annoying comments. As she got closer, thought, she recognized one of the voices. Wasn't that Ben? She hadn't seen much of the blue haired boy lately, and while she was technically part of the before mentioned cluster of women of which he was the token male, she had kind of fallen out of said cluster due to being busy with things like getting the hang of being a SERAPH intern and still trying to pass her classes at the same time. Technically, she should be doing homework now, but hey, why study when you can procrastinate? "Wha's this? A gathering of giants?" Keely said with a smile, walking over to the two tall boys and setting her equipment down. "Yeh two make me feel tiny." This, it must be mentioned, was not difficult... |
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| Nox | Dec 17 2009, 02:35 AM Post #5 |
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I am the black mages
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"Well... now we've got a real party goin'." Thom said with somewhat of a grin. His shaggy hair gave it a boyish twist, making it an unintentional cross between shy and mischievous. He still didn't do very well will girls. Looking at Ben for support he realized that Ben must already know her or they were dealing with a very outgoing albeit short young woman. "...But I think between all of us it averages out." Thom said. Realizing she might take offense Thom frantically looked around, and again his eyes settled on Ben. "You two know each other?" |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Dec 17 2009, 01:41 PM Post #6 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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He was considering saying more, perhaps explaining that he wasn't crazily attempting to build a wall in the middle of the gym out of thin air, but in fact was doing something that was not crazy... Thought hat thought alone made him want to shake his head and chuckle at his own state of mind; since when was creating something out of nothing normal? Since when were people like him normal? Sure, before the Time Shift he had been sort of normal, people at least knew why he was the way he was - but not anymore. His mouth opened to say something - but where to start? Before he could utter a word, he was rescued from inserting his foot into the gaping orface by the appearance of a familiar person; Keely. Breaking out into a rather goofy grin, he looked down at the little gymnast beaming; she was one of those few people who knew him for who he had been, and for who he was. There was no way he could broach some topics, Thom was doubtfully one of those few number that had crossed into this time-line; there were only a few hundred of them who had made that choice. Chuckling at Thom, Ben nodded, "Yup, this is Keely. I haven't seen you around lately!" He did not know about Keely's internship, or where she had disappeared to, he only knew he missed her. "I see you haven't grown any," he held his hand level to her head, the differences in their height more than obvious, "that's okay, I've grown for the both of us." Glancing up at Thom, he felt he owed some sort of explanation, but blurting out, 'Hey, we're from an alternate time and there we decided it'd be a great idea to go tackle a drug cartel, get some people killed, kill a few people and then hop back over to school just in time to replace the person we were here,' was the best thing to say. "Ah, we took a school trip, together," he said haltingly, attempting to craft something that sounded believable. "We met on that trip, Keely, Maddie, Izel, Micah and I, and some others," he nodded, his mind flitting down that path, wondering what had happened to everyone... |
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| Nox | Dec 17 2009, 05:13 PM Post #7 |
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I am the black mages
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"I see..." Thom said. He really didn't. Ben had nodded as if satisfied with his response. 'He's shy, but not that shy. At least I think...' Thom acquired a distant look in his eyes. He couldn't recall his past at all. Sensei had said that the fleeting nightmares he had, the ones he would wake up shivering from, the ones he kept at bay with learning and meditation; sensei thought they had to do with his past. Thom hoped they didn't. Even looking at it in a detached logical sense, he felt the crushing odds of having survived any one of those dark fantasies. So he devoured anything that might keep his mind spinning long enough to get him through the realms of night. And on the days he hadn't learned enough, he had to meditate. If he could keep a lucid mantra through the dreams, they tended to stay just that, dreams. But one slip... |
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| The Master of Mischief | Dec 17 2009, 11:10 PM Post #8 |
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Queen of the Monkeys
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Thom and Ben's comments brought a broad grin to Keely face. She was perfectly content with her size, so none of the comments from either boy offended her. On the contrary, she found it thoroughly amusing, and made a show of craning her neck back at a ridiculous angle to stare up at Ben. "Yeh keep growing any more, big guy, and yeh're going to be getting your own weather up there," she said with a laugh, punching him lightly on the arm. "Ah, we took a school trip, together. We met on that trip, Keely, Maddie, Izel, Micah and I, and some others." A school trip. Well, yeah. That was one way to put it. Keely's grin gained a certain bitter twist for a moment as she remembered some of the details of that...trip. It had been rough, in a lot of ways, but she'd come out of it ok, which is more than could be said for some. Not that any of it had really matter, in the end, what with the time shift happening right after. But it was mostly because of that trip that she'd decided to go for a SERAPH internship. They were sent on similar missions, only this time it was legal and government funded, and even occasionally went according to plan. "Anyway," she said brightly, pushing aside her darker thoughts, "What brings you two tall gentlemen inside on such a lovely, sunny day?" |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Dec 18 2009, 11:23 AM Post #9 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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Ben returned Keely's grin size for size - well, proportionally speaking at least. She at least jumped on board with his explanation, neither of them wanting to think too much on the whole matter. He was more than grateful to her for smoothly and tactfully steering the conversation in any other direction and when she asked what they were doing here, well, he was much less awkward about making an outright answer this time; anything was easier than thinking about South America. "Um, well," he chuckled nervously, feeling very silly explaining himself, "well, remember when Micah taught me - that day - and - ah," it seemed like he couldn't go a whole minute without referencing It. He regretted trying to explain himself now, "Well remember how Micah taught me to reach out and absorb latent energy?" She might not recall the details, as he remembered she'd been a tiger at the time, so it wouldn't surprise him if she didn't know, or remember. "Well Coach says that residual energy has been building up inside of me, and I need to do something with it or else it could go rogue. He didn't have a whole lot of suggestions for how to fix that," again he felt silly; it seemed like everyone around here just knew what to do with themselves and he had no idea. "Well," he patted himself for a pocket before realizing that his sweatpants lacked pockets and dropped his hands back to his sides, "I - ah - went to the library and found some stuff someone wrote about constructing stuff out of raw energy and - ah - that's, that's what I'm - ah - trying to do." He'd said it, most of it at least, and he felt a bit foolish and silly at that, not knowing what to do. "I'm trying to build a wall." |
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| Nox | Dec 19 2009, 01:25 AM Post #10 |
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I am the black mages
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At the word library Thom's eyes lit up. He decided then and there that he would do all he could to help Ben, if only for the fact that he was serious enough to do research. "A wall." Thom said with an almost reverent tone. Snapping out of the impending contemplation, Thom remembered his manners he addressed Keely "Oh, by the way, I'm Thom." He said with his classic grin. "Now Ben..." Thom began as he started pacing back and forth. "How are you using your power?" Thom stopped, and shook his head at his own remark. "No, let me reword that. How are you concentrating; how are projecting the energy?" |
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| The Master of Mischief | Dec 19 2009, 11:10 PM Post #11 |
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Queen of the Monkeys
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As Ben launched into his explanation of what he was trying to do, Keely plopped down onto the floor to stretch as she listened. Don't mind the cracking noises, folks, they're normal. And yes, she is actually suppose to bend that way. Trust me. Truth be told, Keely didn't remember much of what Micah taught Ben that day in South America. She'd been slightly distracted by trying to learn how to control her own powers, namely sorting out how to walk on four legs instead of two. Hey, it was harder than it looked; they had all kept getting tangled and pitching her on her face. Luckily, she'd gotten the hang of it pretty quickly, but still, she'd missed Ben's lesson. "Sounds interesting," she said when her blue haired friend had finished. She meant it genuinely; she'd always though people who's powers could create things out of thin air to be fascinating. She also didn't envy him, having to kind of make it up as he went along. That had to be tough. "Oh, by the way, I'm Thom." Keely returned the grin from where she sat calmly on the floor, one leg tucked behind her head as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Nice teh meet yeh," she said, reaching up to offer a roughly calloused hand for the other boy to shake. |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Dec 20 2009, 01:21 AM Post #12 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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He was ready for the two of them to laugh at him; the idea was rather silly. Ben was rather surprised when not one but both took him seriously. Thom even waxed over in thought, giving a few questions which, truth be told, Ben didn't even know the full answer of. He was distracted for a moment at Keely did something with her body he thought shouldn't be possible, his skin paling a little at the idea of even attempting the same thing before his attention was again arrested to the situation at hand. "How am I using, concentrating, or projecting the energy?" He had a very good mind when he tried, the most difficult part normally was getting him to focus on something, but this was important so the rules were different. His brow furrowed, tucking his chin in the blue fringe of hair across his brow momentarily obscured his face. "I - I don't really know. Micah taught me how to pull energy in, but - well - I think I've forgotten most of the particulars except for don't take more than you need." Grimacing, he recalled doing just that once and never planned to do that again. "Ah - the instructions talked about tapping into the energy inside of you by focusing; that it's about your concentration and how well you know what you want to do." He looked a little defeated, "I don't think these instructions were meant for someone who doesn't already know what they're doing, but I have to learn somewhere." Sighing, he mustered his courage, "Tapping into the energy isn't that hard - it's getting it to do what I want it to - that's more difficult." Sheepishly he looked between the two to see if they had any thoughts, but felt rather certain this was something he was going to just have to muddle through by trial and error. |
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| Nox | Dec 20 2009, 05:12 PM Post #13 |
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I am the black mages
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Thom was surprised at the small girl's flexibility at the same time he was intrigued. He took the girls hand in his own firm but not painful grip. He gave her a sly wink as he listened intently to Ben's explanation. Thom started pacing again as he collected his thoughts. He knew how to access the power, he just didn't know what to do with it. "You do know that how you think of something effects how it interacts with you, yes?" Thom looked around. "We need a wall." In a few long strides Thom was at one of the walls that partially divided the gym. He excitedly motioned the two to follow. "Now tell me, what is this?" |
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| The Master of Mischief | Dec 20 2009, 10:24 PM Post #14 |
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Queen of the Monkeys
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Keely frowned thoughtfully, thinking over Ben's problem. It was a bit hard to relate, since she had pretty much the opposite problem with her power. Ben was having trouble making his powers do something, and Keely had trouble keeping hers from working on their own. She'd come a long way from accidentally turning into various animals just by looking at them, but things could still get away from her if she wasn't careful. But then again, maybe their problems were similar. It was all a matter of control, when you got right down to it, whether that control was being used to make something happen or to stop it. "I know when I shift, I have to picture what I'm changing into in perfect detail, right down to the last toenail, otherwise it doesn't come out right." The little acrobat tilted her head to one side, trying to put her thoughts into words. "I'm not sure if it's the same at all. Is that what you've been trying? Really picturing what you're trying to do with all that pent up energy?" "We need a wall." Keely glanced at the other boy, one eyebrow raised, but she got to her feet to follow him towards a wall that apparently met his satisfaction of wall-ish-ness. "Now tell me, what is this?" "A wall..." Keely decided to be the one to state the obvious. |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Dec 21 2009, 10:01 AM Post #15 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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Neither Thom or Keely said anything immediately; it took a moment. Keely offered up what she could from shifting to her various animal forms, Ben mumbling, "Picture it," and trying to form a mental check-list of things he should do. "Ah, I just sort of - I don't know - I ah, guess so? I'm not really sure..." His voice trailed off, he was getting frusterated, and that was when Thom began pacing and talking aloud. He sort of blinked, shrugged, and nodded at his questions, figuring they made sense, but he'd never really thought about how it all worked. Running a hand through his mop of blue, shaggy hair he glanced from Thom down to Keely, feeling very frusterated by the whole mess - and that was when Thom charged off to the nearest wall, a partial partition, solid structure. When he asked what it was, Ben just blinked at him, wondering if he was really serious - which was when Keely stated the obvious: it was a wall. "Um, yeah," Ben rubbed his palms on his legs, awkwardly wiping some imaginary grime from his hands, "what she said." Really, he had very little idea what Thom was talking about; maybe he was one of those crazy ones the school got.... |
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| Nox | Dec 21 2009, 11:37 PM Post #16 |
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I am the black mages
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Thom leaned in, a ridiculous grin on his face. He spoke in a whisper as if to portray the importance of the very average wall they were all staring at with very average unimpressedness. "This is what you're trying to make, yes? And like Keely suggested you might need to visualize such a thing, yes? I don't mean a literal brick wall, I mean the traits of the wall. You want to create a wall that is big and solid; a wall that can withstand a good amount of pressure. That wall my friends..." Thom said with yet another grin, this time flashing his white teeth. "Is right here." He said while slapping the wall in a demonstrative fashion. |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Dec 23 2009, 01:40 PM Post #17 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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[[ ooc - Mis said to post without her this round. <3 ]] Ben was struck with the idea that here, in body, was most likely one of those crazy meta-human types; the kind that you knew was going to snap and either try to kill everyone, or start painting carousel horses and running in circles singing with a flashlight on his head. Ben was not exactly sold on Thom's reasoning, he was more or less completely distracted with his behavior rather than listening to his words. Was this how crazy master minds started? By lecturing people about the greatness of ordinary objects and ideas? "Uh," he said eloquently, "right." He got the distinct impression they were both now waiting for him to do something. "Oh - right - visualize it," he nodded, inwardly grumbling. "Ah," he patted his abs, the sound like a water-logged drum, "let me get on that." He did want to take care and not hurt the other two; he needed a little space. A little distance down on the wall the equipment opened up and there was a little area of space he was satisfied with using for this experiment. "Uh, right," he muttered, spreading his legs shoulder width apart like Micah had schooled him, facing the wall as Thom suggested, Ben inhaled deeply and fumbled through tapping into the energy yet again. It felt easier this time. It flowed from the reservoir inside of him, searching for an outlet like a stream searches for the sea. This was where it got difficult. He only knew how to pull it all in one direction, and like a flood it threatened to barrel over him. His hands at his chest like he were holding a basketball, a visible swirling translucent something formed. It took great concentration to just hold it. Sweat broke out across his brow, his face bearing the strain marks of the sheer amount of force it took to do this evident. Eyes opened, but as slits only, and with the wall in front of him he began trying to build his wall. The energy flowed from his hands, seemingly pooling on the ground, like the foundation and then started going up - but Ben was running out of energy to give; it had all gone into the foundation or escaped from him. He made a great effort to shape the thing to his will and though it began to shimmer and take form - he couldn't hold it. With a loud, violent *pop*, the backlash shot out in all directions, disappearing back into the very building, the very earth from which it had come from. The recoil sent Ben rocking backwards, landing like a sack of potatoes on his back where he stared up at the ceiling. Well, at least he'd seen results this time... |
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| The Master of Mischief | Dec 24 2009, 12:50 AM Post #18 |
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Queen of the Monkeys
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Keely was thinking along the same lines as Ben. Thom sounded like there were a few cards missing from his deck, but what he was saying made sense, as far as it went. It was pretty much what Keely herself had said, only just more...demonstrative? "Let me get on that." As Ben moved a little ways off, Keely kept her eyes on her tall friend, watching him intently. This was really quite cool, and she was curious to see what would happen. She watched intently as Ben collected his energy between his hands, then carefully began to shape it. From the look on his face, it wasn't easy. Then, just as it looked like he was getting somewhere, the air popped and the blue haired giant went tumbling. "Ben!" Keely shouted, alarmed. She scampered over to her friend, crouching down next to him and laying a hand gently on his shoulder. "Hey, you ok, big guy?" she asked, sounding concerned. |
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| Nox | Dec 24 2009, 03:40 PM Post #19 |
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I am the black mages
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"It's all part of the learning process." Thom said. He remembered the scrapes and bruises he had received learning martial arts. And then there was the time he had learned about his powers... "But you have to keep at it. I want you to become intimately familiar with this wall. As you shape it, the energy becomes a part of you. You need the image of the wall to be a part of you as well. You need to know the wall so the energy can know the wall. You need to make the two one. A resonance of meaning." |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Dec 25 2009, 03:44 AM Post #20 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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It didn't hurt at all; that was the strange thing. It was more a blow to his small ego that such a thing would not listen to him. Blinking up at Keely he sighed and hauled himself into a sitting position. "I'm okay, I'm good," he said glumly, taking his time getting up. Thom said a lot of stuff. Ben wasn't so sure what he was saying, after a while words just all ran together in his head, and unless he saw it on paper, it was a blur. "Um, yeah," he muttered, a glazed look coming over his face. All the talk about becoming intimate and familiar with a wall was a bit esoteric for what Ben thought should be a fairly simple, straightforward practice. "I think," he paused, feeling more than a little drained. "I think I need to not put so much into it," he said slowly, thoughtfully. The only problem was - how did he control how much he used? Was he starting at the wrong part of the puzzle?? [[ ooc - he has to have a 'resting' time before trying again >_> ]] |
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| Nox | Jan 2 2010, 04:23 AM Post #21 |
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I am the black mages
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Thom looked slightly confused. No, it was a bit more than confusion. He was downright confounded. He turned to Keely for support. "That's what I've been saying, isn't it?" And then comprehension surfaced, accompanied by a self defacing smile of bemusement. His voice matched his expression as if they were two pieces of a puzzle. Which I suppose they were, and Thom had just figured the jigsaw out. "Ah. I see. I've been getting to existential with this whole thing haven't I?" He waited for the nods of acquiescence before he continued. "Let me break it down. You need to know exactly what you want to do, exactly what sort of wall you want to make, and let the energy flow into it. If it's anything like what I first experienced, its kind of overwhelming- the energy I mean. So rather than control the energy, control the idea and let the energy flow into it and be limited by it." Thom scratched his hairless chin thoughtfully, trying to come up with the words. "I suppose its just like a glass of water. The energy takes on the form of the glass. Does that make more sense?" |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Jan 2 2010, 05:44 PM Post #22 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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Ben blinked at Thom, feeling like they were using opposing languages to communicate. He bought himself some time, hoisting himself to his feet and sighing as Thom continued to expound on the imagery of the wall. Ben had the idea of the wall, or he felt like he did - but there was something else he wasn't getting. He had a vivid imagination so creating the image of the wall, the idea of it wasn't hard at all - it was the power. It was like trying to grip a slippery bar of soap. He really tried to pay attention, he was sure Thom was saying good solid stuff - just arresting his attention to the matter was problematic. Furrowing his brow and pursing his lips he attempted to figure out where they were not communicating. "But there's not much of a problem with it forming the wall - I just can't hold it. I even got it into a wall in the first place, but it's like everything just runs away from me. Like if you hold a full cup upside down," he sighed in frustration, feeling his reservoir filling again. Putting hand to chin, he mussed out loud, "Maybe if I could better control how much I used?" |
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| The Master of Mischief | Jan 2 2010, 11:33 PM Post #23 |
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Queen of the Monkeys
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Keely missed most of what Thom was saying about becoming intimately familiar with the wall and all that. Hadn't they already established that point? She was beginning to be glad that her power didn't involve energy manipulation; it seemed way to cryptic and insubstantial for her tastes. "That's what I've been saying, isn't it?" "Don't look at me," she muttered when Thom looked to her for confirmation. "This is all way over my head." The little shapeshifter listened as the two boys debated energy theories, but none of it made much sense to her. She had nothing to relate it to, and there for couldn't offer much advice. "Sorry I can't be of more use," she said to Ben, giving him a shrug and a smile. "I've never tried to control raw energy before, but they say practice makes perfect, yeh know?" |
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| Nox | Jan 3 2010, 04:01 AM Post #24 |
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I am the black mages
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Thom saw then that it would be best to let Ben learn on his own rather then telling him how to do it. "The knowledge is in the journey." He muttered to himself under his breath. Thom gave Keely a wink. "Not to worry. I'm not doing much better. When it comes down to it each of us has to learn for themselves." At this Thom recalled the reason for coming in the first place. He walked a few paces away and began some of his own stretches, starting with the ankles and quads and moving up, giving each muscle a good 30 seconds to stretch. "Don't mind me." Thom said, still intent on what Ben might do. |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Jan 4 2010, 01:30 PM Post #25 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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Ben sighed and gave Keely a tired grin; he was more sleepy than physically tired. He'd stayed up late reading another novel, unable to put it down. It was always a struggle to balance both physical and mental realms of his life; a lot of the time either Maddie or Micah cashed him out of his room and told him in no uncertain terms to go DO something. If it was up to him he'd spend every day on the couch or on his bed reading and writing; he had to remember to come to the gym and with Micah having less time to tutor people it was more of a challenge. He spared a few seconds for watching Thom begin a series of stretches before he turned back to the wall and gave it a dismal glare; not very intimidating but it was the best he could do at the moment. Standing with his feet slightly apart, he held his hands back up and closed his eyes as he inhaled. Power flowed into him; that was natural now. It was like water really, the small channels he'd created with the help of Micah had slowly grown larger; he could feel them. Power wearing the channels down, giving him callouses until they were just right. He thought long and hard about that simple flow, dabbling his fingers across the surface of his own reservoir. He decided to change his tactical plan; before it was like opening a damn, letting everything flow out of him at once. You couldn't control a flash flood - so why was he trying? With slow, steady movements he began dipping his 'hands' into the reservoir and pulling out energy; of course these 'hands' were not his real hands, nor was the capacity anywhere near the same. Visibly a small block of something mostly transparent and a bit iridescent started forming in his hands; small at first. He really didn't want to have many more of those backlashes. Daring to open his eyes, he chuckled, looking at the miniature 'wall' that hovered between his hands. It was only the size of a sheet of paper - but he was holding it! "Will you look at that?" He carefully pivoted to display the fragile looking thing to the other two. "Hey Keely, hit it, I dare you," he chuckled like any schoolboy with a pull-my-finger joke would. |
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| The Master of Mischief | Jan 5 2010, 12:31 AM Post #26 |
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Queen of the Monkeys
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Keely watched Thom with a raised eyebrow as he headed off to do some of his own stretches. "Oookay..." she murmured to Ben, giving him a 'what was that all about?' look. Then she shrugged, and flipped upside down onto her hands to walk a few quick circles. It was clear that Ben needed a bit of space, so she gave it to him, continuing her warm up. As soon as Ben began another attempt, though, she stopped, turned upright again, and watched intently. She held her breath, not wanting to interrupt her friend's concentration in the slightest way. Then, finally, Ben held out what was undeniably a miniature wall, grinning like a little kid. Keely clapped her hands, bouncing up and down on her toes. "Way to go Ben!" she said, genuinely happy for the blue haired boy. "Hey Keely, hit it, I dare you." Keely looked sidelong at her friend, suspicious. She inched closer, peering at the little wall from all sides. It looked fragile, but still... "Well..." She glanced at Ben again, then shrugged. "If you say so..." Taking a step back, she made a fist and aimed punch at the transparent little wall, taking care not to hit it too hard, just is case it turned out to be a lot more solid than it looked, or exploded or something else unexpected. |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Jan 7 2010, 11:05 PM Post #27 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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[[ ooc - Noxly said to go ahead and post ]] Ben gave Keely a lop-sided, boyish grin. His shaggy blue hair fell over his golden hazel eyes as the little acrobat clapped her hands and bounced around in front of him, the wall hovering between his hands. It even felt real to him, which was strange because he wasn't actually touching it. He waited for Keely to trust him enough to do it. His grin got a bit more silly as she crept closer and finally, with a shrug of her shoulders punched it. The wall was solid, but with a little give. It didn't shock a person, there was no transfer of energy - just a rather invisible, solid wall. With a laugh he shook his hands, the wall dissipating in a much less violent manner this time. There was a bit of dust, almost that disappeared with no whiplash. "That was easier..." Grinning at Thom, who was still doing stretches and limbering up for his own workout, "Practice makes perfect, I guess - right?" He shook his hands, feeling a tingling sensation he could only deduct was a side affect of his wall-building. He squinted a bit and this time it came together quicker, the wall a bit bigger, but no less solid or strong. It wasn't between his hands, but in front of them, as if his hands were placed up against a small section of wall a few feet across. "I wonder how big I can do this," he said out loud and taking a little step backwards to brace himself, started building it a little bigger and a little stronger. It defiantly took some concentration, but it was like something had snapped and it wasn't as hard as it had been the first time. "He Thom, try hitting this, will you?" |
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| Nox | Jan 25 2010, 12:45 AM Post #28 |
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I am the black mages
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[ooc: Sorry about the wait!! I thought you guys were going to take it farther. Anyway, I'm back in.] A knowing quirk of the lips and a spark in his eye Thom continued with his stretches. Back and abdomen, wrists, forearms, biceps, triceps. Ben had done it. This just seemed to pump Thom up more. 'The joy of learning.' He though. A self effacing grin flashed across his face. "Practice makes perfect, I guess - right?" Thom chuckled. "Indeed it does. Go for it!" He gave him a thumbs up for good measure as he stretched his shoulders, one arm across the body, the other holding it there. He couldn't help but grin again as Ben made the barrier larger. Thom was just as excited as the blue haired boy. "Hey Thom, try hitting this, will you?" Thom hopped up on the balls of his feet and shrugged his shoulders, shaking out his arms and legs. "Sure thing." He had seen how hard Keely had hit it so he knew it could take some force. He let loose a half-cocked hook, not trying to break the wall but definitely testing it. He smiled at the solid impact and turned quickly to see how the boy was holding up. "Too light, too hard?" |
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| The Master of Mischief | Jan 25 2010, 10:49 PM Post #29 |
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Queen of the Monkeys
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Keely was glad the wall didn't do anything that it wasn't suppose to. You never knew with things like this if they were going to behave properly or do something downright wacky. For all she knew, Ben's wall could have turned all pink and fluffy when she hit it, or tried to bite her or something. But no, it just sat there, hovering between Ben's hands, reassuringly normal. Well, aside from being transparent and floating, that is... She shook her hand, her fingers stinging slightly. For all it was see-through and shimery, Ben's wall was quite hard. It was pretty cool, actually. "That's awesome, Ben" the little acrobat said with a smile. "It's really solid!" She stepped back out of the way as Ben let go of the small wall and began constructing a new, bigger one. It was really strange, watching someone build something she knew was solid out of thin air. She watched as Thom came over and took a shot at the wall, wondering how much force it could withstand before it broke. |
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| Affirmative Smackdown | Jan 27 2010, 10:29 PM Post #30 |
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Mandy & Cid: The Tastey Cream Team
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Ben felt - nothing - absolutely nothing as Thom hit the wall. It moved the slightest bit, cushioning the blow slightly. He let it go, feeling the energy dissipate back into the world and shook his hands. They had that slightly tingly feeling, but they didn't hurt. He grinned and ran the fingers on his right hand over his left palm and then vice versa. "That was - cool," Ben grinned, looking vaguely boyish in his excitement. He hadn't expected much. To be honest, he thought he would be lucky to even fumble through and fail - but to actually obtain something - to make something? It was far more than he had hoped for. "To be honest, I didn't think I'd do half that much." He looked first at Keely, then at Thom and broke out in another grin, his blue hair falling over his eyes. He needed a haircut, that was certain, but like everything else it just didn't occur to him to do anything about it. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face and took a deep breath - and only then did the exhaustion wash over him. He felt his head swim and reached out to the nearest something to steady himself. "I think - I think that took more out of me than I realized," he said slowly, woozily. "I think I'm done for the day," the color drained from his face, and he felt immense tiredness settle on his shoulders. "Um, I think I'm going to go back to my room and crash - cool?" He looked between the two sheepishly, feeling as if he were weighted down and laying down on the floor here might be better. "Thom - man, cool to meet you," he flopped his hand in the immitation of a wave and then grinned at Keely. "Thanks Keely, good to see you. I'm sure the others would like to see you too." He picked up the papers he'd discarded earlier and shuffled off without another word, dreaming of pillows and blankets and sleep already! |
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