17th Sphere

[got_blitzed]

[Non-drone filter]

Anybody out there good at makin' clothes?  Need some work done.  I can pay.

[Filtered to Norway, Junpei Iori]

Yo.  You two still interested in playin' blitz or what?

[Filtered to Ken Hidaka]

I'll be at the soccer field waitin' today.  We can go to the pool after.  Let's see what you got.

Comments

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

Well, whaddya wanna see? [Grins and looks at him curiously].

Gonna play me or do you just wanna see some tricks?

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

Show me first, then we'll see.

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

[[ooc: Man soccer's hard with one person XD]]

[Ken grins and nods, and starts going through his paces with the ball, yay former professional and the fact that he plays by himself a lot.]

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

((Yeah, but Jecht's never played before and considers it lowering himself~ XD))

"Huh... I don't see why everyone kept sayin' blitzball was like soccer. This doesn't look the same at all."

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

[He shrugs]

I dunno, but people say soccer's like a lot of stuff, I think its the whole messing with balls thing.

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

Lemme see your goal shot.

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

Sure. [And so he makes the goal shot. On his team so long ago, he was mainly goalie, but he was a decent forward too]

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

"Hmm. Pretty strong kick, but you gotta jazz it up if you really wanna draw the crowds."

[Grins, kicking his blitzball around on the sidelines.]

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

Jazz it up? Come on! That was a good solid goal, you up the chance of missing if you add some stupid ornamentals to it.

Fine, show me, you do better mister.

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

"Can't you use your hands in soccer, right? Okay, then."

[Jecht runs out onto the field, dribbling the ball back and forth for a while before lining up a shot, kicking the ball very solidly into the goalpost. It looks at first like the shot has missed the mark, but it bounces back. Grinning, he catches the ball with his foot on the rebound, kicking it straight up into the air. Then, with a mighty vault, he flips backward and bicycle kicks the ball into the goal with as much force as his legs can muster, landing in a crouching position.]

"There. That's how you shoot a goal."

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

[He snorts, but he's vastly amused]

And I would have blocked that with a blind fold on. You make too much noise!

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

Works just fine in the blitz arena. Don't see why it wouldn't work here too.

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

Maybe you never played against a decent goalie. But enough about your short comings, lets go see what you're good at.

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

"My shortcomings? Sayin' shit like that's a good way to get your ass kicked, kid."

[Cracks his knuckles.]

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

Oh so you wanna go there huh? Lets go see you're 'blitzball' thing, and then we'll talk 'bout this, kay? I'm curious.

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

[Shrugs.]

"Nothin' personal, kid. I just don't let insults go unanswered. But like you said, we'll handle that later."

[AND NOW THEY'RE AT THE POOL]

"So, like I said, Mayfield's never gonna have anything that looks like a real blitz field, so this's the best we got."

[Takes his shirt and shoes off and dives into the pool with the ball, coming up to float at the top.]

"You comin' in, or you just wanna watch?"

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I get ya.

[Leans over the edge of the pool] I'll watch for a few minutes, see whats going on before I dive into the fray.

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

"Fine by me."

[And Jecht will dive underwater, moving around swiftly with strong strokes. He's a pretty big guy, but he glides through the water like a dolphin - clearly this is the environment he's used to as far as sports are concerned. He'll take a few practice shots, kicking the ball hard into the opposite wall of the pool from what passes for 'midfield' when you're talking about a pool. After a few minutes of relatively strenuous swimming, kicks, and practice shoulder charges at nothing, he comes up for air.]

"That's more or less it. Nothin' like soccer at all 'cept for the kicks."

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

You got that right. Blitzball does look kinda neat, 'speically since water doesn't like to let things like balls go fast through it.

[He smiles] You swim pretty well. So whats a a real stadium like?

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

[And this earns a big grin from Jecht. He loves it when people compliment his sport.]

"Yeah, it takes a lot of practice just to be able to kick hard enough to get the ball to even get near the goal. Plus, normally you're dodgin' defenders who're tryin' to tackle you, all underwater. Gotta have a lot of endurance to hold your breath through all that."

[He'll float there nostalgically as he describes the old Zanarkand stadium.]

"Blitz stadiums are huge. Imagine a huge metal frame with a giant ball of water suspended in the middle - that's the field. The players play inside that with one goal in the middle of each end, so there's even more places to move than here. You can knock people out of it, too, so it gets pretty rough. The pool doesn't really compare at all."

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

[Ken's laying on his stomach on the edge of the pool, listening avidly]

But how does that even work? How long do the plays last? What kind of moves are you allowed to do?

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

"The field uses kind of a combination of machines and magic to keep the water up like that. I don't really understand how it works, but damn is it a sight to see when everything's all lit up on game night."

[Smiles as he remembers way back when his life was less complicated, and all he had to worry about was pleasing the crowd and scoring a few goals. He shakes his head a little before continuing, dismissing old memories.]

"Games are fast, so usually you get whole tournaments in a single day. Five minute halves. Whoever's got the ball carries it in their arms, but you gotta kick it when you shoot for the goal. Defenders are allowed to punch, kick, tackle, whatever - pretty much anything goes there.

That move I showed you back on the soccer field's called the Jecht Shot. The thing I really use it for is to knock defenders out of my way before I shoot for the goal. You'd be surprised how effective kicking a ball into someone's head, punching it into a second guy's head on the rebound, and shooting for the goal can be. Even if they're expecting it, it's hard to get away from at short range."

You know, I always wondered how that stadium worked

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

[He thinks back to the shot that Jecht had done at the field and has to agree]

Short range and surprise work for a lot of stuff. Still, that's pretty amazing. Holding your breath for five minutes while moving about all the time and being knocked into, not to mention MAGIC.

[child-abuser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, blitz is fast, just like you'd expect from the name. Blink and you'll miss it, y'know? Zanarkand had the biggest stadium around back when I played for a living.

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

Eh? You were a professional then? [He smiles nostalgically] I'm glad, its always nice when you can do stuff like that.