Post by Ninmast on Oct 10, 2008 7:59:21 GMT -5
Name: Johnathon Adams Parker
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Alignment: Lawful Good
Power Level: Mid-tier Medium (5)
Timeline: Modern
Appearance: Generally speaking, not the most intimidating sort, as a teacher, Mr. Parker wears slacks, a buttoned dress shirt and a tie. Extremely long red hair that he wears in a plain ponytail stretches all the way down to the backs of his shins and small, Ben Franklin style glasses are always perched on his nose. His blue eyes always seem trustworthy and open, but to say the man seems to be capable of swatting a fly would likely incite laughter from those in the general vicinity, him included. All things aren't always as they seem, however, and under his dress shirt and teacher's slacks, he possesses an extremely toned and sculptured body. To see him in his work clothes, then to see him shirtless commonly makes more than a few jaws drop. If he's practicing, he usually does so in a typical, generic, unmarked gi. If it's hot, he'll just wear the pants portion.
Personality: Mr. Parker often seems extremely easy-going and mild-tempered, sometimes to the point of seeming downright silly. He puts the safety and well-being of his students first and foremost in his mind, but he's extremely nonviolent. If there is any other viable solution, he would prefer to take that over fighting. Despite the oddities in his life, the most notable being his physical talent, or perhaps that his best friend is a minotaur, he seems to take a modest lazzaiz-faire perspective on his own life, often turning down opportunities to comment on it and claiming it isn't worth mentioning.
History: Johnathon's life, from an outsider's view, has always seemed rather simple. He grew up in the United States, always got good grades but never did a lot of extracurricular activities, no sports, no chess club, nothing. While he did participate in choir, he never really stood out. In fact, he never really stood out at anything. He was always very good at being the nice young man you met on the street, then promptly forgot.
After high school, he went on to get a degree in computer science before going overseas, eventually finding his present job as an English teacher in Korea. Despite keeping to the rules, he's a favorite with most of his students with his talent for making the stringent limitations of a classroom not seem quite so ever-present. However, while wherever he learned his fighting skills is unknown, as they don't match any solidly established style, his level of expertise has a habit of being in demand.
He had just been trying to help his students out when he stepped into the ring in the place of one. They were short the Student Council funds to pay what they needed and if they couldn't get the fight prize money, they wouldn't be able to meet the payments for their events that had already been ordered. The student that had been doing the fighting had gotten messed up by the guy, they were supposed to last five minutes against him. The poor boy hadn't gone fourty-five seconds.
At first, he was laughed away by the sponsor, but after insisting, he was permitted. After all, the sponsor didn't have to pay for the medical bills. It was one of the students' idea to get him ready and when he came into the ring, he looked very different. Having left his glasses with the students and his shirt off, particularly when he came in and stood ready, he no longer looked like a teacher. He looked like a prize fighter, an appearance that didn't disappoint. He easily spent the entire five minutes just easily tipping back and forth, avoiding his opponent's punches without effort. When they went over five minutes, he simply grabbed the next punch, turned to the side, threw the man to the ground and came down with a punch to his face.
Such would have been the end of it, but the sponsor was hosting the match to look for candidates for his real business, an underground fighting league. The seemingly timid Johnathon Parker had just made himself a prime choice. The sponsor came to him and encouraged him to fight. He said it would only be a fight or two, he just wanted his "friends" to see what he just had.
Finally, Mr. Parker folded and obliged. With dollar signs in his heart, the sponsor placed him in his first match against Rick, his reigning champion.
Rick was a minotaur.
The sponsor had deliberately set him up for failure, but he had underestimated the mild-mannered teacher's abilities and, after a heated, violent battle, he was decisively victorious with few injuries to show for it. Certainly, Rick was a powerful opponent, but Johnathon's evasion had outdone him.
In the locker room after it all, Johnathon had expected the minotaur to be violent, surly and infuriated. Well, he was a third right. Rick was definitely violent, but the rest couldn't be further from the truth. He was, in fact, quite jovial about his defeat, immediately greeting his former adversary as, "Johnny," and praising him on what had transpired. It would seem, despite the hefty pay every night Rick had been earning as the reigning champion, he fought like a true minotaur - sheerly for the simple joy of violent battle. Yes, he was proud, yes, he thought highly of his strength, but he seemed a surprisingly good loser.
This interaction didn't last long, however, as the sponsor soon came in looking as happy as a clam. Apparently, under his direction, another person was making a claim right as they spoke. Some uppity nobody, as the sponsor claimed, was infuriated that the champion was brought down by some school teacher and that both must summarily be complete pansies. He was challenging both simultaneously in front of the entire crowd. The sponsor was offering both Rick and Johnathon five thousand a piece just to accept his challenge and another five thousand a piece when they won.
Rick's nostrils promptly flared and, while "Johnny" really wasn't fond of the idea of getting sucked into more fights, the minotaur prodded him along into defending their now-bound honor, and once more, the teacher gave in. In the match that followed several nights later, the two showed a surprisingly balanced team dynamic, though it wasn't really one that tested either of them. They put down the usurper with ease.
There is always another fight, another reason why he should step back in, frequently with he and Rick as tag team partners, often with whatever odds the sponsor can come up with, once just the two of them against eight others, for more people in total, the sponsor bragged, than had ever been in that ring for a single fight. They've not yet lost, but Johnathon still looks forward to stepping out of the ring for good.
Powers: He has no actual powers in the common idea of the term. All he has is his physical prowess, possessing very, very good reflexes, dexterity and physical power for a normal human. His fighting style is difficult to place a name to. Sometimes it seems like it's influenced by capoeira because of its focus on evasion, sometimes it might be thought to be more derived from judo for its other qualities. In truth, it's far more homebrew, not actually being any style at all, just his own fighting talents he's honed over the years. This can make him difficult to predict, as no one can say, "Okay, he's most likely to respond this way to this kind of attack because that's what that style teaches."
Equipment: None. Well, he might have a ruler sometimes.
Weakness: Besides all the weaknesses of a normal human, he actually has heavy astigmatism. This is why he wears the glasses. Because it is astigmatism and not actually poor eyesight due to other reasons, he can still make out shapes and such just fine. He can make out a punch coming at him just fine, but unless he's practically got his nose on his opponent, he can't read the tattoo on their chest in size 75 font.
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Alignment: Lawful Good
Power Level: Mid-tier Medium (5)
Timeline: Modern
Appearance: Generally speaking, not the most intimidating sort, as a teacher, Mr. Parker wears slacks, a buttoned dress shirt and a tie. Extremely long red hair that he wears in a plain ponytail stretches all the way down to the backs of his shins and small, Ben Franklin style glasses are always perched on his nose. His blue eyes always seem trustworthy and open, but to say the man seems to be capable of swatting a fly would likely incite laughter from those in the general vicinity, him included. All things aren't always as they seem, however, and under his dress shirt and teacher's slacks, he possesses an extremely toned and sculptured body. To see him in his work clothes, then to see him shirtless commonly makes more than a few jaws drop. If he's practicing, he usually does so in a typical, generic, unmarked gi. If it's hot, he'll just wear the pants portion.
Personality: Mr. Parker often seems extremely easy-going and mild-tempered, sometimes to the point of seeming downright silly. He puts the safety and well-being of his students first and foremost in his mind, but he's extremely nonviolent. If there is any other viable solution, he would prefer to take that over fighting. Despite the oddities in his life, the most notable being his physical talent, or perhaps that his best friend is a minotaur, he seems to take a modest lazzaiz-faire perspective on his own life, often turning down opportunities to comment on it and claiming it isn't worth mentioning.
History: Johnathon's life, from an outsider's view, has always seemed rather simple. He grew up in the United States, always got good grades but never did a lot of extracurricular activities, no sports, no chess club, nothing. While he did participate in choir, he never really stood out. In fact, he never really stood out at anything. He was always very good at being the nice young man you met on the street, then promptly forgot.
After high school, he went on to get a degree in computer science before going overseas, eventually finding his present job as an English teacher in Korea. Despite keeping to the rules, he's a favorite with most of his students with his talent for making the stringent limitations of a classroom not seem quite so ever-present. However, while wherever he learned his fighting skills is unknown, as they don't match any solidly established style, his level of expertise has a habit of being in demand.
He had just been trying to help his students out when he stepped into the ring in the place of one. They were short the Student Council funds to pay what they needed and if they couldn't get the fight prize money, they wouldn't be able to meet the payments for their events that had already been ordered. The student that had been doing the fighting had gotten messed up by the guy, they were supposed to last five minutes against him. The poor boy hadn't gone fourty-five seconds.
At first, he was laughed away by the sponsor, but after insisting, he was permitted. After all, the sponsor didn't have to pay for the medical bills. It was one of the students' idea to get him ready and when he came into the ring, he looked very different. Having left his glasses with the students and his shirt off, particularly when he came in and stood ready, he no longer looked like a teacher. He looked like a prize fighter, an appearance that didn't disappoint. He easily spent the entire five minutes just easily tipping back and forth, avoiding his opponent's punches without effort. When they went over five minutes, he simply grabbed the next punch, turned to the side, threw the man to the ground and came down with a punch to his face.
Such would have been the end of it, but the sponsor was hosting the match to look for candidates for his real business, an underground fighting league. The seemingly timid Johnathon Parker had just made himself a prime choice. The sponsor came to him and encouraged him to fight. He said it would only be a fight or two, he just wanted his "friends" to see what he just had.
Finally, Mr. Parker folded and obliged. With dollar signs in his heart, the sponsor placed him in his first match against Rick, his reigning champion.
Rick was a minotaur.
The sponsor had deliberately set him up for failure, but he had underestimated the mild-mannered teacher's abilities and, after a heated, violent battle, he was decisively victorious with few injuries to show for it. Certainly, Rick was a powerful opponent, but Johnathon's evasion had outdone him.
In the locker room after it all, Johnathon had expected the minotaur to be violent, surly and infuriated. Well, he was a third right. Rick was definitely violent, but the rest couldn't be further from the truth. He was, in fact, quite jovial about his defeat, immediately greeting his former adversary as, "Johnny," and praising him on what had transpired. It would seem, despite the hefty pay every night Rick had been earning as the reigning champion, he fought like a true minotaur - sheerly for the simple joy of violent battle. Yes, he was proud, yes, he thought highly of his strength, but he seemed a surprisingly good loser.
This interaction didn't last long, however, as the sponsor soon came in looking as happy as a clam. Apparently, under his direction, another person was making a claim right as they spoke. Some uppity nobody, as the sponsor claimed, was infuriated that the champion was brought down by some school teacher and that both must summarily be complete pansies. He was challenging both simultaneously in front of the entire crowd. The sponsor was offering both Rick and Johnathon five thousand a piece just to accept his challenge and another five thousand a piece when they won.
Rick's nostrils promptly flared and, while "Johnny" really wasn't fond of the idea of getting sucked into more fights, the minotaur prodded him along into defending their now-bound honor, and once more, the teacher gave in. In the match that followed several nights later, the two showed a surprisingly balanced team dynamic, though it wasn't really one that tested either of them. They put down the usurper with ease.
There is always another fight, another reason why he should step back in, frequently with he and Rick as tag team partners, often with whatever odds the sponsor can come up with, once just the two of them against eight others, for more people in total, the sponsor bragged, than had ever been in that ring for a single fight. They've not yet lost, but Johnathon still looks forward to stepping out of the ring for good.
Powers: He has no actual powers in the common idea of the term. All he has is his physical prowess, possessing very, very good reflexes, dexterity and physical power for a normal human. His fighting style is difficult to place a name to. Sometimes it seems like it's influenced by capoeira because of its focus on evasion, sometimes it might be thought to be more derived from judo for its other qualities. In truth, it's far more homebrew, not actually being any style at all, just his own fighting talents he's honed over the years. This can make him difficult to predict, as no one can say, "Okay, he's most likely to respond this way to this kind of attack because that's what that style teaches."
Equipment: None. Well, he might have a ruler sometimes.
Weakness: Besides all the weaknesses of a normal human, he actually has heavy astigmatism. This is why he wears the glasses. Because it is astigmatism and not actually poor eyesight due to other reasons, he can still make out shapes and such just fine. He can make out a punch coming at him just fine, but unless he's practically got his nose on his opponent, he can't read the tattoo on their chest in size 75 font.
