Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
More people are understanding her. Neat.
Life isn’t so Simple Anymore!
- Thread starter Namgo
- Start date
Chapter 44: The First Match is Here!
"Haha! There's my fucking star!" Coach Scott loudly spoke with a wide smile on his face once he saw her enter the gym.
His belly wobbled as he made his way over to her. Everyone else in the gym also locked their eyes on her. If this was the Zoey in the past, she would surely feel embarrassed right now. Well, she still feels embarrassed and wants to hide her face, but compared to all the people in the crowd during the preliminaries of the YFTL, it wasn't that many people at all. She could tolerate something like this better. Especially since mostly everyone was looking at her with a smile.
Did she usurp Ben's place as the gym's star from under him? Zoey secretly knew it was only a matter of time but didn't expect it to be this quick. She still hasn't even sparred with him yet. It looks like the YFTL is really amazing compared to the world of amateur boxing. Maybe if he went professional and fixed his personality a little bit, people would treat him like they're treating her.
"Are you ready for your fight, kid?" Coach asked.
"Who am I even fighting?" Zoey asked her own question.
"We'll talk on the way there." He patted her on the shoulder. "If you little slacking bastards want to come, hurry up, get dressed, and get to the limo!" He soon yelled afterward.
"You can get dressed at the tournament, so you're fine." Coach told her.
"So, I should get in the limo then?"
"Yep, that's fine. The lazy smucks should be ready soon."
Zoey knew she should spend the time in the limo studying the notebook filled with magical knowledge but studying really wasn't one of her strengths, even with the Box. As far as Zoey could see, her mental stat didn't give her results as obvious as her body stat did. So, instead of studying, Zoey started playing competitive games on her phone to raise her Gaming skill. She was surprised to find out that there were very big competitive markets for games on mobile. It wasn't anything close to the competitive market on PC or consoles but still very large.
Console and computer competitive games could hold tournaments that gave out millions of dollars as the prize for winning! Some of the mobile games could reach this high as well, but not nearly as often as the ones on consoles and PC. Knowing this, Zoey began to wonder something... Could she use her skills together?
What if she tried teaching her brother how to play a game that often had tournaments with high payouts for winning till he was good enough to win on his own? Teaching and Gaming combined! Zoey would use her gaming skill to try and perfect or master a game before passing on her skills and maybe even teaching her brother to a higher height than she reached in the game. Then he could quickly grow in skills and popularity by being good at the game while streaming! What video game fans wouldn't enjoy watching someone with a kind and respectful personality along with being a total beast in the game!? As her brother rose in the online leaderboards or competitive scene, so would his viewers on his stream, and with his increase in viewers, he would also get more subscribers and people who want to pay him for making such a good stream!
Zoey was getting excited thinking about how she could help her brother fulfill his dream of being a famous streamer and getting paid to play video games. What boy his age wouldn't love to make money doing the thing they love? She didn't even think about using her skills to help her family and loved ones for some reason! So selfish! Zoey, you're so selfish!
In her excitement of thinking of all the ways she could help her family and friends, she didn't take into account how much time she would need to spend to accomplish all of this. The things she was thinking about weren't things that could be done in a week or two. Especially when adding in preparing herself for her future opponents in the YFTL, the Annual Meeting of Young Magjistars, school, hunting daemons, training her skills, studying the magic notebook, track practice and meets, and making time for her friends so she didn't lose them. Zoey felt like her brain would explode trying to juggle so many things at once.
Zoey almost felt desperate enough to flip through Math Tips and Tricks to see if there was a magic spell in there that could duplicate a person so that she could be in more places than once, but then she thought about Alexander and Lindsay. The two of them exclusively focused on ice magic and lightning magic. This made her wonder if a magjistar could only use one type of magji in their life, and if she could choose one, she would be stuck with it too. Duplication magic sounded cool, but it wouldn't be something she wanted to be stuck with.
If she was to choose her own magic, it would be something to complement her Ultimate Boxing Style. Considering she didn't know all of the different kinds of magic out there, it wasn't like she could decide at this moment anyway. Maybe Lindsay put something about it in the notebooks. But right now, Zoey was playing top position in a ranked match and couldn't focus on much besides not getting ganked and outfarming her opponent in lane.
Coach Scott was telling her about her opponent while everyone else was chatting with one another or asking her questions.
"He's a Muay Thai fighter. You know, elbows, kicks, knees, and strikes. But this Muay Thai fighter isn't the one you need to be worried about compared to the other one. Just watch out for his kicks. You should be able to handle his striking."
"Does he know any grappling?" Zoey asked. This was very important.
"None. The only thing you need to ready yourself for is his kicks." Coach reassured her.
"Have you told her about the new rules in the official tournament?" Zack brought up.
"Ah shit, I knew I was forgetting something." Coach cursed.
"New rules?" Zoey asked. This was probably more important than the grappling.
If Zoey got disqualified for breaking the rules when she should've won, she'd be pissed beyond belief. She'd definitely be pissed at Coach for not telling her something as important as the god damn fucking rules! Zoey was very invested in this tournament for a multitude of reasons besides increasing her skills. Having it robbed away from her because she wasn't informed of something she should have been would be infuriating.
"Sorry, kid. In the official tournament, there are now four rounds in total which are three minutes each round. After the three minutes are up, you will have to return to our corner. I'm sure you've seen some actual boxing matches about what we do in the corner. That's how it's going to be for you after each round." He explained
"Is there anything else?" Zoey made sure to ask.
"A lot more, actually..." Zack sighed at Coach's bad memory at this moment.
Zack told Zoey the rest of the rules that the Coach had conveniently forgotten at the moment, and she felt like she would've been fine even if she didn't know them. Most of them weren't really rules that a boxer like her could really break, as she mostly uses her fists. Not her legs, knees, head, or fingers. Like a few of the rules said, she couldn't stomp a grounded opponent, claw, pinch, twist the flesh or use abusive language.
That last one was really important because Zoey had quite the potty mouth. She didn't believe she'd ever let anyone that she knew hear her curse as often as she does in her head. But it could happen. You never really know when you need to let out a good swear every now and then. Sometimes Zoey just felt like saying fuck ten times in a row. Or somedays calling everything she sees shit. Zoey liked cursing a lot more than a girl probably should.
"We're here. Let's get going." The limo stopped outside the YFTL building.
Around the limo were swarms and swarms of people. This place was filled with even more people than the preliminaries! Were they all here for her match? It couldn't be! She wasn't that popular yet, was she? Zoey definitely had to read some of the comments on her fighting videos soon.
Zoey couldn't believe that someone like her could become popular so easily. Did all it take to become liked and popular was being good at fighting? While Zoey definitely wouldn't call herself ugly, she didn't think she was like beautiful or super pretty or anything. Her socially awkward brain couldn't process anything as Coach basically had to drag her through the crowd.
People snapping pictures of her, recording her, and even trying to ask her questions were all phased out as she basically froze up. It wasn't until they made it inside that she could finally breathe again. Only to hear the snickering and laughter of the guys from the gym. Zoey could feel her face heating up, but she definitely wasn't going to say anything to embarrass herself any further.
"We're going to need to stay away from the cameras for a bit until you get more used to them." Coach couldn't help but say after seeing her face the people from the media like that.
"Yes." Zoey couldn't say anything to argue with him! Oh god, did she not want to see any articles, pictures, and videos of herself after this...
Coach took her to the waiting room as the YFTL was preparing the first match. He told her to shadowbox to get rid of any jitters she still had after she changed, and she did as he said. Throwing out all her embarrassment from before out of her mind and focusing on fighting people she has fought in the past. Funnily enough, the person she chose to pick was actually that undefeated Japanese guy with the staff. After their match and when she got home, she actually looked him up online to see just how he became undefeated in the first place. It turns out he really was a freaking prodigy! Every opponent he faced didn't stand a chance against him. Apparently, she lucked out that he underestimated her greatly. After watching several of his fights online, she could better picture his fighting style while shadowboxing.
He was a damn fun opponent to face against. Haruto had her beat in reach and skill so far. Their speed was near each other, with her having the advantage in mobility and power. Sadly, Haruto's fighting style was so unique that Zoey wouldn't be able to make much use shadowboxing against him to prepare for other types of fighters. But still, it was fun to fight against an opponent on the same skill level.
"And for our first fighter of the night, we have the undefeated boxing queen!!! Zoey Winters!!!" Zoey was surrounded by Coach and employees from the YFTL as she was escorted to the ring.
Fans from the crowd were screaming their heads off as her theme song played in the background? An aggressive mood rousing song to play her in that made her seem like a bloodthirsty monster on the hunt for bigger and bigger prey. Zoey didn't exactly think that this song pictured who she was on the outside, but damn, did it picture her when she really got into the mood during a good fight. Did this mean that Coach knew about her true feelings about fighting? There's no way. First, her dad, and now Coach? No, no, no, no. Zoey couldn't accept this. She definitely wasn't someone able to be seen through so easily.
"Zoey has been on an unstoppable rampage ever since she debuted in the YFTL! Even though she's a girl, it seems that no boy has what it takes to stop her! She doesn't care about size! She doesn't care about fighting style! She doesn't give a damn about you! All this fighter cares about is pummeling her opponents into the next realm with her destructive fists! She's a talented killer that plans to destroy anyone that stands in her way!" The announcer continued to describe her as inhumanely as possible.
'You piece of shit. I'm a nice person! Stop making me out to be some kind of villain!' Zoey was conflicted.
While she loved the praise and compliments flowing her way, she didn't really have the courage to play the villain like they were making her out to be. Couldn't she be a sweet, respectful boxing queen instead? Throwing fists of love and shit? What if she had to do an interview, and everyone is expecting her to be really mean and nasty? Well, she is really mean and nasty on the inside sometimes, but still. That isn't how she portrays herself to people that know her! Augh!
His belly wobbled as he made his way over to her. Everyone else in the gym also locked their eyes on her. If this was the Zoey in the past, she would surely feel embarrassed right now. Well, she still feels embarrassed and wants to hide her face, but compared to all the people in the crowd during the preliminaries of the YFTL, it wasn't that many people at all. She could tolerate something like this better. Especially since mostly everyone was looking at her with a smile.
Did she usurp Ben's place as the gym's star from under him? Zoey secretly knew it was only a matter of time but didn't expect it to be this quick. She still hasn't even sparred with him yet. It looks like the YFTL is really amazing compared to the world of amateur boxing. Maybe if he went professional and fixed his personality a little bit, people would treat him like they're treating her.
"Are you ready for your fight, kid?" Coach asked.
"Who am I even fighting?" Zoey asked her own question.
"We'll talk on the way there." He patted her on the shoulder. "If you little slacking bastards want to come, hurry up, get dressed, and get to the limo!" He soon yelled afterward.
"You can get dressed at the tournament, so you're fine." Coach told her.
"So, I should get in the limo then?"
"Yep, that's fine. The lazy smucks should be ready soon."
Zoey knew she should spend the time in the limo studying the notebook filled with magical knowledge but studying really wasn't one of her strengths, even with the Box. As far as Zoey could see, her mental stat didn't give her results as obvious as her body stat did. So, instead of studying, Zoey started playing competitive games on her phone to raise her Gaming skill. She was surprised to find out that there were very big competitive markets for games on mobile. It wasn't anything close to the competitive market on PC or consoles but still very large.
Console and computer competitive games could hold tournaments that gave out millions of dollars as the prize for winning! Some of the mobile games could reach this high as well, but not nearly as often as the ones on consoles and PC. Knowing this, Zoey began to wonder something... Could she use her skills together?
What if she tried teaching her brother how to play a game that often had tournaments with high payouts for winning till he was good enough to win on his own? Teaching and Gaming combined! Zoey would use her gaming skill to try and perfect or master a game before passing on her skills and maybe even teaching her brother to a higher height than she reached in the game. Then he could quickly grow in skills and popularity by being good at the game while streaming! What video game fans wouldn't enjoy watching someone with a kind and respectful personality along with being a total beast in the game!? As her brother rose in the online leaderboards or competitive scene, so would his viewers on his stream, and with his increase in viewers, he would also get more subscribers and people who want to pay him for making such a good stream!
Zoey was getting excited thinking about how she could help her brother fulfill his dream of being a famous streamer and getting paid to play video games. What boy his age wouldn't love to make money doing the thing they love? She didn't even think about using her skills to help her family and loved ones for some reason! So selfish! Zoey, you're so selfish!
In her excitement of thinking of all the ways she could help her family and friends, she didn't take into account how much time she would need to spend to accomplish all of this. The things she was thinking about weren't things that could be done in a week or two. Especially when adding in preparing herself for her future opponents in the YFTL, the Annual Meeting of Young Magjistars, school, hunting daemons, training her skills, studying the magic notebook, track practice and meets, and making time for her friends so she didn't lose them. Zoey felt like her brain would explode trying to juggle so many things at once.
Zoey almost felt desperate enough to flip through Math Tips and Tricks to see if there was a magic spell in there that could duplicate a person so that she could be in more places than once, but then she thought about Alexander and Lindsay. The two of them exclusively focused on ice magic and lightning magic. This made her wonder if a magjistar could only use one type of magji in their life, and if she could choose one, she would be stuck with it too. Duplication magic sounded cool, but it wouldn't be something she wanted to be stuck with.
If she was to choose her own magic, it would be something to complement her Ultimate Boxing Style. Considering she didn't know all of the different kinds of magic out there, it wasn't like she could decide at this moment anyway. Maybe Lindsay put something about it in the notebooks. But right now, Zoey was playing top position in a ranked match and couldn't focus on much besides not getting ganked and outfarming her opponent in lane.
Coach Scott was telling her about her opponent while everyone else was chatting with one another or asking her questions.
"He's a Muay Thai fighter. You know, elbows, kicks, knees, and strikes. But this Muay Thai fighter isn't the one you need to be worried about compared to the other one. Just watch out for his kicks. You should be able to handle his striking."
"Does he know any grappling?" Zoey asked. This was very important.
"None. The only thing you need to ready yourself for is his kicks." Coach reassured her.
"Have you told her about the new rules in the official tournament?" Zack brought up.
"Ah shit, I knew I was forgetting something." Coach cursed.
"New rules?" Zoey asked. This was probably more important than the grappling.
If Zoey got disqualified for breaking the rules when she should've won, she'd be pissed beyond belief. She'd definitely be pissed at Coach for not telling her something as important as the god damn fucking rules! Zoey was very invested in this tournament for a multitude of reasons besides increasing her skills. Having it robbed away from her because she wasn't informed of something she should have been would be infuriating.
"Sorry, kid. In the official tournament, there are now four rounds in total which are three minutes each round. After the three minutes are up, you will have to return to our corner. I'm sure you've seen some actual boxing matches about what we do in the corner. That's how it's going to be for you after each round." He explained
"Is there anything else?" Zoey made sure to ask.
"A lot more, actually..." Zack sighed at Coach's bad memory at this moment.
Zack told Zoey the rest of the rules that the Coach had conveniently forgotten at the moment, and she felt like she would've been fine even if she didn't know them. Most of them weren't really rules that a boxer like her could really break, as she mostly uses her fists. Not her legs, knees, head, or fingers. Like a few of the rules said, she couldn't stomp a grounded opponent, claw, pinch, twist the flesh or use abusive language.
That last one was really important because Zoey had quite the potty mouth. She didn't believe she'd ever let anyone that she knew hear her curse as often as she does in her head. But it could happen. You never really know when you need to let out a good swear every now and then. Sometimes Zoey just felt like saying fuck ten times in a row. Or somedays calling everything she sees shit. Zoey liked cursing a lot more than a girl probably should.
"We're here. Let's get going." The limo stopped outside the YFTL building.
Around the limo were swarms and swarms of people. This place was filled with even more people than the preliminaries! Were they all here for her match? It couldn't be! She wasn't that popular yet, was she? Zoey definitely had to read some of the comments on her fighting videos soon.
Zoey couldn't believe that someone like her could become popular so easily. Did all it take to become liked and popular was being good at fighting? While Zoey definitely wouldn't call herself ugly, she didn't think she was like beautiful or super pretty or anything. Her socially awkward brain couldn't process anything as Coach basically had to drag her through the crowd.
People snapping pictures of her, recording her, and even trying to ask her questions were all phased out as she basically froze up. It wasn't until they made it inside that she could finally breathe again. Only to hear the snickering and laughter of the guys from the gym. Zoey could feel her face heating up, but she definitely wasn't going to say anything to embarrass herself any further.
"We're going to need to stay away from the cameras for a bit until you get more used to them." Coach couldn't help but say after seeing her face the people from the media like that.
"Yes." Zoey couldn't say anything to argue with him! Oh god, did she not want to see any articles, pictures, and videos of herself after this...
Coach took her to the waiting room as the YFTL was preparing the first match. He told her to shadowbox to get rid of any jitters she still had after she changed, and she did as he said. Throwing out all her embarrassment from before out of her mind and focusing on fighting people she has fought in the past. Funnily enough, the person she chose to pick was actually that undefeated Japanese guy with the staff. After their match and when she got home, she actually looked him up online to see just how he became undefeated in the first place. It turns out he really was a freaking prodigy! Every opponent he faced didn't stand a chance against him. Apparently, she lucked out that he underestimated her greatly. After watching several of his fights online, she could better picture his fighting style while shadowboxing.
He was a damn fun opponent to face against. Haruto had her beat in reach and skill so far. Their speed was near each other, with her having the advantage in mobility and power. Sadly, Haruto's fighting style was so unique that Zoey wouldn't be able to make much use shadowboxing against him to prepare for other types of fighters. But still, it was fun to fight against an opponent on the same skill level.
"And for our first fighter of the night, we have the undefeated boxing queen!!! Zoey Winters!!!" Zoey was surrounded by Coach and employees from the YFTL as she was escorted to the ring.
Fans from the crowd were screaming their heads off as her theme song played in the background? An aggressive mood rousing song to play her in that made her seem like a bloodthirsty monster on the hunt for bigger and bigger prey. Zoey didn't exactly think that this song pictured who she was on the outside, but damn, did it picture her when she really got into the mood during a good fight. Did this mean that Coach knew about her true feelings about fighting? There's no way. First, her dad, and now Coach? No, no, no, no. Zoey couldn't accept this. She definitely wasn't someone able to be seen through so easily.
"Zoey has been on an unstoppable rampage ever since she debuted in the YFTL! Even though she's a girl, it seems that no boy has what it takes to stop her! She doesn't care about size! She doesn't care about fighting style! She doesn't give a damn about you! All this fighter cares about is pummeling her opponents into the next realm with her destructive fists! She's a talented killer that plans to destroy anyone that stands in her way!" The announcer continued to describe her as inhumanely as possible.
'You piece of shit. I'm a nice person! Stop making me out to be some kind of villain!' Zoey was conflicted.
While she loved the praise and compliments flowing her way, she didn't really have the courage to play the villain like they were making her out to be. Couldn't she be a sweet, respectful boxing queen instead? Throwing fists of love and shit? What if she had to do an interview, and everyone is expecting her to be really mean and nasty? Well, she is really mean and nasty on the inside sometimes, but still. That isn't how she portrays herself to people that know her! Augh!
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
As it turns out when you act like a battle crazed monster people notice.
Chapter 45: Zoey vs Donald!
"Our second fighter of the night! A young man that knows how to respect his opponents and give them a good fight! He may not be undefeated or as new as his latest opponent, but he has the determination and confidence to stand with the best of them! Donald Aldo, the Underdog!!!" The announcer shouted to the screaming audience.
Zoey watched as her light-skinned, bush-like hair and small-framed opponent came into the cage. Surprisingly, he was around her own height, and Zoey was 5 ft tall. Maybe she can understand why he went into fighting now... With a height like that, it would be difficult to get most women to look at you as a man when they're looking down on you. Of course, Zoey didn't believe in that nonsense. Her future husband just had to perfectly click with her regardless of his height.
He kindly smiled at her when he made it into the ring. Zoey didn't notice Donald holding out his hand for a handshake as she stared off into space, suddenly remembering the way the announcer introduced him. That piece of shit announcer knew how to get on her good side and bad side! What the fuck did he mean know how to respect his opponent and give them a good fight?! Zoey gave those she fought respect. They really were making her out to be the villain without telling her anything. Could it be because she was a boxer? Or was it because she was black? Whatever the reason was, Zoey wished someone could've told her about this beforehand.
Now she had to play the villain for her fighting career going forward. Because of this, she also had to portray herself as a decent human being outside of the fighting world. When she gets rich and famous, she'll have to donate to reputable charities and stuff like that so she isn't seen as a complete bitch. Ooh, maybe she could even have her brother say nice things about her on his stream when they both get popular. Like how she isn't like how she is in the ring at all at home or something like that.
Unknown to Zoey, she was already playing into her villain persona before her match even began! The multiple cameras focused on the ring, and the crowd was recording her without her even knowing. Everyone could see on the big screen above the ring how Zoey coldly glanced at her opponent before looking away, obviously disinterested. The crowd went wild when they saw her blatantly ignore and disregard Donald's friendly handshake before their match. Zoey really doesn't give a damn about anyone!
"Fight!" The referee shouted.
The sudden yell from the referee woke her up from her thoughts. Her eyes slowly watched a leg rising towards her waist. Zoey didn't even get the chance to get into a proper boxing stance before her arm suffered a blow from his kick. She managed to raise her left arm in time to block it as she sent a quick jab toward Donald.
Zoey's glove impacted Donald's arms with a heavy bang. With him blocking her jab, it gave her the opportunity to get into her formally taught boxing stance. Now with Donald's legs back on the mat and Zoey ready to fight, the real fight was about to begin. Everyone in the crowd could tell things were about to change now.
Donald couldn't believe the force of the jab he had to block with both arms. If that was just a jab, Donald didn't know if he could handle a real punch from her with his body. He had to fight carefully but not cowardly. If he saw a chance to attack, he had to take it. Otherwise, he would be destroyed by her instantly! As one of the main fighters in the tournament, Donald did his research on every fighter here. Zoey was in a weird spot compared to the others because if he was lucky, he could outmatch her with his more diverse options of attack. Punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, she could only use punches. Although, from time to time, in her matches, she would use her feet and grab. So, he had to be aware of that as well.
Another jab was flying toward him like a high-speed bullet. Instead of blocking this head-on, he chose to dodge it this time. If he allowed her to jab at him at will, that damage was definitely going to pile up and hurt him in the long run. That is if he could survive past the first round... He would be the first out of all of Zoey's opponents to make it past a single round with her if he did.
More and more jabs began to fly at him. Her left arm shot them out like she was a military gunner. Donald couldn't dodge them all. He had to make some distance between the two of them. But wait, that would only give her the chance to follow up and pound into him or force him into a corner of the cage. He had to do something dangerous if he wanted to turn things around. No way could he let himself be beaten without showing everything he had!
As of now, it looked like Donald was pressured heavily by Zoey. She has thrown nothing but jabs so far, but each jab frightened Donald. The crowd didn't understand what he was so scared of, but those who had some experience in fighting did. Zoey's jabs might look like simple punches to the untrained eye, but if they were up in the ring facing against them like Donald Aldo was, they would understand that each of those punches was enough to lead to a match-ending finish.
Just as it looked like Donald was about to be forced back to the cage, Donald suddenly kicked out with his foot while taking a hit from Zoey's jab head-on. It was a trade! This also gave him the chance to turn this match around. Donald's foot landed squarely on Zoey's stomach and sent her back some distance. Blood dripped from Donald's nose because of Zoey's jab, but he didn't let it affect him. In fact, seeing that his kick managed to get in invigorated the underdog!
Donald stepped in with a beautifully executed low kick that landed perfectly on Zoey's thigh. It felt like his foot just hit a tree trunk filled with nothing but muscle! What the hell?! A girl this size couldn't possibly have muscles so thick, could she!?
His confusion didn't mess up his tempo, however. Despite her not looking affected by the low kick, the fact that the low kick landed at all filled him with confidence. With his head ready to move at any second to dodge her jabs, Donald followed up his low kick with a high kick to Zoey's face. As this motion was playing out, a chill suddenly filled Donald's heart.
The cameras picked up Zoey's small smirk as Donald's foot came soaring toward her face. Zoey's head ducked down before immediately bobbing back up and delivering a sharp jab to Donald's face. That one jab turned into two jabs, and those two jabs turned into three. All within a second! Everyone could see blood shooting out from Donald's face, and as Zoey was about to send her fourth jab, the referee suddenly intervened in the middle. He forced himself in front of the confused and bloody Donald, as he called the first round of the match.
"To your corner!" He yelled at her as her fist was inches away from his nose.
Zoey's fist shook from an unknown emotion just as she was about to finish off Donald. She completely forgot there were multiple rounds and almost hit the referee for interrupting her. It reminded her of when she fought multiple delinquents. To think she was almost disqualified already. How annoying.
She clicked her tongue in disappointment as she turned and made her way to her corner where the Coach was waiting with Zach, Aiden, and some doctor-looking guy. Aiden had a pack of ice in his hand and began to wipe it all over her body, while Zach had a white washcloth to wipe her sweat with. The doctor checked her leg and stomach for anything serious.
"You're doing good, kid. Watch out for those kicks of his as best you can. You watch out for those and keep doing what you're doing. You'll be fine. You can win this." He told her, staring into her eyes before taking out her mouthpiece from her mouth and then putting in a new one.
Zoey wasn't expecting to have two good-looking boys wiping her down, a doctor touching her leg, and Coach putting his fingers in her mouth from coming in this corner, but she wasn't sure she wanted to go to the corner again. So, she was going to make sure to finish this fight in the next round. While some parts of this were nice, all of it together wasn't that nice.
"It looked like Zoey was about to swing on the referee, didn't it?" The main announcer spoke.
"Maybe she was pissed he got in her way before she could end the match." The secondary announcer guessed.
"It's a good thing she stopped herself in time."
"Sometimes you need to know when to advance and when to retreat."
"Her fight match in the tournament could've been all over if she hit the referee with those fists of hers."
"Who would have called the match if she knocked out the referee?"
"This isn't wrestling, John! The rules aren't automatically thrown out just because the referee can't see them."
"I'm just saying... She could've had a double TKO in her first round. Because if that referee was dropped by her, nothing would be able to stop her from pounding Donald's skull in. You saw how he had to be led into his corner by his helpers. That boy was seeing stars and wouldn't be able to resist if she wanted to continue further."
"Let's see how he does in the second round, Bob."
Zoey watched as her light-skinned, bush-like hair and small-framed opponent came into the cage. Surprisingly, he was around her own height, and Zoey was 5 ft tall. Maybe she can understand why he went into fighting now... With a height like that, it would be difficult to get most women to look at you as a man when they're looking down on you. Of course, Zoey didn't believe in that nonsense. Her future husband just had to perfectly click with her regardless of his height.
He kindly smiled at her when he made it into the ring. Zoey didn't notice Donald holding out his hand for a handshake as she stared off into space, suddenly remembering the way the announcer introduced him. That piece of shit announcer knew how to get on her good side and bad side! What the fuck did he mean know how to respect his opponent and give them a good fight?! Zoey gave those she fought respect. They really were making her out to be the villain without telling her anything. Could it be because she was a boxer? Or was it because she was black? Whatever the reason was, Zoey wished someone could've told her about this beforehand.
Now she had to play the villain for her fighting career going forward. Because of this, she also had to portray herself as a decent human being outside of the fighting world. When she gets rich and famous, she'll have to donate to reputable charities and stuff like that so she isn't seen as a complete bitch. Ooh, maybe she could even have her brother say nice things about her on his stream when they both get popular. Like how she isn't like how she is in the ring at all at home or something like that.
Unknown to Zoey, she was already playing into her villain persona before her match even began! The multiple cameras focused on the ring, and the crowd was recording her without her even knowing. Everyone could see on the big screen above the ring how Zoey coldly glanced at her opponent before looking away, obviously disinterested. The crowd went wild when they saw her blatantly ignore and disregard Donald's friendly handshake before their match. Zoey really doesn't give a damn about anyone!
"Fight!" The referee shouted.
The sudden yell from the referee woke her up from her thoughts. Her eyes slowly watched a leg rising towards her waist. Zoey didn't even get the chance to get into a proper boxing stance before her arm suffered a blow from his kick. She managed to raise her left arm in time to block it as she sent a quick jab toward Donald.
Zoey's glove impacted Donald's arms with a heavy bang. With him blocking her jab, it gave her the opportunity to get into her formally taught boxing stance. Now with Donald's legs back on the mat and Zoey ready to fight, the real fight was about to begin. Everyone in the crowd could tell things were about to change now.
Donald couldn't believe the force of the jab he had to block with both arms. If that was just a jab, Donald didn't know if he could handle a real punch from her with his body. He had to fight carefully but not cowardly. If he saw a chance to attack, he had to take it. Otherwise, he would be destroyed by her instantly! As one of the main fighters in the tournament, Donald did his research on every fighter here. Zoey was in a weird spot compared to the others because if he was lucky, he could outmatch her with his more diverse options of attack. Punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, she could only use punches. Although, from time to time, in her matches, she would use her feet and grab. So, he had to be aware of that as well.
Another jab was flying toward him like a high-speed bullet. Instead of blocking this head-on, he chose to dodge it this time. If he allowed her to jab at him at will, that damage was definitely going to pile up and hurt him in the long run. That is if he could survive past the first round... He would be the first out of all of Zoey's opponents to make it past a single round with her if he did.
More and more jabs began to fly at him. Her left arm shot them out like she was a military gunner. Donald couldn't dodge them all. He had to make some distance between the two of them. But wait, that would only give her the chance to follow up and pound into him or force him into a corner of the cage. He had to do something dangerous if he wanted to turn things around. No way could he let himself be beaten without showing everything he had!
As of now, it looked like Donald was pressured heavily by Zoey. She has thrown nothing but jabs so far, but each jab frightened Donald. The crowd didn't understand what he was so scared of, but those who had some experience in fighting did. Zoey's jabs might look like simple punches to the untrained eye, but if they were up in the ring facing against them like Donald Aldo was, they would understand that each of those punches was enough to lead to a match-ending finish.
Just as it looked like Donald was about to be forced back to the cage, Donald suddenly kicked out with his foot while taking a hit from Zoey's jab head-on. It was a trade! This also gave him the chance to turn this match around. Donald's foot landed squarely on Zoey's stomach and sent her back some distance. Blood dripped from Donald's nose because of Zoey's jab, but he didn't let it affect him. In fact, seeing that his kick managed to get in invigorated the underdog!
Donald stepped in with a beautifully executed low kick that landed perfectly on Zoey's thigh. It felt like his foot just hit a tree trunk filled with nothing but muscle! What the hell?! A girl this size couldn't possibly have muscles so thick, could she!?
His confusion didn't mess up his tempo, however. Despite her not looking affected by the low kick, the fact that the low kick landed at all filled him with confidence. With his head ready to move at any second to dodge her jabs, Donald followed up his low kick with a high kick to Zoey's face. As this motion was playing out, a chill suddenly filled Donald's heart.
The cameras picked up Zoey's small smirk as Donald's foot came soaring toward her face. Zoey's head ducked down before immediately bobbing back up and delivering a sharp jab to Donald's face. That one jab turned into two jabs, and those two jabs turned into three. All within a second! Everyone could see blood shooting out from Donald's face, and as Zoey was about to send her fourth jab, the referee suddenly intervened in the middle. He forced himself in front of the confused and bloody Donald, as he called the first round of the match.
"To your corner!" He yelled at her as her fist was inches away from his nose.
Zoey's fist shook from an unknown emotion just as she was about to finish off Donald. She completely forgot there were multiple rounds and almost hit the referee for interrupting her. It reminded her of when she fought multiple delinquents. To think she was almost disqualified already. How annoying.
She clicked her tongue in disappointment as she turned and made her way to her corner where the Coach was waiting with Zach, Aiden, and some doctor-looking guy. Aiden had a pack of ice in his hand and began to wipe it all over her body, while Zach had a white washcloth to wipe her sweat with. The doctor checked her leg and stomach for anything serious.
"You're doing good, kid. Watch out for those kicks of his as best you can. You watch out for those and keep doing what you're doing. You'll be fine. You can win this." He told her, staring into her eyes before taking out her mouthpiece from her mouth and then putting in a new one.
Zoey wasn't expecting to have two good-looking boys wiping her down, a doctor touching her leg, and Coach putting his fingers in her mouth from coming in this corner, but she wasn't sure she wanted to go to the corner again. So, she was going to make sure to finish this fight in the next round. While some parts of this were nice, all of it together wasn't that nice.
"It looked like Zoey was about to swing on the referee, didn't it?" The main announcer spoke.
"Maybe she was pissed he got in her way before she could end the match." The secondary announcer guessed.
"It's a good thing she stopped herself in time."
"Sometimes you need to know when to advance and when to retreat."
"Her fight match in the tournament could've been all over if she hit the referee with those fists of hers."
"Who would have called the match if she knocked out the referee?"
"This isn't wrestling, John! The rules aren't automatically thrown out just because the referee can't see them."
"I'm just saying... She could've had a double TKO in her first round. Because if that referee was dropped by her, nothing would be able to stop her from pounding Donald's skull in. You saw how he had to be led into his corner by his helpers. That boy was seeing stars and wouldn't be able to resist if she wanted to continue further."
"Let's see how he does in the second round, Bob."
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I love that she thinks she has to try to be scary and dismisive.
Chapter 46: An Unexpected Ending…
"Hah... hah... hah... I made it past the first round!" Donald was elated.
He was the first of all of Zoey's opponents to last past the first round with her! Donald Aldo survived against Zoey! It could even be possible for him to win! She was such a strong opponent. He really couldn't believe how strong she was. Zoey hasn't done anything but throw jabs, and he's still having trouble with her. If she went all out from the start, would he have lost in seconds?
Donald didn't know why Zoey was only using jabs but planned to take advantage of it the best he could. While she was still underestimating him, he had to pull out all the stops. Even if he had to make it to a decision and let the judges vote for the winner. He could not allow himself to be knocked out. All of his training and research would have been for nothing.
"She still hasn't been trained on how to deal with kicks. Use that to your advantage." Donald's coach told him.
"Yes, ma'am!" He responded strongly.
"Keep your defense tight but don't turtle up! Try to avoid taking hits to the face, or the referee might end the match if you take too many."
"Yes, ma'am!"
With the sound of a bell ringing, Donald was allowed to clear his head up, fix up his face, and get his head back in the game. The two fighters neared each other, with Donald taking the first attack to the surprise of the crowd. This caused many surprised cries and shouts to ring across the arena. Donald led the second round of the bout with a strong low kick to start off. A heavy smack echoed from the ring as the impact of his leg meeting Zoey's thigh was heard.
However, Donald didn't just get this hit for free. Zoey just barely missed a jab that led to a sharp linear cut across his cheek. He could feel the blood dripping from his wound, but he didn't let this affect his mindset. Careful, cautious, and aggressive! His eyes carefully watched Zoey's fists as he knew that those were her only weapons in this fight. She couldn't kick, she couldn't use her elbows, and she couldn't headbutt. The only thing she could do to him involved her arms. If he watched her arms solely, there was no way she could catch him off guard!
Donald focused entirely on kicks since they seemed to work very effectively against Zoey. She tanked them on with her body and continued to throw lightning-quick jabs. Just like before, they barely made contact with him and only left very clean cuts across his face. Eventually, the referee had to briefly stop the match as one of the ring doctors checked if Donald was clear to continue fighting. He was given the green light as the cameras manage to catch a small grin on Zoey's face.
"She's toying with him! What an absolute vicious devil!" The main announcer cried out.
"It's like watching a cold-blooded killer playing with her victim. The poor boy is bleeding all over and doing his best in this fight, but to her, it's nothing but a game." The secondary announcer commented.
"Did you see the way she smiled, John? She's enjoying this! We got a real little sadist this year!"
"I wonder how long Donald will be able to hold out? He might be able to cause an upset if he survives to the last round! He's landing some pretty good kicks on Zoey, and she hasn't landed a solid hit on him ever since the first round. I don't know if it's because she's playing with him or Donald has adapted to her speed!"
"I guess we'll have to keep watching John. I know we're not supposed to play favorites as announcers, but is it bad that I'm rooting for Donald?" Bob asked.
"I think a majority of the audience agrees with you. Do I hear them chanting his name right now?" John asked as the cheers for Donald Aldo increased in volume.
The sound of the audience stomping their feet together while cheering Donald's name did reach Zoey's ears quite clearly. She felt that it was definitely wrong of her to do this, but it wasn't like she was the one who chose to be a villain. If she knew what the announcers were saying about her, she would agree with them. Zoey was for sure not giving her absolute best against Donald. In fact, she was studying him and his fighting style.
Every dozen times he's kicked her this round, she's been watching carefully. Donald wasn't going to be the only person she went up against that will try to take advantage of her lack of experience with kicks. What better way to learn than to learn with one's body? Just for the sake of gaining fighting experience, Zoey even stopped jabbing toward his face and started focusing on his arms and body instead. If the match ended because he was bleeding too much, she would feel like she was cock blocked!
The bell for the second round rang, and Zoey returned back to her corner with a small grin on her face. She could feel herself slowly progressing! It was slow as shit, but it was still visible to her. Each time Donald threw a low kick, mid-kick, or high kick, she asked herself what was the best way to fight against something like this. Just blocking or dodging it wasn't good enough, in her opinion. Zoey wanted to somehow cause pain at the same time.
She could target his leg every time he went for a kick. If you cause someone enough pain to a certain place every time they tried doing something, it would make them less likely to want to do that thing. For example, if a child was given a spanking for cursing in front of their parents, they wouldn't curse in front of their parents again because they knew a painful fate was awaiting their butt in the near future. Zoey had to do some testing to figure out exactly how to best punish her opponents from using kicks against her. The first thing to start with is the low kick since Donald favors those the most.
"I don't know what the hell you're planning, Zoey, but can you win?" Coach asked her.
It was obvious to everyone that Zoey was simply dragging this out. Those who didn't know Zoey thought that it was because of her devilish nature. Those who did, had a hard time understanding. Coach Scott was glad she played into her character well, but he knew that she wasn't actually torturing the boy on purpose. Probably...
"I can win." She told him.
"Alright. I won't tell ya what to do since it seems like you're confident in what you're doing. Good luck out there, ya little devil." He chuckled.
"Knock 'em dead, devil!" Zack and Aiden cheered next.
"Hah..." Zoey could only sigh as the bell rang and the third round began.
Donald was seemingly filled with endless energy. He made it to the third round against Zoey Winters! A girl that was unlike any other girl fighter in the YFTL with an undefeated streak against only boys! As far as Donald knew, that was an unprecedented feat in all of the YFTL. Most undefeated girl fighters were only undefeated when facing against other girls and took special consideration to only face against girls if they could help it. She didn't care who she faced and took them out with those unstoppable cannons she called fists.
With the chants of the crowd on his side, the high from lasting this long against such a great fighter, and the fact that none of his limbs were injured too badly, Donald believed he could win! He didn't know why she insisted on using jabs, but that would prove to be her own downfall. Deep in his heart, he felt somewhat unsatisfied that she was only using jabs against him. In his opinion, a fighter is supposed to show respect to their opponent by using everything they have against them. Do not hold back on the account of them being weaker but show them the huge gulf between the two of you by not holding back in the slightest. His opinion of Zoey Winters fell somewhat when thinking of this.
It only took a few seconds into the third round before disaster struck in the ring. A sharp crack cut across the entire arena as if lightning struck straight in the middle of the ring. Soon after that crack, a grisly bloodcurdling scream filled the ears of everyone watching. No one could believe their eyes or the piercing yell in their ears. Even the announcers and other fighters were at a loss on how to react to such an unexpected and devastating event.
"She checked him..." Bob was speechless.
"She checked his low kick with her shin..." John couldn't believe it either.
"Hahahaha! I did it!" Zoey was so engrossed in the fact that her first choice of defense method worked she didn't realize what she actually just did to Donald Aldo.
Donald Aldo couldn't properly process what happened even after it happened. All he knew was that he was in a lot of pain after throwing a low kick, and now, he couldn't stand up anymore. He dropped to the ring as he cradled the source of pain that was bending at an unnatural angle like a noodle. Multiple ring doctors rushed in the ring as the referee called the match immediately.
The crowd was in disbelief at all of the events happening at once.
"She really is a devil..."
"Breaking someone's leg and then laughing about it...?"
"Is that even legal!?"
"Disqualify her!"
"Disqualify her!"
"Disqualify her!"
Most of the audience began to chant for Zoey to be disqualified for her vicious actions against the kind and respectful Donald Aldo. His cry pierced straight through their hearts while Zoey's laugh rattled their bones terribly. It wouldn't be right for someone as terrible as Zoey to win! This had to have broken some rule! If people were allowed to break people's legs freely, then what would become of the YFTL?! He's just a child!
He was the first of all of Zoey's opponents to last past the first round with her! Donald Aldo survived against Zoey! It could even be possible for him to win! She was such a strong opponent. He really couldn't believe how strong she was. Zoey hasn't done anything but throw jabs, and he's still having trouble with her. If she went all out from the start, would he have lost in seconds?
Donald didn't know why Zoey was only using jabs but planned to take advantage of it the best he could. While she was still underestimating him, he had to pull out all the stops. Even if he had to make it to a decision and let the judges vote for the winner. He could not allow himself to be knocked out. All of his training and research would have been for nothing.
"She still hasn't been trained on how to deal with kicks. Use that to your advantage." Donald's coach told him.
"Yes, ma'am!" He responded strongly.
"Keep your defense tight but don't turtle up! Try to avoid taking hits to the face, or the referee might end the match if you take too many."
"Yes, ma'am!"
With the sound of a bell ringing, Donald was allowed to clear his head up, fix up his face, and get his head back in the game. The two fighters neared each other, with Donald taking the first attack to the surprise of the crowd. This caused many surprised cries and shouts to ring across the arena. Donald led the second round of the bout with a strong low kick to start off. A heavy smack echoed from the ring as the impact of his leg meeting Zoey's thigh was heard.
However, Donald didn't just get this hit for free. Zoey just barely missed a jab that led to a sharp linear cut across his cheek. He could feel the blood dripping from his wound, but he didn't let this affect his mindset. Careful, cautious, and aggressive! His eyes carefully watched Zoey's fists as he knew that those were her only weapons in this fight. She couldn't kick, she couldn't use her elbows, and she couldn't headbutt. The only thing she could do to him involved her arms. If he watched her arms solely, there was no way she could catch him off guard!
Donald focused entirely on kicks since they seemed to work very effectively against Zoey. She tanked them on with her body and continued to throw lightning-quick jabs. Just like before, they barely made contact with him and only left very clean cuts across his face. Eventually, the referee had to briefly stop the match as one of the ring doctors checked if Donald was clear to continue fighting. He was given the green light as the cameras manage to catch a small grin on Zoey's face.
"She's toying with him! What an absolute vicious devil!" The main announcer cried out.
"It's like watching a cold-blooded killer playing with her victim. The poor boy is bleeding all over and doing his best in this fight, but to her, it's nothing but a game." The secondary announcer commented.
"Did you see the way she smiled, John? She's enjoying this! We got a real little sadist this year!"
"I wonder how long Donald will be able to hold out? He might be able to cause an upset if he survives to the last round! He's landing some pretty good kicks on Zoey, and she hasn't landed a solid hit on him ever since the first round. I don't know if it's because she's playing with him or Donald has adapted to her speed!"
"I guess we'll have to keep watching John. I know we're not supposed to play favorites as announcers, but is it bad that I'm rooting for Donald?" Bob asked.
"I think a majority of the audience agrees with you. Do I hear them chanting his name right now?" John asked as the cheers for Donald Aldo increased in volume.
The sound of the audience stomping their feet together while cheering Donald's name did reach Zoey's ears quite clearly. She felt that it was definitely wrong of her to do this, but it wasn't like she was the one who chose to be a villain. If she knew what the announcers were saying about her, she would agree with them. Zoey was for sure not giving her absolute best against Donald. In fact, she was studying him and his fighting style.
Every dozen times he's kicked her this round, she's been watching carefully. Donald wasn't going to be the only person she went up against that will try to take advantage of her lack of experience with kicks. What better way to learn than to learn with one's body? Just for the sake of gaining fighting experience, Zoey even stopped jabbing toward his face and started focusing on his arms and body instead. If the match ended because he was bleeding too much, she would feel like she was cock blocked!
The bell for the second round rang, and Zoey returned back to her corner with a small grin on her face. She could feel herself slowly progressing! It was slow as shit, but it was still visible to her. Each time Donald threw a low kick, mid-kick, or high kick, she asked herself what was the best way to fight against something like this. Just blocking or dodging it wasn't good enough, in her opinion. Zoey wanted to somehow cause pain at the same time.
She could target his leg every time he went for a kick. If you cause someone enough pain to a certain place every time they tried doing something, it would make them less likely to want to do that thing. For example, if a child was given a spanking for cursing in front of their parents, they wouldn't curse in front of their parents again because they knew a painful fate was awaiting their butt in the near future. Zoey had to do some testing to figure out exactly how to best punish her opponents from using kicks against her. The first thing to start with is the low kick since Donald favors those the most.
"I don't know what the hell you're planning, Zoey, but can you win?" Coach asked her.
It was obvious to everyone that Zoey was simply dragging this out. Those who didn't know Zoey thought that it was because of her devilish nature. Those who did, had a hard time understanding. Coach Scott was glad she played into her character well, but he knew that she wasn't actually torturing the boy on purpose. Probably...
"I can win." She told him.
"Alright. I won't tell ya what to do since it seems like you're confident in what you're doing. Good luck out there, ya little devil." He chuckled.
"Knock 'em dead, devil!" Zack and Aiden cheered next.
"Hah..." Zoey could only sigh as the bell rang and the third round began.
Donald was seemingly filled with endless energy. He made it to the third round against Zoey Winters! A girl that was unlike any other girl fighter in the YFTL with an undefeated streak against only boys! As far as Donald knew, that was an unprecedented feat in all of the YFTL. Most undefeated girl fighters were only undefeated when facing against other girls and took special consideration to only face against girls if they could help it. She didn't care who she faced and took them out with those unstoppable cannons she called fists.
With the chants of the crowd on his side, the high from lasting this long against such a great fighter, and the fact that none of his limbs were injured too badly, Donald believed he could win! He didn't know why she insisted on using jabs, but that would prove to be her own downfall. Deep in his heart, he felt somewhat unsatisfied that she was only using jabs against him. In his opinion, a fighter is supposed to show respect to their opponent by using everything they have against them. Do not hold back on the account of them being weaker but show them the huge gulf between the two of you by not holding back in the slightest. His opinion of Zoey Winters fell somewhat when thinking of this.
It only took a few seconds into the third round before disaster struck in the ring. A sharp crack cut across the entire arena as if lightning struck straight in the middle of the ring. Soon after that crack, a grisly bloodcurdling scream filled the ears of everyone watching. No one could believe their eyes or the piercing yell in their ears. Even the announcers and other fighters were at a loss on how to react to such an unexpected and devastating event.
"She checked him..." Bob was speechless.
"She checked his low kick with her shin..." John couldn't believe it either.
"Hahahaha! I did it!" Zoey was so engrossed in the fact that her first choice of defense method worked she didn't realize what she actually just did to Donald Aldo.
Donald Aldo couldn't properly process what happened even after it happened. All he knew was that he was in a lot of pain after throwing a low kick, and now, he couldn't stand up anymore. He dropped to the ring as he cradled the source of pain that was bending at an unnatural angle like a noodle. Multiple ring doctors rushed in the ring as the referee called the match immediately.
The crowd was in disbelief at all of the events happening at once.
"She really is a devil..."
"Breaking someone's leg and then laughing about it...?"
"Is that even legal!?"
"Disqualify her!"
"Disqualify her!"
"Disqualify her!"
Most of the audience began to chant for Zoey to be disqualified for her vicious actions against the kind and respectful Donald Aldo. His cry pierced straight through their hearts while Zoey's laugh rattled their bones terribly. It wouldn't be right for someone as terrible as Zoey to win! This had to have broken some rule! If people were allowed to break people's legs freely, then what would become of the YFTL?! He's just a child!
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
For fucks sake Zoey
Chapter 47: An Even More Unexpected Outcome!?
"Is it bad if I can't tell if Zoey's acting or not...?" Alexander asked Lindsay as they and the other members in the audience watched Donald Aldo be sent away on a gurney while shouting in pain.
"Not even her own family can tell..." Lindsay responded, looking over at the Winters family closer to the side of the ring.
The audience was chattering amongst themselves as the tournament was put on hold due to the unexpected outcome of the first match. It seems not even the people who put the tournament together expected something like this to happen because there were several important-looking people in the ring discussing with one another. Zoey was silently standing in the ring next to her coach, who was yelling at Donald's coach, who was yelling at Zoey. Zach and Aiden supported Zoey, along with Coach from the woman and the people she brought. Taking another look at it, it seemed like a brawl was about to go down between two gyms in the ring.
"Zoey's awesome!" Everett couldn't control himself and jumped out of his seat.
He didn't think his sister could actually win, but she did it! With how often she was getting hit compared to that Donald guy, he didn't know if she could beat him. Seeing someone's leg break in real life was way different from how it looked in video games. Even now, Everett could still remember the wiggly shape of that guy's broken leg after he tried kicking his sister's leg.
"She isn't going to get in trouble for this, is she, Bruce?" Alicia asked.
"She shouldn't. Things like this happen from time to time in the ring. Usually, the one who causes the injury isn't in trouble unless they disregarded the rules to do so. All Zoey did was position her leg. She didn't break any rules in doing that. So, she should be fine." Bruce comforted her.
"Yeah, Zoey did nothing wrong." Everett nodded his head.
"I hope so..." Alicia still wasn't used to all this fighting stuff and secretly wished that Zoey was interested in something a little safer like her brother.
"We'll see in a few moments based on what the officials think." Bruce rubbed her back.
On the other side of the cage, those from Zoey's gym had their own thoughts about what just went down in the ring. From the sound of the crowd, they could tell that they were outnumbered. Very few people were on Zoey's side from the beginning of the match. Now even fewer were probably on her side after an ending like that. But no matter what, they couldn't let a member of their gym be insulted like this! They continued to cheer and support Zoey during this time, even if they were looked at as enemies by everyone around them.
"Zoey won fair and square!" Tony chanted.
"Zoey won fair and square!" Steven chanted along with him.
"Zoey won fair and square...!" Dylan gathered his nerves and chanted with the two.
"She deserves to win. It isn't her fault that her opponent got cocky." Ben crossed his arms, displeased that there even needed to be a split decision about this in the first place.
"Hey, shut up, you stupid fucking kid! What do you know!?" A grown man with a large gut cursed at Ben.
"Yeah, shut up, you Devil supporters! She broke an innocent kid's leg and laughed about it!" Someone added.
"What did Donald do to deserve having his leg broken!? Now he may never fight again because of that evil little bitch!"
"What did you call her?!" Dylan rose up from his seat and pointed at the asshole insulting his mentor.
"A class-a fucking evil little bitch! That's what!" He enunciated each word with venom spitting from his teeth.
It was at this point that Dylan leaped behind him and punched the guy across the face. He slumped backward in his seat, and this enraged the other Donald supporters around them. Multiple Donald supporters used this opportunity to land a few hits on Dylan since he threw the first punch. Tony, Steven, Ben, and the others from the gym who came to support Zoey couldn't just stand there and watch one of their own being ganged up on. So, even if they didn't know Dylan or like him, they jumped in the brawl too.
With a small portion of the audience erupting in a fight, it soon began to spread to other parts of the crowd. With over 10,000 people in one building, it was very difficult for the YFTL to regain control over the situation, especially with hundreds or maybe thousands of those fighting with each other. The announcers quickly told everyone to leave in a calm and orderly manner to remain safe. And as people do when there is a chaotic and dangerous situation unfolding around them, they fled in the complete opposite manner directed by the announcers.
"There's that little devil bitch's family!" Someone cried out.
"Get them for raising such a horrible little bitch!"
"I lost everything because of that girl! Do you know how much money I bet on Donald!?"
Unlike Zoey, her family was nowhere near as competent fighters as she was. Only Everett had some basic fighting skills, thanks to his lessons from Zoey, but those were mostly useless against a group of people coming after them. It still didn't stop him from trying. He was going to protect his mom and dad even if he had to get hit.
Everett got into the boxing stance that Zoey taught him. He held his fists close to his cheeks and arms tight against his torso as his feet lightened up. The first attacker was perhaps three heads taller than Everett and five times wider. As he approached the Winters Family, Bruce stepped in front of his son. What kind of father would he be if he let a middle school student try to face off against a grown man? Bruce wasn't a fighter and knew very little about fighting, but it wasn't as if he knew nothing about it at all! All he had to do was throw a fist at the guy and keep doing it until his family was safe.
Luckily for the Winters Family, a contestant from the tournament stepped up to protect them just before Bruce was about to suffer a blow to the face. He grabbed the fist of the attacker and brought back his right hand before slinging it into the face of the man. With a deep laugh, he grinned at the other attackers as he stepped in front of the Winters Family.
"I'm the biggest fucking Zoey Winters fan here. If any of you upset bastards wants to throw hands, you can throw hands with me." He cracked his knuckles so that everyone could hear them pop and crackle.
"Who do you think you are?!"
"I lost so much money that if I don't hurt those people for bringing that girl into this world, I will rip my own hair out!"
"He can't take us on all at once!"
"Come on, you fucking pathetic little bitches! James Johnson ain't afraid of nothing!" James brought up his fists like a boxer.
His fist slugged into the face of the first person to come near him, instantly sending him to the ground. Before the others could react to how quickly that guy went down, James rushed in and gut-punched another. He fell to his knees as he felt bile rising to his throat. The others couldn't help but take a step back in fear out of messing with the wrong Devil fan. But James didn't let them escape uninjured. Everyone that tried coming close to the Winters Family suffered a devasting punch from the muscular boxing beast known as James Johnson! He laughed maniacally during the beatdown. It was as if his fists sought complete destruction in the mayhem.
Once Donald Aldo's fans realized that touching the Winter's Family was impossible with this monster around, they quickly gave up and fled the area. Allowing James to safely escort the Winters Family to their car.
"Thank you so much for protecting us..." Alicia told him.
"If you ever need a favor from us, please tell us. I don't know how I can thank you for protecting my family..." Bruce soon added.
"Haha. No problem, Winters. Here's my number. I'd love to get in contact with your daughter in the future. She's the type of girl I'd love to be friends with." He handed his card to Zoey's father and gave a wink he thought was cool to Zoey's little brother in the backseat.
The Winters Family soon drove off back to their home. Alicia believed that they should consider introducing Zoey to the young man at the very least. He did save them. Bruce didn't have any disagreements. James was a scary-looking young man, but he did seem to have a good heart. Not just anyone would go against several people to protect someone. His heart had to be in the right place.
Back in the ring, it was already empty because of the riot that broke out. Zoey was escorted home by Coach, Zach, and Aiden. The final decision of the match was put on hold for a later date to be announced. On the ride back to her house, they told her not to worry and that her family was safe. The decision should be for her to win the match, the riot that happened had nothing to do with her, and she should not feel responsible for it happening, and she could take it easy for the next few days. It wouldn't be good for her to come back to the YFTL until the date of her next match is decided.
"We got to give the losers time to calm down. Your match that should be next Monday might be delayed." Coach explained to her.
"Alright," Zoey responded.
"It depends on how everything unfolds this week. Your match was the first one, and there were supposed to be three other matches today besides yours. We don't know when those other matches are going to take place, which means we also don't know who you could be facing up against next." Zach said.
"The best thing for you to do is relax the best you can and just focus on other stuff for now," Aiden suggested.
"I'll contact your dad if anything comes up, and remember. None of the bad stuff that happened today is your fault." Coach repeated as he parked outside her house.
"Okay, Coach. I'm just relieved my family is safe. That's all I was really worried about." Zoey told him.
"Good... Good. Alright, see you some time next week, Zoey." Coach waved goodbye.
"Bye, Zoey." Aiden and Zach said as she got out of the car.
On walking to her door, she pulled out her phone and began searching through multiple news articles about the riot.
"Not even her own family can tell..." Lindsay responded, looking over at the Winters family closer to the side of the ring.
The audience was chattering amongst themselves as the tournament was put on hold due to the unexpected outcome of the first match. It seems not even the people who put the tournament together expected something like this to happen because there were several important-looking people in the ring discussing with one another. Zoey was silently standing in the ring next to her coach, who was yelling at Donald's coach, who was yelling at Zoey. Zach and Aiden supported Zoey, along with Coach from the woman and the people she brought. Taking another look at it, it seemed like a brawl was about to go down between two gyms in the ring.
"Zoey's awesome!" Everett couldn't control himself and jumped out of his seat.
He didn't think his sister could actually win, but she did it! With how often she was getting hit compared to that Donald guy, he didn't know if she could beat him. Seeing someone's leg break in real life was way different from how it looked in video games. Even now, Everett could still remember the wiggly shape of that guy's broken leg after he tried kicking his sister's leg.
"She isn't going to get in trouble for this, is she, Bruce?" Alicia asked.
"She shouldn't. Things like this happen from time to time in the ring. Usually, the one who causes the injury isn't in trouble unless they disregarded the rules to do so. All Zoey did was position her leg. She didn't break any rules in doing that. So, she should be fine." Bruce comforted her.
"Yeah, Zoey did nothing wrong." Everett nodded his head.
"I hope so..." Alicia still wasn't used to all this fighting stuff and secretly wished that Zoey was interested in something a little safer like her brother.
"We'll see in a few moments based on what the officials think." Bruce rubbed her back.
On the other side of the cage, those from Zoey's gym had their own thoughts about what just went down in the ring. From the sound of the crowd, they could tell that they were outnumbered. Very few people were on Zoey's side from the beginning of the match. Now even fewer were probably on her side after an ending like that. But no matter what, they couldn't let a member of their gym be insulted like this! They continued to cheer and support Zoey during this time, even if they were looked at as enemies by everyone around them.
"Zoey won fair and square!" Tony chanted.
"Zoey won fair and square!" Steven chanted along with him.
"Zoey won fair and square...!" Dylan gathered his nerves and chanted with the two.
"She deserves to win. It isn't her fault that her opponent got cocky." Ben crossed his arms, displeased that there even needed to be a split decision about this in the first place.
"Hey, shut up, you stupid fucking kid! What do you know!?" A grown man with a large gut cursed at Ben.
"Yeah, shut up, you Devil supporters! She broke an innocent kid's leg and laughed about it!" Someone added.
"What did Donald do to deserve having his leg broken!? Now he may never fight again because of that evil little bitch!"
"What did you call her?!" Dylan rose up from his seat and pointed at the asshole insulting his mentor.
"A class-a fucking evil little bitch! That's what!" He enunciated each word with venom spitting from his teeth.
It was at this point that Dylan leaped behind him and punched the guy across the face. He slumped backward in his seat, and this enraged the other Donald supporters around them. Multiple Donald supporters used this opportunity to land a few hits on Dylan since he threw the first punch. Tony, Steven, Ben, and the others from the gym who came to support Zoey couldn't just stand there and watch one of their own being ganged up on. So, even if they didn't know Dylan or like him, they jumped in the brawl too.
With a small portion of the audience erupting in a fight, it soon began to spread to other parts of the crowd. With over 10,000 people in one building, it was very difficult for the YFTL to regain control over the situation, especially with hundreds or maybe thousands of those fighting with each other. The announcers quickly told everyone to leave in a calm and orderly manner to remain safe. And as people do when there is a chaotic and dangerous situation unfolding around them, they fled in the complete opposite manner directed by the announcers.
"There's that little devil bitch's family!" Someone cried out.
"Get them for raising such a horrible little bitch!"
"I lost everything because of that girl! Do you know how much money I bet on Donald!?"
Unlike Zoey, her family was nowhere near as competent fighters as she was. Only Everett had some basic fighting skills, thanks to his lessons from Zoey, but those were mostly useless against a group of people coming after them. It still didn't stop him from trying. He was going to protect his mom and dad even if he had to get hit.
Everett got into the boxing stance that Zoey taught him. He held his fists close to his cheeks and arms tight against his torso as his feet lightened up. The first attacker was perhaps three heads taller than Everett and five times wider. As he approached the Winters Family, Bruce stepped in front of his son. What kind of father would he be if he let a middle school student try to face off against a grown man? Bruce wasn't a fighter and knew very little about fighting, but it wasn't as if he knew nothing about it at all! All he had to do was throw a fist at the guy and keep doing it until his family was safe.
Luckily for the Winters Family, a contestant from the tournament stepped up to protect them just before Bruce was about to suffer a blow to the face. He grabbed the fist of the attacker and brought back his right hand before slinging it into the face of the man. With a deep laugh, he grinned at the other attackers as he stepped in front of the Winters Family.
"I'm the biggest fucking Zoey Winters fan here. If any of you upset bastards wants to throw hands, you can throw hands with me." He cracked his knuckles so that everyone could hear them pop and crackle.
"Who do you think you are?!"
"I lost so much money that if I don't hurt those people for bringing that girl into this world, I will rip my own hair out!"
"He can't take us on all at once!"
"Come on, you fucking pathetic little bitches! James Johnson ain't afraid of nothing!" James brought up his fists like a boxer.
His fist slugged into the face of the first person to come near him, instantly sending him to the ground. Before the others could react to how quickly that guy went down, James rushed in and gut-punched another. He fell to his knees as he felt bile rising to his throat. The others couldn't help but take a step back in fear out of messing with the wrong Devil fan. But James didn't let them escape uninjured. Everyone that tried coming close to the Winters Family suffered a devasting punch from the muscular boxing beast known as James Johnson! He laughed maniacally during the beatdown. It was as if his fists sought complete destruction in the mayhem.
Once Donald Aldo's fans realized that touching the Winter's Family was impossible with this monster around, they quickly gave up and fled the area. Allowing James to safely escort the Winters Family to their car.
"Thank you so much for protecting us..." Alicia told him.
"If you ever need a favor from us, please tell us. I don't know how I can thank you for protecting my family..." Bruce soon added.
"Haha. No problem, Winters. Here's my number. I'd love to get in contact with your daughter in the future. She's the type of girl I'd love to be friends with." He handed his card to Zoey's father and gave a wink he thought was cool to Zoey's little brother in the backseat.
The Winters Family soon drove off back to their home. Alicia believed that they should consider introducing Zoey to the young man at the very least. He did save them. Bruce didn't have any disagreements. James was a scary-looking young man, but he did seem to have a good heart. Not just anyone would go against several people to protect someone. His heart had to be in the right place.
Back in the ring, it was already empty because of the riot that broke out. Zoey was escorted home by Coach, Zach, and Aiden. The final decision of the match was put on hold for a later date to be announced. On the ride back to her house, they told her not to worry and that her family was safe. The decision should be for her to win the match, the riot that happened had nothing to do with her, and she should not feel responsible for it happening, and she could take it easy for the next few days. It wouldn't be good for her to come back to the YFTL until the date of her next match is decided.
"We got to give the losers time to calm down. Your match that should be next Monday might be delayed." Coach explained to her.
"Alright," Zoey responded.
"It depends on how everything unfolds this week. Your match was the first one, and there were supposed to be three other matches today besides yours. We don't know when those other matches are going to take place, which means we also don't know who you could be facing up against next." Zach said.
"The best thing for you to do is relax the best you can and just focus on other stuff for now," Aiden suggested.
"I'll contact your dad if anything comes up, and remember. None of the bad stuff that happened today is your fault." Coach repeated as he parked outside her house.
"Okay, Coach. I'm just relieved my family is safe. That's all I was really worried about." Zoey told him.
"Good... Good. Alright, see you some time next week, Zoey." Coach waved goodbye.
"Bye, Zoey." Aiden and Zach said as she got out of the car.
On walking to her door, she pulled out her phone and began searching through multiple news articles about the riot.
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ah, sore losers.
Chapter 48: Huh, This Is Kind of Big…
After the huge brawl yesterday at the YFTL filled with thousands of people across the world, many netizens and people from that fight went online to settle their fight. Since they couldn't yell at each other in person and punch them for supporting someone they didn't, they could only throw words anonymously on the internet till the other side got tired. They went to news article comment sections, video-sharing platforms, podcasts, radio shows, and even places unrelated to Zoey vs. Donald at all. Like video games, illegal comic-sharing websites, anime-sharing websites, and more.
"Did Zoey even do anything wrong, though? Sure, she may have laughed about some kid breaking his own leg, but it was his own fault! Who told him to get checked like that?"
"Hey, shut your fucking mouth, you satanic Devil supporter! Zoey is nothing but pure evil and deserves to fucking die for her crimes!
"Holy crap, dude, how much money did you lose to condemn a child to hell and curse them this badly for following the rules in a sport?"
"I'll fucking slit your mother's throat, cunt!"
"He's lost a shit ton of money with an answer like that."
"You know, I think this whole thing is a fucking show, and we're the little idiots being used for commercial gain because of it. How could a tiny girl like Zoey Winters even beat so many guys in the first place? It's obvious that the YFTL is bribing the fighters into throwing the fights against Zoey. I don't know why they're trying to raise Zoey's reputation like this, but it's fucking fishy as hell to me."
"It's probably another one of those girl-power things that corporations do to make it seem like women aren't inferior to men. Zoey Winters has been fighting only against men since she debuted in the preliminaries and somehow winning all of them no matter what their fighting style was while she's just a boxer."
"This guy above me has a point. Boxing is one of the weakest sports if we're being logical here. Your options for causing damage are so damn limited it doesn't make sense that she's made it this far against so many bigger, stronger, and better fighters. It just ain't adding up."
"You guys just sound like fucking incels. Just because a girl is doing well, something has to be wrong with it. You've all deluded yourselves into thinking it's some elaborate hoax and shit when the girl's just a damn good fighter. Accept it and quit making excuses."
"And what would you know?! Talking your mouth off like you know any fucking thing about being a fighter or recognizing a good one!"
"Hit a nerve, did I? Was it the incel part or the part where I told you to accept that Zoey is a good fighter?"
"You fucking motherfucker, do you know how many females I bang in a week!? I'm not a fucking incel, and fuck you and fuck Zoey! She's nothing but a puppet being manipulated by the YFTL to earn money and more female supporters!
Many more discussions like this were raging across the internet, but most people listened to the opinions of those that have more experience in this field compared to others. Such as content creators that only talk about YFTL content, news articles that focus on the YFTL and FTL, and podcasts centered around this type of topic. If their favorite content creator supported their own decision, they would be reinvigorated and validated in their way of thinking no matter what evidence or logical explanation the other side brings up. There was nothing more comforting than the support of like-minded individuals while things like facts, logic, and the like were very negative and detrimental to the validation they felt in supporting their side.
"While I don't support the girl's actions or behavior, I have to say that she didn't do anything wrong," Lucian commented.
Lucian was a famous podcaster that regularly talked about the latest drama incidents in the fighting community. He had over a million listeners to his podcast. His opinion was regularly looked for as he had a prominent voice in the fighting community. In his youth, he used to fight and was even a champion for a year before stepping down and retiring. So, he knew about fighting very well and was able to share his opinion of the news and the news in an unbiased way that could entertain and satisfy many listeners of his podcast.
"Now, don't you think that she could've held back or something against Donald? It was clear to everyone that Zoey was going to win, don't you think? I mean, the girl threw nothing but jabs the entire time and still won! If she actually tried and fought using her full strength, this would've never happened in the first place." Carl Smith, today's guest on Fighting Drama With Lucian, shared his thoughts on it.
"I believe that ifs are only for losers, Carl. If I just tried a little harder, if I just trained harder, if I threw a right straight instead of a left like I usually do. Instead of talking about what-ifs, just do it! Now, as I said before, I don't support Zoey's behavior and actions in this fight, but at the end of the day, she did nothing wrong. The officials are going to gift her the win unless they've been paid big--- I mean, unless they're smoking crack. Incidents like this don't happen all the time, but any sport has its rules in case things like this happen. I don't think the YFTL is going to rob Zoey Winters of her victory because she did not break a single rule." Lucian expressed.
"You sound a little unsure about that judgment Lucian." Carl laughed.
"Every industry has its own form of corruption. Not saying that the YFTL is one of those industries, but sometimes people following the rules are sacrificed for the wrong reasons." He explained.
A majority of the people who saw the fight were on Donald Aldo's side. His publicity was far better than an unknown like Zoey. Donald's coach made sure to properly set him up as an eager, kind-hearted underdog. This contrasted very well against Zoey's coach's decision to set her up as a cold-hearted vicious demon. These two polar opposites going head-to-head were like the age-old rivalry between good and evil. Who would support evil even if they were "supposedly" in the right?
The news outlets and other forms of media displaying the two only further showed the difference between Zoey Winters and Donald Aldo. In some trending videos on video-sharing platforms, many of them depicting Zoey usually painted her in a negative light. They edited their videos in showing the messy, ugly, horrific, terrible states that Zoey usually left her opponents in after a fight, with her not showing much concern or care for them after winning the match. In a few of her past fights, they caught her smiling during a match and synced it up with the smile she gave during the fight with Donald's. Making her look very pleased about hurting her opponents and seeing them in a destroyed state.
Donald's edits made him look very much the opposite of the Devil known as Zoey Winters. He kindly helped his opponents up after his matches. He shook their hands before and after the fight. Always beaming with a pure smile before the fight, in the fight, and after the fight. His opponents also never looked as messed up as Zoey's did. All of this painted a very positive light on him in comparison to the negative one shining on Zoey.
"So, I'm just supposed to share my thoughts, right?" A video of Donald Aldo lying in his hospital bed surfaced.
The person holding the phone seemed to have gestured something, and the young man continued to talk.
"Thank you all for doing your best in trying to defend me for all this time. I never really knew that I had so many fans that cared about me." His cheeks were flushed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"But! Do not bring any hate or negativity toward Zoey Winters! She may not be a good person, but at the end of the day, it was my own fault that I lost, not hers. She was a better fighter than I was. In the ring, it doesn't matter who is a good person or a bad person. What matters is who is a better fighter than the other."
"Once I recover from my broken leg, I plan to train twice as hard as before to make up for my loss against her! So, no more hate or fighting, please. Just continue to cheer me on as I make my way back up to fight against her again and win!" Donald balled his fists, and the video ended there.
Seeing the person they were defending telling them himself to stop the arguing and fighting made many of the Donald Aldo supporters take a look at themselves briefly. Just as they were about to reflect on their wrongdoings to an innocent minor, another video from a prominent fighter in the YFTL was released. Someone that completely reignited the heat between Donald Aldo supporters and Zoey Winter supporters. And nullified Donald's attempts to quell the flames.
"Did Zoey even do anything wrong, though? Sure, she may have laughed about some kid breaking his own leg, but it was his own fault! Who told him to get checked like that?"
"Hey, shut your fucking mouth, you satanic Devil supporter! Zoey is nothing but pure evil and deserves to fucking die for her crimes!
"Holy crap, dude, how much money did you lose to condemn a child to hell and curse them this badly for following the rules in a sport?"
"I'll fucking slit your mother's throat, cunt!"
"He's lost a shit ton of money with an answer like that."
"You know, I think this whole thing is a fucking show, and we're the little idiots being used for commercial gain because of it. How could a tiny girl like Zoey Winters even beat so many guys in the first place? It's obvious that the YFTL is bribing the fighters into throwing the fights against Zoey. I don't know why they're trying to raise Zoey's reputation like this, but it's fucking fishy as hell to me."
"It's probably another one of those girl-power things that corporations do to make it seem like women aren't inferior to men. Zoey Winters has been fighting only against men since she debuted in the preliminaries and somehow winning all of them no matter what their fighting style was while she's just a boxer."
"This guy above me has a point. Boxing is one of the weakest sports if we're being logical here. Your options for causing damage are so damn limited it doesn't make sense that she's made it this far against so many bigger, stronger, and better fighters. It just ain't adding up."
"You guys just sound like fucking incels. Just because a girl is doing well, something has to be wrong with it. You've all deluded yourselves into thinking it's some elaborate hoax and shit when the girl's just a damn good fighter. Accept it and quit making excuses."
"And what would you know?! Talking your mouth off like you know any fucking thing about being a fighter or recognizing a good one!"
"Hit a nerve, did I? Was it the incel part or the part where I told you to accept that Zoey is a good fighter?"
"You fucking motherfucker, do you know how many females I bang in a week!? I'm not a fucking incel, and fuck you and fuck Zoey! She's nothing but a puppet being manipulated by the YFTL to earn money and more female supporters!
Many more discussions like this were raging across the internet, but most people listened to the opinions of those that have more experience in this field compared to others. Such as content creators that only talk about YFTL content, news articles that focus on the YFTL and FTL, and podcasts centered around this type of topic. If their favorite content creator supported their own decision, they would be reinvigorated and validated in their way of thinking no matter what evidence or logical explanation the other side brings up. There was nothing more comforting than the support of like-minded individuals while things like facts, logic, and the like were very negative and detrimental to the validation they felt in supporting their side.
"While I don't support the girl's actions or behavior, I have to say that she didn't do anything wrong," Lucian commented.
Lucian was a famous podcaster that regularly talked about the latest drama incidents in the fighting community. He had over a million listeners to his podcast. His opinion was regularly looked for as he had a prominent voice in the fighting community. In his youth, he used to fight and was even a champion for a year before stepping down and retiring. So, he knew about fighting very well and was able to share his opinion of the news and the news in an unbiased way that could entertain and satisfy many listeners of his podcast.
"Now, don't you think that she could've held back or something against Donald? It was clear to everyone that Zoey was going to win, don't you think? I mean, the girl threw nothing but jabs the entire time and still won! If she actually tried and fought using her full strength, this would've never happened in the first place." Carl Smith, today's guest on Fighting Drama With Lucian, shared his thoughts on it.
"I believe that ifs are only for losers, Carl. If I just tried a little harder, if I just trained harder, if I threw a right straight instead of a left like I usually do. Instead of talking about what-ifs, just do it! Now, as I said before, I don't support Zoey's behavior and actions in this fight, but at the end of the day, she did nothing wrong. The officials are going to gift her the win unless they've been paid big--- I mean, unless they're smoking crack. Incidents like this don't happen all the time, but any sport has its rules in case things like this happen. I don't think the YFTL is going to rob Zoey Winters of her victory because she did not break a single rule." Lucian expressed.
"You sound a little unsure about that judgment Lucian." Carl laughed.
"Every industry has its own form of corruption. Not saying that the YFTL is one of those industries, but sometimes people following the rules are sacrificed for the wrong reasons." He explained.
A majority of the people who saw the fight were on Donald Aldo's side. His publicity was far better than an unknown like Zoey. Donald's coach made sure to properly set him up as an eager, kind-hearted underdog. This contrasted very well against Zoey's coach's decision to set her up as a cold-hearted vicious demon. These two polar opposites going head-to-head were like the age-old rivalry between good and evil. Who would support evil even if they were "supposedly" in the right?
The news outlets and other forms of media displaying the two only further showed the difference between Zoey Winters and Donald Aldo. In some trending videos on video-sharing platforms, many of them depicting Zoey usually painted her in a negative light. They edited their videos in showing the messy, ugly, horrific, terrible states that Zoey usually left her opponents in after a fight, with her not showing much concern or care for them after winning the match. In a few of her past fights, they caught her smiling during a match and synced it up with the smile she gave during the fight with Donald's. Making her look very pleased about hurting her opponents and seeing them in a destroyed state.
Donald's edits made him look very much the opposite of the Devil known as Zoey Winters. He kindly helped his opponents up after his matches. He shook their hands before and after the fight. Always beaming with a pure smile before the fight, in the fight, and after the fight. His opponents also never looked as messed up as Zoey's did. All of this painted a very positive light on him in comparison to the negative one shining on Zoey.
"So, I'm just supposed to share my thoughts, right?" A video of Donald Aldo lying in his hospital bed surfaced.
The person holding the phone seemed to have gestured something, and the young man continued to talk.
"Thank you all for doing your best in trying to defend me for all this time. I never really knew that I had so many fans that cared about me." His cheeks were flushed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"But! Do not bring any hate or negativity toward Zoey Winters! She may not be a good person, but at the end of the day, it was my own fault that I lost, not hers. She was a better fighter than I was. In the ring, it doesn't matter who is a good person or a bad person. What matters is who is a better fighter than the other."
"Once I recover from my broken leg, I plan to train twice as hard as before to make up for my loss against her! So, no more hate or fighting, please. Just continue to cheer me on as I make my way back up to fight against her again and win!" Donald balled his fists, and the video ended there.
Seeing the person they were defending telling them himself to stop the arguing and fighting made many of the Donald Aldo supporters take a look at themselves briefly. Just as they were about to reflect on their wrongdoings to an innocent minor, another video from a prominent fighter in the YFTL was released. Someone that completely reignited the heat between Donald Aldo supporters and Zoey Winter supporters. And nullified Donald's attempts to quell the flames.
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh great politics entering a clear cut case. You're very good at showing how dumb alot of people are.
One note when doing something like forms or chat posts it can be good to have an indicator of each poster so we can se which is recurring.
One note when doing something like forms or chat posts it can be good to have an indicator of each poster so we can se which is recurring.
Chapter 49: How Did Things Get Worse?!
"Fuck everyone taking that punk-ass bitch's side! That motherfucker lost, plain and simple. There's no reason for there to be any arguments about any of this. Zoey Winters whooped that little bitch's ass fair and square. You stupid motherfuckers were the ones to bet on a kid who was gonna lose in the first place! That little bitch's fighting record didn't have shit on Zoey's! Do you know how many times he lost compared to Zoey Winters?! A SHIT LOAD OF FUCKING TIMES! HOW RETARDED DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO BET ON A LOSER LIKE THIS INSTEAD OF AN UNDEFEATED QUEEN LIKE ZOEY WINTERS!? Alright, that's all I have to say about this stupid shit. Zoey, if you're watching, call me." James Johnson ended his video, and the war restarted in the comments on social media.
The war that Donald Aldo so desperately tried to stop was as flimsy as wet paper. Now it was no longer something as simple as taking a look at themselves and acknowledging their rash behavior and mistakes. Now they were being insulted straight to their faces! It wasn't even about Donald Aldo anymore but the fans of good-hearted fighters themselves!
James Johnson was not a good person in or out of the ring. He was arrogant, cocky, foul-mouthed, and usually gave respect to no one but himself. So to see someone of his character coming out and defending Zoey didn't really help Zoey's image. Unlike Zoey's Devil persona, Donald's personality was the real deal. That was who he was at his core, and it hit with a major crowd.
Now some of James's fans were supporting Zoey if they already weren't. And because of his last comment at the end, many people began shipping the two evil fighters together. A match made in hell, some called it. James being the big evil, while Zoey was the little evil. As the two were very different in size. When placed together, Zoey barely reached up to his belly button. That's just how large he was in comparison to her.
"Get out of my face. I think this whole incident is stupid in the first place. To think two nobodies could get so much attention. It doesn't make any sense." A contestant from the tournament pushed an interviewer's camera out of his face.
"I'm personally a fan of Zoey. Even if she's kind of an evil bitch, us girls gotta stick together after all. The fighting community is not that kind to us even when we do well." Another participant of the YFTL shared her thoughts. Many female fans flocked to Zoey because of the strength she had and the unyielding personality she gave off toward men. She was a real idol in the eyes of these fans because she was carving a new path that no woman has so far as ever done before in the YFTL.
"I don't know if Zoey was acting a character or anything in the ring, but if she was, she should quickly make a statement saying so." "Am I a Donald supporter or a Zoey supporter? Well, if I had to pick, I'd say Donald. He's kind of cute, and I'm not gay."
"My thoughts on Zoey Winters?" A calm, gentle voice repeated the question sent her way. "She's someone I plan to defeat with all my strength.
"Tch! I'll be the one to crush that girl," Cory promised to the cameras, his foot pointing directly toward the lens.
"I won't hold back and will give everything I have to beat her." Connie shared as she went back to training with her wooden sword.
On Sunday, the day before, the next rounds of the YFTL were supposed to start. The YFTL released an announcement about the incident that happened last Monday. An official statement that would either appease both sides, strengthen one side, or mean nothing at all. Everyone who cared about this entire situation in the first place all got onto Beetube to watch the live stream announcing the YFTL's decision.
"The Youth Fighting Tournament League officials are deeply embarrassed by the event that happened last Monday. We have determined that a number of factors have gone into play that led to an event such as this and are quickly working to make amends." A group of men in business suits stood in front of the camera, bowing at the viewers.
"First off, Announcer Bob Jimmel and Secondary Announcer John Richardson have been placed on paid leave for an indefinite period of time. We have reviewed the incidents that went down at the incident and realized that these two willingly making an underage child out to be a horrible person is what may have led to the riot that eventually broke out. Our announcers from now on will not be allowed to judge the characters of our underaged fighters in a negative light no matter the circumstances." After he was done talking, he bowed, and another man rose up.
"Many of our fighters go into the ring with a persona. A persona is a role or character thought up by the fighter or their coach. These personas cannot be used for judgments of their official persons and should not be used as reasons to send negativity to these underaged children. The Youth Fighting Tournament league cares deeply for the physical well-being and mental well-being of our young fighters."
"We are willing to go to any lengths to make sure the Youth Fighting Tournament League is a place where they feel safe to be and express themselves. However, they like."
"Now to the announcement that everyone has been waiting for..." The almost a million viewers in chat were going crazy spamming the comments.
"ZOEY WINTERS! ZOEY WINTERS!"
"DONALD ALDO! DONALD ALDO!"
"ZOEY FUCKING SUCKS!"
"DONALD FUCKING SUCKS!"
"I'm glad the YFTL recognized the mental damage these children could suffer under the words of others. If everyone around you called you a villain, you would definitely start to think of yourself as one."
"Zoey was called the Devil of all things. Imagine the impact this could have on her social life. I know some people were even talking about burning a cross in her family's yard!"
"ZOEY DESERVES TO BE HANGED!"
"KILL THE DEVIL!"
Thousands of comments went by per second, and the media was eating up every comment they could. The good fans of Zoey and Donald, the bad fans of Zoey and Donald, the crazy fans of Zoey and Donald, and the ones who just came to watch the chaos and drama unfold. If people thought the chat was chaotic now, just wait for when the results of the match between Zoey and Donald were revealed.
"We at the YFTL have decided to rule the match between Donald Aldo and Zoey Winters..."
"In Zoey Winter's favor." And chat completely exploded.
Instead of thousands of comments going by per second, hundreds of thousands went by out of the nearly million viewers watching the live stream. It was difficult to read even a single comment going by before it was quickly replaced with a new set of comments. But thanks to the spammers, most people could see the reactions of chat. Many were crying out in uncontrollable rage and hatred for Zoey Winters and her fans.
"THE OFFICIALS WERE BRIBED!"
"THE OFFICIALS WERE BRIBED!"
"THE DEVIL DESERVES TO BE BURNED!"
"HANG THE DEVIL!"
With so many hateful and toxic comments like these for an innocent child, the mods did their very best to ban those saying comments like these. They weren't banning them because they were right or anything of the sort. But because spamming, bullying, and death threats were against the rules of the website. Some administrators on Beetube permanently banned accounts for hateful messages toward the 17-year-old child.
After a few more closing comments from the YFTL officials, the live stream soon ended, but the people in the chat did not stop their comments. Somehow the battle between Donald Aldo fans and Zoey Winters fans turned into something that no one expected at all. Religion got involved somehow, racism got added, and sexism. It was a complete mess that very few people could explain or understand at all. Regardless of whose side was right and whose side was wrong, there was a group of people that benefited from this chaos regardless. The media didn't give a crap about either side and only cared about the drama!
They fanned the flames of the war between Zoey Winters fans, and Donald Aldo fans with their articles and reports.
By this point, it was too late for the YFTL to do anything. Things have already blown far out of proportion and out of their hands. Even if they tried to stop these false rumors and lies about their fighters, they didn't stand a chance against the huge media outlets. Too many people stood to gain from the war between these children. Money was the sole cause for it. People threw their money to know more about the situation, to learn about the situation, and to understand everything going on with it. Even people that didn't know anything about the fighting world soon came to know the existence of Zoey Winters and Donald Aldo.
The war that Donald Aldo so desperately tried to stop was as flimsy as wet paper. Now it was no longer something as simple as taking a look at themselves and acknowledging their rash behavior and mistakes. Now they were being insulted straight to their faces! It wasn't even about Donald Aldo anymore but the fans of good-hearted fighters themselves!
James Johnson was not a good person in or out of the ring. He was arrogant, cocky, foul-mouthed, and usually gave respect to no one but himself. So to see someone of his character coming out and defending Zoey didn't really help Zoey's image. Unlike Zoey's Devil persona, Donald's personality was the real deal. That was who he was at his core, and it hit with a major crowd.
Now some of James's fans were supporting Zoey if they already weren't. And because of his last comment at the end, many people began shipping the two evil fighters together. A match made in hell, some called it. James being the big evil, while Zoey was the little evil. As the two were very different in size. When placed together, Zoey barely reached up to his belly button. That's just how large he was in comparison to her.
"Get out of my face. I think this whole incident is stupid in the first place. To think two nobodies could get so much attention. It doesn't make any sense." A contestant from the tournament pushed an interviewer's camera out of his face.
"I'm personally a fan of Zoey. Even if she's kind of an evil bitch, us girls gotta stick together after all. The fighting community is not that kind to us even when we do well." Another participant of the YFTL shared her thoughts. Many female fans flocked to Zoey because of the strength she had and the unyielding personality she gave off toward men. She was a real idol in the eyes of these fans because she was carving a new path that no woman has so far as ever done before in the YFTL.
"I don't know if Zoey was acting a character or anything in the ring, but if she was, she should quickly make a statement saying so." "Am I a Donald supporter or a Zoey supporter? Well, if I had to pick, I'd say Donald. He's kind of cute, and I'm not gay."
"My thoughts on Zoey Winters?" A calm, gentle voice repeated the question sent her way. "She's someone I plan to defeat with all my strength.
"Tch! I'll be the one to crush that girl," Cory promised to the cameras, his foot pointing directly toward the lens.
"I won't hold back and will give everything I have to beat her." Connie shared as she went back to training with her wooden sword.
On Sunday, the day before, the next rounds of the YFTL were supposed to start. The YFTL released an announcement about the incident that happened last Monday. An official statement that would either appease both sides, strengthen one side, or mean nothing at all. Everyone who cared about this entire situation in the first place all got onto Beetube to watch the live stream announcing the YFTL's decision.
"The Youth Fighting Tournament League officials are deeply embarrassed by the event that happened last Monday. We have determined that a number of factors have gone into play that led to an event such as this and are quickly working to make amends." A group of men in business suits stood in front of the camera, bowing at the viewers.
"First off, Announcer Bob Jimmel and Secondary Announcer John Richardson have been placed on paid leave for an indefinite period of time. We have reviewed the incidents that went down at the incident and realized that these two willingly making an underage child out to be a horrible person is what may have led to the riot that eventually broke out. Our announcers from now on will not be allowed to judge the characters of our underaged fighters in a negative light no matter the circumstances." After he was done talking, he bowed, and another man rose up.
"Many of our fighters go into the ring with a persona. A persona is a role or character thought up by the fighter or their coach. These personas cannot be used for judgments of their official persons and should not be used as reasons to send negativity to these underaged children. The Youth Fighting Tournament league cares deeply for the physical well-being and mental well-being of our young fighters."
"We are willing to go to any lengths to make sure the Youth Fighting Tournament League is a place where they feel safe to be and express themselves. However, they like."
"Now to the announcement that everyone has been waiting for..." The almost a million viewers in chat were going crazy spamming the comments.
"ZOEY WINTERS! ZOEY WINTERS!"
"DONALD ALDO! DONALD ALDO!"
"ZOEY FUCKING SUCKS!"
"DONALD FUCKING SUCKS!"
"I'm glad the YFTL recognized the mental damage these children could suffer under the words of others. If everyone around you called you a villain, you would definitely start to think of yourself as one."
"Zoey was called the Devil of all things. Imagine the impact this could have on her social life. I know some people were even talking about burning a cross in her family's yard!"
"ZOEY DESERVES TO BE HANGED!"
"KILL THE DEVIL!"
Thousands of comments went by per second, and the media was eating up every comment they could. The good fans of Zoey and Donald, the bad fans of Zoey and Donald, the crazy fans of Zoey and Donald, and the ones who just came to watch the chaos and drama unfold. If people thought the chat was chaotic now, just wait for when the results of the match between Zoey and Donald were revealed.
"We at the YFTL have decided to rule the match between Donald Aldo and Zoey Winters..."
"In Zoey Winter's favor." And chat completely exploded.
Instead of thousands of comments going by per second, hundreds of thousands went by out of the nearly million viewers watching the live stream. It was difficult to read even a single comment going by before it was quickly replaced with a new set of comments. But thanks to the spammers, most people could see the reactions of chat. Many were crying out in uncontrollable rage and hatred for Zoey Winters and her fans.
"THE OFFICIALS WERE BRIBED!"
"THE OFFICIALS WERE BRIBED!"
"THE DEVIL DESERVES TO BE BURNED!"
"HANG THE DEVIL!"
With so many hateful and toxic comments like these for an innocent child, the mods did their very best to ban those saying comments like these. They weren't banning them because they were right or anything of the sort. But because spamming, bullying, and death threats were against the rules of the website. Some administrators on Beetube permanently banned accounts for hateful messages toward the 17-year-old child.
After a few more closing comments from the YFTL officials, the live stream soon ended, but the people in the chat did not stop their comments. Somehow the battle between Donald Aldo fans and Zoey Winters fans turned into something that no one expected at all. Religion got involved somehow, racism got added, and sexism. It was a complete mess that very few people could explain or understand at all. Regardless of whose side was right and whose side was wrong, there was a group of people that benefited from this chaos regardless. The media didn't give a crap about either side and only cared about the drama!
They fanned the flames of the war between Zoey Winters fans, and Donald Aldo fans with their articles and reports.
[Supporting Donald Aldo means you are a white supremacist?!]
[Zoey Winter is the figurehead for Black Rights!]
[Supporting Zoey is supporting the Devil!]
[Donald Aldo is on the side of Christ!]
[Zoey Winter is the figurehead for Black Rights!]
[Supporting Zoey is supporting the Devil!]
[Donald Aldo is on the side of Christ!]
By this point, it was too late for the YFTL to do anything. Things have already blown far out of proportion and out of their hands. Even if they tried to stop these false rumors and lies about their fighters, they didn't stand a chance against the huge media outlets. Too many people stood to gain from the war between these children. Money was the sole cause for it. People threw their money to know more about the situation, to learn about the situation, and to understand everything going on with it. Even people that didn't know anything about the fighting world soon came to know the existence of Zoey Winters and Donald Aldo.
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh great, yes burn a cross on a black family's lawn. That's not racist at all.
I kinds hate and love how realistically dumb their being. Like their dumb but in the human way. Getting swept up in rhetoric and taking sides.
I kinds hate and love how realistically dumb their being. Like their dumb but in the human way. Getting swept up in rhetoric and taking sides.
ZubScore
Unfathomable
- Pronouns
- Male
Zoey is now the Katsuki Bakugo of the YFTL.
Also with how big the uproar of the fight is I'm wondering if the "world correction" that's been mentioned will come into play soon.
Chapter 50: Huh, This Isn’t So Bad…
Zoey's life quickly took a turn after the fight that day. She was no longer the awkward nobody that no one really knew about anymore. When she went to school on Tuesday, more than a few boys from the popular sports teams at school recognized her. She was rushed to her locker and briefly thought she was dreaming about another fantasy of hers because of how unbelievable the situation was. A bunch of hot guys coming up to her and talking to her like she's a human being? It was really too much for a Tuesday morning, especially since they all treated her nicely and seemed genuinely interested in her.
"Ever since your debut fight, I've been a big fan of yours, Zoey! I can't believe you go to my school!"
"Bro, she's been here this entire time, and no one's recognized her until now! We have a celebrity at our school!"
"Holy shit, I can't believe one of my favorite fighters is actually at my own school. I love the way you box! Can you teach me sometime?!"
"Yeah, me too! It doesn't have to be anything serious, just like a few pointers here and there. Like your killer jab! Oh my god, please teach me that jab."
Zoey's barely developed social brain couldn't keep up with everything going on. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone that could save her but herself. She soon realized that situations like this were only going to continue and increase the more she fights. It's a situation that she'll have to get used to.
She couldn't freeze up like this every time and had to adapt. So, Zoey's lips quivered as the guys chatted with friendly intentions despite her not saying a single word so far.
"If... it's just a jab... I can teach that much..." She quietly spoke.
"Really!?"
"You'll really teach us!?"
"Holy shit! You're the best, Zoey!"
"We should do it at lunch! That's the best time!"
"We could go behind the school and learn from a badass fighter!"
The school's bell rang, and the excitement on the guys' faces didn't change whatsoever, as if the ringing of the school's bell meant nothing to them at all. It looked like they planned on sticking to Zoey no matter what and asking more questions. Zoey truly didn't know how to process all of this. Joy, excitement, nervousness, and anxiety filled her up all at once. She loved the positive attention, but it was way too much all at once. If she wasn't careful, these guys could definitely peer pressure her into doing some stuff she shouldn't.
Zoey's face heated up as she was escorted to class by a group of jocks. Everyone's eyes were on her once again. First, it was before the match at the YFTL, during the match, and then online. Now it has even reached her school! Before she knows it, people will definitely recognize her on the street! Oh god... It was just so much... It's only been a day since she basically turned from a nobody to a superstar! Have they found her social media account yet?
"You know, I thought you'd be taller in person."
"Yeah, I did, too, because she always fights against guys."
"It looks like size really doesn't matter for certain people. Lucky for you, Tommy!"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?" Tommy blushed.
"Hahahahaha! You know what the fuck I'm talking about!"
"You say any more stupid shit like that in front of Zoey, I'll kill you!"
"Do you think you'll stand a chance against me after I learn the Rip and Tear Jab? You'll become a bloody corpse by the time I'm finished with you." He got in a poor boxing stance and started throwing his fists forward, his eyes expectantly looking at Zoey for some sort of validation or recognition.
"Rip and Tear Jab? I'll pummel you to death with my Human-Tearing Jab. Your own parents won't recognize you when I'm done with you."
"What the hell are those names? Super Jab is a better name for the punch."
"Super Jab?! Bwahahahaaha! What are you, a middle schooler?!"
Zoey couldn't stop herself from giggling along with the boys as it was a pretty funny exchange between friends. Her eyes quickly saw the joy that the boys felt after hearing her laugh, and another surge of dopamine entered her brain. Soon, she was safely escorted to her first-hour class, and the boys were forced into leaving the class by the teacher. Many of her classmates looked at her with confusion, including the teacher. The teacher knew this was the first time Zoey was late to class, while the others looked at her as if it was the first time they'd ever noticed her existence. The fame that the school jocks held wasn't small. Their school was known for their sports teams more than their students' grades on tests and exams. Meaning most of the funding was allocated to the sports teams. Luckily for the principal and funders supporting the school, their students were quite good. The football, basketball, soccer, and baseball teams won more than they lost and always had a good turnout for their games by students, parents, and locals alike.
Before lunch came, Zoey was ambushed once more. Her two closest friends, Katlyn and Callie, came at her when she was at her locker getting her biology book for her next class. Callie came from the side and lunged at her when she wasn't aware. If Zoey didn't train her legs, she would've definitely been taken off her feet by Callie here.
"Zoey!!! What the hell am I hearing about you being a boxer?!" Callie screamed as she shook her waist.
"You definitely have some explaining to do," Katlyn smirked, showing a video of one of her fights on her phone.
"The secrets out...?" Zoey knew it was coming eventually. But just like everything else, the time came before she was ready to explain anything without looking like a retard.
"Why didn't you tell us you were a freaking unstoppable boxing queen!? Do you think this is something that friends would hide from each other?! Because it isn't!" Callie continued to shake Zoey's waist as she tightly wrapped herself around her. Zoey's body mimicked a vibrating phone with the way that Callie was shaking her.
"You're right. I'm sorry for not telling you two about this. I just didn't know how'd you react if I told you." Zoey decided to be honest.
She didn't know how a normal person like Callie and Katlyn would react if they heard their friend was a fighter. Especially when that friend of theirs was a girl. Girls aren't typically known for being fighters or getting in fights. In Zoey's head, some people might be ashamed to be friends with an aggressive, violent girl or scared to get to know them.
Ah! But there is something that Zoey learned today. Terrifying Aura did not work like Zoey previously thought it did. No one at her school seemed scared of her at all. Or they hid it very well. So, maybe it only worked in a fight or before a fight. She'll have to find out later. Zoey quickly pulled out the notebook she bought online and made a section for Terrifying Aura.
"No more secrets?" Callie's eyes turned up and shined at her, targeting her weak points.
"Just a few..." Zoey couldn't lie to her first close friends.
"We'll still be friends with you, Zoey, even if you beat the shit out of guys for a hobby." Katlyn smiled.
"Wait! Why does a boxer need to learn how to run?" Callie suddenly released her death grip on Zoey and stared into her eyes.
"Friends." Zoey reminded her of her reason for joining the track team.
"Oh, right! We still haven't introduced you to Jamie, Lily, Grace, Samantha, Aubrey, Brooklyn-" Callie would've gone on longer if Katlyn didn't cover her mouth.
"Yes, she still has plenty more friends to make. We get it."
"I was just saying!" Callie pushed Katlyn's hand away.
"Anyway, you don't have to worry about us not being friends with you, Zoey, unless you do something horrible like stealing a boyfriend or girlfriend. There aren't many things that can break friendships as long as you communicate properly." Katlyn reassured her.
"Thanks, Katlyn. And I'm sorry again for hiding stuff from you two. I'm not really used to having friends or people to really care about me besides my family." Zoey wanted to smack herself in the mouth for letting out too much information. People don't share shit like that openly!
Tears pooled around Callie's eyes as Zoey was suddenly engulfed by Callie. Her friend with breasts large enough to swallow her head. This situation would've been enjoyable if Zoey was bi or something, but she was strictly dickly. All this was doing was suffocating her. And while she could easily get out of this if she wanted to, she knew that Callie was feeling sad that she never really had friends that cared about her before.
Surprisingly enough, Katlyn also joined in on the hug too. Well... Zoey didn't like the fact that she was being surrounded by breasts, but she did like the fact that she had friends that cared about her now. But this hug was lasting a rather long ass time, and Zoey wasn't good at holding her breath. She really didn't want to faint before class and have to go to the infirmary. Thankfully, the bell rang in time, and the two track stars had to make their way to class. Being late was not good for their school record, and if a student is late too many times, they can be taken off the team. Not that Katlyn or Callie missed class frequently or anything. It was just a threat the teachers made to scare some of the students doing sports.
"Ever since your debut fight, I've been a big fan of yours, Zoey! I can't believe you go to my school!"
"Bro, she's been here this entire time, and no one's recognized her until now! We have a celebrity at our school!"
"Holy shit, I can't believe one of my favorite fighters is actually at my own school. I love the way you box! Can you teach me sometime?!"
"Yeah, me too! It doesn't have to be anything serious, just like a few pointers here and there. Like your killer jab! Oh my god, please teach me that jab."
Zoey's barely developed social brain couldn't keep up with everything going on. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone that could save her but herself. She soon realized that situations like this were only going to continue and increase the more she fights. It's a situation that she'll have to get used to.
She couldn't freeze up like this every time and had to adapt. So, Zoey's lips quivered as the guys chatted with friendly intentions despite her not saying a single word so far.
"If... it's just a jab... I can teach that much..." She quietly spoke.
"Really!?"
"You'll really teach us!?"
"Holy shit! You're the best, Zoey!"
"We should do it at lunch! That's the best time!"
"We could go behind the school and learn from a badass fighter!"
The school's bell rang, and the excitement on the guys' faces didn't change whatsoever, as if the ringing of the school's bell meant nothing to them at all. It looked like they planned on sticking to Zoey no matter what and asking more questions. Zoey truly didn't know how to process all of this. Joy, excitement, nervousness, and anxiety filled her up all at once. She loved the positive attention, but it was way too much all at once. If she wasn't careful, these guys could definitely peer pressure her into doing some stuff she shouldn't.
Zoey's face heated up as she was escorted to class by a group of jocks. Everyone's eyes were on her once again. First, it was before the match at the YFTL, during the match, and then online. Now it has even reached her school! Before she knows it, people will definitely recognize her on the street! Oh god... It was just so much... It's only been a day since she basically turned from a nobody to a superstar! Have they found her social media account yet?
"You know, I thought you'd be taller in person."
"Yeah, I did, too, because she always fights against guys."
"It looks like size really doesn't matter for certain people. Lucky for you, Tommy!"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?" Tommy blushed.
"Hahahahaha! You know what the fuck I'm talking about!"
"You say any more stupid shit like that in front of Zoey, I'll kill you!"
"Do you think you'll stand a chance against me after I learn the Rip and Tear Jab? You'll become a bloody corpse by the time I'm finished with you." He got in a poor boxing stance and started throwing his fists forward, his eyes expectantly looking at Zoey for some sort of validation or recognition.
"Rip and Tear Jab? I'll pummel you to death with my Human-Tearing Jab. Your own parents won't recognize you when I'm done with you."
"What the hell are those names? Super Jab is a better name for the punch."
"Super Jab?! Bwahahahaaha! What are you, a middle schooler?!"
Zoey couldn't stop herself from giggling along with the boys as it was a pretty funny exchange between friends. Her eyes quickly saw the joy that the boys felt after hearing her laugh, and another surge of dopamine entered her brain. Soon, she was safely escorted to her first-hour class, and the boys were forced into leaving the class by the teacher. Many of her classmates looked at her with confusion, including the teacher. The teacher knew this was the first time Zoey was late to class, while the others looked at her as if it was the first time they'd ever noticed her existence. The fame that the school jocks held wasn't small. Their school was known for their sports teams more than their students' grades on tests and exams. Meaning most of the funding was allocated to the sports teams. Luckily for the principal and funders supporting the school, their students were quite good. The football, basketball, soccer, and baseball teams won more than they lost and always had a good turnout for their games by students, parents, and locals alike.
Before lunch came, Zoey was ambushed once more. Her two closest friends, Katlyn and Callie, came at her when she was at her locker getting her biology book for her next class. Callie came from the side and lunged at her when she wasn't aware. If Zoey didn't train her legs, she would've definitely been taken off her feet by Callie here.
"Zoey!!! What the hell am I hearing about you being a boxer?!" Callie screamed as she shook her waist.
"You definitely have some explaining to do," Katlyn smirked, showing a video of one of her fights on her phone.
"The secrets out...?" Zoey knew it was coming eventually. But just like everything else, the time came before she was ready to explain anything without looking like a retard.
"Why didn't you tell us you were a freaking unstoppable boxing queen!? Do you think this is something that friends would hide from each other?! Because it isn't!" Callie continued to shake Zoey's waist as she tightly wrapped herself around her. Zoey's body mimicked a vibrating phone with the way that Callie was shaking her.
"You're right. I'm sorry for not telling you two about this. I just didn't know how'd you react if I told you." Zoey decided to be honest.
She didn't know how a normal person like Callie and Katlyn would react if they heard their friend was a fighter. Especially when that friend of theirs was a girl. Girls aren't typically known for being fighters or getting in fights. In Zoey's head, some people might be ashamed to be friends with an aggressive, violent girl or scared to get to know them.
Ah! But there is something that Zoey learned today. Terrifying Aura did not work like Zoey previously thought it did. No one at her school seemed scared of her at all. Or they hid it very well. So, maybe it only worked in a fight or before a fight. She'll have to find out later. Zoey quickly pulled out the notebook she bought online and made a section for Terrifying Aura.
"No more secrets?" Callie's eyes turned up and shined at her, targeting her weak points.
"Just a few..." Zoey couldn't lie to her first close friends.
"We'll still be friends with you, Zoey, even if you beat the shit out of guys for a hobby." Katlyn smiled.
"Wait! Why does a boxer need to learn how to run?" Callie suddenly released her death grip on Zoey and stared into her eyes.
"Friends." Zoey reminded her of her reason for joining the track team.
"Oh, right! We still haven't introduced you to Jamie, Lily, Grace, Samantha, Aubrey, Brooklyn-" Callie would've gone on longer if Katlyn didn't cover her mouth.
"Yes, she still has plenty more friends to make. We get it."
"I was just saying!" Callie pushed Katlyn's hand away.
"Anyway, you don't have to worry about us not being friends with you, Zoey, unless you do something horrible like stealing a boyfriend or girlfriend. There aren't many things that can break friendships as long as you communicate properly." Katlyn reassured her.
"Thanks, Katlyn. And I'm sorry again for hiding stuff from you two. I'm not really used to having friends or people to really care about me besides my family." Zoey wanted to smack herself in the mouth for letting out too much information. People don't share shit like that openly!
Tears pooled around Callie's eyes as Zoey was suddenly engulfed by Callie. Her friend with breasts large enough to swallow her head. This situation would've been enjoyable if Zoey was bi or something, but she was strictly dickly. All this was doing was suffocating her. And while she could easily get out of this if she wanted to, she knew that Callie was feeling sad that she never really had friends that cared about her before.
Surprisingly enough, Katlyn also joined in on the hug too. Well... Zoey didn't like the fact that she was being surrounded by breasts, but she did like the fact that she had friends that cared about her now. But this hug was lasting a rather long ass time, and Zoey wasn't good at holding her breath. She really didn't want to faint before class and have to go to the infirmary. Thankfully, the bell rang in time, and the two track stars had to make their way to class. Being late was not good for their school record, and if a student is late too many times, they can be taken off the team. Not that Katlyn or Callie missed class frequently or anything. It was just a threat the teachers made to scare some of the students doing sports.
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
High chance that hug ends up online.
SwampyCat
Paddy Whack
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- This/That
Just found this story it's nice stuff!
Enjoying the good ol' barbarian playstyle I see, she'll definitely end up with the Amazons capturing pretty bois in her old age if she survives that long.
Also what changes happened to her cursed gloves with that second shard? That gives me more creeps than the daemon's party or the creepy old mens.
Enjoying the good ol' barbarian playstyle I see, she'll definitely end up with the Amazons capturing pretty bois in her old age if she survives that long.
Also what changes happened to her cursed gloves with that second shard? That gives me more creeps than the daemon's party or the creepy old mens.
they'll make a reappearance for sure. Glad to hear you're enjoying the story!
Chapter 51: A Good School Day.
Zoey's lunch break was taken up completely by the jocks at the school. She completely underestimated the popularity of the jocks or herself because more than just the jocks surrounded her when lunchtime came. It turned out the jocks were talking about nothing but learning how to jab from her since their first-hour class, and this captured the attention of the everyday common folk, bullies, losers, and even the popular girls. So, instead of just teaching the jocks how to do a regular jab, she was teaching probably half the school how to jab!
The popular girls wanted to learn because the jocks wanted to learn. The bullies wanted to learn for their own selfish purposes. The losers wanted to learn in hopes of defending themselves against the bullies. The normal students wanted to learn because the popular kids wanted to learn. Because of this unexpected turnout, many more people learned about Zoey's after-school hobby. Also simultaneously increasing her previously zero popularity rating in the school into something that was higher than the popular kids.
Right now, Zoey was in front of a sea of students that followed her outside. They were in the courtyard of the school, and because there were so many people coming outside, the teachers and faculty of the school came out to watch as well. Usually, when a group of students came together like this, there was a fight about to break out. Zoey was feeling a multitude of emotions right now as she prepared herself to teach all these people how to do a simple jab.
How much experience was she going to gain by teaching so many people at once? When could she ever get the opportunity to do something like this again? All the attention wasn't so bad, either... Zoey was very weak to compliments and positive attention as they weren't things she regularly received from people. Hopefully, she would get used to them very soon because if she didn't, she could find herself getting addicted to all of this. This was not even mentioning all the stuff from the YFTL!
"Are you ready, Zoey?" Bill asked. He was the school's star quarterback.
She nodded.
"Alright, everybody, shut the fuck up and listen up!" Kody shouted with a few other boys.
The crowd of students quieted down quickly. None of the teachers intervened once they realized what was really going on. Since there was no fight, there was no need to stop anything or make a big fuss about what was happening. A student of theirs happened to be a fighter outside of school and was going to teach everyone who was interested how to do a simple jab. They didn't understand why so many people were interested in how to do a punch, but kids were just weird like that. It happens every year with the kids getting excited about some new strange thing they couldn't understand.
Zoey took a deep fucking breath as everyone's eyes locked on her. As she wasn't the type of person to yell or shout except in emergencies, she decided to make an exception today because of all the experience she could gain from this. She swallowed her shyness down and began to think about the perfect jab. Every single motion that comes into play when throwing a jab.
"First, stance!" Zoey yelled.
She slowly moved her body in front of everyone to show them the proper stance.
"Feet shoulder-width apart! Knees slightly bent! Non-dominant lead leg and fist forward!" Everyone followed her instructions to the best of their ability.
There were some that couldn't follow this first set of instructions, but Zoey didn't stop just because a few people didn't get it right. They had a lot of time left for lunch, and she could fix them up after going through the motions.
"Second, defense! Keep your chin down and use your non-dominant hand to protect your face!" This second step wasn't as complicated as the first, so more people were able to do this correctly.
"Final step, offense! Rotate the entire upper body as you throw the punch. Hips, shoulders, arms, and fist should all be moving as one! Snap the fist, extend the entire arm, and bring it back to defensive position!" The sound of the wind splitting apart reached the ears of some of the people up front.
Zoey didn't slow down the speed of her jab like with the other steps. She repeated the motions of the last step multiple times. Starting off fast before ending slow. Breaking down each move for everyone to see clearly.
After showing everyone the steps, she started over from the beginning. This teaching lesson lasted until lunch period was over. Once she went through the three simple steps about four or five times, she began to walk around the crowd helping anyone that still wasn't doing it correctly. By doing this, she gained even more experience for her Teaching skill. She also learned that Callie and Katlyn were in the crowd of people too.
"It would be nice to learn just in case any boys get too handsy," Callie explained.
"I could use this if some prick doesn't get the hint and won't fuck off," Katlyn explained.
It was probably the first time Zoey has ever seen a skill rise in levels so fast. She wanted to jump around, dance, and fucking lose her mind, but all this interacting with people really drained her out. Her social energy levels have been bottomed out, and she wasn't sure that she could really socialize anymore for today. Focusing on her classes after lunch was pretty much impossible.
By the time school was out, Zoey barely had any energy to do anything at all. Too much excitement fuzzed out her brain from functioning correctly. Right now, all she wanted to do was get home and take the best nap ever. Her dad picked her up from school, and she could barely tell him how her dad went. Zoey only put her thumbs up in response to that question.
"That's good to hear. After everything that went down yesterday, I was worried you wouldn't be able to focus at school." Bruce said.
"If you need anything, just tell me. I'll do whatever I can to make sure you feel like you're at your best. Even if you just need to go get some coffee or ice cream."
Zoey couldn't help but smile. Her dad was really too kind even though he wasn't her real dad. She always wondered how she'd turn out if he were a part of her life from the beginning. Maybe she'd be a bit nicer and more outgoing because of him. Even though her dad was a huge nerd, he had plenty of friends and never seemed to get on anyone's bad side.
Not even her mom's. Somehow her dad had the ability to calm anyone down just by being nice and friendly. Her mom, who she thought of as a total fucking bitch when she was younger, was this nice sweet little lady when it came to her dad. It was like she became a totally different person when she was around him, and the weird thing was... Zoey still couldn't tell if that was her true self she kept separate from Bruce or the other way around. But either way, Zoey would still be confused. When her dad wasn't around, she was the average black mom. Kind, sweet, fierce, has an attitude, can start snapping on a flip of a dime, shows her concern and worry through harsh words, threats, and spankings, hates spending a lot of money, made poor choices in her teens, and was still facing the consequences of them today.
Maybe she was ashamed of this black side of herself. Zoey thought it wasn't crazy that she would be. Some black people are ashamed to be black. They don't feel that being black is something to be proud of and that certain rules or responsibilities come with being black. Zoey wasn't particularly proud of the color of her skin, but it wasn't like she was ashamed, either. Her skin was just skin. It didn't define her, and she didn't let it chain her down because of the history that happened with her race. She was just going to be herself. Zoey Winters.
When they got home, Zoey basically dropped dead once she reached her bed. She didn't even get the chance to take off her bra like she usually does before falling asleep. Wearing a bra before going to bed just felt uncomfortable. It felt way better to sleep naturally with her girls, free to move and shift as they pleased.
Zoey set herself an alarm to wake up at seven pm if she didn't wake up before it. She had homework to do, magji studying for the magjistar tournament next Monday, studying on the latest gsports game that made the most money from hosting gaming competitions before teaching her brother how to get really good at those games, and boxing drills and... She fell asleep.
The popular girls wanted to learn because the jocks wanted to learn. The bullies wanted to learn for their own selfish purposes. The losers wanted to learn in hopes of defending themselves against the bullies. The normal students wanted to learn because the popular kids wanted to learn. Because of this unexpected turnout, many more people learned about Zoey's after-school hobby. Also simultaneously increasing her previously zero popularity rating in the school into something that was higher than the popular kids.
Right now, Zoey was in front of a sea of students that followed her outside. They were in the courtyard of the school, and because there were so many people coming outside, the teachers and faculty of the school came out to watch as well. Usually, when a group of students came together like this, there was a fight about to break out. Zoey was feeling a multitude of emotions right now as she prepared herself to teach all these people how to do a simple jab.
How much experience was she going to gain by teaching so many people at once? When could she ever get the opportunity to do something like this again? All the attention wasn't so bad, either... Zoey was very weak to compliments and positive attention as they weren't things she regularly received from people. Hopefully, she would get used to them very soon because if she didn't, she could find herself getting addicted to all of this. This was not even mentioning all the stuff from the YFTL!
"Are you ready, Zoey?" Bill asked. He was the school's star quarterback.
She nodded.
"Alright, everybody, shut the fuck up and listen up!" Kody shouted with a few other boys.
The crowd of students quieted down quickly. None of the teachers intervened once they realized what was really going on. Since there was no fight, there was no need to stop anything or make a big fuss about what was happening. A student of theirs happened to be a fighter outside of school and was going to teach everyone who was interested how to do a simple jab. They didn't understand why so many people were interested in how to do a punch, but kids were just weird like that. It happens every year with the kids getting excited about some new strange thing they couldn't understand.
Zoey took a deep fucking breath as everyone's eyes locked on her. As she wasn't the type of person to yell or shout except in emergencies, she decided to make an exception today because of all the experience she could gain from this. She swallowed her shyness down and began to think about the perfect jab. Every single motion that comes into play when throwing a jab.
"First, stance!" Zoey yelled.
She slowly moved her body in front of everyone to show them the proper stance.
"Feet shoulder-width apart! Knees slightly bent! Non-dominant lead leg and fist forward!" Everyone followed her instructions to the best of their ability.
[Teaching Lv10]
There were some that couldn't follow this first set of instructions, but Zoey didn't stop just because a few people didn't get it right. They had a lot of time left for lunch, and she could fix them up after going through the motions.
"Second, defense! Keep your chin down and use your non-dominant hand to protect your face!" This second step wasn't as complicated as the first, so more people were able to do this correctly.
[Teaching Lv11]
"Final step, offense! Rotate the entire upper body as you throw the punch. Hips, shoulders, arms, and fist should all be moving as one! Snap the fist, extend the entire arm, and bring it back to defensive position!" The sound of the wind splitting apart reached the ears of some of the people up front.
Zoey didn't slow down the speed of her jab like with the other steps. She repeated the motions of the last step multiple times. Starting off fast before ending slow. Breaking down each move for everyone to see clearly.
[Teaching Lv13]
After showing everyone the steps, she started over from the beginning. This teaching lesson lasted until lunch period was over. Once she went through the three simple steps about four or five times, she began to walk around the crowd helping anyone that still wasn't doing it correctly. By doing this, she gained even more experience for her Teaching skill. She also learned that Callie and Katlyn were in the crowd of people too.
"It would be nice to learn just in case any boys get too handsy," Callie explained.
"I could use this if some prick doesn't get the hint and won't fuck off," Katlyn explained.
[Teaching Lv16]
It was probably the first time Zoey has ever seen a skill rise in levels so fast. She wanted to jump around, dance, and fucking lose her mind, but all this interacting with people really drained her out. Her social energy levels have been bottomed out, and she wasn't sure that she could really socialize anymore for today. Focusing on her classes after lunch was pretty much impossible.
By the time school was out, Zoey barely had any energy to do anything at all. Too much excitement fuzzed out her brain from functioning correctly. Right now, all she wanted to do was get home and take the best nap ever. Her dad picked her up from school, and she could barely tell him how her dad went. Zoey only put her thumbs up in response to that question.
"That's good to hear. After everything that went down yesterday, I was worried you wouldn't be able to focus at school." Bruce said.
"If you need anything, just tell me. I'll do whatever I can to make sure you feel like you're at your best. Even if you just need to go get some coffee or ice cream."
Zoey couldn't help but smile. Her dad was really too kind even though he wasn't her real dad. She always wondered how she'd turn out if he were a part of her life from the beginning. Maybe she'd be a bit nicer and more outgoing because of him. Even though her dad was a huge nerd, he had plenty of friends and never seemed to get on anyone's bad side.
Not even her mom's. Somehow her dad had the ability to calm anyone down just by being nice and friendly. Her mom, who she thought of as a total fucking bitch when she was younger, was this nice sweet little lady when it came to her dad. It was like she became a totally different person when she was around him, and the weird thing was... Zoey still couldn't tell if that was her true self she kept separate from Bruce or the other way around. But either way, Zoey would still be confused. When her dad wasn't around, she was the average black mom. Kind, sweet, fierce, has an attitude, can start snapping on a flip of a dime, shows her concern and worry through harsh words, threats, and spankings, hates spending a lot of money, made poor choices in her teens, and was still facing the consequences of them today.
Maybe she was ashamed of this black side of herself. Zoey thought it wasn't crazy that she would be. Some black people are ashamed to be black. They don't feel that being black is something to be proud of and that certain rules or responsibilities come with being black. Zoey wasn't particularly proud of the color of her skin, but it wasn't like she was ashamed, either. Her skin was just skin. It didn't define her, and she didn't let it chain her down because of the history that happened with her race. She was just going to be herself. Zoey Winters.
When they got home, Zoey basically dropped dead once she reached her bed. She didn't even get the chance to take off her bra like she usually does before falling asleep. Wearing a bra before going to bed just felt uncomfortable. It felt way better to sleep naturally with her girls, free to move and shift as they pleased.
Zoey set herself an alarm to wake up at seven pm if she didn't wake up before it. She had homework to do, magji studying for the magjistar tournament next Monday, studying on the latest gsports game that made the most money from hosting gaming competitions before teaching her brother how to get really good at those games, and boxing drills and... She fell asleep.
Chapter 52: A Day Spent Without Waste!
Zoey felt like a completely new woman when she woke up from her nap. Her mind was in a flutter, and her heart was brimming with energy. Since she had so much energy, Zoey went over to her weights. She originally planned to do some boxing drills but decided to settle with just lifting some weights. Three sets of twelve reps with a max of three-hundred pounds weight. But before she got started, she made sure to warm up with some light exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges, and sit-ups with the hand-sized weights next to her bench press.
It was only seven pm. If she did some boxing drills, it'd probably be around eleven pm or twelve am before she felt satisfied enough to stop her training. With the weights, it would only take half an hour or an hour at most. There was still a lot she had to do tonight, and she still had school in the morning. Exhausting herself and not getting enough sleep wasn't an option that Zoey considered. It would only be bad for her health if she neglected to take care of her physical and mental health.
But! A certain skill popped up in Zoey's mind that could possibly be raised by neglecting her health. Endurance. Could Endurance be raised just by refusing to go to sleep and continuing to strain her body and mind? It was an interesting thought that Zoey was not afraid to risk her health because if it could, she could get more done without wasting time on sleeping when she could be doing other stuff.
Zoey's lips slightly turned up as she thought about the possibility of her never needing to sleep again because of Endurance in the future. She never really thought about it before, but sleeping really does cut into a lot of time that people could use for other things. If the average person slept for eight hours a day, then that would be how much in a year? Unable to do mental math as well as she probably should, Zoey had to grab her phone and click on the calculator app. 8 hours x 365 days equals 2,920 hours.
2,920 hours are spent in a bed doing nothing. The average person lived for about seventy-nine years, according to the internet. Since Zoey was 17, she had to subtract her current age from that average if she wanted to know how many hours, she would waste by sleeping for the rest of her lifetime. 79 – 17 gave her 62, and 62 years was 22,630 days. 22,630 x 8 = 181,040. Meaning, Zoey would waste 181,040 hours just resting in a bed when she could spend that time doing other things!
Apparently, it takes at least two years or six months to become world-class at a single skill if they were practicing in the most efficient manner. Two years would be 5,840 hours, while six months would be 1,460 hours. So if Zoey believed the two years claim, she could master thirty-one skills in her lifetime starting now. With the six months claim, she could master one-hundred twenty-four skills over the course of her life.
All this math was causing her head to smoke, but this was very important! How many people could become skilled in more than one or two skills over their life? Most people wasted their time just by trying to live life instead of trying to gain new skills. So, imagining herself with 31 or 124 skills compared to the average person's number of skills, made her think just how much crap she could learn by using those hours usually wasted on sleep.
So, Zoey hoped that Endurance worked on her mentally just like it did for her physically because she was about to find out very soon tonight. After her warm-up exercises and small math break, Zoey finally got started bench pressing. She played a playlist of her favorite songs as she worked out because she felt it was unusual to not listen to music while working out. The song that was playing now was Figure Moving by Lizzy. It was an upbeat move your body type pop song. While Zoey couldn't dance at all, she could definitely do something like looked like dancing to this song!
Hours went by of settling everything Zoey needed to get done today. She did her training, did her homework, studied which fighting game was the most popular on the biggest live-streaming website, bought the game, and saved the best for last... Studying magic!
Studying Dirty Fighting V, the video game, and studying magic definitely couldn't be done together. Just a quick look at some of the mechanics surrounding Dirty Fighting V made her realize that mastering a fighting game wouldn't be as easy as she thought. And she knew for a damn fact that magic would only be even harder. While the system would definitely be helpful in learning both of them, Zoey knew she had to use her own brain to understand them both rather than relying on the Box like she wants to.
The magjistar tournament was coming up next Monday. She could always teach her brother how to become a professional at Dirty Fighting V. This meant, her focus this week should be solely about learning about magic. If she had the time, she could watch some videos on pro Dirty Fighting V players, like during lunch at school or something. So, Zoey grabbed Lindsay's stacks of notes on magic and started studying.
Mahna is the heart of magji.
Mahna is present within everything in the visible and non-visible world. The air we breathe, the rocks that lie on the ground, the plants that grow and populate our planet. Mahna is everywhere around us, but the mahna a person can use is only within their own being.
There are special cases of there being people, daemons, and creatures that can take the mahna of others, but not much is known about them. There is also no known connate magji or learned magji that can absorb the mahna of others.
Without mahna, performing magji is impossible.
To find out one's connate magji, one must first be able to sense and control their own mahna to a proficient level.
A magjistar's connate magji usually surfaces around the age of five or six and is completely unique to their respective users. If someone hasn't awakened a connate magji by that time, they most likely do not have one and must learn a branch of magji on their own.
Magjistars that awaken a connate magji are seen as more talented than those that don't, but as far as history goes, the most powerful magjistars are not only those born with connate magji. However, most of the well-known strongest magjistars are known to have connate magji.
Since you were born a normal person and didn't awaken your mahna until now, you are most likely a magjistar that will need to go down the learned magji path. There are many magji volumes that you could try to learn.
Some of the common and easy-to-learn branches of magji are earth magji, water magji, wind magji, and fire magji.
While some of the harder and more difficult-to-learn branches are combo magji, static magji, cloning magji, taming magji, luck magji, summoning magji, blood magji, control magji, mud magji, healing magji, …
Zoey could barely believe there were so many different types of magic she could learn. Just how the hell did anyone create all these types of magic branches?
I say that these are harder because all the information given about the magic is deceptively simple. To advance to higher heights and use more complicated techniques from these magji branches, you must rely on your own understanding and experience during training or battles. Oh, you also cannot pick a different branch of magji to learn once you integrate the magji technique into your body. So, choose carefully.
After reading this, Zoey decided to look at her options more carefully. There wasn't much in terms of explanation for the branches of magji, just their names. But most of their names told Zoey exactly what the magji was about. Her main focus was thinking about which branch would fit her fighting style best. While it was easy to think of her strengths, she also had to think of her weak points. Those weak points being long-range and mid-range, limited options for attacking, and just a lack of knowledge on the magical world in general.
The final point can be solved just by reading these notebooks long enough. The second weakness can be dealt with by choosing a branch of magji or adding more moves to her Ultimate Boxing other than punches, throws, and tackling. It felt wrong to Zoey to add kicks, elbows, and the like to her Ultimate Boxing, but if she ever ran into a ceiling because of it. She wouldn't hesitate to do so. The first weakness could only be solved by choosing an appropriate branch of magji.
But Zoey had to be careful. She was at her strongest at close range and needed to make sure to supplement that strength with the right branch of magji. This meant, she had to choose a branch of magji that would both increase her strength up close and deal with enemies far away. Either closing the distance between Zoey and her opponent or being able to fight at a distance with just her fists.
"I guess I'll choose this..." Zoey playfully grinned.
It was only seven pm. If she did some boxing drills, it'd probably be around eleven pm or twelve am before she felt satisfied enough to stop her training. With the weights, it would only take half an hour or an hour at most. There was still a lot she had to do tonight, and she still had school in the morning. Exhausting herself and not getting enough sleep wasn't an option that Zoey considered. It would only be bad for her health if she neglected to take care of her physical and mental health.
But! A certain skill popped up in Zoey's mind that could possibly be raised by neglecting her health. Endurance. Could Endurance be raised just by refusing to go to sleep and continuing to strain her body and mind? It was an interesting thought that Zoey was not afraid to risk her health because if it could, she could get more done without wasting time on sleeping when she could be doing other stuff.
Zoey's lips slightly turned up as she thought about the possibility of her never needing to sleep again because of Endurance in the future. She never really thought about it before, but sleeping really does cut into a lot of time that people could use for other things. If the average person slept for eight hours a day, then that would be how much in a year? Unable to do mental math as well as she probably should, Zoey had to grab her phone and click on the calculator app. 8 hours x 365 days equals 2,920 hours.
2,920 hours are spent in a bed doing nothing. The average person lived for about seventy-nine years, according to the internet. Since Zoey was 17, she had to subtract her current age from that average if she wanted to know how many hours, she would waste by sleeping for the rest of her lifetime. 79 – 17 gave her 62, and 62 years was 22,630 days. 22,630 x 8 = 181,040. Meaning, Zoey would waste 181,040 hours just resting in a bed when she could spend that time doing other things!
Apparently, it takes at least two years or six months to become world-class at a single skill if they were practicing in the most efficient manner. Two years would be 5,840 hours, while six months would be 1,460 hours. So if Zoey believed the two years claim, she could master thirty-one skills in her lifetime starting now. With the six months claim, she could master one-hundred twenty-four skills over the course of her life.
All this math was causing her head to smoke, but this was very important! How many people could become skilled in more than one or two skills over their life? Most people wasted their time just by trying to live life instead of trying to gain new skills. So, imagining herself with 31 or 124 skills compared to the average person's number of skills, made her think just how much crap she could learn by using those hours usually wasted on sleep.
So, Zoey hoped that Endurance worked on her mentally just like it did for her physically because she was about to find out very soon tonight. After her warm-up exercises and small math break, Zoey finally got started bench pressing. She played a playlist of her favorite songs as she worked out because she felt it was unusual to not listen to music while working out. The song that was playing now was Figure Moving by Lizzy. It was an upbeat move your body type pop song. While Zoey couldn't dance at all, she could definitely do something like looked like dancing to this song!
Hours went by of settling everything Zoey needed to get done today. She did her training, did her homework, studied which fighting game was the most popular on the biggest live-streaming website, bought the game, and saved the best for last... Studying magic!
Studying Dirty Fighting V, the video game, and studying magic definitely couldn't be done together. Just a quick look at some of the mechanics surrounding Dirty Fighting V made her realize that mastering a fighting game wouldn't be as easy as she thought. And she knew for a damn fact that magic would only be even harder. While the system would definitely be helpful in learning both of them, Zoey knew she had to use her own brain to understand them both rather than relying on the Box like she wants to.
The magjistar tournament was coming up next Monday. She could always teach her brother how to become a professional at Dirty Fighting V. This meant, her focus this week should be solely about learning about magic. If she had the time, she could watch some videos on pro Dirty Fighting V players, like during lunch at school or something. So, Zoey grabbed Lindsay's stacks of notes on magic and started studying.
Mahna is the heart of magji.
Mahna is present within everything in the visible and non-visible world. The air we breathe, the rocks that lie on the ground, the plants that grow and populate our planet. Mahna is everywhere around us, but the mahna a person can use is only within their own being.
There are special cases of there being people, daemons, and creatures that can take the mahna of others, but not much is known about them. There is also no known connate magji or learned magji that can absorb the mahna of others.
Without mahna, performing magji is impossible.
To find out one's connate magji, one must first be able to sense and control their own mahna to a proficient level.
A magjistar's connate magji usually surfaces around the age of five or six and is completely unique to their respective users. If someone hasn't awakened a connate magji by that time, they most likely do not have one and must learn a branch of magji on their own.
Magjistars that awaken a connate magji are seen as more talented than those that don't, but as far as history goes, the most powerful magjistars are not only those born with connate magji. However, most of the well-known strongest magjistars are known to have connate magji.
Since you were born a normal person and didn't awaken your mahna until now, you are most likely a magjistar that will need to go down the learned magji path. There are many magji volumes that you could try to learn.
Some of the common and easy-to-learn branches of magji are earth magji, water magji, wind magji, and fire magji.
While some of the harder and more difficult-to-learn branches are combo magji, static magji, cloning magji, taming magji, luck magji, summoning magji, blood magji, control magji, mud magji, healing magji, …
Zoey could barely believe there were so many different types of magic she could learn. Just how the hell did anyone create all these types of magic branches?
I say that these are harder because all the information given about the magic is deceptively simple. To advance to higher heights and use more complicated techniques from these magji branches, you must rely on your own understanding and experience during training or battles. Oh, you also cannot pick a different branch of magji to learn once you integrate the magji technique into your body. So, choose carefully.
After reading this, Zoey decided to look at her options more carefully. There wasn't much in terms of explanation for the branches of magji, just their names. But most of their names told Zoey exactly what the magji was about. Her main focus was thinking about which branch would fit her fighting style best. While it was easy to think of her strengths, she also had to think of her weak points. Those weak points being long-range and mid-range, limited options for attacking, and just a lack of knowledge on the magical world in general.
The final point can be solved just by reading these notebooks long enough. The second weakness can be dealt with by choosing a branch of magji or adding more moves to her Ultimate Boxing other than punches, throws, and tackling. It felt wrong to Zoey to add kicks, elbows, and the like to her Ultimate Boxing, but if she ever ran into a ceiling because of it. She wouldn't hesitate to do so. The first weakness could only be solved by choosing an appropriate branch of magji.
But Zoey had to be careful. She was at her strongest at close range and needed to make sure to supplement that strength with the right branch of magji. This meant, she had to choose a branch of magji that would both increase her strength up close and deal with enemies far away. Either closing the distance between Zoey and her opponent or being able to fight at a distance with just her fists.
"I guess I'll choose this..." Zoey playfully grinned.
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Only one hey? I wonder what she'll choose?
Chapter 53: A Lifelong Decision Has Been Made!
"I want Combo Magji." Zoey decided.
Alexander and Lindsay looked up at her, surprised she found time to come to the student council room after becoming super popular. Lindsay wasn't as surprised as Alexander was. Since the Annual Meeting of Young Talents was coming next Monday, she must be excited to prepare herself to fight against magjistars. Out of all the learned magji that Zoey could learn, Lindsay was rather happy that she expected Zoey to choose one of the unusual ones.
Since Zoey was a monster, Lindsay had a feeling that she would choose something that would complement her already absurd strength even further. Some of her predictions were earth magji, fire magji, combo magji, or pain magji. By combining their money together, Alexander and Lindsay were able to purchase the first volumes of each of the magji they believed that Zoey would be interested in. It put a sizable dent in their funds, but both of them believed it was worth the purchase. The stronger that Zoey became, the easier it would be for them to make even more money.
"Here you go." Lindsay pulled out a small thin brown book from her bookbag.
"You already have it?" Zoey was surprised.
"We had a feeling you might choose this one..." Alexander spoke up for them.
"You did?" Zoey really was predictable...
"It's a type of magji that we've never heard of anyone practicing in our generation or our parent's but that's because magjistars don't typically fight in a way that this branch of magji would be useful for them," Lindsay explained.
"So, how'd you know I'd pick it?" Zoey grabbed the book.
"Because it fits perfectly with the way you fight." Lindsay smiled.
"We also bought this!" Alexander gave her a ring. "With the remainder of our money." He made sure to add.
Zoey put the plain-looking silver ring on her pinkie finger before looking at the two.
"Follow us. We need to teach you how to integrate with your chosen magji branch and use your new magji tool." Alexander grinned.
"We recently received a case in the main part of the city. There's a couple of D-grade daemons causing trouble at an abandoned building that's scheduled to be demolished soon." Lindsay explained.
The trio of high school students left the school together with many eyes on them as they left. This wasn't anything out of the usual for Alexander and Lindsay. Being the handsome and beautiful pair they were, it wasn't a shock that they were also very popular within the school. As far as the other students could see, they were the perfect example of model students. Always at the top of the year in tests, excelling in gym class, and very attractive.
It has now come to the attention that the perfect student council president and vice president had some sort of relationship with the Boxing Queen, Zoey, somehow! Rumors spread quickly across the school and social media among the high school students about what kind of relationship could someone like Zoey have with them.
"Maybe it's a love triangle 😍!!!!!"
"Between Lindsay and Zoey over Alexander?"
"No! Between Lindsay and Alexander over Zoey 😁!"
"I think they're just normal friends... I saw them get on the city bus together after school. It can't be anything like what you guys are talking about."
"Maybe the student council is keeping an eye out on Zoey because of how good of a fighter she is."
"What if other schools come to ours to challenge her?"
"Isn't Zoey on the track team?"
"Is she?"
"She is! I remember now! She helped us win one of our meets last Friday!"
As the social media circle of Zoey's school exploded about her, Zoey was sitting on the bus with Lindsay and Alexander. She was being instructed on how to properly and safely imprint combo magji within her soul. Lindsay and Alexander were sending her text messages on what to do since there were normal people on the bus with them. They'd be breaking the rules if they explained the process of learning magji with normal humans not associated with the magji world.
Zoey closed her eyes after reading the very long texts from the magjistar duo. Using her Lv1 Mahna Manipulation to the best of her abilities, Zoey began to explore the inside of her body. She located all nine of her currently locked magji gates inside her body. According to Lindsay and Alexander, over the course of her life as a magjistar, she'll be doing training her control over her magji to get stronger. However, for now, her only goal was to locate her soul and imprint the Combo Magji into it. It kind of reminded her of the symbol for infinity.
It took around three hours before Zoey could successfully imprint the symbol onto her soul. She messed up so many times that they actually missed their stop. Neither Lindsay nor Alexander could intervene lest they wanted to harm Zoey's soul. Inwardly, Zoey wanted to explode because of how annoying her soul was.
"Three hours is pretty good for your first time." Alexander tried to console her as they walked back into the city.
"Some people take weeks or months before they can accurately imprint the symbol on their soul." Lindsay nodded.
"Is it normal for my soul to move around and try to avoid me putting the symbol on it?" Zoey soon asked with an irritated tone.
Both Lindsay and Alexander gave subtly looks to one another. They've never heard of anything like that before. While most people don't usually talk about imprinting magji on their souls, it wasn't like it was a taboo topic or anything. If there was something to know about it, the two of them definitely knew about it. Or at least a solid amount of knowledge regarding it.
"We wouldn't know specifically... Both of us are connate magjistars." Alexander gave an embarrassed smile.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter since I got the symbol on it in the end." Zoey shrugged.
"That's right! Do you feel like you can use any of the spells in the book?" Alexander soon asked.
"There's only one spell." Zoey informed.
"One spell...?" Alexander repeated.
"Yeah. Is there supposed to be more?" Zoey asked.
"Most learned magji branches have at least three spells in the first volume..." Lindsay shared.
"Well, I guess I have my work cut out for me, huh?" Zoey wasn't particularly upset about finding out she only had one spell.
Her first and only spell was very simple to use and understand: Combo Volume I: Combo Time! Zoey's power slowly increases every time she attacks without interruption. Each time her attack is interrupted, her boost in power is reset back to zero. As far as she could tell, there was no limit to how far her power could grow, but that was something that obviously needed to be tested before stupidly claiming without evidence. A spell like this fits perfectly for her, who loved fighting aggressively.
Zoey's excitement about learning this new spell was quickly rising to her head. She wanted to test it out right now! Sadly, she wasn't able to sate her cravings, even after they arrived at the daemon-infested building. When walking into the building, the three of them were immediately attacked by a group of tiny black gremlins. An unusual occurrence since daemons don't normally attack magjistars without preparing an ambush.
Zoey didn't even get the chance to try and use her first spell, while Lindsay and Alexander coolly killed the daemons that came at them with spells. Zoey had to use her fists and punch the little daemons. Forget about not getting the chance to cast her spell, she couldn't even put on her boxing gloves! They had to move forward while being ambushed throughout the building.
Eventually, Zoey forgot all about those two things as she had a little fun trying to sense when the daemons would attack and where from. It only took one full-strength punch for Zoey to kill or severely injure a daemon, so even if she used her combo magic, it wouldn't make that much of an impact. Alexander had a machete wrapped up in some sort of strange paper to deal with the daemons. Lindsay used her crocodile plushie to protect herself and deal with the daemons.
It wasn't until they reached the daemon controlling all of the little daemons that Lindsay and Alexander decided to explain what Zoey's new ring was able to do.
"Use your mahna and flow it into the ring. Then---" Alexander was about to explain.
Zoey wasted no time following Alexander's instructions. As the ring lit up, Zoey suddenly found herself right underneath the strongest daemon in the building. It was an obese, disgusting, drippy, and stanky daemon. Unconsciously, she found herself balling up her fist and swinging it straight into the large stomach of the daemon with mahna covering her fist.
"Bo! Bo! Bo!" It cried out, its slimy grubby hands reaching down towards Zoey.
"Zoey! I wasn't finished talking yet!" Alexander started chanting a lightning spell to try and save Zoey only to hear a bloodcurdling roar coming from her direction.
A mass of black sludge blew to the wall behind the daemon. Zoey's fist went completely through the stomach of the sludge-like daemon, and she wasn't sure if it was dead or not, with a portion of its torso missing. Thankfully, she didn't have to worry as a ray of ice struck the daemon's head and quickly froze it into an ice cube. Three relieved sighs happened at the same time as Zoey slowly backed away from the daemon before smashing it to pieces with multiple rapid-fire punches.
'Couldn't forget the experience for my skills.' She smiled before turning to Lindsay and Alexander.
Alexander and Lindsay looked up at her, surprised she found time to come to the student council room after becoming super popular. Lindsay wasn't as surprised as Alexander was. Since the Annual Meeting of Young Talents was coming next Monday, she must be excited to prepare herself to fight against magjistars. Out of all the learned magji that Zoey could learn, Lindsay was rather happy that she expected Zoey to choose one of the unusual ones.
Since Zoey was a monster, Lindsay had a feeling that she would choose something that would complement her already absurd strength even further. Some of her predictions were earth magji, fire magji, combo magji, or pain magji. By combining their money together, Alexander and Lindsay were able to purchase the first volumes of each of the magji they believed that Zoey would be interested in. It put a sizable dent in their funds, but both of them believed it was worth the purchase. The stronger that Zoey became, the easier it would be for them to make even more money.
"Here you go." Lindsay pulled out a small thin brown book from her bookbag.
"You already have it?" Zoey was surprised.
"We had a feeling you might choose this one..." Alexander spoke up for them.
"You did?" Zoey really was predictable...
"It's a type of magji that we've never heard of anyone practicing in our generation or our parent's but that's because magjistars don't typically fight in a way that this branch of magji would be useful for them," Lindsay explained.
"So, how'd you know I'd pick it?" Zoey grabbed the book.
"Because it fits perfectly with the way you fight." Lindsay smiled.
"We also bought this!" Alexander gave her a ring. "With the remainder of our money." He made sure to add.
Zoey put the plain-looking silver ring on her pinkie finger before looking at the two.
"Follow us. We need to teach you how to integrate with your chosen magji branch and use your new magji tool." Alexander grinned.
"We recently received a case in the main part of the city. There's a couple of D-grade daemons causing trouble at an abandoned building that's scheduled to be demolished soon." Lindsay explained.
The trio of high school students left the school together with many eyes on them as they left. This wasn't anything out of the usual for Alexander and Lindsay. Being the handsome and beautiful pair they were, it wasn't a shock that they were also very popular within the school. As far as the other students could see, they were the perfect example of model students. Always at the top of the year in tests, excelling in gym class, and very attractive.
It has now come to the attention that the perfect student council president and vice president had some sort of relationship with the Boxing Queen, Zoey, somehow! Rumors spread quickly across the school and social media among the high school students about what kind of relationship could someone like Zoey have with them.
"Maybe it's a love triangle 😍!!!!!"
"Between Lindsay and Zoey over Alexander?"
"No! Between Lindsay and Alexander over Zoey 😁!"
"I think they're just normal friends... I saw them get on the city bus together after school. It can't be anything like what you guys are talking about."
"Maybe the student council is keeping an eye out on Zoey because of how good of a fighter she is."
"What if other schools come to ours to challenge her?"
"Isn't Zoey on the track team?"
"Is she?"
"She is! I remember now! She helped us win one of our meets last Friday!"
As the social media circle of Zoey's school exploded about her, Zoey was sitting on the bus with Lindsay and Alexander. She was being instructed on how to properly and safely imprint combo magji within her soul. Lindsay and Alexander were sending her text messages on what to do since there were normal people on the bus with them. They'd be breaking the rules if they explained the process of learning magji with normal humans not associated with the magji world.
Zoey closed her eyes after reading the very long texts from the magjistar duo. Using her Lv1 Mahna Manipulation to the best of her abilities, Zoey began to explore the inside of her body. She located all nine of her currently locked magji gates inside her body. According to Lindsay and Alexander, over the course of her life as a magjistar, she'll be doing training her control over her magji to get stronger. However, for now, her only goal was to locate her soul and imprint the Combo Magji into it. It kind of reminded her of the symbol for infinity.
[Combo Magji Lv1]
[Mahna Manipulation Lv2]
[Mahna Manipulation Lv2]
It took around three hours before Zoey could successfully imprint the symbol onto her soul. She messed up so many times that they actually missed their stop. Neither Lindsay nor Alexander could intervene lest they wanted to harm Zoey's soul. Inwardly, Zoey wanted to explode because of how annoying her soul was.
"Three hours is pretty good for your first time." Alexander tried to console her as they walked back into the city.
"Some people take weeks or months before they can accurately imprint the symbol on their soul." Lindsay nodded.
"Is it normal for my soul to move around and try to avoid me putting the symbol on it?" Zoey soon asked with an irritated tone.
Both Lindsay and Alexander gave subtly looks to one another. They've never heard of anything like that before. While most people don't usually talk about imprinting magji on their souls, it wasn't like it was a taboo topic or anything. If there was something to know about it, the two of them definitely knew about it. Or at least a solid amount of knowledge regarding it.
"We wouldn't know specifically... Both of us are connate magjistars." Alexander gave an embarrassed smile.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter since I got the symbol on it in the end." Zoey shrugged.
"That's right! Do you feel like you can use any of the spells in the book?" Alexander soon asked.
"There's only one spell." Zoey informed.
"One spell...?" Alexander repeated.
"Yeah. Is there supposed to be more?" Zoey asked.
"Most learned magji branches have at least three spells in the first volume..." Lindsay shared.
"Well, I guess I have my work cut out for me, huh?" Zoey wasn't particularly upset about finding out she only had one spell.
Her first and only spell was very simple to use and understand: Combo Volume I: Combo Time! Zoey's power slowly increases every time she attacks without interruption. Each time her attack is interrupted, her boost in power is reset back to zero. As far as she could tell, there was no limit to how far her power could grow, but that was something that obviously needed to be tested before stupidly claiming without evidence. A spell like this fits perfectly for her, who loved fighting aggressively.
Zoey's excitement about learning this new spell was quickly rising to her head. She wanted to test it out right now! Sadly, she wasn't able to sate her cravings, even after they arrived at the daemon-infested building. When walking into the building, the three of them were immediately attacked by a group of tiny black gremlins. An unusual occurrence since daemons don't normally attack magjistars without preparing an ambush.
Zoey didn't even get the chance to try and use her first spell, while Lindsay and Alexander coolly killed the daemons that came at them with spells. Zoey had to use her fists and punch the little daemons. Forget about not getting the chance to cast her spell, she couldn't even put on her boxing gloves! They had to move forward while being ambushed throughout the building.
Eventually, Zoey forgot all about those two things as she had a little fun trying to sense when the daemons would attack and where from. It only took one full-strength punch for Zoey to kill or severely injure a daemon, so even if she used her combo magic, it wouldn't make that much of an impact. Alexander had a machete wrapped up in some sort of strange paper to deal with the daemons. Lindsay used her crocodile plushie to protect herself and deal with the daemons.
It wasn't until they reached the daemon controlling all of the little daemons that Lindsay and Alexander decided to explain what Zoey's new ring was able to do.
"Use your mahna and flow it into the ring. Then---" Alexander was about to explain.
Zoey wasted no time following Alexander's instructions. As the ring lit up, Zoey suddenly found herself right underneath the strongest daemon in the building. It was an obese, disgusting, drippy, and stanky daemon. Unconsciously, she found herself balling up her fist and swinging it straight into the large stomach of the daemon with mahna covering her fist.
"Bo! Bo! Bo!" It cried out, its slimy grubby hands reaching down towards Zoey.
"Zoey! I wasn't finished talking yet!" Alexander started chanting a lightning spell to try and save Zoey only to hear a bloodcurdling roar coming from her direction.
A mass of black sludge blew to the wall behind the daemon. Zoey's fist went completely through the stomach of the sludge-like daemon, and she wasn't sure if it was dead or not, with a portion of its torso missing. Thankfully, she didn't have to worry as a ray of ice struck the daemon's head and quickly froze it into an ice cube. Three relieved sighs happened at the same time as Zoey slowly backed away from the daemon before smashing it to pieces with multiple rapid-fire punches.
'Couldn't forget the experience for my skills.' She smiled before turning to Lindsay and Alexander.
[Boxing Lv5]
[Abnormal Conditions Lv8]
[Endurance Lv5]
[Abnormal Conditions Lv8]
[Endurance Lv5]
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Weird magic. I'm guessing it was more popular back when melee combat was the expected.
Chapter 54: An Exciting Thursday.
"Zoey, how'd you like to work part-time at the gym?" Coach Scott asked, bringing her a bottle of ice-cold water.
"What would I be doing?" Zoey opened the bottle with water dripping to the floor.
"You know that geeky kid you've been teaching, right?" Coach Scott asked as she took a deep gulp of the water bottle.
"Dylan?" Zoey figured. He was the only one willing to listen to her in the gym before she got a little famous.
"Yeah, him."
"What about him?" Zoey wiped the sweat on her face off with a small towel.
"Now, I don't know if he was a diamond in the rough before you started teaching him, but that boy is without a fact, a stone-cold killer! A genius that I somehow missed right under my nose? How did you teach him so well when you only started boxing less than a few months ago?!" He asked in disbelief.
Coach Scott noticed Dylan the day after Zoey's match in the gym. He came into the gym with his nose bandaged and glasses held together with tape. His first thought when looking at the long-armed scrawny dork was, who the hell was he? For some reason, he couldn't remember having this boy a part of his gym before. Maybe it was the look in his eyes that was different from the last time he saw him. Instead of being weak, unfocused, and filled with hesitation, they were now looking a lot more manly.
Seeing this new side of the boy he could faintly remember, Scott had a strange feeling when looking at him. So, he called him over and told him to meet him in Ring Three in five minutes. He wanted to see if there was anything special about this boy taught by his gym's star, Zoey. And what a fucking surprise he was in for when he brought the boy up in the ring to see what he had.
"Give me everything you got, kid," Scott told the little geek.
"Yes, Coach..." Dylan put in his mouth guard as memories flashed of Zoey's match on Monday.
Dylan didn't understand it himself, but when he watched Zoey's match yesterday, he felt like all of his knowledge of boxing and fighting was being upgraded and improved. When he went home that following night after being patched up by his mom, who worried over his injuries like crazy. He imagined himself inside the YFTL ring, watching Zoey's match up close when he decided to practice. The match replayed in his mind as he learned and soaked in everything he saw from Zoey.
The Perfect Jab. When he tried to throw a jab similar to Zoey's, it was like his arm was taken over by something! His right arm blurred and disappeared from his sight as it fully extended and struck the air. Dylan couldn't believe what he just did. He never threw a jab like that before in his life!
That night was spent throwing nothing but jabs that resembled Zoey's jabs in the ring. He practiced from 10 pm to 5 am, doing nothing but throwing jabs with both arms. It was only because he couldn't raise his arms anymore that he was forced to stop. However, Dylan found himself dreaming about the match and practicing even in his own dreams to perfect his jab and footwork. Zoey's footwork was an aspect he initially missed out on when he started his training, but as time went on throughout the night, he realized that Zoey could throw the Perfect Jab at seemingly any angle and while she was on the move.
"Come on! Show me what that girl's been teaching you." Coach Scott smiled. He hoped his instinct wasn't wrong.
It only took one punch for Scott to realize that this boy was definitely worth teaching. His right hand with the punching mitt went flying up after being hit by the boy's jab. An uncontrollable grin appeared on his face as he brought his hand back down and nodded for the boy to continue. This time, he would be prepared for that killer jab of his.
Bang, bang, bang! With the slicing of the wind and the quick but concentrated blows of the boxing glove against the mitts, many of the newbies and veterans looked up at the kid in the ring with the Coach after hearing these sounds. Scott couldn't stop himself from grinning madly as he saw the look in the boy's eyes. He couldn't tell if the boy was even aware of where he was right now. His eyes were concentrated solely on the punching mitts while his mind was focused on improving.
Coach Scott could tell from the minute changes in the boy's footwork to the angle, speed, and power behind his jabs. He did nothing but throw jabs like a certain little monster of his did yesterday. Considering he was being taught solely by her for some reason, he wasn't that surprised to see how sharp and dangerous his jabs were. It was almost a spitting image of Zoey's jabs in the ring on Monday but not quite. This boy's jabs didn't focus on accomplishing what Zoey's jabs did.
He must have realized the difference in their physiques. So, he focused on some parts of her jab instead of the same exact thing. It was smart of him to do this. If he tried copying her completely, he would only hurt himself. They weren't the same people and didn't fight in the same way either. With his long arms, thin frame, and speed, he couldn't go down the same route as Zoey. Zoey's strengths were in her overwhelming power, adaptability, speed, and toughness. From what Scott could see of him, his strengths were in speed, evasion, technique, and willpower.
Their session lasted for about 12 minutes without stopping once. It only came to an end once Coach Scott felt that the boy's jab was good enough to dominate in the amateur league for his first few fights. The boy nearly dropped unconscious by the end of their practice, forcing Coach Scott into cursing at the boy's weak body. They definitely had to work on his endurance if he wanted to make it far. While amateur bouts lasted only 9 minutes at most, that 9 minutes will seem like hours during a fight.
Scott felt a little embarrassed about taking over Zoey's student, but the girl was going to be busy for a while until the tournament started up again. It only took until Thursday before she returned to the gym again. So, it turned out that she wasn't as busy as Scott thought. But there was another important event that happened after Zoey's match on Monday.
"I only taught him everything Zack taught me," Zoey answered his question.
"I guess since Zack's teaching worked so well with you, of course, it would work well on anyone else... And I thought that boy was jack shit at teaching..." Coach Scott muttered that last part to himself. "So, what do you say about teaching anybody that wants to learn under you for 54 an hour?"
Zoey couldn't reply when she heard how much she would be paid an hour just to teach. Her brain didn't do math all that well, but she knew for a fact that 99% of the kids at her school that had part-time jobs didn't get paid half of what she could get paid by working here. Did this gym really rake in that much money!? It didn't look all that impressive at all!
"Deal!" Zoey's love for money came through in her excited reply.
"Hahaha, great! Do you know how many girls and boys signed up once they learned that you're from my gym? We had a crazy amount of people paying the monthly and yearly options if you were one of the available trainers. They'll be coming in tomorrow, so once you're finished up practicing, come to my office, and let's discuss your schedule." Scott left her alone with that.
Zoey's mind lit up with the possibilities that came with this new job of hers! Mainly, the massive amount of money that was about to enter her bank account soon. No longer did she have to worry about asking her dad to pay for things to buy on the internet, hoping for more daemon cases to pay for her expensive monthly phone bill, or paying for games on her computer.
Being raised by her mother allowed Zoey to understand the value and preciousness of money very quickly early on in life. Money was the key to happiness, joy, and living a decent life. If you didn't have money, you were sad, angry, wanting to take your anger out on the world often, and stressed. You weren't able to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck when it came by. You weren't able to go on field trips with your friends and classmates from school because your mom didn't have the money to pay for you to go. You couldn't have the latest clothes, shoes, or whatever else your friends were interested in the most at the time. All in all, money was the core to a successful, meaningful life. Socially, mentally, and physically. In Zoey's opinion, anyway.
"What would I be doing?" Zoey opened the bottle with water dripping to the floor.
"You know that geeky kid you've been teaching, right?" Coach Scott asked as she took a deep gulp of the water bottle.
"Dylan?" Zoey figured. He was the only one willing to listen to her in the gym before she got a little famous.
"Yeah, him."
"What about him?" Zoey wiped the sweat on her face off with a small towel.
"Now, I don't know if he was a diamond in the rough before you started teaching him, but that boy is without a fact, a stone-cold killer! A genius that I somehow missed right under my nose? How did you teach him so well when you only started boxing less than a few months ago?!" He asked in disbelief.
Coach Scott noticed Dylan the day after Zoey's match in the gym. He came into the gym with his nose bandaged and glasses held together with tape. His first thought when looking at the long-armed scrawny dork was, who the hell was he? For some reason, he couldn't remember having this boy a part of his gym before. Maybe it was the look in his eyes that was different from the last time he saw him. Instead of being weak, unfocused, and filled with hesitation, they were now looking a lot more manly.
Seeing this new side of the boy he could faintly remember, Scott had a strange feeling when looking at him. So, he called him over and told him to meet him in Ring Three in five minutes. He wanted to see if there was anything special about this boy taught by his gym's star, Zoey. And what a fucking surprise he was in for when he brought the boy up in the ring to see what he had.
"Give me everything you got, kid," Scott told the little geek.
"Yes, Coach..." Dylan put in his mouth guard as memories flashed of Zoey's match on Monday.
Dylan didn't understand it himself, but when he watched Zoey's match yesterday, he felt like all of his knowledge of boxing and fighting was being upgraded and improved. When he went home that following night after being patched up by his mom, who worried over his injuries like crazy. He imagined himself inside the YFTL ring, watching Zoey's match up close when he decided to practice. The match replayed in his mind as he learned and soaked in everything he saw from Zoey.
The Perfect Jab. When he tried to throw a jab similar to Zoey's, it was like his arm was taken over by something! His right arm blurred and disappeared from his sight as it fully extended and struck the air. Dylan couldn't believe what he just did. He never threw a jab like that before in his life!
That night was spent throwing nothing but jabs that resembled Zoey's jabs in the ring. He practiced from 10 pm to 5 am, doing nothing but throwing jabs with both arms. It was only because he couldn't raise his arms anymore that he was forced to stop. However, Dylan found himself dreaming about the match and practicing even in his own dreams to perfect his jab and footwork. Zoey's footwork was an aspect he initially missed out on when he started his training, but as time went on throughout the night, he realized that Zoey could throw the Perfect Jab at seemingly any angle and while she was on the move.
"Come on! Show me what that girl's been teaching you." Coach Scott smiled. He hoped his instinct wasn't wrong.
It only took one punch for Scott to realize that this boy was definitely worth teaching. His right hand with the punching mitt went flying up after being hit by the boy's jab. An uncontrollable grin appeared on his face as he brought his hand back down and nodded for the boy to continue. This time, he would be prepared for that killer jab of his.
Bang, bang, bang! With the slicing of the wind and the quick but concentrated blows of the boxing glove against the mitts, many of the newbies and veterans looked up at the kid in the ring with the Coach after hearing these sounds. Scott couldn't stop himself from grinning madly as he saw the look in the boy's eyes. He couldn't tell if the boy was even aware of where he was right now. His eyes were concentrated solely on the punching mitts while his mind was focused on improving.
Coach Scott could tell from the minute changes in the boy's footwork to the angle, speed, and power behind his jabs. He did nothing but throw jabs like a certain little monster of his did yesterday. Considering he was being taught solely by her for some reason, he wasn't that surprised to see how sharp and dangerous his jabs were. It was almost a spitting image of Zoey's jabs in the ring on Monday but not quite. This boy's jabs didn't focus on accomplishing what Zoey's jabs did.
He must have realized the difference in their physiques. So, he focused on some parts of her jab instead of the same exact thing. It was smart of him to do this. If he tried copying her completely, he would only hurt himself. They weren't the same people and didn't fight in the same way either. With his long arms, thin frame, and speed, he couldn't go down the same route as Zoey. Zoey's strengths were in her overwhelming power, adaptability, speed, and toughness. From what Scott could see of him, his strengths were in speed, evasion, technique, and willpower.
Their session lasted for about 12 minutes without stopping once. It only came to an end once Coach Scott felt that the boy's jab was good enough to dominate in the amateur league for his first few fights. The boy nearly dropped unconscious by the end of their practice, forcing Coach Scott into cursing at the boy's weak body. They definitely had to work on his endurance if he wanted to make it far. While amateur bouts lasted only 9 minutes at most, that 9 minutes will seem like hours during a fight.
Scott felt a little embarrassed about taking over Zoey's student, but the girl was going to be busy for a while until the tournament started up again. It only took until Thursday before she returned to the gym again. So, it turned out that she wasn't as busy as Scott thought. But there was another important event that happened after Zoey's match on Monday.
"I only taught him everything Zack taught me," Zoey answered his question.
"I guess since Zack's teaching worked so well with you, of course, it would work well on anyone else... And I thought that boy was jack shit at teaching..." Coach Scott muttered that last part to himself. "So, what do you say about teaching anybody that wants to learn under you for 54 an hour?"
Zoey couldn't reply when she heard how much she would be paid an hour just to teach. Her brain didn't do math all that well, but she knew for a fact that 99% of the kids at her school that had part-time jobs didn't get paid half of what she could get paid by working here. Did this gym really rake in that much money!? It didn't look all that impressive at all!
"Deal!" Zoey's love for money came through in her excited reply.
"Hahaha, great! Do you know how many girls and boys signed up once they learned that you're from my gym? We had a crazy amount of people paying the monthly and yearly options if you were one of the available trainers. They'll be coming in tomorrow, so once you're finished up practicing, come to my office, and let's discuss your schedule." Scott left her alone with that.
Zoey's mind lit up with the possibilities that came with this new job of hers! Mainly, the massive amount of money that was about to enter her bank account soon. No longer did she have to worry about asking her dad to pay for things to buy on the internet, hoping for more daemon cases to pay for her expensive monthly phone bill, or paying for games on her computer.
Being raised by her mother allowed Zoey to understand the value and preciousness of money very quickly early on in life. Money was the key to happiness, joy, and living a decent life. If you didn't have money, you were sad, angry, wanting to take your anger out on the world often, and stressed. You weren't able to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck when it came by. You weren't able to go on field trips with your friends and classmates from school because your mom didn't have the money to pay for you to go. You couldn't have the latest clothes, shoes, or whatever else your friends were interested in the most at the time. All in all, money was the core to a successful, meaningful life. Socially, mentally, and physically. In Zoey's opinion, anyway.
Chapter 55: Friday Wasn’t So Bad Either.
"While I only just learned that you're some sort of fighting beast, this is still not what I expected to see when coming into my best friend's room!" Callie threw her hands up. "It's like a freaking guy's room!"
Callie and Katlyn decided to come over and visit after she got done working at the gym today. Because of her age and experience in fighting, Coach decided to start her off slow. For now, she'll only be teaching young children to get some experience. He was worried that Dylan might be a fluke and it would be safer for the gym to start her off slow. Zoey had no issues with it. Her teaching skill didn't discriminate between ages. She didn't know if it discriminated against species, though...
"I have to make sure my body stays in good condition," Zoey explained reasonably.
"You're lucky I didn't know about the state of this room before I came here, Zoey." She crossed her arms. "It needs a total extreme room makeover!" Callie's eyes glowed brightly as the words came flying off her tongue. "Extreme Room Makeover! We should totally watch it together!"
"Girl, I do not understand how your brain functions even after all these years..." Katlyn pinched her nasal bridge.
"By watching Extreme Room Makeover, we could get some ideas to give your room a makeover!" Callie shared. "And since you don't wanna throw out all this gym equipment stuff, we'll really have to do our best to make it look pretty!"
"Look, Callie, I'm gonna rain on your parade and totally ruin it, but what if Zoey didn't want an extreme room makeover? What if she liked her room and wanted things to stay the same?" Katlyn asked her easily excitable friend.
Zoey didn't wanna make things awkward, but Katlyn was totally right. She liked how her room was right now. While she didn't think she would mind an extreme room makeover from Callie, it would definitely take some time to get used to. Not to mention trying to keep all her gym equipment and make things look cute and pretty. It would be pretty hard to mix those two types of genres, but when thinking about Callie's personality. She'd definitely try her best.
"Well, how about Zoey tell us what she feels?" Callie stuck her tongue out at Katlyn.
Despite the two of them being totally unlike the other, they stuck to each other like two halves of a whole. They had several fights, disagreements, and different opinions about many things. But their friendship was as tight as glue in Zoey's eyes. She wished she had someone that was basically the opposite of her as a friend. But now that she thought about it, that person would probably be very annoying, and she would love to mess with them often.
"I like my room," Zoey answered while thinking about other things.
"See." Katlyn grinned. "Just because you don't like something, doesn't mean that other people don't like them too. You can't be too selfish? Headstrong? I don't know the right word, but you know what I mean, right?"
"Auuuuugggghhhhh. Am I really being pushy right now?" Callie's shoulders slunk over as she looked up at Katlyn.
"Yep, and because you're doing it with such a bright smile on your face, it makes it hard for people to tell you no," Katlyn explained.
"I probably wouldn't have said no, if Katlyn didn't speak up for me..." Zoey also shared her thoughts.
"Auuugghh!!!" Callie knew she was definitely in the wrong if Zoey was giving it to her too. "I'm sorry, Zoey." Callie walked forward to apologize with a hug.
Zoey did not want to be squished in between her breasts again. Why did Callie have to be so damn tall with breasts that big? Weren't track girls supposed to be slim and lean? What did she eat growing up to get like this?
To avoid the awkward friendly apology that had to include a hug for some reason. Her eyes quickly scanned her room for a quick excuse or task she could use to stop Callie from getting any closer to her. Zoey wasn't used to affectionate physical contact with others because that wasn't something that she grew up with. While her mother sometimes hugged and kissed her, they still rarely happened and only happened when she was very young. It was kind of embarrassing, but Zoey couldn't even remember the last time she hugged her mother. But her family wasn't that type of family anyway, so she didn't feel too upset about it. Thinking about it, her family was the type to show their love in small and hard-to-notice ways.
But anyway, Zoey's eyes caught the perfect excuse to use to dodge Callie's warm, suffocating embrace. With a very subtle dodge that wasn't totally obvious that she was trying to avoid the hug at all, Zoey slipped past Callie and bent over to pick up a dumbbell that was lying on the floor. Someone could slip on it, after all.
"It's okay, Callie." Zoey tried to respond as cooly as possible.
"She totally avoided my apology hug." Callie pouted.
"Pfft..." Katlyn couldn't help but laugh after seeing Zoey obviously not want to be hugged.
"No... I just didn't want anyone to trip..." Zoey was caught like a deer in the headlights. 'Damn it! I thought that was totally smooth!'
"Ahuh..." Katlyn grinned as she walked over to Zoey. "It looks like Zoey isn't a fan of apology hugs either, Callie." She looked at the cutely pouting girl sitting on the bed.
"It's because of my tits, isn't it!?" It looked like she already knew.
Zoey nodded. Lying wouldn't be appropriate in this situation. It might only make the problem worse. From hanging around with Callie and Katlyn for a while, Zoey has now learned that Callie doesn't learn unless you're upfront with her. So that embarrassing crap from earlier, like not telling her she didn't want an extreme room makeover or an apology hug, wasn't needed at all. It only made Zoey look even more like a loser than she thought she already did! She already had a mini heart attack when Callie and Katlyn suddenly showed up at her door after work. They gave her literally no heads-up whatsoever and no time to prepare her room at all to hide all the workout equipment.
"I don't like being suffocated?" Zoey tried to explain her reasons for not wanting the apology hug but only made herself sound a little retarded.
"Okay, what if I tried it like this!?" Callie walked over to Zoey with a new way of hugging her friends floating around in her mind.
Callie had to adjust her boobs before going in for the hug, but no matter how she pictured it, it definitely wouldn't look like a normal hug or feel natural at all. She'd have to prop her tits on top of Zoey's head if she didn't want them in her face, and that wouldn't be comfortable at all for either of them. She wanted to scream once she realized that there was no way to naturally hug her friends from the front! Both Zoey and Katlyn had to be short!
"Sorry, gal. Looks like hugging is off the table." Katlyn chuckled.
"What if you two tried stepping on your tippy-toes?" Callie suggested, clearly uncomfortable with the thought of not being able to physically express her affection with her friends.
"Girl, no. Just give it up." Katlyn told her, plain and simple.
"This is going to be so totally awkward for me!" Callie whined.
"You're gonna have to deal with it or find a new way besides hugs to express yourself."
"I think it will be okay." Zoey placed her hand on her shoulder for support.
She made it just fine without having to hug people to express her happiness or sadness. At least, as fine as anyone would describe her if they knew about her. Zoey might not have had any friends at all since like elementary, but that didn't mean she was totally clueless about social interactions! There were a few things she knew here and there. And no, they weren't all gained from watching teen drama shows on Zeeflix!
"How about we watch that new cooking show on Zeeflix?" Katlyn suggested.
"You mean Kitchen Stars' Nightmare!?" Callie suddenly brightened up at this suggestion.
"I haven't watched it before," Zoey added.
"O Em Gee! You need to watch it! It's so good! Where's your remote?!" Callie exclaimed.
Zoey grabbed the remote on the desk next to her bed and turned on the tv. She then gave it to Callie to navigate to the show since she looked so excited about watching it together. Seeing both Katlyn and Callie getting excited over this also made her a little excited about it. Kitchen Stars' Nightmare sounded like it would be fun to watch. The name made her imagine talented cooks before being forced into horrible competitions or something like that. Or just totally normal cooks being put in difficult situations. Both would probably make good reality tv because there is nothing people love more than watching drama and strangers being put in difficult situations for a lot of cash.
Callie and Katlyn decided to come over and visit after she got done working at the gym today. Because of her age and experience in fighting, Coach decided to start her off slow. For now, she'll only be teaching young children to get some experience. He was worried that Dylan might be a fluke and it would be safer for the gym to start her off slow. Zoey had no issues with it. Her teaching skill didn't discriminate between ages. She didn't know if it discriminated against species, though...
"I have to make sure my body stays in good condition," Zoey explained reasonably.
"You're lucky I didn't know about the state of this room before I came here, Zoey." She crossed her arms. "It needs a total extreme room makeover!" Callie's eyes glowed brightly as the words came flying off her tongue. "Extreme Room Makeover! We should totally watch it together!"
"Girl, I do not understand how your brain functions even after all these years..." Katlyn pinched her nasal bridge.
"By watching Extreme Room Makeover, we could get some ideas to give your room a makeover!" Callie shared. "And since you don't wanna throw out all this gym equipment stuff, we'll really have to do our best to make it look pretty!"
"Look, Callie, I'm gonna rain on your parade and totally ruin it, but what if Zoey didn't want an extreme room makeover? What if she liked her room and wanted things to stay the same?" Katlyn asked her easily excitable friend.
Zoey didn't wanna make things awkward, but Katlyn was totally right. She liked how her room was right now. While she didn't think she would mind an extreme room makeover from Callie, it would definitely take some time to get used to. Not to mention trying to keep all her gym equipment and make things look cute and pretty. It would be pretty hard to mix those two types of genres, but when thinking about Callie's personality. She'd definitely try her best.
"Well, how about Zoey tell us what she feels?" Callie stuck her tongue out at Katlyn.
Despite the two of them being totally unlike the other, they stuck to each other like two halves of a whole. They had several fights, disagreements, and different opinions about many things. But their friendship was as tight as glue in Zoey's eyes. She wished she had someone that was basically the opposite of her as a friend. But now that she thought about it, that person would probably be very annoying, and she would love to mess with them often.
"I like my room," Zoey answered while thinking about other things.
"See." Katlyn grinned. "Just because you don't like something, doesn't mean that other people don't like them too. You can't be too selfish? Headstrong? I don't know the right word, but you know what I mean, right?"
"Auuuuugggghhhhh. Am I really being pushy right now?" Callie's shoulders slunk over as she looked up at Katlyn.
"Yep, and because you're doing it with such a bright smile on your face, it makes it hard for people to tell you no," Katlyn explained.
"I probably wouldn't have said no, if Katlyn didn't speak up for me..." Zoey also shared her thoughts.
"Auuugghh!!!" Callie knew she was definitely in the wrong if Zoey was giving it to her too. "I'm sorry, Zoey." Callie walked forward to apologize with a hug.
Zoey did not want to be squished in between her breasts again. Why did Callie have to be so damn tall with breasts that big? Weren't track girls supposed to be slim and lean? What did she eat growing up to get like this?
To avoid the awkward friendly apology that had to include a hug for some reason. Her eyes quickly scanned her room for a quick excuse or task she could use to stop Callie from getting any closer to her. Zoey wasn't used to affectionate physical contact with others because that wasn't something that she grew up with. While her mother sometimes hugged and kissed her, they still rarely happened and only happened when she was very young. It was kind of embarrassing, but Zoey couldn't even remember the last time she hugged her mother. But her family wasn't that type of family anyway, so she didn't feel too upset about it. Thinking about it, her family was the type to show their love in small and hard-to-notice ways.
But anyway, Zoey's eyes caught the perfect excuse to use to dodge Callie's warm, suffocating embrace. With a very subtle dodge that wasn't totally obvious that she was trying to avoid the hug at all, Zoey slipped past Callie and bent over to pick up a dumbbell that was lying on the floor. Someone could slip on it, after all.
"It's okay, Callie." Zoey tried to respond as cooly as possible.
"She totally avoided my apology hug." Callie pouted.
"Pfft..." Katlyn couldn't help but laugh after seeing Zoey obviously not want to be hugged.
"No... I just didn't want anyone to trip..." Zoey was caught like a deer in the headlights. 'Damn it! I thought that was totally smooth!'
"Ahuh..." Katlyn grinned as she walked over to Zoey. "It looks like Zoey isn't a fan of apology hugs either, Callie." She looked at the cutely pouting girl sitting on the bed.
"It's because of my tits, isn't it!?" It looked like she already knew.
Zoey nodded. Lying wouldn't be appropriate in this situation. It might only make the problem worse. From hanging around with Callie and Katlyn for a while, Zoey has now learned that Callie doesn't learn unless you're upfront with her. So that embarrassing crap from earlier, like not telling her she didn't want an extreme room makeover or an apology hug, wasn't needed at all. It only made Zoey look even more like a loser than she thought she already did! She already had a mini heart attack when Callie and Katlyn suddenly showed up at her door after work. They gave her literally no heads-up whatsoever and no time to prepare her room at all to hide all the workout equipment.
"I don't like being suffocated?" Zoey tried to explain her reasons for not wanting the apology hug but only made herself sound a little retarded.
"Okay, what if I tried it like this!?" Callie walked over to Zoey with a new way of hugging her friends floating around in her mind.
Callie had to adjust her boobs before going in for the hug, but no matter how she pictured it, it definitely wouldn't look like a normal hug or feel natural at all. She'd have to prop her tits on top of Zoey's head if she didn't want them in her face, and that wouldn't be comfortable at all for either of them. She wanted to scream once she realized that there was no way to naturally hug her friends from the front! Both Zoey and Katlyn had to be short!
"Sorry, gal. Looks like hugging is off the table." Katlyn chuckled.
"What if you two tried stepping on your tippy-toes?" Callie suggested, clearly uncomfortable with the thought of not being able to physically express her affection with her friends.
"Girl, no. Just give it up." Katlyn told her, plain and simple.
"This is going to be so totally awkward for me!" Callie whined.
"You're gonna have to deal with it or find a new way besides hugs to express yourself."
"I think it will be okay." Zoey placed her hand on her shoulder for support.
She made it just fine without having to hug people to express her happiness or sadness. At least, as fine as anyone would describe her if they knew about her. Zoey might not have had any friends at all since like elementary, but that didn't mean she was totally clueless about social interactions! There were a few things she knew here and there. And no, they weren't all gained from watching teen drama shows on Zeeflix!
"How about we watch that new cooking show on Zeeflix?" Katlyn suggested.
"You mean Kitchen Stars' Nightmare!?" Callie suddenly brightened up at this suggestion.
"I haven't watched it before," Zoey added.
"O Em Gee! You need to watch it! It's so good! Where's your remote?!" Callie exclaimed.
Zoey grabbed the remote on the desk next to her bed and turned on the tv. She then gave it to Callie to navigate to the show since she looked so excited about watching it together. Seeing both Katlyn and Callie getting excited over this also made her a little excited about it. Kitchen Stars' Nightmare sounded like it would be fun to watch. The name made her imagine talented cooks before being forced into horrible competitions or something like that. Or just totally normal cooks being put in difficult situations. Both would probably make good reality tv because there is nothing people love more than watching drama and strangers being put in difficult situations for a lot of cash.