SharkBark
Psalms 55:22
Pass, Set, and Spike! | The Revamp
A pass. A set. And a spike.
And in the Saga prefecture of Japan, volleyball is admired in many places and seen as a valuable activity for schools to participate in. In fact, the level of competition among schools is so high that it has become a point of pride for the prefecture. The teams are well-funded and the players are highly trained, which has led to an increase in the popularity of the sport in the region.
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Well, except for at a particular school.
Here at Lakeside High, volleyball is shunned and ridiculed. Why? Because it was a major factor in the school's reputation being destroyed for years to come. From criminal occurrences to an absolutely terrible volleyball season, unfortunate things have always seemed to haunt Lakeside. As a result, it is widely avoided, to the point where civilians and athletes have relocated to other districts to watch and play for other teams, such as the Saga prefecture's leading school, Fuhai.
Despite the hatred and the disregard it received, some people still had hope. Particularly one tenacious student. A boy who dreamed of playing volleyball for a team all his life but couldn't at Lakeside. And because his family refused to move from the town, he had no choice but to work even harder towards that goal. From this desire, he got the idea to attempt to revive Lakeside's wretched volleyball team.
For the entirety of his freshman year, he begged the school to create a new volleyball team, but his idea was turned down every time. Still, even the next year, the boy tried again. And it came to the point where he had become so bothersome that the school just gave him what he wanted. They permitted him to create and run a new Lakeside volleyball team, but at the cost of no assistance from the organization until progress was made.
Regardless, this was the birth and revival of a fallen team that thrived long ago. Now, for the first time in years, Lakeside was back and would be competing once more against rival schools such as Meiwa, Taku, Tenshi, and the leading school in the prefecture, Fuhai. There are more existing teams (NPC schools), but these four are our main (in roleplay and in general) powerhouses.Lakeside's Starting Outside Hitter - Akito Suzuki (SharkBark - me)
Lakeside's Starting Middle Blocker - Mikaela "Mika" Makarov (
AlphaBlueWolf
)
Lakeside's Starting Setter - Minma Netto (
Minma
)
Lakeside's Starting Libero - Sora "Aguila" Ushida (AlphaBlueWolf)
Lakeside's Starting Opposite - Haruto Takahashi (
KaiMedia
)
Meiwa, best known for their amazing coaching and strategies, which have gotten their volleyball team to the finals a few times. Their coach, Eto Misaki, was coined a "genius" when it came to developing tactics and counters for opposing teams and plays. Eto is also known for cutting players. Frequently, and in large amounts. For example, after Meiwa's team lost in the first round of their previous season, she cut every single player, leaving her team empty. As of now, she is seeking new players for Meiwa. (all positions are open; Meiwa is a mixed-sex team.)
Taku, from the school known for having a phenomenal game IQ, appears to know all of the rules and intricacies of every play. This is because of their coach, Retsuko Mamoru. Though Retsuko is very harsh and easy to anger, he is very keen and smart, and he heavily spreads this intelligence to his players. Retsuko is well-known for requiring his players to study volleyball clips and even subjecting them to tests on occasion. Because of this training, Taku's players are usually extremely skilled at outsmarting the opposing team and calling things that the referee does not notice. They are also decent at predicting the opposing team's next move, which is why they rival Meiwa. (all positions are open; it's an all-boys team, this excludes their assistant manager.)
Tenshi, whose team is known for its highly athletic players. Tenshi volleyball players usually possess incredible vertical jumps, great stamina, and many other astounding physical traits correlating to the sport. And if a player isn't like this, they will be shaped into it. This is, once again, because of a coach, or coaches in this case. Iwata Ken and Teshima Atsushi After years of working as fitness trainers, these two lifelong friends decided to coach a volleyball team. Obviously, their exercise experience was perfect for sports. Ken and Atsushi train their players to the MAX during practices. For instance, every practice ends with a 30-minute sprint against the clock to boost the team's stamina and endurance. With these regimens, they've taken even the scrawniest of players and turned them into elite athletes. Surprisingly, they've never won a championship game. But some speculate that it's because they don't focus much on the game's fundamentals. (all positions are open; this is a mixed-sex team.)
And finally, the strongest team in the prefecture, Fuhai. This school and its team are known for being the best at everything. Though their coach, Jo Takara, plays a small part in their reign, this team isn't successful because of coaching. It's successful because of the players. For example, their captain, Connor Müller, who is a foreign student. With the rest of his team, they are a force to be reckoned with, leading the league in kills, blocks, aces, and championship wins. (all-boys team; for more information, see the Fuhai tab)
The Saga Prefecture Grand Slam, an annual volleyball competition, is coming up, and all the teams require players to participate. The tournament follows a bracket-style format where 12 teams compete head to head in an attempt to make it to the finals and ultimately win the championship. But this year, the stakes are significantly higher. This years Grand Slam is being funded by Oki Takahiro, a renowned architect and CEO of OT Architecture and Construction. He was inspired to do so by his son, Suko, who is an enthusiastic fan of the sport and dreams of competing someday. And as a surprise birthday gift for Suko's 13th birthday, Oki decided to sponsor the tournament.Starting Fuhai Opposite Hitter - Connor Müller (
salem.
)
Starting Fuhai Middle Blocker - Shinohara "Shino' Toshio (SharkBark - Me)
Starting Fuhai Setter - Tokito "Toki" Furukawa (
AlphaBlueWolf
)
Starting Fuhai Libero - Oliver "Ollie/Levi" Cypress (kuro.)
But what increases the stakes is the change of the prize. In previous years, the winning school of the tournament would be awarded a sum of $5000. However, this year, the victorious school will receive a generous donation of $20,000! This is a drastic increase in prize money, which is sure to motivate schools to participate with even greater enthusiasm. In addition to the grand prize, the four runner-up schools will each receive a generous amount of $10,000. While those lower in the rankings will receive a smaller amount, it remains a great opportunity for any school to win a prize, and the tournament is expected to be highly competitive.
This remarkable donation has been met with praise, with many schools already registering to participate. The anticipation for the tournament is high, and many are eager for the announcement of the champion. It promises to be an exciting event, and everyone is looking forward to seeing which school will come out on top. As a result, coaches are driven to push their teams to the max and will do everything in their power to win, and they expect nothing less from their players. This has created an intense atmosphere for all teams and spectators alike.
In a tournament, any school team has the potential to win, but things can quickly change. It's crucial to make wise decisions and work closely with your team to increase your chances of being crowned champions. Additionally, it's important to handle your personal life outside of the sport, as unexpected scandals, injuries, and other issues could negatively affect team morale and performance.
In the midst of it all, volleyball is central here. After all, this is Pass, Set, and Spike!
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Hello! I'm Shark, the GM and creator of this roleplay. Pass, Set, and Spike! has been up before, but after I got caught up and forgot about the roleplay, it died out. But, I finally recalled it and decided to revamp it! Better writing, better written characters, and I finally know where I'm going with this
Now, we just need more players.
The premise of the story was explained above, but here are some additional details.
-The story will be taking place in late August, a bit after the school year has begun. This will be the starting setting for all teams and I'll be doing whatever I can to make sure the time periods for each remains on track with one another.
-At the beginning of the roleplay, the volleyball season has not begun yet. This time will be used to hold tryouts and for players to begin to develop relationships, if they'd like. Who knows, those connections could create great chemistry in game.
-In-game posts will be done as "group posts" rather than individually. What I mean by this is that the members of a team will have a private message room where they all combine their parts a post together, like so:
(very basic example)
(player A) As the ball came over the net, Jamie quickly got into position to receive it. And though it came with crazy force behind it, she managed to get it up and toward her setter, Mitch.
(player B) "Nice receive," Mitch called out. Then, he got under the ball and leapt to set it. In his peripheral vision, he could see the three blockers preparing to stuff whoever it was set to. It'd be dangerously to set either hitters in a basic way. Mitch thought.
(players C, D,E) Finishing their approaches, both hitters, Damian and Sandra, both began to leap into the air. They drew their arms back, ready to slam the ball down the moment it came before them. Meanwhile, Quinn stayed alert and at the 10 foot line, ready to save the ball in case it was blocked.
(player A again) I've got it. Mitch thought, the perfect move finally coming to mind. As he reached the peak of his jump, Mitch placed his fingertips under the ball and sharp breath in. But instead of setting a hitter, he instead turned his body quickly and dumped the ball over the net in an attempt to catch the opposing team off guard.
(example over)
That entire thing would be one post. A collaborative one. You see how I managed to get five different perspectives into a few paragraphs? This will be how it is in games. This way, things will move along faster. Another benefit of this is that we'll be able to continue making in-game posts even if we have an inactive player(s). Instead of waiting for them to come back (there will still be a time period where we wait before moving on without them), we can just not include in the in-game post for now.
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That's all for now, I don't wanna cram so many words into your head. I'm guessing that you're going to read the Fuhai part of the post now, which was written by kuro. (formerly morgzilla) Big thanks to him and for all of the other veterans who stayed and helped to develop the roleplay. I'm thankful that they came back even after I basically ditched the roleplay, and I don't plan to make the same mistake again. This time, I'm sticking to it, no matter how many players we lack, or how dead things might get. (hopefully they don't get that way)
Anyways, I hope you'll consider showing interest for this roleplay and join us to bring this back. If we don't get too much interests, don't stress it. I'll just make NPCs to fill the other teams. Thank you for reading, and stay safe.
- Shark
Rules:
1. All RPN rules apply.
2. The posting requirement for this roleplay is one week, but if you need extra time or feel that you cannot get your post out in time or will be inactive, please let me know.
3. The length requirement for posts is at minimum 1-2 paragraphs. No one-liners please.
4. There isn't really any required writing level for this roleplay, but if you can, I'd like that your posts be literate.
5. Do not be negative or rude toward other players. If you do so, I will give you two warning before permanently removing you from the roleplay. I really don't want to do this, so let's maybe not be a keyboard warrior.
6. No mary/gary sue characters. Especially in game. As a hitter, your character is not going to be able to slam through every block and always get the ball into the ground before a libero can even touch it. There will be times where they get blocked or their spike gets received. Your libero will not be able to save every ball. Despite their skills, there will be a few times where they fall short. Vice versa with every other aspect.
7. Make your character's playing style align with their skills. This goes back to rule 6. Yes, don't make your characters perfect at their main skill, but don't make them horrible at it either. If your character is a fantastic blocker, let them stuff some spikes often. If your character is an amazing passer, let them get those glorious saves a lot. Just don't overdo it to the point where it's unfair to the other team. Let them fail sometimes, but let them succeed too.
8. Plot with other players sometimes before you just throw your character into an interaction. If two characters are having an event between each other, don't forcefully squeeze yours into it. Through either a private message or a mention in the OOC, ask if you can incorporate your character.
9. Have fun. Yeah, it's simple. But really, I hope you have a lot of fun roleplaying here.
10. If you can, please let me know if you're going to be inactive for a while. You don't have to specifically tell me why, just give me a heads up like, "hey shark. gonna be offline for the week." and I'll try to make sure that the story doesn't progress too much while you're gone. If you're in the middle of an interaction with someone else, let them know too so their character is frozen waiting for your return. Once again, if it isn't possible for to let us know, it's alright. Just stay safe and hopefully come back.
11. This might be changed soon, but all new players are limited to two characters. You'll notice that one of our veteran members have three characters, but this is because she's been helping out a lot I've given her permission to have a coach characters.
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