PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT [p]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] "Well, looks like it's time for the old dog to learn some new tricks, huh?" He enjoyed talking to himself, however he only did it when he was alone. It wasn't as much as talking to himself, but thinking out loud. Drake decided that he was going to take a break from pirating towns, hurting little kids, and raping hot women with big breasts. Just kidding, he didn't need to rape them, they all came to him. He was just that good looking, he couldn't help himself. But, enough of all those unnecessary things. He was here to improve his skill in swordsmanship, and he wasn't about to slack either. He decided to start his training on the Ohara Island because of the peaceful atmosphere, and the beautiful view it provided. It was a lush, small island, with tons of forestry, and a huge tree in the middle of the island, and by huge—he meant fucking huge. The thing was almost as big as a skyscraper, it's a crazy sight to witness in someone's life. The surrounding area around the man was a plain grassy field, with a lake accompanied by a waterfall a couple meters to the right. This was his ideal location, he loved swimming so he might add that into his workout, for now he'd start with some basic footwork exercises. He was clad in shorts, and a wife-beater. There was no point in wearing anything else, he took off his sandals and got to work. Leaving his katana on the floor for now, he'd stand in one position before beginning his work out. He was going to begin by working on his sliding, his right foot was in front, while his left foot was in back. His left foot's heel was slightly up, and he'd begin to slide forward continuously to get the feel for it. He'd slide forward ten meters, before sliding backwards ten meters. To slide backwards, his back foot moves first, while his front foot follows. He'd continue to do these movements for another fifteen minutes before taking a break. [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] "So far so good." He smiled, breathing out and back in. "If only I had like, a master to train me. It'd be so much easier." It was the truth, there's not much you could do by yourself. You could obviously improve yourself, but the things you could learn if a master swordsmen was teaching you would be extraordinary. But, there was things he could just do by himself, like body strengthening. So, he'd begin with different natural cal-esthetics. Dropping to the floor, he'd begin doing push ups, shooting for one hundred. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7—100" Standing up, he felt his blood pumping, and his arms were a little bit pumped from that exercise. "Next, some sit ups." He'd drop onto the warm, green grass and get into the correct position for doing the work out. Gripping the back of his neck lightly, he'd begin going up and back down. "1, 2, 3, 4 ,5 ,6, 7" He felt his abs burn, but it was a good burn, the feeling you get when you work out is amazing. You know you're doing something that's benefiting you, and you know you're doing it right. "200!" He screamed, standing up he'd rub his stomach up and down. "That felt amazing." Sure, these are unorthodox ways to train for a swordsmen, but it was good for strengthening the body. No point in fighting if you can't take a blow, was he right? Pondering on what to do next, the roar of the waterfall near him got him hyped up. "Might as well jog, get the blood pumping even more, am I right?" Oh the joys of talking to yourself. Beginning to jog in circles, he'd also practice his breathing. Breathing was a key element in swordsmanship, if you knew how to breathe and the correct breathing techniques you're strikes could hit so much harder. Drake was just an amateur, but that is why he was here in the first place, to practice and get better. But honestly, the view while jogging made the workout so much better, if it was some gloomy town he wouldn't have been as pumped up to workout. [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] "Damn, I re-ally, lost a lo- *huff* lot of energy running." The man huffed, and puffed while he tried to maintain the same pace from the beginning of his jog. However, by the looks of it the man was running low on energy and needed to stop to regain his breath. Coming to a short stop, he bended over and put his arms on his thighs to get a breather. "I really lost it, well, practice makes perfect." His breathing starting to get a little bit calmer, he'd straighten out his body and look around for his sword. It was time to get down to business, and this wouldn't require much energy so to speak. "There it is." The katana named "darkness" was lying on the floor, looking oh so beautiful. He walked up to it, and picked it up, the sheathed blade left a indent in the grass below, it was blessed by such a beautiful sword. Releasing the beautifully crafted ebony blade from it's restraints, he dropped the sheathe onto the grass and gripped the sword with his two hands. The hilt was so comfortable, it was unlike any other that he ever wielded in his life. "This is why I love this sword." He smiled, getting in a few practice swings before starting his workout. The blade flowed so well with his movements, it's like the two were meant for each other. The day that blade broke, Drake would be heartbroken. But for now, he was going to enjoy every minute he had. He was going to start with basic training, swinging the sword horizontally back and forth. It was a basic training exercise that he used to do as a kid in the dojo he went to daily. "Let's start!" He said, before swinging downward, and repeating the motion. This didn't require much energy, just arm strength, and endurance. He was shooting for five hundred swings, something that if he got used too would make striking with the sword much more easier, as if the sword had become a part of the man's body; an outer appendage so to say. He wanted to be in sync with his companion (sword), so he needed to practice, practice, and PRACTICE! [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] "400, 401, 402, 403—" and he kept swinging, he was so close toh is goal, but oh boy did he feel the pain his both of his arms. His muscles were tensed up, and the constant motion of swinging was increasing the pain from the continuous up and down motion. After a couple more minutes of swinging, the blonde haired man was finished with that part of his workout. "Fuck, my arms hurt." He said, dropping the blade onto the ground, almost cutting off a toe in the process. He sat down, and crossed his legs like a pretzel. He'd sit there for a while and take a break while thinking about what else to do. His day wasn't nearly over, he still had a couple hours left to go. "Hm... maybe swimming?" Yeah, swimming sounded amazing, it's refreshing and a workout that works the entire body at once. It's like, killing two birds with one stone, fantastic! Standing up, he stretched out his arms, and attempted to loosen up his body. It was never good to swim with tensed up muscles, made it harder for your arms to flow while paddling forward. Looking at the clear, beautiful water. It looked so nice, he just wanted to jump right in, and that was exactly what he was going to do. Taking off his wife beater, he got a running start, put his hands over his head and dived into the water. As he impacted with the surface, the coldness of the water sent shivers throughout his body. The shivers went away in seconds as his body got used to it, and he for now was just standing. The water was actually pretty deep, he had to stand on his tippy toes or else his head would be under water right then. "Couple laps, yeah!" The sound of the waterfall roaring a couple meters to his right made him want to go sit under it, but that was for later. For now, he'd swim a couple laps, a couple as in thirty. He began swimming free style back and forth, while controlling his breathing, and slowly keeping his pace, not trying to go to fast and tire himself out. [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] The water was a fun, but at the same time dangerous place to be in. In one moment, something could go wrong, or Drake's leg could have gotten stuck on something underneath the water which would cause the man to drown. But then again, the normal human being faces about a thousand ways to die every single day. It's quite interesting how most of these humans survive through these odds, and actually live on for quite the long time, reaching about eighty+ years old is actually pretty common for a normal person. However, when you're a pirate, marine, or bounty hunter your life could be cut short in a instant because of your life always being in danger out in the world. Life was just crazy. However, Drake wasn't stuck or anything like that, he actually continued to swim and finish his laps. Man, swimming really did work out your entire body, the amount of pain he was feeling right now was enough to make an unmotivated person stop, but nah. The blonde haired pirate was ready to make the sacrifices needed to succeed in this new age of elite, stronger pirates. He was ready to erase the limitations he set on himself, and reach a new level (hehe pun). "Finally" He said, as he rested against the edge of the lake, where there was some land to put his arms on to prevent himself from drowning. Oh man, thirty laps is fucking hard, especially after doing the rest of all that work. "I'm starving." He said, before lifting himself out of the water. "Yeah, I'm feeling some fish." Grabbing his katana, he'd look around the surrounding area for a stick suitable enough to carve, and turn into a deadly weapon. After a couple minutes of searching, a pretty fat, and long stick was found, about twenty inches long. He'd sit down on the grass, and begin to carve the stick carefully with his sword. With his newly crafted sharp pointed stick equipped, he dove back into the water hands first. As he was under the water, he opened his eyes and could see perfectly because of the clear water. Sadly, he couldn't spot one fish before he ran out of breath, so going back to the surface he took another breather before dropping back under the surface. YES a simple thought crossed his mind as he seen quite the fat fish swimming his way, staying completely still, as soon as it came towards him; boom, his stick struck the innards of the fish and took it's life in a instant. Swimming back up, the blood died the lake red as the salmon bled out. Putting the stick in his mouth, he lifted himself out of the lake, and put down the fish onto the ground. "Next, time to make a fire!" He smiled, before going off into the forest to look for some logs. [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] Running off into the direction of trees, he'd start frantically looking around for branches and sticks on the floor. Also he'd rip off branches from trees that were also nearby, after a couple of minutes his two arms were filled with as much as his body could carry. Carefully walking back to where he was positioned as not to drop any pieces of wood, he made it back with all the wood in contact. He'd arrange a little pyramid like thing out of the wood, with a little opening underneath to place bark shavings in a bit. Leaving two sticks, he'd grab his katana and begin to shave the sticks. The end result would be a bunch of tree shavings on the floor, almost perfect to be used to start a fire. Picking up the tree shavings, he'd begin to mess around with them, attempting on making it fluffier then usual. Once done, he'd place it under the pyramid of wood, and take out his zippo lighter. "Oh fuck, I forgot it was in my pocket when I jumped in the water." However, he still moved it underneath and attempted to light the fire. Fortunately, the lighter still worked and the shavings caught on fire quite fast, soon spreading towards the wood and eventually creating a pretty big fire. "Let's go!" He smiled, walking over to the fish that was still pierced by the stick. Picking up the stick, he'd sit next to the fire, and begin roasting his dinner. Ah, in a couple of minutes the smell of a almost done fish could be smelled miles away. "Finally!" He smiled, before taking the fish off of the fire, and letting it cool down. "RAWR" All of a sudden, a non-human voice boomed throughout the area. Drake could hear the loud stomps making their way to his camp, and he was ready. Picking up his Katana, he'd look all around the area. Soon enough, the culprit would reveal itself. A normal sized brown bear, oh no what was he going to do? He forgot that animals like the brown bear can smell food as far as twenty five miles away. TO BE CONTINUED. [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] "Fuck man, of all things, a bear?" He sighed, gripping the hilt of his ebony blade. He honestly didn't like killing animals when it wasn't necessary, but with how it looked now he was going to have to take care of the beast and get back to his training. For some reason, he felt like this was a sign from the great god of One Piece, sending him a challenge to test his strength. Sadly, Drake would have to rely on battle experience, and instinct for this one. As the brown bear wasted no time in charging at the man he saw as a threat. Just as soon as the bear would charge into the man, Drake jumped out of the way, almost getting mauled to death. While the bear had it's back turned, Drake took this opportunity to strike it in the back with a basic slash, it connected, but it did nothing. The bear swung back with it's ferocious force, and knocked the male back. Flying through the air, he hit his back against a tree, while his sword was knocked out of he hands and lied right beside him. This wasn't looking good for the pirate, as the bear transcended the distance between the two quite fast, he stopped just in front of the pirate. Standing up on two feet, he towered over the pirate. The mighty bear let out a roar of dominance, and just then attempted to bite the pirates head off. However, Drake had too much resolve, and way too much planned ahead to die like this. If such an animal proved troublesome to him, then he'd be worthless as a swordsmen on a crew. Just as the bear moved it's body downwards, Drake swiftly thrust-ed his sword with two hands into and through the bears skull and brain. The bears body landing on the tree, almost squishing the pirate beneath. "Holy... shit man." He sighed, retrieving his sword from the bear, he'd let him rest in peace. Moving back to his fire like nothing happened, he sat down, and began to eat his fish. "Du-dude, I almost died." He said to himself, it was a crazy experience, but it was definitely one that might have even improved his skill with the sword. He definitely knew what it was like to almost experience a life-death situation, that was fucking nuts. [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] Breathing hard, the man still couldn't believe what he just experienced. He'd never fought a bear in his life before, and to be put against one in essentially seconds it wasn't good. But, Drake did amazing and survived by stabbing the bear in through his head. Finishing his fish meal, some energy had been replenished and all was good. But, he wasn't finished with his training session, two more exercises and he would be good. Picking up a small boulder the size of a basketball, he'd heave it over his head and begin to squat the heavy weight. The workout focuses on the legs, but works out the entire body as well. He'd do thirty reps of the heavy weight before tossing the boulder aside, making a huge indent on the grass. Grabbing his sheathed sword, he'd dive into the water and swim towards the waterfall. Luckily, there was a rock underneath the waterfall where he could stand and let the water rain down over him. (Cliche right?) He'd begin slicing through the water multiple times, aiming for 2,000 swings before finishing the workout. The water pouring down on him amped him up even more, and he'd start to go faster. Man, he was going to be so sore tomorrow. [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]

[DRAKE LIONHEART]

[atrb=border,0,bTable]god's not gonna help you, son.[style=float:right; width: 100px: height: 100px; border: 5px white solid; margin: 0 0 1 12; ][/style][/style][style=width: 400px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; padding: 10 0; margin: 0 0 4 0; text-align: justify; border-top: 6px solid white; border-bottom: 6px solid white;] "1,996, 1,997, 1,998, 1,999, 2000! Holy fucking shit." The man could barely breathe, dropping down onto the rock he started panting. His muscles burned from taking so much damage in one day, his heart raced from the intensity of the workouts he was doing, and he was out of breath from continuous workouts with barely any of a break. Opening his mouth, he'd let some of the water from the waterfall enter, swallowing whatever fresh water he could. He was thirsty, and for the most part he was out of it. There was no way he could muster up anymore energy to do anymore workouts, for now it was done, finished, finito. But, there was one thing he could do to relax his mind, meditate. Sitting up, the water dropping all over his body, he'd sit there, with his legs in a pretzel, and his hands resting upon his knees. "Phew" Taking in a deep breath, and releasing he smiled. "Let's try this on for size." Relaxing his entire body, he'd begin to regulate his breathing and erase his mind of any useless thoughts. For the next hour, he'd try and sit there, meditating, and relaxing his body. This was Drake's first time doing such a thing, so who knows, would he last an hour of silence? Maybe, maybe not. [/style][style=width: 400px;font-size: 10px; text-align: center;]tag words notes [/style][style=opacity:0.7; font-size: 9px; text-align: center;]made by katya of pre & ote[/style]