...Juice Wars!! (in blog form)...

Well, I promised an assessment of my fellow ‘Juicers in the department of physicality, and here it is, as complete as I could get it before posting time. Ranks are from 1 to 10, and that rating is based on how I think they would do in an “all Bug Juice free-for-all” (taking into account strength, speed, agility, endurance, and intelligence).

Dave: First thing’s first, my brother, the original ‘hardcore champion’ of our circle. No one can deny that Dave is uber-tough. He may not be the strongest of our bunch, but he’s not a pushover by any means. In fact, even when he was way young, he was kicking everyone’s ass on a regular basis. Presently, he’s got height and more strength, and I think that an attack from him would be devastating at this point. I mean, the kid knows how to handle himself in a fight, with one or many people. Added to that, he seems to have an ability to increase his stats when he gets hurt; you punch him in the face, he gets MAD, almost like the Hulk, and gets more and more tough with each hit. Pretty much, to put Dave down on the first hit, you better make damn sure you hit with everything you’ve got. Plus, he knows how to roll with the punches, too, and he can take a lot of damage before it really begins to affect his stats; all in all, Dave is dangerous personified in this environment, because it’s his element to be in a free-for-all. (Gohan from DBZ is definitely a perfect fit for him – DON’T MAKE HIM ANGRY, for god’s sake. LOL)
Rank: 8.5 calm and collected, 8 in a blind rage where he could make mistakes

Beaver: Ok, now for Beav…Bucky…the Buckster. I’ll bet you’re expecting me to say he’s the low man on the totem poll, that he’s the weakest link. You’d be wrong. Beaver is not the strongest person we have, but he’s no wet noodle, either. If he was serious, I’m willing to put money on him doing some damage before he gets taken down. Look at the facts: the guy plays paintball all the time, running around, shooting all over the place. He probably has the most definition in his muscle structure because of all the exercise he gets. He took out DeLarbar TWICE, fought a very desperate Mark West to a standstill without much effort, and even took out five guys double his size in a GK pit once. Now, admittedly, that may not be the MOST impressive resume of might, but it merits him to at least be the strongest of his herd, the Yaks. Plus, he’s smart enough to KNOW he’s not standing a chance one-on-one with uber-strong guys, so he would play it smart and find a way to avoid a situation where he gets killed off.
Rank: 5

The Other Yaks: (Realizing this post is going to be the LONGEST sonuvabitch already, I’m condensing some people.) DeLarbar – this guy is decent at taking hits, but he couldn’t dish it out if he tried. After seeing some of the things I’ve seen I don’t know if he could fight his way out of a wet paper sack. Rank: 3; Mark West – an even weaker person than DeLarbar, he would cry if you stepped on his foot. Rank: 2; Justin Bower – I’ve only seen him wrestle with Dave once, and he got a face-full of kitty litter for his troubles. Also, he has this thing against fighting, even for his own survival, so he is the weakest of them all because he would just let himself get beaten. Rank: 1

“Quazi”: We call him Hulk; because when Quaz gets mad, watch out. Chris actually has a very high level of power behind him even when he’s calm. He also plays a lot of video games, and as a result has really good hand-eye coordination, which would help him in throwing hits out. I have to admit, as far as a brawl goes; Chris is one of the major players. However, I DO think there are fighters among us who would fight a tad smarter than just going in full swing. Chris isn’t a total idiot in a fight, but he has a slight brashness about him that could work against him. If he were to get uber-pissed, I think he’d be more of a threat, because despite his blind rage he would be that tough to put away.
Rank: 8, 8.5 to 9 if in a state of total blind rage

Scott: Ah, the hell spawn himself. He thinks he’s weak. I think that’s bumpkis. Scott has a height advantage, plus he has a very long reach, which can be a very useful thing. On top of that, Scott does have a substantial amount of physical strength; he just doesn’t use it often. When he gets serious, he seems to tap into a darker force within him, giving him both intimidation and more durability and strength. The problem is, he’s not confident in his own abilities, and often is worried about getting hurt, which holds him back. However, in a fight scenario where he’s given no choice, he would be pretty effective. He’d go from Ed Norton to Tyler Durden.
Rank: 7.5 if he holds back, 8.5 to 9 if he lets loose with the darkness

Nate (Berry): Nate would be a GREAT agility fighter if he weren’t so arrogant. Overconfidence can definitely be a weakness that can end you, and he has this, unfortunately. He has some moves, and some attributes, like quickness and speed, and some physical strength in his own right, but all of that is negated to an extent by his brashness.
Rank: 6 if he’s cocky, 7 if he’s not

Vince: He’s a BIG boy! Not only does this guy have the size going for him, but also he’s amazingly quick and agile for someone as big as he is. He also has several disciplines in fighting techniques, and a considerable amount of physical strength to him as well. He also has a lot of data on our stats, so he would know weaknesses and strengths.
Rank: 7 to 9, ranging on his info

Joe (Behrens): Not much is known about this guy’s ability as far as fighting goes, but I’ve seen a boiling rage under the surface of his otherwise collected decorum. I don’t think he goes into a “blind” rage as much as just a “rage”; it gives him the benefit of the increase in strength, stamina, and durability without the loss of cognitive fighting. I would say he would be a major threat if allowed to turn it loose full steam. It would all just depend on how long he could keep that momentum going.
Rank: 8

Joe (Shark): Though not really in the circle anymore, he was a major contender back in the day. He’s very durable in a fight; he can definitely take a lot of punishment and keep on coming, just like his character Wolverine. He’s also got a high level of strength to him, and he has training in combat with the military. Often, his overconfidence was the reason for him losing a lot of ‘bouts, which is a hindrance for sure. Yeah, Dave took him out when he was young, but Dave is no ordinary kid. Without weaponry, Joe is a bit evened up against the rest of us, and since we’re not including weapons in this fight…
Rank: 8 if he’s serious, 6 if he’s cocky

Corey: The Juggernaut, unstoppable and unbeatable. Well, sort of. Corey has the total strength advantage here, no doubt about it. In a blow for blow, not even my “rhino rage technique” would be able to match this guy, and rhino rage is some pretty intense stuff. He has training in fighting techniques, has really good aim in throwing things, and it takes a big hit to do anything to him. On top of that, while we all make jokes about his intelligence level, he’s not stupid in a fight; he knows what he’s doing. He’s resistant to damage, as well; nothing short of the level of bludgeoning him over the skull with a steel shovel is going to hurt him enough to make him stop swinging. When he gets mad, it gets even worse. The only way for anyone in OUR group to beat Corey is to outlast his endurance level, which has yet to be tested. Given the fact that there ARE persons whose energy would last longer than Corey’s would – and the fact that while no one is at his level strength-wise, they come pretty close sometimes (i.e. rhino rage, Dave’s blind rage, etc.) – is the only reason he doesn’t have a 10.
Rank: 9.5, decreasing little by little the longer the fight lasts

Gerbin: John Gerbin is Fatty Goodness, a dear friend of our clan from back in the day. He is the man. He’s funny as shit and a very good guy. He’s also a BIG guy. Not really fat big, but muscle type big. He could probably bench Vince. He’s also the only person who would take on Corey one-on-one, and what a fight that would be! I saw Gerbin take on five football players and just toss them about like they were nothing. The only saving grace is that anyone – be it Corey, Gerbin, me, Dave – that fights a whole group of people at once is going to be at a disadvantage. Even more so if we all agree to take the big guy on first and then get on with it from there.
Rank: 10, decreasing little by little depending on whom he faces and how long the fight lasts

Hizzy: Yes, she’s a girl. But she also likes to hang with the dudes, acts a bit like a dude, and would jump into this fight if given half the chance. She’s known as the “hardcore” Hizzy, and I suppose if you consider how much she can take in a pit and keep coming back for more, that would be valid. She doesn’t really have a lot of strength she can use against the bigger guns, but the Yaks and Nate would be cannon fodder against her “Hizzy might”.
Rank: 6, 7 if she goes all out in pissed-off rage mode

Quill: As far as I’m concerned, I would be in between where Dave is and where Scott is. I don’t have the ability to let go and snap and kill a motherfucker, I have too much damn control to let myself do that. Scott and Dave have said that I’m one of the strongest, Corey has admitted the same to me, and in a recent conversation, Dave said that if I managed to go into a blind rage, a baseball bat to the face would be needed to put me out. Plus, my control over my intelligence MIGHT be there in the rage, given the control I practice. Maybe I’m over-rating myself, maybe I’m selling myself short on this one, I don’t know, but I think that in an all-or-nothing fight, I could hold my own for quite awhile. I have the physicality for it, and I also have a level of intelligence above barreling in with no thought. I also have my “rhino rage technique”, which increases my attacks by focusing my bodily energy into a state of overdrive for more strength, endurance, and speed. “Rhino rage” has its downfalls though, as it burns up energy reserves and can drain you fast if you aren’t careful. I’m more of a street fighter than any kind of trained fighting style, but I’m no slouch either. I’m also not big on taking hits as well as Dave does, so that’s another hindrance.
Rank: 8.5 normal, 9 when in “rhino rage”, 9.5 or above if you share Dave’s view on me completely unleashed

Well, anyway, I think that covers everyone who would actually fight (save for the Yaks, who would probably just assume watch with popcorn in hand, but we would throw them in just for fun anyway). Let me know what you all think, and please, if any of you have any input as to MY ranking, comment!

Quote of the Blog: “The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.” – Marcus Aurelius

(I changed it to Quote of the Blog instead of Quote of the Day, because sometimes I post more than one time a day…take about long! This posting is 2,102 words! I beat the “novel” blog, good god!)