Changelog: 12/25/2022 - Merry Christmas!I still haven't posted ANY characters yet, but I added a new section for all the miscellaneous faff that doesn't fit anywhere else!To-do List:
Characters
© Eric McIrons, 2022
Story/About
Ace as drawn by @MiaPosting/@Mia_uRi
In the small mountain town of Diamond Star, an amateur Boxer is on his way to the top! 23 Year Old Ace Sweetheart is a charming, honest and muscular Clown who's starting to make waves in the amateur Boxing scene after training for a few years. But unfortunately, his road to the top has hit a nasty roadblock.Finishing up a training session on the Speedbag, a final blow from Ace a thunderous explosion, blasting sand across the gym! Shocked at this surprising display of power, Ace learns that he has Showtime, a powerful aura that Clowns can tap into for supernatural powers and strength.
Under the teachings of his boxing coach's friend and Showtime Master, Ace will learn to control his new found power while making new friends, new rivals, taking part in big brawls, all while keeping to his goal of becoming the strongest clown in the world!Ring the bell! It's time for Hi-Striker!!
So here's something that might come as a shock in the same way that I've only done OCs for a decade, unlike my friends and associates who've been doing this for much longer: I wasn't always a fan of Clowns.When you're young and 'slow' like I was, it took a lot to overcome the smallest fears.And seeing both Stephen King's It and Killer Klowns From Outerspace as a little kid with Asperger's made it nearly impossible to appreciate the artistry of Clowning.Despite that, I still had some kind of odd fascination with Clowns as I grew in the coming years. I don't know how to describe it, but I always had some inclination towards Clowns or Clown adjacent characters in media, like Clown Man from Mega Man 8 or Harley Quinn from Batman: TAS. It was with characters like them that I was able to see Clowns in a better light, better understanding Clowns as a concept. Or something like that. I also owe thanks to BechnoKid and their Clown Alien OCs, the Balatrums, a race of dapper and dashing Clown folk.Eventually my fear was conqured and I could finally enjoy Clowns. So much so that I one day during my early OC Making Years of 2014 or so, which also coincided with my big Bancho Phase, I had a thought: What If I Made Clowns...That Were Bancho?Ironically that would eventually lead to Tough Breaker with it's heavy Delinquent focus, but the seeds were still sown: Clown-Themed Battle Action was something I wanted to do and it'd appear in Tough Breaker with the likes of Kidd Clown being a main stay character. In fact, one facet of Kidd early on was that he was a budding artist who was making a Shounen-inspired Battle Comic of his own. And it just so happened that his cast was full of Clowns.And what was supposed to be a fun little character detail eventually became it's own little thing that I'm still working a decade later. And much like TB, H-S has yet to be properly written as well...But hey.If I conquered my fear of Clowns, I'll eventually write out Hi-Striker. Just gotta be patient with me!
Setting
What is a story without a central backdrop? I don't know, but if I did I'd probably have a better analogy to use for this opening line.Plus I wouldn't have reused this line verbatim from the Tough Breaker site.
Similar to Hi-Striker's sister concept, our story takes place in a quaint fictional Upstate New York town on the Barnum Bailey Valley River. Not too big, not too small, with lots to see and do. Perhaps meet with a friend or two.
A quiet little town up in the mountains called...
Ringlington, New York
With Tough Breaker, it's setting is spread across the upper left of a fictional take on Westchester County. With Hi-Striker, I'm going small. Keeping it the same region, but only limiting it to one township. Think...Yonkers, NY.A cute little town, Ringlington has it all: Friendly townsfolk, tons of rustic charm, a surprisingly modern business district and plenty of people with a secret fighting aura who could punch your head off if they wanted to.Yes, it seems that Ringlington is like a lightning rod for Showtimers of all experience levels as many pass through on their way. In fact, the Meltzer Trust has it's main HQ on the eastern edge of town, with many agents running about all over the piece.So if you love getting into brawls on the street, you'd better watch yourself. You might get rolled up on by someone who can set themself on fire or shoot lightning from their finger tips.
Notable Locations/Landmarks:Ciara's Gym: A boxing gym ran by former Women's Boxing Champion, Ciara Kinner-LuBelle.Cross Tower: The of HQ of Diamond Star's richest man and conglomerate owner, Cross Corp. Easily the tallest building in town, you can see it no matter where you go.Cross Manor: The home of Diamond Star's richest man, Maximilian Cross. A beautiful, Irish castle inspired mansion on the town's southern edge.Max has been known to throw many a fancy gatherings on his property. Getting on his list is something to die for.Metlzer Trust HQ: As mentioned before, The Meltzer Trust HQ is a private compound on the Eastern edge of town.Worth noting that many US based recruits and active 7 Star agents live in or around Diamond Star and convene on the HQ regularly.The Old Mill House (aka Cortez's Mill): A reclaimed Mill House out in the woods on the Northern edge of town, it was originally the home of the LuBelles when they moved to Ringlington from Norwich, England.But after moving out and into the apartment above Ciara's Gym, it's now the home to one Angel Cortez, a formally wondering fighter and Showtime Master who befriended the LuBelles years ago and is currently training Ace to control his Showtime.
Showtime
Like it's sister concept Tough Breaker (which will come up a lot on this site since the two share a lot of DNA), Hi-Striker draws inspiration from many Shounen Battle series tropes. Powerful Friendships, Turning Face After Defeat, Beefed Up Young Guys and of course, the big one that everyone knows and loves; The Fighting Spirit. A Aura that burns so hot and so bright, it makes you 10x stronger than the average person.In Tough Breaker, it's called Hot Blood.But in Hi-Striker, we call it Moxie.
Still kept a secret to this day, definitely learning more into JoJo's for this one, Showtime started out long ago as a secret power held amongst, rather fittingly, performers during the dark ages and other similar eras around the world.Those who were so dedicated to their craft, whether it was as Ring Master or a high flying Acrobat, that they began to emit a powerful aura. An aura allowed men to move mountains, women to breath and control flames and even young children to become powerful mind readers.Through changing times, generational osmosis and further breakthroughs in regards to how the power can be used, Showtime began to spark within more people outside of these performer circles, notably those with strong fighting intuition and training. Thus turning into the emotionally charged battle energy it is today.After all, what is a fight but performance of Martial Arts and Strength?
Showtime Classes
Also similar to Tough Breaker, there are Showtime Classes, albeit it's downplayed in the grander scheme of things. It's mostly used internally by the Meltzer Trust, but I'm still thinking of Class names so fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck you~!I'll come back to this at a later date, don't worry.
Characters
Can't have a story without a cast of colorful characters to carry the narrative! And as you'll see, Tough Breaker has quite the rouge's gallery!