02-09-2023, 03:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2023, 01:20 PM by Caleb_H. Edited 3 times in total.)
The Life of the Gentle Giant Billy Jor-El
On a sweltering August afternoon in 2032, Billy Jor-El was born to proud parents Jonathan and Martha Jor-El. He was the parent’s miracle baby, as they had tried for many years to conceive a child with no success. Now in their late 40s, Jonathan and Martha had given up all hope to have a child. Yet one Christmas Eve in 2031, Martha surprised Jonathan with the greatest Christmas gift of his life; the expected birth of their first, and probably only, child. It was a difficult pregnancy for Martha, and all of the Jor-El’s family and friends assumed the couple were in for a pain-staking parenting experience to boot. However, Billy turned out to be anything but a problem child.
Even as an infant, Billy was mostly quiet. Rarely did he cry. His parents quickly learned to distinguish those soft murmurs and grunts when he was hungry or uncomfortable from soiling himself. He cried so infrequently, his parents had his throat thoroughly examined for fear his vocal cords were somehow damaged. He was just very quiet. Billy would sleep though most nights undisturbed, and for the most part, was a perfectly content baby. Almost as if God himself was gracing Jonathan and Martha for their many years of childlessness. They spent many happy years raising their child on the family farm, which had been in Jonathan’s family for three generations.
As he grew, Billy developed a few passions from his environment and parents. From his father, Jonathan, Billy gained a passion for farming and a love for animals. With Billy’s giant stature and gentle demeanor, farm work was a simple yet enjoyable task. Tending the corn fields, rearing cattle, feeding the chickens, and spending ample time running around with the farm dogs and cats, Billy grew a strong, healthy body that matched his growing body. It was almost shocking to see the stark contradiction that was his gentleness when cradling newborn chicks and petting his favorite cat, Streaky.
One cold, rainy November evening in 2041, with the fireplace roaring and Streaky curled up on Billy’s chest, Billy was introduced to his other great passion by his mother, as Martha dusted off the old grand piano that sat dormant since just before that fateful Christmas Eve in 2031. Martha began to play one of her favorite songs, ‘Piano Man,’ and the melody reverberated throughout the house. Billy was enthralled. He had heard music on various devices before, but never live; never like this. He did not know this until much later in his life, but Martha was a classically trained pianist, and an exceptional one at that. Billy shot out of his chair to join his mother’s side with such gusto that Streaky nearly flew to the far wall of the room. Billy stood next to his mother in awe as he watched her fingers dance across the keys as if the music itself was willing them where to go. When she finished playing he begged her to teach him, to which she agreed to lessons each weekend should he maintain good grades.
It was the first song he learned, and is his favorite song to this day.
To this point in his life, Billy cared most for the farm, the animals, and the piano, doing well enough at school to not get in any trouble. He assumed he would work at the farm like his father before him. It was all he knew and all he loved. When he opened the envelope containing his gift, he could not possibly fathom how much it would alter the course of his life. His father, not much for frivolous spending or big outings, saved up and bought two tickets to a Chicago Butchers home game for the two of them to attend together. Jonathan used to enjoy casually watching the sport but hadn’t watched much since Billy’s birth, and he felt he was old enough to understand the game and its complexities. Billy, always quiet and reserved, thanked his parents for the gift. In all honesty, he was very disappointed, as he wanted a puppy as Shelby, the Border Collie they’d had since he was born, had passed away earlier that year. He did not voice his disappointment as it was not in his character and, of course, he had not asked for a puppy either. However, the disappointment quickly became excitement turned burning passion from their nose bleed seats.
Such adrenaline. The noise; deafening. Billy had never felt his heart pound so rapidly in his chest. The atmosphere enchanted him. He didn’t quite understand everything about the game, but his father happily taught the inquisitive boy as the game went along. The home team quickly scored on a Delcan Harp grab, then ended the first quarter on another dime of a pass to Kazimir Oles. With the home team easily routing the Colorado Yetis, up 27 to nothing at half, the crowd was roaring at each and every play, as everything was going in favor of the home team. Quarterback Rose Jenkins was efficient and accurate, and running back Sam Torenson was averaging nearly a first down every other time he touched the ball. It was an offensive masterclass in the first half. Yet what captivated Billy was the stout Butcher’s defense and how their play dictated the emotional energy in the stadium.
After the first Chicago touchdown, when it appeared as though Colorado might score themselves, defensive tackle Will Foster sacked the opposing quarterback Wolfie McDummy on 3rd down for a loss of 6 yards. The crowd went into a frenzy as the Colorado punt team came out on Chicago’s 31 yard line. As his father explained to him, that sack and loss of yards forced the opposing team outside of the kicker’s comfortable kicking range. That play essentially cost the other team points, and was the reason the crowd was even more crazy than usual. It amazed the young Billy as the game drew on, how one single moment could have such an impact. He felt the momentum drawn out from that single, pivotal moment, and how it impacted the rest of the first half, culminating in defensive tackle Saul Curtis’ strip sack of McDummy to close out the final play of the half; an emphatic stamp to close out a first half shut out.
Although Billy was unable to get his hands on any player merchandise at the game, as his frugal father refused to spend on the overpriced items stocked at the stadium’s team shop, Billy would save his money to eventually buy posters and gear of his favorite team and players, the Chicago Butchers and their defensive tackles Will Foster and Curtis Saul. Although these two players would not go on to have illustrious ISFL careers, their impact on a young, impressionable Billy Jor-El would shape him into the football player he aspired to be.
Now 13 years old, playing football for the first time in Pop Warner youth leagues, as his mother refused to let him play the sport until he was at least a teenager, Billy realized his passion for football off the field could only be surpassed by his passion on the field. The coaches were amazed how this quiet, well mannered giant of a boy could play with such a motor, passion, and violence. Gifted with the strength from his work on the farm, the natural size he was born with, he was able to flourish in the Bantam Division on the defensive line even with very raw skills. His coaches would often call him a “sponge” as he would absorb the coaching at frightening speeds. However, they did not know that Billy would spend many hours at home honing his skills running the drills from practice against bays of hay. It became almost a routine; school, football practice, farm work, drills at home, and playing the piano on weekends with his mother. He would continue this routine all throughout his childhood, until he would eventually enroll at Cleveland Heights High School.
Billy had quite the illustrious high school career, setting near school records in sacks and tackles for loss. He was also very active in the music club, playing his beloved piano for others. Although quite reserved while talking to others, he was quite assertive in front of the piano keys, no matter the crowd. It was both that assertiveness and melodic playing that led to his high school sweetheart and current girlfriend, Reyes Rain, approaching him. Even though the two were polar opposites, he a farm boy, she an uptown girl, the two became inseparable, if not insufferable, almost immediately. With Reyes’ love of singing, she would join Billy after music club meetings to sing along to their favorite songs as he played away, lost in the music. It was a mostly enjoyable and quiet high school experience for Billy. He was awarded a scholarship to play football at his home state school, the Ohio State University, yet almost turned the scholarship down at the end of his Senior season, where one play nearly changed his life forever.
Always known for his bizarre Jekyll-Hyde personality transformation, the pure violence Billy became infamous for on the field was frightening to many, but most of all his mother. Martha nearly pulled him out of football his first year in the sport, and again the year after, but ultimately gave in to the pleas of her child. She was truly amazed as she could barely remember anything Billy had ever begged for, much less even asked for. Yet she almost finally ended Billy’s career on the night after his Senior season’s state championship game. In a close battle against St. Ignatius, late in the 4th quarter, Billy was involved in a vicious sack of the opposing team’s quarterback, Clifton Spranok, that left him with compound fractures of both the tibia and fibula in his right leg. The entire stadium came to standstill for what felt like hours as the quarterback was helped into an ambulance and taken to a hospital. Billy was visibly shaken and did not return to the field. He did not care for the final score of the game. Later that night, after they learned the severity of the injury and that Clifton’s athletic career was all but over, Martha berated her child, wondering where her sweet, gentle child had gone; how she forbade him from ever stepping foot on that field again. Billy silently agreed to himself. He knew he could never play again. He could still hear the snapping of bones. Still feel the crunch. He went to his room that night, desolate, planning to never play the sport again.
The next morning, his father woke Billy up and told him only to get dressed for work. It was a weekend, so Billy did not question anything. He got dressed, and made his way outside to the farm he loved so much. Without a word to each other, Billy and Jonathan tended to the cattle, mended holes in the coop walls for the upcoming winter, and rode around on the tractor, fixing or tidying up whatever odds and ends they came across. Before long, the sun was overhead and it was time for lunch. Jonathan pulled out two deli sandwiches from the cooler he had stowed on the tractor and they sat there, eating in silence. Just before they finished, Jonathan turned to Billy and said to him the words Billy would one day tattoo on his left wrist: “This’ll always be here for when you want it, but it’s much better if it’s what you really want.” They finished their lunch in silence, returning to work for the rest of the day saying little else but work related utterances. When they got home for dinner, the aroma of shepherd's pie, Billy favorite, wafted through the air. Martha yelled for them to both get cleaned up before dinner, and as they sat down to dinner, just before eating, Martha apologized behind tearfilled eyes to her son, noting that she was out of line and she did not mean to pile on when he was obviously in so much pain. She stressed that she did not want him playing the sport ever again, that she truly felt he did not belong on that field, but it was not her choice to make, it was his. It was a choice that tortured Billy for nearly two months, a dark time that nearly cost him his relationship with Reyes as he distanced himself from many of those that he loved. Eventually, Billy sought counseling from those closest to him; his parents, his coaches, and professionals. Although not fully over his emotional trauma, almost two months to the day from that fateful night, Billy unceremoniously accepted his scholarship and would begin the next chapter of his life.
Reserved and quiet. Once again, Billy fell back into his primary character traits; however, this time, these traits followed him onto the field his Freshman year. Gone were the vicious tackles. Gone were the violent moves to slash through blocks. Gone were the nasty quarterback hits. What remained was a giant of a man who took up space; nothing more, nothing less. The coaches were frustrated; where was the defensive star they scouted? Billy was still talented enough to be a rotational player as a true freshman, but the trauma was still hard to shake. Billy couldn’t bring himself to possibly cause that kind of injury again. It all came to a head during Billy’s third game when he let up on a possible sack which resulted in a broken play touchdown. The coaches were livid and benched Billy for the remainder of the game, flabbergasted as to the reason he would just let up on such an easy sack. But Billy knew. He was still haunted by that crunch, feeling it against his hip when he wrapped up the quarterback. Once again, Billy was unsure if his football career would continue.
Dejected, Billy spent the next day lazing about his dorm room. He had turned down his roommate’s invitation to head to the student center; an obvious attempt to cheer him up, what with the piano available to play in one of the side rooms. As he lay there, gazing at the ceiling from his bed, he received a phone call from an unknown number. With nothing better to do, Billy answered. After a long pause, and Billy almost hanging up, Clifton Spranok’s voice growled from the other end.
“I hated you. In fact, I still hate you. What you did to me sucks. I mean, I get it, its part of the game, but it fucking sucks. I can never play again. But you know what’s worse? That a fucking pussy like you was the one who did it. I’ve been watching your games. You’re the sonuvabitch who did this to me?!? At least become something! Let me be able to tell my friends and family someday that some monster in the ISFL was the one who ended my career. At least give me that! DON’T YOU TAKE EVERYTHING FROM ME!” - *click*
Billy froze. The conversation seemed to finish before it even started. He didn’t have a chance to get a single word in, not that he would have known what to say. And yet, as everything began to register, and he began to parse the message, what Billy found was not salvation, but instead acceptance.
The true tale of Billy’s college football career began during the later half of his freshman season. He would go on to become a full time starter by the end of that season, anchoring a fearsom defensive front for the Buckeyes throughout his college career. During his illustrious 41 game career at the Ohio State University, Billy would compile 239 tackles, 28 sacks, 61 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 8 passes defensed. He received numerous award nominations, but did not win any awards until his final season. He was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith–Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2053. In 2054 he declared for the DSFL draft and entered the Season 40 Prospect bowl.
Currently, Billy is happily engaged to his fiancee, Reyes Rain, who lives in their Columbus, Ohio apartment with their dog Krypto and cat Zod. Clifton Spranok continued to call Billy, and the two eventually formed a strange, yet questionably wholesome friendship. Both Jonathan and Martha attended most of Billy’s games, and at his final home game, the Senior Day game, his mother was seen wearing a “#1 FAN” jersey of her son.
On a sweltering August afternoon in 2032, Billy Jor-El was born to proud parents Jonathan and Martha Jor-El. He was the parent’s miracle baby, as they had tried for many years to conceive a child with no success. Now in their late 40s, Jonathan and Martha had given up all hope to have a child. Yet one Christmas Eve in 2031, Martha surprised Jonathan with the greatest Christmas gift of his life; the expected birth of their first, and probably only, child. It was a difficult pregnancy for Martha, and all of the Jor-El’s family and friends assumed the couple were in for a pain-staking parenting experience to boot. However, Billy turned out to be anything but a problem child.
Even as an infant, Billy was mostly quiet. Rarely did he cry. His parents quickly learned to distinguish those soft murmurs and grunts when he was hungry or uncomfortable from soiling himself. He cried so infrequently, his parents had his throat thoroughly examined for fear his vocal cords were somehow damaged. He was just very quiet. Billy would sleep though most nights undisturbed, and for the most part, was a perfectly content baby. Almost as if God himself was gracing Jonathan and Martha for their many years of childlessness. They spent many happy years raising their child on the family farm, which had been in Jonathan’s family for three generations.
As he grew, Billy developed a few passions from his environment and parents. From his father, Jonathan, Billy gained a passion for farming and a love for animals. With Billy’s giant stature and gentle demeanor, farm work was a simple yet enjoyable task. Tending the corn fields, rearing cattle, feeding the chickens, and spending ample time running around with the farm dogs and cats, Billy grew a strong, healthy body that matched his growing body. It was almost shocking to see the stark contradiction that was his gentleness when cradling newborn chicks and petting his favorite cat, Streaky.
One cold, rainy November evening in 2041, with the fireplace roaring and Streaky curled up on Billy’s chest, Billy was introduced to his other great passion by his mother, as Martha dusted off the old grand piano that sat dormant since just before that fateful Christmas Eve in 2031. Martha began to play one of her favorite songs, ‘Piano Man,’ and the melody reverberated throughout the house. Billy was enthralled. He had heard music on various devices before, but never live; never like this. He did not know this until much later in his life, but Martha was a classically trained pianist, and an exceptional one at that. Billy shot out of his chair to join his mother’s side with such gusto that Streaky nearly flew to the far wall of the room. Billy stood next to his mother in awe as he watched her fingers dance across the keys as if the music itself was willing them where to go. When she finished playing he begged her to teach him, to which she agreed to lessons each weekend should he maintain good grades.
It was the first song he learned, and is his favorite song to this day.
To this point in his life, Billy cared most for the farm, the animals, and the piano, doing well enough at school to not get in any trouble. He assumed he would work at the farm like his father before him. It was all he knew and all he loved. When he opened the envelope containing his gift, he could not possibly fathom how much it would alter the course of his life. His father, not much for frivolous spending or big outings, saved up and bought two tickets to a Chicago Butchers home game for the two of them to attend together. Jonathan used to enjoy casually watching the sport but hadn’t watched much since Billy’s birth, and he felt he was old enough to understand the game and its complexities. Billy, always quiet and reserved, thanked his parents for the gift. In all honesty, he was very disappointed, as he wanted a puppy as Shelby, the Border Collie they’d had since he was born, had passed away earlier that year. He did not voice his disappointment as it was not in his character and, of course, he had not asked for a puppy either. However, the disappointment quickly became excitement turned burning passion from their nose bleed seats.
Such adrenaline. The noise; deafening. Billy had never felt his heart pound so rapidly in his chest. The atmosphere enchanted him. He didn’t quite understand everything about the game, but his father happily taught the inquisitive boy as the game went along. The home team quickly scored on a Delcan Harp grab, then ended the first quarter on another dime of a pass to Kazimir Oles. With the home team easily routing the Colorado Yetis, up 27 to nothing at half, the crowd was roaring at each and every play, as everything was going in favor of the home team. Quarterback Rose Jenkins was efficient and accurate, and running back Sam Torenson was averaging nearly a first down every other time he touched the ball. It was an offensive masterclass in the first half. Yet what captivated Billy was the stout Butcher’s defense and how their play dictated the emotional energy in the stadium.
After the first Chicago touchdown, when it appeared as though Colorado might score themselves, defensive tackle Will Foster sacked the opposing quarterback Wolfie McDummy on 3rd down for a loss of 6 yards. The crowd went into a frenzy as the Colorado punt team came out on Chicago’s 31 yard line. As his father explained to him, that sack and loss of yards forced the opposing team outside of the kicker’s comfortable kicking range. That play essentially cost the other team points, and was the reason the crowd was even more crazy than usual. It amazed the young Billy as the game drew on, how one single moment could have such an impact. He felt the momentum drawn out from that single, pivotal moment, and how it impacted the rest of the first half, culminating in defensive tackle Saul Curtis’ strip sack of McDummy to close out the final play of the half; an emphatic stamp to close out a first half shut out.
Although Billy was unable to get his hands on any player merchandise at the game, as his frugal father refused to spend on the overpriced items stocked at the stadium’s team shop, Billy would save his money to eventually buy posters and gear of his favorite team and players, the Chicago Butchers and their defensive tackles Will Foster and Curtis Saul. Although these two players would not go on to have illustrious ISFL careers, their impact on a young, impressionable Billy Jor-El would shape him into the football player he aspired to be.
Now 13 years old, playing football for the first time in Pop Warner youth leagues, as his mother refused to let him play the sport until he was at least a teenager, Billy realized his passion for football off the field could only be surpassed by his passion on the field. The coaches were amazed how this quiet, well mannered giant of a boy could play with such a motor, passion, and violence. Gifted with the strength from his work on the farm, the natural size he was born with, he was able to flourish in the Bantam Division on the defensive line even with very raw skills. His coaches would often call him a “sponge” as he would absorb the coaching at frightening speeds. However, they did not know that Billy would spend many hours at home honing his skills running the drills from practice against bays of hay. It became almost a routine; school, football practice, farm work, drills at home, and playing the piano on weekends with his mother. He would continue this routine all throughout his childhood, until he would eventually enroll at Cleveland Heights High School.
Billy had quite the illustrious high school career, setting near school records in sacks and tackles for loss. He was also very active in the music club, playing his beloved piano for others. Although quite reserved while talking to others, he was quite assertive in front of the piano keys, no matter the crowd. It was both that assertiveness and melodic playing that led to his high school sweetheart and current girlfriend, Reyes Rain, approaching him. Even though the two were polar opposites, he a farm boy, she an uptown girl, the two became inseparable, if not insufferable, almost immediately. With Reyes’ love of singing, she would join Billy after music club meetings to sing along to their favorite songs as he played away, lost in the music. It was a mostly enjoyable and quiet high school experience for Billy. He was awarded a scholarship to play football at his home state school, the Ohio State University, yet almost turned the scholarship down at the end of his Senior season, where one play nearly changed his life forever.
Always known for his bizarre Jekyll-Hyde personality transformation, the pure violence Billy became infamous for on the field was frightening to many, but most of all his mother. Martha nearly pulled him out of football his first year in the sport, and again the year after, but ultimately gave in to the pleas of her child. She was truly amazed as she could barely remember anything Billy had ever begged for, much less even asked for. Yet she almost finally ended Billy’s career on the night after his Senior season’s state championship game. In a close battle against St. Ignatius, late in the 4th quarter, Billy was involved in a vicious sack of the opposing team’s quarterback, Clifton Spranok, that left him with compound fractures of both the tibia and fibula in his right leg. The entire stadium came to standstill for what felt like hours as the quarterback was helped into an ambulance and taken to a hospital. Billy was visibly shaken and did not return to the field. He did not care for the final score of the game. Later that night, after they learned the severity of the injury and that Clifton’s athletic career was all but over, Martha berated her child, wondering where her sweet, gentle child had gone; how she forbade him from ever stepping foot on that field again. Billy silently agreed to himself. He knew he could never play again. He could still hear the snapping of bones. Still feel the crunch. He went to his room that night, desolate, planning to never play the sport again.
The next morning, his father woke Billy up and told him only to get dressed for work. It was a weekend, so Billy did not question anything. He got dressed, and made his way outside to the farm he loved so much. Without a word to each other, Billy and Jonathan tended to the cattle, mended holes in the coop walls for the upcoming winter, and rode around on the tractor, fixing or tidying up whatever odds and ends they came across. Before long, the sun was overhead and it was time for lunch. Jonathan pulled out two deli sandwiches from the cooler he had stowed on the tractor and they sat there, eating in silence. Just before they finished, Jonathan turned to Billy and said to him the words Billy would one day tattoo on his left wrist: “This’ll always be here for when you want it, but it’s much better if it’s what you really want.” They finished their lunch in silence, returning to work for the rest of the day saying little else but work related utterances. When they got home for dinner, the aroma of shepherd's pie, Billy favorite, wafted through the air. Martha yelled for them to both get cleaned up before dinner, and as they sat down to dinner, just before eating, Martha apologized behind tearfilled eyes to her son, noting that she was out of line and she did not mean to pile on when he was obviously in so much pain. She stressed that she did not want him playing the sport ever again, that she truly felt he did not belong on that field, but it was not her choice to make, it was his. It was a choice that tortured Billy for nearly two months, a dark time that nearly cost him his relationship with Reyes as he distanced himself from many of those that he loved. Eventually, Billy sought counseling from those closest to him; his parents, his coaches, and professionals. Although not fully over his emotional trauma, almost two months to the day from that fateful night, Billy unceremoniously accepted his scholarship and would begin the next chapter of his life.
Reserved and quiet. Once again, Billy fell back into his primary character traits; however, this time, these traits followed him onto the field his Freshman year. Gone were the vicious tackles. Gone were the violent moves to slash through blocks. Gone were the nasty quarterback hits. What remained was a giant of a man who took up space; nothing more, nothing less. The coaches were frustrated; where was the defensive star they scouted? Billy was still talented enough to be a rotational player as a true freshman, but the trauma was still hard to shake. Billy couldn’t bring himself to possibly cause that kind of injury again. It all came to a head during Billy’s third game when he let up on a possible sack which resulted in a broken play touchdown. The coaches were livid and benched Billy for the remainder of the game, flabbergasted as to the reason he would just let up on such an easy sack. But Billy knew. He was still haunted by that crunch, feeling it against his hip when he wrapped up the quarterback. Once again, Billy was unsure if his football career would continue.
Dejected, Billy spent the next day lazing about his dorm room. He had turned down his roommate’s invitation to head to the student center; an obvious attempt to cheer him up, what with the piano available to play in one of the side rooms. As he lay there, gazing at the ceiling from his bed, he received a phone call from an unknown number. With nothing better to do, Billy answered. After a long pause, and Billy almost hanging up, Clifton Spranok’s voice growled from the other end.
“I hated you. In fact, I still hate you. What you did to me sucks. I mean, I get it, its part of the game, but it fucking sucks. I can never play again. But you know what’s worse? That a fucking pussy like you was the one who did it. I’ve been watching your games. You’re the sonuvabitch who did this to me?!? At least become something! Let me be able to tell my friends and family someday that some monster in the ISFL was the one who ended my career. At least give me that! DON’T YOU TAKE EVERYTHING FROM ME!” - *click*
Billy froze. The conversation seemed to finish before it even started. He didn’t have a chance to get a single word in, not that he would have known what to say. And yet, as everything began to register, and he began to parse the message, what Billy found was not salvation, but instead acceptance.
The true tale of Billy’s college football career began during the later half of his freshman season. He would go on to become a full time starter by the end of that season, anchoring a fearsom defensive front for the Buckeyes throughout his college career. During his illustrious 41 game career at the Ohio State University, Billy would compile 239 tackles, 28 sacks, 61 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 8 passes defensed. He received numerous award nominations, but did not win any awards until his final season. He was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith–Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2053. In 2054 he declared for the DSFL draft and entered the Season 40 Prospect bowl.
Currently, Billy is happily engaged to his fiancee, Reyes Rain, who lives in their Columbus, Ohio apartment with their dog Krypto and cat Zod. Clifton Spranok continued to call Billy, and the two eventually formed a strange, yet questionably wholesome friendship. Both Jonathan and Martha attended most of Billy’s games, and at his final home game, the Senior Day game, his mother was seen wearing a “#1 FAN” jersey of her son.
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