shellphones | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Type: Accidental Video
Sender ID: 🖕nunya🖕(Sidestep)
To: Public
Subject:
Warnings: Mention of death and torture. Threads are likely to end up going deeply traumatic places.

(It's a typical day on Nogard, though many people who see this might be elsewhere.

Many have probably heard by now that Chris is dead. Has been dead for several days, in fact, after being captured and tortured by Ganon.

Except... they're not?

That's definitely a shot of a very panicked looking Chris running... somewhere, not paying attention to the shellphone clutched in their hand or noticing that it's recording.

Several people can be heard yelling in surprise in the background as Chris darts past them.

...The fuck are they even running from? It doesn't sound like they're being chased.

The hand holding the shellphone bumps into something, and the video cuts out.)

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[ And he'll try to block as much as he can before trying to shove them off him hard enough to wiggle away.

There's something almost fun about finally just having a brawl... almost. He doesn't like feeling cornered and he doesn't really like being reminded of being bullied by his brothers either. ]

Get the hell off me—!

(And they don't want to seriously hurt him so they'll let him shove them off, rolling to the side.)

Fuck you, Faulkner.

Right—right back at'cha.

[ But he's struggling briefly to catch his breath where he is, so whether or not this absolute idiocy continues from here will probably depend on whatever Chris does next.

(Wait, they used his name?) ]

(They're not continuing this. Instead they flop on the ground and lie there.)

You need training. (His fighting skills are pathetic. All he's got is vicious brutality. )

Too bad Ranma left.

[ He'll also stay flopped where he is, since they don't try and provoke him more. ]

Not sure who that was, but... I've been doin' a little.

[ With Fenris. And apparently forgetting it all in the moment. That might actually make him look worse, come to think of it. ]

Figure maybe I'll ask Keigo sometime.

[ Because actually learning to fight has, in fact, been on his mind. But a lot more because people keep getting hurt than for this kind of reason. ]

Ranma was a good fighter. Would probably thrash Keigo, or whoever else you're thinking about.

(...They're glad Ranma isn't here for all this. At least one person doesn't know.)

I'll take your word for it.

[ He moves to sit up, groans, flops back. He seems almost as quick to (mostly) calm down as to anger, but he's definitely irritated he's in pain.

Angel shuffles closer and puts a head on his chest, whining a little. ]

You be quiet, you didn't take my side.

[ But his tone is more grumbling than it is actually scolding. ]

Your side is stupid. I got him treats.

(Nevermind that they tricked Faulkner into giving them.

They continue to lay there.)

This is such bullshit. (No clarification what they're talking about.)

[ He thinks about arguing more but... honestly now that the actual violence is out of his system for the moment he's just kind of tired. And it's really stupid. He pets his dog instead. ]

...Which part?

[ He's pretty sure that could apply to a lot of things. ]

Ganon didn't even know what he was doing when he made everyone see that.

(The words crack with bitterness. Are they on the verge of tears?)

[ ...And now he's back to being concerned. ]

What do you mean?

[ Although he supposes if Ganon's intent was to make people too afraid to mess with him, that didn't exactly work out. ]

Still don't... know what all happened there.

[ A lot of implied questions, though he's not prying directly. Out loud at least. ]

You saw.

(They wave a hand over their--thankfully covered with clothing--chest.)

I didn't want people to know. Now everyone does.

[ He's quiet for a moment. ]

Don't really know what it means if I'm honest. In my world you'd be an angel or a saint or somethin'.

[ Angel is closer to made form scratch but saint is closer to made from a dead person. And that's what all those marks remind him of. ]

Not sure how much it means to anyone else here, either. There's... plenty of kinds of people.

[ He knows that doesn't fix the fact they wanted it a secret, but at least no one has much context? ]

Edited 2025-09-13 11:53 (UTC)

I don't think any gods helped in my creation. (The farm is a godless place if there ever was one.)

If any did, they can go fuck themselves.

(They're practically spitting as they say that.)

I know what it means. And so does anyone who comes from a world that uses bar codes. (They're for property. Things, not people.)

[ This gets a snort. That would be a reasonable response with the kinds of gods he's thinking of, anyway. ]

We still don't know any details.

[ Someone could put that on a regular human, too. If they wanted to. Or anyone else they considered property. ]

Does it... not work to cover it?

[ He'd be a little surprised if they haven't tried, given how upset they seem. ]

And it's still humiliating. I don't belong to anyone.

(Not ever.)

Can't cover it, can't remove it. You saw the scars.

(Those bits of oddly textured and damaged flesh still carrying bright orange pigment.)

[ He just nods. He's not going to argue that. ]

Wasn't really the part I was payin' attention to.

[ Compared to the recent injuries. But that's not to say he didn't notice anything. The weird properties were definitely part of what reminded him of prayer-marks. ]

Not even the magic here...?

[ He should probably shut up, actually. But it does sound awful if nothing works. He's pretty sure he can understand hating that. ]

I've thought about it.

(They say, because they have.)

Haven't wanted to risk showing anyone. And now it just seems... (They search for a word.) pointless.

Is it though?

[ He sort of blurts that out before pausing to figure out what he's actually trying to say. ]

I mean... I mean, you got surgery right? Same as me?

[ Because he did notice the scars they have in common, too.

It sounds like a bit of a jump in topic, but they'll probably be aware of how he got there and where he's going with it: he's pretty sure changing things to be comfortable in your own skin is a valid reason, regardless of keeping secrets. ]

You saw.

(They say. They can guess where he's going with this.

Is that what they want? A week ago, they would have said yes.)

[ And he just shrugs. ]

Seems to me it can be good to feel at home in your skin, even if people know you had to... make changes to get there.

[ Or maybe he's way off base. But he seems to mean well, if nothing else. ]

That's different.

Okay.

[ And for a moment his first instinct is to keep prattling on, but he'll leave it there. This is clearly something he doesn't entirely understand. ]

...I'm sorry he showed people.

[ Maybe that's all he should have said to begin with. ]

Me too.

(What are they doing? Why don't they want to be human?)

The whole thing was cruel.

[ Even if Ganon didn't understand what he was doing by showing people the marks, it was cruel to show everyone once it was basically too late to actually help.

...Maybe Keigo will at least stop beating himself up so much, now that Chris is back. He sort of doubts it though. ]