shellphones | Video || Introduction!

Entry tags:

Video || Introduction!

Type: Video
Sender ID: catsgothistongue (Ranma Saotome)
To: Public
Subject: Saying Hi!
Warnings: TBD, N/A for now!

[The video feed opens up to a bright blue eye staring directly into the Shellphone's camera]

Yo! I'm- Oh, hang on a sec, lemme just–

[The sounds of the one with the blue eye fiddling with the buttons and grumbling under his breath some light whinging about 'Get in the right angle', before finally fixing the camera issue, showing off the teen in red who, judging from the branches and leaves, is most likely sitting in a tree as he's making this video]

There we go! Where was I... [He gave a soft wave at the camera.] Yo. Name's Ranma Saotome, for anyone I haven't met yet. I dropped in this place a while back and was messing with this phone and noticed this chatlog. I'm not the best with those [Like he hadn't already proved as much], but figured I should drop in and say hi.

[He paused and tapped his fingers against the bark of the tree he's seated on.]

I also wanted to see if there was anyone here who's a fighter who'd be up for a spar. I'm a martial artist, and no one from back home's tried to attack me yet so they're probably not here, but it'd be cool if someone here's willing to go toe to toe with me sometime. Don't want to get too rusty on this kidnapping-slash-vacation.

Anywho, I think that's all I wanted to say. So... See ya– Wait a moment. [He leaned in and squinted his eyes at the screen. Particularly to the sender ID... The boy's look turned from befuddlement to annoyance.] Actually, there is another thing I wanna ask. How do I change the name on this?

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[For what its worth, Ranma wasn't startled by the sudden appearance of the taller woman. As a matter of fact, he just gave her a wave and a casual.] Yo. [Now that she's here in the flesh, Ranma studied her appearance for a second. The only thing that caught his eye were the bandages on her arm.]

I try to be. You know what they say about early birds. Gotta be right on time and in top shape for anything. Though... How about you? You look like you've had some fun recently. [He says, pointing to her arms.]

Edited 2024-01-24 14:41 (UTC)

Mmm, nothing you need to worry about. It doesn't slow me down any. [It hurts like a son of a bitch and she needs to find a healer, but Ranma doesn't need to know that.]

You're...mm, what, seventeen?

You sure? It wouldn't be all that fun to fight someone who isn't a hundred percent before a spar. [Funnily enough, thanks to the tattoo, Ranma's gotten better control over his ki abilities. That included being able to use his ki to heal others, something he's been practicing for years admittedly. It started as a thought years ago, of if he could speed up his healing with his ki, then why couldn't it do the same to others? He hadn't exactly gotten it down, only using a couple of plants as practice both back home and here after noticing his ki abilities had improved, with a 50/50 success rate since it's something he needs to work on. Not that he's aware that Misaki really needs a healer.

Ranma paused some, blinking a few times caught off guard by her guess. Right on the mark.] Yeah, so what if I am? That a problem?

I've fought which much worse than this. [Kind of waving a hand dismissively. That part's true. Being run over with a car hurts, did you know that? Being shot, also.]

No, nothing. I'm just accounting for the fact your bones aren't quite so solid yet. [A pause.] In humans, at least, they don't tend to fully settle and stop growing until 19, maybe even 20.

If you say so. Just don't start crying if they start acting up. [Yes, he did know that! Though less by a truck and more of a bike. But he's been hit with worse than a truck! And he's only recently discovered that getting shot sucks.

He only cocked a brow, stretching his arms and legs in place.] So? I'm a martial artist, I'm more durable than most people. If you're worried about breaking anything, I've walked off way worse.

Oh, no, no. It's just useful to have an idea how fast your bones heal. Training methods have to suit the student, hmm?

[Well, that terrifying statement is the only warning he gets before she flash-steps into his shadow. And tries to boot him right in the head. THINK FAST--]

Hah! You've got that-

[Right? The martial artist paused that thought when the taller woman vanished from sight. Was it speed? Invisibility? Ranma couldn't exactly pinpoint the exact technique or power she used in that instance, but from his experience, he could tell where exactly this was going.

Thinking fast is what he does best... in combat. Everything else is up for debates.

Ranma instinctively turned on his heel and kicked back right at the same time to stop a boot print from being imprinted into his face. Alright, this might not be boring as he thought it would be. He hopes so. Flashing a grin, Ranma reeled back his arm before throwing quick punches right towards Misaki to try and get a hit.]

Oh...five points.

[Unfortunately, getting a hit on Misaki might prove...exceedingly difficult. She's fast. She is absurdly fast. But she seems to be watching him pretty intently, so much so that gold eye might glow a bit. I'm sure that's fine.

She'll wait until the end of the barrage of punches and then dip to the side, trying to pull him forward with his own momentum to fling him treeward.]

Too flashy.

[Credit where its due for him, Ranma's absurdly fast himself. Speed's one of the things he excels at. Speedy opponents aren't too much of an issue for him, and much like Misaki, he too was watching her every move, every dodge with perceptive eyes. Gauging how quick she was, how much he needs to go out...

The barrage would end once Misaki moved out of the way, letting Ranma land a hit straight into the tree that was behind her. Splinters and bark flew everywhere as that tree now had a fist-sized hole punched through it. Ranma'd quirk his head to the side to look at Misaki.]

Think that's flashy, you ain't seen nothing yet. [Now that he's gotten some guesstimate on her speed, he could start letting loose and kick it up some. Hence he kicked off the ground to pop up right in front of the woman, throwing more punches. To the naked untrained eye, it'd look like Ranma was throwing four or five simple punches. In reality, he was throwing around tens of hundreds of punches with every swing in a span of the second it took for him to swing his arm. Each one not being wild swings going anywhere, but trying their damnedest to hit their target with precise strikes.]

I'm not interested in your braggadocio.

[She doesn't dodge all of them but--more strangely, she doesn't really react to the hits she takes, either, and the texture--it doesn't feel like a fist on flesh, exactly, something a little too cold and insubstantial.

Probably because the shadow clone dissolves after a few hits and she leans over his shoulder.]

Where are your fundamentals?

[The suplex is incoming. He's got seconds to get the fuck out of dodge. Good luck!]

[Ranma wouldn't respond to the taunts, continuing on to punch her. For a moment there was small pride in getting blows on her. A second later though of punching something that didn't feel like skin or flesh was when he got tipped off that something was a little off. Sure enough, much to his bafflement-soon-disappointment, it was just a fake. A cheap trick by the real.

... Who's currently looming over him. He spotted the arms reaching around to grab his torso, and used those seconds wisely to kick up off the ground and flip over Misaki, stopping halfway through an arc and his backflip to grab onto her shoulders.]

And where's your backbone? [Spineless trick to not even face him and use a clone! He hopes this one's the real deal, otherwise he's going to be feeling real foolish right about now. He held onto her shoulders and swung right onto her back, holding onto them for balance as he attempted to strike his feet into her back in a flurry of kicks.]

[Well. He did hit the real thing this time! And she staggers. Bad news, he jostled her knife wound and she hisses--like a cat--and when she sharply looks back at him there's a predator staring over her shoulder, eye golden and shining, pupil slitted, the shadows starting to close in--

She has elected to grab him by the ankle and slam him into the ground instead of uh. Whatever that was.]

Buried with your humility.

[He didn't go straight through her. Good, that meant she's the real deal. There was some internal celebratory cheering at getting a hit on the elusive woman. But his mental rollicking's cut short by the hissing. It wasn't the breathing through gritted teeth a person in pain would give out, but a... a...

In an instant, all of Ranma's keen instincts that'd keep him hyperaware of any and everything in a fight came to a screeching halt when Misaki looked at him with those eyes. Those catlike eyes. A dead ringer to the ones in the pit. All staring at him, piercing through the dark, seeing him no matter how much he tried to hide...

The teen froze, staying perfectly still and unable to move. Ranma's horror-struck state left him open to be grabbed and slammed into the ground. The impact and the sharp pain jolted him back to his senses, and with an unsteadied breath, tried sweeping out the cat woman's feet.]

H-How 'bout I put the rest of you with it!? [Stop stuttering idiot.]

[Misaki gets hit by the kick and skitters away, crouched down, brow furrowed. Something about his reaction is...odd. The stutter, the look in his eyes, the way he froze...]

...You're afraid of cats?

[you are breaking her HEART.]

[Her revelation only made the teen tense up more with a look of complete and utter 'fuck' written all over his face.]

Like hell I would be! I'm not scared of nothing! I just... [Come on Saotome, come up with a good answer.]

... saw your face. It's repulsive. That's all.

[Smooth.]

...So then, it won't be a problem if I do this?

[BAM CATGIRL. Ears and tail and everything. Staring flatly at him.

She's got you, Ranma.]

[Oh no. Oh no no no no. Ranma's skin would turn a ghastly pale, losing color at the sight of cat ears and tails just popping up. His eyes widened to the size of saucers, unable to break away from staring no matter how much he wanted to.

But it isn't bad. It's just uncomfortable to look at. That's it. That's it that's it that's it, so he should stop looking so terrified of it. He pursed his lips together into a thin line and hastily shook his head, letting out protesting muffled sounds to stubbornly act like he isn't nettled. Cat really got his tongue, hm?]

Edited (Forgot something whoops) 2024-01-29 02:09 (UTC)

...Mmm. Alright, that's enough of that.

[Pop! Ears and tails gone. And she sighs a bit, shaking her head. That...is a ptsd response, not a simple phobia, huh? Well, she touched him, she knows why, but...]

Though, I suggest just coming clean, next time.

[Watching the feline appendages disappear to nothing did put him at ease, though it'll take him a minute or two to let the trembling and the feeling of his heart pounding against his chest subside. All Misaki's suggestion earned her was a glare from two small, blue pinpricked eyes.]

I don't have anything to come clean about to anyone. [He hissed out with a trace of venom to his voice, scoffing as he looked away.] It's not yours or anyone else's business. Now are we gonna get back to the fight, cause if not, just get outta here.

What a pity. Because this is an ailment I can treat, but if you don't want to talk about it...

[SHRUGGING EXAGERATTEDLY...]

Good. Cause I don't.

[Crossing his arms with a very exaggerated pout as he turned his back.]

... But out of curiosity, how would you treat it if someone else was interested?

Well, hypothetically speaking, treatments for phobias such as these are often controlled exposure therapy. In the case of..."someone else" having a very severe phobia, exposure wouldn't even start with real cats. Just like the body builds resistance to poisons by taking low doses over time, even starting with photos or a doll of a cat would be the starting dosage.

[She shrugs a bit.] Unfortunately, I lack access to my other methods.

[He listened in to her suggestions and... Gave her a look that read 'Really?' in the most unimpressed manner.. For a minute there, he actually thought she'd suggest something that could actually help.]

Look at pictures of cats and hold a doll of one. That's your best idea? [He shook his head, burying his fists in his pockets.] I- They [because he's totally not talking of himself no sirree] can look at photos of cats or touch a stuffed doll of one just fine. It's the real thing they can't be near, not for long. Pop already did his own form of 'exposure therapy' to 'cure the boy of his fear'. [That being to repeat the entire process of covering his son in more meats and throwing him back into the pit of cats.] So that ain't gonna work. Points for trying, I guess.

[He sighed and waved his hand dismissively, turning his back on the taller woman.] It's alright though. They're fine, they survived, it's not that big a deal. It sucks, but it just is what it is.

I imagine what their 'pops' tried made it worse, instead of actually helping? Exposure therapy only works if it's done right.

[Calling you out.]

There's no magic fix. But there are cats that cannot harm you if you do not harm them, as well.

[She shrugs, though.] Unless they're too afraid to try it.

Video || Introduction!

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