IC Inbox

[vrdantwind]

"Hey, this is Claude! Pretty sure I'm doing this correctly. You can leave me a message here, and I'll get to it as soon as I can. Talk to you soon~."

Comments

[vrdantwind]

Hey, it's fine! I'm glad you figured out how to reach me. I'm still learning this technology stuff, so.

Nice to talk when we don't have to pretend to be fighting, too! Man, I wonder if that actually fooled anyone. You were a real force to be reckoned with when it came to the real thing, compared to how easy you had to go on me...I don't know how convincing our act could've been.

Whoa, Dirk? This wouldn't be Dirk Strider, would it? Only he's the guy I had to get a secret Santa gift for. I've been wondering who he is. Sounds like he's been having a rough time, in any case...and I was told I ought to talk to that Solus guy awhile back, too, but I don't know him either.

Bats, huh? It really does sound like a lot of people are having bad luck this month. We've been getting mistaken for some band a lot...it's been pretty annoying, but honestly I'm handling it better than most of my friends are, so I can't complain too much. And my pokémon are doing a lot better than usual, for some reason...

[Yeah, Claude was one of the lucky people who got Great Fortune from the Snorunts, which has been translating into extra levels for his team. Feel free to resent him a little, Akane.]

I didn't realize it was all the Snorunts' doing, though. They can really make all sorts of weird things like that happen?

[uncutetomboy]

yes it's dirk strider

he seems like a shady person on the outside but inside he's very sweet and kind and responsible

when i was in love with someone here and torn up because i have a fiance back home that i care about too (our parents arranged it) he gave me really good advice about what to do

also mr solus is his best friend here and he's living at his house while his leg is broken and i'm helping him (mr solus) because i can't go on the road to do the kanto gyms with cassandra until the thief cats and the stupid bats are gone

[It's not a lie. He's his best friend and his boyfriend, just like Connie was her best friend and her girl friend.]

but yeah snorunts can curse you

it might be my fault we're all cursed because i caught one looking up my skirt so i kicked it

anyway, thank you for thinking i'm good and i guess i might be the best person back home to fight big mobs like that but when it comes to smaller groups i'm actually outclassed these days

[vrdantwind]

Well! Glad to hear my gift went to a deserving individual, then. Shame about his leg. Maybe I should send him another gift for while he's laid up...

I hope everything worked out with the fiance and the other person you fell for, though. From my own personal experience, it's possible to love more than one person...although whether or not you can pursue more than one relationship kind of depends on the people involved.

Well, can't say I blame you for the kicking if the Snorunt was being that cheeky! Although I'm surprised pokémon would care about that kind of thing. I'm sorry you got such a backlash, though. Hopefully all those miserable things pass relatively soon.

And hey, I know a good fighter when I see one. There was actually a war on back home, so I've seen plenty of fighting. Granted, only a few brave souls are out there fighting people with weapons with their fists...but the ones that are, almost nobody can touch them. You've got to be tough for that. And who cares if you're more crowd control than a one-on-one duelist? Everyone's got their specialties. You're not a lesser fighter just for not excelling in every area simultaneously. It sounds like the people you're comparing yourself to would be just as lost trying to fight big groups like you do as you might be trying to fight the one-on-one battles they do.

[uncutetomboy]

my fiance is still back home and my friend (who was my girlfriend for a little while) went home too, but for a little while it worked out

dirk pointed out that ranma (my fiance) might never show up here and if connie (my girlfriend) disappeared i would regret not telling her my feelings and he was right that i don't regret telling her before she disappeared and ranma was only here ever for a weird weekend

anyway

that does make me feel better what you said about me not being a lesser fighter, even if *ranma* probably can do everything, but ranma's ridiculous like that

everyone else we know does have specialties and no one *else* was raised since they were two to be the greatest martial artist that ever lived

also i think sending dirk another present would be very nice for him! he likes horses and stuffed toys and anime and puppets and flat orange soda and wearing shades to "be cool" and he doesn't like sleeves or red meat or the ocean

[vrdantwind]

Some people are just good at everything and it's kind of unfair. But there aren't many people like that, so all we can do is accept that we're good in the areas we are good in, and that most people have their weaknesses the same as we do.

Boy, this guy Dirk's got some interesting likes and dislikes. What's anime?

[Oh god.]

[uncutetomboy]

um, you know what TV and movies are, right?

anime is when you do TV or movies, but instead of having moving photographs, they have moving drawings

[Claude is saved by Akane interpreting that as 'what is animation?' and not 'what is Japanese animation that fanboys love?']

ranma isn't good at everything but ranma is good at the important things like martial arts

[vrdantwind]

I know about them in the sense I've learned about them here, at least, but they're not something we had back home. I can't claim to be familiar with them.

I think I've seen some of those animations you're talking about...but I've heard them called cartoons? Is anime different?

And from what I've seen, you're plenty good at martial arts yourself. Just because other people may be better doesn't mean you should sell short your own skill.

[uncutetomboy]

cartoons and anime are basically two words for the same thing

[Well, if you're Japanese they are and Akane is Japanese. 'Anime' is her language's umbrella term after all.]

dirk's favorite kind of anime is the stuff they make back home in japan, he likes it better than a lot of western stuff (except the kind with little ponies)

and i guess you're right, it's just hard when i went from the best in town to barely in the top ten in the space of a year

[vrdantwind]

Well, if it's not a case of your skills getting worse - which it doesn't seem to be - and the talent pool around you simply expanding...that can be a little disheartening in how it reminds you that skill and position are always relative, but it can also be the most fertile ground for making greater strides in your chosen field. Nothing helps you hone your skill more than healthy competition, right? Being surrounded by people who are better than you are at things makes climbing to greater heights and learning more than you knew before almost inevitable.

[uncutetomboy]

yeah i guess. ranma always rises to the occasion when that happens to them

[Now Akane feels bad that she hasn't been using everyone who's drifted into town as a goad to improve her martial arts.]

[vrdantwind]

Oh, is Ranma a them too? We're traveling with someone who goes by them. [Claude finds it interesting. It hadn't really been something that was very common back in their own world, but he'd never really had any issues accepting the idea that perhaps gender is a more complex beast than people give it credit for. It certainly seems harmless enough to just call people whatever they like. He'd adjusted to Chip quite readily.]

That said, there's nothing stopping you from you doing the same. If you haven't yet, then you can always start!

[uncutetomboy]

ranma is complicated? that's why i've been using 'them' for ranma lately [Or rather 'that person' but translation effect.] but i don't know what ranma would prefer these days

them seems safest