futurology | voice, @TARANTO

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voice, @TARANTO

So we got a buncha old fashioned guys who are used to swinging around swords all the time and stuff, right? It seems like it, I can't go 20 feet without tripping over someone that's never seen a minipad before. God, would it kill that rift stuff to start taking more people from the modern era?

Anyway, point is I need one of you guys — or, hell, a buncha you guys — to start teaching. I've got some students in mind, foremost being me, because the training room here doesn't cut it if you've never even seen a fucking sword before. And if anyone else sucks at medieval stuff too lemme know, we'll make it a whole party.

Achilles and Koltira, you guys are my top medieval guys that know what you're doing, don't you fucking ignore this.

[ a beat ]

Also, I've got this little super strength issue where I might break any weapons I try and use, so... there's that, too. Still working on that obstacle. Any ideas, lemme know.

[ ooc: here's a planning post for teaching stuff!! ]

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[The wolf whistle earns a mildly startled blink--not exactly a reaction he was expecting here, and it takes him a moment to realize she's talking about the bartender suit. Ah...he glances down at himself.]

Dunno, didn't think it was too important. I've still got shades on, so that's what counts, isn't it? [He pushes the shades in question a little further up his nose, as if for emphasis, before plucking the cigarette from between his lips and tapping off the ash as he solemnly studies Ramir for a moment.

Honestly, she doesn't seem excessively muscle-bound herself, for a person strong enough to have problems with breaking weapons a lot. But that only serves to be pretty reassuring, because he's the same way. Maybe he really has found somebody who's got the same sort of problem he does, here?]

Anyway, you're that Taranto person, right?

Edited (words...) 2016-06-27 14:46 (UTC)

Yep! [ It's kind of charming when people use her nickname, she almost doesn't want to give out the other option. But, because she's such a nice person: ] Or Ana Ramir, either one's fine.

[ She pulls herself to her feet, leaning to stick out a hand for a shake, which is definitely a trap. What better way to test out his strength than immediately, with too tight a squeeze? It wouldn't break normal fingers, but it'd definitely hurt the average hand. ]

Ah, gotcha. [So generous of you Ramir...introductions though, that's right.] Heiwajima Shizuo. Just Shizuo's fine, too. [And then--oh, she's going in for a handshake...

Handshakes aren't really Shizuo's favorite things in the world, generally. They don't happen a lot back home to start with, and on top of that it's always a form of contact that he has to pay especial attention to--since it's almost too easy to break somebody's fingers that way, especially if you're unnecessarily strong and not paying attention. He usually handles them very, very gingerly.

But he takes Ramir's hand and she's squeezing immediately--and it's a pretty strong grip, surprisingly so! Enough for Shizuo to return it almost automatically, startled as he is by it; for anybody else this would be a pretty vice-like handshake on both sides. Shizuo doesn't seem to react to the strength of the handshake apart from this, however, not so much as wincing. If there's any pain to be had, he's either an excellent poker face or entirely oblivious to it. (It's the latter.)]

Gotta ask, do you usually challenge other people to arm-wrestling contests in your first conversation with them?

[ Okay, that's a pretty good sign, that he doesn't even notice the too-tight grip. Ramir might actually get a challenge out of this guy, maybe. She'd been worried he was just some sort of strong guy — he might even have invulnerability like her, who knows? ]

Well, you're not the first. [ He and Undyne have something in common, how nice. She releases his hand with a smile that's almost nice, and gestures back to the bench she'd stood up from. ] Let's do this shit, right?

Huh. Guess there's worse ways to get to know someone...

[It's maybe almost vaguely amused. Maybe. Even if Shizuo's expression remains stuck in its neutral frown for now, even at the smile leveled his way. But she gestures to the bench and he nods, eyeing it himself.]

Right. Ah, let's see, then... [Shizuo slowly and absentmindedly starts rolling his right arm's sleeve up to the elbow, as he moves to settle in position and waits for Ramir to do the same.] I've never actually done an arm-wrestle before, but I'm guessing it's pretty simple. Whoever's arm hits the table first, or whatever? [He's watched enough other people doing it to get the gist, at least.]

[ She's a whole lot less slow about it. She just shrugs off her jacket, plunks herself down, and slams her elbow onto the table, ready.

Brightly: ] You got it. Just push my arm down. [ And, with a confident grin: ] If you can, of course.

[ She takes his hand with hers once they're both set up, and: ] On three.

[Looks like somebody's pretty ready to get this started, at any rate. But it's to the point, and Shizuo can appreciate that. He meets her confident grin with slightly arching eyebrows, and simply shrugs.]

We're about to find out, hah. Okay...one, two--

[The third second's unspoken, but as soon as the timing lines up he's setting his grip in hers. Ah...in all honesty, he's still half-wondering if this prospect of finding a match in strength is a little too good to be true. It's literally never happened before, and he still doesn't actually want to injure this person he's barely met...

But to Shizuo's credit he doesn't let this doubt water down his initial attempt too much. He presses in a pretty firm sideways push with his arm as soon as they're set to go, with enough force to heave most normal people completely off the bench (and, possibly, fling them a quarter way across the courtyard). But he's really hoping Ramir is a bit above normal-person caliber. It's what he's banking on here...]

[ Ramir has similar doubts, but hers make her more cautious. It's more than just not trusting anyone else to really know how they match against her without trying it — it's the strong discomfort she feels thinking she wasn't completely under her own control, when she's accidentally hurt someone.

So her arm dips back, almost dangerously so, before she realizes that, shit, he wasn't kidding. That's when the grin comes back, and she pushes with a burst of strength to bring their hands back up about to the midpoint. ]

Oh, man, you're not bad!

[Really, his arm does not at all look like it should be putting out the force it is at the moment. Without a shirtsleeve it's downright skinny, no evident muscle to be found, but here they are evening each other out and finding some mutual surprise for it.

Possibly moreso for Shizuo, neutral expression starting to slip into something a lot more startled as Ramir proceeds to...not fly off the bench. And even force his arm back upright. Ah, this is...there's no give. There's almost no give? He's punched through stone walls with more give than this. He pushes back harder, with proper effort this time, and it's actually outright difficult.

Surprise slips into a grin of his own, automatic, half disbelieving and half increasingly pleased.]

Ah, speak for yourself-- [Warming up to the competition now, he attempts another hearty push to bend her arm at least a little past midway. Did the bench just creak a little? Is stone even supposed to creak like that? Ah, who cares...] You're not holding back on me here or anything though, are you? I'd almost think this is your first time arm-wrestling too--

Edited 2016-07-17 21:04 (UTC)

[ She laughs, which loses her a couple of inches as her strength wavers. Shortly after she grits her teeth and puts on another burst, gaining back exactly that much and no more. Man, this is hard. ]

Man, lookit you — you even got the shittalking down.

[ And then she really tries, pushing on hard... and not really finding much give. Man. This is even harder than when she took on Undyne. Is she starting to sweat, for once? The bench gives another creak — probably fine. ]

[Man, and here he thought he'd gained the upper hand for a bit here--but no, that bit of give was just because of the laugh, and soon enough Ramir is renewing her efforts enough that Shizuo huffs a little in turn. It's almost kind of surreal having to concentrate on pushing against something this hard for once...any bit of attention lost and his arm wavers and tilts by inches. Like it does now, for a brief burst of his own, at Ramir's particular remark there.]

Hey, look, I don't get to do it very often... [Which is true, he really doesn't. Not in this sort of situation, which is a situation that's...never actually happened.

But geez, is he actually going to lose with this? --No, that would be really lame though, losing on his first try...and so Shizuo puts in a sincere effort himself this time, against a push from Ramir hard enough he can actually feel the muscles in his arm straining. Hell, when's the last time he felt something like that? Not since he was a kid, for sure...

And, under the combined pressure of the both of them, the bench finally decides creaking isn't providing enough of a warning, and gives a definitive crack--before promptly snapping in half, dropping both of their elbows in the process.] --Oh, shit!

[ Oh shit, indeed. Ramir instinctively hops up, releasing his hand and springing back as she has a mini heartattack, which lasts right up until she realizes what's happened. They're so strong they broke the fucking bench. Then comes the laughter.

She sinks back down into her seat, dropping her forehead into her hand, helpless with laughter. Still, she manages to get out: ] Oh my god, we're too badass. It couldn't take it.

[Ramir leaps up, and Shizuo moves in the exact opposite direction, the break being sudden enough after all the arm-wrestling strain that he very nearly faceplants into the remnants of the bench. He manages to swing himself upright just in time, thankfully for his dignity, and then he's half-standing himself as he also takes a moment to figure out what even happened...it doesn't take long to connect the dots, though. Shizuo remains standing, staring at the bench halves while Ramir collapses into laughter, and...honestly? It's pretty contagious, for a number of reasons.

There was barely any give, not once. She's not hurt at all. They actually broke the bench arm-wrestling...and then Shizuo's laughing too, running a hand through his hair for a sheer lack of having any idea what else to do at the moment.]

Damn, I--I had a feeling? I knew this was going to happen, damn it... [He can't even pretend to be indignant about this, however, the words huffed out between the laughing.] Hah, what's this even supposed to count as, are there rules for this? Is this a tie?

[A tie...she's just as strong as he is, holy shit--]

You fucking did not, or you wouldn't have been scared by it. I saw that jump. [ Like it didn't scare the crap out of her, too. Her laughter's finally settling down enough to get actual full sentences out, but her grin is huge. ]

That's definitely a tie. [ And she looks delighted about it, perched on her broken bench and grinning up at him. ] Never tied before. God, what're the odds?

[ She'd been easily the strongest person she knew at home, and of course she knows here the rules are different, there's extraordinary people littered all over ALASTAIR — but to find someone as strong as she is? That's pretty cool. ]

Oi, I wasn't expecting it to be that quick, anybody'd still be surprised!

[Ah, what is air...he needs to calm down. It's not very often when a feeling this strong isn't his temper trying to burn its way out of his chest, though--and this time it's some bizarre blend of happiness and utter relief, a kind he hasn't felt in a long time. Not since that incident with that demon knife, was it? Realizing he could go all-out against Saika had sort of felt like this too. But this time...this time there's not even fighting at all. Unless you count the arm-wrestle in itself, and really, with this verdict it probably doesn't count at all...

Shizuo puffs out a sigh hard enough to bend his frame forward a little, hand moving from his head to his mouth as he tries to stifle the rest of this ridiculous laughing. He's still visibly grinning himself, though--Ramir definitely isn't the only delighted party here, at the moment.]

Man, I don't even know, though...I always thought the odds were pretty much zero, to be honest? I've never tied before either. Not with anybody else like that, just now? Ah... [He leans back on the balls of his feet, appraising Ramir as if he's seeing an entirely different person all of a sudden.] Thought I was always going to be the only one.

[ The way he talks about strength resonates with Ramir. For Undyne it had been apparently pretty normal, not really something all that strange, not even when Ramir had (just barely) won. Shizuo sounds more like Ramir would have before getting here and running into the stiffer competition. Her grin simmers down into just a fond smile, and she pats the mostly intact bench next to her to invite him to a seat. ]

Same. [ Well, that's not quite accurate. ] I mean — I think my grandma could do the same thing? Maybe. She's dead now, back home, so who knows.

[ (If she says it light like that, he'll probably think she's just fine with that little fact. That's something she's not getting into with a brand new friend.) ]

Were you always strong, or did you get it somewhere?

[The gesture's a pretty self-explanatory one, and Shizuo's now in too good a mood to have any second thoughts about it. What second thoughts would there be to have, anyway? Not like he's going to be hurting this particular person anytime soon, by the looks of it, much less by sitting next to her--

So he does at the invitation, still working the last few chortles out of his system. By the time Ramir starts elaborating a little on her own situation he's pushed himself into settling down a bit, at least, planting both hands on his knees and visibly interested at this news.]

What, so like a family thing? [Ramir's lightly-passing mention of her grandmother's death does manage to fly below the radar easily enough--Shizuo assumes it's that sort of situation where a grandparent dies before you really get to know them, or something. Happens to plenty of people. Ramir doesn't make a big deal of it, and there's plenty else to hold his attention at the moment anyway.

Like the question, which earns a shrug. Shizuo sits back, as well as he can manage on this silly half-broken bench.] Nah, I'm pretty sure I didn't get it from anywhere. Nobody else in my family has this sort of thing, as far as I know...it just kind of happened when I was a kid. Around seven. [He hums, moving to dig around for something in an inner pocket of his waistcoat. Distractedly:] Broke about ten different bones picking up a fridge the first time.

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