maskormenace | video

[ The feed opens with the uncomfortably close view of a tan nose and one dark nostril, and then the owner leans back to reveal more of his face; bright blue eyes, messy blonde hair, three whisker shaped marks down both of his cheeks... He gives the camera a stumped look. ] Uhh- [ Just as he opens his mouth to speak, the feed suddenly swishes upwards to grace the network with the view of his ceiling, and after crying out a loud "Come on!" hands appear to rearrange his set up. For a brief moment there's a flash of some upside down instant noodle cup that he was obviously using as a stand, and then the feed is focused on his face again. ]

Alright, are ya done now, little box? If I gotta prop you up one more time I'm gonna throw you out the window, so you better behave, y'know! [ Enough talking to the device, Naruto, talk to the network instead. ] Hey. I'm.... Naruto. [ He squints and scratches his face; he's not used to talking to boxes, so it's an understatement to say he's a little awkward about this exchange. ] ...In Konoha we use birds to send messages -- like, carrier hawks and stuff -- but even then I usually just find whoever I wanna talk to if I have to tell 'em somethin'.... and I've never even seen one of these things- [ He gestures at the camera; waving his hand blindly at the screen. ] -before, so uh.. this is kinda weird.

[ He sighs like his words are apology he's reluctant to give, and then settles his arms folded behind his head to assume a thinking pose. He's been told to introduce himself to the network using this little magic box, but... where to begin? His story is a long one, and despite usually being so intent on sharing it with others, now he finds himself little lost for words. After all, these people won't know what a Hokage is, or what an honor it is to be a Leaf ninja... They might not even know what a ninja is! ]

I come from the Land of Fire. I know you guys don't know where that is 'cause it doesn't exist anywhere near Am-ri-ka... [ An excellent attempt, Naruto, but it might have been better if your attempt had sounded anything like the word it was intended to. ]... but I've been told it's kinda like your Japan? Anyways, I'm a ninja of the Leaf village there, and one day I'm gonna be the leader of that village. Just as soon as I get back home and straighten everythin' out. I got some promises to keep.

[ He pauses for a second, then his face splits in a grin. He can't help it. How can he be sad when he's thinking of home and all the faces that will be so happy to see him when he gets back? ] It's still kinda hard to believe this isn't genjutsu, y'know. Except genjutsu is usually pretty awful, and this place isn't so bad. I got a job and stuff to do, and one of my team mates even lives close by! [ A look flashes across his face, a twitch playing at the corner of his mouth... then his voice grows firm and his eyes sparkle with defiance. ] It'd be better if all my friends were here, but that's okay. I'll be back with 'em soon.

In the mean time, I guess we're all in this together, so if anyone ever needs me, I'll be around y'know!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Uhhh, yeah kinda! Except you don't throw it away like a battery, you gotta sit down and wait for it to- [ What's that word??? Ah yeah. ] -recharge.

My world doesn't have robots or complicated machines or nothin' like that, so I dunno if this is gettin' through to you, but... Ninja are people who have a kinda extra battery, so where normal people can do normal stuff on one battery, ninja have a special chakra battery that they can use to do special ninja stuff.

[ God this is... sounding more complicated by the second. So much for being concise. ]

[ Yes! Okay! That! But he is actually following along fairly well. It's just the whole bouncing back words that is super hard to get across. He knows things. He does. He even understands things. But verbalizing that is what he struggles with constantly. ]

Do you practice? Learn how to work?

Oh yeah- hell yeah! [ He's glad this seems to be getting through. He's not the most intelligent person himself, and his weird way of talking and understanding things often baffles the best brand of genius his world has to offer, so.. It's a miracle this guy is understanding him at all, really. ]

I train every day, y'know! Gotta keep my skills sharp otherwise I'll lose my touch!

[Ooo, hat was enthusiastic. And if he starts saying hell after this, it's totally your fault!!! Except not really, since he doesn't always grasp the small things. But considering he's used to an eight year old explaining the way the world works... he's pretty good with alternative approaches.

Which is to say, kowabunga is part of his vernacular. ]

Like practicing words. Forget if you don't try. [ That's what they tell him at least. ] Are there lots?

[ Oh. He doesn't have this word. ] Lots of ninjas?

Heh, yeah... [ Though Naruto has never had any trouble with forgetting his words, or... forgetting to practice them. There's obviously something different about this guy; even Naruto can tell that there's some kind of communication barrier between them that goes further than just misunderstanding. ]

There's a lot of ninjas back in my home world - loads of us, we're everywhere - but here? Not so much. So far I've only met one so far. Lucky for me it was one of my friends from my home world.

[ Learning how to speak when you're already fully formed and created? And not meant for speaking? Kind of difficult. But hey, it's a proces. An everyday process. ]

A person from your home? [ That's so cool! ] Are they as good as you?

[ Take 'good' as you will. ]

Heh, no-one's as good as me. [ He jabs himself in the chest with a thumb. ] I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna lead my village one day. I'm gonna be the best, and I'm gonna prove it to everyone who ever said I couldn't do it!

[ There you go, now you've had the shounen speech; congratulations, dude, you've been officially introduced to Naruto. ]

[ Oh boy. What is this- what is happening here. He doesn't even know what to say to that but it sounds impressive. You sound so impressive!!! ]

Naruto. [ He's big on names too - saying them, especially - so this is important okay. ] Who said?

[ THAT'S SO GREAT. Naruto is beside himself with joy when the guy says his name. He can tell even by this amount of limited exposure, how much it means that he said his name, and he grins at the sound of it. His happiness is such that discussing the next topic doesn't manage to mute it by even a fraction. ]

I was hated in my village for bein' somethin' I wasn't, and everyone used to look at me with this hatred in their eyes... They all said I'd never be anythin' and laughed when I told 'em I'd be Hokage one day... but then I saved the village, I protected my friends and my people, and I'm one step closer to provin' them wrong.

[ Dude you are 100% full speed ahead, aren't you. All the time. This probably has something to do with the fact that he's used to being quiet and listening to Hogarth go on obsessively about things, all flailing limbs and gesticulation and him just sitting there like a giant robotic sponge.

Or something. ]

The people.. know? You saved them? [ Because he hopes they know. ]

Oh yeah, they gave me this overwhelming kind of.. welcome home, when I got back..

[ His tone drops from enthusiastic boasting to a kind of quiet, affectionate mumble. It had been the first time, after all, that he'd seen the people of his village look at him with anything other than distaste. ]

I thought they'd be angry, 'cos I didn't arrive in time to save the buildings or anythin'... But no-one was hurt at the end of it. They threw me up in the air and cheered and..

[ He looks up then; scratching the back of his hair and blushing like he'd just been caught talking to himself. ]

But, uuh- yeah. Yeah, they know.

video | 001

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject