☂ video; un: liches.get.stitches

[spellslots]

Hail and well met, my dudes.
 
[Despite not having much experience with this kind of video technology, Taako has adapted pretty quickly, mostly because he’s vain as hell and gets to take pictures? Of himself? It’s amazing. So the camera is centered properly, he’s got Disguise Self cast to look the way he’s supposed to, and his stupidly long hair is braided down his back. ]

I got a couple'a things I wanna ask, figured this is the easiest way to do it.

[He holds up a finger, to count the first question:]

So weird thing here, has anyone heard of this fucked up black oil that, uh, that destroys worlds, I guess? [He casts Minor Illusion and the oil, similar to what he saw in Palmon's prophecy, appears in his hand. It's thick and dark and kind of unsettling.] Listen, I'm not really sure exactly what it is, but it's bad. When I saw this stuff, shit was like it'd drowned everything in sight. And uh, the gods are gone, seems like. Which is weird as hell and might be related. This ringing any bells?

[That was the worst explanation ever, but in his defence it's a pretty confusing situation. He's trying his best.]

Second lil thing. [He holds up a second finger, dropping the illusion so the oil disappears.] What the hell are all you thugs doing for money, 'cause gotta admit, I haven't got a whole lot of marketable skills but I'm fast running out of that sweet sweet cash and would really love to not starve, you know? Toss some ideas at me, I'm all ears.

[Get it, because he's an elf.

Well at least he thinks he's funny, since he's chuckling as he clicks off the video.]

Comments

c.d

[staystrong]

Why don't you do the whole cooking thing? At least you can get a real job.

[Someone is thirteen and bitter.]

[spellslots]

It takes years to get anywhere with cooking, my dude.

[Or at least, it does where he's from, because there's no easy ways to advertise and get the word out. He'd have to start from scratch again and that seems way too daunting.]

Who's gonna take a chance on some asshole who's got no resume?

[staystrong]

You don't think you could cook up a few things? Show people what you can do?

I mean we were kinda pulled through a portal. They have to know you're not going to be carrying a resume on you.

[spellslots]

[On the plus side, nowhere here knows about those forty people dying.]

I mean, I guess?

[Here's the thing: for someone who talks a lot of shit about how great he is, Taako isn't entirely sure he could pull it off.]

Just seems like a lot of faith for these guys to put in someone they don't know.

[staystrong]

What else are they going to do? Never hire us for anything?

[They brought them here. They might as well let them earn cash in a way that doesn't involve guarding the fence. She knows there are others here that have gotten jobs because she's spent a little too much time being jealous of them. She gets a stipend, an allowance like a child.

Yeah it's free money, but it's also a reminder that she won't be taken as seriously here.]

It's worth a shot.

@eddie

[causational]

[Eddie is not used to doing a lot of video chatting, so he's a little more uncertain, the camera is slightly shaky for a few moments until he finds a more flattering angle.]

I've never seen black oil that destroys worlds before. Or gods who you could actually tell were gone or not. But maybe I could help with the job thing? What kind of skills do you have?

[spellslots]

[Eddie, the fantasy wizard is better at this than you are, that's embarrassing.]

Sounds like you got shitty gods.

[He has a small bag in his pocket that was literally a gift from a god, so it's weird to think of ones that just don't like, chill?]

Uh, I can do magic shit and I can cook, that's all I got.

[causational]

[Look, tech and pop culture isn't really his bag. But he does manage a genuine smile.]

You could say that. Most of the time, I'm not convinced they even exist.

[A little shrug, and he brightens a bit at that.]

Right, you said you could cook! I bet you could get a job in a restaurant, if you're good at it.

[spellslots]

Ours deffo do, I met Istus, she's rad.

[Mostly because she made sure they didn't die, which was nice!]

Gotta say, not super into going back to square one at some shitty restaurant.

[Because he's still just assuming he'd have to start from the bottom and work his way up.]

[burntbridges]

Do you think your world's gods would have power over this world? You might be worrying for no reason.

[All her religious investigations have left her to believe that this world is very, very different from any of the volunteers'.]

[spellslots]

'Cause whatever this shit is, I don't think it's just my world, and my gut tells me that oil is connected to the gods disappearing.

[He's not good at this, and he only has about a tenth of the information available, but if this oil can cross planes, which he thinks it can, then this place isn't safe either.]

[burntbridges]

[Well... she can tell he's seriously worried about it, and all the more if he's willing to admit it.]

How much do you know about it? If it is a danger, we have knowledge from all sorts of worlds, so we're in a good position for getting rid of it.

[spellslots]

Honestly, bubbale, not a whole lot.

[If only one of his stupid friends would actually share information, but Taako hasn' got a lot to go on.]

I saw a prophecy with the stuff in it, like the whole world was drowning. And I watched-- I watched someone get pulled into it, into the astral plane.

[Somebody help Kravitz.]

r.lynch

[somnioergosum]

[This is one of the rare times Ronan glances at his phone-- not phone-- whatever the hell it is. He's about to turn it off when he sees that illusion. His blood runs cold.

Ronan being Ronan, he doesn't take a moment to compose himself before responding. Scratch that, he takes a moment to figure out how to work the thing and then responds. There's no illusion to give his shaved head any ridiculously long hair. It suits him-- suits his rough edges, sharp voice, and gleaming eyes.

What black oil?

[spellslots]

That's what I'm asking, my man!

[He can dig the buzzed look, some people rock it. He absolutely can not, but you know.]

I've only seen it once for real and once in a prophecy, but it feels big, ya know? Important, dangerous, all that fun shit.

[somnioergosum]

[Ronan tries to sound casual in the way that he tried to pass his classes: completely half-assed.]

Yeah, I need more information. Like if this prophecy involves demons or witches or whatever.

[He's mostly just interested in demons but he won't rule out witches, psychics, or psychopaths.]

[spellslots]

Well like, I'm a wizard, dude.

[That seems like a reasonable place to start, if this guy is asking about witches or whatever, although he really doesn't want to repeat the "demons" =/= "wizards" conversation he had with Sera.]

And I'm pretty sure Paloma was a witch, that's how she does the whole prophecy thing. The prophecy was just like, these two worlds, one was covered in ash, completely fucking dead, and the other one had this oil shit all over it.

[And apparently the fate of reality is up to him, so that's cool.

(It's not cool).]

@cjk [ locked audio ]

[signifies]

I haven't heard of this oil. Did you find out where it came from or how to get rid of it?

locked audio

[spellslots]

[Taako matches the way Clark responds; it's easier than messing around with video.]

Not a damn clue. I gotta make a fucking choice about it, to save reality or whatever. Not looking forward to that shit.

[It sounds flippant, but that much pressure is utterly terrifying.]

[signifies]

They might have something in the library. There's books from other worlds.

[ He's familiar with this burden, and wouldn't wish it on anyone. ]

[spellslots]

Oh, huh, that's good to know.

[He'd kind of assumed that there wouldn't be, but now he knows he'll have to go check it out, both for any information on the oil, and to see if there's any spell books he can use.]

Thanks for the tip, my man.

@bennotwill

[snarkbark]

You don't have marketable skills? I've been in exactly one hundred and seventy high schools and haven't graduated from a single one! My mom lied to me! People do need jobs!

[spellslots]

[That gets a laugh, sorry Ben.]

Welcome to the real world, pumpkin. It's rough out here.

[snarkbark]

I can't believe my mom would lie to me like this.

[spellslots]

That's lesson number two, adults are liars.