[Video]

[lonered]

[Keith spent a long time debating whether to bother with video for this or just go with text. But the truth is, for what he's aiming for, it's better to do this virtual-face to virtual-face. Or something. He's even done bothering with the frankly ridiculous mask. For now.

The video opens to a fairly normal looking teenager (aside from the fact that what's visible of him is definitely dressed in a skin-tight vaguely glowy futuristic space suit), hesitating a moment like he's still debating on how to begin.]

So. Uh.

[Good start, Keith. Solid.]

I guess all of us are stuck in the same boat whether we want to be or not. And apparently that boat is headed for some other world before we know it.

I'll be honest. I don't know if we can trust this Astoria as far as we can throw her. [And he knows she can hear this, but he's said as much to her face, so there's that.] But for now I guess I plan on going along to see how things play out. [Which after discussing with Shiro, he feels pretty okay about, as plans go.]

But... just waltzing into other worlds, and potentially meddling in them... that could go bad really quickly if someone makes an enemy of the wrong person. If that happens, it might not be a terrible idea to know what we've got on our side.

Not just magic either. Because... that's really new to me at least. But we all bring some experience or skills or knowledge or something to the table, right? If we're gonna be any sort of team, we may as well know our strengths. And what we might be lacking.

[Maybe? Keith is now wondering if it was a bad idea to give him a way to talk to so many people at once. But he's committed now, no help for it. So he'll even go first.]

I'm Keith. Uh... I guess I'm pretty good with a sword. Pretty good in anything that flies. And I'm mostly used to being in space, lately. But it does't sound like that'll be helpful in this El Minha place. Also apparently I can fly now. So... there's that.

Anyone else feel like sharing?


(( hit him up, hit each other up, threadjack as you like! ))

Comments

[ video ]

[buff_for_a_nerd]

I know a few things about magic. The problem with that is that exactly what magic means seems to vary pretty drastically depending on where you are.

[ But that's not his primarily relevant skill in most cases. ]

I know a lot about supernatural creatures and how to deal with them. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves... Things like that.

[ video ]

[lonered]

Yeah. There don't seem to be super clear rules for what it even means right here.

[Which is. Awesome. Really. Keith's eyebrows lift at that next bit.]

Huh. Those are things where you're from? Outside horror movies? [What sort of world is this Sam. Keith will take space aliens any day.]

[buff_for_a_nerd]

The only magic that works here is Astoria's, and yeah, I don't understand how hers works either.

[ He can't blame you for preferring space aliens, man. Once you know about the things that he's had to deal with, it's hard to sleep soundly anymore. Some people cope with it better than others, but it's rarely a positive change. ]

Yes. The movies don't get them exactly right, but most stories are based off of some truth. Some things actually exist because people believe in them. Some of them are harmless, just trying to live under the radar, but others aren't so innocuous.

[ Not exactly a cheerful subject, he knows, but he figures he should mention it now before they potentially land in a place where such things exist like they do back home. ]

[lonered]

The only magic I'm used to is what the Princess used to power the ship and open wormholes, and the stuff Zarkon's druids played at.

[But okay. So at least in some universes those things are real. That is unsettling. Exceptionally unsettling. But this guy seems pretty reasonable and logical about it. Keith can appreciate that.

He can also really appreciate the "some of them are harmless" part.]

Not all things that are supposed to be monsters act like monsters. [He agrees because that one struck home for him.]

And you know how to deal with them. So what... you fight against those sorts of things? Or are they just that common in your world that everyone is used to dealing with them?

[buff_for_a_nerd]

[ Sam doesn't know what any of that means, but it sounds complicated. And therefore familiar. ]

No one gets to choose how they're created, at least not anyone I've ever met, but we do have a choice as to what we do with ourselves. I've met 'monsters' who just wanted to live a normal life, and I've met humans who were worse than any rabid vampire I've run into. I learned not to make assumptions a long time ago.

[ It's deeply personal issue for him too. There's obviously a lot of emotion underneath those words, but he seems to relax a little as he goes on. ]

Most people don't have any idea. My brother and I are what we call hunters, we track down the things that hurt innocent people.

[lonered]

Yeah, good. I think you've got the right idea.

[And it sounds like it matters to this guy too, which Keith can definitely appreciate. Part of him is curious, but it's not exactly something he can ask questions about. For now anyway. All right.]

Okay. So you're definitely the expert on these sorts of things if they come up. That's good to know. Got a name, hunter?

[buff_for_a_nerd]

[ There's definitely some mutual issues underneath this for both of them, and Sam has to wonder if their situations are anything alike. It's not something he'll ask about either, but he will keep it in mind. ]

Sam Winchester.

[ He'd offer to shake hands if they were in person, but as it is he'll leave it at that. ]

For what it's worth, my 'ability' seems to be magical resistance. It only works on things that directly affect me, or things I can touch as far as I can tell. I guess it might be useful at some point.

[lonered]

[A little nod of acknowledgment. Sam. Keith's already got this guy filed into the "probably can handle himself in a fight" category, if he's used to taking out supernatural monsters.]

...huh. So you're just like an off switch? Think you could show me how it works sometime?

[Keith will volunteer his own magic to be affected because he's way too curious about this.]

[buff_for_a_nerd]

Something like that, and sure, it should be easy enough to test with yours.

[ There are some powers that he's not so eager to have aimed at him for the sake of experimentation, and others that seem to have very specific situations where they can even work, but if Keith's is flying, then that's fairly harmless and simple to work with. ]

I could probably use the practice too.

[ He's still wary about these powers, but by all appearances this is nothing like what he's dealt with before. ]

[lonered]

Great, then let's have some practice and a demonstration. You can try to knock me out of the air.

[Keith will play guinea pig, and it should be obvious when his power is nullified, considering he'll drop like a rock. So long as he keeps himself fairly close to the ground, it should be fine.]

Sounds like fun.

[ video ]

[bowtiedbones]

[it's video, but she's still raising her hand like a volunteer]

I know about supernatural creatures too! But those have the same thing with magic and different worlds, what I know probably doesn't match up at all with what you know. Like, vampirism, on what I know? Sooo not supernatural at all.

[ video ]

[buff_for_a_nerd]

You have vampires too?

[ There is so much to learn about these different worlds. ]

That's helpful to know though. If we find anything like that it's just a matter of figuring out which 'type' it is.

Re: [ video ]

[bowtiedbones]

Sure, but the kind we have at home are just people suffering from a side effect of magic gone wrong. It's not something I need to worry about though, since I have good familiars.

[buff_for_a_nerd]

Do they still drink blood?

[ He chuckles at himself and shakes his head. ]

Every time I talk to you I just end up asking more questions.

[bowtiedbones]

As long as your questions can be answered, it works out~

And they do, but it's a misplaced instinct trying to correct a deficiency, so if you correct the deficiency, you correct the symptoms and then no more blood-drinking!

[buff_for_a_nerd]

You're batting a thousand so far.

It's possible to make a cure for our kind of vampirism, but you have to administer it before they've fed.

[bowtiedbones]

What, like an EpiPen?

[buff_for_a_nerd]

Not exactly. It's a concoction that they have to drink, and it's pretty disgusting, but it works.

[bowtiedbones]

But it's still something you could stock in an ambulance, right?

[buff_for_a_nerd]

You could mix the 'base' ingredients and keep that on hand, so you'd just have to add blood from the vampire that turned them.

[ Like he said, pretty disgusting, but necessary. ]

We don't have to do it often. You don't get vampirism just from being bitten by one, you have to ingest their blood.

[bowtiedbones]

Ohh.

[She knows one has-to-drink-blood-to-live vampire, one from a different world than hers, but she's never asked him how turning works for them. It seemed rude. Now she has extra double reason to never ask.]

Ew.

[buff_for_a_nerd]

Yeah.

It's worse for werewolves. As far as I know, there's no cure for that.

[ Despite every effort they've made to find one. That's still a bit of a sore spot for Sam. ]

[bowtiedbones]

Are your werewolves the "lock him up in the basement every month" kind, too?

[buff_for_a_nerd]

That's the general idea, but their shifting isn't fully predictable, and if they kill a human it makes it almost impossible to control, even if they want to.

[bowtiedbones]

Not with that kind of trauma... I can't even imagine it.