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[open] remember when i put meaningful things in subject lines

who: taako
what: monster fighting + general nonsense
when: late march
where: around!
warnings: violence for any flooding threads

on this week's episode of River Monsters ; ota

[It's been a while since Taako's really had to stretch his magic out; there was the stuff with the cult, sure, but that was a minor little mess and this is like, a bunch of river monsters. Totally different ballgame. If he's being honest with himself, this is something he kind of misses about being away from Fearun and out of the cycles. Because yeah, it's a lot safe not running around fighting random monsters or possessed arcanists or whatever, but blasting shit with spells is just a little bit fun.

There's been enough time since remembering Lup that he's stopped relying quite so heavily on fire spells, especially when he doubts fire will do much against crocodiles and lizards with thick skin. He relies on lightning and energy instead, a few necromantic spells to drain the life out of the creatures, with the occasional confusion spell thrown in, turning them on each other.

At one point, one of them moves a little quicker than anticipated while he's dealing with another, and suddenly Taako is knocked aside by a scaled tale, disappearing into the underbrush with a startled yelp followed by a roughly exhaled hachi machi.

But it’s okay! Because instead of his regular adventuring gear, he's got a sweet as hell superhero costume, courtesy of one Cisco Ramon, coolest person in the Quarantine. It's made from similar material as the Flash's costume, just in purples and blues instead of red and yellow (because really, red and yellow? Pick a better palette, Barry). There might have been some arguments over exactly how fancy it needed to be, versus actual functionality, but at the end of the day Taako trusted Cisco enough to give him most of the creative control. What really matters is that it means he can take a hit like that and only lose maybe 15 HP, allowing him to get right back up again.

Now he's gonna toss a fireball, just because he's kinda pissed.]

day to day ; pre-existing cr

out and about
[Taako is a social creature. He can handle being alone, sure, the ten years in Fearun made that abundantly clear, but that doesn't mean he likes it. It's much nicer to be surrounded by attention and affection in the form of friendship. And after the last few shitty months, he's aware that he hasn't exactly been present in other peoples' lives. Sampremi and the kigu party rectified some of that, but a one off catch up doesn't quite cut it. So he slips back into old habits eagerly, sending out texts to anyone who's company he's fond of. It's often as simple as an offer to join him for lunch/brunch/dinner/coffee, though occasionally he does tailor requests to someone's interests, a mention of a new store they might like, or a band playing he thinks they'd be into. After spending the last months feeling bitter and trapped in the Quarantine, he's reaching out and reconnecting in an attempt to remind himself that it's not all terrible.]

around the house
[For anyone who has the amazing privilege of being welcome at the IPRE (minus Lucretia) residence, Taako tends to flit in and out during the day and night, not really beholden to any particular schedule. He's pretty content with an even mix of getting out and being a homebody, though it tends to tip more towards the latter on days he has a lot of orders to get through for work. Spending several hours in the kitchen isn't much of a struggle for him, but it does mean that once he's done he'd prefer to just chill out watching a movie or listening to music, rather than going out.

There's enough to do around the house to keep himself occupied, especially considering the place is full up these days. If Merle or Davenport show up, they're gonna have to look at getting a bigger place.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Might be for the best - John might startle at a cheek kiss. Casual affection doesn't really happen much to him, and usually it's a shoulder squeeze, maybe a hug, at best.

He's working on all that, though. That's something, learning how to be... 'normal', as much as he can be. Still, at Taako's gesture, John steps in, looking around with interest before he nods. ]

Been a long day. Lots of new arrivals recently. But really, I don't want to put you out - I'm sure you're busy.

[Their door is rarely locked (he doesn't see the point, anyway who can get through the wards isn't going to have much trouble with some metal) but Taako shuts it behind John before leading him into the kitchen.]

I'm pretty sure I owe for the terrible flirting.

[He knows what he's like, even if he didn't mean much by it, so he pours two mugs of coffee.]

How do you take yours and what is it you do with the guard? You're with the guard, right?

[He's partly curious because Kravitz does orientation with the perimeter guard, and he's wondering if they've met.]

[ John smiles, shrugging. ] The flirting wasn't that bad.

[ Under different circumstances, potentially, he would have been open to it. As is, though, John only noticed because it was so obvious. ]

Black, one sugar, thanks. I've been so used to terrible coffee it's been strange to be here and get to drink the good stuff for once.

[ The Underground is not renowned for its good coffee. Ask Clarice. ]

Oh, yeah. I've been assigned to the Orientation Unit. Funny, considering I still feel like I'm getting myself settled in.

[ They have not! ]

[He's a good host, so he does John's coffee first as per instructions, then offers it over before starting on his own (not to dissimilar, just with cream as well).]

Coffee like, barely existed where I'm from so I'm pretty into it here.

[Cappuccinos! Horrible Starbucks-style monstrosities! He loves it all.]

Oh, dunk, my-- [shit; what's the word for your future boyfriend who you're not comfortable calling your boyfriend yet?] One of my friends is in Orientation. His name's Kravitz; hella tall, dreads, would not be caught dead in fatigues?

[He's pretty sure Kravitz would legitimately just spend the day in skeletal form if they tried to make him wear military uniform.]

Thanks. [ John takes the offered cup gratefully, smiling. ] Trust me, I wish it hadn't existed, back home. I wouldn't have the memories of the gallons of toxic sludge I've drank in the past few years.

[ Needs must. When one constantly runs on fumes the way John does, it was kinda necessary.

Also don't ask John about relationship status. He almost completely screwed things up for himself before they even started. Although now he guesses he is a boyfriend. With a girlfriend.

He gets the comfort levels thing. As happy as he is, it still sounds weird. ]

Oh yeah, have seen him. Haven't had a chat, though. Also, okay - there's nothing wrong with fatigues, okay. They're very practical.

[ John's wardrobe is a range of jeans to black to neutrals and khakis. The most color you'll find is in the band logos on his small array of metalhead shirts.

He is a practical dude, okay. ]

[Taako laughs cause - yeah, even with their limited supplies he's still had some awful coffee in his life, especially when things got desperate on the Starblaster. Coffee brewed in a wakefulness potion is a fucking thing.]

You should say hi, he's uh, he's a good dude, not as fucking fancy as he pretends to be. [Because Kravitz is normally in a three piece suit with gold accents.] Just very set in his aesthetic, you know? Hence the - fatigues thing. I guess after you've been around for a thousand years or whatever it's hard to break old habits.

He's been around for a thousand years?

[ Immortality is one of these things that John can't quite wrap his head around. His life has always been very set on a few things, and there being an end to it was one of these things. Fight for it, because tomorrow could be the last.

He can't imagine living a thousand years. What does one do, for that long? He'd probably go out of his mind. ]

I thought I'd heard a lot of things, even back home, considering how wide Mutants powers can range, but this place - turned it upside down.

[ You know nothing, John Proudstar. ]

Edited (pressed enter too fast!!!!) 2018-04-04 16:36 (UTC)

Well like, he's technically a ghost, so...

[Is this supposed to be a secret? Considering that Taako has seen Kravtiz's friendr profile and it mentions being a reaper he doubts it, so whatever, might as well just drop that knowledge on poor John.]

There's a lotta buckwild shit here, for sure. I think uh, my reality seems to be pretty fucking weird even compared to a lot here, but even I find this place strange sometimes.

[He's not bragging, just stating a fact, trying to empathize a little? ]

[ John has not really been on Friendr very much. It isn't quite his scene, even if he does have an account. ]

I used to think the fact that there are Mutants and superheroes in my world was already too much for people to handle, but I've actually... seen nothing, apparently. Which, in a way, is cool. I'm learning a lot.

[ John has always preached acceptance, and understanding. He's always opened the Underground to everyone needing shelter, or help. He's not going to stop now that he's in a place that's even more diverse. ]

Back home, just looking different got you practically shunned from society.

I think you're gonna do alright here, my man.

[It's not really anything like approval because John is basically a stranger and doesn't need that sorta shit from Taako, but it's something like it. Anyone who can come to the Quarantine and be glad that they're learning, that it's good there's more out there than their own world, are cool people in Taako's opinion.]

And uh, yeah, a lot of Earth seems pretty fucking shitty from where I'm standing.

[discrimination doesn't exist in the TAZ universe thank you griffin]

[ John's smirk is amused. He has enough confidence in himself to know that he'll be fine, but it's still nice to hear from someone he's just met. He's got used to his friends surrounding him, but here, it's only Clarice. He's got a lot less to rely on. ]

Don't get me wrong, it's my home, and I want to make it better. But being here has been - refreshing. Just getting to see Clarice walk the streets without feeling the need to pull a hood over her head, it's. [ John looks down at his coffee, forcing himself to relax his fingers before he shatters the mug. ] It's good. I just want her to be able to do the same back there.

[ John has no recollection of mentioning Clarice to Taako before, but whatever. Namedropping. ]

So, what kind of world are you from, then?

[Oh, Taako knows Clarice! It's clear from the way John talks about her that they're close and it fits with the way she was when Taako first met her, a little unsure about being so visibly different. He could have assumed they're from the same place, but he's met several mutants and he knows they're not all from the one world, just like he and Rin were from different versions for Fearun.]

I dunno if there's much I can do from here, but I'll cross my fingers for you guys.

[It's a genuine sentiment, Taako isn't much for saving the world or whatever (even though he did it) but it sucks that people have to go through that stuff.]

Uh, it's... [hm. this is always a tricky one, for various reasons.] The world I was born on is kinda gone but I was last on a planet called Aebir-Toril, it's sort of your usual fantasy bullshit. Magic, a lotta different races, no cars or phones or shit, but we do have elevators and trains and floating moon bases so like, we've got some differences from usual fantasy fare.

[It's mostly because of the Millers, but that's hard to explain too.]

Thanks.

[ It might just be words, but they mean a lot, when you have nothing else to rely on. And if they can't make it, if they can't get to live their lives like any other human on Earth, well, maybe he and Clarice will stay here. Maybe they'll bring everyone here, too - at least, the Underground.

Lorna.

Don't ask him why but he's still on the fence about the Frost sisters. ]

Did you have fancy rings, too?

[ It's a shitty joke, and John cringes at himself, shaking his head. ] Sorry. The kind of world you're describing sounds like the stuff I've only read about in books. Or seen in movies. But then again, I don't know if you've got people like us, in your world.

[ Probably best not to touch on the 'the world I was born on is gone'. That seems to be at least a third date kind of chat. ]

[A shitty joke, but Taako is familiar with the reference (thanks Cisco) so it earns a laugh.]

Close! Seven items instead of rings, still super powerful, still had a thrall, still caused a lot of wars, but we got it under control.

[Sometimes you make a bunch of really powerful artifacts and thousands of people die?? That's just how it is on this bitch of an earth.]

I dunno if you'd call anything we've got mutants. There are sorcerers, they're born with their magic so they don't have to learn it like the rest of us dipshits. It's a genetics thing from what I know of genetics. but not in the same way, I think?

[He's from a fantasy bullshit world it's amazing he knows what genetics are.]

Well, I'll be damned. You've read Lord of the Rings?

[ The story is similar. Funny, how these fantasy stories always seem to follow the same themes. ]

Hm, I guess it'd depend on the magic they do have. We tend to have one specific set of powers - it can be trained and expanded to an extent, but it usually stays quite confined to a unique powerset. Like me with the strength and indestructible thing. If I suddenly developed telekinesis, I'd majorly freak out. So if they have a range of powers, it's probably somewhat different. But I'm just a soldier, not a geneticist.

[ For shame, it would be so useful. ]

I've watched the movies.

[Said like please John, do you think he'd sit down for several days to read a book that big? It's never gonna happen.]

There's like - different kinds of magic but it's not narrowed down like that. Magic is magic, you can use it for all sorts of shit and there are a bunch of schools, but it's all the same energy. It's not like you being strong and some dude lighting my shit on fire, yeah?

[That's a specific example for a reason. Fuck Dodger.]

[ That earns him a smirk. The books are far superior, but John's never said he wasn't a snob. ]

Yeah, it doesn't quite work like that for us. It's funny, because it's the same gene for all of us. At least, we call it this one thing, but it's coded differently for every Mutant. And since it's not even hereditary - most of the time, anyway - it's just. This random thing.

[ He shrugs a shoulder. ]

Makes my brother and I outliers, because we actually have the same set of powers.

[It seems weird that it's a gene but isn't hereditary, just - based on his very limited knowledge of genetics.]

This is gonna sound like a stupid fucking question, but indulge my curiosity here. Are you and your brother like... chill with each other? Are you friends?

[Look he's... going somewhere with this.]

[ It really is. Honestly, so little about the Mutants and their Mutations make sense. John often wondered if he'd been exposed to something and didn't realize. But then it was the same with James. Lightning struck twice.

The question surprises him, but John just raises an eyebrow, before taking a sip of coffee. ]

We don't see each other very often, but yeah, we are. I mean, we fight whenever we end up talking, but that's just because he says I'm uptight and overbearing, and I say he's flighty and immature. Brothers.

[ John shrugs. ]

But we love each other. Why?

Cause like half the dipshits here are all 'my brother tried to murder me' or 'I hate my sister cause she's a supervillain' or whatever, it's fucking weird. Right? Like it's weird? That's not just me?

[He knows that not every relationship is perfect but it feels like every time he hears about a set of siblings it's super fucked up. It's so different to how things are with Lup.]

[ John smirks, but it's not mocking. ]

Yeah, I guess... A lot of people around here are heroes, or want to be, and it's like. If you want to be one, you have to have this kind of hardship in your life. Like a rite of passage. Isn't it?

[ Another sip of coffee. It really is good. ]

Do you have siblings?

Just my shitty sister who's like a supervillain or whatever.

[That's not true, at all, there's so much fondness in his voice.]

We're fucking twins, actually, don't let her tell you she's older cause that's bullshit. But we've never fought, you know? A handful of centuries and it's never been hard.

[They're each others' heart. It's why it seems so strange when other siblings can't get along.]

[ John hears it, and smiles. It grows bigger as Taako talks about his sister some more. ]

James and I used to fight all the time. And have the dumb competitions - we have the same powers, so we'd try and see who's the strongest. Who can flip the heaviest car? Who can run the fastest? Who can avoid an arrow aimed for their chest? That kind of stuff. Living on the reservation, we didn't have much else to do than run around.

[ Now James is off being the lone wolf superhero type, while John herds families of Mutants out of danger. Their dad would be proud. ]

Oh, I get that for sure, we used to duel all the time to see how our spells were coming along but there's never been a drop of bad blood or whatever.

[Not like the way it seems with a lot of siblings. The thought of Pharolin still freaks him the fuck out, after witnessing Rin's memories of the dude.

But also there's a word in there that Taako isn't familiar with, so:]

What's the reservation?

[He knows conceptually what it is, but he's not quite sure if there's context he's missing.]

[ John leans against the wall, his eyes on the table in front of him. He's used to explaining so much about what and who he is, but he rarely touches on his heritage, how and where he grew up. ]

There's a lot of history behind it, and it's super messy, but basically, reservations are sections of land that are managed by Native Americans, and we tend to live on them. Not that we can't live outside of them, but for a lot of us, it's a part of our culture, our heritage. My mom cared for James and I to know about where we came from.

[ Not only a Mutant, in the political climate of the US, but also a Native American.

And people wonder why he ever thought he had a lot to prove. ]

[open] remember when i put meaningful things in subject lines

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