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

[spellslots]

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.]

Comments

[tevinteraltus]

[At the first remark, Dorian simply blinks at him.]

Are you serious?

[And he's quiet through Taako's food prep...preparation, because he's actually waiting for a response.]

Ah...something light. I really should be sleeping.

[No, but really, Taako. You've got him distracted.]

[spellslots]

[There's a thoughtful hum as he peers into the fridge, eyeing ingredients before he finally settles on something.]

Omelette it is, hope you're a fan of smoked salmon.

[As he starts cracking eggs into a bowl, he decides to answer Dorian's first question.]

We trance, it takes like half the time for us to get a full rest and we're a lot more alert while doing it. I dunno if you've ever meditated but it's kinda like that.

[tevinteraltus]

[ Salmon was actually a fish he'd never had the pleasure of trying before heading south, and he'd found it was quite delectable, fatty and rich.

He nodded. ]

That sounds splendid.

[ And seriously, Taako, he's way more interested in the fact that elves don't sleep. ]

Of course I've meditated. For mages it's practically an necessity...I've simply never heard of a species that didn't require sleep. Dwarves don't dream as other races do, and they have no connection to the Fade, but...

[ He's going to have to read about this. ]

[spellslots]

[Perfect! Taako gets to work on the food, but he's good at multitasking while cooking.]

I think it's cause of the whole fey thing, you know? [well] Maybe you don't know. I'm not sure how elves work where you're from but we've got fey blood from a long way back, it explains a few things about us.

[tevinteraltus]

I'm not even certain what a "fey" is.

[ Oddly, watching Taako work on his dinner reminds Dorian of watching the servants cook meals for him while under the tutelage of Magister Alexius. It's a bittersweet memory, though, and reminds him also of his best friend, lost to the Blight.

He shakes the memory and continues. ]

Would you care to explain?

[spellslots]

Oh, fairies? [And just in case that still isn't familiar.] They come from the Feywild, it's sorta like... adjacent to the prime material plane but they're super fucking old and sorta weird, I dunno if they really leave the Feywild much.

[Taako shrugs, he was never that big on his history or elf culture, so some of this might not be entirely true.]

Where do your elves come from?

[tevinteraltus]

...we have spirits of the Fade? I suppose that's similar...

[ In a way that is totally and completely not. ]

Ah...well, Elves once ruled the majority of Thedas, but like all empires, eventually fell. They lost much of their culture, and their immortality, though there are bands of roaming elves who call themselves the Dalish who cling to the tenets of their old gods. My friend, Iona, could give you a much better explanation, seeing as she is Dalish.

...we don't have Dalish in the Imperium.

[ On account of the Tevinter being the ones who...conquered and enslaved them, but he realizes this is a touchy subject and he's not going to bring it up. ]

[spellslots]

[Hang on, some of that sounds vaguely familiar.]

I think I uh, met an elf from your world here? She thought I was a demon or whatever cause I did magic, we didn't really bond.

[Also it was about a year ago and his memory isn't great, but the immortality thing is what made him think of Sera.]

Not that I get how you lose immortality anyway, not like you can just put that shit down and forget it behind the couch.

[tevinteraltus]

Apparently the elves of Thedas can. Then again, they can also procreate with humans, but their offspring show no physical signs of being half-elven. The elven species is rather fluid through and through.

[ But now you've caught his attention. ]

You met an elf who thought you were a demon simply for casting a spell? Was she a petite blond, looked like her haired been cut with a blunted ax? Threaten to "fill you with arrows" on principle?

[spellslots]

[He'll circle back to the half-elf thing, maybe. If he doesn't forget, since there are more important things to do, like confirming about the weird angry elf, and carefully folding the omelette in half to let it finish cooking.]

Yeah that's uh, that's the one. Lemme guess, she's friend of yours?

[He puts just enough emphasis on friend that he could mean enemy with that sentence.]

[tevinteraltus]

If by "friend" you mean "comrade in arms against a growing demonic threat whose hypocritical stance on the use of bottled magic is only out-shown by her insistent fear I would break out in demons at the drop of a hat'? Then yes. Quite.

[ Still, the tone suggest Dorian may be a bit more fond on her than his statements let on. As is often the case with the man. ]

She didn't trouble you overmuch, did she?

[spellslots]

[Taako nodding like 'yeah that's valid'.]

Nah like - after the first conversation I kinda decided having another elf around was not worth dealing with all that bullshit.

[He's not really super connected to ~elves~ or whatever, but it had felt a bit overwhelming when he first arrived, that so many people were human. He's mostly over it now, though he does still feel a little solidarity whenever he runs into other elves, or people from Fearun.]

You ready for this? I mean - omelette isn't anything super amazing but I'm still pretty fucking great at it.

[He makes quick work of cutting it in half and setting it out on two plates, both garnished with spring onion. Taako puts on plate down in front of Dorian and sits down with the other in front of him, a mage hand bringing over forks from a drawer. He's just going to dig straight in because he's kinda hungry now.]

[tevinteraltus]

[He chuckles at that, because really? This is Sera and there's no more appropriate assessment.]

It's true, though Sera does have her redeeming qualities. [He pauses for a moment.] She's surprisingly competitive, though easily defeated in games that require a more colorful command of vocabulary than "dog shites".

[Once the meal is set before them, simple though it may be, smells wonderful, and if Dorian's honest, it really doesn't take as much as he ever suggests to intrigue his taste buds.

He takes a bite and...looks very impressed, swallowing before speaking because he's not a filthy peasant.]

Taako. I thought it may be impossible to make something impressive out of a bit of whipped egg, but you've done it.

[spellslots]

[He's sure Sera is great or whatever, but he's definitely more interested in whether or not Dorian actually likes the meal; Taako doesn't mind constructive criticism, so it's not the end of the world if he doesn't like it, but obviously he'd prefer like - glowing praise.

Which is exactly what he gets, so he's very pleased. Though it's a warm sort of pleased, rather than anything smug.]

I'm just glad I could live up to your standards. [Obviously Dorian is posh, unlike say, Magnus, who hadn't had a fancy meal in his life before meeting the twins.] When I get Lup in the kitchen with me we're unbeatable, but this is the next best thing.

[tevinteraltus]

You really don't give yourself enough credit.

[Dorian was more than willing to scamper away from the topic of Sera and focus on things at hand. Among a great many things, talking too much about those who still call Thedas home has a habit of making him a tad homesick. The omelet was a much more welcome topic.]

I'm sure your sister is brilliant, mind you, but this isn't without merit.

[spellslots]

Oh, don't get me wrong, darling, I know I'm excellent, I was trying out this thing called humility.

[It's mostly just a joke but also a little bit serious. He knows how good he is, but unlike his magic which he's a little less confident in, he doesn't always feel the need to overcompensate with ego when it comes to cooking. He's more self-assured.]

[tevinteraltus]

[Dorian's actually familiar with that feeling, Taako. He's the same way with magic, and ironically, his appearance.]

Ah, yes. Humility. [He chuckles.] I've heard of it.

[spellslots]

Really? You could've fooled me on that one, darling.

[He's rude but like - in a friendly teasing way. Taako has no issue with people being confident and self-assured, as long as they're not dicks about it.]

[tevinteraltus]

Yes, of course.

[He smiles.]

Rather like you've heard of bland cuisine, I imagine. Something like a myth, or a great tragedy at any rate.

[spellslots]

A terrible fucking crime, not one I've committed for sure, but I did live with Lucretia for a year.

[She's not even here and he's being mean.]