maskormenace | 01 ♥ Video

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01 ♥ Video

[It's hard to type with little stone fingers, so he's trying to use the voice function for the first time.

Too bad he accidentally activates the video option instead. And also makes this public. Oops.

The communicator shakes, and though the image isn't entirely clear, anyone watching can see couple of dark sockets with glowing pupils and what appears to be a skull with ornate carvings and distinctive hair. Sunlight spills through what seem to be leaves in the background, and it's obvious the person on the screen is crouched down somewhere, trying to hide. He's not looking directly into the camera.]

Hey. Joaquin. It's me, Manolo. So, uhhh...[How do you even put this.]

Funny story! You know how I said my powers were music-based? That's actually half of what I can do. I can also do something else. I think it keeps me from dying, which as far as powers go? Not a bad one, if I do say so myself! [Because he's already dead in this form, but like hell he's going to say that, hah hah hahhh.....

Maybe if he sounds upbeat enough he can bullshit his way through this.]

The only downside is that people shouldn't see me. Don't ask why, it's just...a power thing, you know? So maybe you could come down here with, like, a...sheet? Just toss it in my general direction, and we'll be good to go. Everyone will think I am dressed as a ghost. Perfect disguise, yes?

[He is grinning really hard and hoping all this optimism and false confidence will be enough. But then he notices something and now he's looking at the communicator like it just ran him through with a sword.]

Oh no...

[Oh yes. And now everyone can see exactly what this power actually is. Good job, Manny!]

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Oh. [ So he's...a skeleton? Is that kind of like being a zombie, but less gross looking? ] I suppose that's one way of being undead.

Welcome to the club, then.

[A nervous chuckle. Oh god, is that what he is now? A zombie?]

Dead, undead...still dead in the end, right? I mean, where do you even draw the line?

Animation, usually. If you're a corpse who keeps moving, that's where the line is drawn.

Though basic sentience is always a bonus, so that's two points in your favor.

[Okay, that's a pretty fair distinction. Except...]

This is not my corpse, actually. As long as someone remembers them, those who've died wake up in the afterlife looking like this.

At least, that's the way it works where I'm from. [He can't speak for other worlds, obviously!]

Okay, so. You're not a corpse, but you look like one, and you're dead.

Is that...really different in any significant way?

I don't know. [He's really not an expert on this stuff, and he'll freely admit to that.] It just sounded like the corpse part was important.

Well, a corpse is the body of a dead person, so any body you have may be considered a corpse. [ That's...probably not how it works, though. ] At least it isn't decaying, that's always a dreadful experience.

Normally people just leave their bodies behind in the Land of the Living. I guess if you woke up in your old body again, then you'd be undead for sure. But, like you said, this is definitely a type of body, so...

[The gods just gave him a new one once he earned his life back, presumably to avoid that whole mess. In the back of his mind, he wonders what happened to the corpse he actually left behind the first time he died, but there's no use in worrying over it.]

Yeah, um...decaying is definitely something I'd like to avoid. I really hope that's never happened to you or anyone else you know. It's...horrible enough watching a stranger go through it.

Hahaha, yeah... [ It's a nervous laugh. It's only happened to her once, but...once is more than enough. ] Decaying isn't something I have to worry about in normal circumstances. That's for zombies.

I'm a vampire.

[His idea of decaying isn't necessarily a zombie thing. But that nervous laugh isn't lost on Manolo, so he figures it's probably best to let that subject lie.

Instead, he focuses on the revelation that she's a vampire, and Manolo raises his eyebrows. He's definitely heard stories involving vampires, but in a world where magic and reality often co-exist, sometimes it's difficult to distinguish truth from fantasy.]

So...that makes you part of the undead club, right?

It wouldn't quite be my place to welcome you to it if I weren't myself a member, now would it?

[ She's still trying to work out just what classification he fits under, but she's at least confident that he's a club member. ]

[He smiles.] That...is a good point, yes.

[A pause before adding:]

Can I ask you what it's like? Being a vampire, I mean. If you don't want to talk about it, though, that's okay too.

Well. You're often thirsty. [ That's not enough of an answer, of course. She shrugs slightly. ] Much of it, I imagine, is very standard in the undead experience. Things don't kill you that should, breathing is only done out of habit, or for appearances, food is largely not worth the bother.

Still, you get to walk on ceilings. That's nice. But my experiences probably can't be taken as standard, I know it tends to be different for human vampires.

[Much of the "standard undead" experience actually applies to him too, except for the food part. But that's mostly because he likes food, not because he needs it.]

Oh, so the walking-on-ceiling thing isn't just a myth. [He rubs his chin, nodding as he makes a mental note of that.] Good to know.

So what kind of vampire are you, then?

The ridiculous speed and unreasonably quiet steps, as well! And glowing in the dark, but I've never met another undead who does that.

[ She shrugs. ]

I'm a rainbow drinker, that's what we called vampires on my planet. Varied blood colors between castes and all that, therefore if you sampled among them, you could be said to drink a rainbow. To my knowledge, it's the only variety of vampire among my species.

Can't quite imagine how it would work there, though. Stalking the day isn't a terribly effective hunting method when most of your meals are nocturnal.

A rainbow drinker? Okay, not what I would have expected, but that actually makes a lot of sense if you guys have different-colored blood.

[Sounds a lot less ominous than "vampire" too, but he doesn't want to show any kind of disrespect, so he keeps that thought to himself.]

Wait, you mean vampires...sorry, I mean, rainbow drinkers are more active in the daytime where you're from?

[ She gives him a teasing smile. ]

You can call me a vampire, I don't mind it! But yes, we're diurnal, as opposed to the rest of our species. The sun is very hot on my planet, especially compared to this arctic world.

Most trolls can't survive extended exposure to it. We don't really have that problem.

Whaaat! No way!

[The fact other planets even exist is amazing enough to Manolo, so he can't help but give a delighted grin at the idea of a place so utterly different from the Earth he's used to.]

You probably laugh whenever someone complains about it being hot, huh.

Edited 2015-10-31 10:46 (UTC)

How can I not? It's inherently hilarious! A difference of only ten degrees, an suddenly a location is considered torturous by comparison. All while still within one hundred degrees of freezing!

It's a wonder I ever go out without a jacket on.

Hah! Yes, that sounds pretty accurate, actually!

You must be pretty tough, though, if you can live in such a cold climate without needing any extra layers. I'm impressed!

Well, I've been living on Earth for four years now, so I've rather had to get used to it. Better to have this young sun than none at all.

Wow, four years? Does that mean...you've been an imPort this whole time, or...?

Since May 30th, 2011. Worse than that, I'm not even among the top five most tenured imPorts. There may not be many of us left from the first world Lachesis brought us to, but those who remain have been around for a very long time.

[Her answer stuns Manolo into silence for a moment.

Wow. Wow. That sure is four years of living as an imPort. If Manolo were in Kanaya's shoes, he'd be about 24 by now. And there are people who've been caught up in this even longer?

Still, he manages to shake himself out of his thoughts long enough to focus on something he's pretty sure he hadn't heard about before now. Manolo's face is pinched in a mixture of concern and confusion when he responds.]

Wait, Lachesis? I don't...remember reading about that in the pamphlet.

[ It's a hell of a thing, four and a half years. The sort of thing you can never really prepare yourself for, only look back on once it's done. But getting that far is only a thing to dread. ]

You won't see her mentioned in the pamphlet, the government has no official stance on her, aside from that our current situation began when she synchronized with the Porter here, when we escaped from the world before.

She is the Porter, the god in the machine. There were a couple of kids last week saying that they met something else who claimed to be the Porter's resident, but I'm not really confident in their information, myself.

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