maskormenace | 1 🐍 ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ ( action for housemates )

[ When the feed comes to life, Hemali is seated on a couch, her legs drawn up and shoulders and neck hunched over. On the coffee table is a small bottle of nail polish, which she goes about applying with precision over her toe nails.

She doesn't glance at the camera right away, letting the silence linger until she's finished painting the nail the way she wants. Then she finally looks up and smiles, but it isn't one offered up in apology for making anyone wait, not that she believes she has anything to apologize for. ]

Isn't this all interesting? I've never seen a device like this or heard of one that could shuffle people from across the universe.

[ Her eyes light up at the thought, masking any concerns she has about the fact there's something with far greater power than she might ever have. ]

Nor have I heard about machines that could grant people power. What I find most strange having looked over this network, is that so many people would give up these powers if it meant leaving this place? I had always thought people preferred being special and having that kind of security. Does your power not provide that?

[ A contemplative pause. ]

Maybe I am a little excited to travel for once, personally.

[ Not completely, but who needs to know behind a calm affect is a woman who feels threatened by the Porter? She goes back to painting her nails, interested in hearing what these other imPorts have to say in response. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Erm, no. It's what you might call "one of a kind".

It's nothing like I've ever seen before. Most people own dogs, cats or birds.

Lucky them.

So, you're from another world with no magic?

I've never seen it... you hear stories, but they are what they are.

[ Which isn't exactly true, but even Hemali hasn't met any other supernatural creatures like herself. ]

You're likely to see more than your fill of it here, with all these powers and things. Not that many of them are actually proper magic, but close enough, really.

Have you got a handle on yours yet?

I haven't tested it out yet, but everything seems to be in order?

That's good. I've seen some people here with absolutely maddening ones. Making magical pigs and things. Sometimes they're useful, though. ...Or they seem useful but get you into trouble, but I suppose really that's most things.

What sort of powers do people have here? Besides making magical pigs.

Oh, all sorts. I've heard of lots of different ones. Some of them terrifying. [most of them terrifying, if you're Rincewind.]

It's funny, the things the Porter decides to give to people - sometimes it makes a terrible sort of sense, but sometimes it seems like something the Porter just found funny.

The best I've heard of is super speed. [his wistful tone suggests he's being absolutely serious - that's the one he's jealous he didn't get. Out of every possible combination in the universe.] Lucky bastards.

Super speed?

[ More terminology she'll have to get used to, though she can fathom what that would be. ]

People can move very fast? That is a handy ability.

Right? I really can't imagine anything more useful. It's a shame we can't pick our own, if we've got to deal with having one.

That would be nice. I think I'd pick something like this super speed ability, too.

What would you choose?

Oh, about the same. ...A shield wouldn't be half bad, but I could see problems with that. The same as being intangible really, which is another idea I had. Or invisible. They've all got these little pitfalls.

It's not so much that the ones we do get are terrible, it's just I think they could be better.

Being invisible? I don't see anything fun or interesting about that one.

[ Partly a lie, partly truth; she likes attention too much to ever want to be literally invisible. ]

That's rather the point for me. "Interesting" is top of my list on things to avoid.

What are you afraid of?

Oh, only things which can hurt me.

So... nearly everything.

How fragile are you?

Humans in general are very fragile, you know. [defensively.]

Anyway, I find worse trouble than most. It's a talent. I managed to upset the most powerful imPort here after only a month or so. Gone now, thankfully, but I'm just saying I've spent a long time living my life - I know how it works by now. I'm only afraid of terrible things because it's just a matter of when it finds me, not if.

Who was it?

[ A beat. ]

And why not use your magic to protect yourself?

Lucifer. Apparently he's something of a common figure among some of the worlds? Well-known, anyway. I'd never heard of him.

[oh, and there's a twinge of hesitation, a matching beat - before Rincewind trips right into a smooth cover.]

He was a lot better at it, magic. I wasn't keen on upsetting him more than I had, to be honest. Better to weather him out.

[it's very nearly the whole truth.]

You really are afraid of much, aren't you?

[ She wants to spook him. ]

More people would be, if they were half as aware. [a little petulantly.]

Of what?

Of anything. Take your pick. The world's a lot nastier than anyone wants to admit.

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