001: Audio | un: Graywords

[heartlessswordsman]

[Unlike everyone who isn't an asocial loner, Zelgadis prefers to keep his face off the network. He doesn't even really want to address the network at all, but he's kind of reached a point where keeping to himself isn't really working out. Sooo this is him stepping outside his comfort bubble, good for him.

Well, kind of stepping out of it. He just goes ahead and skips a proper introduction completely in order to get down to business.]

You'll have to forgive me if this seems like a stupid question, but the sort of technology that you have here doesn't exist where I'm from. To say that everything feels overwhelming is an understatement, but before I get too off track...

[There's a deep sigh, the sigh of a man who is just So Done with all the ridiculous curveballs that life keeps throwing at him.] This... microwave device, I believe is what it's called. It's not supposed to be smoking, right?

[Maybe he should have asked someone for technology tips before almost setting his hotel room on fire. Sorry about the smoke, hotel.]

Comments

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Huh...

Well, what exactly did you do? What did you put in there?

I haven't taken mine apart yet so I haven't bothered using it.

[heartlessswordsman]

Just a fish. I didn't think an hour was that long, but apparently I was mistaken.

[There is indeed a burnt to fuck blackened former fish on the table behind him. RIP fish.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Oh man, you don't cook a fish for an hour! Not even on a stovetop!

Come on, let's go catch ourselves some dinner and I'll cook you up some fish myself!

[heartlessswordsman]

It was a big fish, okay?

[look he doesn't know how COOKING IN A MICROWAVE WORKS, he's used to toasting those little fuckers up over an open flame okay]

I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn't want to trouble you.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

You're not, I need to get myself some food too. And I used to fish all the time back home.

Besides, it's relaxing. You're always so tense.

[heartlessswordsman]

Always? You've met me once, you don't know what I'm like.

[No Darin is 100% spot on.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

But I do know that you're hungry. And no one's at their best when they're hungry~

[Prove him wrong. Do it, Zel.]

[heartlessswordsman]

I'm always at my best.

[This is horseshit, but moving on.]

Very well, then. Where should I meet you?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Meet me in the lobby. I saw a lake not far from here. Looked like it had some whoppers in it.

[heartlessswordsman]

Sure. Just give me a few minutes to air out my room and I'll be down.

[Look it's smoky as a motherfucker in here he needs to open a window.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Sure, take your time!

[Darin will be waiting in the lobby of that newcomer hotel, bugging the person at the front desk for information like the pain in the ass that he is.]

[heartlessswordsman]

[It's close to half an hour before Zelgadis finally makes it downstairs. He had a lot of smoke to air out and he doesn't have much by way of magic to help him to do that yet. Eventually he does make it down though, hood pulled over his head and his face hidden.

Oh good, and Darin's already annoying people. That's a good sign.]

Sorry to keep you waiting, I'm ready to go whenever you are.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Hey Zel! No worries! This guy was telling me where we could find some good fish!

[He waves goodbye and heads over to his blue friend.]

Geez...secretive much? You know you stand out when you walk around dressed like a mysterious assassin, right?

[heartlessswordsman]

I stand out no matter what I do. At least like this, people are more inclined to keep their distance.

[Unless they're idiots. Like Darin. Anyway Zel's going to try to rush this along because he's one of those guys.]

Well then, shall we get going?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Sure, let's go.

[He heads out of the hotel and makes his way towards one of the training areas.]

So...why do you want people to stay away so badly?

[heartlessswordsman]

Several reasons. One being that people ask too many questions.

[Like what you're doing right now, Darin. Frankly, Zelgadis wants to just leave it at that, but he has a feeling that his subtle hint might be too subtle for someone like this meat head.]

...People tend to find my appearance disagreeable. I don't particularly like scaring children.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

You're not that scary. You're just...blue.

...But, you know...I kinda get it.

People don't have blue hair where I come from, so my entire life I was called things like 'cursed' and 'monster.'

When I was younger I even tried dying my hair black.

[heartlessswordsman]

Huh. That's not such an unusual hair color where I'm from, so I didn't think anything of it.

[He doesn't necessarily like that Darin knows what this sort of thing is like, but it's kind of refreshing to be able to talk to someone who gets it. Not that he'd freely admit that.]

It's less about looking scary. People just tend to fear that which they don't understand.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Tell me about it. After my family were killed, everyone started blaming me for it. I was an orphan for a year, living out of my folks' burned out house.

No one even bothered trying to understand. It really used to burn me up when I was a kid.

Still...people here seem a lot more understanding. I don't think you need to be that secretive here.

[heartlessswordsman]

[There is the briefest hint of sympathy on what's visible of Zel's face, because dude that sounds actually horrifying. But, deciding that he doesn't want to get caught up on something uncomfortably emotional again, he opts to give a smartass answer instead.]

Are they? Because the first thing you did when you saw my face was freak out and demand to know why I'm blue.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Well, yeah. I wanted to know why.

I never said I was scared of you for being blue.

[heartlessswordsman]

Maybe you should work on how you ask sensitive questions. Your initial reaction is the exact reason why I prefer to cover my face.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!

And speaking of 'initial reactions' [He throws an arm around Zel's shoulders] Let's talk about how you drew a sword on me.

i heard you like rp so i put a tag in your inbox while we play d&d

[heartlessswordsman]

[He was about to say 'it was definitely that bad' but then Darin had to go and call Zel out on his bullshit. Hmm.]

In my defense, you were being shady about a demon.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin gestures to literally everything about the mask and cloak around Zel's face.]

And...what do you call this? Because you're not exactly radiating light and positivity, good buddy.