intro | day 104

[tacosgay]

Listen.

[The voice that comes over the public channel is... odd, and new to most folks here. He pauses for a bit, as if that's the entire thought-- but, sure enough, he follows it with an obviously annoyed question.]

So we're just kind of... here, because they say so? Like... this can't be legal, can it? Has anybody tried talking to the fuckin' police about this?

[As he speaks, he gets increasingly irritated, his voice breaking.]

I'm gonna be real with you guys: I've got half a mind to just kinda magic my way out, except I'm pretty sure the Ringleader or whatever would come after me. Is that a thing?

Comments

[kingsroads]

You're welcome, [ Strange responds with a siiiiiigh. He's no idea if Taako's being sincere or sarcastic BUT THAT'S OKAY CAUSE STRANGE IS GONNA CHANGE THE CONVERSATION ANYWAY. ]

Out of curiosity, what sort of magic do you use in the first place?

[tacosgay]

Transmutation, my dude. What about you, huh?

[He's always way more chill with fellow magic users, unless they're shitty ones. In which case he's way less chill.]

[kingsroads]

Overall, I use English magic. If I had to pick a specialization, it would most likely be mirrors.

[ whereas Strange is a huge nerd who enjoys talking about magic. so yeah, this conversation's probably gonna be pretty chill and pretty dorky. ]

What precisely do you mean by transmutation? Is it simply changing one thing to another or is there more to the discipline than that?

[tacosgay]

The whole transmutation school, homie. That's sort of my thing. I mean, yeah, you've got the basics in one, but there's a whole lot more to it than that.

[... uh-oh. This is his first brush with things being different across universes.]

... ah, shit, this is a different-universes thing, huh. Mmmmhmhmhmm. Think of it like a cause-and-effect sort of thing. You transmute something, and it can cause other things around it to happen.

So, mirrors, huh? How's that workin' out for you?

[kingsroads]

Quite well, actually. I've got travel down pat as well as scrying-though that's more reflections than mirrors. Perhaps I should call my type of magic reflection magic instead.

I'd love to see a demonstration of transmutation, by the way, after you're settled in.

[tacosgay]

Oooh, travel, you say? Maybe you and me can exchange some trade secrets sometime, hmmm? I'll show you some basic transmutation, and you can show me how you do you fancy mirror tricks.

[kingsroads]

That sounds wonderful!

[ and really, based on the smile and grin in Strange's voice, he 100% means it. ]

My name is Jonathan Strange, by the way. I should at least introduce myself before we start talking shop!

[tacosgay]

Good, good, then it's a date, hmm?

[Taako is actually, likewise, delighted to've met somebody with something IMPORTANT to say here.]

I'm Taako. I would say "from TV," but I assume you probably have different programming in your neck of the planar system.

[kingsroads]

[ what the fuck is a planar system. Still, Strange has enough to make a slight guess at what Taako's talking about. ]

I'm afraid my problem is more temporal than spacial. When I'm from, there is no television—there is no electricity to begin with! Not like the carnival has, at any rate.

[tacosgay]

Yeah, no, I mean, it wasn't really an electric thing, actually... it was more like a traveling cooking show.

[kingsroads]

When I'm from, there's not any of those either. Traveling shows...I suspect the closest thing to that I've ever encountered is the carnival itself.

[tacosgay]

Wow, sounds like you came from a real party dimension, huh? I mean, goddamn.

[kingsroads]

[ regency England is the pinnacle of getting crunk except for the fact where it ENTIRELY ISN'T. ]

We had balls and dances, [ said as if that's explanation enough. ] And, I'm a member of a club. While my England might have been lacking in some forms of entertainment, we still made do.

[tacosgay]

A club? Like... just, a club? You guys don't have any kinda theme or hobbies or something?

[kingsroads]

We play billiards. I assume that counts as a hobby.

[tacosgay]

Wow, how very thrilling.

[Oh boy. The mocking tone in his voice is not at all hidden.]

Tell you what. Sometime, I'll have to show you how we have fun back on Faerun.

[... is he flirting with Strange? Maybe a little.]

[kingsroads]

[ SORRY BUD, Strange is 100% married.....and also 100% not picking up on the flirting in the first place ]

And I'll show you how to play billiards. Obviously you're disparaging it because you've never played before!

[ or he just thinks it's hella boring, either/or. ]

[tacosgay]

[Whatever, he's honestly just having fun with him, anyway.]

How do you know I've never played it before, huh?

[kingsroads]

Because it's fun. And, if you had played it before, I've a feeling you'd use a different tone to describe the game.

[ he'd be a bit less sarcastic, for one. ]

[tacosgay]

Okay, okay, fine, you caught me. But, you've gotta agree with me, the name sure doesn't scream excitement, does it?

[kingsroads]

I'll grant you that, [ Strange admits, with a little laugh. ] Billiards. It is a bit of a dull name, come to think of it.

[tacosgay]

Right! Maybe I can think think of something better, once I actually know... how the game works and all.

[kingsroads]

Oh! [ And then Strange realizes he hasn't explained the concept of billiards at all. Whoops. ]

Well, it's a game involving balls, played on a table with a pocket at each corner. You've got a long stick, that's a cue, and the goal is to use the cue to knock one ball into another ball, thereby knocking the second ball into one of the pockets. I don't think the Ringmaster actually has a billiards table in the carnival, but it wouldn't surprise me if the next place we stopped to visit had one that we could use.

[tacosgay]

... so, hold on a second here, you guys fuckin' play pool? Huh, go figure. Guess you might not be that boring after all.

[kingsroads]

You think I'm boring? [ but he's more amused than offended. ] I can think of many things people have called me, but none of them were boring!