Day 151, public channel

[tacosgay]

[Taako sounds... tired. He's obviously trying his best to sound like he's fine, though, despite how clear it is that he hasn't been resting well.]

Hey, so, uh... weird question. Has anybody else been having, uh... dreams lately? Like, weird ones, you know, with people you know and things like that, but... they feel super real?

[More like a memory.

He sighs.]

Uh. I know I don't usually ask about this sort of thing-- or, uh, anything at all-- but it's getting kind of hard to function, and, like... I've got a job I'm supposed to be doing, I guess, so if anybody knows what's going on, it'd be pretty chill if you could give me a hand with clearing my head over here. I figure this is definitely some kind of weird magic bullshit or something, right?

Comments

[osteothropy]

Memories?

[It's asked very plainly. Come on dude, surely they've all been around this bend enough times by now. Taako sounds like a guy with a complicated life.]

[tacosgay]

What? No-- like, weird dreams or, uh, daydreams sometimes, where it's like... they're totally fake, like, there's no way, but they just feel super real.

[There's no way what he's seen is real. No way! It wouldn't make any sense.]

[osteothropy]

If they're just dreams, then why do you care? Dreams are weird. It's what they do.

[tacosgay]

If it was just the dreams, like, that would be fine, but... they're pretty intense? And they actually kind of hurt super bad too, which I'm not crazy about.

[osteothropy]

They hurt what? Like, your head?

[Sans doesn't sound extra sympathetic but here he is.]

[tacosgay]

Yeah, like... bad. Very, very, super, extra severe bad.

[osteothropy]

Are these dreams always about the same stuff?

[tacosgay]

Not... exactly, but, uh... there are some details, I guess, that are extra weird, and they're always the same.

[whattaprick]

No dreams here. Pissed anyone off lately or touched anything you shouldn't have?

[tacosgay]

... well... I mean, I've definitely touched some things recently, but I doubt seriously they were cursed.

[whattaprick]

Just ruling out possibilities. 'It's probably magic' is as good an explanation as any, but if it's not that ...

Maybe you ate something bad for you.

[kingsroads]

I'm afraid I don't know any methods to help deal with your symptoms but I can at least see if it's 'weird magic bullshit' in the first place.

[ thanks magic identification ability. ]

If it is dreams though, then perhaps you need a sleep aid? Chamomile's supposed to help.

[tacosgay]

That would be great, thanks.

Uhh... maybe. I mean, I don't really sleep, so stuff like that doesn't actually... work on me? I'm an elf, homie. We just sort of rest and meditate for a while.

[tacosgay]

Uh. Yeah, maybe...

[yeah no he's a chef, food is his area of expertise, he definitely did not eat anything bad recently. Nice try.]

I mean. I don't know, this place has all kinds of weird magic shit going on, right? Just sort of floating around in the air and what have you. Maybe I just caught sort of... a magic summer cold or something.

[whattaprick]

Could be.

[ Lambert sounds skeptical about that but he's also immune to most diseases so he hasn't had a cold in decades and can't remember what that's like, whoops. ]

When'd this start?

[tacosgay]

... well.

[Does he really want to fess up to just how long he's been dealing with this quietly, and refusing to talk about it because he's Taako and talking about what you're going through is for emotionally well-adjusted people?]

... a little while! Maaaybe a week, or, uh... two, or so. It wasn't this bad at first, though, honestly, it's just... you know. I sort of figured it would just go away if I ignored it really hard.

[kingsroads]

Oh! Terribly sorry, I didn't know that about elves. [ it's just said in a very light 'whoops, my bad!' sort of tone before Strange swaps the conversation back to magic nonsense. ]

I won't be able to tell if it's magical over the radios--where should we meet?

[tacosgay]

Yeah, most humans don't. [A bit dismissive, but he's a high elf, what else did you expect? When you're raised being told you're better than everyone else...]

Oh-- right, yeah, hmm. What... exactly do you have to do? Is this, like, a ritual thing, or what?

[kingsroads]

Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure. I've just recently learned this branch of magic. [ thanks Portland. ] But I can detect when a spell is active. It works best if I know the spellcaster or the origin of magic.

Thankfully, there really haven't been that many opportunities for someone to curse you in the first place so it limits our options. I've been around the Summer Fae long enough both here and in Portland that I should be able to recognize if it's that strain of magic--I'm much less adept at recognizing Winter Court, however.

[ because of COURSE it's fae magic that's causing Taako to have weird dreams, what else would it be? ]

[tacosgay]

Okay, uh... maybe somewhere outside, in that case. Besides, I'm not sure the roomie would be happy with me bringing people around, you know. He's kind of... uh. Not really the social type.

[whattaprick]

If it's been that long, there's definitely something fucked going on. [ That's captain sunshine for you! He can't exactly criticize that coping strategy, so he's not going to bother with that. ]

You said you were a wizard. You ever go into any trances? Dabble in oneiromancy?

[kingsroads]

My old roommate was the same. [ Though with a lot less of Foster's.....everything. ]

What about we meet outside of the big top?

[tacosgay]

Gee, thanks, I appreciate that confirmation.

Uh, yeah, I mean... I'm an elf, that's how we do. I do that every night, homie. That's when most of the more, uh, vivid stuff happens, when I'm trying to get my beauty rest.

[tacosgay]

Yeah, sounds good to me. I'll meet you there, my man.

[whattaprick]

Where you come from, maybe. Elves back home aren't exactly known for peace and quiet.

[ He doesn't say it with much rancor, just a statement of fact. ]

Still sounds like a curse to me. A curse or visions, anyway.

[tacosgay]

Visions? What, like, from the future or something?

[That... doesn't make any sense, either. The people he sees in his visions, the familiar faces, seem a lot younger than the versions he knows now... but humans age weird, so who knows.

But there's one certain person in these visions that he knows, for a fact, is dead. So that's kind of damning.]

Nnno, I don't... think it's that. So I guess it's got to be a curse.

[whattaprick]

Not necessarily. You could have visions of the past, or things that never happened. Usually when a ghost's trying to tell you something ... or drive you crazy.

[tacosgay]

... okay, so I'm getting the "never happened" variety, then. Cool, that's fantastic.

Little do the ghosts know, I've always been crazy, so they got here way too late.

[whattaprick]

What have you tried to get rid of it?

[tacosgay]

Well, uh, I did try a round of good ol' Detect Magic, which did nothing, but lit the fuck up because, well, basically, everything here is magic as hell. Other than that, I pretty much just... uh. Try not to go to bed. Which hasn't worked out great for me.

[stillwinningthehardway]

I know a little about controlling bad dreams, but it's more about accepting them than preventing them from happening.

You might try keeping some kind of sedative-painkiller nearby when you rest?

[tacosgay]

Eugh. Yeah, no, I want this to stop, not to be like "well this sucks but I guess that's life."

That is... not a bad idea actually. Where would I get something like that around here?

[stillwinningthehardway]

Try the medical tent and ask Zecora to make you something. [Dryly:] Be polite and it won't even taste too awful.

It should at least help with the pain and make things more restful, but if there's an underlying cause that'll still be there.

[tacosgay]

Zecora! ... huh, why didn't I think of that? She's gotta have something in there for, uh, headaches and existential dread, right? I'll go pay her a visit. Thanks for the heads up.

[stillwinningthehardway]

Sure thing. If you don't sleep I'm not sure anything for dreamless sleep would help, but she does good work with pain. And existential dread... anxiety... they're probably close enough.

[whattaprick]

Hah. I know the feeling. My medallion buzzes so much around here it's weirder when it goes quiet.

Has anything else changed?

[tacosgay]

Nnnnno...? Just... the weird head-pictures and headaches. And I guess my face glows now, and I have horns, but I'm pretty sure we can call that definitely the carnival's fault.