one ; he's a transponster!

[yourdistraction]

Who: Merrill & Fenris
Broadcast: {video} Fleet-Wide
Action: Anywhere on the Marsiva (they may split up we'll see).
When: January 14th

{VIDEO} ;

[ The video switches on to reveal— well okay it's an arm, covered in leather, chainmail and white fur, but only because the communicator's taking a moment to get pulled back, and only because there's more than one person trying to use it.

Or more than one elf, with pointed ears and both faces intricately covered in tattoos as the biggest clue. Merrill's markings are as dark as her short, braided hair and Fenris's are as light as his (there might even be a glow). Contrarily, perhaps, she looks much more cheerful in her greeting, but there is still a level of heightened stress to her tone. ]

Yes, hello! It seems we landed in the wrong time. World, actually! Now you promised, since the war's over. Can we speak to somebody in the Initiative? Where are our— Um—

[Merrill doesn't get to finish her sentence, as Fenris wrests control of the communicator from her. He looks decidedly less friendly, in fact, he looks just about ready to punch someone in the face. Hard.]

Our weapons. They are missing. [He jabs an annoyed thumb in Merrill's direction, whose irritated sigh can be heard off-camera.] I understand she likely disrupted the transporter. Just open up another one and send us back to Kirkwall. Now. I have no intention of staying on your blighted moon again. [A pause, a disdainful look around.] Or wherever this is...

[Actually, this looks distinctly non-Initiative. And it's definitely not United Earth, either, he remembers their holding pens, and this is not them. Where the heck ARE they? He doesn't have long to ponder or even let someone answer before there's another sound from Merrill off-camera; a gasp.]

There's something on you! Hold still.

What? What is- NO! Don't you touch me. [He may tolerate you existing in his life now, Merrill, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to touch him with your magey hands. He turns around a couple of times, trying to find...whatever it is on him, his hands tapping around his back until...oh he has a thing on his neck. WHY DOES HE HAVE A THING ON HIS NECK??

His fingers close on it, and he tries to yank it off. If you ever wondered what would happen if you tried to take your Augment off, wonder no more. Fenris gives a pained, frightened yelp, then curls into a horrible, shuddering ball on the floor, muttering horribly in Tevene. He's somewhere in the horrible recesses of his own broken mind right now, don't mind him.

Off-camera: ]

All right, I won't touch you.

Comments

[misconceived]

He's just like that. If you don't make the move first, he's harmless.

[ That's code for saying that Cole is insane, but he's also on the good side. ]

Uh... okay, I think I get the misunderstanding here. You mentioned the Fade and you're freaking out about demons possessing mages so I'm going to assume you've got all the same stuff going on as Varric. Demons are creatures where we're from, closer to monsters than spirits, so it's not as impossible as you're thinking. Full demons don't have souls, so they're pretty much fully evil without exception, but half-demons or less do. So we get a choice.

[ He pauses, considers what to say, then shrugs to himself. ]

My mother's a mage. A witch, we call them, so am I.

[yourdistraction]

Oooh!

[ That's not surprising at all, a demon and a mage. Mages and witches are really the same thing in Thedas. Mage is merely more the proper term, and witch more for slander. ]

You're awfully chatty about that.

[ Like wow, just YEAH I'M A WITCH. People are just running around proclaiming to be demons and witches for everyone to see and hear? She understands that rules can differ, but still... Old habits die hard, and it makes her uneasy. What if Templars tho ]

Nobody here cares about magic?

[misconceived]

[ He's... actually pretty frank with people in the know, yeah. It's mortals that he gets cagey around and these people are obviously anything but. Even the mortals in the fleet seem to have an idea about magic and that's good enough for Chris. One less thing to worry about. ]

Not that I've seen. To be honest, I can't imagine it's just technology pulling all of us in here anyway. If there was anyone watching trying to keep the balance here, they'd have done something by now.

[yourdistraction]

Oh, I have seen this technology take quite amazing leaps! Although I don't believe you're incorrect. I had been forming a theory in the connection between magic and technology when residing in Exsilium.

I've heard that there are many star ships, and that they traverse planets. Is there anything else expected of us? Anything else unusual that they can do, that can't be done in your realm?

[misconceived]

When residing where?

Well, we're not quite to spaceships like this yet, or visiting other planets so far out. It's mostly just the technology getting further ahead than what I'm used to, but it's almost close enough to count.

[ That said, he's from a time when magic was used for corrupted purposes to take over the world and things advanced at a very... skewed rate. Holograms and floating cars by the 2020s, so he knows more than the average person from his time period. ]

[yourdistraction]

Really? Are you from Earth, then? I know their technology somewhat, because I've studied it. I've been there! Sort of.

Exsilium is...was...will be? [ Mm. ] It's complicated, but I know they used to call it England, and it is...was? It was the only place safe from the United Earth, well...at least for a time.

[misconceived]

Yeah. California if you know where that is. [ Someone already did, so he's not going to rule it out. This is something he's actually understanding, especially when Merrill starts getting tongue-tied on the tenses. ]

... You're from Earth's future. An Earth's.

[yourdistraction]

Earth has had many futures. ...It has also had many pasts. And yet, at the same time, there is only one. One because we made it that way. Many because we made it that way.

Does that make any sense?

[misconceived]

You meddled with the timeline for a purpose to make it go the way you wanted or was needed or whatever it was. Yeah, I get that much.

[ It is literally his entire schtick, he'd be embarrassed if he didn't understand what she's getting at. ]

[yourdistraction]

[ She had also learned that it was no different from Thedas. She had met those from different paths; even a different Hawke entirely. The only one from the same timeline as Merrill was Fenris. It might be the same here, even if Varric is here. ]

Meddled is such a casual way to put it, but...yes. We weren't given much choice, really, but it was for our cause too. The United Earth was seeking to ransack all realms. There would have been nothing left.

Exsilium was a rebellion, and those who managed us transports were known as the Initiative. There were other people there, the natives, although I think they were actually exiles, who hated us. The Initiative didn't really care for them, because it was us they wanted.

Even if they couldn't traverse realms like the United Earth, they did have transporters to go through Earth's timeline. To try and impact the past and destroy them.

The tricky business was to do it in a way that didn't impact the rest of Earth's future, as best managed, at least.

[misconceived]

Surgical strikes. [ Yep, Chris knows this. ]

So... Exsilium, their rebellion worked? They were sending you home, that's what you were saying. Either they won or they failed spectacularly and they were getting the innocents out of the way.

[yourdistraction]

It worked.

[ Merrill could sound happier about assisting in saving the entire multiverse, you're welcome. She sounds more like she won a hot dog eating competition, and what she won was one more hot dog. ]

[misconceived]

It worked... and you were on your way home, right, and now you're here.

[yourdistraction]

Without our weapons! What can I do about that?

[ Happy as a poodle to change the subject. ]

[misconceived]

To be honest? I have no idea. It's not really something I have a problem with.

[ He's tempted to show off his own energy balls to explain, but no, let's not. Also he's not even going to entertain the idea of conjuring weapons for these two. Sorry, gaiz. ]

I guess you could see if anyone can make more? Doubt you'd be able to buy any around here.

[yourdistraction]

Normally I would say yes, but these are special weapons. I'm sure they must be around here, too, and whatever brought us here might still be on this vessel as well.

[misconceived]

You'll probably want to explore sooner rather than later. They boot you out onto a ship eventually and you can't get back in there.

[yourdistraction]

I can't waste any time, then! Fenris and I had better split up. Thank you.

My name is Merrill!

[misconceived]

Chris. I'd say good luck, but uh... you getting weapons isn't in my best interests, you know?

[yourdistraction]

I don't know how many times I need to say I have no interest in hurting you or your father.

[ What Fenris does is his business, so long as it isn't right in Merrill's proximity and blows a hole into space that kills them all. Most unpleasant. ]

[misconceived]

You and your friend are a package deal right now. You're gonna have to get used to that.

[yourdistraction]

Ooh, don't let him hear you say that, he'll get even crankier!

[ Good thing they'll be splitting up. ]

[misconceived]

That's possible?

[yourdistraction]

He would not call us friends, or a package deal.

[ The idea is laughable, wow, goodness. ]

Yes, he can get much more...expressive. And neither of us need our weapons to fight, if I am to be fair. They are more for sentimental value than anything. But I believe Fenris will behave while on these ships. He understands what happens in space.

[misconceived]

Sounds like good news for us. He's not like that with everyone, is he? I mean... just the demonic sort, right?