@joe.jones | 10 july

[malta]

What do people do for hobbies around here? Aside from volunteering for medical torture.

Has Victorian flower languages come back in style yet? Bookbinding and leathercraft seems obsolete by now, but what about backgammon or cards. I once lost a game of trappola to the Duchess of Ferrara, she was shark. Scrabble? Does that work with the translator? Pomme de terre is about twice as many points as potato.

[ please enjoy that this translates to "potato is about twice as many points as potato" unless you also speak french.

anyway joe is bored come talk to him ]

Who wants to bring fencing back in fashion?

Comments

[remorseful]

Well.

At least it's less messy.

And I assume, well. Less constant?

[malta]

You mean do we die constantly? No. Most of the time we're very good at not dying.

[ some deaths... are very constant. 500 years worth of it. ]

It can be messy. Real messy, depends on the death. I had to regrow a leg once. Disgusting. I think I died twice from blood loss before it grew back.

[remorseful]

So, it's immortality by way of active regeneration? Otherwise, you'd probably be able to live without the leg.

[Unless the leg wound is what caused the death, but cauterizing a wound exists.

Sam, if it's not clear, is genuinely nerdily invested in this.]

[malta]

As far as we can tell. Bigger injuries take longer to come back from, but we come back.

[ until they don't ]

[remorseful]

Honestly, I can't pretend that I'm not curious. Like in a completely intellectual way.

Don't worry. I'm not the type to get too invasive.

It's just that I like to know things.

[malta]

I don't mind. It has no effect here and you have no effect on my world, if I've read correctly.

What would you like to know?

[remorseful]

Huh. Well, that's nice of you.

You mentioned a "we." I'm not asking you to point fingers, but did you all come into this together?

[malta]

Nicky and I came into our immortality together and something like an alternate universe will not see us parted. But yes, the rest of my family arrived here all at once.

[remorseful]

Fair enough.

But I meant ... the power. Did you come into that all together? At once? Does it seem like it might've been an activated ritual of some kind?

[malta]

Oh no. The eldest is older than the wheel, Nicky and I met in the Crusades, the next wasn't until Napoleon's reign, the newest was last month.

[remorseful]

I see. Hard to nail down a pattern within that.

Which crusades? Obviously, you didn't call them that at the time, so—which conflict in particular?

[malta]

The very first. We died during the siege of Jerusalem.

[remorseful]

And there's not a single lick of supernatural anything? Ghosts, cold spots, vampires that are jealous because you got it made?

[malta]

No, nothing like that

[ why is it always vampires. this is james barnes' fault. ]

The church considers us unnatural. But miracles are also against nature so they can suck my dick.

[remorseful]

Yeah, it's probably a safe bet to continue the church full of crap. Especially given the things I've experienced first hand.

That sounds like you have experience with the Inquisition, too, then. I'm sorry if that's the case.

[malta]

Organized religion is a dangerous thing.

[remorseful]

[While Sam hasn't exactly been chastised by the official Church, he's definitely been on the receiving end of some asshole angels who judged him for his whole ... Lucifer's vessel thing. And also wanted him to submit to that fate.]

Especially when power claims and societal imbalance comes into the picture.