Open Log - I feel like I should be cackling

[inferiority_complex]

Who: Chris Halliwell and you (OPEN)
When: August till event
Where: Solvunn and Horizon
What: Witchy shit
Warnings: weird ass ingredients. Beware of pigs feet.

Will match prose or brackets. Plot with me over at caletara

Comments

[tedandroses]

The guy with the hair and the explosive potions goes from looking indecisive and slightly grumpy to absolutely boggled. Teddy almost laughs aloud. And it would just be funny -- they are, in fact, aware there are states with the sort of firearm restrictions that make it impossible to sell guns like that -- but where the fuck do you live that you can buy a gun at Walmart is the kind of statement that feels like it has you goddamn hick all but tacked onto the end.

"I live the fuck in West Virginia, when I'm not here," she answers extremely dryly. "And yeeeaah...? Ginger, cinnamon -- don't buy your spices at Walmart, though, for one thing it's fake cinnamon and for another, you might as well just drive around with a fuck you, local business sign -- cases of canning supplies," -- yeah okay, those actually are probably best bought at Walmart, unless there's a good hardware store near him. "Clothes, toys, electronics. Bagel bites. And. Guns. Which is what I know."

Teddy levels that Look back at him. They're increasingly aware that he's also about 2/3 their height even sitting down, but they tend to give off a bit of a presence when they're -- well, usually when they're on stage, but also when they're being ranty, so. Probably not as tiny seeming as usual.

He feels a little bad, though, when the guy snarks about needing to be prepared. Okay, fair, appearing here out of nowhere isn't exactly...fun. Teddy sighs and scrubs his face, taking a long breath. When he looks up, the other man's looking at the ground, and Teddy frowns a little, dropping to a sit across from him. He hadn't expected both of them to feel shitty, or chill out, or whatever exactly is happening here.

"You're brand fucking new, aren't you." Teddy makes a face. "Look...I'm sorry. I was --" They sigh. "It just -- it seemed funny, like. Going to all this trouble to make a...potion, that I assume only works once per? If they're anything like potions in video games? Without even knowing what you might use it on? ...But I know appearing here out of nowhere is really...really weird."

Teddy sets her herbs, which she's still kind of holding, down next to her and contemplates. "The thing is, this place...I don't reckon you'd get your time's worth out of most of those. Don't get me wrong, the crazy shit just keeps going, but the last thing that happened, explosives would have...mostly caused more problems..." Teddy makes a little yikes face as she tries to imagine explosives inside an enclosed bunker. "If you can just keep vials of backup potions on your shelf forever, I guess it could be useful to have a little of everything...?"

"Much of the time we're hanging out, helping the locals with stuff and getting ...food, shelter, whatever else we need in return. Waiting for the next crazy shit. If you've got a good potion for fixing things, or, I don't know, healing, that's going to get you further than any of these. Though..." Teddy tips their head. "Sleep could be good. That's got a lot of applications."

They ruffle their hair and hold out a hand, with a slightly apologetic little smile. They're not sure what they think, and comments about where they live tend to make them wary, but they also would like to be the kind of person who reserves judgement.
"I'm Teddy."

[inferiority_complex]

"You can buy guns at Walmart in West Virginia?" Chris was still actually incredulous by this. Like, he thought of West Virginia and, well, he didn't think Walmart and guns? "I wouldn't actually by spices at Walmart, my mom a chef and would literally kill me." Like, Piper might actually try and blow him up. Chris was pretty sure being lazy and picking up cloves at Walmart was a death sentence in the Manor. But you know, in a pinch? Piper never had to know what her son had done in the future.

As for Teddy? Chris is used to being yelled at by a woman about Teddy's height who could also blow you up, so Teddy and their stage presence? Yeah, he was accustomed to being mildly intimidated by smaller people. And being intimidated by his charge? ....yeah that was also normal. He shifted to sit down on the ground as they started to talk, rather than continue to like, tower over them. He shifted his limbs, trying to figure out what to do with them.

"Okay, so sleep potions. I can do that. There's no potion for fixing stuff but I got a spell that'll do it easy." And then he twitched. "Yeah, I can't heal. Healing is....big." And you were assigned the only freaking whitelighter in existence that hadn't figured it out yet. The whitelighter who let their fianceé get impaled by his own psychotic brother and still couldn't muster up enough love to trigger his ability to heal. Therapy. He needed lots and lots of therapy.

"Alright Teddy, so I got kidnapped and sent to like, farm country? Where we give offerings to weird god monsters and farm?" Wait, was there a plant growth spell or potion in the book? It was one of those things he just normally....skipped over. Because who cared. But....obviously there were Warren witches who existed before modern grocery stores. There had to be spells and potions in the book that would help. If he could remember. Or through just trial and error?

"Potions and magical ingredients don't really have an expiration date--and if I make a big enough batch, I can make more than one vial. I suppose I could just make a bunch and see what ends up being useful? And wait, tell me what happened last time? You made this face...." He was remembering that look she had about the explosives.

"So what do you do here for fun then?" He was going to make a cow tipping joke and thought better of it. So instead, he looked up at them, leaning against a tree to brace himself, and tilted his head a bit. Trying to get a grip on his link with Teddy, to separate his feelings from theirs and now that the buzzing was going away since he was acknowledging the link, maybe it would be a little easier. "And you don't need to apologize, you're fine. I suppose I came on a little strong too."

[tedandroses]

Teddy can’t help a little huff of laughter. They think they could probably really shock him with how many laws there aren’t on the topic in both West Virginia and Kentucky. But they also know that horrified tone and they’re - in his eyes, anyway - probably slandering their home state quite enough already.

“That’s what I said,” Teddy replies easily, eyes amused. “Though you wouldn’t really want to. Can’t throw a stone back home without hitting a sporting goods place or a Gun & Pawn, a real gunsmith if you’re in the right place, and any one of those can get you something better and more reliable than whatever crappy mass produced hunting rifles Walmart stocks.”

Not that she has opinions or anything...

She has to assume he’s joking about literally kill, though her eyebrow lifts, curious at that tidbit of information. Mom’s a chef, son makes potions. That’s one way of riffing on a family skill…

“Damn, video games lying to me again!” Teddy forges past the momentary awkwardness Chris seems to have around not being able to do that. They have pretty good healers in Solvunn, so no new magic fixall isn’t the end of the world; they just don’t have something they already didn’t have. They explain, “You know, in RPGs and shit, the healing potions are the first ones they give you? Just toting around 17 vials of whatever, downing them every five minutes. But.” They shrug, smiling. “I guess games also imply you could make a proximity-triggered bomb out of gunpowder, scissors and a tin can, or just light rubbing alcohol on fire and have a functional Molotov cocktail, so…”

“You’re not wrong about the farming and gods. I’m not sure I would call them monsters…” Though, aren’t gods and monsters kind of the same? There are some that are certainly monstrous; in that alternate future, a thing they aren’t going to mention to someone this new, Teddy herself had had times of being pretty crazy looking — and scarily empowered.

Teddy nods at Chris’s thinking-out-loud instead; that had been exactly their thought. Why not just make some of everything in case, if it stays good?

“Last time. So, a little while ago there were some…pretty wild environmental things going on that may or may not have had to do with the gods and the other two countries here, who are at war — anyway: we had to go underground in kind of — a bunker, while things blew over. Which was its own problem…” Teddy doesn’t want to recap the whole thing when he’s asking one question, and waves a hand.

“But that’s why I made the face. Explosives in a contained underground space. Unless you’re trying to break rock apart — and for that matter, even if you are, and you know what you’re doing — that’s a quick way to set a fire or collapse the ceiling or accidentally end up with toxic fumes, and it still wouldn’t have helped get rid of much of the problem.”

“And…fun. I mean. The war’s made things a little …fraught? but it mainly depends on what you normally do for fun? I’m a musician, back home, and I can still do that here; my friend Eddie and I jam sometimes.

“There are taverns and inns where people gather. Play music and drink and dance and tell stories. Like any kind of bar, really, just…less bass.” Teddy shrugs and mulls a little. One good aspect of having the biggest place she’d lived — and that only as a little kid - be the very outskirts of Pikeville, KY is that she’s used to entertaining herself without cable Internet and fairly shitty cell service and with a lot of things a good hour or more drive away.

(Granted, sometimes that entertainment was more or less legal, or wise, especially as a teen, but her desire to do stupid shit is a lot lower these days and besides, trespassing and drug use mostly aren’t things you can get arrested for in Solvunn.)

“You know, the stuff people have done for hundreds of years. Oh: There’s also the Horizon — has anyone shown you yet?”

[inferiority_complex]

"....Yeah I don't think we have those in San Francisco....." Or if they did, Chris definitely wasn't familiar with them. That and guns against demons or whitelighters was usually kind of stupid, so he steered clear of them. They are definitely from very different parts of the world.

And then, there Teddy was, trying to make himself feel better about being the worlds most useless whitelighter. It was actually kind of sweet. "That i can actually do," Chris offered probably not so helpfully. "My aunt was actually really good at chemistry...." so in the not so likely event that Chris' magic failed him, he could totally light things on fire and make modified explosives out of it. Thanks Paige.

He listened, trying to gauge what was happening in this whole crazy world with what might be best to make potions wise and he totally sees why Teddy made a face. "Okay, so if I make an explosive, it needs to be fume free and target specific. got it." He was pretty sure that was not what Teddy was getting at but. That was totally what he got from that explanation.

"Why is everyone asking me what I do for fun?" He sighed, wondering what kind of 'i dont know how to have fun' aura he gave off. Wasn't there an aura cleansing spell in the book? If he could remember it, maybe he should use it.

"I don't. Have fun that is. Usually, I don't have time. This is probably the first time in a while I've been able to ...just stop." kind of. Until the universe started throwing Charges at him. Like Teddy. But what they didn't know couldn't hurt them, right? "Eddie's cool, he seems like a really excellent guy. And no, no one's shown me the Horizon. I assume you don't mean like....the sky."

[tedandroses]

Teddy actually laughs a little this time. They can't tell if he means a sporting goods store, a Gun & Pawn, gunsmiths, hunting rifles, hunting rifles in Walmart, or all of the above. Given the conversation, it's probably just the Walmart, but his shell-shocked (heh) expression could indicate all of it.

"Oh, you're from a true-blue state," she says, with a little "ah" of a nod. "Yeaaah, my impression of San Francisco is that your sporting goods section is a little more of the yoga variety." Diplomatically, Teddy adds, "I mean, my impression of San Francisco is also like... Large bridge, seals, pretty houses, super gay, super expensive. Occasional earthquake." She tilts her head. "I'm not working with a lot of local knowledge, is what I'm saying."

They furrow their brow a little and lift an eyebrow. It was, in fact, not at all what they were saying, but it's not ...not correct. "If you can make your explosions have parameters like that...yes. A targeted projectile would be better than an general explosion. Assuming something crazy happens in a tunnel again, which we can't, but." Teddy huffs a laugh and gives him a thumbs up. "Yeah, if we're in a claustrophobic underground bunker and you need to kill something, grab the bullet potion and not the bomb potion."

Teddy pulls her knees up to her chin and sets her arms on them and her chin on her arms, squinting at him for a second, and then another one for effect. "You know you just asked 'what do people do for fun around here', right? Sometimes, when you ask that, there's this thing that happens..."

He goes on, and Teddy falls silent, nodding. Their busy-ness has often been because of a thing they're pretty sure qualifies as fun, even when it's stressful, but...when they stop having things to do, things get bad. Their mind just doesn't tolerate it well.

"Yeah," they say, slowly, nodding. "I -- kinda get that. I mean. I was in a band back home, and we played gigs, real tours, as much as we could. Booked all our own shows, all that stuff. I was in college for the first couple years, and I was on a merit scholarship, so I made damn sure I showed up to class, got my schoolwork done, got As. In high school I was in a different one that played local venues. There was only a break of maybe two years where all I concentrated on was school. Which...actually, that's kind of a lie. I was still recording my own stuff. And also that was the least concentrating I even did, I think I partied more not being in a band than when I was in one.

I love making music, so I'm sure I had a lot more fun than the kind of being busy that you're talking about. But...you know, it is kind of a culture shock to not have a plan like, a month out, now that you say it."

Teddy doesn't bring up that it's a culture shock she, admittedly, has already had to get used to in some ways, even if being at home isn't quite as slowed-down as being in Solvunn. No one needs to hear about having seizures mid tour within an hour of meeting her. She's rambling too much already.

They smile, genuinely, when he describes Eddie as excellent. Points in his favor. Teddy huffs a little laugh. "No, I wasn't going to show you this really cool place where the sun goes down. Uh, the Horizon is what they call this..." Teddy hovers. "Kind of another dimension?" They make a face; that sounds crazy.

Maybe less crazy to someone who makes potions. She forges onward, just doing her best to explain. "You usually have to go with someone your first time, because it can be kind of weird. If you know how to meditate, or just kind of relax and clear your mind -- I usually focus on my breathing and these days, it helps to picture it. Basically, all of -- us, the people who were Summoned here -- are able to. I guess it's like ...astral projection, sort of, or like a dream? Your body stays here, but it looks, feels, like you're really there. And everyone has their own little space that, once you're familiar with it, you can kind of manifest things into. Whether that's ...your house, or, fucking Disneyland, a really cool forest, whatever you want.

And people can meet up there, too," she adds, because that was sort of the point she was getting to. "Even if they don't live anywhere near each other, if two people agree to go into the Horizon, it's not -- very big, spatially? So that can be another way to have fun, especially if your domain has...you know, fun stuff. Like. I've got guitars there but I also have an old Nintendo, you know? If someone wanted to play Mario Brothers with me we could, hypothetically."

Wrap?

[inferiority_complex]

Chris does in fact mean everything Teddy has mentioned. Or ever would mention. He's pretty sure it doesn't exist in San Francisco. But especially the Walmart part.

"For someone without much of a working knowledge, that's...pretty accurate."

He gave Teddy a look. HA, could he make his potions and spells have parameters like that, of course he could. Okay, potions more likely than spells, but he could make it work in a pinch. "Bullet potion vs bomb potion. Love that classification."

Music, okay, that was something they could bond over. Kind of. "I don't really know a lot about music but my mom owns a club? So.....I can listen to it?" Yeah that sounded kind of pathetic. Like a really, really bad pick up line. Okay, next try. "At least you got farther than I did schooling wise. Shit kind of hit the fan around 9th grade." That was putting it mildly. Chris hadn't figured out what he did for fun because he'd never really been allowed too. Never been given the time. Responsibility. World ending drama. All that shit.

"All right. Show me this other dimension you got here."