crystal.

[achievable]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Howard Stark
RECIPIENT: Everyone
NOTES: Nah

[ A snappy American (or dwarven or Qunari) accent, familiar only to anyone Howard has bothered in person over the last couple of weeks while finding his way around and becoming slowly convinced this isn’t a fever dream, breaks the mid-afternoon doldrums with, ]

You people really live like this, huh?

[ The time for acclimation is over. ]

You have kids who can throw electricity out of their fingers. And you’re walking up ten flights of stairs, in this heat? It’s interesting, but I hate it.

[ The time for being an ass has begun. ]

Someone explain lyrium to me. Only the dwarves and the wizards without feelings can handle it—I assume everyone else has tried gloves.

[ But, like, he’s not sure. Please confirm. ]

Comments

[achievable]

Right.

[ He tries for one of those “I’m giving the information you’re sharing with me a respectful amount of consideration” pauses, and manages about a third of one. ]

But someone has tried gloves?

[saam]

Obviously! It's fucking toxic, you sod. If anybody could make do with it, they would.

[achievable]

You'd think, but, again: electric fingers, still walking up stairs. I have to ask.

Is it airborne? Will it kick in if you don't breathe it, just because you're close? What if you enclose it in glass?

[saam]

Look. I come from a place where they sew mages' mouths and eyes shut. Walking up stairs ain't the half of it, brother.

[achievable]

That's horrific, and beside my point.

[saam]

You had a point?

[achievable]

Somewhere, I promise.

It’s toxic. How does it intoxicate people?

[saam]

Great.

Through contact. So I hear, anyway. Not like I tried it. But you spend too long around it, it'll get to you somehow.

[achievable]

We’ll see about that.

[ rip my shortest-lived character ]

[saam]

Just- just fucking think about it for a second. Really think. Don't go off what other people have told you, fuck that lot. Think about it logical, alright?

Everybody's known about Lyrium for hundreds and hundreds of years, yeah? If there was a way for normal folks to handle it safe without getting fucked, somebody would'a figured it out by now! Don't be fucking stupid.

[achievable]

Everyone has known about birds for about that long, haven't they? But nobody here is flying yet.

[saam]

Jumping off a cliff will kill you a lot faster.

[achievable]

I’ll get back you on that in a few weeks.