open || sending crystal

[humanistic]

FORM: sending crystal
SENDER: Mitchell, featuring the background musical stylings of Juke Bachs the bard
RECIPIENT: everyone
WHAT: a new bard has moved into Skyhold. he knows but one song. verily, how well he knows it. and it is getting old.
WHEN: immediately
WHERE: the tavern
NOTES: Tom Jones. also this will make more sense if you ctl+f Juke Bachs on the rewards page.

[Beginning this message takes some doing. Sending crystals are unfamiliar--but after a moment, fumbling gives way to the ambient noise of a fairly crowded pub. Conversation, the clink of dishes and mugs. Laughter. Music, in the background.]

Right. So-- [At last he's got this messaging thing worked out now, all right; he's nothing if not adaptable--] I don't know how it's done here, all right, but I've got t' complain.

This bard won't shut up.

And d'you know the worst part? The worst part is, he's playin' Tom Jones. [The horror.] Tom Jones! Come all this way, and there's still some prick doing 'What's New Pussycat' in the corner of the pub in the middle of the afternoon. It's suffocating. And that's the only thing he's playing, by the way. You ask him anything else, no matter how nicely you ask--no, that's the only thing. Tom Jones. 'What's New'. Nothing else.

I mean, I'm going out of my mind here. Anyone know how t' get this to stop? Jesus--

Comments

[demonicbeauty]

Oh, all sorts of things, I think.

Fighting and cooking and sailing. Building. Anything that needs to be done, really.

[humanistic]

And there's no careers fair, I'm guessing.

[demonicbeauty]

...no what?

[You gotta watch those pop culture references, Mitchell.]

[humanistic]

Careers-- oh, come on. Seriously? It's where they've got all those little card tables set up, plastic tablecloths. Clipboards for signing up 'cause you're interested in whatever job they're hawking at you. Like a meat market for temporary employment. It's demeaning.

But it does sometimes get you some gainful employment.

Which one of those is yours, anyways? Sailing?

[demonicbeauty]

Oh.

[The concept makes vague sense, even if it's wildly out of her schema of the world.]

No. I've only been sailing once, actually. I don't think I'd be very good at it.

I don't really...have a job? I fetch and carry a lot. And sometimes...

Well, don't tell anyone this, but sometimes I swipe some food from the kitchens for the refugees.

[humanistic]

Can't everyone hear this?

[demonicbeauty]

Maybe.

But no one's ever paid much attention to me before. I don't know why they'd start now.

[humanistic]

Right, yeah. But it sort of defeats the purpose of tellin' me not to tell anyone. That's all.

Er-- what refugees?

[demonicbeauty]

There are a lot of people who come to Skyhold for protection.

This isn't exactly a...

[She struggles to find the word.]

...a peaceful world.

[humanistic]

[He huffs a quiet laugh.]

Yeah, well. Then it can join the club.

[demonicbeauty]

There's a club?

[Sincere? Impish? Hard to tell. All part of Airy's charm.]

[humanistic]

Oh, yeah there's a club. Once a week we all get together and discuss, I dunno. Child labor laws. Genocide. Real uplifting stuff.

It's like an inter world support group.

[demonicbeauty]

...I don't find genocide terribly uplifting.

[humanistic]

Yeah, that's why it was sarcasm.

[demonicbeauty]

Oh.

[She has the grace to laugh at herself. You gotta give her that.]

I'm sorry. I'm not very good with sarcasm.

[humanistic]

Let me guess. They don't have it where you're from?

Also sarcasm, by the way.

[demonicbeauty]

They do have it. I don't know why I'm not very good with it.

I guess...

I guess I just think it's better to be genuine, you know? The world is so complicated already. Helps to know where you stand. And sarcasm always seemed a little mean.

[humanistic]

Jesus, you went deep with that.

[More amused than disapproving, and not a cruel sort of amusement, either.]

[demonicbeauty]

I...

Well, sir. I just...believe there's no reason not to be nice.

I know you must think that's strange.

[humanistic]

Hey, I didn't say that. If being nice is your thing, that's great. I've got a friend, it's the same for her. I can practically hear her giving your little speech on sarcasm.

Even if she's the most sarcastic of us anyways, half the time.

[demonicbeauty]

[Ariadne gives him a quiet, bell-like laugh.]

Being nice isn't always easy. But as Princess Amanda often told me, "Nothing worth doing is ever easy."

[humanistic]

Princess Amanda? Are you name-dropping a princess at me?

[demonicbeauty]

I doubt that. She's from my world. You couldn't have heard of her.

[humanistic]

Well, yeah, but now you've got me all impressed. You know a princess.

[demonicbeauty]

I knew a princess.

Here I'm just a nobody.