002 [ Video ]

[doctoral_bird]

[ It may be an unfamiliar face to many! Malkus is actually appearing on the feed without his signature mask. Even a plague man like him needs fresh air now and then. His sickly facade wasn't far from the norm! That's just... his face. ]

Greetings fellow residents. It has been some time, but with the lull in disturbances I feel now's a better time than any to- ah-... discuss...

[ He scratched his claws against the wood of the bench outside, trying to remember what the hell he was going to say. As the pause grew, he could feel his social anxiety build.

Don't give them dead air, Malkus! The people hated pauses! ]

I am sorry, sleeping outside has left me- e-eh-... melancholic. I'd forgotten what I wanted to bring up. Ah! Yes!

[ He moved the feed to the mask sitting beside himself, placed daintily on a heap of papers and glassware. ]

As it often becomes a point of conversation, I would like to ask my fellow residents if anyone has actually had an epidemic ravage their land. I've come to realize I may be alone in this topic.

Comments

[video]

[fliplizard]

I think one started ravaging my land right before I got dragged into this dump. If invisible things attacking everyone all at once counts as an epidemic.

...Wait Malkus is that you?

[doctoral_bird]

Ah, Miss Fangbattle! I'm so terribly sorry to hear about your land. Some diseases can indeed be considered "invisible monsters" to those uninitiated in dark spirits.

[ This knowledge, of course, coming from a land still rooted in superstition. Where sickness was chalked up to bad humors or angry little ghosts. Not germs, no way. What the hell was bacteria? ]

... Unless you mean in a literal sense, then I have no idea what on earth that would be.

[video]

[hot_mes]

[well this hits a little too close to home...

But the need to talk shop with other physicians wins out against discomfort for his own past]

My homeland was destroyed by one.

[or, well, the government soldiers attempting to eradicate one...]

[doctoral_bird]

[ It was a sad comfort to share such a cruel fate with others. He'd never wish such a thing on somebody else, but being able to commiserate with another was a needed feeling. Misery loved company and Malkus hated feeling alone. ]

My condolences. I am certain the plague doctors of your land tried their best as well. I know we certainly did.

[ Even after most everyone perished, Malkus still roamed the land with his colleagues to gather up things for the few remaining cities. ]

[video]

[whip_poor_will]

[Ah yes, Malkus -- so lovely to see your face!]

You are hardly alone, though I believe that a more accurate term for what has happened to my world is a pandemic, if one were to be picky with such technicalities.

[doctoral_bird]

[ Isn't he quite the looker? Malkus owed his charming looks to a poor diet of plagued mushrooms and dried fish. ]

I can only hope my blight is not at that scale, yet. I can't imagine it crossing the sea, but I don't suppose I've ever seen the coast.

[ He'd only heard enough to understand his decay originated from the coastal region, but not the actual (eldritch) origin. ]

Can't help but worry about my colleagues, and how they're doing without my guidance.

[video]

[sciencelizard]

Oh m-my god you're human.

[That... wasn't even the question, or topic, Alphys. She just. You know, when you're so used to seeing monsters and not humans you don't correlate beak face = human. Some wires have definitely gotten crossed. Immediately, after she's said it in the most deadpan fashion, she wings back to sputtering, trying to cover for what was probably very rude.]

I mean, not that there's anything w-wrong with that! Or! Anything oh my g-god I'msosorry.

[doctoral_bird]

Well of course I am!

[ Any offense was completely averted. Malkus simply had no ability to feel insulted regarding his humanity. On the contrary, to imply the opposite would probably be the thing that got his goat. ]

Oh goodness, did you take me for a monster? Not a bad one- I mean as in the race- your- you know- Hah! Hah. No no no, no apologies! My apologies, b-but yes I'm rather mundane. 'Side from a bit of decay.

[ He slightly gestured to the unnaturally sharp teeth. He thought it'd just been damage from chewing bones, but then they'd grown back when he lost some. A strange little bit of corrupted evolution, like his arms. ]

[video]

[tongueamok]

It depends on what you would define as an epidemic, I suppose.

[Boy, does Carlisle sound far nicer when he doesn't realize this is the infamous masked birdman.]

[doctoral_bird]

[ Malkus visibly raised his eyebrows, recognizing this man. Wasn't he the scared fellow with the unnatural ability? He squinted, completely taking the advantage of a mask for granted now that his expressions were worn on his sleeve. ]

Ahhh-... Well, one that threatens civilization as a whole. By which I mean... Er what do I mean...

[ He hummed, trying to find the words. ]

My country, for example, is currently cocooned in a web of blighted mycelium. To put it lightly. Which does not give it the respectful loathing it calls for, but-...

[text as always]

[aroundthecoroner]

Not in my lifetime,
at least not on a massive scale.
But way back in history there were a few.
Smallpox, the black plague, tuberculosis.
The black plague was mostly Europe, though.
Technically not "my land".

[There are a few others that might count, but the plague doctor mask tells Michael that Malkus probably means... bigger. But more importantly...]

You've been sleeping outside?

[doctoral_bird]

It's comfirting to hear your kind has pulled themselves through such disaster. Multiple times, even. I hope the window to such recovery hasn't closed on my world.

[ It almost certainly has, but there could always be a new beginning for something. Regarding the second part of that correspondence. ]

Yes

After the fire I was not certain the extent of damages.

All the same, I could do with new quarters.

video;

[hasitsthorns]

There have been some through history. Not any recently, actually. Medicine has come pretty far where I'm from.

[doctoral_bird]

Good to hear, Miss Rose. I suspect your medical weeds help the populous. It is a comfort to know your world will still be there when you return.

video

[sheathes]

Plague was one of the few things my land was spared. Famine and invaders were a far bigger threat.

[ Though there were plenty before and after her, historically... still. She can't speak from experience there, nor would she want to. ]

But I would not wish such a thing on anyone. You have my sympathy.

[doctoral_bird]

Verily, it is hard to be sick if you perish from hunger first. But at the same time, I think my land has decayed so intensely that no one has the strength for strife! It's-...

[ He held his hands up, moving them like the cups of a scale. ]

I appreciate your sympathy, truly. I am grateful that as far as captives go, I've experienced nothing but admirability from everybody.

Video

[knifecollecting]

[Wait...Ignoring the plague.]

You're sleeping outside?

Video

[doctoral_bird]

[ A surprising amount of new faces were responding to his inquiry. He hadn't a clue how many people would feel so comfortable speaking about their realm's sicknesses. Ah- wait- no, this one focused on the bit he tossed in to explain his fatigue. ]

Fair bit better than sleeping under the stars, given our prison is a cave. Since that inferno, I'd decided to move and ah-

[ He stretched his legs, scuffing his boots against the soil of the park. ]

Stopped midway in the process.

video

[bythewaves]

Ah! Is that you Malkus?

[ Maglor smiles at him ]

Tch now, you should leave off your mask more, look at you! You really must ask Elrond to take a look at you, I worry about your health!

As to your question - we Elves are more resistent to disease, but plauge and pestilence happened amongst the villages and cities of Men, and were a favoured form of attack from our Enemy.

[doctoral_bird]

[ Malkus laughed, sheepishly. Although his teeth were a little monstrous, they lined up very neatly when he grinned. Compliments were something Malkus very rarely got. ]

I'm well, I have just been without a proper diet for some time. Are you speaking of the balrogs again? Was that the name? Those monsterous creatures you had mentioned before.

[ Without the muffling attribute of his mask, it really became obvious how much Malkus mumbled to himself during conversation. ]

video

[evocation]

Uh, sort of? I mean, what do you mean by "ravage"? Every year someone freaks out about swine flu or ebola or whatever, but it's not like black-death-we're-all-fucked style.

[doctoral_bird]

I mean erm- what you said there. The black-death-we're-in-a-bind sort of blight. My world, or my land specifically, is gone. For the most part, at least.

[ He spoke so matter-of-factly, it almost didn't seem to bother him. His removal from said world likely contributed to this empty tone. ]

That in mind, I'm still fairly crucial to those who try and thrive in that plagueland. I hope I can return someday soon.

video;

[survivorsguilt]

You're not alone. As long as epidemic means what I'm pretty sure it means.

[She screws up her nose. Big words.]

[doctoral_bird]

[ Aw hell, now that was a bummer. How old was this one? He watched the feed, trying to figure it out. Too small to deserve to live in any pestilence for sure. Nobody deserved that. ]

A widespread sickness. Mine is more... physical in a way. You can, at least, see the plague that haunts my land. Fungal webs on everything. Spores carried in the wind. I hope to be the only one to suffer with that.

[citytraveler]

Yes.

[ Man of many words over here. ]

You need sleep.

[doctoral_bird]

[ Indeed. The response had been so quick and short, that Malkus was almost taken aback. ]

Yes to the presence of pestilence? If so, my condolences.

[ He pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing his eyes. ]

And I agree... Rest is important. I simply need to find a proper bed in this place.