hadriel | Video 4 - George's room

Resurrection rituals? That sounds wild. What's it like? [quickly] If it's not too personal.

I'd say that it counts. It's close enough.

[ There's an almost audible shrug. Vax is Mr. Oversharing, he doesn't mind. ]

It gets..interesting. We have to implore the soul to come back, usually with confessions or promises. I— made a deal with a god for my sister; she did the same for me. It depends on who you're trying to bring back, really.

[ And then, a little bit of a huff of a laugh. ] Suppose I never really considered calling it immortality, before. [ Tit for tat, blondie. He doesn't know her, so: ] Why d'you want to know? Have you died?

Oh. Nice of you to do that for your sister. And for her to do it for you.

First time for everything? [...she supposes that's fair] Yeah, I did. Then got turned into an immortal Grim Reaper.

She's my sister. I wouldn't do anything less. [ Pause. ] Considering she'd probably sell my soul for a corn chip, I'll admit I'm a little bit surprised.

[ It's fondly sarcastic; he knows Vex would burn down the world for him, and vice versa. The Grim Reaper bit piques his curiosity, though— ]

If you don't mind my asking, how did that happen? The, the Grim Reaper part, I mean.

Well. That's what sisters are for? To come through for you when you're not expecting 'em to.

[George had a little sister. who she never paid attention to in life. she regrets that now in death]

See, there's this thing where every Reaper has to collect a certain number of souls before they can go to the afterlife. And if you're the lucky last soul, you get drafted into the job. That's what happened to me.

Mmm. Those are probably some of the truest words ever spoken. Siblings will always surprise you.

[ That's a bit surprising to hear, though — and so very different from how he'd thought it worked. ]

That's..far more like a dayjob than I expected. [ Said with a little bit of a laugh, though not unkindly. ] So all the people your Reaper collected before you just..got to go on, and when they came for you, handed off the mantle? That doesn't seem very fair — when's it your turn? Is it the same thing?

Yeah. Mine sure surprised me.

[being a Reaper seems to be unique to George's world and it works more strangely than most people seem to expect]

Yeah, I had to get a real job so I could afford a place to stay and something to eat when I wanted it. [she nods] That's about right. And it's not exactly fair, but yeah. When it's my turn, it's the same routine.

— wait, so you were dead, but still had to eat and work? That's.. [ Absurd, is the word he wants to use for it. What a very strange place she must have come from. ] What an interesting concept. I'm not sure what I was meant to be going toward when I died, but if I'd still had to work and eat, I dont think I'd be very happy.

[ A pause. ]

I suppose it's kind of like what's going on here. I'm still not sure this isn't my afterlife.

If you don't mind my asking, do you know how many more souls you had to escort before you were done? Before ending up here?

Technically, I don't need to eat. I just like to eat. I did have to work, though, to afford rent. ["bullshit" is the word George would use for it all] I wasn't very happy. Wasn't shy about saying so, either. Part of me figured I was sent here as a punishment.

If it is your afterlife, it's a pretty weird one. Not bad exactly, just weird.

Nope. No one knows. And we had Reapers who'd been doing the job for eighty years before I came around, so I assume it's a lot.

[ There's a little laugh at that. ] I can't fault you for that, food is pretty great.

Who knows, though? Maybe your punishment is my afterlife, or the other way around? S'all a bit weird, but..definitely not that bad, not yet.

[ That sounds like a pretty crappy deal, though he's not sure he wants to say that out loud. It's her life, or afterlife — he doesn't want to pass judgement and potentially offend her about it. ] Huh. That's an interesting setup, definitely. How long had you been at it?

It is. Though, most of the food I like the best, I can't find here.

Yeah. I mean, how long have you been here? Eventually, part of you gets used to the gods' bullshit. You know it's gonna happen, you know it's probably gonna suck, but you also know it won't last forever.

[she wouldn't be offended. she knows it's a crappy deal] Less than a year. I kept trying to . . . bend the rules and I kept getting in trouble for it.

Gods, yeah, I've noticed that. It's all a bit..limited here, isn't it? Never thought about the lengths I'd go to for some real, normal beef, before now.

I've only been here a few months; you sound as if you've been here an age, though. Are they really so bad?

[ He'll just chuckle again. ] I'll admit, I can only imagine getting put in time-out, or something. I'm not too sure how one punishes the Grim Reaper.

God, I know. I miss cheeseburgers. And steak. Monster meat just isn't the same.

They can be. Were you here for the time everybody was made crazy possessive of their friends and "significant others?"

Well, there's more than one of us, so I'd imagine the others are picking up my slack. And probably complaining about it to no end.

I can't say I'm too familiar with cheeseburgers, but oof, steak, yeah. A nice steak would be amazing. [ And a little laugh. ] Damn, now I'm hungry.

And you know, I remember hearing about that — I was..lucky enough that none of my family was here at that point, so I didn't experience any of it. Was it terrible?

Eh, they can take care of things, I'm sure. You've got a bit more on your plate right now, being here.

Fuck, it would be, wouldn't it? With a baked potato on the side and cheesecake for dessert. Now I'm hungry, too. [she laughs]

It was. . . awkward. I'm not seeing anyone, so I didn't have that to worry about, but I borderline stalked a couple of friends.

I know, right? It's hard work being god food. Putting up with their bullshit every month.

I'm afraid the best I've got to offer is a bit of jerky from my home, but you're welcome to a piece of it sometime, if you like. [ His stash is running low by now, but it's the least he can do. ] Maybe it'll help tide you over until we can get some real meat around here.

Hah, that's a good way of putting it. Putting up with their shit. Does anyone even know why folks were being weird and possessive? Is there any reason to it? [ A huff. ] I'm used to being a god's plaything, but it usually helps to at least have an idea of what's going on.

That's better than nothing. [she's not used to casual kindness yet] Thank you?

Rage was apparently pissed that we locked up her girlfriend, Delight. But what were we supposed to do with her, after she fucked us all over? And you are? Why's that? [she hurries to add] You don't have to say if you don't wanna.

Sure. We're all stuck here together; what's a little sharing?

[ Cavalier as he says it; he's got some of his family with him now, surely one of them has more goodies from home. ]

I heard about what Delight did: treachery and murder, yeah? I can understand her girlfriend being upset, but— well, gods have faced worse punishments for the same, where I'm from. Imprisonment is honestly pretty tame.

And I don't mind— I, ah, had a patron, before coming here. She held dominion over death and the in-between time; I was meant to make sure no one went against the threads of fate, and do her will when they did. [ A little bit if a chuckle. ] I suppose that sort of made me like a Reaper, too.

That's really cool of you.

[so not used to casual kindness. someday she'll adapt. today is not that day]

She made a deal with the Null to let them into the city to kill Hope and a lot of residents who were on the Null's kill list. Lots of people died. Sorrow died, too. Imprisonment is a little too tame.

Yeah, sounds like it. If you were enforcing the will of someone in charge of death and the in-between.

And, I should probably introduce myself, right? George. George Lass.

Well, what can I say? I'm a pretty cool person.

[ She may not be able to see it, but George can probably hear the shit-eating grin on his face as he says it. For a second, at least, before he responds to the rest of what she says. ]

I heard about the deal, and another god dying. I didn't realize that the Null had a list of people to kill, though. [ That kind of puts things in a far shittier perspective. ] Take it you're part of the team that wanted her taken out?

Vax'ildan, of Vox Machina. Vax. It's a pleasure to meet you, George. And, who knows, maybe we might have been coworkers, on different ends of the universe. I look forward to being on the payroll.

And so modest.

[she can definitely hear the grin. and he should be able to hear the teasing lilt to her voice in return]

Yeah, people got on the list for really stupid shit, too. Me, for example. I was on there 'cause I'd made fun of the Null. They had kids on there, too, so that pretty much united everybody against the Null. Not because all of a sudden all of us were in love with the gods, fuck no, but because the Null had made it personal. [had he been told another version of events?] Yeah. Kinda figured that she fucked us over once, she'd do it again given the chance.

Good to meet you, too, Vax. And it sure sounds that way. Though, wait, you get paid?

But of course.

[ Oh, he likes you. He can tell you're cool, George.

But oof. Well. This was...definitely not something he'd been informed of, and honestly does not really do much for his opinion of the imprisoned god. Vax is silent for a moment, digesting the information, thinking on it. ]

I can agree that simple imprisonment won't change someone's mind so easily, but— I can say that it is not so easy to kill a god. [ A deep breath, and it's spoken with the conviction of someone who's experienced it: ] I'm not sure how she did it, but I'm pretty sure it would have to be the other gods to do it. For mortals.. even undying ones, such as ourselves, it is a monumental task, and one that can't be done without the help of the gods anyway. So the rest of them would have to be willing to step in, to give us the tools we'd need. I doubt she'd go down without a fight, besides.

[ The serious face cracks for just a moment, though, expression breaking into a grin. ] And, wait, I thought we were salaried? She gave me this really cool piece of armor; are there no other benefits to the deal?

Edited 2018-04-29 20:06 (UTC)

[she likes you, too. you've definitely made it to her Cool People list.

and lucky for her that she's been here nine months. she knows all of the good gossip]

Yeah, the gods weighed in on what they wanted--death or imprisonment--and they made it sound like they'd have to be the ones pulling the trigger. I had my say, but they didn't act like I could be much use. I figured it was half the gods being assholes and half the truth.

[she gives him a mock scowl] Maybe you are. I had to get a damn job.

Oh, gods are always assholes. Even the nice ones. [ Well. Except for when they punch dragons for you. ] My friends and I had help from the gods, and even then we only pulled through by the skin of our teeth. Unless you've got— well, some frankly terrifying powers, it's a fair guess you might not've been able to help.

[ Apologetic as he says it — definitely doesn't want to offend, but hey. Truth's truth.

Also: definitely laughing, just a little bit. He definitely thought he'd have more to worry about, after the Raven Queen came for him; all things considered, this isn't bad at all. ] Tell you what; if I ever see her again, or if she speaks to me, I'll ask her about it. I suppose there's bound to be perks when you're the Queen's champion — maybe I can help you get a raise, or something.

Even the nice ones are assholes? Rude. [...George would be so stoked to see a dragon. right until it tried to eat her] And I don't know how far my powers will go. Never really had the chance to find out? And I doubt I'll get one here.

[no, she gets it. she actually is capable of some terrifying shit, but she hadn't had the chance to really find out before she came here.

oh good, she made a funny? and is the Raven Queen the one who gave him the shiny armor?] The Queen's champion? Yeah, that definitely sounds like you'd get the perks. I just got the shaft.

Video 4 - George's room

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