revivalproject | Arrival Log & A Network Transmission

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Arrival Log & A Network Transmission

WHO: The Iron Bull (

theirondragon) and you
WHERE: The Fountain
WHAT: Arrival
WHEN: Saturday - Afternoon
WARNINGS: Bull is Bull, will warn as necessary.

The disorientation wore off faster than he would have thought possible. Looking around the place, it was kind of a shit hole, truth be told, but a vaguely familiar one. He couldn't quite put his finger on it as he stood, casting an intimidating shadow of muscles and horns, but the place just felt like he'd seen it before. It was like a dream, though, fleeting and dodgy any time he tried to focus on it. Instead, he followed his gut, which was telling him to touch that shiny thing over there. It was a weird dichotomy, honestly. His gut said to touch it, and his instinct told him it was probably magic or some other technological weird crap and that it would probably do something to him.

He touched it. His instincts were right. Agrii sounded familiar, too, and in that weird, half-dream sense as much as what the orb shoved into his head. That wasn't weird. That had happened a lot, he was pretty sure of it, but the big guy still shook his head, a hand on his forehead.

"Shit."

It was a lot, alright?

\\NETWORK - later\\

[The video feed comes on to show a grey-skinned man with sharp features, dark stubble, a scarred face with a fetching leather eyepatch (well, it at fetching according to at least one person who mattered), and what looked to be some hefty horns coming off his head. It was hard to tell their size from the feed, but they were definitely there.

He grins at the feed before he speaks, but it's a casual, good-natured thing. His voice is deep, too, earthy and rough. He speaks slowly like he has all the time in the world.]

Hey, folks. I just showed up, but I get the idea that's happened to a lot of you guys. I'm The Iron Bull. Any tips for the new guy? I'm open to all of it. Why don't we start with where to get a drink?

((OOC: For those of you continuing his TDM threads, responses are below from the latest tag!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Were it not for the large man's impressive stride, Reeve would have beat him there. Apparently the time ti took him to pack up and walk there from the closer location of his office couldn't compare.

Still, when he saw the familiar form of an old friend who wasn't in fact his old friend, he still smiled.]

Iron Bull. Wonderful. Let's head in and up. You'll love the look. There's a large tank of fish and sea creatures in there.

[Bull tried not to expect anything from people he hadn't met yet, but Reeve certainly wasn't it. He was pretty, if a bit severe, with a strong tilt to his jaw and a sway to his shoulders that suggested a confidence that came not from overcompensation but from repeated proof. He was confident because he'd done things, not because he was sure he could. Bull could appreciate that.]

Oooh. A fish tank. Fancy. [But he grinned.] Lead the way, big guy.

[Well, at least he met appraisal with approval. Not that Reeve was fully aware of the appraisal going on. Sure, he expected it, but he couldn't be certain.]

Big guy? A strange thing to hear when I'm so far down here compared to you.

[With that he headed inside and started up the stairs, having to take larger steps to try and climb them easily as they were clearly meant for taller people. As he climbed a head popped out of the bag he wore, a cat head, looking out at Bull and giving him an appraising look.]

Ah can see why he remembers ya.

[The Bull grinned good-naturedly.]

That's the joke, Reeve.

[The Bull immediately narrowed his gaze at this weird, talking...uh...cat thing in a sack, tension finding its way into his muscles in preparation for...whatever the hell that was, but outwardly he didn't slow his gait or show his apprehension.]

You know you've got a talking cat in your bag, right?

I'm aware. I'm just questioning Qunari sense of humors.

[But the observation of the cat made Reeve chuckle, shaking his head. He reached back to pat Mini on the head.]

Quite aware. He's a companion of mine. And makes sure that I take care of myself.

[That got a laugh from the giant.]

Nah. That's the Iron Bull special, Reeve. [He raises a skeptical eyebrow.] Uh huh. Your talking pack cat makes sure you take care of yourself.

[The laugh was so nice to hear once more. He was happy to continue up the steps. Even if it was a bit far. Why couldn't Cayde have been on the ground floor with this thing?]

Yes, Mini does indeed do that. Really, we're lucky he hasn't sassed me more yet and started to lecture me on my behavior. Well, where you can hear it. We are connected.

"Connected", huh? What's that mean?

[It did seem like a long walk, but he'd walked farther, and in gear ready for battle. This wasn't much of an issue. Besides, he was trying to get a grasp of just how much he actually knew about this place.]

[Reeve stops them on a landing beyond which is the door to the Deep End. He supposed he had to get this out of the way now.]

I... remember that your world isn't very fond of magic. I learned a lot of it from Alistair. Thus I realize it might seem as if what I'm about to say is the worst form of magic. But Mini? He is a piece of my soul, given a form, to become his own person.

[The Bull mulled over the information for a moment, knowing if anyone else could figure out how to do something like that, it would be Dorian, not that he would. It sounded like Blood magic. It was a slippery path, he'd killed his fair share of them even before joining the Inquisition, but Reeve hadn't murdered anyone that he knew of, and if he did, the Bull would be there to put a stop to it. He'd already identified three ways he could get the jump on the guy, and knowing this thing was a part of him might give him another weakness.

Knowing he was a mage just gave him more information to properly take Reeve down. At length, he rolled his shoulder in a shrug.]

You're telling me there are places out there where non-mages aren't even a little bit nervous around mages? That's a lot of trust to give anyone with power over things you can't touch. A mage? Sure, you can trust a mage as much as you can trust anybody, but Mages? You get enough special power in one place and they start thinking it makes them more important.

[Properly taking Reeve down was truly as simple as carrying Mini across the city and letting him roll in the pain of the separation. But he didn't know what to do say about everything, other than to keep moving, which meant stepping into the bar and heading right for the counter to get a bottle of something to drink.]

Of course there are places out there like that. There are people in my world who abuse mages, of course, but nothing like i've heard happens in your world. No circles or anything.

[Make them important? No, that isn't even remotely true.]

I'm not important like that. Not for my magic. I'm an architect. I build cities.

[Knowing it's a piece of his soul, that's not even a stretch and would probably be something the Bull would try, if he needed to. Everything was a weapon if you were creative enough.]

Hey. Qunari don't have circles, either. That's the weird sort of shit that happens when you let the Chantry get involved.

[Granted, what the Qunari did to mages wasn't any better.]

Besides, it's complicated. A lot of mages go willingly. Under the Qun, it's just...your role, what you do.

[He nodded, though.]

Most mages aren't. Magic's just a thing they can do. [But he chuckles.] What kind of cities? Qunari build cities to last a thousand years. A lot of southerners build cities that are pretty and not much else.

[There were plenty of things that weren't weapons, even if you did try hard. But it probably didn't hurt to try. Maybe.]

A city in the sky. Towering buildings that can house thousands or more. Buildings and cities that redefine the world.

[It wasn't bragging. Just statements of fact for him.]

Art, in steel and glass and concrete if I had my way.

[He blinked at that one, brow furrowing slightly.]

Who wants a city in the sky?

The Shinra Electric Power Company. They... were not good.

[And he had worked with them. What a mistake that had been.]

Yeah...sounds like wanting to take a lot of figurative power and make it physical. [He nodded.] City in the sky's not a goal for a good group of people. Probably a really easy way to think you're better than the people who don't live in it. I'd rather keep my feet on the ground.

Electrical power too. And money. And so many other things.

[Oh god, the man absolutely had it right. There was absolutely nothing amazing about it.]

I wanted to help people on the ground too. I just... My hands were tied. Or I believed they were.

Intentions only get you so far, Reeve. [But the big guy rolled his shoulders in a shrug. He wasn't judging, just stating facts.] What's important is whether or not you did something about it.

[His kadan had, or at least he was trying, and in a place filled with sharks, no less. There wasn't a day that went by that the Bull wasn't worried about him, but he knew Dorian could take care of himself, too.]

[That wasn’t the first time that Iron Bull had said that to him, and that knowledge made Reeve chuckle. He selected some glasses from under the bar and began to pour some drinks.]

I know that. I know that very well. I tried my best to do something about it. That much is true. I’ve lived my life trying to make up for it. I’ve been told that isn’t a bad thing. Though that I’m prone to burning myself out.

[That brought a chuckle from the Bull.]

Moderation, Reeve. Giving your life for people who died because of your mistakes won't bring them back. Just make sure you don't make the same ones and you'll be even.

Actually, when the world has an active reincarnation cycle...

[Maybe giving his life for them WOULD bring them back. Not as they were, but as something else and worth being.]

I don't think I'll be even then. So I'll keep working because there are things I can give the world that others can't.

Even if it does, nobody'll ever be you again. [That sort of talk was for people who believed in souls. To be honest, the Bull hadn't really given much thought to what he believed in, next-life-wise. Maybe there wasn't one. The world of demons sure wasn't what all the religious types thought it was.]

Funny thing about worlds. They keep turning even if people who think they can move them die off.

[Well, that's a true point. Reeve nodded along with that.]

In that you are completely correct. Making the same person over doesn't really help the planet learn and grow. Though...

[He is certain that his planet can die.]

Perhaps the world will recover on its own. But not for a long time.

Hey, the best things in life take time, Reeve. Don't worry about it.

[He's starting to get an idea about what the other him Reeve knew saw in the guy. He's got heart.]

[A heart and a brain, and so much willingness to give himself beyond what he should be.]

Alas, as a human and mortal, there is only so much time in my life. I want to achieve this the best I can.

Arrival Log & A Network Transmission

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