trade my soul for a wish

[from_scratch]

This is a successor to "call me maybe", which is getting crowded.

Cam is dipping a grilled cheese sandwich into a bowl of tomato soup when he feels the summons. He goes ahead and grabs it. Doesn't even drop the sandwich.


with Mark (kappa)

with Adanya (Aestrix)

with Sable (kappa)

with Ari (andaisq)

with Metella (kappa)

with Miles (kappa)

with Isabella (Eva)

with Steel (Rockeye)

with Daphne (Maggie)

with Edie (Maggie)

Comments

[kaolinandbone]

"That might actually be a feasible defence. I'm impressed."

[from_scratch]

"I'll make you one too if you like. Worth testing. Gimme a sec." Cam fiddles with his computer. He adds a shirt to his ensemble; it has holes for the wings but looks like it won't come off without scissors. He tugs on one of his earlobes, and puts his computer in his pocket. "Try me. Gently, please."

[kaolinandbone]

"There isn't an adjustment dial on the effect: It's more a matter of phrasing things properly. I'll start with something blatantly wrong. I am not standing here in front of you."

[from_scratch]

"Well, that sounds like a blatant lie."

[kaolinandbone]

"That's good. My dress is about the same color as the porch, and it makes it difficult to tell where I am in this half-light."

[from_scratch]

"Bullshit."

[kaolinandbone]

Isabella smiles. "Alright." Her tone shifts, becoming brighter and cheerier. "My father owns this castle, but he's away on business. Would you like to come in?"

[from_scratch]

"I'm already in your castle," Cam says. "And strongly suspect your father is dead or something, though you haven't mentioned him."

[kaolinandbone]

"Eighty years dead, yes. It appears that your device works, at least against voice alone. Would you care to look into my eyes for this next part? Also, can you tell when I'm trying to nudge you?"

[from_scratch]

"The eyes thing has a verbal component, right? I could set up something similar to my audio thing with a pair of glasses but it would be way more obvious. I can sort of tell, more of a tone of voice thing than anything else."

[kaolinandbone]

"That's good. It takes a little practice for people to be able to notice sometimes. The eyes thing does have a verbal component, but it's sufficiently different that glasses might be necessary."

[from_scratch]

"And it can be recovered from in short order, no lasting side effects?"

[kaolinandbone]

"Side effects would only be likely if you were dominated for an extended length of time. A test should be reasonably safe."

[from_scratch]

"Right. I suppose if you were going to do this maliciously you could have done it without warning me." Sigh. "Go."

[kaolinandbone]

She meets his eyes, and there's an immediate feeling of pressure as she speaks. "Raise your right hand."

[from_scratch]

Cam hisses. His hand twitches, but that's all. "Okay, unless that was at full oomph, my earplugs aren't helping me here."

[kaolinandbone]

"Would you care to try it again without them? It would be useful to know wether the earplugs have any effect at all."

[from_scratch]

"Sure." A bit of wire materializes sticking out of each of his ears; Cam pulls and they turn out to be hooks attached to bits of electronics.

[kaolinandbone]

Isabella waits for all the electronic bits to be cleared. "Again, then." She raises her eyes to meet his once more. "Raise your right hand." This time, the pressure is at least twice as strong.

[from_scratch]

"That's stronger," says Cam, although he materializes a block of ice chained with more ice around his wrist fast enough to keep his arm from going up very far. "And now I have a block of ice, do you have a use for ice or should it be chucked outside and allowed to melt?"

[kaolinandbone]

"The cellar could always use more ice, but a block of that size shouldn't melt particularly fast. Leave it on the stoop and I'll have someone deal with it later."

She tilts her head. "It appears that the earplugs aren't entirely useless, but I am not currently putting any significant amount of force behind my commands. If you're to be protected from a true attack, I would recommend adding glasses."

[from_scratch]

Cam goes and puts the ice out the door; the bit around his wrist appears to spontaneously melt. "Yeah. Do people wear glasses in this world? What do they look like?"

[kaolinandbone]

"The ones I've seen have been wire-rimmed, with thick lenses, but anything that appears to be made out of brass or wood would likely pass without too much comment."

[from_scratch]

"Okay..." Cam fiddles with his computer. "Thick lenses helps... Unrelatedly I can cure some forms of color-blindness temporarily..." Fiddle fiddle. He puts his ear-things back in. Eventually he comes up with a pair of glasses, with slightly chunky brass frames and glass lenses. "That took some doing." He puts them on, and blinks. "Ugh, the delay is just slightly noticeable. Do my eyes look more distorted than they ought?"

[kaolinandbone]

"The glasses are a little unusual in their style, but not so much as to attract comment. I can't tell if your eyes are any different than they should be for lenses that thick."