conversion? everything about that sounded terrible. “ I don’t get why people can’t just do their own thing, and leave everybody else alone… always trying to make everybody just like them. life would be so boring if everything believed the exact same thing; & acted the same way… ” he never understood the human compulsion to conform. at least the world’s attempts to do so would never work on him. he was too stubborn, really, and could care less if he was different. but he felt bad for the people who it did effect… “ so, wait– before the ‘conversion efforts’, did people, like… worship you? ”
“Yeah, you’d think it’d be easier to leave people to their own business. But those after power will find any justification possible to expand and not mind their business.” And trying to get people to fall under your beliefs was definitely a way for people to seek control and influence. A story that played out way too many times in Saima’s existence.
“And. Yes. Especially since I could really give them that touch of the surreal of the beyond this world. I was definitely regarded as a special entity in those days.“
There are many songs that bring Saima joy but a few are
Homme – Mari Pokinen
Feeling is New – Pia Fraus
Woodland – The Paper Kites.
2. worst personality trait?
Saima’s worst personality trait is likely the callousness that they are very, very capable of having. If someone really gets on their bad side, there with be a cruel kind of indifference to the way Saima addresses them and they’ll be very casual about the actions that they are willing to take against them.
“oh… ” a grimace, realizing he’d drudged up some rather unpleasant memories. on the plus side, Saima was the one who came out on top, obviously unburnt and still very much alive. “ sorry to hear that… ” he’s not sure what else he can say, offering a look of sympathy. “ I’m always glad I wasn’t born back then… I don’t know what people would think of me– of what I can do. probably nothing good. and I can DEFINITELY be set on fire, so... ” without question, it would’ve been a bad time! even now, he’s a little uncertain about revealing his magic to people. but the worst thing he expects is to be called crazy– not a pyre. people were much less… fanatical, these days.
“ well, at least that’s all behind you now. ” things were simpler, bearing witness to boring love potions, not in fear for their life… but– “ I bet things were more exciting way back when. when people still believed in & understood magic, and all that. . . wait, did they ever? or is that just in stories? ” it’s hard to imagine a world with witches and everything else supernatural out in the open. but it sounds kind of nice. no secrets; people would respect you…
maybe someday it could be like that again. but humanity was definitely not THERE yet!
Saima gives a small shrug in response, it was a harsh situation but they were used to such things coming up over time. “I guess. I’m still here nonetheless. So I can’t complain too much. But yeah, it would have been rough for you in those situations – some people might have found your abilities useful. But if there were conversion efforts – beware.” Such was the facts of imposed religions causing more trouble in their spread. Still, they would take witnessing the creation of love potions over that period again anyday.
“Oh, I do remember when people still believed in those stories – that’s when I started making my appearance among folks – when those stores were spread as truths. Their ways of interpreting the world around them. Those times were pretty enjoyable and fun as far as I can recall.“
“ sounds… fun. ” sarcasm highly intended. “ actually, sounds kinda dangerous. nobody messed with you? ” religious zealots tended to be pretty judgmental of anyone different, and Saima, in their personification, would have been VERY different, would they not? “ well, the good news is YOU’RE not crazy: they are. people who don’t see it, even after you put the evidence right in front of them, are either blind or stupid. ” maybe he could say it in a nicer way, but it’s what he thinks. even before he knew magic was real, it was hard to deny that there were some unexplainable things in the world. certainly, he had his doubts that the world was as clear-cut-and-dry as most people described it… when his powers were revealed, it had only confirmed an intuition he’d always had. he’d like to think he would have believed Saima, although it’s hard to know for sure… but what matters more is that they have his support, now! for however much THAT was worth… probably not a whole lot.
“ that’s good, though! I mean, the more comfortable you are with yourself, the less you have to be nervous about, right? ” he doesn’t consider what that means for HIS nerves, though… nope. best not to go there!
Another small dark laugh came from Saima, understanding that sarcasm all too well. “Oh, it was extremely dangerous. People messed with me quite often, they tried to burn me a few times. And when I didn’t burn like they expected – that only made them angrier.” Those memories were intense especially since Saima had a weird fascination with the ways people would try to kill them before they’d make their disappearance, leaving nothing behind.
“Yeah, you can only do so much. Can’t fix willful ignorance or closed-mindedness if the person involved isn’t willing to try.“It was just a face Saima had to get used to over the years – there were always people who weren’t likely to believe, thankfully those didn’t have nearly as much reason to seek them out.
“Well, yes. At least that’s the feeling I’ve been experiencing lately, for sure.“
he’s surprised by Saima’s admission; the NERVOUS part, if not the rest. “ yeah, but that makes sense. you never know how people are gonna react to it. especially people who have no idea what’s going on in the world… I mean, really going on. magic and all that… ” there was a time in his life where he might’ve thought Saima was nuts. when you spend your whole life being told the supernatural is just in stories, it’s hard to process that kind of information…
and as much as he’d like to say to that ‘appearance doesn’t matter’, anybody who had lived in this world as long as Saima would know that, unfortunately, that platitude is kinda bullshit. but he could at least tell his personal truth: “ but anybody important– anybody actually worth going out with– isn’t gonna care about that, though; what you are, or what you look like. it’s nothing to be nervous about! ”
They give a slight nod. “Heh, you never know is right. Imagine being a paganish influence during the height of Christian conversion – and although your people held out for a long time, a lot of them did still turn. Made things real complicated, real fast.” Some of those memories are still a little exhausting to even think about. “But yeah even afterwards, people who aren’t inclined to suspect there’s anything more to this world will probably just say you’re mad.” Which.. isn’t all the way wrong in many ways.
“True. But when you’ve had an underlying discomfort with yourself that you didn’t recognize until relatively recently, it’s a lot. And frankly changing has been the best thing I’ve done for myself lately.“
fair enough! making love potions was a pretty innocuous way to make money. he could do much worse… “ ‘guess so. it’s not like I’m making curses. ” some witches weren’t opposed to the practice in exchange for money. and truthfully, he wasn’t either, but only under the right circumstances. and those were rare. “ I mean, I would, but only if I knew they really deserved it. most people just wanna curse their ex because they broke up or something. it’s like, go key their car, listen to some sad music, and let it go, like a normal person! what do they need MAGIC for? ” at least he was entertaining Saima. he didn’t find the work particularly exciting, but he supposed basic potions like this were so rudimentary to him that it became unnoteworthy. for one who doesn’t make them often, it might be relatively interesting. maybe he should explain what he’s doing a little more, for Saima– ?
but he gets distracted by their words, looking at them in disbelief. “ YOU get nervous, too? but you’re like, an immortal being! what do you have to be nervous about– ?! you’re cool! ”
“Hah, right. You don’t need magic to get over a breakup – even if it might be tempting.” They couldn’t help but laugh a little bit about the idea of keying someone’s car – now that was a way to make your mark, really and truly. It was still interesting to watch the process, they had seen people create little portions for others.
“Oh yeah, I definitely get nervous. Ahah – glad that you think I’m cool. But I’ve actually had a long period where I was hiding a lot of my true nature from people and was nervous about not really able to live in my divinity truly. I’m coming out of it but..it’s a process. And also I’ve changed my appearance a lot in the last few years – so I had some nerves about the way I previously presented being inadequate to the point where I just..needed to change.“
“ yeah… I’m kinda broke right now. desperate times… ” very desperate, apparently. there’s something very juvenile about making a love potion, like a fourteen year old girl who found her very first spellbook. although, to be fair, he probably would’ve done this when he was that age, too. thankfully, he hadn’t discovered magic until a few years later; ‘saved himself the embarrassment… “this is ‘Babies First Potion’ stuff right here.
‘bottom of the barrel witchcraft… ‘sorry you have to see me like this, Saima. I swear I can do magic
way cooler
than this! ” he’s half-joking. but at least his apartment smells nice and rosy now. “ anyway, I felt kinda bad for the girl who asked me to make it. she’s never been on a date before and she’s super nervous about messing it up. I mean, we’ve all been there, right? I couldn’t say no, so… here we are.
”
“Yeah, yeah. There is much worst you could be doing in desperate times.. so I can’t hold it against you.” Something like this felt relatively harmless at least when it was controlled and done well. “You don’t have to apologize to me. While I know you’re capable of stronger magic, even the little things is pretty chill to witness. Besides the smell is pretty pleasant.” They respond with a bit of a smile, nodding in sympathy when Tida mentions the poor girl who asked for the potion in the first place.
“I do too. I can imagine why her nerves would lead her to resort to this as a way to make things easier for her. So I get where she’s coming from definitely.“
“ yeah. I try my best, but when all I have to interpret is a picture of a FISH or something, it’s not a lot to work with it… ” sometimes, that’s just the way magic was. but maybe he was better off not divining at all. there were plenty of people who worked well with the mystique of the whole thing; he, however, preferred his answers simple & clear cut! “ I’ll leave the fortune-telling to the Ms. Cleo’s of the world. I think I’m gonna stay out of it for now… ”
Saima sounded like they had a pretty interesting cache of talents themself, though! “ sounds cool! so all of that, and you’re kind of like… a muse? ” he gives a playfully discerning look to the other. “ I can see it! do people
randomly
try to draw you a lot? ” the dramatic scene of that cliche iceberg movie comes to mind, but he doesn’t know the other well enough to be sure that he can make stupid jokes about it– not quite yet. so he refrains, though not without an amused smile. “ I’m not really an artist, so it probably won’t work on me… but if I end up writing a song about you, I’ll let you know! ”
“True, true. With not a lot to work with – maybe leaving it to someone else might be a better choice.” Saima could sympathize with the frustration of working with the mystique of trying to get answers. Maybe it’s something that could be worked with another time.
At the question, they chuckle. “Yeah, all of that. And I have served as a muse for people before. Inspired writings, paintings and all that.” They know that could lead one to make some dumb jokes about it. “Hah, feel free to let me know if anything happens. No problem if nothing comes out of it. ”
“ yeah– you’ll be the first person I call. ” he’s joking; realistically, if he turns into a vampire, there’s a long list of numbers to go through; he’ll get to Saima when he’s done yelling unintelligibly into the phone, freaking out.
“ yup. plus, for me? whenever I scry, it’s like… whatever I see is totally up to interpretation. so you might think one thing’s gonna happen, and then something totally different does. you freak out, thinking this thing’s inevitable and fated and all that– and it turns out it was never even supposed to happen at all. you know what I mean? the future’s not as OBVIOUS as people think it is. at least, not with hydromancy…you can NEVER get a clear answer from water; it’s always gotta be stupidly mysterious… ” the most ANNOYING of all his powers, by far. obnoxiously, one of the most highly sought after, too. everybody has burning questions they want answered; and sometimes he lacks the luxury to wave them off to someone else. he rolls his eyes, clearly annoyed with whatever supernatural force was controlling water divining. “ every time I do it, I gotta add a ‘results not guaranteed’ disclaimer. ”
“ so, what about you? ‘any cool powers come with your… um… mythical stuff? ”
Saima just chuckles a bit in response to the joke, knowing full well that there are likely others he would turn to in the immediate aftermath. It would be strange for them to expect otherwise.
“Hm, right at least with the open to interpretation it allows for multiple possibilities happening. It’s troublesome but it’s more akin to how existence tends to be.“ The future was often much more in the air so any reading would have to incorporate that. “But I get how that’s incredibly annoying when you just want to give someone an answer to their questions.“ Such warnings about things to be determined can make people feel like the attempt to ask was kind of pointless.
“Oh yeah definitely. I can move from place to place near instantaneously, I have control over nature. I tend to inspire creativity among musicians, storytellers – being a pretty gifted creative sort myself. I’m much stronger than I let on and can change my form when I tend to feel like it. “
“ yeah– I guess I’ll never really get what it’s like… unless I get bit by a vampire or something. ” he jokes, although it’s not actually completely out of the question; he’s met more than a few. but he’s not really sure how he would feel about exchanging mortality for bloodthirst? as of now, he’s perfectly content with his humanity, even if they are, as a species, a little predictable and annoying. he smirks. “
if I do, I’ll be sure to let you know. we can hang out in a couple hundred years and see what’s different! ”
it’s good, though; that they’ve got some people– or whatever they might be– who understand, to lessen the constancy of loss. “ I guess that’s true for everybody, though. even other humans. sometimes we lose people too soon… ‘outlive people that we shouldn’t. it’s not easy for anyone… the difference is you know it’s gonna happen, and we don’t; we’re all in the dark about it. ” he’s not sure which is worse… but he’s betting it’s the first one. “ maybe ignorance is bliss, right? I don’t know, but I’m glad I’m not clairvoyant like some people! that’s some magic I DON’T want. knowing the future sounds so boring…” not to mention stressful; there’s some things you’re just better off NOT knowing.
“Heh, you never know these days. Might be surprised by the encounters you find.” It’s a funny joke, but Saima wouldn’t be too shocked by someone getting transformed into an immortal one way or another. “Please do. It’d be interesting to see how you deal with the change and whatnot.” Wouldn’t be a bad thing to try and help folks getting used to having a longer life anyway.
“Isn’t that the truth. The sense of loss is inevitable in different forms. And that direct knowledge it can be hard to handle for sure.“ Being in the dark about certain things definitely seems more understandable. It reminds Saima of how many they knew wished to be as in the dark about things as humans are. “Yeah, clairvoyance sounds like a really painful ability to have. That’s the kind of information which can be frustrating cause it’s like even if you try to change things, fate has a way of twisting the situation into where it was going to go in the first place.“
Seekesotsibteadmist 