fromfryingpantofire: (Thinking)
Sam Winchester ([personal profile] fromfryingpantofire) wrote in [community profile] piper902020-10-23 01:06 am

[Video] [Encoded]

[The video comes up on a back corner of the library, where Sam's set up a little research table of his own. Not that there's much there. For all that they have a 'library', it's really not all that interesting. Definitely none of the things that he's used to being able to find.]

[Though it is at least a QUIET section of the library. Nobody much comes back there. Of course, if it was anybody other than Sam, they'd find that corner to be nearly devoid of wifi signal.]

[How does Sam have signal? Nobody knows.]


So. I know that there are a few of you here who aren't too keen on the whole idea of the supernatural and magic and things that don't make sense to the rational mind. And believe me, I get it. If I hadn't grown up with this sort of thing, I'd probably be right there with you.

I also get that we don't know for certain that what we're facing IS something that's supernatural. After all, there are other explanations for what she can do. Some of us have powers that we never had at home as an example.

However, if she is, there are a few things that you can carry that may help either ward her off or fight her off. None of them are heavy and we have access to at least a few things that would work.

[He reaches off screen and brings out a salt shaker from the cafeteria.] Salt. Table salt will work just fine. My brother and I buy a lot of Morton's back home.

Anyway, salt has been an ingredient in purifying rituals for millennia. It's often used to ward off evil spirits and cleanse an area of bad...juju, for lack of a better word. Back home, spirits can't cross a line of salt, so a quick and easy ward was just to pour lines of salt across any entrance to a room. Shooting rock salt into a spirit would disperse them, too.

There's stuff that works better when it comes to spirits, but I don't have access to the supplies I need for them. Salt is nearly as old school as blood, though, so it should do you in a pinch.

Second. [He reaches off to the side again and comes back with a firestarter.] This one is a lot more difficult to get hold of, so this may be something more to look for when we go on missions. Iron. Again, just about as old school as it comes. There are a lot of things that are weak to iron, including the Fae. If you have the ones from the right stories, at least. A good length of rebar that can be wielded like a sword or a bat is great. Again, good for dispersing a spirit, though it won't get rid of them entirely. It'll buy you time to get back up, though. So, again. Useful.

The third isn't really useful for ghosts or spirits, but if the salt doesn't work, then maybe this will. [Out comes a water bottle.] Holy water. Mostly works for demons. Won't kill them, but will cause harm and may burn them. Again, good for buying you time to get away and get help. Luckily, I was able to pick up a rosary on the last mission, so I can make as much as we may need. I tend to also throw a handful of salt in for a twofer.

As far as I know, we don't have access to any, but another good all around weapon against the supernatural is silver. I'd suggest keeping it away from those among the New Hires that might have an allergy to it, but there are a LOT of supernatural creatures out there that are weak to it. Again, purifying qualities that have been in use for a lot of centuries. And another thing to keep an eye out for on missions.

[Sam settles the items in front of him.] I'm not going to say any of this will keep you safe. That's not a promise I can make, especially since we don't know what, exactly, our enemy is. At best, I can say that they might be able to help. At worst, they're inert and you're no worse off than you were a moment before. At this point, though, I think we can use any edge we might be able to get.

[He folds his hands, leaning forward on the desk.]

Any questions?
vampthropologist: (Default)

[personal profile] vampthropologist 2020-11-02 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
I didn't at all intend to imply you were digging; I was, bluntly, being a prat, and speaking as I would to the young of my own kind, who understand everything they hear solely in terms of how they can use it to get what they want.

It's been about three hundred years since I had cause for meaningful conversation with anyone not Kindred. I expect I'll do this again.

[tfw you start rolling social combat on instinct]
credit_not_blame: (Happy)

[personal profile] credit_not_blame 2020-11-02 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
I should probably be offended that your impulse was to treat me like a young vampire; but something about me seems to say "I'm a baby, teach me" to everyone older than me, so I'm going to be amused instead. And I'll keep in mind that your social skills are a little rusty.
vampthropologist: (Default)

[personal profile] vampthropologist 2020-11-02 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
It doesn't mean that much, most people are young compared to me, even kindred. Surprisingly few make it past a century; those of us who do make it that long end up all knowing each other by attrition. Bit of an old bloodsucker's club.

[that is An Joke, it's funny, please politely snicker]
Edited 2020-11-02 05:51 (UTC)
credit_not_blame: (Interested)

[personal profile] credit_not_blame 2020-11-02 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[How about groaning, is groaning acceptable? She does smile a little though, that'll have to do.]

I regret embarking on this conversation. Vampire incest is one thing, but vampire dad jokes is another entirely.
vampthropologist: (upset or puzzled but not admitting it)

[personal profile] vampthropologist 2020-11-05 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Beckett is confused and mildly alarmed]

Dad joke?

[Is she accusing him of being her father????]
credit_not_blame: (Happy)

[personal profile] credit_not_blame 2020-11-05 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, that's sure is an expression on your face right now.

[Note to self, springing unfamiliar slang on vampires is hilarious.]

Dad jokes are the kind of jokes that dads tell. The ones that you don't so much laugh at as groan and roll your eyes. Like when you go "I'm hungry" and they go "Hi Hungry, I'm Dad!"
vampthropologist: (Default)

[personal profile] vampthropologist 2020-11-10 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
I barely recall my mortal father, but neither he nor my sire were much inclined towards humor. Is this a recent phenomenon, associating the pater with inelegant puns?
credit_not_blame: (Interested)

[personal profile] credit_not_blame 2020-11-10 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
["the pater"? Does he just get more nerdy the more discombobulated he gets?]

I'm not sure how recent it is, I just know that it's a thing that my father has embraced whole-heartedly and my older siblings didn't seem particularly confused by it.
vampthropologist: (grumpy)

[personal profile] vampthropologist 2020-11-13 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I've never heard of it.

[He's not sulking. Three hundred year old vampire scholars don't sulk.]
credit_not_blame: (Happy)

[personal profile] credit_not_blame 2020-11-16 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
Well, you know what they say: a day you don't learn something new is a day wasted!

[Stacia? Having fun at the expense of a sulky vampire? Perish the thought! She's not without pity, however:]

I imagine that it's a recent development on the timescale you're working on. I haven't even reached my first quarter-century yet.
vampthropologist: (grumpy)

[personal profile] vampthropologist 2020-11-17 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
[He is somewhat mollified.]

If it happened in the latter half of the twentieth century, then yes, you're correct, I'd consider it fairly recent - and not worth knowing about, either. Kindred tend to focus only on things that relate to our own interests or are necessary to pass as mortal when needed. Family dynamics rarely come up.
credit_not_blame: (Default)

[personal profile] credit_not_blame 2020-11-19 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Given that I was born in the year 2000, it almost certainly did. I take it turning literal children into vampires is pretty rare then?
vampthropologist: (Default)

[personal profile] vampthropologist 2020-11-23 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
Quite. It's been done twice that I'm aware of. In the one case, the boy in question was around thirteen, and was able to grapple with his situation and come to terms with it. In the second, the girl was six, and driven into - well, it's a kind of incurable insanity Kindred can fall prey to, if we're unable to get to grip with what we've become. To fall to wassail and become a wight is to become, essentially, a raging animal with no thought other than where your next mouthful of blood is coming from.

Twenty is considered the lower limit, these days. A sensible sire waits til twenty-five, at least.

[Let the record show that Beckett is clearly past forty]
credit_not_blame: (Distress)

[personal profile] credit_not_blame 2020-12-01 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
[Welp, that's actually going to take some time to process. Stupid ability to empathize.

Congratulations Stacia, you played yourself.]


...Oh. Well. That's...

I think I cornered myself conversationally. New topic?