video; un: bone_daddy (( forward dated to after the celliwig trip ))

[auriphrygiate]

[ the feed switches on just as traejan is settling into his seat. he's dressed much more casually than the heavy armour he typically wears, but anyone who spent any time in the fighting ring might recognise him... from the audience. ]

Greetings. I hope you all learned something on our little field trip. It was refreshing to see a society that understands and employs magic in useful and creative ways, even if they are a bit conservative.

[ everyone's conservative about everything from his perspective as both an elf and something undead. ]

In any case, that isn't why I'm here. Rather, I want to know how using magic makes you feel.

[ he holds up his hands in the universal gesture for stop. ]

Now, I'm not asking for your opinions. Titans, no, spare me your opinions. I mean physical responses. Mental influences? Your personal feelings might be valid if, for example, using fire-based magic makes you feel more aggressive than you would ordinarily as a result of your usual charming personalities. How about spiritual effects? Potentially on the table, but you tell me.

Do you feel weakened by it or more empowered? Do you crave it? Have any of you attempted to imbibe something magically infused that wasn't blood or a potion? If the answer is none of you, then I have to ask why not.

Additionally, how many of you sampled some of Celliwig's unique delicacies? How did you find them? Was the booze sufficiently mind-altering for you?

And you may be wondering, "Traejan, why is this important?" Well. Part of it is because most of you are either human, living, or both. The rest is for me to know and for you to find out, but in the end, we all benefit, of course.

[ of course! you can trust this face~☆ ]

Comments

video; un: Creati

[recommendations]

I suppose if I have to think about the physical sensations that occur when I use my magic, well... It varies depending on what element I am channeling. When I am working with Earth magic, I feel more... grounded, I suppose you would say. When I'm working with Wind, I feel sort of on-edge, almost like my heart is beating faster. Different elements induce different feelings.

[ Although, there is one other thing she does want to seek clarification on, out of what he said. ]

You seem to imply that you are... neither human nor living. [ The non-human part is less surprising; she's already met aliens and non-humans of various shapes and sizes here. But the implications of 'non-living' frighten her somewhat. ] Is that a correct assumption?

video; un: stargazer

[leicesters]

Umm... Does amusement count, Bone Daddy?

video; un: emil

[inlutilis]

[ Surely this person only means to use this information for universal benefit! ]

It's—

[ Not an easy question to answer, strange as that may seem. The blindfolded boy has laced his fingers together, but they twist and fidget as if projecting the complexity of his response. ]

Um.... when it works, it feels right? Like it's something I'm meant to do. And it's a little scary, too. Not because of what I'm doing.

[ So far it's just been light, but he knows magic can seem benign at first until it's not. ]

But because it feels so right to use it and— and I'm worried I'll hurt people, you know?

Anyway. I didn't try the drinks, and the food just left me hungry. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, it was definitely unique? I guess, I don't know. We didn't have much food left to play with like that?

video; un: 7😆H!TA1

[arf]

It's sort of like a big bubbly of good feelings and then I have to push it into someone else to heal them! Oh, but since it's touching, I figured out how to tap it into text messages too! Though it's way more tiring when I do that!

[ Because he's an idiot and doesn't realize he's using two kinds of magic.. ]

video; un: q.103

[monostich]

It does make me feel weak.

[There's a pause, as Kaede grimaces.]

It's so much... Less than what I'm used to back home, and I can't do nearly everything I feel like I should be able to do, even though I've been here for months.

[...

He's not sure how much to say, and how much to keep to himself. He sighs.]

Magic is something I've always been able to do, and it's what kept me alive, but it's all been cut away now.

[auriphrygiate]

Oh?

[ it's not the answer he's expecting, so naturally he's terribly curious now. ]

Why don't you tell me more about what you used to do? You know, to better put things in perspective. The difficulties you've experienced might not even be your fault. What passes for schools of magic in this place is nonsense.

[monostich]

It was just... More.

[He gestures vaguely.]

I could do things like make fires or control ice or turn into shadows, and here I can't do any of that. Not to mention things like having a heartbeat and needing to eat again because my magic is so much weaker... It's unpleasant.

video; un: cherrypit

[polterguide]

[Bone Daddy? Well. That's a username and a half. The things some people pick amaze Bailey, sometimes.

Now is not the time to judge (or kinkshame), though.]

It feels weird, honestly. Like it doesn't feel quite right.

[They scratch the base of one of their horns, pressing their lips together.]

But I'm not sure if that's really a physical thing, or just my brain still telling me "hey, you're not supposed to be able to do magic". Being unable to do magic was, like, my entire thing back home, and even after becoming a sheep all I could really do was mess with plants so... This is all kind of weird and new.

[But it be like that sometimes.]

It's especially weird that something that definitely wasn't magical, like being able to see ghosts, now is magical. I guess it's just the difference between this world and my own? Still, that's the best part. I kind of missed it.

[auriphrygiate]

"Becoming a sheep"? How's that? Polymorph spell gone awry? You know, you're supposed to get help if that lasts longer than sixty seconds.

[ but anyway, extremely tired mage jokes that are suddenly fresh and new in camelot aside... ]

Could be a little of column A, little of column B. That's mostly why I'm asking; where I come from, physiology matters, as does the state of the mind and spirit. Soul. Whatever. Something or someone is or isn't inherently magical and very little that isn't an extraordinary circumstance will change that. It doesn't stop some from brute-forcing it, though.

But here, the magic has something to do with these familiars, but I haven't yet determined to what extent or exactly how much influence they or the magic itself has on a person. You'd think people would want to know these things.

[ he looks amused by the mention of ghosts, glancing for a moment at something out of the frame. ]

Choosing to see ghosts on command is apparently a magical skill, but it seems anyone can see them if they want you to see them badly enough.

[polterguide]

[Lord, grant them strength.]

I wish it happened as quickly as a spell. Growing horns is pretty painful, y'know? Especially when you're not supposed to have them.

[Their head tilts, and they squint a bit.]

Magic where I'm from is admittedly pretty different from here and the place I was before - it was anything that could effect or impact others, if that makes sense? Like, it's not magical to be able to feel other people's emotions, but being able to manipulate those feelings is a different kind of unnatural ability, and that ends up being called magic. I'm not sure it's the best term, but it's what it's, but you also generally need to channel that ability with things like charms and runes and what not. Plus it's largely genetic - people don't just get born with the ability to do magic. It passes down through families, and those families tend to be pretty rich because selling magic baubles is pretty lucrative.

And if you've got something extrasensory going on or some sort of enhanced ability, you're incapable of performing magic. You can't be influenced by the world and influence it at the same time, or something like that. So it's pretty different from the magic here and the magic from where I was before.

[They huff a bit, almost a laugh.]

I'm more used to ghosts getting attention with more... Extreme measures.