limacharlie | 144.98750 Public Channel [Day 63]

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144.98750 Public Channel [Day 63]

Hey, guys? Anyone -- I hope you still have your radios...

[Ash sounds worried to the point of frantic, barely keeping her alarm and panic covered under a veneer of anxiety.]

Listen, something's really wrong here. Have you guys actually talked with anyone else? It's scary as hell, guys, they're hollow, it's like their brains have just shut down -- they're running for kicks and thrills like they're the only thing that matters. I mean I know all the drugs and stuff here can have that effect, but it's not just the junkies. And some of you all are scaring the hell out of me too just from what I've seen...

This place isn't safe. We're not safe here. It's too much pleasure and it might even be more than that. Pull out, guys. Please, now.

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We're totally just winging this anyway. [Ash has never met another music mage, not one like her, and she thinks that's probably a good thing. What if their magic was multiplicative? A band of music mages might be too powerful for their own good in that case...] I mean, if it's dangerous I can always just stop performing, but that would be bad if my magic is doing something important at the time.

If you need to stop performing, I'll simply swap my magic to keep whatever important thing you're doing afloat before you shut it down.

[ Does that make sense? Maybe? Strange is talking like it makes sense, at least. ]

I don't actually know how strong your magic is. [Ash regards him as her finger rubs idly over her lip, trying to put together a plan in her head that will account for everything.] Or what it costs you to do.

Truth be told, I've no idea how strong my magic is either. [ It's said with a small little frown. Strange has certainly tested some limits of his magic but he honestly has no idea just how much he can do and how far he can push his limits.

Spoilers: the end result is surprisingly powerful. ]

As for the costs...that all depends on the type of magic. Unlike you, I don't have a singular focus. If I'm to do elemental magic, some of that depends on the nature of the elements and if they'll listen to my request. If I'm to do other forms of magic, I might combine or rearrange previously written spells in order to get the desired result. Some of the more older forms of magic use symbolism, such as having something last as long as a flame.

[ Strange shrugs! ] I suppose that's one of the consequences of my world only having a few magicians to begin with. One must make do with whatever's at hand.

But what about you personally? Do you have an inner reserve of power you draw on? Or is it based on how long you can focus and concentrate? [Admittedly, one limitation to Ash's magic is her physical ability to keep playing -- but if she switches up in the middle of one epic performance, she can magic herself up a soothed voice and claws that aren't cracked and split any longer and strength in general.]

I assume it's mostly focus and concentration? Honestly though, I've no clue about that either. I simply do magic. And some times when my magic hasn't worked, I've no idea if it was my lack of focus, my lack of experience, or my lack of that reserve you mentioned.

[ Discovering your magic in your thirties means that Strange knows jack shit about some of the more in-depth sort of traits ]

[She isn't sure she's communicating what she means here, but if he doesn't get it maybe it isn't a problem? Really if he spent mana or mental energy or whatever to keep his spells maintained, he'd know if he had a limit... or else his limit is so high he effectively doesn't have one anyway.]

[So! Ash shrugs it off mentally.] So between the two of us we can probably keep this rolling as long as we need to, then.

[ lmao what is mana. Strange has absolutely NO IDEA how to interpret the idea of mana or mental energy or all those things (two magicians, it's amazing how absolutely little he knows about everything) so he's just going to nod slightly at Ash's summation. ]

I'd like to think so! After all, we're both competent magicians and this place is just brimming with magic.

[Ash gets the feeling that 'competent magician' is a big compliment from Strange. And if it isn't, don't tell her otherwise, because it pleases her quite a bit.]

I don't really use outside sources for my magic, though... and maybe here, given what the local effect is, it isn't a good idea.

[ It is totally a compliment. He only knows like two other magicians and one of them barely counts as competent in his mind. ]

I don't know...I think if we limit our outside sources to certain ones, then it might work. After all, the local effect of this place has nothing to do with some of the forces of nature itself. What few trees the Celebration has aren't the ones causing people to lose themselves.

[ it's all said in a very conversational tone, as if Strange is trying to piece together a particularly annoying puzzle. ]

Your outside sources. I really -- try to avoid metathaumaturgy. [Which, considering she actually has a term for it, ought to say that she's honestly given this some serious thought. She isn't afraid of mixing effects, but manipulating magic directly with her own is way too risky.] Mine's all in my blood, metaphorically speaking.

Metathauma... [ Yeah, there's no way he's going to be able to pronounce that word. ] Is that just another way to say my outside sources?

Affecting magic with magic, basically. Directly. [She taps her fists together, out of some belief that this would help illustrate her point.] If I wanted to tap outside magical energy for any reason, I'd have to use MY magic to do that, and it's anyone's guess what would happen.

[She thinks about it for a moment, fingers tapping against each other.] You know how I said it was unpredictable, when I did original songs? Well, say I wanted to get some magical energy to add to my effect. There's a fair chance my magic would get it by draining everything around me, for example.

But if I'm to help, we might have to affect magic with magic in the first place. That is, unless we both target the same thing at once. I'm sure I can come up with a spell that in theory could help break an enchantment.

[ In practice...this is a damn strong enchantment. ]

There's a difference between affecting magic and affecting effects. Like, if someone was coming after me with a Sword of Catgirl Slaying, I could come up with a song to dispel the enchantment and unweave it from the sword... or I could just break the sword, y'know?

[It's like that saying. "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between his shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style."]

[ He does understand what she's talking about, and gives a little nod.

...however, Strange can't help but ask, ]

Is the Sword of Catgirl Slaying an actual thing, or simply hypothetical?

[ HE'S GOT A FEELING IT'S THE LATTER but he's learned that taking everything at face value here is probably a good idea. ]

I've never seen one. But it's a big, big universe.

[And it wouldn't surprise her if someone out there decided that her people, or half her people, were abominations and needed to be purged. Hell, they could even make a good argument on that score, what with the artificial creation and everything.]

Well then, we'll just have to hope that we come across some other kind of nonsense in the big, big universe.

[ If Ash hasn't seen one and Strange hasn't seen on, then it's obviously not a problem!

Standing up from his chair, he cracked his knuckles slightly, giving Ash a wide grin. ]

And on that note, I think we've had enough talk. Let's see what we can do to poke a hole in this troublesome spell!

[To be fair, a normal sword put through her gut would kill her pretty effectively too. Her frame might house a lot of magical power, but it's just an ordinary mortal girl frame, ears and tail and claws nonetheless.]

Hmm. We might want to wait till we have a real good shot at affecting a lot of people. We try something small, they might catch on to us quick.

There have been large parties the past few nights. Perhaps one of those would work?

Yeah, yeah. Somewhere we can get as many of our own people as possible. [She twiddles a finger in a circle idly as she thinks, sort of imagining lassoing up the carnival. Maybe even physically.]

Of course, now we've reached a new problem. How precisely can we get as many of the carnival members as we can in one place without seeming suspicious? [ After all, he had no idea just what the host of this place was capable of ]

[Ash is totally willing to smash the host in its face, but...] Yeah. That one might be beyond us. You know if there are any big events coming up that it seems like everyone might be at?

[ Two days from now, they're both gonna go 'oh yeah, this big event might work'. As it is now? Strange has absolutely no idea a masquerade's coming up. ]

Not really. This place doesn't seem to do much with 'calendars' or 'schedules.'

[And then they'll both be going, 'well that sucked'.]

No kidding. Maybe we can come up with something? A lot of people still have their radios, I think...

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