kaisou | video; un: zapbamboom | there's more to see than can ever be seen

WHO:Arthur and whoever
WHERE: on the app!
WHEN: 1/23, early evening
WHAT:Arthur has a question...and a problem,
WARNINGS: uhhh minor injury at most in the post? but be prepared for marked threads, maybe

Hi, so, been a bit. I'm Arthur, the library kid, for those who don't know. I, uh, wanna set up a club or regular group or something, outside of school, you know? Problem is I dunno what. Like, just a regular bad movie night or something, or a kinetic sculpture race, or something like that.

And, uh, if I can get something going, then I'm not coming back to school. It was my parents' condition, that I have to still have a regular social life thing. So, anyone have any--

[His eyes drift up away from the camera, glazing over as they focus on....something. and he just stares like that, as the seconds tick by. The feed keeps going and he won't respond. It's getting to be a good minute or two of nothing other than the angle getting crookeder as the phone slips in his grip.

And then Arthur gets up, turns on his heel, starts to run, and crashes right into something. The phone doesn't see what, but clatters off to the side, face-down so the screen is dark.]

...owwww. S-So, uh. Yeah. Why now? Really can't do, do the school thing anymore. Still need a social life. Need ideas for how to do that. O-Oh, and, uh, I'm okay! [The phone gets a view again, light and blurry fingers trying to cut the feed. Arthur mutters something angry about a lion, then finally cuts the feed.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[That earns a wince.]

I can see how that would, uh, complicate things for school. I'd be down for a regular bad movie night, though.

[The response is delayed a little, but only long enough to pick himself up.]

Yeah...yeah. Visions make it hard. Especially violent ones. Or ones where I get up and move around. Plus other stuff.

[Headshake, then....he stares a little, and frowns. Another headshake.]

Uh, bad movie night would be pretty easy to set up. We've got projectors and rooms here, and a bunch of questionable DVDs. And VHS.

[Yeah, that earns another wince and a sympathetic look.]

Ooh, I haven't watched anything on VHS in ages.

Are you sure that you're alright?

Yeah, there's a whole bunch of really dubious stuff from back in the day. We don't even know what all of it is.

[....another stare and headshake.]

Hey, uh, sorry if this is a weird question. Do you know a guy named Malleus?

A few bruises, maybe? I ran into a wall.

Uh, not personally or anything, but I know the name, at least. He's apparently some real important magic user in the world I was in before I was brought here.

...okay. 'Cause, uh....I think you were in this one? Or someone who looks a whole lot like you.

Which, uh, I don't think I've ever had a vision about someone here, before.

Oh. Shit.

[... Give them a sec, they're gonna flip this over to private; even as much as the guys back at Night Raven would deserve it they're not gonna put them on blast in public.]

... So. What'd you see?

Visions like that really do make life difficult, huh? There's no way to mitigate it?

[Okay, he'll match.]

Uh. I'm, I'm still trying to untangle it, I was someone short. Had a whole lot of emotions and thoughs and, it's real hard to untangle your mind from someone else's, you know?

Anyway, uh, there was a guy, with ears and a tail, and he was pissed off, and there was sand everywhere, and I think he tried to kill someone but also decided if Malleus was going to play then there was no point trying, and I lectured him, and he blew up and overblotted, what the hell does that mean? And I ran to get the teachers. Except actual-me ran into a wall instead.

Not that I know of. They just hit out of nowhere. And sometimes they're kind of nice, but sometimes they're real bad.

Oof. Okay, so, I can, uh. Definitely explain the Overblotting thing.

Okay, so, imagine when you use magic, you don't just... pay an MP cost and be done with it. There's a little bit of magical waste generated, called Blot. You generate more when you're under stress or feeling a lot of negativity, and it goes away with properly taking care of yourself.

Back at Night Raven College, they'd use pens with magestones to like... siphon that off and provide another way to get rid of it--I don't know what happens if you let it build up in your body and I don't want to know--but it's not a quick process. Generate too much Blot, enough that the magestone turns black, and...

[Vaguely explosion gestures and sound effects.]

Berserk murder mode.

No wonder you're dropping out, if that's the case. If you decide to look for a tutor for whatever reason, I can see what university resources I can get my hands on.

So you really were there? This felt like the past, and I definitely don't know how I know that.

Okay, so, uh, basically - magic in that world leaves behind a kind of, toxic or volatile particulate, or like. Magic lactic acid, or something like that. Build up too much, and you get an anime transformation but evil, complete with edgelord eye-fire. Because magic.

Does that....get better? Lion dude seemed pretty damn unhappy.

Yeah. I've tried to make it work, but between these and the past life stuff...nope, can't do it, not in the stars.

I'd like that, thanks. I'm gonna do self-study for a while, but books definitely aren't enough.

Yep, I was there. The lion guy is Leona Kingscholar, housewarden of one of Night Raven's dorms.

But yeah, if you get someone in that state to exhaust their out of control magic, they'll go back to normal.

Overblot's supposed to be rare, but we'd had two in as many months. I think the other guy who did is in therapy now, so that's probably what's going to happen to Kingscholar.

Of course. I've found self-study has its own merits as well, but when you're ready I'll be sure to find some time.

Has it been this serious for long, or did it get more intense over time?

Do you have to worry about magtic acid? Are you okay?

[He just nods, hearing the rest of that. That's all good. He can focus on the present, ground himself in right now.]

Nah, I don't have to worry about it. I have a pen that looks like the ones they use at Night Raven, but it's just got a plain ol' sapphire. It was a Christmas gift from a friend who was here for a while.

I'm not even from that world anyway, so!

Okay, good. If you're gonna be fine and he's not here, I think it's okay.

I, uh. Didn't mean to pry into your life. Sorry.

It's all good. I forget sometimes that there's people around that don't know that this isn't my first isekai rodeo.

Seriously, thanks so much. This is gonna be loads better.

It varies? Like, this month wasn't too bad. I was just, five years old again, rolling down grassy hills and watching bugs crawl in the grass. Would've been great if I didn't get told off for uncontrollable giggling during a math quiz. But even the first time, I tranced out and hiked all the way across town, I have no idea how I didn't get hit by a car. And that was one of the nicest ones.

But you like us better, right?

[Said with humor, not any actual competitive spirit.]

Way better, yeah. Being here has been pretty awesome, actually, even with everything that's happened.

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