arcanarum

[gordianknots]

I find it a little strange that you keep fretting about lack of activity and then proceed to laze about and refuse to rectify the problem. If your complaint (on occasion, as I have noted) is a lack of other cast members, then seek them out and do so without worrying about the impression you make. If it's unfamiliarity with others within the community, then either sit and consume the appropriate media or find other avenues for communication and actually use them. Inaction, while a form of action itself, only perpetuates what exists. It's foolish, and I have to admit that even this is a childish thing to do.

However if it takes plain writing for you to plan out what must be done, so be it. But please make this the first and last time you air such complaints. I've had a number of younger Clock Tower students with better clarity towards their problems.

Comments

[answerer_sword]

M-milord?

[She quickly, and rather awkwardly bows.]

For a game with a name like that, you would think more magi would be attracted.

[gordianknots]

The bow's unnecessary.

[Fuck, have they met? Waver's going to pretend like they have at any rate.]

There are a few already present from other disciplines, but circuit use is blocked upon arrival, which is beyond frustrating.

[answerer_sword]

[They have met, but only in an alternate universe.]

I am but an Enforcer and you are a lord. You rank above me.

[Technically, with all the political jostling, he is a rival to her direct superiors, but she still needs to defer to his rank.]

I see. Is there any way to unblock them?

[gordianknots]

I'm a professor before I'm anything else. Rank's irrelevant and your job is as important as mine.

[Waver's feelings on hierarchy are So Very Mixed as an adult. He'll only use it to his advantage when it suits him, and now is not one of those times.]

Playing along with the powers that be, although the side-effects of doing so are worse than death from where I stand.

[answerer_sword]

Are they really that reprehensible?

[She usually gets tossed into horror games, so she has seen a good number of atrocities being committed by the powers that be.]

Do you have any examples of what they have done in the past?

[gordianknots]

[tiny sigh] Losing my memory - and recollection of the factors that have molded me into the person I've become and am generally pleased with on a day-to-day basis - to be forced into becoming an entirely different individual is my very definition of horror.

Mm. As for past examples, pretty sure letting fly the local werewolf population counts somewhere in there.

[answerer_sword]

That indeed sounds irresponsible and cruel of them. Were you able to repel the invasion, at least.

[As far as she was concerned, her memories were sacred.]

And I hear some games allow for regains following disasters of a large scale. Is there such a system in place for that game?

[gordianknots]

I wasn't there for that event. I only know of it because I've been trying to build up an archive of events and see if there's a way to tap into the local sources of mana without anyone noticing - rather like run off.

[On that they can agree.]

As I understand it, yes, but I've simply not been around long enough. [he offers a small, depreciating laugh] Then again, it's not like I've been a strong spellcaster back in the real world.

[answerer_sword]

That is certainly a unique way to go about it.

[She certainly would not have thought of such an idea.]

Then can you not find strong allies? Ones who have been here longer.

[She blinks in surprise when she hears him say he is not a strong spellcaster.]

B-but you are a Lord.

[gordianknots]

That's a slow process, sadly, one that requires patience and forming genuine bonds of trust. What mage easily accomplishes those things, especially when every other mage is out looking for a new and special way to fuck him over?

[and at the reminder of rank, he flashes a grin.]

Yeah, and I'm not related to the Archibald that held this title before me. Rank doesn't always equate raw power.

[ooc: gods below I feel so bad that he's being so wordy at her.]

[answerer_sword]

[She blushes at the...unique way he described it.]

I would certainly be your ally if I was in that game.

[That comes as another surprise to her. She knows that they have different surnames, but she always supposed Lord El-Melloi II had been a distant relative of a branch house.]

Then how did you become his heir?

[ooc: it's alright! only worry I have is that Bazett might not be completely IC]

[gordianknots]

That's a welcome response, but not much use here. Thank you for that knowledge though.

Politics, mostly, and using the chaos of Kayneth's death to my advantage to get what I needed in order to move forward. [not that he's quite done with what he intends to do with a title, authority, Holy Grail destruction and teaching position yet.]

[ooc: No, no you're fine! You are MORE than fine!]

[answerer_sword]

You are welcome, Milord.

[She nods at his explanation.]

Then...what of the Archibald Crest? It is unlikely they would let such a rich depository of circuits...

[She stops herself midsentence.]

Oh, forgive me. I am presuming to ask too personal of a question.


[ooc: I'm really glad you think so!]

[gordianknots]

Please. Just call me Waver, okay?

And it's really not that personal. The tenth head of the family holds the Archibald crest, I maintain the lordship. It's an alliance of sorts. Pipsqueak third generation mage gets power and they get two means of improving their family name. [Not that any of this means he and the Archibalds eye-to-eye on all matters.]

[ooc: I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true!]

[answerer_sword]

I-I cannot presume to address a superior by his first name. Even if you give me permission, it still sounds too...unprofessional.

[Her blush only gets redder. This man is quite casual for one so high up in the Association.]

That is indeed an interesting arrangement. I assume your opinions take precedence because of your high ranking?


[ooc: Mm, I like your Waver too. He's both grouchy and semi-friendly at the same time.]

[gordianknots]

We aren't in a professional setting though. It's hardly unnecessary.

[And he thinks so very little of the Association's many traditions.]

No, mostly we yell and whoever's louder wins the argument.

[ooc: Thanks. He's been fun to flesh out post-series, with his contempt for hierarchy in the magecraft practicing world]

[answerer_sword]

Then...Waver, Sir!

[She tries hard to resist the urge to laugh at Waver's description of his negotiations with the Archibald clan. However, a light chuckle still escapes her.]


[ooc: sadly, if the Association had more people like him, I think they'd produce more viable magi. because as far as the prospects of the Nasuverse look, it's not so much magic dying out as old magical clans dying out. like the Earth itself got tired of their bull and said "f*ck it, I'm giving this power to less arrogant people".]

[gordianknots]

Sir's unnesscary too. I swear. And I don't know yours, and I refuse to call you by your job title - that's just stating your use and I can think of few greater insults than reducing people to purpose.

[no, no it's worth laughing at. It's ridiculous] I swear, that's how it happens. The results are 50-50 in terms of who wins.

[ooc: The Nasuverse is very heavy on stasis for mages, which annoys me considering that the Grail Wars highlight the exact problems with the way things are. But because the Association is so focused on making sure the way things are remain that way, it's so hard to make that change. (It's one of the reasons I've siezed on Waver too, considering the few bits of post-canon information that we've got.)]

[answerer_sword]

[Unfortunately, Bazett is one of those people who must know that she has some sort of use, or some sort of effect upon the world. Otherwise, she feels as if she would disappear.]

My given name is Bazett Fraga McRemitz. Forgive me for disputing with you, but I believe that as long as the purpose is noble, then there is no shame in being known by one's job title.

[She stares at him, incredulous.]

For such a great and noble family, they...

[She does not know what to call them. Absurd? Petty?]


[ooc: this is what I like to call the Confucius fallacy. In other words "It worked in the past, so we shouldn't change it in the slightest" or "life was better in the (idealized) version of the past so we should imitate the past as much as possible". Even in a system that looks backwards like magecraft, in attempting to recreate the deeds of past magi, they would inevitably create something new since no two spells are the exact same and they don't know for sure what past magi used.]

[gordianknots]

Then that's definitely a conflict of philosophies, but - mm, that's an old surname, isn't it? [might be a part of family philosophy too and he is not going to venture an insult if he can avoid it.]

[better to go after families he can make fun without consequence. Besides, he's said this to the tenth family head's face and lived.] I think it's the result of just breeding for circuits. Not too different from nobility doing the same thing.

[ooc: Ohhhh, I like that a lot. I've always imagined that one reason the Association is so heavy on preserving the past was out of a desire to recreate the past when they had power and didn't have to deal with the Church as a huge threat. But I also really like considering the impact of the European witch craze on the magecraft world at large, which probably created a huge turn about in philosophy for how things should be run in order to avoid such an event again.]

[answerer_sword]

Yes, it is.

[Her tone carries a tinge of pride.]

The Fraga are a very old clan from Northern Ireland, or Ulster as you might know it. My parents say that we have been a clan since the times of the Gods.

[Had her ancestors not retreated from magi society, perhaps Bazett would be one of the nobles that Waver is so eagerly mocking.]

I can certainly understand a desire for high quality circuits and unique abilities, but are they...that inbred?

[gordianknots]

Yeesh. There's old, and then there's that. [for all that he's fine with making fun of nobility, there's something to be said for a line going back that far. There's few others that can make such claims as far as he knows, and that's worthy of some respect.] It's a little awe-inspiring, actually. Strange I haven't seen it reappearing in modern proceedings though--

[flatly] It was a joke and honestly, a common one made about most older blooded mages. It's one of the few ways that younger blooded mages cope with the system being so set against us.

[answerer_sword]

One of my ancestors decided to seclude our family from the mainstream magi society. I am the first in many generations to work with the Association.

[It was a decision that her parents had opposed, but she was a magus and she wished to prove her own worth as well as the worth of her clan.]

Thank you for the compliment. I must admit, though my blood is old, there are many things that my family does that seems to be out of sync with the policies of most modern magi. Therefore, I am more often or not working with other magi from recent bloodlines. Yet, I can still see the logic in the Association's policies. Younger bloodlines have a smaller inventory of spells, do they not?

[gordianknots]

That explains it then, and I can respect making your own calls on who to pledge loyalty to.

[he may think it's sort of foolish to play along with the Association but well, he got in so he can force the changes he wants, so he's in no position to comment.]

May I ask what the other differences are? I'm genuinely curious to see what was once common practice and how it's evolved. [and here we go, back to the stupid bloodline thing that he's dealt with all his life. Forgive any curtness that follows.] I have a smaller inventory to call upon and more to teach myself, but I have the advantage of being forced to understand all technical aspects before making said spell work. By understanding the technical elements, I have greater paths open to me with invention and I can make more specific modifications as suited to the situation at hand.

Circuit theory is full of gaping holes anyway. It was only invented in the early 1900s with the advent of the circuit board and older convention had some emphasis on being capable of improving one's skill through work as much as marrying the right family. It's only been seized upon by a technophobic Association because it's useful for keeping people in their place.

[somethings do not change from age nineteen.]

[answerer_sword]

Well, my family uses older, and some would say heterodox forms of magecraft like runic magic. My mother makes potions and sometimes dabbles in blessings or curses, so you could say she is capable of witchcraft. Perhaps our greatest specialty is that we are carriers of a special sorcery trait called Godsholder. However, since it is an ability unique to our clan, I do not know if it is of any use to you. Even if it can be replicated, it can only be used for combat. That is all I have to say on our magecraft practices. Would you need our social practices as well?

[His explanation does make sense, though she still has her doubts.]

I hear that too much contact with human technology can weaken a magus' abilities. Even my family has attempted to avoid human technology except where it is absolutely necessary, such as better fishing boats.