lifeaftr | TiK Tok

Entry tags:

TiK Tok

Who: Lup (

ohnehalfte), and possibly you!
What: Drunken party of drunkenness and shenanigans
When: Nov 17th, mid-day until everyone passes tf out
Where: Islet #2 aka Trash Island, somewhere out in front of cottage 1 and along the beach
Warnings: Drunk people, swearing, ill-advised people hitting each other with sticks, questionable food, drunken cuddles and crying, etc, etc tbc when there's more

Welcome to Islet 2! There are many reasons for you to be here right now. Maybe you live here. Maybe you're visiting someone who lives here. Maybe you've been invited to this sick party by one of the above idiots. Maybe you were just passing by and got dragged into the festivities. Who cares, really? You're here now!

Out in front of Cottage 1 there's the beautiful banner that you see above hanging on the outside, lovingly crafted by one of the twins. The twins have also lovingly crafted some vodka using magic and potatoes. Potato magic. And hey! There's also stuff that the twins cooked! Like potato tornadoes, fried shark genitals and Fantasy Kentucky Fried Pterax! And other food! And there's a fire! And activities! And drinking!

Mainly drinking. In fact, there is a large cooking pot that, at the moment, is full of the most moonshine-iest vodka you have ever had. There are empty halves of coconut shells to serve as cups, as well as some clay cups that may or may not have come from an interesting source. So help yourself! Who knows how long it'll last, considering the amount of guests. Heck! It might even be repurposed later, after all the vodka is gone! So drink up.

Anyway, feel free to join in on the festivities! There will be several threads for activities where people can mingle, or you can start your own. Have a party, chill out, and/or imbibe ill-advised substances to try and forget that you died. Wheeeee!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She smiles cheerfully, lifting a cup of her own in reply- six hands means never having to worry about holding too many things at once- and taking a polite sip.]

I'd be more than happy to talk- for all the problems with this island, I admit the sheer amount of new concepts and ideas I've come across here is fascinating. There are so many worlds to learn about, and we haven't even found all there is to know about our own.

I suppose the first question that brings to mind is, is that news to you? [The idea that other worlds wouldn't know of the multiplanar cosmos is philosophically comprehensible, but personally baffling.]

The concept is something I've heard of before, certainly- scholars and scientists have been suggesting the idea of parallel worlds for ages now- but actual, physical proof? This is the first I've seen of it anywhere. At home, other worlds are the stuff of theoretical research and science-fiction novels.

That honestly surprises me. You seem like a very magical people -- I mean, right up to the point where you're mostly spirit instead of actual flesh, right? [Though he really wonders where they draw the difference.] But you've never had experience with the other planes, whereas their existence is downright mandatory for even some of the weakest spells above cantrips.

Correct, yes- I recall the distinction being best phrased as 'humans are matter with a soul, monsters are magic with a soul'.

[When you get down to it, there really isn't much difference between flesh and spirit for monsters, give or take a handful of dust.]

Bearing in mind that my degree was in business and economics, not magical theory, it might be that we're working on entirely different systems of magic in the first place. I've certainly seen very different types and styles of magic here, used by people from other worlds.

The most obvious difference that comes to mind is that you seem to be implying that magic users in your world rely on an outside source for their power- these other planes that you're familiar with- whereas my people's magic is definitely something that comes from the person casting it.

Oh, I should be clearer -- I was referring specifically to summoning spells, which call from a higher plane. The actual energy source for magic is... [He half-shrugs, at the same time making a sort of wavery gesture with one hand. Muffet may be wearing off on him just a little with all those arms.] It can have a variety of sources. Sorcerers, for example, generally have strongly internalized magic, while wizards use spells to alter a magical field, and warlocks derive power from external sources infused into their being... whereas divine magic all relies on an exterior source, except possibly archivists...

I'm used to variety, I guess is the point I'm making here, but I'm still trying to fit you into my worldview somehow.

[Six is clearly a perfectly reasonable number of arms to gesture with, and it's frankly a shame humans have to manage with one-third as many.]

Hm, I do recall someone I met here talking about how her world has 'totems', otherworldly beings that can grant power to those they deem suitable...

We do have summoning of a sort, although it's not as common- and we're always calling forth something that originated in our own world. Essentially, one takes something and infuses it with one's own magic in a way meant to last permanently, which results in something that can be summoned and dismissed at will. Though it's generally for inanimate objects of some sort or another, and even if you do wind up with something living it's never anything smarter than, say, the average housecat.

My own dear pet is an example of the latter, but if you don't mind I'd rather not demonstrate at the moment- having a large creature suddenly appear in a crowd of dubious sober people sounds likely to end poorly.

[Please do not stab the adorable cupcake monster pet.]

I'm doing the same, in a way- although it occurs to me that worldview might not be the right word, given that we're dealing with more than one world.

[Honestly he wonders how she manages to keep track of them all. Of course, she's just meant to have that many, so he doesn't think it's actually difficult, but he does wonder what it must feel like.]

That's interesting. We have enchantments that can sort of do that, though in really different ways than I think yours works. I can summon my sword, for example, but that's actually a virtue of its raw importance and the faith and belief I hold in it.

[She looks thoughtful at the mention of 'virtue'.]

Hm, it's funny you should phrase it that way- the basis of our system of magic essentially is one's own virtues, using a particular emotion in order to use one of seven different types of magic.

I don't think faith, specifically, is one of them- although I suppose you could make a case for it falling under one of the others, by definition...

Well, strictly speaking, I've made the sword possess magic properties through force of will and mental exertion. Which is basically how magic works, I suppose...

That would fit fairly well with how we do things, yes. Although, I'd gotten the impression that you didn't have magical ability, yourself?

That depends on how you define it. It is well within my ability to become a wizard, thus being able to alter the fabric of reality through carefully-studied spells. This is sort of a more... spontaneous thing, and honestly, the boundaries of magic are pretty fuzzy anyway.

As Wrecan put it to me, I harnessed magical power through intense mental focus. Not intentionally and not under my control in any way, but what's the fundamental difference between that and casting a spell?

I suppose there's another obvious difference there, in that people my world are either born with or without magical ability, as opposed to gaining power by study- although someone without magic could still use a magical item, and someone with magic would certainly improve their skill with study.

Keeping in mind that I'm only familiar with our own system, I'd say the difference is something like swinging your hand around and hitting someone by accident as opposed to throwing a proper punch- technically the same end result, but the latter is likely to be more effective and less tiring.

Oh, we have the same thing -- sorcerers have innate magical power which they learn to control with practice, as opposed to formalized study to learn how to do that same sort of thing.

To be honest, wizards often look down on sorcerers, out of a belief that what they earned by hard work, sorcerers just possess naturally, which somehow makes the wizard way superior. [The roll of eyes which accompanies this statement ought to make Roy's opinion on the matter perfectly clear.]

[Muffet politely refrains from rolling all five of her eyes at the idea.]

Well, I certainly can't say that hard work is a bad thing, although I'd point out that even the most gifted natural talent would have to spend time and effort honing their skills if they ever wanted to use them to their full potential.

My experience with wizards has generally been that they have an arrogant assumption that their own abilities are both superior and standalone.

I could go into further detail but you don't really want to hear about my father issues and I'm trying to put them behind me.

Mm, I don't mind providing a listening ear if you want to complain to someone, but if you'd rather just move on that's fine too.

...Ah, for example: it occurs to me that magic is rather heavily tied in with species on my world, but other people seem to have plenty of options besides the two I'm used to. What kind of people does your world have, assuming it isn't just humans?

[Just humans. The idea brings a genuine grin to his face.]

All sorts. All sorts -- humans, halfings, elves, dwarves, gnomes just to start, orcs and goblins and their entire branches of goblinoid races, dragons of course, giants.... I could go on for a day, probably, and not entirely cover everything exhaustively.

[Muffet looks genuinely fascinated, smiling happily at the thought.]

My, that must be an interesting world to live in. Monsters do have a great deal of physical variation, enough that humans are often surprised our different subspecies are even related to each other at all, but in the end there's really only us and humans.

Are there any species you're more familiar with than others, out of the list?

Well, my adventuring party was three humans, a halfling, an elf, and until recently a dwarf. So I suppose those are my greatest areas of familiarity?

Hm... I've met a few elves here- they're the ones who look quite a bit like humans but with rather more pointed ears, yes? Halflings and dwarves, however, I've only heard mentioned here in passing. What are they like?

Dwarves are generally a stoic, beer-loving race that tends towards Lawfulness, hard work, occasionally strange ideas about trees, and respectful worship of the Northern gods. All in all, they're a very decent people from my limited experience with them. Durkon was my best friend for a very long time.

[Having been very prepared to say the name, Roy manages without a hitch.]

Halflings, well. Belkar was something else entirely.

[Muffet notices the past tense, but doesn't say anything about it, since it doesn't seem like it would be kind or polite to bring it up.]

That does sound like a lovely culture- except possibly for the part about trees?

[Does she even want to know, is the question.]

Are they very physically similar to humans, like the elves I've met, or are they more varied? From the name I would perhaps guess that they tend to be rather short, but it seems rude to assume...

Dwarves are somewhat shorter than humans, generally under four feet, while halflings are shorter still. Halflings are generally fairly human-proportionate, while dwarves tend to have shorter limbs and more length of torso, relatively speaking.

But still fairly humanoid, I'm assuming? No wings or tails or the like.

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[headcanons wildly]

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