synopsychic | [Video]

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Hello, everyone. [Though overwhelmed when he first returned, now Armin is calm and composed - nearly solemn, almost military in the way he goes about this. He doesn't enjoy this task, but he takes it very seriously.] I'm sorry it took longer than usual, with everything that happened. [Being sent on a different jaunt, not knowing if he'd see any of his friends ever again.] But... I have the list of people who vanished over the course of the last jaunt and haven't come back.

[He takes a deep breath, then begins the list - slowly and clearly, with a small pause between every name.]

Damian Wayne. Jason Todd. Neria Surana. Lucina. Ryuunosuke Ibuki. Sanosuke Harada. Connor Graham. Labrys. Nick Burkhardt. Phèdre nó Delaunay. Oona. Ken Amada. Junpei Iori. Yoon Yoorae. Chizuru Yukimura. Inigo. Takakage Kobayakawa. Janos Audren.

...

I'm sorry. If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

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Well... I ain't really doin' anythin' else at the moment...

All right. I'll be there in a minute.

[Perhaps strangely, he hasn't asked Kanji where he is.]

Hey, wait, I...

[...Huh.]

[And indeed, before the conversation can go farther, Armin turns up in the quiet corner Kanji has found for himself, cloak rippling in the water behind him.

He gives Kanji a small smile.] Hello.

He- [Wait a second.] Dude, I didn't even tell ya where I was hangin' out - how'd you get here so fast?

[Okay, he knows how he'd find someone in a hurry, but ... Armin's no Champion of Threads.]

[Armin blinks, and it takes just a moment to remember that however natural it is in his life, what he can do isn't considered normal to most everyone else.]

Oh! Umm... Sorry. It's something I can do with the psychic network, if you're near enough. I... forgot it's not really normal. [He rubs the back of his neck, looking faintly embarrassed.]

...Yeah, coulda used a bit of warning there.

[Okay, he'd pulled similar tricks on his Bondmates, but ... they'd expected it. He runs a hand down his face.]

Anyway... how're we doin' this?

S-sorry.

[He looks around for a moment at the question, thinking.]

The first step would be to go over the basics in the book... but I'm not going to risk bringing it out here. We could go to the workshop, I suppose.

...You've learned some cantrips, right?

Alright. [Kanji nods-] And yeah, I've been learnin' them for - well, since we were down in Melasurei, but I kinda wasn't myself last time out so I couldn't practice. Gettin' the hang of it, though.

[Even if there are some differences in his own spellcasting style to the more - well understood flavour.]

Okay. [He nods, then starts moving slowly in the direction of the workshop, indicating Kanji should join him. He seems to be simply walking along the bottom, even though swimming would be much faster.]

Which ones have you learned so far?

[Kanji's still not entirely thinking in terms of swimming, so he doesn't really mind...] Mending, light, launchin' things, and... that writing copying one. [No way is he going to try and pronounce 'amanuensis'.] Anythin' else, I'm still workin' on.

Amanuensis. [The word is out of Armin's mouth before it even occurs to him it might be a little rude. But it's too late now, so he ignores it.] A variety of things, anyway. All right, good.

Yeah, that's it. [Eh, he can deal with being corrected on something like that.] I've just been kinda lookin' at them when I get a chance. Seeing what I can make work.

It's good to have be flexible, to have a wide base to build off of. But the way you think about color magic is going to have to be more focused. Although cantrips are shared by all, every color has a different process. Within a color, even spells that are very different share a certain feeling to them.

At least, that's my experience. That's why a blue mage can't really help a green mage with his spells - just the source. Our magic may be the same, but the way we channel it is entirely different.

Does that make sense?

Edited 2015-09-18 09:40 (UTC)

[Kanji thinks about it for a moment and nods.] I think I get it. It's all... goin' off in a different direction from the same startin' point.

[Armin nods as they reach the door to the workshop, holding it open for Kanji.] That's a good way to think of it, yes.

[He looks around the workshop for a moment, considering.] Is there anyplace in particular you'd like to study?

...Over here do? [He points towards one corner table-] That's where I usually work on things. ...Hope I didn't leave anythin' there.

That should work. [He moves toward the table, and as he does, abruptly seems to pull a book out of nowhere. The motion is quick and nonchalant enough it's probably hard to see whether Armin actually pulled it from one of his pockets or not - but none of them are large enough to fit the book. The book is a hardcover - very old, large, and moderately thick. It seems to be very plain and modest, for the treasures it contains.]

This... may take a while. There's a lot to read, and no other way to really get into it. You want to start with chapters 1-3, on magic theory and the art of spellcraft, and then move on to chapter 7, which touches on green magic.

I'll be right here if you have any questions. [An advantage Armin himself did not have - but he has a feeling that Kanji will have more trouble with magic theory than he did, yet move much quicker once it come to actually crafting the spells. That's usually how it works, for him.]

[Kanji eyes the book with a slight look of worry. He'd suspected there'd be a lot, but ... well.]

Damn. Thanks, man. Alright... guess I'd better get started...

[So far, everything he's done has been without learning the formalities of the system. Is this going to work? Is he going to be able to wrap his head around it?

But why shouldn't he? Somewhere in the back of his mind, he can almost hear Kei - I've learnt worse before. I've just got to sit down and work my way through it. This is no different to normal - it's just a new subject to study...

If his other self could manage it? He sure as hell can, he tells himself. Grabbing some paper from nearby, and his own notebook out of nowhere, he sets to work.]

Of course.

I'll have some advice for how to go about it once you're finished, but this is the place to start. With how complicated and potentially dangerous color magic can be, you need to make sure you've got the basics down before you try anything.

[A faint blush comes to his cheeks, but he continues - he feels he needs to make sure Kanji understands why the theory is important, and he shouldn't just start experimenting right away.] ...When I was just starting out, one time I nearly asphyxiated myself because I wasn't visualizing and controlling the movements of the air properly.

[Kanji puts down what he's holding and just - pauses for a moment.]

Seriously, man? Whoa. That's ... a hell of a way to find out you're screwin' up.

Seriously. [Armin nods gravely, and can't quite suppress a shiver at the memory.] We're manipulating powerful forces. Mine was only a small mistake, and it nearly killed me - which the theory is important. We always have to understand exactly what we're doing, and exactly how we're doing it, or we might end up doing something we don't mean to.

[The thought's got Kanji looking grim for a moment, running a hand through his hair.]

Right. I get the message.

[No screwing around...]

[Armin nods, then takes out a notebook of his own and quietly settles in - leaving Kanji to his reading unless he has a question.]

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