communion | stargazer-focused but ota

[semicharmed]

[ The psychic presence is tactile, first. Like a hand fumbling in the dark, knowing his fingers could brush up against someone at any moment and trying to avoid unwelcome contact.

Then: ]

Oh.

[ Or whatever passes for oh in Matt's mind. In this case, it's something like if a stray puff of air managed to light a candle, rather than extinguish it. The eureka moment is followed by a laugh, soda-fizz of endorphins that rises and feathers away. ]

Holy shit, you're right there, aren't you?

I mean--I think I can hear you.

Hello?

[ ooc: As noted here, Matt is reset! So if you knew him in AT, you are more than welcome to recognize him; he just won't remember you. PM or hit up artistformerlyknownas to ask questions or throw ideas around. :3 :3 :3 ]

Comments

good thing matt is reset or he'd be very confused right now

[cyfaredd]

[ Opposing Aspects clash against each other in uncomfortable ways, although the incompatibility manifests in different ways, depending on the pairing. In the case of these two magicians, Matt's message hits Howl's mind with a rough, sandpapery quality to it, even with the message itself being so casual and unassuming.

Howl responds with a not-so-soft grinding of his own. ]

Yes, I am here. Something I can do for you?

[semicharmed]

[ That feels ... distinct. Like touching a shark's skin, and about as surprising as if he'd encountered said shark in a dark room. ]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you.

[ Not exactly bristling--more formal. Matt's mental landscape, only semiconsciously to him, starts to take on characteristics of his parents' front hall. Faux-marble floors and plastic on the furniture. ]

I'm just trying to figure out how this communication works. Along with ... about ten thousand other things, but one at a time.

[cyfaredd]

It's rather simple. [ Howl answers with the confidence of someone for whom Communion is not particularly new or unusual. ] You focus your thoughts on your Shard — that curious jewel that you've no doubt by now have noticed somewhere on your body — to form a mental bond with others. You have to be intention with whoever you're connecting to, or you'll run the risk of simply thinking aloud to everyone.

[semicharmed]

Maybe I shouldn't have said how this "works." [ Still with a sense of minding his psychic p's and q's. ] More like how it feels.

[ Clearly, the ship on "risking thinking aloud to everyone" has sailed somewhat. ]

I've ... for want of a better term, "been" on other planes of existence before, noncorporeal ones, but this doesn't feel like the same thing. Maybe this leans more on the mind corner of things than the spirit.

[cyfaredd]

Safe to say that it does, although the spirit is not wholly uninvolved either, if you believe what we're told about what our Shards really are.

[ Judging by the tone of his voice, he's not completely convinced yet when it comes to that detail... but that's a topic for another time. This man just said something far more interesting. ]

Familiar with the spiritual, are you?

[semicharmed]

[ Interesting. It hasn't occurred to Matt to doubt Cyrus or Yima's sincerity. Their first messages to him had felt like the kind of spiritual clarity he might achieve after meditating in a bath scattered with violets and lavender: piercing as a natural law.

And like, fundamentally, why would they make up lies this complicated? ]

Well, I don't really think the mind-body-spirit connection is so easy to tease out, anyway. [ A hint of a smile through the connection, the first sign Matt's given of relaxing a bit. Warming up to the subject. ] But I do know a little bit about the spiritual realm. At least what you pick up as an enthusiastic explorer.

[cyfaredd]

[ This makes Howl laugh, pleasant and friendly. ]

In that case, compared to some of the other new arrivals, you're probably far ahead of the game. The more you know, the more aware you are of the things you still don't know, or however that bit goes.

[ Despite the way the edges of their Communion crackle discordantly against each other, Howl's annoyance from earlier has gone. You can get used to that clashing sensation after a few minutes, it seems. ]

Well, I think this counts as a meeting, so I may as well introduce myself. My name is Howl.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt's natural curiosity brings a sort of push-pull to their communication. He feels repelled from the other man's energy, like water pushing itself away from oil, but can't help drawing closer again to repeat the sensation. ]

I think it has to, [ he agrees. ] Pleased to meet you, Howl. [ Is it a Ginsberg reference? Probably too much to hope--Matt feels like if anyone else from his world had survived the cataclysm, he'd've connected with them first. ] I'm Matt.

And I'm gonna hazard a guess that you're also familiar with the spiritual?

[cyfaredd]

I am, but only to the extent that my practice of magic sometimes overlaps with matters of the spirit. I'm a wizard — I prefer to leave the communication with the dead and soul projecting to mediums and clairvoyants.

[ That stuff gives him a horrible headache. And ghosts are just too unpredictable. At least demons you can bribe. ]