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 ]

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[wolfish]

[ The memory plays out, a gloved hand tossing what looks like a prime cut of meat into the air. It's in easy reach of the wyvern, who immediately catches it and munches away happily. From Yuri, there's the faintest ripple of fondness as the wyvern enjoys the snack. ]

I might've spoiled him, just a little.

[ It can't be helped, he loves seeing others enjoy a meal. Call it the effect of living in a country known for its constant grapples with food poverty. Afterward, the memory fades, and then the image is gone. ]

But domesticated wyverns aren't too much different from horses in temperament. The ones who see battle are well-trained, and if they've a good relationship with their rider, they make a formidable team. Claude's got his here, in fact — he might introduce you if you play your cards right.

[semicharmed]

[ There's a flicker of uncertainty for "play your cards right." Matt believes Yuri to be sincere about working together with everyone, but he's not sure about people he hasn't met. And the piece of him that always has a foot out the door frets, superstitiously, that he'll find a way to make people reject him despite their best intentions.

Still: for now, he tries to focus on the positive. ]

That's amazing. I never imagined something like wyverns could ever really exist. [ A fond sigh, crossing his mindscape like a warm breeze. ] I know things are pretty dire right now ... but just in the past few days, I've discovered so many things out in the universe that are honestly beyond my wildest imaginings. Kinda humbling.

[wolfish]

[ The initial response prompts a hint of curiosity from Yuri, but he opts not to question it. He is by nature a guarded man; it would hardly surprise him were Matt to prove the same. If anything, it's the sensible thing to do. ]

Hey, I can relate. My world seems pretty damn small in the grand scheme of things. Hadn't ever heard of dragons or cars or funnel cakes... Evidently, my world's pretty antiquated to some of the others here.

[ A novel notion, once he got past the strangeness of it all. ]

[semicharmed]

Ah, well, we didn't have dragons either. And cars ... you're not missing much with those. They put a lot of smoke into the atmosphere.

[ There's a sense of sadness, one that quickly submerges itself. Matt doesn't shut Yuri out, precisely, but his psychic presence seems to retreat slightly. Like he's taken a few steps backwards. ]

Funnel cakes are pretty great, though.

[wolfish]

[ He notes it, much the way one might level a look at someone for a lingering moment when they've done something unusual... Yet once again Yuri doesn't comment upon it.

Maybe it's because he reasons Matt is collecting himself. Sometimes, he takes pause to do the same. Of course, it could be something else entirely. ]

Never had something quite like them, before we all got abducted to some carnival. One of the better aspects of that experience, I'd say.

[ He follows the redirect and takes it further down its course. ]

[semicharmed]

[ It's a pretty excellent distraction, because it has the benefit of being, to Matt's mental ears, both interesting and bizarre. ]

"Abducted to a carnival"? That happened here?

[ Carnival games have a certain thematic resonance with a win-or-lose struggle, he supposes. Though carnival games are also rigged. ]

[wolfish]

Oh, right. [ He's reminded that people aren't generally primed for such things upon arrival, either. ] Every so often we get dragged off to some extended diversion for...hell if I know the reason.

[ The words come with the air of a resigned shrug. They can't even escape whatever venue they wind up in. Yuri knows — he tried. ]

In that case we were "invited" [ His tone suggests euphemism, though they did indeed receive written invitations. It just wasn't optional. ] there, and were barred from leaving. People wound up in peculiar outfits, or their forms were altered...the only foods were things like corn dogs and funnel cakes. Hadn't been to a carnival before.

[semicharmed]

[ Oh wow. This is a rich text. And honestly, as Yuri speaks, the more mental tick marks Matt puts next to this is a simulation on his personal tally. He doesn't feel in any shape to draw conclusions, but it's certainly food for thought. ]

Jesus, [ he says. ] Well, uh ... I haven't been to many carnivals, but as far as I understand, that's not usually how they go. I'll be on the lookout for incongruous-seeming locations and ... invitations.

And this wasn't an oracle contest, or anything?

[wolfish]

That's right, no Oracle involved on that one. Previous to that occasion, shortly after my arrival, the leadership also coordinated a vacation for members of both factions. Strange to think of, now.

[ From what he'd heard, the first Oracle had been a hellish affair. It made enough sense to try and raise morale, but nowadays such a thing would surely never happen.

So much has changed since. ]

Place was littered with neon and plastic — both foreign to my world. Damn eyesore.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt has heard plenty of people here express positive attitudes towards their supposed rivals, Yuri included. But he can't picture them all going on vacation together. There's a moment of surprise, clear as a verbal oh would be. A mingling of puzzlement and wistfulness.

God, Matt could really use a vacation and he only just got here. ]

Neon and plastic sounds about right for mine, actually. We make a lot of stuff we don't need. There's so much trash you can see some of it from space.

[wolfish]

[ And so it's Yuri's turn to be both surprised and confused. It can't be helped, not when faced with the perplexing notion of seeing anything from space.

Space travel is purely notional to a medieval man. ]

Why would there be so much?

[semicharmed]

Greed, I guess. [ It's hard to tell what Matt's feeling beyond the words themselves. Regret? ] It got really cheap to make things, so people started making more than people could ever realistically need or use ... and the materials they discovered, like plastic, don't really rejoin the earth easily. So instead of breaking down, it all just stays.

[wolfish]

[ The explanation gives rise to something akin to a muffled conversation behind closed doors. Yuri has difficulty conceptualizing such a thing, when his world doesn't even have mass literacy.

Excess has degrees and forms Fódlan has never known. ]

Is there no solution then, or are your people trying to find one?

[ He can't help his concern, clear as a small bell in a dark room. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Matt feels guilty for bringing down the conversation. Everyone here has pressing concerns--they don't need to add his to the pile. Yuri's concern is kind of him, though. Sweet. ]

Some people are, [ he says, aiming for a lighter tone. ] We know what to do, in a lot of ways. It's actually doing it that's the harder part.

[wolfish]

Recognition's a start... Just have to get people to act on it.

[ Recognizing a problem and acting on it always trump ignorance and inaction. Still, what must it be like, to have so much neon plastic it can be seen from such a very great distance...?

Here, the "mall" had bordered on too much for him. ]

Only way you change the world, yeah?

[semicharmed]

[ Matt chuckles, which seems to be where a sparkle of endorphins and tinge of overwhelm average out on the psychic plane. ]

I think I know more about changing the world than changing people, [ he sighs. That admission seems like it's going to invite more questions, he realizes. ] Anyway--thanks for talking to me, Yuri. Letting me experiment on you with this whole phone straight to your brain thing.

And thanks for that memory. [ Warm. ] It was really special.

[wolfish]

[ There follows a knot of something messy there, impossible to unravel and difficult to read. ]

I'd like to consider it more practice than experiment.

[ The stiffness about his response, though slight, is difficult to miss given the intimacy of Communion. Yet Yuri doesn't explain why the phrasing matters, moving right along from it briskly. ]

But hey, anytime. Takes some getting used to, all of this. People with the same aspect are a whole other matter, so be mindful with them.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt can understand having bad associations with the term, even without context. His own world's history is bad enough. He feels briefly guilty, embarrassed. But at least the path forward is clear. ]

Practice, [ he echoes back, trying to keep his thoughts light. ] ... And okay, I have to ask, what's up with people who have the same Aspect?

[wolfish]

It's far more difficult to keep your emotions from them. That weird background noise in your head — stray feelings you can't divine a cause for? Those'd be the others of your aspect.

[ Yuri knows it well. Harbingers are a largely repressed little bunch, but they can't quite keep all that from each other. It took him months to figure out who the hell the constant low-simmering resentment at the edge of his awareness was coming from. ]

The more they are, the more crowded that party gets. Not so much mind-reading as strong impressions, but it can get pretty damn distracting.

[semicharmed]

Oh, [ Matt says. It has the timbre of puzzle pieces slotting into place. He felt like he was getting an unusually good read on Demeisen ... maybe that explains it.

At the same time, the way Yuri describes this phenomenon, it reminds him of his own strange abilities that are also not mind-reading. Also distracting. Matt laughs. ] Okay, I appreciate the warning. That sounds tailor made to embarrass the shit out of me, but at least I can't say nobody told me.

[wolfish]

There's a wealth of information we just find out through experience or others relating theirs... Honestly, I'd rather have known in advance, myself.

[ But harbingers are a complicated little can of worms, oops all messes. Excepting Hiiro. Maybe. ]

Last Oracle, I had a guy doing his damndest to pry in and see what I was hiding. I can safely say I'd rather not have that kind of ardent attention from another of my aspect again.

[ It was, in a word, exhausting. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Matt's mindscape, every bit as expressive as his face would be if not more so, writhes with an emotion that seems to boil down to: ew. ]

Yeah, I don't blame you. I think this kind of insight is fascinating, and like--beautiful--but only if you choose it, obviously.

[ A pause. ]

I could make you something, if you like. To try and keep other people out, or other--Aspect sharers. I mean, I don't know when I'll get my powers back. [ A piece of him cherishes the hope that he can do it without having to harmonize. ] But if I do, I could.

[wolfish]

I suspect it boiled down to a difference in how we thought. Fascination, of a sort.

[ Childe did relent, eventually, but it was obvious that Yuri's guarded nature and strict compartmentalization were curiosities to the man. He can't quite imagine being that interested, himself, but that too is a difference.

For his part, when it came to personal interactions, Yuri much prefers it when he learns something about someone because they chose to disclose it to him. ]

But people can make things like that?

[semicharmed]

I can relate to fascination. [ Dryly. An understatement: Matt's curiosity is the secret behind at least 85% of his problems. ] But come on ... manners.

[ He brightens when Yuri asks a follow-up question. Talking shop is a rare pleasure for him, since it wasn't particularly safe to just launch into it back home. ]

Enchanted items? Definitely. There'd be some trial and error involved, since I emphatically don't understand how this form of communication works yet, but I think ... shields against psychic and magical interference, is what I'd be looking to do.

[wolfish]

Guess he was just that taken with my charms.

[ A jest, to be certain — the words are accompanied by a ripple of decidedly wry humor. It wasn't the worst of intrusions he's experienced, but a uniquely difficult one to rebuff at the time. ]

So you're a mage then? I know someone back home who was very creative with her magical innovations...deranged as some of them were. [ Said with a certain quiet fondness, because Constance is one of his people, and the fact that she's never discouraged even by his flippant responses or the disastrous results of her experiments is admirable. ] But you think that sort of thing could work?