Teenagers Scare the Living Shit Out Of Me etc. etc.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Characters passing by the bulletin board may notice a new message tacked to it!]

Drinking party at the bar at 8pm. Under 21 only. Adults will be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Fun and games included, party hats optional. Don’t be late!

[Sure enough, there’s a gathering of teens (and maybe some not-so-teens?) to be found in the bar! While the posting mentions this is a teen only event, adults are in fact allowed as long as they are cool. OOCLY please be aware there are going to be teens drinking alcohol and possibly smoking! Also additionally, please let the teens/players have fun; again, adults are allowed but only if they’re cool enough to play along without snitching them out!

All party game top levels are going to be made under Ahito’s account but please assume ICly that Akira instigated/explained them! Once the game toplevels are up you can also post your own toplevels to mingle freely if you like IDK IT’S A PARTY HAVE FUN]

Comments

[impacter]

[We'll just pretend this one happened before the other one (copium).]

I made it down in one piece. I consider that a success.

Not as wide as one might think, actually. It's just nice to know who's used to an environment like this and who isn't.

[foresightis2020]

[ We can pretend indeedy... ]

You will find no objections from me on that matter.

[ He too finds it a success, that the other man is here with them, and not in a terrible state from moving around. The little smile on his face spreads itself a bit more wider, though. ]

...But, ah, I see. And here I was wondering if you were trying to simply get others to drink more.

[impacter]

Heh. You don't think I could come up with a far trickier option than simply relying on magic if that were the case?

[foresightis2020]

Ah...in retrospect, you do have a point.

You truly could conjured something that would certainly cast a grander net than the one you have already. After all, you are not lacking in creativity or ideas.

[ Even if he doesn't think this one was necessarily a bad choice. ]

[impacter]

Why thank you.

I'd rather we not send the teens to an early case of liver failure, though. There's no fun to be had in that. [Said as he brings his glass to his own mouth.]

So, Jing Yuan? What does magic look like back home?

[foresightis2020]

[ He may have nearly coughed into his drink...perhaps he finds a bit of black humor to be funny after all. How terrible. ]

...You are correct. There is none indeed.

As for how magic works back home, that can be based upon the Path one follows. And each Path happens to have a specific Aeon — ah, speaking of which...have I explained to you what Aeons are?

[impacter]

Mn, you haven't. Enlighten me?

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan passes Solomon a little smile, glad for him to ask. Time to give a basic run through... ]

Aeons are, essentially, akin to gods. Beings of immense power who can lend their strength to others, or have others that sincerely follow their "Path" to take on the certain attributes, which can lend itself to "magic" proficiency.

For example, following the Path of Abundance, will lend towards one taking their strength from Yaoshi. Which means increasing or creating proficiency in healing technique.

Those who follow the Path of the Hunt often can count on having some sort of wind element added to boost their capability, though it isn't necessarily guaranteed either. [ Gameplay mechanics seguing with story mechanics means this is the kind of explanation he offers. Story-wise he too follows the Hunt, but uses lightning-based attacks and follows Erudition otherwise. ] One can simply already hold the potential towards magic all on their own.

...Ah, by the way, the Aeon assigned to the Hunt would be Lan, who is known as the Reignbow Arbiter. The Xianzhou Alliance as a whole holds great respect towards this Aeon, as their mission to eradicate Yaoshi and their Abominations is also our own.

Aeons may endeavor to appear before mortals quite often, such as the Reignbow Arbiter, or hardly bother to make an appearance to them, such as IX; though, considering what happens when one gazes upon them, that is for the best.

[impacter]

[Solomon's attention is almost immediately intensely drawn. Magic was always a prime subject for him, in any sense or shape it maintained, and this is no exception. To perform magic means to know magic at its building blocks, and to know its building blocks means to understand the history and structure that begets them.

This sounds far more like the structure for a warlock than that of a wizard or sorcerer. But he has plenty of questions to help smooth out that idea.]

So it's a relationship of benefit rather than potential for most? Is devotion or worship all that the Aeons require for that sort of connection? What about those with the natural talent, how are they treated?

[foresightis2020]

It can be a beneficial relationship depending on the Aeon, though it doesn't have to be; generally, I would like to say yes at this time, with in regards to Lan, and those on the Path of the Hunt. Though, nothing too strong like blind devotion or strong worship is necessarily needed in order to gain an Aeon's power. Sometimes, an Aeon might feel inclined to gift it on a whim as well.

It all depends.

[ Nothing too structured or always according to reason. That might be due to ones like Aha, who do things for literal shits and giggles, including powering up their so-called enemies.

So. Yeah. It sure is something?? ]

Those with natural talent are treated normally on the Xianzhou Alliance. I am not one who has been to many worlds, so anything far in-depth regarding that based on the particulars of other societies do tend to be beyond my grasp.

Did you expect differently, however?

[impacter]

Mm. It sounds like it's still very reliant on the will of the Aeon rather than the effort of any specific individual. Do they ever decline people access to that sort of power if they so choose as well?

[The question directed to him catches him off guard for a brief moment, but he shakes his head.]

Ah... no, I wouldn't say that much. I've seen how even the human society I know best has fluctated in its opinions over and over, and every society is going to have its differences. I'm just curious, that's all.

Many people can be afraid of something that is different from what they know. Even this world shows that much.

[foresightis2020]

It certainly can be in the end. As for a Aeon denying anyone access to its Path or something that would certainly lend towards using more of their power so keenly, I have yet to hear of such a phenomenon.

All my sources so far would point towards no evidence of that occurring. That is not to say it is an impossibility. An Aeon should have the capability to do as you might inquire into.

Though, I believe it to be something so rare that they may not ever bother truly considering it. Even Nanook, the Aeon who resides upon the Path of Destruction, would be hard-pressed to care.

[ But, once again, Jing Yuan doesn't exactly think it hasn't happened. If it has, he simply doesn't know about it, and/or no one has had the opportunity to record it.

Such as it is, he suspects that if it does, if an Aeon should take an action to that extent, they might endeavor next to wipe clean the life of whoever they have chosen to block. Though even that feels a little extreme; Aeons don't usually pay mortals that much amount of attention in that regard. ]

Haha, I find that a reasonable question indeed, so no worries about that curiosity; I do find it to be quite a charm point.

As it is, there are opinions that will be bound to be questionable in the society I am used to, though certainly not because they fear the differences in others' ability.

It might instead become centered around someone's lifespan instead; and not a fear of others', but rather a lack of their own.

[impacter]

Strange. Maybe they don't consider someone outside of their own kind capable of being a threat, or they don't see it as an offense.

[So, business as usual for the supernatural as far as he's concerned, though perhaps with a tiny bit more respect.

As far as the talk about lifespan......... this is new territory for him, used to the black and white divide between the massive lifespans of the supernatural who considered humans to be so fragile and hard to hold onto - a brief flicker of a life and not much more. Among those that considered themselves humans, though...

Well. No, was that right?]

You said you considered yourself human, despite what it would mean to those familiar to "what you were", correct? Is that what you mean, when you talk about lifespan?

[foresightis2020]

Mm. Definitely both.

Aeons are not killable by standard or even powerful means; only by one another or whatever can hope to match their power.

[ Or mysterious, yet powerful forces, as it were. There are some tales about Aeons dissipating for little to no reason, and the like.

As for the other matter, well. Things are certainly quite a bit more complex where this is concerned. ]

Oh, certainly. I am well aware that it is fairly common for 'humans' to live short lifespans outside of the Xianzhou Alliance. Though there do exist indeed humans who do live the predictable short life that most would be familiar with, on the Xianzhou. Whereas I would be categorized as a Xianzhou Native who is a long-lived 'immortal human'; though I can't always be sure that others who know this information would think the same.

Whether they have more knowledge on this aspect or not.

[ Jing Yuan is well-aware that immortality isn't something considered natural for humans, and that technically, long-lived humans on the Xianzhou Alliance have certain...differences biological-wise other than simply 'being immortal' than normal humans. Which means that even if he considers himself human, by a strict definition, others might not if they knew the exact/strict details.

Including, of course, the issue of Mara. ]