[PRP] framing the right problems (shun & wil & nasir)

[azuredreams]

A day later, after a few trips around town (and other town) to gather books, they had reconvened back at Nasir and Wil's place to start reading. Their place was the obvious choice, if only because there was more space to spread out (an entire art studio style room with tables and other things) but because Nasir could totally provide snacks.

Which he was in the process of carrying back, along with drinks. Trouble was dozing somewhere on Bud for the time being, the pair of familiars tuckered out after all the earlier roaming. "Delivery!" Nasir called out, coming into the room to set down the tray (it was a giant, GIANT plate of super crunchy deluxe nachos ala Preacher). Drinks were handled to each person, Nasir keeping his own (it was a smoothie, he liked smoothies).

"Should help with the research, I think, if we're not operating on empty stomachs ..."

iloveyouDIE

drinks are

Blade Kuroda

your choice

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun took his tea as Nasir brought those along with the massive tray of nachos that were here. Aside from having several books, he did also bring his laptop. As much worthless s**t that was likely on the internet, he figured they couldn't rule it out as a potential source of legitimate information, or even inspiration.

Assuming this was going to be made on the other side, the latter would certainly help.

That aside, if he could find stuff he could listen to, he'd parse through things more quickly.

He did not enjoy sifting through books.

azuredreams

iloveyoudie

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Wil had a big cold glass of cola and was leaning over the nachos more than the books.

"So we should be looking for making something to put a magic contract IN or ON right..? just not fashioned out of human skin?" Wil munched noisily. He glanced for Trouble and Bud, checking up on them, but they were asleep in one of the animal hammocks in Bud's cage.

"Just think 'not a human' thoughts.. But I guess it needs to be magical," He took many classes in fabrication of all types of things. Wil could sculpt and whittle and he'd even learned a bit of bookbinding and leather working to make his mother a journal one year. He was much more of a creator than a thinker so this was probably a good project for him once they figured something out.

azuredreams

blade kuroda

 

[azuredreams]

"Wait ..." Nasir looked to Wil and Shun. "That Charter isn't made out of human skin, right? I mean ... it's on Melany and whatever but the actual contract is paper? Or magical paper or magical whatever."

Ugh, gross if it was actually on human skin. Why had he not thought about it that way. There was no way to not think about it now.

A new laptop was sitting next to Nasir's book pile, their old one having been swapped out recently (it had finally died). "We probably could go over to other ashdown later and ... try to make whatever once we make some headway.

"I think I found this bit about using precious stones as focal points for spells ..." he was looking through his notes.

Blade Kuroda

iloveyouDIE

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun gave pause at that.

"I... have not seen the charter in person, so I do not know. But somehow, I would not be completely surprised if that were the case."

He browsed through a few things before looking up at the two wargs in the room.

"It seems many different things could be used as a potential foci. Precious gems, yes. But also various woods; there are some beliefs that different woods have different... magical properties to them. Bones, and of course, sigils."

They had a lot of options.

azuredreams

iloveyoudie

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"I dunno," Wil said human skin because it was the mental connection that got made from Charter Is A Person. His only frame of reference was horror movies really.

"Woods cool though. I can do wood. Bone seems iffy though. Like aren't we venturing into weird territory there?" Like blood and bone and the current charter. "And animal bones may not go over well with the animal folks.."

Gems also seemed pretty great but where would they just get gems to experiment with?

azuredreams

ferret and squirrel gem heist

blade kuroda

with police accomplice. lets make it a movie.

 

[azuredreams]

"... uh, not fancy gems?" Nasir had said stones because, well- "I mean, we could ... but I meant more like quartz, amethyst, those kinds of things. They also have properties attached to them. Quartz is considered good for channeling energy and amethyst is meant to promote spiritual healing." He was still reading through things, nodding at the mention of wood.

"I mean we have to think about what we're using and size, kind of? Because we're setting traits to this. Probably why they had something like parchment because they to include what they wanted." Nasir was wrinkling his nose up at the idea of bone.

"Vetoing bone right now. There was bone involved in the last one, right?" Carving the the sigil of the Charter into bone, at least.

Blade Kuroda

iloveyouDIE

 

[Blade Kuroda]

"Quartz should be sufficient," Shun nodded before furrowing his brow, "Bone was used... yes... of a living person. Taking some from an already deceased animal should be fine if we persue that avenue. One thing to keep in mind is that blood tends to make magic stronger."

It was not as if they were going to butcher someone's cow familiar or anything like that.

"We may also be able to take elements of multiple things to create our focus. A chunk of quartz alone probably will not have much room for much if we have to etch the spell onto it. Unless people doing it can work small."

Which wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

azuredreams

iloveyoudie

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Wil, with a mouth full of nacho, flipped open one of his large sketch books and grabbed a pencil.

"We could maybe use all of this.." He glanced up and sketched instead of wrote, "Stones.. wood.." Each got a tiny drawing.

"Maybe make a talisman if we can work out a symbol or design, out of mixed materials.." The blonde scribbled a bone down too, "Animal bones wouldn't be out of place when combined with the other things."

azuredreams

blade kuroda

 

[azuredreams]

"A plaque? Something that holds the information." Nasir looked thoughtful. "Did anyone ever think about a tree or something before, I wonder ... I mean, you can do anything over there? So why not grow a tree and then ... magically alter it?"

Now he felt silly.

"I wonder if we can take the properties of various things - the meaning behind them - and tie them to what we want to make for the frame? Like ... gather things together and then imbue the final product?"

Blade Kuroda

iloveyouDIE

 

[Blade Kuroda]

"A talisman of sorts could work," Shun nodded in agreement. He tilted his head at Nasir's suggestion, however.

"Maybe not a tree. A tree is being used as a part of the sigil that is keeping the cage up. I do not know if reusing that symbolism would... do anything there."

It might. It might not.

azuredreams

iloveyoudie

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Wil blinked up from the doodles he was doing. There were random spiritual knick-knacks now and a small sketch of a tree.

The tree sounded cool, if he had to be honest, but Shun made mention of the sigil and his nose wrinkled, "I don't know a lot about the sigil except from the uh.. listserv.."

He leaned back from the sketchbook and tapped his pencil before reaching for more nachos, "I don't want to cross wires though.. if that's a thing."

azuredreams

blade kuroda

 

[azuredreams]

"Yeah but it's ... the symbol used in conjunction with the other two, right? Magic's about intent? So if we attach different meaning, it isn't the same?" Or who knew. "Not that I would want crossed-wires either."

Nasir looked at his laptop, scrolling the pages he had on it. "I think there's something to using multiple things? I mean, like ... how in some spells people twine herbs and the like around the focus or whatever to reinforce it?"

Blade Kuroda

iloveyouDIE

 

[Blade Kuroda]

"We may wish to avoid it if possible, just in case," he noted.

Shun tabbed through a few different things, then nodded, "But I agree about using multiple things. I cannot think of reason to just stick to one material."

He briefly glanced over to Wil, trying to see what he was sketching out.

iloveyoudie

azuredreams

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Wil had actually sketched over his tree, adding bits and baubles hanging from the branches. He'd gone a bit artsy.

"Should it be portable or .. a permanent thing?" What if someone decided to destroy what they'd created? Perhaps that was a whole other thing he shouldn't be thinking about.

There was one thing to be said for Melany being a living charter, and that was that no one would have known if not told. He'd never even thought to suspect a person as being a magical ruleset.

azuredreams

blade kuroda