video; un: rosseland

[hatinacat]

Greetings and salutations, my esteemed captive audience!

[TODAY. . . your video feed is taken up by the face of a young man with a teardrop painted on his cheek and a top hat adorning the crown of his head. he presses a hand against his chest and gives the camera a polite and tiny bow, though it's clear from the angle that he's holding said camera with his other one]

Ahaha! Was that joke a bit too gauche? My apologies, I couldn't quite help myself.

[he does not actually look apologetic at all. look at him he made a funny]

All humor aside, I'm a relatively new resident of this. . . [a beat] Lovely city. ["lovely"] I haven't been here long, but already I'm learning much about worlds other than my own. Which brings me to the purpose of this communication.

[it's brief, but the astute may see Lyney flick his wrist subtly and suddenly, until a small red rose blossoms to life between his fingers. he twists the flower idly in his hand as he speaks]

I have a particular interest in magic, you see. Stage magic, to be more precise. After all, I am a great magician, and being brought to this strange land won't change this fact!

[another flick of his wrist, and he closes his flingers around the rose, which seems to just. . . vanish into thin air. where did it go??]

But I am now aware that magic can vary from world to world. In addition to stage magic, my world has Visions, and I've further learned about the existence of something called "magecraft."

If you're feeling a little bored, won't you share with me the nature of magic in your world? It's for research! I promise.

[HE'S JUST A CURIOUS MAGICIAN, THAT'S ALL]

Comments

[hatinacat]

[oh wow, those are both good questions. fortunately, Lyney has nothing but answers and zero regrets]

I haven't performed in front of a kamera before now, so I'm afraid my responses may be a bit lacking in detail. The trick I just performed is simple enough that there wasn't much difference in execution between a live audience and the video.

But I imagine for something much larger, performing for a kamera would be easier. One can use trick shots and clever filming to hide that which a real audience would easily see.

[fussiest]

Ah, like playing around with perspective for various forms of art. Originally, I was considering the pros and cons of it because putting it all before a kamera also puts it under a new form of scrutiny. But being able to play around with it gives the artform new depth.

[ kaveh pulls out a pen from the crow's nest of his hair. he shifts his sketchbook on his lap, and begins to draw. ] What of your tools for your trade? Did all of your tools of performance come to this world intact, or were a lot of them left behind?

[hatinacat]

Precisely!

[he may not have performed in front of a kamera before, but he has thought about the logistics. and he can't help but smile when Kaveh Gets It (TM). leave it to a fellow artist to understand!! . . . not that Lyney knows the artist part yet, but you know]

Unfortunately, my larger tools are back in Fontaine. Which is hardly a surprise; most of them aren't travel friendly.

[another flick of his wrist, and suddenly he is holding a deck of cards!]

But I was fortunate enough to maintain what was in my pocket before I was whisked away.

[fussiest]

Ah, that's a shame. I was much in the same position - most of the tools of my trade were also lost in transition. But I suspected that a magician like yourself might've had more just a suitcase hanging around, and was wondering if all that was in your sleeves and somesuch made it over just fine.

[ but kaveh's eying the deck of cards on the screen the way cats do when something new and unexpected has appeared in a corner. hm. ]

Now, what is that deck of cards for? What will you dazzle me with next?

[hatinacat]

[there's no verbal response to that first part; he thinks the sudden appearance of those cards is proof enough that the trinkets he kept tucked up his sleeves have survived the trip]

Why, if I told you, then you wouldn't be dazzled, would you?

[A PLAYFUL LI'L WINK. and now he's shuffling those cards]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh grins. of course he does. the camera shifts as he leans in, the red gleam of his eyes watchful. ]

Then dazzle me without telling me. Are you going to ask me to pick a card, any card?

[hatinacat]

Under normal circumstances, I might.

[but since Kaveh is on the other side of the kamera. . .]

I'd like to try something a bit different this time.

[with a flourish, he flicks the top card from the deck and shows it to Kaveh-- the three of spades. then he flips it around between his fingers to show him the back. . . then the front again]

[the card, without leaving Lyney's hand, has somehow changed to the eight of hearts. wao!]

[fussiest]

[ oh, kaveh thinks. he'd been observing carefully - the set of lyney's fingers, the way the cuff of his sleeves dip. nothing had prepared him for the card change. the delight on kaveh's face is a wayward starbust - he leans in with a smile. wao!! ]

A double-layered card somehow that allows for a quick swap? Or perhaps I'd been focusing too much one of your hands and not the other.

[hatinacat]

[just the reaction Lyney was hoping for!1]

Now now, you can't just ask a magician how his magic works.

[his offense is dramatized, at least]

As I said, a magician's tricks are his greatest secret! They should be held until the moment he finally lays down in his grave.

[and beyond]

[fussiest]

And not a moment before. [ kaveh laughs, all rue. ] Alright, I'll let my questions be. Truly you've commitment to your craft, and that's something I both resonate with and salute all the same. I hope that this city gives you ample time and ability to continue to hone it.

If there are any tools of the trade that you'd like to make for yourself, you're free to come use my workshop, by the by. I've it set up mostly for construction projects, but woodworking and painting can be done at any bench.