#i dont even go there ← does not have enough poetic braincells

[improvapocalyps]

You have 90 minutes to complete. (original poem: r.a.)

In participation of the MCYT Recursive Exchange 2024 hosted by @mcytrecursive!

Inspired by know that all my love will be your breath (i will save you when your lights go out)

[text under cut]

1. Have you ever been in love? (Please circle your answer.) a. It's me and him b. Our hearts beat in sync c. Our lives intertwined

2. Do you understand what you’ve done? (Please circle your answer.) a. I couldn't do anything b. I lost my balance c. I doomed us both

3. It's been god knows how long since you felt phantom hands on your neck and there is no one in sight. If you were soul-bound to him and both of you died at the same time then why are you still waiting in the void? Please answer clearly, in full sentences. (Not a correct answer：I just wanted to see him one more time).

4. Define two (2)： Fate | The feeling of his forehead against yours Curse | The moment you realise he isn't linked to you anymore

5. True or False： i. It was your fault. ii. You wish you had met him under different circumstances. iii. You can’t regret a single moment that you had him. iv. You would do it all over again if you could. v. It ended long before either of you said anything.

thumbnails:

sketch cover thing for imgur link:

[gwynbleiddyn]

4, 58 and 69 (nice) for Mio

HRMMMMHMMM LETS SEE

4. if they could learn one spell that isn’t available to them at present, which spell would it be?

this is an interesting one because the man is proficient in arcana and has extensively studied magic at some point in his life in order to obtain said proficiency, but he uses it purely based on Vibes and that's very sexy of him, and he doesn't really know spells as a result - not like people like Sav or Cai or Laz would.

the wording of this question is a little weird to me so i'm just going to name a spell that isnt at all accessible to mio based on class and the fact he won't ever get an 8th level spell: Sunburst... because that would fuck severely with the aesthetic and it targets what he hates most with what he adores most. poetic justice and so on and so forth

58. what do they think their role in the party is? what is their role in actuality?

i don't think he sees himself as a very integral part of the group at all. he's just kind of there. he has his connections to each of them and he does care in his own weird way about them, but he could leave and he wouldn't worry about them. it wouldn't feel great and he'd miss them, for sure, but he wouldn't be at all concerned that they wouldn't be able to cope with a fight or whatever comes next in his absence.

in terms of the reality... i'm unsure, honestly. utility wise, he can do a lot that we haven't really touched on in game. he has useful features for espionage and subterfuge, which isn't something we really run into or at least it's not a method Talisman like to use. he can deal damage, he can crowd control, he can tank well enough, and he buffs the party. he can do A Lot, but none of that is done in a way where he is the go-to for any of those things.

part of it stems from me not knowing what the fuck to do with a dnd character when i made him and gave him a ridiculously useless stat spread that we had to patch up with feats as he levelled up so he's not Optimised like some other PCs, and part of it kind of came along when i played him and developed him and kind of understood that the narrative reason that he's a jack of all trades is because that's how he has to be if he wants to be a halfway decent king.

69. how would they describe their party members?

this is asking for trouble but the point here is you ASKED. i won't do wordy descriptions bc i dont have the braincells for that right now but shortform summaries are king, focusing a lot on how mio perceives everyone rather than Descriptions alone. let's go a-z

Alar: genuine bestie, a confidant, the perseverant edge to his own temperamental spirit. meryset, beloved of setekh but also beloved of ra. someone who understands the demands of divinity, and doesn't dismiss them. one of few people who could ask to walk into the hells and mio would follow. there's nothing more i can add.

Cai: a troublesome magpie, but a genuine friend. he brings laughter when it feels lost. that's an ability that can't be overstated, even if mio sometimes feels like he's gained another younger sibling to meticulously dance around at times.

Diric: strong and steady is a good descriptor. even in his worst moments he seems to have his head above water. in the same vein i think mio would describe him as frustrating, because he doesn't just lose his shit and bite back and scream and shout and throw a tantrum, and mio kind of wants to see it, to feel better. otherwise, though not as much at the forefront of the party since his return, mio still sees him as something of a compass to the group. and having shared some brief part of his life with diric, mio knows that in his heart he will always have a fondness for him, though it will take many different shapes and forms in the potential millennia he will live.

Laszlo: it is a strange echo with laz, there is a familiarity there in their station and perhaps some of the early experiences they had growing up but knowing that laz chose his new family and mio still holds onto his old one is perhaps a very telling schism between the two. mio respects him deeply, in the way he respected his tutors from the many colleges of Akhenaton - they held power in what they knew, and that could be dangerous, unchecked.

Savita: it's hard to know where to start. savita brings out the worst in mio, the pettiness, the self-importance, the indignance. but she also has good advice and is undeniably smart about the world, though maybe not wise. he struggles with her. he doesn't really know if they will reconcile that, ever, and while i don't think he's interested in bridging the gap, he's forced to accept the perspective she brings to the table. his feelings towards her are summed up by begrudging acceptance with a sprinkling of "you've shot me in the head and also saved my ass in equal measure and my gratitude and my pettiness cancel each other out into vague ambivalence"

Zinnan: like the feywild weaves and bends to whimsy and fleeting thought, mio's perception of zinnan traverses very unsteady ground. they're fascinating to talk to and they make appealing offers, but they're so untrustworthy. they're purposeful in action, but so aimless in themselves. you look at them one way and they appear in another. mio always enjoys his conversations with them, but he's always left feeling like he lost something in the process. he can't get a bead on them, but his one comfort is that you can always trust the untrustworthy to be just that.