learnspells

[learnspells]

The original blog seems to be back, so hopefully we're good going forward!

[learnspells]

"Hm?" A week had passed since Ellise and Ari had begun their latest attack on Spirale’s systems. It was so intricate that in that time Ellise had only managed to extract about 25% of the data that she needed. The process was still ongoing, but she’d received a warning in the corner of her laptop. "Oh. They finally caught on, huh? Since they haven’t said anything to their caged rats, I assumed maybe it had been discreet enough that they hadn’t realized…?"

"So? Is that a problem?" Ari came from behind her chair and draped her arms over her girlfriend’s shoulders so that she could whisper into her ear. "Do I need to remind you how much this operation is costing us?"

"Don’t worry about it. Seriously. I have a contingency plan. All I have to do is… $%&#!?"

"That didn’t sound like something I shouldn’t worry about, Elli~!"

"It’s… fine. I made it so they couldn’t just reverse what I did, but they’ve executed a workaround. I’m just going to make it a lot harder for that workaround to succeed."

"If you say so~!"

═══════════════════════════════════

A week in, and everyone in the city had become completely inverted. No one seemed to acknowledge that anything was different anymore. It was as if everyone had been brought to the city with the personalities, powers, and history that they had been inverted. Things could have continued on this way undisturbed… except that the Stars had finally figured out a solution.

All at once, every character in the city experienced a strange phenomenon. They blacked out, and when they awoke again? They were scattered about the many branches of Spirale… as the people they’d been before. The inversion had been reverted? But they would quickly realize that things still weren’t “normal”. Dark shadows radiated from all of their bodies like an aura of corruption, and even worse, some were more monstrous in appearance altogether. But at least they were themselves again.

Yet, why had they been ejected to the branches? What had led to this outcome? And why were the branches crawling with monsters that had never been seen there before? But then there was an announcement. They were usually delivered by Ofiuco when incidents like these took place, but it wasn’t her. It also wasn’t broadcasted to the city, just the branches.

"You guys are probably confused. Understandably so. We managed to extract your original personalities from your bodies, but due to stability problems and… outside tampering… you ended up looking like that. But that’s not the only issue. Those monsters you’re seeing are foreign entities that will attack you on sight. We’re trying to remove them on our end but… Anyways…"

"When I said we "extracted" your original personalities, we meant it. Your bodies are still in the city, occupied by those “other” selves. The only way to reclaim your flesh is to have them killed. Whoever caused this added a "barrier" that prevents you from harming them. So… Ask a friend to kill them? Those weird selves of yours will see you as monsters, and honestly a lot of you look the part. They’ll likely try to attack you the moment you breach the city itself. So, don’t get killed by monster and make sure to kill your duplicate, and things will return to normal."

"Got it? Cool. Also, I made sure to broadcast this at a frequency they won’t be able to hear. So you might be able to take them by surprise if you act quickly? Otherwise once a few of ‘em fall, the rest will begin to prepare. Good luck and all that, we’re pretty busy on our end." Silence.

HERE’S THE BREAKDOWN… 2!:

Every character’s original self has been extracted from their bodies and they reawaken in one of the branches. The inverted selves exist separately still, acting as if their lives are "normal".

Your character finds that the "body" they have once separated is anything but normal. There’s a black aura radiating from them, and in order to prevent duplicate data, their bodies might have been altered and are more monstrous (more on that in the FAQ section).

The branches are populated by monsters that weren’t present in the branches before. You’re free to encounter any monster you’d like, but they cannot be unique to a specific canon (you couldn’t see a bokoblin from Zelda, but a regular goblin would be fine for example).

To reclaim their original bodies and revert to normal, the characters need to find someone else to kill their inverted self. Attacking your own copy will be met with an unbreakable barrier. If they successful kill them, the respawn system will kick in and merge their correct personality data with the respawning body, returning it to its original state.

If your character dies in their shadowed form, there are no second chances. The respawn system is only functioning for the original bodies, so your character will function as a “ghost” until the end of the event.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can we pick any branch we’d like to start pt2 in? Sure can! You just can’t start them in the city itself!

Can our characters still use their powers? They can! But so can their inverted selves, along with any additional powers you might have given them as part of their AU! Your character won’t be able to use those additions!

How monstrous can we make out characters? This is really up to you! If, for example, you wanted them to manifest as some sort of hellhound, you’d be free to do so! You could also give them hellhound features and make them more humanoid, or choose to give them varies treats to mix and match your own chimera-like existence! Just keep in mind that if your character needs to use their hands to use their powers (or any similar instance), giving them a form without hands would make it impossible for them to use those powers.

If we choose to give them a monster form, can they use that monster’s abilities on top of their own? To an extent, yes! Please don’t give them anything that could level the city. Let’s say they could damage a city block in one attack at most.

Are there any other limitations for the monster forms? Their maximum height can be no bigger than ten feet! Can we take inspiration from our character’s canon for their monster form? Yes, you can use canon inspiration for their monster form! However, it can only be from within their own canon. So a Final Fantasy character could base their monster form on, say, a Flan, Bomb, or even something like a summon.

Do we need to make our character a monster? Nope! If you don’t want to engage with this event mechanic, you can just say they possess the shadowy aura. The inverted city will treat them as monsters either way!

When our character regains their original body, can they still help others reclaim theirs? Of course! It might even be safer, since you’ll be able to respawn again!

Is participation in both parts of the event required to count towards ranking up? No! You can participate in either part, and you’ll be eligible to claim it as event participation!

When does the event end again? The event was supposed to end at 11:59:59PM EST on August 1st! However, considering the masterlist has temporarily been disabled, we will extend it however many days the blog is done without a proper workaround.

[learnspells]

isola temporary follow post

Since the blog is currently going through it, please like and follow this post in the meantime to follow the masterlist!

-- mod altair.

[learnspells]

i'm going to be making a quick backup blog as a sideblog here! i'll toss up a temp follow post and the like just so we can stay connected and there's an official information spot in the meantime.

[learnspells]

Hey guys!

Unfortunately Tumblr decided to be mean this morning. Not only did they shadowban our Galaxy blog, but they then proceeded to take down the entire masterlist! Which is, uh, not great for running an RP group!

We fortunately have backups of all the important pages, but we're contacting support now to have it restored which should likely go through since it seems more like an automation error from us sending so many asks through the Galaxy blog, which was connected.

So just a few points in the meantime:

This unfortunately means the event posts are currently missing, so depending on when the blog comes back we will likely extend the duration!

Similarly, we'll extend the claim period for the anniversary unlocks if we need to.

There were a few apps in the inbox at the time that we were able to save the urls from, we'll contact those people directly to accept them if needed.

The masterlist itself is still fine, you can find it here.

If we don't hear back within a few days we'll look at putting up a temporary blog in the meantime so people can submit apps / reserves / etc! But we're more than confident they will restore it. It's just a matter of how long it takes.

-- mod altair.

[learnspells]

ʚїɞ - Fern hadn't entered this game with any aspirations for "winning". She was already a practiced mage, and she was capable of far more than the toy spells that the pixies were offering as part of this competition. She stared down at the tiny wand as she approached the middle of the "battleground", her expression unchanged even as she raised her eyes to meet the gaze of her opponent. An intriguing looking woman. That was considered "abstract" in modern art terms, wasn't it?

At her offer, Fern slowly shook her head. "I'm only participating to get a sense of how this pixie magic works. I have no interest in winning the prize." Experienced with Cotes's pixies, she didn't expect they'd fully uphold their end of the bargain even if she did win. "Unfortunately, that means actually participating."

Fern looked ENA up and down. If this was a formal competition, then there were procedures like introducing yourself, right? "My name is Fern, an S-class Mage." And her current casting tool was not befitting of her rank. "If you entertain my curiosity for a bit, I'll withdraw before a winner is formerly declared."

SPELL CHECK in COTES WARD SpiraleFES 2025

This should be a cakewalk. (Maybe even a turrón-walk!) All she needs to do is impress a few pixies, and the way to do that is by knocking over her opponent, or to make them beg for mercy! Should be a breeze, right?

ENA enters the arena. She wields a wand like a conductor, and she wears her wizard robes like she's wearing a jacket. If only that Shaman could see her now. She'll make creating life look like yesterday's news!

Confidence washes over the salesperson as she sizes up her opponent, or sizes down, perhaps.

"It looks like we're business partners for the day! Or is that business... ah, friend-foes? I can't seem to tell."

"Let's not make this personal. If you walk away now, I'll give you a free coupon after I get my wish."

@learnspells

[learnspells]

grandmother is tired

[learnspells]

ʚїɞ - He "picked" that name? Then it wasn't his real one, seemingly. "Little...? No. I'm an only child." It was just about as roundabout of a way of answering his question as any. It didn't seem like he was a "bad influence" on her or anything like that. At least not compared to what the mage considered to be normal human behaviour. "My name is Fern. A friend of hers. We met at the library in Cotes."

"I'm actually reaching out because I was wondering, would you be interested in helping me hold a small party for Miss Mira? I don't know if she has a traditional "birthday", so I thought it might be nice to organize something similar."

" huh? " the manner which will rubs at his eyes can nearly be heard through the phone, the telltale signs of a recent awakening present in his voice. " oh, yeah, i know mira. she's really cool. "

a silent pause follows as he brushes his hair back, tries to listen closely to her words. " i'd hope not! i picked that name 'cause i thought it was rare enough. "

the words trail into a yawn. " who is this? you're not like .. mira's little sister who's gonna threaten me to stay away from her 'cause i'm a bad influence, right? "

[learnspells]

ʚїɞ - "Is that so?" Fern liked Rapi's company. She was calm and collected like her, and she didn't really react strongly to anything. There wasn't much of a chance of Rapi causing a scene. Not that she disliked people that caused a ruckus like Sein or Stark, but people like her master or Rapi were more her speed socially.

"Could I get two of the strawberry, then?" Rapi's words had seemingly been enough to help her decide, and after paying with her phone she accepted two cones. One was held out to Rapi. "Here. Consider it a thank you for the advice." She wasn't wanting for Dust with all of the odd jobs she did.

"Not myself no. Though I do know a few people who would jump through plenty of hoops for some of their favorite flavors."

Rapi wasn't one of them of course but she knew that some of varieties were more then enough to get hundreds to line up. Somehow this truck wasn't nearly as packed as she thought giving them ample time to still decide on what the two wanted. Though she still didn't want to take too long for the one attending the them either...

"I think my personal favorite is strawberry. It's not too overpowering but its still sweet enough for me to enjoy the rest of the everything."

[learnspells]

ʚїɞ - This girl had some sass to her, maybe because the whole situation had gotten her worked up. In a way, she reminded Fern of the two girls that Frieren had been teamed up with during the license exam. On the other hand Fern retained her cool even though she'd almost just been struck by a car.

"Oh, I'm fine thanks to you. Even if I'd been hit, it would still probably hurt less than being impaled or crushed." Things that had happened to her in the past couple of years. "Are you? You're the one who jumped in to save me."

"that was so reckless. and in such a normally crowded area too!" veyle huffs, placing her hands on her hips while watching the perpetrator walk it off. she's glad they're both okay, but still...! if she had been any later who knows what would have happened.

she turns to face the woman she saved as soon as she was directly addressed, expression softening into something a little more quiet. "oh no, it's not all that much. more importantly, are you alright? you're not hiding any injuries... are you?"

[learnspells]

ʚїɞ - Fern visibly deflated at the idea that she would have to put in more effort than just looking at things. She'd had fun when she'd gone to the mall with Nicolette back when she was in the city, but she'd had Fern try on so many things. She looked over her shoulder at Mira as she tugged at her clothes.

"I don't mind if you take my measurements, but what's the point if sizes aren't universal? It doesn't seem like a very efficient system." Was there a magic that could adjust clothing back home? If so, maybe she should try and find it whenever she returned. It had been a pain that she was always growing when she'd traveled, meaning she'd constantly been forced to adjust her clothes by hand.

"...Loathed as I am to admit it, after trying to wear nothing but long dresses last summer, it was still too hot with the humidity. I might need to find lighter clothes this year." If she had it her way, she'd stay covered from head to toe.

It was strange, having the roles reversed like this. Mira recalls when she was shopping for clothing with Eiden, how she was confused and such since beyond modeling for work, she didn't often keep many herself. So, to be in a place where she could help someone else figure out such things, it was nice in a way.

"Mm, it should not take me super long to figure out what size you are. An unknowing advantage with me working as a model it seems."

Mira moves to float behind Fern, gently tugging on the edges of the cloak's sleeve to get a feel for how long the fabric of the arm is.

"But, yes, unfortunately you will need to do so. Sometimes things land strangely even if it looks fine on the rack."

[learnspells]

ʚїɞ - "As someone who became a war orphan at a young age, I don't necessarily have any vivid memories of my birth father. However, I was very fortunate that Master Heiter was kind enough to take me in as his daughter. Without him, I likely would have died cold and alone, and I certainly wouldn't have learned magic."

[learnspells]

@guidingstarmira

ʚїɞ - Fern wasn't really sure why she had suggested that the two of them go to the mall of all places. Mira had mentioned that someone had suggested buying more clothes to her, and while Fern didn't really want to, she knew she probably had to do the same. It was getting warmer each day, and she could remember how hot it had gotten last summer.

By the time they'd entered the first clothing store she already looked lost.

"I forgot that I need to figure out what size of clothes I wear. When you always wear the same thing, you don't really need to worry about it." But she didn't have the foggiest idea what her sizes were according to modern clothing labels. "...I'm going to have to try things on, aren't I?"

[learnspells]

@powerofinheritance

ʚїɞ - "I've had this before. It's sweet, but a little cold. Still... There are so many flavours to choose from." Fern had been restlessly looking back and forth as well as up and down at the menu of a stationary ice cream truck with Rapi in tow. Thankfully there was no one behind them or they probably would have gotten as fed up as the server seemed to be.

"Have you had any of this before, Rapi? Anything you would recommend?"

[learnspells]

@allhesaid

ʚїɞ - "I see... Your name is Willem? Are you by chance acquainted with Miss Mira?" It had just been a coincidence, really, and Fern wasn't really certain if she was even right. But from what he'd been told by Mira about this "Willem" fellow, he seemed to fit the bill. She probably knew more than he would have wanted her to too, but she'd keep quiet until she knew if she had the right person or not.

"I could have the wrong person, but I didn't see a lot of "Willems" on the public phone list."

[learnspells]

@viladlind

ʚїɞ - "My clothes?" Fern was surprised to be asked about her outfit out of the blue like that. She didn't think there was anything wrong with them, and despite friends in the city trying to talk her out of it, she still basically dressed the exact same way that she did back home. Basically, she always looked like she had just stepped out of a fantasy setting.

Except for when she wore pajamas.

She wasn't sure why she'd been asked about them, so she chose to assume the best and held out her arms as if she was posing. Her expression hadn't changed, but anyone that knew her could tell she was sparkling.

"Cute, aren't they?"

[learnspells]

@misericordel

ʚїɞ - "Thank you. I wasn't expecting a vehicle to veer off onto the sidewalk like that." A girl had run in and protected her with a magic barrier, and somehow even the motorcycle rider had come out unscathed. Fern probably would have blocked it with her own defensive barrier if she had to, but she wasn't going to bring that up.

Still, it wasn't often she just caught a glimpse of someone else's magic in this city.

"You seem to be a practiced mage. That's a commendable feat at such a young age." So spoketh the child prodigy.