The Wizard is [IN].

[noonlight]

Who: Illumination & You!
What: Lu has offered to help various people with their complaints, concerns, and general magical inquiries. If they've offered this to your character, or you just want to see what they're up to, feel free to post a top level.
When: A few days after the return to the Library.
Where: Some side room in the library.
Content warnings: None yet, but probably some mention of substance (alcohol, drug) use.

Somewhere in the library, Illumination has commandeered a small side room and set up a series of chalkboards, note paper, and various other materials used for magical testing. (Salt, stones, a couple of the gems from Link's stash, ink, a magnet, etc.)

Comments

[deinoswitch]

"Alas. I suppose I can behave myself." For now. Until he knows better what can be messed with safely.

He tilts his head at them, considering. "I take it you mean our especially tall friends?" He's used to being the tallest around. This has been a fun surprise.

[noonlight]

"I'm still work-shopping good group names, but that's who I'm talking about. One of them said that he dearly wanted a drink, and while they can drink, it doesn't have much effect, so..."

So, they gesture toward the boards and all the scribbled chalk. Sliding one board aside shows off their list:
001. Find rare chemical that can bypass innate system: difficult to get, lots of messy (possibly lethal) trial and error, may develop tolerance, may be toxic to all others around.
002. Suppress innate system: possible through chemical or magical means, could cause other systemic issues.
003. Avoid innate system: will involve a great deal more bio-engineering than practical; blood-brain barrier is not worth messing with.
004. Convince innate system via holistic persuasion: magic-forward solution, can build in a quick release, will need iterative tinkering.

"I think the the last one is the best bet."

[deinoswitch]

They can't tell that his eyes widened in almost mock horror behind the veil, but they can see the hand he brings dramatically to his heart. "Oh, we certainly need to solve that problem," he says, and it's hard to tell if he's teasing or serious. He's certainly observing the work with interest at least.

He reads through it quietly, nodding when he reaches the same rough conclusion. (Admittedly, he does not know what the 'blood-brain barrier is'.) "Do you know why it does nothing for them?" he asks. He might well be able to find a way around it...

[noonlight]

"I do, in fact. They've been engineered to process poisons so quickly and efficiently that none of your standard intoxicants, poisons, or any fun-time chemical does much."

Illumination gestures at their scribbles on the board, "That's why I'm focusing my efforts on the fourth item on the list - I can't design a better wine, nor a worse version of their body, but I might be able to trick their body into forgetting its defenses or that the wine isn't something that needs to be purged." It's messy at this point in the process, but given enough time, Lu feels confident that they can make some improvement.

[deinoswitch]

“Interesting.” Dionysus crosses his arms, thinking. “Do you know if their bodies can process medicines?”

Because, for him at least, wine certainly is a type of medicine- one of the soul, even if the body can see it as poison. There might be something there. “If you require it, I could probably make a better one. I sometimes dabble in the making. But I wonder if an opposite approach might work from that end; not a stronger one but something that might slip past as harmless. Or perhaps even helpful.”

[noonlight]

"I don't believe they can, which is its own problem." Strange creatures who process everything too quickly for it to be of any use or harm.

"From what I've pieced together, if they really truly believe a thing to work, it has a better chance - which is the approach I'm taking here - instead of making the drink stronger, I want to boost their belief that the wine works as it should." Illumination can't convince a futuristic space-liver to just chill out, but they might be able to work on the mind of a willing tippler.

[deinoswitch]

"Huh. That seems poorly thought out." If they ever find something their systems can't handle, they'll be doomed.

Dionysus can't help the little smile under his veil as Illumination lays out the idea- oh, he's even better suited to this endeavor than he thought. Witching is very much about belief; if some normal person tells you 'here drink this tea, it'll help, it might work but not a lot. If a Witch, who has obscured their features and seems otherworldly and not entirely humans, hands you a potion and tells you to drink it and then wash your hands three times to be cured, it's much more likely to work. It's part of why witches are such good liars.

"If you would like some assistance, I think I would be suited to helping," he says, though obviously does not go into detail as to why- witching doesn't work as well when you know the tricks, after all. "I think I know some things that might boost their belief."

[noonlight]

Somewhere, Illumination, Dionysus and Granny Weatherwax are shaking hands and going 'same hat' or maybe that meme with everyone's sword on the map table. Exactly. The more you believe it, the more it's going to work.

"I won't say no to a hand, but I also don't know how well your magic and mine will mesh." There's a ripple of colour over the base of their throat and their scent changes faintly. "But, even if they don't mix, we should be able to layer them. Maybe. Can you tell me more about your ideas?"

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus watches the color and takes in the scent- he's a little annoyed that it's just this body of his in here. If more animals were near as well, he could probably have a better since of what it meant. (His guess is 'curiosity,' but he's clearly going to have to learn.)

"True," he says, looking over at their arrays- this is certainly not his kind of magic, "Firstly, regardless of what we do to the wine, it should have a strong taste. If it tastes like nothing at all, they won't believe that it would intoxicate them even it does get past their system. I have a particular recipe that would work well for that, but I may struggle to make it given the... limitations of this place." He's very annoyed about not being able to finish what he makes right now. "I also have some magic of my own that may allow them to relax more freely, which might make them more susceptible to yours."

[noonlight]

"You are a treasure, darling." There's a moment where Illumination smiles brightly and then relaxes just a little. It's always good to hear that one's own plans align with another's, even and especially if it comes from a practitioner of a radically different method.

"The most difficult part is always the first breach. Gently slipping past the mind's own defenses, even a willing one, is tricky and I don't want to risk hurting them."

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus gives them a playful mock bow, one of his palms up- the witch symbol to show he's smiling beneath the veil, instinct more than expecting to be understood. "My magic should help with that," he says; his magic is not always gentle, but if someone is willing to work with him then it is. Fighting him is when the madness takes a more damaging hold, "It helps that witches are just meant to be mystical and mysterious." He wiggles his fingers playfully.

[noonlight]

"And I have the weight of moderately respectable science behind me." It's true, there is a method to how Illumation's magic works, but at the heart of it all, it relies on the power of will to change reality.

"I should have a working rough draft in a couple days, but I don't know when the next story is due. Once I think I've got it working, I plan to run a test or two, if you'd care to watch or participate? And see how best we can mix our works."

[deinoswitch]

"Any more respectable that than that would just be unseemly," Dionysus says. Respectability is overrated in his opinion; he's seem too many souls crushed under the search for it.

He brings his hands together, like a child who's been invited to play. "Absolutely. I'll look forward to it."