un: ozymandias

[fulgency]

Name: Ozymandias
Date: 04/01
Format: video

[No, you're not hallucinating! Ozymandias is actually using the network again.]

[Unlike the first time, there's really no chaos to be found here. He's seated at his desk, his sphinx cub, still roughly the size of a very large housecat, occupies the back of his chair with a smaller cub on the desk itself. It ducks in and out of frame with half-purrs as Ozymandias pets it and it lives its best life.]

I will keep this brief and to the point. [If anyone is feeling skeptical about this, they're probably correct to. When has he ever been to the point?] It is my intention to open a cafe by the end of this month. Thus, I am in need of individuals capable of working in such an environment with the necessary skills to prepare and serve food and beverage to customers.

But I am also looking for those who are capable of handling my sphinxes. One of the key features of this cafe will be the opportunity to play with and spend time with sphinx awlad like these two, and I need people who can ensure that they eat well and are cared for throughout the day.

[And honestly, in addition to making sure nobody's getting too many treats that will spoil their appetite for dinner, low-key make sure they're all accounted for and nobody tries to smuggle one out. But he'll leave that as a private conversation. It's not exactly good business practices to accuse your potential customer base of potential theft. Even if it's very understandable.]

Of course, if there are those who believe themselves capable of working in both environments, I'm certainly not opposed to it.

Those interested or have questions may contact me directly either through the Watches or in-person.

Comments

video, un: momo-chan~♥

[yesdoubt]

[Momo remembers Ozymandias from that joint information post, but he's grateful that this post seems to be of a significantly lighter mood. In fact, when the video opens, Momo has one hot pink-nailed hand on his cheek in apparent transports of cuteness over the sphinx cubs. They sure don't look like anything from his own world, and he's sure they're probably magical in some way, but they're still cute.]

Ah, they're adorable~! What is it they eat in the first place? [Momo's working in radio already, but he's curious about the little cats and he can't say he hasn't done waitstaff jobs before, so he might do more than just shower Ozymandias with questions about the sphinxes. Maybe.] I've never seen a real sphinx before, but these ones look even more special than I would have imagined.

[fulgency]

[Ozymandias huffs a laugh.]

I would compliment you on your observation if it were not quite so plain to see that these stand out even among other sphinxes. [Ozymandias' words are not meant to be a dig at Momo. Quite the contrary as he's so plainly pleased that they are being recognized as special when so many seem to mistake them as more or less a pet like common housecats. But it is obvious they're quite special when a galaxy seems to exist within their little bodies.] These are clones of the King of their species.

As you might expect, they are carnivores.

[yesdoubt]

[Momo gives a lighthearted grin, like he knows it was probably an obvious remark but doesn't mind if it was taken well. He plays the fool regularly, so it's not as if having it pointed out is unfamiliar.]

Clones...how is it they came here, then? Did they all come along with you? [That sounds kind of adorable if it's the case, but he feels like he should ask and make sure it's not some instance of things from people's home suddenly showing up here and not just people.] I guess they're still cats even if they're magical and full of stars. Maybe I could bond with them over carnivorous tendencies...

[Momo has not yet encountered a form of meat he dislikes unless it's outright inedible.]

[fulgency]

[Ozymandias shakes his head.]

Only the cub behind me can claim any sort of direct connection to their progenitor. It came through the mirrors several months after my arrival. Its siblings, unfortunately, did not follow. [But that is probably really for the best given the size that this cub will eventually grow to be. One Clifford the Big Blue Cat is enough for one city, probably.] Thus the others I've created with the magecraft of this world.

Other than their inability to grow and age as this one does, there is little difference between the two.

[yesdoubt]

So it did come along after you arrived, huh... [Momo looks a little curious at that, but he looks way more curious about the aspect of creating new ones through magic, and he curls a hand under his chin curiously.]

That'd be conjuration, right? I'm still getting used to magic stuff here, but permanently creating a new living thing seems like really impressive and high-level magic. Though I'm not studying that class myself, so I don't know as much about it as I probably should.

[He rubs a hand through the back of his hair and laughs a bit self-consciously. He knows enough about each class to know which ones he wanted to start with, but after that he basically just focused really hard on the ones he chose.]

[fulgency]

Permanent summons of any kind do not appear to be possible in this world, [Ozymandias says with a small shake of his head. His expression doesn't shift from that pleasant smile, but his eyes drop to the sphinx and there's something that fades from them. He doesn't need to vocalize that he finds it regrettable that this is so. The look is enough.] I've done extensive research into the matter. The most the sphinx awlad are capable of lasting is a week. It has taken me a long time to ensure their existence for that long and I've yet to discover a means in which to extend it beyond that limit.

Nor has anyone else from what I've read on the subject.

[It seems everyone is trying to extend the time that conjuration might last, but none have found a way to make the magic of this world stay woven or self-perpetuating in a sense enough to maintain whatever form they've created. Ozymandias doesn't understand it given that the magic of this place is what has altered his form. His physical form has been rendered permanent and all of his abilities as a Servant no longer possible. He has not felt weaker or diminished in the absence of his Master. If anything, he's felt himself overflowing with magic plenty of times in the absence of a Bond.]

[yesdoubt]

[That seems like a shame, and Momo gives an apologetic sort of smile when he hears it.] Ah, I guess that just goes to show that I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to magic. It's a little bit sad to think that they'll only be around for a week...though I guess it's a little bit like they're just going back into the original.

[He brings his hands together into a circle, as if to imply many things reforming back into a single one. It's a considerably less upsetting way to think of it, to him, though it's clear enough from Ozymandias' look that he might be being a bit optimistic with that interpretation.] I still think it's impressive, though. Especially if you and so many others have been trying to push that limit.

[fulgency]

[It is an overly optimistic interpretation of what happens to the cubs after the magic dissipates enough that they can no longer hold their form. But Ozymandias offers no correction and allows Momo the more pleasant thought that they are reintegrated back into Sphinx Wehem-Mesut.]

[Not everyone is meant to think in the harsh realities of the world or else everyone would be king.]

It is in my very nature to push the limit. A god such as myself should never know a limit.

[yesdoubt]

[Momo has his own realities to deal with before he starts overthinking someone else's, though perhaps he's also just hoping an idea like this isn't coming off the back of any suffering to the creatures when they disappear.

For the moment, he sets that thought aside to laugh good-naturedly at the other man's remark.] Right, the "king of kings" business...that's a big title to fill. Especially having to work with this world's magic system and not whatever your own world had. I keep hearing that's a strange adjustment for people.

[He was already too normal to have anything stripped from him on arrival, but he's heard about it happening from enough people now to know it does.]

[fulgency]

It was, yes. To remain among the living, I would require a contract with a mage.

[Granted his mana stores were quite vast for a Servant of his class. He could sustain himself for a spectacularly long time independent of a Master and still utilize his Noble Phantasms without worry of fading as quickly as most. But even he was not exempt from requiring a source for any attempts to remain long-term. His mana was not inexhaustible.]

But here, I've no need. The magic of this world is able to sustain my form. It even appears to have made my physical form permanent. Or, at the very least, my spiritual form is no longer accessible.

[Regardless of which it is, the magic of this world clearly functions differently if it has been able to make such changes to his magic-dependent form like this.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo listens curiously - it's clear from his expression this isn't a concept he's particularly familiar with, but he seems interested to learn more.]

So you turned from a spirit into something else in coming here? [He probably would've guessed spirit from the "remaining among the living" part, but it's nice to have it confirmed before having to ask. Still, he gives a thoughtful sort of smile.] I guess that's more of a trade, at least, even if it sounds kinda uneven. I've met people here who just had their magic stripped and had nothing else to show for it, or even kept weaknesses I would've thought would be tied up in their magic.

[His first thought is Grace and his accidentally burning her by offering her a knife without knowing she had a weakness to iron.]

[fulgency]

Worry not. I haven't lost sight of how disproportionately this world has affected the Mirrorbound. [As irritating as he finds it to have been rendered substantially weaker than he once was, Ozymandias knows that he ultimately walked away from this better off than many. Especially those who have been made Monsters and find their bodies transformed in less than pleasant ways by comparison.] I know that it is through the divine protection of the gods that I find myself relatively unchanged compared to others.

[...It's really not even worth trying to convince him that the gods he worships likely had very little influence on matters here.]

Fortunately, even those who have suffered the greatest, do not find themselves carrying their burdens alone.

[yesdoubt]

[Momo's not here to start arguments over people's beliefs, so he doesn't comment on the gods thing and instead focuses on the potential marginally more positive spin he can take from this turn of topic.]

Yeah, the bonding system means it's hard to get away with trying to carry your problems alone, doesn't it? [As if Momo isn't trying, but he's not raising that particular topic without someone asking.] Maybe those changes were to encourage people to support and be supported more as they adjusted to this place. If I wanted to put an optimistic spin on it, at least.

[He grins apologetically, like he knows that's probably not the reason, but it's not like any of them know the real reason at this point either.]

[fulgency]

Perhaps.

[What Momo proposes is not likely correct, but it's not a wholly disagreeable hypothesis either.]

That there seems to be the development of a common albeit imperfect identity among such a diverse group at the very least has been helped by these circumstances even if that is not the intention.

[It's difficult to imagine that so many people from different worlds and different eras would likely come together quite so well and so much as they have in this city if it were not for the hardships they've faced together as a group. Simply being summoned to this world does not seem to serve as enough motivation for any of them to cooperate.]

[yesdoubt]

Yeah, it's one commonality for people to bond over. Even if two people are coming from places with completely different magic systems, they can both relate to losing their magic, right?

[He gives a broad shrug with his hands, the gesture very animated. It's an attempt to keep the mood somewhat light even though the topic is of the sort that's probably much too real for many of the people here.]

How did you adapt to the magic here to start with, though? I know one or two people who've had real trouble reconciling it with what they had in their own worlds.

[fulgency]

There were some challenges in the beginning, [Ozymandias admits, which may come as a surprise given the size of his ego,] but consistent practice was really the only way to adapt. I know that is not often the answer that others are looking to hear and they desire a shortcut, but it is only through the desire to cultivate one's abilities that one is able to achieve anything with the magic of this world.

In some regard, that is somewhat similar to the magic of my world. Although there are bloodlines with greater potential, all magecraft requires practice.

[So perhaps that familiarity and the fact his very body is typically made of magic, Ozymandias found enough similarities to push through whatever differences lie in the magic to begin cultivating close approximations to what he is normally capable of.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo will take an ego that also has room for being realistic. He's worked with too many people with egos too big to account for that little detail.] That's about what I was expecting, honestly. I'm the kind of person who's used to having to do the work anyway, but I have been wondering how different it is for people from worlds that already had different kinds of magic. I feel kind of out of place not having anything other than stories to compare it to from before I got here.

[He's met maybe a handful of people who he thinks might be from worlds like his with no real supernatural influence, but even then, he's not completely sure.]

[fulgency]

You make it sound as though that is a bad thing.

It's true that you will likely have to work harder than most to make the same gains, but then it shall be all the more impressive what you are able to accomplish. [Ozymandias huffs a laugh.] I, for one, shall look forward to it.

[yesdoubt]

Somehow, that isn't the first time I've heard someone tell me something like that. [Momo grins, as if he doesn't quite think all that much of himself but will do his best to make something impressive of it anyway. He might have low self-worth, but he's never let that get in the way of putting his all into everything he does.]

Hopefully it'll be worth the build-up. And in the meantime, I'll look forward to how your cat cafe goes. If you need any musicians for atmosphere, I'm sure I could drop in for that sometimes.

[He's not really widely performing without his partner, but something like that on the side might not be bad to keep his skills sharp.]

[fulgency]

I shall keep you in mind should live entertainment be appropriate.

[The sphinx kittens really will not care one way or another. If anything, they might enjoy it much as any creature as intelligent as a divine beast could. (Provided the performance doesn’t seem more an invitation for playing. In which case, it might spell disaster for Momo as it devolves into a game of keepaway.) It’s not their sensibilities that he’s considering here.]

But in the meantime, consider using the cafe as a place for study or meeting with your peers.

[yesdoubt]

Oh, I can definitely do that. I'm sure the sphinxes will keep everyone in a good mood.

[Momo's the type to try and drag in local contacts while he recreates the network of people back home, so anything that'll keep the mood light from the start sounds good to him.

For now, though, he offers a cutesy saluting sort of motion with two fingers by way of a farewell.] I'll let you get on with your staff search, anyway, but you've got at least one customer for sure.