Ask Me Anything 2 -- Max

Do you pirate media? I feel like you wouldn’t but it would be funny if you did.

I’m not sure what that means. Give me a moment to… ah, I see. No, if I want to access media, I simply purchase it. Or trade favours for it, as necessary. I’ve never illegally copied things for unentitled personal use, and I stand by my claim that that whole incident with the hidden texts in the Nordja library was a massive misunderstanding and nobody can prove I made any illegal copies of anything. All evidence is circumstantial and their ancestor’s rather hilariously embarrassing personal diaries show no evidence of being tampered with, so the accusations are spurious.

I mean, I assume the diaries are hilariously embarrassing. I wouldn’t know, of course. Since I don’t have a copy.

From a magical research standpoint, are you glad you were caught up in Kayden’s nonsense and the Slow Destruction of Wizard Society, or do you wish none of this has happened?

Those aren’t mutually exclusive. Given that our world is on the brink of destruction, am I glad I know about it and can help us not all die? Yes, obviously. Do I wish said destruction wasn’t happening? Yes, obviously.

If you could have access to all the information the adults/council are hiding right now, would you give up being involved in the first successful human familiar creation in its stead? This is sort of related to the previous question lol.

Exactly what sort of person do you think I am?

We don’t know exactly how to save the world, but we do know that the information we need is buried in the depths of this school. It is extremely likely that somebody on the Council has this information. If we had access to all of their information, putting together a plan to save the world would presumably become far, far easier.

The successful experiment you refer to is not something I chose to do, it is not something I would have done if there had been any option. It puts my two dearest friends in danger, every day. I worry about them, every day.

And you ask me whether I would choose to have information that could save the world for the great cost of… my friends being far safer? That’s your question? What kind of attention-hungry hack of a scientist and simpering scummy excuse for a human being do you think I am? Do you think the prestige of that accidental accomplishment outweighs the danger to Kylie and Kayden’s lives, let alone the safety of the entire world?

This is a phenomenally stupid question.

Do you need a hug, buddy?

Ah. No, thank you.

You don't seem all that concerned about breaking yourself. Maybe you should talk to a counselor?

Unnecessary. No cost is too great to save the world, and honestly I got off really lightly here. I’m mostly relieved.

What is your theory on why Kayden is able to remain as stable as he has been, with the whole Familiar thing?

Magic inhabits humans far, far better than it inhabits anything else. Most of what we’ve seen from Kayden – the ‘clinginess’ of Kylie’s spell and inability to cancel the link, their exceptional range, his body adapting to take more and more magic over time – makes perfect sense with what we know about how spells and human bodies interact with each other. Of course, this affinity is also the reason that the spell should have burned him out and killed him within seconds of the ritual. Everything makes sense, except his resilience to its power, or their... harmony, I suppose. The obvious crutch explanation here is ‘Fionnrath’s Destiny is extremely clever, maybe it’s aware enough to be careful with him’, but smart spells have been tried before, without success. Besides which, a spell os ‘smart’ at what it’s trained to do – the Destiny is farseeing and communicative and more understanding of nuance than most spells, because of how it’s always been used. But it’s not usually linked to a familiar! There’s no need; it’s usually trapped inside its locus! If anything, it should be worse at this than most spells!

I’m forced to conclude that there must be something about Kayden, either natural or artificial, that helps to bind and tame and channel the magic. But I have no idea how that could even be possible. I certainly didn’t do that to him, and I know he didn’t, and if we’d already solved the problem of taming foreign magic within the body like that, there’d be other human familiars wandering around already. So I have no idea what could be going on here, other than ‘the world’s most miraculously coincidental affinity between a spell and a mage that doesn’t even qualify to wield it’.

And I don’t take miraculous coincidence as an answer.

Would you like this plushie I found of a panda

Ah, no, thank you. Ever since Magistus gave Kayden that giant teddy larger than his bed, I’ve been cautious about introducing plush animals to the room. We were able to abandon that monstrosity when changing rooms after Initiation; if Kayden gets it into his head to get another one now, we could be stuck with it for years. Best not to risk it.

Would you rather be locked up or go through the initiation once again?

I don’t entirely understand the question. Locked up by whom? For how long?

What do you feel about your family?

My family are fine. Good people, support my interest in science, want what’s best for me. All that.

Have you ever ran away from home?

Oh, no, I was never brave enough for anything like that! Could you imagine how Dad would react to that sort of thing?!

What is your favorite color?

Mustard yellow.

What is your favorite piece of media?

Neighbours, but only up to 2016. There’s simply no point without Lou Carpenter to carry the entire show on his back.

What do you hate the most?

I’m not a fan of that Tarada series that Saina keeps showing Kayden. He always comes back to rant about how terrible it is, and I’m fully aware of how terrible it is.

Would you rather have been born in a commonfolk family?

What? Of course not. I love my family.

You are a really sheltered person, do you realize that you know little about the real world?

Wow. Rude.

I know little about the real world? And just how much do you expect you know? I didn’t come here to be insulted by some jumped-up stranger who decides to simply assert out of nowhere that my knowledge must be lacking without examining their own. Do you believe that your knowledge is broader or more important than mine? Why? On what possible grounds do you assert that, and to what purpose? I’ve played these stupid little games with people a lot smarter and a lot wiser than you, stranger, and you’ve just proven to me that you’re not worth my time. We’re done here.

Kayden or Kylie, pick one to live with? (And no picking Kylie and using the fact the Kayden is a familiar to pick both) (no picking neither too)

I’m not picking anything. Leave me alone.

Can you pass Kayden's geas to another person with your spell? Or something like this?

I said we’re done here.