lestercraft | Permissions: Skald Powers!

Thanks to a hell of a primer from Saga Anderson's grandfather Tor (who may or may not be a literal god of some script, but is definitely a magical musician/seer) Arthur has developed some magical talents befitting a Skald!

In practical terms, this means Arthur ~~is a Level 1 Bard~~ has the ability to magically perceive (Listen) some things about a character and affect them with the music he makes. What does that mean? Dealer's choice! It's a very vibes-based ability.

Most of the process is Arthur actively creating music of some sort, that he can essentially use to harmonise with the people or general universe around him: he can use this to get an extremely rough gauge on a person's psychological state and any obvious influences that might be affecting them. From there he can use his music to magically influence the person or people he's in tune with.

Since this inspiration is being drawn from the Remedyverse, canon demonstrations of direct influence on people include:

》Rallying during battle [CotEG - Alan Wake]
》Provide guidance through an otherwise unpassable area [TC - Control]
》Provide guidance through active eldritch fuckery [YY - AW2]
》Reinforce identity and return senses [HoD - AW2]
》Summon someone out of the Dark Place [DOS - AW2 (but still needs external assistance, eg Object of Power)]

As Arthur is still completely new to these powers, he won't be able to use it for to their full potential, or even perform most of these immediately: most of his current focus is just on learning to control and understand it.

When he starts leaning into the more proactively musical parts of these powers, hell eventually be able to do the following:

》Identify distinct timelines (as opposed to broadly discerning the same universe) pinpoint who is from the "original" canon line and who is divergent from it [canon basis in the known acknowledgement of the multiverse]
》Play any instrument with no prior knowledge whilst in the zone [Source: Pact of the Sword homebrew because it's funny]
》Summon instruments [source: mostly John Doe]
》Limited awareness of non-diagetic leitmotifs [source: Remedyverse's weird fucking meta layering]

But right now he's just fucking around and trying his best. Results will be extremely mixed and vary from thread to thread, as is the nature of a learning curve.

If this is something you'd be interested in playing with in the future, fill out the questions and leave a comment!

Tracking notes

Arthur: Pianoforte (duh)

John: Cello

Charlie: Guitar (spanish)

Sheehan: Guitar (bass)

Sokie: Flute

Jedao: Theremin

Hakkai: Hammered dulcimer

Zerxus: Cymbals

Sweeney: Bodhran

Florian: Harpsichord

Natalie: Guitar (electric)

Misty: Hurdy gurdy

Walter: Tuba?

Justine: Glass harmonica

Nathaniel: Lute

Vincent S.: Clarinet

Saga: Vocals (supersedes him, lmao)

Max: Banjo

B: Piano (upright)

Chase: Bagpipes

Vincent V.: Pipe organ

Malcolm: Piccolo

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Are you okay with Arthur being able to Listen to your character?: Yep!
Would your character be okay with Arthur doing this?: Fuck yeah, you have no idea how much he misses Bardic Inspiration. Less comfortable with Arthur knowing his emotional state, because it is literally always bad, but he can accept it.
Does your character/canon have a recurring leitmotif?: When It Rains It Pours, Fracture
Otherwise, what instruments or musical style do you associate with them?: Because of those, piano; based purely on vibes, cello. (I also think it would be very funny if Asmodeus was represented with a fiddle)
Would your character be able to react to or use this against Arthur?: It's possible his own passive magic (Auras of Protection and Courage) and certain spells (like Bless or Aid) could harmonise with Arthur's to make it more potent?

Are you okay with Arthur being able to Listen to your character?: Yep!
Would your character be okay with Arthur doing this?: Will would have to be more of a hypocrite to care about that.
Does your character/canon have a recurring leitmotif?: Alchemy, Become the Beast, Mizumono (when agitated)
Otherwise, what instruments or musical style do you associate with them?: Viola, modern moody instrumentals.
Would your character be able to react to or use this against Arthur?: Will can See more than what most people let on. He's not quite a Saga-level Seer, as the Hannibal universe only skirts the edge of magical or supernatural powers. However, some of his emotional intuition allows him leaps of logic that are kind of ridiculous. So I'd say it was up to you, whether he could notice Arthur was trying something or not.

Are you okay with Arthur being able to Listen to your character?: Yep!
Would your character be okay with Arthur doing this?: They might not directly ask for it, but they’d be interested if they found out that this was a thing.
Does your character/canon have a recurring leitmotif?: Not exactly, but if I were to pick something for them it would be one of these. Otherwise, what instruments or musical style do you associate with them?: Something with a darker sound. Maybe a viola or a cello.
Would your character be able to react to or use this against Arthur?: Their abilities are mostly passive and function more like senses than anything else. While they could possess people if they wanted to, they don’t. They might recognize that something is up, but they can’t exactly do anything about it.

Are you okay with Arthur being able to Listen to your character?: Yes
Would your character be okay with Arthur doing this?: Yes. She's used to her Manager looking at her Sanity score / status effects during fights, this is not new.
Does your character/canon have a recurring leitmotif?: Compass. Not a leitmotif but it's 100% Ishmael's Song.
Otherwise, what instruments or musical style do you associate with them?: Bass guitar. Surf (genre) but weird.
Would your character be able to react to or use this against Arthur?: No; none of the powers she has access to have anything to do with music. She could probably treat it mechanically as a buff, though, there's precedent.

Are you okay with Arthur being able to Listen to your character?: yes
Would your character be okay with Arthur doing this?: also yes
Does your character/canon have a recurring leitmotif?: yes, and it's pop music
Otherwise, what instruments or musical style do you associate with them?: Vocals, specifically multiple female singers doing a wall of sound effect because she's been a singer in every incarnation.
Would your character be able to react to or use this against Arthur?: yes, she's a time lord and a telepath and can use her voice to affect emotions. She wouldn't see it as an adversarial thing. She uses it to make people feel things together.

Edited 2025-04-09 09:42 (UTC)

Permissions: Skald Powers!

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