prismatica | [Video] Fly Like an... everything really

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[Video] Fly Like an... everything really

Hey all!

[ It's Konoka again. This time though, you might notice something odd, namely it appears that the background scenery behind her is... upside down.

Or she's upside down, more like it. She's hanging by her knees on an apparent tree branch. A clue on why she's doing that might be visible from her new tall, bat-like ears. Konoka's got her hair wrapped up in a bun to avoid it being a curtain wherever she might be hanging around. ]

Just a quick question this time:

If you haven't had wings before you had a blessing, what is it like to fly?

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Hoohoo! Good, good. Then we can move onto to banking.

[He spreads his wings out again as the feathers re-position along side each other.]

Now the trick to banking is to use your center of gravity, or your weight, to lean left or right. Like so. [He leans his body to the right, his right wing lower than the left.] Depending on how much you lean you will either slowly glide towards that direction or turn completely. Now, as for your wings, depending on the direction you want to go in use the lower wing to guide you and the higher one to catch wind.

[The feathers start to glow and blow wind.]

Now, Konoe-san, take your time with this. It sounds simple but, I promise you, a wrong turn could break your arm. Wind is a wild thing, it could be your friend or your worst nightmare. Start honing a sense for wind and it's flow. Let me know if you're ready for the next lesson, landing. After we start gliding for real.

Ohhhhh!

[ She was making progress! That was good. Maybe this wouldn't be so tough to learn to fly! But before she could get ahead of herself, his warning got to her. Konoka sobered up immediately, though her expression eventually softened back down to wonder as she attempted to follow his lead on banking.

She could get an idea of tilting, but without actually taking flight she was reluctant to lean too hard. With any luck she could at least get a feel for what banking feels like. ]

[He didn't want to knock the wind out of her sails, but it had to be mentioned. At this stage he started to watch with more attention.]

Lean a little more, find out how much you can lean before you start to feel the wind pull you. When you feel that pull, that means you're turning. Do it with your dominant hand first, then do it with your left.

[His head bobs from side to side as he circles around her.]

Remember, you're flying with more than just your wings, your body is also part of it. If you think you're leaning too much to one side you can use your body as a counterbalance to slowly change course.

Right.

[ Konoka decides to simply follow what he instructed. She leaned a little harder, albeit very slowly, and waited until the wind seemed to try and pull her. This was what turning was like.

She had to balance her body, so she focused on making sure her feet were spread apart for this. When she actually got to flying, she'd probably fold her legs to be sure she kept her profile in check. ]

[Her form wasn't perfect as far as he could tell from the way the wind dragged under her wings but she was getting the idea a little bit at a time. Best of all she hasn't severely hurt herself, which is great. All his stumbles and falls from way back when is serving him well.]

Alright, you're getting it. Try going from left to right now. Slowly, slowly... Hoohoohoo!

[ Konoka was starting to be heavily reminded of one of those Old Wizard mentor types. And having seen him as a young guy is extra funny. But she refused to have her concentration broken, as she leaned her arms now in the opposite direction, again slowly tilting her body until she felt the pull again. ]

[He would certainly smile from ear to ear if she called him young, but given his appearance he understands why she'd think of him so.]

Don't stiffen your arms, let the wind move around them. Keep your muscles loose, flexible. Thaaaaaat's the way...very good! Very good! Now try banking again but pausing in the middle before continuing.

[ On the bright side, it seems that she's getting a little better. Her stance relaxes, she focuses solely on tilting her body and getting a feel of what it's like to turn.

She'll make a turn, and then pause, and then turn in the other way. She's not sure how much she'll get done, but she might have a better hang of flight before the week's out. Optimistic, yes, but that's pretty much Konoka. ]

[He nods and hoots in approval. This is going well, he thought to himself. He was honestly expecting a little more tumbling and struggling but she's keeping her balance fairly well, though he suspects when she starts gliding for real she might encounter some difficulty.]

Very good. You're really getting the hang of this Konoe-san. Think you're ready for the real thing?

Yeah!

[ Konoka doesn't stop her turning exercises, but the excitement in her voice is palpable. ]

This feels great!

Hoohoohoo! Well, someone certainly seems eager. One more lesson left before practicals, slowing down and landing.

[He doesn't stop the current, she looks like she's having too much fun, so he leaps and rides the current until he's drifting on the wind.]

Now, watch closely. When you want to slow down or are about to land, you straighten out your posture and then tilt your upper body up and lower your legs. Keep your wings spread and slowly let wind pass through to lower and slow you down.

When pilots are taught how to land the plane they're told to "keep the nose up", which means the front of the plane stays pointed up until the wheels land. Picture that your legs are the wheels and your head the cockpit. Like so.

[He tilts himself as he instructed, legs down and head up, as he slowly approached the ground and touched down, taking just a few steps forward.]

Release all the air in your wings or just retract them completely when you're at a comfortable height from the ground. Make sure you take a few steps after you land so you don't drop all that momentum in your legs, unless you intend to break them.

Got it!

[ Konoka focuses, now tilting back to neutral and getting a feel for the wind before making sure that she was in a good 'landing pose' (since she was still on the ground). Eventually, she flexed her 'fingers' closing up the wings and canceling the wind's effect on them, having to take a moment to 'stumble' forward since she was already ground. ]

Ah, how's that?

[ She's not expecting perfect marks for that one, her face practically screams 'I need more practice'. ]

[He reacted as if he was about to catch her when she stumbled but when she managed to still stay, well, upright-ish he was relieved.]

See what I mean by momentum? Never take it for granted, but don't worry. Once you get used to flying you'll be able to get a feel for how much momentum you have and learn how to sort of....spread it around, or cast it aside, so you can land without having to take a few steps.

For now, while not perfect, it's good enough to say that you won't fall flat on your face. So? What say we give gliding a try now?

[With that, the feathers fly up as Bishop takes off and circles the space above. The fathers line themselves up and shoot to the ground like missiles, their color changing from green to yellow tan, and make a glowing outline of square that's about two feet by feet with a feather in the center of each. Bishop dives down onto one of the squares and grabs it with his talons then lifts off as if carrying off prey, the dirt squares under rising as pillars of increasing height with the one he grabbed being the tallest, effectively making steps.]

C'mon up. This'll serve as a a good platform.

Alright!

[ Some part of her was relieved she'd get another shot, albeit they'd be moving on with it anyway. She almost bounced back in surprise when she saw that she was now looking up at a staircase emerging from the ground. Wow, she kept forgetting about the crazy stuff one could do with magic, despite her time spent in it.

Konoka traveled up the 'staircase'. The height didn't quite intimidate her, though she did give a bit of pause, as if any sense of dread seemed almost suppressed by new instincts. ]

[He looked around, estimated the space, the flight path, the wind speed, all of it in just a matter of seconds as Konoka climbed up.

'This should be good' he thought to himself as he nodded to confirm his estimations and nerves. When she reached him, her pause doesn't go unnoticed.]

Konoe-san? Is something wrong?

Oh, nothing too much! Just a bit of pre-flight jitters.

I don't feel too bothered, I just had to stop a moment. I'm ready to go.

[ She prepared herself, the earlier hesitation gone. ]

Ah, I see. That's normal, but let me know if or when you feel anxious.

[He then puffs out his chest and opens a wing raising it up, the primary flying feather at the end of his wing span almost emulating a finger being held up.]

Anxiety has no place on the battlefield. Take a deep breath and reach deep into your heart to find your inner peace. Or so my captain used to say. It's normal to feel anxious but don't think about it, just focus on what you want and have to achieve.

Right.

[ Konoka nodded, took a deep breath, and focused on the challenge ahead. She was to glide down and make a landing. It shouldn't be too hard now that she got the sensations of what she was supposed to feel, right? ]

I'm ready.

[He acknowledges her determination, but that doesn't mean he's about to let her glide down without so much as a guide to follow.]

Okay, watch as I do then follow.

[He walks over to the edge of the platform, wings dropping a big in anticipation while his toes curl over the edge before leaping and gliding down. He curved to right, left wing up in the air with the right point slightly down as he curved and approached the ground. He raises his body up as he gets closer, the wind passing through his wings as he pushes his legs out to land, stopping after a few steps.]

Okay, just like that.

Okay!

[ Konoka makes sure to unfurl her wings, and then imitate his take off as best as she can, given that she has no talons. It's slightly shaky at first, and that mostly comes from the small desire to flap her wings. She's here to glide! She reminds herself of that while she turned, letting her left wing touch the sky while she bore right, adjusting herself to keep the turn from getting too sharp.

She eventually does fix her orientation just in time to land, though her wing flap slows her down a bit more sharply than his, and she wound up 'hopping' in midair, though fortunately landing on her two feet. ]

...I think I did it!

[It was good up until the landing, her flap making his head shoot up with slight alarm but when her feet found purchase he relaxed just as quickly.]

You most certainly did! Hoohoo! Well done! It wasn't perfect, but I'd say it's a solid 8/10. Hoohoo!

[He's impressed. Also maybe feeling a bit big headed. He is the one teaching her of course.]

Since you did it as you landed, you must have noticed how you slowed down significantly when you flapped your wings. Doing this would really slow you down however, if you're flying quickly you need to flap several times before landing just to lessen the inertia. Though your bones aren't hollow like a birds, I would still advice doing that so you don't strain yourself.

Great! I'm learning to fly!

[ Konoka clenched her fist in victory... though given her fists were currently bat wings, it was more like clenching her wing and extending her thumb out. Same difference, right? ]

I need more practice! Can we do it again?

Of course! Uhoo! This time I will be here on the ground, actually, we can make a game of it. I'll stand somewhere and you go on top and plan you glide path towards me.

[Bishop takes a look around the area, picks a spot, and starts walking though his head was bobbing up down and side to side as he did. Owl vision and all that.]

Ok, whenever you're ready.

Sure!

[ Konoka scampers back to the top, again pulling out her wings and getting a read for where he was. Once she spotted him, she took a moment to prepare herself before taking flight.

This one was... surprisingly smoother. He wasn't super out of the way, so it was a matter of a bit of turning and landing right next to him. ]

I'm getting it...!

[She probably can't tell, hell no one can tell when he's a bird, but it brings a big smile to his face to see someone so excited to fly even if it's still just the basics. Reminds him of when he first started gliding.]

Good, good...

[He said softly as she came in and touched down.]

You certainly are! Very good!

[His wings open up and brings them forward and starts sort of clapping, though it sounds more like someone rustling feather dusters.]

[Video] Fly Like an... everything really

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