Selfies and Snacks with Max!

[Max Lager]

With the aid of one of Alasdair’s creations, the Firefly, Max is able to capture on camera her time spent with Rachael in a sit down in the Gardens on Twilight Isle. The device quietly films their conversation and the interview can be viewed on streaming devices showing dueling updates, replays, as well as sometimes between matches on Twilight Isle screens!

Max was settling down on a simple bench within the Gardens on Twilight Isle, enjoying the growing foliage that surrounded her and the gentle twinkle of stars that loomed overhead in the protective dome that surrounded said gardens before she was offering a growing smile to Rachael. "Thanks so much for joining me tonight Rachael! How are you doing this evening?"

"De rien. I am well, merci, as are those of the Household. You and Alasdair are well, I trust." She gracefully seated herself on another bench opposite of and facing Max.

"We are, thank you! He's puttering away in his workshop right now, and I managed to sneak away with some fresh sugar cookies in case you'd like some. He's got a big sweet tooth, and these are my specialty so I'm always making some!" She gave Rachael a wink and offered out an open tin of decorated star shaped sugar cookies in the case that Rachael or those in her household would want some. "You mention the Household, and I was wondering about something. Did you all move into the Tower of Fire after Sunday night?"

"Oui, we did indeed. Ian has set up his forge, and he has been happily at work on some new projects there. Tux has been investigating the Library, but I, his Père, and Bond have been most diligent at keeping the tomes that are beyond his, as it is said, present skill set out of his reach for the moment. Cook and Cook have settled in to the kitchen easily."

"Oh that's right, I may have been a little nosey the other night, but I overheard you mention that your husband was enjoying the forge. Will you both be planning on creating any magical weapons or artifacts during your reign? He designed the armor you use in the rings, correct?"

"Oui, Ian designed and updates Black Cat for moi. He also created Golden Wolf for Amaris." She considered her next words carefully. "He tends to craft weapons for those of the Household or the Family for the most part. Although I may inquire if he will create an especial weapon for a tournament, if that is what you are inquiring about."

"Oh no, but thank you though." shaking her head but with a smile. "Weapons are really more suited for the Arena, at least that is my personal preference. Just curious to see if we would be seeing you sporting any new designs by Ian now that you're the Keeper of Fire. Congratulations again by the way on your recent win of the Spring All Ranks Tournament where you won the key! Does that leave just one more elemental tower for you to eventually hold?"

"Merci. Oui, one day I will be the custodian of the Water Tower, and that will be an achievement. I have been wishing to be the custodian of Fire for some time, and I admit that it is because of Ian, in part. I plan to enjoy that custodianship as long as I am permitted to do so."

"And we're happy to have you as a Keeper! Do you have any other future goals in Duel of Magic? Beyond one day becoming the Keeper of Water that is? Its hard to come up with something you haven't done on Twilight Isle though!"

"That custodianship is a future goal, oui. But that is not as important at the moment. I wish to instead focus on the present achievement that I have attained, that being the custodianship of the Fire Tower, as well as continuing to help maintain The Gardens on the Isle."

"This is a beautiful place here on the Isle," Max agreed. "Do you have a favorite part of the Gardens?"

She took the time to consider that answer carefully. "Oui, there are many portions that are an especial favourite. One of which is a memorial garden, with plants and statuary that are dedicated to those who have gone before. Mayflower tends that portion with especial care."

"Any one in particular you or your family is honoring there?" Or if the question looked to difficult for her to answer, Max would simply switch up a bit with a comment focusing on Mayflower. "She does like to garden and is a great Twilight warden. It is good that she's able to tend and protect that section."

"Mayflower honours Adam West with a Bat flower. She was especially saddened at his passing. There are many others of the community who have memorials there. Oui, she takes her duties in The Gardens quite seriously, as that is one of her Talents."

"We're glad to have you both here for it! The Gardens are a lovely place. Touching back on Duel of Magic, I wanted to ask, what brought you into the sport and how long have you been using magic?"

"I was brought into the sport, as it is said, by Rand al'Tan. He participated in sorcellerie, so I was curious enough to engage in it as well. I have been utilising sorcellerie for sport, as it is said, since November 16th, 2010. I traded castings with both Xanth VanBokkelen and Vincent Smith that night. Both Mage Emeriti, as it is said, cleaned mon clock. After that, I could only travel upwards from there."

"Sounds like you jumped right in and were rather fearless! And now you're a Mage Emeriti as well! Do you have any advice for someone new starting into Duel of Magic?"

"The advice that I would give is first, not to let others guilt them into engaging in matches when they do not feel up to doing so. Next, to relax and enjoy the moment. All will happen, when waiting is filled, and not before."

"Good solid advice, thank you. I'll be sure to share it with folks. Speaking of matches, what has been your most memorable fight up to this point and why?"

Behind the dark lenses of her customary sunglasses, her sapphire hued gaze briefly closed in contemplation of both the question and her eventual answer. "Among the most memorable have been as follows, not in any particular order: besting Vincent Smith to gain the custodianship of the Air Tower, which was mon first custodianship; besting Gren Blockman to gain the custodianship of the Celestial Tower; being bested by Jay Capistrano, which led surprisingly to moi gaining the custodianship of the Earth Tower; and besting Haru Jeong to gain the custodianship of the Fire Tower."
"All big wins when they all had a tower on the line! What do you like most about the various towers?"

"I like the knowledge that can be found in their Libraries, along with their unique features. For example, the Air Tower possessed eight bathrooms, as Lily informed moi, since each had a litterbox to be changed for Mallow, the first Tower Kitten. As for the rings, I admit to being fond of, not in any particular order, Anemoi, Titan, and Olympus. I look forward to casting in Tartarus in the future. Which may be sooner than I would like to occur, but it is as it is."

"It could be in about 30 days," she admits. "People have lately taken to the habit of high tailing it to the boards to challenge as soon as grace up. But at this moment in time, there's two Towers available for challenge and no one has jumped just yet. So," there was a bit of a shrug. "Who knows what'll happen! Do you have a favorite spell to cast in the rings?"

"One pair of castings that are a favourite of mon grandkitten Mayflower that I utilise on occasion are either Shield or Reflection. Both take the form of the shield that is utilised by Captain America, who is an especial hero to her. I admit to utilising these castings to make her happy."

"Oh that's so sweet! I hadn't realized you were using spells to entertain and please her. What part of yourself or your magic do you wish more people knew about?"

"Magic is a part of moi, but it is not all that I am. I am not defined by the custodianships that I have held. I am the same person whether or not I hold one." Her shielded gaze met Max's unflinchingly. "I am neither an island nor am I made of stone. I do have feelings and emotions like anyone else. I do laugh, cry, and become angry. I treat others with the respect that they merit and have earned. I cannot change how others view and treat moi. They will believe and act as they will despite any actions that I might take."

"This is true! I am just glad that you're a part of our community and were able to sit down and talk about magic for a bit! Now, do you mind if I get a selfie of us to post on InstaRhyGram?" Beaming at the woman as she pulled her phone out.

"Not at all. I would be honoured to do so." She rose gracefully and resettled next to Max to make the process much easier.

The interview closes with showing a selfie or two that Rachael and Max have taken, where Rachael even slipped off her dark sunglasses to reveal her vivid blue eyes!

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(( Just a quick note to say that the Interview took place prior to the Tower of Water getting challenged! Written with Rachael Blackthorne! Thank you!! ))

[Max Lager]

Hovering quietly is the floating camera dubbed Firefly that captures the conversation between Max and Mallory at the bar on Twilight Isle. Like all interviews with Max, it can be viewed on streaming devices showing dueling updates, replays, as well as sometimes between matches on Twilight Isle screens!

Max settled in on a barstool at the bar on Twilight Isle, smiling in thanks to the goblin who refilled her large cup of coffee on the countertop. Soon she was turning to Mallory with the same smile and shifting her focus on the current Archmage. "Thanks so much for joining me tonight Mallory! How are you feeling this evening?"

"Better now that I have a soda," Mallory said with a grin; the same goblin had just placed a bottle of Ramune in her hand. "I think Baby Maeda has a sweet tooth. How are you, Max?"

"I have just the thing for that, sugar cookies! They're one of my specialities you know." Snickering as she pulled over a plated of decorated star shaped cookies. "Alasdair has a big sweet tooth too, so I'm always ready for that. And I'm well, thank you for asking. But enough about me, tonight I wanted to sit down and ask you about your thoughts on magic!"

"Then you've come to the right witch." She winked. Excuse her while she helped herself to a half dozen of those cookies.

"Lucky me! How long have you been using magic? Or when did you discover you could cast?"

Mallory's smile dimmed a fraction. "I was seven. I was somewhere dark, and there was a giant rat, and I knew I needed light. I started repeating a children's rhyme, and it summoned a blinding light. That's when I knew."

"So at a young age, and it sounds like it helped you in a time of need! But you don't seem to be using rhymes in the ring now. I know outside the ring you utilize another medium. Do you have any favorite foci, artifacts or tomes you use besides blood? I see you've been using several different summons in the recent past."

"Magic's a growing and learning process for a lot of people. It was more than ten years before I settled on blood as a primary focus... and I don't use much else now! If I had to pick something, though, my favorite foci are the Tower Keys. Elemental magic was not a natural strength for me, and there's something thrilling about tapping into these relics and seeing the power flow out."

"You mention the Tower Keys and you've held 3 out of the 5 now I believe. Do you have a favorite ring you've fought in so far?"

"Titan. I spent more time in Tartarus, because lava baths are incredible, but I love fighting in Titan. There's few things as dramatic as casting from promontories and shattering solid rock."

"What has been your most memorable fight up to this point and why? Would it be one of those matches held in Titan against either Rachael or Andrea?"

"The third match against Rachael for Earth was probably my most memorable. She was a tough and determined opponent, I had to run back a two and a half point margin, and the end result was my first Keepership. It's hard to top that feeling." She grinned. "Did you know that happened on 4/20?"

"That does sound exhilarating! Yeah, that was a couple months before I came on full time to be a caretaker here, but I do remember it. Been almost a couple years now. From Keeper of Earth to Archmage! Do you have any future goals in Duel of Magic?"

"Eventually! I'd like to explore the Towers of Water and Air one day, but it's not a big rush. I'm due in less than two months, around the same time I expect to be challenged again, so... that'll be interesting! So I'll be focusing on family, and defending the Citadel as long as I have it. One of these days, though."

"Speaking of being due, I wanted to extend another round of congratulations. For both your most recent defense of the Celestial Citadel and for the upcoming arrival of Baby Maeda. Will you and your wife be introducing the baby to Twilight Isle and Duel of Magic at some point?"

"Thank you, Max! And I'd love to. This has been an important place to me and Eri both, and I want our baby to see it, too, as soon as we're ready to take her out to see the world."

"That makes me happy to hear! I realize I'm biased, but I really enjoy Twilight Isle. Do you have anything in particular you and Eri would wish to show the baby here on the Isle?"

"The Twilight Market. It's a place that's grown a lot in the last year, and it reminds me of what's important about places that we think of as mystical, and powerful, and important -- they're full of people.The elemental beings, the goblins who work and study here, the students and teachers, and everyone who lives and works or just finds solace here. Magic is a part of everyday life, and nothing says that more than the Twilight Market."

"That's so true. I believe you can find just about anything in Twilight Market and one of my favorite things to do there is people watch too! I also often pick up prizes for the tournaments there, it's a real treasure trove of magical items! From starter spells to ancient tomes, the Twilight Market may just have it all! Speaking of spells, I'm curious. Do you have a favorite spell that you cast in the rings?"

"It's not a spell so much as a group of spells, called the Faces of Death. They can be used a few ways, like shielding or enshrouding you, conjuring a chilling visage, or disappearing into a swarm of phantasms. It's illusory, not truly necromantic-- but I appreciate any spell with versatility. Keeps people on edge if they're not quite sure what you're about to do," she added with a grin.

"Sounds spooky! And like you said, sounds like it has a lot of potential uses. A good quality spell to have in your pocket or grimoire! So, to a new caster stepping into Duel of Magic, do you have any advice? For starting off into the sport and then for just magic in general?"

"Magical combat? Jump in feet first and try it out! Once you've gotten your feet wet, I recommend finding an experienced caster and getting their advice. I would not have made it as far as I have without the help of my mentor in magic, Eden. As for magic itself? It's a world of possibility, but not one to be taken lightly. Nothing's free, so know what you want, know what it costs, and make informed decisions... and if you have any questions, drop by the Lyceum and we can help you find what you need!"

"That's good advice for making a splash in the pool of Magic!" Max snickers. "Now, do you mind if I get some selfies of us for InstaRhyGram?"

"I'll put them on Tweeter, too!" Mallory said, unaware of the quiet but rapid thudding of star-glass feet approaching them from behind as she leaned in for a selfie...

The interview closes and shows a selfie of Mallory and Max with a blurry Starglass approaching, then another with their face smooshed between the two women, and a third with Mallory face palming and Max and Starglass posing for the camera.

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(( Written with Mallory Maeda! Thank you!! ))