"Ad arma." As she said the words a small blade appeared in each of Tsubaki's hands. She wielded each underhanded, but strangely she left her pointer fingers extended. She couldn't recall ever fighting one of Sir Williams men, but this was a common way for the students to train on their own, and by Id's remark a traditional battle happened every year. That's fine.

She crouched low with one blade held close to her chest while the other was held low and behind, almost like a tail. Though it wasn't the weapons that would be doing the heavy lifting for her. With swift motions she drew Augmen and dispersed it's petals, providing a light cover, but mostly a visual distraction, for behind her she had set up a Cingo. Once a knight lashed out at her she'd dodge and activate it so that he'd hit the reflective ribbon.

---

Ghostly combat? On the first day? Oh so that's why the knightly specter hung around huh? Interesting. Antilita had mostly studied and had very little practical combat experience so she was surprised they'd through her in the ring so soon but they knew what they were doing, surely they'd hand out weapons or other exorcism materials anytime now. Though her hopes sank and raised finger sank as her squad leader gave a cue to "go".

"Eeeh!? Go? What do you mean go?" She sounded incredulous but she knew exactly what the word meant, how could she not, combat had already started around the room. Well most the room, she was starting to get a rather firm grasp on the red-headed girl's personality.

Her eyes darted around the room for anything she'd be able to use to defend herself as she tried her desperate but only course of action: backing up and pleaing. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey you're supposed to be a good guy ghost right? An honorable knight like yourself wouldn't strike an unarmed little girl would you?" Of course she wasn't expecting any favors and was more focused on the things she'd noticed, perhaps Id would have a spare weapon, or the torch scone on the wall might be iron, or that sign that said Armory might be an armory. Wait. Of course that would be an armory. Once she got the chance she knew exactly where she'd need to sprint to.

Well this was familiar. Of course, last time around he had faced only Sir William and felt bad about frying his friendly, translucent form without electricity. Now he was watching twelve other sparring ghosts charge at them looking even more translucent. He was already feeling bad and he had done nothing but breathe and stare. Unwelcome distractions reared their heads around just about immediately. Tensing at the hand on his back, he turned to face the redhead for a moment. "Of course." Pursing his lips, he made no bones about hiding his dissapointment while wondering if she was talking about Li or the ghosts. He hoped it was the ghosts. The next distraction was stranger still, leaving Damian gaping at the new girl. Unfortunately he had no idea what she could do with her abilities but evidently she wasn't doing it. "Whatever you're doing, make it fast!" Raising his right arm, he held his palm out to release a bolt of green lightning, gritting his teeth as he directed it to the closest ghost, intent on immediately ricocheting it should it land.

There was a slight “clack” as the pebble fell into the fire. For a moment nothing happened, although Joey could feel something stirring deep within himself and also in the very room around him. It was an odd feeling, though he did not have much time to think about it before a sudden rushing sound, like the sound of rain began to fill the room around him. The fire’s light changed, flickering erratically as if it had some sort of sentience to its form. The fire twisted and coiled as it raised from the cauldron taking shape as a treble clef as it floated in the air for a few moments, the sound of a beating drum reverberating throughout the room. Just as suddenly, the fire fell back into the cauldron and all was quiet.

Deep within himself, Joey felt as if something had been unlocked. He could feel a sense of contentment – not his own – and turned to see Miss Rachel beaming at him.

“Your arte is Carminis,” she said with a smile, “Come along, I’ll show you what you need to know”

OOC: For the sake of wrapping this up we’ll do a time skip and have Joey learn the beginnings of his first few songs of power. Lol

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The ghostly knights rushed forward, failing to pay attention to the tiger as it flanked them. Their phantom blades were keen to strike their target, though the burst of flowers that filled the air disoriented them causing them to split up.

Using the petals as cover, Evelyn floated into the air while conjuring three wisps of light that spiralled around her as she levitated. To be honest, it was the first time in quite a while since she had summoned the wisps for something other than a makeshift flashlight. It was strange being in a battle again after spending an entire summer without monster hunting or demon slaying. Nevertheless, the thrill of it all was second nature to the girl.

“Divide and conquer,” commanded Adi as he summoned his karambit.

The first knight had stayed on its path and ran full force into the cingo ribbon. Its spectral energy bounded against the ribbon as it attempted to slash at it with its sword, falling backwards as it did.

The second ghostly knight had targeted Lotus swinging a medieval flail above its head. It swung at the tiger-girl, but its movements would prove too slow for the girl’s feline reflexes.

The third ghostly knight aimed for the glowing lights emitted by Evelyn. In truth, Evelyn had anticipated this and landed on the ground, dismissing her wisps as the knight came into striking distance.

“Ad arma,” she said with a smile as her rapier appeared in her hands, and she rushed forward crossing blades with the spectre.

------------------------------------------

The lightning arched through the air as it struck the closest ghost to the group and ricocheted onto the next one. They both staggered momentarily as the ghostly electricity travelled through their incorporeal forms. The third ghost knight, wielding a monstrous axe, burst through the two ghosts that had been delayed, setting its sights on Id.

“Antilita, as part of your training, you’re going to need to be on your toes” instructed Li “Dodge the ghosts and grab a weapon. Once you have claimed it, you’ll be able to summon it forth at any moment by saying ‘Ad arma’”

By this point, the other two ghosts had regained their composure and were both now tailing after Tilly as she ran.

“Damian, cover Antilita as she retrieves a weapon!” commanded Li.


-------------------------------------

The knight swatted at Phora as she clawed at it with her razor-sharp claws. It conjured a shield while its sword grew longer in its other hand. Bracing itself, the knight ran for Alice, nimble on its feet and ready for swordplay.

The second knight found that it had been frozen in place by the young phoenix’s powers. This made it an easy target for Fiona as she conjured her chains and bound it in place. The chains coiled about the knight as if it were a snake. Fortunately for her, Daniel was covering her back, for the third knight had been approaching from behind. His magicked pillar of fire flew across the ground into the path of the knight, setting the ghost alight as it fought the magical flames.

“Phew, thanks!” smiled Fiona as she fought to keep the chains in place.

Tsubaki gave a slight smile as her sigils went off. Not a year ago she couldn't even activate one without touch or command and now she could fire them off rapidly. This academy and club really had been a great thing for her, as had her confidence when she returned home since now she could wield a weapon and strike without too much hesitation. Seeing her target stumble she step inwards towards him, her forward hand stabbing at his chest and back hand sweeping around for a swipe across his belly while letting go of her two sigils.

---

He says that like this is all part of the plan. Tilly thought to herself. She was debating whether it would be more annoying if what he said was true or more annoying if it was made up on the spot as she began her sprint away from the ghosts. She was relying on the lightning guy to be Damian, since his light show seemed to be able to stun them before, as she wasn't sure she'd be able to out run them and wouldn't be looking back to tell.

Her first obstacle would be door. She'd already been taught this lesson today: doors, bad. So she threw it open with all her force. Perhaps too much force as she must have bent it out of shape or something since it wouldn't go back into place when she tried. Seeing the state of pursuit she instead went deeper into the armory, and as she passed various weapon racks she stopped for a moment thinking aloud briefly on each one.

Swords: "No, I need something to offset my short reach." She used her power to damage the wooden frame holding them.
Spears: "No, these would be too precise, I need something I can just throw around or something!" She noted the spears sat straight up while noting nothing was holding them from falling out except their own balance, slightly askew from her throwing open the door moments before.

Similar out bursts and set-ups went for the axes and daggers, maces and bows until finally she found it. Adorned on a plaque on the wall. A mighty 2 handed warhammer, metal throughout from head to shaft, the weapon of a fierce warrior. The little girl took it off the wall with only a bit of a huff with her one hand and looked at it like one might examine a croquet mallet.

"Excellent! Welding a hammer fit for Ajax I can't miss hitting something if I tried." She let the mass of metal casually fall into her other hand as she turned back to face any approaching threat.

While the feeling of his lightning flowing again for combat was exhilarating to some degree, it was offset by the third ghost charging directly for Id. Instinct compelled him to direct his palm towards the aggressor but spite made him wonder if he should really do anything for Id right now. As far as he was concerned, she could probably handle it. Luckily Li made up his mind for it. "Kinda figured on that" mumbled Damian as he took off after the two ghosts pursuing Antilita.

Rather than just fire at them straight away, the next bolt he cast was arced to zig zag around them and hopefully deter their advance before he tried looping it back to strike them again. Whether he landed or not, he heeded his apparent secret admirer's command and called out "Ad arma" in the midst of his pursuit, gripping the axe in his hands firmly, and feeling a tad intimidated at the broken door left in the wake of the little girl.

Despite her senses being thrown off by the strong scent of flower petals, Lotus was prepared. Dot closed in on Lotus's aggressor staying low to the ground and using the petal storm as cover. As the flail swung at the young girl everything seemed to slow as she side stepped it. Rather than using her katana, Lotus slashed at the being with her claws. After slashing and moving around the ghostly figure Lotus ducked. That's when the tiger came. Dot lunged over Lotus at the knight ready to maul him. The movements of the duo were quick and synced with little room for error, the two knowing one another's thoughts without much need for communication.

---

Id sat on the floor eating s'mores. Listening to other using ad arma she couldn't help but smile. All these people needing to use weapons against the ghosts. She chuckled to herself before summoning her flask with Ad Arma. She toasted to herself before looking up. From behind her campfire she could see the form of a knight running towards her.

Sigh "You guys are failing at your jobs. Seriously, if I was a weakling like you all I'd be getting an axe in my shoulder."

She took a big swig of her flask before spraying it through the small fire she had made. A cone of flame shot out the other side toward the knight.

The knight was stunned at the efficacy that Tsubaki was able to slice at it. Both the initial stab and the proceeding swipe made quick work of the knight; the iron of the weapon effortlessly pierced through the spectre. It faded back beyond the veil, defeated, as a shower of sparkles from her sigils faded around the girl.

Lotus’ claws sparked along the edges of the phantom’s armour as it tried to sideswipe her once more with his flail. However, when Dot had attacked, the knight was quite assuredly overwhelmed by their synchronised attacks. The knight wrestled with the tiger as it pounced upon it. The tiger’s spectral claws ripping through the armour. Eventually the knight had to surrender, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Evelyn fought fluidly with the rapier, incorporating her ability to fly to catch the knight of guard as it swung its blade. Had she summoned her glaive, she would have made quick work of the knight, but she relished the challenge. Evelyn launched herself into the air, while conjuring a wisp that exploded with brilliant light. Dashing forward, she stabbed the knight through its armour while it was distracted by the brilliant light. Immediately, the knight faded out of existence.

“Excellent work,” commended Adi with a curt nod. These three had grown a lot since the year he had last met them: Tsubaki exuded an air of confidence; Lotus seemed much more mature; and Evelyn had an astute control over her powers.

---------------------------------

Damian’s manoeuvre was sound, for the ghosts avoided the electrical blasts as they arched through the air around them. Now they realized that they were surrounded as Antilita turned to face the pair, with Damian blocking the rear and Li coming from another angle, his feet glowing with blue energy as he ran. The ghosts, however, were not going to give up without a fight. They dug their heels in and braced themselves with their swords back to back, waiting for the attack.

“Now!” yelled Li as he jumped into the air to land a flying kick against the knight closest to Antilita.

The fire only seemed to slow down the knight. It moved out of the path of the flame, its armour having grown red hot in the wake of Id’s alcohol induced blaze. The spectral knight once more charged at the girl, its axe lowered this time to stay light on its toes.

----------------------------------

“And there you go” stated Miss Rachel with a gentle smile “I feel like those are a few good songs to begin with” she said to Joey. The boy could somehow feel that she was genuinely proud of him. This new uncanny sense of knowing what Miss Rachel was constantly feeling was jarring, though also exciting.
“I know,” she said as if reading his thoughts “Your empathic powers are an instrumental part of your arte. Feelings and emotions are how you interact with the spirit world as a Carminis disciple”

Suddenly, there was the sound of laughter. It was childlike, with a mischievous air. Miss Rachel turned on her heels to see where it was coming from, but there was no one there. While her powers were not at their full capacity, there was no way that there was a ghost nearby and she hadn’t sensed its presence.

“Joey,” she said sternly, a sense of apprehension filling the air, “Go to the armoury and collect a weapon”

Phora whined as the ghost knight swatted at her, trying to get a few good claw marks in. She nearly threw a fit when it turned away from her towards Alice, who watched it conjure a shield and enlargen its sword by a great deal. The totem suddenly stepped back in the air and smiled with a sly glint in her eye as she waited for the right moment, as it turned and began to charge her master. She snapped her fingers -sort of- and stepped forward, creating a powerful cancerjin spell that may have been a large bit overestimated by the fairy. All she had meant to do was cause the spectral knight to fumble and misstep, but she noticed the kind of bad luck it could cause was capable of all sorts of crazy mishaps, directed at the knight.

Alice flipped her shimmering steel sword around in her hands and was in tandem with Phora, enough to notice her servant grievously overdoing the simple bad luck charm. As she prepared to juke the enormpus knight's likely shield bash or stab attempt, she knew Phora gad gone to sulk in the corner for a while, without even glancing over. She put her mind through the motions of finishing the knight off after the juke, although imperfectly due to their mutual guilty worries of what might befall the knight.

The second ghost remained stuck to the ground, which left Sorbet pleased as he turned midair and did another pass of icing over the ghost, trying to thoroughly ensure it was frozen in place. It knew it had much to learn, and so it finished the pass by landing on a knight's armor stand and glanced at Daniel and the third knight.

Daniel couldn't help but feel pity for the ghastly man as he fought against the blaze. It seemed he was in great pain. Daniel drew the shortsword he had held onto for the past year, and did not hold it like a novice as he quickly leapt into action to try and finish off the knight. As he charged towards the knight he looked at the man's spirit through his visor, and his face was grimly guilty and filled with sorrow. "We've made winning everything! What if it was us in your shoes? For this cruelty, your struggling grasps will haunt me! But this will make you stop suffering!' He swung the blade around and tried bringing it down in a death blow with both hands.

And suddenly Antilita was cornered, however she was not at a disadvantage, as the knights' foolhardy chase of her left them surrounded and in her trap. She didn't really know the finer points of hammer combat but she understood that when a heavy thing is swung fast it tends to hurt, so that's what she did. With wide motions she swept the hammer back and forth at leg level to the knights and slamming into tables and stands, not aiming so much as covering as much territory as possible.

---

With a small bow to the dispatched specter Tsubaki dismissed her weapons. It seemed as though her group had been the first to take out their squad of ghosts, so she moved off to one side to give the rest of the combatants room. She mused out loud, "I wonder if we should help them out."

Damian waited at first. With Antilita still in the armory and Li on the approach, it seemed like they were going to have the upper hand, a notion that was reinforced when the girl within the armory wielded the very warhammer he'd once passed up and was wielding it with ease. Caught between warily tensing in preparation to strike and staring at the scene in disbelief, Li's command sprung him into action. Antilita swinging with such a wide range and Li attacking the closest ghost suggested the only reasonable next step as Damian suddenly vanished, then dashed forth and swung horizontally at the other ghost knight's head.

Lotus looked around as Dot dispatched the poor knight. As she noticed the others in combat she heard Tsubaki speak.
"Do you think we need to? They have Id."

---
Id let out another sigh at the knight.
"Really man? that persistent?" As if on cue Ego swooped down and began to release a think smog into the room. After a small delay the smog touched the fire igniting it with an echoing explosion.

Learning music was familiar territory for Joey, and he found the task comforting while he was adjusting to the surprise of realizing he could actually sense what Miss Rachel was feeling. While having some kind of supernatural ability was cool, there was something unnerving about sensing emotions that he knew weren't his own.

The unexplained laughter was extremely unnerving, and being able to feel that Miss Rachel was just as surprised by it as Joey was did little to comfort him. He dashed out in search of the armoury as Miss Rachel had instructed, then froze up as he realized that the rest of the club members were in the main hall, apparently fighting ghosts. He could get a general sense of emotions he'd describe as 'aggressive' from the group, though nothing specific he could pick out.

Of course, the fight was in between him and the armoury. Joey mulled over his options briefly. The ghosts seemed preoccupied with the students they were already fighting, so he could probably sneak around. Or he could wait for the fight to end, since the other club members looked like they were winning. A third option slowly dawned in his mind. He'd started to learn those new songs, so this would be an ideal opportunity to try one out, right?

If he paralyzed the ghosts, he could walk on over to the armoury no problem, and the other club members would probably appreciate the help. Mind made up, Joey started to sing Ajabu, the Song of Wonder, brow furrowing as he tried to remember how the song went. He made his way over to the armoury as he sang, walking at a steady pace to ensure he had enough breath to continue singing and trying to stay as far away from the fight as possible.

Alice’s flourishes with her sword of iron pierced through the shield of the knight and the phantom phased away like a cloud of mist as she withdrew her sword and returned to a neutral stance. Likewise, Daniel was able to best the spirit with his short sword as he swung his sword, the iron cleaving through the spectral armour as he swung it through the air.

Fiona, alone with Sorbet and the final knight, summoned her morning star as she dispelled her chains. Frozen in place, by the ice-phoenix, she swung the medieval weapon over her head as she prepared to strike the frozen ghost. With a grunt she swung and struck the exposed body that had not been covered in ice and the spirit faded away.

“Awesome!” cheered Fiona, jumping abnormally high with the help of her abilities. She took note that Adi, Lotus, Tsubaki and Evelyn had already completed their training just moments before. She couldn’t help but feel slightly envious of their skill. Still, she was glad to be on the team.

-------------------------------------------------------

Antilita’s strength was a sight to behold, for the girl wielded the hammer with great ferocity. Li flew through the air, his foot, imbued with spectral energy, and struck the knight in its chest as it turned to face the young man. The kick was sufficient enough to push the spectre into the path of the tiny tornado. The armour crumbled, quite shockingly, as it met with the force of the iron hammer and dissipated back beyond the veil

“Great hit, Tilly!” encouraged Li as he landed from a backwards flip away from the remaining knight.

In the meantime, the other knight stood on its guard as Damian disappeared. Of course, it was not prepared for Damian’s attack – for in the next moment, it faded away, defeated after having been hit by Damian’s iron ax.

----------------------------------------------

The sudden explosion drew all eyes to the centre of the room where Id now stood. The room had grown eerily quiet, everyone quite shocked at the sudden explosion, but suddenly, they heard singing. It was a bit difficult to see, as smoke filled the air – only Evelyn’s orbs of conjured light provided some illumination to her team’s corner.

As the smoke began to settle, they could make out the figure of Joey as he walked towards the armoury. The ghost’s armour was badly scorched by the phoenix, but something seemed quite unusual about its behaviour. It seemed transfixed, as if suspended in time, its axe raised in the air mid-strike above Id. In the meantime, the song echoed about the room. Although it did not have the same impact on the children as it did on the ghost, they couldn’t help but marvel at the song on an emotional level. Once Joey got inside the armoury, he would see a number of medieval weapons fashioned with iron.

“I’ve never met a Carminis before” noted Evelyn aloud as she dispelled her orbs and floated into the air cross-legged. While the Disciples of Carminis were not necessarily rare, the disciples she had spent most of her childhood were usually geared to combat, power or prestige. This was different. It reminded her of the effect her sister had on surrounding nature. An arte that brought forth beauty.

Dispelling the sense of wonder that had filled the children – for in truth, Joey had accidentally lightly enchanted his peers with the new rawness of his abilities – a rumbling beneath their feet began to become more and more apparent.

Miss Rachel ran into the room, a sword in her hand. “Children!” she yelled “Brace yourselves!”

The ground began to shake violently, but no enemy appeared. The earth quaked beneath and around them. Weapons and all manner of objects fell from the walls as the ground shook.

“Quick! In here!” commanded Adi, as he directed the students into the armoury after Joey. The last ghost had long since disappeared once the rumbling began. Miss Rachel was the last to enter the room as the world trembled around them.

“My lady,” spoke Sir William softly, reappearing from the shadows “I do not have the strength to stop the shaking”

“Don’t worry about us” she replied, “It’ll be over shortly” The lights in the s**** had gone out as the ground shook around them, to which Evelyn conjured an orb of light. A myriad of expressions could be seen on the children’s faces in the dim light as the earth churned. Fiona gripped Lotus’s hand in fright. Adi stood protectively by Li who hovered slightly off of the ground as he worried about the rest of the team. Evelyn focused on keeping the orbs lit as she floated above the group.

Then there was silence.

The earthquake had stopped.

“Quickly,” suddenly spoke Miss Rachel “We have to get back above ground” she said while ushering the students back to the club meeting room. The room upstairs had likely seen a similar level of disarray. Books had fallen from the bookshelves but there was no real damage sustained to the room nor the school.

“Attention Arclight Academy, this is Headmaster Berkham. Do not be alarmed, we have experienced an earthquake, please evacuate the premises and we shall evaluate whether the structural integrity of the school has been compromised”

OOC: May have quick follow-up posts for this one.

As Lotus replied, Tsubaki noticed Id sigh and Ego start spewing smog. Knowing where it was going she shook her head at the other girl and said, "I don't know why I even asked." And clapped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes. Upon removing them she heard, oddly enough, singing instead of the groans of the maimed. As Evelyn astutely pointed out, it appeared the new boy was a Carminis. Tsubaki gave a big smile at the fact, though a moment later she wasn't sure why and nervously readjusted her demeanor.

"Aaah," Antilita said with a dismissive wave and a sweet smile, "We all have our moments. Wouldn't have done half as well without your risky kick past the knight trying to hit you into the one facing me. Also it's Antilita. No offense, but Tilly's for friends and I kind of barely know you. But seriously thanks!"

That's when Joey appeared at the door to the armory, looking like he was in deep thought about something, probably the state of the room if not maybe what he'd just been singing about outside right before he got there. "Hey Joey. I see you went with the 'learn fast' route. Good choice! Uh, parden the mess, I'm new here hehe." Her genuine laugh starkly contrasting the situation they were about to be in.

No sooner had Tsubaki resettled than had Miss Rachel came into the room with a warning and weapon. Instinctual energy pooled into Tsubaki's figure tips, though it would be her feet about to do the heavy lifting and the ground began to shake and the girl barely caught herself from falling by practically throwing herself at the nearby wall. Quickly understanding what was happening she summoned Lux and dashed clumsily to the armory where Adi was calling from. Once inside she saw all manners of thing scattered about in the light of Evelyn's wisps, and for some reason the new girl apologizing, "Sorry, sorry I didn't know I was strong enough to cause an earthquake, sorry!" Before catching a falling blade with her bare hand and shakily setting it aside. She didn't know the girl's power but with Miss Rachel's reaction she doubt that girl had caused this.

Not longer after it had started the shaking stopped. Under the direction of Miss Rachel the children were ushered upstairs, Tsubaki standing at the base to provide light at the steps and warning, "Be careful, there could be aftershocks after a quake that bad, make sure to be aware of your footing and those around you." She had heard something similar before when she was younger, though she was translating it on the fly. Antilita nodded when she heard the other girl, her adrenaline from battle starting to fade as she realized that what had actually happened. Noticing she still had the hammer she causiously set it to the side of the door in the light of the lantern.

Damian released a wave of relief in one deep, profound sigh. "Thank God ghosts don't have blood and guts anymore." His little comment was immediately followed by a significantly less relieved one. "Christ!" Flinching from the explosion, Damian followed rational human protocol by ducking down slightly until he actually caught wind of Idelia, somewhere amongst all that smoke. The singing, moving as it was, proved to be quite baffling, atleast until he noticed Joey walking over. Idly stepping aside with no small amount of wonder, he mumbled to himself "Carminis?" Preoccupied with trying to figure out what kind of arte that was and only coming to a conclusion that it had something to do with singing, Damian didn't notice the rumbling immediately. As soon as he did, he cautiously stepped into the armory. When Miss Rachel practically charged in to the room, he put the appropriate amount of spring in his step, looking over all the weapons uneasily, then trying to sense the area. Damian swiftly gave up on that when Adi corralled the entirety of the club into the armory, staying wary.

Once the lights had gone out, his hands twitched with the desire to act but considering the circumstances he was better off letting Evelyn light the room for them. Quite frankly, there wasn't much he could do. In the dim lighting, his expression was tense and anxious, sharply glancing over all the students as the rumbling passed. His eyes widened at the blade Tilly catched, then he nervously glanced up without tilting his head, fondling the bauble in his pocket. "Somehow I don't think that was you!" He exclaimed shortly before it ended. The ensuing silence felt deafening as far as the hectic beating of his heart was concerned. Not very interested in lingering underground after an earthquake, Damian was happy to head upstairs. Already feeling leagues more soothed by the lack of sharp objects, Damian's body loosened up. "Maybe, but we're already way better off than in that deathtrap. Is this even a site of seismic activity? These aren't the kinds of things I look up about cities to be honest."