Origin: A Night to Remember

Magic is Real.

We fly over oceans, hold the sum of all recorded knowledge in our hands, and speak with relatives halfway across the world without leaving our chairs. Magic isn't just flying on broomsticks or calling down fire from the Heavens. Magic is limited only by your Imagination, and your Will to make it manifest. There's a battle going on over the nature of Reality and Mankind itself. Pretend it isn't there, or get involved and forge the Future you envision.

Welcome to the Ascension War.

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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by ManWithDoor » Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:04 pm

The young man with the cellphone hurriedly jerks it back, blocking June's view of the screen further. "Wait, what?" He stares at the attractive lady that just barged in, gawking for a moment. Then his brain seems to kick in. "Really? She said that? Alright! You're the best. I totally owe you a drink." He puts his phone away, slicks back his hair, and heads right for the dance floor. The other two chuckle, muttering something about having to see this, and follow after him, bringing the drinks along. Within a few seconds, the table has opened up.
June: Charisma (4) + Empathy (2) = 6 Dice. TN is 6 (more or less the "Standard Difficulty"). Rolled 1, 10, 9, 5, 10, 10. The dice loved you! 4 Successes - 1 "Natural 1" = 3 net Successes. Everything goes great!
Dexter watches in wry amusement as his friend works her magic. Whether on the stage or in person, her natural charisma shines through and people listen to her. The breeze from the opened door cuts off, and the latest newcomer to the Nightclub wends his way through the crowd, looking for a seat. He's dressed like a professional businessman, none of this tech-nerd chic that's so popular in Silicon Valley. He's in a black suit and tie, narrow face, pale skin, pecking away at his PDF with a stylus. His glasses look a little off, perhaps one of those Google "Glass Explorers" still trying to push that tech dream. He finds a seat at a table with another group that ignores him. Dexter finds the man utterly boring, and his attention turns back to June as the table has been cleared. Her cheeky grin shines even from all the way across the room.
Dexter Rolls: Alertness is for general Notice/Spot/Listen rolls. Awareness is for seeing if you feel anything supernatural/weird about someone. Just in case you mean the latter, I'll do both:

Perception (3) + Alertness (2) = 5 Dice. TN is 6 (Standard Difficulty). Rolled 5, 9, 4, 7, 6. 3 Successes. Got a lot of detail on his physical description and where he went.

Perception (3) + Awareness (2) = 5 Dice. TN is 8 (Didn't come near you, it's dark, there's a hundred other people around you). Rolled 5, 6, 3, 1, 4. 0 Successes - 1 "Natural 1". A Botch! Damnit, this isn't on a Spellcasting Roll or something awesome. Just a "I've Got A Bad Feeling About This" Roll. Even if he was an Outsider or a Sidhe Queen in disguise, you'd find him as non-magical and boring as dirt.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Hayabusa
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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by Hayabusa » Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:45 pm

"You be sure that I'll come back to you on this," June says with a wink as the table is cleared. After taking a step out the way to let the three leave, she just pushes the bottles to the side of the table and clears it of anything else before sitting down. The charmer turns her attention to Dexter with a cheeky grin and waves him over as she watches the students heading for the crowds. "Got us a cozy spot, handsome, why don't you join me now?"
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"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by Hermit » Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:43 am

Dexter replies to June's charms with a flat look, sparing a fleeting glance in the direction of the peculiar newcomer before proceeding over into the vacated booth. Almost instantly the background noise seems to ebb away into a minor thrum, allowing some measure of composure to assert itself into Dexter's otherwise disheveled appearance and posture.

His eyes swim in a blurry haze for a moment, a stab of pain rushing through his head swiftly accompanied by starbursts of color to break the muted grey of their surroundings. Placing a steadying hand on the table, the sharply dressed man takes several deep breaths. Eventually the pain recedes or at the very least becomes tolerable enough for him to resume interaction with June and engage in the task at hand. "Apologies, seems I'm starting to pay for my excess... shouldn't interfere with this too much though."

Teasing his hair back into some vague semblance of stylish smoothness, Dexter wastes little time in producing a silk bag onto the table. Not bothering with the usual pomp and ceremony that he would normally attach to the ritual, the half-Romani loosens the draw strings and lets its contents spill out.

Though slightly worn at the edges from frequent use, the cards remain in relatively pristine condition. Not that it will matter after this. Only slightly larger than an average playing card, the cards display beautifully drawn symbols and pictograms across their surfaces. Quickly gathering up the cards sprawled across the table, Dexter skillfully assembles the deck into an orderly stack with practiced ease, then casually slides the deck over to June. "I suck at this part and I've seen you enough times to know you're a natural pro, so if you'll do the honors while I explain a few things, we can get this started."

Gesturing to the stack laid out before June, Dexter leans back slightly and watches expectantly with a contemplative look in his eye.
Just for visual reference, I decided to go with a version of the deck called the Archeon Tarot deck. Has a very World of Darkness look to the imagery of the cards in my opinion. Look it up if you're curious.
''At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.'' - Lao-Tzu

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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by ManWithDoor » Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:04 pm

The corner booth serves its purpose admirably. The pulsing of the music seems to recede, the sight of the dancers blocked just enough to give at least an illusion of privacy and intimacy. Both of you can feel the natural wood beneath your hands, kept clean by hundreds of passes of a cloth each day. The leather of the booth feels comfortable, relaxing you just a bit from the chaos and madness before.
I looked up images of the Archeon Tarot. It looks amazing! I'll have to get images of each card and keep them in a folder for use later.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by Trogdor » Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:16 pm

If you get images of each card, you can make your own deck in Roll20. I did that with my critical hit and critical fumble cards in a Pathfinder game.

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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by Hayabusa » Thu Aug 25, 2016 8:10 pm

"Are you sure?" June asks with a grin. "Because you and I know that I can do a lot of things with a deck of cards. Might not be as complete as it was before you put it down or maybe it's a completely different one. And all your own magic's gonna be gone too," she adds with a wink and sighs in mock defeat as she takes the cards of the table. With a quick look at one of the cards. "If you actually want to burn them, I'd rather take it. They look quite nice."

With little more than a shrug and leaning back against the leather, the young stage magician begins to shuffle the cards. She holds the deck in her left, middle finger on the top corner and thumb on the bottom, and just pivots one half around. "I did not interrupt anything when I came over, did I?" She asks as she continues for a moment before beginning to change from cutting the stack of cards up in three instead of just two halves. "Aside from what seems to be quite the dark mood", June explains a faint concern in her voice. For a moment her eyes trail to Dexter's side to an empty space on the other side of the booth before quickly returning to his. "I'm always there to talk if you need it. You can call me any time and I can listen or speak," for a moment she seems absent minded and begins to cut the tarot cards not with both hands but only one as she leans to the side to pull out her cell phone. "Unless you did..." she mutters more to herself as the cards continue their dance in her left as she takes a quick look at the screen before putting it away again to look up to Dexter.

"Alright, no games here though," she smiles, letting concern drop from her expression and changes her shuffling from the fancy looking type to simpler and more effective method, divvying up the deck in two and riffles them together for half a minute. She sets the deck down on the table just in the middle between the two of them. "Want me to take off one part too?"
Yeah, they look really nice!

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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by Hermit » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:36 pm

Dexter merely rolls his eyes at June's coyness and says, "As long as you don't go trying to ask me for pointers, I could care less whether you take them or not. Like I said, after this, I'm done. I've wasted enough of my life chasing fantasies." The last part of his declaration is said with a look that brooks no further argument on the subject.

Adjusting for the sake of comfort, Dex watches on with a flicker of mild interest as his companion shuffles the cards with hands that Dexter swears were born for sleights. Even his late mother, rest her soul, exhibited nowhere near the same degree of aptitude as June did when it came to the art of card shuffling. A shame. Probably would make a killing as a dealer in some ritzy casino. 'Stead she's wasting it on sidewalk parlor tricks.
Hayabusa wrote:"I did not interrupt anything when I came over, did I?" She asks as she continues for a moment before beginning to change from cutting the stack of cards up in three instead of just two halves. "Aside from what seems to be quite the dark mood", June explains with faint concern in her voice. "I'm always there to talk if you need it. You can call me any time and I can listen or speak," for a moment she seems absent minded and begins to cut the tarot cards not with both hands but only one as she leans to the side to pull out her cell phone. "Unless you did..." she mutters more to herself as the cards continue their dance in her left as she takes a quick look at the screen before putting it away again to look up to Dexter.
Perceptive enough to not be dazzled by the display and tune in on June's concerned query, the thought to stonewall her or give his signature poker face occurs to him. It is not in his habit to shoulder others with his burdens. Instead, perhaps more affected by the genuine care that June expresses than he cares to admit or perhaps simply too drunk to put up an emotionless bulwark, Dexter chooses to reply. "It's just that-"
Hayabusa wrote:"Alright, no games here though,"
And just like that the desire to wax poetic about his grievances gutters out like a candle in a hurricane. It's better this way. he decides wearily. No need to spoil her fun with my petty woes. Shaking himself from his inner thoughts, Dexter hears out June's proposition and gives her a slight nod as he adds, "Think carefully on your question before you finish. Or don't, doesn't matter to me."

Giving more than ample enough time for June to collect her thoughts and formulate her questions, Dexter eventually receives the deck and clumsily shuffles the cards a little before laying the deck down in front of him. "Okay, we're going to perform the standard Celtic Cross spread, nothing fancy about it." Taking a deep breath of the club's mixture of must, beer and various clashing perfumes and colognes in an attempt to compose himself, smoky green eyes flick upward to lock with the eyes of the person across the table. "What is your question?"
''At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.'' - Lao-Tzu

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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by Hayabusa » Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:13 pm

Hermit wrote:Dexter chooses to reply. "It's just that-"
Noticing too late that she just talked over Dexter she wonders if she is already drunk a bit too much or if her own train of thought could not have stopped for a moment. Before speaking she butes her lower lip for a second and considers to inquire about what he had to say. It would be the right thing to do to hear what's bothering him. He may even be worse off than she is able to perceive and she thinks she can be rather perceptive. Maybe...

Before she can question herself too much at more ways to pick up whatever Dexter wanted to breach the voice of reason in her own mind pushes her forward as it often does.

"Nothing fancy is goid with me," June says wuth a smirk. "I don't want to see if this may still bring a smile to your face and your feet dancing. Alright, when you glimpse into your cards I want to know how I can serve others with the gifts I have?" The young stage magician asks and expectantly glances back and forth between the tarot its interpreter.
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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by Hermit » Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:48 pm

You don't need a reading to know the answer to that. Drop the sideshow act and get a real job's the obvious answer. Were he not a man of his word, that would have been the intended response. Not one to lightly back away from his promises however, Dexter acknowledges June's question with a nod and lays a hand on the deck. Rather than flip the card as one might normally do with a playing card, the card is removed from the deck in a motion reminiscent of how one might turn the page of a book.

Dexter glances only briefly at the card before laying it in the center of the table, allowing both sets of eyes to appraise the card's identity.
So, @ManWithDoor how would you like this to play out exactly? Do you want me to decide what cards are drawn throughout the reading, or would you prefer to influence the outcome somehow? I'm all eyes for whatever decision you think is most appropriate in this instance.
''At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.'' - Lao-Tzu

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Re: Origin: A Night to Remember

Post by ManWithDoor » Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:17 am

From the moment Dexter's eyes focus on the card, he feels something shift. For a moment he wonders if maybe a small quake shook the table, or someone kicked the table, but instead he feels like a doorway has opened in his mind. Before him, lies the Tarot of The Tower.
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"The first Card of the Celtic Cross is supposed to represent The Present," he hears himself say. Destruction. Upheaval. Ruination. Sudden and violent change. He's seen this card many times before, but for the first time it really hits him. How tired and brittle his life is. How easily a single nudge could push him right over the edge. Maybe tonight is the night he finally ends it, whatever that might mean. Or perhaps the destruction could make way for something new, wiping the slate clean of what came before that rotted and Fell.

He feels his face heating up, and it's not the room. The room beyond the table fades just a little. It's isn't important. What's important is what he is seeing and feeling at this moment. He feels his hand reach out and turn over the next card, placing it perpendicular and on top of the first. "The second represents The Challenge, what's the immediate problem." What he sees is The Fool, inverted.
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Foolishness. Inhibition. Creative energy wasted. A damning statement of denial of potential. It's strange. The reading was supposed to be about June, about how she could give to the world. But it is now clear that Dexter is seeing his own present and problems, his own life spelled out in front of him clearer than a banner. Even more importantly, it isn't just seen, it's felt. Piercing through his bitterness, intoxication, and depression, he feels light and power before him.

It is now clear to him that perhaps for the very first time, the Cards are speaking to him. The table seems to become ever-so-slightly translucent, and below the Reading, maybe just as a ghost of a thought, he sees a Tarot Card, alight with a roaring flame.
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June gets a Perception (2) + Awareness (1) Roll at TN 8 to feel something clearly magical going on: 2,5,5. Nope! Just your mundane perceptions helping you on this one, going by what you see and whatever Dexter decides to say before I continue the Vision / Reading.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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