Chapter 1: __________ is Magic

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.

Moderator: ManWithDoor

User avatar
Muskrat
Level 21 Elite
Level 21 Elite
Posts: 10513
Location: The Secret Places Beneath the Earth
Title: Keeper of the Hidden Word
User Class: Scholar

Re: Chapter 1: __________ is Magic

Post by Muskrat » Mon Nov 02, 2020 8:08 pm

Pixel yawns and says, "Well, if you want to stay up, I won't stop you. But I think I'll want to get some rest before I try to sort everything that happened."

User avatar
ManWithDoor
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9301
Location: California, USA
Title: Imperial Psyker
User Class: Imperial Psyker

Re: Chapter 1: __________ is Magic

Post by ManWithDoor » Fri Nov 06, 2020 3:59 am

Autumn seems alert and helpful manning the cameras, a comforting thought for those struggling to stay conversational or even awake after the day they've gone through. Feels like years instead. But the surroundings seem safe enough. And aside from the trusted-by-proxy friend of Geyser's, the individuals present have a shared experience, traumatic as it was, and came through it by working together and often selflessly helping other people.

No deity or invisible overseer forced those at the Manor to intercede on behalf of Hash of the Unifiers. You hadn't even heard of him and his politics yet. But as individuals and as a group you stepped in where an injustice was being served. The investigation stemming from that was difficult, frustrating, and often confusing. Conspiracy, mind control, manipulation - no one could have known how dangerous and how deep it went, and you could have given up at any time, or settle for only what you could easily find out. But you didn't. Recognizing the danger at the Council Meeting, you could have evacuated immediately. Let the senior Magi handle the threat, they're the experts anyways. But instead you risked life and limb to protect, to heal, to be nearly mortally wounded in thanks. Each person's reason is their own, but in each their character manifested in these actions. And the world was bettered by them.
Looks like the group is more exhausted than conversational, so I propose that people make a final summary of their evening, whether they stay quiet or open up, insights and questions, etc., and I'll move to the Epilogue of the Chapter, and we can close this out.

If however you truly do want to hash out your character's sorting through their trauma, please let me know and we can keep this evening going for as much time as you feel you need.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

User avatar
RorytheRomulan
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1836
Location: US

Re: Chapter 1: __________ is Magic

Post by RorytheRomulan » Fri Nov 06, 2020 8:39 am

Geyser tries to finish his food, but gives up and lays down on the mat. "Yeah. Gonna sleep now. Talk in the morning... Oh." He translates for Autumn, and she replies with "Yes". Hopefully, they wouldn't need him for anything they hadn't explained or written down before pizza came.

As he drifts off, he hears a muted bubbling of air pockets, which he finds calming. Occasionally, Autumn eyes the mages sleeping around her for a brief second before she refocuses on the monitors, unfazed by the passage of time.
I thought the players wanted a spot to officially end this chapter and go to the next one for its own sake. We can still talk in the morning about our vision of Hell and the next step, and any questions for the new guy. (and him for the others)

User avatar
Muskrat
Level 21 Elite
Level 21 Elite
Posts: 10513
Location: The Secret Places Beneath the Earth
Title: Keeper of the Hidden Word
User Class: Scholar

Re: Chapter 1: __________ is Magic

Post by Muskrat » Fri Nov 06, 2020 6:44 pm

Pixel yawns and says, "I'm going to turn in too. Sleep well." She feels slightly guilty for sleeping in her own bed when the others are sleeping on the couch or yoga mats, but it is her apartment after all.

As it turns out, she herself does not sleep well. She's too wound up and unnerved by all that has happened. As she lays down to try to sleep, the disturbing events replay themselves in her head. She sits up in bed, trying to process them with the help of meditation. After she's feeling a little calmer, she lays back down and eventually drifts off to sleep--but a sleep that is fitful and plagued by bad dreams.
I'm good with moving on. I enjoy character interaction, etc. in my RPGs, but I don't know that their best forum for exploring profound issues of psychological trauma.

User avatar
Karstil
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 81
Location: Winterthur

Re: Chapter 1: __________ is Magic

Post by Karstil » Fri Nov 13, 2020 8:22 pm

Ulrich was visibly refreshed after the shower, the pizza and a short smoke break. When the other two withdrew, he looked at Dexter.""Looks like it’s now just the two of us, you said you want to pur up your own wards. Do you want to talk after or do you prefer to think for yourself?" Ulrich will be awake for some time. If Dexter wants to talk then in conversation otherwise simply with a cup of relaxing tea, before he also will go to sleep.
I am also in favour of the option with the end of the chapter. I believe all trauma processing will occupy at least Ulrich even longer.

User avatar
Hermit
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1190
User Class: Trader

Re: Chapter 1: __________ is Magic

Post by Hermit » Sun Nov 22, 2020 5:53 am

As his Awakened associates slipped into a fitful slumber, Dexter remained wide awake well into the dead of night. Putting up the wards had proven to be simple enough when his life wasn’t in immediate danger as it turned out. His seemingly pleasant mood turned out to be little more than a facade to cover up his own personal trauma from tonight’s ordeal as evidenced by the pensive frown that supplanted his sardonic grin from earlier.

It was times like these where Dexter was grateful for his nocturnal nature. It made him feel useful in this particular instance, not to mention it gave him some much needed alone time to process the torrent of thoughts cascading through his mind without anyone distracting him. This was something that his fellow observer Autumn seemed to tacitly acknowledge, as she had scarcely spoken a word to the Orphan other than to request the occasional status update from his security feed and he vice versa. This arrangement suited Dexter just fine, and the fact that she remained unwearied this entire time was of immense help in shouldering the tedium of their shared vigil.
Karstil wrote:Ulrich was visibly refreshed after the shower, the pizza and a short smoke break. When the other two withdrew, he looked at Dexter. "Looks like it’s now just the two of us, you said you want to put up your own wards. Do you want to talk after or do you prefer to think for yourself?" Ulrich will be awake for some time. If Dexter wants to talk then in conversation otherwise simply with a cup of relaxing tea, before he also will go to sleep.
Mildly startled at this unexpected break in the companionable silence he’d eased himself into, Dexter raised his head up from the monitor he’d been closely watching to peer over his shoulder at the man responsible for disrupting it. Truth be told, he’d almost entirely forgotten about the priest tagging along with them up until this point. The plethora of traumas this evening combined with the lack of interaction on the holy man’s end might have factored heavily into this, though the Orphan suspected that his own troubled history was largely to blame as well.

A moment of silence stretched on, the half-roma staring unblinkingly at the priest. “I’ve already put up my wards,” replied Dexter tersely, “most likely whenever you were elsewhere or otherwise indisposed of. As for talking, well... after everything that’s happened tonight, talking is the last thing I’m interested in doing right now.” With nothing else to say to Ulrich, Dexter’s head slowly turned back towards the monitor in order to resume his surveillance of the security cam feeds.
''At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.'' - Lao-Tzu

Post Reply