OoC [Mage the Awakening] "After the 2003 Hoax"

[SixFootChicken]

I have a question. This PbP game is labelled with "Mage the Ascension", but it appears you are using Awakening? I am asking because it is virtually impossible to find Ascension games anymore, sadly.

[Cire]

It is an Awakening game. I am so sorry for having created false hope. May you find what you seek.

[egreham]

@Esuna

UPDATE!

[egreham]

Halfway I was writing the whole betrayal drama with Hei and Hoplite from Hei's and Miss Watson's perspectives, I was like "... Why are they go so far when they have enough evidence already? I forgot what they were supposed to get from playing their little Prohibition murder thing." Then I realized I didn't want to scrap it so I did anyways.

[Esuna]

Halfway I was writing the whole betrayal drama with Hei and Hoplite from Hei's and Miss Watson's perspectives, I was like "... Why are they go so far when they have enough evidence already? I forgot what they were supposed to get from playing their little Prohibition murder thing." Then I realized I didn't want to scrap it so I did anyways.

I like it too. I just figured they were pushing to make sure he wasn't going Mad, too.

[Cire]

Great stuff! It will be great to see what happens!

[egreham]

Bio update

Hannae Li
"Hei"
Age: 26

Katleen Ulestra
“Miss Watson”
Location: Canada
Age: 20-ish
Order: Adamantine Arrow
Virtue: unknown
Vice: Envy

Katleen was a single child living with her maternal family due to her father’s absence. Due to her mother’s family’s negative view of her vagabond father, she was either sympathized as a victim of the whole affair or alienated as a child born under non-matrimonial circumstances. Although not mistreated, Katleen was alone, and kept mostly to herself, to her mother, and to her books from the family private collection, her (temporary) favorites being Conan Doyle’s Sherlock.

When Katleen was 14, she became lost in the woods and when night fell, descended into the Pandemonium. Soon after returning back from Awakening, she stumbled into wolves. Details aside, it drove her grandmother into a heart attack when Katleen came home at dawn with a pack of wolves at her side. When her father came back with his rare visits, it did not escape his attention that his biological daughter now controlled the supernal arts. He gave her the choice of apprenticeship at the cost of leaving her mother behind. Curious and tempted at the possibility of power, Katleen left with her father whom she trained under and entered the society of mages. She naturally joined the Adamantine Arrow as her father/mentor was.

Unsatisfied with a living centered on the politics of sorcerers, she left her father in interest of “diversifying her experience” and entered a prestigious mortal university suggested by her Free Council friends - or associates as she would call them. She studied for a major in technology, secretly tinkering with the combination of magic and machinery. However, after being released from a police investigation concerning bouts of suicides, she quitted the university and disappeared. Her father hired an Interfector to track her down and bring her back.

She was discovered in a state of disarray. She went through 4 mortal psychiatrists, all of them turned back less than a month, and outright refused when suggested a mage psychiatrist. Only after returning back to her mother and recuperating with her for almost a year did she come back to mage society. Soon after, she came across a struggling mage name Hei, whom she becomes partner with for the next 3 years. They later move base together to New Zealand as an operation force.

(Possible NPC just because)

Frederick von Gregore III
Mortal Name: “Harris Maxwell Sr”
Shadow Name: “Dutch”
Order: Guardian of the Veil

Not actually Dutch, but adopted the nickname in amusement of an assumption that he was one.
A renowned Interfector in the Washington “sector”
Adopted Otti and named him Harris.

Otti
Mortal Name: “Harris Maxwell Jr”/”Junior”
Shadow Name: “Harris”
Order: unknown

Suspected of insanity because of his magic vision.
Adopted by Dutch
Rescued Hannae and prevented a school shooting

*something I just did for fun)

[egreham]

@Esuna

Update. With this passage going on, I would like to finish this conversation in one big lump by knowing beforehand what questions will Hoplite ask Miss Watson.

As far as I know, Miss Watson will ask how Hoplite will care for his lodging and about his trauma.

[Esuna]

@Esuna

Update. With this passage going on, I would like to finish this conversation in one big lump by knowing beforehand what questions will Hoplite ask Miss Watson.

As far as I know, Miss Watson will ask how Hoplite will care for his lodging and about his trauma.

Demeanor-wise, Miss Watson's going to find him to be distracted and contemplative. The room will stink of magic, and his aura will be calm but determined.

Hrm, a list of questions.

"Who and what are you and Hei, exactly? How do you know Obadiah?"

"Who are the Guardians? Seers? The Free Council?" (the last one delivered with some shame, since he feels he should know better)

"Whom should I seek out, and whom should I avoid?"

"Is there anyone who can teach me... better control?"

"Why are you here, in New Zealand, anyway? What's driving you?"

"How am I to reach you?"

---

As far as lodging, he has enough to cover the next two weeks, and he already has the classifieds open and strewn about the bed. As for his trauma, he's used it in the past and been used by it. Attempting to control it has worked poorly, and avoiding it has been even worse. He's determined to face it. He hates it, and he's terrified that it's going to escape him someday and become something... real.

[Esuna]

Lovely post today, egreham. ^_^ Sorry to make you write so much, but conversations do seem to work out better this way.

[Cire]

It does seem to be a great method.

[egreham]

Now where to go...

[Esuna]

Hoplite gonna get a job and get paid. Any suggestions? I'm guessing dots in mind and space would make a good private investigator.

[Cire]

That sounds good, but setting up might take time. Not that presents any trouble.

[egreham]

Is there any non-spoiler reasons as to why Hei is connected with the Zodkin sword? The reason I had for Hei mentioning Zodkin was that their investigation on the Seer named Jones Codex and his mysterious mission reveals keywords regarding to the main focus of the story - which happens to be "chess" and "Zodkin" - upon their crackdown on his database.

Also, I was humoring the idea of killing Hei when Miss Watson was coming back.

It does seem to be a great method.

It's an okay method. It only works though when there is a clear purpose of the conversation and absolute guarantee that it won't get interrupted. Also, exchange of words between any more than two characters become exponentially complicated. The only way I can see that working without the laboriously long waits between each responsive posts is an IRC chat.

I utilized the method because I believed I had a good grasp of Hoplite's general vocabulary and behavior. But I have to confess that it was also out of fear that other people wouldn't get Hei and/or Miss Watson right.