@Expendable Stanley is good! I really enjoy the idea that gargoyles just kind of crop up on rooftops with enough magic associated with them. As a result, both libraries and churches are common birth places.
I'll add him to my relationship sheet, but just to say that Georgia is firmly unable to see him.
Is SEP a Hitchhiker's Guide reference?
We need to talk briefly about the telepathy, because this is something I wanted to touch on, but haven't gotten around to.
Magic that affects the minds of others has a lot of baggage around it, and many people consider it inherently "dark". Reading minds is an incredible invasion of privacy, obviously. But even sending telepathic messages can range from being considered very rude, to being considered a form of violence. The severity varies both on the exact nature and context of the contact, and personal opinion. Obviously there's a question of informed consent which can change the perception a great deal as well.
Of course, some magical creatures have such abilities natively, and how they are viewed varies in much the same way as humans using mind magic. Additionally, when it is a natural ability, there are going to be people who feel uncomfortable or even fearful around creatures like this. There are also people who are more understanding, and will be more patient(if somewhat on guard) about it.
In no way at all am I telling you not to include this in the character, but I want you to understand that it's a really touchy subject before you write scenes with the character. Because that's something that Stanley would certainly understand about the people around him.
Hey hey! Sorry for the delay - I've been sick, like I said. Aoife's sheet is up, along with her relationships.
No worries, I'm not stressing about pacing here. And honestly, I had some delays myself.
Name: Georgia Patricia Keen V Age: 25 Appearance: Taller than her father at 5’11”, Georgia is also broad shouldered. She has thick arms, with a soft layer of fat over them, and the same goes for her belly, bottom and thighs. She looks to be on the chubby side, but the muscle underneath is built on an active lifestyle, and physically arduous job. She has a round face, with soft features. She’s fair skinned, but with a slight ruddiness to her complexion, and has gray-blue eyes. Her hair is dirty blond, and is most commonly cut to a single length bob that falls around her neck. She wears a lot of denim, her favorite being bib overalls, usually worn with a T-shirt. If it’s warm and she's feeling adventurous, she might wear some denim shorts(or even Daisy Dukes!) but she often ends up feeling self conscious about her legs. If it’s cooler, she likes flannel too. At work, her attire is a set of mechanic’s coveralls in a deep indigo, with reflective patches on shoulders, around the middle, and around the cuffs of the legs.
Personality: She's awkward and self conscious, particularly regarding her size. Despite a lack of self confidence, she's very smart, and quite technically minded. Georgia speaks with the local Appalachian accent, which makes her feel low-brow around out-of-state students she encounters around town. Even though she's not the most outspoken(or perhaps because of that), she's very helpful, and often eager to please. Her size regularly tricks strangers into being intimidated by her, but most people find out pretty quickly that she’s a huge pushover. Georgia has basically no interest in cars or engines, in and of themselves. That’s not to say she doesn’t enjoy her job; she likes the mechanical nature of the work, and driving the wrecker often lets her help people out of tight spots. She just might not have picked it, if she’d been given a choice. She has a subscription to Popular Mechanics, and likes reading the scientific and technical details around the machines that she works with. She has a passing interest in magic that’s been hampered by her father’s staunch disapproval.
Background: George Patrick Keen I was an Irish immigrant who moved to Sanctuary Hills in the early Twentieth Century. He was actually paid a hefty sum by the Town Council to come and open a mechanic’s shop, simply because nobody else would, and increasing reliance on motor vehicles made such a shop a necessity. Sanctuary Hills wasn’t George’s first pick, nor was he theirs, but neither could find any other options that suited their purposes, so they were stuck with each other.
Over time, both the prejudice against the Irish and the stigma against magic waned, and by today, the Keen family is considered a cornerstone of the community. And likewise, Sanctuary Hills is now very much their home.
The current owner of George’s Garage is George Patrick Keen IV, and he failed to produce any sons to pass the name to. As a result, his youngest daughter got the closest his wife would let her get to being a “junior.” Despite the fact that her name isn’t completely the same as her father’s, Georgia Patricia Keen has the little “V” on her birth certificate that lists her as the Fifth.
Georgia was a shy child who didn’t make friends easily, and seemed habitually more interested in her Lego bricks than in dolls or clothes(or, later on, boys). She was widely praised in school for being well behaved, and for completing assignments without fuss, and when her daddy asked for help working on a car, she was the only one of her sisters who couldn’t seem to say no. George pushed her to learn his trade; she certainly picked it up easily enough, and never put up any fight over the subject. The only argument on the subject that they ever had was on whether to attend school for it. None of the George Patrick Keens before had done so, and her daddy thought it was insulting to his own skills that she wanted teachers other than himself.
For only the second time since birth, Yvonne Keen stepped in on her daughter’s behalf and told her husband “No,” and Georgia got to go to school, if only long enough to complete the trade program for an automotive technician. She’s out of school and back to working at George’s Garage, and for the past couple years she’s even been driving the tow truck for the shop.
Magic Specialty: None to speak of, though she knows a simple spell for light, and a potion that can restore rusty metal. The potion has patchy results(largely owing to Georgia not knowing how to alter it for specific materials), and she doesn’t bother with it often. This little bit of magic were the first things she picked up. She tried to learn more than this, but when her father found out, they had one of their rare fights, and in the end she promised she wouldn’t play with it anymore. She’ll still cast her light spell anytime she’s alone(sometimes just because it’s neat), and if she resorts to the rust potion, she has to make sure her father’s out of the shop for a few hours.
Other: Besides her father’s tow truck, she drives a yellow 1983 Subaru Brat.
[Everyone] - Georgia is not very sociable, and isn't likely to approach directly. But on the other hand, she's often too polite to exit a conversation that's been started. If you own a car, it's very likely you've paid her to do something to it, although you wouldn't have necessarily met her directly. She never works the desk at George's Garage, so a lot of customers never even see her unless they need a tow.
@ExpendableSamantha "Sam" Igorina Semenova - I don't imagine they have much to do with each other now, but they're both locals. Being around the same age in a small town, they definitely knew each other in school(or, at least knew of each other). Despite being a grade above Sam, Georgia had a little bit of a crush on her, but certainly never approached her directly.
@kalanggamValeriano "Val" Lumungsod O'Connell - The arrangement you described is great, but also definitely under the table. Here's how it came about: Val had a breakdown(probably not his first one, but a big one) and went to George's Garage, but the fix was way out of his budget. Georgia happened to be nearby to see him leaving, upset and unsure what he was going to do. She felt bad, and quietly followed him outside. Out of earshot of her father, Georgia offered to do the work for the price of parts, plus a twenty. The work is usually done in a small parking lot behind Phil's. She actually really appreciates his frank speech and authenticity, and actually says yes sometimes when he invites her to hang out. To date she has adamantly refused to do anything that resembles "nightlife."
@naomimyselfandiAoife Fitzgerald - There's a sad irony that these two have a lot in common, but are unlikely to have met(in large part because of some of their shared traits). But it's only a matter of time until this disparate group of people forms into a core friend group(fingers cross)!
@shagranozRose Blossomdew - I think they almost certainly have never met, but if you have an idea I'm all ears.
@Fading MemoryTobias Malkinson - She gets a little anxious whenever she has an unanswered letter, so despite living in the same town, they've somehow become pen-pals. She doesn't notice when he's asking questions of academic importance, and just does her best to answer; even if her answer is just "I don't really know, sorry," or else "Obviously pull the lever. One is less than five, what kinda question is that?" She likes his car because it's interesting, her father likes it because it's expensive to repair. So everyone's happy.
Any character that has been approved, you may post it directly to the characters tab. Expendable, I apologize, I haven't read your new sheet yet, you may repost it in the ooc if you like, but it's not necessary, I will read it shortly.
There's a first post, it's move-out week for the college, and a day that was expected to be sunny and warm has suddenly become a bad storm.
In the early part of the afternoon, the sun shone merrily over the town of Sanctuary Hills.The day was warm, but with a nice breeze to help dry the sweat off of one’s brow, and keep them cool. People seemed too optimistic to credit the dark clouds to the west.
Summer is a favorite time of year for many residents of Sanctuary Hills. School is out, the town is less crowded without as many college students milling around. Even today, though, there were still some students lugging their worldly belongings from one of the dorms to the parking lot at Brooke Hall. And a handful had sought lodging in town, either for summer classes, or to work a summer job and stay nearby. The library was still open, though a missive had been sent to all students that if they did not manually renew any checked-out books, they would be summoned back to the school on Friday, regardless of how long they had on their loan.
Many restaurants in Town Square had set tables out in front, to take advantage of the fair weather. Some reached all the way onto the brick of the square itself. The crowd amongst them consisted of townies, as well as some students and even a few parents who were in town to drive their children home from college.
Sanctuary Thrills had its summer discount in effect, which was coaxing a little more custom. All of the rides were open today, without an “out of order” sign in sight. The Ursa Major was roaring along at regular intervals, punctuated by the screams of its riders, and a handful of vendors cried their wares over the din.
But weather in the summer can be fickle, and before anyone could credit it, a thick layer of clouds covered the town, and disgorged its payload of rain. It seemed that not even the local weather channels had predicted that the rain clouds would move this direction, although not everyone was taken completely by surprise. Anyone tuned to 101.1 got about twenty minutes of advance warning, as “I Swear” by All-4-One was interrupted by the mysterious DJ Aaron(Erin?), who simply advised their listeners to “Fetch you an umbrella,” before resuming regularly scheduled programming.
June, 1994. Sanctuary Hills, Virginia. A small college town, isolated up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
At this time the roleplay is open to new players! If you’re interested in joining, please post your character in the OOC thread for approval first.
Welcome! This is a slice of life roleplay that takes place in a small college town in a world where magic exists. The narrative is meant to be character driven, and generally low stakes. There might be some adventure and/or peril, but it will not be the norm, and will not be the focus. Mostly this is about a loose group of friends and acquaintances getting into shenanigans over the summer. Magic is commonplace, as mundane as electricity in this world. So while some characters may be studying magic, it’s really just window dressing on a roleplay about the everyday problems of a handful of college aged kids.
Regarding posting standards and pacing: I have no requirements for post length, as long as grammar and spelling are reasonable, and the post makes narrative sense. Sometimes short posts are called for, and sometimes long posts are inappropriate. Just make sure that it's furthering the story.
I don't usually have a posting order, just try not to post back to back. I'd like to see everyone post about once a week, but if we get in a groove and go faster, that's fine. Let us know if there's a delay, or if you need us to skip you or auto-pilot your character.
Regarding rules: I'm pretty casual, so follow site rules, be respectful, and we should be fine. If I ask for something to be changed, I'll usually allow you to argue your case, but reserve the right to make all final decisions.
This RP is meant to be inclusive, and the one thing I will not tolerate is disrespect toward your fellow players.
Name: Age: Appearance: However you want to convey this. Pictures are cool, but no photographs. Personality: Background: Just a little about who they are and what they do. It doesn't need to be long or complicated. Magic Specialty: if any, not every character needs to use magic. If they do, you can be really creative with this. I've listed a little bit of how magic works, mostly to make sure that we keep things consistent. Think about how their magic might be used in the modern age, what kind of work they might do with it(if it's something they seek to do professionally, that is). If they’re studying to be a magician, the specialty should be relatively broad. If the character is a witch, or just knows a little, it’s likely to be more specific. Some people only really know one or two spells(if they know any at all). Other: Any notes that don’t fit neatly elsewhere.
Benjamin Greenwald served as the Magician General to the Governor of Virginia from the time it became a state. At the time, magic had a reputation of being erratic and dangerous, and it was very common for magicians to live somewhat removed from society. Greenwald was no different, he lived in an exceedingly secluded manor in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The estate was called Sanctuary Hills, and secluded as it was it still played host to a number of pupils who sought tutelage under Greenwald. Before long, he formalized the roles of school and teacher, and founded Sanctuary Hills University. Students flocked to the school from the moment it was advertised. Before Sanctuary Hills, most who sought to learn magic had to seek an apprenticeship. More students meant more faculty and staff for the school. Staff needed places to stay, and soon had separate homes in the area. As more people moved nearby, more infrastructure was needed, which brought even more people. Within a few decades, Sanctuary Hills had snowballed into a small town, almost purpose built to support one of the foremost magical colleges of the day.
The Industrial Revolution brought greater scientific understanding, and with it came advances in magic. As arcane processes became more fully understood, the dangerous stigma around magic started to fade. People were more willing to be neighbors with not only magicians, but schools for magicians. Soon SHU was competing with schools that were just plain closer to civilization. The school doubled down, and added law and medicine to their curriculum. And this worked, after a fashion. Over the years, the school’s prestige dropped, but never completely died out. The school expanded to include other sciences, as well as the liberal arts, and it was even a pioneer of trade school programs(mostly added to encourage locals to take up things like plumbing and electrical work to keep the town running).
The campus is almost completely undrivable. The official address is 1107 Green Way, and Green Way itself ends in an empty cul-de-sac a short distance from Brooke Hall.
Sanctuary Hall: The original manor home of Benjamin Greenwald. It seems to be a fairly prototypical brick colonial home. Two stories, seven rooms(not including the echoey foyer), and with two sets of stairs from the front porch, curving around a geometric topiary that comes up to the top of the porch railing. This building is so thoroughly haunted that it can’t be used for ordinary purposes anymore. However, among the multitude of ghosts are ten of the eleven deans that have served this school since it was first opened. Though Greenwald himself is absent from their ranks, tradition dictates that the ghosts of the former deans serve as a sort of advisory council to the incumbent. They’re not always the easiest to consult, however. Ghosts are notoriously forgetful and easily distracted. It’s often joked that the only reason Dean Winefred Gabstone goes into Sanctuary Hall is just to get away from everyone else.
Graveyard: Sanctuary Hall itself is difficult to spend any time inside these days, but the graveyard behind it is kept habitable by the efforts of SHU’s faculty. The yard actually doesn’t have an official name, but is often called the Necromancy Classroom(despite being very much outside) as that is the primary use for the space. Spells are used to keep the dead quiet, unless they are asked for, and this is actually the primary reason that the Hall itself is so haunted. Those spirits who refuse to sleep are relegated to the nearest structure that holds personal relevance to them. There are a handful of ghosts who consent to be summoned for the purpose of instruction, though some of them seem to delight in giving the students a hard time.
Brooke Hall (AKA, The Old Building): Built in 1795 in response to the rapid influx of students, Brooke Hall was named for then-governor of Virginia. It’s a sprawling single story building, in a sort of U shape with a courtyard in the middle. The courtyard features a fountain that’s said to be host to a water fairy, though faculty officially deny this, and most stories seem to come from a friend of a friend. Brooke Hall is right on Green Way, and features one of only two parking lots on campus. The other is across the street. The central section connecting the two wings is parallel to the road, and serves as one of the first things people see when arriving at the school. Inside this central section are the administrative offices of the school. The two wings are essentially hallways
Greenwald Hall (AKA, The “New” Building): Built after World War I to accommodate a fresh wave of students as scores of young men returned home from Europe, looking to make something new of themselves. It is a three story brick construction that takes deliberate design cues from Sanctuary Hall, which was already uninhabitable by this time. The first and third floor are both made up of classrooms, but for some reason the second floor is dedicated to faculty offices.
The Conservatory: A large building on a hill, the highest point in town, let alone on campus. There’s a small attachment with a marble facade and tile roof, but the majority of the structure is a high domed glass roof, with windows stretching from the floor to ceiling, framed in shining brass. The greenhouse portion is divided into four sections that are each climate controlled differently, so that a wide array of plants can be nurtured under the one roof. Some plants are further locked away in fenced areas, due to toxic, caustic, or magical dangers. The small attached building has an administrative desk and filing room, to track student usage of the building, and the checking out of samples. There’s also a small storeroom that has doors both outside, and into the greenhouse itself. If someone were to desire sneaking into the greenhouse for any reason, they would find that this door is the most likely to be unlocked.
Mary Parker Memorial Library: Remember to call for an extension, late books will be summoned. Still using Pneumatic tubes, and lacking even a single computer, the library is widely considered to be painfully old fashioned.
Battle Stadium: Despite the exciting name, it’s a baseball diamond, and is just named for Governor John Battle. It’s across Green Way from the rest of the campus, and is thus one of the few campus locations that can be driven directly to. It has a larger parking lot than Brooke Hall, and visitors are often ticketed for parking there when it’s closed. SHU has a few athletic programs, but baseball is the only sport that the Church Grims play home games for.
Feral Familiars: They can be seen around town, too, but are most heavily concentrated on the campus. These can be a wide variety of things. Some are just particularly clever birds or cats, but some are animated objects, or wholly fabricated creatures. A familiar is anything created through magic that acts of its own accord. Not all magicians work with a kind of magic that would create such a thing, and of those that do, not all of them bother. Familiars are debatably useful, difficult to make, and some argue there are ethical issues to their creation. Some people make a hobby of tracking familiar sightings, and if you cared to ask one of these people, they would tell you there are somewhere between twenty and twenty-four feral familiars in the town. There are a few of them that these hobbyists either can’t agree exist, or don’t agree are even familiars.
Labeled simply as “Dormitory One,” and on like that through four. These are four buildings around campus, each distinctly odd in some way or another. The Dorms were a project by the class of 1954, attempting to use magic to create buildings out of the nearby stone, earth, and trees. There were five groups for the project, each devising their own spell for the building. Not a single one of the projects produced a usable dwelling, and builders had to be brought in from the nearest town to finish the construction. When the spells were first cast, they were each sitting in their own eerily perfect square hole, where the spells that were cast pulled the very dirt out as a material component. With erosion, and some deliberate landscaping over the years, this has rounded down, but still leaves most of the buildings in their own little divot in the ground.
Dormitory One has a floor made of fine, soft sand on the first level. It’s actually a very complex and impressive spell, which prevents the sand from actually leaving the floor. It can move around, and still takes impressions when things are put on it, but the sand doesn’t stick to clothes, and refuses to be kicked out of the doors, or onto furniture. The secrets to maintaining this spell have been passed down from one RA to the next through the years. Nobody else even knows where the spell is. The rest of the building is completely normal, because that was the only part of the construction spell that worked, and the rest of the dorm was built around this bizarre floor.
Dormitory Two is the McCormick Road Dormitories from the University of Virginia. The group assigned this lot thought it might be easier to move a building than to create one. The specifics of the spell have been hushed up, but it caused a lot of damage to the surrounding landscaping, and rumors persist that the casting of the spell killed one of the students. SHU had to pay quite a lot in fines, and lost a suit which forced them to reconstruct the building for UVA(attempting to move it again was determined to be out of the question).
Dormitory Three has too many windows on the first floor, and they’re all placed very irregularly. The second and third floor are more normal. The spell put all the windows on the first floor, and seems to have placed them at random. Not all of them were kept, the builders were forced to fill in close to half of them. You can still see where they were to this day, as the magically laid brickwork has a bluish tinge that the builders couldn’t replicate(nor could the magician students, when asked to do so).
Dormitory Four had to be built almost from scratch, the original spell produced a structure that was tall, skinny, and stuck out of the ground at an eighty six degree angle. It fell shortly after being erected, and injured two students. A small section of the first floor had the lopsided brickwork left in place, as an homage to the project. For some reason that nobody has been able to determine, the attic attracts owls, and they can’t be kept out.
Dormitory Five is an empty plot. The group wasn’t able to produce anything at all, but given the chaos and expense that the other four buildings incurred, nobody was exactly mad at them. On the contrary, when they turned in all the notes that led them to their conclusion that the task wasn’t possible, they were commended for their thorough due diligence. Group Five was the only one that received top marks for the project.
Town Square: It’s actually a circle, but that name never caught on. The Town Square is simply where the first homes for SHU’s nascent staff were built. There is a roughly circular arrangement of bricks about thirty yards across, surrounded by buildings of various ages. The perimeter of the circle is laid out in pink granite stones, each about two feet wide on the exterior edge, and bearing a rune. Careful study by decades of students has determined that the runes are only a part of whatever spell this is meant to indicate. Nobody living knows what it’s for, or how to use it. The square is for foot traffic, and most of the shops on it have both a front and back entrance, so they can be reached easily by those who are driving the streets and alleys behind them.
Phil's Coffeehouse: The owner’s first name is actually Philomena Hios. The shop is situated in town square, and is actually in the second oldest building in town. It was originally a house, but the bottom floor has been renovated, and is a much more open space than it was originally. There are several rooms in the second floor that have been converted to apartments, and the attic is where Miss Hios lives. Philomena actually bought the building as is from the previous proprietor, back when it was called Common Grounds Coffee. Though it’s been Phil’s coffeehouse for over a decade, some older townies still call it by the wrong name. The interior is a dazzling mix of mismatched and vintage furniture, owing to Miss Hios’ habit of antiquing when she’s on vacation. The floor is similarly done in a variety of tiling and hardwood styles, laid out in a sort of checkerboard of four foot squares.
J. W. Steward's: Now owned by James Stewards’ daughter, Emily Steward. J. W. Steward’s is a small thrift furniture store, specifically targeted at the dorm-living college student crowd. The stock is a mix of donated goods, and stuff bought cheaply and resold by Emily. There is a Goodwill in town, but it can’t stock furniture because everyone donates to Steward’s. It boasts a wildly eclectic assortment of furniture, and is famous for redoing its front window display every week. Each sunday, Philomena from across the square comes over and helps set up the display to resemble a small furnished room. Despite Phil’s own particular taste, the room displays usually have matching furniture(or, furniture that looks like it goes together, in any case). Philomena Hios also donates every piece of furniture that she replaces when she redecorates Phil’s Coffeehouse. There’s a workshop in the back, for minor repairs or refinishing of stock, and there’s a small apartment above the shop.
George’s Garage: Sometimes the joke is to say “George” with a hard G, and sometimes it’s to say “Garage” with a soft G. As long as you pay, and don’t argue about the work, George Keen does not mind. George Keen(The Fourth! As he insists on introducing himself) is the latest in a long line of George’s to own the garage, which first opened in 1923. At the time it was built, it was meant to be a short distance from the town proper, but due to expansion in the intervening years, it’s just on the outskirts. It’s a squat building with a large garage that has six bays(three on each side). Attached to the garage is a smaller and shorter office(that also has better climate control) where the actual business is done. George is a short, and somewhat cantankerous middle aged man. Despite a temper, he’s generally good natured, and is popular with most of the older townies.
The Witch Scouts: A local youth organization for children who are interested in magic. They go on outings, and learn about magic as it appears in nature. And of course they learn a few basic spells. Things like changing the color of fabric, or making lights and sounds. The lessons don’t go very deep, but many Witch Scouts go on to study magic in earnest.
101.1, The Astral Plane: A local radio station DJed by someone who is named either Aaron or Erin. It’s unclear, as they leave their gender mysterious and speak through a vocoder that gives their voice an ethereal sound. They don’t play music of any particular genre, you might hear funk, country, rap, and punk, all in a row.
Sanctuary Thrills: A local amusement park. You really won’t find anyone traveling to visit this attraction, its most exhilarating ride is its singular wooden roller coaster, called the Ursa Major. Most would argue that the ferris wheel is a good deal more exciting, owing to a truly breathtaking view of the mountains from the top. Bribing the operator to stop your car at the apex is such a problem that most people just assume it will stop irregularly.
The intention for this RP is for the fantastical elements to be just the background for the narrative. We won't get too in depth, because it just isn't the focus of the story, but I will give some background, and lay some ground rules. These are just to keep things consistent, but I want us to keep magic deliberately vague. Treat it like it’s mundane. Describe magic like you would describe turning on the lights.
In this world, magic is a natural force that exists in nature. Like fire or electricity, chemistry, or radiation. Humankind learned to harness it through experimentation, trial and error, and many thousands of years of careful study. It’s a scientific process, in a way, and anyone can do it. This is not to say that everyone does. It's a skill like baking or working on cars. Obviously some people do it professionally, but a lot of people have some knowledge and skill in the subject that they've picked up here and there. Conversely, some people can't work a spell to save their life, and that's okay!
When performing a spell, you might include any number of elements like incantations, writing, symbology, geometry, burning herbs or candles, or a physical catalyst(a material that is necessary for the spell, but that is not used up by it). Each element, and how it is used carries meaning, and affects the outcome of the spell. Writing a spell involves describing exactly what you want the magic to do, using what amounts to a multimedia magical programming language.
So more complicated magical effects will require more complicated spellcasting. A simple spell to move objects might just need a couple words, a wand(the best material for the wand is hotly debated), and some spit(blood, if it’s heavy enough). A spell to sort objects might be a complex algorithm expressed in a mix of geometry and some dead language, cornered by the right kind of crystals, and activated by burning the right kind of candle. Just like with computer programming, there can be multiple(or even a multitude) of different spells that would achieve the same effect. Choosing which method you use can depend on a variety of factors from materials on hand, to just plain personal preference. There’s always a cost, whether it be a small part of yourself(like the spit or blood) or burning a candle or herb. The cost is called a reagent, and if the spell is working properly, they burn away without smoke or heat.
Magic can’t create something from nothing, and creating complex effects requires understanding how to describe them in the symbolic language of magic. Magicians need to be knowledgeable about physics, chemistry, biology, or any number of things depending on what kind of magic they’re doing. As a result, the advancement of magic has been directly tied to humankind’s understanding of the natural world and the laws that govern it. Early magicians operated on trial and error, repeating formulae that got the effects they wanted. For a very long time, magic had a reputation for being unpredictable and dangerous; a reputation that’s only starting to fall away in modern times.
More complex types of magic are highly specialized, though there’s a good deal of overlapping skills and ability, and all magicians have a certain baseline of understanding.
This is a world where magic is treated like any other general field. One might say that they’re a scientist, or they could be specific and say that they’re an aerospace engineer. Likewise, you could say that you're a magician, or more specifically a kinetic thaumaturgist.
Magic is a skill like baking or working on cars. Obviously some people do it professionally, but a lot of people have some knowledge and skill in the subject that they've picked up here and there. Conversely, some people can't work a spell to save their life, and that's okay!
"Magician" is an official title, like a medical doctor. You can't just call yourself one, you have to actually attend school and pass exams. Someone who practices magic without passing official exams is called a witch(this term is gender neutral). Not all professional magic users are fully qualified magicians, witches can be employed in all kinds of fields. If they do magic for money, technically they are supposed to be registered with a state governing body.
Colloquially speaking the difference between a magician and a witch is often said to be that a witch just learns spells. A magician writes them. They understand the principles of the magic, and know enough about the fundamentals of the physical world to know how the magic will interact with it. They know the "language" of magic, so to speak, and how to tell it what to do.
Witches will, however, usually know enough to be able to alter a spell as necessary for their specific use. Like setting the scale of the magical effect, or specifying the object of the spell.
What is “Dark Magic?”
Colloquially, the term refers to magic that is considered inherently harmful or immoral to use. Unfortunately, morality varies from person to person, and likewise what one magician calls “dark,” another might have no hang-ups around at all.
This can also vary by context. In an ordinary, civil setting, magic that is combative or physically harmful is legally treated in much the same way as using a weapon. Even spells that aren’t “harmful” can carry strict penalties if used on another person without their consent. That’s not at all to say that it doesn’t happen, and a place like Sanctuary Hills where a lot of witches and magicians in training are congregated sees a lot of such activity that is generally overlooked.
Magic that affects the minds of others has a lot of baggage around it, and many people consider it inherently "dark". Reading minds is an incredible invasion of privacy, obviously. But even sending telepathic messages can range from being considered very rude, to being considered a form of violence. The severity varies both on the exact nature and context of the contact, and personal opinion. Obviously there's a question of informed consent which can change the perception a great deal as well.
Of course, some magical creatures have such abilities natively, and how they are viewed varies in much the same way as humans using mind magic. Additionally, when it is a natural ability, there are going to be people who feel uncomfortable or even fearful around creatures like this. There are also people who are more understanding, and will be more patient(if somewhat on guard) about it.
Would it be possible to write up a professor? I've got an idea for a very old undead necromancy teacher- when she says she remembers riding a mammoth to school, she ain't joking.
I don't have a problem with it on its surface, but Naomi brings up a good point in that they just wouldn't be a good fit for the roleplay. It takes place over the summer, so there's only a few students even in class, and half of the cast aren't even students.
I also think something that old probably isn't possible. Or, if something that old still existed, it would be very confused and forgetful. I've established that ghosts aren't very good at remaining connected to the material plane, and I think the same applies for most forms of undead.
Anyhow, sorry for a brief absence, I got a little busy over the last few days. I don't have a revised ETA yet, but I'm hoping for it to be soon.
Here's my own relationship proposal sheet. I liked Fading's idea of heading it with a short blurb that applies to basically everyone, so I did that to.
I'm trying to work on an opening post so that we can start the roleplay proper! I'm still hoping to have this done today, but do bear with me if it does not go to plan.
[Everyone] - Georgia is not very sociable, and isn't likely to approach directly. But on the other hand, she's often too polite to exit a conversation that's been started. If you own a car, it's very likely you've paid her to do something to it, although you wouldn't have necessarily met her directly. She never works the desk at George's Garage, so a lot of customers never even see her unless they need a tow.
@ExpendableSamantha "Sam" Igorina Semenova - I don't imagine they have much to do with each other now, but they're both locals. Being around the same age in a small town, they definitely knew each other in school(or, at least knew of each other). Despite being a grade above Sam, Georgia had a little bit of a crush on her, but certainly never approached her directly.
@kalanggamValeriano "Val" Lumungsod O'Connell - The arrangement you described is great, but also definitely under the table. Here's how it came about: Val had a breakdown(probably not his first one, but a big one) and went to George's Garage, but the fix was way out of his budget. Georgia happened to be nearby to see him leaving, upset and unsure what he was going to do. She felt bad, and quietly followed him outside. Out of earshot of her father, Georgia offered to do the work for the price of parts, plus a twenty. The work is usually done in a small parking lot behind Phil's. She actually really appreciates his frank speech and authenticity, and actually says yes sometimes when he invites her to hang out. To date she has adamantly refused to do anything that resembles "nightlife."
@naomimyselfandiAoife Fitzgerald - There's a sad irony that these two have a lot in common, but are unlikely to have met(in large part because of some of their shared traits). But it's only a matter of time until this disparate group of people forms into a core friend group(fingers cross)!
@shagranozRose Blossomdew - I think they almost certainly have never met, but if you have an idea I'm all ears.
@Fading MemoryTobias Malkinson - She gets a little anxious whenever she has an unanswered letter, so despite living in the same town, they've somehow become pen-pals. She doesn't notice when he's asking questions of academic importance, and just does her best to answer; even if her answer is just "I don't really know, sorry," or else "Obviously pull the lever. One is less than five, what kinda question is that?" She likes his car because it's interesting, her father likes it because it's expensive to repair. So everyone's happy.
It's on YouTube. Sorry about the long songs. She picked up a couple of CD's, the Eurythmics 1984 album was in a sale bin, Tubular Bells was on the Pure Moods CD.
Oh, I mean I can totally find the song in general, I mean on spotify where I was making the playlist. And that's okay, it's not a problem, I'm just letting you know why those weren't added.
I have completed(until I add more to it) my own CS, below. I expect to launch the roleplay proper tomorrow(slight possibility it will be today, but I can't guarantee that).
Name: Georgia Patricia Keen V Age: 25 Appearance: Taller than her father at 5’11”, Georgia is also broad shouldered. She has thick arms, with a soft layer of fat over them, and the same goes for her belly, bottom and thighs. She looks to be on the chubby side, but the muscle underneath is built on an active lifestyle, and physically arduous job. She has a round face, with soft features. She’s fair skinned, but with a slight ruddiness to her complexion, and has gray-blue eyes. Her hair is dirty blond, and is most commonly cut to a single length bob that falls around her neck. She wears a lot of denim, her favorite being bib overalls, usually worn with a T-shirt. If it’s warm and she's feeling adventurous, she might wear some denim shorts(or even Daisy Dukes!) but she often ends up feeling self conscious about her legs. If it’s cooler, she likes flannel too. At work, her attire is a set of mechanic’s coveralls in a deep indigo, with reflective patches on shoulders, around the middle, and around the cuffs of the legs.
Personality: She's awkward and self conscious, particularly regarding her size. Despite a lack of self confidence, she's very smart, and quite technically minded. Georgia speaks with the local Appalachian accent, which makes her feel low-brow around out-of-state students she encounters around town. Even though she's not the most outspoken(or perhaps because of that), she's very helpful, and often eager to please. Her size regularly tricks strangers into being intimidated by her, but most people find out pretty quickly that she’s a huge pushover. Georgia has basically no interest in cars or engines, in and of themselves. That’s not to say she doesn’t enjoy her job; she likes the mechanical nature of the work, and driving the wrecker often lets her help people out of tight spots. She just might not have picked it, if she’d been given a choice. She has a subscription to Popular Mechanics, and likes reading the scientific and technical details around the machines that she works with. She has a passing interest in magic that’s been hampered by her father’s staunch disapproval.
Background: George Patrick Keen I was an Irish immigrant who moved to Sanctuary Hills in the early Twentieth Century. He was actually paid a hefty sum by the Town Council to come and open a mechanic’s shop, simply because nobody else would, and increasing reliance on motor vehicles made such a shop a necessity. Sanctuary Hills wasn’t George’s first pick, nor was he theirs, but neither could find any other options that suited their purposes, so they were stuck with each other.
Over time, both the prejudice against the Irish and the stigma against magic waned, and by today, the Keen family is considered a cornerstone of the community. And likewise, Sanctuary Hills is now very much their home.
The current owner of George’s Garage is George Patrick Keen IV, and he failed to produce any sons to pass the name to. As a result, his youngest daughter got the closest his wife would let her get to being a “junior.” Despite the fact that her name isn’t completely the same as her father’s, Georgia Patricia Keen has the little “V” on her birth certificate that lists her as the Fifth.
Georgia was a shy child who didn’t make friends easily, and seemed habitually more interested in her Lego bricks than in dolls or clothes(or, later on, boys). She was widely praised in school for being well behaved, and for completing assignments without fuss, and when her daddy asked for help working on a car, she was the only one of her sisters who couldn’t seem to say no. George pushed her to learn his trade; she certainly picked it up easily enough, and never put up any fight over the subject. The only argument on the subject that they ever had was on whether to attend school for it. None of the George Patrick Keens before had done so, and her daddy thought it was insulting to his own skills that she wanted teachers other than himself.
For only the second time since birth, Yvonne Keen stepped in on her daughter’s behalf and told her husband “No,” and Georgia got to go to school, if only long enough to complete the trade program for an automotive technician. She’s out of school and back to working at George’s Garage, and for the past couple years she’s even been driving the tow truck for the shop.
Magic Specialty: None to speak of, though she knows a simple spell for light, and a potion that can restore rusty metal. The potion has patchy results(largely owing to Georgia not knowing how to alter it for specific materials), and she doesn’t bother with it often. This little bit of magic were the first things she picked up. She tried to learn more than this, but when her father found out, they had one of their rare fights, and in the end she promised she wouldn’t play with it anymore. She’ll still cast her light spell anytime she’s alone(sometimes just because it’s neat), and if she resorts to the rust potion, she has to make sure her father’s out of the shop for a few hours.
Other: Besides her father’s tow truck, she drives a yellow 1983 Subaru Brat.
Here's the playlist, if anyone is interested. I've tried to make sure to add all the characters' theme songs, but if I've missed anyone, let me know(theme songs are not at all requires, I just thought it was fun to mess around with music from the era).
Expendable: I couldn't find Room 101 on Spotify(actually, I found about a hundred songs by the name, but none by Eurythmics). Tubular Bells I left out deliberately, it's just too long lol, sorry.
Stern Algorithm
FlappyTheSpybot
Fading Memory
The Irish Tree
Izurich
mattmanganon
Crimson Flame
Ersa93
Lewascan2
False Prophet