|
Franklin Giordano, the Witch You see this card? It’s called the Magician. It’s number one in the deck, although it’s not the first. Look at his table – cups and coins and knives. He’s a street performer, a cheap self-taught illusionist. He’d con the clothes off your back if he could get away with it. Now look again. See the infinity symbol above his head? That’s potential, right there. It makes me think, maybe there’s some actual power in that silly wand he waves around. Anyway, that card’s my Dad. This card, number five? That’s Grandfather. Look at him, so stiff in his chair, walled in by the pillars of his house. He thinks he knows so much, but he doesn’t realise that his staff looks just as ridiculous as the Magician’s wand. Me? I always felt something for the Fool – the real first card in the deck, number zero. He just does not give a gently caress, even though he’s on the edge of a cliff. And he’s got a dog too!  Anyway, I should start from the beginning. My name’s Franklin. I was born in Charleston, though I grew up all over. I wasn’t being metaphorical about my Dad – he really was a street performer, and a con man, and a magician. Mostly the coins and cards and fortune telling variety, but there was some real magic mixed in there too, and he taught me as much as he could manage. I probably would have grown up to be just like him and you know what? I reckon I would have been happy. I don’t know how Grandfather got word that I could do real magic. He must have had something to do with Dad getting arrested, because I ended up at his house in San Francisco way too drat fast after the cops showed up. And since then, he’s made it pretty drat clear what he thinks of his son-in-law. You see, there’s a Right Way to do magic, and it means sitting in a library learning three dead languages and endless breathing exercises and training your focus and you know what, the bastard hasn’t even taught me any spells! But apparently that’s the proper way to become a Witch. (Never a ‘magician’. ‘Wizard’ is apparently unspeakably nouveau. Whatever, Grandpa.) Of course, there’s a Wrong Way too, and that just happens to be the way I’m already good at. You just acquire something valuable from somebody (it doesn’t hurt that I’m pretty good at that part too) and, well, do some magic. poo poo’s hard to explain in words. But you can’t argue with the results – people out of their mind screaming about demons, or losing their hair, or looking like they got kicked in the nuts when they try to take a swing at you. It’ll never get old. And it’s just as well I’ve got all these tricks, because, man, have you seen this school? The place is a loving pressure cooker. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows how everyone’s doing, and everyone’s looking out for ways to make everyone else do worse. I don’t give a poo poo about getting a rigorous academic foundation or whatever else Grandfather sent me here for. I just want to cover my back, and have some fun, and if using magic to help me with that is wrong, I don’t want to be right. quote:Name: Franklin Giordano 1. Tell me about another student you've had the pleasure (or displeasure) of interacting. Crystal Eastman is a nice girl who spends way too much time on the internet and thinks she's a fairy or a dragon, or possibly both, or like, part of her spirit is part fairy-dragon or something, I don't even know. She's super weird and kinda creepy, but the strange thing is, it pisses me off when people give her poo poo for it. Like, what is the point? What are you trying to prove? 2. Tell me about a teacher or facility member you've met or had to deal with. Miss Lake is our English teacher, a super chilled out middle-aged hippy type who just wants us all to realise our potential, man. Which sounds great, except there's a difference between being relaxed on the job and not doing the loving job in the first place. She's so laid back and useless that kids have literally got beaten up in her classes without her stepping in. 3. Tell me any interesting places you've seen or heard of from the other students. La Paz is this neat little cafe about halfway between my place and school. It's got all of two people working there, this old guy who was in some minimally successful country rock group back in the 70s, and this big South American lady who never speaks but makes the best drat nachos ever. Sometimes I help them move boxes around or take out the garbage, and they give me free coffee and let me play my guitar outside. I dunno, I just feel kinda... drawn to it, I guess, like I'm safe there. Except the one time I ran into Grandfather there. That was awkward, and a little bit weird... it's really not his kind of place, so why was he there? Gato fucked around with this message at 12:25 on May 30, 2015 |
#
¿
May 26, 2015 13:40
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:22 |
|
|
BallisticClipboard posted:QUESTION 1 Quick and dirty? Sounds about right. Magic the way I do it's just... intuitive for me, which is how it's meant to work if you really are gifted, right? None of this spending three hours trying to snap your fingers the Right Way. But yeah, it doesn't always go according to plan. Like, when I came up with the No Violence Ever spell I mentioned I know it needs a better name I was hoping for something a bit more subtle, more mysterious, something that would freak Tyler out, maybe set him up to catch some poo poo from his crew. Just having him collapse on the floor in front of me clutching his groin was pretty drat anticlimactic and just left him pissed off instead of scared like I wanted. And sure, the hex (I think that's the right word) did its job, can't argue with results, no more violence from Tyler, but it didn't stop the rest of them beating the crap out of me the next day. Because I sure as hell can't get tokens from everybody. Law of unintended consequences cuts both ways - sometimes hexes work a bit too well. After No Violence Ever didn't work out quite like I planned, I tried to come up with a hex more focused on scaring people. I tested it out on Janette, who was in charge of the Bible club, because, come on, who the hell gets mad about gay people in loving San Francisco? And it worked - she freaked the gently caress out, ranting about demons everywhere. It was hilarious, but then it got kinda scary, then I started worrying, what if it doesn't just burn out like the hexes I used before? Anyway, Janette ended up in a mental unit before I figured out how to turn it off. That was a lesson right there. I always build these... I call them kill switches into my hexes now. It's a learning process, I guess. Like, the first time I cast a hex, it didn't even hit the right person. Lesson learned - choose your tokens really carefully. Second time, a car alarm went off and broke my concentration while I was casting, and the guy just got really sick. Lesson learned - don't get interrupted. And so on. God, this makes me sound like a complete screwup, doesn't it? But, I figure this is how magic is meant to be done, and my brain could do with the exercise. And it's not like I'd ever hex somebody who didn't have it coming. Trust me, I do take this poo poo seriously, alright? Gato fucked around with this message at 23:59 on May 27, 2015 |
|
#
¿
May 27, 2015 23:05
|
|
|
BallisticClipboard posted:-Question 2- Trouble? Who, me, sir? Like you say, there's a difference between causing trouble and actually being in trouble. I'm definitely guilty of the first one, but you know, the great thing about magic is that when you get it right, nobody can prove a thing. I mean, sure, I'll own up to being a smartass, or just a straight-up rear end in a top hat sometimes, but, you know, that's not a crime. Or, at least, it won't get you anything worse than detention. That's why the Tyler thing pissed me off, because at the end of the day it would have been exactly the same if I'd just kicked him in the nuts myself. Sure, I convinced them I'd been defending myself, and his record was way too long already, so I only got detention while he got suspended, but still, I shouldn't have been in that position in the first place, right? And as for relying on magic... yeah, that's probably true. Grandfather exploded at me when I got back from that detention, after the school told him what happened. He was just ranting on and on (nobody ever taught him to keep it simple, stupid) but the gist of it was, when you're a Witch, you've got the world's best hammer, so it's your responsibility not to look at everything like it's a nail. I get where he's coming from, I really do. But, like, what else am I meant to do with this gift? Just sit on it? I'd love to be able to shut the pricks down with sheer force of integrity or personality or whatever but that's never going to happen. If they can gently caress with people with their politics or money or just plain old fists, why can't I gently caress with them with my magic? quote:Also, outside of magic, how do you kill your time? If Grandfather had his way, I'd be inside studying magic all the time, which would suck, because I'm not really an indoors person. Fortunately, we've reached an understanding of sorts - it doesn't matter when I get home, as long as I put in some token hours in the library when I do get home. That gives me plenty of time to wander around the city. There's a lot more to see and do here than most of the places I've lived. It's nice just to walk and take it all in. Sometimes I take my guitar, or a pack of cards, and go earn myself a few dollars playing on the street, though I get nervous staying in one place too long. Probably inherited that from Dad. I've told Grandfather I'm keeping an eye out for part-time work but honestly, I'm not that bothered. Just being able to drift around like this... that's enough for me. App should be complete now.
|
|
#
¿
May 30, 2015 14:25
|
|
|
Franklin's backstoryquote:You start the game with two sympathetic tokens. Decide whose and what they are. So I might also have a certain something belonging to Hope. I was going through her locker this one time, which is a whole story in itself, and I found this weird stone thingy which was kinda pretty and, well, it can't be that big a deal if she just left it there. I don't know what it is, but it's got these patterns on it that I don't recognise. Maybe I'll ask Grandfather about it? OOC: Totally want this to be a faerie scrying token. quote:One of the others caught you rummaging through their friend’s stuff, but kept quiet. They get a String on you. TheTatteredKing posted:Serenity's Backstory She gains the condition Weedlord Dances-with-Wolves. Heliotrope posted:
Gato fucked around with this message at 17:32 on Jun 5, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jun 5, 2015 07:02
|
|
|
I'm going to be away from home for the next week, and it looks like I'll be pretty busy. I'll still have internet, but posting might be a little slow.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 28, 2015 23:53
|
|