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The Occult Club - Dreams and Omens

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  1. #1
    Nathaniel Dormur's Avatar

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    Okay, so he couldn't call it the "occult club" on the "Permission to Organize in University Space" form. And the staff weren't keen on officially supporting a club that studied such things (for now.)

    But, he could still have meetings- in the library study rooms near the end of the day until they gained more traction, and while publicly it was known as "The Study of Legends and Phenomena Worldwide" or whatever other more publicly appropriate name he put on the reservation sheets, the majority of 'members' for this unofficial club understood the reality of it: studying the occult, the weird, and 'other' in the world.

    Today's topic? Omens and Dreams- how to interpret them, how to influence them, and how they tied in with the occult.

    Werewolf dreams could be wild enough at times, and being raised as a Bone Shadow Nathaniel put more stock in divination than most. Indeed, he even recalled whispers of an entire lodge that worked through such prophecies- the Bone Shadows were even known to make special Shadow Tarot fetishes to help interpret the future. While Nathaniel did not yet feel proficient enough to make those more powerful tools, he welcomed any mundane knowledge to help learn more.

    Provided today were a few notes on meditative practices that had helped Nathaniel perform rites, lists of simple herbal stimulants and depressants often consumed to assist in some practices, and whatever simple articles and texts could be located on practices to interpret signs in the waking and dreaming world alike.

    The space reserved, what few interested students congregating within- the occult club was now in session. He wondered if some of the earlier members might show up again, and what other individuals in this city might want to partake.

    Shodan
    Circe
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    Kaze

  2. #2
    S
    Shodan

    He's been hanging around the uni. It's really by chance that he stumbled on the leaflet about the meeting. The name he didn't recognize, but the topic felt strangely familiar. Oh well, even if it's not the same Occcult Club Shodan's visited before, it might be fun.

    But alas, it is. Shodan recognizes Nate and smiles at the good-looking dude. He's dressed uncharacteristically bland - just a warm hoodie and jeans. But, the Obrimos figured, if there's a chance real talk can be talked, it's best to make yourself as nondescript as possible.

    "You took my advice" He says, taking a seat "On the topic, I mean. Thanks for the notes earlier, too, they were super informative" In their own way. Kinda "So, since we wait for other people to show up anyway, is this... club, I guess... a regular thing with regular members that I just never noticed, or is it more of a... play as you go?" Although the suspicion that they are just FBI agents in disguise was gone, Shodan came to believe this group of Sleepers could be a good spot to place a watering hole.

  3. #3
    Nathaniel Dormur's Avatar

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    Oh, a return appearance? And it was the one he'd written about Ley Lines for! Aside from the Italian woman, Nathaniel probably remembered him the most simply due to the materials the man had asked for.

    "Hey, Adam! Were they? Good. I wasn't able to really turn up much more on the topic, and I've kind of exhausted my research options into their application." At least for now. Renewal-of-Nature had seemed ambiguous on the matter, and almost implied that stronger spirits would know more. Which made a sort of sense to Nathaniel, but no doubt such spirits were currently beyond his abilities to call successfully, let alone persuade to tell the truth.

    on the matter of the status of this little club... "The higher-ups won't make it official, probably because it sounds a bit scary and cult-like and probably because they think it holds little merit." Which was probably for the best, at least until Nathaniel established a better presence in Academic circles and managed to attain a trusting group. "But, so long as I reserve space through the appropriate channels and follow campus rules regarding gatherings, there's nothing saying we can't meet unofficially." Just had to avoid the panic words.

    "And yeah, I figured Omens would be a nice place to look next- a lot of what I can find involves the same kind of observations for patterns that I used for Ley Line research, so there's already a base. And with several means of divination, I'm kind of looking at quantity as much as quality." He showed Adam a part of an article on the mind during sleep. "And dreams- I looked more into those. If dreams are a way for us to sort things out from the day, and if your mind recognizes bigger patterns and events you don't consciously recognize, could they reveal the works of 'others'?" It might have actually been worth private research, to see if humans afflicted with Lunacy might recall what had occurred in the form of nightmares- fragmented perhaps, but it merited a look.

    "As for the meditation and substances, it's to help in the process- to see if a slightly altered state of mind helps." Performing rituals in a city often came with difficulties, and meditation helped offset some of them- though Nathaniel had never thought of the effects these practices could have on everyday perceptions, or on his sleep. "And supposedly people can learn to control their dreams, but I haven't managed to figure that out yet; it's somewhere on the list." Though it's use as a werewolf was perhaps limited, Nightmare spirits could be potent weapons such means might be used to fight against. And regardless, it seemed simple enough to merit research.

  4. #4
    Anatole's Avatar
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    2
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    Smith

    A squat man, built like a brick with a barrel chest and thick fingered hands, appears at the doorway. Most of his face is lost in an explosion of white bristles - an immaculate and expansive beard - and his eyes are narrowed and hard. Those eyes soften ever so slightly as he stares at the two men, and as he inspects a crumpled paper flyer in his hand. The fellow is dressed in a shabby suit.

    "Hey. Er. Eh. This the... Study of Legends and Phenomena Worldwide?"

    His voice was gravelly, a harsh rumble. He held up the flyer and gestured to it with his other hand.

    "Says there is a meeting here. Is it an open event or... You know... For a closed group?"

    The squat man did not move from the threshold.

  5. #5
    Circe's Avatar
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    Her skin turns a slate-blue and her hair bone white. The whites of her eyes are blood red, the irises are purple with cat-slit black pupils. The helix of her ears elongate out 2" inches ending in a tip. Her features sharpen and her figure has an unnatural, inhuman litheness that can be intellectually disturbing.
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    Her skin brings to mind Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, or Asian races, though her high cheek bones and sharp facial structure don't match. Most assume she is of mixed ancestry given the pale blonde hair. Alias Mary Maniscalo.
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      Rage singing, no work with Ozzy, Shake the shanty
     

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    Circe was checking her phone as she listened at the door while her fellow Lost had entered, to see what it was this time. Omens and Dreams? Was Nathaniel more in the know then she had thought? There were dangers in dreams that mortals needed to defend against. Sadly Circe was too ignorant of the details to give any secret advice without giving up everything to the mundies. Nathaniel was cute, uh, amusing and maybe useful but she wasn't about to tell him the truth.

    Well actually she might say some of it with heavy sarcasm. Maybe Anatole could be subtle? Whatever. Circe entered wearing her usual suit, laptop tote, and a coffee box because gourmet coffee was awesome.

    She looked around at who was here, "Hello Nate. New faces tonight? And did I hear we ain't still tryin' to find Exaclibur? Well that is so sad. And after a brought modern ambrosia," she lifts up the box of hot coffee with a slight shake. She certainly had no patience for the meditation thing.
    Fairest: Larcenist | WYRD 2| Mantle: Dry Desert Heat |Health: 8 | Willpower: 5 | Glamour: 7

  6. #6
    S
    Shodan

    Shodan snickers. Yeah, those 'respectable' academics really be like that sometimes.

    "I hear you. One day you start allowing 'occult clubs' into your institution, next thing you know you have to wash pentagrams made with goat blood off walls. Or at least that's probably what they think at the dean's office. Well, fuck 'em. The important thing is that we don't have fun police raids" At least until the first Guardian or hunter shows up.

    Fingers crossed that they don't. And besides, dibs.

    "And as for dreams being a way to sort out... weirdness" Shodan is making a point to avoid the m-word here "I have one word for you: norepinephrine. It's a neurotransmitter that makes you more alert when you are in danger, but its well dries up when you sleep. So, during the REM phase you can have dreams... or nightmares I guess... about all the nasty shit that happened. Alien abductions, cryptids, haunted houses... it's easier when you sleep. To deal, and make sense of it, too. Plus, you get to have access in all the humanity's collective unconscious..."

    Yeah, magic can do that, but it's not a mage-only secret. Sleepers theorized about it for a century now, as long as things are kept vague, it should be fine.

    "... if you believe in such things"

    And then Gandalf comes to town. Suddenly, the Obrimos feels an urge to ask where his pointy hat and oaken staff are "That would be us, yeah. You're not from the uni coming to shut us down, are you?" Now that would be a bitter irony, considering what's just been said. His eyes narrow slightly, inspecting the man.

    ...but he can't miss... uh, Mary entering the room. Although he's still about 99% certain that name was a joke. Shodan noticed the Mediterranean beauty seemed to ignore the Bearded Man, the way you ignore a presence taken for granted. Did she know him? He almost certainly wasn't at any previous club meeting.

    The mystery will certainly unravel soon enough. For the moment, Shodan simply gives the dark-haired woman a nod of greeting.

  7. #7
    Nathaniel Dormur's Avatar

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    Adam seemed to be on the same wavelength when it came to the University staff- a surprisingly comforting feeling, having that agreement, and his knowledge on dreams was worth taking into account. "If some nightmares or weird dreams are the mind's trying to make sense of Others, well... That opens up some cool prospects. If we could control the direction of our dreams in an occult direction, what things would we see?" What things would HE see?

    Another newcomer- or was he actually a professor? Nathaniel had thought he'd learned about the more problematic staff already... Adam seemed to be just as suspicious. "Ah.. Yeah. Open- so long as we maintain..." A short peek around the room and at the maximum occupancy sign "... A Grouping of 19 or less. And it looks like we have room. Today we're talking about omens and dreams- how to interpret them, and what it could mean towards pursuit of strange phenomenon" He was a bit wary of involving the man at first, but so long as they didn't break any rules there was (supposedly) nothing wrong with some nice banter of occult topics. "Is that something you'd be interested in? We change topics often, and I try to alert frequent attendees what we'll be talking about beforehand. I'm Nathaniel- I sort of organize these things. And yourself?" Most of the current atendees were college-aged, so her certainly stood out a tad... Well, for about half a second, before another former member arrived.

    Nathaniel still didn't quite grasp what the bombastic Italian woman desired from this club- granted, he'd started to realize his tendency to judge by appearances. Whatever her goals were, her... Perspective... Was certainly welcome. All of theirs were. Though her using 'Nate' was a slight annoyance. "Hey Mary! And yeah, some students seem into this stuff- sorry about the lack of sword searching- even if I had the money to fund an expedition like that, I have Family to take care of here." Though from what little he knew about packs in the UK, no such Klaive existed in common records. Which meant it was probably buried deeper in Uratha history, a total fantasy... Or the work of a different power. None of those options really helped him learn about others in the here and now, though. "Anyways- I figured certain meditative practices could pave the way to being able to control dreams. So I made a few notes on my own teachings." Mantras, positions, states of mind, activities before and after, herbal supplements to take. "Feel free to take a copy- though I know it's not for everyone." A shrug there. It wasn't difficult to learn, comparatively. At least in his experiences.

    "And Omens- that's the other reason for meditation. Dreams might help make sense of patterns, but a clear mind could help see them in the moment. So many options too; drawn out means through things like tarot or scrying, and more sudden ones like certain animal sightings, sounds, and temperature changes!" On their own they meant nothing, but together it might create a way to see things. The biggest thing he had for identification were the improved senses that came with being a werewolf- though that was never a guarantee, especially in human form. "Not sure what to really start with though, there's so much potential material. Tarot seems the most common- but I don't have a deck, or any idea how to use them. Don't suppose any of you have some ideas?" Always open to ideas. Cards were the one on his mind simply because a Fetish existed that already utilized them, but the point of this club was to get away from what he was familiar with.

  8. #8
    Anatole's Avatar
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    Smith

    A hole appeared in the massive beard as Anatole opened his mouth, then closed it. Then a slit appeared: a line formed beneath the waves of curling white hair - a smile one would hope.

    "Oh right. Nah. Don't work here. Just passing though and saw this. Fortunate, eh, was buried under some flyers for a party. It sounded a dull affair so I gathered up all the flyers I could and dumped 'em. The party flyers, not this... This is... Well, lets say I'm just interested."

    The man's square head turned when Circe made her arrival. Shortly after, he followed her into the room proper and found himself somewhere to sit.

    "This the usual size of the group? Fine! Don't mind a discussion about dreams, if that is what we are talking about. Just finding some like minded individuals makes me happy. You'll always find books on Tarot, or casting runes, or stuff like that. Doesn't mean it is all useful but I guess you gotta start somewhere. Same goes for Dream interpretation and the like. Maybe online could help better - but again, you gotta know your sources, right?"

    An unintentionally hard edge crept into his voice.

    "Name's Anatole, by the way," he added trying to soften the grate in his voice.

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  10. #9
    Circe's Avatar
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    Her skin turns a slate-blue and her hair bone white. The whites of her eyes are blood red, the irises are purple with cat-slit black pupils. The helix of her ears elongate out 2" inches ending in a tip. Her features sharpen and her figure has an unnatural, inhuman litheness that can be intellectually disturbing.
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    IDK
    CSbb
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    Her skin brings to mind Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, or Asian races, though her high cheek bones and sharp facial structure don't match. Most assume she is of mixed ancestry given the pale blonde hair. Alias Mary Maniscalo.
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      Rage singing, no work with Ozzy, Shake the shanty
     

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    Dreams huh? Circe knew as much about those as all Lost did and especially lucid dreaming. Maybe some more since she'd studied up for the Hedgespinning, but that was her focus not the nature of fae or mortal dreams."Ah, so the man is gonna try ta shut the show down? Fight the man and all that woo," she made a half hearted fist raise having no knowledge of the science side of dreams she'd overheard. She then laughs, "Ha! I didn't really think we were gonna hunt for Exalibur but it's fun ta think about swingin' Arthur's sword around."

    Though she was quite wary of mundies getting too into dreams. Dream poison was a thing and if they started hunting that? They might see things they really shouldn't. Defending themselves was fine but it could be a fine line. Problem was how did she know what the line was? Lost just did lucid dreaming automatically. "Lucid dreaming is the name right? Like making everybody in yer dreams dress like Jabba palace Laea? Nice!" she grabs one of the copies to pretend ignorance.

    She puts down the coffee and takes out a bag of paper cups, creamer, and sugars to plop beside it on the table. "I am more engineer then scientist so ya boys know," she smiles, "I have no clue about brain chemistry or psychology. Kinda why I was more interested in physical objects. Got no objection ta dreams and omens. But," she holds up a hand, "If ya expect me ta go Greek oracle that ain't gonna happen."

    She then smiles at Anatole, "Of course the greatest source of information both for and against anything, the Internet. Prophets and shamans been usin' 'em forever," possibly Lost in disguise now that she thought about it, "So gotta be some books on it too. But just ta be the voice of negativity here," she pours herself a cup of coffee and starts preparing it, "Anybody want me ta mix a cup fer 'em? Oh," Circe nods, "Negativity. Some animal omens? Pretty sure it is just instincts tellin' them bad shit coming run. Like how they sense earthquakes early or smell forest fires way before humans notice it."

    That was in the scouting manual she'd once read. Circe sips the coffee with a contented sigh, "Though I will throw in some common sense on the dream front. Upset stomach nightmares are a thing. I see no chance ta be a lucid or studious dreamer if yer stomach is screaming distress ta yer brain. All ya interpret from that kinda dream is don't eat the funky chicken."

    Circe has some personal experience with that from her old motley. Best to just avoid those kind of shared dreams by using antacid.
    Fairest: Larcenist | WYRD 2| Mantle: Dry Desert Heat |Health: 8 | Willpower: 5 | Glamour: 7

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  12. #10
    S
    Shodan

    "Yeah, we're a small bunch" the Obrimos confirms Anatole's suspicions "And it's good that you don't want to shoo us away. But, how do you know which sources are useful and which are not? Got any previous experience chasing mysteries?" He might not be employed here, but it didn't mean Mr. Beard wasn't an academic. Visiting, say. Or cast away from some other uni for too... unorthodox views.

    Greek oracle? Well, it's all Greek to Shodan "Pretty sure we'd need to lace you with drugs for that. Unethical and illegal, not to mention a control group would be needed" He grins. Though the scientific benefits of that would be meager at best "Speaking of drugs..." He eyes the coffee. This psychoactive drug, on the other hand, was both ethical and legal for some reason "I'll have one. Although I don't think we'll do much meditating after" It's probably not the best kind of bean, but the caffeine contained is sure to light up the nervous system like a Christmas tree.

    "I think Nathaniel means, like... black cats crossing your path. Or white deers in forests. True, some of it can be explained away by ingrained migration patterns and superior senses, but that's exactly it. Animals have it, and supposedly - some humans do, too. Like that Bulgarian lady that claims to have foresaw Brexit. Of course, most of it is bullshit made for money and attention..."

    Mages playing pranks or politics. Mostly just Sleepers unwittingly reinforcing the Lie. Thanks for nothing, assholes.

    "But what if not all of it is? We already know galantamine helps with lucid dreaming. Maybe if you mix drugs, meditation... and a hefty portion of the scientifc method to help you analyze results of course... you could give everyone these Princess Leia dresses" Interesting places Mary's mind went. One can wonder what could be seen by a probe in her dreams "But first you'd have to know you're dreaming, or so the research says"

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