Mage Midori

An Awakened Mage from the world of Mage: The Ascension

[mage-midori]

So my Mage: The Ascension Storyteller is going to have an arc in which my character will circle back and interact with some other Mages who were in her former band, the Wayward Wonders. I've been working on character art, summaries, and character sheets for them. Here are my drawings of Sofia Rivera and Elena Ivanova.

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Midori's eldest sister Murasaki. She owns Kappo Cayuga, a new Michelin Star restaurant in Manhattan's Upper East Side. People claim that her dishes are so good that they cure what ails them. This claim, of course, is ridiculous because magic isn't real, right?

Anyhow, Murasaki is secretly an Awakened Mage and a member of the Verbena Tradition.

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Midori's youngest sister, Pinku "Pippa" Niji.

Pippa is also an Awakened Mage, focusing on Mind Sphere magicks. With Mind 3 and Correspondence 3, that makes her extremely dangerous!

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Midori Niji's eldest sister, Murasaki, graduated from Cornell University's hotel school a few years back. She now has her own restaurant in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She belongs to the Verbena mage tradition and is basically a kitchen witch. Cooking is her spellcasting.

Their youngest sister, Pinku (outside of the family, she prefers the nickname Pippa), is a graduate student at Cornell studying psychology. She joined a student organization (secretly made up of mostly Awakened mages) called Merlin's Kids. She gets into people's heads with her magick. No, she is not part of the Technocracy!

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[I have a Mage: The Ascension gaming session coming up this evening. Last time, I had to go out and buy a new outfit for monster hunting out on the bayou. I did a quick sketch over lunch of what I was envisioning.]

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Midori had returned to her New Orleans hotel room to change into her new, durable "monster hunting" outfit that she had just purchased. She didn't want to ruin her Prada boots from going out into the bayou with that unusual but trustworthy man she had met at the breakfast buffet.

While she had a few minutes, she posted some pictures of her breakfast and coffee to her followers (and anybody else who would see) on BlueSky and Threads. As the uploads finished, a stray touch of her fingertip brought up her WhatsApp contacts. Midori's thumb hesitated for a second, then tapped on the name of one of her former Wayward Wonders bandmates: Sofia Rivera.

The call rang briefly. A voice speaking, "Mimi?" came out the speaker.

"Hey, Sofi," Midori began, her voice sounding smaller than it had been all day. "Got a minute?"

"Anytime, amiga del alma." Sofia's voice was friendly, but tinged with exhaustion. "I actually just got back from the long-term care facility, so it sounds like your sense of timing is impeccable as always."

Midori's fingers tightened around her phone, her knuckles turning white. "How is Lily?" Her voice intensified. "Were there any changes? Did the...did my music help her any?"

A long pause hung in the air.

Sofia sighed. "No, no changes. Her brain activity is still down. I played the track you made for her, but the doctor said the response wasn't significant."

Midori squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, holding back her tears. "I...I can make more. Better ones. Special tracks, you know—?"

"Midori, no! Remember the Brooklyn event."

Midori inhaled shakily. "That won't happen again. I have a...contingency now. I can hold everything together myself—"

"Don't," Sofia interjected softly but firmly. "It would—" She grunted out of frustration, trying to keep magick-related words out of a call that could very well be tapped. "—things can always go wrong." She whispered, "They did before."

Midori sighed and immediately changed the subject. "So. About Elena. Have you heard from her?"

"No, Midori. She's still mad. Well, 'mad' isn't a good descriptor." Sofia took a deep breath and sighed. She thinks we were too reckless. Right from the start. Obviously, this wasn't what actually happened, but she blames *you* for pushing the tempo and making us all lose control. I've told her many times that we acted together as one, but she refused to hear that. She's not ready to listen again, yet."

Sighing again, Midori closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How about Amina? Any word from her? I've sent her messages, but...they don't even show as read."

"No, still no replies from her," Sofia responded. "She deadass ghosted us.

"But she's back with her family. I went to go see them at their home to ask about her. Her mother greeted me, but she was guarded. Malika brought me in and made me tea, but said Amina couldn't come out of her room to see me because she was 'resting.' It was just the two of us. No Karim, no Safiya. I heard them from the other rooms, but they didn't come out.

"Malika never smiled at me once—remember how she was always smiling?—but we spoke for a few minutes. She said Amina's been praying. Like, most of the day every day since she moved back in. The audience deaths have been weighing heavily upon her heart and soul."

Sofia sighed heavily. "So for now, cariño, it is just you and I."

Midori switched back to her Threads window as she listened. She quickly scrolled through, seeing all the likes her followers had given her and her replies to posts with sparkles and bright emojis. These perfect strangers, these "Thriends." Many of them had called her "fam." It all felt so hollow, so empty to her, now.

She answered, "Thanks, Sofi. For sticking with me even though we're no longer singing together. I...don't know what I'd do if you left me, too." Tears trickled down her face. "Sofia, I love you so much!"

"I love you too, mi amiga," Sofia replied. "Friends for life. Hey, I need to go. Was there anything else?"

Midori though for a second. "There is. I managed to run into Dr. Jun and a couple of new friends down here. They're awake right now, so I should probably check on them about our plans today. I'll tell you more later."

"Oh," Sofia mused. "Ohhhh. Right. Yes, please keep me in the loop, and for God's sake, be careful! Remember, I'm always here for you, Midori. May you never lack hope."

"And you as well, Sofia. Love ya! Talk to you soon!"

Midori ended the call and stared at the phone in her hand, feeling like she was twenty-five going on eighty. Pocketing the phone, she walked over to a nearby sofa and picked up her guitar—not to perform, but just to feel it in her hands.

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After the events of the Mardi Gras event and after staring down and exorcising a demon (!!!), Midori and her party of mages decided that they needed to buy an old van to travel around the area and investigate some of the supernatural goings-on. There was even talk about somehow obtaining a talking dog to help them out with solving the mysteries.

Anyhow, Midori being Midori, she decided that she needed a new outfit to help her blend in.

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Late that night, Midori called her eldest sister in a video call over WhatsApp.

"Oh, hey Mimi," Murasaki answered, her face appearing on Midori's screen. She straightened a braid of her purple hair. "What's up?"

"Oh, just wanted to tell you about Mardi Gras," Midori replied. "Hey, let me patch Pin-chan in, too." Midori added her youngest sister, Pinku, as a participant, who answered fairly quickly.

"Yo, Mimi...and Mura." Pinku raised an eyebrow.

Midori looked straight into the camera. "I knew you two would still be awake at this hour, but I thought the rest of our family might be sleeping."

Murasaki raised her eyebrows and nodded, catching her sister's coded message referencing who was Awakened and who was a Sleeper. Actual security does not exist for WhatsApp in a world where the *de facto* authorities can listen in anywhere and anytime. Pinku simply replied, "Bet."

"Anyhow," Midori continued, "Mardi Gras stuff. So I finished my set, and guess who I saw backstage? Dr. Jun!"

"Oh," Pinku's eyes lit up with recognition. "How's he doing? Did he set up practice down there? I was wondering where he went off to. Was he on staff for the party?"

Midori tilted her head. "Nah, he's kinda...homeless now."

Her two sisters exclaimed in unison, "WHAT?!?" Pinku continued with concern, "Is he OK? Does he need help? What happened to him?"

Midori thought for a moment, then winked subtly into the camera. "Well, it seems he just woke up one day, realized his life was a lie, and abandoned everything. But he does have a place to live. He's got a sanct—er, that is, a sanctuary where he does his...stuff. I'll let you know more when I do.

"Anyhow, Dr. Jun and I had some business with the guy running the party down here. We also met some new friends: a nun, I guess? And this big strong dude who I call 'Mr. Beefcake.'"

"Ha ha, what?" Murasaki chuckled.

"Yeah," Midori continued, "so we're hanging out for a while. Exploring the city. I'm on a mission: to find all the best Creole and seafood places. You know, learn all of New Orleans' secrets."

Pinku's lips twitched downward. "Hmm. You're in unfamiliar territory, there. Please be careful!"

Midori waved her hand and shook her hand. "You know me, I'll be fine, ha ha! Besides....

"What could possibly go wrong?"

Murasaki and Pinku both facepalmed.

"Anyhow, I need my beauty sleep," Midori continued. "Love you both! I'll talk to you soon!"

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"YURRRRRRR! What's up, Sleepwalkers? It's your girl Midori!

"Guess where I am right now! That's right, NEW ORLEANS! I'm getting ready for the big Mardi Gras concert at that big, exclusive resort. You know the one I'm talking about! It's gonna be a blast!

"If you can't be there in person, be sure to join the live stream or clickety-click on the links below for after-the-fact video footage!

"Well, they need me for setup now, but I'll see if I can stream some rehearsals and sound checks along the way for your eyes only!

"Thank you all for your undying support. Remember, my Sleepwalkers, the universe loves you and I love you all!

"Midori out!"

[mage-midori]

A character build is in progress for Mage: the Ascension (World of Darkness). Midori has learned that her music can warp reality itself!

Here's a rough sketch for my character portrait.

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Finished!

[mage-midori]

A character build is in progress for Mage: the Ascension (World of Darkness). Midori has learned that her music can warp reality itself!

Here's a rough sketch for my character portrait.