May Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

May Event and Intro Log DAWN OF THE FIRST DAY May I Have This Dance? Though Diatu Magicademy has its share of social events, few capture the attention of the student body quite like the Twilight Ball -- that magical once-a-year dance that crosses the change of day into night and is given over entirely to the dance itself. The focus is not on political visitors, rival schools, local government, or hitting up alumni for money; it is entirely about the pleasure that comes from accompanying a charming and attractive person onto the dance floor and cutting the proverbial rug. It is entirely possible the Twilight Ball is beloved because the general student body is aggressively amorous, but no one admits that out loud. With the dance on the horizon, the mission of the day becomes finding a partner -- or asking the prettiest or nicest or most tsundere to the ball before anyone else does. The Sundered are particularly popular by virtue of being new, so students may find themselves fending off invitations or even crowds of people interested in being seen on their arms. Even the younger Sundered have a few people in their age group who'd like to pretend they're just as adult as the older students. To avoid the mob, one strategy is to find someone else in dire straits and agree to be their date, thus giving both of you protection now and then. Another, stranger, vastly more unorthodox strategy is to actually ask someone out legitimately... if you've got the guts. (The third strategy is to go with Headmaster Birony, who has been occasionally heard to bemoan loudly and publicly that she has nobody, HINT HINT. But who could possibly be THAT desperate?) Love Is In The Water Love potions are absolutely, positively, one hundred percent forbidden, on the grounds they tread far too close to the supremely black Curriculum of Dictation. This ultimate and unforgiving ban is every bit as effective as Anastara's rules limiting the speed of carts in the street to a horse's walk. So, yes, there's love potion in the water. Someone spilled an entire bucket in the river. These things happen. Luckily, as diluted as it is, the potion doesn't reach the levels of obsessive compulsion that the worst of them can; a person drinking a unfortunate draught instead simply finds themselves attracted in a weird and sharp sort of way to the first person they lay their eyes on, for a period of about thirty minutes. Diatu Magicademy is an inclusive and progressive institution, and consequently these potions affect and can target all manner of beings, from ducks and wolf-shifters to robots and dragons. They are pretty convenient about failing to bring about really skeevy pairings, though, so don't worry about being Hot For Professor. Special Delivery (aka the Least Embarrassing Prompt, which is a sad state of affairs) A quick, easy, profitable way to make some money this time of year is by delivering messages, packages, parcels, and treats to students who've caught the eye of another. Whether anonymous or gloriously identified, small token of esteem or bristling bundles of roses and chocolates, the population of the Magicademy takes particular delight in letting others know their feelings. Not always positive feelings, either -- glitter-bomb rejections have only recently begun to diminish in popularity, being replaced by Pie-To-The-Face spells. An enterprising student who adds their own spin to this hallowed ceremony of delivery can make bank; singing and performance are popular ways to enhance a message among Valhudor students, and a recent trend finds quartets delivering acapella harmonies to the recipients of love notes. But simple note hauling can still be worth your while... so long as you don't find yourself delivering a creepy confession from a weirdo to one of your dear friends. What are the odds of that happening, though? Research On the Sundered With the arrival of the Sundered come those wizards engaged in research on their presence here, now set to investigate what brought them here and how to get them home. All newly-arrived Sundered students are asked to meet with representatives of the research team, to introduce themselves and relate what they will of their homes. In addition, the team requests samples of blood, hair, and skin -- carefully magically collected, and the researchers will sign in the presence of the Sundered a Glyphed contract that forbids them from using the samples for a purpose they know will be harmful. (They quite understand your reasons to be suspicious of this collection! And they will not compel anyone who refuses even given these conditions.) This month, however, the research team informs its applicants that there is no magic being performed. Instead, they ask you to participate in partnered interviews, in which two Sundered compare their worlds and ask each other questions while the researchers take notes. They explain that they wish to find commonalities and differences between worlds, in the hopes that this will help them identify a larger pattern in how the Sundered were brought here. How is this bad enough to merit earning a reward this month? As it happens, the researchers who sit with the pair have an Intimation Crystal, which shines red every time someone speaks to deceive in its presence. Lie or omit information or cover with half-truths and the interviewer will ask you to go back and try again -- and they encourage you to speak on everything you can. You might end up venturing into dark or unpleasant territory in these interviews... DAWN OF THE SECOND DAY Welp, This Happened A quiet weekend morning is abruptly quiet no longer. With a tumultuous shuddering and an eerie, whistling roar, the first tendril of a far mightier being surges out of a wall on campus, venturing into the cloud-shadowed outdoors for the first time in its existence in this plane. Then, like a cloak shrugged off, the outbuilding it emerged from rises up only to crash to the ground as the Sundered creature rises up to claim it glory. It is a nightmare, a horror. A terrible, indescribable thing as large as a small building —a shapeless agglutination of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of light. For some inexplicable reason, it is colored in bands of purple, black, and gold, and several parts of it sprout white feathers. That's the bad news. The bad news is that this existential threat to reality does not go unnoticed, nor unchallenged. Mere moment after the Sundered creature makes it presence known, a cold wind begins to blow. The temperature abruptly drops thirty degrees, leaving those around in a clammy and miserable chill that feels like they've passed their whole body through one of the ghosts of Makerion Keep. This estimation is not too far wrong, for the pale off-white dragon that emerges from the clouds above is translucent and ethereal, save for the shining eyes of coldest blue that fix on the beast like pinpoints of fire. What a ghost dragon is doing here is anyone's guess, but when it opens its jaw to unleash a withering cone of necrotic energy at the Sundered creature, it demonstrates plainly that it will not brook this interloper on its domain. In other words, Diatu Magicademy is now home to a kaiju fight. That's the bad news. The BAD news is that both these creatures are, by their very nature, incredibly resistant to magic. So even as the professors spill out and split duties of getting students to safety and fending them off, the two beasts barely notice the arcane energy flashing through the air as they begin vigorously brawling. Thank goodness this is a weekend, or else you'd all have some serious trouble getting to class on time. Wonders Await? Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. But maybe you should deal with that mess first? We're just saying.

Comments

[perfectenn]

The admiration and gifts are all very fine. The waiting for him outside his places of work and staking out his personal spaces are not. Now more than ever, he realizes how valuable it was to have a private home to return to in the evenings. And that brings up more feelings than he'd like to sort through at the moment.

"It's fine if it's only for a while." He stretches his arms overhead; dancers need breaks too. And the conversation does raise questions.

"Only that? You aren't having problems?" He would not have placed Yotsuyu as unpopular; certainly there are enough mature students in the academy that an older Sundered would attract attention.

[darkenedmoon]

"Not at the moment." Then again, she usually projected quite the formidable air, and Yotsuyu would have felt no remorse whatsoever from scaring off an amorous native she didn't even know. The same could be said of a Sundered, though.

"I did not think I came off as the type who suffered fools easily." Though Tenn does get graced with something of a smile at that, and perhaps the faintest twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

"Though if you do need a dragon to keep them from bothering you, for your own sanity, I would be happy to volunteer. You could give me pointers on Fantastics."

Not to say she's bad, but Yotsuyu does not sing for a reason. She can play reasonably; that is what she relies on.

[perfectenn]

That earns a wry look from Tenn. He's seen her buttering up enough of the staff to suspect she's willing to suffer fools when it suits her.

Without his figurative hawk or cerberus, a dragon doesn't sound half-bad. "Won't they be terribly jealous, though?" His returns the tease with a smirk. Then seriously admits, "In a few days, I won't be on campus so often. There's a rising demand for temporary, part-time performers, and I doubt my admirers will be willing to chase me across the city." Thank the rampant gossip at Melody's for his salvation.

That last invitation surprises him at first; he’s used to seeing her in class with an instrument. Yet, Tenn reminds himself, this is the person teaching the class on espionage. "I'm not as skilled in musical instruments." He reminds. "But it is good to have options that do not rely on having one to hand. Did you have something particular in mind?"

[darkenedmoon]

Perhaps, but those were useful fools. And some of them were, perhaps, not so foolish--Professor Trammel at least had some begrudging respect out of her.

"Who will be jealous? Pah!" Yotsuyu waved a hand at that. "Let them be, I care not. And if that gets folk out of your hair, 'tis all for the good." But she nods at the information he gives her. Not that she plans to divulge it--she plans to keep it for her own use. It might be a fitting place to take a friend or two--Tenn is skilled, after all.

Her lower lip twists slightly. "Well, I can dance, but it is more for the entertainment of others--I am hardly on your level, but pointers, I think, would not go amiss. I have learned to speak sweetly, but my singing voice is still that of a crow at dawn, so that is likely hopeless."

[perfectenn]

He smiles not unkindly, sharing in the humor before returning the topic with intent thought.

"If you have the coordination to dance, you might consider placing taps on shoes to create a percussion for casting." His hand transfers to his chin while he considers. "There's also the option of bells or chimes on clothing. Many things, even a small flute, could be added to jewelry. It will depend on what is easiest for you to manipulate musically, and how subtle you'd like the casting to be."

A few weeks ago, he would not have thought this deviously. Then someone he knew from Eiather got chased across the city by assassins. Now, Tenn finds himself pondering these things on a regularly scheduled basis.

[darkenedmoon]

"Or...chimes or small bells as jewelry." Such things were not unknown, where Yotsuyu hailed from. Though slightly larger bells on the end of a sash or such would hardly go amiss, either.

"I cannot say I am familiar with taps, however. The flute...I could possibly learn that, I am more comfortable playing something with strings, but even old dogs might learn new tricks, eh? But yes. I approve of subtlety."

Mostly because of her own history, but she'd never found such a skill to be remiss in places.

[perfectenn]

He nods in agreement. "Chimes from the metal of jewelry are more inconspicuous. The pitches of a flute or whistle draw attention, and so are better suited for performances."

Breaking his stationary contemplation, Tenn takes a few steps, demonstrating his points as he moves. "Dancing often involves using accessories on clothing to add to the music. Whatever you choose, you will need to be conscious of how you move when wearing it. The soles and arms are good choices." Of course, he could name people who gesture or fidget so much that would never work; Yotsuyu doesn't seem to have that problem.

[darkenedmoon]

"Mayhap when one wishes to draw attention, as well. Such as when one is being accosted by unwanted fangirls?" It was not intended as a tease, precisely, but it might be construed that way. It was still a good time to use a flute or a whistle. Or perhaps a cudgel from a percussion instrument, truly...

Yotsuyu nodded, however. Needless to say she was aware of the fact, but she'd asked Tenn for advice, so she did not take a review amiss. "Yes, I have used them in that fashion before--or on my ankles, my upper arms and wrists--and the flashier then, the better." In truth, she would have to be incredibly agitated to fidget in the way he was thinking--and even then, she'd been schooled to stillness and silence, whenever she could help it.

[perfectenn]

Tenn shakes his head, a cool smile only briefly crossing his lips. "Making more of a scene would not have improved matters." Wouldn't that have just drawn more students to him? Now that he thinks of it, it's weird the way they've been so... persistently enamored. One would almost think there was something in the air... or the water.

He responds with a firm nod. "Then you've a good start. It's like choosing any focus. Practicing is important to know what will suit you. You’ll want to find something that feels natural to use at a moment's notice, that you can create a rhythm with easily, and maintain even when distracted."

He comes to a stationary pose again. This completes his down payment. The thought did cross his mind of what someone who specializes in espionage might want with developing such techniques... but he learned to check those kinds of questions a long time ago. If it becomes a problem, he'll deal with it then.

"That should suffice to get started. Unless you have a question?"