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

[shiningkindness]

"W-Well...I guess that does sound a bit silly," she replied. Still, she was having a hard time wrapping her head around this. Who would want to send her something?

Looking over the package again, she found that it had been tied up pretty well. "I guess I'll have to open it later," she said, mostly to herself, since she didn't have anything to open it with.

[woo_oo]

"Why not now?" Webby to the rescue - eh, sorta. She whipped out one of her knives, twirling it in her fingers.

"Wanna borrow this?"

[shiningkindness]

She paused a moment, staring. Where did she - actually, maybe it was better not to ask.

"Oh...sure. Thank you."

[woo_oo]

With another flip of the blade, she handed it over.

"Packages seem to be pretty popular nowdays. Is this a special month or something?"

[shiningkindness]

She worked the knife delicately into the tape and cut along the slit of the box to get the flaps open.

"From what I've heard, it's supposed to be Love Month. It sounds kind of like Valentine's Day, except it's celebrated for the entire month."

[woo_oo]

Webby's eyes widened with excitement, because...

"Does that mean all of next month is Discount Chocolate Month?!"

[shiningkindness]

She couldn't help a laugh at that. "Maybe? I bet it would take that long to get rid of all of that chocolate."

Once she was done cutting open the box, she carefully handed the knife back to Webby. Then she pulled open the flaps to reveal what looked like a bird's nest. The twigs and grass that made up most of it seemed almost weaved together, as if it was made by human hands than an actual bird, and strewn throughout it were iridescent feathers that seemed to glisten with rainbows in the light.

[woo_oo]

Webby lost herself in daydream land, imagining all the delicious chocolate waiting for her.

But the glittery sparkles made by the feathers got her attention back. "Huh? What is it?"

[shiningkindness]

"It...looks like a bird's nest," Fluttershy said, turning it over a bit. "It seems man-made, though...the twigs and grass have a plastic-y kind of feel. I think it's more for decoration than for an actual bird."

[woo_oo]

"So... someone thinks... you wanted a bird's nest to decorate your room with?"

Boy, wasn't that confusing on a number of levels.

[shiningkindness]

It definitely was confusing, though they might be confused for different reasons.

"...Actually, I'm a little surprised someone knew," she said, once again turning it over. "Though I'm wondering why they made one like this instead of getting an actual bird's nest."

[woo_oo]

Webby looked at her, eyebrows raised. "... Do you want an actual bird's nest?"

Because she'd go and get one, really.

[shiningkindness]

"W-Well...I mean, I wouldn't mind one," she admitted, and she knew how strange it sounded, but that was just how she was. "But I don't want to disturb any actual birds for one. I just have a lot of birds visiting my room, and a nest would just be a nice place for them to be comfortable while they visit."

[woo_oo]

"I could get you a real one, if you wanted!" She was always easily distracted.

[shiningkindness]

"Oh, I don't want you to go through too much trouble. And besides, even if we find an empty nest, we don't know if another bird might end up using it."

[woo_oo]

"Oh, that's true..." She sheepishly rubbed her arm. "I really don't know a lot about animals."

[shiningkindness]

...That might have been the wrong thing to say, as Fluttershy's face lit up a bit.

"I can teach you, if you'd like?"

[woo_oo]

Oh boy! Webby loves learning things!

"Sure, that'd be great! I'd love to hear about the animals of your world!:

[shiningkindness]

With a brighter smile, she nodded.

"Sure! I'd be happy to tell you all about them!"