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]

"Yes." And then he gave her a rather odd look, head tilted with eyebrows raised. "You don't want people to hear you?"

[shiningkindness]

She fidgeted a bit, playing with her hair nervously. "W-Well...I-I mean...I-I don't...really mind so much when...everyone's singing together. I-I um...just don't like...standing out."

[perfectenn]

"I see." And he did. The surprise eased out of his voice to an understanding quiet. He'd had an advantage going into Fantastics class, being both in Valhudor and already trained for public performances. That was not the case for most Sundered... particularly those in Valhudor's rival house.

"Things have been difficult lately." Tenn would not bring up last month; he probably didn't have to.

Then, curiously, he posed a general question. "Why do you sing?"

[shiningkindness]

She frowned a bit; while she did agree with his statement about last month, it seemed to have come out of nowhere. But she didn't get a chance to ask before his other question.

"Oh...w-well...I love music. I love the freedom of getting to express myself through singing and writing songs. It's just...something fun I like to do for myself."

[perfectenn]

"Only for yourself?" There was no judgment in the question, just genuine curiosity. "You’ve never had someone you wanted to sing for?"

[shiningkindness]

"Well...not specifically? I perform for my animal friends, and I like singing with my friends in our band. I'm a backup vocal, though, so I don't have to be in the spotlight. But otherwise, it's mostly just for me."

[perfectenn]

"I see." He drew back, seeming to have found the answer he was searching for. "So that’s why. You prefer others perform your songs… it’s not a bad thing to want to share your work from behind the scenes." He’d met more than a few musicians like that.

"In the art of Fantastics, that has its’ place as well. Harmonizing with a group is a skill itself." He added with a smile, "Though with your voice, you could perform in a more prominent role."

[shiningkindness]

Another faint blush colored her cheeks. "Thank you...and maybe...maybe someday, I can try soloing more. But for now, I really don't mind not being in the spotlight."

[perfectenn]

"Being in the spotlight comes with responsibility. Not everyone wants or is suited to it." Tenn gestured her into the booth, perhaps a little more at ease at giving it up.

"But at some point, you may find you want to connect with the audience from the front of the stage. Like calling to them with all your heart, it's a feeling you can’t achieve any other way."

[shiningkindness]

She thought about that for a moment as she stepped further inside. "...I hadn't really considered that before," she said after a moment. "I always thought that it'd be enough for me just to reach out with my songs performed with all my friends. But I guess even if I'm still there, playing together with everyone, the meaning of of my lyrics could change based on who's singing it."

[perfectenn]

"That's right." Tenn agreed. "A song isn't just lyrics. It's the feelings behind them. I'm sure you have a message in mind when you write a song. Those singing your music put their will behind the words as well. It's why each performance is unique."

[shiningkindness]

She nodded. "Right...and even then, the song and lyrics can be interpreted differently, depending on who's listening and how the song connects with them."

There were a lot of things she hadn't thought of. But even as she was voicing them out loud now, there was a bit of excitement as she imagined the possibilities.

[perfectenn]

"Precisely." Tenn nodded, then returned to the concern that had begun his train of thought. "You can't control everything, who is listening or how they respond. But I don’t believe that’s a reason to hold back when there's something you really want to say."

She did seem excited now… inspired even, so he knew not to interrupt further. "And it is important to practice, which I’ll leave you to."

[shiningkindness]

"Ah, right...thank you." Blushing slightly, she went to retrieve her music from her bag.

"...I'm...Fluttershy...by the way."

[perfectenn]

“Tenn Kujo.” It had been a while since he gave his full name, but this time was deliberate.

After a moment of considering, he offered, “I perform outside of the academy regularly. If you'd like to learn more about the city’s music scene, let me know.”

[shiningkindness]

"It's nice to meet you."

Thinking about that for a moment, she nodded.

"Yeah...I think I'd like that."