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

[afterthemoon]

Isa sighs softly.

"Xion, we're never going to get anywhere if you don't make an effort to try.

We're not asking you to be my friend, or anything like that. But for Lea's sake, please, just...

Just try."

[nobodys_puppet]

Him saying her name like that was just weird and uncomfortable. But what he said after...

That was a low blow, and her jaw clenched. He was going to use Axel as a weapon, was he?

Axel... who might recognize that rare spark of anger in her.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Part of Lea wanted to snap that she wasn't acting like she believed him, but he kept his mouth shut. Fortunately, Isa interjected with something a bit less biting, and Lea gave him a grateful glance before turning back to Xion.

"Yeah," he said. "Just... try. That's all we're really asking here."

[afterthemoon]

For now, Isa just looks at the two expectantly.

The ball was in Xion's court, and there really wasn't much either Lea or Isa could do for now.

[nobodys_puppet]

Had he, she might have pointed out that this was one of the few times she actually thought he was wrong.

She wanted to ask "try what" but she was afraid that would lead to more words like that from her, that she would hurt Axel She didn't want to hurt him. But she didn't know how to go about asking Saïx anything not mission critical. Nor did she honestly want to. And Axel saying we, meaning him and Saïx, not him and her and Roxas... for some reason that caused pain. She didn't understand why, she just knew it did.

But Axel wanted her to ask Saïx.... something. Fine. She could think of something that wouldn't upset Axel too much. Unless of course, Saïx did answer honestly.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally asked, trying to make her voice sound strong. She failed. Miserably. She almost failed to even get the question out.

[afterthemoon]

"To have a chance to clear the air. So you have a chance to understand my side of the story. So we can stop causing Lea undue stress."

He looks down at his hands on his lap

"It's something that could be a benefit to all of us."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Why are you pretending to care about him?" she snapped, some of that anger rising to the surface again. Just to hurt her? That... seemed disturbingly likely. Except that she knew she wasn't worth that much effort to Saïx. Which is why she didn't understand any of this.

But... she had not meant to ask that in front of Axel... She swallowed hard but refused to let Saïx see her flinch.

[afterthemoon]

"I-I'm not pretending! Why would I--?"

Isa looked genuinely hurt by that statement. He understood why Xion would say such a thing, but it still hurt.

"Lea's my best friend!"

[nobodys_puppet]

"He is my best friend and Roxas'. And you used him to try and hurt us, which hurt him." She actually took a step forward to put herself in front of Axel.

[afterthemoon]

"Lea can have more than one best friend. The sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be. Don't make the same mistakes I did."

Isa gives Lea an almost pleading look, as if to ask if he's so sure this was a good idea.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea was actually a bit surprised when Xion said that she thought Isa had only been pretending to care about him, but when he stopped and thought about it a moment from her perspective, it made sense. Didn't make Isa'd reaction any easier to watch though.

At the pleading look directed his way though, he sighed a bit. Well they had wanted Xion to try; they hadn't really specified what to try. He did speak up though. "Yeah," he said. "That did hurt. But for my part, I've forgiven him for that; because that's what friends do when one of them genuinely regrets their actions."

"And I'm hardly innocent when it comes to using people either," he added. "All through the Castle Oblivion mission I used basically everyone in that place against each other at one point or another."

"And he's right about being able to have multiple best friends," he said. "Really, you can have as many or as few as you want. It's just that for a long time I was Isa's only one. Even back before we lost our hearts, he was never really that great at getting out and making more friends on his own."

[nobodys_puppet]

"None of the people you were using were your friends," she said softly, refusing to let Axel feel bad about this now that he could feel. That wasn't what his heart was for, hurting. He had to be happy and enjoy. For the both of them.

[afterthemoon]

Isa will let Lea inform Xion that he's friends with Sora nowadays on his own time, since that's a totally different can of worms.

He takes a moment to pause and collect his thoughts.

"Xion, I want you to understand why I acted the way I did. I was jealous, of you, of Roxas-- and before you say anything, yes, jealously is indeed a feeling." He'll get back to that later.

"I had convinced myself it was your fault that Lea and I had drifted apart, and I was lashing out at anything I could. I was wrong and so, so blind."

[nobodys_puppet]

How did she even start to reply to that? At all? For one thing, it didn't make sense. For another... she wasn't buying it.

There was just... a lot there. And she had no clue where to start. So she fell back on the stragay that usually worked best in these situations. She said nothing.

[afterthemoon]

Typical.

"Is that it? You're just going to stand there and say nothing?"

Why was he even bothering trying to bear his heart to her? She didn't care.

Because his heart ached when he remembered the way he treated her, and it felt like it threatened to destroy him, that's why.

Isa turns away in a huff.

"I knew this was a bad idea."

[nobodys_puppet]

Gee, who was it who worked so hard to ensure that she never forgot that she couldn't care?

"I am aware I am not supposed to speak," she said, flatly. Not that he ever bothered to hear her when she tried.

[afterthemoon]

He doesn't turn to face her, he simply stares at the darkened crystal.

"The Organization is no more. You're free to do or say whatever you want."

His breathing seemed shaky, his voice was cracking ever so slightly.

"I couldn't turn you into a Dusk even if I wanted to, I never had the ability to do that in the first place. I have reason to believe it was little more a threat Xemnas held over our heads to keep us in line."

"I know you don't believe a word I say, and want to see me as nothing more than a monster. I deserve it, after the way I treated you...

"I know you'll never trust me, but maybe you should try trusting Lea."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Of course I trust Axel," she snapped, the words out before she thought about the words.Before she realized she shouldn't show him that kind of a weakness.

Did he really just admit that he had been lying about being able to turn her into a Dusk for so long... st the same time he complained that she didn't trust him? Really?

[afterthemoon]

No, he didn't, because Isa never once claimed he could do it in the first place. If Xion mistook his threats to take her to be dealt with by Xemnas as him threatening to turn her into a Dusk on his own, well... not much Isa can do about that, now can he?

He was the Organization's glorified secretary, how much power did you honestly think he had?

"Then trust his judgement..." Isa replies softly.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea stood back and listened, unsure if he should intervene or not. This... wasn't going nearly as well as he'd hoped. But at the same time, he wasn't sure there was anything he could do. He'd gone round and round in circles with Xion on the subject and gotten all of nowhere.

But when Isa asked Xion to trust Lea's judgement, he spoke up. "That's honestly all I really want, Xion," he said. "For you to trust my judgement. And the main reason we're here is that you keep refusing to."

"I get that you don't trust Isa. So does he, like he just said. But I've known him a lot longer and in a lot more ways than you. I get why you wouldn't necessarily take his word for things, but Isa is one of the few subjects I actually know a lot about. So why is it so hard for you to believe me when I say that he's on the level?"

"The reason we're all here in a room with a magical lie detector is that I thought having some other proof would help convince you and maybe help you guys clear up a few things between you. But it's looking like that's not the case. So tell me, Xion, what will it take for you to believe that I'm not being a deluded idiot to trust one of my best friends? Do I need to swear under oath? Walk around all day wearing a big sign stating that it's true? Sign a contract in blood? Just... give me a clue here. Cause frankly, I'm all out."

[nobodys_puppet]

Her shoulders slumped as Axel spoke. She shrunk in on herself more and more as he did. She had been hurting him. She had tried so hard to not say things that would hurt him, to wait for proof.... He had told her to talk to Sora but... no one could find Sora. Or at least... she couldn't and the few people she had been brave enough to ask couldn't.

She swallowed hard. Fine. If he really needed to understand... maybe what little she already had from recon would be enough to let him at least understand.

When she spoke, she spoke softly, and only to Axel.

"He showed up," she said in a near whisper. "And now Sora seems to be gone. He showed up and suddenly I am getting attacked every other day by Somebodies who only want to hurt me. He showed up and... you and I are arguing for the first time. I'm still trying to find proof but...." she was shaking harder now, hands clenched at either side. "I didn't want to say anything until I had proof," she whispered. "I didn't want to hurt you. But apparently I already failed at that." She swallowed hard.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea listened as Xion explained, then he sighed, getting down on one knee to be more on her level. "Xion, you coming to me with things that are upsetting you wouldn't hurt me," he said. "That's what I keep trying to tell you. I'm you're best friend; I want to know those kinds of things so I can maybe help before they get too out of hand."

"And if you had, I could have explained a few things to you awhile ago, and we might have avoided some of the arguing," he said. "I noticed that Sora was gone myself, so I spoke to the Sundering teacher about it; she explained that Sundering magic like what brought us here can be unstable, and the spell that brought Sora here was one of those unstable spells. Basically, the spell reversed itself and sent him back where he came from; back home. He's fine; just not here any more."

"And if you think Isa is behind those bullies coming after you, you're giving him way too much credit on his ability to form conspiracies. I'm being 100% serious when I say that Isa isn't social enough to form a conspiracy with a bunch of random people. He's less likely to willingly be social than you are, and that's saying something. The bullies are just a bunch of local creeps who don't need any prompting to harass people when they think they can get away with it. And besides, it was Isa who chased them off when they beat you up in that alley; why would he do that if he was working with them?"

"You're not finding proof, because there isn't any to find," he said. "It's just a lot of badly timed coincidences. Thing's aren't suddenly his fault just because he's around."

He took a deep breath, and continued. "Look, there's exactly two possibilities here," Lea said. "Either Isa is lying, in which case the crystal isn't working right- which we already proved wasn't the case-, the staff here is on the take- which there's no way he has the money, magic, or conspiracy skills to accomplish-, and you're willing to accept that your best friend is a deluded idiot for trusting him. Or I've been telling you the truth this whole time, and so is he now. Now tell me, honestly, which one seems more likely to you?"

hood is still up, but otherwise, this icon was too perfect to not use.

[nobodys_puppet]

She heard all of that. She did. Just most of it will take a moment to process because something Axel has said terrified her. Utterly. "Unstable...?" she asked in a whisper, pale under her hood, eyes wide in the shadows. They could wind up... back? Back where she was dead and he didn't remember her? She could wind up back to nothingness? Or worse... he could leave, forget her and she'd be trapped here with Saïx?

Without thinking of the weakness she was showing, without thinking of much of anything her hand darted out to grab a piece of Axel's sleeve. As if somehow that was strong enough to stop the magic from taking him away from her again.

Agreed.

[hotheadwarmheart]

He nodded solemnly, then shifted his hand to hold hers properly when she grabbed his sleeve. "That's part of why Sundering magic was made illegal in the first place," he said. "It's generally unstable and hard to control. The spells that brought us all here are no different; they could eventually wear off like Sora's did and send everybody back where they came from."

"We'll all probably have to go back eventually, honestly, whether it happens that way, or deliberately when they figure out how to send us back. None of us really belong here. But I'm sorry that Sora vanishing was how we had to find out that it could happen like that."

[nobodys_puppet]

"And... I would go back to being trapped inside Sora and you... would forget me once one of us was back?" she asked in a whisper, her fingers closing tightly over his.

Congratulations, Saïx, you are no longer the scariest thing in the room. Her eyes closed as her knees threatened to give out. This was all temporary. She... should have known it. She was not created for good things.