July Event Log

[magicademymods]

July Event Log A Reading Rainbow Though the publication is ordinarily drier than dry toast Modified to be drier than dried toast, this quarter's issue of Thaumaturgy Today is all the rage around campus. The reason: a series of advances in motile spells! Easier and more powerful than those found in your standard book of spells (any grade), these spells achieve their power by specificity. One spell for lifting fruit, one for lifting laundry, one for lifting books, the list goes on. Though Professor Loshakle is deep at work writing a blistering reply criticizing every nuance of these spells, outside of his wrathful gaze the spells flourish as people practice them on everything they can. Copies of the issue are easy to get your hands on, if you want to give these new spells a whirl. On the other hand, your stuff or you yourself might fall victim to the spells of other students, whether by mistake or cruel jest. And woe betide those not human -- since no spell explains how to lift an anthropomorphic duck or a robot, for example, enterprising students are particularly eager to come up with one on their own, and there's only one way to test such things... It's Raw, You Donkey! There was an incident. Mistakes were made. Rice balls were detonated. Puddings were animated and sent on rampages. A cheesebread was found lodged in Makerion Keep, sunk to a depth of three feet in the walls. Whatever happened, and no one seems to have details... the Great Hall is closed and no food is being served. So... what're you going to eat? Several pop-up stands have emerged, as enterprising students try to cash in, but that costs money and who knows how the quality is. Headmaster Birony keeps showing up with pies, having made several savory ones that taste really good, actually, but can you really live on pie alone? (And do you really trust Headmaster Birony?) Some students have taken to the ultimate last resort: cooking. As it happens, the skills of the chef and of the aspiring mage are not exclusive in principle, but generally learning the one means little time to devote to the other. Faced with an oven or a grill, can you muster up the capability to make something edible? Or will you burn the water and turn bread back into grain, and thus have no choice but to avail yourself of pricey booth cooking or Cam-pies? Of course, the Great Hall will PROBABLY be open again soon, you might be able to last until then... The Defense Association In light of certain recent activities, like horrible monster attacks, Professors Trammel and Kith have teamed up to provide self-defense lessons to students who so desire. Purely optional, this extra class at the end of the school day promises study in shields, wards, basic attack spells, and mobility spells (because sometimes the best thing is to run like heck). Needless to say, these classes are quite the adventure! Students find themselves in dueling circles quite frequently, expected to carefully deflect each other's spells. Hopefully you've got the knack of it; the practice spells they have taught you don't cause any harm, but they sting like the dickens! Research on the Sundered Conflict. Conflict seems to be key. As near as the researchers can tell, all the Sundered lead lives that are simply not ordinary, and their experiments in conflict from last month produced results they didn't expect (as you all have learned) but that are most promising. Professor King herself has taken the lead on this experiment, and she warns anyone who volunteers that it is likely to be very dangerous, and they will be taking this very slow. They are, she explains, going to try to bridge the gap between you and the world you came from. A SMALL bridge, a proof of concept, no portal home and celebrations yet. But they hope it will work, and be the first step towards getting you back where you belong. If you agree, they get to work. Any student who undergoes this process immediately regains a power of their choice. It does not have to be on their application, and you do not have to provide proof during AC. It's here now. Only if you do not have a power to regain, you may regain an item instead. The price? For the next three days, you will be haunted by visions of your greatest enemy, your most hated foe, or the person you least wish to see in the world. Perhaps you hear their laughter in the darkness of your room at night. Perhaps you see a fellow student as them. Perhaps they are taunting you from just behind your shoulder... Whatever form it takes, for three days, you will be at their mercy. Or the mercy of your own mind's imagining them. Or perhaps a combination of the two. Who can say...?

Comments

Re: research.

[blue_ice]

[ The shadow looms overhead, but the voice is...coming from lower? And those aren't his guardian's words, that shape is familiar in another way. Kaiba's gaze is blank and unfocused. ]

Yugi...

[ More cruel laughter. Oh, it's the one who dethroned you, isn't it? And you've fawned over him instead of reclaiming your place. How pathetic...licking his boots like a dog...

Kaiba scowls at some point up in the sky, responding to Yugi's call a little belatedly. He feels a confusing swirl of shame and dread, and he's still not entirely in touch with reality...but he eventually answers, sounding pained. ]

Go! Before anyone else gets hurt.

Re: research.

[puzzlers]

...

[ go? and who's that going to help? see. he doesn't want you anymore. and do you plan on going crying to atem? he doesn't want to see you either. you made your choice, yugi, and they've made theirs. ]

K- Kaiba, please. [ he reaches out to him, trying to grab his wrist. ] I'm sorry. [ before anyone else gets hurt? because yugi hurt him and it still hurting him. he shuts his eyes and eventually finds his hand to squeeze. ] I'm so sorry.

[blue_ice]

[ That small voice seems to break through. He's reminded so strongly of Mokuba that he feels the overwhelming urge to protect, and he squeezes Yugi's hand. ]

You're...not the one who needs to be sorry.

[ No, he's not. You should be! You're a disgrace to the family name! Heh. Kaiba's eyes flicker with dark amusement in response. ]

He is. He's a disgrace to the family name. And he dares to call me that?

[ The ghost scowls. Creatively bankrupt as well, I see?

Kaiba shudders and gently tugs on Yugi's hand. For all his bravado, he's a little shaken. ]

I'll keep you safe, Yugi.

[puzzlers]

...

[ he's not sure what sort of something kaiba is going through, but he looks confused and hurt and... yugi is tugging on his hand, moving them down the hall and leading them through the courtyard. being on the school grounds is just not a good spot for any of this. there's too many people and if the both of them are freaking out, then that's just going to be disastrous. ]

We need to... [ run, like you always do. what makes you think kaiba wants to go anywhere with you. he'd much rather find atem, i'm sure. yugi releases his hand, fear creeping from his head to his heart. ] You're probably... right...

[blue_ice]

[ Kaiba's hope that this will end doesn't last long. The taunting follows him all through the halls, and he huddles closer to Yugi.

Oh, now you're clinging to him like he's going to save you? I should've put you out of your misery a long time ago. ]

Shut up!

[ He looks down at Yugi, forcing the words out as if in pain. It's hard to resist him for now, but he really should say something... ]

Not you, Yugi. It's...Gozaburo. He thinks he'll best me this time. But I'm not a weak-willed child anymore.

[ This would normally be the point where Kaiba laughs derisively, but he's sufficiently disturbed by this to be off balance. ]

[puzzlers]

[ yugi flinches at the shutup, unsure if kaiba's talking to him, so he lets go of his hand and looks up at him. i told you. ]

[ he swallows, frowning as he takes a step away from kaiba. ] Are you... huh, your step father? [ his frown deepens for another reason. ] Do you hear him talking to you, Kaiba? [ it sure seems like it. ] You were never weak, Kaiba, you beat him then and you'll beat him now.

[blue_ice]

He's here. As a ghost. Because of course he'd be.

[ He hates to see Yugi so upset...but he hates what that presence can do to him too. ]

I'm definitely not who he thought I was. And if he hates that, well...he can burn.

[ He does his best to turn away from the jeering face, but he still follows. Kaiba counters by turning to Yugi, trying his best to tamp down his more volatile emotions. ]

I didn't mean to scare you.

[puzzlers]

...oh. [ he reaches to grab at his hand again and squeezes it. ] I'm assuming there's nothing we can do to make him... leave... [ yugi isn't sure, especially since his own phantom has materialized at his side again to taunt him. ]

It's... it's alright, Kaiba, I know you're not snapping at me... now. Or so he says.

[blue_ice]

I can tell you that exorcism didn't work. I don't know if this is some ploy to force me to dwell on it, or what, but it's ridiculous.

[ What? He's totally dealt with it. Definitely a well adjusted young man.

You'll never be rid of me, Seto...I'll haunt your failures until you give up...

He clutches Yugi's hand tighter. ]

Noa showed you most of the story.

[puzzlers]

Are you sure? [ have you tried? ]

...

What? [ he's only met noa once and that was when him and spyro both challenged him to a game of fantastic foils. he didn't really get much besides his name, so he's visibly confused. ]

[blue_ice]

I thought he would've showed you, back then...

[ He sighs. ]

Gozaburo wasn't a good man, but you only need to look at his business dealings to know that. My motivation for challenging him for an adoption wasn't pure either. I knew he wouldn't be a real parent, but I needed his money to keep Mokuba.

[ But you've lost even that now, haven't you? I tried to raise you right, but...look at how you've failed. ]

I slightly underestimated just how bad he'd be.

[puzzlers]

[ it kind of seems like he's missing something. ]

[ he doesn't know all of the details surrounding kaiba's past, but this tells him more than he needs to know. he gets the feeling that gozaburo took things a little too far in making kaiba's life miserable, which makes his blood boil. ]

And he's back, and whispering terrible things to you now? I wonder if there's a spell that's capable of blocking out this stuff or... or maybe... [ he's not really sure. ] Can't handle the truth, Yugi? Kaiba's finally realized you're not worth his time.

[blue_ice]

Something like a barrier, or a white noise spell...?

{ He begins to draw on the ground, just to give him something to occupy his mind. ]

I know I shouldn't have done it. But...I can't let myself ever begin to forget him.

[ He settles a hand over the locket. Everything he sacrificed, all of this pain...it was for him.

And yet you're still without him, Seto. Looks like I've won...

He slams a fist into the ground. ]

No. He's not winning.

[puzzlers]

Yeah. I haven't tried it myself, but maybe it could help? I, ah, don't really... know... [ he watches kaiba start to draw a sigil on the ground. ]

Don't apologize, Kaiba, you were only trying to help, and it seems like the researchers are getting closer and closer with each new test... i- it's just a shame that the side effects are getting worse and worse, though I guess that's to be expected.

What did he say?

[blue_ice]

What he always said.

[ His lines are rough as he fights his emotions. This won't be the strongest spell, but it's better than nothing. ]

That I'm a failure. A disgrace to his name. Heh, like I care about that.

But...

[ When he finishes and whispers it, the volume of the laughter drops a little. He shifts toward Yugi and reaches for his hand. ]

What disgusts him most of all is that I'm content to be the champion's boyfriend, rather than take that title back for myself. Which is ridiculous, because...

[ After what poor Yugi went through before...]

Titles aren't always all they're cracked up to be, are they?

[puzzlers]

...

[ although he might have known just how much his step father didn't care for him hearing kaiba having to say it really drives home just awful he'd had it. ]

But you're no failure. [ he says softly and straight after. ] And he's a disgrace to his own name for what he'd done to you and your brother... [ yugi looks aside. ] And it's just a title. You have a far more important one, CEO.

I'm not the multi billion dollar CEO of a gaming company. Being the King of Games isn't really something I can sustain myself on. Maybe a little here and there, but you're the one that's amazing, Kaiba, title or not.

[blue_ice]

[ Just that little admission from Yugi is enough to remind Kaiba that Yugi has his own problems. He's not sure if he's affected too, but in standing against this...

He squeezes Yugi's hand. ]

Don't you dare sell yourself short. You're a brilliant designer and strategist, with hordes of admiring fans waiting for your next move. My company can only thrive on the strength of its talent and innovation---and the joy those innovations bring to the world. You embody that well, therefore you're the most qualified person to join me in that.

[ He could easily replace you, hm?

He spitefully glares at the phantom Gozaburo, then presses closer to Yugi. The voice is screaming at him that he's merely covering for his failures, that he's a weakling clinging to a lifeline...and maybe he is, but he'll stay the course. ]

When we return, we can conquer the gaming world together.

[puzzlers]

[ he has been affected, but he'd rather not let that much on, especially when it seems his own phantom is himself. ]

I- [ he opens his mouth to continue, but kaiba stops him, praising him and honestly making him feel a bit better than he had been feeling. he manages to ignore the phantom trying to tell him that he's lying, because why would he lie? he has no real reason to. ]

Thank you, Kaiba, I... I think that, yeah, together we're unstoppable. We cover each other's flaws. [ he leans up to kiss him. ]

[blue_ice]

Yugi...

[ The voice is still in his ear. The ghost is horrified. How dare Kaiba disgrace the family like this? There's a howl of indignant revulsion and hysterical laughter as they kiss, and it just urges Kaiba to cling tighter.

His voice is smaller than usual as he hovers close, pressing his nose to Yugi's shoulder. ]

Even despite all this, you still want me...I'll never be able to repay you.

[puzzlers]

[ he feels bad that kaiba has to endure his asshole father laughing in his ear about their relationship. he'll just have to make sure kaiba knows that he loves him. ] Of course, Kaiba. I think you're an amazing person. No, I know you're an amazing person, as does Atem and Mokuba and everybody back home.