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

Research

[areasontohope]

He's got to get back to the dorms to take a shower as covered in dirt as Yuki is from planting a few new things. Then he has to get caught up on homework at the library. Midterms may be over, but homework is still definitely a thing though it won't take him long to get it done.

He then hears someone talking and the voice sounds familiar. Approaching slowly, he sees Jude up against the wall talking to..someone. His eyes note that she has a sword but he's not sure that he should approach.

Seeing no one there that she could be speaking to, the grey head shakes but he stays right where he is, preferring to try and talk to her.

"Are you..alright?"

Re: Research

[daughterofclay]

Her head whips around, her eyes wide. A moment later she slumps, draws in an abrupt breath, and starts coughing into her arm.

He looks familiar. She tries to place him as she wipes at her mouth, but her thoughts are just a touch scattered at the moment.

"...have we met?" She'll push off the wall and surmise him. Is she aware that she hasn't answered his question? Probably.

[areasontohope]

Well, at least the sword isn't coming at him which is something he thought might happen there for a minute. So inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.

He's more than aware that she hasn't answered his question because he'd politely waited for an answer but didn't receive one. This is a kid that's aware that silence is an answer in itself so he isn't going to push. Honestly, Yuki's more relieved about that sword not coming at him.

But since he is polite, he bows slightly and briefly. "I'm Yuki Sohma. We haven't met..formally." He'd seen her at the library, but he wasn't pointing that out right now either.

[daughterofclay]

Please note: the Ghost of Jerkfaces Past is still hanging out, sneering disdainfully and whispering awful things in her ear. Jude, thankfully, has some practice tuning him out, although she'll twitch and grit her teeth noticeably the few times she feels icy fingers brush the back of her neck.

Nevertheless, she does her best to focus on the young man in front of her. He's... strikingly good-looking, which, for Reasons, does not mark him as particularly trustworthy in her eyes. Still, it does spark a memory. She frowns. Her hand on the sword doesn't move.

"The library."

She lobs it at him like an accusation. Sorry, Yuki, it's possible she's slightly on edge.

[areasontohope]

He's really not sure what's going on or what the issue is. But suddenly he's feeling pretty much like he should run with the way she seems to spit the word library at him.

"Yes."

And then Yuki's backing up, though his back hits a wall and though he's no swordsman, he's pretty proficient in magic. The thought of acquiring a sword is still in the back of his mind though. It wouldn't hurt to be able to have more than one weapon at his disposal.

[daughterofclay]

It occurs to her at this point that he seems vaguely alarmed. Which -- of course he is, people often are when they're talking to her. For some reason. It's become a strange but mostly accurate shorthand for identifying those from a world like her own, and those who... aren't.

Jude puffs out a short, impatient sigh, and then raises her palms (both of them), in a demonstrative gesture of harmlessness.

"If I was going to hurt you, I would've done so already."

That's not technically true, but whatever.

"Besides, attacking an unarmed man is pretty dishonourable."

This one is true. She does at least try to watch her honour, these days.

[areasontohope]

"Says the person who still has a sword close by." Yuki's not buying this surrendering gesture. It seems a bit too sudden with the way she seemed like she was going to close the distance and take his head off or run him through.

He's still frightened but he's trying not to show it. He's studied enough magic to be able to at least handle himself, but the sword on top of magic is his concern. Yuki's also pretty proficient in martial arts, but it's what he knows versus what she knows.

And that he can't bet on because he doesn't know what she's capable of. He doesn't even want a confrontation, but the way she said that word was probably going to haunt him awhile.

[daughterofclay]

She...

Doesn't have the patience to deal with any of this right now, not with Valerian's hissing, malevolent laughter behind her. Also, being comforting has never really been a particular forte of hers to begin with.

And if he expects her to part from Nightfell just because he's uncomfortable, he's going to be disappointed. Of all the ridiculous expectations--

In the end, she just folds her arms across her chest and fixes him with a steady gaze.

"Yes, says the person with a sword."

The And what of it? hangs in the air, unspoken.

[areasontohope]

He can clearly hear that unspoken question. Yuki knows there's a stone wall behind him so there's nowhere he can run.

"So if I had a sword too, that would be different?"

This was so different than anything this quiet kid had been used to. He was trying to give himself time to assess the situation, but she seemed so much more menacing now than he had seen her before.

What he couldn't figure out what was honor had to do with anything here.

[daughterofclay]

Jude, on her end, can't quite figure out just why he seems so unsettled. It's not like she's threatened him or even stopped him from leaving. She's still standing exactly where she was when she stepped away from the wall.

His question also confuses her.

"Why would that make any difference?"

[areasontohope]

"If I had a sword, then you consider me armed?" And therefore she would've attacked him because honor made her not attack him because he didn't have one? Yuki was trying to figure out the way her mind was working because she seemed so different in the library.

He realized she hadn't made any more moves but he wasn't going to just up and say everything was okay now after that menacing tone. He didn't trust Jude enough to turn his back and simply leave.

[daughterofclay]

Well, yeah; that's what "armed" means, she doesn't say. Something about this is strange. Why is he acting like this? She hadn't even been the one to approach him. She knows she can be a bit intense, but no one she's ever met has reacted this way to a simple conversation.

"...look, did I do something to you?" She hasn't done much except exploring and studying since she's gotten here, and she mostly keeps to herself. She returns her books on time, too. Jude can't think of any reason they're having this conversation.

[areasontohope]

"Veiled threats would be a start, saying that it's dishonorable to attack an unarmed man." Yuki said, calling to mind every magic spell he knew here in case he needed it.

"So now you plan to just let me walk away?" His defenses were way up and he wasn't sure whether or not he needed to get a sword. Looking at hers though, it still wasn't a bad idea to have a back up plan.

[daughterofclay]

What... on... Earth.

Her head hurts. Her mouth may have just fallen open in astonishment, too.

"--what threat? I was telling you I wasn't going to attack you. Are you daft?"

That's not really decorous, Jude.

On the other hand, as far as she can tell, this conversation is insane. She shakes her head as if to signify how done she is, and then abruptly turns on her heel. If Yuki won't leave, then she'll just have to.