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

[treno_nobleman]

"Again, you said?" Somewhere between mildly irritated and intrigued, Kuja held his arms about each other over his middle and shifted his weight to one leg, watching the man in his amusement. Clearly, this was some inside joke to which he was not privy, and now he wanted an answer.

"How many times do you intend to compare me to this person before you will tell me who it is, and why I remind you of him so?"

[fatedsacrifice]

"As many times as you act like him." This was said as Noctis mirrored the gesture of folding his arms across his chest, though there was just a hint of a smile. And then he had a thought.

Moving slowly then, the king pulled out the picture of all of them that he kept in his jacket pocket near his heart. As he'd told Ignis, 'I may not always have you by my side, but you'll always be in my heart.' which was why he kept the photo there. So he walked over to show Kuja, pointing out the advisor.

"That's who I keep talking about."

Still, he couldn't help the smile on his face, short-lived as it was. "I've told you he was my advisor, but he was also one of my best friends. You both have the same attitude sometimes."

That probably wasn't helping.

[treno_nobleman]

Had the photo not been a part of Noctis's approach, Kuja may have concerned himself with it, but instead he lifted a hand to the paper offered, careful with it as he could be. There was no missing where on his person Noctis kept the photo, and the location could not have been a coincidence. Having spent as much time around the man as he was now, the younger face that stared back at him, one that he had first been introduced to in another world, came as a surprise. But it was the only one he knew.

The one indicated to him, Ignis, didn't look like he might behave like Kuja himself did. If he was friend to Noctis, he couldn't imagine any of the ones in the photo did. But they could just as easily slip in and out of any role as he had, he thought. Appearances meant so much and so little, in the end.

"I see." He didn't. "Tell me about them."

[fatedsacrifice]

That request came as a surprise really. But Noctis tried to figure out what to say. "Ignis cooks, but he can be sassy." The king didn't ask for the photo back, but walked around a little. "Prompto is a photographer, bright and cheery." Cheery and chipper, upbeat unlike himself. "Gladio is one one of the best protectors someone could have."

The king didn't want to call Gladio his shield, because that might invite questions.

Blue eyes looked away from the picture because it hurt to look at it, even if he kept it near his heart. And he would be lying if he said that he hoped they didn't show up here.

[treno_nobleman]

As Noctis spoke, Kuja studied the image in his hand, guessing at who Prompto and Gladio were, but his focus stayed on Ignis. So the man could relate him to one of his friends through being "sassy," was it? He couldn't help a partial smile. Well that, even he had to admit, he certainly was.

"I suppose they mean a great deal to you, for you to keep them so close to heart." He couldn't relate and found himself... oddly numb to the fact. No sarcasm rose in his mind, no bitter resentment for weaknesses perceived. Just... nothing. He offered the image back to its owner. "Should they ever find themselves here, I would believe they would be glad of that."

[fatedsacrifice]

Blue eyes looked up almost startled at the other. Kuja had noticed where he pulled the photo from? Well that was a mental note not to ever underestimate Kuja's powers of observation. And he'd caught himself staring in silent amazement before realizing the picture was being handed back.

Taking the photo back then, Noctis tucked it away again and shook his head. "They're better off where they are." Alive and well and not hanging out with their dead friend.

[treno_nobleman]

It hadn't been difficult to note the hand brought to the man's chest and suddenly, a photo appeared from seemingly nowhere. Magic aside, Kuja didn't think he would have kept it anywhere else. In a pocket at his hip? In a satchel at his chest, perhaps, but there was none.

The response got a curious tilt of his head, but he didn't press for details. As much as he didn't appreciate people prying into his own past, his curiosity sometimes got the better of him where others were involved, but not this time. At least, not for the moment. If Noctis would keep comparing him to this Ignis of his, he might ask for a better insight. This was the second time now, but he would wait for a third, he thought. He could do that.

Instead of prying, he turned his eyes to the blade that had been used near him only so recently and nodded to it. "What of that, then? I haven't seen anyone move quite so fast as you did to cross the grounds to me."

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis had anticipated a question, but he figured it would be about Ignis and not about what he'd done. Curiously he tilted his head slightly and looked into the other's blue eyes a minute, pondering.

"You..don't recall me using Warp Strike when we met?" It was pretty much his signature move really. He even ran headlong into battles using that ability while the other three ran to catch up to him, much to their dismay most of the time.

Time spent on Materia's team seemed fuzzy and were like flashbacks, or things seen in slow motion. So much had happened since then, it was hard to remember everything. But maybe old age really was catching up to him if he never used Warp Strike before.

[treno_nobleman]

Perhaps he had worded things in a difficult way. He had seen the move performed before, in a battle that seemed so long ago and far away now, though it couldn't have been more than a few months past at best by his world's standards. Strange, now that he thought about it, just how much and how little time had actually passed. But days back in Gaia had been like that, rushing by him in a blur almost when he had so much to do and a goal within sight.

Not that his goals were within sight now. For all he knew, he was living them and unaware of it. The truth of that matter unnerved him more than he wanted to admit. He had lived his entire life under a lie and never known. What was to say now that he was not mortal? What was to say now that he was? How would he even know?

He shook his head and the thoughts away with it and didn't want to think about it.

"Allow me to put it another way. I haven't seen anyone else move as fast as you did just then."

[fatedsacrifice]

Kuja was silent for a little bit which always made Noctis wonder what was going through the others head. The silver head then shook, was he trying to be careful in his wording about something? And all the while, the king wondered what else he didn't remember about the strange world that he'd met the other man in.

He stopped when he heard the comment and he smiled. If the other was impressed with Warp Strike, imagine what he'd think if the king was up to his full power. So he got motivation that he wasn't even looking for in that moment.

But then he remembered getting hit with those damn red and white spell balls that Kuja had. They were so damn annoying.

"I don't know, you're no slouch yourself on the battlefield because you moved pretty quick."

[treno_nobleman]

The compliment earned a proud smile, though one short lived. A look around reminded him that he had been no slouch, as Noctis said, on the battlefield once upon a time. His tail tip twitched, but the look on him only softened rather than disappearing entirely. Even by this world's standards, he knew his magic had not fallen short for what he was expected to be able to accomplish as someone with his level of learning.

He would not be defeated that easily, complain about it as he might, and he would not be found helpless and wanting. These were impossibilities in his mind's reality.

"I moved as I did with the help of powers now forbidden to me, but I make up for that in others. Movement is no longer my forte, sadly."

[fatedsacrifice]

It took him a few minutes to realize what Kuja was saying because why was the guy smiling? Back then in the other world it was only ever kinda maliciously. So this almost real smile and almost soft kind of look seemed out of place. So that had his attention for a few moments.

But after he thought about it, the movement comment did make sense. The other used to be able to levitate on his own and those damn annoying balls were missing too.

"I guess." He finally said, scratching the back of his head.

[treno_nobleman]

Flight had been one of the first things he had come to miss after his arrival in this world, without a doubt. The second of those had been his newly discovered Trance. Of course it had; it was the one power he'd been missing in his own world, the lack of which was the source of all of his frustrations. But his understanding of Trance and his ability to use it in this world, if he could ever get it back, were two things separate entirely. How would such a power even work on the magic here?

He didn't know, but he hoped to learn. One day. Perhaps sooner than later.

Noctis reached up for the back of his head and Kuja's gaze followed the movement, curious. The man seemed to do that a lot, but hadn't Zidane too, for what he knew of the boy? Why such a gesture? "No skin off of your back." In that moment, even he couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not. "It requires use of your blade there, doesn't it not?"

Icon keywords are appropriate damn it

[fatedsacrifice]

He wasn't sure what that meant by no skin off of his back. He knew what the expression meant, but he wasn't sure why Kuja would say that now. So he let it go and faced the other. "Mine does, but yours didn't."

Moving out of the other's direct line sight, Noctis shook his head. He didn't know what was going on but he sure as hell wasn't going back to the point where they were not talking. And he couldn't be positive Kuja didn't sound annoyed with him which was probably par for the course. But he wasn't going back to square one with this guy.

The king turned away and looked up at the sky. He was quiet for several long moments, trying to figure out if he himself was becoming annoyed or not. And while he waited for conversation it wasn't really forthcoming, so he knew one of them had to break the ice. He certainly wasn't eloquent like Ignis, he wasn't protective like Gladio or seemingly high spirited like Prompto. Noct was just a quiet reserved guy, who was trying to do the right thing.

"You say it's no skin off my back." Ok so he could at least admit to himself that he was annoyed by that. He turned back around faced Kuja, looking him right in the eyes, while folding his arms across his chest. "But maybe you should just speak for yourself."

[treno_nobleman]

That their conversation had taken a downward tone bothered him on some level, though he was loathe to admit it. It hadn't been his intention to leave the dorms that day to pick a fight with anyone, and yet here he was, prickling while Noctis prickled right back. But, for a first, Kuja took a mental step back, breaking their gaze after several moments to redirect himself.

Which put him at the disadvantage. He already was there, the one at fault, and he knew it, and it rubbed raw those sensitive parts of his ego. Even in his nights in Treno, he knew what words to say, which moments to hold his tongue when his thoughts went all to the wind with what he wanted to lash at someone, if only for the sadistic pleasure of the look on their face. It was something he went back to often enough, having chafed at being held under one restraint or another.

But now the restraints were his own, and they had come loose in a telling moment of jealousy. He kept his gaze turned away, an apology all on its own that he did not look back, defiant and petulant. "I am not the one with the blade in hand, able to toss it where I please and be where it should land in an instant. What should I speak for, then?"

[fatedsacrifice]

He half expected a smart remark or for this to escalate. And when it didn't, the king wasn't quite sure what to do. Kuja didn't fight him which made him wonder what had changed and when.

So for a few moments he didn't even have a reply because he was so dumbfounded. So silence reigned between them and once the other spoke again, Noctis tried to find the words to say that he'd been wanting to.

He half thought to reach out but he played it safe instead because he couldn't be sure of how the other would react to the gesture.

There was more hesitation, but finally he managed a little bit in a soft tone.

"How about for someone who's on your side and has your back with that sword you're talking about?"

[treno_nobleman]

It wasn't the first time someone had ever reached out for him, offering a hand in kindness, no weapon to bear, nothing looking for his life at the end of a blade. But it was no less comfortable now or comforting than it had been before, with the only individual ever to do so. Kuja knew Zidane, as well as a brother could, having lived most of their lives apart and at odds and very nearly at war with each other. He knew his vices, knew his quirks.

Kuja did not, however, know Noctis as well, and that threw him off a few steps. They had had conversations before, they had had interactions. Some familiarity had been gained with it, but Kuja did not expect a camaraderie to come out of it, not like this. Getting his head around that concept was one he still struggled with, though it had been easier over time.

Years in the upper hierarchies of Gaia's society taught him well how to school his expressions, but there might have been a wilder look to his eyes for a brief moment or two when he looked back to the king next. "You barely know me, and we are in no danger. Even should we come under threat, I assure you, your efforts would be exhausted elsewhere."

[fatedsacrifice]

He waited and he could feel the tension pulling at his body. The king thought he had seen wide eyes, but the look was gone as quickly as it appeared.

Noctis blinked then and tried to figure out if his offer was being rejected or not. But he ended up just shaking his head, keeping his arms folded over his chest.

"I meant what I said. And if we come under fire, I'm going to be right there with you."

The king wasn't built as tough as Gladio, nor did he have the tactical side of Ignis, but he knew what he was capable of, even if it was limited.

[treno_nobleman]

Noctis, he had decided, had no idea what it was he wished to protect. As an assumption, most of the warriors of Cosmos and then of Materia were out to save something or someone, out to throw themselves in harm's way in defense of something they deemed precious and necessary. Whatever that meant to them, Kuja knew it was not him.

The man just didn't know any better. Still, he couldn't help a rush of indignation and something akin to annoyance at his persistence and let him keep it anyway. "If only because we are not of this world, I suppose. It will do you no good."

With that, he finally turned and stepped away, as he was wont to do at times. Out of sight, out of mind.

[fatedsacrifice]

Fate seemed to certainly be having fun with him, as Kuja spouted his words and turned to leave. Noctis wanted to chase after him and find out what the hell his problem was, but maybe he'd pushed enough. Damn it he needed Ignis here with him but as he sat down, watching the silver haired man walk away, maybe this was what his friends felt like as he told them to walk tall.

All that talk of being friends and brothers and..he still left them. Yes it was to save the world but maybe that still felt like betrayal to them. His shoulders slumped and he sat quietly.

His fists clenched at his sides as he thought about things but he'd leave the other alone tonight. The question was why did he keep walking away? What was he doing wrong? He didn't have answers, so all he could do was sit and think until he decided to just go home.