August Event Log

[magicademymods]

August Event Log Speed of Lightning, Roar of Thunder The latest rage in Diatu: portable lightning generators! These little spheres, compact enough to be held in the hand, can launch a miniature bolt of electricity out with flair and pizzazz and surprisingly nonlethal effects. Getting zapped is like getting bit by a horsefly, not much worse. Naturally, all sorts of sports and pastimes have grown up overnight. The new sports of Lightning Tag, Lightningball, and Zap Each Other With Lightning Till Someone Collapses Because We're Tough Guys Dammit routinely break out on campus, while people who think they're funny can't go ten seconds without bolting someone's posterior. So what's your role in this? Eager participant? Sportsman? Buttzapper? Or is your idea totally new and wild? And Break the Laws That They Should Fear A rash of thefts plagues Anastara and the Magicademy both. Nothing huge, nothing heavy -- little things, like food, jewelry, trinkets and knickknacks... because the perpetrators are rats. Large and obviously clever rats, who have somehow wormed their way through defensive enchantments and mundane security both with the fearsome tenacity of their species. Look around at just the right time, and you might spot a rat scrambling for the safety of the caverns, something clutched in its jaws. Maybe something of yours? The Cry Goes Up Both Far and Near Finals draw ever-closer, and right about now students start realizing that maybe they don't understand this or that; maybe they could do with some outside material; maybe a second viewpoint would come in handy. Thus this week brings the Diatu Book Exchange! Outside of the Great Hall, students of all sorts brings books they no longer need and exchange them for books they do. The Book Exchange goes past merely scholarly works, though; time has grown it to encompass books of all sorts, from genre fiction and unlikely stories about seemingly ordinary kids attending an engineering boarding school to comics to philosophical works and more. Come to trade, browse, or lust -- there's something here for everyone! Research on the SUNDERDOG! (Sunderdog!) SUNDERDOG! (Sunderdog!) The research team has learned one important thing: Conflict is the key. The Codification of Sundering is the door. Somehow, of late, something has changed the nature of Sundering magic. They do not know why or how, but the very existence of the concept of Sundering magic now causes summoning anomalies that focus on other worlds, resulting in the transport of the Sundered here. This is, well, bad. The Codifications should not be slipping, not unless something has the power to completely overwhelm the entirety of human thought and will... To test theory more deeply, this month's Research has the Sundered locked in a room with another Sundered, a pair of chairs, and nothing else. The goal is to observe the warp and weft of magic around them with minimal interference from any other source save perhaps each other. So who did you get shut in with, and how long can you just sit and talk without going crazy?

Comments

[talkyourwayout]

[Ugh. It's probably more effort to talk his way out of something with her than to just try the spell. She'll be doing most of the work, probably.

That's what he's going to tell himself as he starts tracing a circle in the dirt.]

Alright, sure.

[stillnewatthis]

Thank you! [She sounds so happy to have his help, how can he possibly sulk about it? Orisa begins adding equations to the circle, trusting Louie to do the geometry while she does the advanced math.]

[talkyourwayout]

Don't mention it.

[He sighs a bit as he says that, but he also continues to do the geometry part of the magic - he's pretty good at most math subjects, and while geometry might be the one he's least invested in, he still does okay, generally.]

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa completes her equations, and between her efforts and Louie's, the paperclips pop into the shape of cages just like that.]

Excellent! We have done it!

[talkyourwayout]

[The thing Louie can't deny is that, as much as he hates putting in an effort, when he does - and that effort pays off - it feels nice. He's kind of swept up in that right now.]

Okay, so we should try chasing the rat into the cage, now!

[stillnewatthis]

I would be most suited for that. Can you hide or conceal it in such a way that the rat will mistake it for safety?

[talkyourwayout]

[Okay, he's starting to get kind of into this. Also, not having to run around? That works.]

Yeah, I think I have an idea for that.

[stillnewatthis]

Splendid! Then shall I move away and seek out the rat?

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

[He's just going to be here, gathering twigs and leaves before he works on Discovering some peanut butter.]

[stillnewatthis]

[All fired up, Orisa rears back onto her rear legs to paw at the air with her front, before turning in midair to thud back heavily onto the ground and take off at a run. You're in trouble, rat!]

[talkyourwayout]

[When and if she chases the rat back over, Louie is hiding in the bushes nearby - sort of, the top of his head is very much still visible, but he's only going to put in so much effort.

The cage has been made a proper trap, though. It's near-covered in branches and leaves, and there's a dollop of peanut butter inside.]

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa is not subtle at all. Soon enough, the sound of her galloping along and crashing through minor obstacles offers plenty of warning that a rat is incoming. Indeed, there it comes around a corner right now!]

[talkyourwayout]

[The rat seems terrified for its life, and it seems more interested in getting into the safety of the "brambles" that are the trap than the bait Louie set, but a win's a win, right? As the rat darts into the cage, Louie even shows some excitement to jump out and shut the trap.]

...Wow. That worked! Orisa, that was- That was pretty cool.

[stillnewatthis]

Hooray! [Orisa romps around in a circle, radiating delight.] Now I may retrieve my money from the rat! Thank you for your assistance, Louie. You are a good friend!

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, sure, yeah. I know. Don't mention it, Orisa.

[Like, ever again, please. This mild feeling of guilt is not what he signed up for.]

[stillnewatthis]

Is there any way Cash can speak to this rat? I do not want to cause it any pain, so a peaceful resolution would be best. [Look, Louie, you can help your friend EVEN MORE.]

[talkyourwayout]

Well...

[Hearing his name, Cash has scurried down from Louie's shoulder, under his shirt and through his sleeve.]

He wouldn't help me get back my inkwell cork a few days ago, but I think he was just giving me a hard time. Maybe he'll cooperate this time...?

[A questioning glance at his familiar. Do rats smile? It sure looks like Cash may have, before climbing down all the way and heading towards the cage.]

...Huh.

[stillnewatthis]

Thank you, Cash! You are also a good friend!

[The lesson here may be entirely too subtle.]

[talkyourwayout]

[Yeah, no, she needs to stop saying that stuff. It's making him feel really uncomfortable. As Cash works on retrieving the coin, Louie shuffles his webbed feet against the grass.]

You didn't spend it yet?

[An abrupt question, but the thought had only just occurred to him.]

[stillnewatthis]

I do not need many things for myself, so I am saving for a rainy day. [Or just possibly to do nice things for her friends...]

[talkyourwayout]

Huh.

I guess being a robot means a lot of savings, huh?

[Cash returns with the coin, and heads over to Orisa with it.]

Hey, it worked.

[stillnewatthis]

Certainly more than I had before. I did not need income so I did not obtain it. Here, however, things are different and I must work for my living!

[Orisa's delight is so palpable it practically lights up the school as Cash pops back out. She lowers her hand so the rat can run on it.]

Now you two are MY heroes!

[talkyourwayout]

It wasn't a big deal, Orisa.

[Man, life was easier when she was less of a friend and more of a bodyguard-slash-employee.

You know. Earlier that day.

But Orisa's happiness is endearing, whether he likes it or not.]

But you're welcome.

[stillnewatthis]

It is a big deal to me.

[Even if Louie hadn't done all that much, he had helped and supported her. She could ask for nothing better.]

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, well... Cool, then.