March Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

March Event and Intro Log Golem On The Loose The rain never stops. Water and mud track all over campus. Diligent cleaning golems stomp about, mopping and scrubbing and polishing and then going back to do it all over again, and again, and again... One of them seems to have had it. The renegade golem bursts into Kedrigan Hall -- interrupting classes and disrupting labwork to furiously seize students and scrub every last scrap of mud and dirt off of them. All the halls have been locked off with "Under Cleaning" signs, and anyone who enters them meets with the golem's wrath, as it violently plays a pre-recorded message about not interfering with groundskeeping and deploys a giant claw-like tool to grab the interloper and put them back on unforbidden ground. The professors, who are after all completely immune to the golem's attention by its very design, seem to think this is a good learning opportunity for students. Is it? Horrible Spell Doom? "Are you sure you're ready for the test on Advanced Gaseous Discovery?" one upperclassman asks the other. "Of course I'm sure," the second says confidently. Whipping out a wand from a holster on her belt, she sweeps her wand through the air gracefully, pronouncing several Osmarian sigils as she draws them. Probably. "See, that's a blue cloud--" Said blue cloud, which puffs into being as the last syllable left her lips, abruptly doubls in size. Then it doubles in size again. And again. The upperclassmen, who have been in Diatu for several years and know exactly what this sort of thing means, don't hesitate. Not even stopping to share a glance between them, they run like crazy, leaving the growing cloud behind just as classes let out and students begin to enter the halls. But... surely it doesn't have any weird and wacky side effects, right? The Bala-inlota Parade (aka The Non-Horrible Prompt) To celebrate the start of the Bala-inlota season, Anastara spares no expense. The great parade and associated festival stretches the whole weekend, and the whole city puts on their colors and turns out for the fun. Enterprising vendors sell food, drinks, and souvenirs ranging from small and crude figurines to magical constructs that shine field displays onto flat surfaces so you can watch the action up-close! (Good luck affording that, students.) Practically any sort of entertainment you could want appears on the streets and canals of Anastara, and food and drink flow freely. 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, the team has developed a Sundering spell that they warn is crude and unpolished, because the Curriculum is so unpracticed. They hope it will connect to your home worlds and establish a magical link they can build off of to open further passages. No promises! And to those who do undergo this spellwork... it has a certain side effect of confusion, as brief images from your home world flicker across your vision for a few hours afterwards. Wonders Await Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. Have fun!

A Special Note

If you thread out one or more scenes based on the confusion from "Research on the Sundered", respond to the comment on this post with a link to that thread. The results of this will be revealed next month! (It is, we're afraid, not a regain, lest your participation be based solely on that hope!)

Comments

[thirdpint]

[ research on the sundered ]

[For better or worse, Sora has literally no hesitations about volunteering to be a lab rat. Any potential side effects or discomfort are, after all, small fees to pay if it means he gets a pathway home-- he doesn't even want to leave that desperately, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't sorely miss some of his friends. A connection is a connection, small as it may be, and he jumps at the potential to gain one.

He'd been hoping for... well, he's not really sure what he was hoping for. His dream eaters returning somehow? Getting back his Keyblade? A spontaneous phone call from Riku? What he gets instead is brief flashes of beings he can only just make out; black coated figures and heartless that slink in and out of his vision.

Needless to say, Sora's causing quite a commotion where he's at, twisting and turning about in a hallway and just sort of kicking and swinging his fists aimlessly every time a Dusk or Shadow flits across his line of sight. More than anything, he just seems to be frustrated with his inability to hit the visions.]

Ugh! Just hold still..!

[ the bala-inlota parade ]

[Unfamiliar as his surroundings may still be, Sora nonetheless feels right at home in the crowds of the parade-- all the noise and the food and the celebrations are right up his alley. He bounces from here to there with a nearly never-ending grin on his face, weaving in and out of the crowd with his arms absolutely full of as many figurines as he could get his hands on.

And, naturally, he has no reservations about chatting up the crowd, either. He sidles up alongside what appears to be another student as he picks his way through the festivities, elbowing them lightly to get their attention and beaming.]

Hey, do you know if they do stuff like this all the time? It's awesome! [They certainly never had celebrations this elaborate back on the Islands, that's for sure.]

[ wildcard ]

[Have something else in mind? Feel free to toss it up! Otherwise, if you'd like to plot something more specific you can either PM me or get in touch with me on plurk at jaxisms!]

Research on the Sundered

[nomoremistergneissguy]

[It's not a vision he hits, but a person. Cliff, however, is the sturdy sort, and he just kind of laughs off the fact that this guy just hit him in the chest. No harm, no foul, though if another punch is thrown, he'll try to catch it.]

I did, do you feel better now? What's going on, you fall out of the wrong side of bed or something?

[Cliff has probably heard about the research going on, but he hasn't connected two and two yet...]

[thirdpint]

[Sora jerks abruptly at that, shaking his head and taking a step back. Where'd this guy come from? He definitely hadn't been there before; it'd just been all those Nobodies. Bewildered, he looks down the hallway before his distracted mind finally catches up to the situation at hand.]

Oh, uh, sorry! I thought... [he trails off with a frown and a scratch of his cheek, looking the guy up and down. Definitely not a Dusk, but he could've sworn he saw one in his place just a moment ago.]

...I thought you were somebody else, I guess? I really didn't mean to hit you, though! There were these, uh... these weird noodly things around... [hm. Upon further consideration it sounds kind of ridiculous trying to explain it. Even more ridiculous considering they don't seem to be around anymore.] Geez, maybe I just didn't get enough sleep or something.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

Hey, hey, it's okay, it's not like you hurt me or anything! [Cliff lifts his hands at that, in attempt to be soothing. He nods as the guy goes on.]

Yeah, new place, it's hard to get a good night's sleep if you're not used to it. It just doesn't sound like home, huh? You sure you gonna be okay?

[At least he doesn't seem to think you're a weirdo. Right? Cliff shakes his head, grinning ruefully.] So did you just get here too? I don't think I've even been in this world for two weeks yet. It's confusing.

[thirdpint]

I guess so... [It's weird, though, he could've sworn they were really there. He still not-so-subtly glances around the hallway even as he speaks, but regardless of whether or not they were there to begin with they definitely seemed to have vanished for the moment.]

Huh? [Distracted as he is, the question catches him off guard for just a second before he quickly dismisses it.] Oh, yeah, I'll be fine! I go to new worlds all the time, it's just... this one is weirder than normal, I guess?

[No keyblade and no way back, and all. Still, he laughs it off. At least here Donald can't get after him for breaking the world order; almost everybody is from a different world.]

So I'm totally with you on the confusing part. I've gotten lost like ten times already. But, uh, maybe it won't be as bad when I'm... less new... [he doubts it though. There's a reason he's not usually the one keeping track of all their maps and schedules and all.]

[nomoremistergneissguy]

You do? Dude, you're gonna have to tell me about that sometime, this is the only other one I've ever been to--though my siblings went off to another world without me, recently.

[And to judge by Cliff's reaction, that galls him more than a little bit. Oh well, he can have adventures here, and he plans to!]

I get lost too, but I think that's partly because I don't have my powers here either. Hard to get lost with earth sense, you know the directions and where you've been, too. [He shakes his head at that and grins, then shrugs. C'est la vie, right?] I figure I'll get my bearings soon enough. I hope so, at least.

[thirdpint]

[Sora laughs a little.] It's a really long story, but alright. One day I totally will. And, hey, who knows, maybe they'll take us to field trips on other worlds or something while we're here. It's a magic school, right?

[He feels like he might be setting his expectations too high, though. In any case, he tilts his head a bit as Cliff continues.]

Earth sense? What's that? Can you, like... sense rocks? [He realizes upon saying it how absolutely ridiculous it sounds.] Or, uh, talk to trees? Or something?

Bala-inlota Parade

[shiningkindness]

[She can't help jumping a bit in surprise at the sudden touch, and she glances up at him. Feeling slightly nervous in the face of a stranger, she manages a small smile in response to his.]

N...N-No, not usually, I think. A-At least, they didn't do anything like this last month. I-I think there's a big sports event happening soon.

[thirdpint]

Oh, sorry! [He laughs a little sheepishly when she jumps at the contact, taking a step back and raising his hands slightly.] Really? This seems like a whole lot just for a sport... [it's not like they really have big teams on the Islands, much less events, but he doesn't mind the new change at all.]

I guess if it's this big then it's probably not just something anybody can join, huh? I haven't had a chance to play Blitzball in ages!

[shiningkindness]

I-I guess not. Though to be honest, I don't really know much about it. I think this might be an official team, though, but you would still be able to play it at school.

[thirdpint]

Awesome! [He doesn't really seem concerned about the uncertainty of the answer, nor the prospect of not being able to join the team.] I'll just make my own team, then!

...Oh! Uh, thanks for answering. I don't really know anyone here yet, I just sort of grabbed the first person I saw... it's really nice to meet you, though! I'm Sora.

[shiningkindness]

[She manages a smile.]

I-I'm Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you too, Sora. So did you just arrive recently? Have you been adjusting all right?

Research

[plusfivedex]

Hey!

[When Kamala has to move out of the way of a fist, her superhero instincts kick in. She may not have the powers anymore, but that natural reaction hasn't been forgotten. She tries to grab Sora's arm behind his back - the punch didn't seem aimed directly at her, though, so she's just going for getting him to stop, not to actually hurt him.]

How about taking your own advice?

[thirdpint]

[Given he's so caught off-guard, it's not hard at all to get Sora's arm behind his back, and aside from some residual momentum from the swing he falls pretty still afterwards. It takes him a moment to figure out what's even happened, though.]

Wh-- huh? No, I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to them! [He tries to point his arm-- the one currently held behind his back-- down the otherwise-empty hallway, realizes he can't actually move that arm at the moment, fails to realize he still has one arm free, and just kicks a leg out in that direction instead.] Those Nobodies! Trust me, they're serious trouble.

[plusfivedex]

What are you talking about? There's no one down there.

[She's getting the sense that this is a case of confusion, not a case of malice, so she releases that arm.]

Are you feeling okay? Did anything out of the ordinary happen to you recently?

[A beat.]

Besides being here.

research; all-loving protag my ASS

[pawper]

[His punches would probably hurt a lot more if he was tall enough to reach her face instead of just the vague area of her midsection. The kicks are a little more effective, but...well, her guildmates hit a lot harder, with real purpose and focus behind their strikes. Lys endures it all patiently, looking down at him with curiosity and not a little concern.]

Oh....did you want to spar or something? I don't mind, but we probably shouldn't do it in the middle of a hallway.

[Because clearly that's what's happening here. Seems normal and cool to her, the heck u talkin' about???]

listen these things just happen sometimes,

[thirdpint]

[Sora jerks to a sudden halt at the voice, as though he hadn't even been aware that anyone was around (much less that he was hitting them), and just like that all thoughts of the Actually Important Matter at Hand are gone. Heartless who??]

Spar? Oh, sure! [...HOLD ON] Wait, no! I mean, um, not right now, sorry. I'm sort of in the middle of--

[--actually, upon looking around, it's suddenly like the heartless just sort of up and vanished. He scans the ground for the telltale pools of shadow, but... there's nothing, or at least not as many as there had been just seconds ago. Aw, man, did he lose them because he got distracted?]

--okay, that's weird. They were just here, I swear!

[pawper]

[Thankfully she doesn't have anywhere else to be (except the library but ew, no thanks) and sees no problem just hanging out here, watching him look all around like a cat searching for an escaped mouse.]

Eh? Who was? [100% believing it, or at least that he believes it. Lys starts looking around too, wanting to help, despite obviously having no idea what to look for.] Maybe I missed 'em.....

[thirdpint]

The heartless! They're really hard to miss, they're like these... shadowy things... [funny how he's seen them so often and yet he can't really figure out how to describe them.] They kind of look like big bugs? Sort of.

[But either way there's definitely not any around, so he turns his focus more fully to the floor. Even if it feels slightly ridiculous just staring at the ground intently.] They probably disappeared into the floor. They do that sometimes. Here, uh, look around for any shadows--

[He cuts himself off almost as soon as he's suggested it; there's shadows everywhere, it's not a particularly helpful suggestion, but then again what else can he even look for? Shadows are sneaky at the best of times.]

--actually... that'd probably take forever, huh? It's weird, though, they're usually not that fast!

[pawper]

The heartless?

[Said as one who clearly has no idea what that's supposed to mean, but is happy to roll with it regardless. Despite what Sora says, Lys peers especially hard at the surrounding patches and puddles of darkness, as though there was actually something to see. (There's not. And never was. Because heck youuuu.)]

So they're big shadow bugs......that're magical and stuff. [Doesn't sound too weird actually, thinking about it.] Did some kind of infestation happen? That'd make sense, in a place like this.

[WAIT]

And you can get rid of 'em with just a punch? Huh!

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[One big, powerful hand reaches out to grab the kid by the head.]

Hey. Knock it off.

[Jecht figures the kid's gonna hurt himself or someone else without some interference, so time for him to step in and if nothing else take the blows, right?]

[thirdpint]

[Congrats, he's successfully caught +1 Sora.]

Hey, let go! [He tries to twist his head free but only succeeds in... well, straining his neck a little bit, but otherwise failing. He slumps a little afterwards.] Ugh! I'm in the middle of something, those heartless are gonna hurt people if somebody doesn't stop them!

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Jecht, not exactly taking the delicate route, gives him a little shake.] You're in the middle of pitching a fit in the middle of the hall! Only heartless people are here are gonna be the staff when you clock someone and get sentenced to whatever magic-detention they got here.

[thirdpint]

What? I'm not pitching a fit! [...Well maybe it sort of looked like it but still!] Did you not see them? They're these little shadowy monster things-- I was trying to stop them from going after people, that's way more important than detention!

[Although he doesn't try to break free again he does gesture very pointedly down the hallway, where he can only assume the heartless ran off to given he can't exactly see them anymore.]

If you're not gonna help me then at least let me go, I have to go track them down all over again now!

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Hmm. Jecht considers his options for a moment, then reaches out to wrap his other meaty arm around the kid's neck so he can free up his hand and space to bonk him on the head with his knuckles. Not gently.]

Listen up. There's no shadowy little monsters. So if you're seein' 'em but I ain't, the problem's you. You get hit with any weird spells or stuff lately?