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

[king_of_egypt]

Yugi's fears were partially justified, it was only because Atem's attention ended up being split that he missed figuring out what must have happened. As he peered down the corridor he felt Yugi pull away from him which was only moderately peculiar due to the swiftness of the action so it didn't arouse further suspicion. By the time he looked back to meet the others eyes, the books were sufficiently blocking Yugi's chest, but not the hair which had grown significantly longer. There must be some story behind this, so he would indulge the suggestion if only to sate his curiosity. Naturally if Yugi had gotten into some sort of trouble, Atem would also do his best to help solve it. "As you wish, Yugi." Rather than walking to the library calmly, there came an insistent tugging on his arm to move faster. "I am coming willingly, you don't have to be so insistent." There was a note of a smirk in his tone, as he teased the other but he was not unsympathetic, keeping up with the brisk pace. "So that's it...." Still, it could have been a lot worse than longer strands of hai- OH. Unable to prevent it, when the books slide out of the way the pharaoh's attention settles on those things currently attached to Yugi's chest. He stares for a good couple of moments, stunned, forgetting proper decorum. When he realizes that it's not just some bizarre joke, and that Yugi actually was turned into a girl from this stray spell he instantly feels embarrassed and turns his head aside swiftly. A deep red tinge is threatening to take over his features as well. "Was this other student... male or female..?" How can you be so sure that the missing page was an accident and not intentional? Teenage boys can get some wild ideas. Feeling uncomfortable himself, Atem instinctively crossed his arms over his own chest.

[puzzlers]

[ he didn't appreciate the additional teasing, though he knew that there was no malice behind it, so it was really only the fact that he'd grown tired of the strange situation that was putting him on edge. he keeps quiet about it though, but his already shaky smile does start to falter. ]

[ as soon as they've put some space between them and the place of the incident yugi explains ( and reveals ) what's happened to him and atem's reaction is about as bad as he was expecting. ok, maybe not bad, per say, but definitely not good. yugi flushes, biting his lip as he looks aside to try and spare himself some of the embarrassment he's feeling. ] Female. It wasn't her fault. I should have noticed the missing page too, since we were both looking at the book, but I really just think I was overeager to fix this that... I overlooked it... [ he trails off, reaching to take the books and cover up again. ] Do you really think it's that bad? [ he already has an answer in mind ( yes ) but he wants atem's opinion. ] T- This is so weird, Atem.

[king_of_egypt]

This was certainly awkward and to be honest Atem wasn't sure how best to approach it. It was obvious that Yugi was fairly upset about it, since rather than waiting for the spell to end on it's own he'd attempted to fix it. It was a shame his efforts only made it worse. While staring at the spines of numerous tomes that varied in subject and were all together foreign to him he listened to Yugi's reply and regretted having posed the question in the first place. His other half could tell why it had been asked, and was quick to defend the unnamed student.

Before Atem could answer the next question he had to get himself to look back at Yugi, this time focusing on the neck up. "No...... it's ... not that bad." Hesitating more than he would have liked. "It's just different, that's all."

It's not as if Yugi were standing before him in the altogether, so why was this so awkward? Plus they both had female friends. With that in mind he started to ease up and relax. "It must be, Yugi but I'm sure that it must be temporary. There's nothing for you to worry about."

[puzzlers]

[ he had noticed the hesitation, but he knew this was as awkward for him as it was for atem. he chuckled nervously, trying to cut the tension as atem gave him another cursory glance. ] D- Definitely different. [ and it might have been because they'd shared a body that had now been magically altered, which was just weirder than weird. ] That's what I'm hoping.

[ he huffs a sigh, shoulders slumping forward. ] I'm not really sure I want to head back to the dorm tonight, because, ah, kind of... [ he'd rather keep this under wraps, honestly. ] Did you want to study with me for a little while? Or play Fantastic Foils? I went back into town recently and challenged Mittens to a rematch and I managed to beat her one turn kill combo like it was nothing!

[king_of_egypt]

It was strange to think that if they were still sharing a body now, that he would also have to deal with the physiological changes. Although Atem thought for certain that he would handle it well enough, and he even would have offered to remain in control during it. Whether he was currently male or female, it didn't really matter because he was the same person on the inside. "I'm sorry, Yugi. If I could have taken your place and been hit with the spell instead of you I would have." Meaning every word. "In the meantime, we're in the perfect location to seek answers." ".... I understand." Though Atem thought the fears were unwarranted, that their housemates would be able to look past this the potential teasing could be merciless so they would err on the side of caution. "I would be fine with either." He stopped when Yugi said that, his eyes briefly widening. "Did you really..? I wish I could have seen it for myself." Yugi didn't really need him for much now. Good. That was a good thing, he reminded himself. Atem's time was over. Perhaps, this journey to Diatu was to help him realize more that he need not fret quite so much over what might be occurring in the future, and furthermore to help both Yugi and Kaiba move on from their memories of him. It was a somber way to look at it, so he didn't dare share it. Yugi had enough on his mind with his dilemma. "Which would you prefer..?"

[puzzlers]

I wouldn't have let you, Atem. I have to look out for you too. [ their relationship was always a two way street, though it skewed towards atem's side more often that not, at least at the beginning of things. ] I don't think anybody knew what kind of results the cloud would have caused and there's no way I'm letting you walk head first into danger.

[ he had been through another already and while their roommates might not tease him he didn't want to risk it. not to mention their dorm wasn't really that close, so they'd have to traverse the school, and even if their roommates wouldn't poke fun that didn't mean nobody on campus would. ]

I did! And I'm sorry I didn't ask you along. I hadn't actually expected to do it, but when I saw her there I just couldn't resist. [ and that wasn't nearly as true as atem might think it was. yugi had never really wanted to send him to the afterlife, though it would have been selfish to deny him his rightful place among his family and friends. he would have loved for him to stay with him and all of their friends. atem was very much still his other half and there's nothing that could change his mind. move on? that was a good one. he left such an impact on them ( and others ) that he had carved out his own special place in their hearts. ] Let's play Fantastic Foils! [ studying is boring. ]

[king_of_egypt]

"I know Yugi... but.." But what? Atem couldn't justify why it should have been him instead. "There seems to be an awfully lot of that uncertainty going around.." A fact that made sense when you thought about the large gathering of new magic users that were contained here. Accidents were likely to happen in abundance. "If it were in my control I wouldn't allow you to walk into danger either, Yugi."

What they really could have used was some sort of teleportation spell. That would have taken out any possibility of being sighted in the hallways at least.

"It's quite alright, there's no need to apologize. I think I would have been more disappointed if you had allowed the opportunity to slip through your fingers," Said with a reassuring smile. Atem would never expect his friends to completely forget him, but perhaps they might find his passing on easier to accept. At least that's what he hoped since like it or not they were from very different eras and the inevitability still remained. Not that he was in any hurry to return just yet. "Cards it is." He reached into his bag and pulled out something that suspiciously looked like a deck box.

[puzzlers]

[ a teleportation spell would definitely come in handy. yugi had actually been practicing more defensive spells lately, because it seemed like something was always happening here and he wanted to not only be able to protect himself, but also those around him. yugi smiled at that, gently ribbing atem. ] I guess some things never change, huh?

I wish you could have seen it though. I don't think Mittens was expecting my deck to annihilate her so thoroughly. [ he stifled a chuckle by drawing a closed fist to his lips. ] I've been making a lot of friends there too. I know the game isn't duel monsters, but it's certainly doing a good job of filling the void. Oh! that reminds me. [ he takes a seat on the bench and removes his deck too. ] I've actually been working on a new game concept. Back home I... I started developing games and I thought I could do that here too, y'know? But this time you'll get to play them too.