December Event Log #1: Someone App Tails So He Can Get Trolled

[magicademymods]

December Event Log Now I Face Out The thunderous boom that shakes the academy on December 24th isn't all that unusual, considering Diatu's penchant for magical mishaps. But the way the air shifts and warps in an imperceptible way afterwards definitely is. The sky-spanning purple nebula that traps the magicademy in its expanse is a little suspect too. And then there's the yellow-eyed duplicates of yourself that rip themselves away from you in a burst of violet, starry smoke. "I am the Shadow, the true self!" the duplicate proclaims in a distorted voice, pointing dramatically at the original. What happens next depends on what the wizard the shadow spawned from is repressing, though. If you have an urge to cut loose and wreck shit, the shadow will be immediately destructive, tearing apart the academy around it. If you refuse to acknowledge a deep trauma in your past, the shadow may perch on a tower and radiate waves of sadness and apathy to get everyone else to feel their pain too. And so on and so forth. Whatever aspects of themself the character refuses to acknowledge, that they feel shame over, the shadow will embody to its most destructive extent possible. Oh, and the guiltier a character feels about whatever they're repressing, the more powerful their shadow is. I Hold Out The only way to stop your shadow is to accept them as a part of yourself. But seeing an embodiment of everything that you hate about yourself and having to reconcile with it is difficult. And at the slightest sign of rejection, the shadow will change into a monstrous form representative of the repressed feelings they were born from and begin lashing out. Violently. While going on an overblown motive rant. Oh, boy. But hey. Getting to literally fight back against all of the worst parts of yourself is generally cathartic enough to begin the healing process? Right? No? Well, too bad, because this thing isn't going away and somebody needs to take care of it before the situation gets worse. Thankfully, your friends are there to help you through it! Hopefully. I Reach Out to the Truth Of course there's the matter of what caused this phenomenon in the first place, and the calamitous nebula that's keeping Diatu sealed off from the outside world. Close friends of Tyzias may also notice that she's completely vanished as well. Once characters reconcile with their shadows, they can see and interact with a spiral staircase leading up to the heavens. However, considering that the staircase is crawling with hostile, mindless generic shadows and that the presence of whatever's at the top can be felt, they may want to bring a few friends before investigating. We Really Wanted To Include A Gif And Apologize For Ruining This Post. No, This Isn't a Prompt

Comments

[blue_ice]

...if she would be so kind as to give him a minute. He tentatively moved closer.

"It's become clear to me that the day is coming when we'll all leave. When that happens, unless we can somehow sunder a more permanent connection between the worlds, we'll leave each other's lives forever. Why bother if we don't have long?"

The dragon snorted at him. "WHY BOTHER DOING ANYTHING? BECAUSE YOU WANT TO DO IT. AND THE LASS IS RIGHT, YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT. ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO LET A FEAR OF BEING HURT STOP YOU?"

He cringed. That wasn't what he wanted to be at all. He weathered the waves of anger coming off the dragon and stepped forward again.

"...Orisa, do you know that pain? You know pain aversion is a biological mechanism to increase odds of survival, right?" It was progress. A few months ago he would've completely dismissed the idea.

[stillnewatthis]

One set of eyeshields narrowed to slits, while the other dilated wide, as she realized he had failed to effectively analyze the situation.

"Sometimes there are things more important than survival."

She was a hero. Though she intended to avoid it, quite likely she'd be destroyed on a battlefield someday. She knew that. But she would never stop.

"Please parse the following three counterpoints. First, when a good thing end someday, that means you have had a good thing. Second, you will never leave my life forever. My databases will always contain an entry named 'Seto Kaiba'. Third..."

She brought her hand back around to waggle a finger at him, eyeshields narrowed. "Are you, Seto Kaiba, really going to let fear of a little pain dictate your actions? That does not comport with your normal conduct."

[blue_ice]

"...no. You're right."

He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, moving the rest of the way to stand before the dragon. He risked extending his hand to touch his neck.

"I can't forget. Even if I want to leave many more things about this place behind...I won't. And who's to say I can't bridge the gap? Stranger things have happened. But back to the main point."

As Seto seems to calm and accept this, the dragon shifts back into a Seto-shape. He snorts, gives the shadow's shoulder a gentle pat...and then rounds on Orisa, coming to stand before her and hug her middle as best he can.

"I've become a full-fledged dweeb. Fine. I accept it as the cost of losing my mind here. And..it's not the worst thing, I guess."

[stillnewatthis]

"If welcome acts of kindness and friendship makes you a dweeb, then I am a multiton arms platform dweeb," Orisa said, returning the hug with the arm that didn't have a fusion driver. That would just be awkward. "So as you see, you can be a dweeb and still very cool at the same time!"

[blue_ice]

"Mm. You're right about that."

Kaiba lifted his head over at the shadow, still watching them hopefully. He inclined his head at it.

"Get over here."

And so it did, running at them and giving Orisa a mighty squeeze. "YOU'RE THE COOLEST!"

"Don't overdo it," the human grumbled. The shadow responded with one last hearty laugh, beaming up at Orisa before it latched onto Kaiba, re-fusing with him once more.

The moment the two halves were one again, he held on just a little tighter before letting go.

"...am I up to date now?"

[stillnewatthis]

"You will likely need a couple of patches to smooth out the integration of your new functions, but your mindset has definitely upgraded!" Orisa said brightly. "If you experience difficulty, I am prepared to assist further."