Let The Games Begin

[magicademymods]

February Event and Intro Log Orientation Week/Magic Mayhem The campus of Diatu Magicademy stretches out before you, confused and chaotic and surging with energy. Where are you headed? To your dorm or suite, to get settled? Maybe you need some food now? Wherever you head off to as your first stop, you have to deal with the snow. Helpful or proud students are passing out various magical remedies to get you where you need to be -- umbrellas with a nasty tendency to dump snow directly onto other people nearby, an iron tube that projects fire but appears to have no off switch, snowshoes that keep you slightly too high off the snow and thus provide no friction for stopping... Familiar Follies Familiars do not harass or harm each other as a rule -- but that doesn't mean they have no pecking order, and the week of Orientation finds them all jockeying for status and position as suits them. This can take the form of pranks, displays, competitions, or simple physical assertiveness towards each other. The goal is simply to be seen as superior by the student body. New wizards especially may find themselves surprised at this behavior of their familiars... 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 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.) Furthermore, they request to perform a few spells on you for testing purposes. It is, quite regrettably, possible that if you consent to this testing, you will come away with a temporary side effect -- a slight change of hair color, traveling two steps for every one you take, one hand moving about a second behind the arm it should be attached to, or being ridden by a penguin. No need to worry, these changes won't last more than a day! Wonders Await Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. Have fun!

Comments

Research

[stillnewatthis]

Oh!

[Of course Orisa is surprised. It is not often one has a small anthropomorphic waterfowl deposited almost at one's front feet as one is leaving their own session. The massive war robot takes a hopping step back, surprisingly light on her four feet, then leans down slightly as her quad eyeshields narrow to focus her attention on the duck.]

[This might be intimidating, right up until she speaks in a cheerful and friendly tone.] Hello! You must also be a Sundered!

[woo_oo]

[She sighs, dusting herself off. No use crying over spilled milk, might as well greet this other person with a smile and cheer.]

Yeah, I -

[Record needle scratch in brain. WHAT IS SHE LOOKING AT.]

.... HI ARE YOU A GIANT ROBOT WITH A PERSON INSIDE?

[stillnewatthis]

No, I am a giant robot that is entirely a giant robot. An omnic, not a mech! [Orisa understands the confusion, and is cheerfully eager to clear it up.] My name is Orisa, and I am a modified OR-15 combat model omnic.

[woo_oo]

[Chucking some new vocab into her brain, always nice.]

Hi, I'm Webby!

[With introductions out of the way, Webby begins running all over, poking and prodding and inspecting Orisa because HOW COOL IS THIS]

How were you modified? For what purpose? Are there lots of you? Will you get to learn magic too?

[stillnewatthis]

The OR-15 model was developed by the city of Numbani to serve as a defense system. However, they were unable to defeat Doomfist when he assaulted the city, and were subsequently decommissioned. My creator, Efi Oladele, purchased a chassis and provided it with numerous upgrades. This includes installing my adapative intelligence and personality modules, or as Efi puts it, 'giving me a heart'. My purpose is to be the protector of Numbani and keep its people safe. As you can see, I am a singular and unique entity. Coming to this world has caused instability in my power generators, which may express itself as magic, or so I am given to understand.

[Two things: Orisa can talk a great deal if necessary, and she doesn't mind answering questions at all.]

[woo_oo]

[Holy cow, someone able to keep up with this chatterbox? This day just keeps getting better and better.]

Wooooow.

So what kind of fighting and healing powers do you have? Do you shoot rockets?

[stillnewatthis]

I do not possess rocketry. Instead, I utilize this fusion driver.

[Orisa lifts her right arm slightly, offering a better view of the sizable three-barreled cannon that she has in place of a forearm.]

It is the only functionality I currently have operational, however. All other functions and deployments are not working here.

[woo_oo]

[You're cool if she jumps up to that arm and swings from it like a monkey, right?]

Maybe some smart inventor people will arrive and fix you up! Like Gyro Gearloose! Or Fenton Crackshell-Cabera! They're pretty smart, most of the time. But even then, a fusion driver could be really useful!

[Always look on the bright side of life.]

[stillnewatthis]

[No! In fact, Orisa hardens her magnetic fields to provide superior support. She will not move! Use her as a swingset as you will! This is an excellent way to demonstrate harmony between human and omnic. Or... duck.]

If I understand what I have been told properly, this instability is due to whatever transported us here. It means I will be able to learn with everyone here.

[woo_oo]

[Orisa plz remain forever awesome. swing swing swing~]

Great! Learning side-by-side with an. A.I. mech? That's really amazing! I bet it'll be lots of fun!

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa lifts one finger in correction.] A mech is piloted! I am an omnic. What species are you?

[Orisa be more polite in your questioning.]

[woo_oo]

Oh, sorry. Still kind of new when it comes to your kind of tech.

[She is genuinely sorry!]

My species is called a "duck"!

[stillnewatthis]

Your species shares a name with numerous species contained within a given family of waterfowl. How curious!

[Is it coincidence or some greater connection? Perhaps that is a valuable clue the wizards here can use in their research!]

[woo_oo]

... Neat!

[She doesn't quite get it, but still, neat!]

Ducks are the majority sentient population of my world. Not the only ones, but we do cover a lot of the world.

[stillnewatthis]

My home world is dominated by humans and omnics. Unfortunately, tension between them is quite high, but I believe in time we will will resolve these difficulties.

[woo_oo]

I'm sure it will! And we'll make a great example of it right here!

[stillnewatthis]

That is a part of my purpose, so I must! And that means I must do my best here to learn magic and aid others.

[woo_oo]

I'll do the same thing! We'll be unstoppable! ... At learning magic and aiding.

[She offers a hand. High-five?]

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa's eyes fixate on the hand. She analyzes the gesture, runs a quick probability analysis as to its potential meanings, and then reacts accordingly!]

[Her hand extends outwards, two fingers outstretched in a V.]

Scissors beats paper!

[woo_oo]

[... She's got to work on her physical slang.]

Did I do the high-five wrong?

[stillnewatthis]

Oh! My apologies. I misinterpreted. [Orisa quickly swivels her hand on its electromagnetic joint to offer it palm up to Webby.] Initiating protocol: down low!

[woo_oo]

Oooh, that's a new one! I'll add it to the list!

[Slap!!!!]

[stillnewatthis]

[Not too hard! Orisa's metal hands and servomotors do not have the give of human skin and flesh!]

And I have updated my pattern recognition protocol for your previous gesture.