April Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

April Event and Intro Log Plants Off The Path Green grass and radiant flower gardens bracket all the major walks on campus, and fragrant scents fill the air all around. Note the key words "major walks" there. Move off the common paths and onto 'shortcuts' or less frequented areas of the vast campus and things are quite different. Here, the plants grow just as experience with this chaotic and often dangerous school would lead you to expect. Broad-leafed stalks stretch upwards, petals unfolding to reveal long jets of fire instead of a sensible stamen. Bushes have large toothy mouths, and viciously swallow anyone who comes near (though they are still just bushes, and the victims end up on the their other side just a few scratches worse for wear). A tree grows quills instead of needles; another sprouts paper airplanes instead of leaves. An extremely aggressive pitcher-plant wanders the pathways, mugging students at knifepoint. It's a jungle out there. Bullies, Of Course Surely a Magicademy, with many students already adults and with such an emphasis on learning and control, wouldn't have those who used their magic for such petty ends as making others suffer? Uh-huh. A pack of bullies with more spell experience than wisdom has banded together to take delight in the suffering of others. They overtly pick on the small, the meek, and those with less magical skill; they torment the larger, the bold, and the powerful in secret. Worse, they are the clever sorts of bullies, who go out of their way not to get caught and not to do anything that can't be played off or explained away. Maybe you attracted their attention by looking weak enough to pick on. Or strong enough to need to be taken down a notch. Or weird enough that you were the Other and thus lesser. Or pretty/handsome enough that you needed to look less attractive so they would look more so. They are pretty good at justifying picking on anyone, really. Are they pestering you by magical tripping or property destruction? Playing keep-away with your class books? Better be careful how you respond; their fathers might hear about it. Wind At The Docks (aka The Prompt Where You Don't Get Mugged) The winds of spring bring something of a dark pastime to Anastara -- dockwatching. Aware that a sudden blast of air can rip across the island at a moment's notice, crowds gather at the docks with the air of those expecting spectacle. All too often, they are rewarded -- in the wake of a sudden wind, airships list violently, or bump into each other, or desperately pull sails and power up their flotation cores to avoid a worse collision. Curses fly through the air, and sometimes even spells. With luck, the audience might even see a pair of vessels engage in an all-out air duel, as two captains driven by pride or vengeance refuse to back down. Now, to their credit, the assembled people aren't heartless. If a ship truly looks to be in trouble, or if it's smashed to the ground or into a dock, the people of Anastara don't hesitate to help those on board to safety or ensure that they don't go down with their ship. But mostly it's watching the chaos. It IS quite a show... 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 Glyph designed to detect any influence of the magic on you. Painted on your arm, it will shine with a bright light when a Sundering effect attempts to influence you. They explain that they believe the Sundered are still subject to either the spell that brought them here or new ones, because they have detected remnants of Sundering magic in the wake of students who have mysteriously disappeared. They ask only that you report back when it lights up. Problem: when the Glyph erupts, either because of the Glyph itself or the spell it has detected... those who bear it find themselves no longer where they started. Perhaps they find themselves in a classroom late at night. Or the wrong dormitory. Or in the Great Hall in their nightshirt. Or for the utterly lowbrow amongst you, a restroom occupied by the wrong gender. Whatever the case: sorry. 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 some sort of regain this month!)

Comments

[woo_oo]

[She sighs in relief.]

That's good... But.

[You knew the but was coming.]

That still doesn't explain why you hid this from me! Why didn't you want me to know? I thought we weren't going to have anymore secrets between us!

['We', she says, as if she too kept secrets, and they both knew damn well she hadn't.]

[outofyourshadow]

[Right. There it is.]

I...wanted to figure out more about it first. To see if it was dangerous.

[woo_oo]

And what if it was? You could've gotten hurt, and I was just supposed to... wait until it was too late?

Lena, this isn't how friendship goes! We're supposed to work together!

[It's been A While since she's ever felt this angry.]

Why don't you trust me?

[outofyourshadow]

If it was dangerous, I would've gotten rid of it. I'm still not convinced it isn't.

[That last question was definitely the worst of it, though, and part of her wished she hadn't brought this up in the first.]

It's not that I don't trust you, Webby. I just didn't want you to get hurt.

[She holds up a hand.]

And yes, I know, that sounds super lame, and I still should have told you. I get it. But I told you, I'm doing my best. I'm still learning.

[woo_oo]

Well, here's your latest lesson - this still hurts!

[Hmph! She crosses her arms, stewing a bit. Uncomfortable silence passes as she looks away, and her voice softens.]

... Sometimes when I wake up... I get scared that... all of this has just been a dream, and I'll go to the amphitheater, and... you're not there. Losing you was... the worst thing that's ever happened to me.

... I don't want it to happen again.

[outofyourshadow]

[She winces, fully expecting - and deserving - the anger. But what Webby says after that is even worse.]

...I'm sorry, Webby. To be honest...It still might.

[She drew her knees to her chest, her eyes still look on the ground.]

I don't...really know what's going on with the magic here...how it brought me back when I felt myself disappear. And if I can just blink back into existence like that...what's stopping me from just...blinking right back out again?

[It was part of why the nights were so hard, why she hated going to sleep sometimes. Because even worse than the nightmares were those nights where it felt like she just...stopped existing for a while.]

[woo_oo]

No!

[It comes out without thinking, and she suddenly throws herself at Lena, clinging had, as if physically trying to prevent her from 'blinking out'.]

You can't! You won't! You're here, they have to keep you here!

[She's not sure if she's making sense, who the hell is 'they', but now she's just so deep in fear it's hard to think straight.]

I won't let it happen! I don't care if you keep a million secrets from me, I'm not losing you again!

[Well okay, she WOULD care if Lena kept a million secrets from her, but that's beside the point, kinda.]

[outofyourshadow]

...Webby...

[She wants to believe. More than anything, she wants to think that she could stay...could exist here.

...but...]

Look at how many people have disappeared already.

[She hates this. She doesn't want to be talking about this. Especially not with Webby, because she doesn't want Webby to think about these things either.

But...wouldn't it hurt more if they don't talk about it, and it happened anyway?]

[woo_oo]

No! No no no no!

[Maybe it's childish to react this way but - Webby IS a child.]

I don't care what happened to them, I will not let it happen to you! I'll focus all on my studying on it, I'll do anything and everything it takes to keep you here! You, you, you...

[Her voice breaks - and yep, tears, as she buries her face into Lena's shoulder.]

... You deserve to be happy... you deserve to exist.

[outofyourshadow]

[She pulls Webby close, just as much needing to be held as it was to hold her.

Because it's that last thought that always crosses her mind.]

...do I really though?

[woo_oo]

[She makes a muffled 'mm-hmm' sound, needing a moment to catch her breath and not break into sobs.]

... You do. I know you do. Don't say you don't.

[outofyourshadow]

[She hesitates, because she doesn't want to make Webby any more upset than she already is.]

...how can I? How can I exist...when I don't even know who - what existence this is?

[woo_oo]

[Another moment of silence, as Webby tries to think.

Eventually, she pulls back, wiping one of her cheeks dry.]

... What's your favorite color?

[woo_oo]

Dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge - all the while never breaking her cheerful attitude.

"Well, to make a long story short, that's how Donald defeated a giant killer plant back home. His bad singing made it weak, and then explode."

What kind of world did she come from?!

[noasark]

"I just didn't expect to see them," he admits, crossing his arms.

...Ah, yes they are rather distressed. "Mnh...I suppose... ...too long and they might whine about us later..." Which is just not fair, they started it, but when does that ever count.

"...I suppose whoever Adelai sends now, I'll have to dismiss though." Who's Adelai? That's a mystery for later.

[noasark]

Indeed, this is mindboggling enough. Heck- he's wondering if he should be worried about Seto being swapped with someone, or possessed, or...

'Not all that different'. He can't hold back the slightly self-deprecating huff that comes with that thought, when he dwells on it. They were different enough for the one to do some steering in life after all.

"...It...is a second life, after all..." he quietly murmurs- not quite answering, but not really refusing either. It may be as close as he comes for a bit. But that aside- "...How long has it been since that tournament, Seto?" Battle City was sort of interrupted by him. It works as a time point, he likes to think.

RESEARCH

[noasark]

[There is a sad, sad issue with that warning.]

If they can't take critique, they shouldn't be marking people's arms, [Noa huffs, looking about ready to verbally chew a mage's ear off.

Go figure, he has some kind of mark on his arm. Ah.]

[darkenedmoon]

[Yotsuyu made a mental note to ask Webby just who Donald was. But later. For now, she had a plant to subdue!

Plants do not have ears, but the pitcher plant did seem to react to the sound waves from Webby's singing. It dropped the knife it was wielding and cringed, its fronds covering the bulbous pitcher that served it as a head.

Oh, good! [The first thing to do was prevent it from getting the knife again. Then she could worry about subduing it. Yotsuyu darted in and snatched it up, holding the handle towards Webby. She needed a prize too, after all.]

Keep going! I am going to try to subdue it with Modification...

[bearshermark]

Eleven took the papers with a nod.

"That's all right- you've done enough for me already, thank you."

But he hesitated to leave, fighting with the niggling feeling that maybe she knew, and that was why this particular exchange felt so familiar.

"..Can I ask.. How much did Hendrik tell you, about me?"

[woo_oo]

[Sweet! Free weapon! She happily takes it, and now uses it like a baton as she sings and dances!]

~We're happy amigos
No matter where he goes
The one, two, and three goes
We're always together~

[areasontohope]

"I'm fine, please don't worry about me." This was said in a tone that he hoped sounded convincing. Yuki was in some pain, but he'd wrestled just about that hard before. It just was something he didn't want to do every day.

He had originally planned to just go for a quick walk and didn't see the need to take his wand along. But something was going on in the school and he needed to make sure he had it on him at all times.

[perfectenn]

Yet try to make sense of her he does! Even standing on tip-toe to get a better view of her faceplate. It’s surprisingly expressive for just a vehicle. And the design doesn't seem to accommodate a passenger. The segments on the arms might be weaponry. An armored suit?

"I see." Even if working with forging spells triggered a reaction, it could also be random like the visions the prior month. How inconvenient.

"Program... you're an AI?" He struggles with the term a moment, not wanting to sound rude. But she raised the possibility, so he lets his curiosity lead.

[perfectenn]

The particular wording leads to a slight narrowing of his eyes. Judging by that answer, he's not used to mingling with humans. Perhaps that was for the best, seeing as the Tenscore Kingdom’s own dealings with dragons did not end favorably.

"A little over two months." Tenn answers. "The Sundered are spread throughout the Houses, but we do seem to have a higher ratio in Valhudor."

Speaking of which, it occurs to him that the induction into the House may not have been the warmest reception for a dragon. Keeping the concern out of his voice so he won’t sound condescending, Tenn asks, "Have you been shown where the class rooms and Spire dorms are? And the music practice rooms?"

[perfectenn]

"Is there a group you'd trust more?" Tenn asks, genuinely curious. After all, Sundered were scattered all over the world before drawn together here. These wizards can’t be the only ones pursuing this area of research.

[unswervingcompanion]

The knight smiled coldly as the two others ran off because that was two more opponents that he didn't have to fight. The third one he silently gave credit to, because he was trying to stand his ground.

Good luck trying to do that against a battle-hardened and very well seasoned knight there, kid. He's been fighting monsters when you weren't able to even walk yet.

Hendrik advanced as close as he could before swinging his greatsword. The purpose was to knock the wand out of the user's hand and then subdue him. And having endured many magic spells from Jasper, Hendrik knew that it was dangerous to give a magic user distance.