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

[puzzlers]

👑 plants off the path.

[ all of the beautiful flora that had sprouted had yugi interested in spending more time outside. it’s a shame the outdoors didn’t share the sentiment, because he swore everything was trying to kill him. he’d already gotten swallowed by a bush for having sat on a bench too closely to where it was rooted and while, yes, it was only a bush he was still picking the assortment of leaves and twigs out of his hair. peregrin didn’t seem to like them at all, since he’d already been jabbed about a half dozen times by a plant firing off quills. yugi can be found with peregrin coiled around his neck looking exasperated and disheveled... and he's also sitting in a protective bubble he cast around himself, which kind of defeats the entire purpose of being out here, but it's keeping him safe from all the vines. he certainly could have move elsewhere, but he's stubborn, and this is the spot he wanted to enjoy. ]

👑 bullies, of course.

[ it doesn’t seem to matter where yugi is, but he’s always was and clearly always will be the target of bullying. he sighs, staring down at the books knocked out of his hands. he doesn’t feeling like fighting back, because that’s clearly what they want, so he just lets them tire of harassing him. that is until they target his familiar. now it’s an all out war, except, we’ll, not really. the bullies have trapped peregrin in a chest of their own creation and continue to taunt Yugi will his freedom. yugi clutched his wand tightly, knocking a few bullies back with the forceful push of a spell, so he could see about chanting the incantation for a sigil, but they immediately retaliate and send him flying back several feet. ]

[ he grunts, landing on his back, which nearly knocks the wind out of him, but he's not going to let them bully his familiar... but he probably can’t do this alone, soooo a little help? ]

👑 research on the sundered.

[ though yugi doesn’t approve of the way in which the handle and conduct themselves he admires the research being done, because almost everyone here has no business being here. they need to get home, and while yugi is still uncertain about where he stands he continues to help them. the glyph is new... and honestly he’s a bit worried about it, especially after the last fiasco, but he tries to keep his negative thoughts in check. he’s keeping a close eye on it, however, and it’s not until he’s settling down for an evening of studying that it activates and he’s throw somewhere else. ]

[ hopefully you weren't in the middle of something important, because have a surprise yugi. he’ll be inconveniently appeared right in the way and looking just as confused ( if no more so ) than you. ]

Sorry about that. I, ah, ... I’m not sure how I... got here... [ he looks around trying to get his bearings. ]

👑 other.

[ hit me up on plurk at respawnin321 if you’d like to do something else! ]

research

[blue_ice]

[ Kaiba's had an extremely trying day, and by the end of it he's honestly ready to zonk out. He heads up to the empty dorm (it's early, after all) and is about to settle in for the night with a new book when he feels a suspicious prickle in the air, followed by a loud crack and a person-shaped weight crashing into him.

He curses under his breath and reaches for the light. ]

---what the?

[puzzlers]

-oof. [ a mess of limbs falls on top of kaiba as yugi feels a bit disoriented from the trip, and not just because he's just been transported from a to b. he rubs at his face, groaning into his palm as, oh!... oh no! ]

I'm sorry! [ he flails, doing his best to sit up and turn to face the person he just fell onto so he can apologize when he realizes it's kaiba. he stares at him for a long while, his face burning with color, because it seems like they'd both been about ready to settle in for the night when, er, this. ]

H- Hey Kaiba. I, uh, hope you don't mind if I, h- haha, drop... in...

[blue_ice]

[ Kaiba relaxes minutely when he recognizes the voice. The intruder in his bed is only Yugi. Okay, so he's still a little banged up, but it could be worse. He rubs at his rib cage and shakes his head. ]

Another mismanaged spell, right?

[ He flushes slightly, very obviously moving to finish buttoning his pajamas. Right. It's Yugi in his bed. ]

[puzzlers]

I... ah, I'm not sure. [ he tries not to focus on how he interrupted kaiba getting ready for bed, but it's a bit difficult when he's still kind of sitting atop him. he looks aside, letting him do up the last couple of buttons to his pajamas as he lets out a nervous chuckle. ] I mean, I hadn't been practicing magic at the time. I was just getting ready to study when all of a sudden... [ he blinks, looking to the mark. that's right, it had glowed just before he'd been transported here. yugi sighs. ] More research.

[blue_ice]

Of course it was. They'll never give up their nonsense, will they?

[ He sighs and shakes his head, absentmindedly poking near the mark. ]

You're too good for them, Yugi.

[puzzlers]

I can’t not help. I know it’s risky and the side effects are usually... [ he trails off at that, because they both know they haven’t been great. ] heh. [ he traps kaiba’s hand between both of his and smiles down at it. ] I also figure if they can reliably experiment on me, then they won’t have to bother as much with everybody else. Like Atem and you, for instance.

[blue_ice]

Heh. So you're doing this to protect us? But you realize we still have to worry about you, right?

[He relaxes some with Yugi holding his hand. It's nice...and slowly the awkward edge is being taken off the situation.]

Not that I don't appreciate it...heh. Especially at this moment.

[Yup. This is...surprisingly nice. There's a soft look around his eyes by now.]

[puzzlers]

Heh, guilty. But I don't want either of you coming to harm's way. Especially if there's something I can do to try to prevent it. [ though he's not sure he's going to be able to convince either not to get involved. that's kind of what they do best. not to mention the researchers probably want as many test subjects as they can get. sobs. ]

[ his face burns at that comment. ] Agreed. This wasn't so bad. [ he's going to take a quick look around the room and then give kaiba a kiss. ] So you were getting ready for bed? Isn't it a little early? [ he's one to talk! he was doing the same. ]

Bullies

[king_of_egypt]

[The sight is enough to have Atem lamenting the fact that he can't summon up a shadow game right here and right now. Thankfully, the goons haven't realized they are no longer alone to do as they will with Yugi. It takes but a moment to assess the scene on full display before him. The books and notes scattered on the floor, the familiar in a chest, and his partner flat on his back. For some reason , he had thought they were beyond all this now- but so be it. He drew back into the adjacent corridor to coordinate with Capricius. Hold on, Yugi. Help is coming....... he thought to himself though he knew the other couldn't hear it.

In a few moments, everything that wasn't nailed down started whirling about the hall. The bullies started being pelted with implements, books, and quills. Confusion flashed across their features as they looked for the source that was not to be found.

To further baffle them, Atem cast a spell of his own. A low moaning sound emanated out of thin air crescendoing as the items floating about the room increased in their rapidity. Thinking better of sticking around the more weak-minded of the gang scrambled over themselves to flee this ghostly apparition that was now taunting them. Strangely, the objects never struck Yugi.......

With their numbers greatly diminished, Atem stepped out to take on who must have been their ring leader. He was the only one mindful enough to start shielding himself with spells or casting the items away from him] Now that you're the one that's outnumbered- don't you think you should cease this ridiculous behavior and apologize to my friend? [Wand at the ready, he was prepared to defend himself]

[puzzlers]

[ he sucks in a sharp breath and clutches at his chest as he sits up. ow. that had hurt, and a lot more than he had anticipated. yugi frowns, looking up to the chest that the bullies have now started binding in chains. yugi grips his wand tightly as his mind races for a spell that can ( and will ) help, but he's drawing a blank. ]

[ yugi casts a protection spell around the chest to prevent them from doing anything more to it, but that's about the time everything started going crazy. he blinks, looking around as books, quills, chairs, and whatever else was around started flying through the air. the ghostly moaning had him looking around for the source, although if it was a ghost he wasn't likely to find it. ]

What the... [ he trails off as the bullies run, with the exception of the leader, who looks pissed that he's been abandoned because of some dumb ghost. when atem steps out yugi smiles, though the bully doesn't seem the least bit impressed with the display... now. he doesn't bother with apologizes, ha!, and instead casts a pull spell, forcing atem closer so he can try to freeze him. ] I think you need to chill out, dude, we were just talking. [ "talking". ]

Atem! [ he needs to stop hesitating! so he quickly casts a bounce spell, in the hope that the idiot ends up hitting himself with the spell instead of atem. ]

[king_of_egypt]

[Perhaps he shouldn't have given the remaining ringleader an opportunity to end this more or less peacefully. Even then he was less concerned for himself than he was for Yugi. This bully wasn't lacking for experience so when he casts his spell it's swift, and Atem found himself unable to counter the initial one, his body forced to move against it's wishes towards the opposition.] ... And I think you need to be knocked down a size or tw- [Before he could finish engaging in that bantering, Yugi was the one coming to his aide. The freeze spell bounced harmlessly away from him and back to it's original caster.]

Good thinking, Yugi! [The last antagonist remaining was now doing his best impression of an ice sculpture and couldn't task them further]

Now let's see to Peregrin. [Moving toward the chest and uncertain of how long their friend would remain solid]

[puzzlers]

[ probably but, but there was definitely a chance that after seeing that he was in over his head he would have realized that backing off was the better of the two options, but he apparently he didn't have a good head on his shoulders. yugi was relieved that he'd been quick enough on the draw to keep atem from becoming an ice cube. he shot atem a smile, though worry reclaimed his features at the mention of peregrin. ]

Yeah, but let's hurry. I doubt he'll be able to hold a pose for long. [ he gave a half hearted chuckle as he knelt beside the chest and started tugging on the chains. ] Peregrin, it's going to be alright. Atem's here, and he's going to help me set you free.

[king_of_egypt]

[That was a fact that was made abundantly clear by the retaliation. Atem was also relieved by Yugi's swift actions on his behalf since he had quite enough of cold weather upon their arrival. They exchanged brief victorious glances before setting back to work on the matter that was most pressing.]

In case he can't, why don't we take the chest and put some distance between us. [Though he hated the idea of Peregrin being stuck in there for any longer than he had to be. He refrained from mentioning where they could duck into in case the bully's ears could still hear while in this frozen state. One would think the ice was too thick for it though.]

[puzzlers]

[ he took out his wand and started mumbling a complex series of mathematical equations to change the properties of the chain that's got the chest locked. well. it's one of the things that's keeping peregrin locked tight. he anticipates the chest, itself, being sealed, but that's something the two of them will have to work on when they have a moment to themselves. ] Y- Yeah, ok, let's do that. [ he casts a spell to lift the chest into the air and hover there for a few moments so he can more easily move with it. but he can't hold it like that for long, so he has to keep recasting it. ] Lead the way, Atem. We should still have a couple of minutes before our friend thaws.

[king_of_egypt]

[It was impressive how quickly Yugi had managed to pick up the spells more associated with another dormitory. To the untrained ear those equations would sound as little more than jibberish. ]

Mm, follow me. [He had thought that he would just carry the chest, but apparently Yugi had other ideas. The container was a bit on the heavy side so this would make it easier in the long run. Carving a path down the hallway, Atem waited until they were out of the hooligan's range of vision before opening the door to one of the empty classrooms and waiting for Yugi to pass him and go inside.]

[puzzlers]

[ h- hah. atem might find out more about why he's not half bad at the mathematics equations soon enough, though he had legitimately been studying on his own too. ]

[ he nods, doing his best to keep the spell up for longer and longer periods, but he's still not nearly as proficient as he'd like to be. it's kind of a struggle, but he ducks into the classroom, carefully maneuvering the chest inside before setting it down and dropping back to his knees. ] There's still a lock on it. [ or maybe some magical barrier, honestly he's still a bit hysterical, so he ( first ) needs to calm down. ]

[outofyourshadow]

[Suddenly, from a small distance away, a beam of light hits one of the bullies just as he was casting another spell. The spell backfires, and with a small explosion from the wand causes the student's wand - and clothes - to catch fire.

It's enough of a distraction to the group that the chest falls to the ground, forgotten for the moment in all the chaos.]

[puzzlers]

[ as soon as the chest hits the ground he's chanting an incantation and drawing a sigil to summon a chain with a hook attached. he throws it toward the chest and yanks it over to himself as he frantically starts trying to remove the chains. dammit. a simple mathematic equation later and the chains have become no more than a lump of metal as yugi hefts the chest open to help peregrin out. ]

Peregrin!

[ he looks over his shoulder to see lena, a smile spreading across his face. ] Lena! Thank y- [ one of the bullies has finally cast a spell to douse his friend in water and now they've re-set their sights on yugi, peregrin, and more important lena. ]

[outofyourshadow]

[Gripping her wand tightly in her hand, Lena then holds it up - not in one hand, like one would a regular wand, but in both hands, aimed like a crossbow - before firing another beam of light, brighter than the last, at the group. Suddenly their bags seem to rip open, causing everything in them to spill out and tumble to the ground.

At that moment, a convenient gust of wind blows by, scattering any important paper everywhere. She takes that moment of confusion and chaos to grab Yugi's wrist.]

Let's go!

[puzzlers]

[ both him and his familiar stare, gaping, at the spell she's cast??? the bullies seem stunned too, but there's no time to figure out how she learned something like that! because all of their stuff is getting blown around. yugi blinks, looking to lena when he's grabbed and following her with peregrin hot on his heals. ]

That was amazing, Lena! [ though he should probably keep the praise until after they've gotten a ways away from the bullies. ]

[outofyourshadow]

I know. [It was a teasing quip, but all she had time for as they hurried to put as much distance between them and the bullies that they could get.

It was only once she was sure they'd lost them that she slows down, finding a spot where they could catch their breaths.]

You okay?

[puzzlers]

[ he doubles over to catch his breath while nodding his head. ] Yeah, I- I'm fine. Now anyway. How about you, Pere- [ he looks back at his familiar who doesn't waste a split second leaping at her to show his appreciation. he's currently a bat cat hybrid, so he's not too big, thankfully. ]

What was that anyway? That spell was absolutely crazy!

[outofyourshadow]

[Surprised, she just manages to catch the familiar, giving it an awkward pat.]

Uh...you're welcome.

[Yugi's question has her pausing, trying to think of how best to answer.]

Just uh...something that I picked up.

[Not...technically wrong.]

[puzzlers]

[ he takes the pats and then goes back over to yugi. ]

I need to learn something like that! I, admittedly, have been practicing mostly defensive spells, but if there's a group of bullies like that roaming around the school, then I might need to up my game.

[ and just generally be craftier. ]

But thanks, Lena, seriously. That was awesome.