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

[shiningkindness]

Plants Off The Path

In most cases, Fluttershy was easily intimidated by anything that looked remotely frightening. And even as she stared at some of the vicious-looking plants (from a safe distance, of course), she remained on the main path and felt a bit nervous. And yet she found them strangely intriguing as well.

At least until she stopped paying attention and wandered off the path, closer to some of the more aggressive plants.

She also might not notice the one plant with the knife...

Bullies, of course

It seemed like a normal day in the dining hall. It was around lunchtime, and Fluttershy had decided to get something quick to eat.

As she was heading to an empty table to settle down, she didn't seem to notice a group of others students watching her. Nor, as she started to place her food down, did she notice the way the table moved slightly; not enough to be noticeable, but enough that the food she was setting down was on the edge, unstable and mostly unsupported. The food ended up toppling over, and she gasped as some of it spilled on her clothes, causing her to step back.

She also didn't notice the lightest trail of magic behind her, broken as she stepped back. Once it was broken, something in a nearby waste bin suddenly exploded, showering her in a green and purple ooze.

The initial clatter had drawn some attention, but it was her startled cry that had most students looking over. Things were silent for a moment before laughter started rippling through the hall. And seeing all eyes were on her, hearing their laughter, Fluttershy felt tears stinging her eyes as she began to panic.

Wildcard
((Anything else you might like to do? Go for it! Or hit me up at usamichan13! I can also do brackets if you prefer))

bullies, of course.

[puzzlers]

Yugi had just finished his lunch and was about to head out of the dining hall when he heard the sudden commotion. He whipped around, his eyes landing on Fluttershy as a heaping helping of colored ooze showered down onto her. A couple of kids sitting one table over burst into an obnoxious fit of laughter, several of the other students joining in.

He could be late to his next class. He wasn't about to leave Fluttershy to deal with this on her own. He dug into his pocket and took out his dice, casting them to the ground as he summoned his wand. A quick flick of the wrist had the assumed culprits table flipping over, causing their own food to spill all over them. Peregrin, who had a phoenix head, a lion body, and a dragon tail followed Yugi as he reached out to Fluttershy. "H- Hey. Come here." If she lets him he'll pull her closely, his familiar taking care to look over them both as a kid from the far corner screams Food Fight!

"You're not hurt, are you?"

[shiningkindness]

She couldn’t help flinching back a bit as Yugi approaches her, because it took a moment for her to recognize him between the laughter and her own anxiety echoing in her ears. When she finally did, though, she let him draw her in, and he’d feel that she was shaking a bit.

And though she tried to answer, she only managed a small whimper as she shook her head. Physically she was all right, but she was about two seconds away from being really upset, especially as the goop dripped from her hair and caused it to cling to her face and body.

[puzzlers]

He held onto her tightly, protectively, only taking a step back when he asked if she was alright. When it became obvious that she wasn't going to be able to answer he started ushering her towards the exit. Peregrin kept an eye on the bullies as they started crawling out from the overturned table. They didn't seem the least bit pleased and were honestly considering retaliating... until the familiar snapped at them and several other students began pelting them with food. It didn't take long for their attention to be diverted, which gave Yugi the opportunity to escort Fluttershy to safety.

"It's going to be alright..." He tried to reassure her as he shrugged off his jacket, using it to try and clear away the multi color goop. "Do you know those guys?" Was there a reason they'd picked her out of the crowd to harass?

[shiningkindness]

She sniffled softly, and held her hands up to stop him. Because somehow, despite how upset she actually was, she didn't want him to get his jacket dirty.

His question received a shake of her head in response. "...I-I...I-I've never...met them before," she finally managed after a moment, a slight hitch in her breath as she tried to wipe away the tears that managed to slip free.

bullies

[burningbrighter]

Sunset is really trying to control her temper these days, but few things set her off more than one of her friends being upset. She feels a hot pinprick of guilt and rage when she sees Fluttershy being tormented, and it's not long before Sunset flips her lid.

She lashes out, flipping the glitter every which way, potentially a little on them. That might get her in trouble later, but she doesn't care.

"You think you're really cool making her cry, don't you? Well you're not. You might think you are, but all you're doing is lying to yourself to cover up your own problems. Trust me. I was you once! And I'll never stop regretting that for the rest of my life. You might not think it now, but I'm doing you a favor."

That said, she grabs Fluttershy's hand and tries to lead her out of the room, just barely deflecting a retaliatory spell.

"...Fluttershy?"

[shiningkindness]

She follows Sunset, though it's less a conscious decision and more an automatic response. She bites her lip, trying not to cry at least until they're out of the dining hall.

Once they are out, though, she wipes her eyes with the heels of her palms, though whether it was because of tears or because the ooze was starting to drip down her face was hard to tell.

[burningbrighter]

Sunset immediately pulls Fluttershy close, not caring about any of the glitter or goop. Her friend is more important...and she has a lot of lost time to make up for.

"I'm so sorry. You deserve so much better than to be treated like that."

[shiningkindness]

There was just the tiniest bit of resistance, because she was aware enough that she still didn't want to get Sunset's clothes dirty. But eventually she returned the embrace anyway, leaning heavily against Sunset as her breath hitches with a short sob.

Plants off the path

[king_of_egypt]

If it hadn't been for the paper airplanes, Atem might not have strayed from the main path himself. Not that he had anything against shortcuts, mind you but he hadn't been in any real hurry to head back inside now that the weather was pleasant. It had been a real treat.... until the problems arose.

Hesitantly lowering the book he was carrying, he looked on the reverse side and saw it speared with nettles. "Alright, I get the idea.... I'm leaving..." He huffed, unsure if the plants could even be reasoned with. Heading out of the territory they'd apparently claimed for themselves, he spotted Fluttershy approaching. He raised his hands to warn her about other dangers when he spotted the pitcher plant with the knife clasped in it's vines.

"Fluttershy! Duck!" Then he swiftly lobbed the only weapon he currently had to hand...... the textbook.

[shiningkindness]

With a gasp, she does as he says, ducking just in time for the book to whiz past her head and hit the knife that the plant was holding, sending it flying out of its grasp.

With a surprised cry, she then quickly scrambled back to her feet. A last minute thought had her scooping up his book before heading over to him, though the plant was close behind her.

[king_of_egypt]

In hindsight that could have been disastrous had Fluttershy misinterpreted his words but thankfully she hadn't, that didn't seem to deter the felonious foliage though. While he couldn't fathom the motivation for the attempted assault there really wasn't much time to devote thought to it. "You just don't know when to give up!"

He raced over to close the gap between them so he could place himself protectively between the plant and Fluttershy. "Be careful, Fluttershy- this is not the only plant that is acting peculiarly." The warning was hasty and lacking the details he would have liked to have supplied but her pursuer was almost upon them.

[shiningkindness]

She gasped as he stepped between them, especially as the plant brandished its knife and took a swing at them when it was close enough.

"L-Look out!"

Plants

[woo_oo]

Thank goodness someone else did!

There's a weird RRRRRIP sound behind Fluttershy - which is Webby trying to break the plant's wrist, but, still, since it doesn't have a wrist, she ripped off the "hand" by accident.

"Whoops."

[shiningkindness]

Startled, she turned around, gasping as the sight of the pitcher plant. The plant itself seemed to growl, none too happy with its "hand" being ripped off.

Though it didn't seem to slow it down, as another "hand" seemed to grow back, and more vines quickly retrieved the knife off the ground.

[woo_oo]

"This did not work out as well as I thought it would."

Oh well. Cheerfully, she turned to Fluttershy. "You can run if you want!"

[shiningkindness]

Fluttershy, however, was a bit more worried.

"I-I...don't want to just leave you, though," she replied, though part of her was wondering if she'd be more in the way if she stayed.

Plants

[areasontohope]

Yuki had heard something about the plants and had seen a few things himself. But there was nothing that he had seen so far that looked threatening though he'd managed to somehow get a few scratches from the bushes.

But then he saw someone getting too close to a plant with what looked like..a knife? Yuki didn't think that he could take it on (and what a time to be without some sort of weapon because he wasn't sure how well his black belt would work in this situation) but he could at least warn her.

"Um..miss, look out behind you!"

[shiningkindness]

The warning caught her attention, which had her turning just in time to see the pitcher plant coming at her with a knife. She cried out, and with a slight slip in her step she tried to run, though the plant was quick to chase after her.

[areasontohope]

Watching the girl run, the only thing he could do was try and get the plant's attention and let her run off. What he was going to do after that, would just have to come later.

Being a gardener, Yuki knew how to kill plants, but he didn't have anything like that handy either. So as he ran after the plants, he recalled that he'd once fought a huge ginger cat and managed to live through it. So he'd just have to hope somehow he could manage to grab it and wrestle with it just like the fight with the cat beast.

"Whatever happens, just keep running!" Yuki called to her as he closed in on the plant.

[shiningkindness]

As someone who was easily frightened, Fluttershy did not often go to watch horror movies. And as such, she was not aware of the first rule of a horror movie: Do not look back when you're running.

So, as he called out to her, she glanced towards the source of the voice. And as cluttered as the ground was littered with other plants, it was unsurprising when her foot snagged, causing her to actually trip with a short cry.

Plants

[mithrarin]

"Hey, look out!"

She didn't get much more warning before Dust all but dove past her, coming up to parry the knife with ringing force. As both he and the plant staggered back, he threw out one hand to cover her, Blade of Ahrah at the ready for the plant's next move.

[shiningkindness]

She barely had time to turn before he was between them, and she gasped as the knife and sword came together. Then she found herself behind him, being protected as the pitcher plant charged forward again.

[mithrarin]

"Get to safety, quick!" He couldn't fight in his usual style, with huge sweeping strikes, when he it could very easily hurt the person he was trying to help, so he settled for a few jabs at the plant that were meant to keep it back rather than really cause harm.

[shiningkindness]

She hesitated a moment, even as she took a few steps back. Part of her didn't want to leave him by himself, but she also worried that she would be in the way and he would get hurt even more.

Eventually she compromised, and hurried off to find somewhere nearby that was still a safe distance away.