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

[noasark]

The time it takes for Seto to recover is only barely enough for Noa- barely, in that he hasn't quite managed it by the time the other speaks.

"NH-! Of course not!" he retorts, the words coming out harsher than he intends. His face colours quickly, and he finds himself looking away. "I was just buying time for my familiar to get involved...I had it handled," he adds, trying and rather remarkably failing to save face.

[blue_ice]

"...that was one way to do it."

He's still boggling after them. Penguins? Really? But now...back to more important matters.

"Look. This school's ridiculous and dangerous, but the other students aren't usually that bad. Something's just been in the air lately."

He shifts awkwardly. He really, really did not expect to ever see Noa again.

[noasark]

Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure it would be a genuine penguin army.

He's not going to admit that though, and instead he carefully looks back at the other- silent. "...Something in the air," he repeats, nodding slowly as he repeats the phrase. "...I see..."

Well. That's that, that's. All they really need, isn't it?

...

Who is he kidding, honestly. The silence is brutal, made increasingly worse by the fact that he can't bring himself to simply leave. He instead has to force himself to speak-

"...I didn't expect to see you here," he remarks, stating the obvious between the two.

[blue_ice]

"You're telling me," Kaiba grumbles, crossing his arms. It isn't so shocking, considering Atem had made it here...but Atem had still existed, just beyond the 'veil'. Noa's brain data had been deleted.

Kaiba has so many questions that he really doesn't care to ask right now.

"But as long as you're here, you're not getting pushed around. Soon enough you'll know your own spells and have them running. With the penguins to help, too."

[noasark]

It's complicated. There's probably a bunch of nonsense time skipping involved, and last minute 'pulls'. After all- he didn't exactly have a functioning body for the time he was brain data.

There is some grumbling- as expected. "...It wasn't that much pushing..." he insists, with the sort of tone anyone lacking a real argument would use. The penguins are a good point though. "Ah... ...I should dismiss those ones," he realizes, a few of them coming back from their 'assignment'.

He's still not sure how he wound up with a penguin. But apparently there he is.

[blue_ice]

"They're surprisingly useful, I suppose."

Kaiba watches the penguins leave with some satisfaction. Then, because this isn't confusing enough, he adds an absent look up at Noa's face.

"A second life for you too?"

[noasark]

"When their 'emperor' agrees at least," he remarks calmly, momentarily glad for the change in the subject. In the end, all but one penguin is dismissed- the larger one with a wing bangle remains, just in case he needs to be sent off to summon help again.

It figures that the topic change is so brief however- and Noa frowns, more in response to Seto's expression than anything. For a moment he's not sure what should be said to that. Eventually all he manages is, "What else would it be?"

The boy sighs, though the sound comes out more akin to a 'huff' of some sort. "...'too' implies I'm not the first 'dead man walking' you've seen though."

[blue_ice]

Kaiba watches the penguin with some mild amusement before turning back to the subject at hand. There's something almost...regretful in his expression.

"Mm. I don't know how much you know about Yugi Mutou, but there were two entities in that body. Yugi, and the spirit of an ancient pharaoh, Atem. Atem passed to the afterlife a while after you stopped Gozaburo...yet he's here, alive and with his own body."

He folded his hands with a sigh. "I've used this opportunity to resolve unfinished business with him, and..."

This is the awkward part. He pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'd like to do the same for you, if you're amenable. I'm aware our relationship is...strained, but since we're stuck with each other for a while longer..."

[noasark]

There is a lot to unpack there. First- "A phar- So that's why..!"- despite himself he has to allow himself a brief interjection of surprise, memories of his failed possession attempt hitting hard. Hurriedly, he shakes it off. "...Mnh. It's irrelevant now I suppose..."

Particularly with what else is on the table.

He doesn't deserve that kind of offer, it feels like. It's almost too good to be true. He can't say he especially liked the other after all- well, he can't even say he truly knew him. Yet there Seto stands, offering...

This. "...why?" He manages, confusion written upon his face. "...I am the one who..." He pauses, searching for the words. "...Yugi, and 'Atem', I think I can understand," he corrects- "...But I tried to kill you. Everyone, even," he adds with the shake of his head.

"...Why would you offer that...Why..?" He repeats somewhat dumbly, unable to make anything about the confusion seem elegant.

It's clear he wants it, certainly.

It's just not clear to him why the chance is already there, that quickly.

[blue_ice]

Seto's feeling slightly awkward about it himself, but he's sure of his path. He's let himself get too deeply entwined in the nonsense of friendship and it's clearly left a mark.

"I tried to kill Yugi and Atem when I first met them, yet they still chose to forgive me. It's taken us a long time to work out where we stand, but they're now my closest friends."

Yugi is closer than even that, but he doesn't want to bombard Noa with even more mind-boggling information if it's not especially relevant to the main point.

"From what little I know, we're not all that different, Noa. I respect your intelligence and strength of will, and I believe we could help each other. Those are the only reasons I need."

[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.

[blue_ice]

"About a year and a half. Atem recovered his name and memories, and immediately after, he was somehow forced to duel Yugi to determine if he would stay or go. Apparently Yugi won, and he left this world..."

He still frowned every time he said that. Even knowing what had come later, it still irked him that the pharaoh had just up and left without a word, even if it hadn't been his choice.

"A year later, I tried to find the puzzle and bring him back. Another group of lunatics was out to stop me because they'd lose their powers if I brought the pharaoh back, or some nonsense like that. Long story short, he came back one last time to save us, I forged...some kind of truce with Yugi, and then I ended up here because I was full of magic. Because it was always going to end that way."

He grunted and shook his head. "I know I should have looked for you too. It wasn't until I got here that I started to realize what I was missing."

[noasark]

A year and a half.

Plenty of time to change even slightly then. But Noa takes his time to so much as speak, his expression far more conflicted by the time Seto is finished.

"...You wouldn't have found me if you had," he eventually says, deciding to take a 'neutral' route. "...I arrived barely days ago- you can't find what's missing, if it's not there at all," Noa adds somewhat cheekily, giving a shrug and a smirk. It fades quickly though.

....

After all, it's still a lot. "...I... ...I need time, I think," he determines quietly. "...Not 'apart', but rather... ...to just think. About what I need to make up for," he adds, unsure of even how to admit that.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba clenches his fist. That Noa had been a blip of data so easily erased...it was unsettling to think about. He's certain he could have done something, if only he'd had the chance at the right time.

But now he didn't need to. Now they have this.

He shakes his head. "I'm willing to let the past lie. You acted to win Gozaburo's favor, and I know exactly where that leads. You stopped him in the end. But...before you go, take this."

He reaches into his bag and pulls out a small notebook.

"You'll find that the wall of your dormitory's common room has a board where you can post notes. The notes posted there will copy to every common room in the school, and the individual housing areas. This book has a similar enchantment, but with one difference: when written in, the only place it copies to is the book it's paired with. I have the other."

[noasark]

They certainly do know where that leads don't they? There is a flash of recognition- for the memory, mostly, of how it 'ended' in both their cases. At least before things turned impossibly for the better.

He listens carefully, at the explanation of the boards. Whether he knew or not already, he doesn't say. Instead..

The boy's eyes widen, even as he carefully takes the notebook. A two-way book...

Noa's eyes linger over it's cover, and finally he manages to say- "...Thank you, Seto. I..." He continues holding the book, but manages a somewhat stiff nod. "...I suppose we'll be seeing more of the other from here on."

....Just has to get used to it is all.

[blue_ice]

"Yes. I...think I'd like that."

They're so awkward around each other, huh? Seto gives him an answering nod and lifts a hand.

"We'll meet when you're free. I can show you a few basic tricks that should shut them up."

[noasark]

On the one hand, he really wants to say he doesn't need it. On the other, he kind of wants to see what those tricks are.

And on yet another hand somehow, because with a mess like this who needs a sane number of hands, Seto frankly has more experience here. He's been here longer.

It's something Noa has to accept. So he nods. "...I'll let you know then."

He really will, too.