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

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"Oh, sure, I'm fine." Isabel waved the question off casually. "What did they say it was about, then?"

That sounded kind of fishy to her, and she furrowed a brow. "I'm not sure if I want to sign up for that sort of thing...even if I do want to go home."

Well. Someday. Go home someday. This place seemed pretty neat so far.

[noasark]

"It's supposed to indicate when the magic involved in our arrival triggers," he explains calmly, his only response to Isabel's 'I'm fine' being a nod.

"I'm fine where I am, honestly- but the more research done with regard to sending others back, the more can be done for those who would rather remain, right?"

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"Oh." Clearly, Isabel hadn't thought about that part. She, too, was fine here at the moment, but she did want to go home eventually...and what if there just wasn't enough research to actually manage that? For anyone?

The conclusion makes her grimace, but then she nods to Noa. "I didn't think of it that way, but you're right. Maybe I ought to sign up...even if it means I end up somewhere I'd rather not."

She'd rather not end up in someone else's dorm room unexpectedly...or worse, in the teachers' quarters, though she'd think that they should at least be warded against random Sundering effects...

[noasark]

It's an easy thing to forget, he figures. Not everyone has a near (or arguably total) death experience to add into the considerations after all.

As is. "Hmmm..." If it is genuinely helping, then yes maybe she should... "...If it's a test for the magic that brought us here... ...how recently did you arrive in this 'world' yourself?" Not that he knows it's 'recent enough', but he figures someone who's been here for a while longer has better excuse to sit out.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"Three weeks ago, I think?" Her watch had stopped working--she never should have gotten a battery-operated one. It didn't surprise Isabel that it had failed here. Had she taken her grandfather's advice and gotten an atomic one, it probably would still be working...

"Yeah, I think about that long. They whisked me here pretty quickly, though. Like I was dirty or something. Or maybe they were worried my magic might explode quickly, and they wanted to get my blast radius as far away from them as soon as possible."

Isabel was oddly cheerful about that, but that probably came from growing up where she had.

[noasark]

"Ah. Recent enough then..." He mutters" sounding almost uncertain about if that's good or not. He does raise an eyebrow however. "...Hmmn. I suppose my size gave me an advantage there...I was certainly someone to be rid of I suppose, but there was mostly pity involved..."

It got old fast, though.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"Yeah, you don't act like a little kid. Not that you're that little..." Well. Slightly, but really, Isabel figured he'd hit a growth spurt eventually, and then? Noa would probably end up taller than she was. If her younger brothers had been any indicator, anyway.

"So was your train of thought heading anywhere, or did it derail with no survivors?" she asked, curious now.

[noasark]

"It's fine to say I'm sort, I've accepted it," he mutters dryly. It helps that he's of the mind that 12 is rather young, as much as he's technically there now.

He's in this really weird limbo of self-opinion, it's odd to think about.

As it is. "...Unfortunately not- my best advice now is to hope you get 'lucky' if you run into them." He can't tell exactly where they are right now after all, so who even knows if Isabel will have to deal with this.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"Jeez, maybe I think it's rude, no matter how true it is." Isabel rolled her eyes at that a little, but she smiled anyway.

"I don't know if I'd count that as getting lucky, exactly, either, but I suppose it's better to figure out how to get everyone home, and then stay if I feel like it, than the alternative, right?"

She shrugged. It might not be now, but Isabel will probably have to deal with it at some point.

[noasark]

Eh! He smirks. "Well, now you know what I'll tolerate to a point, hm?" Small upsides right?

Noa nods in agreement however. "It wasn't the best choice of words, I suppose." At all. "But with any luck they won't be doing this for long- and then it'll just be a matter of choice, hm?"

That's the dream, but how achievable is that dream?!

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

Something he'd said nagged at her, and then it caught up with her brain. "Oh," Isabel said. "You didn't go far, we're in my room in Valhudor. Unless you were somewhere else, and then you got here quick. Cool, right?"

Trust her to look at the silver lining. That and it hadn't bothered her that he'd fallen on her. That sort of thing happened. And at home, it happened a lot, as her younger siblings decided to jump on her for fun.

"We can hope, yeah. Especially if they can return us to the moment we left, like they promised." She nodded at that.

[noasark]

"Ah..." Hmmm. So it is. "Not far from my room then at least..." He murmurs, a little cheerier thanks to that.

There is a flinch at 'the moment they left'- but he doesn't clarify the reason. Instead...

"Well...if we're housemates, I suppose we should introduce ourselves then," he hums, nodding. "...Noa Kaiba," he starts.

"...You?"

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

Isabel's worked too hard to be perceptive to not notice that flinch. She frowns just a little. "Hey, just 'cause they said they could, doesn't mean they have to. You could stay here, if you wanted. Or you could come to my world, check it out. My family has a lot of room." Not to mention her grandfather is legitimately a mad scientist. That tends to be a draw.

"I'm Isabel Knight," she continues with a grin. "Not that that means a thing here. That's actually sort of nice, really."

[noasark]

"Mnh-"

...Other worlds?

The pause makes it clear he didn't consider that. The idea of travelling to other worlds is perhaps more appealing even than the idea of staying in this one. It takes a bit for the surprise to fade. "I... ...Hm!" He smirks. "...I might consider it, if it sounds interesting enough..."

That's all he'll agree to for now. But. "...Hmm. A similar feeling for myself- from a 'known' family in your own realm then?"

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

That reaction made her quirk a brow, and grin just a bit, but she nodded. "Let me sweeten the pot just a tiny bit. It's a twofer actually, my Earth, which might be...pretty much like yours and kind of boring--but my dad knows of a portal to a nexus-world, and I was raised there, basically. I just spent summer on Earth."

Isabel gave him a wink then, and she nods. "Yeah, my dad is heap big businessman, though I think he shunted over most of his holdings to my aunt Andrea when he started spending more time on the nexus-world." She wouldn't mention why she might be noted herself. It felt too much like bragging. Noa could find out about that later, if he cared to.

[noasark]

The more she goes on, the more he has to admit-

He's hooked. "A..Nexus world..?" This is getting more interesting by the second. "Ah- not unlike myself, on that note however...my father ran a company that went by our name in fact..." He gives a slight cough. "...So it isn't the easiest to avoid the knowledge where I'm from... ...being here has been rather refreshing," he admits- not the least because it's a fresh start from the things he did wrong.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

Isabel couldn't help but laugh at that, and patted Noa on the shoulder. "Right, Knight Industries. I get it. I think I'm glad our worlds are similar and not the same for that reason alone."

That, and she could get away with being incognito a bit longer, too, that way.

"The nexus-world is...well, there's portals to different places there, too, it's mostly a matter of finding them. Grandpa's pretty good at that, but, age and wisdom and all, you know how that goes. He's got this giant lab, and shapeshifters pass through the Life section sometimes. And there's the pseudodragons. They're neat."

[noasark]

"Knight Industries, meet Kaiba Corporation...hahhh..." The sympathy is appreciated.

Anyway. "Shapeshifters and psuedodragons..." he murmurs, blinking. "Hmn! Well, I have to say you've convinced me then~ If there's a method for which I can visit your world without meeting my end, I would be more than happy to try it~"

One would hope he doesn't immediately enter his death-state from home after all, but there's things that just need to be confirmed instead of tested.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"I can reasonably promise, if we make it to my world, we can avoid you meeting your end." Even if she couldn't do it herself, Isabel knew enough of the right people.

She paused. "My grandfather might even be able to bring you back--not like a Frankenstein's monster, either. But hopefully we could just...stave off anything bad happening."

That was the nice thing when you had the power to reorder reality to the way you wanted it...you just had to be sure to accept the proper consequences, too.

"You're gonna have to tell me about that sometime, but only if you feel like it. And I promise I won't go blabbing it around."

[noasark]

He can't really hide the grimace when Isabel mentions Frankenstein's monster. "Hopefully not, especially considering the mess of problems I can imagine being involved there..." If there's reality re-writing involved, they can just get it right the first time!

As it is...he pauses for a moment. "...Sometime," he eventually replies. "Perhaps." It'll take a bit before he can talk about it to anyone after all.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"I said we weren't gonna do that!" Because she noticed the grimace. Besides, Isabel knew what her grandfather was good at...if anyone could do it, Drake could.

But then she lifted both hands in an attempt to be soothing. "No promises, I get it. If you ever feel ready to tell me, I'll do my best to be ready to listen and not judge. I've seen plenty of weird stuff."

Though a lot of that was because of where she'd grown up and been raised, but she could tell Noa that any time he asked. And it was likely that Isabel would.

Tie off you think?

[noasark]

Good, good....Noa nods however and manages a smile.

"Well. ...I'll keep that in mind then."

Ye, must make room for next month's chaos!

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

Isabel grins at that, and nods. "Yeah, you do that. And I'll probably see you around, right? Not that you can't always find me, we're in the same house."

Not that it doesn't just make her chuckle.