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

[treno_nobleman]

With his harassers now gone and threatening to go to the school authorities, Kuja turns his back to them and addresses his clothing properly - with an unhealthy dose of sulking and picking at his garments, trying to rub the coloring off. Califleur, having settled down her growling at the bullies after Kuja's spell, trails after him. She watches him him with what concern those big leopard eyes of hers can, purring loudly to offer some comfort. No, she can't make the green go away, but at least they're no longer being heckled.

Her ears perk as Kamala approaches and her purring intensifies. She's not nearly as difficult to please as Kuja will be and she knows this. Kuja, however, looks up at the stranger with features angry in his despair. "Harsh? They would be so lucky to escape only with burned clothing. Look what they did to mine!"

There's a frustrated sigh from him as he looks down at himself again, tail lashing behind him. He lifts one of his sleeves and full on pouts at it. "What am I to do with this? I can't be seen like this!"

[plusfivedex]

Kamala stares for a moment. It isn't like she hasn't met people who were superficial before - she was a high school student before she'd been a magical academy student. But she still half-expects Kuja to reveal some deeper problem with the charm on his clothing.

"Um, maybe it'll wear off?" she says eventually, deciding to let the idea of whether or not he'd been too harsh drop. He seems to have strong feelings about this, for whatever reason. "Some of those guys were giving me a hard time the other day, and they turned my hair pink. That wore off, and it's probably at least a similar spell. Probably even the same one."

[treno_nobleman]

It's the pot calling the kettle black somewhere along the way, given what he did back home on Gaia and then on Terra, but he knows what it's like on both ends of that spectrum. He just never thought it would be something so petty. Challenge him to a fight, threaten his life, sure. Humiliate him in his own garb? That's just too much.

"How long would it take to do that?" He'll take a moment or two to try brushing his sleeves and skirt off like he thought it would help. It's magic and he knows better, even for this world's brand of it. The result is what he expected and nothing that he wanted. "I can't wear this. With any luck, those hooligans will have learned their lesson, but if this isn't their first time tormenting others, I won't hold my breath to hope it will be the last."

[plusfivedex]

While trying to recall how long she'd had pink hair for, she scratches at the back of one hand absentmindedly. "It couldn't have lasted more than twenty minutes on my hair," she estimates after a moment. "Um... Hey, I don't mean to be rude, but - why does it matter so much?"

At least she could agree with them on the skepticism about those guys having a change in attitude. She liked to be optimistic when she could be, but they really seemed to have been at this for days now.

[treno_nobleman]

The look on his face says all. Twenty minutes? He may have to endure this for that long? A mourning glance down at his clothing doesn't improve his mood, but it does, for a brief moment, make him wish he were comfortable enough and of such a base manner as to walk around bare naked. He could have burned his clothing and been done with this when the ordeal started. But of course, he has standards.

"Because it is hideous. This color doesn't match the pattern at all and I cannot abide it." They didn't even blend it right with his boots or the leather latching, but he supposed that was the point of his humiliation. Kuja puts a hand over his eyes, the other on his hip, as if not seeing it will make it all go away. "I'll need to change my clothing. Twenty minutes or no, for all I know, this will last until the end of my days."

[plusfivedex]

"Colors need to match patterns?" Kamala asked, before realizing that probably wasn't his priority, and so maybe not the topic to focus on just now. "Okay, well... Do you need me to guide you back to your House dorms? I mean, you can't walk all the way back with your eyes covered like that." She was joking, of course.

[treno_nobleman]

If he thought she didn't understand before, he was all but certain now. Clothing and appearance didn't make that big a difference to some of the people he had crossed back home, and he hadn't expected it to here now either. Not that he didn't still care for such things.

"No, thank you. I am perfectly capable of walking there myself." He looked up and in that direction. The sidewalks he would have to travel, the grass he would have to cover. It looked so very far off now, every step of it a study in tolerance. He thought the tail was bad enough, though he supposed he could debase himself and pretend to not care for just a short time that he was covered in sickening green. He shook his head. No, it'd never work. He'd have to put up with it. Standing here was doing him no favors.

He offered a short wave before turning to head in that direction. Califleur trailed after him after a last glance at Kamala and a soft chuff. "I bid you good day. I really must tend to this."

[plusfivedex]

Kamala's wave was a bit more enthusiastic - but honestly, not much. She just felt so baffled by all of this. Still, she let him head off, calling after:

"Good luck!"

If nothing else, that had made her realize how lucky she'd been to meet so many people she just seemed to get - and vice-versa - in her time at Diatu thus far. Even those who were very different from her, they'd been so accessible, in a way, until then.

[treno_nobleman]

It wouldn't be the first time people here haven't understood his brand of being. For that, it wouldn't even be the first time people in his home world haven't understood his brand of being, but it is what he is and he hasn't deviated, even if he has adjusted in time to survive wherever he happens to end up next. There is still so much he feels like he's missing in this place from time to time, but it's all a work in progress.

But he does turn his head to look after her, just enough to glance to the side, surprised in a way to hear her offering good luck. It sounded like she only wanted to be polite, and he could appreciate the gesture at least. And he'll appreciate a change of clothing a little more the sooner he can find one.