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

Re: Bullies

[nobodys_puppet]

She made no comment on how picking on people smaller than him was exactly what Saïx had always done. She slid a little closer to Axel, hoping that maybe he wouldn't go after them and get himself in trouble if she was that close to him.

They glared. They were going to take option three. Run now, and take it out of her worse next time. They glared at her then broke and ran. She hunched back in on herself.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

Re: Bullies

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea didn't chase after them. He knew very well that they'd probably try again; guys like that usually did. But at least now he knew about it and could be on the lookout for both trouble and for them specifically. He'd gotten a good look at all their faces, and definitely had them memorized; if he saw them again, he'd know them.

He glared after them until they'd rounded the corner and vanished from sight before sighing, his posture an expression melting into one of concern. as he turned to look Xion over. "What are you apologizing for?", he said. "They were the ones harassing you; they're the ones who ought to apologize. And are you OK? They didn't hurt you or anything, did they?"

Re: Bullies

[nobodys_puppet]

"I don't want you to get in trouble over this," she said softly, looking down, and not answering his questions about if she was okay or hurt.

She reached up to make sure her hood was still in place. Too many people around. She just wanted to go somewhere, just her and Axel, and hide from everyone else.

Re: Bullies

[hotheadwarmheart]

"I wouldn't be in any more trouble than they would," Lea said. "Besides, you're worth getting in a bit of trouble for." The fact that she didn't answer those questions didn't go unnoticed either, even if his own inspection satisfied him that she hadn't been seriously harmed. Physically, anyway.

Lea sighed a bit. "C'mon," he said. "Let's go get some ice cream, and then we'll talk. My treat this time."

He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, then straightened up giving the people nearby a hard look. True they hadn't actually done Xion any harm, but they hadn't done anything to prevent it either, even when they had to have seen something going on. Most of those people seemed to decide very quickly that they had somewhere else to be and hurried off.

Re: Bullies

[nobodys_puppet]

She wanted to tell him that with Saïx sniffing around, they had to be extra careful. But that would hurt him, so she kept her mouth closed. Besides, he was never the one who would be in trouble with Saïx anyway.

But she nodded at the offer of ice cream and walked with him, staying close enough that his hand could stay on her shoulder, hoping he didn't feel that she was trembling through her coat.

Re: Bullies

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea did feel the trembling and gave her shoulder a hopefully reassuring squeeze. He wasn't sure what to say for a moment. "Hey...", he said finally gently as they walked. "You know it's OK, to... not be OK, right? And I don't just mean physically; if you're upset, you can tell me about it. That's part of what friends are for, after all."

Re: Bullies

[nobodys_puppet]

"Not if it will get you in trouble," she said softly.

Re: Bullies

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea looked at her, quirking an eyebrow. His reply was one of dry amusement, despite the situation. "Xion," he said, "getting in trouble was one of my chief pass times for a good portion of my childhood. Trust me; I can handle a little trouble."

Re: Bullies

[nobodys_puppet]

"But things are different here," she said softly. Not that she knew what they had been like then, but they had to be.... right? That was the biggest thing she was learning here. Things were different.

Re: Bullies

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Things are different everywhere," Lea said. "But regardless, I can handle trouble. Whether it's getting detention or the more violent kind of trouble. Trust me; I've had plenty of practice."

Re: Bullies

[nobodys_puppet]

"It's not worth it," she said softly. It wasn't. Not for her.

Re: Bullies

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea sighed. "Yes it is," he said. "And yes you are. I'm not telling you to beat them up or anything, but... promise me you'll let me or one of the teachers know if it gets too out of hand, at least? I promise I won't do anything stupid."

Re: Bullies

[nobodys_puppet]

She made herself give him a hint of a smile, looking up as she pushed him lightly. "I don't think you can promise not to do anything stupid," she teased. Tried to tease. She wanted to forget this whole bully thing and just go have ice cream with him.

Re: Bullies

[hotheadwarmheart]

"You know what I mean," Lea said, though he couldn't help smiling slightly. "Seriously though, tell me if this keeps happening. I worry about you, you know?"

Re: Bullies

[nobodys_puppet]

She grabbed the edge of his sleeve and gave him a tiny smile back. Tried to. But she couldn't promise that. She couldn't. And she didn't want him to worry either. Worrying... hurt people with hearts... didn't it?

Re: Bullies

[hotheadwarmheart]

Frankly he was gonna worry anyway, so there was really nothing she could do about that. But he saw that the current discussion wasn't getting anywhere, so eventually he just sighed. "C'mon," he said. "Let's just get our ice cream for tonight. We can talk about this more later."

Re: Bullies (wrap?)

[nobodys_puppet]

She nodded. "Alright."

Wrap! And TY for the thread.

[hotheadwarmheart]

And they walked off together to do just that, with a little more on their minds than usual.