Mod Account for Diatu Magicademy ([personal profile] magicademymods) wrote in [community profile] diatuooc2021-07-23 03:56 pm
Entry tags:

Test Drive Reloaded! #1


Test Drive #1




Welcome to Diatu (I Like Swords)

The Arrival Hall is all aflurry with activity! No one had expected so many Sundered to suddenly pop up, the staff find themselves desperately scrambling to keep up with the influx, and a bunch of new arrivals find themselves hanging out in the Hall lobby, waiting to be seen, sent home if possible, or counseled and prepared for student life if not. Rumors run like wildfire: some people believe they've been kidnapped by aliens, a worryingly persistent suggestion that this is a setup for a murder-tournament keeps circulating, and one or two nutcases insist that a dragon tinkered with the rules of magic and now they have to study at a magic school to survive. Pie stocks are grievously low, and thought Headmaster Birony herself appeared and began violating the rules of space and time to summon pies from the future, a second Headmaster Birony with an eyepatch, several war scars, and a wild hairdo appeared and promptly yelled at the first Headmaster for stealing her pies. A pie fight erupted. Pie stocks are even more grievously low now.

Still, here's your chance to talk to your fellow arrivals. Or aggressively attack the nearest target in an outrage (they set up a target dummy and labeled it VENT AGGRESSION HERE, and are trusting you guys on the honor system). Staff don't have time to talk, but they promise they'll get to you soon!

A Day In The Life

The sun is bright, the air is warm, a cool breeze blows across Anastara, clouds keep drifting directly through the island and engulfing people... it's summer on Ascelion, and the day is ripe for learning. Or as ripe as Diatu Magicademy ever can be -- though no one would trade the character and charm of the lively campus for some stodgy, regimented school more interested in forcing students into the mold than encouraging them to be their best, sometimes conditions in the Magicademy are a little inconvenient.

A toilet in Kedrigan Hall keeps clamping onto the butts of those who attempt to use it. Thus far, half a dozen students have been freed from its clutches by their friends, while reports of singed buttocks have increased twofold. (Yes, only twofold. Think about that for a minute.) Staff are on the lookout for a prankster rather than a commode, so as of yet the treacherous toilet has gone unpunished...

Not far away, a group of cleaning golems has occupied the promenade as part of an ongoing strike. As they possess only rudimentary intelligence, they believe this involves seizing objects from anyone who passes nearby and hurling them at a set of bowling pins. Meliandre Tomekin, Head of Groundskeeping, has set up shop across the Promenade; any student who wanders too close gets a big block of ice shoved into their hands, along with instructions to hold it still while she shows those reprobates what-for...

In the Great Hall proper, school clubs and activities have, as was inevitable, escalated competition for new students to yet another level which only isn't a war crime because it isn't part of a treaty yet: they've conscripted geese. Horrible geese, to be precise, who dispense flyers for various clubs with less subtlety than a nuclear holocaust. Some of them fight for dominance, others have teamed up to pin down innocent students and stuff leaflets down their throat, and one has a wand and is somehow casting Discovery spells?!

A Forgery!

"I tried a mass-Forging technique," the older student says, showing off the briefcase full of identical wands and a sign that says 'FOR $ALE CHEAP'. "Some of them are exactly what I intended, they self-correct runes, but the rest, well.. . I don't know, I can't tell, and I'm not really interested in finding out one by one, so... you buying?"

All sales final. No refunds. Caveat emptor. As for what the wands do, well... there's a reason he answered with an ellipsis when asked. On the other hand, maybe the effect isn't too terrible? Maybe it's even beneficial! Maybe the wand shoots out rainbows and muffins! Or maybe it just animates and strikes you vigorously about the head and shoulders...

Three Dragon War

Someone, we're not naming names, canons, or the color of eyes and the dragon to which they belong that forms said person's obsession, may or may not be indirectly responsible for the latest game craze sweeping Anastara: Three Dragon War, a collectible card game that features players as dragons, deploying spells, creatures, and Sundered against each other to destroy each and avoid the machinations of the Third Dragon. The awesome thing about the game is that the Third Dragon comes in all different forms: classic bundled-with-the-starter-pack Ire, super-rare Anastara Diatu, suspiciously-rare Cam Birony, ultra-common Large Eagull, and more. The concept of an outside force adding randomness to the battle and being manipulated in turn by cards means Three Dragon War is the hottest card game that's come along since the last card game that was the hottest that had come along came along.

Face-to-face, you find yourself in a duel over these cards and the magical images they summon. Can this untested deck come through if you believe in it? Or are statistics and probability actual things that actually happen? Dragon Battle! Jiao Long Fu!

There's One in Every Test Drive

Not every magical disaster is caused by some wayward student you don't know. Many of them are caused by you instead. To wit: you're on the spot in one of the magical labs, being called on to demonstrate a technique more advanced than others you've mastered so far. Failure is expected, and the wards should prevent any injury to others from a miscast spell. But will the sparks of your magic just sputter out and die? Or will you inadvertently mispronounce, misform, misshape, or miscalculate in a way that brings chaos to you and your lab partner?

(You could also manage to succeed in casting the spell, but that isn't very fun.)
dulcet_cellist: (Shocked)

[personal profile] dulcet_cellist 2021-08-07 10:21 pm (UTC)(link)
That was definitely not something any so called magician back home could do for the simple purpose of randomly proving they could do real magic.

Real magic.

Sebastian stared, feeling his heart beat faster and faster with each head spinning change. He didn't recognize anyone and he didn't have time to wonder if they were familiar to this man. He stared in awe, a knot forming in his gut right up until the moment a snake appeared and then he hurriedly stepped back and landed on his ass.

"How is a snake better than a frog?"

How was he able to even find those words were beyond him, but he wasn't fond of the outdoors as much as other people were and while snakes weren't as unappealing as frogs he did know they were always used in some form or another to represent evil and bad characters. Even knowing snakes weren't actually evil didn't make him more comfortable being face to face with one.
whose_son_am_i: (Loki of Asgard)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-07 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
The snake flicked its tongue out once more, tasting the air, before resolving back into Loki. Each change had been accompanied by a yellow-green shimmer of magic washing over his form. Once back to 'normal', Loki just raised an eyebrow. "Because I'd rather turn my brother into a frog, not myself."
dulcet_cellist: (Looking Up Innocent)

[personal profile] dulcet_cellist 2021-08-07 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"So you've had magic even before arriving here?"

Staring up at this man was giving him a complex about his height and it was worse sitting on the ground so he quickly got up, keeping his attention on the others face.

"I think some snakes eat frogs."

The evil snake was a stereotype used in entertainment and storytelling so he's trying not to assume anything. Magic wasn't inherently evil, according to stories and depending on the one telling the story.
whose_son_am_i: (Loki of Asgard)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-07 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"Where I'm from, magic and science are one and the same." Loki said, offering a smile. It wasn't one of his sharp-smiles, but one like he was talking to a child. "Lots of things eat frogs."
dulcet_cellist: (pic#7276616)

[personal profile] dulcet_cellist 2021-08-07 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Not very fond of your brother then are you?"

A statement and a question. Please tell him you didn't turn your brother into a frog to be eaten.

"Does that mean you're a professor? You teach magic?"

Sebastian glanced at the mans hands again and then at his own. They had told him he had magic and he could die if he didn't learn to use that magic. He hadn't believed them and he still wasn't sure all of it was the truth. Clearly, he was wrong. Magic did exist and this person had the ability to use magic like some of the characters from the books he'd read. But did he actually have magic?
whose_son_am_i: (Charmed Smile)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-07 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"I didn't turn him into a frog." Loki says; his tone remains as calm and conversational as it has been this whole time. He and Thor had a very....fractious relationship that had only just started to mend. Before Loki arrived here.

"I'm not actually, and that's one of the vexing things about this place. Its native-magic overpowers one's own, no matter how skilled or strong one is." Still with that smile, and Loki inclined his head slightly. "I am Loki. Of Asgard."
dulcet_cellist: (I'm Cute)

[personal profile] dulcet_cellist 2021-08-07 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
If the relief shows on his face he doesn't realize it and he is relieved the brother isn't a frog and hasn't been eaten. So far the man seems nice enough, not dangerous. He doesn't get that feeling from him, not in the same way he's used to back home.

"Native-magic? Is your magic very different from the magic here?"

Is this even real? He's having a conversation with a stranger about magic. He's being told he has magic. He's walking around a so-called magic academy in another world so different from his own. How does he even process all of this?

Jack would know what to do.

"I'm...Sebastian...of..." He thought for a moment, unsure how to introduce himself. "Earth?" He was looking at his hands again and then realized he should probably do a proper introduction. He just couldn't bring himself to offer his hand freely to a stranger. "That's a planet. Where I'm from."
whose_son_am_i: (Smile)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-08 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
Loki added another mental tally to his list of 'People who do not know of me'.

"I'm familiar with Earth, though I know it as Midgard. One of the nine realms." Fortunately for Sebastian, Loki was not inclined to offer his hand for an introduction either.
dulcet_cellist: (Amused Surprise)

[personal profile] dulcet_cellist 2021-08-08 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
"Nine realms?" Midgard. Asgard. Neither sounded familiar despite all the books he'd read since picking up a book at age four. "As in planets?"

Nine planets.

"Does your Earth have magic?"

Because obviously they were talking about two different Earth's. Right?

"Did you visit...Midgard?"

"If you're not a professor and you already know about magic why are you here?"
whose_son_am_i: (Loki of Asgard)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-08 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
"If it makes you feel better, you can think of them as planets." Loki raised an eyebrow. "I have visited Midgard a few times, yes. As for why I'm here..." Spreading his hands out to the sides. "I'm here for the same reason you are. Sudden new magic that will likely kill me if I don't learn how to control and wield it."
dulcet_cellist: (Fingers)

[personal profile] dulcet_cellist 2021-08-08 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
It would make me feel better if you could directly answer a question as if you believe I'm intelligent enough to understand the answer.

But Sebastian didn't say what he was thinking because he was starting to understand this wasn't an illusion or a dream, it was real. It was real and magic was real. And he wasn't going to wake up from a dream only to remember he was living in nightmare.

A world without Jack wasn't a world worth living. He knew logically he might feel different someday when he had time to heal, but he couldn't imagine healing, not from this.

But this....

This, he decided, wasn't necessarily a nightmare and it wasn't a dream. It was also a unique distraction from his grief because somehow he had found himself following a stranger and curiously asking questions and forgotten just for a moment how much he hurt, how much he missed Jack, and how much Jack would have loved this kind of adventure.

Also, part of this new understanding was that he didn't want to alienate the only person who was being nice. Jack hadn't let that drive him away, but Loki wasn't Jack. And Sebastian wasn't the same person he had been when he met Jack.

"I know I'm naive about a lot of things, but I can learn and understand the difference between a realm and a planet if there is one."
wagerofloki: (031)

[personal profile] wagerofloki 2021-08-08 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
Usually Val would be pretty pissed that someone got the leg up on her when it came to scaring the shit out of her, but how in the world could she be prepared for this bullshit?

"I mean anyone'll look for any reason to step on those they think's below'em. Religion, race, money..." She shrugged. "Anythin' to feel high'n mighty'n in power, right? That 'bout the sum'f us humans?"
wagerofloki: (051)

[personal profile] wagerofloki 2021-08-08 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, I guess I get that," she said quietly to match Loki, her tone that of reflection as she looked down to the Agent in her hands. "Guess I just prefer things be less'f all this magic shit'n more'f just the same city streets I knew."
temptationaccomplished: (sheltering wing)

[personal profile] temptationaccomplished 2021-08-08 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
Half the time... there were so many ways that could end with Alec.

"I'm not, really." The kind words melted away the playful, flattered smiles into something a bit more somber and humbled. Looking away from those intense eyes, he took Alec by the arm again to lead him somewhere nearby to sit. He needed rest and Aziraphale thought it might be too scandalous to offer his own bed and quiet room for a much deserved nap, even if that's all that was. "Thank you, but I'm just a silly old creature who likes you. Now," he said, clearing his throat and producing a dish of water and a soft cloth from somewhere out of the either, "how about we get you taken care of?"
whose_son_am_i: (Smile)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-08 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
Loki was quiet for a moment, his head tilting. "Actually, thinking of them as planets is the most accurate way I could explain them. At least for now." No condescension in his voice that time.
whose_son_am_i: (poker face in shadow)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-08 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
"You'll survive and adapt." If she didn't, she would die. It was that simple. But based on talking to her, and what he had observed during this conversation, Loki suspected she'd survive and adapt.
dulcet_cellist: (pic#7276616)

[personal profile] dulcet_cellist 2021-08-08 04:11 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh." Sebastian's face felt hot, but he tried not to look away. He didn't regret speaking up, but Loki was being so nice about everything he did feel a little embarrassed for assuming. "Okay. Realms are like planets and there are nine of them. Our solar system had nine planets, but for some reason they can't seem to agree whether or not our smallest is a planet."

He was being ridiculously shy all of a sudden which reminded himself he hadn't changed as much as he'd thought. Jack would probably be smiling and laughing, carrying on a conversation with Loki. He was always so friendly and easy to talk to. Everyone loved Jack. And Jack had loved him.

He'd forgotten how lonely it felt to be without him.

Taking a deep breath he quickly searched for something else to say, something to keep the distraction.

"What do you think happens to us when they finally get everything sorted?"
whose_son_am_i: (Smile)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-08 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
"Honestly?" Loki shrugged. "They haven't seen fit, if they know, to tell us. It could be they don't know themselves." Moving his hands behind his back in a loose stance that was almost an at-ease posture. "The magic that brought us here is also new, and previously forbidden, so it's a work in progress."
scotch_egg: (upset)

[personal profile] scotch_egg 2021-08-08 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
He wouldn't press. Words were said and the point didn't need to be belabored. He sat gratefully and briefly closed his eyes. He opened them again when Fell spoke, wondering where the hell that had even come from and then deciding he didn't want to know.

"I'll get it thanks." He took the bowl and cloth because the last thing either of them wanted was Fell administering to him, even if Fell didn't know it yet. "Could use some tea though." A pause as he wiped at his face. "And a mirror."
dulcet_cellist: (OMG)

[personal profile] dulcet_cellist 2021-08-08 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
"So..we're simply expected to learn how to use this magic so we won't die?"

Sebastian thought there was more, that they hadn't gotten the full story or explanation, that someone here knew something more reassuring. A work in progress? Now the chaos made more sense. It wasn't like a party where people who hadn't RSVP'd suddenly arrived and now the staff and host were scrambling to make room. This was more like a volcano had erupted unexpectedly and everyone was evacuated to a single space that was still in the path of the potential lava.

Okay so maybe his brain was exaggerating things and it was making him feel like a panic attack was emanate.

"What if we...if I can't learn how to use magic?" There was no we. Loki had experience with magic. He understood it, could use it easily enough already. But the only thing Sebastian had been good at was swimming and music and he doubted either of those talents would help here. "Then I die."

He answered his own question and it reminded him that a few moments ago, when he'd first met Loki, he hadn't been sure he cared if he died or not.
temptationaccomplished: (he's looking for trouble)

[personal profile] temptationaccomplished 2021-08-08 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
He let himself drink in the demon in all his familiar, smug charm, beautiful as anything. How did you tell your best friend of six millennia that the only being, wicked or otherwise, who you'd ever bother to summon would be him? Would always be him. And that you'd already tried it once in the past?

And then there was the other issue, the fact that Crowley was fresh off of what could best be described as their friendship breakup, while Aziraphale remembered... well... A great deal more than he should probably be thinking about.

He speared a piece of apple from his pie and caught his own reflection in Crowley's sunglasses. He tried to school his expression down to some kind of innocence.

"I've never needed forbidden magic for that. Have I?"
temptationaccomplished: (skeptical)

[personal profile] temptationaccomplished 2021-08-08 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
He frowned as the bowl was taken from him, but Alec was Alec: nothing if not a stubborn fool, determined to avoid all human contact and connection. Fine, then.

"You're asking for an awful lot," he said, and produced, with a flourish, a small handheld mirror from behind his back as if by magic. The minor miracle, so soon after another small one, was a surprising strain to his abilities. Best not to overdo it, then. Besides...

"It's just not the same if I miracle it up. Will you still be here, if I," he nodded in the direction of the Great Hall and any available actual tea, "scurry off to make some real tea?"
scotch_egg: (exhausted)

[personal profile] scotch_egg 2021-08-08 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
Contact was a dangerous thing. Once it seeped under your skin, you could never quite forget it. It became a part of you that was difficult to ignore. Eventually all the warmth was leeched out of you until it was just a memory.

He frowned at his own face in the mirror, almost regretting asking for one, but knew it was a worse idea than to miss a bit of blood.

All his.

He pressed away the memory.

"Don't trouble yourself. I'll keep."
whose_son_am_i: (poker face in shadow)

[personal profile] whose_son_am_i 2021-08-08 12:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"Most likely yes." Loki wasn't going to sugar-coat it. Instead blue-green eyes studied the younger man carefully. Watching his reaction, trying to observe what he could to discern the other's thoughts.

"The magic I've shown you so far isn't from this world, either."
unswervingcompanion: (Just where are you going? (r))

[personal profile] unswervingcompanion 2021-08-08 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Hendrik nodded. "I have. But from the looks of things, it appears that the school as summoned to it new students." And that made the knight give the other a pointed look. "Granted I did not know everyone here before, but there are telltale signs that someone is new to its antics."

But he led them away from the food shenanigans and scowled backwards for a moment where they were still undoubtedly going on. And then he looked back. "Here you should be safe from their idea of entertainment."

Page 43 of 46