diatuooc | 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.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Need to talk about it? Do I look that weak?" she asked, giving her a look. "Besides, I'm not about to talk about her behind her back, fight or no fight."

"Talking about things that bother you isn't weakness."

Barbara paused. "I meant, about whatever Lawrence did to upset you." Despite his assurances that it didn't matter if Adam or Barbara said his Name, she was taking no chances. "But, I'm sorry that you had a fight with Lydia."

"Yeah, sorry, not buying that lovey-dovey nonsense. And I can handle him." Or could if Lydia would just let her. "Nothing he did could upset me that long. He's not that big a threat, no matter what he chooses to think." As to the last, she shrugged.

What good - or evil - did sorry ever do for anyone?

"I know, I know. Teenagers are invincible and don't need anyone or anything but themselves. But, if you change your mind, I'm a pretty good listener."

Barbara frowned a little. "He's pretty unstable. He tricked Lydia into almost exorcising me, he murdered Kevin, he's---you should be careful."

"It's not because I'm a teen that I don't need anyone. It's because I'm me. And that's why stripes... Hardly the threat he wanted me to think he was. But he tricked Lyds, you say?" Well then. "I suppose if she's already not talking to me anyway, she can't really get any madder at me when I set him on fire and feed him to a dragon."

"I certainly wouldn't stop you, but...he did feed his mother to a giant snake monster. Which I think was his way of apologizing. But, then he was inappropriate with me and Adam again, so, I can't be sure."

"And I turned mine into a itty bitty lizard. So?"

"Who were you apologizing to?"

"I don't appologize. She was in my way, was between me and what I wanted. And now she lives in a cardboard box." There were so many things she was leaving out in that, of course.

Barbara's expression softened just slightly. "Well, as long as you can hold your own."

"Of course I can. I was raised to be exactly what I am. Rotten." To the core.

Barbara thought that sounded a lot like a teenager trying to be tough. But, having just met the girl, she merely nodded.

Mal didn't let silences become awkward, because that made her look awkward. So she took control of the conversation. "Tell me about the Lydia you know, maybe I can figure out which it is."

Test Drive Reloaded! #1

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical

Re: Barbara Maitland | Beetlejuice the Musical