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

The casual display of immense powers gave him a chill right down to the core of him.

"Don't do that. Don't just change things. It's bad enough without you doing whatever the hell you call that. I'd rather be covered in blood than you rewriting everything with a flick of your fingers. I'm fine. Piss off." He may have shouted a bit, but he hated it-- it and this and everything involved.

"You're not at all grateful?"

He shrugged but actually seemed quite pleased by that indeed. It was so much simpler that way! There was no 'thank yous' to be had, no awkward hugs... Being told to piss off he could deal with!

"Good. The last thing I need in this crazy day is some one being grateful. But if you have a problem with what I just did you are really going to hate it here, magic school and all."

"I know where I am and the horseshit I have to put up with thanks. I've done it already and I hate it." He tugged at his collar, feeling hot and restricted and managed to accidentally pop off one button with a curse before finding a wall to lean against, trying to breathe to loosen the tightness that had started to pull at his chest.

"Now leave me alone and go find Fell, I'm sure you're looking for him." And he hoped Fell was here. To part them like that seemed unnecessary and frankly impossible.

"Fell?"

He questioned that because of course he did. This guy knew Aziraphale? Worse still the soon-to-be passed out human knew that he would be looking for that angel?? How!?
And equally curiously why was this guy clutching at his chest? He had noticed humans did do that now and again, when they were ill or...

"You're trying to send me off and what... have a heart attack against the wall?"

What he was thinking was a bit against the rules so he looked around to make sure no one was watching before leaning in conspiratorially.

"I could call some one?"

"I just need a minute to breathe." And is sidestepping the Fell question by not answering it. "I'll be fine in just a second." He hopes. He would never think he would come to miss his medication, but he does. He'd give anything just to take a pill right about now.

The demon cast a quick look around. Shouldn't there be a nurse on call or one of the teachers? Humans often sucked at it but they ought to be looking out after each other. Of course there was no one. The hall was empty of all but him, a few discarded paper wads on the floor, and the man crumpling against the wall soon to join them...

He could do nothing. It would be easy to stand around and do nothing... but then the human would probably die.

Shiiitt...

Crowley wasn't a pill exactly, not of the sort Alec was wishing for, but when he gestured casually towards the prone Alex the pain in his chest would begin to ease as if he had taken one.

He finds himself abruptly breathing easier, the tightness in his chest loosening unexpectedly until he can lean against the wall, then slid down, arms caged around his knees, forehead resting against them.

"I told you not to do that." He said it softly. He didn't even have it in him to be furious. Not as much as he would like to be. And then, because it was needed: "Thank you."

"Shuddap..."

The command was said softly as he swayed in an ever so slightly pleased sort of way. He didn't need to be thanked but it was kind of nic-... Which was a four letter word that he was not even going to think!

"I only did it to piss you off."

Not really but he had to maintain some demonic cred!

"Congratulations then." He turned his head, not quite looking at him. "Where are you staying?"

"Up in the Living Quarters where they put all the adults."

There hadn't seemed to be much choice in the matter but it did save them trying to find a room in this floating town.

"In the flat with the devil's number."

Room 666. It seemed appropriate.

Test Drive Reloaded! #1

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