Test Drive #4

[magicademymods]

Test Drive #4



The Scary Door

The classroom door looks different today, bearing a few small but noticeable scratches on its upper corner -- and also it happens to tremble, as if with excitement, the moment anyone reaches for the knob. That gives it away. This isn't the classroom door at all!

And it isn't the bathroom door. And it isn't the door to the staircase. And it isn't the door to the hallway. But wherever you go, there's this door that really, really, really wants you to open it, and it doesn't seem to take 'no' for an answer...

Acting in Concert

One thing anyone sharing a campus with Valhudor students must accept is that every once in a while a performance just appears out of nowhere, much in the way of a tornado and with the same ability to suck in anything nearby as collateral damage. Today what looked to be an innocuous group of musicians heading back from class turned into a flash concert without warning. Not a bad thing for a music-lover, actually, and listening to their pleasant tunes only got better as more students saw the opportunity and joined in.

Right up until the drama students showed up and promptly hijacked everyone nearby into a play.

So here you are, in Fantasticked finery, trapped in a bit part in front of a growing crowd. The two ringleaders of this disaster appear to be putting on an entirely improvised performance about two warring houses, because apparently they love stage-dueling (and have had three different scenes of it so far, each of them so sexually charged the allegory is barely allegorical), while the orchestra merrily matches music to action. As for your role? 'Improvise!' they said brightly.

And like that you're up, across from a partner who clearly did not enter this voluntarily either. Better think fast... the one thing uglier than a crowd who have a performance ruined is Valhudor students who have had their mating-dance-slash-play ruined.

Definitely Not Worrying

The spring day is perfect. Bright blue sky without a cloud in sight, sunlight that pushes the perfect temperature just onto the side of 'pleasantly warm', a gentle breeze that drifts over the grass and cools what the sun warms... it's bliss, if not outright soporific, and almost everybody is outside lounging in the grass and enjoying just how wonderful it is.

Then Headmaster Birony comes tearing around the corner of a building like the hounds of hells are at her heels. "Hello, students!" Despite her bright smile, she doesn't break her stride for a second as she zooms past. "Run like hell! Chaos bees!"

And that's when the swarm of chaos bees races around the corner after her, wings filling the air with a deafening buzz.

Now the thing about chaos bees is that they resist magic of all forms, and they have their own particular magic that makes the results of their stings... highly unpredictable at best. You might have your hair turn white, or your skin turn blue. You might blow up like a gum-chewing girl in need of juicing, or feel the uncontrollable urge to form a gang, snap your fingers, and have a dance-fight to drive the Jets out of town. Whatever happens, the effect is never permanent, but maybe Headmaster Birony has the right idea.

Late Night Party

Without a curfew (and with good sound-protection spells on the Towers), students don't always go to bed like responsible adults. This party is still going strong at 3 in the morning, lit by balls of color that float in the air and full of music and dancing and just-for-fun mage dueling that is just a little more dangerous than it should be thanks to it being far easier to talk someone into a late-night mage duel when they're tipsy. As spells crack against each other and feet slide over the grass in time with the beat, everyone's having fun! Even party-poopers can find another wallflower to talk classwork with while enjoying the snacks and the drinks. What a great place to meet fellow students and socialize!

((alternate post image))

Comments

Snufkin | The Moomins (1990) || will match format!

[springfever]

Priority Evaluation (Definitely Not Worrying)

Chaos what.

[Listen. Listen. Snufkin is a wanderer and a traveller by nature, having seen places in his travels that the humans here would simply die to ever witness. The stamina in his 11-inch-tall body is disproportionate at best, but the knowledge he's gained of all the creatures in his world goes far beyond his years. He's no expert on each and every one, of course, but he likes to think he knows a thing or two.

He isn't foolish enough to believe he knows precisely what a "chaos bee" is, but surely they're nothing worth fleeing from, right? They're still bees-

And then he sees the swarm. Right, things in this world are so much larger than everything in Moomin Valley.]

Oh dear.

[MMMBYE-- but take care not to step on your tiny classmate on your way, yeah?]


And the Band Played On... (Late Night Party)

[Well, it's not exactly a band, per se, but as the festivities of the night grow long and lively, one might find themselves drawn to the faint, quaint melody of a harmonica down a quieter corridor. Upon a shelf sits the little Snufkin, his tiny metal instrument amplified just enough by his own Fantastics to appeal to the larger folks around him. A plastic shot glass - filled with juice, mind - sits by his side. He seems at peace.

He figured he would've been left ignored in the face of the rest of the excitement, though, and so he cracks a smile when he sees someone lingering to listen.] A little bit of solitude never goes unappreciated in times like this, yes?



(I don't think I did it here, but any mention of paws, a tail, or general cat-ness are more 'headcanon derived from small canon details' than true canon themselves, but I wanted to have a bit of fun on this TDM! I hope that's alright! The 11-inches is canon, though.)

Late Night Party

[sonrises]

Varian has been growing tired, and was trying to find his way back to his dorm when he’d stumbled upon the tiny musician. His curiosity was instantly piqued, and he smiled when the one playing the instrument addressed him.

“Yeah, I...” He paused to stifle a yawn. “I had fun meeting people, but it’s getting kind of crazy out there. You’re really good, by the way!” he added, gesturing towards the instrument.

[springfever]

"Aah, thank you." Snufkin spares a glance back down the corridor from which this fellow came; the festivities can still be heard from here, albeit faintly. "I had a great deal of practice from my time back home."

A good thing, too; most music classes didn't much care to worry about a harmonica. What he's got now is what he'll have to make do with.

He sits back with a hum. "Valhudor is a fine enough house," he comments, notably wearing their colours under his shawl, "but sometimes it can be a little much compared to what I'm used to... We had plenty of parties in the Valley, but hardly any of them were as lively as this..."

But such is a consequence of giving a bunch of kids magic powers.

"What sort of place do you come from?"

[sonrises]

Though not a Valhudor student himself, Varian nodded. He'd noticed little things like that, different traits that seemed to match each House in most cases. Keeping track of as much as he could manage to, on top of classes and trying to have a social life, was not only bound to be helpful... It brought Varian a level of comfort in this strange place.

Being asked about his life still took Varian off-guard, despite being rather common an occurrence here. He took a seat below the shelf and looked up.

"Me? I'm from Old Corona village. It's part of a big kingdom, but life in my village is pretty simple. My father's the leader there." Which was a lot to live up to. "It's, uh... It's nice." His tone could have been more convincing, though.

[springfever]

Snufkin sets his hat aside and leans forward to better keep his attention on the boy. Has he visited a kingdom before? Snorkmaiden once believed herself to be a princess, but it was still simply Moomin Valley. He doesn't much care for authority figures or private property or taxes or any of the like, so he feels as though he wouldn't find much interest in a kingdom.

Hmm, he can tell there's a lack of certainty in that statement, but Snufkin's smile remains. "Mm, do you think you're happier here so far, auh..." He tilts his head. "I don't believe I got your name. I'm Snufkin."