Current Classes: - Professor Admas Alemu, on the topic of the basics of spell-casting. - Professor Celia Reed on the topic of transmutation and transformation.
The discord is for planning things up, general OOC conversation and memes should go to the OOC tab in the thread. Channel Guide: - Requests (For content you'd like to see in the RP like certain study topics, school locations, facilities) - Dorms (To find roommates and to set up what the dorms are like) - Classes (Interest Checks on classes, react to the classes you'd like your character to participate) - Clubs (To find people interested in club RPs and to set up new clubs.)
In this world filled with magic, there are many magical academies. They are synonymous with pride, legacy, excellence and most kids dream of joining one, dreams that rarely come true as these elite institutions don't just accept anyone into their ranks.
Well... most of them.
Surviving in a D-Tier Magical Academy
Fae Creek Academy is an institution that is open to pretty much anyone. This is not born from an ideal of inclusivity or any noble philosophy, it's just a very sad mix of desperation, carelessness, and greed.
See, Fae Creek City (it's more of a village really), or as many nicknamed it, Faker City, is in the purlieu of the empire, in the western frontier of the known world to be exact, and things such as "law" and "government inspections" aren't very common around there. In fact, Fae Creek City mostly survives on contraband and weird products coming from the wilderness beyond the sunset.
In such a situation, Fae Creek's Magical Academy is very much free to do whatever it wants. Dubious teachers, dangerous experiments, risky expeditions, and a high fatality rate (thankfully they also have white mages ready to pick whatever is left for resurrection spells, they don't allow students to just die, not before they pay their loans).
Of course, this paints a bad picture of the academy, many ask "why would you ever go study there?". The answer to that is because, again, they accept anyone. There are no background checks to see if the person isn't a spy or delving into dark arts, the entrance test is as easy as writing your name and even people who fail at that can get in since the staff can be bribed with pocket change.
The RP
It is yet another take on the concept of magical schools, I know, it's super rare to see one of these. But its a more comedic and casual take on the concept. Players are free to actually explore magic and get wild, they won't be given a small list of magic types and elements to pick from or have to follow countless rules on what they can do to keep things balanced.
There will be non-mandatory classes, school trips, assignments and all sorts of school events, but also a lot of downtime for people to do as they wish. Everyone has their personal objectives and the story will adapt to those while throwing all sorts of obstacles in the way.
The Characters
Many character types will feel at home in the run-down, corrupt institution know as Fae Creek Academy. Rich kids who just need that magician diploma, distracted witches prone to causing accidents, people whose magical powers are naturally chaotic, mad inventors who cannot do what they want to do in any respectable place and, perhaps the most unfortunate types, kids who are putting some honest effort into it but are born with very low affinity to magic.
Age range would be 15-19 but there are some sad cases of people still stuck in there well into their 20s
The tone of the RP
As the plot hook implies, a lot of things go wrong in Fae Creek. It wouldn't be out there for some students to die, multiple times even. However, to keep with the light tone of the RP and avoid moving into the macabre, these things will follow something close to cartoon logic/cartoon violence instead of realistic stuff.
For a player who doesn't want silly/quirky characters, going for a straight-man archetype who either ignores or calls out the stupidity around them is fine.
Quick World-building Info
The World this RP set in is a fully fantastic one, it is not even a globe. It's mostly composed of islands and small continents. The "center" of the world is a relatively tame area, but the farther you go from it, towards any cardinal direction, the more wild and weird things become.
The technology level is similar to a late-19 century or pre-WW1 20th century, but only a handful of areas have industries, most of the world is rural land or wilderness. Still, it's not uncommon to see airships, electricity or newspapers.
Fae Creek is part of the Imperial Federation. It's similar to the Holy Roman Empire, composed of many half-independent smaller nations that range from republics to monarchies, oligarchies, theocracies, and tribes. Its scale, however, is more akin to the British Empire, with a wide variety of species and cultures from all corners of the world being part of it.
Its the largest political entity in the known world, though there exist many other countries that are not part of the empire. Relationships vary widely but imperials tend to be snobbish to foreigners and foreigners tend to be snobbish to imperials.
Beyond the known world, there is the wilderness. All sorts of people live in there, from colonists to natives, who live in societies that range from small tribes to large kingdoms, all hidden in the depths of the thick magical forests, tall dragon infested mountains, cold glaciers and scorching deserts of the frontiers.
Once a land of promise, now just a useful naval and airship port to all sort of dubious scum. Its location in the far western frontier of the empire is not only useful for the lack of law enforcement but also for its proximity to a heavily magical uncharted land. The Fae Frontier, as it is often nicknamed, is a mix of swamps and forests that are a great source of all sorts of magical materials, though also extremely dangerous to most, especially the non-magical.
The Academy
Fae Creek Academy's installations are impressively large and modern. Originally founded by the Society for the Exploration of Western Wilds and the Fae Frontier along with the Rose Shield Knights it was an extremely expensive project, as seen in its architecture following the latest trends of the Empire. From the start it suffered from excessive costs, the public questioning if the extravagance was justified, delays and corruption.
Originally it was meant to be an academy specialized in the exploration of natural magic, fae, and other mythical creatures and unknown flora. This is easily seen in the thematic of the stained glass windows. However, as the burden grew, the funding was reduced, as such, it became an emergency project to convert the academy into a general magical academy.
The plan stopped a total collapse but the result wasn't pretty, and it hasn't got any better in the following years.
In terms of maintenance, some areas are left pristine while others are severely run down or outright abandoned.
Facilities and services
Classrooms and Studies The academy has a wide variety of tools and rooms for the study of magic: outside of its many auditorium-like classrooms, there is an observatory, a garden, an aquarium, many altars, countless classrooms and plenty of target practice areas.
The quality of the tools is problematic, but you can buy better ones in the campus store.
Library There are some libraries, two exist most of the time, a third one had some issues with a few reality-bending books and are only around during Wednesdays. The librarian hasn't been seen in a long while, if you see him... run.
Dorms The academy does provide free dorms. Due to the academy not being initially planned as a massive school, the dormitories were made in adapted rooms spread across the facility and with different designs. They are coded with flower names such as cherry, magnolia, rose.
They tend to be composed of 2-5 rooms shared by a few students (usually 2-4) that are then connected to a common living room, a shared bathroom, and sometimes a kitchen. There are a few dorms, however, that are far better than others, some going as far as having private one-person rooms with personal showers.
There is little enforcement of people going to the right rooms (unless its the nice ones), and the curfew is a joke. The most crowded dorms tend to be chaotic.
In the past, the rooms used to be segregated by gender, but after making a few mistakes the academy decided to solve the problem by making most dorms coed.
The quality of the rooms is problematic, but you can pay for better installations and more privacy. (Officially, it's all randomly chosen, but donating money to the academy seems to lead to a lot of good karma)
Food While students can make their own food, there is a cafeteria with free lunch and dinner. Sometimes the food is passable, sometimes you have to eat it fast or else it might try to eat you instead. It sticks to the basics, no snacks or treats.
The quality of the food is problematic, but you can pay for better food and snacks too.
Infirmary and Ressurection Pods The academy has a particularly robust infirmary room, a heritage from the original plans to make it a research center for wildlife. Staffed by white mages, they are often dealing with injured students.
Those who are still alive or whose corpse is mostly intact can be treated quite quickly, those who completely lost their bodies however need to have their bodies rebuilt in special tube-like water pods.
This service is actually pretty good but will be added to your student loan. The school does not give students anything once they are remade, not even a hospital gown, but there is a shop with clothes, backpacks and other basics in the infirmary.
Dorm Geranium The fun fact about this dorm is that it is not actually a dorm per see, but a series of rooms around one of the central areas of the academy. This means no neighbors most of the time, which in Fae Creek is good, but also means smaller rooms with improper structure.
Room G - B3 Inhabitants: August Reagan Feier
Something of this vibe:
A basement under the pool area, while many rooms in the area are adapted machine rooms, B3 is not that, it is an actual, still active, machine room. The room is large, the staircases descend at its center creating something close to a wall separating it between a left side and a right side. It has small windows on the right side, with an underwater view of the fish tank and lotus garden. The room has plenty of chairs, tables and storage options, but its mostly abandoned furniture left there. For beds: three mattresses over metal frames, giving a real prison-like feeling. Feier's bed is suspiciously near the boiler. The bathroom is as bad as one expects, the original room was destroyed when expanding the gardens and never replaced, thankfully the nearest toilette is just up the staircase but for a shower there is only an old tub surrounded by a curtain connect to the left sides boiler, not even a room of its own, one might consider using the pool and gym's shower room instead.
Room G - T1 Inhabitants: Daria, Helena, Yon
A decrepit tower that was once a garden, connected to the facility. Glass wall and glass roof, its kept shaded by the plants that grow on it. The staircase is broken making access hard for anyone who isn't light or can make their own path. There are no divisions between each of the three beds outside of the planters. Thanks to the broken glass panes, the room can get awfully windy at times, especially when it rains. Birds also often try to make their nests there. The room lacks a bit when it comes to furniture, but its quality isn't too bad, the beds are nice. It has a service toilette room but no shower, for baths the inhabitants must either make do with the tower's water pool/tank or use the showers of the gym or a nearby dorm.
Dorm Cherry Blossom One of the newer dorms of the facility, meaning proper planning and no glaring issues, it even has an elevator to access the upper room and all rooms have private bathrooms and kitchens. Of course, it is only accessible to those who pay more than others, though some say it is a special containment facility.
Room CB - 6 Inhabitants: Kate, Alura, Jackie
A very nice and comfortable room in the upper floors of the building, with a nice view to the rest of the school through its large clear glass windows. It is composed of the main room along with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It's one of what the students call "nice rooms", proper privacy, good quality of furniture, no need to worry about theft or kidnapping. There is very little to talk about. Except maybe that the glass is reinforced, all the sinks and drains come with grinders, the sprinklers have an 'exterminate' option and the door's lock feels like it is keeping others out as much as it is keeping them in, but it's not a basement or a barn.
Dorm Rose One of the more crowded dorms, with many students living in it, but thanks to the action of "hall monitors" it is not as bad as the typical high capacity dorm. Located in the middle of an area of gardens, it is a pleasant location, their communal kitchen houses a pretty good irregular restaurant and tavern.
Room R - 17 Inhabitants: AJ, Saint Gertrude
Just a very luxurious art noveau penthouse
At the very top of the dorm building, the penthouse is unlike anything in the rooms below, with a bathroom and a kitchen of its own and an outdoor area decorated with roses. The whole place is well kept and decorated, perhaps overly decorated, the room is garish in its excesses, from the frilly and overly decorated couches, pillows and beds to the aromatized magical candles and hot-tub like bathtub. Definitely not the room for any sort of person who values modesty or who wants to look though.
Room R - 2B Inhabitants: Adara, Leonhard
Like the right corner of this, but mirrored (so two rooms, no kitchen/bathroom)
An attic over the kitchen which is surprisingly pleasant, despite the noise and the fact to get in you have to almost crawl.
Made of a single room, the bedrooms are on the opposing sides of the building with nice soft beds, a bookshelf and wardrobe for storage and curtains for privacy when it is needed. There is a living area in the middle but it is really only meant for sleeping and resting, all else is in the communal areas.
It has access to the machines and pipes used in the kitchen and shower rooms, which would make it easy to mess with those, but who would do that?
Dorm Azalea Another crowded dorm and not a nice one. Not an actual autonomous anarchic location like Dorm Magnolia but up there. Built from an underground tunnel going under one of the large teaching areas, the rooms are spread out in a long and wide hallway, all sorts of irregular buildings such as shacks or black market stalls have been built by the students over the open space. Doors don't come with locks but it is wise to lock them nevertheless. The communal kitchen and bathrooms are as messy as one would expect.
Wide, underground tunnel. Fancy but decrepit.
Shacks spread out like
Room A4 Inhabitants: Sarah, Mela, Parr
The original stone wall facing the hallway collapsed and was replaced by a wooden wall. The room features two bunk beds, a table and a crate with a lamp on it. It also has a window leading to just above a canal which could come handy should they need to escape.
Room A0 Inhabitants: Aelich, Baron
but for two people.
Once the service room of the tunnel, this room is large and empty with more machines than furniture. Until recently it housed a lot of irregular shacks but was cleaned out, the students kicked out will most likely try to return once the dust settles.
The bedroom area was built with wooden planks in the steel walkways above the open area and is really just two open spaces with a bed and wardrobe.
There aren't many actual rules in the academy. You'd have to try to blow up the place to be expelled. Some teachers are stern and might want to punish certain students with little help from the school. Some teachers are mean and will pretend to punish shy or weak students just to get them to do chores for them.
Overall, a few things are expected: - If you are doing something that might cause massive damage or summon large otherworldly creatures, please do it far from the main campus. There is plenty of space. - Try not to die too hard and too often. - Try to not murder your colleagues on purpose. - Try to stay at least a bit dressed if you are in the main halls. - Do not bring things into transformation classes that could potentially cause mix-ups. - If your colleague is petrified, transmogrified, absorbed into a painting/book, or eaten by some sort of wild beast or carnivorous plant, please try to keep track of where they are, what they are, and call for the staff. - If they happen to be reduced to tiny bits, ashes or a weird mush, see if its a safe location which won't spread them into the wind, if not, then try to gather as much of them as you can before seeking the staff.
There is no official school clubs program, but clubs did form anyway in an irregular fashion. Particularly, the swimming club, the art club, and the book club are popular.
Societies are a bit more 'edgy' but act similar to clubs. Magnolia Dorm's Chimera Society and the Exploration and Tresspassing society are two of the better knows.
As much as societies like to pretend they are on the school's bad side, there have been more cases of clubs being repressed than societies. The DIY Club was cursed and sabotaged until dissolution as they competed with the academy's shops and the Photography club mysteriously vanished very recently, after deciding to shift into journalism.
The Staff will be placed in the character tab.
Character Creation
You are allowed to make multiple characters.
Students should be the focus but making Staff characters is possible.
Student Sheet
You can change the formatting and add more information as you please. Just try to inform the requested info.
ᴘʀᴏꜰɪʟᴇ
Name / Nickname: What is your character called? What do people call them? Age: Optional Gender: Nationality: Characters can be from the Imperial Federation (where the academy is), Foreigners or from the Wilderness, the untamed lands in the frontier of the known world. Just saying which is fine but you can describe a bit of their homeland.
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Appearance: Add as many pictures and text as you need Species: You can be a lot of things, but if it isn't something well known like say (humans, elves, robots, bears) please add a little description of what the species is like. Physical Abilities / Skills: Optional. Are they good swimmers? Are they fire-poof? Can they lift?
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Magical Style: Your character can do a bit of everything, but this is their trademark. What is their approach to magic? Do they prefer wands? martial arts? songs? machines? Is there any type of magic they prefer over others like transmogrification or summoning? Would you describe them as something like a pyromancer, an alchemist, a shaman? Magical Quirks: Optional. Are there any known magical anomaly to your character? Do they have reversed elemental energies which causes fire to be cold and ice to be hot? Are they cursed to become a Pomeranian every Saturday? Magical Skills, Hobbies and Interests:
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Why are they enrolled in Fae Creek Academy?: Where did it go wrong? Do they lack magical affinity? Is their magic naturally chaotic and prone to misfiring? Are they lazy? Delusional? Do they only care about some weird niche types of magical like summoning rodents? Have they been expelled from all other magical academies? Personality: What are they like in general? Do they have ambitions? morals? Backstory: Optional. When were their parents tragically killed? General Skills, Hobbies and Interests:
Staff Sheet
Name / Nickname: Age: Optional Gender: Nationality:
Appearance / Species:
Magical Style and Knowledge: Optional
Job Info: Are they a teacher? If so, what do they teach? Are they a janitor? A guard? A white mage/nurse? What do they do?
Just confirming that I'm good to post in the CS tab.
Getting into Fae Creek City Academy wasn't exactly a challenge - it took little more than filling out an entry form and signing your name. Most students - no matter how stupid they were or how little their chances of passing their courses turned out to be - made it easily through the process of writing their names.
This wasn't one of those times.
Instead, the admissions officer found themselves looking down at an entry form that looked like as if it had stabbed multiple times.
"Is ... is there a reason you didn't fill out the form?" The admissions officer glanced upwards from the form towards the girl that sat across from him, lounging across both armrests and carving a piece of white wood rapidly with a small knife in her hands, not even bothering to glance in his direction.
At least he hoped it was wood.
"Can't read."
"I'm afraid that signing the form is a min-" The admissions officer stopped midway through his speech as he caught a glare from the girl across from him - she didn't stop carving with her knife as her eyes moved away from it, small shavings of wood landing into her lap unceremoniously.
He had the overwhelming feeling that he'd be next if he didn't ... help accelerate her through the process of admissions. "-How about I help you fill out the form. Basic literacy isn't a requirement of the academy anyways!" He laughed nervously, bringing out a new form and a pen to start filling it out as the girl's eyes returned to the item she was carving.
"So ... your name. Or a nickname, if you go by it." "Daria." "How old are you?" "Enough."
This was going extremely well! He read the next line off the form, hoping to get through this admission as quickly as possible.
"What is your gender?" The girl stopped carving, eyes leveling on his with a look that screamed murder. He quickly scribbled down female and moved on to the next question in hopes it would distract her. "What country are you from?" "... I ... I don't know." Distracted the girl returned to her work, seeming to be deep in thought. "The Chief kept us beyond the Empire's borders though. In the South. We migrated a lot." Daria seemed to believe that was a sufficient answer, and he wasn't going to argue. Migratory group, Southern Border.
"What do you look like?" She looked at him like he was an idiot. He did feel a little stupid, but he seriously doubted she'd seen a camera. He tried to save face by coming up with an explanation. "I-I just didn't want to offend you with an unworthy description!" "I can't read it anyways."
Girl, stands around five foot six. Appears mostly human, except with the ears and tail of some sort of large cat ... her hair is pink (is it dyed?), but her tail and ears both have black spots on them. Tanned skin. Lean and fit, with a thin layer of muscle going up and down her frame. Golden eyes with slit pupils. Wears what appears to be a padded short dress with silk armor underneath - somewhat tribal, although kept clean. Has sharp teeth
"So um ... what exactly are you?" "Beastfolk, Leopard. Good at climbing things. Explosive strength, hate running long distances."
"How do you use your magic?" "Dunno. Isn't that why I'm here?" "... I guess that's fair! So, just a few things to help you find a roommate!" The admissions officer felt sorry for them. "Why did you decide to enroll here?" "... to learn magic." She once again looked at him like he was an idiot. He halfway debated questioning her further, but decided to simply leave the spot blank. No one looked at this section anyways. But really. This girl looked like she could be a well paid bodyguard, assassin, or some sort of special forces. What brought her to learn magic at the worst school on the continent?
"So Daria ... what are you like? Any hobbies, or things you'd want a roommate to know about you?" "Cute. Fun. Love laughing. Take me on an adventure." He nodded.
Stares into your soul to destroy it as a pastime. Carves with her knife incessantly, and probably kills too. Enjoys adventures - in fact, if you bore her it is probably lethal for you. If you are unfortunate enough to have her as a roommate sleep with one eye open. Seems to have a good, if unique fashion sense though!
"One last question. What is your life story? Tragic past?" "Slaughtered ten mercenary units that wanted to pillage my hometown with this knife. When I was two. Blessed by the Grand Flamingo-" Daria pointed at her largely pink hair. "-when I was only six years old. My parents died before I was born, I crawled out of my dead mother's womb."
The interview ended shortly after that.
Unnammed. Middle Aged. Failed to Graduate from Fae Creek and is working to pay off his debt that has a higher interest payment than his income.
@RabidAnubis That was one hilarious character sheet!
I think everyone should format their character sheets in such a manner.
I shall begin:
The admissions officer gave voice to a lengthy sigh. He felt certain that at multiple points during that last interview he had been mere inches from losing his life. He fervently hoped the next applicant would be safer (and saner), but he knew from regrettable experience that such hopes usually went unfulfilled. Then again, the young woman who entered and sat down on the chair provided didn’t look all that strange.
“Welcome,” he said, in what he hoped was a warm and friendly tone. That last interview still had him quite shaken up…
The girl nodded and promptly handed him her application form. Looking it over, he noticed at once that there was at least one improvement from the last applicant.
At least this one has basic literacy… he thought.
Let’s see now… Name: Kate Carson, age: sixteen years, gender: female… So far so good… Nationality: here and there, but mostly the Federation. Okay, so a bit of a traveler. Appearance: See attached photo. Hmm…
He turned the form over and saw that a photograph had been paper clipped to the back. Taking a look at it, he saw an image of the girl seated before him. She was even wearing the same clothes… Returning the photo from where he had retrieved it, he continued reviewing the application.
“Ah, so you’re a photographer. I was wondering with the camera and all. That is a camera, right? It’s a very unusual design. In fact, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Yeah, I’m not surprised,” she replied with a chuckle. “It’s a bit more advanced than what you’d normally find around here. An old friend made it for me.”
“I see,” he said, giving a small nod. “They must be very talented.”
“Sure are,” she agreed as a grin crept across her face.
She had such a relaxed and easygoing demeanor that he couldn’t help but smile himself, before shifting his attention back to the form. Yes, this was proceeding much better than the previous interview.
“Um, excuse me, but you put photography down for your magical style as well. Are you saying that your photography is magical in nature?”
“Yup,” she confirmed.
“Could you… give some more details?”
“Sure,” she said with a grin. “Basically, the camera’s a magi-tech artifact. It can give me all sorts of info on anyone or anything I take a picture of with it. Even secret stuff.”
“How does it provide the information?”
Turning the camera around, she pointed to a rectangular area on the back.
“It gets displayed on this screen. It can even create additional screens holographicly.”
“Fascinating…”
“It can also be used to do a bunch of other stuff, but only when I transform, and I don’t like to do that too often ‘cause the outfit is reeeally embarrassing…”
“Transform? You mean like a metamorphosis?”
“Kinda. It’s a form in which I can unlock this baby’s full potential, but, like I said, I have to wear this really embarrassing dress…”
“That’s… rather unfortunate,” the admissions officer said, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible. The girl before him did seem rather tomboyish, after all, so having to wear a dress would probably be exceptionally humiliating for her.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when your mad scientist friend has a sick sense of humor...”
“Still, even with that being the case, this camera of yours must be pretty valuable. Aren’t you worried it might get stolen?”
She chuckled again. “Not really. It’s magically bonded to me. Only I can use it, and if anyone tries to steal it, I’ll know about it.”
“Ah, so you have a method of tracking it? Is it another device, a mental link, or…?”
“Both of those things, but mostly the screams.”
“Screams?”
She gave another chuckle. “Yeah. Let’s just say any wannabe thieves’ll be on a one-way ride to agony city.”
“I…see… Oh! And it appears you listed that ‘transformation’ thing as a magical quirk. I guess that teaches me not to get ahead of myself! Let’s see, what’s next? Ah! You have photography and observation down for your magical skills, hobbies, and interests, and I’m beginning to see why… For reason for enrollment, you have ‘vacation’. Care to clarify?”
“Well, I was working for a certain major metropolitan newspaper in a certain big city back east, when I may have done something to upset some of said city’s rich and powerful. So, I decided to come here to lay low for a while. This being a backwater’s backwater, I figured it’d be the perfect place. No offense.”
“None taken. Moving along, I see you have ‘laid-back’ and ‘good sense of humor’ listed for personality, an accurate assessment, if I’m any judge. Oh, and I guess you already told me your backstory…” he chuckled as he noted the final item. “For general skills, hobbies, and interests, you wrote, ‘There’s something of a pattern here. See if you can guess what it is.’ Funny.”
“Yeah, I thought so too.”
“Well, that completes this little interview,” the admissions officer said, standing up and offering his hand. “It was a most sincere pleasure meeting you, young lady.”
“Likewise,” she said with a smile. “Hey, before I go, wanna take a picture together?”
“That sounds like an excellent idea.”
The two leaned in close, while Kate held her camera out, facing towards them.
“Say ‘cheese’!” she instructed.
“Cheese!”
*Snap!*
“Thanks!” Kate said cheerily as she departed.
“Don’t mention it! I hope to receive a copy of that, by the way!”
“Sure thing!” she called back.
Ah… Now that was a rare treat. I only wish more of these accursed interviews would be that pleasant… Just a nice young lady and her magic camer…
Magic camera. She had a magic camera. A magic camera that could reveal all sorts of hidden information about whoever it photographed. A magic camera that had just photographed him.
Oh dear… he thought with growing horror. I really do need to find a better job…
That was pretty good too. I certainly wouldn't object more interviews. And I just knew we'd get a magical girl.
“Hello,” the girl said excitedly. She handed him her application form and the interviewer let out a sigh of relief. Maybe this one would be normal.
As he read the form, everything checked out. Feier Fiammetta was a seventeen year-old human girl from the Federation. The form said she had black hair, fair skin, and green eyes. He looked up at the girl. So far, so good... and then from ‘Magical Abilities/Skills’ to ‘Hobbies and Interests’ were various drawings of fire.
“It says here your magical skill is... fire. Would you care to explain?” He was surprised by the burst of excitement he saw in the girl’s eyes.
“Can I give you a demonstration? Is that legal?” The words spilled out of the girl’s mouth so fast that the admissions officer couldn’t even tell if he heard her right.
“I don’t see why not.” He answered. What he was expecting was a small flame to appear in the girl’s hand. What he was not expecting was for the girl to set her own head on fire. If he had learned anything from his past interviews, it was to expect the unexpected. Everything from the neck-up was in flames, but the girl didn’t seem to be phased by it at all. She looked surprisingly soothed by it.
“Can I do the rest? Is that legal?” The girl asked.
“You mean...set the rest of your body on fire?” He looked at the room around him and decided that it was not at all fire-proof. The chair behind the girl was wood, for example.
“Yeah!” She exclaimed. The interviewer decided that she was much too excited to be setting herself on fire, and that he wanted to take as little health risks as he could for the rest of the day. Interviewing the past two were dangerous enough.
“I think I got the gist.” He said. He was almost saddened by the look of disappointment on the girl’s face as she extinguished her fire and sat back down, but his safety was more important here. “I take it you’re fire-proof.”
“Yes!”
“Is that why the drawing next to Magical Quirks is a picture of a girl with long hair on fire?”
“Did you like it?” She gleamed, anticipating the other’s answer.
“Yes. It’s a very skillful piece of art.” He said, smiling when he saw the girl quietly cheer to herself. It wasn’t like he was lying, either; the drawing had quite a bit of detail to it for how small it was. He could tell that the girl on the paper was the same girl in front of him right now. Maybe that explained why there had been a picture of a girl drawing fire next to ‘General Skills.’ “Anyways, what else can you do?”
“I can set things on fire by making them hot. Oh, and I can make my own fire.” She grinned and raised her finger towards the man. Several sparks appeared before the man ducked just in time to avoid a small jet of flames.
“Why!?” The interviewer cried, looking behind him. He was surprised to see that neither the doors or walls had been burnt.
“To show you, duh,” She said matter-of-factly. “I can put out my own fires, so you really had no reason to be scared,” She crossed her arms and looked to the side. “Plus it was a slow one.”
“Sure...” He looked at the girl like she was crazy. As if he would’ve seen that coming. In any case, he thought it’d be safe to get the topic off of any volatile chemical reactions. Perhaps it’d do them good to talk about her backstory.
“So, why are you here?” He asked.
“I burnt down some, uh,” she paused for a second to collect her thoughts. “Some things.” The admissions officer raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of things, exactly?”
“Oh, y’know. The things.”
“I don’t really go around burning things down, so I wouldn’t know. Most people don’t.”
“Okay, okay,” she took a deep breath. “I may have burnt down a few buildings.” She said. The admissions officer’s eyes widened and looked like he almost fell out of his seat. Taking note of this, she tried to save herself. “There weren’t any people in it! I thin-“ She raised a finger and stopped herself from shooting herself in the foot. “Nobody got hurt.”
“Are there any other incidents I should know of?” He asked. The girl’s uneasy and forced laughter gave him his answer. “Never mind. Why did you do it?”
“Stress.”
“I’m surprised you even feel negative emotion.” He remarked. Feier looked slightly offended in response.
“That’s what everyone says!”
“When I’m stressed, I tend to exercise.”
“I do that too,” she pouted, “But fire looks so cool. And it’s so relaxing.” The admissions officer sighed.
“Would you mind taking a few suggestions I have for stress-relieving activities?” He tried to ask, but was only met with a quizzical sound in response. It seemed that the girl was entirely focused on the small flame in her hand and not the interviewer. He waved his hand. “Forget it. What exactly did you burn down?”
“Well...” The girl away up to avoid eye contact. “It was...” She drawled. She looked visibly embarrassed by what the full story must’ve been.
“It was?”
“Don’t rush me!” She yelled, the fire in her eyes making the man shrink into himself. “It was a new area they had built in this other school, for science research or something.” She drawled.
“Didn’t the top magic school in the Federation get a new science wing built recently? And then it mysteriously got burnt down?”
Feier leaped behind her chair and gasped loudly. “How did you know that!? You... you spy!” She pointed her finger accusingly at the man. She cleared her throat and put her hand down. Her attempt to look put-together and calm would’ve worked if it hadn’t been for her previous blunders. “Not that I did it.”
“I see.” She definitely did it, he thought. Though, it was still impressive that she was able to get into such a school. He ran out of questions on the form, so now was the time for him to quell his curiosities. “How’d you get in?”
“Oh, it was easy. I got in by-“ She paused, lit her hand on fire, and lightly hit herself in the head with it. “If, in some universe, I were to have gotten into that school, it would’ve been with a scholarship achieved after they recognized my magical abilities.”
“Would you mind explaining why you weren’t put in some kind of magical jail?”
“In another universe, they did. Then, in that same alternate universe, the unnamed school let me out for some reason. Maybe they liked the hypothetical fantasy me.”
“You’re really doubling down on this story, huh?” The glare that Feier gave him made him correct himself. “Sorry. You’re making it clear that you’re telling me about a what-if scenario?” He chuckled when the girl nodded slowly. She didn’t seem as intentionally dangerous as she did unpredictable. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
"Nope.”
“Alright, let me just write a few things down...”
Feier is a 5’6” 17-year-old girl. Likes to wear rings. Is quite energetic. Seems to have a short attention span. Would recommend to keep her distracted somehow. Also seems rather genuine. Shows symptoms of pyromania. Is terrible at lying. Gullible? Likely. Friendly? Probably. Eccentric, definitely. If roommate, hide all flammable valuables so they are safe from her potential ‘stress-relieving methods.’ Good at drawing. And she is...
“Do you use a wand?”
“Of course not.”
a barbaric individual.
He stopped writing once he was satisfied with his quick summary of the girl. “That will conclude our interview.” He considered putting out his hand to go for a handshake, but remembered that she could light herself on fire. He opted to get up and open the door for her instead. “I wish you luck.”
When the girl happily walked out, the admissions officer wondered how many more of these he could survive.
The admissions officer was beginning to wonder when his break was. He took a sip from his drink, that despite him having drank its contents at least five times over, was still not empty.
(The fact that it was beginning to taste less and less like coffee by the second might have been why.)
In walked his next interviewee. He set the cup down, taking note of how it had become purple. That didn't seem right, but he didn't have the time nor will to complain. He shuffled with the papers before him until he found one with a photo that matched the boy who had just walked in.
"Augustus Walter Lacey-Vane," he declared, taking his seat opposite the interviewer. He leaned onto the table, perhaps too far. "The second, after my father."
The interviewer shuffled back uncomfortably. "Are you supposed to be here? The appointment for this time is... August Lacey."
"Oh," August said. "Oh, yes, that's me." He sounded offended.
The admissions officer skimmed the rest of his application. Seventeen. Male. Human. From the Federation, a small region that wasn't doing too well as of late. Appearance... he crossed out the neatly penned "6'2" and wrote "5'11" in its place. The photo was more or less accurate. Well dressed (was that the same suit he was wearing to the interview?), with uneven hair - longer on the left, shorter on the right. Whoever had cut it must have been blind.
"Physical abilities and skills," the interviewer muttered.
"Oh, yes! Well, you see, I-"
"Piano, poetry, sewing, embroidery. There's a hobbies section, you know. These aren't physical abilities."
"I have to use my body to do them. Therefore, they are 'physical' skills."
The admissions officer gave him a withering look. "Right, and then for your magical skills, you've written 'curses'. Would you... would you care to elaborate?" He was almost afraid to ask.
"It's very simple. Curses, unlike regular spell casting, have potent effects that-"
The admissions officer grimaced.
"-last for long amounts of time, often with the intent to harm the victim. No throwing lava around (but of course, I can still do that!), but I could certainly make you feel like you were on fire for the next hour." August reached into his pocket, bringing out - was that a guinea pig? "Now, I've prepared a demonstration."
"There's no need," the interviewer said quickly, snatching the animal off of the table. "Really, there isn't. You've got an interest in potion making?"
"Drinkable curses," August said, nodding sagely.
"I see. And then..." the admissions officer trailed off as he gazed at the page. The handwriting had changed from (presumably August's) neat print to looping cursive.
Magical Quirks: Afflicted with a curse that causes anything he touches to slowly freeze over. Given to him by his birth mother, my husband's mistress. Please accept him. Contact the Vanes if any additional persuasion is needed.
Bribe or not, the boy would probably be allowed in, but the admissions officer thought about his salary and scribbled a note to himself.
"For interests, you've written the same as your physical skills section, but you've included tea?"
"Yes."
"Alright then. Final question. Why have you chosen to Fae Creek?"
"Oh, because I've heard... all sorts of wonderful things about it! Yes, it is a very accomplished school. I would be really, really happy if I got in." His smile said sincerity, but his eyes said desperation.
Previous Incidents: Former student of the Imperial Institute of Magic. Accidentally froze over several dorm rooms when forgetting to wear gloves when sleeping, rendering them unusable for a month. Punishment for vandalism and and curse fraud: permanent exclusion and compensation to be paid.
"It says here you used to go to the Institute," the admissions officer said plainly.
"What? Oh, does it now," August whined. He had been caught. "Well, that wasn't my fault! Mother forgot to tell them I had a curse. See, I didn't do anything. Anyway, they fixed everything in the end. It wasn't even that bad. It was way slower back then. It was only a few rooms. There was a girl who burned down the entire new science wing earlier that year. They've got to rebuild that entire thing, but all they had to do for me was melt it and maybe replace a bit of furniture."
"I see. That concludes the interview." The admissions officer reached out for a handshake, which August graciously took. A good, firm, grip and- oh.
His hand was freezing cold, even through the glove. The interviewer could feel the hard ice underneath the fabric. As August's grip tightened, he could feel them crunch and break.
"Oh, sorry!" he gasped, taking his hand back. August pulled off his glove. Ice shards fell to the floor. His poor, poor carpet. "It does that sometimes. Uh, thank you for your time. Have a great morning." He smiled widely, putting the glove back on and hastily making his exit before the interviewer could speak again.
Was it still the morning? The admissions officer groaned, moving to hold his head in his hands. But in his left hand...
@Liseran Thistle Mwehehehehe come to the dark side, we have cookies!
And this is gold: "There was a girl who burned down the entire new science wing earlier that year. They've got to rebuild that entire thing, but all they had to do for me was melt it and maybe replace a bit of furniture."
"AJ? I have an interview for..." He looked down at his paper. "...Astaroth, Taker of Souls, Lord Above All, Master of the 8th Underworld Legion."
"Erm, yes, that's me," AJ said. "My mother filled out the form. She can be a bit over the top."
Exaggerated accomplishments were par for the course, but something as extravagant as this application was surely a joke. Still, procedure was procedure. The admissions officer sighed and crumpled up the sheet. "Alright, I can walk you through the process again. Name, age, gender, nationality?"
AJ nodded. "AJ Underfoot. 15. Male. Federation."
"I can fill out these sections real quick..." The officer scribbled Appearance matches photo. A bit taller than the picture suggests, maybe 5'6"?
"Just to be safe, you are human, right?"
AJ looked down at his shoes. "Half. My mother is a demon."
The officer blinked. "Your mother is a what?"
"It's complicated. She's Vivian, 2nd ranking demon of lust."
It only gets crazier every year. He wrote down "half-demon" and continued. Despite the boy's odd parentage, the officer felt a sort of compelling desire to help and protect the boy. Maybe he was getting too sentimental. "Any physical skills?"
"Nothing much. I can do what's normal, I guess."
"Alright. What sort of magic can you do?"
"I'm a summoner. I can call beings to my aid."
The officer leaned over the desk. "Okay, kid. Procedure dictates that I ask you to show me your magic. Will it explode?"
"No."
"Will it set fire to the premises?"
"Probably not."
"Do you need a test subject? A guinea pig or rat or something?" He thought back to the previous interviewee. He'd handed the guinea pig off to the creatures handler for safekeeping.
"Nope. I have my materials right here, and they're all inanimate."
He sighed in relief. "Alright, show me."
The boy pulled out a roll of fabric and laid it out on the ground, then began to draw a circle in chalk. His lines were surprisingly smooth, and he sketched out the design with a practiced eye. The end result- a circle with a five-point star inscribed within it. The design looked rather familiar.
"So, um, I have to do a chant, if that's alright," AJ said.
"Go ahead."
The officer immediately regretted his decision to allow it. AJ began speaking in a strange eldritch tongue, spitting out syllables like hot discs of flame. It felt as if small worms were being forced into his ears, crawling their slimy way into his head and eating the soft grey matter inside. The strong scent of burning flesh and wood smoke filled the room before gradually dispersing into a strong smell of lavender.
"Oh no," AJ said. "Anyone but her, please! Why??"
A column of red smoke erupted from the center of the circle, making the officer's eyes water. Inside the smoke, he could see the outlined form of a demon. "W̵̩̾ͅH̵̦̆́Ȏ̴͓̮͌ ̷͖̂D̶̙͖͌A̴̡͔̎͠R̵̖͑E̵̫͑S̷̻̝̏ ̷̛̟T̵̮͖͐O̵̧̥̍ ̵̢́S̸̟̓̒U̸̧̓́Ḿ̴͎̠M̸̜͓͗͊O̷̰͆̆N̴̹͊͂-̴̹͆ ̷̟̂ oh, it's just you, Astaroth. Do you need something? Did you forget your lunch at home? How is the interview going?"
The smoke cleared. The admission officer's heart rate jumped. In front of him was a goddess- or rather, the opposite of one, perched on the side of a floating pitchfork. Wonderfully proportioned with red skin, she gave off an exuberant exotic charm. Two pointed horns stuck out from her flowing dark hair. She wore a strangely modern low-cut dress suit that barely went over her knees, maintaining modesty and sexiness at the same time. A pair of glasses perched on her nose. Her mouth had wonderfully full lips, which moved in a fashion that he oh so dearly wanted on... wait...
"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked. "I didn't, uh, quite catch that."
"I asked, has my son been troubling you?" She shifted on her seat expectantly, exposing more leg.
He tore his eyes off her and tried to look at AJ instead. He failed in that endeavor, and found his eyes slowly tracking her form once more. "Oh, erhm, not at all! He's been very, very respectful."
Her expression shifted to a sort of annoyed disappointment. "Astaroth Jonathan Underfoot! What did I tell you about being respectful?"
AJ looked like he wanted to sink down into the floor. "...That nobody will fear me if I defer to them."
"Exactly! Did you even proclaim your dominion over the territory as you stepped in the building?"
"No, Mother."
"And I suppose you didn't even try to charm any girls on the way in, did you? Nobody prettier than a hellhound?"
"There was one that was literally hot, but no."
"Don't take that kind of tone with me, young devil!" If you are to become a worthy demon, you must become bad!"
AJ didn't answer.
"Continue with the interview, human. Don't just sit there slack-jawed. Have you never seen a lust devil before? Get over yourself. I am happily married. Oh, and make it quick, for I am rather cross right now."
He closed his mouth and hastily shuffled his papers. "Ah, yes, what sort of things can you do with your magic?"
AJ didn't even have a chance to say a word.
"My son can use the circles to summon various beings and command them to do tasks. you hear that, AJ? No more of that 'asking' you do."
"Yes, mother."
"And what can these tasks be?"
"Anything within the summoned being's power, so long as a sufficient payment is transferred. For example, as payment for today's summoning, Astaroth here is grounded until he finishes an essay on how to seduce women!"
"Well, that seems rather hars-"
The devil pointed at him. She certainly did have sharp nails. "Don't interfere on family matters, or I will have your soul sentenced to the Sixth Circle. Now, AJ, treat this man like he really deserves."
"Um, you WILL let me into the academy, or I will, uh, haggle your entrails." AJ buried his face in his hands. His mother gave him a hug from behind.
"That's my little hellspawn. The threat could use some work, but the spirit was there. Did you see that? Did you see how my boy threatened you?"
The admissions officer nodded. "Yes. Last question." He was beginning to contemplate resigning. No amount of money could keep him here. "Why Fae Creek?"
"Why, only a school as perfectly horrendous as this one could suit my wonderful child! Have you never raised a demon? This is a perfect environment for him to learn the ins and outs of tyranny."
"Thank you. That's wonderful. The interview is over. I wish you luck, young man." He could not get them out fast enough.
The demon disappeared again in a flash of smoke and lavender. AJ gathered his things and left, not meeting the admission officer's eyes.
I definitely overdid it. Still, this was hella fun to write :)
If we've got coed dorms, I've got a character from a novel I'm brainstorming that would be perfect for Augustus' roomie... in an oil-and-water sort of way.
If we've got coed dorms, I've got a character from a novel I'm brainstorming that would be perfect for Augustus' roomie... in an oil-and-water sort of way.
