>Ask then if they were impressed by your stunt
Processing commands...
> Scream like a little girl.
> PERFORM THE EMERGENCY ROUNDHOUSE. KICK WHOEVERS TOUCHING YOU.
Given that you've just been manhandled out of unconsciousness by a mysterious presence, this is perhaps an understandable reaction. You scream bloody murder and kick out; your head's still too blurry to focus on your aim, so you hope your foot's pointed the right way.
Whether it was or not doesn't matter. A second powerful, hairy hand casually grabs your foot and clamps your legs together, and the instant you feel how strong it is, your scream devolves into a pathetic whimper for mercy. Someone close to your head chuckles hoarsely.
"Yeah, she's awake alright."
"Excellent. Now put her down, Petra, she looks like she's about to have a heart attack."
The rough hands dump you onto the wooden floor with all the grace of a dying elephant. This last little shock to the system knocks your senses fully into gear, and you look up to get a glimpse of the person who just tossed you around like you were nothing.
Instantly, the size, strength and hairiness make perfect sense - she's a werewolf. Powerfully built, several heads taller than the average human, with brindle fur topped by a head of spiked black hair, with dyed red tips. Her black shirt disintegrates into ragged-edged nothing a little bit below her chest, and has the logo of some heavy metal band or other emblazoned across it, stylised to the point where the text is utterly illegible. Below that, she's wearing dark-coloured jeans tucked into a pair of heavy black knee-length boots, shaped to accommodate werewolf paws. She's giving a toothy, confident grin to Chancellor Barlowe, who is stood right next to her, looking down upon you with a typically inscrutable expression.
"Stand up, Willow. The sorting can't take place without you."
...why were you unconscious, anyway? You rack your brain, but your memories of what happened after you wigged out at the podium are full of gaping holes. You hope beyond hope you weren't out cold because of something completely stupid that'll stick with you all throughout your time at Heimdal. You get to your feet shakily.
Immediately, you notice the room has been redecorated in your mental absence. There are now three banners at the head of each of the tables, each with a simple block-coloured logo upon it - an orange flame, a dark blue wave, a deep brown rock. Hanging where an additional table could easily fit is a fourth banner, sporting the symbol of a pale green rush of air. Much like the gap, you subconsciously notice but cannot consciously register its presence. Students are milling about under these banners; you spot the ones you met at the initiation, alongside several others whose faces are alien to you. The students you don't recognise are each wearing an armband with one of the banner logos stitched on, which draws your attention to Petra's wrist, or rather, to the unique glitter version of the fire armband she's wearing over it.
> See Abd look down upon you before walking away in disgust.
Abd isn't in the right position to look down upon you, but you do spot him amidst the students under the flame banner. He gives you a brief look of disgust, then turns away and launches into conversation with a student next to him you haven't seen before.
...that can't be good. What did you do during the time you no longer recall? Do you want to know?
"Willow. Get in place."
The Chancellor's brusqueness makes you jump, and you hurriedly head over to stand with everyone else. You hear muffled snickering as you approach, though you can't tell who the laughter is coming from, and your heart sinks all the way to your feet. The fuck did you do Willow
Once you're in place, Chancellor Barlowe gestures with one hand, and immediately everyone except those who were inducted earlier shuffles forward. It's just the nine of you under the banners now. Your self-consciousness from before comes back with a vengeance, and you decide your best bet is to stand still, betray no emotion and generally do nothing at all.
"Here at Heimdal Academy, the three Houses pick students by a draft process. Your initiation speeches were being watched, and they shall be combined with what is known of your pre-Heimdal lives to inform those leading the selection."
So the Houses have the impression of you as someone who can't say one sentence without freaking out and charging off in a tizzy. Great. You're sure you'll be in massive demand.
"You may also express a personal preference for which House you wish to join - though there is no guarantee you will be picked for it. There are nine of you, thus we will be aiming to have three new students to each House."
The Chancellor sweeps an arm out to point at the House's selection bodies as he addresses them in turn.
"House Gamal. The passion and intensity of fire. Student Head, Petra Stump."
The werewolf girl from earlier flashes her razor-toothed grin and gives the nine of you a thumbs up.
"House Removitz. The hardiness and reliability of earth. Student Head, Belinda Treves."
Were it not for her cat ears and tail, Belinda Treves would look like a perfectly ordinary human, with light brown skin and long, wavy black hair. In contrast to Petra's musculature, she has a lithe, agile build, the look of one who put points in DEX over STR. The dominant feature of her outfit is a hefty felt coat, long enough that her feline tail just barely pokes out from under the coattails, lined with erratically placed pockets. As the Chancellor says her name, she waves cheerily to those awaiting sorting.
"House Yang. The beauty and flexibility of water. Student Head, Andrei Arsenyovich Volkov."
Andrei Arsenyovich Volkov is fabulous. There is no other word for it. His outfit is something out of a costume designer's psychedelic wet dream, a high-collared black Dracula cape over a full pink and purple Victorian suit; his specialised House armband has even been coloured a paler blue than normal, so as not to clash. Splotches of pink makeup add a dash of colour to the deathly pale face characteristic of a vampire. He doesn't react especially overtly to the Chancellor saying his name, swishing his cape just enough to confirm yes, I am Andrei, that's me, but otherwise staying put.
And now, an experiment in extending the readership's power! Who does everyone want to go for? Who does each House show interest in, and who in turn wants to go where?
be nice to benjamin it's not his fault he got beat up by a microbe
Semain Calm
> House Gamal wants Potato Marijuana, because she can blaze it.
and the public won't dwell on my transmission cause it wasn't televised.
the cake is an alternative fact
> Gamal also wants Beatrice. Though she was cool and collected onstage, they've seen what she can do on the battlefield.
>Beatrice herself doesn't really care, though she has some inclinations towards Remowitz
Edited by Afterwards on Jun 28th 2020 at 3:14:11 PM
she magnificent my bastard till i complete on her monster
Well, it’s a badger, that’s for sure
> Gamal wants Gordy G, after losing a bet
>Removitz, meanwhile, expresses interest in Pontius
Huzzah
Root of Star
> Although his spiel at the pulpit and his general c*ntiness put him at odds with all the House leaders, they understand his heritage would allow for "interesting developments" in their respective houses so they all bid for him.
> Abd (being a bitch) does not give one, two or 1001 fucks and lets them decide what to do with him when he walks off
One day you're here, baby / And then you're gone.....
Semain Calm
> Willow, still very embarrassed, shows interest in House Removitz.
and the public won't dwell on my transmission cause it wasn't televised.
Braids From S286 Not Included
>Willow is inclined towards House Removitz.
>Gwenna is torn between being drawn to Petra's power and Volkov's composure.
Processing commands...
His bit done, Chancellor Barlowe heads for the sidelines to observe the proceedings. A murmur immediately kicks up, but you stay silent.
You feel as though this is a quandary. Maybe it's just your poor self-esteem, but you're not sure whether you possess any of the relevant qualities. You're not passionate, you're not reliable, and you sure as hell aren't beautiful. Maybe you'll just see which house has a slot left over by the end...
By the time you've had this thought, one student is already placed. Gunman flutters over to Andrei, lands on his shoulder and, despite the vampire attempting to shoo the parrot away, stays resolutely put. Andrei sighs melodramatically.
"Vell, it seems House Yang has one new student already."
His voice is mildly surprising. The way he dresses, you'd expected Andrei to sound flutey and flamboyant, but he's quite the opposite - low and gruff, with a very prominent trilling Russian accent.
You look around. Autumn is glancing rapidly between all three heads of house in quick succession, looking indecisive. Gwenna and Abd are utterly stoic. Most others are looking pensive and thoughtful. The only one willing to break the silence there and then is Gordy.
"Fear not, indecisive houses! The Incredible Gordy G does not intend to leave you clamouring for his glorious presence any longer! You see, as a reliably awesome hero, I have decided House Removitz would be the ideal place to hone my-"
"Sorry, 'fraid not. You're with us."
Gordy pauses and stares quizzically at Petra, who looks as if she's got a bad taste in her mouth.
"W-well! I suppose it is flattering to know there is already a winning party in the quest to obtain my skills-"
"Skills nothing, I lost a bet everything. Just shut up and come here before I glue your fuckin' jaw shut, alright?"
Gordy gulps, falls obediently silent and scurries into position. It says a lot about the expectations you came into Heimdal Academy with that a Student Head of House threatening a new inductee does not register to you as unexpected. Anyhow... one Gamal, one Yang. Waiting to see who'll have you still seems viable.
There is a little more discussion among the selectors over something or other. Nobody else pipes up to interrupt, perhaps fearing a forcible re-housing as embarrassing as Gordy's. Then, suddenly, something rather interesting happens. The assorted lesser selectors stop their chit-chat and nod to their respective Heads, and as each one raises their sigilled armband in turn, spheres of coloured light shoot out from them and hover over certain students.
Of immediate note is that one student now has blue, brown and orange orbs hovering over his head, all at once. Abd takes this in with... disgust? Wait, why is being in high demand offensive to him? You wait for the inevitable outburst about the deep conspiratorial motive he's reading into this, but for now you check who else has a sphere above them. You're surprised to see Gamal are interested in Potato, who's looking up at the orange sphere in amusement. Beatrice is also being trailed by an orange light, while Gwenna and Pontius are marked by a blue and brown orb each. You are disappointed but not surprised to see no lights above your own head. Judging by her kicked-puppy expression, Autumn had no such low expectations.
Soon enough, student no. 3 is sorted. Potato nods to Petra, mumbles "blazeit" under her breath, and stumbles over in the midst of an intense giggle fit to stand with the rest of House Gamal. Petra looks surprisingly pleased to have Potato in her fold, but as she raises a claw to point it at Abd, the half-jinn snorts in disgust and, with a flick of his wrist, a plume of magical fire erases his Gamal interest marker.
"This entire process is a sham. That much is no secret. You divide your student body by arbitrary characteristics, leave them scrabbling for one-upmanship before they have even begun their lessons. Teach them from their first moments here to recognise and attack a designated enemy for no crime worse than not wearing the same colours. I would normally have no concern which box you shoved me into. But there is no fucking way I am sharing a dorm room with the egotist and the stoner."
There it is. You knew it was coming. Man, it's almost as if all these students are predictable, one-dimensional caricatures whose actions in any given situation are pathetically easy to anticipate. Once the awkward pause in the wake of Abd's rant has passed, Petra slowly shifts her claw to point at Gwenna, and looks relieved when the knight-errant nods curtly and clanks over to join Gordy and Potato. House Gamal have their three, and with that, the orange orb above Beatrice fizzles out.
The Yang and Removitz representatives descend into yet more furtive discussion. While sizing up the competition once more, you notice Autumn has closed her eyes and is murmuring "eenie meenie minie mo" as her head tilts back and forth slightly. To your other side, Pontius nods at Andrei, Andrei nods back, and without a word, House Yang claims its second student. Perhaps noticing she's the only one who has no students claimed, while Gamal is done and Yang has two, Belinda pipes up.
"House Removitz will take Autumn Alderson. Y'know, if that's alright with her?"
With a high squeal of "Yay!", Autumn bounds over and wraps the Student Head of House Removitz in a tight hug. Belinda doesn't look at all bothered by the affection, but she does shoo Autumn off quickly, not that it dents the vixen's renewed cheerful mood.
Yet more murmuring. Come on, can we just end this already, you think to yourself. After a long period of debate between the Removitz and Yang crowds with no sign of conclusion, Andrei and Belinda both look to Beatrice. She shrugs.
"I'll go with whoever. I don't mind."
Now the Heads look impatient as well. Reaching into an inside pocket of his cape, Andrei pulls out a coin, shows it to Belinda and points at Beatrice.
"Heads, I get her, you get the genie. Tails, vice versa. Agreed?
Belinda nods her agreement, and Andrei flicks the coin into the air, catches it mid-flight and palms it. You don't see the result, but since it's immediately followed by Beatrice being guided over to the Yang congregation while Abd reluctantly follows Belinda into Removitz, you presume it was heads.
It takes you a little bit to realise - shit. You're the last unpicked student, just as you feared. With one slot left, you guess you're now Removitz by default. Feeling self-conscious in your status as the one nobody wanted, you try not to draw more attention to yourself than you're getting already as you head over to take your place beside Autumn and Abd. The sorting over and done with, a low hum of casual chatter starts up among the students. You hear Petra cackle and say something about sandwiches to the Gamal students, who respond with quiet laughter. Even though you can't make out what was said, something about it fills you with dread.
"Alright, everyone!", chimes your new Head of House. "I know this place can be tough to navigate for a newcomer, so just follow me and we'll find your new dorm rooms!"
As you leave, you pass inches from the air banner, and For whatever reason a phrase pops into your head - House Hesserley. You spend a little while contemplating what this could mean and why you thought of it, but draw a blank.
Throughout your journey through the bizarre geometries of Heimdal, the four of you are in a set order - Belinda directing you from the front, Autumn bounding along right behind her, you trying to keep a steady pace, and Abd, who apparently considers punctuality yet another of the subtly hidden traps of life, bringing up the rear. It's clear the Removitz Head is a more experienced Heimdal navigator than any of you; she flits through the ever-shifting corridors with nary a pause for thought, stopping only to briefly say hi to Petra as your path crosses that of the Gamal group for a moment. Before you know it, you have reached the dorms.
The entry to the dorms is nothing much. It's just a cheap wooden door embedded in the stone walls of the Academy, the sort you might find in a low-rent apartment, with a sign saying "DORMS" hanging from it by a pin. Past it, you're presented with a similarly wooden but far more ornate series of hallways, with doors appearing at regular intervals. You notice that the Houses aren't segregated into entirely separate sections; rather, the logos on the doors alternate. Fire. Earth. Air. Water. Fire. Earth. Air. Water. Fire. Earth. Air. Water. This strikes you as very odd, and you feel compelled to ask about the unconventional layout. Belinda just shrugs.
"Heimdal's old and weird. I don't think anyone knows why they arranged the dorms this way."
Finally, you stop in front of a door marked with the Removitz rock and a large number 12. A little way along, past a bend in the hall, you think you hear Petra Stump's voice, and feel inexplicably glad she can't see you. Belinda pulls three keys, each with "R-12" engraved on them in tiny handwriting, out of one of her coat's chaotic assortment of pockets and hands one to each of you.
"Here you go! This apartment will be your home sweet home for years to come, so if I were you I'd try and make it feel that way!"
The Student Head of House Removitz gives a parting wave as she heads off to find an exit door. Autumn, naturally, is the one who jams her key in the lock and swings the door open so hard you hear its hinges creak.
It turns out that when Belinda said there was an apartment behind this door, she wasn't kidding. It genuinely is a decent sized multi-room living complex, with two bedrooms (one large and one small), a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom. Abd has plonked himself on the single bed in the smaller bedroom before the thought to ask who'll take what room has even crossed your mind. You notice looking into the larger bedroom that the bed is a two-layer bunk bed. You get the feeling Autumn will call dibs on the top bunk, which is fine by you - you never liked sleeping at a height, it just made you nervous.
All of the rooms are bare-bones and undecorated. Which begs the question, what will you do and what may you have brought to give your new home a little personal touch?
be nice to benjamin it's not his fault he got beat up by a microbe
Semain Calm
> Put up some potted plants and some colorful posters.
and the public won't dwell on my transmission cause it wasn't televised.
Well, it’s a badger, that’s for sure
>Pull out your poster of the well-known wizard Garrett Valerion, bare-chested in this picture, and hang it up on your wall.
Huzzah
Root of Star
> Abd pulls out an iPod and begins listening to Burial
> In the process of pulling out the iPod, however, a photo falls out of his pocket
Edited by Baisteach on Jun 30th 2020 at 5:18:52 AM
One day you're here, baby / And then you're gone.....
Braids From S286 Not Included
> Prepare your study table. You bought your school supplies before you entered, but you dropped some of your textbooks on the way to the dorm.
"Rarity, are you okay? We gotta get you and your friends outta here soon!"
>Pull out your poster of Ferra Salvador, Miss Witch London 2016, and hang it up opposite the poster of Garrett. Hot people are hot and you don't discriminate.
>Put your cinnamon air freshener by your bed. It's cat-shaped!
>See what Autumn is decorating her area with. You bet it's bright.
the cake is an alternative fact
>You packed a gaming system with a tiny TV. Set them up on the shelf.
she magnificent my bastard till i complete on her monsterFUCK IGNORE THIS
Edited by DubhKafkaesque on Jul 11th 2020 at 5:37:20 PM
be nice to benjamin it's not his fault he got beat up by a microbe
[screaming in the distance]
> For a while you hear something loud outside, but then it stops. Some genius probably tried to play music on full volume but got caught red-handed.
"Screw it, I AM going to enjoy this game!"Rebooting after extended absence...
Processing commands...
> Put up some potted plants and some colourful posters.
Remember the cloak? It's not just for show. Pulling it off, you roll it around in your hands, and as the fabric creases, pockets emerge from the folds, vast numbers of them, slipping out and then sliding away in turn. The Hammerspace Cape: an essential tool in the arsenal of any witch, because it's where you keep all the others.
It takes a bit of rifling - hammerspace capes have one significant disadvantage, and that's how long it can take to find what you need - but you eventually come across the relevant pockets. You were worrying at the time about taking too much stuff. Now, looking at the size of your accommodation, you think you didn't bring enough. You could theoretically have brought however much you wanted; hammerspace capes aren't limited by such pathetic things as space and encumbrance.
First thing's first. Decoration. Belinda told you to make this place feel more homely, and you intend to make good on that. Reaching with extreme care into one particular pocket, you defy all conventional spatial logic by pulling an entire potted plant out of the tiny fabric pouch. The plant is tall, with leaves resembling minute palm trees on the lower half of its stem and rows of distinctly cloak-shaped purple flowers on the top half. A thin, crackling film of magical energy wards stray fingers away from touching the flowers, and for good reason. This is aconitum napellus. Monkshood. Wolfsbane. Within each of those pretty purple blooms is enough deadly neurotoxin to kill an entire village. You're not the sort to engage in poisoning plots, though. You chose to bring wolfsbane because of its symbolic importance to the witching culture, derived from its key role in countless potion recipes. Besides, it looks pretty. The wolfsbane ends up mounted on the desk beside your bed.
Second thing's second. Is that even a phrase? Whatever. Not many folds away from the pocket containing the wolfsbane is one from which you pull five rolled-up posters. Three of them are abstract art, minimalistic splashes of colour you know fine well aren't to everyone's taste, but... something about the way you can look at them and detach your mind from reality entirely for a bit always helped you relax. Two go up in the main living quarters, while a third is pasted on the wall opposite the desk. The other two...
> Pull out your poster of the well-known wizard Garrett Valerion, bare-chested in this picture, and hang it up on your wall.
> Pull out your poster of Ferra Salvador, Miss Witch London 2016, and hang it up opposite the poster of Garrett. Hot people are hot and you don't discriminate.
Before you left home, you had a long mental debate over whether bringing these posters was worth it. Would you have the courage to hang them up? Given your flatmates, you've decided, yes, you do. Autumn doesn't feel like the sort to judge you for being, as you think the cool kids are saying these days, "horny on main". As for Abd, he'd be judgmental no matter what you did. So up go Garrett and Ferra, literal pin-ups half-heartedly concealed by the wolfsbane.
> Put your cinnamon air freshener by your bed. It's cat-shaped!
Cats have always been your favourite animals. Although, foxes are up there, too.
> Prepare your study table. You bought your school supplies before you entered,
There's already nice big study desks in this room and in the living room. You don't need a table. That said... you feel like you're forgetting something...
> Abd pulls out an iPod and begins listening to Burial
> In the process of pulling out the iPod, however, a photo falls out of his pocket
As you finish attaching the air freshener to the wall, you notice Abd leaving the living room and returning to the bedroom he had pointedly claimed earlier. Sitting on the bed with the door open, he slips on a pair of earbuds. You can make out vague hints of what he's listening to - clattering drums and warped, sinewy vocal lines
. Also noticeable from here - a photograph that came sliding out of his pocket as he was fetching his iPod. Abd is so lost in the sound, he doesn't even notice as you scoot over to take a look.
The photograph depicts two men, standing next to each other in front of a rugged hill lined with thin scrub foliage. One of the men looks like a regular human, grinning joyously as he moves to embrace the other. His companion is... human-shaped, but something about him is very blatantly off. His form is blurred, lined with unnaturally deep shadows, as if the photograph is rebelling against depicting him. All that can be made out clearly are his eyes, the same blazing yellow as Abd's, glowing like spotlights amidst the distortion. You can also make out a lot of Abd's facial features in the regular-looking guy, come to think of it.
He still hasn't noticed you. Abd must be one of those people who tunes out completely when he's got music playing. You leave the photograph just beside him on the bed and slink away.
> You packed a gaming system with a tiny TV. Set them up on the shelf.
Off to the living room you go, and the latest impossible item to be pulled from the depths of your cloak is a full-size gaming console with accompanying TV screen. It takes quite a lot of fiddling with wires and plugs, but soon enough, you have the console set up and turning on when you press the button. Now all you need are some games... which are somewhere in the cloak, but you can't be bothered to look. You've spent an inordinate amount of time trawling the pockets already, and you'd rather not spend much more.
> See what Autumn is decorating her area with. You bet it's bright.
As you return to your room to relax, there's Autumn, who up until this point had been in the kitchen, stuffing the fridge and cupboards with packages that struck you as being colourful in much the same way as a poisonous tree frog. Now, she's attaching a large poster to the wall, depicting an assortment of feral foxes with Day-Glo fur colours frolicking in a wood lit by rainbow will o' the wisps. It's cute and sweet as anything, but in larger doses this aesthetic would absolutely make you sick... so it's much like its owner, you wryly think to yourself.
"Oh hi Willow! Lemme just say I like your posters, I mean the colourful ones not, uh, those ones, wait hold on that probably sounds really judgy sorry I don't mean to come off that way it's just oh my gosh why is making the words do what you want so haaaard? I'm in college, I should know how to talk properly by now..."
As Autumn goes silent and sheepishly straightens the edges of the fox poster, her talk of words brings back the nagging sensation that you forgot something. You look over to your study desk, which seems strangely empty... books! Books, that's it. You reach for your cloak one more time, confident that you put all your books in the most immediately accessible pockets-
And there's nothing there.
> ...but you dropped some of your textbooks on the way to the dorm.
Fuck.
As Willow Garcia Hernández charges out of her dorm room in a blind panic, with Autumn Alderson staring after her in confusion, and Abd al-Majid Daou neither noticing nor giving a damn, something ethereal, too abstract even to be detected by magic, but present nonetheless, jolts from her body.
It lingers over the room, which is now frozen in the moment. Willow still holds potential. Maybe it'll just go back to her. But so do the other two. And everyone else.
It floats over Autumn and Abd. It drifts away, and now it hovers before a knight and a stoner, both watching as a creature somewhere between plant and reptile makes a damn fool of himself. It drifts further. The eternal battle between goth and prep rages on within this room, embodied in the fierce looks of disdain these two are giving each other... and there's also a parrot I guess.
It drifts out of the dorms entirely. In a small room, sat around a table, the Student Heads of House, friendly rivals with the emphasis on "friendly", are stalled in the midst of a lively debate on who got the best pick of the nine students sorted today. It drifts further. Assorted other students go about their day. Teachers prepare their curricula. The Mageball coach still has a broken ankle over in the medical bay.
Heimdal is a place of endless possibility. Why view them through only the one perspective?
Who do you wish to be, readers?
be nice to benjamin it's not his fault he got beat up by a microbe
the cake is an alternative fact
>Be Beatrice
she magnificent my bastard till i complete on her monster
Root of Star
Braids From S286 Not Included
> Be Autumn
"Rarity, are you okay? We gotta get you and your friends outta here soon!"
Ruler of Everything
>Be Willow
"I'm Mary Poppins, Y'all!" - Yondu,2017
Heya there! I'm West.
>Be Willow
If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. Toni Morrison
>Kick and Fight Back
"I'm Mary Poppins, Y'all!" - Yondu,2017