Card StatsVignette
Grk! (Part One)
Laboratory
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Uh-oh. Break time's almost up. Quick, gotta find an empty seat… Heyyy, Vil and Lilia! Mind if I sit here? |
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Ah, hello, Cater. I didn't know you were taking this class. |
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Can't say I expected you to choose Poison Refining for an elective. |
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Yeah? Well, I mean, the other option sounded super mind-numbing. |
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Abbreviated Spellcasting in Ancient and Modern Magic: Changes and Comparisons, right? |
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Yeah, that one! I hear all you do in that class is draw up chronological tables and write reports. Barf. I'd rather post a pic without a filter! It's not like poison refining's exactly glamorous itself. Heck, it even sounds dangerous. But hey. |
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"It can't be worse than the alternative!" That's the idea, I take it. I chose this class for similar reasons, as a matter of fact. |
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Wow, for real? We're already Pop Music Club buddies, so I guess it makes sense that we're on the same page! |
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That will be quite enough yapping from you pups. It's class time now. |
Everyone |
Yessir! |
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We'll start with mandrake cultivation. Mandrake seedlings grow quickly when infused with magic. The quality of one's breeding stock will affect the quality of poison made from it, so I advise you to be quite careful when infusing magic. Now, you are to grow the seedlings on your desk until they reach an appropriate component size. Let the lab exercise begin! |
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Okay, let's infuse these bad boys... Whoa, the leaves and roots are growing fast! I'll have a healthy little mandrake-buddy in no time. Might even name him! I'm thinking #Mandy. |
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Interesting. Your mandrake has bigger leaves than mine, Cater. |
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Hey, you're right. What's yours look like, Vil? Oh dang, the leaves and roots are all glossy as heck! |
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Now that you mention it... The mandrakes I saw in my old travels differed in shape and nature based on the soil they were grown in. |
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It's a common piece of agricultural wisdom that different farmers can bring out different coloring in vegetables. |
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So, like, when people grow mandrakes directly... They reflect the qualities of whoever infused magic into 'em? That's rad! We should go hard on the infusin' and make mandrakes that are totally on-brand for us! If we get one that does goofy poses, we could TOTES go viral on Magicam. |
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That sounds fun, actually—not that I'd even want to go viral on Magicam over mandrakes. |
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For reals? I know this was my idea and all, but I figured you'd turn your nose up at it. No offense, Vil. |
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We're speaking of breathing life into a creation that exemplifies the creator's personal panache. Gracing this world with my work—my ART? Of course that intrigues me. |
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Count me in, too. When you do something, it's important to have fun with it. |
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Sweet deal. Okay, let's all compare once we're done growing our mandrakes! Ooh, I can't wait to see how this turns out! ♪ |
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...And done. How do you like my mandrake? |
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Yooo! It's so chic and tall—uh, I mean, long? If a veggie could be a supermodel, this'd be it! And it keeps striking cool poses on beat! This thing is crazy photogenic! |
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That's a form of dance called voguing. Maybe it's because I was doing a photoshoot for a magazine yesterday and felt inspired. |
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Tens, tens, tens across the board! That does it, Vil—I'm SO into voguing right now. Your style has rubbed off on your mandrake! |
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Heh heh heh. Mine's finished too. |
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Oh dang, your mandrake's busting some WILD moves! |
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It's making jerky arm movements. Why, that's popping, isn't it? Quite a spirited little thing. |
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Mandrakes scream when you pick 'em, so I had 'em pegged with a pretty grim vibe, but... Yours totally defies convention, Lilia! It's just groovin' over there, huh? ♪ |
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Khee hee. I'd call this a smashing success myself. Who knew mandrakes could grow this way? What fun. |
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You guys are hard acts to follow, but I'm gonna serve mine up in style! Okay, focus... Imagine what the mandrake looks like fully grown... Infuse your magic, and... ...Voilà! |
Grk! (Part Two)
Laboratory
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Okay, focus... Imagine what the mandrake looks like fully grown... Infuse your magic, and… ...Voilà! |
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Well, I'll be. An ultra-pink mandrake with big, round eyes. |
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I never knew your tastes trended so feminine, Cater. |
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But they don't! See, I've got two big sisters back home. In the Diamond household, everything's judged by one simple question: "But is it cute?" Day in and day out, no matter what I did, if it wasn't cute, it didn't cut the mustard! Drawings, handicrafts, store-bought sweets, you name it! So I guess I've got "make it cute" burned into my brain as a first instinct. Okay, hold on. I'ma make my next one badical. ...Bam! |
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Oho. This one's got a deep crimson coloration with a card pattern. Quite the bold design. |
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It almost looks like it's holding a guitar. Yes, this is quite...badical. We could pass it off as a Pop Music Club member. |
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Aw, thanks! You guys are all right! I've got the hang of this now. I'ma make mandrakes the hottest trend on social media! One more time. Focus, and... Ka-blam! |
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Oh, dear... This mandrake's hugging its knees and huddling in place. |
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That one came out a tad gloomy. |
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Uh, how'd that happen? |
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Say, Lilia. We just established that a mandrake's grown form reflects the qualities of the person who infused magic into it, correct? |
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Indeed. Perhaps Cater's sunny disposition belies a morose side that the rest of us never see. |
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WHAT? Come on, you guys, you're reading too much into this! I just messed up the infusion, that's all! |
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Why, Cater! Methinks you doth protest too much. Perhaps this IS an aspect of— |
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It's not! It's totally not! You're just messin' with me, right, Lilia? Now the REAL Cay-Cay experience begins! |
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Phew... That's three mandrakes done for me. |
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Likewise. That should be plenty for our poison refining components. How are things on your end, Cater? |
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Ta-dah! Gentlemen, behold: Cay-Cay's deluxe mandrakes! |
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That's three, all right. A skipping one, a flashy bright-red one... And one rolling on the table laughing. They're all quite jovial. |
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IKR? |
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Wait, you've only got three? I saw you making far more than that. |
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Grk! Dunno where you got that idea, Vil. These three are it. Yup. Totally. |
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Uh-huh. Whatever you say, I suppose. |
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A-anyway, time to snap some pics of these bad boys for Magicam! Oh man, these little guys are on FIRE! I'ma keep going until I get the best possible shot! |
| ...Erk. |
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So, what kinda pics do you guys want for yours? |
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...Cater Diamond. |
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!! |
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In my eyes, you looked like an untrained dog barking up a storm just now. What do you have to say for yourself? |
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Uh, aha ha ha... Sorry, sir. But it's not like I was doin' it alone or— |
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Professor Crewel is right. You should take class more seriously, Cater. |
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Agreed. It wouldn't do at all for a student to neglect the very thing they're in school for: learning. |
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Hey, no fair! You can't pretend you weren't a part of this! Now I look like some kinda misfit! You've got it all wrong, Teach. I just, uh, got a little overhyped during the experiment discussion. See, have a look! I was experimenting so hard, I grew six whole mandrakes! That should be plenty for poison components, right? |
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I'll grant that this doesn't appear to be a simple case of ignoring the assignment. However... Do NOT let me hear another useless yap out of you. Do I make myself clear? |
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Yessir! I'll be more careful, sir! Vil! Lilia! Dudes, you totally left me out to dry there. That was messed up. |
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You are the one who started it. |
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Mm-hm. The key to being a good performer is knowing when to leave the stage. |
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That's not helping! |
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Phew. It's about time class let out. Now to get my mind AND my pics trending upward! |
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Did you decide which mandrake you'll be posting yet? |
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Hmm. The stylish one and the cheery one are cool and all, but... I gotta go with #Mandy here. |
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Ah, the mandrake that's been laughing nonstop this whole time. |
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It just doesn't say Cay-Cay if it's not happy enough to lift people's spirits, y'know? Smize for the camera, #Mandy! Hold that pose for juuust a sec, and... Say cheese! |
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