Card StatsVignette
What a Load of Garbage (Part One)
Main Street
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Oh, someone's messaging me on Magicam. Whoa, look who it is! Man, it's been forever. Step one: make the school Halloween event go viral through the ghosts at Ramshackle Dorm. Step two: post THE megathread about it on my Magicam account. Step three: profit with a major bump in followers! And that's all been well and good. |
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Thing is, with so many new followers, my notifications are blowing up hard with replies and DMs from old IRL acquaintances. And when I say "old," I mean, like, elementary school old. I just go with the flow and reply with stuff like "Hey, long time no see! Wanna come visit the school? You're always welcome!" And "Come check how NRC does Halloween! You won't regret it!" Or at least, emoji that convey those sentiments. |
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All their messages are so light and casual! But eh, at least I don't have to put much effort into replying. |
??? |
STEP ASIDE!!! |
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Yikes. That was almost loud enough to get my ears ringing. I've got a bad feeling about this. |
Front Gate
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I will not allow you to crowd Malleus! Disperse at once! |
Man A |
Hey, what's the big idea, Swept-back? We're tryin' to do the Draconia Challenge. Don't get in our way! |
Man B |
Once I upload a pic of me touching Malleus, the world's gonna know me for the fearless hero that I am! |
Man A |
Wait, where'd he go?! Rrrgh... This is all your fault, Swept-back! |
Man B |
Seriously. Lighten up, man. No point sweeping your hair outta your face if you're gonna make people stare at a glowerin' mug all day! |
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How dare you use the name of Briar Valley's honorable prince in your foolish games! And I'll have you know that I sweep back my hair so that I can have a clear view to find miscreants like you! You will pay for mocking the house of Draconia— for mocking Malleus. My lightning will reduce you to ash! Haaaaah— |
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Aaand stop! Heyo, Halloween management committee member here. Fighting is strictly forbidden. Wanna give me a quick recap on the sitch here, guys? |
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Do not interfere, you strangely dressed person! I'll fry you along with them! |
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Uh, but don't you think you'd cause a huge scandal for house Draconia if you hurt regular people with your magic? |
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Rrrgh... A fair point. And did you say you were a member of the Halloween management committee? Then you must be undertaking the same duties as Malleus and Lilia. They ordered me to obey the other committee members, so... Fine. I will speak with you. |
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Okay, I'll go ahead and interpret your crossed arms and puffed out chest as an apology for threatening to kill me... Anyway, these people here are our guests. I doubt they meant any harm to Malleus. |
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Yes, but these magicless peons were treating Malleus like a mere plaything. I will not abide such grave discourtesy! |
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They're only doing that because he's super famous and everyone looks up to him, though. Why not let him mingle with his fans a little, at least during this event? |
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Ridiculous. A man of his stature should command fear and respect. And that is why I spend every waking moment at his side, to ensure that he comes to no harm! |
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Wow. Talk about dedicated! |
Man A |
Hey, what're you two goin' on about? You're getting in the way of our Draconia Challenge. |
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You're still here? I told you to disperse. |
Man B |
I don't think a student has any right to talk to us like that! |
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Okay, let's all just calm down. It's Halloween! Why not snap a pic with me? Heartslabyul's costumes are designed after creatures of the night that rise from their graves. It's a preeetty good photo op, I'd say. |
Man A |
Wow! Now that you mention it, you do look ridiculously cool! |
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That settles it! Come on and huddle in! We're all friends here, right? Now, strike a pose, and... |
| Happy Halloween! |
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(Exhausting. Utterly exhausting.) |
What a Load of Garbage (Part Two)
Classroom
| Uuugh... Sooo tiiired… |
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This year's Halloween is something else. These guests need to learn how to settle down. |
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I like entertaining them, but I don't want Jamil to get in a sour mood. |
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We're the top three low-key guys at school, so if even WE'RE worn out, the other students must be at their limits. |
| *Siiigh* |
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Well, hey, as long as we've got all the members of the Pop Music Club on the Halloween management committee... May as well get some club time in and do our usual tea party as we discuss our options. |
| Hear! Hear! |
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I'll start us off with some of Trey's pumpkin pie! Trust me, it's to DIE for. |
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I've got some kanafeh. It's like Scalding Sands style cheesecake. Make sure to eat it while it's hot! |
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Very nice. Sweet treats are perfect for Halloween. Last but not least, I brought this. Licorice! |
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That's what you always bring! You know Kalim and I can't stand the stuff. |
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The smell alone is enough to clear out your sinuses. Eugh. |
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But I guess black DOES fit in with the Halloween theme. Speaking of which, let's take a group pic. We got a great combo here between our costumes and all these sweets. Okay... Happy Halloween! Hashtags #BestHalloweenEver #HandmadeCostumes #HandmadeTreats #PopMusicClub #NRCHalloween |
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"Best Halloween ever?" I thought you were totally drained a second ago. |
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It's not like I'm not having fun, though. Plus, it's better to be upbeat on social media. |
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Good thinking, Cater. In this day and age, the entire world is connected through social media. It's better to spread joy than hate. |
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Whoa, looks like our pic's a hit! Oh, hey, another message from that old acquaintance of mine. I don't remember them being so, uh, Online. And now they're calling. Wow, they're persistent. |
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So that's a friend of yours, Cater? You can step out for a bit if you want. |
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Mm, more of an acquaintance from forever ago. But it's cool. We're in the middle of an important meeting right now. |
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You say that, but all we're doing is snacking and uploading photos on Magicam. |
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It's the social media age, where we connect at our own pace! If I had to communicate with my peeps over voice, I wouldn't get anything done. |
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You seriously get messages from that many people? You must be really popular! |
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I guess I have a wide circle of contacts, sure. My dad works at a bank that has branches all around the world. So every time he was transferred to a new office, the whole family went with him. We moved about once every two years. I'm a real pro at packing by now, lemme tell you. |
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Ah. The perpetual transfer student. |
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You've traveled the world since you were a little kid? No wonder you have so many friends. |
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More or less. Hence the call I just got. When you keep transferring from school to school in a short period of time, you meet a lot more people than if you just stayed in one place. Like, a ton more. For better or for worse. But for all the people I met, one thing never changed. |
| What's that? |
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I would always leave, and they would always stay. That's why I always tried to be on good terms with everyone, rather than forge strong bonds with a chosen few. Like a circus performer who has a grand old time with people from around the world, and then packs up and moves on. In that sense, Magicam's been seriously great because I can get messages from people I knew at school three years ago. I can have all the casual connections I can handle. And that's just my speed, right? |
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I don't think distance is any reason to keep them at arm's length. Oh, I've got it! I'll lend you my magic carpet. Then you can go see your friends anytime! |
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Uh... Thanks, Kalim. That'd be great. |
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I understand how you feel. |
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You do? |
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Bonds between people never truly fade. They continue on throughout our lives. And in time, new ties are forged, even without any intention on your part. That's how life is. But the more precious a bond is, the more pain it can inflict. Why do you think that is? As long as I've lived, I still haven't found the answer. In deciding not to get too close to any one person, you may be the wisest one here, Cater. |
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Uh, where'd that come from? I just meant that— |
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Hello, this is Lilia. What do you need? |
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I'm surprised he can answer the phone so quickly in the middle of a conversation... |
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Ah, Sebek. What's the matter? Shh, shh, inside voices. I'm in the middle of a meeting with Cater and Kalim right now— What did you say?! Malleus has WHAT?! |
| Whoa! |
What a Load of Garbage (Part Three)
Hall of Mirrors
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Stop pushing. Entrance into the Hall of Mirrors is forbidden. |
Man A |
Awww, c'mon! We came all this way to Sage's Island just to see Malleus Draconia. |
Man B |
Yeah, we're doin' the Draconia Challenge! Throw us a bone here. |
Woman C |
We know you have him in there— Malleus Draconia in the flesh! |
Visitors |
Malleus! Malleus! Malleus! |
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This was simply supposed to be an event where Malleus could make an appearance in front of our guests. But things have gone...awry, to say the least. You all need to get away from here for your own safety. The man you seek is furious right now. |
Man A |
We paid a lot of money to come all the way out here. You ever heard of a little somethin' called the price of fame? |
Visitors |
Bring him out! Bring him out! Bring him out! |
Exterior Hallway
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So the visitors who were gunning for Magicam selfies ended up getting on Malleus's nerves? |
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Right. At first, he was the one trying to assuage MY anger, but then... Some fool grabbed his horns and tried to do some ridiculous impression. All the while yelling, "Hey, look! It's an old-fashioned bike!" |
| Urk! |
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I'm not sure whether to call that fearless or just plain deranged. So the dark clouds and flashes of lightning above the Hall of Mirrors are being caused by Malleus's magic hurtling out of control? He's not gonna overblot on us, is he?! |
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Rest assured. He would never overblot over such a tiny degree of magical consumption. He's only lost his temper. He often broke boulders with his lightning bolts when he threw tantrums as a child, too. |
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Ha ha... Ha... He seriously is on a whole other level. Good thing we had Kalim run to get a professor. |
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Vil noticed the change in Malleus's mood and escorted him away. He's currently maintaining a defensive spell to ensure nobody comes to harm. And Jade is apparently employing some of his own unique methods to try and convince Malleus to return to his senses. But those foolish humans have no idea how much danger they're in and only continue to make the matter worse. |
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Then we aren't left with many other options. In order to avoid the worst-case scenario, we'll have to force the onlookers to leave. |
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Hold up, Lilia. I've got an idea. It's not as if these people hate Malleus. Which isn't to say that they like him, either… It's ultimately about chasing a trend. Just like my old acquaintances. |
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Hm? |
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First, we need to snap a pic of you in your costume that looks exactly like Malleus's. Then we work some influencer magic. We use a photo editing app to stretch the pic vertically. And finally, we add some text and upload part of the pic on Magicam! Hashtags #FoundMalleus #DraconiaChallenge #AthleticsField #NRCHalloween |
Man A |
Hey! Look at the Draconia Challenge tag. |
Man B |
It says he's at the athletics field right now. Should've expected that he'd be too fast for us! |
Woman C |
C'mon, everyone, we gotta move! |
Visitors |
Yeaaah! |
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What's going on? Malleus should still be within the Hall of Mirrors. |
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Phew. Has the storm passed? |
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Honestly. Incidents are to be expected on stage. You can't let the audience get you so worked up. Amateur. Well, I'm going back to my dorm to freshen up. |
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That was an incredibly close call. Malleus's power isn't to be underestimated. I had hoped to have a good talk with him eye-to- eye, but he was entirely unapproachable. I'm going to return to my post now, too. Have a good Halloween, everyone. |
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To think I almost caused an interspecies conflict over a mere school event... I need to get better control over my emotions. |
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You do not carry even one sliver of blame, sir! It was those vulgar humans who were at fault. |
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Malleus has said that he wants to avoid any sort of interspecies hostility. How is he supposed to do that when you express wanton hatred of humans? |
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Try saying that again, Silver!!! |
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Have you forgotten the promise you made when you were little, Malleus? You're supposed to call on us when you are distraught. We may not be related by blood, but we ARE family. Right? |
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I'm sorry, Lilia. And I apologize to the rest of you as well. |
| ...... |
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Family, huh...? |
FLASHBACK START
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I understand how you feel. In deciding not to get too close to any one person, you may be the wisest one here, Cater. |
FLASHBACK END
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(What a load of garbage.) (Lilia's developed cherished relationships while living in the same place his whole life.) (There's no way he could ever understand how helpless I feel.) |
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Heyo, Trey. What's up? Huh? Wait, the nighttime rehearsal for our stamp tour's happening right now? And Deuce was at his wits' end because there weren't enough people, so Ace jumped in to help? Ugh, he's probably just trying to do me a "favor" so he can get leverage over me! Urk! And Riddle's about to explode, too? I'll be right there, so try to calm him down in the meantime, Trey. I just got done dealing with the worst crisis of the entire week!No joke! It was really bad. So don't be like that, okay? Awww, you're so mean, Trey! |
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Well, now that Diasomnia's mess is over, I guess it's time for the next one. Like always, we'll all probably go our separate ways in four years. Well, maybe not if someone has to repeat a year… But anyway, that's why we've gotta enjoy the moment! I'm gonna dress up like a skeleton and scare the pants off everyone. Maybe even their socks, too! They'll see just how scary I can be. |
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Happy Halloween! |
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