fandomhigh | Defending Yourself Against Magic

"Well, glad to see you all back again." Bob eyed the students in appraisal. "This is probably one of the more useful classes you'll actually have here, for your time on the island if not at home, so please pay attention."

"There are many different types of magic, even in just my world. There are a lot more I've learned of since coming here. There are probably even more that none of us have ever heard of. It would be useless to attempt to cover them all. However, just about all of them do have a few things in common."

He wrote in the air (backwards to himself, so they could read it). Materials. "Many types, including some spellcasting and all enchantment, require some sort of material. This can be anything from animal to vegetable to mineral, any many things in between." He underlined the word. "Sometimes you can make substitutions, but there are usually certain requirements to what you use. We'll go further into that later."

He wrote again. Focus. "The materials can also be the focus, or it may be something separate. The focus is an item to help the person performing the magic to concentrate their will. A staff, a wand, a crystal - what it is is generally less important than what it represents to the one using it. Again, we'll cover more later. For now, just know that you can almost always do without one, but the level of difficulty may increase exponentially."

One last word in the air. Will. "You might think this would go without saying, but unless you've got an artifact of some sort that's been previously enchanted, when dealing with magic, someone or something has to be doing it. Call them a wizard, sorcerer, mage, magic-user, whatever you like. This item," he circled the word in the air, "is non-negotiable. It's the only thing that is."

He stepped around that word, eyeing it, and looked back at them with his arms crossed. "This means that when defending yourself against active magic, the surest way to do so is to destroy the one responsible. It may not always be the best way - you risk a last bit of magical explosion, you may be morally opposed to killing - but it would be remiss of me not to mention it." He lightened up just a bit. "Of course, killing them isn't the only way to destroy this component. You could knock them out, or distract them, or find a way to make doing whatever it is they're doing less attractive to them. Blackmail sometimes works."

Hey, Bob told it like it was.

"Mind you, it can be a bit more complicated, but it often isn't. So!" He clapped his hands together and gave them all a huge grin. "Brainstorming time! You've got a sorcerer doing very nasty things."

Look, there he was! Looking like Warden Morgan, because Bob wouldn't much mind seeing him beat up if it came to that. And, with the help of both the Danger Shop and Bob's illusions, looking very upset and throwing bolts around that narrowly missed everyone.

Once everyone had managed to duck and cover, Bob paused it mid-strike and grinned. "How do you intend to stop him?"

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Carefully!

Discuss, argue, or just boggle at the writing!

By any means necessary!

He's here!

Once she pings in!

Lord help Bob.

G'night, everybody!

Mabel Pines

Sorry, Bob. You hadn't said no, and now you were stuck with a very enthusiastic minion.

... There had to be worse fates, right? Maybe?

Yeah, Mabel had gone up against some pretty scary little ol' magical beings before, and she was still here and alive and well, and could see bits and pieces of what Bob was saying when she looked back at what had gone on back in Gravity Falls.

So she was nodding her sage agreement as he talked, and taking notes. In purple glitter pen. In a technicolor space kitty notebook.

Any means necessary, huh? Mabel dodged an incoming bolt before waving her arms around a little.

"Hey! Heeey! Didn't anybody ever tell you that attacking people you don't even know is rude?"

Ada Miller

Alana

"Can I have a gun?" Alana asked no one in particular as she glanced out from behind cover. "Because if I can, this fight is going to be a whole lot shorter."

Frank Doyle

Frank mixed a margarita, which was the item he was going to focus his power into for a few minutes. He was also listening.

Frank slid a glass across the floor to the sorcerer. In the glass was a drink that had a high enough alcohol content that a stray blast could lead to a bigger blast. Or drinking it might lead to a good time had by all!

On the glass was a note from Frank.

Dear Sorcerer (I didn't catch your name),

Please enjoy a drink, courtesy of Frank Doyle. If you would like to consider the drink as a trade for either not trying to blast at least me (and perhaps my classmates), it would be appreciated! If, however, you drink that margarita that I worked so hard to make and don't return my kindness, I trust that by the time you've finished this note, somebody will have punched you in the face. I hope I timed this well.

...

No? A shame. Should you not even take the time to read this and instead blow the glass, drink, and note up all in one go, you will never know that I tried to warn you about the fact that I took your blast as an opportunity to throw a shot glass at your face. You may be wondering why I would sacrifice glassware. That should be obvious. One shot is never enough!

Which is why I then threw a second glass at your face.

Yours in friendship, or more likely in bitter contention, but the choice is yours,
Frank Doyle

Merrill

Well...at least she was paying attention and note-taking. Bob would just try to ignore the technicolor space kitty.

That defence...would probably fly better with Hannibal. Bob just facepalmed. And the sorcerer targeted the visible hand-waving girl.

Bob blinked, shrugged, and adjusted the scenario - a pistol appeared next to Alana.

Bob...oh, never mind. At least the boy was paying attention.

... Whelp. That was a bad plan.

"Bad plan! Bad plan!" See? Mabel turned around and took off in the direction that there weren't magic bolts coming from, and then, because she wasn't magical herself and didn't really have any weapons to her name, pulled the next best thing out of her... pocket?

Best not to think about that one.

"EAT GRAPPLING HOOK, MEANIE."

And then she was firing it, pthooooo, toward that long coat of his. Maybe she could yank him off balance?

That was certainly an interesting choice of defences.

The sorcerer glanced at the drink long enough to make sure it wasn't a bomb or something, then obliterated it with a burst of magic. The first thrown shot glass glanced off his head, and the second hit him right on the temple, distracting him for a moment.

Which only briefly stopped the blasts, and then a few more were coming right back in Frank's direction.

The sorcerer dodged the incoming grappling hook, but now he had to either retreat or be restricted from moving right past the line attached to it. So...partial success?

The grappling hook, meanwhile, snagged on something across the room, and Mabel considered this for a moment before running to the side, still holding the hook. How would he like to be chased by that line, now, huh? Because Mabel was pretty sure that literally running circles around this guy was a sound life choice.

And how would Mabel like to be chased by repeated blasts of magic, both behind and in front of her? It might be difficult for him to hit the line, but she was a much bigger target.

Mabel would NOT like that! But it was giving her a whole lot of incentive to keep running! And dodging. Running and dodging. And hanging on to her grappling hook for dear life. Since it was kiiiind of her only weapon, she wasn't about to let go of it.

"Why..." Huff. "Are you..." Pant pant. "So..." Wheeze. "ANGRY?"

Grappling hook aside.

"I don't like you!" The sorcerer yelled back, along with a blast that would bowl Mabel over if it hit.

Defending Yourself Against Magic | Friday, period 2

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