School of Hard Knocks and Tough Love

[arcadianvampire]

Class Time: May 28

[There was a certain foreboding in the air. Valvatorez had called a special assembly session of his class, taking up a much larger auditorium than his normal class would be seated in. He only wanted to give this lecture once. And boy, was he going to give one. Attendance was mandatory to anyone taking his classes, even unrelated to Daemon Defense, and even students outside of his class were encouraged to come. He'd only made one exception, stating that Toki did not have to come if he did not want to. The ordeal surrounding that was enough, and the lad probably needed time to recover himself. He was harsh and strict, but he did still care.

The auditorium dimmed down when Valvatorez came on stage, to a podium with a microphone. Today he as joined by Professor Atchison on stage as well, who likely was not a comforting sight for the student body. And he wasn't supposed to be.]

I expect all of your undivided attention. Anyone goofing off in this lecture or otherwise not paying attention will regret it. And I will allow Professor Atchison to assign punishments. Expect them to be... unpleasant.

[Just given the chilly tone in the professor's voice starting out, he hoped that would be enough to get everyone on the same page.]

Most of you have doubtlessly heard of the recent incident on campus regarding a certain individual who made a contact with and summoned a Daemon onto campus without authorization. And I am sure many of you have since learned, through rumor or not, that students "died" or were severely hurt in the ensuing chaos caused by those daemons. Fortunately, thanks to some quick working faculty members, the threat has been suitably eliminated. But the consequences of the summoning remain.

[The vampire narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping down to a deeper, more threatening tone.]

This is why I warn you. This is why I teach my class. This is why I am so adamant that you take what I have to say to heart. Why it matters that you know how best to defend yourselves, and that you do not summon daemons under any circumstances without faculty supervision and approval. They are not your friends. Their offers of power are shams, meant to serve their own benefit, not yours. No matter how good of a deal it may seem now, they will inevitably come to collect.

If they do not come for you, they will come for others. Daemons are not toys. They are not here for your amusement, and they definitely do not give a damn about whether or not you think you're cool or powerful for summoning one. I know that many of you already have contracts or contacts with various daemons already, and some of you might be considering it.

To the latter group: Know this. The faculty will be cracking down hard on unauthorized daemon summoning, contact, and contracting going forward. We gave the lot of you some slack, and it ended up with some of your peers dead. We are very fortunate their state of death was only temporary, and unique to the specific type of daemon summoned. Most people do not get second chances with life. Do not expect any of you to luck out if you dare try on your own. If you hear about anyone making preparations to make any unauthorized contact with daemons, you are encouraged and honor-bound to report it to faculty. Knowledge of such an incident and refusing to act on that makes you an accessory to it, should something catastrophic happen, and you can expect discipline to be meted out to you as well.

To those of you who are in the former group: I have brought Professor Atchison here today to give a speech about the importance of how to exploit your contract if you have already made one. Some of you might have already taken his course. If you have, consider this a refresher. If you have not, I highly recommend taking his class to arm yourself with the knowledge you need to fight back. Even if you do not have a contract or do not plan to have one, knowing how to "play the game" will serve to arm you in the event where you may be coerced. Listen to Professor Atchison. What he tells you could save more than your life.

Once he has finished, I will give a lecture about the daemons that were summoned, as well as safety protocols and procedure for how to handle potential daemons on the loose.

I am not so naive to believe that the lot of you will take this warning to heart. I will be watching, and if I catch any of you doing anything dangerous and unauthorized involving daemons, know that I will be very, very disappointed in you. And you do not want that to happen. Unless you are very interested in learning everything there is to know about sardines.

[With that, he'll allow Avery to take the stage and give his lecture, and after which, he will give a briefing about what he said he would, before opening up the room for questions and concerns.]

Office Hours

[After the class, Valvatorez returns to his office, just in time for appointed office hours. Anyone, student, or staff, is welcome to drop by. Despite his unending intensity at the assembly, Valvatorez seemed calmer and more approachable back in his office, and what time he has to himself while there he spends grading papers and enjoying a cup of fresh, black coffee.]

Closed to Puella

[Prior to the assembly, he had sent notice to Puella to meet him at his office after his office hours concluded, as he had something to give her and something to talk about with her.]

Comments

OTA

[trademark_skull]

[....He was woken up early for this of all things? Are you serious?]

[Emizel can't decide if he should be annoyed or find it hilarious that the school even had such a problem. Was this really the humans they were supposed to be training? Shouldn't this be the one ONE THING all of them knew by now?]

...If they really want to screw themselves that so badly I say just let them. It would make things easier for us later.

[arcadianvampire]

[Had what Emizel been thinking been voiced, an irritated Valvatorez would've agreed that it should be something everyone knew by now. But that's fine. It is what it is.

What he did say, he's not about to let go.]

Hmph. Prattling on again about daemonic superiority again, rascal?

[trademark_skull]

It's not superiority if they're really this dumb.

[alreadyhuman]

That's kinda mean to say.

People get really desperate sometimes! They just need help.

[ Says the kid who's made of daemonic spellwork. ]

[trademark_skull]

[What exactly are they teaching these people?] Getting help from a daemon is the exact opposite of help.

[subconmodo]

Well, well, well... What do we have here?

Someone sure seems to have a lot of confidence in themselves.

[trademark_skull]

[Oh no. Is a tiny daemon going to have to puff himself up even more?]

What about it?

Closed

[hattersgonnahat]

[Can't really think of anything she did recently that would warrant needing to go to Valvatorez's office, however since he had something to give, maybe she did nothing wrong at all. ...Either that or she did something worse than she thought.]

[Either way, Puella was here. She could already hear the daemonic, battery operated singing fish going off again to signify her presence.]

[arcadianvampire]

[The singing fish's gears grinded a bit, and the sound came out a little distorted, but its ability to detect motion was still spot on, and it made Valvatorez's eyes shoot up to the little girl. He actually gave her a welcoming smile, something actually pleasant, at that.]

Puella! Right on time. Thank you for coming. Come in, make yourself at home. How are you doing today?

[hattersgonnahat]

[Oh, if he's happy then it really can't be anything bad!]

Um, I been fine... [That 'incident' that happened about two weeks ago was not really something she liked talking about. Or really, spoken it to anyone besides Ekkehardt. In fact she would like to just pretend it never happened.]

[That and thankfully it was a bit overshadowed from the last mission, so that's good too.]

Class Time

[subconmodo]

[Where Val was grave and vaguely threatening, Avery seems mainly annoyed. And why shouldn't he be? All these students giving him more work to do, his lessons going in one ear and out the other... He actually has to get serious about this, and the sheer foolishness of it all is enough to give him a headache.

He walks up to the podium and eyes the mic, giving it a quick flick to make sure it's still working (he knows it is), sending a horrible screech of feedback echoing throughout the auditorium.]

Are you all awake now? Good. Keep your ears open.

You know, funny thing about most Daemons: they're not very professional. Professor Valvatorez here's an exception to the rule. See, unlike in my classes, most Daemons don't put [he pops both the "p" and "t"] their deals on paper. They tend to be verbal agreements, with the fine print being very, very, fine.

I can't prepare you for every eventuality. Some Daemons are more clever and experienced than others. And even if they're on the denser side, they might happen to catch you at a particularly vulnerable moment. Maybe even something they happened to engineer themselves.

It's why we spend so long looking over written contracts in my classes. It's why I hone your ability to find the cracks in a contract, to bend wording and lack of wording to your whim and have your contractor at. Your. Mercy.

[He pauses, taking a moment to look over the students in the auditorium impassively]

Of course, that means nothing if you're going to ignore me and get yourselves killed. In fact, it's a waste of MY time and YOUR souls. Two things which I am NOT about to let slide.

[He slams his hand onto the podium and leans forward. The shadows around him grow7 longer, his large, glowing eyes and unnaturally wide smile the only thing visible on his face. His voice is low, dark, threatening.]

So let's make sure the lesson is taught properly, shall we?

From now until you kids get yourselves under control, I'm getting rid of my "normal" exams. No more essays or red-lining or anything like that. Oh no... We're doing practicals only.

I'm curious to see how many of you fools think you can outwit me.

OTA

[alreadyhuman]

[ After both lectures are over, Vivi raises his hand. ]

The Outlands were different, so I was just wondering, um...

Is people summoning daemons a really big problem here? Not just right now, but historically?

[ Earth sure is weird, and he hasn't had much contact with humans before. So his question is entirely in earnest.

Just ignore the fact that he's kind of...very held together by daemonic spells, it's fine probably. ]

[arcadianvampire]

[Vivi was a strange feeling boy to the vampire, for certain, but he never paid any mind to it, and took his question seriously. His earnest nature and tone led Valvatorez to ease up his tone a bit, but kept himself professional and serious.]

It has been. Most humans know nothing of the Outlands, daemons, magic, and the like. But there are those with more ambition than sense that often try to summon daemons for their own gains. Historically, it has happened since mankind started practicing magic. Most of the time, the incidents are successfully contained or of limited target. We've been fortunate that worse has not happened than that so far.

And as most of humankind has little experience with encountering daemons, a particularly powerful one being let loose would pose significant danger to many innocent lives. That is why we take it so seriously, and why what happened is such a grave incident.

[OTA, during the whole speeches and lesson]

[strings_theory]

[She'd been curious, vaguely, with nothing better to do than to listen to all of this. She didn't have a contract, nor was she ever considering doing such a thing. Which might be exactly why she's leaning back in her chair and clicking her tongue. And not being very subtle about it at all.

Of course this is the same idiot that is letting her Familiar chill in the chair next to her for no real reason.]

Let's be real, you gotta be a real dipshit to actually think making a contract with a daemon is a good idea. But maybe that's just be using logic and I'm somehow not a complete fuckin' moron.

God, give me a fuckin' break, this school can't get any stupider than it already is. [She's absolutely not giving two shits if anyone hears her, at just a notch or two barely above her normal voice level.

Jolyne's not the brightest bulb in the box sometimes.]

[arcadianvampire]

[No, she is not.

In fact, Valvatorez not only heard her comment, but turned his piercing red eyes right to her.

Oh, he does not have time for this shit today, and it shows.]

While I appreciate the agreement that taking contracts for no reason is a foolish, stupid endeavor, bear in mind that most contracts are not proposed in a vacuum. It is rarely so simple.

And if you think this institution is stupid, one of the few places in the world actually teaching you how the world works beyond the blind perception of it that most humans are content to accept it as? Well, feel free to go look for another one that's less stupid. Because you won't find it.

Don't interrupt the lecture again, Ms. Jolyne. That's my only warning.

Classtime

[heromedal]

[ It finally happens.

Rex fucking falls asleep in class. He always sits at the back (so he doesn't get in anyone's way) and there's nothing to catch his interest because his paranoid ass has no intention of making any deals with anyone. This is why he makes his own underlings, thank you. A being in your service might change their mind or have a loose definition of service.

So unless someone jabs him (which is a real good way to get decked) Rex is just gonna... stay in his seat, sat up with arms crossed and head dropped. During class it had kinda looked like 'cool anime guy edgelord' but when everyone clears out.

It's clear he's just nodded off. ]

[arcadianvampire]

[What is it with the kids today? Normally he doesn't have to deal with so many students mouthing or slacking off. Or, if he does, it's generally easier to deal with because the tone was not so dire. He went to a lot of trouble to set this up, damn it.

So when he finds Rex snoozing, he's not inclined to be charitable. He won't lay a hand on him, but he will take a series of heavy, hardcover books and throw them on the desk beside his. The resulting, loud slam echoes through the auditorium and should be enough to wake the dead.

And Valvatorez is standing there. Glowering. He's very not happy. Hope you have something to say for yourself, Rex...]

office hours

[spelleton]

[ There's a polite knock on the door. He probably could have let himself in beforehand, but he felt like after today's assembly Valvatorez would benefit from having some time to himself. ]

Valvatorez. [ He still feels like using the daemon's name is too blunt, but to be frank he doesn't feel distanced enough from him any more to feel comfortable using just 'Professor' to address him. Of such tiny nuances are Ekkehardt's careful web of social navigations made. ]

Are you busy at the moment?

[arcadianvampire]

[Some time alone was appreciated, but... fortunately as draining as the day may have been, he was still more than willing and raring to do the duties expected of him. He was the sort of person to push through his own exhaustion and frustration to get the job done, and he rarely let it show through.]

Not busy enough to turn anyone away. Do come in, Ekkehardt.

class

[suddenlybees]

[ He should probably be here... Out of any other student in the entire school, Kano should probably be here. And he is, but not out of his own volition; he'd been escorted to class by a pair of guards who had to physically carry and haul him to the auditorium and dump him into one of the seats in the very back where they may stand guard behind him without obstructing the view for any other student.

Kano keeps his face carefully blank the entire time, neither engrossed nor clearly daydreaming as he stares at whoever is speaking at the time. ]

Ha... [ He mutters under his breath. No more demon summoning, no more essays... ] Sorry for always ruining the fun stuff for you guys~

[ Rails on the rooftop, anti-gravity around the dorm. This is why we can't have nice things. ]

Office Hours

[evangelclairvoyance]

[Christo was, of course, present for the lecture. And he had learned quite a bit from it.

For one: Daemons were every bit as cruel and vicious as he'd been taught, no matter how nice they tried to play.

For two: some of his colleagues had more common sense than these children. And that said quite a bit.

The fact that this school had to have a Daemon and... whatever that Atchison man was give a presentation was nothing short of embarrassing.

Nevertheless, when Christo approaches the door and knocks, he schools his expression into something friendly and welcoming. This is his perfect chance to get some more intel on the ex-Tyrant and see just how he'd like to put him into play.]

Professor Valvatorez? May I come in?

[arcadianvampire]

[Of course, some of those lessons he might've learned may have required additional context... but for now, Professor Valvatorez graded his papers as Christo knocked. He looked up, and then beckoned him closer with a wave of his hand.]

Yes, Christo, feel free. My door is always open. What can I do for you today?

[He does sound... more tired than he did earlier, though.]

Class Time

[yokeye]

[Toki isn't quite sure exactly why he was singled out as not having to attend this lecture. Did the faculty think he was that fragile? He had nothing to do with Kano's daemon summoning and the deaths of students; he did not die himself nor witness anyone else die. He'd only seen a building collapse and Héctor was fine. That incident itself still not even registering to him as part of the summoning fiasco.

Is he missing something? Did he just black out and completely forget some involvement in the whole thing? It is possible, but he's very confused until Vavatorez gets to the part about knowledge of an impending incident making someone an accessory. So they are blaming him for this too; that's what he gets out of it.]

What if you knew about preparations, and told people, but you told the wrong people!? People who didn't believe you, or who weren't in a high enough place of authority, or you were a little indirect about it because those you did tell were dismissive about it and insistent you were wrong!? Are you still responsible!?

[He felt so guilty after he found out Adelaide and the others died. Guilty that he didn't try hard enough to stop Kano.]

[arcadianvampire]

[...So he did come. Part of him wasn't surprised, but another part of him had hoped he would've just taken the day off for his own mental health.

Valvatorez kept his face impassive while Toki spoke, and he let him get it out before he answered.]

That effort you mentioned would be sufficient to prove someone was not responsible, Mr. Rikugou. Though going forward, reporting it to an instructor or at least an RA would prove to be more effective. Given the circumstances, we are ensuring that any concerns brought to them will be taken seriously so something like that will not happen again.

There is a difference between making a mistake and committing gross negligence.

[This... was going to be a long day. It already had been one. And it just felt like it was getting longer every minute.]

Class | OTA

[hippocarnival]

[The longer the lecture goes on, the more Yuya squirms uncomfortably in his sleep. He wasn't thinking about making any contracts or contacting daemons, but recent events have made him even more on edge about his own weird circumstances. Circumstances he doesn't really want to be in trouble for, or worse.

By the time Avery starts talking, Yuya's gone to sinking further and further in his seat until he's barely peeking over the desk with a compromised expression. Everyone's going to be even more alarmed about anything daemonic, aren't they? Great.]