Liberta Duel Academy is a Yu-Gi-Oh! roleplay site set in an Alternate Universe (AU) version of the original series of Yu-Gi-Oh!, set roughly 50 years after the end of the Dark Side of Dimensions movie. Liberta Duel Academy is set in the city of Silvershine located in a fictional small country known as Silva, somewhere along the western coastside of Europe.
September through October 20X1 - Welcome, Class of 20X4!
The new school year at Liberta Duel Academy is here! Students - new and returning - are adjusting to their school life and getting themselves settled in. The entrance ceremony presented the principal's address, spoke of Dorm Rankings, and introduced the Student Council. Alongside the standard Master Duels, the experimental "Specialty Duels" were announced to those new to the academy. So unpack; duel a fellow or two; explore the academy and the city of Silvershine! Action; adventure; slice of life; it's up to you! How will you have yours unfold?
"We're never going to get anything done at this rate if we keep going in circles with this debate. I thought we'd all be on the same page when it came to helping clubs and providing for the student body..." the student council president stated with a frustrated sigh, closing her eyes and resting her hands on her hips in a standing position at her seat at the table. Seiko wasn't the type to snap at people: instead, her anger was a slow-burning smolder that lingered until she moved on from whatever was at hand. "...But it seems that there's a difference in opinion right down the middle on this matter. I request that this meeting be adjourned, and the council's decision be postponed another day as we discuss the Drama Club's request for subsidy in their showcase. Thank you all for your hard work this afternoon: you are dismissed for today. We'll resume this discussion first thing after class tomorrow." she stated with a firm nod towards the secretary as several councilmembers and affairs officers began packing up their things.
The tension in the student council room was thicker than concrete at times, but as of late this current matter took the cake. Seiko herself was approached by the Drama Club's president asking for financial support hosting a free performance event for students: she was in favor of providing it given that it would be considered a service to the student body to have free entertainment, but others had different opinions. Whether it was questioning the advertising nature of this event or simply deeming it not worth the council's time to financially assist, she found it bothersome how stubborn some could be regarding their reasons no matter how sound the logic was. The second year gently pushed up her thin-frame glasses by the rim and sighed, sitting back down in her seat before taking a small sip of the thermos sitting next to the paperwork in front of her. The faint hint of watered-down Americano pursed her lips, and a small twinge of energy rushed through her body. (And here I thought this packet would have convinced them that this is the right choice. Our financial records show we can definitely support it and enforce that they don't profit from this event! So how is it that no one understands that-)
(...Actually, that explains exactly why.) she quietly tightened her left fist as she leered over at the girl who came to mind first. The two were on respect-level terms, but the strained kind. Where one would stray right, the other would break left. When one ordered retreat, the other led a charge. And when Seiko was in a position without ultimate jurisdiction- not that she would want it anyways- it was always her that fueled the back-and-forth filibuster. She bided her time patiently, knowing that her rival knew her all too well to leave early when they had some discussion to do after all other club members have left...
"Reina, what was that for? Have you got something against the Drama Club? Because you've never said anything about it before this, and with the way you got everyone riled up, it's impossible to know who's saying what at times! We only have a week until the Drama Club wants to host this event, and they've said they can't afford it on their own!"
Reina Legionnaire was easily Seiko Suzuki's biggest adversary, and not just in council duties. Seiko herself did declare herself a rival in this relationship, but at times that healthy spirt of competition does get the better of her. It would be a lie to say that Seiko didn't appreciate her frenemy's valuable input, but in moments like these, it rubbed her the wrong way. Winning the election against her was just the first trial, but surviving with her as the Vice President would be infinitely more taxing on the nerves at times.
Post by Reina Legionnaire on Sept 10, 2021 1:53:46 GMT
Every time there was a student council meeting Little Miss Four Eyes would come up with some stupid idea. She would end her proposal with a simple "any questions", and as soon as Reina raised her hand the audience would groan and begin packing up their bags. Reina couldn't help it. She was asked her opinion. Why should people be offended when she literally did exactly what they asked of her?
Today was no different as it seemed a proposal had landed it's way on the President's desk towards a performance event for all students. The drama club had managed to get a verbal agreement with the owner of local warehouse to host the venue, however the offer would be off the table if they couldn't secure the funds by tomorrow afternoon.
"I have nothing personally against any of the dramatic arts, or any of the so-called actors that make up the drama club." as she said the word 'actors', her mind began to drift towards thoughts of her sister, Bellevue Legionnaire. Her sister was a girl deemed beautiful beyond compare. She had poise, elegance, and even at a young age had already landed multiple television and film roles. She grimaced, then continued on with her speech. "Personally I find everyone of those groups equally inferior to myself."
She stood now, reaching into her bag and pulling out her Duel Disk. In a quick motion she strapped it onto her arm, but she didn't seem to be in the mood to duel. "Just in case you were asleep during my previous diatribe, let me dumb it down so even a simpleton like you can follow along."
Reina pointed towards the school flag behind her, emblazoned with the school's insignia. "This is a Duel Academy, right?"
Reina raised her right arm and motioned towards her Duel Disk. "And this is a Duel Disk, right?"
She reached into her bag and pulled out a pile of cards, her commons and tradeables. She held them in her left hand and then, curiously, she began 'dealing' them out. With her right hand, she quickly swiped her cards forward, launching them a bit and having them fall unceremoniously onto the floor with no one to catch them. "And those are Duel Monster cards, right?"
Now standing over a pile of fallen Duel Monster cards on the floor she felt she had made her point. "This is a Duel Academy! Not a Drama School! Drama has no place here!" she yelled dramatically.
"If students wanna go out and become actors they can go join..." Her mind once again began to drift towards her sister Bellevue. "They can go join Barrester's Drama Academy. And they can go pay 1849 a semester for classes on elocution and public speaking and pronunciation and poise and posture and stage presence and they can get glamorous headshots and put on performances for agents at the April 3rd Drama Extravaganza!"
She scoffed as she bent over and began to pick up her cards. "I think I've made my point succinctly enough."
As much as Seiko made it a point to try and be courteous, at this point she felt she had known Reina long enough to fire back when she's being difficult. Her technical elevated position of power made that easier. "Reina, if I put you in a room with an exact clone of yourself, you two would spend hours trying to prove that you're superior to the other. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't name a single organization on campus that you haven't made a remark about being better than," she shot back with a sarcastic eye roll, resting her chin in her hand. When Seiko decided to try and accost her "friend", she never held malice... But it wasn't exactly always kindness, sunshine, and roses waiting behind her words. She crossed her legs with a small wince as the vice president took a jab at her borderline narcoleptic tendencies.
"It sounds to me like you'll just be talking the same as you usually do when you get your turn on the soapbox... But fine. 'Dumb it down' for me, Reina."
"If students wanna go out and become actors they can go join... They can go join Barrester's Drama Academy. And they can go pay 1849 a semester for classes on elocution and public speaking and pronunciation and poise and posture and stage presence and they can get glamorous headshots and put on performances for agents at the April 3rd Drama Extravaganza!"
"...So? If we had nothing but Dueling here, school would get boring fast. There's other hobbies than Dueling, and some people want to do that with each other. It's not our jobs as council members to police clubs on what they can and can't do: we're just here for endorsement and support as long as they don't violate school rules." she declared with a dramatic lens flare prompted by her pushing up her glasses by the lower right section of the rim. The part about some place called Barrester's Drama Academy and the oddly specific details did catch the Legold student's attention, but not enough to warrant pushing that topic right away to derail the conversation. (I don't want to turn this into a 'gotcha' moment where I start hammering a soft spot... Maybe after we're done talking over club details, I can ask if she wants to go out for a coffee or something. Ugh, why is reasoning with you so hard, Miss Legionnaire?)
Seiko idly swirled her thermos with an unimpressed hostility about her. "...And I don't mean this to be rude, you seem to be quite the drama queen yourself at times despite hating drama so much. Let's forget about the 'who' and move onto the 'why': what about my proposal's schematic design specifically do you have the biggest problem with? I've got time to talk this out with you now, so let's do it now," she attempted to mediate once more with one last passing shot at her VP. Perhaps defusing the bomb by cutting the correct wire right after the wrong one was not the best method to get the job done, but it was the one she chose.
Post by Reina Legionnaire on Sept 11, 2021 0:46:03 GMT
Reina grimaced at the girl who was speaking towards her. She was right about to tell her what she REALLY thought about her, however she stopped herself. Despite how grossly and malignantly ignorant Seiko was, she was still the president and that was worth some minor level of respect. The position was worthy of Reina's admiration, not the person who occupied the seat.
Reina sighed. This one may take a bit of a softer touch, or as soft as she could allow herself to be. "Seiko Seiko Seiko," she began, like a disappointed mother as she shook her head from left to right, hands up and eyes closed.
"It's amazing to me how someone with glasses so thick could be so blind." she gave a half smile, half sneer as she looked the girl over.
"As president you're not supposed to be making things fun for the lessers. You're supposed to be looking out for the greater good of the academy."
She cleared her throat, putting on a mocking tone of voice. "'Ooh, I want them to have fun!' Pish posh! They're here to learn and become better duelists, not fanny about while tugging at the ends of Momma Seiko's apron!"
A cruel smirk emerged on Reina's face as she looked over the spectacled young girl. "But I guess that is why you won the election after all, isn't it? No one could handle the harsh truths and make the decisions that were necessary, and trust me, cancelling this event is necessary."
She swept a hand through her bangs and gave an absentminded and dismissive shrug. "An election isn't normally a popularity contest, though it seems ours certainly was." This was mostly true, however though not in the way Reina was implying. Reina had won second place not because anyone liked what she had to say, but rather because she was prettier than Seiko. She didn't win because of her oratory skills or her closing arguments, but rather despite them.
"Heavy is the head that bears the crown. Trust me, as President of St. Vaulfort I know all too well what the populace really needs. They need not a gentle hand and a warm bosom to suckle on, but rather a clenched fist and a puffed chest to command them on where to go."
She was sure even a girl as dimwitted as Seiko would see reason now, right?
Lurching forward and sliding her elbows further down the table, Seiko held her temples again as Reina began to mock her about "being too soft" with the student body. She did take pride and considered herself something akin to a public servant, but that non-baseless comparison made her cringe. "Urgh... You're being completely irrational here, Reina. There's not even a Dueling-related event happening remotely close to the day they're planning on hosting this. Not even you spend all of your time studying Dueling... Aaand according to our last little friendly match, if memory serves me right, I tied up our record. Practice what you preach before you go on with that, please," she complained, furrowing her brow in displeasure. She reached for another sip from the thermos, and... One lift showed that it was empty again. That was her second container of caffeine gone, meaning no more for the rest of the day. How pleasant.
"And do we really want to bring up the election again? Because I think that right there is what made you lose, if I'm being totally honest with you," Seiko continued on, sitting up straight and rapping her knuckles gently against the desk in a rhythmic pattern. "You... Do know that not everyone that goes here is like from St. Vaulfort, right? Your ability to campaign isn't bad by any means, it's just that sometimes you can be a biiiiit... Much." The president tried to soften her blow this time, trying not to stray too far from her original topic. That's how she knew that even though she was frustrating at times, she considered Reina something akin to a friend: anyone that could get her on tangents had found a weak spot in her public image.
Pushing back from the table and standing up, she began to walk towards the virtual display board in the back of the student council room. At Seiko's request, club funds were put into updating the ancient way of the blackboard in the student council room: before that, it was one of the few areas of campus that still had one as its primary presentation device before her intervention. "Another thing: don't call my leadership 'gentle'. It's just more sensible than yours. I'll admit that your input has kept me from making a few very minor mistakes, but this isn't one of them. When I'm in this seat, I don't have the breathing room to make major blunders like what you're pushing me to do now," she elaborated, using the virtual display to pull up a map of Silvershine and the surrounding areas.
"Look at this: it's got clear directions from here to the warehouse. I've done some digging on the property during my free time and everything looks sound for us to step in for support. Unless you've got some sort of catch-all reason as to why this won't work or why we shouldn't do this besides the fact that it's a 'distraction', I'm all ears," she finished, turning back to Reina and stepping away to allow proper view of the city map.
Post by Reina Legionnaire on Sept 11, 2021 2:39:54 GMT
Life was so much easier at St. Vaulfort. When Reina spoke, people listened. When she gave an order, it was followed without question to the benefit of the academy. As far as she was concerned, Reina operated a much higher level than all the other plebians that surrounded her. Taking time to explain herself to another student would be a lot like taking time to explain herself to an ant.
Still, the girl she spoke with had managed to best her during the student council election, so she at least deserved the smallest modicum of respect.
With a heavy heart Reina gave a sigh. "I'll agree not to call you 'gentle' if you'll agree not to call what you do 'leadership'." And she sincerely believed that this was an amicable thing to say.
With her believing the air was now clear between them, maybe it was time to lay down the facts as Reina saw them. "And I'll agree to your other silly little term regarding how distracting it is. If you wish to ignore the obvious fact that this event is a colossal distraction from our studies, let me bury this argument six feet under."
"To begin with, the play they intend to perform is one called Duel Academy Musical. It's based on a popular movie series that..." she paused, she looked out in the distance in a vacant stare as though she was having a bad wartime flashback.
She closed her eyes and in instant she could see it as clearly as she did 4 years ago. She was cringing in the back row of the movie theater watching her sister's first major motion picture debut.
She gasped, opened her eyes and she was once again back at Liberta Academy in the student council room.
"What was I? Oh... r-right. Duel Academy Musical. Very popular movie series. Very cute. Very meta." she shook her head, trying to rattle those thoughts out of her head.
"It probably would have been funnier in 2008 when such a thing was more popular, but I digress. In the musical, the head duelist at Anytown Duel Academy and the shy transfer student Bellevue- ... the shy transfer student both decide to abandon their respective cliques to play the lead parts in the Anytown Musical."
She put a hand to her forehead as though she could feel the start of a headache coming on. "I don't want to think further about the plot," and she truly meant it. "but even you can see how bad of a message this sends to the students of the academy. It almost goes without saying. But again, we've agreed to put the distraction idea aside and I'm here to fully bury this idea."
Reina stood from her chair and walked over to the virtual display board. "I'm sure you've already read the play or at least seen the movie, and if somehow you refuse to see any issue with the content of their display, at least look at the venue they've selected. The Oldtown Warehouse?" she pointed to the map with the same sense of vigor as she did when the argument began. She was no longer in a daze and lightheaded. It seemed she had returned to her typical venomous self.
"Oldtown is NOT at all the place for the venue. It's the poor side of town full of kidnappers, criminals, prostitues, drug dealers and all kinds of criminal scum. The safety and well-being of our students should be paramount! Can you live with yourself if you willingly sent our students into a frautful peril? I hope for your sake you lose sleep over it! On the other hand, we could refuse to sell tickets, refuse to charter buses and refuse to advertise the event, which would then make the entire endeavor a waste of time. A musical with no audience? What's the point of that!"
She smiled, it was now time for her killing blow. "Ah, but what if everything goes well, you ask? The town loves the musical, the play is a hit, and the audience sings praise to the name Liberta. Good? Actually no. That would be the worst-case scenario. Do you want the fish-scented people of Oldtown to be looking at us fondly? To think Liberta is a good place to send their kids? They'll see students joking around, having fun, enjoying themselves and think that's what Liberta is all about. They'll send their kids to our academy, our test scores will plummet, and the academy will close, all because you allowed this little drama club extravaganza to go on."
She was confident she had brilliantly laid out her thoughts. "In short, if the play goes poorly we'd risk harming our students. If no one goes the play it'll be a huge waste of time. And worst of all if the play goes well, we've put a target on our school's back for every good-for-nothing layabout to come infest our school with their odious skullduggery! 'Oh, but we had fun! Tee hee hee!' Yes, and the school burned to the ground because of it."
It was flawless, bulletproof logic. There was no way Seiko could argue against it.
As much as Seiko's gut told her to just leave it be as to the personal reasons Reina was so standoffish about this event, the pause was the straw that broke the camel's back. Her gaze narrowed in on Reina's, and she let out a small hum, folding her hands in front of her face. "While I haven't seen any of the movies, I know enough about them to guess that the theme's not 'study and become a pro Duelist'. And need I remind you we aren't a censorship committee? It's a popular movie series that many students enjoy, even ones that have no plans of giving up on their future plans. Not everyone's dumb enough to live in fiction," she stated plainly, unclasping her hands and raising her right pointer finger next to her cheek as she tilted her head slightly to that side. "If it fulfills your requirement of 'enrichment', though, for the sake of this argument... I'm more than willing to ask for a transcript of the play to review the content before the council, making sure there isn't any plans for whatever 'mass dropping out' or whatever you're thinking of... As ridiculous as any of that sounds."
Her ending note for that point was flat and incredulous, as if she hadn't bothered to humor the thought before making an almost tauntingly serious response. Transitioning directly to Reina's other point about Oldtown prompted her to close her eyes again and nod in recognition. While not as radicalized as Reina Legionnaire, Seiko Suzuki struggled to see the viewpoint of the lower castes given the immense wealth at her disposal. When Team Critias was one of the most successful Pro Dueling sponsors in the entire world, obviously the heiress to the company had lived the high life to its fullest extent. Seiko paused for a good moment, still keeping her eyes closed and remaining absolutely silent. It was a habit she picked up in order to focus her thoughts, that of which were normally keeping pace with coffee the vast majority of the time. She clasped her left thumb in her fist and squeezed: a telltale sign that she was debating in her mind. Her silence lasted for a good few seconds after Reina finished talking...
"You're... Right about that. You're wrong about not being looked at fondly: as a prestigious school we want to be seen in a good light. The application process handles the rest in terms of weeding out certain students, but I have to agree with you about Oldtown. It is a dangerous place, and endangering students with that environment would go against everything we stand for. We aren't allowed to organize mass transportation to the venue without approval from Headmaster Rose, and unfortunately the new administration doesn't have the trust yet to score such an ambitious goal..." Even after giving in to the demands of the populous, being raised by money poisoned even the most ambivalent souls. Seiko herself felt a small chill down her spine during Reina's explanation, having no personal experience dealing with places like Oldtown beyond simple hearsay. Knowing no better herself, she conceded and believed every word of it.
Seiko snapped her fingers and nodded. "Then how about this, Reina? Since you've inspired me with this idea, I think it'd be best if you hear about it first. While hosting the play in Oldtown would endanger the students, why not host the event here on campus? Cancel the weekend recreational reservation and repurpose the Duel Stadium for an adapted performance involving scripted Duels to provide 'enrichment' meeting your standards for focusing on academic achievement as a potential goal, advertise the event on-campus as a higher end event, and enlist the third year class representative board for help in organizing the setup and seating arrangements."
She huffed in satisfaction, crossing her arms and slightly turning up her nose to her VP. Seiko was a bit more humble in comparison, but she had her own pride that refused to bow down when challenged. "I believe this is checkmate again, Vice President Legionnaire. As it stands, I've provided a solution that answers all of your biggest concerns, and we can bring this up as soon as tomorrow morning to the rest of the council. This is accommodating to your concerns and input... Except for the fact that the show must go on, even if the council didn't like the dress rehearsal," Seiko replied with a slowly growing sly smirk. She could be a petty jerk when she felt inclined to gloat a bit over her quick thinking.
"I'll accept a graceful surrender and your approval, or we can keep going at it with our discussion. I urge you to consider your position and how the rest of the council will feel about my generous compromise to the concerns raised... Because this also makes the weight on our budget lighter.~"
Post by Reina Legionnaire on Sept 15, 2021 23:57:33 GMT
The only thing Reina disliked worse than 'the inferiors' was losing. The truly worst way to go out would be to lose to an inferior, but that was not the case here. The President certianly wasn't as good as Reina but she did play a respectable chess move there.
That didn't mean Reina would respect it though.
"Why you... you little..." she growled, still at a loss for words for being so soundly beaten.
Reina was the type to hyper fixate on a problem, and now that the problem was fixed she had nothing left to cling to. There was nothing worth arguing, and even though the play wouldn't go on, she still viewed this as a mutual defeat as opposed to a mutual win for both sides.
"Do whatever you want." she said dimissively as she grabbed her bag off the chair. "Just take my name off of it." which was as close to a surrender as Reina was willing to give.
In her mind this was more akin to a tactical retreat. While Seiko Suzuki may have won the battle, the war was still far from over.
