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Classic Magical School Drama all F&$#%d Up

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Roaram:
I don't mean to be a jerk here, so please take this as a constructive comment, and know your the author and all that jazz..

but I would have to say that your average student doesn't get caught up in the international scene all that often, and if two nations send international students to the same school, odds are good that its pretty spendy.

spendy works on the tuition angle. but the gumshoe angle is a little light. cast your mc as a bright kid on scholarship, who "completely unrelated to the murders" gets caught dabbling with some low level black magic charms and what not. (supplying magic brew-ski's to your frats) he's been doing this for cash, scholarships don't pay for lots of stuff, acedemic, or impressing rich girls. now, to save his ass, your mc is put in as a rat, trying to get the dirt on some rich frat kid whose mommy or daddy is connected. cause the heat wants an airtight case,

that way, you get a cool anti_hero MC, plenty of room for heavy hitters, and multiple stories to add depth. plus, once the cops got you, they got you. chaching sequel. plus, your MC might have a story or two just dabbling on the wrong side of the law.

just my suggestion, I think it gives you much more room to play, more real world cred, and lets you raise the stakes for the next run

Lanodantheon:

--- Quote from: Roaram on April 15, 2009, 08:07:20 PM ---I don't mean to be a jerk here, so please take this as a constructive comment, and know your the author and all that jazz..


--- End quote ---

You're not a Jerk. I learned a long time ago to take all criticism in stride. This one of the few places where if I know I can get an unbiased opinion.


--- Quote from: Roaram on April 15, 2009, 08:07:20 PM ---but I would have to say that your average student doesn't get caught up in the international scene all that often, and if two nations send international students to the same school, odds are good that its pretty spendy.

spendy works on the tuition angle. but the gumshoe angle is a little light. cast your mc as a bright kid on scholarship, who "completely unrelated to the murders" gets caught dabbling with some low level black magic charms and what not. (supplying magic brew-ski's to your frats) he's been doing this for cash, scholarships don't pay for lots of stuff, acedemic, or impressing rich girls. now, to save his ass, your mc is put in as a rat, trying to get the dirt on some rich frat kid whose mommy or daddy is connected. cause the heat wants an airtight case,

that way, you get a cool anti_hero MC, plenty of room for heavy hitters, and multiple stories to add depth. plus, once the cops got you, they got you. chaching sequel. plus, your MC might have a story or two just dabbling on the wrong side of the law.

just my suggestion, I think it gives you much more room to play, more real world cred, and lets you raise the stakes for the next run

--- End quote ---

I like your suggestions, but allow me to explain further:

In my world, there are a number of Magical Nations, geo-political bodies of Magic-Users with their own laws, constitutions, military forces , etc.  About 2 dozen of them are members of "The Allied Powers", what my MC describes as a U.N. or N.A.T.O. of the Magical world, one of many. Each of the "Powers" is a country with access of some kind to a Magical entity or something similiar of a certain magical weight class. Basically The APs are countries recognized as having the magical equivilent of WMDs.

The School my MC attends,which I refer to as "The Brewery" for lack of a better name, is a school created for Magic-Users by The Allied Powers who have not been formally accepted as a citizen or full member by one of them yet.
The Brewery is a Conservatory, University and Dojo where you learn about magic and prove your ability to earn awards, titles, black belts etc.  You stay there until you earn enough notches on your belt for one of the Allies to sponsor you for membership.

The Brewery is not Hogwarts in that it teaches whoever can use magic at any level. The student body of The Brewery ranges from  spoon-bending Minor Talents and really Focused Practitioners to full spectrum Spellcasters(Like my MC) and Guardians, people entrusted with high-level Magical Artifacts or Sorcerous Mantles of Power passed down through their family or other means.

It's also not like Hogwarts in that not everyone is exactly the same age. You are just as likely to see a 17 year old first year initiate (Like the MC) as you are to see a 42 year old 1st year sitting next to her 14 year old advanced student daughter(But those youngsters are usually getting Power from other places and are just waiting to make the Allied Powers age requirements).

As the Scholarship angle goes, I never thought of that and I'm going to go with it. However, my MC will probably not get one of said Scholarships. The first reason being that the average student (Like so many of us) don't go to school on scholarships because they don't have the grades and/or have parents that make too much money to qualify for financial aid. I want my MC to become a good student eventually but to keep him an everyman he won't go to The Brewery on a Scholarship, but on a sponsorship from an old wizard who basically gives him a card that just gets him through the front door and nothing else.

The second reason my MC won't have a scholarship is common sense, he didn't apply for one. Before the current term started, they all went to Pure-Blooded Magic-Users who have known about their impending gifts for years whereas MC has known about his gift for about a week before the Term starts.

Quantus:

--- Quote from: Lanodantheon on April 16, 2009, 01:57:38 AM ---You're not a Jerk. I learned a long time ago to take all criticism in stride. This one of the few places where if I know I can get an unbiased opinion.

I like your suggestions, but allow me to explain further:

In my world, there are a number of Magical Nations, geo-political bodies of Magic-Users with their own laws, constitutions, military forces , etc.  About 2 dozen of them are members of "The Allied Powers", what my MC describes as a U.N. or N.A.T.O. of the Magical world, one of many. Each of the "Powers" is a country with access of some kind to a Magical entity or something similiar of a certain magical weight class. Basically The APs are countries recognized as having the magical equivilent of WMDs.

The School my MC attends,which I refer to as "The Brewery" for lack of a better name, is a school created for Magic-Users by The Allied Powers who have not been formally accepted as a citizen or full member by one of them yet.
The Brewery is a Conservatory, University and Dojo where you learn about magic and prove your ability to earn awards, titles, black belts etc.  You stay there until you earn enough notches on your belt for one of the Allies to sponsor you for membership.

The Brewery is not Hogwarts in that it teaches whoever can use magic at any level. The student body of The Brewery ranges from  spoon-bending Minor Talents and really Focused Practitioners to full spectrum Spellcasters(Like my MC) and Guardians, people entrusted with high-level Magical Artifacts or Sorcerous Mantles of Power passed down through their family or other means.

It's also not like Hogwarts in that not everyone is exactly the same age. You are just as likely to see a 17 year old first year initiate (Like the MC) as you are to see a 42 year old 1st year sitting next to her 14 year old advanced student daughter(But those youngsters are usually getting Power from other places and are just waiting to make the Allied Powers age requirements).

As the Scholarship angle goes, I never thought of that and I'm going to go with it. However, my MC will probably not get one of said Scholarships. The first reason being that the average student (Like so many of us) don't go to school on scholarships because they don't have the grades and/or have parents that make too much money to qualify for financial aid. I want my MC to become a good student eventually but to keep him an everyman he won't go to The Brewery on a Scholarship, but on a sponsorship from an old wizard who basically gives him a card that just gets him through the front door and nothing else.

The second reason my MC won't have a scholarship is common sense, he didn't apply for one. Before the current term started, they all went to Pure-Blooded Magic-Users who have known about their impending gifts for years whereas MC has known about his gift for about a week before the Term starts.

--- End quote ---
Then perhaps your MC is the first in some sort of forced integration.  His tuition is covered for political reasons, but its a loaded issue and many people are looking to see him fail so that they can squash the whole mix-breed admission proposal.  That would give him an in, give him a reason to be there without support, give him some nice social stigma to overcome, and generally set him apart more than the average student  (you could even take it so far as to say that he becomes the a suspect out of pure prejudice). 

The big thing you really need to work out is the personality of the school.  I mean, Hogwarts is a very upperclass style private boarding school, very british. What you describe for the brewery (an academy that catches the "almost good enough" for the rest of the nations) strikes me as more of a public school sort of place, or maybe one of those Gov't academies like the School of the Arts or the School of Math and Science (some states have them) where they are heavily subsidized, but very impersonal and kinda no-frills budget minded.  That sort of place would have talented teachers, but not top-rung, more older, retired and/or burnt out a bit.  Some of the equipment might be falling into a bit of disrepair, and a scholarship kid like your MC might be using lots of second hand stuff.  The Frat idea you have would be a way for students to combat such limitations, by offering them an organization that can maintain some of the stuff they would need.

I wouldnt go with the typical Houses/Frat thing like hogwarts did, just because it was rather limiting and your student body is going to be far more diverse in talent, interests, curriculum, etc.  Go with more of the japanese School Club model (you said you watched anime right?) Where the clubs are basically your social group, but they are school sponsored (to one degree or another) with equiptment, meeting space, etc.  That will give you a way for all the different cliche's to form based on talents and interests, and still have a school based organizational framework. 

Lanodantheon:

--- Quote from: Quantus347 on April 20, 2009, 03:46:05 PM ---Then perhaps your MC is the first in some sort of forced integration.  His tuition is covered for political reasons, but its a loaded issue and many people are looking to see him fail so that they can squash the whole mix-breed admission proposal.  That would give him an in, give him a reason to be there without support, give him some nice social stigma to overcome, and generally set him apart more than the average student  (you could even take it so far as to say that he becomes the a suspect out of pure prejudice). 

--- End quote ---


That's an idea. I think a better one though is a "Grace Period" where the school doesn't charge him. If after that grace period he doesn't have a sponsor, he can't come back without tuition. "Forced Integration" would imply that a Mundane(I don't want to say Muggle) person coming into magic is a new thing, it isn't. Mundane humans who become Magic Users are supposed to forget their Mundane Life. They appear in the magical world fully formed with no unimportant memories. What makes the MC special isn't the fact he's Mundane, it's the fact he remembers his mundane life more so than anyone before him.


--- Quote from: Quantus347 on April 20, 2009, 03:46:05 PM ---The big thing you really need to work out is the personality of the school.  I mean, Hogwarts is a very upperclass style private boarding school, very british. What you describe for the brewery (an academy that catches the "almost good enough" for the rest of the nations) strikes me as more of a public school sort of place, or maybe one of those Gov't academies like the School of the Arts or the School of Math and Science (some states have them) where they are heavily subsidized, but very impersonal and kinda no-frills budget minded.  That sort of place would have talented teachers, but not top-rung, more older, retired and/or burnt out a bit.  Some of the equipment might be falling into a bit of disrepair, and a scholarship kid like your MC might be using lots of second hand stuff.  The Frat idea you have would be a way for students to combat such limitations, by offering them an organization that can maintain some of the stuff they would need.

--- End quote ---

The design of the Brewery is still on the drawing board. Primarily because I'm having trouble deciding its personality.
For one thing, it's not a boarding school.
The Brewery is like a University in that it is dedicated to magical research, development and learning.
The Brewery is like a Dojo/Law School in that it certifies Spellcasters.
The Brewery is like a Conservatory in that Magic study is all they do.

Your suggestions about the school being rough around the edges and nothing working is exactly what I was thinking of actually. Blingsromans like HP portray school as being magical and is the only place growth happens. My story portrays school as where magic can happen but it's also a place where lots of drama happens.

As far as the teachers go, we are again on the same page. My first blush concept characters for the professors were the Potions Prof and the Defense Magic Prof(Final designs still pending).

The Potion Prof in my mind wouldn't be wearing a Darksider Neon sign but an old guy with scars all over and no eye brows. "WHen working with combustibles, always watch your heat behind a shield. *People laugh* *Prof points to lack of eye brows* Hey! I'm not screwing around!"

The Defense Magic class would undoubtedly be the most controversial class in school. It would be like taking a class on marksmanship in a public highschool. Granted those classes are actually offered in some places, but defense magic (Especially offensive spells) deal with using the powers of creation to harm another and believing in it. The reason it exists at The Brewery is because there are things that go bump that eat Magic Users.

The Prof himself I somehow imagine as Denis Leary as a red-haired Military Wizard(and more Irish than he already is). The reason for this is because it's the first idea that came to mind and because there are Magical Armies and Police Forces and even in an underfunded school you don't skimp on the guy who makes sure your students don't get eaten.

Plus, where there's a Defense class, there's a Defense Club and where there's a Defense clube there's a potential Tournament Arc...


--- Quote from: Quantus347 on April 20, 2009, 03:46:05 PM ---I wouldnt go with the typical Houses/Frat thing like hogwarts did, just because it was rather limiting and your student body is going to be far more diverse in talent, interests, curriculum, etc.  Go with more of the japanese School Club model (you said you watched anime right?) Where the clubs are basically your social group, but they are school sponsored (to one degree or another) with equiptment, meeting space, etc.  That will give you a way for all the different cliche's to form based on talents and interests, and still have a school based organizational framework. 

--- End quote ---


The primary reason for the Frat/House thing is also the thing I am struggling with in design. The Brewery is in New England somewhere so I want a school that is reminiscent of the British Boarding school but still feels distinctly American. The House system is distinctly British, but the modern idea of Frats and Soroities with hazing and initiation are iconically American.

The project is a deconstruction, so I have to at least address the idea of Houses. I already have plans to make fun of the Sorting Hat. Having the Frat/House system allows for an actual All-Powerful Student Council that is believable and for inner school politics.
The Frat/House system also allows the use of the names, "Wizard School" and "Double Secret Probation" in the same sentence by the MC.

Yes, I am an Anime fan, but I have to discard the idea of the Japanese school system for the project. The primary reason is that I've never gone to a Japanese Highschool so depiction wouldn't be based on an actual system, but on the translated fictional interpretation of said system. Granted, my depiction of the Frats would be take similiar artistic license, but I can actually do accurate research for the Frats as opposed to Japanese Highschools which I can't. Frat research for me is as easy as going to Greek row and asking somebody.

The other flaw of the Japanese system is that Japanese clubs and orgs are self-funded as far as I know and I want the clubs and orgs  at the Brewery to have funding and advisement. Because Advisors can be just as crazy as students(I'm a club president, I know this)....

Plus, right now I'm leaning toward the storyline that my MC pledges to every house and gets turned by all of them so he makes his own house.

belial.1980:
I like your idea and find it pretty intriguing. I think you've got a lot going for you. I had a few questions, as well as some suggestions.


--- Quote from: Lanodantheon on April 22, 2009, 01:34:04 AM ---
Or if you wish for a more technical, Pedagogical definition: I'm trying to deconstruct the Genre of the Blingsroman, the Education coming of age story.


--- End quote ---

Bildungsroman?


--- Quote from: Lanodantheon on April 22, 2009, 01:34:04 AM ---
In my world, there are a number of Magical Nations, geo-political bodies of Magic-Users with their own laws, constitutions, military forces , etc.  About 2 dozen of them are members of "The Allied Powers", what my MC describes as a U.N. or N.A.T.O. of the Magical world, one of many. Each of the "Powers" is a country with access of some kind to a Magical entity or something similiar of a certain magical weight class. Basically The APs are countries recognized as having the magical equivilent of WMDs.


--- End quote ---

Really interesting premise. I like it, but had some questions about how it works. Are these nations actual, geographical locations? How did they come to be? Are they a recent invention, or are they routed in antiquity? (If this is the case, you might need to build an alternate Earth with it's own history. That would be a fun and interesting challenge in itself.)  How do they interact with mundane nations? What's to prevent a mundane nation from annexing them? Likewise, what's to prevent one of the countries from taking over a mundane nation with minimal magical defense? Or do the mundane nations have their own magical armies or security forces?
From what you've described, I envision the AP nations as the heavy hitters that basically keep things in check. Is this right? IE, the US and North Korea have nukes, but the AP nations can call on Cthulu or someone in that league to lay down the law?




--- Quote from: Lanodantheon on April 22, 2009, 01:34:04 AM ---

The School my MC attends,which I refer to as "The Brewery" for lack of a better name, is a school created for Magic-Users by The Allied Powers who have not been formally accepted as a citizen or full member by one of them yet.
The Brewery is a Conservatory, University and Dojo where you learn about magic and prove your ability to earn awards, titles, black belts etc.  You stay there until you earn enough notches on your belt for one of the Allies to sponsor you for membership



--- End quote ---

What are the MCs motivations for attending? What happens when he becomes a member of one of these magical nations? Does he eschew his US citizenship? How does he feel about that?


--- Quote from: Lanodantheon on April 22, 2009, 01:34:04 AM ---
They appear in the magical world fully formed with no unimportant memories. What makes the MC special isn't the fact he's Mundane, it's the fact he remembers his mundane life more so than anyone before him.


--- End quote ---

How is this implemented? Is is part of the training? Is mindwashing used? If not, there has got to be some serious propoganda involved. 



--- Quote from: Lanodantheon on April 22, 2009, 01:34:04 AM ---
The project is a deconstruction


--- End quote ---

This is an important question that you must ask yourself: Do you  really want to deconstruct the idea of Harry Potter, or do you want to give Harry a face lift?

You can throw in adult situations, add seedy characters, and add a distinctly American feel, but in the the end, these things are all dressing and variations on a theme. From what you've said, I feel that you really want to do a truly deconstructive piece.

Themes like "love conquers all" and "the end doesn't always justify the means", etc. are pretty prevalent in HP. (not always spelled out as such, but they're usually in there in some form or another.) In fact, many, many authors incorporate this kind of thing into their stories, and the public at large usually eats it up, because we want an escape from the real world which is painted in shades of gray.

Alan Moore truly deconstructed the superhero genre with Watchmen, just like Michael Moorcock deconstructe the fantasy hero with Elric. There're plenty of others, but these ared the two that I'm most familiar with and can recommens. I highly suggest taking some cues from these writers, and dissecting their methods.



--- Quote from: Lanodantheon on April 22, 2009, 01:34:04 AM ---

Plus, right now I'm leaning toward the storyline that my MC pledges to every house and gets turned by all of them so he makes his own house.



--- End quote ---

I've got a suggestion for the house structure. Maybe the houses are student formed groups that seek to emulate a specific country or power they hope to be sponsored by.

For example, a certain group really likes a certain AP nation, so they seek to emulate it's culture, principals, etc. This could be a good way to garner attention from recruiters and make connections with liasons from that country. (Basically become suckups and cheerleaders)

If two countries are at odds then the houses that emulate them are likely to be as well. Since these houses aren't official, nothing bars a country from sponsoring someone in a house that doesn't emulate them, but these little sychophant houses make good recruiting pools.

Since your MC decides to start his own house, he decides to try and get sponsorship from his own merit, rather than by reputation of an existing house. Just an idea.

 
Again, I like where you're going with this, and I hope my questions have given you food for thought, and that my suggestions are helpful. I'd like to hear more as your project develops. Good luck!

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