Alma Jones, magic teacher.

the ooc

Name: Rian.
Age: 21.
Email: moc.liamg|4091yawarac#moc.liamg|4091yawarac
AIM: caraway1914.
past experience: All my experience can be found between my journal and my wiki.
hold: hello_from_dis.
character journal: inbalance

the ic

Name: Alma Catalina Moreno-Jones. Would go by Alma Moreno if it didn't make people immediately think of her mother, and like hell is she going to let her no-good ex-husband sully her surname just by using it himself. So Alma Jones it is.
Age/Birthdate: 27/October 2.
Sexuality: Heterosexual, and largely disinterested. If it isn't two years old and called Danny, she's pretty oblivious.
Alias/Codename: Though long abandoned, she once toyed around with the idea of Mezcla, i.e. “mixed” in Spanish, as it seemed pretty appropriate to her mixed heritage – culturally, socially, and magically. It's still on all her records, but she's gone so long without a codename, she mostly takes the Zatanna route and goes by “Alma Jones” nowadays. It isn't a Ned Nefarious or Duke Diabolique, but it's quirky enough that people remember.

…old school BHHers will still call her Mezcla, though. :/

Concept: The daughter of the notorious villain Onyx and BHH golden girl Miss Miracle, both now deceased, Alma Jones grew up a ward of the Band of Heroic Heroes. When her affair with NAME HERE, better known as CODENAME HERE, became public and his supergroup unraveled soon after, Alma and NAME HERE relocated to the mainland, where she obtained her teaching degree and began to make a name for herself as proponent of powered/non-powered equality. Creating a string of after school programs in schools down the coast of California, Alma's reputation and plans were only shattered when her husband, even more known on the coattails of his wife's growing name, was caught with several of her underage charges. Before rumors of possibly aiding his preteen habit could start, she got a divorce, took her son, and accepted the recently-offered teaching position at the new Neopolis Academy.
Faculty: Magic.
Subject: Spellcrafting I and II, and Speculative Fiction.
Skills:
Alma's skills are, in short, a combination of white and black magic: Miss Miracle was entirely defensive and protective — healing, shields, barriers, bindings; anything and everything that could be deemed protective, with very little offensive magic; Onyx was all black magic — summoning, necromancy, attack magic, curses, hexes, etc. Alma has a little of both, but not everything. Her strongest spells are distinctly neutral in nature, her magic working best when it combines her mother and father's abilities. Manifestation, neutralization of other people's minor powers (i.e. she won't be declawing Dr. Odd any time soon, but she can nullify a student's latent precog abilities to nondamaging telepathy), making herself receptive to telepathic thoughts, glamors, the reduction of noise in a given area — these are all relatively harmless and her particular specialties. That being said, it should be noted that she is still well above the skill set of her students, otherwise she would never have been hired.

• White magic abilities: Weaker than her black magic, as her mother was not nearly as strong as her father. But due to the nature of white magic, they are remarkably more difficult to counter than black magic. Includes minor healing, small protective shields, bindings (which usually require the aid of a stronger magician), and purification of small sullied objects (such as a poisoned drink, dirty food, or a small hexed item).
• Black magic abilities: Stronger that white, but more readily countered. Her black magic abilities are much more expansive, but tend to draw on her both physically and mentally when she uses them; that is, every use of black magic tends to make her want to use it more, and at the same time weakens her morally, emotionally, and physically. Every black magic spell leaves her vulnerable in a way white magic does not, likely due to the fact that it's much stronger than white magic. Includes elemental manipulation, reversal of offensive mental attacks, curses, hexes (both generally more of the lulz variety than the harmful, nowadays), and slight reality bending (limited by and large to illusions and vague Jedi these-are-not-the-droids-you're-looking-for fuckery).
• Some hand to hand. While Miss Miracle was alive and Onyx was still sane, they insisted on their daughter's development of modest hand-to-hand fighting ability. She never much took to it, even when the Knights of Alexandria tried to push their intern to physical excellence, but can reasonably defend herself against moderately-skilled partners for a short amount of time.
• Danny Jones. Her son, who can, in fact, pee on command. This is extremely useful in awkward social settings or uncomfortable domestic disputes. For his own part, Danny is also manifesting early signs of his father's elemental abilities, primarily via levitation: if left to his own devices and not tied down, Danny will happily float himself whither he will.

Alliance: Band of Heroic Heroes, despite their having to take her father out. They took her in afterwards, and though she isn't entirely fond of many of the higher-ups, who in turn were never entirely fond of Onyx, she agrees more with the ideals the BHH (supposedly) stands for than those of the ELE. That being said, she would more aptly describe herself as neutral, considering her work in trying to unite non-powered and powered beings, as well as form some kind of bridge between ELE and BHH-devotees. With what she's seen in Neopolis and abroad, it's pretty clear these names are, except for the truly devout, little more than (removable, in true metaphorical form) labels.

Personality:

• Tough. Alma is by no means a bitchy broad (though she can be, like all things with two X chromosomes), but she is no wilting flower either. Much of the teenage wangst — substantiated as it was — she developed after losing her parents has been whittled away in the post-adolescent years, and living in less-than-favorable conditions on the mainland has developed a strong survival instinct and refusal to stomach bullshit. While she doesn't have the most keenly-honed bullshitometer as some of her colleagues, she is a little better at spotting it than the average 20-something. Not to mention the single motherhood: there's nothing for toughening a person up than being the sole caregiver for a toddler.
• Compassionate. Secretly. Alma has certain subjects she is very openly passionate and emotional about — the success of her students, for example, where she is extremely vocal in making sure neither their own apathy nor bureaucratic red tape stands in their way — but many others she keeps quietly to herself. She is never particularly affectionate with anyone she calls herself close to (Danny aside), and is generally loath to throw her hat in with any subject or movement not related to a) her son or b) her students. Still, motherhood has softened her and smoothed her edges, and now she is quietly compassionate and understanding where she is publicly sardonic and chiding. For those students who feel the need to come to her, her doors are always halfway open, her shoulder always available. As long as they're not being retarded about something. Frantic about your grades and need to talk it over before you get some advising? Sure. Boyfriend just dumped you for a Cape slut (not that she's biased)? No. Get out.
• Almost feisty. To keep to stereotypes, Alma is Latina, raised for 13 years by an extremely spirited Latina woman. A lot of this has been tempered by living with the BHH — she often acted as something of a peacemaker among the junior members and neophyte sidekicks — and single motherhood, but get her riled up enough about something, and she's liable to fly into rapid Spanish rages. Complete with snapping.
• That being said, she is also, by and large, very temperate. Outside of those fits of Latina fury, Alma is calm, level-headed, and uneasily roused. Back as a ward of the BHH, she became known as eerily balanced for her age and situation, and was more likely to devise mutually beneficial solutions whenever friends were in an argument. She tries to see matters from both sides before making a decision, and is an avid supporter of thinking-before-acting (which she is sure only about 12% of the population of Neopolis actually does). It's something she tries to cultivate in her studies, if mostly by thought rather than command: with all the trigger-happy heroes and villains running around, both Banders and Leaguers could do with a little more temperance.
• Very proactive about powered/non-powered equality. With a BHH mother and an ELE father, most students and supers grow up with a chip on their shoulder for either side. Alma invested herself in social work instead, and has spent a good portion of her energy trying to bridge the divide between not only ELErs and BHHers (because Lord knows they need it), but those with powers and those without. She initiated a series of afterschool programs in Los Angeles, extending into Southern California, very cleverly called SuperHumans, which she still maintains from the academy. If there is one thing guaranteed to get Alma fired up outside of her son, it's superhuman/human rights. God forbid that topic ever gets brought up in class.
• Can be a bit of a fence-sitter in her temperance. While she has gotten better at spotting her ambivalence and nipping it in the bud, she is still occasionally prone to bouts of indecision – particularly if it involves her superiors. Alma's love of level-headed decision-making can make her so reluctant to prematurely side with either party that she sides with neither; it's a balance she has for the most part learned, but she is still young, and does slip. It's also a trait she has always idolized in Theodora – not that she'd say it out loud.
• Enjoys the lulz and (good-naturedly) mocking her students. There's no on-campus event she looks forward to more than coffee and grading papers with Dora, where the two can sit as equals rather than superior and inferior, and have a good laugh at some of the more harebrained term papers they've been handed. She never tells her students this, of course. In fact, she's more known for silencing them in class – literally sealing their lips – than anything else. …And, you know, the milf thing.
• Aside from her students, her entire world revolves around her son. Yes, sometimes she resents him: he looks so much like his father, and has the same abilities, and apparently has the same fondness for women (there is no post-puberty female on campus who has held him whose boob he hasn't touched), but she knows she loves him more than anything, and she'd die were anything to happen to him. Not that any of this is particularly surprising: she's a single mother, and Danny is the only family she has left. She does, unfortunately, have a bit of a blind spot towards his faults, and Danny gets away with a lot under his mother's eye.
• Because she is so young-looking — and so young — Alma has to often be stricter than she would otherwise to make her way in the school. Older faculty confuse her for a student, and students think her youth means they can pull the wool over their eyes. Obviously, neither of these are true, but the stigma still stands, and Alma has to work hard to fight it. It involves a lot of harsh detention assignments, extra homework for those who goof off, and public mockery of those who try to wisecrack in her class. She's compassionate and works hard for those students who try hard in her class — but she doesn't pull any punches with those who don't.

History: As is the case with most star-crossed romances, no one expected Miss Miracle and Onyx — erstwhile known as Lupe Moreno and Carlisle St. Pierre — to ever join sides, let alone fall in love. Miss Miracle, BHH golden girl and representative of the Hispanic community among the Band (formerly known as Santa Senorita, but cultural pride aside, everyone knew it was a stupid name), was feisty, passionate — the Band's own White Mage, elevated to nigh inner circle status by her skill, her magnanimity, her public persona, and, of course, her banging body. Onyx, originally a magical transplant from the 19th century, had long been affiliated with the League as one of its more nefarious, if grandiose and condescending, members. Carlisle was known for his wild schemes and their 50-50 chance of success — which was fine with him, most of the time; he enjoyed the stability and the fame that came with regular evil-doing, knowing that as long as he continued to concoct harebrained schemes, the BHH would continue to fight him to a draw, and that would be that. When he decided to hold a Hispanic crisis shelter (along with several other buildings in downtown LA) hostage, however, Miss I-don't-take-that-shit-from-white-folks Miracle leapt into the fray.

Carlisle had seen a lot of Miss Miracle in the news and tabloids: her impressive chest and soapboxing demeanor were a favorite with the press; but he had very rarely met her in person, let alone been the target of her unabashed Latina fury. Lupe, once she had secured the area with a series of protective spells, lashed into an abashed and awestruck Onyx — who, to the shock of all involved, immediately desisted in his plans. Carlisle was a lot of things, but a quitter was not one of them; what could possibly have driven him to be so acquiescent?

Hollywood love, of course! The only kind really supported among the upper tiers of the Band and the League, and within months, Carlisle and Lupe were hot and heavy in the throes of it. They kept it under wraps at first, primarily because love, as it turned out, changed Carlisle — better for the BHH, but worse for the ELE. For two months he nearly stalked Lupe (she even called in a favor to The Weevil to give Onyx a thrashing, to no avail), who was under the impression her public tongue-lashing had made her some kind of personal target for the chronologically displaced villain. When Carlisle managed to break through her wards and creep into her room bearing not only access to a private gateway, on the other side of which was an expansive field of wild flowers (because his mother was secretly a giant sap, and his father, much like Carlisle, utterly prey to her whims), but an explanation — Lupe couldn't resist. He was handsome! Tortured! European! And what greater asset to the BHH than a converted Leaguer? The insight! The brooding charm! The harnessing of dark powers for good!

The conversion was successful. Carlisle proved himself far more of a romantic than he had ever let on (and far more susceptible to any and all of his wife's demands, of which there were — though largely harmless — many), and his ~love~ for Lupe led him right into the BHH's vaguely welcoming arms. The upper crust were always leery of him — after all, if he had switched to their side so easily, who was to say he wasn't going to switch back? Or was a mole the entire time? — but by the time Carlisle and Lupe were walking down the aisle, it was hard for them to deny his whole-hearted switch. Less than a year later, little Alma Catalina Moreno-St. Pierre was brought into the world, and disagreement over the Moreno-St. Pierre bond dissipated, because babies can do that.

Lupe and Carlisle largely dropped out of the main sphere of heroism/villainry to raise their baby. Much like with his wife, Carlisle was completely and utterly devoted to his daughter, and spent more time cooing over her than any straight hardcore ex-villain had any right to do. But the Moreno-St. Pierre's, absurd name aside, were a happily family unit. Lupe eventually re-entered the heroing field, albeit only part-time and with a certain she's-gone-soft stigma gossiped about in tabloids, and Carlisle switched from active duty to a more advisory role, where he could both coordinate magical enterprises and keep an eye on his growing daughter. By Alma's fifth birthday, they were one of the most well-known families in Neopolis, a shining example for the BHH what good morals and Band support could do for even the most nefarious of rogues. Alma grew quietly and shyly, as passionate as her mother but with a certain dose of her father's (once brooding) quiescence. Her parents were always very clear that they never wanted her to choose between the BHH or the ELE without being sure it was what she wanted to do (though Lupe would subtly add in her vote of confidence for the BHH), and by age 13, Alma was shaping up to be one of the most level-headed, temperate teenagers in the BHH's ranks.

Of course, as per the star-crossed theme, things changed. With Carlisle an increasingly public face for their long-sworn enemies, certain members of the League – and more particularly, the nefarious lesser sects not even the League would associate with; but Carlisle-as-Onyx had been more than happy to – grew disgruntled. It began with small attacks, at first: idle threats to his family, slander in the papers, false call-ins to the BHH to distract him and make him look the fool. As Alma grew, the attacks grew stronger and more pointed, and when she was 13, a certain Crooked Man attempted to take her hostage. Carlisle's defection had never sat well with the Crooked Man, a deformed second-string BHHer-turned-Leaguer, who let his animosity and discontent fester until it overflowed. In a dramatic attack worthy of a Batman villain, the Crooked Man, all mismatched angles and over-long limbs, crept into the Moreno-Jones household, intending to make off with the preteen Alma (and who knew from there; he had never been much of a planner), only to find her mother – immovable Lupe. She set a ring of protection around her daughter, and in a stupid move of self-sacrifice, neglected to set one around herself in order to strengthen Alma's. The Crooked Man reached forward and snapped her neck.

Distraught – for he had never been good with plans or thinking on his feet – the Crooked Man ran. When news reached Carlisle, he (understandably) did not take it very well. Leaving Alma with grieving Band allies, Carlisle donned his Onyx costume once again, and had what is commonly called a psychotic break. Within days he had begun a veritable massacre – not only on Leaguers who saw an opportunity to bring down one of the BHH higher-ups, but on anyone who got in his way. Heroes and Leaguers alike were cut down in a startling display of black magic, and though they were initially reluctant to do it, the Band was ultimately forced to cut him down. When traditional subduing methods failed, Ms. Indestructible delivered a bone-shattering punch while Onyx was weakened and vulnerable. His ribs shattered, piercing his heart and lungs, and he died within a week of his wife.

AFTER ALL THIS TL;DR, WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE ALMA, YOU ASK? After the death of her parents, Alma became a ward of the Band, which is very much like being a ward of the state, but with more spandex. She clammed up with both her parents gone, and training her became a laborious chore: all she seemed able to do was sit and stare at things, occasionally cry, and read. She read a lot, and was well-versed in literature – if quiet about it – by age 16. They tried fostering her at first, but with puberty hitting and Alma's abilities – as per the Moreno line – going somewhat haywire, it was very difficult for any family to take her in. The BHHers willing to take her couldn't handle her, and those who could weren't willing to take her. Vicious cycle, etc. But she was content to grow up amongst the entirety of the Band itself: two fake parents made her think too keenly that they were replacing her biological ones, but several dozen Heroes all looking out for her at any given time, rarely taking a vested interest, letting her keep her distance while she kept hers – that, she could work with.

She latched onto Theodora Endischee pretty quickly into her teens. Theodora was what Alma wanted to be as an adult: level-headed, calm, moderate – the voice of reason in a pit of hotheads. Alma was young when the Knights of Alexandria formed, barely 12 and still in the comfort of her parents' home, but Theodora was a relatively constant comfort even during her tenure with the Knights. After Lupe and Carlisle were killed, Alma attached herself to Dora more than ever, the only BHHer she was really close with. As the Knights grew in skill and popularity into her teens, Alma became something of an intern: fetching files, organizing their offices, mending uniforms, minding the communications center when the team was out on a mission.

Things didn't stay that way. Alma grew and dealt with her grief, and following in her mother's footsteps, became something of a babe. As she hit 16, her innocent child's flirting with the media darling of the group, one aerokinetic Paul Jones aka Whirlwind, turned into something else entirely. Paul was just past his twenty-first birthday, and far be it from him to ignore their intern's ~blossoming beauty~. Alma wasn't terribly aware of these things (she is still pretty oblivious), as her standard of beauty was always her mother and there was just no meeting that, but Paul made it pretty clear he had a thing for her when he asked her to dinner after her 17th birthday. Alma, young, impressionable, and holding out for romantic heroism like you found in books, was utterly swept up. They spent the next few months in secret courtship, and Paul was a real trooper about it. He sent her dozens upon dozens of flowers, chocolates, little trinkets, stole kisses during training. She was adamant about their not sleeping together until she turned 18, which he painfully abided by. While sleeping with other, less principled women, sure, but who cares about that. Alma didn't know, and she didn't want to know.

It came out after her 18th birthday, and cast more than a little shadow over the reputation of the Knights. Paul had been known for his philandering, but with a teenage girl? And the daughter of the notorious Onyx to boot! While the team had had their suspicions, they had never suspected Alma and Paul would actually go through with it. Alma lost Theodora's immediate trust, and was demoted from Knight-in-training to mere girlfriend. But she was convinced she and Paul had something, and if there was one thing Alma knew better than to give up, it was ~love~.

Hollywood love, to be specific, which we have already specified as invariably bad. Alma sat to the sidelines, supporting her boyfriend as best she could, as the Knights fell apart. Their leader was murdered in combat, and then Alma and Paul's romance came to light – which would have been small potatoes, had the media not trumpeted the fact that Paul and Alma had started dating when she was a barely legal teen. Paul was accused of pedophilia, of statutory rape; the news lambasted the group as a bunch of hypocrites unable to stand to their own morals. Then Theodora's attempt to rescue Vibe Girl II went horribly awry, and the Knights were forcibly disbanded. Paul put up a fight, but Alma merely guided him in shame off the island to try and make a new life for themselves on the mainland. The media was still interested, of course, in a pair of exiled supers, but there were things like Terrorism and Elections and Darfur to duly occupy their time. Within a few months, a disgruntled Paul and a forcefully optimistic Alma had settled quietly into Los Angeles.

Mainland life suited her better, in the end. While she loved her powers, she was not defined by them or her parents who had used them before her, and she could concentrate on things like getting her teaching certification, and cajoling Paul into marriage and children (which she eventually succeeded in doing). She had left Neopolis at 21 with a degree from Neopolis U and more than enough shame on her shoulders; but by 23 she had shirked that off, gotten her teaching certification, and obtained a job as an English teacher at John C. Fremont Senior High School in South Central. The experience was eye-opening, to say the least. The very least. Alma was used to high quality literature, to encouraging mentors, well-rounded education, and while superpowered fighting was nothing strange, children bringing guns and knives to school and shirking off class to work, or staying late hours at school because going home was the more terrifying option – it was not what she had been expecting. She toughened up, and after a rocky first year, she had found her footing. By her fourth semester (2007, for those of you keeping track), she was known not only for her excellent English teaching skills and the high rate of exam scores by students in her class, but for outing herself to the school as a magician and starting an afterschool program for greater powered-nonpowered unity.

The program took a while to get off the ground, very few students willing to show much enthusiasm for anything, but when Alma started beginning each session with a small magic display, the interested parties started trickling in. By the beginning of her third year, she had not only watched the SuperHuman club (as it was fondly called) at her own John. C Fremont grow, but had successfully launched SuperHuman branches at several other schools in South Central. At Paul's insistence (both for Alma's sake and his own chance to get back in the limelight), she started SuperHuman Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted to encouraging powered/non-powered awareness in Southern California. While small at first, the program spread, featured in news spots, magazines, and newspapers down the coast. Alma and Paul were growing in media popularity again as married philanthropists – and once Alma's pregnancy was made public in late 2007, they became the perfect altruistic, culturally diverse family model.

Paul was thrilled. Alma was growing increasingly run down, heading up the company and teaching and getting closer to her due date, and the two saw less and less of each other. She was less than surprised on finding him in bed with another woman, after all the rumors that had circulated when they were first dating, though the fact that the other woman was one of her underage students was less than pleasing. Alma, weeks from her due date, stressed from work, stressed from school, and at the edge of her rope with the press, took drastic measures. Sending the girl home with strict instructions to speak to no one, she bound Paul's powers, blew him around with a little wind magic until he was well tangled into his sheets, and then hexed the shit out of him. Boils, of course, and hives, a pungent fungal odor – but these were all temporary. Her coup de grace was the transmutation of his offending male genitalia into talking male genitalia, accompanied by something like “Try getting laid with a talking dick, asshole,” before she walked out. Divorce papers were hastily pushed through despite his pleas for apology (she eventually changed the penis hex into a temporary one, to wear off in a few months), and Alma gave birth to Danny Moreno a single mother.

Things wore on her, and compounded with new motherhood, she ultimately handed the reins of SuperHuman Inc. to her second-in-command and relocated back to her home in Neopolis – just in time for an invitation from some old BHH allies to teach at the newly formed Neopolis Academy. That had heard of her teaching ability and ~unity~ clubs on the mainland, which seemed the perfect type to bring onto their staff (the founder of one of the West Coast's foremost human-superhero integration programs? HOT DAMN was that good for publicity); Alma's (thankfully only unpublicized, as Paul wanted no part of his talking dick anywhere near the news) personal drama only prompted her more to start fresh. Danny had just turned two, she was nearing her dreaded 30s, Paul was probably banging some teenager again – what better time to plant new roots?

Discovery of old friends Theodora Endischee and Peter Bridges among the faculty made the transition easier and harder. They reminded her of her part in the downfall of the Knights, but they were still the only friends she had this side of the Neopolitan Bay. She settled somewhat awkwardly into the faculty – too young to really be part of their crowd, often over-sexualized by her male students and too close to their age to be immediately respected – but it was nothing she hadn't done before. After all, once you've taught in South Central, Neopolis and its drama are hardly a blip on the radar.

IF YOU HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR, I WILL GIVE YOU SOME SORT OF BAKED DELICACY.

Played-By: Jessica Alba, circa Awake and Meet Bill. I've kept all her sexy/skanky icons out.

fun questions!

Aspirations: For SuperHuman Inc. to flourish. For her students to grow and learn and be passionate about something besides their sex lives and boozing it up (she sees you there, getting your drank on on the network). And of course, the obvious mother things: for Danny to succeed, to be happy, etc. And maybe for Paul to catch syphillis. Not that she's bitter or anything.
What would be the title of the comic book starring your character? Magic 101! It would…not be very good, as Alma would spend most of it lecturing or getting preachy and passionate, and being a mom. Eventually she would decide motherhood was ~too much~ for her, give Danny up for adoption, and suddenly change from a 36-27-35 to a 39-24-38, wear a lot of slinky clothing, and change from teaching and preaching to trying to gain revenge on the BHH for murdering her parents. Who wouldn't buy that, come on.

FAMILY

• Mother: Lupe Moreno, Miss Miracle pic 1 and pic 2.
• Father: Carlisle St. Pierre, Onyx pre-Lupe's death and post-Lupe's death
• Husband: Paul Jones one and two

SYLLABUS NOTES

Spellcrafting I:

Introduction to spellcrafting. First three weeks spent on history of spellcrafting — prehistoric magic/nature magic/fertility magic; the importance of the female in magic and sexual-cultural shift into the Middle Ages; European spell-writing (with an emphasis on alchemy) into the Enlightenment; modern "Wicca;" the differentiation of white and black magic. Weeks 4-8 focused on being able to accurately replicate spells given to students by the professor, with increasing difficulty into week 8; beginning in week 6, students may begin trying to write their own spells on their free time, but are not to practice them without teacher approval; speakers are brought into the classroom weekly to demonstrate and give mini-lectures. Weeks 9-12 focused on writing their own spells, with a comprehensive final. Spellcrafting I focuses on the more regularly useful neutral spells, with some forays into white magic.

Spellcrafting II:

Spellcrafting I as a prerequisite. A deeper look into more advanced spells, particularly those of a specifically black or white nature. Offensive and defensive spells will be covered. After midterms, students will be taken on several excursions outside the Academy to see Neopolitan magicians in action (three seminars, one black magician, two white). There is more freedom in course II, and students are encouraged to write their own spells as often as possible, and to practice outside of the classroom. Modern spellcrafting — as opposed to the history of spellcrafting — will be emphasized, culminating in a 10-page term paper (double spaced) at the end of the trimester on 2-3 modern magicians, their methodologies, fields of study, and magical focus. Current Academy professors can be one of the magicians, but looking outside the school is highly encouraged. Doctor Odd is not allowed. Regular papers will be assigned in addition to the final term paper, one every two weeks of 5 pages (double spaced), on a subject assigned every paper period. There is no formal final exam, but the final lesson will be spent in practicum.

Spellcrafting III:

No required texts. Largely independent study, for those looking for an explicitly spell-casting field of magical study. III is a smaller course, meeting once weekly as a group to go over their progress on their final projects, discuss any contemporary magical news, ask questions, etc. Students are expected to complete a 25 page paper (double spaced) by the end of term on the study of magic and spellcrafting. They will be given a series of topics from which they can formulate their thesis, but all students are expected to create their own innovative, well thought out, and creative paper. In addition to this paper, students are expected to create a useful, culturally aware, creative spell, which they will demonstrate for the professor at the end of final examinations. This spell must not be a copy of any spells learned earlier in the term or in the previous courses, though it may be an elaboration and expansion of a spell created by the student at an earlier date. There is no final examination in addition to these projects, nor are there weekly check-ups outside of class. Attendance is not taken, but advised, and students are happily encouraged to seek the professor out outside of class hours.

Speculative Fiction:

Courses dealing with "what if" fiction, ranging from general science fiction to fantasy and literary. The common terminology for these books is "alternate universe:" our world, differed in some very fundamental way. Classic examples include the "What if Hitler won WWII?" premise, as well as the well known 1984 and less thought of His Dark Materials trilogy. Course I will be a survey course, discussing speculative fiction in general, its common characteristics, its history, and a brief look into its cultural impact. Course II will focus more on the cultural and historical significance of speculative fiction: what these books/graphic novels/television shows are attempting to accomplish, culturally and socially; what overarching themes occur in different eras and genres of speculative fiction, and what themes are constant; and how successful this type of literature is in changing both the literary and cultural field, particularly in the modern era. While Course I will focus exclusively on novels and short fiction, Course II will incorporate many different media genres, including: graphic novels, anime/manga, television, film, contemporary art, and music. An important theme of both courses will be the significance of the "superhero," the "vigilante," "supervillain," and "leagues" in speculative fiction — how these characters arose in society and the historical circumstances that necessitated their rising, and in a world with real superheroes, what the continued significance of characters such as Batman, Black Canary, and the Avengers have. Students in both courses will be expected to keep abreast of news in the world of speculative fiction (some key websites and magazines will be provided) and regularly engage in class discussion. Attendance is mandatory, and meeting with the professor outside of class is encouraged. Reading material will be assigned. Two term papers will be required of every student: one 8-10 page (double spaced) paper at midterms, and one 13-15 page (double spaced) paper at final exams. Students will be given a list of topics that may be used as starting points, but all students are required to create their own innovative, well thought out, and creative paper.

• Soon I Will Be Invincible, Austin Grossman
• Sin City: Vol. 1-3, Frank Miller
• Batman Begins & The Dark Knight, dir. Christopher Nolan
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
• Justice, Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, Doug Braithwaite
• Watchmen, Alan Moore
• Select Miyazaki films, dealing with the very physical presence of spirituality and supernatural: Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke,