When You Made Wishes: start! (player plot)

[deuteranope]

Imagine Wist's surprise when April rolled around and their plan for a great prank was foiled on account of all those students just...leaving??? Truly, they have become the April fool... It's what they wanted, of course -- for the pitiful humans to find freedom -- and sure there are some stragglers around, but...in the end, they decide to take the win and enjoy a short break of their own. Good thing, too, or they might have pulled out all their hair in frustration when Spring Break comes to an end and the swarm of students and faculty willingly return to their prison.

While settling back into the academy and resigning themselves to a routine, the people of Daybreak will be soothed by a gentle tune rising up from the forest. It isn't a song they've heard before, and yet, somehow...it's nostalgic, isn't it? The soft notes of the pan flute stir up something in their hearts, tugging at old memories and drawing forth a feeling of dissatisfaction and longing out from under them. Let the song lull them into taking a moment to withdraw from the hustle and bustle -- hey, turns out they sort of need it. Maybe they're coming down with a cold, or just some quick little bug...
--
>> user M3G4M4G1CH4XX posted on April 6th, 2019:
Why did you come back? You don't have to live like this.

Weren't things better back then? Try to remember what it used to be like.
--
The odd message from an iris account that doesn't exist isn't up for long before the spell kicks into the next phase. However they manifest and from when differs from person to person, but those affected will all have the bizarre experience of watching some ghost of themselves from their past be born from their soul's memory. Don't think there are those that can escape this fate just by returning at a later time, either -- Wist can keep up this panpipe nonsense all day, every day if they have to. If that what it takes to get their point across...

Good luck trying to comprehend whatever point that may be, because now Daybreak is the new home to a bunch of familiar-looking rugrats and has to contend with whatever complications they may bring along with them.
---
[For more information on this plot, please see this ooc infopost!]

Comments

B.

[nor_iron_bars]

Uh.

[Jail blinks.]

That a metaphysical question, or...?

[Does "right now" count as "recently"?]

[inflictwounds]

[He should have expected this.]

No, no, I mean - have you spoken to me at any point between now and, say, a few days ago?

[Right now does not count as recently, for these purposes.]

[nor_iron_bars]

[Her eyes narrow slightly.]

Last time I remember talking to you was in the staff room a couple days back. There a reason I should be rethinking that?

[Yeah, her Fuckery Defcon 1 mental alarm has been going off all morning, and by this point she's pretty sure something's up. She just needs to know what, preferably before it turns out to be something that wants to kill her, arrest her, or borrow money.]

[inflictwounds]

[Hieke lets out a relieved breath. He remembers that conversation, so that's good.]

Okay. Just - if you speak with me again, try to be careful? Something's going on.

[He rubs at his face, looking exhausted.]

But I don't know what, exactly.

[nor_iron_bars]

Yeah, I'm kinda getting that.

[Jail raises an eyebrow. That seems... oddly vague, with what he'd been asking her.]

Got any hints, maybe? 'Cause I've been up to my ass in god-awful computer code all morning, but I definitely feel weird- and trust me, I know from weird.

[She crosses her arms.]

So, with a question like that... are you doing shit you don't remember, or is there more than one you around here?

[inflictwounds]

[Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh.]

It seems like there's more than one me running around. I've seen him, but-

[He hasn't been able to catch him, yet.]

I don't know what he's doing.

[nor_iron_bars]

Well, fuck.

[That about covers it.]

That'd be a problem, all right. We talking "evil twin" here, or just generally kinda suspicious?

[inflictwounds]

Exactly.

[That's the biggest mood.]

Both, maybe? I don't know where he came from, but I know he's not going to be up to anything good.

[nor_iron_bars]

Yeah, kinda hard to think of any innocent explanations for "suddenly twinsies". I mean, at best you're looking at a really excessive try at credit fraud, here. [At worst, she's pretty sure the options start at murder and go downhill from that point onward.]

Finding him could get tricky, but... [She frowns thoughtfully.] You got your phone on you, right now?

[inflictwounds]

Being separated at birth. [It's a bad attempt at a joke, and he huffs out a breath.

He also takes a moment to pat down his pockets, before producing his phone. He's not super used to needing it, but he's learned it's a good idea to keep it on hand.]

Apparently. Why...?

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail snickers slightly, albeit likely more at appreciation for his attempt to make a joke rather than the joke itself.]

Cool, try to keep it on you. Can't tell the difference between you two on sight, probably- [In their defense, neither of them knows about the tail at the moment.] -but I can track the phone. I see your face somewhere the tracker says your phone isn't, I'll know I've found your guy.

[inflictwounds]

[That's...actually not a bad idea. It's not surprising Jail has a good idea? But it kind of is.]

...What are you going to do if you find him?

[Please don't fight him.]

[nor_iron_bars]

Hit your nearest summoning symbol and start taking bets on the winner.

[...Thanks. That's really thoughtful of you.]

[inflictwounds]

[Hieke goes quiet for a moment.]

Shit.

I could just summon him myself.

[nor_iron_bars]

[See this? This is why you tell people about your problems: because even though both of you make bad choices, together you can kind of approximate one sensible person.]

Okay, can you control where he lands or is it just "shows up somewhere near the sigil"? 'Cause if you can pick a specific spot, we can probably rig up something to trap him when he lands.

[inflictwounds]

[With their powers combined, they're Not An Idiot.]

Depends on the size of the sigil. If you make a big, proper one with all the bells and whistles he'll show up right on top of it.

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail considers this for a brief, contemplative moment.]

...Wanna set up something that'll flip him upside down and dangle him from the ceiling? I got the rope if you draw the symbol.

[Don't... don't ask why she just has that, Hieke. Sometimes people just have rope. For reasons.]

[inflictwounds]

[This is a genius idea that will in no way backfire on them.

Or, at least, Hieke specifically.]

That's...something I can do.

[Rope is a handy thing to have.]

[nor_iron_bars]

[They had like two seconds of good ideas, they're done now.]

Nice. Gimme a sec and I'll make this happen.

[Jail gets to work setting up some kind of complex tripwire. She's remarkably efficient, despite the fact that at one point she ends up walking casually up a vertical wall to loop some of the rope around a ceiling beam. Gravity-defying boots: never leave your home without them.]

[The overall effect is a little like watching the coyote from an old Roadrunner cartoon setting up an ACME trap.]

[inflictwounds]

[At least they're working together.

Watching Jailbreak work is interesting. Hieke's never been one for mechanics of any kind - he doesn't know how things work, will never know how things work, and should largely not be trusted around any sort of machinery more complicated than a see-saw.]

I'm going to assume you have chalk on hand, right?

[nor_iron_bars]

[She rummages in her pockets for a moment.]

You want white or green?

[How she even fits all the things she does in there is a mystery for the ages. ...But it's probably magic.]

[inflictwounds]

Either works.

[Magic pockets...Hieke needs to get in on that. The most he has in his pockets at a given point of time is lint.]

[nor_iron_bars]

[There's probably also lint. Somewhere.]

Cool, catch. [Just casually chucking a piece of white chalk in the general direction of his head, as you do.]

[inflictwounds]

[Pls don't throw things with such little warning. Hieke manages to catch it, but barely. He fumbles with the chalk for a moment, before it finally seems like he's not going to drop it on the ground.]

Right. Thanks.

[And with the chalk acquired, he's going to start sketching out the summoning sigil.]

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail just gives him a thumbs-up and leans casually against the wall, watching him work with vague curiosity. Summoning's not her area of expertise, though she's run into it here and there. It's interesting to see how sigils like this can differ from runes like the sort she generally works with.]