daybreakacademy | When You Made Wishes: start! (player plot)

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When You Made Wishes: start! (player plot)

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...
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>> 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.
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[For more information on this plot, please see this ooc infopost!]

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[He stares at Héctor a moment]

You're kidding, right? Every time he sees me he calls me creepy and tells me to go away.

Little brat even managed to get ahold of a slingshot and some pebbles somehow.

Well, okay, maybe not you. You are kind of creepy. [Sorry Avery.] But he wants someone's attention.

[As for the pebbles and slingshot he glances down at Teto a moment, wondering, but ultimately deciding he'd best not ask. It probably wasn't him.]

You want me to try talking to him? I'm sure I could get him to listen to me long enough to consider listening to you.

Gee. Thanks.

[Not that Héctor's wrong. It was the sort of vibe Avery delighted in cultivating.]

If you want to give it a shot, go ahead. Just say something before you do so I can stay out of sight.

[His apologetic smile probably isn't as apologetic as it should be, more wry if anything. Maybe if Avery hadn't tried creepy on purpose they wouldn't be here.

But he's more sympathetic when he speaks.]

Alright, I'll make an attempt. I really don't how much you listened to adults as a kid but in general I'm usually pretty good with speaking to them. And I'll let you know of course.

[He glances over to the boy in question, no doubt making Avery uncomfortable, but wanting to see him. Aching for him a bit.]

...Does it bother you? That he doesn't like you?

[Avery shrugs]

Not really. I expected it.

[He imagines most versions of himself before the dungeon would hate him now. The naive fools.]

Bothers me more that he's here at all, or that he'll end up doing something stupid that'll have consequences for me.

Something tells me you aren't referring to the dumb things you usually do for the heck of it.

[Avery's understanding of consequences could be different than most people's.]

I guess it kind of feel like an open wound, huh? All the differences and things that are the same. The fact everyone can see it. If it helps, most people are a bit too busy minding their own.

[For once it's the same definition of consequences as everyone else. He'd rather not blink out of existence thanks to something stupid his younger self ended up doing.]

I guess. To be honest, I think I prefer having him this young. Ten years later and I might actually hate the guy.

[He snickers and grins, but it's not as much of a joke as it should be.]

[Whilst Avery snickers his own smile falls.]

... Are you really that ashamed to have cared for someone that you'd hate yourself for it?

[He regrets asking as soon as he does. It's not as if he can't work out the answer.]

[He pushes himself up to sit properly and sighs, false smile falling away, his exhaustion showing itself on his face.]

Ashamed? ...Sure. We'll call it that. But.

[He gestures over to his sleeping counterpart]

I don't exactly consider that kid over there to be "me," if we're being honest here. The guy that kiss grows up to be might as well be dead.

[He looks from the sleeping kid to Avery, mouth pressing in a line. He shakes his head.]

I don't know, amigo. If that were true, would you be so unhappy about him? And for that matter, if you hadn't been him once, wouldn't you have never been so angry at all?

[He shifts, moving to deposit his younger self on the chair and rise alone. Teto's hands grasp for him, but he pries them off easy enough. The boy immediately curls in on himself, but he doesn't stir.

He gets up, moving to the younger Avery's spot, leaning on the chair just look at him.]

I kind of thought that was the point. You swore to live because you nearly died, right? Only you didn't.

[Really? He's going to get pedantic about it?

As Avery rolls his eyes, his younger self rolls over, still clutching the book like he would a stuffed toy.]

Fine. Then he was left behind in the dungeon. Better?

[His gaze lifts up to this actual friend here, expression going flat.]

Not particularly, no.

[It's amazing how Avery can make him feel sorry for him and then utterly annoyed within minutes and with no effort.]

But fine, you don't want to beat around the bush? Neither will I. I have never in my existence known a living guy to act more like the dead than you. Actually, you're worse.

[He arches an eyebrow, chin in his hand as he places his elbow on the armrest.]

Is that so? Please, do enlighten me as to how.

It's pretty simple. You don't let yourself live. [He folds his arms upon the back of that chair.] You have fun, yes, but that's not what I'm getting at. The only reason you're not still in the woods is because you got dragged out here. You do everything you can to drive people away. You have no interest in changing a thing and maybe even can't. And now you insist your past is dead [He gestures at the boy below.] because you're too afraid to reflect that it might actually still be you and if you look too close you might actually see a problem. You know what that makes you, amigo? A ghost. You're a living ghost who can't move on, haunting the world not for any second chance but just because you're mad at it-- and have been mad at it for centuries.

Edited 2019-04-05 00:12 (UTC)

[Héctor's words simmer at the back of his mind in a way that makes his skin crawl and his blood boil, a little voice nagging at him that maybe Héctor might have a point, drowned out by centuries and centuries of bitterness and rage.

He leans forward, wearing a cold, flat little smile.]

And here I thought you said you didn't know a thing about my situation. You seem to talk [the word is over-enunciated and harsh] like you think you do, don't you?

I know enough to be able to say that much. Believe it or not, Avery, I care about you. But I'm not always going to be nice about it every time you throw a wall at me.

[There's a threat in that smile, he can see it, but for now he's unmoved. It gets easier to push past each time this happens.]

All right. No walls then. Let's tear it to little. Tiny. Pieces.

Why don't we begin by comparing exes? Valentine's Day all over again! Did you know my dearest Vanessa never once called me by my name? I didn't realize it until I was in chains and starving to death in the dungeons, but hey! Hindsight's 20/20. Young love, eh?

[He laughs]

Oh, but don't get the wrong idea! She never meant to hurt me! She'd never do that! That would completely defeat the purpose. Her darling prince was meant to be hers forever and and ever. I'm sure the feeding schedule just happened to slip her mind.

Probably had something to do with the fact that my kingdom was destroyed sometime after I ate that demon and escaped the dungeons, now that I think about it.

How about you? Got any scars you want to show off?

[As he's been talking, he's undone his cravat. He sets it off to the side and tugs down his collar to show off the scar around his neck.

His grin disappears entirely.]

Because these are the only thing giving a damn has ever gotten me.

[He braces. He does so because no matter what he says, no matter how he might want to help, he knows this part is going to hurt.

Starved to death. That's how Avery would have gone. The irony isn't lost oh him. And now he knows why Avery looks so different though he can't fathom eating a demon nor picture it. The imagery his mind conjures is a little too gruesome for him to take.

The parts about his unspoken name, the ruined kingdom aren't much easier.

When the cravat comes off he doesn't do Avery the disservice of averting his eyes. He takes it in with a pained look.

When he can take no more, he straightens up. His jacket comes off but he's got no scars to show. No, instead, he moves around the chair and drapes his jacket overtop of the boy there. He tucks it around and briefly touches a hand to the sleeping child's hair. Only then does he return where he was.]

You know I have no way to compare to you. I don't think you're weak you know. I could never, in a million years, compare to what you went through. I was already ready thinking how you had so much to lose.

But it's not his fault. And it's not yours. And it's not because you gave a damn, Avery, your ex was a monster to you and would have been that way no matter what. You've suffered. It only frustrates me that you do these things like... like you think you deserve it. Like you're going to try to deserve it. Don't you think you've hurt enough?

[He finally lifts his eyes from the boy to the man.]

I'm not going to let you be hurt like that again. You're my friend. I give a damn about you.

[He's said that before he swears. He'll keep saying it if he has to.]

Are you gonna tell him? If these kids are here long enough?

[Avery scoffs and shakes his head]

Of course not. Little brat's too young to know about that kind of thing. Love's not even a blip on his radar.

[He leans forward, elbows on his knees and head in his hands, all the fight leaving him. Deflated. Defeated.]

I already told you I don't hate the kid.

[He's not sure how to respond to the rest. He already feels weak and vulnerable enough.]

[There's a flicker of smile, no joy in it but some tired relief. It does say something. Avery's not so set on his path that he actually want to see the hope crushed out of his past. That's something.]

Good.

[He's sorry to see Avery looking so defeated but he really doubts any gesture would be welcome right now. He'll stick to words.]

This could be good, you know? If he stays, there's a lot you could teach him. And either way, you might be able to learn things from him you've forgotten too. I hope you'll give each other a chance.

[And they can both see no one's out to hurt them here. The younger once he clears things up. The older, maybe, when he sees that no one's going to use this against him.]

I mean it, by the way. About not comparing. I don't agree with your methods, as we've gone over before, [A rueful smile at that.] and I worry about you, but I can admire the fact you've made it here. I don't think I could've gotten even half this far in the same situation. And I'm really just glad you're here at all. Wouldn't have ever met you otherwise.

Edited 2019-04-05 14:29 (UTC)

[He says nothing for a long time. Héctor's words make his chest hurt in a way it hasn't in a long, long time and somehow the world feels a little less real. It's like something has shattered, but he doesn't know what, doesn't know where or why.

It's like that first step into his ruined kingdom all over again, the realization that he's entered into a world he doesn't know how to deal with after years and years of being sure, of having plans, of having vision.]

I don't want him to know who I am. The less he knows about what happened when he goes back where he belongs, the better.

[That confirms it then. Even if it could change things, Avery's not going to be the one to do that. He smiles sadly. Sometimes he really aches for this guy.]

Alright. I'm not telling Teto anything either. But you should give me a story to work with that isn't "spooky guy in the woods". A name I can give him.

... Was there anything you really wanted to do or be as a kid? That might get his interest.

A lawyer, actually. Granted, I'm pretty sure I just thought it was about arguing with people at the time. Not like a kid's going to understand law textbooks or anything.

[He reaches for his cravat and starts putting it back on]

Don't know if that'll be enough, though. I've got my suspicions on what he thinks I am and why he's running off so much, but I can't be sure.

[He's going to resist saying that the kid really does sound like Avery. It's a little soon for that. He does give a look between amused and intrigued.

He gives Avery that minutes to deal with his cravat. He didn't need his secrets exposed all the time.]

I can figure out something more. Worst case scenario, I've got a back up plan. What is it that you think he's thinking of?

The Snatcher. Which... he's not wrong but he's not right either.

[He runs a hand through his bangs to get them out of his eyes.]

It's a spirit or creature or something like that that steals anything lost or forgotten. You know, one of those things people tell kids to make sure they pick up after themselves or to explain a lost sock or something.

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