daybreakacademy | Ain't it fun, you can't count on no one

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Ain't it fun, you can't count on no one

Who: James & YOU.
Where: Various.
What: With his morals crushed and his boyfriend gone to the Outlands, James attends to make his way through summer and maybe unravel the mysteries of the world???
When: July 10th to July 16th (please specify date when necessary)

a. HALL OF PYTHIA
[ James spends about three hours per day in the library these days. Every evening after dinner, he settles into a corner with a huge pile of books that all relate back to the history of prophecies around Nightfall. He's taking notes furiously. When someone he knows walks past, he even forgets to greet. It is unusual. ]

b. LEGIONNAIRE QUARTERS
[ Similarly, James has turned into a gym rat lately? Every morning he spends an hour training his muscles. Regulars might notice that this routine is new.
Here, he will give a friendly greeting to anyone he might know. ]

c. SOLEIL: MUSEUM OF SUPERNATURAL HISTORY - July 12th
[ Have you ever seen a nerd with a notebook wandering through a museum taking notes about seemingly absolutely every single exhibit? Now you have. James doesn't look like he's expecting to meet anyone he knows. His clothes are plain and his hair isn't done as meticulously as usual. A strand of it keeps falling in his face as he's scribbling, clearly annoying him. He doesn't look like he's doing this for fun. This is the face of a boy with a mission. ]

d. ANVIL OF HADUR - July 13th
[ Today, James is on a materials shopping spree. He has two things in hand as he walks around the anvil: 1. a book titled 'The Basic Anatomy of Firearms' and 2. a self-made blueprint for a big rune-enhanced rifle. He takes his sweet time considering materials and chatting with the people working at the Anvil about his plans. ]

e. MYTHRIL CAGE - July 15th&16th
[ James spends a lot of time in the Mythril Cage these days, dressed fully in his Rune Armor and a new rifle by his side. He's practicing different shielding modes and combat moves, but primarily his focus is on testing the rifle's different ways of shooting. There are clearly some kinks that still need to be worked out. Sometimes it just doesn't fire at all, and James sits down at the side, groaning. Time to readjust some inscriptions. ]

f. CAMPUS GROUNDS I
[ James is floating notably more than usual. Whenever you see him walking anywhere (to and from the dorms, to and from diner, any of his errands), he's... not actually walking. Instead he hovers his full 50 centimeters in the air and glides around at the highest speed he can muster up. (That speed isn't very high but it is a good power-walk.)

If you're small, he might crash into you... His head is in the clouds both literally and figuratively. ]

g. CAMPUS GROUNDS II
[ Find James around campus at any time of any day, sighing at his phone as he stares at the message app.... Also there is a cute wolf puppy phonecharm on his phone!]

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[Unfortunate for him that there's always a few others constantly there and doing about the same thing. In the recent weeks, Jolyne's taken to doing laps in the pool, mostly ignoring him. Until she's noticing he's become a frequent staple in here and she's gotten so damn curious.

After finishing her last lap, she's hanging on the edge of the pool, waiting for a good moment to catch him.]

The fuck's up? Never seen you in here every day until, like, now. [She... sounds friendly enough for the moment, despite the crass language.]

[ James stops walking and stares down at Jolyne. He's seen her before, of course, but so far he'd assumed they could just... gracefully ignore each other. It's hard to imagine that there's anything that really needs to be said between them anymore.

But now she's talking to him and it isn't a giant insult and James isn't sure what that even means. ]

I had different times. Less regular times.

[Look, she was told to try and mend bridges, there's things she's gotta do. This might be part of it, who even knows at this point. She's at least looking calm enough for the time being.]

I'm in here like all the time and I still don't recall you being in here this often. [A few times or whatever, sure, but this seems to have become a routine now.]

You suddenly wanting to be buff or some shit? 'Cause, like, that's a good way to hate the gym instead.

[ James isn't sure he finds this argument convincing, considering Jolyne is pretty buff and seems to love the gym intensely, but hey...

She's being civil so he will be as well, but it feels supremely awkward to talk to her in a normal manner after the last time they texted. ]

It's not really about appearances, just... keeping up a regimen to prepare for the next battle. Sooner or later there's gonna be another Herald after all.

[She's just kind of always been like this, she lived near-ish an ocean with a fucking marine biologist of a father. She likes swimming, okay.]

Pft, I guess someone has to be. Since lord knows the rest of us will remain stuck here. [She's pretty adamant on the thought that they still won't let her do jack all, but there's numerous new reasons for that. Which she'd rather not detail at the moment.]

Must be nice to be normal.

You know that's a choice, right?

[ He's not actually sure she knows, convinced as she sounds. That's... a bit concerning, really. James is never going to like her, he doesn't think, but he can at least talk to her now. ]

You can just work towards being 'normal'. Which, really, nearly nobody at this school is.

[She's shrugging slowly at all of it, she knows it's a choice and knows there's ways to get there. Though she's also convinced it's not something they're ever really going to look past with her.]

I've been trying, recently. But here's the funny thing about it, it's harder to convince someone that you're getting better when they're already convinced that you're unwell. Even if it's the truth, there's a high chance they're going to just look at you and believe that you're just acting, that you're just lying, that you can't change. [Really, she's thought about this way too much. She's pulling herself out of that water for the time being, not looking at him, and letting her feet just rest in the pool instead.]

Never really had a chance at normal in the first place, anyway. Something about my family's bloodline on one side, getting dragged into this supernatural shit whether we wanted to or not.

[ The whole thing about being seen as unable to change hits a chord with James. He knows it shouldn't. He's always been the pristine perfect honors student. The kinds of experiences Jolyne is making aren't experiences he has ever shared. He's never been regarded with that kind of prejudice. There's only one person who has ever seen him as despicable and yet... that had made him feel this exact thing. That no matter what, he'd be seen as the same as his past self.

He hates this, hates relating to anything Jolyne says. Because their situations aren't similar, because Jolyne has assaulted a person he loves literally less than a month ago!! This school is so messed up. ]

Proving yourself takes time. People have no reason to trust you right now, but they'll think about it if you don't immediately revert and confirm for them that they were right to doubt your efforts.

[It's what she's trying to do now, to slowly start trying to mend bridges where she can, show that maybe how she was before is something she's realized isn't going to fly. That she sincerely was concerned with herself the moment she could actually see what she was doing.

Her focus remains on the water instead, letting him talk and mulling the words over. She knows it'll take time, that's how it always works. Humans are fickle whether to believe someone or to remain to whatever changes they make. But in a way it also... hurts, not that she's keen on saying it. Or admitting to it, for that matter.]

Believe me, I know. Doesn't help that I had a record even before coming to this place, honestly, so I get it. I don't expect anyone or everyone to believe me even if I keep to what I'm saying. People have the right to believe what they want about someone. [She's shifting a bit to pull her feet out finally and just pull her knees to her chest to rest her chin on the top.]

I don't like talking about this shit and I sure as hell don't expect anyone to listen, either.

[ For that, she's talking a whole lot about it right now, James wonders. It's strange that she'd express even this much to him, but maybe that is some kind of way to make amends for what happened with Keith...? James is uncertain how to feel about it. It will for sure keep him wondering for a while. ]

Well, the upside is that I doubt it will take much good behaviour to get you cleared for missions again. We always need people on those and they're a good way to prove yourself for a start.

[ Or rather, prove the usefulness of her abilities, but it's better than nothing. ]

[In a way, it is. She also says she hates talking about this kind of thing, but it's easier to say something than it is to let it be bottled up and fester all the more. A double-edged sword that she's not too sure how to feel about.

She can't help but snort a little at the missions nonsense.]

That's about all I'm good for, let's be real. Question, how long have you had your abilities? I'm making a point here, I swear.

Nearly 5 years now.

[ Whatever the point is, he has absolutely no idea what it is, so this just gets a headtilt. ]

[Five fucking years, jeeze.]

Yeah, see, I've had mine all of maybe a month longer than I've been here. Maybe. [She's shrugging a little, this whole thing is ridiculous.]

Getting this shit just kinda thrust on you and shoved somewhere new after having been thrown into prison is a hell of an adjustment.

[ ... prison, huh? Well, that explains... about several million things, maybe. ]

What happened to your actual sentence? Did the Academy just override it?

[ ... and then let her go free on campus because why the hell not? Does law and order mean nothing to anybody?? ]

[Honestly, it should.]

Not the Academy. My d-... family, one side of it, have been part of a group that deals and helps with supernatural shit for literal decades, they did. Mostly because, surprise, the thing that got me in prison wasn't my fucking fault and I took the blame for a stupid bastard that had done it. [... Oh.]

[ He's not 100% sure he believes this after what Jolyne did to Keith. Though his doubt in the establishment has increased by immense amounts since getting to Daybreak, he still tends to think of law enforcement as something that is mostly reasonable. ]

What were you in for?

[Hell, she could even give him the name of the damn organization if he wanted to make sure her story was correct, but whatever, James.]

Murder, basically. It was a fuckin' hit and run that I took the blame for. That's... also kinda why I started on the whole trying to mend bridges thing, got my revenge on the bastard that actually did it, kinda an eye-opening experience when your revenge feels hollow as shit.

[She's snorting a little.]

Who'd guess that mean intimidating ol' Jolyne would take the fall for a pretty face, huh?

[ Okay, that's laying it on too thick. Though his view of her has become at least a little more sympathetic, James has to roll his eyes. ]

'Intimidating' isn't exactly the main issue with your reputation by this point.

[Sometimes she's a dramatic idiot, it's fine.]

It was a joke, or the tone of it was. Look, I never claimed I didn't do a whole bunch of stupid shit, but that one thing I sure as fuck didn't do. Because, believe me, I know I'm aggressive as hell.

Apparently that's kind of a family trait, too.

Did you do anything else worthy of getting you to jail? Not that I could rat you out now that the Academy protects you.

[ Or maybe they wouldn't if it was legitimate, but.... the whole thing with Keith has not raised James' confidence. ]

At that time? No. I was actually working on cleaning up my act when I started dating the jackass that I took the fall for, believe it or not.

[Which is probably hard to believe, but it's the absolute truth.]

I did a lot of shit before then that I already had done jail or juvie time for, but there was nothing between those and that incident.

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Ain't it fun, you can't count on no one

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