hadriel_logs | Event Log: The Hope of a Child

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Event Log: The Hope of a Child

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the The Hope of a Child event
Where: All over the city!
When: January 23rd-Feb 1st
Warnings: Youths

By now, the gods have probably done enough weird crap to you while you're asleep for you to be a little suspicious- but it's not like you can just not sleep, especially when there are a few supernatural forces making your eyes droopy and your body feel heavy.

And now, when you fall asleep, you'll wake up somewhere else and you'll likely have quite a different temperament- you'll be younger, maybe a little more naive and innocent, and you won't exactly remember all the wild stuff that's happened to your adult self. Maybe now you'll be a little more trusting and emotional, hm? The gods could definitely use a little boost in power, and what better way to do it than to harness the power of overemotional kiddos!

Or maybe you aren't affected at all and find yourself surrounded by youths. What are you going to do when your best friend doesn't know how to cook for themselves? Or your bitter rival is throwing a temper tantrum because they broke their favorite toy? Nobody asked for this kind of responsibility, but think about what would happen if nobody was around to take care of these babies...

► This log covers January 23rd-Feb 1st.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you trip over a kid and die, please let us know here.

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[Interesting. Harlan sets a glass of water down in front of Michael before starting on coffee for himself. He is not awake enough for this shit right now.]

Oh yeah? What'd you get in trouble for?

[As if he's not going to use this opportunity to snoop on Michael's childhood shenanigans.]

You're in a place called Hadriel, by the way. It's an alternate dimension, kind of. The details aren't important. I don't think you'll be here for too long.

[Michael doesn't want to answer that, but he doesn't want to be rude. Hmm. One of his hands comes up and scratches at the inside of his arm, up by his shoulder. He chews on his lip for a second.]

I did some stuff I wasn't supposed to. My dad was really mad about it.

[He doesn't like the way his voice wavers, just ever so slightly, on that second part. He tries to move past it as quickly as possible, catching himself and forcing his hand back to join the other one.]

What do you mean we're in another dimension? [He laughs a little nervously, like he's not sure if this is a joke or not.] That stuff's not real.

[Harlan is distracted and almost doesn't catch the waver, but he glances back to Michael just in time to catch him scratching at his arm. Well, that's familiar. Michael did say he started when he was a kid.]

I get that. [He moves to join Michael at the table while the coffee is brewing, folding his arms on the surface. The scars are faded, but he's wearing a t-shirt and they're sitting closely enough that Michael should be able to see them if he's paying attention. It's subtle enough, he hopes, that Michael will understand the solidarity without getting freaked out that this weird adult somehow knows exactly what he got in trouble for.]

That used to happen to me all time. I'd do stuff I knew my mom didn't want me doing, but there was some stuff I just needed to do.

[He's... not exactly saying it's okay for a kid to be hurting himself, but also, it's complicated. Michael's dad clearly didn't give a fuck about addressing the root of the issue. Maybe get your fucking child some decent psychiatric help instead of shipping him off to a goddamn prison like he's somebody else's problem.]

Your dad's time would be better spent trying to figure out why you're doing that stuff instead of getting mad at you. Getting mad just makes shit worse.

[He scoots in a little, leaning forward like he's about to share closely-guarded adult secrets with Michael. Which, he is.]

I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to rat me out. Deal?

[Michael's first reaction is to look down at the table when Harlan sits, but when the guy starts talking about his own experience, his eyes drift back up. They land pretty immediately on the scars.

He doesn't know what to make of them. He knows, logically, that there are other people who do what he does to himself. But adults? Normal people? That seems... unreal, somehow. The way his dad talks about it, it's something only freaks do. Really sick people. Is this guy really sick? He doesn't act like it. But neither does Michael, when he can help it.

He grabs the water glass with both hands and just kind of... holds it.]

I don't know why I do it. They both asked and I still don't know.

[He doesn't know how to stop, either, which is the whole problem. If he could figure that out, everything would be fine. Is that what this guy did? Is that what he wants to tell him? No, probably not. He wouldn't be worried about getting snitched on if it was. Michael turns the water glass around in his fingers, considering Harlan's offer. Then he nods.]

Deal.

Hey, that's okay. Same here. Knowing the "why" doesn't mean it'll be any easier to stop, anyway. It'd just mean he'd understand you better. Any dad should want that.

[He wishes he could tell Michael that his dad probably loves him and all of his mistakes are just him panicking because his kid is hurting, but, well. In Harlan's experience, that's not always true. Even if it is, who gives a fuck? It doesn't change the fact that his dad is a total prick.

Anyway.][He feels a full-blown motivational speech coming on, so he gets up to grab some coffee before he gets too far ahead of himself. What does Michael even stand to gain from this? It's not like Harlan's gonna magically change the past.

Oh, right. Magic.]

Anyway, yeah, other dimensions totally exist. I'll prove it. [And in the five seconds it takes him to return to the table with his coffee, he has come up with a Plan. Dad mode engage.

He pulls the spoon out of his mug and sets it on the table between them. Of course, it's an illusory spoon--thanks Prestidigitation--but clearly Michael won't know to be on the lookout for magic.]

It's really easy to portal stuff between dimensions. Watch. Are you watching? [He squints at the spoon like he's concentrating extra hard, and then slaps his hand down on top of it. When he pulls it away, it has ~*~magically vanished~*~!!!!]

Bam. I just wiped that spoon out of existence. In this universe, anyway. [...But wait, there's more.] I can teach you how to do it too, if you want. Another secret you can't tell anyone.

[Should his dad want that? Maybe. Michael gets that other dads probably don't treat their kids like his does, but then, other kids aren't like him. He isn't sure which one came first. He can't remember anymore.

But anyway, Harlan changes the subject, and Michael's grateful. He takes a sip of water, watching cautiously. He flinches a little when Harlan slaps the table, and when he sees the spoon has vanished, his eyes widen just slightly... and then narrow into a squint.

He's seen magic tricks before. Who does this guy think he's fooling?]

How'd you do that? [He sounds suspicious. He knows there's gotta be a trick in there somewhere. The spoon's up his sleeve or- wait, that wouldn't make sense, they're too short. Hmm.

He guesses the guy did offer to show him. And since he has nothing better to do and definitely would rather talk about this than his dad, he latches onto it.]

Sure, yeah. Teach me.

[Yeah yeah, that wasn't that impressive. Fair enough, kid. This is a two-part trick, though. He fumbles around for a moment like he's looking for something else to disapparate, and then pulls out his phone. It's legitimately the only thing in his pockets right now, but also, this will be perfect.

He slides it across the table to Michael.]

Try it on that. You just need to think really hard on making it not there anymore, and then smack it like you mean it. I'm not kidding. You really gotta whack it. [...] Don't hurt yourself, though.

[Michael is still far from convinced, but he also wants to play along, because that's what he's supposed to do. And also he's curious. He can't bring himself to believe that his own concentration is going to make the- wait. What is he trying to make disappear? Some kind of BlackBerry? A PDA?

Anyway, he doesn't actually think his concentrating will make it vanish, but he trusts that there is a trick to this, and that Harlan will pull it off. He has faith. So without much hesitation, he lifts his hand and brings it down flat with all the force he can muster.

It will probably hurt, but it's just a slap, he'll be fine.]

[Excellent. Harlan knew this small version of Michael would take the bait. It's possible that he's only playing along to be polite since that's, like, Michael's MO, but whatever. He'll take it.

Michael's hand crashes down into the phone, and there's a loud crack, and it bursts into flames.]

Ahh! Dude! [The panic is fake, but the fire definitely is not. The screen blackens and the case cracks after a moment, splitting the phone into pieces. Harlan dumps the remains of his coffee onto the phone. The flames extinguish with a sizzle.]

What the hell? I told you to disapparate it, not set it on fire. Jeez. [Was that the term he was using? Eh. He picks the phone up, turns it over a couple of times to inspect the damage. Yep. Sure is busted. He hands it to Michael.]

Well, now you have to fix it for me.

[Michael jerks his hand back from the fire, the color draining from his face. What? This guy was supposed to make this thing do something magic, not let him break it! This isn't his fault, right? Maybe it is. Maybe he hit it too hard. Is he in trouble?

His eyes dart back and forth between the wreckage of the... thing, and Harlan's face. Is he mad? He can't tell.

He dutifully holds out his hands to take it back, but then he just sort of... stares at it, trying not to panic.]

Um... I don't- I don't know how. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, I thought you were gonna make it disappear.

[Harlan laughs. Well, shit, he feels a little bad now. Really, he should've expected this response out of him. That's what he gets for trying to babysit before the coffee kicked in.]

I was messing with you. I can't actually make it disappear. [...Well.] Not like that, anyway. But I can do this.

[He leans over to tap the phone. When he does, it starts to fix itself. The cracks seal, the screen clears up. It's as good as new after a few moments.]

See? All better. The fire was me, too. [A small blue flame ignites at the top of the phone, but it doesn't do any damage this time. It's not even hot. Yay, illusions.]

[Michael draws in a sharp little breath when the glass starts to come back together and the cracks in the case start to vanish. He is very clearly mesmerized. The little blue fire is just a cherry on top.

... And since it doesn't appear to be damaging the object itself, he tentatively reaches out to put his fingers through it. It doesn't hurt him. It's not even hot. Whoa.]

How are you doing that? Is it like a hologram? [Except holograms don't fix things. He hasn't gotten to that part yet.] Can you show me?

Magic. [A beat.] Like, real magic. I know that doesn't really exist where you're from, but it does for me. I'm a sorcerer. Most of what I just did is a spell called Prestidigitation, which lets you do all kinds of neat tricks. Like the fire. Fixing the phone was Mending. That lets me, uh, fix stuff.

[He's... a little worried that trying to teach Michael's kid self some magic will only end in disappointment like it did with adult Michael, but, well... This is probably temporary. He can find some excuses to avoid disappointment if mini-Michael has trouble. That'll be easier than a flat no here and now, anyway.

...Wait okay but holy shit he hopes this is temporary. Oh god. What if his boyfriend is stuck as a kid forever?

Mmmm gonna assume that's not the case and just. Magic lessons!]

Yeah, I'll show you. Mending is easier, so, uh... [He looks around, and then gets up briefly to grab a paper towel from the counter. He rips it so that it isn't quite in pieces but is still distinctly broken, and then sets it on the table. It's easier to fix a tear in one whole object than to rejoin two halves.]

Pick that up. You have to be touching it for the spell to work. [And now comes the awkward part where he has to explain how to use magic to someone who has, until this point, thought it was a made-up thing. Oof. Maybe Message would've been easier. At least he can demonstrate how that works with Michael as a recipient, get him used to how the magic feels... That can be a back up in case this doesn't work.]

Casting spells is all about manipulating energy that's already in your body. [Sooort of?] This spell is an easy one, so the energy you need to put into it is about as much as you'd need to do basic stuff you do all the time without thinking, like walking or breathing. Fixing that tear is gonna be easier than you think it'll be. It'll just feel hard because you don't think it's possible. It's not something your body can do without magic.

[He pauses for a moment to think.] You know how when it's really cold, you can kind of watch frost spreading on a window? That's what you want your magic to do with this paper towel. Focus on that, and think about how the paper towel looked before I ripped it. Make it, uh, be that again. It might take a little while and you might need a few tries, but you'll get it. You can do it.

[And then he waits to let Michael give it a shot. He hopes he's explained it well enough... This is more of a Kyna thing, really. Harlan's always had magic, always known what it feels like. That makes teaching it a little tricky.]

[Michael listens to the whole explanation with a level of attentiveness not commonly found in eleven-year-olds. Magic. Like, real magic. He doesn't really believe in that, because it's kid stuff, but... well. He wants to. It's like that Harry Potter book everybody's reading; everything in it is so cool, and he kind of wishes it were real, except maybe the dark lord stuff.

And he doesn't really have an explanation for how the screen-thing got fixed. He watched the cracks disappear, and he was holding it. That wasn't just smoke and mirrors. It reminds him of the time he read in a book about the guy who bent spoons, and then he spent a whole day trying to move a pencil with his mind. It didn't work, but then his brother came up behind him and scared the crap out of him and the pencil went rolling across the table by itself. Which was probably nothing. Probably.

Okay, fine. He'll bite.

Michael sets the thing down and picks up the paper towel instead, one hand on each side of the tear. There's no magic words to memorize, and he doesn't need a wand, so all he's gotta do is concentrate, he guesses. Harlan says it'll be easier than he thinks. He says he can do it. And even if he can't, and it is just another trick, then that probably means the paper will get fixed anyway, because Harlan will do it for him.

Michael closes his eyes, even though he wasn't told to.

Like frost spreading on a window. He imagines the ragged edges of the paper towel reaching out for each other and sticking back together again. He imagines the tear sealing up like a zipper. You'll get it. You can do it. He wants to, and he thinks that might be because Harlan wants him to, because he expects it. Or, no, it's more like... because Harlan thinks he can. That's not something Michael hears very often, at least not for good things, and he doesn't want to waste it by disappointing him. He tries to push that desire forward, willing the object in his hands to be whole when he opens his eyes.

And so it is.

It isn't perfect; he can still faintly see where the tear used to be. But it's definitely one piece again. For now, all he can do is stare.]

Whoa.

[Harlan is just as surprised as Michael that the spell actually worked. Maybe he should try to do a better job of masking it, but he's never been good at that.

He gently tugs the paper towel out of Michael's hands to get a better look at it. Sure, not perfect, but it's a far cry from what any kid should be able to do on his first try. Especially like three minutes after learning that magic even exists. Especially Michael.

Teaching Michael as an adult was challenging. They made basically no headway, and Harlan suspected it was largely to do with Michael's limited patience, but... It was more than that, too. Like the magic was being blocked somehow.

It's possible that small Michael was able to learn the spell so quickly because of some weird god clause that's part of this event, but it's just as possible that the problem was with adult Michael. Would that have something to do with the Visitor, maybe?

Hm.

He'll get to that in a minute.]

You know, there's a few different kinds of mages. Which you are depends on how you get your magic. Most mages are wizards, and wizards learn magic the same way you learn things like math and English in school. That's what you should be.

[He sets the paper towel on the table and slides it back to Michael.] But a wizard wouldn't be able to do this as quickly as you did. Learning spells takes time, and it takes even more time when you're just starting out. You did it on your first try. In less than a minute. [He hopes his tone conveys how big of a deal this is.]

When I was a kid, I could learn spells really fast too, but that's because I'm a sorcerer. I've had magic in me since I was born.

[He pauses. He's not exactly sure where he's going with this. It's not like Michael is going to be able to tell him what's going on here, but, well. Something is up.]

Are you sure you don't have magic where you're from?

[Michael is slightly nervous when Harlan takes the paper towel. Did he not do that good of a job? But then all Harlan has to say sounds like he's impressed, like this is a big deal, like he did better than good. He did great.

Michael smiles, but he tries to keep it under control. Don't want to get too overstated, here. Maybe it was beginner's luck.]

Can other people really not do that? [Yeah mission failed immediately, he's like, beaming. This is the part where he gets his Hogwarts acceptance letter or whatever. But wait, he has a question to answer, too.]

Um, I don't think we do... Everyone always says it's fake, like it's just in books and movies. There are people who do magic at birthday parties and stuff, but that's all just tricks. [Unless it isn't???]

But there was, um. [He fidgets with his sleeves a little. He feels silly saying this, even though he's pretty sure he just literally cast a spell.]

There was one time I think I moved a pencil with my mind, but Nate said I was being stupid.

Hm. The magic I know would be tough to hide, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. Maybe you did move that pencil. I was doing that kind of stuff when I was your age, before I really knew what spells did what.

[But, again, Michael should be a wizard. A wizard would need to be taught the spells... God, this is bizarre.

Time for more tests.]

Hey, do you want to learn another spell? I know one that'll let you talk to people telepathically. It's just like talking, but you're saying the words with your magic, not your mouth. See if you can say something to me that way.

[It'll be tricky, not having more than a vague description to go on, but Harlan will at least be able to feel if he's trying.]

[Maybe you really did move that pencil. He thinks maybe a part of him always knew that, but it sounds cheesy, and it could just be the giddiness he's feeling from having just used magic. Like, for real. And he's about to do it again maybe? Okay, gotta concentrate.

Michael nods and closes his eyes again, even though Harlan once again didn't say to do that. He first tries to come up with a thought to send over, and that's taking too long, so he just settles on "hello". He repeats it a few times in his head, and then tries to, well, he doesn't know, push it? Over to Harlan. He isn't sure what speaking telepathically is supposed to feel like.

This isn't as easy as the paper towel trick, he realizes. Maybe it'll take him actual practice, but he thinks he can get it. He wants to get it. He doesn't want that first time to have just been a fluke.

As for what Harlan hears, it isn't exactly a classical working of the Message spell. It sounds like it's being projected over a vast distance, or with a very weak signal, and it's less of his intended message and more of his surface thoughts. It's hard to make any sense of it under those conditions, but it's something.]

[Harlan's eyebrows shoot up. It's a weak signal, maybe, but it's a fuck of a lot more than he was expecting. Holy shit.

He shoots back his own Message.]

Close. This is what the spell is supposed to sound like. Wait a few seconds for mine to wear off, and then try again.

[Michael starts a little at the sound of a voice in his head that's not his. But it doesn't actually scare him, because it's clearly the guy across the table. That's... so weird. But also really cool?

He isn't sure what it "wearing off" means, but he does wait. Almost a full minute since he's not sure what "a few seconds" means, either. Oops. He wants to be sure, though.

He got close last time, so if he just tries that again, but more like the clear, conversational sound of Harlan's version. He tries not to concentrate as hard. Just kind of let the words happen, maybe. His message this time is slightly more complex, but it's the same general idea:]

Can you hear this?

[Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. It's still not perfect--the words sound a little distant, echoing more than they should, and he's not able to hold a window open long enough for Harlan to respond--but it's much better than what he should be capable of.

What the fuck?]

Yeah, there you go. That's... Well, that's great. You're a quick learner.

[Eerily quick. And Harlan has one more test in mind to see just how quick. Maybe, anyway. If this works.]

Hey, there's one more thing I want you to try, okay? You don't even really have to do anything this time.

[It's true. For this test, it's all HH. He sets up a quick Alarm spell around himself, setting the dividing line about halfway between himself and Michael. He takes care to make sure the Alarm is very specific; if someone enters the barrier who isn't a sorcerer, the spell will trigger.]

Now put your hand here. [Harlan points to a spot closer to himself on the table.] Nothing will happen, but I'm trying something out to test just how magical you are.

[Michael grins, clearly pleased with himself. He's been told he's a quick learner before, but never for anything this cool. Being told he's good at magic makes all that school stuff seem so pedestrian.

And someone is talking to him with telepathy that's so crazy. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to him and nobody's going to believe it. But that's okay, he probably wouldn't tell them anyway.

Maybe getting ahead of himself, he tries to respond using the spell- a very quiet "okay"- before confidently sliding his hand across the table. He's gotta be at least a little bit magic, right? Though honestly, any is better than none.]

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Event Log: The Hope of a Child

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cw for self harm I guess!!!

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