devyn-morey

[devyn-morey]

Devyn couldn't know what Sid was thinking, but what they said was the truth.

Sid definitely had a prickly personality, but it had never once been used against them. They had their disagreements--all roommates did--but it never ended in weeks long silent treatments or Sid purposefully using communication that wasn't conducive with their disability. No matter what, Sid was always respectful and open to working things out, even if he was going to complain the whole time. Devyn would take that any day.

This was only proven further as Sid spoke. He was reaffirming and supportive, even if it was in his own spiky Sid-like way. Devyn didn't realize that Sid couldn't see that about himself.

In the end, it was comforting. They always knew what to expect with Sid. They didn't always have that with a lot of other people in their life.

Which meant they should have seen it coming when Sid outright started listing off everything they'd avoided, but it still made them flush. They had to bat away their thought bubble before any memories of that dream or their time together could peek through and embarrass them more. But they had committed that they'd talk about it, so they would.

They took a deep breath and let another new, clean thought bubble form, letting the words come out.

"I guess it's been a lot, yeah. As for the kiss and the dream, those things aren't really all that unusual, right? A New Years Kiss and a Swynlake dream where you do stuff that doesn't mean anything in real life. That being said, it's not like it didn't mean ANYTHING, though."

They flushed, the words fading away into the wisps as they held onto the next thoughts they were formulating. Finally, they released them.

"I like you, a lot. I enjoyed our kiss. I enjoyed the dream. I just didn't want it to change anything between us. I really like being your friend, and I'll admit I've noticed that the people you hook up with aren't exactly friends. At least, not like we are. I didn't want anything to change between us so I thought it was just easier to ignore it."

They actually felt lighter as they let the words go into the bubble, as if releasing them into the air cleared things up a bit.

They did still want to talk about what happened in Rosas. But they could tackle these things one step at a time.

Boiling Point || Devney

[devyn-morey]

Devyn smiled politely as they waited for the response. Drakken seemed to be getting really into it--they wondered if it was more information about the petition? But then they finally got the phone back and read it over.

They quickly typed up a response before handing it over.

"I'll definitely have the time to commit once the semester ends," the message reassured. After all, the study needed to be done before the end of the school year. They didn't actually know what they were doing for this summer, if they were going to go back to counseling summer camp or not. Maybe getting involved in politics could be a fun summer project! Isaac would be so proud.

There was another message underneath.

"If we want to exchange contact information, I can reach out after the semester is over?"

@dr-drckken

The Dream Team || Blue Paint

[devyn-morey]

Devyn's throat tightened as she said that.

They'd been trying hard not to think about the Magnifico of it all. They didn't know if he was a character, or the author, or what, but he had been their professor--their only professor--for the past year. After such a disastrous first year of school, he'd managed to draw them back in and make them feel like they actually had purpose and talent. Like they deserved to be at Pride University.

But it was all a lie. And without that foundation beneath them, they were very close to everything collapsing and falling around them.

By reaching out to Mim and broaching this subject, were they teetering too close to the edge? Would it be better to pull away?

"I'm sorry you had to go through that too," they signed before hesitating. "I don't really know what it means, going forward. I'm trying not to think about it. I want to fix everything with everyone else before I try to fix..." Their hands slowly lowered, unsure how to finish that sentence.

@madmagicmim

Libet Delay || Dim

[devyn-morey]

Falling Action || Magnifiques

Takes place: May 2025 Summary: The Magnifiques convene and discuss what to do when it's revealed they are not going to get credit for their classes and study with Professor Sanchez @blight-magic @ariel-the-undiscovered @clio-of-hesiod

DEVYN:

Things had been pretty hazy since they exited out of the book. Not in the way they had been hazy during their wish. That was like an endless fog with vague shadows moving in the distance, only to be gone when you looked at them directly. This was more like a thick, humid heat, where everything was visible but suffocating nonetheless. His mind was clear but the events that surrounded him were heavy and obtrusive.

They’d spent their time apologizing to who they could and giving space to those they couldn’t. They didn’t want to center themselves with everything happening, but that was hard when the hammer was coming down right on top of them.

It came in the form of an email. The first few days were vague with what was going to happen with their classes. They’d signed up for an exclusively Salvador schedule after all. But then the email went out to everyone in their ex-professor/ex-king’s classes letting them know that as their classes couldn’t be complete, they would not be able to garner credit for them.

Another semester down the drain. They were already so far behind.

It wasn’t long before the texts came in from their friends and they agreed to meet in the library. Entering again gave them a vaguely nauseous feeling, as they remembered how giddily they’d navigated this space before, eager to please a man who would ultimately betray them. Was all of it really wasted? Was it all for nothing?

They slipped into the little adjacent study room that the Magnifiques had called home for nearly a year now. Some of their friends were already there and they waited for the subtitle spell to be cast before giving a subdued greeting. “Hey guys. How are things?”

AMITY: 

On top of everything, Amity was failing.

She stared at the email from Pride U’s administration for what felt like an hour, until the screen went fuzzy, her eyes burned, and Amity realized she had started to cry again. With tears dribbling down her face, she had shut her laptop quickly, grabbed a change of clothes, and darted into the shower so no one else could hear her. It didn’t make any of it better. Sure, her other classes were fine, but an incomplete meant that she couldn’t graduate. She’d have to repeat the semester. 

And what sucked the most was that Amity’s work in Professor Salvador’s class was good. Her notes? Her outlines? Her annotated bibliographies? Even the creative collaborative project everyone poured themselves into. She believed in that writing more than she believed in any of her fanfic, and it was original stuff. Even with Magnifico gone, Amity had clung to the fact that she was still a good writer. His magic might have given her infinite ideas and inspiration, but it didn’t give her her talent. 

And now none of it counted. 

It pissed her off. 

She got out of the shower steaming– the heat from the water painting her skin red, her eyes puffy but no more tears to shed. Amity grabbed her phone. At that point, the group chat had already gone off. She added her agreement to the chorus, ready to take back what she had worked so hard for, professor or no professor. The anger fueled her to the library. She and Kleo got there first. 

“Things will be much better once we fix this pile of selkidomus scat,” Amity growled. “There aren’t even that many classes until revision starts! There’s got to be a way for us to push back.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Giselle nodded solemnly. 

ARIEL:

If Ariel could just lay on the floor and do nothing she would- but she couldn’t, it was unfair! Unjust! And she planned to use her voice for good now!

Except what did she prove, who would care? No one would.

“What if we just made another professor look at the work. Shove it in their face until they can’t do anything but mark it and tell us how wonderful we are.”

Hey she didn’t promise her voice would be any smarter.

DEVYN:

Devyn wanted to believe it was true. It was the kind of thing that they’d have eagerly jumped on merely a few weeks ago. If there was something they wanted to do, they would be able to do it, no matter what. They just had to put the effort in. Except they had put the effort in and it had been used against them, taken and twisted into something it wasn’t supposed to be. They had been the ones to “fix” it but they had nothing to show for it, and they certainly couldn’t reveal their involvement lest they make the situation worse. What was there to do?

With everything that was happening, it was becoming more clear that sometimes it didn’t matter how much you worked, how much you wanted, or how much you wished–sometimes, bad things just happened.

It was a mindset that they weren’t used to and were having a hard time wrapping their head around. It was almost reminiscent of that first year of college, when everything had gone horribly wrong, and they had no choice but retreat back with their family and lick their wounds. Were they really going to do that again? Were they doomed to this cycle?

Their brain latched onto Ariel’s words. “We have it. We have the work. Maybe if we submit it to the department, along with the syllabus, they’ll know that we did it?”

AMITY: That should be enough, except they all knew that Professor– that Magnifico’s syllabus had been bare bones. This was an ‘independent study,’ which made it difficult for any third-party to truly assess them. That was Amity’s fear anyway, when it came to shoving their work in the administration’s faces and demanding their credits.

But maybe if they put in a little more effort.

“We could go another step,” said Amity. “Maybe we could also write…process papers. You know, something that talks about what we learned and why those skills are valuable. Like, research skills, critical thinking and analysis, and literary craft. We can show our work, but also explain our work.” 

ARIEL:

Now that was a brilliant idea. Ariel wasn’t afraid of a little more work and when you had to prove something you had to dig your heels in and go for it. It was a brilliant plan and she wasn’t surprised that Amity had come up with it.

“Yeah I think so- We can pull all of our sources show the research process that it wasn’t just a simple project or one that we could half ass. We put a lot of time and effort into this.” Ariel sat up to start writing notes, anything she remembered from the process all the way back to the beginning of the semester.

KLEOPATRA:

Kleopatra hadn’t said anything. 

She had nothing, really, to say. It felt difficult to care about losing out on a semester of work—when they’d almost destroyed the town and everyone’s lives. Maybe they deserved to repeat a semester. It felt like a fitting punishment. Especially for Kleopatra. After all, she was the one who had started this ball rolling. She had let Magnifico manipulate her—and, then, manipulate all of her friends. 

Maybe they hadn’t really learned anything at all. 

As the voices rose and fell around her, that was all she could think about. 

What was the point of trying to say any differently? 

“The administration might just say no because he wasn’t even a real writer. How could he have taught us anything?” she said quietly, staring down at her own blank notebook. For once, all her inspiration had ran completely dry. 

DEVYN:

Devyn nodded enthusiastically at Amity’s suggestion. The work itself was one thing, but the administration would likely appreciate them going above and beyond in submitting even more work. They couldn’t possibly say no to that, right? Ariel was already taking notes and Giselle was already thumbing through past materials when Kleo spoke up.

They deflated slightly. Although there was an air of determinism about them, there was also the incident that was hanging over all their heads. One that they couldn’t fess up to, and one they wouldn’t be able to explain away in a process paper.

“They don’t know he wasn’t a real writer,” they pointed out sheepishly. Despite everything that happened, there was no official explanation for it. A Plot of Wishes and Words was a series that still existed, written by Salvador Sanchez, who was, as far as anyone else knew, their teacher. Whether he “became” Magnifico or why he disappeared after the incident, none of it was verifiable and likely couldn’t be used against them.

But that didn’t dissipate the distaste that sat on all their tongues. Because that wasn’t the point.

The point was that they’d all been tricked and manipulated. Everything they thought they had been working for was a lie. Whatever growth they thought they had experienced had happened under false pretenses.

That didn’t mean it didn’t happen, though.

“And even if he wasn’t a real writer, we are. This study wasn’t him teaching us, it was us researching for him. Everything we did, everything we wrote, we did that,” they signed, emphasizing the “we”. “He took so much. But he can’t take that.” 

AMITY: Amity frowned at Kleo’s point.

She didn’t necessarily…agree. Yeah, technically proving Magnifico was…Magnifico, from the book, would be hard to do. Pride U might be magick-friendly, but it was a mundus institution at its heart and there was no actual physical evidence that proved Sanchez was Magnifico in disguise. Less hard would be proving he was a fraud in general, though.

But like Dev said, they were real writers. And showing their work, explaining their work, proved it. They’d let their talent speak for them.

“You’re right. Dev’s right,” Amity said. She met Kleo’s troubled gaze. “It was an independent study, technically. He might have overseen us but we did all the work. The least we can do is try, and if Pride U takes away the credits then… well, fuck them! But they can’t without us putting up a fight.” 

ARIEL:Ariel was always up for a fight, it was the little sister in her that wanted to be heard and made sure she wasn’t lost in the background.

She would do exactly that now and fight until she couldn’t.

“I’m up for a fight. I’ll get my boxing gloves.” Ariel teased with a wink, maybe it wouldn’t cheer up Kleo but she was already in a better mood.

KLEOPATRA:

Everyone shook their heads. They denied that they hadn’t learned. That they hadn’t grown.

And, maybe, there was some truth to that. She wanted to believe that. She wanted to think that everything they’d done the last year meant something. It just was hard. She felt like she was in quicksand, everything slipping around her. There was nothing sturdy to grasp. 

But Devyn reached out their hand, Giselle hers, Amity, and Ariel. All of them stretched out towards her. 

All Kleopatra had to do was grasp them back.

So, she did. 

Her head bowed and nodded. She laughed, a small, breathless laugh at Ariel’s comment. Her head shook. And although her voice wobbled, she spoke: 

“Okay. Yeah…you’re right. It–it isn’t all a waste. We still learned something. It was our writing. And it is really good.” That, she did believe. “We’ll just have to compile it all.” The stack of paper alone would be impressive, she already knew. “We will have to be organized and prepared to argue if we get push back.”  Which, personally, made Kleopatra a little sick to her stomach. She wasn’t good with authority. 

“But we can do it. If–if we do it together.” 

[devyn-morey]

Devyn had to think about it. tilting their head. "Lately I've been sleeping maybe three, four hours?" It wasn't even that bad by university standards, but they were someone who liked to get their full eight hours if they could. They'd been taught the importance of sleep.

Who had taught them that?

Who...?

The thought was there and then dissipated like a cloud in the wind. They merely smiled again, blank as could be, while they waited for an answer from the doctor.

@dian-morey

Childishly Fresh Eyes || Devian

[devyn-morey]

Devyn had to force themselves to make eye contact with Sid, if only so they could read his lips. It was so difficult. During these hard conversations with their siblings, it was easy to avoid their gaze by focusing on their hands and the words they created. With their friends, they could read the subtitles that magic created. No such luck with Sid. Although he was a sorcerer. Maybe it would benefit to ask Amity or Kleo to teach him the subtitle spell...

But that wasn't going to help them now.

They smiled at the attempt at signs and Devyn shook their head, letting him know he didn't have to, especially if he didn't know how to say what needed to be said. However, before they could make that reassurance, Sid came out with their next jab that caused Devyn to wince. Okay, they probably deserved that.

In the end, they chose to sign their response, but the thought bubble stayed next to their head, writing out a transcript of their thoughts throughout this. "I guess talking about the avoiding talking to start. I'm really sorry I've made things," they paused, their hands trying to find the word. "Weird. In an attempt not to make things weird."

This wasn't making any sense. They had to clarify. "Last year. The year before last, I mean. My first year at Pride University. I had a roommate and we were really bad at communicating. Every time I tried it just seemed to make things worse. And it made the living situation really hard. If it didn't end in a fight, then it would be the silent treatment for weeks on end. It was really anxiety-inducing. And it's not an excuse and I know you're nothing like that but I've been scared of that repeating," they finally admitted. They could only manage to look at Sid for a few moments before their gaze turned away as they continued.

"And it's doubly hard because we're actually friends. So I was afraid, if I broached a subject that was too personal, it would change our dynamic. I really didn't want that. But it hasn't been fair to you, and I'm sorry." They braced themselves to look at Sid again, trying to gauge their reaction. "Is there something in particular you wanted to talk about first? Out of everything?"

@pall0r-mortis

Boiling Point || Devney

[devyn-morey]

Devyn didn't notice Drakken's impatience. To be fair, they were a very adept typer. Though even that wasn't enough for some people. Still, it went right over their head and they were once more happier to wait for the response, even if it was slower.

Once handed over, they read over the message, nodding along. They didn't really know much about the rift itself, just that it was part of the reason why Swynlake was so magical. In that regard, Drakken was right. No one had really looked into it as far as they were aware. And as far as Drakken was aware too, as Board member!

They sat up a bit straighter at the proposal of a petition, as well as the folder being presented to them. They were fairly well-versed in the political process with their brother as a Board member as well, so they understood that Drakken could not bring forward his own petitions, only approve them.

Did that mean there was a potential conflict of interest here?

That might be a question for a more suspicious individual. But not Devyn Morey. As far as they were concerned, Drakken was bringing up a really good point! And they did want to help. So they eagerly began to type back.

"I think this is a really great idea! And I would love to help. Unfortunately, I'm pretty deep in another project right now, but I can definitely be in touch to help edit and dive in fully at the end of the semester. If that's okay?"

@dr-drckken

The Dream Team || Blue Paint

[devyn-morey]

Oh jeez. Was something wrong with their brain? They had to admit, they were always a little scatter-brained, but was it really worse than normal? Paradoxically, the more they tried to search for an answer, the more elusive it became, until they forgot that they were even looking for something at all.

So, they merely shook their head. "Not that I can remember," they signed. "I haven't been sleeping as much lately, but that's because we're working on a really big project that's taking up so much time. Really hard to sleep when the brain is always going, right?" They offered.

If anything, they had too much on their mind recently. Sure, it was all fictional, but that was fine, wasn't it? It wasn't like there was much going on in their reality.

@dian-morey

Childishly Fresh Eyes || Devian

[devyn-morey]

Devyn could recognize the tension in her body language. It was something they were very used to in their brothers. Something that they had so desperately wanted to avoid that they'd essentially given up themselves and their family to do so. There was still an instinctive part of them that wanted to backpedal and smooth out the situation so that at least she would be placated in the end.

But that's what got them into this mess in the first place. So as uncomfortable as it made them, they just tried to push through it. Gesturing to the seat across from them, they waited for her to sit down before signing.

"I'm really sorry for everything that happened. None of this would've been possible if me and the others hadn't fallen for the professor's lies. You clearly saw what was happening for what it was and..." Their hands hesitated. "Well, I won't speak for the others, but. I know I didn't listen to you. And then by the end of it I was so messed up that I was barely able to help." They did, in the end, but what had it amounted to? There was still so much wrong.

All they could try and do was make things right. "None of it was fair to you. You're my friend. At least, I think you're my friend." Their hands trembled slightly and they were having a hard time looking at her directly. "I want to be your friend. And I haven't been a good one. But I want to be better. If you'll let me."

@madmagicmim

Libet Delay || Dim

[devyn-morey]

Devyn let out a sigh of relief. That was good, at least. The last thing they needed right now was Toulouse to chew them out again. There were so many other things to worry about.

Still, they did feel bad that this father and his child missed out. So they smiled and signed, "The schedule is normally posted on the website at the beginning of every month. You should be able to find it there."

"I hope I'll see you both soon!" They added with their trademark enthusiasm. Toulouse brought the technical skill, but Devyn brought the smiles, and they thought it made for a pretty fun class for any student.

@wilde-fun

Forget You || Deck

[devyn-morey]

Devyn was also tired. They had spent the last months, perhaps the entire last year, on a singular goal that had taken up all their time. Now they were left with nothing but an empty sense of betrayal and a complete loss of what to do next. All of their classes were cancelled, their family was suffering through their own crisis, and their friend group was left disillusioned and fractured.

At the same time, Devyn couldn't sleep. They felt like they had to be doing something to make all of this right. Unfortunately, that manic energy didn't have a lot of outlets. They apologized to those they could and they were working to try and figure out their grades situation, but it hardly filled up most of their time.

Truthfully, they were avoiding their room. Many of the memories leading up to and within the book itself were hazy, but they remembered their encounter with Sid. Not so much the details of what was said, but the memory behind it, and the immense guilt that Devyn had felt afterwards. They knew coming out of it that they had been less than an ideal friend, but old wounds made it hard for them to confront it. What if they did and it ruined their relationship and the space that they had built together here?

There were many situations like it. The kiss. The dream. So many things that hadn't been said in the name of keeping peace. But much like what they had tried with their family, it was a misguided goal, one that hurt everyone in the end.

They were scared. But they couldn't avoid it. So they waited for a time where they knew Sid would be there and finally returned to the room. Despite the tenseness that tugged at their muscles, they took a deep breath and sat on their bed, facing Sid directly. A thought bubble began to form next to them that said, "Hey, can we talk?"

@pall0r-mortis

Boiling Point || Devney

[devyn-morey]

Devyn watched the response with a furrowed brow. Was that really true? Was Gem not mad at them? He certainly had seemed mad, in that moment. In the moments that came after, he mostly seemed...not to address it at all. They were too afraid to bring it up again, lest there be another outburst. But that didn't feel like "not actually mad".

Still, Seb and Gem were close, and they had to trust that he understood these things better than they did. So they took a deep breath and nodded, deciding to accept it.

"Thanks Seb," they signed with a smile. "I know you will. You always have." Their eyes flickered to the sweatshirt they'd returned, one of many that their brothers had let them wear since their time coming out. Even though this was a big change, it was hardly the biggest change in their lives. Their brothers had always been there for them. They'd be there for them now.

Their smile widened at the thought, and they leaned over to wrap their brother in a tight and warm hug. With their hands full, they couldn't sign those three little words, but they didn't need to. Seb knew. And Dev knew too.

@sebastian-morey

Oh, Brother || Debby Edition

[devyn-morey]

Devyn smiled wide. They knew their brother was only looking out for them. Yeah, some of what he said was a little concerning, but it was only because he cared. They were lucky to have that, in the end.

"Yeah, of course," they signed before leaning over to give their brother a hug. No matter what, they'd always have each other, and that was what mattered.

@elliot-morey

Oh, Brother || Delli Edition

[devyn-morey]

Devyn smiled wide when the doctor returned with sign. Oh, that was really great, and they could tell from the speed and ease he used it that he was fluent too! It was always nice to meet someone they could communicate with properly. And it was nice that the hospital was being so accommodating, sending someone like that.

They nodded. "Okay Dr. Dian," they signed in return. The question gave them pause. Had they seen this man at events around town? Was he a regular in the yearly plays? It was hard to put their finger on it.

"You're my doctor, right?" They finally offered, not sure what else to give. They were sure the man would fill in the blanks.

But they followed instructions well enough, looking where needed. Their eyes were bright, but unusually empty, as if having a hard time focusing on anything on said wall.

@dian-morey

Childishly Fresh Eyes || Devian

[devyn-morey]

Devyn smiled at the thumbs up and happily followed the gesture, going to sit down at one of the tables. They probably couldn't stay away from the library for too long, but they were sure that their friends could pick up their slack. They were much better at the research part anyway.

They waited patiently with their hands folded as Drakken typed. It was definitely nice taking some of the burden off of them of reading lips, so they were more than happy for the conversation to take longer as long as it was clearer.

When it was finally presented to them, they read over with a little bit of surprise. They nodded then took Drakken's phone to type the response.

"Of course! I'd imagine a lot of people are. It's so unique to Swynlake and it's something that we all experience together. I've actually been trying to look into it all a bit recently, but it doesn't seem like there's been a lot of research done."

They didn't need to reread over it, or make any corrections, before sliding it back with a smile.

@dr-drckken

The Dream Team || Blue Paint

[devyn-morey]

Devyn had a lot of explaining and apologizing to do all around. In the days that followed the Rosas Incident, they found that while a lot of people talked about it and had wild stories, they ultimately weren't all that affected. It was just weird Swynlake magic being weird, on the same vein as April Fool's Day.

But they knew that not everyone would feel that way. Especially those that were closer.

They couldn't remember the conversation in its full detail, but they could remember the emotion behind it. The way that Mim snapped and the agony in her voice. In the end, they didn't know if she ever got to Amity or what happened there. But she was their friend too and they couldn't leave it where it was.

They mostly hung around the common area, keeping an eye out for her. When they finally spotted her, they nearly jumped out of her seat as they went to approach her. With slightly damp hands, they signed, "Hey, can we talk?"

@madmagicmim

Libet Delay || Dim

[devyn-morey]

Libet Delay || Dim