logsinthenight | From the windows (from the windows) to the walls (to the walls)

Entry tags:

From the windows (from the windows) to the walls (to the walls)

characters: Sora, Crowley, Matt Murdock, Hana, Midge Maisel, and you!
location: Beacon, with a quick detour to the lake post-freeze.
date/time: January 3rd through the 10th! (And one on the 13th if I can get away with it - Sora wants to go ice skating!)
content: Sora is on his grind! Taking names! Making friends! Paying his dues! Having fun! Trying to work so hard that his existential crisis forgets he's there! (Will match tag format.)
warnings: Warning for low self-esteem and, uh, Catholicism?

[ A: A visit to a new friend. Closed to Hana Song (and maybe the other residents of the cabin?) ]

Day three of the convalescence of Hana Song. Sora's in the cabin again, walking to her door with a paper bag under his arm after giving a brief, polite, completely friendly greeting to her roommates. They're very lucky that they took her in, and even helped find them splints and bandages so her arm and leg would heal straight. (That took a lot of reapplications of the Cure spell! It's sort of strange to think it's been reduced to the same effect as super fancy band-aids and anesthetic.)

He'll knock at the door of her room in the cabin. "Hey, Hana? You awake?"

[ B: Bad Catholic checks out a creepy pagan cathedral. For Matt Murdock, but open otherwise. ]

It's Sunday, so it seems like a perfectly reasonable day to check out the little church he saw on his many, many trips to and from the boat when he first got here. Skyler never really took religion seriously, and only went to Mass when the rest of the family did for Christmas and Easter, and even then he only did it because Arielle wanted to go see the lights and hear the music with everyone, Skyler included. If there's Catholic guilt here, it's only here because Arielle managed to make Skyler feel bad for not pretending to give a fuck.

In a lot of ways, Sora has even less of an attachment to organized religion than Skyler did. After all, he was living proof that the soul did not conclusively go to a heaven or a hell. And even if his existence wasn't conclusive enough, the many times he died in all of his lives and the many ways death and the afterlife has manifested has shifted his perspective of an all powerful God who reigns over heaven by just a bit. A church shouldn't change his perspective on that.

But, again, in a lot of ways, Sora is Skyler, except honest. And if he was being honest with himself, he liked the peace and beauty of a church as much as Ari did. He was just curious to see it, is all.

He shuts the tall door behind him and looks around the atrium, lifting his lantern to see as much of the architecture as he can. No clear dedications on his way in. What a weird place.

"Is this place Anglican," he asks, half to himself and half to the darkness of the pews in front of him. His eyes are now more or less used to the constant, overpowering dark of Beacon, but he still doesn't know if anyone else is in here. No nightvision for him.

[ C: Library. Open. ]

Throughout the week during his stay at the library, Sora will slowly, inevitably, grudgingly take an interest in the books around him. He's really not big on fiction - he's not creative enough to make them interesting - but the non-fiction will capture his interest. Practical books on cooking and first aid grab him first, followed by anything else that seems like it could come in handy in the near future - morse code, music, diy and repairs. (He makes sure to put them back in the reshelving areas, not on the shelves - he's not entirely a caveman, and the Elvira person on the network told him to be careful and clean up after himself and others. Which he does!)

Where do you find him? Wandering around with a book in his hand? Reading at one of the tables? Passed out drooling on one of the tables? Were you interested in something in the fiction section, only to find his cot in the way of your books? Is he in the cot? Who knows! I don't know. It's up to you.

[ D: The Invincible, the Kitchen. For Midge Maisel, but open to anyone who can catch him arriving or leaving. ]

Hey, Midge. Remember that teen who shyly poked his head into the kitchen a few days ago and asked in a very, very slight New Jersey accent if he could use the kitchen just to make some things and leave? The kid who proceeded to come back every day, right after the end of the daily meal, to make something to eat before cleaning up (and he always cleans up - maybe not perfectly, with things in the wrong places, but there are no crumbs or stray utensils left out) and heading out again?

Yup. Same teen. He's toasting a couple of pieces of bread in butter, layering cheese and some slices of turkey he found somewhere on top. It's nothing extraordinarily fancy, and he's just going to pack it up and leave again, but this time, he's making enough for two. He also has a bowl with him, and inside... that's a fruit salad, isn't it? Slices of apple, grapefruit, orange, peach, and a few more fruits rest inside, dotted with blueberries and grapes. Who exactly is he making all of this for? Why is he making it? Why can't he just eat with everyone else??? It is a mystery.

[ E: Armory. Open. ]

On the third day of the blizzard, Sora gathers all of the clothing he can and some snowboots he nabbed from the general store and hikes the miserable 40 minute hike through driving snow to the armory. He makes sure to go there when the regular lessons with Javert aren't going on - as much as he'd love some company, he doesn't want to risk running into anyone else while he tests out his spells, especially if they make him think about who he is and why he's doing any of this. One thing at a time!

He's tacked a piece of paper to wall. On this paper is a list of every spell and ability he can reasonably test without someone else there to help him. Time to do some experimenting.

Why are you out here? What are you doing? It's so cold! There's so much snow! But if you're in the armory for some reason, you'll see a weird kid in the basement at the range, with a giant key in his hands, casting magic spells that send pinpricks of light spinning at the targets at the other end of the range. How curious are you? (And seriously, what are you doing out there right now?)

[ F: Sora has skates and will now sksksksksk across the ice. For Crowley, but open otherwise. ]

Pretty self explanatory. Granted, the skates are VERY beautiful, made of glassy crystal, with a pair of crystal hand-glove-claw things to match, but they seem to be for aesthetics only. Sora will stay near the edge of the water - he doesn't want to risk falling through for several reasons - and he skates with the comfortable motions of someone who doesn't skate professionally but can and does skate for fun.

But indeed, there he go. Sksksksksk across the ice, his lantern bumping at his hip. He could use some company. He will, in fact, wave and skate over if he sees he has an audience. You aren't getting away without a chat, pal. (Unless you're a Riku or Vanitas, in which case he will seriously consider drowning after all.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Satisfied that the soldier's fine, Sora will look down at his keyblade and wrinkle his nose a bit. "It's supposed to be bigger. Imagine, like, twice as many of those things, twice as fast, a little stronger." He grins. "I once set that off in a car. I mean, sure, they lived, but they ran off the road pretty quick." It's a pretty good distraction, at least. And it's much funnier than a smokescreen.

That said, he steps forward and tests a few more spells - first, he kicks up more wind in the same way he set off the lightning bolts from earlier (he looks a bit disappointed, but not surprised when nothing really changes), then sets off another wind spell, which meanders around the room in a whirlwind before dissipating.

"Everything's weaker," he mutters, stalking back to his list. "Do you happen to have spare change on you? Like, pennies, dimes?" And he'll cross out Aerora and put stars next to Balloon and and Tornado. After a pause, he'll put a little frowny face in both stars.

The Soldier finds one of their many pockets and produces a single gold coin-- actual honest to god gold-- and a couple rubies that, if Sora takes them will be pleasantly warm to the touch, and obviously not just from the warmth of being in a pocket. Especially since the pocket in question was a coat pocket, not an inner one. There's also a round, smooth worry stone. "Just these. What do you need them for?"

... What the? Sora peers at that motley collection of pretty valuable looking things? "Uh... Well, I guess I won't do the one that could break these. What is all this? Where'd they come from?" And yes, he will indeed pick up a ruby - why is it warm - and examine it. Meanwhile, he'll dismiss his keyblade and rummage around in his own pocket, drawing out his wallet and one-handedly flipping it open. He only has a handful of change, but if the soldier insists on handing him real actual treasure, they'll have to do for the other, things-breaking spell.

"There was a game last month, with a dreidel," the Soldier explains, putting the coin and stone away, letting Sora examine the ruby. "When someone won, they got a prize. Just magically appearing. The rubies were the best one. They stay warm all the time." Perfect for making patrols in a blizzard, right? Also comforting to just hold, even inside, and keeps the worry stone warm if kept in the same pocket. "The gold coins are pretty, but useless here. Nobody needs gold."

"A dreidel?" Like with Hanukkah? This place is certainly... Thematic. He pauses, thinking about it, and then takes his wallet and tips out the change in the change pouch on top of it - a few pennies and nickels, a couple of quarters, one odd five yen coin, and a couple of centavos in various denominations. He puts down his wallet face up, his driver's license and wallet pictures hanging out, then holds out the handful of currency to the soldier to hold.

"I don't really need help for this one, but it's kinda cool." He grins. "You can do the honors. Just throw it all in front of me when I say go." Should the soldier accept this weird pile of money + one magic ruby, Sora will summon his keyblade again and walk back toward the range to ready the spell. This will give the soldier a chance to glance at Sora's wallet, should they choose to do so!

"Why do you keep making the key thing go away, why not keep it out longer if you're just going to use it again in a minute," the Soldier asks as they get in position and wait for the signal. It just seems kind of excessive. Lots of sparkles. Surely there's effort in making the thing appear and disappear.

They note the wallet, because they note everything. At least the kid is old enough to drive, that's good to know. Their ability to judge ages is not exact, and even enhanced vision isn't quite good enough to make out the birthdate from this distance. (It's good he has pictures of his family. Kinda sad, though. Rather be sad than not have them. Yeah, okay.)

Sora cracks up a little at that. No loss in conservation of magical energy here! "I wanted both my hands, and it comes back whenever I think about how much I like my friends. Which I do, a lot. Pretty much all the time." You're just going to have to deal with the Disney Magic, fellow Disney property.

(The wallet does indeed contain everything the soldier observes! Of note is that there is a single full family photo, but at least another two photos of himself and a young girl with spiky pigtails who is also in the family photo. Classic photobooth strips and so on. That's probably all that's visible from the solder's angle.)

Sora points the keyblade at the range and focuses. There's a sound like something large but soft getting set down in the area, but nothing else seems to change. However, Sora opens his eyes, quite pleased. "Okay, throw it."

And if the soldier complies, the fistful of change plus ruby will soar into the air... and then slow right in front of Sora in a mid-air curtain, as if they were falling through slime or gel. Sora will get his tablet out and tap it, watching the time.

Of course they comply. And then frown, and step to the side a little, to get a better view. Then continue around in a wide circle, prowling like a very large, wary, but curious cat, mentally counting the time without the aid of the tablet. They circle closer, testing the feel of the air, seeking out the edge of Sora's boundary. "That. Is very useful."

They might be slightly jealous of all these people with magic. Just slightly. Somehow Crowley never made them feel like this, but these are clearly combat-oriented magics.

"How much can you stop. A body? Bullets?"

It's about 20 seconds in a space 10 feet square in front of him ~~just like D&D~~. The soldier's fingers will also slow as they go through it, but will return to normal speed once they pull them out. The change will go clanging to the ground after the spell dissipates, their arc completing from the angle from which the soldier threw them. Sora makes a face, but nods. It used to last a bit longer, but it's definitely much better than nothing.

"Bodies, yeah. They'll keep going at the regular speed if they make it through, or if the spell stops while they're still in it, but it's enough time to get out of the way and whack 'em if you want. I can even make it so it doesn't affect you as long as I know you're gonna be in there. Bullets... Never tried it, but I don't think this can really stop them?" Sora frowns, walks over, and starts picking the change off the ground. "It's not like there's anything there - it's not a wall. It's more like time's slowed down. Whatever's inside will pick up where it left off once it leaves."

He sandwiches the change in his hands. "I mean, if you were fast enough to notice the bullets going in, you could probably get out of the way before they made it through. I've never tried that, though." He looks up at the soldier quizzically. He may be magical, but he's not particularly creative or innovative. He needs other people for that. "You think you could pull that off?"

The Soldier smiles. "I think I could." They crouch to collect the ruby, too, though they offer it to Sora if he wants it. They have like three handfuls of the things, and only need them for one pocket. The kid might need to keep his hands warm, too. "Think you can you make that again and let me try? Just let me fire through it, I can gauge whether I can dodge from that."

His glock is close enough to his skin that it's warm enough still to fire, and anyway, they've been in here ages now. Even the Sig Sauer is probably warm enough to shoot without causing damage.

Sora will blink, but open his hands and accept the ruby too. He’s not going to assume it’s for him, but he will take it as long as it needs to be out of the way. He’ll ask about it later.

“Sure,” he replies, standing up and walking the change back to the table, then he’ll move back to the range and ready his keyblade. “Tell me when.”

And on the soldier’s mark, Sora will cast Slow again. If the bullet travels at about average speed, the soldier will discover that the bullet will take about a second and change to travel through the layer of slowed time. It’s honestly slow enough that a layman could dodge it given enough warning, but for the soldier (and for Sora, who watches with intense interest), it’s probably child’s play. Once the bullet makes it through, it will indeed resume normal speed.

“Huh,” Sora will say once the exercise is done. That seems much easier than he thought it’d be.

Edited (slow too op, nerfed it) 2020-01-11 15:36 (UTC)

That is indeed a very dodgable bullet. Nice. The Soldier grins. "Nobody around here has been shooting bullets at each other, but. If it slows that. It will slow down a charging spirit." Which has so far been the biggest threat, and having the means to effectively dispatch a whole lot of them at once without having to resort to a grenade in the face sounds pretty great. One more important question: "Does it affect thoughts? If a person or spirit is inside? Or just physical body?"

He's not sure if the spirits are very small and fly at deadly speeds, and honestly, the idea is terrifying... But he's also pretty sure that wasn't the point the Soldier was getting at. He shakes his head, banishing the thought from his mind.

Sora thinks about it again, rolling around the ruby in his hand. "You can definitely remember what happens while you're in there, but it feels like everything around you is happening really fast? So it's more up to whether you can keep up with what happened." Sora nods to himself. He... Sora... well, he has memories of being trapped in a Slow spell or two, and that's precisely the feeling. "I think most people can at least get a sense of what happened, and if you're really quick, you could probably be ready for whatever comes after it's cast, but if you're like, Shadow or Dusk level? Yeah, they wouldn't know what happened at all."

"Don't care if they know after the fact." The Soldier looks immensely satisfied. No one else has come up with any potential ways to protect themselves from things that aren't actually real. This might just do it. They offer, by way of explanation, "If the green-eyes attack again, maybe this can keep them from giving us hallucinations. From frightening and distracting us. Give us time to kill them before they do." They don't know what Shadow or Dusk level means, but it doesn't matter. This could give them an edge if the green-eyes do in fact forget about their promise to not try and kill them all again.

Of course, only Sora can use it. Gonna have to keep the kid alive. (Not that we weren't going to do that, anyway. Well, of course.)

Sora feels the area of slowed time fade away, thinking about it. Could this really be an answer to the green-eyed spirits? He doesn't feel like it's special enough. He doesn't feel like he's special enough. There'd be a lot of timing to it; you'd have to know they were coming. You'd have to be smart and careful. He isn't either of those things.

"If this is the answer, I'm going to need a lot of help," he says softly. "I'm not any good on my own. All I can do is aim and shoot. I can learn when and how, but..." He shakes his head. "I'll do my best. I can't promise anything more than that."

That's almost distressing, seeing the smile fade off the kid's face. The Soldier tilts their head, watches with a little frown as Sora basically... shuts down. It's not the same as the Soldier's-- not the least because it's caused by something completely different-- but it shows enough of the same signs that it forms a pretty strong association.

That's not great.

"It's an answer," they say. They're not great at tone, can't quite manage manage "gentle", but they do get quiet and calm. "There may be others. But I'd want you around if there was another siege. I was impressed today."

Sora's shoulders sink down from his ears, his keyblade disappearing as he stares hard into the floor, picking at his hands for a lack of a hilt between them. Why is he so... anxious? Unsure? The soldier's right, he won't be alone. And he's saved the universe once. He's saved it a lot of times.

Selfish.

Well, so, it wasn't actually him. But he remembers everything Sora did, right? And he has the same heart, he thinks. He's not as strong as him here, but that's what happens to everyone in Beacon. It's just an answer. The soldier said so. They're giving him an out. He's not alone.

Selfish.

He thinks. It's hard, untangling the strands in his head. (His shoulders are tightening again. He doesn't notice.) Who he feels like he is, and who he isn't, and what he can and can't do if he is or isn't (or never was, or shouldn't have been), and who he's sure he isn't, and who Riku thinks -

You just want a clear conscience.

"I'm going to do my best," Sora says suddenly. His hands are balled into fists. "I'm... really glad. If I'm going to be around, I want you guys to know you can count on me." He's pretty sure his nails are leaving marks in his palms, but he can't feel them. "Thank you. I really mean it. I really, really want to help."

He thinks he's keeping a lid on things, and he's really, very, truly grateful that the soldier is being kind, and gentle, and other things he doesn't deserve because he's fake and incomplete and not good enough and not even a good copy of someone who wasn't good enough in the first place, but gratefulness is not exactly staring at a point on the ground so the extra water in his eyes doesn't spill over a compliment.

Edited (grammar pt 2) 2020-01-15 09:00 (UTC)

He is not keeping a lid on things. Or even if he was, the Soldier is kind of an expert at reading body language, nuances of tone, and the slightest change of expression. It's pretty obvious the kid's upset, and upset because of... what. Something they did or said? Being told someone wants his help?

This is beyond their skillset. Comforting is not a thing they're good at. For a long moment, they stare while Sora struggles with his emotion, trying to figure out the things they're supposed to do here. Hugging is right out. Their own little freak-out over cybernetics isn't far enough past for them to be okay with even a little touching. Words are what got them into this mess, to begin with, and they aren't entirely sure what the problem is, anyway. Why the kid is about to cry over wanting to help, being told he can help. That's the only thing the Soldier ever wants, so they're not sure how to fix someone having a problem with it.

(Well, what do you want, when you freak out at people?)

Pretending it isn't happening and offering a distraction, it is. The Soldier shakes themselves out a little, and says, still carefully quiet and calm, "Enough magic for now. And talking. Get out your knife, I'll show you a new move." Physical actions and focus on learning: good distractions from emotional distress. Right?

Right. Absolutely right. If anything, the soldier and Sora both have the same M.O. - if something's too hard to think about, action's much better. Sora will rub his eyes roughly on his sleeve, sniff, and nod sharply. Right. Work to do. Can't get more useful just standing here.

He'll go back to his little pile of extra layers he stripped off earlier and retrieve his knife. He knows how to put it on now, but he's still hesitant to wear it in the way the soldier does all the time. He doesn't really believe in himself with it in the way he does his Keyblade, and even the Keyblade took its sweet time for him. Them. Skyler.

Nope, no more thinking about that.

He'll snap the sheath on and walk back to the Soldier, eyes still a bit red but completely in the moment. This is what he's good at. This is what makes sense. "Okay, ready."

"The benefit of this one is speed, not strength," the Soldier begins, drawing a knife of their own that's about the same size and shape as Sora's.

Then the Soldier walks Sora through a different way of holding the blade than he's done before: not point first for stabbing, but the point away from his body, for slashing. No touching still, because they're not up for it and maybe Sora isn't either, but with plenty of demonstration and slowing things down for proper understanding. The Soldier is, perhaps surprisingly but perhaps not, a pretty damn good teacher, patient and thorough. They shed another jacket in order to more accurately show body and foot positioning, show the grip with both hands in case Sora is more comfortable with his left, and repeat the slashing motion in slow motion multiple times.

All they're doing now is the new grip and one motion, but they make the kid practice it until he has perfect form and can do it at speed five times in a row.

Sora's a good study and follows the soldier down to the letter! He's rather forward about asking questions about positioning, and his mood lifts quickly and visibly as soon as the technique starts clicking and he's able to work out how to do the forms on his own. These knife lessons are the first time he's ever had anything close to formal combat training in any life, and with the soldier's support, he's showing steady improvement! He's not the best at it, but it's clear that with enough practice he'll be as capable as anyone else.

After about perhaps ten repetitions of the new motion with the new grip, he finally gets the form down five times in a row. He whoops, pumping his free hand in the air! "Finally! Did ya see that?" He spins back to the soldier, a pleased grin on his face. Whatever was on his mind is at least on the backburner now.

He holds his fist out expectantly, but after a second, he draws it back, looking at it. "Wait, sorry, do you know what a fistbump is?"

"I did see-- that." The pause is to twitch at the sudden introduction of fist into nothingness, in their direction. They blink at it owlishly. "No. Fistbump?"

It sounds fairly straight-forward, though, and probably not actually dangerous, so they hold out their flesh hand and make a fist, mimicking Sora's gesture. Not without immediate touching distance, in case it's viewed as a threat somehow. Even though Sora wouldn't really be thinking someone mimicking him is threatening, probably. Better to be safe.

Sora beams. Honestly, he expects that the soldier will never, ever hurt him. (And to be honest, if they did, he probably wouldn't even be mad.)

He holds out his fist, then taps their knuckles together together briefly. "Bam. There. Now you know how to fist bump." Sora sheathes his knife, then stretches his arms up, resting his hands behind his head. "It's like, a handshake, but you can also do it if something good happens. It's like a really short celebration between friends."

That. Is great. Not even sarcastically great. The Soldier starts to smile. "Celebration between friends. ... Bam." They're friends, now, it seems. The Word Has Been Said. Also, that is great. Just the right amount of touch to make a connection but still feel safe. "I'm going to teach that to Misty," the decide aloud. She wants more touch than they can usually give her, but this-- this they can do.

Oh, they like it! Sora brightens, grinning when they repeat the "bam". They really like it!

"You should teach it to anyone you like. Fistbumps are cool. The Librarian likes them, too." Sora will be most definitely be trying this on the Postmaster and Rastus next. Everyone will fistbump in Beacon if he has any say in it.

... Right. Sora looks back at his list, then straightens his back, walking toward it. "I'm done with this," he says firmly, folding it up and sticking it in his pocket. And then, almost like an afterthought: "Sorry about. Earlier." He pauses, collecting his thoughts. "I guess I've been thinking about things more than I thought."

He turns around, walks to the table, and begins to pick up his other four sweatshirts. "I'm really glad I can help around here! I wanna help save people's lives. That's a good thing, and I was glad to hear it." He puffs out his cheeks. "I guess I just felt really grateful to be needed. You know?"

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gail it’s 8:30 am on a saturday how dare u make me do math

More effort than I would have gone to XD

i have to be (slams my hands down) METICULOUS!!!!

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!!!! he said it. he said the f word