logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: TURN THE LIGHTS OFF

EVENT LOG: TURN THE LIGHTS OFF

characters: everyone.
location: around town.
date/time: january 20-29.
content: the lanterns begin to malfunction.
warnings: body horror and psychological horror. please cw tags appropriately.

you'll become one

January 20th arrives the same as all the days before it. There's no great pulse of warning that throbs through the air, no ominous wind that causes the bonfire to shudder. The spirits are neither agitated nor do they hide. You could almost miss the change, if the lanterns weren't always by your side. There's no explanation that comes with the way that it's changed, but it's impossible not to worry when it's happened so suddenly.

Maybe it takes a few days, or maybe it only takes a few hours, but suddenly it isn't just the lanterns that have changed. You, yourself, have become somehow different. It's possible that you won't even have the right state of mind to wonder how long it will last. At the very least, it appears you aren't alone. All across Beacon, lanterns are changing, and changing the people with them.

Out in the distance, the lighthouse's beam has turned green.

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Kuai wakes up with the knowledge that something is vastly, terribly wrong. It nags at the edges of his being, creeps through his veins until he's convinced that not only is he in danger, but everyone else is too. Yet all the residents he sees seem to be going about their day as normal. Do they not feel this? How could they not see that something bad is going to happen?

Ever rational, Kuai tries to figure out exactly what the terrible thing is, but the more he concentrates on nailing down the feeling the worse it becomes. Forest spirits. The Lighthouse. The World Eaters. The very air they're breathing. He's not sure which will be the first to break, but something will.

He's hyper-alert to everything around him, waiting for it to go sour, so he notices Rosinante immediately. Especially that he has his gun within easy reach.

Good. Someone else who has realized there is a threat and is prepared to answer it. The reprimand he ignores, assuming that he's equally as stressed about the situation and snapping at everyone.

"Have you noticed anything amiss lately?"

Kuai hasn't moved aside. Perhaps as some sort of ruler over the humans of his world, he thinks he shouldn't have to, as if they're on even footing?

He'll let it go. He has to, because he needs to keep people like Kuai useful to him, and here, no punishment would be effective anyway. Just because he should have stayed doesn't mean he'll allow himself to be ripped apart.

"I have," he admits. "Only a few days ago. I was angry at everyone, all the time. I suspect the spirits must have been up to something."

"Can they manipulate our emotions like that? I thought their powers were limited to hallucinations and similar effects." Though the more he thinks about it, there's no reason to believe they couldn't do any of those things. Mind control effects to make the residents see things wasn't that far of a stretch to make them feel things too.

Maybe that's what's making him so uncomfortable and.. Nervous? It's an odd sensation that he's not experienced before. He's the Grandmaster of a clan, he's used to being in control of every situation and for those that he's not he fights to come out on top. This calm before the storm that he's existing in now is awful. He hates it.

"I feel the same as I did a few days ago. Were they targeting you specifically?" Is the problem the forest spirits? Or is it Rosinante? Logically that doesn't make sense, he's known the man for six months, he's one of the few people Kuai trusts. But right now his thoughts are so jumbled he's not sure what he thinks anymore.

"There have certainly been others. Some might even be more susceptible than most," he adds, nodding to a pair of people yelling at each other in the distance. Whether they're affected or not, it's an easy example to point out. Very believable.

The lanterns change too, he's noticed that, but he doesn't want to point it out. He knows his is currently unusual but he likes maintaining the illusion that he's perfectly normal. It's easier to deal with these commoners that way - they'll look to him as the authority he is if he projects complete confidence.

"But you're right, we don't know for sure that it's spirits. This could be the doing of someone here. Someone with magic, who decided now was the time to strike."

"Hmm. Holding off until the opportune time presents itself. Yes I can see that." In his paranoid state of mind Kuai buys that completely. That makes sense, he's uncomfortable because there's a sorcerer somewhere. And having been enthralled to one he can somehow tell, and now they're messing with people's emotions.

"Trying to turn us all against each other. Or against the spirits." Or against each other and the spirits. It's terrible and he doesn't know what to do about it. "How did you break free of the influence?"

"Luck, I think. Not very helpful to all of you, eh. But I am grateful for it."

Were he more superstitious he might attribute it to some part of the universe righting itself now that he has fixed his own mistake. It took him too many years to recognize his brother's wisdom and to see his ambition as worthwhile, but now that he has, the commoners are tearing themselves apart and transforming into monstrous, hideous versions of themselves. Meanwhile, he's entirely fine. Better than ever, in fact.

"Still, you seem normal enough. Did you do anything in particular?" Even though he can see the human's lantern is tinted, it isn't as deep as others, or even his own.

"Luck." He'd never really believed in luck, but he couldn't deny that some of what he's seen here lends it some credibility. Either that or everything really was just random chance and chaos.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, I've been patrolling the perimeter of the inn to the armory, trying to keep alert. It's been a while since the attack, so if the spirits are regrouping to try again, now would be a good time to strike. Especially if something is manipulating our emotions."

If what Rosinante is saying is true anyway, because Kuai hasn't experienced those feelings. The dread coiling in his gut seems perfectly normal to him, the sensation he has when he knows something is wrong. A feeling that has saved his life more times than he can count. There's not an inkling that this might have been influenced from some outside force.

"We may not all have the luck you have."

"But you do, by the sound of it. Count yourself among the fortunate, eh."

It makes him cringe deeply to even pretend to be so generous to a human, but it is what it is. This one is liked, is well-known, and other encounters have quickly gone wrong when he even tried to pull the weight he ought to have. He'll have to educate them slowly. Apologize for his earlier misdeeds, blame the lanterns - a very believable excuse, surely - and then aim to assume the leadership he had earlier shunned. Now he understands what he's been doing wrong this whole time. It isn't much to rule, but it's good enough for now until he finds a way out of this hellhole.

"I suppose. If it grants me the ability to make sure others are protected then I will gladly take it." Now isn't the time to squabble about if luck exists or not. Something terrible is going to happen, or maybe already has, and Kuai needs to find out what it is.

His vision turns to the edge of the forest, expecting to see green-eyed spirits at any moment. But nothing appears. Maybe it's not the spirits.

Maybe it's the people?

"Those that are becoming angry, like you were, are they angry at anything in particular?" Had someone discovered a way to weaponize their emotions against something specific?

"I've seen blind anger at anyone who speaks, and anger with reasons. Some argue, some try to kill each other."

A range of possibilities, but one thought does strike him - if it continues, it might be good entertainment to set up a fighting ring and pit the enraged against each other. Weed out the useless ones and have fewer mouths to feed, like that shade Bi-han had said - which isn't to say he agrees in general with that freak of nature either, but that specific idea isn't the worst one.

"Nothing consistent."

That doesn't narrow it down, nor give him a source of the anger to try and understand what's happening. He's not even sure if that's what is setting him on edge, though it doesn't seem like it. Unless there's some fouler sorcery and this is a side effect.

He really hates sorcerers.

"I see. Well I'm glad that it is no longer effecting you, though others seem to be still in its thralls." He sighs, looking over at a pair of people arguing, not sure he's on the right track to figuring out this big, horrible thing that's gonig to happen so he can prevent it. "Anything else unusual happening lately?"

"I can't say for sure. I have been trying to take it easy after what happened earlier. I want to make sure I am fully recovered, eh." He then turns a slightly critical look at Kuai, raising an eyebrow.

"But surely a man of your caliber would be able to do some investigating, himself? See what you can find, and then report back to me?"

Might as well use the ridiculous human's interest in the situation in his favor so he doesn't have to bother doing the work himself.

So far nothing Rosinante has said or done makes him think that he's anything but recovered from whatever happened earlier. But there is something about 'report back to me' that's a little odd.

"I've been trying to figure out what's happening, that's why I'm talking to you." He snaps that back a little more harsh than he intended, on edge about the feeling he just can't shake. "But I'll see what others know. Something is most definitely amiss."

From critical, his expression shifts to something harder for just a moment. His mouth is set in a firm line as his eyebrows narrow. Is he really being talked back to right now? Truly? How had he tolerated these people for so long? He should have seen so much sooner just how right his brother has always been. In fact, even Doflamingo didn't have it quite right, for he had contented himself to work with these commoners, to surround himself with them and make them part of his family. It's demeaning to even consider that now. But he's willing to act if it helps, and his expression slips back to something more neutral as he seemingly gets over his irritation.

"See that you do," he replies evenly. "I'm trusting you with this. Whoever is behind this, we'll find them and make sure they pay for it."

His eyes narrow, something about the way that Rosinante says that not settling right with him. In fact there's something off about this entire conversation now that he thinks about it instead of paying attention to the nagging sensation of imminent doom.

"Preventing what is to come after this seems more prudent, but first we must find them." Assuming there's even one specific person behind this and not some nebulous forest spirit that they won't be able to get close to without some sort of mind altering issues.

"I'll let you know if I find anything."

He'll concede to that since he would have told Rosinante anyway, but with his paranoia cranked up to eleven he's suddenly suspicious that the man might know more than he's saying already.

To that, he nods and then gives a slight, dismissive wave of his hand. He's now quite bored with this, and surely Kuai can handle it on his own. If there's even anything to find, that is - maybe he'll just run around in circles, learning nothing, and leave him alone. That will be fine also.

To hasten this, he concedes that he will have to be the one to move. This isn't a blow to his righteous authority but a way to get out of this commoner's presence more quickly. Figuring the matter is settled, he says nothing further as he moves to continue on his way.

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EVENT LOG: TURN THE LIGHTS OFF

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