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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"You know, I'd believe that." His smile is sheepish, like he's sure this is a big joke played in himself, even though he's pretty sure it's damn serious, whatever it is. "More weird than it even looks, and it looks weird. Should I start asking really dumb questions the rest of you already know, or would that be a bad idea?" It's just a lead-in for asking said really dumb questions.

Isn't it fun to have a greeting for a brand new Beacon resident who is, in fact, not a new resident? Sorry, Maes... kid's just confused.

In a way it kind of is a big joke, but for whose benefit Maes couldn't say. Focusing on someone else's problems though is helpful. It means he doesn't have to dwell on his own -- which really is probably what got him in trouble in the first place. The world seems to tilt with his thoughts, the man's words are slower or maybe time itself is. It's the effect of the green light (he knows that now), but Maes is able to ride this one out at least. Although if their combined lights weren't green, he'd probably be looking a little green around the edges himself.

Sorry, he's a little distracted. Something about questions.

"No. Questions are good," questions will keep Maes focused. He eyes the other man though, trying to gauge how to proceed here, he adjusts his glasses. "Answers might be hard to accept though."

This guy seems kinda vague. Helpful, but vague. Distracted by something, and his lantern looks kind of cracked, which seems like it might be a bad thing. (He can't see his own, the light is mostly all closed up behind shutters, only a little green leaking out over his right shoulder.)

So the first question Bucky comes up with isn't about this Beacon place and how he got here, or what he's supposed to do now, it's: "Hey, you okay, pal?"

Maes can't help but let out a tired sigh as soon as he's asked. Soldier -- or whoever this is -- is clearly an observant fellow. Maes doesn't want to lie, but getting into it would be...a lot. He's too tired to bother trying to deflect the question either.

"It's been a rough few days and I'm not feeling 100% at the moment. Guess you could say that was why I was out here in the first place, to clear my head."

Sorry, man. He's used to looking for signs of illness or problems in a certain very skinny blonde kid. Weird things like that tend to catch his attention. "And here I went and barged right in on your quiet time. Shit, sorry, buddy." He gives a sheepish sort of smile, again, all apologetic. "I can bother somebody else, if you're under the weather. Seems like there's plenty of people here."

He shrugs in a 'you didn't know and it didn't really bother me' kind of way. He'd wanted to see a face other than his own anyway. Well, a face other than his own or the version of Envy that had been emerging. He couldn't say that though, not with even basics of Beacon not out of the way yet.

"It's all right, really. Answering a few questions isn't going to tax me too much...it was less about being alone and more about getting out of my cabin for a bit. Too many reminders there at the moment," he looks in the direction of the Bonfire. "I'm going to go sit by the fire. I'm free to talk if you want, but if you'd rather talk with someone else that'd be a good place to start...it's also where the General Store is anyway."

Since it sounds like they might be parting ways (Maes doesn't want to insist they talk and make this weirder than it already is) he decides to leave him with a few directions. "Bonfire Square is that way. The Invincible is a tavern and inn and next to that is the store I was talking about. If you get your smokes and still want to talk a bit, I'll be at the big fire in the middle of the square. Impossible to mess."

"Or I guess you could ask around for Maes Hughes. That works too."

If the man wants to walk and talk, Maes is fine with that. But he was on to one thing, Maes doesn't trust his feet for much longer. It's not quite vertigo, but the way time keeps stretching and then snapping back is giving him a major sense of nausea. He knows sitting at least would mean he wouldn't have to fear falling flat on his face.

Executive decision is made to say: "I'll walk with ya. I can wait a little longer for a cigarette. And it's kinda on the way, yeah?" So he falls in beside Maes. "Nice to meet ya, Mr. Hughes." He's going to go polite, since he's got no idea who the guy really is, he's older and has the details on this place, and it's not like they're friends. "James Buchanan Barnes. Most people just call me Bucky." He'd offer a handshake, but they're walking, and he doesn't wanna disorient the guy.

"You too, Bucky," Maes says, processing that information. Who is Bucky in relation to Soldier? It seems a little like Maes thinking he was turning into Envy, but to a much fuller degree. Now probably wasn't the time to ask, Bucky might not realize he's been around here going by a different name. Maes nods at his observation, "Yeah, central location means there will be plenty of people around too. Thanks for coming with me."

A destination and a plan bring some clarity, it definitely makes it easier to ignore the green light's effects. He tries to get a better luck at Bucky's lantern, but it's mostly shuttered up. "So. Any other questions on the way?"

Maes may possibly recall that the name "Bucky" actually has shown up once on the bulletin's list of dead, after the second week of the siege, after Maes and the other sleepers woke up. So at least the name isn't brand new. "Well, there's the big one. How I got here," Bucky says with a sheepish shrug. "Last I remember was walking home after work."

Perhaps, but he's collected so much information that the bulletin of the dead isn't one that's at the forefront -- especially following waking up from that Dream. He'd been far too focused on recording his observations and notes from what others experienced. More recently he'd been consumed by learning about these changing colors and their effects.

Maes mulls over an explanation. He takes a breath and figures he might as well give a warning, "You know how I mentioned that it was a lot weirder than you probably realized. Well we're about to deal with one of the harder to accept parts about being here."

He knows, from his own personal experience, because how do you tell someone they are dead when they clearly have no memory of it and are walking beside you craving a smoke? Of course, in Maes' case he had figured he was dead since he'd known he was bleeding out from a serious gun shot wound. But it didn't sound like Bucky had any memory of such a fate befalling him.

"Most people arrive here on a ferry at the beginning of each month. How we get on that ferry in the first place is still pretty unclear, but apparently the ticket is having died first," he pauses, letting that sink in and then asks, "It doesn't sound like you have any memory of an accident though. Do you remember the ferry at all?"

"Whoah, wait, died?" Bucky stops a moment to stare at Maes, but hurries to catch up after a beat or two. "I don't remember dying at all. And that seems like a thing I really oughta remember! Definitely nothing about a ferry."

But does he? That sounds... a little familiar. Just a little. There's the brief, flickering impression of panic and the crunch of wood. Did this ferry thing crash into something? He rubs at his forehead with a thumb-- the one not made out of metal, because he doens't trust himself not to actually bash himself with it on accident. "This is nuts. I can't die now." What would happen to Steve?

Maes shrugs. There's never a good way to tell someone they're dead. He'd learned that much a year ago when he'd run into Roy and Riza at the Circle and they'd stared at him like he was a ghost.

Which, to be fair, to them he was. It had taken a long time to come to terms with that and even now he wasn't sure he entirely accepted it. The responses had gotten even worse when people like the Elrics and Winry had shown up briefly, but he tried not to dwell on that.

"It's an aspect of this place we're still trying to figure out...but, sorry, there's not really an easy way to drop that information on someone." Maes can't help but wonder why Bucky doesn't know how he died. It has to be tied to his current lantern color -- that's the only explanation. That or Soldier hit his head and got amnesia on top of everything else. Maes imagines just about anything is possible here.

"Spoken like someone who has a lot going on back home. Been there." The only reason Roy lasted as long as he did was because of Riza, otherwise Maes would have wondered the same thing.

"There's a war America just got involved in," he says worriedly. "My pal keeps tryin' to enlist, even though you just gotta look at him and know he's a 4F. Me, I've been half-expecting a draft letter every time I check the damn mail. If I died--" Well, he can't fight in any war. But that still leaves Steve alone. And his family. They need him, too. (Even if, somehow, their faces aren't coming up in his mind. He carefully doesn't think about that.)

"--fuck, this is bad," he finishes fiercely. "Can we get back? Undo the dying thing?"

Maes can sympathize. He hadn't been on the front lines in year, but he remembers it all too well. Bucky is more aware than most though, when they'd gone through the military academy they'd been eager to see action. How foolish they had been.

"It is bad...but it's not hopeless." He stops walking for a moment, the effects of the green light causing the world to tilt the wrong angle. He'd rather stop than stumble as he gets his bearings again. There almost there, he can already see the light of the Bonfire. He takes a breath and pushes forward, stubborn as always. "We're working on that part, seeing what we can find out about what brought us here to begin with and seeing how to maybe retrace the steps to...undo it as you put it." Hell, Maes had been working on that particular dilenma before he'd ever gotten here.

Bucky stops when he does, puts a steadying hand on his back, and waits patiently for him to be ready to move again. "Sure, okay. Working on it." He squares his shoulders once they start walking again. "What can I do to help?"

He nods at Bucky's consideration and to signal that he's ready to move, an unspoken thanks.

That's a much easier question to answer. "We've been collecting a lot of intel. Exploring the unknown areas and digging deeper into the secrets of this place where we can. It's a long process but we are making progress I think. Poke around, see what happens."

Bucky does look around, but all he sees are trees, and the bonfire ahead, and... well, a lot of nature. It's intimidating, but to get home, he'll manage. "I'm kind'f a city boy. Most trees I've had to deal with are in Prospect Park. That gonna be a problem?"

"Well, there are some more settled areas that still need some digging into," he says, thinking of Downtown in particular. Several of the structures there were still a mystery as to their contents or purpose. He considers if there are other options, "Or if you're much of a reader there's plenty to dig through in the library and Town Hall."

Maes gestures in the direction of these locations, but they've made it to the Bonfire by this point. It's hard to worry about the cold when you are practically tripping over yourself from dizzy spells, but Maes still finds comfort in the familiar bonfire. At least it's colors hadn't changed.

Something in the back of Bucky's brain suggests that the new settled areas are actually pretty far off, and tactically (Since when does he use the word "tactically" even in his own head? Jesus) it wouldn't be a great idea to go out there alone (Especially now that he can't defend himself. Except how is that different from any other time? He's a fine boxer, dammit). So while his reading mostly extends to fiction, he figures that's probably safer.

He guide Maes to one of the benches around the bonfire, figuring the poor guy probably needs a sit-down. "All right, pal. Point me at the library. I'll see what I can find."

Sitting doesn't necessarily stop the world from spinning, but at least he doesn't have to worry about falling over from it. Plus, if he starts to get nauseous he can put his head between his knees. That's supposed to help right? Really it's just a reprieve before he makes his way back to his cabin. The fresh air had helped a bit, but if he's going to sleep this off that might not be a bad call.

"I'd ask if you still want those cigarettes...but books and smokes don't mix." He shakes his head and points to the general store anyway, "That's the general store, for future reference." He then moves his hand towards the direction of the river, "Cross the bridge and head towards the village. Library is located there. It's a big brick building with ivy covering it...hard to miss."

"Nah, the cigarettes were just cuz I'm nervous as hell, really," Bucky says with a little laugh, scrubbing at the back of his head with one hand, only to be stymied by having long hair, which is still weird. He drops his hand self-consciously. "Havin' a job to do will help. You need anything before I head off to get started?"

"Makes sense. I find keeping busy does help."

Maes shakes his head. He doesn't know what will happen with these lights and the new colors, but the Bonfire seems just as safe as it ever was.

"I'm fine. I can always chat with Rastus if I need company," he glances over at the gathering of sticks that the Bonfire keeper considers his home. He's never too far away. "I appreciate your help. I'm sure these dizzy spells will pass soon enough."

Bucky claps his shoulder lightly. "Hope so. Sounds like a pain in the ass. Thanks for everything, your own self, Mr. Hughes. You were a big help." Even if it was a scary sort of help.

With that, he heads off, looking for this library thing. He never makes it there, distracted by another self-shift, but it's the thought that counts.

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EVENT LOG: TURN THE LIGHTS OFF

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wrapping up then?

yep! :D hope you enjoyed meeting original flavor Bucky Barnes