EVENT LOG: TURN THE LIGHTS OFF

[inthenightmods]

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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Comments

[sunborne]

[ daylight, for once, is grateful for how paranoid nightbreak was when it came to surrendering enemies who have weapons on their person and the way she always insisted a certain why it went down. a strangely specific thing for her to do but, at this moment, he's sure not going to complain.

upon seeing dr. ingram set the knife down next to himself, daylight quickly shakes his helm to indicate that won't be enough to get him out of the shield bubble. ]

You need to kick the knife behind you. [ he stresses that part, making it clear there are going to be no exceptions to this condition. ] I'll let down after that. I promise.

... I don't want to fight you, Dr. Ingram. [ he tries to lower his winglets, trying to appear genuine in his assurances. (and to also hide fluffy from view, in order to keep both dr. ingram and fluffy from getting spooked by the others' presence.) ] I really don't. So- Please- Just remove the knife from within reaching distance and we can talk this out properly.

[donttalktome]

[A promise? Useless. He's heard countless promises, and almost none of them were kept. He's going to keep a hold on that knife, thank you very much.]

If I toss it away, you'll just kill me.

[It's a very blunt accusation, and some part of him doesn't want to make it, but this is a desperate situation. Isn't it? God, he doesn't know. But better safe than sorry.]

What happens if I don't?

[There's some defiance in that question, but there's also fear, plain enough in his eyes already.]

[sunborne]

[ daylight notices the fear in dr. ingram's eyes and feels bad for him. something about the lanterns' changes has been... mostly weird. sometimes distressing.

this, he thinks, definitely falls under the latter. especially when dr. ingram accuses him of being willing to kill someone.

his optics glow in shock and his winglets hitch up in a jerky movement before they sharply fall back behind him. the look of hurt on daylight's expression is undeniable because does dr. ingram really distrust him that much...? ]

Why would I want to kill you, Dr. Ingram? I know we're not friends but I like you. I would never hurt you. Ever.

[ okay. no. calm down, daylight. these are the effects of the lantern at hand and it isn't right to be hurt at someone else's fears and apprehensions because they're there for a reason. so... what would nightbreak do in a situation like this?

-besides knocking out dr. ingram. day would rather that this deescalates without the need to resort towards the use of violence. ]

Dr. Ingram- What do I need to do to prove I won't hurt you? I don't understand... Coraline and I would have been happy to let you in if you'd asked. Same with Soldat and Rosinante and the others if they had as well. You guys are welcomed here.

[donttalktome]

[Will's eyebrows furrow and he struggles with the situation. Coraline, Rosinante. He knows them, doesn't he? This person is calling him doctor. Maybe he can place this. It has to be Beacon, he thinks. But what if it's the reset? What if it's just before the reset?

Of course they'd want to reassure him that he's safe. That just makes him easier prey.

He shakes his head. No, he's supposed to be figuring out if that's even true.]

Tell me what's happening outside right now.

[It's a command more than anything.]

[sunborne]

[ daylight, in return, looks more confused than anything. this is a weird left turn, as his auntie laura would have said to him when something weird happend;.

but dr. ingram seems to be... willing to hear him out? no longer itching to get the knife at least. and he seems to consider day's words, which is a huge plus for the big guy. so, in the spirit of showing he means well, day starts to talk. ]

Um... The lanterns are all acting up for some reason. [ day gestures to his own that's attached to the belt he wars around his hip. ] Er- Not everyone's lanterns since Coraline and I seem to be okay but... We noticed that those who did get their lantern's lights to change are... changing themselves.

Like the ones affected by red light physically while those who are affected by the green and blue lights are... more emotional? More mentally affected? It's hard to tell the differences between them.

[donttalktome]

Lanterns.

[Will glances down at his, but it's closed. He's been keeping it that way because it looks like it's ready to shatter, and he can't take the chance that someone will go for it.

It's made it pretty hard to see outside.]

Lanterns, no. [Will squeezes his eyes shut.] No no. Not that. The spirits, what are they doing? What are the people doing?

[sunborne]

They're... They're normal? [ er. normal as they can be as mischievously unpredictable forest spirits can be. they're not attacking anyone or taking advantage of the situation. the most they've done is hide from the more dangerous-looking or actually dangerous individuals since the start of the event and.

that's fair. that's very fair and he can't blame them for wanting some space.

he looks behind himself, him and fluffy sharing a look of uncertainty with each other before daylight looks back at dr. ingram. ]

Ummm... They're not acting any differently. [ at first, he sounds hesitant but, over time, he starts to become more confident in what he has to say. if there's anything day is certain of, it'll be the spirits he cares for. ] That's what kind of surprises me the most, honestly. They're going about their day and are kind of puzzled as I am over this. It doesn't seem like they have an understanding of what's going on, Dr. Ingram.

[ fluffy... skitters closer to day-friend, trying to do their best to hide behind both day-friend's giant mass and their fluffy, flowery mass. scary knife-man is still scary, whether with knife or no knife. ]

[donttalktome]

[The spirits aren't doing anything. They don't know what's going on. This isn't the reset.]

This isn't the reset. [It's worth saying out loud. It helps make it feel more true.]

But it is Beacon. Which means... [He seems to actually be struggling with this for some reason.] That means it's now. That means it's the farthest thing I can remember.

[Will almost looks tired just from having to convince himself.]

Just... tell me I'm right.