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

[worthallthis]

That does in fact get them most of the way through the meal, and right up to when the timer goes for the cookies in the oven. Hope you've been enjoying that smell, Sora. Soldat had simply stood leaning a hip on the counter to eat, listening, so it's simple enough to set the bowl down and bend to pull out the cookie sheet.

Without an oven mitt, because metal hands are awesome.

"Don't touch yet, they need to cool down," they warn Sora, then pick up their bowl again to finish their last few bites of rice. "I saw you working on the cabbage rolls. Didn't think I'd be much help. Never had them before."

[arsarcanum]

He has! And Sora was totally going for a cookie before the soldier told him not to touch. Man, why do you have to be like, thoughtful and stuff? Now Sora's just gonna rest his elbow on the counter and his head against his palm and stare at the cookies. Longingly.

"You did? I could make you more sometime. I've already made some for the Librarian and Rastus, I'm pretty much an expert now." He sighs. "I am not good at rolling them up though. I keep breaking the leaves? I think I'm too strong."

[worthallthis]

After the time Rosinante burned his tongue on something they brought him, they've figured it's better to be safe than watch someone get hurt. Seems that was smart, given that hand. "Need to work on fine control, then." Soldat's most calming hobby is origami. The delicate work is soothing. Do they need to teach Sora that now, too? "You can show me someday."

[arsarcanum]

"Fine control?" Sora removes his hand from his hands and wiggles his fingers. That's... never really occurred to him as something important, to be honest. He's down for it, though? Honestly, if all he ever is until the end of whatever happens in two years is that he becomes a byproduct of the soldier's passion for teaching him things that help him survive... he might actually be down for that. Well, considering.

First though, cabbage rolls. "Sure," Sora says... maybe reaching out with his hand to see if they're still warm. With the back of his hand! He paid attention in science! Sometimes. "That's the only hard part besides remembering all the spices. There were like, fifteen?" (This is an exaggeration, it's more like 8.) "I'll probably try learning a lot of recipes! Or at least however many we can fit in between saving the world."

[worthallthis]

He has enhanced strength. Of course fine control is important, if you want to do delicate work like cabbage leaf rolling, or, you know, precision knife cuts. Or origami. (Unless it's just Sora being an impatient teenager and just not being careful enough. Could well be that.)

They swat gently at Sora's hand, brows going up. "I'll tell you when they're ready. And since we don't know how to save the world yet. We should have time to learn a few."

[arsarcanum]

(A little of column A, a little of column B. He's never had to handle anything smaller than a pole before the soldier and their knife lessons came around except when it came to cooking, and he always had the little chef and Ari for that!)

Man! Sora will jerk his hand away, pouting. "Are you like a cookie whisperer or something? Anyway. I'm doing chocolates for Valentine's next month! That's just molds and chocolate, though. And the month after that, I'm doing pancit bihon. You should help me with both." Not an option, soldier. If they are going to cook for him, he's just gonna have to cook for them, too!

[worthallthis]

Soldat holds their hand over the cookie tray, wiggles the metal fingers. "Temperature sensors," they explain, a little dryly. "And what's... Valentine's?" This is not something they've heard of before. If there's chocolate involved, though, it can't be bad, can it?

[arsarcanum]

Man, that is CHEATING. Sora is now sort of wondering if Rhys could pop him open like a car and give him new stuff like heat sensors. (He knows better than to bring this up with the soldier! It's just. A thought.)

Sora's eyebrows shoot up into his bangs. "Oh, right, you wouldn't remember that!" He explained this to Rosinante too - he is starting to think that he'd better start writing down all the things he has to explain for people so he doesn't have to keep thinking up explanations on the fly. "Okay, so it's on February 14th! It's about love. Big couples' holiday, lots of people running around trying to do romantic things for their significant others - go on dates, give flowers, have nice dinners." He scratches his nose. "It's, uh, a romantic thing, but lots of people give chocolate to their friends and family members tooo! Kids at school do big Valentines exchanges with their friends. Lots of cards and candy."

"Anyway, most Americans don't make custom chocolate, but my mom used to so I wanted to try it this year." Sora stares at the cookies so very longingly, but he knows better than to touch this time. "I can't make chocolate from scratch, but I asked Rastus for some chocolate molds and there are chocolate chips in the general store, so I was like, why not?"

[worthallthis]

That's a terrible holiday. Couples? Romance? Soldat makes a face, nose wrinkling up. "Well. Candy I like. Romance... eh." They set the bowls in the sink, then then (finally) pick up a cookie and offer it to Sora. Chocolate chip. Simple, but good. "Too much touching. But I'll help you with the chocolates, sure."

[arsarcanum]

YES PLEASE. Sora is worn out from this entire terrible week, but he still manages to perk up quite a bit as the soldier deposits the cookie into his waiting hands... And he manages not to shove it all into his face like a caveman. It's only half! He can close his mouth around it! Honestly, this level of self-control is majestic.

"Thank you. No romance, huh," he says after a mighty swallow. There's still a bit of cookie left in his mouth, but it's negligible. (Negligible means that he's not spraying crumbs. Gross!) "So neither you or the sergeant remember being in love?"

[worthallthis]

Soldat has a much more reasonable-sized bite of a cookie, themselves, after setting a plate on Sora's knees under his so he doesn't drop crumbs anywhere from the remaining half of cookie in his hand, either. They shrug. "No. Before HYDRA, all I have are memories of a skinny kid named Steve. And dance halls." Which is still new, brought back between Duster and Midge. There's nothing in it that feels like romance or... sex, or anything. Just music and motion. "But. Think that was with a lot of girls, not one in particular. Just liked to dance."

[arsarcanum]

At some point, Sora's going to have to put the soldier on payroll. This is like playing adolescence on easy mode.

Sora blinks. Steve. Is... that the friend he was talking about earlier? Or someone different? "You like to dance, huh. That's kinda cool." Must be stuff from the 30s though, right? Was that before or after swing? "That's a good memory. Fun." Sora looks at them appraisingly. "Yep, I can see that. You being the kinda guy who'd get a lot of chocolate."

[worthallthis]

Look, Soldat is the one who will have to sweep crumbs off the floor if he drops them. It's just efficient. And there was in fact a couple types of swing in the 30s and early 40s, though probably not the kind exact Sora is most familiar with that has a resurgence in the 90s and early 2000s.

They roll their eyes at the comment about chocolate. "If you say so." And the blank look is noted, and replied with, "Steve was that friend. We shared an apartment. He got into a lot of fights. And drew things. And was sick a lot." Which is really the extent of what they know about him. Besides the intense feelings of affection and protectiveness.

[arsarcanum]

"Huh. Steve." Sora will shove a quarter cookie in his mouth, because he has a Thought and it needs to come out more quickly than the last one. "He must be important if you remember this much about him this early. Has to be."

[worthallthis]

"I asked Aziraphale to find a happy memory for me," Soldat explains. "So I knew I had them. Steve is what he found." Pretty much every good memory except the dance hall one has Steve in it, so far. Even the reading one.

They polish off their first cookie, starts on a second, and offers another to Sora, too.

[arsarcanum]

Sora grins. He doesn't know it yet, but he's about to invoke some law of large numbers bullshit. "So out of every happy memory, Aziraphale randomly found one of one guy, whose name you remember and stuff?" He accepts the proffered cookie, puts the quarter cookie he has left on top of it, and slamjams that into his mouth. Quarter cookie? More like more-ter cookie.

"Skyler's first memory was of Kairi. He ended up getting so many for her." Kairi is a slightly less painful topic, although he mentally has to step around a few things to get there. "You're lucky. You got his name so early! We just had guesses to go on for the longest time. Still, I figure that, like, the chances of me getting lots of memories from someone who didn't matter at all would be pretty weird, right? Even if you don't have much to work with, most of them are gonna be with people you were with a lot." Sora grins before taking another cookie bite. "Steve. I'd like to meet him someday."

[worthallthis]

"Or else I just don't got a lot of happy ones to choose from," Soldat offers instead, soberly. "Aziraphale had to look pretty hard for those two. But he was important, I'll give you that."

They finish their cookie, grab a third. It's fine, they need the calories, and it's comforting putting sweet-tasting food into their mouth. Also, they don't find they want to talk about this anymore. It's just going to make them sad again, because either way, Steve has to be dead now. They pick up another cookie for the road. "I need to check on Misty. I ran out on her. Before. She's probably worried."

[arsarcanum]

In Sora's opinion, the fact that the happy memories are so rare and they have Steve in common makes Steve super extra important... but the mention of Misty makes him immediately frown. "You did? Is she okay?" A beat. "Are you gonna be okay to talk to her?"

[worthallthis]

"I heard the Asset-voice in her cabin and panicked," they admit. Shit, it's been two days since they checked her hand, too. It might be infected, by now. "I'll be fine." They head over to the couch to replace the blanket. Then, after a beat of hesitation, add, "Maybe I'll write down what I want to say on the way. In case it won't come out."

It happens sometimes. Words just go away. Maybe being prepared will help.

[arsarcanum]

"Yeah, yeah! That's a good idea. There was a guy from, m-my world, who always carried around notecards to remind himself of his objectives. You can do the same thing!" Granted, Demyx had been a bit of a goober, and also a little evil, but those notecards sure did do their job.

(He's also not really sure about saying that that was his world, but it feels better than constantly trying to separate himself from his memories. It reminds him of Jason telling him about how the Greek and Roman sides of the same gods in his world tore themselves apart trying to be who people thought they were. Sora thinks he understands why he'd understood that conflict so quickly now.)

"Let's go find paper so you can write it down. It shouldn't take long." Sora grabs one last cookie and jams it in his mouth before pushing away from the counter. Little things like not really knowing where the paper is in this house currently do not matter to him. Adventure time.

[worthallthis]

For a beat they watch him move with obvious confusion, then a little bit of amusement. "Kid. Tablet. I'm gonna write it on the tablet. Don't waste paper on a note, that way." And can maybe use it again sometime, if they have to tell someone else the same thing. Like Aziraphale, if he ever comes back, or Crowley if he ever wakes up. (Let's not go thinkin' about those as "ifs", pal. Just make yourself upset again. Okay. Yeah, sorry. No.)

[arsarcanum]

A beat. Another beat. Another beat. And soldier, this is the deepest beet red they have probably seen Sora, ever. "I knew that!" He tries to make a straight face! And fails. "I didn't know that, but I wasn't thinking!"

And he's just. Gonna hide his face against the refrigerator. "C'moooon," comes Sora's muffled voice, "gimme a break. I hate technology."

[worthallthis]

"Why? Technology is great. I'm technology." They hold up their metal hand and wiggle the fingers-- the rest of them has technology involved, too, but slightly less benign than a high tech weapon attached to one's shoulder... which isn't saying much-- then sit to put their boots back on. At least they're being nice and not looking at Sora during his embarrassment.

[arsarcanum]

"You're great, and technology. I'm also pretty good and technology. I just don't remember that it's there." Sora will pull back from the fridge once the mortification passes to watch them pull on their boots and wander out with them to the door, snagging his own blanket burrito and snuggling under it. "Tell Misty I said hi. And tell her I'm gonna visit as soon as this is all over!"

[worthallthis]

"Good. She needs people to visit her." They finish tying up their boots, and get up again to collect their coat. Sora gets a glance in his general direction, expression weary. "Send me a message if Crowley wakes up or. Aziraphale comes back?"