logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: THE NIGHT WE MET

EVENT LOG: THE NIGHT WE MET

characters: everyone.
location: the path from downtown beacon to the harbor; all over town.
date/time: february 16-21.
content: the forest spirits send off their friends to join the aurora. memory opals drop from the eerie green lights above.
warnings: n/a.

i had all and then most of you, some and now none of you.

For most of the day on February 16, all of the town's forest spirits can be found along the stretch of road between downtown and the harbor, clearly setting up for, uh, something. They're piling snow onto the pathway, creating a miles long sled trail that starts outside the Landmark Inn and ends at the very end of the harbor's dock. Not only that, but the forest spirits are also not super willing to explain what they're up to! They're busy, you lantern-havers.

By the time evening rolls around, the spirits have set up wooden railings alongside the snowy path, as well as a warming tent, hot chocolate booth, and announcer stand outside of the Landmark. Oh, and a starting banner for the race! It's dogsled time!

Throughout the event, Beacon's downtown and harbor areas will be completely overrun with forest spirits, all there to bear witness to this holiday celebration—this holiday is for them, though, not you weirdos with your naked faces. Point is, none of the spirits will be hostile at this time! They're more interested in interacting with each other than with Beacon's residents, though if pressed, a kind spirit might be willing to explain what's going on:

The aurora arrives in Beacon for about a week each year, and the forest spirits believe it to be "friends in the sky". The lights are old friends of theirs, it seems! And each night while the aurora shines above the town, the forest spirits send off a handful of friends to join the aurora! The spirits ready to join the aurora build sleds of their own and assemble mighty sled teams, sometimes comprised of dog spirits and sometimes... other stuff. Then, when the aurora is at its peak in the wee hours of the night, the sled teams will ride off one by one, racing down the snow-covered path all the way down to the harbor, where they'll finally rocket off the dock and out over the lake, picking up more and more speed as each team gallops wildly over the water before arcing up into the sky. Once the spirits are barely a speck, they'll hit the aurora and burst into a shower of light. Beautiful stuff!

See, since the aurora is made of light, forest spirits launched into it are killed on impact! Isn't that wonderful! The forest spirits seem to think so! What is death to a dead thing!

All of this information can be learned through handwaved/played-led interactions with the forest spirits during the event. They'll all be focused on saying goodbye to their friends and cheering them on as they stream through the sky, but they're happy to welcome lantern-havers to join in the celebrations. The hot chocolate is free and only tastes a little bit like mud, so. Enjoy!

•••
For the entire duration of the event, the aurora will dance in beautiful silence overhead, lighting up the whole town with its eerie green glow. Every so often, handfuls of opals will rain down like meteorites from the lights above, and these opals each contain the memory of someone currently in Beacon! They can be found all over town, landing on paths and atop buildings and maybe even rocketing straight through your ceiling to crash into your living room. Perhaps a forest spirit decided to hide some shiny rocks in your cereal box or under your pillow... Better hope the Postmaster General doesn't find your opals before you do, though. That spirits sure does love their rocks. Point is, who knows where the opals might turn up?

On that note, if you signed up for a random event, we'll be RNGing characters to receive these random events throughout the event! The event may happen in response to a toplevel on this event log, or we might turn up in your IC inbox... 👀 These events will be entirely random, meaning we could dole out any number of them at any time, so it'll be a fun surprise for all of us.

If you missed signups and would still like to toss your name in the ring, go right ahead! Signups will remain open throughout the event, though we can't promise everyone who signs up will get something.

And finally... Each day, we'll post a list of the forest spirits joining the aurora! What, did you want to know in advance? The forest spirits have never been a particularly organized bunch, so they're winging this—which means more surprises for you. :)

Enjoy the races and the lights and the opals, residents of Beacon, and remember: WHAT IS DEATH TO A DEAD THING!

QUICKNAV
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[He leans forward just a bit with a look that says "excuse me??"]

These opals are a public issue! At some point, we will have to clear the area of tripping hazards and deliver them to their owners!

[Like any conversation with Minimus that doesn't involve work, it ends up in a weird place. He's just as uncomfortable as Daylight, though he hides it with a thick layer of armor.]

I will accept that. [He's not at a point where he can say something is "cool".]

"Good. That's real good." Poor kid. Being out of time like that must have been pretty terrible. (Awaiting orders. Asset, c'mon, pal. No. Awaiting orders. Think it's making a point, Sergeant. Hrm. Just don't know what the point is. You an' me both.)

Soldat shakes their head a little. "I think your memories might be too. Fantastical. To really help jog mine. I killed a lot of people, but. None of 'em had wings or could summon bone armies. It's a nice thought, though, thank you."

Vanitas cocks his head, his brow pinching quizzically. He has no frame of reference for this sort of thing, so can't understand why Quentin would be apologizing to begin with. Beyond the fact he is wrong, but it's still confusing. Nobody else has ever tried to apologize for fitting him into a box he just wasn't made for.

He watches Quentin for a long moment, and that curious expression remains on his face the entire time.

"You're really weird," He finally settles on, after failing to come up with any other response. Even stranger is that he feels almost settled by the apology, like some invisible wall he'd started to erect has eroded, just a little.

"I saved Mikado."

The words are sharp, curt, and final - intended to curb further questioning. This impression is supported by his clenched teeth, the now crumpled envelope in his fist. Mikado is safe. That is the only detail that matters to Masaomi, and it's the only detail that should matter to Sora too. If Masaomi doesn't think that way, then...

His death really would have no meaning.

"And I knocked that kidnapping bastard's teeth out. That sound okay to you?"

It's frustrating and stupid and petty to bite at Sora like this, to test someone he'd wanted to impress with the kind of question that demands a very scripted answer. But as the fear and anger begin to bubble up the back of his throat, he knows he needs to hear that answer. Without it, he won't be able to shake the urge to bolt.

[ Low whistle. That's quite the list. Sora never traveled while he was on Earth. Not that there wasn't the opportunity, but... ]

Did you have a favorite? I don't... [ He shakes his head. ] I've only really seen New Jersey. [ Which is... directly contradictory to the thing he just said about traveling, but he wants her to go on about something she's seen. He's so curious about Earth, despite having lived there pretty much. All? Half? Of his life. ]

Man, if there's a script, Sora would like to see it. He's been flying by the seat of his pants for a long time. Maybe if someone would tell him what to do, he wouldn't have to feel so lost.

Still engulfed in that stupid sweater, Sora considers the situation for a moment... then puts his hands in his pockets.

"That sounds fine." It's what he would have done. "I was asking about you though." Getting ditched by your crew, no matter how close you were with them, is tough. You pour so much of yourself into other people when you join a crew. Sora wants to know if Masaomi was okay after that. And if that makes Masaomi... Mad? Sad? Frustrated? Hurt? Well... he's just going to have to deal with it? This is what Sora's about.

[ Somnus waits patiently, only to cant his head toward Sora. How is that funny?

And wish what?

This time, it's Somnus' turn to take a moment for himself as he considers his vicarious experience in the realm under the sea. Words can't describe the exact feeling when he attempts to reach for it without Sora's influence. He doesn't know if he liked it, per se. As much as it felt natural from Sora's point of view, it was just so far removed from that to which Somnus is accustomed. ]

It was different.

[ He settles for this, saying nothing about the decisions made by important persons from the aquatic kingdom. That's a whole other can of eels. ]

[Xayah gives Sora a very long look, her eyebrows raised. She didn't expect this kind of thing, encouraging introspective on her past life, from him. She didn't really think about her own life on her own at all, always trying to move forward and keep things going.

But one can't have that kind of conclusion and point of view without experiencing it himself.]

And you? Who sees all the good parts of you and makes sure you remember them?

[ None of that is relevant to the conversation! And Sora's not interested in wasting Somnus' time. ]

Different, huh. Not a lot of mermaids where you're from? [ A smile. It's a joke. ] Not callow ones, huh. What's that mean? Callow.

[ He smiles as she thinks about it. He hopes that she takes that to heart, that it makes Rakan easier to think about. He truly thinks that Xayah is a good-hearted person and wants her to be a little more at peace.

He's about to say as much when she replies! And he grins, because the answer's easy. ]

My friends! My friends -

[ And then he really thinks about the question and looks away and up into the aurora because. Right. That. ]

My friends.

[ His best friends, Riku and Kairi. Who weren't his friends after all. And none of the good parts of him are really his. They were someone else. ]

Um. [ He shakes his head. Smile disappeared somewhere along the way. ] The soldier, um. Soldat? And, um. Jason. Naminé. [ He does smile a little at those names. They're good to him. ] They make me feel like I can be better. [ And to his credit, his voice doesn't crack on that. It's just a little quiet. ]

[ peter recognises eliot's voice, of course he does — they'd never interacted much before he'd — died? disappeared — but it'd been enough times to for the familiarity and recognition to be there. he knows, too, that eliot had come back — at least in a sense — but that he didn't remember his time here.

it's not difficult for peter to wrap his head around a potential answer of why he can't, so that in and of itself isn't the issue.

the issue is the mister parker. the last time peter had been called that, he'd been held by operatives that wanted teresa. before that, it'd been when he was a teacher. normally, people just went for the PARKER—! and that was fine. these days, "mister parker" tends to be the start of nothing good.

quentin's already approached him about finding a stone — a memory, from one of the happiest times in his life just before one of the worst. peter can hazard a guess as to what might have precipitated the question then, but he's not sure he wants to be right about it. ]

Uh— Honestly? Not so weird. [ a breath of a pause and the corners of his lips quirk up into a quick smile ], —And you've found him. But most people just call me 'Peter'. I like to reserve 'mister' for all those awkward conversations that are initiated by a 'we need to talk'. Or the other conversations that are held entirely by phone and consist of me trying to remember the security password I put into place a decade ago...

—Eliot, right?

[ Sure enough, it's not difficult to pick out a beanpole like Eliot in a crowd, even one full of spirits that range in sizes from a tennis ball to something that towers over trees. He just has to look for the human-resembling, non-masked people to find him.

Riku can't say he's never met people of Eliot's height before, but it's been a while since he's had to look up that far at someone, at just around six feet himself.

Light, it's still weird to see him and tell himself that, to him, they're strangers. ]

Hey. [ He's still no good with introductions. ] Eliot, right. I'm Riku.

( Does he not want to know more about his friend? If it were Valjean, Javert would want to know more about him, but Javert's a little bit obsessed. It's probably not the same. He listens, though, and considers the memory. )

He is important to you?

Okay, so. This is weird, being studied without anyone saying anything and after a few seconds, Quentin's shoulder haunch forward and he shifts on his feet a little.

You're really weird like that's not something Vanitas already knew, since well-- everything. The arguments on the tablets, the fight at the church, Quentin's hands wrist-deep inside Vanitas' leg, the memory of alice...

But this is what makes him weird?

Quentin smiles with a shrug. "You have no idea."

There's a beat of silence, of just Quentin watching Vanitas back before he opens and closes his mouth a few times. What had helped, when everyone had expected him to just get over it? Well... Fillory. And Deep Space 9. Middle Earth. Books about other worlds, and other people's lives.

"But I can show you. I mean, the books aren't... completely accurate? But I have the books about me. My world and my life, or. One of the them, because I think maybe it's from one of the other timelines."

Can Vanitas even read? And the thought doesn't hit him until he's stopped talking.

"Anyway, you don't have to. It's just... reading helped me. When I was younger."

[Oh, Soldat wants to know more. They want all the happy memories of Steve. (At least, right now. They're gonna get some soon here that will make it a little more painful.) They just don't want him here, skinny Steve, subjected to this place. Subjected to what his former friend has become. That would be a nightmare come true.]

Very. I think. I feel like. He was my best friend. Maybe my only real friend.

[They look down at the opal again, now a little sad, and finally tuck it away in a left-hand pocket, where the metal hand can't accidentally activate it.]

He doesn't need to see what happened to me. I think that would hurt him.

To trying.

[Quentin clinks his glass to Ambrose's, taking a long drink before blinking rapidly.]

Okay, so it's not the worst thing I've had in my mouth? But it's up there. Geez, this isn't very good. How can it even be... bitter and too sweet at the same time?

[It really is a pretty egg, but Quentin's egg-crazed days are long gone. As is the dragon egg and pregnant Poppy, who despite looking harmless and maybe a little nerdy, was pretty damn evil. Or at least, very self-centered.]

Go wrong with what? Sitting on the egg?

[ Catra snorts, the questions a welcome distraction from the threat. ]

What do I know? Some weird magic happening.

[ Oh no. What a total do-gooder. ]

I don't have to do anything, and honestly I don't really care so...

( It's a difficult question. Javert almost looks as if he's about to flee, his entire body going rigid and his hands gripping tightly to his trousers. He doesn't like to think about it, and he likes talking about it even less, but still, he answers a bit softly, )

Because I had done wrong. I let an escaped convict go, and put myself above the law. That had pleased me. I didn't know what else to do with myself.

( There's a lot more to it than that, of course, but Javert's not yet comfortable enough to talk about it. He's still a bit guarded, even around Soldat, and he hates having to admit his weakness. )

[It's still more of an answer than Soldat had really expected to get, with that reaction almost immediately making them regret even asking.

So they nod slowly, a little hesitantly, at the explanation, and take it at face value. And, really, there's something in that Soldat can relate to:]

It wasn't. In your programming. And so you broke your programming and then felt like you couldn't go back.

[Yeah, yeah that kind of fits. Soldat's one instance of wanting to die had been guilt, but they can see how breaking programming he'd thought had been good and right could leave someone like their handler at such a place. Empathy. They're getting better at it.]

[He nods, because obviously he had to have seen the opal if he knew to bring it to her. Her other questions though...that's a little harder to answer.]

I don't think I have the full story, so I don't have any right to judge you...let alone hate you. In fact, I'm pretty sure even if I did have the full story I wouldn't hate you.

[Sora doesn't, that much is obvious, but if Jason doesn't hate Juno for taking his memories, he can hardly hate Naminé for something similar.]

From what I did see though...it seemed like neither of you had much of a choice to begin with. Sora had to make an impossible decision and you were the one that had to live with the consequences of that decision.

[He shifts his gaze away from the fire to look at her.]

It may be hard to believe...but I've actually been in a similar situation.

[If you find out.

Jason knows Sora is distractable and he has a sense for when things need to be put aside. It's why he was such a good leader, or at least one reason. Having to stay active is definitely one thing he and Sora share in common.]

You definitely needed that, but you don't have to be sorry about it.

"Yeah. Unless she dies in combat or falls in love. It's part of their oath." He knows why Thalia took up the oath, but sometimes he wonders how long she'll keep it. He'd never really had much time to think about the ramifications of it since, well, he's dead now. So she outlived him anyway.

Jason tilts his head, "What do you mean what were they after?"

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EVENT LOG: THE NIGHT WE MET

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THIS IS SO EMBARRASSINGLY LATE i am so sorry

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