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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[ You're taller than the rest of your class by four or five inches but you still feel small. People make you feel small, that's normal, it's typical so you keep a chip on your shoulder and wear a track into the carpet of your favorite haunts. The best one is called "The Aladdin," and those letters illuminate every hope and desire you've ever had in your life.

Inside you can get lost in the alternate realities of Galaga, Centipede, Mrs. Pacman, but you're the best at Street Fighter. Nobody can beat you at Street Fighter and you're damn near untouchable.

The shit people have said about you, your knobby knees, your razor-sharp elbows, your glasses, your buckteeth. None of that matters, you're the king of this domain. You play people for their tokens, for extra games, and more opportunities to beat your high score.

"You want to spend your summer in the Arcade?"

Eddie's voice and the look of the other losers are still imprinted into your mind, doubtful, skeptical, judgmental and you don't need them. You don't need their pity.

It doesn't take long for you to make quick work of your current competition. He's blonde, with curly hair and gentle blue eyes, and looking at him for too long makes it hard to concentrate. He reminds you of Cory Haim, and it takes you a minute to place that but he might as well have walked right out of The Lost Boys. Unlike your other challengers, when you're playing he's not just some bystander or spectator. It feels like he's rooting for you too, and when you gamble his last token away from him he's quick to throw in the towel. Nobody in Derry, Maine is made of money.

"Man, you're good."

Sympathetic, and maybe a little too frantic you offer one of your tokens to play an extra game. No man can be an island, right? The lucky seven might have split off, but why shouldn't you make some friends on your own? Blue eyes stare right back into your soul, hopeful, but Hockstetter and his band of buffoons get out of a movie just in time to ruin your day. Their only real talent in life has been making you suffer and it continues to be their primary goal.

"Dude. Why are you being weird? I'm not your fucking boyfriend."

Your eyes move from that tall mullet-wearing douchebag to the guy you were having a good time with moments earlier. It takes you a couple of seconds to realize that those words were directed at you, "Woah, I- I didn't-"

"What the fuck's going on here?" Great. Now, it's a scene - you can hear the rest of the people around you fall into a hushed rumble of whispered voices. Hockstetter's walking up from the theater boxes ready to make waves and it shouldn't hurt you when the guy says it but Cory Haim turns back toward the four of them with too much ease in his words and it does. "You assholes didn't tell me your town was full of little fairies?"

Is everyone on the fucking planet an asshole or is this something Derry specific?

"Richie Fucking Tozier? Wait- you trying to bone my little cousin?"

What the fuck are you supposed to say to that? Hockstetter is close, so close there would be no point in running or standing your ground and the whole thing is so out of the left-field all you can do is stand there, lips parted in shock, hands open-faced and down at your side. Still reeling. How the hell did it go from having a good time to this?

Then, at the top of his lungs: "Get the fuck out of here faggot!!!!!!"

The entirety of The Aladdin goes silent, and your feet move without much prompting at all. Small backward steps, no point in taking your eyes off of those guys. Not when you can't trust them. Nobody else says a word, and a small glance over your shoulder makes it clear that they won't. Why would they?

"Fucking move!"

The Aladdin was the one thing you had left to distract you. The one thing that you could count on to bring you some sense of self and success. Now that was gone, and you're proud of yourself for not making a scene and lucky that it didn't end up something way worse. Once you push through the door, your nerves rattle back up through you like a swift wind. Every time your feet hit the sidewalk it feels like you're running across hot coals and you don't break down until you make it to the park, unoccupied, so nobody has the satisfaction of knowing what being treated like that actually did to you.

You know that a boy that loves other boys is a dead boy and that plenty of bodies had been buried here for less.]

( this isn't happening. this isn't happening. this isn't happening.

you've just barely had a chance to get your shit together from your fall (and your fucking broken arm) when it happens. a tap, tap, tapping sound gets your focus on the fridge where a gloved white hand has appeared. slowly, the door swings open and you see him. you see IT. the clown, twisted and mangled up so IT might fit inside but still grinning.

with ease, IT pulls itself free. untwisting, unbreaking bones and grins down at you with a razor sharp smile.

"time to float!"

although you struggle backwards, IT follows your every move. jokingly wheezing, panting as you feel your own breath begin to stutter in your lungs. this is it. this is happening, you're trapped. bill and richie are nowhere to be seen and you're going to killed by some monster clown. even as you find yourself trapped, pinned- you weakly try to fight back. slapping, hitting but your fight only makes IT laugh harder. IT fakes cries, laughs and pretends to bite your wrist but most disturbingly IT drools in hunger.

"tasty, tasty fear."

it's all your hear through the blood drumming in your ears, the fear pulsing through your veins and you watch (in fear, of fucking course, you're afraid!) as IT unhinges its jaw, mouth full of razor sharp teeth and begins to press in close.

all you can do is squeeze your eyes shut and sob. )

Bon Voyage, Amigo

[A soulful farewell to the spirits who plan to ascend to a higher plane of existence doesn't sound right with one instrument, but seeing how excited everyone turned out to be, an emotional song wouldn't work anyway.

Time to practice some pieces. Duster has placed his lantern on a nearby stump and set up his double bass near one of the larger gatherings of celebrators, fighting the cold to play an old warmup]

Memories

[When you pick up certain opals, a memory starring a certain musician plays. There's happiness tinged with slight melancholy throughout these events, but ultimately are reassuring.]

Wildcard

[Hit me up with your own prompt or request another memory featuring either the DCMC or the main party. I'm at

mutanthairything for plotting.]

Edited 2020-02-17 02:00 (UTC)

[It's the summer of 1989 and you, with your red coke bottle glasses and your loud shirts, are as worn thin as you've ever been. In the quiet of your mind, doubt makes itself known as an old friend. Things keep happening, your eyes keep playing tricks and what's real and what isn't real bleed together so often it's got you sick. It keeps you up at night spinning the same track over and over like a broken record in your head.

IT was supposed to be dead, and clowns weren't supposed to keep bodies in a web of suspended animation but you know somewhere in your stomach, deep down, that It still did. It still had them, still somehow lived through the attack.

You can't explain the Paul Bunyon statue coming to life, and the terror you felt to just anyone. Nobody else understood, but the rest of them - they weren't talking, and nobody was making any kind of effort to repair that broken bridge.

The bridge.

Somewhere in a flurry of complicated feelings, of the lies and the facade you forced yourself to keep up you had to be honest. You needed to say something, do something to make reality seem more real. A secret only you knew, only you could know works well enough.

With the sharp point of an old swiss-army knife, you get to work, and it's quick and masterful. The bridge has been there for years, and there's all sorts of graffiti, some rumors, a lot of wangs, telephone numbers, and other tags. A few people have done the same thing but you've carved out a spot too big to be ignored by anyone else around to do the same thing.

R+E

Deeply embedded into the wood of the kissing bridge. You never understood why people called it that, sure - people kissed there, but people kissed all over the place. You're pretty sure more people have died on, over, and under this bridge, than had ever hooked up around here but the sentiment still stands.

When you're finished you look over your handiwork, clear, concise and peer back over your shoulder with a large sweeping glance of the area. Nobody followed you, nobody else saw but now somebody would know. Something could be permanent. Even if you couldn't do a damn thing about it, there was evidence here. Of how you felt, and that couldn't be taken away.]

Aurora
[ Kylo is sitting quietly, watching the spirits crash into the aurora, effectively ending their existence. Death isn't something Kylo is a stranger to, in fact, frequently forcing it upon the beings in his own galaxy and lending a hand in the destruction of five planets and the death of billions. He thinks about watching the beams from Starkiller split across space from the bridge of the Finalizer, the planets disintegrating into spectacular bursts of light. It was breathtaking, in his opinion, but most likely didn't feel the same.

Who is he to disturb the spirits if this is what they want to do? He's just taking it all in, quietly, his lantern sitting at his side and lightsaber clipped on to his belt. ]

Memories
[ Kylo's opals, like everyone's, are scattered about. They're black and red, most of them cracked and jagged like the blade of his lightsaber. Pick one up and you're likely to see something happy from his childhood, troubling from his youth, or terrifying from recent memory. He's experienced a lot in his 30 years of life. ]

If you pick one up, I'll write a memory for you, just let me know what type you're interested in!

[Nothing is more refreshing than the dirty Quarry water after a sweltering day in Derry. The moisture in the air hangs so thick, you feel like you're in a sauna, and your hair clings to your forehead the same way your shirt sticks to your skin. It's miserable.

What isn't, is this happy little tradition and you, Eddie, and Stand dive off of a steep cliff into green water in nothing but your underwear and the fall exhilarates you, whipping your hair back and you all let go, hands apart when you crash through the water like a long hug after missing an old friend.

When you surface, you spit out some of the water that tried to pipe into your lungs and slick your hair back. Your glasses come off, they always had to, and you rely on your friends to get you by relief all around you like a warm blanket.]

C'mon you dipshit. I'll race you to the basking rock. Last one there's gotta steal the next pack of Winstons!

A bedroom-office combination is ingenious. One can live where they work, but issues arise when it comes to keeping personal and work supplies separate. The ensuing mess can be worse when there are an excessive number of items of which to keep track and twice as many storage cabinets and pieces of furniture in which they can be lost. It's distracting to the point that he almost misses the tall man who approaches.

Hughes is dead, that much Minimus knows. However, he had thought that the soldier, like everyone else in Beacon, was sent here immediately after his death. Here, he speaks of his own death and of speaking with people from this universe that are alive. This doesn't make sense. Then again, this time jumping doesn't make sense as well. Something is off with the flow of spacetime here, in this room.

Why didn't he hear about this? Could this be linked to Beacon's state?

[You realize quite suddenly that you're alone in the gallery. The paintings shift to look at you, perhaps with sympathy, and you shake your head, clenching your eyes shut and tearing at your hair. No, no, no! This is going all wrong! All wrong! Ignoring the artwork, you rush forward, through a door that had recently been locked.

Just as you suspected, Ib is up ahead, heading toward a stairway. You slow your pace, clearly on edge, trying to calm yourself as you smile. It doesn't feel right on your face--it isn't at all the way you practiced. It's like trying to stretch canvas. At some point, you must've reached into your pocket and pulled out your palette knife, because you grip it hard in one hand as you come closer.]

where are you going, Ib? Why are you going by yourself?

[Ib backs away from you, her eyes full of fear. She never looked at you like that, before. Why? Why has this changed? You raise your voice, hoping to sound friendly, but it just comes off manic,]

We promised we'd be together...right? Why are you running?

[You're almost on her, now, but before she has a chance to answer, the way is blocked. A man stands between the two of you, shouting Ib's name. Startled, you take an awkward step backward. After he sees that Ib seems to be unhurt, his eyes bore into you, narrowed and suspicious. He grabs you by the shoulders, making sure you can't go anywhere. Wha...What are you doing, Mary?! His accusing tone sets you over the edge, and you all but bare your teeth at him, scowling.]

Shut up! If you had only just been good and waited there...!

[Your words seem to confirm his findings. The ones you already knew he'd made, but that you were hoping would never catch back up to you. M...Mary...I knew it, you're...! You can't let him say anymore. Desperate, angry and afraid all at once, you twist, lashing out with your knife.]

Stay away!

[The man looks startled, shouts, and you shout too, because he shoves you hard. He's so much bigger than you are, the force does its damage. Your body twists, and you see the floor coming toward you as if time has slowed. There's a crack as your forehead slams into the hardwood, and then there's only blackness.]

Ah!

[Jason drops the opal as his hand flies to the back of his neck. It lands with a plop in the snow and Jason stares at it with wide eyes. He's all too familiar with prophecies and disappointing mothers and even with the feeling of something being taken. He rubs at his neck, but doesn't take his eyes from that opal.

He knows this is someone else's memory, but he can't help but think of his own. There have to be some out there of his own childhood. Of finding out who his parents were and the prophecies he was tied to. It's...it's just bizarre and he never would have known...but should he know? He frowns, carefully scooping up the opal again, this time using his sleeve as a buffer.

Normally he'd check in with the spirits to try and locate Daylight, but they all seem fairly occupied with their races. Still, Daylight is probably around somewhere and Jason feels like he probably doesn't want this just floating around Beacon.]

( a wildcard memory option! feel free to come across anything mentioned here or hit me up on plurk at

kadlwin if you'd like to set something up. )

You're running up the flights of stairs, pulled by the girl your age in a desperate attempt to get away from the beings attacking your dormitory. The urgency is palatable, but for some reason you're as cool as a cucumber. You know this is serious, but perhaps it's because of Yukari who seems more than a little harried for someone who seemed to know more about what was going on than him. Of course, that could be precisely why she is acting the way she is.

They turn to run up another flight, but you stop and pull your hand of her grip to look outside. The moon is so bright and yellow and big. Why is it like that? Yukari immediately rounds on you. "Arisato?! What are you doing?"

"The moon..." is all you can say.

She grows even more frustrated. "Our lives are in danger! Do you want to die?!"

You continue to stare, fixated at the moon. It was midnight, or it should have been, and you had been woken up to be told that they were in danger. He knew they were, but as he turned to Yukari, you couldn't help but simply reply, "I don't really care."

It was more in reference to himself than to her, but you're not very good with words. You haven't been for some time now. She doesn't look shocked so much as giving you what appeared to be a pitying look. You can't tell. You face her fully. "Is dying really that scary to you?"

She looks horrified at you now. "How... can you say that?"

Anything else is cut off when a many armed... thing crawls to the window that you two are at. Yukari stares at it now. "What is that?!" Shouldn't she know? Or is this something new even for her? You can't think much more because it's suddenly breaking through the window and your fellow student has tackled you to the ground, protectively covering you from the spray of glass.

She pushes herself up, gasping in pain but she's quickly pulling you up with her, telling you to get up and to the roof. She's pulling you again and you have no choice by the follow. You make it to the roof, where it seems the coast is clear. She asks if you're okay but she is cut off by a loud noise that shakes the whole area. You follow the noise. That monster has followed you up to the roof!

"Run!" Huh? What was she going to do?

She pulls her gun from the holster at her thigh, pointing it straight at her own forehead. What? But she doesn't pull the trigger, because of course not. Suicide is never actually an easy thing to do, especially for someone who recently told him she doesn't want to die. She hesitates too long and is easily knocked away. You barely had time to warn her. And then... the thing ignores you completely, going after the downed girl. No... no!

You can't watch this again! Dying isn't so scary but does that mean you want to watch someone else die before your eyes? You glance down, the gun she was using is at your feet. You pick it up, breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating in fact. Memories flood in, a bridge on fire, a destroyed vehicle, blood and fire all around you...

And then, a voice. "Go on."

You know what to do. You place the gun to your temple, breathing heavily still, mustering the courage because you said it yourself. Dying wasn't that scary, was it? You grin. "Per...so...na!"

You pull the trigger, the crack of a gunshot is heard, but no bullet enters your brain. Instead, it feels as though something is freed and your grin widens, head tilting to the side from the recoil as above you, a being appears. A voice sounds within you, your own voice but not. I am thou. Thou art I. I come from the seas of thy heart. I am the Master of Strings, Orpheus!

And it's with but a thought that it attacks the creature before you. It uses its own lyre to Bash the creature, hard and fast. Then, it plucks the strings in a song and Agi explodes around the monster. It tries to run away, but you stop it at every turn with the fire magic. You feel yourself growing exhausted quick, breathing heavily for another reason now. But then, suddenly, you feel pain in your head. It's excruciating, you hold it and scream. Orpheus does the same, its head collapsing in on itself that you witness yourself as you scream to the dark green skies of the Dark Hour. White gloved hands burst from the metal chassis and then an entirely new being bursts forth from Orpheus.

Thanatos

It makes quick work of the monster, slicing through its mask and destroying it completely. You watch the area burn around you, then the ground rushes up to meet you and your world becomes black.

Daylight will be seeing the spirits off!

He says goodbye to them, wishing them well, and, for these spirits, he'll be giving them a handmade prize ribbon for them to wear on the race. On the ribbon is the glyph 'Freedom' written on the button.

Minimus loosens his grip on the opal.

Where have you been?

Rosinante's older brother, his family, was a monster. The logic of his memory dictated so. The hate he felt was genuine. He could not forgive this man for what he had done, whatever it may have been. He's a monster who cares.

Where have you been?

Cybertronians do not cry like organics, but their optics do blur with overwhelming emotions. He doesn't know if he's sharing Rosinante's tears of they are his own.

What if that were Dominus, finding out that the mask that was Ultra Magnus hid his missing younger brother all these years? Would Minimus hate him? Would he embrace him and play this scene out without the deception?

Where had he been?

Minimus takes time find a hidden alcove in the trees to compose himself. This opal must be wrapped in cloth to prevent another accidental peek into the memory it contained. He supposes Rosinante is busy enough that he wouldn't notice Minimus gone. No one did.

Hours later, Minimus walks up to Rosinante. It's difficult to avoid his eyes when they are close in height, but he manages to have his optics unfocused as he holds the little bag out with one hand, the other arm tucked behind him.

"I believe this belongs to you." No further explanations needed.

Aurora

[Hux feels no grief or any kind of emotion aside from a detached admiration of the view while some of the forest spirits hurl themselves into the light. They weren't really alive, were they?

It's still cold so he's bundled up wearing his greatcoat and a thick black scarf as he headed towards downtown, his gaze on the sky above.]

[ooc: if there is a particular memory you would like your character to find, hit me up at

illuminations]

You're enjoying the hot springs with three of your friends, it's boy's only time right now. The girl's only time would come soon but for now, the hot waters are incredibly relaxing. Ryoji and Junpei happen to mention that it really wouldn't be their fault if it changed while they were still in there, and you agree, but hope it doesn't happen.

Of course, when Akihiko asks what time they should be getting out, both Ryoji and Junpei act coy and have apparently conveniently forgotten when that is. Akihiko rolls his eyes and while you're exasperated as well, you can't help but smile a little fondly. "That's why we came at this strange time? Ugh, you two are such idiots!"

Junpei only laughs. "Aw, calm down man, we're just joking!" It's pretty late so the girls would surely not--!

The doors open. Oh no. Junpei, of course, in Junpei fashion begins to freak out while Akihiko and Ryoji think it's probably just a guy and this could all just be a misunderstanding, right? That is, until they all hear Yukari's voice. Followed by the other girls of their group. Oooooh no.

Ryoji, the casanova wannabe, is ecstatic and stands up, almost cheering! Junpei is smart enough to pull him back (and nearly drown him) telling him to quiet down. Mitsuru's voice is heard and that's when real fear strikes. No one wants to be on the other end of Mitsuru and her executions! They have to get out of here, it doesn't matter if they couldn't actually get expelled for this.

The girls start to look for the sources of their voices. It becomes a game of cat and mouse as you and the boys try to evade the girls. You eventually succeed and make it to the little waterfall, they don't come back but you still wait and wait and wait. Mitsuru eventually chastises the girls that they'll get sick if they continue this charade. They all breathe a sigh of relief, a few more moments of the girls talking (Aigis and Fuuka needing to cool off) and soon they're walking out of the hot springs.

"Whew, okay looks like they're gone," says Akihiko, shaking his head. "We would have never survived Mitsuru's 'executions'...huh?"

You and Akihiko watch Junpei and Ryoji's bodies float on the water, reddened by overheating. Uh oh. Your friend merely scoffs. "Looks like they passed out. Well, I guess that's what they deserve."

You sigh. Guess they gotta drag their bodies out of their now and cool them off. So much for a relaxing time in the hot spring... (why were his friends stupid?)

[The air is slightly chilly but he's not shivering. Row upon row of stormtroopers standing below him, waiting for this moment that had been decades in the making.

There had been so many sacrifices but they were all worth it as he stood there on that stage.
He could feel the power surging through him, burning through his blood. It filled him until he felt like he could burst. He hadn't slept in days, running on adrenaline and exhilaration for this moment.

He would shape the galaxy as no one else had ever had before. No one, not even Emperor Palpatine at the height of his reign, had ever held so much power in their hands as he did today.

His voice is strong with conviction, his entire body shaking with emotion. He had waited for this day for so long and he would make it glorious.]

FIRE!

[The sky became red as the energy bursts from inside the planet.

It's memorizing. There is so much power in that red beam, a power that no one else but him could harness.

It was his destiny.]

Duster finds a stone streaked with gold, beige and dark brown. Holding it shows a memory of a stranger meeting a perhaps slightly familiar young boy.

Cao Pi finds a dark opal flecked with red, turquoise and gold. Although it gives a memory, only one of the names mentioned in it matches anyone in Beacon. Who are these assholes? (stop at 5:05)

Quentin discovers a white stone full of pearlescent flecks. What a strange vision it offers when held. What could it mean, and is that really..? (stop at 3:05)

Daylight locates a dark blue opal slashed through with paler blue and peppered with bright flecks. Inside is a pep talk from a talking mouse? (stop at 2:10)

Bruce uncovers a glittering opal that's shot through with dark streaks in a criss-crossing pattern. Holding it reveals a scene of hopelessness against insurmountable odds, the sacrifice a friend makes for someone precious. (stop at 8:20)

Prompto finds a yellow opal glittering with large flecks of gold and orange, holding it reveals the scheming of a man with the power to transcend time.

Vanitas locates a sparkling, almost neon-blue stone mottled with tan. A younger form of his Master can be seen when it's held, with another familiar face. (stop after "Your abyss awaits")

Jason discovers a sky blue stone streaked with white and flecked with grey. Touching it shows the heroic last stand of a very unlikely character. (stop at 4:26) ***SPOILERS from the recent DLC***

Namine finds a fire opal, red and orange, flecked with sparkling gold. Within is the memory belonging to a foolish apprentice (stop at 31:10 "You will. Trust me.")

[OTA prompt for reactions/opal trades]

The aurora is a spectacle all by itself, the world looks so strange and different with so much unprecedented light glowing eerily over everything. Of course all the activity has drawn a crowd, Riku is no exception. Curiosity has pulled him in at first, later, it's the discovery of the opals and the hunt for those who might appreciate their return. It's incredible, not just the aurora shimmering across the sky, but the sheer number of spirits gathered there... even ones that Riku, with a chill, recalls fighting against. None of them appear to be hostile, there's a celebratory mood that permeates the masked crowd.

All heads seem to turn to follow the arrival of a kind of sledge pulled along by... he's not sure what those are and only a few of them seem to resemble dogs. Riku, from a tiny island world that never sees this amount of "winter", is as mystified by this as he is by the rest of the festivities, and as to be expected from another human, is stunned to silence when he sees the sled and team go rocketing up into the sky, only to shatter into countless glittering motes upon contact with the aurora.

As if they hit a kind of ceiling...

Shocked, Riku stares, and then, a few moments later, he raises his voice in a shout to join the cheering.

He's known for months that the spirits don't share in their concepts of death. They're following their hearts, this isn't to fit in somewhere different, rooting for someone as they follow what their heart tells them to do is the right thing to do. What is he to thrust his own mores and priorities on forest spirits? This is their time. Some of them have made compromises for the sake of the other Beacon residents.

So Riku becomes a regular sight at the event, bringing along his ocarina to stumble through rudimentary conversations with spirits while warming himself with a hot drink, cheering himself hoarse - easy, since his throat was pierced months ago. It's actually one of the few times lately that one can see Riku actually smiling regularly, though that might easily have something to do with the extra illumination they've been getting. The only hiccup there is once Riku finds his first few opals and starts to realize what's actually raining down from the aurora; from then on, he's often searching the crowd for people he recognizes from the opals he's found. The hope is he can reunite people with these memories, or at least give them the option to decide for themselves what should be done with them.

As usual this winter, he's dressed in his black bomber jacket, some jeans, boots, a pair of black gloves and a blue knit scarf with a yellow R embroidered into one end, his long hair tied back in a low tail. The only change to his appearance is a small scar in his bottom lip.

Edited 2020-02-17 02:16 (UTC)

[Why the fuck did you ever agree to come along for this shit show? Neibolt didn't scare you before you entered and now the stench, the decay, it's a smell that won't ever leave your skin. No matter how much you might try to wash it off.

They're all separate. The lucky seven whittled down to the lucky two and Big Bill, the ringleader in the equation looks less like a heroic knight and more like a confused kid than he ever has.

There's a mattress on the floor and you're glad Eddie's not here with you because it probably really does have bed bugs, and hepatitis, or whatever else he might say and the last thing you'd ever want to do is buffer his paranoia.

You and Bill are shoulder to shoulder when a child-like chattering echoes off in the very same room - a perforation starts at the center of the graying wormy-colored mattress and Eddie stretches the stuffing wide open with one hand, his entire left side still covered by the mattress and it shouldn't be possible but it is.

"Wanna play loogie?"

That's Eddie, from the neck up with skin like tissue paper the color of ash and black acidic steaming fluid coming out of his mouth out of the mattress like flowing lava hot enough to create huge wafts of steam as it creeps slowly across the floor in front of you.

His body twists and contorts, rocking frantically up and down while his eerie laughter penetrates the quiet that has consumed both you and Bill. Even though you know it's not real, you can't move from the spot you're rooted to, frozen in shock as Eddie's body slams back into the mattress with one quick sharp movement his hands covered in the same black necrotic blood that's flooding over floorboards. It's Bill that gets you away from it and when you both slam the door shut there's a new sight to behold.

Three doors marked in blood: Scary, Very Scary, Not Scary At All

You follow Bill's lead and run for the most obvious conclusion, Not Scary, your mind too focused on finding Eddie and the others to consider the possibility that it might be a trick, a trap.

It opens to blackness, and a soft whisper, "Where's my shoe?"

Bill pulls the string attached to the light and reveals the truth, a yellow-stained closet, and Greta, the missing girl hanging by the rail inside nothing but a severed half of her body screaming in pain with what's left of her innards exposed white-knuckling the clothing rod to stay upright.

"WHERE THE FUCK WERE HER LEGS?!" There's no need for a filter, not in this fucked up hell-dimension and your back finds the hardwood of the door after you slam it shut more terrified than you'd ever been before. The blood's edged closer now, hot enough to burn, and it's so close you can't help but scream out swatting at Bill's attempts to calm you down.

"Th-This isn't real. Remember the missing kid poster? That wasn't real. So, this isn't real."

Bill's confident, clear and level-headed, more than you've ever seen him and you bite the inside of your cheek and zero in on him. Only him. He barely even stuttered with his explanation. That's something, right? It's always so much f-f-fucking worse when he's nervous. No playing poker with that guy.

Bill handles the next door and swings it open, to a very real light at the end of a tunnel and you release a breath you didn't even know you'd been holding in your chest. "Oh, thank fuck."

"Wh-Where's Eddie?" Eddie screams, and you don't know where he is or what's happening but you're running as fast as your legs can carry you. Faster than you've ever ran before in your life right in the direction of his shrill scream.

"Eddie!!!" You're screaming his name before you're even all the way into the room. Hoping it's something simple, some stupid illusion that'll give you nightmares for months and not anything more serious. That's when you see It, not for the first time, and you stop dead in your tracks. "Oh, fuck, Eddie."

Pennywise the dancing clown, forehead for days, with Eddie's body a mangled mess beneath him makes direct eye-contact with Bill. Spitting, with a yellow-toothed grin on his face. "This isn't real enough for you Billy?" Feigning a sad, depraved, wavering voice. "I'm not real enough for you?" All you can do is stand there. "Holy shit..."

"It was real enough for Georgie!" What follows is the sickening high-pitched roar of maniacal laughter and before you can so much as blink the clown is flying at you its body contorted with the yellowing veiny clarity of eyes that are too big and a wide array of teeth in a shark-like gape. You flinch, bow your arms over your head to brace for impact and thank god for Bev because she flays the motherfucker with a fire-poker. You would've both been goners.

His blood floats upward and It's left in shock, the first time you've ever seen it. Eddie is gasping on the floor beneath the scene and the four of you are separated by the clown's mangled face and Bev with the poker lodged deep into his eye-socket. He rattles out a cry, that vibrates the entire place. Stan, Ben, and Mike make it in behind the scene and the three of you are holding onto each other. Bill and Bev as visibly distraught as you feel.

You nod when you see the other three losers, "Get Eddie." Someone else screams. "Get Eddie!!"

You run to his side with Bill and Bev. Everyone is screaming, and you can't think straight to make out anything anyone is saying so you vocalize: "He's got to get outta here!" It's bones make a sickening sound, and they snap back into place with a low rumbling groan and you know, you know it's only a matter of time before you're all goners.

When the clown turns around his teeth go up the right side of his face, the poker is completely skewered through his head his eyes stained blood-red. Bev's stammering, shaking her hands, but you can't focus on her right now all you can see is Eddie. He needs your help. Bev's got the back of your shirt and you're shaking Eddie, hoping to help him back up.

"Get Eddie. Go!" Mike is prompting you, and you know it but you're torn between fear and your best friend. A long thin line of spit is hanging from It's mouth, his fingers sharpened into claws and he's walking right towards the three of you and you can't- you can't do much to make anyone move. Get them to do anything and you're screaming, Eddie is screaming, Mike, Ben, and Stan are all screaming.

"HE'S GONNA KILL US!!!" Eddie's a mangled heap on the floor and you remember what your priorities are finally, palms on either of shoulders.

"Eddie- Eddie look at me." The clown's getting closer and closer, a low rattling growl deep in his chest. He's so close, it would only take a second, you know it, and one of you could be dead. It stops short, and laughs sickeningly sweet - maybe even delighted and then slashes at Ben, Ben's got his stomach in his hands; blood drips off of them onto the floor.

"Ben!!!"

You forget yourself, everyone separated and rambling rattling off whining simpering suggestions in the blindness of their terror. Bill stands up, he leaves the group. He leaves you and Eddie, Eddie's hurt, Ben could die. You're not sure what to do so you stay, you stay with everyone else as Bill leaves.

"Don't let it get away."

"Bill we have to help Eddie!!" There's no telling where he went, and relief punches you in the chest when Bill resurfaces. Eddie's screaming his head off next to you and all you can do is hold onto him and hope that's reassuring enough but you know it can't be.

You bring your hands to the side of your head to block out distraction so that you can focus, to think, and you sputter out: "Okay, okay, I'm gonna snap it back into place."

Eddie turns to look at you head-on the clearest he's been in what feels like years and spits, with wide wild eyes, "Do not fucking touch me! DO NOT TOUCH ME!" between his screams of pain. You're already counting, you have to just in case that thing comes back - in case it slips back into the room and finishes the job. "One, two," there's a grotesque pop and Eddie's head rolls back onto the surface behind him and he falls silent. Eddie's never quiet, and your hands visibly shake as you pull away.]

Edited 2020-02-17 02:25 (UTC)

A lot of what he saw went over his head when he picked up the opal. He blinked rapidly, shaking his head lightly as he tried to work out what he just saw. Minato wasn't unused to the supernatural, after all. Not even dealing with actual gods and goddesses were that alarming, not after what he dealt with himself. He also wasn't totally up on his mythologies, even with the Personas he and the rest of SEES had used.

The memory, however, did give him some insight on who it belonged to. What the person looked like, and that, most importantly, he was the son of Jupiter. Of Zeus. Color him impressed. But also a bit saddened. Someone like the son of Jupiter died? And, if the name Camp Half-Blood meant anything, his death meant he wasn't as immortal as his father, right? He sighed. He could go in circles about this, so instead, he focused on finding the young man. It took some time, but Minato figured he had the right person and tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me."

[It was all too easy to come up with the plan once they both decided what needed to be done. Brendol Hux needed to die and it would not be a swift, merciful death.

It would be all too simple. All it took was a flick of the wrist to get the beetle down the collar of his father's uniform jacket while he was distracted. He wouldn't even really feel the bite, perhaps just think it was an itchy spot. It started slowly, Hux watched for the subtle signs of his father becoming bloated. Brendol's skin seemed to tighten over his rotund face. His veins stood out against pale skin.

Then it got worse. Hux stood in the medical ward as a small silver medical droid briefed him on his father's condition. It was an illness no one had ever seen before, the droid didn't know how to go about treating it.

Hux looked at the swollen body of his water with indifference but inside he was enjoying the sight. Now it was time for Brendol to feel the same helpless, painful terror that he had felt as a child.

He wasn't weak

He was patient.

And when he later was looking at his father's watery remains, he knew he had won. He had survived.]

[ even with the hustle and bustle of the current turn of events and activities, some things never change.

daylight can be found hanging out with the spirits, just under the starting banner. his colours are now a wintery-theme, all light blues and silvery whites. they compliment the blue of merry optics as he speaks with a few of his friends, seemingly ready to help out for the upcoming races.

he looks up from the gaggle of spirits he's speaking with, noticing jason's approach. he grins and stands up proper, waving to his friend. ]

Hey Jason! I was just about to look for you! The spirits and I are going to help paint the Mushheads' sled. Wanna join in? There's always room for one more. [ judging by his cheerful demeanour, he doesn't seem to realise that a memory of his has been uncovered or doesn't realise the situation at all. ]

Enjoying the view?

[Hux spoke up before just approaching Kylo Ren from behind. He didn't want to end up thrown by the Force again if Kylo was feeling jumpy. He didn't wait for permission or stop to ask for it before sitting down next to him.

They had to get along here, somehow. That meant putting aside their differences and figuring out how things were between them. He put his own lantern beside him carefully before looking over at Kylo for a moment before looking at the sky.]

It almost reminds me of Starkiller. Just not as impressive.

Jason had mixed feelings about these opals. They were pretty to look at and, sure, not all the memories were bad. Some had even been kind of funny. It wasn't even like he had anything to hide much, since he was pretty open about the whole demigod thing. Still, like everyone else he had his embarrassing moments.

So Jason, on most of his outings, spent time trying to locate these memories. The spirits were mostly keeping to themselves, so at least he didn't have to worry about Snap, Crackle, and Pop trying to eat them or anything. He thought he'd caught sight of something shiny beneath a tree towards the Church when he heard someone approaching in the snow.

This wasn't someone he recognized immediately, which really only meant he didn't live at the Invincible. Jason raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

[[ooc: Do you have a preference on how we handle the opals? I mean, do you want two simultaneous threads or just converge into one here? I'll still post a reaction to the top level or I'm good with these being two separate threads...maybe Minato's top level taking place a few days later?]

Duster hasn't brought his bass tonight. There are some opals he has to return.

He shuffles through the snow, towards Riku, thumbing the golden and beige rock he had found. It came as a relief that this contained a sweet childhood memory with the added bonus of seeing that magic key again. Was he a sweet kid like that once?

Riku will feel a tap on his shoulder after the light from one spirit fades.

"Hey?"

[ OOC: I'm totally fine with converging the threads if you don't wanna do two threads, I kind of didn't think about that until I was replying haha. But otherwise, we can also time it so that they take place on different days if you're okay with doing two threads! ]

Minato held out a hand where something was wrapped in cloth. He opened it up to reveal the opal.

"I believe this is yours," He said, pausing momentarily. He looked almost conflicted as he thought about he next words. He never caught the name, except one thing. "Son of Jupiter?"

He was only hoping that he got the right person or else he was going to feel really foolish.

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Page 3 of 125

EVENT LOG: THE NIGHT WE MET

- a token, cw: homophobia, bullying, hate speech

—no sound can ever drown it out

Duster | OTA

- R+E,

Kylo Ren | OTA

- hope floats, cw: underage smoking

no subject

ALL ALONE

iv; shocking

—don't paint wonderful lies

Masaomi Kida

no subject

no subject

Armitage Hux

Jason Grace

Starkiller (cw: mentions of genocide]

no subject

- wanna play loogie?, cw: body-horror

no subject

Surviving [cw: graphic murder and mentions of abuse]

no subject

aurora

no subject

no subject

no subject