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!

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Sora finds a Honduran Opal with a memory inside that has been forgotten by all but Naminé.

Sora is kneeling in front of Riku or at least someone who looks a lot like Riku. "Riku...? Riku! RIKU!" He turns to look up at Naminé. "What did you do? What did you do to him?"

Larxene steps through a corridor of darkness, appearing in a cloud of black energy at the forefront of the hall. "Broke his heart." She answered Sora's question though her tone was snide and pointed. "I'd say more like she smashed it, really." Naminé sits in front of Riku as if feeling the pain of what she has done reverberate through her slender frame.

Sora looks between Naminé and Larxene. "Smashed...his heart?! Then...what's gonna… What's gonna happen to Riku?"

Larxene laughs, her voice loud and shrill. "Oh, you're so much fun to watch. If it's Riku you're worried about, then don't. Because Riku was never really here."

Sora glared up at her, "What do you mean?"

Larxene looks like she's enjoying herself far too much. "Do you really think I'm just gonna say it? That's too easy! Oh, what to do?"

"Quit the games!" Sora attacked her but she kicked him away and sighs.

"All right, have it your way, then. I know it'll kill you to hear this, but I think I can live with that. That thing lying there is just a puppet that Vexen made as an experiment. No more than a toy. It's laughable, really. It called you a fake, but IT was a fabrication all along."

Sora's head rose to meet Larxene's crazy smile. "Not Riku? A fake?!"

"Fake in every possible way. It was only finished recently. How could it remember anything?" Larxene picks up the fake Rik. "You get it? Its memories with Naminé were just planted, not real." She throws the replica near the wall. "Yup. That means, all this time, it's been picking fights with you over memories---that were counterfeit, trumped up, and completely bogus. Isn't that the truth, Naminé?" She picks Naminé's head up and try as Larxene mights to meet her gaze, she continues to look down towards the floor. "Oh, so cute...but behind this little face, you do awful things."

Sora looks to the girl he had thought of as a friend. "Naminé..."

Larxene laughs. "You're so stupid. Don't you get it now? That's what Naminé's powers
are about! She can enter, rearrange, and even create new memories---of anything, even things that never happened. The girl you've been trying to protect all this time---is really a manipulative witch who shackles people's hearts!"

Naminé remains speechless as Sora begins to understand. "Then...my memories...are all..."

"Oh, you do get it! Lies, lies, all lies! Just Naminé's illusions, nothing more. Binding you in the chains of your own memory was central to our trap. It makes me tingle to think how easily you were duped. So close to it… we were almost there. This was our only chance to turn the Keyblade master into our puppet, but... That jerk Axel---he used Naminé to betray us!" Larxene summons her knives to her hand and Sora looks up towards her. "So now, I'm left with no choice but to eliminate you!"

Sora glares up at her. "You'll pay..."

Larxene steps forward to meet him but Naminé walks in between Sora and Larxene with her arms spread out to protect him. "Don't!" She doesn't care what she's done. She doesn't want to see Sora get hurt anymore.

"Huh?" Larxene snears down at her. "It's a little late for the witch to grow a conscience. Last time I checked---YOU'RE the one who fooled around with his memories creating this mess."

"I know, but---" Naminés voice is cut off by Larxene. "I should tell you that I'm in an EXTREMELY foul mood. Thanks to you,all our plans are ruined!" Naminé is knocked off her feet and crumbles to the wind marble floor.

Sora reaches out to Naminé. "Naminé!"

"What's this? Are you upset?" Larxene giggles. "And you don't even actually know her!"

"Maybe not." Sora glared at her. "But still...I made...a promise."

Larxene snarls, "What?"

He starts to stand up, "A promise I made to Naminé to keep her safe. Maybe my memories are fake. But the promise is real to me. (He falters slightly) That's why---I'll keep it."

"Hmph. You're such an idiot. There is no promise and there never was! You're just delusional. Must you insist on playing the hero? Whatever. If that's the way you want it... You're going down alone!" Larxene isn't able to say more as a shield appears and both Donald and Goofy show up to help Sora fight off this evil Organization… witch.

[ooc: The video for this is . Time is between 11:20 - 15:03-ish]

Edited 2020-02-18 19:47 (UTC)

[ Heeey, Naminé! Hi! Good news! (There is no good news, but this is the, uh, not bad news!) Unlike the other Castle Oblivion memories the universe gives him, he will indeed remember this one even when he leaves it! It won't cause him pain to remember it, and he won't even be mad that it happened. Honestly. He has... a lot to consider now, but Sora's Sora. He forgives as easily as he breathes.

Bad news! Letting this opal brush his hand signaled the universe to send a chain of related memories directly into his head. A chain of over fifty memories, to be precise! Some of them are just fine - after all, he did meet both Naminé and Larxene in his waking memories. Others, especially the ones related to Replica Riku... Well. The universe does not want him to have those memories back. Those are the ones that cause migraines! Intense migraines! Migraines that last after the echo ends!

It's a little late in the first day of the aurora when Sora is finally able to text Naminé. ]

hey naminé? are you in your room? can i visit?

hi sora.
I am.
you can visit.

okay! be there soon.

[ And ten minutes later, there's a knock at her door. ]

Hey, Naminé. It's me.

[ And honestly, when she opens the door, he'll look none worse for the wear. Maybe a little shaky, with his eyes a little red like he'd had allergies, or he'd been crying, but he's pretty okay. Definitely smiling in the good way. ]

Edited 2020-02-19 20:41 (UTC)

[There is a soft distant rustling of paper and then the familiar creak of the door as Naminé pushes it open.] Sora? [She meets his gaze and blinks.] Your eyes are red, are you okay?

[There is a brief hesitation before she opens the door wider and steps away to let him inside.]

Come in. It's just me right now. I was drawing so... it's a bit messy. I'm sorry.

[It's only been a few weeks but there are already piles of drawings on the small table in the room with her and Hana's favorites taped or nailed or balanced on the walls.]

I'm okay. [ His voice is a little wet too, but he doesn't seem to be lying! He figures he can explain what happened if she's really curious, but for the moment, he's perfectly all right with walking in and surveying the room. They've settled in, haven't they?

Sora's already seen the way Hana draws, so these piles of drawings strikes him as a very Naminé sort of situation even before Naminé explains what happened. ]

Did you draw all this? Can I see?

Yes. I was hoping to so you. Maybe you recognize some of these places?

[She's been drawing the castle, Beacon and bits and pieces of the memories that she knows technically belong to Sora.] What's happened? That is... something seems... different.

[Naminé isn't great at reading people.]

Some of them. [ Sora is pretty careful to keep his gaze a little unfocused, though. He doesn't want to have another echo train right in the middle of the room, especially when she's just asked him another question. He does absolutely seriously want to spend some time with her later just to look through them, but this has got to come first. ]

I found something that belongs to you. [ He pauses, then nabs the a paper packet from his pocket. Written on it is this: NAMINE - it's okay. ]

It, uh. [ He looks at it, then reaches out to give it to her. ] It's one of those stones that are falling from the sky. The ones with memories in them? [ He tilts his head. ] I think it could have been mine, but I don't think I'm allowed to have this one back.

[She turns towards him and watches as he digs his hand into his pocket. Naminé isn't sure what she's expecting but when he pulls out the opal, it seems obvious. They've been falling from the sky recently and she likely has a few scattered around Beacon.]

Oh. You found one of mine?

[She reaches for it, her palm open to take it form him.]

Can I see it?

[She wonders if something is wrong as he continues to explain.

Why can't he have this one?]

Yeah, it's all yours. [ Sora will just plop that in the middle of her hand, making sure to stay, like... himself. Which isn't hard, obviously, but he wants to be there in case she gets scared, or angry, or sad. He finally understands why she seems so apologetic around him, he thinks. Now it's time for him to put his money where his mouth is. He's not going anywhere. ]

[The opal lightly drops into her palm and as it does the memory flashes to the forefront of her mind. She nearly drops the opal but manages to fumble it into her pocket. This isn't one that she wants anyone seeing, least of all Sora.

She glances up at him, her expression suddenly uncertain.]

You saw this? What I... what I did...

Yeah.

[ He looks at her, not really smiling but not really... upset? Either. ]

Is... Is that okay? [ The possibility of asking her to hide it again flashes in his mind, but... given the context, that might not be the best thing to ask for right now. ] I mean... I wasn't supposed to remember that, right?

[ He thinks for a moment, opens his mouth, then closes it, smiling a little to himself. ] Are you, um. Scared? Of what I think of you?

[She swallows and slowly nods her head.]

I am. [She pauses briefly and steels herself to meet Sora's gaze.] I don't want you to hate me Sora. I don't think... I could go on if you hated me. [he gives her more strength than he might realize.]

I did horrible things to you and to the Replica.

[ The Replica. Sora remembers enough about him now that just the name doesn't bring back memories. He has to be careful, treading through the memories - Castle Oblivion is still closed off to him with barbed wire made of migraines - but what little he had of him is mostly back. Fake memories, huh. ]

Naminé. I don't know what happened after that, and... I'm not sure if it matters. [ It's not like he's the real Sora, anyway. It's... a lot to take in, but at this point, he's just glad that he has a reason why she's been acting like. Well. Like he does. Almost in a state of constant apology for existing. ] I remember a lot now. What I'm supposed to thank you for, and why.

You've been alone for a long time, right? You couldn't talk to anyone, and people made you do things you didn't want to do. Right? [ He's prepared to be told he's wrong, but he thinks he's got at least a part of it figured out. ]

[She's ready to argue with him; to explain that her existence was never supposed to occur. She isn't supposed to exist but all of that falls from her lips as Sora's words pierce deep within her chest.

'You've been alone for a long time, right?'

It is true but it's a fact that she's made a point not to return to dwell. It's something she's never turned back to face and it still hurts. That feeling of loneliness hasn't left her be. The knowledge that she's an abomination of a Nobody with no purpose expect as a tool for the Organization. That's what she's been told, over and over again. And she believes it.]

I was alone. [Her voice is very soft.] I was sad and scared but I could have stopped. I could have stayed there and on one would have found me. It was because I called Sora that the Organization began to take interest, that I hurt him. And I know I hurt you too. [She places her hand over her head but keeps her eyes focused on the ground.] My Sora. Even if you don't remember. I know that those memories must be locked within you too.

I was so happy when you were here. That you wanted to know me. That we could be together.

It was selfish of me. I've always been like that.

[She's always wanted to exist without feeling like she has a right too.]

[ Sora is going to come a little closer, which is a miracle because it feels like his bones are melting and on fire because he knows exactly how this feels. To not be the right person. To not be who your dearly beloved needs you to be. To want someone who doesn't belong to you.

There was a beach in January, and him chasing after Riku, not realizing that he was just that. Not the right person. That was the exact word Riku had used that night. "Selfish." And he was right. That's what Sora was.

That didn't make the pain any less real.

So Sora's going to bend a little and wrap his arms around her shoulders and pull her into his chest, setting his chin on top of her head, trying to will her heart into being okay. ]

You can be selfish. It's okay. It's fine. I'll be here. We'll be okay.

[Naminé is silently and nearly on the verge of tears when she feels Sora's arms wrap around her shoulders. The damn breaks and she trembles as her arms wrap around his waist, her face burying into his chest as she feels the overwhelming tightness in her chest slowly lift with Sora's support.]

Thank you Sora.

[She rubs her nose against his chest and he get some tears on his shirt.]

I'm sorry. I shouldn't be sad.

I should be happy with what I have but... I always hoped for more.

There's room for both. There's gotta be.

[ There has to be room for being grateful for what you have and wanting something better, more perfect. That's a part of having a heart, after all. Hoping for something that may not be real.

He'll eventually start swaying them back and forth, mostly for both of them to have something to focus on. He finds that soothing, at least. ]

I know how that feels. I really, really do.

[ Meeting Riku again, whole and unmerged with another person (whom he liked in his own way, really he did, but Dante wasn't him), was an impossible dream. Impossible dreams don't hurt. They're never supposed to. They just never happen.

He knows how that feels. To know that the best he can do is to only sort of have what he wants when the thing he actually wants is just out of reach. ]

It's fine to be sad. [ And he'll keep going on this sort of rhythm until he starts saying sort of wordless nothings that he isn't sure is actually addressing the hurt anymore. He just wants to give her the time to cry it out and know that's okay. ]

[Naminé is silent as she leans against Sora and lets the flood of tears fall. This is the first time she doesn't try to stop herself or hold herself back and she feels the years of isolation, fear and desperation swell within her before pouring down her cheeks. She's been holding it all in all this time, trying her best to be strong.

Minutes pass and she quiets, raising a hand to descretly brush the tears from her cheek.]

Thank you, Sora.

[She's never cried like that or had someone who let her feel safe enough to cry.]

I want both. Even if it's selfish and even if it's only in Beacon. I want to feel new things and live and... have more but I'm so happy... to have met you and to have lived at all.

[ Sora smiles. It's a lot to hear that, yeah, especially in Beacon, but... he sort of gets that. He feels as alive here as he does anywhere else. He just doesn't feel any need to think about being dead.

He's just far from home. He's always been far from home. What's one more degree of separation? Especially when a little piece of home is this close. ]

Well, here's the deal. [ He pulls back a little, pulling hair away from her face so she can wipe a little more easily. (In a second, he's going to wipe her face with his sleeve. Gee, he does do that, doesn't he? ] What if I try to make it so you get to have more moments where you get to smile? As many as you like.

[Naminé smiles as Sora's sleeve wipes the remaining tears from her cheeks. Her palms cup her face a moment later, trying to cool the heat that tints her face red.] Really? Yes. I would like that very much.

[He has a talent for making her smile.]

Thank you Sora. I'm sorry for being such a bother.

[ooc: this feels close to wrapping up. Thoughts?]

Then you should tell me about everything that makes you smile, okay? Whenever you think about it. [ And he cups his own hands over hers and sort of squishes her face? It's funny, okay. ] And you have to be a bother. You know me, I'm kinda dopey. Get my attention, okay?

[ ooc: sure! he would have probably brought up here that the memory knocked him out for like five minutes and gave him uuuuh a little bit of pain that happened for kind of hours and then proposed that she helped him with the rest of them 8)b all good otherwise! ]

Okay! [She smiles.] To start, hanging out with you makes me smile and hearing about the cities and people from where you lived.

[Naminé likes the dopey Sora.]

I will. No matter where you go, I'll come find you Sora.

Thank you, Naminé. [ And that means a lot, especially for someone who's been chasing people down all his life. ] I'll stay close. Promise.

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EVENT LOG: THE NIGHT WE MET

Closed for Sora

@langit; text

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end!