EVENT LOG: THE NIGHT WE MET

[inthenightmods]

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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Comments

[punctually]

[ it hurts, the way his stomach twists with the guilt and the knowledge that he's putting so many people at risk just so he can save this one person. but he ignores it, the pain and all the consequences that come with it, because nothing else matters the second he recognizes that it's kal that's plummeting. the guilt gets shoved away and replaced by determination instead, and peter keeps reaching out, stretching his arm as far as he can to close his fingers around kal's hand.

faster, he thinks, urges himself, and once his fingers brush along his, peter grips tight and pulls him up as hard as he can. ]

[uplifters]

[ The difference of gravity pulling him down and Peter pulling him up makes Kal let out this noise of pain; if it were anyone else, his arm likely would’ve popped out of its socket. As it is, Peter has a good grip on him, but despite his ability to fly now at ungodly speeds, it seems his strength remains the same as it’s always been. ]

Thank you. [ The words are gasped out of Kal’s mouth, and he takes in the look of his saviour before his eyes widen as he lands on his chest. Right in the middle of Peter’s chest is the crest for the House of El, and Kal can’t believe it. Peter will find he’s in full tights, too, similar to the one that Kal wears even if the crest on Kal’s suit is black and red instead. ] …who are you?

[ In the far, far, far distance, Peter will hear a call for Superman, though less for help and more in anger. Kal doesn’t seem to react to it, but it also looks like he doesn’t hear it at all. ]

[punctually]

[ he winces a little at the sound of pain and thinks he could have done that better, but thankfully kal's arm remains intact and he has a solid grip around his waist now. it takes a little bit, but he figures out how to hover in the air long enough to finally register what he's wearing, the blue and yellow and red, and makes the decision that he doesn't look nearly as good in tights as kal does. but that's something to think about another time. ]

Peter, but that's not important right now. [ there's no reason to not tell him the truth; the fact that kal doesn't recognize him doesn't even really bother him — this is his memory, so it makes sense that he wouldn't recognize someone he'd never met. peter glances in the direction of the voice before looking back to kal. ] There's somewhere you gotta be, [ he starts, and then pauses, thinking better of what he was going to say. ] But, we don't have to go there, if you don't want to.

[ they were never given a choice. charles told jean to save that astronaut and got a solar flare and a world full of trouble for her efforts. and a part of him knows the right thing to do would be to take kal and go to the gulag, but another part of him wonders when was the last time anyone had asked kal what he wanted to do rather than tell him what he had to do.

it's a heavy weight to bear, one that peter has only just started carrying within the past few years. but this is a memory, everything has already happened before, and it's with that knowledge that peter gives him the choice where no one else did. ]

[uplifters]

[ "We don't have to go there" is a sentiment Kal has never had the luxury of having, and despite himself he finds himself considering it. Peter can feel it: that conflict, the brief hope of resignation and choosing to live away from the world (he'll receive images: Kal alone on a field, Kal cultivating crop and building a home from the ground up, Kal living away from the world and the headlines that read how horribly Superman failed, how heroes are supposed to be brave enough to kill)... and after that, the horrid guilt and misery that causes the flash of distress on Kal's face.

How selfish can you be, Kal? Peter will hear in his head, as if the thought is his and not someone else's. You were put onto this Earth for a reason. You made a promise when you put the crest on again to keep fighting. You promised... ]

I can't stay away, Peter. [ But whereas the Kal Peter knows would have said that with a laugh and a smile and a quick lift of his feet off the ground, the Kal he holds onto now looks like he's just okayed the launch of a nuclear weapon. ]

If you know where I was headed, [ the corners of his mouth pull into a smile, but this one is tired, weary, aged like the grey in Kal's temples ] you'll know why I have to be there.

[ Marvel's headed for the gulag. He's going to break it wide open onto the Justice League. ]

I've made a terrible mistake, Peter. I can't let everything go to hell because I wasn't brave enough to fix it.

[ Softly, with one hand touching Peter's back as Kal secures himself against him, he asks: ] Please, will you take me to Smallville? I...

It seems I can't fly any more.

[punctually]

[ it's almost strange to see it, the images of kal living on his own and being away from the people he's always tried to protect. it's not something peter has seen before himself, but he recognizes it — erik had left them all not too long after fixing the mansion, separated himself from charles and the school entirely to start his own life again. sometimes, they just leave and peter wonders if he'd end up being exactly like he was back in his mother's basement if he decided to do the same. leave the x-men, leave the mansion, leave all the superheroing behind him.

but kal came back. and peter isn't sure if it was because he wanted to when he sees the look on kal's face as he says it, the weariness in his eyes and in his voice. it leaves an uneasiness in him that he can't shake off, and he's not the greatest at offering comfort (because that's what kal does, isn't it?) but he doesn't know if he wants to get used to seeing that expression on his face. ]

No one says you have to be brave all the time. [ kal secures his hold on his back and peter feels a little like he's sending him off for good. ] No one says you can't make mistakes either. I broke a guy out of the Pentagon once, jury's still out on whether or not that was a terrible mistake.

[ those are two different things, but peter is stalling, still holding onto kal as they hover in the air, still steadfastly ignoring whatever it is they have to do at the gulag. this is a memory; marvel can wait. ]

I mean, I can take you to Smallville, [ he pauses, mouth twisting into an expression that says otherwise. ] But it's okay if you don't actually want to go. You know?