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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Kuai Liang || OTA

[paletteswap]

Shocking no one who's known Kuai for more than thirty seconds, he's not exactly pleased about this current situation where he keeps seeing other people's private thoughts without their consent. It feels intrusive and his delicate sense of propriety is taking a beating.

On top of that he's trying to ignore the fact that if he's seeing other people's memories, then some out there are seeing his. He'll just stand by the edge of the dogsled track and watch the spirits and try to not think about it.

---

1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

[The memory starts in darkness, before INITIALIZING flashes on screen.

Screen? Weird.

Words continue to scroll as if the memory is inside a computer, more than half is in Chinese, which translates to a few ice puns along with the important knowledge that Sub-Zero is best kept at temperatures of negative 54 degrees Fahrenheit. The distorted face of another person in a mask appears, taking up his vision. ]

Sub-Zero? Can you hear me?

[Kuai sits up, shaking his head as if that will stop the robotic analysis that's happening with everything he looks at. Instead he stares down at his hands, blue and metallic, turning them over and back and flexing his fingers, his robotic legs stretched ahead of him and giving a good view of his new metal body.]

Yes Smoke. I hear you.

[He's taking being turned into a robot pretty well honestly.]

---

2. The Aftermath (cw: Suicide)

[Kuai is in a puddle of blood, it stretches out ahead of him, pooling in the ice that surrounds him. His vision is blurry from pain and bloodloss, and he closes his eyes in resignation.]

At death's door again Kuai Liang?

[The voice sounds jovial, and Kuai groans as he's dragged to his feet by a very large man who clinks with bottles of wine strapped to all available spaces on his person.]

I've done terrible things.

[The portly fellow bellows laughter as he continues to drag Kuai away, past an entire city covered in ice with small protrusions here or there that are clearly people. Well, were people anyway. They'd been running towards a temple that's now glistening as the ice encasing it begins to melt. ]

The dagger possessed you. Do not be so melancholy!

I should end it. I can't be redeemed after this. Kill myself. Be done with it.

HA! Of course not. There's more than enough wine to forget about this. After what you've been through, Raiden owes you a favor or twelve.

---

3. The Fire Garden

[Kuai is kneeling alone under a tree that's brilliantly pink with cherry blossoms, gazing out at the small compound beyond, trees dotting the landscape with trunks ember red or orange and small pointed wooden buildings now covered in fallen petals.

Behind him there's faint footsteps of someone who is trying to be stealthy, and wouldn't have been heard by anyone who hadn't been listening.]

I assumed you were training.

[There's a disgruntled huff behind him and the shnnk of a sword being sheathed.]

You should not be here. One day, someone will catch you.

No, they will not. Would you like me to leave?

[Kuai's voice is light, almost playful.]

If you are already here...

[The memory fades before he turns around, the identity of the man behind him a complete mystery.]

2.

[worthallthis]

Soldat blinks away the memory, and then the personal memory that it brought back. The second half of a very, very terrible mission and what it had tried to do about it. They scrub a hand down their face wearily. That's not a memory they needed, dammit, but it. Kind of. Makes sense, in a way. If there was one time the Asset was going to force the guards to shoot it, after blowing up a building full of kids was probably that time.

Anyway, this belongs to Kuai. That name is clear as day. They ought to give it back to him, so no one else picks it up and has to experience that. Maybe not many people would understand.

So they track the guy down at the Invincible, and offer the opal, on the metal hand, wrapped in fabric so it won't activate upon collection. "This is yours. It's not a good one," they warn.

[paletteswap]

Kuai is yet to find a memory of his own, he's starting to think maybe none of his are out there, and trying to decide if that's a blessing or a curse. But then Soldat holds out a fabric wrapped opal and offers one to him.

"I'd almost hoped that none of mine had appeared. Even if simply to spare anyone from seeing them." He takes it gingerly, setting it down on the table and unfolding the fabric without touching it just to see what it looks like, debating if he wants to experience whatever it contains. He's constantly replaying everything that's gone wrong in his life in his head, trying to learn from those experiences and do better in the future, but actually reliving them as if he's there is completely different.

Eventually he closes his fist around it, shutting his eyes for a brief moment after and setting the rock back down on the fabric.

"Ah. Yes. That was .. Not a good one." Kuai might be understating that a bit.

[worthallthis]

Soldat doesn't watch, not exactly. But they do pay attention, because if Kuai is doing this in front of them, then he must want Soldat to stick around.

The expression on the man's face is kind of terrible. They aren't watching him, but they're an expert at seeing things without watching them.

"I tried to do that once, too," they find themselves saying. "Sort of. Seeing that helped me remember."

[paletteswap]

He's not sure how much he should say, it was a dark time in his life that he still dwells on in his most miserable moments. "It should never come to that."

His eyes flick up to Soldat and then down at the opal. There's a part of him that wants to smash it, but he knows he won't be able to break it with his bare hands. Instead he holds his palm over it, encasing it in a shard of ice so he can pick it up and look at it without experiencing the memory.

Too bad it reminds him a little bit of the people he'd killed, each encased in their own icicle.

"But there are some things that cannot be forgiven, and which time doesn't ease the pain of."

[worthallthis]

All you gotta do is ask, Kuai. You've got a guy with a machine hand standing right there. Said machine arm gives a little shivery ripple at the sight of the ice, and they look away again.

"Maybe." There's a lot that the Asset did that's probably not forgivable. Doesn't seem to stop people from trying-- maybe they just need to be told the worst things. "What did that man mean. About the dagger."

[paletteswap]

That may come to him in a bit.

"The Kamidogu. There were several daggers split apart that had been used in horrible blood magic. A general of the underworld was attempting to use them to bring back an Elder God who we thought defeated and banished." He turns the frozen opal over in his hands, a part of him marveling that something filled with a terrible memory can be almost beautiful.

Looks are often deceiving, and never more so than this simple rock containing a part of himself he never wanted revealed. "Anyone who's blood was shed by the dagger was bound to the wielder's will."

[worthallthis]

Terrible things are at times beautiful. Doesn't make them any less awful, or wrong, or evil.

And this sounds. Pretty evil. Soldat holds very still, putting the pieces of that story together with the memory. "That happened to you. Blood shed by the dagger."

[paletteswap]

He sets it down, watching as it starts to glisten as it slowly melts.

"Yes." He doesn't really want to elaborate, but he also can't help but mention, "I don't remember any of it. I lost months, I think."

He's not really sure, and no one had wanted to talk about it, which was just as well as far as he was concerned.

1

[callada]

[What the actual hell is he looking at?

The memory, if that's what it is, floods in quickly, and is blissfully brief. If it wasn't for hearing the name "Sub-zero" he would have suspected this would be one of Daylight's, or Minimus', again but at the same time, he's seen both their points of view and while they were alien, they weren't quite like this, with so much flashing through his vision faster than he can keep up.

It must not be Bi-han. He doesn't recall hearing if that man ever came back after Kuai seemed to indicate he had gone. Though their relationship was contentious, they were brothers, and he has quite a lot of sympathy for their situation. But if this isn't Bi-han, then is this Kuai's vision? Is this how he sees the world? Is he in fact not human?

Luckily he feels comfortable asking about it, and he should pay the older man a visit anyway. He packs away the opal and goes to seek him out, wherever he is.]

Grandmaster. How have you been?

[paletteswap]

[He nods politely as Rosinante approaches, glad for a distraction from watching the spirits joyously send themselves hurtling to their deaths or preparing to do so.]

As well as can be while watching this. Every realm has different traditions but..

[But he doesn't really approve of this one.]

And yourself?

[callada]

Well enough.

[Despite the local traditions. Which he doesn't really mind, odd as they are. The desire to seek some kind of immortality in the stars is not a new concept to him, though usually it's done after death.]

I don't suppose you have a moment? I might have found a stone with one of your memories.

[paletteswap]

[It's definitely poignant. He won't interfere with it since he's not about to tell someone else their customs are wrong, but he'd honestly rather they .. didn't. Especially when so many that had been helpful are now sparkling brightly among the stars.]

Ah. I hope not as terrible as the one Soldat found, and if it is, my apologies.

[He naturally assumes Rosinante saw something awful, there aren't a lot of good memories in his past.]

I have one of yours as well, I was going to come find you.

[From one of his pockets he pulls out a piece of paper folded into an envelope of sorts so that he doesn't experience the memory every time he touches it. Rosinante's name carefully written in Chinese script on one side so he doesn't forget who's is whos.]

[callada]

Then it seems I have good timing.

[He'll leave Kuai to judge if this memory is terrible or not. To him, it was just confusing. He pulls out his toolbox and sets it on the ground, then scoops out the opal with a spoon and passes it over.]

Terrible isn't quite what I'd call it, but I do have a lot of questions.

[Meanwhile, he eyes that little paper envelope, and holds out his other hand to take it.]

[paletteswap]

I'm unsure if yours is good or bad, it feels as if it is both. Your brother is in it.

[He hands over the little package. Rosinante can decide for himself, as Kuai doesn't have the context to know what exactly is going on. Especially with knowing what happens later on thanks to the what he'd seen at Rosinante's grave.

He takes his opal, closing his palm around it, then looking away afterwards. Well, not as bad as it could be.]

Yes, I imagine you would. I can tell you now that any answers I give will sound utterly ridiculous.

[ He tucks it away, not really wanting to relive it, but not wanting anyone else to. It's not necessarily horrible, but it is somewhat... embarrassing.]

[callada]

[He waits to open the little paper parcel, letting Kuai go first. The mention of his brother makes him hesitant, although thankfully Kuai is one of the few who already knows some of their complicated relationship. It doesn't make Rosinante more likely to want to talk about any of it, but should he break down crying or end up wanting to punch something, at least the Grandmaster has seen some of that before and was gracious enough about it.

Once Kuai speaks, Rosinante nods, then takes his turn. Ridiculous sounds okay to him. Better than -

Yeah. Better than this. Better than a memory that gives away far more about himself than he's comfortable with. Hopefully Kuai is the only one who found this one, or one from around its time. It doesn't floor him the way some do, but he narrows his eyes and tucks the opal back into the paper pouch, and slips it into the toolbox which he latches shut. That's enough of that.]

In yours... what is that? What are you seeing? It looks so strange. I don't even know how to put it into words.

[paletteswap]

Hm, it's a display. The best way to explain it is like our tablets, but analyzing everything at once. That's how I saw for a time.

[Well, this is awkward. There's really no good way to say "I used to be a robot." without it sounding very, very strange and raising far more questions than it solved. It had taken a very long time to explain to M.K. when he'd tried, and he's fairly certain that he hadn't believed him.]

How much technology do you have in your world?

[Because he recalls that very dead snail from their first meeting and the claim that it was somehow a 'phone'.]

2 because I guess I hate myself

[donttalktome]

[Will sure didn't want this, but here it is. The opal was buried in some snow that he was brushing away for a place to sit, and he was very foolishly not wearing gloves. Now he's treated to some fairly horrific imagery and a crippling sense of guilt.

As if he didn't have enough problems.

He considers the stone for a while, turning it in his (now gloved) fingers. On the one hand, he has some amount of respect for Kuai Liang, which makes him want to give this back. But on the other hand, would he even want something like this back? Maybe he should just toss it in the lake and be done with it.

The back and forth from the memory echoes in his brain. I've done terrible things and there's more than enough wine to forget about this. He can understand both mindsets, since he's toyed with one and committed to the other.

There are things Will thinks he would like to forget sometimes, but really, he just wants them not to hurt so much. If it weren't for those things, he'd be somebody else. Like it or not, they're a part of him. Eventually, he decides to at least give the man a choice. He tracks him down at the races.]

I found something of yours. [He moves up beside Kuai, as if he's watching too.] You don't have to take it if you don't want it. But I don't want it either, so the other option is the bottom of the lake.

[paletteswap]

[Kuai's looking out at the races, but he's not really processing them, instead he's thinking about the memories he shouldn't have been seeing, many of them were less than pleasant. He'd been silently hoping that somehow none of his had shown up. Maybe he hadn't interacted with the spirits enough for him to be worth tormenting with horrible memories stored in jewels.

Though he'd found one of Cao Pi's and it had been a pleasant memory (aside from Kuai's guilt at seeing it), so some at least were being reminded of the good in their past.

Which was worse?]

No I'll take it. Throwing it into the lake might make it the problem of the Night Market. Something horrible I assume?

[There's plenty of options in his past: Frost betraying him, nearly dying several times, his clan being systematically murdered. Any of those things are possible.]

[donttalktome]

[The "problem" of the Night Market, sure. More like something they'd be able to use as leverage. Kuai's right, throwing them in the lake isn't the best option.]

Well... it certainly isn't anything good.

[Will holds the stone out in his palm. Kuai can take it when he's ready.]

[paletteswap]

[He stares at it for a moment before picking it up, letting the memory wash over him. He closes his eyes, turning to the side for a moment to collect himself.]

Ah.

That .. is probably not something anyone else should see.

[Turning the stone over in his hand he watches the light glint off it before tucking it away in his tunic where he won't accidentally touch it again. He definitely didn't need reminding of the time he'd nearly died and killed thousands in the process.]

My apologies.

[As if this is somehow Kuai's fault that Will found it.]

[donttalktome]

[Will snorts.]

Apologies for what? You're not the one who threw it down here in the first place, and from what I gather, you weren't exactly in control of... [He makes a vague gesture.] All of that.

[You know the uhhhhh mass murder?]

[paletteswap]

Not at all, I don't even remember it.

[Just the aftermath of a whole lot of dead people.]

Which does not absolve me of blame, but it's difficult to atone for what you don't know.

[donttalktome]

How does that not absolve you? [Will frowns.]

You weren't in control, you didn't even know you were doing it. You were practically just a weapon. We don't blame a gun for a murder, we blame the person holding it.

[His idea of ethics may or may not be a bit skewed.]

[paletteswap]

It shouldn't have happened to begin with.

[A Grandmaster shouldn't make mistakes, or get caught unawares, or stabbed, or possessed, or anything other than be perfectly in control at all times forever until they die.]

That's not generally how things are viewed. And I'm sure none of those I killed would be quite so forgiving.