EVENT LOG: A GIRL, A BOY, AND A GRAVEYARD

[nextnightmods]

EVENT LOG:
A GIRL, A BOY, AND A GRAVEYARD

characters: everyone.
location: Helix Station; Solis Labs; Bonfire Square
date/time: February 14-22
content: Preparations are underway for what may be Beacon's final battle, while remaining forest spirits do their best to spread love and cheer. See details here.
warnings: n/a, mark threads as needed

Much remains to be done, and time is of the essence. Somewhere in the darkness to the east, Beacon's greatest threat to its remaining life moves. Will you be ready when the time comes? Will you have made time to let those around you know how much this second shot at life has meant?

helix station

Weaver bounces from group to group, checking in on people. "Anything you need help with? Let me know," she offers - whether that's a hand to hold some part you're trying to weld, or assistance operating the portal to pull in some specialty materials.

You have all the station's resources at your disposal, and backup and escape plans to make. Which is the priority, though? Is it something you even all agree on?

And what is that low, barely-audible buzzing drone? It pulses in and out of detection, settling into your skull. The station's machinery keeping the heat on and the air moving have their own constant drone, but this is different.

Feel free to address Weaver in your replies if you like. Note that any remaining spirits in the station (such as the large one wearing corpses, or any that might have turned up later) have become less-predictable and prone to lashing out in aggression when they're not trying to hide from you.

solis labs

Clara busily retrieves documents and samples as any are requested. While she doesn't know how to work a computer, she does generally understand the file system and is eager to point you to where you might read up on previous portal and lantern tests, find coordinates for worlds that might host key materials, or just enjoy some vintage poetry in the library upstairs.

A pair of badger-like spirits snuffles through the labs, eyeing you and your friends nervously. They don't seem much interested in conversation, but they will stick their noses in anything - your drinks, your sleeve, your ear if you're not careful, and their noses are cold.

If two or more people head outside together for a few minutes, they'll hear a stilted growl and a flash of green eyes in the trees - and then an attempt at a word.

h̶͈͝ẻ̴̢̛͖l̷̛̜̝̉p̴̓͝ͅ

Note that as stated on the ooc post, engaging with the green-eyed spirit carries the risk of violence and death, as always. Do so at your own risk.

stick by me and i will stick by you

There may be defenses to be built, weapons handling to teach to those few remaining who want to learn to defend themselves better, and general plans to make. When the World Eater arrives, who will be on the front lines to try and delay it while the bomb is made ready? Who will defend the rest from any spirits bent on following its instructions to slaughter every one of you? If things go south, how will you make your way to a portal to escape, and who will operate it?

Meanwhile, spirits hand out their cookies with chirps of encouragement. It's not all doom and gloom, they insist - they believe in you! And they want you all to believe in each other, to feel a little lighter and happier, if only just for a short time. The messages on their heart-shaped cookies (the whole candy heart concept didn't quite land right, it seems) are all a little odd and who knows what they do, but it all seems to be in good fun.

Feel free to decide for yourselves what the heart effects are, how long they last, if you can have more than one at a time - so long as they generally follow the ideas on the details post.

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Comments

Bucky/Soldat | OTA

[worthallthis]

I. Helix

Soldat is kind of concerned about the local spirits, actually. They'd been shy before, but able to be soothed with snacks and origami. They'd been gentle. They bring plenty of food and paper and after finishing some task for Weaver, and after settling as many extra torches as the rest of the town could do without in the safest place they can find, goes looking for the spirits. They settle down somewhere they found them last time and waiting, food out and slowly making little paper shapes for them, singing soft welcoming, come-find-me, please-talk-to-me phrases.

Even the corpse-wearing one would be welcome. They're practically friends, right? Besides, by now, the smell is probably all but gone, the bodies hopefully desiccated by the recycled air and low humidity down here, rather than really rotting... hopefully.


II. Cookies

Because the local spirits are honest about it and so certain they're positive effects, Soldat takes a break from their self-imposed project of copying out the majority of Beacon's history and understanding of what happened to seal into sturdy jars and store, to try some cookies. "Maybe I can help you with the next batch," they offer with half a smile.

And then for the rest of each day they try one, while they sit in the Invincible on their off-hours between meals and patrols and write, seal jars, and listen to quiet music, they might also be getting up every few minutes to find a spirit or a passing Beaconite to ruffle hair or grip a shoulder, or swing them into a dance if the song's beat is right-- needing to test and expand their comfort with touch. Maybe they beckon people over: "Sit with me, talk to me while I work." Maybe they're not even writing, they're recording onto Sora's old tablet: spirit language with direct translations, to seal into another jar for any future generations, because they need to talk and this seems like the best way to do that. Maybe they're distracted, staring off into space with chin in hand, thinking about Steve or Becca, or Sora or Crowley, or Ellever. Happy memories of people they've lost.

One memorable day, their hair turns bright gold with white tips, and the metal arm shifts to match, burnished with white filigree. That's a funny one. Another memorable day, Sarge is out all evening, because the cookie apparently swapped them and they can't switch back until it's been fully digested. "Ugh, this is awful," he grumbles, trying to focus on the work and failing.


III. Patrols and Searching

Though their patrols don't last as long as they did for a while, there, while they were desperately searching to lost lanterns, Soldat does take them at double-time these days. Both against the cold, and to give themselves leeway to search a little further afield than usual. Lanterns, yes, they can't quite help themselves, but mostly spirits.

They're slowly disappearing. And they need to make sure they're disappearing somewhere safe. So they trot through the freezing woods at the edges of the explored, safe territories, forgoing snowshoes so they don't slow them down, sending out calls in the spirit tongue: "Looking for friends! Please confirm your safety!"

They happily bring other people with them, if those people promise to keep up. The buddy system is smart, too, but they won't sacrifice speed and distance for company.

All that work makes them super hungry, though. Sure is a good thing they don't have a lot of people in town anymore to share food with. ... Sure is a depressing thing, actually. They might be kind of melancholy if you find them in the kitchen adding meat and veggies to their ever-simmering siege stew and grilling up cheese sandwiches for comfort food.

II dat sarge

[callada]

"What's awful?"

Rosinante has to ask, of course, when he overhears. He's just walked in from outside, and takes a second to strip off his hat and shake snow off of it outside before closing the door. In the other hand he has a few cookies all gathered together - because they're mostly harmless, some are crispy enough to not be much like bread at all, and he's pretty sure Law hasn't tried one yet and won't without serious teasing and convincing.

He walks over to where Soldat is sitting, apparently up for hanging out a bit rather than heading straight up the stairs.

[worthallthis]

"This!" He waves a hand at the papers in front of him, at the dim too-quiet common room, the World Eater across the lake. "Fuckin' exhausting, being out here. Soldat's better at this shit than I am." (You're a sniper, too, Sarge, you ought to know patience.) "Shut up, Soldat, I can hate paperwork if I want to."

Sarge has clearly given up on even pretending he's not Soldat, or even talking to them. There's so few of them left, and most of them know already, and it's just not worth it.

[callada]

Wow. Well. Hm.

Soldat has more than once alluded to the other voices in their head, but Rosinante isn't sure if he's ever been so blatantly addressed by one. He glances at their lantern, just in case it looks off somehow, but if there's anything at fault with it he can't tell from here.

"You're not wrong," he says with deliberate calm while he tries to work out what's going on. "It's tough here. I gotta ask - if you're not Soldat, who are you?"

[worthallthis]

Aw, geez. "Sorry, I'm Sarge. Uh, the Sergeant, I think is what they called me when they explained the whole... not alone in here thing?" Sarge's memory is not quite as prodigious as Soldat's, and they'd only been kind of listening in on that conversation, anyway. "Ate one of those cookies, and now I'm stuck on the outside. Whatever you want to call it when I've got the body."

II. gimme a dance

[theimpatientone]

As Merwen finds herself swept into a dance, she laughs out of pure delight.

"Why, Soldat, you share such a good mood today," she says over the music. She doesn't know the steps, but dancing is universal to the human experience, so she'll keep up as best as she can. "What brings this on?"

[worthallthis]

"I'm pretty sure it's the cookies," Soldat answers, but they're smiling, so it can't be that bad. They've got one hand on her waist and another grasping hers, and they're swinging her gently through a waltz, rather than subjecting her right off the bat to the Lindy or something. And they are an excellent dancer, able to properly lead a lady who doesn't know the steps very well.

The webbed toes they have to be careful of. They're longer than most ladies' feet, so making sure they don't trod on them takes a little more thought than usual. "The spirits made them," they explain. "To cheer us up. I guess it's working?"

[theimpatientone]

The rhythm of a waltz is, fortunately, easy to pick up on, and after a few swings around, and a little bit of looking down at her feet as she goes, Merwen falls into it more or less, following Soldat along.

"A kindness," she says, laughing. "Is this how they dance on your world? It shares such fun!"

[worthallthis]

"Oh, Merwen." They grin, actually grin, at the statement. It's a goddamn waltz it's old-fashioned it's only borderline fun. "Merwen. This is one of the slowest, easiest dances I know. Didn't wanna scare ya right off the bat."

If she wants a Lindy, though, they will happily teach her a few steps, right here in the middle of the Invincible common room.

II Dancing

[immortalaccursed]

Ardyn is walking out of the Invincible --where to he isn't sure-- when a sturdy hand grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him into a dance.

"Oh!"

Almost instinctively he flinches back and tries to shrug away but when he sees it's just Soldat he lets out a bark of laughter. Of course this isn't the first time he's danced with Soldat, but it is the first time he's seen the soldier so excitable.

"My, we're in good spirits, hmm?"

[worthallthis]

"Sorry," they say, sounding only vaguely apologetic, as they pull him back in for a proper spin around the common room inside. "Blame the spirit cookies," they explain, not without chagrin, but also with a smile. "I can't hold still when there's a good beat on my tablet. I'll grab a broom or something instead, if it's a problem."

[immortalaccursed]

"It's not a problem at all."

He tries to fall into rhythm with Soldat, but one leg drags slightly.

"But now I am intrigued about these...'cookies', was it?"

[worthallthis]

"The spirits made them," Soldat explains, and adjusts the dance to something a little less demanding, in deference for the bad leg. "They do different things. To cheer us up, they said. Nothing bad yet. Apparently the last one was making me want to dance."

2. Dye job cookie time

[paletteswap]

While Soldat may look pretty distinguished with the gold and white filigree arm, Kuai on the other hand looks a bit stupid with bright blue hair. Or so he thinks anyway.

His little leather hat he arrived with hasn't been worn in so long that he's not sure where it is anymore. Well that's not true, he knows that a spirit dashed off with it at some point and then came back laughing so he knows it's hidden somewhere, he just hasn't bothered to look because of more pressing matters.

So he is trying to ignore it as best he can, nodding to Soldat's new look, "From the cookies I presume?"

[worthallthis]

Soldat doesn't stare. They don't. Soldat is very good at not looking at people, so of course they don't stare.

They are also, however, very good at watching people without looking directly at them, and that is some very vibrant hair. They don't even bother with a "yes" to his question, because how else would they have gold filigree on the arm, and white hair? "Yours as well, I guess," they say instead, nodding in his direction and trying not to smile.

[paletteswap]

"Indeed." He sighs, looking elsewhere because if they don't make eye-contact then they don't need to acknowledge this at all. It's fine, everything is fine.

"The first I ate didn't seem to do anything, but they were so insistent I eat another and now.. this."

At least he can't see it when he's not looking in a mirror. So in terms of things that could have happened it's pretty benign.

"It doesn't seem malicious at least. That's an nice reprieve from normal."

[worthallthis]

"No, it's not malicious. They're trying to help." Soldat can tell that much. Sometimes the spirits aren't great at figuring out what exactly helps, but they do try, and that's kind of them.

Soldat props their chin up on their newly-prettified metal hand. "There aren't that many left around. A lot of them are leaving."

Cao Pi | open

[pure_havoc]

1. Solis Labs

[most of Cao Pi's planning, aside from the plutonium retrieval, has been silent and solo - working in his room as if it were his office, writing, organizing thoughts, plotting in notes, crossing out dumb ideas and taking new tactics. He can't stay there forever, though.

He shows up at the lab to nose around, compare the localized portal to the big one he's already seen, and generally try to suss out where people are most intent on being. There's so few of them now that he can't order anyone as a commander, only nicely ask.]

What do you think?

[it's a very obviously vague question and could be about anything - the plans, the weather, the spirits and their hearts, the World Eater...leaving it up to the listener to guess at what he means and answer. Or ask him what the fuck he means because come on Zihuan not everybody speaks in riddles like you.]

1a. Green-eyes

[his attempt at learning from Soldat has gone dismally, and it's a shame he's bearing stoically - how dare he not be good at something. So if the green-eyes finds him in your company...]

...what? Was that...is it not going to attack?

[his hand hovers over his swords, just in case]

2. Hearts Hearts Hearts

[look, he's basically given up all notions of what's weird anymore. Cookies? Yeah sure why not. Cao Pi still doesn't have the sweet tooth most do but if he nibbles cookies out of boredom or distraction, it happens. They have the effect of making him extremely handsy. He doesn't even know he's doing it, so you could be having an innocuous conversation or deeply discussing bombs and there will probably be some overly affectionate touching going on. Nothing inappropriate...unless you want that (pm me and give me the thumbs up)! Just come at him and see what happens, it'll probably be ridiculous]

2

[callada]

[The cookies sound like the sort of pleasant harmless fun they probably all need, and while Rosinante wouldn't normally indulge just for that alone, there's the sense too that this may be one of the last times they'll get to have something nice. And that thought is dark enough to make him want to forget it immediately.

So he's walking around chewing on one that a moment ago had read "FRIENDLETTER" which seemed like as close to a pleasant message as he'd get from the batch offered to him, when he spots Cao Pi and heads over. There is still work to be done, but maybe this will make it a little more pleasant.]

Those spirits aren't too bad at baking, are they? You have one?

[He waves the remaining corner of a pink cookie heart.]

[pure_havoc]

[honestly it's good to talk about anything besides World Eaters for half a second, even if it's just cookies. He turns toward Rosinante to reveal that he is indeed carrying one he hasn't started on. Ye olde BATH TOWELS it seems]

I did yesterday, they're...not terrible. Addictive, though. [which he proves by taking a bite and politely not talking with his mouth full] I really don't need more but, really. I don't understand the messages, though. It's gibberish, isn't it?

[he's been taking snaps with his pad to translate, and it's accurate, but what the fuck do bath towels have to with it?]

[callada]

[BATH TOWELS makes him laugh, he can't help it. Delicious.]

Far as I can tell, but the spirits always struggled with how we talk and write. It's nice they're trying.

[With that he pops the last bite into his mouth. Already he's feeling pleasantly warm - and that's sure a nice contrast to how brutally cold it is more than a few steps away from the bonfire. A warming cookie, is that what this is? Lucky him, if so. Worth tolerating the almost breadlike texture.]

Fewer of them around these days, though. Downtown's a lot quieter.

1a sticks my leggy out real far

[flangirl]

[ Pudding has been bringing rations and reminders to eat to those working hard in the labs; she makes the journey alone when need be, but she was certainly not going to turn down Cao Pi's offer for an escort. ]

[ She startles at the movement, the flash of color... but she's got a little spirit language under her belt, and she can hear the mangle between spirit language and Beacon language and piece it out. ]

Wait, Cao Pi. [ A gentle hand on his forearm. ] It asked for help. Or to help? I'm not sure...

[ She sings her tones carefully: ] Not strong spirit language. But want help. What can we?

ooh lady pudding ooh

[pure_havoc]

[he's seconds away from drawing his swords when she stops him, probably for the best. His hand hovers anxiously, though]

Help, hm? Could it be a lure?

[forever suspicious, but he'll wait to see if it answers her]

sticks my leggy out too

[nextnightmods]

[The spirit peers down at the both of them for a long moment, then takes a step forward, just barely into the light. There's a long, slender limb with a hand at the bottom, curled so the creature walks on the back of the hand with fingers and palm turned upward. An equally long neck stretches forward, revealing a mask as pure white and smooth as a china doll at the very end of it. Somewhere back there in the darkness, a large body lurks based on where the head and limb extend back to.

The language of the green-eyes bears only limited resemblance to the other spirits and to the people of Beacon, normally - part of why Diode had tried to teach them all how to speak to them separate from what had been learned about the forest spirits' tongue. But this one really does seem like it's trying, forcing its voice into some jumble that these people might just be able to interpret.]

m̸a̵n̷y̶ ̷e̵y̶e̵
̸
̵y̷o̸u̶ ̵k̵n̶o̶w̷ ̷t̷h̶i̸s̷?̸

[Another long, long backward limb stretches up, gesturing to the highest point it can reach. It watches the two of them warily as it moves, studying them closely - particularly their lanterns and any visible weapons, making no attempt to hide its interest.]

Kuai Liang | Open

[paletteswap]

1. Research Phase
It's taken over a year but Kuai finally sort of understands the network and has actually been looking at it. However some of his paranoia is justified and he doesn't want to conduct any serious planning where the spirits could potentially see it. He likes the Postmaster and the Librarian but he knows they can use the network, which means other less savory types could too. Hell maybe the World Eater can read.

So instead he'll go up to people in person to ask them a few simple questions, "Were you with the group that went down to the Helix Station? Do you know anything about the concoction that was made to minimize the impacts of the green-eyes?"

Because he wants to make more and hasn't the faintest idea how it was done.

2. The Lab
If no one knows, or even if they do, he'll be heading to the Lab to research if they can make more of the anti-green eyes potion, and maybe if they can make it oh... a hundred times stronger to protect against the world eater. He'll work around the snuffly badger noses as if they're no more threatening than house cats, because he has a mission and all his focus is on that.

He is not nearly as technologically inept as he pretends to be, and he can use the computer easily. However; Doctor Solis' physics formulas don't make much sense and anything involving real science is beyond him, but he's giving it a go. Hopefully someone can give him a hand trying to figure out more about this thing. If nothing else any information that's helpful in the fight will do.

2.1 Lab Distress Call
"Did you hear that?" Stopping in his tracks and staring out into the night at what is most definitely the green eyes of one of the spirits that continually torments them.

That sure sounds like it's trying to speak, which is new. "That sounded like a word."

3. Bonfire
He actually chuckles as spirits keep handing him cookies with nearly thematic phrases like "Heat Group" "Hot Give" and "Knife Yes". Well they tried. He will politely take them all, but he couldn't possibly eat all of these even if he liked sugar cookies, but he does eat one of them because the spirits are so insistent and making sad noises about it. There's no outward manifestation of anything, which he's grateful for considering it may have turned him pink. And that's because all it does is make him feel slightly more relaxed.

For him, that's a lot.

He'll be trying to surreptitiously hide the rest of the cookies so he's not forced to eat them all out of guilt and the masked spirit version of puppy dog eyes.