EVENT LOG: FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

[inthenightmods]

EVENT LOG:
FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor.
date/time: september 6-7.
content: characters and forest spirits send off paper lantern boats in honor of those who have died..
warnings: character death

a somber kind of serenity.

When you arrive at the harbor, there are already boats in the water, and the lighthouse's red beam flares in slow pulses over the lake. The moon's a bright first quarter and the stars are out in force today, all reflected on the glassy surface of the water. It's uncharacteristically calm, this weather, so take advantage.

Rastus is down at the water's edge, tending to a large mound of pebbles that looks not unlike a miniature bonfire from a distance. The stones are all ordinary, having been collected from the beach, except Rastus has enchanted them to glow with a soft, yellow light. The enchantment will only last a week, but that's ample time for this little ceremony to send off those lost over the past two months. Or to send off something less literal, perhaps.

Next to the pile of stones is an array of craft materials—just the basic supplies like paper, markers, glue, and scissors, but more than enough to accommodate everyone in attendance. A handful of forest spirits (some you may recognize from the party!) are standing nearby to assist in paper-folding or boat-crafting if you're out of your depth there. They, along with Rastus, urge you to join in. This memorial is as much about you as it is anyone we've lost, after all. The boats can look like or represent anything you like.

Releasing boats lit with pebbles out onto the water will fill you will a sense of peace. It's a somber kind of serenity, but it's a relief nonetheless, whether you're mourning the loss of a friend or letting go of some other part of yourself. You're welcome to release as many boats as you like, too. It's not like there's a shortage of rocks around here, and even if the craft materials run low, there's plenty of other stuff around town that could be used in a pinch.

The forest spirits are in attendance, as well. Some are helping with the crafting, yes, but most are taking part themselves, building their own little boats to send out over the water. Their crafting involves more of a hands-on approach: Chomping and tearing and crinkling into unique shapes and textures. They stand out from the townsfolks' designs on the beach, but once the boats drift far enough into the surf, it's impossible to tell which vessels belong to which group. Feel free to NPC your own forest spirits for this event and refer to the OOC info post if you have questions about how they might behave.

On the final night of the event, a sound starts up along the treeline, one you haven't heard in some time, perhaps. Crickets. Cicadas. Katydids and beetles and the shrill hum of a mosquito in your ear. It seems insects have returned to Beacon from... wherever they were hiding, and the night air is now vibrant with their music. No more eerie silence back in town, where the sounds of the lake are snuffed out by the trees. It sounds almost like a real forest now.

And it will stay that way after this event ends, too. Maybe you were enjoying the time away from bugs or maybe you were longing for some sign that, yes, this world was alive once, but either way, the insects are here to stay. Well, until winter, at least.

QUICKNAV
comms	|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

[shadowsran]

She pats the sand in front of her, inviting him to sit, and shifts so as to more properly display the flat side of her boot she's folding on. Her lantern consists of differently colored sides; she turns it so their light isn't tinted.

"You're best off with a perfect square. I've just been cutting these, they work fine but don't blame any wonky edges on anything else."

She presents her current selection, fanned out from one hand. Pick a color, any color.

[paletteswap]

"I'm afraid I do not understand." He watches him go back to paper boat building, looking vaguely concerned about all this. There's some disturbing undertones to everything they're discussing and Kuai can't yet figure out what they are.

"You were frozen and controlled?"

[paletteswap]

I already have. I'm waiting for it to sink. These paper boats will not last long against the lake, I'm curious if the stones will glow once they trail to the bottom.

[Granted he could have just chucked a stone out there to find out, but it seemed somehow disrespectful.]

[worthallthis]

The Soldier is at least consistent in apparent preference: after a glance at her face (not eyes, but face; baby steps) to reassure itself that she is in fact asking it to choose, it goes for red, like the red stars it's been drawing on the boats.

[worthallthis]

That makes two of them, pal. The Soldier nods in answer, looking determinedly down at the paper but anticipating more questions. "I am the asset. Property of HYDRA." Maybe it shouldn't have brought the whole thing up, because now Kuai is going to be weird about it all (like almost everyone seems to be) but it had to know what kind of ice the man could make. If it hadn't asked, it would just have gotten itself tied in knots wondering.

Hell, maybe that would have been better.

[kungfuey]

Ribs make taking a vampire out with a spear harder than it looks. [ Shrugging as if she still believes this is a perfectly normal conversation. ]

Amenable? [ A burst of light laughter spills past her lips. A rare sound from Scarlett, especially because it holds real amusement. ] Nahh, they're ah. A little more kill first, ask questions later where I'm from.

[ She considers leaving it there, letting him take what he will from that but Eliot has thus far managed to be somebody she deems... not hateable? (From Scarlett that's like she's already working on his friendship bracelet.) ]

Vampire apocalypse. Has a way of stripping bloodsuckers of any pretenses.

[primordialerebus]

[ She pauses in her folding and stares up at the stranger for a moment... oh she's the one who slept in the booths for a while. ]

Oh uh... yeah.

[ Is she making too many? She looks around. Oh god she is making too many, though Daylight's constant stream makes her feel a bit better. Still, is she hogging all the supplies? ]

I'm so sorry.

Re: everybody loves mooncakes!

[primordialerebus]

[ She did suspect the King Emperor dude was from some sort of China, his name being the main giveaway. But hey, alternate realities and all that so she didn't want to assume... she'll let herself assume now though. ]

Oh uh... I guess I do. Lady... [ She wracks her brain for any knowledge on the legend that goes with it. ] Floats up to the moon?

[shadowsran]

There's a little smile, meant to encourage, and she settles in to teach.

"Fold diagonally, unfold, then again the other way." As she models. Easy, impossible to mess up.

[worthallthis]

The Soldier picks up things on the first try, in general, so definitely impossible to mess up.

But it actually asks (sort of asks): "What is the purpose of unfolding." Because that seems counter-productive and inefficient-- why fold and then undo it?

[pure_havoc]

Something like that.

[it's a well-known legend even in his earlier time. He chuckles a bit at the reduction. It still works.

Now that he looks more closely, he recognizes the figure.]

You were at the meeting, but said nothing. I noticed.

[pure_havoc]

Oh. What an interesting experiment. [not sarcasm! He's actually somewhat curious.] Purely for how it might look, or are you hoping that it might be enough to illuminate what's in the water?

[trivialpursuit]

[Quentin... he's trying and that's endearing, in its own way. Kakyoin shifts to lean a little and look at the spirits, curious about their reaction as well. Totally subtle about staring, as usual.]

I did— one of those... [he holds his hands up in a little triangle shape, because he has no idea how to describe an A-frame, he's never seen these goofy little houses before. But that one.] Tiny houses? My friend picked it out, but it will do.

[trivialpursuit]

[Oh-- spindly! Kakyoin watches the fingers dart out and back, pointedly not reacting beyond raising his eyebrows curiously - being nice, see. He's doing it. Last time he blew an ocarina badly until a spirit got mad at him, so this is progress.]

Shy? That makes sense.

[Relatable spirit... Kakyoin would also like to hide under a cloak and not talk to people sometimes. He looks down at his own stuff again.]

I don't know a lot about types of boats.

[callada]

Yeah.

[That's all he'd ever asked for. Not to be cared for, not to be loved. Not to be looked up to, or praised for anything he had or hadn't done. Early life had taught him quickly that he was insignificant. That life was fragile, and that perhaps he didn't deserve it.

But he fought for it anyway, and he existed, and if one person remembered him then that was enough. His one selfish wish, even though he wasn't entitled to anything at all.]

I only made two boats. I don't remember my parents as well as I wish I did. But I have so much to thank them for.

[It's hard to volunteer anything about himself at all, especially anything like this. But perhaps he owes it to them.]

Re: Anywhere else

[knifecollecting]

[Oh, it's the weird dude. Granted, lots of people are weird, but...Something about this one is weirder than she's used to.]

The noise. There isn't usually noise.

[sauntered_downward]

[He listens. Crowley has pretty good hearing---all part and partial to being a great big snake---but he doesn't recognize what he is missing. What wasn't there before?]

All I hear are the forest insects.

[shadowsran]

"You're making creases that fold into the right shape later," she answers, "Think of it like a base to work on. Then you fold it widthwise, unfold, and fold lengthwise."

A whole set of creases. The world is their oyster.

[worthallthis]

"Okay." At the moment, the Soldier can't work out how that will help anything, but maybe it will become clear when they're further along in the project. Misty knows this skill better than it does, obviously. So it follows her steps, eyes moving regularly from her hands to its own to make sure it's doing it right. (It is doing it right.)

[withsadness]

[Why, indeed. She does ask--sort of.]

Do you want to leave?

[withsadness]

Aaah!

[Squealing in delight, she takes the boat, holding it delicately in her small hands.]

It's just perfect!

[worthallthis]

[There's satisfaction that it can make a little girl that happy. That squeal is absolutely reward enough for such easy work.]

You can pick out a rock for it and send it on, now, if that's what you want to do.

[tribridfreakshow]

I must have been pretty little. We met in person when I was seven.

[But he knew about her. That enough was a giant relief, that she wouldn't have to explain, that her uncle wasn't from some century where their family wasn't together in any way.

The history of the Mikaelsons was long and to simply call it complicated was an understatement. If he didn't recognize her, this was the next best thing.]

We're actually...pretty close. You would Facetime me a lot while I was at school.

[Back when she couldn't be near any of them, until she was fifteen and her already messy life took an even worse turn.]

[shadowsran]

"Cool. Unfold it completely and then fold it - down, diagonally, but with the sides coming in?" This is demonstrated slowly, with her paper turned to most clearly be seen from his position. He's doing fine, so this is less specific attention and more due to this being trickier to articulate.

"Little square here's the actual base."

[paletteswap]

The second one. Though it will likely also look quite serene.

Some have said not to go in the lake, and that there's something out there. Perhaps it will be revealed with enough light, even if all we see is shadows.