EVENT LOG: Leave a Light On

[pluviosamods]

LEAVE A LIGHT ON

You aren't scared of the dark, are you?

The dark is safer than the light. It's the light the reveals the things you'd rather not know. It's the light that's essential to knowledge and to growth. It's the growing things you should be worried about around here. They've been waiting for you for a long time.

... Of course, so has everything thing. But it's the growing things that have the opportunity, now. No matter how dark and stormy the night, morning always comes.

This is the event mingle post for Leave a Light On. This event includes general content of rapid plant growth and the possibility of infection by the Growth (plant-related body horror element) for participating characters. The IC duration of this event is the afternoon and evening of Day 4.

This is not an event with heavy moderator involvement. Players are welcome to make their own top-levels on this post.

Further information on the event can be found here.

Comments

[helborn]

... Fuck. The pet name strikes home and he sighs, leaning on Beida. "I'm not - I know you could probably carry me, I just don't want to make trouble for you and I just... I'm sorry, spatzi." He closes his eyes. He's trying so hard...

"I just don't want you to be trapped. I just... I can see in the dark, but there's not much to see when there's so many leaves. You... shouldn't be stuck down here." It's too much like death, to be honest.

[airplaneskyward]

“I won’t let us get trapped. I’ll get us out. But you need to recover, and I need you to be okay. You’re not making trouble for me. I’m here for you because I… because 你是我的心爱, and I want to be able to be here for you when you need it. I’m not much of a hero, but… I’m here.”

[helborn]

"You're a hero to me..." Casper says it quietly, just loud enough to be heard. "... I'll... I'll trust you." Maybe that's an easy thing to say for some people, but it isn't for him. He rests more of his weight on the other, a little more certain he can take it now that he's seen (or felt) what a cultivator can do strengthwise, but he's still uncertain of putting his full weight against him.

[airplaneskyward]

Shang Beida takes Casper’s weight without trouble, shifting to lean them both against a clear patch of wall, and kisses his temple. “Thank you, 心爱. We’re going to be okay. I’ll do anything to keep us okay, remember? Between the two of us, we can definitely take the plants. Because you’re super cool and strong and can freeze things, which should help kill them off, and I have Kao Ci—my sword—and I can chop them up. And we’ll get back upstairs and away from this bullshit and we’ll be fine.” He has no idea how to be comforting, he’s just Saying Things.

[helborn]

The Saying Things seems to work, and he puts an arm around the other's shoulders. He reaches down and taps his leg, a baseball bat appearing in his hand. It's clear with a blue center, and it seems to radiate cold, though there's no frost on it.

"Yeah. Yeah... that'd work. We... we just need to get through it. Just need to..." He slumps slightly and Bob squawks. Casper blinks and straightens up again. "It's fine. Bob, you should... stick with me. In the pocket, I mean..."

Bob looks uncertain (somehow) but he flutters over to Casper's hand and hops into the hoodie pocket, shuffling a bit so he can poke his beak out.

[airplaneskyward]

“We can wait until you can walk, Casper. There’s no rush.” He doesn’t know whether Casper is physically injured or just mentally, but either way, he’s worried. He tightens his arm around the other’s waist, trying to steady him.

[helborn]

"I want to be out of here. I don't... I need to see the sun again. Please. ... I don't want to be trapped in the dark, even if it's with you."

It's too much like being dead. He can't stand being trapped and afraid.

[airplaneskyward]

Shang Beida pulls the cord holding his light pearl over his head and drops it around Casper’s neck. “Here. So you won’t be in the dark. Lean on me if you need to, and we’ll… we’ll work on going up.” He pulls Kao Ci free again and slashes a sword glare in the direction of the staircase, chopping through a section of plants.

[helborn]

"I can see in the dark, it's just... dark -" But okay. He starts working on freezing the plants for Beida, touching them with his baseball bat and letting them freeze before the other cuts through them. "Just... tired..."

[airplaneskyward]

“Even if you can see, you clearly don’t like it. So, light.” He’s going to do anything he can think of to help. He slashes a wider, less focused sword glare at the frozen plants, and they smash into satisfying bits. “See, we’re not going to have any trouble.”

[helborn]

"Yeah. I can..." He reaches the baseball bat out again and freezes the nearby plants - but also a bunch of plants in a line after that. He can't sense what it is, but he can hear the crack of frozen vines a ways off. "If you have something that shoots in a line."

He's pretty sure that's what the guys on that one show do. He's seen pictures online, even if he didn't care for them. "Don't want to use up all my power, but... can clear out a good bit."

[airplaneskyward]

Hm. He doesn’t usually, but he thinks he can… he aims the point of Kao Ci down the line of frozen plants, and channels spiritual energy out through the tip in a narrow bolt that smashes a long hole through the frozen mass. Necessity breeds invention? A slash and a normal sword glare smashes down after it, taking out the edges. “I think I can see the stairs? Don’t— don’t push yourself. The spiritual energy here is weird, but I can pause and cultivate a bit if I run out. Just… stay with me, okay 心爱?”

[helborn]

"I'm fine, I'm fine." On that front, at least. In general he is not fine by nearly every definition. The stairs are a welcome sight, and he lets out a long breath at the mere mention of them. Stairs. He can get out of here and start checking for other people. He's going to be okay. He'll have a mission.

There's not really that many people here so he can't rely on getting power back as easily as normal... though he feels bolstered by Beida. ... Maybe that's just being in love? He's not sure, he has zero experience.

[airplaneskyward]

Shang Beida helps Casper over to the stairs, trying to remain a steady crutch to keep the younger man upright, and looks up the stairwell. It hadn’t grown back as badly as the hall, possibly because it was mostly overflow from the halls, the stairs were mostly swept clear of plants by the waterfall of rain. He hacks at it with his actual sword, heading up more slowly, because they don’t both need to be exhausted. “Onwards and upwards,” he says, with a worried look at Casper. He had said that sometimes he went far away, but… god it was terrifying to see him barely responsive.

[helborn]

"Yeah." He doesn't try to fight the older man. He's just... so tired. He can push past it but he doesn't have the ability to do so at the moment. "... Where to?" He could probably fall asleep on top of Shang Beida right now. He shouldn't, but he could.

[airplaneskyward]

“Up until we can see the sky.” He leans over and kisses Casper’s temple. “The offer to carry you is still open, baobei. I’ll get you out no matter what.” A vine growing a little too enthusiastically gets hit with a sword glare.

[helborn]

"No, I can... take myself up the stairs..." He should be able to do that much, at least. Or that little? Better not to think about which it is. He has to take it slowly but he does manage to get himself up the stairs, one foot after the other. Up, up, up... it feels like he's never going to see the sky, but thank goodness he's in such good shape because he's not sure he'd be able to get up the stairs otherwise.

[airplaneskyward]

Shang Beida matches him step for step, steadying him when he wobbles. Slowly but surely they make it up one flight and then another, Beida slashing out sword glares at anything too aggressive or too in their way before it can reach Casper’s notice, to keep him from using up strength he needs. “You’re doing good, Casper.” He doesn’t know what to say but he can’t stand silence, so his mouth is going. “We’ve made it up a couple floors, we’re getting closer. Up and up and up. Nothing is holding us down here, I promise, we’re getting out.”

[helborn]

"We're getting out... right..." He has to keep himself going. He can collapse after the work is done and right now getting himself out of there is the work. He needs to keep himself together and he just wants to go back in to rescue people, but he can't right now. He has to get out. He has to...

"There might be people still down there..." He protests weakly, but he doesn't have the mental strength to pull away from Shang Beida right now. He feels useless - what good is his strength if he can't put it to good work? - but there's no gas in the tank right now.

[airplaneskyward]

“There are other people looking for them, 心爱, right now you need help. We can help other people after you’re okay. You—please, I need you to— to take care of yourself. I can’t worry about anyone else right now when you’re not okay. You’re my priority, because I’m selfish and because you need someone to help you, and… 心爱， 你是我的心爱， 我爱你，包内，I— I need you to be okay. I was so fucking scared when I realized you were trapped, and when I found you. I know you want to help because you’re a hero and you— but you matter too, 心爱， 包内, you’re important. You being okay is important.”

[translation: “beloved, you are my beloved, I love you, darling.” and then “beloved, darling.”]

[helborn]

"You're... if you were selfish you wouldn't have come after me." He would have stayed up top where it was safe. He's not a coward, no matter what he might think. That, Casper still believes even in this state. "... I just don't want people to be hurt..." His voice practically squeaks, but he doesn't fight it. They're almost there. They're almost at the top. "I feel... weird. Like the tips of my fingers are numb."

[airplaneskyward]

“I’m selfish because I came after you because… because I love you, and I didn’t even think about anyone else, just you.” Being able to see the top isn’t helping, apparently, he’s… he doesn’t think Casper is getting better.

“You… we need to get you somewhere safe where you can recover, 心爱. I don’t know if that’s… mental or physical. But I’m getting you there.”

He and Casper make it to the top of the staircase, and then to the elevator that deposits them back on the top deck. He heads for the cafeteria, since it was plant free, and pulls Casper down onto a couch facing the glass walls and the open sky with him. “It’s okay. No plants. We’re okay. We made it.”

[helborn]

He's on the couch before he can protest - he's going to get it dirty! - but he settles against Beida and closes his eyes. "I'm glad you're okay." Himself... he's not sure. The adrenaline is wearing off and he's just... tired on a level that he wasn't sure he could be. "... I don't... I don't know what I want to do now..."

[airplaneskyward]

Shang Beida wraps an arm around Casper's shoulders and lets out a long breath. "I'm fine, baobei, it's you I'm worried about. Can you... rest? Just for a little while?" He can see Casper's hands trembling. He doesn't know how to fix it, but... diving back in definitely isn't it, no matter how much Casper wants to help.

[helborn]

"... I don't know if I can." He should - he definitely should - but he's not sure how. "I'm just... exhausted without being tired." If that makes sense? He's not sure if it makes sense. He's not even sure if he's speaking English properly.