logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: LOSE YOUR SOUL

Entry tags:

EVENT LOG: LOSE YOUR SOUL

characters: everyone.
location: bonfire square, around town.
date/time: october 30-31.
content: the spirits stage a play! and then the thefts begin...
warnings: none. just mischief.

you're gonna lose your soul tonight, tonight

It's probably something you're used to by now: waking up to some new, strange thing suddenly appearing somewhere around town. This time it's a ramshackle stage sitting prominently in the center of the square. It's complete with benches and a haggard-looking red curtain, and it's clear by the amount of forest spirits milling and fussing around it that they're the ones responsible. For most of the day, the spirits seem concerned only with attracting as many people as possible, trying to herd them into the seats. But as the moon rises, the performance finally begins.

There's an awkward shuffling behind the curtain before it lifts, revealing a very crude set made of actual branches used as trees. Various pieces of junk have been shined up and stuck to the back wall to serve as the night sky. In the midst of it all stand several spirits holding very small torches taken from the Bonfire. Sticks, really, placed inside empty cans with holes punched in them and rusted wires for handles. These spirits wave their "lanterns" about for the benefit of the audience before miming the act of walking across the stage without actually going anywhere. From somewhere above them, a pair of long arms descends to shake the "trees" on either side; seems the Postmaster General wanted to lend their talents to the cause.

The protagonists of this pantomime talk amongst themselves, in the chirps, hoots, and whistles that make up their language. They motion to one another, pointing at things and conferring before finally nodding and, apparently, continuing on whatever "journey" they're supposed to be on. This goes on for a few minutes before another set of players enter the stage— or at least reveal themselves.

Perhaps a few eagle-eyed viewers have spotted them already, but the second group of spirits pops out of the set itself. One detaches itself from a "tree", one drops from the poorly-painted sky, and two more emerge from where they've been hiding behind the foliage. These spirits are holding prop lanterns, too, though theirs are shielded, giving off very little light. But their most notable feature is that they're wearing animal masks; a deer, a fox, a raccoon, and a rabbit for the tallest one. These aren't the masks that make up their faces, they're extras, seemingly tied on over their own.

As the second group jumps up, the first reacts with emphatic shock, and then a brief scuffle ensues. In the chaos, the animal-masked spirits make off with the others' lanterns, dashing away and off the stage. The original few begin to wail, to writhe, to clutch at their throats, and then, ultimately, to fall very over-dramatically to the floor. Other spirits sneak out to drag them out of view, but that isn't quite the end of the performance.

A spirit dressed in a cloak and garish feathers stomps onto the stage with a wooden beak affixed to its face. In one hand it holds a full-sized torch as it waves its fake wing-arms around and tries to squawk. Suddenly, the masked— double masked? spirits arrive again, grabbing the feathered creature, snatching the torch, and tossing the poor feathered spirit to the ground. Victorious, they hoot loudly, and then rush offstage once more. (Probably to return those torches before Rastus has a fit.)

Finally, the Postmaster General, done with their role as the entire set, unfurls a banner from the eaves. Clearly courtesy of the Librarian, it reads, in smeared black paint: BWAR FIRE SNACTHERS!!! with two X-ed out bonfires on either side.

And... that's it, apparently. The forest spirits all gather back on stage to bow before starting to dismantle the set. But their strange cautionary tale isn't over, oh no. It's time for a more personal demonstration. They've got to send home the message. Literally.

Throughout the night and the following day, things start to go missing. Perhaps even out of their owner's hands. Chase the spirits down for your stuff, hold someone else's things for ransom, or just break down and cry in your room because life is unfair— the choice is yours! Just let this be a reminder to heed what the spirits said: beware the Fire Snatchers.

Whatever those are.

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[ooc note: I will match your tag style, it was just easier for me to do this non-bracket]

1. Oct 30
[a]It’s not difficult to convince Jason to join the audience. He may have even sat next to you during the performance or maybe you joined him, either way he greets you pleasantly and prior to the show starting can be relied on for small talk -- perhaps about his plans for the next bout of Capture the Flag. Once the show starts he’s a respectful audience member and he pays close attention to the ‘speaking’ parts -- trying to see if he can figure out notes to try later on his ocarina (which he fiddles with occasionally during the show, it’s hard to sit still for so long for a demigod).

[b]When the show ends Jason claps, though his expression is a little confused, without really looking at who is sitting next to him he says in a low voice:

"Do you think that was just for fun or do you get the feeling that they were trying to tell us something?"

2. Oct 31
[a]Invincible in the “Morning” is when you might first see Jason coming down the stairs with no shirt on. He has his arms crossed, not out of modesty but more so because it’s a chilly October morning. He looks a little lost and confused and if he sees you in the hall or stairs may approach you. “Do you have a shirt I can borrow? Mine all seem to be gone.” The expression on his face is clear, yes, he means ALL of his shirts.

[b]Later, despite any help from others, Jason seems to continually be without a shirt, although by now he’s figured out who is behind the missing articles of clothing. The big clue is, of course, as he goes to pull on a spare shirt in the general shirt a spirit comes rushing out from around the aisle and starts tugging at it.

“Hey! Get your own!”

The spirit manages to shuffle it over Jason’s head and scrambles away. Jason gives chase. The spirit is way faster with long, spindly legs and Jason catches sight of you as he runs past: “Little help? Catch that spirit!”

[c]By the evening, Jason has given up on shirts. He can be found nursing a cup of coffee by the bonfire and wearing what appears to be a toga with a blanket draped over his shoulders for warmth. It’s made from his bed sheets, but it’s actually pretty expertly tied and draped. Someone’s had practice. He looks like he’s brooding a little.

3. Nov 1
The rumor spreads pretty quickly and Jason arrives at the church wrapped in the blanket, halfway between a terrible superhero and a burrito. It’s a cold November morning and he just wants clothing that ISN’T made from his bedding. Sure enough there are plenty of shirts now in the church and not a spirit in sight to literally take the clothes from his back. He nearly drops the blanket as his shoulders drop in relief, “Finally.”

He goes to pick up one of his shirts and notices an object resting on top of it, he holds it up for anyone in the church to see, “Is this yours?”

4. Wildcard
((ooc: HMU plotting comment to discuss other ideas/specifics))

I. The Play and After - Oct 30

Spirits waving and nudging and pulling at arms does get the Soldier to bring its patrol to a slightly earlier end than usual. It might actually a little funny, watching the pair that have focused on it try to find the perfect place for the Soldier to sit, and the Soldier itself indulgently letting them herd it around the audience space, sitting in one place and then having to get up and sit somewhere else. The Soldier personally thinks it's kind of cute, and if the spirits think this... whatever it is... is important, then it'll pay attention.

Once seated, the Soldier taps a knife blade almost idly on the metal arm, but anyone who knows Morse Code could translate the questions it's asking, and possibly the short but friendly-seeming responses coming out of the spirits in measured whistles and hoots.

The play gets the Soldier's full attention, or as full as anything ever really gets out of it around the hypervigilance, and afterwards there's more Morse arm-tapping with questions-- and thanks, because the Soldier is a polite murder machine. Anyone curious what's going on will get a full translation into their language of choice (or English, in the case it doesn't know their language), of course.

II. The Thieving, Oct 30 - 31

The spirits are not quite so polite. Starting as the Soldier gets up at last from its attempt at getting answers, before it can put its knife away, one of the spirits comes and snatches it away. With a startled curse, the Soldier bolts after it, to no avail.

It's the start of a day and a half (24-hour period, whatever, it's a fucking day) of chasing spirits because they keep taking its fucking knives. Betrayal. It's nothing short of betrayal, because the Soldier likes the spirits, and this is awful. It's a little more alarming when one of them runs off with an actual grenade, which the Soldier doesn't actually carry around with it but which a little porcupine-looking thing snuck into the actual house and carried away laughing. That is not something the Soldier wants getting played with.

The Soldier doesn't quite hit despair until its tablet with its music on it disappears, and at that point it gives up on trying to chase them. It just sits on the porch of Aziraphale and Crowley's house and looks grumpy for a while.

III. The Return - Nov 1

Going on patrol weaponless feels like the next thing to pointless, but what else is the Soldier even going to do? There's no music, the spirits are taking it's shit, and other people are grumpy about things being stolen, too, so attempts at being social would just go badly. So walking the perimeter is what's left, even if it has no knives and one gun and two grenades left and so is hardly armed at all.

That does mean the Soldier sees the collection of items in the church early on, though, and again cuts the patrol short to start diving in and trying to rebuild its collection of knives, and find which of the several tablets actually belongs to it.

This actually improves the Soldier's mood considerably, including its opinion of the spirits. They gave the stuff back. That makes it okay.

Edited 2019-10-31 04:35 (UTC)

I. Play Time

Stone has seen many plays done by groundlings, and heard many stories told and half acted-out by his own people, and he very much enjoys both. This is like... a play with very few words, acted out by babies. It's adorable.

He watches with an amused expression, not really taking much in the way of a warning from it. Maybe he'll remember the "beware", maybe he won't, but it was entertaining to watch with his fellow Beacon residents. "Do they do this kind of thing often?" he asks whoever found themselves sitting next to him. "Try to communicate in funny little ways like this?"

II. Foiling the Thieves

The only thing Stone has to steal besides his lantern (and the spirits aren't actuallt taking those) is his tablet, and honestly, that's not a big loss. He shakes his fist at the spirit that runs off with it, shouting curses that don't sound remotely serious. When another one runs off with his sandwich, the curses are slightly more serious, but only slightly. He can always make another sandwich. (Sandwiches are handy inventions that he's happily learned about since his arrival in Beacon. The other Raksura really need to learn what sandwiches are.)

Eventually, Stone decides to foil the spirits' attempts at stealing the few things he has left, such as his clothes, by changing his shape and lounging around Beacon as a big, ghostly, half-blind dragon with the purple glass flower-lantern hanging from a loop in his tail. Every time a spirit tries to sneak up on him, it winds up making a disappointed noise when it finds he has literally nothing to steal.

Stone does a lot of toothy grinning.

On the whole, really, this doesn't disrupt his regular activities much, aside from spending more time in his winged form. Anyone who wants to chat can get him to change back easily enough.

Silent screams are hurtin' me
The Play

It's not that hard to convince Allie to come out to see the play. Anything to break up the monotony of this place and if she's honest, it allows her the opportunity to observe the spirits. At least from a safe distance where it wouldn't be considered rude of her to stare. Unable to bring herself to wear the only coat she owned, she's come out prepared to battle against the cold. A throw rug wrapped around her shoulders as she cradles a mug of tea in her hands. The scent of chamomile tickling her senses as steam rises from the surface.

Take a whole or a part of me
Various Locations in Beacon

The Invincible - Room 206

The door to room 206 is left slightly ajar, but perhaps what's more concerning is the sound of furniture being upended as Allie destroys what little there is of it in search of something more precious than the item's monetary value. If anyone does peek inside they'll see papers scattered all over the floor. Scribbles about Beacon and notes on stores of food written neatly on the fine blue lines. The mattress has been pushed up against one wall, the bedding in a heap in the corner of the room and at present, there's a petite blond hammering at a pipe beneath the sink. On the verge of breaking something that will no doubt flood half the Invincible if she's not stopped.

The General Store

Determined to retrace her steps, Allie eventually makes her way to the general store. A place she's been to more than was strictly normal, but somebody had to keep track of how much food they were consuming. It's not quite the ordered lines of items that were familiar to most. Being the end of the month, there isn't a lot of things to be found and what there is, have been pulled from their shelves and lined up on the floor as Allie tries to use the light from her tablet to scour every inch of the store.

Shore near The Docks

Falling apart where people can see her isn't something she's allowed herself often these last six months. Not at all since she's arrived in Beacon, despite all the reasons she might have to do so. After having torn apart every place she could think of, she'd quickly discovered that she wasn't the only one to lose something and if people couldn't find something as obvious as a sword? What chance did she have to find a necklace?

The shore of the lake is appealing for the stillness that surrounds it. The silence and solitude of being here, all that she needs to loosen the hold on emotions that have been coiling inside of her. Allie doesn't even realize that she's crying until the salty tears hit her tongue as she licks her lips. The blond closing her eyes against the onslaught as if she can somehow keep them at bay. The more she tries, however, the harder they seem to fall. Escaping the corners of her eyes and coating her long lashes, until finally a sob breaks the silence and wracks her small frame.

Wildcard

You know the drill. Anything else you'd like to work in, go for it. Early on she'll be perfectly fine but once she realizes her necklace is missing she's going to be an ever-increasing mess. Any prompts that surround the necklace have content warnings for The Society Spoilers and mentions of death.

Edited 2019-10-31 12:40 (UTC)

Oct. 31st: Hell hath no fury

She was more than understanding. Past several months, she had always defended the forest spirits regardless of what they did and their actions. Today, she's beyond herself. Xayah doesn't have many items- everything that she has, it's on her- from cowl to leather on her legs. The only items "of value" were three golden feathers that belong to Rakan, once upon a time.

Two of them are gone.

And she's seething.

It was the one thing she held dear, and whatever the game these forest spirits were playing is not funny. Thanks to Crowley's help, her wings are fully functional now and she is not shying away from using them as she flies around Beacon and Village houses, looking for the items.

"Where are they!?" The door of the house/cottage/library/Invincible/church flies out of the hinges as she barges in. She looks less like human and more like the Vastayan hunter she really is- eyes wide and pupils narrowed, purple wings menacingly shrouding her as she scans the room in front of her.

Nov. 1st: Thin thread

The items reappear in church the next day and Xayah didn't have a wink of sleep the entire time. She prowled on rooftops searching for those golden feathers the entire night without success. But when she sees people gathering around the church, she takes note and lands near the door, listening carefully.

Lost and found.

She instantly goes inside and looks over the tables and items that are presented. And then she spots them. Two golden feahters in hands that are not hers. She instantly marches up to the person.

"Those do not belong to you."

She's still angry but she could be calmed down- if the person hands the feathers over.

[ooc: For the first prompt, pick a setting and place she barges in. She can barge in anywhere, high or low, now that she can fly.]

Oh, he saw the play, all right. Cao Pi is that hard up for quality culture. Quaint. How very quaint. Yet, it's not immediately obvious when first his trousers, then his tablet go missing, that it's connected to "fire snatching." He could have dropped the pants when last trying to wash them. The tablet, oops, that means he can't post to ask the network if anyone else is seeing this shit. But oh, when one half of Pure Havoc disappears, that's enough. Heads must roll for this!

Open, anywhere, Oct 31

Look, he's not going to go around pantsless, so Cao Pi has managed to squeeze himself into some very tight jeans. Perhaps that's adding to his irritation as he storms around town looking for his sword, he looks positively incensed and turns that glare on everyone he passes. It's too soon to go accusing anyone of the theft but boy does his expression imply it every time he fixes his gaze on someone.

[(ooc: use this prompt for all random encounters, something weird and fun might happen if you stop him to talk!)]

Closed to Quentin, Nov 1

Cao Pi is still across the bridge in the distant village, hunting, when he hears passing word that lost items have been found - in the church, all the way back over there. At least "found" means his stuff probably isn't going anywhere, so he doesn't rush over, which is perhaps why he isn't the first one to actually come across his precious sword...

i;; a round of applause.

[ of course daylight notices the stage that sits prominently in the centre of the square. and, of course, daylight allows himself to be dragged towards the performance when spirits begin to herd him towards the seats. he's always believed in the spirits and wants to have good relations with them so of course he'll happily attend the play. judging by their decor and effort, they want an audience and he'll be that audience.

so day actively watches the ongoings with clear interest and great support to the cast and crew of this production. at the banner's unfurling, daylight makes a point to begin clapping and cheering the spirits on.

(did he miss the message of the play? did he not notice the details and thought it was a play? or is he simply putting on an upbeat facade after... that? it's genuinely hard to tell.)

daylight then turns his attention to the nearest individual, his smile appearing bright and optimistic. ]

That was pretty good, don't you think? They- [ hmmm. he stops here, thinking about his words. ] They clearly put a lot of effort into this.

ii;;; it's a hard knock life.

[ it's all fun and games until his items get snatched away.

day enters the cabin he and coraline share and sees that two precious items of his are missing from his room. to say he's freaking out is an understatement.

he's freaking the fuck out.

daylight can be seen tearing through the town, trying to hunt down spirits and residents alike to ask them if they've seen two sketches or a certain gem, proportionate to his size. you think it would be easy for him to find it but the forest spirits have hidden his items very well and, soon, daylight can be found back at the center of beacon, leaning against a building and looking clearly upset. sometimes he'll rub at his optics, not able to cry but wishing he could right now because where are his things?

daylight's winglets hitch up in a sharp and angry motion when he notices the presence of someone but then day looks up, sheepish in his expression. ]

... Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. [ he stops talking for a second, perhaps realising that they might not even realise what he means by that. ] My winglets. I, um, I... You know. Gestured.

[ yeah... ]

iii;;; let's search for clues!

[ it's not all doom and gloom when daylight begins his search for his things. at some point, he will come across others' items and realise, with some relief, that he's not the only one the spirits have been doing this to.

though he hasn't found his items yet, his discovery of a fancy looking card and a thimble allows him to distract himself from his current situation. someone else is in need of help! he could concentrate his energies on that and... not on his predicament.

so daylight begins to questioning and chasing down of spirits and residents once again, but in reverse: instead of hunting down things for a person, he's now hunting down persons for a thing. ]

Hey! Hey! [ daylight uses his size to quickly catch up to the person he's trying to wave down, making long strides to soon be at their side. ] Sorry for them, um, ambus but can I ask you a few questions? It'll be real quick.

( ooc notes; locked to quentin (

moderatelymaladjusted) and elizabeth (

isochrone). )

iv;;; wildcard!!

[ want to do something else? feel free to do it here! also, you’re welcome to hit me up/plot with me via my plurk prognostic if there’s something specific you want. my plotting comment can be found here if you need details. :>!! ]

for Javert;
She hadn't had the charm on her necklace for very long, but what it represented - the first thing she'd been able to get for herself, a pretty symbol of her brand new freedom - was important to her. But it was small, and easily overlooked, so in addition to searching for it herself, she was also asking others.

"Excuse me sir," she greeted Javert. "You haven't by chance come across a blue and white necklace, have you?"

for Eliot;
Of all the things to lose, her boot was definitely one of the most aggravating. Her thimble and her necklace, they were personal to her and she wanted them back, but not having them didn't hamper her in any way. Her missing footwear on the other hand (or other foot).

And it was cold. The ground was damp, the temperature of Beacon chill, and she was seriously contemplating finding a stand-in shoe and hobbling around with mismatched gear until she could find it. But for the moment, she was standing unevenly in the front of the Invincible, wracking her brain for anywhere else she could go to search for her missing items.

for Kol;
The little fox ocarina was perfectly darling, and she'd never seen anything like it before. Turning it carefully over in her hands, Elizabeth finds herself smiling and tracing the curves of the instrument. It was almost like something you'd give a child, she thought. But there weren't very many children here in Beacon (she was glad, for that) so that wasn't a reliable search parameter.

So she started carrying it around in the little bag she'd fashioned, hoping to find it's owner. Those she ran across got the same question: "Excuse me, are you missing anything still?"

Threaded | Flat

Jason Grace | OTA

Bucky/Soldat | OTA

Stone | OTA

Allie ][ OTA

Xayah | League of Legends | OTA

Cao Pi | open, 1 closed to Quentin