logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

Entry tags:

EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

EVENT LOG:
ENTER MR. SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

characters: those who signed up as defenders for the event
location: all around Beacon
date/time: november 16-29
content: the defenders attempt to drive off a spirit invasion
warnings: lots of horror! body horror, psychological horror, gore, violence, etc.. please cw all threads where appropriate! mods will do the same

in your closet, in your head.

It all happens in a matter of moments. Your friends, your companions, and even some people you aren't all that fond of; everyone who took so much as a bite of the spirits' feast suddenly collapses into a comatose heap. Which is bad enough already, but the worst, by far, is yet to come.

Before anyone can really figure out what's happened to the sleepers, the woods surrounding the town come alive with sound. Rustling, screeching, clicking, howling, and under it all, the characteristic hoots and whistles of the forest spirit tongue. But these aren't the friendly creatures that set up the banquet in the first place, and they aren't the familiar faces (or masks) from around Beacon. As they begin to emerge, bursting forth from the trees, these spirits reveal themselves as a horrifying army of terrors. And sprinkled among them, distinguishable by the emerald glint in their sockets, are the infamous "green eyes", the dangerous spirits that appeared once before.

Attempting to talk to these spirits is a moot point, made obvious by their immediate assault on anyone they get close to. They attack with claws and teeth, with limbs far stronger than they have any right to be, and the green eyes, as they are wont to do, will try to get into your head. Somehow, they seem to know what it is that scares you most, and they don't seem too hesitant to use it. It's not clear what they want— are they here to eradicate you? To frighten you? To send a message?

Whatever the case, one thing is very clear: you and everyone else, sleeping or waking, are in serious danger. Are you ready to defend Beacon?

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Yes.

[They're not offering another name, either, perhaps weirdly. Akira gets a brief glance over, checking for injuries, making sure he's actually a human and not a spirit behind that mask. Then the Soldier's eyes go back to scanning their surroundings. Waiting for an attack.]

Purrsona?

[that's fine; Akira isn't going to press for one. if Soldier is what they want to be called, then soldier it is]

Yeah. I'm-- Joker.

[when he's dressed like this, that's the first name he gives. although considering how small the community is, after a pause he offers up something more helpful]

Or just Akira.

[his own gaze sweeps their surroundings, also on the lookout for any danger]

Has anything attacked just yet?

There have been attacks. Nothing has made it inside yet. There are several of us guarding.

[It finally looks directly at Akira, meeting his eyes for a split second before the gaze turning diffuse and careful again.]

We can add you to the list. For patrols. We can make a schedule.

[After a couple weeks of feeling like their patrols are superfluous, given the number of other people who did the same thing, it actually feels nice to be needed again.]

[Akira's response is immediate]

Yes, please.

[he tilts his chin up a bit, eyes determined]

. . . especially if the Invincible is in even more danger than it would've been otherwise because of me.

[he made this mess by posting to the unsecured network. he has to clean it up]

This is the most obvious place for us to go. Also with how many of us there are, not subtle that we're here. They could have guessed anyway.

[Light might not travel far, but there's still plenty of lanterns inside, light leaking through the cracks in their fortifications and from their patrols. All that to say, he didn't give away as much as he thought, and now they know the spirits can access the network. It evens out.]

Come in. Get something to eat. We'll talk schedules.

[They step back, rapping on the door for whoever's inside waiting to open the bar and let them in, while their eyes rove back around, looking and listening for potential attack at a vulnerable moment. The bar lifts with a scraping sound, and the door pushes open, and whoever is on the other side gets well out of the way.]

[Akira lets out a breathless laugh at Soldier's attempts at soothing his guilt, and he manages a small, crooked smile in response]

Could have doesn't mean they would have. But-- I understand.

[but that's about all of the argument he gives. what is done is done, and there's no point in going overboard in convincing other people that any attack on the Invincible would be his fault if they don't wish to see it that way]

[with a curt not, Akira steps through the front door to follow Soldier inside]

[It's only the truth, pal.

The Soldier holds the door open for him, watching and listening for attack still, before following him in and dropping the bar and deadbolt again.]

Not everyone is here. But there are a lot.

[Inside, there are some sleepers on mattresses and blankets on the floor, back by the bar and the archway into the kitchen. The stairwell has a barricade set up, one that can be dismantled at need if they need to go upstairs. All of the windows are boarded up with torn-apart pieces of furniture and leftover wood from the docks.]

If we get enough of us, we can patrol in pairs. To combat potential hallucinations and guard each other.

I can't blame the people who decided not to come.

[there's safety in numbers, but numbers also attract the enemy. while Akira would prefer everyone stick together, he doesn't blame those who decided to hole up somewhere else with their own defenses and their own people]

[Akira does stop once he enters the building and sees the stairwell barricade and boarded up windows. an approving noise hums in the back of his throat; good. this way, Akechi and the others will be safe]

. . . hallucinations?

Before you arrived. There were two weeks of terrible hallucinations. The spirits with the green eyes caused them. They still can.

[The Soldier leans back a little on the door, showing the first emotion other than wariness so far: a kind of haunted regret.]

If you start seeing things that don't make sense. Or are worse than you think they should be. Ask someone. We never see the same things.

[ah. . . so that's something else to keep an eye out for. Akira finds himself setting his jaw tightly, eyes narrowing. as though the physical danger weren't enough]

[but that hardened expression softens when he picks up on the small piece of vulnerability in Soldier's posture]

Got it. I'll keep that in mind.

[knowledge is power, after all. without knowing about the hallucinations in advance, Akira could've easily fallen prey to them]

. . . I'm sorry, though. For whatever it is you saw the first time.

[The Soldier shuts their eyes a moment, part of them still listening for sounds of trouble outside, while the greater part carefully shoves the memories back out of the forefront of their mind. Then it shakes its head and pushes up from the door again. Focus. There's a mission: keep people safe. Protect.]

Thanks. But it isn't important now. Just be on guard for it.

[More important is planning. The Soldier moves to the half-made barricade into the kitchen, beckoning for Akira to come with them.]

Where have you been? Are there others we need to bring here? Others asleep?

[there's no hesitation as Akira falls into step behind the Soldier again. as he does so, he dispels Joker's garb, the jacket and mask vanishing for a more reasonable (and casual) outfit]

I've been searching the village to make sure everyone who fell unconscious has a safe place to sleep.

[so far, so good on that area. . . and to the Soldier's question about others needing to be brought into the Invincible, he shakes his head]

I haven't found anyone else, which means either they're all accounted for, or--

[some of them fell victim to the spirits. Akira doesn't voice that thought aloud, but his wince says it all]

Or people crawled off and fell asleep in strange places. I found one or two in their houses.

[They half-turn to hold the kitchen door open for Akira, then gives a startled twitch. And stares hard at him for a long moment before speaking again. Predictably, their next words are a question (despite the somewhat flat tone, it's still pretty clearly a question).]

How did you change clothes so fast.

What?

[the question takes Akira off guard, because the way his clothing changes from Joker's leather to Akira's casual outfits is so natural to him that he hadn't even thought about how strange it might appear to someone else]

Oh, that? [hm. how to explain] It's kind of like a henshin?

[. . . that is the worst explanation Akira could EVER come up with]

[The Soldier does in fact speak Japanese. That doesn't make it any clearer. They stare in abject confusion.]

... like a reply?

[It might not be the right translation.]

[definitely not the right translation, but Akira just lets out a huffed, slightly amused noise]

A "transformation."

[he corrects, but he realizes pretty quickly it's going to take more than that to get his point across]

Did you ever watch those cartoons where the protagonist transforms into superhero clothing and gains super cool powers when they do so? It's like that.

[a beat]

Without the "superhero" part.

[Why is everything so fucking weird. Sounding weary, and suddenly a lot more Brooklyn if Akira can recognize that, they say,]

Pal. The last cartoon I watched was Snow White in the fuckin' thirties. I don't got any idea what you're talking about.

[(Wait, so we do know what cartoons are? It was fucking art, Soldier. Okay, I believe you. Sorry. Didn't remember it until now.) The Soldier takes their mouth back from the Sergeant and asks, more practically,]

Is it magic?

[

THIS GUY IS SO OLD]

It's-- yeah. We'll just call it magic and be done with it.

[that makes the explanation so much easier. because I mean. . . it might as well be magic, right??]

[You got no idea, Akira. He's coming up on his century mark. Of course, huge chunks of that was spent in cryofreeze, but still. The Soldier turns back to the kitchen.]

There you go.

[At some point they're going to start asking people exactly how magic works, but right now they're just going to let it lie. The important thing to ask, while checking on the stew simmering on the stove,]

What else can you do? Can you fight?

Mmm. I can fight.

[on instinct, Akira's hand drifts to his belt, where his dagger usually rests. it's absence is sorely missed]

I'll need to pay a visit to the armory to pick up a weapon.

Don't do that. It's several hours away on foot, through forest, with no weapon. You'll die. Here.

[They reach behind them, top pull a knife almost as long as their forearm from a sheath under the tac vest. Then they flip it over to offer the hilt to Akira.]

Use that, if you need a weapon.

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EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

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