logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

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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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Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Post here for mod-directed threads against the invading spirits. Please keep the following in mind:

Post group members in the subject line of the first post. Groups may be no more than 4 members.

Please stick to post order to avoid confusion.

Remember that spirits may still appear in any thread on this log, at random. You may also request a spirit appearance in a thread.

Good luck!

1. The Feast

Big parties are a guaranteed way to make Rosinante uncomfortable, so it's little surprise he turns up late to the feast, intent on sneaking a few bites away to eat elsewhere. But he's horrified by what he finds - an entire table of people face-down in food, on the ground beside their chairs, or somewhere in between.

Mary stands out, given her small size and bright golden hair and in a mere few paces he strides over to her and checks her pulse with fingers to her neck. She's alive, and he's grateful. Maybe they all are. He picks her up and looks around at whoever else is around, pulse steady with determination.

"What happened? Did anyone see?"

2. Handful and a half

There's a sort of calm that overtakes him in situations like this, despite the dire situation and the cacophony of spirits out to kill. He doesn't fall once as he sprints to The Invincible. In one hand, a pistol - for the other is curled around Will, draped over his shoulder. The drawstring bag strapped across his chest is full, with Mary's sleeping face just visible at the opening.

"Is the network still up?" he calls out. "Get a check-in started. We need to make sure everyone's accounted for. Who here knows how to fight?"

3. Wildcard

Rosinante will generally be present in and around The Invincible with Mary riding along in his bag the whole time. Find him fighting spirits with his pistol or the last few rounds in Winters' shotgun, resting while cleaning his weapons if there's a spare minute to do so, or injured and clearly in need of some doctoring since he'll undoubtedly end up with some serious scrapes if not worse. Or if you want something else, just let me know at

tinylongwing or via PM.

the start
[ well, he doesn't have time to wait. he had appeared unarmed, but suddenly he has swords in his hands? Easy enough-- and he knows how to use them well enough to create a space. But they need to get out of there-- this? was practically an ambush. no, it was an ambush.

coincidence puts him close enough to Bruce, and misfortune keeps him there-- with a set of three spirits to go through. He didn't want to have to make a choice here, but he wasn't abandoning Bruce just to get away. regardless of his conflicted feelings. but to anyone trying to run by-- ]

Keep going! I'll distract them-- unless you've got a brilliant idea somewhere there.

later: jtodd
what the fuck, robin
where is everyone
who the hell is even keeping tabs on where people are?

[ what a shitshow.

he already knows, there's probably no good way to make sure everyone's accounted for when the whole place is under siege. ]

whenever

[ he didn't go back to the invincible. too crowded, too easily attacked. and it felt a little like there were some sort of tracer between the spirits and them. so, not enough room to maneuver. but he does have a gun and one of his allblades out. and he has been pretty good at identifying when people need help, and how he can pull spirits away.

a live distraction technique.

it's kind of like he was play acting at being Robin again. Except this time, there's no batman. Just... whatever backup he can scrounge together. You might run into him while you're traveling from point to point in Beacon, especially when you're in a tight spot. He doesn't say anything, just jumps in to pull the spirits away enough to give you breathing room. ]

Shocking no one, Kuai isn't a big fan of parties either. Grandmaster of no fun allowed, he hadn't planned on coming to this and was late enough that he too had missed the scene of them all passing out. He's just as unsure as Rosinante.

"No, I just arrived. Is she okay? Are they still breathing?"

Because if they're dead... "Perhaps they've been poisoned."

There's a growling and a rustling from the woods behind them, and immediately Kuai spins around, ready to defend against whatever this new threat is.

A. Immediately After the Feast

[Akira hadn't intended on attending the feast and not eating, he swears. his avoidance of the food was purely circumstantial, with him getting distracted chatting to his fellow Beacon citizens and further exploring his new surroundings. but when the other around him begin to drop like flies, he can't help but be a little grateful that he hadn't found the time to stuff his face]

[. . . but only a little]

[because moments later? the spirits begin their assault]

[Akira doesn't hesitate. the moment it becomes clear the new arrivals to the feast are hostile, he hoists the nearest unconscious body onto his shoulders (it just so happens to be one Goro Akechi), and whirls around to speak to whoever is closest]

Hey! Can you fight?!

[because instinct tells him he should stick around those who can't to protect them. if they allow for him to]

B. Network, sometime after the fighting has begun, un: purrsona

Well this is some welcome party.
Needs more streamers and less violence.

If anyone is worried about keeping those who passed out safe, bring them to the Invincible.
I think it'll be easier to protect them if they're all in one place.
Plus, we can use the Invincible as a safe haven for those who are awake.
A place to rest, or treat injuries, or get food, or whatever.
I'll do my best to guard the building with everything I have.

But the more people who want to help. . . the better.

C. Wildcard

[Akira is going to spend most of his time patrolling the perimeter of The Invincible. Your character can easily find him there if you'd like a fight thread! If you'd like a thread with him somewhere not the invincible just PM on this journal or pp me at

rogueclass to plot!]

[If you don't want a fight thread, you can also find Akira inside the Invincible resting too /o/]

[Like Akira, Prompto hadn't intended on not eating, but in his case he just arrived late, just after people started succumbing to the feast's effects.]

I can...how about you?

[He's got his own cargo--he had two friends to decide between, and Noctis is much smaller and lighter than Ignis, so he's got priority for rescue--but he only needs one arm to fire a gun or swing something short.]

The growl adds to how unnerving all of this is. The spirits had laid out this feast, hadn't they? That's the only way things of this scale come to be so quickly without any notice. His - formerly Winters' - shotgun is still back in his room at the Invincible, but he always carries a pistol on him these days, and he shifts his grip on Mary, cradling her in his left arm while his right hand flies to the gun and draws it.

"She's alive, for now. Breathing," he replies, then trains the pistol on the next glimpse of movement as something green-eyed darts between patches of cover, likely scoping for easy targets. "We need to get them out of here before this becomes a bloodbath."

[ It isn't coincidence that puts Vanitas near Bruce— it's active choice. The fact is the only reason Vanitas wasn't face first on the table like everyone else is because he'd been spending so long piling up his plate with everything that looked remotely sweet that others had started to dig in before he ever got the chance.

But then they start dropping like flies, and Vanitas' head jerks up in time to see Bruce go down, too. He drops his plate, the food scattering where he'd been standing seconds before— but Vanitas isn't there anymore, because he shadow-stepped the distance in the time it takes to blink.

Vanitas materializes at Jason's back and ducks under the swing of one of his blades, surging forward to take on one of the three spirits he'd been fighting on his own. Whether he's talking to Vanitas or not by the time its under control doesn't matter. Vanitas ignores him in favor of casting away his keyblade and going straight for Bruce. He pushes aside whomever might be next to him (awake or not) to wedge himself in, stepping over the bench to pull his dead weight from the table top. He catches Bruce by the shoulder with one hand, putting the other on his loosely rolling neck to try and hold him upright. There's something just this side of manic in Vanitas' gold eyes as he looks into Bruce's serenely sleeping expression. ]

Hey—! You idiot, wake up! This is no time for a nap!

-- Hey!

[ he slashes once, creating an opening for escaping. escaping is probably a good idea, but Jay wasn't about to let Bruce get taken by anyone else. so he jumps back moving closer to Bruce, and Vanitas ]

You think I didn't try that already?!

[ They aren't after the people sleeping, but then, maybe that much they should have figured out. Vanitas can't think of a time the spirits ever interacted with someone that wasn't awake, or alive.

And these ones— he'd known they were still out there. The ones that ripped him limb from limb. But even after that last time— when the foghorn happened, when the friendly spirits turned their backs— it wasn't like this. This constant onslaught, these twisted bodies with too many arms and too many mouths. They have to go through the woods to get to the museum. It had never been dangerous before.

Going back and forth had only been tempting fate.

There are Unversed in the museum already, ones that will alert them if something comes back to wipe them out, so Vanitas takes off after Jason Todd as he starts to lead the mob away from the building. He catches up riding on the back of another of his fledgling emotions and vaults off of it to land next to Jason, summoning his keyblade and landing in his ready stance. The Unversed slams both hands on the ground and prepares itself for battle, too. ]

[that was Akira's logic, too. he only needs one arm (or no arms, even) to summon his Personas for battle. for now. . . he adjusts his grip around Akechi's waist (and makes a mental note to never ever tell the detective about this ever) and nods]

Yeah. I can.

[he'd like to protect those who can't fight, but since they're carting around unconscious bodies, sticking around someone who can have his back is just as advantageous]

I'm bringing some of these people to the Invincible, to keep them safe. Can you come with me?

[ Jay has his gun on hand, ready to be loud and obnoxious where necessary, but there's a certain tension in his entire body as he moves. The spirits don't exactly terrify him-- he's seen similar before. Been possessed by similar. It is what it is. But he wants, more than anything, to avoid a situation like when the fog horn went off.

When people died all over the town. After a party.

It's hard not to draw the immediate parallels. But he glances at his two companions, looking for where they're covering, where their gaps are-- and subtly trying to get a sense for their exact skills. He's got his guns, his utility belt, and every skill he's ever learned. he can cover everything in the middle. ]

A - when we all fall asleep where do we go?

[ They come on fast, and it's a testament to Vanitas' training that he doesn't lose his head as soon as he sees exactly what comes out of the woods. He hasn't seen this brand of spirit since they literally pulled him apart, limb from bloody limb. The ones that appeared with the foghorn weren't even like this— no. He knows these are from somewhere deeper, somewhere in the deeper darker parts of the forest. His skin crawls with white-hot lightning when he sees them.

But he was forged a weapon and he long ago learned the importance of redirecting that fear into something he could use offensively— or defensively. And this situation? It looks more like a run while you can. ]

If you let them surround you they'll tear you apart.

[ He says this as he's tracking some of the spirits and carefully maneuvering himself like he's about to take off, regardless of who might still be sleeping at the table. ]

B - things that are deadly

[ Vanitas has circled this town enough times to be able to, for the most part, use a shadow portal to get from place to place. He could, arguably, avoid being outdoors all together— but that's no way to really keep a finger on the pulse of what's going on.

1. One common denominator anyone outside will encounter are Vanitas' Unversed. A variety of them scatter between the buildings, between one place and another. The smaller ones will swarm into a fight, either to try to assist or to lead violent spirits away. They seem particularly defensive of anyone carrying a Dreamer.

2. Another potential is that wherever someone might be, should they be alone or in a pair, a dark portal will abruptly open up behind them and Vanitas will grab them from behind. One hand in the back of their jacket, yanking hard and pulling them back through the darkness. Coming out the other side, Vanitas will shove them against a wall, into an overhang, or against a particularly large tree— wherever he'd been watching from that seems much safer than whatever situation they'd been in a minute before. ]

C - step on the glass, staple your tongue.

[ It was only a matter of time before Vanitas was going to get the short end of a stick. He flees the fight, porting himself back into the safety of one of the areas locked down and immediately collapses in the middle of whichever room he's landed in. Gasping, he yanks his helmet off and it clatters on the ground next to him. His hands shake with effort and pain, as he puts both on his thigh— but it's not his thigh that's the problem.

It's the rest of his leg. His knee is at the wrong angle, and his shin beneath that is broken clean in half. The bone sticks straight up through his skin, muscle ripped and hanging open like something had either tried to bite through his body or twist his leg right off his torso. Whatever happened, the fabric of his armor is torn, exposing the catastrophic state of the limb to the air, and he's bleeding all over the ground where he'd landed.

Vanitas is not immune to pain. He isn't sobbing, but he hisses each breath through clenched teeth, tears streaking down his flushed face and cutting through a scrape on his cheek and blood that's long since dried on his mouth from where he bit through his own lip. ]

D - wildcard
[ ooc; Vanitas will frequent any space between the museum and the armory chiefly. He'll interfere in the bonfire square near the Invincible, too. He'll also stop in those two strongholds potentially looking for rations or medical supplies or weapons. Also if you have any other ideas you wanna do, just toss them here or find me at

scrubdaddy ]

I. Directly After the Feast - Closed to Crowley and Xayah

The Soldier had been on patrol when the feast started up, on the far edge of town, nearer the gym and museum. By the time they make it back to the central lawn with the tables, people have already started falling asleep.

They stop and stare for about ten seconds at the chaos of other people who had already noted the problem while the Soldier had still been on approach. Then they dart over to start checking pulses and sniffing the food suspiciously, immediately on high alert.

II. Digging In (Invincible) - OTA, for fortifications

It's the closest place that the Soldier can think of as defensible, with the fewest number of windows on the ground floor, food already inside, and sturdy walls that won't be easily breached. There's even plenty of tables, chairs, and beds that can be hauled around to make barricades, or dismantled to block the windows that do remain.

So once Crowley and his sleeping angel are safe inside, the Soldier starts hauling furniture around, and giving clipped orders to anyone else that followed them there. "First story windows. Front door. Stairwell. Need blocked."

III. Search and Rescue - OTA, for checking on people

When Crowley and Aziraphale (and anyone else they picked up along the way) are as safe as the Soldier can make them in the Invincible, and guarded by someone they at least halfway trust to keep them safe, they gear back up and head out. There are other people still out there, who either stumbled away from the feast before passing out, or that no one had enough spare arms and shoulders to collect during that first mad scramble to safety.

The Soldier is going to find as many of those sleepers as possible and get them to safety. Starting with their personal connections, because in this, the Soldier is letting itself be selfish. Scarlett, Bodhi, Bruce, Daylight, even the new handler Eve-slash-Villanelle. Misty and Eleven, even if they aren't actually asleep-- the Soldier doesn't know they aren't, yet-- also need checking on.

They keep to the edges of buildings, occasionally rooftops, all senses on high alert and a gun out in one hand, to check for signs of other people. And they keep their lantern entirely shuttered except when cracking it open long enough to check into buildings, not wanting light to betray them.

IV. The Long Term - OTA, for the in-between-battle moments

It's a mission. A war. A long-term siege. The Soldier remembers those, somewhere in broken brain. The Sergeant remembers better, and offers snippets of advice now and then. Maintain the boards on the windows, barricade stairwells, guard all remaining points of entry. Hoard supplies, always keep a patrol, check in regularly with all other defenders and civilians under their protection. Eat a whole damn lot instead of sleeping, because they don't have time to sleep, and even if they did, the ceaseless underlying anxiety wouldn't let it happen.

After a couple of days, it's settled into a kind of routine, interrupted now and then by attacks from the Invincible front doors or a window a spirit broke through. The Soldier goes out once daily to hunt down anyone not behind solid doors or sleeping without protection, to make a circle of the village, to check on those hunkered down in other places, and to shoot or stab any green-eyed spirit that makes an attempt at attacking.

Mission focus helps keep the hallucinations at bay... sometimes.

Edited 2019-11-17 05:06 (UTC)

[Jason had heard the stories of course, but this was his first encounter with the spirits that didn't want to compromise or put on awkward plays or be mischievous. As soon as that initial attack he'd had a much better, clearer understanding of that difference and he felt like, on some level, he had a better understanding for how he could help here.

Though he wished they hadn't been caught so off guard in the process. How had he gotten to that point in the underworld of all places? When spirits and monsters lurked in this constant darkness he should have been ready like a properly trained Roman...

He had no armor, but he was at least carrying a sword, one he had equipped himself with some time after the discovery of the armory. He would trust the others to have his back or, at the very least, be able to fend for themselves. He hadn't seen Jay in combat, but he had gone on an exploration with Vanitas awhile back and at least had a basic understanding of his abilities.]

[ Vanitas is too focused to give Jason his attention, searching Bruce's face for any sign of response. It's typical, he thinks. They always look so gentle and unbothered when they're asleep. Ventus had looked the same way, slumped in that tall chair, without a care in the world. It had taken such a drastic measure for Vanitas to nearly kill his friend to wake him up.

Something tells him that this won't have so simple a solution.

Bruce doesn't so much as twitch, despite the way Vanitas' grip tightens on his nape, keeping his head mostly still even though he shakes him like a doll. The chaos around them means that Vanitas can't exercise any other avenue of trying to rouse him. Instead, Jason is talking to him, a distraction, and Vanitas finally gives him his attention. He tips Bruce against his chest, so his chin hooks Vanitas' shoulder, and Vanitas sneers at Jason. ]

You can't hold them off forever! They'll rip you apart!

[Jason's right, there certainly is a difference between these creatures and the cuddly, well-meaning sort that typically lurks around town. It's almost like you can feel it in the air, not hate exactly, but something a lot like it. Anger. Fury. Ill-intent.

For these three in particular, it seems to be coming from a gnarled tree just at the edge of the nearby woods. Or, wait— that's not a tree at all. It's a spirit crouched behind one.

The horned, four-armed Thing rises up to its full height of nine feet or more, and seems to set its sights (wherever those might be in that wooden face) on the trio. It stomps forward, the weight of it shaking the very ground, its limbs creaking. As it nears them, it picks up speed, and in a demonstration of simple-but-effective tactics, swings its bulky arms in a wide arc in an attempt to swipe all three of them (plus that Unversed) away.]

[It comes from a username that's just a bunch of corrupted characters. Is this the network glitching out? Or something else... ?]

safe s a f e ?
inVvvinciIbBleE
brinG tHEM
:) :) :)

[internal screaming]

[ there's something in his hackles that goes up when he sees how Vanitas is handling Bruce, an instinctive drive to protect. but he stops himself from overreacting-- he's better than that now. so he needs to act like it. oh, but there is definitely a loud part of him that thinks being better is overrated.

and yet-- he pulls out his gun, firing through one of the spirits heads. even if it didn't kill them, it would slow them down for a second. Enough to get out of there. ]

You think that's what I'm aiming for?

[ there's a hint of sarcasm, and then he lurches forward. most everyone has made a break for it, so he's going to do the same. ]

Let's get the hell out of here.

[the smart thing is probably to do nothing at all. but doing the "smart thing" doesn't always produce results]

Who is this?

[It takes a day before the Soldier can make it out all the way out to the museum to check on Bruce. A survey of the tables outside and the remains of the food showed Bruce not among them, and peering into the nearest defensible positions showed him not there, either.

Next stop, the museum, but it's far enough out that the Soldier has to be careful about it, make a special trip rather than trying to tack it onto their general sweep of the village, but they do go. Bruce can probably look after himself if he's awake... but what if he's not awake, brought food back to his haunt to eat there, or got injured in his escape from the first wave of attackers? The Soldier has to make sure.

So, gun in hand, senses stretched, they creep along the open space between the path and the museum fully expecting an attack, albeit from spirits rather than anyone defending the building and its inhabitants.]

wHhhOOOooo

[Very informative.]

[EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE]

I lied, we're all going to make a camp in the woods instead.

Maybe we should stay off the network

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 65

EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

VS THE SPIRITS

Rosinante Donquixote | OTA

jason todd | ota

Feast

Akira Kurusu | ota

Feast

no subject

the start

Re: the start

Vanitas + The Jasons

no subject

no subject

vanitas | ota | cw; gore in option C

Bucky/Soldat | OTA

no subject

no subject

no subject

B. (surprise!)

1/2

no subject

no subject

Whenever - Museum

no subject

no subject

@Soldier