hadriel_logs | Event Log: Dead Men Walking

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Event Log: Dead Men Walking

Who: Everyone participating in the event!
What: The event log for the Dead Men Walking event!
Where: All around the city
When: September 14th-September 20th
Warnings: Zombies. Walkers. The Infected. Zeds. The undead. Risen.

Everything seems more or less normal in Hadriel on the 14th - at least at first. But wait, who's that over there? Why are they walking so weird? Are they feeling okay? Wow, did they just try to bite you? Oh shit, you might've seen a movie like this before. That was definitely a zombie.

But hey, it's no big deal. A few zombies here and there are pretty easy to avoid, especially when you can outrun them without too much trouble. They're only really dangerous if they're fast or if there are a lot of them, and they sure aren't fast! Only - well, before long, there are a lot of them. You can hardly go outside without running into one, and mobs form quickly. Went out for supplies? Let's hope they didn't follow you - you might get stuck in that shop, mobile corpses pounding on the door. Oh, and don't stand too close to the windows of your house. They'll be more than happy to smash the glass trying to get you.

Don't worry, though! A hard blow to the head will take these zombies out, and you'll be sitting pretty, as long as none of them bite you. None of them bit you... right? Wow, what a relief. We're all glad you're not concealing a life-threatening zombie bite from your friends! Who would do that, anyway? Now if you can manage that until the 20th, you'll be safe and sound as the zombies shamble out of the city. Hopefully you won't be shambling with them.

► This log covers September 14th-September 20th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you join the zombie party, please let us know here!

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[Like pins through a bug. It could be considered a morbid thought towards something that may have been human but hey, it's not like their thoughts aren't always like that. Hadn't thought of themselves the same when on the receiving end of an attack like this. They'd feel sympathetic if there was any left in them. As it was, Chara just stabs the thing in the head.

They don't bother to watch and see if it actually does it and yanks the blade out. There were more approaching as the ones Sans knocked over that had been chasing Chara had finally re-organized themselves.]

I feel obliged to suggest that this is not a good place for a nap. Unless you wish to see if you can be eaten.

[Because it's easier to throw out taunts than actually help Sans up. Business as usual.]

Do I look like I'm nappin'?

[There's a couple other pointed - hah - remarks he could be dispensing, but now ain't really the time or the place. And based on the fact that they evidently care a lot, a whole lot, for Frisk, who cares about 'em in turn -

LV 20 isn't insurmountable. It must not be. Granted, he's not clear as to the extent of how much they care for the other kid, whether they'd just turn around and let 'em die, but he's willing to bet that there's something there.

A glimmer of a good person, right?]

But nah, actually, I was just on my way outta here. Or where I thought was outta here.

[Now they just get to both deal with each others' respective undead hordes, and ain't that fun?]

You seem to be able to sleep through anything.

[Sans is free to tack on the implied "You slept during your death." if he wants to. Chara meanwhile eyes the hordes that have seemed to allied over the whole two meals for the price of one deal. Lucky them.

He's free to assume. To assume, to judge, to whatever. They've been down that road countless times. If Sans sticks around long enough maybe he'll figure it out. Maybe not.]

For once I have to agree with you. I was going to meet with someone and was interrupted.

[The feeling is radiating off of them, an extremely simple one:

* In my way.

They ready their knife as a few zombies charge in for lunch and they swing the knife, slicing into flesh as they aim as best as they can for the head. Chara will keep an eye on Sans, but would he honestly trust them to help?]

It's a gift.

[What is death, anyway, but a longer sleep without waking? It's as easy as falling off a log. Easy as falling down. You just settle into bed and then simply...never get back up. Nice way to go, he'd think. Especially since you wouldn't have to stick around for any last words or carrying on.

But a peaceful end was never in the cards for a guy like him.]

That "someone" wouldn't be your roommate, would it? 'Cause I haven't seen 'em since this whole thing - [He nearly gets undead teeth clamped into his clavicle from behind, but he curves himself around in space until he's a few inches away from the offending party, blinking easily from one spot to the next.] - started.

[No. Not when you aim to try and be an unmovable object.]

That is a problem! I certainly hope -

[They slice one across the face before managing to plunge the knife into its eye socket. Twist, turn and stab the one sneaking up on them before quickly moving on. Chara is fast and small. An advantage of a child that has to have an adult bend over to pick them up. Or was it all just because if they didn't learn they'd die? Probably.

But they're still laughing. It comes out in the way that it usually does but they don't care. No, it's just Chara being weird. Pay it no mind. They'll eventually finish their sentence once they kill another zombie.]

I hope they were not caught up in this! Perhaps I should ask someone to watch out for them.

[Because it's not like there's anyone who used to do that, isn't there?]

[He's glad he's turned away from them in that moment. Yeah, sure, kid. Twist the knife, why don't you. Never did watch that kid very closely, did he?

Just another bullet point on the list of things that he was doomed to fail from the start. Only maybe he was never really doomed. Maybe he'd just set out thinkin' he would fail, and that made it easier to fall into that psychological trap. Why even try?

Why even try?

He conjures a semicircle of blue bones around his general person, soaked to the marrow in KARMA, and watches the things blunder mindlessly about in obvious frustration, attacked by something that only hurt them more as they continued to struggle.]

I was thinkin' that myself, wouldn't ya know. Frisk's a tough kid, but I dunno how much of this they'd be willing to take.

[It might just be a sore point. But within the depths of their SOUL...they knew they'd become a hypocrite if it was said out loud. That they understood the pointlessness of a circle.

Knowing the reasons the zombies were being torn to bits made their bones ache. Karma was a very bad person and having the lives of all the monsters they had killed brought down on their head cut them to the core in a way that Sans' words never did. It was one thing to hear it. It was another to feel it. So Chara resolved to stop thinking about it.]

It would be best if they ran away. I am here so FIGHTING is not a problem.

[Hence, why they needed to find their partner. Having no way to defend themselves like Sans, Chara resorts to turning their strikes into flurries. There's nothing really to enjoy here even if they make up EXP amounts. Laughter bubbles forth from a lack of...anything.]

I suppose we are in a horror story now!

[That's the dichotomy, is it? FIGHT or Flee? Yeah, he's not buyin' that it's a cut-and-dry thing, clear as all that. Either way, it's clear both their concerns reside with the kid, and that means a number of things. Only one of 'em is real pertinent, though. Real relevant to the here and now.

Well, long story short, he's gotta choice here.]

Suppose so, yeah.

[A trail of MISSes follow him as he blinks close and closer to the kid - not too close, mind. Don't wanna get on the wrong end of that blade.]

Y'know I can get us there. To wherever Frisk is. Happen to know a shortcut, y'see.

[Just "happen" to, no bones about it. 'Bout time, though, he figures that he tests these waters. Sees whether their mistrust of him outweighs how much they care for Frisk's well-being, projected or no.]

[They are in control. No matter how tempting it was to see if LV 20 really was a cap, it was outweighed by the zombies at the moment.

But that can wait. Right now it's ARE YOU KIDDING ME. They know a trap when they see one and even if it isn't designed to hurt them physically, 'happening' to know a shortcut was dangerously close to 'put down your weapon and make my job easier.' It made their blood boil.

Still, they have a convent buffer of time to sort themselves out with the zombies. Because obviously they can't talk so much when they're trying not to be eaten!]

Ahahha! Are you sure you trust me near you?

[You trust your brother's killer? Your own killer? The kid trying to put this answer off because they'll get angry?]

Ain't about trust, kid.

[It is absolutely about trust. It's about trust and measuring one's emotional capacity and gauging whether LOVE can really drain you that dry.

The encroaching horde forces him back another half-step. He'd be back-to-back to the kid if he weren't keepin' his distance, so they're still separated laterally by a couple feet. Still, he's able to glance at them sidelong and brief, his demeanor as lazily insouciant as always.]

In fact, if it weren't for a couple reasons - I wouldn't even be makin' this offer.

[Magic runs down his skull in beaded drops, but he's still throwing those rambling things a bone or two, KARMA eatin' away at them, blue magic slowing 'em down.

Still, pretty soon he's sure he's gonna have to split. With or without them, he's gonna be high-tailing it out real soon.]

[* Can't keep dodging forever.

Sans? Or the answer to that question? Both, probably. Chara had seen him when everything finally reached the end and it looked like the same was happening here. Logically, he would get out of dodge as fast as he could. And he could take them close to where Frisk could be.

Or he could kill them.

But they did not want to leave Frisk alone. Chara knew people came back. For themselves, what was another death to add to the list? They made that bed and turned it into a coffin. But the nails hadn't shut completely for Frisk.

* You're being over-dramatic. Make a choice.

They take a deep breath and move closer. Despite the situation it didn't feel that far. The zombies see the inch and take a mile so they waste no time.]

Fine. Take me there.

["Don't make me regret it."]

[Seems like genuine sympathy for Frisk's plight wins out.

There's a glint of something approaching satisfaction as Sans reaches out, tip of phalanges brushing the fabric of their shirtsleeve, soaked with gore and all manner of various...fluids, and then he fists his hand into it with an abrupt intensity.]

Hold on.

[There ain't any real fanfare to it. One minute they're surrounded by the crowding undead, and the next they're in front of the spire he remembers Frisk pickin' out. It's quite a distance to travel in one go, and there's a sickening twist in his ribcage as they slam back into normal space.

His knees buckle at the unexpected surge of vertigo as he releases Chara, hand shooting out to brace against the building's exterior in the same movement.]

See? No, heh - [He stops to catch his nonexistent breath.] - no bones about it.

[There's a moment that Chara feels the urge to yank their arm back but manages a twitch before everything goes sideways. Then they're outside of the spires, their home. Neat.

They try to keep their expression neutral as they observe the ailing monster, even if there was an ugly lurch in their stomach. But as always, Chara keeps the knife out. With the zombies gone, the temptation was back. Lovely.]

Nothing to it, indeed. It is interesting how far you can go. But you seem pretty boneless at the moment. Can you even stand?

Yep.

[Nope.

Maybe.

He straightens up with a valiant effort, which is not a phrase he uses lightly, considering the ethos of his general life philosophy. But he holds himself upright, grin fixed, even if the lights in his sockets are of varied size as he tries to get a handle on his magic.]

I'm good. Just been zippin' around all day. Really wears ya down to the bone.

[Does this look like the face of a child who believes you?]

Perhaps it will do you some good. You have very low stamina and I would hate to see you give out at a critical moment.

[Giving out life advice, as though it wasn't a dig at their shared history. Hahaha. They look over at the spire and then back to Sans. If he brought them here then it was obvious he had at least a general idea of where Chara and Frisk lived. And although their conversations were still tense, at least with Frisk there was (hopefully) less death threats involved. So...]

While you are here do you have any business with Frisk to take care of?

[It's the closets they'll ever offer him a break.]

[He bites back a veritable litany of retorts to that one - he's got stamina enough, mind, when it counts, and they should know. But, nah. He's not tryin' to get a rise outta them. Not when this is the closest they've gotten to a civil conversation with a minimum of mind games.]

Mostly just wanna check and make sure they aren't dead or anything. But I guess you got that covered, huh?

[His head drops to his chest briefly, a resigned, darkly amused motion, as he chuckles.]

Looks like I was right.

Seems like someone really does care about 'em.

[This little exchange more or less confirmed it, what with the trusting him to not pull anything funny while he clipped them back to the spire. And now he knows it.]

[It's not easy to talk to Sans when they're not trying to talk around him. Couldn't keep going with his comedy routine back when Fear turned out the lights because they couldn't imagine things between them being any different. Didn't bother to try.

It's Chara's turn to bite back their own retorts, all of them involving Papyrus and that was probably getting old.]

They are my partner. Either they will be there and alive or somewhere else. Perhaps someone took them in or they died.

['Or they died' comes with a weary sort of acceptance. You die way to many times and you'd think someone would make a tally for the heck of it. Or just get bored. Yay, another trip to total blackness before you wake up at the last SAVE.]

Regardless, I do not believe you have the energy to fight more of those creatures so we should move. I will show you where we live, provided you can move.

I can move just fine.

[Slow, maybe, but that ain't new. He rolls his shoulders back, a reassuring fluidity of motion that makes him feel a bit more like he's reclaiming his wherewithal.

The terminology rubs him as odd. Their partner.

Interesting.

He makes his way to the door, a bit slower than might be typical for him, but direct and unerring.]

Y'know, [he says evenly, as easily as if he were discussing a peculiarity of the weather,] people tend to use the term "partner" to suggest equal footing. Equal say in how things go.

[The only logical way Chara knows that they can follow is from the side. Being in front of Sans had not ended well and being behind him equally so. Beside it was, pulling open the door and not holding it open for him.

They live on the sixth floor and there's only stairs. Enjoy.]

Perhaps. It can be used for romantic couples or close friends as well. But it is difficult to judge a pairs' relationship from just a word.

[They don't look at him but hopefully their point is made. It'll take more than that.]

Yeah. 'Course. You don't gotta explain the concept of multiple meanings, kid; my sense of humor's reliant on it.

[Oh boy. Stairs. He wonders, vaguely, is that was their way at getting back at him somehow. For...he's not sure what. The countless deaths he must've inflicted upon them? Yeah, probably.

He's slow, excruciatingly ponderous as he ascends, but ascend he does.]

Just mean that it doesn't really line up with what you told me earlier. 'Bout how you only come out to play if there's real violence afoot.

[It's amusing to watch him go up when they know how fast Sans can actually move. But they can't really spend their time laughing at him when they needed to think.]

And you are basing this on the terms I use to speak about a child? Perhaps I like calling those I am with 'Partner'. Perhaps if we had met and bounded the same way, I would have called you the same.

[Perhaps nothing. Thankfully Chara had years of building a blank face that happened to include a smile on the occasions when it was needed. Half way up now, and they'll check and leave if Frisk is gone. Any day now...]

You're a kid too.

[Not that it really needs saying at this point. All it takes is one child, one real, real determined human child, to completely and utterly desecrate an entire species.

That's just how it is.]

But...nah, I don't think so. I don't think you would've risked piggybackin' off my little shortcut if you weren't worried about 'em.

[He keeps climbing, with a level of effort that hints that he'd be panting if he had any lungs to speak of.]

Just goes to show.

Edited 2016-09-15 03:41 (UTC)

It is too late to merely call me a 'kid'.

[They know it goes without saying but sometimes it just felt better to say it. They were just a thing that cut a dusty path through the Underground. Yell at them, get it all out.]

That I care? I told you before Sans, there is plenty of LOVE within my heart and I plan on sharing it.

[That should be enough. That was all he needed to know. Why was he so interested in his own murderer? Why did he need to know about a dead child? It didn't matter. Being judged, no matter what they did, didn't matter.]

Sure you do.

[He opens a hand in fluid supination, acknowledging their words with a tilt of his skull.]

You got plenty of LOVE. But all the LOVE in the world can't squash out every little scrap of feelin' you got, can it? You wouldn't've taken my offer if that were the case. Nah. Nah, see, I don't think I buy it.

[He keeps climbing the stairs, his tone even and flat and as conversational as if he might be discussing a great new practical joke he worked out, and not the instrument and mechanism of his own death. His, and the deaths of almost every living thing in the Underground.]

This "demon" thing you're sellin'? I don't think it's you. Whatever the hell you are now, whatever the hell you keep sayin' you are, you started out human, yeah? Must be, with that kinda DT. You don't get that natural.

So what happened to you, kid? What made ya decide that you were better off hurtin' everyone else first?

[They keep climbing.

LV 20. The highest they could go with all that LOVE. Once the EXP finished calculating everything just stopped for a second. All that rage and frustration melted away into nothing and it felt wonderful. Chara had been brought to Hadriel on the cusp of that nothingness. And then it stopped again. Only this time it had a baseline. They could feel. Curiosity, amusement, anger and so forth. No matter how much they tried to push it down it was still there. Chara couldn't get rid of it so they spoke like they didn't have it in the first place around others. Like a demon. They didn't have to worry about stupid things like that. Demons didn't have to be human.

"Didn't think there was room for a 'We' when you're chock-full of LOVE."

There wasn't. Chara was a scrap of a SOUL held within another's. If they had been whole then things would have turned out horribly. Look how it went the first time. They killed Asriel. So, remaining as the voice in the back of someone's mind was for the best. Or not. In this case, both Chara and Frisk shouldered the blame for walking down that path. They both killed nearly everyone and Chara had every intent on finishing the job. Maybe it would still happen or maybe not. They didn't know.

Determination. What all humans had. The power to shape the world, the strength to keep going. Haha, they were probably cursed with that, to keep going when all they wanted to do back then was stop. It never went away. Never will.

So what happened to them? Nothing they wanted to remember. Nothing they want to say. They cannot speak for Frisk. They don't want to speak of themselves.]

* It's me.

[Quiet as a whisper and they finally reach the door to the apartment. There's more room here, more room to notice that Chara never once put the Real Knife away and how white their knuckles are from gripping it.

They go to open the door but stop.]

Sans.

[There are few things they could say at this point. And it is easier to shut down and go back to being that sassy, untouchable demon. But they don't. For once, they don't.

* Name the human.
* Chara]

I am not a good person. I only know basic recipes and I am not a good friend. But I wish to know something too.

Why do you want to know these things about someone who hurt you? I killed your brother and you. There should be no reason to ask me what is wrong.

[Because it would be easier to just hate them. Drop the other shoe already. They are bored. Because they have to be. There's no red text, but they have to be.]

Event Log: Dead Men Walking

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cw for suicidal ideation

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