hadriel_logs | Event Log: Jumpscares

Entry tags:

Event Log: Jumpscares

Who: All characters participating in the event!
What: The event log for the Jumpscares event
Where: All over the city!
When: May 16th-May 20th
Warnings: Some startling jumpscares, interdimensional demon cats, the usual

A dark shadow looms over Hadriel on the morning of May 16th. There's a tension in the air, something palpable, as if everything has gone still and is ready to snap. You've been waiting for the other shoe to drop for hours now, and you're getting to the point where you're starting to wish that it would just happen already so that you can stop feeling this way.

Of course, when it does happen, it's not quite like you expect.

Maybe it's a tiger leaping out of your closet, claws extended. Maybe it's a faceless slenderman, stepping out from around the corner or a monster with beak and claws ripping open your shower curtain when you're most vulnerable- but within seconds, after you've been startled half to death by the monsters, they're gone. They vanish in a puff of smoke, or dissipate into glitter, or become something silly instead for a few brief moments before disappearing entirely.

Weird. But not unendurable, I guess. The bright side is that there will also be a few demon cats that have also made their way through the door. No two cats are ever in the same location, but there seems to be enough of them to go around, though the toothy one can be a bit vicious. Still, they aren't untameable, and might make nice pets, as long as you don't mind a bloody finger or two when it's time for lunch!

► This log covers May 16th-May 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 have some heart problems that are unfortunately exacerbated by this event, please let us know here, and we're sorry.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fine.

[It's rather curt. Maketh sighs, trying again.]

I have been considering what you said. Trying to practice.

[She frowns.]

I tried on Will. He's being difficult. Again.

[He isn't particularly bothered by her short response, but he is pleased that she follows it up with a more helpful one.]

I'm glad to hear that.

[And he means it; it's good that she's trying, whether or not she's succeeding. Trying is the first step.

The comment about Will is a little surprising, though.]

In what way?

He wants to join the Guard.

[And under the circumstances it isn't an entirely reasonable request. They're short staffed as it is, barely able to field regular patrols. Will has law enforcement training, the proper background, familiarity with firearms. All of which would make him a good candidate except for his--everything.

Maketh rubs her face with a groan.]

I should have refused him outright. But I am--trying something new, and told him to see Henry first. If Will brings forth a significant case, then I will accept it. But that is better, yes? I am giving him a chance.

[Again he's a little surprised, but in a good way; he even offers a small smile.]

That is much better, yes. I think leaving the decision to Henry is a good one, for many reasons.

[From what little he's spoken to Henry he seems capable, and probably a lot more impartial about Will than Maketh might be. Lance isn't entirely sure about Will's field-readiness, so he can't make any judgements there, but he does think giving him a chance to prove himself is not just fair but probably good for Will.]

And recognizing that relying on Henry's judgement is a better choice in this situation is a large step in the right direction.

[It shows self-awareness and a willing to trust someone else with a major decision, both of which are important.]

I trust Henry's judgement. If he says Will is ready, then he is ready. If not, then there will be good reason.

[It's not exactly what she implied to Will in the moment, but it's true nonetheless. Though Henry's manner might be harsh and his judgement sharp, Maketh trusts him implicitly. Henry won't do anything foolish or allow the Guard to come to harm.]

He has been a good commander. Henry, I mean. I am lucky to have someone that competent.

[She seems interested in talking about Henry, so he'll see if he can encourage that a bit.]

I've only spoken to him once, but he was very informative and helpful when I asked him about Sato.

[Maketh nods.]

It's strange. His world doesn't even have electricity and yet he's more competent than my entire command was on Lothal.

[She smiles just a little. Her brother.]

I don't know what I'd do without him.

A lack of technology and resources means less support and options to rely on, and therefore more resourcefulness and practical experience.

[So no real surprise someone from a low-technology world would be more competent, not to mention that Lance is not entirely convinced that Maketh's world--from what he's seen and heard from Maketh of how things seem to work there--is even slightly as efficient in producing useful soldiers as it thinks it is.

It's also very clear from her last comment that her and Henry are close, more so than just running the Guard together, although he's not sure about the nature of that closeness yet. Either way, though--]

I'm glad you have someone who you can trust here.

Edited (too much word reuse; this is what happens when you get distracted midtag) 2017-05-18 21:06 (UTC)

Correct. Even surviving as long as he has is an accomplishment. [Not even counting the demons. That only makes it more impressive.]

I hadn't realized how important that was before I came here.

[She shakes her head a little.]

I wouldn't have trusted any of my men on Lothal. Not with anything that mattered. Maybe Kallus, or the Inquisitor. They were competent. But the Inquisitor killed my officers and Kallus killed me. I'm trying not to take that personally.

[Well that's... More openness than he's expecting, even if the casual way she talks about murder bothers him, but at least she's not talking that way about killing people herself. And it's not unusual for someone to be somewhat cavalier about traumas they've witness or experienced as a way of coping.

Still--]

I think that's something you're well within your rights to take personally.

[Maketh actually laughs at that.]

Why? It was expected. Someone had to take the blame for it. And command liked Kallus better than me.

[She grimaces.]

He was always rather good at that. Being liked. I wonder if he's still breathing.

[He doesn't like that response, frowning a little.]

Expected or not--and acceptable or not, in your world--that doesn't suddenly make it okay, or mean that you should feel nothing about it.

There is no point in dwelling on it. It doesn't get me anything.

[It's not that easy, of course. Sometimes Maketh entertains fantasies of getting some kind of revenge on Kallus, seeing how smug he'd be once the odds no longer favored him. But what was done was long since done.]

I was weak. I failed. I will not fail here.

[What she says--the first part anyway--might be the first time he agrees with her outlook on something; that said, he doesn't completely agree. Dwelling isn't good, but there's a difference between dwelling and allowing oneself to work through what happened.

He makes a reminder to himself to go over that in their next session, although he's not going to let the last part of her response wait that long.]

Why do you believe that what happened means you were weak?

Because I failed my duties. I could not eliminate a threat. I allowed my men to be lax in their discipline.

[She didn't like them, but that's hardly the point. Their lives were her responsibility.]

[He considers that a few moments, allowing himself to lean back against a nearby wall; he's convinced at this point that Maketh is not a threat to him during normal conversation, and he's exhausted.]

Even if all those things are true, they don't necessarily mean you're weak.

[Sometimes people just fail. Sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes they're simply outmatched by someone with more skill or an upper hand.]

Of course they do.

[She frowns at him, trying to follow the logic.]

If I had been stronger, a better officer, my men would not have bene killed.

[He's quiet again, deciding how to respond to that in a way that she'll understand without being too specific or getting into particular details.]

I find it difficult to believe that, even in your world, bad things only happen to those who've done something to warrant it.

Well, no--

[Bad things happen all the time. Sometimes people are just in the wrong place. Accidents. Friendly fire. Bad intel. Maketh wavers.]

Someone is always to blame.

[He's glad she seems to be in agreement on that, so he can lead into the next conclusion.]

And that someone is the person causing the harm, not whoever they're causing it to.

So I should blame Kallus, or the Inquisitor?

[Maketh gives him a sad smile.]

They hardly had a choice.

There's always a choice.

[Even in a difficult situation; even in one that's life and death.]

But it isn't necessary to assign blame to someone else in order not to blame yourself.

You really believe that.

[Maketh watches him for a long moment, wondering. For a long time she's accepted the inevitably of certain things. Orders will come, people will die, and on bad days they will not be strangers. On the very worst days they will be people she loves. And sometimes - many times - it will be her fault. It is always someone's fault.

Eventually she shakes her head.]

I don't blame them for wanting to live. But my men--

[She blinks.]

I didn't like them. They weren't good soldiers. But they were my responsibility. If I had been stronger, a better leader, then they wouldn't have failed. The Inquisitor wouldn't have killed them.

Yes.

[He says it with certainty in response to her first statement, then goes quiet again to give her a chance to think and respond. When she does, and finishes speaking, Lance's next words are no less sure than his last.]

Unless you were purposefully careless, it isn't your fault. Senior agents, or officers, or anyone with command over other people always feel responsible when something happens to those they're leading, even when they've done everything they can.

[Lance is sure Booth will blame himself for what happened to him, and that thought briefly makes his chest tighten in a mixture of sadness and guilt. He has to take a brief moment to make sure his voice is steady before he continues, and isn't entirely successful but hopes she won't notice.]

And if you didn't actually lose them in a battle, it's even less your fault.

[Because from what she's said and how she's acted, he gets the impression that her soldiers weren't killed in the middle of a dangerous conflict.]

It would have been better if they'd died in battle.

[Maketh rubs her face, suddenly tired.]

Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko. Taskmaster Myles Grint. Those were their names. I put it down as a rebel attack. Grint had a daughter. It wouldn't have been good for her, if got out her father was executed in my damn office.

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