oh you fool, there are rules, i am coming for you

[singmod]

THE DARKWALKER COMES

The Darkwalker makes its first real strike against the Interlopers, resulting in the death of La'an Noonien-Singh. In the wake of her death, her fellow Interlopers are left to deal with the fallout of this new part of the horror of the Northern Territories.

WHEN: January 25th, onwards.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: death of playable character; supernatural death; mention of dead body; themes of death; supernatural beings; themes of terror; themes of peril.

OH, THE RECKONING BEGINS

On the night of January 25th, all is calm. It is a peaceful, if not cold evening. There are no clouds in the skies, the stars and moon hang high in the blanket of inky black. It would be just another night, until something strange happens: one by one, the stars begin to go out and the moon's light fades from view, as if swallowed whole.

Instead, there is nothing but the gloom. The sky is dark and green and terrible. Interlopers all over the Northern Territories will stop and stare — horrified by such a sight. And then, it washes over you like a cold wave: fear. Interlopers will find themselves over-come, and everything in their bodies and minds tells them to run. To flee. And so you run, heading for cover indoors. Curtains will be drawn, some may hide under beds, within closets or wardrobes. Some desperate attempt to conceal themselves, make themselves small, unseen. Some Interlopers, in that fear, may rush to friends or loved ones to hide with them, others may simply cowered alone — crawling and whimpering away from the night. The fear is irrational, unable to be overcome — even by the bravest or most stoic of Interlopers.

And then: noise. Coming from towards the east, the sounds of unnatural and almost-demonic roars, groans and moans — unable to be likened to or truly described. Drawing nearer and nearer — and you know it, even if you don't understand why: something is coming. It's coming here. You are powerless, unable to do anything. And it is an agony, awaiting its arrival. You cry, you whimper, you cower. Curling up for some shred of comfort, and finding none.

It seems to go on forever, building into a crescendo. Your heart beats so hard you fear it may burst from your chest, as if you might die of fright.

And then, a screaming wail — sharp as it cuts through the building dread. A woman. You know it, don't you? You're sure you've heard it before.

The silence that follows is deafening. The green gloom subsides, the fear slowly melts away within you. You wait, and wait. Finally, when it feels like you can breathe again, you decide to move.

Interlopers who dare to venture outside, who dare to look from behind curtains may see nothing at all. The skies have returned to normal, the moon is out once more. But those close to the center of town will see the small frame of a body curled in the snow. Some may not know her, but plenty will recognise her: Lieutenant La'an Noonien Singh.

It looks almost as if she'd collapsed. But those who decide to investigate will discover a gruesome scene. While there will appear to be no physical wounds, her body will appear contorted — expression frozen in absolute fear. It will be incredibly unnatural and violent to look at. La'an is dead. Around her, the footsteps that brought her to this spot. Strange 'waves' in the snow, too. Hard to define as to what exactly made them. And... faint glimmers of green, intangible. Almost like a residue — which will vanish by the time morning comes.

This is not the first time. La'an Noonien-Singh is the thirteenth Interloper to die since they first began to arrive in this place. But this is certainly the first time something like this has ever happened.

But preparations must be made, an Interloper must be mourned and laid to rest.

And the rest of Milton must come to terms with what has happened, if they can put a name to such a thing.

FAQs

1. Essentially, a 'party post' for reactions to the Darkwalker's Arrival, the immediate aftermath, and any funerary preparations following La'an's death. Have... fun?

2. Information on the Darkwalker's attack can be found here.

3. An OOC Rundown can be found here.

4. For those interested: Harry Goodsir is conducting a post-mortem on La'an, which can be found here.

Comments

Boxing

[solitarysoul]

After the autopsy, Levi went back to patrolling. He wasn't sure if whatever killed La'an was done with them for awhile or if it was still lurking about. He's not really sure what to look for, though (maybe that weird green light?), so he's basically doing a normal circuit of the town but paying more attention to things. The noise from Rorschach's coping draws his attention. Thankfully it isn't a problem, so he just waits near the open garage door and watches. He won't interrupt, but when Rorschach is done he'll speak up.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach realized Levi was there but kept going. He needed to get his feelings out and this was the best way he knew how. Once his hands really started to hurt, he stopped. He risked tearing up his skin even with his hands wrapped and he didn't want to have to visit the doctor again to explained he'd busted them up.

Once he'd lost some of his steam, he finally turned towards Levi. "Anyone ever teach you how to throw a decent punch?" He wasn't about to talk about what had happened. That was too much for him at the moment. Maybe he'd get around to it eventually but for now he was doing things his own way.

[solitarysoul]

Levi can respect not wanting to talk about what happened. He wasn't good with those things and tended to prefer to try and pretend nothing was wrong.

"Well, not really..." Marcoh had given some pointers in Prehevil, but they didn't have any real time to train. "I've mostly been trained with weapons, but I can probably hold my own in hand-to-hand combat. At least against someone without much training."

Is Rorschach offering to teach, or just wondering? It'd probably be a good thing to learn more skills like that here.

[moralabsolutism]

Well, that was all the initiative Rorschach needed to show Levi a thing or two. "Come here," he said, gesturing the kid over. He pulled out an extra pair of wraps he kept in one of his many trenchcoat pockets, which was currently draped off to the side along with a lot of his other layers. "First rule of boxing: protect your hands. Won't do any good if hurt yourself while trying to hurt someone else." Rorschach wouldn't have had much of his own left if he didn't wear gloves.

"Take off those." He pointed to whatever Levi was wearing to protect his hands against the cold. "Will show you how to put these on." Boxing wraps had to be put on in a certain way if one didn't want them falling apart the minute they slammed their hand into a bag.

[solitarysoul]

"Oh, I guess that's why they usually wear gloves."

Levi rests his rifle against a wall and takes off his coat, then removes his gloves and secret extra pair of gloves under them. He holds his hands out so Rorschach can wrap them; he'll be paying attention so hopefully he can do it himself next time. Cause even if he's doing it on his own there will be a next time.

[moralabsolutism]

"Of course. Got to keep hands from getting too wrecked. Not many boxers becoming surgeons afterwards." Though he knew Levi wouldn't get it, that was a reference to Golden Boy, a play where a boxer had planned to do just that. Broadway was weird. Rorschach was just thankful at this point in his life his hands were still steady. Perhaps they'd start shaking one day but who knew if he'd even live long enough for that to happen?

He carefully wrapped up the boy's hands and then pointed at the bag. "Let me see you punch." Once he knew what he was working with he could correct any bad habits or improve on anything Levi was doing right.

[solitarysoul]

Levi's hands are calloused from years of handling his rifle and other guns. Despite that, he has the long fingers of a piano player. Perhaps in another life.

Once Rorschach is done he nods and steps up to the bag. He hesitates for a moment (how should he do this?) before just shaking his head and throwing a punch.
He's had basic hand-to-hand combat lessons, and occasional use, from the army but he doesn't really have a form he defaults to. Could be good in a scrape, but clearly unpracticed.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach watched with a critical eye as he observed Levi punch the bag. Clearly someone had taught him some basic lessons at some point in the past on how to punch, though not much more than that. He could help the kid build on that basic foundation.

"Turn whole body into blow," he gave out as advice. He came over and showed what he meant, how one didn't just stiffly use their hand against someone. Instead, he demonstrated how Levi's whole body should be turning into the blow from the arm and shoulder all the way through the side of the body that hand was on.

[solitarysoul]

Levi nods. Marcoh had said something like that too, hadn't he? It'd be harder to pay attention when the moonscorched and crazed residents were about. He carefully watches Rorschach's demonstration, then does his best to mimic it.

He's a bit stiff. It'll take him awhile to start doing it without thinking about it.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach reached out after Levi tried again, shifting the boy's arm and posture until he was satisfied they were in the correct position. He'd done so unthinkingly, the same way he'd done with Nite Owl at a certain point in their partnership after slowly getting to trust the man. That reluctance to touch people or let someone touch him didn't extend to people that Rorschach had put his trust in. For better or for worse, that now included Levi.

"Keep hands up. Close to face and chest." He demonstrated the proper form. "Protects your body and allows you to strike your opponent."

[solitarysoul]

Levi stiffens at the touch, but being guided while being taught is one of the rare non-violent contacts he expects from people. He lets Rorschach guide him, taking in the advice given.

Keep his face and chest covered, that made sense. Those were some of the most obvious weak points.

Levi generally takes instruction well. It hadn't taken him long to pick up how to handle his rifle properly, it won't take him too many lessons to start getting the feel of boxing.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach got the boy's stance in the correct form before he nodded and took a step back. "Try punching again using right cross." He demonstrated the movement he meant, the power and force that came from twisting that side of the body into whatever the blow connected with.

Then he stepped back to see how Levi would strike the bag.

[solitarysoul]

He watches carefully then nods and does his best to imitate it. He's a bit stiff, again, since he's thinking too much. But its generally good, copied well from Rorschach's actions.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach observed Levi again. He took direction well and was a quick study. Aside from his lack of experience, there was no reason why he wouldn't be able to turn into a decent fighter. "Better. But loosen up. Hit someone like that, likely to sprain your wrist."

[solitarysoul]

"R-right. I can try. Its hard not to think about it at first." About how to do something. But as he practices it starts to come naturally. He'll have to keep up with that.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach watched the kid starting to slowly get the hang of the basics. He'd correct him now and then but for the most part pulled back to just watch. Eventually, he added on another piece of advice. "Boxing has a rhythm. Just like music. Got to find the pattern to help you practice."

[solitarysoul]

He nods, "Find the rhythm..." He should be able to do that, right?

After a moment he goes back to practicing, slowly starting to get more of the hang of it and less stiff overall.

[moralabsolutism]

He watched as Levi slowly got the hang of what he was talking about and nodded approvingly. "There we go." Once he felt Levi was starting to form good habits, he came over again. "Last lesson. Basic punches." He went on to show Levi the six basic punches that formed the foundations of boxing.

"With those, can win any fight," he said confidently. Once he'd finished, he let Levi have at the bag again.

[solitarysoul]

Levi watches Rorschach demonstrate closely. With those he could win any fight, huh? Well, he'd seen Marcoh take down monsters with his punches, so he'd believe that. Marcoh had quite a bit more muscle than he did, but with what he'd seen Rorschach do so far he likely could too. Or he'd try, at least.

He nods and steps up to the bag, mimicking the moves the masked man showed him.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach let Levi go on and practice whaling on the bag until he was certain the kid had absorbed the lessons well-enough for his own personal satisfaction. He nodded and came up to him, gesturing for him to stop. "Got the basics down now. Keep practicing and you'll do fine. Will show you more when I think you're ready."

This had been a great way to get his mind off the grim subject of La'an's death at the hands of the Darkwalker. In the face of teaching someone else a subject that he knew a lot about, it had been the best kind of therapy.

[solitarysoul]

He nods. "Are you going to leave this here?" The bag, that is. "I can come by and practice later if you are."

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach gave a short nod, a small feeling of pleasure overcoming him since he'd been able to successfully teach someone. "Put it in the garage when not using it to protect from the elements. Just open it up and pull it out when needed."

[solitarysoul]

"Okay, cool. I'll make sure not to leave it out. Thanks."

[moralabsolutism]

"Will leave you to it then." It was a rare conversation that left Rorschach feeling better than the mood he'd started out with. But teaching Levi had amazingly done just that.