logsinthenight | INTRO LOG: OCTOBER

INTRO LOG: OCTOBER

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor, as well as the rest of town.
date/time: october 1-3.
content: beacon's newest batch of residents arrives on the ferry. scavenger hunt prizes are awarded. the ferry capsizes in a blaze of glory.
warnings: n/a.

welcome to beacon.

It's dim, and the room won't stop swaying, gently rocking you back and forth. A loud sound startles you fully awake, a deep, moaning call: a foghorn. As your eyes adjust, you note faint red light streaking through the room from a tiny, round window.

You've found yourself in a private room, lying on a bed. The last things you remember are the events that led up to your death. Beside you is a folded tablet and a lantern that glows steadily with a healthy flame.

You're on a ship. And that ship is docking.

Making your way to the deck, and eventually the pier, you find only moonlight to greet you, and a dark forest beyond. There are other people here, each with their own unique lantern, and many of them look just as lost as you are. On the ferry you've just disembarked from, the speaker system begins to play a song.

In the distance, across the waters of the lake, you can see the tall silhouette of a lighthouse, its red light slowly turning.

•••

Luckily for all the newcomers, the tablet and the town have some resources available for playing catch up! In fact, as soon as they're prompted to enter a network username, an app containing all sorts of useful welcome information will launch. Newcomers can always check out the weekly bulletins and the records in town hall as well, and everyone's welcome to get in touch with the NPCs through their inboxes.

When the ferry docks, it seems as though you've been spared from any weirdness this month! It's good to have a break now and then, isn't it? And if you participated in the scavenger hunt, you're probably eagerly awaiting your promised prize—

But, ohp, what's that sound? Is that the ferry's engine firing up again? The ship roars to life again as some brave mutineers overthrow its autopilot system. Crowley and the Winter Soldier man the ferry's control room while Aziraphale flits between the cargo hold and the deck, attempting to assuage any accidental kidnapees with reassuring words and cake.

Unfortunately, the joyride is shortlived. Between the ferry's complex control panel and the haphazard attempts to override it, all the group manages to do is send the boat charging full speed ahead—which would be great if it wasn't facing the beach. The ferry jolts forward and careens smack into the dock, tearing down the entire structure and punching a sizeable hole in the ferry's hull.

Well, that could've gone better. But there's no time to dwell on the mistakes of the very recent past! The ferry is sinking, and quickly! Looks like you'll have to scramble if you want to save what's left in the cargo hold before the whole thing goes under... And that's gonna be awfully tricky without a dock.

Oh, and maybe save the new arrivals? Make sure they don't drown? But, then again, if they go down with the ship, they'll just show up again in the church... The same can't be said for the restock for the general store!

As smoke billows from the damaged ferry and the last the harbor disappears into the lake, the Lighthouse Keeper appears on the network with a pretty straightforward question. Also, the ferry's song changes, so. That happens.

ooc.

Hey there, wonderful players, and welcome to In the Night! For this intro log, you are officially without a chaperone. Rastus is back at the bonfire, Will is characteristically elusive, and Robin is, well, you know where she's at. It's up to the veteran residents to fill in the new folks.

And regarding the ferry disaster... Well, you have some options. Here's what you need to know:
This is a player plot organized by MJ, Xy, and Gail! A big thank-you to them for providing us with this intro log event!

Whether or not your character and any packages addressed to them are affected by this plot is up to you! If you would like to assume your character avoids dealing with this chaos and somehow grabs their delivery without issue, go right ahead!

Similarly, if you're looking for an opportunity to make your character's life harder, injury and death are always on the table! Or maybe it's your package that takes the abuse, lost forever to the lake's depths or washing up all waterlogged a week or two down the road. In short: How you engage with this plot is entirely up to you.

What happens to the ferry and the dock? Within a couple of hours, the ferry will sink completely, and anything on board when it goes down is lost forever. Which bodes super well for the ferry, huh? Sure hope the next batch of newcomers has some strong swimmers. Oh, and the dock is gone, too. If you want it back, you'll have to rebuild it.

As for Crowley, Aziraphale, Bucky, and anyone else on the ferry or dock during the collision... Hope you boys like concussions, bruised ribs, and a broken bone or two, because you've got 'em! The exact injuries are up to you, but they're the equivalent of a semi-serious car accident.

One last thing: The fate of the shop restocks, including all of the food for the month, depends on you! Let us know if your character will be participating in the rescue attempt. In exchange for letting us beat up your character, you can save a portion of the month's supplies! We'll let you all know on October 3 what the rations for the rest of the month will look like.

DELIVERIES

The following packages can be found in the cargo hold:

The monthly store restock
For Daylight: A variety of gardening tools piled into a wheelbarrow, as well as packets of seeds for the following plants: Boneset, dogtooth violet, starflower, Carolina springbeauty, pipsissewa, bloodroot, red columbine, narrowleaf blue-eyed grass, harlequin blueflag, and purple pitcherplant; he will also receive a translation for the following: An invitation to join the speaker as company
For Aziraphale: A record player, the complete discographies of a variety of bands (Abba, Rob Zombie, Tool, Hanson, Eiffel 65, and Spice Girls), a two-tiered wedding cake, and packets of seeds for the following plants: Strawberry, cherry tomato, cucumber, blackberry, carrot, potato, raspberry, and pumpkin; he will also receive a familiar copy of a familiar book: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, along with a blue ribbon that reads "BEST IN SHOW"
For Bruce: A handheld metal detector and a rechargeable battery for it, a chisel, a climbing harness (that, according to the packaging, is the #1 Safety Rated!) and a 50 ft. coil of rope
For Cao Pi: A go board
For Rosinante: A sextant, and 3 cartons of cigarettes; he will also receive a translation for the rough equivalent to the following phrase: "Danger! Run and hide!"
For Kuai: A basket of 16 mooncakes, as well as incregredients for more
For Javert: 3 pairs of handcuffs, a greatcoat in Javert's size, and a trunk full of swords in varying styles and conditions; he will also receive an electric chainsaw
For Kol: A record player, the complete discographies of a variety of bands (New Kids on the Block, Weird Al Yankovic, Sound Garden, Ke$ha, INXS, and Spinal Tap), a cooler full of blood bags and ice packs, and an assortment of stamps; he will also receive a translation for the rough equivalent to the following phrase: "I'm lost" or "Need directions"
For Elena: A journal; she will also receive a portable generator (powerful enough for a single power tool or small appliance; can be charged through a typical wall outlet)
For Xayah: A thick journal and a glass vial of black ink; she will also receive a sizeable roll of barbed wire, as well as a stuffed animal
For Ignis: A spice restock (with a few new ones mixed in!), 3 paired of leather gloves, and... 12? pairs? of glasses? They're all in slightly different prescriptions, though. A variety pack!; he will also receive a power drill (runs on a rechargeable battery or can be plugged directly into a wall socket)
For Riku: A wood stove, a set of paints, and 5 canvases; he will also receive a translation for the rough equivalent to the following phrase: "Looking for water" or "Thirsty"
For Matt: A rosary and a Braille Bible... which is more of a collection of volumes, really; he will also receive a translation for the rough equivalent to the following phrase: "Looking for food" or "Hungry"
For Noctis: Two complete sets of the Lord of the Rings series (except, wait a minute... they appear to be the novelizations of the movies); he will also receive an SD card that, when plugged into a tablet, will upload GPS directions to a new location...
For Rosalind: A crate of basic all-purpose lab equipment, a fancy microscope, an emergency eye wash station, a mortar and pestle, a lab coat, a Lite Brite, and... the things she needs to make things float, whatever those are; she will also receive a pair of dousing rods (that will actually point in the direction of water, checkmate atheists)
For Jason: A translation for the rough equivalent to the following phrase: "Sympathy" or "I'm sorry"
For Coraline: A translation for the rough equivalent to the following phrase: "Teach me"
For Eliot: A bottle of hospital grade painkillers (it contains 10 doses and functions similarly to Vicodin)
For Allie: A bottle of strong antibiotics (it contains 10 doses and can fight off most any infection)
For Vanitas: A portable camping stove (runs on a portable battery or can be plugged directly into a wall socket)
For Hope: A soldering iron (runs on a portable battery or can be plugged directly into a wall socket)
For Quentin: A cannister of foaming bandage (can be used 5 times to immediately close a wound/stop semi-severe bleeding)
For Mary: An SD card that, when plugged into a tablet, will upload GPS directions to a new location...

If you submitted an item request last month and we've missed it here, let us know!

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Yeah, that metal arm isn't doing the Soldier any favors right now. It's basically a useless, occasionally twitching piece of junk stuck to its shoulder at the moment.

The Soldier still has one good arm, though. And super-strength. So it's still carrying things safely to the inn.

It does pause and blink at Daylight, though, when addressed. Obviously the Soldier's seen Daylight around, he's hard to miss, and that stupid presence in the back of his mind keeps calling him "neat" and wanting to smile at him, but it hadn't expected being addressed. "I'm fine. The arm is just malfunctioning a little." Or a lot. Whatever.

"Oh- Oof." Not the most tactful way to address but when he finally gets a better look at it, Daylight winces in pain. That doesn't look nice at all. Probably doesn't feel nice at all.

After a second or two of hesitation, Day can't help and offer some aid to the guy: "Do you want me to take a look at it?" He makes a little gesture towards the arm, unsure of how to address it without being, like, rude or anything. "I'm not, um, versed in medicine and stuff all that well first but I know enough of if it to try and stop the short-circuiting, at the very least."

He may not be an Emergency Aid but Emer did take the time to teach him the basics of first aid and he did his best to pay attention to it...!

(Are we gonna get fuckin' robot first aid? You sound way too excited about that. And you're not?)

Half because it can admit to needing more maintenance than it knows how to perform itself, and half because the chatty guy in the back of its head really wants to get up close and personal with the big robot-looking guy, the Soldier sighs a little, puts down the parcel of blanket-wrapped supplies it was carrying in its flesh hand. "The sparking is a problem," it admits. "Thanks."

He can help someone! After feeling like he didn't get much progress done with the ferry situation, this helps Day's mood a lot. Daylight beams and his winglets perk up, excited to help someone out.

"Happy to help you out, buddy." He then crouches down and tries his best to pat down his servos. He has a feeling neither of them would like getting shocked when metal touches metal.

"I'm Daylight, by the way," he says while waiting for the arm to be offered up for a quick inspection. They'll probably need to head towards the Invincible still to get the proper tools but getting a quick idea of what's happening won't hurt. "You can just call me 'Day' if you want- It's a lot easier for people in my experience."

Did robots count as civilians? Does this one need the cover name? He sounds like a civilian sort. (Eh, might as well.)

"Soldat." It just means "Soldier" in Russian, but it has worked so far as something to give people who require names. It holds up the arm, shoulder motion being pretty much the only motion left that said arm will let it make. "Why would people need an easier name. Daylight isn't hard to say."

It tries to make the plates lift so that Daylight can see the workings underneath. The motion does results in a plate move near the elbow making a little short of electricity. The Soldier doesn't wince; it's kind of gotten used to this after the past couple of hours. Another try makes two plates raise, at least, which is better than nothing.

Daylight seems surprised by the man's - by Soldat's - comment. He looks up from his inspection, winglets wriggling as if he was in shock. Like this is the first time someone made a comment like that to something he's used to saying/offering/apologising for.

But then he gets quickly distracted by the shorting of electricity, pulling back a bit to stay away from the sparks and wisps of smoke float out of it. "Oof- That's a nasty one. Looks like this got caused when something... hit it?" A brilliant observation since Soldat was no doubt involved with retrieval and salvage of the supplies. He most likely got whacked by stuff sinking into the waters.

"Okay... We'll need to get to the Invincible to do this proper but I think I can I can, at least, get this to calm down..." He pauses now, looking up at Soldat with big optics. "Do you mind if I tried something? Just to see if it'll work? It'll... I know this will sound weird, but it'll involve 'speaking' with your arm."

Yes. He really said that.

Technically, it's actually been caused by too much swimming finally getting water through the shielding to the electronic components, and some plant/dirt muck sticking in the servos from pulling things up from the bottom. It takes a lot to actually damage the arm through blunt force; regular steel or stone isn't gonna do it unless jammed in at the right place, at the right angle.

The Soldier blinks at the suggestion, but you know what, it has a literal voice in its head that argues with it. Why shouldn't its metal arm have a voice that can be communicated with, too? That might as well happen. (That would be fuckin' neat. I wanna talk to it. You're not a robot. I don't think you can.)

"Sure," the Soldier says. "At the Invincible?"

At the suggestion, Daylight nods his helm in agreement. "Yeah! We can do it at the Invincible. That'll be a good place to do it."

With that figured out, Daylight straightens himself up and looks over the direction of the inn. He makes a private note to rummage around for some tools and items for emergency first aid but that's for later. "Do you have a room here, Soldat? We can go there so this is, um, private-private. If not- We can use a booth and set it up with a blanket or something."

He knows that what he does is... weird for people. Especially if they're on the receiving end of it.

There's Scarlett's room, but that seems kind of rude, and besides, it thinks she's probably in there. "I stay in the village. I don't really care about needing privacy, unless you do." He's going to talk to the Soldier's metal arm. How much privacy does that need? It's not likely that anyone else if going to understand, right?

It does have tools, though, just a small packet in one of its many pockets (one accessible with the flesh hand, because that's just common sense), made especially for dealing with the arm. Just in case it fishes those out.

Daylight hums in thought, trying to think of a decision. Going to the Invincible would be easier but... He would like privacy since Day is a bit embarrassed by how he needs to use his powers - there's a big difference between using it around friends and using it around acquaintances, after all - and isn't sure if this would even work.

That and he wants to make sure he's leaving Soldat somewhere that is safe for him after this encounter. The best place for that is his place, for sure.

... So, after some thought, he asks, "Will you be okay with trekking back to the village then? If your arm is alright with that, I think it'll be worth the walk." In an attempt to lighten up the rather heavy mood, Daylight smiles and adds, "I'm also staying at the village too! With my best friend, Coraline. We have a sign on our house and everything- Have you seen it?"

"Is the arm all right with that?" Because if anyone would know, it'd be the guy who could talk to it. The Soldier is a bit bemused, albeit in a kind of amiable fashion as this giant metal person seems kind of weirdly bubbly, but willing to do whatever Daylight needs, here. "I'm all right with that. If the arm is."

Go ahead and lead the way, Daylight. "I've seen it. It has your picture on it." Right? That's probably Daylight's house, if it has his picture on the sign.

"I mean-" Daylight pauses, this silence more playful than thoughtful. "You're not trying to punch me in protest so I'm going to assume that's the okay from you."

... If he does get punched, Daylight has no idea what will happen. Hopefully, that never comes to be. He doesn't know why but he has a feeling that he'll be the one coming out more hurt and not just because of his feelings too.

It's a good thing Soldat asks his question. It has Daylight's winglets perk up upon hearing a description of his residence. "Yeah! That's my house with Coraline! Miner's Castle, #5." And since this is being brought up, it wouldn't hurt to figure out where they're going. "What about you? Your address?"

"I'm not gonna punch you," the Soldier says, sounding maybe a little exasperated on top of confused. Where would Daylight even get that idea? It, uh, isn't great with jokes most of the time, especially when it comes to not committing violence on innocent robots. (Technically it probably could do some damage, between the arm and the super strength, but it doesn't want to.)

At least the robot guy is cute to make up for the weird joke about punching. "Also Miners Castle, with Crowley and Aziraphale." It doesn't like sharing the location of home base, but then, they're going there, so it's a little late for that.

Daylight is about to say sorry for the poor joke because, we, even he can read the room when he manages to pick it up. But, thankfully(?) for everyone involved, he's immediately distracted by the answer upon, well, hearing Soldat's answer.

"Oh wow! We're practically neighbours then!" His winglets perk up, excited by the prospect of realising who exactly his neighbours are now. He's been busy with the forest spirits so much- Well, he's glad one of the mysteries have been solved. "I guess it'll make it easier to check up on you when I see how you're healing up.

"Um-! If you're okay with that, that is."

"I don't think it will take long to. Heal. It's a machine. Once we find the problem and fix it, and tune it up later, it should be fine." So confused. The Soldier is so confused by this conversation, but between the obvious signs of good cheer and good nature, and the fact that Daylight isn't even at all obviously human and thus not classified as instant threat... it's not scared out of its mind by being confused, at least. "It's done this before. And the technicians always fix it in one sitting."

"Well-" Daylight pauses, trying to find the words to explain himself because, er, it is kind of weird to be doing this, isn't it? Daylight doesn't think, personally, but finds himself struggling to explain it. "It's a machine but, um, your machine. Does that make sense? The least I can do is make sure I do everything to help you to. And it never hurts to be careful. From what I can tell, not a lot of folks here are mechanical engineers."

Day means well but too well, as a friend once described him to another friend. RIP Soldat is just... Getting the full Daylight experience but without any real chance to prepare for it.

"-Oh!" And Daylight is immediately distracted by a development: They finally enter the village, where the houses can be found, and Daylight's helm begins to swivle around in search of something familiar. "Your house is nearby, right? I can see mine from up ahead!"

The Soldier hasn't ever heard of the arm referred to as its machine before. That's kind of endearing, and it briefly puts the flesh hand over the plates with a thoughtful expression. So it relents a little with, "Okay."

Looking up at the exclamation, it glances between the little cabins, and says, "We should go to yours. Aziraphale and Crowley might be at mine." They won't be there. Crowley is drinking at the Invincible and Aziraphale is still down by the ruined dock. It's just instinctive to protect home base. Even if it's probably pretty obvious which one it lives at, given who it lives with, and the fact that it doesn't exactly hide coming and going, or cover up all the windows ~~even though it wishes it could do that second one~~.

Edited (pronouns blah) 2019-10-23 17:33 (UTC)

"Oh!" Daylight's winglets perk up at both the suggestion and the mention of a name he's familiar with by now. Huh! "You know Aziraphale? I- I met him today, actually!

"Um- He's doing fine, to let you know." Judging by how Soldat is talking about them and the house, Daylight assumes they're roommates. Maybe he'd like to know one of his roommates' status. "Some of his seed packets got in the water but I think they could be saved. They weren't submerged for too long and it's actually safe to sake seed for over-" He stops himself, a little embarrassed that he caught himself rambling about gardening, and tries to salvage his end of the conversation:

"Yeah. Sure. Okay- We can do this at my place. I don't think Coraline is around but I hope she's fine and hang on I'll get the door."

Daylight flusteredly jogs up ahead to open the door and to get the time he needs to squeeze himself into the front entrance, seeing as how most of the buildings were not built with ten feet tall hybrids in mind.

Why are so many people in this town so ridiculously tall? Honestly. (Well, two. Daylight and Rosinante. Both way too tall.) The Soldier follows, and doesn't even have to duck. "I'm going to be helping Misty with her garden," it offers. If Daylight enjoys talking about gardening, maybe it can learn something, to help her more efficiently? "She showed me how to turn over earth. To prepare the ground."

The mention of Misty and the garden definitely catches Day's interest.

"Me too! I want to help Riku and Misty and the others with the garden." Daylight nearly bonks himself on the helm when he eagerly looks over his shoulder and winglet, the smile on his face somehow evident and clear all the same. He brings them towards the, erm, 'main' room of the house, so to speak. "I, um, have some gardening supplies on the ferry. They're getting dried out now since, um, the shenanigans and all."

He's lucky he was able to yank the supplies out before they had sunk down. "That was nice of Misty to do! Helping you prep the ground for planting. Did she also teach you how to do a soil test or ways to cultivate seeds from the fruits and vegetables from our supplies?"

Listening to Daylight's excited ramble, the Soldier looks vaguely overwhelmed by all it apparently doesn't know. "No?" Is gardening that complicated? Did you not just put seeds in and water them and then hope they grew? (It's a city boy, Daylight. It doesn't know these things.) "Soil test?"

"It's- Um- Well-"

Daylight makes a wild little gesture with his servo as he hems and hums, no doubt trying to put his thoughts into coherent words. It's been so long since he talked about this sort of stuff with someone else besides his family and Gardenia back on the Lornful Light. He now finds himself having a little bit of stage fright.

Just a little. Because if this could help Soldat out than Day will do his best-! "The soil test basically gives you an idea of what your soil is like. The texture and compositon and mineral density. That sort of stuff.

"There are four ways I know you can do a real quick test: Squeeze, Percolation, Worm, and Ph. I think, for now, Squeeze is the easiest and simplest for us to do. Gives us an idea of what soil we're working with and-" He stops now, realising he's been chatting a long time as he gestures for Soldat to enter his room and have a seat on the big, Daylight-sized bed made of two beds if he wanted to. "Sorry. That was a lot of rambling, huh?"

Generally, the Soldier would be uncomfortable with sitting down in a situation like this. But Daylight is simply so non-threatening (the ten-foot-tall robot is non-threatening; yes, this is the truth), and it's been such a long day full of panic and guilt and digging through broken things. The Soldier's tired. It sits, easing down gingerly on the edge of the bed and cradling its malfunctioning arm against its stomach, watching Daylight with a slightly dazed expression.

"It's okay." And it is. Mostly. The Soldier might be a bit overwhelmed, but some of that is probably just the whole situation. The whole day. (Night. Whatever.) "You should write that down. How to do the soil test thing. Share it with everyone." Then more people would know, and the Soldier itself wouldn't have to figure out where the right places to nod or add to the conversation, like an actual person.

The suggestion of writing down the method of the soil test has Daylight visibly perk up. "That's definitely a good idea. I'll definitely do that." Not now but- Soon. Definitely soon. When the gardening project kicked in and new green thumbs started to work on the grounds. "I-"

He wanted to ask more but his optics land on Soldat's mechanical arm, the reminder for why they went all the way here. "... We should definitely take a look at your arm, though." He holds his servos up as he kneels down next to Soldat, trying to appear friendly and harmless as possible. This is, as a whole, pretty weird. He tells himself to do it one step at a time, starting with talking this out: "Okay so- I'm just going to reach out and touch your arm and... well, reach out to your arm. It'll feel... It'll feel weird, I'm not gonna lie."

"Pretty sure it can't feel worse than everything else that's been done to me," the Soldier shrugs, then shifts the arm out from the shoulder and offers its unresponsive metal hand for Daylight to do whatever it needs to with. "I'm not worried about it. I'm. Curious." It can feel the chatty guy right up behind its eyes, watching, trying to work out how this is going to happen.

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sunborne - 2019-11-09 17:26 (UTC) - Expand

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worthallthis - 2019-11-09 19:18 (UTC) - Expand

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