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!

QUICKNAV
comms	\|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	\|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ hermione had expected some reaction. after all, magic was a secretive business in the presence of muggles, and her blatant disregard for the statute of secrecy is mostly attributable to her current state of mild irritation at the concept of being dead. she had not, however, expected to be questioned on the performance of her magic.

he may frame his words with laughter and gentle tone, but to hermione, it's an affront all the same. that old insecurity rises up, eats at her, and she stiffens, wand hand clutching tighter around the carved vine wood. ]

I am capable of wandless magic. [ it comes out perhaps more defensive than she'd like it to — but to be fair, she is still reeling from finding out she'd died. a little slack might be helpful. ] The Hot-Air Charm is just particularly finicky, and I don't like the odds of accidentally burning myself.

[ also, yes, she's new. but that seems to be a fairly obvious statement, and thus not one that really requires her to verbally confirm it. ]

How dare that Hot Air Charm be difficult. Don't they know that you've just suffered quite the trauma?

( what with her being dead and then, to add insult to injury, being in a ferry accident to boot. )

Are you all right? Do you need me to get you a towel or perhaps something to drink?

Are you trying to be funny?

[ she isn't laughing. nor is she wet anymore, thanks to said charm. her (admittedly terrible) outfit is now dry as a crisp sheet on a summer's day, her hair no longer wet and plastered to her skin but back to its large, slightly unkempt normal self.

she might do with a brush or a comb, but there are bigger problems. ]

This is all a very terrible attempt at a practical joke, really. Who tells people they're dead for a lark?

[ she doesn't believe it yet. ]

You think this is a practical joke?

( honestly now, hermione. )

That we're all in on and came together just to play on you? Well, if that's true, then no one else has let me in on the gag because I'm dead and I know I'm dead. If I've been played all this time, I'm going to be pissed.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous to tell someone they've died when they've no recollection of even being injured, if you must know.

[ she refuses to admit that, if she was in fact grievously splinched, she would not have any recollection of her injuries. she would, in fact, have no recollection of anything, because such a traumatic death would have likely caused massive damage almost immediately.

there's a reason they don't let underage witches apparate. it's admittedly mostly because they'd just apparate into boys' rooms or sweetshops, but it's also because splinching is nasty business. ]

How did you die, then, if it isn't a joke?

[ she sounds much like ron had, once upon a time. a dare in words: well, go on then, do it, if you're so clever. ]

Well, I'm about as honest as they come — ( debatable ) — and I'm telling you that you are dead. I'm sorry that you don't remember, though.

( it reminds him a bit of eliot, who thought he was still alive or something close to it. )

How did I die? Angelic witch hunters. They shot me full of arrows. Pretty painful, actually. Lots of blood. Ruined my clothes.

( ouch. )

[ she isn't quite sure she believes him. he may be honest, but she wonders if it's not the sort of honest she might expect from dean or seamus — teasing honesty, playing games, always up for a laugh or a prank at someone else's expense. for now, she'll simply have to bide her opinions until she knows enough to be sure. ]

Angelic? [ hermione is not religious. her parents are dentists, people of science. what faith they may have had was familial comfort and tradition, not ecclesiastical. ] Do you mean Anglican?

[ an easy mistake to make, surely. ]

No, I don't mean Anglican. I mean angelic. Witch hunters sent from heaven to kill those of us on Earth who practiced what they see as dark magic. They killed me and several other witches and warlocks who wanted nothing more than to do what we were raised to do.

( he just hopes they hadn't killed everyone. he hopes sabrina had survived. his aunts. someone. )

And before you start giving me a lecture on religion and what's real and what's not, I know how it sounds. But I know what happened and that is how I died.

I wasn't going to give you a lecture.

[ yes, she was. she could hardly have resisted the urge to share a little knowledge — that angels, while a common religious motif, weren't real. that they were disillusions muggles shared in trying to explain ghosts and other magical creatures, that reliance and religious fervor for them had elevated them to a common cultural position, but that they hardly had the capacity to wield harm.

but she is, mercifully, shut down before she can start by the matter-of-fact way he details what she can only imagine as a painful, traumatic death. even hermione doesn't correct someone on how they died. she isn't that cruel. ]

Were you practicing dark magic?

[ that, perhaps, is more important. is this someone angling to be another voldemort, someone she should be wary of? ]

I don't know. What do you consider dark magic?

( perhaps he should avoid telling her about the necromancy for the time being. )

What's dark to you might not be dark to me. You're not the only witch in the world, you know. Or across the many worlds that seem to exist, actually. The magic I practiced is the magic I was brought up knowing and thinking was right. I still do think that.

[ that might be wise, ambrose. ]

I've spent the last six years in a world in which blood purity has become fanatical, giving rise to wizarding fascism under the leadership of a deranged former schoolboy who committed multiple murders in order to split his soul into pieces and thus obtain immortality. [ she blinks. ] I suppose any number of aspects of that problem could be considered 'dark' magic.

[ but, in short, hermione provides a verbatim description from a textbook, because that is the best answer she can: ] The Dark Arts refers to any type of magic that is mainly used to cause harm to, exert control over, or in extreme cases kill their victim.

So, offensive magic? You consider magic that could be used in a battle or a fight or something of the sort a Dark Art?

( well, these two wizarding worlds were very different, weren't they? )

If you can't use spells and incantations like that, what do you use when someone challenges you or you're involved in a fight?

Well — [ he broaches a fair point, and hermione has to stop to consider the gray area. how to explain, when not given the chance to write out an essay. ] I suppose that's overly simplistic.

[ she won't say you're right. that's as close as he'll get. ]

Good witches and wizards don't intend to fight each other. Magic should be collaborative, positive. Brewing a potion for better sleep, or to heal someone after they've been injured. [ but what should be isn't what is, and hermione knows that all too well. ] There are Dark wizards, though. We call them Death Eaters.

[ for the first time, hermione looks uncomfortable. not in the speech, but in the memory it brings up. death and pain and the sacrifices it has required. she thinks of cedric, and something tightens in her throat. ]

We fought them last year. A Death Eater will kill you, if they have the chance. [ something steels in her expression. ] I suppose that's the difference. In how you use your magic, not necessarily the magic you use.

[ a beat. ]

Well, except for Unforgivable curses, of course.

Collaborative. Well, that is the dream, isn't it? Too bad it doesn't always happen that way. Trust me, we're not looking to fight each other either but there are other things out there besides other witches that need attending to and putting a mortal human against them is just an awful, terrible thing.

( demons and such. the devil as well but he hasn't yet gotten to that point in things. but, the point remains that there are many other threats out there that aren't just other witches to deal with. )

What are the Unforgivable curses? ( well, he has to ask that, doesn't he? )

[ tell hermione you're planning on staging a coup against the devil and she might laugh in your face. probably best to leave that bit out.

as for the curses, well. hermione can talk about them, from a purely academic standpoint, but she certainly hopes he will not ask her to demonstrate. even as she mentions them, there is tension in her voice, like flint striking rock, sparks of righteous anger surrounding the words. ]

They are unforgivable. [ yes. that's why they are named as such. an apt moniker. ] Imperius, Cruciatus, and — [ no. she won't say the name aloud. ] The Killing Curse. To control, to torture, and to kill.

[ hermione does not cast these. she will never cast them. she would sooner put someone in a full body bind and drop them into the ocean than cast these curses. but she knows they exist, all too intimately. ]

Oh, so you're taking away all the fun things?

( one corner of his mouth ticks up to show that he's just teasing before he crosses his arms, fingers tapping at his elbow. )

And you have no other spells that control or torture? Killing I can understand but I think you have a very broad definition what it is to control or torture. Those can have different meanings to different people.

[ all the fun things. she doesn't even hear his follow-up, can't begin to parse it; all hermione can do is whirl on him, righteous indignation flaring in her, anger and outrage bubbling until it explodes outwards in a — ] There's nothing fun about the Cruciatus Curse!

[ she thinks of neville, of his parents; she remembers watching that spider scream and beg for mercy. she remembers the way neville had broken down in tears thinking of what that curse's effects had done to his parents. they didn't even remember him anymore. they were so utterly broken, they were bare shells of people. ]

You have to want to hurt someone! To cause them so much pain they would rather die than keep on suffering! [ her voice is shrill, agitated; there's a wildness in her expression that hasn't quite been there before. ] How could that ever possibly be fun?!

Whoa.

( ambrose holds up a hand to try and stop that tirade before it gets even worse. he waits it out, let's her yell at him before he raises his eyebrows to silently ask you done? )

Obviously hurting someone isn't fun. That isn't what I meant. But, you have to admit there are spells that could be considered controlling that you don't consider unforgivable. Do you ever use a spell to make someone stay in one place? Freeze them for a few moments? Isn't that a method of control?

[ sorry not sorry, ambrose, you opened this can of flobberworms and now you're stuck with the response.

but yes, she's done, and rather breathlessly at that. not that she seems calmed by it. if anything, hermione seems energized, revitalized, more herself. apparently, lecturing him was always on the agenda. ]

Well, yes, [ she thinks rather ruefully of her first year and casting a full body jinx on a friend. ] But never with the intention of hurting anyone. They're simply inconvenient, not — they're not torture.

[ is it wrong to immobilize your friend when you're trying to save the world? yes and no. morality is, admittedly, a gray area for hermione, no matter how much she'd like to say it's a black and white sort of thing. ]

Are you sure? Have you asked the person that they're being done to? They're not torture in your eyes but what about the other person?

( he eyes her quietly, waiting to see how she explains that. )

Have you taken a poll of people that things like that have been done to?

What kind of — [ absolutely stupid question is that. ] No, I haven't gone round asking my friends if they're still mad about a jinx I placed for good reason. What would they say? 'Oh, Hermione, bloody good you asked, of course I'm still sore about you sticking me out while you went off to fight the good fight!'

[ why does her mockery of her friends somehow sound like she's trying to be irish? we just don't know. ]

And if it's Death Eaters, well. [ now she just sounds prim. ] I won't apologize. They tried to kill us, they're lucky I didn't light them on fire.

You get worked up quite easily, don't you?

( he's not doing it on purpose but sometimes it just worked out to be entertaining when you played devil's advocate. )

I don't know about your friends but I'd still be sore if someone froze me in place without my permission. Seems a little mean, doesn't it? I like to move and suddenly being able not to would be a pain.

( tsk tsk, hermione. )

Bloody good, though? Are you Irish now?

No! [ yes. she absolutely gets worked up easily, and is wildly defensive about it as a result. how dare he just call her out on that within minutes of meeting her? who did he think he was? ] I do not get worked up at all.

[ l i a r ]

I'm not Irish, either. [ though she is british. that much is obvious. her accent is upper middle class, clean though not overly prim, less rough around the edges compared to someone who might have grown up in council homes. ] I'm from Hampstead.

[ a beat. ]

It's North London.

I know where Hampstead is.

( do you not hear his own accent, hermione? )

You're getting worked up right now, you know.

[ maybe she was too worked up to notice, thanks ]

I am not.

[ you see, she's going to make an effort to Calm Herself now, just because he's pointed it out. she's going to take calm breaths and think calm thoughts and avoid entirely the urge to summon magical birds to peck his eyeballs out... ]

INTRO LOG: OCTOBER

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)