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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Yes she can, because he still needs to realise he does. What's Crowley's excuse :|

"No. Not okay." Frustration creeping into her tone. She's trying to get him to respond like a normal person when she knows he's not. He's barely able to comprehend the emotions he does feel, let alone navigate the actions and decisions of others.

"Giving you orders was not okay. Trying to get out of here without giving a damn about what that could mean for the rest of us was not okay. Death by holy water is probably the least troubling of the fucked up things that surround this guy." But she can't make him see it and the fact is, she wouldn't want to either. His whole problem seems to be that he's had too many people telling him how to think and feel. That doesn't mean she can just say nothing, though.

"He used you to get what he wanted." Again trying to soften her words. "Don't you see that?"

And now they circle back to the uncomfortable stuff. What comes out is automatic, to the Soldier's mild embarrassment: "That's what I'm for." It feels like the opposite answer to what she's looking for, but what the hell is she looking for?

Yes, it's good at reading people, but it has some very big blind spots, too, and they all center around treatment of itself. That would really explain both its confusion now and its understanding of Crowley's actions.

It pops its mouth shut after the nearly-rote response, looking away again, and focuses back on its arm with an air of continued embarrassment and maybe a little frustration of its own.

They were back to this, this idea that he had to be one thing. That he was defined by an existence that ceased to mean anything the moment he's shown up here If she thought for a second that she could shake him until he got it, she just might do that but this wasn't like trying to explain Holy Water. It was like trying to rewire the whole way he thought about himself and his role in the world.

"No." Refusing to accept that. "That's what you've been taught." And that's why she considers Crowley's actions to be unforgivable because while Bucky truly believed what he did was fulfilling his purpose in life? Crowley knew better, he just didn't care.

"What you want? It matters. Do you even know that?"

(To be left the hell alone.)

Except that's not right, because it enjoys Scarlett's presence, and Crowley's, and Mary's and Elena's. Even Rosinante, Noctis, and Javert, albeit for different reasons. They all feel different to be around, and the idea of not experiencing that isn't a good one. It doesn't want to be left alone, not really.

(To not hurt. To not be afraid all the time. To learn how to cook more things. To not automatically want to hit people who fucking touch us.)

It's not supposed to want things. And those don't seem like the kind of things Scarlett means, anyway.

So it keeps its gaze on the inner workings of its arm and says, "I don't know. I've never been allowed to think about it before."

If it's what he wants, then it matters. Whether its what he wants to do, how he wants to feel or things he wants to stop. It doesn't matter how big or small that it is, as long as it's because he wants it.

She watches him quietly for a moment, the way he intently stares at his mechanical arm. Scarlett trying to wrap her head around what the hell had been done to him and getting angrier at the thought that he hadn't been able to escape it here.

"That was before." And she can't erase what his life was like before, anymore than she can erase her own past but they aren't living those lives anymore. "This is now, and now you can."

Even just admitting the little wants to itself is a step in the right direction. Even if it's known about them, and been aware that "not supposed to" doesn't mean "doesn't still happen", it still helps to actively think about them.

It looks at her sidelong, without moving its head. "What if I said I wanted to stop talking about this shit for a while," it says, voice somewhere between annoyed, dry, and just plain tired. "It's been a long fucking day and my brain hurts."

(Notice you didn't say stop talking about it at all. ... shut up, I didn't even notice that. Too late, can't take it back.)

A slow, small smile pulls at the corner of her mouth at that reply. Scarlett nodding slowly as she rubs her lips together, burying every other thing she wants to say. She's not about to be the kind of asshole that tells him he's allowed to want things, then deny him the one and only thing he's asked for. If this has to be the first time he gets something that he wants? Then she can give him that.

"Then I'd say, are you hungry?"

"Doll, I am always fucking hungry."

Chatty guy (Are you really gonna call me that forever? Yes, I fucking am.) recedes again, and the Soldier blinks, remembering. And looks guilty. " ... shit, but we lost some of the supplies... and the ferry. I don't want to eat too much if somebody else is going to go hungry."

She rolls her eyes at that 'Doll' but can't successfully fight the smile that takes over her mouth as she moves towards the 'kitchen area' of the small apartment. A small area that's slightly raised from the rest of the room, a torch from the bonfire casting enough light for her to see what she's doing, by.

"Trust me." As if that was all the explanation he needed. "It's not going to have to come to that." She'd learned from her Father the need to stockpile and ration, knowing that hunting or a trip to the store might not be a viable option. From her first day in Beacon, she'd been collecting non-perishable items, not entirely trusting the ferry to bring food every month.

Opening several cabinets, she grabs the torch from where it's tucked into a sling nailed to the wall, lowering it so that he can see tins stacked upon tins and raises her eyebrows in a challenge for him to keep arguing.

The Soldier leans over to see what she's showing him, otherwise staying put to finish up with the maintenance on its arm. At least the plates have calmed down, now, and it's almost done.

Huh. She has been here longer than it has, it supposes. "I'm not going to eat all your food, Scarlett. Rationing is still a sensible plan. And I'll eat a lot if I don't monitor my intake. I'm not letting the kids go hungry. Or you."

Edited (WOW how did I miss the actual description of all the food she has) 2019-10-10 04:49 (UTC)

"Yeah, well. My room my rules and I say you eat." So it was a weak argument in the grand scheme of things but it doesn't stop her from dragging a tin from the cupboard, the brunette pointedly ignoring what she assumes is a disapproving glare (she's noticed he's good at those.)

"Doesn't do anyone any good if you martyr yourself." And he was crazy if he thought she'd allow the kids to go hungry. Well. If she allowed Mary or Hope to, not that she'd admit as much.

"Besides. I don't know if you can really called sloppy joes in a can food." Not that she wasn't capable of cooking something decent, but between her shoulder and her wrist ~~that she had failed to mention to him~~ she wasn't about to try and be fancy.

You know what, still too tired to really argue. So for now, it's going to let her feed it. (We worked hard today. Might as well refuel. Makes sense. It can be... our one meal today, or something.)

"I don't know what that is," the Soldier admits, setting down the tiny toothbrush-like thing it'd been using to clean out the last of the gunk, and going for the last tool it needs, a little tiny ratcheting wrench, for tightening the gears that got loosened by said gunk. "But before my last mission they fed me through a tube. So I'm pretty sure whatever you have will be better."

There's a clattering of tin against metal as she drops the tin into the sink, Scarlett's head snapping around to look at him and while she really should know better than to stare? He can't go saying something like that and expect her not to have a response.

"You know I wouldn't mind meeting these original handlers of yours." Though her tone is anything but friendly. You don't need to be socially adept to realize she'd like them to meet the sharp edge of her sword.

"It's like a hamburger, kinda." She huffs, realizing he probably won't know what that is either. "It's not gourmet but, it doesn't suck either. Plus I've got bread." Not bread like you'd find in a store, but the homemade kind.

"Sorta like bread. They call it Damper. It's an Australian survivalist thing. No yeast required." She's not even sure why she's telling him this. Because he's here. Because he'll listen. "Most of my cooking skills don't require a kitchen."

"You might have to get in line. I think Crowley wants to smite them all, and Misty. Wants to give them a stern talking to." The Soldier pauses, then adds, "I wouldn't mind shooting them, either."

It closes up the plates in its arm and climbs to its feet, rolling up the tools in their packet again and tucking that away into one of its many pockets. Then it wanders over to watch what she's doing.

(I could go for a hamburger right about now. With a malt shake.) "I know what a hamburger is. Actually. Or the chatty guy does. How do you make bread?" There's an actual questioning there, because cooking interests it.

"That's about the only thing Crowley and I can agree on." Scarlett spitting out his name with disdain. It was going to be a long while before she'd ever be able to hear that name without the urge to hit something.

She supposes that's something at least, that he has enough of himself to want some kind of revenge on them. There aren't many people here that she would say are better off dead, but he might be one of the only ones to change that view for her.

"It's not as hard as you'd think. Just some flour and - milk is better but water will do. Butter if you have it. Oil will work in a pinch if you don't. A bit of salt." He'd catch the small smile that crooks the corner of her mouth, another memory playing through her mind. "My Dad - he'd... send me out into the woods with nothing but a handful of supplies. I'd always hunt or find what I could but that didn't always work out. Damper would keep me from going hungry. You mix it up, wrap it in foil and chuck it on fire."

She hesitates at the sink then glances back over her shoulder. Looking at him without fully meeting his gaze. "I can teach you if you want."

It's going to just. Pretend it didn't hear that mutter, even if there's an urge to twitch a little at it, to make some kind of defense or apology for not being willing to back off from another person. Hopefully she gets over that anger, or maybe it can just make an effort not to bring Crowley up, or things might get uncomfortable.

The shared memory, however, is much more welcome than her growling. It doesn't even seem that unusual. Sounds like a good idea if you're expecting society to go to hell, even if kind of shitty to do to a kid. The Soldier visibly perks up at the offer, though-- more cooking skills. This is an actual want, even if it won't admit to those aloud yet. "Please."

Look. She still needs to punch him in the face for giving him orders and maybe once more for Mary. After that, she can probably come to terms with quietly hating him from a distance with a side of asshole remarks any time they're in the same place. That's probably about as good as you're going to get from Scar. Especially with all of this still being so fresh and raw.

She'd thought of it as something they could do in the future, but its the way he perks up that has her changing her mind. It's so rare to see him visibly interested in something that she finds herself wanting to give him that.

"Come on." Jerking her head for him to come join her. "I'll tell you what you need to do."

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INTRO LOG: OCTOBER

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