INTRO LOG: DECEMBER

[inthenightmods]

INTRO LOG: DECEMBER
IF I HAD A HEART

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor, as well as the rest of town.
date/time: december 1-3.
content: beacon's newest batch of residents arrives on the ferry. robin posts a bulletin.
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 glowing 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.

•••
The ferry has barely docked when everyone's tablets will ping: A new weekly bulletin has been posted!

...Aaaaaanyway, luckily for all the newcomers, the tablet and the town have some resources available for getting acquainted with their new situation! 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.

ooc.

Hey there, wonderful players, and welcome to In the Night! You've happened to come at a chaotic time, as we've just wrapped up a rather large event. Half the town was stuck in a dreamland version of past Beacon, where they explored for clues about the town's history. The other half stayed awake and defended the town from a brutal onslaught of green-eyed, hallucination-inducing forest spirits. The town's pretty haggard after all that, so hey, there's a conversation starter! It'll be good to have some fresh faces around to help with the recovery process.

You can check out the various Enter Mr. Sandman event posts in the OOC and log comms if you're curious, and plenty of the details will likely come up ICly, as well! The aftermath is just beginning, and we're so glad to have you along for the ride. :)

DELIVERIES

The following packages can be found in the cargo hold:

• The monthly store restock
  
• For Eliot: A carton of cigarettes
  
• For Prompto: 17 pairs of reading glasses
  
• For Eleven: A pair of walkie-talkies, and enough batteries to last for 3 months of casual use
  
• For Aziraphale: 12 drums, 11 lead pipes, 10 pairs of shoes, 9 wilting corsages, 8 bottles of milk, 7 taxidermy swans, 6 goose eggs, 5 stale onion rings, 4 bins full of duck armies, 3 dead chickens, 2 turtles, and a whole tree, though it's long dead... and strung with lights and garlands and holiday ornaments!
  
• For Kol: A book
  
• For Crowley: Peppermint extract, cream of tartar, a candy thermometer, a tin of cocoa, graham crackers, a generic bottle of red wine, a t-shirt with a crown logo on it, a book of love poems, and the goods
  
• For Eleven: An assortment of wrapping paper, gift tags, ribbons, bows, and gift bags.
  
• A lot of medical supplies. The supplies are plentiful enough that everyone may handwave finding common first aid supplies that will help to triage injuries sustained during the Enter Mr. Sandman event. The supplies won't immediately cure wounds, but they will help to prevent infection and ensure proper healing. There's even an assortment of painkillers, ranging from over the counter pills to IV morphine (though, hm, it seems each character will only be able to find one dose of the hospital-grade stuff, no matter how hard they search)

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

QUICKNAV
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Comments

[girlcorrupted]

A commander? I'm familiar with...

[ She beings to silently count on her fingers as she does the mental math, but gives up quickly. ]

...quite a few of those. Though their positions were not always "official."

Erm- I'm Angel. Just Angel.

[policier]

He said you were involved with the ferry debacle.

( He says it evenly, without accusation. Given that Aziraphale already apologized and helped rebuild the dock, Javert doesn't see the need in making fuss over it. He atoned, no one was seriously injured. It's the best he could ask for. )

He does not speak much of his personal life, nor do I care to ask.

[rhyses]

[He steals fairly unsubtle glances over at her, not intentionally rude so much as curious. At the mention of Zer0, though, he brightens considerably.]

Yeah! I mean, as well as anybody knows them, anyway, but yeah, he's been my bodyguard for a while now. Totally cool.

[callada]

Well then, nice to meet you, Angel. I'm no commander here anyway. Hardly matters. Just a reference point for those here who were military.

[And she's... not? Who knows, but he's content to just leave all that aside.]

Anyway, most everything you need here is right around the square, but there's a map in your tablet that can help you find other things farther out. Have you had a chance to look at that yet?

[girlcorrupted]

[ She looks to him at that, brows raised and totally incredulous. ]

He took up bodyguarding? That is- I mean, it seems a little uneventful, compared to Vault hunting.

I hope you treated him well.

[ A polite sentiment, but laced with an unspoken or else. ]

[worthallthis]

"And nutrient shakes," the Soldier agrees with a small, tired sort of smile, but one that's definitely agreement. They munch down more of their soup. "The attacks seem to have stopped, but I can walk you back to your house. If you want."

[rhyses]

I trea--

[I treat him well, present tense, is what he'd been to say, but aha, about that . . .]

. . . yeah. I did. We really . . . I really liked him. I think, uh, I think it was a nice break for him to just focus on one person. Although, I mean, it's not like I was totally not being attacked, he had his work cut out for him.

[luxoraculi]

Of course, dear, I would be happy to tell you everything. [ Most of everything. A lot of it is a blur, honestly -- everything happened so fast, the panic was real and the survival of her slumbering companions and those who were awake was her number one priority. ]

When you fell into slumber, we were all attacked by angry spirits. They came at us with a fury that I've only seen in the mightiest of daemons. When things began to calm down, they took to the network. I spoke with them... they told me that we needed to listen and to learn.

[luxoraculi]

"Sometimes, in order to get our way, we need to play our enemies just a little bit," she states slowly, heaving a soft sigh. "I know you want to get out of here. But Crowley, what happens if there is no way to leave? If we are dead, where do our spirits go from here?"

Leaning back in her seat, she offers him a tired smile. "Besides, such a plan would require a lot of plotting. This is something that one cannot simply jump into, it is how mistakes are made. We have gained valuable knowledge... I think our best course of action is to continue gathering as much information as possible."

[sweetwater]

Thank you. Your tip is greatly appreciated.

[worthallthis]

Hitching a shoulder in mild, uncomfortable embarrassment, the Soldier says, "He needs time to learn better. Like me. I understand." And Crowley is kind enough to them, even when stressed and unhappy. Crowley gave them a new way to think about themselves-- said it didn't matter if he didn't understand, just that he accepted. The Soldier can't do less than that.

[sweetwater]

[ she's not sure that she wants to ask about the pile of tablets. do they belong to people who were killed? is it possible that there's an even worse reason for all the discarded tablets? ]

Cheryl Blossom. It's a pleasure, I'm sure.


[ she discards her own trash, and dusts off her hands. ]

So tell me, Quentin, what sort of world did you come from before being trapped in this dark hole of despair?

[mellowyellow]

I'd win way more if you teased him about it.

I'll even pay you.

With kisses! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

[necromantiae]

Hey, I'll have you know I haven't flirted much this month. Running from forest spirits kind of puts a damper on that.

( he'd flirted a little, though. couldn't not flirt. )

You're a good man. Thanks for making sure I don't get totally left behind.

[onlyeverdoubted]

"I'm, uh, sure you've been busy enough." He looks like he ought to be falling down in his tracks. Bodhi's sure he can manage a quick walk across town.

[mewtiny]

[A deep chuckle reverberates in her mind.]

I was created to be unmatched. It is simply fact. [It pauses, looking almost disdainful.] Though this place restricts my powers, be it the nature of this world, the lighthouse keeper, or the spirits. Be that as it may, I will not assume my will can be bested so easily. I will simply have to push to see what powers this place allows me to wield effectively.

[mewtiny]

The programming?

[Now that this conversation has begun, Mewtwo finds itself deeply curious about what a human treated like an "inferior" would have to endure and why. Is this what becomes of worlds without Pokemon?]

[mewtiny]

[The giant, muscular tail twitches angrily, much as a cat's would before it prepares to pounce, but there is nowhere to pounce and all the gesture does is remind it that there's a lantern tied to its tail that it feels compelled to LEAVE ALONE.

It tilts its head back to look at her, as if suddenly aware of her presence again. Everything is too much and it feels like it's admitting defeat, but at least information is available in some form... even if no, it's definitely not going to try to use the tablet with those digits.]

Then perhaps I truly have died, and this is the next world. [This is not a yes or no. It's resigned acceptance. The tablet will offer it nothing it doesn't feel it already knows right down to its designer genes, but it also can't hurt to be knowledgeable.]

[worthallthis]

Protocols. Rules. Programming.

[Ironically, the Soldier hasn't had to try and explain programming much before. Most people either understand without needing to ask, or just slide right by it without wanting to know. They take a second to come up with a good way to describe it.]

I'm programmed with knowledge, skills, and specific responses. Aziraphale and Crowley call it brainwashing but programming feels more appropriate.

[worthallthis]

Too much else to do before they can crash-- other people to check on, a perimeter check to do, a house to air out and clean, supplies to redistribute-- but because there is so much to do, the Soldier is going to not second guess Bodhi's statement. It's easier to just hope to hell that the attacks really are over with, and Bodhi won't be in any actual danger. Anything else seems too horrible and exhausting to consider, just then. So they nod, finish their soup, and say, "Okay. If you're sure. I'll see you soon, all right?"

[mewtiny]

[The fact that no one had ever truly tried such a thing on Mewtwo successfully says a lot about its own force of will, but then again, was that not what Giovanni had tried to do with those machines? Break its will, make it malleable?

Mewtwo's expression is cold by default, but it turns downright icy as it pieces together everything. This human could have been its own fate if it hadn't died free. How strange to understand so much of a human's experience? How strange to sympathize... Or, even more, to feel disgust at the people who did this to him. These are odd feelings it cannot name, and yet they burn.]

Your will was taken from you.

[worthallthis]

That's one way to put it. And memories, too. I don't actually remember much from Before HYDRA.

[They don't seem terribly upset by this. It is what it is. Though if the people responsible were in front of them, the Soldier is still pretty sure they would shoot them in the fucking face. Okay, maybe they are a little upset by it, they're just used to keeping that from showing.]

[moderatelymaladjusted]

Cheryl. Blossom? That's-- well, I guess that tracks, sure.

[With her red hair and wide eyes, sure. Why not. It really wasn't any weirder than Quentin's own name, so.

Leaving Cheryl by the doors, Quentin hurries on to the next room. The room they kept the sleepers in, for those last few days of fighting, and he shrugs in to his coat and gets his quiver and bow, slinging both over his shoulder.]

And you just-- walked here? From the ferry? That's-- uh, that's kind of impressive. Most people stop by the bonfire or the Invincible.

[vampirella]

you might, but i wouldn't, and i don't accept kisses as currency

come back at me with whatever counts as valuable in this shithole and maybe we'll talk

[vampirella]

( god, this is kind of sad. she doesn't like feeling bad for other creatures, this is the worst. Carmilla frowns, not quite watching the angry kitty as it grapples with the reality of death. it's easier for her — it's already happened once. she had all her terror, tears, and bitter resignation then. for Carmilla it more feels like she's just landed in a strange new place, rather than dying.

after all, she's not a ghost. she's not somehow human again. she's just as dead as she was before, still vampiric, for better or worse. it makes the transition feel a little different, though still plenty frustrating. she knew what she was doing when she brought the Blade of Hastur to the showdown with her mother; but she wasn't expecting her death to have another layer of afterlife to it. it's annoying more than anything. )

So we have been told, but a great way to make us give up on whatever we had before is to try and convince us it's impossible to return. ( she's not saying she knows that's what is going on here, but, just pointing out the logic. she's not sure she buys there's a way to go back, to try and find Laura again, but she's also not sure she doesn't buy it. it's too soon to tell. )