logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: PLEADER

EVENT LOG: PLEADER

EVENT LOG:
PLEADER

characters: everyone.
location: the floating night market, docked at the harbor.
date/time: december 12-16.
content: the night market arrives.
warnings: n/a.

yo voy a volver tu vas a ver.

In the wee hours of December 12, the lights return, appearing just under the waves in the harbor, approaching the dock, until the lights surface entirely. They're submarines, glowing a dim blue now that they're up out of the water, and the fleet is three vessels strong. They've brought with them a floating bridge system to attach to the harbor's main dock to allow access to all three submarines, and they start to unpack...

By "morning", under the light of the full moon, the Night Market is open for business!

This time, it's three vendors that arrive: Aaravos, an expert in all things magical; Michelle Cheung, master of papercraft; and Pluto, the Night Market's leader, who rolls out of her submarine in a custom-built wheelchair. They've brought a handful of helpers with them to set up the market and run the various booths and games. Though they have no torches among them, the docks are lit with the blue glow of the submarines, their lights rippling slowly in intricate patterns and shapes, reminiscent of carnival lights.

•••
Accepted currencies at the Night Market include: Building and scrap materials, old tablets, old lanterns, captured forest spirits, torches, information, and most importantly... Plutonium. Of course, attempting to barter is always an option... but these currencies are your best bet for dealing with the various vendors offered by the Night Market.

Here are the vendors and their inventories for the current Night Market visit:
PLUTO
Special orders - Pluto can procure items just like Rastus, but she can get you specific goods from homeworlds. The more specific the request, the more it will cost. Items ordered through Pluto will arrive on the next ferry.

Heals - A borrowed gun-looking device allows Pluto to heal even the most grievous of injuries. This item doesn't belong to her, though, so... results may vary. If you want proper healing, you'll have to wait until the Night Market's medical unit shows up in the future.

GPS coordinates - Looking to discover more locations and resources out in the forest? Pluto can hook you up with hints to do just that.

Lantern charms - These charms can be attached to your lantern to provide BENEFITS as well as DRAWBACKS. The following charms are currently on display, with these labels attached: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma. You'll be given instructions for use at the time of purchase, or you can try asking Pluto for more information.

AARAVOS
Drugs - You want it? He's probably got it! Cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, and pretty much whatever else you can dream up is worth inquiring about.

Magic potions - These potions last for no more than 24 hours unless otherwise noted. The following potions are currently on display, with these labels attached: Hair change, genderswap, body swap, love potion, luck potion, night vision, weather in a bottle, fake an injury, invisibility potion, furry shit, daemon shit. What does all of this crap do, exactly? You'll be given instructions for use at the time of purchase, or you can try asking Aaravos for more information.

Lantern charms - These charms can be attached to your lantern to provide BENEFITS as well as DRAWBACKS. The following charms are currently on display, with these labels attached: Disguise, Energy Boost, Charmer. You'll be given instructions for use at the time of purchase, or you can try asking Aaravos for more information.

MICHELLE
Handcrafted paper contraptions - Michelle can craft nearly anything out of paper, and don't let the lightness fool you—she can make her paper sharp and solid as steel. As long as you keep it out of the water (or do something to protect it from water damage yourself), your one-of-a-kind paper contraption is built to last! (She'll accept the typical Night Market currencies, as well as payment in the form of books. Any book will do! She'll even provide something to help you if you chose to go on a mission to steal a book for her from the library. These library stealth missions can be handwaved while making purchases from Michelle; just let us know in the form below if you'd like to pursue this.)

DR. SCHICKSAL'S HINT-O-MATIC
AMA - Does your character have any burning questions they just need to have answered? Dr. Schicksal's Hint-O-Matic is a phonebooth-looking device with a screen prompting the user to input a question. When a question is asked, Dr. Schicksal's Hint-O-Matic will spout out an answer! Questions can be typed in via keypad or spoken aloud, and answers will be automatically read aloud for characters that can't read the screen. These answers are always true, no matter what the question, but this information comes at a cost—your character will be blessed with a random status effect for the remainder of the month. We will check permissions posts before issuing a status effect, so there's your hint for what to expect. 😃 And, yes, you can literally ask anything.
•••
Other than the vendors, the Night Market has brought with them the following attractions:
COFFEE CART - The coffee cart offers every variety of hot drink a person could fathom, and it's complimentary! A few small tables have been set up in front of the cart around an outdoor heater, glowing happily as it warms this little section of dock.

CANDY SHOP - Sweet treats offered at the candy shop are also free for the taking, but be careful—some treats carry with them a random status effect that will last for the next hour. The treats and resulting status effects are left entirely up to you players, so feel free to create your own hijinx! This is us trusting you not to break the game, so don't abuse this privilege, and feel free to ask us if you're unsure about limitations! Not all treats will produce an effect, but those that do will have no tells, meaning characters will not be able to strategize when eating the candy. (In meta terms: if you want your character to engage in wacky bullshit, but they're a party pooper and hate fun and wouldn't willingly indulge, this is your opportunity to trick them into shenanigans.)

CARNIVAL GAMES - The small section of carnival games includes ring toss, skeeball, balloon darts, a shooting gallery, a fishing game, a plinko game, and an RC racing game with toy vehicles. The rules are all somewhat nebulous, but feel free to play out your characters interacting with these games on your own! They're all free to play, and prizes include knitted forest spirit plushies, wind-up goldfish that float through the air, and buckets of those plastic spider rings and finger topper guys that cost like one ticket apiece at Swings-N-Things.

WHACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE MEN - They are also here, and they have a jukebox with them with an unfathomably large selection of songs. This area of the dock is probably meant for dancing.
•••
Finally, though you can trade with the various NPC vendors in this log, check out the new Night Market Purchases page for fast-tracked transactions.

QUICKNAV
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[Pluto can be found in the center of it all, splitting her time between manning her vendor booth and spouting orders to her crew. Her voice is soft but severe, commanding an air of authority as she rolls around in her wheelchair. She's not one to stay still for very long. Her lantern is fastened to the back of her chair.

Come chat with her, Beacon bits. She knows you have questions.]

[Beep boop beep! The machine is ready for your questions!]

[Michelle's booth is a fluttery, frivolous thing. It...it appears to be made out of paper? That can't be safe, probably, but she leans on it like it's solid wood, and waves over anyone who wanders close with a happy-go-lucky smile on her face. Her lantern, sitting on the booth, also appears to be made out of paper.]

Hello, dear!

[There's a celebratory feeling in the air, a break not necessarily in the melancholy, but perhaps in severity. In the grim, disquieting wake of the feast. The market draws attention from everyone, Bruce included- who has felt far from festive in the aftermath.

He has always tended towards privacy, has always kept to himself- but finding the pieces of Jim's lantern has left him more than bereft. The grief is not cold, the rage has not subsided, but they don't change anything either. He has an obligation to this place and the people in it, despite the terrible darkness he nurses.

Pale and drawn, Bruce makes his way through the market as quietly as he'd made his way through the town hall days prior. He watches the way merchants engage with one another, with potential buyers. He notices who takes orders and who gives them. And that's what brings him to the girl in the chair.]

It's hard to ask you about your wares, when you're so rarely at your booth.

[Eternally smiling, with what appear to be stars embedded in his skin, Aaravos looks like something more out of a dream than a person proper. One gets the sense that they're being tricked, somehow, by him, even when he's offering nothing more than a straightforward deal. But he does have such interesting wares . . .

Maybe you want to make a deal.]

[Rosinante sure does have questions. The market is a lot of fun, but he's seen these sorts of things double as distractions plenty of times, so much of the time he keeps to the outskirts, seemingly browsing shops while generally keeping an eye on things and listening to the chatter of the crowd and small crew. He's even done his makeup for the occasion - purple lipstick, a blue and white snowflake painted below one eye. Festive.

But he's not just appearing to enjoy the market (and occasionally actually enjoying it), he's looking for their captain, who he eventually spots, and offers a wave in greeting toward as he makes his way closer. Hm. Hopefully it doesn't seem condescending to her that he squats down onto his ankles but shouting at her from above doesn't seem fair or pleasant for either of them.]

Hey. Pluto, right? I was pointed your direction. I'm Rosinante. Nice to meet you. How long have you and your crew been doing this?

[yeah, keith's getting kind of a weird vibe from this guy, but this is also an opportunity to learn more about the world beyond beacon, so he's not gonna be easily deterred from looking around. but sometimes you stumble across something labelled "furry shit" and you wind up with questions you're not sure you want answers to.]

Okay. So what is this?

This is actually one of the most interesting things the Soldier's seen yet. Which is maybe a weird thing to say given they've seen rock spirits and dragon-people and people actually being nice to them, but dammit, they like folding paper. It's peaceful. So they show up late-ish in the first day with a pair of very carefully made origami animals, a bird and a lion, and set them gently on the edge of her booth.

It's nothing like what she can make, obviously, but it's still a little gift to show... they don't know, solidarity, maybe. That they think her skill is pretty damn cool. Something like that.

Why not buy it and find out?

[His voice is low. Weirdly low. Too low, good lord.]

The effects won't last too long. And isn't adventure the spice of life?

[:)]

[what's all this then? Cao Pi drifts among the market alone, boggling at some weird things and looking more closely at others. Nothing here actually catches his eye at all, though he is somewhat curious as to whether the "ask anything" machine really does mean anything because boy howdy that would be just way too convenient at this present time. He'll think about it.]

A

...what in the hell is that?

[something he finds himself saying more than once: at the carnival games, the potions, the healing gun, and most definitely at the wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube guys. Also choose to hear him say it derisively at the prize you just won or the charm you just bought.]

B

It could be worse.

[mainly said while cozying up to the heater with a hot cup of tea cradled in his hands. Now this is tea. Good, solid, homebrew tea. Mmm. Look, he's still trying to find good quality warm clothing, he's going to take every moment he can get. Maybe someone should poke him and ask him why he's not getting clothes from Pluto. One thing's for sure, he's not talking directly to the vendors, only to his fellow townspeople. Come up and show him something cool, you might get 'it could be worse' instead of a scoff!]

Well isn't that just darling? What a lovely gift!

[Michelle clasps her hands together as she eyes the little animals with gleaming eyes.]

My little sister, Maggie, she'd just adore these. You know, she's so talented, she can make paper animals come to life! That's a bit out of my own skill set. But here, have this as a token of my appreciation!

[She waves her hand, and a few pieces of paper lift themselves off the table, twisting themselves into a three-dimensional star.]

I. Set-up helper?

The Soldier keeps odd hours, given they sleep twice a day for only about three or four hours at a time. (It works for them, okay. It makes them feel marginally less vulnerable and also lessens the likelihood of nightmares a little bit.) So they're on patrol when the submarines show up, and they get to watch with intent fascination as the little fair and market stalls slowly form up.

They're standing at the edge of the actual permanent dock, and now and then make an attempt ask one or another of the merchants, "Can I help? I can carry that for you."

II. Games for the win

Carnival games are really not meant for people with enhanced reflexes, intensive sniper training, and a whole hell of a lot of patience. The Soldier breezes through the ring toss, skeeball, darts, and shooting gallery games with next to no effort. It's almost not even fun-- almost not even fun. Because winning is still kind of fun, even if they have no real use for any of the prizes. Playing with those weird alien things on their fingers makes it a tiny bit more of a challenge, too, but only a tiny bit.

They ask whoever happens to be walking by, "Want a prize?" Each child in their acquaintance absolutely gets one (or two, or three) of the stuffed forest spirits.

III. A few of their favorite things

The Soldier is trying every single kind of coffee at this little stand. Every. Single. One. And while they happily sip, they hover next to the jukebox by the dance floor with their tablet in their metal hand (for steadiness), recording every song they can, even the ones that wind up with random snippets of conversation from people around them, or the sounds of people dancing.

It makes their brain buzz a little, all this music. (And no, it's probably not the caffeine.) It's buzzing in a good way, like there's something dancing around in the back corners, like a memory that maybe isn't horrible for once but isn't quite ready to show itself. It gets worse (better?) the older the music is, like maybe they've heard something like that before.

Someone try to drag the Soldier out on the floor. We dare you.

You didn't have to... but thank you.

[They watch with fascination, trying to follow the folding process, but it's happening too quickly.]

How do you do that.

[They don't even care about the whole... floating magic thing. Just teach them new shapes to fold paper into, Michelle?]

[/squint]

Don't really make a habit of buying things when I don't know what they do. How long is "not too long" anyway? I've known people who'd argue a deca-phoeb is just a blink of an eye.

I'm a bibliophile!

[That's really not a good answer. Blushing, Michelle laughs.]

Well, I'm also a paper master. It just comes naturally. I can do just about anything with paper, though my sisters and I all have our different specialties.

Hmm . . . forty-eight hours. Perhaps a little less, perhaps a little more, depending on how much you consume.

What does being a paper master mean. Is that the floaty part?

[They do accept the star from the air, though, holding it carefully in the flesh hand, so as to be less likely to crush it on accident. If that's even possible. It's beautiful. They kind of want to take it apart and try to recreate it, but that would both be rude and probably wind up making it look a lot less beautiful.]

Noted. [a beat.] Do I want to know why you're even making potions to make people grow fur?

[surely that's what furry shit is right.]

Being a paper master, is, well...

[She's never had to explain it before. Michelle looks a little bewildered at herself as she tries to give a decent enough answer.]

It means I have mastery over paper. I can control it, shape it, and completely manipulate its properties. I've always been able to do it, so I'm not really sure what else to say...

[He chuckles at that, amused.]

Of course that's what you believe it is.

[He gestures lazily with his left hand. A figure all made of smoke appears: Keith himself, and oh, look at that: he's got dog ears. That's cute.]

As for why . . . surely you can imagine.

Edited 2019-12-13 03:29 (UTC)

Some kind of fish, I guess.

[Up here in the clouds, Rosinante's eyes track the goldfish as it circumnavigates the space around his head. He's not quite full on grinning, with his current wintry look of purple lipstick and painted snowflake cheek patterns, but that's one dumb smile he's got going on. Yes, eventually even he was charmed by some of the cute things here - actually no it was easy, even if he's primarily still here to keep an eye on things and try to creep on any information gained by others.]

Won it at the shooting gallery. Wasn't that hard. Have you tried it yet?

I. Food, all the food!

This is great. All the sweets he can eat, and actual fucking Raksuran tea. Stone lingers a lot by the candy cart, even after he learns (by self-discovery) that the candy does weird-ass shit. Doesn't stop him from trying to taste every kind, even if it turns his speech into visible word bubbles over his head, turns his eyes green, and gives him the hiccups.

Stone has never had hiccups before. That's the weirdest one.

Come chat with him to find out what strange thing happens from the candy, this time, or for him to press tea from his homeworld on you. Try it, it's good! Kind of sharp and musty at the same time, but still recognizably tea.

II. Carnival games are weird

The games baffle Stone, though he dutifully tries each one. "These guns are terrible, they're impossible to aim," he complains at the shooting gallery. "Can't we just walk up and drop the rings over?" he asks at the ring toss, possibly because he is very bad at it. "I could pop that a lot more effectively with my teeth," he grumps at the balloon popping game, though when he tries he finds out he's actually pretty good at that one-- as long as he stands far enough back to actually see where he's tossing the dart at. "We're supposed to use a pole? Why can't we just use our hands? That's the smarter way to fish," he comments at the fishing pool.

If Matt and Eliot hear that last comment, feel free to wince.

[yeah uh about that, Rosinante...

Cao Pi is the eternal straight man, deadpanning at the literal flying fish]

I have not. Despite my...passing familiarity with guns, I have never actually handled one. [which has him quickly raising a stern finger] No, today is not the day to start.

So it's magic.

[It's okay, Michelle, that makes it clear enuogh. The Soldier nods thoughtfully, though with some disappointment. They guess from that explanation:]

So you can't show me how to make anything like this.

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EVENT LOG: PLEADER

VENDORS

PLUTO

DR. SCHICKSAL'S HINT-O-MATIC

MICHELLE

your honor i'd like to go on record as already full of dread and regret

AARAVOS

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Cao Pi | open

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