INTRO LOG: JANUARY

[inthenightmods]

INTRO LOG: JANUARY
ALLES NEU

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor, as well as the rest of town.
date/time: january 1-3.
content: beacon's newest batch of residents arrives on the ferry. the forest spirits engage in some new year's shenanigans.
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.

•••

A small crowd of forest spirits have shown up at the harbor to welcome the newcomers and to ring in the new year! They are very excited to promote and partake in the following traditions:

• Making lots of noise! Forest spirits are passing out a variety of noisemakers of all shapes and sizes with which to create a lively ruckus. Happy year!!!


• Setting off fireworks! Sort of! More like firecrackers, sparklers, and bottle rockets, but close enough, right? None of them cast light, but they're still pretty glowy things.


• Hanging bunches of onions from doorways! And also trees! And fences! And people! Hanging onions on everything! The more onions the better! Where did they get all of these onions!


• Smashing stuff! Specifically, the forest spirits are yeeting whole-ass pomegranates into doors and smashing every plate they can get their hands on before sweeping the debris into a pile. In fact, the forest spirits seem to be having small contests to see who can amass the largest pile of broken kitchenware. Hide your fruits and fine china, Beacon bits, because the spirits have a loose definition of "pomegranate" and "plate".


• Banging loaves of bread against walls! Maybe the tradition doesn't call for actual destruction or maybe it's just hard to smash a loaf of bread, but forest spirits are definitely running through town whapping hunks of bread on anything (and anyone) they run into. Some of the loaves even have coins and... acorns? Inside? Sure. All the better to bruise you with.


• Tossing flowers into the lake! They're all white flowers... mostly? Flowers are tough to come by this time of year, so it's more like white "anything that looks like a flower"s that are getting hucked into the water.


• Ringing bells! A couple of forest spirits have been tasked with scurrying up into the rafters of the church and town hall's clock tower, ringing the bells madly. Problem is, the spirits are trying to count and coordinate how many bell chimes peel through the town, but counting is hard and so is coordinating across a distance. So, uh, the bells are just kind of going hog wild for the day.


• Melting lead! One forest spirit covered in fur with a long tongue lolling out from their mask seems to be in charge of a lead-melting booth, where lantern-havers can melt bits of lead over a torch borrowed from the bonfire. The molten lead is then dropped into the lake and fished out with the spirits long, long tongue, after which they'll examine the lead's shape and hoot... something at whoever's dropped it in. A fortune for the new year? Tough to say. Even the other forest spirits don't seen to be able to understand this tonguey gent.


• Drinking burnt stuff! Be prepared for a forest spirit to run up and shove a scrap of paper and a glass of something bubbly into your hands. The idea, after some miming from the forest spirit, seems to be to write a wish or resolution onto the piece of paper, burn it in a bonfire torch, and mix the ashes with the glass of... something. Maybe you got lucky and it's champagne, but there's no telling what's in that glass. Bottoms up, though. You have to drink your wish to make it come true!


• Burning stuff! The forest spirits are making cute little dolls of each other and other folks in town! How cute! Less cute is that these cute little effigies are getting chucked right into the bonfire and swallowed up by the flames. Rastus is moderately distressed by this development, though he won't stop you from making your own effigies to burn.

By the end of the week, the forest spirits will have cleaned up their festivities, but for now, eh, get in the spirit of the holiday. It's a new year, after all.

Luckily for all the newcomers who may find themselves horribly confused by this welcome committee, their tablets 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! We're super jazzed to kick off the new year with a fresh crop of new players and characters.

For these New Year's festivities, you're all welcome to play out your own forest spirit interactions! NPC away, my dudes.

Go ahead and introduce yourselves on the OOC intro, and as you settle in, we'd like to ease everyone's minds with a little spoiler: More housing will be unlocked soon! A location discovery announcement will go up in the next week or so, whenever that exploration wraps up, and a whole crop of new housing options will then be made available. In the meantime, don't stress about finding lodging for your character. So long as everyone's settled by the end of the month, we're good to go!

DELIVERIES

The following packages can be found in the cargo hold:

• The monthly store restock
  
• For Midge: A menorah, a seder plate, a mezuzah, and a siddur
  
• For Rosalind: A dozen elegant eyepatches and the equipment necessary for her to construct her Lutece device
  
• For Hux: Equipment and tools to create mouse droids
  
• For Aziraphale: A fountain pen and two bottles of blue ink
  
• For Maes: A large crate full of collapsible cots and sleeping blankets, and an additional crate of various bedding and pillows
  
• For Crowley: A book of prophecies from home, a bottle of white wine, a box of various sizes of PVC tubing, a water pump, the goods, and a variety pack of seeds
  
• For Bucky: Bucky's armored vest from home
  
• For Daylight: A dozen packets of Soldiers' Kisses seeds
  
• For Rosinante: Two newspapers from Rosinante's home published in the months after his death, three bottles of nail polish (red, green, and pink), four cartons of cigarettes, and a crate full of various winter equipment
  
• For Peter: Webware
  
• For Rhys: A froyo machine
  
• For Kol: Kol's daylight ring from home
  
• For Elektra: A make-up case with a full set of make-up, six sets of good quality clothing (three for men and three for women), two bottles of fresh honey, three bags of coffee, and a Braille Bible (which comes in the form of seven very thick volumes)
  
• For Scully: A poster, three sets of medical scrubs, two sets of silk pajamas, and a bag with enough medical supplies to treat 5 major injuries or 10 minor injuries
  
• For Matt: An orchid-scented perfume, twin sai, a bottle of fancy tequila, three classic rock records, and a record player
  
• For Ignis: A violin, two dozen containers of various spices, a dozen skeins of knitting wool, and a dozen spools of colorful thread
  
• For Javert: A dozen outfits comprised of all 19th century clothing and a crate full of bedding materials

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

QUICKNAV
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pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

@riku; text

[equinoctials]

[ It's a new username. Not that Riku is the most attentive to the network, or has the user list memorized, but he thought a handle like D.Va would stick out more. Given the timing, the nature of the questions, that leaves little doubt. This is a newcomer.

In search of crutches, which means a sprain at best, a break at worst (no, a break isn't the worst, come to think of it). ]

First things first. Let's do something about your injury.
What happened? Where are you? Are you still at the ferry?

[bunny_suit]

I was helped off of the ferry thankfully, so I'm just at the Invincible right now.

[Sora's at least healed the pain a bit, but it didn't fix the broken bones. She'd like to deal with that somehow.]

[equinoctials]

That's good. At least you're somewhere warm.

[ The frigid cold doesn't agree with his islander blood, he can only imagine how it feels to someone with bad injuries, newly arrived. ]

Tell me more about your injury. Is there more than one? Is anything broken?

[bunny_suit]

[Doesn't help that she's not really wearing clothing meant for the winter time. Her bodysuit did keep her warm a bit, but good material could only help so much.]

Well, my left leg is more than likely broken. It just happened before ending up on the Ferry. I'm no doctor, but my arm is probably broken. Maybe more focused by my wrist? Other than that, just a few aches and bruises, but those I'm not too worried about.

[More like her ability to walk okay and a functioning arm. She can deal with knee and wrist pain when it wasn't like a broken bone.]

[equinoctials]

[ Neither was he, at first. A lucky find in the General Store and some help getting it fitted and reinforced by a few magicians really put him on the right foot. That bodes well for others coming in. There's bound to be someone able to help them stay warm. ]

Got it.
I'll head to the Invincible in half an hour.
Hold tight. Anything that'll help me pick you outta a crowd?

[bunny_suit]

[Oh. Possibly a way to help her injuries? She's all in for that. In the meantime she can read a bit more of the archives and information that the tablet had. Maybe find some games? Not likely, but worth a shot.]

Something that stands out... I suppose my outfit. It's blue/purple, pink, and white and I have my headset on. That should be pretty noticeable.

[Especially looking around the room now... She definitely stands out.]

[equinoctials]

[ Sounds colorful. Should stand out, between the light of the lanterns, and any candles lit by the bonfire around the Invincible. Riku's familiar with the setting, it's been home to many a meeting, many a celebration. Friendships get forged here.

Carrying a satchel over one shoulder, a young man makes his way through the Invincible's main room. He's dressed in jeans, dark boots, dark gloves, a gray pullover hoodie under a black leather bomber jacket. The knitted blue scarf around his throat is the only splash of color. His silver hair's been pulled back into a low tail, tucked into his collar. ]

...Must be you.

[ In spite of his stony expression, Riku silently swallows.

Oh no. She's pretty. ]

[bunny_suit]

[It's a shame she didn't have her make up on her. Can't do her signature triangles on her cheeks, but maybe another day. She didn't assume that working on her mech would lead to saving Busan (hopefully) and dying for it. Life was funny that way. What he will see is her hair still -- miraculously somehow -- in a bun albeit a bit messy now and maybe soot and grease if the water didn't wash that off of her already.]

Ah, you're... Riku?

[She's currently just flipping through the tablet, but put it down as soon as he heard his voice. She's found a makeshift crutch for the time being, but it's not ideal. She'll have to find something better when she gets a chance. Taking a sip of her coffee for a moment.... Well, it wasn't Mt. Dew, but it was caffeine at the very least.]

I guess I should Introduce myself. My name is Hana. [She wasn't sure if people used surnames or not here. If this was the afterlife, the same customs might not hold any water here.]

[equinoctials]

[ That's the really weird thing? He grew up with the prettiest girl he'd ever known, she's played with him and Sora when they were all kids, he's seen her run up to them with dirt on her knees and bits of tropical leaves caught in her hair; disheveled or otherwise, that didn't really take away from the fact that Kairi was always radiant.

The short version: the soot and grease no makeup look works. This is embarrassing. He's embarrassing. ]

Yeah. Hi.

[ He catches himself nearly repeating I'm Riku and it's all he can do not to grimace. Sliding his bag off his shoulder and pulling off his scarf, his gloves, stuffing these inside next to the other stuff within it, Riku reminds himself that he's here to do something. If she cares to look, the bag is full of things like rolls of gauze, cotton padding, and flat sticks. ]

...You're pretty calm, considering your injuries.

[ Through his now overgrown pale fringe, Riku cuts a glance towards her coffee. So that arm isn't the one that's hurt. His bag occupies the other chair. As he starts to shrug out of his jacket, he adds: ]

I'm gonna check your arm. See if it's a break or something wrong with your wrist. Tell me if it hurts.

Did this just happen?

[bunny_suit]

[Despite having broken bones and a few bruises all around, she's trying not to think about Busan. At least his introduction thus far has made her chuckle lightly.]

Well, it's more like feeling numb than anything.

[Was she hurt? Obviously. Did she care about that right now? Not really beyond having to deal with it. If nothing, she couldn't stop thinking about Busan and the Gwishin. She didn't want to think about it otherwise she might have broken down in front of a stranger who was here to help her. That would be pretty awkward and she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. No one needed to hear her wallow in grief.]

Okay. Right before waking up on the ferry, I overloaded the reactor core of my mech to try to stop a threat, so it must have happened then. [So yes. Basically recently.]

[equinoctials]

Your mech? [ Either RIku's from a world where such things are commonplace enough to not be shocked or confused, or... well, in this case, truth is stranger than fiction. ]

So you're a pilot? Or a fighter...

[ The story's familiar. Month after month, one ferry after another deposits another assortment of newcomers. Their stories could be similar, a struggle, a tragic accident, and then they were here.

Riku discovers the mobility in her wrist is limited, but not because of any medical knowledge, just the first-hand experience of having an untreated broken wrist. Taking her hand in his, the other reaching for the bend of her elbow, until that hand follows the line of her forearm, keeping it aligned just so. ]

Think you can hold still like this for a minute?

[bunny_suit]

A little bit of both. Where I'm from, we have a race we call the Omnics. They're basically artificially intelligent robots who can think and act for themselves. There was once an Omnic Uprising where they wanted to gain their freedom and rights, but it ended in a lot of bloodshed. I wasn't alive then, but this seems to be a second coming in the making. Gwishin have been showing up threatening to kill millions of lives.

I belong to a part of the military that uses mechs to defend those lives, but prior to this fight, my friends had been put of commission. I was the only one who could still fight.

[At least she doesn't seem as beat up by this, but it's obvious that it's worrying her. Upon his request, she nodded and followed his request.]

I had to give up Tokki in hopes that I could save everyone but I.... I don't know what came of that. [She drowned before she could be sure.]

[equinoctials]

[ Like everyone, Hana has a story. That's one of the things that appeals to Riku about when he used to travel to other worlds - the more things seem different, the more some other things just happen to stay the same.

War doesn't change. So too the heart and its capacity to risk itself to protect others.

He thoughtfully glances away, taking in the rest of the room, who might be here at the Invincible, how distracted they might seem. Gauging that he can probably manage this without anyone spying the large key-like blade that manifests in his hand, flanked by his own body, covered by the table, he keeps it pointed low. ]

Heal.

[ There's a shimmer, a kind of lightless glow, verdant green and sunshine yellow over their heads. It looks a little like a blossoming flower, releasing a drop that lands towards her arm.

Warmth - even an itch of mending bone - might just be what she feels next if he wasn't off the mark. He looks like he's about to ask something, but first things first: Curaga isn't something he throws around all the time, and those few times he did definitely warranted a reply. ]

[bunny_suit]

[Death seems to have that kind of affect on people, it seems. He may be trying to hide a giant key that appeared out of no where from everyone else, but it's hard for her to miss it. It's curious. What exactly was it? A giant key? But it seemed to have other purposes.... and it seemed to heal her up. Was it some sort of weapon?

She wasn't going to comment on it in an area like this if he didn't want others to be aware of what he did, but that didn't mean she didn't have to stay silent.]

Thank you... [For healing her... Helping with something for her arm and leg...] for your help. I appreciate it.

[equinoctials]

[ Sure is a giant car key. Besides looking like it could really hurt if swung hard enough at someone, it serves to channel things like that magical healing that just descended on her arm. He feels the pressure behind his temples, the prickle of magic raising the little hairs on the back of his neck and dutifully dismisses the weapon in favor of reaching for the stuff in his bag.

Problems with his own wrist have made him more than a little capable at a good wrist brace. His bright eyes cut to her beneath his silver fringe at her words, his answer, at first, is a small exhale.

He's a little embarrassed. ]

I'm more surprised it worked. Not everyone's been so lucky.

[ He says, winding gauze as he builds the splint around her wrist and arm, trying to will away the memory of the Lighthouse. Five was taken from them so soon. So many of them died that night and never returned. ]

[bunny_suit]

[She has a lot of questions about his abilities; mostly out of curiosity. Maybe another time.]

Well, I'm glad then. I'm not a healer but uh... when I recover, just let me know if you ever need help with anything.

[equinoctials]

[ With luck, she'll have time.

I'm not a healer, she says, and Riku snorts softly like she made a joke. ]

That makes two of us. [ A curative spell does not a healer make. ] Thanks.

[ He continues to work in silence, until he's finally securing the loose end of the splint's bindings with a few metal clips. ]

There's lessons on this stuff each week. Take some of those and call us even. Are you ready for me to check the rest?

[ Her leg, Riku means, skirting around it like there's a reason to be embarrassed - somehow it's the awareness that he's being kind of dumb about this, when he's been burned and struck by Thunder, he's been knocked down and nearly killed so many times, he's no stranger to injury but this gives him pause? ]

[bunny_suit]

I pilot mechs to defend cities from harm. I'm the probably the person they get sick of seeing.

[Especially considering how stubborn she gets, but she's not against making jokes at her own expense.]

Oh really? That would be good to check it then. [Nodding while looking to the splint for a moment and back.] Yeah, thanks.

[If it helps him, she's still fully covered in her bodysuit that she wears when piloting. Maybe it doesn't.]

[equinoctials]

[ Her statement draws Riku's teal gaze. He doesn't counter that, doesn't try to meet it with any of his own experiences. There's so much that she offers in her own, divulged history. An expertise that lends itself easily to the defense of everyone else, she answered the call and was never found wanting, in Riku's translation.

Only the most selfless need the greatest attention from healers, anyone less talented dies soonest in a conflict. That's too much understanding for people their age, but ever has war been a battleground for the young. ]

No. I'm sure they're grateful for a protector.

[ Riku is more sure they miss their protector, when selfless heroes are rare no matter the universe. He cuts his gaze away in a few directions, inhaling through his nose before he takes a knee, ducking under the table and dragging his bag with him. Her bodysuit is mostly a second layer of skin and little else, it... doesn't make this easier, when she has her crap together, is beautiful and is used to attention.

Riku is none of these. He runs a hand down her shin, shutting his eyes tightly in concentration. ]

Where's it hurt? Do you know where the break was?

[bunny_suit]

[To her, it's a simple fact of what she did, so she hardly found it to be too private to share. But if she's being honest, she does get moments that she wishes she could travel. To leave Busan for a trip or vacation. She was practically married to her job due to the high importance of it and MEKA forbade them from leaving the city for personal reasons as a result. She always had to be content with videos or reading Mei's blog.

She was silent for a moment, thinking about his comment. Letting out a somewhat gloomy sigh before dropping the expression all together.]

They're.... depending on me.

[Which speaks volumes of how she really feels right now, but she's trying not to think about it.]

I'm not sure where exactly, but I'd guess about here. [Reaching cautiously to lower to her knee.]

[equinoctials]

[ Getting away for a while. They could have a sprawling conversation about things like that. But another time, when and if they stumble on common and uncommon ground, whenever Riku begins that delicate process of opening up.

He's been like this for ages, and events here haven't helped at all.

She sighs and that draws his gaze. They're depending on me, she says, and Riku can feel the weight of that sense of responsibility. Here, they're all dead, and still she carries that duty. As she indicates where she thinks the break is, he nods. Riku isn't a praying sort, but he hopes this helps. ]

Okay. Knee's trickier.

[ Riku waits without doing anything, and after a moment, he glances at her, realizing: ]

Uh, sorry. I gotta-- [ Wait, how's he gonna explain this? ] -recharge. [ nailed... it? ]

[bunny_suit]

[Maybe it would be a less depressing topic to focus on later as well? Either way, definitely can be a thing if he ever wanted to talk about it. For now, she's just grateful to have his help. You'll have to excuse her. That gets a genuine laugh out of her. It was such a strange phrase to use, but when it came down to some sort of magic, she can see it.]

I understand. Cooldowns are a bitch.

[Gamer jokes are probably going to just lose him, but this has been the the first time she's laughed at all since getting here; Small baby steps.]

[equinoctials]

[ Beacon gets less depressing?

Okay, so one's mileage may vary. His experience has been a whole steaming pile of awful with some serendipitous good parts mixed in. Problem is, his friends keep dying on him. Sort of sucks when your whole thing is protecting the people important to you.

Ok, but seriously, she mentions cooldowns and Riku, it's anyone's guess what he thinks she's referencing, because he reels back, balking. ]

Wh-What? It's not like that at all!

[bunny_suit]

[She'll probably come across that soon enough in time.

His reaction just makes her grin.]

Those are things that get you killed in a game.

[She's still going with it, but she at least has more context with her jokes.]

[equinoctials]

[ Hopefully she doesn't????

Killed in a game? Riku's expression can't decide if he's confused or embarrassed, so he smothers both sentiments, turning his head away with a conspicuous clearing of his throat. ]

None of this is a game.

[ That's Riku, casually ruining the mood. She's just kidding, guy, chill. ]