INTRO LOG: FEBRUARY

[inthenightmods]

INTRO LOG: FEBRUARY
GRAVEYARD WHISTLING

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor, as well as the rest of town.
date/time: february 1-3.
content: beacon's newest batch of residents arrives on the ferry. rastus gathers the town for a debriefing meeting.
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.

•••

On February 3, after the newcomers have had a chance to settle in, everyone's tablets will ping with a message from @rastus!

Come tob onfier squae.Pl eaas , we wikll disucss our orogress sincereeluy rastuaas I am th ebonfire keeeeeeepr.

...Followed by another message a few minutes later, this time from @keeper

Omg will everyone head down to Bonfire Square for Rastus' town meeting please? He wants to recap what you've all learned so far!!!

And can someone please teach him that he can record an audio message and then send it to everyone instead of looping the whole dang town in on a group text?? 😂😂😂😂

Assuming you do indeed head down to Bonfire Square after all that, what you'll find is this: a series of benches and tables have been set up surrounding the bonfire, and there's enough seating for all of Beacon's residents. As people take their seats near the fire, the barkeeper forest spirits from the Invincible toddle through the crowd with trays of hot chocolate and warm cider, along with a sampler tray of acorns and pinecones, if that's your thing.

Once everyone's here and settled, sipping on hot drinks and maybe busting a tooth on an acorn, Rastus hobbles forward to address the crowd:

"Crrk. Hello. I am Rastus. I tend to the bonfire. I have tended to the bonfire, mrawk, for years and years. You are doing, rmmm, well. Good."

He nods to emphasize the point. Yes, you are doing good.

"Talk. To each other. Share what you have learned. Yes. Crarrk. It is important."

He nods again, and then... shuffles back over to his post near the bonfire, waiting for anyone who might come by with an interest in torches. Seems it's up to you all to get each other up to speed?

Luckily for all the newcomers who may find themselves confused by their sudden arrival here, 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 thrilled to welcome so many new faces into the community, and you've come at a great time! Alongside this intro log, we have our very first cat herd, which is essentially a recap of the plot thus far, as well as a rundown on a ton of great info to help get you started in the game.

But don't feel like you have to read it all right this second! ICly, Rastus will call everyone together for the town meeting on February 3 to give new characters (and players) a chance to get their bearings before smacking them in the face with all the plot. This log will cover both the ferry arrival and the cat herd meeting, so feel free to bounce around in time in your toplevels.

Remember, too, that all of the plot info available in the cat herd can now be considered common knowledge! Newbies and oldbies alike, feel free to assume that your character learns as much of that plot info as you like at this meeting, regardless of whether or not you thread it out.

And of course, go ahead and introduce yourselves on the OOC intro, as well!

DELIVERIES

The following packages can be found in the cargo hold:

• The monthly store restock
  
• For Sora: A gameboy(?), 3 CPR/AED kits, a dozen CPR/first aid training manuals, two packages of capiz shells, a set of candy molds, a caldero, and 3 gameboy games: 3-D World Runner, Decapathon VII, and Sheep It Up!
  
• For Crowley: A variety of clockwork equipment, a large clock face, and the goods
  
• For Jason G: 2 bulletin boards with materials for mounting, 3 packs of pushpins
  
• For Lucius: A manual sewing machine
  
• For Castiel: A dozen flasks of holy oil and a pillowcase-sized satchel of various natural spell components
  
• For Duster: A double bass, complete with a case
  
• For Prompto: A polaroid camera with enough film for 50 photos and a folding sword, which is cruder than the example he gave but roughly the same size
  
• For Aziraphale: A large crate of snowshoes, jackets, and coats in various sizes, a bottle of wine, and a bouquet of red, white, and pink roses tied together with an elegant bow
  
• For Javert: A large crate of various fencing gear and 3 fencing handbooks

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

sam winchester | supernatural

[helled]

❚❚❚❚❚ arrival.

[ Sam scrubs his face. He's still feeling a little groggy, very nearly nauseous, actually, on account of the mild seasickness and confusion of what had happened to him before waking up in a small bed in a small room on a ship.

He remembers flashes of blood and pain and somewhere in there, Lucifer's smug smile above him; he remembers choking on his own blood and the sharp scratch of fingernails digging themselves into his arms, his chest, his neck, everywhere — vampires fighting other vampires to satiate their unending hunger.

He remembers thinking, This is it? This is how I go?

He remembers Dean. Mom. Cas. Jack.

And then that's it.

When he follows the rest of the passengers, he's got his backpack slung over one shoulder. He stuffs the tablet into the front pocket without another thought and hangs onto the lantern. In his other hand is a knife, half-hidden under the cuff of his sleeve - just in case. He'd decided to go with the demon blade for all-around use but he hopes to god he doesn't have to use it. Thing is, when you wake up in a strange land with no cues and no context, you're gonna be a little on edge. You're gonna want what little protection you can provide yourself in case something that goes bump-in-the-night decides it wants to kill you. It's the Winchester Way.

Except ... he's already supposed to be dead. Isn't he?

There's a haunting kind of song that comes over the speakers, slow and sad, and nothing like one of Dean's classic rock anthems. It hits him like a punch in the gut; wherever he is, he needs to find his way back to his brother.

To the nearest person — you — passing by him as he steps onto solid ground (the smallest of blessings in this bizarre nightmare), he clears his throat, raises his voice to say: ]

Hey — hey, you got any idea where we've docked?

[ Time to get to work and get out of here. ]


❚❚❚❚❚ town meeting at bonfire square.

[ It is with some hesitation that Sam eventually decides to heed the tablet's advice and head to Bonfire Square, to the congregation of townsfolk around the fire.

He doesn't take a seat, choosing instead to hang back behind the rows of benches and tables. He's still dressed in the same clothes he'd had on when he arrived — namely flannel and denim — and keeps his arms crossed over his chest as he listens to the creature introduce himself, advising them to ... talk to each other. There are still patches of dried blood soaked into the partially torn fabric of his shirt, and his wounds, while mostly healed, look a little bit raw. But otherwise he's got a serious expression on his face — thoughtful, even.

See, he still can't quite help feeling like he should be interrogating this creature for information instead; hunting it, even.

He also still isn't sure this whole thing isn't some elaborate mindfuck on his way from the land of the living to ... well, wherever the hell he's supposed to go when he'd died in an alternate world, far from his own world's versions of Heaven or Hell.

You might notice him hanging back when he could be taking a seat. You might also notice that he'd deliberately refused any of the food and drink here until he has a better idea of what's going on. ]


❚❚❚❚❚ wildcard.

[ ooc: here for all your off-brand prompts! if you'd like to do something outside of these prompts come at me bros! i'm around for plotting over plurk (thwip) or discord (spidey#2716)! ]

arrival

[callada]

[After what happened last month, Rosinante has a lot of apologies he wants to say to people. A lot of regret in general for things he had no control over. Thankfully, the lanterns make a good scapegoat, and he'll even be able to claim he didn't understand where it all came from; all that hatred, all that vile cruelty, was some twisted thing he has no familiarity with, and that he barely remembers it anyway.

He remembers it all. But it's easier to lie, just like he always has. It's for his own survival.

Lost in thought, he's autopiloting toward the ferry to help unload as he does every month when he nearly passes by someone on the pier who has called out to him. He shouldn't be so oblivious. This place has gotten to him, hasn't it? He pauses, and looks over his shoulder and downward toward the new fellow.]

This is Beacon. Welcome to your new home, I suppose.

[helled]

Beacon? Beacon, where? [ New York? How the hell did he even get here, (mostly) unscathed and a little groggy, but ... conscious?

Is this still apocalypse!world or something else entirely? Where is his brother?

Sam Winchester is literally the human equivalent of math lady right now. ]

town meeting

[notthatjason]

[Jason tended to be more of an observer at these meetings, at least when Cao Pi hosted them, but it wasn't unheard of for him to speak up when he felt it was something he could contribute to. He felt like he'd been out of the loop lately on the information and investigation front of the goings on of the town.

Then again, he'd spent the past week or so as a minotaur and then in a funk of rage and anger. He wasn't actively avoiding those he'd yelled at, but the town meeting didn't seem the place to talk to them just yet. He would...soon.

In the meantime, he'd listen and think about what some of this stuff meant for them going forward. He was curious about some of the newer arrivals and at times, especially when the information was stuff he had already heard, he'd look around and see if anyone was familiar. So far nothing, though the guy refusing the food caught his attention.

After a few minutes Jason got up and moved over to him. He was older by at least a decade, if not more, but Jason had never shied away from adults.]

Taking precautions?

[helled]

[ Sam had been paying close enough attention to the strange looking creature explaining Beacon protocol, all feathers and brightly coloured ... clothing? Armour? Who the hell even knows ... when he notices the young man approaching.

Arms still crossed, he offers him raised eyebrows and a slight smile — after all, there's no need to be rude or anything. ]

You mean the food? I'm — not hungry.

[ Which isn't exactly saying 'I don't trust the food' but it is totally saying 'I don't trust the food'. ]

YEEHAW IT'S A WINCHESTER BROS REUNION

[cained]

( to say that this place makes dean uneasy would be an understatement, so he's already on edge when he arrives at the pier, because the answers he's managed to get from the resources available to him aren't exactly reassuring. not that he believes most of them, anyway. the afterlife? sure, pal, he's been to the afterlife, and this ain't it. it could be some sort of ... alternate universe masquerading as the afterlife or something else entirely. he hasn't decided which. might even be neither. regardless, he's not doing anything until he finds his brother. because if he's certain of anything, it's that sam is here. somewhere. and if he's not, then dean will just have to find a way out of this place, even if it means burning it to the ground on his way out.

thankfully, his brother is a giraffe, which means even in the limited light, it's not exactly hard to spot him amongst all the other wayward arrivals.

and now that he knows sam is here? all bets are off. this place has no idea what's coming to it by dragging the winchesters into its borders. they're a force to be reckoned with and there will be a reckoning. )

Sam! ( even if nothing else here is familiar, the roar of his name should be enough to catch sam's attention, though dean's voice sounds a little more raspy than usual, like he's been getting over a bad cough (or, you know, choked to death by his best friend). dean pushes past anyone in his way, in a desperate hurry to reach his brother. he drops his lantern once he reaches sam, all the better to pull sam by the shoulders into a fiercely protective embrace. the tightness that's been building steadily in his chest releases slightly knowing sam is here and, well, mostly alive. they've died and gone to heaven together before, but with all these other people around, dean has a pretty damn bad feeling they're not in kansas anymore.

when he pulls back from the hug, he holds sam at arm's length, just enough to inspect him, give him a brotherly once over to see if he's alright, everything in one piece. and, frankly, he looks like shit, which isn't ... unexpected, exactly, not in their line of work, but he didn't look like that the last time dean saw him. his brow creases in concern as he asks, ) What the hell happened to you?

fULL OF HUGS AND TEARS

[helled]

Dean. [ Sam's voice is partially muffled with the impact of the hug (his lantern also slips from his hand), but he wholeheartedly returns the embrace, gripping his brother as though his own life depended on it. Even after all these years, the sight of Dean is like that needed layer of reassurance that while everything else might be going to Hell in a handbasket, it could always be worse. Dean is Sam's hope.

That, and the last time he saw his brother, he was being dragged away, literally kicking and screaming, by a horde of blood-thirsty vampires in apocalypse!world. That memory won't be fading from his brain any time soon. It could have been the end for him.

No, it was the end of him — which makes waking up in this place all the more ... weird. Them-weird, even.

He swallows, brows creased into a frown. Confused, concerned, relieved; its a terrible cocktail of emotions. ] Vampires. [ He pulls back his torn collar where he'd been most savagely bit, the wound gone now, but the skin still remains a little raw from the wounds. ] I — I just remember them getting to me Dean, I couldn't do anything to stop them. We were looking for Jack and Mom. Did you find them? Are they okay? Are you okay?

[ On first, and even second glance, his brother looks to be okay. In one piece, stressed out, on alert, sure, but those are basic instincts of a hunter. ]

Town Meeting

[patriotnow]

If you are worried it is poisoned, don't bother.

[Ashford is sitting on the end of one of the back benches, but instead of focusing on the meeting, he's devoting a good portion of his attention to examining the newcomers. And that is how his attention came to fall on a lanky figure clearly trying to avoid attention.]

This place has more creative ways of killing us off.

[And he half smiles, finding that partly amusing. Partly inevitable.]

[helled]

You seem pretty okay with that.

[ Listen, Sam's not saying you shouldn't be accepting of an inevitability ... except that that's not at all his way of existing. You fight and you fight until you literally can't do it anymore, either because something offs you or — no, that's basically it, really. That's how it's always been.

He studies the older man carefully. ]

And do people get killed off here?

bonfire square

[evulsed]

[ He isn't the only person in this town to be hesitant, to linger around in the shadows. Vanitas has been here long enough to clock the behaviour as someone either incredibly nervous, or someone seasoned enough not to run like a fool headlong into the situation. This isn't really what draws Vanitas' eye, though. It isn't even entirely the fact that he's injured, the blood and torn clothing giving away the manner of his death.

It's something else, something deeper. A fissure of darkness that tickles Vanitas' awareness and draws his attention like a shark is drawn to blood in the water. ]

You could have found something better to wear. You're not exactly giving a great first impression.

[ Vanitas approach is abrupt. It's hard to tell if it's because he's naturally quiet, of if it's because he literally wasn't in this particular shadow a second ago, and suddenly now, is. He doesn't carry his lantern, it's dark cage and black flame are held by a creature at his ankle, matching the black he wears from throat to ankle. The brightest thing about him are his gleaming yellow eyes, and standing so close to this man, he has to tilt his head back to look him in the face. But what he lacks in height, he seems to make up for in the intensity of his gaze and the innate dark power that rolls off of him in waves. ]

im sorry

[helled]

[ There's a brief moment when Sam feels something stir within him, within the deepest, darkest recesses of his whatever's-left-of-his-soul, but it's very quickly replaced by his instincts as a hunter.

He'd have been stupid to leave his lodgings without a weapon, and while he isn't carrying one of his regular demon or angel blades, he's still got his switchblade and that's better than nothing. It's out now, sharp edge pointed towards the short ... boy? Creature? His eyes flick towards the smaller, flitting thing by his feet, then back to the one with the yellow eyes.

Damnit.

Those yellow eyes are way too goddamned familiar, striking up a whole history of pain and sacrifice and guilt, and he sure as hell doesn't trust them at all, especially in a place full of possible innocents. ]

Who are you?

[ With the way he's speaking, it sounds more like a demand and less like a question. ]

Azazel?

Arrival

[freetobe]

[ Solid ground might prove small blessings, but when it comes to divine intervention, Beacon has more in store for Sam. Castiel moves through the dark, flies onto the ferry and gathers the supplies he's ordered - holy oil and general spell casting materials. He's not... feeling particularly sociable, still getting used to being folded back inside his vessel, and originally has no intentions of interacting with anyone.

Except...

Well.

He watches, for a moment, just observes the figure. Sam Winchester is unmistakable. A soul Castiel would recognize anywhere, like stained glass with spiderweb cracks all over it, and a brilliant light fracturing through.

It's one of the last two souls Castiel wanted to see in this place, made worse by the fact that Sam is... older than he should be. Castiel sees them, the lines that are a little more pronounced, the years in Sam's eyes.

He doesn't approach. Instead, he beats his wings once, and appears right in front of Sam, right inside his personal space, with a rustle of feathers and the soft woosh of displaced air, eyes intensely blue. ]

Sam. Hello.

[helled]

[ It is to Sam's credit, maybe, that he doesn't yelp at the sudden and startling sight of his old friend. But he very nearly stabs him with the blade in hand, so that's ... probably not great. ] Christ! Cas — you can't just do —

[ Wait, wait —

He lets go of the blade and moves to pull the angel into a quick one-armed hug. ]

Cas.

arrival

[savingthrows]

[ Eleven looks up at him, possibly the tallest man she has ever seen, broad shoulders and serious face.

He has a knife.

He might have time to registert that she can't be older than 15, perhaps even somewhat younger. She wears a pea coat, beige and red, the hood pulled up, and it's obvious the hair underneath is cropped short [ ooc: See Venti Red here ]. Her face is serious, with wide brown eyes currently shining with open suspicion.

Eleven's hand comes up on instinct, and she doesn't push - she pulls. The knife, to be precise, with the intent to use her telekinetic powers to yank it right out of his hands, a frown settling firmly on her face. ]

Bad man.

[helled]

[ Great. They've got telepaths here. Or maybe it's witches. Demon possession? Sam can't quite tell which manner of the supernatural this child is yet, but it doesn't make him ease up on gripping his switchblade when it's the only weapon he's got (aside from his fists).

He won't use his knife on a child, that's not his policy, but if she's a monster — or worse, there's a demon using her body right now — that might be open to debate. ]

Listen — [ he starts ] — I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? Just let go of the knife.

arrival;

[punctually]

No idea.

[ peter's just as confused as sam is, though he's already got a box in hand to help unload the supplies from the ferry. it looks a little heavy, but he doesn't seem to be too bothered by it. ]

I'm helping to take these to the General Store, [ he nods to the crates stacked on the ferry. ] Thought I could take a look around town and see if we could get a clue on where we're at.

[ he pauses, and shrugs. ]

Or, you know, do you really know where you are in the afterlife? Maybe we're not actually anywhere.

[helled]

Better to know something — anything — than be kept in the dark.

[ And this guy's actually got a pretty good idea as far as getting started goes. Following the rest of these guys unloading the ship and carrying boxes into the town is definitely the easiest way of automatically blending in and getting a literal lay of the land. ]

You mind some company?

[ Sam bends over to grab a nearby box of supplies as well, readjusting the grip on his backpack as he does so. ]

town meeting

[withsadness]

[Generally speaking, Mary prefers not to get too close to the bonfire, even after so many months with Beacon being her home, so it doesn't take her long to run into the tall man standing around in the back. Coming right up to him, she tugs on the fabric of his shirt.]

What are you doing? Do you not like the fire, either? I don't like sitting down, either.

[helled]

[ Sam likes to think he's pretty good with kids most of the time. Sure, he doesn't spend a whole lot of time with them (opportunities kind of run dry when you spend most of your days on the road hunting monsters) but he likes them just fine, even if he might be a little ... well, awkward around them.

He'd expected to see a whole lot of folks like him, or at the very least, older than 16, but a child? An actual child in this place? It ... kind of makes him a little sad. ]

Uh — hi there. [ Sam realizes the dramatic height difference between them, and crouches down to the little girl's level. ] No, it's not exactly the fire I'm worried about. Are you here by yourself?

arrival

[fjorgedinfire]

[The man Sam turns to is... actually slightly shorter than him (that's a novel thought for Fjord) at an even six feet, in leather armour engraved with watery patterns, and holding a somewhat horrifying lantern.

He's also green, with a hint of tusk bulging under his bottom lip, and staring at Sam's outfit with confusion before he makes eye contact.]

If y'all think I've got any more answers right now than you do, you're shit outta luck.

[helled]

Fair enough, man.

[ The confusion, quite frankly, goes both ways. Sam likes to think he's seen pretty much all manner of creature, but someone with green skin and a possible tusk? Yeah, that's a first.

His eyes go to the green man's lantern, but he'd rather not let his stare linger there, nope. ]

You just get here too, then?

Town meeting;

[maisel]

[ Midge notices repeat outfits, but she thinks you'd have to be a bit dim not to notice the type of folks that walk around with partially torn fabric and blood like this guy. Not that Miriam is judging (though she is), it's just that even if bloody and torn clothes weren't something that would catch her eye, the fact that this man is apparently a goddamn tree sure would.

She misses Benjamin. ]

Do you think he likes cornbread? Birds like corn and bread, so why not cornbread?

[ She looks up at the other, and then back at the bird, hissing softly. ]

I don't wanna ask. I might insult the guy, y'know?

[ Congratulations, Sam, you've got the attention of a gal dressed to the nines in 1950s garb. ]

[helled]

[ Sam is startled out of his thoughts, only now noticing the well-dressed woman speaking to him. Cue Sam instantly feeling severely under-dressed and probably looking just this side of haggard. (He hasn't slept or eaten since he arrived, which isn't exactly out of the norm back home, but after everything he's been through so far? He's starting to feel it.) Aside from the height difference, it's pretty clear to him that at the very least, he's going to need to get a new shirt. ]

Excuse me? Oh. [ Sam huffs a soft laugh, flicking his gaze back towards Rastus squawking at the crowd. ] Yeah. I'm a little shocked that everyone here seems perfectly fine with a giant ... bird giving a speech.

[ Feels like a fever dream, honestly. ]

Arrival

[bunny_suit]

[Thankfully by this point of time, her broken arm and leg have healed enough to be able to walk around without any problems. It was still a bit too early to say she was completely healed though, so she opted to keep her brace around her arm and a brace around her leg, near her knee just in case. No fast moments, but it was a start.

She was just wandering around for a bit while she could when she noticed the ferry. It was the same one she got off of. It must have been that time of the month again. And sure enough given enough time to linger, she's already been flagged down by one of the new passengers. She offered him a comforting smile; well... as comforting as she could in knowing this was an afterlife and that probably wouldn't go over well with most people. She knew that it didn't help her, but she's kind of just.... pushed her worries out of her mind for the time being to avoid thinking about them.]

We're currently in a place called Beacon. There's information about this place on your tablet when you get the chance to look it over. [But somebody's got to drop the bombshell eventually...] This is.... an afterlife.

[Certainly not the one she was expecting, but when did they get what they wanted?]

Town Meeting

[justcawse]

[Akechi has also opted to hang out in the back, somewhat near where Sam is. He'd made it a habit to come to these town meetings whenever he could in order to get some more information and possibly answers to a lot of his questions that's popped up during his time here. Any and all information was welcome and although he could be pretty intuitive, the more people that showed up here, the more possibilities that he'd get closer to cracking the secret to how to keep from them all being reset.

Although, he could care less about the others. This was more for himself.

Still, the signs of blood and injuries suggested that he must be new here. That, or the whole lantern debacle really fucked him up. Either way, he's also taken notice to his refusal for drink or food. Something that he probably should have done when he'd arrived here, but it was a lesson he learned the hard way. At least now he was a bit more knowledgable about when and who to take food from.]

The spirits won't kill you, you know. [And then a small pause.] At least, not these ones. These ones are harmless enough.