Player Plot: Remember Me

[notthatjason]

characters: Jason Grace & OPEN
location: (1) Harbor then (2) School
date/time: May 15 - 17
content: A small memorial event for those lost to the flood. Include a lantern/boat launch followed by a re-dedication of the Wall for the Remembered, now located in the school.
warnings: Likely discussions of loss/death what is death to a dead thing


1. Harbor
A few days after his network post, Jason can be found down at the harbor. Those that were here in September will definitely recognize it as a very similar set up to what Rastus had going when they did the memorial service then. He doesn’t have glowing stones, but he did bring down two torches from the bonfire and has rigged up a kind of tiki torch situation to light up the area for crafting. He has plenty of paper to craft into lanterns and boats. He’s made a few for those that might struggle, but there are plenty of supplies if you want to take the time to craft your own. There’s also other basic craft supplies -- markers, scissors, tape, and the like -- for making the boats or lanterns more decorated or personalized.

Jason encourages anyone who shows up to mourn or celebrate in their own way. This is intended as a way to honor the dead and missing, but if you don’t want to launch a boat you don’t have to -- perhaps you have another ceremony in mind.

2. School
After several boats have been launched, Jason will pick up one of the torches he brought to the harbor and lead whoever is around to the school. In the end, this seemed like the more accessible of the two locations he had debated. Prior to the memorial, Jason had spent some time sprucing up one of the classrooms and relocating the remains of The Wall for the Remembered, pictures and names moved onto a newly painted tree -- very similar to the one that used to reside in Town Hall.

Inside the classroom, there is one table set up with paints if people want to add names of those they just launched boats for -- Jason didn’t feel like it was right to add them all himself. There is a second table with snacks -- provided by the cafeteria spirit -- so the snacks are mostly what one might find in a school lunch, but hey there are pretty decent cookies. He’s also brought two torches to stay at the school: one in the entrance and one in the memorial room itself -- probably placed somewhere to give the wall the best light.

Once everyone is gathered, Jason will hold up the torch that he led everyone here with and speak: “Thank you all for helping with this and coming today. I can’t say I knew everyone who appeared in the most recent obituary shared with us, so I can’t exactly say anything personal here -- but I know that each loss has had an impact on at least one person in this room.” He pauses, a kind of moment of silence though he doesn’t say as such. After a moment he speaks again, “I know that our future here may be uncertain, but it’s important to take the time to remember those who have helped us even get this far. Tomorrow we can think about the future, but for right now let’s focus on those who are no longer with us -- whoever that may be for you.” He lowers the torch and steps away to give people their privacy and watch over the proceedings.

Comments

[callada]

"As far as I know, yeah. But it took us a while to be sure of that. Some of the spirits look pretty normal, right? Like the insects."

Okay, so the occasional moth might drift by with extra eyes or unusual markings or long tentacle legs, but for the most part, bugs look like bugs, birds look like birds, and so on. The animal spirits are spirits, but not too out of the ordinary and it would make sense for someone new to mistake them for actual animals.

Such was not the case when he went fishing.

"In the first couple months I was here, I figured I'd found out what was in the lake. We didn't have the bugs back yet, or the birds. Everything was pretty quiet. I thought maybe the lake had fish, though, or something. Baited a hook, waited, felt a pretty strong tug after a while. So I reeled it in. And, uh. Pulled out my own dead body, or so I thought."

[flangirl]

Pudding listens intently, nodding softly at the explanation of the smaller spirits. That makes sense - notes with a little surprise that bugs and birds "came back," even as spirits, in stages. (Are larger animals on their way, perhaps?)

But a breath squeaks in her throat with the sharpness of her inhale, both hands clapping over her nose and mouth as her eyes go wide with horror.

Well. That would be a hell of a rude surprise.

"Oh my god," she breathes, pulling her hands down just a little after a few moments of half-focused staring. "What happened?"

[callada]

Yeah, it's pretty awful and her reaction is exactly how he probably should have reacted, but instead he just stared at it while it stared back. A different kind of shock.

"Wasn't sure at first if I was hallucinating or not but a couple people came by to see it for themselves. It didn't move, but it watched me if I moved. Finally, the Grandmaster and I decided to haul it up and bury it, but before we really got a chance, it dissolved into seafoam and slid back into the lake."

A tame way of putting what happened, given "dissolving" involved "grinning so wide it split its own head open". He's seen a lot while being here but that's still one of the more grotesque events in his past year of un-life. He frowns at the recollection and shakes his head. Fucked up stuff.

[flangirl]

Puddings stomach churns a little, the natural revulsion of a Devil Fruit User more than anything else.

"That's horrible," she breathes, folding her hands together against her collarbones. "I'm so sorry." She glances out at the waters, where the boats and lanterns are already starting to vanish into the dark. ...Kind of a horrible place to send them, isn't it? A lake more dangerous and full of ill omen than the sea...

...That's Beacon, she supposes. Somehow... she thinks it could still be worse than here.

"I don't suppose hunting would go a whole lot better, even if there were things big enough to hunt."

[callada]

"Never seen anything other than spirits in the forest. Some might look like animals, but you're right - no point even trying."

Especially given his experiences with the green-eyed spirits and whatever they had been feeding them during that bout of torture. It had to have been spirit flesh, there's nothing else out here, and just remembering what happened is traumatic enough. Better to change the topic and quickly.

"Stick to what we can grow ourselves. I'm glad we have that greenhouse and people who know how to tend it."

[flangirl]

"Oh - yes, me too!" Something more pleasant, something Pudding can help with. "I'm not much of a gardener, but I went to help look through what's there anyway, in case of edible things. Some of the herbs that just grow like weeds in there are useful for salves and medicines. And fruit is growing fast. We should be okay until we can find a way to get supplies coming in again." Should, might, fffff let's attempt to be positive. And ration hard.