INTRO LOG: JULY

[nextnightmods]

INTRO LOG: JULY
DEAR FELLOW TRAVELER

characters: everyone.
location: all over beacon!
date/time: july 1-3.
content: we have some new arrivals, some items finally arrived, and a new bulletin!
warnings: n/a.

welcome to beacon.

The first thing you're aware of as you come to is the glow of a lantern, just within reach. As you start to become more aware of where you are (it could be the forest, it could be a room in a long forgotten school, it could be on the upper level of a severely flood damaged house), you start to recall the events leading up to your arrival. You died, somehow, but how does that equate to you being wherever you are?

A few answers can be found if you pick up and look through the tablet that's settled right beside the lantern. Some of the information is a little out of date at this point, but the most important details are still there: yes, you're really dead, keep your lantern close, and watch out for the spirits. You might notice mention of a ferry, but that's odd, especially if you're nowhere near the lake...

Leaving where you are and using the provided map on the tablet will help you find your way to town, and along the way you might find some out of place items, like crates of food or toiletries or clothing. Feel free to grab what you find as you make your way there, your new neighbors are sure to appreciate it.

•••
Requests have been made and thusly have arrived, but... since there's no ferry, where on earth are they? Good news... Another bulletin has been posted!

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. Well... it's not quite what it used to be, but there's still helpful stuff on there! Newcomers can always check out the weekly bulletins and the records that were thankfully saved from the storm. There's no obvious guidance for newcomers other than that... but some have been existing in the dark a year now. Surely they have a wealth of information to share, if someone wanted to ask.

happy anniversary.

While it might be hard to accept in a world of eternal darkness, it has been a year since the last reset. It's been a long year, and it seems as if the spirits have noted the fact it is an anniversary of sorts, and have seized the opportunity to present any Beaconite, both new and old, with a little something to celebrate.

Present what? Well, that depends. Either an item of player's choosing (anything not tied to a canonical world, though if you're not sure, feel free to confirm with us), or comment here to receive a mod-generated gift, complete with a spirit bringing fair tidings. There is no risk of danger or death in these prompts. Just an opportunity to celebrate and for characters to get something nice!

ooc.

Hey there, wonderful players, and welcome to The Next Night! This is an exciting arrival, as it marks a year in the world of Beacon and the very first arrival for our GPSL!

A lot has been happening in the last two months. Many of the NPCs that helped and protected the town seem to be unfortunately absent. A group of explorers managed to find Dr. Solis' lab, and everyone in Beacon helped contribute to restoring lantern repairs and teleportation functionality. There's absolutely need for more help, though -- please do have your character sign up to help out as well!

Last but not least, upon discovery of the radio tower, it seems as if something went south in the Helix Station below the lake. Characters are working to organize a way down there to potentially tangle with a adolescent version of what killed this world, and soon. This might be the calm before the storm... so enjoy it. Please check in here if your character would want to be involved (and just to check out the plan for the month)!

DELIVERIES

As mentioned by the Librarian, the newly ported in items have arrived. It's just that they're... kind of everywhere. Characters will have to recover the items from wherever they've landed, and safe to say they're all over the place. However, for specialized items that characters requested, they can find a spirit guide by the General Store to lead them exactly where their item landed. Whether it's quite what they expected is another story, though nothing will befall them collecting their wares!

• The monthly store restock, which is more bountiful and generous than usual! The lab crew must have worked really hard to get this just right. Meat and vegetables arrive fresh, already washed, and in great shape, the bread is still warm to the touch, and huge sacks of beans and grain don't even have a single stray stone in the mix. Add to all that a lot of neatly-coiled rope, fresh clean blankets and sheets, and a variety of other helpful goods - and even a huge box of frozen chicken nuggets and fries for the lunch lady.


• Strewn across town with the requested items and the usual restock are what appear to be... limbs? Heads? Bodies? But on approach, it turns out to be the parts of ruined scarecrows, stuffed with straw and corn husks. They look to all be very well-dressed, though, and have some pretty nice buttons sewn on for eyes that might be salvageable. Of course, they do seem to be watching you as you walk around, but surely that's all in your mind. They can't really move, right?


• For Rosinante: Six cartons of cigarettes plus a bonus sampler pack with a few different fun flavors!


• For Minimus: A brand new package of eight rust-resistant galvanized steel signs in a variety of shapes, all the nuts and bolts required to assemble them with included signposts, and several tubes of paints, brushes, and even some premade stencils for common safety symbols.


• For Pudding: Three dozen candy jackets and one large island-themed wedding cake.


• For Fitz: Five cartons of very fine tobacco cigarettes, two sets of bright red guitar strings, a child-size string clipper (functional, but quite small), and a guitar slide inscribed with the phrase n̵̹͆'̸̰́g̶̼̔h̶̡̒a̷̝͒ ̷̬̂à̵̗ḧ̶̙́ ̴͉̀s̸̻̈y̷͖̓h̷̜͠à̶̳'̶̯̚h̷̘̏ ̵̤̍v̷̹̀u̴̟̚l̶͚̒ǵ̴͇t̸̘́m̷̗̓ō̵̧g̴̩̈


• For Cao Pi: A well-packed wine box with twenty bottles of quality red and white wines, plus an additional bonus bottle of champagne.

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

QUICKNAV
comms	|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

QUESTIONS

[nextnightmods]

ANNIVERSARY GIFT GIVING

[nextnightmods]

While players are welcome to pick their own non-canon specific gift, for anyone that would like a mod-generated spirit gift, please comment the following form below!

<b>NAME: </b> Character name <b>USUAL HAUNTS: </b> where does your character hang out? This helps us know where to have the spirit show up. <b>INTERESTS: </b> either in Beacon or outside of it. The gift may or may not be related to these!

Re: ANNIVERSARY GIFT GIVING

[worthallthis]

NAME: Soldat
USUAL HAUNTS: His daily schedule!
INTERESTS: Music, weaponry, cooking, origami, warm and colorful blankets. Pretty much in this order.

How can I resist :3

[callada]

NAME: Rosinante
USUAL HAUNTS: The harbor, The Invincible, less often the library or greenhouse, lately Solis' lab.
INTERESTS: Sailing/sea stuff, food (NOT BREAD) or alcohol is always a safe bet, makeup, developing a budding interest in astronomy, likes adventure novels

[policier]

NAME: javert
USUAL HAUNTS: the armory, the b&b, the invincible, rosalind's lab
INTERESTS: police work, stargazing, swordfighting, guns, reading, chess

[ultraviolents]

NAME: elektra natchios
USUAL HAUNTS: the gym, the landmark, the invincible, sometimes the lab since she's signed up for lantern repair...
INTERESTS: weapons (especially ones with blades), dance, fashion, makeup, exercise, fancy tequila.

[pure_havoc]

NAME: Cao Pi
USUAL HAUNTS: the Invincible, where he lives, or the Bonfire Square. He doesn't get out much.
INTERESTS: poetry, history, literature, tactics, Go (I literally forgot until this moment he has a board), wine and women.

[rereremembered]

NAME: Fitz Kreiner
USUAL HAUNTS: The Invincible, the School, around the Bonfire, and lately in Solis' labs.
INTERESTS: Music, especially classic rock bands, adventure and fantasy novels/comics, colorful patterned clothing, leather trousers/jackets, philosophy, outer space, alcohol, and dogs.

[paletteswap]

NAME: Kuai Liang
USUAL HAUNTS: He lives in the Invincible and patrols from there to the greenhouse and occasionally checks on any of the bridges to make sure they're in good shape.
INTERESTS: Tea, games like mahjong and Sudoku, mechanical toys (like the wind up fish from the night market), knives, and dragons.

[unwieldy]

NAME: Haein
USUAL HAUNTS: The Landmark, downtown in general, the harbor, library
INTERESTS: Books, the ocean, fishing, hard liquor, his privacy, being alone!!

trots in here late with starbucks

[flangirl]

NAME: Pudding
USUAL HAUNTS: The Invincible (every morning making breakfast!), the B&B, the greenhouse
INTERESTS: cooking/baking, cake decorating, theoretically photography?, light fantasy novels, literally anything a normal teenage girl would have been allowed to do let her at it

Rosinante | OTA/closed (see headers)

[callada]

Room full of trouble: closed (Law and Mary)

((continued from here))

"How? How could he understand? I didn't - Didn't get a chance," Rosinante protests, before cutting himself short with a shake of his head and a small grunt of disgust at himself. Oh, he had plenty of chances. If he hadn't been so terrified of the response, he could have told Sengoku a thousand times before the end what he meant to do and why. Instead, he was frightened and selfish and the man who raised him, who gave him so much, paid for it.

The trouble with his power, of course, is that while their conversation cannot be heard to anyone outside the room, he and Law similarly cannot hear anything that's happening out in the hallway, like the footsteps of one often-excited child returning to her room. Hm.

Delivery day: OTA

Finally, all those notes he's been poring through to help the science folks at the lab actually get what the town needs have fully realized their use. Groceries pop into existence at his feet, sending him immediately sprawling, but when he gets up to see what the contents are, he can't contain the gasp of relief. Food. He's barely had anything to eat in the entire last month, and has been subsisting on water, sleep, and some carefully-rationed coffee he shares with Will, but this! His eyes are shining as he lifts an entire bag of broccoli and he's never seen something so beautiful.

"Hey! It worked!" he exclaims in sheer delight to whoever is in earshot. Now, to find where his own order got to...

One year down: OTA/wildcard

Anyone who runs across Rosinante as he helps find, sort, and restock their new batch of supplies will find his demeanor noticeably brighter than it's been for almost the entire past year. He's got cigarettes and food for the first time in months, all in the same day, and if he's not at the general store with a box in his hands (or at his feet, having dropped it and fallen on it probably) he's just outside, watching the bonfire with clove-scented smoke and a smile on his face.

Because it's not just the stuff that's turned up, of course. Law is here. Law, who shouldn't have died so soon, but if he had to, then at least they're both here together. He made a promise over a year ago (over thirteen, for Law) that they'd get to explore and travel together and while Beacon is a little more complicated than the open ocean, it's good enough. It's better than good enough.

Just catch him alone while you can - because these two won't likely be far from each other very often now. He's the one who left Law alone back on Minion, and he's determined to make up for that mistake.

room full of trouble

[withsadness]

"I'm home!"

Not that either of the men will hear the exclamation as she all but bursts through the doorway without any further warning. It's not like she would think that any tearful reunion was currently taking place, inside. Mary steps in, arms full of loot she's collected throughout the forest, and abruptly dumps it all on the floor at her feet.

Possibly in surprise? Or maybe just in a general effort to make a big damn mess.

wildcard

[rereremembered]

Fitz finds Rosinante at the Bonfire, his shiny new guitar slung across his back and a spare carton of fine-quality cigarettes in his hands. He offers the latter up with a smile and nod.

"Hey. Got you a little something."

Minimus Ambus | OTA

[legalcy]

Minimus will have to lodge a formal complaint with the Librarian. Scattering these items across Beacon not only wastes time in retrieving them, but they post a safety hazard. What if someone had not noticed this pile of steel and containers of paint in the woods and hurt themselves? What if a newcomer broke their lantern?

He would have to add signs encouraging caution when traveling in the dark.

It only takes the 9-foot-tall mechanical being one trip to carry his new supplies near the bonfire for the best source of light, where he immediately begins painting one of the rectangular signs a bright reflective green.

Minimus, you are a gift

[paletteswap]

Kuai is walking past the bonfire, having noticed that random things are scattered about. He's already retrieved some trays of canned soup and returned them to the general store, now he has a crate full of turnips and rutabagas and other root vegetables, leafy green tops sticking out almost comically cheerful against the dismal surroundings.

"What are you working on?" That sure is a very green sheet of metal.

CLARAv4 (NPC)

[candlebot]

This is the first time Clara has seen new people arrive and wow, how exciting! Everyone going to and from the general store with goodies, the spirits ambling about with their arms full of trinkets, and new faces with new lanterns!

That's the best part.

For anyone new, the little (3-some feet tall) robot looks to be made of scrap parts, with a wire flower attached to one shoulder - and she stands out not only because of all that but also because she, like the spirits, carries no lantern. Her eyes flash a dim green as she fixes new people with her perpetual smile, and makes her way carefully across the worn ground of Bonfire Square.

"Hello! Please stop and come to me so I can scan your lantern!" she requests.

Of course, if you're not new, feel free to say hi anyway! She does love all her friends.

[p0isonpink]

Well, isn't she an interesting little thing? Robots are not entirely unknown in Reiju's world, but they're not exactly what you'd call common, far more fictional than real. And she seems friendly enough, although an interest in the lantern that evidently now represents Reiju's life is... faintly unnerving.

"Scan it?" she asks, rather than immediately proffering the lantern for attention. "What are you looking for?"

[dodgeshot]

Well, you know, that's...new.

There's little Jill trusts here so far, less because anyone's been suspicious or unkind and more that this entire place seems fucked to hell and back. The people she's met so far have been helpful if a little aloof and wary - perfectly understandable to her, actually - so seeing not just a short robot but a friendly one, that practically chirps her little request...

It's a little out there, sure, but it's kind of...cute?

"Uh, sure," she tells her, though she gives the robot a puzzled expression. With care, she unhooks the lantern to offer to her. "What's scanning going to do to it?"

Bucky/Soldat | MCU | OTA

[worthallthis]

I. Morning Patrol, July 1

It's very early in the "morning" that Soldat heads out on their first patrol of the day, and check their tablet notifications for new network posts on their way out. And after working out what all of that means, they double-time along their route, making time for two circuits of the area, looking for items, crates, anything.

The portal works again. There's the promise of actual fucking food. They're so excited by this.

Any new people wandering in might stumble into the path of a large man in two layers of shirt, a jacket mostly covering the metal arm over that, combat pants and boots, and long hair tied neatly back. Also, a lantern, tightly shuttered except to let out just enough light to not trip on everything, slung on a woven strap over the flesh shoulder. They'll stop short at the sight of another person coming out of the gloom, startled but looking vaguely pleased.

First question out of their mouth: "Are you real?"


II. Collecting and Organizing, July 1

Every time Soldat finds a crate or a bag or a net full of supplies, they heft it up, adding it to their load on shoulders and dangling from the metal hand, and cart it back to the Invincible and general store for sorting and distributing. Every time they have food in any of those crates or bags or nets, they come back to the Invincible or general store with one of the tabs on their chewing necklace in their mouth, looking vaguely annoyed at the need.

But it's the only way they can keep from nibbling as they walk, even with hands full. And other people need this more than they do. (Not really, pal. Shut up. We're fine. We lost like ten pounds, buddy, that ain't fine. I said shut up, Sarge.) They still want to do it properly, not just plow through raw carrots and gnaw frozen fish. As hungry as they are, it'll likely result in eating the paper and plastic wrappings, as likely as the actual food.

They set things down next to whoever is sorting, spit out the plain pendant (metal this time), and say, "This one's new shirts for people a lot smaller than me, this one's apples, this is a very big bag of rice."


III. Midday Lunch, July 2

There's so much food. Soldat is so excited to make a midday meal for everyone that isn't a hodge-podge of heavily spiced spam, canned vegetables in the last of the pasta noodles, or weak stew with the tail end of their soup stock, that they have the happiest jazz on they have on their tablet and bop around the Invincible kitchen, humming around another pendant in their mouth. Anyone passing by the kitchen, or coming in to help, or coming in to snitch food themselves will be greeted by the smell of a baking roast and garlic bread and marinated broccoli. And, of course, the former Winter Soldier half-dancing between pots and humming along to Ella Fitzgerald.

By 1100, there's a spread laid out on the bartop in the Invincible, and Soldat is actually smiling as they rope people in to try. "It's good, I swear. I already had some. There's plenty."

Every other day for the next couple weeks, too, there's a new dish being served, and a very contented Soldat serving it.


IV. Self-Defense for the Newbies, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

There's a class in the "evening" three times a week at the armory, which mostly devolves into practice since there aren't a lot of people left who come and need actual training. But practice is also good, and it's something a lot of them can do together. That's important, too. Soldat has been telling everyone about it in person since it's not in the bulletins yet, because they do think that's important.

So Soldat is happy to test people's skills, show them a bit about knife fighting or hand-to-hand if they need it, or work with the less well-trained in things like how to fall or break a hold to get away. That's their favorite, honestly, teaching people the very basics.


V. Wildcard

When not teaching, practicing, making meals, or on special expeditions, Soldat has a very strict routine, and they can be found anywhere along their route, happy to chat, help teach people spirit-language and Morse code if they want it, and help explain any part of Beacon life. After all, they've been here a pretty long time now.

July 2

[callada]

The smell of food draws Rosinante downstairs to retrieve lunch for him and Law. Rather than waiting for the tail end to grab a bite, or sitting in a corner by himself, he's now got someone he wants to actually spend time with - but like Rosinante, that someone isn't much for loud social gatherings. Easy to get around it when you live in the same building as the big daily lunch, though.

Which, he can see as he arrives on the ground floor, truly is big today. Already in a good mood, the smell, the sight, hell even the music (maybe especially the music) has him smiling as he heads over to the bar to peer into the kitchen before Soldat has finished setting it all out.

"Almost forgot what a real lunch was," he teases as he eyes a whole pile of roast vegetables on a baking tray. "You must be in heaven right now."

I

[p0isonpink]

By the time she encounters Soldat, Reiju has changed into dry clothes, although her hair is still wet from the circumstances that brought her here. She might be dressed like the princess she is (or was), but she's a slightly bedraggled one.

And... well, the question they pose is one that she's rather struggling with at the moment. She died. That's supposed to be the end, isn't it? But long habit conceals her unsettled state of mind behind a calm and confident mask.

"Is there an option not to be?" It's a joke, and not aimed at their expense; she means only to tease, not to mock.

trafalgar law | op | ota | will match format

[countershocks]

i. coffee tastes best when you're alone ( @ the invincible )

[ it's early morning after his arrival, and law looks..... well, appropriately dead on his feet, but then that's his usual look so who knows. he has a cup of coffee in front of him, and he's flipping through all the available information he can find on his tablet.

his general air is of someone who very much doesn't want to be bothered, though, and if someone happens to sit next to him or approach him, they'll get a flat look and, ]

What do you want?

[ law, normal people would start with "hello".... ]

ii. clothes make the man

[ truthfully, the one thing that annoys him about this whole dying thing is the fact that it happened while he was still trying to blend in as one of the samurai. that means his clothes are not ones he's used to wearing — instead, for all intents and purposes, he looks like he might have come straight from the samurai era japan... or just wano country.

he'd like to stop looking like that, frankly.

which is why, as soon as he spots someone who even vaguely looks like they might know the answer to his question, he walks up to them. ]

Do you know if there's a place that has normal clothes, here?

[ "normal", as in, something else than a yukata. ]

iii. why is bread

[ as he's wandering around, trying to familiarize himself with what is where, he comes across a basket with a sheet of cloth on top of it. but as he lifts it, he's quick to drop it — to an onlooker, the look of utter disgust he gives the innocent, warm basketful of bread is probably comical. ]

No way, [ he mutters. ] Someone else can take that.

[ would it be too much to just carry it back to the inn for the people who will actually want to eat it?? apparently. ]

iv. the wildcard option

[ you know the drill! hmu, no need to even ask. also, if anyone wants to continue the tdm threads, feel free to throw those here too! ]

ii

[mindofathief]

[Duster's mix of casual clothes and a beanie cobbled from a yarn monstrosity would indicate that while he is no expert in fashion, he does know something about clothes.]

Like the shopping mall? [He gestures at his plain white shirt.] I got this from there, but some stuff you have to make on your own.

Reiju | One Piece | OTA will match whatever format

[p0isonpink]

01. put to work

Reiju is no stranger to hard work -- of a sort. The life of Germa Kingdom's princess was not one of pampered idleness, and the luxuries of the palace were balanced by the constant, harsh demand to outperform herself and reach ever higher in speed, strength, and conquest.

The work of the battlefield, or of training for battle, is quite a different thing from the work of making a run-down village operate properly. Instead of training and fighting, she is lifting and carrying -- helping to gather up the scattered supplies that have been sprinkled haphazardly across the landscape. She'd rather do that than organize them, generally speaking -- her strength stands her in good stead, and she can be found here carefully assembling a large crate's worth of fallen goods, layering it for the most sensible weight distribution before swinging the whole thing up onto her shoulder as though it weighed nothing at all, despite the full load of food, beverages, hygiene products, and more that fill it nearly to the brim.

"I think this is all destined for the general store, if you've got anything to add," she'll offer if you look like you've got anything heading in that direction. "There's a little more room."

02. (not) coping

This new sort of work, and the attendant process of learning to navigate and operate in only the thin light of the lantern, is a good distraction from thoughts she'd rather not be having. But they keep coming regardless, and there's only so much distraction hunting and gathering can offer.

Sometimes, her mind -- or rather, the emotions she spent most of her life pretending she did not possess -- will betray her. She stares at a haphazard pile of blankets and clothing that she should be bundling up to carry into town, and her thoughts will turn to mud, her chest tightening with an illusory pressure that vanishes as soon as she thinks about it, but returns the moment she tries to focus on what she's supposed to be doing.

To the outside, it doesn't look like much -- just a pink-haird young woman staring intently at a pile of clothing. But her eyes are too wide, a little glassy, and she could really, really stand to have someone -- something -- anything to focus on besides the way her self-control is slipping.

03. her first day in Beacon

( I'm completely open to pulling over any prompts from the TDM if anyone wants to snag them! )

01

[pure_havoc]

As much as he would like to be all chivalrous and say things about ladies not needing to do such hard work, Cao Pi knows better. For one, he can practically feel his wife judging him from across dimensions for even thinking it. For another, Lady Reiju clearly doesn't need to be protected. First the high kick and now this.

"...no, I have nothing at the moment," he assures, spreading his hands to prove it. Just his lantern hooked on his sheathed swords as usual, nothing to see here. "You look to have been busy, my lady. Out of curiosity, have you found any bottles of wine in your searches?"

He asked for ten. He has no clue there's a crateload out there waiting for him somewhere.

Fitz Kreiner | OTA | will match format

[rereremembered]

welcome to beacon

Fitz is a bit conflicted: while it's good to see their efforts have paid off and there are more newcomers in the town, he's new enough to be keenly aware that each one represents a recent death. So he'll be there with a smile and offer of a hand-up for newbies.

"Hey, d'you need help?"

He's not conflicted at all about supplies, and can be found trying to sort things out at the Invincible. Mostly he's organizing bottles of booze behind the bar and seeing if any snacks like nuts or crisps come in for snacks and offering a wave to anyone coming in the door.

"Care for any refreshments?"

special delivery

An eager little spirit has led Fitz to his delivery, and he's delighted as he counts the cartons of smokes and sets one aside. The guitar accessories are stashed away in his room, save the slide, which is studied at every angle by both lantern and torch light.

"Can you make any of this out?" he'll ask anyone who takes interest in his study.

soothing the savage

After receiving his remarkable gift from the forest spirits, he can be found playing the flashy guitar by the Bonfire. The tune could be anything from the mid to late 1960s, a few originals, and....yes, he'll throw in Wonderwall once.

Of note is the flock of small forest spirits which have gathered nearby, most chirruping in calm contentment and a few having dozed off completely. Beaconites who pause to listen may also find themselves feeling extra-soothed by the music, maybe even drowsy, but the effect can be shaken off with little effort.

Soothing the Savage

[mindofathief]

Duster cannot resist the call of music. He doesn't drag his double bass outside without scoping the concert, so there is no fanfare of a large instrument rolling over the stones when Duster approaches Fitz and stands beside the spirits.

He ends up sitting down - it's good to rest his legs after all, and he was feeling a bit tired. He remains there until Fitz finishes his song, after which he provides quiet applause that the spirits mimic.