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 Some of the information is a little out of date at this point, but the most important details are still there: yes, you're really dead, keep your lantern close, and watch out for the spirits.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
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Comments

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.

[countershocks]

[ well, law thinks, at least he already has a hat so he doesn't need to worry about...... anything like the thing that looks like a small animal died on this guy's head. ]

That's fine.

[ it's not like any clothing stores on the grand line or in the new world sell clothes with his crew's insignia on them, after all. he'll be fine with some adjustments. ]

Where is it?

[mindofathief]

Down this road [He points out a path.] to the downtown area. I can show you the way.

[Considering that this guy is new. The first new guy in months.]

[countershocks]

[ he's very close to snapping that he can walk a road on his own, but then he reconsiders; he doesn't know if it stays like that, and frankly, from what he remembers of the long road from the cottage he'd found himself in to the inn he's staying at, now, it wasn't exactly... easy.

and he's not about to go bother cora just for this. ]

... fine. Let's go, then.

[ hope he didn't expect any small talk, because there just... isn't any. at all. law just starts walking. ]

ii

[pure_havoc]

...you mean you're not from Wa?

[Cao Pi has just entered with a crate he stubbed his toe on, which happens t contain miscellaneous supplies. No food or clothes, though. He nod to Law's getup, which he thought was perfectly normal clothing, really, and then...eyes slightly up, past the tattoos. This guy is slightly taller than him, oh no.]

Wait. I have seen you...a picture of you. The commander's room, the posters...

[countershocks]

Never heard of the place.

[ he wonders if it's a coincidence it sounds so much like wano; perhaps, perhaps not. he's not curious enough to ask.

he gives the guy a flat look as he takes his time to look him over — the reason of which becoming quickly apparent. he freezes, and thinks, great. meaning not great at all. ]

What of them?

[ if he sounds a little sharp, well. it's mostly because he's just that embarrassed. ]

[pure_havoc]

[his expression eases slightly in turn. Granted, he's wearing a mix of bloodstained silk and armor and plain modern clothes from the shop so Cao Pi is a little less than perfectly regal at the moment, but he still puts on the air of authority.]

In all the recent chaos I had not taken the time to ask him the significance of them. Curious, though, that the face in the pictures is now standing before me. [a thoughtful stroke of his chin] If only I could read the lettering I might even already know your name. I will trade you mine: Cao Pi, styled Zihuan, Lord of Wei.

[countershocks]

I died. Just like everyone else here.

[ flatly, to answer the part about it being "curious"... what the fuck is so curious about it. he's dead, everyone else is dead, dead people seem to get brought in. that's that.

he does, however, give him a nod at the name. he remembers cora mentioning him, though the exact details escape him. (look, he was exhausted, both physically and mentally and emotionally. his cognitive faculties weren't functioning at the usual high rate.) ]

Trafalgar Law... captain of the Heart Pirates.

[ you know, introduction for introduction. ]

iv. continuing from the TDM

[p0isonpink]

(continued from here)

I'm not the sort of woman who needs saving.

[ But her words are delivered to empty space as he removes himself abruptly from the room. Now that's a useful trick.

Amused at the former Warlord's abruptness, she makes for the door herself, holding her lantern low at her side, ready to shield it. It will be a liability in a fight, and she's already thinking about ways to mitigate it as she steps outside the room where they met and glances around for a quick status check. ]

[countershocks]

[ even if he doesn't hear them... he didn't need to, really. that much is apparent from the way she speaks, the way she holds herself.

meanwhile, law is already halfway around the house, kikoku in his hand, a blue circle expanding to cover the area around him — just in case.

but when he gets to the halfway point, there's... nothing. he thinks he sees eyes in the forest, steady and watching, but no killing intent. or maybe his observation haki just isn't doing all that good a job, here. ]

[p0isonpink]

[ She shrugs to herself and heads around the building, staying close against the wall to best use its cover. Whatever's out there -- and she absolutely agrees, the sense of looming presence is undeniable, if indistinct -- she's going to need some way to deal with it.

What sort of enemies might she find here, anyway? To be thrown from a running battle straight into some more vague conflict... she's not sure she likes it. ]


( So, what should they find? )

[countershocks]

[ eventually, when she too has made it around the house, she'll find law waiting for her at the corner of the building. he lifts his hand to signal to her to stop, and then inclines his head to nod towards the woods. ]

There.

[ it's quiet, but he doesn't want to attract any unnecessary attention. ]

( maybe one of the not-so-aggressive spirits? so they see what they are but don't have to fight...?? or they try to fight it but because spirit that doesn't really go anywhere and they end up having to run? )

iv

[callada]

It has been one very full whirlwind day, but after Law has had time to find himself some clothing and get settled in, and after Rosinante has trekked out to the old sculpture garden of all the goddamned places to retrieve his cigarettes, it's finally time to sit back, do some reading, maybe think about sleep just to stay on some semblance of a schedule even though the excitement of having Law back with him again makes him want to just stay up and share stories.

Besides, there's still some obnoxious part of his mind that fears if he closes his eyes, Law won't be there when he wakes up. But. It's nonsense and he knows it.

"You know," he says as he snuffs out a cigarette and looks up from his tablet, "You're welcome to stay here, if you want. We can rearrange the room. Go drag in a bed from one of the vacant ones." He shrugs like it's just no big deal, just an offer, because he still figures Law might want his own room anyway.

He'd love for Law to stay with them, of course. But if he's going to do so, then there's one more thing he'll find out about soon enough. It's for the best, anyway - Law deserves the warning.

[countershocks]

He likely looks more like himself, now, with a plain pair of jeans and a black t-shirt (he did grab a yellow scarf, too, not to wear it but to cut apart and to stitch into the shape of his crew's insignia, because as if any stores sold clothes with it on in the first place), Kikoku still slung over his shoulder.

He's in the middle of trying to memorize the map of Beacon as Cora speaks, and it takes him a while to answer... not because he needs to think about staying, but rather —

"Do we actually need sleep, here?"

Because if they don't, then he doesn't need a bed. He'll just go without sleep forever, thankyouverymuch.

[callada]

"Mm, it depends," he says, and leans back on his palms. "Most people sleep, eat, and drink, but you can get by with only two of those three. Easier for some to handle than others."

Like how he mostly gave up eating once they began to run out of food, or like how Will never sleeps out of pure paranoia. He can't think of anyone who never drinks anything, though. Easy enough for everyone to do that, probably.

"I like to get some sleep, even if it's not as much as I used to. Helps keep the days from all blending together since there's no sunlight," he says with a shrug, then studies Law's face, trying to discern any clue to his reasoning. Is he worried about them being attacked? That's a common one. Does he already struggle with insomnia? Wouldn't surprise him either.

[countershocks]

"Good," he mutters in response, "then I won't need a bed."

Which is a roundabout way of saying both that he's staying right here in this room, and that he's not going to sleep if he can help it.

His reasons... well. Over the years, he's diagnosed himself with a lot of things, all of which can best be avoided when he doesn't sleep — not that he did, much, in the first place. Not that he could. Awake, he's got a good grip on his mind, but asleep, there are no mental guards for him to keep up.

(And though there's not been much reason for paranoia, since Dressrosa, habits are hard to break, and putting the entire sea between him and the sky had only ever alleviated some of it. There's even less reason for paranoia, here... and yet.

And yet.)

But he keeps expression unwavering, emotions shut off; he has no intention of revealing any of his reasons. He knows how to handle himself — he's fine.

iii.

[worthallthis]

Soldat, passing by to start on their "afternoon" patrol, looks vaguely confused at the reaction, but they do pad on over to collect the basket themselves. And peek inside. "What's wrong with it?" they in confusion. It's bread. Its smells pretty good, actually. (Everything smells good, buddy.)

They've already gotten used to the fact that there are faces here they don't recognize. It ratchets up the paranoia, but they're really damn good at keeping that under control so nobody can tell. They haven't gotten a good look at Law's face yet, though, so can't realize they know the guy at least by sight.

[countershocks]

"It's bread," Law answers promptly, with such disgust you'd assume bread had actually personally insulted him somehow.

He stands up, looking at the guy, assessing. He knows, from what Cora-san told him, that the usual supplies hadn't come for a while... so it makes sense that every single food item would be valuable, now.

It's just as well — he's not going to eat any of the bread. Best it goes to those who have been here for longer, probably starving.

"Take it to people who'll actually eat it."

[worthallthis]

Assessing will determine Soldat's on the small side for a One Piece human, but on the large side for a Beacon human, they're armed in some way though most of it isn't obvious, and that's definitely a fully articulated metal hand-- arm, really, but most of the arm is hidden by a long sleeve.

Also, Soldat looks confused. That is a very over-the-top reaction to something one doesn't want to eat. Not even Rosinante reacts that badly to bread. "You don't have to eat it to carry it somewhere," they point out, baffled. "Are you allergic?"

[countershocks]

He takes in the details, the built that reminds him of someone used to fighting, and raises his eyebrows with slight interest at the sight of the hand...

And then he says, flatly, "What does it matter? You're here to carry it. I'll find something else to bring back."

Or a lot of somethings. With ROOM, he can transport many things at once.

iv / tdm continuation

[flangirl]

[ from here ]


[ Pudding lights up. ]

[ No one in Beacon has ever seen her look as happy as Law's seeing right now. Tears streaked across her face or no, she's incandescent. ]

He's okay!!

[ It's quiet but she squeals. ]

I'm so glad, I'm so glad, I heard when the Sunny got beyond the border, but Mama was following and I had no way of knowing if they'd make it once they were out -

[ She's rambling. She's effulgent. ]

[countershocks]

Of course they made it out.

[ law says that like it's the same as saying the sun rises in the morning, or the tide turns, or devil fruit users sink in water.

there are few things, and even fewer people, who have his full faith. the straw hats just happen to belong in that exclusive club.

he sighs. he's not heartless, so: ]

Blackleg-ya is healthy and alive. The entire crew is, too. They're going to take down Kaido and open Wano's borders.

[ just a few days ago, that they had been we, and he crushes the guilt and anger that he wasn't able to keep his promise. ]

[flangirl]

[ Oh, Pudding knows that tone. Katakuri-nii all but breathes that tone. Hearing it from this known-unknown, this stranger, really, about the Straw Hats... that tells her everything she needs to know, doesn't it? Hee! Her chest feels so full it's a wonder she has room left to breathe. ]

Thank you! Thank you! I - [ She laughs, softly, a little hysterically, a little tone of embarrassment. ] I'm standing here making a fool of myself, come come, sit down, I'll make you a plate.

[ She crouches down again, but mainly so she can pull out a clean cloth from under the bar and clean her face a little before popping right back up and turning to the hotplate area. ]

How do you like your coffee? Anything you don't eat? Aaah I'm bursting with a thousand questions to ask you, I don't know anything that happened after the Sunny left Mama's territory...

[countershocks]

[ for a moment there, law —

stares

stares

stares —

before he represses the urge to groan. this... this is just like dealing with them, isn't it? overly emotional, mood swings, suddenly disappearing hostility.

when law steps forward to actually sit down, he's some kind of a weird mix of incredibly tired, relieved, and just resigned to his fate. ]

... black, [ he says, because he needs to answer in order to get the coffee. and then, with the strangest sense of deja-vu, ] Don't give me bread and it's fine.

[ he sighs. ] Pudding-ya. Before you ask any of them [ and here he fucking is, not even telling her she can't ask him anything, because chances are he'll end up answering all her questions anyway, when did this happen to him ] let me ask you one thing first.

Would you consider yourself an ally of the Straw Hat crew?