INTRO LOG: AUGUST

[nextnightmods]

INTRO LOG: AUGUST
DARK, DARK, DARK

characters: everyone.
location: all over beacon!
date/time: the first part of august.
content: a few new faces, the teleporter is up to old tricks, and overall just loving not being trapped in an underwater science station right about now.
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. Hazily, 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?

The second thing you're aware of is that you're being handed a slice of cherry pie by a six-limbed masked creature with a hairnet. Looking around, you find yourself inside a school cafeteria. The school looks to be in decent condition, despite being dark and clearly abandoned - except by whatever this creature is. Stick around long enough and they will also serve some chicken nuggets and a box of milk. Wander a bit, and you may find a memorial wall for dozens of unfamiliar names and faces. Where is this?

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 Some of the information is a little out of date at this point, but the most important details are still there: yes, you're really dead, keep your lantern close, and watch out for the spirits.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

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. It's still a little messed up (maybe someone might want to record a new message?), it has plenty of important information to share. Newcomers can always check out the weekly bulletins and the records that were thankfully saved from the bad storm a few months ago. If that's not enough, there's many long-time residents of Beacon that will be happy to share how things go around here. If not in person, network works too.

hide and seek.

The teleporter repair team has been hard at work, and their hard work has paid off. Items have arrived in Beacon aplenty! Only, the aiming protocol is still a little off and it's still all over. Whoops. While anyone with a specific request will find a spirit guide to help them find their wares, everything and anything else is fair game for a little fun.

The spirits are in a playful mood, and have taken the liberty of locating all these lost sundries and supplies. And of course, after that, they chose to hide them around town. Spirits vary from great at hiding things (lining a hollowed out trunk with swim trunks) to downright terrible (is it really "hiding" that sheet of plywood when you put it behind a streetlight that is smaller than it is?), though they seem to enjoy the experience either way.

Need something in particular and don't know where to start? Don't worry, spirits will be happy to give hints. If you can understand their esoteric forms of communication, that is. Others give away the game in the fact they hide with the items themselves, and find the prank so hilarious that little snuffles and giggles are an easy clue to the stowed stash. If characters play along long enough, the spirits will give up the game and will show the poor things with no seeking skills what they've hidden. Still, why not have a little fun with it? The spirits sure are!

ooc.

Hey there, wonderful players, and welcome to The Next Night! We're so glad to have you with us, both new and old. For a run-down on what's upcoming in August, please see the August gameplan, or check the calendar for a quick overview!

As a reminder, things like newcomer arrivals, item deliveries, and lantern repair all depend on the help of the characters in the game! If your character would be interested in assisting with the equipment at Dr. Solis' Lab in any way, please let us know!

DELIVERIES

The newly ported in items have arrived, but as in July, they're still kind of everywhere. Learning to use this portal technology is hard, and more hands helping out are always appreciated! As mentioned above, the spirits will readily help find people's personal requests, but the general resupplies? Guess you'd better be willing to play the spirits' latest little game. The following can be found, one way or another:

• The monthly store restock, which provides enough food, general sundry items, and basic supplies to comfortably last the group a month. You can check what kind of items to expect in a monthly restock here.


• For Elektra Natchios: several slightly oversized t-shirts and sweatpants made of comfortable materials, a bottle of black nail polish (chip resistant), a bottle of whiskey with a slight odor of sewer when the bottle is opened (though it tastes fine), and a teddy bear.


• For Rosinante Donquixote: 4 boxes each (25 rounds per box) of shotgun and flintlock pistol ammo, except in every box two of the rounds have been replaced with nerf darts that some poor kids probably lost long ago.


• For Fitz Kreiner: A limited set of lockpicking tools and a set of locks to practice on, and some paper umbrellas which may require some disassembly before they can be used.


• For Matt Murdock: an assortment of 14 lovely rings (not all pictured here) as well as 6 rings to share with his friends!

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

lorem laurel. | original character.

[clarius]

sweet as cherry pie. (the school.)
[ when lorem wakes up, her head is hurting like something had crushed it and her current circumstances do not help: the too dark enviornment. the deep red glow of a lantern right next to her crumpled form. the contrasting bright blue glow of a tablet next to said lantern.

... and something offering her a slice of questionable cherry pie, all but shoving it under her nose. at least it's still edible upon taking a polite bite of it so the... host(?) lets her have some personal space again.

while she eats the pie and strange little meat lumps(?) offered on a tray that she brings with her, lorem takes the chance to explore her new surroundings of this... school she's in. this is certainly not dust tumbles, with how cold and wet it is compared to the dry and arid climate she's grown accustomed too. with her .comm device not working at full capacity and with no idea where she is, what does she do first...?

she's ruminating on this problem when she hears/realises something or someone is right behind her. much too close for her comfort.

taking a quick note to apologise if this isn't a hostile individual (and still isn't hostile after this action of hers), lorem makes quick work of defending herself:

she spins around and, with great effort, tries to swing her tray at the too-close person. she'll clean up the spilled pie and meat lumps later. ]

ready or not. (hide and seek.)
[ once she gets her bearings after that awkward encounter at the school, lorem uses the map on her tablet to make her way towards the village. her best chance of figuring out what to do next is to get into the thick of it, she supposes. sounds like something laura and leeds would do-

her thoughts are interrupted when something jumps out of a bush and rushes by her. it's tall and gangly and covered in what she thinks is sewn up pillow covers. that's all lorem can make of the strange thing before it pauses long enough to toss a box at her.

she barely catches it in time, fumbling with the heavy thing long enough to lose sight of the fleeing... fleeing spirit, was it? there was a mention of it in the message. lorem gathers that much as she looks up again and sees someone making their way towards her. ]

Oh- Hello there! [ deciding to make a better impression this time around, lorem does not throw what she has in her arms at the approach of another person.

instead, she inclines her head to greet them and she lifts the box up- grunting with some effort while doing so. ] Is this yours? A spirit - I believe that's what you call them? - threw it at me. I hope there's nothing fragile in here.

moving in. (the village.)
[ and she finally makes her way to the village. at long last too. it'll be nice to have some guaranteed privacy to herself and ruminate over the implications of her being here.

lorem decides bridalveil falls, #1, will be her residence in the village. it looks okay. there are clear signs of it weathering through damage and wear but it looks like that's the case for all the cabins here.

hmmm.

deciding to be proactive on the matter, lorem boots up her .comm device and, begins to go to every occupied cabin, knocking at the door with practiced grace and readiness when it comes to suddenly soliciting other individuals. if the person opens their door, lorem is quick to launch into her spiel: ]

Hello! I guess we'll be working together now. [ she sticks out her hand for them to take if they want. she beams at them with a well-practised sense of cheer to her as if used to this. ] I'm Lorem Laurel. I'm new here. If you don't mind, could we have a chat? It won't be for long, I promise.

[ she'll also be doing this to those she happens to cross paths with. those who don't even live in the village are not safe from lorem on a mission. no sir. ]

wildcard! (anything goes.)
[ want to do something else altogether? this is the prompt you can use!

feel free to plot with me over at prognostic if you want. ]

hide and seek

[callada]

[The spirits are driving him insane. Literally, probably, but today it's especially tedious having to hunt them down just to get what he ordered. All the while, his stomach growls as they dart to and fro - especially at the slightly more humanoid ones. And then he finds himself fighting nausea. Whatever the world eater did to him, it hasn't faded in two weeks - if anything it has just gotten worse, and that doesn't bode well for the future.

Finally, though, thank the gods, there's someone who looks like she found one of his ammo boxes. He makes his way across the dark, scrubby ground to get a better look.]

Yeah, actually. Think that might be mine. Careful with it, bullets in there.

[Which, if they're the shotgun shells, yeah - those could probably explode if handled too roughly. Before he makes his way over fully to investigate, though, he catches a toe on one of the low-growing plants and crashes to the ground right in front of her, all nine and a half feet.]

[clarius]

... Bullets.

[ lorem lowers her neck to look at the box in her hands, seeing it in a new, metaphorical light. ah, she thinks to herself, now having a much firmer grip on the item. that's why it sounded quite rattly upon catching it.

she's quick to hold it out to him so he can take back his package, craning her neck up again to present a friendly, not-at-all nervous smile. ]

Well- I hope they're in good condition, sir. The spirit wasn't being all that careful when passing it onto me.

[callada]

[He stands and brushes dirt off his knees, then bends down a little to retrieve the box and inspect it for himself. Yes, it says it's what he ordered - but as he opens it up, he sees two of the bullets are definitely not bullets. Puzzled, he pulls one of the foam tubes out by the suction cup end and stares quizzically at it.]

Seems like they've done more than just toss it around. What do you suppose this is?

[clarius]

[ hmmm. that's a good question.

feeling more confident in how to approach this conversation and the man, lorem takes a step closer. she leans forward, trying to inspect the presented bullet(?). much as she hates not having the answer, she finds herself unable to find a good comparison for that. at least where she's from.

(it'll be a long way before action figures or plastic toys are a 'thing' in her planet's timeline.) ]

I'm sorry but I've never anything like this before. I see that it seems to be made of foam and plastic. Quite a- [ she tries to find the right word, not wanting to be too judgemental of whoever. ] -creative use of such a limited source, where I'm from. The best guess I can make is that these are practice bullets?

[callada]

Huh. Could be. They're soft, though. Wouldn't fly far, and might just burn up in the gunpowder.

[And cause a real bad jam. But being soft and lightweight, what kind of practice would you even get out of one if you managed to fire it? A real bullet would fly so differently that these just don't seem very useful for practicing with. He spins it in his fingers, then shrugs and puts it back in the box.]

Maybe they're for cleaning. Maybe I'm just missing two bullets and a spirit thought it wanted those for something else. I don't really understand how they think. Sometimes they try to help us, sometimes half of us end up dead.

[clarius]

-Excuse me?

[ that last part catches her off guard, made clear with how her eyes get big (well, bigger) in shock.

he doesn't seem like the type to make jokes like this. she schools her shock, trying to keep herself from jumping to conclusions. the others she's come across, they've treated the spirits like nuisances at best. certainly not enemies. ]

I'm sorry but dead? Would it be too much for me to ask what happened there?

Moving In

[worthallthis]

[Crossing paths, in this case, as Soldat lives in the former bed-and-breakfast, former group-cabin of the Voltron kids (mun thinks, lord it's been forever). They stop at the address, and incline their head in greeting.]

I'm just on patrol. I can spare a minute. Everything all right?

[Because clearly when asking the guy in tactical gear, weapons, and with the metal arm for a moment of their time probably means she needs something, right?]

[clarius]

[ she most certainly does. judging by how well-equipped they are at the moment. this seems like the perfect person to speak with for what she has in mind. ]

So far, so good. My name is Lorem Laurel and I'm one of the new residents here. [ so to speak.

she raises her arm up to activate her .comm device, summoning the private entries page to begin taking notes. ] I hope you don't mind but could I hear your thoughts on the current state of the village. Any opinions on the structures, the viability of repairing them, and so on? The- [ how to put it delicately? ] -condition of it has me intrigued since I made my way here from the school.

[worthallthis]

[She's pretty clearly new, since they don't know her. That they haven't actually gotten her to introduce herself yet is probably an oversight.

They don't quite introduce themselves, back, and only partly because her question distracts them. Geez. Soldat blinks once, then ducks their head a little.]

We've been using the worse-off ones for building supplies for. A while. Repairing bridges and things. Many of them aren't going to be salvageable at this point. And it hasn't been a priority. Because they're so easy to cut off from the main rally points.

[clarius]

Main rally points?

[ lorem looks up at that, looking intrigued now. it's always good to hear that there's an agreed-upon set of areas to meet others in when there's a dangerous situation.

after she makes a quick note of what's been said - especially how there are many cabins that aren't salvageable and are being used for building supplies. (definitely, something to keep in mind for the near future.) - she then asks, ] What are these places?

If I had to take a guess, would they be close to the bonfire? In order to better defend it?

[worthallthis]

The Invincible is in Bonefire Square, yes. Big enough to house many people, plenty of supply space, set up for defending. There is also the Landmark Hotel off downtown. It is near another supply area and is also fairly defensible, though not near the bonefire.

[They look a little regretful, now.]

We could all fit in the Invincible itself, now, I think.

[clarius]

Can we? [ she types that down, highlighting it with :: important :: etc tag beside for further review. ] I'll keep that in mind in the next few days. Thank you for letting me know that.

[ for the time being, lorem would like to have space for herself. though being near others in case something goes wrong... that is an appeal to that. something to ponder over. ] Do you think it'll be worth trying to repair the cabins? Or should the focus be, instead, on convincing others to move to the other areas?

I noticed signs of activity here that don't seem to be from the spirits.

moving in.

[catholicisms]

( Matt doesn't technically live in the village any longer, but that doesn't mean he never ends up there. he'll occasionally wander through, looking for threats or concerns. sometimes it's just a wistful journey through the streets, as he does miss the little cabin he shared with Elektra. it's mostly caved in, now.

it's on one of those jaunts that Laurel flags him down, though he does obligingly slow at her greeting. he offers a limited smile in greeting of his own. ) Nice to meet you. I'm Matt.

( what with the sunglasses indoors and the walking cane he was using to tap out his path, he probably does not have to mention he's the resident blind guy. she'll put two and two together on that one on her own. ) All right. I'm happy to help if I can. ( he remembers what it was like to be new in Beacon. disorienting and a little heartbreaking. he's happy to be a buffer to make the experience a little easier when he can. )

[clarius]

It's always a pleasure to meet a friendly face, Matt. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me!

[ she activates her multitool's notes program, already copy/pasting her (unfinalised draft, she's working on the fly) questions template into a fresh entry.

knowing it's better to get to the heart of the topic when you ask for someone's time, she opens with, ] I was wondering if I could hear your thoughts on the current state of the village and, if you're willing, the state of Beacon in general.

I've heard from others that the majority of the damaged cabins are being used for building supplies for the other buildings in Beacon.

[catholicisms]

( something about how she speaks, the meaningful and persistent questioning... it makes him think distantly of Karen. not a bad thing. though perhaps a bit of a bittersweet thing. it's been a year since he saw the intrepid blonde, after all. )

The village has been like this since the flood. It's in a sorry state, but we haven't had the time or the manpower to repair it. I think a few people stay here, still, but plenty of us had to move on to places with an intact roof.

( as for Beacon at large, that's a harder question. ) We've lost a lot of people, recently. It seems like we're stretched quite thin, but we're getting by somehow.

[clarius]

The flood... [ she types that down, making sure to tag it with an etc of :: emphasis. :: when she later reviewed her notes. ] Yes. I've been learning about that a lot on the network system.

I'm sorry for what happened. It must have been difficult in the early days of the aftermath. [ she purses her lips now, trying to figure out what to say next. she doesn't want to seem heartless or too professional in the face of such a tragedy, yet it was important for her to figure out what the others knew or thought here. ] Is there anything being focused on right now? Current projects or objectives?

[catholicisms]

It was difficult. We've had to overcome a lot.

( it's been a rough road, and they've lost a lot of people. to him, that's a bigger loss than a bit of infrastructure. that doesn't make it any less sad to have the village in shambles, though. it just didn't feel important enough to be a priority when there was so much else to focus on. )

I'd say we were focused mostly on resolving things in the Helix Station. Now we're in a bit of flux. Finishing restorations at the lab, figuring out our next step. I'd speak with Cao Pi if you were looking for more direction than that.

( he's not quite the authority in Beacon, as much as he'd like to be, but Cao Pi was certainly gifted in delegation and sharing knowledge. )

[clarius]

[ her smiles turns a touch melancholic when hearing how there was a lot to overcome. she had a feeling that was the case when exploring the village, going over messages before and after the flood's wake. she wonders if that's how her friends felt and had to deal with in the aftermath of their home being-

hm. being dead is making her a bit more sentimental than she was prepared to be. shaking her head, trying to gather herself, lorem does her best to sound both confident and hopeful, ] I'll do what I can to help then. Looks like there's a lot for me to do outside of my plans when I can get around them.

Would Sir Cao Pi be open to me privately speaking to- [ hm. she's going to take a gamble here. ] -him? Over some things? I'd hate to bother someone who has their hands full in light of recent events.

hide and seek (mmm whatcha sayyyy)

[ultraviolents]

[ this was much easier when they'd had someone in charge of requests and retrieval, but elektra's grateful that they can get items at all now. it had been a skint few months before they'd found the labs and they're still figuring things out.

elektra's out here trying to find her items, and she's not sure whether they'll all be grouped together or assembled in a package. a spirit darts by her and she starts, reaching for her butterfly knife, but it doesn't take long to realize it had just been a wayward spirit. a voice comes from the distance and her attention is soon drawn there. ]

It might be, I'd have to check. [ unless these packages are labeled somehow. ] But if it's not mine it might be supplies or food.

[ she comes closer to take the box from her, with considerably less effort than the woman appears to have needed - elektra's small, but much stronger than she looks. ] Thank you - you're a new arrival, aren't you?

(eyyyyyyy 👉 😎 👉)

[clarius]

[ lorem is not going to be beating anyone in terms of upper body strength (or strength, period), so she's more than willing to give back the butterfly knife. (honestly? she's more than happy to give back the butterfly knife; she doesn't think she should be trusted with a weapon that requires some mastery or understanding when using it.)

all the same, she smiles as part of her reply, nodding. ] I am! I'm Lorem Laurel I came from the school, if the map on the tablet is to believed.

I'm- [ she needs a moment to consider her words, because the reality of her being dead but able to interact with people a dissonance. ] -doing my best to get on the same page as the group and as quickly as possible, too. I hope you don't mind me asking but...

... Are the spirits always like this?

[ doing her best to be polite, lorem covertly gestures towards the spirit who had stolen the butterfly knife. they're is still lingering at the edges, trying and failing to hide behind some nearby trees. ]

https://media3.giphy.com/media/S9zudyFAFvt7twFFft/source.gif

[ultraviolents]

Elektra Natchios. [ the knife is taken back, handled carefully but with obvious skill, and she doesn't quite smile to lorem but she does nod in regards to her, letting her say what she needs to before interrupting. ordinarily she's not really the one you want welcoming you anywhere, especially somewhere like beacon, but she's gotten a little more patient since dying. ]

The spirits are always a little mysterious, but they don't usually make this kind of mischief. There are the handful that are less than helpful or friendly, but generally they're pretty helpful. Or they try to be.

[clarius]

[ generally?

lorem looks back at the spirit- they're crouched, weaving back and forth like, any second now, it'll topple over. the spirit seemed harmless enough. a 'zany' one, as eps or leeds would remark if they were with her.

but all the same: ] The handful of spirits that isn't as helpful or friendly...

Is there a way for me to- [ what's the word? the tactful one? ] -not cross them, should I ever cross paths with them?

whoops forgot to mention her arm before...

[ultraviolents]

Their eyes glow green, and the spirits you'll find more frequently are frightened of them. If you can avoid them, do it.

[ there's something more implied by that, most telling in her choice of words ('if you can avoid them' instead of 'if you see them, run'.) it may not matter, or it may be too late. ]

Most, the ones you'll often encounter around town, are just protective or don't know how to communicate. Or are frustrated we don't know how to communicate with them.

[ if they're going to be discussing this for a while, she'd better put the box she's carrying down - the strain is starting to hurt her still-injured wrist. (did i forget to mention her left arm is bandaged and that the wrist of that arm is in a cast? well they are.) it's settled down carefully and she looks it over, trying to determine whether she should open it now or later. ]

//finger guns we can make this work!

[clarius]

[ the seriousness of that tone and the blunt, concise way it's said- that catches lorem's attention. it reminds her a lot of laura, whenever her friend had to come across as serious as possible to impart how grave something is.

and so lorem commits her first improtant lesson about beacin: the green-eyed spirits? ones to avoid at all costs. (and she takes the time to remind herself to see how she can communicate with the other spirit. there was something in the tablet, wasn't there? she hasn't had enough time to properly go through it yet.) ]

I see. [ she inclines her head as a sign of respect, a grateful smile on her face. ] Thank you. I'll keep that in mind if I plan to interact with the spirits here.

I hope this isn't too strange of a chance of subject but- Are you planning to go anywhere after this? Since I'm new here, so I would love to have a travel buddy of sorts and get a better idea of Beacon. [ she adds, casually enough, after noticing it, ] I can carry the package as well. Maybe it'll deter the spirit from taking it again if I hold it.

[ because the spirit is still lurking nearby, watching. for some reason. (are they always like this?) ]