INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

[nextnightmods]

INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER
BRIGHT STARS BURNING

characters: everyone.
location: all over beacon!
date/time: the first part of september.
content: new folks, old folks, new things, dead things.
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?

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 Some of the information is a little out of date at this point, but the most important details are still there: yes, you're really dead, keep your lantern close, and watch out for the spirits.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, considering you're half-submerged in water with no boat of any kind nearby.

And why does the water smell like you just walked into a Starbucks on the first day of pumpkin spice season? Boy, that's not coming out of your hair any time soon either.

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.

muffins!

In addition to the potent scent of pumpkin spice, during the first few days of September you will occasionally be able to detect the aroma of baked goods in the air. It seems the case of pumpkin spice flavoring was brought in for a reason, and that reason becomes clear when baskets of muffins start appearing at the doorsteps of buildings (even those that have been damaged and/or abandoned) and in front of occupied room doors. Some of these baskets contain flavors that are more unique than others and the baskets look a little haphazardly put together, but there was clear thought put into the gesture. You may notice a spirit lurking out of the corner of your eye, trying to hide behind a tree or in a doorway or behind furniture - don't worry, they just want to make sure you got your basket!

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 September, please see the September 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 item request crew at the lab has always tried their best, they really have. The things people request often come in pretty close to what they had asked for, and lately they've struggled to get the things landed neatly in one place but at least they've always arrived somewhere. Maybe it's the shifting of the seasons, maybe it's pure bad luck, but it seems that they've struggled in a new way this time. Everything has landed in the harbor and is quickly sinking. Worse (or better?) is that among the supplies seems to have been an enormous pallet of boxed pumpkin spice mix which exploded on impact. Everything, including the water of the lake, tastes and smells strongly of pumpkin spice. Festive!

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 Inspector Javert: an abundance of high-quality pistol ammunition, including a bonus box of armor-piercing rounds; plenty of tools and supplies for a very nice kitchen including some polished granite countertop slabs, exotic dark hardwood panels and beams, a professional baking oven that stands floor to ceiling, and more, plus three large wheeled carts to help carry everything.


• For Cao Pi: a high-quality silk bathrobe, a very casual robe, and a travel guide to the Chinese city of Fenghuang, circa 1995.

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

QUICKNAV
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Comments

[theimpatientone]

"Then share your fear with me if it will lessen it."

Suffering alone is no way to heal a sickness like that. But Merwen will happily follow along with a change in subject, if that's what they want. "I have been. This is not much like the sea I was born to, but it feels good to stretch my webbing against a current."

[worthallthis]

Soldat shakes their head a little. There's not much Merwen can do about fears that come from before they died, really, and they don't feel like wading through trying to explain. Words are hard, sometimes. Easier to talk about the water. "Well. It's not a sea, it's a lake. So that's probably one reason it's different. There's land on all sides, so the water isn't as rough. Or salty."

They aren't actually sure how they know the ocean is salty, honestly. Apparently they've been at some point?

"Compared to seas on Earth, anyway. Your sea might be different," they realize.

[theimpatientone]

"Lake. I don't know this word. It means a sea surrounded by stone, as this one is?"

She shakes her head. "This sea, this lake, is colder than the sea of Shora, and it's true that it isn't as salt. Neither is it full of fish and squid, nor is there a reef, nor are there raft seedlings to be found floating on currents. But of course, Beacon is generally not as... alive, as Shora is."

She has some serious concerns about the plantlife and the continued lack of sunlight.

[worthallthis]

Oh... maybe Merwen didn't understand that properly. Soldat looks a little resigned as they say, "The whole planet is dead, Merwen. Everything on it. Plants, animals, us. The insects started showing themselves a little while after I first got here, the birds several months later, but. They're all dead. So there's no seeds."

[theimpatientone]

"I know," she sighs. "This entire world is a dead thing, and I know it, but somehow, seeing a dead sea, or a lake, it hits me harder. It isn't what it should be. Stone is always dead, but the sea should not be."

Merwen shakes her head. "I am sharing foolishness, I know. Tell me what you've found, instead."

[worthallthis]

"Nah, it's not foolish. If I wasn't. How I was. When I got here, it would probably have bothered me, too. I'm used to it now." They finally stoop to collect the box they'd dropped. "Supplies to renovate our kitchen. I'm pretty sure."

[theimpatientone]

"That does sound useful. Do you need a hand moving it?" Merwen moves around to a position where she might be able to offer a second pair of hands. "Does the kitchen need repairs? I'm honestly not entirely sure what it is meant to be like."

[worthallthis]

"Nah, not the big one, it's fine. This is for. Our place. Me, Misty, Inspector Javert, and Pudding." They nod to one of the other boxes of supplies, give the slab of granite countertop standing on end a skeptical look, then leaves it for now. They're not sure even Merwen can handle the other end of that. They're probably gonna call Misty for her levitation skills, there. "Our current one is really small, so the Inspector decided to get us supplies to make it bigger."

That comes with a smile as they heft the box and start wading towards shore, slow enough for Merwen to follow along. It was very sweet of Javert, honestly.

[theimpatientone]

The big slab of stone is pretty heavy, probably more than a two-person job, and honestly Merwen is not thrilled about the idea of touching it because old habits and old superstitions die hard. So she'll accept that as an answer and follow.

"Javert. He is the one who is extremely uncomfortable that I don't cover myself in rags."

[worthallthis]

That startles a laugh out of them. "Merwen. Most of us are uncomfortable that you don't wear clothes. I've got plans to make you a whole damn wardrobe once it starts getting cold. You're gonna get frostbite and lose your toe-webbing."

[theimpatientone]

"I don't see why," Merwen protests, but she's laughing. "I expect most sisters here look much the same. Different colours, perhaps. At any rate, Javert is not as good at hiding his discomfort."

But the growing cold is a problem. "I don't know this word 'frostbite,'" she says, more seriously, "but I admit I may have to accept this custom if it keeps growing cooler. I do find it very uncomfortable."

[worthallthis]

"Javert couldn't hide anything if his life depended on it." The tone there, for reference, is fond. They love that about him.

Ah, but. "Frostbite. It's a thing. If something gets too frozen, it dies, and then it falls off. It's pretty gross. Are you feeling cold now? Recently?" God, they're going to have to move their ass and get her some clothes, then.

[theimpatientone]

"Now? Not particularly. I'm still warm from my exercise, right now."

She shakes her head. "Frostbite. That is not a thing we have to worry about on Shora. Perhaps it would be at the poles, but we don't bring our rafts there. That's where the sea-swallowers live most of the year, and it is always better to let them have as much space as they need." She gives a huff of breath through her nose. "But clothing is uncomfortable, and I'm not at all sure that there are foot coverings that would not be worse than nothing at all."

She glances down at her feet; truthfully, they really are too long and broad for any normal human shoe.

[worthallthis]

He'll make her some kind of slippers big enough to fit. He'll make her a goddamn sled if he has to, she's not losing any toes. "Let's put these down," he suggests, "at the house. And then maybe we can see if we can find you something at the store that isn't too uncomfortable. I can make alterations to the clothes, too. So they fit perfect. You don't have to wear them yet. But when you do start feeling cold."

[theimpatientone]

Her expression is doubtful, but Merwen knows perfectly well that this is probably going to be necessary. "Frostbite" might be a new word but it's a pretty evocative word. "I would appreciate what advice you have to share," she says. "I don't know what is practical, and I don't know how clothing is meant to be sewn together." She gives a puff of rather humourless laughter. "Usha and I made seasilk clothing to wear when we went to Valedon, but 'frostbite' was not a concern in that climate, either. It was a very simple assortment of rags taken from other weaving."

[worthallthis]

"Well, you won't have to sew anything, I promise. It's already sewn, you'll just have to do things like buttons to keep it closed, maybe. I'll show you." They're not sure if she's ready for zippers. They'll see what's available.

The bed and breakfast is coming up here, so they nod towards it and pick up speed a little to set their box off to one side of the building, next to the giant wall-sized oven. "Just set it here. It's not going inside yet."

[theimpatientone]

"I wouldn't mind sewing," she says, doing so. There's a streak of homesickness in her voice. "I miss spinning and weaving, here. It was always good to keep my hands busy, while I thought on other things, and even if we never use it to cover ourselves, we always need more seasilk."

Merwen turns to look at Soldat, her expression troubled. "I suppose it is one more way this place shares its sickness with us."

[worthallthis]

They pause to blink at her, then the surprised expression melts into a warm smile. Soldat absolutely understands that impulse to keep busy, and if she can make seasilk, surely she can make other things, with a little direction. "Well, I think something can be arranged for that, Merwen. There's still altering to do. And. Other things. Come on, I'll show you." They motion with their head in the direction of the general store.

[theimpatientone]

"I haven't seen any silk that needs spinning," Merwen points out, a little wryly, "but I am willing to see what you suggest."

She follows along, though, only feeling a little bit in over her head. Cold weather. What is this nonsense of cold weather.

[worthallthis]

"No spinning, no, but sewing. There's some of that." And Soldat might have an idea that Merwen could help with. They don't have as much free time as they used to, to devote to projects, but... this could be a fun project. "Taking things that are made one way, and making them be another way. I turned three normal-sized shirts into a coat big enough for Rosinante, for Christmas last year. I altered my good coat last autumn so it fit properly over my arm and flattered my shoulder line. I'll show you how."

[theimpatientone]

"You speak of it as though it is an art," Merwen says. "Is it an art? I have thought of it as primarily a functional skill, but there seems to be artistry in making clothing that is attractive."

Because she can understand it, put like that.

"I know that Valan soldiers wear all the same clothes, so that we know what they are. I also know that Valans want to trade us for our silk, and that they use it for clothing sometimes. I had thought of it as functional or communicative, but I had not thought of the artistic expression inherent to it."

[worthallthis]

"I never thought of it that way," Soldat admits. "It can be an art, I guess. Making sure clothing fits right and looks good. And isn't too uncomfortable. Wearing clothing that fits right and looks good makes me feel better, sometimes." Of course, in the context of comfort. They still like their layers, which isn't necessarily flattering unless they're careful about it. Which they often are.

And right now, they're still kind of wet from wading into the lake, so they're not really at their best. Soldat, realizing that, somewhat self-consciously sets about wringing water from the bottoms of their two layers of shirt. Not much to be done about the jeans, though.

[theimpatientone]

See, this is why Merwen comes from a society of nudists. Clothing is just silly when you're in and out of the water all day.

"So there is functional clothing, meant for protection or warmth, and there is artistic clothing, and then there is clothing that is both. Do I share truth?"

[worthallthis]

"You do share truth," Soldat agrees, smiling over at her again. "I prefer clothing that's both. When I can. You've seen my tactical vest, the one with the straps and metal arm bare. It's very functional, lots of pockets, lots of protection. But it looks pretty badass, too. We'll focus on comfort for you, though. Since you aren't used to it."

Merwen, he's realizing, does tend to bring out the chat. She's so easy to talk to.

[theimpatientone]

"Badass," Merwen repeats, frowning, though it's more thoughtful than disapproving. "What a peculiar word. You use it in a positive way."

It didn't exactly translate well.

"I suppose that if I must wear clothes, it's better if they are... pleasing to the eye, I would think. But I'll trust your judgement." She looks up ahead, squinting a bit. "It's that building there, yes?"