[Network] - WEEKLY BULLETIN - open

[inthenightmods]

WEEKLY BULLETIN

announcements

• What do you get when you combine a Catholic and a spirit child? I don't know, it's not a joke, it's just an announcement that one of the spirits-- a baby, it looks like-- has been adopted.


• What an awful week, though. Both the exploration group and the distraction group did so well, and honestly? It made a difference. You guys should be proud.


• On a lighter note, autumn is just around the corner! Look for temp drops and gusty weather cropping up in the next week or so.

classifieds

• None.


• If you wish to submit an advertisement, please drop them by the post office.

obituaries

• Capt. Ben Winters: at least he died as he lived: doing something worthwhile. Thank you, Winters.


• Number Five: clever right to the end.


• A whole host of people have gone missing since the party... We haven't found their bodies or their lanterns yet, but I think it's safe to assume they're probably gone. Here's the list: Melisandre, Yaeris, Gene Hicks, Ahven Sychantus, Scott Ryder, Nathan Drake, Brienne of Tarth, Raylen Givens, John Constantine, Chloe Frazier, Irwin Wade, Elisha Harper, Dick Grayson, Aragorn, Rafe Adler, Billy Russo, Ben Hargreeves, Kyna Midha, Washington, Sam Drake, Daniel Riordan, Replica Riku Dawn, Eleven, Shadow Moon

[Worthy of note: this bulletin comes to you not via a newspaper, but by the network, now that Robin's connected with you guys once more!]

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

Comments

outside the post office | open

[callada]

[Rosinante had, naturally, expected physical paper this week as with all prior weeks. When he finds there's no paper copy and asks the postmaster about it, at least the spirit has the good sense to gesture at his tablet.

Robin's style is familiar now to him and her words to Winters and Five are kind, but he can't help but feel bitter anyway. And then he scrolls through the list of names that feels like it will never end.

So if you, too, have come looking for a newspaper, you can find him sitting on the ground with his back against the post office building, tablet resting open on one knee and cigarette in hand as he stares in stunned silence. Linger long enough and he'll ask:]

Seen the latest bulletin yet?

[equinoctials]

[ It's a good thing Riku never found out who announced Kairi's death or what was said when her corpse was found, because he'd have a less sympathetic reaction to Robin. He came here to follow up on a tip - that there might be some records here about what's been going on.

He finds a welcome and familiar face, instead; Riku's on the mend from injuries taken during the mission at the lighthouse, the haggard and exhausted look hasn't waned, but a lot of that has to do with the toll grief and sleeplessness has had on him.

His hands curl at his sides into fists. He nods once: ]

I know for sure one of them isn't coming back.

...Did you know any of them?

[callada]

[Kairi, he has to assume. The one Riku had been looking for; who he'd promised he'd keep an eye out for also. But he never had seen her in all that chaos. Poor Riku, losing someone he was so close to.

He nods slowly at the question as he thumbs the tablet screen up and down, looking the list over again, then reaches into his shirt and withdraws the sailboat pendant.]

Melisandre gave me this on my birthday. Wade, he was one of the medics, and shared a room with me and Mary. Helped me look after her.

[Gene was a good man. Washington was a fellow Marine, even if from a different world. He and Kyna had been sweet to each other and it made him smile, knowing there could be love in a place like this. Many of the others he'd spoken to at least once also. Not one name on that list was a person he wanted to see gone.

Reminds him of some of the lists at home after some of the battles. He must have ended up on a list like this also, as if this wasn't sobering enough, so that calls for another long, slow draw of tobacco.]

[equinoctials]

[ Riku would argue he's been richer. He's known the kind of love and forgiveness and belonging that visits precious few in all the worlds he's seen. Sora and Kairi have given him a gift that comes rarely to but the most lucky. Second and third chances, a place where he can be himself, somewhere his wandering heart can call home.

Dawn too, for reminding him that he didn't need to be what others expected him to be, of what a blessing it was to be born with one's own identity, of how hard the fight could be to gain one when none was available before. ]

...Back home, the only gift more lucky's been a star-shaped fruit.

[ Riku says softly, an understated respect for the gift Rosinante had been given. After a moment, Riku reluctantly pulls from his pocket a small wooden carving, made into the shape of a key. ]

From Gene.

[ He spirits it away into a pocket, and that empty hand alights onto Rosinante's shoulder. Given how the man towers over him when standing, it's a simpler matter now that he's crouched with his tablet, but the gesture means the same thing. Silent solidarity. ]

Mary's safe, right..?

[callada]

[A star-shaped fruit, huh? What an odd coincidence that his own last gift to someone else hadn't been so different. Heart-shaped, and eternal.

The key carving is sweet. Gene had been so kind. It stings to think of what might have become of him. His mouth remains set in a bitter line as he observes it, and his head droops slightly when Riku touches his shoulder. He finds himself staring at some nondescript point on the ground, dwelling on memories rather than looking at the list. He had barely known these people, but he misses them all the same.]

Yeah. She's fine. Should be back at the Invincible right now.

[She's not going to take this list well. She loved some of these people too, and she already struggles with feeling abandoned even when surrounded by those who care about her.]

I wish we could have done more.

[equinoctials]

[ Island worlds and their fateful fruit, huh?

Gene had been kind in that way only those who have known hardship can be. He was sharp, shrewd, utilitarian and Riku had respected him for every ounce of it. He was taken from them too soon, though which of them could really call how soon was "too soon" for any of them, existing on borrowed time?

Kairi was gone "too soon" because... why? Because Sora and Riku weren't ready to let go?

Make no mistake, he aches for the missing pieces in his heart, but Riku realizes that none of this is his call to make. Mary, though... she's too young, he thinks, to know the difference. He remembers how desperately she had clung to him, hoping he wouldn't disappear once he saw what truths lie on her grave. ]

...Me too.

[callada]

What do you think? About what we did, I mean. About the Keeper.

[They'd succeeded at the goal of hooking her up to the network, for sure. But is she even helpful? He's still of half a mind to storm back over there and pore over the contents of her lighthouse, whatever they might be. She has information she's withholding and her excuses about why she should keep doing that hadn't sat well with him. She claims to be able to hold off the forest spirits, to talk to them, but so far she's either proven herself a liar or incompetent if not both.

He doesn't allow the bitterness to seep into his voice as he asks, but he feels it. It's more important, though, to get Riku's opinion without betraying his own thoughts on the matter. Better to get an untainted reply.]

[equinoctials]

[ Riku expected a question like this would come up eventually, maybe even as soon as they returned to Beacon, but there were so many injured and lost. They had their hands full, perhaps now is the right time. ]

Necessary, if we trust everything Winters and Robin told us. At least, we need the Lighthouse.

It's key to all of it. The forest spirits, the resets...

[ His gaze drops, thoughtfully. ]

I feel a little bad for her, I guess. It's not good to be alone and isolated like that for so long. It messes with your heart and mind.

[ Her forced cheer, the occasional callousness. He doesn't doubt that her solitary duty has messed her up, but his response is sympathetic primarily due to his own lived experience. ]

What about you?

[callada]

[He nods along with this, seemingly in agreement. Yes, all right, it was necessary, in a sense. Necessary for them not only to hook the Keeper up to the network but also necessary for them to learn the problems associated with doing so. Necessary for them to understand some key elements of their situation here.

He considers his response as he works at his cigarette, and then decides not to answer straightaway.]

Should we trust what Robin told us? Because from my point of view, it doesn't all add up.

[pure_havoc]

[what a coincidence, he came looking for the news and discovered the same thing. Well, except for ignoring the Postmaster, which will probably bite him in the ass later.]

...no.

[seeing that the commander has his tablet out, Cao Pi catches on very quickly and retrieves his own from the makeshift pouch he's taken to wearing in order to carry all the cumbersome shit this world has loaded on them. Ah, there it...wow. Damn.

Ah.

[callada]

[For a moment, he doesn't reply. Lets Cao Pi read it over and absorb the information for himself. He's still a little numb also; a little unsure of what to even say.]

I spent time looking for quite a few of these people. I didn't realize just how many had gone missing. I was trying to put together a list of those who were accounted for, but...

[With everyone scattered, it was too hard to know who had simply gone off to hide and who had truly been lost. Maybe even now, some of these people will still return, but the possibility feels more remote with each passing day.]

[pure_havoc]

[he can't decide whether it's good or bad that he didn't know...well, any of these people. He might have spoken to one on the network, but otherwise, it's a mystery. No feelings here, aside from a general unsettled air that so many people could be gone all at once.]

Do we know if they were present at the party, or with any of the groups that went out? I should feel more comfortable if I knew whether the rampage of the spirits had anything to do with it.

[callada]

Yes. When Winters was organizing who would help with which parts of our expedition, a number of these people were in lookout and defense groups. Nathan, Raylan, and Scott I know were supposed to be backing us up, and probably others. Melisandre was helping with the party. I saw them all not long before we headed to the lighthouse.

[He couldn't have saved them all. They had their roles to fill, and he had his. He'd had his hands full just trying to fight back when they came for Winters, and when he and Riku tried to drag Five out of their claws. So why does he feel so damn guilty that he couldn't look after everyone?]

[pure_havoc]

...damn.

[it's actually pretty rare for him to swear, but that's an extremely important bit of info, there.]

If they do return, as you did...is there any indication of how long that would take? It's only been, hm, just shy of a week since the spirits finally calmed down and ceased their attacks.

[callada]

I was gone a few days, that one time. That's what they told me. I think Doctor Ingram mentioned people being gone about a week, sometimes. On the long end.

[So at least some of these people, had they died, should have returned by now. Probably most of them.]

Either their lanterns were destroyed, or they're still out there somewhere, I suppose. But going in blind to look for them would be suicide.

[By now they could have gone anywhere, and traces like footsteps would be nearly impossible to follow in the pitch-black forest. The forest spirits - perhaps they know more, but he doesn't feel comfortable trusting them with much of anything right now.]

[pure_havoc]

Is there no way to use these to find them? [he waves his tablet idly] At the very least one would hope that if they were simply lost in the wood they would use these devices to message someone for help.

[didn't that happen once? he feels like he remembers something like that. Either way, he wouldn't recommend a search party either. Either the idiots got lost and need to use their tablets right or they're beyond the help of anyone still in Beacon.]

[callada]

Winters told us when we went out there that at a certain range, the tablets wouldn't work. We did have to connect the Keeper with physical cables, remember? I wasn't able to test how far out I still had a connection.

[But he wishes he could have. He will next time he's out that far, in any direction. They need to know that in case they lose touch with anyone who goes out.]

[paletteswap]

So many gone.

[He looks morose. Had there been something they could have done to prevent this?]

[callada]

[Far too many. Robin had seemed to want to assure them that it was worth it, had read as relatively light and upbeat if apologetic about the whole thing. He doesn't trust text to convey genuine emotions and doesn't expect someone who has been here for twenty years to care much for their individual lives anyway. She's probably seen so many come and go that they no longer matter.

Will had been upset. That reaction had seemed genuine, and angry. Perhaps it's foolish to trust him more, perhaps it's just because they've met in person and because Will has been helpful to him, but he hasn't stopped thinking back on that shocked outburst on the network since he heard it. It matches the list of dead better than Robin's carefree attitude.]

And I don't expect most of them back. It's been a week. We would have seen them by now, surely.

[paletteswap]

[He hadn't even bothered to respond to her message. It seemed disingenuous even to someone like Kuai who believed the best in everyone. ]

None of the other deaths have taken so long. And all for what? Are we better off now than we were before?

[Hooking up the lighthouse to the network had seemed like a good idea at the time: another person who'd lived through the previous reset who could potentially assist them. But having seen her cavalier attitude about it all he was immediately resentful and wondered if there might have been a better way. Of course that was in hindsight, nothing to be done about it now.]

[callada]

It's too early to judge. I'm curious to hear what Doctor Ingram will say on the subject.

[He doesn't completely trust Will either, of course. That would be foolish. But he trusts him more than someone who, intentionally or otherwise, ended up killing about a third of the population of the town. Someone who has done so repeatedly in the past, now that he understands more about what her role means.]

She has information that will help us, I don't doubt that. But learning it, and discerning which statements are true and which aren't, will be the real challenge.

[paletteswap]

Has she said anything of value yet? I didn't read further than her initial statement.

[Someone really needs to let Kuai know that it's not dishonorable to read other people's public messages.]

I doubt he'll be pleased about Captain Winters' death. And he seems to know a lot about the network. Perhaps connecting her to it has repercussions we hadn't considered.

[She might now have the ability to spy on them through the tablets now for all he knows. How would they be able to tell?]

[callada]

Quite a lot. I'm still going through it all. I'm going to put together a list of relevant information. Lord Cao Pi, meanwhile, spoke to me just moments ago about arranging a town meeting to discuss how to handle the situation and we can go over what she said there.

[It's a lot, and he doesn't remember it all off the top of his head, so pardon him if he doesn't detail everything out loud right now.]

But yes, there are surely repercussions. And from what she said, there's a lot more to this world in terms of threats to our existence than we had realized also. More that they've been withholding.

[paletteswap]

That'd be for the best. And then we'd be able to judge the sentiment of everyone else towards her.

[Which he assumes will be negative, but then again he's a terrible judge of these things.]

Why would they hold back on dangerous things that might put us all at risk? They'd be in peril as well.

[callada]

I don't know. Winters and Ingram had both said they wanted us to have a chance to settle in. The Keeper said she had maps of everything, but wanted to keep them from us because it was more fun for us to find out information ourselves, or something twisted.

[And he's openly angry about that as he growls the response out, because that doesn't make sense to him. What possible good could it do to not show them their surroundings? Why have the others, even poor lost Winters, constantly told him there's no point going out on the lake? He's gone from suspicious to just angry about it, but he isn't sure just yet what to do with that anger.]

The Keeper also said there's someone else who knows more, who might turn up at some point to tell us something. More pointless vague comments, no substance. Nothing to actually do anything to help us.