GAME START!

[staymods]

Nightly Visitor

It hasn't been that long since your arrival to this island, and everything is still new. Each day brings new surprises and more questions than answers, and there seems to be no easy way to find out anything about this world. What little outside contact you get from the radio or your Friday visitors certainly isn't helpful in any meaningful way.

Unfortunately, the questions will only continue to pile up. Because eventually, after a week or so of being on the island, anyone who stays out late will start to hear strange sounds outside. They're almost animalistic, in a way, but they will not resemble the cries of any animal that you might be familiar with. This is Something Else.

They're not close to the Town Hall though, and the sounds seem to be coming from the North, but that is about all you can get without further investigation. And investigation may be necessary, as the noises will return night after night, starting right at sunset and tapering off as the sun starts to rise. Whatever is out there, it's nocturnal. And it sounds desperate.

What will you do? Will you talk to others and make a plan? Will you try to search for the source of the strange noises? Will you look at day, or during the night? Or will you use the radio to call for advice?

You can also use this space to play out any prompt from the test drive meme, or anything else you may want to do.

Everyone can do a search and get some plot information once per character. This can be done either solo or in pairs, so there can be some overlap to make sure everyone gets a shot at getting plot information. If A and B form a search party at night, then that will count as both A and B's searching. A could then help C make a radio call and get some information that way, but B and C could not then subsequently do another search (as B and C would have been involved in a search somehow already).

This post will be open to investigating until May 24th, 2021. At that point, no further mod responses will be given. Even characters who app in after game start can come in and investigate, so long as it is before May 24th.

Comments

[staymods]

[There doesn't appear to be a 'Linnansaari' on any of the other graves, for what it's worth, but there are several family names present. It seems like the graves are generally grouped by family here, and there are about two-dozen different family names represented by the different headstones here.

Also, the cries will start up just after sunset, sounding distant and animalistic in nature. The sound is coming from across the waters, and is likely from a point on the mainland. Whatever it is, it sounds like it's in pain.]

[relictus]

...

[Nice of him to pretend it didn't happen, because that's exactly what Faust is going to do.]

Those noises... so that's still happening.

[Asking about it seems like a reasonable enough request. Too bad he doesn't know how radios work or he might have thought to try himself.]

Very well.

[He opens the door the rest of the way to let Rin inside. His opened sleeping bag and the rest of his clothes and accessories are on the floor off to the side somewhere, but he hasn't otherwise made himself at home.]

[relictus]

[He doesn't know what x-ray means, but it sounds probably useful??]

I don't know about that. This marker dwarfs the rest, and all the stones close to it show the same date of death... it could be the name of the town itself.

[Which raises more questions than it answers... but when he hears the cries start up, he looks toward the water. It still sounds distant, but clearly it's close enough to be heard from the island.]

There it is. Let's go.

[He starts following the sounds. He may have preferred to do this alone, but if he has to have a companion, he's going to make sure to keep an eye on her.]

[maidofmistakes]

[She stands up straight and follows along, trying to focus in with her super hearing.]

It's injured. Maybe it's an animal?

[notquitedracula]

Fair. Call them night creatures, or trolls, or whatever the local terminology is, then. The restless dead. Their reasons can be as simple as hunger to as complex as hatred of that which still has what they lost.

[Soma leans back against the doorframe, sighing.] There is indisputably something out there, according to our hosts, and I for one don't trust a couple layers of fishing net to keep us safe.

[notquitedracula]

[The rot is certainly strong enough to mask other smells. Soma makes a slightly disgusted face when he focuses on it, having mostly blocked it not long after arrival. Not seeing anything is a little more worrying - his eyes are pretty good at picking things out of the dark. Either something out there is really good at hiding, or it's something that can't be seen.

The sound, now that's interesting. A distant sobbing sound? Considering what he's been told so far, he's about 90% sure it's not a person out there. Not a living one, anyway. He listens for a few moments, trying to get a bearing on the sound, before heading back.]

[abysslord]

I literally only have the one, and I don't know what sort of training you have. Give me a good reason to hand it over.

[abysslord]

Pink guy...?

[Raises an eyebrow, but...he'll take it, it's fine.]

So then what should I be calling you? I feel like "kid" is kind of insulting, considering you're claiming you can carry a bear.

[abysslord]

Yeah? You used to sensing things out, then?

[He doesn't ask sarcastically, just...he wants to know who else he's working with here. What they can do.]

Farmland

[abysslord]

[It's just like their TDM thread, only this time there's a girl facedown in the dirt. Yuri, already sweat-streaked and dirty himself, perks up at the sound of the wheelbarrow tumbling over, and goes to investi-]

...Ah, dammit. Hey - I'm gonna help you up, okay? We'll get you some water.

[He thinks it's just overexertion, honestly.]

[relictus]

It's something I'm attuned to, yes.

[Knowing (almost) everyone is from different worlds makes it less likely he'll get immediately negative reactions for being a wizard, but he's not counting on that too much.]

At least, if there were any curses or malignant spirits left behind, I would know.

[maidofmistakes]

[Which, technically, it is. She groans and starts dragging herself up.]

Sorry... I was just trying to help.

[abysslord]

I'm sure you were, but it's not going to help anyone if you push yourself too hard. Do you think you can stand, or...?

[He's not opposed to carrying someone, but also, he's not just going to spring that on them without making sure that's okay first. Also, there's a high chance he can't carry them for very long.]

[abysslord]

[Considering Yuri's from a world where multiple kinds of people can utilize magic, it's not weird at all.]

Oh, well, that's good! Definitely don't want any of those around. Especially ones from a world we only know so much about. Out of curiousity...have you picked up on anything lately?

[relictus]

I haven't. There could be any number of reasons for it, but despite any past tragedies I haven't sensed anything intangible left behind.

[Maybe it's already been purified, or maybe wrathful spirits just don't have that level of power here- who knows.]

[More softly,]

Still, it's likely everything here belonged to the dead. We should be mindful of that.

[maidofmistakes]

Yeah. [She holds her head and staggers up.] I just got really tired all of a sudden. It's weird, maybe it's a side effect of this dimension...

[survivaltricks]

a. cats!!

[when in doubt?? seek out the small, fluffy things!! that's the best survival advice one could get. . . right? right??]

[hah]

[well, whether it's good survival advice or not, Akira can be found near the edge of the forest on Rabbit island, crouched down with one hand extended towards the underbrush. it looks like he's holding. . . a long leaf?? and is waggling it through the air, as though attempting to coax something out of hiding. a fluffy, pitch-black adult cat is perched on his back, peering over his shoulder as its tail flicks to and fro behind it. it is clearly not one of the feral cats on the island]

Hey, buddy. . . come on out. I'm not going to hurt you; promise.

[though the fact that Akira's coaxing is met with a hissing noise does not bode well]

b. nightly visitors

[it's been a few days, and Akira. . . well. he can't say he's acclimated, but. he's making do. . . for now. which means when the sun begins to set and the area begins to grow dark, he is hastily making his way towards the town hall, hands in his pockets and shoulders slumped. the pitch black cat that has been following him around the past few days darts about at his heels, following at a swift pace]

[if Akira sees you during his trip to "civilization," he'll stop and nod]

Do you think it's safer inside at night?

b

[maidofmistakes]

I mean, it should be... at least most people are sticking together, right? Until we can rebuild the town, anyway.

a

[aono]

You're better off leaving them alone, they're not too friendly.

[Don't mind Rin, he's over by the edge of the woods gathering firewood. He's not ripping wholeass trees out of the ground today so he at least looks kind of normal. Dead wood makes for easy firewood, right?]

The kittens are the friendly ones.

[suddenlybees]

[ He has to stop and think. Still thinking. A good reason... Huh. There is none. ]

b

[suddenlybees]

[ Kano is walking away from town hall, hands in his pockets and no ghostly little spirit creature following at his heels that would've made it a little easier to spot him in his black hoodie and dark pants. ]

Hm? Mm...

[ He throws a glance over his shoulder at town hall, performative rather than really looking at it, and then looks at Akira. ]

I guess? So far all I've seen are cats, though, and they'll nibble on your toes whether you sleep inside or out.

[aono]

You too?

[Same hat!!!]

I thought it was weird, trees like this usually aren't a big deal.

[aono]

[It's cozy, though the sleeping bags at the town hall are about the same. Just with less privacy.

Also Rin has no idea how to use the radio, but it can't be that hard, right? He'll just go up to the radio and slip the headphones on.]

Er...is this thing on?

[There's static, because it has to be tuned to the right wavelength before calls can be made. But he doesn't know that part.]

I don't think it's working. It's all static.

[maidofmistakes]

Really? Then it's not just me! I wonder if it's a side effect of whatever's going on in this dimension... or just however we got to it.

[staymods]

[Following the sounds will get the two of them to the shore opposite of said sounds. Unfortunately, they're not going to be able to see much, since there's a lot of foliage over there. One thing they do see, however, is the wreckage of a car left to rot on the shoreside. It's definitely been there for several decades and is slowly being reclaimed by the land. But Supergirl at least will be able to recognize it as a 2010s car of some sort.]