nightmods: (Default)
nightmods ([personal profile] nightmods) wrote in [community profile] nightlogs2024-09-12 09:20 pm
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❅ SHITTY LITTLE TOWN ❅ PART 2

SHITTY LITTLE TOWN ❅ PART 2


There's an article in the local paper, but word travels through the town hours before the first newspaper hits a doorstep: a man went missing down the mine, and they couldn’t even retrieve his body for his wife to bury. The official story is that there was a freak cave-in while the night crew was working, that no amount of preparation or technology could have prevented the act of God that left one of the arterials from the main mining cavern obstructed. Given that it was the night crew, there was only one witness, and he was violating protocol and too far down another arterial to hear or see what happened; because Goluboy has a zero-tolerance policy for breaking protocols, he fired the surviving miner. Goluboy has informed the newspaper that there will be no further efforts to recover the body.

Thus, two events are happening in town this weekend: Ms. Cygne’s debut ball, and a protest against the mining conditions outside the mouth of the mines.

Out in the woods, the fog has been thick to the point where subsistence hunters can’t venture in more than a few yards, and there seem to be strange sounds, almost like music, soft tank drums and ringing, emanating from the murk. It almost feels like the menace of the woods is...encroaching.

PROMPTS


a)  PROTEST OUTSIDE THE MINE

The rage at Goluboy has been a long time brewing, but the people who live in his apartments wisely don’t appear at the protest. Instead, it’s all about twenty people who have just managed to avoid being dependent on Goluboy’s grace who have shown up with posterboards and a loudspeaker, rallying during the miners’ workday. This was all coordinated the day before my word of mouth, and it isn’t particularly well organized; people frequently end up blocking the mining equipment, and the foreman shouts at them to stay away from dangerous areas with marginal success. The three people with loudspeakers end up talking over each other and the chants are piecemeal and overlapping; however, the fact that people are upset about the perceived lack of safety for the miners and particularly for the abandonment of the missing miner’s body. Bring Him Home is the main chant and the only one that seems to get any muscle to it. The fired miner seems to be the person leading the most vocal chants.

The administrative staff from MineCorp have been asked to come field complaints from the protesters, armed with nothing but some talking points from the MineCorp mission statement (something something synergized comparative advantage for diversified innovative solutions something something labor is our most precious resource yada yada). One scruffy man seems to have hijacked the protest with his loudspeaker and is rambling about the animal maulings in the woods. At some point, Goluboy arrives in his armored Ford F-250. He calls over his foreman and has an annoyed conversation, and then he gets out, bodyguard looming behind him, to talk to individuals, putting on an evidently forced smile with gritted teeth.


b)  DEBUT BALL

Ms. Cygne’s debut ball at her mansion is the event of the year, with all the lavishness than this sort of town can muster; beautiful dresses, a chocolate fountain, gift bags with expensive accessories and bonbons, fine sparkling wines, and invitations embossed with gold leaf. Plenty of the little treats are the sort that were presumed extinct in this town; no one’s seen a pair of Gucci sunnies or eaten a Ghirardelli’s in years here.

Most of the festivities take place in the massive ballroom that anchors the mansion, and they spill out into the lawn, where Ms. Cygne has insisted on a sit-down dinner rather than a “ghastly” buffet. The lady of the hour is quite active, making sure to check in with every single person at least once to make sure she’s getting praised for her hosting skills and getting a good look at every youth who’s appeared. The youths themselves have been pressured, by family members, teachers or Ms. Cygne herself, to present themselves as elegantly and politely as possible, and to make a “good showing” at their first event as a notable, respectable young person who may be a contender for Ms. Cygne’s prestigious scholarship.

At the table, people rub elbows with people they may not necessarily speak to otherwise, all brought together by the commonality of being someone Ms. Cygne has deemed noteworthy. Almost nobody allows themselves to get too inebriated, but one woman has a bit too much champagne and begins to cry at the dinner table; her friend, another woman in her thirties, ushers her to the powder room, where she composes herself while everyone awkwardly changes the subject. A few people do mannered waltzes in the ballroom, and out on the lawn, people mingle and make toasts.


c)  EXPLORE ELSEWHERE [Link]

OOC: Please feel free to thread with each other at any location in the town. Available NPCs are bolded. Please indicate in bold in your comment if you would like an NPC to tag in, or reach out to Em or Juliet specifically. We request that each player only request one NPC per character so we may respond quickly. Thank you!


KNOWN IC DETAILS


There is gossip around town that characters can be handwaved as knowing that might drive some questions about the town and npcs:

  • The spooky deaths in the woods that have been going on for ages.

  • Mining disasters like this have happened before, always before the announcement of a big new mining vein opening up.

  • Children who take Ms Cygne's scholarship never come back to the town, and their letters are very formulaic.

  • Goluboy's wife died under mysterious circumstances, his girlfriend went to jail for the murder, and he is about town courting again.

  • Cygne has a pond full of so many beautiful swans, aren't they lovely!

  • The curfew sure is heavily enforced. Is it because the sheriff knows something about the monsters in the woods and is withholding information?


OOC DETAILS

Deja Vu: Characters may optionally start getting some very brief flashes of memory or deja vu but this will be brief, confusing, and alarming rather than revelatory and full memory regain will not be possible. Still, players can opt to have this cause a feeling of possible unease or un-rightness to the situation that can be used to drive characters to have questions or be suspicious enough to investigate areas and situations.

Event Length: This part of the plot will involve an npcing stage. It will last approx. two weeks before the last part, part 3, though this end time may be shortened to match player pace if npc threads progress quickly.

New Intros: If your character wasn't introed in part 1 you can handwave they've been there the whole time and just intro in part 2.

New Characters: If you app a new character and want to intro them at this time, assume they arrived just in time at the location the plot takes place in to be caught up in the magic drawing everyone in. They would have gotten the Man in the Moon's spiel from the welcome page right before being magically sucked in.
hallelujahjunction: (Basic - Smoke)

For Miguel | Closed

[personal profile] hallelujahjunction 2024-09-13 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Dan looks much better than the last time Miguel saw him. He’s still gaunt and his hands are still bandaged around his knuckles, but his clothing is clean and he’s well-groomed. He no longer bears the marks and smells of desperate poverty, instead just looking a little battered and smelling faintly of cigarettes. He’s been staying at the Warren Family Farms; Aster took the hit to his reputation by hiring Dan as a live-in farmhand, and Dan’s been trying to repay that by taking advantage of every opportunity Aster gives him to get healthy and rested.

He's not far from the camping set-up where he spent some nights while unsheltered, so while he was scouting the treeline for a few good entry points for Miguel, he’s been packing up then few belongings he stashed in a Ziploc bag in a tree. His meager tarp shelter takes nothing more than a few tugs to pull down, but the fog is thick enough that Dan isn’t sure there’s a safe way to go in and remove his trap line. He already feels bad enough for having left it unattended for the last few days where it could have snared an animal and let it go to waist.

Good evening,” Dan says to Miguel as he approaches, killing his cigarette and tucking the butt into a bag in his jacket. He decided to do this at night because of the weird incidents with the monster and Lady last week. Dan isn’t sure they’ll see those apparitions again, and he hasn’t yet told Miguel about them, but he desperately wants a closer look.
shittylittlenpcs: (goluboy)

For Brigid

[personal profile] shittylittlenpcs 2024-09-13 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
“How’s my favorite employee?”

Goluboy leans on Brigid’s desk, smiling without involving his eyes. Lately, he’s been stopping by the administrative offices more and more to do “oversight”, which most of the employees understand to mean looking for people to fire for taking too-long breaks or leaving food in the break room fridge. He frequently stops by Brigid’s desk to discuss payroll matters, typically whose health insurance is going to be cut off or whose vacation requests are getting denied.

Today’s no different. Goluboy sits on the edge of her desk and all but whispers into her ear that Callahan, the miner who was just fired, should be removed from all systems and have his security clearance revoked immediately.

“You can do that for me, can’t you, sweetheart?”
shittylittlenpcs: (cygne)

For Lady

[personal profile] shittylittlenpcs 2024-09-13 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
“So good of you to make the time to come see an old woman,” Ms. Cygne says as she pours Lady a cup of iced tea, clearly angling for a you’re hardly old compliment. “I’ve been so curious how you’ve been. A poor girl like you, all alone in that big house, well, I’d be beside myself if I were your parents.”

Ms. Cygne has been asking Lady to come over on a monthly basis for the last few months, and recently has increased her requests for frequent contact to weekly tea times. It’s always only Ms. Cygne home, but the dessert she sets out – which she expects Lady to only take a sliver from – was clearly made by her cook. Ms. Cygne’s perfectly-manicured nails and “sensitive” nature would make slaving over a hot stove far too vulgar. This time she sets out a pear tart that would look perfect in a storefront window but which will likely be tossed into the trash the second Lady leaves.

“How have your studies been?”
divasmio: (pic#17060058)

[personal profile] divasmio 2024-09-13 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
What happens if Paul tries to call someone outside the town? I imagine he wouldn't reach anyone, but would he constantly just get their voicemail or would he get some weird phone error?

EDIT: also how much is Goluboy gonna tell the company's lawyers about what's going on with the death? Paul is going to insist he needs to know what's going on and can't have any surprises if he wants to protect the company from a lawsuit.
Edited 2024-09-13 20:17 (UTC)
shittylittlenpcs: (goluboy)

For Dick

[personal profile] shittylittlenpcs 2024-09-13 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Goluboy's only ever seen at establishments like Dick's when he's looking to start problems. Normally, he'd never be caught dead rubbing shoulders with the riff raff that sometimes comes to Dick's to get out of the cold and wet, but the siren song of getting to antagonize people is enough to override Goluboy's distaste for the commoners.

It doesn't override his snobbiness enough to convince him to order anything, though. He sneers at the pastries and considers the type of coffee Dick's serving to be deeply inferior to finely-ground Kona Coffee roasts. He keeps his hands in his pockets as if he doesn't want to sully himself by touching anything.

He asks the barista to speak to the manager and waits.
hallelujahjunction: (Happy - Pleased)

[personal profile] hallelujahjunction 2024-09-13 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Great questions!

I think whenever he calls he just gets voicemail that never gets answered. Nothing that's weird on any individual call but the lack of any responses over time is strange.

Would you rather thread with Goluboy or have an OOC info-dump on what he'd say?
divasmio: (Default)

[personal profile] divasmio 2024-09-13 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
A thread would be good! Going over this incident (plus the endangered species snag boims found, and maybe some other lawsuits? Paul may have a whole file) your lawyer is very stressed Mr. Goluboy
bostonhowler: (orly)

[personal profile] bostonhowler 2024-09-14 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
The man is a slimeball on his good days and doesn't have too many of those. To hear someone else died in the mine, just like her Da had bothered Brigid to the point that she hasn't slept well in a day or so. It shows in the bags under her eyes, and the almost tears that are there at all times.

When he whispers in her ear, she swallows thickly and nods. "Of course, Mr. Goluboy." She says, pulling up the systems. She's already revoked Calahan's security clearance. She'd done that first thing this morning, when she'd heard he'd been fired.

A few keystrokes and she's done. "There you go, sir." She says, managing a weak smile. She doesn't like this at all.
hallelujahjunction: (Happy - Relaxed)

[personal profile] hallelujahjunction 2024-09-14 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
Sounds fantastic! Do you mind starting and I’ll have Goluboy meet Paul in the office?
divasmio: (Default)

Paul Delius (Apollo)

[personal profile] divasmio 2024-09-14 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ prompts will be posted below! ]
divasmio: (pic#17060057)

Closed to Goluboy

[personal profile] divasmio 2024-09-14 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
Paul generally likes to keep his desk organized, so the files spread out in front of him are upsetting for a number of reasons. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, leaning forward as if getting closer to the the problems will make them easier to solve. He had been much more relaxed when this was a simple land dispute, before an endangered species had been discovered. It's hard enough making one legal nightmare disappear; Now Paul had to deal with wrongful death, too?

MineCorp has been a steady client of The Law Offices of Tonans, Lucis & Fulgur for years dealing with these kinds of issues. Paul had been calling the firm requesting they fax over some old case files he could reference, but no one's been getting back to him.

He glances at the drawer where he keeps his anxiety meds, and considers taking an extra dose, but decides against it for the time being. He still needs to meet with his client to talk about what the hell actually happened in that mine.
Edited 2024-09-14 04:37 (UTC)
shittylittlenpcs: (spooky woods)

The Spooky Woods | OTA

[personal profile] shittylittlenpcs 2024-09-14 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
The rumors about the woods have only just started to spread. That there's something more sinister than bears in there. That the curfew stands so firmly enforced because night lets something into town that the woods keep concealed. That they're lurking in the mist. Or maybe that the mist is leaking through tears in reality that the beings from galaxies far, far away are using to get through, and that if you spend too much time in the misty, barren woods about town, you might find yourself in the hands of something that wants to experiment on you. Or eat you. Or torture you out of hate alone.

But rumors of and aliens and cryptids are just that. Rumors. You'd have to be some kind of kook to take any of that schlock seriously.

At least, that's the Sheriff's line, every time she locks someone up anyway for breaking curfew.

Maybe you ought to go see for yourself.
divasmio: (pic#17060111)

OPEN - Big Top Circus Coffee (Will match style)

[personal profile] divasmio 2024-09-14 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
Paul is sitting at one of the smaller tables with a half-eaten pastry and a large mug of decaf. He's staring intently at his phone, brows knit in conversation as he scrolls through his text messages.

Delivered. Delivered. Delivered. Read Yesterday, 6:42 PM. Delivered.

He pulls up his contacts and calls someone. Anyone with good enough hearing might catch that whoever he's calling sent him to voicemail. He frowns and ends the call without even listening to the whole message.

When someone passes by, he speaks up, still staring at his phone. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any contacts outside of town, would you?" He finally looks up, a tinge of concern in his eyes. "When was the last time you heard from them?"
divasmio: (pic#17059968)

OPEN - Nog's Bar (will match style)

[personal profile] divasmio 2024-09-14 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
01.
Everything's fine. Everything is fine. And because everything is fine, he can go to the bar and flirt and find someone beautiful and interesting to take home with him, because things are normal and that's what you do when things are normal. If things were weird and strange, he wouldn't go to a bar.

Paul doesn't go around announcing himself as Mr. Goluboy's lawyer, but anyone who's had legal run-ins with MineCorp have certainly seen him before. He knows he's handsome and charming, and Paul leans into that charm as he buys a drink for the good-looking face a few seats down from him at the bar. He flashes a winning smile their way.

-

02.
Anyone who has had legal dealings with MineCorp or Mr. Goluboy himself would recognize Paul. Even when he's not flirting with you, he's still sitting at the bar, flashing that beautiful smile and desperately trying to quash this unease he's been feeling for the past few days.
Edited 2024-09-14 06:43 (UTC)
ninjavampire: (pic#16556873)

[personal profile] ninjavampire 2024-09-14 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
The flashlight catches the edge of some trunks and brambles as Miguel makes his way over, rustling through the leaf litter. He has a bulky backpack on him with the equipment they'll need for his little experiment, and a coat to insulate from the brisk cold. Night time in the town was a reminder that winter is fast approaching.

"Bien verte." he greets Dan. "Te ves mejor de ánimo."

( Good to see you. You look like you're in better spirits. )

He didn't typically do these ventures after sunset, not liking the idea of crashing his prototype in the dark. The drone's collision detection had gotten robust enough that he was willing to give it a try, this time. Plus, he finds that he didn't dislike his occasional run-ins with Dan after they met, even if it's in the middle of the woods this time around. He's glad to see him looking better.
bringinghopewithme: (310 - eternal giver flowing forever)

Aster Warren | Open and Individual Top-Levels

[personal profile] bringinghopewithme 2024-09-15 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
hallelujahjunction: (Basic - Summing Up)

[personal profile] hallelujahjunction 2024-09-15 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
"How you been?"

He grins at Miguel, turning his flashlight from a direct beam to a more diffuse lantern setting. Even better-clothed and healthier, he still finds the night annoyingly chilly, so he zips up his coat over his jacket and pops his hands into his pockets.

"Aster hired me over at the farm. Work and shelter does a body good." Dan has, in a way, reversed his fortunes so dramatically he doesn't completely know how to process it, and as such is leaning towards finding a way to sabotage or abandon the situation. He tells himself it's because he doesn't like feeling dependent on a single person's favor in order to stay clothed and nourished, but while the idea of returning to sleeping on the streets horrifies him, that's at least a state of being that he knows and understands. Living in a huge manor eating fresh peaches and tomatoes before taking hot baths and sleeping in a California king is in equal parts delightful and foreign enough to be terrifying.

"Is this the drone?" Dan doesn't expect to understand the majority of what Miguel's about to do here, although the idea of piloting an itty-bitty helicopter with a camera seems comprehensible enough. "I'm sure you're wondering why I asked us to do this at night. I didn't want to talk about it in town because I think the sheriff's office is covering it up on purpose, but I'm pretty sure Aster, Lady and I ran into the source of the animal maulings."
bringinghopewithme: (215 - the air is silk)

A: Protests Too Much | OTA

[personal profile] bringinghopewithme 2024-09-15 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
The scruffy man on the loudspeaker is getting on Aster's dang nerves, because everything he's saying about the monsters in the woods is wrong.

He's been circulating at this protest, talking to everyone he knows and waving in everyone he doesn't know who'll hear him, telling them everything he and Dan and Lady have learned about the monsters in the woods - they're veiled, corpselike women moving like dancers, confined to the mist, but it's possible nighttime gives them freedom to come all the way into town, why else would the sheriff be so intent on maintaining this curfew?

Too bad he's overshouted by the guy with the loudspeaker, who is spreading much more effectively his word that the woods are full of aliens. Nine foot tall greys thin enough to be mistaken for trees, and knee-high goblins that hide under his porch, break into people's garbage.

"So they're raccoons he saw a few cups deep?" Aster grumbles. "He's not right. I've seen them. They're -" he looks distracted, as the guy yells more about the Hollywood Illuminati agenda thinning the veil between worlds to let the extraterrestrials in. "I'm about to steal that megaphone."
bringinghopewithme: (201 - When the words)

Re: OPEN - Big Top Circus Coffee (Will match style)

[personal profile] bringinghopewithme 2024-09-15 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
Aster, picking up some espresso for his new employee's caffeine addiction, having stopped to ponder everything he's recently learned over a mocha, looks up sharply at Paul's voice. He frowns as he recognizes one of Goluboy's lawyers.

"Why do you want to know?" he asks, because while he very much wants to talk about the difficulties that exist with leaving town and what he's learned about them, this could be part of a scheme to get his land.
shittylittlenpcs: (goluboy)

[personal profile] shittylittlenpcs 2024-09-15 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
Goluboy doesn't arrive on time, which is something he'd never tolerate from Paul; it's clearly a power play to show up forty-five minutes after they were supposed to meet to discuss the miner, Rick Pallett, and his untimely demise. He walks in and loudly slams a bunch of files on Paul's desk.

"Alright, let's get this over with. We need to, what, figure out how much money to give the widow?" He checks his watch. "I'm already running late. What do you need?"
shittylittlenpcs: (goluboy)

[cw: harassment]

[personal profile] shittylittlenpcs 2024-09-15 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
"Good girl." Goluboy tugs at a ringlet of her hair as he sits back against the desk and looks over her shoulder. He's looking at her browser tabs and desk to see if there's anything he could criticize her about for wasting company time or resources and finds nothing.

"I need you to make me a list of everyone who's complained about the way we're handling this, whether they work here or not. I need you to keep an ear to the ground for grumbling. Whenever there's an unavoidable tragedy like this, people look for some deep pockets to blame and sue. Can you do that for me?"
irulian: (005)

skye (suvi) | ota

[personal profile] irulian 2024-09-15 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
🟍 the protest 🟍

[Skye doesn't want to be here. The anger of the townsfolk is all too understandable; no matter how much she might look down at them, she knows they're not entirely stupid, and Goluboy hasn't been running things how they ought to be run. But work is work, she has important things to do, and it's simply unfortunate that those things require her to be on-site.

She does her best to avoid the protesters, tucked away in one of the trailers nearby, but eventually she needs to collect some readings from equipment closer to the gathered crowd.

Someone on the fringes spots her, nudging the people beside him to point out the obvious target that she makes, dressed in her stupid fucking MineCorp polo. When Skye spots them approaching, she tells herself that she's not scared of them, but it's a lie, and her hands shake a little as they start to question her, fingers tapping out an anxious rhythm.

There's only three of them to the one of her, but the ringleader has a couple of inches on her and is using it to get in her face, jabbing a finger at her chest, accusing her of helping Goluboy cover up his friend's death.]


I'm a geophysicist! I have nothing to do with the structures of the tunnels!

[This is, evidently, not a good enough answer, since he continues to yell at her.

It probably won't devolve into violence, but Skye could use some de-escalation help.]


🟍 the ball 🟍

[The week has been long and incredibly stressful, and Skye is more than ready for a chance to put all that aside from a little while. It won't be an opportunity to completely switch off, the way she could back home, but there's food and drinks and music, and that's better than nothing. Her dress isn't her usual style, chosen to allow her to fade into the background; formal enough to blend in, without being ostentatious.

There's something freeing about that, too, being able to just blend into the background. She mingles a little, but spends much of her time outdoors on the lawn, at one point captivated by the scent of rosemary for a reason she can't quite explain.

When she hears someone approaching, she hastily wipes away a few stray tears, chastising herself silently for the display of weakness.]


🟍 the mines; closed to plot runners 🟍

[Something is wrong in the mines.

Ever since she arrived, Skye has felt there's something off about the mines, at first attributing it to Goluboy's greed and stupidity, until it became clear there's more going on.

She needs to know what it is. Once she figures it out, she can call Stella, wrap up her life in this shithole and go home, something she's wanted to do since setting foot in this awful town.

Her plan has required some careful planning, making sure she has the supplies, and more importantly, making sure that the mines will be quiet enough for her to sneak in unnoticed. The brief shut down after the cave-in provides the perfect opportunity; she's already stolen a keycard to allow her access and set up a timed email that will go out to Stella, should she not return within 24 hours.

It's not quite dusk when she makes her move, having waited on-site with the claim of needing to finish up a report until the majority of the staff had left. Sneaking past the few remaining guards or miners isn't too hard, even with her pack, and the elevator down the main shaft is quiet enough that she doesn't expect anyone to hear her.

And then it's just her, a headlamp, and the tunnels stretching out before her.]


🟍 wildcard 🟍

[[ooc: feel free to hit me up for regular in town stuff or anything else ✌️ i'm happy to write a starter.]]
bostonhowler: (innocence)

I love how creepy he is.

[personal profile] bostonhowler 2024-09-15 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
She swallows, hating how handsy he is with her. She's also learned in her few years of working here, not to use the internet for anything other than her job. She will, occasionally, google an excel equation; she hasn't done that in a while.

And now he wants her to spy. She won't of course, but she has an excuse: She hardly ever leaves her apartment. she can't hear anything if she's never around people. She licks her lips, pulling up her Microsoft Word. "Would you prefer it in Word or in Google Docs so you can be updated in real time?" She asks, softly, wanting him to go away.

But, she does have a box of cookies she made on the corner of her desk for anyone to take, should they stop by. No one will with him sitting there, and she'll be isolated with him.
divasmio: (pic#17060078)

[personal profile] divasmio 2024-09-15 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
Paul hadn't realized the passer-by was Aster, but doesn't shy away from continuing the conversation. This isn't relevant to the case, anyway... provided he doesn't mention his firm isn't responding, either.

"I've been reaching out to friends back home, and all I'm getting is voicemail. No callbacks. And they're not even opening my texts." He frowns. "People in town respond just fine, though." When they want to, at least.

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