canyonmods | NPC Info & Interaction Requests

NPC Info & Interaction Requests

NPC INTERACTION REQUESTS

The city of San Benedicto is filled with colorful characters and helpful guides. Sometimes, characters will want or need to speak to those people. In the event that you find yourself in that position, use this post to request an interaction with said NPC!

There are several recurring NPCs who are available to be spoken to. These "big name" NPCs are listed below. However, if you need the assistance of, say, a minor NPC or group of NPCs that have not been named, you're welcome to request them, too.

It works as thus: fill out the form below. A mod will respond. You may either play out/summarize the interaction on this page, or, if you have a log or a network post you would like the NPC to respond to, you may direct us that way. (If a thread drags on for a long time, mods may contact you to summarize it to get you the closure and answers you need.)

Below are the recurring NPCs available for interactions:

MAYOR DANICA KARST

Mayor Karst has been in charge of the city for four years. Though firm in her convictions, she manages the city with an almost motherly hand. As part of her pro-tourism and pro-immigration stance, she has decided to welcome the strange new arrivals with open arms.

MAKA MANKATO

Friendly and curious, Maka is the lead excavator at the San Benedicto archeological dig. Left in charge after the disappearance of her father, the former lead excavator, she's young, but well-respected in the community. Always willing to lend new arrivals a helping hand.

HAMISH GUILLORY, PHD

Hamish is the somewhat unusual man who owns the Canyon Historical Preservation Museum. He can give you background on any item found in the building, but he has a tendency to ramble. He has the unfortunate habit of referring to the new arrivals as "finds."

MOSES AFOLABI

The latest in the Afolabi line, Moses is the city's billionaire philanthropist benefactor. His family's name is on stadiums, schools, and streets all over San Benedicto. Whenever there's a humanitarian problem to tackle, Moses is there to help. His latest act of generosity is his willingness to help settle the new arrivals into the city, making sure they're sheltered and able to put food on the table.

JEMMA RHODES

Jemimah "Jemma" Rhodes is an old-woman-turned-Air-Elemental who owns the Rhodes farm near the outskirts of the canyon. Aided by her son and grandson, she's nevertheless no shrinking violet, and never hesitates to speak her mind -- albeit politely, unless you deserve her ire.

DR. AMY KASSABIAN

A psychiatrist that was turned into a Mechanical, who fused with her office. She offers therapeutic sessions as well as prescribed medications.

DIG SITE EMPLOYEES

Tasked with uncovering the ruins that the PCs wake up on, these worker bees are always buzzing about, excitedly awaiting new arrivals to come in on a bolt from the blue. They're the first people new characters see, and inform them of (almost) all they need to know to get them started: where to go, what to do, where they are.

TRANSFORMED CANYONITES

Undergoing the same types of transformations as the PCs, about 2% of the canyon's 9 million person population have transformed so far. Every monster type has been represented by the natives in some way or another. Facing discrimination, they tend to sympathize with others of their kind.

UNTRANSFORMED CANYONITES

Human through and through, the untransformed citizens of San Benedicto have mixed feelings about their transformed brethren. Some regard them with suspicion and fear, while others welcome their neighbors as they always would. Most of them, however, find the PCs suspicious and untrustworthy.

If you have another idea for an NPC encounter and don't see the proper NPC listed here, please just fill out their name/information in the form below, and we'll see what we can do!

NPC interaction form:

Character name: NPC you'd like to interact with: Nature of the interaction/question: Is there a thread for us to tag into?:

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Please post below with your filled out form.

Character name: Sans
NPC you'd like to interact with: Mayor Karst
Nature of the interaction/question: Between having a seizure when he tried to fly out of the canyon and Papyrus's cave incident, Sans wants to know what she thinks is going on here. It seems like the situation goes a little beyond "bad air". Sans will be applying all his face reading skills to try and see if she's lying to him or otherwise hiding something. He's also got like a dozen eyes to watch her with now. He'll keep things generally friendly and casual, though; he's not trying to cause trouble here.
Is there a thread for us to tag into?: No

Mayor Karst will welcome Sans into her office with a friendly smile. She apologizes for any wait he's had to deal with; things that have been going on recently have kept her quite busy. It's readable on her face that she's a bit distracted, but she'll answer his questions to the best of her ability anyway. She doesn't seem fazed by his appearance.

As Sans speaks, she plays with her pen, clicking it with her thumb. Occasionally, she scribbles her signature on a sheet of paper and puts it into her outbox. She keeps eye contact, though -- with the pair of eye sockets on his face, anyway.

Once he's finished explaining the reason for his visit, she'll speak, putting her pen down.

"First of all, let me tell you how sorry I am for what happened to you and your brother. I hate to hear about anyone in my city getting hurt. I have to ask that the two of you don't go into unauthorized zones again; things have been getting more dangerous recently with, well, everything that's been going on."

Her smile seems a bit tight around the edges.

"Falling out of the sky, well... We've always had--" She catches herself before she can say "bad air." "--a bit of a problem with people flying over the canyon. Makes radar go all crazy. Flight navigation systems don't work right in the airspace above us. The rest of the US has designated us a no-fly zone for that reason. Too many crashes, too many... Well."

She takes in a breath, forces her smile to be a little bit wider.

"I wish I had a better explanation for you, but to be honest, all of that stuff goes right over my head. All we have down here are, well, legends and stories." She laughs a little. "Certainly nothing backed up by scientific fact. But you know how superstitious people can be. As for the tunnel..."

Her smile fades, and she gets a bit more serious.

"We suspect a gas leak. What my sources are saying, maybe there's something in the gas that, well, that triggers whatever's transforming people? It would certainly explain the headaches and the... um..." Her brow pinches as she frowns. "...hallucinations. Honestly, Sans, we're still looking into it. Your guess is, unfortunately, as good as mine."

As she wraps up, her smile comes back, though it's apparent that she hasn't said nearly as much as she knows. "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

Character name: Papyrus
NPC you'd like to interact with: Dr. ~~Calloutbotian~~ Amy Kassabian
Nature of the interaction/question: Summary of how therapy's been going, with highlights of major occurrences - the better to know if Papyrus is still attending, or if he would have stopped. (He would have preferred virtual therapy, for the comfort of his own - less 'decorated' - couch.) Have they continued talking about the traumas he's experienced recently, in the Canyon and back underground? Would they have embarked on any focused cognitive bonehavorial therapy? (Yes, Papyrus would have made that joke.)
Is there a thread for us to tag into?: No, prev thread was based at a specific time

Papyrus will have been allowed virtual therapy. He will have been on video calls, his face visible to Dr. Kassabian, with an eye on the screen staring back at him from her end, surrounded by static.

Dr. Kassabian will have encouraged him to share his traumas from the canyon's happenings. She will have given him several assignments, worksheets to fill out (you may choose which ones you want Papyrus to have received). She occasionally asks about Sans and his relationship with his brother, but no longer presses to get Sans to see her himself, at least for now.

Character name: Sans
NPC you'd like to interact with: Maka
Nature of the interaction/question: MAKA DON'T GET MURDERED

But more specifically, after talking to Skye, Sans is going to let Maka know about the vision Skye had. He'll tell the truth about what Skye told him. He will offer some lighthearted teasing about her breaking her own "no working after dark" rules but also it's very clear Sans is being serious here. No working after dark allowed!
Is there a thread for us to tag into?: no

Maka will initially seem skeptical, but after it's clear how serious Sans is, she'll nod and agree not to work after dark. She thanks him for the information and tells him to make sure he doesn't stay out after the sun goes down, either. It seems like she's curious about the details of Sans and Skye's correspondence, but she doesn't ask. Whether or not she will actually take his advice remains to be seen.

Oh, Sans won't leave until Maka does. :) He's very annoying about it. This is how he expresses friendship.

Character name: Dr. Robotnik
NPC you'd like to interact with: our mysterious creature friend, hopefully!
Nature of the interaction/question: He's gonna send a drone with audio capabilities into the places she might be residing to send a big ol' message of "not gonna hurt you" and see what he gets, starting with ~~the waterfall~~ the hole in the cliff wall now! He's also been scanning the residential database in the background for people potentially matching the information he's been given.
Is there a thread for us to tag into?: https://canyon-network.dreamwidth.org/6720.html?thread=389696#cmt389696

Edited (changed where the drone's going/added a thread) 2022-01-24 03:02 (UTC)

Character name: Dinah Lance
NPC you'd like to interact with: Mayor Karst
Nature of the interaction/question: To offer protection from cannibal monster girl
Is there a thread for us to tag into?: no, sorry!

Character name: Sans
NPC you'd like to interact with: Mayor Karst and Dr. Guillory
Nature of the interaction/question: Making this official as of Dinah's return (but just before the emotion event starts): Sans will be talking to Mayor Karst and Dr. Guillory, referencing his info dump post and Dinah's latest post about what happened to her, and trying to pull some strings to get the caves guarded. Seriously, people going down there is a terrible idea and it is going to lead to a buffet for the thing that lives down there and nobody wants that. Going to the mayor because she has the political power and Dr. Guillory because he is generally associated with research/the dig site/etc. and therefore would be the most likely to be nearby.

In case they need it emphasized too Sans will just point out that they shouldn't go into the caves either. Nor should the guards. Nobody should go down there, there is not even a little bit of a plan that Sans has heard that makes any sense.
Is there a thread for us to tag into?: nah

Character name: Sans
NPC you'd like to interact with: Maka's dad's body? Okpaza? WE'LL SEE
Nature of the interaction/question: Sans is going to teleport into the lab while he's a messenger of Okpaza to see if he can hear more directly from Okpaza this way, since last time they had a productive conversation and everything.
Is there a thread for us to tag into?: We can thread right here.

By now, Maka's father's corpse is the only specimen -- or living thing -- present in that wing of the lab. It's eerily silent, save for the buzzing of the fluorescent lights above it, though the light seems polluted. It flickers and goes black -- it doesn't go out, but the light itself turns an inky black periodically, somehow able to shine down on Mr. Mankato's body with all its absence of color.

The growth of his fungus-like flesh has extended around the room, creeping over the floors and up the walls. Eyes embedded in the skin open and swivel around to look at Sans when he enters.

When Sans arrives, he brings his light with him, oozing out between his wings. He's careful to pull it inward, though, keeping it to himself, not wanting to damage the corpse with it. The dripping, inky blackness from his eyes he allows more freedom. Sans doesn't have to worry about damaging any of the fungus; he's floating, with so many wings to hold him up.

"Hey. Guess you were right." About the messenger thing. Is that too informal? It probably doesn't matter. Formality and informality aren't concepts relevant to Okpaza anyway.

The lights seem particularly potent without glass obscuring them anymore; it seems no one bothered to replace the panes after Sans's last visit, though the table has been tipped back up properly, and the glass shards are nowhere to be seen.

Mr. Mankato's eyes rotate around, briefly looking at Sans before continuing their REM-like movement.

"You sssseem different," the interlaced voices say, still stacked up like three people are talking all at once. Still hissing and eerie.

It doesn't seem like anyone's been repairing the lab. Which is fine with Sans, if it means this piece of Okpaza can grow more easily, but it is a little strange. It's a terrible way to try and keep something contained. But that was always futile, wasn't it?

"I changed my mind about the messenger of Okpaza thing." He didn't choose differently, though; he didn't choose anything. He always was a messenger. What changed was that he decided to embrace it.

"Ssssplendid," drones the voice. "You can fffffeel it. It'ssss growing. It'sss wonderful."

The air flexes around them. When the light next flickers black, the corpse on the table changes. It looks even less like what used to be a man, and more like some sort of strange nest. The flesh is blackened, with mushroom-like things growing out of it that curl and twist and blossom and die, life and death somehow layered on top of each other, occurring simultaneously. As if Sans is looking into the past and future at once, not the present.

Something stirs inside the cocoon of black sludge. The whispers behind Mr. Mankato's main set of voices start up, but Sans will be able to understand them all perfectly now.

"Wither, bloom, soon It rises, soon It feasts, as above so below, one with destiny, one with It once more."

It's a relief to be able to understand the whispering entirely instead of only catching bits and pieces. Sans can imagine--or maybe he's seeing?--the mushrooms swallowing up the whole lab, and that's exciting too. This place is a lot easier to reach than the tunnels.

"I know I'm supposed to be trying to get people to see Okpaza. Is there anything else I should be doing?"

More up to date information would be great, if there is any.

"It'ssss your fellowsss that need the most convincing," the voice says. "Our intrepid explorerssss from other worldssss. Their powerssss are with me now..."

Sans will begin to see visions of those who came into the canyon with some sort of power. Glimpses of their lives, both through their eyes and others'. Beyond Birthday, glancing at himself on a walk through LA, reflections in the windows next to him spelling out everyone's names above their heads, and everyone's lifespan but his own. Dinah Lance, screaming her lungs out and sending masked men flying backward from the force of it. Belladonna, conjuring small, cute things.

Sans will be able to feel a sense like empathy; a great hunger pangs inside him, but it doesn't come from him. Feral and ravenous, it will temporarily overtake his mind, but then the lights flick back to pale yellow, banishing the visions and the madness.

Sans briefly realizes that means Okpaza has taken his and Papyrus's old abilities as well, but before he can contemplate any of that the hunger knocks all his thoughts out of his mind. Where Sans is from, monsters can absorb human souls, but it's not something anyone would do except under the most desperate of circumstances. It's wrong. This is the first time Sans thinks he understands wanting to. More than that, it's the first time he's ever wanted to eat a soul, is halfway through the idea of tearing his own out and trying to chew it to pieces before the lights flicker back on and leave him scoured out inside, dizzy with the memory of himself.

"Is that how hungry Okpaza feels all the time?" There are more important things to discuss but Sans can still feel the echo of it, and the sympathy that goes alongside it as Okpaza's messenger.

"Oh yessss. Sssso dark and emptyyyy... Sssouls from this world can only ssssustain it sssso much. It ffffed, It did, on the creaturesss that wandered to this canyon over millionssss of yyyyears... But It needs mmmmmore."

The lights flicker black again. This time, more scenes play out on the fungus-covered walls.

Victor Zsasz kneeling down, kissing Roman Sionis's ring as they meet for the first time. Hannibal Lecter gutting Will Graham in his kitchen. Waylon Park cradling his firstborn child in his arms. Eponine Thenardier huddling hungry in an alley. Quentin Smith running for his life.

"Yyyyour memoriessss... The ssstrength from other universessss... Lay them down as an offfffering to The One Who Hungers."

"How? What should I do?" Sans doesn't know if he's agreeing to get these memories that are playing on the walls or to give Okpaza some of his own right here, but as he is right now, agreeing is the only choice. (Mostly. The core of him that's Sans and doesn't belong to anybody coils tight somewhere below Sans's awareness.)

Edited 2023-02-04 22:19 (UTC)

The mass of black fungus on the table shifts. Tendrils unfurl and grow and wither and die, and something rises, the fleshy pile bulging. It splits open, spilling inky black liquid onto the floor that reflect more memories -- Fenris and Anders, Richtofen, Wrench, Sal.

What appears, floating there as flesh decays and falls off around it, is a long, thin dagger. Its blade and handle are both pitch black. There is a bulging eye on the base of the handle that looks around the room, and the grip is textured with what look to be tendrils wrapped around it that move in subtle motions.

"Take it," Maka's father says somewhere beneath -- or around -- all the chaos. "Blood sssspilled with this blade under the full moon will releasssse a memory. But -- you musssst do it in the proper place. The caves... The lake... The dump. Where itssss pull is greatessst."

Sans takes the blade by the hilt, carefully. It's a gift, it's precious. (He was killed by something like this, once. Before he came here. He doesn't have the presence of free will to have thoughts about holding a knife like this himself right now.)

"I can do that." Though he'll have to pick someone. He doesn't have a lot of time until the next full moon, but that's okay. Time doesn't mean anything, not really. He's known that even before he knew Okpaza.

"Thissss month," the voice continues. "The One Who Waitssss will make them ffffall in love. To sssstay together... A preview of what'ssss to come."

Perhaps Sans can already feel it happening, the way people have been more affectionate since the comet. He'll be able to feel a rumbling in himself now, deep affection on all levels; platonic, familial, romantic, whichever way there is to feel it. These feelings will be centered on the Okpaza.

"It issss all things that are or will be. It will reunite sssssomeday, as you will with It."

Sans has never entirely known what to do with strong affection, except for the kind he feels for Papyrus, but with Okpaza is feels natural enough. He wants even more to help sate its hunger even a little, to help it wait just a little longer until it can devour all of them.

"Right. When the job's done." A reminder to himself that while he could just jump down into the caves, he has work to do here. He has to get everybody else down there first, and everybody else is a lot less willing. Anyway, he isn't going to leave Papyrus alone to wait. Papyrus still thinks all this is a bad thing; Sans needs to convince him, even if he doesn't convince anybody else.

Character name: Eponine Thenardier
NPC you'd like to interact with: Okpaza
Nature of the interaction/question: She wants to meet the monster
Is there a thread for us to tag into?: Yes - https://thecanyon.dreamwidth.org/12628.html?thread=784468#cmt784468

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