villagelogs | 012-014 » even the air itself was grey

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012-014 » even the air itself was grey

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central Mathias.
WHEN: Days 012-014
WHAT: The weather is behaving strangely. Again.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Michael Andrews "Liquid Spear Waltz"

DAYS 012-014
“The overcast skies had the colour of deadened stones, and seemed closer than usual, as though they were phlegmatically observing my every movement with their apathetic emptily blue-less eyes.”
—Simona Panova, “Nightmarish Sacrifice”

Rain has returned to Mathias. While those who remember the storms from nearly two weeks ago may fear reprisal of such tumultuous weather, this rain is far tamer. The cloudy grey skies let loose a steady drizzle that remains constant from start to finish, which is in itself, perhaps, a bit unusual. The patter of droplets against windows, small streams forming in the roads and on grass as the ground becomes saturated, all of it may seem normal to some, but a little too normal to others.

What is without question abnormal, however, is the sun. Though it cannot be seen distinctly behind the thick grey clouds, its light remains as constant as the rain throughout these three days. Hour after hour, regardless of the time of day, there is light in the sky. Unchanging, an inescapable reminder that Mathias is not home, and none who are brought here have any control over what will occur in this place.

NEW ARRIVALS
Once again, more unfortunate souls have been brought to Mathias by unknown means, deposited at the edge of the forest near the empty houses that tell of those who once lived in this strange little town. They may find themselves wandering through the trees until they encounter the strange fog that envelops the town, or stumbling upon the rotting remains of houses that have felt the passage of time more than others.

LOCATIONS
LIGHTHOUSE Residents will notice the lighthouse to the north of Mathias, situated on a cliff that is above the town level. Even the most observant individuals will not have noticed it before now, which might be quite unsettling to some. There is no path available to reach the lighthouse at this time, though residents are welcome to try — they will be blocked by fog in the forest and a sense of unease that becomes debilitating if they walk too far along the beach.

NO NEW LOCATIONS are available for exploration at this time. Residents are welcome to further explore available locations, including utilizing AP rewards at locations they may have previously explored.

CONDITIONS UPDATES

— CLOCKS continue to be unreliable. Some may keep irregular time at different rates, while others have ceased to work at all, each having stopped at a different time.

— VOICES are not openly haunting our residents, though they may still be occasionally encountered in the more heavily decayed buildings where some rooms seem to almost swallow whatever light tries to enter them.

— WEATHER conditions are both typical and atypical for late fall. Temperatures consist of chilly "sweater weather" days and nights that can dip below freezing — you don't want to be outside without a coat when the sun goes down. A constant light rain continues for all three days, only stopping on the night of the third day. And for all three days, there is constant cloudy grey sunlight, with the sun unable to be seen and tracked from behind the cloud cover. Darkness will return to Mathias on the third night when the rain stops.

— FOG continues to block the way of those wishing to travel further than the Town Hall, and all who venture into the forest will be met by its impenetrable wall after a few hundred yards. The fog will allow none to pass; those who try will find themselves overcome by fear and panic so intense, they can physically do nothing but flee back the way they came.

OOC UPDATES

— HOUSING LISTINGS now have a permanent home! A few of these may have been missed or information might have changed, so please do submit updates as needed, including if your character moves into a new location or if there are rooms still available at said location.

— NEW PLAYERS are still arriving with each new log, so make sure to keep an eye on our ooc intro post. (An easy way to do this is to track the post — click the bell icon, select More Options, and track when someone makes a new top-level.)

— INFORMATION may publicly be shared between characters at the bulletin board in the town hall. This is meant to be a permanent place for pieces of the Mathias puzzle to be shared and archived to both help information be shared ICly and to allow new players to easily dive into the mystery.

— THE CALENDAR has been updated through the end of the year. With the approaching holiday season, we will continue a lighter log schedule, but as always, players are welcome to create their own logs, conduct intensive investigators, and make more terrible decisions. (The mod is always happy to enable these shenanigans, never hesitate to reach out with ideas.)

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LOG?

HOUSING DESIGN/EXPLORATION

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Our esteemed Marshal wasn't always a law abiding citizen. Really, mate. You need to stop giving me reasons to like you. [ John forced a small smile of his own. He quickly gave his cigarette a light with the lighter, then shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. ] Did the cowboy hat come after or before the law bit?

Tried of whatever bloody bastard runs this town ignoring me. Thought it might relieve some pent up anger.

[ Surprisingly, John could keep up with Raylan's stride easily. He was just quieter than normal - licking his wounds, as it was. Though part of him wished the rest of the town had left him alone for a few more days. He needed to find somewhere to hole himself up instead of just lashing out at everything.

That would be, if he was actually intelligent and took care of himself as one should. ]

[Raylan scoffed and smirked.]

After, but not by much. Walked into a hat shop one day and tried it on. It fit.

You wanna get attention, burn down a building. Maybe the town Hall, ain't shit useful in it anyway, expect the bulletin board. Figure we can take that out.

Take it your argument with Zed ain't helpin'?

And so the love affair with the hat began. Suits you.

[ John shrugged, a ponderous look crossing his face. Maybe he would try to burn down a building. That'd be a thought to keep in the arsenal... just in case. He wasn't looking for going down the arson route unless there was some spell involved.

His expression changed when Raylan mentioned Zed. Sour, with a dash of self-loathing... and just in general being upset. ]

You heard that then?

[His smirk pulled a little but ebbed back to nothing appropriately as John answered the last question.]

Hard not to. Noticed you didn't come back in either. Saved you a bottle of shine, just in case you didn't get yours while you were there. Figured it might help.

[ Of course, he didn't have it on him, but he knew what it was like to be stung and space, along with some time to resurface, was generally wise.]

[ Shit.

It was easy to see that thought cross his mind, given his expression did little to actually hide it. His shoulders sagged and all he could do was stand there for a moment. He had hoped no one else heard that. A little bit of what stayed between him and Zed needed to be that way, then a little bit because he didn't like the idea of the whole bloody town knowing how vulnerable he was around her.

Godddamit. ]

Wasn't a point in coming back! [ John forced his voice to sound a bit more chipper--but it just sounded exhausted instead. ] Figured she'd want her space... and, well... guess it really doesn't matter. Does it?

[Raylan stopped with him and watched his face. It was never pretty when others saw that messiness, opening someone up for all sorts of opinions and suggestions that likely wouldn't help or worse, would make John feel like shit.]

For what it's worth, as a divorced man who had.. quite a good number of arguments with my wife, space sounded like the wiser choice. But neither of ya are dead, so it still sorta matters. Not following her was probably the right thing to do.

I didn't catch all the details. [It was meant as consolation, not a prompt for John to spill, though if he wanted to, nothing was gonna stop him.]

Can't say I've ever had a, ah, decent relationship

[ Meaning he screwed up all of them -- especially the ones that mattered most. Why not throw the possible-more-than-professional one with Zed into that list? It was a matter of time anyways. Everything with John was a ticking time bomb. ]

Mind telling me what those details you caught were?

[ He started to walk again, gesturing to the trees ahead. Damage control. How much would people expect him to share? What would they ask about? John had a comfortable thing of keeping people at a distance from his life back in his home reality. Though, he should of known better as soon as Zed showed up. They were too intertwined to not keep their pasts from leaking out to Mathias. ]

She left me for the realtor she was supposed to be selling our house with then married him. Don't know how decent a relationship that is.

[Raylan fell in stride next to him, hands finding their way into his pockets as he went.]

Just that she'd kissed someone and you were pissed about it. He was gonna die as I recall. But I can assure you she's not goin' around kissin' everyone. If she is, I missed the line around the block.

You wanna fill in the blanks?

Sorry, mate.

[ Not that he knew what else to say to that. People did shitty things. Hell, he had left his fair share of people after some good nights. Marriage was different and he knew that. It was why John avoided marriage or the concept of it. Fat lot of good most marriages did anyways. ]

I better be the first one to kiss you if you're standing in any line for it.

[ The response was quick and far too easy to make. A passing flirtation to try and push how close the conversation was. John fell silent for a good moment. Then a minute or two. He didn't want to drag people into his mess with Zed. No one deserved his mess - not even Zed herself. ]

Have this friend back home, Detective Jim Corrigan. He called for some help in trying to find a missing girl. Thing was, it matched three other missing persons cases. No leads could be found on any of them. Who better to call than the occult detectives? [ John raised a hand to wave off any answer to that question. ] Found the evil bastard who took the girl. Satanist who planned to have all the wives that the Devil promised him. One for each blood moon there was. Of course, in that bastard's mind, marrying them was more of a ceremony to bind their spirits to him after he killed them.

Three innocent girls dead before that human piece of trash got wiped off the face of the planet. He deserved more than he got.

[ He fell quiet again. It was obvious by how his tone raised and his shoulders shaking that it angered him. No, it enraged him. ]

I'll keep that in mind next time my lips get lonely.

[He wouldn't; he was lonely all of the time it seemed, but it sounded good and kept things moving. He didn't acknowledge the sorry and didn't want it. He'd only told John to set up the structure of his experience in all this.]

If he got dead, that's a start. [The words were darkly said. Belief or not, that kind of thing deserved as much fire as one could summon.] So Jim's the guy, huh? A good one, I'm assumin'. If he helped.

[ Good thing John didn't plan on getting romantic and cozy with Raylan. ]

Deserves more than death. [ Maybe a bit of necromancy and torturing the bastard. He didn't think that whatever Hell offered would ever be enough to make that man pay. ] Good man -- a good ally. Those are even rarer to find.

[ He frowned. ] Finally caught up with Zed and Corrigan at the bar after all that.

[ And well, the rest should of been obvious. ]

Went out for a stroll into the storm...and promptly woke up on our lovely beach and met you. Funny how it all works out, innit?

[That was often the case; people deserved more but death put 'em in the ground. Raylan tried not to let his vengeful tendencies get too far ahead of him.]

That's a shit story. Even worse that it ain't a story.

[A beat passed.]

Might not be any of my business and you can tell me to fuck off. But seems to me that one kiss shouldn't be enough to walk away from it all. Not if she makes you happy. Not if you wanna try.

The joys of the life of yours truly, John Constantine. It'd be better if it was just a shitty story.

[ There was a small huff at Raylan's statement. Good advice, that. If it was to someone who was actually in a relationship - a romantic one. He and Zed had always teetered around flirting and being professional. His own insistence. It would cause less heartache and less problems. Sounded good in his head at the time.

Then, she started staying by his side through it all. Gaz. Anne Marie. Countless of little other things. Manny had been right about how he had started to count on her being there for support. She was someone he trusted, someone who didn't turn her back on him like so many others had. Her with Corrigan just proved what he already knew. Zed was too good for him and would eventually move on like everyone else. ]

Zed and I aren't together, Raylan. [ For once it wasn't a lie or a brush off with humor. ] She found me in a bloody mining town because her magic led her to me. It's all professional. Once we've won the damn spiritual war that we're in... well...

[ He made a gesture as if it should of been obvious she'd move on. They all did. ]

She's got a bright future helpin' people with her magical talents. A fat lot of more good than I'm going to ever do with whatever time I've got left.

Edited 2020-11-20 07:51 (UTC)

[Raylan nodded again and hummed an 'Mmhmm' that was wholly humoring.]

If that were the case, if you didn't want that to be the case, you wouldn't be pissed that she kissed someone. [Hazel eyes slid over.] Y'all haven't made it official, but you're entangled. Standin' on that edge, ain't ya. Lemme ask you this - why not? Why not try it out, see how it works. Work at it. You miss all the shots you don't take.

For all my troubles, I take my shots, when they're presented. In reflection, I'd regret not havin' done so.

[Happiness was something they needed as humans. Deserved as humans. As flawed and complicated as Raylan's romantic life was, he didn't regret taking the shots. Even the ones that hurt him in the end.]

[ there are plenty reasons to combat the why not? people died around him. he tarnished every good thing in his life. zed deserved better. he was damned and she didn't need to be pulled into that. he had no idea how to have a proper relationship. it was supposed to be professional. she didn't trust him enough to tell him her past, but she knew almost all of his.

so. many. reasons. ]

Sometimes it's better to take a shot at yourself if it saves someone else.

[He shook his head a little bit as they came up to the treeline.]

Somehow I get the feelin' that's the justification you use a lot..

Suppose we oughta move that way? [He gestured down the treeline towards the beach.] I don't see any paths in, but that doesn't stop us from makin' our own.

Tends to be what happens more often than it being a justification, mate. You'd be surprised to see who'd line up at the chance to shoot me.

[ And someone already did. ]

Might help us find that bloody lighthouse faster if we did.

I got a feelin' you wouldn't be surprised at the line up to shoot me.

[Raylan headed towards the treeline and, without a path to follow, bargoed his way right into the forest.]

How's a little affection and a little fuckin' happiness such a bad thing for you? Yeah, bad things happen. Nothin' we can do about that. I couldn't live that life, no matter how many times some gun thug comes up in my house. That's just another asshole to put down.

Who would want to shoot the golden boy Marshal? Someone you put behind bars?

[ An honest question. He figured a man as good as Raylan still had enemies. They all did. He fell into step beside the man, shuddering a bit at the cold. ]

The life I lead isn't as simple as yours. It's messy - tangled up. People close to me die. [ Cursed. ] You can't live the life I do and expect it to be rainbow and puppy dogs at the end. Hell, you can't even expect God to throw you a bone and understand when you're going bloody insane from the biggest screw up of your life.

Happy ain't happy for me, mate. Something always poisons it. I've never been able to hold something good.

More often than not, I've killed someone and they want to even the score.

[Raylan kept walking and kept silent for a long minute.]

My life is only simple because I know which side'a the line I stand on at the end of the day. Either the people that get hurt on the way are acceptable damages or not. And I wouldn't go anywhere towards callin' it happy so if you think the grass is greener on this side because I don't have to deal with God.. Well you might be right on that, but that's about it.

Bit obvious there. I was hoping for some sort of long dramatic tale of chivalry.

[ No he wasn't. He was just being an ass. ]

You're line of work doesn't get people lit on fire for talking to a deity or demon. It doesn't equal to one of your older mates being fodder for a bloody fucking hunger demon they let loose on the world. [ His voice raised then with an anger, but not directed at Raylan. It was one directed at himself. At how he kept living this bloody stupid life of his when it caused everyone around him to die, or their lives to be utterly destroyed.

... yet, he kept living it anyways.

It was the only life he knew. ]

[That made Raylan scoff. He didn't do chivalry, just manners.]

Only people who try to compare themselves against others got somethin' to prove. [Hazel eyes slid sidelong over at John as he brushed a branch out of his own way.]

You've seen some shit. I get it. Your stories aren't anythin' but. And maybe its a bit of a privilege of mine to know that the only thing waitin' for anyone I put down is a coffin and nothin' else. But lives are lives. Weighin' 'em against each other is disrespectful.

Does anything ever make you wonder about the company you keep?

[ He chuckled at that. Only a coffin. If only he were so bloody lucky. John sighed and flicked his cigarette to the side. ]

Thought you figured out that I'm awfully disrespectful.

[Raylan gave him a look. No, John wasn't going to get an answer to that. He had no responsibility to that; here in Mathis, there were few choices and Raylan was a smart man to not discount John's skills and wisdom.

That and he was an awful lot like Tim in some ways, brash and evenly unapologetic; a sarcastic ass. Raylan was self aware enough to know he needed that.]

Yeah well, manage to curb yourself somehow, I'm not interested in that kinda dick wavin' contest.

[The fog loomed ahead of them, all of fifteen feet ahead, and Raylan slowed to a stop.]

Alright, Occult Detective. What do you make of this?

[ If they were to talk about the type of people they needed around them? Raylan certainly fit the bill of someone like Chas. Good man, cared - empathy, and had a better sense of wrong and right when it came to normal day life. Reminding John the human element inside of humanity when his head got too wrapped up into the details of magic and the case at hand.

John knew he needed someone like that. Didn't mean he'd ask out loud. ]

I hope you got a pair of handcuffs to back up that statement, Marshal. Don't be a bore!

[ He turned his eyes to look at the fog. Really? That was as close as Raylan was going to get? John pushed further ahead, stopping right before he would touch the wall. He cocked his head to the side, taking the cigarette out of his mouth. John waited a moment or two more before putting it inside the wall of fog.

Then, he flicked it inside, hands stuffing into his pockets.

John looked over his shoulder. ]

It's fog, mate.

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canon point spoilers below.

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