villagemod: (sᴛᴏɴᴇ)
The Village Mod ([personal profile] villagemod) wrote in [community profile] villagelogs2020-12-05 01:22 am

018-020 » what he hides

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central/Western Mathias.
WHEN: Days 018-020
WHAT: The fog recedes!
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Graham Plowman "Edge of Darkness"





DAYS 018-020
THE HIDDEN REVEALED

“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
— Benjamin Franklin


As the sun rises in the distance above the sea, the fog slips away from the unsettling town, winding through streets and across buildings until it is nestled soundly in the forest. There it waits, ready to snare any who dare test its limits — residents would do well to remember what happened the last time they encountered the fog so intimately.

With the fog receded, the western portion of Mathias is now revealed and available for exploring. There are more businesses on the town square and even some on the street that runs off the square. The schoolhouse is nestled by the southern treeline, not from the little makeshift cemetery at the end of Jackson Boulevard that is courtesy of a few kind residents in town. To the far north of the square is a sprawling garden, now covered in snow, and a greenhouse that once supplied the botanical shop. And to the west, beyond the square, is another residential district of the same size as that to the east. What is different, however...

These buildings are all in some form of decay. From the beginnings of rot to completely collapsed and little more than a pile of proverbial bones, none of these homes are anything resembling livable. Well, as far as one can tell, at least. For between the streets of Hill Lane and Stine road there is a crack in the earth. A dozen feet across and fifty feet down, the crack extends from one side of the forest to the other, either end cut off by the fog. The view to the other side is clear but there is no way across.


THE NEW ARRIVALS

There are quite a few new faces in Mathias on this day. Awaking throughout Day 018, they will find themselves laying in the snow beside that unsettling crack in the earth, houses both quaint and decaying surrounding them as the snow begins to cover their bodies. Best get inside and warm up, dears.




SPECTRES IN THE NIGHT

The days are short now that winter seems to have set in unseasonably early. Though the clocks in Mathias fail to properly keep time or sometimes even work at all, the sun rises around 8:00am and sets at 5:00pm. There is far more darkness than light in these days, but in that darkness there is, in fact, light.

In the distance all across Mathias, there are lanterns lit against that darkness. Their lights dance across the snow, the warm flickering shining like tiny stars and offering an almost ethereal glow to the crisp white snow. It would be a beautiful sight to behold... if it weren't for the shadowy figures that held them. With partially raised arms, the figures hold the lanterns and walk the streets of Mathias, drifting in between buildings and disappearing into the forest. Still yet, there are some that simply stand in place, as if waiting for something or someone.

No matter where or when these figures are seen, they always seem to be facing away from our residents, and attempts at reaching them are all for naught. They will fade from view if one gets too close, and return to sight when that distance is regained. And in the morning, those lanterns may be found in the snow, their lights extinguished but their glass somehow still warm.


STRANGER IN THE SNOW

Those investigating the western part of Mathias and venturing near that inexplicable crack in the earth will have the most unsettling feeling of being watched. Most of the time, there is nothing there and no one to be seen, but then—

On the other side of that expanse, sitting on a porch, in the shadow of a home, or standing in the oddly moonlit street, there is a man. His features are shrouded in darkness and not much can be discerned about him, but instinct tells you he is dangerous. There is a sense deep in your bones that he is maliciously amused.

He makes no move to speak, nor will he respond to any attempts on your part. Instead, he sits, or he stands, and he watches. By the end of Day 020, all sign of him will be gone, along with the eerie feeling of being watched.







LOCATIONS


Unless otherwise noted, all new locations have working electricity and other utilities.

BENEDICT BOOKS Nestled quaintly on the square surrounding the Town Hall, a thick layer of dirt covering the front windows. A portrait hangs at the front of the store to illustrate the namesake of the little shop... that may, in fact, not be so little. Dust covers everything in sight and detritus litters the wooden floor, as if someone left the door open and allowed half the forest inside. (more info)

MATHESON ANTIQUES Also on the town square is an antique store that is a lesson in chaos more than culture. The items within are stacked haphazardly, creating narrow aisles running throughout the space. Furniture, light fixtures, old revolutionary and civil war memorabilia, all of it is jumbled together with no rhyme or reason. Indeed, one wrong move could create an avalanche of aged wood and peeling paint.

POE'S CLOTHES Located on the town square, this shop carries only the basics. Loose jeans in a few sizes, khakis, solid color dress shirts and blouses, flannel in various styles, socks and underwear.

SPIN RIGHT ROUND RECORDS On the square across from the beauty store, the music shop is as dusty as everything else in this town has been. Tables line the walls of the long shop, filled with rows and rows of vinyl records, while a few wall shelves display cassette tapes for sale. One side of the store is for New items, while the other holds the Used section with items for resale. Residents may recognize some of the artists but many are unfamiliar to them.

CLINIC Outside the decayed, crumbling building just north of the square is a still miraculously intact sign with the name of the clinic's doctor, Dr. Ken Suzuki. There is no way to treat patients in this location, but with care, some salvageable supplies may yet be found in the remains.

BARKER BOTANICALS Not quite a flower shop and not entirely an apothecary, the botanical store to the far north of the square is something of an amalgamation of both. With a few broken windows to let in the rain, parts of the shop have been overtaken by nature, the house plants growing beyond their pots and rotted flower petals littering the floor to tell of seasons past. The still unclaimed walls are filled with decaying plants and jars of dried herbs and other vegetation, along with a few essences and tinctures.

GREENHOUSE A few dozen yards from the botanicals shop is a sprawling garden, now covered in snow, and a greenhouse that once supplied the botanical shop. The glass is still miraculously intact, though covered in grime so thick that one cannot see inside.

GALLERY The gallery is essentially a large empty space with framed and matted black and white photographs of the town lining the walls. There is a small selected of prints available for sale near the front entrance, and a few rooms at the back of the building — a dark room for developing photos, a small office, and a locked room.

MOVIE THEATER This single-screen theater is quite small, having only 40 seats, but there is a large collection of movies in its storage room. These are all old film reels however, so hopefully someone knows how to thread a film projector.

HISTORY MUSEUM Across the street from the Historical Society, this once esteemed wooden building has seen better days. Windows and doors are boarded up and there is visible rot and decay on the exterior walls. Part of the roof has fallen in and the accumulating snow threatens to collapse the rest of it as well. It is not wise to venture within.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY This brick building has also seen better days, though in a different sort of way. Where once had been carefully cataloged collections and cozy reading rooms for aficionados of local history, there are now stacks of bankers boxes and weathered tomes in every nook and cranny. There is no organization to any of it, everything seeming to have been stashed in a hurry and then left forgotten. Anyone who dares to dive into this archive will need to devote quite some time in order to find anything worthwhile. They will also want to bring their own light source — the electricity does not work here and the windows are quite dark from the accumulated dust and grime.

SCHOOLHOUSE A much smaller school than most of our residents might be used to, there are only a half-dozen rooms in the building, with a few comprising classrooms, meeting areas, and workspaces. All ages were taught here, and one might almost imagine the sound of children's whispered voices and distant laughter while within the empty building.





CONDITIONS UPDATE
SNOW continues to fall in Mathias. Days 18-19 see light snowfall that very slowly accumulates, but the snowfall turns moderately heavy on Day 20 and sees significant accumulation. The temperature hovers just below freezing and dips lower when the sun goes down.

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.

THE FOG has receded from the town proper and much of the eastern and northern beach. The path through the northern forest to the lighthouse is now also clear.

DISAPPEARANCES continue to plague the town. While Daisy Johnson has returned, Zed Martin, Rey, and Quentin Coldwater have now vanished without a trace.


OOC UPDATES
MADNESS has now been unlocked. Congratulations to Inky for Claire earning the first Madness! Who will be next? (Please be sure to keep your sanity updated regularly; Stars has created an amazing tracker for anyone to use if they'd like.)

HELPERS are officially in residence! Kelly is our Registrar and Stars is our Librarian — both of these delightful members of our community are helping behind the scenes to keep things organized and updated (and doing wonders for the mod's own sanity levels), so please give them some thanks for their hard work!

REPORTING updates is still a thing that your mod and helpers beg you to do. Changes to locations, plot notes that affect the community, and discoveries should be reported over here so these can all be noted in their appropriate places. (For clarification, reported Discoveries are not public knowledge unless a character has ICly shared this information.)

A MAP of Mathias now exists, thanks to our wonderful Librarian! Please note that it is not to scale and there may be a few minor errors due to your frazzled mod. Expect updates in the future as more secrets are revealed.

BULLETIN BOARD — don't forget about it. That's all.


CLAIMING AP REWARDS
Normally, only one AP reward can be claimed per log, but due to the plethora of new and old locations to explore, this restriction is being relaxed. Instead, for this log only:
— Players may spend AP on up to three rewards, though only Spot Hidden may be repeated.
— If a player is spending multiple Spot Hiddens, they must be with different characters and in different locations.

If two characters are investigating the same location together, they may each spend a Spot Hidden on that location. Players should record their spent AP after the AP request has been approved. Sometimes there is nothing to Spot with your Hidden and the points will be "refunded" to use elsewhere.


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villagemodama: (ᴄᴜʟᴛɪsᴛ)

[personal profile] villagemodama 2020-12-10 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
The Stranger will not be affected by Klaus's powers but he will be amused by them. When Klaus tries to use his powers against the Stranger, he'll have the impression that the Stranger is like nothing he's ever felt before, something dark that leaves Klaus feeling cold inside. And whenever Klaus does finally sleep again, he'll have dreams of that darkness and wake up feeling that cold again.

This experience reduces Klaus's sanity by 3 points.
Edited 2020-12-10 03:17 (UTC)
bestfuneralever: (Default)

[personal profile] bestfuneralever 2020-12-10 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
Oohh I love this! One quick clarification: will he have have this dream just the once, after he sleeps again eventually ooorrr will it be something recurring he can’t quite shake?
thering: (11)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-10 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
With John coming to a stop, Doc passes him this time, trudging through the snow in even paces. They'll wear themselves out wandering aimlessly in the snow, but it makes sense to at least walk to the end of the street and look around before they expand their search to include the trees and the rocks along the beach.

He comes to a slow stop when he realises he's starting to leave John behind, unaware of why he's stopped. He doesn't see Zed behind or anywhere near the building Constantine is staring at.

"Come along now son. Don't want to be losing you too." Why he's talking to John like he's addressing the twelve year old on the inside, he can't say for certain. Only that there seems to be quite a few impulsive folk around here.
villagemodama: (Default)

[personal profile] villagemodama 2020-12-10 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
Recurring! Perhaps not every time he sleeps, but often enough for it to be noticed.
thering: (Default)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-10 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
They will be attempting to break into the history museum through one of the front windows and climb inside if successful :3

If I need to spend AP to look around the museum, please let me know, I will edit my AP claim comment below. Thanks again!
villagemodama: (Default)

[personal profile] villagemodama 2020-12-10 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
— Dean can find one or both in the house.
— The unfamiliar music titles and bands span across various genres but are, in fact, completely unfamiliar. Feel free to make up some names so long as they are unrecognizable.
— He absolutely can roll away a rack. Have fun navigating it in the snow!
— Sure, he can find his ridiculous Halloween 2 ripoff.
villagemodama: (Default)

[personal profile] villagemodama 2020-12-10 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
If you would like a potential consequence in a following night, I am happy to provide one. :D
descendent: (pic#14502655)

[personal profile] descendent 2020-12-10 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
Yes please! (I popped this into the discoveries, but I can delete/edit it if that's not how to use it!) She'll definitely take the lantern and use it as her own little light if possible. (Sorry, spectre. She didn't mean to possibly do something bad to you?? Please accept her friend request.)
villagemodama: (ᴄᴜʟᴛɪsᴛ)

[personal profile] villagemodama 2020-12-10 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
— There is no blowback for the corpse inquiry!
— There are no repercussions for John's homing beacon spell but it will not have the results he'd perhaps been hoping for. Each spectre follows a different path and none seem to have the same goal in mind.

Stranger Danger
When John first attacks the Stranger, it will have no effect other than to amuse him. The Stranger will retaliate with a mild punch of power, like when the scrawny little kid tries to fight the bully on the playground and the bully just laughs. It will knock him back / take the stuffing out of him for a second.

When John attacks again, the Stranger is less amused and will swat at John with enough force to knock him out for a few hours, leaving him with some nice bruises and a few cracked ribs. Hope Coulson wants to carry a body back through the snow.
hellblaze: <lj user="synthnights">. (tired 🔥 downward descending.)

[personal profile] hellblaze 2020-12-10 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you kindly, Keeper! I'll be sure to add more if further questions arise!

chuju: (018.)

[personal profile] chuju 2020-12-10 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ She's in such a state of shock that Daisy actually lets him guide her for a few moments. He puts his coat around her and she hardly notices, turning everything over in her mind like it might suddenly make sense if she just thought about it long enough. But it doesn't and she can't wait to ask her questions until they're inside.

After perhaps a minute of walking, she suddenly stops, snapping out of her stupor and turning to face him. ]


What do you mean, you had to deal with hypothermia? Did something else happen? [ It's like night and day. One moment, she's a lost little girl needing something to help her make sense of things. The next, she's a SHIELD agent, intent on getting her own answers. ]
40seconds: (𝟢𝟥𝟨)

[personal profile] 40seconds 2020-12-10 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
Alright, so I know the Stranger isn't reachable physically, but how great of a distance is there between him and Coulson? Also if Coulson were to try and throw various projectiles (snowballs, rocks, whatever he can get his hands on), would anything happen to him? I assume the Stranger's more or less invulnerable, but would there be any blowback that Coulson would experience?

I figure that since Coulson obviously lacks superhuman strength or abilities, anything he throws would fall short, but still. Inquiring minds want to know about any possible repercussions.
villagemodama: (ᴄᴜʟᴛɪsᴛ)

[personal profile] villagemodama 2020-12-10 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
The crack in the earth is 12 feet across and the stranger is even further back from it, so whatever Coulson throws will absolutely fall short. However: What will Coulson's mindset be during this interaction?
hellblaze: <lj user="synthnights">. (annoyed 🔥 that i did you wrong.)

[personal profile] hellblaze 2020-12-10 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, that's a quick turn around. John pauses at that and looks her over. Christ, she's one of those hero types isn't she? They're the ones that usually snap to attention. The ones that want to go on saving people and wanted and needed to know the status of everything. ]

How about we just get you inside first, then, we go the round of twenty questions? I'm not in the market of freezing my bollocks off.

Still got that room of yours in the Boarding House?
chuju: (080.)

[personal profile] chuju 2020-12-10 06:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ When someone she loves is here and she's gathering new people to care about, this British idiot included, yeah she needs to know the status of everything. That's her job but it's also just who she is. John Constantine sure as hell isn't going to change that and he'd better not even try.

Shrugging off his coat, she presses it forcefully against his chest. ]
So put on your coat and answer the question. What else happened?

[ Because clearly something did and he can either tell her now or he can leave her standing there in the snow because she's not moving until she has some answers. ]
hellblaze: <lj user="synthnights">. (body 🔥 face it face it.)

[personal profile] hellblaze 2020-12-10 06:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, try? No. Push away and tell her eventually to back off for her own safety? That will most definitely happen.

He rolls his eyes and pushes the coat back towards her. ]
I don't usually do this sort of thing, Daisy, so just... [ he exhales sharply, giving her a look. ] Take the bloody coat till we get you inside.

[ He'll take that as a yes to the Boarding House. John gently takes her arm and continues leading her. Though, he does move faster now. The quicker he gets her inside the better for both of them.

A few moments later and he's opening the door for her, giving a wide gesture that she better take the gentleman like behavior. It isn't often John is outwardly caring like this. Usually he lets Zed or even Chas handle it. Although, one of them isn't here in Mathias, and the other has her own things she deals with during the day. ]
chuju: (081.)

[personal profile] chuju 2020-12-10 07:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ She does not appreciate being manhandled or having her own wishes be ignored. No matter how gentle he is or whatever care is behind his actions, all they serve to do is make her angry. It's a low rage that churns through the shadows of fear that has been crawling into her chest, and by the time they get to the porch, he's very lucky she likes him.

He opens the door and she forcefully pulls away from, stepping back along the porch and very pointedly not moving to go inside. ]


I'm not going in there until you tell me what I need to know. [ There's a fire in her words, though not hot enough to burn. Yet. ] All you're doing with this game is pissing me off.
hellblaze: <user site="tumblr.com" user="ihatedoors-blog">. (argue 🔥 life isn't always what.)

[personal profile] hellblaze 2020-12-10 07:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ His back is to her as he turns inside first then--until she speaks. It's not the words, it's that anger that burns behind them. An anger he recognizes because he feels it every damn day in this town. The lack of answers - the lack of knowledge. Not knowing how to fight against something that is clearly so fucking evil ...

John whirls to face her, maybe faster than she would expect. There's an anger set in his eyes. One that smolders and goes deep. Deeper than any of them know. Deeper than he'll let them know. ]


This isn't a bloody game! [ His voice echos off the walls off the external walls of the Boarding House and down the lane. His hand is gripping the door handle tightly to the point his knuckles are turning white. ] Not one moment of this is a fucking game! Did you think that maybe it's better to talk inside where maybe, just maybe, we've got some control over what happens in this town?!

[ Fuck it.

He slams the door shut and turns to face her proper. A maroon shirt, tie adorning it. Both of his hands raise to his chest. ]


I died, Daisy. There, happy now that I said it out enough to remind everyone? I bloody well died and so did a handful of other people!

...and I came back! I came back to this goddamn town! Me! Do you think out of anyone in this fucking place, I deserve to come back?! What about the innocent ones -- the ones that lived here?!
Edited 2020-12-10 07:16 (UTC)
thering: (10)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-10 07:26 am (UTC)(link)
He is under no illusion that there would be a line of people wanting to conduct experiments on him if everyone was to know who he is. Even if his hand is being somewhat forced here, being able to pick and choose what he's willing to subject himself to is a much better fate.

Don't do this to him, Raylan. It only makes him miserable, keeping count of how many days it has been since he passed his millionth day. He can barely fathom anything numbering in the thousands.

"It must be barely two weeks, since I met you," he notes. It feels a lot longer than that. It feels like he's known Raylan all his life. In the grand scheme of things, one blink and Raylan would be gone. Same with Wynonna, Waverly, Nicole, Jeremy, Dolls...

Doc's grip tightens on a broken piece of floorboard he is holding in both hands. Now isn't the time or place to be having a little existential crisis. He moves quietly to pick up the hammer and the pack of nails they managed to find in the garage.

"Feels like ten years with all that kicking and screaming going on," he jokes.
chuju: (033.)

[personal profile] chuju 2020-12-10 07:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ That anger in him is what takes her by surprise. She'd expected it in response to her stubbornness (she's used to that from her team by now), but this is something else. There's something more that's feeding this rage and she can feel it approaching like a tidal wave...

And there it is. Her own anger dials back to a simmer and she just stands there watching him, taking in every word and processing it, filing it in with everything else she knows. When he finishes, she looks down at the coat in her hand. ]


I guess that explains this. [ Whatever the details, something happened to the coat he always wears. Maybe it was covered in blood or torn to shreds or—

Her anger is extinguished completely as numbness begins to fill her like icy water. He'd died. She might not know exactly what happened but that much is more than enough to bring up the pain and grief of everyone she's lost. And that he'd died and come back... It's just like Coulson and for a moment she struggles to draw a breath. And then she pushes it back down where it belongs and focuses on the matter at hand, posing a question that's been nagging at her for a while now. ]


Why would you think that we'd have any more control inside than we do standing right here? If something has the power to bring us back from the dead, to bring us here at all, and then make us disappear again — why would being inside change any of that?

[ It's better not to touch on the other part of what he'd said. In his position, she might be saying the same thing, after all. ]
vampirebats: (pic#14493480)

[personal profile] vampirebats 2020-12-10 07:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, well-- what do we have here? Trying out a new look? Think I like the trenchcoat more." Negan is quick to straighten himself back up, plaster that shit eating grin right back on his face because that's what people expected back home, that's what they'll come to expect here.

There's a snort as he steps away from the school for a moment, shrugs his shoulders. "Hey, wasn't personal, man. Shit's just been crazy around here... Name's Negan though."

He points a finger at John as he thinks about that. "Constantine, right? Dark Arts dabbler... whatever the fuck that means. I'm hoping it means you don't skin cats for the hell of it because, man, that'd be fucked."

Although on second thought -- "Not as much as this place already is though."
hellblaze: <lj user="synthnights">. (anger 🔥 maybe maybe.)

[personal profile] hellblaze 2020-12-10 07:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ It'd be so easy if he could just wipe away his anger like hers can melt away. Everything about him would be so much easier if he could be like everyone else. He can't. The fact that something evil enough in this town can exist, and that Heaven won't do anything about it? It fills him with a righteous rage. The same that lit him to start his life long crusade against Hell and all the things that go bump in the night. The fact that evil was allowed to run around with no payback, no punches, no consequences. That wasn't going to stand as long as he drew breath. He is going to send every bastard demon back to Hell, even if Heaven is going to damn him for it.

His hands drop limply to his sides as he holds her gaze. That pain in her eyes - oh he knows that too. Maybe she can tell. He's lost almost every single person he's loved, romantic or otherwise. Not all of them have died. They've walked away from him with no intention of returning. He's let them go. He's buried them. He's held their hand as they are devoured. He's sat next to them in hospital rooms as they suffer from blown fuses. He's watched their marriages fall apart because they chose him over their families...

John gives a huff of a laugh at that. ]


Because it makes the conversation private and not remind everyone else that can't handle this life that they're in it. [ He gestures to the houses behind her. ] People - normal people? They turn the other cheek. They advert their eyes. They ignore that this part of reality exists. Not because their bloody stupid or don't know better. It's because they can't handle it.

Reminding them of that is low, even for me.
vampirebats: (pic#14493444)

[personal profile] vampirebats 2020-12-10 07:56 am (UTC)(link)
"Holy fucking shit--" He startles, drawn out of his own thoughts. He's half offended he was caught off guard, but--

Then he does a double take, eyes lingering sharply on the man next to him. Hard to forget a face like that-- the eyes especially. "Jesus, what the hell happened to your hair? Ruining the whole look."
vampirebats: (pic#14493460)

@ Klaus Hargreeves

[personal profile] vampirebats 2020-12-10 08:02 am (UTC)(link)
The novelty of landlines, or any sort of phone in general, hasn't lost its charm yet. He'd been almost giddy to ring up Klaus earlier, invite him out to share a drink. Truth is, even with all the increasingly familiar faces around here, he's starting to feel isolated.

No saviors, no solid goals... it doesn't suit him at all.

He can't fix the goal shit until he figures out more about this place, but at least he can get himself a little company. It's why he called Klaus up at the boarding house, invited him out to share a little of the moonshine he procured, just as promised. It's been a hell of a long time since he's actually had much to drink, but it sounds like just what he needs right now, and Klaus had been some damn fine company for their brief encounter. Hopefully, he's a fun guy to get drunk with too. He waits for him, figuring he can be a gentleman, walk him back to the house he's squatting in. Or hell, maybe they can walk and talk and stare at creepy fucking phantoms before they fade.
villagemodama: (Default)

[personal profile] villagemodama 2020-12-10 08:09 am (UTC)(link)
— Eventually, all spectres end up walking into the forest where they cannot be followed.
— Residents cannot get near enough to attack spectres at close range, so any weapons would need to be projectile in nature. They will have no effect and the spectres will not acknowledge the attack.
— Attempts may be made but will certainly have consequences.