018-020 » what he hides

[villagemod]

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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Comments

[villagemodama]

— Vegetation at the edge of the forest is similar to the real world.
— Yes, seeds, starts, and supplies may all be found in the greenhouse.

[enduresurvive]

Raylan has at least some idea of where Ellie came from; at least, he knows the world sort of ended, even if people found a way to keep living. Scarcity was the name of the game before Jackson, though. The last few months, she mostly hasn't been able to eat because of grief. The road to Seattle hadn't been incredibly hard, but they'd had little to eat. It hadn't bothered her then.

Part of the only reason she eats in this town is because people keep feeding her, though. Henry makes a point of it, but even Malcolm had cooked eggs. It doesn't occur to her as often, but whatever.

"There's coffee?" she asks, surprised. She's missed it before because it's just never on her mind. Coffee is a rare thing in Jackson. People trade a lot for it.

Joel had liked coffee. He'd been drinking it, that last night they'd talked. If Ellie had ever had a taste for coffee, she certainly doesn't now. The thought of Joel that last night is too much, though, and she can't stand it. It's hard to swallow, hard to ignore. She'd gone pretty far off in the snow a few days ago, and Malcolm had walked her back out of her own head. She doesn't want to make anyone else do that. She should just be better, she thinks.

"I don't...I don’t really drink it, I'm just surprised it's easy to get," she says, trying not to let any of her inner turmoil become evident in her tone. She's probably not entirely successful.

"I can eat something, sure. Not picky." That, too, is a luxury she'd never been able to afford. She slides onto one of the kitchen chairs so any nervous fidgeting will be easier to hide or stave off.

[enduresurvive]

Well that rebound was pretty smooth.

[ She's still laughing, though. ]

You lose points for the lamest explanation ever, though. Like I've never used a rocking chair before.

[ It's nice to have some fairly normal bullshitting going on, though. She appreciates that almost as much as his music. ]

What's this song you're so into, anyway?

[hellblaze]

Son.

John gives him an annoyed sneer at that. Cheers.

Still, he pulls the new coat over his shoulders more and stuffs his bandaged hand in the pockets. His eyes go back up to the building with the eyebrows drawn together. Then, he nods to it.

"What the hell is this?"

He swears, if Doc says a building, he's going to turn around and start going back the way he came.

[40seconds]

[ Conversely, the last few days were hell for Coulson, and he knows he doesn't use that term lightly. His own death is something he can compartmentalize and push away, but Daisy being missing without a trace? Knowing that four others died? That's something he's still trying to work through and push past. ]

Some people did die. Four- Well, five, to be exact.

[ He has to swallow hard then, and he hopes she just attributes that to him having difficulty talking about people dying. ]

You're absolutely right. In a lot of ways, it seems like it's only getting harder.

[ And where he'd try to be a little more composed, maintaining that stiff upper lip, he more or less fails. This place is getting to him more than he'd like to admit. ]

[hellblaze]

"Oh, trust me, so do I. That's why it's in the freezer." John replies back with an easy quip. "Give it a day or so."

He's getting antsy without it.

John quirks his eyebrows a bit as if to agree. "Negan--" interesting name, "--crazy is the normal here. Looks like the name of the game isn't if it is crazy, but how crazy it's going to be."

He puts both his hands in his pockets, and if Negan is observant enough, he might notice how one hand is wrapped and bandaged.

"Cats are fine, mate. Besides, we haven't got any. No, I just know bits and pieces of magic. Send demons back to Hell." Then he nods to the school house in front of them. "Looking for a way to send the one that runs this place there. Can't say I've been too successful yet."

[40seconds]

Everyone does have their trademarks, and John's coat is no exception. Even Coulson, who hasn't known John for very long, already associates that trenchcoat with the other man. He has, however, grown somewhat used to the other man's brand of humor, and he appreciates it.

Sure, it's sometimes a little irreverent and off-color, but for someone who works for an agency with rules and restrictions and classified information, it's a little refreshing too.

"You taking bets, then? It looks like it's a long way down, and at the rate the snow is falling, I think I have a number in mind." He's kidding, of course; he doesn't have anything to bet with anyway. And then, without a lot of preamble, he asks: "How are you?"

It's a bit of a loaded question, so he hopes John will forgive him for that.

[descendent]

[ if any place is going to have answers, surely, it'll be the library.

that's the logic elena goes with, and it's logic that doesn't seem to play out in the way that she had hoped. lingering at the front end of the library, she walks quietly through the aisles to find a book—any book, just a goddamn book that says YOU ARE HERE—but finds that she's very, very much out of luck.

at least she's out of the cold. dressed in something new—she's wearing a men's flannel button-up—and no looking quite like death warmed over (but still with a lingering of it, dying is kind of a bitch), it's dust that she wears as a new shawl. everything she touches leaves a thick coating of it against her fingertips to the point where she feels itchy with it at the back of her neck and the wound she covers with her hair on the right side of her neck.

spying someone lingering outside of the library, elena throws all caution to the wind—the people she's met so far have been really nice, after all, and kindness can go a long way. she opens the front door and leans outside, not wanting to step foot across the threshold in fear of being cold all over again.

she has a book in her hands (wuthering heights) and so many questions invisibly lining her shoulders. are people aware that this edition is an actual love story? ]

Excuse me… Sorry. But uh— [ she frowns as she gestures with the book towards the gut of the library. ] People do know this library is a mess, right?

[ that hadn't been the question she had wanted to ask. ]

[descendent]

It was cute.

[ for someone who is over a thousand years old, it was very cute to see someone as formidable and dangerous as him wear such a boyish cut. she does wonder if he had let it grow out for sheer laziness or if he had a plot in mind. analysing his hair provides her with a distraction, so, she grips it tightly between her fingers.

she ensures that she stays either a step ahead or behind him. she doesn't want him to see her face and have any opportunity to analyse how tired and sick she looks. ]

Disarming. It made you seem trustworthy and non-threatening, which probably helped if you didn't want to compel everyone to trust you.

[vampirebats]

Hey, Negan would hope that if this guy was actually trying to get in his pants, he'd take him somewhere more mood setting than a creepy ass building that might cave in on them.

"I think it's possible. Don't tell me all you've got is that knife because we have got to get you something better than that, my friend." Way better. Then again, he can't talk. He needs something way better than the zilch he's come up with.

Either way, Negan reaches out to grasp the plank he's loosening up, giving it a careful tug to help pry it loose.

"No gas. Or rather, some gas, but it's running short and we don't have the means to make more, not since the world went to shit."

cries while eating a whole ass onion

[descendent]

"I'm fine, I'm just a little cold." It's not believable, but she'd like it to be. She smiles a little sheepishly, disliking that she's made one of the first people she's seen here worry.

This is hardly similar to when Damon had kidnapped her and driven her to Atlanta… even though there are so many similarities. Again, she's injured and slightly disoriented, but this time, there's only one person here she recognises.

If she says she's fine, then she's one hundred percent fine. She'd refused to let Elijah heal her wound and so she's grinning and bearing it. It'll be okay; as long as Elena tells herself that, it'll happen.

But she does recognise his anxiety, and it's one that she doesn't deserve as a random and disheveled stranger. Giving him a kind smile, she relents. "It'll make you feel better if I say yes, won't it?"

[descendent]

[ quietly and gratefully, she trades her big shirt for the slightly smaller one. it'd fit his broad shoulders much better while it'd completely drown her—and she's not fond of drowning again, no matter how it may take place. ]

Is it that obvious? [ she laughs lightly, feeling embarrassed.

she holds the new shirt up to her chest, pursing her lips happily. suspecting he doesn't care and that the lack of assistants means that this is a free-for-all, she begins to thread her arms through the sleeves. ]

You said the family before you… [ she arches her brow curiously. ] Does that mean that you met them?

[ something tells her no, but elena has to ask. assuming has never done anyone any good. ]

[vampirebats]

"The one that runs this place?" His eyes trail over John curiously, eyeing him, maybe sizing him up a bit.

"What makes you think it's a demon?" Just out of curiosity. That's a pretty fucking crazy claim and all, even if Negan's heard worse. Hell, seen worse if you count a world full of the reanimated dead.

He nods towards his hand after a moment. "You get into some trouble somewhere?"

[thering]

Doc has inadvertently, unwittingly taken a few of these troublesome fellows under his wing. The terms of endearment will only trickle to a stop when his own mostly still intact sanity is starting to slip away from him.

"That would be the florist." Not to be confused with Barker Botanical Landscaping Services. It is an easy mistake to make.

"Or what is left of it, anyway." They are coming up towards the end of the road now. "We could take a look inside, if you think she might have wandered in there." It is fairly extensively overgrown though.

I'm not sure if they can actually get in, they can just chat I guess lol

[thering]

"Do you have anything better?" he asks, his voice devoid of sarcasm or malice. There is a time and place for snark. Right now he just wants to get in, get them both out of the snow.

"You could build a wagon," he suggests as they work at the wood, watching Negan's fingers. If Negam breaks or cuts or gets splinters in his palms or fingers through the gloves, Doc's going to get annoyed.

"You could build anything with a bit of wood and a few nails. Maybe you have lost that skill in this day and age when you ask the amazon to send you anything you require, but it can be relearnt."

lol yeah, they can at least give it the old college try before giving up!

[vampirebats]

"No," he admits with a slightly frustrated huff. Not directed at Henry, but just in general. He hates being at a disadvantage, it never gets you anywhere good.

"... Man." There's a laugh as Negan pauses and gives the other guy a look.

"You're making me feel like my balls have barely dropped, talk like that." The Amazon, huh?

"Don't you worry... we got the know how. If we could just get the supplies." He nods idly towards the building they're attempting to get into.

"You know, I've had to stay in places no better than this. Had to wonder which'd kill you first, a building caving in or the head eating your face off while you sleep. Let me tell you, neither is a pretty fucking sight."

[abrightboy]

He assumed ‘Jesus’ was meant as an epithet and, for a second his hand went self-consciously to his hair, but then his brain caught up to him not having ever seen this man. How would he know anything about Malcolm’s hair?

“...What?” he finally managed, looking warily at the man.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm put a practiced two fingers to dead!John’s carotid artery.

It was one dead body.

He looked at it and then looked at John.

“Something can live in there that makes it hairy?” he asked dubiously. “I don’t actually know what it looked like before,” he pointed out. They never undressed the corpse, John, remember?

[prevenance]

I think I can handle it.

( the fairy lights but if he doesn't have to deal with it, all the better. he's a little more concerned about the specters, about why they're here and how.

he sighs, peering out at the lanterns and then back at the other man. )

Did you say you've already died once?

( so now elijah's going to wonder what you were, john, instead of thinking about the ghostly people out there. )

[tinstar]

Oh, Raylan's quip was not indicative of not believing John, only a sharp sarcasm at yet another spooky thing Raylan hadn't thought of. It was to be expected, of course, considering his stark lack of knowledge in this area. Still, he listened to the rambling explanation and kept up. He didn't want to ask what kind of appeasements Ghosts might want.

Spirit, Ghosts, Souls - All the same word for the same thing, to his mind. But John hadn't directly answered, so the idea would remain kicking around in the back of his head.

Raylan smirked at John with a sidelong look at his playful descriptions. "Why'd'ya think I'm out here. Least you were smart enough to bring a light, I was gonna go on ambiance." He jutted his chin forward a little as he started walking. "You 'just out for a walk' too?"

[prevenance]

And you're saying the way I currently have my hair cut makes me look...something else?

( elena certainly puts a lot of stock into his haircut, doesn't she? he makes a face, almost amused despite their situation. )

Do you normally make judgments about people based on their haircuts or am I just special?

( he peers over at her, snickering before he starts walking again. )

[tinstar]

[Raylan scoffed and chuckled at Dean's very passionate response.]

No strong feelin's about it then, [He joked, fingers still flipping through the last half of the records before he stood up and looked over at Dean, face full of amusement.]

I'm sure you'll find somethin' to spin 'em on. If not here, in someone's rotted attic with spare needles. Where'd you say you come from again?

[How much of The South had Dean actually experienced? Seeing it wasn't the same as experiencing it - plenty of people passed through without really getting to taste the flavors the South had to provide.]

[bestfuneralever]

If he tries to pull the same thing on the lantern specters (with the channel/manifesting thing) would he get anything from that?

[villagemodama]

Nope! The lantern spectres don't even appear on his powered radar.

💔

[thering]

She does not look fine, at all. He's not certain if she's taken a look at the state she is in. She would not think herself fine if she could see herself from the outside.

"I'm afraid I would insist, yes." If he has to drag her kicking and screaming - hopefully she still has the energy for that left in her - back to his place, out of this cold, he would. He cannot, in good conscience, leave her to wander like this, even if she decides to keep his coat. But he would rather it not come down to that.

"I am- was - something of a doctor." It's complicated. He is a long list of things. Until a more modern and better trained professional comes along, most people have been stuck with him and his rudimentary first aid kits. So far he hasn't needed to do anything too difficult but it seems half the town's population is keen on finding new and interesting ways to harm themselves and give him an aneurysm.

"You would not be the first I have had to patch up. If you would allow me to help, I would do my very best." And if she does not allow it, well. As long as she doesn't bleed out on his watch, he would probably begrudgingly leave her be. If nothing else, just to gain a bit of her trust.