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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tinstar: (Aint nothin)

[personal profile] tinstar 2020-12-23 02:35 am (UTC)(link)
"I got plenty of years to catch up to you and Henry, figure might want to get started," he replied as he took the cigarette and flipped in his fingers up to his lips. He'd fully expected John to provide a normal lighter and blinked down at the suddenly red cheery in his sight. Laughing under his breath, he inhaled and pulled it away from his lips to let out a breath of smoke a second later.

A novice smoker, Raylan was not.

"Never gonna get used to seein' that but so far, it's my favorite trick of yours."
thering: (Doc273)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-23 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
Now where has he heard this before? Oh right, just yesterday, with Five getting dragged through his door with similar injuries after a monumentally stupid attempt at getting to the other side of that crevice.

"Do not tell me you attempted to cross that crack in the ground." Damn them both.
hellblaze: <user site="insanejournal.com" user="frakkingcylon">. (smirk 🔥 got a bullet in the chamber.)

[personal profile] hellblaze 2020-12-23 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
John couldn't help the chuckle that made its way out at that. Ah, right.

"Pretty sure Henry's got more years than even me. Bit impressive, really. Probably helps that he's a bloody century old."

He let a grin cross his face then. "I got better tricks. You just haven't brought the handcuffs yet."
hellblaze: <user site="insanejournal.com" user="frakkingcylon">. (annoyed 🔥 arms wide open.)

[personal profile] hellblaze 2020-12-23 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Now why would I go and cross the bloody ravine? I'm not that stupid." John paused. Well, he was, but that wasn't the point at the moment. "No. I had a few choice words with our local spooky landlord."
thering: (Doc42)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-23 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
It comes and goes. That is the nature of that particular beast. [He meets people all the time that he knows will come and go, too. To say it bothers him all that much would go against the image he tries to portray of himself as some kind of strong, unaffected asshole. He feels guilty sometimes, outliving them all, and not being able to remember all their faces as clearly as when they had been alive. He doesn't know how to untangle grief from guilt from regret. Far easier to just push everything into a bottle of bootleg liquor and be done with it.]

But I doubt you came here to dredge up all this history. I only wish there were more pleasant topics that this town would give us to discuss.
endlessflask: (Default)

[personal profile] endlessflask 2020-12-23 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
I'd like to say he's way more alert than that but, no, that's pretty much him.

[ And it's one of the many things Eliot loves about him and had missed about him, at least until they ended up here. Eliot's hoping their reunion hasn't come to an end. ]

Books are like, his thing. He'll drop everything if he's found something interesting in one.
thering: (Doc251)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-23 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
"The cigarillos or the opium?" he asks with a laugh after blowing a stream of smoke over his shoulder. "Well I was diagnosed with tuberculosis at fourteen. The cigarillos came before, the opium came after, manage the pain." Which he is only just going to touch on and not talk about at any great length. Funnily enough, you can't be a good dentist or become renowned for having the quickest draw if you have no control over when your body decides to cough its lungs out.

"Are you saying you're not bored of all this snow and my terrible cooking already?" Doc asks wryly. He doesn't mind it anymore, spending as much time as he has in a place that gets plenty of snow. But he'd take ten years on an island over whatever fresh hell this place is.
thering: (Doc22)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-23 04:14 am (UTC)(link)
"You've gone and hurt yourself - again - and you will not let me take a look to make sure nothing's broken. You're second in the stupid line," Doc retorts. Yes, they're arguing in the flower shop, squabbling like an old married couple. No, he doesn't care. At least they're not bickering out in the snow.

"Who is this 'landlord' and what did they have to say?"
thering: (Doc164)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-23 04:23 am (UTC)(link)
We should start at the library then. [Doc agrees purely because there is a hole in the floor in the library, and it only makes sense with the description Eliot gives. They sound... close, judging from Eliot's body language. The way he talks about Quentin. How his eyes shift, that twitch of the lips. But Doc won't pry.]

We can put some notes up there, too. So anyone else that might find him if we don't cover every square inch of the place will know to contact you.
enduresurvive: (earnest)

[personal profile] enduresurvive 2020-12-23 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
I never found a Discman that worked.

[ Really, that only proves his point. She's heard CDs on stereos, but portables? Nope. Really, there were cellphones and things like that. The world had gone to hell in 2013, but most of the tech hadn't survived where she could use it in 2039. ]

Uh...yeah, I guess. I like 80s and 90s stuff. Pearl Jam. You know them?

[ She can't listen to Pearl Jam anymore without hearing Joel, but that's not the point. ]

Nirvana, I guess? Uh...I don't know. I know the Cure, but not Depeche Mode.
enduresurvive: (try harder)

[personal profile] enduresurvive 2020-12-23 08:40 am (UTC)(link)
"We didn't hear anything else, I think. Lucky us," Ellie answers. She mostly pushes her food around, suddenly struggling with the idea of eating. She should, of course. Eating is important, she knows. And Raylan was nice enough to share. Ugh, everything is hard just now, though.

She has maybe a little less detachment than Raylan, but she's used to death. She's desensitised about it on an abstract level. On a more personal level, she's glad it wasn't her who'd found any of those bodies.

"Five said he thought the phone was the thing that saved us, somehow," she adds. "Who the fuck knows how that worked, but...sounds like he was right."
hellblaze: <user site="insanejournal.com" user="frakkingcylon">. (annoyed 🔥 and we'll be wasted wasted.)

[personal profile] hellblaze 2020-12-23 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
"Again? You say again as if it's not something I do all the bloody time." John sighs loudly in annoyance. Maybe if he gets that point across, Doc will drop it all together. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his trenchcoat.

Just to show what a point he's making.

"Oh the bloke across the ravine. Don't tell me you hadn't seen him, Henry."
descendent: (pic#14418051)

[personal profile] descendent 2020-12-23 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ disappointment swells inside of her. the spectre had been out here, and yet… just like it didn't seem to leave anything behind but its lantern, it seems like it wasn't even here in the first place. she looks down at the snow, tilting forward slightly, afraid to move her feet just in case she's about to disturb some evidence.

his sniff is all she needs. she turns around to face him, hope a little too apparent in her expression and voice. ]
Can you smell anything?
thering: (Doc116)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-23 10:20 am (UTC)(link)
Why can't everyone just be more responsible and less reckless around here, in a place they don't know where the fog kills and the weather has turned foul? Doc takes in a deep breath and breathes it out slow, trying to temper down his frustration and not say anything he will regret.

"How did you parlay with him without crossing the crevice?"
prevenance: (7Z7w9uS)

[personal profile] prevenance 2020-12-23 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
She was injured prior to her arrival

( by his own brother but details. he's not going to share that with someone he barely knows. he doubts elena would really care for him telling her business to those she doesn't know.

he doesn't address the whole 'lightening up' bit though rest assured, you weren't the first person to tell him that, john. )


You made a hole in the floor? For what reason?

( again, he's just going to not address the thing where he can't take joke. he can...when he wants to. )
prevenance: (eli06)

[personal profile] prevenance 2020-12-23 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
No and I have been trying. But, all I can smell is the snow.

( so, if whatever that had been had left anything behind, it was so minute that not even elijah could smell it. he shakes his head, crouching down and trying to brush aside some snow to see if there was anything buried beneath it. )

It feels quite impossible but it seems like whatever that was vanished without a trace. There's nothing here.

( they had their memories of the incident but that's it. )
abrightboy: (unsure)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2020-12-23 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm glanced around them.

"Won't that... burn the whole house down?" he asked, eyebrows slightly raised.
prevenance: (DuKPHUp)

[personal profile] prevenance 2020-12-23 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I was looking for wine, actually, and I was given this address as to where I might be able to find something.

( he holds up the glass and laughs quietly. )

And while this is definitely not wine, it's good enough. So no, I didn't come here to talk about the past and family and what their loss means. But I've enjoyed the conversation anyway.

( for as much as one could enjoy something like this. )

I haven't talked to too many new people as of late.
tinstar: (U sure)

[personal profile] tinstar 2020-12-23 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well someone around this place deserves to have to at least one night of half decent sleep," he replies, cutting into his food and taking a bite. His appetite suffered none from being here and the second it did, people around him would know something is wrong. But if Ellie didn't eat, he wouldn't take any offense to it; this place was messing with everyone and if he had to put bets down that others were also scraping along on eating nearly nothing, he would.

"Seems to be so. The ones that answered survived. The ones that didn't, or places where no one was home..." Well, their end was evident.

He looked up at her from under his eyebrows. "I know okay is largely relative right now but. You holdin' in there?"
tinstar: (Is that so)

Since we missed the antique shop, wanna close this one out, start something new?

[personal profile] tinstar 2020-12-24 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
"Opium?" Raylan echoed the word with a look over his shoulder as much was necessary as to pull Doc back into his vision before shaking his head once as he focused on the path and not turning the wheelbarrow onto its side before 'ah'ing at the explanation. There was a bit of kneejerk reaction to heavy drug use there, but it was only because Raylan was used to seeing people ruin their lives like that, for no reason other then they wanted to.

"I can think of a few places I'd rather be but if I had a choice, I'd take you and your bad cookin' and leave the snow to itself, if I'm honest. How do you feel about beaches and Cuban food?"

He would too, not that they had a choice. Maybe Doc would be in his world when he got back and they could still do shit like this. Raylan shivered as they got closer to the house and shoved the wheelbarrow into the garage before dusting off his hands and shoving them deep into his pockets.
thering: (Doc292)

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-24 01:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Dean's been making some... fermented fruit thing, but there's no guarantee that it would taste any better or worse than the moonshine. If Raylan had turned up with some of those goods, Doc hadn't seen them yet though.]

It's a small town. Worth getting to know the folks. [You can always keep to yourself but that won't stop other people talking about you, maybe come to harass you anyway. It also means you're alone when shit goes sideways and, especially in this place? You don't want to be alone. Plenty of quiet folks who like their privacy still do well reaching out to a few trusted confidantes. At least, that was Doc's experience.]

If you need any introductions, I would be happy to assist. [He wouldn't claim to know everybody but he knows many of the usual suspects, especially those who have been here as long as he has.]
thering: (10)

yes sir... they need to talk about their son

[personal profile] thering 2020-12-24 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
There was a lot of opium. And he wasn't exactly with company that tried to discourage him from smoking more. Don't get Doc started on some of those drugged out stories.

"Let's get a drink," he offers once they're back in their house. "And then you can tell me all about this Cuban food." He might have a vague idea, but he's curious, and it wouldn't have been anything he's tried from the last century. If it's something that can be made with what ingredients they can get their hands on here, he wouldn't mind trying something different.
tinstar: (mmhmm)

YES SIR THEY DO! /end

[personal profile] tinstar 2020-12-24 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
"I could do with one. Or three," he admitted with a deep breath. "I'll get the fire going."

A drink was always better when you could feel the digits enough to hold a glass.
endlessflask: (Default)

[personal profile] endlessflask 2020-12-24 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
See, I never would have thought of that.

[ Eliot can admit he's not the most logical of thinkers. Did he just technically figure out how to save the world before he got here? Sure. But he also needed a little push to do that, too.

Not that Quentin being missing is World Ending but, to Eliot, it sure feels like it.
]

So - do you guys know how to make more than just moonshine? I tried making my own gin and my own champagne once and neither one went well.
descendent: (pic#14197199)

[personal profile] descendent 2020-12-24 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ elena looks down at him, spying some snowflakes settling in his hair. despite how he's dressed so overtly not like elijah, it's the snowflakes that seem offensive and mar his appearance. she looks around, lips pursed, determination set in her brow. surely, something has to have lingered behind. it's too strange—the spectres had to be corporeal to hold those lanterns...

following him and crouching down, she rests her hands on her knees. she looks up and impulsively brushes snow from clumping in his hair, her brows still furrowed as if she expects the spectre to have disappeared into the strands. ]


It left every other spectre but the one without a lantern. [ momentarily lifting her gaze up, she spies spectres in the distance, clumped together in a line, all lit by lanterns. she wonders if he can hear them. peering back at elijah, she arches her brow and asks quietly, ] You don't think that's odd?