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

[tinstar]

"Course I don't. But I am." And that's all there was too it.

The sharper command at nothing had all of Raylan's attention. "Sure, I could sip some tea. So long as you fill me in on what's exactly happenin' here and how I can help with that too."

He gestured towards the door in invitation. He'd ask if Malcolm was up to going out, but he knew that it would probably be better to get Malcolm out of the house. The cold might seep in somewhere and keep him a bit more sharp.

"Things gettin' worse?"

[hellblaze]

"We all need a hobby." John gestured to the corpse with the sheet. "Be me guest, mate."

One day he'd learn this bastard's name. Eh. Not important.

It was eerie staring down at yourself. The last time he had done it? Fucifer had taken his form in an attempt to make him think he would become a demon. Fat chance there was to that. No, this was just ... him. Dead. Surreal didn't begin to cover it. John slipped his hands into his pockets and let the man take a gander.

"Don't suppose there's anything else you're noticing other than that."

[hellblaze]

There was a shake of his head. "No bloody idea. Pretty sure though it isn't one of us."

John glanced up at Raylan and gave a short nod as a 'Hello, Marshal. Fine night we're having!' Why yes, John, we are. Stalking the apparent random hooded specters that appeared out of bloody nowhere.

"Haven't seen anything like them around town so far." John gave a half shrug. "Funny, they only show up after a few of us died and went missing."

[abrightboy]

“Decomposition isn’t as advanced as I was expecting, but the cold can account for that.” He looked at John. “We didn’t check the rest of your body for injuries. Didn’t seem a point in going as far as undressing you. What do you remember before dying? Phil said he heard knocking.”

[aprofoundbond]

[Castiel is out exploring because he doesn't know how to sit still. He doesn't know what to make of this place, and he especially doesn't care for the way he seems to have regained the same needs he once dealt with when he temporarily became human. It is easier, Castiel finds, to walk and to wander, to chase some possibility, than to dwell too long in one's own confusion and thoughts.

Here, Castiel has Dean and Claire with him, and yet, he misses Paradise, and he misses Jack, all the same. He found contentment, in his own way, back home. Here is new and unknown, a direct opposite of all the peace he found in his new purpose.

Castiel is trying to follow the lights, the lights seemingly carried by some sort of spirits, and so he is barely paying attention. He doesn't realize until Claire collides with him that anyone else (alive, at least) is even out here.

He starts a bit, caught off-guard, but, more importantly, his eyes widen when he recognizes who it is he's run into.]

Claire? Are you alright?

[He offers her his hand, should she choose to take it.]

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looked... exhausted, emotionally more than physically and he didn’t have the wherewithal to shove it in its box.

He nodded down at the floor, only hesitating slightly before slipping out the door to lead the way down to the kitchen, twisting the towel between his hands. He left it on the counter when he got there, putting the kettle on before turning to look at Raylan, his hands gripping the counter behind him on either side of his hips with almost white knuckles.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” he told him softly. “The withdrawal is passing now, but.” He sighed. “I take an antipsychotic at home and I still see things under stress. Without it? I don’t have any control.” His grip on the counter tightened a little. “I’m afraid of getting to a point where I don’t know what’s real,” he confessed.

Castiel | Supernatural

[aprofoundbond]

[Plotting comment!]

Day 18 | Closed to Dean Winchester

[aprofoundbond]

[CW: Allusions to death, mentions of the afterlife, religion, blasphemy, etc.]


[One moment, Castiel is flying; he is in his true form, free from the Empty, free from Earth, and, in his own way, he has truly achieved peace. He is bound to no one but the sky around him, nothing but his desire to help Jack redesign Heaven into the Paradise it should have always been, and he feels truly at his own ease, even as much as he misses Dean and he misses Earth, and the life he built for himself there.

And so, when, out of nowhere, seemingly, Castiel finds himself laying on his back, covered in snow, suddenly grounded, he feels a slow sense of dread creeping in through the cracks in his thoughts once filled by the Empty. He turns his head, and finds a distinct fracture through the ground not far from where he lays; he turns his head in the opposite direction, and he finds several buildings, all of them seemingly rotted or in the process of a slow decay in one form or another.

Cold, he realizes. He’s cold, and his body…aches? That’s strange, he thinks, as his eyes widen, blinking away the snow that doesn’t seem to stop falling. He finally sits up, and the snow falls away like dust; if one comes across him from a distance, the snow seems to slide away in the opposite direction in which the Empty came for him.

Castiel picks himself up, and he pats himself down, finding that he’s back in his vessel, trench coat and all, and he doesn’t even have a single angel blade on him.]

What is this?

[He tilts his head back, asks to the sky. Perhaps Jack can hear him; perhaps Jack will know what to make of this.

A moment later, and Castiel sneezes. Actually sneezes.]

[waywardsister]

I'm fi---

[ She almost gets through the assurance when her mind and eyes catch up to one other. Her hand, reaching out on instinct for the offered one, freezes and the pulls back sharply before she can touch him, and Claire pushes her to her feet, muscles tense and eyes wide and alarmed. ]

No, no, no. This is... you're not here.

[ The tone is almost pleading, blue eyes welling up.

She lost everyone coming here, lost Castiel all over again when Dean proclaimed him dead, and now...

And now...

Her voice is a whisper. She steps back, pushes her shaking fingers into her hair, unable to handle this new shift in reality. ]

You can't be here...

[thering]

"Because it probably cannot wait, after what happened to our... recently resurrected neighbours." There is no guarantee they will come back. He has spent time hovering around the gravesite, looking over his shoulder whenever he hears some rustling or footsteps or a voice, trying not to be disappointed when it's not Jill Valentine hurrying over to tell him to stop fretting.

And even those who have come back, Doc is wary of. The trauma of death aside, this town harbours many secrets, and they may not have come back the same. He can't say he knows any of them well enough to be able to gauge just how much they have changed. And he would not want one of his housemates dying just to find out, either. He is ever patient with Malcolm's chatter. But he would miss it if the house were to fall silent. And he is not sure he can be the stalwart, supportive old man Malcolm has come to expect milling around their house, if Raylan were to leave the two to them to cope on their own.

"Would you like my coat?" He has weathered several winters without. Almost a couple weeks living together is long enough to be trading clothes, surely.

[40seconds]

[ Coulson's just put on a fresh pot of coffee, and he's in the middle of absentmindedly pouring himself a cup. He's been outside himself, checking out the makeshift cemetery, because a lot's happened in a short amount of time, and he's still working on processing things.

There's still one thing he can't accept, though, and it's the fact that Daisy just disappeared without a word. One day she was there, and the next, she wasn't. And to make things worse, there's absolutely no indication of what happened to her, despite his efforts to find her. And he did try, but ultimately came up empty.

He figures she's better off not being here, if she did in fact find a way out, but that doesn't stop him from missing her. With his coffee poured, he takes the mug over to the table and sits down to drink it and begin thawing out after his venture outside. ]

[chuju]

[ Stepping into the boarding house is like walking into a dream. After everything she'd just learned, it should feel different, right? But it doesn't, not really. There are a few noticeable changes, of course, thanks to whatever the fog had done, but otherwise it's just as she'd left it all of maybe an hour ago.

An hour. Three days. Time never seemed to have any real sort of meaning in this place.

The smell of fresh coffee hits her and she moves toward it instinctively, not knowing who's there but hoping it's a friendly face. The snowflakes clinging to her coat and hair begin to melt as she moves through the house, turning into the kitchen—

And she stops, her throat going tight at the sight of him there. Safe. Whole. Swallowing thickly, she offers a wavering smile as she greets him with a simple: ] Hey.

let me know if this needs adjusting!

[40seconds]

[ Coulson's not sure what brought him to the chasm's edge, aside from just plain curiosity and wanting to see what there was to see in this part of the town. It's just a crack in the earth, but there's not really anything to suggest what caused it. Neither is there anything noteworthy to see, so he turns as if to leave, but as he's doing so, he catches sight of something from out of the corner of his eye.

... Is that the person he met in the boardinghouse making those curious sandwiches? It certainly looks like him, and- wait. Is he jumping over the edge?

Coulson quickly turns back to stand just shy of the chasm's edge, not wanting to fall in by accident, but it's too late to call out or to do much of anything except stand there. It all seems to happen incredibly quickly, but he's sure it must not seem that way to the hapless individual who looks as though he made the jump, but suddenly and without warning, gets thrown right back to where he came from. Well, not quite. From Coulson's vantage point, it looks like he just got hurled rather violently against the cliff face, and he can only imagine how many bones must have gotten broken in the process.

Still, he can't see everything that's happening, but he's reasonably sure that getting hurled into a rocky wall can't be good. And while he's looking on, he spots thin fingers just barely appearing over the chasm's edge, and that's when he launches into action. ]

Hey! [ He's not about to just stand here and potentially let someone drop to their death. What he is going to do is try and grab hold of that arm that's flopping over the edge and pull Five back over. ]

Grab hold, I'm going to pull you back over.

[ Hopefully. ]

[chuju]

[ She's so lost in her own thoughts that she doesn't notice the quiet crunch of snow as someone approaches. Even her powers don't alert her to the quick steps or the change in the air. Instead, she startles as there is suddenly a hand around her arm.

Her free hand raises to knock the person back with a burst of her powers, but with fingers spread and palm facing him, she freezes at the sight of John Constantine. It's so unexpected and she is so oddly dazed that she takes one look at him and says the first thing that comes to mind. ]

You changed.

[40seconds]

It's been an eventful and taxing couple of days, what with Daisy's return and the fallout and argument that came about, so with the arrival of a new day, he decided to just take things relatively easy. By the time the sun was beginning to set, he changed his mind, however, and decided he needed to stretch his legs a little.

As it turns out, "a little" became more along the lines of "a lot", and he wound up by Hill Lane. It was a strange name for a lane that had no hill by it, but he supposed it could have been named for someone with the last name Hill. It's not really an earth-shattering revelation, so he just continues on his way, intending to pay the expanse another visit. He's already seen it once, so he knows it's there and he's not going to fall over the edge or anything like that.

As he gets closer, he spots someone else standing there, and he squints, thinking they look familiar. It's not until he's almost on top of him that he realizes this is definitely a familiar face, and for some reason, he looks more than a little unsettled.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" He asks as if this is just a typical scenic destination, not a gigantic crack in the ground.

[40seconds]

[ He registers the sound of the door opening and footsteps approaching, and he figures the least he can do is offer whoever just walked in from the cold some of the coffee. Without looking up right away, he just says: ]

Hey, I just made fresh coffee. You're more than welcome to it.

[ Of course, he knew the new arrival said something, but his focus has been a little bit lacking lately, so it kind of flew right over his head. A few more seconds go by, and he realizes just who's standing there, and that realization hits him like a ton of bricks. ]

That's really your opening line?

[ She'll have to forgive him because he looks more than a little incredulous. The offer to drink some of the coffee still stands, of course, but he's looking at her like he's seeing a ghost.

After all the time he spent looking for her, only to come up empty-handed, that casual greeting just hits him like the worst sort of punch. ]

[chuju]

[ His voice is the same. The same inflection, the same kindness and cordiality. How many times had she reread his letter during that year, wishing she could hear his voice just one more time? She might have Coulson back in the form of an LMD, but this living breathing version from her past is no different. The both of them are the most important person in the world to her and she is so very glad to see him there.

Taking a few steps closer, one of her half-frozen hands wraps around the back of a chair, her fingertips white from the cold. ]

Sorry. Not really sure what you say when you apparently disappeared for a few days and don't remember it. Hey seemed like a good option.

[ The coffee smells amazing and she desperately wants a cup to help warm up, but she can't tear herself away. She can only stand there watching him, because what happens if she looks away and he disappears too? ]

[40seconds]

[ He's really not mad, because reason tells him she didn't disappear on purpose. And any twinges from raw nerves brought on by conducting a fruitless search and being forced to conclude that she was really and truly gone fade just slightly when he takes in her appearance from the snowflakes still clinging to her hair to those too-white fingertips. Whatever he's feeling, he can't just let her freeze.

So, rather than answer right away, he just gets up from where he's sitting and crosses over to the coffee pot himself so that he can pour a cup for her. Once that's done, he brings it back over and holds it out. ]

Here. You look like you really need this.

[ He's not any more sure about what to say than she is, so getting her coffee is at least a way to buy some time. ]

[chuju]

[ Most of her isn't feeling anything. Aside from being extremely cold, mostly she's numb inside, with a layer of confusion and distress over the top of that almost emptiness inside her. She accepts the mug of coffee without even a smile, just cradling it close and ignoring the sting as the heat tries to seep into her too-cold fingers. ]

I was out by the woods and I met Constantine. He told me some of what happened. [ Shifting her stance uncomfortably, she watches him closely, feeling like a small child waiting for an adult to tell her everything's okay. Somehow, though, she doesn't think this is one of those times where it will be. ] With the fog and... people dying.

[ And she hadn't been here. Three days she'd been gone to who knows where while the rest of them mourned and then dealt with the fact that apparently, not everyone stayed dead. Sort of. She might be angry about it but for that pervading numbness. ]

[40seconds]

[ It's probably not going to do anything to counter that numbness inside her, but at least the coffee will warm her, and there's something else he can do besides. Once she takes the mug of coffee, he grabs his coat (well, it was someone's coat before it was his, but it's warm and that's what matters) from where it's draped over the back of a chair and moves back over to drape it over her shoulders. ]

Are you all right? [ He wonders how much Constantine told her, and if he knew just how many of them died. It seems to him that she'd be more upset if she knew that he was one of the dead, so maybe the other man didn't say too much. ]

You really don't remember the last few days?

[chuju]

I'm okay. [ She manages a smile this time, one hand tugging at the folds of his coat to make sure it stays in place. With anyone else, she would have shrugged it off and made some posture of being fine and not needing the help, but — this is Coulson. Even with so many years between them, she's more than happy to let him take care of her even for just a few minutes. ]

I don't remember any of it. One minute, I was out on the porch, wanting to try some of the old exercises I used to do with May, and then I was near the woods and it was snowing.

[ The more she speaks, the more lost she sounds, a thread of that distress in her heart beginning to wind through her words. She doesn't remember. How can she not remember it? Of everything they've faced, this really isn't that big in comparison to something like the end of the world, but in this very moment? It's huge. ]

"Henry"/"Doc" Holliday | Wynonna Earp

[thering]

(Plotting post here - let me know if I forgot a toplevel)

[40seconds]

Yet another mystery about this place that we have to figure out.

[ He shakes his head, not really liking the idea of adding another question mark to the already lengthy list of things they don't know.

And he can hear that distress in her voice, so while being mindful of her coffee, he pulls her in for a hug.

It might not help, but he's never hesitated to offer one in the times that she's been distressed, so he hopes it's calming even when everything is the opposite of calm. ]

[chuju]

[ She'll take a hundred mysteries to solve if she can just have his hugs to help get her through them. Making sure not to tip her hand and spill hot coffee over both of them, she clings to him like he's the only sane thing in her world. And, really, that isn't an exaggeration in this case. With everything they're dealing with, he's the one solid thing in all of it.

Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she forces her power to focus in a way she hasn't been able to manage much since waking up here. There, she can feel it. His heart, scarred and held together by something he didn't fully understand, but still beating. ]

We'll get through this together, just like we always do.

[40seconds]

Of course we will.

[ And then he hesitates even while they're still hugging. He has something he needs to tell her, before she hears it from someone else.

That wouldn't be received well and he knows it, but she's too rattled right now. ]

Come on, why don't you sit down for awhile.