villagelogs | 018-020 » what he hides

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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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Plotting comment!]

[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.]

( While he's not the brother to wake up early in the morning, he's still worried for Claire, and he's still working with zero new answers, like the rest of the town. With his green jacket on (and still not watched, the bloody handprint sure to stain soon), he steps out onto the porch. While the inside of 1301 is in working over and was kept up, the outside is dilapidated and just plain dated, like every house on the road.

It's also snowing.

Dean should change his jacket, but all he does is head back outside again, this time in a dark grey beanie. He's not about to freeze in abandoned Mathias Helltown. He questions going out without Claire, but he sees something in the distance through the snow. It draws him there and without letting her know, Dean moves one foot, his other, and the first again, in that order as he heads down the small set of stairs and out into town.

With a searching, soulful look, Dean passes the other buildings and approaches what looks like a crack in the ground. The closer he gets, the more he feels like he's not alone. He felt it on his porch, too, like traveling toward the crack should happen - or, like someone expected it.

Looking across the crack, he sees the cabin, and the man on the porch of that cabin. Is he smiling?

And then there's a sneeze.

The sneeze breaks his intense crack-cabin scrutiny and he turning in its direction. It's as if he is being watched again, an out of body experience as he sees himself spot the angel he'd lost. The angel who'd given himself to the Empty to save his life. )

...Cas?

[Castiel stills. He knows that voice; he recognizes the way his own name sounds through that voice. A whole tangle of emotions - fear, joy, regret, and sadness - gathers in the back of his throat as he turns, and...yes, actually, that is, in fact, Dean Winchester standing next to him, alive, as far as Castiel can tell; the opposite of the way Castiel felt his soul as it ascended to Heaven. His eyes widen when he not only recognizes Dean, but also the jacket he wears, complete with his bloody handprint still on it. Has he not washed it? That thought nearly renders Castiel's heart (metaphorically speaking, of course) in two.

Tears fill the edge of his vision; Castiel takes a cautious step forward, careful not to let himself get his hopes up too high.]

Hello, Dean.

[Even as worried as he is, as afraid as Castiel is that is all some illusion, he can't help but smile at the sight of the man he loves, drinking in the sight of him as though he's dying of thirst.]

( Every hunter instinct goes out the window with the bathwater, and the baby so to speak. He should whip out a silver knife, should say the word Christo for old time's sake. Lead him back to the house and sprinkle freakin holy water, but every instinct is drowned out. Every single one. The only thing Dean can do and start walking toward him, and not stop. He's not cautious or careful.

If this is a trick of the town, he will burn it all.

Forget anyone else standing by the crack, forget the guy on the porch, forget the morning having a thousand eyes (it feels like that), Cas is here?

Finally in front of him, Dean pulls Cas into a back breaking hug, burying his face into his neck. )

[Dean starts walking towards him with such determination and purpose; Castiel's breath catches in his throat, and he moves to start walking towards Dean, to meeting him halfway. Before he can so much as even take another step, though, Dean has already reached him, pulling him into the fiercest hug Castiel has ever known; he feels it deep in his Grace.

Instinctively, Castiel wraps his arms around Dean tight, squeezing him as if he could possibly pull him even closer, as if there were any remaining space between the press of their bodies. One arm wraps around Dean's shoulders, the other moves into the back of Dean's hair as Dean buries his head in his neck. Castiel leans his head against Dean's; he breathes out a choked out sob in the next moment, a jagged pronounciation of Dean's name somewhere in between one breath and the next, and he lets his eyes fall shut as he savors the warmth of Dean's body entwined with his.]

It's really you? You're really here?

( Cas squeezes back, the real, in the flesh, Cas. Dean's eyes fall closed, emotion passing between them. His choked back sob chokes Dean's throat, a lump forming. It's okay, he thinks. I'm here. )

Isn't that my line?

( Another minute passes and Dean lets himself pull back, opening his eyes. )

I thought you were in the Empty, man. ( Hands sliding back to squeeze his shoulders, Dean looks him up and down. ) You're here. You're right here.

[Castiel actually laughs; only Dean could inspire such laughter in him, after it all. After Castiel wakes up in the snow next to a fault in the ground, trapped in some woods that he doesn't know. It feels like a small miracle, but a miracle nonetheless, and Castiel, though he doesn't understand why he suddenly needs to breathe, is only too happy to breathe Dean in, even as Dean eventually pulls back.]

Perhaps I felt like stealing your line.

[Castiel lets his gaze roam all across Dean, from his face to his shoulders, drinking in the sight of him, seemingly healthy, whole, and alive. His Grace sings at the sight.

When Dean mentions the Empty, Castiel shakes his head, though he also takes a moment to stare at the ground in order to move past the temporary chill that comes over him at the mention of what was supposed to be his ultimate fate.]

Jack pulled me out, to...assist him. I was in Heaven before...

[He glances around them, wondering where here is supposed to be.]

Wherever this is supposed to be.

( That feisty quality is what Dean has gotten used to, Castiel's autonomy and his heart. He's mastered sarcasm and he likes to hear it. Even if he's pissed and it's lobbed in his direction. Even when he's angry, pissed at Cas, he still appreciates him being safe. And here. While feelings swirl around Castiel's secret and what happened after, having him here grounds him in a way he didn't feel before. He's been the stranger in a strange land, with and without Sam, and with and without Cas, but this is different. He just knows it is. He doesn't know why. Maybe because he thought Cas was really gone.

Maybe he was good to lose himself completely in this charade.

Now he's not so sure it is a charade. )

Jack? He had the juice to pull you out? He pull you out because I disappeared? I didn't - answer Sam. I thought I had time.

( To break.

But, if Jack knew all this and then sent Cas. Or, Sam. Or, Cas volunteered. Whatever happened... )

... You found me.

Castiel | Supernatural

Day 18 | Closed to Dean Winchester

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Day 19 | OPEN

Day 20 | OPEN

hello from the other side~

Hello! :3

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( hope this is okay! )

This is great, thank you! <3

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Let me know if this is okay or if I should change the bit about his soul!

totally fine with it! :D

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