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.

navigation | faq | setting | mod contact

Comments

[chuju]

[ She continues shaking her head and raises a hand in protest as if she can stop this from being true. Because it can't be true. It can't. He didn't— ]

No, you— You didn't— [ Her breathing becomes slightly shallower, faster, her heartbeat speeding up as the panic in her rises. And then it's too much, she has to stand and put a few feet of distance between them in an attempt to be able to breathe a little easier. It doesn't work. ]

You did not die. Not again. [ She hardly realizes what she's saying. ]

[40seconds]

It wasn't- I didn't do it on purpose. [ That much is true. The events leading up to his death just happened so quickly that they're little better than a blur when he looks back on it. ]

And I didn't want to wait to tell you, only for you to find out from someone else before I could.

[ It doesn't make this better, or easier, and he knows it, but he's trying not to regret his decision to tell her here and now. ]

[chuju]

[ Logically, she knows he didn't do it on purpose. He never would, that's not who he is, not unless the lives of others were at stake. But from what she knows of the situation, that doesn't seem to have been the case. It just... happened. And now she has to deal with the aftermath. And nothing she's feeling right now leaves any room for logic. ]

But why... [ She presses a hand to her forehead, trying to calm her breathing and failing miserably. If anything, she just makes it worse. ] You didn't do it on purpose but you keep doing it. You keep dying and I can't—

[ The buzzing in her bones grows more powerful by the second, everything in her shaking until it begins to leak out around them. The counters begin to shake, just little tremors that barely rattle the coffee maker and other appliances stored there, and the table vibrates enough to disturb the coffee in their mugs. ]

[40seconds]

[ That is also true. If others' lives were on the line, Coulson wouldn't hesitate to lie down on the grenade to save them. But this wasn't an act of self-sacrifice. It was a strange turn of events that he couldn't have predicted, and unfortunately, it ended badly. ]

I know. [ That's all he says at first, because he's not supposed to know, but he saw something that gave him a glimpse of his future, so he knows what's coming down the road. ]

No one lives forever, not even me. But if I can do something to make what time I have count, whether here or at home, I'm going to.

[ It's not exactly what he meant to say, but he figured that saying the older generation has to make room for the next wouldn't be very well received. And what happens next only confirms that he's right to think that. ]

Daisy, you're making the room shake. [ Probably the whole boardinghouse, if she keeps going the way she is. ]

Stop, I don't want you to hurt yourself. [ Again. ]

[chuju]

[ No, him saying that would not have gone over well at all. She already isn't taking anything he's saying well, but that... Those words would have shattered her the way little else could.

He tells her to stop but it's too late for that now. The shaking grows stronger, effecting the entire room, and then spreads to the rest of the building. Their coffee sloshes in the cups, the pans rattle in their stacks, and she can hear the metallic clattering of silverware in the drawer. But none of it matters.

Nothing matters when he's telling her she nearly had to live without him. Again. ]

You're right, you don't live forever. You died a year ago and you didn't come back. [ The words just tumble out, anger and fear and panic jumbling together with the grief that grabs hold of her heart and threatens to crush it like one of her quakes. ] You don't get to tell me to stop when you left me.

[ And then she's crying, her voice breaking along with her heart, and the entire house rumbles. ]

[40seconds]

[ And that's precisely why he doesn't say them. So he doesn't know the events that transpire between what he remembers and what he does, but it doesn't take a genius to tell that something's shaken her. Oh, she mentioned the part about torture at the hands of some psychopath, but as significant and distressing as that is, he really thinks it's something else: something that encompasses several difficult things, and it's left her shaken.

He wishes he could do something to reassure her, to see that she finds her way back to solid ground, but now that seems easier said than done.

For just a second, his gaze travels away from her to take in the coffee sloshing out of the mugs to spill on the table, the pans clanging against each other, and the ting of silverware in the drawer. ]

I saw that, Daisy. Not that, specifically, but I saw myself making a deal, and then I knew.

[ Knew he'd die, knew he'd leave her and May and the team... ]

I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry we didn't have more time.

[ It's an apology that feels incredibly inadequate, because how can he apologize for all the missed moments they'll never have now? They pop into his head like snapshots from a photo album: Daisy getting married, having her first child, then having grandkids, and so on. When he realizes she's crying, it's like taking Loki's scepter to the heart all over again, except this time, it's worse. The shaking of the house only adds to the ache he feels. ]

I let you down, didn't I?

[chuju]

[ He saw it. Somehow... he knew? For how long has he known? She's been so careful, so diligent in keeping that painful secret to herself so he wouldn't have to carry that pain too, and here he is telling her he already knew. That all this time...

They could have talked. She could have told him about the letter, about her year of grieving and growing, about how hard she and May had hoped there was a piece of him within Sarge that they could save. He could have helped her—

But he isn't her Coulson. He doesn't know what she's lost, doesn't know when she needs the help only he can give. So how could she expect that of him? She certainly couldn't ever ask for it herself. And in that moment, she feels like she's lost him all over again.

The shaking stops as her grief swells and then is muffled by an aching numbness deep in her bones. Tears still burn sticky streaks down her cheeks as she nods, pulling in a ragged breath before she forces the words out, each one like broken glass in her throat. ]

Yeah, you did. You, not him.

[40seconds]

[ It's one of those things; he meant to tell her as soon as it happened, but then things kept coming up. She disappeared and he died, and so did several others. It's not an excuse, and he's not about to make any, because he really should have told her.

He opens his mouth to say something, to apologize, to try and start making amends for his mistake, when she comes out and says that. At first, he says nothing, because what really is there to say? It's not too difficult to imagine that she hates him right now, that she's reeling. Never mind that he doesn't have all the details, just that he struck a deal and that deal had consequences. He doesn't know about the letter, or about Sarge, but does it matter anyway? He thinks it doesn't. ]

I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean much in light of everything, but I am.

[ Whether or not she accepts that, he has to say it. But he also has something else to say: ]

Maybe it's best if we put some space between us for awhile. I'm sure you could use some time to rest, anyway.

[ As much as he doesn't want to admit it, maybe they're too different because of the years between them to completely work through this. Regardless, a little space might be just the thing they need right now, before one or both of them says something they'll later regret. ]

[chuju]

[ He says the words and they're like a slap in the face. Or, really, more like a punch to the gut. She visibly flinches back, taking a half-step away from him as if to avoid the pain he's just flung back at her. Perhaps she deserves it after what she'd just said to him but—

It feels like rejection. This Coulson does know her, doesn't really trust her yet, and now he clearly doesn't intend to. He doesn't want her, he wants his Skye, and once again she isn't enough for the people she'd let herself count on. ]

Yeah, sure. Space. [ If that's what he wants, that's what he'll have, and she'll try not to show how her heart is breaking. Grabbing her coat, she says one last thing before turning and heading for the front door. ] See you around, I guess.