024-027 » neither reward nor punishment

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central/Western Mathias + ???
WHEN: Days 024-027
WHAT: The consequences of their actions.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here! The next log will be posted January 23rd.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Onryo" 怨霊

DAYS 024-025
CONSEQUENCES
“There are in nature neither rewards nor punishments —
there are consequences.”
— Robert G. Ingersoll
When the unwilling residents of Mathias Township wake on the morning of the 24th day, they will find themselves in yet another set of frustratingly unnerving circumstances. None of them are where they last remember being, and some of them have strange marks on the palms of their left hands. It's all incredibly unsettling, but truthfully they should be used to it by now. No one will remember traveling to their new location.

Residents can wake up anywhere within their new location and in any position. Curled up in a bed, sprawled on a couch, huddled beneath a coffee table, propped against a wall... Wherever they are, they will themselves to be in quite an unusual state. While they are wearing whatever clothing items they went to sleep in, plus their shoes and a coat. The newest arrivals to Mathias Township will perhaps stand out for being slightly more appropriately dressed than their new neighbors. They are all a bit damp, physically worn out, and half-frozen from their apparent walk through a blizzard.

Each of the four locations is inescapable — residents are trapped, with exterior doors and windows being shut tight and a blizzard raging outside. The locations are stocked with fresh food and water and a large pile of firewood for the fireplaces in each building. The circumstances residents will face, however, may vary wildly between locations as the forces at work in Mathias respond to the recent actions of certain individuals.


BOARDING HOUSE | GREY GULL
NEW HOUSE | MYSTERY MANSION

These residents will wake with a mark on their left hand palms, a spiraling black symbol similar to those some may have seen around town. All marks are identical and cannot be removed, but will have seemingly vanished from their skin on the morning of the 26th day.

Castiel, Daisy Johnson, Dean Winchester
Elena Gilbert, Elijah Mikaelson, Helen Magnus
Phil Coulson, Quentin Coldwater, Sherlock Holmes

DAYS 026-027
IN THE AFTERMATH
After their ordeals of the past two days, the unfortunate residents of Mathias Township will be grateful to find that they were back where they are supposed to be, a chill still clinging to their clothes in whatever place they went to sleep the night of the 23rd day. New arrivals will wake in the living room of the boarding house. None of the residents will wake with anything in their possession from the locations in which they were previously trapped, including any notes or documentation they may have made during their time there.

---

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— SNOW continues to fall heavily on Days 024-025, resulting in white out conditions from the wind that blows in gusts of over 35 mph; the temperature also drops drastically, making conditions extremely dangerous for residents. The blizzard clears on Day 26 and residents are left with a cold, calm world covered in white.

— THE FOG remains blocking the paths in the forest, urging residents to stay huddled within the town proper, and it also now blocks the northern section of town, beginning just before where residents know the chasm in the earth to be. Venturing into the fog is... ill-advised.

— DISAPPEARANCES continue to plague the town. Kylo Ren and Thomas Richardson have vanished without a trace.

— NO NEW DEATHS have occurred in town, but there is a new "grave" in the small makeshift graveyard near the schoolhouse. Rey's corpse has been moved and covered with stones to wait for the ground to thaw enough for a proper burial.

— THE LANTERNS will be gone from the morning of Day 024. No trace of them remains.

---

OOC UPDATES

— A GIFT for everyone! As a thank you for being part of this spooky little game, every character in the game is being gifted 2 Activity Points. These may be banked over here — instead of linking to an AC post, you may put "New Year gift" in that field. Happy 2021, friends!

— NEW LAYOUTS have been installed for our communities! Huge thanks to our Eldritch Librarian Stars for putting in the time to get this place looking shiny. (You may have also noticed some new page layouts being installed — these are also our Librarian's handiwork!)

— DISCOVERIES have been collected and collated for your review. Please note that this is OOC information only, put together for the purpose of helping you as players see connections and possibilities for CR and your own character's potential avenues of exploration and investigation. (If we are missing something, please report it so we can add it to the list.)

— REMINDERS — Don't forget about the bulletin board. Please continue reporting your updates to locations, plots, and discoveries. The map of Mathias has been added to the locations page for ease of reference. Make sure your character's sanity level is kept updated. Prospective players are still joining the TDM, so it's recommended to track new top-levels so you don't miss them.

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Comments

elijah mikaelson ( open + closed )

[prevenance]

( plotting comment here )

day 024 ( closed to elena )

[prevenance]

( he comes to with a start, looking around for something, anything that's familiar. for the first split second that he'd been awake, he'd been hopeful that he was home, that he was in new orleans.

but he's not. he's in mathias and there's a dull ache behind his eyes, a headache the likes he hasn't felt in a long, long time.

he tries to rub the headache away but every time the pain eases, a high pitched whine drives itself like an icepick into his head and he winces, doubling over. at first, he thinks a witch must be nearby, causing this kind of blinding pain.

squinting, elijah peers out the window, unsurprised to find a whiteout blizzard raging. just putting his hand on the glass tells him how cold it is outside. )

Elena?

( her name is the first one he speaks and then he starts looking around the area. he doesn't recognize his surroundings but he just knows he's still in mathias. he doesn't remember how he'd gotten here though. nothing about his memory fits this. )

Elena!

( she'd better not have wandered out into that snow. she might have the slightest of death wishes but he hopes she hadn't done that. )

[descendent]

[ elena wakes up on the wooden bar, dressed in her over-sized dark flannel shirt with converse shoes on her feet and a thick coat pillowing her head. disoriented at first, she presses her hand against her temple and squeezes her eyes shut when a noise sends a small sharp pounding in her forehead. her mouth feels dry and she can't help but wonder if it's because she hasn't drunk anything at all. she really does need to heed elijah's requests to, you know, not be dumb.

she's nowhere near elijah when he wakes, but when she hears her name, she tries to find him. her hair's mussed as she's been raking her hands through it and she pulls her long coat snug around her to give the illusion that she is, indeed, wearing pants. she holds a glass of water, leaving some droplets on the ground.

despite being very human, it's not difficult to find him. he's a dark figure by the white windows, and he looks just as out of sorts as she does standing here.

maybe she should've tried to search for someone else in this strange bar, but she needed to get rid of the headache lingering behind her eyes and the sleep that sits on her bones. ]

Elijah—

[ she means to say it louder, but she finds she can't up the volume of her voice. she pads over to him, hand holding her glass tightly. ]

I'm here.

[prevenance]

( it's a relief to hear her voice, at least. she's alive. he takes a breath and moves towards her, trying to ignore the ache in his head.

instead, he focuses on her and her well being. she's able to speak and she's standing upright. all good signs.

he nods as she gets closer, eyes flicking down to the glass an then up to her. )

Are you all right?

( he stops short of reaching out to touch her but his eyes do look her over quietly, slowly to make sure she isn't hiding something. )

[descendent]

[ her eyes drop down to his hand as she wonders whether or not he's going to reach out and touch her. stefan would. without any hesitation, he'd give her the physical comfort she's quietly been craving since she woke up in the snow here.

she nods. ]

I'm a little tired and wondering why I'm in a bar. But I'm okay.

[ she gives him a small smile. it feels like a comfortable lie at this point. she's fine; she's okay. nothing bothers her. she feels a little dizzy, but she imagines drinking this water will make her feel steadier.

eyes slightly narrowed, she looks around the grey gull (unbeknownst to her) and looks back at him. isn't that what he sleeps in? elijah would never walk around looking so unkempt. ]

I doubt it's an innocent coincidence we both slept walked here. You're in the clothes you slept in.

[prevenance]

I am.

( he hadn't noticed that at first. it feels strange to be in a place where others can see him and not be in a suit but there's little to be done about it now.

his teeshirt is thin and he can feel the cold seeping into his skin. he barely manages to suppress a shiver, focusing instead on her and what's going on. )

What do you remember?

( there's a blank space in his memory after he'd gone to sleep. he can't remember getting up, leaving the boarding house and ending up here.

she's right, it can't be a coincidence that they're both here. )

Do you think someone brought us here?

[descendent]

[ she doesn't know if he's going to like her suggestion. ]

Maybe it was a spectre-like creature.

[ considering what she's seen of mathias, the shadowy creatures are the only set of beings that she's come to realise inhabit this town. there are no witches aside from john, and considering what she witnessed of him, she sincerely doubts he's capable of this level of magic. ]

I just remember looking in the direction of our room's window and going to sleep. Nothing else. [ peering down at her feet, she shakes her head, lifting her shoulders and her arms. water sloshes in her glass. ] I don't even know how my shoes got here since I wasn't wearing them to bed.

[prevenance]

( so, they both remember little. it's comforting but also concerning. he hates the gaps in his memory that this place seems to give him.

he's trying to piece together his last moments before sleep when his head throbs and he grimaces, more angry that he's hurting than anything else.

the whole building seems to groan around them and elijah looks over at the window. )

Do you know this place?

( he thinks he might have seen it from the outside but everything inside is unfamiliar. )

We should try and find a way out of here. I don't like being somewhere I don't remember traveling to.

[descendent]

[ elena's eyes narrow as she watches him, disregarding his question. she doesn't want to look around, and she's hesitant to do so before she looks to the side, drawing her bottom lip into her mouth as she tries her best to see if she can recall its walls. but she can't. she can remember the houses she's been in—or approximately the house she's been in—but this is new.

she lets out a breath and shakes her head. turning her gaze to him, she frowns as she looks at him. ]

Are you okay?

day 024 ( open )

[prevenance]

▶ 01 AROUND

---

( he doesn't like feeling trapped. after his conversation with elena, he'd figured out that any attempt to leave was impossible. even using his substantial strength, he fails.

his headache seems to grow worse with every shrill sound, with every uncharacteristically loud creak of the house. he tries everything he can to block it out but the sound cuts through and burrows deep into his head.

he finds himself leaning against walls and tucking himself into out of the way corners to try and ease the pain. he tries to keep himself away from people for the most part, not wanting to snap at them and not wanting to deal with anyone coming to him for what he'd done to neal while he feels like he does.

he'd rather not snap someone's neck in irritation. )

▶ 02 SLEEPLESS

---

( night decends and the sounds continue. elijah does his best to make sure elena's all right but there's little he can do for her since he can't get her out of here and he can't stop whatever's going on.

the scant few people mill around but elijah finds a place to sit, trying his best not to rub at his head since it does nothing.

what he tries to do is think. they're stuck, a blizzard is raging outside and there's no way out that they can see.

there's food but it's finite but enough to survive for a little bit. when that goes though, there might be trouble.

irritated, elijah gets to his feet and steps closer to a window, slamming his palm against it to see if it would break.

it doesn't. the vibration runs up his arm and just seems to make the noises louder and louder. maybe that hadn't been the smartest thing. )

sleepless—

[chuju]

[ When it becomes clear that the piercing sounds and rumbling shakes aren't going to be stopping anytime soon, Daisy gives up on any attempt of getting sleep. It's hard to even properly rest in between rounds, thanks to the splitting headache that's settled in. Really, it makes everything hard to manage.

Emerging from the kitchen with a glass of water, she nearly drops it as one of her fellow prisoners decides to attack the window. She doesn't even consider how odd it is that it doesn't break — she's too busy trying not to break the glass in one hand while she presses the other to her head. ]

Hey! Can you not with whatever you just did? [ The words are stretched thin as her voice tightens in response to the pain arcing through her skull and arms. She doesn't hear any difference but she sure does feel it. ]

[prevenance]

My apologies, I was trying to create a way out for us!

( typically, that wasn't something he'd snap but with the combination of the pain in his head and the constant, undying sounds, the words come out vehemently.

he waits for a moment, holding up a hand in apology before he shakes his head and turns away from the window. )

It should have broken.

( maybe these walls were made of something indestructible but windows were glass and he should have easily been able to get through them. the fact that he'd done nothing to them is a concern. )

[chuju]

[ He's as on edge as she is, that's easy enough to read off him. He's also managing to keep himself in check pretty well, as evidenced by that gesture of apology. That's enough to soothe her own irritation a little, at least. ]

Yeah well, it's probably a good thing it didn't. If you haven't noticed, there's kind of a blizzard going on out there.

[ She rubs at her temple for a moment as she drops less than gracefully into a nearby chair at one of the small tables. The water in her glass sloshes a little but she deposits it on the table regardless, paying no attention as a few droplets sink into the grey strip of fabric she's got wrapped around her palms and up her arms. ]

[prevenance]

Indeed.

( the words are slow, sluggish but he does realize that what she's saying is true. he presses a hand to his face, trying to ignore the pounding of his pulse inside his head that's only exacerbated by the sounds.

he turns, watching her fall into a chair. the water sloshes but he doesn't really make a note of it immediately. )

I might almost want to take my chances with the blizzard and not these sounds.

[chuju]

I can understand that. [ Boy, can she. Between the alternating shaking and shrieking, even just the normal howl of the wind is making her head ache between the more intrusive torments. Honestly, she's getting real tired of all of it. ]

After the storm I arrived in, though, I'm not sure we'd be much better off out there. [ Which is really saying something, considering how utterly miserable she both looks and feels. ]

[prevenance]

( elijah rubs at the sides of his head, trying to dispel even a small amount of sound. and for a second, he thinks that maybe it eases off but the next moment, it's back and he grimaces, feeling it like several knives burrowing underneath his skin.

he presses a hand against the window but then turns away from it, crossing his arms and peering over at daisy. )

Do you know where we are? In relation to town hall? I've never been in this building.

[chuju]

[ There's something in the way he moves, that grimace that forms. Noticing little things and putting together puzzle pieces is what Daisy does, a natural talent that's been honed by her years with SHIELD. She doesn't know what, but there's something there in all that.

Watching him a little closer, she answers him without hesitation. ] This is the Grey Gull. It's on the beach at the very end of Phillips, the street that cuts through all the houses to town hall. [ A pause, then another puzzle piece. ] I'm guessing you haven't been here long?

01 - around

[conning]

[ Elijah may not want company, but Neal spotted him when he and Daisy finally came downstairs, and... well. They have some things to talk about.

He approaches with caution, not sure whether he's doing it to try and keep Elijah at ease or keep himself in a position to bolt if the vampire lunges at him.

Neal still makes a point to stay out of easy reach. ]

Hi. You look like shit.

[prevenance]

( it's with the barest hint of awareness that elijah realizes who it is. his head pounds and the sound seems to slip into his veins to the point that he has to take a measured breath before he looks over.

his face falls when realization rushes in and he makes himself straighten. he doesn't move any further than that, hands loose at his sides while he looks neal over. )

Then, I look how I feel.

( he's not going to admit that to many people but it's hard to lie about it when he's showing signs of being affected. )

Hello.

[conning]

I'd say I'm sorry, but you're the reason I feel like shit myself, so I'm kind of not.

[ He touches the bandage on the side of his neck, lips pressed together, trying to decide what he feels. He's not scared, which surprises him. He feels like he should be. Maybe there's just been too much in the past three days for fear to fit past numbness. Maybe he's just too tired. ]

...Raylan Givens, John Henry Holliday, and Dean Winchester all want to talk to you. They found me. After what happened. I don't know if talking is all they want to do.

[ He studies Elijah's face, trying to find... he's not sure what. ] The girl you went after before me. Elena. Is she all right? Do you even know?

[prevenance]

Elena is fine.

( he doesn't say anything else about her. elena can speak for herself and he knows she will if she feels like it. )

I'm not surprised that your friends want to speak with me. What happened should not have happened and I apologize for that.

( he has to say the words even if an apology does little at this juncture in time. )

I wasn't really myself when I found you.

( he shakes his head and sighs. )

Once you heal, you'll be fine. You're not going to be turned and I'll have whatever conversations are meant to come my way.

[conning]

[ Hearing Elijah say that he's not going to turn unknots something in Neal's chest that he didn't know was still a worry. ]

What do you mean? That you weren't yourself?

[ After a moment: ]

How are you going to keep yourself fed, here?

[prevenance]

My control is usually much, much better than that. But, something happened to me and I've been...slipping.

( his control has been lacking despite the lengths he's gone to to try and keep himself in check. he sighs raggedly and shakes his head. )

Someone is helping me. A volunteer. I don't tend to do that to people without their consent.

( that wasn't...all the way true but here, it is. )

[conning]

Your control? [ That's disconcerting, for a number of reasons. ] You mean you can't help it? Wanting to...?

[ He gestures at his own neck. It makes sense, really. If humans become willing to eat their own when starved, why wouldn't something higher up on the food chain resist predation? Though isn't that a discomforting thought. ]

How often do you need to do it?

day 025 ( open )

[prevenance]

▶ 01 FOOD

---

( the one good thing about whatever's going on is that he isn't hungry. not for blood, at least.

but he still finds himself rummaging through the pantry for something to eat. there's a few people that have taken up the chore of cooking but elijah hasn't really eaten what they're serving. he wants those that need it to have it but this morning, as the sun rises and the blizzard continues to rage, he finds himself in the pantry, looking through things to find something small to eat.

when he pulls down a box of pop tarts, he stares at it and then shakes his head. )

Not even a blinding headache is going to make me eat those.

▶ 02 AWAKE AWAKE AWAKE

---

( going without sleep isn't too uncommon of a thing for elijah. he's had instances where he goes days without sleeping or he sleeps for centuries with a dagger in his chest.

he thinks he prefers the sleeplessness. but the sounds have continued on and on and on. there's absolutely no respite and his head continues to pound.

it's gotten bad enough that he thinks it might be affecting his eyesight, making things blur and tip but he's able to shake it off and keep going.

it's dark now and the only thing he can hear are the shrieks from the wind and the pounding of the wind smacking against the wall.

he's pacing tonight, trying to keep his mind busy. he thinks of his family, of new orleans, of mystic falls. he considers opening the red door in his mind just to get out of this reality but he restrains himself.

he paces and he tries to ignore how bad he's feeling. )