villagelogs | 024-027 » neither reward nor punishment

024-027 » neither reward nor punishment

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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Yes, that's entirely the look of someone who is completely and utterly fine.

( elijah hasn't been following her but he has been keeping an eye on her and when she hadn't returned from her exploration, he'd gone looking.

they'd made it into the office once before but found nothing. still, it had been dark and they'd both been tired and confused. he's not surprised that she might try and seaerch again.

he's standing in the door, eyeing her. there's amusement there but concern is more prevalent. something is wrong. )

[ keeping her head bowed is a statement, elijah. her hands remain splayed flat against the table and she doesn't even move. she's not asleep, eyes open and a soft sigh escaping from her. she honestly looks like cousin it who's had a bad day at the office. ]

I am completely and utterly fine.

[ she is not completely and utterly fine, but she can say the words and that means she is. her head is dizzy and she feels more tired than she did before. turns out, being in a small space with no ability to move about and dig her teeth into anything can make the things she's running from catch up to her body. it would've been easier to avoid it if she had someone to talk to who wasn't eagle eyed elijah. ]

I'm just resting my head. [ then a little playfully and angrily, ] Maybe all the information from this place will seep into my brain this way.

So, is there a reason you're still lying? I understand that you might lie to others so they don't see you vulnerable but you and I know each other. Why are you lying to me?

( they are...something close to friends, he thinks. they've been through quite a lot together already and while he doesn't want to make her feel like an invalid, he wants her to feel like she can talk to him. )

I'm not going to tell anyone else but if you need something, Elena, we need to figure out what you need.

[ opening her eyes and seeing darkness from her hair enveloping her head, she lets out a small breath and shakes her head. he doesn't get it; none of them do. she's exhausted her fill of having people worry about her. doesn't he see he should be worrying about himself instead? ]

Because if you worry then you're going to go out of your way to protect me and you'll get hurt because of it.

[ lifting her head, she rests her chin in her hands and slouches. ]

I'm tired of people taking on all my problems. It's not fair.

So, you're going to let yourself suffer instead of allowing people to help?

( that doesn't sound very smart to him. if she's injured, if she needs help and she's refusing it, she's going to become a liability. )

You cannot let yourself do this, Elena. You are going to become more of a hindrance than a help if you keep doing this.

I've already become a hindrance, Elijah.

[ she doesn't bow her head, even though she wants to. regarding him with a slightly tired look, elena sighs and keeps her hands beneath her chin, fingers spanning beneath her skin. she wants to rip herself wide open, find what's wrong, and destroy it. but no matter how many times she tries, someone stops her.

it's hard to not be a martyr when no one lets her stop. doesn't he see that? she's trying to break the cycle. ]

Everyone who helps me winds up dead. I want that to stop.

Everyone? Really? Is Stefan Salvatore dead? Last time I checked, he couldn't die. What about his idiotic brother? I think he's helped you and he's not dead.

( she's being fatalistic and he can't let her fall too deeply into that. )

I can't make you ask for help, Elena, but I wish you would. Tell me what's wrong.

[ her hands move from beneath her chin to cover her face. she slides her fingers sharply through her hair, hating that she's allowed him to corner her because she's tired. she's so tired. being the doppelgänger is tiring; everyone dies around her, and if she isn't the one dying, then they die for her.

as far as she knows, stefan could be dead. he might as well be. ]

I have nowhere to go if we find a way out of here.

Why do you say that? What about Mystic Falls?

( that was her home and that's where she belonged. )

Why can't you go back there? I would think that your presence would be very much desired there.

[ this is the one thing she's wanted to keep tucked tightly int herself. if she admits it, it makes it real. no more jenna, no more jeremy, no more stefan. but here she is, unable to sleep; since being here, she's slept a little but mostly fitfully. now, in this place, she can't sleep at all.

resting her chin on the top of her hand, her eyes go a little glassy and unfocused. ]

Klaus killed me. [ she looks up at him, sitting up a little straighter but still with her chin in her hands. ] I either come back as a vampire or... not at all.

[ she'd like to think not at all. ]

Mm.

( elijah goes quiet for a few moments, processing that. it's not surprising to hear that his brother's done something like that but he hates that he's done it to elena just because she has the same face as katerina, as tatia, as so many before her.

he thinks carefully over what he wants to say next. )

Do you not want to be a vampire?

( there's no judgment in his tone. he knows that it is not a life that everyone would want. )

[ elena shakes her head. it's the same conversation she'd had with stefan, a thought she's had a thousand times over. elena gilbert does not want to live her life as a vampire.

the human life and experience is one that she prefers and enjoys, and even though being like elijah is scary and unknown to her, she doesn't want to risk losing herself. she doesn't think it's fair she lives when everyone around her has died and died and died. ]

I never wanted to be one.

[ not even in the face of possibly being able to see jeremy and stefan and bonnie and caroline again. it's not worth it if she's not whole. ]

Does that bother you? [ her voice comes out small and she hates it. ] It bothered Damon.

Not at all. I don't really recall wanting to be...this when I was younger. It was a decision that was thrust upon me and my siblings and we've just tried to live with it as best as we can.

( he steps closer to the desk, resting one hand on it and peering down at her. )

You have a choice and that is a good thing, Elena. If you want to become a vampire, you can. If you don't, you don't.

( it was as simple as that to him. )

And I'm sure Damon's reasoning can come down to the fact that he doesn't want to lose you. But, he should respect your wishes no matter what.

[ it makes elena uncomfortable to think that damon doesn't want to lose her. she's not his to lose, not in the way he wants. it's so strikingly different how stefan, who has her, chooses to lose her if she wants to be lost.

she keeps her head up despite wanting to plant it back onto the table. she looks at his hip and not up at him. ]

I wanted the elixir to work so I could have it both ways. Get rid fo your brother and finally feel like I could live.

[ but neither of those things have worked, have they? klaus will always be around, and elena... well... she's elena. ]

This is a life changing, incredibly significant decision and one that you shouldn't make lightly. Unfortunately, you can't have it both ways.

( he wishes there were a way for that to happen but if there is, no one's figured it out yet. he sighs and peers at her, feeling his concern for her ratchet up a bit. )

And my brother is like a cockroach. Getting rid of him is harder than it seems.

[ elena can't help but crack a smile, a little amused by elijah being such a brother. sometimes she's reminded that he's just as human as she is... excusing the whole being centuries-old thing. ]

Does he like you describing him like that?

[ there's no question of whether or not klaus knows he describes him as that. elena imagines elijah doesn't hold back any punches. ]

No but that doesn't stop me. Niklaus knows what he is and he knows what he does. He knows that I disagree with how he goes about things.

( elijah shrugs one shoulder and then pulls at the edge of his shirt, straightening it a bit. he sighs, feeling pain surge its way back in when his focus tilts and he hears the noise again. )

But, the only thing about Niklaus that's here is his memory, what he's done to you. He's not here. You don't need to be afraid of that.

How long until he is?

[ she slides her hands to cup the back of her neck, feeling tension coil beneath her skin. sliding her fingers against it, she tries to smooth it out despite knowing that it feels hard and unmoving beneath her ministrations.

pursing her lips, she lets her expression shift into one that's tired—more tired than she feels having missed a day of sleep. ]

You said he was a cockroach. Cockroaches come where they're unwanted.

If he shows up here, Elena, he's not going to hurt you. I won't let him.

( he's aware that niklaus is stronger than him but elijah is his brother and elijah is more than willing to stand up to him where most people wilt.

he's not going to let his brother hurt people for the fun of it if he does suddenly arrive. )

But I really think you need to worry more about your health right now rather than my absent brother. He is not here and you are not well.

[ now it's time for her to look down and card her fingers sharply through her hair. there's a few small knots forming from not being brushed and the excessive running her hands through her hair. ]

I'm well enough to be wide awake, Elijah.

[ then again, it seems like he is, too. elijah does wear tiredness well. ]

I'm just taking a moment to think.

I'm curious as to how long you're going to avoid asking for help. I can understand not asking other people but me?

( they were as close to friends as they could get after such a short time here but he thinks she at least trusts him. )

Is there a reason you're so...unwilling to do this? I'm not going to tell anyone and I'm not going to give you my blood. I just want to help.

[ elena's always been the older sister, no matter how she's actually blood-related to jeremy. she's used to being the one who helps everyone else. there'd been a short pocket of time where she had allowed some people to help her, but before stefan had ventured into mystic falls, she had always been the one who looked after everyone else. it made her feel better until it seemed to dominate everyone's life to a toxic extent.

keeping her head bowed, elena can't help but sigh heavily. it does nothing to alleviate how heavy she feels. ]

Too many people have already helped me. There has to be a point where I have to help myself.

You can't.

( it's been several days and she's gotten worse than she was when they'd first woken up. she's not getting any better and he knows that a part of that is how things here never seem to stop but a part is elena not giving herself a break. )

You can help yourself and ask for help, Elena. There is no shame in that.

[ she wishes the desk would swallow her whole and never spit her out. he has a point and she hates that she's fighting him. if he was talking to her about bonnie or caroline, she'd agree with him—they need to slow down, ask for help. but since it's herself… she's always been a poor advocate for herself.

she keeps her head bowed, hands in her hair and elbows sharp against the wood. she hates that tears wet the table beneath her.

quietly, ] How many more people have to sacrifice themselves for me because I can't cope?

Who is sacrificing themselves, Elena? Who? I'm asking you to ask for help. I'm asking you to recognize that you cannot do this on your own and ask for help so you don't die. Do you honestly want to sacrifice yourself for nothing?

( because that's what it feels like she's doing. she's keeping things to herself because she thinks she's a burden. and she's not. )

Please, I'm asking you to let me help.

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descendent - 2021-02-16 10:13 (UTC) - Expand

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024-027 » neither reward nor punishment

( 1. THE OFFICE. )

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