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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[ Malcolm. Malcom, you're going the wrong direction. Away from the house is the other way.

Two men with an obvious connection. From the same reality? It would raise the probability that they were both in the same law enforcement field. Malcolm was ... excitable. The way he spoke the vividness in his blue eyes. The way he practically vibrated in place. Bags beneath the eyes:

"Signs of hypomania" Hannibal said from somewhere behind Will's left ear, his voice sounding pleased in the way he got when presented with an interesting puzzle. "Could be bi-polar." The doctor's voice pitched up with a pleased curiosity. "Another bi-polar law enforcement specialist. What a coincidence. Puts the conversation you had with the Marshall in a different light."

The look Will gave Raylan was direct and not pleased. His eyes came back to Malcolm and he leaned towards him but spoke loud enough for Raylan to also hear the single word. ]

Don't.

[ This time he did turn his back on both of them, walking up the steps to his porch. He shouldered open the door and walked into the dark house. But he left the door swung open in invitation. ]

Edited 2021-01-18 02:47 (UTC)

[Malcolm bounded up the steps behind him, lingering in the doorway to respond, putting his hands up and answering in a light, joking manner.]

Don't touch your wood? Message received!

[He watched Will for a further moment. The anti-social aspect of his nature seemed to come naturally. But he understood why someone whose job involved getting their brain inside the worst of humanity might want to detach from humanity outside of it. Maybe he couldn't get them out of his head once he got into theirs.]

Decided to stay here all alone?

[Raylan thought Will might think he was condescending to him - he wasn't. He wasn't here out of a worry for other people, or only to gauge how grounded to reality Will might have been but, mush like always, there was no room in any conversation for such intentions.

He knew what the look meant. He'd bet Malcolm did too. Had he been by himself, Raylan may have left it there. He had no real reason to burden Will, just like he had no real reason to burden anyone else.

Malcolm, however, in all his curiosity, did not have the same problem and Raylan followed him as far as the landing of the stairs. He wasn't leaving Malcolm here alone.]

[ Once inside the house a few things were obvious.

Will had been wood collecting for awhile and had a healthy stack ready to warm the house through the night. Apparently the ex-profiler had also decided to sleep on the couch for the time being, and perhaps most surprising there was evidence of groceries on the small kitchen counter.

Putting down his latest armful of wood, Will hunkered down on his heels and began to build a fire in the fireplace. He did not look over his shoulder at Malcolm, but there was a tension in his back and shoulders that suggested he was aware of where each man was located behind him. ]

Rather than have me repeat myself, perhaps you might tell me what your good friend, the Marshall, has already shared with you, Mr. Bright?

That way we can skip the banal formalities and get right to the heart of your questions.

Fair enough. Um. Only that you're a profiler and that you may have been having a bit of a psychotic break on arrival. I imagine that started before you got here. How are you feeling now?

[The Marshal stepped up to glance in over Malcolm's shoulder and leaned one shoulder on the door frame. The brim of his hat showed that he kept his head down after his cursory glance, passively listening for now. There was no guilt for sharing the barest of informations, though Will would be able to judge himself what was actually shared. It was fairly little, considering. He might not be peppering and pushing Will with questions but the more he heard the better he could gage for himself.

Of course, he left plenty of room for error.]

Edited 2021-01-20 23:01 (UTC)

[ Better Malcolm, much better.

And as a reward for good behavior, Will answers with similar directness, even as he strikes a match and begins to light the tinder. ]

I was more sane and settled than I had ever been in my life before I got here. [ Will corrected. ] However, the Marshall is not wrong in his assumption of my mental state after my arrival. [ The fire was starting to take up a merry crackle and Will calmly added additional twigs and other small starters. ]

When did you seperate from the FBI?

2019. Autumn.

[He watched Will for a moment.]

The Marshal only told me what you said and did. The assumptions were mine.

[Raylan had never been one to defend himself against such accusations so the correction too, was completely Malcolm's to whatever extent he elaborated. It would never serve him to let on how a jab or assumption might linger on him, on the rare cases they did and if he was fine with all of Lexington thinking he was crooked and a shit husband, he could handle some assumptions from a man who didn't know him.

Will would think whatever it is that he thought, regardless.]

[ Unfortunately, all the way around, Will had learned it was easier to maintain extremely low expectations. Made it easier when people eventually let you down. Not a fair or a reasonable way to view the world but life was rarely fair. ]

Involuntary?

[The edges of his lips twitched upwards.]

We had an intractable difference of opinion.

[That’s a ‘yes’.]

What about you? Are you still with them?

[It was the FBI, after all, but Raylan was one of the many other federal agents who had strong feelings about how the FBI functioned, internally and externally. Only assholes really stayed with the Bureau.

He listened on, without interupption.]

[ The fire was starting to catch and would take a few minutes before it needed more fuel. Will stood up and turned back towards the pair. ]

I did not bring enough wood to heat the outside. [ He remarked with a pointed look at Raylan. ] We can sit at the table. It has the thinnest layer of dust.

[ Will walked towards the small, four person kitchen type table that sat towards the back of the small house. As he moved, to continue a draw for the two men, he answered Malcolm's question. ]

I retired three years ago. Retired more permanently just recently.

Was it a particular case that made you decide it was permanent? Or a cumulative effect?

[Malcolm took a seat at the table.]

How long have you been doing it?

[Point and invitation taken. Raylan was raised that one didn't just walk into someone else's house without that invitation, so he wouldn't have made it past the threshold on his own. Well, not without a damned good reason.

With a bob of his head in thanks, he stepped in and shut the door, folding down the popped collar of his thigh length, familiar black wool jacket and ambling over to the table. He would have rather stayed standing but doing so would have been suspect and Raylan wasn't looking for questions about why he might be too restless to settle here. So sit he did.

He had nothing to add and everything to learn, and so, kept his mouth closed some more for now, eyes moving between the men as they spoke.]

[ The words 'it's a long, complicated story' were at the tip of his tongue as Will settled into a chair that afforded him a view of both Malcolm and Raylan. It was a long and complicated story, but Will had given up trying to excuse or rationalize his actions years ago.

Raylan already knew some of the ending events, might as well just get it out there. ]

Bit of both. [ He said, resting one hand on the table. ] I spent two years in an incredibly destructive fishing match with a prolific serial killer known as the Chesapeake Ripper. I retired after I caught him, but three years later the Bureau requested my help in stopping a prolific family annihilator known as the Tooth Fairy, or Great Dragon if you played into his fantasy.

The Ripper sent the Dragon after my family. They managed to escape but it became obvious that the Ripper and I were forever ... blurred.

I orchestrated a final confrontation that allowed the Ripper and I to kill the Dragon. Once this was done, I found myself with the opportunity to take myself and the Ripper off the edge of a cliff, over the ocean. [ All of this was shared in that soft spoken, matter of fact tone. ]

[Fishing match. Well. That was a description he innately understood, but a new one. 'Orchestrated' stood out too - Will was and had been playing with manipulators.

Something to keep in mind.]

He assured me the other night that no one in the house had anything to fear from him, even if it was self defense, [Raylan said with a glance over at Malcolm before glancing the same at Will.] He kept his word as far as I'm aware.

[Self-defense covered.. quite a broad range of possibilities when Raylan was using it, but that was neither here nor there.]

[Malcolm listened to him carefully, then turned his attention to Raylan, nodding acknowledgement before turning back to Will.]

You make a lot of effort to keep distance between you and the Ripper. You were close to him at some point. There was... a moment. One moment, when you... suddenly realized what he was.

Was that the moment that broke you?

[Spoken like someone who would know...

His eyes stayed on Will's face earnestly.]

[ Will glanced at Raylan, but answered Malcolm first. ]

I was broken well before that moment came. [ He answered with a resignation that bordered on bitter but did not quite tip over. ] I always got close to the monsters. I had a knack for them.

[ He looked to Raylan then. ]

No one here has anything more to fear from me than any of us have to fear from one another. You all aren't that interesting. [ His voice did not change when he said that last bit, but a twitch of his lips suggested there was a very complex truth and humor to the statement.

For what it was worth, it was a backhanded compliment? ]

Edited 2021-01-21 21:55 (UTC)

[Raylan smiled, closed mouthed, eyebrows lifting every so slightly.]

Right. Cause normal people never do nothin'. [Of course they had plenty to fear from their fellow man. Just because a handful of them were competent and blissfully somewhere near 'normal' didn't make 'normal' harmless. Besides. Mathis had a way of twisting things to a new level and man did bring out the worst in man.]

I'd rather be seen as borin', myself. Gives me a lot more room to move around. And for the record? A general check on wellbeing ain't got anythin' to do with if you're interesting.. [So don't be handing out credit there. He glanced over at Malcolm a half second before looking back at Will.] Though that's just me.

You think we're here to see if you're dangerous. No. We wanted to see if you were settling in okay.

[He considered Will for a moment.] You know, you can understand them without empathizing with them... [But something he saw there stopped him.] Oh. You can't. That's how you understand them. [He leaned forward with interest.] Where did you learn how to know them?

[ Raylan. Did he touch a nerve? Will looks at the Marshall with an expression that suggests, once again, that he is used to these sort of pissing contests among the many branches of law enforcement. ]

Normal people do things all the time, Marshall. [ He said softly. ] But local law enforcement, and many federal branches of law enforcement are well up to the task of keeping those individuals under control and the population safe.

I don't get called in to play, until the body count is above eight or more. Most normal people don't rack up those kinds of numbers.

[ As for the idea that they find Will interesting? Raylan might not. Malcolm seems to and Will's expression says that clearly, before he turns his attention to Malcolm. ]

My psychiatric files have it listed as 'pure empathy'. Combine that with an eidetic memory I did not learn it, exactly. It became a hazard of the job.

I absorb the crime scene evidence. [ Eidetic memory at work ] Then climb into the head of the monster de jour, and relive the murders with them. Step by step, urge by urge, need by need.

This provides the BAU a complete psychological profile of the killer. In addition, I find connections between the evidence that is otherwise overlooked, which allows for a successful conviction.

Neat and tidy. [ Except for the part where it wasn't always an easy thing to peel himself apart from the monsters. ]

[Not a personal one. Raylan was uninteresting and frankly, very pleased with that fact. It wasn't a contest he was willing to participate in. But the idea that no one had anything to fear from one another - that was a different story.

Maybe Will hadn't picked up on the Sarcasm. That's okay. He was going through something.]

[Malcolm heard that out and then, after a moment's contemplation, he realized something and shook his head. Pure empathy.]

No. You don't 'get inside their heads'. Getting inside their heads, that's how I do it. I dissect their psyches, their motives, their needs. You become them for a little while. You understand them by putting them on like a coat.

Semantics. [ Because that had been what Will meant, but he could see how his message got turned around. ] And you are almost correct in your allusion.

Calling them a coat suggests I can take them off when I'm done. Hang them up in a closet. Shut the door.

[ Ducking his head, Will looked hard at Malcolm, Raylan watched out of the corner of his eye but his focus on the younger profiler. ] But you know how it is, Mr. Bright. Little bits of lint from those coats like to stick to your clothes.

Edited 2021-01-24 19:51 (UTC)

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cw: suicide ideation

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