villagelogs | 028-029 » the winds of change

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028-029 » the winds of change

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central Mathias.
WHEN: Days 028-029
WHAT: A town meeting is called.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Ikiryo"

DAY 028
SOMETHING ON THE WIND
Another day dawns in the fair town of Mathias. The sky is a blanket of light grey, tiny specks of snow lightly falling as the hours pass. It makes the town feel almost quaint, the scenery quite peaceful in its winter garb. But beneath the veneer of peace there is a pervasive dread of something approaching. Something inevitable is on the wind, something that has come before and will come again...

Throughout the day, residents will consistently experience feelings of deja vu, that sense of having done or seen or said something before that can never be fully recalled. It happens again and again, tugging at the back of their minds, the memories just frustratingly out of reach.

Residents will also notice a note pinned around town:

The note can be found on the town hall's bulletin board and the front doors of many town establishments, including the Grey Gull, the library, and the boarding house. At the bottom of the note it is specified that the meeting will take place "tomorrow, when the sun is over the town square."

NEW ARRIVALs
The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake on the frozen lawn of the town hall atop a snowdrift. They had best hurry inside and get warmed up before hypothermia sets in.

DAY 029
A GATHERING OF MINDS
In the late afternoon when the sun hangs over the town square, residents will converge upon the Town Hall, where a larger meeting room has been filled with rows of chairs. After most people arrive, John Constantine stands and addresses the room... and then sits again. A grand introduction, truly.

Residents are encouraged to share their experiences and information they have gathered in the town while holding questions until the end. Rather than getting tangled in the intricacies of each person's tale, it seems better to absorb the broad strokes and try to connect the puzzle pieces to get a look at the bigger picture that is the mystery of Mathias Township.

THE INEVITABLE
As the meeting comes to an end and residents begin to converse among themselves, the feeling of something approaching and sense of deja vu begin to build, becoming almost oppressive as night falls. An hour after nightfall, residents learn the reason for these sensations that cease immediately as the earth begins to rumble. The buildings shake, furniture tumbles, and breakables crash to the floor as the earthquake sets in without warning.

The tremors last around a minute, far longer than a normal earthquake, and then the town settles again. There are no aftershocks, which many may note is quite unusual. Residents will find quite a bit of mess in their homes and other locations around town, but there is no structural damage to be found despite the intense shaking.

CONDITIONS UPDATE
— THE WEATHER is fairly typical of a northern winter. The sky is grey, the temperature hovers just below freezing during the day (colder at night), and a light snow falls during both days. Residents should bundle up when going outside and not venture too far into the dark night...

— 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 with Sherlock Holmes being the latest victim of the town's unsettling whims.

OOC NOTES
— TOWN MEETING STRUCTURE The town meeting section of the log is designed for characters to share any information they would like to with the other residents in attendance. ICly, characters should "hold questions until the end" with the intent that they can get the Big Picture first and connect any dots they see. OOCly, this means players should post their character's information sharing tag in the Meeting section, but the actual conversation about whatever they share happens after the meeting proper in the Mingle section. That way, these conversations can happen however players prefer, be that one-on-one or in small or large groups.

— HOUSING Please be sure your character's housing arrangements are up to date on our list. We're missing a few people and it really helps to know where everyone is for planning. Frequent updates for wandering characters are perfectly acceptable.

— THE BULLETIN BOARD has been updated. Players should note there is a change to the wall near the board that may be of great interest to some residents.

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( closed starters here, plotting post and at the mingle )

i knock the ice from my bones, try not to feel the cold

[ The earthquake might take everyone by surprise, but none more so than Daisy Johnson. She should have felt it coming, the earth rumbling miles beneath her before the vibrations made their way to the surface. And yet there had been nothing, not a single warning sign before the shelves of the General Store had started to shake and sway, items tumbling off and crashing to the floor as she braced herself against the counter.

It lasts too long. In a moment of frightened madness, she wonders if this is her doing, if she has so little control of her abilities now that she can't even tell when she's causing the inevitable destruction that always follows in her wake. When it finally stops, she keeps hold of the bags she'd filled and hurries out, snow crunching under her boots as she moves through the night to the boarding house.

Rushing through the door, she doesn't even stop to shake the snow off her shoes, just depositing the bags in the entryway before moving further inside, checking to see if anyone is hurt. How many people are even back from the meeting yet? ]

Edited 2021-02-01 04:09 (UTC)

[When the quake hits, Klaus is frozen, rooted to the spot. Moving isn't an option, except to sink down to the floor where he stood in the kitchen, hands over his ears as he squeezes his eyes shut and hopes it all ends soon.

Earthquakes aren't the norm where he's from, so it's never exactly something he knows what to do with when they happen. But it's not the shaking that gets to him the most, it's just all the noise. He's bad with noises ever since Vietnam-- especially sudden and unexpected loud ones.

He's still huddled in the kitchen with his legs drawn up and hands clamped over his ears by the time Daisy gets back.]

Edited 2021-02-07 02:33 (UTC)

all the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put me back together again

[ There haven't been any aftershocks.

Helping to clean up the mess around the boarding house left by the earthquake only goes so far in distracting her from that nagging thought, some part of her mind trying its hardest to recall exactly how soon after a quake an aftershock first occurs. It's something she knows she learned, but like so many other things from her school days, it just hadn't seemed as important as everything else. So she rides the currents of anxiety that flow through her, the waves of it threatening to pull her under because something else has occurred to her.

What if it's him?

He's dead. Sousa had confirmed it, the building had fallen on him as his bones were breaking, but this place... What if it had brought him here somehow anyway? What if he had control of his power, her power, and what if—

She puts more strength into work, aggressively sweeping the floor of the kitchen to make sure no shards of broken glass and ceramic remained. After she'd spent all that time working to refill the cabinets, she's nearly back at square one. At least the coffee pot had been spared this time — a fresh pot is already gurgling its way into existence. ]

[ The others aren't exactly thrilled when Neal tells them he's going out after dark. Particularly not given the whole... earthquake. Thing. But all he's been able to think about is the earthquake's effect on Daisy, or whether it was Daisy, and if she was okay either way.

The fact that she doesn't answer when he knocks on the door to her room is not comforting. He feels a surge of relief when he checks the public spaces and finds her in the kitchen. Neal rushes over, brushing her hair back from her face with one hand, the other going to her waist. ]

Are you okay?

Edited 2021-02-01 05:50 (UTC)

[ She hears someone enter the kitchen, but it isn't until she looks up and sees that it's Neal that she realizes she'd been hoping it would be. Every time someone has walked by, she'd hoped it was him. She didn't feel like she had any right to bother him, had been planning to call later when she could be sure he'd made it home, but some part of her had been so worried and so desperate to see him.

The broom is immediately discarded, leaned against the counter in a haphazard way that would probably end with it clattering to the floor before long, but she doesn't care. Both her hands need to be on him, one grasping at the shoulder of his coat while the other presses over his heart, straining to feel the beating of it through her fingers. She just nods at his question, not okay in the slightest but far more concerned with him. ]

Are you? You weren't hurt in the...

Yeah, I'm fine. Lost a few dishes. Nothing big.

[ He catches her gaze, or tries to. ]

What happened? Do you know? Could you tell?

[ She meets those brilliantly blue eyes almost nervously, a hint of fear in her expression as she shakes her head. ]

I don't know what happened, I didn't feel it coming. I— [ Faltering for a moment, her fingers tighten around his coat. ] It wasn't me, Neal. I swear it wasn't me.

[ I hope it wasn't me. But she isn't ready to share that with him. Not yet. ]

What? [ It takes a moment for him to realize what she means, even though it should be obvious. Realization dawns, and he pulls her into a hug. ] Even if it was, I'm more worried about you than I would be about that.

[ In that moment, she loves him for that. It's an emotion that grips her like a vice, wrapping itself around her chest so she finds it difficult to breathe. He doesn't know all that she's capable of, he's oblivious to all the horrible opinions people have about Inhumans because it is so outside his realm of experience, and him saying that means so much more than he could probably ever understand. To have just one person in her life who has never looked at her like a thing, never thought of her as a weapon waiting to go off—

She loves him for it and that's something she's not ready for. So she returns the hug, leaning against him and pressing her cheek to his shoulder, and buries that emotion that she isn't ready to examine. ]

Thank you. [ Those two words are too simple but they're all she has to offer him. ]

[ He rubs her back, slow and rhythmic, the thanks somehow more worrying than reassuring. ] Did it hurt?

[ Every bit of touch helps to soothe her raw edges, easing frayed nerves that she hadn't even noticed were like live wires waiting to spark. ]

No. [ She answers automatically, not even thinking about the question, but then she does and she can't lie to him. ] ...yes.

Did anything get re-injured? [ He sways a little as he holds her, still rubbing her back, the whole thing like some kind of unmoving waltz in the middle of the boarding house kitchen. ] Should we find one of the doctors?

[ She doesn't care if anyone walks in on them like this. For once, she's letting herself feel what she's feeling, and she's letting herself find comfort in another person. Progress? ]

I honestly can't tell anymore, but either way, it's not bad enough for that. [ Turning her face to hide against his neck, her next words are almost a whisper. ] Thank you for coming.

[ For some reason, the second thank you is even more heartbreaking than the first. He presses a kiss against her hair. Softly: ] Of course.

[ Of course he came, of course he would, of course she's welcome. ] I don't suppose now would be a good time to take you up on the 'staying the night' offer?

[ No, he neither wanted to expected sex, but he did want to make sure he was close by if anything else went wrong on a seismic level. ]

Edited 2021-02-16 01:00 (UTC)

[ As soon as he says it, she wants him to stay. She wants it so desperately that it feels like a physical ache in her chest. But she knows he has other people here who worry about him, other people he needs to check in with because he's just that sort of wonderfully caring person.

As much as she wants to, she can't be selfish. ]

Won't your housemates miss you? [ She's very proud of how she manages to keep that desperate need out of her voice. ]

[ His housemates. Neal closes his eyes, swearing under his breath. ]

It's my night. I can't believe I almost-- [ He shakes his head, giving Daisy a little kiss. ] One of my housemates has night terrors. We take turns waking him up, and it's my night tonight. I can't believe I almost forgot.

[ He's not sure what it says about him that he did. ]

[ She reaches up to wrap her hands around the back of his neck, gently tugging him down just enough to press her forehead to his. The disappointment she feels is firmly pushed down into the dark corners of her mind — he doesn't need to carry that too. ]

You would have remembered before it was too late. [ He's a good man, she doesn't doubt that for a second. ] It's been a crazy night, you were just a little distracted.

[ She's quiet for just a moment, then leans back slightly to look up at him in concern. ] How bad are the night terrors?

[ There's a bleakness on his face that he doesn't bother trying to hide from her. ] Bad. Really bad.

[ Would Malcolm mind Neal telling Daisy? He's not sure. He seemed fine with Klaus and Five finding out, but it was kind of unavoidable.

But if Daisy spends the night at 1306 any time soon, she'll have to be told anyway. ] He wakes up screaming every night. No one else really knows how bad it is, outside of our place. How hard he's trying to stay on an even keel here.

[ Neal closes his eyes, letting himself lean on Daisy a little bit. Doc, Raylan, Negan--they're in the thick of it with Neal himself. It doesn't feel right to vent these worries to them when they doubtless have worries of their own related to their screamer. ] He's a good person, a genuinely good person, always worrying about everyone else when I think I would be overwhelmed in his shoes just trying to take care of myself. It's hard, listening to him wake up that way. Henry and Raylan have been doing everything they can for him, but...

[ He exhales softly. ] It's hard just to hear it. I can't imagine what it's like to go through it and still smile at people the next day.

[ Daisy listens to every word carefully, trying to read between the lines and put together pieces of what Neal might not be telling her. He might not even realize there's more to tell if he's never been through something like this before himself. She very much doubts he has — nothing they've talked about has indicated the sort of trauma to cause recurring terrors like that.

Going through the list of names of who lives at the house, it's easy to figure out who it is he's talking about. Malcolm. The man who Neal... It's not jealousy that rises at the realization, but a desire to help someone in need. If Neal thinks Malcolm is a good person, if he cares about him as much as he genuinely seems to, then Daisy wants to do anything she can to help.

Gently massaging the back of Neal's neck in small circles, she's quiet for a few moments before voicing her own thoughts on the matter. ]

It isn't easy, going through something like that. I've had my own fair share of... bad nights. [ Frowning, she debates for half a second whether to keep going, then barrels through her doubt. ] Honestly, the nights themselves — you get used to it. Waking up terrified, reliving whatever horrible thing that came back to haunt you. It's the aftermath that's hard. Wondering who heard you and what they think of your weakness. Feeling like a burden to the people you care about because you're too broken.

[ I've never known so many walking wounded, he'd told Doc. Hearing Daisy speak so frankly hurts as much as Malcolm's clear worries over being a drain on everyone else.

He kisses her, trying to show how much he doesn't feel that way. ] You're not. Weak, or a burden, or 'too broken.'

[ Neither one of them are. ]

Edited 2021-02-18 02:17 (UTC)

[ She hadn't said it to get his sympathy or as a request for comfort. If Neal wants to help Malcolm, he needs to understand how it feels to be on the other side of this sort of thing. They all do. The kiss... helps though. It always helps. ]

Say that again when you've seen me at my worst. [ No matter how much she wants to, she can't just accept his words as truth. There's too much he doesn't know, so much he hasn't experienced yet for her to believe him fully when he says that. It still feels good to hear him say it at all, though.

Taking a deep breath, she lifts one hand to brush her fingertips through his hair. ] What are you all doing to help Malcolm?

[ Yes, she's moving the subject away from her own problems. It's just what she does. ]

I will. [ Neal ghosts a hand over her temple. He suspects he'll have a chance, here. What he knows for sure is that he'll tell her she's none of those things every chance he gets until maybe, if he's lucky, she starts to believe it. At least a little bit. At least from him. ]

We have shifts with him at night, to wake him up, like I said. Help talk him down when he's having a bad day. Henry makes him willow bark tea, which isn't much of a substitute for actual medications. We make sure he eats and stays hydrated--he tends to... not. [ Neal shakes his head. ] There's not a whole lot we can do, other than just... be there. Apparently he's had them since he was fourteen.

[ He'll have a hard task ahead of him to get her to believe that, but she won't stop him from trying to convince her. The part of her that wants so desperately to have someone in her life who thinks of her that way — that part of her will cling to his assertions and reassurances like they're some sort of lifeline.

Her hands fall to his chest while he shares the list, fingertips at the collar of his coat. She listens carefully, again piecing together things as best she can. When he finishes, she nods slowly, considering before speaking. ]

It's a good list. Really. I'll see if I can think of anything else to add to it.

[ He nods, brows knit with worry. Not just for Malcolm. Neal brushes the backs of his fingers against Daisy's cheek. ]

Do you want to come stay with us for the night? I'll be in Malcolm's room, so you could take the master. We kind of shuffle around depending on who's got duty that night.

028-029 » the winds of change

daisy johnson | agents of shield (mcu)

day 29 » closed to klaus

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day 29 » closed to neal

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