villagemod: (Default)
The Village Mod ([personal profile] villagemod) wrote in [community profile] villagelogs2021-02-27 04:31 pm

037-040 » the reason for time

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central Mathias
WHEN: Day 037-040
WHAT: The dead return and the living wake to changes within Mathias Township.
WARNINGS: Some explicit sexual content in threads. (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Kammarheit "Sleep after Toyle, Port after Stormie Seas"





DAY 037
THE DEAD RETURN

“The only reason for time is so that everything
doesn't happen at once.” —Albert Einstein

The dead return to Mathias forever changed by their experiences. Waking along the beach, near the tree line, or among the graves, they will find that their bodies are not as they remember them. They are whole again and not torn to shreds by the shadow creatures that cannot be described, but they are also not as they were before the Hunt. These residents will find, so strangely, that their bodies are in the physical state in which they first arrived in Mathias — any injuries or recovery they have made since their initial arrival no longer exists, as if their time in Mathias has simply been a horrible nightmare. Except they all now carry a last reminder of the Hunt with them: spiderweb-thin healed scars marking their injuries from the Hunt. Those who were injured by fire in the other realm also carry those burns with them.

The dead are not the only things that have returned to Mathias. Inexplicably, fall is back, with the temperature finally reaching above freezing and snow falling from trees to reveal beautiful autumnal colors. As the sun rises higher in the lightly cloudy sky and the day warms, the snow begins rapidly melting, puddles growing in the slowly revealed grass and little rivers forming in the streets. And with that snow comes the frozen blood from the deaths to the Hunt, tinting the street river on Phillips Drive a sickening shade of red.

Another oddity that residents will notice: houses with broken windows from the encounter with the fog on Day 015 have now been completely repaired, though any boards put in place are still there somehow. A small bit of good news, at least? And truly, how kind of Mathias to clean up its own mess.

Finally, alcohol is back. Enjoy in moderation, friends, for more will not be arriving the following morning.


THE NEW ARRIVALS

The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake up on the beach near The Grey Gull. It's quite chilly out with their wet clothes, but surely there's something to help warm them inside the restaurant. Indeed, their timing is perfect, for alcohol has finally returned to Mathias Township — and not just the cowboys' homemade moonshine.


DAY 038-039
THE CHANGE OF SEASON

The continued warm weather proves that the unseasonable shift of the previous day was not merely a fluke. Once again, the sun rises and brings with it a temperature that feels almost spring-like, save for the fact that each day there seem to be more and more leaves on the trees in hues of red and orange. For those who have been in Mathias for some time, this new type of weird may be almost normal at this point, but newer arrivals will likely find it quite odd.

The gently trickling river running along Phillips Drive is still somewhat pink in color as the snow continues to melt and refreeze each night. By Day 040, the bloody snow will finally be gone completely, though the relief will be... short-lived.



DAY 040
THE BLINDING WHITE

In the late morning of Day 040, when the sun is visible through patchy greyish clouds, the fog sweeps into town like a like a tidal wave. It moves in quickly and without warning, not from the waterfront but the forest, cascading through every street in a thick wave of white. Rather than a soft blanket enveloping the town, it is a heavy weight pressing down, blotting out the sky in a way that almost feels suffocating, for none can see further than their outstretch hand.

Those outside when it rolls in are left wandering blind, stumbling toward shelter as you're unable to even see your feet beneath you, let alone any obstacles in your path. Perhaps you call out for help, hoping for another voice to guide you toward shelter or simply another living soul. Or perhaps you were lucky enough to already be inside when the fog descended, quickly closing doors and windows to keep it from creeping in.

Unlike the last time the fog swept into the town, residents who encounter it are not immediately killed. Instead, they are simply disoriented, possibly losing their sense of time and place, and it is only after prolonged exposure that they will begin to feel off. A sense of being ill will cling to them if they are in the fog for too long, including dizziness, lightheadedness, or nausea — the time it takes to manifest varies from person to person, as does the duration it will last after leaving the fog.

By nightfall, the fog still has not dissipated.





CONDITIONS UPDATE
THE WEATHER conditions are fairly typical for late fall: chilly "sweater weather" days and nights that can dip just below freezing. You don't want to be outside without a coat, but it won't kill anyone if they bundle up. Probably.

THE FOG remains blocking the paths in the forest beginning a few dozen yards past the treeline, urging residents to stay huddled within the town proper, and it also now blocks the western section of town, beginning just past Hill Lane, before where residents know the chasm in the earth to be between Hill and Stine Road. Venturing into the fog blocking these areas is ill-advised.

DISAPPEARANCES continue. Castiel and Sam Winchester have vanished, and Dean Winchester has not returned with the others after his death during the Hunt.

THE GRAVEYARD has now seen around a dozen burials, both below and above ground. With the weather warming, though, something may need to be done about the handful of temporary graves aboveground...

ALCOHOL has returned to Mathias! A small stock of beer and cheap wine may be found at the General Store, and some homes may have a small store of alcohol in the fridge or pantry. The Grey Gull has also been restocked with its lower-end offerings of a variety of alcohol types. Alcohol does not replenish in the same way as food.

THE GREY GULL has been cleaned up and stocked with moonshine. Along with the newly restocked usual offerings, the place almost seems like an actual bar again.

THE GENERAL STORE is in a bit of a state following the brutal slaughter of two residents during the Hunt. Cleanup on aisle 3, anyone?





OOC NOTES
FOOD is now being mysteriously restocked as per usual, including inside homes and at the General Store. Alcohol is not being restocked. Use those rationing skills, friends.

REWARD REDEPEMPTION is back and will soon have a new option for anyone looking to spend big AP and learn a bit more of the lore of the town.

MADNESSES due to the Hunt have been earned by Klaus Hargreeves, Ellie, and Malcolm Bright and may now be claimed. Players may also claim additional sanity loss from the aftermath of the Hunt; only losses from the Hunt itself have been deducted from totals thus far.

SANITY REGAIN is now available! Players will submit a form with some details of the progress their character has made and the mod will review and decide on the numbers of points that will be regained.

MOD STATUS The usual reminder that it's mostly just Amy steering this ship for now, so things will probably be pretty slow for a while. Apologies in advance, and please don't feel shy about pinging me if you're stuck waiting for something.


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notanemptymotto: <lj user="onetouchdonnie"> | DNT. (sit ☤ the way you move.)

[personal profile] notanemptymotto 2021-03-24 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Reality in Mathias plays by different rules than we are accustomed to. Rules we have yet to fully discover." She paused. "It's not the best explanation or reason, but, as a scientist... it's the best that can be presented with the facts at hand."

Helen shook her head and raised her hand. "Not at all. I am a doctor--patient confidentiality is something that must be valued even in a place such as Mathias. If tehy feel comfortable seeking aid... well, you know where I have roosted up."

A slow nod to his observations. "It could be an ongoing medical condition that was treated with medications before now showing up. Or, it could be something that was always dormant but the stress of this town has finally caused it to manifest. Seizures can often get worse if left untreated by either medications or by changes to lifestyle."
notanemptymotto: <lj user="onetouchdonnie"> | DNT. (study ☤ i'm always looking for something)

[personal profile] notanemptymotto 2021-03-24 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
A rather slow moving process then.

[ she frowns simply due to the visibility. it reminds her of the smog that hit london after the second world war. how slowly, bit by bit, things couldn't be seen or even be breathable. she hopes that isn't the case here. they hardly have the medical ways to treat it. ]

Well, I think then, the best way to go about it is to mark where we are. Then look for that marker again. It's not as if we can stay inside coped up through all of this.
tinstar: (In bed)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-03-24 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Soft waking's was a weakness of Raylan's; those rare mornings where no one was rushing out anywhere, where he wasn't being negged into an argument for whatever reason, and he smiled at the way Henry shifted and uncurled, loosening his arm enough to not impede it. His smile broke into a broad grin at the groans that he was greeted with. Which one of them had been drinking themselves into the ground last night?

Even as unsure as he was about where they would stand in the daylight of morning, Raylan kept his hand draped over Henry's center and, at the touch that immediately set to work dissipating his concerns, pulled his leg up in a little movement to give Henry's fingers a fraction more contact. This was nice, being able to touch and be touched without a massive cloud of 'Is this okay; will he strike out at me or push me away for doing it' hovering directly over him. He wasn't used to that kind of uncertainty.

"Figured you wouldn't complain too much." Protests seemed like the last thing on Henry's mind, judging by the way he started to drift off again. "Little sore but you didn't manage to put too much of a hitch in my walk. I'm fine," he confirmed, grin finally settling back down into a pleased smile. "Also figured it'd be rude to get dressed and start my day without at least sayin' good mornin'."

That was a passable excuse, right? Before they left the bedroom and put their hats and masks back on, mortaring walls that had been allowed to crack the night before. So what if Raylan was a little greedy under it all.
tinstar: (Real Smile)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-03-25 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
It was strange - Negan had been living with them for near a week now, maybe a bit more or less by a few days - but it had taken dying next to him for them to find some easy ground that didn't feel just like small talk to get them from one movement to the next. That was hard to avoid in such a small house and nothing wrong with it, but Raylan liked things to be as easy as they could be.

"Technically got one on the way, but that ain't got anything to do with the ocean." The grin was back in full force as they walked back up the sand. His boots weren't really made for this either.

"I feel like that's a set up for us punchin' ourselves in the balls. But if they come runnin' at us.." Raylan wound and swung a mock swing before the stick returned to his shoulder and an idea hit. "Damn - it's a shame we can't afford to lose some apples or oranges or somethin'. We'll have to keep our eyes out for a rubberband ball or two."

He eyed Negan sidelong. "You got any kids of your own or do you teach to remind yourself why not to have 'em?"
likeknives: (Suspicious - worry)

[personal profile] likeknives 2021-03-25 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
[He sits.

He hates hospitals, hates being tended to medically, but some things were necessary. This kinda felt like one of them. He doesn't protest, and maybe that shows how bad off he is because he just...lets Carter do this.

Maybe it's because he needs this.

This proves that he's alive and maybe his problem is that a large part of his mind is not really sure that he actually is.

He's taking his vitals. He's alive.

He's got a pulse. The stethoscope is real. The touches are real, grounded. Here and now. Reality.

His breathing slows, just a bit.]


All right.

[He's here, he's breathing.

Hardison's here.

Hardison's next to him and that's just as grounding, to the here and now. Reality. It helps, so much. He won't just disappear into nothingness, he can't, because Hardison is here.

And that's an awkward joke and it's so very Hardison and endearing that it almost tears his soul right to bits, because he's here and Hardison's here and he's alive. Somehow. He's not buried in the snow, he's right here. And Hardison is trying hard and this is completely out of his depth and he turns to him, for a moment, wishing he could save him from all of this pain. From having to see his dead body. Having Hardison to worry about brings him back to himself like nothing else, a spark coming back to his eyes.

Grounded. Reality.]


The military issues four. It's a special forces thing.
likeknives: (Neutral - concern)

[personal profile] likeknives 2021-03-25 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
It's very slow going but eventually, with his strange route, Eliot makes it roughly to the boarding house.

"I've been wonderin' about that," Eliot says, momentarily distracted from the unseen threats as he reaches the door of the boarding house. "We definitely ain't in Portland, though. Seems to be mostly dudes here, too. But I ain't even so sure this is..."

He doesn't want to say earth or at least, any reality they're used to.

"Either way I don't know if it's random or if we got sent here on purpose."
ofthegeek: (that fake-ass fbi badge)

[personal profile] ofthegeek 2021-03-25 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
We're on the same wavelength, 'cause that's obviously where I draw the line on whether or not I'll extend my cowboy definition.

[ He's both petty enough and happy to have fun with a conversation enough to arbitrarily draw that line.

Besides, dentist-slash-gunslinger is still a big part gunslinger. ]


What about you? Not to lean into stereotypes, but I don't get that gunman vibe. Your art history's on point, though.
vampirebats: (pic#14493372)

[personal profile] vampirebats 2021-03-25 06:34 am (UTC)(link)
Negan's good at keeping his distance when it comes to anything beyond surface level small talk, but hell... dying together is a bit of a bonding experience, isn't it? And he's got to be able to trust some people in this godforsaken town. Seems like Raylan's a good one for that, like the other people in the house.

"What? Seriously, man? Congratulations." He hopes it's a situation where congratulations are in order, especially with that grin Raylan's got on his face.

"I don't know about you, but I am not swinging anything at my crotch for any reason." You gotta keep that area safe and secure, alright.

"Maybe we can visit the toy shop or whatever it is again. Might be something in there ball-shaped." Worth a try, right?

The next question has him falling quiet for a second, idly swinging his stick back and forth. "Me and the missus, we tried. Never happened. So I just teach other peoples' kids how to not be little shitheads."
ofthegeek: (i am thinking constantly)

[personal profile] ofthegeek 2021-03-25 10:20 am (UTC)(link)
"If I ever get the census tallied up, we can think on it from there."

It's a very post- egg sandwich process, sure. Processes for most anything are going to take a longer time to put the work in on. That's always slated to be more frustrating than anything. Right now, it sort of works in their favor. He's willing to bet neither of them are fully online.

Hardison leans over to the door, pushing it most of the way open. He hangs back then, in case Eliot wants to take his cautious approach all the way over the threshold.

"C'mon, I'll show you my room. Can't do anything about the jeans, but I've got a couple of extra shirts you could swing if you want."

Half the flannel he found only came in size 'baggy' anyway.
thering: (Doc600)

[personal profile] thering 2021-03-25 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
There is the most gorgeous old lady hanging around by the name of Yennefer too. Possibly as old as Doc or even older. Perhaps he can introduce them sometime. They can maybe start a geriatric club, figure out what it is people their age do for fun. Play bingo and knit sweaters, were the stereotypes, weren't they?

Even with their familiarity with war and disease, even after all these people have passed on, this doesn't get any easier. Doc nods in acknowledgement of the loss even if he doesn't give words to it. Sometimes words and time can cheapen what had happened.

"What else is there left to do except to survive?" Doc muses quietly as they continue their digging. Survive and drink a lot, that is.

"Could I interest you in a bottle of moonshine sometime? It's fairly terrible stuff but that would be the kind of thing worth sharing," he jokes.
thering: (Doc589)

[personal profile] thering 2021-03-25 01:45 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well I got my eternal longevity wish granted and then got imprisoned in a personal hell for a hundred and thirty years. I seem to have a penchant for getting..." Doc doesn't say 'fucked', but he does shrug and gesture at Malcolm with an upturned hand so that he may mentally fill in that blank.

"Sometimes all you can do is laugh. It takes a lot of energy to cry." And he's not sure he has that energy in him. If he does, he's not wasting it on a vanishing fridge. He would just-... start his stockpile over again anew. It's not depressing, per se. It's just how it is.

"Maybe we should leave it empty overnight. At least get our hopes up first."
thering: (Doc589)

[personal profile] thering 2021-03-25 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"Mmm." Doc tilts his head and purses his lips as he chews on his pasta, holding the fork vertically with his fingertip on the tip and the prongs in the pasta. The tip of his tongue flickers out over his upper lip and he shrugs.

"You just go up to someone, tip your hat and say 'excuse me ma'am'. Doors tend to open for you when you're polite." He's never had a problem with opening doors. Or windows of opportunity. Or legs, for that matter.

"Taught myself to drive. Got some help with my phone. I still do plenty of shooting and I run a bar same way I did a saloon, more or less. It's not all that different." It's not like he's tried to be some kind of expert on cloud computing cybersecurity.
thering: (Doc600)

[personal profile] thering 2021-03-25 02:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe he could give Raylan the garage. The garage is already theirs, anyway, when they don't go out onto the porch to drink, or when they're building something. Nobody else goes in there. He could do it up nicer, give a warm corner to Raylan.

Doc will give it some thought as to how to go about that. For now they can maybe use the Grey Gull for that purpose. Even if shit goes sideways while he's here, he'll have plenty of food to tie him over, furniture to block the entrances and exits with until it's safe for them to reunite in the house again.

That loaded suggestion gets one eyebrow raised and a small smile flashed at Raylan's direction. Two can play at the coy game.

"Maybe I'll come find you then." A small, nonchalant shrug. "In case you want the company. A big old empty house all to your lonesome. Might be a good place to... bang your problems out."
abrightboy: (amused by you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-03-25 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm looks over at him with a smile.

“What if we put, like, one egg in it,” he suggests. “As an experiment. See what happens.”
abrightboy: (smile between friends)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-03-25 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Is that what gives it away? [Said with a bit of a self-deprecating laugh.] I’m a forensic psychologist from New York. I used to be a profiler at the FBI, specializing in serial murder, but after... the Bureau and I parted ways, I started consulting for the NYPD on unusual or difficult murder cases.
vampirebats: (pic#14493368)

[personal profile] vampirebats 2021-03-25 06:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"Excuse me ma'am," he repeats with a laugh. Excuse me ma'am.. That's a fucking good one. "You know, that's rarely ever been the case where I'm from, but I'm guessing we come from two very different sides of the track."

No, what opened doors for him is being an asshole and not taking shit. Opened plenty of legs for him too, in his time.

"Man, I fucking missed how convenient phones were back home. Pretty soon, we'll all be back to horseback too. We can't keep our cars running when there's no way to get more fuel."
thering: (05)

[personal profile] thering 2021-03-26 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Hmh. Well Raylan wouldn't mind the one egg going missing. If we even tell him as much." It seems to be part of his breakfast routine and Raylan would likely miss the egg the most. Hopefully they'll keep replenishing in their own fridge, keep the cowboy happy.

"He might go a little wild if we'll have twenty eggs though. Learn something from Neal and poach them or do something crazy," he jokes.
abrightboy: (legit smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-03-26 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm laughs. "Neal will teach us all how to make a giant quiche," he predicts. "It will keep in the fridge for lunches for days."
thering: (12)

[personal profile] thering 2021-03-26 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
For better or worse Doc hasn't known a place where he needed to be aggressive or callous to get what he wants. There was plenty of that back in the day, more to assert how big his balls are so nobody tries to mess with him or Wyatt. But Doc has always been more of a lover than a fighter. Circumstances being what they were, a bit of the latter was inevitable. If it was up to him though, he'd rather their disputes be settled over Uno blowjobs than bullet holes.

"Would've thought you'd eaten all the horses by now, heartless bastard that you are," Doc observes lightheartedly without any judgement or malice in his voice.
silentretribution: ([Liz] Looming Dread)

[personal profile] silentretribution 2021-03-26 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
[She nodded, grateful for the offer and clearly in need of a patient guide. Eventually, she would have to find someone to act as an interpreter, at least until others were able to follow her signing. But that was an eventual thing. For now, there was work she could do to keep busy and a friendly face she could rely on, as much as she wanted to avoid the same mistakes.

Help was an inevitable thing to seek.]
Where does the food come from if it's supplied for us? [She feel uneasy, but can't say why. Only that familiar suspicion and worry that defined most of her adult life was as sharp as ever. Something was keeping them here and something was seeing they were well fed.]

Is there a place I can stay?
thering: (06)

[personal profile] thering 2021-03-26 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
"The man was blessed with some wonderful talents," Doc observes affectionately. He may not spend as much time with Neal than some of the other men in 1306 but most of the time, whether Neal is cooking up a storm in the kitchen or breathing life into still life, Doc feels like he's in the way. He wants to do more than be Neal's minder of some kind, especially these days when he's minding everyone, but he doesn't know what kinds of gaps he can help fill for that New Yorker. He doesn't exactly come up to Doc and say he needs something the way Raylan or Malcolm might. Negan too, to some extent, although he's quite happy to politely tell Negan to go to hell.

"We seem to have amassed quite the collection of troubled men," he adds as a quiet afterthought, tipping his head and scratching along his jawline. "We aren't all very adept at- not pretending we are fine."
silentretribution: ([Liz] Something Out There)

[personal profile] silentretribution 2021-03-26 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Her feet stumble over themselves as the dizziness starts to get sharper in her head. She gave it a shake, slapping her cheeks to stay alert. This wasn't good and she couldn't risk passing out in the open.]

We're bound to find something. Just keep moving as we were.

[She had to believe that, for his sake.

Just when it felt that the last of her hope was giving out, she felt something solid and wooden collide with the tip of her toe. She felt in front of her, finding a post connected to a front porch of some sort. One of the abandoned buildings? It seemed like it, but was hard to tell with how thick the fog was. They could at least have shelter and get their bearings.]


Do you recognize this house?
silentretribution: ([Liz] Pleased)

[personal profile] silentretribution 2021-03-26 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
I have never heard of Mathis before. Where is this place?

[The explanation was likely going to be a long and complicated one, but it would allow her enough time to finish making the stew. After a few minutes, she collected a few of the bowls he cleaned and poured a bit of soup into them, adding a piece of bread on the side. The sort of fare she enjoyed in the wilderness with her family. It would be hearty and soak up the alcohol, as well as add a bit of clarity for him. He seemed like he needed it.

She accepted his questions with a nod, writing out the answers quickly before sliding him the pad again.]


I forget the year. 1850s. We didn't keep track back home.
I live near Bismuth out west.
I lost my tongue a few years back.
Edited 2021-03-26 00:40 (UTC)
abrightboy: (thinking down)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-03-26 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
“We all know it’s a lie, though,” Malcolm notes quietly. “Just a way to get through it.” He looks over at Doc. “Do you think Mathias will fracture us in the end? If it can break us apart, it can break us down. We’re only strong enough together.”
tinstar: (attentive sit)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-03-26 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
Best as we can tell, it's a small secular fishing town in the northeast of the country. But all the paperwork we've found hasn't had anythin' to confirm it. It used to have people livin' here.. Pretty obvious by the houses, I suppose, but it seems that they.. vanished. Or something. About middle of the 1990's. Haven't found anythin' that dates past that yet. It's an old town though, established in the 1770's I think. We don't know much about the history of the place, outside the fact that it.. had a...

[He had to set the bowl in his hands down as they threatened to start shaking. He couldn't say it without unleashing images he didn't want to see in his head.]

A tragedy.

[Better.

The rag was dropped onto the counter and he gathered both bowls with a little jerk of his head towards the small 2 person table that the kitchen area held that he headed towards, setting the bowls down on either side before sitting down with a heavy breath.

Once she slid the pad towards him, he read it and his brow pinched, hazel eyes snapping back up to her with a concerned look.]
Shit. I'm. I'm sorry, that's.

[He wasn't going to ask how. That would be rude and overstepping of bounds that he wasn't impolite enough to encroach on. But it was horrible. He couldn't imagine any good or pleasant reason to have that happen.

He cleared his throat.]


The 1850's, huh? [Real smooth recovery.] That's.. I'm from 2015, since it's only fair that I return the favor of askin'. 1850's.. West was still mostly territory. Can't imagine that life was easy out there.. [His face lit up a little, like he'd remembered something good, and he had.] We got a guy here from only a few decades after that, I think. 1880 something.. Not that I imagine y'all will be talkin' about how good the wheel was back in the day but..

[Someone who was closer to her own time and understandings.]

How've you found the place? Us with our electricity and too much abundance, even if we did recently run out of whatever magic replicates food in this place..