037-040 » the reason for time

[villagemod]

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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Comments

[ofthegeek]

[ He offers a short wave. ]

Alec Hardison. And I hope you like flannel 'cause we are stuck in the nineties, Tony. Houses have electric, basic appliances, gas lines on the stoves. Dig around and you can find yourself a nice VCR and put in a tape; feel free to track me down if yours gets janky, I used to fix up my Nana's all the time.

[ In a house with a big gaggle of kids always running around getting up to hijinks, there was often... collateral damage. Not that Hardison would know anything about that, because that would be wrong.

If he's here, he might as well try to keep himself on the tech support and briefings market as much as he can. Even if it lacks the flair of an accompanying slideshow presentation. ]

Phones are all landlines, but big surprise, this culty-ass town's on a closed system. No computers, no game consoles, no fax machines, not a solitary dot matrix printer that I've heard anything about. But we got, like, a projector in the movie theater if you wanna make a big night out of chillin', so. I guess that basically soothes the sting of getting kidnapped.

[technologique]

[ tony actually arrived here wearing what can only be described as too much flannel so maybe don't come at him like that! ]

Okay, we just met, so I'm going to do you a favour and act like I didn't just hear you offer to help me with a broken VCR.

[ the mention of vcrs being around, however? that's information that could easily come in handy. maybe a little more low tech than he would have hoped (the nineties. specifically, the kind of nineties that others lived in. life certainly picked a fine time to knock him down to everyone else's level, didn't it?) but it could be the start of something, at least ]

So what you're telling me, Alex, [ close enough ] is that there is nothing useful here. At least not that you've seen. What about radios? Did people come here with cell phones that might still be around somewhere?

Anyway, tell me, are you a tech enthusiast? Simple computer nerd? Someone who's just grown accustomed to technological comforts? [ he tips his head to one side a little, eyebrows raised ] Or are you someone who could be of some use?

[ofthegeek]

[ He just responds to the first statement with a shrug, palms spread, full 'hey, I don't know everyone's struggles, which may or may not be VCR-based.' ]

Can't say a hundred percent if we have radios sitting around. I haven't been here all that long, so let's split the difference and be open to pleasant surprises. You want a cell phone, you can maybe ask around. I'm sure someone's probably carrying. Don't bet on beating out sentimental value for experimenting rights with those manners, man.

[ Hardison's sort of missed having that Nate Ford manners brand around. Like, bossy asshole, but make it snappy and 15 steps ahead of everyone else. It warms his heart and offends his sensibilities. Alex? Be of some use? Rude. ]

Now, as for my 'career path.' Outside of running a killer brewpub, I'm mostly into freelance consultant work. I specialize in, uh... unconventional cyber-security and technological development. At my own personal discretion. So are you a dude worth being "of some use" to in the first place, Mister Stonk? [ All's fair in name shenanigans and war. ] Or are you just gonna like, make a bomb outta nail polish remover and a dream for kicks?

[technologique]

[ tony rubs his eyes as alec talks and then folds his arms across his chest with a heavy sigh. these aren't really the answers he was looking for but then, he also expected to have to go and do a little digging around for himself. he's far from opposed to that, of course, it was just one less step he potentially had to take ]

This whole place has been one pleasant surprise after another, so what's the harm in hoping for one more, right? [ he shakes his head. alec is right though. be open to pleasant surprises. there was no confirmation that there aren't any radios or anything of the like, after all ] I'll look for radios myself. And I can talk people out of their cell phones. [ he can be charming as hell when he wants to be. besides- ] What does sentimentality matter when phones die? People can't get to anything on them anymore and I can't imagine anyone thought to pack a phone charger. [ he could probably do the kind and charitable thing and charge phones for people, allowing them to see old messages from their loved ones and pictures and whatever else might pour fuel on the fire of sentimentality. under other circumstances, he actually might to that, too. however, he wants to take people's phones, not give them a reason to hold on to them ]

So obviously any cyber-security skills you potentially have are of no use here, but feel free to tell me more about your specialization in technological development. [ oh. oh. is he 'a dude worth being some use to'? he certainly likes to think so. well actually, he knows so ] I am the dude worth being of some use to. Genius mechanical engineer. CEO [ former ceo ] of the world's largest tech conglomerate. [ he taps the faint glow under his shirt in the middle of his chest ] Perfected the world's first clean energy source. I designed and built numerous [ forty seven ] highly specialized suits of mechanical armour. I could make a bomb out of nail polish remover if I wanted to. And if 'Stark' is too complicated for you to remember, I also answer to 'sir.'

[ for real though, 'stonk' is pretty good. and he has to give alec credit for actually coming back at him with something. just, not out loud ]

[ofthegeek]

A'ight, one: I'll call you sir if you call me sir, 'cause last time I checked I'm not your waiter. Two, sentimentality always matters.

[ He doesn't make the rules. He understands them. Is he the most openly sentimental person in Leverage International? Maybe. Yes. Definitely.

Two paths diverged in a yellow wood. To the left, maybe he could somehow learn about a clean energy source, get home eventually, and release it to the public on so many levels that the government and industry giants won't have a chance to shut it down. Sounds legit. Steal global warming and make power free. They've already got some big stuff on their plate, it'll fit in.

To the right, the knowledge that his only willing involvement with CEOs of top anythings in the world the past few years is Leverage-oriented, AKA to grift them, steal from them, maybe ruin their reputation and put them in jail depending on the case. Robin Hood style, for the little guys. So, CEOs usually suck.

He'd kill for a network and a clunky old desktop to do some digging right now. If it would even work between universes or whatever. Really see what makes a tech conglomerate CEO and his desire for numerous highly specialized suits of mechanical armor tick.

Hardison cocks his head to one side. ]

Can I get your thoughts on unions and on... [ He pulls a face. ] Technically-illegal resume content real quick?

[ One for character, one because it's always a pain to talk about his cool safe-cracking robots and stuff if someone's just gonna be like "uh that's a crime so it doesn't count" about it. Poor manners, frankly. ]

[technologique]

Nice try, slick. [ he can't really see him ever calling alec 'sir' so it seems they're at an impasse ] As for your second point, you're wrong. It's okay. It happens to the best of us, myself not included. Sentimentality doesn't always matter. Like most things, it has a time and a place, which is not here and not now. [ sentimentality doesn't always not matter though. that is something he's certainly changed his stance on. he's still not what most people would call sentimental but hey, it saved his life at least once so it's not all bad.

two paths diverged in a yellow wood. to the left, a blocked path. once it's fully tested, once it can be sustained, tony would like to share clean energy with the world. continue to do good to make up for all the bad he's caused. sharing it with some smartass he met in some podunk town? yeah, he's not there yet. arc reactor tech is a little too personal for that, thank you.

and to the right? tony's actually a former ceo but the sound of that didn't really have the right impact when listed alongside everything else. but when he was one, he did his fair share of good and bad. designed and manufactured weapons, distributed them, reaped the rewards of their destructive power, became complacent enough that his weapons fell into the wrong hands. but then he shut down the weapons division. he turned the company's focus to something better like clean energy. and then he turned his company over to a better person than he could ever hope to be.

so, sure. ceos do suck. most of them, at least. he'll be the first to admit that he did too. but they can improve.

really, alec doesn't need a network and a clunky old desktop to do his digging. all he has to do is ask. so much of tony's life is already out in the open anyway ]

I didn't know I was submitting to an impromptu interview when I actually responded to you earlier, but sure, why not? I have no issues with unions. [ he's not the boss anymore anyway so what does it really matter? tony looks up at the ceiling for a moment as though he really has to consider the second part of the question. he already knows his answer though. he looks back at alec and shrugs his shoulders ] Well I, myself, don't always act strictly within the confines of the law. It doesn't exactly allow for me to always do what I need to do.

"what if i played a character who wasn't super long winded" me, 2021

[ofthegeek]

[ Hardison will take a 'nice try.' He'll take it with aplomb, if aplomb looks like a shit-eating grin and a wink. Sometimes it's worth shooting the shot just because it's fun no matter how it turns out.

The sentimentality thing... well, they've got time. He can work Tony through that. Some people just need to get unilaterally inducted into an emotional support system. Lured into comfort like a feral cat being rehabilitated. Or maybe he can kind of annoy him into it like he did with Eliot and Nate. There is, at this juncture, no option available that is not being long-term pestered by Alec Hardison. ]

Ay, rest assured, I'm not trying to get a scoop of your employment frosted flakes. I am happily taken, for life. But what's a man's tech, if not his body of work? Even, y'know, white hat hacker work. Cool to know you're cool, though.

[ Non-technically-crime career? Sounds fake. ]

Let's see... we got wireless bone-induction earpieces, my lil gear hookup to clone phones onto burners, some retired ATM skimmers that I keep for scrap. Handheld EMP cannon. A setup for when I gotta do photoshop and video editing, another setup for sub rosa profiling and research, guarantee we take down more bad guys per capita than the government wishes it could with that. Forgery setup, the gaming rig for recreational purposes. Security cams, button cams, nanny cams, any kind of cam, bug sweepers, some- some cute and very fast safe-cracking robot friends for my girl, 'cause I want her to have options if she wants options.

[ Hardison is absolutely turning in the space and gesturing in very specific directions for each thing he lists. It's like getting a tour of the Emperor's new workshop. Why set it up exactly the way he wants it if he can't visualize where he keeps it all? After another couple of seconds of 'looking' around, he snaps his fingers and points again. ]

Ooh! State of the art digital projection system. Now I didn't build that one, but I juiced the hell out of it. You know if you hook that up with the right motion control system you can make a dude think he's flying a plane? Or crashing a plane.

[ Not that he would know anything about that. Obviously. ]

I could technically make bombs, too. Not my style, though. Except like, once, long story. Defused way more. I could get into the phone lines here and poke around, but there's not much point when nothing goes out. There's only like, twenty people in town, their business is already in the street. Yes, I'm good with electrical systems, yes, I can use Excel, yes I got creative outlets. Gimme a laptop and a few hours and it'll turn out I graduated from your alma mater with honors, brah, same frat and everything.

[ ... god, now he misses home twice as much as when he was just thinking about missing Parker. He's gone and done it to himself. ]