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

[chuju]

It isn't your fault. But isn't it always at least partially her fault when the people she loves are hurt? Through either her actions or inaction, their pain is always somehow tied back to her. It had been his choice to follow his friend, but if she'd been there, she could have done something.

It's like with Coulson. She's having to watch another person she loves die over and over again. And just like with Coulson, it's killing her inside.

But she can't lose control. Not here, not like this. So with a deep breath, she lowers her hand, her arms going around herself again because she's the only person she can stand to have hold her right now.

"I need you to go home, Neal," she tells him in a tired voice, everything about her beginning to convey just how exhausted she is. "Please, just go home."

[conning]

He starts to gather a breath to say something, then realizes he has no idea what to say. It's like Sara. It's like Sara all over again, him stepping too far past the line for forgiveness. Only this time he knows exactly what he did. There's a helplessness in the look he gives her that he doesn't know is there, a desperation to fix this somehow, but should he even try when she just wants him to leave?

"...Okay," he says, his voice still barely a whisper. Again, he starts to say something, then lets it go half-spoken. A quiet I'm sorry that only gets as far as the first syllable.

He looks over at Bucky, nodding to him, a kind of silent thank you. The helpless desperation hasn't gone anywhere, and Neal hopes, he hopes that Bucky will take the look for what it is and stay with Daisy.

Neal looks at Daisy one last time, then crosses his own arms, the same kind of self-defensive gesture, and he walks away.

[chuju]

Some part of Daisy urges her to stop him, to go to him and make sure he knows that she still loves him despite the immense pain she's in. She's hurting because of that love. But her instincts for self-preservation are demanding distance, forcing her to stay where she is or run the other way, anything but going after him. It's actually a huge improvement compared to the past that she's able to just stand there even as her heart feels like it's breaking.

When Neal is out of earshot and disappearing down the street, she finally looks at Bucky, though she can't quite meet his gaze. Her voice is still tired and worn when she tells him, "Thank you for getting them out."

[exsto]

The situation is something new for Bucky to witness and there's a lot that confuses him about the back and forth between Daisy and Neal that he's never experienced. Not personally -- not with anyone. That range of emotions is entirely lost on him, but only insofar as relationships like theirs went.

Bucky knows loss though with Steve and it's a deeply profound sense of loss that has left him fumbling with human need and why it hurts as much as it does when someone you love only thinks of you after the fact. He remembers feeling okay with Steve's choice moments after realizing what he'd decided. But after seeing the older version of his best friend on the park bench, Bucky knew he had lost the only connection to who he was.

And who he is now. A question he isn't sure will ever be answered.

Her voice pulls him from those thoughts and he looks at Daisy, brow knitting slightly in concern. "You don't need to thank me," Bucky glances towards Neal's disappearing shadow and shakes his head. "I guess I was where I needed to be. It's no problem."

[chuju]

Loss is something that Daisy is intimately familiar with. All she's known in her life is constant loss — she'd grown up drowning in the loss of her family, and then when she'd found a new one, she'd started losing them too. To have that already happening with Neal when she'd only just found him...

Which is crazy to think about. It's crazy that she'd let herself get this deep when they're literally from different worlds, but she's here now and it hurts so much.

Those last words are what bring her gaze up to his, a frown falling into place as her tone grows slightly stern. "You didn't have to get involved, but you did. That's not nothing. And with the way Neal's acting—"

He'd said something was wrong and that terrifies her. She closes her eyes tightly for a moment and shakes her head. "There's no telling what might have happened down there."

[exsto]

He takes in Daisy's words and thinks about them, thinking about how that freedom of choice to help was one he executed himself. Him. There was only one other way he could have acted and that was to walk away. So, yes, he didn't have to get involved. The fact he chose to was a big step. Especially since he barely knew these people.

"Yes, you do," Bucky points out. She had said it to Neal and Malcolm not too long before that moment. "And by the time anyone got to them, it would've been too late."

This was his way of telling her that everything she reacted to and got upset for was completely and utterly justified. Even if she knew it already, he needs to remind her that the guy she has feelings for screwed up. And from the way Neal took his leave, he knew it.

"He needed to hear that. From you."

A pause.

"But you should forgive him."

[chuju]

Having someone confirm that she hadn't wildly overreacted — it's what she needs, but it's also scary as hell. She could have lost Neal again that night, for the third time in as many days. It would have been a new record in her life, as shitty as it's been sometimes.

Rubbing at her eyes because there's a burning there she refuses to acknowledge as tears, her voice is strained when she wearily says, "Of course, I'll forgive him."

But then she pauses, because... of course? There's nothing in her fighting it though, despite a mountain of past experiences of her doing just that. What the hell is this man doing to her?

Sighing, she drops her arms to her side, her body feeling like her bones are lined with lead. "I was so stupid to fall for someone here."

[exsto]

Suddenly, he feels out of place for even saying anything. What gave him the right? He knew nothing about these sorts of relationships and never would and that would be his decision, made for the protection of anyone who felt he was worth it. He doesn't want to hurt anyone else.

And yet, here he was, rooting for Daisy and Neal, seeing how good they were for each other; how she needs him, which was evident in the way things played out that evening and how he needs her.

"Why?" he asks carefully. Especially after saying she'd forgive him.

[chuju]

Looking up at the dark sky above them, she almost wishes there weren't clouds in the way so they could see all the stars. Though, spending so much time in major cities like she had, that might just be turn out to be even more disorienting in the end.

"We're from different worlds," she explains with a sigh, looking back at Bucky. "Literally. He's from a different version of Earth than us. So when we all find a way to go home, that's it. There's no hope for a future with us and I..."

She stops, her mouth open as she struggles to admit what amounts to the same thing she'd told Simmons just a few months ago. "I want there to be."

[exsto]

The idea was something he couldn't entirely relate to. Not where it comes to applying the idea in any of the three lives he's lived in his own lifetime. But he supposes each was kind of like its own separate world. So, he understands what she means. Daisy wants to be with Neal beyond this place, only there's no way to make that happen. It's a lot like the branches of time that Steve went back to return the stones.

"How do you know? Maybe there is a way." he shrugs loosely, realizing how much like his best friend he sounds right then.

[chuju]

Her first instinct is to shrug off that maybe, not accepting the spark of hope it might provide. But, given everything they know about this place and how much more they don't know...

"You're right," she acknowledges with a nod, offering him a grateful smile. "I don't really know that there isn't. I'm just... not used to things working out for me, you know? I've never gotten to really be happy, so I guess I just assume that's how it will always be."

[exsto]

Maybe it's unrealistic to think that way in a place like this but Bucky hasn't been there long and there might be a sliver of optimism under the surface of a guy who's been dealt a crap card over the last several decades. Yet, there's a little acknowledgement that he tells her that because she's been dealt the crap card this time.

He nods, though not emphatically. He knows. He knows very well how that goes.

"Maybe thinking about it isn't what you should be doing," he muses. "He's here now."

[chuju]

Being dealt the crap card is Daisy Johnson's eternal state of being. Perhaps the only time she was dealt a good card was the day Phil Coulson came into her life, but there were a whole lot of crap ones before and after that.

"Yeah, he's here now," she echoes, as if trying to cement those words in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she nods again. "I'll talk to him tomorrow, make sure we're okay. I might be upset but I still care about him — it's important he knows that."

It surprises her again how easy it is to talk to Bucky. About anything. There's just something about him that puts her at ease while also making her want to do everything she can to protect him from anything else trying to mess up his life.

[exsto]

Meanwhile, he feels like he's the worst person to talk to about these things, though he considers it safe to only offer logical advice -- things that seem blatantly obvious and not so farfetched that it sounds ridiculous.

But he can tell that Neal means a lot to her and for a quick moment, he's curious to know what that feels like, knowing that someone does beyond mere friendship.

Bucky speaks up again. "You're lucky to have each other."

Through good times and bad.