villagelogs | 037-040 » the reason for time

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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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"Too much, when it's stops the progress in this place." Risk was all around them in life. Sometimes they had to be taken. No one got anywhere not taking any chances. Raylan considered it with a drum of his fingers, eyes narrowed in thought before he started nodding, eyes dropping down to his glass as he gives a final, more firm nod.

"Alright. On one condition. While we're out there, you do as I ask. Once we get over that gap, anything that comes at us gets me first and you book it back across that gap. That gonna be a problem? They're right to worry, but that doesn't mean we can't be careful. They're gonna kick my ass anyway, takin' someone your age any where a place that could be that dangerous. But you've been through some shit. And I ain't against you making yourself that kinda useful. Can't get more experience if you don't do nothing."

It was low, getting someone her age to come with him on something like that but Raylan was out of options and these younger folks needed their own chance to help. To make their own decisions and mistakes.

She rolls her eyes even harder at that. Man, he sounds like Joel saying shit like that.

"You know I'm not a kid, right? That I come from a place where I shoot Infected to stay alive?" She doesn't tell him she shoots actual people, either. That seems a lot worse to admit, but...you do what you have to to stay alive. Or to get bloody revenge, whatever.

"But yeah, whatever. We'll be careful." She crosses her arms. "I'll listen." Will she? She might, unless she really thinks that Raylan's in trouble. She wouldn't run and leave him to something awful. She couldn't stand to. But she'll agree so he takes her, even if it's maybe a little shitty.

"You think that guy is out there? You know the one, right? That dark guy. I saw him back, like, not long after we got here. He was creepy as fuck. Maybe he's not real, but...who knows."

"You know that if I did think that I wouldn't be acceptin' this idea in the first place, right? Please note my 'You've been through some shit' comment," he replied with an unimpressed curl of his features before he went back to staring down his glass like it had challenged him to something.

"The shadow guy?" He bobbed his head in a nod. "Yeah. Don't know if he's real, but that could just mean he's only a manifestation of the energy of this place. I figure that means he can come outta anywhere. Knocked Five on his ass, so he's definitely not an ally. Active combatant. Which is why I want you to run. We can't stop him. Not sure we could even if I had my gun, to be honest with you." No use in lying to her.

"But if we come back from the dead that.. That changes things, doesn't it." It was ugly and messy and it hurt like hell, but the consequences weren't what they once were.

"Uh-huh," Ellie says, just as unimpressed, but without bite. She knows how adults are, especially overprotective ones. Raylan isn't Doc, obviously. Doc would probably lock them both in a room before he let them go on this thing to find the Lodge. And of course, Ellie would prefer to have a gun or at least a bow. But she's not a woodworker. That's one thing she never did learn from Joel. Now she's not sure she could stand to learn from someone else, but it's a moot point for the time being. Tiny knife will have to do.

"He doesn't feel fake," she says. She's not sure how to explain it. "I mean...he feels fucking scary, you know? Like the fog and...sometimes when you go places here, that scary feeling." That's an understatement and she knows it, but she's not sure what words to use for the dread, the unease, all of it. It's totally unnatural. So maybe that guy isn't real the way she and Raylan sitting here are. But whoever or whatever he is, she thinks he's bad news.

She stares back down at her own drink.

"But we don't know who comes back," she says. "I guess it's a different gamble than it should be. But I can't ever tell you who gets to come back and who just...never does." She thinks of Rey in the snow. She thinks of Dean, now, who had died when so many others had, but isn't back. And then there's her, surviving against odds, just like back home. The guilt from that is a hell of a thing, and she's carried it for years now. Mathias isn't doing anyone any favours.

Raylan would let that go. Trying to convince teenagers, or those just coming out of it of anything was a struggle and Raylan wasn't out here looking for solid acknowledgement of every bend he gave to people.

"He feels like the monster under the bed," he admitted in agreement. Hell, he was half surprised the Shadow Man didn't have Arlo's face - Raylan's personal boogie monster. He functioned on the idea that boogie monsters were only real if you let them be. That idea didn't apply to the Shadow man. They weren't eight years old anymore, but a part of Raylan felt like they regressed in that department when facing the Guy.

"Yeah." The reply was softly spoken, would have been almost inaudible if the silence of the empty place hadn't settled so well around them. He hated the losses they'd suffered here. Hated that he knew for a fact they would suffer more. More graves. More disappearances. More of their hearts being torn out and kicked around and nothing a single one of them could do about it.

"That's the chance. Which is why I'd rather you not take it if we can help it. I'm willin' to roll those dice, but I've already lived. Already made my peace with what's comin' to me back home. Just gotta adjust it a little for Mathis, that's all. Plug in the new math."

Ellie is quiet for a minute. Raylan's right, of course. That guy feels like the fucking bogeyman, like something that can't exist. But he's gotta still be out there somewhere, she thinks. Maybe he's the man in charge of this place, who knows. She's not sure they'll ever get answers. She doesn't care as much about that as she does about getting them all out of this town.

She makes herself meet Raylan's eyes.

"Everybody dies. It doesn't matter if I'm young and you're not. It's never fair and it happens no matter what we do. Remember where I came from. Being in constant danger of just fucking dying pointlessly is just how it is. It's worth the risk, especially if we find some clue about how to save everyone from this bullshit town."

Raylan didn't flinch away from the harsh realities that Ellie was speaking.

"It does. You've still got life ahead of you that doesn't need to be formed around that kinda hell. I'm grown and I'd rather keep from addin' to my own pile if I can help it. Patience is what's gonna get us there, not jumpin' the gun or pressin' at the wrong time. What if we press and Mathis responds by puttin' us back at square one? Clearly we're both in for the fight of it, but I'd rather not waste my energy where I don't need to if I don't have to.

This ain't just about dying. That's just the heaviest part."

It was strategy, in the end. A strategy that aimed to be as safe as it could, knowing full well that safety was measured in grains of rice here and not weighted blankets. Not nearly enough of it to go around.

Ellie sighs and looks off at the wall. Okay, so he has a point, whatever. It's not like she can't admit that. She just feels restless, stuck spinning their proverbial guns.

"I hate this fucking place," she says. "But okay, okay. We'll wait and I'll do what you tell me and maybe we'll get back to this side of that stupid canyon alive. Good enough?"

"You and me both, honey," he drawled with a soft bob of his head. He debated pouring himself another few fingers, but he'd probably hit it hard enough for right now.

"That'll do just fine." Sighing, he rubbed his face and looked out one of the windows. "When we're able to. You'll be the first person I find." Raylan looked at the bottle and then her again.

"I know you're the independent type but if there's somethin' I can do for you, I hope you'll let me know. I'm no Doc Henry but.. I do care."

Ellie finishes her drink, which wasn't much to begin with and she's fine about that. She doesn't need to ask for more, though she wonders if it's okay for Raylan to just sit here and drink alone? Probably not? But she's not his fucking keeper. She'll leave that to Doc or something.

"Okay. Hopefully that fucking fog will clear up for awhile, but who knows, right?"

She sets her glass down again and pushes back from the table, ready to go.

"I know you care, Raylan. If you were Henry, we definitely wouldn't have had this conversation," she adds with half a twist of her mouth, working to a wry smile. She loves Doc, but he's got overprotective dad disease. Raylan doesn't have that going on and she appreciates it.

"You know I'd come if you needed anything, right? You guys think I'm a kid or I'm young or whatever, but..."

But I've killed a bunch of people.

"But I can fight at least as good as most of the people in this town. I mean, the ones that can't do crazy magic shit. And I don't give up, either."

Raylan was a grown man of forty plus years. He needed no keepers and his choice to drink alone was his own to carry. Company was welcome. Sympathy and pity company was not.

"We can hope," he granted with a bob of his hand and his glass, happy enough to let her leave on her own accord and not stretch the conversation out past it's natural limits. Hazel eyes came back over to settle on her as she declares what he's not, lips curling crookedly in return. He felt some kind of way about Doc Holliday and one reason was that overprotective Dad disease.

He nodded a little, glancing into his cup. "I know now. That's what matters. I'll holler if I need the backup. We could use fighters, even if we don't know who we're fightin'. We won't count you out or at the kiddie table, El, don't worry. For right now, it seems we're holdin' even and just waiting for the next shoe to drop... Get some rest."

Asking her to kill more was out of the question - there were plenty of other people here to shoulder those bodies for her if they could.

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037-040 » the reason for time

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