059-061 » the place where you stop the story

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central/Southern Mathias
WHEN: Day 059-061
WHAT: Time returns to "normal" and Mathias grants a reprieve.
WARNINGS: (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here! The next log will be posted the weekend of May 15th May 22nd.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Nathan Johnson "Foul Play"

DAY 059-061
A BRIEF REPRIEVE
“There is no real ending. It’s just
the place where you stop the story.”
— Frank Herbert
Residents awake to a peaceful morning with the sun shining and earth remaining still. There is no unsettling shaking to rouse them at dawn, and time has continued moving onward as they slept. Whatever state they were in the night before, they remain that way now, for good or for bad.

On the surface, there seems to be little lasting effect on the tiny town from that strange series of days, save for the memories of any traumatic experiences residents may have faced — but there are always consequences within Mathias. The perpetrators of acts against the town are tormented by nightmares of those acts being used against them, and those who did not raise a hand to stop those acts of destruction may yet face consequences of their own. For now, however, the unwilling townspeople should do their best to rest and recover from the disturbing ordeals of late, for this reprieve from the madness shall surely be shortlived.




THE NEW ARRIVALS
The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake up on the beach near The Grey Gull. It's a bit chilly out with their wet clothes, but surely there's something to help warm them inside the restaurant. They may even find some alcohol within — and not just the cowboys' homemade moonshine.

---

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— THE HISTORY MUSEUM has not fared well with the return of "normal" time. The once esteemed wooden building is now a charred ruin, the recent fire leaving behind little of the contents within for study. The structure is unstable and it is not wise to venture into the ruins for long.

— THE WEATHER conditions remain fairly typical for early fall: warm days and cool nights. It feels almost like spring arriving except that there fewer red and orange leaves on the ground and more of them oddly returning to the trees and slowly fading to green. It's like watching one of those nature documentaries that have a timelapse of the seasons, only it's going in reverse.

— THE FOG has retreated from some areas!

— Residents may now wander the southern stretch of the forest surrounding Mathias Township — it is possible to leave the paths but potentially unwise to do so.
— The fog has also retreated farther into the western section of town, now stretching across town between Stine Road and Shelley Drive. This has revealed the Chasm in the earth that stretches from one side of town to the other between Stine and Hill Lane.
— Access to the northern section of the forest is still blocked beginning a few dozen yards past the treeline; this section of fog will urge residents to stay huddled within the town proper by inducing a physical reaction of panic and fear.

— DEATHS & DISAPPEARANCES continue! Max Guevara has vanished into the fog. Claire Novak's body can be spotted on Day 059 facedown at the bottom of the Chasm between Hill and Stine, near Phillips Drive; by the morning of Day 060, her body will be gone. (Attempts may be made to reach her body but will likely not end well for those involved. Such attempts should be reported under Exploration.)

— ALCOHOL is still in Mathias! Just barely. (Supply is running very low after recent town events.) 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 was also restocked with its lower-end offerings of a variety of alcohol types. (Alcohol does not replenish as food does.)

---

OOC NOTES

— PROJECT HELP Your mod needs help with some projects!

— FUTURE PLANNING If you haven't, please answer the questions here for future log planning. I will almost definitely need some of these answers for the log going up the weekend of May 15, so act quickly! Late submissions will not be considered for that log.

— UPDATES Don't forget to report updates as they come up! Changes to locations (like toppling a few bookshelves in the library), big plots you have coming up that will affect the game (parties, major property destruction, etc), or exciting discoveries that may tie into the game's mythology (even the things provided by the mod) are very helpful to have in one place so relevant page updates can be made.

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

navigation | faq | locations | report updates

Comments

OH NO

[abrightboy]

He shrugs. “A little Motown, a little soul. Classics.”

[citharede]

Athena rolls her eyes as they get to the living room, more empty now than it was earlier.

"Pick a song, you equivocal nerd."

[abrightboy]

“Do you know ‘I Can See Clearly Now’?” he asks, if she’s not going to offer a menu.

[citharede]

Athena gives him a Look. "Of course I do."

Gosh Malcolm. Everyone knows that one. She hauls him over to the couch before letting go, hopping up to sit on the back of it again. She starts clapping the beat, both with her hands and against her jeans. Once she's got that down, she starts to sing, trusting Malcolm to join her when he's ready.

[abrightboy]

He doesn't look entirely sure about this but he does know the song well. He wakes up to it on a regular basis.

He joins in, a bit softly at first, but then more confidently when he's not immediately booed out of the room.

[citharede]

She can tell he has a nice voice even when he's singing softly, but when he starts to really sing, Athena's eyes go wide with surprise. That rock and roll depth has no business coming out of someone so small and tidy. She throws herself into it a little more, too, trying to encourage him as she keeps the beat.

The song has barely ended when she springs up from the couch and flings her 5'3" self to cling onto his 5'7" back. "What the fuck was that?"

[abrightboy]

He tries to look at her over his shoulder but he still can’t really see her.

“Um, I think it was Jimmy Cliff, originally. But, I mean, there are probably a hundred versions.”

[citharede]

She tugs the lobe of one of his ears. "I mean that voice, Bright. Holy shit."

[abrightboy]

“Oh.” It was even worse than he thought, apparently. “Well. I don’t really sing. Sometimes in the shower.”

[citharede]

She blinks, momentarily baffled, before she realizes he thinks...

"My guy, you were amazing."

[abrightboy]

His brow creases.

“What, really?” he genuinely asks.

[citharede]

Athena finally drops to the ground, circling around so she can get a look at his face. "Yes really. You haven't had any lessons or anything?"

[abrightboy]

He shakes his head. “My mother used to sing. When I was a kid. Before my father was arrested. I remember she was in this little choir of society women that sang at charity events.”

[citharede]

"Well I'm fucking conscripting you for after we move my piano to the Gull. Your shower does not deserve you."

[tinstar]

Raylan had been standing off to the side, smiling at the fact that Athena got Malcolm to sing, smiling broader at the familiar way she flung herself across his back like she was going to pull his hair and demand that he give her a piggyback ride.

"I keep tellin' y'all that, but you don't seem to believe me," he said, ambling up. "When are you gonna form a band or something? Give us somethin' to dance to at parties. You know now that I know, I'm gonna demand more performances, right?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm heard Raylan and his eyes widened, but as they fell on his warm, pleased face, he relaxed a little.

“Well. I’m not really a performer, per se…” He pressed his lips together. “I could probably be convinced,” he admitted.

[citharede]

"Good. That means I don't have to blackmail you."

She's not sure what she could blackmail him with, but that's beside the point. Athena tilts her head, looking up at Raylan with her eyebrows raised. "I bet you're not bad either."

[tinstar]

"Do I just gotta say pretty please?" Raylan batted his eyelashes at Malcolm and turned his faltering smile onto Athena. "Oh no. Don't you get any ideas. I don't dance unless I'm at weddings and I don't sing at all. You've got Jeff now, sharin' this face hasta come with some perks, right?"

[abrightboy]

“That might do it,” Malcolm said lightly, because he totally didn’t have a crush on Raylan that anyone in a three mile radius could spot.

[citharede]

Athena bites her lip and tries not to grin too broadly at the look on Malcolm's face. God, the guy had it bad.

"Raylan, I'm going to need a letter from you that just says 'pretty please,' with your signature, so I can use it on Malcolm whenever I want something."

[tinstar]

"Mm, I'll even find a town notary stamp, how about that? Make it offical." He kept his cheeky grin and winked at Malcolm. "Y'all take requests? Break everyone's heart with What a Wonderful World. You won't have a dry eye in the house."

[abrightboy]

“That would not do it,” Malcolm informs her. Raylan’s eyes looking at him like that, his voice… the pretty please needs its situational context.

When Raylan mentions the song, Malcolm perks up. “I know that one!”

[citharede]

Athena gives an exaggerated little sigh. "It was worth a shot."

She points at Raylan. "Which version though? Because Louis Armstrong's is a classic, but Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's is my favorite. I mean, it's not exactly the same, but good covers never are."

[tinstar]

"What if I signed it with a heart?" He never would.

His eyebrows furrowed a little, chin lifting as that lazy index finger came to gesture aimlessly. "Ain't that the Hawaiian dude who did 'Somewhere over the rainbow' that white ladies couldn't stop talkin' about?"

[abrightboy]

“If you sign it with a heart, I’ll definitely do it.” He’s 86% certain Raylan wouldn’t.