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.

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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.

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Comments

[citharede]

She ducks her head, pleased with the praise, holding it that much closer because it's for something that matters.

Athena looks back at him over her shoulder, smiling a little, an actual blush pinking her ears and face.

"Maybe."

[tinstar]

"Mmhmm," he hummed, eyes narrowed at her a little bit before he smiled with a genuine softness.

"Thank you, Athena. It's beautiful and if you play it when I'm in some kinda mood, you might even get some glassy eye action goin' on but-" He brought a finger up to gesture at her. "You better not tell anyone you heard that. Ruin my reputation and all."

[citharede]

She gets up, giving him another tight hug. "I hate to tell you this, but your reputation as a big softie is the worst kept secret on Phillips."

Athena rests her cheek against Raylan's chest, staring at a spot on the wall for a moment. "We're going to get out of here," she says, quiet and firm. "You're going to get home, and you're going to help raise your kid, and you're going to be the best fucking dad south of the Mason-Dixon. Or whatever that expression is."

[tinstar]

He chuckled lowly and hugged her back, leaving his arms wrapped around her frail, slender frame. Sweet kid. She deserved such a better hand than she'd been dealt. "You'll let me pretend though, right?"

His head tilted a little, studying the mop of dark hair that had settled against him like a cat claiming a person they liked. He felt appropriately blessed. Even more so after she continued, his head ducking with a smile at the compliment.

"You just say that because I haven't gotten on you about cleanin' your room or doin' your homework. Out here gettin' all the perks and benefits of Daughter Classification without suffering the annoying 'take care of yourself' stuff, huh?"

He would not be so arrogant to say that he felt like he was a father figure for Athena. Or Loretta, for that matter. But he did feel parentally towards them, with so many lines that it might not be true, but here he was feeling it anyway. The need to protect them, keep them safe. Keep them as situationally happy as is reasonable, sometimes to their chagrin.

"We are gonna get out of here. You're right about that. It'll be okay, in the end." One way or another, as sad as that was.

[citharede]

Daughter Classification. It warms her so much to hear it. She closes her eyes and holds on a little tighter.

"Meanwhile you get the full-on dad treatment with teenage tantrums and dirty dishes everywhere," she mumbles back, half a joke and half a desperately self-conscious truth.

"I'm gonna miss you when we get home," she says, a little louder. "I'm really going to miss you."

[tinstar]

"I don't mind doing dishes," he said with a bob of his head, his smile tempering down from his broad spread as Athena finishes.

"I'm gonna miss you too, kid. Do me a favor maybe and see if I'm around when you get back home. Maybe we'll get lucky and you can come bother me in Miami with Jeff." He had told Malcolm and Tim that he couldn't do that, couldn't plan for what might happen Later, but Athena was different.

No matter what, she'd still go on to have what she might call a regular life, with or without him around.

"Cause I can't wait to see what you're gonna do."