villagelogs | 059-061 » the place where you stop the story

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.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She nodded. While the coffee wasn't as strong as what she was used to in her world, it still was close enough that she wouldn't pass it up. She scanned her eyes over the room, and while he poured her a cup, she did what she could to help straighten up. If he was trying to clean, she'd offer a hand.

When he turns to hand her a cup, he'll find a note scribbled and waiting for him.]

Need another pair of hands here?

Be my guest. Just thought I'd clean house before disaster strikes again. I was gonna go out later, see if I can find some more supplies, if you wanna come?

[He smiles wryly and leaves the work for now, grabbing his own cup of coffee and blowing on the steam.]

Oh hey, and I saw your note on the bulletin board. About sign language? I think you should teach me. ... I mean, if you want to. I'd hate to run out of paper some day, or, you know. Get in a situation where there's no time to write?

[She nodded, eager to be put to work in whatever capacity he saw fit.] I had training in being a midwife, but I know basic care as well. I can help here, if you ever need it. [She'd likely need some help to learn more, but that seemed a fair trade off.]

You want to learn?

[He made a good point and it...honestly eased her mind to hear that someone wanted to make things easier, should emergencies happen. Their meeting in the fog had shown her that a time would come where she would be at a disadvantage. No tongue, no voice, she needed to communicate.]

I have a book that helps teach sign.

Edited 2021-05-17 13:55 (UTC)

You know, that would be great. Ever since Dr. Magnus--

[-- died? Could you even say that? In a place where the laws of nature seemed fleeting and random at times and people came back from the death like it was nothing?]

-- disappeared I've been a little frazzled. She was a lot more experienced.

And you can teach me sign language while we're at it.

Was she someone you were close with?

[A number of people had died in this place. Strangely, it was the only thing that didn't surprise her or feel out of place. Death had so long been part of her life that it would be strange to be somewhere quiet and safe.

Probably not the best thing for a medical worker to think.]

I can. My daughter used to translate for me. This will be the first that a number from the village mean to learn to communicate with me.

[Most didn't care where she was from, looking at her suspiciously.]

Kind of, yeah. We worked together. She actually started this clinic, lived in the house right next to this garage.

[He could probably move into the house now, live right next to the clinic but... somehow it doesn't feel right.]

Well, I'm looking forward to it! ... How do you sign that? I'd go for this... [He gives her a playful thumbs-up.] ... but I'm sure there's an official way to express it.

[She demonstrated the sign, or as close as she could get. It was the first two finger extend over crossed arms, pretty simple and with little movement. She waited for him to demonstrate it back to her.

She didn't doubt that he was a quick learner. He seemed to be intelligent in a way that not many men were.]

Do you want to start with words or letters?

[Carter copies her sign a few times, trying to remember it, but then hums, tapping his chin thoughtfully.]

Let's start with letters. Then I can already sign words in case of emergency.

[He doesn't like being so doom and gloom worst case scenario about everything. But then again, this is Mathias.]

[She nodded, writing down "A" before showing him the sign. She had him repeat it to her a few times before she sketched how the hand should look. Once satisfied, she moved on to the next one and repeated the same process.

By the end of it, he would at least have some notes so he could practice on his own.

He was quick at least. She didn't see that he would need much correction, but letters were easy. Tomorrow, they would actually start spelling harder things.]

Now try signing your name.

All right...

[Practical application. He can do that.

He's a bit awkward and jerky with the movements, giving each letter a little unnecessary push as if pressing them into clay, but before long he manages to spell out his name.]

Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of this...

[That's honestly an overstatement but he's motivated?]

[She smiled at him, pleased with his progress as well as his enthusiasm. It was almost like learning another language, and given English hadn't been her first, she knew how difficult this sort of thing could be.

She repeated the motion, signing his name back to him. A gentle correction for the jerky motions, but really, he didn't need it that much. He seemed able to pick it up.]

I'll show you the sign for emergency.

[It was probably the easiest sign that she could show him. An "E" being shook back and forth quickly like a siren light. It would certainly convey the message that was something wrong, if they needed it.]

Kind of sad we'll probably need it, huh?

[It's not something he likes to think about, what else the town might have in store for them. He doesn't think he could make it through the days if he did. Just like he can't think about home too much or the ache in his heart would make it impossible to function in this awful place.]

Did you teach people back at home, too? You mentioned your kid helping you out...

[It's a gentle prod, ready to back out if it's a sensitive subject but he realizes he doesn't really know all that much about her.]

It might be more important than anything. [Especially in the clinic, given the number of deaths and injuries there were. This would at least be more simple than full signs...

...but not as simple as yelling. Something that she missed often in this place.

Her face became solemn as she reflected on those few that understood her once. That number had become 0 since coming here, but there was a time where she could at least live like others.]

My husband and his son, as well as my father in law. I had a friend that could sign.

059-061 » the place where you stop the story

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