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.

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Comments

[tinstar]

"There's nothin' wrong with who you are," Raylan assured quickly, with a serious downtilt of his chin as he met Malcolm's eye. "Nothing."

He took a deep breath, eyes dropping back down as he continued.

"I know. I know what you mean darlin'. And I don't know that there's anything I could do beyond promise you that it's not all together you. Some people just don't get on is all. You're not streachin' me thin, I-" He choses this. This was better than the alternative.

"I'mma be fine. If you're fine. If they're fine. We'll all be alright."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm ventured a small smile.

"I'm fine," he promised. "Because of you," he pointed out. "Because of Doc. Because of Neal and Negan and Klaus. We're all fine." He brought Raylan's hand to his mouth and set a quick, gentle kiss to the back of it. "And if I can help with anything else, just tell me what you need."

[tinstar]

"We love you, Malcolm Bright. In case you were doubting it." Raylan's head ducked a little for the kiss on his fingers, wishing he could drawn Malcolm in and put several kisses into that blond hair of his.

"Knowin' you're okay is what I need. Knowin' you're all okay is my top priority here. Once I've verified that, I can look to handlin' other things."

[abrightboy]

"I have more... affection around me here than I've ever had around me in my life," he told Raylan. "If I have to go back home alone... it's going to be harder than it was."

[tinstar]

"You already know that if our worlds are the same, both Neal and I are gonna come lookin' for you, right? And if it's not.." Raylan set his thumb to brushing back and forth over Malcolm's. "Maybe you can carry us with you. Remember that people can love ya. That you're worth it."

[abrightboy]

These specific people, surprisingly, did love him. These people from possibly another dimension, even though they've seen him at his worst.

He wasn't sure it would cross over to the place he's always existed, just outside of everything. But Raylan's quiet confidence in his worth made it seem... like maybe it could be possible.

"It'll... it'll be better if you guys are there," he admitted. "But I'll try to remember."

[tinstar]

And when Malcolm was at his best, he might start to have more issue with these people, how they were working here. Raylan was worried about that too. Would Malcolm feel the same way when he didn't have his issues flaming up in full force? The profiler was an emotional creature without his meds, however still sharp and brilliant. Raylan wondered how much of that stiff, judgmental looking man he'd met those first days so long ago was the Meds and how much it was Malcolm himself.

"I'd write you a note to keep in your wallet.. if you have one.. if you wanted. Just in case. Maybe that would make it back with you. A reminder that you were here. That this was all real, even if we aren't ever able to explain it." He looked over at him again. "I know I'd like to be there. If I had the choice."

[abrightboy]

Hoping to get close to
A peace I cannot find

The song was getting close to the end and Malcolm was afraid the silence that followed would break the spell.

“I have a wallet,” he said, cautious hope in his gaze as he looked up at Raylan again.

If he knew Raylan was concerned Malcolm wouldn’t feel the same leveled out, he would respectfully point out that he recognized kindness whether he was raw or not. There wasn’t one single thing he could point to that made him fall for Raylan, it was a complicated package deal and that wasn’t something he could have foreseen in the terse if amicable man putting a hole in a wall to steal pipes. He had no context at that time to understand why, when forcibly confined, the most important project they could be working on was building a still.

He understood it now. But everyone was convinced they could escape if they just applied themselves when they arrived. Everyone new was appalled that the people stuck here for days and weeks and months on end had made no progress on that front. What were they doing with their time? Playing house? Babysitting a madman? Building a distillery? Why weren’t they doing something important?

Everyone learned before too long.

“Write me the note,” he said. “I’d like that.”

A beat.

“Can I write one for you, too?”

[tinstar]

One day, one day they would dance. Raylan didn't know what lengths he'd have to go through for it but it was decided. He needed this small man in his arms, blasting a happy brilliance up at him.

"I will," Raylan answered, tilting his body a little closer to Malcolm's on angle as he took the chance, them being alone, to slide a hand across Malcolm's cheek to draw him into a kiss. Chaste as it was, it promised all the things that Raylan could provide behind closed doors, all the things he wanted to provide in open doors, if that was the opposite.

"I'd be sad if you didn't," he admitted with a quirk of a smile, their faces so close together. "I want to keep you, Malcolm. Impress you onto my heart long term."

[abrightboy]

If he was looking for that smile, he got it, full wattage.

That sentiment was everything.

"I'm not going anywhere that you're not," he murmured.

[tinstar]

"Good." Raylan brushed his thumb up and down on Malcolm's jaw, reluctant to pull back. "Have you eaten today DJ Bright?"

[abrightboy]

Lingering in his space like that, Raylan could get him to answer any question. Like the faint scent of his skin and his breath and his shampoo was a truth serum.

"I had half an egg for breakfast. Nothing since then," he confessed.

[tinstar]

"Mm somethin's better than nothing. If I can find a can of chicken noodle or tomato soup or somethin', would you eat a little?"

If he had powers, he planned on using them for good.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm smiled and nodded and, boldly, pressed one more kiss to Rayan's mouth. It was right there.

"Join me?" he asked.

[tinstar]

Raylan smiled into the boldness of it all, leaning in himself until Malcolm broke away.

"Of course. Who'd eat the other half of the can?" As Malcolm led the way, he'd fall in line, pausing only to flip the record and turn it up a little so it would reach them in the back.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm hummed along with the song without really realizing he was doing it while he perused the cans of soup on the shelf in the cupboard, rolling up onto his toes a little so he could see better.

“Vegetable barley sounds... busy,” he remarked. “Oh! Chicken with rice,” he noted approvingly, taking down the can. He turned and handed it to Raylan. “Do you want toast? I could make toast.”

OOC Editors Note

[tinstar]

[And it was here in our story that the players got which narrative they were writing mixed up and is contextually inappropriate for where it actually lives in this thread line.]