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

[conning]

"No, I just worried it might be something from... this place." He gestures at the air around them. "It's been way too quiet."

Neal studies Jeff carefully. He's never really had the chance to talk to anyone whose abilities have been effected here other than Daisy, and that's a sample size of one. But still, some of the things she's said about it, about her connection to her power, about how twisted it feels here...

"Are you okay?"

[bardish]

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jeff doesn't even think before he answers. It's as easy as a reflex by now, one cultivated years before he's ever set foot in Mathias. He smiles, and it doesn't quite reach his eyes, but it's not for lack of trying. It's not a calculated attempt at deception, so much as one he desperately wants to believe, himself.

It's nice being asked, though.

"Nothing hurt but my ego. Sorry, uh, again. For the worry. I've heard about how bad this place can be, so... The last thing I want is to scare anyone."

[conning]

Neal tilts his head a little when Jeff says "I'm fine," hearing the words but clearly doubting them.

"That's what I said, until I couldn't." He reaches out and gives Jeff's shoulder a little squeeze. "If that changes, I'm pretty good at keeping breakdowns to myself, too."

All right, that last part has been a lie and a half here, but he's good at keeping other people's breakdowns to himself.

[bardish]

Jeff smiles again-- it's a small, slight smile, easy to miss, but a lot more genuine than the last one. He glances down, at the spot where he'd been sitting, trying and mostly failing to commune with the Gift, seeming to mull over what'd just happened... before lifting his gaze back up to Neal again.

"So like... I can look you up when shit gets bad? I feel like I should offer the same back at you." In the spirit of solidarity and all. He's pretty good at keeping other people's breakdowns to himself, after all. He points a finger at Neal. "Oh! We can be each other's Vegas! I mean, without the gambling and legal prostitution, just, you know, what happens in Vegas--" He pauses. "This is starting to sound more sexual than I intended."

[conning]

That startles a laugh out of Neal, a sound that surprises him. It shows.

"Let's start with a coffee and go from there." Less teasingly, he adds, "I wouldn't have made it this long on my own. We all need a Vegas, like it or not."

Right. That's enough of that. He gestures around them again. "Why experiment in here? It's... an interesting choice."

[bardish]

It's certainly something to think about. Logically, he knows the importance of having someone to talk to, to open up and be vulnerable with when things get rough. Athena's really the only one he knows here, but there's no way she can be that person for him. He wouldn't put that burden on her, and besides, it'd just be... weird and inappropriate, given her age. She's not a peer, or a friend; she occupies a space a lot closer to daughter.

So it's a nice offer. A necessary one. But god damn does he suck at following through with this kind of stuff, hypocrite that he is. Jeff's always the first to tell others to open up, and the last to do it, himself.

So thank god for the subject change.

"Oh! Ah... It's stupid-- this stupid theory I had. I thought, this being a music store, me being a bard--" Right. Nobody's from his world. He stops himself and makes a face, a little wince. "Sorry. Bards are like... wizard... musicians...? This is kind of like, uh... chuuuurch..." Yeah, that's a good analogy, right? "Sort of. I guess? Am I making any sense?"

[conning]

"As much sense as magic makes to me in general," he admits. "It doesn't seem stupid."

The more Jeff talks, the more he reminds Neal of an even less confident Malcolm. At least in the way he feels the apparent need to be apologetic over things most people would find innocuous. It's so strange, the transparency of emotion on Jeff's face. He doesn't think anyone, beyond first impulse, could confuse this man with Raylan. "I'm assuming you've gotten the basic run-down on things here."